Reviews by magsmusic

This is more than an album it's an experience! This album was one of my mom's favorites growing up so it is near and dear to me. Its so perfect in so many ways, the piano, the guitar, the lyrics and the vocals (shoutout to the females on this record, they are the unsung heros!). Its completely over the top, in a way that is borderline campy making it so much more believable. The lyrics are sung with such passion you miss how ridiculous they are (two out of three ain't bad). I mean how many of us have danced to Paradise by the Dashboard Light at a wedding and forgotten how ironic and ridiculous that is! Everything is dramatic, everything is rock, everything makes you buy in, dance around and sing at the top of your lungs.

So I like Randy Newman's instrumental vibe, I like the New Orleans sound mixed in with whatever he wants to call it. Its very different and unique, and also pleasant. But it also all the same, he could of been singing any one of his songs and it would have sounded like "You Got a Friend in Me." You can almost get lost in the pleasant sound and ignore the words.
But we must move onto the lyrics....so I am from rural America (a Yankee not a southern) so I do get the point he is trying to make in the first song "Redneck" but I am not sure that excuses the language or a sentiment that is almost making fun of the plight of African Americans. I also get the idea that rural southern America is different and those issues are somewhat normal in the South and they shouldn't necessarily be judged by them. But its in an unapologetic good old boy way that is wrong. The title of the album did tip me off to be wary of the album and it holds up to its name. After reading numerous things...maybe that is his point, the satire of it all. Maybe the satire hit better 50 years ago, but now with today's world it feels more MAGA then anything. Sorry Randy I don't think the politics of today help your album hold up.

I was a big fan of Highly Evolved, Get Free and Factory. Are they a little generic garage band indie alt rock? Sure, but I enjoyed them and would go back and listen. Are they life altering or did they change music forever, no probably not. But they are good to listen to and I will listen to them again.

She has a beautiful voice, but it really reminds me of Dolly Parton. It seems like she struggled a little because her record label went under. I really liked Queen of the Silver Dollar. Some were covers, and she sang them well but nothing seemed all that different then other interpretations. No doubt she has talent and a beautiful voice.

It was like quiet metal. I don't know how he silently screams like that. There were some good guitar riffs and drums throughout but it was overshadowed by the garage band recording style. After a while it was all just weird quiet metal that sounded the same over and over.

She had a really beautiful voice. I didn't miss anything because this was a live album. If anything I think it improved my impression of the album because it showed how beautiful her voice was. Only criticism is that it is somewhat one speed, nothing too fast or too slow, just showcasing her voice.

For me this was fine but not amazing. There was one fast song towards the beginning and that started to draw me in, but then it just went back to mellow rock. I like mellow rock, but in this case one song really felt the same as the next and didn't showcase range to me.

Never listened to this band, so going in totally blind. Overall this felt a little extra sad and had some songs that were a little too dramatic (Highway 5 & Jenny). Bad Liquor was also a sharp left turn from anything else on the album. I did really enjoy Firefly, Somewhat and Western Sky. Lyrics-wise overall they were pretty good and had some interesting sounds in the music. But breaking it down it is more specific songs I like, but not the overall album or band. They were just a bit too dramatic and sad overall to be boosted any higher.

It was a lot of just rambling and sitting at a lounge with one guy singing and talking all night but he wasn't really interesting or funny. I don't think I would stay at this bar all night. Plus why are we at a diner, it should have been Nighthawks at the lounge. I guess he was just overly explaining every tiny detail of a diner (checkered counter, eggs, tips, etc). This just feels like he could have picked any random topic, location, place and explain it with traditional jazz instruments and sounds behind it. Nothing was really all that imaginative or different. This was just a house band with a really random singer.

This album started with a very dark late night night club vibe. A place that was a little seedy but somewhere you could go as a regular but not as a tourist. But by the end I feel like it took a super dark left turn into drug induced crack house vibes. Started with lounge singer vibes that weren't too bad, not my favorite but I could enjoy the subtleness however then it went into dark electronic that really drug. Not my cup of tea and the sharp turn into techno was a little too weird for my taste. There were some unique pretty moments even in the techno stuff but I just was never able to settle in and enjoy it.

Meh, just electronic music from the 2010's. Electronic got pretty mellow in the 2010's and became more mainstream and really started adding lyrics. I like the lyrics and I like the mellow. But this doesn't grab me or make me feel it is different, unique or pushing anything. Then you add the length of some of the songs...it just felt like we were repeating over and over this mellow vibe that didn't really enhance songs, just made them drag. Its just kind of there. I have had some way worse 2's but this just doesn't make me interested in this band at all.

I really like Jamiroquai and as I have aged I like it a lot better. First he starts with such a unique sound. It has this lounge, jazz vibe with techno undertones that just make you want to move. Then he overlays it with such deep, impactful meaningful vibes. As I listen everything hits a little more importantly as an adult, and he just wants us to make smarter choices and make this whole world a better place and then we could all have so much fun dancing along. What a beautiful world it could be if we just listened to Jamiroquai.

Another classic I have never heard in entirety. I enjoyed it. Nothing is up beat or happy its all very mellow, deep, dark and sad but there is something beautiful about about that. I didn't realize so much would be interludes and instrumentals. Those are beautiful but it does seem like the album seem shorter and not as complete.

I was familiar with the first song and I liked Where Do I Begin. Overall they have some cool sounds and some interesting beats mixed and overlaid together. But it just gets repetitive and long. If techno songs were 2-3 minutes I think I could really get into it, but the same beat slightly changed for 8 minutes just gets old to me. I will say I liked how they transitioned between songs, as an album it flowed really well from one to another. Less massive disruptions between songs made it easier to stay connected.

It isn't bad for a rainy day, it was relaxed and chill and went with my mood. It is fluid and smooth, but nothing really grabbed me. I want to almost call it yacht rock but I want to be a little happier and upbeat on a yacht. His voice was different and interesting, but it also became mumbly and hard to understand at times.

This was a quick album. It seemed a little slow jammy but then if you listened to the lyrics it was a lot about shady girls and breakups. This guy was a little vindictive (when the skeletons are chasing you around the room). The lyrics were simple and plain with a lot of repetition, that is kind of cliche. Not awful but others are better.

I was familiar with the first song (not sure why) so I enjoyed having a little connection as I went in. Halfway through I realized they had been on the list before. I really enjoyed the first half. VCR and Crystalised were good, they flowed well together and were a little different and didn't drag. After Fantasy it all started to just mesh and seem really similar and dragging a bit. I enjoyed it overall.

This was kind of underwhelming. I have never listened to an entire Grateful Dead album but you hear so much about their fan base that I was expecting something really amazing, but instead it was just kind of blah chill background music. They were nice background songs but overall I was just hoping for more, more to connect with, more feelings, more energy, more something.

Kanye again...stupid sick man. This album might frustrate me more than the last one. He is soooo good at rap and making it so smooth and effortless. He has such good poignant lyrics and mixes in so many pieces that flawlessly go together. His narcism shows but in a way he is really that good at making music. This one did get a little long after a while and seemed a little all over the place at the end. But my gosh he is a bad person and seems to go against so many things he is singing about

There were a few songs on here that were really good. It started off slow and didn't draw me in early but the second half was really good.