Reviews by meemesker

An amazingly powerful debut. Undoubtedly a gifted songwriter. The only thing preventing this from being a 5 for me is that the heavy, somber tone remains fairly constant throughout. Song for song it is brilliant, but as an album it comes across as somewhat overbearing, and not something I'd return to often, unless in the absolute proper mood.

An album unfairly tainted by association with a past relationship, which, uncoincidentally, stirred up a dream/nightmare about said relationship that awoke me at 4:40am this morning. Well, I guess I have an early start to my day. Thanks 1001!

Can't really take this seriously. I know I'm not supposed to, but I can't take it as a joke either.

This album vacillated between annoying and acceptable to me.

Normcore.

After hearing her first album years ago, I kind of wrote her off and never tuned back in again. Her voice simply wasn't for me. Taking the time to listen to this though, all these years later, I can see why she has a strong and devoted following. Certainly an iconoclast with her own sound. Brave stuff. Reminds me in parts of Kate Bush, Bjork, and Fiona Apple, all of whom I'm a big fan of. I also really enjoyed the arrangements by Van Dyke Parks. But like Van Dyke Parks' solo records, again, it boils down to the vocals bringing down the whole experience for me. I can see perhaps one song like this working as the showcase/centerpiece of an album, but an entire album of it is exhausting.

I'm sure some purists think this is sacrilege, but this funky-ass fusion works for me.

I love Holger, he was the secret sauce in Can; the engineer, the editor, the true experimenter. Here he's using samples in a way that was way ahead of its time. Before even Eno and Byrne made their acclaimed "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" (81). You know Eno listened to this and took notes.

I really disliked their previous album "Pyromania," but they changed a lot in the 4 years in between. Became much more pop-oriented and playful. I can see the appeal. There should really only be one Def Leppard album on this list, and this should be it.

Jam sandwich.

This is probably my favorite Elvis material outside of the Sun Sessions. Finally free from the silly movie soundtracks, he could make some real music again. I dig the country-soul sound.

I like that they included the banter in between recordings -makes it feel cozy and intimate- but it's way too long without having some kind of coherent thread (beyond jamming with your heroes). They have all these classic country and bluegrass numbers, and then all of a sudden they just throw a solo acoustic cover of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" in there? Could a left some shit on the cutting room floor. I will say my favorite tracks by far were those with Maybelle Carter.

I found this to be completely irritating. Mostly because it's so melodramatic, without ever really backing itself up with anything truly potent. Trying way too hard to do way too much (and appeal to a mainstream audience). It felt like a double album despite only being 52 minutes. The moment that made my eyes roll back in my head was when they had that live announcer person hyping up the band, and then they incorporated it into the songs via sample. A revolution? Hardly. The only thing saving this from a 1 is if this has come out in the 90s, it might have been slightly more impressive.

I'm a big fan of systems and I admire the way he constructed this. This is not something I come back to often, but I consider it art.

Method Man has one of the most unique voices in Wu-Tang outside of ODB. Through all the typical bravado, there's some real sensitivity here. "All I Need" is probably the most direct and honest testament to loyalty I've ever heard in hip hop. Romantic while staying true to himself, without having to resort to cheesy R&B tropes. Downright touching really, and I respect the bravery it took to put that out there in the context he was in. That's what I love about Wu-Tang; through all the style and storytelling, there is real heart there, whether it's being nostalgic about the past, hopeful for the future, or even giving respect to others in the present.

For "Imagine" alone this gets 5 stars. I can't think of a more iconic, timeless anthem in all of rock music. A beautiful plea for optimism and faith in humanity. Pair it with "Gimme Some Truth" or "How Do You Sleep?" and you get the flipside to that coin. Here the venom flows. And it's this dual nature in John that I love so much.

This might be the most 80s sounding thing in existence.

I'm one of the odd Dead fans that actually prefers the studio versions.

Big fan of JSBX since high school when I bought an LP of "Orange" cause Beck was on the track "Flavor" and was blown away by the rest. Ended up seeing them multiple times in concert, and you better believe they were great live. This album is like the apex of their creative peak from Orange through Acme, where they really started blurring genre barriers and experimenting more in the studio. It kinda surprises me there's so much disdain for this album on here, when the line between this and The White Stripes, etc. is absolutely clear. Yeah, it's a ton more aggressive and chaotic, but those are good things in my book when it comes to rock n roll.

I have listened to this more than any other album in my entire life. This is largely because when my daughter was quite young, about 3, I brought home a copy on vinyl, and it completely captured her imagination - even more than Side A of "Yellow Submarine," which was the first record I had procured for her. Her obsession with Cyndi Lauper still continues to this day, years later, despite having been exposed to things like Taylor Swift. You might think that listening to something over and over, day in and day out, for years would make one tire of it. Well, not in this case. In my opinion, this is one of the most contagiously fun and catchy pop albums of all time. I've always loved it, even when I was a kid myself. I first heard it about the same age as when my daughter did. It became part of the pop landscape, and it has endured ever since, like some kind of musical constellation. What would a wedding reception be without "Girls Just Want To Have Fun"? Her subsequent albums have diminishing returns, but on this album, she was on fire. My ability to judge its merit is inseparable from my personal experiences with it and how it has simply become part of the fabric of my life through my daughter's joy.