Reviews by syrinx

My first Tom Waits album from this list. And kind of an odd one to start with. I know that a lot of people sort of took offense to the 'fake jazz lounge' concept of the album. I think it would have been cooler to be a real jazz bar for sure but maybe this is a little more controlled and less real life which I think was probably the intent.
Tom Waits seems like he'd be an interesting guy to talk to. Especially back in 1975. Especially now, for that matter. I've always liked his music - he's got such a unique and fantastic voice. Particularly as he got older. It's definitely not for everyone. This album specifically, he sounds great as ever. I love the loose feeling of this record. The upright bass, piano, drums with brushes, sax - it all comes together and fits so well with what he's doing. I know it's a fake lounge but take it as you would a movie - you know it isn't real but you can imagine being there in person to experience it. It would have been so much fun. I think a lot of people (most?) would get a little bored with this. It plays basically like a long monologue accompanied by music. I love it. 5/5

I like this album, but I don't think it's his best. I've only ever been a little lukewarm on Bob Marley anyway, this is the third album of his I've had on this list and three seems like a little much for me. The thing that I really like about this album in particular is the musicianship - the band is fantastic on this record. Really tight, really great. It's always strange to me to listen to Bob Marley because the music and the lyrics always seem so at odds - fun and happy sounding music with lyrics about oppression, poverty, racism, etc. It does make for interesting records, that's for sure. 3.25/5 for this one.

If you just heard Imagine with no context of who wrote it you might kind of agree with the sentiment, I would for sure. But it's such a lie coming from John Lennon. He would have hated the world he was wishing for in that song because he would be equal with everyone else and that's not what he wanted at all. I mean he professed all these ideas of no possessions and equality while standing there waiting for his maid to change his sheets for the third time that day. No, he was a pretty terrible person for sure and all the ideas he spouts in that song are definitely a 'this is for you but not me because I'm better than you' mentality.
And this whole album is another example of why the Beatles were so great. None of their solo stuff was ever close to what they made together. George Harrison was probably the closest to making something comparable. This album is just kind of boring, run of the mill music with a couple of high spots here and there. And full of insincere and false sentiment. Best song is I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier. But still, if John Lennon hadn't been a Beatle, nobody would have listened to this album at all. 2.5/5 but rounding down for reasons.

Had never heard of this guy before but damn. I loved this record. Definitely not country as this site says. I saw someone say doom county or apocalyptic country and I think that fits. It’s really good. I’m not a country fan at all, this is more like dark gothic folk. Fantastic. His voice isn’t spectacular but it fits the music and the vibe so well. I'm a little scared to look up anything else by him because I feel like it probably will be more along the lines of traditional country and that would be a real shame. 5/5

If I ever have heard this whole album, it's been a long long time so I think other than Fast Car this is going to be a new one for me.
God damn. This woman can write some words. I wasn't really ready for this today. This is a beautiful and sad record. I mean I kind of knew what I was getting into having heard Fast Car so many times but this whole album is just brilliant songwriting. A rating is really hard for this one, another example of why this needs to be out of 10 instead of 5. This would be a good 9. 5/5 it is.

First one in a while that I'd never heard of. Seems like this list is super heavy on the brit pop and new wave. I do like new wave every now and again so this one should be interesting at least.
Ok so this isn't bad, it's just kind of all over the place. I wouldn't call it new wave or Brit pop. It's more like jazzy easy listening with other random pop and R&B elements thrown in? I don't know. It's fine but nothing I would listen to a second time. 2.5/5

This is such a great album. Probably my favorite of his. It's nice and long but doesn't seem like it. I wasn't ready for it to be over when it ended. Everyone knows the hits from this album but the whole thing is really fantastic and it flows really well. I love the different styles on this record, they go from one to the next perfectly and the whole thing is seamless. A near perfect record that almost everyone will love. 5/5

Ok so what do I say about this? I mean the whole 'yeah these guys are totally racist assholes' thing is kind of hard to get past. But as with other artists with problems (and to be fair that's probably like 90% of artists) I'll try to just focus on the music. Fantastic guitars, obviously. I think that's probably what they were most known for. Well that and Freebird. I mean the music is good, although I'm not really a fan of the whole southern rock genre in general. But I do have to say that for a first album, this one does have a ton of what a lot of people would consider to be classics. I'm not sure I'd agree but that's a personal preference. And I think I've heard Freebird enough. Also, why the hell are there so many people in this band? Surely the music they played on this record didn't need 7 people in the band. And their current picture on Spotify has 9 people in it. Why? 3/5

Can't be a coincidence that I get this today when Brian Wilson died yesterday. And I guess it's not - seems everyone got Beach Boys or Brian Wilson today.
Ok here's my stance on The Beach Boys - I feel like after their first album they were trying to be like a California version of the Beatles. I'm sure back in the early to mid 60s that was something that a lot of people liked. Listening to it now it's so sappy and saccharine. Pet Sounds is a good album, though overrated, and I like a few other Beach Boys songs here and there but wouldn't ever feel like throwing on a record of theirs. This album I kind of lump in with the rest of their music. It's fine. There's some interesting things going on but when it's over in the short and sweet 29 minutes I'm definitely ready to move on to something else. 2.5/5 will round up since Brian Wilson just died.

Shocked to see this pop up today. I've never in my life thought that everyone needs to hear an Incubus record. This album sounds like it would be blasting out of the Monster Energy Drink tent at some kind of festival where a dude named Kyle is giving out free samples. It's not for me. It's so dated and doesn't hold up at all. People love Drive but that song is so overplayed I'm fine never hearing it again. I mean I've heard worse albums but I'd never play this again and I would probably turn it off if it came on randomly. 2/5

This is a fantastic record. I feel like more people need to listen to PJ Harvey and I never got why she wasn't more popular. I don't know that this is my favorite record of hers, I'd have to go back and listen to some of the others again, but it's up there for sure. My only real complaint with this album is that the dynamics are a little off for me. I shouldn't have to adjust the volume from song to song or especially not within the same song. That might have been a deliberate choice (like the first song starts playing for a minute and a half or something super quiet so you turn up the volume and then it's like 'joke's on you, now the real music starts!') but it's kind of distracting and irritating. But that's a pretty small complaint and otherwise this is an utterly brilliant album. 5/5

I didn't realize until like 3 years ago that this was the guy from Blur. That kind of made me listen to Gorillaz a little differently. Whether that's good or bad I don't know. But I feel like the idea of creating a virtual band in the late 90s was pretty forward-thinking. I have a feeling this is one of those things that started as sort of a joke between friends but then turned into a real thing that gained traction. Regardless, I have of course heard all the songs I would have heard from Gorillaz without having ever sat down and listened to a whole album, but this is my first time listening all the way through.
Clint Eastwood is definitely the standout, that's a fantastic song that still holds up and sounds good today. I like that this record is diverse but at the same time it doesn't sound scattered. This is a fun album to listen to but other than Clint Eastwood, I don't feel like I would play any of it again. However, if I saw it in the record shop, I would probably buy it and play it from time to time. 3/5

I've always thought of Coldplay as kind of the softer version of Nickelback - so incredibly vanilla that they had to just be trying to appeal to the masses. And I feel like 'good music' doesn't mean that everyone likes it. This is music that doesn't challenge you, and probably because of that, doesn't engage you at all either. Needless to say, what I've heard from them has done nothing for me. However I believe this is my first time listening to an entire Coldplay album. Halfway through and my opinion hasn't been swayed at all. Clocks is a song that pretty much everyone has heard before. Too many times. I have to admit that when it starts I kind of dig it but by the time I'm a couple minutes in I'm ready for it to be done. That might be the theme for this whole album. I feel like this record is on the list because it was one of the biggest albums of the early 2000s and that goes to show what a shit state music was in during that time. Have we progressed since then? I think we have... But the worst thing about listening to this album? Now Spotify is going to think I want to listen to Coldplay. Rounding down because of that. 2.25/5

The only thing I know about Spirit going in is that Led Zeppelin ripped off Taurus. This whole album will be a surprise. Ok so maybe it was not so much of a surprise. It sounds like any number of bands of this kind from the time. It could be The Band, Country Joe & the Fish, CS&N, Humble Pie, etc. etc. I don't know what else to say. It's ok but very dated sounding in a generic sort of way. 2.5/5 rounding down.

Hip hop isn't my thing but I love funk. I get that this was early 80s and hip hop has changed a lot since then, but this is infinitely more listenable that any hip hop in the last 30 years. I know that's quite a 'get off my lawn' take, but whatever. There are some cool grooves on this album for sure, I would really call this more of a funk-adjacent album than hip hop. It's still not quite to my taste, but at least I didn't struggle to get through it. 2.5/5

Soundtrack is not generally a genre I would listen to and it seems like there are quite a few on this list. Although now that I think about it, all the soundtracks I've come across here are actually music created for the movie so it's not like we're listening to a mix tape.
I've never seen The Virgin Suicides, and I'm not sure if that's going to be a negative or a positive with respect to this record. Starting off moody and sad with Playground Love. I would expect the same flavor throughout given the name of the movie. And it does kind of carry through the rest of the album. It's interesting to me that this was chosen for an album on this list, I don't really see why it is included. It's fine but nothing about it stood out or blew me away at all. It excels and being background music for a film. 2.5/5

This is a classic album for sure. Sort of new wave, sort of punk-lite, sort of late 70s/early 80s pop. I like it. It may not be one of my favorite records of all time but I've always liked Blondie and this is definitely their most recognizable album. It's got great vocals, great production, great playing. It's good music, not much else to say about it. 4/5

Is this Stevie Wonder's best album? Maybe. I mean Superstition is one of the best songs ever so it already has that going for it. But really there's a lot to love on this album. Maybe Your Baby is such a strong song I don't know why it's not more well known. Tuesday Heartbreak is great as well. A lot of good funk and grooves on this record. Guitars (when there are guitars) and bass in particular are really strong on this album. And of course the vocals are great as always. But after Superstition it falls off just a bit for me, it's still a fantastic album but just slows down a little too much towards the end. 4/5

I had never heard of this record or of this band before but after reading some of the reviews I was actually kind of excited about it. Weird and pretentious is normally something I'd enjoy. I'm not sure if I'd call this weird or pretentious. Maybe it's a little weird but not like off-putting weird. Unusual is what I would call it. But this is the good thing about going through this list - I really like this and never would have found it otherwise. I'm not sure I would rate it a 4/5 but probably like 3.75/5 from me. It's another example of why ratings should be out of 10, this would be a good 7.

Ok so here's the thing - I hate the title track for this album, always have. I think I may be the only one in the whole world that does. I mean everyone has heard that song so many times. And I think it is objectively a really well written song, I just can't stand it. But, I don't think I've ever heard the rest of this album, I could just never get past the first song and I don't think I ever gave the rest of the album a chance. So we'll see how this goes...
Ok so about halfway through and it's kind of putting me to sleep. It's all just so soft and sappy. The lyrics are pretty great, the guy could definitely write a good song but pick it up a little Don.
Should this album be on the list? Absolutely, just for the first song being such an iconic staple of pop culture. Will I ever listen to it again? Absolutely not. 2/5