Reviews by mitch058

Although it seems inevitable that we'd get Pink Floyd's debut album (since debit albums are clearly a dominant theme of this collection), I'm bummed that we got Syd Barrett's far-less-interesting turn than another later Pink Floyd album like "Ummagumma", "Animals" or even the much later (but not nearly as good) "Division Bell". But I've never heard any of the tunes on this album, so I guess I'm appreciative of the chance to hear what Pink Floyd sounded like under Syd Barrett's sadly-deteriorating direction. I'm not sure any of the tracks really stood out for me, but it was interesting to have improv-heavy instrumentals next to clearly-structured songs. It's kind fun to hear too how much they embodied the psychedelic rock sound of the late 60s, and the production quality is definitely higher than many contemporary albums. Also pretty cool to read that they recorded this album next door to the Beatles as they record "Sgt. Pepper's".

At times, and this is one of those times, it feels like the collection heads into this sad, dusty, neglected musical cul-de-sac, with a weird grab bag of forgettable albums or weird-but-not-really-entertaining bands and albums. This is more of the former (and not at all weird), made even more dubious by the fact that this collection apparently has two (2!) Sepultura albums, as if one incredibly generic collection of growled metal bangers wasn't quite enough. On the positive side, it's not a particularly long album (at least if you stick with the non-remastered version), and the lyrics seem to be benignly dark, and largely incomprehensible. And of course a tip of the hat to the fact that they're Brazilian, apparently proving that the southern hemisphere isn't immune to the lure of being a metalhead. I'm also glad to read that they manage to tour with Ozzy Osbourne, and then with Ministry and Helmet, as I suspect they got a great reception among those fans.

Quite a mellow album. I kind of feel like we got this classic album instead of Pink Floyd's "Meddle" just to share the wealth of atmospheric albums, and if so I'm grateful (as much as I enjoy most Pink Floyd albums). The title track is very very long, obviously, but an interesting progression, especially for early synthesizer compositions. (And fascinating to read about how challenging it was to set up and play and record the Moog equipment they used for aspects of the tracks.) I'm not sure I'd necessarily listen to this again, but I'm glad to have finally heard Tangerine Dream, who sound nothing like the 80s pop/new-wave band I always assumed they were from their name.

Although I'm not sure it entirely works for me, I really enjoyed getting this new-to-me and hugely eclectic concept album. I didn't recognize Janelle Monae's name, but now realize that her picture on the album cover looked vaguely familiar from her television and film career (most notably in "Hidden Figures" and "Glass Onion"). I like it that she fused a Metropolis-style android theme with retro and modern music styles, and while I didn't realyl follow the storyline, a few tracks really stood out, especially "Dance or die", "Tightrope" (whose video is fantastic, although I was really surprised she pulled in Big Boi for the collaboration, as Andre 3000 is *way* more aligned with this album), and "Come alive (War of the Roses)".

I'm not sure what exactly made me think of the film version of "Moulin Rouge" as I listened to this album, but they both have this kind of carnival/variety-show aspect to them. It probably didn't need to be quite so long, but at least it kept me wondering what might come next throughout, and usually entertained.

Ah, Slayer: greater than Megadeth and Metallica combined. And certainly more intense and faster than anything before, and to some degree afterwards. I had a friend in high school who loved them, and while I couldn't really ever get into the raw thrashness of it all, I could see their appeal (although I think this was before this album). It's pretty much impossible to say that I liked some of the tracks more than others, but I thought "Criminally insane" (both versions) and "Raining blood" had the most interesting structure of the lot. I also *really* appreciate the short-and-sweet nature of the songs and album overall, especially right after the epic four-volume Gershwin-o-rrhea by Ella Fitzgerald.

Without reading the Wikipedia entry for this album, I probably wouldn't have realized that Rick Rubin's insistence on avoiding reverb or really any sound effects made a *huge* difference in how intense and crispy clean the whole album sounds, a huge contrast to other metal albums of the time. I also love it that among the various (and surprisingly numerous) artists that have covered "Raining blood", Tori Amos chose to take a stab at it (and even Slayer band members could barely hear their own song in her version, which rightfully ranks up there as one of the best metal covers by non-metalheads). I also love it that "Raining blood" is also considered one of the hardest (if not the most difficult of all) songs to play in the Guitar Hero franchise. I can't even imagine trying anything off this album, to be honest.

Argh. Although I get the impulse by this project's editors to give us a healthy dose of the Great American Songbook performed by various artists, three-plus hours of Ella Fitzgerald singing Gershwin songs seems a bit too much for anyone (like me) who's not really a fan of largely interwar show tunes. But there's no denying Ella Fitzgerald has a great voice, and this album is impressively produced and recorded and preserved, which makes it easier to go on (and on and on) through the various songs. (I'll admit that I didn't bother to get the final few songs from the collection that were inexplicably left off the YouTube Music playlist.)

I don't think I ever knew that Neneh Cherry hailed from Sweden; this unexpected origin makes the album a bit more interesting, but only a little (although the "1001 Albums" entry provides some interesting background context for her). I'm not a big fan of late 80s pop, and this falls squarely in that slot, with a bit of edge occasionally. "Buffalo stance" is kind of mesmerizing (both song and video), but mainly because I have no idea what that phrase is supposed to mean (even after reading the Wikipedia entry for the album and that song specifically), although it's clear it provides her some extra swagger. Similarly, "Manchild" feels a bit hypnotic, especially the video to it, with an equally ambiguous meaning (but certainly more interesting than Sabrina Carpenter's similarly titled hit). The rest of the album feels like a cross between Janet Jackson and Britney Spears, although to her credit she composed or collaborated on all of the tracks; "The next generation" and "Phoney ladies" are probably the best of the lot (in a very 80s way).

This is by far my favorite Johnny Cash album, although I'm sure admitting this only reveals my rank amateur status as a Cash acolyte. Regardless, when I first heard this album I was floored with the first two songs that set the feel of the entire album, painful and raw and full of hard experience. I was also incredibly impressed that he covered such a wide range of songs, especially Trent Reznor's "Hurt" (even more so now that I've seen the painfully intimate video) and Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus". Other standouts are Sting's "I hung my head", The Beatles' "In my life", Tex Ritter's "Sam Hall" (which reminds me of Sam Shepard's version in the excellent movie "Blackthorn"), the Eagles' "Desperado", and Hank Williams' "I'm so lonesome I could cry", plus the fantastic version of Marty Robbins' "Big Iron" (sadly only on the LP version of this album, but fun to have heard the original and Cash's version in this project). I also loved all the contributions from John Frusciante, Nick Cave, Don Henley and Fiona Apple.

A while back I saw "Lucky", a film with a very aged and ornery and cranky and endearing Harry Dean Staton (and I'm not really sure he was exactly acting all that much). That movie has stuck with me for many years as at least one way I hope all of us can near the end of our days. This album had the same effect on me, and while it's similar in some ways to a few other albums in this collection by artists towards the end of their careers/lives (especially Billie Holiday's "Lady in Satin" and David Bowie's "Blackstar", and maybe even Leonard Cohen's "You Want it Darker"), Cash is setting his own terms and seems at peace with the highs and lows and in-betweens of his life (to borrow from the title of an album by a fellow hard-living country singer, Townes Van Zandt (why isn't he in this collection????)).

Well, this is disappointing. I had no idea when I listened to "Too Rye Ay" that there could possibly be more Dexys Midnight Runners in our future, largely because it seemed like a novelty-esque album and not much there (but still a fun enough album). I'm not really sure they count as a one-hit wonder band, but this album only reinforces that they had only so much to share with the world, and I'm kind of dreading listening to their debut album some future day from now. On *this* album, though, the (relative) high points were probably "One of those things" (despite blatantly stealing Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" riff, and only attributing it much later in an album re-release) and the closing "The waltz", while the unending meander of "This is what she's like"--trying to be a quasi-Bohemian-Rhapsody--is (hopefully) their cumulative nadir, an unintentionally melancholy version of something from "Too Rye Ay".

It's not their fault that the "1001 albums" editors chose to include Dexys' entire discography (at least from the 80s), but that doesn't mean we have to enjoy everything they throw at us. And despite the glowing review in the "1001 Albums" book, and however much Kevin Rowland agonized over pointless details across the many months of recording this, I'm very comfortable in opining that this album doesn't belong in the collection, sadly.

Like the other Prince albums in this collection, I've only heard the singles from "1999", and not even the full versions of those tracks it turns out--most of the radio/video versions of his singles are about half the length of the versions on the album. It's a classic Prince album, of course, but I wonder if it might have been even better if the same editorial approach had been taken to all of the tracks? Plus maybe a few more instruments than just drum machine, synth and guitar, or just a bit more variety aside from his electro-funk sound (it felt like the tracks "1999" and "Little red corvette", plus to some degree the ballad "Free", were the only ones that had a different formula than the rest of the album). A good selection for this collection, and impressively more explicit than later albums--I can see why MTV refused to show the video for "Automatic", and I'm not at all sure I understand what all's going on in "Lady cab driver", but it's not a Disney-friendly track. It all makes me wish I was more of a Prince fan.

Another solid prison album by the Man in the Black, although it's hard to top "At Folsom Prison" (and this one doesn't really come all that close). This felt a bit more like a USO tour recording than Folsom's more dark and confessional tone, but it's still fun to hear Johnny Cash belting out tunes. I liked the train rhythm of "Wreck of the old 97"; having June Carter accompanying on "Darlin' companion" (as well as the extended monologue at the end); the powerful track(s) "San Quentin", made even more powerful from the prisoner's reactions (and striking how similar this song is to his much much later song "The man comes around"); as well as the largely unrehearsed "A boy named Sue" (another intriguing Shel-Silverstein-penned song). Given where it was performed, I'm glad I wasn't there, but I'm guessing everyone who *was* felt lucky for the time he was on stage.

Ah, more Cure to sooth the ailing teen angst. But I'm very appreciative that this is a relatively brief album, and *very* appreciative that we didn't get this album as part of the US double-album release "Happily Ever After" (combining this album with "Faith"). It's well-produced and very much in The Cure vein, which I'm sure scores points with their fans, although it seemed even starker and more spare than the other albums in this collection (amybe that's the appeal). I'm not sure there were any tracks that really stood out aside from their semi-hit "A forest", although it was funny to read that "The final sound" was intended to be much longer, but their incredibly small budget and tight recording schedule meant that the recording ended at 53 seconds and they literally didn't have more tape to record more....

I know Alice Cooper rarely gets much credit as a musician/artist, but it's still hard to deny the role he played alongside the likes of Kiss in carving the way for all sorts of dubiously-talented glam/metal bands to strut around in costumes and belt out forgettable tunes. And there's really nothing all that bad about this album, especially if you don't expect too much. Of course, there's also not a whole lot great about this album--it feels like a more mediocre version of a Meatloaf album. I wonder if it got included as the other Alice Cooper album in this collection simply for the iconic (and very relatable) "School's out" track? Either way, I can only hope "Billion Dollar Babies" is a bit more inspired.

Much like the other Wu-Tang-related releases, I feel like I'm hearing some crucially important hip-hop album without any frame of reference or adequate appreciation. I *do* appreciate the relatively short playtime of the album (remarkably restrained of MM), and I *think* I might have actually heard "Bring the pain" before, which would likely be a first for the Clan and me. This also seems like RZA's best production of the albums I've heard so far in this collection. And although it didn't make it on the main album in the US, the remake of "All I need" with Mary J. Blige ("I'll be there for you / You're all I need to get by") is probably the best of the album, with "Release yo' delf" a close second (especially with Blue Raspberry singing the lyrics to Gloria Gaynor's "I will survive" in the background); I also enjoyed hearing the Chemical Brothers remix of "All I need".

Argh...too much Elvis Costello in this collection! Fine, I suppose, but aside from sounding very "classic" Costello, and containing several big radio hits, this is a very forgettable Costello album. Or maybe it's just so quintessentially Costello that it just seems exactly like what you'd expect? Either way, the highlights for me were "Oliver's army" and "Green shirt" (mainly for the videos showing a much younger Elvis and Attractions, although I'm not entirely sure about the latter's video provenance), plus "Moods for moderns", and I liked it that he did a version of Ian Drury's "Sunday best", although Drury's original remains the better version. (I also realize about halfway through that part of the reason this sounded so familiar was because I already got this album before I joined the group playlist...) It was also interesting to read that his poor behavior during the US tour for this album had a huge impact on his career and kept him from touring North America for a full decade. And despite all of this, this does seem like one of his stronger albums.

I guess I'd heard of Screaming Trees before, largely on their radio play for "Nearly lost you" (on an earlier album, "Sweet Oblivion", but I had no idea they were a Seattle band, and I'm not really sure why this project chose this particular album to highlight the band. It's seems like a fine album, but also a pretty forgettable foray into alt-rock; the best of the lot were probably "Look at you" and "Witness" (with a nod to "Dime Western" with its very Soundgarten-esque/Jesus-Christ-Superstar-sounding guitar lick), but even those selections feel a bit arbitrary. It's funny to read that they toured with Oasis; I wonder if that was just to make Oasis feel better about themselves?

In many ways, this is a much more interesting album than "Imagine", given all the angst and emotions Lennon poured out over the tracks (especially the near primal scream as "Mother" progresses). Much like "Imagine", this doesn't seem like a particularly noteworthy collection of songs, although I appreciated the darker tone to many of the songs (apparently thanks to his primal therapy regimen), especially "Working class hero" (probably the strongest of the lot lyrically) and "God" (a surprisingly sad disavowal of almost everything); I wanted to enjoy "Mother", especially since it starts off so strong, but then just gets weird. As I wrote with his other solo album, if I hadn't known that John Lennon was a former Beatles member, I'm not sure this album would even really register. And curious that we don't get Yoko Ono's "Plastic Ono Band" album, given that they shared the same release and album cover.

Although I've never heard anything from this album (or artist) before, I feel like it belongs squarely in that 80s/90s outpouring of world-beat, electronic, choral ambient music, alongside much better known groups like Enya, Deep Forest, Enigma, Dead Can Dance, and plenty more like it, albeit a bit more beat-heavy and Indian-music-oriented. It's an enjoyable album, and I particularly liked the intro sampler "Traveller", especially the section that had various flutes (including contributions by Ryuichi Sakamoto). But it's not exactly the sort of album that comes to mind for a 1001 list, I'll admit, especially given that *none* of those other aforementioned bands/groups/artists are included. Such are the vagaries of this collection, though, and I suspect the fact that this album beat out Blur and Chemical Brothers for the 1999 Mercury Music Award probably clinched its place (that or because Talvin Singh appears to be an arrogant but talented jerk).

What a strange addition to the collection (and likely transgressive, since it's a collection of previously released singles). Regardless, it's hard not to enjoy hearing yet again "Planet Rock" (although I didn't realize until now that they cribbed from Kraftwerk and even Ennio Morricone). I'm not nearly as familiar with the other tracks, but it's still fun to hear early "electro funk"; the main highlights for me were "Renegades of funk" and the almost new-wave (and drum-heavy) "Frantic situation", although I can see why "Looking for the perfect beat" got a lot of attention.

I keep thinking I bought this album, or at least something by them, but every time I look at my digitized collection, I don't see it, so I'm always relegated to hearing them in somewhat random circumstances. Until now! The wait was worth it, and I enjoyed the album quite a bit, although probably not as much as the album title and cover promised all those years ago. My favorites are some of their singles--"Fight test" (a fun adaptation from Cat Stevens' "Father and Son", but a shame that there was a royalties battle with this, and it didn't even involve poor Yoshimi; the video was pretty good too), the song and video for "Yoshimi battles the the pink robots, Pt. 1" and their big hit (and video) "Do you realize?"--but I also found the whole album entertaining, in a laid-back, almost Radiohead-esque sort of way, and it also feels like the band members don't take themselves too seriously (very appealing). It was also fun to read that there's a real-life person behind the album's Yoshimi (Yoshimi P-We), as well as the reference to "In the morning of the magicians", an apparently French 60s cult classic book that inspired the likes of H. P. Lovecraft. Plus, of course, that Aaron Sorkin was (initially) involved in a musical version of the album/storyline, and that the band convinced Justin Timberlake to play bass (wearing a dolphin costume no less) on "Yoshimi battles the the pink robots, Pt. 1" for "Top of the Pops". Good stuff!