Reviews by tall_poppy

These early-mid period Sonic Youth records are classics in the guitar-noise art-rock milieu. Their previous albums EVOL is my personal favourite (stacked with remarkable noise pop like Tom Violence, Star Power, Madonna, Sean and Me) but many fans prefer Sister, which is tougher and noisier than EVOL. Highly recommended.

Epochal 70’s (or post sixties if you will) singer-songwriter that captured the zeitgeist and made Neil Young a star forever

Remarkable

A more sophisticated version of themselves, capped with some of the most enduring songs.

Just love this record and the journey that FP took from folk-rock inspired by the American movement, to leaders of the traditional English folk movement with Liege and Lief (which should be on this list)

Soulful and excellent group of tracks played some of 60’s jazz pantheon, highly valued in any jazz collection. But nothing more than that.

Perhaps the first real rock album with sonic themes and mature lyrics. A major stepping stone for the band and the rock movement as a whole.

Great music at times, but doesn’t belong on this list.

Very good but not classic Costello

Epochal !

One of the top two or three debut albums of all time. An utterly unique format for a band - no bass player, a jazz-obsessed drummer, and a keyboard player with a wacky setup, not to mention a sui generis guitar player AND Jim Morrison - the instantly create a sound and a style that both reflected current LA sounds and broke stunning new ground. And this album has some of their and the rock era’s greatest songs.

Absolute classic CBGB stalwarts create a new sub genre of edgy guitar art pop.

Essential album that re-established thinking-person’s rock as a viable form of popular music

A top 10 album of all time, with extraordinarily rich, complex melodic pop songs, perfumes with muscular simplicity and grace. To my ears, far beyond anything the Beach Boys did, and equivalent to the best of the Beatles from the same era.

Great songs don’t constitute a great album. But these are great songs

Massive leap towards country rock in one record. Gram Parsons’ impact is inescapable. For those like me who love “the Byrds”, this is not them. Go backwards to the glory of their first five records.

Epochal pantheon record of dirty blues rock, backed up with numerous extraordinary songs.

Simply iconic and changed the game for female singer songwriter music

Simply one of the greatest albums of the 1960’s. Perhaps a little overlooked among so many “Pantheon” releases from the 1966-1968 period, and even among Byrds’ albums themselves, but for me, doubtlessly their greatest synthesis of psychedelic rock, jazz-rock, folk-rock, early (and better than later) country rock, in pristine 2-4 minute songs. Post Gene Clark, it showcases the surprising emergence of Hillman and Crosby as major songwriters. The sonic landscape on the album is extraordinarily rich, and their guitars and harmonies never sounded better.

Interesting but not essential