Reviews by korb

Try as I might, I struggle to wrap my head around the appeal of this album.

There are moments and fragments, but it seems like the band didn't really know what to do with what they had. I give the album 3 stars overall for being fine enough to listen to, and clearly the album has influenced many other artists, but it falls well short of greatness or being something, I absolutely have to hear.

Delving even deeper into the vein that 'M.A.A.D City' opened, this album is a genuine and vulnerable telling of one man's struggle in a violent and oppressive world. What stands out on the surface may sound like bravado and avarice, but lying just underneath that facade is fear, self-doubt, and despair. In sharing that story, Kendrick has lent his voice to the telling of many people's stories. The list of examples is nearly as long as the entire album, but I'd point to 'Institutionalized', 'These Walls', 'Alright', and 'How Much A Dollar Cost' as prime examples of what I'm talking about.

The tracks themselves are filled with the life and a diversity of numerous artists and musical elements from a wide array of genres. Check out 'For Free?' (spoken word), 'These Walls (R&B), 'u' (jazz), and 'Alright' (hip-hop) to get a sense of just how dynamic this album is. I think the statement from the Wikipedia article which says the album is, 'supremely "cinematic" production qualities but [with] "the freedom of a mixtape",' summarizes it perfectly.

The rhymes and rap techniques are simply on another level. The internet has covered this thoroughly, so check that out if you don't hear it for yourself. My absolute favorite flow is on the tail end of the track 'i' and I only wish that it could carry on, instead of being broken up by the fight in the crowd.

Please. Take the time to listen past the language and the talk about pussy and bitches! This album has so much to offer on every level, and it would be a shame to misjudge this book by it's cover.

Lower key dance beats, loops upon loops and rap/sing/rap stanzas. A simple formula for a decent album.

Ah! Back when I was not embarrassed to admit I enjoyed RHCP. I could not get enough of this album when it first came out. The union of rock and funk was something my musical ear had apparently been craving.

Flea, Frusciante and Smith (and arguably Rick Rubin) put together a masterpiece, that has easily endured the decades since. Smith's jazz drumming is relentlessly precise and uncharacteristically diverse for that era of popular music. Flea elevated the bass guitar to a main instrument and also brought explosive personality to the stage and to recordings. And yet, they together never compromised on remaining the tight-knit rhythm section. In and amongst all of that, Frusciante steers clear of the need for a rhythm guitar part at all by magically weaving a sonic fabric of riffs, solos and powerful chord explosions.

What is on a bit shakier ground are Kiedis' contributions. While some of the sincere songs like 'I Could Have Lied' and 'Under the Bridge' are quite powerful, much of the lyrical content across the rest of the songs range from fractional thoughts, to gibberish, to outright celebrations of misogyny. I remember gleefully singing along to all of these songs, so this is definitely also a lot about my sensibilities changing over time, but it's sad how much it takes away from my fond memories of the album.

If there is one thing this whole exercise has taught me, it's that I am a fool for having ignored punk music from the 70's for this long. Shame on me!

This album, with its 21 songs in 37 minutes, is a whirlwind of musical thoughts. Don't conflate that for a lack of quality though. In contrast to my equal appreciation of prog-rock, I also appreciate that Wire didn't feel the need to draw anything out. If they could get the idea across with a single verse and 40 seconds, then sobeit.

Each track, be it an entire song or a segment, is complete and stands on its own. If you're only glancing across the album, you would be forgiven for thinking much of it is all the same, but a closer listening reveals the contours of something unique in every song. Some of the brightest spots for me, which also show the diversity of sound across the album, are 'Three Girl Rhumba', 'Lowdown', 'Mr Suit' and 'Champs'.

The album starts out with a touch of country, rock and psychedelic. Then after the jam session double track 'On Sir Francis Drake' the band moves on to a considerably more mellow mix of songs and instrumental tracks. Stand out tracks for me are 'Smug', 'On Sir Francis Drake', 'Trillium', and 'Sham'.

I have to give it to Tim; He's really into what he's doing. Unfortunately, that energy doesn't translate into a connection for me. The band is tight, and they do well with the music they've been given. They even get to stretch their legs a few times, in tracks like 'Devil Eyes'. But that isn't enough to offset the fact that Tim's vocals and lyrical delivery are just too awkward for me to hear past. Moreover, the characters he trying to convey and/or the stories he's trying to tell in each song, just don't seem believable as he depicts them.

Nowhere is this more apparent than 'Get on Top' and 'Sweet Surrender'. I was literally cringing and tensed listening to 'Sweet Surrender', which was basically a 2-minute song followed by 4m44s of Tim's warbling and nasally improvisations. You figure that they would've learned from the previous track 'Get on Top', where there is a very apparent and abrupt cut around the 5m50s mark in and amongst a similar 4+ minute long outro. I will say that I was almost into 'Nighthawkin''... almost.

All told, it feels like an attempt was made to make a gritty album that told the stories of hard worn lives in a big city, but what came through was more like a kid telling tall tales.

Lately I've been hung up on stoner/sludge rock and bands like Elder, If These Trees Could Talk, and Russian Circles. I really enjoy how their albums fuse together the movements and diversity of sound that you would find in classical music, with the instrumentation and overall sensibility of prog-rock/metal.

This album scratches similar itch for me. Between that and tracks like 'Isi', 'Hero' and 'After Eight' sounding like direct influences for LCD Soundsystem, this is definitely an album I can enjoy.

Wild! The opening track (21st Centrury Schizoid Man) is like a prog-rock riff on themes from Black Sabbath's album Paranoid, nihilistic lyrics, echoed drum rolls down the set, and screeching horns and guitars. What's interesting through is this album came about a year before Paranoid did. Then, next up is 'I Talk To The Wind'; (my fav) a somber duet backed with clarinets, flutes, harmonics and a playful drum trilling and filling along in the background. Following that is 'Epitaph', which is an expansive and spatial lament reminiscent of tracks from Radiohead's 'OK Computer'. The next song 'Moonchild', just kind of slowly disintegrates into an ambient jam session, that almost sounds like they just forgot to stop recording and figured, "Eh, why not," when it came time to put it on the album. Then 'The Court of The Crimson King' ties all the themes together in an on-again-off-again crescendo.

This is such a singularly unique album, and I love it!

This is a powerful album, crammed to the brim with classic originals and covers. Each track shows Aretha's ability to connect the listener to the emotion and the meaning buried deep down in the soul of every song. The tracks 'Good to Me as I Am to You' and 'Ain't No Way' are so incredibly good.

A bit of bop music, a bit of blues, and enough energy to bring even the most introverted wall flower onto the dance floor. The already infectious tunes are brought to life by raucous wails, punched up fills, and smooth rasp of Little Richard's vocals. In fact, you can hear in tracks like 'Jenny Jenny' that Little Richard is nearly overcome himself by the music trying to explode out of him.

This man's performances transferred the rock-n-roll energy into legions of artists to come. They heard something special in the full-throated expressiveness and they couldn't resist taking that idea and running with it.

My opinion about the music is irrelevant.

From the wikipedia page - 'In 2019, He was found guilty by a French court of statutory rape of one of his former dancers when she was 15 years old.[8] He was handed a two-year suspended jail sentence in absentia, as he did not attend court in France.'

I forgot how raw this album sounds. Hindsight being what it is, the album's eclectic feel (especially beyond 'Alone + Easy Target'), is foreshadowing of Dave Grohl's nascent potential at this point in his career.

The album's sound is one of overtly forward and fuzzed up electric guitars, although tracks like 'Big Me' and 'For All the Cows' offer moments that stand-out from that crowd. I tend to think that contrast and variation from the well-worn grunge/rock formulas is directly correlated to why those two tracks have higher play counts on Spotify for the front and back end of the album, respectively.

Along similar lines, Dave's vocals are varied across this debut album, sometimes almost hidden behind the blaring leads and other times right out in front. In all though, I remember being amazed at how well he held the front-man role, and that perception holds up over time.

As you would expect from any project that Dave is involved in, the drum tracks are steady solid throughout. They are the heart that sends the blood coursing through the veins of the album, delivering beats of energy and life to every track.

With all of that said, I don't feel like this is the right Foo Fighter's album to be on the list. I view 'The Colour And The Shape' as being their real debut. This album did much to put distance between Dave and his past rolls in other bands; taking the step stone his past fame provided and vaulting from it. Where it's really at though, is where the band's feet fell next and where they journeyed from there!

A great album tied to a horrible time in my life. The scenes, personalities, and dilemmas described in each song are the stuff of younger year legend and the backing tracks are pumped full with the same vim and ornery playfulness. Each song is impossibly better than the one before. I miss the memories, but I’m glad I’m past them!

It's a tough thing to have a world view and to weave that into music in a way that doesn't feel heavy handed or is off putting. I think Neil Young does that well. I can't say I'm a big fan of his music, or this album, but I appreciate his willingness to take a stand, given it can easily up-end his career.

Even to this day, with his most recent stance to pull his music from Spotify in response to their support of podcasts that give a platform to disseminating misinformation, Neil is demonstrating that there is value in, and values around, his artform that he is willing to defend.

That principle of integrity and willingness to take a stand, is something we all need to hear. For that, I think this album is worthy of being on the list, if for nothing else than the reminder it provides. Music is far more than just audio decoration, filling in the background of our lives.

Imagine the pitch here. "Yeah, it's two dudes with a couple synthesizers, a drum machine, and expansive amorous interests. I think they'll fit in great here at 'Some Bizarre Records'!"

The synth-pop sound that these guys brought into being with this album, is surprisingly rich and diverse. While I do think the album could stand to be a handful of tracks lighter, there are quite a few highlights. Obviously, 'Tainted Love'. Secondly, lyrical subject matter aside, 'Sex Dwarf' is a far better track than the name suggest. And lastly, I really enjoyed 'Memorabilia', which I swear LCD Soundsystem's sound is directly descended from.

It's a good album, by a great band, but I don't see how this is above or beyond their first album, which is already on the list. While I won't complain about listening to The Specials, I think this spot on the list would be better filled by something new.

PS: Anyone else mistake 'International Jet Set' for a Gorillaz track?

This album coined the term Rock Opera. Regardless of what I think about the music, I have to at least appreciate it for the courageous step out of the norm that it is.

1001 songs you have to hear before you die, sure, I'll give you that for "Son Of A Preacher Man". If the albums was "Dusty Springfield and a ton of songwriters and a bunch of studio musicians In Memphis", then I might be more inclined to appreciate the album on the whole. But the album is "Dusty In Memphis", and if all we're talking about is what Dusty brings to these tracks, I don't see it as something that merits being in this top 1001.

If you're looking for 11 back-to-back tracks of good old-fashioned metal, you've come to the right place. Feathered hair tossing windmill power chords, finger-tip shredding solos, a chest pounding rhythm section, and Rob Halford's expansive vocal range growling and wailing. What's not to love?

Side note, I was really intrigued by how 'The Rage' started. It had a Clash feel to it and I was hoping they'd continue on in that direction.