Reviews by ninexnineteen

This album has been a favorite of mine for well over 30 years. Without Orion, this album would still be five stars. With Orion? Five more.

There's not a single note here that's anything less than perfect.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What the fuck? Was there like a wildcard spot on the list for an album chosen at random from the "USED CDs ONLY $.25!" box?

I guess this wasn't objectively bad, but...like, why? Competent musicians, completely uninspiring music

⭐⭐.5

I have had a lifelong hatred for Def Leppard. I remember listening to this album when it came out, thinking is was cheesy and repetitive. It still is, but this time around, these hair "metal" weirdos had me enjoying the dense, layered production, catchy riffs and hooks, and just the music in general. There is a fine line to be drawn between "this band has a style" and "this band only has one song." I think Def Leppard comes down on the wrong side of that line, but I'll still be adding this album (and only this album) to my personal collection.

I never thought I'd say any of this. Teenaged me screams from within at middle-aged me. 🤷

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm not sure how I feel about his album. Certainly inoffensive, but I'm not sure if I enjoyed it somewhat or if I'm neutral.

⭐⭐⭐?

This would have been a 5 had it not been for the couple of tracks with vocals. Excellent otherwise

It's hard for me to review this album. It's absolutely a vertebrae in the backbone of American pop culture. There's not an American out there who hasn't heard at least a snippet from one of these songs. However, where it fits in the culture or how it influenced other aspects are somewhat opaque to me.

I did enjoy this album, I would absolutely listen to it again, but don't know which circumstances would call me back to it. Hard to describe, I guess

⭐⭐⭐.75

I don't know what to think about his album. Not bad, but not particularly inspiring. Worth a second look at some point though

⭐⭐.75

Fucking terrible. I gave up at Dictionary. Just couldn't do it anymore.

Listening to this album reminded me of Dewey Cox calling for "TEN THOUSAND DIDGERIDOOS!!!" while goats wander through a studio with 200 confused and exasperated musicians. This was an amateur hackjob piece of shit and has absolutely no place on a list of essential albums.

On a positive note, I have some time that I won't be listening to this that is available for good music. So, thanks for that, I guess

⭐.5

This was mostly nice. I preferred the non-english tracks more, with the exception of A Piece of Ground (not on the original release). Apparently Tidal only has the US version of the album. The original release is different enough that I think folks should seek that out instead as several songs are excluded, though there are songs on the US version not present on the original

⭐⭐⭐

I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. Not bad at all

Of the 947 Leonard Cohen albums, on this list of 1,001 David Bowie and Leonard Cohen Albums You Really Don't Need to Listen to Before You Die, this was my favorite Leonard Cohen album. That's because it had one song on it that I thought was good, apart from its performance by Cohen. The title track, I think, is an excellent song, and I wish someone would would have given it a proper performance like Jeff Buckley did with Hallelujah. Billie Eilish? Chris Cornell? Muddy Waters?

Anyway, I think there is some other artistic merit to be found elsewhere on the disc, but I just don't like Cohen's vocal style. Musically, this wasn't bad at all.

Highest rated Leonard Cohen album so far. No skips, even.

⭐⭐.75

Edit: this did grow on me somewhat throughout, even in spite of his voice and delivery. I'll probably never listen again, but I am actually pleased I got to listen to this today

⭐⭐⭐

I haven't heard of this artist before and had no expectations, but this was still a surprise. I read a bunch of the reviews that complained a lot, and usually I'm the complainer that doesn't like what everyone else says is great. This time, I thought the album was great and it seemed like most reviewers didn't. Maybe I I have a soft spot for folk music, English accents, and sparse arrangements? Kind of reminds me of a stripped down Clash

I don't know what it was specifically, but this album went into my collection during track two or three without a bit of regret by the time it was over. I'll be coming back to this, for sure.

THERE IS POWER IN A UNION!!! ✊✊✊

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I quite like downtempo house with female vocals on top, and this is no exception

3.75

Metamorphosis was a hell of a ride! Great song! Groovy, foot tapping, and head nodding the whole way, this song made me reconsider this album. I was thinking it was more a novelty that had a couple of nifty covers, but nothing substantive to go back to.

Sagar got off to a slow and almost painful start. Incredibly, I endured about NINE MINUTES(!) of it, but it settled into what I think is the coolest groove on the album so far

Solid grunge. Better than most, not as good as some. I can definitely see the influence they had on other bands I like. Some tracks were 3s and others were 5s. Kind of hard to rate

⭐⭐⭐.75

I have NEVER liked a skit from an album before this one. Candid and interesting.

That said, the absolute worst kind of music for me is mumbled rapping into a steel bucket with some kind of distortion effect. Fucking HATE, HATE, HATE that style.

There are some moments on this album that don't run afoul of my musical tastes, but I can't say I'd ever listen to this again, that I'm glad I heard it, or that I think it has any place on this list. I can say that it was blissfully short, and that for a message as important as Jazmine Sullivan's, I wish it came in more enjoyable packaging.

⭐⭐

This fuses a lot of things I like. It makes me think of Thievery Corporation or Morcheeba, but that hint of Latin flair and a pinch of French Cafe Jazz makes this something unique, and quite enjoyable. I'll be adding this to my collection today. I really enjoy when this list throws me something I have never heard of and probably wouldn't have ever come across that I actually enjoy.

Not sure why it's on the list because the Wikipedia article is quite thin, but I guess I won't complain about a new album I like

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This sounds like a greatest hits album. About as close to perfect of an album as I think it gets. If I would have had more time, I would have listened twice in a row.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Not bad, but not as good as Super Fly. Music was great, but Mayfield's falsetto kind of gets tiresome after a while

I haven't ever heard anything from Elvis Costello that I liked until today. I don't know if this album is just good and I hadn't heard anything from it before, or my tastes have matured. I'll be listening to this again, I think, and perhaps giving him another shot in general

⭐⭐⭐.5