Reviews by oldmancthc

Fucking ROCKS right out of the gate and just doesn't stop until it's over (OK, I admit the lollypop-guild-voice song was a little weird). Brit-pop vibes are here but drown in fuzz and flashing a lot more garage sensibilities than the later material I'm familiar with. I'm always a fan of first albums and this is a GREAT one!

Loved this as a pre-punk teenager, but have not listened to it since. There were a few times I found by head bopping. I do like when they funk and soul, not as much when they ska and "punk". The mix of styles doesn't always seem to blend so much as compete with each other in a lot of places. The production is off-putting to me. Too polished for the heavier and faster parts, too lifeless in the funk and soul. Talented musicians and performers for sure. I can tell they have a lot of love for Funkadelic, but at least at this point are not able to truly capture that same magic. Some of this is just over the top campy and hard to listen to, like Howard Beach Party; is this surf-ska?? Please don't.

Never heard of this and I did not enjoy it much. Competent writing and performance, but just seems like a clinic on fitting every '80s pop-trope that I can't stand into one album. Reminiscent of a lot of other bands from that era, but with nothing original to make it stand out on its own. Total snooze-fest for me.

Sounds like the background soundtrack played during a TV montage. Vocals are overly saccharine. Music is pleasant and competently played. It simply doesn't elicit any sort of emotional reaction from me. It exists, thoughtlessly, apart from whatever else I'm doing while it is on. If I force myself to focus on it I just get bored.

Not my go-to style, but undeniably a good listen. Great songwriting and performances here. Of the 12 tracks on this, I think only 4 were things I didn't already know. Carole's voice is powerful throughout; overflowing with passion yet somehow still soothing.

It's 1991. Storrs, CT. UConn's West Campus. Lancaster Hall, 4th floor. This is the what you hear coming out of the windows on every nice day. It's the soundtrack to every party. This is the album you put on when you bring a girl back to your room and awkwardly try to get her in the mood. '90s hip-hop was full of experimentation and this is some of it's best. Stripped down beats and jazz samples under chill conscious rhymes delivered with precision. I think about this a lot because it's exactly the trajectory I wish hip-hop would've taken. Unfortunately the record industry thought it would be more profitable to glorify gang violence, crime, misogyny, and consumerism instead.

Coming to this only knowing "Bang a Gong" (and incorrectly always assuming it was an '80s hit). This album has got a great sound and feel to it; reminiscent of glam era Bowie but more subdued. The production is done really well, making it always feel like a single cohesive work; a true album. That being said, there wasn't anything that was really mind-blowing on a first listen. I do feel like this is a grower though, and I know if I keep listening to it (and I will) I'll continue to find little interesting details that will make me fall in love with it. The raw energy of "Rip" is such a killer way to close an album.

Took me almost 10 years to understand and enjoy this one, but it's something I listen to a lot. Originally I hated the party-boy vibe, before I realized it wast their schtick at this point. The lyrics and delivery are juvenile and snotty, but that doesn't stop them from being really catchy; arguably it helps. Stripped down beats and samples performed by Rick Rubin are as important (or more?) to this sound as anything else and showcase just how much Richer influenced hip-hop after this. Paul Revere has always been my fasvorite track, but other the "Girls", there are no stinkers on here.

This is great! I love almost all music I've heard that originates from Africa. Miriam mixes traditional Afro beats with western jazz and pop to create something (at the time) wholly unique. Her voice is beautiful across all tracks. Even her rendition of House of the Rising Sun (a song I absolutely HATE!) is an incredible and moving interpretation. I can see why she is well known for making "world" music more accessible to the US.

I used to work with hippies in a natural food store and this was THE ONLY album we could agree on, so I've listened to it a lot... just not in many years. And I'm about to change that because this is simply incredible. Tough to pigeonhole into any specific sound; it's not really post-punk, it's not new wave, it's rooted in rock and roll, and has crazy pop hooks that still don't overly polish the teeth of this release. Not a bad track on here.

I’m not even going to dignify this with a response. C’mon!

This one's hit or miss for me. I lioe the backing band. This is the only recording the Full Tilt Boogie Band did with Janis before her death and that's disappointing because they are great! Tracks like Move Over rock, and I love the timing and energy they bring. But when things slow down she loses me. The vocals seem too performative at these times; almost disingenuous. I feel like Janis and the band are at their best tearing through upbeat bangers, and there's just not enough here.

So... a concept album about kid-diddling, performed by a(n alleged) kid-diddler? Fucking great! Trying really hard to find a positive in this pile of shit. Once in a while the beats and guitar work align into something interesting, but it's not often and Beck ripped off all of them. The ever-present whisper talking vocals (produced so high in the mix sometimes it's hard to even hear the music over it) are AWFUL. Seriously, go watch The Simpsons episode "Life On the Fast Lane". You will never again be able to unhear Marge's bowling instructor Jacques on every track. Fuck this album in its entirety! Gotta go listen to something akin to an audio shower now.

Probably my favorite Led Zeppelin album. Dazed and Confused and Communication Breakdown are some of the best songs they'd ever write. Their Willie Dixon covers show an obvious reverence in their arrangements. At this point this isn't a supergroup yet, just a bunch of British kids who absolutely WORSHIP the American blues. But even at this point they aren't comfortable just playing it, so much as innovating and expanding beyond it.

Elvis is nostalgia for me; having been something my parents introduced me to. Despite this, and my love for this era of rock n roll, he is NOT my favorite. His debut LP showcases his voice quite well, and the cover image alone probably helped draw countless young people to this new form of music, whose roots were firmly in the taboo. And that's about where it ends. Elvis only plays guitar on a couple of tracks here, and piano on only one. Not a single song is written by him. This is the beginning of a 70+ year long music industry practice of taking a pretty face, and selling pop records with it. The music here is well played (great session players on here) but it lacks the raw power, energy, and innovation of artists like Chuck Berry or Little Richard. It's a fun listen and a historic artifact, but it's hard for me to not contextualize it as the colonization of rock n roll

I was introduced to the Velvet Underground through R.E.M.'s cover songs before I was even a teenager. I bought this album then, and never clicked with it. Glad I listened to it again 30+ years later because this indeed lives up to the hype. This album features so much experimentation for the era; studio tricks, layers of instrumentation, stereo panning, improvised jams. There's so much here to digest. So much beauty, but it's also juxtaposed by an ugly chaos in many places. I think I respond most to the idea that these are musicians truly creating. Nothing by the numbers here. This is art, and I'm here for it.

I've known all the hits most of my life, but have never listened to the album in completion. Not something I would reach for regularly, but undeniably a good album.

I had the very first Velvet Underground and Nico LP as a kid, purchasing it as my interests in punk were starting to develop, and I don't think I ever really came to appreciate it. A lot of similar sounds on this release, but I seem to have aged enough to understand it now. Much of the performance, writing and instrumentation on this is still the Velvet Underground, and it's uniquely wonderful. Thoughtful and interesting compositions pulling from a vast array of stringed instruments and beyond. Jackson Brown lends his writing to a couple of tracks, as well as performs. Even Bob Dylan has a writing credit on one song. And of course, Nico's contralto is the thread that weaves all this together, often providing a weight to the softness of the music, grounding it's ethereal nature and giving it relevance.

What in the actual fuck did I just listen to? This is beyond terrible. This sounds like the High School class-clown participating in the talent show as a goof. I wish I could give it 0 stars. Leonard is a great poet, but oh man should he stick to that and leave music alone if this is what he has to offer. I'm honestly at a complete loss to find a single redeemable aspect of this album. This doesn't even sound like a failed experiment. It simply sucks.

Let no one tell you different, this man INVENTED Rock 'n' Roll. This is arguably the most important record ever released. Every track is exploding with raw energy and innovative talent. Richard is like a dynamo, there is nothing that can even slow him down. He discovered James Brown, and inspired The Beatles and Prince. There's a reason nearly every song on this album is one you already know... and if you don't, you SHOULD.