Reviews by jlazerus

From this cover the music could be literally anything from pop to metal. But of course it’s British indie rock. And based on that and the year this came out I am lowering my expectations as far as I can. Hope to be proven wrong.

There's a lot to like, a lot to dislike.
Britpop + psychedelic pop + whatever Radiohead and Coldplay were doing around this time. I think it's the atmospheric production, that shimmering endless reverb and vaguely symphonic guitar and keyboard treatment, the jazzy chord progressions, arpeggios. It's a cool sound, but again, it just REMINDS ME of something else.

Then all of a sudden there's this garagey power pop heavy guitar thing "Catch the Sun." Just rock. Very nice. Out of place (finally something different!) but nice. Sounds like a Dave Grohl song, honestly.

Everything on here sounds like something. Nothing bad per se. Just something that you've heard before. They do tend to take a riff and wear out its welcome, drone-like. Really excellent production and all of the musicians are precise, not overplaying. They bury the vocals a lot, for good reason, but who am I to criticize?

Overall I really enjoyed this. Nothing hit me the wrong way, they have some power to them, some U2-esque ambition. The drum/bass/guitar section is exceptional, simple riffs well executed.

All hail Keith Moon. Go ahead, hail Keith Moon, this review will be here when you get back.

My Generation is an "important" album. This has the seeds of The Who's explosive nature all over it. The title track is unquestionably the most incendiary thing on here. The Townsend compositions are miles and miles better than the covers. So after this, the band relied less on them and more on their own writing If I remember correctly this album was somewhat rushed out, like a lot of the early to mid-sixties British invasion tracks due to various managers trying to cash in on the rock-n-roll trend. Which interestingly, did kind of die in the 90's, didn't it.

But rock wasn't dead yet, Pete wasn't old, the rest of the band was on their best behavior and this incredible piece of work retains its charm 60 years on.

Post-old school? Is that a rap genre?

I like this for the same reason hardcore hip hop fans hate it: LL Cool J appeals to the mainstream, and you can actually hear what he's saying. There's not as much lingo and obscure inside jokes in these, unlike a lot of other hip hop. The west coast stuff that was getting popular around this time was especially incomprehensible and unrelatable to most of us, whereas LL Cool J talked about girls primarily, and how he knows he pissed of the "community" because of the above and sorry he's just more popular than you (not sorry, he will knock you out).

The mainstream always eats the underground. Here's an example. It's entertaining to someone like me. A lot of other albums from the genre are difficult at best. This is more fun. It doesn't seem like anyone died.

Tasting notes:

Hints of Roxy on the nose, with fleeting scent of Peter Gabriel (or is that Kate Bush? Hard to say!)

The first taste wants to remind you of a more modern, more romantic Beatles (possibly). However, it eludes that comparison while begging for the same. Very smooth, sweet but thin, perhaps too chilled and could use some aeration. I never prepare well for these tastings! Ah well!

On the tongue, centrally, I'm noticing unusual and fleeting flavors - The Police ("When the World is Running Down" bassline jumps out in the song "Stay" possibly the most exuberant experience here today), XTC, Talk Talk, and a Bowie-esque mouthfeel. No finish or aftertaste whatsoever.

Overall a very well made and pleasant white blend, though sadly forgettable.

Pairs well with closing a restaurant at 2:30 AM on Wednesday, or brunch at Grandma's.

Highly polished big dumb rock. Some memorable melodies: the chorus of Animal, the pre-chorus of Love Bites (I don’t want to touch you too much baby…)

Pretty great. THe couple notes about this on WIkipedia made me think it was going to be like angry hardcore or Gil Scot Heron. Much more down to earth, think a modern day, more electronic Sly and the Family Stone with African vibes.

And I continue to be angry that nothing ever changes, BLM didn't seem to do anything. The Police are even more heavily funded than ever. Seems like we went backwards. It's 2025 and we were promised Fully Automated Luxury Communism, but all we got was the same racist police state. Somehow (maybe because of the 2020 protests) that racist power elite got even more scared than they were before, and entrenched themselves even further in their hateful, crude, and violent ways.

I really don't want this to end in a violent revolution. No one wants that. I love that this album really celebrated blackness and black people without being dicks about it. The positivity and love might be the thing to set us all free. It's a lovely thought anyway.

I get it, I understand the accolades and critical attention Bob Dylan got and continues to get to this day. His songs have lyrical depth truly unlike anything else in popular music. In the context of the time, very subversive and anti-establishment.

Musically, Dylan can drag. But thankfully he never stands still, and he pulls from so many places that his work is usually pretty interesting. Not always, but usually.

This album in particular has a cleverness and sentiment that stands out for its time. Everyone wanted to do this after they heard it, from The Beatles to The Velvet Underground, I'm even hearing shades of Dylan in Jethro Tull and the folkier Lad Zeppelin songs. Just a very few off the top of my head, after this I'm going to go to the Wikipedia page to see the enormous list of artists Dylan has influenced.

Regardless, this is a good listen, worth the time. Heartfelt as all hell, smart, enthusiastic. And humorous. Every song is a journey.

Get away from Maggie's Farm for sure.

Iconic. It's one of those albums that is truly innovative and unique, changing the trajectory of music to some degree. Cool and edgy in a real way. Side 2 has some weaknesses, although those deep cuts still have something to offer. Maybe it just seems weak in light of the strengths like Light My Fire. The album still sounds good, still spooky and weird and dirty.

One of the 10 albums you should hear before you die. THE jazz-funk masterpiece that all others must bow down to. Phenomenal.

I can't tell if these are good songs because David Berman can't sing. Just can't get past it. Insulting.

Good idea poorly executed. My first impression was WHAT THE HELL? I really don't have much to say about this. Definitely sounds like it was made in someone's bedroom.

Apparently I can't really call myself a proper XTC fan (even though I love most of their stuff) having never heard this before! In my defense, I have had it in my amazon cart since probably 2007. After listening, though, I'll probably take it off.

It feels a bit labored. Except for "Greenman" and the heartbreaking "Your Dictionary," XTC seem to be missing most of their usual edginess, their character, and wit.

I think they set too high a bar early on. This lacks that energy. Still exquisitely executed.

I think the reason I don’t like Rod Stewart is that his singing voice sounds like an old woman.

All the covers just make me want to hear the original - or in the case of It’s All Over Now, the original cover.

Ronnie’s Wood and Lane are great, as is Kenny Jones on You’re My Girl. There are just very few highlights on this one.

A drum clinic. The drums and percussion are the most compelling thing about this album. Really for me, not a huge modern R & B fan, this was entertaining and nicely executed. In an endless sea of soulless pop music this album stands out for its natural feel. Erykah Badu has a unique sound not unlike Diana Ross, though less powerful and dynamic. Not bad.

Lovely voice and a big variety of styles. Some are more rock, some African folk, some traditional rhythms. Jovial!

Eno assumes his final form in the Eno Expanded Universe.

Weird in a good way. Has a strangely Beatlesque flavor in places. A fun oddball piece. Eno is in a much better mood here than on "Before and After Science." It's less polished and all the better for that. Just this side of crazy.

Massive Attack is a good representative of a problem that all electronic music must overcome to be successful. And by successful, I don't mean selling huge numbers, or attaining Critical Acclaim™. I mean it succeeds in moving the listener in some way, emotionally. So this is why it is art and not simply a vehicle for telling stories. It's why I can enjoy African or Indian music and not understand the language. The problem is that electronic music is ultimately a technical genre, bound tightly to physics more so than self-expression. Creating soulfulness in electronic music, is its difficulty and most frequent downfall. This is the main problem for a lot of technically oriented music like EDM, Progressive Rock, and even Jazz to a large degree. Emotional content, the flavor, is underdeveloped at the expense of the difficulty of the technical aspects. So, in the very best music, the artist has the skill to express it all: technical chops and emotional depth.

Massive Attack come so close, but don't quite get there. A lot of sameness disqualifies them from achieving some kind of technical mastery. And the forced vocal soul does little to bring feeling to these purposely synthetic grooves. Nice though they are, soothing and mellow, but no urgency or intensity. No emotional depth to speak of. Which would be reasonable (for me) if the music were more interesting technically. Outside of the dub-tinged "Spying Glass" and their fantastic cover of The Doors "Light My Fire," this isn't something I would take all that seriously. Good soundtrack music perhaps.

So hipster even Pitchfork hated it!

Weird experimental underground noise art made cohesive by a loose concept. Has an "outsider art" feel. Highly unusual and not for those who find comfort in familiarity. Very goth, had a folk-metal attitude but a much different musical framework.

Pretty flawless. I love Curtis Mayfield's voice, it's so unique and recognizable. Cool instrumentation, smooth, a little dated - some might say CLASSIC. Compelling narrative: difficult but not disturbing, complicated without being taxing. Still sounds great.

Interesting, a live Motörhead album on the 1001 list. A gigantic bonkers slab of the heaviest speed metal you could hope to find.

SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Taking this too seriously can cause irritation, inflammation of the arrogance glands, and has been shown to cause cankles in laboratory rats (no rats were harmed etc etc).