Reviews by syrinx

This album is really quiet. Like most of the time it's super soft sounding and then you'll get a guitar part that comes in at normal volume. It was really strange to listen to. Fantastic voice on the vocalist, really nice but way too quiet in the mix. But the music just sort of washed over me and I didn't really feel any kind of connection to it at all. Also the whole record is really slow tempo. Like I felt like it was dragging most of the time.
I'm not a country fan and this album didn't really do much to change that. I wouldn't call it straight country though, maybe country-folk or country-adult contemporary. Vocals were absolutely the best thing about this album. 2/5

I hate when albums aren't on Spotify. But at least this one had an official playlist from the band's YouTube page instead of being uploaded by some random dude who recorded it off a cassette. Those are always fun...
As for the record - I'd only ever heard Our House before. And I don't really feel like I'm missing a whole lot. It was fine, nothing really stuck out and it wasn't bad. Just forgettable. It's...fine. But like others have said, what the hell is going on with the cover?!?! Yeah pretty sure blackface is not something you should showcase like that. 2/5.

Ok. So far I haven't found any hip hop album that I liked. They're all so bad. I had hopes for this one when I saw the cover, it's a cool image. Pressed play and all my hopes were immediately shot. This is so much garbage. Why the hell is this on the list of albums I need to hear? I mean even though hip hop is not my taste, I understand why all the hip hop records I've come across so far are on the list, but this? It's just 100% terrible and has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The lyrics literally sound like a 7-year-old wrote them. Or maybe the kid we all knew in high school that either thought it was funny to have a 7-year-old sense or humor or just never grew out of it for some reason. Either way this record is trash and should be forgotten so future historians don't accidentally come across it thousands of years from now an judge us by it. “No wonder they died out” they’ll all say. 0/5

Man, I remember when this album came out. Alanis was everywhere. Knowing this album was like the way for people to know that you were cool back in my 6th grade days. It's still a great album, but as others have said it does sound a little dated 30 years later. But so do a lot of other albums on this list.
I remember the first time 12 year old me heard You Oughta Know, "man this lady is pissed off and she's a fucking badass!" I still love that song. Really, most songs on this album are great. I enjoyed listening to again, it had probably been like 25 years at least since I heard the whole thing all the way through.
This record is probably one of the best mainstream albums of the 90s and I don't think many would argue. Perhaps not a solid 5/5 in my book but damn close enough.

I went into this album with a bunch of ideas about it already in my head. I used to like it a lot years ago but I expected it to not hold up as well listening to it now. It's still pretty great. I mean name another band who writes a song in 15/8 time (Limo Wreck). I love a song with an odd time signature and weird tuning and there's a lot of that on this record. Apparently by mistake, from what I understand they just wrote songs they thought sounded cool and didn't worry about the time signatures. Just goes to show what an amazing drummer Matt Cameron is for being able to deal with that. I feel like music could use more of that kind of experimentation now.
While it's recorded and produced well, I do feel like some of the actual instrument sounds are a little generic sounding now. Back in 1994 they definitely were cutting edge but if you told a guitar player now to dial in a generic grunge tone, this is the sound you would get. That's not necessarily bad I guess but looking back it doesn't really stand out among the rest of the genre. Vocals are a different story - Chris Cornell was one of the best and most unique vocalist ever. I love that he was one of the 90s guys that didn't just try to sound like Eddie Vedder.
So I liked this one more than I thought I was going to. I'd listen to it again for sure. Not all the time but if I saw it in the record store I'd buy it and play it every now and again. 4/5 not least for the song in 15/8. Because damn, man.

What if a band from 1967 travelled in time and tried to make it in the early 2000s music scene? That's pretty much what this album is. Or maybe it's just like Artic Monkeys trying to sound like it's 1967. Either way, I kind of like it. It's not anything super unique or revolutionary but it was fun to listen to once. Huge sound throughout which I appreciate and there is a lot going on. Some of it sounds a little like a movie soundtrack. I saw one review that said something about it sounding like a James Bond movie and that's about right. But like old Sean Connery James Bond. I don't think I'd listen again but there were a few songs I liked. But now that it's over I can't really recall how they sounded. 3/5

I like that the early to mid-90s really brought out a whole slew of strong female musicians. It seems like up until then the entire music industry was basically a boys club. It has gotten better since then but up until the 90s there were really only a handful of successful female bands/musicians.

I have to give Sheryl Crow credit for being on the forefront of that movement. Although I don't really care for her music much, I can respect her for what she has contributed to music over the years. Her songs are catchy as hell. And this album at least is recorded well and very balanced. It is kind of dated and generic maybe but it's better than a lot of other albums from this time. 3/5

This isn't really for me. It sounds a lot like Creedence and I was never a fan. Good guitar work, and decent bass lines. But for the most part the music is just boring to me. I'd never heard of Moby Grape before and I don't think I'll really seek them out at all. 2/5

Who doesn't like Nina Simone? What a voice. You sort of have to be in the right mood for this, but it really hits when you are. Lilac Wine is an absolute gem of a song. Beautiful and sad and well written and everything you could want. A great relaxing album to throw on in the background. Not completely mind blowing but it's definitely an album to play every so often. 3.5/5.

I was actually a little surprised to see this album pop up this morning. I know there are (rightly) quite a few Bowie records on this list but this one seems like an odd choice. Don't get me wrong - I love it but I didn't think it was really much of a commercial or critical success compared to other albums he's released. Maybe just listening to this album and Blackstar back to back gives kind of a telling look into his mindset as he reflected on aging and then knew he was close to death.
I remember when this album was announced - his first in like ten years or something and nobody even knew he was working on it. And Where Are We Now as the lead single seemed odd to me. It's a great song but sort of a downer. But I remember going out to buy this album on the day it was released and playing it over and over for the next few weeks. As with all Bowie records, the musicianship on this is impeccable. And I absolutely love the way his voice aged. Compare this to Ziggy Stardust and then Let's Dance and then Earthling and then Reality and then Blackstar. His vocal changes over the years, whether he was putting them on or just getting older, were fabulous. And this album particularly seems like you can just hear him embracing the reality of getting older and having the deeper voice of an older man.
While I don't think this album is as great as some of his other records, it's still recognizably Bowie and he can really do no wrong in my book. And while I don't think I would give this one a flat out 5/5, it's definitely 4.5/5. And you have to round this one up. Because Bowie.

I vaguely remember listening to some of this a long time ago back in middle school. It's pretty standard mid 90s alt, but I dig it. I don't think it's world-changing at all but it's a solid album. A little generic sounding perhaps, but that may just be listening to it 30 year later. I liked a lot of the songs but there was nothing that was really memorable or that made me want to listen to other albums of theirs. Nothing else to say about this one. 3/5

I'm always a little daunted starting an album that's 2 and half hours long by someone I've never heard of. Seems like I should have heard of him before now, though.
This is a good album. Some of the songs have a sort of not-quite-as-dark Nick Cave feel to them. Some are more folksy. Some are straightforward rock and borderline punk. Some get a little avant garde. Even a couple that edge into country. It's a very unique album and although I don't think anything really stands out as something I couldn't live without hearing again, it's all pretty decent and I'm glad to have heard it.
I'll echo what others have said - it's too long. I found myself being ready for something else about halfway through although I did really enjoy the second half, particularly the (mostly) instrumentals. And I feel like with a really great record, even given the length, I shouldn't want to listen to something different before it's over. This is another tough one to rate for me. I did really like it but don't think I'll ever listen again. Maybe a few songs here and there. But it is a great work and I'll definitely look up more of his music because of this album so I think it's 3.5/5 and I’ll round up.

So Just Like Honey is fantastic, really great song and mixed well. I also really liked Cut Dead and Some Candy Talking, they all seem to have been produced by the same guy. But then it's like they got a new producer or engineer or something. The vocals are just buried and drowned completely. I like this album but whoever did the mixing didn't do them any favors. The songs are good but not recorded very well and it's kind of a shame. I'd love to hear a remix of this record that boosts the vocals and evens the rest out a bit. I think that would be a great album.
It's interesting because you can totally see the influence this had on a lot of bands in the late 80s and early 90s.
Giving this one a 3.5/5 but rounding down for how uneven it is. A little more attention to mixing and it would be a solid 4.

Giving this one a 3.5/5 but rounding down for how uneven it is. A little more attention to mixing and it would be a solid 4.

This album was inescapable for a few years. I hadn't heard the whole thing in a long time. It's still a decent album. Jacqueline and Take Me Out are great of course. One thing I love about this album is that it doesn't all sound the same. I mean it's recognizable as the same band obviously, but especially for a first album it's not like they found one sound and stuck to it. There's a lot of different things going on. A lot of it is sort of like indie rock/disco which is a weird mashup that somehow works. I love the bass on this album. A good disco bass is always super fun and mixing it in with an indie rock album is a win in my book.
I'm not sure I would really call this a great album but it's fun. It has a good vibe, is fun to listen to. I'm a little torn on the rating - I'm not sure it's a 4/5 but I think I like it better than 3/5. So who knows. I guess I'll round down because when it was over, I wasn't really hoping for it to keep going. So 3/5 it is I suppose.

Definitely a good album to listen to if you want to hear the very beginning of metal. Comparing this to the Black Sabbath self-titled album and Paranoid (which I think both came out the same year as this?), I think both the Sabbath records were better. Led Zeppelin III came out in 1970 as well, for what that's worth. One thing that really sticks out about this album to me though is the vocal style - in the 80s there were tons of bands doing the 'metal scream' thing and this is one of the first albums where that's really present like 10 years before it was a standard thing. I think there's also a case to be made for this album being one of the first in the stoner rock genres.
One thing I've never liked is the organ in this kind of music. It just always seems so out of place. I guess it was a product of the time and it didn't really last very long but there are so many albums from this time period that have it at the forefront of the mix. But guitars, bass, and drums are super solid on this record. I love the early 70s guitars that just sound like the amps are cranked all the way and the tubes were probably smoking. The sort of characteristic 70s sloppy/loose drum sound. It's all great.
I like this album more than Machine Head. I don't really like Smoke on the Water and this whole album is just a little more raw than what you get on Machine Head. And this kind of music just sounds better less polished. Child in Time is my favorite song on this one I think - I do love a 10min+ song with movements and amazing guitar. 4/5

I feel like Neil Young is a 'love him or hate him' kind of musician. I love his voice, always have. Super unique. And while the whole acoustic singer/songwriter, vaguely county, vaguely folk genre isn't really my cup of tea, I do really like most of his music, particularly the more rock-oriented stuff. Oddly, I've always hated Crosby Stills Nash & Young.
Anyway, for this album specifically, there's a lot to like if you can get on with the vocals. And I know that not everyone can. But the songs are pretty brilliant. Neil Young has always been a great lyricist and this album has some of his best. Great guitar work too, particularly on Southern Man. Funny how Lynyrd Skynyrd totally missed the point of that song. Or maybe they didn't and were just like 'fuck off this is how we like it' which seems a little more likely. I'm totally in Camp Neil on that one.... But this album is super short which is kind of a bummer, would be nice to have just another two or three songs. 3.5/5 rounding up because 3 seems too low.

Man it's been a long time since I heard this album all the way through. I loved this one back in the day. I feel like music has gotten less and less experimental since this came out and we're worse off for it. A weird album but also a great one. This record still holds up pretty well for being almost 30 years old. And it makes me feel ancient to think that this album came out 30 years ago.
As for the songs - Devils Haircut and Where It's At are classics from this time. And I always loved New Pollution, that's probably my favorite from this album. It's just got such a great vibe. The whole album does really. This is a fantastic record to throw on at like hour 3 of a day-long drive. It does kind of fall off for me a little towards the ends but it's a great album and well worth listening to multiple times. 4/5

This one sort of came out of nowhere, at least for me. I can't really say I'm up on all the tango greats. This was a fun album, you don't really hear a vibraphone much anymore. Maybe not a record I would play a lot or even again, really, but I enjoyed it today. It would have been a great show to see live, I think this kind of music is a lot better to experience seeing it played rather than just listening. But it was good nonetheless and I am happy to have heard it. 3/5

Ugh, hip hop is just so bad. I honestly don't get how people listen to this and think that it is somehow meaningful or profound. The lyrics literally sound like something that a stupid, horny 7th grader would come up with by trying to write things that he thought the older kids would think were cool. I just can't get on with it. I mean if you like this, more power to you, but listen to the words and maybe reconsider. I get so tired of this entire genre being so degrading to women and self-aggrandizing. Please stop it. And as if the lyrics weren't bad enough, why the hell is this just absolutely laden with autotune? It really is like he stepped back and asked himself, "this already terrible, how can we make it even worse?" I'm just at a total loss as to how this kind of music is so popular. 1/5

Is this the best album of the 60s? Maybe. Absolutely transformational as far as it's effect on pretty much all music that came after. Hendrix's best album to my ears. It's kind of stereotypical to say that Hendrix was the best guitar player ever, but it's not really a stereotype if it's true. I am astonished every time I hear him.
I would love to be able to hear this album for the first time again. Or be able to hear Hendrix for the first time again. I feel like that's one of those experiences that's wasted because you're too young to appreciate it.
Nothing else to say about this album that hasn't already been said. 5/5