Reviews by tape-boy

This is #day602 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I'm not sure getting to know a band you've never heard of through a live album is the best idea. The music itself is kind of okay, say, for a classic rock station listen, but I don't get why you must hear this record before you die. It holds next to zero significance for me. Let it be a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day603.

This is #day601 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's my second and final record from Bee Gees. Like the previous one, I'd never listened to this or any of their other records before. So when it comes to their disco era, I've no idea what y'all are talking about. Somehow, the music or maybe the late-night listening or maybe both matched my current mood. My almost eight-year marriage gave another crack today. Some songs, like "Remembering" and "Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself," actually hurt to listen to. I hate the generator for throwing this album at me today. Otherwise, let it be a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day602.

This is #day600 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to my final Peter Gabriel record. I'm actually revisiting this after watching a Rick Beato episode on YouTube about the best-sounding records. Having played it again, this time on my Technics SU-7300, I can confirm: this record sounds big. A Songs from the Big Chair kind of big, if you will, yet more experimental. "Red Rain," "Sledgehammer," "Mercy Street," and I guess "Big Time" are my favorites here. The duet with Kate Bush was a nice surprise, too. This is a 4 out of 5. I might bump it up to a 5 eventually. Looking forward to #day601.

This is #day599 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… how about some Lady Day today? Definitely a jazz voice that cannot be mistaken for any other. I don't really mind the whole affair. It's unlikely that I'd choose to play this on my own outside this list, though. "I'm a Fool To Want You" is a staple, of course. Sorry to learn about her drug addiction and subsequent demise. Also, her dog, Mister, was a cute fella. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day, wow, 600.

This is #day598 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… did you know the term "rave" was used as far back as the '50s in London to describe local wild bohemian parties? I find it fun to know. This record is very much a product of its time, taking you back to the late '80s-early '90s rave parties, the Second Summer of Love, with a bit of New Beat along the way. If you're into music history, like I am, you can hear a thread running through this and albums like Screamadelica, Pills 'n' Thrills..., Technique, the Hacienda scene… Psychedelic, spaced-out electronics, the kind that makes you wish those mornings never come. I'm giving it a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day599.

This is #day597 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… even though I prefer my Sinatra leaning more toward jazz, this one is still a smooth listen I don't quite mind on a late Saturday morning. That said, it's rather unlikely I'd ever choose to put this particular record on myself. Let it be a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day598.

This is #day596 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… it's been, what, less than a week since I got my previous Kings of Leon album. I mean, I just can't tolerate those vocals, but I also can't hear any historical or aesthetic value in this music whatsoever. A little more than halfway through, I didn't feel like continuing. You don't have to hear this before you die… unless you want to die sooner. No surprise, all three of their albums were eventually thrown out of the list. This is a 1 out of 5. Looking forward to #day597.

This is #day595 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I'm listening to this one a day later, as yesterday I was overwhelmed with other stuff. But hey, that still counts, right? I mean, I'm not really missing anything. Now, this is my first-ever experience with The Mars Volta. I never really had a reason to listen to them until now, although I do remember briefly checking out Antemasque when it came out. For the most part, I don't quite care for what I'm hearing. I didn't expect the vocals to be that high. I like some of the post-hardcore moments, but prog rock has never really been my thing. The music is more technical than musical, if that makes sense. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day596.

This is #day594 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's my second Kate Bush album. What I'm hearing on this one is something very different for its time. Or rather, something leaning into avant-pop and the more experimental side of new wave, which I'm all for. I can only imagine how daring it was to release a record like this in 1982. Absolutely radio-unfriendly. But who gives a fuck about the radio when you're creating such eccentric sonic worlds? Wondrous and challenging, as art must be. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day595.

This is #day593 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I mean, I understand this is Harrison's first solo record after the band's breakup, but hell, a triple album, aka, two hours of music, is kind of overly self-indulgent. Standout songs are "My Sweet Lord," "Isn't It A Pity," and, of course, I'm disarmed before that sax in the epic psychedelic blues closer that "Out Of The Blue" is. Let it be a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day594.

This is #day592 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… it's been a crazy 589 days since I last got a Bob Marley record. Listening to Natty Dread makes me want to revisit that first one I got. I feel like I might not have started this journey with the same open-mindedness I have now. I like the instrumentation; there's a lot of air in between, and a deep groove that keeps you swaying from the first song to the last. And then there's "No Woman, No Cry," possibly Marley's most well-known track. This is a strong 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day593.

This is #day591 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… how about some thrash metal for a spring Sunday morning? I don't mind, but I can't say I'm a huge fan of this kind of music either. When it comes to Metallica, though, it feels different. Maybe it's because they're the household name of the genre, or maybe it's because they were the only thrash metal band I was exposed to in my teenage years (even though it was '90s Metallica). Anyway, this record stands on its own merits, delivering 40 minutes of raw thrash and cementing itself as one of the genre's cornerstones. Let it be a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day592.

This is #day590 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's my second Kings of Leon album. I'd already forgotten that there are three of theirs you supposedly must hear before you die. Now, as the title of track #3 suggests, it's wasted time. This feels like that Black Keys record I had a while ago. The vocals and the delivery are particularly off-putting. This is a 1 out of 5. Looking forward to #day591.

This is #day589 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… it's been a hell of a week, and I'm not sure a classical Indian music record (the second one in the last two weeks, if memory serves me) is how I feel like wrapping it up. But what can you do against a random generator? Of course, the man's influence on the 60s Western rock, particularly the Beatles, is undeniable. I'd also completely forgotten he's Norah Jones' father. Otherwise, not something I'd ever reach out for on my own. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day590.

This is #day588 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… that's what I like about the early post-punk era: the arty, proggy side of things. Magazine has to be one of the most interesting representatives of this kind of music. New musick, right? "Definitive Gaze," "Shot By Both Sides," and, of course, "The Light Pours Out Of Me" are golden. Happy to own an original vinyl copy of Secondhand Daylight, their other album, which is, at times, even more fun than the debut. I wouldn't mind scoring a copy of this one as well. Anyway, this is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day589.

This is #day587 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's my first out of three Marvin Gaye records represented on the list. I'm revisiting this record after today, my day 700+, when I got a D'Angelo album, and decided to give some past soul entries, like Hot Buttered Soul, another chance. When I was done with the latter and rerated it, I remembered this one. The jazzy, funky side of the instrumentation is particularly appealing and it all sounds delicious on my Technics SU-7300. I'm settling on a 4 out of 5 eventually. Looking forward to #day588.

This is #day586 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to another seminal proto-punk, aka glam punk, record from the early '70s. Because this is where it all starts, right? I mean, look at these gals on the cover. Pretty shocking for the time. I've always loved that pink lipstick against the grainy grey background. On the flipside, I'm not a huge fan of the vocals; they kind of sound a little like KISS to me. Otherwise, this is as punk as it can get. I'm giving it a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day587.

This is #day585 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… just yesterday, I was eating crab sticks and couldn't suspect that this record would land next. The Fat of The Land, baby. Just so you know, as a kid of the '90s, Prodigy was an indispensable name in my listening habits, whether you were into rock or electronics (I did both). As Metal Hammer once put it, this record is the point at which rave culture collided with metal culture. And I think this kind of ambivalence is the band's whole phenomenon. All singles, particularly "Breathe," are some of the biggest tunes of the era. "Narayan" turned out to be a delicious deepcut. This is a 5 out of 5, of course. Looking forward to #day586.

This is #day584 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… just recently I watched a "What's In My Bag?" episode with Maynard James Keenan at Amoeba, where he expressed his appreciation for this record as well as a Devo one. That made me curious to check it out, since I knew it was on the list (also excited about that Devo record down the road). Pretty much the kind of stuff I'm after when it comes to the late '70s-early '80s. Punk rock seeping into new wave and whatnot. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day585.

This is #day583 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to my second Credence album already, aka their first out of three released that year. Oh, what a year it must have been! I've probably already said that when I got Green River. Anyway, some good 'ol late '60s blues rock here, I don't mind. "Proud Mary" is, of course, a classic. This is a strong 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day584.