Reviews by nofaithmed11

A couple of tracks hold it back from being a true all-timer, but I still do love it so. Lou sounds confident, his writing is excellent, and Bowie and Ronson put their best production efforts forward. Great shit.

4.5/5

God, this guy was the coolest.

4/5

Not my favorite band or genre, but they pull off some undeniably impressive shit here.

3.5/5

If you asked me when I was a teenager, I probably would have said I was an RHCP fan. Hell, I owned one of their shirts! That said, I never felt super passionate about them, despite wearing the fuck out of Californication, and have not listened to them with any regularity for at least 15 years now.

There seem to be two very strong camps concerning the Chili Peppers ("this is one of the worst bands to ever exist" and "y'all are dramatic af, their best stuff is awesome"), and I can honestly fall into either one of them depending on the song. As it pertains to Blood Sugar Sex Magik, I think "Breaking the Girl", "I Could Have Lied", and "Under the Bridge" are pretty fucking great. Everything else? Well...not all of it falls into "worst band ever" territory. I can't say I love "Give It Away" ("Bedrock Anthem" is lightyears better), but I don't hate it, and there are at least a few other tracks I feel relatively indifferent about. But holy shit, any interest that I might have once had in their stilted "funk" numbers has almost completely dissipated, as has my patience for Kiedis' rapping. I acknowledge and respect his distinctness, and I do think it works in moderation, but on this album in particular, he wears out his welcome with me pretty quickly. The terrible lyricism doesn't help; I love and appreciate a good nonsensical lyric when it's done right, and hell, I think there are songs on both this album and Californication where he gets away with it pretty well. For the lack of a better word, though, quite a few of these songs just sound stupid, and not in a very fun or interesting way for me.

2.5/5

Solid, dependable 90's alternative, though not something I'll go back to often.

3.5/5

Not the worst 80's record. Certainly not the best either.

2.5/5

I thought Vol. 4 was my favorite, but it's probably this one. Banger after banger. Still not my favorite band overall, but can't really argue with this one.

4/5

Much better than I anticipated! Love the lo-fi interpretation of synthpop here.

4/5

Not my favorite hardcore punk band/project, but still undeniably great.

3.5/5

I have a ceiling for hip-hop; it is very much a “songs” genre for me, rather than an album genre. I find that full albums by the same artist tend to wear on me at a certain point, even the absolute best ones. Although this one is no exception, I don’t think there’s a hip-hop album I respect more than this one. Kendrick is the absolute fucking best; no one writes or performs like this guy. Absolutely no one is on his level, present day at least. A 4-star album on my enjoyment scale, but a 5-star piece of art.

4/5

I've long been a "hater" of James Taylor. Most of his work from the mid-70's onward is borderline unlistenable to me. His 1985 album in particular, That's Why I'm Here, is one of the worst albums I've ever had the misfortune of being subjected to against my will. The guy is just so fucking *vanilla*. And that's not untrue on this album, either. I mean, does anyone believe him when he says he's a "churning urn of burning funk"? However, the guy is clearly capable of writing some damn good songs, and in this particular stripped-down folky environment, he unfortunately concocts a highly listenable and enjoyable kryptonite to my Haterade. Touché, Mr. Taylor, and a tip of the cap to you.

4/5

I struggled a bit with Dub Housing when I listened to it a while ago, but this one was a lot more immediately accessible. I feel like I could like this even more on repeat listenings, and I’m interested to see how the follow-up hits me when we revisit it. “Non-Alignment Pact” is such a banger.

3.5/5

Inoffensive but unsubstantial 60’s pop.

3/5

I still think Fagen sucks, and I don't get the "Peg" or "Deacon Blues" love, but despite all of that, there's some obviously good stuff here. I would die to hear the title track without any vocals.

3.5/5

The highlights are incredible, including “Have Love Will Travel” and “The Witch”, but a lot of the covers/album tracks drag it down a bit. Still a fun listen.

3.5/5

I feel like I shouldn't dig this as much as I do. Excited to keep returning to and gaining an appreciation for this.

4/5

Close enough to perfect to get the 5 star bump.

4.5/5

Up until 2012, Jack covered so many bases in The White Stripes, Raconteurs, and Dead Weather, and I hear a bit of all of them on Blunderbuss. As a result, this album is the sound of him trying to figure out the identity of his solo career in real time. When it hits, it hits. “On and On and On” is an unbelievably atmospheric, Beatlesque number, and still one of my favorites in his solo catalog; “Love Interruption” is a cool, smoky duet with Ruby Amanfu; “Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy” sounds like a nice country tune on the surface, but the lyrics reflecting on the Stripes’ breakup give it a venomous “How Do You Sleep?” quality; “Missing Pieces” is a solid, dynamic opener rife with excellent electric piano and guitar performances. Honestly, I’m not sure I dislike any of these songs - as a result, it’s one of the higher 3.5-star albums in my book - but overall, his search for how to move forward musically results in a diversity that is less of a White Album/Exile on Main St. (we’re so good and confident at everything we do that we’ll go in any direction we please and it will succeed) and more of a Greetings from Asbury Park (I don’t quite know what to do with all of these talents yet). I’ll get more into my thoughts on the arc of his solo career when the thread for his elimination opens up, but ultimately, I think this was a necessary album for him to make, if not a necessary album to be included in this book.

3.5/5

For my money, the band on this record has a lot more fire than most “white guy blues” records. They seem to be inhibiting the spirit of the records that influenced them, not just trying to copy the sounds necessarily. Clapton is obviously incredible on it, but Mayall is a terrific vocalist and damn good harp player, too. I think this record and East-West by The Butterfield Blues Band are the best of their ilk, personally.

4.5/5

“Solsbury Hill” rules, and there are some other moments I dig, but overall, there’s still a lot of that Genesis-era influence that I’m not into.

3/5