Reviews by jf01

Surprised myself—I’ve tried the four “must listen” Stones albums before (Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed, Exile, and this) and never felt they deserved their reputation. Decided they were a singles band and went back to 40 Licks. This time around, this one really clicked. Favorites include I Got the Blues, Sway, and Wild Horses. Not so much: Brown Sugar, You Gotta Move.

Enjoyable album. I was torn between 3 and 4 stars.

I think Method Man is very charismatic but not always the best rapper. The production here was mostly forgettable. As one of the first solo Wu records, no one is mistaking this for Ghostface or Raekwon.

This was a very nice blend of straightforward rock with weirder elements that kept it interesting.

Meh

I’m very familiar with this album. Going into it, the only question was whether I’d rate it 4 or 5 stars.

I think this gets better every time I listen. Knowing that the poem is going to culminate in a conversation with Tupac helps.

Going to rate it five stars. It’s so inventive and layered. It would be easier to list the songs I don’t love.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to listen to this because this, even more than many albums on this list, is one everyone says you should listen to, and I never have. Obviously I’m familiar with “show me the way” and “baby I love your way” (and “jumpin jack flash,” but by someone else). But just because I’m familiar with a song doesn’t mean I like it! And even JJF is one of my least favorite Stones songs, so it hardly redeems the rest of this album. This is between a 1 and a 2; we’ll see what I choose.

A fun thought experiment here is, what would this album sound like if it came out today and someone was like, “hey maybe cool it with the sax?”

This is going to be a tough one.

Oh I like Stellar, I didn’t know that’s what it was called.

But yeah, this is formulaic and emotionally manipulative. Turntables! Big choruses! Lyrics that seem to be deliberately mixed low! You can pick one or two songs and you get the idea of the whole album.

This is firmly in 3.5 territory. I know this band fairly well, this album less so. I enjoy the band but this album was just okay. Every song felt like it was right on the edge of me loving it, with none of them quite getting there. Maybe I need more familiarity with Lynyrd Skynyrd?

This was totally unfamiliar to me: hadn’t heard of artist, album, or any song. I didn’t listen to the deluxe stuff, just the original album. But it was fine. At no point did I desire to turn it off, but I wasn’t hungry for any more either. A solid 3.

Pre-listening thoughts: I think I’m familiar with three songs here. Even in her heyday I was more of a Britney person. I can guarantee I’ve never listened to this album.

Underappreciated was a new find. Dare I say, an underappreciated one?

But I think generally, Christina is not for me because her project is not one I’m interested in. Of the Britney/Jessica/Mandy generation, she’s the One Who Can Sing. No denying that. But that’s not what I want. So when she Sings, it falls flat for me. Not her fault. I’m just not going to keep coming back to this, except for the songs where she’s just doing pop stuff.

This came out when I was 15 and I never listened to it, so I don’t have any nostalgic attachment to it. (I do love the Marshall Mathers LP, though.) Now I’m 40 and clearly not the target audience.

Never been a huge fan of My Name Is. I have always liked Guilty Conscience. I think those were the only two I was familiar with ahead of time, although the beat on Role Model sounds familiar and it was a single, so maybe I heard it at some point.

Much of the rest of it sounds so half-baked and unfinished, especially compared to MMLP, which I think is a masterpiece. I ended up enjoying I’m Shady. Bad Meets Evil was underwhelming, which was disappointing because I like Royce da 5’ 9”.

This is my prediction: this will not age well. But I won’t be able to resist Self Esteem and Come Out and Play.

Listening thoughts: I actually like this more than I expected. It’s juvenile and silly, but that’s intentional, so it’s successful. Not my favorite genre, but good enough for our album today.

Before listening, I was familiar with Bell Bottom Blues and Layla, and I liked Layla.

After listening, I added Layla and Anyday to my list. But wow was this a slog. I would call it Layla and Assorted Overwrought Blues Jams. And then they have the audacity to throw that final song at you, which demonstrates they do possess acoustic guitars and can write a song that sounds even a little different from every other song. It was both a breath of fresh air and a little insulting. Now I’m fired up. I was between 2 and 3 stars but I’ve talked myself into 2.

During Summer of Bowie two years ago, I tried to listen to every album 2-3 times. This one was not my favorite. But today I liked it a little more. Perhaps with each revisit it will grow on me a little more. The second half doesn’t do it for me … yet.

I added Bonny to my running list of songs from this project. And other songs were on this album too.

Intro is so good. But I never return to the rest of the album because I remember it as a let down compared to that song. Being “forced” to revisit it, I found a lot to love. Like a 4.5, decided to round up.

Pre listen, I knew I’d heard this before and had two songs (“working class hero” and “god”) on my Spotify liked songs. After listening, much the same.

“God” really blew me away this time; I’d remembered it for the “don’t believe in Beatles” line, which feels shocking/antagonistic/angry, but today the song felt like a Buddhist love song (even though he doesn’t believe in Buddha). Something about renouncing all titles/man-made concepts and just feeling, just believing in the people you love. I loved it. And, knowing John Lennon, it probably is both angry (at his bandmates, at fans who keep clamoring for more Beatles) and optimistic (the dream being over allows for a new dream, of just being “John” without living up to being “the walrus”).

But the rest of the album was just okay. Anyway, I hope this Lennon fellow figures it out. I expect big things from him, say, one year after this album.

This was just okay.