Reviews by meemesker

They quit at the height of their powers and left a nearly perfect discography behind them. I say NEARLY perfect, as each Police album has at least one cringey song. It's a weird part of their musical signature that I've come to accept, allowing them that indulgence to get their ya yas out, and not letting it interfere with my enjoyment of the rest of the album. On this album it is of course "Mother." Beyond that, "Synchronicity" is a worthy Swan Song for them, featuring some of their finest work. I can't say it's my personal favorite, but it's probably their most musically varied and refined album.

I love their sound and think it is largely due to the space they give each other as a trio. You can hear each instrument so distinctly in a way that you don't get from most other bands. Never simply washes over me. Each player has such a unique playing style of their own, and they are all adding really interesting touches throughout, but not in a showboating or proggy way. It's all in service to the songs.

I believe another strength of theirs is that, in so many ways, they are such different people; ages, backgrounds, influences, temperaments, etc. They were able to bring all that together so fluidly, especially here in their later work.

The definition of mediocrity. And yet somehow, mediocrity, served just the right way, often manages to become wildly popular. I'm not gonna compare this to a McDonald's burger, because I don't think it's analogous. A McDonald's burger might not be a culinary masterpiece, but I can at least basically remember what it tastes like - even years later. No, this album is like a Wendy's burger. Although I've had Wendy's burgers before, I can't really remember what they taste like. There just aren't enough distinct characteristics to hold onto. I saw this album cover and I was like "oh yeah, that album...I remember that...No wait a minute, no I guess I don't..." It had basically completely faded from my memory, and I liked it that way. It kind of makes me sad that this list is going to perpetuate an album like this, even by a smidge. Just let it continue to die slowly from our collective memories.

Enjoy her move towards an even jazzier sound, but it kind of just washed over me on first listen. Enchanted by the concept of a road album, and would love to continue to examine this with repeated listens, but the experience is hampered by the fact that she removed her catalog from Spotify...

Although I think you get diminishing returns from the studio albums of The Band as they move away from their debut, this album is just a notch below the mythic "Music From Big Pink." An A to Big Pink's A+. This album has "Cripple Creek" on it for God's sake - can't be anything less than five stars. Quite possibly the most soulful thing a group comprised mostly of Canadians ever recorded (besides "The Weight" that is). My second favorite track is definitely "Jawbone" with its triumphant chorus and swirling 6/4 time signature.

This is the record where they really stepped out from Bob Dylan's shadow and established themselves as a complete creative powerhouse in their own right. I love that they have multiple vocalists, as they are each suited to different material, and I especially love the interplay between them, but I have always gravitated most towards the songs where Levon Helm's southern twang takes the lead. Man I just wanna get good and drunk and listen to this on repeat all night.

My absolute favorite period for Bowie. Love this and its sister album "Heroes." They go hand in hand. "Heroes" is certainly a standout track, but as an album I probably prefer "Low" on the whole. I feel "Low" has a wider range of moods, and while "Heroes" is more refined, I kind of like how "Low" has more of a playful experimentation to it - still figuring out the formula. Speaking of the formula, I for one, really enjoy the A side = ever so slightly more conventional with lyrics, B side = off the deep end/largely instrumental approach. Best of both worlds if you ask me. All the playing on this is chef's kiss worthy. Bass, drums, guitars, synths, vox, harmonica, you name it. The production balances all these elements perfectly and feels very three dimensional and immersive. Man, if I could be a time travelling fly on the wall for the recording of any album, this just might be it. "Low" is that rare risky move album where he doubled down on experimentation to find a new direction and it paid off in dividends - we're still feeling its influence to this day.

Dripping with soul. The fake live sound is odd but believable. Would have been a spectacular live show. Not something I'd put on everyday, but the passion in their playing is undeniable.

Besides recording quality, there is very little that would distinguish this from jazz 30 prior to when this was recorded. I suppose most jazz hit the same plateau after the fusion experiments of the 70s. Since the title track wasn't available on Spotify, I listened to a live recording of it with his trio and I preferred it by far to anything on this album. As usual, I prefer jazz in smaller arrangements. Anything beyond a quintet is generally too much for me, unless we're talking about Miles Davis' fusion stuff.

Soul Jazz comfort food. I like the tracks with Kenny Burrell on guitar best, particularly "Messy Bessie."

I think this may be the first album on the list that I genuinely hate. It's such a strange combination of venomous bile and cheesy melodramatic musical techniques - the combination of which just makes me nauseous. The spoken interludes are overused to the point of being eye rolling. I can see what they're trying to do, to reinforce their bleak worldview with the words of others, but maybe just focus on one or two? The whole album is trying to do too much, trying too hard. They also can't seem to make up their mind on what they want to do. They don't even seem to have their own musical identity - they just sound like a loose amalgamation of so many other early 90s guitar based alt rock bands. I thought I actually liked the last song but Spotify had simply gone and auto played a track by The Verve right after the album was over. Not that I'm a huge fan of The Verve or anything, but it was like a breathe of fresh air after being locked in Richey Edwards' dingey apartment for 56 minutes and 25 seconds. Will not be listening again.

Pretty much the perfect way to reinvent yourself towards the end of your career. Put your faith in a visionary producer, open yourself up to unexpected material, strip it down to basics, reinvent said material (including your own) with the sheer weight of your life which is reflected in your voice.

Johnny Cash was both incredibly open minded and supremely humble to be able to put his faith in Rick Rubin. Likewise, Rick Rubin had absolute reverence for Johnny Cash and knew just how to focus on his strengths without overdoing anything. Perhaps the oddest pairing of producer and performer I can think of, but man they made one of the best parting gifts to music of all time.

Love, love, love Os Mutantes. I'm big fan of psychedelic rock in general, but they are probably my favorite psychedelic group of all. They are both more experimental and more fun than most other psychedelic bands. They have a very unique and diverse sound that manages to escape many of the cliches of psychedelia, while feeling more like a real trip. Almost surreal at times. Love the variety of their instrumentation, and their use of the studio to collage everything together.

Almost laughed out loud when the singer started singing for the first time. His warbling sounds like an affected joke. I can't take it seriously. Musically I'm basically on board I guess, but the singer breaks the mood every single time.

I prefer Nick Cave when he's more unhinged than somber. Sounds like he's doing his best Leonard Cohen impression here. The constant miserable bellowing gets old pretty quickly. Sounds like it would be one of those amazing farewell albums if he had made it when he was like 75 years old something, but he was only 24 at the time. Just look at that face! Do you think when he was born he had the appearance and demeanor of a fully formed teenager, like he was some sort of Greek God's punishment to his mother?

Definitely had a Sex Pistols phase after watching The Great Rock n Roll Swindle and Sid and Nancy back in high school. Can't deny the impact this had, but ultimately the nihilism on display here rings pretty hollow. Sounds like it could use a good remastering too. It's funny, for how much punk seems to center around authenticity, this band, which is considered a pillar of punk rock, is essentially a big cynical prank at its core.

A bit whinier than your average Britpop. Kind of like sour patch kids for the ears. Not my favorite type of candy, wouldn't want to eat a whole bag all at once, but okay in small doses.

Has alot going for it, particularly when they go hard, but I think it gets bogged down when they do the old timey thing. Do love the male female vocal mix though.

Powerful, dramatic, soul searching, relatable folk-pop. Is folk-pop an oxymoron? Folk music is a tricky thing with me. It walks a fine line and can go either way very easily. I guess it all comes down to authenticity, and I believe Cat Stevens has it in spades. The way he emotes while singing convinces me that he is living these songs in a real way.

"Where Do The Children Play," "Wild World," and "Father and Son" is an amazing songwriting hat trick. Three timeless classics on one album. Quite a feat. He was like what? 22 at the time? and he sounds like some kind of ancient sage.

All that said, I do find that it's hard for me to continuously listen to this as an album. I prefer his music in small doses, a song or two at a time, rather than all at once. Perhaps this is because it is so potent.

The absolute pinnacle of The Dead's studio albums and probably the best starting point for someone new to their music. Rather than continuing to get lost in studio experimentation, they perfected the approach they began with "Working Man's Dead," where they focused on distilling their songwriting skills and myriad influences into these tight, well-crafted anthems. These songs would then of course go on to become mere starting points for further musical explorations in live settings on subsequent tours - particularly their 72 European tour (my personal favorite). For a band who isn't necessarily best known for their studio albums, this is a nearly flawless masterpiece. 5 stars for "Ripple" alone. Seriously, that is one the most timeless pieces of music I've ever heard. It's up there with things like "Amazing Grace" to me. Beyond Rock and Roll, or any genre for that matter.

Sometimes you can judge an album by its cover. Saw the band name, album title, font choice, and awkwardly stylized image of the lead man's face, and I had a bad feeling. I tried to remain cautiously optimistic but boy was I ever right. Speaking of album covers, I think simply using the lead singer's face, no matter how stylized, is always the absolute weakest creative choice possible. It's like you have this opportunity to express something visually you're just like "nah."

As to the music, this might be the most baffling 1001 choice I've run across yet. Just painfully, embarrassingly bad. Doesn't stand the test of time to say the least. It's almost as if they deliberately wrote songs to emphasize the cringiest cliches of late 80s studio production techniques. I'm still listening to it as I type and considering how much further I should go... I give like 99% of things on this list a fair shake but after the first song I knew I'd heard all I needed to hear. Okay I'm pressing on here... It doesn't necessarily get better or worse, but simply maintains a constant state of melodramatic shittiness.

Well, I hereby nominate this album to be the first in line for the chopping block to make room for something more worthwhile in the next edition of the book.

Like the playfulness of this album quite a bit, but I feel it lacks focus. No single track stood out for me. Not being on Spotify didn't help the experience.