Reviews by gregorsmith

Again Psychedelic [whatever] proves to be my weakness, and Psychedelic Funk should be a crime, and George Clinton should be put on trial for being far too funky for the rest of the world to stand.

Is this Sonic Youth at their most accessible? Most mainstream? They're still doing their own crazy thing but maybe the rest of the world finally caught up with them? Maybe they were still streets ahead of the curve?

You can't give an album that has "Baba O'Reilly" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" anything less than 4 stars just for those two songs alone, but "Behind Blue Eyes" makes it an easy 5.

Janelle Monae is just a different species from the rest of us, we're just here living our humdrum lives and she's out there absolutely LIVING. Nothing is beyond her level and this album, this DEBUT album, just gives and gives...

Meat Loaf may be singing here, but rest assured this is all Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf is merely the conduit these song chose to make their way into our world.

Faust IV is a tug of war between avant-garde "brilliance" (I guess) and taxing indulgence. Tracks like "The Sad Skinhead" and "Jennifer" highlight its visionary influence, but the album’s abrasiveness and chaotic experiments can test your patience. It is an uneven, challenging listen that feels like a genius sound collage one moment and a prank the next, yet it remains a uniquely futuristic curiosity.

Has an album that promised so much ever delivered so painfully little? After the monster 21, it was always going to be a hard act to follow and while I openly adored 19 & 2, I listened to this once in 2015, the day it came out, and here we are just over 8 years later and I finally gave it my second proper listen and I'm still as let down as I was back when.

I hope we don't have to review 30 later on, because there's only so much I can bear, let's just pretend Adele blew her vocal chords completely out at that last note of her Albert Hall concert, never to sing again... Shall we?

It feels like another Radiohead album I'm supposed to like... And I mostly do, but sometimes I'd rather listen to The Bends, you know?

After the hard tangent of Kid A/Anmesiac, Radiohead finally refind their lost guitars and this album is all the better for it.

This could be is a rewarding, multi layered experience, but while surface level club chatter might suggest background music, focused listening reveals a brilliant lesson in jazz. The trio’s chemistry, particularly the delicate piano and bass on "Gloria's Step" and "Alice In Wonderland", is what lifts this up above general mediocrity.

2 tracks, side A and side B, of improv jazz. Chilled out background music, just a serious vibes album. The trumpet man is gonna take you to the unknown destination, and we're gonna have fun along the way.

I can take or leave ELO, Jeff Lynne wishing to be the fifth Beatle? Whatever. This is mostly moderate stuff and even it's highest high in "Mr. Blue Sky" has been watered down in recent years to the point that I almost hate to hear it.

Da Capo is a tale of two albums. Side A is a brilliant showcase of Arthur Lee and Bryan MacLean’s visionary, genre-bending songwriting, with "Orange Skies", "The Castle", and "7 And 7 Is" shining as clear highlights. Unfortunately, the experience is severely undermined by Side B as "Revelation" is an aimless, self indulgent 18 minute jam that feels bloated and tested my patience.

Dance Mania is a blast. The infectious energy and top-tier musicianship make it a high-spirited classic. While the dance-focused arrangements can get repetitive during focused listening, the vibrant production, especially the vibraphone, and the balance of upbeat rhythms with surprising lyrical depth make it a joy to listen to.

Oh great, The Beta Band... Again. Clearly the author of 1001 bought into their hype and wasn't saying no to any editorial comments.

Below average at best, God awful at worst.

Just a great album, perfect length, bookended by absolute killer songs in "Thunder Road" and "Jungleland" and it feels like the whole album tells a story. Sure it's not an impeccable production, but its a history alerting tour de force by this debuting classic-era E Street Band line-up. Timeless, and AMAZING live.

As I listened to "Knoxville Girl" I couldn't help but think that Nick Cave would eat the shit out of this, so imagine my delight when, if fact, he had eaten the shit out of that. He did it better...

I liked all the Talking Heads albums this this thrown at me, I liked the Eno album too, so logic dictates I should like this.

I did not.

The tip of the spear for the British new soul singer revolution, Adele and Duffy would soon follow, but while the vibe feels right, the whole package just comes off as somewhat unauthentic. Sure Amy has the look down with the beehive so and smokey eyes, but it's hard to look past the near constant tabloid sensationalism about her much storied drug abuse and fractious relationships.

They tried to make her go to rehab...

It's genuinely a good to great album, but in a post Amy world is hard to listen to and not wonder what might have been if she had gone to rehab.

5 Stars, no questions asked, no response needed.

Simply one of the best albums ever by one of the best bands ever.

This is the one, everything else is just amateurs.

Not their best work as they veer more towards the synthesizer sounds of the mid to late 80s, only "The Perfect Kiss" stands out...