Reviews by mattrickpow

Overall: 9/10

Dude.....I'm so mad at myself for not listening to this sooner.

First of all, this is hardcore punk, strong emphasis on HARDCORE. I love bands like Descendents, Dead Kennedys and the Germs, so this was right up my alley.

Second, the vocals and lyrics of a Mr. Henry Rollins are just incredible. Sure, the lyrics can be juvenile at times, but they're raw and honest and real. You might say his vocals are just screaming, but I find them very powerful.

Sure, the whole thing isn't perfect, but I think it's incredible and it's very easy for me to see why this is considered an important and influential album. Definitely something that I think everyone should hear before they die.

Fav Song: Damaged II

Overall: 10/10

There's something special about this album. The band's energy oozes out of this thing. I love the guitar work, it's so much fun to listen to these riffs, and while the solos are simple, they're great. Alex Turner also has the best voice for this type of music. One of the best albums of the 2000s in my opinion.

Fav Song: Fake Tales of San Francisco

Overall: 6/10

This is honestly a pretty good recording for a bootleg. Dylan's voice is out of this world on this thing, and I really enjoyed hearing the stripped down versions of rock songs and vice versa. It'd probably get a higher rating from me if it wasn't a live album honestly.

Fav Song: Mr. Tambourine Man

Overall: 6/10

I've never been a huge fan of Beyoncé, but she's had a few big hits in the past that I really love. That didn't stop me from being a little upset when this popped up. I don't know why, but I had no interest in listening to this.

It's pretty good actually. There isn't a ton of variety in the actual music, but Beyoncé has an incredible voice and she gets pretty vulnerable in the lyrics department. There's also lots of songs about how big her ass is and I get a kick out of how silly that is as a lyrical concept. Overall, it's a decent little album and gave me a little bit more respect for Beyoncé as a musician.

Fav Song: Superpower

Overall: 5/10

Before I look it up, I'm gonna guess that Tangerine Dream did some film scores at some point during their career. This totally fits in with the scores of Blade Runner or Dune. I'm pretty conflicted on how I feel about it if I'm being honest, I really love those film scores and the mood that they (and this) convey, but I don't enjoy them as much without the visuals. While listening to this, I just kept wishing there was a movie to watch to put all of this behind. In any case, there were moments I ended up really enjoying despite all of that, and this kind of electronic sound seems ahead of it's time.

Fav Song: Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares

Overall: 8/10

I had a friend in high school who was obsessed with any music that came out in the 60s, and I specifically remember him being fond of Captain Beefheart. I heard all the horror stories from him about how insane this band was, and he made me never want to listen to them at all. I've since heard even more horror stories about how crazy Trout Mask Replica is, and seeing that it was in this list scared me a bit. This album, however, is nothing to be scared of.

This is just folk rock, but a little bit silly. If anything, I could easily see this as a precursor to bands like Ween and Butthole Surfers. There's nothing especially strange on this album that would be enough to turn anybody off from it. In fact, if you can enjoy Beefheart's vocals then you're likely gonna have a great time, just as I did. His band truly sounds magical at times. His vocals actually remind me of Tom Waits at times. I'm still a little worried about Trout Mask Replica, but at least I got to hear what they sounded like before that monster was released.

Fav Song: Plastic Factory

Overall: 6/10

The music isn't bad, but they don't hide the fact that they deliberately wanted to sound like every other british artist out there, and I find that kind of lame. I actually enjoyed the other album I got from these guys so it's baffling to me that they'd make something so lame after that. The bass is still absolutely ripping throughout this thing though, and the vocals aren't bad.

Fav Song: Music for the Last Couple

Overall: 7/10

I think going back to basics worked out for these guys for the most part. I found that this album started out strong, but lost a bit of steam near the end before ending on the great Maggie M'Gill. The organ is still the best thing about The Doors.

Fav Song: Peace Frog

Overall: 6/10

Honestly, as a huge fan of the Pixies and the Breeders, I found this to be a bit lame? The whole album sort of feels like leftovers, and other than a few standout tracks, I didn't really feel like it was Black Francis's best work. Still, I enjoyed having more Pixies-esque music to listen to, so I can't complain too much.

Fav Song: Olé Mulholland

Overall: 5/10

5 mediocre songs and one absolute banger of epic length. I almost want to relisten to this at a later date after taking obscene amounts of mushrooms. I was also told by a friend that Iron Butterfly were a super heavy band, but I don't agree. Even for the time, there were heavier groups than this.

Fav Song: In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida

Overall: 5/10

While this wasn't amazing, I really love the sitar as an instrument and I found so much of this album to be incredibly relaxing. The covers are pretty weird, and they sadly add nothing to the originals. It's cool that Ananda tried to bring more indian music to the west, as it's pretty underrated over here.

Fav Song: Metamorphosis

Overall: 5/10

I wouldn't say this album is terrible, but it's incredibly bland and generic. There were very few moments of energetic excitement for me. It's honestly like an even blander version of late era AC/DC. The high points were pretty great though, the guitar solos are much better than the riffs.

Fav Song: Love Removal Machine

Overall: 6/10

Nothing overly impressive, but a decent album nonetheless. I could see myself really enjoying this if it was played at a party. Is it really that noteworthy and important of an album to include here though? I don't really think so. The 2010's was actually a pretty good decade for music and this isn't the best that the decade had to offer.

Fav Song: Night and Day

Overall: 9/10

John Fogerty was really on something during '69, writing banger after banger. The covers aren't as mind blowing for me, and I prefer Bayou Country and Willy and the Poor Boys, but this album is still just do great and has an awesome atmosphere to it.

Fav Song: Bad Moon Rising

Overall: 5/10

I can appreciate what Missy was doing on this album while also not really enjoying it all that much. Her music just doesn't do much for me and I think it's because of Timbaland's production. I think her later albums are better.

Fav Song: The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)

Overall: 7/10

I like that Ice T basically did whatever he wanted. A lot of these songs are politically charged, but there's also a lot of humour to be found. Plus, he added a Body Count song to this one, showing off his love of rock music. I know he gets the sellout label and he can be a bit of a cornball at times, but this album shows that Ice T really did have a lot of talent.

Fav Song: The Tower

Overall: 8/10

It took a few songs for this to click for me, but those vocals are just so gorgeous that I started to really enjoy this. Seeing the name Cowboy Junkies gave me a certain expectation of what this album might sound like, but I was completely wrong. It's very slow and ethereal, not the type of honky tonk stuff I'm used to with country. This is the country I like.

Fav Song: Dreaming My Dreams with You

Overall: 7/10

Started out incredibly strong. I love that every member is obviously involved in the writing and performing. I like the folkier stuff more than the hard rocking stuff. I do wish that Neil Young and Stephen Stills were more in the front of the band but that's what their later music is for.

Fav Song: Mr. Soul

Overall: 4/10

Ah, perfect. More background music for me to forget about as soon as it's over. The most eye opening thing I've discovered while doing this list challenge is that I can't stand lengthy repetitiveness.

Fav Song: Rue the Whirl

Overall: 6/10

Missy Elliott is a great lyricist with a good flow, but the real MVP for me is Timbaland and his great production. Sadly, much like a lot of Timbaland's other projects, I found it a little lackluster and not very memorable. Missy has a lot of charisma though, which makes it a fun listen.

Fav Song: Work It