Reviews by funny_character

While I understand the importance of Eric Clapton, his music never did all that much for me, doubly so when he isn't diluted by being a part of a band. And that basically sums up how I feel about 461 Ocean Boulevard. Eric Clapton has some really great, creative guitar work here, but his songwriting in general just isn't that interesting to me (and frankly it doesn't help that he's *wildly* unlikable). To my ears, the blues rock on this album is far too late, and it doesn't sound a ton to stand out from the crowd to me. I will say that Motherless Children, I Shot The Sheriff (a Bob Marley cover) and Let It Grow are really greal, very unique cuts. But I'm pretty cold on most of 461 Ocean Boulevard.

Happy Pride Month everyone. The first time I checked out the B-52's, I considered myself straight, and I didn't get it, but now, I am gay and I love it. Is this a coincidence; possibly, but you never know. This is basically gay secret agent punk made by people dressed like Rockabilly stars. It may be my favorite New Wave album as well. It's kind of funny in a camp way, but the energy here and just the whole presentation is pretty much completely unique. And the songs in here are fun, weird and playfully spooky. It's a wholly unique expression of New Wave, other bands sounded like a combination of things; this sounded like a singular, bewildering thing, one still very much indebted to punk. It's also incredible that all the members of this band managed to stumble into the way that they sing, Fred Schneider's vocals alone are worth the price of admission. Which isn't to say that Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson aren't pulling their weight here, for example, the vocalizations on Rock Lobster are absolutely irreplaceable, and push a mutant surf rock song into immortality(an unbelievably good bassline helps too). There's just such a consistent type of goofiness here that B-52's arrived at, and stayed at for the whole album, and it's incredible. And, very importantly, it never overshadows the songs. The sound here is just incredibly iconic, and the execution is a blast. This is pretty much perfect at being what it is. The slight punk edge here grounds the weird humor of this album and the result is a real classic.

Huh, I recently met someone in real life who's also doing this challenge and he said that this was one of his favorite albums he's had on it. And it turns out that this is actually *fantastic*. Honestly, at the moment, this is probably my favorite Brit Pop album. Their sound here has some really quirky, eclectic edges, but Blur's songwriting still has the tenets of pop music down to a science. The result is something that's *ridiculously* catchy, but fiercely creative, even explorative. It's pretty amazing that Blur have managed to write a pop album without obvious hits, which doesn't creatively suffer *at all* for it. The overall vibe ends up really fun and energetic, with some influence from grunge, electronic, Americana (maybe, briefly) and some of the weirder pop bands like XTC or Cardiacs (both of whom they were explicitly influenced by at this point). At this point in Brit Pop's development, the tropes have still not been established, so Blur is throwing a lot at the wall, and almost *all* of it sticks. Honestly, nothing stands out as a "worst" song to me. I don't know if I'm willing to call it a 5 yet, just because my enthusiasm for this album was so sudden, but it's certainly on the short list of albums I intend to revisit with the hopes of upgrading it.

The bits and pieces of mythology about Nirvana's Unplugged have almost, *almost* eclipsed the album itself at this point. And, admittedly, there's a lot of mythology there. Between the fact that the performance almost never happened, the 6 covers (all of which have eclipsed the originals in popularity, honestly to a kind of obnoxious extent), and weird little things like how Cobain was offered Lead Belly's guitar (in exchange for US Dollars) prior to the performance, or little pieces of now bafflingly iconic, ultra casual stage banter. It feels like you can know everything about this performance without actually listening to the damn thing. But please listen to it, because it is very, very good. Stripping Nirvana's sound down to a skeleton very transparently reveals the band to be a vehicle for Cobain as a singer-songwriter. And even though most people kind of knew this prior, it is thrust directly into the spotlight here. It also reveals how Cobain may have the shakiest, most fragile voice of anyone who has ever scored a pop ultra-hit, and I mean this as a good thing. The pain and deep sadness that's pretty much ever-present in Nirvana's music is unignorable here. It's the kind of thing that can make the band's whole discography feel different. I'd mention that all the songs here are fantastic, but you know that, it's a selection of Nirvana's quieter songs, and they all translate beautifully into acoustic arrangements. I'd like to make specific mention of Something In The Way, a very sad song made even sadder. And All Apologies and Pennyroyal Tea are also incredible, but *honestly* everything here is incredible. I'd like to take a minute to discuss the covers as well, because they are really important to Unplugged's DNA, and delve pretty deep into the Nirvana's (and Cobain's) influences. Jesus Doesn't Want Me For A Sunbeam (by The Vaselines) is a great, kind of cynical twist on a Christian hymn, but not *quite* as legendary as the other covers here. The Man Who Sold The World (by David Bowie) is considered by many to be the definitive rendition of the song, and while I'm not sure I agree, it is an incredible, iconic cover, that really brings something new out of the song. The trio of Plateau, Oh Me, and Lake Of Fire, all by Meat Puppets, all from their second album (just titled II, really great album, go listen to it) is a kind of odd aside in the track list, but they manage to make total sense in the broader context of this album with their raw songwriting and striking lyrics. And lastly, Where Did You Sleep Last Night (also called In The Pines, by Lead Belly) is a hell of a finale here. Cobain Brings his own, unmistakable intensity to an undeniably classic blues song, and honestly, I think this performance did a lot to put Lead Belly in the eyes of the modern listener too, which is really cool. The whole of Unplugged is one of the best live albums ever, and it brings something heart wrenching and brutally honest out of some very familiar Nirvana songs. Unplugged is an undeniably iconic performance and deserves to be celebrated to this day.

This may be somewhat blasphemous, but I think this is my favorite reggae album I've heard through the project thus far. UB40 has a lot of my favorite lane for reggae to be in, which is very angular, almost sparse, with a really rhythmic guitar presence. The mix is filled out with really cool percussion and some amazing sax playing too. Yes, this is long, but honestly, I can't spot any obvious filler. UB40 just builds an incredible vibe, and rides it until the album ends. Not to say this is background music though, these are some very detailed compositions, and the lyrics here are really politically scathing. A lot of themes of the immigrant experience in The UK pop up, and it (and other themes) are handled with a lot of grace. Some of my favorites here are Burden Of Shame, Signing Off, Strange Fruit, and Reefer Madness. Signing off is pretty rhythmically fascinating, reefer madness and Burden of Shame have a really unique energy, and Strange Fruit is a surprisingly great cover of a very heavy song that treats it with the utmost respect. But as I said, there's not a whole ton of filler here, even the 13 minute Madam Medusa justifies the time it takes. This was surprisingly good, and stands as one of my favorite reggae albums at the moment.

My first Tim Buckley album through this project was Greetings From L.A., and I liked it well enough, but wasn't really blown away. But I did know that Greetings was kind of a departure from his earlier stuff, and here it is. I will honestly say that I wasn't expecting too much from this, given how Greetings went, but I am actually *very* impressed. My score on this won't really convey this, but Goodbye And Hello is an *incredible* step up. Tim Buckley sounds much more at home in this kind of folk setting than on the kind of funk stuff on Greetings From L.A. His distinct, idiosyncratic vocal presence makes much more sense, and his writing is really cool. This is one of the most successful psych-folk albums I've ever heard honestly, and it's because Tim Buckley isn't really trying to lift psych's sound into a folk setting, instead, his songs come from the same, exploratory, textural place. There are all kind of interesting arrangement details here, like the hand percussion on Pleasant Street, and just about everything on Hallucinations. And these details really drive home the emotional resonance and, in some way, intensity of some very earnest, powerful melodies here. My only complaint is that some of these songs sound a bit too "of their era", in particular, the wizard folk of the title track feels kind of cheesy in 2026, but the song at it's core is still pretty strong. All in all, I'm really impressed, the incredible quality, aesthetic depth, and exploratory attitude of the folk music on Goodbye And Hello has me excited to check out more of Tim Buckley's music.

This is a very intimidating album to review. What's Going On is increasingly becoming people's go-to "Best Album of All Time", and when I checked it out on my own some time ago, I didn't fully get it. Although going in now, I've been through a few hundred albums on The List (TM) and my perspective is fresh. And I will say that, even though I was skeptical, I now *get it*. Even though this is often considered one of the best albums ever, people won't often tell me why, and I kind of pieced it together as I listened. Firstly, this is a capital "A" Album. The themes here are incredibly coherent, this really feels like the decisive "early 70's protest album". Marvin Gaye touches on The Vietnam War, poverty, civil rights, the environment human dignity and more in an incredibly grand and conclusive way, touching on things both very specific and incredibly universal. There's also some really interesting influence from Christianity here. It feels like Marvin Gaye has really taken to heart the idea that all people are made in God's image and taken this to the conclusion of truly admirable radical empathy. What's Going On is also incredibly coherent from a musical perspective. These songs share grooves and motifs, which morph slightly as the album progresses, I'd like to note a particular minor key run that occasionally offsets the joyful sound of this album. These songs also share a sweet and sour approach to melody and attention to detail, not to mention Marvin Gaye's gorgeous vocals. The mix here is full of keys, sax, background vocals, dramatic strings, hand percussion and more, and everything weaves in and out of itself, making it feel like the music is alive and evolving. The cumulative effect of this makes it almost feel as though this album could be listened to as a single song. Like it honestly feels like the whole first side here is a huge crescendo up to the magnificent Mercy Mercy Me. Then The run of Right On, Wholly Holy, and Inner City Blues brings us back down to reality, ending on the driving and bittersweet Inner City Blues. This album sums up it's place in time perfectly. This is a mix of joy, mournfulness, and real anger. And Marvin Gaye pulls staggering beauty out of the brutal world we live in. This still might not be my favorite album of all time, but What's Going On is pretty much perfect.

Pretty solid country, but meta-textually frustrating. I'm sure there's at least a little nuance to her beliefs, but singing songs like Don't Come Home A Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind) then saying that you're "not a big fan of women's liberation" sits weirdly with me. More recently, Loretta Lynn also also staged a "joke wedding" with close personal friend Kid Rock, a man I do not respect, which sits weirdly with me for similar reasons. And it sucks because she had some really powerful songs in the 60's that it really seems like she grew out of touch with. I'll say I don't think she was a horrible person or anything, she was just consistently frustrating as of late. But regardless of this, I'm sure I listen to musicians with greater sins, and this is a pretty strong collection of songs. Though, looking back at it, it doesn't feel like there's anything separating this from the pack as far as country albums of the time go. But I am willing to chalk that up to the flaws of hindsight. She is plenty charismatic and has some really talent for performance as well. I don't have a ton to say, but this was broadly enjoyable.

Slayed? Is a solid meat and potatoes rock album, in that it's not particularly interesting to talk about, but it manages to be enjoyable regardless. This is some early party hard rock, spiritually (and sometimes aesthetically) similar to the likes of AC/DC. It feels like this is best enjoyed while belligerently and publicly drunk, and that is not a state I often find myself in. But there are enough good songs here to pull this through regardless, Gudbuy Gudbuy, I Don't Mind, I Won't Let It 'Appen Agen, and more are really solid. And these songs are driven by simple, catchy riffs, and really good vocals. Noddy Holder brings an energetic, gruff, pitchy approach, and it honestly does make me think of Bon Scott a little. But Slade is pretty locked in here generally, and it shows, I had some fun.

It's another showing from Elvis, and thus one too, is pretty good. It still sounds approximately like Elvis, but in 1969, so there's a slightly more modern rock/country/blues thing here. But these songs *are* generally good. Gentle On My Mind is a fantastic song, though I do prefer Glen Campbell's recording. And In The Ghetto has aged weirdly, just because of Elvis' legacy, but it is good, and does possess at least a little self awareness. Anyways, even though this does feel a little more mature (or at least palatable to modern ears), this is still an Elvis album. This isn't really a bad thing, but you know how you feel about it, and it's pretty "your mileage may vary".

evermore is one of Taylor Swift's folkier projects, and it feels like a conscious effort to achieve a more "mature" sound. I think she's generally successful in this endeavor as well. Songs like willow, gold rush, ivy, and cowboy like me very tastefully transplant Taylor Swift's sound into a more low-key, bespoke sound while maintaining her personality and her writing (for better or worse on some songs, but we'll talk about that in a sec). I also think the songs on here with features are really good. When on her own, there are moments here where Taylor Swift's celebrity and personality and (in my opinion) slightly clunky writing keep me from being fully immersed in this album. But no body, no crime, coney island, and evermore (respectively featuring HAIM, The National, and Bon Iver) provide a counterpoint to Taylor Swift and result in very immersive, pretty, and enjoyable experiences, and are the best songs on the album for it. I'd say some moments I struggle with here are songs like long story short and closure, where the writing feels clunkiest, and where Taylor Swift fatigue sets in the most. But she can definitely write a hell of a pop song, and the aesthetic on evermore makes the album (along with folklore) feel unique in her discography. This was really solid, read my score as a high 3.

It always feels bad when an album starts off with points against it before I even know anything about it. I know people say not to judge a book by it's cover, but I cannot ignore how ugly the cover of New Gold Dream is. Although, I will say, to it's credit, upon seeing this I knew *exactly* what kind of album this is. In short, it's gothy synth pop. And honestly, it's pretty good. Although I don't think the "goth-yness" is that strongly wound into their DNA, at a lot if times, this is just synth pop. But still, the songs are strong, and the synths themselves are inspired and icy. The mix is a little weird, but it's mostly just an artifact of the time. This was enjoyable, but I don't have a ton to say about it, which may be indicative that New Gold Dream is a little more style than substance. But still, it is cool enough that it earns the low 3.

Guero is perhaps, above all else, a very successful realization of "Alternative" music. Alternative is vague, almost frustratingly so, but if someone asked you to define it, you could do *way* worse than spinning Guero. Beck takes indie's idiosyncratic qualities, and fuses them with a non-commital mix of rock, pop, hip-hop, electronic, downtempo, country, and Latin music. And the strength of Beck's songwriting holds it all together. I will say that this does not feel like it really gels together as an "album statement", but it *does* still work as a great collection of songs. Beck covers a lot of ground with his influences here, but this whole album does manage to invoke a chill, summery kind of fun. There are also unfortunately some songs here that feel kind of tacky, or badly aged. I think this is most apparent on Que' Onda Guero, and Hell Yes. But, conversely, a song like Farewell Ride feels like it should have aged badly, but it didn't. I don't think Guero is perfect by any means, but it is still a lot of fun, and has a bunch of really great songs.

This is kind of a hard one to be objective with. I grew up with metal, especially the first 4 Metallica albums, so for a while I had kind of a weird relationship with The Black Album. But I am now at a point in my life where I can admit that this is a really good album. It's also, verifiably, the best selling metal album of all time, and 5 of these songs (Enter Sandman, Sad But True, The Unforgiven, Wherever I May Roam, and Nothing Else Matters) totaling about 32 of the 62 minutes here, are immortal hits that still receive *way* too much airplay on rock radio. Now, these are all great songs; *BUT* I really do *not* need to hear any of them ever again. If I wanted to, I could probably hear any of them in full in my head. Thankfully, the deep cuts here are also really good. The dominant sound here is kind of a perfect example of arena metal. These are all thudding, mid-tempo bangers, with strong hooks, interesting lyrics, and great solos. And these draws are maintained throughout this album due to the *very* strong songwriting here. Personally, I'd like to shout out the run from Of Wolf And Man through The Struggle Within for having some of the best songs on the album. It's also very impressive that for how much of a departure The Black Album was, it still *very much* sounds like Metallica. The production is right, the vocals are right, the riffs are right, the solos are right. It's proof of just how successful Metallica was on this album. The band worked with Bob Rock here, and he kind of got Metallica to shave down the 9 minute songs, and write some choruses, and the result was the most popular metal album ever. General overplay here does dampen my enthusiasm here, and you also kind of can't take the first 4 Metallica albums out of me, but The Black Album is still a *really* strong statement.

Talking Book is not the spellbinding statement that Songs In The Key Of Life is, but then again, little is. Besides, we're still talking gold era Stevie Wonder, so it isn't exactly gonna be a bad album. I'll get it out of the way, my biggest problem here is that I think the last 3 songs are observably weaker than the rest of the album from a writing perspective. Although, I could see my opinion on this changing in the future; after all they still have the performances and the joy that makes the rest of this album. And Wonder is still singing his ass off on these cuts. But, You Are The Sunshine Of My Life, through Big Brother is a pretty immaculate run. I'd even go so far as to say that Maybe Your Baby and Superstition are pretty much perfect, and some of the best funk songs ever written. Outside of these, Talking Book has some other funk cuts, and rich, spirited soul songs. And everything is presented in such a consistently progressive, almost psych-influenced way that it manages to come together as a statement. This isn't my favorite Wonder album, but it is a wonderful example of what makes his music special.

There was a very strong lineage of angry women in the world of '90s music, and Alanis Morissette both kind of slots into, and overshadows it. Firstly, let's get this out of the way; Alanis Morissette is not *nearly* my favorite angry woman from the '90s. I am more of an L7, Babes In Toyland, Sleater-Kinney gal. But I also can't really pretend to be surprised that Alanis Morissette is much more popular than any of these artists. Jagged Little Pill is one of the most aesthetically and commercially successful attempts to really pop-ify grunge; *And* she spends this album lashing out at men who have treated her as disposable, and it turns out that a *lot* of women can relate. It helps that she presents her lyrics with *no* frills, whatsoever, just utter bluntness. It makes the more targeted tracks here really feel like *accusations*. I will say that this approach makes some of the more vague songs sound a little clunky though. I, for one, think it's at it's worst on Hand In My Pocket and Ironic, even though they are iconic songs that I enjoy listening to. On the other hand, it really works on songs like You Oughta Know and Right Through You. As for the sound of this album, there are a lot of really popular, iconic songs here in general. But honestly, I prefer my Riot Grrrl with some more punk sensibilities. But like I said, this album is so successful for a reason, and I had a good time overall.

Lyrics Skynyrd is absolutely *canon* uncle-core music. I don't think this is a universal experience per se, but if you know what I'm talking about, you know *exactly* what I'm talking about. Now, I will admit, I'm not the biggest Lyryrd Skynyrd fan, but I do have to give them a cultural victory of sorts. I am *very* familiar with 5 of the 8 songs here, even if I rarely seek them out, and that's the kind of reach you (largely) can't buy. I will also admit the the baseline of material here is at least fine. It's swaggering swamp rock, confidently presented, and very well performed. It's a certain kind of person's perfect "meat and potatoes" album, regardless of the fact that I don't usually get along with this certain kind of person (I know that a lot of these songs are bigger than their subcultural appeal, but there is *certainly* still a connotation to Lynyrd Skynyrd fandom, and I'll leave it at that). For me, this album's solid 3 score is pretty much cemented by exactly 3 songs. Tuesday's Gone is truly iconic rock balladry. Simple Man is a fantastic, melancholic rock song, and a hell of a vocal performance. And then we have Free Bird. Possibly the crown jewel of the entire Lynyrd Skynyrd discography, and one of the greatest epic rockers *ever*, with one of the most recognizable, iconic guitar solos ever, Free Bird is a sight to behold. This collection of three songs is good enough that I have to put aside my apathy towards Lynyrd Skynyrd, and admit that this ends up a pretty damn good album as a whole.

While this is really good in the grand scheme of things, I actually don't think this fully captures the magic of Nothing's Shocking. Ritual De Lo Habitual expands the band's sound and has several great songs, but loses the lightning in a bottle aspect. Shocking had an acerbic quality that added some real edge to even it's most melodic moments. And some of that edge *is* still here, but Jane's Addiction definitely sounds less at war with itself; which is ironic because they broke up like a matter of months after this came out. Side A is largely the distinct alt rock sound that the band is known for, but again, a little less dark. Stop! and Get Caught Stealing are heavy, but at the same time, they do make sense as hits, and aren't afraid to have fun. And Side B is pretty much all epic rockers. Three Days and Then She Did... are some of my favorite songs here, and *absolutely* capture the tension and unease of their earlier material. But I also think that Of Course and Classic Girl are among the weaker songs here. Ritual De Lo Habitual ends up as a really great alt-rock album, but it's just a little less even than Nothing's Shocking, and doesn't quite harness Jane's Addiction's fire as effectively.

Conclusive proof that The Verve have released at least 12 songs other than Bittersweet Symphony, which is, admittedly a pretty great song. And I knew this was late '90s Brit-Pop, but even so, I could not have guessed just how similar a lot of these songs sound to The Bends by Radiohead. And I will say that this is neither a good or a bad thing, it's kind of just a thing. But The Verve do create a sense of identity here, songs like Weeping Willow, The Drugs Don't Work, and Neon Wilderness are great of their own volition, with a sound that pulls from psych, orchestral influences, and pop immediacy. I honestly think the weakest thing about Urban Hymns is the length. It's generally a solid collection of songs, but at an hour and 15, it runs a little long. And I know some of it is due to silence on the hidden track, but even if I don't count that, there's still like 70 minutes of music here, and it isn't quite good enough to keep the momentum up. But it is definitely a solid Brit-Pop album, with some really good songs.

I feel that one of the things that happens when prog rock gives into it's worst impulses is that it forgets the rock part entirely. And Close To The Edge, despite being comprised of three massive songs, with one as the obvious conceptual centerpiece, *does* remember to rock. It's honestly one of the weird things that I think sets Yes apart from some of their peers. They can still write genuinely cool passages and haven't lost sight of what makes a great rock song, even if they kind of stretch these "great rock songs" into huge, winding epics. Honestly, despite the structure of this album, I kind of think it's one of Yes' most approachable. The title track is pretty gripping from beginning to end, and the other two are also very enjoyable. And, very importantly, the album ends up at a very digestible ~37 minutes. I can digest an 18 minute long prog song if it's part a pretty brisk project, and in this regard, one could argue that some real restraint went into Close To The Edge. Regardless, Yes again shows some of the best that prog can provide by anchoring their epic ideas in familiar rock structures that serve them well.