Reviews by mkaddour2001

For my personal taste, I'm a much bigger fan of pre-new-wave 'Hounds of Love' era Kate Bush - I just find her newer stuff is missing the alien weirdness that made her early stuff so amazing (aside from maybe 'Rocket's Tail' from this album, which reminded me of some of the most imaginative moments off The Dreaming). But Kate Bush is Kate Bush at the end of the day, and the talent speaks for itself - if anything, this album feels like a more mature, grounded, and sentimental take on her usual style. That idea really clicked with me on the lush, reverby, dreamy, and emotional 'Deeper Understanding', which sounded like the sonic encapsulation of a comforting hug. A good bit of this album, production-wise, sounds like this; it's all super warm and textured. And while I do think there's some of that '80s clunk here, especially on 'Heads We're Dancing', songs like 'The Fog' and 'Never Be Mine' fuse those sounds with the Celtic and Eastern influences Bush is known for. And the closer, 'The Woman's Work', is so unbelievably sad - the song feels so full in sound, yet so empty at the same time, like the crushing weight of the world you feel after losing someone special.

Kate Bush once again solidifies her place, for me at least, in the art-pop hall of fame. It's a mature angle for this usually very striking artist, but it's an angle I can get behind and respect - especially when it sounds this freakin good.

To say Bowie had done and would go on to do more interesting things with his music would be an understatement. While the production here is colourful and varied with the fusion of pop and art-rock that Bowie was renowned for, the songs left a lot to be desired. I think it's the sort of washed-out nature of the production, and the very unfocused nature of the songs themselves, constantly hopping between (mostly promising) ideas without ever settling or building on any of them. That's sort of always been an early-Bowie thing, I understand, but it was more noticeable and irksome when compared to the masterpiece he had released just the year prior. So while, by Bowie standards, this was nothing to cry home about, it still had its fair share of highlights. I really liked the rhythms and backing vocals driving the explosive 'Panic in Detroit'. 'Time' is the Bowie staple operatic album centerpiece, which really carries over that cinematic and theatrical edge that was put on full display in 'Ziggy Stardust'. The closer was also pretty great, with a build that's so subtle yet it hits you like a truck when it hits its climax.

I've always wondered why this album, in particular, became so popular within this genre. Maybe it's because it's a culmination of all the burgeoning electronic-based sounds of the '90s - be it plunderphonics, or ambient techno from the likes of groups out of Warp Records, or trip hop groups like Portishead and Massive Attack. And even though I didn't think much of it back when I first heard it a few years back, I do think it does an exceptional job at capturing the magic of '90s electronic music, in all its aged glory. There's a bit of everything in this album, and it somehow still manages to sound mostly cohesive - comfortably lying in this very AIRy and chill space, giving the record the apt genre tag of downtempo. I do think they wear their influences on their sleeves a bit too obviously, but it's nothing too heinous; they do enough interesting things here that make it all worthwhile. For one, the shrieking noise bit (which I think is just an electric guitar?) on 'Sexy Boy' is such a cool sonic motif and honestly makes that entire track super iconic - it's my favorite here. And the orchestral bit in 'Talisman' is jaw-droppingly gorgeous and reminds me of something Daft Punk would go on to do on RAM, 15 years after this was released. And speaking of their contemporaries and fellow Frenchies Daft Punk, the whole vocoder thing on a few of these tracks is obviously super Daft Punk-y, but I quite liked the melodies generally, especially on 'Remember'. And I guess I didn't notice this the first time around, but the jazz and R&B influences are very subtly and nicely baked into these songs. Especially whenever Beth Hirsch is on vocals, sounding like a fusion of Beth Gibbons and Sade in the best way possible.

Really solid debut with obviously high production value. To bring RAM by Daft Punk up again, this really does sound like the '90s version of that album in how it takes electronic music and pushes it to a completely different, pristine realm in not only a celebration of one particular genre, but music as a whole.

DO THE HUMPTY HUMP. God, that opener is such a classic, really one of the goofiest and most ridiculous rap songs ever that somehow just works. The whole album sort of falls in line with that one song - just laid-back fun and, at times, nonsense. The sound these guys stick to here walks the very fine line between distinctly '80s hip hop, ala groups like De La Soul, and the new sounds ushered in by guys like ATCQ that were maybe a bit more slick. But the album's personality isn't as finely curated as albums from those two other groups generally are. I'd say it certainly has (and sort of suffers from) a bit of that '80s hip hop clunk, in everything from the production to the rapping to the hooks. It's also a bit too long, and the songs drag on waaaaaaaay longer than they need to; there's a lot of dead air here. But there are quite a few funny standout moments that make this thing impossible to hate - I really meant it when I said this album falls in line with that ridiculous opener. The sort of tongue-in-cheek and comedic nature of it all gives off a Parliament/Funkadelic vibe (a group they were very influenced by), so that's cool at least. I especially liked 'Gutfest 89'' for that exact reason, a genuinely funny song with one of the better beats here. And then there's 'Freaks of the Industry', which takes this whole thing way too far - but I'm also glad it did. But we have to stop making moans a part of these hip hop beats, like it never works, ever (even though this seems to be a cleverly chopped sample that makes it sound that way, my point still stands). 'Packet Man' and 'Dowautchyalike' have these smug vocal rapped/sung bits that also get a chuckle out of me, and the latter has this really nice, and out-of-place piano solo in the latter half. It really makes you realize, this album is about the little moments. And the whole premise behind the psychadelic title track is so stupid, and nothing about it makes sense, but they somehow made me bob my head to it for 7 minutes straight - so they win.

So yeah, this album just sort of does its thing for an hour, and then it ends. Don't know if it left an impact on me, but when it was all said and done, I felt oddly satisfied with my time, which is not how I felt at various moments throughout the record, especially in the second half. It's chill, it's cool, it's funny, it's sarcastic, and that's all it tries and needs to be. And it would hurt me physically to give this anything less than a 4 gadamnit - 'cause I'll be humpty humpty'ing till the day I die.

A bit torn on this one. Overall, I really appreciated many of the lyrical themes tackled here, especially in songs like 'Cult of Personality', 'White Way to America', and 'Open Letter (To a Landlord)'. But musically, I felt it was way too boilerplate for its own good. Not bad by any means, but it clearly leans too heavily into early '70s hard rock nostalgia, and the punk and funk fusions aren't particularly standout or deep. The '70s throwbacks work fine at times, especially on the soulful cut 'Glamour Boys'.

My first foray into ABBA's music. I was sort of under the impression that this would be a disco album, which the song 'Dancing Queen' (to the only song I've heard by them) was. But this seems to fall into a more traditional '80s new-wave style, which works shockingly well for the group, especially given the group's very interesting and addictive group-vocal drive style. But even the synth work here remains consistently interesting all throughout; they are European after all. The backing music gives off this theatrical vibe, sort of like you're watching the most dramatic part or coda of an opera show, with my favorite moments being the sort of ominous piano part in 'I Let The Music Speak' or the dramatic string-esque hits of 'Head Over Heels', my favorite song here. But let me just talk about the songs here - 'cause Jesus, this sounds like a greatest hits record. Every song here is so good in its own way - say, for maybe the opener, which honestly scared me because it really didn't click with me at all. But so many of the subsequent songs here were so earwormy, so heavy-sounding, so powerful, so ambitious and grand, and so unique from one another. If anything, it's a bit too much at times; I'd say overproduced, almost? But not quite, just super layered, and the group vocals are always so dense and textured. I don't really care, though, as long as the songs are good, and they are. It makes me overlook the over-sentimental and over-dramatization here that I would usually despise - it's just something about this album.

Such a sweet album from these Swedish legends, I really did not expect to enjoy the songs here as much as I did. Will be listening to this bundle of absolute joy in the foreseeable future.

Honestly, a really cool album for the year it came out, it seemed very predictive of a lot of '90s alt rock sounds (just listen to 'White Girl') - and was also doing some really cool stuff with your more boilerplate punk rock sounds, sort of fusing it with more '60s hard rock and psychedelic adjacent sounds. So in a funny way, it sounds like it came out both 10 years before it actually did and 10 years after it actually did, neat. And to add in something random, the female vocalist here gave heavy PJ Harvey vibes. I really loved the song 'Adult Books', it has this sweet '60s pop-rocky rockabilly riff driving the whole thing, and the two vocalists work really well together whenever they're on the same songs together, which is quite a few on this record; the chemistry is there. The riffs, while on the simpler side of things, still pierce through the mixes here and are absolutely as memorable as the vocals. They range from your typical Ramones-styled early punk riffs like on 'I'm Coming Over', to Stooges-styled bluesy and proto-punk simplicity with 'It's Who You Know', to just good ol' rockabilly with 'Beyond and Back'. Lyrically, think the album generally deals with this topic of a troubled romance, though I'll need to dig into it more; a lot of the lyrics puzzled me on first listen. But I found the writing captivating nevertheless, especially with the imagery here on a song like 'Some Other Time'.

Really enjoyed my time with this one - the genre fusions here just scratch so many of my punk rock itches. Definitely an album I see growing on me with future revisits, especially as I dive deeper into the lyrics here.

Maybe it's because I kinda hate Johnny Rotten and his shitty politics nowadays (though, admittedly, his PiL project is really cool) but I've never really liked the Sex Pistol's debut. I guess it's important for the "image" of punk - you know the posey Sid Vicious, powerchord, "fuck the establishment, we're going to swear on our album" image that I think actually encapsulates everything wrong with the genre. But even then, by this point, the idea of being anti-establishment was already treded by lesser-known groups who did much more interesting things musically than the Sex Pistols, but, y'know, without the costumes and mainstream attention. Sonically, it's your standard early punk music - nothing super memorable, but sort of annoying at its worst. This thing gets sorta grating in its final quarter honestly. I guess this album technically paved the way for what punk music *should* sound like with the group vocals, noisey power chords, and picked basslines - which many of my favorite bands I'm sure found influential. But I'll share the sentiment that many share about these guys which is that they clearly rode off their shock factor and not the quality of their music or writing. The song 'Bodies' may be the worst offender, clearly taking the piss out of the topic in the song instead of saying anything of substance - but hey there's nothing more Sex Pistols than that. In a way I admire the absolutely childish and edgy heights this album shoots for, but also, these guys were clearly capable of writing some decent songs like with 'God Save The Queen' and, especially, 'Anarchy In The UK' which has some genuinly solid guitar work and pacing.

When it comes to the golden age of punk, I will rarely have the desire to throw this one on. Give me 'The Stooges', 'The Clash', or 'The Ramones' over this any day of the week. Its influence just doesn't translate to enjoyment for me, I'm sorry - and this is coming from a huge punk fan.

Sounds like the love child of many different prominent '60s groups: parts Kinks, parts Beach Boys, parts Rolling Stones, and parts The Sonics. Honestly, most of it was pretty good if you ignore how derivative it comes off at times. 'I'm Not Your Stepping Stone' was cool to hear in one of its classic forms (I think it's a Monkees song originally), seeing as it's covered by one of my favorite bands ever, Minor Threat. This version was pretty raw and punchy for the time, honestly. The song 'There She Goes' was also really nice - a short, sweet '60s pop track loaded with sweet old-school harmonies and this cutesy little piano line. And uneasy dissonance aside, I feel similarly about the following, 'All I Really Need Is You'. And for as cheesy as the concept is behind it, 'Melody For an Unknown Girl' was just too damn cute.

So yeah, pretty decent and harmless, but not something I'd revisit much in the future.

I mean, maybe I should've expected this out of a Virginia hip hop artist, but this is easily one of the most laid-back hip hop records I've ever heard. I don't know if it's Missy Elliot's very careful, cunning, and carefully paced rhymes and delivery, or if it's Timbaland's sorta bare, simplistic, and spacey beats, or maybe the various RnB fusions that find their way onto most songs here, via Missy's singing or some guest vocalist - but I just felt so at ease listening to this. Unfortunately, it suffers from being too long for how one-trick it is, which I've come to expect from albums from around this period (but hey, at least no annoying skits). Definitely would've enjoyed this album more in a more chilled-out context - because after just one listen, I feel like this album doesn't really tailor itself to a fully-focused type of listen. Again, not bad or anything, it's just Missy Elliot's flow is really really laid-back and not very lyrically complex at all - I know I keep using the words "laid-back" and "chill", but I can't emphasize it enough - that is the appeal here for me.

So yeah, not a huge fan of the album as a whole, I don't think, but some great songs in the mix here regardless. 'Sock It 2 Me' is maybe the closest thing here to a conventional banger, with this sort of dorky, but kind of charming cinematic beat driving the whole thing. On the R&B end, I really liked the slow jam 'Friendly Skies' and the following duet with Aaliyah 'Best Friends', which has such a sweet message behind it, and a super satisfying back-and-forth with the legend herself - probably my favorite song here. The song 'I'm Talkin' has an almost horrorcore Memphis feel to it, a style, now that I think about it, Missy Elliot clearly draws a lot from. This song is also the most cut-throat thing here, on the lyrical front.

So yeah, while it's certainly a bloated record at the end of the day, I did enjoy the ride, generally speaking, despite it slowing my heart rate down to dangerous levels.

Pretty mediocre to my ears. I don't particularly hate this late '80s soft-rock sound, but a good chunk of this thing just bored me. The vocals and melodies seem to meander too much and come off as almost directionless on some of these songs. And the band does little interesting with all the country and other genre fusions here, the acoustic cuts were the worst offenders. It's not all completely awful, I do think the opening track, 'Firefly' was cute for what it was. And 'Pale Skinny Girl' is just leagues above anything else here, a generally melancholic and evocative little tune with an incredible stuttering instrumental interlude. This song gave me Slint vibes almost. 'Western Sky', I also really enjoyed the sentiment of, despite it falling into the same uninteresting instrumental lane as many of the other songs here fall into.

So, yeah, those are my brief thoughts; not my thing, and I think many were doing this sound better at this time. Not god awful or anything, though.

I guess this is technically considered a "late" era Funkadelic/Parliament (honestly, idk the difference) album, and you really can tell that they had mastered the art of P-funk by this point in their career. While I do love how ambitious and ahead of the curve their seminal 'Maggot Brain' is, the tracks on this album present a level of slickness that just isn't there in their earlier works, at least not to this degree. The way the band locks into these polyrhythmic and erratic grooves is hypnotizing in ways rivaled by very few. And the vocals are so smooth, lightly coasting on the airtight grooves here like they're nothing - never overpowering the rest of the music. The vocals are also super diverse on this record, like each song is sung from the perspective of some new wacked out character in this Funkadelic universe. The opening title track is one of the band's best tracks right off the bat, just the perfect funk song that creates specific itches just so it can scratch them. The following 'Groovallegiance' has this almost psychedelic reggae feel to it, but it's the vocal layering and harmonization that really make this song stand out in the mix here. It also has maybe the best build-up on the whole album. And I'm sorry, 'Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock!?' gives like Fishbone 3rd wave Ska vibes - but with those classic Funkadelic sing-along group vocals. 'Lunchmeatophobia' also gives off this vibe, with some incredibly heavy and dirty guitar playing driving the whole thing. Also, that goddamn Enema song is one of the most wacked out insane things I've ever heard - on both the vocal and lyrical front. And I kind of love everything about it; my favorite line has to be "Fried Ice Cream is a reality" because yes. ALSO, this album has a live version of the song 'Maggot Brain' as it turns out, and it maintains all the emotional power of the classic original, though with a bit more pizzazz. While I prefer the simplicity of the original, the song itself is too good, so I can appreciate this more textured take on it.

This thing kicks so much ass it hurts - I need to own this shit and spin it for the rest of my life. This band is 2/2 so far on this list, but I also felt like that'd be the case anyway. Until next time, Funkadelic.

Cute album. Enjoyed quite a few of these songs early on here, especially 'Car Wheels On A Gravel Road' and '2 Kool 1 Be-4-Gotten', and the vocals and lyrics I found were generally enjoyable; there's something mildly comedic about a good chunk of the way these songs are presented (and also pretty dark in the song 'Lake Charles'). Also, quite a few strong melodic hooks here, like with 'Metal Firecracker', which is driven by this slick little guitar riff. But overall, I'd say it falls into your standard '90s country-rock alley (especially in the pretty forgettable instrumentals, clean mixing, and lack of interesting fusions or song structures). Nothing mind-blowing, but totally manageable, and honestly didn't feel as long as it was.

Pretty solid, atmospheric, D&B. Just threw this on in the background at work today, and it certainly helped get me through this otherwise awful Monday. And its lengthy, ambient, and hypnotic nature worked well in that environment, so there we have it.

I mean, this is easily one of, if not the best, girl group albums from the '90s, right? It's all in just how intimate, fuzzy, and warm the atmosphere of this thing is, especially as it enters its second half. And also in just how catchy and well-paced each one of these R&B staples is. And also just in how this group was (and continues to be) ripped off relentlessly, over a decade after this record was released. No matter what, though, the production here is leagues above your average '90s R&B record, with top dogs like Babyface bringing out the absolute best in the three vocalists here. The production on this album does this thing where the first few seconds of almost every song have some strong hook, to force your attention, before slowly coasting and sliding off into something more relaxed, light, and digestible. And you do have your fair share of spacey instrumentals here, like with the impeccable closer 'Sumthin' Wicked This Way Comes' - space that allows the girls here to harmonize in the forefront, as they love to do. The southern Outkast-esque funk hip-hop influences also ooze through on the songs 'Case of the Fake People', 'Switch', and 'Kick Your Game', the latter of which has one of the gnarliest beats, choruses, and Left Eye (RIP) verses. And, again, this song's lightyears ahead of its time, in my opinion. The opener, 'Creep' is straight up one of the greatest pieces of music of all time, I mean, you don't get choruses this good, like, ever. 'Diggin' On You' may have the most surreal instrumental here; it's honestly kind of unsettling at first, but after just a few seconds, it becomes more intoxicating or hypnotizing, especially with the very subdued lead vocals. It's songs like this that are perfect demonstrations of Babyface's producing prowess. He does equally as well on 'Red Light Special', which has one of the most expressive vocal build-ups here near the end, leading into that soaring guitar solo. 'Waterfalls' is another obvious winner here, with some pretty positive messaging, despite the macabre nature of the opening verse. And yeah, I can sniff out that Organized Noize funky funky production from a mile away. Speaking of, there aren't many features on this album, aside from Phife and Busta in some of the interludes, but Andre 3000, in my opinion, delivers one of his absolute best feature verses on that closer 'Sumthin' Wicked This Way Comes'. I mean, neither he nor Outkast were a big name at this point; it was still 1994, but Jesus, does he steal the song, and I'm saying that as someone who thinks the rest of the song is utterly gorgeous - another demonstration of incredible chorus writing.

Really love this album. The obvious flaw with it is the skits/interludes that generally bloat an otherwise tight collection of songs for no real reason, but, TBH, I enjoy them for what they are. I mean, Phife's opener is cool, Busta's interlude is horny as hell (on par with the rest of this already horny album), and 'Sexy-Interlude' is so over the top and stupid that I can't make myself hate it. Skits were a huge thing at this point, mainly in hip-hop, so it's whatever. It doesn't ruin other albums for me, so it most certainly won't ruin this one either. The rest of the music is just too damn good.

For as much of an Eno-head as I may claim to be, I've actually never heard his collaborations with David Byrne (aside from, obviously, 'Remain In Light'). The two always seemed like very like-minded individuals, so I was interested at the very least to check this out - and it's honestly pretty neat. For one, it plays out a lot like a groove-based instrumental hip-hop album in a way, though with the samples, be they religious sermons, chants, or political ones, sort of just hovering over these very tightly woven instrumentals. The type of instrumentals that you would very much find on 'Remain In Light', just airtight, polyrhythmic, world-music influenced things that are just indescribably infectious. Really liked the song 'Mea Culpa' early on; it's the most intense thing here. The Middle Eastern-themed 'A Secret Life' also struck a chord with me, and 'Come with Us' sounds like primitive Autechre or something. The field (or non-field) recordings used, while not always comprehensible to me, certainly add to the sort of surreal effect this album is trying to cultivate. There seems to be some anti-imperialist overarching message here? IDK, but I get that vibe off the very world-music themed drive in the album + that obviously politically charged opener.

Pretty neat, and another one of Eno's million albums checked off my list.

The second xx album here, and I just think that I don't really understand this band, nor their mass appeal. Or maybe I do, I mean, there is something kind of cool about their very subdued, and kind of dark and brooding take on indie-pop. But a majority of the songs, especially in the first half, and even with the dynamic vocals, just felt super one-note. I did really like the songs 'On Hold' and 'I Dare You', but that's about it. Don't think this group's for me in all honesty.

Of the two big "Big Beat" groups, i.e, The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy, I've always preferred The Prodigy on ridiculousness factor alone. But the "chunkiest drums" award has always gone to TCB for me. The drum arrangements and mixing are easily the best part of their music, and the best part of this otherwise rudimentary debut. 'Cause yeah, admittedly this is nowhere near as good as their follow-up and magnum opus 'Dig Your Own Hole', but it still manages to kick ass in its own way. The opener was pretty solid, though it sounded like a lesser version of 'Block Rockin' Beats' at times. But it's really the run in the second half that won me over after a pretty underwhelming first half. 'Chemical Beats' was your typical adrenaline-pumping, funky sample-based, crunchy loud drum-machine TCB song, while the following 'Chico's Groove' and especially the serene and sublime 'One Too Many Mornings' go in a much softer direction. Honestly, that latter song was as close as you can get to proto-vapor wave or Clams-Casino-type cloud rap in the mid-'90s. 'Playground For a Wedgeless Firm' was also pretty neat, a beat that sounds like if EL-P produced a Memphis horrorcore song.

So yeah, not the most consistently enjoyable (though honestly super sonically consistent) album out there, but there were certainly some highlights here and some genuinely cool moments.

More absolute peak Disco music, up there with C'est Chic and MJ's 'Off the Wall' in my opinion. Squeaky clean production, melodic bass lines for days, scratchy guitar, and lush strings backdropping the whole thing - just everything you'd want out of a Disco album, pretty much. And when paired with the dense, yet undeniably smooth vocal harmonies all throughout this thing - especially on that grand opener 'He's the Greater Dancer', 'Easier to Love', and the forever iconic 'We Are Family', the album just further unveils itself to be this irresistible bundle of joy, that's honestly super intoxicating. Maybe if I had to pick one thing this album does exceptionally well, it's the bass, cause goddamn, I don't know what it is about the mixing here, but the bass's presence is just so confidently stated as the record's backbone. I can listen to the bass on the song 'Easier to Love' for, like, the rest of my life - such a slick song.

An enjoyable blues-rock live record, parts Hendrix and parts CCR (especially in that Fogerty-esque vocal twang), but certainly far less memorable than those two artists. This was my introduction to the Allman Brothers Band, but I can't say it blew me away. Ultimately, this is just some solid jammy blues-rock to turn on in the background.