Reviews by justcoolvinyl

Solid songwriting. That’s it. Grant Lee Phillips can write a good song. The issue with this record at the time was that there were a number of other artists and bands mining similar territory and this record, like all GLB records, was purchased by the same people, including me. R.E.M., The dB’s, Don Dixon, Let’s Active, Chis Stamey and several others just did it better. The best tracks in this album are midway. I know people like the title track, Fuzzy, but it’s further down the list for me. The Hook, Stars n’ Stripes and America snoring are the best of the bunch. Grant’s vocals are terrific and that makes the album enjoyable. A little more melodic variety would have made it great. 3/5

Honestly, the biggest problem with the Beatles has always been inconsistency. For every gem there are two turds. For every Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds there is She’s Leaving Home and Fir The Benefit of Mr. Kite. Pick another gem. Okay, With A Little Help From my Friends. So, here are the companion turds: Within You, Without You and Good Morning, Good Morning. I figured out early that the Beatles were just a boy band and marketed as the best ever in a completely subjective experience. They sold a bunch of records because every new missive from them was designed for the daily grist pre-internet music magazines who glorified every I Am The Walrus as if it was the sermon from the mount. Well the emperor has no clothes and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Band was the reveal. It’s a mixed bag of mostly shit with a couple of great songs. 2/5

Well, I’ve lost the lengthy review I’d started so this will have to do. I like Nick Cave and I think you should too. Possibly a difficult album to decide to make after the mostly excellent Murder Ballads claimed a stake on the best Nick Cave album he’d ever released, The Boatman’s Call is not quite on par but the Murder Ballads was a high fucking bar. A record of piano ballads and Nick’s wonderful baritone is captivating but not levitating and half way through doesn’t seem so cool. Certainly, not a monster record that belongs on this list, rather some hits and misses - enough to subsist. What you gonna do when Nick’s piano comes for you? You’re gonna give it a 3/5 and then move on.

Great, some would say, among the greatest guitarists ever, makes a lazy forgettable album. You know an album is going to suck when Rod Stewart sings in it. His vocals make everything bad cross contaminating every other song. There really is nothing interesting on this record. Sure, the songs are nice sounding but they are uninspired and safe. I am actually surprised that there wasn’t excessive noodling but there should have been some to lift these songs from simply being boring. Blues Deluxe is just terrible. I read somewhere that this record is an example of early heavy metal. It is not. No one who heard this record was influenced by anything on this record. 2/5

English folk music is a particularly painful anti-music and honestly a waste of good musicianship. This is not art conceived by an artist. Rather it is product produced for a particular consumer. Adapting American folk music for British audiences at the end of the 60s was honestly a regression as it neither advanced folk music nor was it grounded in authenticity. How could it be authentic? It’s sung by Brits who turned it into more of the same with lovely vocals. Look, all credit to Sandy Denny who is magnificent but this album Is a fucking snoozer from front to back. This is an anti-risk record. There is nothing subversive or interesting and I listened to the album twice. Unhalfbricking my ass. This is full on bricking. If this is your thing I feel for you as there has never been a less exciting or interesting way to spend time. I reckon to say that I have had certain bowel movements that are far more intense than anything offered here. Save your time, take a shit. 1/5

When this came out it in 1982 during the so called New Wave of British Heavy Metal along with Maiden, Def Leppard, Saxon, Tigers of Pantang etc., Venom always stood a bit off to the side of that movement feeling more like a cross-over between Sabbath and Motorhead. For example, Heaven on Fire lifts heavily from Motorhead’s Ace of Spades. Revisiting this record in its entirety after 50 years is interesting because Black Metal still, in some ways, is the same record I listened to at that time. It hasn’t really aged. I can recognize the influence on the genre as certainly Megadeth and Metallica have incorporated elements into their early sound. So, what stands the test of time? The satanic messaging to shock? Sure. But that is not the essence of the record. Rather, there is some pretty fine playing on the record, such as the guitar solo in the middle of Teacher’s Pet, and it is this aspect that makes the album still enjoyable. Black Metal still hold up as an outstanding song and I hear it often in record stores that still play metal and I see the record in punk stores. However, it is difficult to ignore the similarities to Motörhead. For a number of these tracks you can almost hear Lemmy doing the vocals, such as on Leave Me in Hell or To Hell and Back. I do note that while this particular sound - both guitar tone, velocity and vocal approach, are very tame now as extreme metal and black metal have significantly different vocal approaches, for its time Black Metal was somewhat novel. In the early 80s it stood out as a punk as fuck metal record particularly for its apparent acceptance of Satan and the velocity on some of these tracks. It now would be considered now just your average hard rock record. But at that time, Venom stood out in the metal world. Good record, a little bit repetitive, but worthy of a spin in the collection. 3/5

This is a very English record. Over the years I’ve made several efforts to try to enjoy the entire thing. It should be in my skill set. I love the Jam, Happy Mondays, Blur and Oasis and every quirky band from the 90s when this record came out. I just can’t. Sure Common People is a solid track. Jarvis is a capable frontman. It should work but it doesn’t. It’s kind of boring. Only other tracks I found interesting were Monday Morning and Disco 2000. That’s it. Sad really because someone is suggesting that this was one of the best Brit Pop records- it’s not. So sadly, this really is 2/5

This is a mixed bag of a record. Arguably it contains his greatest song in Changes but the weakness of some tracks is glaring. For me, Song For Bob Dylan is a piece of shit. Worthless and boring and an exercise in dull. The album, which some better critics than me have characterized as a kaleidoscope of sounds including art pop, glam, prog and proto-punk, is really a hodgepodge of Bowie figuring out a direction that will ultimately define his career. And that’s the problem. The songs are really not there. Other than Life On Mars?, Queen Bitch, and perhaps Quicksand, the album is an uneven affair with most of side 2 unenjoyable. I own this record and have since about 1975 when I bought it. I’ve played side one through the early 80s rarely flipping the record. Then I put it away. I saw Bowie live several times and I can only recall him playing Changes, Life on Mars and Kooks from this record. 50 years on it sounds a bit dated but the tracks I’ve singled out are still worth a spin. 3/5

Robbie owes the Gallagher brothers a lot. Sounding like a slightly more poppy Oasis record, the album works the same territory that Brit Pop mined at the end of the nineties. Is it genius - no. In fact much of this nonsense is recycled Take That ditties. What really distinguishes the record is that there are times when Robbie actually sounds like Liam but more emotionally invested in the songs. This is particularly evident on the ballad Angels. I will note that this is an album that is backloaded. The tracks at the last half are better than the first and worth discovering. 3/5

This is an album stamped by the period it was released. Is there still a place in the world for these albums released towards the end of the new wave era. This is a good record with a truly terrific singer in Paddy McAloon. The real issue with the record for me when it came of was that this record was so similar to other artists mining the same pop territory such as Spandau Ballet, Book of Love and the Bluebells. If Prefab Sprout was the only band in this niche, they would standout. For the most part, the songs are catchy pop songs that are simple enough you can sing-a-long on the first pass. Truly standout tracks are Bonny and When Love Breaks Down. I can see the comparisons to Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson but the vocals are so clean that you understand exactly what is being communicated. For 1985 this was a top pop record but in no way does it belong on this list. Unfortunate but true. Is it a good listen? Certainly. However, it is now and will always remain a change of pace record to be brought out once in a blue moon in order to rediscover its undeniable charm. 3/5

I get the appeal. Not the subject matter which is all too prevalent in modern society and not that it was a comfortable conversation when this was released. Unfortunately, the Lolita story is recast here as a middle aged man who becomes enamored with a 14 year old named Melody Nelson who he subsequently spends time In Melody ( I shit you not that is the title of the song “En Melody”) and then, wracked with guilt cries to the gods to save him but miss-shoots his invocation of the gods - as Melody dies in a plane crash when the autopilot fails. What is interesting is this concept album successfully and interestingly merges Serge’s creepy and pathetic spoken word style vocals into a bed of noir rock with blasts of orchestral music. The effect is stunning as this relatively short record passes rapidly and despite both the vocal approach and the fact that Serge was a piece of shit, is remarkable overall. I can see the impact later, particularly with a band like Portishead who was clearly inspired/influenced by this album as was likely Lou Reed who recorded with Herbie Flowers using a similar bass effect for Walk On The Wild Side. Serge really was out there as an artist but is better remembered after his death because apparently he was an ass in real life. No crime to be a dick so no deductions. 4/5

Another record where the challenge is evaluating it before you learned of the troubling allegations against singer Win Butler for sexual misconduct and the resultant breakdown in his marriage to the bands other vocalist Regine Chassagne. Lots of bands are touched by allegations of bad behavior and the fact that there are so many and that it happens so often does not in any manner excuse the behavior. The issue for me in circumstances where the allegations come out after you’ve enjoyed a record, is that the recording becomes colored emotionally by the distaste you have for the individual behavior although it should obviously not reflect on the whole band. And that is tough to work around. I feel empathy for the rest of the band who has to struggle with the harm to their reputation. And there are a number of albums in this list where one fucking piece of shit screws up the whole band. So, here’s the policy - I’ll consider the album without the overarching shittiness of the sexual assaulter/groomer/pedophile/bigot/racist/misogynist/homo-transphobe/MAGA/Nazi piece of shit. Then, I’ll deduct rating points for the vileness of the allegations and degree of culpability. So here we go. Suburbs is actually a pretty great record. Moving away from being Bowie tribute act, this 3rd record is a complete album full of catchy songs, beautifully sung and performed with some pretty amazing sounds. It is conventional indie rock but Win and Regine’s vocals are so beautiful together that you can’t help but be swept up in these vignettes about life in the Suburbs- perhaps a different suburbs than you and I will ever live in but maybe not. Somewhat dystopian, balancing the duality of danger and boredom, the Butler’s - Win and Will - create a world where the journey can take you places or no place and you’ll still be satisfied. Ready To Start, The Suburbs, City With No Children and Wasted Hours tend to be my favorites but I enjoyed the whole record. I prefer the album
Version which is several tracks shorter as it does get a bit long especially at a single listen. In the extended version I would add We Used To Wait and Sprawl I and II to the essential tracks. Overall this is 4/5 prior to the bad acts. The allegations were not murder but still fucking egregious. They weren’t murder or pedophilia but they were sex assaults so there is a 2 point bad acts deduction. This is hard. It doesn’t seem right trying to decide the value of a deduction for absolutely appalling behavior. Well fuck it. New rule. If the allegations/ behavior fit in the above categories- the album gets a 0. Same as Steeley Dan, The Eagles and The Red Hot Chili Peppers which are all guilty of a different kind of crime - putting into the world absolutely shitty boring terrible records. Terrible people also get 0. So, Suburbs, 0/5

Sex on Fire is a good track but there are several other gems on this record that make for a pretty good record. It’s not that Kings of Leon are mining new rock territory- they don’t. Rather this is white bread rock - no matter how you slice it, you’ll still know it’s white bread. This is that album. Faceless music made by faceless white people. They rock … on safely. Use Somebody, Notion, I Want You are actually the gems mentioned above. I think it’s these songs where you actually start to feel what Caleb is singing about. These are the songs that engage you as a listener and make you feel the messages. I listened to this record a couple of times today. It was comfortable- not too exciting but not too dull. Comfortable. I’d probably enjoy it more if it had peanut butter and jelly on it. 3/5

Surely not a coincidence that this record shows up the day after the Legend died 8/25/26. I suspect many on this challenge had this record show up today. Oh well, certainly is a gift. The first track encapsulates her entire career - she wore a coat of many colors- she was an excellent musician but she was much more than that. She was also a legendary kind and loving person who gave what she could to as many as she could. Many tributes will be offered up over the next couple of days but I would suspect that her musical career, although important, was a means to an end for her at some point and is not the true reason why she will be remembered fondly for many years. Certain songs will remind us of her gift but not many from this record. This is not really a challenging album for the listener. It’s full of stories that seem to touch on aspects of her life with a frankness and aplomb that captures your attention. This album’s production is a little thin but Dolly’s vocals are exceptional especially on tracks like My Blue Tears, Early Mirning Breeze and Here I Am. This is not my style of music and this album comes off almost as a parody of the country Grand Ole Opry style of music popular and prevalent during this time period. It should also be noted that you don’t criticize the work of someone who just died. Time will be the judge of where this album sits in the history of recorded music. Today however, it’s a 5/5.

Okay, it’s Iron Maiden. By this point they were recycling earlier themes and sanding off the rough edges to such a point that this was no longer heavy metal. It was a parody of heavy metal. This is Spinal Tap in all its glory. Sure you can sing-a-long which is the sign of commercial metal. It’s not Rush, you know? 2/5

If you can believe your eyes and ears there was a great many people who enjoyed the Mama’s and the Papa’s music. It is essentially showtunes for the, then, geriatric set and a number of those songs are still played far too often on channels no one really listens to except for long haul truckers and those working a midnight to 6:00 shift. Which is to say, if this is your thing then it is a genius record filled with soft rock and folk tunes to be strummed on an acoustic guitar and sung around campfires and at elementary school assemblies. No knock on Mama Cass Elliott whose voice is golden. I wouldn’t have put this record anywhere remotely near this list but someone obviously did. It would also explain the plethora of very shitty records on this list from such luminaries as Bob Dylan and Steeley Dan. This is better than those pieces of shit, but only just. 2/5

First rate literate folk rock in the style of Pavement without being Pavement. There are elements of the Hoboken sound present throughout with parts sounding like Richard Barone, The Feelies and the Bongos. Tennessee is by far the most memorable and catchiest track but the whole record is actually a joy to listen to. David Berman’s vocals come through the lo-fi as conversational and spouse Cassie’s vocal sprinkles are highlights to these songs appearing on the aforementioned Tennessee, Slow Education and Let’s Not And Say We Did. Rare is the album where the lyrics are both thoughtful and ripe for a sing-a-long. I can see why this record shows up from time to time as a great album from the turn of the century. It carries over that 90’s slacker vibe perfectly. This was music designed for venues where people know the members of the band and call out for songs in the breaks. First rate if this is your thing. 4/5

What really can you say about the Pogues? How do you make Irish Folk Music sound punk rock? What do you do when Elvis Costello steals your very attractive and very talented bass player, Cait O’Riordan? When you recover you add Turkish and Spanish influences to your blender of sounds to put together a classic arrangement of songs that get better as you get deeper into the record. The Kristy Macoll vocal was a left turn as her unique voice adds to the Pogues classic Fairytale From New York. I venture to say there is nothing on this list that quite sounds like the Pogues. However, as a listen it’s better in chunks than in a full spin but a worthy record overall.

I could see the appeal of this album when it was released. At the time Jane’s Addiction represented the intersection between metal and punk rock eliminating the grunge elements of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Perry’s vocals had evolved from his earlier Cure copycat fetish and on this record, sound fresh and alive and the hits Jane Says and Mountain Song and Pigs in Zen are still connect and sound as if they could have been released a week ago. Too bad drugs, mental illness and ego wrecked this band after a couple of solid albums. But no one ever said that rock stars were smart. Honestly, I don’t get the appeal of these fucking idiots now but at the time they were the fave of KROQ and alternative rock. 3/5

This is not the best Flaming Lips record. Its definitely a Flaming Lips record with this particular form of indie rock now ubiquitous as it became the acceptable 90s college equivalent of slightly edgy weird art indie practiced by the Modest Mouse, Shins, Grandaddy, Destroyer- you know the brand. Faceless white guys performing standard indie rock with some kinda out there lyrics. It was definitely a thing because it was pretty safe, low violence, good to hang out, drink a few beers and pretend to be cool. For me, the biggest failing of this record and frankly all their records is that you can’t connect emotionally to any of these songs. They are well played, sometimes interesting but always emotionally disconnected. Wayne doesn’t feel and nor will you. It’s just an average indie rock album that the cool kids told you would make you seem cool. Nope. You’re still a fucking loser. Go discover punk rock. This is music for people who have no opinions of their own. 2/5