Reviews by syrinx

How had I never heard Working Class Hero before? Fantastic song. The rest of the album is just ok. I think the lyrics for the most part were great. I've seen people call it pretentious or high minded but I think it was just a really personal record. I don't think I'd actually buy this record or even really play it again though. It gives a look into John Lennon's state of mind right after the Beatles broke up which is interesting but kind of makes you realize that the brilliance of the Beatles was at least in part because they were together. 3/5

Is this a brilliant record? No. Is it groundbreaking? Not really. Does it deserve to be on this list? I like it. The Slits were sort of the punk band that was really only punk for a short time before they recorded this album. This album plays more like an early ska record. It's raw, uncomplicated, and inexplicably good sounding, maybe vocals excepted. You can certainly see who they were looking to for influence and I think as an all female band they had a good influence on bands that would come after. Even still, an all female rock band is relatively rare which is a shame if you ask me.
They formed as teenagers who didn't really know how to play instruments and somehow landed a spot opening for The Clash. That in itself is something that would be so foreign to any band starting today.
So does this record belong on this list? Yes, I think it does if not for them being sort of one of the pioneers of all female rock then certainly for their cover of I Heard It Through The Grapevine. 3/5

Amazing guitar playing right from the start on this one. The solo on Summer Breeze especially is absolutely fantastic, just really great soulful playing. I had a lot of fun listening to this record. It would be a great album for like hour 4 of a long road trip. Picks you up and gets you in a happy mood. 4/5

Who doesn't like the white album? It's got some of their best songs on it although I feel like there is a lot of filler. I've always loved this album and while I don't think it would really merit 5/5 it's definitely one of their best. Truth be told, I don't know if the Beatles really had a single album that would be 5/5 - lots of great songs but each album they made always had some slow spots.

This album sort of plays like the demo made by that band in every high school that every knows will make it someday. Do they ever make it? I don't know. It's disjointed, has some decent playing, horrible vocals, mediocre production, and not enough fully fleshed out songs for a record so supplements with weird noises and "instrumentals" here and there.
All in all, I feel like this is an album by a (seemingly) super new band that shows some promise but never got it together. 2.5/5 rounded down to 2 because I can't think of a reason to round up.

It seems weird to say but I had never heard of this album before. After reading some reviews and some of the Wikipedia about it, I am sort of surprised that I never had.
It's a great album. It's got that 'tight but somehow still sloppy' sound that a lot of the bands leaned into in the 90s. Great sound. Great bass playing. Great sounding guitars. Some of it is very Billy Corgan-esque. It holds up pretty well and I think if this album were released today, it would be hailed as a throwback to when indie rock was becoming a bit more mainstream. A pretty solid 4/5 from me but wouldn't rate it higher than that.

Interesting that this is the first album in 100+ I've come across that was taken off Spotify. But it's another banger from Funkadelic. Some of it is a little silly, sure, but it's not often you find this kind of mix of great music that is not meant to be take seriously. As always with pretty much anything George Clinton related, the musicianship is what really stands out here. Just fantastic playing all around. Maggot Brain, as always, is a treat. Absolutely one of the best instrumentals of all time. 4.5/5 but rounding down to 4 because of the ridiculous album cover that looks like something I drew in 3rd grade.

I feel like this album is kind of a prelude to the 80s. If you like New Wave music you'll dig this. Elvis Costello seems like he's probably an interesting guy. I like this album even though it may not be his best work. I'm not really sure what else to say about this record - it's got catchy songs, good lyrics, full sound. It's not something I would play all the time but I definitely enjoyed listening to it. 3/5.

Proof that you don't have to play real instruments or write lyrics to get famous. This is not for me. I've never been a fan of house music and the repetition on this is mind numbing. Such a relief when it ended.

I think the problem these days with synth pop is that it has been parodied so much since it was popular that even the actual synth pop records from the 80s sound like parodies now too. You kind of have to listen to this record keeping in mind the state of music when it was released. There are actually some great lyrics on this album - "I love you, you pay my rent" is obviously tongue in cheek but it's surprisingly apropos today. Not much else to say about this one. It's ok. 2.5 rounded up to 3.

This album starts off like a mix between Radiohead and Joshua Tree-era U2 (think Bullet the Blue Sky). It's a cool vibe with a lot of great sounds but kind of trails off after the first half or so. Just kind of fades into the background of generic 90s pop rock. It's a decent album and just based on this listen I would probably look up some of their other stuff if I hadn't heard anything else from them. But I don't know that I would call it a great record by any means. 3/5

I love these old live records from the 60s where they didn't record from a mixing board but set up microphones in the room and picked up what they picked up. Great energy from this record. I know this album has been called one of the best live albums ever recorded and although I don't know that I would go that far, I do think it's a great example of what this kind of performance was like back in the day. A really fun album that shows how great Sam Cooke was as a performer. It's so short though, I don't know that I would give this more than like 3.75/5. I'll give it a 4/5 since 3/5 isn't enough.

I'm a little surprised to see this album pop up on this list, it's not one that I would have thought of including. The problem I always had with Alice in Chains is that Layne Staley's voice is just so aggressively irritating. It's like "dude you sound like you could actually sing, stop whining through every song." I get that he had a super sad life and demise but I wish he'd sing instead of complain. The music is a bit repetitive but the sounds are mostly decent, if that makes sense. I feel like the drum sound is lacking a little, they're sort of flat sounding and could use a little more depth. But guitars and bass sound good.
There are definitely some good songs on this record, Down in a Hole and Would? are both great. Rooster gets played a lot but I think I've heard that one enough. I hadn't actually listened to this whole album in years. It's not bad, 3.25/5 I think, but I'd not really make a point to listen again and if most of the songs came up on a playlist I'd probably skip them. Rounding down to 3/5 because of the whining and the stupid, contrived cover.

Dude it's Led Zeppelin IV. What's the world coming to if you don't give this a 5/5?

I've always hated the 60s organ sound in rock. I don't know who came up with it or why more than just that one guy thought it was a good idea. I feel like the only reason anyone listens to this record is because of the last song; it's kind of like a rite of passage I guess. It's an ok 17 minute jam but still not as good as any of the other sort of jam bands of that era. The rest of the album is pretty generic 60s psychedelic pop rock that's not really worth the time to listen to again. I think this record is on this list simply because of the title track and it sort of being novel at the time it was released. Giving this one a 2.5 rounded to 2 because of the damn organ.

I first heard about Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan from Jeff Buckley who said that "he's my Elvis" and I always thought that was a very interesting way to put it. I never really liked Elvis and would take Nusrat any day. Wonderful music on this record. I get that it's not for everyone but I am glad to see it included here. Chances are anyone who is only vaguely familiar with qawwali music heard it from Nusrat. Unbelievable vocals on this album, though I can't understand what he's saying but you don't really have to. The man could sing. And the energy in this recording can really be felt. Even though I wouldn't listen to this all the time, I still have to give it 5/5 because it is a brilliant record that everyone should certainly hear at least once.

This is a really fun album. A little simple maybe but great for kind of "play it in the background while you have an outdoor summer cocktail party" kind of vibe. It didn't blow me away by any means but it was fun to listen to. Solid 3.

I just can't get on with hip hop. I hate it. Not even going to review these anymore unless there's something notable to say.

A great record, except for The Girl Is Mine. That's quite possibly one of the worst pop songs ever written. But there's not much else to say about this album that hasn't been said. It still holds up pretty well 40+ years later. I throw it on the turntable a few times a year. 4/5 because any album that includes The Girl Is Mine can't be 5 stars.

I mean it's Stevie Wonder. It's not gonna be bad. Probably not Stevie's best but even at that it's pretty solid.