Reviews by suspiciousnumber

I feel about this live album the way that I generally do about live albums, which is that this concert probably would have been awesome to experience live, but that listening to it on a recording is a poor facsimile for that experience. All of the poor sound quality with none of the thrills. At least it isn't a double album

3/5

I'm not really sure how an album from 2020 is even on this list, since there's not really any way to put an album from last year into its historical context.

On the other hand, this is a really cool album. It's easy to see why it struck a chord with people who were locked down and scared during the early stages of the pandemic. It's cool, weird, and well executed

4/5

Vocal jazz albums have never particularly been my thing, but you have to give credit where it's due. There is just something about Billie Holiday and her voice. There are many ways to be a great singer, and one of them is to have an angelic voice that carries an incredible burden of sadness without sagging under the weight

4/5

Having learned recently about the evolution of electronic music and the early prominence of this album in the synthpop movement helped me appreciate this album. It definitely has that 80s synthpop sound, but I didn't realize previously how influential this album was in creating that sound. There are some aspects of this album that sound dated now, but given the technology that they were working with and the uncharted territory that they were moving into, this is a really cool album

4/5

Parts of this album were cool, but overall I found it a bit dull. It was a cool idea, and it was executed well, it's just not my thing

3/5

I could see why people like this album, but the combination of time and the fact that The Streets is not a very strong rapper makes this not work for me. The idea is cool, and I think this album could have been a classic in the hands of a better artist. The music is cool most of the time, though the spare style of the beats and the spare style of the rapping are not a good combination together. His rhyme schemes are pretty simple and outdated, even for 2004

2/5

When this album started, I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did. It's a little slow, but everything is put together well, and some of the music is really cool and unexpected. His voice is good, if unspectacular, but the overall effect of the album is pretty cool

4/5

I've liked both of the Nick Drake albums (this one being the second) that I've heard, though I don't have a lot to say about them. He's a wonderful songwriter, both simple and subtle in his way

4/5

Why has no one told me to listen to this album before? It feels so ahead of its time, and it keeps getting better as the album goes. One of the early masterpieces of punk

5/5

I wasn't terribly excited about getting this album today, since I've been pretty lukewarm on previous albums by Crosby (The Byrds) and Neil Young that showed up on this list, but this is a really stellar album. It does a great job of showcasing the strengths of the group, including their harmonies and songwriting, and manages to remain both interesting and consistent all the way through

4/5

This album makes it clearer to me why the Byrds were pitched as America's answer to the Beatles. The instrumentation and production of this album bears a lot of similarities to Rubber Soul. It's all fine, but not particularly interesting.

3/5

There's no real way for a rap album from the mid-80s not to sound dated, very similar to the rock of the 50s. There were so many technological and methodological innovations in the years after this album that changed the sound of hip-hop forever.

Despite being a time capsule, this album still has a lot going for it. The sparse 808-based samples work really well with the more aggressive lyrical style that Run-DMC brought to hip-hop. It's a nice compromise between the lighter rap style that was popular before this point and the ultra-violent content that existed during gangsta rap. I think of this album being a 4/5 mostly because of its importance as a turning point for hip-hop, but it still sounds good too, if not a bit limited by the sample set included in the 808

4/5

Honestly, this album was more consistently good than I thought it was going to be. It's got a distinctive style, but manages to pack a lot of different moods into the album

4/5

We are what we pretend to be. Eminem's skill as a rapper is undeniable, and his collaboration with Dre produced a lot of excellent work, but Jesus Christ has the lyrical content from this not aged well. I get the whole idea that Slim Shady is an alter ego and that the violence is meant to be cartoonish, but this shit is real hard to listen to in 2021. At the same time, I understand why Eminem rapping about his life on songs like Rock Bottom wouldn't sell while his more violent songs would.

This album didn't really do much for me. He has a nice voice, and the tone on the guitar was captured well, but I'm not really into this style of folk music

3/5

This album was fine, but I honestly kept forgetting that I was listening to it. It didn't make me pay attention, nor did it annoy me in any way. I feel like this about a lot of 70s prog rock. It tends to just be...there. ELP are excellent musicians, and I think this would have been a super cool concert to go to, but as an album experience, it's forgettable

3/5

Just a super cool album with a bunch of moods. It's a shame it wasn't more well-received at the time. It would have been really interesting to see this album have a larger effect on the direction of music in the 70s

I can't say that I've ever been a fan of the members of Metallica as people, but goddamn their early work is just stellar. Intense and loud while still remaining incredibly melodic and intricate, this may be their best album. I just wish that they could have gone the Slayer route more and just stick to their metal roots rather than following the course of popular rock 'n roll. At their peak, Metallica may have been the greatest metal band of all time, bar none.

4/5 (but very close to 5)

I liked this album okay. After a while every song starts to sound the same, though. Morrissey has a very specific style, and I don't mind it, but I do wish that he would have introduced more variation into this album. I think that's why I tend to enjoy Smiths albums a bit more than Morrissey's solo stuff

3/5

Honestly, this is just a fun album. It's innovative in certain ways, of its time in others, but it seems like this would have been a fucking awesome concert to go to. Just constant wailing guitars and rock 'n roll yelling

4/5