Reviews by nevele

Great debut where you can already hear the sound they'll polish and improve further down track

Whenever I seem to be talking to Doors fans, they seem to adore Morrison's psychedelia wank.

But this blues-rock album I find much more palatable

When Elton John got a bit of American testosterone and even more theatrical bombast.

It's great dirty indie rock, and enough groove to make it interesting. It's one of those shoutalong albums

I found the album to be quite intriguing. After listening to it a couple of times, I noticed that it bears some resemblance to Spandau Ballet. There were three things that particularly caught my interest. Firstly, I believe Paddy McAloon can easily be considered one of the best songwriters of the 80s. Secondly, the lyrics are a joy to behold. Lastly, in typical 80s fashion, the songs seem to avoid moments of silence. Every spot in the songs is filled with additional sound elements such as organs, guitar riffs, panflutes, wind sounds, synth loops, and more. This tends to detract from the great pop songs.

However, when I listened to the acoustic versions of these songs, everything fell into place. It was incredible! The power of the songs and songwriting really bloomed.

Due to the wall of sound, I would rate the official album 3.5 out of 5 stars. However, I would give the acoustic versions a 5.

So, overall, 4 stars.

A delightful 70's UK Punk album, that captures the period so well, I would have people listen to this as their introduction to the style.

Sister is delicious raw creativity packed in an album. It's not the easiest entryway to the bands' back catalog, but both EVOL and Sister show Sonic Youth at their best.

As with more albums on this list, this is again a case of Side A vs Side B.

If the whole album had the quality of the first 5 songs, this would be an absolute masterpiece

The good thing about having this double album on LP is that you can just ignore Side 4, deny it exists, and think of this as a perfect debut of Zappa and the Mothers Of Invention.

It's not bad, but it's also nothing spectacular

Sometimes you don't need to listen too deep to music. Sometimes you just need something to rock out to. Something in the car to tell with.
For those moments you go punk or you go Rock 'n' fucking Roll.
For the latter: There's Ace Of Spades

Funky, psychedelic, socially critical and very strong. Excellent album!

It's poetic, it's well written, but it leaves me cold for some reason.

We all now know that there really was a Tuesday Night Music Club, which led to the album that launched Sheryl Suzanne Crow's music career. The details of how it all came together have been debated ever since.

In short, Sheryl began attending informal jam and songwriting sessions at the LA studio of producer Bill Bottrell with her then-boyfriend Kevin Gilbert. Also in attendance were the incredibly talented David Baerwald and three others.

Since Crow had a recording contract, their creations ended up under her name. She credited everyone involved, but there were conflicts along the way and especially afterwards when the album started hitting the stratosphere.

The breakout hit that propelled the album was "All I Wanna Do," which was played on the radio daily in 1994. The lyrics, depicting getting a good beer buzz in a bar facing a car wash, were adapted from a poem by Wyn Cooper. The royalty checks from the song allowed the poet to leave his day job.

The success of follow-up singles like “Leaving Las Vegas,” “Strong Enough,” and “Can’t Cry Anymore” kept the Tuesday Night Music Club in the spotlight. The album has sold approximately 10 million copies and received several well-deserved Grammy awards.

As a significant debut record and a piece of pop culture, TNMC still holds up well today. It's relaxed, rootsy, and filled with melody, emotion, and insightful lyrics, making it a joy to listen to.

I had Pulp's Different Class on this list now almost 3 years ago. And where that album was upbeat, clever, but sneering, this album is a completely different beast. In opener 'The Fear' Jarvis Cocker warns:

"This is the sound of someone losing the plot
Making out that they’re okay when they’re not
You’re gonna like it but not a lot"

This album has been one of the slowest growth albums in my collection. I disliked it when it came out. It was too slow, too dark. I didn't know where to go with this. It sounded completely different than the last three Pulp albums.

Over the years this album has become much more than that. It's a musical version of a Film Noir, it's heartbreaking. Musically it's not always tight, it sometimes even feels a bit chaotic, and that might have to do with the departure of guitarist Russell Senior. The lyrics are incredible and painful, and the music helps to enhance that feeling. Looking back, we're listening to the swan song of Brit-pop.

"The sound of loneliness turned up to ten"

What is there to say about an album that's been on repeat on rock radio stations ever since it got released in 87?
Released at the right moment in time when Rock 'n' Roll was in need of a good kick up the ass because it had become stale and goody-goody.
and Guns 'n' Roses did just that. No, it's not the best album in history, but Hardrock like this is about the attitude, and this band brought it.

An album produced by some of the greats in the Hip Hop Industry in the late 80's, from De La Soul to KRS-One to The 45 King (who, after listening to A King and Queen Creation could indeed better stick to producing and not pick up a mic).
Queen Latifah shows she can MC with the best on this album, has a good flow and can adjust to laid-back beats like on 'The Pros' and even hold up marvelously on the much harder Boogie Down Productions-style beats on 'Evil That Men Do.'
The host of different producers also makes this an album with several styles that were popular in the time, a little bit of soul, a little bit of jazz, some reggae, a hint of house

Remembering she was 19 when this album was released, you can certainly see how much influence she has had on the genre and what came after.

And still...

Many of the songs are lazy, the lyrics are only bragging songs, there's not a song with an interesting train of thought or with anything more to say about how flavourful she is. Not all songs are strong, and some are just plain weak.

Interesting debut.

I find it strange that every time I see Brian Eno, I have a negative reaction, yet every time I listen to one of his albums, I thoroughly enjoy it. There seems to be a disconnect in my head between my automatic dislike of Eno and my actual enjoyment of his music based on my memory.

Now listening to the Warm Jets. On Side A of this album, you can really hear his roots in Roxy Music and the glammy arty poprock with a touch of avant-garde. On Side B, there are hints of where Eno would be heading in his career, with more ambient parts and increased strangeness and nonsensical lyrics.

At the time of its release, the album broke musical boundaries. Although it's not revolutionary now, it still retains its freshness and charm.

There was a time when this singles-band was the biggest thing on the planet, but personally, I don't find it a big loss they've mostly been forgotten.

This really is quite the statement on a debut album. Political lyrics and the ultimate mesh of styles make this an interesting listen, but definitely not a relaxed one. From Brazilian Funk to Sri Lanka Jungle, with guerilla style rapping, it's uptempo, it's refreshing but also an attack on your senses.