Reviews by jlazerus

One of the most important documents in pop music history really doesn't sound like it after nearly 60 years. But in its context it really was earth-shattering and made it okay for rock and pop artists to explore what THEY wanted, and not the record company or the producer. Push the envelope and try to do more than your friendly rivals, and you end up with arguably the most creative period in music. Play with exotic non-western instruments. Upend a song structure. Cut some tapes up and throw them back together. Rubber Soul is the root cause of every album you love (and possibly hate as well, I don't know for sure). But for sure The Beatles started it. Whatever it is.

The music itself is great - not spectacular - but again the value is in the new construction, like post-modernism in art, nothing was ever the same after it.

Sadly, we have returned to the pre-Beatles era where commercialism is the driving force behind pop music, leaving virtually no place for art. There are still great musicians and singers. But their self-expression is absent, it seems. Maybe another Beatles will come along and change that. But that's as unlikely as the first Beatles were.

Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, and Dolly Parton - how can you go wrong? A lot of heartbreak on here, great traditional country flawlessly executed.

I love this album more than life itself. The perfect expression of the 1970's. A bit cheesy, incredibly fun (yes, incredibly), slightly tipsy. I can imagine Fatboy Slim hearing these grooves and thinking "I'm going to base my entire career on this."

Incredible.

uhhm I thought we weren't supposed to have compilation albums on this? 3 1/2 hours? WHAT IS HAPPENING!

Well, you actually have to listen to the stuff. Enjoyed this as background sounds while doing other things, though the repetitive nature of Drum'n'Bass can be grating. Light and refreshing. Kinda cool.

Great album, great cover art. Janis Joplin is incomparable and probably influenced everyone from Chrissy Hynde to Bon Scott to Stevie Nicks. Just another level. I love the timelessness of this record, there's nothing on it that is topical or connected to the time it was made. Should last another couple hundred years.

Could be tighter. And if Janis Joplin is your singer, why would you relegate her to backups on "Oh, Sweet Mary"? Really the only flaw on this album.

Undeniably great. Some of the most astonishing bass playing I’ve ever heard. But a little Bill Evan’s goes a long way.

When you make a clone of the Velvet Underground, then clone it again, then clone the clone, you get this untuned unlistenable non-sequitor spewing garbage. Like the bad practice tapes of the crappy punk band I was in as a 17 year old, except somehow they made a record? Because they're from New York maybe?

At first it was "Oh, a little Smashing Pumpkins precursor, ok!" but they really lean into the atonal stuff REALLY HARD. The only emotion it evokes is annoyance. And this from a person who has seen this band live and paid money for at least one of their albums (which also is not good).

One of the most overrated bands of all time and absolutely the most overrated band of the alternative rock era (1986 - 1994 approximately when all these guys - Pavement, Dinosaur Jr, etc. - got major labels deals because of Nirvana).

1 extra star for the song 'Cross the Breeze, and Kim Gordon.

Hi everybody! What a wonderful album, oh golly gee whiz! Well now, this is the bee's knees, I gotta tell ya! THE antidote for all the east-coast rap I've been getting. That Frank Sinatra sure is nifty!

{ Okay, I can talk now... some goon who I overheard being called \"Johnnie the Finger Breaker\" just left to use the toilet so I gotta write fast! I'm tied to chair in a warehouse, address unknown, except it smells like fish and sweat so I must be near the docks. Couple hours ago I'm in my usual coffee shop, writing this review of Frank Sinatra's \"songs for swingin' lovers\" (hey! it's not capitalized on the album, why should I have to follow the rules?) about an hour ago when all of a sudden these two huge hairy guys come walking up behind me and ask, in the most sinister way you can imagine, \"Are you writing a review of Frank Sinatra's \"songs for swingin' lovers\" for your 1001 Albums generator site?\" and I said \"No, this is, uh, this is just a quick email to my sister stationed overseas! See, she joined the Army last year and I haven't talked to her in a whille...\"

\"HEY,\" one of the thugs says in a stage whisper (at least they have a modicum of politeness, or maybe they were just trying not to draw attention to themselves), \"I can SEE the album art right there on your laptop and the too-small review box right below it! You think you can pull a fast one on us?! Well guess what Shakespeare,\" (aww! thanks man!) \"you ain't writin' nothin that we don't tell ya to write, capiche?\"

\"Kuh what? I'm sorry, didn't quite catch the last bit there my good man (trying to buy time -- I hit the power button on my phone 5 times in quick succession to alert the authorities -- you know if you do that, you can call 911? Pretty cool feature, on the iPhone anyway) and the other guy says to me \"OH! A WISE GUY! Hey Johnnie, we got us a wise guy!\" Then they both start laughing hysterically.

Well, no sooner do they STOP LAUGHING ABRUPTLY than I find myself tied to this god damn chair, and I'm trying to put together what happened between then and now.

And good lord do I have a headache.

Anyway, I really disliked the Frank Sinatra album, except for "You Make Me Feel So Young," which I only feel OK about because it was in that movie Elf, which is a fun time. As is the song "Pennies From Heaven," but it's the MUCH better version by Louis Prima, of course. Jazz is not something to approach casually. If this is your entry point to Jaz, then by all means, have a good time. The arrangements are perfect, every accent is perfectly timed, perfectly placed. But Jazz, like Rock, has some edge, it has some underground origins. This bears little resemblance to the Jazz of Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, etc. But, you know, I guess everyone has to hear Frank before they die. (Insert bad Amy Winehouse joke here.)

OH! These dumbasses used blue painter's tape instead of duct tape! HAHAHAHA! My lucky day! Well cats and kittens I AM GONNA skedaddle before Fingers McGoo (or whatever) comes back to slap me again for dissing the once great Sinatra. I guess those Mob connection rumors were true after all!

My precoceived idea was that this would suck. But apparently I'm becoming indoctrinated into the east-coast rap scene of the 80s and 90s.

I really enjoyed this record. Just the right mix of social consciousness and hardcore with some excellent grooves. I had a hard time with "Bitch," though.

Weird to get this and Wu-Tang one after another.

I am NOT their audience, but even someone like me can recognize greatness. Killer grooves, entertaining rhymes, stuff to think about. How is this triple-platinum and I've never heard it? Moody and dark.

No reason not to give this a five. Steve Gadd putting on a clinic. Ridiculous. Bernard Purdue doing his shuffle thing (a god among men) in Home At Last.

Catchy, jazzy and just a little off, this is Steely Dan 101. Spotless performances of some great songs. Clichè though it is, this album exists at another level entirely. A satisfying listening experience that you can return to.

Mostly a masterpiece. Accolades are deserved for this well-crafted pop album. Nilsson has a great voice with tremendous dynamic range, variety and a heartfelt emotional power.

Outside of the two more well-known tunes (Without You and Coconut), "Jump Into the Fire" and "Gotta Get Up" age really well.

Nice recording, too. Stands out, being from before the time when pop music was formulaic copy-pastes of pop music that was copy-pasted from the previous, ad infinitum.

Starts strong, then retreats into a sameness that I did not enjoy. Didn't care much for the pervasive violence.

Some think punk is defined by violence, but some are entirely mistaken.

The tunes don't benefit from the big-money production (also this is an anti-punk sell out) with horns and strings, especially if the orchestra is playing the same riff that the guitar/bass/drums/singer are playing. Kind of dull overall, not really hardcore because it relies almost entirely on violence and victimhood tropes. I don't know why but I thought it was somewhat incomprehensible.

Appealing musically, and anything Mick Jones is associated with can't be all bad. Props to the rhythm section. I'm looking for evidence of the Jam and I'm not really finding it, lads. I'll coin the term "Post-Brit-Pop." Smells like music industry chicanery, what with the pretty boys and all. "What Became of the Likely Lads is aight, innit?

I would own an outdoor lounge at a luxury resort just so I could play this album on a loop.

Definitely more cogent than Beggars Banquet. Pretty tight, which the Stones often aren't. "Monkey Man" is one of my favorite deep cuts. But this album is downright nasty, in places. Never read the lyrics to "Let It Bleed" or "Midnight Rambler," it's all fairly grim, which I suppose reflects the kids' mood at the time.

I think the Stones lack creativity in a way. They copy their influences a little too much in this period. They do a passable job of bringing bluegrass and country elements into the music, and of course they were the vanguard UK Blues Poseurs®. But they are best when following their own muse, like on "Can't Always Get What You Want" or the aforementioned "Monkey Man."

It's an essential album, no question. I don't know if it's great, though. So much time has passed since this came out, it's almost impossible to judge it on its own merits. For sure one of the top 100 Stones records.

Do I have to?

Comfortably Numb is fine I guess. Depressing in a kind of and exploitative way. Too long, too self-centered, inauthentic intensity. Unpopular opinion as a big Floyd fan. The Wall is another big seller,
Advice: don't take acid and see the movie in the theater. I WOULD NEVER do something like that, but I have heard it's a bad idea.

"Tiger"! The greatest ABBA deep cut ever!
Arrival has some surprisingly darkish stuff on it. Surprising because ABBA makes some of the lightest music ever made! I was thinking "oh! ABBA! Gentle enough for a fifth-grader!" Have you heard "Knowing Me, Knowing You" or "That's Me"? I'm not explaining that to a fifth-grader.

On the other hand, the shimmering pop beauty of "Fernando" or "Dancing Queen" (or pretty much any other song on here) knows no comparison. Really good, especially for those times when Nick Cave or Joanna Newsome are just a bit much!

I don't want to spend any time on this. Some of the guitar solos are memorable. Another reviewer here said that this is the type of thing that gave rise to punk rock and I couldn't agree more.

R.E.M. veering into pop territory seemingly by accident. Still has shades of their earlier artier stuff. Michael Stipe is more in your face. Mike Mills weaving in tasteful homespun backgrounds. Bill Berry offers his best performance with his impeccable timing, and adding darkness to the orchestration. Peter Buck driving this whole thing without overwhelming it. This feels like a band who enjoy playing together, no one is trying to elevate themselves above the music. Great production, almost too spotless. A fantastic album that I've always loved and I wish I had more time to write about it.