Reviews by justcoolvinyl

A nice revisit but also remember why this was actually a difficult record to get into originally. Other than Schools Out which has become a classic, the rest of the songs on this album are rather uncharacteristic of future Alice in sound. In 1972 when this was released I was 12 and too young to appreciate this record. A few years later and I certainly fucking did. There are remnants of psychedelia, some Van Morrison/Doors appreciation, some juvenile humor, and some weird ass shit to put on a record (Alma Mater and Grand Finale) Blue Turk could be a Doors outtake. Seriously. It’s a solid album overall with the highlights, other than the aforementioned School’s Out being Luney Tune, Street Fight and Public Animal #9 which is some boogie rock n roll and a big hit when I was 16. My buddies and I thrashed the 8 Track I had of this as we rolled throughout town in my mom’s Chevy Nova. Classic Alice still holds up even today. 4/5

Punishing. This is a brutally boring record that in one of my co-workers who was listening along as I played it, was emotionally triggered by memories of hearing Tom Waits the first time. The expressed emotion? Absolute and unequivocal loathing. This really is truly just a steaming pile of crap. Why? Because Tom’s introductions to each so called are as fake as the so-called audience. References to Los Angeles nightlife are a dead giveaway. This is LA and everyone who lives here knows that there is no nightlife here and certainly not in fucking Whittier where Tom is from. I get this is supposed to be a vibe but this familiar with Tom’s work know that there is absolutely no connection between the talk-singing and the music accompanying this mess. Plus it’s really fucking long, the lyrics not sharp or witty and definitely not insightful. This is lengthy verbal noodling and this album is a waste of vinyl and frankly time. Find something else to do such as bark at parked cars, count the threads on a fringed carpet, create toilet paper figurines. Any of these activities is far more exciting and enjoyable than this fucking boring record. Oh, it’s a great sounding recording so it gets a 1/10

Quintessential record although when I first encountered it as a teenager it was like an alien life form. There was nothing like this being played on the record. I recall being 14 years old in 9th grade in Winnipeg, Manitoba and hearing it in a record store as I was picking up an Alice Cooper record. They had just played the Pink Fairies record - What a Bunch of Sweeties and then they threw this on the turntable. I did not pick it up at the time but the songs that caught my attention on the first pass were definitely Personality Crisis, Jet Boy and Trash. When I really discovered the record again was in late 79 when I was reading Melody Maker and NME as those papers were being carried in Vancouver. Thus began the reexamination of this record and the other Dolls records. The music finally clicked. The outrageous outfits no longer were relevant because the band was more than image. The Sex Pistols, another boy band, suddenly made sense. In the end the fashion was not the focus but the songs. And the Dolls on this album, had all the songs. Having enjoyed this record hundreds of times over the years you discover that it’s the not so well songs that resonate deeply. Vietnamese Baby is a gem. As are Lonely Planet Boy and Subway Train. To be fair, I’m a lot older now and my tastes have changed over the years. Also the weight of both knowledge and experience adds to my appreciation of tracks that in my teens had no context. I certainly didn’t have a personality crisis at that point. As a jumping off point for punk rock n roll the Dolls with the Stooges really were the play book for everything that followed. As for debut records, this one is pretty hard to beat. 5/5

This one was a bit of a challenge. Like Father John Misty, this is not really my vibe. I had to play this one 3 times through before I was able to make any connection with these songs. This is not too say that they are not beautifully realized and the lyrics somewhat engaging, because they certainly are. It’s just that these songs are really background music until you force yourself to engage with them. The piano is tinkly, the other instruments- strings, flute, a freaking choir take the historical references and turn them into marching band productions with numerous non rock time signatures and arrangements. Jazz and classical music components are used to great effect for those who can appreciate these nuances. I do not. Which is the reason why for me, I had to force myself to engage with the music and that is the real issue. Music should resonate with the listener. Sure it may take time to find the vibe but it will resonate and the experience is enjoyable. Forcing it makes it work and it not therefore not enjoyable. Again, this is not a slight to Sufjan. This is his art and it connects with his audience. Does it belong on this list? For me - no. My life was not changed by hearing this record - one way or another. I will say that it has some soul. I can feel that. That is to say it’s not a Steely Fucking Dan record which is music for the soulless. Good on you Sufjan. 3/5

This was a first time listen all the way through and overall surprisingly enjoyable. Arthur Lee’s vocals are powerful and the amalgam of different musical styles keeps it overall pretty interesting. Proto-punk track 7 and 7 is was the highlight for me overall. A cut above garage rock with its psychedelic notes, it is a little bit of a banger on a record full of art rock/jazz rock tunes. With the second side devoted to a single track, Revelation, I could not help thinking that this is the new King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard track but Stu is not singing as it really defines the record as a whole bringing together every musical style except microtonal, combining blues, jazz, psychedelic, classical, rock and folk into a single track. If Angine DePoitrine guested on the track, then we would have microtonal covered. The track actually is a revelation as it presages what is going to be fully realized in Love’s next record Forever Changes. In total though you can tell this is a transition record for the band as they explore a wide range of musical styles branching out from their first record which is mostly folk rock. A for effort, but only a B+ for execution. 7/10 rounded to 3/5.

After yesterday’s terrible record, this is a breath of fresh air. The first several Elvis Costello records are all thoroughly enjoyable and instead of just listening to this record, I listened to the super deluxe version with the appended live shows. And that honestly is where Elvis really shined and where these songs get a new lease on life each time they are played live. I have seen Elvis several times over the years, the first being at the War Memorial Gym at the University of British Columbia on January 4, 1981. Squeeze were the openers. Live these songs were glorious with hits like Oliver’s Army, Accidents Will Happen, Senior Service and Goon Squad being the best examples of songs translating well from the album. This is a magnificent sounding record - modern really with an Elvis’ keen wit fully developed and a band equal to the match. What is surprising is how well these songs have stood up over time. Moods for Moderns still hums with its catchy chorus and I find myself singing along to Chemistry Class and Two Little Hitlers. As the years go by I find myself returning often to this record and to Get Happy! (Which also turns out to be my favorite Elvis record). The record is endlessly fascinating because the live versions are never exactly the same. I have hundreds of Elvis Bootlegs with several Armed Forces tracks spread throughout the set, and each is slightly and sometimes significantly different than the recorded version. All have Elvis energy. Super album with no skips. 5/5

Glam pop version of a Michael Bolton record. This in the mid-80s was what passed for metal. Soulless music stripped of all life brought to you by a band that ripped off every other shitty pop metal band operating at the time. Loverboy, Bryan Adams, Def Leopard, Foreigner, Toto, Styx the list is endless and unfortunately demonstrates that in America, people will listen to records with no original ideas. The Michael Bolton reference at the beginning of this review is not a throwaway comment. This is an album filled with the stupidest lyrics ever committed to be sung and is just an endless whine. You Give Live A Bad Name, I’d Die For You, Never Say Goodbye, Wanted Dead or Alive - an endless stream of cliches and just outright offensively stupid lyrics make this record a slog. Even Livin on a Prayer is a Foreigner ripoff. Hair metal making the charts shows just how fucked up the ecosystem that controls radio actually is. Intellectually bankrupt and shameless corporate rock this is as bad as every Steely Dan record and may be the only reason why this album should never be allowed to be played publicly. Listening to this album all the way through made me stupider. There is no redeeming value to this music and Bon Jovi should be ashamed for releasing this into society. We are all worse off for having heard it. This confirms what I largely suspected. The author of this list - 1001 Albums You Should Listen Too Before You Die- is a fucking idiot. Those who conspired with him should be imprisoned for life and forced to only listen to Slippery When Wet. Dumb asses. 0/5

Of course they sell out. Later. Not with this record though. I Can See For Miles is an all time class for good reason - that song is well written with a catchy melody that’s easy for the common man to sing, easy to remember chorus, it has it all. Does any recall the verses though? Oh yeah…If you do recall then you know that really makes this a hit is the bitterness inherent throughout e.g. “you took advantage of my trust” etc. Betrayed by a cheating partner. Tale as old as time! Our Love is a step below in terms of song quality but a nice slice of mod pop. Relax and Tattoo are mildly interesting as Roger’s vocal takes are somewhat interesting and presage, in large part, Tommy. However, the rest of the LP is a throwaway with a corniness that betrays The Who’s earlier output. As an album, The Who Sell Out is an early inconsistent experimental attempt at a concept album but the jingles and the whole pirate radio facade is frankly weak sauce. This album’s appearance on this list makes me think the author was, as the English would say, taking the piss. The fact that some professional reviewers also said that this was the best record The Who ever made just confirms that so called professional music reviewers and critics are, frankly, just stupid. The best Who record is Quadrophenia and it is not even close. So, go listen to that album and don’t waste your time with this lame excuse of a record. 2/5

Pulp is an odd creature. Over the years as various Pulp records come out the challenge is really what kind of record are you going to get. Jarvis is to the 90s as Robert Wyatt was to the 80s. More British than Britain you never know how a record will sit with you particularly as a listener from across the pond. This is Hardcore is a sad fucking record. Not because it is bad - it isn’t. It’s sad because it is an album filled with morose observations about life as a middle aged person who has just enough experience with life to recognize the slow descent into oblivion. The Gear, Dishes and Help The Aged set a sonic and lyrical tone for the record, which, in my honest assessment, is the best Pulp records up until their recent return. At time there are interesting diversions on this record such as I’m A Man which captures just enough Bowie/Bolan/Roxy moments to be fun. To be fair, Pulp always were Glam adjacent but that is fully realized on this record of mellow glam. Seductive Barry is the full realization of Jarvis’ Robyn Hitchcock/ Pat Fish (Tje Jazz Butcher) fascination. This is the highlight of this record for me. 8:31 of lounge lizard music with Jarvis almost conquering his paranoia largely examined in the first 2/3 of this record. I actually like this record better than Different Class which was their hit record. The themes are certainly darker - pornography (This is Hardcore), Drugs (Fear) and finding fame and the resulting disillusionment (Glory Days). Closing track, The Day After The Revolution, could have been left off the record which is perhaps the long outro version is edited down from 14:56 to 5:52 on bonus track releases. Rest assured though, I listened to the entirety of the track as part of the amazing discipline it takes to listen to a full album every day with fresh ears and attuned to the rationale for inclusion on this list. Bye Bye. 4/5

I still love this record. When Howard left the Buzzcocks I thought that he would end up in a more arty project. Instead he found a willing partner in McGeoch and Barry Adamson. The first two singles were co-written with Pete Shelley - the classic Shot By Both Sides and The Light Pours Out of Me. The Buzzcocks changed my life as that was the first LP where I got it. Loved Howard’s vocals on Spiral Scratch EP and it was natural to just follow where he went particularly as he left the band just as the single was released. Real Life was among the first true post-punk records along with Public Image and Gang of Four. Those records form the touchstone for everything after. Really. Real Life is a complete album with no skips. For the uninitiated, start with The Light Pours Out Of Me and Parade the last two songs on the record then flip to side one. I have no idea why this sets up the whole record with the schizophrenic keyboards, McGeoch’s solos and Howard’s droll vocals, but it does. The album is full of gems but it does take some effort. But it is fucking worth it. All the Magazine albums are excellent. They were remarkably consistent and reached bigger heights. I’d seek out the tracks Permafrost and Rhythm of Cruelty on Magazine’s next LP, Secondhand Daylight, and then come back to this album and say, wholly crap this is awesome! 5/5

Well Fiona has managed to make a pretty lengthy career out of awkward sad girl. This is not my vibe as the kids say but I do recognize that quality of both the music and lyrics on several of the tracks. Specifically Shadowboxer, Criminal and although the song is a little slow, I was taken by the quality of Never Is A Promise. The record goes into sleep mode for me after that track. I am certainly not the demographic for this record at any point in my life. I get it. Really. Music is about connecting with the songs on some level and then being rewarded intrinsically for making that connection. Teen girls found a way to make this album a group conversation and reinforce the ties that bind. For me, this would have been a lady jam in the movie White Chicks. Nothing against Fiona or any of the other similar acts of varying levels of angst driven balladeers such as Alanis, KD Lang, and the rest of the Lilith fair homegirls. It’s just not me and it will never be. Certainly, not in the Top 1001 albums I should hear before I die. And just so we are clear - I listen to every word and note of every record in this challenge. This is a serviceable record but overall rather lifeless. 3/5

This album released today would be a huge fucking embarrassment to any band because it is a cloying painfully inauthentic covers album of some pretty amazing original songs largely originally performed by American black artists reproduced by an all white English band. Think Pat Boone on steroids. Less a tribute record than an effort to create a buzz, the few original songs do not hold up and time has magnified that observation. Not a single person alive today would pick these covers over the originals and I doubt that even the most die hard Stones fans could name the 1 originals or the 2 Nanker Phelge compositions. This is a completely forgettable record by a group of talented musicians and guests who managed to produce an awful piece of plastic. 1/5

The temptation to give this a 5 star rating is high. This album which is a very competent psych rock record from the time captures the grime of Ann Arbor and the inherent noise ringing around the head of Iggy and Ron resulting in a messy distorted garage rock record. Honestly though, who thought adding saxophone was a good idea? Iggy is the star in this record and the mania builds until the howling squeezing manic mess that is LA Blues with the full on skrong from that damned sax. What makes the record special is that it is freeing. The wailing at the end sounds fitting and disorienting. Like the end of one of those late 70s Iggy shows after the second breakup. I’m sure at this point everyone has their favorite tracks from this record, so a review of them individually would likely provoke debate. So here are my top 3 preferences: T.V. Eye, Loose and 1970. Dirt and Down on the Street are 2nd tier. Funhouse is in the middle and LA Blues is what it is. Not perfect but pretty fucking good. 9/10

Literally every kid in high school had this on repeat in their car. 8-Tracks ruled the day. I was probably in 9th grade when this hit everywhere in Canada in 1974. Although the record had been out for more than a year the coolness factor had fully set in by 1974. This was everywhere and endless joints were smoked to this record. I remember cruising my small town with Wheels of Confusion fully cranked up in a smoke filled car with my buddies looking for chicks to hang with. Friday and Saturday nights with chicks, booze, guns, drugs and Black Fucking Sabbath. Magical really. This album was the soundtrack for the chase not the conquest. Nobody was soundtracking their sex lives with Tomorrows Dream but up until the heat was turned up to 10, Vol. 4 was the ignition switch to good times. Perhaps it was a confluence of a whole variety of factors that placed this album at the center of a good time, but there it was central to every kids high school experience. I’m going through Changes, Ozzy cried and for a moment I understood that losing a girlfriend, that first love, was not the end but a transition before the full FX of the hurt hit me. But it passed quickly as Supernaut signaled a new start and I’m going to reach out and touch the sky. Every kid from a small outlying northern town understood that Sabbath was the universal source of life and that with Sabbath anything was possible. Vol. 4 was about hope with a guitar tone that screamed heavy metal. And despite the thousands of times I’ve heard this record in the 50 or so years that have past, I still am taken back to those high school years - no matter where the needle drops. Sure I have favorites but over the years different songs hit differently. Snowblind never really stood out. My eyes are blind but I can see approaches The Who for kinda corny lyrics but somehow it all made sense to me at that time. Sure this is a drug fueled album and there is a bit of an unevenness particularly on tracks like Cornucopia and Laguna Sunrise which is their Led Zeppelin moment. Definitely a WTF? You give me the pastoral acoustic guitar track and a fucking instrumental at that just before the end of the record. Definitely out of place. But those are minor nits. St Vitus Dance is a return to form and kind of a throwback to Paranoid. Definitely a Led Zeppelin transition in the middle of that track. I know that there are those who will say this is a perfect record, but in fairness it’s not. Still better than most records of the period. 4/5

When I read the Wikipedia description of this record as some kind of underground record from 1980, I ask myself wtf? This record was a huge hit in Vancouver, particularly in the clubs. Wardance and Requiem were all over CITR and I picked up a copy at the time. All that to say, for a debut record full of a mix of Adam & The Ants drum sounds with a mix of goth and funk, this is a pretty great mix of sounds. While people try to pigeon hole this record into industrial music in the vein of Cabaret Voltaire, this was pretty danceable, particularly the dub versions which were super popular in the clubs. Remarkably consistent overall with no bad songs. My favorites tend towards the latter half beginning with The Wait and Complications and Change (which followed Complications on the Canadian/U.S. release). This album has aged remarkably well and as a snapshot of a particular time that was the post punk explosion in 1978-1981 still is an interesting listen. I should also note that the iconic cover photo probably drove sales as much as the music. The real lesson of punk rock was that fashion, media and image were really important. When bands stumbled upon the combination that accentuated their music then success was pretty much guaranteed. Killing Joke was but one of many examples from this brief period of time. 4/5

Likely forgotten in the annals of time is just how much of a debt Sonic Youth owes to Husker Du for laying the Sonic (get it?) ground work for this record. Aside from that, Daydream Nation should be viewed as the culmination of SY’s shift from No Wave beginning with EVOL progressing to Sister and peaking at Daydream Nation. This is where the balance between Wire influenced no wave arrives at Husker Du influenced Alt rock with traditional song structures, melody and still gritty around the edges. Eric’s Trip and Total Trash are excellent examples of this balance with almost pop melodies in angular guitar with howling buzzsaw guitar lines. The inclusion of lengthier guitar workouts more reflective of their live show at that time is fascinating. This is a record that everyone should have in their collection. I have listened to this record hundreds of times over the years and each listen brings new insights. I will say that for me the second half of the record beginning with Eric’s Trip is more interesting to me although it’s not the hit portion. Candle is a classic and an amazing closer to this record. There is also no denying that Teenage Riot is an all time classic track but it is also a pretty conventional song for a band whose whole reputation is on experimentation and noise ala Glenn Branca. This record is really about balance and on Daydream Nation it is perfect. No skips on this record 5/5.

I’m not quite sure what time of day would be appropriate to listen to this record. As it is most definitely a folk record, I thought early morning might work. Nope. Not so much. The songs are short, except Insect Eyes at more than 5:00, the lyrics are for the most part positive hippy dippy shit that are somewhat clever. The guitar tone is terrific and the actual recording quality is excellent. The problem is Devandra’s vocals which are a bit whiny. We’re not talking Dylan level annoying, but annoying enough to distract. I’m sure for fans this is pleasing but for me, I quickly lost interest. Did I say the songs were short. That is the best I can say about this somewhat banal record. Unfortunate. 2/5

Not my favorite Cure record. If you are going to rank Cure records, and for giggles I will, this is middle of the pack. So, in my mind here are the records that are better than this one by the Cure:
1. 17 Seconds
2. Pornography
3. 3 Imaginary Boys
4. Faith
5. Songs of a Lost World
6. Bloodflowers
7. Disintegration

If we look at Disintegration in isolation from the rest of the cure catalog, it is obvious that this is a record of 2 halves - The full on pop leaning stadium rocking first half with Lovesong, Pictures of You, and Lullaby and then the funeral dirge that is the 2nd half beginning with Fascination Street which signals the beginning of the long doom slide to the end of the record finishing with Homesick. Untitled should remain do. It really is an appendage to the album. I get that momentum for the band was gaining and that this record was a commercial peak, but it was an artistic failure as the second half comes off as overly long and meandering casting a shadow on the entire project and the excellent writing in the first half. I’m not a fan of pop Cure, but for the songs released as singles they all had the immediacy of the early singles - just poppier. So, this record should not have made this list. It’s an average mid-period record by a pretty awesome band 3/5

I’m pretty sure that Fiona had Patti Smith in mind when she decided to put out what is essentially a long form tribute to Patti. The poetry - a mix of mumbles, stumbles, ramblings and musings - is used to great effect as it is carried by a broad range of percussive experimentation while still highlighting the piano elements central to her sound. Likely recognized for the free wheeling lyrical content typical of Patti and, as recognized by many, Tom Waits, the songs flow into one another such that the wide variety of subjects covered is much like a poetry reading set to weird bedroom pop rather than a garage rock backing band. There are several highlights including Newspaper, Shameika, Fetch The Bolt Cutters and Cosmonauts. This album gets a bit long and mostly a vibe. If you are in the mood then this resonates because it’s Fiona’s vocals and her ability to turn a phrase that make this an interesting listen. The real question is whether you would revisit this record? I would likely not as it doesn’t hold much interest for me either musically or lyrically. This is a record for her core audience- young women from 15-25 years old who would appreciate the emotional content much better than I. So, for me 3/5

Unpopular opinion. Megadeth is really April Wine crossed with AC/DC. Myles Goodwyn vocals attached to a slightly sped up version of AC/DC. Similar guitar tones. I recall this album being released having just arrived in Los Angeles to begin a first career as a high school teacher. As a Canadian from a small town moving to LA was like landing on the moon. An alien landscape full of disorienting features. What was comforting and anchoring was a fervent punk rock music scene. The sounds coming from Megadeth were not knew. There were already many hardcore bands playing much faster than what was on Megadeth 2nd record. But Megadeth were metal and playing faster. And at least on one song they had borrowed from punk rock the idea that metal could communicate a message. For a band composed of 2 acknowledged severe drug addicts and 2 homeless individuals this album was pretty much the definition of a metal/punk crossover. Peace Sells is the political track that takes the album out of the metal norm. Little known fact - the next single released after Peace Sells was a cover of Anarchy In The U.K. The fascination with the occult? See Black Sabbath. The Conjuring and Bad Omen were played back to back on this tour. Cover of I Ain’t Superstitious is interesting but essentially a throwaway. This is not to knock Megadeth or this album. I will note that the self-titled Megadeth (2026) is actually a great final record. Dave is only a year younger than me so to put out an excellent record when you are 64 years old is pretty amazing. But I digress. In the band’s Discography this is kind of a mid tier record and when compared with other similar band’s records released in 1986 - Metallica’s Master of Puppets, Slayer’s Reign in Blood, Cro-Mags Age of Quarrel, Dark Angel Darkness Descends and Metal Church The Dark, I’ve got Peace Sells in the middle of the pack. You have to remember these records all are excellent compared with the wave of glam metal (Poison, Ratt and their ilk) shit that was being released. Peace Sells and My Last Words are my favorite tracks. This was a nice revisit. 3/5