Reviews by kenny-mike

I was once waiting and waiting for "Money for Nothing" to end. It didn't. My friend said, "Dire Straits doesn't know how to end a song."

And that is the problem with this album. Sure, "Money for Nothing" is a brilliant concept and a great riff, and if I'm not in a hurry I can wait out the 8 plus minutes. But with several less noteworthy (and less energetic) songs clocking in over 6 or 7 minutes... that's just not a wise use of time.

This was a nice find, some talented soulful pop from the Class of ‘68.

Favorites: “Poverty Train” and “Eli’s Coming.”

I hope my 4/5 rating is not only because I’m comparing this early ZZ Top to the 80s commercial iteration that I find so unmoving. But this really is some solid blues rock. The songs have great hooks and (almost) no song overstays its welcome. Several familiar songs from AOR radio days. Nice musicianship.

Rounding up to 4.

I feel like I’m not one of the cool kids. I’d like to love this album, but I just don’t get what makes it special. It’s lo-fi indie folk. Ok.

If I end up over there, at the old record player, playing “Forever Changes” by Love, can I still be invited back to the next party?

I think The Smiths must have inspired a host of 90s bands through their sound, irreverence, and wit. I’ll leave it to the long term fans to rank “The Queen” in comparison to their other albums. This one had several strong tracks, but the lyrics from “Frankly, Mr Shankly” are why I raise my glass:

“Fame, Fame, fatal Fame
It can play hideous tricks on the brain
But still I'd rather be famous
Than righteous or holy, any day
But sometimes I'd feel more fulfilled
Making Christmas cards with the mentally ill…”

4/5 with my condolences concerning the Queen.

“Don’t You Want Me” is such a sonic stand-out. The detail work on that song, the attitude, the back and forth — fantastic. Holds up great.

But the rest of the album pales in comparison and does not age gracefully. I will say, the opening song gave me hope. But alas, as much as I hate to go as low as 2/5, I think I have to this time. But with the caveat that “Don’t You Want Me” still deserves its place in the synth pop hall of fame.

By the way, isn’t this a rather ironic name for a band so committed to electronic music and drum machines?

There is a lot of talent on display here. And I normally love eclectic albums, those that draw many styles together. Fishbone’s “Truth and Soul” from 1988 is a lifelong favorite. Ozomatli does this here with funk, rap, R&B, and more.

However… the polished production wipes everything too clean. I could recognize the talent without fully embracing it…or feeling embraced by it. It really wasn’t until the last song, one where I don’t even speak the language, that I could really feel something personal.

My 3/5 is subjective. I totally understand someone else walking away with a lot more delight in this album. Maybe they can feel what I don’t feel, speak its languages in a way I just can’t.

1987 would not have been the same without this album.

R.E.M. was among the greatest bands in this era. They grew in fame while somehow maintaining their artistic vision and keeping their wits about them. Each album built on the previous one, or added new twists. Someone rightly said that one's favorite R.E.M. album is whatever was released when the person discovered them... because over 10 albums or so, each one was strong and noteworthy. This is a rare accomplishment.

"Document" moved R.E.M. into major commercial recognition. Michael Stipe's vocals were never this direct and un-murmured. The band had a unique ability to handle superstardom well and continue to produce great work even as their audience steadily expanded. (Two, three, four, and five albums after this are among their very best. Along with all the others.)

So what about "Document" itself? It is lyrically interesting, covering politics and personal proclivities, and its sound is great. The hits are in the middle, and it ends stronger than it begins in my opinion. And don't be fooled: (this one goes out to) "The One I Love" is not a nice song to play for your girlfriend. "It's the End of the World" is R.E.M.'s very own "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and I love it. But it takes deep cuts to make an album truly great, and this has plenty: "Exhuming McCarthy," "Fireplace," and "King of Birds" to name a few.

I wish at LEAST "Life's Rich Pageant" and "Out of Time" were on the (official) 1001 list. Rarely has a band had so many strong albums in a row (beginning with their debut), a great band and remarkable career.

I have an odd relationship with Bruce Springsteen. I respect his music yet I’m always disappointed by it too. Is it me? I just generally can’t get traction.

Well, until now. “The Rising” succeeded for me where other Springsteen albums have not. I enjoyed the sound and the heart of this album, pretty much all the way through. One caveat: I don’t prefer the faux country accent that slips in here and there. A little bit of old time patriotism run amok or something?

Maybe one day I’ll be able to move from respecting his classic albums to actually enjoying them. But at least I’ve got this one, and I see myself returning to it.

Going in, I thought this would be a strong 3/5 and maybe even a 4/5. By the time we got to the "Yee Haw" section of the album it was pretty clear this album was going to come in below expectations.

Rating: A very, very weak 3/5.

So, on January 1, 1967 you spend your $4 on this LP. It’s not bad given the options out there but, truthfully, you would rather give Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde another spin — and of course the Beatles’ Rubber Soul which you got for Christmas.

Then, three days later, your friend buys a brand new release by this band called The Doors. You end up spending every day at his house listening to “Light My Fire” and wishing you had another $4.

In the coming months you get more choosy about how to spend those hard earned dollars and it serves you well because Jimi Hendrix’s first album comes out and it’s not long before “Sgt Pepper” hits the stands just in time for the Summer of Love.

Just as there is “the early Beatles” and “the later Beatles,” there is early and later Dylan. Early Dylan is his folk era, and Later Dylan begins when he famously “goes electric.” And like the Beatles, the progress occurs at such a fast clip. “Freewheelin’” is only Bob Dylan’s second album, released in 1963. By 1965 he would release “Bringing It All Back Home” and (greatest of all) “Highway 61 Revisited.” He was incredibly influential, and the 60s (Beatles included) would not be the same without Bob Dylan’s artistic, lyrical, and political guidance.

5/5 for the album that contains “Blown’ in the Wind,” “Girl from the North Country,” “Masters of War,” “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” and some nice deep cuts.

Given my musical proclivities, The Smiths is one of the top bands most strangely absent from my common rotation. Stylistically they’re great in their class, and lyrically they’re wonderfully dark and witty.

Dark and witty always go together, never apart, for The Smiths: “Girlfriend in a Coma” and “Unhappy Birthday” are exhibit A, but lyrics like these tucked away as well: “I still love you / Only slightly, only slightly less / Than I used to, my love.”

This is the album by The Smiths I enjoyed most despite the prestige of God Save The Queen. Very strong 4/5.

* Note: Seven albums for Morrissey total? Three by The Smiths and four solo? I doubt that is justified… but, I hope Modest Mouse made its way into the list.

A lot of y’all are probably more familiar with Radiohead than I am. As a newbie, I’m struck by the range of emotion conveyed by the lyrics, the instruments, and the overall song construction.

Easy early favorites: “High and Dry,” “Bones,” “Just,” and “My Iron Lung.”

In the long run I don’t know if I’ll ever be a Radioheadhead. But, I respect what I’ve heard so far - here and on OK Computer. And I respect that they refused to stand still, always challenging themselves with new directions.

Strong 4/5 but rounding up to 5/5 as I expect to enjoy this album and band even more as I give them more time and attention.

I’m hearing 80’s alternative and pop… and 70’s punk… and 60’s psychedelic rock… And that’s just the second track!

This album is a lot of fun, even if only to dissect the musical lineage. But I do admit, it also sounds of its time as an early 2000s album - like the Killers, but more interesting to me for whatever reason.

I enjoy the energy, the forward motion. Worth another listen sometime.

I recognized her name, and with positive connotations, but it had been a looong time since I’d heard it. I went in optimistic, and felt the album started off strong. Around the middle section it hits a nice groove with “Join the Boys” and “People.”

Looking at her extensive catalog and accolades, Joan Armitrading strikes me as an artist I should know more about. Maybe some of her many other albums deserve to be on this list more than the disappointing filler we sometimes have to sort through?

A good representation of an overlooked (by me) artist and album I hope to experience in the 1001 journey.

This band is a wonderful 1001 discovery. An early psychedelic garage band, making some really interesting music in the mid to late 60s. Not a perfect album and seems to suffer from some minimal production capabilities, but still 4/5. I’ve explored some of their other music and it helps fill out my knowledge base of a cool musical decade.

This is album is fine, and I like the sound better than his even more famous “So” from ‘86. I give it a solid 3/5, but I wish I could catch the Peter Gabriel bug and go higher… maybe when “PG3: Melt” gets dealt to me I’ll be able to get there.

But so far, all things Genesis are kind of like David Bowie to me: interesting, and have their moments, but I have trouble getting very deep below the surface.

This is the sound of someone reading the Bible but only the parts about sin, death, and the darkness.

I like it.

To appreciate it, I encourage giving your soul some space to take it in and paying attention to the lyrics. Enter its world. It’s like great literature.

There is a pretty strong fan base for this album. Perhaps it sounded great in its day, or perhaps I just need more time with it.

The album had a nice center section: “Hudson Line,” “Opus 40,” and “Goddess on a Hiway.” The first of these especially grabbed my attention. But overall, the album wasn’t pulling me in too close, not on first listen anyway. I was more curious about what the next album might be….

Oh! Tom Waits. Cool.