Reviews by syrinx

Liked Silver Raven, No Other, Strength of Strings. A lot of this record is too country for my taste. Absolutely awful cover artwork. Looks like an elementary school art project and if I just saw this in a record shop there's no way I would give it a second glance.

I like this album, Me and Julio, Mother and Child Reunion, and Duncan in particular. Paul Simon is a wonderful songwriter, better than Dylan in my opinion and they are always compared for some reason. Maybe just beacuse they were doing similar things at the same time? Anyway - as good as Paul Simon is, I feel like eveerything he did with Garfunkel is better than his solo stuff. It's odd because Garfunkel by himself was not stellar (to be generous), but the records they made together were so much better than either of their solo endeavours. I can't give this record more than 3.5/5.

This record is a solid "throw it on when you're feeling a little melancholy but don't want to sink down too far" vibe. I feel like this is better listened to all the way through rather than just picking a song here and there - it stands up better as a whole instead of in pieces. I really enjoyed this one but not sure I'd call it a superb album worthy of 5 stars. Solid 4, maybe 4.25.

This is not the best Stones album by any stretch but I do think it's a decent album. One I would probably come back to now and again although nothign really stands out. With Stones records it seems like you usually get one or two huge hits with a bunch of filler and this is not that at all. It all solid but there aren't any big hit that everyone knows. And I kind of like that. Not a 4 star album but a solid 3.5.

Sounds like Metallica. I know people love the 80s Metallica, and I don't disagree necessarily, but I feel like this album in particular is basically one song that's an hour and five minutes long. Maybe that's what they were going for? I don't know. I mean fast double bass drum and guitars chugging nonstop gets a little wearing when there isn't really anything to break it up. Guitar solos are brilliant, if a little derivative. One and Harvester of Sorrow are the only songs that really stand out on this one. Also I think the production could have been better. For an album that was trying to be heavy the mastering seems like it was a bit tinny or something. Like it could have been fuller and they needed more lows and low mids in the mix. I might come back to this one day but I'd have to be in the right headspace.

I felt like this album was a little bit irritating. Like I just wanted to skip through all the songs. It's definitely a vibe album but I'm not sure what that vibe is. I think it just missed the mark with me. Maybe it just wasn't what I was expecting but I can't imagine wanting to listen to this again.

I don't get the hate for this. It's a decent rocker, fairly heavy but not overbearingly so, good instrumentation. The bass especially stands out to me. I can definitely see the influence from Iggy Pop/The Stooges. Some of it is kind of dated, sure, but most of the albums from this time are. It kind of falls into a "post grunge we don't know what to do anymore but we all like 70s punk and the White Stripes" category which isn't a bad thing. It does get a little repetitive, that's true. But they certainly deserve more than the whopping 1,440 listeners they have on Spotify...

This is not to my taste. I can appreciate that she has an amazing voice but I played the whole record and can't recall any song at all. 2 stars for her vocal abilities but would never listen to this again.

I love this record. It's a perfect album to have in the background at a cocktail party. I play it while making dinner at least once a week. It's fun, well played, and well recorded. A wonderful record that everyone should have.

Kicks off with the best Stones song and ends strong with another banger. What comes in between is not quite as strong. None of it is bad, but after Gimme Shelter anything is going to be hard pressed to really shine. On the whole a great album and definitely worth listening multiple times.

This is not exactly what I thought it would be having heard the Butthole Surfers that everyone knows. I remember these guys as almost like a joke band from when I was in school. I'd only ever heard some of the stuff they released in the mid 90s. Although there's a lot on this album that could literally be taken away, I mean like 70% of it is basically just weird sounds, the actual songs are pretty solid. Some of it is vaguely Primus-esque but without the amazing bass if that makes sense. Some of it is pretty straightforward 80s punk. You've got a song in Thai with an accordion in the background. But all together it kind of works. A weird band with an unfortunate name, I feel like I can let this one rest.

Is this a great album? Yes. Overrated? Probably. It is an important record for sure, the impact it had on music in the 90s and after is undeniable. I love it and even though I've heard most of the songs dozens of times, it was good to give it a listen back to front; I probably hadn't done that since I was a kid.

I feel like this is what you get when your band consists of a drummer who can't really play time very well so just bashes around randomly, your guitar player only knows three power chords and two strumming patterns, and you don't have a singer so your weird neighbor from across the street comes over and makes random sounds in the mic which are mostly in time but not always.

And what's with an album that has 28 songs and is 33 minutes long? I love metal but this doesn't really count. 2 stars because at least there are real instruments present.

I can see why people are so divided over this one, it's not exactly something you can just throw on any time. You have to be in the right mood for it. Some people would just say it's noise and I think that might be fair but if you listen to what's happening it's great noise. Musicianship is superb as always with Mingus. It may not be my favorite jazz record of all time but it's still a great listen and typical for this style so I feel like it would be a good record to start with for someone trying to get an expanded view of jazz.

Pretty solid 80s stereotype. There are a few good songs on there, Rio and Hungry Like the Wolf are classics. I enjoyed Hold Back the Rain and Save a Prayer too. All in all, I feel like you know exactly what this record is going to be by looking at the cover. It's like an 80s pop rock time capsule.

Fantastic record. I feel like this is one of the first, probably the first, record you would play for someone who has never heard jazz before. This is a record you can sit and listen to and pick apart or you can throw it on in the background when you're doing other things. Whether or not you like jazz, this is something that anyone who just appreciates music will be into.

This is totally not for me. Just not a fan of hip hop at all. At least I didn't skip any songs but I was so glad when it was over.

Like most people, I've heard all the 'hits' from The Kinks. But most of this album was new to me. It was fairly standard brit pop from the 60s. I don't think I would revisit this one at all but it wasn't like I was waiting for it to be over. Would be a solid 2.5/5.

This album is kind of hit and miss. Hurt is amazing, Bridge Over Troubled Water was good. Some of the choices he made were kind of strange. Did we need a Johnny Cash version of Personal Jesus? No, no we didn't. The production was kind of all over too, some of it was fantastic and some of it was basically like if your grandpa recorded covers on a 4 track in his living room. Which this probably was. Was it just me or does anyone else hear him softly whistling as he breathes through his nose on a couple tracks?

Don't get me wrong, Johnny Cash was a national treasure but I feel like this doesn't really deserve the accolades it received when it came out, Hurt excepted.

Pretty solid but not his best. I mean Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough is fantastic but the rest of the record doesn’t keep up and second half of the album kind of blends together.