Reviews by justcoolvinyl

Soft Cell is the electro-Devo with Marc Almond’s twisted world view expanding the pop dictionary to include a thorough examination of kink and sexuality as well as perception. Opener Frustration hints at what is to come “I am so ordinary…I’m so tired of hard luck stories…” and yet the album is filled with stories and most of them hard luck stories. Musically, it is hard to argue with the genius of the Tainted Love cover- Gloria Jones recorded in 1964 the original and it was a northern soul stomper but Soft Cell’s synth pop cover elevates it into the contemporary pop sphere. Seedy Films captures the nightlife of Blue City which is a euphemism for the drug filled dance clubs of the late 70s and early 80s where the nightlife was seedier, kinkier and definitely sleezy. Sex Dwarf and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye are also classics that surprisingly stand up after 40 years because they are catchy, interesting and because there is nothing really like Marc Almond other than perhaps Kevin Rowland of Dexy’s Midnight Runners who also mines similar territory. Actually this is a record that still belongs in this list. It was an album derivative of no other act and represents a complete work of disco inspired synth pop with lyrics you can sing along with (although singing a couple of these songs may get you some side eye). A fun, not too serious pop record, that somehow avoids all pretentiousness, is surely a worthy record to include in this list. 4/5

At the time this was a change of pace for Limp Bizkit with a more laid back approach and lengthier workouts. I thought of this as their Nine Inch Nails phase. There are some catchy tunes, but in fairness, this has not aged that well. Most of the songs are too long and could have used some editing. Also, the album title is still stupid.

The record is more of a vibe than a post punk record. Dark, emotional, with songs that flow into each other. This album is probably best described as ambient post punk. The frenetic version of TV on the Radio will make it’s appearance on Return to Cookie Mountain but as debut records go and being a release that distills elements of Siouxsie and The Banshees and goth with the Pixies. Tunde Adebimpe’s vocals are what holds the record together with their many layers woven through each track. I prefer tracks like the brilliant Wolf Like Me on Cookie Mountain, but this 1st offering should not be overlooked. Released in 2004, this is a record that could be released today to widespread acclaim. 4/5

First time I sat through a Richard and Linda Thompson record. Not a folk rock fan let alone a British folk fan. Pleasantly a surprise. The guitar playing is enjoyable, technically excellent, and each song is served by the quality of the performances. Linda’s vocals are superb and crystal clear. Calvary Cross, the title track and the Great Valerio are well written, interesting and although the subject matter of these songs is a bit bleak, you get a sense of hope lurking in the sadness. I’m not sure I’d revisit this record on my own volition but I would not be opposed to listening to this album again. There are a couple of tracks that don’t work as well (See We Sing Hallelujah) but none are out of place. An interesting detour especially coming after Turbonego’s Apocalypse Dudes. Above average quality record.

Wish I had the earlier review I did. I said it’s a great fucking record from the period. I like Ass Cobra better than Apocalypse Dudes but they both cover the perfect mix of punk rock ala Danko Jones and Teenage Bottlerocket. No need to guess at the influences as they are easy to pick out with stooges and Dictators with some glam T.Rex moments. You’d be hard pressed to find a better record from Norway playing a record full of juvenile, obscene, potty humor with all of the seriousness of absolutely no one. Great fucking record. Great guitar tones and still sounds fresh today. Not perfect but still damn fucking good.

A lesson in excess. Opener and Title track Tarkus is only played in planetarium’s for people who are stoned out of their minds. Or at least I was the first time I heard this record. I honestly didn’t get the prog movement. Endless noodling and more noodling melding classical music to sad rock is never a good mix. I guess there are movements. Has the dawn ever seen your eyes? Of course it fucking has and those are the first lyrics of dumb shit. This is another album where bloviating pompous asshats doubling as music critics try to pass this stuff as interesting. I’ve opined on the ability of influencers to sell snake oil to the American public but this is a world wide phenomenon. It is dull and meandering and just meaningless and I’m just at the last minute of Tarkus. There is still a second side to this drek. I never thought this list experiment would turn into punishment. Maybe it’s the keyboard noodles. Someone told me they like it. You can like Rush. They are Canadian, eh? You hoser. ELP is just boring shit for people who still wear polo shirts with a sports coat. Fucking losers.

No longer available on Spotify. No worries. Full album on YouTube. I actually bought this record when it came out. Seem to recall some tie to Game Theory or perhaps because it was on Frontier records. I had bought Engine and thought that record was great. It was in the sweet spot of college rock at that time. They had started to incorporate the country rock sounds that were all the rage then. This record is quieter - like John Doe of X but mellower. You can definitely hear it on track like Laughingstock which could have been lifted from a late period X record. Bad liquor has a little Reverend Horton Heat/Supersuckers edge to it. Overall this is an engaging record brought to life by Eitzel’s rich vocals and clever lyrics. Check out Lonely, Jenny and Western Sky. As an album in a period where this particular guitar sound and composition were common, it did stand out a bit. I’m not sure it belongs on this list but it is certainly an underrated gem.

Not my favorite Roxy Music record but I can definitely see the attraction at the time. Bryan Ferry’s soulful croon intersecting with Eno’s weird ass exploration of sound. Only in England would Virginia Plain be a hit. The palate for exploration being much broader than America. Canada fits neatly in the middle. The start of Glam rock soon transcended by Marc Bolan and T.Rex, but this was the first hint of sexy art rock with a theatrical flair.

This completes a week of albums out of my listening zone. Joni is a legendary songwriter but not in the universe I occupy. I often think that much of the hype surrounding an artist is the result of good marketing selling the idea that something is good and that there are enough idiots that fall hook line and sinker for the idea that this is good music. In America this is certainly true with both musicians and politicians. Look at the number of fucking idiots that voted for Donald Trump - a corrupt, convicted felon, evil piece of shit and pedophile enabler and yet a majority of Americans voted for him. Boggles the fucking mind. Anyway, back to Joni and the idea that somehow she is a national songwriting treasure. She is fucking not. And yet this record ended up in this list. I normally have a strong Canadian bias. This folk jazz record is boring as any Steely Dan offering yet somehow critics (paid promoters) said this was genius and a turning point in modern recorded music. Again, it is not. I would rather spend time on grief counseling than have to register to this record again. As I pondered the album, it struck me that this is what my mom played in the car while we drove to school. She would sing along to Help Me and although her enthusiasm was better than her vocal I can recall thinking you like this? I don’t fucking get it. And I still don’t. It may be the pitch - there is a particular vocal pitch that is one notch below screech and Joni is right there. I’m sure Free Man In Paris is enjoyable to someone, but unfortunately not me. I think Joni’s lyrical approach is solid - top shelf. Storytelling is an art and this is artfully done. People’s Parties is a good example of a complete and skilled approach but the music accompanying it, is exhausting. Raised on Robbery is the most energetic song on the album. It might be the one song I like best. I of course have heard it in other contexts. This is the first pass on a complete Joni Mitchell record and likely my last unless some clown felt Blue was also deserving. Probably. Back to my earlier point - it’s all sales. Music being spoon fed to the masses. You can’t sing but Joni can do it very well so the album must be good, right? Wrong. That is just the fucking incorrect way to make a decision. Think for your self.

Not my style on anyway shape or form but not unpleasant. Rufus is undeniably a good vocalist with an excellent tonal quality that fits nicely with this big band lite pop music. While the lyrics are remarkably personal, they seem somehow to fit the mood of the album. At times upbeat but mostly sad, the theatrical quality to this pop music makes it enjoyable. What I do recognize is that I am unqualified to judge this work. I’m sure those who connect with this left field form of pop will love it and consider it an exemplar of the form. I absolutely have no idea. I do note the shift in music sound and form and am impressed with the attention to detail in the sound quality. Thus would make perfect headphone music. For me, in terms of enjoyment it’s a 3/5 but completely subjective.

Holy crap it’s been a tough week for albums and it’s only Wednesday. This was supposed to be an enjoyable journey through some remarkable albums and instead it’s a fucking slog through some of the shittiest records ever made. I am fully aware that many of these records were hit records. Just like this one. But all that confirms is that there are a distinct group of music listeners who either have absolutely no fucking musical taste or this is truly the type of music that they “feel”. And that makes me afraid because both of this things can be true at the same time. There is also a reason why this particular album ends up in the $1.00 bin at your local record store. There were a ton of them sold and absolutely no one is holding onto this record. It has a sell by date that expired upon purchase. What is more shocking is that this band has 11,200,493 monthly listeners on Spotify. That is a shit ton of old people. There is Little Rock to be found on this record. Lite Jazz is the order of the day. Introduction tees up the entire record leading into the first of two listenable tracks - Does Anybody Really Knows What Time It Is. Great song, you can sing along but do you really care that absolutely no one really knows what time it is? I’m sure at some existential level this question is not really matter because time is a construct to explain being. But I sure was not going to discover that insight listening to that track. Beginnings is about beginnings. The second listenable track is Questions 67 and 68. Once you get past the cheesy intro, the song is catchy enough as long as you don’t focus on the lyrics with it’s anachronistic acid references and Beatles romance. The rest of the album is a chore with lengthy tracks of Muzak that slip into the background. Sure the commitment to playing this stuff is high and the technical aspects are superior as one song flows into the next. The lengthy Poem 58 features some pretty impressive playing but any good will those feature have on any record carry the LP only so far. I enjoyed the dissonance in Free Form Guitar. It actually was a much needed break in an otherwise thin section of the record. So, including the track I’m a Man there are 3 songs that should have been released with the rest of the record just noodling.

Given the success of the Talking Heads and having seen them three times during their run, I was interested to see what Tina and Chris could come up with when Talking Heads dissolved. Wordy Rappinghood was no where near my mind when the song was released. It’s still not. WTF? And this was a hit. Duck duck here duck duck there everywhere a duck. Holy shit I thought back then. They have lost the plot. And yet, then there is Genius of Love. The DNA of Talking Heads is there but with Tina’s soft vocals the song is definitely something new. Unfortunately, there are only a few of these aha type moments on the album. I love the attempt at experimentation but this is an album filled with repetitive dance synth pop that is produced in such a soulless manner that it comes off as a bit cold, and frankly safe. Some of the songs could have amounted to more than background Muzak but given the box that they had wrote themselves into, these songs were just kind of dull. As Above, so Below is 5:22 of repetition that is rather lifeless and therefore starts the urge to just skip the rest. And that is the problem with the record - it never really launches and the urge to just turn it off and play something else becomes overwhelming. I finished it but honestly cannot recall any of the tracks as none made any impact on me, the listener. As a consequence, you can’t say it’s bad because it is well played and therefore listenable. But that is the low bar. And this is supposed to be a record that should impact your life. This record does not. And that is truly a shame.

This is the moment Sepultura evolved from a straight forward death/thrash metal monster more akin to their Norwegian counterparts, incorporating more industrial sounds, particularly on tracks like Dead Embryonic Cells and Orgasmatron, where you can almost sing along. Definitely a groovier record than Beneath The Remains. As hardcore punk was likely making its way onto turntables in Brazil, you can see it starting to impact the band as it clearly present on Subtraction and to some extent on Desperate Cry with its tribal drumming pattern at the beginning leading into more blast beats. Subtraction is just a great track. Perhaps my favorite on this record as my listening taste is more punk rock than metal. Looking where metal is today, it’s pretty obvious that Sepultura had figured out that they would have to evolve or die. That choice in 1991 is probably the reason they still exist as a band and why this album is so popular today. Other highlights include Meaningless Movements, Orgasmatron, C.I.U. (Criminals in Uniform) and the opening track Arise. Honestly, listening to this record in its entirety for the first time was interestingly very enjoyable. I’d heard various tracks in mixtapes or in isolation, not as a whole meal. The meal was good. Is it a perfect record? No and given the evolution of my tastes some of the guitar work comes off as cheesy (see Infected Voice). There is also a mix issue with the record as the vocals are buried a bit on several tracks which makes this more sludgy than thrash.

One of the few records of the 60s that can still resonate with me. This swamp/southern rock record is still a pretty good record. I imagine it remains so because I don’t spend any time listening to “classic rock”. So, the risk of overplaying a track is remote. I HeardIt Through The Grapevine is a top shelf track no matter who covers it. I prefer the Slits version, but the original resonates because the lengthy guitar jam is interesting and energetic meaning the track is a solid highlight in an otherwise diverse and interesting record. Run Through The Jungle with its gothic blues shuffle predates The Gun Club and The Cramps and is the obvious blueprint for those bands. The real shift between songs is whether makes this album unique. Up The Bend right after Run Through The Jungle is an eclectic combo of two different sound collages but somehow it works. The Elvis Presley rip, My Baby Left Me and Who Will Stop The Rain with I Heard It Through The Grapevine completes perhaps on of the best 6 song runs on an album. The outlier really is Long As I can See the Light, which I might have placed as the third track on Side 1 and shifted everything to finish Side 1 with Lookin out my Back Door and then start Side 2 with Run Through The Jungle. But it’s a quibble. This is a keeper for every generation and truly belongs on this list. Only track I don’t prefer is Ooby Dooby. Otherwise 9/10.

You’re an asshole, Morrissey. This is a perfect example where the behavior of the artist creates a bias that influences how a listener will perceive a piece of art produced by that person. While we have a variety of unconscious biases that influence our opinions and beliefs about a number of things, Morrissey as a human being is a vile bigoted pile of shit. Those people who enjoy Morrissey’s solo work are the same types of fucking idiots who voted for Donald Trump even though they knew he was a lying corrupt pathologically stupid self interested piece of shit unfit to to be in contact with other humans let alone govern. The mindless morons who voted for Trump also like Morrissey. So, what about this record? Mick Ronson is a genius. A mix of rockabilly and obvious David Bowie/T.Rex cloning the record is a good spin starting with the obvious You’re Gonna Need Someone On Your Side. This track has a lift from Havana 3 a.m. which gad come out a year earlier and Reach The Rock was a minor hit. Morrissey’s vocals are among the best he has ever recorded with the Definitive Master mix keeping them right up front. Under Ronson’s guidance, Morrissey’s worst habits are mostly eliminated and the end result is a fairly good rock record. There are some skips, such as the snoozer We’ll Let You Know, but it’s mostly enjoyable and accessible. So, without factoring in my bias, this is a solid 3. It’s average. No songs that have stickiness but if it came on the radio or you were going to play the LP, you’d give it a listen. The question for me is will you flip the record to side 2? For a 3, I’ll still give it a flip. For Morrissey? I’d rather take a 💩.

1979 was a great fucking year. I was 19 and a college student. I was a DJ at a local community college station playing a mix of punk and post punk and CanRock (Shout out to Goddo and Triumph!) and new wave was beginning to percolate into the night clubs. I recall being at the Luv Affair after a Violent Femmes show when the goths descended on to the dance floor to dance to Siouxsie and the Banshees and Bauhaus and “Broken English” was dropped into the mix. Seeing the goth flock suddenly sync up was definitely a moment. Marrianne’s voice, like several other vocalists of the time such as Nina Hagen and Lene Lovich, was district and the tone compelling and sultry. The vocals ooze and slither and wrap you in their warm tone. Brain Drain is a vibe with the repetitive Brain Drain compelling you to softly tap your foot. Mesmerizing. As I search for words to describe the vocal performance on this record, mesmerizing captures the feeling as Marianne’s voice floats on a bed of sound with a groove that connects vocal to sound. While some songs - Guilt, Brain Drain, and Broken English seem derived from the same origin, the musical and sonic exploration in each song resonates - like a tuning fork to your soul. The cover of Dr.Hook and the Medicine Shows Ballad of Lucy Jordan is a mid LP highlight with its tale describing the disillusionment of a housewife. One of two covers on the record, the other being a amazing cover of John Lennon’s Working Class Hero, The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan encapsulates the emotion behind the struggles in Marianne’s own life surviving homelessness and drug addiction only to come out the other side. For a 7th album this was a huge realignment and direction. This was an album full of synthesizers and keyboards (played by Steve Winwood who would also have his moment in this same period). The closer Why’d Ya Do It is an almost 7 minute screed directed towards a cheating relationship (perhaps Mick Jagger whom she dated in the 1960s?). The album is lyrically vivid and really a sonic tour de force. A worthwhile exploration is the Deluxe Edition to hear the original mixes which are definitely different both in tempo and sonically. Broken English is more of a Euro Disco track in its original form as well as a long version of the track. There is also an excellent cover of the Velvet Underground’s Sister Morphine. The cover versions are transformative works in Marianne’s hands.

As someone who encountered Smashing Pumpkins upon the release of Gish, when they were quick to become indie darlings, I along with everyone else were amazed at the growth from that LP to Siamese Dream. Imagine the surprise when Melon Collie is released and the step up from Siamese Dream to Melon Collie is another massive leap in sound. The problem? Billy didn’t get lyrically and smarter. There is some effort to get the lyrics to have the same impact as the music, but at this point Billy had enough on his plate and friendly editing would have transformed several of these songs into something that may have a more cogent and coherent impact. However, the music is so good that you can largely ignore some of the lyrical miscues. See Exhibit 1: Tonight Tonight (We’re not the same we’re different) or Zero (God is Empty…Just Like Me). The other issue with the record is bloat - The record clocks in at 2 hrs and 1 minute. That’s a long time to focus without the record turning into background noise. Making it through Disc 1 was good until the 9:21 Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans. For Me, Muzzle is the quintessential SP tune. It encapsulates in a single song all of the SP musical elements and it’s under 4:00 minutes (3:43) so you can actually enjoy it as a song. Porcelina is the same only dragged out over 9:21. Is it 2x better? No. Does the 2:14 second soft intro fully work? I think of it as a pre-open as there is another 40 seconds before Billy’s vocal comes in. It is the excess that detracts from the tracks effectiveness. It is undeniably beautiful and would have been a terrific closer to the record. Except it is not. There is still an hour to go. Side 2 also has some terrific tracks. Even the most casual fan will recognize 1979 and perhaps Thirty-Three. But there are a couple of gems with Thru The Eyes of Ruby being the noticeable standout. Still lengthy at 7:38 but in my mind a better track than Porcelina. I would bet that initial reviewers would have been exhausted by Disc 1 and not fully appreciated Disc 2. And perhaps I fall in that category. Other excellent moments are We Only Come Out At Night, Where Boys Fear to Tread and Bodies. Overall, if you are a SP superfan, this is a 5 and arguably their second best record (Adore). If you are a rock fan and enjoy the SP excess this is a 4. Where does it stand on the list of 1001 albums you should hear before you die with 5 being abso-fucking-lutely and 1 being I’d rather spend time listening to myself take a shit than listen to this record? Then this is a 3.

A steaming turd of an album. Starting with Rikki Don’t Lose That Number this may be the album that tipped the balance and inspired punk rock. This is a snooze fest from beginning to end. There are no edges or angularity in this lifeless anti-music designed to torture people in elevators. Night By Night is the them from a 70s television with a sound oft associated with cheesy detective shows it adds nothing lyrically. An’s that may be the real issue with the record. It is lifeless music by anonymous white people with no soul. This is music for ghouls. If this is the music that starts your day then you are already dead. Any Major Dude Will Tell You takes it down a notch if that is possible. Slow, with insipid lyrics it is representative of the record. I’m sure it is a sign of genius to try to make a record this terrible and lifeless with such precise playing a stellar production. It’s a nice sounding record- full, sonically balanced with each instrument mixed carefully but then you have to pay attention to the whole of the presented music and realize at that point that there is a jazz inflected “Minnie The Moocher” soundalike playing called East St.Louis Toodle-Oo and it’s bewildering coming about halfway through the record. The Temptation to turn it off at that point is strong. Somehow I made it through the record. Parker’s Band has an Elton John Philadelphia Freedom vibe to it. Just an observation. I have no idea what the song is about. Come and take a piece of Mr. Parker’s band? WTF? Through The Buzz. Nope. Getting high? Perhaps that might help but I’m not sure what drug would make it better. Thankfully that song is short. I sincerely tried to like Pretzel Logic when it came out in the 70’s. Some older kids said this was happening. I said “Have you fucking heard of Black Sabbath?” This is shit. It is just as boring as anything from that era. To think they would have a record Aja that would be much more popular than thus blew my mind. I then understood that the majority of Americans and most of Europe have really shitty taste in music. The last couple of songs on the record With A Gun, Charlie Frank and Monkey In Your Soul add nothing to the rest of the record - unremarkable and bland. Nothing could save this record. I guess really old people would have liked this record. Dangerously safe. It’s a 0 star record but the lowest option is 1. This is just not good.

3 piece. No bass. 2 vocalists. Big fucking guitars. Passion. Heartbreak. Complicated relationships. Carrie and Corin. More Carrie than Corin. Corin balancing Carrie. Anger. Hurt. Love. More rock than punk rock but punk enough. Tucker drum like a madwoman. Big bottom for a no bass band. One More Hour and Turn It On back to back emotional ride. Words and Guitar standout.

This is the Day is a near perfect slice of pop music. I’d actually purchased the first record, Burning Blue Soul by Matt Johnson after having discovered it as a DJ for a junior college in Vancouver in 1981. I discovered today that Matt had requested reissues to beat The The as the artist so they would be filed together. When Soul Mining came out in 1983, I was unprepared for how good this record sounded. When it blew up and became a Canadian hit record I was not surprised. The difference between Burning Blue Soul and Soul Mining is tremendous in terms of sound. The best elements of the first record are carried over with the mix of synth pop and post punk influences, but gone are the heavily filtered vocals. The songs on Soul Mining resonate with Matt’s distinctive voice and the lyrics are sharp and inciteful. Uncertain Smile gets my vote for the best track on the LP as of today. I have played this record numerous times over the past 43 years and my favorite changes between several songs. This Is The Day, Soul Mining and Perfect all make the list. Soul Mining’s lyrics are fascinating and the organ pattern predates Tears For Fears shout by 4 years. If you close your eyes you can hear the gentle lift by Tears For Fears from The The. Giant is further evidence of the cloning a few years later by TFF. All that said, what made The The so interesting was Matt’s sense of melody and vocals. A thoroughly enjoyable record from start to finish. Was it earth shattering? No. Did it alter the trajectory of music? No. Did it make you sing? Certainly. Can you imagine yourself in a dark nightclub dancing to This Is The Day? Yup. I did that. You just have to know that this is the day your life will surely change when things fall into place…