Reviews by littlestlassloves

Oh the conflict: it turns out I like funky soul/jazz way more than I get would have expected based on the albums that have come up. Parts of this really remind me of Gorillaz which was a surprise. But...

A 13 minute 18 second long instrumental?! No.

A 2 seems harsh, but a 3 absolutely too much... As no half marks, a 2 it is:

2/5

I think I expected to like this more than I actually did. It was certainly different to what I was expecting, far more bluesy in places. I just didn't like the vocals much and that's a big sticking point.

I ended up listening to it more than once, because I didn't know how I felt about it. As I was willing to do that, I guess this gets:

2/5

Really liked this, helped enormously by the fact Bob Mould sings like the guy from China Drum (basically, I enjoyed a relatively obscure US band because I really like an even more obscure UK one). I'm even considering listening to the stupidly long Deluxe edition of the record, which is high praise indeed.

4/5

It's undeniably atmospheric and really, really beautiful in places. However, at the risk of sounding like my mother, there's no tune. This project is making it really clear to me that I prefer music that gives me that cathartic release of singing along at high volume. Even if I knew the words, I could never do that with Ghosteen.

But in the right frame of mind, I could see me listening to this again. It feels like a headphones on, sit in a dark room and really pay attention type record.

3/5

So far in this list, I haven't met a double (or triple!) album which wouldn't have benefitted from a good editor to whip it into a nice 45 minute album. This is no exception, as it drags a bit in the middle.

That being said, what a voice! And I'm predisposed to love big band, brass numbers so parts of this were really up my alley. Bye Bye Love was particularly enjoyable in this style.

I think this could have been higher, but the filler in the middle brings in down to

3/5

I don't think I gave it a fair enough run through, as I was pretty rushed, so marking is tricky - if I'd been in a different frame of mind, the score might be higher.

As it was, they were altogether too many sound effects slowing things down for my liking, and it's difficult to listen to as a music album when you should really be listening to it as a story.

But Another Brick In The Wall Pt 2 is absolutely enough to get it 2 stars.

I couldn't get into it at all - I listened to it and it entered my brain and immediately exited without leaving any trace it had ever been there.

As I'm leaving 1/5 scores for things I actively dislike, I guess this gets:

2/5

Based on very little, I went into this expecting to not care at all for Speakerboxxx and really enjoy The Love Below. But Speakerboxxx is great - fun, funky, catchy. I really loved Bowtie and The Rooster. The Love Below is all together weirder than Speakerboxxx, maybe with higher highs, just inconsistent.

A single Outkast album culled from the best bits of both (taking out all the interludes for a start) would have been an improvement I think, but I recognise that this was hugely influential exactly how it is.

Enjoyed far, far more than I expected.

4/5

I was expecting not to like it, on the basis that the only song I don't like on Sgt Pepper is the one Harrison wrote, but I actually enjoyed most of it a lot. I've had My Sweet Lord stuck in my head all day and liked Wah-Wah, though I can't see me ever revisiting the jam tracks at the end - I fundamentally don't see the attraction in listening to a recording of a jam session.

3/5 (3.5 if I was allowed half stars)

Another artist my parents subjected me to a lot in the 80s. I'm a big fan of brass instruments in general and think they almost always improve music, but by the 400th sax solo I wanted to throw stuff.

Interestingly I liked some of the album tracks more than the singles I already knew well (Cherry Pie for example) but I can't see me listening to this again.

2/5

My frustration with over long tracks is apparently significantly reduced if a track is sufficiently funky. I very much enjoyed it and will definitely listen to it again.

Also, it's my favourite album cover so far, and its not even close.

4/5

I went into this completely blind, and really enjoyed it, with one (fairly major) reservation - I just don't like his voice very much. It's breathy and insubstantial. Pretty much everything else I liked. Standout tracks: Hazey Jane I, Northern Sky

3/5 (3.5 if I were allowed half stars)

I love Maggie May. It became quickly apparent that I would have enjoyed this album more, had it just been 40 minutes of Maggie May on repeat.

2/5 (I really do love Maggie May)

So far in this listening experience, there's been a surprising number of albums I was subjected to by my parents. So they were apparently more culturally aware than I ever realised. I knew J-M J turning up was only a matter of time.

6 tracks and 39 minutes long! Unacceptable.

The first track's primary reason to exist is to have a new age lady play it during relaxation sessions. I actually recognised track 2, so my childhood attempts to make this fade into the background clearly failed. The space lazer "pew-pew" noises were clearly enough to be memorable. Track 4 is what pops into my head automatically when anyone mentions J-M J, which happens rarely these days.

Just not a genre, and therefore an album, I enjoy listening to much, although I can understand why others might.

2/5

I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this, but I enjoyed it far more than I ever would have thought. It is something I'll listen to again.

3/5

I didn't hate Alice In Wonderland but I clearly don't understand the appeal of jazz.

1/5

Is this aggressively 80s? Yes. Is MJ morally questionable? Also yes. But it's such a bop! The fact it includes Leave Me Alone meant it was always getting a minimum of a 4 (because that song is fantastic) but as a whole it's just a really entertaining record.

5/5

I grew up with Yes fans for parents so it's very difficult to give this an unbiased listen. I have always liked Roundabout as tune, but generally prog rock's tendancy towards 8 minute noodling tracks is not my thing. I would listen to Runaround and Long Distance Runaround again though.

2/5 (I'd get 2.5 if I was allowed half stars)

Outside of the hits everyone knows and likes, Bowie just isn't for me apparently. And I can get behind a good instrumental, but what the heck was that?!

1/5 (and it should be grateful I can't give it less)

Never listened to the full album before, but it turned out I knew more of it than I expected (i.e. way more than Sexy Boy). I ended up knowing 5 of the tracks and liking all of them.

4/5 would definitely put on when its a warm summer day and I'm sat in the garden.