Reviews by magsmusic

Adele has an absolutely gorgeous voice and beyond just having a great voice she oozes emotion. You feel all of her past love and sadness. You hear every kiss, fight, makeup and break up. You can't help but fall into the songs and feel every love and sadness in your own life. It is an album that following a break you could easily fall into and drown your sorrows for days.
A couple of criticisms, she was 25 years old when she recorded this...yes you can have these feelings at 25, but something about that makes me a little old and cynical, and that you don't really know those feelings that deeply at that age. My other criticism really is emobided in Hello, as a person that was usually the one broken up with this songs hits differnt. Its your ex, that broke up with you because love got comfortable and they decided something new would be so much better. 10 years later they realize they lost the most important thing and just want to 'check in.' Nope, not at all...I moved on and made a better life I don't want you checking in and don't feel bad for you. There are others on the album that give that same vibe and for me, those emotions just frustrate a little.

So I watched the Bob Dylan movie...which ended up being about him and his move away from the folk genre and into more rock...based on this year this is his rock era after moving away from folk.
I don't love Bob Dylan, but I respect the depth in many of his song lyrics. But I have to not all of this felt like the cerebral Dylan. It felt more like he was in an era where he wanted to get drunk, do drugs, not care as much about social issues and just jam with his friends. There are deep lyrics but there is also something more fluffy about this album. I actually enjoyed this one more than a lot of other Dylan songs and I could see why this was a commercial success. Some of the songs were a little off to me (One of us Must Know and Most Likely You Go Your way) and just enough misogyny and pretentiousness

Its glam rock...I love that this site calls them heavy metal. This isn't the first time and I think its funny because these types of bands seem to have lost their "heavy" feelings as the years have gone by. Now they just seem like overexaggerated fun rock. Listening to it today, this is something I would jump around and dance and sing to and headbang. It may not be amazing, it isn't anything unique and different but I enjoyed listening to it.

Grateful Dead...what an iconic group, and I was excited to hear an album by them to get the full vibe. I am not super familiar with them but knowing they have such a avid fan base I was excited to be pulled into their world. Wasn't super excited about the Live idea but thought maybe that would be an extra shining star because of people following them around so their live work must be amazing. In retrospect the live album just left it open to long drawn out songs that didn't go anywhere and no interaction with the crowd to improve the overall vibe.

Dark Star was not how I would have started the album to draw a person in. It was slow, long and didn't really draw me in and make me want to continue. St. Stephen was good (would have made a much better start). The Eleven was not my fav but again would have been better then Dark Star, it was more improvising but at least it was exciting.

I don't mind improvising a little, but an hour of it is just too much for me. Death Don't Have No Mercy was my favorite. In the world of improvising it is good maybe even great in this world. Then 7 minutes of feedback...why? Maybe this is them and their style, which means they are just not for me.

This is what I like about this list, a band that I have never heard of making music that is slightly different, but still falls solidly into a category of music.
I do not understand the international success of Brimful of Asha, I found it somewhat annoying. But there were others that I enjoyed and found interesting. Chocolat, We're in Your Corner, Funky Days and It's Indian Tobacco all were something I wouldn't mind listening to agian. What is happening made me thing what is happening, and a few of the interludes were just not necessary to me, but overall it was something I am glad I listened to.

It was pretty, it was simple, it just was. If I had been in a more deep mindset and on a mountain somewhere i might have rated higher, but today it was just nice.

This album had many songs I was familiar with. They are one of those bands that you don't realize how many hits they truly had. All are songs I enjoy and listen to, but they are also songs I might fast forward, because nothing about them makes me LOVE them. For me they are also not super unique or different, just rock songs that fill space.

The only thing wrong with this album is nothing of those things technically meet the definition of irony.
Alanis you are a beautiful female soul that pulled together an album that shares the complexity of the female soul. We are complex, see the beauty in simplicity and have a right to be angry.
Just a few things to note....Perfect reminds us that we are expected to be perfect and yet that perfection is usually completely contradictory making it unattainable. See Right Through You, what women has that had that relationship and wanted to scream at the man like You Oughta Know. Forgiven is a lesser known song, but dang does she rock out and dig deep on the emotion. There's is a little of Mary Jane in all of us, using toxicity to hide the real pain and never fully healing.Then we move into the opportunity for love Head Over Feet and looking at the small positives in the world after dealing with the bads You Learn. Alanis you are a queen <3

Why was this guy on here twice...one more than enough. Are there some interesting lyrics, sure but they quickly turn bloated and pretentious. The music never really matches up and his lyrical rhythms are just not great. Listening to him makes me feel like I am in a stark white New York style apartment and everyone is sitting around in all black smoking and judging everyone and everything and nothing is ever good enough. No thank!

They define themselves as "sloppy" and I can see that. This album wasn't anything special, but I don't agree with all the hate. The lyrics are mediocre and pretty juvenile. It feels like he was high in a basement and just started writing random things (I feel like there is a pattern with a lot of famous musicians!) and then his friends, who are mildly talented put the beat and guitar to it, and poof it became decent!
I like the guitar and drums, I enjoy the blues, jazzy, rock sounds they create. Musically it almost makes me think of Phish, they blended different sounds to make a very unique 90's sound. I won't be buying the album but I am not embarrassed to say I danced along to many of the songs (only to laugh out loud at the lyrics).

Never listened to Common but was excited because of the Common I perceive today...but this was 25 years ago...sooooo
First off the music...The jazz and afrobeats were unique and appreciated it. It wasn't overwhelming bass or samples that were mixed together and overpowering to the lyrics.
How he delivered the lyrcis was also good...he wasn't yelling or growling the lyrics in a way that made them hard to hear. He can sing, rap quick, rap slow creating a good unique delivery.
Now the actual lyrics...I did not grow up in the same culture so I tried to look at it through his lens, some were trying to make a point of hypocrisy in the culture (end of the 6th Sense and A film Called) but then other times he really incorporates the misogyny into the lyrics without apology or a point, he really means. Then there is the homophobic lyrics, there isn't any point he is trying to make there, except homophobia.
I want to believe he is better today...so I will try to not let the last two taint the album too much. Overall its different, good but not great.

This is the start of her Spotify bio...One of the most fascinating figures of rock's fringes, Nico hobnobbed, worked, and was romantically linked with an incredible assortment of the most legendary entertainers of the '60s.
I include that because I feel like that explains this album and her ability to create a musical career. This wasn't good, her vocals are not great, the lyrcis are okay, and the musical arrangements don't do anything to help her voice. But she knew people that had money, she was pretty and they needed something to do with her (wikipedia says she lived with a music producer for 3 years and noticed her singing and said let's connect you with a band).
For this album specifically, she didn't write multiple songs on this album and other people produced the songs in ways she didn't approve of (adding flutes and strings, she wanted drums). Which adds to the mess in this album. Too many hands were in it and nobody agreed on what it should be.
To me this album is flawed because she wanted to be a musician and others around her just wanted to put a pretty face on an album. Leaving a mess of sound that feels like an amateur high schooler on an open mic night.

I liked the idea of this and it was cool. I honestly think it made me like these songs even more, it gave their music more substance, depth and eeriness that I think they lack as a regular band. The orchestra was really amazing, and to make the arrangements for all of these songs and so flawlessly fit into these songs was amazing.
With that said, I could have just done with the highlights, I didn't need the full two hour concert. Give me the 10 best songs of the night and release on a short album and I would have enjoyed it just as much (if not more) as getting the full two hour concert.

it was pretty and had a lot of emotion, but not as good as others. You could tell there were feelings but they weren't as raw and emotional as I hoped. It eventually just started to feel like background music.

After the first song, I thought it had hope but then it just became kind of the same over and over and ended with Some Girls are Bigger than Others. I waiver between a 2 and 3.

This kind of felt like a garage band that got its break because of one single (Elixir is Zog) and was booked on a national bar tour and then had to come up with a bunch of songs quickly so they had a bunch of bland one chorus songs. It wasn't bad, but I feel like they wanted to be more and just didn't get there.

So at first I was excited to listen to Eric Clapton and then I realized I lived under a rock for the past 41 years and didn't realize he was a racist, anti-vaxer, rapist, conservative jerk.
So wow does that tarnish and change things...I listened once and then listened again and it just really tainted it. He's a pretty good guitarist and has some good blue melodies in his music. But then he is a total racist but wanted to build his career on music created by African America's not from his country...but yet they are awful. I hate hypocrites more than anything and Eric Clapton you fit that category. Sure he can excuse it and say he was on heroin and sure it was the 70s, but he still falls into that category today, apparently even laughing about his rant to this day.
So are there some pretty songs, yes...Please Be With Me is beautiful and Get Ready has some good blues riffs. But the music is just built on hypocritical bs, so for me that loses a lot of the meaning and impact of the music. Sorry Eric Clapton...the first time I enjoyed it but after learning you have no respect for others your music is just empty.

It was 70's music. Nothing stood out to me as amazing and nothing was bad. Good vibes and a decent album.

There were a couple of misses on this album (Scorpio and Dreamin). She's Fresh and It's Nasty felt like it just kept going and could have had a little more substance but they did make me want to dance. Overall it was a good album and a good mix of funk, hip hop and rap. It really starts the evolution to 90's rap, which makes the samples and lines used by current rappers more important. Calling out one song, New York, New York...this one had some really important points like poverty and impact on people in the city. Also the difference between the extreme wealth vs. poor, and mental health impacting people. It did loose me a little when we talked about the wife leaving the husband or the transgender community. How is it we can all get so easily distracted by what the real problem with poverty is and create scapegoats (women, transgender) instead of looking at the big issues.

I have never heard an entire album by Joni Mitchell so I am glad that this project forced me to do that. I go back and forth on this. Her storytelling, poetry type lyrics are beautiful and deep. Sometimes they feel a little to raw and unfinished but I do credit her with creating some deep songs. Coyote was a bit weird. It seemed like a fun diddy, but basically the guy was a predator. Maybe that was the point but then again it just felt way to casual and happy for the content of the song. That theme went a little bit through the album and maybe just a little too casual for some of the themes. Maybe that was her perspective at the time, somewhat the brush it off and act like everything is okay, and maybe it would have hit me better at a different age in my life.