Reviews by tjehl

“Ladies and gentlemen. Foo Fighters.”
- Christopher Walken

I’m not sure we could have physically entered the 90’s without Pixies doing what they did in the late 80’s.

Possibly the greatest post-Genesis album by any member.

One of those inevitable albums, when talking about the foundation of modern jazz.

I don’t quite have the same relation to Monk as I do Davis, Brubeck, Coltrane etc.

But Brilliant Corners is nevertheless a regular spin at home.

Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced my chaps and cowboy boots.

Bryter Layter is a great album.
More than that actually.
Nick Drake was unable to write anything but fantastic tunes.

But what I like most about Drake is his ability to create intimate spaces where you have no means of escaping his presence through the music.

I have that feeling all the way through Pink Moon, but it’s not quite present here.

I think I simply prefer the raw sound of Drake solo.

I’m quite the Zappa fan. And I really like the sarcasm and the fact that this album was in part a response to him particularly not liking one of the most critically acclaimed albums of all time.

But as I’ve listened to this many times through the years some of the initial shock value has slowly worn off. Had this been my first ride, I would probably raise my score a bit.

The tragic circumstances surrounding Buckley’s way to early death surely helped lift this album to surreal acclaim.

Exactly where it belongs.

Grace is one of the strongest albums of the entire 90’s and I’m shocked every time I listen just how great everything is.

Buckley might have been the greatest songwriter of his generation. It’s definitely what Grace is pointing towards.

There really is no reason for this to be this long.
It’s outrageous. It’s not even an OutKast album if we’re honest. It’s just two solo albums sold under one flag.

But when that’s said and done, it’s surprising how few times I find myself actually bored during its run.

Speakerboxxx is easily the best of the two album.
Big Boi delivers some of his best work to date and the list of guests is insane. It becomes a bit too interlude-heavy toward the end, but it’s an easy 4/5 album. Just listen to “Flip Flop Rock”.

André 3000’s The Love Below is not half as tight and focused as his musical partner’s effort.
The singles are still great, the humor most often works and he knows how to put together unconventional beats and make it work.

Unfortunately the highs are not enough to counter the lows. André 3000 really needs Big Boi to toil some of his weirder ideas.

I probably won’t give The Love Below another listen for the next years. Speakerboxxx on the other hand….

Nas delivers some of the illest and most contagious beats and lyrics ever put out on a hip hop record.

Not a single moment could have been left out on this milestone album. Perfection from start to finish.

This is an anthology before it’s an album.
There are great passages and I appreciate the fact, that every song was recorded in the 1st or 2nd take - it gives it a feeling of authenticity and urgency.

But for an album that so prominently features the confederate battle flag on its cover, I’m surprised to say that the most problematic thing about it is the sheer length.

On rare occasions an album single-handedly revolutionizes an entire genre.

This is one of those records.

This is one way to end the 60’s, kick off the 70’s and simultaneously end a duo.

There are a few tracks I don’t care that much for along the way, but when you open an album with “Bridge Over Troubled Water” only for that to only be the best second song on the album… What else could you wish for?

From the first lines of John Mayer’s (not that one) vocals on “Time To Relax”, I feel incredibly safe and nostalgic in the arms of Dr. Dexter Holland (look it up) and the rest of The Offspring.

One of the greatest punk rock records of the 90’s, I have listened to this so many times that I was honestly shock that “Nitro (Youth Energy)”, “Bad Habit” and “Something To Believe In” didn’t even have their own Wikipedia pages - in my mind they were definitely singles.

There’s not a bad moment from the intro until after “It’ll Be A Long Time” where it takes a minor dive until “Smash” once again brings it all back.

I’m rounding this up due to it having a hidden track - how 90’s is that?

Turbonegro, or Turboneger as they are somehow called in Norway while winning prizes, are just immense fun. They roll up their sleeves and just starts pounding while Hank von Helvete, may he rest in peace, just serves one ridiculous line after another.

It’s stupid. It’s rather iconic. It’s not really that groundbreaking or fantastic. It’s just a whole lotta fun.

While not reaching the same extreme heights of the follow up, the debut album by Roxy Music comes pretty close.

Ferry’s vocals are haunting and crooning in all the right ways, the production is great and otherwise straightforward tracks like “If There Is Something” becomes anything but in the hands of Roxy Music.

Once again Brian Eno, “ the balding, long-haired eunuch lookalike” as dubbed by Christgau, is there to steal the show time and time again. It’s so easy to hear how he helped shaped the sound that helped them break through.

Those first Roxy Music albums really are something else.

Paul Simon comes really close to delivering a perfect solo record. Unfortunately he fumbles at the end, and you’re left a bit unsatisfied.

Being a Paul Simon record “a bit unsatisfied” it still more satisfied that you are after listening to almost everything else.

Who knew what wonders could come out of a collaboration between Bragg and Wilco?
Their interpretations of Woody Guthrie’s lyrics are magnificent and his writing is powerful in itself.

The early highlight “Way Over Yonder In the Minor Key” almost has me in tears and the album never quite reaches that high again.

But this and its successor are not to be missed.

Certain bands entered the late 60’s like it was still 1963. Os Mutantes is not one of those groups.

Run-D.M.C. dedicate an entire song to their perfectionism and follow it up with the sloppiest beatboxing ever recorded.

Listen to the hits and then run. You Run-Da.Most.(you)Can away from this.