Reviews by heavymetal

I’m annoyed that the UK version of this album opens with Mother’s Little Helper and the US version of this album opens with Paint It Black as those are two of my favourite Stones songs and should be on both versions of the album.

After listening to the UK version of this album, I am starting to question whether I do enjoy earlier Stones more than their later work as I stated in my review of their self-titled. I do like the more raw, psychedelic sides of this album quite a bit, and it's interesting as they're definitely finding their sound on this album, but it does kind of drag on a bit. I probably should have stuck to listening to the shorter US version of the album.

I’m honestly starting to think that the Stones might actually be more of a greatest hits band for me. They’ve got a lot of tracks I enjoy, but I’m never really drawn to their full studio albums. That said, I do still like this album, I just can't see myself returning to it too frequently.

The Band is yet another band where I am incredibly familiar with their more well known songs, but not terribly familiar with their back catalogue. This is clearly because I've watched the Last Waltz several times, but never stopped to listen to any of their studio albums.

This album does have several of the well known Band tracks like Rag Mama Rag, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Up on Cripple Creek, and King Harvest (Has Surely Come) and honestly, those songs alone are going to drive a pretty high rating for me.

I knew nothing about Skip Spence coming into this album. Honestly, even Moby Grape has totally passed me by. Reading up about the "fire axe incident" that lead to him writing this album while committed in a mental hospital and his subsequent decline through addiction and schizophrenia is incredibly tragic. I'm sure this comparison has been made a thousand times before, but his story is reminiscent of Syd Barrett.

As for the actual album, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Solid bit of raw, warm, psychedelic folk music, which is right up my alley. I only listened to the original track list (first 12 songs of the Deluxe edition, which seems to be the only edition available on Apple Music), but I enjoyed this enough that I might go give the extended tracks a spin.

This is the third Byrds album I’ve been generated from the list. I enjoyed the last two, the Notorious Byrd Brothers and Mr. Tambourine Man, but nothing really wowed me on those albums. They were both solid psychedelic albums, but I just didn’t enjoy them enough to want to revisit them. Honestly, it was enough to elicit groans when I saw that I had another Byrds album to listen to today.

However, I was pleasantly surprised this time around. I’m honestly not sure what’s different about this album, other than some absolutely weird experimental bits like the backwards talking and guitar, but I really enjoyed this one. I think I might need to go back and listen to the other Byrds albums to see if something has finally clicked for me.

One thing I've noticed going through this list is that I either absolutely love or completely hate the hip hop albums on this list. There's very little middle ground for me and, unfortunately, the hip hop albums I've disliked seem far more common than the ones I've liked.

The Low End Theory won me over from the first few notes. Not only is it falling into the hip hop I love category, but I think this is my favourite hip hop album from the generator so far. I absolutely love the jazz vibe and the rapping is incredibly smooth. I could, and probably will, listen to this all day. I wish I had checked A Tribe Called Quest out much earlier!

As someone who saw Destroyer twice this year and spent a good amount of time listening to his music, I find it hard not drawing comparisons. There’s the same relaxed lounge singer vibes all over this album, but it’s missing a lot of Dan Bejar’s weird and surreal lyrics and at times it feels really dated.

I knew almost nothing about the Pet Shop Boys going into this other than maybe having heard their name mentioned in passing a couple times, so I had no idea what to expect from this album, but I kind of dug it. I don’t think I’ll ever really listen to this again though, whenever I’m in the mood for this kind of music, I’d just throw on Kaputt or Rubies instead.

It’s weird that when I hear Bob Mould I immediately think of Michael Stipe and when I hear Michael Stipe I immediately think of Gord Downie, but I don’t think of Gord Downie when I hear Bob Mould.

Anyways, I mostly enjoyed Sugar’s Copper Blue when I had it generated a couple weeks ago, but I came away thinking I enjoy Husker Du more even though it’s been awhile since I listened to them. Now listening to Warehouse: Songs and Stories, I’m questioning how much I even enjoy Husker Du. This isn’t a bad album, I did enjoy it, but it’s long, the songs are all quite similar, and nothing really stood out to me.

For my sanity, I threw on Zen Arcade. Now that’s the Husker Du I remember! There’s much more of an edge on Zen Arcade, the songs are all so much more ferocious and they’re really experimenting and pushing boundaries on several tracks. Warehouse honestly sounds almost bland in comparison.

Again, I did still enjoy Warehouse: Songs and Stories, I just don’t understand why it’s included in the list over Zen Arcade.

Warehouse: Songs and Stories - 3/5
Zen Arcade - 5/5

As someone who grew up idolizing hippies and 60s psychedelic music and having watched the Woodstock documentary dozens of times, I'm embarrassed to say I've never listened to this album or really any Santana beyond the hits. For some reason, Santana just didn't resonate with me back then. That said, I have heard several of the songs on here.

This album is a great Latin, jazz, blues fusion. The Latin percussion is infectious and makes you want to move and the guitar playing is obviously next level. I really enjoyed this one and clearly missed out not listening to more Santana in the past.

In the past I would have classified the title track as a guilty pleasure. I used to abhor all forms of 80s pop music as I believed it was all shallow and vapid, but I still couldn't deny that Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) was a great track. Minimalistic drum programming, a simple synth and bass line, and just catchy as hell.

Now, years later, I've expanded my taste in music considerably and I've been finding that I actually enjoy a lot of 80s music, this album included. I preferred the second half of this album to the first half; it was a little less pop-y dance music and a bit more weird and experimental synth-pop with some solid guitar playing. Either way, I definitely don't feel guilty listening to this any more.

Seems the hip hop albums always hit me back to back. I had a stretch of like 2 weeks in the summer where every other album was a hip hop album and now this is the third hip hop album I've had in the past week.

For the first half of Ready to Die, I was actually enjoying it a lot more than expected. Still full of tired gangsta rap tropes I can't stand and can't relate to (questionable views on women, violence, overuse of the n-word, absolutely terrible interludes, etc.), but it sure is smooth and the Notorious BIG was a great rapper.

Unfortunately, it really wore out its welcome for me. By the time "Me and My Bitch" came on I was so tired of this album and I just wanted it to end.

Based on only having heard Hey Ya!, I always assumed OutKast was one of those gimmicky, shallow party bands and since I'm not really into hip hop and I'm definitely not into party music, I never had a reason to check them out before. I fear that a 2 hour and 15 minute double (triple? quadruple?) album might not be the best intro to any group, though.

Speakerboxxx (disc 1): Honestly, I'm enjoying the first disc a lot more than I was expecting. There's so much going on in each track and the production is great! Lost me a bit on Tomb of the Boom, which devolves into awful gangsta rap tropes, but overall, I kind of dug this half of the album.

The Love Below (disc 2): Wow, ok, so this is a totally different album, huh? I love the psychedelic, jazz-y feel of this side, but the interludes and themes are incredibly cringy. I get that he's trying to tell some love story, but God and Where Are My Panties are just not enjoyable to listen to at all. Neither is Roses. Honestly, I'm struggling to finish this half.

Overall, I found that Speakerboxxx was more consistently enjoyable, while the Love Below had higher highs and lower lows and unfortunately those lows out numbered the highs quite significantly. I wish they had edited this down to even a standard length double album; 2 hours and 15 minutes is just too much to digest. It almost as if I wish these two guys made one cohesive album rather than slapping two individual albums together and calling it a day.

I listened to Solar Power a few times when it came out and remember enjoying it at the time. Listening to Melodrama now, I understand how Solar Power got mixed reactions because, from what I remember, it's a very different feel than Melodrama; Solar Power is a mostly fun, summer album about getting stoned in the sun and talking about philosophy and Melodrama is a sad, angsty, dark album about getting over a break up.

Overall, the production on Melodrama is fantastic and there are some catchy hooks for sure, but I just don't really relate to it. It's not a bad record, just not something I'm going to listen to again.

Seeing songs by Nick Cave and Tom Waits on the cover of this album had me excited to this one, but I came away a bit disappointed. It wasn’t bad, it just didn’t really click with me. Parts of it did sound like the weird, experimental cabaret I would expect from Tom Waits or Nick Cave and Tango Ballad reminds me of a Geordie Greep song, but then there were parts of it that were kind of just boring and generic. I really wish Nick Cave or Tom Waits would have actually featured on the album.

Now this is what I wanted to hear when I had the Incredible Bongo Band generated a while back! Incredibly interesting, almost trance like rhythm and percussion, and unique guitar playing that reminds me a bit of Khurangbin. Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this album and will absolutely come back for more!

Now here’s a nostalgic album for me! Beck was one of my mom’s favourite artists when I was growing up; Odelay and Guero were staples in our house.

Odelay is an absolute hodgepodge of genres: there’s alternative rock, blues, country, hip-hop, jazz, and tons of experimentation. You never know what the next track has in store for you, let alone the rest of the current track, but somehow the ever shifting genres manages to be surprisingly cohesive as an album and the tracks are incredibly catchy.

There’s really not a bad song on this album. Where It’s At in particular is one of my all time favourite songs

Like many, I misread this entry as the Flamin' Groovies by Teenage Head, not the other way around and, wow, the Flamin' Groovies is just a terrible band name.

As for the music, I dig it, it's pretty solid blues rock that doesn't overstay its welcome (at least the original track listing of 9 songs in 30 minutes doesn't). Seems this is frequently compared to Sticky Fingers since it came out the same year and Mick Jagger was a fan. I get the comparison because this sounds like a bit of a rougher and more natural Rolling Stones with a bit of Elvis thrown in for good measure.

I'd throw this album on again when I'm in the mood, but I'm probably not going to do a deep dive through their discography as it's not quite my preferred genre of music any more.

My knee jerk reaction when listening to Number of the Beast a few weeks ago was that this is some corny as hell 80s metal, but after a couple listens I started coming around to it and found myself enjoying the album overall. Listening to their self-titled debut album now and I can confirm I am a full convert! The melodic, ripping guitar solos, the driving bass lines, and tight solid drumming. I also love when a metal band slows down like in Remember Tomorrow and Strange World. This was a great time and I am happy the generator has opened my eyes to Iron Maiden.

As someone who only knows the Roots as Jimmy Fallon's band, I am so confused right now. I always assumed all the late night talk show bands were just generic house bands put together for the show. Are all the late night talk show bands actually legitimately good groups?

I feel like a broken record, but I was enjoying this album quite a bit despite it having a lot of the rap cliches that I can't stand (e.g. excessive use of the n-word, questionable views on women, etc.). The band, the smooth rapping, the composition of the backing tracks, and the experimentation makes up for a lot of the rap cliches.

The Water and Something in the Way of Things (In Town) were the standout tracks for me. I was not expecting the almost ambient electronic sections in the Water, but I really enjoyed the whole track and the weird jazz-y, spoken word poetry on Something in the Way of Things (In Town) was phenomenal and I'll return to this track for sure.

On the other end of the tracks-that-stand-out-to-me spectrum, what the fuck is up with the Seed 2.0? What a great song ruined by some truly awful lyrics. "I push my seed into her bush for life"? And this is considered one of the best songs on the album? Seriously, just what the fuck?

This album would be a 5/5 for me if all the tracks were closer to the Water and Something in the Way of Things (In Town), and with a little more !!!!!!! thrown in too, but I feel like it's dragged down by rap cliches and a couple awful tracks like Seed 2.0, so I guess we'll average it out to a 3/5.

The atmosphere on this album is incredible and all three of them are next level musicians!

While Bill Evans is obviously masterful on the piano, his smooth jazz style of piano playing doesn't really excite me all that much. It's very pleasant and there's nothing I truly dislike about it, it just doesn't really stand out to me, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as it leaves a lot of space for me to appreciate the other musicians in the trio.

The drumming by Paul Motian on the other hand stands out by being perfectly present and in sync with the music, but never quite taking over. He's always there keeping time, but seems to fade in and out of the tracks with ease to suit the direction of the music; he gets louder when he's needed to be louder and quieter when he's needed to be quieter. Not to mention, he's just a great drummer and I absolutely love jazz drumming.

The real stand out on the album is the bass playing by Scott LaFaro. Some of the best bass playing I've heard on a jazz album and I was surprised how much focus the album had on him. That is until I read the Wikipedia afterwards and learned about his tragic death 11 days after these sessions. The tracks were reportedly selected to best feature LaFaro's playing and it absolutely shows.

I dig that these are a bunch of guys who grew up listening to hair metal / glam rock and said “fuck it, I want to do that”, then they actually went and did it!

It’s admittedly not my preferred genre at all, but there’s tons of passion and enthusiasm in this album and it’s undeniably fun. That said, holy hell I cannot stand his singing. It’s like nails on a chalkboard after a couple songs. By the end of the album, the novelty had worn off, so I just wanted it to end.