Reviews by syrinx

Wow I'm kind of shocked to see this one on here. I have to admit that though I'm sure I've heard a Beyonce song somewhere, I can't recall what it sounded like or name even one song.
Part of the problem I have this this right off the bat is that if you look at the credits section on Wikipedia, you need to change the battery in your mouse at least once before you're done scrolling through all the names. And only like 3 or 4 of those people are credited with playing real instruments. This is basically the definition of manufactured music and music made by committee. You can tell she has a great voice but I feel like it's really a shame that the music she makes sounds like this. It could be so much better. I would love to hear a more soul/jazz album from her, I bet it would be amazing. Should this album be on the list? Well something of hers certainly should be, I am definitely not the one to decide if this is a better choice than any other album she's done. My guess is that you could pick one at random and it would be fine.
As it is, this is totally not something I am interested to hear more of. I was definitely bored with this well before being halfway through. Adding a star because she does have a great voice, though used in an unfortunate manner. 2/5

Ok first thought - how can such a heavy album sound so thin and shallow? It's like they finished recording and then just dialed the bass and low mids back a little bit. Weird choice. Like even the bass drum has no depth to it. I've heard Pantera before of course, and while they've always landed in the 'fine but nothing special and I don't get the cult following' camp for me, I've never noticed that this record sounds this way. But you sort of get used to it after a couple songs.
Walk is great, I've always liked that song. There are a lot of things to like about this album and a lot of things not to like. I don't really like the rhythm guitars but the solos are generally great, tone and playing. I've never been sold on this kind of vocals, they are definitely the weak link on this album and make it worse, verging on ruining. The drums are played well but mostly sound like shit. Bass is buried under a mountain of distortion and hard to pick out. Some of the grooves are fantastic but get repetitive. 3.25/5

I love days like this when I get albums I have never heard of before. I'm vaguely familiar with The The but couldn't name a song of theirs off the top of my head. Crossing my fingers this record will be one of the good new finds....
Well this album is certainly squarely 80s. Like definition 80s music here. This album would be great to play for someone who wanted to know what the 80s sounded like. Like I'm sure that millions of now 50-60 year olds danced to this record drowning out the otherwise audible sounds of synthetic fabrics rubbing against each other in shitty night clubs under a haze of smoke and aquanet. It's not a bad record. But probably not one I'd come back to again. I do feel like it's one of those albums that gets stronger as you listen rather that starting out strong and dropping off. 3/5

Oh man just seeing this cover makes me go right back to middle school. Everyone had this album. I haven't heard it in a long time and didn't really care for The Offspring back then so it'll be interesting to see how this goes.
Well I'm still not a fan of Dexter's vocals. He's always been kind of grating to me. And throughout this whole album, all I can think of is Crazy Taxi. Remember that game? It was super fun.
This album sounds very dated listening now. The 'secret song' was a big thing from this era of music and now it's just kind of irritating. Especially when your preferred streaming platform has a final song of 10+ minutes with a silence of 8 minutes in the middle just to hear some bullshit 'song'. I can see why a lot of people would still like this album but I don't think it's quite for me. I still really hate the vocals. Music is fine, but I wouldn't listen to this again. 2.5/5

I'm not sure if I've heard this whole album or not. Going in the only one that I know for sure is All I Know and that's a stellar song. Kind of excited and surprised to see this included on the list as I wouldn't really think that anything by Screaming Trees was notable enough that everyone needed to hear it.
A couple high spots here and there but the rest of this album is just kind of plain and fades into the background. Having listened to it I'm still not sure why this would be included on the list, I wouldn't really even count this as a one hit wonder seeing as there wasn't really a hit from this album.
It's a decent album but isn't going to wow anyone. I might listen to this again but I wouldn't really seek it out. 3/5

I confess that until today I have never heard any music at all from Queen Latifah. At least not that I know of. I know who she is of course, mostly as an actor. I am not a hip hop fan at all so I don't think this will be one that I am particularly going to like...
Ok so admittedly I wasn't really paying attention while most of this album played. I didn't hear any of the normal hip hop tropes - misogyny, violence, self-aggrandizing, etc. - but I can't say for sure that those things weren't there. I suspect not. But from what I did hear this was basically the same beat and the same vocal line all they way through. And did I hear some muppets or something in there? I do appreciate all of the feminist issues brought up in this record, that was kind of a nice thing to hear in a genre that, as a rule, thinks it's fun and witty to degrade women. Anyway this is still not my thing but I suppose it wasn't as bad as almost all hip hop albums I've listened to up until now. 2/5

I love how all the reviews for this are either 'wow this is great' or some version of 'fuck I can't stand Neil Young'. That's how you know you've made it as an artist.
I happen to be the former, I've always really liked all of Neil Young's solo stuff and I feel like he was a much better musician solo than he ever was in any of his other bands. But for me this makes the sixth of his solo albums on this list and I think that's too many. If you can only pick 1001 records would you really take 6 Neil Young Albums? I'd pick this one for sure. Not sure I need 5 others...
Anyway, kicking off with Cinnamon Girl is a great way to start a record. I love the way Neil Young plays guitar. Particularly his style with electrics, it's so different and quirky. I feel like this album is really where he started exploring that style of playing - it's laid back, rough, bold, harsh, chill, and wild all at the same time. The repetitive notes work so well for the groove somehow and I love it. Case in point - Down by the River. I really like this album as a whole, it might be Neil Young's best. 4.5/5 and will round up just because.

A classic bar band rocker and a stellar debut album. It's great straightforward rock and while it may not be the most innovative record, I feel like this was probably a breath of fresh air when it came out in 1990. More genuine than the 80s hair metal and not as edgy as what would be the real grunge era. Yes it can probably be called dad rock now but that's ok. But it's well recorded, well played, and well built. I dig it and would totally not be upset if this was playing at my local bar or brewery. 4/5

I know this one is going to be a tough sell for most people. I liked it well enough, although I don't think it's their best work by any means. I don't think this album should have been on this list, it's a live album so that's already strike one. But it doesn't really provide anything that you couldn't get on another better album. I like the whole concept of approaching classical music with contemporary instruments and sounds and I suppose that's why this was included. I don't think I'll listen to this one again, maybe down the road sometime. 3/5

It's kind of cool that this guy came from Public Image and left that band to do this. I feel like this is less cultural appropriation and more of a genuine attempt at making music true to the roots of the cultures he is representing here. That's a good thing I suppose. It's not really something I would listen to again but I did enjoy it one time through. Nothing else to say about it, really. It is exactly what you would expect it to be. 2.75/5

This is number 4 from U2 for me and I feel like that's too many for them. I think at best U2 is a mediocre band that did couple of randomly brilliant songs. None of those songs are on this album. This is watered down pop rock by an aging band trying to stay relevant. There's nothing behind this - it feels like an album made to fulfill a contract. The whole album is just weak at best and cringe inducing at the worst. Maybe they needed the money. It's a shame because they did write a few great songs but even if you put all those songs on one record, you'd still need a couple to fill out the second side. I don't know why this album is on the list, maybe because Beautiful Day was such a big hit for a hot minute? 2/5

Yeah this is a weird one for sure. But weird in a great way. I can imagine hearing this in 1978 and not having any idea what was going on at all. It's amazing that these guys ever really made it into mainstream music. Even listening now it's pretty out there and I think a lot of people would fail to really connect with this record. I like it, but it's sort of a take it or leave it for me. If I never heard this one again that would not be a great loss for me. But I'd like to hear this one a couple more times in my life for sure. 3.5/5 but going to round down because it isn't good enough for 4.

Eric Clapton's a piece of shit. There, got that out of the way.
I kind of have a soft spot for this album. Although looking back it's maybe not as deserving of they hype it gets. I suppose that this was an important album in music history, as was Cream an important band though they had such a brief run. And as much praise as Clapton got (gets?), I really feel like he's the weak link on this record. Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker are just obviously so much better and more diverse musicians than he is. The bass tone on this record is sooo good and the drums sound huge.
I kind of wanted to hate this album after listening to it again, it's been a long time. But damned if I didn't like it just as always. It's well played, creative, fun to listen to, and memorable. Is it overrated? Absolutely. Is it a great album? Yeah I think so. Maybe not one I would listen to a lot but I'd definitely come back to this now and again. The vocals are lacking a bit, a better singer could have done wonders. But this was really (as far as I know...) the first power trio and that's a very difficult thing to accomplish as a band.
As for a rating, I don't know. It's a great record but there's no way I would call it perfect. It would hover in the neighborhood right under 4 I think, maybe going up and down here and there. Eric Clapton is still a piece of shit though.

This is a really interesting one. I had never heard this album at all and am only casually familiar with who Todd Rundgren even is so this was basically brand new territory for me.
My first thought (oddly) - damn that's a fantastic sounding snare drum. I think it was quite apparent that he wrote, engineered, produced, and recorded this all himself. The flow of the album is really great, weird though it is. You can certainly hear some of his chemical influences here. It's not what I would call 'good music' but I don't hate it.
I can't really pick out a specific song that I liked, it's not that kind of record. It's really just one long song. If you took any of it out of context it wouldn't really land right. I think it is a really interesting record and it does deserve a place on this list. Though I think it's likely to be a love it or hate it album, it kind of falls in the middle for me. I might play this one again, but I'd have to be in the right mindset. It's not one you can just throw on in the background, you kind of have to sit and listen or else it just washes over you and you miss the point. 3.25/5

Hey look at that, another Britpop album. I'm convinced that's like at least 80% of this list.
This one may be a bit less Britpop-y than others but I think it still counts. It's fine. Some cool parts here and there. I felt like the recording was a bit uneven as far as dynamics though - some parts are super loud and other really quiet. It's fine to play with that a little as a band but I hate having to adjust volume while listening to an album. Overall I don't think I'd come back to this one. It wasn't bad, there just wasn't anything that I'd really care to hear again. 2.75/5

I hate those days when you get excited to see an album you don't recognize but the cover looks like it might be interesting. Then it turns out to be something you know you're going to hate before grudgingly pressing play on the album. This was one of those days.
So a few songs in and it's not as bad as it could be. I mean it's all the same beat, nothing changes at all except the lyrics. The lyrics have the typical self aggrandizing that for some reason is a defining characteristic of hip hop. But, so far, the misogyny and violence are (more than others) mostly absent. I could see why American fans of hip hop would hate this but that's also hilarious to me because it's basically exactly the same as any hip hop record for the past 25 years. Oh my god the skits need to stop. How that got to be a staple in hip hop records is beyond me, it's so dumb. It doesn't make you look awesome and dangerous. It makes you look like a child trying to be awesome and dangerous. Yeah it's still not for me but it's not as intolerable as some of the hip hop records out there. 2/5

I had a live album from Motorhead a while back and gave it 4/5 which sort of surprised me. I know I've heard this album but it isn't really something I would listen to normally.
Ace of Spades is a great song. What it is about Lemmy's awful voice that works so well? And his bass tone is always amazing. The lyrics throughout this entire album are laughable. So juvenile and dumb. Don't even get me started on Jailbait. The title of that song alone should be a big red flag. Shows how much the times have changed and I think that's a good thing.
Other than Ace of Spades I don't think I would listen to any of this album again. I don't know, maybe my tastes have matured, maybe I'm old and grumpy. This kind of rock just doesn't do it for me. Lemmy was a hell of a bass player though, that's for sure. Unlike any other. 2.75/5.

I think hair metal had its place and time, but that has surely long passed. This record sounds like a parody of 80s metal. Stupid lyrics, simple and cheesy music, fantastic sounding and really well played guitars. It's like they wanted to make a more radio friendly metal but lost all of what made heavier music good by slapping so much makeup on it. I feel like this kind of music still has its fans but they are all the same fans that were there in the 80s going to see these bands every weekend. I would be very surprised if there were many new fans of this kind of music.
I suppose this era of rock has to be represented on this list and this is as good an album for that as any - half of these songs are playing on countless classic rock radio stations right now. But I would guess there are quite a few of these records on the list, and I think there's even another from Def Leppard which is fully unnecessary. 2.25/5

I've never heard of 808 State but I'm not exactly in the loop on this kind of music; late 80s electronica is not something I would listen to by choice.
This album kind of sounds like the sound track for a cheaply made, 80s-futuristic, animated sci fi movie. Like I can see the dude from Akira riding into the big city on the weird red motorcycle thing. I don't know, I only saw that movie once when I was a kid. And I feel like I will only be listening to this album once as well. Not my thing, though I can see how it could have been a starting point in this kind of music. I got bored quickly and was ready to move on in about 10 minutes though. 2/5

I, as I would imagine is the case for most people, have not heard anything from Dexys Midnight Runners other than Come On Eileen. At least not that I know of. That song's a banger though.
So this album is a really fun British new wave with some horns thrown in and it all has a vaguely Celtic tinge. It's probably not going to blow anyone away but it's a really fun album to listen to in the background. Like this would be great to throw on when you have a summer party in the backyard. Suddenly Come On Eileen starts and everyone realizes where they've heard this band and starts to sing as loud as they can before finding that they don't actually know all the words to a song they've heard 9,756 times. I'd buy this in the record shop if I ever saw it. 3.75/5