Reviews by lester_thenextfantano

1001 Albums Vol. 0037: A Seat At The Table
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Introduction: Ack! Oh, well it seems that time is...relatively normal again? I mean, car models look relatively...modern even though I don't see any Cyber Trucks. Um...oh wait. I know exactly what year it is now...Markiplier has red hair and I know the lore of Markimoo better than anyone so that means we must be in 2016...specifically after March of 2016. So um...yeah, here we ar-.....Wait...Oh...um...hello? I think I heard something clanking around in this box of text? Um...maybe not. We'll just keep going for now. Anyway, the year is 2016. The Zika Virus is running rampant, South Park airs its weakest season up until that point, Gen Alpha has just begun to grow out of being toddlers so they can wipe their grubbly evolved hands all over their phone screens, and Donald Trump...wait...actually he hadn't won yet because we're in September of that year. But most historically important of all, Solange would release A Seat At The Table that year! And trust me, this changed the trajectory of the entire fucking worl-! What the hell?! I....It-It's the clanking again. This time it was louder and sounded...a lot more echoey? Is there like...something in the walls of the text box or something? Okay...we're going to need to try and get through this intro fast. So um...yeah Solange released A Seat At The Table in 2016. And it apparently even won a Grammy Award too...huh? A rare instance where we're giving musical awards which are actually deserving I see. You know, musical Grammy Awards really should be reinvented or at least a few categories should be added. Like of course Sabrina fucking Carpenter is going to get nominated while artists that are objectively better like...I don't know...Geese are not. And awards like that keep encouraging artists like Sabrina to keep pumping out the same bad music and the cycle just continues and goes on and on and on and on and...yeah...I'll digress for now...just one of the many flawed things about the music industry. So um...anyway...yeah, the album. Like I was saying, it changed the trajectory of the entire world! And while that may be an over exaggeration, it at least attempted to have a huge impact on its listeners and the world around it which is more than I can say about a lot of albums that were made around this era. How? Well, very similarly to To Pimp A Butterfly released the year before, the album covers themes of Black empowerment, history, and experience in the questionaly great U.S.A. And...well...um...I won't even lie, something like this would probably be enough to make me like an album already, especially if its lyrics are well-written. I mean, albums like this are very typically some of the most personable and genuine stuff you can find in the industry which is something that I generally love and respect. There...are some pretty...obvious exceptions to this rule...Nostalgia Critic...oop...I didn't mean to say that. But um...yeah, there's just something about albums like these that hit in a very different sort of way. And, combine this with an actually interesting setup we have going here, and you hav-oh wait? What's the setup? Well, silly reader, clearly you haven't been keeping up with our amazing series of album reviews we have going on here. Why, I'm talking about hearing the evolution of Soul music across the span of 50 years of course. But really, the one Ray Charles album on this site was the last album I generated and now we timeskip 50 years in the future to see how far Soul has come since that album. That's...kinda the setup and the hook that I'm going to create here because I really don't have all that much else otherwise. I think I've used the "apparently this album is pretty good but let's see" hook way too much already and we're only like 30 albums in! So um...yeah, I really don't have much else to say, so let's jus- just...there...there's something in the text box. It just happened again.The clanking. There-.....................There's something in here with me....I'm gonna....go ahead and switch over to my phone now and start the album on Spotify, rate tracks along the way like always and just...just see if anything's happened when I come back for the conclusion. Yeah, let's just....let's just go ahead and...yeah.
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Track 1: Rise: 8/10
Track 2: Weary: 8/10
Track 3: Interlude: The Glory Is In You: 6/10
Track 4: Cranes In The Sky: 10/10
Track 5: Interlude: Dad Was Mad: 7/10
Track 6: Mad: 9/10
Track 7: Don't You Wait: 9/10
Track 8: Interlude: Tina Taught Me: 8/10
Track 9: Don't Touch My Hair: 9/10
Track 10: Interlude: This Moment: 7/10
Track 11: Where Do We Go: 8/10
Track 12: Interlude: For Us By Us: 6/10
Track 13: F.U.B.U.: 8/10
Track 14: Borderline (An Ode To Self Care): 8/10
Track 15: Interlude: I Got So Much Magic, You Can Have It: 6/10
Track 16: Junie: 8/10
Track 17: Interlude: No Limits: 6/10
Track 18: Don't Wish Me Well: 9/10
Track 19: Interlude: Pedestals: 8/10
Track 20: Scales: 7/10
Track 21: Closing: The Chosen Ones: 7/10
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Conclusion: Okay...I...I just re-read the intro after listening to the album and everything seems relatively...normal. I think my wording is about right and nothing...seems to be changed. Alright. I think we're good for now. I'll...try to keep this review more brief than my previous have been because I just want to get out of here. So um...yeah, here we go with the album. And...well...I won't lie, after listening to it, I really don't feel like I'm the most qualified person to really even be reviewing it. And, of course, I don't mean that in a bad way at all. I'll be honest, I'm a cisgender White male, so there's just...plenty of stuff on this album that won't quite resonate as deeply with me as I imagine it would for someone who is part of the Black community. And that's completely okay. There were still plenty of moments across this album that did have a genuine effect on me either simply because I agreed with the message or I could relate it back to my own life in some way. Basically, point is, there are some aspects of this album that I might just...ignore without meaning to or not understand the true meaning of. But regardless, I'm still going to explain to the best of my ability what this album did well for me without overreaching into topics that I can only pretend as if I understand and never likely truly will. Okay? Got it? Alright. Cool. So...um I'm going to go ahead and delve into simpler topics first like the music and production before I get into the more complex subjects so as to kind of warm myself and my voice up. And, well, first things first, I think I quite literally just the voice of an angel for the past forty minutes. And I'm not even really exaggerating. I normally discuss the music first but I just have to praise Solange's voice before anything else because OH MY GOD. This girl...this girl can FUCKING sing. Okay, seriously though, she is undoubtedly THE best singer we have come across on this site so far and may genuinely be the best singer I have heard of all time period. I mean like, I don't really think I have to say anything more than Cranes In The Sky's outro to prove my point but I guess I will because the review calls for it. So, yeah, on top of Cranes In The Sky having the most angelic vocal performance I can recall hearing in recent memory, Solange is also able to perfectly mix her voice in a similarly transient yet fitting way in pretty much every other song heard on this album. I haven't quite touched on it yet and I will soon, but there's a pretty wide variety of Neo-Soul, Pop, R&B you can find on this album. Some melodies are more intimate and quiet while some try to sound more energetic and pretty. Regardless, Solange is perfectly able to retain her more than angelic tone while flawlessly adapting her voice to fit the changes in music as well. I mean, I can't really describe it all that well here and would more than recommend you just hear for yourself, but she's just able to keep that same beautiful tone and quick pitch shifting across the entire album...a-and...and you have s-such clean delivery as well and- I'm not blushing, what? I'm not. Really....um...so-...okay fine, maybe, just maybe I kinda find good singers to be attractive. I mean, I can say without a doubt that singers like Robert Smith move a whole point up for me simply because of how unbelievably good his voice is. But um...yeah...okay...calm down...yeah, regardless, Solange's voice is just great. I would genuinely recommend you listen to this album just for her voice if for nothing else and would at least suggest you to give Cranes In The Sky a chance at bare minimum. There's just something about her voice that I can't quite describe here that elevates it above all other singers I've heard. So, yeah, that's that. And now the glaze ends and we can finally shift focus to the music before we touch on the general themes of this album. So, is the music anywhere near as perfect as our lady of the day's vocals?.......Well, no. I'll just keep it straight. But I mean the bar was as high as the...the cranes in the sky anyway so like that's not an insult at all. In fact, literally just take a glimpse at my ratings and you can tell that I actually find the music here to be quite appealing. As stated above, there's a fair mix of Pop, R&B, and Soul across the album, and all of it works insanely well. You have laid-back and quiet songs such as Weary or Rise, more energetic melodies such as FUBU, and just a good mix of stuff in between as well. Despite this, every track just has this very distinct intimate feel to its music that works really well in unison with the album's themes...of which we will get to in a bit....It just feels like every track was made with the intention of the listener being able to fully catch every detail of the song without too much effort and I just...I really like it. It gives the already artsy melodies across the album an even more experimental and almost Folk-like feel to it in the way that the lyrics are meant to take the foreground and not the melody....Of course, that's not...the exact case here. I mean, I would say the music and lyrics are about equal in terms of the musical intensity but I digress. And...OH MY GOD. Don't even get me started on the production. Okay. I'm going to have to hold myself back here because I have talked and talked and talked about how much I love the style of production this album uses in the pas-...You know what, screw it. I'm going to label this style of production the "Melody A.M." production seeing as that was my first album with this style. What does the Melody A.M. stamp of approval, you ask? Well, basically, think of a cocoon. You are trapped inside, the space is enclosed, and you can probably die from a solid object the size of a golf ball being thrown at you...okay, that last part may be unneeded but still you get the point. Basically, you have a speaker inside of that cocoon with you and...well...this album's playing. Do you get it?...No...maybe...oh...alright. Layman I get it. Alright, so basically what I'm trying to say is that this album just has a very entangling kind of production to it. A kind of style to its sound that can very easily pull you away from anything you are doing and thoroughly engross you in its sound...which kinda sucks in this case because I usually have the album on as background when I write these but in this case it's literally just too distracting. It almost feels as if the sound of the album is like its own fleshed out world that you kinda just want to...find a portal too and delve into...Okay look, I am actually trying my hardest to explain this style of production here but I literally can't think of the words or metaphors to describe it properly or in a layman way. If you really care that much, just listen to Eple off of Melody A.M. and you should hopefully get what I'm saying. Basically, to truly put it into layman's the point I'm trying to make is that the album sounds great. Very good producing and mixing that I find to be genuinely praiseworthy...Um...okay, so that's music and production checked off, double whammy there...oh...okay...now it's time for me to get serious for a bit as we turn our attention to this album's themes and lyrics. Okay...just...switching hats....alright. I have a tophat on now, my serious hat. Alright, so just as a reminder, there are probably going to be things that I glaze over or don't understand fully here but I do hope to give my best analysis possible. And also, I should have said this earlier, but I am in complete support of pretty much all things Civil Rights and equality. "We should be judged on our character and not our physical appearance" is a statement that I firmly agree with and stand by. So, it should come as no surprise that I can resonate with a lot of stuff on this album even if I am not its target audience. Something that I haven't mentioned yet but are a crucial part of the album as a whole are the interludes. As pretty much all interludes do, they serve as a transition between tracks. Yet here, they serve as Spoken Word segments meant to describe themes of racism and Black empowerment with a bit of backing instrumentation. While these interludes are definitely the weakest part of the album in terms of music, they completely make up for it with their very powerful, moving, and fearless messages. Take Tina Taught Me as an example. It boldly pushes back against the entire claim for a "need" for White History Month in a way that you really couldn't argue with even if you wanted to. And the same thing goes for all of the interludes. They all have these very deep and empowering messages that just work perfectly in unison with the album. And, pretty much every musically-focused track has similar messages albeit with a more poetic tone to their lyrics and music. And like I said, I really don't understand some of these songs or their lyrics fully. Hell, I had to look up Junie simply because I didn't get it at all. Ironically, that specific track is meant to be about people who claim to be in the Black empowerment movement but don't truly understand it...which...who knows...maybe that's me but I digress. But regardless, something that I really like about Solange's lyrics is that, while they are aimed towards Black empowerment, they can have a very personal meaning for pretty much anyone no matter who you are. I can relate songs like Cranes In The Sky or Don't Wish Me Well back to my life and my struggles pretty easily. And that's why I think this album is as effective as it is in a lot of ways. It has a target audience in mind, yet it is able to deeply speak beyond that target audience at the same time with minimal effort. And...well...yeah...the lyrics and especially the themes are just amazing as well. Alright...cool...now let me just walk back over to the coat rack...top hat...comes off...and...maybe I should switch it up with a Fred Durst ballcap for my final few sentences...alright...yeah.........there we go. Okay. Yo! What's up everybody! Are we ready to get this party start-.....Oh....god....I forgot about that...the clanking. I.......okay um...I....seriously need to......okay it's non-stop now......why is this......why is-..............Oh......oh my god...um....h-h-hello oh w-w-w-w-wise one...I-Listen, let thy heart be-ho-Don't be afraid, let th-How?-Cease. Lester, cease the ink of your mind. Let thy heart be still for a moment without shame. Be not ashamed of thy dread, but f-I need to go to the next album. Get rid of this now.
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A Seat At The Table: 8/10
Song Average: 7.7/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0036: The Genius Of Ray Charles
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Introduction: ...Woah...it felt like I kinda wasn't in my own body for a second there. I don't know...it was like I could see through my eyes, hear through my ears, but not talk through my mouth. It was kinda like some...unknown wise being took control of me for a second there when I first saw Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden on that album cover....Yeah, I felt a lot wiser too. Almost as if I had knowledge of the whole universe on the brink of my mind that was just a flick away from truly focusing into my brain....yeah...all of that sounds about right...maybe it's a sign of some kind. It was just so extraterrestrial yet human at the same time a-and...I feel as if I'm getting a message from...the beyond that's telling me that...I was high...Yeah, most likely explanation for that. AND NO, DEA! I already said I don't have any illegal substances and never have. It was probably second-hand from my neighbors since they think that doing it is "the coolest shit in the world man." Yeah, so like I said before DEA, don't even try it!...Yeah...that's probably what happened. No God would want to possess my body...but maybe...no! Alright, enough, focus! Where are we now? Well...holy shit...is Elvis skinny again...and is that woman wearing a pillbox hat? And do I hear the Louvin Brothers infamously annoying voices??? Are we...seriously back here again??? Aren't there only supposed to be like twenty albums from this decade or something??? Why is the generator bringing us back here so often?...Oh well...I mean, I generally expect most of these from the 50s era to be pretty weak anyway so let's just see what we got here this time I guess...hopefully something other than Folk or Country-based Folk...Oh well...this is interesting. Ray Charles huh? Can't say I've heard of him before. Let's just get a few facts about him and his album here.......OH...well this is certainly going to be an interesting one. I'm pretty sure this is the first artist that we have come across on this list that I can confidently say...or at least confidently restate from what I see online...actually invented a whole new genre of music. Not "helped make it mainstream" or "shifted the entire scene of it." No. Like, Ray Charles is the FATHER of an entire genre of music. And it's one of the bigger genres of music too....I'll give your brain like...however long it takes to process these words and dots to guess............................................Or you processed the words and then took like a whole minute to decide because you're a cheater who's no fun. But I mean like...fair though. What the hell am I going to do to stop you through indirect text on a screen that I don't even know anyone is ever going to read? Though oddly enough quite a few people have read my At Fillmore East of all that I've written and 17 different people have decided to give it a like. I mean like...out of all the albums I've written about so far...that's the one that I'm most known for on this site???? Some of my others have gotten like one or two likes but...At Fillmore East, Seriously?...Okay, seriously though, I do genuinely appreciate all the random people who actually read even a little bit of what I write on this site. I do genuinely love the discovery of music and writing these in a way that I am both proud of and a way that I would consider to be...well...myself and my personality through text can get genuinely kinda exhausting at times. Like, seriously, thank you, thank literally anyone who stops by to read just a second of these. It does mean something to me..............Alright. Anyway, now, with that said...Soul music was invented by Ray Charles!!! Yay! Did you get it right??? Well...I'll never know because there's no way for you to tell me! Yay to that too! Alright, but anyway, yeah. Ray Charles invented Soul music, a genre of music that really kinda is one of the bigger and more recognized genres today. I'm not going to get into the specifics of what Soul music is here as I'm sure we all have at least a basic idea of how it sounds. Just know that Ray Charles is the father of Soul, alright? Good. Now, before THIS specific album, The Genius Of Ray Charles, Mr. Charles was...well...a pretty big name...but his name wasn't anywhere near as big as it was after he released this album. Yeah, so basically, Ray Charles pioneered the most basic form of Soul music in the mid-50s and then this album essentially served as the breakthrough of both his name and of Soul music into the mainstream. Why? Well, this was Charles's first album to mix the genre he had already established with many of the huge mainstream genres of the time. Basically, this album is considered important because it is what essentially brought Soul to the mainstream via combining the genre with already mainstream genres. Yeah...so...we're not going to be listening to the first Soul album ever made...but rather the one that brought the genre to mainstream. Which...really is kinda weird because I would consider an album that invented an entirely new genre of music to be more important than one that gave it mainstream attention but...I digress I guess. But...now comes the question. As stated above, Ray Charles made a distinct shift in his sound with this album from the more obscure and "pure" form of Soul into one that intentionally was made to sound much more appealing to a wider audience. Was this change any good? Or is this album going to seem like more of a desperate attempt to introduce a genre of music an artist established to a wider audience? Was this change really deserved at all, or should Ray Charles either have stuck with his original sound or evolved it in a different direction? Well...as I almost always say, let's just go ahead and see.
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Track 1: Let The Good Times Roll: 8/10
Track 2: It Had To Be You: 7/10
Track 3: Alexander's Ragtime Band: 7/10
Track 4: Two Years Of Torture: 6/10
Track 5: When Your Lover Has Gone: 6/10
Track 6: Deed I Do: 7/10
Track 7: Just For A Thrill: 7/10
Track 8: You Won't Let Me Go: 5/10
Track 9: Tell Me You'll Wait For Me: 6/10
Track 10: Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin': 7/10
Track 11: Am I Blue: 7/10
Track 12: Come Rain Or Come Shine: 8/10
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Conclusion: Yes, no, maybe to put it bluntly....What? What am I talking about? Oh. I was answering the three questions I proposed above in a very direct and blunt way. You're welcome. I probably cut down a very long and unnecessary tangent for you to read there by being blunt. I saved you some time and expect you to repay the price by getting this review to the number 1 spot for this particular album! Let's go guys, we got this! All you have to do is smash that like...no, thumbs up button! It helps out a ton and is completely free!...This album wasn't free back when it was released though. (Stupid way to transition, I know. Let me do what I want!) It apparently cost $3.98 for the mono version according to Rather Rare Records. Which...you know...is literally less than the price of some Thank You cards nowadays but....Anyway, yeah, the album. Um, well, I guess I'll go ahead and start with the first side of the album and only the first side for now seeing as the two sides of this album use completely different musical styles. I'll get into Side B later but I thought I might as well describe both sides separately seeing as they're very distinct from one another. Alright, so, Side A of the album. First we'll dive into its music....And...well...Mr. Charles decided to go Big Band here. You know, the kinda music that utilizes a lot of blaring Jazz instruments. The genre that I know more as a distorted mess since I love The Caretaker than what the genre actually is...yeah...that genre. It's a genre that I didn't have nearly any experience with before this album, yet I found it decently pleasant throughout. You have all of what I would imagine to be the essentials in terms of Big Band music here: huge horn crescendos, some sly and jazzy buildup, backdropped percusion that can take the foreground in crescendos, and purely ecstatic energy radiating from the various instrumentation. Yeah, I think that's a pretty accurate description of Big Band for ya. You also And...well...that honestly is kinda all there is to say about the music here. I mean, Ray Charles is playing a piano on some tracks too, but we'll get to that in a minute because I want to pair that with something else I have to say. Anyway, the album, while sounding musically pretty decent throughout, really doesn't do all too much to change up what I just described above across the entirety of the A Side. You can listen to Let The Good Time Roll and you'd have already listened to about what 80% of the other tracks on the A Side have to offer. I mean...uh...there's like...a different percussion instrument used in Alexander's Ragtime Band. It sounds kinda like wood is being hit. And uh...When Your Lover Has Gone sounds kinda soft compared to the other tracks? But yeah, that's about all the variety you're going to get in terms of music. And I know that this was Ray Charles's first time writing Big Ba-...or wait...no....Okay, I did not see this coming in a million years. Quincy Jones, a producer we've seen before on Michael Jackson's Off The Wall, wrote and conducted the Big Band segments across the A Side of this album...? Really? Look, I know the 50s were a completely different time for music and all, but I mean...you would really think that a legend like Quincy Jones of all people would be able to write something better than...this....Like I said, the Big Band is not bad at all across individual songs, but the exact same sound, exact same energetic tempos, and exact same sounding crescendos can pretty tiring pretty quickly. And Quincy Jones of all people? Wow. I would have expected better from him. I may have to move him down from legend to just...medium rare status after hearing his contribution to this album. So, yeah, basically to sum it up, the musical aspects of the A Side of this album are pretty alright across individual songs, but can get somewhat tiring to listen to on an album level. It's a problem that we've seen plenty of times on here before, and one I'm sure we'll see many, many times again. So, with the musical aspect of the A Side mostly established, let's move onto the lyrics pretty quickly....The lyrics are pretty decent at best. They're pretty typical lyrics you would see from the 50's in which you can kinda grasp the entire premise of the song from like the first or second line and then the song just keeps building and expanding around that premise for the rest of its runtime. They're nothing really all that special either in terms of the topics they cover, something that I would probably dislike immensely nowadays but works perfectly fine with the 50s. Let The Good Times Roll is about...well...letting the good times roll, Alexander's Ragtime Band is about coming out to see...well...Alexander's Ragtime Band...same joke but I don't care, and Two Years Of Torture is about not getting over a breakup in two years time. They're simple, extremely dated, yet only get a pass since they were written in the 50s. Now, with that said, despite being written in the 50s, there is something that I still can't really give a pass to here. That being the fact that there are some tracks on the album, especially in the first half, where the lyrics and music actively clash with each other over what they want to accomplish. I've actually already described an instance of this above. Two Years Of Torture tells the tale of someone who has been heartbroken about a breakup for two whole years, yet the Big Band never stops to sympathize with this imaginary person and just keeps on rolling with the crescendos anyway...or more specifically Quincy Jones never stopped to sympathize since he wrote those segments for the album. Alright. Medium rare down to just well-done. You'll only earn your legend badge back after Thriller. Got it Quincy? Good. Now sit, you don't get to stand with the legends like David Byrne or Robert Smith as of right now. Good boy....alright, so Quincy Jones aside, yeah, there are some moments where the lyrics and music are at war with each other. This is more apparent on the first side of the album than on the second, but it is a recurring issue across the record nonetheless. Regardless, the lyrics still remain pretty consistently decent across the entire record. But holy shit, the same thing can absolutely not be said about the production. Quincy!!! Oh wait, nevermind, you didn't produce this album. Alright, side back down, you're not out of the doghouse yet and probably won't be for a very long time. So anyway, yeah, the production on this album is a complete mixed bag. It's pretty well-done and soulful on the B Side but the A Side is a completely different story. You remember all of those crescendos I described earlier? Yeah well, while they are pretty energetic and all, they also sound...well...abysmal at times. And this doesn't necessarily just apply to just the crescendos either, there are plenty of calmer moments too where the Big Band sound just terribly produced. You remember how I mentioned Ray Charles's piano playing earlier? Yeah, that's finally coming back into play here after like 1,000 words later. Well, while he doesn't play piano on every song on the A Side, it's actually kinda hard to tell Ray Charles is even playing piano on a few of the A Side tracks at all because of how loud the Big Band is. Like, it drowns pretty much everything else out at times and sounds very unbalanced compared to just about everything else in the studio. And yes, this was the 50s but like...that's not an excuse either. I know for a fact that Miles Davis was able to perfectly balance the sound of his trumpet with all the rest of his instrumentation in his 50s albums, so why couldn't Ray Charles do the same? Look, this record is going to get a ton of leniency from me just because of the time at which it was released, but this is something that absolutely does not get a pass in any universe. Hell, I'd say even the Louvin Brothers did a better job at producing Tragic Songs Of Life than Ray Charles did here. And that's really saying something because if you didn't know...well...Tragic Songs Of Life is...certainly something. It's just...the production could have been a lot better, okay? Alright, now with all of that out of the way, let's finally move onto the B Side and discuss a few things there. So first things first, music. What did Mr. Charles do differently here from the A Side? Well, this side of the album leans much more into the soulful melodies that Ray Charles was already known for while having a bit of a 50s pop edge to them. You have much more slow and melodic ballads, an entire backing chorus, and a greater focus on Ray Charles's piano which is great cause I know the piano was mad it wasn't getting any attention on the A Side. And honestly, this style works a lot better for the album than the Big Band style of the A Side did. The songs about tragedy and heartbreak continue here, so the more laid back and emotional style of music works really well here in unison with the lyrics. The production is also just way, way better as well. You can clearly tell that whoever produced this album was clearly more experienced with producing relaxed and slow melodies than huge ones. Also, I haven't mentioned it yet, but Ray Charles's style of singing works really well here as well. And I'm talking about on both the A and B Sides. He manages to make his voice have a more energetic and raspy tone to it throughout the A Side to match the tone of the music all while retaining the distinctive soulful style of his voice he was already known for. And, of course, since the B Side is much more soulful, he sounds great on that side too. He tones his voice down a bit to a more relaxed and emotional state which works really well with the material on this side of the album. His voice is honestly one of the only consistently good things across the entire album, which while sounding like an insult, is an actual genuine compliment from me seeing as we've come across some pretty terrible singers on this list before....Microshift...what? Who said that? Ah, it was probably the wind. The wind really has been hating on that album a lot lately. I think it said something about it when I was listening to Bayou County too but I can't quite remember...Eh...it must be in the same boat as everyone else that Microshift really does not deserve to be on this website. Now that I'm thinking about it though, I really do need to go back sometime and edit some of my track ratings for the albums I've already reviewed. Because looking back, Negative Space absolutely does not deserve a 10/10 at all. Like holy shit I seriously do not know what I was thinking then or where I was at mentally to praise that song that much...But uh...where were we? Oh right, Ray Charles is still in the room with us. Uh, he's giving me what kinda looks like an angry glare now....Oh...okay, I'm sorry Mr. Charles. This review is about you and not about an album 50 years in the future...I'm sorry. So um...right, the B Side. Well, the B Side does kinda suffer from the same problem that the A Side does in terms of consistency. You remember what that problem is? I know this has been a pretty long review so you may not. Well, if you don't, the B Side, while featuring enjoyable tracks, suffers from its music feeling a bit TOO consistent across its entire runtime. Like with the A Side, pretty much everything I described above regarding the music is really all that the B Side has to offer. So like with the A Side, I found myself feeling kinda ready for the album to be over when I was getting close to being done with the B Side. Again, no song is really bad here by any means, but it does get to a point where the simplicity of it: lyrics, melodies, predictability, really starts to test your endurance rather than be an enjoyable experience to listen to. Really, one of the best moments in the entire album is when you reach the shift from the Big Band sound to the more soulful sound. I mean, it really shouldn't be, but the shift in style really just feels like a breath of fresh air...though the walls start closing in and the air becomes filled with fumes again by the end of the B Side anyway. Eh, maybe I'm just being a bit too critical here since this album is pushing the 75 year mark...Jesus fucking Christ...but I don't know. I'm not and never have been huge into the 1950s, so I really have no idea how anyone would "properly" rate an album from an age when the album was so much simpler. Are all of my criticisms here actually considered good things by everyone on the face of the Earth? Maybe. I don't know, but I'm probably going to get to know quicker than I want to since the generator seems to love to keep hauling me back to this era. But...um...yeah, that's about all I have to say about this album. It's certainly an album, that's for sure. Oh...Ray Charles is glaring at me from the corner of the room again. Um...well...let me rephrase. It's a "good" album. You did more right than you did wrong on here, Ray Charles. You brought your soulful voice and Soul as a whole to a wider audience as well, so who couldn't love you for that?...Okay...he seems to have calmed down. Well...you're dismissed now, Ray Charles. You have permission to hang out with uh...well...you can hang out with uh...I don't know. You can hang out backstage with Anthony Kiedis or maybe...Jack White if you wanted to. You certainly aren't going in the doghouse like Quincy Jones is, b

1001 Albums Vol. 0035: Oracular Spectacular
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Introduction: One day in 2007, two shirtless White men...even though one of them really doesn't look White...stand on...probably a beach...when in actuality...it is N-New York City...? How? Okay, doesn't matter. They pose for the camera. The moon rises behind them. One of them looks completely dumbfounded and completely stone-face serious. They look off into the distance, staring at what they themselves probably don't even remember considering we're going on 20 years. Then, there, they would take the photo for the cover of the legendary album...Oracular Spectacular. And yeah uh...these men were apparently shirtless and wearing decorated scarfs, and turbans, and other wear for a music video too...and I would try to make a joke here saying something along the lines of the fact that nobody cares about the music video, but as of currently it's sitting at over 100 million views on Youtube, holy shit.....BUT REGARDLESS, we're still here to solely tell the tale of the great Oracular Spectacular and not the various pieces of visual media it would produce with the sole exception of the cover photo we just discussed. The tale begins with a duo by the name of MGMT and them releasing their first full length commercial studio album in the year 2007. The dazzling duo had already released two extended plays, both of which achieved a fair level of success, but they were about to release something that would achieve something beyond their wildest dreams: mainstream success. The dismayed duo didn't even expect it themselves, but as we just stated a bit ago...100 million views...that's a lot whether you want to realize it or not. And this tale doesn't involve your typical mainstream success act of the time such as Emo Rock, Ms. Spears, or all the other huge acts of the time. No, this tale involves an intentionally bold and unintentionally beloved exploration of a fusion between various genres such as Psychedelic Rock, Indie Rock, and Synthpop. All of which was apparently mashed together by our diplomatic duo into something more akin to...let's say a Castro-era Cuban cigar than something like...you know what...mashed potatoes....Look, this is my review, just keep scrolling if you don't like my opinions. I mean, the entire point of this site is kinda meant to be opinions anyway, but you do you. Maybe mashed potatoes is your trigger, I don't know. THAT SAID, uhh...oh yeah right...the distinctive duo went mainstream with this new and exciting blend of genres. In fact, this album, while definitely not the first to mix these various genres together, is generally considered to be the VERY first that managed to bring its attention to a wider audience while still managing to apparently be both loved by a critical audience at the same time. Now, toning down the seer persona a bit to a more personable one....I won't lie, whether this is true or not is something that I...unfortunately...cannot attest to at all. This album was just ever so slightly before my time and memory and solidified themselves into existence. So basically what I remember as radio hits from my childhood are definitive, groundbreaking, and absolutely loved by everyone in existence songs like...Hey Soul Sister, California Gurls (which honestly isn't all THAT bad), and Just The Way You Are....which now that I think about it I still listen to radio quite often and haven't actually heard in a very long time...huh. Anyway, yeah, point is, this album is essentially going to serve more like historical exploration for me than rediscovering some lost part of my childhood. This isn't something I'm necessarily proud to admit as sometimes I do genuinely wish I was a bit older than I was because the decades before my time seem like the absolute peak of existence, but I digress. Does the folklore surrounding the magnetohydrodynamic MGMT hold any merit? Or is this album just another product of the time, something that people loved then but doesn't hold a candle to any other beloved album now? As always, let's dive in and see.
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Track 1: Time To Pretend: 11/10
Track 2: Weekend Wars: 8/10
Track 3: The Youth: 7/10
Track 4: Electric Feel: 10/10
Track 5: Kids: 11/10
Track 6: 4th Dimensional Transition: 7/10
Track 7: Pieces Of What: 6/10
Track 8: Of Moons, Birds, & Monsters: 8/10
Track 9: The Handshake: 7/10
Track 10: Future Reflections: 6/10
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Conclusion: Well, after actually experiencing the great Oracular Spectacular for myself, I can say without a doubt that it is one of...well...it's one of the most mixed-bag albums I've ever listened to in my entire life. You know, there was one part of the tale of the great Oracular that I intentionally left out in the beginning because of the fact that I wanted the album to sound more like an untouchable God, but I'll go ahead and tell that part here....um...so yeah if you couldn't tell....the three big singles were generally seen as the only TRULY noteworthy things this album had to present while the rest of the material was just seen as pretty good but much more flawed in comparison. And yeah, if you couldn't already tell by my rankings, I couldn't agree more. So does this mean that the tale of the great Oracular doesn't have any true place in history? No, not by any means, but I'd maybe drop the title from Great to Good. Oracular the Good. That really does kinda remind of the whole James and James The Lesser thing in biblical lore which still makes me smirk and laugh to this day. You really can't help but feel bad for James The Lesser to a degree because...I mean...what the actual hell?...But anyway, James is lore from like 2000 years or something before this album and is for a completely other discussion. Anyway, yeah, like I said, there is some absolute gold and diamonds on this album. And...well...like any other diamond rank song, these three specific tracks do literally everything right in the given genre they were made for and push beyond that perfection as well. I mean like, the three greats here are just absolute late 2000s and early 2010s pop perfection. They're catchy of course, actually meaningful and invoke a genuine emotional reaction out of me at times, and just connect with me in a way that so many other huge songs of the era simply did not. Musically, the three huge hits, and the album as a whole really but we'll get to the other songs in a bit, have this very distinctive experimental and magical feel to them very akin to the general vibe that Funeral by Arcade Fire gives off. I mean, really the best way that I can describe these three songs in terms of their music is if Arcade Fire was still...you know...actually good at all when they made Everything Now. I mean, you basically have all of the same aspects in both: synths...of which Oracular is superior in terms of their use and performance, umm...they both have singers....but only Andrew on Oracular was actually great...and well...they both have lyrics too...but only Oracular was actually good. Yeah...basically Oracular is like 10x better than Everything Now. I don't think anyone will disagree with me on that one. There are some important distinctions from the two, however. Where Everything Now's instrumentation sounds WAY too clean and an overproduced mess, this album sounds...again with the three singles at least...we're still mostly talking about those for now...more raw and aggressive, PROgressive, Psychedelic and funky in certain parts, and have an actual general sense of direction that feels unpredictable yet sounds great and very memorable once you hear and understand it at the same time. And, very importantly as well, these three tracks, despite ending up as huge hits, all feel very bold and experimental at the same time. It's almost as if they were written without the intention of them being huge hits...which they weren't....The band literally still considered themselves more as a joke than anything serious at the time but that would make the tale of Oracular the Good seem less mystical so forget I said that....Anyway, It doesn't feel as if these songs were made for the charts or to sell and were made just for the hell of it. And while that might not be important to many listeners, it is important to take into context here because it makes the music itself feel much more genuine. It gives the music and lyrics presented here feel as if they were a genuine look into the artist's minds instead of some piece of slop made to be a huge radio hit or sell well. This single fact just creates a certain depth to the music that all good music should have. So, yes...while many consider the three singles from this album to be overplayed radio hits, the context surrounding said radio hits is very important to take into account when looking at an album critically....And yes...there are a good few people who consider the three huge songs on here to be bad and overplayed...but to be honest I think literally anyone in the world would take this over some of the slop we hear nowadays. I mean, there REALLY isn't anything all that good playing on radio stations that play popular music nowadays. The specific station in my area that does play currently popular music does this throwback thing on Halloween where they play older spooky songs like Thriller and stuff and that's really the only day worth tuning in....But with that said, yeah...let's just get into these three song's lyrics now....They're, to nobody's surprise, really good. These three specific songs all have these very nostalgic, depressing, and carefree lyrics that tie both deeply into your youth and into natural human nature that you really can't help but just...feel them. Electric Feel does this to a lesser extent than the other two but you get the point. They invoke that same sense of magic and carefreeness that the melodies present in these songs create and sound very similar to something that...you guessed it...Arcade Fire would have made back in their heyday. Now, these lyrics aren't any Neighborhood #1 by Arcade Fire, but they're still incredibly strong while invoking a stronger sense of nostalgia and emotional vulnerability than some of the weaker songs on Funeral regardless. They're just....really good...and really relatable whether you want to admit it or not....AND NOW...with all that said...um...this is quickly becoming my longest review yet post dropping track-by-track. Seriously, I already have a whole wall of text on my screen and I actually have a lot more to say. Okay, ANYWAY, with ALL of that said about the three singles, let's actually talk about the rest of the album now, shall we? Well...you can basically take everything I had to say about the singles and just downgrade it to get the rest of the album....Again, the rest is not bad at all by any means, but it is noticeably weaker. The three big singles on here all have a very noticeable and good sense of progression throughout, yet most of the non-single tracks in comparison feature a little bit TOO MUCH progression to the point where the songs can feel a bit directionless at times. The Youth is the only lower rated track that manages to feel pretty consistent in terms of progression throughout and that track scored lower simply because it doesn't really carry the same energy or weight as the three big tracks did. The rest of the album definitely has a problem with progression though. And there really isn't anything wrong with progression in music either. I mean, I loved Happiness Is A Warm Gun by the Beatles when I listened to The White Album, so what's wrong here? Well...I guess the musical direction really just doesn't feel as intentionally jarring as it did in that specific song....And these tracks don't carry the influence that track had as well so there's that too. I guess it simply feels as if the lack of direction wasn't an intentional artistic choice and rather something that came as a result of lazy songwriting and editing. This does kinda make the tracks themselves not super memorable either after an initial listen...and yes, I know tracks should have a lot of depth to them and all so that you can listen more than once, but you as a listener really shouldn't be at a point where you struggle to recall a single notable or any moment at all from a track some time after listening to it. That's kinda the feel that most of the non-big tracks have. Of Moons and Weekend Wars had some pretty great moments and Weekend Wars as a whole is really the only song where the sense of progression feels great throughout, but that's about it. The best example I can give is saying that the weaker tracks have more of an Emerson, Lake, And Palmer type of progression than a King Crimson type.....And we've officially hit the point where text covers my entire screen. Like seriously, top to bottom text now. Yeah. This is the longest conclusion I have written by quite a bit and...well...I still have another kinda important and lengthy thing I want to say before I try to close it off quickly. Okay, I have to talk about production real quick. I'm going to try to limit this more since I'm kinda running out of writing steam here but I still want to talk about it regardless....and well...it's quite odd how despite being very early on in the project as a whole, I can still make many references to past albums and songs I've heard, but here I go again....This album reminds me of Melody A.M. in terms of...well a lot of things, but most similarly are the two album's production. Both have this very apparent encapsulating and engrossing feel to them that really...in an odd way...kinda makes me feel very close to the music itself. Kinda like it's pulling me into the world of the music kinda situation. It's really, really good and is one of the aspects of this album that kept me thoroughly engrossed all the way through. And...in a way...I kinda like to think that this is what Melody A.M. could have been with just a bit better songwriting and better lyrics...I mean, they sound similar in so many ways besides just production that the album generator could have convinced me the two albums were made by the same artist had they just swapped MGMT for Röyksopp just for shitties and gigglies...And to me, this album did make me feel in a way from just the production alone because of how much I loved the sound of Melody A.M. It's just...great...you can't change my mind about it...And yes I know I gave Melody A.M. a 7/10 and now here I am getting all boo-hooey and nostalgic about it but I don't give a damn! You know, I don't think I've said this anywhere before, but I was REALLY conflicted on giving that album an 8/10 and a 4/5 when I rated it almost a whole y-year ago at this point...jesus christ. I may very well go back and up the score someday, I don't know...but anyway. OKAY, FOR REAL THIS TIME, one last thing I have to mention before we're done. Let's briefly discuss the lyrics of the non-single songs. Well...they don't carry the same emotional weight or connection as the big songs do, but they still work well with the album as a whole. They're much more vaguely written and interpretable in a way that kinda fits with the Psychedelic melodies that the tracks have to provide. I mean, they're not like amazing or anything and won't make you think or feel too deeply, but they're still pretty solid regardless....OKAY, we're finally done. The screen of text has been scrolling up for a bit now and I'm scared to scroll up because I don't want to see the monstrosity of a review I've created. You know, when this website was made, I really don't think its creator had well...THIS in mind. Yeah, a notes section was provided for a reason, but it's also called a "notes" section for a reason as well....ahem...BUT REGARDLESS...the tale of Oracular the Good still remains an extremely strong tale engraved in late 2000s folklore regardless. The tale really only mentions the highs for a reason and leaves out the lows for the same reason, but a tale is best told whole regardless. Oracular the Good has cemented its place in my mind as a very important part of musical folklore history while seeming genuinely intriguing at the same time. And so...Finally...the seer brings his own wise tale to a close and provides his rating of the album below....But at the same time...the seer is kinda fucked...as I'm dropping this wise storytelling persona forever and leaving it here on the same beach, which I realized while writing this is most likely Coney Island, with a shirtless Andrew VanWyngarden and a similarly naked Ben Goldwasser. Goodbye oh wise one as we leave you in limbo in Oracular forever. Never to be seen again...(Except they were seen again here to lower the score of this album from an 8/10 to 7/10 and 4/5 to 3/5. Okay...they're gone for real this time...)
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Oracular Spectacular: 7/10
Song Average: 8.1/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0034: Bayou County
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Introduction: Well now...it's been quite a while yet again...and yet here we are again, back at the grind of the 1001 Albums Project. There's just a certain aspect to this project and the idea behind it that you really just can't get away from, you know? You're being put through your own personal tour of all of the most...debately influential and...debatably good parts of musical history. You know, it's been months since I've listened to Microshift and still wonder...why the actual hell is this on here? I mean it's so...so...actually nevermind. This is supposed to be about Bayou County...not Microshift. Just stay focused on...Um...oh yeah, I promised to include in how many reviews of mine mention Bob Dylan in my previous review of Tim Buckley's album...and it's ten...one of those was Blonde on Blonde by Dylan himself, but still. He might as well be the main character at this point. Like seriously, I thought it was bad, but I didn't know it was THAT bad...I'll...try to stop mentioning him or mention him a lot less from this point on, alright? Anyway, with all that unnecessary slop aside, the album that has been selected out to give me a warm welcome back to this site is none other than Bayou County by Creedence Clearwater Revival. An entry that I am already hopeful to be pretty solid seeing as I've thoroughly enjoyed the few CCR songs I've heard in the past. Now, with that said, this particular album, and just CCR as a whole, probably have one of the most peculiar and interesting backgrounds of any band on this entire site. A listener could very well call this album a John Fogerty (The band's songwriter and singer) solo album because...well...it pretty much was...in collaboration with the rest of the band's members of course. I don't mean this literally by the way. We love you Tom, Stu, and Doug. Never stop being you!...Anyway, like with most of the rest of CCR's discography, Bayou County was essentially solely written by John Fogerty. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for most groups. I mean, plenty of bands throughout history have worked like this to an exact or similar degree. Yet the main problem here was the fact that the rest of the band DID actively want to participate in the creation process but simply weren't allowed to by John. HE did virtually everything the way that HE wanted to. No arguments, no ifs, buts, or ors, nothing. Basically North Korea the band...Alright, that might be a bit extreme but I imagine you get the point. Basically, John maintained complete control over the band while his bandmates didn't want him to. This would eventually lead to the band's early splitting in the 70's, would lead to various legal disputes over the years, and even today the surviving members still aren't all that fond of each other. Now, with all of that said...while I do completely understand where the bandmates of John were coming from...there comes a point where you have to admit that John...well...John was pretty damn good. Like I said, I haven't even heard all that much of CCR, but everything I have heard and everything I have heard ABOUT them is almost nothing but positive. Bayou County in particular is apparently supposed to be a pretty "middle-of-the-road" album in terms of quality for CCR, but that probably means somewhere between a 7-8/10 judging from everything I've heard about them. But, as always, the only way to truly figure out for ourselves is to just dive into it. Let's see if John's complete control is really as good as people make it out to be.
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Track 1: Born On The Bayou: 9/10
Track 2: Bootleg: 8/10
Track 3: Graveyard Train: 7/10
Track 4: Good Golly Miss Molly: 7/10
Track 5: Penthouse Pauper: 7/10
Track 6: Proud Mary: 10/10
Track 7: Keep On Chooglin': 8/10
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Conclusion: Look, John, you made some really great stuff in your time with CCR, and even managed to make some really great stuff on this specific record, but consistency clearly wasn't your A game, at least on Bayou County it wasn't. I know this was only your second record and from everything I've heard you would get even better later on, but there really was no need for you to take on an authoritarian role quite yet in the band. I mean, seriously, I know Mardi Gras, the only album CCR made where John let his bandmates help write, is considered to be terrible and all, but you still have to consider the fact that John's bandmates had not written a single song in CCR's distinctive style their entire time with the band. Had John let his bandmates take the pen much earlier on in their career...maybe they could have been even better and...well...yeah...this hypothetical clearly didn't happen. It maybe did in some billion alternative universes where John is a Mr. Rogers but I digress. Anyway, while that was a bit...extreme...there is some genuine truth behind what I had to say right there. John really didn't have TOO much of a reason to maintain the level of control he did during this phase of the band. While there are two very great songs on here, those being the classic Proud Mary and the still great but lesser known opener track, the rest isn't really anything I would consider to be...too special. Keep On Chooglin' has some great guitar and harmonica solos and Bootleg is pretty catchy as well, but they're not like...amazingly great or anything. And the three middle tracks are just pretty good too, nothing much else to say about them...Little Richard's version of Miss Molly is still and always will be superior though...there's that much to say. I mean like, none of it is bad at all by any means...but it's not worth turning your band into a dictatorship either. That said, there is undoubtedly some genius here. Musically, it would essentially popularize a genre that...I'm not actually all that sure of how to even classify by the name of Swamp Rock. Honestly, the album just kinda sounded like a combination of Hard Rock, Southern Rock, and Blues Rock throughout to me, but what the hell do I know. I'm not an expert and I probably never will claim to be. Swamp Rock is supposed to sound very similar to the genres I just mentioned above, however, which checks out entirely. Apparently there is meant to be a greater focus on reverb...which the harmonica and guitar solos had plenty of...so check...lyrics about bayous...yeah...check...yeah...it all kinda checks out. Swamp Rock. Definitely Swamp Rock. And the album that served as the foundational mainstream blueprint for the genre as well. You'll always get bonus points from both me and a lot of critics if you do that something like that!...Anyway, yeah, like I said, there's a good combination of various genres mixed across this album to form a single and cohesive, contained, yet varied experience at the same time. You have songs that lean more toward Hard Rock such as the opener and closer track, both containing amazingly rough yet technically precise vocals and solos, more intimate and vulnerable tracks such as Graveyard Train and Proud Mary, and a few tracks that are in between the two. That said, no matter the type of track, all feature very technical and precise instrumentation that just sounds really good across the entire runtime. I mean, the best way I can really describe the sound of this album is that it has that distinctive CCR sound that a lot of people know, but The Almond Brothers Band stepped in studio for like five to ten minutes while nobody was looking, changed a few notes on every song, and then stepped back out without anyone noticing....Um...yeah, so I just realized that it's ALLMAN Brothers Band and not ALMOND...but screw it I'm keeping it like that anyway....Anyway...two of the same words back-to-back, that's interesting...the album is definitely distinctive from the Allman Brothers via its various reverbs, um...kinda better singer, and the more Pop-like song structure, yet a lot of parallels can be drawn between the two bands regardless. On top of being musically excellent, the album also contains some pretty influential and sometimes deeply emotional lyrics as well. I mean, literally a defining feature of Swamp Rock is well...talking about bayous...the first song does exactly that by blending a blues-like and nostalgic song about youth with said youth being spent in a bayou. And the album has bayou in its name too and just...you can't really get any more influential than that. With that said, it is quite clear that the genre's lyrical nature was in infancy, however. You have many songs here that either borrow to some degree or directly use the lyrical nature distinctive to Blues songs. This isn't a bad thing at all though. While it would have been cool and all for CCR to drop THE definitive Swamp Rock album as the first Swamp Rock release, expecting something like this is kinda unrealistic and is something that I really can't think of ever happening off the top of my head. Maybe Dark Side Of The Moon would count in terms of Pink Floyd mastering their "Floydian sound" but at the same time they kinda improved on that sound on Wish You Were Here so I'm not entirely sure that really counts or not but....Anyway, yeah, it's still impressive what this album did regardless and exploring new musical territory will almost always be something that is admirable and impressive. Now, with all of that said, this album can still be pretty rough around the edges at times. Graveyard Trains feels as if it drags on for a bit too long and is a bit too repetitive, Keep On Chooglin' kinda suffers from the same problem but to a lesser extent, Good Golly Miss Molly isn't the definitive version of the song and feels ever so slightly lazy, and just so many other small problems with some songs that just add up over the course of the album. That said, these problems summarized actually just point to the songwriting itself. As stated before, the execution is great, but the songwriting can feel a bit bland and drags a bit at times. I won't lie, the songwriting being the main problem here is actually quite ironic given the context of this album's creation but I digress. There are quite a few moments on this album where it felt as if everything interesting and necessary was already said through both a song's lyrics and music yet the track kept on rolling anyway. It's not an egregious or even a bad issue by any means, yet it's one that can make some songs feel ever so slightly slower to get through than they should. That being said, this album is still an overall incredibly enjoyable and solid listening experience all the way through. And again, we have to keep in mind that this is still mean to be a middle-of-the-road album in terms of CCR's discography....Yeah...even though their later albums will probably come A LOT later down the line, they're still just another aspect of this challenge worth looking forward to later down the road. Maybe John will actually prove himself worthy of being a dictator those times around.
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Bayou County: 8/10
Song Average: 8/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0033: Greetings From L.A.
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Introduction: Whoa, whoa, you're telling me that Tim Buckley, the author of the famous comic series Control Alt Delete, made music back in the 60's and 70's? Yeah...I know it's not the same person, that'd be...really weird actually now that I stop to think about it. Buckley would be an older man writing a comic series that focuses on gaming culture and making jokes about gaming in said comic series...that would be a weird alternate reality....Anyway, Tim Buckley the music artist is a completely different person, and someone I can't recall ever hearing up until this point either. That being said, it seems as if he made a string of very influential and important albums in the late 60's and into 1970; however, that being said as well, that string of albums apparently came to a halt with this release. Greetings From L.A., released by Tim Buckley in 1972, is widely regarded by many to be a...pretty bad shift in Buckley's career. This album was apparently a complete shift from his earlier, "less accessible" work that didn't resonate with people as well as said earlier works did....That's not a problem with me though seeing as I've literally never heard of this man's name outside of a comic series...but that is definitely something to take into consideration regardless. Commercial sellout or a shift towards commercial appeal is almost never a "good" thing when it comes to music. There are a few exceptions, yet said exceptions are far and few. When regarding this specific album though, that is not the case. With all that said, I have actually heard quite a few good things about this album as well. The production is apparently very on point with what Tim Buckley wanted to go for, and he was apparently very passionate about the album too. Passion, of course, no matter how bad an album may be, is always a good thing when it comes to music. It adds an extra layer of depth and genuinity that helps make the music feel more personal and more genuine to both the listener and the artist. So, you know, the album has that going for it too. Oh yeah, I've also heard this album compared to something that Jerry Lee Lewis would make as well. Now, I think I generated that guy's live album like two or three days ago or something like that, and that album was an absolute masterpiece. Masterclass playing, raw and unmatched energy, and was just a great experience to listen to. Anything that is like that I will likely enjoy. Anyway, overall, I've just seen a pretty decent mix of both good and bad things when regarding this album. Some love it, some hate it, and a lot just think it's alright. As for where I lie? Well, let's just see.
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Track 1: Move With Me: 6/10
Track 2: Get On Top: 7/10
Track 3: Sweet Surrender: 8/10
Track 4: Nighthawkin': 6/10
Track 5: Devil Eyes: 7/10
Track 6: Hong Kong Bar: 6/10
Track 7: Make It Right: 7/10
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Conclusion: Well now...Tim Buckley certainly is a pretty peculiar fellow. I mean, sex is something that most humans on this Earth are drawn to, but Mr. Buckley here seems to be especially drawn to it. I mean, there is seriously some drowning in hormones teenager type stuff on this album. It's like that period of one's life where the idea of sex was the new and most interesting thing to them. Greetings From L.A. is all of that in the form of a Funk album. And...one that's actually not all that bad at that. I mean, this album is, of course, very far from being a perfect or even a masterpiece, but there is more that DOES work in this album's favor than DOESN'T work. Firstly, the musical arrangements on this album are actually quite good and catchy at times. It's nowhere near Talking Heads level of mastery, but it is nowhere near bad either. There are some pretty typical Funk-based rhythms and instrumentation on here at times, but said rhythms still manage to sound pretty good and catchy to the ears regardless. The actual performance sounds incredibly slick and solid as well. I mean, there's really not too much to complain about from a musical standpoint when it comes to this album. The worst thing I can really say about its music is that fact that it really isn't all that experimental or groundbreaking. It's just pretty solid albeit normal early 70's Funk that manages to sound pretty good to the ears. There are some interesting points in the music, such as the beginning of Sweet Surrender...and really just the entirety of that song, that do sound somewhat distinct and separate from the general Funk movement of the time, yet those points are definitely far and in between. Now, with all that said...we do still have to address the elephant in the room when it comes to this album's music...despite being actually pretty solid...it's actually pretty hated as well. As stated before, this album marked a very drastic shift in Buckley's career from a simple and poetic Folk artist to a sexually driven and wild Funk artist. This was his Bob Dylan moment if y-you....will....Yeah...I've used that reference to refer to other artists way too much. I'm going to Control F and see just how many of my reviews mention someone's "Bob Dylan moment" after I'm done writing this review. I'll maybe mention it in my next album's review. ;) (Boring and dumb ass way to keep the one or two people reading this hooked, I know.) Anyway, very off topic there, this album marked a distinctive shift in Buckley's career. One that many fans didn't like both musically and lyrically. Now, I've stated some of my preferences on this shift already in the intro, but I do have a few more things to say after actually listening to the album. Firstly, as I literally just stated, the music is still pretty solid and catchy. It's much less artistic, poetic, and probably much worse than his earlier work, I'm sure, but there's still some genuine value in what was written here. Secondly, while this album was definitely made with the intention for some form of mainstream appeal, it kinda failed miserably due to a choice on Buckley's end: the lyrics. The hypersexual, lustrous, kinky lyrics held this album back from being the mainstream hit that Buckley and his record label thought it would be. Yeah...kinky as well. It really is just Make It Right that dives into kinks while the rest simply cover general sex, but the fact still remains. Also, I just have to say that it was kind of weird listening to Make It Right's chorus. The violins coinciding with Buckley's lyrics about loving being whipped just felt off to me in kind of a goofy way that I'm not 100% sure on how to feel about yet. Anyway, as stated above, this album essentially serves as what some call a "Pornographic Funk" album...That's kinda stupid who am I to say. Anyway, yeah, sex. There's a lot of it here. And not really in a way that provides much substance either. I mean, yeah, most of us like sex and are drawn to it...but that really is kinda the album's whole personality at most points. The Funk-based rhythms work well with this concept, Buckley's wild and sometimes improvised vocals work well with this concept, and just about everything here all works together to form this album's entire personality around sex and almost nothing else. There are some emotional points here and there such as Hong Kong Bar and Sweet Surrender, yet even those songs still use sex as a core idea. I've expressed my dissatisfaction with sex being portrayed through music before through albums such as Blood Sugar Sex Magik and uh...well I can't really think of any others off the top of my head, but this album really takes it to the extreme by forming most of its identity around the idea. But...with that said...it is...actually somewhat admirable in an odd way. I mean, Buckley was already an extremely unknown and underrated artist. He had more of a cult following than a large one, and then he decided to make this...something that would have almost 0% of any significant radioplay or a huge amount of promotion....Yes, the album was made with the intention in mind for it to be a huge commercial release, so the fact that Buckley made this with that intention in mind was really more out of stupidity than intentional artistic choice, yet the fact remains regardless. This album was bold in its own and unintentional way. You create this with the chance of alienating an already established fanbase and practically 0% chance of radioplay. I mean, yes, it was unintentional...the radioplay part at lease...but the boldness is undoubtedly admirable nonetheless. It takes a certain amount of confidence to do this that most artists don't have. So while I'm not necessarily a fan of hypersexualization radiating from this album, I can actually appreciate it in its own way. There actually is some stuff from the hypersexualization of this album to love though such as Buckley's wild and energetic vocals but I digress. Now, the fact that I can and do appreciate an album still doesn't save it from being something that I would consider as "middle-of-the-road." The hypersexualization isn't something I'm a huge fan of, there were some points of this album that made me somewhat uncomfortable, some lyrics are just...stupid, and you have to keep in mind that this album was made with commercial success in mind. As stated before, that is almost never a good thing when it comes to critical listeners. But, overall, I would still consider this album to be pretty decent. It's not something extremely noteworthy for being either bad or good. It' just...good...even though it shouldn't be...and that's all there really is to say about it. I guess getting introduced to this album before Buckley's earlier work on this list is...kind of a good setup to listen to his earlier work down the road, but I'll probably have completely forgotten about this album by the time we've gotten to it...eh...we'll see in time I guess.
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Greetings From L.A.: 6/10
Song Average: 6.7/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0032: Different Class
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Introduction: ...And here's yet another album that I'm extremely knowledgeable of. It's quite...strange how many of these albums that I'm getting early on. I mean, that just ensures that there will be plenty of discoveries later on, but it just feels weird to...you know...be able to name less and less of what's to come with pretty much every album....It's the more obscure masterpieces that I keep generating too....Oh yeah, this album is a masterpiece, at least I remember it being a masterpiece from the last time I listened to it. I first heard it actually not too long ago...maybe a few months ago. Anyway, I first heard this album a few months ago through stereo speakers and remember thinking something along the lines of, "What the hell is this?" I remember thinking that the melodies were weird, the production was a bit off, and vocals sounded...well...weird....Maybe I thought that the vocals sounded a bit too "poppy" as well. Anyway, I ended up wanting to listen to parts of the album again on Spotify to see just how "weird" they actually were...and I ended up falling in love with the album after that. I don't know what it was. Maybe I simply had a closed mind when I heard it on stereo...or maybe the stereo audio quality just sucked, I don't know. Nevertheless, I found the album to be great and have since...come to consider it a masterpiece. I really don't even need to l-...alright fine! I will anyway. Not that I'm complaining. It's been a bit since I last heard this album anyway. That being said, I'll quickly spit a few things that I remember about this album right here to help give a pretty vague and general idea as to why it's a masterpiece before I go into more detail in the conclusion. Anyway, this album, Different Class, was released in 1995 by a pretty "obscure" band by the name of Pulp. Obscure is in quotations because I could see one making some pretty strong arguments against that statement. Anyway, this album is considered to be great for a variety of reasons. Firstly, this album is simply just...extremely well-written and extremely clever in many aspects. The song quality is great, the instrumentation is great, the vocals are great, and just so much about it is great. It's very sophisticated, clever, and sensible across pretty much the whole record. Secondly, the album just came at the perfect time to feel relevant to culture as a whole. Britpop, the album's main genre, was experiencing massive recognition during the mid-90's, and this album simply felt like a huge cultivation of that entire movement in one record. I mean...there's just so much great about this album that I just...can't really mention yet because it will shorten my conclusion. I just...have to hold myself back from praising this masterpiece for now...for now...I will later though...but I actually have to relisten to it first to be able to do that. Let's do just that.
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Track 1: Mis-Shapes: 10/10
Track 2: Pencil Skirt: 8/10
Track 3: Common People: 11/10
Track 4: I Spy: 10/10
Track 5: Disco 2000: 11/10
Track 6: Live Bed Show: 8/10
Track 7: Something Changed: 9/10
Track 8: Sorted For E's & Wizz: 9/10
Track 9: F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E: 9/10
Track 10: Underwear: 9/10
Track 11: Monday Morning: 9/10
Track 12: Bar Italia: 9/10
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Conclusion: Well...this album is just as great as I remember it being. Even listening to it with a more keen and critical ear didn't change my perception of it...at all really. Yes, there are undoubtedly some pretty weird segments pertaining to this album's music and lyrics across its runtime, yet these segments are honestly...not bad at all when you really start to get a grasp on them. And...to be fair as well, the weird nature of this album helps compliment its overall theme....I'll get back to that later though. Musically, there is quite a lot to talk about on this album. Pretty much every song on this album could technically fall under a different sub-category of music. I mean, at its absolute core the album consistently features Britpop. That being said, you'll find various mixings of Art Rock, songs that lean a bit more towards Pop Rock, and so on throughout the album. Now, I have stated many times before in many previous reviews that albums that fluctuate too much in terms of their music are generally not good. It just creates a very disconnected feel within the album's music and makes the album sound as if it's a compilation and not an actual studio album. Literally the one exception that I can think of to this rule is The White Album by The Beatles, but that's besides the point. That album actually works because The Beatles were undergoing a split as a band and...actually, I'm sure you know why that album worked. That's extremely off topic anyway. Anyway, this album on the other hand...is literally perfect in achieving musical variety all while keeping a central theme. It genuinely feels as if this album was right on the border of having a bit too much variety to the point where the tracks would have felt a bit disconnected from each other, yet the music manages to achieve a certain cohesion throughout due to a combination of production, consistent vocals, and so on. I mean, this is literally the perfect amount of experimentation that an album should have within its music. Every track feels uniquely distinct but tied together through small elements that add up over its runtime. At least for me, it's genuinely great. I could see someone believing that this album doesn't have quite enough cohesion...but they're just...wrong, alright? You won't change my opinion on this matter. Anyway, besides the cohesion, the music itself is pretty great and well-produced as well. You'll find plenty of songs on here that follow typical Britpop structure and others that are extremely experimental with the genre...so experimental that Feeling Called Love literally scared me the first time the chorus kicked in....Look, I had to mention that somewhere and I couldn't think of anywhere else to mention it.Like I said, before, the music can get pretty odd at times, yet this strangeness is simply something that should grow on the listener as they make their way through the album. Additionally, this strangeness, while being somewhat characteristic to Pulp, works extremely well with this album's overall theme. As the name of it implies, the album's theme has to do with...different, less-accepted "classes" of people. Well, it really has more to do with outcasts, misfits, or...weirdos, but the name of the album still does a good job implying this regardless. Anyway, this is where the lyrics of the album come into play. Now, I will admit, had the album not had the central theme that it did, many of these song's lyrics would be...quite terrible to say the least. You have songs like I Spy which literally gives a first-person perspective from a stalker who has sex with an upper-class woman. The lyrics kinda imply rape as well but statements from the band confirm that this is actually a misconception. You have Pencil Skirt which is about sex...and kinda implies rape too but statements prove this is a misconception. You have Underwear too which is about sex and maybe rape but not actually...and...yeah, the lyrics aren't really the best outside of context. That being said, we're not judging an album outside of context. With context in mind, these lyrics are...actually pretty good. For the most part, they give a detailed, first-person perspective into the minds of people who face complex relationships, shame from society, and sexual tensions that most people around the world really wouldn't understand all that well. It's almost as if every song is meant to be a small tale from someone who's actions aren't accepted by society. I mean, these songs just give a very personal and sometimes creepy perspective on subjects that most people don't fully understand. Now, there are a few songs most people can absolutely relate to as well. Such songs come from the perspective of the lower or working class and feature themes such as the upper-class romanticizing the lower class's situation, the dread of having to return to work, and the even partying and the effects that it can have on one. I mean, this album simply feels as if it offers many different perspectives from many different types of people in a way that just...works. It feels as if this album establishes some relatability by providing an economic or mental status that's relatable to the listener, and then successfully expands their perspectives on other types of people due to the relatability that it has established. I mean, the themes of this album simply work...in every way possible. Like I said before, the oddness of the music contributes to this as well and...well...everything really just works on this album. I mean, even Jarvis Cocker's vocals work in unison with the central theme as well due to their...unique and distinct nature. Also, Cocker's ability to perfectly capture the creepiness or normality of the various subjects presented in this album through his voice is just...great as well. I really don't see enough people praising this man's vocals. They're great. Just great. And...all of these factors that I've mentioned come together to form a genuine masterpiece of an album...another masterpiece. Again, this album really shouldn't be as good as it is, yet the many small decisions, such as literally naming the album "Different Class" add up to make something that is genuinely great...which is something that I've really been saying a bit too much for the amount of albums that I've generated. I mean, my pile of albums that I consider to be masterpieces is bigger than albums that I consider to be bad or alright. How have I gotten this lucky so far? I have no idea. I'm seriously starting to think that this site has some rule for its generation in which it generates a "bad" or "alright" album before guaranteeing that a masterpiece gets generated to keep the listener interested throughout their journey....Alright, that's kinda a joke, but my luck has still been insane. Let's just keep going forward and see what we get next.
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Different Class: 9/10
Song Average: 9.3/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0031: Live At The Star Club, Hamburg
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Introduction: Well well, is this another masterpiece incoming? The last live album I generated was quite a while ago....Okay, it was actually almost exactly thirty albums ago, but I've not been that consistent with this project at all. I listened to that album all the way back in November. I took a pretty significant break between December and...I think January. I remember it was while I was listening to Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth. Hell, I actually stopped mid-album when I took that break and came back without re-listening to the full thing....Yeah. I'm actually not even up to date now. This is going to say that I published my review on April 4th, 2026 when I'm actually writing it on April 11th. I've kinda just been letting my generation run without break for a bit because...I like doing this project...and I've gotten pretty backed up to say the least. It's fine. I'll pause it once my schedule starts becoming busy once again....Wow. I'm really off-topic, aren't I? Well, getting back on topic, this live album was released by an artist by the name of Jerry Lee Lewis in 1964. Now, like I said, I've generated a live album before on this site. That live album was actually my second generation and I actually consider it one of the best albums I've heard thus far. I believe it's actually the only 9/10 album thus far that I felt leaned more towards a five instead of a four. Anyway, the point is, I don't mind live albums at all. I've seen a lot of people on this site who question the inclusion of live albums or simply call them pointless....To them I simply ask "Why?" Why is a live album unable to be as influential or enjoyable as a regular album? What makes it pointless? Yes, the tracks will almost always be much more varied than what you would find on a cohesive studio album, but that's literally the point of both a live show and a live album. Look, I'll say it, you're just weird if you hold the opinion that live albums are pointless. Tell that to anyone who's heard that one Fishmans live album from 1999. Anyway, this live album in particular seems to be pretty well-regarded for the same reasons a lot of others are: its raw energy and stellar performance. Jerry Lee Lewis was apparently working the piano like a mad-man at this concert. The same thing can apparently be said about much of the instrumentation overall. This is actually kinda exciting to hear since the instrumentation from the last live album I generated kinda...blew me away at points. I think I even described one track as "eight minutes of the greatest guitar-work I've ever heard."...How naive I was then. Now, some people think that this album is so great that they believe it to be one of the greatest Rock and Roll albums of all time. Now, is that likely true? No. You've got some pretty damn big competitors to go up against to take that crown. Most of those opinions are coming from critic's statements too. We all know how reliable critics are. I'm pretty sure As It Was by Harry Styles was somewhere in the top three hundred on Pitchfork's top five hundred songs at some point....Yeah. Anyway, we'll just pretend that Pitchfork never did that as we get into this album and see how truly good it is.
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Track 1: Mean Woman Blues: 9/10
Track 2: High School Confidential: 8/10
Track 3: Money (That's What I Want): 9/10
Track 4: Matchbox: 7/10
Track 5: What'd I Say (Part 1): 8/10
Track 6: What'd I Say (Part 2): 8/10
Track 7: Great Balls Of Fire: 9/10
Track 8: Good Golly, Miss Molly: 9/10
Track 9: Lewis' Boogie: 8/10
Track 10: Your Cheatin' Heart: 7/10
Track 11: Hound Dog: 9/10
Track 12: Long Tall Sally: 9/10
Track 13: Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On: 9/10
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Conclusion: HOLY! Seriously, holy! That would be my descriptor of this album if I were forced to describe it in one word. Holy! I mean, this album was seriously around a half-hour of some of the most impressive and high-energy live-performance songs that I have ever heard. It's just a half-hour of pure greatness...for the most part. There is one song where the playing exponentially is slowed down, but we don't talk about that song. That being said, the album absolutely radiates with high-energy everywhere else. Most of my 9/10 songs are great examples of this. All of these songs are quick-paced, have intense playing from pretty much everyone on stage, and yet manage to still be pretty cleverly written and performed. I mean, there were so many moments on this album that just had me completely shocked at what I was hearing simply due to the unbelievable amount of energy radiating off of it. Look, live albums are different, but live albums are undoubtedly great. Nobody can deny it. Anyway, like many people have stated already, Jerry Lee Lewis's piano playing is definitely the highlight of the entire album. He essentially just completely destroys the piano for the entirety of the album without any breaks in between. Absolutely amazing stuff and may very well be the best piano work that I have ever heard in my life. That being said, there's a pretty good variety of other great instrumentation you can find on here as well. Every song has pretty generic yet high-energy and profound drumming, a lot of songs have great guitar solo sections, and even Jerry Lee Lewis's voice just works perfectly with the music. I mean, everything here just blends perfectly to provide one of the most raw and purely enjoyable experiences I've ever had while listening to an album. Now, that in no way means that this is one of my greatest Rock And Roll albums of all time like many critics would say, but it is undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable listens I've had on this site so far. The best way I can possibly describe this album is...almost...it almost genuinely makes you feel as if you are in the crowd yourself while listening to it. I mean, the production is perfect so that it sounds enjoyable to listen to from home while still providing that sound that comes with actually being at a concert, the energy is so high that you kinda start to get that feeling that you're in the crowd of an actual concert, you know that feeling, and there's just an overall unmatched energy to the entire experience that I've never quite heard before from any other live album. It's just...undoubtedly great. There's not really all that much more to praise about the album itself other than what I've stated above. That being said, there are...unfortunately, a few problems that this album has. Firstly, however, I'm going to go over problems that I imagine a lot of other people have that I don't actually have myself. First of all, there are probably some people who do not like this album because almost half of the set is ripped directly from Little Richard. Now, I won't even lie, this is kinda a valid criticism and I can kinda understand it too. That being said, Jerry Lee Lewis and his band managed to transform these songs into pieces that fit the overall tone of the live show and just overall felt distinct from their original versions. This could be because of the major upgrade in production from when Little Richard's recordings were...recorded, but these covers still feel distinct and original nonetheless. Another major problem that people generally have with this album is...honestly...a really valid one. The lyrics are...honestly pretty bad across many of the songs. There are some exceptions here and there, but the majority of this album's lyrics are pretty bad. Money talks about wanting money over love, Your Cheatin' Heart talks about something as simple as feeling guilty about cheating, and the closer is literally about sexual desire....Yeah, not too great. Jerry Lee Lewis's voice doesn't help at all either due to how fast he sings the majority of these songs. You can't really tell what he's saying half of the time. That being said, and I would normally have a huge problem with both of these criticisms, I really don't mind either of these aspects too much...if I dare say at all. I mean, the lyrics blend perfectly with the simple, high-energy, and basic Rock And Roll melodies. Their simpler nature allows the listener to focus more on the amazing performances Lewis and his band are giving as well. I mean, if Money was like...let's say a dramatic ballad instead of a high-energy Rock track, I would likely hate it because its meaning is awful. That being said, this simple and bad meaning blends with the earlier type of Rock And Roll one would hear when Rock And Roll was much simpler itself. Basically, the meaning being bad and simple here...actually works in a weird way....Oh, and Jerry Lee Lewis's voice is completely fine to me too. Its fast-paced nature fits perfectly with the high-energy atmosphere...you get the idea. Now, with those lesser criticisms out of the way, I'll briefly get into two problems I actually have with this album. Firstly, the album is admittedly...pretty repetitive across its entire runtime. Look, the entire experience is great no doubt, but there are plenty of songs that feel as if the same melody from some previous song is being sampled. That being said, the relatively short runtime of the album definitely helps keep this criticism stay more minor than major. Secondly, the melodies on this album are pretty generic. I've stated this a few times above, but it felt as if a bit more could have been done by Lewis to potentially...I don't know...not make the melodies sound as dated as they are. I mean, Rock as a whole had come a far way already from the time that most of this set's songs were written and this live show was performed. Lewis could have undoubtedly changed the melodies up a bit to make them sound even a bit less dated than they do....I mean, this could have solved the repetition problem too...and...these two fixes genuinely could have transformed a great live album into a masterpiece. That being said, this album is still undoubtedly great. I mean, even imagining a live show that could possibly top the energy this one emitted is...hard.
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Live At The Star Club, Hamburg: 9/10
Song Average: 8.4/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0030: Transformer
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Introduction: Well, this is certainly strange. I've heard of people literally generating albums from the same artist back-to-back, but fully clearing an artist with multiple albums on this site is definitely strange as well. To be fair, Lou Reed only has two albums...technically three if you count the one that someone added, but I digress....Actually...huh? I generated this album exactly fifteen albums later from my...fifteenth album....Basically, fifteen was Lou Reed, times fifteen by two to also get...Lou Reed....Strange. Alright, I'm done. I mean, that is kinda strange generation no doubt, but I'm going to focus on the actual album now. Alright, so, this album, Transformer by Lou Reed, was released in 1972 to...mixed reception. Some people praised it and instantly recognized it for its new and innovative style while others dismissed it as "terrible" or "lame". Yes, I pulled those quotes directly off of Google. They apparently were statements said by a Pop critic by the name of Ellen Willis. Never heard of her before but whatever. Anyway, this album would obviously go on to be loved by both casual listeners and critics in the years following its release. Now, just because this album is considered a masterpiece doesn't mean I am not afraid of...a few things. Firstly, even though this album is widely regarded today, there are a fair share of tracks which people still have pretty mixed receptions of even to this day. I feel like those tracks should be obvious to anyone who has listened to this album before, and I do believe I know those specific tracks myself, but I'll just leave them for the conclusion section. Now, that does undoubtedly mean that the highs of this album are...pretty damn high....You know which songs I'm talking about: Perfect Day, Walk On The Wild Side, the ones that everyone has heard and knows. It's unfortunate that much of the in between isn't nearly as well regarded. That being said, I know that this is regarded as Lou Reed's crowning achievement, and I did really like Berlin, so I'll most likely find this to be pretty enjoyable as well. Yes, I have heard some of this album before and am aware of the fact that Transformer and Berlin are pretty distinct in a lot of factors, (musical style, overall themes, production) but I still believe that I'll find this album to be pretty enjoyable regardless. It is kinda weird to hear how different the production is between this album and Berlin though due to the fact that Berlin would be released just a year after this one....Money can really take you far in music...and everything...but, if this truly is Lou Reed's crowning achievement, then this album will prove that brains can take you further. Let's just get into this and see
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Track 1: Vicious: 10/10
Track 2: Andy's Chest: 8/10
Track 3: Perfect Day: 11/10
Track 4: Hangin' 'Round: 9/10
Track 5: Walk On The Wild Side: 11/10
Track 6: Make Up: 8/10
Track 7: Satellite Of Love: 10/10
Track 8: Wagon Wheel: 7/10
Track 9: New York Telephone Conversation: 5/10
Track 10: I'm So Free: 8/10
Track 11: Goodnight Ladies: 7/10
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Conclusion: This was an extremely interesting album to listen to. I will say, I've never really understood Glam Rock all that well, so my individual track scores might be a bit off from what they...should be...not that I am everyone else are not entitled to their own opinion.,.I'm just saying. Either way, this was yet another extremely great album. The highs were some of the best material I've heard on this site so far and the lows were limited to a single track which was less than two minutes in length....Sounds pretty damn good to me. Now, what makes this album so great? Well...it's actually kinda hard to explain...at least for me it is. It's a very quirky album that is honestly kinda hard to get into or even...get upon hearing it for the first time. I mean, the lyrics are pretty strange at times, the music sounds pretty bland in certain places, and Lou Reed's voice is honestly...just not that energetic. He honestly still sounds pretty bored to me in some of the songs on the album, but that's besides the point. That being said, this is undoubtedly an album that grows on you the more you hear it. There are some songs on here...Perfect Day...that will connect with you almost instantly, but the majority will likely take a bit to fully appreciate. Some of the reasoning for that undoubtedly originates from this album's music. Glam Rock is obviously the central genre presented across the entire album, yet there is so much experimentation with blending other genres as well. Vicious blends Glam with Hard Rock elements, Goodnight Ladies is completely absent of any instrumentation signature of rock with the exception of drums, Satellite Of Love and Perfect Day experiment with the more grandiose side of Glam Rock, and so on. That's not to say that this experimentation is bad or poorly executed, I'm simply saying that it may be a bit jarring upon an initial listen to go from the ballad of Perfect Day to the Hard Rock of Hangin' 'Round. That being said, like much of this entire album, the diversity grows on you. The album isn't diverse like The Beatles' White Album or Jack White's Blunderbuss, however. It's definitely more diverse than some of the other albums I've generated so far, yet it still manages to maintain a central identity within its music. It's definitely less diverse than Berlin is. That's for sure. Now, that being said, Lou Reed still managed to maintain a pretty consistent quality in songwriting with all of these genres he blended together. Vicious and Hangin' 'Round proved he could write great Hard Rock and could find a guitarist who could shred at guitar, Goodnight Ladies proved he could write pretty good minimalist and progressive songs, and...the ballads...the best songs on the album...simply proved his overall ability as a great songwriter. It's honestly kinda a shame that Lou Reed didn't just try to write more ballads on this album. That may very well have made this album even better than it already is. I mean, Perfect Day literally has one of the best...just...releases of tension as the chorus kicks in that I've heard in any song. Just fantastic....Anyway, with as much praise as I've given this album's music so far, I also have to acknowledge some weaknesses. Wagon Wheel feels pretty unfocused in the direction it wants to go at times, New York Telephone Conversation is just...a strange song, Hangin' 'Round jams but doesn't do too much to evolve its music or lyrics across the entire song, and just basic petty stuff like that. There's no big flaw with this album's music across the entire listening experience, just a few things here and there that one has to acknowledge. At the end of the day, this album is just great, early 70's Glam Rock that brings other genres into the mix. You can't go wrong with that. Now, where this album especially manages to shine is within its lyrics and overall themes. Now, before I give praise to this album, I will admit that Bowie did it so much better in literally the same year, yet that was largely due to the fact that...you know...he became his character from his album...that transformation undoubtedly made Ziggy's story way more effective. That's not to undermine this album or what it was trying to accomplish...I'm simply pointing out that its impact wasn't as profound as it could have been. Basically...Bowie undoubtedly portrayed this album's message better. Anyway, this album has a very central theme around love, sexuality, identity, and simply attempts to challenge established cultural normality of the era. Songs like Walk On The Wild Side and Make Up portray gender transitioning, drag queens, giving oral sex, and other cultural taboos in a positive and embracing light. All of these subjects were extremely controversial or taboo at the time of this album's release, so hearing someone give support for these movements, especially in a way which could potentially reach mainstream, feels extremely daring and respectable. On top of this, Lou Reed manages to blend these serious songs with more touching, quirky, and enjoyable songs such as the love-filled Perfect Day, the bizarre Andy's Chest, and the kick-ass I'm So Free. There's simply just a nice lyrical blend of so much on here that makes this album feel thought-provoking yet easily accessible at the same time. Basically, and I don't mean this in a bad way, it didn't feel as if Lou Reed was risking committing career suicide like Bowie was the same year. Again, I don't mean that in a bad way. It undoubtedly took a lot of confidence to even include the more controversial songs on this release in the first place. I respect him for that....Anyway, the lyrics on this album are pretty-well written and poetic as well. In fact, these may just be some of the best lyrics I've heard from an album I've generated on this site yet. Obviously, Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde is better with its poetic lyrics, but this is up there as well. There were moments here where the lyrics felt very Bob Dylan-like in the way that they portrayed named characters in peculiar or taboo situations. It's just great. I wouldn't say that the lyrics were or are the main drive for someone to listen to this album, but they're certainly great and extremely well-written. Now, my biggest...well...actually I'm not entirely sure. I was going to say my biggest critique with this entire album is Lou Reed's voice...yet I'm not entirely sure anymore. I mean, he does a lot of talk-singing across the entire album...but it doesn't really sound all that bad with the rest of the instrumentation...or lyrics. I mean, his voice isn't that great at hitting the perfect notes at the perfect time, yet that's honestly not all that bad here. Alright, Lou Reed's voice is actually pretty good. I can definitely understand why some people may not like it, but it's not bad given the context of the album and its music. Now, with all that said, do I think that this album is better than Berlin? Well.......Yeah. It definitely is. Brains came out the winner over money in this scenario. That being said, I do find this album's weakest points to actually...be a bit weaker than Berlin's. I'm not just talking about New York Conversation either. From what I can remember about Berlin, most of the 8/10s on this album wouldn't beat the 8/10s on that album. Overall, Berlin was definitely the more consistent of the two. That being said, Berlin's highs were nowhere near this album's highs. Sad Song was the best song on Berlin and this album has four songs which are better....or tie it in quality as can be seen with Vicious. That being said, this is undoubtedly the superior album. There's simply so much here that helps propel this album above what Lou Reed would accomplish on Berlin. I'm reluctant to call this album a masterpiece as of now, but I believe I'll warm up to it even more as time goes on.
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Transformer: 9/10
Song Average: 8.5/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0029: Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
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Introduction: Alright! This is more like it. After two of the oldest albums on this site back-to-back, we finally have an album that I would consider to be "modern". I put that in quotes because...somehow this thing will be thirty years old in just four years....Yeah, time sure is something. Anyway, this album, Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea, was released by PJ Harvey, an artist I've literally never heard of before, in 2000. As for what m-...yeah, I don't know what makes it influential. I say that pretty much every time, I know. However, from what I've read, this album is supposed to be influential due to a mature blend between Indie Rock and Pop. Huh...that actually sounds quite pleasant...maybe this album had influence on a certain band that I can pretty much guarantee is on this list even though I haven't seen or heard anything about them yet?...I wonder. Anyway, this album apparently features Thom Yorke on it. As you may already know, I believe that he is literally one of the best artists of all time, so any song that features him automatically gets a 10/10 by law....Unless...you know, it deserves anything less. What the hell am I talking about? Alright, anyway, this album also seems to have a pretty generalized concept across its entire runtime as well. PJ Harvey apparently wrote the entire album to serve as a message of love to New York City....Yeah, I'll just go ahead and completely agree with her on that one. I've been there twice and I can confidently say that it is one of the coolest places I have been to in my life. I mean, there is literally something new and interesting to see around pretty much every corner....We just...don't talk about the state of New York now....I'll just go ahead and clarify that I'm not trying to make fun of its mayor or politics in general. I just have to throw that out there so that someone doesn't get pissed at me in the extremely rare chance that anyone is even reading this. So, with my love of New York in mind, I'd imagine that I'd probably be able to relate pretty well with this album. I'm sure there's going to be a few things here and there that I don't understand due to me simply touring the place for a few days, but I'd imagine I'll have a pretty good grasp on the general ideas and themes that this album presents. Let's just see.
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Track 1: Big Exit: 10/10
Track 2: Good Fortune: 9/10
Track 3: A Place Called Home: 10/10
Track 4: One Line: 9/10
Track 5: Beautiful Feeling: 7/10
Track 6: The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore: 9/10
Track 7: This Mess We're In: 10/10
Track 8: You Said Something: 8/10
Track 9: Kamikaze: 7/10
Track 10: This Is Love: 9/10
Track 11: Horses In My Dreams: 9/10
Track 12: We Float: 10/10
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Conclusion: And...THIS! THIS is a really good album. THIS is one of the main reasons I even wanted to start this project in the first place. Masterpieces I've never heard before, such as this, motivate me to keep going through this project. Yeah, a lot of junk, masterpieces you've already heard before (not that this is bad), or just average stuff will rear its head along the way, but THESE kinda albums are undoubtedly the best part of this site. It's honestly a shame though that PJ Harvey isn't a bigger name in Pop. I mean, you can't tell me that...oh...wait...I don't know if I should bring HER up....You know what....You cannot tell me that Taylor Swift is better than this! I don't care if I get my door broken down! I'm just speaking the truth! You Swifties whining over your 8/10, what do you think about this statement?!...Huh? I'm still alive....I guess I'm alright...for now. Alright, anyway, enough messing around. So, what makes me call this album a masterpiece? Well,firstly, this is undoubtedly some of the best Pop material I have heard in recent memory, musically at least. To be fair, the music on this album tends to lean towards Alternative Rock as well, but the fact still remains. Every song follows a pretty typical Pop song structure: verse followed by chorus, second verse followed by chorus, bridge that removes most of the instrumentation and slowly builds back up to it, and so on. Basically, none of these songs really do anything groundbreaking or super unique with their song structures. In fact, I'd argue that some of these songs really use their own respective choruses a bit too much. That being said, every song manages to be extremely interesting and captivating through their entire runtime. This comes from a combination of factors. Firstly, most songs either add small layers of instrumentation throughout the runtime or simply change the already existing instrumentation to make the melody feel familiar yet fresh throughout the entire song. On top of this, there are some songs on this album that simply have angelic choruses...pretty much all my 10/10s. You'll know what I'm talking about if you were to listen to them. They're just moments that surprise you yet quickly reel you back in and make you feel...simply impressed. Now, on top of this too, each of these songs are just extremely well-written and easy to learn. Everything about each of these songs simply feels so tight and recognizable even on a first listen. Now, this in theory shouldn't work. You should be able to re-listen to a song multiple times and notice small details you missed before; however, these songs are just different in a way that I can't quite describe. A lot of these songs either convey an almost edgy or pleasant vibe to them that I felt I could fully absorb myself into after one listen simply because I already knew the melody. I think that is this album's biggest advantage it has over other Pop albums that would come after. It simply evokes a generally unique vibe that is easy to lose yourself in from song to song. It may be due to the presence of Rock throughout much of the album. I'm not entirely sure, but it's there regardless. Now, with this album's music out of the way, let's go over the lyrics real quick....They're actually pretty great. There are a lot of either love or breakup songs throughout this album. Now, I'm not typically a fan of either. Most of these songs either come off as whiny, stupid, or simply feel a bit...too obvious. Yet this album's songs just...work. It's probably due to generally well-written and thought provoking lyrics that take multiple listens to get a grasp on, but they...they just work. I don't know how else to say it. Apparently, We Float is supposed to be a breakup song about how two people will feel free again after breaking up. Essentially, they'll "float" after breaking up. The way that the angelic chorus kicks in presenting the main idea of the song, "We'll Float", backed by calmer verses describing the situation of that relationship in a vague way should be the perfect example of how this album's lyrics simply work in a beautiful way. As I literally just described too, the music only helps further add to the lyrics and vice versa. Now, on top of this, unlike what I said in the intro, I don't believe there is any song on this album that is directly expressing love to New York City alone. Some songs are clearly set there and show some form of appreciation for it, yet even these songs have a very general and personable meaning that one can easily relate to. Basically, no, you don't have to have been to New York to get the full experience of this album. I mean, it was cool to see some New York references, but that's pretty much all I felt from hearing them. The main focus of every song should be applicable to you no matter where you are. Finally, as I always do, I'll briefly mention PJ Harvey's vocals...they're extremely good. She can sound great trying to provide a rebellious and desperate tone to her voice as seen in Big Exit and This Is Love, she can sound great trying to sound like a typical Pop singer, and, like I said earlier, her voice is simply angelic in portions of the album. It's great...definitely one of the best voices I've ever heard in Pop....Oh yeah, and Thom Yorke's voice is obviously great too...just had to get that out there. Now, with all that said...yeah...this album is just a masterpiece. I will admit, I really am not that big of a fan of modern pop at all. I think most of the hits we hear nowadays are completely annoying or are too simple. That being said, and I know that this album is losing its "modern status" more and more everyday, this album proves me wrong. I can hear traces of modern pop throughout much of this album and it still managed to be enjoyable all the way through. Huh? It's weird to see an album that actually kinda changes my view on music. I mean, it's not a major change or anything...but...still a change regardless...Well, here's to hoping we see more underrated masterpieces such as this.
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Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea: 9/10
Song Average: 8.9/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0028: Tragic Songs Of Life
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Introduction: WELL THIS IS PECULIAR, ISN'T IT? Two of the earliest albums that this entire site has to offer generated back-to-back? How? Seriously, how? AND, on top of that, the two albums are of very similar nature. One mainly uses an acoustic guitar, the other mainly uses an acoustic guitar. One has pretty odd lyrics...the other has pretty odd lyrics....Wait? Am I literally describing the album I am about to listen to? Am I describing an extremely vague album that many haven't even heard of before using this site? Well...yeah, I kinda already knew of this album's existence before I even started my journey on this site specifically. In fact, when I was generating masterpieces back-to-back earlier on and saying something along the lines of "How" or "the trash will rear its head later", this was actually kinda what I was referring to. I knew of this album's existence about...I'd like to say around a month before I started my journey on this site. I even kinda quickly skimmed through every song using Spotify's preview feature before I started using this site. Now, the reason for me even knowing of this album's existence...is actually because of this site. Funny how things work, huh? I was interested in starting the 1001 albums journey for a while, so I started doing some research online. I found a reddit post created by someone who had already listened to every album. They linked to a graph which contained the runtimes, rankings, and their overall thoughts of every album that the books had to offer. If you're using this site, then I'm sure that you probably know the graph I'm talking about. Anyway, I obviously didn't want to look through the entire graph, so I simply looked over the first few albums and saw that Tragic Songs Of Life by the Louvin Brothers had an extremely low score. I briefly check the album out to see how bad it actually is, learn that it's really bad, and move on with my day....And that's my grand tale of how I discovered a would-be forgotten album of the 1950's before generating it on this site. So exciting, I know. Round of applause please....Anyway, let's finally get back on topic. This album, Tragic Songs Of Life, released by The Louvin Brothers in 1956, is...certainly an album. I mean, like I said, I've heard it before. I'm not going to sugarcoat its quality for the intro or pretend to be clueless. Now, like I mentioned in my previous album, I know almost nothing about music in the 50's. I couldn't tell you a single reason why this album is on here before, or even likely after, listening to it. All I already know about this album...and potentially its influence, is...um...the brothers sing in harmony pretty well...oh, and KENTUCKEEEEEEEEEEEY!...Yeah, that's about all I remember about this album. Not looking too good, is it? Maybe I'm wrong though. Maybe there's so much meaning jam packed into those drawn out Kentuckeys that they managed to change music forever....almost certainly not...but...let's just go ahead and see.
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Track 1: Kentucky: 7/10
Track 2: I'll Be All Smiles Tonight: 6/10
Track 3: Let Her Go, God Bless Her: 6/10
Track 4: What Is Home Without Love: 6/10
Track 5: A Tiny Broken Heart: 5/10
Track 6: In The Pines: 7/10
Track 7: Alabama: 5/10
Track 8: Katie Dear: 5/10
Track 9: My Brother's Will: 5/10
Track 10: Knoxville Girl: 6/10
Track 11: Take The News To Mother: 5/10
Track 12: Mary Of The Wild Moor: 5/10
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Conclusion: Well, I'll go ahead and say right away, this album is nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be. Is it a great album? No. It's far from being a great album. I would go so far as to say that the best stuff this album has to offer is only...good. That being said, I've definitely heard a lot worse in my lifetime. Now, what is it that makes me so mixed on this album? Well, it's a few complicated variables that a casual listener likely wouldn't hear upon their first few listens, yet those same factors are painfully obvious to anyone with a keen ear. I'll just describe the album as a whole and see if you can guess what it is before I directly state what it is. Now, musically, this album provides pretty simple, cohesive, happy, and charming melodies all the way across. There's use of an acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and bass...and...uh...that's about it. Yeah, like I said, the various melodies that this album has to provide are very, very simple. They mostly consist of ever-repeating strums of an acoustic guitar with lightly audible electric guitar and bass segments in the background. There are a few guitar "solos" here and there as well...but most of them are less than ten seconds long...so. Now, I don't have a problem with songs that solely use or emphasize the sole use of an acoustic guitar. Part of that simplicity is what makes folk as a genre so great. That being said, the strumming of said acoustic guitar almost never changes across not just the entire span of each song...but THE ENTIRE ALBUM. Yeah, of course, there are tempo changes in each song, yet the melody sounds so damn similar in each and every song that I wouldn't be able to tell you which is which if you were to remove the vocals. This is a huge contributing factor as to why I am mixed about this album as a whole. Like I said, every song on this album all have charm to them through their simplicity and...just their old-timey feel, but I couldn't say the same thing about the album as a whole. Musically, the album does become quite boring by the end. The 50's electric guitar (which will never not sound charming by the way), the acoustic guitar, the 50's electric guitar, the bass, the acoustic guitar, the electric guitar...wait....Yeah...you see what I'm saying? It's incredibly hard to use nothing but the same three instruments for over half an hour and make it interesting all the way through. Individually, every song is fine when regarding their music. The album as a whole...gets quite boring by the end. That being said, the instruments themselves are pretty well-played and sound pretty good, especially for the 1950's. The same thing can be said about the album as a whole. It may be its simplicity, but the entire album is pretty well-produced for being made in the 1950's. It doesn't sound too great compared to modern production, but that's pretty much a given due to how far production has come since that time. Alright, have you guessed what makes me so mixed on this album yet? If you think that it's because of what I just mentioned...you'd be only partially right. I actually haven't mentioned this album's biggest sin yet. Now, let's move onto the lyrics and overall themes that this album touches on. Lyrically, this album, as the name would suggest, covers pretty tragic subjects. It goes into murder, heartbreak, loneliness, depression, and it will occasionally go into the singers' love for certain areas of America as well....I wonder which songs those are....Anyway, yeah, the album generally delves into pretty dark subjects. There are some REALLY dark moments on here as well such as the description of a girl's murder in Knoxville Girl. Now, while some people may generally dislike the darkness that this album has to present, I really don't mind it all too much. In fact, I kinda appreciate this album for even delving into themes as dark as these. Apparently, dark themes like these was something completely unheard of in the country scene at the time. So, this album, while going a bit too far at times, was undoubtedly influential in helping push music forward. Now, I will go ahead and say before I reveal what this album's biggest sin is, the lyrics and the various melodies that the album presents do blend well in certain ways. The simple, almost folk-like melodies of the music allow the listener to pay greater attention to the lyrics and the individual stories that each song throws at the listener. Overall, it does generally feel as if the lyrics were the greatest part of this album....Oh yeah, I'll briefly mention the voices as well before I reveal this album's...dark secret....So, the brothers decided to do something pretty interesting with this album. Throughout most of the album, they'll sing in literally near-perfect unison. Like, we're talking pitch-perfect. Look, I don't care what you say, whether you think the brothers' voices are annoying or sound "too country", you have to admit that their unison was pretty damn impressive. Also, I really don't mind their vocals all that much, but I can completely understand why people may not like them as well. The vocals are pretty loud, I can understand the close harmony being annoying, and the brothers' do have pretty typical country singer voices. I really don't care all that much about their voices, I don't think it sounds bad, but everyone else is completely entitled to their opinion as well. Alright...I'm pretty sure that's everything out of the way before we get to this album's biggest sin. I've actually revealed it in the details above....Did you get it? Well...if not, it's...actually the way that the melody blends with the lyrics? Wait, I thought I said that was good? Well, it is in the aspects I've already mentioned above, but remember, mostly every song on this album has a generally happy and cheerful mood to it...that includes the one about literally murdering a girl with a stick...you see the problem. There are WAY too many songs on here where the melody simply feels out of place for the seriousness of the subject. Knoxville Girl sounds borderline psychopathic with how happy both the brothers and the melody sounds when describing something horrific, Mary Of The Wild Moor's melody feels off with how dark of a song it is, and so on. It's...objectively bad...and...it's pretty much like this across the entire album. There are a few slower paced ballads which feel more appropriate, but they still generally feel too happy and cheerful for the dark tone. Kentucky and Alabama are the only two songs where the melodies fit due to them simply being appreciatory songs to the states. Nothing else really fits. And yes, I know that this was arguably the first country album to delve into subjects such as these, and I understand that the brothers wanted to be commercially successful, but some of this stuff just straight up sounds psychopathic. It just feels so odd to be describing tragedy with such happiness....Anyway, that was this album's dark secret. Enthralling, I know. Now, overall, do I think this album is as bad as people say it is? No. It's not terrible. It's certainly not the 2/10 (I think) that the graph I mentioned in the intro presented it as, but it has a lot of flaws regardless. Like, A LOT of flaws. That being said, this album did a lot right as well. I feel like people would generally like the album more if they put a greater amount of focus on the lyrics and not the repetitive melodies. Who knows? Maybe it's just me. Like I said, I know a lot of people find the brothers' vocals annoying while I don't, so I'm probably not the best one to speak on how people should listen to this album differently. Regardless, this album is alright. It undoubtedly helped push Country forward, it managed to be charming in its simplicity, and I wasn't completely bored out of my mind while listening to it....That being said...I cannot in good faith give it anything above a 2/5...I...just can't compare it to albums like Microshift, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Melody A.M., Blunderbuss, The Clash, and a few others that I'm probably forgetting. I just can't. So...despite being at the middle of the road and having a chance to get a 3/5.......
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Tragic Songs Of Life: 5/10
Song Average: 5.7/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0027: Jack Takes The Floor
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Introduction: Well, this is quite peculiar, isn't it? An album all the way back from the 1950's. It's the late fifties admittedly, but still interesting. In fact, I'm pretty sure this is one of the oldest albums on this entire site. I'm pretty sure there are a few from a year or two previous to 1958, but this is still ONE of the oldest albums nevertheless. Honestly, the fact that the 1001 books start in the mid-50's is pretty insane in my opinion. There were some seriously influential releases in the 1940's and, arguably, the 1930's as well. Yes, I know that the way albums were sold heavily differed during that era than it did from the mid-50's to today, but you can't convince me that bands like The Ink Spots weren't influential. I mean, even if they didn't have an impact on music, their general appearance in modern media and Fallout alone would grant them a spot on this list had I made it....Anyway, back to this album specifically. Now, this album, Jack Takes The Floor released in 1958 by Ramblin' Jack Elliot, is considered to be a very influential folk album. As for why? I couldn't tell you. I couldn't tell you why a lot of these albums are considered to be important or influential. The Wikipedia excerpt that the site pulled doesn't really help at all either. Apparently though, this album is considered to be extremely influential due to its aid in reviving folk in the 1960's. This album, and Jack Elliot as a whole, apparently influenced Bob Dyaln as well. Which, I mean, that guy has made some of the best music of all time, so automatic respect to any artist or album that influenced that guy. On top of this, the album apparently took general ideas from Woody Guthrie and merged them with Jack's own ideas to create something that attempted to be new and unique in the folk scene. You know, the typical, genre-blending stuff when it comes to albums on this site. Now, I will be honest, I have barely heard anything from the 50's. I've heard a bit of Little Richard, some Chuck Berry, but the 50's generally marks unexplored territory to me when it comes to music. Folk too is a pretty unexplored genre to me. I actually went through a short phase where I decided I was going to listen to every record released by Bob Dylan, but quit somewhere at Highway 61 Revisited. So, I heard what is generally considered to be Dylan's best and most influential folk work. And I will admit, some of it was pretty damn great. That being said, besides those four folk albums from Dylan, I've not really heard anything else. So, taking these two factors into account, and the thankfully short runtime as well, this album should be a pretty interesting listen whether good or bad. That being said, there's only one way to truly find out.
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Track 1: San Francisco Bay Blues: 6/10
Track 2: Ol' Riley: 4/10
Track 3: Boll Weevil: 6/10
Track 4: Bed Bug Blues: 5/10
Track 5: New York Town: 6/10
Track 6: Grey Goose: 3/10
Track 7: Mule Skinner Blues: 7/10
Track 8: Cocaine: 7/10
Track 9: Dink's Song: 6/10
Track 10: Black Baby: 3/10
Track 11: Salty Dog: 5/10
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Conclusion: Wow...this album was seriously rough. Like, it was SERIOUSLY rough. I really don't know what else I should have expected. I mean, 50's production, folk songs from an era where songs were much simpler, and a singer that sounds so similar to Bob Dylan that I wouldn't be shocked at all if someone got the two of these artists confused. Yeah, again, this album was rough. You wanna know something else that was rough? Even finding this album in the first place was way harder than it should have been. This was the first album that I listened to that actually wasn't on my main streaming service, Spotify. I go and find this guy's profile, scroll through his albums list, and find that it's not there. I double check in confusion because I don't understand why it wouldn't be there. Nope, it's actually not there. Anyway, I go back to the 1001 site and use the Youtube link they provided on the album's page to find a playlist uploaded by someone for the intended purpose of completing the 1001 albums challenge. Wow. Now, obviously finding the album wasn't too bad. It was inconvenient that I had to stream it through uploads on Youtube instead of Spotify, but it wasn't too bad at all. What I found out after listening to the entire album is kinda odd though. I go back through Jack's discography on Spotify and find out that he essentially re-released the entire album in 2021 under the title "New York City Folk". It's the same tracks, different ordering, no remasters, nothing. That kinda just seems like a cheap way to make money in your old age, but whatever. I won't judge. Anyway, I'm really off-topic. I'll go ahead and say that this album is something that I literally never want to listen to again. It has poor 50's production, it's extremely simple, its singer's voice is bad, it has pretty bland and boring lyrics, and it's just overall...bad....Alright? Is that good enough?...No?...Alright. I'll go into a bit more detail. Firstly, the music and production...like I said...it's pretty bland and boring. The music consists of basic, early-folk that you would expect. Simple acoustic guitar, repetitive chords, all of the basic stuff you would expect is here on this album. Hell, there's only one song on the entire album that even contains a harmonica. Isn't that not like...supposed to be a staple instrument of folk or something? That being said, there are some moments of greatness that shine through in terms of the album's music. San Francisco Bay Blues has some pretty fun, fast-paced acoustic guitar playing, Cocaine has an oddly emotional melody, Mule Skinner Blues's melody is just...pretty decent, and so on. For 50's folk, it's not all bad. The music does get extremely repetitive and drawn-out, which is saying a lot since most of this album's songs are around two minutes, but that's not really saying all that much since music isn't necessarily supposed to be the main focus when it comes to folk as a genre. That being said, there are A LOT of better folk melodies you can find out there, some of them coming just a few years after this album's release from a...pretty well-known artist....I wonder who that could be? Anyway, the production does not help this album at all. Now, I will admit, I have actually heard some pretty decently produced songs from the 1950's in the past. Chuck Berry, Little Richard, even Frank Sinatra all have some pretty decently produced songs from this era. Mr. Jack Elliot though...absolutely not. I mean, it's not atrocious, but not anywhere near good either. That said, there isn't really all that much to say about the production level of this album besides that. I mean, I don't really feel the need to describe it any further since I'm sure you already have a pretty accurate auditory image of what it actually sounds like. The production just...sucks...not that much more to say about it. Anyway, what about the lyrics? Folk is known for having some of the best lyrics of any genre of music, surely this album must have great lyrics....Well...(and yes, I did that bit on literally the last album)...not even close. The lyrics, if you can even understand them, should take the listener literally one listen to understand. Part of the reason for that is literally because of the fact that Jack tells the listener what the song is about in the intro of the majority of the songs. Look, I know this was a different era of music, but come on. Telling the listener what the song is about literally takes away the whole point of interpretation, speculation, and many other aspects that make a song relistenable....I just have so many problems with this album, can't you tell? Anyway, the actual lyrics themselves are pretty bad. The first song talks about how sad an abuser is after his woman leaves him, the fourth talks about how bad bed bugs are, and the last talks about how someone would rather be someone's...salty dog than their lover? Yeah...no. Admittedly though, there are some decent lyrical moments on this album. Boll Weevil almost feels like one of those goofy songs that Bob Dylan would write, Dink's Song and O'l Riley have alright messages about freedom, and...uh...that's about it. Yeah...nothing that I've mentioned so far is helped by Jack's voice either. Much like Bob Dylan's, it's pretty bad. In fact, I'd say it's a bit worse than Dylan's. Like I said, the two's voices sound extremely similar, yet Jack's is just slightly worse, at least in my opinion. Now, with all that said, I can at least understand why this album is considered to be extremely influential. I'm sure that it was received in a better light at the time, a light that likely helped push folk back into the mainstream in the 60's. I can basically guarantee that this album, along with some of Jack's other work, influenced Bob Dylan's early work as well. Like I said, any artist or album that influenced one of the best artists of all time deserves some credit. That being said, the fact that this album was influential doesn't save it from being...quite frankly...extremely bad, especially nowadays. It's extremely dated, it's only decently written at best, it's pretty poorly performed, it's extremely poorly produced, and is overall of pretty poor quality. For ALL of those reasons, this album unfortunately receives the lowest score I have given out yet. I typically like to try and see the best in any music that I listen to, but like I said, this album is only decent at best.
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Jack Takes The Floor: 4/10
Song Average: 5.3/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0026: Planet Rock: The Album
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Introduction: Twenty-five albums completed. I haven't even made a dent on this project as of yet, but I'm still proud of myself nonetheless. I've decided that I will be making one change with the achievement of listening to twenty-five albums. I'm no longer going to be putting the word "Score" after each song. I think that one using this site should be smart and knowledgeable enough in music to know what I mean when I put "3/10" or "10/10" next to a song. It's a simple change, but still convenient nonetheless. Anyway, that aside, what grand album awaits me for hitting the milestone of twenty-five? Well...um...I actually have no idea. What the hell does Planet Rock even mean? Is this going to be some Gustav Holst inspired project? Is this going to be some huge concept album that tries to portray each of the planets but in the form of rock music? Well...this is actually a hip-hop album. What the hell? Oh...I get it...the artist, Afrika Bambaataa released an extremely popular and well-regarded song by the name of Planet Rock and decided to feature the name of that song in an album. Of course...that isn't misleading in the slightest. I mean, for a second I thought I was about to listen to a whole goddamn movie soundtrack or something. Anyway, that said, this album, released by Afrika Bambaataa in 1986, is apparently considered to be an extremely influential hip-hop album. Why? I don't know yet. Seriously, who the actual hell is this guy? You cannot tell me you've heard of this man's name before this point....Anyway, um...apparently this is actually a compilation album as well? Now, now, now, hold on. I think that we can all agree on the fact that a compilation album making this list is kinda crazy, right? I mean, I've seen people who have had problems with live albums being included on the list. I myself really don't have any problem with live albums. They can be extremely influential and have great material in their own rights. But a compilation album? I mean, that's like if The Beatles were to put every single song that people consider to be their best into one compilation album and the list were to include only that. No Abbey Road, no White Album, no Revolver. Point is, a compilation album is kinda ridiculous...actually it's really ridiculous....Alright, anyway, I'm getting very off topic. I'll just put my negative feelings aside towards this album for now. Now, I will say, I have actually never heard any hip-hop related material from the 80's. The earliest hip-hop material that I've heard were all released around the early to mid-90's, so hearing material released nearly a decade earlier should be pretty interesting...actually really interesting. I'm curious if there's going to be any form of 80's-like pop present on this album. Will there be anything that gives off the vibe of Rock, Disco? Let's just get into it and see, I guess.
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Track 1: Planet Rock: 9/10
Track 2: Looking For The Perfect Beat: 7/10
Track 3: Renegades Of Funk: 7/10
Track 4: Frantic Situation Score: 5/10
Track 5: Who You Funkin' With?: 6/10
Track 6: Go Go Pop: 4/10
Track 7: They Made A Mistake: 4/10
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Conclusion: Well...this was quite the album....Sorry, compilation album. Yeah, this was quite the compilation album. The first song was pretty great and the two that followed weren't all that bad. but the second half of the album was just a complete atrocity. This was seriously a compilation album too? Are those not supposed to like...feature some of the best material that a band has put out? Well, there are plenty of compilation albums that don't do that, but you can clearly tell that this one was trying to. I mean, the literal title of the album is the group's best and most famous song. How the hell can a band genuinely be this bad? Okay, anyway, what about the actual album itself? Well, like I said in the intro, this is a hip-hop album. It's an 80s hip-hop album too which seemed pretty interesting since I had literally never heard hip-hop from the 80s before. That being said, there's a pretty good reason as to why. At least, if this album were to speak for all of 80s hip-hop, then there's a pretty good reason as to why I've never heard it before. That reason being...this is literally the most dated thing I have ever heard in my entire life. Everything here: the instrumentation, the lyrics, the vocals, all sound so incredibly dated to the point that it actually kinda blew me away while listening. Just everything about this album and its sound screams 80s. Hell, even the album cover screams something you would see in the 80s. This entire album is so dated to the point where it's almost comical. Seriously, I'd recommend giving this thing a listen just to hear how unbelievably dated this album is. Now, with that major critique out of the way, what about the album's music? It's dated....Okay seriously though...there's a lot of usage of typical hip-hop sounds, synths, alternating vocals...synths, drum machines...synths, and so on. This fact stays pretty consistent across the entire album. The instrumentation really doesn't change up all that much, just the various melodies that each song provides. There are some undoubtedly good uses of this instrumentation across the album, such as the sonic wall that is Looking For The Perfect Beat, but there's a lot of bad, bland, and boring usage of it too. Again, a lot of that may have to do with the datedness of the album, but I digress. Overall, the best way to describe the music of this album is as if 80s synths, drum-machines, and hip-hop collided into one to create this mess that just doesn't feel right. I will say, the music did have a very futuristic vibe to it at certain points. You know, you're walking in a city at night with flying cars over your head and streets lit by neon signs, that sorta vibe. That vibe that it gave off was unique and cool, but that vibe is also undoubtedly something that screams 80s as well. It's honestly kinda crazy to think how far hip-hop has come since this album's release...Anyway, there is some kinda cool blending between genres like funk and techno as well, yet hip-hop is obviously the most prominent genre of music you'll find on this album. Um...I guess the instrumentation itself is pretty well-produced and well-performed by the band....I have to give compliments to this album where I can....Well, I guess the only other thing to really mention regarding this album's music is that it's...pretty poorly written at times. There are some songs where the music is well written, such as Planet Rock and the progressive vibe it gives off, but majority of the time the music simply feels directionless and becomes boring by the end of a song. This overall feel may be due to a lack of additional instrumentation, random vocals that alternate between left and right channels, or even simply switching up the melody mid-song as is seen on the closing track. Yeah, this album is not looking good, is it? Now, with the dated as hell music aside, what about the lyrics and general themes that the album presents? Hip-hop is known for pretty poetic lyrics comparable to that of folk. Surely this album must have some great messages, right? Well...it's pretty mixed. The album has this overall theme of serving almost as a "party album". A lot of songs on here attempt to either be or simulate the type of music one would hear at a late-night party or something of the like. This, of course, leads to lyrics that feel...pretty odd to listen to in a critical sense. Like, some of these songs would serve as great things to play at a party, especially the title track, but it doesn't feel as if the lyrics were written with any intention other than that. Now, on top of that, there are some songs on this album as well that just feel...either stupid or self-indulgent when regarding their lyrics. Looking For The Perfect Beat literally talks about what it describes...except it claims that the song itself is the perfect beat. I mean, there is literally a line in that song that goes like this: "Afrika Bambaataa, I possess the perfect beat." ...Come on....The song isn't even that good too...besides the point. There are also a lot of self-inserts into each song as well which just feels a bit weird to hear across the entire album. Anyway, overall, the lyrics of this album are absolutely not its strongest point. What is this album's strongest point? Well, the vocals are actually pretty damn good. The rapping is simply just so tight, the way it works around with the beat of the songs works as well, and the singer's voice is simply pretty good as well. I mean, the rapping is just...pretty good. There's not that much more to say about it other than what I just did. Now, can the same thing be said about the entire album? Well, no, absolutely not. The production and writing is dated as hell, the lyrics are alright at best, and I personally don't ever want to listen to most of this album ever again. That being said...I can...unfortunately understand why this album is considered to be extremely influential both in the hip-hop and electro music scenes. There was undoubtedly a lot of creativity, such as the blending of various genres, that went behind this album at the time even if they can't entirely be heard nowadays. That being said, this status of being influential doesn't save this album from being bad. That factor does save this album from being my lowest rated yet, but that factor also doesn't save it from being tied with my lowest yet. (Reevaluated and have decided to move this album up from a 5/10 to a 6/10. I've warmed to it slightly)
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Planet Rock: The Album: 6/10
Song Average: 6/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0025: The White Album
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Introduction: Well, everyone knew this was going to happen eventually. Finally, here we are: The Beatles. The band that everyone knows, the band that not everyone understands, the band that is almost universally regarded to be one of the best and most influential of all time, and the band that has sold the most records of all time. Of course we were bound to come across them eventually. Now, up until this point, I've never actually listened to a Beatles album in full. I briefly tried their first album, the one where the album cover is them standing in an elevator shaft or something like that, but I only made it through the first few songs of which I found to be just alright. If I had done a bit more research, I would have figured out that their first album is widely considered to be one of their worst and actually just an alright album overall. Fortunately, to my knowledge. that album isn't on this site. I don't want to listen to that again. It wasn't bad, just something that I would literally never listen to again. Anyway, it would take The Beatles a few years before they would eventually transform their sound into what they're widely known and loved for today. Fortunately, The White Album was created post-transformation, so no crappy 60's mainstream rock for us...I would assume at least. Anyway, The White Album, also sometimes referred to as self-titled, was released in 1968 by...you guessed it...The Beatles. And, like I just said, it was released during the era of The Beatles where they had become known as one of the best bands of all time instead of just another 60's rock band. This should obviously show in the general reception that this album receives. You have casual listeners and critics hailing it as one of the greatest albums of all time, one of the greatest blends of genres of all time, and the score on this site actually reflects that ideology for once. Yes, for once the entire site can agree that the general praise that this album receives is completely correct. Now, the reasoning for this critical reception is actually something that I find to be pretty strange. In fact, it's something that I actually heavily criticized on an album that I generated earlier on. If you know, you know. Anyway, the thing I criticized on that album was actually the pure variety of genres that the album provided. Not in a good way either. One song could be a country ballad and then the next could be a gospel song, and the album just overall felt very disconnected because of its writing. This album is actually praised for the amount of variety it has. Now, we're literally talking about one of the best bands of all time, I would assume that they managed to achieve this sense of diversity better than the other artist I just referenced did, but I'm still skeptical nonetheless. But, as always, the only way to really see is to actually listen to the album itself. Let's get into our first, and certainly not our last, Beatles album.
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Track 1: Back In The U.S.S.R Score: 10/10
Track 2: Dear Prudence Score: 11/10
Track 3: Glass Onion Score: 9/10
Track 4: Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da Score: 8/10
Track 5: Wild Honey Pie Score: 3/10
Track 6: The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill Score: 7/10
Track 7: While My Guitar Gently Weeps Score: 11/10
Track 8: Happiness Is A Warm Gun Score: 11/10
Track 9: Martha My Dear Score: 9/10
Track 10: I'm So Tired Score: 9/10
Track 11: Blackbird Score: 11/10
Track 12: Piggies Score: 7/10
Track 13: Rocky Racoon Score: 8/10
Track 14: Don't Pass Me By Score: 7/10
Track 15: Why Don't We Do It In The Road? Score: 5/10
Track 16: I Will Score: 8/10
Track 17: Julia Score: 9/10
Track 18: Birthday Score: 8/10
Track 19: Yer Blues Score: 8/10
Track 20: Mother Nature's Son Score: 9/10
Track 21: Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey Score: 8/10
Track 22: Sexy Sadie Score: 8/10
Track 23: Helter Skelter Score: 11/10
Track 24: Long, Long, Long Score: 8/10
Track 25: Revolution 1 Score: 9/10
Track 26: Honey Pie Score: 7/10
Track 27: Savoy Truffle Score: 7/10
Track 28: Cry Baby Cry Score: 8/10
Track 29: Revolution 9 Score: 6/10
Track 30: Good Night Score: 8/10
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Conclusion: This album...it might just be one of the most bizarre things that I have ever heard. First of all, this album was an absolute monster. I had no idea that I was about to be listening to a full double longplay going into this, nor did I have any idea just how much would be thrown at me at once. Seriously, thirty tracks is absolutely ridiculous. I'm pretty sure that's still a bit less than that one album I generated earlier by Minutemen, but still. Again, thank God I don't do individual track breakdowns anymore because this too would be an album that would just...kill me. Anyway, the album's length aside, what about the actual album itself? Well...this one is quite a doozy. There's really no way that I can describe this album that would do it proper justice, but I'll still try my best. Just listen to it for yourself if you want the full experience. Anyway, pretty much everything I heard about this album holds true. I think that it's great, there's a lot of variety to it, and there's even a really great story to its creation as well. I think I'll start with the...music first....You'll find a good bit of stuff on this album. Alright, at its core, this is a rock album. There are plenty of songs that are objectively rock at their core. That being said, there's a fair bit of other genres on here as well. You've got folk songs, folk pop songs, a whole eight minute sound collage, blues, a song that borderline sounds like early metal, lullabies, and so on. Like I said, there's just so much on here that I couldn't quite go over it all or really explain the music with too much depth. All I'll really say is that every song sounds pretty great, has great production for the 60s, and is pretty well-written. There's also a ton of influential songs on here as well such as Helter Skelter and Happiness Is A Warm Gun. That's all I'm really going to say about this album and its music. It would take way, way too long if I were to really go in depth into what this album has to present. The lyrics and the various meanings that this album has to present are pretty nice as well. Again, I'm not going to really go into it because of how much there is. Now, let's go into...why I won't go into it. Well, on top of there just being an overwhelming amount of stuff on this album, there's also an overwhelming feeling of variety that I've really not felt on any other album that I've listened to up until this point. Yeah, this album tops the one I was mentioning in the intro in terms of sheer variety. Now, in theory, this album should not work at all. You can literally be listening to one of the earliest examples of a metal song for one second and then get an extremely soft folk song that talks about finding love in God the next. This album absolutely should not work...yet it does in almost every way possible. First of all, despite some of the lower scores in my track ratings, every song on here is pretty well-written and enjoyable in its own ways. Some of them I would even consider to be masterpieces. That factor alone is something that the album that I referenced in the intro did not have. Good song quality and writing can really make all the difference. That being said, there's another, even better reason as to why this album's variety genuinely works. During the time period that this album was being written, recorded, and produced, 1968, The Beatles were undergoing heavy internal conflicts and disputes. Now, like I said before, I'm not the biggest expert on The Beatles, so I'm not entirely sure as to what was going on with the band. Regardless, something was happening between its members nonetheless. This actually led to the band undergoing a semi-breakup. Each of its members split apart and began to write and sometimes record songs separately from each other. That said, there are plenty of songs on the album that have all four members in the same recording room, but there were still plenty where all of them were not present. THIS factor, along with some other minor ones, is what ultimately led to this album being so diverse across its songs. It was diverse because this album had four minds working individually and not as a group. This...is literally the best reason that I can think of that an album of this nature should exist. The other album I mentioned earlier didn't have this factor. Every song on it was written by a singular person, making the overall experience feel strange and out of touch. That being said, that album had quite strange and sometimes bad songwriting as well...so. Nevertheless, this album's variety feels...deserved. It gives the album an additional layer of genuineness that it wouldn't otherwise have had. This factor can be seen in some of the...worst songs on the album. Wild Honey Pie is literally just annoying experimentation while Why Don't We Do It In The Road tries to be deep but falls short due to basic human instinct being the opposite of what the song describes. I mean, literal toddlers exhibit the exact opposite behavior that this song describes. While not potty-trained, they still try to do their business in a secretive way such as doing it in a corner. If that doesn't scream that humans have a basic instinct for privacy then I don't know what does. Anyway, I'm getting off-topic. Anyway, like I was saying, even the worst songs on the album, while feeling like filler, add a layer of genuineness to the overall experience. It feels as if the band was simply trying its absolute hardest to try and make a final product under the conditions they were working with. Now, there is objectively a lot of filler on thi album, but this is a rare, potentially one-of-a-kind, case where filler is actually...a good thing. I mean, every song pretty much maintains a quality of 8/10 or higher...but...a lot of it is simply filler too. Nevertheless, every song on here adds something to the overall experience this album provides in one way or another. The pure variety of genres that you can find on this album, on top of the pretty great writing of songs in these genres, provides a strange feeling that no other album I've listened to really does. I can't quite describe it properly. The best way I can describe it is, by around the second half of the album, you'll essentially be conditioned to not hold onto what you've just listened to with that much care. The song you've just heard is good and memorable, but you're about to be thrown into a whole new genre of music. Switch your mindset up. That's the best way I can describe this album. It's a great experience. Just listen to it if you haven't. Now, I will go ahead and say, I did find the first side of this album to be pretty cohesive in its sound. I mean, I at least found it to be more cohesive than the later sides in the album. Maybe I'm looking a bit too deep into this, but I guess I kinda see this fact to be a reflection of the band as a whole. It could have been done to essentially represent the band's growing conflict in a musical way. Again, this could just be me looking too deep into something that's not there, but you never truly know. All in all, while it really shouldn't be, I genuinely consider this album to be a masterpiece. The conditions it was created under, the genuineness of it, the pure variety of stuff on it, the unique feel that it evokes, these factors all culminate in one of the strangest and greatest albums that I've listened to. I mean, I really don't have any problems with this album. If I were to not have outside context, I might think of it to be a bit worse than I do, but I genuinely think that this album is a masterpiece. It's one of the oddest albums that I've ever called a masterpiece for sure, but it's truly something special nonetheless. This is one of those extremely rare cases where a masterpiece doesn't consistently need great songs in order to be considered such. As such, despite the lower song average, this album gets...
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The White Album Score: 10/10
Song Average: 8.3/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0024: American Idiot
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Introduction: Well now, this is one of the few albums that I knew I would eventually come across. And, on top of that, it's one of the few (probably) albums that I'm actually very familiar with. This isn't necessarily due to me listening to it from my own volition, however. Like with way too much music in my life, it was shoved down my throat when I was younger due to someone I know really liking a particular few songs on this album. It actually wasn't my dad though. If you actually understand why I wrote that last sentence then I actually love you by the way. Anyway, the point is, I"m pretty familiar with the more popularized material from this album. Songs like Boulevard, Holiday, and September, those kinds of songs. That being said, the less popularized, and arguably worse material, I am barely familiar with. I went through a brief phase in my life where I was independently into Green Day and tried to give this entire album a listen a few times, but all I would do is listen to the better songs and just let the stuff in the middle of the album play for a few seconds before scrolling to the next song. You could say this was due to my hyperactivity, but I personally just think it was because I found the songs boring. I mean, I know a lot of people who would likely agree with me on that stance. Either way, who the hell would say that Saint Jimmy is their favorite song off American Idiot? Nobody...nobody with a brain at least. Anyway, let's actually get into the album now. This album, released by Green Day in 2004, was a major, major release of the early to mid-2000's. Seriously, this album could genuinely be considered a cultural phenomenon due to how much of an impact it had upon its release. The influence that this album has on people now is still undoubtable as well. And I'm not talking about how pretty much any album can be considered "life-changing" to a specific group of people either. This album impacted fashion, musical taste, and just did so much for so many people. Now, impacting musical taste? I mean, that makes complete and total sense. What about fashion though? Well, Green Day had a very peculiar, one could even say avant-garde, fashion style in the early 2000s and even nowadays to an extent. Its members wore very alternative styles, borderline rebellious styles of clothing, wore heavy eye makeup, had very peculiar hairstyles, and were just all around different from what would have been considered the norm at the time. If this sounds at all familiar to a modern subgenre of fashion, that's because it is. While emo as a genre of music and fashion did exist before this album's release, this album brought both the genre of music and the fashion style to mainstream attention. Many people, specifically young people, felt as if this album resonated with them on a personal level. This resonation ultimately contributed to the massive rise of emo as a genre of music, fashion style, movement, and so on throughout the 2000s. And, of course, the effects on this can still be seen today. Overall, I'd say that this album had almost like a Ziggy Stardust effect upon its release. I will say already, regardless of the overall quality of the album or music, I appreciate how Green Day tried to frame their public image after what they had expressed in their release. It adds an undoubtable layer of depth to the music and makes it feel as if the album is a personal look into the mind of an artist. You could of course call it all an act. That being said, I'd still take an act over looking up the faces behind this album and realizing that the lead-singer is the most typical Joe-Schmoe that you can find on the street...like some other artists in the same genre...much like Pierce The Veil....Nevertheless, I like this aspect. If anything, you could compare this to metal artists having long hair in the 80s. Yeah, this does feel a bit more like an act than that did due to the sudden tonal shift from Punk Rock to Emo Anthems, but I still like it nonetheless. I thought that David Bowie was awesome whenever he turned into one of his characters from an album, and that was an act. You can't change my mind. You just can't. Now, with all that said, I've gone on long enough. Let's get into one of the most influential albums of the 2000's.
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Track 1: American Idiot Score: 8/10
Track 2: Jesus of Suburbia Score: 10/10
Track 3: Holiday Score: 9/10
Track 4: Boulevard of Broken Dreams Score: 9/10
Track 5: Are We the Waiting Score: 6/10
Track 6: Saint Jimmy Score: 8/10
Track 7: Give Me Novacaine Score: 7/10
Track 8: She's a Rebel Score: 6/10
Track 9: Extraordinary Girl Score: 5/10
Track 10: Letterbomb Score: 8/10
Track 11: Wake Me Up When September Ends Score: 9/10
Track 12: Homecoming Score: 7/10
Track 13: Whatsername Score: 8/10
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Conclusion: Alright, I'll admit, listening to this thing in full was quite a strange experience. The highs were as high as I remembered them being and the lows were surprisingly low. I mean, it wasn't too terrible overall, just quite a strange experience listening to everything that I had been missing this entire time. That missing stuff obviously being songs like She's a Rebel, Letterbomb, Saint Jimmy, and all of the other lesser known songs off this album. Just have to get that out of the way Now, that being said, did that missing material change my opinion of this album? Well...it unfortunately kind of did. Not in a good way either. I mean, this album is still pretty great overall, but the quality is very mixed across the runtime. For starters, unless you're wanting the full experience of American Idiot, then I wouldn't say you're necessarily missing anything by just listening to the big songs. The big hits songs are where most of the quality went into this album. They're the best part of the album without a doubt. That being said....I'm here TO talk about the full experience of this album so...it's still pretty good overall. I mean, it has a pretty well-written story, its music is generally pretty good throughout most of the album, and there were genuinely moments on here that felt very unique to listen to at times. Firstly, I'll mention the music that this album has to offer. Obviously, as I went over in the intro, Green Day as a band had a major tonal shift with this album. They transitioned from a much more Punk Rock sound to a mix between Pop, Punk, and Emo. This mixture should already create a very distinct sound for this album, but Green Day's...honestly pretty good writing takes this personality of sound a lot further. They managed to create music that felt grandiose, edgy, rebellious, and distinct to this album all at the same time. It may have been because of certain production choices such as the layered vocals or loud guitars, but there are just so many melodies off of this album that simply feel rebellious in nature. And I mean that in nothing but a good way because that feel is exactly what this album was trying to capture. Through both the music and narrative this album presents, it attempts to capture the feeling of being carefree and reckless. It tries to capture a feeling that, to an extent, many of us can only wish we could experience. I'm not necessarily talking about the drug use, alcohol use, and potential violence that this album presents, but rather the carefree nature of it. This album's overall theme is very relatable to basic human nature, giving it, at least to me, a way to personally tie it back to myself and how I feel. This feeling is objectively a way to make good music. The listener should be able to feel and, on some level, relate what the album or song attempts to present to you. This album does exactly that throughout its runtime. Now, that being said, how does the story of this album tie into the rebellious nature of its music? Well, this story will be quite a doozy, but I'll try my best to explain it all. So, our unnamed protagonist, who is likely somewhere from his mid-teens to mid-twenties, realizes how crappy America post-9/11 truly is. Our unnamed protagonist creates the name "Jesus of Suburbia" for himself because he thinks that he's miserable and the world is a terrible place. He also reflects on his own insecurities and eventually decides to leave his home because of his hatred and spite. Holiday's purpose on the album is just to give us insight into Suburbia's political opinions and how he views the government. Nothing much more to say about it. Suburbia eventually realizes how lonely he is from simply living alone on the streets and decides to start hanging out with the wrong people. Suburbia then finds who he considered to be his people in Are We the Waiting. This then leads our protagonist to change his identity again to a rebel by the name of Saint Jimmy. Jimmy then starts to do alcohol and drugs because of the people he's hanging around. And now we get to a very central theme of the album. Love. Jimmy meets a rebellious girl who he considers to be a saint and extraordinary. Jimmy and this girl then start dating for an unspecified amount of time before they break up in a pretty cruel way in Letterbomb. Jimmy goes over the situation in his head and ultimately feels a sense of sorrow and grief from his breakup. It has a profound effect on him. So much so that he reflects on the direction that his life is going in a whole and comes to the conclusion that he's in a terrible situation. He eventually decides to return to his home which he had abandoned for however long by then, get a job, kill off his Jimmy persona, and so on. Now, this would be a cool enough album with a cool enough message about politics, society, rebellion, and so on. However, the last song adds a whole other layer of depth to this album. Our protagonist, who now doesn't have a name anymore, reflects on his time with the girl he was with in a pretty nostalgic and somber way. He questions whether she is married, admits to himself that he will never forget her, and so on. This song is honestly pretty bittersweet and adds a whole new layer of emotional vulnerability to the album. Yes, this album tackles many themes across its runtime. It tackles people's rebellious nature, how society can influence one, drug use and its potential effects, politics, which, especially in modern America, I do not want to get into at all, and many more themes. However, the message of love is this album's most personal and relatable message to anyone no matter who they are or where they live. In my opinion, it's trying to say that no matter where you are in life, however good or bad, love is a profound feeling that can stick with you throughout life. You can create an entire fake persona for yourself and decide to throw it away later, but love is something that can stick with you no matter what you are. That message is very profound and thought-provoking. It's honestly a great message and the overall best part of this entire album. Now, that being said, why am I just giving this album an eight out of ten if it had a very profound effect on me? Well...firstly, it took the entire damn album to have a profound effect on me. It wouldn't have had the same effect either had it not been for the inclusion of the final song. Other songs that I've listened to have managed to achieve a similar effect in much less time than this album took. On top of this, the music that this album presents can be a bit thin at times as well. There's a very Progressive sense across most songs on this album, but it can still get a bit thin at times, especially on songs in the middle. Some songs are simply a bit forgettable as well. Nothing more to say about that. Now, with all that said, would I consider this album to be a masterpiece? Not quite. It's definitely great. I don't think a lot of people give it nearly as much credit as it deserves, and to be fair, that may be due to how mainstream this album was upon its release. I mean, really anything being too overplayed or too mainstream will eventually cause someone not to like it. It's inevitable. That being said, this album is still quite great. It has a good message, good music for the most part, and had a major impact on society upon its release. I like it. Everyone who gave it a one of five will just have to kill me to change my mind.
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American Idiot Score: 8/10
Song Average: 7.7/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0023: No Other
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Introduction: I can't believe that this album is actually on here. Well, I can. It's an influential album no doubt and is pretty damn great as well...but the way Gene Clark was treated over it. Yeah...I wish he had been alive to see the day that this album became acclaimed as a masterpiece. Anyway, everything I just said should give off the impression that I've heard this album before...and yeah...I have heard it before. Yeah, out of the many, many albums on this site, this is one that I've heard before? I know, it sounds ridiculous. That being said, this is just one of those masterpiece albums that my dad played for me when I was young. In fact, he played it so much to the point where I thought that the first song, Life's Greatest Fool, was actually a really popular song that a lot of people knew about. I mean, I could have sworn that I heard that song in a commercial at some point in my life...or maybe that's just Mandela Effect, who knows? Anyway, the point is, I heard this album a lot when I was younger. Recently, I was simply browsing my recommended section on Spotify when I came across...Life's Greatest Fool. The first few seconds sounded interesting enough so I continued to listen. That's when I reached the chorus and it all came back to me. I had heard this song before. I couldn't remember when, but I had. I checked out the rest of the album and heard some genuinely great and sometimes genius compositions across each of the tracks. I remember thinking that I had just uncovered some lost gold, so I went to check out the Spotify page of the artist and it's this guy I've never heard of before by the name of Gene Clark. I scroll a bit further down to see his most popular songs and...wow...this guy is very, very, very underrated. The album I just listened to was a masterpiece, how can nobody know about this guy. I get that the album is kind of old but still. I do a bit of research into the album and Gene Clark as a whole and uncover an actually tragic story. This album was a complete failure both commercially and critically at the time of its release...that's not the tragic part. It sounded so great though...I mean, there has to be a good reason this was a complete failure, right? Well, the commercial failure of this album all boils down to the pure stupidity of his record label, Asylum Records, at the time of the album's release. They felt that the album was too artistic, too expensive, and didn't have any potential for singles that would resonate with the public. This essentially led Asylum Records to not say anything about the album and its release. They just left it to rot with its already poor sales numbers. On top of all that, critics absolutely hated the album as well. Why? Well...uh...their complaints basically boil down to "this album is just too good". Seriously, the high production cost of the album was criticised, the experimental nature of it was criticised, everything that makes an album objectively good was hated. It was apparently "too different" from Gene Clark's previous work as a solo artist and with the Byrds to be considered good. Look, I will agree that sometimes experimentation with music can be bad, but how anyone saw this as bad is just baffling. Purely baffling. Now, we get to the tragic part. This album's poor sales and bad reputation from the public and critics put Gene Clark in a very bad state both financially and mentally. He had spent so much time and money creating a genuine masterpiece that he couldn't help but feel devastated. This led him to alcohol and drugs as a coping mechanism. These two factors almost undoubtedly contributed to his early death in 1991 due to a bleeding ulcer....It's tragic. I truly mean that. The completely unjustified "bullying" of a man contributed to his death. I get that critics and Asylum Records were only saying/doing what they believed was right, but these actions/words undoubtedly contributed to Gene Clark's depression and early death nonetheless. It's a tale that we unfortunately find more often than we should throughout the music industry. Pete Ham and Tom Evans of Badfinger killed themselves because of relations with their record company, Nick Drake killed himself partially because of his lack of mainstream success, and so on. That being said, despite Gene Clark suffering an early death partially because of this album, this album would later go on to achieve the exact thing Gene Clark wanted: for it to be known as a masterpiece. Sometime in the early 2000's, nearly ten years after Clark's death, the album would be reissued and reevaluated by critics with nearly 30 years of hindsight. This time around, critics loved the album. It was hailed as a masterpiece, it was seen as a precursor to what bands like Fleetwood Mac would accomplish, and was all around showered with praise. Again, it's unfortunate that Gene Clark couldn't be around to experience this appraisal of his work, but it is touching to see the work that contributed to his death accomplish what he wanted it to. Unfortunately, commercial appraisal was still very limited during the reissue. It's an album that has only managed to attain a cult following. That being said, commercial appeal means absolutely nothing in relation to an album's quality. Like I said, I've already listened to this thing from start to finish, and I'm about to yet again. I know it's a masterpiece. I know it's exactly what Clark wanted it to be known as. I'll listen with a bit more of a keen ear this time around, but I'm already almost certain of the score I'm going to give this album.
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Track 1: Life's Greatest Fool Score: 9/10
Track 2: Silver Raven Score: 10/10
Track 3: No Other Score: 11/10
Track 4: Strength of Strings Score: 11/10
Track 5: From a Silver Phial Score: 9/10
Track 6: Some Misunderstanding Score: 10/10
Track 7: True One Score: 8/10
Track 8: Lady of the North Score: 11/10
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Conclusion: Well, I will go ahead and admit that...this album was about as good as I remember it being. In fact, I predicted half of the scores given to the songs on the album just by my memory of them. That being said...listening to this album with a bit more of a keen ear did actually bring a few additional negatives and positives to my attention that I hadn't really noticed before. First of all, I will admit that I can...kinda see what critics in 1974 meant by the album feeling a bit too overproduced. I hate to admit that since that very point was such a huge critique of the album when it first released, but it's something that I can't ignore. I will say though, this feeling of overproduction is actually kinda good in terms of this album. The entire album presents a pleasant mix between genres such as Gospel, Country, Psychedelic Rock, and just Rock in general. Though if I had to choose just two genres, I'd say that Country Rock and Psychedelic Rock are the most present genres across this entire album. Now, this ties back into the overproduction critique due to the presence of Psychedelic Rock across the entire album. The overproduction here...kinda just fits the Psychedelic nature of this album. Take the first song for instance: Life's Greatest Fool. There are multiple pianos being played on this song at once, and one of them sounds very, very overproduced. It's so overproduced in fact that it's genuinely somewhat hard to tell that it's even a piano being played. It just sounds like echoes throughout most of the song...but that factor of overproduction works in favor with the Psychedelic tone of the song. I mean, it's a really, really, really rare case of overproduction being a genuinely good thing. Most of the other songs aren't anywhere near as egregious with the overproduction of this song's piano either, so I really don't know where the whole critique of overproduction came in at first place but....Anyway, like I was saying, the whole critique of overproduction doesn't really even matter all that much either because holy crap the song's on this album are so, so, well-written. Like I said before, when I first rediscovered this album, my immediate thought was that these songs are extremely competent, well-written, and sound unique even to this day. That factor or praise has not gone away at all. I still think that each of these songs are incredible, distinct, and explore every avenue of this unique blend of genres without getting boring. There's a very progressive sense to each song which is something that I'm a huge fan of. In general, everything with this album's music and production just works. It admittedly shouldn't at times, but it just does. Now, like I said earlier, listening to this album with a bit keener of an ear did reveal a few negatives and positives I didn't hear before. I'll briefly go over the four tracks that received either a higher or lower score than I anticipated here. Firstly, I remember Life's Greatest Fool being a ten when I originally listened to the album. I changed it to a nine due to...well, it just doesn't sound like a ten....That and the fact that it is admittedly the most typical country song on the entire album. Secondly, Silver Raven changed from a nine to a ten due to me noticing the littler aspects of the song that I didn't notice before on my casual listens. I also just like the guitar solo sections a lot more now. Third: Some Misunderstanding was bumped from an eleven to a ten simply due to it feeling as if the song meandered on for a bit too long. The guitar in the outro would have bumped down the song anyway due to the way it sounds. Finally, Lady of the North got bumped from a ten to an eleven due to me learning of the song's much more personal message and simply getting a grasp of how truly well-written the song is. Alright. That section is done. I don't ever want to do track-by-track ratings again...that took WAY too long the brief time I did....Seriously, I meandered around my words for soooo long when I did that....Anyway, the lyrics on this album are pretty good. They're very vague and metaphorical, but many of the song's speak of addiction, the want to become known as an artist, the general complexities of life, and so on. Lady of the North is excellent in the lyrical department in my opinion. The lyrics have a very personal meaning to Gene Clark, them being about the peaceful and blissful love he shared with his ex-wife before unspecified troubles tore them apart. The lyrics have a very personal and relatable meaning to the listener as well, however...well they do to me at least. I guess I could see this song not having much of an affect on someone but that's besides the point. The way he describes such a carefree and undisturbed relationship before describing the changes that must come is very nostalgic and somewhat depressing as a perfect, untroubled relationship described in the song is something that either doesn't feel achievable or only feels achievable during one's youth, arguably one's most carefree and immature time of their life. It's great and hits me pretty hard. The last thing I'll briefly touch on is Gene Clark's vocals....I don't mind them. I know people who despise Country might not like them, but they're fine. They're not super typical for a Country singer but they're not super distinct either. Now, with that all said, I still hold the firm belief that this album is an absolute masterpiece, I still hold the belief that it was unjustly criticized during its initial release, and I still hold the belief that the critics had no real reason to criticize it. If someone were to ask me what I think was one of the most underrated albums of all time, I would probably tell them this....and Clube Da Esquina...I still love that album too. Anyway, I don't really have that much else to say besides what I already have. I mean, I guess you could call me weird for knowing this album and not...Blood Sugar Sex Magik, but I guess I just have a very weird knack in music in general. What else can I say? (Edit: I've decided to reevaluate some albums I've reviewed after completing twenty-five in total. I've changed this album's score from a 10/10 to a 9/10 and bumped it down from a 5 to a 4.)
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No Other Score: 9/10
Song Average: 9.9/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0022: Daydream Nation
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Introduction: Alright, we deviated away from the good stuff for a short time, now we can hopefully get back on track. This album, Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth, was released in the great year of 1988. What a time it would have been to be alive back then. Anyway, when regarding this album, I have heard literally nothing but praise for it. I've heard it hailed as one of the greatest works of all time, THE greatest work of all time, and just all around positivity. Positivity to its absolute max. Reasons for this seem to be fair too, it was apparently hugely influential on the yet-to-boom Alternative Rock scene. Again, I myself am a huge fan of Alternative Rock, so nothing but positivity in those regards. That being said, I have a little bit of a story here. I was really never all that into music until I hit my teenage years. My dad to this day has a car that contains a CD player. I think it's from 2012 or something close to that. For as long as I could remember, and as a lot of dads would, he would play music that he likes. It may have been to try and turn me onto what he likes or just for his own entertainment. I don't know. That being said, a lot of what he played was pretty damn average or pretty damn bad from what I can remember. He went through a phase where he really liked Bandstand by Family. I remember that much. That being said, every once in a while he would find a CD that was pure gold. I remember being first exposed to Funeral by Arcade Fire and Quadrophenia by The Who because of him. That being said, the CD that he put on that really got me into music was Starfish by The Church. I don't know why. It's undoubtedly not as good as the previous two I mentioned, but Under The Milky Way, Reptile, Destination, and just everything on that album really turned me onto music as a whole. That love has obviously never left since. Now, point of story? That album, Starfish, has kinda permanently "ruined" my interpretation of Alternative Rock in a way. That's not a dig on the album, I'm just saying. What do I mean? Well, I'm realizing more and more as I generate more albums on this site that I have no clue what the hell Alternative Rock really is. My brain instantly associates it with a mix between Neo-Psychedelic and Dream Pop...maybe a bit of Shoegaze too. That being said, after listening to albums such as Blood Sugar Sex Magik, I clearly have no idea what the hell Alternative Rock is. That album being considered Alternative Rock is proof of that. Hopefully, a few albums later, I'll start to actually get the gist of what this genre truly means, but until then I'm still just going to associate it with ethereal sounds and slow guitars....Anyway, back to the album. Sorry about that. Uh...yeah, even a government agency realizes how good this album is. Just like Remain In Light, this album was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. That's cool. Good for this band. Anyway, with all of that said, let's get into this album. I've kept you here long enough.
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Track 1: Teen Age Riot Score: 11/10
Track 2: Silver Rocket Score: 10/10
Track 3: The Sprawl Score: 11/10
Track 4: 'Cross the Breeze Score: 11/10
Track 5: Eric's Trip Score: 9/10
Track 6: Total Trash Score: 10/10
Track 7: Hey Joni Score: 10/10
Track 8: Providence Score: 8/10
Track 9: Candle Score: 10/10
Track 10: Rain King Score: 8/10
Track 11: Kissability Score: 9/10
Track 12: Trilogy Score: 10/10
A) The Wonder Score: 9/10
B) Hyperstation Score: 10/10
Z) Eliminator, Jr. Score: 9/10
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Conclusion: Well, I came out of this album more confused than ever about what the hell Alternative Rock means. I mean, this album bordered on Punk Rock on a lot of songs. That's not Alternative Rock. I don't think it is. I really don't know. I really couldn't tell you. As far as I'm concerned, Alternative Rock is just the name given to songs that are so unique that they won't get a lot of mainstream radio play....That previous sentence perfectly describes this album...and in a good way too. I really couldn't have expected anything less from this album, Could I? Literally everything that I've heard about this album is accurate. It's a masterpiece, it's influential, even today it's unique, it's emotional...just everything that propels music from "good" or "alright" to "masterpiece" is on here. What exactly makes the album so great? Wel...there's literally so many things that I couldn't quite get into it all. That being said, I'll start with the album's music. It's...admittedly not for everyone. Before I get down on my knees and bow down to the music that this album has to offer, I will point out that I can understand why someone may not necessarily like it. It's experimental. Heavily experimental. There are parts where instrumentation combines together to form something that doesn't even have a coherent melody. I don't mind these factors at all, but I can completely understand why someone would mind them. That being said, let me bow down to this album's music. It' so goddamn great. The instrumentation provides a very, very unique mix of Punk Rock, Alternative Rock, and Noise Rock. Noise Rock undoubtedly takes the main stage when compared to the other two genres, however. That being said, this is not a bad thing in the slightest. The album combines the typical type of instrumentation you would hear with Noise Rock and fuses it with enjoyable and recognizable melodies similar to that of Alternative Rock and Punk Rock. It's a great fusion which I can definitely see having a huge impact on Noise Rock as a whole. I would imagine that the more accessible and distinct melodies opened the genre up to many more listeners. No matter how you look at it, it's an undoubtedly great fusion between genres and helped push forward many genres of rock at the same time. It's great. No one will deny that. There are plenty of moments on the album that sound more akin to typical Noise Rock as well such as the bridge of Silver Rocket and the outro of The Sprawl. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of literally all things Noise. It's not a genre of music that I hate, but it's far from my favorite as well. That being said, these segments of pure Noise are so well produced and well written that I loved listening to them. These segments felt very atmospheric and psychedelic in all the right ways. There are entire songs more reminiscent to typical Noise Rock as well such as Eric's Trip and Rain King. Granted, those are two of my least favorite songs on the album, but they're still extremely well-written and unique. Now, this may just be me, but I genuinely got the vibe of...Arcade Fire while listening to this album as well. I mean this in nothing but a good way. Specific riffs on songs like The Sprawl, Teen Age Riot, Candle, and Hey Joni just gave off that somewhat magical vibe that Funeral-era Arcade Fire did. Weird comparison I know, just wanted to point it out. With all that said, I'll briefly move on to the vocals and lyrics. The vocals are...pretty damn great across the entire album. Many members of the band get a chance to shine as the main vocalist across each song which provides a lot of variety and personality to each song. That being said, I just have to briefly mention Kim Gordon's voice. I know some people may not like her voice, but I freaking love it for a multitude of reasons. It's cool, it feels raw, and it genuinely somewhat shocked me to learn that her voice...well...belongs to a female. I honestly just envisioned her voice belonging to a young guy in his 20's who maybe has curly hair and constantly shaves all of his facial hair off...basically a twink. I said it, kill me. Anyway, it shocked me that Gordon's borderline masculine voice belonged to a female and not a male. I've not seen anyone else online claim that they've been surprised by this. maybe I'm the first. I mean, just listen to The Sprawl and tell me you don't envision a twink. Tell me that....Anyway, the lyrics...they're pretty damn great as well. They, for the most part, have a very dark, magical, yet nostalgic tone to them all at the same time. They speak of themes such as the freedom of youth, the escape into thoughts, and occasionally speak of drug trips as well. Speaking of which, Eric's Trip is what I imagine to be one of the most realistic musical interpretations of a drug trip you can get while still having the music be enjoyable. I don't speak from experience. I've literally never done any type of non-prescription drug in my life, I'm just speaking based on my own interpretation. And no, I'm not just saying that so that the DEA won't come bust down my door. I'm serious. Anyway, with all that said, I overall find this album to genuinely be up there as one of the best I have heard to date. I imagine it probably won't even be in my top 50 by the time I'm done with this site, but who the hell knows? Albums like this are one of the main reasons I even decided to start my journey on this site in the first place. I wanted to discover new masterpieces all while discovering new disasterpieces at the same time. I of course enjoy discovering the former more, however. Anyway...uh...album's a masterpiece and honestly pretty damn close to getting an 11/10 out of me. It just...unfortunately isn't something that I would put on the same level as Kid A or Remain In Light. It's perfect no doubt, but it just barely doesn't reach the point where I would label it as beyond-perfect. I can't be too generous with 11's. If I were to give this album one, I would have to bump most of my other 10/10's at this point to 11's because this album does NOT beat Bob Dylan or Jimi Hendrix...or Lo Borges. That album's score on this site still devastates me.
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Daydream Nation Score: 10/10
Song Average: (Trilogy + Three Sub-Tracks): 9.7/10
Song Average: (Just Trilogy): 9.8/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0021: Microshift
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Introduction: We have finally made it to something that was released in the last decade...and I couldn't be more unsure of how to feel. I really don't listen to much that was released in the last decade or so. By the last decade, I mean from 2016 and on, not the entirety of the 2010's. I'll occasionally listen to albums such as Ants From Up There or Imaginal Disk because I hear really good things about them, but that's about it. As far as I know, there's really not been a huge influx of music or albums that could be considered masterpieces in the past two decades unlike the decades which came before it. That's not me stating a fact or opinion, that's just me dumping my musical knowledge. I know Anthony Fantano gave an album a 10/10 recently. That's about it. I really just don't keep up with modern music. That's pretty much the gist of it. My kinda stuff was released from the 60's to the 2000's at the latest. Anyway, this album is apparently one of the most recently released to be added to the 1001 albums list. We're really in need of a new edition, huh? The album in question, Microshift released by Hookworms in 2018, is considered influential for...God only knows why. The Wikipedia excerpt for this album absolutely sucks and gives almost no insight into the actual album or its sound. My main takeaway is that this album was dedicated to someone by the name of "Archie". That's really all I have to go off of. From additional research, I've seen some pretty mixed statements regarding this album. It was apparently a huge deviation from the band's previously established sound, which will always understandably anger a portion of your fanbase. I've already made the Bob Dylan comparison in the past so I won't make it again. Point still stands. It apparently charted in the United Kingdom as well. Good for them, they need it...because their Spotify numbers are absolutely abysmal. I am willing to bet that a good number of their streams on Spotify come from users who either own the book or use this site listening to the album. I'm willing to bet that. It kinda checks out since the majority of their streams are from this album. You really can't help but feel kinda bad for them. Their albums have performed so poorly and they're somewhat trashed on by casual listeners and critics. I would hope that they'd make a breakthrough someday had they not already disbanded. Anyway, with all of that said, I've rambled on long enough. Let's just get into what might possibly be the worst performing album that we'll generate from this site as a whole.
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Track 1: Negative Space Score: 10/10
Track 2: Static Resistance Score: 7/10
Track 3: Ullswater Score: 9/10
Track 4: The Soft Season Score: 5/10
Track 5: Opener Score: 7/10
Track 6: Each Time We Pass Score: 6/10
Track 7: Boxing Day Score: 6/10
Track 8: Reunion Score: 8/10
Track 9: Shortcomings Score: 7/10
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Conclusion: You know, I forgot to mention something in the intro...who the hell even are these guys? This question came to me more and more throughout the entire album. I ended up looking at some other people's reviews on this site, and nobody seems to have a clue either. Seriously, why was this album picked out of everything else that could have been picked from this year. Uh...I think Mac Miller released something that was considered good this year...yeah, this is how little I am aware of music. Anyway, this album is an extremely, extremely mixed bag. The first track makes it seem as if this album will be a huge experimental project full of lushness and life. The first track almost sounded Shoegaze-like in a way with the way the instrumentation and vocals were layered. In a way though, this album was extremely experimental. It was unique and it did a lot of things I've never quite heard before. That being said, a lot of this isn't necessarily that good. It took a lot of influence from the kinds of pop albums being released at the time and mashed it with the echoey style of Shoegaze and the electronic style of...Electronic to make this amalgamation of sound. All things considered, there isn't a singular point on the entire album where this unique sound is bad, but it's almost always just decent at best. Again, the obvious exceptions to this are the three songs that got above a seven. Speaking of which, Reunion, the only song to get an eight from me, is literally just an ambient track. It's one that's well-written and produced, yet that should say a lot about the quality of music when it comes to the rest of the album. There's just a lot of strangeness with the musical direction this album decided to take. I've given a basic explanation of it, but there's no real way to get a real idea of what it sounds like without actually listening to it yourself. Now, with the album's music out of the way, I have to move onto the album's weakest point: its vocals. Look, they are pretty decent on some songs, but they are absolutely abysmal on others. It's really the music that saved these songs from getting a much lower score. No better word describes the singer's voice other than "annoying". It's just so annoying at times. There are exceptions to this as well such as Negative Space and Ullswater where his voice actually sounds pretty relaxing and peaceful, but it's bad majority of the time. It's high-pitched, it sounds autotuned, (and may very well be) and the layering of vocals on top of it only adds to the annoying factor. He also does the forbidden thing in music where...sometimes...when he's singing a word...he quickly changes the pitch of his voice from low to high before going back to low again and so on....Look, this will literally never sound good to a large majority of people. Whatever you call this way of singing a word is lazy, sounds stupid, and is annoying. There's an infinite amount of better ways to make a singular word sound so much better. Anyway, the general point is that the voice is horrible and sounds almost anthemic in a way. Moving on. Lyrically, I'd say this album is pretty decent. It delves into a number of different themes such as loss, breakups, and so on. Ullswater is one that's especially emotionally vulnerable for the listener and the band due to it being based on the singer's father passing due to Alzheimers. It goes into themes of forgetting and time. I'd really recommend it. It may be because I used to be a huge Everywhere At The End Of Time fanboy, but this song actually kinda hit me. I'd call it great. Now, the same can't be said about the overall album. Like I said, it is such a mixed bag. Overall, I can't help but call this album a very average listen. To many, nothing much will really stand out as all too good and nothing will stand out as all too bad. For that exact reason, despite the song average saying otherwise, I can't give this album anything higher than a six. I can't. Song average can reflect the overall song quality, but I won't let that interfere with my projection of an album as a whole. Guess these guys are pretty unknown for a reason: the world would be the exact same without their music. Seriously, why the hell did we have to hear this before we die?
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Microshift Score: 6/10
Song Average: 7.2/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0020: Blood Sugar Sex Magik
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Introduction: From memory, I don't think I've literally ever listened to a song by this band before. I apparently have because I watched the entirety of the original Beavis And Butthead movie, but I couldn't remember a single thing about that song if I wanted to. Rollercoaster of Love was apparently the song's name. I don't remember it. That really isn't saying much since the last time I saw the movie was when I was around eight I think. Time really flies, doesn't it? Anyway, this album is an entirely different story than that. Released in 1992 by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, this album is apparently widely considered to be the best they have made and will ever make. Now, whether that is saying much is up to much debate. I've seen almost nothing but praise when regarding this album, but at the same time I read my favorite hate review I think I've ever read. You can find it on this site too. I'd recommend looking for it because I can't remember it perfectly. It goes something like this: "This sounds like the kinda music a fat chubby kid would put on before going to a school dance in a fedora. He then judges all the kids having fun from the corner while he contemplates life." That's definitely going to pop into my head once or twice when I'm listening to this album. That's gotta be one of my new favorite reviews of all time. It's just so great. Anyway, this album was apparently very influential on movements such as Alternative Rock while incorporating new and unique songwriting and instrumentation at the same time. I don't know about you, but 90's Alt Rock was generally really good...so this will almost certainly be a good thing. With all of that said, most reviews I have seen generally tend to criticize the album for the exact same thing: its length. I've seen so many people say that Under The Bridge would have been the perfect ending point. The album only drags after that. Will that be true? Who the hell knows. All I do know is that Under The Bridge is generally considered to be the Chili Peppers' best song that they've ever made both critically and financially. This song apparently raked in a crap-ton of money as a single. Good for them I guess. Anyway, with all of that said, let's just get into this thing. Let's see if this is the perfect soundtrack for your local chubby kid who owns a fedora and likes to stalk other kids while sulking in their own misery.
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Track 1: The Power of Equality Score: 8/10
Track 2: If You Have to Ask Score: 7/10
Track 3: Breaking the Girl Score: 9/10
Track 4: Funky Monks Score: 7/10
Track 5: Suck My Kiss Score: 7/10
Track 6: I Could Have Lied Score: 8/10
Track 7: Mellowship Slinky in B Major Score: 6/10
Track 8: The Righteous & the Wicked Score: 6/10
Track 9: Give It Away Score: 9/10
Track 10: Blood Sugar Sex Magik Score: 8/10
Track 11: Under the Bridge Score: 10/10
Track 12: Naked in the Rain Score: 7/10
Track 13: Apache Rose Peacock Score: 6/10
Track 14: The Greeting Song Score: 5/10
Track 15: My Lovely Man Score: 6/10
Track 16: Sir Psycho Sexy Score: 7/10
Track 17: They're Red Hot Score: 3/10
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Conclusion: No visions of a fat kid in a fedora came to me across this entire album. I have no idea what the hell that guy was talking about. Still a funny review though. That being said, images that did come to me? Well...Fred Durst. I had to say it. The singer's voice somewhat reminded me of him. He is admittedly way better at singing and rapping than Durst, but he still entered my mind nonetheless. That is literally never a good thing. Literally never. If I were to form a band and be compared to Limp Bizkit in any way, we would be disbanding immediately and burning any records that we had made. Yeah. Anyway, what about the album? It's...pretty decent for the most part. It gets pretty dang boring in the second half, but there are some serious highs on this record. Like I mentioned in the intro, Under the Bridge is a great song. And, like I mentioned as well, the album should have stopped at that song. It felt like the pinnacle of the album. It would have served as a perfect closer both musically and lyrically. But no. We just had to drag the album out for another six tracks. To be more specific, the six worst tracks on the entire album....Besides Naked in the Rain, that song was pretty decent. Nevertheless, I'm not really a fan of pretty much everything after Under the Bridge. Everything after that is boring, repetitive, sometimes cringey, and I don't want to talk about it again. Now, the rest of the album is pretty decent. Musically, it is a mixture of funk, rock, rap, some pop, and so on. There is a very apparent Rap Rock vibe across the entire album that while I'm not necessarily a fan of, is admittedly pretty well executed across most of the album. The funk aspects on this album are pretty well executed as well. The bass is obviously a prime example of this. I don't know who this bassist is, but they would without a doubt be one of the nominees if someone had to play bass guitar to stop the Earth from being destroyed or something. Just imagine something stupid like that. Yeah, the bass is excellent and groovy throughout. Hire that man if you ever form a funk band. The rest of the instrumentation is pretty decent too. I'm not really all that big of a fan of the loud drumming; however, especially with how repetitive the drumming is across each song. This brings me to my next point. This album is pretty damn repetitive, unmemorable, and just too long. I couldn't tell you what around half of the songs on this album sounded like even if I wanted to. That may just be an issue on my part. I may not be listening to each song enough, but I really think the band is at fault as well. There's just a lot of filler on this album. A lot could have been cut out. Now, to give credit where it is due, this blend of genres was something completely new at the time of this album's release. The band likely wanted to try as much as they possibly could with this new sound of Funk they had created. That's understandable and a good thing. That being said, a few more sit-downs with each other and they probably would have seen the bad in some of their songs. Moving on. This album's lyrics are pretty decent for the most part. There are high points such as Under the Bridge and Breaking the Girl, but there are some songs where the lyrics feel immature or simply meaningless as well. There's also just too many songs on this album that talk about sex. There's just too much. Notice how some of the best songs are ones that have emotional vulnerability and genuinely deep meanings behind them. A change in lyrics alone could have made this album much better. Again, this is not a bad album at all. The good more than outweighs the bad here, but a few cuts and changes to the album could have made it so much better. There was so much potential here. There was so much potential to make something that could have been considered one of the greatest and most influential albums of all time. That being said, it just didn't come to be. It's unfortunate, I thought I would really love this album because of how much good I've heard about the Chili Peppers, but I can't help but only like and respect this album for what it is. Here's to the continued downfall of my streak of perfect albums.
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Blood Sugar Sex Magik Score: 7/10
Song Average: 7/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0019: Blunderbuss
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Introduction: We have finally made it into something released in the last twenty years. After getting the 70's and 60's back-to-back, it feels a bit weird to finally be listening to something that I would consider to be somewhat modern. I mean, this album is over a decade old, but that's not...too bad...almost fourteen years to be exact but...well...yeah this album is kinda old. I'd still say it was released in the "modern era", but that's just me being generous and not wanting to call myself old. Anyway, this album, Blunderbuss, was released in 2012 by an artist I've never heard before by the name of Jack White. Literally right before pursuing a solo career, White was in a band known as The White Stripes who apparently made pretty good music. That being said, we all know how that goes when your favorite member of a band decides to release solo work. It normally doesn't end well. That being said, here that might not have been such a bad thing. I've seen pretty mixed reception on this particular album, but he is apparently on the rise in terms of quality as of now. That's besides the point however. This particular album released to much critical and commercial success back in its day. Its singles were extremely successful too. That fact alone gives me a bit of worry with this album. Look, the 2010's had plenty of great music...but a lot of charted music and radio hits in the early 2010's wasn't necessarily that good. A lot of it was boring, badly-written, feel-good pop songs. I'm sure anyone old enough to remember that time period will remember the absolute greatness of Hey Soul Sister or the song that says something like "I jumped so high I touched the clouds." I don't even know the name of that one nor do I want to. I know you can't judge an entire scene by a few bad apples, but the fact I just mentioned is kinda undeniable. Again, one can only hope. Anyway, with all of that said, let's get into our first and hopefully not the worst album of the 2010's.
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Track 1: Missing Pieces Score: 7/10
Track 2: Sixteen Saltines Score: 8/10
Track 3: Freedom At 21 Score: 8/10
Track 4: Love Interruption Score: 7/10
Track 5: Blunderbuss Score: 7/10
Track 6: Hypocritical Kiss Score: 7/10
Track 7: Weep Themselves To Sleep Score: 7/10
Track 8: I'm Shakin' Score: 7/10
Track 9: Trash Tongue Talker Score: 6/10
Track 10: Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy Score: 6/10
Track 11: I Guess I Should Go To Sleep Score: 4/10
Track 12: On And On And On Score: 6/10
Track 13: Take Me With You When You Go Score: 7/10
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Conclusion: This album wasn't all that bad. It was admittedly pretty rough at times, especially in the second half, but it managed to be pretty decent all the way through. Now, that being said, this is the first album that I've generated from this site where consistently decent songs are actually kinda...not a good thing. I know that sounds weird but it will make sense in a bit. For it to make sense, I need to talk about the music that this album presents....and well, that's the problem: the music this album presents. Perfectly describing the music that this album presents the listener with would be a pain in the ass because of how varied every song is. That sounds good, but the way that Jack White executed this variance really isn't that good. It feels as if every song on this album is an entirely different genre of folk, rock, country, sometimes punk, and so on. The only two songs on the entire album that feel even somewhat connected are Sixteen Saltines and Freedom At 21. Everything else feels like it could have been taken from various albums across the years and compiled into this one to make a "best of" album. Again though, most of these songs are decently written, performed, produced, and so on, which is why most songs have a seven, but variety of this degree will hurt the album as a whole and not every individual song. I guess...the listening experience just feels a bit too loose. There's just too much on here to the point where it doesn't feel connected. That's a bad thing in terms of an album that isn't a compilation. Even then, I've heard many compilations that are much better executed than this album as a whole. Maybe a bit of song rearrangement would have helped this album, but even then I imagine it would feel a bit weird as a whole. Anyway, that aside, like I said, the music is generally pretty decent across the entire album. It is a bit bland in parts, however, especially for the 2010's. There is a good bit of instrumentation and production choices across these songs that manage to sound pretty unique such as the keyboard and the guitar solos. It's decent. it's almost nothing more and almost nothing less. Obviously, there are a few exceptions as seen from the ranking...such as Track 11 literally talking about being tired and wanting to go to sleep. Wow, so unbelievably revolutionary. I'm tired right now. I feel like my writing sucks because of that. So revolutionary...but that's besides the point. Speaking of writing...it's decent across this album. The lyrics are well-written and are pretty interpretable, but there isn't really a point on this entire album that will jump out as anything all that special to the listener. It's fine. Generally though, a lot of songs on this album seem to speak about love. They speak of the longing for love, the whimsy of it, the bad of it, and so on. Nothing bad but nothing notable. There's one more thing I would like to mention. Jack's voice is nothing all that special. It actually sounds kinda bad on songs such as Missing Pieces. His voice almost reminded me of the singer of Kings Of Leon on that song...and not in a good way. His voice works pretty well in most other songs on the album. It's just nothing special though. Now, with all of that said, Blunderbuss...it's an album I'll never listen to again. It had its highs and it had its lows. At the end of the day, it's just not all that interesting...or revolutionary. It's not bad by any means, but there's simply too much variety and decent-at-best songs for me to want to return. It almost feels as if someone was supposed to listen to the entirety of this album once, choose which songs they liked the best, add them to their playlist and forget the rest. I will not be adding any of these songs to my playlist...and either way listening to an entire album front to back is the best way to listen to music. Prove me wrong. This entire album goes against that. For that reason, despite finding most of these songs to be pretty decent, I can't give this album anything higher than a six. I just can't. It's not worthy of a seven despite the constant stream of them across its songs. It's not. Dang...worst two albums I've generated so far back-to-back. I guess this is the beginning of the turning point for me on this site. (Just calculated song average. You've got to be kidding me.)
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Blunderbuss Score: 6/10
Song Average: 6.7/10

1001 Albums Vol. 0018: Follow The Leader
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Introduction: Well, we're going directly from one of my favorite albums of all time to one that I can say without a doubt will get the lowest score from me yet. I'll go ahead and say something that a lot of people don't agree with: Nu Metal is not an objectively bad genre. Deftones and System of a Down, if you can even classify SOAD as Nu Metal, proved that to us. That being said, Nu Metal is objectively hard to make anything good out of. The good stuff is very far and few compared to other genres. Korn actually made something that I would consider good...back in 1994. Their debut album is good. I will die on that hill. It was influential, unique at the time, and is still one of the most raw albums ever made to this day. There was still a lot wrong with that album, yet the good still really outweighed the bad. Unfortunately, Korn would never be able to live up to the standard of their first album ever again. That's where this album, Follow The Leader, comes in. By this point, nu metal artists had begun to shift away from the early anger and angst of the genre. Nu Metal had become mainstream and they began to lean more into a style that would keep that attention of a wider audience. Of course, you did have artists such as Slipknot still carrying that early Nu Metal angst around this time but that's besides the point. Nu Metal had become mainstream, and that's where some of the problems with this particular album come in. This album, released in 1998 by Korn, leans much more into a "cool kid" and pop-like style than their previous albums. This is especially true on songs that feature other artists. I know this because I've already listened to a bit of this album. I won't lie, there was a brief period of time where I thought that this album was actually pretty good. That said, I literally hadn't even listened to half of the songs on it. Looking back too, I actually can see why I was generally wrong about that sentiment as well. There is one song on this album that I look back on fondly, I'm sure you know what it is, but most of what I heard I look back on and question why I ever found it good. Now, despite all of this, the album would release to general critical and huge commercial success. It would go on the charts, singles would go on the charts, and critics would talk positively about it as well. This would give me hope, but then I remember everything I've heard from this album so far and most of that goes away. I'll go ahead and say it, the score on this site for this particular album is valid. It's not too low nor too high. Rare case where I actually agree with the people of this site. Anyway, with all of that said, let's just get this hour-long album out of the way.
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Track 1: It's On! Score: 8/10
Track 2: Freak On a Leash Score: 9/10
Track 3: Got the Life Score: 9/10
Track 4: Dead Bodies Everywhere Score: 7/10
Track 5: Children of the Korn Score: 4/10
Track 6: B.B.K. Score: 6/10
Track 7: Pretty Score: 5/10
Track 8: All In the Family Score: 2/10
Track 9: Reclaim My Place Score: 5/10
Track 10: Justin Score: 6/10
Track 11: Seed Score: 6/10
Track 12: Cameltosis Score: 4/10
Track 13: My Gift to You Score: 6/10
Track 14: Earache My Eye Score: 2/10
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Conclusion: This...this was a really rough one. I mean, it was really, REALLY rough. It actually started out pretty damn good but then just completely fell off after that. Completely. It's not the worst thing of all time by a longshot, but it's one of those scenarios where the bad outweighs the good. I'm sure everyone on here is aware of why, but I'll go into it anyway because that's what I do. To start, the music on this album is actually...pretty decent throughout most of the album. There are a few songs where the music is exceptional as well. While some might consider it lazy, the groovy guitars, the almost middle-eastern feel at times, the wavy sounds which I have no idea what the hell is making, and so on form some pretty decent and somewhat interesting sounds. For the most part, it's not great, but it's still interesting and unique. Admittedly, the music does get extremely repetitive and predictable in a lot of the songs, especially in the second half, but it's still generally decent throughout. The same level of quality cannot be said about pretty much everything else about this album. Every single gripe that people generally have about Nu Metal is present on this album. The whole Rap Rock vibe wasn't as present as I remember it being in this album. It's definitely there, but not to the extent that you would find with other Nu Metal artists at the time. Korn's iconic angst and anger are also present on this album...while some may consider this a good thing, I do not. Yes, it helps the album feel more unique, but it also feels as if Korn is trying to blend something that gives off "cool kid" or "rebellious teenager" vibes with some of the very dark and serious topics of their older works. It didn't work out as well as they thought it would. It could have been a lot worse, but this kind of blend was pretty much doomed from the start so that's not saying much. This kind of adaptation to the genre while still keeping what makes you original does deserve a bit of credit though. It's good that Korn kept their image and lyrics the way that they always had instead of changing their theme completely for the sake of money. Good on them for that. Despite that, the lyrics on this album are only good at best. I will say that Korn does Nu Metal lyrics a lot better than other artists in the same genre, however The first few songs are actually pretty good, but it kinda falls off after that.This is especially present with the...collab songs. To give another compliment to Korn, these songs that involved other artists were easily the worst on the album besides the hidden song that didn't need to be on there. Nevertheless, they still suck...terribly. All In the Family literally has to be up there for one of the worst songs of all time. The other two are just so odd and so experimental in all the wrong ways...and they have horrible lyrics too. Yeah, the collab songs shouldn't have been on this album. As for the songs Korn solely wrote, their lyrics are better, a lot better...but that's not saying much in the first place. The lyrics are decently written and are vaguely up to interpretation. They have a core theme about inner pain, loneliness, hate, and so on. They're good. Not great. This isn't helped at all by the forced anger present in Davis's voice throughout most of the album. Notice how the highest rated songs had genuine singing without any of the added bluff of anger to it. Yeah, the anger is very clearly forced and that's not a good thing at all. Maybe your band might become a bit more personable to some fans, but you sound completely fake to others. A lot of songs could have gotten a higher rating from me had this not been a theme consistent throughout the entire album. With that said, there are a few more things I want to mention. Freak On a Leash and Got the Life are great. It's a shame that the entire album couldn't have lived up to the quality these two songs presented. Pretty is a song that I almost find to be...almost disrespectful in a sense. It's not that I find myself disgusted by it, it's just that...you should always handle such sensitive and graphic topics with extreme care and respect. Making a song about such a dark, depressing, and horrible event just feels...odd. It's not even Davis that it happened to either like in Daddy. That's different. The horrible thing happened directly to him. He was affected by it. He should have the right to create a song about it if he wants to. Pretty just feels a bit disrespectful since it was about someone else completely. Alright, that's all I have to say about Pretty. Finally, Justin is a pretty sweet song. It's the meaning it was even written in the first place that I gave it a six instead of a five. It's nice. Anyway, with all that said, this album is...actually kinda bad. Like I said, it had its shining moments, but that was literally a moment in terms of the album's length. It's not good. It's not something that I like. It's unfortunate, I like to always see the positives in music but the negatives are so glaringly obvious here that I can't help but criticize more than praise. With all that said, this is definitely the worst album I've generated so far...worst by quite a bit actually. Sorry to say it, but the junk seems to finally be revealing itself.
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Follow The Leader Score: 5/10
Song Average: 5.6/10