Reviews by theblanderman

A big ol' album of covered songs, neat. Not that jaw dropping but not horrible. 2.4/5 -> 2/5

The hits on here are very good (albeit a bit repetitive) and the other tracks are generally good. A groundbreaking album but not necessarily a top listen. 3.2/5 -> 3/5

Pretty good all things considered. A little rough around the edges for my taste but not bad. 3/5

An odd little album, and not especially in a good way? Apparently it was supposed to be a concept album, but I think with the cultural differences between the US and the UK and the passing of time much has been lost. 2.4/5 -> 2/5

A good and ground-breaking album. While it makes sense that it's on this list, I don't find it ultra exciting in the second half, I find the barrage of skits with identical themes to be tedious, and only a few tracks were deeply memorable for me. 3.4/5 -> 3/5

Really tinny mandolin music with squeaky cartoonist country vocals. "The Pines" and the vibes can't save this one. 1.3/5 -> 1/5

Probably his best work. I really enjoy the overall album and think it has quite a few great tracks. Great sequencing too. The biggest thing that holds it back is it's repetitiveness at certain points. 4/5

A couple of interesting moments that stood out as more "jazz" adjacent, and other moments where you could tell grunge music would eventually take inspiration. However all together it's a pretty shabby album that doesn't offer much in the way of an interesting listen. 2/5

Pretty impressive listen - the influence that this one album has on so much later music is clear. It's insane to think this was released in 1969 with how modern it looks/sounds. Some bits drag on but overall I'm very glad I heard this album. 3.6/5 -> 4/5

An ok album from Jack. He definitely improved in later releases, but overall a net positive release. 3/5

Not ultra unique and does not veer far from safety. Some songs were nice enough but many were repetitive. Not a very engaging listen. 2/5

I listened to this multiple times over the course of several days and it just kept growing on me more and more. I love the old West aesthetic and the timeless sound. Each song was very distinct for the time, each having it's own unique hook that on relistens I was excited to hear. I can't wait to go on a road trip through the plains and blast this album. 5/5

It took me three listens to really understand what made this album/group unique. Great, deep vocals, and some interesting song structures and hooks. Some of the songs are pretty basic and uninteresting, and generally this album sounds like more of a 'vibe', but not bad. 3/5

I listened to this years ago when industrial hip hop was a relatively new concept and I thought it was super messy. These days, while not being a perfect album, and paling in comparison to it's predecessors/contemporaries (The Money Store or Exmilitary by Death Grips should really be on this list) it really has grown on me.
This album really feels like the transition into the unstable side of his career, rapidly expanding from the structured themes of power and excess expored on MBDTF into chaotic godhood on this record - a chaos that would continue to affect and eventually plague later releases in his catalog and his personal life.
The record starts incredibly strong with On Sight, Black Skinhead, I Am a God, New Slaves (many of my favorite tracks on the album). Things dip a bit for Hold My Liquor through Guilt Trip, then pick up again for Send It Up and Bound 2.
Pretty impressive though it certainly has its flaws. 3.8/5 -> 4/5

Good god, what a nothing album. The lyrics were basic as hell and extremely repetitious. Really nothing to like about this one, even if the song "Imagine" has stood the test of time. 1/5

A very plain album - I prefer Morrissey's solo work, though neither are that interesting. Unhappy Birthday was a kind of funny. 2.4/5 -> 2/5

Very rarely do I think it is imperative to listen to the first album of an artists discography to see how far they've come - Pink Floyd is certainly one of these cases. A totally unique sound from the Beatles clones of the time (and much of the other crap on this list). They truly excelled with their instrumentals and the depth of production on this album. The vocals are nonsensical and often childish which much can be attributed to Syd Barrett. Comparing this to how he directly influenced multiple of the bands biggest records as a theme (DSOTM, WYWH, TW) is mind boggling.
Not even close to the best album in the bands career, but a necessary piece of psychedelia history. 3.6/5 -> 4/5

Morrissey seems to be a flvery enigmatic person. I think the music is overall pretty good, and had themes that are generally pretty interesting and progressive, I just feel like the instrumentals and song diversity is itself pretty one-note. Not bad and definitely piqued my interest, but not one to revisit often. 3.4/5 -> 3/5

I'm a huge prog fan (specifically 60s-70s prog) and I'd never listened to rush so thought this would be right up my alley. I was a bit disappointed, I felt like they didn't bring much of a unique sound of their own that so many other bands of the time did other than Geddy Lee's vocals. A fine album but a fading memory in prog history. 3/5

When I got this album I groaned because I really didn't want to sit though another repetitious early electronic album from Kraftwerk (Trans-Europe Express was not for me, and Man-Machine had some highs and lows).
But honestly, Autobahn is clearly head and shoulders above the rest. The instrumentals and electronics are constantly changing and shifting, with a minimal use of vocals (which significantly decreases the repeatitious fatigue heard on other albums). Kometenmelodie 1&2 are perfect follow ups to the gargantuan track Autobahn, with #2 resulting in a moment of catharsis from 30 mins of buildup. Mitternacht is a great short little industrial transition to the fancifal and gentle closer that is Morgenspaziergang. I have no complaints, this album is very impressive. 5/5