Reviews by tape-boy

This is #day822 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... to the Spotify folks out there: don't get tricked into the 40-track version. Select the 45th-anniversary remaster, which contains the original 10-track album. That's the one you're supposed to listen to. Anyway, this is definitely one of those covers I've seen countless times but never got around to checking out the album itself. Well, here I am. Proggy post-punk/new wave that I don't think I particularly care for. Echoes of, pun un/intended, Echo & the Bunnymen at times. Let it be a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day823.

This is #day821 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... here's to some soul again. Or neo-soul, if you go by the genre description. Somehow, a genre I once found almost intolerable has become one I keep coming back to, giving it another chance and sometimes a better rating. As it happens, I've never heard this one before, but it's excellent chill stuff for a sunny November Saturday morning. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day822.

This is #day820 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... here's to checking another artist off the list, as this is my third and final record by Marvin Gaye. Not long ago, I got What's Going On and gave it a 3. This record is at its best when it veers into psychedelic soul or whatever, as it does on, say, "Sparrow." As always, '70s stuff sounds particularly fitting on my Technics SU-7300. I think I still prefer Let's Get It On out of the three. Let it be a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day821.

This is #day819 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... this makes me wonder who gave a fuck about glam punk in the late '90s. The other thing that makes me wonder is who gave a fuck about Norwegian glam punk in the late '90s. Some flat-ass rock you don't have to hear before you die. This is a 1 out of 5. Looking forward to #day820.

This is #day818 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... here's to my penultimate Bob Dylan record on the list, aka his sixth already. Now, I like live albums. There are some iconic examples out there, like Stop Making Sense or, say, Devotional... I don't think this is a live album to enjoy, though. It seems unending. The fun part is this yin-and-yang thing with Disc 1 being acoustic and Disc 2 electric. The fun stops at Bob's vocal delivery, though. You really have to be a fan. I don't think I am one. Maybe I need to revisit some of his records on the list? After all, I gave Blonde on Blonde a 4 a while ago. Anyway, I made it through the whole fucking thing! This is a 2 out 5. Looking forward to #day819.

This is #day817 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... this has to be my first time listening to LCD Soundsystem. Ever. Some folks get to lean on nostalgia in their reviews, but I don't have that. This project passed me by back in the day. Looking at it objectively, this is very much mid-'00s electronics clashing with an alternative rock ethos, or whatever. I don't think I like it, though. Judging by the general score, I think this album is largely overrated. I'm going with a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day818.

This is #day816 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... here's to my penultimate Stones record on the list. I don't remember ever listening to this album from start to finish, though. Well, now I have. It's not among my favorite records by this band, but it's fine, aside from the country and gospel elements. I like my Stones psychedelic and bluesy. That sax on "Live With Me," though. And, of course, there's "You Can't Always Get What You Want." This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day817.

This is #day815 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... here's to some infectious rock 'n' roll from nearly 70 years ago. Little Richard's presence is the motor of this record. I don't know how you can sit still listening to this. Love the sax in particular. "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally" are the highlights, of course. I think I'm going to go and revisit some of those Elvis records I got a while ago, as I feel I was too harsh on them. Otherwise, this is a solid 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day816.

This is #day814 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... here's to my third and final record by The Beach Boys. I probably don't understand something about this band, but this music just doesn't move me the way it apparently should, I guess. Sweet orchestral pop tunes and all that, but I'd never choose to put this on my own, let alone revisit it. I'll go ahead and relisten to those other records of theirs just to reach a final verdict. Also, WTF is that last track? This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day815.

This is #day813 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... here's to my second Kraftwerk record on the list. Now, these guys practically laid the foundations for modern electronic music. What else is there to add? "The Model" is, of course, a timeless piece. It was a pleasure to revisit it. Otherwise, this is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day814.

This is #day812 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... here's another synth-pop record on the list. Funky, experimental new wave, back when synth was the king. I don't think I particularly care for it, though. I'd rather have included, say, Metamatic by John Foxx. Let it be a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day813.

This is #day811 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... here's to another grunge classic. I don't really know what to say about it, though. Like, I honestly don't. It's just that good. I forgot how special "Black" is. So many signature Pearl Jam songs here: "Even Flow," "Alive," "Jeremy," "Garden," and others. To think that this is a debut is mind-blowing. I only regret not scoring that vintage German or Dutch near-mint vinyl copy at a local record store when it was available. Otherwise, this is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day812.

This is #day810 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... how about another dose of psychedelic folk from the late '60s, this time from the UK? I don't mind. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day811.

This is #day809 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... the golden age of hip-hop is on the radar once again. I'd never listened to this record before, though, of course, I knew about it. My childhood years were full of Eminem, Dr. Dre, and co., and Snoop Dogg was one of those guys who were always around, whether on the radio or TV. (I even have a CD of his, R&G: Rhythm & Gangsta, at my parents' place.) So, you know... This album is a classic of '90s hip-hop, and it still stands tall nearly 33 years after its release. It's Snoop's signature laid-back flow, the G-funk production, and those radio skits that make for an entertaining listen. Dog doggy dog is here to stay. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day810.

This is #day808 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... I have a little bias for this band because my then-future wife (who's into industrial and that kind of stuff) introduced me to Neubauten about ten years ago, and it went from there. As for the record itself, this is a case in point of found music: construction materials and tools throwing a party on a building site. It's also a statement. Like, here we fucking are. Showing you the other side of sound. Deal with it. "One of the most shocking visions ever committed to vinyl"? Perhaps. We do have it in our record collection, along with a couple more Neubauten records. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day809.

This is #day807 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... here's to my fourth and final record by R.E.M., and I'm checking off yet another band from the list. I haven't listened to this one in quite a while, but it's always a pleasure. The album is full of R.E.M.'s signature songs: "Drive," "Everybody Hurts," "Man on the Moon," and "Nightswimming." A stone-cold classic of '90s alternative rock. This is a 5 out of 5, of course. Looking forward to #day808.

This is #day806 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... not so long ago I got my first Doves record, and here's to the second and final one, aka crossing another artist off the list. A little bit of cheating this time, as I'm catching up with it the next day instead of listening to it on the day I got it. Over the course of 806 albums, this has happened 3 or 4 times, and I'm sorry about it. As it goes in one song on this album, though, "Friday's dust turned into a Saturday's, it wasn't meant to be this way." So perhaps it's alright. As with the debut, this is a 3 out of 5. Decent, but I'm not sure you must hear this before you die. Looking forward to #day807.

This is #day805 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... looking back at my review of the first Traffic album I got a long while ago, I don't seem to have been impressed by it. Maybe another spin would refresh my memory? Anyway, I think I've grown to be more open-minded over the course of this challenge, and this is some good jazz rock for a Thursday evening. As usual, not a fan of the prog side of things, though. Let it be a 3 out of 5 this time. Looking forward to #day806.

This is #day804 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... here's to my second and final record by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, aka another prog rock album. Now, if you look at my prog rock album reviews, you can probably tell I'm not into the genre. Aside from Pink Floyd, this kind of music is just showy and cacophonous to me... This particular record isn't an exception. At least it sounded right on my Technics SU-7300. Otherwise, this is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day805.

This is #day803 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... funny how it took me 792 days to get my first Cure album, and only 11 days to get another one. Seventeen Seconds has always been one of those I rarely revisit. Probably because I like my Cure starting with Pornography, though those early records are charming in their own way. Like in this case: the artwork has a very mid-October-early-November feel to it, and the music reflects that. Beautiful, pensive, minimalist gothic rock/post-punk. "Secrets," "In Your House," "A Forest," and "At Night" are the highlights. Can't wait to revisit Disintegration, as this is the only Cure album left on the list. Oh wait, Songs of a Lost World has recently been added as well! This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day804.