Reviews by muse-getes

It's a shame that George got so mindbroken by Paul and John's overbearing presence in the songwriting process for the Beatles that he decided to eschew any notion of restraint or brevity in his first post-Beatles solo album, as this could have been an all-time great record if he'd had the good sense to cut some of the less interesting tracks and trim the length of a few others. For example, Isn't It a Pity, as beautiful a song as it is, has absolutely no business being 7 minutes long (with another 5 minute reprise later on!). And I make that complaint even without factoring in the Apple Jam portion of the record, as to be fair, it's essentially an entirely separate record awkwardly stapled onto this one, and can be safely skipped.

Anyway, I know all that has been said to death, so with that gripe out of the way, this record is a lovely collection of songs that really highlight Harrison's abilities as both a songwriter and a guitarist. The kind of music that you're pretty much always going to be happy to hear, regardless of what mood you're in.

Favourite tracks: Isn't It a Pity, Wah-Wah, Art of Dying

This album was a hell of a trip. I was expecting the funk, obviously, but I didn't anticipate it rocking so hard. I can see how these guys were pioneers; I feel like Super Stupid must have invented a couple of genres all on its own. I don't know much about the artists involved in this group, but I can only assume they must have been pretty damn influential, as the musicianship on this record is next level. As is the production; I love the effects on the drums in You and Your Folks, and that iconic guitar(?) riff in Can You Get to That. A lot of the production techniques used here wouldn't seem the slightest bit out of place in the modern day. I believe the great George Clinton deserves the credit for that. I really need to get around to checking out his catalogue one of these days.

Despite the quality of the early tracks, this record is let down in my eyes by two very weak songs right at the very end. I understand they were going for a psychedelic angle in Back In Our Minds, but the end product with the distorted instruments and vocals just sounds irritating. It feels like listening to an audiobook of some literary classic ran through a warble filter. Wars Of Armageddon is a sort of interesting experimental jam session-style track, but again, all the wacky sound effects just end up being annoying and distracting from the musicianship. Maybe the message and meaning of those ripe farts are just going over my head, though.

I could have maybe given this a 5, but on a 7 track album, having 2 tracks that I actively dislike listening to makes it hard to justify a perfect score. What's good here is very good though.

Favourite tracks: Super Stupid, You and Your Folks, Can You Get To That

Could have done without Thom Yorke telling me how much he wanted to make love to me tbh.

Favourite tracks: A Place Called Home, Horses In My Dreams, We Float

This is another record that I'm going to be a little biased towards because of nostalgia, but I have to say that it definitely still holds up musically for me. The production feels as fresh as the day it came out, with ridiculously catchy beats and super clean mixing. Obviously the absurdly edgy lyrics and subject matter seemed a lot cleverer when I was a lad, but even now, I can't help but crack a smile at the gleeful stupidity of tracks like As The World Turns and Brain Damage. Eminem himself compared this album to a trashy but fun horror movie, and I think that's probably the best way to appreciate it, as it most surely won't hold up if you attempt to take it too seriously.

Favourite tracks: Just Don't Give a Fuck, Brain Damage, As The World Turns

More or less the definition of a 3-star record. Decent 80s style punk (actually it sounds even more dated than 80s tbh), but there's nothing all that interesting going on here.

Favourite track: Universal Corner

I was expecting nostalgia to maybe cloud my judgment of this album, as younger me was really into it, but on a long overdue relisten, my conclusion was a resounding: "It's okay." There's some very tight songwriting on display, with good hooks and vocal sequences that almost make you want to sing along, if not for the often bizarre subject matter of the lyrics. I really like the post-punk energy of the guitars and bass on songs like Jenny Was a Friend of Mine and Midnight Show, even if they do at times sound like a bit of a pale imitation of their inspirations. Nice use of synths throughout the record as well to create this sort of hazy, sleazy vibe that really complements the subject matter of the songs. All that said, it's not always the most interesting listen. Tracks like Change Your Mind and Everything Will Be Alright are pretty trite affairs that are neither catchy nor interesting, but I suppose they can't all be hits.

Overall, you can see why The Killers got so big on the back of this album. They knew how to write catchy rock hits for the radio, but there's not a whole lot on here that makes me desperate for another listen.

Favourite tracks: Jenny Was a Friend of Mine, Believe Me Natalie, Smile Like You Mean It

Some decent Jazz, I guess.

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I was almost about to give this a pretty cynical review, but after listening to it a second time this morning, I warmed up to it a lot more. I guess I just wasn't in the mood for rock opera yesterday. Once again, I'm a little too busy with festive period nonsense to give this the detailed appraisal it probably deserves, as there's a lot going on in this record. To summarize though, it's a pretty good listen!

Favourite tracks: Father to Son, Ogre Battle, The March of the Black Queen

After two listens, I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about this album. It seems to snap between dreadfully dull and genuinely inventive every other song almost. Every time I felt like I'd had enough and was about to turn it off, something would come on that convinced me to give it another chance.

I've never been all that keen on The White Stripes' particular brand of blues rock, even though I actually quite liked Jack Whites' other project, the Raconteurs, back in the day, so it's no surprise that it's the more garage rock-style tracks on this record that I preferred. Red Rain was my favourite of the bunch, which probably has a lot to do with how different it sounds from the Stripes' usual fare.

I could maybe see myself giving a higher rating to a version of this album with a modified tracklist, but as it is, I doubt I'll ever listen to it all the way through again, so three stars feels about fair.

Favourite tracks: Red Rain, Instinct Blues, The Denial Twist
Least favourite track: My Doorbell (does anyone actually like this irritating racket?)

A very cool and weird album that I could write a lot about if I had more time today. Maybe I'll come back and do so later.

As someone who's not particularly into jazz, this album almost lost me on the very first track, which I could have easily believed was from some royalty-free stock music collection that you'd hear in a jazz club scene in some low budget movie from the 80s. Just a generic, swinging jazz tune that doesn't inspire much of a reaction one way or the other. However, it's immediately followed up by what I thought was the best track on the record, Song For Sathima, a soothing and contemplative arrangement with some excellent piano melodies. Maybe it's just a personal preference, but I did find the more sombre, piano-focused tracks like that a lot more enjoyable than the swinging ensemble pieces.

Thankfully that level of variety on show here was able to salvage the poor first impression I received, and on the whole I ended up enjoying listening to the record, even though I think it's ultimately not really my thing. I doubt I'll ever listen to it again. Sorry jazz fans; got nothing against you or your music, but we're just from two different worlds.

Favourite tracks: Song For Sathima, Manenberg Revisited, The Mountain

I haven't listened to this album before, but I have listened to plenty of albums that have released since it came out that sound a lot like it, so I suppose that goes to show how influential it was, especially in the post-punk genre.

I really love the guitars on this album. A lot of moody, ear-worm riffs from guitarist John McGeoch on tracks like Monitor and Sin In My Heart. Monitor in particular is the highlight of the album in my eyes. Right from the very first note it grabs you by the throat and demands your full attention. Sit back and enjoy the real McCoy indeed. It's somehow groovy and oppressive in equal measure. It feels massively ahead of its time, but then again so does a lot of this album.

Siouxsie's vocals are a little one-note on this record, but at the same time they've very effective at setting the tone of the album: haunting and impactful. It wouldn't be half the album it is with anyone else. She really is one of the iconic voices of this genre.

I was almost tempted to give this a 5, but there are a couple of dud tracks that I didn't really care for at all in Night Shift and Voodoo Dolly. So that's why it's a 4.5 (rounded down) from me.

Favourite tracks: Monitor, Spellbound, Into The Light

A pretty boring album, I thought. Winehouse was obviously a very technically talented singer, but I don't care for her singing style at all. I find it a little grating, honestly. I'm not sure why.

Then there's the production, which I thought was a real mixed bag. I looked up the credits after listening, and it was quite funny how well my thoughts on each song lined up with the producer credits. Pretty much all the songs that didn't have Mark Ronson credited were very flat and uninteresting. Luckily he did produce most of the songs, so it's not that big of a problem, but it's an interesting thing to note. Also, I'm not sure what the deal is with the Ain't No Mountain High Enough rip-off. Why not just do a cover? Very odd thing to hear on an otherwise very professionally made album.

Favourite tracks: He Can Only Hold Her, You Know I'm No Good
Least favourite track: Rehab (god it's so grating, and what an awful message, too)

A really nice bit of early 80s synthpop. I love the melancholy vibes here. I was quite surprised at how modern this sounded for how relatively early in the history of synthpop the album was created. Souvenir in particular sounds like it could be right off of an MGMT album.

I love the vocals, but even the instrumental tracks are great, too. I really felt myself drifting away in the sonic landscapes they created. They had a sound that really sinks its hooks into you right away. Definitely going to check out more of this band.

Favourite tracks: Sealand, Architecture and Morality, Souvenir

Music to wistfully gaze out of the window on a cold, rainy night to.

Favourite tracks: Strangers, Roads, Biscuit

I was a big Kendrick fan back in the day, and as it happens this is the album that cooled my interest in him, despite it's overwhelming critical praise. I felt it was too self-indulgent and meandering, and to tell the truth I still feel the same way after listening to it in full for the first time in 10 years for this. Personally I feel like Lamar doesn't really have the lyrical chops to match the scope of his thematic ambitions for this album. That's not to say there isn't good lyrical work on the record; Kendrick's by no means a slouch on that front. There are just too many corny moments and too much blunt lyricism that pulls me out of it, like making a song suggesting that Wesley Snipes is some sort of hard-done-by martyr for committing tax evasion, and another song where he puts on some ear-grating, cracking voice to ramble about how sad he is while inserting SFX of beer bottles clinking just to make sure nobody misses his point.

All that aside, this album has (mostly) impeccable production from some big names like Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Sounwave and a bunch of others. Honestly the whole album feels very Thundercat even though he's only actually credited on a few tracks. I remember being blown away back in the day hearing a beat with a Sufjan Stevens sample and it actually going hard as hell. The second half (or maybe last third?) of the album in particular, from Hood Politics through to i is fantastic musical experience with great beats and gripping stories.

All in all, this album's a mixed bag. A lot of tracks I'm happy to skip, but plenty more that grab my interest right back. I'd probably rate it a 3.5 if given the choice, but screw it, I'll round up.

Favourite tracks: How Much a Dollar Cost, The Blacker the Berry, i

To be completely honest, reggae does absolutely nothing for me. With just a couple of exceptions, I found that tracks on this album largely uninteresting sonically, and quite repetitive. That's generally been my experiene with most reggage music I've heard in my life. I'm hesitant to give this album a bad review just because I don't care for the genre, but I also don't want to give it extra points based entirely on how I imagine other people might enjoy it. If you do that, then what's the point of this whole endeavour? So, with the caveat that I acknowledge I'm being a bit of a philistine, I'm giving this a 2.

Favourite tracks: Concrete Jungle, Kinky Reggae

This is an enjoyable enough slice of 60s rock and roll, but not something that inspires much of a reaction in me one way or the other. I wouldn't turn off the radio if one of these songs came on is probably the most generous compliment I can give it.

An endlessly engaging and inventive album that I'm always happy to stick on. There's so much variety on show here; it shifts effortlessly between funky, psychedelic, and just plain rocking, with virtuoso performances from Hendrix, Mitchell, and Redding all throughout the record. It's not my favourite JHE album, but it's damn good all the same.

Favourite tracks: Are You Experienced?, I Don't Live Today, Highway Chile