Reviews by stade

Everything about this album seemed incredible on paper, but after two listens I still can't quite hook onto it. I definitely enjoy a lot of it -- the percussion is relentless, the guitar riffs otherworldly, the bass... is Flea, and the longform proggy cuts are a real treat -- so unfortunately my main blockage here is the singing, which has a very emo-leaning delivery that I don't quite hate, but imo clashes with everything else going on.

Standouts: Drunkship of Lanterns • Cicatriz Esp • Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt

Ahh I can't quite hate this one... in fact a lot of it is quite fun, earnest and endearing. That said, it does feel like a very long 35 minutes when played in full -- I reckon because the album is a rapid fire of twelve songs that sound basically the same.

Standouts: Kentucky • I'll Be All Smiles Tonight

This is perfectly fine. The transitions between songs are a joy, and you can't get much smoother than Marvin Gaye on the mic, but musically it does very little for me. Personally, I'm learning I prefer my Soul with a bit more Funk.

I frankly don’t see what gets this to "best album of all time" status for so many. Countless 5* reviews on here bring up Marvin's social commentary as the key to its importance, and one even describes it as 'visceral' -- in its release context, sure, but it feels way overstated for what I'm hearing today. I respect Gaye's message immensely, but it just doesn’t land with the same punch on a fresh listen, and as a result I do not see the timelessness others see in it.

I realize that, by writing this, I'll have to respect the opinion of someone saying the same about To Pimp a Butterfly in 50 years' time. I'll have to live with that. Let’s Get It On remains my favorite Marvin project.

Standouts: What's Going On • Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) • Right On • Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)

I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. Some parts had me rocking out, and then by the end I was just waiting for it to be over. I think it just barely makes the 3 on account of being generally good and high energy, although I don't see myself returning to it.

Standout: Drop Out

Now this is a live album! I'm very much not a fan of 60s Rock n Roll, but with this audience and energy it's hard to resist jamming along with them.

After hearing all about Morrissey being a shit person, I'm glad to know that his singing also straight up blows. I won't have to justify liking The Smiths today! Unfortunately much of the instrumentation here goes really hard; shoutout to Andy Rourke bringing some killer bass.

Standout: Cemetry Gates • Bigmouth Strikes Again • There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

This is up there as one of the chillest albums we've gotten. Vibed for every second of it!

Standouts: Poor Leno • A Higher Place • She's So

I don't think I know enough about John to really appreciate the album to its fullest, though some of these songs manage to be absolutely poignant regardless (Mother and God come to mind). I'd say I loved about half of it; the other half either underwhelms or eludes me.

Standouts: Mother • Hold On • Love • Well Well Well • God

Well it doesn't suck enough for the one star, but everything down to the title is forgettable.

Standouts: Feel • Standout

It's a funny feeling to get this one on the challenge, a rare band where their big rise and fall happened during my younger years, where I was aware they were a popular band but never really engaged beyond that. Listening to 'Yellow' today was a genuine nostalgia hit.

As full album experience, though, they have one mood and they stick to it to a fault. I was vibing hard at first, already considering a 4 or 5, but by the halfway mark the sound actually started to wear me down. It doesn't help that although the songwriting is undeniably pretty, the instrumentation is disappointingly bland -- that's one point where Radiohead is miles ahead in (though I don't love the comparison).

Standouts: Don't Panic • Shiver • Yellow

Okay, this is obviously a cut above most albums here. I mean, it's David Bowie! It does sound great, and it's also one of the rare occasions where its influence on later artists is actually clearly seen -- it really hit me when I recognized the riff on Andy Warhol from Metallica's Master of Puppets, of all songs.

With all of that said... None of this strikes me as music that I'd feel like returning to. I respect it a lot but it doesn't grab me like even other Bowie albums have. Sorry!

Standouts: Life on Mars? • Kooks • Quicksand • Fill Your Heart

Funky, soulful, smooth. I ran it back as soon as it ended and it stayed just as fresh 🔥

Some nice blues rock brought into the 70s with glam. Not very remarkable of an album, although Bang a Gong (Get It On) was catchy.

Standouts: Mambo Sun • Bang a Gong (Get It On) • Rip Off

some of the instrumentation brought an interesting edge to what I expect out of folk music, but I found the singing to be pretty rough for the most part. I don’t see the magic in this one.

standouts: The Cavalry Cross • I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

Absolutely blown away by this one. Unfamiliar as I am with the raï genre, I kept trying to pin down a specific sound to the album, but that proved impossible as Khaled pulls from a very wide variety influences. Thanks to that, even at an 80 minute runtime, the album never felt stale, and in fact I found myself grooving along to each new track that came up.
Fantastic experience!
Standouts: Aalach Tloumouni • Trigue Lycee • E'Dir E'Sseba • Ya Aachkou • Melha • El Bab • El Aadyene • Gouloulha-Dji • Mele H'Bibti

It has everything I thought I liked about 80s music, and yet I only really enjoyed This Corrosion and a few funky synthlines here and there (standout bass on Lucretia My Reflection). It's not a bad album but it's seemingly not for me.

Well the whole thing hinges on "George can make good music without the Beatles"; there's no narrative or overarching theme to it. I was ready to discredit it for that, but then it kind of blew my mind how consistent it is in its 2 hour runtime -- somehow, every song ranges from 'pretty good' to 'incredible'. To pull that off with no filler while his contemporaries struggle to make music half as good as this, is pretty remarkable.

It's not a full album experience I'm likely to return to, but I suppose its lack of structure kind of works in its favor in an era of streaming. For the impatient listener: a playlist out of these standouts could be a 5 star album on its own.

Standouts: My Sweet Lord • Isn't It a Pity • I Live for You • Beware of Darkness • All Things Must Pass • Art of Dying • Hear Me Lord • Thanks for the Pepperoni • Out of the Blue

It's surprisingly melodic for a so-called noise rock album, but it also leans too close to punk, which I don't enjoy much in large doses. It's a good album though!

Standouts: Theresa's Sound-World • Drunken Butterfly • Chapel Hill • Purr • Creme Brulee

Steely Dan brings the heat once again! The peaks are certainly higher than Pretzel Logic, but I can't say I vibed with it quite as much on first listen. I will say that the instrumentation is so friggin' tight here, at times to the level of Aja but with less jazz influence. Your Gold Teeth blew me away.
Maybe I'll warm up to it in a few listens -- I certainly wouldn't be surprised if Bodhisattva starts randomly popping into my head in the coming week, much like many a Steely Dan song has in the past.

Edit: I have fully warmed up to it. This is a great album with a face-melting 3-track run in the middle. Ecstasy achieved

Standouts: Your Gold Teeth • Show Biz Kids • My Old School

I love Metallica in bursts, but as one listen this might have overstayed its welcome by about two tracks. Still all hard as hell individually, and it blew my mind how tight the guitars sounded with the drums. Great stuff.

Standouts: Eye Of The Beholder • One • The Frayed Ends of Sanity • To Live Is To Die • Dyers Eve