Reviews by tape-boy

This is #day462 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here we are with something from the late '60s again, Something Else, to be precise. My second Kinks album in just a week, I think. I get the band's influence and all that, but alas, I find this music hard to care about. If I'm in the mood for the '60s, I'm more likely to throw on some Beatles from the same year or a few Woodstock artists. This is another 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day463.

This is #day461 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I've never heard anything from Meat Loaf besides, of course, "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)," which is a great song, taken, as I learned today, from the second Bat Out of Hell trilogy. I didn't even know there was a trilogy. Should I have? I find his character fun, but I can't say the same about the music. It's very much a product of its time: '70s hard'n'heavy, progressive rock, dad rock, in short. I can see why it's regarded as a classic. Let it be a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day462.

This is #day460 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… yeah, these must be my '90s electronica days: yesterday it was David Holmes, the day before Underworld, and now this. Chill soundscapes built on trip-hop, breakbeat, jazz, and whatnot. Some tracks seem to drag on forever without a destination. As for the record's title, all two or three times I tried weed in my life, it was a nightmare. Haven't touched that shit in like ten years, and not intending to. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day461.

This is #day459 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… are these my electronica days or what? Yesterday it was Underworld, and today it's David Holmes, whom I'd actually never heard of before. Turns out it's late-'90s NYC-inspired trip-hop/breakbeat, which I don't mind, but don't feel like turning back to soon, if ever. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day460.

This is #day458 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… ah, '90s techno. I get the influence and all that, but it's hard to make myself enjoy something this repetitive. Maybe I'm not that into techno, after all. The whole thing is just way too long to boot. Had "Born Slippy. NUXX" been on the original tracklist, I might've gone with a 3. Otherwise, this is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day459.

This is #day457 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I didn't know Barry Adamson was a member of the post-punk band Magazine, one of my favorites in the genre, not to mention his ties to Visage, The Bad Seeds, and others. Now, this record? It's a movie score, sure, and it has that noir, suspense-like atmosphere. But do you really need to hear it before you die? The sax, such as on "Sounds from the Big House," "The Swinging Detective," and "The Man With the Golden Arm," always gets me, though. All in all, I think the Soundtrack from Twin Peaks would have been a more relevant inclusion. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day458.

This is #day456 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… is it Dre or is it Snoop? Either way, here's to another hip-hop classic from the genre's golden age, or, to be precise, gangsta hip-hop. Do I care about that subgenre? I don't know. When it's hip-hop, I like it old-school, like this. It feels kind of real, if you know what I mean. Another question that inevitably comes up, though: how do you rate this kind of stuff in 2025? The misogyny, the profanity... it used to be easier back in the day, or was it? Had it been "2001," I might've rated it higher, mostly for the nostalgia factor. Let it be a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day457.

This is #day455 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's the first of four albums by The Kinks, yay. "Sunny Afternoon" is probably the most memorable cut here; the rest feels like mid-'60s Beatles-lite pop rock. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day456.

This is #day454 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… it's been a while since I've had a record from what's apparently called the D.A.I.S.Y. Age. I always knew about the Golden Age of Hip-Hop; same thing, I guess? Anyway, I've seen this cover before and heard of the band and the album name, but somehow never actually listened to it. Until today. Surely influential and all that. A little too soulful and laid-back for my taste, though. Also, too long. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day455.

This is #day453 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to my final album from 2008. Pretty terrible year, judging by the selection on this list. Now, this... is an okay pop-rock album; at times, overly generic and radio-friendly, which makes me wonder again: is this the kind of music you need to hear before you die? Also, those vocals… What strikes me more is the fact that there are three fucking albums by this band on the list. Three. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day454.

This is #day452 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to my second Queen album on the list, aptly titled Queen II. It's probably my first time listening to it in full, though I've long considered the band one of my favorites from the classic rock era, and am quite familiar with their discography. You can definitely hear how this record helped shape their sound in the years to come. Is this the most prog Queen you'll ever hear? Quite likely. "Lose In The End" was quite an eye-opener. Also, the cover is one of the most iconic ever. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day453.

This is #day451 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… now that I'm done with all The Smiths albums, it's time for some Moz, right? Well, I don't mind. Besides, I haven't really heard most of his solo discography. As I've said about other artists in this challenge with the same kind of "problem," though, do you really need to hear four of his records before you die? Viva Hate alone would've been just fine. But then... aren't three Smiths albums already enough? Still, this is better than an average album on this list. I'm giving it a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day452.

This is #day450 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I'm revisiting this one after watching Rick Beato's recent interview with Mike Elizondo. Now, this is a very, very '90s singer-songwriter record, albeit with plenty of influences from earlier decades: jazz, blues, soul, and whatnot. As before, I'm still not a fan of the vocal style, but I can't deny the instrumentation or just how the whole thing sounds. Let it be a 3 out of 5 this time around. Looking forward to #day451.

This is #day449 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… who gives a fuck about generic blues rock when it's 1990 outside? Seriously. Pub music with plenty of Aerosmith on its sleeves. I do care about music in pubs, but this record isn't the best example. You absolutely don't have to hear it before you die. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day450.

This is #day448 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… yet again, and, for the last time on this journey, since it's my third record of his already, fuck Kanye West. This is another case in point of breeding bad taste. This is a 1 out of 5. Looking forward to #day449.

This is #day447 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… how about almost an hour of generic female yet so unapologetically '90s indie rock/singer-songwriter shit? I've nothing else to add except... are we really sure this is an essential listen? This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day448.

This is #day446 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… revisiting this one after getting Group Sex by Circle Jerks. This record does exactly what it's supposed to. It's loud, raw, and in your face... What else would you expect from hardcore punk? P.S. I totally forgot Pat Smear was on this one. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day447.

This is #day445 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… it's been a while since I got a The Who record, 310 days ago, to be precise. While The Who Sell Out was a fun listen, I think Who's Next truly belongs in the band's canon of classic, must-hear works. I mean, just the sheer presence of "Baba O'Riley," "Behind Blue Eyes," and the epic grandeur of "Won’t Get Fooled Again." Once again, the music was a perfect match for my Technics SU-7300. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day446.

This is #day444 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… how about some fine Scottish noise pop? You bet. It totally slipped my mind that Bobby Gillespie played drums on their first album, which still awaits me down the road. Now, this record... what else to wish for when there are such gems as "Darklands," "Happy When It Rains," and "April Skies," to say the least. A great listen through and through. This is a 4 out of 5; sparing a 5 for Psychocandy. Looking forward to #day445.

This is #day443 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… what the actual fuck is this? Ah, Beyoncé's younger sister, I see. One of the key words under this record is "smooth." As smooth as my shit in the morning, I'd say. There's no way you must hear this before you die; I couldn't even get through it. Welcome to the same shelf her older sister landed on a couple of months ago. This is a 1 out of 5. Looking forward to #day444.