Reviews by nevele

The great strength and beauty of this record lies in minimalism. The atmosphere is masterfully portrayed. Every beat and sound is in exactly the right place and hits the spot. Not a note too much or too little.

It's for me just unfortunate that the album sounds like it wasn't finished, which, after some Googling, seems to be exactly what happened. Money budget was so short they couldn't re-record songs because the tape ran out.

Masterful, minimalistic, atmospheric, mystical, beautiful.

4,5*

There's a few things going through my mind for rating this album.

Going to take a star off for basically stealing every song and claiming credits
Going to put an extra star on because these versions are truly the best versions of these songs
Going to take a star off for the song "You Shook Me"
Going to have to put 2 stars extra on for the raw and rocking "Babe I'm gonna leave you"
Going to take a star off for cringy lyrics like “Every day I work so hard, bringin' home my hard-earned pay/ Try and love you baby but you push me away,”
Giving a star back for this being their debut.

All in all, this is freaking rocking. The songwriting of Zeppelin definitely became better over time, but never was it this raw, blues and energetic.

It listens as the album where Radiohead mixed the elements from their rockier-oriented career start with their later electronic experimental style. Call it a Kid A meets OK Computer.

This was certainly not an album I 'got' in just one listen. It has taken a few proper sessions to get through the somewhat dark and inaccessible layers this album has.
Not just musically, but lyrically the band seems to be a lot more cynical and angry than I've known them. But I'm enjoying the album more with every listen, mostly because there's so much to discover with every playthrough.

There are so many details that are revealed with each new listen, and those details are presented in a truly varied way.
There is rarely any repetition; the variety is huge and you're traveling quickly from one place to another, which sometimes makes the album feel a bit disjointed at the start. But after a few listens I think only We Suck Young Blood is a lesser song on a truly great album.

Slowly this might be becoming one of my favourite Radiohead albums.

I'm putting it at 4,5*, but this album might end up as a 5* album in a few years if I revisit it.

This really doesn't do it for me and I'm surprised this is still such a revered album.

Leonard just hasn't got a voice to carry an album with very mediocre songs. And the clever lyrics are rather dull.

The Leonard Cohen that actually became a bit darker and clever later in life is much more up my alley.

It funks, it rocks, it's a classic.

Hunting High & Low is very much a mid-80s album. Accessible synth-pop made at a time when it was a commercially safe choice.

Nevertheless this album has two things that set it a little apart:
Firstly, the beautifully emotional voice of Harket and secondly, the melancholic tone of many of the songs.

It ensures that this album goes just a little deeper than many of its contemporaries. And even though there is really nothing wrong with the songwriting, it really does have the 80's issues of filler sounds, the need to fill up silences with an extra synth-trumpet, drumcomputer-loop and background violin. Especially clear in the song Hunting High And Low.

Solid Debut for this Norwegian Band and I'm glad to have learned about songs like The Blue Sky and Here I Stand And Face The Rain

I have always found it hard to rate Boards Of Canada because there is a huge discrepancy between my knowledge of how clever and good this is and my enjoyment of listening to it. I understand the warmth and everything, but the ambient soundscapes of this album just don't do anything for me.

Personal Enjoyment: 6/10
1001 Album List-worthy: 10/10

From the first to the last minute you're covered in this wall of guitar sound that could either pick you up or annoy the hell out of you.

I'm in the former camp and consider this debut of Oasis as their best album. The strong songwriting of Noel and the fact that Liam actually did show up to the studio these years to sing the songs (which he does a lot better than his brother) makes this a raw rock 'n' roll album.

Some songs are indeed a bit better than others, but songs like Supersonic, Slide Away and Live Forever are standing strong. And I don't care that Cigarettes and Alcohol is a complete T.Rex ripoff.

Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Personal Enjoyment: 4/5
1001-Worthy: 5/5

The only positive thing I can say about this is that they really know how to sing in harmony with each other.

But that's about all. There has been quite a bit of country in this list, and I've given all albums a fair go, but I just can't. It's not for me, I don't understand it, and I'm even unable to hear if it's good or bad country. Online searches have lead me to believe this is an important album in the genre.

Personal Enjoyment: 0/10
1001-list-worthy: 4/10 (I'll take other people's word for it)

Listening to this, it's a fun and uptempo album with a range of good producers, like Timbaland to the Neptunes. And they leave their respective marks on the songs.
But the album as a whole has way too much filler in between some really decent songs.
Not a standout.

I really like Sonic Youth and this is their most accessible I think. It was a bit of a changeover from their earlier albums, and it sounded a bit more clean, especially with the production.
It's an album I can still listen to on repeat. Not a masterpiece, but just great noisy rock 'n' roll

13 songs in 33 minutes of full blown energetic, raw rock & roll.
The guitar sound is sharp, the music rocks and rambles, the drums are loud and Frank Black sounds like he's bordering on a meltdown.
The importance of this album in music history, can't be overstated. It's where the 90's began in the 80's.
Still, not every song on this album is a bullseye. A song like Cactus feels like filler. And there's one or two other misses.
It's such a pleasure listening to it though, it gives off vibes of happiness

Jazz, funk, soul, electronic and hip-hop, in an electrifying concept album mix. Listening to this I realise what I've missed when I stopped listening to hiphop due to the insane amount of dribble that kept flooding the market.
I'm glad to know things like this exist. One of the better hiphop albums I've heard in my life

Noisy, raw, energetic and with a lot of depth.

I saw someone else doing this, and decided to keep a score like this as well:

Quality of Album: 9/10
1001 album list worthy: 10/10
Personal enjoyment: 8/10

Juanita ; Kiteless ; to Dream of Love is the intense and powerful opener you'd want on any dance album.
Followed up by ambient breakbeat of Banstyle / Sappys Curry as second song it almost doesn't get better in the genre. And that's the first half hour already filled.

On the bonus CD is the song Cherry Pie and that might be the best Underworld has ever released.

The first listen made me prick up my ears, since I am quite fond of what I know of the synth-art-pop genre. But after a third and fourth listen, is really does not leave a lasting impression.
The opening two tracks form the highlight of the album, and it goes a little bit down from there. The melancholy that people seem to like from this album sounds a bit too dreary to me after a while.

3,5*

Tito Puente is apparently the king of latin jazz, but it's a lot less memorable than I thought it would be.
I'm not sure who the singer is, but she is definitely a plus to this album, her warm voice really suits the atmosphere of the album. For the rest, I really have heard better latin jazz

It's pretty daring starting your album with a Neil Young cover, but it's a fun one!
Unfortunately, for me, the album just continues without reaching any heights or standout songs. Sarah Cracknells voice makes it a pleasurable listen. A bit like a less dark and more easy-going poppy Portishead.

It's really not a bad album and I didn't mind the 3 full listens, but it has not opened any deeper sound or feeling.

A 3,5* album

Another album where the hand of David Bowie revives a legendary artist, like he did with Lou Reed.
This album's A-Side is full of amazing songs, Lust For Life, Sixteen even The Passenger.
It falls slowly away during side B with a few missers, so it's a 4* rather than a 5* album.

It's your typical 60's pop album. Really nothing special. There was much more quality around at that time. California Dreaming is still a great song though, but rises above the rest of the album.