Reviews by tape-boy

This is #day382 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... "all the lonely people, where do they all come from?" Definitely an LSD/transformative record. Without any prejudice, I guess this is my favorite Beatles' work. It has that nice mixture of psychedelic/acid/experimental rock with the softer pop side of the band, although I do prefer the psychedelic moments more. Great harmonies all over. My personal highlights are "Taxman," "Eleanor Rigby," "Here, There and Everywhere," and "Tomorrow Never Knows." This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day383.

This is #day381 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… even though I'd never heard this before, I must admit it's a pretty enjoyable record. There's something about Latin jazz and Bossa Nova that I find strangely groovy and appealing. Maybe it’s my deep-down dream of one day visiting Rio de Janeiro to see the magnificent Christ the Redeemer statue? Either way, this is a lovely, easy listening for a lazy summer Sunday afternoon, like today. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day382, aka the second full week of my vacation, aka the last days of August.

This is #day380 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... it's been a while since I last got a Nick Drake album. The first was Bryter Layter on my #day32, which feels like forever ago now. Pink Moon is like these little poetry sketches brushed against the stark backdrop of an acoustic guitar and occasional piano, making up pensive rainy-day listening. I particularly like the artwork. Makes me wonder if The Chameleons and Talk Talk took inspiration from it. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day381.

This is #day379 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… some ten days ago, I got a similar B.B. King live record. Now, here's to some good ol' Chicago blues. I sometimes miss those days working at a local record store, as I'd definitely throw this, most likely, on a Sunday morning and let it rip through the summer air. Following suit with the King's album, I'm giving it a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day380.

This is #day378 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to my second and final Suede album, meaning I'm closing out another band on the list. Suede is one of my favorite bands. I enjoy listening to them with my wife. She's the one who reinvigorated my interest in them and in Brett Anderson. We've been together since just before The Blue Hour came out, so it's fun to track that time through music. Suede and The Manics (Resistance Is Futile dropped the same year) feel like personal bookmarks now. As for Dog Man Star... It's beautiful in its darkest way. Their defining record. Not at all what you'd expect after the debut, but that's precisely why it works. It's everything Britpop isn't. Among the absolute highlights in the form of "We Are the Pigs," "Heroine," "New Generation," or "The 2 Of Us," there's a clutch of deep cuts like, say, "Daddy's Speeding," and of course, the sheer gorgeousness that "The Asphalt World" is. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day379, and also to Antidepressants, out in a little over two weeks. "Disintegrate" and particularly "Trance State" have been amazing.

This is #day377 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I've seen this album cover before, and it always kind of resonated with me. Though smoke and vinyl should never go together. Otherwise, I liked the music: tight, funky late '70s-early '80s sound mixed with jazz pop/rock, or whatever you'd call it. I can't say the same about vocals/delivery/lyrics, though. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day378.

This is #day376 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… my second Stripes album. I think Elephant, which I got on my #day291, would have been just enough. But aside from that, you get two more records, and then there's also Jack White's solo. Oh well... "I Think I Smell A Rat" is probably my only highlight. Otherwise, this bluesy garage rock thing leaves me unexcited. Let it be a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day377.

This is #day375 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I have a little bit of bias creeping in with this one. This record, or rather "Hey Ya" (and "Ms. Jackson" from Stankonia, which I got on #day253), was part of my teenage years. But I'm not going to dig deep into that now. It's probably my first time listening to this album all the way through. I like the concept: releasing two solo records under the band's moniker is kind of fun. The two-plus hours of music pay off thanks to the variety of genres and styles: hip-hop, funk, jazz, electronics, psychedelia... Anyway, this is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day376.

This is #day374 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I was trying to approach this as open-minded as possible, but I failed eventually. Track #5 was the last drop. I mean, a Bollywood movie soundtrack? I was aiming for at least a 2, but I just couldn't, I'm sorry. This is a 1 out of 5. Looking forward to #day375.

This is #day373 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… yet another inessential indie schmindie record from the '00s trying a little too hard to sound edgy. If I had to sum it up: pretentious, bland, whiny, pseudo-hipster shit. You don't have to hear this before you die. This is a low 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day374.

This is #day372 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… all that jazz, right? Well, maybe not "that" jazz. This kind is hard to pigeonhole, unless you call it "avant-garde" or "free jazz," which is already a form of pigeonholing. I guess that's how we are: always trying to explain things. I don't know if I can describe A Love Supreme versely enough. But I like the way it makes me feel. Like, I know this is the kind of jazz I'm after: loose, chaotic, yet somehow precise. Isn't that what jazz is after all? It feels like a narrative, a free verse, spoken entirely through instruments. Some call it spiritual. And I think they're onto something. Maybe I'm biased because this is the kind of record you're supposed to admire... But to hell with it, this is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day373.

This is #day371 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… it's so much fun listening to music. Take this record: echoes of The Velvet Underground (no surprise John Cale produced the majority of songs), or some Talking Heads, mostly due to the era and geography (but not only! Just looked up and learned that Jerry Harrison started his carreer as The Moder Lovers' keyboardist before joining David Byrne and co on keys and guitars). Or, say, Television, in terms of the sound and aesthetic, (and due to the timeframe again), though The Modern Lovers carved out their own space in way ahead of time. The organ is the backbone here, giving the record a distinctive psychedelic flair. "Astral Plane," which instantly rang a bell, sounds like The Doors doing post-punk. And then "Hospital" is, of course, a brilliant gem of a love song. Anyway, I'd love to have this on vinyl. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day372.

This is #day370 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… this is a weird one. What started as an indie/alternative rock rolled out into some jazzy Mexican voodoo country shit with Latin undertones, of which "Attack! El Robot! Attack" and "Crumble" are my highlights. Interesting find overall, but I doubt I'd choose to hear this before I die. Let it be a low 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day371.

This is #day369 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… this isn't the kind of music you'd expect to come out of the mid'80s. I was hoping for at least a touch of new wave, but... Perhaps this sort of arrangement, aside from "Neighborhood Girls," which is very much '80s pop rock and the only standout piece on this record, was a conscious attempt. Anyway. Kudos for "Last Train from Mariupol" on her last album, though. Otherwise, this is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day370.

This is #day368 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… what could be bluesier than spinning a blues record on a Monday morning? You bet. B.B. King's influence on electric guitar blues is unmistakable, and the whole affair is pretty entertaining, especially with the crowd interaction and cheering. I guess I'll take the middle ground here: acknowledging the legacy and my own enjoyment, while admitting it sits outside my usual interests. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day369.

This is #day367 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I've never heard of this band before, and after hearing this record, it's no surprise why. Occasionally fine guitar pop with '90s American alternative rock influences galore. Otherwise, an inessential listen. Terribly long to boot. I guess I'm landing on a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day368.

This is #day366 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… this has to be my first-ever full album experience with Elton John. And what an album to start with, right? There's something unmistakably '70s about it the moment you hit play. Glam rock is front and center, but so is progressive pop and pop rock. I mean, this is the same year Aladdin Sane came out. Some absolute highlights: the first four tracks (loving that synth in "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding," and the title track is just golden). "I've Seen That Movie Too" and "Sweet Painted Lady" are also standouts. The piano work throughout is exceptional. Had the record been a tad shorter or spared a couple of inessential tracks, it'd easily be a 5. Still, this is a 4. Looking forward to #day367.

This is #day365 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… o wow, today marks precisely a year since I started this project. Now, World is currently among my least favorite genres, and I'm not sure if seeing the artwork of this record pop up on the lists of those you kind of must hear before you die can change my perception of it. Some fun moments in here, like the piano on "Pueblo Nuevo," "Murmullo," or the title track, and the sax play in general. Otherwise, there's little chance I'm coming back to this record soon, if ever. Let it be a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day366.

This is #day364 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I'm checking off another artist since it's my second album by The Flaming Lips. As with their previous one, which I got on my #day46, there's some inoffensive summery psychedelic pop in here, with "Suddenly Everything Has Changed" being my favorite. I guess I'll follow suit and give it a 3 out of 5 as well. Otherwise, I can't think of an occasion I'd be willing to play this band again, especially if we're talking about summer and psychedelia. I have The Doors for that. P.S. Including those remixes as part of the original tracklist was a lame decision. Looking forward to #day365.

This is #day363 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… this is already my second XTC album. I remember I wasn't that impressed with the first one I got on my #day216 and gave it a 2. This one? It's like Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper got married in the mid-'80s. "A loose concept album about a nonspecific cycle, such as a day, a year, the seasons, or a life." Honestly, "nonspecific" is a fitting word to describe how I feel about this band/album. "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" is a standout, though. A very The The, Talk Talk circa The Colour Of Spring sounding piece. And then there was "Dear God," which rang a bell instantly. Let it be a loose 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day364.