Reviews by penthousedawg

Something doesn't sit right with me hearing someone with a net worth of $180,000,000 singing about people who "don't have enough to eat". And doing a choreographed dance along with it. Take away the family name and would this be notable enough to set it apart from the other pop records from the late eighties? Possibly not.

An album of grand, soaring highs supplemented with a smattering of weak, grounding lows. It feels like the Beatles had more ideas than they knew what to do with so at times the album feels like a brainstorming session. Fortunately, if you didn't already know, they were pretty good at writing songs so it manages to hold itself together across two records. Maybe I'll hold off giving it a 5, but it certainly has plenty of five star songs - Glass Onion is a personal favourite. 4

I thought I knew Roxy Music but I had not heard this record before. There is some mad shit going on here. Such an odd and interesting record. Maybe doesn't have the hits needed to stick in the mind but it's an unusual, warbling adventure nonetheless.

Yes, Trent Reznor is a massive edgelord but my god does he have the tunes to back it up.

Peaceful yet restless, stark yet overflowing with colours, achieved with (mostly) a voice and an acoustic guitar. A beautiful record. Maybe even perfect.

The tribal instrumentation and guitar riffs really elevate this metal record. Opening track really gets the blood pumping. But he's going to need a throat lozenge after all this screaming.

Things I learned today:

I can sometimes enjoy Afrobeat.

The term 'World Music' is now widely considered dated and racist.

This guy married 27 women in one day.

I was also going to throw in a joke about "my horn section" but I decided against it.

This is what I wished all discos sound like. It's softer round the edges and lacks some of the hooks of Joy Division but has its own identity. It's gloomy, moody but with an odd skip in it's step - a bit like The Cure. Whilst it didn't really have any stand-out songs the album as a whole works really well. Except 'Sub-culture' which sounds clumsy and amateur.

34 minutes of Amy's beautiful soulful voice.

I loved the opening track but after that it felt one long, twiddly prog song. But I think that's the point.

Disappointed to see not many reviews just saying 'No'. Thought the jokers would love that.

First track feels like it was written for adverts. I generally quite like Beck's music but this opener did make me feel like buying a Toyota or something. From there the album just sort of drifts past - nothing offended me, nothing really excited me. Not his strongest album. 2.5

The songwriting is on point. But I'm not as passionate about 70's American blues-rock as you guys so I'm giving a generous 3.

The fact that this record continues to shock and upset the reviewers of this site almost thirty years after it's release proves Eminem (and his alt-ego Slim Shady) achieved what they set out to do. And now, in an era of cancel culture - and whilst a convicted felon and known sexual abuser actually sits in the White House Presidential office - Em manages to lean in to the past controversy and confront it. It's a sort of bizarre genius. And although it wasn't until the next record where Em asks "and you blame it on Marilyn - but where were the parents at?" he is already asking the questions; are you going to hold pop music to blame for the behaviours in society or is there perhaps a hypocrisy in that? In the opening hit track, Em confesses "99% of my life I was lied to - I just found out my mom does more drugs than I do". He is a product of his upbringing, not the music he listens to.

Its no mistake that this record is puerile, violent and misogynistic - it's purposefully designed to outrage the mainstream. And it's easy to say "it's dated" (it is) because of the lyrical content but I will remind you it was already all of these things back in 1999. We didn't hear this in the 90's and think it was high-art. It was passed around the classroom like a nudie magazine. Snotty, bratty childish - both the listeners and the album.

But if you ask me 'Is this a good record?' well... Its a bit like a super aggressive cartoon. It's entertaining and naughty fun but doesn't offer any real musical sustainance. It's contribution to modern pop culture, whether deemed as good or bad, is where it's value lies.

Beautiful and creative, not my favourite Nick Drake album (I expect to see Pink Moon on this list somewhere) but a glorious record nonetheless. 4.5

This first song starts simple enough. Sounds sad. Goes a bit awry in places.

Was the solo, that Rob performs with his mouth during the second song, a placeholder before he had recorded the guitar and then just forgot to add? Still, pretty song. Feels like I'm lying on my back just below the waters surface.

Song 3 sounds like a Thom Yorke song. Seriously. I'm not joking. its great.

I'm starting to ask is Rob okay? There's something sad about these first songs, paired with a sparse disappearing album cover.

The fourth song sounds like Rob is breathing in to a paper bag and rambling nonsense.

I can't forsake you or forsqueek you. Indeed. Saxophone is the perfect instrument to portray a certain madness.

Wait this is the same title as that other song? I keep thinking about Syd Barrett. Are we ascending towards some sort of conclusion? Wait who the hell is this hungry guy? Where has he suddenly appeared from?

You'll hate this. I love it.

If I was feeling generous, I would say the music is serviceable and it was nice to hear some sax thrown in to the compositions. But those vocals and lyrics are awful. Sorry, but I have not heard anyone mention The Zutons since the mid-2000s; why have so many great albums been omitted from your list for this?

Hey I like Cheap Trick and I'm sure these were fun shows to be at, but I'm not sure the energy translates well on this record. For every banger they have two mid-songs and I didn't enjoy this album half as much as I thought I would going in to it. I want you to want me and Surrender are great but... did I actually enjoy the studio versions more? Hmm. It's scraping a 2.5

Really enjoy old school hip hop. The rhymes sometimes sound a bit silly but it never stops being fun. The beats and creativity feels fresh. Lost a little momentum near the end but it's a short enough album not to be an issue. 4

Strong songwriting and a really bold, confident aesthetic. 5

Feels like listening to a collection of experimental b-sides. Some just okay, others absolute rubbish. 'Punk' feels like it was farted out in 15 minutes. Even 'Clint Eastwood' is a keyboard preset. Was hoping more from my first listen to a full Gorillaz album.