Reviews by scribeben

Didn’t expect to find two EBTG records on this list. This one is a bit too elevator music for me.

It’s odd that this album seems to be influenced by people like Tom Waits and Nick Cave, who were themselves almost certainly influenced by Dylan. I like the darker, moody ballads here, but less so the noisy blues stompers.

If you can’t listen to a great record, then listen to this one… or don’t.

Has to be the worst band name of all time. That said, I enjoyed this way more than I had expected. Kind of a more upbeat My Bloody Valentine. A lot of interesting things going on here.

Oldest of old school back when it was all peace and good vibes. A bit tedious after awhile but I enjoyed it pretty much all the way through.

That first track “Blue Robdo a la Turk” is so freaking heavy and awesome. The rest of the record is good, including the deservedly celebrated “Take 5” but nothing quite lives up to the promise of that opening banger.

Buckley was like forget all that introspective folk music, it’s the 70s, I’m gonna make a record about fucking. Most of it is a bit too Zep for me, but “Sweet Surrender” is a great song.

Never heard of them before. Definitely a mixed bag but has some cool elements.

I enjoyed this way more than I expected to. Amazing rapping with super fun beats.

This feels like the quintessential Dylan record. It does have some fantastic songs on it such as “Tombstone Blues” and “Ballad of a Thin Man”. Some of it still doesn’t quite hit with me but its influence is totally understandable.

I hated the first track but it got better from there. In “Rock Steady” I heard the basis of early Soundgarden.

Another strong record from R.E.M. with a couple of justifiably big hits and some hidden gem deep cuts.

It’s taken me many years to fully appreciate this band, but I think I really get it now, channeling the raw emotion of hardcore into something more melodic and musically refined.

“Season of The Witch” is a great song. The rest is okay. Cool that Green Lantern gets a mention in the title track.

I enjoyed this a lot. Well constructed, powerfully personal and emotive pop songs.

Simple music for simple men. “Simple Man” is itself a banger though I never noticed before how its message contradicts that of “Free Bird”.

Can a record be overrated but still one of the greatest of all time? Some of these songs I’ve known for literally as long as I can remember. I sang “When I’m 64” in Kindergarten chorus. Other tracks such as “She’s Leaving Home” and “Good Morning Good Morning” (which anticipates Pink Floyd’s Piper by only a couple of months), I didn’t remember as well but are still bangers. Layers and layers to enjoy in this one.

Lighthearted gangsta rap indeed. Sophomoric but super fun and surprisingly musically rich.

I can’t remember how I felt about their other record that I got on here. This one is okay, but not anything I’m likely to revisit.

Too cheesy for my tastes. The sort of thing that gave prog-rock a bad name.