Reviews by zmzamarripa

Lets start with the positives, dudes an interesting guitarist and has some solid lyrics here and there.

And then.... this blends in with the rest of the UK folk movement of the time in a way that FOR ME doesnt stand out all that much. The good news is they dont have Sandy Denny warbling all over this.

After listening to the full album 3 times I did a little research and I honestly dont get all the hype. This is a solid 2.5 stars for me. I could have lived my life having never heard this and I would be no better or worse for it.

I get why people into music like this would really enjoy this.
For me and my personal taste its OK. Not really much more to say other than that.
3 stars

This is what it sounds like when you just let people play around in the studio BEFORE they hone down on good ideas. You get bits and peices of good stuff and a lot of what sounds like kids writing their first songs.
Heres is the crazy part, I can hear the bits that would go on to influence (probably) artists I enjoy today. I can also hear about 58 minutes of tinkering around that I didnt need to hear.
Now the surprising part, this may be the best album this project has subjected me to this week.
2 stars.

If youre super into post punk this might be essential listening.
I do not fall into that category of listener so I dont ever need to hear this again in my lifetime.
2 stars.

I have plenty of quirky bands and albums I love that I know not everyone needs to hear. Someone will hear this for the first time and love it, and thats great. Im not that guy.

This is really nice. Pretty arangements, heart punching lyrics and full of catchy melodies. I can see why this would be on best of lists including projects like this.

That being said I personally dont have any attachments to it. If its on its really nice. IF being key here, this isnt something im going to go buy and put in my regular rotation. Prime example of I couldnt argue one bit about this being 5 stars for anyone but its not 5 a FOR ME.

Solid 4 stars.

Harmonies for days.

Admittedly I was only familiar with "Come On Eileen" and thats a great song. Having never delved deeper into the discography I was excited to get into this.
While cueing this up I looked to see that Dexy is represented on this 1001 album journeys 3 times. 3 times! Considering the omission of countless artists I feel should have at least one album on here I figured I was in for a real treat here.
Turns out I was wrong.
These are the moments I wonder why I keep sludging through this damn project. Granted and all due credit to the Midnight Runners this is no where close to the worst album I have encountered on this list.

This is nice. Clearly a talented vocalist. There are a couple of REALLY fantastic songs mixed into the so so remainder of the album.
Dont get me wrong, I love a couple of these songs and I am sure I still have this cassette somewhere. That tells the whole story here. I bought this on a now dead format and never felt the need to buy this again. I couple of these songs popping up on a streaming platform is enough.
No one needs to hear this before they die. Still nice though. 3 stars.

How many more Bob Dylan records are on here? I get it, interesting songwriter with a terrible voice that chooses the worst recording and production.

Lets give this a go...
oh baby - this is kinda nice, about 2 minutes too long and thats coming from someone that loves the longer songs of groups like The Cure. Which brings me to this, this feels like an amalgam of the groups I love. You can clearly hear the influence. Its just not done as well.
other voices - yeah, i dont need this in my life. christ, this went on for almost 7 minutes. This feels like modern "we have Talking Heads at home". Same comments about the influence of this being very clear and present.
i used to - well this sounds like a clear derivitive (sorry, influenced by) early The Cure records down to the overblown cymbal crashes. I mean, its not terrible but I dont want to listen to it again. This song somehow feels like its 10 minutes long.
change yr mind - here we go with the same type of comment as we made on the prior songs. This is derivative to the point of often times sounding like it could be a cover version or a mash up of songs by other artists. And again, this FEELS like its 10 minutes long.
how do you sleep? - There are interesting elements in this that could have been condensed into 4:30 rather than the 9:12 it runs. Honestly, this my be my favorite of the album thus far, I can at least appreaciate the build up even if it could be condensed.
tonite - I love early 80s synth pop as much as anyone but there was no need for this.
call the police - once again, I love the 80s but this just sounds like a mash up of 80s songs. Which would be great if this was at all compelling. At best it sounds like The Killers who are usually doing their best 80s cosplay as well.
american dream - runtime 6:06 and it felt like 15 minutes. This song is about 6:06 too long.
emotional haircut - I dont like this for all the same reasons as above.
black screen - from about 7 minutes on I actually like this as ambient background noise. the first 7 minutes though I wish i had never heard.
pulse (v.1) - i honestly feel like this is what a teenager that got a programmer and sequencer comes up with after messing with them for a year.

Look, I get why people would love this I am however not one of those people.

Alrighty, an artist I havent knowingly listened to before. I love the opportunity to listen to something new.

With No Shoes - Ew, that Liam Gallagher whine... This would be a fantastic hook if anyone else was singing. Very 'of its time' sounding.
North Country Boy - LOL this has a very low effort feel to it. Shocked to see this has the 2nd highest streaming plays on the album, thats not a good sign for things to come. Hey, at least I hate the soaring organ parts.
Tellin' Stories - This isnt bad. Im not adding it to my library but I wont turn this off if it comes on either.
One to Another - Same as the prior song.
You're A Big Girl Now - Yeah, I dont like this. The addition of the extra percussion really brings home the 'meh'.
How Can You Leave Us - I mean... its not terrible. That whine really drags this down.
Area 51 - This would be my favorite song on the album if not for the organ.
How High - after the instrumental it sounds like they through that whining voice REALLY forward in to the mix. Another song that would benefit from a different vocalist.
Only Teething - This isnt bad, again im not adding this to a playlist but im not gonna rush to turn it off if it comes on again. Wait, here comes the organ prominently in the mix. Yeah, I would turn this off knowing that now.
Get It On - Harmonica and Organ forward. I could do without this.
Rob's Theme - More of the same.

Suffice it to say I did NOT need to hear this album before I die.

I understand that this is supposedly super influential, that doesnt mean I like it.

Well at least I can say that I really dislike the Gary Burgers vocals right off the bat.
Yeah, I dont get it. This isnt anything all THAT different from all of the other garage rock sounding groups of the mid 60s such as The Sonics, The Music Machine, Count Five or 13th Floor Elevators only not as good.

Is it exceptional? Maybe if youre SUPER into this style of music.
Is it incredibly influential? All of the above named groups also had their biggest works released in 65-56 and you could make an argument that those groups were more influential.
So why is this here? Maybe someone was awed by the awesome Friar Tuck hair do's.
I would go with a neutral 2.5 if I could being that I dont really care that this exists.

Yeah, I dont need this in my life.

I am a HUGE Madonna fan! Im also realistic when it comes to my musical favorites. Having this and Ray of Light while omitting her eponymous debut is ridiculous. Honestly Madonna is one of the multitude of artists I adore and can admit are better suited for best of compilations.

All of that is too much typing just to say 3 stars due to 3 solid singles and an album of pretty forgettable trip hop inspired songs that were common place for the time.

Everything about this album is perfect.
Nothing more to say.

I can see how this influenced a lot of the music that I love but that doesnt mean I ever care to purposely listen to this again.
This is a clear case of Big Star took the first steps down a path where others learned to run.
On a 5 star system:
5-I NEED this in my life, about as perfect as an album can be.
4-REALLY good, this is going to be in my heavy rotation.
3-Its good, not great.
2.5-This is neither good nor bad. I have no real feeling about this and dont care that it exists.
2-OK, now this isnt good. I dont care for this at all.
1-This is watery shit.

This album is a solid 2.5 for me. Heres the catch, I dont care of one of the singers that sings lead seemingly every other song (though he works well as background melodies in the other songs). Also, this leans a little too much into the Cheap Trick territory for me and I abhor Cheap Trick. so with the flawed 5 star system this sinks to 2 stars.

Eh, the harmonies on some of these songs are nice but you could hear that with the same people involved if youre listening to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

I really dont need this in my life but I also am not going to say this is bad.

Billy Joel is one of those artists you just dont realize how many of their songs you know well or at the very least are familiar with.
Take this album for example, I own this record. I forgot I own this record its been so long since I've put it on.

Heres the thing, everyones taste and attachment to music is different for different reasons. This album is really good, its not great TO ME.
Its not like im going to go home and dust off the record and spin it. But if someone else is playing it I will happily sing along and (as always) be surprised that I know all the lyrics.

This isnt a 4 star album for me for the reasons I just stated but its about as strong a 3 as can be without having that emotional pull that keeps me in.