Reviews by john

Telling myself that English britpop/rock isn’t derivative and mundane for the millionth time while wearing a clinically insane smile on my face and manically clawing at the walls that surround me

The instrumental backing is lovely

The singing is unbearable

Not as impactful as the previous kd lang record we’ve pulled from this list. A bit more outwardly country & folksy, maybe a tad too much so. Not bad by any means, just not the best offering

I can’t really poke a hole in this album. Maybe that’s partly due to how out of my depth I am with anything metal. But this was fantastic. Obviously, Hollow is the clear highlight of the record. More melodic and refrained than most songs, which I think all metal/loud albums need a bit of. A stark, interesting contrast from Master Of Puppets that was recently the album of the day, in that VDOP here was often more introspective and lyrically based in reality. Really well done.

I don’t know if the 5am ghost was just hitting right this morning, but this was a surprisingly good album. I wasn’t expecting much at all. The highlight for sure is I Wish I’d Never Loved You, it’s soaring and dramatic and sung to perfection. Also, is Live It Up sounding really close to The Loco-Motion to anyone else? I know it’s not an uncommon chord progression, but it sounded pretty similar.
Anyways, really enjoyed this album.

Showcases the incredible quality of Kurt’s voice in its unique tonality and his ability to so personally tell a story in each song. An iconic album in the eyes of many

Like every album made by The Black Keys or Kings of Leon, I wish they would just shut up. Such nice pop-rock compositions almost always ruined by the singers voice. I can’t quite pin it down, but there’s something in both the tonality of the singers voice and the lyrics that is so grating on the ears.
On the plus side, this is recorded excellently. The fidelity and textures of all the instruments, how they all come together, it’s all fantastic.
Softest 3 possible.

the lightest 4 stars from me. Good protest music, some iconic songs are frontloaded onto here, tapers off a bit in the back.

Yeah this is a bit more solid than most stones albums / any rock album of its time. I think the biggest standout on here is the moments of restraint mick and the band use on some arrangements - they know when to go crazy and Gimme Shelter it, but they know when to pull it back and You Can’t Always Get What You Want it

So this is Grateful Dead. Not as eclectic as their reputation would lead you to believe, but I know that most of that reputation is from their “jam band” style live shows. This was just very Crosby-Stills-Nash-esque. Truckin is a classic, my favorite on here is Ripple though. Not too shabby

So this is what they sang about before the cold war!
Very tight & well performed as a band, but hard to judge

Simply put - not my jam

Chat am I a jaded hater?
I’m just getting this feeling that I won’t remember anything off this record other than the title track - which does deserve its props. Sweet Dreams (the song) seems like the type of song you write/record and instantly know you’ve got something big on your hands. I must also recognize it’s staying power, zedd just recently played it at his show. It’s still recognizable and sleek.
But outside of that…there’s nothing new to grasp onto. It’s just 80’s music with nothing more than a slightly dark facade to it all. Carried by the title track, if there even is anything to carry here

Fun loving? Yes, absolutely. These guys are very fun and at times pure of heart. It’s infectious at best. However, it often comes at a cost of subpar lyricism and delivery. It’s interesting, they’re at an intersection of rock and rap, but not at all in the nu-metal linkin park way.
“All the Time In The World” is the highlight for me here. Good instrumental, good vibe. And a light 3 for those good vibes

The stark cut from the first track into The Nurse, which is by far the best song on here, is the highlight for me. I had to check to make sure it wasn’t my phone going off. Everything else is par for the White Stripes course. After enough time with this list I can offer my respect to the Whites as musicians. Not often my mood, but they’re both stellar

Alright I’m pretty sure that’s all 3 major Nick Drake albums checked off, what are we (i), 271 albums into this?
I remember the first one being the most impressive to me, even through the background noise of a giant airplane taking me to NZ. He had a very grounded vocal presence that seemingly held out a hand to take you along through whatever story he was telling. Then we pulled Pink Moon, which was a bit more experimental and definitely more in lala land mentally (apparently representing the decline of his mental state a bit), and now we are here in the middle. So how does it go?
More like the first record, thankfully. Drakes delivery is very arresting. There’s strangely a lot of tasteful, easy waiting room style music in this too. Maybe not everyone’s thing, but I’m a fan. 3 for now, but I want to go back to this one I think there’s more here.
Poor Boy is my highlight of the record

Creates a good vibe that maintains a specific pleasant atmosphere for bunches of 10 minutes or so, mostly when it’s Stevie knicks singing. I’m always impressed at how Fleetwood Mac found the sweet spot for letting instruments and vocals breathe, giving everything its proper room in the mix/recording. Still, nothing on here makes me jump out of my seat

It is with great regret that (even with this being the second Kinks album this week) i say i like and appreciate this album. While there are too many like this record on the 1001 list, this one at least knows what it’s doing. There’s plenty of character, fun storytelling, catchy melodies. These guys really hate the idea of war, as did most rock bands in the late 60’s.
Highlights on here for me are Yes Sir, No Sir as well as Shangri-La

It’s a bit long to listen to one man constantly talking like that, but at least there’s some personality and character to it all

About 250 albums or so in and I’m experiencing the first instance of real memory issues with this list - I swore we (i) already pulled this one.

Anyhow this is a markedly incredible record. Outside of some obvious “Metallica” sounds, you can barely tell it’s from the 80’s, or any certain time period. It’s all energy, all perfect execution. Even as i listen to this at 5:30am to start work, I can only be super impressed with how tight the production & performance is.

It’s missing some softer dynamics/ maybe one melodic interlude away from being a true 5/5 for me, but i recognize this as the holy grail for metal heads and respect you if you give it 5 stars