Reviews by ryzgee

I don't remember the last The Byrds album that I was dealt being as dreary or as listless as this one. There's practically no variation from track to track, each of them occupying a similarly dull jangly rock space and seemingly on a sequential mission to outdo themselves in the dullness stakes. The title track in particular is an abomination. A proper mood killer.

To begin with, this was trending towards being a half decent and fairly palatable hip hop album with some interesting lyrical concepts, but it just went on far too long, and the stylistic samey-ness of it all meant that it blurred into my peripheral listening quickly. Not terrible for what it is, but evidently not my thing.

When I say that I generally can't stand hip hop, this album is one of several exceptions for me.

It's dynamic, packed with rich textures, genuinely dangerous, cultured, thought provoking and impactful. It does err somewhat on the lengthy side, but virtually all of its length is warranted due to the variety from track to track, and the attention to songwriting craft paid throughout. I don't reach for this very often, but when I do, it's a firm reminder that even my least enjoyed genres can, and do have their bright spots.

Not viewed particularly favourably on the 1001 site - and to a certain extent, I can understand why, as the production job and synth work date it a hell of a lot, and it's very typically quirky and corny for the early 80s period.

One of the top reviews remarks that it's a "cut-rate Peter Gabriel knock off" album, and in some ways I wouldn't disagree. However, I'm a fan of Peter Gabriel and have an inexplicable soft spot for cheesy 80s rock, so I largely enjoyed this, even if I wouldn't actively plump for it over the latter.

It's perhaps not quite purchase material, but not far off.

Yet another perfectly enjoyable album whilst it was on, but another one that I can't see myself being in any hurry to put on again. The cool, funky, varied guitar licks and the ever-important, defiantly optimistic social commentary really should dictate otherwise, so this is perhaps just a case of not being in the right mood for it to fully envelop me today.

[that day came just over a month later on 23rd February. A mate encouraged me to relisten and it worked a lot better for me in a different headspace. Duly upgraded to 4 stars.]

Another agreeable enough listen, but one that leaves next to no lasting impression.

A slightly jazzy soft rock type of album, there were occasional bouts of instrumentation that did pique my interest, owing to the crystal clear production allowing them to pop. Otherwise, I'm struggling to note down much else.

Very pleasant, listenable, classy and another one of those albums from well before my era that I'm pleased to have heard, despite it not being "my thing". It absolutely merits its inclusion here, but I'm highly unlikely to ever reach for it again.

The music itself isn't too bad, but those vocals... JFC.

I think it's safe to assume on my part, on my second Beastie Boys 1001 listen, that I'm just not really a fan of what they do and likely never will be.

This was way too confrontational and "in your face" for me vocally for large spells, and whilst the rap-rock fusion and lyricism occasionally yielded some compelling ideas and cool links/through lines to other artists in mainstream rock culture, it didn't provide enough reward to offset the fatiguing nature of the listening experience.

Pretty rubbish for the most part, with only fleeting flickers of vigour and weirdness vaguely retaining my interest throughout a mind numbingly tepid experience otherwise. In a world where we have approximately all bar one or two Beatles records and another John Lennon solo effort in the 1001, this is a wholly superfluous inclusion and a waste of valuable space / resources.

Anything Can or Can-adjacent is guaranteed to land with me. This Holger Czukay solo effort is no exception, but on first inspection, it's a somewhat different type of weird and wonderful to the exploits of Can.

A boundlessly creative in its utilisation of sampling and layering, I can absolutely see how this would have been groundbreaking for the time. I was toying with giving it five stars, but it's perhaps not quite on the same level as "Future Days" or "Tago Mago".

Some of the beats/backdrops on this are actually pretty good and mood-evoking - there's more than a hint of soul throughout the album. Bin off the vocals/lyrics and you'd have something that I might chuck on as background music. As it stands, though, this is just absolutely not my thing.

Bah, humbug. I did get through the whole thing at least, so go me. I'm now off to drown myself in black metal.

High Violet has been in my collection for a couple of years - I bought it whilst on my travels on a complete whim, as similarly to the Pixies record, The National were a band I'd seen being praised widely and that had been recommended to me incessantly by friends and pub-goers alike.

When I got home from my staycation, I gave it a spin and ultimately was left wishing I'd asked the cashier for a receipt. I thought it was moribund and one of the most thoroughly dull albums I'd ever heard, so it sat on my shelves collecting dust until fairly recently. From what I can remember, I'd had a bit of a crap day and wanted to see if an album that I'd dismissed as being too morose for me would reveal itself further whilst I was in a more compatible headspace. In some ways, it did provide a suitable soundtrack for my woes, but I still wouldn't be able to reel off too many discernible, standout features about it.

Vocally, Matt Berninger has that somewhat "apathetic" style which doesn't allow his vocal passages or lyrics to really endear themselves to me. The music very much follows a similar vein - the album kind of just floats around and fills a hole whilst it's on, without being particularly memorable. High Violet will most likely be joining my clearout pile and collecting copious amounts of dust again for the foreseeable future.

On first glance, I thought the title said "Introducing the Hairline" and I now refuse to unsee it.

Anyway, I was familiar with a handful of tracks here, not least the opener "If You All Get to Heaven" and "I'll Never Turn My Back On You", but the rest of this was new to me. It's very 80s stylistically and in terms of its production values; chock full of snazzy, funky bass lines and quirky brass instrumentation, and it has that "futurist" vibe of the time largely owing to the synth work, which does date it somewhat, but not to any significantly detrimental effect for me.

The vocals sit on just the right side of my threshold when it comes to soul - a nice light mezzo register, and not too show off-y as D'Arby seems to have a firm handle on what his capabilities are. His vocals don't dominate proceedings, allowing the instrumentation to shine alongside them.

Comparing this to yesterday's offering 3+3, this also felt far more varied in terms of its approach to songwriting - between spacious pop balladeering and more up-tempo cuts, the album avoids blending into one homogenous blob unlike the latter.

I do wonder when I'd sit down and actively reach for this again, but it's an enjoyable listen.

Great production quality, especially for 1973, but this brand of funk/soul was a little too busy for me. The vocal approach began to grate quickly, and the music offers up little breathing room or much in the way of dynamics within songs.

A very 90s sounding album, but not in a bad way as such.

The fusion of acid jazz, baggy and hip hop culminates in a fun time and a listen that flies by fairly quickly, relative to the album's running time. I can imagine a world where some of these tunes would've nestled their way into nightclubs, though there weren't many moments or individual offerings which made themselves truly known above the rest.

A white man saying "negro" and the hard "N" isn't a great look, but when you dig into the context of the album's concept being a satirist's take on the racist underbelly of the American south, it becomes slightly more excusable. A kind of singer-songwriter piano rock album infused with string arrangements, musically it's a pleasant enough, and well-layered listen, if a bit unremarkable.

Not something I'd ever reach for again, but I didn't hate it.

Whilst Amnesiac is often viewed as a lesser sibling to Kid A given it comprises tracks that were deemed unessential/unfitting a year prior, it's an incredible album in its own right nonetheless, arguably encroaching into even more experimental territories than its predecessor.

A dense, glacially tinged experience, the feelings of detachment and isolation within Kid A are more than potent here as well, but it's an album I've been consistently fascinated by and drawn to despite its self-contained, unwelcoming nature. It sounds like it's from another universe entirely, as though we shouldn't have access to it but somehow do.

I vividly remember hearing "Pulk / Pull Revolving Doors" for the first time several years back - the experience was akin to having my soul airlifted into the cosmos.

This is one of the most joyous 40 minute experiences you'll ever have in music. The perfect balancing act of technicality, quirkiness and catchiness. Going to let my 5 star rating speak for itself here as I'm running on fumes today, and don't have much to splurge out onto my screen.

Somehow I don't have this on vinyl, but that's going to be rectified immediately.