Reviews by suspiciousnumber

It seems really strange now that an artist could put out an album composed entirely of cover songs and use it as a platform to become one of the most famous people on the face of the earth. It's a testimony the Elvis's charisma that he is able to pull this off. This album doesn't feature many of what I would consider to be Elvis's best songs. Instead we're treated to a bunch of songs that had been released in the years before this album by other artists who did more definitive versions. There are some exceptions. I think Presley's versions of Blue Suede Shoes and Blue Moon may be better than the originals. However, he adds nothing to songs like I Got a Woman and Tutti Fruity. Presley gets a lot of credit for bringing the music of black artists to white audiences, but I'm not sure that that helped the black artists all that much.

This album sounds okay. Elvis's style is very distinctive and is already well-developed here. The lack of originality in the compositions works against him here. It's fine that he didn't write his own music, but I can't get over the fact that Elvis got famous doing cover songs that were substantially similar to artists who were still trying to be discovered by the world at large. This album did a disservice to people like Carl Perkins and Little Richard. It makes the album feel a bit shallow, since Elvis's looks seem to have a lot to do with why he was so successful where original artists weren't. He is a talented musician, there's no denying it, and his voice is heavenly. It just feels like he's stealing other people's glory with this album

3/5

Fuck yeah, Slayer. This album is one of the many examples of everything Rick Rubin touches turning to gold. While he was in the midst of building one of the most successful hip-hop albums, he was producing this album.

Slayer is one of those bands that really has done one thing for their entire career, and they do that one thing so well that they don't need to diversify. Slayer makes thrash metal. That's it. Metallica did it better during the 80s in my opinion, but they stopped making thrash towards the end of the decade, while Slayer kept making thrash well into the 2000s.

This album is one of their greats. It hits you like a brick to the face, yet manages to be so intricate that it stays fresh over several listens. I've come back to this album over and over throughout the years, and it doesn't disappoint.

4/5. Fuck yeah, Slayer

One thing I think is important to note here is that David Bowie didn't owe us this album. After all of the great music he gave us, all of the great experiences he created for us, he didn't owe us one more album before he died. The fact that, as he was dying of cancer, he made this stellar album shows how incredible he truly was. Visionary is the word I would use to describe Bowie's career, and it feels that way here too. He's a man looking out into the abyss of death and preparing himself to take the final step.

This is not his best album, but it is a monumental achievement nonetheless. He didn't have to do it, but he did, and it's great

4/5

HOW MANY FUCKING NEIL YOUNG ALBUMS ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE ME LISTEN TO? Look, I don't like the guy, okay. He's a fine musician, he writes fine songs, and the issue here is that I don't like them and don't want to listen to them. He bums me the fuck out.

What I can say about this album is that it does have some of the Neil Young songs that I like. They're uniformly total bummers, but at least they're good bummers, so 3/5? I guess

This is an interesting one to come back to after many years. I bought this album when I was young, but it didn't make much of an impact on my, and I didn't listen to it all that much. I think now that some of the reason that I didn't immediately like this album is that the vocals aren't mixed very well. They always feel like they're fading into the background a bit, and that leaves nothing out in front leading the band. I think a remastered version of this album could be really cool. As it is, there's certainly a lot of promise here, but it doesn't quite follow through

3/5

Boy, this list is really insistent that I give Tom Waits another chance after being more or less lukewarm on the last two albums of his that I listened to. This album continues that trend. It's strange, I like weird music, and I feel like I should like Tom Waits. I think the issue is that I like music that is weird like the Butthole Surfers, and Tom Waits makes music that's weird in the same way that clowns are weird. I fucking hate clowns. I don't hate Tom Waits, but when I saw one of his albums on this list this morning, I felt the same way that I feel when someone tells me that I'm going to the circus: "Oh great, now I'm about to get robbed by a carnie."

3/5

Aerosmith was the first band that I ever fell (briefly) in love with, so it's weird to reflect on their early career now that I've decidedly lost interest in the band that I was so infatuated with in the early-mid 90s. This is much more straightforward blues rock than I would have anticipated. Very much of its time and not showing many of the elements that would define their style in the 80s and 90s. Walk This Way is a notable exception, which is appropriate since that sound would kick start their success in the 80s. Sweet Emotion is another highlight of the album that sounds more like 80s Aerosmith. The rest of the album sucks ass and you can quote me on that (my name is Bill Gates)

3/5 and the two good songs on this album are pulling a lot of weight

I didn't like this album as much as It's Blitz, which I first encountered with this list. Compared to that, this album didn't really have any songs that stuck out. However, I love the sound of this band, and I still thought that this was worth a listen. Poppy and gritty at the same time

4/5

This was a tough one to rate. On the one hand, it's a Paul Simon album, and the man knows music and has a beautiful and distinctive voice. On the other hand, none of these songs are particularly memorable. They're just good because they're Paul Simon songs. However, none of these songs are in the top 20 Paul Simon songs in my opinion.

The issue, then, is whether I judge this album as it sounds or within the context of Paul Simon's career. If this was a band that I'd never heard of, I would certainly rank it as 4/5 stars. Within the context of his career, I'd consider this mediocre, 3/5 stars. Ultimately, I choose the later. I try not to bring prejudice into my reviews, but I also just don't get why this album is on here. I'm sure there are plenty of other Simon records on this list, so it's tough to see why this album deserves any special merit

3/5

Ah fuck, I don't want to listen to modern prog rock today. What frustrates me about this band is that they are clearly talented, and I can hear bits and pieces of what I loved so much about Relationship of Command. However, this band is not that band, and for all of the good elements of this album, it's never going to achieve the raw power of Relationship of Command.

On the other hand, this album is a good listen overall. I want it to be something that it is not, but that's on me. The vocals and the instrumentation are very good on this album. It's also less proggy than other stuff I've listened to from Mars Volta. Guess I got to give it 4 stars, especially since listening to this album improved my shitty mood moderately

4/5

4/5

Say what you will about Lou Reed, he always puts together an interesting album. It's been a few years since I've revisited Transformer. For some reason I always think this album is going to be more intense than it is. Perhaps its the combination of the title and cover art. Regardless, this is a cool album. Relax, yet very engaging, like a lot of Reed's work. Perhaps his finest work outside of the Velvet Underground

4/5

Now I find myself in the weird position of reviewing an album that I've owned on vinyl for more than a decade but somehow never listened to. The reason why I've never listened to it is because Joni Mitchell has never "clicked" with me. The reason why I still have it is: 1) so people will think that I am smart and sensitive, and 2) because a lot of people who's musical opinions I respect really like Joni Mitchell.

This album continues that trend for me. This album also doesn't click for me, but I can see why people like it. It's interesting, no question. It does not sound like it's tied to one particular time period. I definitely wouldn't say that it's of its time. Mitchell has a well-developed style that sets her apart. It doesn't particularly work for me, but it's also hard for me to dislike it because she is doing something different here and executing her vision well.

3/5

It's sad to think that more than half of the songs on this album were written by Otis Redding or Sam Cooke, and that within two years of the release of this album, both of them would be dead (Cooke died prior to the recording of the album). Both incredible tragedies for the world of music, both for the loss of their voices and their masterful songwriting.

Redding's massive talent is on full display here. What I wouldn't give for a higher quality of recording for this album. It's an issue that plagues a lot of these Stax recordings. Despite this, though, the beauty of these songs are undeniable. Even when he's covering famous songs, he always manages to make them his own

4/5

There's been sort of a notable absence of Kraut rock on this list so far, as I've been doing this for over a year and this is the first such album that I've gotten. I liked this album. Like most in the genre it's good to just put on and listen to in the background. I'm a bigger fan of Neu than Can, but this is still really cool for the era in which it was made. Really influential stuff that doesn't get its due for its historical importance

4/5

After finding out that this album was produced by Brian Eno, I'm not surprised that I liked it right away. What I am surprised about is that I've never heard of it before. It's really cool for a mostly instrumental album. Laid back, if not quite ambient, with a really cool sound to it. I think I'm going to try and pick up this album on vinyl based on my first listen. This was a great palette-cleanser after having to review a fucking KISS album yesterday

4/5

Honestly, fuck this album. They make you wait through like 2 minutes of bullshit before you get to hear Detroit Rock City, and after that fine song is done, it's just waiting for the album to wind through its length. I hate it when KISS tries to rock, I hate it when KISS tries to be sensitive.

Honestly, though, the production on this album is terrible. Everything sounds sludgy. At first I thought it might be a poor quality upload on YouTube, but no, it just sounds like that. Like mixing a KISS album was some dying child's last wish, and the band just let them do it, but then the kid got better so they couldn't go back and remaster it.

I'm not sure why someone thought I should listen to this album before I die. Maybe they have a strong hatred of me and think that subjecting me to this album will hasten my death by sapping my will to live. Jokes on them, because I'm determined to outlive every member of KISS so that I can dance on each and every one of their graves.

2/5 (Detroit Rock City is pulling a lot of weight on this album, and I guess Beth is fine too)

I liked parts of this, and I can definitely see why the bass from the album was sampled so frequently in early hip-hop, but ultimately I found it a bit dull. Also, I did not know that Good Times was 8 fucking minutes long. Perfect for the dance floor, but a bit strange for a single. Worth a listen, but not an album that I plan on coming back to

3/5

Like the other Def Leppard album I got on this list, I'm honestly surprised by how good this is. It's not groundbreaking or anything, but it is an incredibly well-produced album with a lot of good songs. I never thought of Def Leppard as a hit factory, but just the number of songs that charted on this album alone is surprising, and Pyromania is similar.

It's also wild that this album came out after their drummer lost his goddamned arm. Like, drummers famously use their arms quite frequently, and generally they prefer to have two of them. The drumming sounds great too, especially on Pour Some Sugar On Me.

4/5 Another surprisingly good album from Def Leppard

This is an interesting early British punk album. It came on the heels of the first slate of punk albums that were released in 1977. This album is more melodic and poppy than the Sex Pistols, though not quite as fun and strange as the Ramones. Overall, it's a really good early punk album. The Adverts share a lot of sonic similarities with the Buzzcocks, though the Advert's lyrics are a little more in the traditional punk mold. Overall a really fun album that slipped through the cracks of history while the Sex Pistols and Clash went on the become mega-famous

4/5

I don't always know what to think about art pop bands. This album is good, and there's clearly a lot of craftsmanship involved, but it also leaves me feeling a little flat.

3/5