Reviews by suspiciousnumber

Well, the fact that the good people at Spin Magazine listened to both this album and Nevermind and somehow thought this album was better is a mystery that I would really like to see explained. This album is fine and groundbreaking in its own way, but it's not exactly an all time great.

Historical mockery aside, this album is interesting, though mired by low quality production. I'm not sure if there is a good version of this album out there, but every copy I found on YouTube was muddy and indistinct. I think a better quality copy may have given me a more positive opinion of this album. As it is, it's an alternative rock album from the period right before that subgenre became the biggest thing on the planet. It's more of a poppy, indie type of album than the grunge rock that came out of Seattle. It's good, but the recording quality makes it hard to appreciate

3/5

The previous Kinks album that I've gotten on this list was Village Green Preservation Society, which provides a very interesting contrast with this album, since it was the album made directly before this one. On that album, I thought they were doing something cool, but it didn't exactly blow my mind. Here, it feels like their sound has matured in the intervening year and is much more a match for what they're trying to do lyrically. The music is a lot groovier and more interesting, which makes sense because the psychedelic movement was advancing rapidly in this period.

The beginning of the album is definitely stronger than the end of it, but it's relatively consistent throughout. Lots of good melodic songs that work together well in the context of the album

4/5

The story of the Zombies is a lot stranger than I would have ever anticipated. They essentially released two albums and then broke up, despite the fact that those albums produced hit songs and were each massively influential. It's a lot like the band Television, minus the radio hits. This album was very cool to hear. It's not mind-blowing or anything, but it doesn't sound like every other album that was being made during this early/middle psychedelic period.

4/5

This album is about like I remember it. It has two great songs that became hits. The rest of it is fine, but it feels like paint-by-numbers psychedelic rock in the mold of the Flaming Lips

3/5

This album provides for an interesting comparison with Hysteria by Def Leppard, as both of the two albums were pop rock mega hits. I really enjoyed Hysteria, but this album left me a bit cold. I think that part of it is due to familiarity, since I've heard this album more than that one, and the hits have definitely been overplayed relative to Def Leppard.

Slippery When Wet also feels a bit generic, though. It reminds me of how I feel when I listen to the Black Keys. It just feels like generic rock, like they're just playing what they're supposed to play without trying to do anything interesting or personal. It's fine, there's a place in the world for stadium rock, and Bon Jovi does that well. It's just not that interesting to listen to a bunch of those songs back to back

Still, though, 3/5

What could serve as a better harbinger of the coming of the 1970s than an overwrought concept album? Like nearly all double albums that I've encountered on this list, I think this would be better as a single album. However, I do have to admit that this does seem to be a genuine attempt at a rock opera, with overtures in the beginning that presage what will come later in the album. Overall the album is pretty good, though I found the first half of it a bit of a slog. Also the story for this concept album is pretty dumb. But hey, it's not the worst Who album that I've reviewed here (not the best either, though)

3/5

I genuinely have no idea why this album is on this list. It's fine, but it's also pretty generic 90s alt rock with a female lead singer. I'm not sure that we would be talking about this album still if Lovefool hadn't been on the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack.

3/5 It's an okay album, but not special in any way that I can discern

I was honestly kind of disappointed in this album. Other than the two hit songs off this album, this album is just a bunch of paint-by-numbers blues rock songs. It left me feeling the same way I do when I listen to Cheap Trick or the Black Keys. They are doing generic rock, which is fine to listen to in the background, but it's not very interesting. Still, American Girl is a fucking banger

3/5

What a weird album, what a weird band, what a weird period in musical history. This album certainly does not sound like it was from 1989, but I'm also not certain when it does sound like it's from. There's so many musical styles present here, and a lot of it presages what will be happening in music during the 90s as emerging styles start to blend together.

Bringing on Mike Patton as the vocalist was unquestionably the correct move. His incredible vocal range, his lyrical talent, and his odd sensibilities fit the band perfectly.

4/5

This album is an interesting combination of country and 60s folk music. Those genres are not ones that I particularly enjoy, but Gene Clark does a good job with it. The album features a backing band, but it's entirely focused on Clark and his vocals. It's well-executed, though it's not really my thing

3/5

Not much to say about this album, since it's been a while in between my listening and my review, but I've enjoyed this album every time I listened to it

4/5

Always nice when I can play an album out of my own collection rather than streaming on YouTube! This album is a neat signpost for how fast punk started evolving after it's emergence in 1977 (not the true beginning of punk, but that's when the big albums started coming out). By 1980 we were already ready for subgenres (as well as post-punk).

This album shows the incipient hardcore punk style that would become popular in the years after this album. More than that, though, it was a truly political punk album that broke through to the mainstream in at least some meaningful sense, unlike the works of the Sex Pistols and the Ramones. The fun part about this album is that it manages to tackle big subjects without taking itself too seriously. It's often funny, personal, and crass.

The music is what really makes this album. The guitar work is head and shoulders above what was present in most of the other major punk bands, and the rest of the band compliments that well. Jello's voice isn't amazing, but it's distinctive, and it works with this band

5/5 An absolute punk classic

This is an album that hasn't aged particularly well because it came out before a bunch of advances in electronic music equipment and technique were pioneered. However, I'm sure that this was a really cool album at the time, especially since it was coming from an indie rock band that was abandoning its roots to explore electronic music.

Overall it's a fun dance album. It can be a bit repetitive, but they were dealing with some technological limitations on that end. Integrating electronica into rock has become much less of a feat for an indie band than it was 30 years ago.

3/5 still worth a listen, but it sounds really dated now

This album has a very different sound than I was expecting from a 2008 album (for one thing, it has a good sound, so that was a huge shock). It's a pop album that has a clear 60s influence, without sounding like they're trying to be a 60s band. It works really well for them. This album kept fading into the background for me, but every time it caught my attention, it sounded really good. Overall it's really well executed with great production.

4/5

This is a very interesting album. There were plenty of parts of it that I didn't enjoy all that much, but, for the time it was made, there is a lot of interesting stuff going on here. 1991 feels too early for a lot of the sounds on this album, which is indicative of the fact that Cope was ahead of his time when making it. It's not always enjoyable for me, but I can see why this album is on the list

3/5

Is there any major American songwriter more consistently overlooked than John Fogerty? All the man did was write hits, and once he stopped writing for the band, they put out an album so putrid that no one ever talks about it. This album has the same basic style of the other Creedence albums, with plenty of songs that you already know. I don't like it as much as Cosmo's factory, but it's solid all the way through

4/5

What can you say about Stevie Wonder during this period? He put out masterpiece after masterpiece, and this album is one of them. The way he manages to balance lyrics that delve deep into both emotional and sociopolitical territory while continuing to be a ground-breaking musician is truly outstanding.

I didn't like this album as much as Songs in the Key of Life, but you can kinda seem him building to that album here. Just an incredibly solid album filled with great songs, some that you can dance to and some that you can cry to

4/5

Siouxsie and the Banshees is one of those bands that I've heard about forever, but have never actually knowingly listened to them. In some ways, I'm glad I waited as long as I did because I feel like it gave me a new appreciation for this album because I'm much more well versed in subgenres like post-punk, art-rock, and goth. I wouldn't say that this album sits comfortably in any of those genres, but it certainly influenced each of them after it was released.

It's a great album. Apparently it's more electronic than their previous work, but it feels completely natural in this album. This album feels really advanced for 1981. Songs like Monitor remind me of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Overall, a really stellar album that I'm surprised I haven't heard more about. It seems like a titanic achievement for the era in which it was made

5/5

"I'm the king of rock 'n roll!" declares archduke Franz Ferdinand as his driver pulls into an alley by a sandwich shop in Sarajevo.

This album feels like an anachronism. It's good, certainly. Burke writes great songs that bring rock and soul together in a seamless fusion. However, this album feels like the end of a genre and not the beginning of it. A lot of this stuff sounds like Sam Cooke, but not as good. It's a fine album overall, but it's hard to understand why it makes the list. It's not particularly groundbreaking, nor is it a particularly iconic example of this type of music. This genre was buried by the British Invasion shortly after it was released, and that's fine by me, because listening to this album, it feels like it had run it's course

3/5

I always think that I'm going to not enjoy prog rock albums, but then I when I actually listen to the album, I usually find them pretty palatable. I think maybe I just don't like King Crimson (I know, I'm a monster).

This album features a lot of great musicianship. It features some prominent use of synthesizers, though most of the songs feature a traditional piano. There's a big diversity of styles despite the fact that there aren't that many tracks on the album. The major focus is the first track, which took up a whole side of the vinyl release of the album.

It goes by pretty quick, but it's a very solid album

4/5