Reviews by mikey_nc

A very pleasant album that rarely excited me. Probably could have used some cutting and editing, but a nice one to throw on.

Best song: De Camino a la Vereda

A more understated and "literary" brand of rock opera. Pretty disappointing considering how much I loved Transformer; a little too dour and serious, and honestly kind of same-y.

Best song: Sad Song

Well it’s definitely post-punk. I was gonna give this a 3 until I realized it took like five tries for me to drag myself through this album.

An artsy piano pop epic full of drama and beauty. The first half is excellent but the second half is a lot more uneven (or at least experimental), leaving me uncertain how to rate it. Definitely one worth experiencing.

Best song: Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)

Whatever new wave even is, I don’t usually like it unless it’s coming from the Talking Heads. Love their off-kilter but rock-solid rhythms and the thin, wiry guitars. Pretty weird but highly listenable.

Best song: Psycho Killer

This might have the most whoops + yelps per capita of any album ever made. Despite all its weirdness it mostly sounds like 80s slop to me.

Best song: The Magnificent Five

That started kind of OK before turning into utter bullshit

A very 70s odyssey, almost insufferably campy and dramatic… emphasis on the almost. A fun and entertaining ride chock full of great vocals.

Best song: Paradise by the Dashboard Light

Bright Beatlesque pop rock. A little sappy at times, but pretty breezy and enjoyable.

Best song: Without You

After one hour I have learned I do not like tango

It’s almost a 4 because Charles is such a great singer and there are some great arrangements here, but it does struggle to engage me at times in the middle. Still a very worthy listen. Shoutouts to the lyric “was I gay… til today?”

Best song: It Had to Be You

A sweeping and occasionally beautiful country(?) album. Sometimes a little too syrupy and overlong.

Best song: Life’s Greatest Fool

Few albums have more clearly reflected what an artist was going through than this one. Dylan expresses sorrow, anger, regret, and a whole lot more in this bitter self-examination. Not every song is a total winner, but the highs are startling in maybe his last truly great album.

Best song: Tangled Up in Blue

A couple of the album tracks are just okay, and a couple of the hits do get on my nerves, but otherwise this is pretty excellent pop music. If there’s one thing I always have to credit Taylor Swift for it’s her ability to move between styles and registers for each project, which goes back to her songwriting.

Best song: Wildest Dreams

A very slam poetry jazz/soul album. Often a little much, but lots of good piano and organ.

A long, muddy, feedback-drenched album that I’m sure Pitchfork loved. Interesting moments here, though describing what the vocalists are doing here as “singing” would be pretty generous.

Best song: 100%

Yeah. Street life. Life. On the street. Yeah.

Best song: Street Life

A beautiful and highly polished send-off. Sometimes upbeat, mostly reflective, always fully realized. The title song is and probably always will be one of my all-time favorites.

Best song: Bridge Over Troubled Water

Thick, sharp, heavy as hell. Built around riffs, which is a good choice because most of them are great. Several of the songs and the album as a whole could definitely be shorter, but I still enjoyed it a lot. Metal isn’t always my thing but Metallica usually hits the spot.

Best song: One

A rich and engaging fusion of Western music with Indian music. My attention does drift away a little from the longer more improvisational stuff, but there’s a lot of interesting turns there, too. A worthwhile, unique listen.

Best song: Mamata (Affection)