Rated 10/10
Overall: 9/10
Honestly I've listened to this a million times and was prepared to give it an 8/10 but man.....this thing slaps. It's just an excellent synth pop album that manages to be dancy and commercial while still featuring some almost ambient sounds in the mix. I wish the entire 80's pop scene sounded like this album.
Fav Song: Head Over Heels
Least Fav Song: Broken
Rated 4/10
Overall: 4/10
Other than the title track, which is an absolute banger of a song, the best tracks here are the slow songs. They seem more vulnerable and real than anything else on here. The straight up dance songs are pretty horrendous though and I can't bring myself to enjoy the album as a whole, which is dissappointing cause I actually wanted to like this one.
Fav Song: Like a Prayer
Least Fav Song: Act of Contrition
Rated 8/10
Overall: 8/10
The most impressive thing about this album to me is that it was all written and performed by one guy. Dave Grohl has become a slightly controversial figure lately, and I totally get it, but he truly is an incredibly talented musician. Foo Fighters were actually one of the first bands I remember being my FAVOURITE band so I have a very soft spot for them despite not enjoying their music as much as I used to. They're still fun to me and this album is especially nostalgiac. The second half isn't amazing compared to the first half though.
Fav Song: Alone + Easy Target
Least Fav Song: Wattershed
Rated 4/10
Overall: 3/10
Not the most abysmal electronica I've heard so far but still not great. I've realized that it's not necessarily the repetitiveness of the genre I don't like (I listen to lots of punk after all), but it's that what's being repeated just isn't all that interesting to me. Something nice to dance to in a party setting but not enjoyable otherwise.
Fav Song: Let's Get Killed
Least Fav Song: Head Rush on Lafayette
Rated 6/10
Overall: 6/10
Bowie had so many different eras and personas that it's almost impossible to love everything he did. This is one that I don't particularly enjoy as much as his other works. It's his attempt at making soul music. There's moments of brilliance to be had. I like the title track and Fame always manages to make me excited. Nothing else really stands out. That's not to say any of it is bad (except his cover of Across the Universe), but they don't do much for me. Thankfully, every Bowie album I've yet to get is albums that I love so I'm looking forward to those.
Fav Song: Fame
Least Fav Song: Across the Universe
Rated 8/10
Overall: 8/10
It's interesting to listen to this early iteration of The Wailers. Bob Marley still dominates this album but it feels like a more cohesive unit with other contributions. The musicianship is incredible, especially the drums. I quit smoking weed in the last few months but this made me want to toke it up.
Fav Song: Midnight Ravers
Least Fav Song: 400 Years
Rated 10/10
Overall: 9/10
I love Elton. Whenever I'm asked about my favourite fruits I say "Apples, but Elton John is a close second." (Big compliment.)
This album starts off so epically and keeps up that momentum for a majority of it's runtime. I obviously knew the hits (Bennie and the Jets, Saturday Night's Alright, the title track) but it's the deep cuts that make this album so great. They're pretty consistent in quality for the most part.
I'm gonna talk about my favourite song. The title track, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, is one of the most beautiful songs I've heard in my life. It gives me chills every single time. I still remember the first time I heard it. I was in a corner store and they were playing the film "Breaking the Waves" on a TV. If you know that movie, you're probably thinking "wtf why would anyone play that in public". Anyway, there's a bit of an interlude in the movie and they played Goodbye Yellow Brick Road over it. I remember asking the cashier if they knew the song and he just looked at me like I was crazy. "If you don't know that song, I can't help you". What a dick. I went home and figured out what the song was and my life was forever changed. So thank you, random cashier who was fucked up enough to play Breaking the Waves in a public place. You're a homie.
Jamaica Jerk-Off is hilariously terrible.
Fav Song: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Least Fav Song: Jamaica Jerk-Off
Rated 6/10
Overall: 6/10
While it's not really my thing, I really respect the artistry behind this kind of music. I'm thankful the cover goes with the music, as I imagined a man sitting on his porch in a rocking chair the entire time.
Fav Song: Soya
Least Fav Song: Hanana
Rated 8/10
Overall: 7/10
This was a bit of a surprise as I didn't really have a lot of love for the first Gene Clark album I got. While there are some similarities here, this one is more creative and artistic, with some songs being absolutely gorgeous. There's still some country based songs on here but this is definitely an album that knows how to rock hard. I'm still not a big fan of Gene's voice overall, but it doesn't ruin the experience for me. The harmonies are a big highlight for me.
Fav Song: No Other
Least Fav Song: True One
Rated 10/10
Overall: 9/10
First of all, I love the amount of acoustic guitar. I love the flute. I love the vocals. I love how weird this thing is. Get this flutist on top of a mountain and watch all the little children in their lederhosen dance around in a circle.
I don't know if I'm gonna listen to this all the time but I loved it. I'd only heard the title track before and loved it but never felt compelled to explore their discography further. I kind of want to check out some of their other albums now cause this was so awesome. Very proggy and strange. If you aren't religious (I'm not at all) some of the lyrical content may bother you, but it was fine for me.
Fav Song: Mother Goose
Least Fav Song: Hymn 43
Rated 8/10
Overall: 8/10
The only reason this was on my radar at all is because of that incredibly depressing and beautiful album cover. It's so NOT Beach Boys that you can't help but be drawn to it. The music inside fits the cover surprisingly well, with this being a bit of a melancholic departure for these guys.
Honestly, I'm surprised this album isn't more popular. It obviously isn't their best work but it's very artsy and shows that Brian (RIP) wasn't the only member of the band capable of making these types of artsy pop songs. I highly recommend it to any fans of The Beach Boys who want to hear something different from them.
Fav Song: Take a Load Off Your Feet
Least Fav Song: Student Demonstration Time
Rated 8/10
Overall: 7/10
Well, I was dreading getting to Zappa cause I've always heard how strange his music is and I've been a little weary of it. It's just as strange as I expected but I don't think I needed to be worried.
I didn't do too much research so I don't know if this is considered his most accessible album or not but the weirdest thing about it was the mixing of genres. There's a lot of psychedelic rock but also some influence from groups like The Four Seasons. The lyrics are also totally out there. I actually found the weirdest songs to be the most charming and will probably be the ones I come back to the most.
Overall, this is a fun time. I didn't love it like I was hoping but I also think this is an album you need to let sit with you for a while and listen to multiple times to really appreciate.
Fav Song: Help, I'm a Rock
Least Fav Song: It Can't Happen Here
Rated 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Honestly, I don't really feel like listening to Kanye lately. I used to adore this man's music and now he just leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I still listened to it, and I still added songs to my playlist, but man. I just don't like nazis. It's sad too because he was so talented and this album is soooooo great. It probably would have gotten a perfect rating but, again, I don't like nazis.
Fav Song: Runaway
Least Fav Song: Devil in a New Dress
Rated 10/10
Overall: 10/10
Way to make a guy bawl his eyes out first thing in the morning!
Brian Wilson passed away yesterday, and the world is worse because of it. He was such a towering presence in the world of music. He literally sacrificed so much in his pursuit of music and it worked out best for him on this masterpiece.
There are so many songs on this album that make me teary eyed. The instrumentation is so genius but it's the vocals and lyrics that get me, especially on songs like Wouldn't It Be Nice and God Only Knows. These songs have been talked about to death, and for good reason. I also love Sloop John B, which is the most "fun" song on the album.
RIP Brian. Thank you so much for your contribution to all our lives.
Fav Song: Wouldn't It Be Nice
Least Fav Song: Let's Go Away for Awhile
Rated 2/10
Overall: 1/10
I went to read the reviews of this one to see if everyone else thought it was as garbage as I do and I'm glad to be vindicated. I'm not glad that I had to listen to this annoying crap.
Fav Song: No
Least Fav Song: All of them
Rated 10/10
Overall: 9/10
This is my favourite Queen album. Every song hits so hard. I love the mini suite in the first half but the two big highlights for me are Killer Queen and Stone Cold Crazy.
Killer Queen is such an interesting song to me. I've never listened to the first two Queen albums but I can imagine that this was a big step up from those in terms of originality cause it's a song that still sounds so fresh today.
Stone Cold Crazy is the heaviest, most metal song that Queen ever made. You can hear how it influenced speed and thrash metal. Metallica even covered it.
This album rocks hard and still shows off how tender these guys could get. It's also the most complete album they ever released and I will always recommend it for newcomers to Queen.
Fav Song: Stone Cold Crazy
Least Fav Song: Tenement Funster (sorry, Roger)
Rated 10/10
Overall: 9/10
I used to play a lot of Fallout: New Vegas when I was in high school and the song Big Iron played on one of the radio stations you can listen to in that game. It was always my favourite song and years later, I found this album in a CD store and bought it as a joke just because Big Iron is on it. I ended up listening to it on the way home and fell in love with it.
The best songs on this album are the ones that tell a story about outlaws. Storytelling seems to be Marty's biggest strength. I also love the harmonies. I don't listen to a lot of country but this is my favourite album from the genre that I've heard.
Fav Song: Big Iron
Least Fav Song: The Strawberry Roan
Rated 6/10
Overall: 6/10
These guys make pretty decent mid-tempo jangle rock, but that seems to be their only schtick. There's not really a bad song but nothing stood out as exceptional either. Reminded me of a less noisy Dinosaur Jr. My favourite song was the country influenced Hannah and Gabi, which was the only song to really break from the formula.
Fav Song: Hannah and Gabi
Least Fav Song: My Drug Buddy
Rated 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Cube is fun to listen to. It's still primitive hip hop in the way that he doesn't switch up his flow very often and the beats can be very repetitive, focusing on percussion. It doesn't matter though cause it's so entertaining. His lyrics are good despite being gangster stuff, which I generally don't love. There are times where he switches it up.
Fav Song: A Gangsta's Fairytale
Least Fav Song: You Can't Fade Me
Rated 10/10
Overall: 10/10
This album is incredible. It's easily Neil's peak, not only as a songwriter but as a vocalist. His voice sounds so good on this album, especially on songs like Old Man and The Needle and the Damage Done. I honestly can't believe how many great songs are on this one. This is my 5th Neil Young related album since I've started doing this and I've come to really appreciate how great his career was.
Fav Song: Old Man
Least Fav Song: A Man Needs a Maid
