Reviews by nevele

If there’s one thing this album does, it’s remind you just how much you’ve heard all these country clichés before. And I mean really remind you. This 1988 album is a deep dive into a world of broken hearts, cheating lovers, and long nights spent alone in dive bars—and while that might sound familiar, Yoakam's ability to resurrect every classic country trope is truly something else. Whether or not it’s a good thing, though, is another story.

It’s almost as if the music section took a country music manual and said, “Let’s make sure we hit every single page.” The result is something so comfortably familiar that it borders on predictable, but not in the "this is a classic" kind of way—in more of a "yep, I've heard this before" kind of way. Every song shuffles along, like you’re caught in a loop of honky-tonk bars you can’t escape.

Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room doesn’t reinvent country music; it simply embraces everything country music has been for decades. And if you’ve spent any amount of time in this genre, you’ll find that the clichés here aren’t exactly groundbreaking—they’re more like that dusty old jukebox that just keeps playing the same songs.

Man, what a monumental piece of work. The Minutemen are truly one of the most original and creative punk bands I have heard.
Despite their wildly experimental approach and real mix of various musical styles, this album has remained surprisingly catchy.

It is exceptionally well put together,

I've known this album for a long time and have listened to it quite a few times over the years, and even own it on LP.

With "Intro" and "Crystalised" at the beginning, xx immediately starts off promisingly. I have always liked "VCR" as well. It is a somewhat languid song, but that is their style. That style is precisely the biggest flaw of this band: Their music is often a bit lifeless and (too) dreamy for my taste. But hey: Enjoy it in moderation, then it is perfectly acceptable.

"Islands" and "Heart Skipped A Beat" are still good songs, but still, I understand very well why this album has been forgotten. I can't find any element that makes many of the songs unforgettable, which would tempt me to put it on again.

From "Shelter" onwards the album definitely collapses. The music becomes even dreamier and slower, the melody is increasingly hard to find and the somewhat whiny vocals of both Romy and Oliver are starting to stand out more and more. The album meanders on and my attention wanes.

3* for this modern classic with a small 'c'. Not a grand prize, but a pass.

Some really good songs on this album, I'm not entirely sure why this doesn't grab me.

This album is a small masterpiece that easily stands out against the works of the Pixies and is vastly superior to his debut album. While Black Francis released several subpar projects after the Pixies—his solo work will always be compared to that iconic band—this album is filled with clever and outstanding songs. It's difficult to highlight specific tracks because there are hardly any misses among the many songs. Unfortunately, he has not been able to match or surpass this album with his later releases.

In essence, "Teenager Of The Year" is the best album that the Pixies never made.

Iron Maiden's first album, where you can still hear some of their punk influences from earlier, but it's clear what's about to come. Iron Maiden is already forging its path but is searching for a style. The production isn't ideal, Paul Di'Anno is still a bit shaky, songs like "Prowler," "Running Free" and "Iron Maiden" really pale in comparison to what's yet to come, BUT...
There's also a lot of positives here. And I think those positives win on this album.
Bandleader Steve Harris colours every moment beautifully with his bass guitar and ensures he almost occupies a third solo guitarist position. From rousing rocking to melodious pinging to intense soloing on the masterpiece Phantom Of The Opera.

"Strange World" is secretly one of the other favourite songs on this album. Strange, because the band itself doesn't seem to be very charmed by it. It's dreamy, psychedelic and bluesy with a beautiful solo by Stratton (who preferred to play this kind of stuff than the metal songs themselves) and hits the right note. Even Di'Anno sounds vulnerable and pure here. This psychedelic metal is unfortunately a sub-movement that has lost out to increasingly harder metal on the one hand and commercial hair bands on the other.
"Remember Tomorrow" and "Transylvania" are the other stand-out tracks.

Iron Maiden will get so much better. The songs will get smarter, the lyrics will get better and the vocals will all grow a lot, especially when they switch to Bruce as front-man. But the youthful energy and the joy of playing is still shining through here enough to enjoy this a lot.

3,5*

Beautiful harmonies. Melodically much of the same. And after 36 minutes it is also enough.

I find it challenging to rate this collection. While it may not be advisable to listen to all three hours of music in one sitting, it is a delightful set of songs featuring interesting and engaging orchestration by Nelson Riddle. I truly appreciate Ella Fitzgerald and her incredible voice as she navigates the Great American Songbook, ensuring that all these (re)recorded songs will be preserved for posterity.

Jazz and the Great American Songbook are closely intertwined. The songwriters, especially the Gershwin brothers, as well as Irving Berlin and Duke Ellington, clearly understood the genre. You can hear the strong connection between Fitzgerald and the Gershwins—this is perhaps the best way to appreciate their vast repertoire.

However, as others have noted, this is a collection consisting of a 7- or 8-LP box set rather than a single album. Maybe listen to 1 LP at a time.

The first signs of cracks in Kate Bush's body of work become apparent for me with this album. This is the third one on this list, and not everything is equally strong. Fortunately, there are still enough beautiful songs on this CD to enjoy. The opener, "Sensual World," made me think this would be another "Hounds of Love," but alongside "The Fog" (featuring Nigel Kennedy on violin) and "This Woman's Work," it stands out as the absolute highlight of the album. However, I found myself losing interest and focus while listening to the rest of the tracks, which has never happened with her previous albums.

Overall, it's not a bad album, but it is clearly the weakest of the three.

Future Days is a solid album by a unique and original band. I’m truly charmed by this group, which seemingly produces wonderfully casual music with effortless ease while remaining averse to convention. Their blend of Krautrock and avant-garde sounds can sometimes seem fragmentary, but Can also has a rhythmic quality that makes it swing.

The music often elaborates on various motifs, and in between those, all sorts of soundscapes and bizarre noises emerge. What stands out, possibly due to the excellent remastering, is how timeless the album sounds. The opener and title track, as well as the incredible Bel Air, would not feel out of place in today’s musical landscape.

It’s clear that much of this music came from jamming and spontaneity, yet everything sounds very organic and musically exemplary. I thoroughly enjoyed this on a late Wednesday afternoon.

I really disliked this a lot more than I though I would. I was actually thinking I might enjoy this, due to the first single of this album.
But I really really didn't

This music does not resonate with me at all. I enjoy jazz, swing, and big band, but while this album isn't difficult to appreciate, it makes me feel anxious and never fully connects with me.

It's a Sin is the best single Pet Shop Boys released.

By all that's Eno, Spector, and Mutt Lange, I believe that this is where good songwriting has been completely undermined by excessive production. The album is filled with studio gloss and lush layers, featuring an overwhelming amount of gadgets, orchestration, synthesizers, violins, trumpets and backing vocals that overwhelm the music.

I notice that those who appreciate this album describe it as "theatrical" and "majestic." However, I find that, while the production can be "grandiose" and "powerful," it often detracts from the songs themselves.

The backing vocals suffer from the same issue; they frequently come off as overdone and out of place. I genuinely feel embarrassed for whoever has to repeatedly sing “bury me deep in love” as the opening track fades away. It seems misguided and forced, as if the band believed that all these bells and whistles would finally elevate their music to mainstream success.

As a result, I find it nearly unlistenable. Listening to the demo versions of the songs on the Deluxe version on Spotify further supports this point.

I'm glad this album surviced the 'loungehype' where she got tagged along in for a while.
A warm album from the daughter of a Bossa Nova legend.

I can't get excited about this. I have tried the Grateful Dead several times throughout my life, and now again as the 921st album on this list as well as the second of the Grateful Dead.
But for me, it remains a directionless album with messy music and substandard vocals. I still don't understand how this became such a household name in counter-culture.

This has been a really interesting listen, somewhere between pure synth, post-punk and pop. This is going to be an album that I already know I'm going to have to give a bit more time than the two times I've been able to hear it today.
It's going to be 4*, but I'm sure I've missed more than I heard

Sabu Martinez, commonly known as Sabu, is a percussionist, and that fact is felt throughout this album, with the percussion playing the major role. I can hear a variety of drums and Sabu is truly slapping and striking away, and he does it exceptionally well.

However, the percussion alone isn’t enough to keep my interest. The rest of the music feels lacklustre. The singing fails to captivate, and the compositions aren't particularly impressive. And unfortunately, the repetitive drumming also fails to get me into that state of trance that other songs in the genre do.
On a positive note, the guitar playing, when it's there, is enjoyable, and I appreciate the album's overall sound. As a result, I think it serves well as background music.
But when listening more attentively, I find it falls short in many areas.

This is the best the bee gees have released.

I have listened to this album at least two dozen times over the last decade and a half, giving it a new chance every time I do. And I do this because I consider the albums that are chronologically on either side of it, the spontaneity of "Funeral" and the oppressing undercurrent of "The Suburbs," absolute masterpieces.
But the spark I have with those albums, as well with "Reflektor," never happened to me with the dark "Neon Bible". While I really appreciate some of the highlights of this album, like "Intervention" and "No Cars Go," the whole is a bit too much bombast, a bit too much kitsch.
It's a 3,5* for me