Rated 6/10
I’m still learning how to love Leonard Cohen. This one may connect with me more if/whenever I get more into him. I can tell how good the writing is, and certain songs resonate with me. I’m just not all the way there with it.
3.5/5
Rated 6/10
I never cared about this band. I still don’t, but I recognize that this is still pretty decent.
3.5/5
Rated 8/10
I am not a huge fan of typical 1980’s production stylings, and there are times on this album where the gated drums are a bit much for me, or there’s a little too much echo for my liking. However, the songs are so good, and in recent years, I’ve come around to it more and more. The title track, which sounds like a fun, upbeat song on first listen, is a great, biting commentary on the state of America post-Vietnam. “I’m on Fire” is a really effective song, I love the bed of synths that really set the mood well. “Dancing in the Dark”, kind of like the title track, at first glance is just this fun upbeat pop song, but some really heavy lyrics underneath it all, really fantastic song. I love “Downbound Train”, “No Surrender”, the closer “My Hometown”...even though it’s only my ninth favorite Springsteen album, I still really like it a lot, and I have just recently bumped it up to 4 stars.
4/5
Rated 6/10
There are elements and songs here I like (“Swampsnake”) in particular, but it’s not coming together all the way for me. Interested to see how I feel if I ever revisit it.
3/5
Rated 6/10
The title track is an all-timer. The rest of the album doesn’t live up to it, but a decent listen overall.
3.5/5
Rated 8/10
Not to be dismissed as a Summer of Love relic, there’s a lot of damn good stuff here.
4/5
Rated 6/10
It all sounds good, but it’s overlong and not much of it excites or grabs me. I’ll come back to it sometime and see if I feel differently.
3/5
Rated 6/10
I initially gave this a light 3.5 when I first heard it, but I’ve heard it a few more times since then and it’s lowered in my estimation every time. Other than “Seven Seas of Rhye”, side B is verrrrry trying for me. Honestly, my favorite song on the record is Roger Taylor’s “The Loser in the End”. I get why a lot of people really dig it, but this could be my least favorite of their 70’s output.
3/5
Rated 8/10
Probably only my fourth favorite Costello record and somehow still on the verge of 5 stars. Just wonderfully performed and written.
4.5/5
Rated 4/10
Meh. Inoffensive, but inessential. No desire to ever hear it again.
2.5/5
I could probably list close to 200 albums with an argument to be included on this list. Albums that serve to truly enrich the life of the listener. Albums with unbelievable cultural and historical significance. Albums that speak to and/or make sense of the human experience. In lieu of those hundreds of albums, the curator of this project decided to include Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water by Limp Bizkit. They made dozens of questionable decisions, but perhaps none more nonsensical than this one. It's a shame that one star is the lowest rating we're allowed here.
0/5
Rated 6/10
Lana tends to horrifically bore me, but this is my favorite of hers so far.
2.5/5
Closer to 4.5 stars than you might think. If a few of the non-hits were on the same level as the hits, it would be there. At least.
Skynyrd has developed a strange reputation thanks to the atrocity that is the reunion-era band, the played-out "Free Bird" jokes, and "Sweet Home Alabama" attaining a level of radio overplay that should be illegal. But don't sleep on the original lineup's albums. It's not just good southern rock; it's damn good rock and roll period.
4/5
Rated 6/10
I initially had this at 2.5 stars; although I appreciated the lyrical content right away, I found it to be a bit long and one-note. It musically revealed itself a bit more to me on second listen, and even though I’d probably still cut a few songs (and it’s not my preferred era of this genre), I think it could still continue to rise for me.
3/5
Rated 2/10
Horrifically boring and, more damning for the legitimacy of this list, horrifically inessential.
1/5
Rated 8/10
I also prefer Nevermind, which may make me a basic bitch, but I don't care. Nevermind and Unplugged were the ones that changed my life; In Utero was the one that I "only" really liked. But I've continued to really like it through the years, and even if it doesn't totally get all the way up to 5 stars for me on a personal enjoyment level, it's still a tremendous group of songs.
4.5/5
Rated 8/10
I think this album well executes the marriage of their most rocking material up to this point and the more electronic aspects of their previous two albums. I think it runs a bit too long, but it’s probably my fourth favorite Radiohead. One of the few albums of theirs you could unironically say doesn't get enough credit.
4/5
Rated 10/10
Perhaps critics and the general public just needed a bit of time to make sure the world wouldn’t end, but three years after announcing, and subsequently being blamed for, the Beatles’ breakup, Paul delivered a record that finally won everyone over. It would have been pretty hard to deny this one; it still sounds like a massive success 50 years later, thanks in no small part to the fact that it contains three verifiable classics.
The title track is one of Paul’s all-time crowning achievements, with three distinct sections expertly crafted, connected, and performed. Tony Visconti provides some exquisite orchestration to fill out an already-flawless soundscape, and, setting a tone for most every song on the record, the three-part harmonies between Paul, Linda, and Denny Laine are supremely good. “Jet” is the first true rocker of Paul’s solo career, kicking off with an effective three-note guitar/saxophone riff before exploding into a rush of pure energy featuring one of Mr. McCartney’s finest drumming performances. And “Let Me Roll It” is one of Paul’s most beloved ballads for good reason. Seen by some as a tribute to John with its snarling riff, use of tape echo, and repetitive lyrics, it contains an unbelievable lead vocal from Paul, enhanced with glorious harmonies in the choruses, and great Hammond organ from Linda. These three songs, like the album as a whole, stand the test of time; the masterclass of songwriting that is the title track may be my personal favorite, but all three rank among the best of Paul’s solo career, and their popularity is well-deserved.
That’s not to say the other tracks on Band On The Run aren’t also gems. In particular, I have never been able to get enough of the bizarrely fun “Mrs Vandebilt.” The infectious “ho-hey-ho” background vocals and hilarious banter at the end of the song are overwhelmingly appealing, so much so that they threaten to, but thankfully don’t, overshadow the abundance of brilliant performances on the song. Linda’s electric piano playing is excellent, as are Howard Casey’s saxophone solos, and Paul delivers both his best bass playing on the album and marvelous dual-lead guitar work with Denny.
Following “Let Me Roll It” is another first-class ballad in “Mamunia.” Featuring superb acoustic guitar work from Paul and Moog synthesizer from Linda, it is a beautiful and calming call to consider the positive in every seemingly negative situation (“The rain comes falling from the sky to fill the stream that fills the sea/And that’s where life began for you and me/So the next time you see rain, it ain’t bad/Don’t complain it rains for you”). “Picasso’s Last Words (Drink To Me)” has an intriguingly drowsy ambiance that sounds effectively akin to a dream of someone on their deathbed. Just like a dream, it glides by lazily at points before unexpectedly shifting; motifs and choruses weave in and out of each other effortlessly; two previous songs, “Jet” and “Mrs Vandebilt,” are quoted and integrated brilliantly. It is remarkably intricate, yet it floats by so smoothly.
It’s another perfect example on this record of Paul flexing his muscles with true confidence for the first time in his solo career. The results are spectacular, and although I can’t deem it my favorite McCartney record like many others, Band On The Run is a complete, undoubted success.
5/5
Rated 8/10
I was always a casual fan of Fugazi's via my dad's record collection, but never dove into them too much. I know I really dig the debut EP, and after two listens, I like this one a good bit too. I generally prefer MacKaye's songs to Picciotto's, but think they're both worthy songwriters and frontmen at the end of the day. They strike a solid balance between abrasiveness and accessibility, and they're damn good instrumentalists to boot.
4/5
Rated 6/10
It’s just not something I’m going to listen to a whole lot, but goddamn is Frank good. Some of these are just miraculous. Will never not love “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”.
3.5/5
