Reviews by suspiciousnumber

God the 1980s were a weird decade for music. It's like everything was happening all at once, and for all the amazing things that were happening in the foreground, you also have bands like Sonic Youth. The first thing this reminded me of was Slanted and Enchanted by Pavement, which came out 6 years after this album. This album is more introspective and darker, though.

I feel like there is something about Sonic Youth that never quite translates from their live shows to their albums, though. I feel like I should like these albums more, but it ultimately feels like there isn't anything for me to sink my teeth into. I think what I really need is an instrumental Sonic Youth album. I feel like that is where they really shine, and the vocals kind of distract from their instrumentals on a lot of songs.

3/5

Lost my Achtung Baby review, but the album is just okay

It's weird reviewing this album directly after the Black Crows album, because they are both white-boy blues albums. This, however, feels much more authentic. CCR seem much more like they are playing their version of the blues rather than doing an impression of the blues.

This album starts out really strong with some songs that I wasn't familiar with, and then proceeds to get into a string of songs released as singles that I really enjoy, like Lookin' Out My Back Door, Run Though the Jungle, Up Around The Bend, and Who'll Stop The Rain.

Honestly, the cover art may be the worst thing about this album. What in the hell were they thinking? 4/5

I legitimately forgot this album and band existed. It's weird how some bands stick around in the Zeitgeist while others fade completely despite having similar track records. The album starts out really strong, but then the songs start to sound a bit samey. It's good, but it fades into the background because there's not a lot of tempo variation. There are some slower songs, but I can't say that I'm terribly impressed with songs like Seeing Things. Some of the other songs are good but start to feel like cultural appropriation (lookin at you, Hard to Handle. Talks to Angels is a good song that feels more original. 3/5

Fuck, this was good right from the first line. "I step into an avalanche. It covered up my soul" Leonard Cohen is what I feel like I should be hearing when I put on a Bob Dylan record. I honestly don't have much to say about this album. It goes by in a blur, but every song is good. No one knows how to pick the bit of diamond out of a fist-sized lump of coal the way that Cohen does. Every song is dark, imperious, but beauty always shines through. I will definitely come back to this one (4/5).

This is one of those albums that I try with every few years but never seem to get. Despite its chronological proximity to Hunky Dory, an album I absolutely love, this one has never really grabbed me. There is nothing wrong with this album, but it sounds dated compared to Hunky Dory, which has a really timeless feel. Part of the issue, I think, is the lack of classic songs. This album has a very coherent feel, it sounds good, but when I listen to it, I keep waiting for a song to really draw me in, but I don't think this really occurs until Suffragette City, which is nearly 2/3 of the way through the album.

The album is consistently good, and I feel like I "got" it better than I have in the past, I just don't understand why this album gets held up as THE early Bowie album. It's good but not great.

This album is undeniably strange and undeniably charming. It's split pretty evenly between standup comedy and Wait's crooning, and he excels in both of these tasks. The album is an anachronism, set in an analog world that no longer exists and could never exist in the computer age. The jazz band backing Waits stitches the entire work together. Waits slides evenly between smutty, sweet, and insightful. It's not the type of album that I would normally listen to, but it has a lot of charm and helped me understand much better why people are so fond of Waits.

The album is a bit long, though. I don't know that it needed to be a double album. I suppose that it gives more of a nightclub performance feel, but I felt like the album would have finished strong after the end of the first disc. There is some excellent stuff on the second half, though, so I'm not sure what I would cut. The album is an experience that I want to come back to at some point, despite the fact that this style of album is not my particular cup of tea. Great artists know how to make things work.

It's a sweet album with a lot of nice instrumentals. A lot of surprising little instrumental moments that fit really well in the overall context of the album. I can't say that it really grabbed me, but there's also nothing to take issue with. A great album to play in the background. Very summery feel. It drags a bit at the end, though it is overall a very pleasant listen. I might be even more fond of it if Van Morrison wasn't a COVID-denying dick.

I really like the guitar tone on this album. The distortion is really crisp and it's mixed well. My least favorite parts of the album seem to be the lyrics and the flute.

Aqualung and Up to Me have this really creepy feel that makes the album distinct

Overall the album sounds a bit dated, definitely a product of its time. It drags in places, but when its good, it's really good.