Reviews by oldmancthc

Wow! This is such a wild album. It truly answers the (unasked?) question "What if someone produced an entire soul album on their Grandma's home organ?" I know that sounds like an insult, but it's not. This album SMOKES. Strong on the soul and the funk. A little psychedelia thrown in there too. This just throws off great vibes.

This sounds utterly "90s" in a way I am simply unable to explain in words. It's a really nuanced sound, requiring more focus than I was first able to give it, so required a second listen. It's not all great, and when I dislike it I REALLY dislike it (The Hook, Soft Wolf Tread, Dixie Drug Store, Just Have To Be Crazy) but the rest is something I'll find myself listening to again and processing further. A little disappointing that is only about half the album.

I like this, though maybe not enough to listen to regularly. She's got a beautiful jazz vocal style.

My least favorite of the "big 4" and Dave Mustaine fucking sucks as a human being. That all being said, this is solid thrash and is still MILES better than what the last few weeks has brought me on this generator so I'm rocking.

Cool... more falsetto whimpering over the top of what sounds like a forgettable 2000's rom-dram soundtrack. This album might have sealed the deal that Radiohead is my least favorite band ever. The only positive thing I can say about this is at was under an hour long.

Boy have I learned to hate this band from this list. Funeral and Neon Bible were atrocious. This one, while surprisingly a little better at times, continues on that path. The bulk of the album just drags, and the length doesn't help this. Pretty typical for how I feel about most indie from this era.

Nice classic soul revival style here; Funky and sexy. Sometimes sounds like it is straight out of the late '60s or early '70s, which I intend as a strong compliment. I'm not always wild about the production here, and the vocals can sometimes be too much, but neither are persistent and neither are dealbreakers for me.

From the moment I heard the pedal steel I knew I was in for a rough ride. Absolutely terrible. It's Indie meets Americana, and somehow is performed and produced in the most lifeless way imaginable.

Have not listened to this in full in close to 40 years. It's not something I think I'll ever really listen to regularly again, but is undeniably a great listen once in a while.. There's a reason this is an album EVERYONE already knows. Totally forgot about the sexy sax on Us and Them.

Possibly my least favorite SST band. It's not terrible. They are obviously talented musicians. Usually I like "punk outside the box" and this certainly qualifies, but something at its base level here just doesn't appeal to me. Maybe it's the country influence? Tough for me to nail down the root of my disinterest, but it's real.

Great... two days after torturing me with Want Two I get this. It is also awful.

Some good progy psych here and there, but this never gets heavy enough for me to really love it. When I Touch You was probably the standout track here. The rest is sort of forgettable. These guys are great players, and the production is fantastic. I’m just not feeling the songs.

Yawn...

The boys fought for it and are finally playing their own instruments on this recording! Not perfect by any means. A lot of experimentation with different sounds. Some work, some don't. This is another one I know well but have not listened to in many years. The Nesmith tracks are the standouts. You Told Me is a great album opener that has heavy nods to The Beatles. You Just May Be The One is closer to what I associate with his style and it's another strong album anchor. No Time rocks even if it is just a simple variation on an 8-bar blues riff. And the poppy psych of Early Morning Blues and Greens is something I like a lot more than I used to.

If you were curious about punk in the '80s, this was 100% the first album you got. at 14 I LOVED This album. By 17 I despised it. Have not listened to it in many years but at this stage of my life I can recognize this as an essential piece of history. Sure it's contrived. Yes, it's a punk "boy band" put together my a cultural vampire. But it's still enjoyable after all these years.

On paper, Brit-pop vibes with some fuzz is something I should really enjoy, but this just falls short in every way. When it "rocks" it sounds neutered. When it gets quirky I find it more annoying than quaint. When it gets psychedelic it sounds like they micro-dosed to be safe. I'd like to say it's better than Rings Around, but I honestly found it hard to really pay attention to either one.

I wish more Frank Zappa albums had little to no vocals. This is much more enjoyable than anything else I've heard from him with our without The Mothers Of Invention. A little jazzy, a little jammy, a little experimental.

This is just boring pop-rock with little to no differentiation between songs. Like if Brit-pop just stopped trying.

This album may not net perfect but it’s damn close.

Really wish I hadn't slept on the recommendations of my hippie friends 30 years ago because this is exactly the type of reggae I love. Firmly in the Roots category but including more old Ska elements often left out of this style. Loved this so much I sought out the companion dub album that followed (Garvey's Ghost).