Reviews by kenny-mike

Songs like “Basket Case” and “When I Come Around” proved that Green Day could be a sensation. But “Longview,” “Welcome to Paradise,” and “She” showed flashes of brilliance and the potential beyond their slacker punk exterior. This is musical and lyrical too: “She, she’s figured out / All her doubts were someone else’s point of view.”

For many bands “pop punk” would be an insult. But for Green Day, their pop sensibilities actually meant they had the tools and talent to expand their sound in many directions. Each of their albums has deep cuts and great moments, and they keep adding new layers all the way up till “American Idiot.” That 2004 album was a sensation too, but “Idiot” proved that all their potential could be channeled into a true masterpiece of biography, cultural critique, and astounding musicianship.

Strong 4/5 for Dookie, with a strong encouragement to go listen to “Homecoming” — where it all comes together at the end of “American Idiot.”

This album is completely harmless. I actually forgot “While You See a Chance” existed for 46 straight years, and after listening today I still couldn’t recall it without referring to the track listing again.

A kinder way to say all this is, it’s a nice album. And I actually kind of like “Arc of a Diver” and especially “Spanish Dancer” which has some cool piano ambiance.

I have respect for Steve Winwood. His work in The Spencer Davis Group and Traffic was phenomenal. Unfortunately this album is oh so 80s, and not in the underground cool way but in the soft, synthetic way.

What a great album. The first song sounds like it might be by The Mamas & The Papas, or the Beach Boys - think “God Only Knows.” But (big but) it’s directed to the singer’s girlfriend while he waits for her to get out jail. “And we’ll get to know each other for a second time / And then you can tell me ‘bout your prison stay.”


From that awesome, quirky starting point, the album never disappoints. For an album recorded in the summer of 1967, it has a bit of a throwback sound...pleasantly so. Each song is really enjoyable, with some delightful lyrical turns. I enjoyed “Changes” for example: “I knew her when summer was her crown / And autumn sad how brown her eyes / I knew her when winter was her cloak / And spring her voice she spoke to me.”

The big hit is “Time of the Season,” which seems to take their sound and production to another level. Maybe because music was evolving so quickly in the pivotal year of 1967, and this was among the last songs recorded. But I enjoy every track, and happy to give 5/5 for a deserving album.

At first I thought, maybe this is pretty good, you know, for 1990. Ultimately though, it’s a solid 3/5, neither worse nor better than that.

The best thing it did was lead me over to the amazing old Elmore James song this album is named after. But why grab this on the way to your funeral when you could choose some classic blues—maybe even something by Elmore James himself?

I see the name Brian Eno and I'm pretty excited!

For a moment.

What I really want to know is, why all the positive reviews for this? I'm glad others are benefiting where I am simply skipping out.

Aretha Franklin is such a tremendous talent, no musical mindscape is complete without songs like “Chain of Fools.” I noticed that she sang and played piano on most / many songs, but she also was the writer for some of the deep cuts on side two. Other songwriting credits include James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, and Carole King.

“Chain of Fools” never gets old, other songs are quite good but can’t take you as high. This feels like a very good, old school collection of A and B sides moreso than a unified musical statement. Still, it is well deserving and Aretha must have her due on 1001.

This is a classic underground 60’s album that requires an understanding of that decade to appreciate. Yes: something is being asked of you here. And it’s worth it, because the decade was the starting point for any music you listen to today and the touchstone for your modern politics as well.

The album is experimental but enjoyable. So it’s not experimental in the “Revolution #9” kind of way but in the… well, in the “We’re Only in it for the Money” kind of way, because truly there’s nothing else like this out there.

The parody and the critique (sometimes blistering) cuts in all directions. As it turns out, there are a lot of ways to be phony - whether part of the older or younger generation. Most directly, Zappa is addressing what he sees around him in California circa the Summer of Love in 1967.

Also: I love the Beatles. Zappa’s critique of the Hippie In Name Only culture, as well as the conservative anti-hippie culture, in no way disuades me from loving the Beatles and recognizing their tremendous achievements as well. Not even sure anything besides the cover parodies them here.

Such a deserving 5/5 but I also get why your modern ears may ask “whaaaat?” Just let that be with curiosity instead of dismissive criticism.

There are worse albums on this list but I’m not sure there’s a more mediocre one.

This album is on the list primarily because of two songs, “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion.” The first has a riff that’s been recognizable for 50 years. The second has some interesting production and feels unique in its mixture of the ethereal and the earthy.

But you know what? These still don’t hold up for me. These great songs and the many lesser songs on the album fail to offer me any vision greater than Steve Perry’s pride in seducing young girls and evading the police. And while I don’t quite get his take on Adam and Eve in “Adam’s Apple,” I have a feeling that the bottom line is that he’s not taking blame for any of the fallout.

I am rounding down to 2/5 what might be worthy of a 3/5, but others will balance that out…

The opening song and title track had a nice sound and great musicianship. But still. Do I want to listen to this right now? Then the second song, “We Will Not Be Lovers,” kicked in and arrested me. What a cool sound. One reviewer said he just listened to this song 70 times - not a bad approach.

The album continued to alternate between the good and very good for me, which is why I think I’m caught between a 3 and 4 star review. I guess that makes it a solid 3.5. But, there are many worse ways to use your CD allowance if you time travel back to 1988 - trust me, I was there. So I’ll round up to 4/5.

This album was around when I was growing up and into great music, but I never heard it in full. Now, far too late in the game, I’m hearing a young Patti Smith and I can’t believe how much she sounds like Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney. Wait, let’s reverse that. How much Carrie Brownstein sounds like Patti Smith. Godmother of punk indeed!

Love the energy and showwomanship here. These songs must have been amazing live.

This would probably move to a 5/5 with more time, my subjective 4/5 probably says more about my being a latecomer here.

I really enjoy the Americana punk that is X. This is a really enjoyable album, but it’s also a rich one. The lyrics can go deep: “Universal Corner,” for example, has biblical allusions and isn’t at all straightforward except in its emotion. This album gets better on each listen.

I first heard of X as a teenager seeing the movie”The Decline of Western Civilization” in an art theater. Cool memory.

Look at the cover of this album, then check out the cover of “The Hot Rock” by Sleater-Kinney which was released a year earlier. They are clearly going down a similar road. It’s hard to believe the packaging is a coincidence when the vibe sounds so (wonderfully) similar.

These two albums fit nicely together, whether the match was made in heaven or on earth.

I’m a fan of both.

Adele is such a soulful talent. I could picture how riveting it would be to witness her perform at a piano in a small venue while her voice and piano fill the room.

She has such presence on "Someone Like You," which concludes the album. An interesting hit given its minimalistic production, which just goes to show. (That song, by the way, makes an interesting counterpoint to Alanis Morrisette's "You Ought Know.") I also enjoyed the penultimate "Lovesong," which finds her in a different musical motif altogether.

Is “Brown Sugar” meant to be a socially conscious reflection on the slave trade and racial injustice? Because it sounds like Mick Jagger inhabits that creepy character a little too well.

The answer may be on the next track, “Sway,” in which he says that “the demon life has got me its sway.”

“Wild Horses” is next. If you can make it through that song, you’re a true fan.

Then comes “Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’” which is the finest song on the album. It sounds like the Stones are channeling either Traffic or latter-day Doors here, as the song transitions to its long instrumental section.

“You Gotta Move” fills space before “Bitch,” which may just be as misogynistic as “Brown Sugar.”

Well, enough about this album. Time for the essential post-Stones deep clean, followed by a musical palette cleanse. Still, I'll give 3/5 for several great riffs and for "Knockin."

Metal Box meets R.E.M.

Where was I when this came out in 1988?

Oh yeah, I was working at a record store in Detroit, unaware of what was going on in Manchester, England. Or Madchester, come to think of it.

Bummed I missed it.

So much from the 80s disappoints, but this has an interesting, captivating sound. I admit I prefer their next album (Pills 'n' Thrills, 1990) which just came up on the list for me also. But glad to learn about the Happy Mondays.

Some of us just love that post-punk vibe. In fact, that stretch from punk... to post-punk... to new wave... to (what I called it in the 80's) alternative... there's some great stuff here, and I think that includes The Teardrop Explodes.

This was Julian Cope's band before he was just Julian Cope. For me, this album and My Nation Underground are my favorites. I don't think they are HIS favorites, but they're mine. Probably because these combine pop sensibility with that post-punk edge. A great alternative indeed, to whatever was on the radio at this time.

I don’t care much for country, but i do care about the Beatles. So let’s talk about Emmylou Harris’s cover of “For No One.”

I was wondering why it just seemed so wrong.

Here’s my conclusion: In the original Beatles song, written and sung by Paul McCartney, the song is directed to the man who lost his lover (wife?). And yet the listener’s sympathies nevertheless drift toward the woman who left, who found freedom from a flatlined relationship—and from someone who didn’t truly care for or understand her. It is a song that is both sad and celebratory all at once.

In the Emmylou Harris version, all the attention goes to the man. The song is slow, pleading, and lingers on his hurt. The woman’s narrative is lost from view. It’s not so much that we need to take sides, it’s just that the original version is so much more layered and interesting.

So that’s what I have to offer. I’m not a fan of country, but this sounds respectable enough aside from the complaint I’ve registered for no one. Sometimes the songs here are admittedly pretty good, as on the opening track (which got my hopes up), “Queen of the Silver Dollar,” and “California Cotton Fields.”

The Beatles defined a decade, revolutionized music, and still sound amazing today. This album is 5/5 as part of the band’s origin story but, really, it also stands on its own when you consider…

In 1963, bands rarely wrote their own songs. And albums were filled with…well, with filler. Yet The Beatles wrote 8 of these songs, with one tremendous song by George Harrison. Each of those songs stands on its own. A foretaste of things to come.

Also, compare this with any other rock n roll album from 1963. Most have to do with surfing. You seriously won’t find anything that holds its own against what the Beatles are doing here (and on their earlier release, Please Please Me). Go ahead, check out all the top rock n roll albums of 1963. Then imagine what THIS sounded like in that context.

You WILL find some great folk music (Freewheeling Bob Dylan!) and Motown. The Beatles were clearly soaking in those sounds as well. But what they accomplished here and in the years to come… just plain remarkable.