Reviews by scribeben

Not quite as batshit crazy as his later self-titled but definitely heading in that direction.

Some of these songs hold a special place in my heart for they were sung to me when I was a child. And Taylor’s own voice is one of unparalleled serenity even on the surprisingly burly “Steamroller”.

Good ol’ timey rhythm and blues.

This just sounds like a more sanitized, less interesting version of their earlier stuff.

Amazing on multiple levels.

I’m pretty sure I saw them open for the Foo Fighters in 1998. Which is interesting because parts of some of these songs bear striking similarities to parts of Foos’ songs, likely owing more to both bands’ influence from the Beatles than any direct influence between each other. Overall this is boisterous punky ska-infused hard rock that’s way less obnoxious than most other examples from that genre.

It’s okay. He was definitely trying to make a new, more epic kind of pop record. I appreciate the big swing. But there was nothing as memorable here as the best tracks on the previous record.

You’re alright, robot man.

Decent electronic stuff but nothing special. I liked the “bike” track.

The record that unleashed Mike Patton on an unsuspecting mainstream listening public. Their most varied, funkiest, and joyfully evil album!

Not exactly pleasant but fun and major points for weirdness.

Amazing voices, good songs!

Didn’t know if I’d like this. Some tracks were wonderful! The more ska heavy ones I didn’t like as much.

This record was all the rage when I was in college. Never a huge fan of the vocals for the most part, technically impressive as they are.and a lot of it is kind of noodly but there’s definitely a lot of really cool stuff going on in it. My generation’s Rush. Given its singularity as an album of its form in its time I think it deserves the highest rating.

Not warming up to this douche in the slightest. Occasionally the guitar will come in and I’ll think maybe this one will be okay and then his insipid voice comes in and ruins it. I think I only have one more of his records left, mercifully.

Punky pop rock at its most charming.

The most soulful soul that emanated from any soul, even if that soul was actually a brutally violent and abusive one. Weird how that works.

Weird that they’re supposed to be the quintessential goth band. “Mask” is the only track that screams “goth” to me. Mostly I find it’s Bowie derivative post-punk that’s not as emotionally powerful as Joy Division and has some annoying rockabilly thrown in there.

The best part of this record is the sample at the beginning. “Life” is an okay song too.

Country rock. Blah.