Reviews by nofaithmed11

They obviously get better and more interesting, but this is still quite an enjoyable collection.

3.5/5

After not being really able to stand Rowland on their first album, he didn't bother me as much here. As such, I found myself liking this record a sizable amount more. The arrangements and soundscapes are quite interesting, and I actually think the production is pretty solid by mid-80's standards (or, should I say, my mid-80's standards). Is this weird? Am I weird?

3.5/5

I dug this pretty well, and I think it's got room to grow on me. "Djed" has a bit of a NEU! thing going on that I appreciate, and I really didn't mind the length at all (that's what she said). "Glass Museum" and "The Taut and Tame" also stood out to me on first listen. It tailed off a bit for me in the final two tracks, but I'm interested to revisit this one and see if I can sink my teeth into it even more.

3.5/5

Not something I’m going to reach for a whole lot, but very good for what it is.

3.5/5

I don't mind most of what's happening here musically, but Rowland is very, *very* hard for me to tolerate. This might not bode well for their other two masterpieces that appear in this book.

2/5

The jangliness here is especially easy for me to digest. However, I'm not sure this album will ever rise much higher in my estimations; the maaaaajor lack of diversity and dynamism holds me back from enjoying it as much as I want to.

3.5/5

Some great ideas, but way too all over the place for my tastes.

2.5/5

Firstly, I’ve never liked “Welcome to the Machine”, which, given its length and the fact that it’s one of only five songs, is a lot to overcome. Secondly, although I like everything else, I differ from the mindset that others have shared so far: for me, it’s absolutely no contest between this and Dark Side, which is as five-star an album as five stars can be in my book. Pink Floyd isn’t even one of my absolute favorite artists (they probably wouldn’t crack my top 50, at least), but Dark Side has always sounded like sheer perfection to me, whereas WYWH has always “merely” been an album I really like.

I think “Have a Cigar” is cool as hell, SoYCD is a hell of a composition (I particularly love parts 1-5), and though I may have suffered from burnout in the title track at one point in my life, I’ve come back around to having no issues with it (and thinking it’s a gorgeous, flawless song). As always for Floyd, the performances are nothing short of stellar, and if someone were to argue that it was the emotional apex of their catalog, I wouldn’t disagree at all (if anyone is somehow still unaware of the story surrounding this record, it’s well worth your time to read up on it). It’s just not my preferred album of theirs, or in general. Undoubtedly a 5-star achievement that, in this horrific game of applying a stupid fucking number to assess personal enjoyment, is a high 4 stars for me.

4/5

There are a few elements here that don't really work for me stylistically. Those play a role in my initial rating/ranking of this. I'd rather harp on the few things that took me by surprise, though, instead of the negatives. I already knew I liked "Personal Jesus" and "Policy of Truth" well enough, but "Clean" and *especially* "Waiting for the Night" struck me with their creepiness. Also, I'm not the biggest fan overall of "Enjoy the Silence", but I've always appreciated the craft of it and hearing it in context with the record definitely enhanced my enjoyment of it. I'm not sure if Gore or Gahan is the main lyricist, but in general, the songwriting is clearly strong. I don't know *how* much it will grow on me with repeat listenings, but it certainly could.

3/5

I definitely don't think it's as strong as their other record in this book, nor do I think that it's essential in the least, but I'm not as down on it as some other folks here. I dig the bagginess in general.

3.5/5

Musically, most of the material is in the 3.5-4 star territory for me. As an experience, it's about a 2. So let's meet in the middle.

3/5

I'm not scared off by fucking killer guitar riffs and tones, delightfully strange vocals, and musicians who owe as much to The Residents as they do Dead Kennedys. Really, really cool stuff. High 3.5 stars with room to grow.

3.5/5

Their finest moment, in my book. Westerberg is on the top of his game and the band sounds as hungry as ever.

4.5/5

I’ve always loved “Killer Queen”, overplay has never killed it for me. Just a perfect little song. I’m sure I’ve heard “Now I’m Here” and “Stone Cold Crazy” before, but they were essentially new listens for me and I dig both of them quite a bit. Taylor’s songs continue to get better with every record, as “Tenement Funster” is a winner in my book, and for the second album in a row, May also provides a solid lead vocal on another favorite, “She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettoes)”. May - again, perhaps unsurprisingly - is absolutely stellar on this record, as is Deacon, who particularly shines on “Misfire”.

There are just a few too many songs that have the “but” factor for me. I think “Brighton Rock” is a near perfect song, with a highly adventurous arrangement and insane guitar work from May, but - and I don’t know if this is heresy - the vocals bring it down a bit for me. The falsetto doesn’t work, in my opinion. “Flick of the Wrist” has a lot of cool moments and some great drumming from Taylor, but it’s just a bit too theatrical for my tastes. Like “Brighton Rock”, “In the Lap of the Gods” is a near perfect song that I love *almost* everything about…but man, as technically impressive as it is, that impossibly high vocal from Taylor that kicks off the song and reprises halfway through really puts me off. The “Revisited” version I quite like, though. The only song that I flat out didn’t like was “Bring Back That Leroy Brown”. It’s expertly crafted and arranged, and props to them for that, but I was not vibing with it whatsoever. Overall though, the 38 minutes flew by, so it definitely has some nice replay factor.

3.5/5

Wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did. Supremely cool.

4/5

Very, very feathery 3 stars. It might have been on the higher end of 3 stars if not for the final four songs, which I found to all be pretty over-earnest and lousy. Up until then, I like the skeletons of most of these tracks fine enough, but a) almost every single one of them lasts at least a minute too long and b) the overall sound only does so much for me. I don't see how this record is essential in the least and, after hearing two albums by Doves, I haven't heard anything to convince me that they are interesting or remarkable in any way.

3/5

Extremely cool amalgam of hip-hop, punk, jazz, and rock. I've always really appreciated their diversity as a band, and that's on display in spades here.

4/5

Not quite as good as its predecessor, but damn close.

4/5

Pretty good for a band I don’t care about.

3.5/5

Most everything I want out of 21st century psychedelia.

4/5