Reviews by meemesker

Enjoy the instrumentation and smooth production but as the album goes on I start to lose interest. Some nice tracks but as an album it doesn't hold tigether for me.

An album that is somewhat idiosyncratic and yet very of it's time. Certainly a unique combination of genres. I want to like this more than I do but I think its the vocal style (and some of the lyrics) that bring it down for me. I am more familiar with guitarist Vernon Reid from his 96 solo album "Mistaken Identify" which I enjoy much more. Even their 93 album "Stain," though generally not rated as highly, is much heavier and more interesting to me.

This is the album where I became aware of Sonic Youth (after the Nirvana explosion) so these songs are burned a little deeper into my memory. Liked listening to the rehearsal tapes on the deluxe edition.

Enjoyable and very of it's time. The more I listened to it the novelty sort of wore off though.

I think this may be my favorite Elton John album. Perhaps because it contains "Levon," the first track of his to ever really capture my imagination. His creative collaboration with Bernie Taupin is incredible. Elton John is certainly a very talented musician and performer but honestly I think it is the poetic imagery and mysterious fractured glimpses of implied storytelling in Taupin's lyrics that really draws me in. "Rotten Peaches" is my second favorite track on the album.

I have an old used copy of this on vinyl so I do like it well enough, but listening to it in the context of 1001 greatest albums is kinda baffling to me. I like Cowboy Movie the most by far. It's basically a grateful dead track with a different singer when you look at the lineup. Other than that I like the strangely intense vocal harmony work on the last two tracks but honestly I feel like this is a fairly weak and very loosely constructed album. Kinda just sounds like high quality jam recordings on most of it.

Familiar with the full vocal remix of Brown Paper Bag from an MTV comp called AMP2. Fondly remember watching AMP late at night and am generally a fan of this era of electronic music. 1 cd alone can hold an indulgent amount of music in 70+ mins but a double cd is alot to take in. Had to listen in two separate sessions. Though drum n bass is very "meaty" as far as electronic music goes, the higher BPMs over the course of a double cd can be exhausting if you're not on drugs. Like the upright bass sound. I think I prefer the 2nd disc from "Intro" on. Its more instrumental/atmospheric and has a wider range of moods.

To me this is where Sonic Youth really start to shine. Their songs got more expansive and yet feel more focused and infectious than before. Perhaps it was the pressure of the higher dollar studio time? I love them most when they give their songs room to breathe with extended instrumental passages. Kinda punk-prog. I'm also a fan of the jam to song method they developed these songs with. Perfect balance of capturing that wild vitality but refining it into something more structured.

I know I will be alone on this one but I can appreciate this sort of 80s sophistipop. The talking heads cover was a bit of a surprise and I didn't love it but I generally enjoy the confluence of synths and soul from this era. 3.5 up to 4.

It's fun and playful but I can't completely get into it. I think I prefer his Gnarls Barkley material.

Definitely a big part of my youth. I was captivated by this as a teenager. The fact that there was a film certainly added to the mystique/mythology. Listening to it now still has a strange emotional effect on me. I think it easily holds up as the best rock opera of all time, for me at least. I absolutely love the way it flows and the sound effects that are used throughout. Very cinematic listening experience. Always been a fan of Pink Floyd's experimentation and ever evolving sound. It all sort of culminates here. It always amazes me that they were able to be so successful while being so experimental/conceptual. Their last masterpiece made in the process of their own implosion. In my wildest fantasies RCE would produce something like this.

Interesting mix of material that is still very reminiscent of Simon & Garfunkel (like Duncan or Peace like a River) and that which is markedly different (like the opening track Mother and Child Reunion for example). Most of the rest of the tracks are arranged fairly simply but have a different feel than your average Simon and Garfunkel track; jazzier/more soulful & a little more laid back & personal/conversational.

I start to like Wilco the further they get away from the alt country thing. They're starting to step away from that here but it still shows up throughout. I became aware of them around Summerteeth and am more a fan of that album and what came after. They have some songs I really like but I don't love them for a whole album. What I do like about Jeff Tweedy is that he's not necessarily tied to a particular sound and is open to experimentation. The further he leans in on that, generally, the more I like it. Otherwise I think you end up with some very average indie pop/rock. Man, this a long album. This definitely could've used some more editing. The more I listen to this the more Jeff Tweedy's voice and lyrics are starting to grate on me. Definitely better in smaller doses. You know what, I was going to give this album a 3 but the longer this drags on it just feels like a burden.

I can go for this type of 80s cheese sometimes. I have no particular nostalgia for this album but I was familiar with the lead track. Some of the choices of synth tones are a bit cringey at times. Where I start to have a real problem is on "slowdown sundown" - it sort of breaks the sound he had going for this folksier/rootsier thing and it sounds really out of place. I like "Spanish Dancer" alright but it is mixed so weirdly with those hyper prominent synth notes that it's kinda off putting. "Night Train" probably works best for me overall? By the time it got to the last track I just wanted it to be over (and it's not a long album). I like some individual tracks by him but I can't hang with it for a whole album. 2.5 down to 2.

The beginning of their collaboration with Eno and where they really start to take off. Eno came in and bring just the right amount of punch and flourish to the mix. This is a real nice midpoint in their sound as they continued to evolve. Love how the album starts by just ripping right into it. So much forward momentum on this album.

The birth of heavy metal. Still finding it's way here but they were blazing a trail afterall. I find Black Sabbath's music to be delightfully heavy and thoroughly enjoyable. Some of the most infectious riffs ever. Love the interplay of guitar and bass. Love the tones. Perhaps the greatest example of a band taking a theme and unintentionally turning it into a whole genre. They tapped into something people didn't even realize they were hungry for. Critics hated it at the time and shit on it. Look at the original reviews of their albums from Rolling Stone and then look at how they then have to flip and eat crow and give their albums like 5 stars and include them in their top albums of all time lists now. To me heavy metal is like comic books, an art form that at the outset was seen as juvenile and crude but has gone on to mature and gain more respect over time (hell, you could say the same if rock and roll itself). And like comic books, I think if you don't get into heavy metal in your youth, it can be harder to find your way into it later in life. Black Sabbath are easily my favorite heavy metal band and the key to unlocking all that came in their wake.

When I was a kid Michael Jackson was ubiquitous. Just an absolute cultural juggernaut. I had a cassette tape of "thriller" and remember checking out books from the library about michael jackson and the jackson 5. I definitely can't separate his music from nostalgic childhood feelings. This album is where he truly established himself as an independent solo artist and where he found the perfect producer in Quincy Jones. I feel like this album and Thriller set a new template for pop music that is still being used to this day. Man this album starts so strong! The production is so clean and balanced. So busy and layered but not cluttered or overwhelming. Flows so smoothly. Got some of the best session musicians of the era on this album which I am acquainted with to an odd degree because of their association with yacht rock, (which this album has some crossover with). I can definitely appreciate some immaculate pop production, particularly from this era. Side 1 is a fucking ripper but I feel like the album loses a bit of steam on side 2 around the wings cover "girlfriend" and the ballad "She's out if my life" but I do like the Stevie Wonder penned "I can't help it" very much and "it's the falling in love" is yacht rock gem. More of a fan of "thriller" but this is still a very impressive album with some incredible songs.

This album wasn't widely available until right about the time when I left Lawrence for Providence and I remember it had a certain mystique amongst my friends because of this. We must have been listening to vinyl rips from napster or kazaa or something. I remember my friend's band Ghosty even did a cover of Vampire Blues at a show once that was pretty fun. Production is definitely not smooth but not necessarily lo-fi. I find it very approachable, vulnerable even. I feel like it loses steam a little on the second half, especially with the last track, but all still prime Neil. Great album cover too.

I like the Smiths alright, Morrissey's solo stuff less so. I think this album is saved for me by Vini Reilly's guitar work. I like his sound, particularly on "late night, maudlin street" with the delay. I find this album to be a bit of a drag. 2.5 rounded up to 3.

I like the Bee Gees pre disco albums. This is sort of their magnum opus - a big sprawling concept album in the wake of Sgt Pepper's, with hints of Beach Boys/Pet Sounds, Dylan's more country inflected sound here and there, and maybe a bit of Nilsson? I'm a sucker for this sort of ambition. One thing that I think holds this album back is the lead singing style, which often comes across so melodramatically when they lean in on that vibrato. I can see how it can be a big turn off to some but to me it is just sort of funny - which I'm sure is not the intended reaction. This sounds like the soundtrack to a musical and I find it quite enjoyable. Drags on a bit towards the end though.