Rate Albums

Reviews by gromit

Cheap ThrillsBig Brother & the Holding Company

6/10

This is a great time, a few tracks are standouts including the long closer track. Janis Joplin is a super unique vocalist and makes some of these more interesting than they would have been otherwise. There are other tracks where I didn't like her voice so much when she goes into the deeper register. Overall a decent 6/10 record

Maggot BrainFunkadelic

8/10

Awesome record with a few flaws - pacing is a bit strange with 10 min psych jam at the beginning and 8 min psych jam at the end but mostly short funky rock tracks in-between. The tracks in the middle are all stellar and the opener is great. I think the closer is strong but some of the sound effects are definitely a bit offputting. Ultimately there is too much strength here to go below 4

Rain DogsTom Waits

8/10

This is definitely worthy of that reputation as a quirky spooky record but it also has a lot of emotional impact especially on the back half of the record. The songwriting here is top notch and Tom's performance makes it a special record

IllinoisSufjan Stevens

10/10

Love it, I get some of the critiques but the top reviews calling it indie landfill or whatever are not being serious, has way more in common with 70s prog pop than it does with Animal Collective or Arcade Fire or The National or whatever. Actually try listening to it rather than skimming the pitchfork review please :)

This is probably one of the great achievements from the 21st century so far. His next album Mr be even better though!! Has to be a 5* especially after a few listens

All Mod ConsThe Jam

10/10

One of those records where there's clearly magic in the room. It's paced beautifully, the sound is great (both throwback and also forward-thinking) and the chemistry present on the record is off the charts. No weak tracks - what more can you ask for?

Die Mensch·MaschineKraftwerk

8/10

Strongest 4 - this has so much personality and it is a really incredible piece of art. Must have sounded so forward-thinking at the time and so much followed from this in the 1980s. Would have preferred it finished slightly stronger but can't really complain.

We Are FamilySister Sledge

8/10

Has a near perfect opening run - pure happiness and energy, almost feels like the peak of disco. It then rides out the rest of the album and definitely makes it worth a listen as a full project.

Music in ExileSonghoy Blues

6/10

Fun record with an interesting story, I think it would help more if I could understand the lyrics as the vocals aren't the main appeal for me. The band's performance has a good groove, it is quite polished and in places feels like it has a very modern pop production. I also thought several of these were really catchy and stand out. I would go with a 6/10

Seventeen SecondsThe Cure

8/10

Brilliant game changing record. So atmospheric, yet also a very minimal sound like the band was stripped back to the basics. Really enjoyed this one and listened to it a bunch yesterday - think it's a very very strong 4.

Led Zeppelin IVLed Zeppelin

4/10

Really not my cup of tea - the heavier stuff piques my interest and the performances are good, but I'm not so into the vocals and it didn't compell me much

What’s Going OnMarvin Gaye

8/10

Starts on an incredible high and kinda floats along musically at this blissful high point for the whole album. It delivers when it touches on explicitly political elements, the commentary is moving and doesn't take you out of the music at all.

It really does feel (perhaps unfortunately for us) like everything talked about here could be relevant for today. While that's very depressing it seems like this record will be timeless.