Reviews by verbaljazz

The verbal acuity is off the charts.

The lyrics are, well...

Let's just say I'm not the target market, even though Eminem and I are the same age. By the time this record came out, I found myself not really into the kind of overt misogyny and homophobia found here.

That said, there are some lyrical gems on this album, and it provides a window into a world that exists outside my own experience.

Bowie was a curious shapeshifter, always reinventing himself and creating a solid body of work in the process. When you change the formula of your success you'll eventually create something lesser. But creating the lesser work is often a step in creating much better work. This record does not reach the heights of Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Low, or his final gift Black Star. There are some good songs on here: the title track and "Fame." The cover of "Accross the Universe" is ill-considered and Bowie's voice is not up to turning that song into overwrought soul.

Relentless sameness. If I were dancing at a club, this would be my expectation.

What a slog.

Before listening, I've never been a fan of Nick Cave. Do I have to listen to this? No, I don't HAVE to, but I choose to as part of this project.

Ok - after listening. Not as bad as I expected. There were some pretty decent moments. Still don't love Nick Cave, but I understand why he has fans.

Fun fact: when playing Trivial Pursuit with my grandmother, she would always answer any question about rock music with "Rod Stewart."

Fun fact #2, I was listening to a rock playlist in the car, and Rod Stewart came on. After a few seconds, I forwarded it and said, "I can only take so much Rod Stewart." My wife agreed.

His voice is unique, I'll give you that, but that must have been some serious Dunning-Kreuger to think he could be a singer. Obviously enough people thought so that he had career doing it...some guys have all the luck.

But that voice. I just can't. It's like AI said make a blues song, and then sucked all the soul out of it.

I've never gotten the appeal of Rod Stewart. The music is good, I like the bluesy arrangements and alternate guitar tunings.

I'm left to wonder, did Maggie think he was sexy?

If sex had an anthem, it would be the title track off this album...and it's all in the vibes. It's a reminder of how the structure of music and how a singer uses their voice can be so evocative of a mood. Now compare this with the dick swinging cock-rock of the 70s and 80s, where the lyrics were much more suggestive. There's no comparison, "Let's Get It On" is sooooo much sexier and much more apt to get you in the mood than, say, Poison's "Talk Dirty to Me."

Indecipherable lyrics and the songs all sound so similar.

When is a Beach Boys album not a Beach Boys album? Before reading that Brian Wilson was not heavily involved in the production I noticed that the harmonies were not as rich and that the songs were more focused on social justice issues. Should they have renamed the group as they went in this different direction? "Beach Boys" as a brand name evokes sun, surfing and youth. Anyway, this album is a unique listen and a worthy comparison to other, more familiar Beach Boys songs.

Atmospheric.

My son just LOVES this album.

The words are often indecipherable, but the whole mood of the album is engaging.

The Rolling Stones have lots of great songs. "Sympathy for the Devil" is among their absolute best. That and "Street Fighting Man" raise this album above the mediocre blues experiments that haunt the rest. And I get it - without those blues experiments, the other songs probably don't get written.

A foundational Cure album.

This is one for those who liked the Cure BEFORE they heard "Just Like Heaven."

Robert Smith has always been a great songwriter, and the moody atmospherics of this album raise the game.

There's a reason why Neil Young is considered so influential. His ability to mix musical styles, blues and folk, in particular, is practically peerless. Every song on this album is a gem.

Was '90s alternative all just the same?

This album is fine. The tracks are fine. Nothing horrible. Some good moments. This band is okay, but they are emblematic of the era.

When did Country become not a music evocative of a place (the American South), but of a whole worldview of a subset of white Americans? Rhetorical question, I know.

This record stands firmly outside of what I thought of country music at the time it was made: sequined leisure suits and helmets of hair held in place by hairspray. It's refreshingly different from the era in which it was born, and a great listen.

Aerosmith is second-string classic rock, never reaching the heights of many other bands - I'm talking their output in the '70s. As a precursor to '80s hair metal/pop metal, this record is fine. "Back In the Saddle" and "Last Child" are a great 1-2 punch, but the record just fizzles from there.

The 90s were full of bands, and the record execs who signed them, trying to recreate Nirvana with a formula of loud guitars and impenetrable lyrics. What they often missed is that Nirvana was doing its own thing, not relying on a formula.

In 1994 this was a near-constant listen. A lot of it still holds up, but the "screaming tracks" as I call them are best left to the dustbin of history.

We want to assign the label of genius to troubled people. Kurt Cobain sure had a knack for melody and writing lyrics that hinted at a deeper meaning.

When I'm mowing the lawn, I'll often listen to Iron Maiden. I appreciate the technical precision of the music as well as Bruce Dickinson's operatic voice.

In high school, I wasn't into Iron Maiden, that was the purview of the waistoid headbangers who seemed permanently concussed from said head banging.

Also, in high school, in history class, another student brought in lyrics to "Alexander the Great" (not on this record), and the history teacher was impressed.

In college, I met the guy who would become one of my best friends...he was wearing an Iron Maiden hat and Metal Church t-shirt.

What does any of this have to do with this record? Everything (to me) and nothing (to you). Iron Maiden was a great band with well thought out music and lyrics.

I saw Nanci Griffith in concert in the early 2000s on her Clock Without Hands Tour - my girlfriend at the time really liked her. We're now married.

Nanci Griffith seemed like a delightful and lovely person, but her music has never done much for me. This collection is no different. She tells compelling stories, but her voice (to me) is uninteresting.

If you love her music, great!

If you hate her music, you probably punch Girl Scouts when they try to sell you cookies.

If you think, "This is fine, but I probably won't spend too much time listening," I get you.

This was the second album I ever purchased. It opened my eyes (and ears) to lyrics that went beyond partying and being horny.

How many people would use the term "synchronicity" if it weren't for this record?

Most of these songs hold up all these years later. "Synchronicity II" hits home after you've spent some time commuting for a BS job.

Some don't hold up as well ("Mother"). And then there's the expertly crafted ode to stalking ("Every Breath You Take").

One of the groups that unlocked hip-hop. The songs are infectious and fun.