Rated 8/10
Surprised to find this one grow on me with an additional listen! Cole is a clever songwriter and solid vocalist, not falling into some of the typical traps that a lot of 80's singers in this genre tend to. Great band arrangements; mostly rooted in dependable jangle pop, shades of sophisti-pop without overdoing it. I have to imagine this would easily make my top 25 of 1984.
4/5
Rated 10/10
Deserves all the praise it’s gotten. Absolutely magnificent across the board: the playing, the songwriting, the production, the sequencing, everything. A truly perfect record.
5/5
Rated 2/10
I can’t believe this is on the list. Didn’t like it when I was 9, don’t like it now.
1/5
Rated 6/10
Perhaps I’m coming around to them yet. Still don’t love Geddy’s voice a lot of the time, but I can deal with these instrumentals and production.
3.5/5
Rated 6/10
Clearly well-constructed baroque pop that I just don’t care that much about.
3/5
Rated 4/10
There are some moments in here that I dig, but overall, this is very much not for me.
2/5
Rated 10/10
They saved their best for last. Not a wasted note, in my opinion. Perfection.
5/5
Rated 6/10
Seriously fun hard rock.
3.5/5
Rated 6/10
The first half of this album is a major, sanitized bummer. It’s so disappointing to hear a legend like Hooker enveloped by shitty 80’s production and forced guest stars. The second half, when the arrangements are dialed back a bit, is much better. Personally? I see no need to reach for this when his classic material is available.
3/5
Rated 8/10
Per usual with Beck, highly inventive and entertaining.
4/5
Rated 8/10
Awesome, awesome soul jazz. Jimmy’s playing is so fluid, and Stanley Turrentine has one of the most perfect tenor sax tones ever. Great shit.
4.5/5
Rated 6/10
A very enjoyable, inconsequential record that I did not “need to hear before I died.”
3.5/5
Rated 8/10
Realizing I don’t really *love* glam-rock, but still, very solid record. Will definitely return to it one day.
3.5/5
Rated 6/10
Good and perfectly professional, but not my favorite era of the band, and not my favorite sound in general.
3.5/5
Rated 6/10
There’s a sheen to it that I struggle with, but some damn good songs. “Slow Burn” is tremendous. This could potentially grow one day.
3/5
Rated 6/10
Haven’t really had my “a-ha!” moment with Berman yet, but there’s some great music here and he’s clearly a great lyricist. I hope I’ll “get it” more one day.
3.5/5
Rated 8/10
Janis was one of the first vocalists I ever loved. And I still love her dearly. She’s so genuinely passionate, vulnerable, and powerful…really, the only “bad” thing about this record is how sad it makes me to think that we lost her so soon. Practically every song is a highlight here, with the instrumental “Buried Alive in the Blues” perhaps being the only “weak” link. Fantastic record.
4.5/5
Rated 4/10
Solid writing, but far too subdued and one-note for me to really like that much.
2.5/5
Rated 8/10
Some really great stuff here. Excited to keep going back to this.
4/5
Rated 8/10
Yes, you do need to hear this before you die. Not just because it’s extremely ahead of its time, but because it fucking rules.
4/5
