Reviews by mattrickpow

Overall: 10/10

It's Nevermind.

I could think about what I would want to say about this album for the rest of my life and I'll still end up regurgitating the same old shit everyone else on the planet says. It's great, poppy rock music for the masses. It's vulnerable in it's lyrics and the songs range from punky rants to pretty ballads. It changed the landscape of music forever and most bands in the rock, metal and pop scenes have been influenced by it in one way or another. That's it. End of story. RIP Kurt.

Fav Song: On a Plain
Least Fav Song: Smells Like Teen Spirit (Overplayed)

Overall: 4/10

Very glad to say that I don't hate this. I still don't think it's a great album but I've been talking smack about U2 since I got The Joshua Tree and it's nice to know that not everything they made is unbearably bad...just slightly not great.

This album still has some elements that I hated about JT. Most of the songs are whiney (thanks Bono) and I don't really enjoy the guitar tone. U2 tend to write very droney songs most of the time that irritate me.

But there's also some more upbeat songs that add some variety to this album. Mysterious Ways is my favourite U2 song that I think is genuinely really great. One is also a great jam, Ultra Violet has my favourite guitar work in any U2 song and theres a couple other songs on here that didn't piss me off.

This still isn't a good album in my opinion, but it's at least listenable at times. Brian Eno's production is obviously really good and adds a lot to the songs. I'm praising it more than it deserves honestly but I'm just glad it's not horrible.

Fav Song: Mysterious Ways
Least Fav Song: So Cruel

Overall: 7/10

Man, I still don't really love country but it really helps having Dolly on vocals. I enjoy Linda and Emmylou's voices as well, and the three of them harmonize so beautifully together, but there's just something about Dolly's inflection that tickles my ears in the best way. The songs are twangy and kind of corny like country usually is, but it's fine here. Some of the songs are straight up bangers and some of them bore me to tears.

Fav Song: Those Memories of You
Least Fav Song: Telling Me Lies

Overall: 10/10

I adore the Wu-Tang clan. I think their 90s albums are the peak of hip hop and this is my favourite of their solo albums. RZA is on the top of his game with these beats, and I love all the guest spots from other Wu-Tang members. Of course, it's GZA who reigns supreme on this one. He's such an incredible lyricist, has a great voice and the ability to adapt his flow to whatever beats come his way. He truly is a genius rapper.

Fav Song: 4th Chamber
Least Fav Song: Labels

Overall: 8/10

The best thing about The White Stripes is their simplicity. Jack wrote these short, rocking songs that just kick ass and leave you wanting more. The drums are so basic that they're borderline laughable (sorry, Meg). It's just a really fun album and there's not much else to say about it.

Fav Song: Fell in Love with a Girl
Least Fav Song: I Think I Smell a Rat

Overall: 6/10

I like The Who, but I didn't really love this. Live albums are so hit or miss for me already, but then half of the album is cover songs? They had 4 acclaimed albums at this point to choose from and they chose to cover Summertime Blues. I just find that kind of lame personally. Good performace from the band otherwise.

Fav Song: My Generation Medley
Least Fav Song: Summertime Blues

Overall: 8/10

This was the only Sonic Youth album I listened to for a very long time because I wasn't even sure if I really enjoyed it. I've grown to have the opinion that it's great!

The guitar work is so interesting on every Sonic Youth album. I love that they just don't care about doing anything within the accepted structural confines of music. I also love how effortlessly cool Kim's vocals are. I'm not so in love with Thurston's vocals on this album but he's fine.

I still haven't heard every Sonic Youth album but to me, this one is probably the best to start with for anyone wanting to get into the band. The music is accesible while still retaining the weird noise rock of their earlier days.

Fav Song: My Friend Goo
Least Fav Song: Tunic (Song for Karen)

Overall: 7/10

I went on a date with a woman I matched on with on tinder years ago who had absolutely monstrous sized breasts and she showed up to our date wearing a Muse shirt which I thought was so awesome and after the date she messaged me to tell me she didn't want to go on another date with me cause I was a huge pervert who couldn't stop staring at her boobs and I spent the next half an hour convincing her that I just really loved her Muse shirt and we ended up going on a few more dates after that cause she didn't know I was such a huge Muse fan but sadly it didn't work out. God, she had great tits.

For real though, this is a pretty good album but I've listened to it so much that it kind of became background noise for me. I think they have better albums but I love the stadium rock/Queen feel that they have going for themselves. Knights of Cydonia is an incredibly epic song that I used to absolutely smash on Guitar Hero and Supermassive Black Hole could have been a Prince song honestly.

Fav Song: Knights of Cydonia
Least Fav Song: Hoodoo

Overall: 7/10

There's some really great moments on this album. Is She Weird and Velouria are two of my favourite Pixies songs. However, compared to the previous two albums they made, this one feels like a mixed bag of half finished ideas for the most part.

The one thing I REALLY love about it is the surf rock feel of a lot of songs. These guys tend to use that sound a lot but it's amplified on this one. Santiago is clearly the MVP of this album as his guitar work keeps even the worst songs from going off the rails.

I still think it's a great album and maybe I would like it more if it was the first album I heard from them, but it's impossible for me to not compare it to their best work.

Fav Song: Is She Weird?
Least Fav Song: All Over the World

Overall: 1/10

This album is actually much worse than I expected. Kevin Rowland has an incredibly annoying voice, and I genuinely hate how often he just speaks over the music. Although I know there's bigger problems going on than this list, it still frustrates me that these guys have 3 albums in here.

Fav Song: The Occasional Flicker
Least Fav Song: This is What She's Like

Overall: 2/10

I really don't like this type of music. The repetitiveness is annoying and the same constant drum beat really sucks.

Fav Song: Railing
Least Fav Song: Heroes

Overall: 10/10

I can't believe how good this is...

I've always heard of this band being important to punk and gothic music while never actually hearing a single song by them. Now that I have, I wonder why their music hasn't made a bigher impact in pop culture in general.

Siouxsie has the perfect voice for this brand of post punk awesomeness and the drumming is out of this world, sometimes giving the songs a tribal vibe. The guitar work is as fun as it always is in post punk and the bass holds down the low end very effectively.

It's albums like this that keep me coming back to this generator. It's something I've never heard that's sure to become a staple of the next few weeks/months/years of my music journey.

Fav Song: Monitor
Least Fav Song: Voodoo Dolly

Overall: 7/10

This is a very strange album, and I love how weird and creative it gets. There's so many moments of greatness, with every song being sort of a mini-suite of ideas. With that kind of songwriting, the songs obviously aren't all perfect. There were almost as many moments that weren't so enjoyable. I think with an album like this, I'm gonna give it a slightly higher rating due to the fact that there's not much like it out there. Very fun and cool for the most part.

Fav Song: Somewhere in Hollywood
Least Fav Song: The Worst Band in tbe World

Overall: 6/10

There's some really good songs on this album but most of the lyrics make me cringe. It's not often that I'm listening to music and have to replay a section of a song just to make sure they actually said what I imagined.

It's a shame too cause I love the instrumentals of pretty much every track. The guitar work is especially good on songs like My Curse (with a great female vocalist) and Debonair. I'm sure I'll come back to a few of these songs but overall it's not something that I want to infect my brain with on a regular basis.

Fav Song: My Curse
Least Fav Song: Be Sweet

Overall: 6/10

I love Bowie with all my heart. When compared to the few albums that came before this one, I would call this "a good start". It's obvious with this album that he still had something up his sleeve, and he proved that with the album that came after but this one still has some kinks to work out.

I'll start with saying there's some absolutely WEIRD stuff going on with this one, and this is coming from one of the weirdest mainstream artists in the history of music. I guess that's what happens on your 25th album. However, there's also a lot of great songs that almost remind me of peak Bowie (though not quite). It's all pretty rocking at the end of the day.

The biggest issue for me is it's length. I think he could have cut 3 or 4 tracks out of this and it wouldn't feel so bloated. Still, this is an album worth listening to if you're a die hard fan of Bowie'a work, and it's a good listen before the absolute masterpiece of Blackstar.

Fav Song: Boss of Me
Least Fav Song: How Does the Grass Grow?

Overall: 8/10

I knew it was possible to get two albums in a row by the same artist but it still caught me off guard lol I have a lot of the same opinions on this album that I do with Bug. The guitar work is awesome and interesting and if you don't enjoy J. Mascis as a vocalist then you might want to avoid this one. I like it slightly more than Bug, but I also think it's less accesible, especially with the wall of distortion that starts the album. Lou Barlow also does some lead vocals on this one. Great album if you're into the noisy side of rock.

Fav Song: Raisans
Least Fav Song: Poledo

Overall: 8/10

My friends and I will listen to Dinosaur Jr. and see who can do the best J. Mascis impression. It's a lot of fun and has led to some serious laughing fits.

This is such a great album. I can understand people not enjoying it due to the vocals and excessively distorted guitars, but the songwriting here is awesome. The songs are catchy (almost pop rock in places) and the lyrics are raw and real. I prefer some of their albums more but this is a solid addition to a list that is hit or miss.

Fav Song: Yeah We Know
Least Fav Song: The Post

Overall: 4/10

More likeable than most electronica I've listened to, but still so repetitive that I can't bring myself to enjoy it too much. I need variety in my music and this isn't providing enough of that. Each track features one really good beat looped over and over again. I'm glad the beats are good and danceable but, again, it's not enough.

Fav Song: Setting Sun
Least Fav Song: Elektrobank

Overall: 7/10

Ray Charles was incredibly charismatic and I love his voice. I think I wouldn't have enjoyed this even a few months ago but doing this list has changed my perspective a lot. I enjoy these slower tempo songs and Ray brings so much personality to songs that could have dragged and gotten boring. I could even see this one growing on me.

Fav Song: It Makes No Difference Now
Least Fav Song: Hey, Good Lookin'

Overall: 8/10

I've been in a Bob Dylan type mood lately so I'm very glad to get this one. I've mostly stuck to listening to Blonde on Blonde so I don't spoil these other albums for myself before they pop up, but it turns out I already knew most of the first half of this one!

I can understand why some folk purists at the time would have been mad about this album but it's kind of ridiculous now that I think about it. I don't think any artist should be forced to make one style of music for their entire career. Dylan obviously had a love for bluesier rock and roll and he transitions to that style perfectly.

The folk side of this album is great as well, and this is where the lyrics really shine. If you don't enjoy his voice this album isn't going to change your mind, but give it a shot cause it's such a great album.

Fav Song: Maggie's Farm
Least Fav Song: It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)