Reviews by x-minor_miracle-x

Heard Before?
Yes indeed.

Notes:
- the mix bothers me a bit. vocals way too forward, no low end.
- it's too bad because the arrangements are so fantastic. for me the key feature of this album is all the extra stuff, from the strings and synths to autoharp and finger cymbals.
- most drums sounded awful in the 80s. these are just fine!
- i don't really care about the lyrics, and they mostly seem to function as mood-setting.
- many very similar vocal melodies.
- more dynamic than I remembered; i like all the space in "Thorn of Crowns".

Verdict:
Not as essential as I remembered. But intermittently glorious and probably their best album as a whole.

Listen Again?
I'll probably go through all their 80s albums again at some point, although there's a strong case to be made that they are best as a singles act.

Heard Before?
Only "Stay With Me".

Notes:
- if Rod Stewart is in your band, why are you also trying to sing? Not that I've ever truly enjoyed a Rod Stewart song, but I'm amazed at how he sings them.
- actually loved all the organ and piano parts (harpsichord on "Love Lives Here"!), but that's my usual jam.
- tried to tune out all the wanky blues guitar, but again, that's my usual feeling.
- awful lyrics, competent song structure.
- production very typical of the era, which is, for me, a big plus. great sounding drums, good use of stereo, everything separated but not too dry.
- side two really fell off for me.

Verdict:
It's classic rock, folks, no more no less. Great if that's your thing.

Listen Again?
I'll pass.

Heard Before?
It seems everyone has a greasy uncle who "shows you real music" when you are ten years old.

Notes:
- it's not the fault of these songs that they are criminally overplayed and thus meaningless.
- although it IS the fault of the lyrics for being so silly.
- I've known too many drummers who could "play like Bonzo" by which they meant "hit the drums pointlessly hard".
- i forgot how many pretty acoustic segments there are, and how lovely Plant and Denny sound together.

Verdict:
It is an album which exists. If I could somehow unhear it and then start fresh, I may actually enjoy it.

Listen Again?
Unavoidable. It will be echoing in subterranean caves long past the time of human extinction.

Heard Before?
Only the tracks from "Singles Going Steady".

Notes:
- there's virtually no variety here, just the same limited elements shuffled slightly from song to song, with bare-bones production.
- that said I'm a sucker for all the elements: tinny guitar, busy basslines, rinky-tinky drums and snide vocals.
- short, tightly structured songs with often amusing lyrics kept me engaged on the second and third listens.

Verdict:
Ground zero of pop punk. Have fun or else.

Listen Again?
I'll probably stick with "Singles Going Steady" but I'm very glad I finally heard this one.

Heard Before?
Yes. There was a firestorm of hype around this in 2008.

Notes:
- this feels like folky cosplay despite all the lyrics about landscapes.
- yet this notion of what's "authentic" or not feels like a moot point when the songs are this gorgeous.
- it's easy to hear how these vocals soared over their contemporaries in the indie-rock scene. it was the return of pretty.
- arrangements are nicely varied from song to song, covering the whole acoustic to electric spectrum. drums are just right, disappearing at key moments.
- production wise, everything is so lovely and balanced and perfectly captured. i could kiss the engineer.
- lyrics are appropriately vague, keeping the focus on the sound.

Verdict:
Like the Byrds of the 00s, a lovely, chiming take on the folk-rock idiom. Style over substance, perhaps, but I love style.

Listen Again?
I'm sure at some point, at least something of theirs. Their discography is fairly consistent - it almost doesn't matter which one you put on.

Heard Before?
Yes, sir.

Notes:
- song selection is not my favorite, but that's part of the magic.
- "Georgia on My Mind" means nothing to me as a song, yet here I was holding my breath for the six perfect finger cymbal hits and the entire horn section brought into the studio to play three notes.
- Willie serves as an inspiration to everyone by making the absolute best possible use of his very limited voice.
- the arrangements (and to a lesser extent the production) are the real star here. so many careful just-right choices in every song.
- it's a quiet album that I always want to turn up, just to revel in the simple-but-effective details.

Verdict:
Subtle, restrained takes on unfashionable standards in a country crooner style. This should be a difficult sell, a dull disaster. I love it.

Listen Again?
Golly gee, I just might. What a delight.

Heard Before?
No. For whatever reasons (too popular? too prolific? too consistent?) I've never boarded the Costello hype train.

Notes:
- careful, smart songwriting with lots of structural variation. arrangements shift slightly and in interesting ways from song to song.
- decent production, although a bit muddy in spots.
- performances work well, although in general the guitar is perfunctory while the keyboards are exciting.
- vocals sound smarmy even when I think they aren't supposed to.

Verdict:
Easy to admire, hard to truly enjoy, if for reasons I find difficult to enumerate.

Listen Again?
Not likely. I'm not against Costello, I'd just rather hear R Stevie Moore - same sorts of ideas, but rawer, riskier, more hooky and just bigger thrills.

Heard Before?
No, despite listening to almost every other No Depression era alt-country act.

Notes:
- the spare arrangements work well, although the synth flourishes and random samples seem out of place.
- vocals are close-miked, uncompressed, pitchy and mostly too loud. the melodies (and often the lyrics) sound improvised, and not in a way i appreciate. the superor female vocalist is criminally underused.
- in general the songs seem underwritten and would benefit from more structure and polish.
- lots of well-recorded, simple and pleasant drum parts and bass lines.
- I just felt like I was trying to enjoy it, looking for something that just wasn't there.

Verdict:
I was all set to uncover a treasure, but despite a lot of digging, found mostly junk. The second time through was a bit better, once I lowered my expectations.

Listen Again?
Unlikely. I might try one of their other releases, but I'd rather revisit Calexico, Red Red Meat, Uncle Tupelo, Gillian Welch, Havalina Rail Co, Neko Case, or any number of similar, much more satisfying performers.

Heard Before?
Nope.

Notes:
- my tolerance for hippy-dippy baloney has always been high, but sorely tested here.
- was this produced at all? or did they just have a ban on EQ and compression? were the faders stuck? demo-quality sound fits certain artistic goals, but it seems accidental here.
- directionless songwriting can also serve a meaningful purpose, but i think both "meaning" and "purpose" got lost in the haze.
- the performances are all thoroughly fine, which only reinforces the impression of competent people phoning it in.
- as much as i want to completely hate this, side two is quite pretty, in places.

Verdict:
I finally understand the Dead Milkmen lyric from "The Thing That Only Eats Hippies": "then it chewed on David Crosby / but it spit him out".

Listen Again?
You can't make me.

Heard Before?
Only "Greatest Dancer" and the title track.

Notes:
- I'm sure "smoothest disco" is a nightmare for some, but I dig it.
- no truly remarkable performances here, but groove after groove, perfectly balanced.
- arrangements and production are such archetypes that it's hard to think of them as choices.

Verdict:
These are the disco good times, folks. Get down and deal with it.

Listen Again?
Probably not, but kitchen dancing was indeed done.

Heard Before?
Nope.

Notes:
- With a list so over committed to the anglo-american rock canon, tokenism is going to be an issue. But one great Senegalese album is better than none.
- Thanks to Allmusic, I also checked out the rawer, more traditional Baaba Maal album Djam Leelii. Fantastic.
- i was expecting the glossy production to irritate me, but except for the heartily cheesy "Minuit", it serves the music well.
- really enjoyed all the subtle percussion elements, the powerful flutes and lovely backing vocals.

Verdict:
Powerful, evocative vocals with constantly modulating counterpoint ride on a hypnotic undercurrent of repeated guitar figures and restrained percussion.

Listen Again?
Yes! And more Senegalese music as well. Rare though these moments are, I'm thankful when this list acts as a springboard.

Heard Before?
I vaguely remember it.

Notes:
- this seems like an odd pick. the Black Keys are certainly pleasant and popular, but I had no idea that anyone thinks of them as important or influential.
- this particular album is one decent 2 minute song stretched out to 55 minutes.

Verdict:
Snore.

Listen Again?
This will be probably be playing in beer commercials until the heat death of the universe.

Heard Before?
My dad, who was sadly born without a personality, calls this one of the greatest albums.

Notes:
- love these drum sounds, and how the horns are recorded.
- as I say with every one of their albums, the keyboard solos are far more tolerable than the guitar solos.
- by this point they gave up any pretense of rock and fully embraced, hmmm... "schmaltz-core"? it suits them much better.
- grateful for the long, complex instrumental passages. at the very least it keeps the smarmy vocals and embarrassing lyrics at bay for a while.
- "Peg" is satanically catchy. Yikes.

Verdict:
In places, this raises the Steely Dan bar from "utter loathing" to "grudging admiration". Like the best possible version of being on hold with the insurance company for 40 minutes.

Listen Again?
Not by choice.

Heard Before?
Only the singles.

Notes:
- one of the best things about this list is knowing that thousands of old guys are going to be listening to teen pop.
- that said, I'm also an old guy and I find this easy to admire but hard to love.
- with so many songwriters and producers in the room, there's bound to be at least a few stunning moments. and there are plenty.
- TOO MANY INTERLUDES. I'm so glad this trend mostly died out.
- obviously a shockingly powerful voice that any reasonable person would barter their eternal soul for, even if it doesn't exactly resonate with me. but the multitracking on "Walk Away" (and several other songs) was wild - blew me away.

Verdict:
Delivering the opposite of its premise, I can think of several current pop stars who should be taking notes from this master class in genre-hopping melismatic maximalism.

Listen Again?
Not planning on it, but that won't stop me from recommending it.

Heard Before?
Yup. This was big when I was in high school.

Notes:
- probably my least favorite Fiona Apple album. she just keeps getting better.
- songwriting is clever, wise and deep, especially considering her age. comparing this to the debuts of other teen prodigies (Alanis, Adele, Lorde, etc.) is illuminating. Fiona all the way.
- despite being mostly piano ballads, she fits in better with the likes of PJ Harvey and Liz Phair than the other balladeers of the era.
- arrangements are near-perfect. so dynamic, great use of mallet instruments, decent drum sounds, and extended codas that cast a spell, instead of repeated choruses that exhaust me.
- production is so competent as to be almost invisible.
- the drum-free sections drag a bit, and this kind of melismatic singing, while impressive, wears on me.

Verdict:
A stunning debut by a major talent, and one that has aged well. I don't know how she made it through the gauntlet of industry exploitation, but this is already the sound of a singular artist.

Listen Again?
Eventually, yes. But I should really revisit "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" or "Idler Wheel" first. Those are brilliant.

Heard Before?
Nope. Not at all.

Notes:
- bold move to unironically call your debut album "Club Classics".
- sequencing is very odd. the second time through I found it made a lot more sense to start at "Back to Life" (obviously the best track) and then let it loop back to "Keep on Movin" after "Ambition" (which gives the album some valuable context). I just found it made a better and more exciting narrative than starting with an endless slow jam.
- drum programming is simple but effective.
- the mix is the weakest point for me. funky basslines and cool synth parts get buried under too-loud, repetitive vocals. this is dance music mixed like pop music, which makes the clichéd lyrics stick out terribly.

Verdict:
Good for a nostalgia-bait dance party and not much else. I preferred the remixes - this is music that you want to make something interesting out of, rather than just listen.

Listen Again?
Not bad, but no thanks.

Heard Before?
Easily one of the albums that has been the most important to me.

Notes:
- Because this album (and to a lesser extent, Sufjan's whole arc) is so integral to my own musical history, it is essentially unreviewable.
- Anyone interested in a context for Sufjan's early career should watch the documentary "Danielson: A Family Movie"
- "Illinois" is both deeply felt and well-researched, which must be horribly grating for many people.
- Very excited to read all the negative reviews of this. Not because I think I'm somehow better than any of you folks, but I enjoy understanding the tastes of others, and what better way to learn than to honestly consider those who hate what you love?

Verdict:
Too much of everything, all the time. If you want your music to spill over with feeling and detail, this is ideal. Fans of the tidy and organized (or conversely the raw and rocking) should stay far away.

Listen Again?
I'll need another break after today, but yes indeed. These days, my favorite Sufjan is Age of Adz or Seven Swans.

Heard Before?
Many times, but not since high school.

Notes:
- there's definitely an argument to be made for one of their other albums to be included on the list instead of the debut, but I'm not complaining.
- now when I listen to this I can only picture how Jello, while the primary songwriter, was also a complete non musician, and so would act out and sing the parts he wanted the others to play. Hilarious.
- the mix varies distractingly from song to song. oh well.

Verdict:
It absolutely shreds, in the preachiest, most grating way. Chemical warfare, indeed.

Listen Again?
Well, I already listened to "Plastic Surgery Disasters" and "The Power of Lard" today, so it seems likely.

Heard Before?
Many times, but not in years.

Notes:
- this is what people mean when they call an album "dated".
- i find these beats refreshing, a reminder of a certain golden age of sampling and turntablism. and fun fun fun.
- all the rapping feels like Sesame Street, in form and content. depending on my mood, that's wonderful or nearly unlistenable.
- for an album so preachy, the instrumentals have a surprising amount of room to breathe.
- my friend compared it to Gorilla Biscuits. I'm sure the two acts would volunteer at a soup kitchen together.

Verdict:
Shockingly sincere, irony-free, positive messaging party music. Smile or else.

Listen Again?
I'll give it another long break, but probably.

Heard Before?
Yes.

Notes:
- a flawlessly flawed live album where it's live nature and setting are the keys to the appeal. an ideal meeting of songs, performances and audience, with one of the most thrilling live performers i can think of.
- unfortunately i heard the expanded edition of "at San Quentin" first, and both albums aren't needed on the same list.
- i can understand why this one is more popular. there are more familiar songs, fewer guests, a more uplifting tone, and more even-keeled performances.

Verdict:
So it's basically perfect and I truly loved this album at one point, but it has been eclipsed for me. San Quentin Legacy Edition all the way.

Listen Again?
For sure, if only to play it for someone who has never heard it.