Reviews by oldmancthc

Solid '60s pop. Could listen to this stuff all day. Reminds me of being in high school and having a car with only a radio in it. Just drove around all day listening to "oldies". Good vibes only.

Big surprise here as I have always pigeonholed this band into "shitty alt-goth I will never listen to". Well... here's where I admit I really like this. It's definitely mood music, not something I'd listen to all the time, but the pulsating textures of almost ambient sound they create are incredibly interesting. It can easily serve as good background music you ignore while working, but is also something that you can focus on and lose yourself in, finding new intricacies the deeper you dive. Reminds me A LOT of a more guitar-focused Slowdive.

Not too knowledgable about 2000s hip hop. What I do know I'm not too fond of, but this starts off strong. Front half (Big-Boi) is a perfect combo of quality production that doesn't overshadow the rhymes and flow. Really like it all. Back half (André 3000) unfortunately fails to live up to the front. It was actually REALLY hard to sit through. Production is too busy. Vocals are too sing-songy and it's laced with far too much pop influence. Upon completion, I cannot even be diplomatic... it's fucking awful. Should've left this a Big-Boi solo album clocking in at half the time.

Not often I run into a band from this era that I've ever heard of but here we are! Initial reactions were that this would be a little too folksy for my tastes, but there seems to be JUST enough psychedelia mixed in here to keep me interested. Mostly starts sound sort of the same as it progresses, with a few moments here and there that stand out. I think closing the album with a cover of My 'ol Kentucky Home might've been a misstep though.

Immigrant Song is a banger of an opener, but this one just never lives up to the previous two. Nice to see them experimenting a little, the blues influence is still present, but they seem to be leaning on it with less weight. A couple slower tunes here (almost acoustic). All in all a little lackluster for the boys, compared to their previous two.

Initial thought is that this is Pop/Dance masquerading as “indie”. Big NOPE for me. The position of the synth so high in the mix seems like an engineering error. The “set it and forget it” dance beat used nearly throughout the first half of this album is lazy as hell. The latter half trades it in for a slowed down snoozer approach. Not sure how much of an improvement that is. I don’t hate the vocals (with the exception of Runaway). Shame and Fortune was the single stand out track I thought was great. Can’t find much else I like here.

‘60s soul performed live in a small club… It really doesn’t get better than this. All the tempos are elevated, the crowd is charged. The performance is electrifying. I only have 2 complaints; it’s but long enough, and I’m not old enough to have been there.

This rocks! I generally prefer my hip hop with very stripped down production. But the jazzy instrumentals (with flute!) applied here don’t take any power away from the MC. if anything it’s a perfect compliment. In an era where the music industry was pushing violence and misogyny in their hip hop, it’s also really nice to see a group focus on conciseness. I hear a lot of Tribe Called Quest influence here, and I’m NOT complaining.

Holy shit! I was expecting doo-wop and the opener just blows the doors off the hinges with some of the greatest psychedelic inspired soul I’ve they heard! Hell yeah!! Sly and The Family Stone influence here is undeniable. More of a return to form for the back half of the album but still solid material.

Solid album with a number of recognizable tracks I didn’t realize were on it. Ends a little weird, but I’m still for it.

Favorite album by one of my favorite metal gods. This is a perfect album, not a single bad track. Halford at his pinnacle!

I’m a casual fan of early Wax Trax material, and loved Pretty Hate Machine years back, but I never really gave NIN’s later material attention. Digging this a lot more than I expected. It’s got just the right blend of chaos and aggression, but still sticks with that early industrial dance beat to keep it focused. Probably going to be listening to this more.

This is the “experimental” album? Sounds a lot like the others. Not for me.

Great album! This later era Prima, and you can hear a lot of his big band and swing past influencing this jump jazz sound. Upbeat tempos, bright brass, and Prima’s signature vocal delivery make this album really easy to get through and keep you tapping your feet the whole time. It’s a feel good album for sure

Tough to get through this. I know this is not a popular opinion, but I can’t stand Bruce. Americana as a genre just don’t do it for me. Specifically, I find his vocal delivery to be unlistenable. The bigger sounding tracks are ok (until he sings) but the acoustic guitar/piano tracks that focus on his voice is like having a hot knitting needle jammed directly into my eye. NJ can keep this guy (and Bon Jovi), I got no use for him.

It’s Aretha… Respect!

This is a banger! No more filling half the album with covers of American blues classics. At this point the Stones have truly come into their own, defining themselves as a creative force and establishing a foundation for what is to come. This is truly listening to history here.

Trying really hard to view this through the lens of the time it was released. This is when hip hop went to shit as far as I’m concerned, trading in simple bass and drum beat backing for fully produced “songs”. It moved the focus from MC to producer and I think the art suffered. Undeniable that Eminem's flow and delivery were totally unique when this was new. But lyrically, it’s impossible to enjoy this album. Murder and rape fantasies, over the top misogyny, homophobia at every turn; this is an album made by a fucking narcissistic sociopath. This influencing an entire generation sort of makes our current shit society a little more understandable. This is juvenile, selfish, garbage.

'60s girl-group pop influences delivered to your ears through the filter of late '70s LA punk. I love everything going on here. Definitely a big help in moving new wave on to the mainstream in the early '80s. Everything here is just upbeat and catchy. Hard not to have a good time listening to this.

Another artist I am completely unfamiliar with. I think I expected singer/songwriter style folk melodies here and I'm really pleasantly surprised. This is some good poppy soul with a soft rock backbone to it (yeah I know, but in this instance I actually DON'T mean to be insulting with "soft rock"). Some jazzy bits mixed in here and there, some blues too. Beautiful voice on Joan. Guitar work from her is also really expressive. Another one that's hard to really fit into any specific category, but just brimming with talent. I have to believe that Tracy Chapman was heavily influenced by Joan Armatrading. The songwriting and vocals are just too similar.