Reviews by tjehl

A quite psychedelic album from a man called Country Joe.

Country Joe and The Fish and their band coincidentally named Country Joe and The Fish delivers some nice tunes and while I’m never over the top, I’m never bored.

First and foremost, post-rock needs to move me.
That is why I love the genre. The way it affects you emotionally.

Tortoise rarely moves me at all.
There’s some interesting ideas along the way, but I’m never really engaged.

I understand how influential this album has been to some of my favorite artists.
It doesn’t change the fact that this blueprint has been improved time and time again.

Easily one of the greatest rock albums of the 80’s.
Pixies really mastered their dynamic songwriting on this milestone of an album.

love how they play really quite
AND THEN REALLY FUCKING LOUD!

Energetic and varied rock album with nothing particular exciting about it. It’s just kinda there.

Let’s for a moment do something Lynyrd Skynyrd never quite got around to doing - forget about the confederate flag.

“Tuesday’s Gone” is a treat and “Simple Man” is a great tune. But the only real reason this debut album is on the list is because of its legendary closing track.

Not quite enough in itself. But almost.

Come for the title track.

Stay for the title track.

Despite the generic title, Vol. 4 delivers highlight after nightlight and remains one of the most overlooked albums in the Black Sabbath discography.

Sabbath clings to their trademark heavy riffs and Ozzy’s mesmerizing vocals on classics such as “Wheels Of Confusion”, “Supernaut”, “Under the Sun” and the coke-induced “Snowblind”.
Then there’s also the perhaps most beautiful Black Sabbath song ever, “Changes”.

Often overlooked but up there with the rest of the early records.

Whoever approved this horrendous album cover was hopefully fired immediately.

I adore the three members of Trio as much as the next person. Legends each in their own right.

I’m sure they had a fun time recording this together. I just don’t see the point in it.

I was worried Destiny’s Child would’ve exhausted themselves starting off the album this strong.

While they sure seem less inspired along the way Survivor still manages to keep me rather involved throughout - mainly due to Beyoncé’s pipes.

James Murphy makes me dance and weep at the same time. A feat to behold.

A masterclass In modern songwriting.

Beautifully drawing inspiration from Prince, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie to OutKast, drum and bass, orchestral scores and even big band and Afro funk.

Janelle Monáe is truly one of a kind and just makes everything work on this epic journey.

Also - “Cold War” is easily one of the greatest pop songs of the 2010’s.

Also also - how fun is “Wondaland”?!

On this, their second album, I still have a hard time fully understanding Jane’s Addiction.

Their sound is great and innovative and they are good songwriters (“Been Caught Stealing” and “Three Days” are the peak of this album) - there’s just something that never seems to get to me.

Ritual De Lo Habitual starts of pretty strong but as we move into the conceptual b-side I quickly lose interest as both “Then She Did…” and “Of Course” drag on and on and on.

There’s a lot I would like to love about Jane’s Addiction. But I end up just liking it instead.

White Ladder really starts out strong.
Especially the very late 90’s sounding “Babylon” is a truly fantastic song.
I understand why this inspired a lot of British artists in the early to mid 2000’s.

The rest of the album is not as strong as the opening and at times I feel as if it’s just background music. I enjoyed it and never once got actually bored.

Also - did anybody tell Bono that a man from Cheshire recorded the best selling album Ireland of all time? Anyone?

Some 30+ years after its release (wow, that felt weird writing…) their debut album is still as relevant as it was back in 1992.

The fact that de la Rocha is able to even deliver lines with this amount of rage and fury is beyond belief. Rarely, if ever, have straight up content and anger been delivered with his power and passion.

Wilk’s hard hitting playing, Commerford funky yet aggressive bass lines and the unique and innovative nature of Morello’s guitar style puts Rage Against the Machine in a league of its own.

Well done for really hitting a nerve back then.
And shame on us that we still allow it to hit those same nerves today.

The opening track is one of the finest tunes ever written. I can not help but smile through the entire thing. Absolutely wonderful!

In general I can’t help but feel good as The Crusaders gently take me by the hand and lead me through their street of catchy and charming jazz-funk.

Is part of the album borderline elevator music? Sure.
But it’s an elevator I wouldn’t mind taking a couple of extra floors every time.

Skepta hits hard on this Grime-reviving album. His flow is on point and the deep bass demands you to listen to this at high volumes.

I was pleased to see that there were no interludes or skits on the track list - only to find out that Skepta cleverly hid them at the end of songs. Not cool. Not cool at all.

If you’re not into progressive rock this album is a nightmare.

Opening with an 18+ minutes title track in four parts, odd time signatures, eccentric and extended instrumental sequences, lyrical material concerning literature and mysticism. There’s a lot to swallow here.

Which is exactly why Close To The Edge, and Yes in general, is among the greatest 70’s music you will ever come across.
Anderson is arguably one of the genres best singers and the rest of the band delivers incredible performances with every note.

You can literally sum up the idea of progressive rock with Close To The Edge.

Last time Dylan appeared on this list I rated the album based on the amount of harmonica. This is perhaps his most insisting and loud harmonica playing to date. Excellent!

The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan almost feels like a compilation. There are no bad songs on this record and even after tons of listens I’m still equally surprised by the quality every damn time.

Ray Of Light is obviously too long. There, that’s out of the way.

Madonna is a musical chameleon proving time and time again that she’s still somehow relevant in the world of pop. Nowhere is that more evident than Ray of Light.

Incorporating techno, trio hop and new-age, this album feels decades away from her previous efforts. There are misses, I don’t particularly like the title track for example, but taking risks and adapting also brings forth something brilliant from time to time - the brilliant and beautiful “Frozen” being an example of this.

I’m not exactly an avid Madonna fan. And I’m not really a fan of techno either.

But on Ray Of Light Madonna proved her longevity once and for all.

An incredible voice. Joan Baez was already the voice of Woodstock almost a decade before it actually took place.

Her debut album is mesmerizing but the sparse and beautiful arrangements of traditional folk songs aren’t quite enough to keep my interest from start to finish.