Reviews by nofaithmed11

My second favorite Radiohead. I don’t love it enough to get it to 5 stars, but it could get there one day.

4.5/5

I love Led Zeppelin. They are a top 5-6 band all-time for me. They have impacted my life so much in so many ways. But I push back on this being their magnum opus, as some fans claim it so obviously is. To me, they were never better than they were on their first four albums, when Plant’s voice was in his prime and Page and Bonham weren’t *as* junked out as they were by their middle/end years. That’s when they were their absolute mightiest in every way. Yes, they evolved as songwriters in certain ways as time went on, and at their best, that paid major dividends. But it also led to far more swings and misses than there were over their first four albums, and while I respect those efforts, I can’t say I like them more.

I like every song on this album to varying degrees, and two of them - “Ten Years Gone” and “In the Light” - are among my 10 or 15 favorite Led Zeppelin songs. I also quite like “Down by the Seaside”, “Houses of the Holy”, “Night Flight”, and “The Rover”. But “Kashmir” is among my “least favorite” Zeppelin hits, and as good as “Custard Pie”, “The Wanton Song”, “Black Country Woman”, and “Sick Again” are, I’ll take basically every song on the first four albums over them, especially because I can probably find analogous songs over the first four albums that are superior. This is a great record, one I cherish in its own way, but it’s not *my* Zeppelin record. A very, very high 4 stars.

4/5

It's good. Good enough to get the 4 star bump here. But I'm missing something with this band and I'm not sure what it is.

3.5/5

I truly do not want or need this type of music in my life. Well crafted for what it is, but it's not for me.

2/5

I don't know how much I find truly great, but I think most of it is pretty damn good. A high 3.5 with room to grow to a true 4 stars one day.

3.5/5

The album that changed my life. I would quite literally not be the person I am without it. These days, it’s only my third favorite Beatles album, but still likely my fifth favorite of all-time by anyone. Just massively important, personally and otherwise. I love every single second of it and wouldn’t change a thing about it. Eternally grateful. I’m so lucky to live in a world where this exists.

5+/5

Definitely a bit slight in terms of composition and variety, but I still dig it a good amount based on the strength of the playing and the overall style.

3.5/5

Very good, but they’re still one album away from true greatness.

3.5/5

I’m truly just not the biggest vocal Jazz guy, but this is very good. She was excellent.

3.5/5

Killer amalgam of punk, blues, rockabilly, and more. Wish more of the 80's sounded like this.

4/5

Perfect energy.

4/5

When I was 15 years old, I got a free ticket to go see Peter Frampton in Newport, Rhode Island. I knew and liked the three big radio hits - "Show Me the Way", "Baby, I Love Your Way", "Do You Feel Like We Do" - and free is free, so why not? Before the show started, the venue made a big to-do that no one was allowed to stand in the space between the front of the stage and the front row; alas, by the middle of the first song, there were quite a few people right up in there.

Halfway through the set, Frampton ripped into a killer cover of "Black Hole Sun". My friend and I thought it was super badass, so we tried to sneak up to the front. A security guard stopped us and explained that the only people allowed to stand either had front row tickets or exclusive VIP passes. As we returned to our seats disappointed, I turned around to see Frampton looking at us with a confused expression. During the next song, a killer version of "(I'll Give You) Money", a couple more people tried to get up front and were also stopped. As the song kept playing, Peter announced, "Let the people come up and dance! If they can't get up here and dance, I'm walking off this stage." My friend and I looked at each other and *booked it* to the front, as did many others. The security guards continued to try and stop a few people, which Frampton objected to. He cued the band to stop, took his guitar off, and left the stage. I remember saying to my friend, "Even if he doesn't come back, this is the most badass concert ever." Sure enough, though, he returned about 10 minutes later with a shit-eating grin on his face and said, "Let's pick that one back up from my guitar solo." He finished the song (and the set) while my friend and I got to enjoy it from right up front, and to this day, it's one of the coolest, most respectable rock star moves I've ever witnessed. I suppose I can understand why he may not be everyone's cup of tea, and I'm sure some people of a certain generation got burnt out on this album's hype, but I will never have anything but the utmost respect for Peter Frampton. And this album is pretty damn good.

4/5

I literally just listened to this for the first time earlier today. Are you guys fucking spying on me?!?!?! You'll be hearing from my lawyer.

I think Tori is a damn good lyricist. I certainly feel a disconnect with some of the more "theatrical" elements, though I don't personally feel that they dominate the album. Whereas the Kate Bush that I'm familiar with feels very rooted in a style of pop music that I'm not a huge fan of, Tori sounds a lot more rooted in a brand of songwriting that I relate to and appreciate more. "Crucify", "Girl", "Happy Phantom", "Leather", and "Me and a Gun" stand out in particular to me, and even though I don't think I'll ever be a huge fan of hers or even return to this album all that much, I definitely don't take too much issue with it in general.

3.5/5

I have as much of a sentimental attachment to In Rainbows as I could have for any of Radiohead's albums. I vividly remember when it was surprise released as a pay-what-you-want deal; I was a junior in high school, 16 years old, working at a movie theater, and a couple of slightly older co-workers were mind-blown. I was too, to a degree - I wasn't aware of any other artist having done anything like that before - but since they were huge fans, it impacted them especially hard.

I don't think I had heard a full album of theirs yet; although I knew "Fake Plastic Trees", "High and Dry", and "Karma Police" and liked them all, most Radiohead fans I knew were so insufferable that it stopped me from exploring further. But this was such a unique event that it convinced me to "buy" it for free and dive in. I was surprised to find that I liked it pretty much immediately and without reservation! Even still, I only listened a handful of times before it kind of fell to the back of my mind. I revisited it every now and then throughout the years to try and rebel against my Radiohead-averse attitude, was always reminded of its greatness, and promptly put it in my back pocket again.

Although I still have somewhat conflicting feelings on the band, I have very much gotten over that initial hesitancy and would say, overall, that I'm a fan, if not to the level that many are. And even though I enjoy all of their albums to varying degrees, In Rainbows is still my favorite. It's the perfect blend of all their rocking and electronic tendencies. Colin Greenwood and Philip Selway are personally the stars of the show for me; every groove, as well as their individual tones/sounds are out of this world. This one may continue to rise in my estimations; going 5 stars for the site.

4.5/5

I love Music from Big Pink. A stellar, groundbreaking, magical record, an easy 5 stars and probable top 50 album all-time for me. And I think this one is even better. What it lacks in mysterious psychedelia it gains in even more gorgeous intimacy. All three vocalists sound better than they ever have or ever will. Likely a top 20-25 all-time album. I’m so grateful for its existence.

5+/5

Jeff Beck is pretty obviously the star of the show here. The Yardbirds are one of many groups from this era whose studio albums don't really paint the clearest picture of their history or impact, and I'm generally lukewarm on them anyway, but this is still highly listenable to me. "Over Under Sideways Down" the clear highlight.

3.5/5

I am completely incapable of enjoying this music, well performed/arranged/written as it might be.

1.5/5

Of the four Fela records I've heard, this one is pretty easily my favorite. I can occasionally struggle with the Afrobeat repetition as well if I'm not in the mood for it, but both of these songs feature more than enough moving melodic parts to "offset" it. The passion in his voice is quite striking as well; I can see this one growing on me if my appreciation for the genre grows a bit.

4/5

Good and pleasant, just a bit inconsistent. I also don't necessarily mind when artists emulate other artists, but there were a few too many times on this record where I thought they were aping someone else.

3/5

Very close to 4 stars. Would easily be at least that without all the side 2 narration. The actual music is awesome.

3.5/5