Reviews by theblanderman

A pretty lackluster album from Michael. Enough good tracks and classics to keep it afloat, but there are some overly edgy songs and some very cheesy ballads. I find "dirty Diana" to be funny because Diana is an old lady name these days. 2.5/5 -> 3/5

Honestly I didn't know what to expect as I don't typically bop to 90s hip hop, but this album was CRAZY good. Well sequenced, catchy earworms on every track, good and interesting interludes that don't overstay their welcome. This is a new rotation for me. 5/5

While several of these are covers and it's little more than bongo fever, it's a pretty impressive collection all things considered. 3.5/5 -> 4/5

While there are a few highlights throughout (Jericho, Money's Too Tight, Red Box) most of the other songs are mindless mixes of pop and jazz fusion. 2.4/5 -> 2/5

This actually sounds like I'm listening to a magazine on a coffee table at some tax/accounting business in the late 70's. Boring mindless mumbling over ciclical, endless post punk grooves. No thank you. 1.3/5 -> 1/5

I liked Freak on a Leash on highschool, but other than that this is mostly forgettable nu metal. The tracks with Fred Durst and Ice Cube were especially bad. 2/5

That wasn't that good.

A messy pile of discordant styles with some of their least impactful pop cuts thrown in. For how iconic this album art is I'm shocked at the drop in quality here. 2.4/5 -> 2/5

A relic of that alt/indie scene of the late 80s that is just so boring and bland. The noise elements add some flair but overall this is super forgettable. 2/5

I had a lit teacher in high school named Mr. Tucker. Now Mr. Tucker was generally a cool dude - he taught the classics like 1984, Brave New World etc and was probably in his early 50s at the time.

Mr. Tucker was obsessed with U2. He was convinced they were geniuses and their work transcended those who listened to a higher plane. I would argue about how my angsty bands at the time were better (namely Tool and Porcupine Tree) but he would always come out on top.

Listening to The Joshua Tree I could not help but come up with quips to arm my 16 year old self with: "the Coldplay of the 80s", "pop rock so soft it should only be played on the speakers of a Goodwill" etc etc.

The thing is, no matter how hard bono yelps and that little guitar strums I just don't hear passion, nor a cause. I hear pandering dribble to numb the masses. Not for me.

1.7/5 -> 2/5

What the hell type of janky-ass, thrown together rock opera was that?
There are very few standalone interesting moments on this behemoth of an album. The story itself is meandering and seems to have a bad habit of spending far too much time in each phase of Tommy's life, then abruptly fast forwarding to the next phase with little warning. Most of the crap before Underture could be removed tbh. Underture itself was especially annoying because it was 10 mins of repetition with no buildup or pay off - nothing musically gained, nor learned which seems the antithesis of a LSD trip?
Pinball Wizard is probably the only *good* song that is actually distinct on this record, but that makes it stand out significantly amongst the rest of the samey sounding tracks.

Listen, I'm a man who enjoys a rock opera, but this was subpar and I'd be genuinely curious to hear a The Who stan's perspective on why this is good. For now, nope. 1.4/5 -> 1/5

Dumb how back in the day singers hardly wrote their own songs. No wonder so many were just love songs with florid language back then. Not bad though. 3/5

Pretty good, though honestly for a Bowie album I felt a distinct lack of personality. Still better than most, but not a particularly stunning moment in his discography. 2.7/5 -> 3/5

"Southern Rock Opera" is an enigma of an album.

On one hand, I think how they portray the duality associated with being a southerner to be fascinating. The tracks "Ronnie and Neil" and "The Southern Thing" are the most interesting. I appreciate the story of it all.

On the other hand, this album is over NINTY minutes long, offering little variety (especially on "Disc 2"), and constantly resting on the laurels of southern greats of the past (eg Lynyrd Skynyrd). By the end of the second disc I was so tuned out. Overall not garbage, and interesting perspectives, but would have been better to release a parred down version of disc 1 as the album. 2/5

Vocal jazz is not really my jam. Especially with the classics, 99% of the time they are singing about love and the jazz elements are simple and seek to support the vocalist. Also, I have never liked the vocal quirk that saturates Billie Holiday's songs. I did like the backing music quite a bit and it mostly sat in the background. 3/5

Impressed that Iggy Pop recorded this whole album with the microphone in his mouth!

Seriously though. This is one of those albums that the boomers say was "real" music, then you look at the song 1970 and it's just a lyrically empty 5 min song about a blowjob. The only bit I'll give is the random free jazz that popped in, but a pretty shit album overall. 1.4/5 -> 1/5

I found this mostly forgettable and occasionally annoying. The hits were all well and good, but the mid NOLA jazz and some of the cheesy covers brought this down. 2.4/5 -> 2/5

I mean, it was ok. Nice to hear something new even though Imagine did not fit in. Doesn't seem to be an album with much impact. There seem to be elements of new age and disco in there too? Pretty messy. 2.4/5 -> 2/5

The jazzy bits make it for me. The dark country elements are ok. 3/5

It took awhile to fully digest this one.

Abattoir Blues
"Get Ready for Love" really made me nervous that this was going to be an 82min sermon but luckily that was NOT the case. The rest of Side A was super solid, with clear standouts being "There She Goes, My Beautiful World" and "Hiding All Away" (the best song on the record, imo). "Abattoir Blues" and "Fable of the Brown Ape" were not that great.
3.8/5

The Lyre of Orpheus
The second half was not as good as the first. The song "The Lyre of Orpheus" was annoying as hell. "Easy Money"(not a King Crimson cover, turns out), "Carry Me" and "O Children" were all great.
3.1/5

Together I score this a 3.47/5 -> 4/5. Side A was great enough to make up for side Bs shortcomings, and the closer on side B was great to make up for the crappy halfway closer on side A.

I had to listen and relisten to this for days. It's good, really good, but I find it pretty safe. Jazz coloring inside the lines. Still though, I enjoy it. 3.8/5 -> 4/5