Reviews by jlazerus

This is why a lot of people say they "hate" Jazz. Confusing, tuneless, random sounding...

But if you like Jazz, or even put up with it now and then, you recognize why Jazz elitists put this album at or near the top of all-time bests. It breaks every tradition while maintaining some elements. It's an intense listening experience, not casual. If you can bring yourself to really pay attention, an entirely new world of mood and feeling comes to light. Technically, the musicians are Jazz GOATs. Elvin Jones is especially incredible here, I can here some proto-Bonham during Jones' solo in "Pursuance." McCoy Tyner is also amazing, and the whole rhythm section has that magical thing that "just happens," a peak experience. Rare genius.

Then there's all of Coltrane's mysticism, which comes through in his playing. It is free, as in unconstrained. The Apple music review describes it as "an evocative play between tempo and non-tempo." A massive work of self-expression. Definitely analogous to post-modern visual art: non-linear, creates its own rules, unstructured.

This is powerful music. I can't imagine how this was created, and I've tried many times. Like Keith Jarret's live album, it's not something to listen to casually, it takes a few listens and an open mind to "get it." It's worth the effort though.

The pop and hip-hop genres are among my lowest rated. I'm not sure where that bias comes from, it's more a matter of taste than anything else. Maybe someday I'll go down some academic trail to figure it out. But for now, I just keep getting the same reaction to Pop and this sort of latter days R&B. I just don't dig it. It doesn't touch me, or move me. And this over-ambitious work is no different. Hat tip to the talent, Janelle Monáe is a fine singer. But there's so many producers, it ends up being a soulless musical exercise. Anytime pop artists use elements of Clasical or Jazz, or pop standards, critics fall over themselves to praise the boldness of moving around genres. But it's really not all that creative, like a lot of modern popular culture - movies, TV, music, etc. - we get a rehashing and reworking of ideas that have already been popular I don't think they bring TOO much new thinking to pop music here except for the conceptual idea behind this album. But even that doesn't quite work, and the androids among us story has been done better in different media (I'm thinking especially about PK Dick's "...Electric Sheep" which is referenced lyrically a few times in here.) A couple of excellent grooves here, especially "Faster" and "Tightrope." Otherwise forgettable and too long.

What the hell was happening in Seattle in the 80's and 90's? This and Soundgarden, both of which I really love, but my GOD are they dark. This is some of the heaviest and most dismal music ever made, only lumped in with Grunge by the sheer proximity in time and space to that movement. It's all METAL when you boil it down. Dirt indeed. Great musicians, and the tragically short-lived Layne Staley's best work. Powerful, but listen with the lights ON. And don't do drugs.

DAMN this was one of the best week's I've ever had doing this project.

The Furs are like a new-wave Led Zeppelin with a twisted sax that comes in the room every once in a while to wake everyone up.Owes a lot to Bowie, like most new wave, but they really take that off-kilter glam in a different heavier direction. The Steve Lillywhite production is a good match for the Furs slightly dissonant loping guitar/drums/bass surge: the dry beefy production, drums forward, favoring the low end; sprinkled with bits of high pitched punctuation from the guitar, keyboard, and sax... a lot of tension/resolution. It's a BIG sound. Richard Butler's voice ties it all up neatly, confidently. One of my favorite bands, much nostalgia bias here for me. Great to see Psychedelic Furs on the list.

A wild ride - jazz, funk, rock, soul, all perfectly executed. Another interesting transitional record, as we leave the hippies behind there's something more exciting in the future. (Turns out the hippies traded in their LSD for cocaine, but I digress). The double album is a little self-indulgent, but Chicago have that rotating lead vocalist and that variety of genres, so it remains interesting throughout. Amazing debut. Best horn section in modern pop music with the possible exception of Earth, Wind, and Fire. And I'm not giving that crown to EWF after this for sure.

One of the best albums of all time. The Attractions firing on all cylinders, Steve Naive especially. I just don't know where to begin... Read Franklin Bruno's brilliant 33 1/3 book on Armed Forces.

1980 me kind of hated this. 2025 me really loves this. The perfect 80s pop sound, Steve Winwood's iconic voice, his knack for melody. Bonus that he plays all the instruments, cool and impressive. "While You See a Chance" is like a time machine, and "Night Train" is a fantastic deep cut, killer guitar solo on top of that cheesy yacht-funk that you couldn't get away from in the early eighties. (Hoping to have coined the term yacht-funk 🤠

Intriguing, multi-layered experimental rock that is at times scary, joyful, weird, and cerebral. I remember seeing this band on The Colbert Report around the time this came out and was blown away, as there wasn't much interesting alternative rock coming out at the time - mostly pop masquerading as rock, mostly British. Very cool, needs multiple listens.

Absolutely loved this weirdness. 10x avant garde anti-establishment psychotic nonsense peering over the fence at you. I crave more of this.

I think 🤔 the point of the album and the band themselves are to be as subversive as possible. It definitely makes that attempt. Lou Reed has his best performance vocals until Transformer. But Nico… oof. Musically too Dylanesque without the folky credibility.

Here’s the thing. I just simply don’t enjoy the VU. They just make me cringe. It’s a lot like Andy Warhol’s art. Mostly conceptual, and groundbreaking by bringing the subversive stuff up from the underground. Without being able to cite any example, there’s a lot of stuff from the underground that is well executed and thought through. VU are a little too spontaneous and sloppy for me to clearly see the concept. But according to Wikipedia all rock is essentially transgressive. So they do succeed at making rock music. I s’pose. 100% influential. Very risky. Not all bad. I get the experiment. It just freaks me out that this all gets so much love. 🤷‍♀️

Life changing album for me. These guys are STILL trying to warn us about the deadly sins of consumerism, authoritarianism, conformity, and wanking.

Wholesome and strange. Great musicians. A little bit “old-timey” but I think that’s the bit. Enjoyable psychedelic pop. Small Faces are always a favorite so a bit of bias for the Mods

Love this and once again slightly pissed that I didn’t know about until now. I was buying all kinds of albums back in the 90s, especially alternative rock and was all in on the grunge wave. SubPop must have not marketed well where I was. Nonetheless, I’m going to have this in my rotation from here on out.

When pop music was New Wave. I have a theory that every rock star wants to be a crooner, deep down. Martin Fry skipped the first part and went straight to crooner right out of the gate, so I respect him for that. Very melodramatic. Not my favorite style and too polished for my taste - but this isn't music that can really have any edge to be successful.

Interesting nicely produced take on the blues by Bob Dylan. His voice is an acquired taste that I have yet to acquire. It's odd, though. I appreciate the weirdness of it. SO MANY other people doing a BAD job of expressing themselves this way (looking at you Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, and Tom Waits) and it always comes off insincere. Dylan somehow makes every word believable. So even though not my taste, I get what he's trying to do. Highlands is amazing, and a couple other cuts were great. Love the instrumentation and the production.

High energy but sloppy. Not quite a groundbreaking as you might think. Reminds me of Blue Cheer on speed. Definitely heading into the hard rock post-psychedelic era, though.

Please shut up and leave me alone. No, seriously, SHUT UP. I don't know what you think went wrong in your life but it's just not all that interesting. And yes, every song sounds exactly like something I've heard before a long time a go. Now please shut up.

I tried. I failed. This is pretty awful. Slow as hell, for example, I timed "Where Do We Go Now But Nowhere" on a metronome, and it was slower than the lowest setting of 40 bpm. Add the brushed snare and your depressing fiddle like some lumpy gravy all over the top.

If you like music like this, that's cool. Nick Cave is not great at it. I don't dislike him. Just his brand of pretentious post-punk Leonard Cohen schtick just doesn't work with these sad little living-room ballads. "West Country Girl" was ok. It wasn't worth going through the rest to get to this filk appropriation. Wake up indeed.

Nine Times out of Ten is a song where the drummer does not touch a single cymbal.

Feargal Sharkey's voice is as odd as his name.

HIGH PRAISE for this throwback. Never heard it, and outside of Sabbath this is the album of the week. Another awesome UK punk album.

Some fine guitar and banjo playing on here. "Red Clay Halo" has an authentic Carter Family bluegrass feel with a charming little ragtime guitar solo. Anachronistic, astute.

It's almost too good. And by that I mean not a note out of place, vocally or otherwise. Even "I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll, ostensibly live, has a "perfected" feel. On the other hand, this would fail if it had any edge. That's not what it's about. It's about the moods. The further into the album I got, the more endearing it became. The more my self-defensive over-analysis started to peel away. The more poetic and in a word, beautiful. Once I surrendered, I found the edginess.

But after getting through it all, I see a really well-crafted album by well meaning people who are paying tribute to an art form that was born out of struggle, without ever actually experiencing the struggle themselves, giving this a polished sheen of insincerity. They did a really good job of it though.