syrinx

I'm surprised at how short this album is for being released in 2001. That was right in the midst of the whole 'a CD will fit 80 minutes of music so our album needs to be 23 songs long' thing. Good or bad, I don't know. Just something that I thought about.
I like this album but I don't think it's particularly special. A couple of solid radio hits, some filler. But most of it is really just kind of...there. I mean I'm not really even sure what specific complaints I would have about it, it just doesn't really do it for me. Turns out the 36 minute play time is pretty much exactly right for this one so maybe they knew what they were doing. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this today though. 3/5

I don't know this album but after reading a few reviews and the Wikipedia page, I really want to like it.
I don't hate this. I do kind of like of it. I don't know how to explain why this is different from that damn Trout Mask album, but it is. And it's much better. Someone said about Trout Mask that they listened while working out and now look like a cubist painting. If you did that with this album you'd look like a Paul Klee painting instead. Similar, but a different flavor and more specific. And I mean good on these guys for making this record in the 70s, way ahead of it's time for sure. I'm sure Les Claypool had this on repeat as a teenager. Some of it sounds like a soundtrack to some kind of weird psychological thriller or sci-fi movie. I feel like as weird as it is, you have to listen to it a couple times to really get it. I mean I'd give this 4 stars just for being one of the most interesting records I've heard. But you know what? I'm giving this one a 5/5. It's so weird in the best way. If it was any longer I might not rate it as high but for a quick 35 minutes, it's great.

I've always been lukewarm on Peter Gabriel, and really Genesis too. But I think one thing I've learned since I started this project is that I like both better than I thought. This is number 3 from Perter Gabriel for me and I like this one much more than the other two. It's still not a fantastic record to me but I do enjoy it. I like how varied it is. How you can see some of the old Genesis there but also see the direction he really wanted to move. It's orchestral, jazzy, bluesy, experimental. It may be disjointed but I kind of like that. 3.8/5 and I think I would buy this one if I ever came across it at the record shop.

I've never heard of this one before but it seems like it could be interesting and might be perfect for a rainy day like today.
I ended up liking this album more than I thought I would at first. The second half really picks up. It gets a little funkier and less just slow folky acoustic songs. She has a great voice and the production on this record is pretty decent. The drums are a little loud in the mix but I don't mind that at all because they are wonderfully played. Really fun to listen to the drummer. Someone in another review said she sounds like Cher and I can't get that out of my head now, she does sound like Cher. I could do without the steel guitar, that's an instrument that I hate 90% of the time its used. But overall I enjoyed this one today. I don't think it's particularly groundbreaking or innovative but it's a solid album. 3.25/5

This album would be better if it was a little more varied. I like some of what they're doing but it's just too much of the same idea. Even the tempo is mostly the same throughout the whole record. But definitely deserving of a place on this list as one of the first albums in the genre. It was certainly a bit different from anything else at the time and inspired a lot that followed. I'm not sure I would really play this album that much but every now and then it would get a spin. Rating is a little hard because I feel like 3 isn't enough but at the same time I hate to round up to 4 because I don't think it's quite there. I'm calling it a solid 3.5/5 and I suppose I'll round down since I have to go one way or the other.