Reviews by tape-boy

This is #day582 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… that's definitely something I haven't heard before. I kind of understand the record's inclusion on the list, though. I like the sheep on the cover. Still, this is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day583.

This is #day581 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… hell yeah, Finnish glam punk is what I've been missing in my life. Actually, it was pretty fine. "Tooting Bec Wreck" has a cool bass melody. And then there's that occasional sax, which I can never resist. Very '80s all around. I'm pretty sure you can do without this record before you die, though. Let it be a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day582.

This is #day580 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… how about another country album? Like with most of the country records on this list, I find it hard to care. That nasal delivery, though. This is a low 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day581.

This is #day579 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… the other day I was having a beer with a friend at a local pub when one of Maiden's songs came on TV, and I told him how fun it is that they always have that character on the record cover, kind of like a storyline you don't deviate from. Somehow, this band never clicked with me, though. Maybe I just never gave them a proper try? Because, in reality, this is my first time listening to their album front to back, and it's cool that it happens to be the debut. Now, what can I say? I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I did! Everything you want from heavy metal. "Prowler" is my biggest standout here. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day580.

This is #day578 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… Christina, Britney, Justin, and all those early '00s pop and R&B folks, including girl and boy bands, were part of my childhood. This kind of stuff was always on TV and the radio. As many have mentioned, she's definitely got the voice. But almost 79 minutes of Aguilera belting about going back to basics on a Monday morning is kind of too much. I think having to hear one album of hers before you die is more than enough. But, hey, there's one more to go... This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day579.

This is #day577 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… wow, that was fast, right? It couldn't have been more punk to name a hardcore punk record "Group Sex" in 1980. I can only imagine how impactful this album must have been when it came out, and, well, still is today. I should probably revisit that Germs album I got a while ago, because this one's going down the 4-out-of-5 alley. Looking forward to #day578.

This is #day576 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… how about one of those post-punk classics from the late '70s? You bet. This particular record fits the moniker "new musick," which post-punk was given in its infancy, very well. It's different from what was going on in the scene at the time, just like almost any other record from that year: Unknown Pleasures, Fear of Music, and Entertainment! to name a few. What a time it must have been to be alive. "Albatross" is a sonic monument to the genre. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day577.

This is #day575 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's a classic of glam and art rock (pun in/intended) for your pleasure. Weird, experimental, and cutting-edge. I didn't know the model on the cover was Norwegian, married to Mick Jagger's younger brother. Him using the album cover to support her settlement application was a fun little story to stumble upon. As it happens with albums of this sort, the sax steals my heart, particularly on "Would You Believe?". "If There Is Something" is, well, really something else... "Ladytron" and "Virginia Plain" are among the other all-timers. "Sea Breezes" is a hidden gem. This is a 5 out of 5, of course. Looking forward to #day576.

This is #day574 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… "Time of the Season" rang a bell immediately. The rest? Late '60s psychedelic pop I wouldn't turn off if it came up on the radio. It was fun to learn that most of these songs were recorded in the same studio where The Piper at the Gates of Dawn had just wrapped, and that the same four-track machine was used for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day575.

This is #day573 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to my second Peter Gabriel record on this list, which, ironically, is his third one. As Wikipedia puts it, this is where Gabriel embraced post-punk and new wave with an art rock sensibility. That’s precisely what I love about the '80s: Japan, Associates, Talk Talk, and others. Back when music meant breaking ground. Listen to "Intrude." You can hear a road leading toward Bowie's "Let's Dance," right? My second favorite is "I Don't Remember," and I also love that sax interlude of "Start." Edgy, art-rocky, yet still very much in the realm of the '80s. I wouldn't mind revisiting it in the future. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day574.

This is #day572 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… yet another artist is getting ticked off today as this is my third and my final record by the Stooges. As the title suggests, it's raw, powerful, and uncompromising. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day573.

This is #day571 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… time to cross out yet another name from the list, as this is my second and final Robert Wyatt record. Now, this kind of stuff is a little too much, even for my open-mindedness, especially when those vocals kick in. "Alife" was the one that caught my attention, though. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day572.

This is #day570 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… coincidentally, two days from now marks precisely forty years since Master of Puppets by Metallica came out, a beast of a record that cemented itself as a thrash metal hallmark. I don't really know what else to say about it. Go dig Discogs. Read Wikipedia. Or better yet, sit back and blast it out loud. "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" is one of my favorite songs of theirs. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day571.

This is #day569 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to the last-day-of-winter record. Some inoffensive mid-'60s folk with occasionally interesting guitar work. Let it be a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day570, aka the first day of spring, 2026.

This is #day568 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… how about the first album in history to sell over one million copies in CD format? Brothers in Arms is an aural pleasure, especially if you listen to it on vintage gear, like I did this Friday night. I wasn't really familiar with the second half, though. Either way, it's a masterclass in mid-'80s pop-rock. I love the story behind the lyrics of "Money for Nothing." And then there's that sax in "Your Latest Trick" (I forgot how I like that melody), and, of course, the title track. They don't do it like that anymore. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day569.

This is #day567 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to my second Morrissey record already. Now, I've always had the impression that, when it comes to his solo career, it is Viva Hate is the essential one. After today's listen, I can more or less confirm that. "Every Day Is Like Sunday" and "Suedehead" are, of course, the standouts. But then, there are others, like "Break Up The Family," which pulled at some inner cords in me. Oh, well, there are still two more to go. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day568.

This is #day566 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… well, yeah, a short album about love, as it is. Some orchestral pop, which I didn't mind, some crappy lyrics, which I did, in fact, mind. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day567.

This is #day565 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… SOAD were among alternative rock bands during my formative years, so it's hard to approach their debut without bias. I've never listened to it properly, though. Toxicity, Hypnotize, yes. The debut... not really. What we have here is, of course, a product of the '90s nu metal wave. But there's more going on. SOAD reshaped the genre into something unmistakably their own. Some crazy man's music, as Rick Rubin once put it. Back in the summer of 2021, I gave a lecture on SOAD at a local theater in my hometown, Lviv, before a screening of Truth to Power. My wife prepared an incredible visual presentation, projected on the big screen, to accompany it. The audience listened and watched, awed by the fun facts and stories I told. One of my best memories. Sad to admit that less than a year later, Serj turned out to be a dick regarding his stance on Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which marks its 4th anniversary today... We still do fucking speak of war, Serj. We still do. Let it be a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day566.

This is #day564 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to crossing out yet another artist, as this is my second and final Willie Nelson record. Should I remind you that country is still among my worst genres on this journey? Well, I just did. At least this was kind of more enjoyable than most of the country represented on the list. Still, this is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day565.

This is #day563 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… yet another first-timer here, this time from the '80s. The moment I hear sax like that, I'm instantly sold. The whole affair sounds kind of like a mash-up of Men at Work and Talking Heads to my ears. Super fun and funky. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day564.