Reviews by oldmancthc

The '60s baroque-pop sound gets old really fast for me, and this has little else going on. I wish this had more of the psychedelia they start to display on Time of The Seasons (which rocks!), but aside from that track, it's just A LOT of harpsichord and horns. Good for them closing out the album on their best song though.

Ehh... It's not as awful as I find most modern pop but it does nothing for me. At least there's no excessive autotune.

Long one, but split into four distinct parts. Side 1 (The Raven) was solid. Blues and rock with some latin rhythm mixed in here and there. Side 2 (The Wilderness) was awful. Country and bluegrass just isn't my thing. Side 3 (Consider) is also pretty good. A lot of smoother light-rock, some experimentation (nice MOOG work). Starting to enter jam-band territory on some tracks but not in a bad way. Side 4 (Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay) starts off with some southern rock then slides FIRMLY into jam-band territory. All-in-all, it's not a bad release and I'd probably listen to it (at least three sides) again, but it's not going to be in my regular rotation.

I love A Tribe Called Quest. I really wanted to love this, but I just don't. While the production is refreshingly different for this era, it just sounds lackluster at best. There are still some ATCQ jazzy parts, but it leans heavily on synth-based R&B. Rhymes and flow are great, but they are overshadowed completely in the mix, making it feel like your focus should be on the "music" and that has always felt wrong to me with hip-hop, an art form that should always place the MC front and center.

4th Cohen album I've had on this list and I continue to question why any of them are here. Maybe he's a good poet. Frankly I don't give a shit about that. This is a list about music and this music is awful, generic drivel. Add his trademark low-talking vocals over the top and it becomes completely intolerable.

Well... It's not totally awful, just wildly bland. Nothing hits on here. It's like background music in an upscale coffee shop. The kind of place that will try to sell you a $13 latte. No thanks.

Incredible album! Truly essential and genre-defining electro and hip-hop here. Bummer I've got to separate the art from the artist though, considering the absolute piece of shit Afrika turned out to be.

Jesus CHRIST this sucks! I'm no fan of country, but this is far and beyond some of the worst crap I have ever heard.

Liked this a lot more than Third / Sister Lovers. The rock numbers seriously ROCK! Even the slower tracks have something there that you can just feel. Perfect it is not, but it is pretty great even at its worst. I now get why others hold them in pretty high regard.

Lots of different influences on this compared to previous material. And, for once I'm not using that in the derogatory. This is all pretty solid. It's not a complete departure from their original sound so much as it truly sounds like them experimenting and building upon it. Good release that will definitely get more play from me. I might skip "fishcakes" though.

Great.. 10 members, a mandolin, and an accordion. I could tell from the picture on the cover that I was going to hate this. I was right.

Hell yeah! Classic '90s hip-hop that still hits HARD over 30 years later. Nearly perfect in its production (DJ Muggs tracks being some of his strongest work ever) . Vocal delivery is pure power. Lyrics and themes are still so eerily relevant. I wish more modern hip-hop followed this blueprint.

County fair bandstand filler. Awful.

Tina has a powerful voice and I love a lot of her '70s output, but this is near unlistenable. The '80s production on this is beyond awful. So much synth, canned drums, overly-affected guitars and bass, everything compressed so hard there are no dynamics; this is the worst of everything the '80s pushed in pop. I don't know who thought making the Beatles Help! into a ballad (with a VERY '80s sax solo I might add) was a good idea, but I hope they lost their job. How THIS is what propelled her to superstardom, I will never understand.

A wider variety of musical styles here than his earlier releases, mixing in pop, a lot of soul, and a few ballads. I still prefer the tracks that hint at that earlier rock sound; like Dirty, Dirty Feeling. Though I LOVE the soul offerings like It Feels So Right. His cover of Fever is surprisingly great, more or less following in the style of Peggy Lee's version. All-in-all this is a really enjoyable record, and I have always loved this style and era of music. I have mixed feelings on Elvis though, since he was basically the originator of the music industry manufacturing a "superstar" by using a pretty face and charismatic entertainer to sell music that other (more talented) people created.

Some of this is good. Some of this is kind of boring. I wouldn't say I dislike it, but it definitely falls in the (pretty broad for me) category of 'wouldn't put in on to listen to myself, but wouldn't turn it off if someone else decided to.' I guess I don't really have strong opinions on dance-goth.

I don't love everything the VU did but this is great in all it's fuzzed out and unpolished glory.

I'm not a prog hater, but it needs to be something that really stands out for one reason of another. This just doesn't. It's pleasant enough to listen to, and obviously they are talented musicians, but it just does nothing for me. Inoffensive background music is the best description I could give this.

Arguably the coolest and most talented punk band ever. They was weird, and did their own thing, which was completely awesome. Great musicians. Tons of energy. Creative and unique compositions. Seamless fusions of different styles. D. Boon, you will always be missed!

Lenny rocks, he souls, he funks, and he even rips off the Beatles much better than most. Is there anything this guy can't do musically? I might not love it all, but it's a pretty solid album and always a good listen.