Reviews by ninexnineteen

I liked this, but I can't finish the last 25 minutes of it. I mean, I had time, but it just wasn't calling me back after I needed to stop for work.

⭐⭐⭐

Marvelously recorded, with a place for every instrument. Mark Knopfler, as always, performs at the highest level.

As a veteran 20 years removed from their service, Brothers in Arms speaks so very loudly to me. The relief of it all being over and having "won," the intense familial connection felt between fellow soldiers, and the reflection on the absolute futility of it all left me in tears this morning.

This is a favorite album of mine. Though not every song is worthy of a five star rating, some so far exceed five stars, they absolutely pull any extra weight not picked up by slightly weaker tracks.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

And just a note to those folks who are (justifiably) upset with the use of a slur in Money for Nothing: I urge you to go back and listen to the lyrics. The song is from a 3rd person perspective and is criticizing the type of person who thinks and talks that way. I think this context is important

This was fucking weird. The guys got flow, for sure. The abstractness/surrealism/non-sequitur character of the lyrics makes it somewhat hard to tell if he's one of the greats, or uses these "features" to obscure the fact he can't maintain the flow and have substantive, meaningful rhymes. Second to none turntablism too.

This is hard to rate, but I'm going ⭐⭐⭐

This album has its moments, but there were definitely "how is this still going," which I think says something about an album that's only 36 minutes long.

This was too good for the ⭐⭐ rating I'm going to give it, but not good enough for ⭐⭐⭐.

2.75

To start, this is an exceptionally well recorded album. Fantastic production and audio quality.

I appreciate the mix of brass and traditional rock instruments. Very cool fusion that reminds me of Chicago, who I also love. There's something about the lead singer's voice that really firmly anchors the music to the time period it's from. I'm not sure if that's because BS&T helped to set the tone of the era or it's just because of the way I think of and originally heard the music.

Blues PT. 2 was sort of a non-sequitur and didn't feel especially relevant to the rest of the album. I enjoyed the song (especially the Cream reference). The vocals done in the style of Janis Joplin were fun too.

3.75

I went into this thinking "Great. Another lo-fi garage group. This is going to suck."

I was quite surprised to find out that there IS some really good music in that genre. The Hives, White Stripes, The Strokes, etc. have really done a shit job in the genre, but these fucking guys TEAR IT UP! Great fuzzy guitars, simple but catchy rhythm section, nicely implemented keys...really pleased and surprised.

Damn, this was good. Super happy to have heard this today.

On another interesting musical history note, the band members talking about the way the Muscle Shoals booth was constructed and its effects on the final mix was fascinating. It would definitely explain why the bass on this album is a little hot (in a very pleasing way to me) and how some of the very rich soul/rock/R&B recordings of its heyday sound so fucking good. I've even watched a documentary about Muscle Shoals and hadn't heard this before. Neat!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The further back in his catalog we go, the more I like Miles Davis; less experimental and more normal. I typically like when musicians push boundaries, but not with screeching horns; it's like an icepick in my ear.

They say if you don't like Miles Davis, you don't like jazz. That's bullshit. I love jazz but I only listen to Miles Davis when this list makes me. It's just generally not enjoyable for me. That said, this album was ok. There was too much of what I don't like and too little of what I do like in jazz to rate this very highly

4.5

If this whole album was like Strong Enough, it would be a straight 5 stars for me. However, there are too many Na-Na Songs that fill the gaps between songs like Leaving Las Vegas and All I Wanna Do.

I enjoyed my time with this album, I like Sheryl Crow, and I LOVE Strong Enough. For me though, this album isn't more than 3 stars and I question its placement on an essentials list

Hard rock, unpretentious, well-arranged and composed, by some of the best in the business.

I'm a philistine, perhaps, but I'll have to disagree with anyone calling this metal (of any sort: hair, glam, etc.).

I also don't get the hate for the band or the album in these reviews. It's possible I like Aerosmith so much because they were a staple of my musical taste development. They were pretty much the biggest mainstream rock band when I was a kid. They released albums for my parents in high school, and then for me in high school.

Hate on, haters. I guess..?

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks to Nick Offerman suggesting this album in one of his books, I found this album just five or six years ago. As a beginner woodworker, I was inspired to listen to this in the shop (as Offerman says he did) while I wasted wood and didn't make much more than sawdust and smaller pieces of wood. Thanks to Nick, I love this album and have marginally increased my woodworking abilities.

Anyway, I know Neil Young is an acquired taste and not for everyone. I was a hater for a long time, so I get it.

For me, ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Let the good times roll!

This is such a a great album to me. I LOVE the production; every instrument or vocal track has its own special place in the mix, but also somehow feels like the star of the song. I have no idea how they do that. The bass guitar and synths line up and play together so nicely, Ric has such a smooth vocal style, the drums are full, catchy, and driving...man, everything just lines up so nicely for my tastes.

Every song on this could have been a single, which really isn't saying enough because only like two of them didn't get significant radio play.

Superb.

Bye Bye Love

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I wasn't expecting an Irish band to sing in an accent from the American South

These guys sound like Eliot Smith on antidepressants, which is definitely not a complaint at all. I hear some Ben Folds and Self in here too. I like all those musicians, and I like roots country and bluegrass, which are both present here. I'm quite enjoying this album. I'll be adding this to my collection.

Whether this album belongs on a list of albums one MUST hear before they die is a different story.

3.75

I don't know what I expected, but it was better than that.

⭐⭐⭐ For the music

⭐ For the novelty

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a pile of shit

⭐

From a personal enjoyment perspective, I quite liked this album.

From a music history perspective, this is super fraught. The majority of these songs were written and better performed by black artists. It simultaneously makes me glad things have changed somewhat, but it also reminds me that SO MUCH racism still exists

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was mostly mating cats in a bagpipe recycling facility.

The only bit of enjoyment I got from this was The Band. Still though, I didn't even finish the second disc.

⭐⭐

Ranking of the best Beatles:

1. George Harrison
2. Ringo Starr/Paul McCartney (tie)
47. John Lennon

This album wasn't bad, but there's a missing magic the other Beatles brought to the table John just doesn't have by himself. He was very lucky to have the other three members as contributors

⭐⭐⭐

This alternated between "unlistenable chaos" and "meh" for the whole album. The synthesizers were over the top and screechy for the most part and the album's largest detractor. And then fucking Christmas music at the end? I'd rather have tinnitus than listen to any type of Christmas music

⭐⭐

Radiohead albums are hard for me to describe. I'll just say I liked it