Reviews by giddy

A really awesome album that was ahead of it's time. Not much more to say about it for me. It doesn't quite hit the 5 star mark because a few songs aren't all that notable for me, but it's short, sweet, and a really high four star. We're talking super high four star.

It feels and seems weird that there is a modern band on here with an album that's a compilation. What makes this any different enough from other compilations, and what makes it more "allowed" than stuff like Queen's Greatest Hits or Changesonebowie? Besides that, this album was... fine? Really generic 2000's punk. Certainly not pop punk, but the complete lack of difference between songs, and this supposedly being the "best of"? Not terrible, but not impressive.

This feels like a really good idea executed very poorly. Metallica and even the crowd often overpower the orchestra in sound, causing them to become background noise you forget about. Perhaps if it wasn't live this would be a lot more impactful, but the constantly cheering crowd is never not slightly heard in the background, and really bothers the sound for me. The intro with Ecstasy of Gold really feels like the most self indulgent thing ever, too, get over yourself. None of my criticisms are towards the orchestra itself, of course, they did great for what they could, and maybe S&M 2 would sound better, but no way am I trudging myself through another two hours of a live metal album anytime soon if I can help it. I'm sure this was awesome live, but the only thing keeping it from the lower stars, despite my pretty negative reviews, is the rare moment when a song works, or when they do something original to the concert so the crowd isn't screaming all the words.

Suprisingly good, albeit pretty childish at times. The flow and the beats are super satisfying, and a lot of the songs do stick in your head. Only issue, as mentioned, is the lyrics can be so vulgar they're hard to ignore at times, but otherwise very good.

Similar to David Bowie's Blackstar, this is a very fitting "final album, even if it isn't technically his last. It just feels so emotionally driven and his voice is absolutely haunting, bringing it all together is the orchestral sound. While I have enjoyed what I've heard of Leonard Cohen's guitar playing, having instead a hard hitting orchestra makes his words have so much more depth to them. I was worried I wouldn't like later Cohen due to the voice change, but if anything this may be my favorite one I've heard so far. It only misses the mark for five stars because some of the songs do go in one ear and out the other, or sound too similar to another song, but that hardly hinders this cool thirty-six minute album.

Man, this album was not good at all. Like, Witchy Woman was alright, but the rest was either at best a poor man's America or at worst god awful country rock with no variety or depth. I would give the little bit for the small parts that were okay, but of course they're also obnoxious about music streaming and make it impossible to play the only okay song on the album within the album itself. Nah, fuck this band, I knew all they were good for was Hotel California, and this album doesn't even have that radio fodder.

With less than 150 albums even generated, I have finished all of The Doors' content that is on this list of albums. This album actually had me worried at first, as it almost felt generic in the first half, save for what is perhaps my favorite song by The Doors, Love Her Madly, but similar to the Dennis Wilson album, the second half of this album came in clutch to earn it four stars. However, I thought this one would be my favorite of the three, but it's probably my least favorite, as some of the songs lack that style The Doors had in past albums. Definitely still pretty solid though.

This has got to be the most severe case of so close to something I like but not quite making the mark so far, and I'm not even sure why. My only thought could be is perhaps I wanted the songs to change a bit more as they went on, but I didn't really have that issue while listening. I think it was just a simple case of a song not really doing quite what I wanted it to. It was alright, I certainly don't regret listening to this, just wonder if there's more to be had with this Jane Weaver's other work.

I'm almost surprised how high of an average score this album has, and it's not really that high. Two nearly thirty minutes songs doesn't really seem like most people's cup of tea, but I suppose the beginning of the first song is an iconic theme in film, so perhaps that's what's bringing it up? As for me, I think it's crazy that this was written and played in its entirety by Oldfield at the age of just nineteen. That's a crazy age to be attempted to write something this influential, let alone succeeding. I'm not sure how to rate this album, however, as my usually rating system doesn't really work on an album so long yet with only two songs. I do really enjoy this album though. I don't think it's perfect, there are small parts that are either boring or a tad weird (what's up with the Korn-esque growling in the middle of the second part?), but I think the musicality of it is often very nice, and there were parts I genuinely would want to listen to over and over. The downside is I can't see myself listening to the songs anytime soon, due to the length of each song. Still, very nice. I think this would be really nice on a calm evening drive or laying in bed at night.

As someone who listened to Muse over Radiohead most of their life, I had always heard Muse was the rip-off band, among other things. Personally, I don't hear it that much, other than both being alternative rock bands that tend to use electronic sounds, so space rock. That being said, this album is still alright. I mean, it's nothing too crazy, and I knew most of my favorite songs off this album before starting (Subterranean Homesick Alien, No Suprises, etc), so nothing was too big of a revelation, but I still enjoyed it pretty well. It certainly is claustrophobic and hits what it's trying to do super well, almost like being stuck underwater, but in a good way.

Ah, the White Album. While it may not be the best Beatles album, it is a high contender for my favorite LP of there's, if not favorite album in general. It even sports what is perhaps my favorite song of all time, Julia.

The album starts with, while not my favorite Beatles song, a great start to an album with hugh energy necessary for the ninety-three minutes ahead. It then flows perfectly into Dear Prudence, which is just super nice and calm, and I think of all things Rock Band really nailed in the visuals, adding color to the formally monochrome gameplay as the song heightens the sound.

As we enter Glass Onion I remember thinking how I disliked the song for being a little to self referential, but I've grown to like it with this re-listen. Perhaps it's due to the focus on the severely underrated Magical Mystery Tour LP's songs. Next is Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, which is not that bad. I think people only hate it because John said he hated it so much, and it grew from there. It totally goes for the energy it sings about and nails it, and I think it's a great test to see if someone can just enjoy a happy song. This sentiment continues with Wild Honey Pie, which is absolutely hilarious, and is short enough where it isn't a bother.

The first song that does actually irk me is The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill, which chorus does grate me a little on so many repeats, and the vocals on the rest of the song doesn't help, but this is totally forgotten by the time you're getting into the opening notes on While My Guitar Gently Weeps, which is a rare moment where despite being a famous song, absolutely earns it and does not lose any luster because of it. The absolute emotion coming from both the guitar and Harrison's voice speaks volumes to any listener, and is in my opinion one of the few times Clapton earns his recognition.

We end the first side with Happiness Is A Warm Gun, and it's range from the beginning of the song to the end is such an impressive range of understanding how to write a song that it is an absolute joy no matter how it sounds.

We start side two with a jolly song about a dog. How a song about a dog can be such a lovely tribute is astonishing, and may be the perfect example of how much McCartney truly loved things in his life with this joyful passion that sometimes other Beatles members feel too cold to take advantage of.

I'm So Tired, while the weaker of the Lennon sleep duology, is really good at stripping back it's sound to let it stick in the listener, and to also build up the sound as Lennon sings "A Little Piece of Mind".

Blackbird shows that McCartney once again is an excellent song writer. The guitar on this is fantastic and I've yet to hear a cover that recreates it just as well, and the vocals suit it perfectly. Not McCartney's best guitar focused song (how can you top Yesterday), but it is still amazing. We do next have a tad bit of a stinker in my mind with Piggies, which is a rarity for George, but this song has never worked for me. The harpsichord sounds too dainty, and the vocals almost sound drowned out by the orchestra at times. Perhaps a stripped down version would be up my alley more.

Rocky Raccoon probably has my favorite outtake of any Beatles song, and tend to listen to more than the original, but this only makes me somewhat fresh-faced for this re-listen. I think it does an excellent job telling this simple story, something certainly not rivaling Dylan's storytelling, but just fun, which fits for once again Paul. The Old Timey piano hits this sweetspot for me that I think the harpsichord in Piggies was trying to go for. I may all be bias though, as my name is in this song.

Next is Ringo's only song that he wrote himself other than Octopus's Garden (which George helped with anyway), and I should hate this, as the fiddle can come as annoying and Starr's vocal talent is less than ideal, but I don't. In fact, I quite enjoy this. It has the same energy some of the goofy Paul songs from earlier bring, while completely showing Ringo should have truly been a country music singer, and just so happened to be in the most famous rock band of all time instead.

Why Don't We Do It In the Road? really shows that vocal talent I love about McCartney, and shows some of that not silly love song energy from Paul we'll see later with Helter Skelter. Paul gets a completely contrasting song right after with I Will, just a completely relaxing piece that is that silly love songs that McCartney fans, including myself, just adore. The little background instrumentation that happens is severly underrated in this piece.

And then we get Julia. Dear God Julia. It's just so gorgeous. We have John just singing his soul out to his deceased mother Julia, who while their relationship is certainly... "interesting", it doesn't detract at all from the pure love in this song. The vocals, the lyrics, and the guitar playing just feel the most authentic the Beatles have ever and did ever feel, and while John has never been my favorite Beatle, he does earn my top spot for the song by a Beatle. I would write more, but I want to cut myself off now. Perfect way to end side two.

Side three starts with Birthday, which I'm sorry but this song isn't that bad either. It is the perfect song for what the song is about, and Paul sounds genuinely more excited for my biethday than I have ever been. Just feels like an older Beatles tune, but if they didn't have to write about love for once. In my opinion this nails what Back in the USSR tries to capture. Which is of course why it is led up with John saying "Yes I'm Lonely, Want to Die" to really bring you back down from that pleasant high. A very bluesy number, which indeed makes this a song I'm not too crazy about, but that riff certainly sticks in your head, and those repeated lyrics I already mentioned are an excellent line to show people who don't know the lesser known Beatles discography.

To pair with Julia we have McCartney's Mother Nature's Son, a very melancholic song, which feels like something you listen to while laying in the grass. Just so light and airy, and the orchestral brass giving it the weight to keep it tied down to earth. Not as emotional as Julia in my opinion, but glad this made it over of Child of Nature (especially so Jealous Guy could make to Imagine later on).

What I would say is somehow the most forgettable song on the album is Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except for Me and My Monkey, which other than John belting out the title, I completely forget the sound of after hearing. Not a bad track, but nothing crazy, and totally doesn't earn that ludicrous title.

With Sexy Sadie I remember thinking it sounde reminiscent of a Hunky Dory era Bowie song, but I have since noted the actual influence in Radiohead's Karma Police. This used to be one of my favorite songs on the album, with it's 50's style doo-whop type sound really sticking in my mind and the piano focus only taking a backseat for the guitar in the chorus (save for that enchanting guitar ending) really feeling great to hear. Then Helter Skelter starts. Now, this song has been in my concious for years and years, so it's nothing new, but this seems so crazy for 1968. I'm not about to say the Beatles solely invented metal, because that would be really narrow-minded, but the raw power on this track is stronger than the album Raw Power. We end side three with another Harrison song, Long Long Long to really round out the semifinal part of the album, which is just a heartfelt message from Harrison, something he is quite good at doing.

We start the final part of the album with a taste of what is to come in just a few songs. Luckily this one is far more casually enjoyable. While I don't like this version quite as much as the high octane rendition the original presents, this is still a good head bopper that really feels from it's era in a good way. Shoo-bops and all. Speaking of songs alluding to other songs, Honey Pie is sorely underrated, often being undermined by it's far weirder and shorter sibling, when it deserves to be a highlight of the album. The way once again Paul just shows a true love of the music he is making really presents an enjoyment rarely seen in the music industry. It's almost criminal that the show tune style this song goes for is not given a chance more often, as it really gives it this nostalgic feeling while still being thematically relevant to the lyrics presented. I like this kind of music indeed.

Savoy Truffle is a track I always thought when I first went through the entire Beatles discography was a McCartney track because of how bubbly it is, with the horns really adding to the song, and the food allusions really just makes it so groovy to listen to.

With Cry Baby Cry, which I was saw someone say was the most British song ever, is enjoyable on it's own, although a little simple, makes an excellent choice of adding a snippet of Can You Take Me Back at the end to have relaxed sound after a slowly building up song. Perhaps it's good to have to prepare for what's to come.

Now Revolution 9 is... well, it's bad. Is it super experimental, and thus perhaps impressive for the time? Definitely, but it isn't enjoyable to listen to or even dissect, as it's been done to death. It's boring at best, and extremely uncomfortable most of the other time. It's coolest thing is how it messes with the audio channels, but the actual song presented should never be listened to as a song, and is definitely something I consider a sour point on the album, especially so close to the end. Luckily we get to end on an extremely peaceful note, with Ringo using his suprisingly soothing voice to basically sing as all a lullaby and bring us back to peace after that... experience. It's no wonder he went on to narrate Thomas the Tank Engine for a time. The sweeping orchestra really makes me adore this one too, and is a perfect placement and a perfect send off to this fantastic album.

Now, this album does obviously have small issues, but there's so much fantastic stuff here that it really destroys any negatives this album may have, and makes it what I consider a near perfect album, and certainly good enough for the 5 star. I love this album, apparently enough to write something about each song, something I've never done and may never do again, and I just really appreciate getting to listen to this all again in one sitting, haven't done that in so long, and it really made me remember why I love the Beatles so much. Once again, fantastic album.

I've known the first two songs off this album for a solid chunk of my life, so I'm curious to see what I think of the rest.

There was this fainting familiarity with some of these other songs, but it doesn't matter too much because I know them now! Man, this album was awesome. Sure it was kind of generic but the riffs were nice, the music never got grating (something a lot of classic rock causes for me) and I was jamming most of the way through. I only wish this album was more prog-ish, because you can totally hear that in there with some of the songs, but it doesn't really go for that. Amazing album regardless.

Plenty of genres in here, yet they all sound pretty similar? I suppose you could call that both a success and a failure, depending on who you ask. This was okay, but most songs fail to do much more than the surface level presented, and it makes a lot of songs just alright. Certainly not a bad album, but I don't see myself putting this on again. Certainly not what I was expecting though, I thought Adam Ant was more new wave pop-ish than this.

I do enjoy this album. In fact I enjoyed it quite a bit, but it took about halfway through for that enjoyment to really kick in. I mean, the first song had a such good energy to it, and then the next few songs just felt like the same level of energy? Like, to the point that everything was blending together. It wasn't until about halfway through where it felt that each song knew it's proper placement a bit more. The slower pace of a couple songs, or the rapidly changing energy is something that the early parts of the album would've really benefited from, and would've in my eyes pushed it to that 5 star range. Will just have to settle for pretty good, I suppose.

I'll start by saying it's super smart to start the album with an explanation of the music style, that way listeners unfamiliar with the instrument and style can perhaps understand it a bit more by the first "real" song.

That being said, this is kind of extremely boring. Am I missing the point? Absolutely, I was listening to him in that first song, after all, but as the top review seems to imply, I feel a boatload of substances are needed for this to be anything I'd want to go out of my way to listen to. All the songs are unnecessarily long, and nothing ever sticks in my mind after even just a minute. I feel bad saying this, as with George Harrison being my favorite Beatle, I should be living it up with this album, but I'm not. I don't hate it, none of it sounds bad, but I don't really care, and will forget I even listened to it by tomorrow's album. I can hardly even remember the album's name.

I completely understand how important Buddy Holly is to music, and it is interesting to think if he would've continued to be this huge influential presence without his passing, but in the real world, he was. So, why is this album so non-interesting? I mean, it's good, don't get me wrong. Nothing here is bad, and some of it is relatively nice (extremely short and sweet), but most of it goes in one ear and out the other. It's pretty much middle of the road for it's good sound but lack of intrigue from a modern eye. It isn't like I just dislike this style of rock, there's plenty from this era that can become an earworm, but this isn't it. I think my significant other will like it way more, though.

While I'm not a fan of blues as a genre, and this did not change my mind in anyway, it was more enjoyable than the average blues album for me. I really liked how snappy it was, never really lasting longer than necessary, and the crowd wasn't annoying like some other live albums. I just think this was an alright album that is dragged down by my dislike of the genre, pretty much putting it right in the middle.

Damn, I really am gonna become THAT uncle; first I enjoy Iron Maiden, and now I think this was pretty good too. I do have a few problems with this album to keep it from that five star, though. First, some songs do tend to blend together, especially in the middle. Axl Rose's voice, while impressive in range, can get a little annoying when he is doing his higher range, and finally Paradise City. Just in general a bad song in my opinion. So, just a pretty good album with some issues, which I suppose is exactly what I expect from late 80's hard rock. Slash's guitar playing is crazy for a (famous) debut such as this. Sure, the hits from this album are annoying now, but it's still crazy the amount of songs from this one album that get that treatment. Even the big boys don't get that

Y'know, I look at this album after listening and think how much of an album this is in the "walk by without thinking about listening" spectrum, which is really a shame, because the contents inside are excellent. The violin's ability to go from scretching to being absolutely gorgeous at a moments notice, or the piano appearing sporadically to aid with the Vibraphone's more mellow sound, or the bandoneon really partnering with everything else to create this great album. Yes, the songs do go on a tad long, and I could understand why someone may find this more boring than anything, but just listening to the wide range of emotions really lets this one spread it's wings and be absolutely fantastic. Perhaps not music for a Sunday drive or a workout, but music for the point of listening.

The first time I ever listened to this, I recognized it as a good album, perhaps the best of its time, but I was really in unknown territory, as I knew nothing about modern hip hop, Kendrick Lamar, or the tone of the album in general. Now, I find myself thinking this truly is one of the best albums of the 2010s, and only cements Kendrick's role in music as an essential part of its history. Nearly every song has some sort of hook that is instantly memorable, and the storytelling throughout this whole album is stronger than most other concept albums. The album doesn't pull its punches, giving you concepts to weigh yourself upon with each step, and its long length is hardly noticeable among its brilliant pacing. You'll find yourself at the home stretch without really thinking about it, and Compton as a finale, sonically, couldn't be a better fit, even if it makes the story a tad more streamlined. That sacrifice of storytelling to focus on the music is what rises K-Dot above the rest for me. This decision not only built more intrigue within the story, but shows that Kendrick isn't only an immaculate rap artist, but knows what makes music, music. Despite its leanings into the more downtempo, the album constantly feels like it could be the soundtrack to a party and to sitting at home in the dark, and to be able to bridge that gap so well is fantastic. My only slight gripe is that the album doesn't experiment as much as his later projects, and while that could feel more thought out as a result, I find it making it so no one song truly stands out above another. Again, more consistent, but fewer things to truly blow the listener away. I will note, however, that I heard this album nearly a decade after its initial release, and so I was plenty exposed to tracks like Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe, m.A.A.d city, and Swimming Pools years before a proper listen. If you can help, go in completely blind, it will do wonders for the writing, and will show already how on top of the world Kendrick was even on his second proper outing.