Reviews by john

Like water in a drought. So few albums on this list are so innately infectious, so few are non-English.

I loved the South American country roll call at the end of the opening “Plastico”. I loved even more the adlibbing and audible noises the singer made on the following “Buscando Guayaba”.

My favorite song was probably “Maria Lionza”, especially for the way they go “En Venezuelaaaaaa” at 2 minutes in. But I also really liked how the title track “Siembra” heightened the mood with a more suspenseful, quick energy.

Impossible to not enjoy in a list that contains something like 9 Neil Young albums and 1000000 niche 80’s british acts.

A beautiful 4 besos

Disgust turns to apathy as yet another British rock band from the 80’s appears on my feed. Apathy turns to dread when I read that the frontman of this group went on to be in The Style Council, a project I despised upon first listen a few weeks ago. This group sounds better, but only marginally. While nothing here is offensive or unlistenable, few and far between were the times I felt like I’d remember a song or melody by lunch time today.

This list feels less like 1001 albums you should listen to and more like a look into the record collection of a gen X white british guy. 2/5

I tried to deny Waits’ character and presence, but as the album went on I once again found myself enraptured in this theater of the mind album.

The imagery excellence starts on “Intro To Eggs And Sausage”, which rolls so nicely into the melody of its following song.

Waits is at his best a few songs later on “Better Off Without A Wife”. I sense breaks in his bravado and persona, that this one isn’t just a story to be told, it’s a peak into his heart. It’s like watching a kid stub his toe and try to convince you he’s fine even though you can see he’s holding back tears.

“Nighthawk Postcards” had me enraptured in the picture he was painting around 5:30 into the song. Lastly, “Big Joe And Phantom 309” was an endearing story that, much like the unfolding of this album, felt a little slow at the beginning, but by its ending I was hooked.

I have two small issues with this project worth pointing out.
One, as I mentioned just now, it’s a little slow to develop. I can’t blame listeners for wanting to turn it off early.
Two, Tom Waits sings almost purely from the throat for this whole record. On Heartattack & Vine, he finds a more appeasing, full voice that comes from his gut. I liked that a lot more.

I don’t think there needs to be this many Tom Waits albums on this list but damn I just can’t deny how he set himself up for success here. Light 4/5

Doing mental gymnastics to justify this being someone’s guilty pleasure album in my most generous state of mind. Much like that Bruce Springsteen ‘Rising’ album from a few days ago, I don’t think you can fault Simply Red for lack of effort. But you can criticize the end result. More importantly, you SHOULD criticize the decision to put Picture Book on this list.

“Heaven” wielded some of this albums worst lyrics, heavy-handed writing and a clunky vocal delivery. It’s a fine representative for this album’s lack of substance.

“Money’s Too Tight” was the most listenable, a song that actually finds a groovy pocket and pairs it with a catchy chorus. Really the only song I enjoyed.

I am out of my depth here, but I think this record borrows from a lot of music made from black Americans years before. I don’t have a specific record to point to, but I’d encourage listeners to look in that direction instead of listening to this waiting room music.

Low 2/5

There's an interesting parallel to the recording of this album and the recording of Yung Lean's "Stranger". Both records were made at the end of hospital admissions a drug-related psychosis. The difference is that the last two songs alone on "Stranger" clear most of what "Oar" has to offer.

While there's a bit of charm in how barren and direct Skip Spence is in his deliveries, there's no charm in how long and meandering this project is. If you told me this was a jam album full of recordings made up on the spot, I'd have to believe you. Whether it's the haphazard guitar playing on "Diana", or the lyrics of "It's The Best Thing For You", this doesn't seem like a fully-realized effort.

I guess I didnt mind "Broken Heart" if I had to pick a song on here. But I don't see how this is described as "one of the most harrowing documents of pain and confusion ever made". How? Are we listening to the same album???

Almost a 1/5

Love Bruce but this doesnt belong here. No substantial music came from 9/11, which has to be the reason for this record's inclusion. On first listen, i immediately thought "this had to be a free grammy printer" and sure enough he won a grammy for best rock album.

"Nothing Man" is my pick from this album if you have to listen to one song from it, but it's not really worth your time imo. "Lets Be Friends" is hilarious as a concept, a song that sounds suspiciously inspired by Sugar Ray, on an album with a song about 9/11 on it.

So many classic rock revival albums sounded like this in the 2000's, half of this stuff reminds me so much of AC/DC's Black Ice. That is to say, not very impactful.

The Boss tries, but doesnt succeed in doing much of anything. At least it's not as tone-deaf as a bunch of celebrities' singing "Imagine" from their super fancy homes in response to the covid lockdown. 2/5

Just a 1/5 through and through. Metallica is on this list a few times, so this record gets invalidated. Vocals that are so painfully on the nose. Really poor mix/master work, at least for the current version on Spotify. Couldn’t take it seriously after an honest 5 song effort

Wildly interesting record at least for the first handful of songs. A hidden gem alert. If this were a five-ish track EP with just the first bit of the albums songs, it’d be generational. But this thing does falter a bit towards the end of its normal tracklisting, and even more so on this collectors edition, which is an unnecessary version to include.

“Fisherman’s Blues” opens things up and shows its teeth right away. Songs that tie love into hardship, as is the case with lots of Irish/celtic inspired pop/rock music, are abundant on this album.

I was a bit skeptical on how the following “We Will Not Be Lovers”, but the way this song escalated into its second minute is captivating. So much going on in the instrumental, so much flavor.

“World Party” had a few crazy moments, like the regal horn section a little over 3 minutes in.

Things start to putter out a bit until “The Stolen Child” takes the listeners attention back with its old-timey spoken word passages.

“This Land Is Your Land” leans into theis albums Springsteen qualities, with a bleeding-heart rendition of an American folk classic.

Disc 2 opens up with another strong track, the “Carolan’s Welcome” instrumental. But really I can’t be bothered to remember anything else on disc 2 that stuck with me.

I’m really torn here. Shorten this project up and it’s a surefire 4, maybe even more. But it’s a long one. I’ll give it the lightest 4 for now, but it’s mostly the first few songs that do the heavy lifting.

Inevitable pull after a hot streak of good albums for about a week. It’s all style and no substance. Much like edm in the mid 2010’s, rock music at Hysteria’s time seemed saturated and played out, taken to its logical conclusion of “louder = better”.

“Love Bites” almost had a nice sweet more tender moment, but it didn’t do nearly enough to redeem this thing. This album is one of the first time whwre heard a song on this list I used to listen to all the time through my parents playing it on the radio and I didn’t get a greater appreciation for it. Which is strange, because this whole project is mixed and mastered super well, but there’s nothing beneath its electronic arena rock facade.

Once again a rule is proven true, this is an album my coworkers like, so naturally it’s a 2/5

Stellar album and a rare instance of the hit single being one of the worst songs off the album. A little punk, a little pop, a little 80’s.

The lead singer has so much personality oozing out of her. Such a lethal combo of flare packed into catchy, digestible hooks. “Precious” got me amped from the start.

“Tattooed Love Boys” had an awesome little guitar solo after a first few minutes of fun lyrical imagery.

“Stop Your Sobbing” wasn’t the best song, but was a necessary mixup that offers something a little lighter and melodic. The following “Kid” sorta continues on that path too.

4/5 we’re on a heater it’s been like a week of good albums now

Beautiful music and a beautiful voice flying in the face of a lifetime of grief. While Sarah McLachlan may be the only other name that comparably comes to mind, I can’t think of anyone else that sings quite like Sinead O’Connor. Her voice is a talent that can’t be taught.

While “Nothing Compares 2 U” gets its flowers all the time everywhere, I think the previous song “Black Boys On Mopeds” is the most striking. I’ve never heard a protest song sound so pretty and graceful.

Easy 4/5

A perfectly-named album. It was really nice listening to this at the end of my night. Sinatra is downtrodden as can be, but making the most of it by looking back on loves lost.

While my favorite track was probably "When Your Lover Has Gone", the middle run of song from track 6-10 really hit a sweet spot. The way "Last Night When We Were Young" crescendos in both instrumentation and in Sinatra's delivery made it another standout track.

I might be victim to a listening experience that is perfectly timed as I mentioned before, but I think this is a soft 4/5. Frank Sinatra's signature ease-of-delivery vocals are tailor-made for a project like this. Full of noire-ridden yearning, disappointment, and romantic helplessness. Yet somehow he still retains a cozy, faint glimmer of hope amongst the doom and gloom.

It's like you can hear him throwing his coat over his shoulder and staring at the concrete, kicking rocks on the dim walk home

Heavy and teeming with character. Outside of the obvious song, tracks like "Ball and Biscuit" and "In The Cold, Cold Night" are a great sendoff to the rock n roll our older generations knew and loved. The intro to "Little Acorns" - how fun!

My favorite might be "Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine". Such a simple, sticky hook with a totally memorable subject. And some nice guitar riffs to boot.

4/5 easy

Wow this sucks. Inexcusably unlistenable. Bar for bar might be my least favorite album on this list so far, 750 something albums in. The singers voice sits in the infamous Smashing Pumpkins register, but instead of whimsical melancholy nonsense it’s often lyrics that are hard to listen to. Songs about breathing in another girls mouth, whining about getting hammered and needing to sleep with a girl he’s encountered.

I held out some level of hope that things could change course through the first few songs until “Be Sweet” came on. No, this isn’t self-aware track about a bad man and a relationship. It’s just annoying, it’s trite, it’s awful. The rest of the album was dull at best but often times grating on the ears.

Thank god there’s an interesting new Underscores album to cleanse away this mess.

1/5 from the bottom of my heart

As is the case with many a pop album, there are some highs and some lows on here. Almost all of it is on the upper end of quality for 2000’s pop.

“Can’t Hold Us Down” was a great tone-setter that I wish she could’ve maintained for a little longer.

“Make Over” was by far the lowlight, which is unfortunate because the instrumental is pretty interesting, lush production and some hooks that are well-written. But that chorus. It hurt. It really hurt.

All can be forgiven though, as things slowly picked back up. “Dirrty” was a nice jolt to the system, a song that actually had some real teeth.

Some solid female empowerment anthems, songs about intimacy and loves lost. All prevalent y2k themes. Par for the course for this era of pop. A few great jams. 3/5

This album got a lot stronger as it went on. I was a bit underwhelmed early on, and am still left with the feeling that Amy’s amazing vocal presence is largely what carries this record. If it were a more average singer, we’d be all together disinterested in the whole package.

At the point of “Fuck Me Pumps” in the tracklisting I was getting a bit irritated with the quality of each song in contrast to Amy’s legendary status that precedes her.

But things turned around at “(The Is No) Greater Love”, a super sweet ballad.
“In My Bed” is probably my favorite, with a much-needed energetic chorus and instrumental that breaks the mold a bit.
Lastly, “Amy Amy Amy” kept things interesting, as it was an introspective bit of analysis she performed on herself and her destructive habits.

Soft 3/5, not the best Amy Winehouse project for me, therefore shouldn’t be in this list, but a fine listen

You can trace a line from modern electronic music back to house music, and a line from house music back to disco - specifically Chic. Hypnotic instrumentals on loop for minutes at a time, four-to-the-floor drum patterns, *perfect* basslines, Nile Rodgers playing his signature strutty guitar patterns, and maybe just a handful of vocal toplines. One can hear how Daft Punk took a lot of inspiration from/paid homage to Chic on their debut album Homework.

Outside of the obvious first to songs that have been played the world over, I have a few favorites here. “Savior Faire” is a break from the danceloor tempos, with soaring strings and a reverb-laden guitar solo that feels like a rendezvous to a beach somewhere overseas. Then, I really revere “I Want Your Love” as the quintessential Chic track to pick from the bunch. Perfected hook with that bell added in, great bassline. Disco distilled to its hypnotic essentials.

Light 4/5 for this one, while there isn’t a ton of variation, it’s such a honed, infectious sound

You know how Paul Simon took a bunch of heat for “cultural appropriation” on his making of Graceland, even though it was pretty good art made with tact, taste, and a reverence for the places and people it lifted sounds from? Yeah that ire should be directed at this thing. I’ve got quite the tolerance for cheesy songs made with the intent to uplift the world while ripping uncredited non-English musicians (“Komodo” by Mauro Picotto is a good case study in this phenomena), but this is just bad all around.

This is the bassist of Public Image Limited, one of the worst reoccurring bands to inhabit this list. I don’t think I need to say much more than that. There are times where this record isn’t outright bad, but those times are few and far between. Some lowlights include “Ungodly Kingdom” and “Sweet Divinity”.

1/5 sadly takes all the worst parts of the early 90’s sounds and puts them into an album

Hmmmm. Fun, smooth, good, but not great. I'd say this is record is super dependent on set & setting. A sunny sunday with a drink in my hand? 6/5 project. And when Aja is at it's best ("Peg" is so obviously it's best), it can teleport you to that sunny day, no matter where you stand.

There is a creeping sense of unease this album can instill if you catch it on a bad day. I get how you can hear a facade put up by Steely Dan with their conspicuously easy instrumental deliveries and ultra-shiny lyrics about drinking scotch whiskey.

Perhaps a microcosm of my entire listening relationship with Steely Dan, I'll take the hits from this and leave the rest. 3/5

I read the wiki summary of all albums I don’t know before I listen to them. At this point I’m automatically expecting each unknown band to have “English rock band” in the first sentence on its wiki. Every time I see it, I shudder. It’s gotten so repetitive that I’ve gone past the stages of anger, it just makes me chuckle now.

So how’s this one? Solid. Probably a little ahead of its time. Moments like the weird patchwork of noises that fade out on "Recoil", or the circusy "Great Beautician in the Sky" which was a personal favorite. The whole album is worth it just to hear the manic 'you can tell me all about it go and tell me all about it' line.

Lots of attitude lots of heart. I'm gonna 3 this one but I'll probably kick myself for not giving it more stars in hindsight