Reviews by guggmo

I’m a little higher than a 5.

It’s just a really well done album about wanting to appreciate things. Cat / Yusuf is the figurehead centering these tracks as someone who’s appreciating those that don’t appreciate him, searching for appreciation in the abstract spiritual level, or is trying to be appreciated. It’s done with a level of care; this album largely doesn’t feel judgmental despite a concept that might garner a larger ego. Instead, he just feels like someone with all the experience in the world stewarding these stories so people don’t have to feel alone in the contemplations this album tackles with grace.

Despite all of our technological achievements, are we doing things to better the world for the children who will grow up in it? Is a hard-headed woman who’ll both challenge & appreciate you truly the key to happiness? Is it worth it to trade in your vivacity & spice of life for a financially stable dead-end job?

Even if you break up with someone, it’s only fair to warn them about the lesser men out there, right? If someone is clearly suffering & hurting, is it selfish to want to be the one to help them, even if they don’t need it? If your dad isn’t listening, no matter how right he might be, is it time to go?

Is the devoted journey to get to Heaven, or some other form of spiritually enlightened bliss, truly worth enduring? How much guidance do you need in that spiritual search anyway? If you know you’ll find yourself someday, how fast should you pace yourself on that road?

It’s an album that follows those contemplations, & while it never directly answers them, it approaches them down a generally grounded path, and one that appreciates the life experience it takes to get to those questions to begin with. It never insults the intelligence of the listener, and these are all written in a way that just feels like a gentle nudge in a good direction. Combine that with great vocals & really nice soundscapes, and you get an album that feels like an adult picture book. These are vivid, but not overwhelmingly painted. You can see the pictures, but you can likely plug in your own face to almost all of these tracks. There’s an unspoken intimacy to it, and by the end, it just feels like an appreciation of life despite the softer hardships present in it.

Hence, a little higher than a 5. Not quite a 10, as I do think some tracks get a touch repetitive or a little too abstract, but it’s still a very strong album regardless. I appreciate it. I think it’s the type of calming album I’ve needed in light of a stressful week, and I’m glad it’s on the list. I really am stuck with a soft smile right now. Thanks, Yusuf.

I’m at a 10.

I mean, that’s just how you fucking do it, man. You wanna know how to make a good album? Listen to that. We’ve been slightly plagued lately by songs that cannot string together a strong beginning/middle/end structure, reliant on too many choruses & verses that don’t paint robust enough pictures, usually saved by a good energy in the instrumentation or vocals. There's been enough albums lately that have had a lingering air around that for me, and it’s just so fucking refreshing to hear an album that actually feels like it has fully complete tracks.

Obviously, I should’ve expected nothing less from ABBA, but the extent of my ABBA knowledge has always been on the “pop bliss” side of things; high energy, semi-Disco tracks that are super easy to listen to without even needing to pay much attention. This album flips that on its head, and it makes me wonder just how much ABBA could’ve evolved if they hadn’t broken up shortly after this album. These feel more matured & introspective, probably driven by the strife of the Cold War in 1981 & all of the band members going through divorces. I don’t think that necessarily makes this ABBA’s equivalent of “Rumours”, but sadder places can easily take you to sadder & darker songs. This doesn’t get overly dark, but the brighter tones of “Arrival” are definitely more subdued. It’s still got great instrumentation, but this feels more like baroque yacht rock at times than it does pure pop, and that shift allows for a lot more vocal diversity from track to track. Frida & Agnetha put in some fantastic performances across the board here, especially on “Head Over Heels”, “I Let the Music Speak” & “Slipping Through My Fingers”.

Lyrically, it’s just fantastic. There’s only one track that’s slightly hard to parse in “Soldiers”, but I think it’s saying we have to always report the true cycle of war, lest we let anyone else manipulate a soldier’s story & send more people to sing their fruitless songs. The rest are as straightforward as you can get, covering everything from the fear of secret police, to go-getting trendsetters, the ends of relationships, the power of music, a very goofy threesome, the fear of time slipping away & the consuming loneliness of the night. They all paint their pictures in totality, and the instrumentation behind them elevates them further. “The Visitors” might be the most abstract here, but it’s a perfect opener to set the overall tone of the album.

As a whole, I just really enjoyed it. I said “Arrival” sounded 5 years ahead of schedule for 1976, and with this being 5 years later, I’m pleased to report ABBA still felt a few years ahead of schedule here, at least in terms of predicting the bigger & more bombastic soundscapes the ‘80s would try & adopt. Hell, I thought “Soldiers” had a bit of a proto-Depeche Mode vibe at first, so maybe they’re still 5 years ahead of schedule. I truly can’t find any flaws. It really is that good of an album, and a blueprint for exactly how to make one. In my mind, it’s a 10.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll (surprisingly enough) bump down to a 4.

My biggest knock on “Pyromania” was the following: “This is not quite as good as its contemporaries in terms of a full album experience, but it still stands up decently well, with my only real complaint being ‘it just kind of sounds the same after too long’. We’ve had other albums in this space that kept the energy all up the way through, at a blazing breakneck pace, and this one just didn’t keep it there for as long as it could have.” The reason I’ve copied that verbatim is because the exact same issue applies verbatim. This time around, with an extra 17 minutes on the docket & a far less compelling closer in “Love and Affection” (the 6th sex track on the album, by my count), there’s just not enough of a saving grace to bump this up to a 5. Don’t get me wrong, the highest highs here are remarkably high, including the dopamine hit that is “Pour Some Sugar on Me”, & there are no truly low lows, but in exchange for some potent instrumental energy, they’ve traded in their ability to write full songs. Almost every track here is one or two short verses & then a barrage of choruses. There’s not a lot of bite to them, and while I’m fine with ‘thoughtless’ music when it sounds as good as it does here, there’s only so much guitar-driven metal you can take as a flowing album experience.

Realistically, this complaint is exaggerated by the fact that this album didn’t just stop at “Hysteria”. If it had, I would’ve been fine to bump this up to a 5, flaws and all, solely on account of just having a lot of fucking fun listening to this. Seriously, everything here is “Pyromania” turned up to an even higher degree, and when it’s rolling, it’s fucking awesome. It just rolls on a bit too long, with “Excitable” being anything but excitable after 53 minutes of similar sounding songs (& the entirety of “Hysteria” before it roughly being the same exact topic), and with “Love and Affection” being just as predictable as the title would suggest. They’re not bad tracks at all, and I do like them. They’re just the musical equivalent of needless exposition dumps after the ending.

It does feel like a glam metal classic despite my complaints. It’s just not the best album experience at the end of the day, and if you have far less tolerance for the repetition in the music here, I can understand knocking it as far down as a 3. I won’t go that low, but I am stuck going from a 4.5 to a 4. Honestly, it’s probably closer to a flat 4, but I digress. If it were just a little bit tighter for everything surrounding the actual instrumentals & vocals (namely lyrics, length & track order), it’d probably be an easy 5. As it stands, it just gets a bit high on its own horny supply without reinventing the wheel enough to warrant its shortcomings. Hence, a 4.5 bumped down to a 4. It’s still probably an essential listen for ‘80s glam rock, and it should be on the list.

I’m at a 5. Maybe just a touch higher.

Can Lou Reed sing? No. Does it matter? No. David Bowie’s production work does some miracles here, but if I were to chalk this album’s success solely to David Bowie & Mick Ronson, I think that would be a disservice too. This album’s just got heart. Lou Reed feels like a steward for the uncommon man (or woman), telling their stories with such a casual tone that you don’t even really feel the tension that subtly exists underneath them. It’s bold to tell these stories to an audience that probably didn’t have any framework to relate to them. Lou Reed just makes himself feel like a friend, and that loose sense of intimacy is what makes the album pop. The musicianship on Lou’s side is good; his voice is plain, but his writing is strong, and the lyricism more than makes up for his delivery. Of course, Mick Ronson’s multitude of instruments helping the soundscapes fill out, along with David Bowie’s ability to make Lou’s lyrics feel as envisioned as possible both help out too. It’s a rather perfect harmony, and it results in a pretty breezy 36 minutes.

Going track by track here isn’t futile, but with how straightforward all of these tracks are & how defined Lou’s voice is as a songwriter, I don’t really want to take anything anyway from that by overanalyzing these too much. It’s an incredibly progressive album for 1972 at least, focusing on topics that feel so much less stigmatized nowadays, even if they’re still under attack. Being able to talk about gender transitions & sexual fluidity is only really possible with New York City’s underground scene as the backdrop. It might not be quite as velvet as Lou Reed was used to, but the concrete jungle’s atmosphere just exudes throughout this album. It’s lonely at times, but there’s a sense of exploration & liberation that always feels present. Lou Reed seems to be searching for the ways he can use that freedom to finally clear his demons throughout this album, and it’s all the richer for it.

Honestly, I’m not sure there’s much more to say than that. It’s one of these albums that you just gotta feel. It’s not the most musically engaging, but you can’t say it’s not compelling. Even if you don’t like it, I think there’s something to respect here. In that sense, the floor should be a 3. For me, it’s a 5, and perhaps even a touch higher. All apologies to Billy Joel, but I feel like I’m truly in a New York state of mind after having heard this.

I'm at a 5.

Brian Eno made “Ambient 1: Music for Airports”. You can tell it’s ambient music that’s made for airports because that’s the title of the album. This is titled “Music From The Penguin Cafe”. I know the Penguin Cafe Orchestra composed these tracks. I have no idea what the hell a Penguin Cafe is. Does that ruin my enjoyment of the album for lack of a concrete vision throughout? No, not really. Would it have helped to have had one? Yeah, sure, but I think this album thrives on being unexplainable at a broader level. The titles of each track are practically all you get, and while some are more obvious than others (you know which one I mean), sometimes you get a track like “Pigtail” or “Hugebaby” that feels like nothing like what you’d expect. I think that’s a good thing.

If you need that bigger concrete vision to get something more out of this in a more fulfilling way, I guess I understand the ceiling being a 3 here. I just don’t think it owes you that vision. Look at that cover again. That’s a real penguin next to a half-naked man dressed as a penguin, under an umbrella, with a palm tree to its right next to a sea of green hills & mountains. Nothing makes any sense about it, and nothing in the album bothers to explain it, or even allude to it. It is what it is, and you are meant to interpret it however you wish. That’s the album. Take it or leave it. I happened to take it quite well; I think it’s excellently performed & captivating throughout with the push & pull of each track, especially in the mixed violin & synth work.

Ultimately, it is an album that you’re just meant to listen to. The oddest track here is “In A Sydney Motel”, obviously for having some totally unfitting lines about suicide, but it still has a place here, I think. It’s one of those tracks you take or leave. If you leave more than you take, I get it. It’s a bit atonal at times & despite Brian Eno’s executive production, there’s an underlying tension to the album that never really feels resolved. If you take more than you leave, you’ll probably appreciate that tension as something to elevate the senses & immerse yourself more in the progression of each track as a tool for storytelling. That immersion is what’s got me at a pretty clearcut 5. I enjoyed it a lot. I’m glad it’s on the list.

I mean, honestly, I think it’s a 10.

It’s just a roller coaster of tracks that refuse to let you off of its more experimental & slightly challenging tones, but it gently crescendos into one of the most compelling rides a hip-hop album has given me so far on the list. It starts off strangely, for sure, especially with the burst of punk rock on “!!!!!!”, but by “Sacrifice”, this album just rolls with heat on practically every track. It’s been a while since I’ve listened to an album on the list without occasionally pausing it just to comprehend something or write down a complaint, but this one just gave me absolutely no reason to. In fact, I only rewound a few times just to put my focus back on the verses after writing compliments. This feels a triumph in production & songwriting, and apparently, it’s not even The Roots’ best album, which is crazy to even consider.

My experience with this album was pretty straightforward: pull up the lyrics, follow along, and just soak it all in. That’s true for a lot of rap albums, but the difference here is just in how easily this album can pull someone in. Black Thought’s flows are easy to roll with, and if you’ve heard more than enough rap, then it’s pretty impossible to lose him. It also helps that Questlove’s drumming is fucking incredible throughout, as is the entire band; they are in sync on this damn thing, and bring a hell of an energy across the board.

The actual lyrics here are really fucking good too; a little complex at points, but still pretty easy to comprehend. These tracks thrive on repetition, but in a more rote way; think of it like cramming for a test. You have to be able to get an answer from multiple avenues to get as clear a picture as possible, and the lyricism here follows a similar ethos. Each verse just layers more & more on top of a simple concept to create a fuller picture, one that consistently works hand-in-hand from verse to verse to really open up an entire world by the end of the track. That’s how any song should be written, but The Roots practically do it perfectly here while tackling tracks with a bit more forethought & complexity than a lot of the bigger rap albums of the early 2000s.

The standout stretch of this album, at least to my ears, is the run from “Thought @ Work” to “Pussy Galore” – it’s hard to explain exactly why without just going & listening to it, but they all just knock it out of the park. “Water” in particular has some of the coolest sound design I’ve heard from a rap album, and it fits with the thematics of being drowned by the horrors of drug use, especially as a tribute to a former member of the band who had to leave because of his drug issues. Musically, I can hear so much of the roots (pun obviously intended) of the conscious rap scene from the mid-2010s throughout this stretch, and if it started even earlier on “Things Fall Apart”, I really gotta listen to it. It’s not quite the same lyrically, as these tracks feel more like a precursor to the style that Kanye West & others would ride into the late 2000s, though with a consciousness & a mindset reminiscent of neo-soul & a sense of empathy that just gives them heart.

That heart applies to the whole album, and when combined with a roller-coaster pace, a really dynamic flow, great lyricism & some wonderful instrumental work, you get an album that’s just undeniable. It commands your attention & never disrespects it, and while it may take a bit to really click, once it gets going, it’s fantastic. I think it’s one of the best hip-hop albums we’ve gotten so far, and we’re 978 deep. Thank goodness this is on the list. I really hope people don’t dismiss this due to any association with Jimmy Fallon, because it’s so, so goddamn good. For me, it’s a 10.

I’m at a 3.

I think this is a solid album. There’s no bad tracks, just a lot of totally, utterly fine ones. This is an album that thrives far more on its instrumental vibes than any lyrical depth or soaring vocal energy, and that’s totally fine if you can at least make the tracks compelling. I can’t really say that many of them are. I liked them, sure, and I’d listen to a good chunk of the tracks again. There’s just nothing about these tracks that truly leave an imprint in my brain. It starts with the soundscapes; this is drenched in brass on a lot of tracks, and while the saxophone solos kill from track to track in the moment, they don’t really anchor anything past a nice groove. The sax at the start of Careless Whisper, for example, is the ultimate tonesetter to compliment George Michael’s seductive vocals afterward. The sax here is… just kinda playing for the sake of it. Same with the vocals, & same with the lyrics. It’s an album without a modus operandi, and that lack of a more specific purpose from track to track leaves me without much to cling to.

This album’s only saving grace is its bubbly energy keeping me entertained whilst listening to each track, and like I said, I really would listen to a lot of these again. With more time, perhaps there’s parts of the tracks that would stick more in my brain & make this a bit more fruitful. On a first pass though, it just feels like an album you can stick on at a party for good background noise that might occasionally catch the ear on some of its peppier parts. It’s a solid set of tracks. It’s just not a very compelling album experience. Hence, a 3, and one that I’m not entirely sure needed to be on the list. I liked hearing it, don’t get me wrong, but this isn’t “1001 Albums You Might Like To Have a Listen To Before You Die”, this is “1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die”. This is #977 for us. I’m just not sure I NEEDED to hear that.

I’m a little above a 5.

I mean, that’s just right down my alley. It’s a little hokey at times & a bit overproduced, especially for 1982, but I can’t argue with the results here at all. It’s 37 minutes of Disco-esque baroque pop combined with a technical flair reminiscent of Steely Dan & the swagger of a noir-themed Miami Vice episode. It’s every single musical trope about the 1980s distilled into an album, and while it could fall apart on account of those tropes fitting together like a wobbly Jenga tower, it holds remarkably steady throughout.

Martin Fry’s vocal delivery & his relatively straightlaced approach to these tracks is a huge part of what makes the album work; he balances a bit of extra Broadway flair with a similar delivery to Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon or Naked Eyes’ Pete Byrne, and that familiarity in synthpop soundscapes helps anchor the album. Lyrically, it’s a bit overdramatic, but I think it tends to work. Everything is centered around love (it is a lexicon of love, after all), and while a lot of it feels desperate to maintain it, this album also explores regretting it in petty ways & controlling it in evil ways. There’s a solid variety that keeps everything fresh, despite every track being about love.

The instrumentals are truly what bring the album to the finish line; this is drenched in keyboard synths, twangy bass, heavy brass & programmed drums, but it truly feels like a TV soundtrack to my ears due to the orchestration, piano & guitars that add a needed realism to each track. There’s a purpose to each track & a pulse that drives home the point on almost all of them, and for 1982, it’s genuinely composed like it’s years ahead of schedule. There’s moments here that feel like prototypes for what Depeche Mode would explore by 1987, combined with brass segments that feel like a late-80s Phil Collins track. It’s a hell of a combination for an early era of synthpop that was mostly driven by the synths, & I’m just impressed that they nailed it as fruitfully as they did here. It all comes together with the lyrics & vocals to keep everything consistently engaging, as there’s not a single miss here.

Ultimately, it just really is that damn good. Is it really a top 30 album of the 1980s? It’s hard to say – it definitely got more reach in the UK than it did in the U.S., so my answer would likely be biased, just like all the UK magazines’ are. That said, it’s probably one of the top 10 albums from 1982 on the list; this is our 18th of 19 on the list, and I think I can put this ahead of at least 8 other albums from that year. I hesitate to say top 5 (I think “Thriller”, “1999”, “Nebraska”, “Rio” & “The Number of the Beast” are ahead of it), but it’s still up there. Regardless of comparisons, it’s a damn good album; it’s a little above a 5 for me, and it more than deserves to be on the list.

I’m at a 4.

If you take the first “R” & the “nal” out of the title of this album, you’d get what I would shout at Morrissey if I ever saw him. He’s a dickhead. We all know it. Thank goodness this is the last time I get to hear his voice on the list. I’m glad the music has been better than expected, and begrudgingly, it’s pretty good here. It’s all in the grunge-inspired soundscapes, really; this thing is drenched in overdriven guitar & heavy drums to fit in with Morrissey’s vocals, and by some miracle, it does happen to work. The guitar work is energetic, the bass glides with it, the drums have a good kick, & Morrissey paces well against them with a solid variety, including some James Bond-esque ‘60s throwbacks & a lot of R.E.M.-esque tracks.

It does seem like the throughline for this album is a search for companionship; one that turns more implicitly into a search for love by the back half, but still. It’s a search to find people who will accept you & stand by your side, including ones who will take over the world with you, sniff glue with you, watch some footie with you, & seemingly join a far-right group with you (I think this is done with disdain for said group). It does stray from that theme a little bit with “Certain People I Know” (my only ‘meh’ track) & “We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful” (I’m fairly sure this is sarcastic). It brings it back in full force for the final 4 tracks, all of which are just pleas for love in varying ways; it’s with keeping a love he’s certain of, disdain for a love that’s steadily moving nowhere, love that will eventually come to someone else, & a reaffirmation of love before a possible death. It’s a consistent throughline, and one that works well for most of the 40 minutes.

There are times where I heavily sideeye the lyrics here, most heavily on “We’ll Let You Know” with the line “We are the last truly British people you will ever know”, especially with his abhorrent & racist thoughts on UK immigration. Every time he shows his arse a bit, I’m reminded that this is who Morrissey is, for worse. It’s annoying. It’s most of the reason I can't go up any higher, in addition to the ambiguity of “The National Front Disco”, the ‘eh’ of “Certain People I Know” (which already sounds suspect as a song title), & the lack of an extra verse on “You're the One for Me, Fatty” (just an awkward name for a crush, really).

However, I just can’t really find any other bigger flaws about this album other than loose disdain about Morrissey’s ego sticking out a few times. One ambiguous track & one average track plus a few loose personal nitpicks on some tracks just isn’t really gonna hurt it that much for me. I think it’s an enjoyable album to listen to, & and I think it caps off at a 4. It's got issues, but those are mostly issues I have with Morrissey's savior complex than with the actual music. Realistically, it might even be more of a 4.5 bumped down to a 4, if I'm being fair. I liked it. It’s got a place on the list.

In closing out all of the Smiths albums & solo albums, I’ve come to the conclusion that I love to hate this guy. Yeah, he’s a dickhead. Yeah, he’s definitely racist. Fuck him for all of that, & fuck him for making good music that I mostly objectively enjoyed. I think that’s the Morrissey experience in a nutshell. I’m simultaneously sad & very glad I will never have to hear this guy’s voice again on this list. Fuck you, Morrissey. Thanks for the tracks, you pretentious dickhead.

I’m at a 4.5, and I think I have to bump it down to a 4.

I think it’s a really good album, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t think it’s as cohesive as “Want One” was, and while I shouldn’t necessarily let that lord over my judgment of this album, it’s hard not to, considering this was meant to be its back half. The writing here is meant to be more broad; while “Want One” focused on Rufus’s own desires & needs, this is meant to focus on the world at large. I hear it on a few tracks where he embodies other people’s desires, especially on parts of the stretch from “The Art Teacher” to “Waiting for a Dream”, which is most of the album. However, I just don’t find it as consistent, nor as befitting of the title “Want”. I know he plays a lady who wants to be in love with his art teacher, I know he wants his vision of a gay messiah to descend upon the Earth, I know he wants Jeff Buckley to have never died, and I know he wants his future love to be more befitting than the torture he’s in now. I can’t, however, gather the same thing from “Little Sister”, “Peach Trees” or “Old Whore’s Diet” other than far broader strokes that just aren’t quite as compelling.

I would be a bit less harsh on this if it weren’t for “Want One” being as fantastic as it was to my ears, but at the same time, I think it deserves the extra judgment because of it. Musically, everything’s still pretty on point; lots of lovely arrangements abound here, but where “Want One” focused on additional flourish to let Rufus’s voice flutter more fruitfully, this feels more bottled up. Flourish has occasionally been traded for simpler & more intimate soundscapes, with some tracks leaving not much besides a piano or guitar & Rufus’s vocals (still great, by the way). The Radiohead comparisons are still there, but it’s hard to not see this as the “Amnesiac” to Want One’s “Kid A”. I find myself enjoying everything, but it’s just hard to feel the cohesion of it all. There’s still moments where that cohesion comes through, especially on the tracks with smooth transitions, but where “Want One” continued to build on itself as an exploration of Rufus’s own life, this just feels like a set of stories that don’t flow as cleanly.

It’s most apparent on “Old Whore’s Diet”, which is really my breaking point for pulling this down to a 4 instead of bumping it up. It’s 9 minutes that just don’t really go anywhere. There’s still musical flair to it, yes, but it’s way more style than substance, and as a bit of a finale piece for 26 tracks that have managed to balance substance & style pretty fruitfully, it feels like a weak closing track, not just to “Want Two” by itself, but the entirety of “Want” as a 2-album experience. Every other track here, even if it gets a bit plain, still plays pretty straightforward & has some good heart & wit underneath it. “Old Whore’s Diet” is apparently just about some moldy Chinese food that Rufus found in a fridge one night and made an over the top song about. I’d understand it if it were a direct bonus track, and it may even kind of act like one given the finale vibes of “Crumb by Crumb”, but it’s taken so seriously in the actual progression that it’s hard not to hear it as an intended finale. It feels like the culmination of a slight flippancy that just sort of subliminally permeates through the album, and while it doesn’t ruin the experience too badly, that very slight part of the brain going “this just isn’t as good as the first half” feels justified by the end of the track.

Ultimately, I think it’s a 4.5 bumped down to a 4. Once again, a barrage of paragraphs to justify .5 on a rating scale, but I’m an overexplainer, what can I say? I can say that it’s a good album regardless of my nitpicks & complaints about it, and I think its more straight-laced attitude towards storytelling & musicianship may play better for the crowd that was turned off by how over the top “Want One” might’ve felt. However, I just think it suffers from going a bit too dreary & plain comparatively. You can’t maintain the same air of importance without a slightly bigger soundscape, and you can’t go this constantly dreary without a bit of levity to balance it out, and I just don’t think there’s enough. Even on the more light-hearted tracks, it just feels somber. It just makes it all blend together a bit more for me in a way that didn’t quite hit as well, as well as a myriad of smaller issues that just pull it down for me. Hence, a 4.5 bumped down to a 4. I’d still recommend it though, and I think both “Want One” & “Want Two” are worth being on the list, especially the former.

I’m at a 4.

I don’t think there’s a bad track here. I just think there’s a very strange execution that never totally fulfills what it’s going for; it’s an album that doesn’t take itself that seriously, so it can get away with playing a bit cheesier, and it usually works to a point. When it gets as over the top as it does, it usually loops back around to being fun for me. This album just can’t decide how non-chalant it wants to be in relation to the actual music at hand. The tone works on tracks like “Gang Bang”, “Giddy Up a Ding Dong” & “Vambo Marble Eye” because you can tell they’re having fun with it. It doesn’t work quite as well on a track like “Swampsnake”; it’s an awkward tonesetter that tries to straddle the line between being taken more seriously & being a bit overdramatic, and I think it’s just an OK opener for it. “The Faith Healer” is interesting, if only because I perceived it as an almost orgasmic take on a cult leader describing God, and that made the uncomfortability of the track work for me, even if it’s a bit long.

“Next” is… fascinating. It’s a Jacques Brel cover, translated to English, so I can literally feel the Broadway-ness of it all in the recording. I think it’s one that’s over the top enough to work, but it straddles the line via subject matter & not necessarily in how it plays out. At base level, the story of traumatically losing your virginity in the army isn’t something you’d really take in that direction, & that conflict between the delivery & the execution feels like the dichotomy that defines the whole album. “The Last of the Teenage Idols” does the same thing, but in a different way; I think it plays itself decently straight to begin with before looping back to a ‘50s style that just sort of awkwardly closes out the whole album. It just doesn’t really work in that order, and it really leaves me wondering what the overall throughline of the album is meant to be other than probably having a lot of sex in good & bad ways.

That said, I still don’t think there’s a bad track here. Just really odd execution that’s fun to listen to in the moment, yet lacks a real sense of cohesion after it’s all said & done, creating an indecisive air about how seriously one should take this album. I think people have taken it a bit too seriously (hence the 2.7 on the site), but I understand why they’d do so, given “Swampsnake” as an opener & a general hesitation to buy into this album throughout. For me, it’s a 4; realistically, closer to a 3.5 bumped up to a 4 after laying all of this out, but still. I think there’s something here that just needed to be tightened up to decide how “Rocky Horror”-esque it wanted to be for the sake of a better flowing album. I don’t know if it HAD to be on the list, but given who this band inspired, I think it’s got a place here.

It’s a 10. That might be the very best album of 1989.

I really don’t know what to say. It feels like it’s Robert Smith’s world & we’ve all just been pulled into it, resulting in one of the most sonically profound experiences on the entire list. This is incredible production work for 1989 that manages to drown you in a self-aware sorrow, with intros cinematic enough to keep you musically engaged & outros long enough to let you truly contemplate the emotional weight of the soundscape you’ve just heard & are continuing to hear as it fades out on you. The general gloom, doom & emotional despair of this album’s fruitless quest for a consistent, purposeful & emotionally satisfying love just attacks every single part of Robert’s soul while you’re forced to listen. It feels weaponized for maximum empathy-inducing efficiency, letting that despair act as a mirror to anyone’s own similar struggles.

It’s 72 minutes that manage to capture the breadth of despair, yet feel so much bigger than that all the same. Each track carries a purpose that elevates them as a flowing album. At a certain point, I just got lost in it. It’s like reading a book & finding yourself unable to stop due to how captivating the storytelling is. My notes eventually just boiled down to being taken by each track. Somehow, there really is a beauty that shines through the pain, in ways you can only vividly hear if you listen to it. The biggest observation I have is that, with the longer intros & outros, each of these tracks feel like you can play out a music video in your head. Everyone’s will be personalized to themselves, just like imagining a book while you’re reading it. It’s an indescribable feeling to be locked into; it’s not the same as the zen state from being in sync with a metal album, but something more akin to a lucid dream. This one just happens to be watching Robert Smith saying “I love you” to a world refusing to say it back. It’s his world. We’ve all just been pulled into it. I loved every single second of being in it. I really can’t say anything more. It’s a 10.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’d like to leave there, but I’ll bump it down to a 4.

I liked the album. It’s just a bit much. This album’s biggest strength is simultaneously its biggest weakness; the synth work here feels really, really well done for 1985, bridging the gap between earlier atmospheric synthpop & the Depeche Mode-y darkness to come down the line. There’s tracks here that would feel distinctly more like Depeche Mode with a bit more vocal depth, and I think that’s the mark of a band that knows what they’re doing. It’s a really strong 40 minutes. It also means it’s roughly 40 minutes of songs that feel pretty damn similar throughout, and that can easily cause a fatigue that just struck me kinda hard. At a certain point, I found myself losing track of these tracks in a bad way, and rewinding to try & catch what I had missed, only to find there wasn’t really that much I had missed. There’s just a fatigue from this much synthwork. A blessing & a curse.

The weakest part here, and one of the bigger reasons I’m bumping this down to a 4, comes in Bernard Sumner’s vocals; when I said some tracks would feel more like Depeche Mode with extra depth, it’s practically a less harsh plea for better vocals on a lot of these tracks. It’s not that Bernard is that bad; he generally fits with some of the drier tones of the instrumentals. When he’s bad though, it’s pretty noticeable; he lags behind on a few tracks by a quarter-beat, he’s a bit pitchy at times, and on the last track, he puts in a really, really halfhearted effort that lessens the impact of it as a closing track for the whole project.

Between all of that & a few weirder intros/outros, it just doesn’t fully come together as a 5 for me. I’d love to keep it at a 4.5, because for as much mild complaining as I’ve done, those complaints really didn’t impact my listening experience that much. These tracks feel like they could be synthpop classics, especially “Sunrise” & “Elegia”. I don’t think there’s a really bad one here. It’s just not the most cohesive album from top to bottom, and the fatigue just got to me. It’ll hit worse for others, but this still has a strong enough core where the floor should be a 3. For me, it’s a 4.5 bumped down to a 4, but one I’d recommend regardless.

I’m way above a 5. It’ll probably be a 10 in the future, just like “The Low End Theory”.

I mean, what do you really have to say? If you’ve heard it, you know; it’s Q-Tip & Phife Dawg introducing the world to their Tribe Called Quest & their ethos as a group. They’re here to spread positivity, razz on their French friends, have some deep convos at 1:00 AM, leave their footprint on the music industry at large, forget their wallets on cross-country trips, spread the word about the plights of STDs, get some ladies with apple bottoms, kick it, ask the youth to join them, revel in the rhythm of the ‘90s, give love to their producer, preach about the foods they love, and describe the people they consider to be fools. It’s 14 tracks that lay it all out, and I’d say it IS an instinctive travel through the paths of rhythm. That’s a genuinely great title to describe this album’s overall energy. These are lyrics that flow through them innately, formed by the journey of their life that led them to this point (as told on “Footprints”), and it’s all just instinctual to them, done behind some of the best production of early ‘90s rap you can imagine. It’s insane that they improved this formula even more by “The Low End Theory”, because this already feels like they’ve mastered it on a debut album.

There’s really not that much more to say. Q-Tip & Phife Dawg & the rest of the Tribe knock it out of the fucking park here; the only minor nitpicks I could give would be some endings feeling a little long & a few interludes feeling mumbled underneath the beat, but they’re total nitpicks compared to the groove, flow & rhythm that truly defines the music here. This feels like a perfect debut album, and while I certainly wish we had even more of A Tribe Called Quest on the list, their first two albums feel like the proper stepping stone to ride all the way to “We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service”. Regardless, this album is way above a 5, and I’m certain it’ll get to a 10 on another pass or two. Thank goodness this is on the list.

I’m at a 5.

I mean, there’s not much to say. It’s a really well produced album, especially for 2001. This feels like a mixture of the trancy vibes of “Music Has The Right To Children” with a bit of plunderphonics sensibilities thrown in to give it a faster, more upbeat & dance-y feel. Not quite Daft Punk necessarily, but something that feels like it could blend in well if you threw it into a DJ mix. All 10 tracks here just feel great in the ears, with a solid variety of peppier & dour stuff to paint the picture of a lot of different potential mornings. I do think this album’s biggest struggle is not necessarily having a throughline to each track that gives them a bit more connectivity, but it doesn’t matter that much.

Overall, I just happened to really enjoy it. The arrangements still feel a little futuristic & nostalgic at the same time, and I was pretty captivated for the entire 45 minutes. It’s just an easy set of tracks to melt into, and with each having their own distinct tones, I imagine everyone would have a different favorite after listening. That’s the mark of a good album experience for this genre, and I think it’s one of the better ones in this space we’ve gotten as of late. It’s an easy 5.

I’m at a 5.

As always, Morrissey's a dickhead. You know it, I know it; no need to say anything more. Johnny Marr, however, fucking rules, and the combination of the two here feels especially potent. The unsung third hero of this album, and one who unlocks both Marr & Morrissey further, is Mike Joyce, who puts in some unbelievably strong percussion work on all of these tracks. There’s a hell of a pulse that comes from the drums that breathes some extra life into the album, and between that drum work, Johnny Marr’s guitars & yes, Morrissey’s vocals, it’s just an unstoppably captivating album (at least until the last track, but we’ll get there).

Morrissey, by this point, has begun bitching about the world. Not everything about the world, but the self-aware savior complex prick version of him with a desire for a spotlight on his plight is slowly coming to life on this album. However, unlike the bitter solo version of himself trying to prove misguided points about the world after the Smiths’ breakup, this version of Morrissey has enough tact to add lots of wit that keeps these from being too bitchy. There’s enough self-awareness here to wink to the room & induce a little bit more empathy than disagreement, and it helps that the songwriting is relatable in broader strokes.

“The Queen is Dead”, for example, is a pretty strong case for the monarchy losing its cultural staying power & becoming just more cogs in the machine of life. “Frankly, Mr. Shankly” is just a desire to be known & make an impact (and to get paid, as most people want). “I Know It’s Over” is drab & dreary, comparing beds to coffins & contemplating suicide after being rocked to the core by an especially hard breakup. It’s dramatically overdone, yes, but in the broadest strokes possible, there’s something innately relatable to that initial wave of sadness & mourning if you’ve ever felt it at a deeper level. The same goes for “Never Had No One Ever”, especially if your hometown reminds you of any kind of loneliness in your formative years.

This album sets its lyrical tone in the first four tracks before instrumentally switching it up for the last 6 tracks, as everything from “Cemetry Gates” onward just sounds a lot brighter & more energetic, with the composition & production work lifting up an energy that’s just infectious to the ears. This is where the drums shine pretty brightly (and a bit loudly), & it’s where Johnny Marr’s guitar work hits a higher level. Morrissey’s vocal delivery switches to glide on both more easily, and he finds a natural flow that really works. All of the wit is still there (“Some dizzy whore, 1804” is a pretty funny line, come on), & while both “Bigmouth Strikes Again” & “The Boy with the Thorn in His Side” are the most bitchy-feeling tracks on the album, they’re at least complaints centered around himself & not societal issues at large, so they’re nowhere near as annoying as they could be. “Vicar in a Tutu” is odd, but at least it’s a positive note for the outcasts of the world to live life in ways that makes them feel happy without judgement.

“There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” is THE monster hit here, & I see why it has over a billion plays on Spotify. The instrumentation is fantastic, and the dual interpretations of the track both work in my mind. It’s either a desire to maintain vicarious ecstasy brought upon from love even at the most mortal cost, or a desire to end it all in a place where he can at least feel good about dying next to someone he loves. Regardless of either interpretation, it’s a track that’s deeply centered around a desire to feel something, and I think there’s just an innately human quality behind it that’s relatable. While I may never quite know what the light truly represents, I do think it’s the best track here, & a great closer to a great alb-

Oh, right, sorry. Yeah, “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others” is just kinda there. You could try to sell me on the timeless nature of male fascination with the female body as the driving thing that makes the track work, but there’s just not enough lyrical potency to make that point feel more compelling. I think it’s fantastic instrumentation that just doesn’t flesh out its thoughts on the flesh enough. It’s not a *bad* track, but frankly, it’s a really weak closer after such a timeless high. It’s unfortunate. It honestly could've been fine earlier in the album.

Hence, a 5. It could’ve been a little higher, but the last track just kinda pulls it down. Regardless, it’s an album that earns a lot of its acclaim, at least to my ears. The floor here is a 3.5, bare minimum, as the musical talent at hand here is undeniably alluring, even if it’s solely from everyone who’s not Morrissey. I think everything comes together here really nicely. For our last Smiths album on the list, it’s a good way to go out, as it naturally lifts up from “Meat is Murder” & fills in some of my minor nitpicks from “Strangeways, Here We Come”. It is probably the best Smiths album here from top to not quite bottom, and I’m glad it lived up to the hype. It’s a 5.

I am so fucking ready to be free of Morrissey.

I’m at a 2.5 that I’ll bump down to a 2.

In a 1982 review of this album in “Smash Hit” magazine, Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys wrote the following: “This outstanding bunch of songs have been excellently arranged with horns and a variety of keyboards added to the basic line-up.” He’s right about that. He goes on to say “Overall, [it’s] a big step forward which they can be proud of and you can enjoy”, before giving it an 8 out of 10. He’s right. Orange Juice can be proud of it, and I can enjoy it. The key word is “can”.

I think he’s utterly nuts for giving it an 8 out of 10, as I only enjoyed about half of it. Neil’s review fails to acknowledge a rather unfortunate truth; these songs are unbelievably half-baked as hell. If you’re paying attention past the instrumentations & arrangements (which really do feel slightly ahead of pace for 1982), you’ll find that the back halves of practically every single track here are devoid of lyrics & vocals. It’s not inherently a negative on the tracks that flesh themselves out & say everything they have to say. The problem is that almost none of the tracks truly flesh themselves out; most of them are devoid of an extra verse that leaves them emptier, and the subsequent repetition in the outros left a really bad taste in my mouth. “Rip It Up”, for as good of an opener as it is, owes a lot of its success to blatantly sampling Chic’s “Good Times” & riding it out for the back half of the track. It’s the best track on the album, and everything after that just sort of pales by comparison. It’s solid enough through 5 of its first 6 tracks (yes, I quite literally meant ‘half the album’ both ways), but it just kinda falls apart in its last 5.

I just found some of the tracks in the back half to be outright bad. I think “Breakfast Time” tries really hard to make something out of nothing with all the instrumentation flash in the back half, & the first half just sort of reads like someone who’s simping over a person way younger, in a creepy way. “Flesh of My Flesh” just isn’t compelling, both in subject matter, as it feels condescending, & instrumental execution, since it also bored me. “Louise Louise” is especially dismissive, given that I read it as a track that either downplays suicide threats or treats her concerns about a relationship as nothing more than trite melodramatic flirting that can be ignored. Even in 1982, you had Michael Jackson crooning about the PYTs & the lady in his life, so why are we going backwards here? “Hokoyo” & “Tenterhook” are both just utterly fine, with the former feeling like a blander retread of “A Million Pleading Faces” & the latter having a really disconnected tone between its nervous lyricism & its far too relaxed instrumental.

So, with this album’s biggest hit riding off of the back of a Chic sample, peaking at the top & only descending from there, with 3 of the first 6 tracks in desperate need of an extra verse & all of the last 4 tracks being a combination of try-hard, bland, or outright problematically dismissive & condescending… yeah, I just can’t bring myself to give this a 3. For a while, I was there, then I bumped myself down to a 2.5 bumped up to a 3, but after laying it all out, I’m stuck going down to a 2. It’s an album that relies far more on the (again, well done) instrumental flash than any kind of true substance. It wouldn’t be such a big deal if these tracks were compelling & fleshed out past a single verse & a semi-looping chorus, but they quite literally give up on writing anything past half a song. With a pun very intended, there’s just not enough juice here, yet they squeeze these songs out far too long. It’s still *probably* more of a 2.5, but it’s just not a very compelling album experience. Hence, a 2.5 bumped down to a 2. It might be harsh, but I stand by it.

P.S.: Sorry, Neil. If this helped to inspire the Pet Shop Boys’ direction, I’d certainly believe it. It’s just not an album that should stay in the 80s canon, nor should it stay on the list outside of maybe a loose historical purpose.

I’m above a 5. Honestly, it could be a 10 someday.

It’s taken me a couple minutes to write anything about this, because I really am just stunned by it. The 2.93 on the site feels like a crime to me, as this album feels like such a carnal & visceral plea for one man’s desires to be fulfilled, done behind some of the most lovely & brilliantly overproduced soundscapes I’ve heard so far on the list. We’re 966 albums deep and outside of Scott Walker, Jacques Brel & Radiohead, there’s not many artists that approach such a bold level of bombast & self-indulgent opulence in their music, let alone ones that can sustain it without seeming like they’re in over their heads. This is an album that should crumble under its weight; one too thematically rich for its own good, one written too flowery for mass comprehension, and one that’s so personalized towards a man’s struggle that it gives off a main character syndrome that many, many other albums would fail to overcome. By some miracle, it not only stands against all of those tests, but shines through it.

The obvious throughline for this album is “Want”; it’s the title of the album, and it anchors all of Rufus Wainwright’s songwriting.

“Oh What a World” is him wanting to be seen as beautiful without the stigma of a world too quick to dismiss gay people.

“I Don’t Know What It Is” is him wanting to get out of his comfort zone in any way possible.

“Vicious World” is him wanting a relationship back after he fumbled it.

“Movies of Myself” is him wanting love that’s more fruitful than just a cheap memory.

“Pretty Things” is him wanting another person to see the same beauty in a potential relationship that he does.

“Go or Go Ahead” is him wanting to be freed of the lingering desire & pain a relationship has left upon him. (This is my favorite one, by the way. Fantastic track.)

“Vibrate” is him wanting to find a non-existent depth in a relationship that’s just not working.

“14th Street” is him wanting to keep a part of his damaged self after getting treatment for an addiction of some kind.

“Natasha” is him wanting his friend to be OK in spite of her carefree attitude about her struggles.

“Harvester of Hearts” is him wanting to understand why he can’t get a solid relationship even if everyone else seems to feel heartbreak all the time.

“Beautiful Child” is him wanting to feel old, seeing the future as an opportunity to be free of the burdens of his life & to see everything with a childlike wonder again.

“Want” is him wanting a simpler life despite the burdens of expectations thrown on him.

“11:11” is him wanting life itself, appreciating it even while he loses it at both smaller & larger scales.

“Dinner at Eight” is him wanting an admission that his dad truly cares about him, even if it takes breaking the mythos of his father to do so.

It’s all centered around those wants, and what makes or breaks the album is one’s ability to empathize with them. If you can, the fantastic instrumentation that underlines it will feel like passion pouring out, & that ‘main character syndrome’ could feel like a reflective mirror to you or someone you know who’s gone through some or all of these struggles. If you can’t, it will simply feel whiny & overindulgent, working as an hour-long session where this guy bitches & moans about struggles you couldn’t care less about with the same vocal tone throughout. I’ve landed on the side of empathy, as the entire album spoke to a lot of deeper insecurities that I try to bury under smiles more often than not.

However, both of these takes are totally valid. That said, the extreme range of them will lead to disbelief one way or the other. If you hate it, you’ll be amazed that anyone could like it. If you love it, you’ll be amazed that anyone could hate it. I happened to love it, and while I’m not quite as amazed at the 34% of people giving this a 1 or a 2, I’m just surprised there’s not as many people going with a 4 or higher. As it stands, I’m somewhere above a 5; I thought this was stellar from top to bottom (although “Oh What a World” shouldn’t have opened over “I Don’t Know What It Is”), a treat for the ears to listen to & the mind to comprehend, and just a great album. I think this could easily get up to a 10 someday.

I really hope “Want Two” is just as good as this.

For me, it’s a 10.

I mean, I get it. It’s 109 minutes of country music that never really changes tact all too often; lots of banjo, lots of guitar, lots of bass, and a lot of overlap in topics & vocal twang. If you don’t already have an affinity for bluegrass music or old American folk standards, this album will feel like a slog; a homework assignment for the past in the middle of your jam sessions with Led Zeppelin & the Rolling Stones that might feel like an unnecessary footnote among what’s currently 1086 albums on the site. It doesn’t surprise me that this album has a 2.98 on the site.

It’s just impossible for me to read this as anything but a love letter to an entire genre. When Ella Fitzgerald recorded the entire “Great American Songbook” to tape, it was done out of respect for the past & the necessity of preservation. Without those recordings putting a lot of them back into the public consciousness, I imagine we wouldn’t have the same comprehensive documentation over them as we do now. This album feels like it’s following a similar modus operandi, with one difference: it’s done out of respect for the past, yes, but it’s done with the necessity of preservation of the *people* involved with making them.

The guest features here, written all over the album’s cover & recorded throughout with banter & interstitials make this album feel far more lived in. Ella Fitzgerald’s voice is what drives those recordings of the Great American Songbook, and while you can acknowledge people such as Cole Porter, the Gershwins, & Irving Berlin as a result of her recordings, it’s harder to imagine them as living, breathing people & not just the sums of their work. With the inclusion of everyone involved here, it feels less like stepping into a museum exhibit for documentation & more like being given a seat in the room to observe masters at their craft embody the music they’ve performed all their lives.

It’s why the length doesn’t bother me at all here; yes, it’s a little long & maybe a few of the more ‘plain’ instrumental tracks could’ve been cut, but you’re meant to absorb your time with these people. The music is fantastically done & it fully succeeds at documenting these tracks with technology that can finally capture their essence, but it would not feel the same if it weren’t such a labor of love to ensure the artists at hand get their dues here. I think you have to have a healthy amount of reverence for this era to really appreciate what this album is going for, or at least enough of an interest in the past that you can gain some of that reverence by the end.

I’ve got more than enough reverence, as these are the artists my dad grew up on & the songs he’d play all the time when I was a kid. It’s weird to say that as someone practically born at the start of the millennium, but still. I just think it’s a gorgeous love letter to the genre of country music & frankly, to the artform of music as a whole. It's an album made for the love of the game. I understand that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, & that’s fine. It’s one of the more personalized 10’s I’ll give on the list, but it just feels essential to me. Thank goodness this is here.

I'm at a 10.

Surprise, surprise – I still like the 2000s indie rock band doing indie rock stuff, who would’ve thought? For as much as I liked “Fever to Tell”, that album’s biggest hit or miss aspect is in its production, which is rather rigid & pretty clearly dated to the early garage rock revival. We’re in 2009 now, and as a result, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have morphed with the times, taking the best of their style & applying it to a post-MGMT indie rock world. The result is fantastic. If you still wanna call this rigid, go ahead; just know that you’re completely wrong.

This is a much richer album across the board on the strength of those instrumentals; the infusion of synthpop / dancefloor electronica vibes on top of Karen O’s vocal energy is what drives the entire album. In a way, it feels like a frontrunner of the modern rock/pop style, as I can hear everything from Charli XCX to Tame Impala to Olivia Rodrigo, blending aspects of all 3. There’s a pulse to these tracks that evokes Charli’s dancefloor style, a good blend of guitar/synth work that feels like a natural predecessor to what Tame Impala would do on “Currents”, and some of the faux-80s new wave energy in the bass & drums that reminds me of Olivia’s most recent album. Despite that, it still feels distinctly like an album of its time; MGMT blended with The Strokes feels like an equally apt comparison.

Lyrically… I mean, look, normally, I’m a stickler for needing to have a concrete message that’s mostly spelled out. I don’t really give a shit this time, as the lyrics are just a tool for everything else to shine brighter, and they shine incredibly bright. The abstract tone of the lyrics helps to let Karen’s vocals set the emotional mood with her delivery, and she has a really diverse range to somehow pull way more out of them than I would’ve expected. The miracle is that I still think I got a generally concrete message out of most of these tracks. I think the connecting thread of this album is, fittingly for the album cover, trying to break out of one’s shell & comfort zone to truly feel seen by those willing to care about you. “Dragon Queen” is the only track that left me a little confused, being a bit too abstract for my brain to comprehend. I think it might be about not enjoying love without deeper emotional connections involved, but that’s just a loose take on it.

My one & only nitpick on this entire album is that “Little Shadow” doesn’t feel like the strongest closer; it’s a good closer, but it just doesn’t quite carry the weight I was expecting relative to the rest of the album. I would’ve ended on “Runaway” or “Hysteric”. That said, it’s only a nitpick. It does not matter for the overall enjoyment of the album. This is 41 fantastic minutes, and a real highlight among the post-2005 picks on the list. I think they were right to add this when they did; it has aged remarkably well, even 17 years later, and it doesn’t feel out of place at all. This album could be released right now, with zero changes, and it would get the same exact acclaim. I’m certain of it. It’s a very easy 10 for me.