Reviews by ninexnineteen

Nick Cave is capable of making music I would like. He just doesn't.

All the ingredients to a great meal are there, but he's boiling the steak and trying to fry a whole baked potato.

Most tolerable song: West Country Girl

2.5

I don't think I would have guessed there would be a ska album on this list, so this was a fun surprise. I like ska, and it's fun for a little while, but I definitely can't imagine this being a staple of my music diet.

Fun, but probably not adding this into my regular rotation. Still, I'll enjoy it every time it comes on

⭐⭐⭐

This is like if The Cure sucked.

Honestly, this could have been a pretty good instrumental album. This guy's vocal style is miserable. Notably, the Wikipedia article says "they advertised for a singer. Curtis, whom Sumner and Hook already knew, applied and, without having to audition, was taken on." No shit, right? There's no other way he could have been a singer otherwise. For me, the vocals ruin what I think was pretty solid music.

I definitely can hear sounds on this album that show up later in the grunge/alternative scene from the 90s, which I can appreciate.

I think I'm going to go listen to The Cure or Depeche Mode now

3 feels high, but...

I definitely acknowledge the pioneering status of this album, and in the late 80s and early 90s, I found it easy to listen to. Today, it sounds so outdated to me. The genre has come so incredibly far (perhaps further than any other genre) that listening to this album is like keeping your food in the snowbank outside because your refrigerator is broken. It's just not something I'd prefer to do, if avoidable.

There is also a whole lot of sameness on this album for me .

⭐⭐⭐

The bass guitar is the REAL star of this album. Every song feels completely structured around what the bassist is playing. Even though the the bass is the backbone, the world of the drummer and guitarist does not go unnoticed, nor are they crowded out. Very nice arrangements with VERY British vocals nestled nicely into the mix.

I haven't heard of this band before, and all of these songs were new to me. When I pre-screen these albums before I listen, I saw "British," "post-punk," and "psychedelic pop;" none of these descriptors ever give me any hope that I'll enjoy an album. This one very pleasantly surprised me.

I don't know if I'll seek this album out again or not, but it's definitely not out of the question. Quite good! Discovering music like this is exactly why I started this

⭐⭐⭐.5

This was a killer album. Not a substandard track on it

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

I like Jimi!

3.75

Music was pretty alright. Lyrics were pretty fucking terrible

⭐⭐⭐

Being familiar with and agreeable to Bob Marley, I was looking forward to an album I was sure to like. And while I was right about liking it, that just doesn't do justice to how I now feel about it. I don't know if I'm in the perfect mood to listen to this, or this is the perfect album for me.

Even discussing painful or dire topics, Bob makes me feel positive and hopeful. It's September of 2025, and the world seems bleak and hopeless. Two major wars (one which could be called an extermination), cruel, divisive, and hateful American politics, and evil people in power in many powerful countries have made me feel powerless and have mostly stolen my hope and optimism. Listening to this album has been such a wonderful vacation this morning. I'm sure I'll listen at least once more today, and I will definitely put this into my regular rotation.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This sounds like the fictional score to a French cyberpunk dystopia movie.

And I don't like it very much at all. Pretty shit, actually

⭐

This was all kind of OK and un-special to me. I very much liked Remain in Light , which just seemed much better to me

Hard to beat The Boys!

I listened to this twice, including the bonus content.

4.5

Extraordinarily forgettable.

As of this writing, it has been 13 years since the album came out, and from my perspective, has had zero impact on later art or culture.

Not offensive, but not really worth talking about much either.

⭐⭐.5

Almost perfect

The songs on this album are like Taco Bell menu items: the same 4 or 5 ingredients together, but just called something different. All taste the same.

Some people really like Taco Bell. Not me.

The vocals really ruin music I could otherwise enjoy. I just do not care for that style.

⭐⭐

I NEVER would have listened to this whole album without the 1001 list, and I really would have been missing out. I was surprised to hear that everything on it was as good as the two singles everyone knows. Everything on the else on the album is so good, they could have all been singles too. That sort of consistency isn't something you see very often.

Maybe the only album on this list so far that I wished was longer. It's not very often I hear a great album on this list I don't already have, but this is one. Adding to my collection today

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Man, this brings me back. I wanted to ask for the album for Christmas in 1991 based on Under the Bridge. Of course, because the word "sex" was in the title, there was no chance my mom would buy it for me. Fortunately, What Hits?! came out the following year and had a much more palatable title. I DID get that one for Christmas. Parents, right?

More than nostalgia though, this is a great album. Well-recorded and produced, great grooves, Kiedis' vocal style, badass drums, Frusciante's melodies, and Flea all add up to make this (and subsequent RHCP ventures) a big part of the soundtrack of my youth. There isn't anything on this album don't like.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.25

Fun and funky!

I remember Novocaine for the Soul getting a lot of airplay on MTV when I was in high school. I thought it was okay then, and I don't think I have different feelings about it today. In general, this was better than I expected based on my previous knowledge of the one track. I also quite enjoyed Not Ready Yet. There are songs ranging from "okay" to "wow, this is quite good."

There are a few reviewers making comparisons to Leonard Cohen and Elvis Costello, which I find curious. I can't stand either of those guys, but I liked this album.

When enjoyable, I'm having a hard time understanding why this is on an essentials list.

⭐⭐⭐.75