Reviews by sterry2289

I like this stuff. Great voice. Love the bass drums but really wish all the strings sections would be replaced with horns. Those strings really didn't age well and borderline ruin some of these for me.

I think I made it an hour. It sounds nice but I can’t do 2 more hours.

Apparently Brian Wilson’s favorite album. I’m a bit of a grinch, but this sounds as good as any Christmas music I’ve heard.

Frank must have been on the naughty list, getting B-Boys album on Christmas. Since Licensed to Ill I’ve had to take a long look in the mirror and reflect on my positive feelings towards the Beastie Boys. I will not be bullied into not liking the Beastie Boys, but I can acknowledge they may be not-serious people and potentially hacks when it comes to actual rhyming. On this record it’s clear they want to be taken serious, and one tactic they’ve used is to distort their vocals so you can’t hear what they’re saying (smart). Sabotage is the best thing they’ve probably made and listening to this full album gives context for how and why they made it. Overall, I like their non serious attitude and their sound, but if you were to take a long look at them, like this exercise would encourage you to do, you may think they’re terrible. Not me! I’m going down with the ship.

I’m happy for U2 and all their fans. Bono seems cool, his stock went up considerably with her performance as Clay Callaway. Edge is great blah blah blah. All that being said… I wouldn’t mind if I never heard U2 again. Just the most boring stuff I’ve ever heard. Kollaps > Joshua Tree. U2 = The Irish Eagles.

This was my introduction to Lorde. FTR I'm also somwhat out of the loop on modern pop music. My main takeaway from this was that Jack Antonoff has an even more distict sound that I had thought. This sounds like a Taylor Swift album with a different singer. Because of that, to me Melodrama was fast food pop music or something. A giant machine spit this out, along with all the Tswift records and what ever else. The reality may be that Jack Antonoff is insanely successful and the reason this sounds tired is because we've all heard all of his hit songs on repeat for 10 years. Lorde does seem talented and nothing about this is offensive, but I didn't connect with anything on here. Highlight was "Loveless" which was basically an outro. Cool we're getting records from 2017 - I could use more awareness of fairly recent hit albums.

Just find a groove!!!!!! This gives me the same terrible feeling I have when I’m brainlessly scrolling twitter, checking email, news, anything for some kind of breaking information for that endorphin hit. Let’s just pick a few samples and make something.

I’ll give them another star because from what I read they were trying to create some kind of concept album, where it sounds like someone traveling following a girl. So fairly ambitious but they also abandoned that plan.

Lotta bird talk. Bill was fighting an uphill battle from the jump with that title/album cover combo. I think I could make space in my mind for something like this, but it would take an investment of energy I'm not willing to make. Bill sounds like a modern Leonard Cohen, and I struggle with this for the same reasons I struggled with that one.

I knew the record but i was not aware of the song writting achievement. I did NOT know she wrote You've Got a Friend, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman and Will You Love Me Tomorrow. I also had not heard this soulful side of her. Very torn on a rating. For my personal taste i want to give it a 3, but for what she accomplished it is definitely deserving of a 4 or 5. Gonna flip a coin....heads, 4 stars.

Take that Ananda Shankar! That’s a sitar solo if I’ve ever heard one. I don’t have a ton to say about this one, it feels a little like wallpaper in my life. Over time certain songs have stood out to me over different stretches. Kings was one I loved for a while, lately it’s been Only a Fool Would Say That. I’ll try not to avoid hyperbole because we have been on a 1001 heater, but this is probably my favorite Steely Dan song. I had always loved it and then I learned it’s about John Lennon and that gave the song a lot more life. Something about “peers” of legends criticizing each other that really fires me up. The only version we hear 50 years later is that he was the greatest, altruistic rock god, not that he was an obnoxious and at times naive idealist. I love John Lennon ftr (where are the Beatles records?) That plus it being flawlessly written and recorded makes it special.

Overall this is a crazy debut record. Definitely where a lot of Steely Dan fans begin I’m sure. Lately I’ve been more drawn to their later stuff (The Royal Scam and Aja) but this will always show up on the rotation. My Dad was always playing “Everything Must Go” I think the final boss of Dad life.

Dropped the “did you know Dirty Work was about a dildo? And so was the band name” this summer. Got hit with a “no shit, who doesn’t know that?” AND a “wait, really?” so I guess it still plays.

Masterpiece. WALL OF SOUND. One of my all time favorites and thinking about it this weekend, it occurred to me there is a lot of contradiction in Pet Sounds. Epic/docile, approachable/complex, happy/sad, avant- garde/pop. Approachable enough that my toddlers listened to it constantly (not that they were requesting it), but too complex for me to really understand. I think that’s the key and why I always come back to it. It sounds insanely good, which is probably its lasting legacy, but every time I play it some new instrument or harmony or whatever stands out like it’s the first time I’m hearing it. The record opens with a key shift in the first 6 seconds!

Another contradiction is the fact that it’s so meticulously crafted but is also very emotional. Aja is comparable from a production standpoint but still feels distant or cold at times.

The fact that I’m a concept album guy is really hitting home now, and I think these albums benefit from a full listen through. I greatly prefer consistent themes to an eclectic mix of songs. I love to sink into an album and this one specifically takes you somewhere. Dreamlike.

Pet Sounds is also incredibly unique. It profoundly influenced popular music 60 years ago but as far as I can tell no one has made anything similar to it since.

This time through my favorites were Let's Go Away for Awhile, Here Today, I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times, Caroline, No. The horns in the pre chorus in Here Today fucking rule.

P.s. Phil Spector seems to be the primary influence for this, and this led to The Beatles response in Sgt Peppers. Crazy how much that creep Spector changed the landscape of popular music.

Relatively new to Bossa Nova but have been listening to it quite a bit. Maybe the most calming music I’ve come across. While cruising for more Bossa Nova the names Getz, Gilberto and Jobim come up a lot. These guys are the OG’s of the genre and you can see why. Perfectly crafted arrangements and performances. I can’t get enough.

What’s most intriguing to me are the progressions. Totally fresh to me, and pretty far outside my understanding of music theory. Obviously the iconic rhythm stands out as well, but the progressions are what really interest me.

The uniqueness of the M&P's sound reminds me of Pet Sounds. Not because they’re from the same era in LA, but because they both create an alluring world. Both were complete fabrications and the reality was a lot more drug fueld and generally fucked up, but still a fun listen! Overall love the Mama's and the Papa's and this record. Straight Shooter is a good encapsulation of the paradox of the hippie movement. Its all fun and games/peace and love until you're addicted to heroin.

Not so fun fact: Mama Cass died in the same apartment (Harry Nilsson’s) that Keith Moon would die in 4 years later.

I imagine this is what Tyler Durden listens to. Very early 2000's. As thrilling as dishing out a 1 star is I'm elevating to 2. I think a 1 star has to be truly insulting - this is borderline but some cool stuff here. They were trying something for sure.

Bye Bye Love rocks. I read on the wiki this was groundbreaking because he blended country and soul at the height of the civil rights movement. That is cool, but it still sounds sleepy to my 2024 ears. This surely deserves 5 stars for the times and American history but it’ll be 3 stars for my records. If someone ever scrutinizes my 1001 ratings I’m going to have a tough time justifying how I gave this a lesser rating than OutKast.

Curious about big band music, feels like it’d be sick to see in person. Either way, bravo Ray. I’m a fan.

One of my favorite albums (aside from the 12 min drum duet). Can't really explain why I enjoy it as much as I do. I think part of it is the same reason I didn't enjoy Leonard Cohen as much as others. Some of the best song writers are story tellers and if one of the primary features of a song/album is the story then I might get sick of it after X# listens. With this style of music I can just listen and enjoy.

Let the record show I like Outkast. Going 4 because of 3 exceptionally good songs... but there are 24 tracks. Feel a bit nit-picky because this is in theory everything I should want in a band... interesting music, lyrics, funny, spanning genres, certified hits. BUTTTTTT I wish they would have been a littleee more focused. They eliminated a lot of constraints which led to some great music, but some of these tracks could have been a lot better. Still a lot of the old school 5 second loops with some dressing on top. I feel like Andre was super into Prince, Hendrix and George Clinton, mixed that with Atlanta rap and made that his personality. It is cool how commercially successful this was, looking back this is dramatically different and endlessly more interesting than the popular songs in 2000. Glanced and names like Destiny's Child, Matchbox 20, Train stood out (all due respect). The song ATLiens is worth listening to if you're still in an Outkast mood.

Puffy Daddy said it… “Mariah, you’re on fi-re!” My brain may be rotten from spending a week in Vegas but I genuinely enjoyed this. I’ve always had a strong distaste for MC and the over singing, could be that Christmas song, but I was really taken with her voice and her ability to use it as an instrument here. I can’t say I’ve listened to a lot of music like this, so there may be others like this, but her ability is awesome. The instrumentation sounds cheap and manufactured to me but I think this is the just the style of 90’s R&B.

Was very surprised to hear the Mobb Deep Shook Ones sample (who sampled Herbie Hancock for that song) but enjoyed that as well as the other features. The Roof, Breakdown and Fly Away (reprise) stood out. I really wanna go 4 but gonna play it safe. Might get into divas.

Impressive to make such timeless and generally great music that is fairly simple. Back to basics. The Band and Exile come to mind. I think it’s their energy and talent plus avoiding any bullshit. Heard It Through the Grapevine must be one of the most “coverable” songs. “The Slits” have a great version too.

This one was a staple in my house growing up. Parents were big time REM fans. Hard for me to listen to this objectively. First thing that I noticed this time through was the bass, and shocking I didn’t think of this before. It’s way up in the mix, in some cases the intro to the song, treble up and used more like a guitar or piano are used. The bass/drums are in a way what really creates this REM sound and then everything else on top of that.

Big fan of this album. There really isn’t a bad song on here. Production is also pretty great. I may just have Steely Dan on my mind, but REM is the Steely Dan of alt/indie music? Very ambitious/serious and setting the bar a generation musicians.