Reviews by x2ysx2ys

Musical equivalent of a vodka red bull.
Not the kind of thing i could play on repeat but feel like i’ll always enjoy it whenever I do.

Is it controversial to call Nile Rodgers a one trick pony?
I’m going to. It is a fun trick though.

First impressions when today’s pick appeared:
Seriously? the uptown girl guy?… bleurghhhhh

After listening: why have I slept on this?? Just great McCartney-esque pop songs. It isn’t cool in any way but this is now my go to answer for ‘guilty pleasure’.

Really enjoyed every song here. Highlights Scenes from an Italian restaurant, Vienna

The thing I loved about White Stripes was how much they pissed off the Metalheads in school:

‘jAcK cAnT sInG’
‘iTs JuSt TeH pEnTaToNiC sCaLe’
‘mEg CaNt EvEn PlAy TeH dRuMs’
‘tHeY dOnT eVeN hAvE a BaSsIsT lMaO’

All these things are true. It doesn’t stop them being the ultimate ‘better-than-the-sum-of-their-parts’ band.

So STFU and go back to listening to dragonforce and wanking over orcs, Dan.

Not really fair to assess this one since decent music wasn’t invented til 1959.

Pre-streaming days, I downloaded the entire Bunnymen discography. Think I listened through exactly once then decided Ocean Rain was the one, bought that on CD and deleted the rest. For some reason I never bothered going back to the others so glad this came up.

This was good. Definitely still not /as/ good as Ocean Rain though.

I’ve never really ‘got’ James Brown but this album really captures the live energy well.

Sixteen Saltines is awesome. Not much else worth coming back to for me.

I don’t hate this album I just think it doesn’t belong anywhere near a ‘must hear’ list. By comparison, White Blood Cells and Elephant definitely do. Hoping Jack’s latest ‘No Name’ album also makes the next edition of this book. Just about every track on that one is better than anything here.

Re-review 2 months later.
I keep coming back to this album. I’m upgrading it to a 4.

Still demanding justice for Portishead though….

2007 Interview excerpt from Mark Saunders who produced this record:
"Tricky entered the studio with 'a great idea for a loop', incorporating samples from Isaac Hayes' 'Ike's Rap II'. We did the whole track ('Hell Is Around The Corner') and Tricky then did his usual thing, calling the manager and telling her, 'This is fantastic! You've got to come and listen to the next single!' At that time we were working at my own Loveshack studio, and the manager was just up the road, so she came in and she stood in the doorway as he played it to her, and I saw her jaw drop. She said, 'Tricky, I can't believe you did that.' Tricky went, 'What? What are you talking about?' I could see he was starting to smirk, he knew what she was talking about. She said, 'You know Portishead have used this,' and he said, 'No, I had no idea!' He was laughing, and it turned out that she'd given him a cassette of some rough mixes off the Portishead album.”

Kept my interest throughout but wasn’t as instantly rewarding as any Talking Heads or solo Eno records I’ve heard. Definitely worthy of further listening.

I once accidentally saw the Killers live when they appeared unannounced for a ‘secret set’ on a smaller stage at Glastonbury

They played the first 5 songs from this album. Everyone danced and sang along. Then they fucked off. I wish they did the same in the studio because the second half of this album is absolute shite.

CSN-Y.
Like if Beatles made an album without John Lennon. Still Great.

Crazy, messy, imperfect, fun.

This came out 32 years ago. I haven’t heard it in 20 years. Somehow makes more sense in 2025 with Soccer Mommy, boygenius, Snail Mail, Wednesday etc.

Can’t believe a clothes brand made such a good album

This was fun. Very melodic.

2nd album by CCR and have enjoyed them both.

Marking this one down slightly (vs Green River) because i could have done without 25% of the album being taken up with ‘Graveyard Train’ plodding along but getting nowhere.

Liked the other 6 songs. Can see myself coming back to this.

Music for people who list DIY in their hobbies.

[long-time Neil Young fanboy perspective]
Thank you generator! Not my absolute favourite but this is gateway Neil where my addiction began. There’s so much to like here.

‘Think I’ll pack it in and buy a pick-up.’ Really sets the tone.

Ben Keith’s pedal steel.

Heart of Gold and Old Man are earworms (even my 3 year old sings along to those)

Alabama. You can actually hear the barn where it was recorded. Side note: Google the ‘Needs More Barn!’ story with Graham Nash if you don’t know it.

The transition between ‘The Needle & The Damage Done’ into ‘Words’.

The usual criticism against this album is Young’s most misunderstood song ‘A Man Needs A Maid’.
Often written off as sexist when the real meaning is condemning one-sided relationships. It only made sense to me when I heard the 1971 Massey Hall version, stripped of the orchestra. With the lyric variation ‘a man feels afraid’ and a bridge that would later become Heart of Gold. These songs make much more sense considered together ‘To give a love, you gotta live a love / To live a love, you gotta be "part of” / … I wanna live, I wanna give… / when will I see you again’.

Surgeon’s son New Yorker cosplays as a cowboy.

Imagine Bob Dylan didn’t bother with politics, poetry and storytelling and instead sang songs about bed bugs and weevils.

The cocaine song had something to it. Sounds like it should be over the closing credits of a Coen brothers movie. The rest was unbearable.