Reviews by meemesker

A transitional album setting the stage for his fabled Berlin Trilogy. In many ways this is much more enjoyable than those more challenging albums. The blend of art rock experimentation and plastic soul suits Bowie well. It's ambitious stuff, but never overdone. Even the nearly 10 minute title track doesn't overstay its welcome. A real underrated and all too brief phase for him in my opinion. He could have kept cranking out albums like this for the rest of the 70s, but he was never one to rest on his laurels.

This is obviously a landmark album, they are undoubtedly pioneers in many ways, and there are some amazing tracks on it, but as an album there are two things that bug me about it:

1) It feels sort of inconsistent - especially going back and forth with Nico as vocalist, but also simply going from songs that sound so poppy (even if the lyrics tell a different story), to such abrasive and experimental material.

2) It was recorded horribly. Some might say that adds to its charm, but it was not a joy to listen to for me. It could use a good remix/remaster in my opinion. I much preferred listening to the Mono version on the super deluxe edition.

All that is to guiltily explain why I gave it a 4 from an expected 5. I still like it, it's absolutely a landmark album, but by no means their best work.

I already hated their stuff with Richey Edwards but somehow this is even worse.

Way ahead of its time for 1972. Accessible and fun art rock. Probably my favorite Roxy album due to the presence of Eno. He provides a touch of chaos that makes everything so much more intriguing.

I've been patiently waiting for this one. It's about as close as it gets to RCE, if not in terms of sound, at least in spirit. Though honestly soundwise it's not too far off. The Kraftwerk influence is strong, but it's tempered with a decent amount of soul to set it apart. Right down to the BEF acronym, and just look at that cover! Listening to this is like getting DNA test results back and finding out who your long lost father is.

Sounds like Pink Floyd and Randy Newman were forced to write a musical together with no discernable theme, for a vocalist who has a range far beyond their capabilities.

Peter Gabriel is a true iconoclast, and while I enjoy his work with Genesis, his solo records are where he really shines as an artist. He is an out of the box thinker on the level of Brian Eno or Robert Wyatt, who is able to create truly original music unbound by any sort of genre conventions or commercial sensibilities. He follows his muse wherever it takes him, shape shifting wildly from song to song, yet somehow the production feels aesthetically consistent and fluid. He always takes you on a rollercoaster ride, with all manner of ups and downs along the way, but in the end I'm left feeling exhilarated.

I listened to this alot in college and it really makes the memories come flood back hearing it again. This is easily his best post Pixies album, and I'd say its on par with "Trompe Le Monde." It's CD era long so I'll dock it a point for that, but otherwise I find his songwriting curiously compelling, and the weird energy he performs it with, to be captivating.

"Genius of Love" is bonkers in the best way. The whole album is a wild ride that goes all over the place, but maintains a fun and playful spirit throughout. David Byrne is a fascinating figure, but this really shows you how much Frantz and Weymouth brought to the Talking Heads sound. Absolutely bursting with creative energy but doesn't take itself too seriously. One of the best side projects of all time.

Definitely my favorite Tribe album. I really miss this era of jazz heavy hip hop. As I continued to listen, it went from a 4 to a 5 cause it just flows. It's like butter baby.

Totally Average Britpop.

Though I prefer the album "Zuma" from this period, it's still a good loose rocker from Neil.

When I think of post-punk I think of this. Such a unique sound. Like The Shaggs raised on punk and reggae.

If I had heard this when I was younger it might've grabbed me a bit more perhaps, but there's nothing about this that impresses me any more than the bands that I already consider to be the real pillars of punk rock.

This sounds like the soundtrack to a musical that was written for Tom Jones to star in.

I a fan of Curtis Mayfield, and there are so many iconic songs here, but I don't really like soundtracks being on this list.

It says this is jazz-funk, but where's the funk?

I'm not particularly thrilled by the lyrics, but musically I LOVE this. Part of the mythic Berlin era, it's like Bowie using Iggy as a sort of lab experiment, and the results are a fantastic new direction for the rock and roll animal. Has an exquisite combination of monotony and swagger that endlessly delights me.

I'd heard "Bongo Bong" on a CD Sampler that came with CMJ magazine back in the day, but I'd never been interested enough to seek out the whole album. That was the right move apparently, as the rest of the album doesn't have the same charm. Quirky stuff, and at times enjoyable, but not anything I'd want to listen to again.

This was way worse than I expected. Just unbearably bad. Had to skip many tracks throughout its bloated CD-era runtime. I'd never listened to a whole Eminem album before so I didn't really know what to expect but yikes... I'm not a huge Dr Dre fan, but I'm not sure why Dre chose to align himself with this guy. The psychopath act gets old really fast, and the whole thing is riddled with so many embarrassingly puerile moments it's hard to keep track. His constant attempts to shock are simply exhausting. He's like a kid who's trying too hard to impress his friends. He rips on Insane Clown Posse but I don't see much difference in their general approach besides the face paint.

I know the songs that sample the Alan Lomax field recordings are what got all the attention for being novel at the time, but I actually prefer when he sticks to his moody downtempo techno on the latter half of the album. I definitely don't like when he sings. He seems like a weaselly dude. Apparently a friend loaned him the Lomax boxed set that he used for the samples and Moby never really acknowledged it or gave it back to him. https://www.stereogum.com/1902582/former-friend-of-moby-seeks-credit-for-lending-him-cds-sampled-on-play/news/