Reviews by jaileer5

Not for me, thanks. The best thing I can say about it is that it doesn’t sound like The Beach Boys. I’ll give him a bit of credit for that.

Excellent album. It starts out with Tom Sawyer and holds that level for the next several songs. It flags a slight bit in the last couple songs which, because the songs are ten minutes long, is a substantial bit of the album! They're not bad songs, they're just not to the level of the first few. But saying a song doesn't hold up to Tom Sawyer is nothing to be ashamed of.

I find Rush, overall, to be uneven. Some of their songs are all time bangers, and some are just kind of there. I listen to a ton of metalcore and progressive rock, and Rush are the godfathers of those genres. But, overall, it's like I *want* to like Rush more than I actually do. Happily, this album lives up to the hype. Still slightly uneven at the back end, but an overall 4 star record.

The first two songs are pretty much country music. Not quite, but not far away. Lots of twang, lots of slide guitar, very whiny. Third song is more rock-y, but it's whatever. The fourth song sounds like -- you know those cheapo plastic pianos you can buy for a toddler? where all the keys sound similar and it's just a clinking cacophony of chaos as the happily bang away, oblivious to the migraine they're giving the parent? I'm pretty sure they used one of those pianos as the background for this song.

Fifth song...Why don't they let this chick sing more? She's got a great, unique voice. The dude is just annoyingly bog standard. It's like when Alice In Chains started letting Jerry Cantrell sing more. Read the room, Alice, we're here for the vocal god, not the dude that sounds like my dad singing tunelessly while changing the oil in our 1967 Nova. Anyway, fifth song is pretty OK, actually. Bit long, but best so far by a mile.

Song six, back to Jerry Cantrell Guy. Sounds like an overwrought marching band. I just checked and there are 20 songs. Fuck me, that's a lot of songs. I'm not doing this for 13 more songs, so I'll sum up at the end.

It's just not great. There are crap songs, and there are inoffensive songs. It definitely picked up after the first few songs, but nothing I ever need to hear again. One star is extremely unkind, so I think 2 stars is the play here.

This album is terrific! I wish I had discovered it when it was released, because I’d have listened to it a ton. It’s a very unique, eclectic mix of sounds redolent of the best Trip Hop of the era - a sound that I was consistently searching for at the time. There’s some R&B flavor, traditional Indian sounds, a healthy amount of ethereal vocals, the requisite undercurrent of electronic beats, and an overall ambiance that, if you’re a fan of Portishead, Sneaker Pumps, Massive Attack, or Morcheeba, you’re sure to enjoy.

I knew fairly early that this was a 4-star album, and briefly flirted with whether I should make it a 5 star. Then I realized that I’m scrolling through Apple Music looking for more of his albums. It’s that good. If a 25-year-old album holds up well enough that you're desperate for more music from the artist, that's a nailed on 5 stars. What an album.

This is a tough one. There are some incredible, 5-star bangers on this album, like Shout, Everybody Wants To Rule The World, and Head Over Heels. Those songs stand the test of time, and are Exhibit A as to why New Wave hit so big in 80s pop culture. Then there are songs like I Believe and Listen that sound a bit dated

I think this is a very good CD. Even songs like The Working Hour (which starts slow but grows into itself) and Mother's Talk are pretty decent. I've never identified myself as a person who likes 80s music - in fact, quite the opposite - but I like this album.

So here, again, is the limitation of the 5 star system with no half stars. This album is miles better than some of the recent albums that I've given 3 stars, like Jerry Lee Lewis Live, Genesis The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, or They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, by Liars. On the flip side, I'm not sure I can say it's close to as good as any of the albums I've gives 4 stars, Like Public Enemy Fear of A Black Planet, DJ Shadow Endtroducing, or The Sugarcubes Life's Too Good. Where does that leave me, when I want to rank it 3.5 stars?

Ultimately, I've decided to give it 4 stars. Not because it's an album that I'm going to put in my normal rotation, but because it was a phenomenal album in its time, it's an excellent time capsule of the best the New Wave movement had to offer, and, overall, the songs hold up pretty well 40 years later.

It's early rock and roll. It's pretty upbeat, so that's good, I guess? Better than Elvis, at least, and ironically less country-ish. Wikipedia says it's considered one of th greatest live albums of all time. That might be a bit much, but it didn't suck, so that's something. 3 stars.

Hilariously, in my last review I asked theoretical god to give me a few weeks without a 70s rock band that features an organ player. So of course my very next album is a 70s rock band that features...a synth player! It appears there may be a god after all, and the prick has a very mischievous streak.

The second song, Metal, is familiar to me as it was covered by Nine Inch Nails. I'd imagine this Numan fellow was quite an influence on Trent Reznor.

Overall, a weird, quirky little album that I'm sure influenced quite a few acts from the 90s, but ultimately its just fine.

First two songs have a TON of 70s rock organ. The singer and the vibe very much worship at the feet of The Doors.

The third song has an abrupt and curious shift to punk rock, of all things. I didn't see that coming. Then back to The Doors cosplay.

Look, I don't love it, it's not my thing, but I don't hate it, either. I'm slightly surprised this band isn't more well known, but also, there isn't really a stand out song on this album. In an era of radio play driving pop culture, having an album filled with solid songs without a hit single to drive it means very little outside a group's core fans.

3 stars. And please, if there is a god, please let me go a couple weeks without a 70s rock band with an organ player. Please.

The Pixies' heyday was slightly before my time, so I never connected with them, but they were famously influential on the early to mid 90s rock bands that I adored, like Nirvana and Radiohead. While I've heard songs like Monkey Gone to Heaven, I've never listened to this album in its entirety. Overall, I think it's pretty OK. It's not transformative, but that's only because it *was* transformative when it was released in the 80s.

Some songs sound a little dated, and some songs still sound very subversive. I think the album started a little slowly, but I warmed to it as it went on. Black's voice isn't the greatest, but it's somehow perfect for this band. The use of Kim Deal's hushed vocals on some - but not all - songs tend to add a welcome ethereal quality to the punk rock vibes, and tend to hit hard because the effect is used sparingly.

I'd give it a 3.5 if I could. I think it's a very good album that sounds a little dated, while simultaneously holding up surprisingly well for an album released in the 80s.

A very good album. It's definitely old school, but it somehow doesn't sound as dated as Ice Cube's Amerikkka's Most Wanted, which was released the same year. Flavor Flav is better as a hype man than the main vocalist, so the songs that he features on are just a little weaker than the songs fronted by Chuck D, though 911 is a Joke is a classic. Like the Ice Cube album, I'd give this a 3.5 if I could, but in this format, I think the fact that it still sounds fresh, plus the fact that the lyrics and ideas on this album still hold up, pushes this to 4 stars.

Oh hey, another 70s album. I'm shocked - SHOCKED, I tell you. I feel like this entire project is sponsored by the 1970s. Out of 145 albums so far, 40 of them have been from the 70s. Since my overall ranking is around 2.6 for the decade, you can imagine my excitement in seeing this album pop up.

That said, I'm pretty sure I've heard of Genesis. I *think* Phil Collins was the drummer or something? It's not like I'm a huge Collins fan, (but I also don't have Arseblog-levels of hate for him), so I'm not sure how much that's gonna swing this album to the positive, but here goes nothing.

Verdict: It's fine. Whatever. 2.5 stars.

I'm SO tired of 70s albums, so I had very, very low expectations of this album. I had a bad attitude during the first song, so it was headed for a very low rating. But once I settled in, the album is actually quite good! It sounds less like 70s rock to me, and more like early 2000s the the vein of The Strokes, The Killers, etc.

It's not earth shattering, but it's a unique sound for the 70s. Comfortable 3 stars

Decent. It’s the Police.

Very weird album, more like experimental noise rock than alternative. That said, I did like it. It's very unique and not unpleasant. Im not sure I would seek it out to listen to again, but I enjoyed it.

I just can’t. 3 hours is too much, and I don’t love “indie” music in the best of times. It wasn’t awful, there were some toe tappers, but it’s just too much.

The title track is sorta famous, I think? At least, I've heard it before and I have no clue who this band is. Furthermore, the second song, Ricky Dink, has some parts that are very familiar to me even though I'm fairly sure I've never heard the entire song.

The third song is I Got A Woman, which is a cover of a Ray Charles song. It took this long for me to be sure that that this is just an instrumental album. It's kind of catchy, but it's a lot of organ playing, which gets old fast. Otherwise, it's just kind of there, you know? I'm not sure what's special about this album other than the fact that it appears to be a vehicle for promoting the organ, which doesn't really scratch any of my personal itches.

Listening more through the album, it seems like it's very bluesy but distinctly, like, 60s rock organ bluesy. It's not my jam, but I think I can see why it was included in this list, because it is kind of its own thing, but at the same time, there appear to be several covers, which is the opposite if "it's own thing."

I don't know. I'll never listen to it again. 2.5 stars.

This is a really good album, man. I kind of want to give it 4 stars, but I’m not entirely sure I can because it does sound a bit dated. But it’s a hell of a fun ride and Bjork is incredible as always.

You know what, I’m just gonna do it. I’d probably give it a 3.5 if I could do half stars, but this album is so much better than many others that I’ve given 3 stars to. Maybe not as good a those I’ve given 4 stars to, but the gap is much smaller.

There’s a couple songs on here that are recognizable, the rest of it is shit. I’m so sick of 70s albums.

This is very much not my thing. The singing is fucking awful. Wikipedia says Jerry Garcia is known for his "distinctive guitar style" and it just sounds like rudimentary bullshit to me. I dont understand the allure of this band if this album is representative of their sound. I cannot find a single redeeming quality other than it's not country.

Right after I wrote the above, the next two songs have decidedly country-ish twangs to them. This album is just bad, man.

Two songs in, and what an absolute delight of an album. The first 90 seconds sounded like a mic check, so I was a bit worried, but what followed was an unabashed hard rock album. It's not going to change the world, it didn't define a genre, but goddammit is it fun!. Bloodsucker is a fantastic mix of guitar shreds, offbeat rhythms, high pitched shrieks, and even a splash of 70s rock organ thrown in. What a treat!

The album only has 7 tracks spanning 44 minutes. The third track, Child in Time, is a loose jam that I'm sure was dynamite to hear in concert. the rest of the album is very good, not great, with a bit too much of the 70s rock organ for my taste. All in all a terrific album that is an absolute grandfather to modern heavy metal AND progressive metal. 4 stars