Reviews by meemesker

Sounds pretty middle of the road to me.

A bit like chugging a large Pepsi. Many people are partial to the taste I suppose, but to me it's a bit too syrupy, and leaves me with a stomach ache.

Delightful balance of glam rock grooves and mad scientist experimentation. A mysterious concoction, where you're not exactly sure what the ingredients are, yet it still manages to go down fairly easily. There is definitely a sinister edge to many of the songs, but it comes across more as mischievous spine tingling than actually being menacing or disconcerting. All part of its charm. I like his ambient albums and all, but I wish he'd stuck with these more rock oriented albums throughout his career. He has a gift for wordplay that I feel he largely abandoned after '77. And I like his voice, even when he is openly mocking Bryan Ferry's affectations.

I'm a pretty big fan of downtempo grooves so this mostly works for me. Nice and moody, almost haunting, touches throughout. Very textured and atmospheric, but still sounds lean and uncluttered. He seems to largely work in the spaces between genres, which I always admire. I like that he chose to have a female singer to be his foil. Provides a nice contrast. Perhaps a bit too long though. Got kinda bored towards the end. I'm not sure how I feel about his hushed vocals either. Sometimes it works, and sometimes I find it kind of frustrating. "Aftermath" is the standout track to me.

Totally average latter day Neil Young record. I appreciate the idea of keeping it loose but not sure if I like the results. I'll give it a 3 because it's palatable to me, but I certainly don't think it belongs on this list. He's just taking up room that could have been occupied by a more deserving, younger group from this same time period.

A post modern, meta level, world music amalgamation. Definition of a banger.

I've listened to this album countless times. Unfortunately it's one of those albums that I associate very strongly with a past relationship which ended badly, so it's hard for me to separate it from those memories and that state of mind. Her name was fucking Sarah too. So when "Lucky" comes on it's kind of haunting. Because of all that I don't listen to this often, but when I do, I am still hypnotized by what initially drew me in: the richly detailed and textured atmosphere that perfectly balanced electronic and rock elements, experimentation with hooks, and, most impressively, the way they were able to capture the zeitgeist with both the beauty and sadness it requires to truly do so.

I think a big part of this album's success was due to simply not overthinking it. Most of it was recorded live together as a group rather than separate takes, and producer Nigel Godrich didn't overwork the mixes. It strangely gives quite the opposite impression though. When I listen to this on headphones I could easily be convinced that they labored over each take Steely Dan style, and that Nigel Godrich held them all at gunpoint over some minor production choice.

This record feels as alive and vital to me as it did when I first heard it, and I consider it their best work. It flows gracefully through all its twists and turns, ups and downs. Computer voice and all, it's a perfect album.

I remember first listening to this with my stepdad on a road trip when I was maybe 13 or 14 years old. It was one of the first albums whose construction made me pay attention to the album format itself, rather than just thinking of them as a collection of songs. It is also the album that made me really and truly understand the immense talent of The Beatles and why everyone made such a big fuss over them. I mean I had grown up with The Beatles and enjoyed them and everything, but had mostly listened to compilations of their earlier material, rather than proper albums. Abbey Road had a range, depth, and controlled experimentation that I hadn't quite experienced before. It's a journey to say the least. Almost like they knew this was the last hurrah so they had to get everything out they could. And thank God they got George Martin back on board to help them focus! You can bag on Paul McCartney all you want, but that song suite is a fuckin' marvel. Granted, this is also the album with "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," which is probably my least favorite Beatles track, and for which Paul is also responsible, but even despite that blemish, the rest of the album is so brilliant it more than makes up for it. There are great songs from each member that are suited to each of their strengths and personalities. It's particularly great to hear George finally begin to shine and produce some his finest work. On CD or streaming, the quick Side A to Side B flip from "I Want You" cutting to "Here Comes The Sun," has to be one of the most intense and beautiful moments in recorded music.

Was kinda disappointed each time the vocals came in throughout the album. I wanted to stay inside the instrumental landscape they were building. Might have been a five for me had it remained entirely instrumental, but still, gotta give it some major love and respect for daring to create something outside of typical genre boundaries.

The missing link between Iggy Pop and Nirvana.

One of my favorite concept albums. Whereas Sgt. Pepper's contrasted a drab reality with an escape into psychedelia, Village Green escapes into a nostalgia for the past - and stays more grounded in doing so. It has a more consistent and even keeled tone. Okay, it does become a bit unraveled at the end, with the oddness of "Phenomenal Cat" and the jerky but dreamlike "All Of My Friends Were There." Other than that though, this album flows like The River Thames.

These songs seem to come from a very real and direct place. The product of honest self reflection. It amazes me that Ray Davies was only 24 years old at the time of recording this album. He was able to articulate the wisdom and perspective of someone well beyond his years. An underrated classic that stands the rest of time.

New Wave Pop flirts with Jazz and Soul and I like the results. A very well balanced mix. It's consistently upbeat, catchy, and enjoyable. To take a term from beer parlance, I'd say this was crushable.

Dated production techniques have marred what could have been a much more interesting album. I want to like it but the out-of-the-box synth tones and the all too crisp and clean recording style make it sound like it was created in a vacuum.

The very reason Spotify has a private session feature. Don't want shit like this coming anywhere near my algorithm.

Stevie Wonder is a musical genius and this is a perfect album.

Somehow managed to be both melodramatic and utterly boring at the same time. Gives prog a bad name.

Straight up does not belong on this list. I'm honestly baffled as to how this was even a consideration. Listened to this as a private session on Spotify so it didn't show up in my history.

The single most important album of my lifetime. Changed the record industry. In trying to find the next Nirvana, major labels were suddenly willing to throw almost anything against the wall to see if it would stick - which made the entire musical landscape much more unpredictable and interesting. In many ways I think modern indie rock is still riding the wave that was created here.

On a more personal level, this came out when I was 11 years old, just as I was starting to listen to my own music. This album couldn't have come at a more pivotal time for me. I have completely internalized the entire album and basically consider it a part of who I am. Both aggressive and vulnerable, emotive yet cryptic, it rings true to me in a way that few other albums ever have.

The beats are very much my thing but the vocal pitch shifting and modulation ruin like 1/2 the songs for me. I'm so into the spare electronic sound though that I can forgive the vocals. I'd definitely prefer to have an album by The Knife on this list in its place.

I enjoy their singles but don't like their sound enough for a whole album. Synthesized brass is an acquired taste that I can't seem to develop.