Reviews by korb

This is a hidden gem of an album. Sure, there are some corny parts, but I just kept getting caught in the hooks. This whole album just sounds like someone who is genuinely having a great time making music, and that makes me happy.

Chemical Brothers, take note! Finally, someone that can do house/trance/EDM without just looping the same refrain over and over and over and over.

I really appreciate seeing an album on this list that isn't vocal-centric. There are vocal tracks that come and go, but beats, instruments, sounds and samples are what takes center stage. Each track has a solid foundation that carries throughout, but there is a diverse cast of musical characters that roams into, out of and through each. Likewise there is a flow and continuity to the entire album that makes the whole thing feel like a complete work of art.

On the whole the album is equally enjoyable playing in the background or occupying your entire attention span. I'm really glad to have been introduced!

98 albums into 1001 and this is only the 3rd non-english album, and that's being generous in considering Kraftwerk's Trans Europe Express as being non-english. Is this list really that myopically focused on english language albums?

This album is a perfect example of why the voices of the whole world need to be included in this list. With just some congas (I'm not even sure it isn't just one) and vocals the track 'Billumba-Palo Congo' shows the purity of Sabu's energy. While other tracks bring in one or two more instruments, the album continues on in much the same way. Each track is bare bones in its arrangement, but in no way does that compromise or undermine their ability to get your feet tapping and your hips moving.

The album is vivd and proof to me that I don't need to speak the same language to appreciate the impact of good music. Perhaps more "Top X" lists need to take that into consideration.

Root-rock jam band with a bit of a honky-tonk feel. It's easy listening with a good vibe and some rich storytelling.

I admire Pulp's ability to juxtapose the highly consumable fuzzed brit-pop sound with novelesque narratives of tortured characters in a broken world.

You can hear this in the first 4 tracks, which are kind of like couplets of alternating themes.

The title track 'Mis-Shapes' is a perfect summary of the struggle of a younger generation coming up against the adversely challenging realities that their elder generations set before them. The story carries on in 'Common People', where two people explore (and ultimately become disillusioned with) just what it would mean to be common. Both tracks have this bubbly pop beat, which make it easy to overlook just how downtrodden these stories really are.

Sandwiched between those two tracks is 'Pencil Skirt', which tells the story of a depraved would-be suitor who is stalking someone, persisting past all objections, and content only in the acquisition or torment of the object of their obsession. If you don't like that, then you'll want to steer clear of this character's escalating fantasies in the track "I Spy".

And it carries on from there. Each song, something you can easily bop along with as it plays along in the background. Then a lyric grabs your attention, and you find that the stories are increasingly demanding your attention. Somewhere along the way, the pop tunes fall away entirely and you're struggling with the dilemmas of these characters.

The album has the feel of a lounge act playing the early-bird happy hour at the Holiday Inn. I have no idea why this album would be something that anyone would have to hear before they die.

We need more funk in the world!

If the Waterboys were playing a live show in a pub and I was walking by, I'd pay the cover, grab a pint and take in the ambience. A Celtic-rock jam band. Seems a bit obscure to me, but it's a fine thing to have on in the background.

Mellow rock with elements of jazz, latin, and psychedelic mixed in. Despite the light-hearted sound of the tracks, the lyrics all tell fairly sad stories. You can check out 'Dirty Work', 'Midnite Cruiser' and even 'Reelin' In The Years' to hear what I'm talking about.

In and amongst the well-known classic rock hits on this album, I think I enjoyed the track "Change of the Guard" the most.

For what it is and what it aims to be, it is good. The band's sound and overall production quality is clearly a template for countless bands to follow and songs like 'Its the End Of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)' and 'The One I Love' are anthems for that time period.

I just don't care for it all that much. I don't connect with the lyrics, everything sounds uniform, and I find it all a bit bland.

The album listens end-to-end like a classic rock narrative about tough kids living rough lives. Almost like a coming-of-age rock opera following the lives of the youth of a town in the mid 20th century.

For me, the absolute bright spot of this album is the explosive intensity of 'Massacre' segued into the lamentation of 'Still in Love With You'. Both songs and performances are phenomenal, but something about them being back-to-back heightens the poignance of both.

Overall, the quality of the album (overdubbed or not) did well to maintain the air of a live performance and showcased exactly why Thin Lizzy deserves their place on this list.

The tracks are fantastically soulful blues, played raw and straight. I think ‘Mr. Seigal’ and ‘In Shades’ show what I’m talking about perfectly. Of those two songs, I greatly prefer the latter and here’s why.

The voice. I just couldn’t get over or get into was Tom’s vocalization on this album. If it’s his natural singing voice then I guess I just can’t relate to the appeal. To me though, it sounds like a chosen and overt stage persona.

I honestly had to fight the impulse to rip my headphones off of my head to escape the gurgling wails of "Sha-lala-lala-lala" in 'Jersey Girl'.

The sound of this album is like waking up in the middle of the night, in a sleepy haze, and hearing the echos of a jam session reverberating through the alley and up into your loft window.

The album's entire vibe is fitting of the title emo. It is seemingly purpose built to evoke somber emotions wedged somewhere between tears, rage and resignation.

The "O" in soul stands for Otis.

Get this man a throat lozenge and a cup of lemon tea!

Jokes aside, this is a beautifully intimate album. The backing band is a tight and dynamic collection of instruments, that is varied from track to track but cut down to just the essential pieces within any given track. Leonard's vocals whisper, growl, rumble and occasionally claw their way up into the lower musical register. The lyrics are quintessentially Cohen; poetic, built on a frame of relatable narrative and decorated to the hilt with evocative imagery and metaphors.

I entered into the album thinking I wasn't in the mood for it. Turns out I was wrong.

Much like some people think cilantro (corriander) tastes like soap, and others don't have an internal voice, I think I was born with something that prevents me from enjoying bands like this, Tom Waits and most of Leonard Cohen's work.

The tracks were sleepy and the lyrics felt so packed that their density shrouded their meaning.

I'm sure there are millions of people, for whom this is exactly what they are looking for, but I just couldn't connect with it. I couldn't even power through the whole album.

I don't know why, but I feel like I'm letting someone down.

A debut album with a force of clarity that doesn't need much wind in the lungs or adornment in the arrangements to be heard over the din of popular music and appreciated. Norah's vocals delicately blend aspects of Jazz and Country with the touch of a smoke ring and are irrefutably alluring and playful. Tracks like the cover of Hank Williams' "Cold Cold Heart" show the playfulness, while tracks like "Turn Me On" show the allure.

Upon first listening, I'd say I'm most fond of the track 'Nightingale'. It layers and unfurls like silk sheets. What I enjoyed about it the most though is that the whole band had more of an opportunity to stretch their legs on this track, than on other tracks.

Overall, the album is smooth and comforting like the hum of a loved one's voice while they hug you, and every distinct part is beautiful in its tone and simplicity.

Can you imagine the discussions between the band members, when they were putting these songs together?

"Oh yeah, that sounds great, but let's try it like 5 times faster."
"Totally, and while you guys do that, I'm going to scream at the top of my lungs about BLUHHHHHHHHHHHHD!"

Whatever state of mind they were in, the result is a blistering fever dream of thrash metal that set the bar for everything else to come.

For my tastes, I'd love to hear the album sans vocals. At times Tom had a hard time keeping up with the track, which was distracting. More important to me though is that the lyrics feel cringy and pointlessly scandalous. I think they turn a lot of listeners off from appreciating the album on the whole.

Raising social consciousness and making tracks people can move to.

Fantastic from start to finish. I think SKA ran a bit off the rails in the 90's revival, resulting in the genre getting a bad wrap. Therefore, it's incredibly refreshing to go back to the roots with this album; to be reminded of just how fun the blend of influences are.

The album starts out with the seminal \"A Message to You Rudy\", which introduces not only their fusion of reggae, punk, brass, funk and R&B, but also the bands socially minded lyrical leanings. And the whole album carries on as it starts, each track iterating on the same core spirit of house-party meets social commentary.

And with that said, you'll need to excuse me. I'm going to immerse myself in The Specials' discography. Cheers!