Reviews by zmzamarripa

Color me surprised, this isn't too bad. Definitely better than the other things I have heard from them. A solid 2.75 stars. It's ok, I don't think anyone needs to hear this before they die.

Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Who NEEDS to hear this before they die?

Have you ever noticed that ol' Bob is usually in photographs by himself? Here's the thing, he's got a MASSIVE head. I'm not even talking about how comically large it is on his thin frame but when you do see him in a picture with another person his watermelon is even more noticeably large when you see what a regular sized cranium is supposed to look like. Is he just pictured with people that possess pea heads at all times?

Oh, clearly he is a talented songwriter (the media has told me so since before he became famous) and influential. His voice ruins any of the faux poetry he is caterwauling though whatever song he is playing. At least this live recording really puts his vocals in the forefront so you can really lean into his odd annunciations and that sweet sweet nasally voice.

How many times is Robert Allen Zimmerman going to be on this list? However many times it is it's that many times too many for me.

I understand that his voice and vocal style are not for everyone.
That being said, what an incredible talent! From the song writing to the sublime guitar tone to the fantastic mixing/production (the sound of the drums on this are top tier) this is a teaser of what could have been. Sure, there are some misses here but there are far and away more outstanding moments. This is on the higher side of 4 stars and easily better than 90% of the absolute crap this list has suggested thus far.

This is FANTASTIC. How I had gone the last 50 years without hearing this is a mystery. About 4 minutes in I started looking for a copy of this on vinyl.

THIS is what should be on a list like this.

I don't know, maybe I have to be super into Euro Electronic music to be into this. Its not that I hated this, I didn't hate it at all. I also didn't enjoy it at all.

I guess Im just one of those people that dont see what all the hype is about. Run of the mill classic rock sound with some twinkly piano bits thrown in to gussy it up.

It honestly feels like a character in a movie about a "working class singer songwritter" but not a great movie. A decent movie worth watching but no need to go back to revisit.

I mean.... its not bad. I can see why the instrumental track 'Intro' has almost as many plays on streaming sites at the rest of the songs on this album combined, its the best song here.

I listened more than once trying to figure out why this is so critically acclaimed. The answer lies within the Billboard Hot 100 songs of 2009. Here is your top 5: Boom Boom Pow - The Black Eyed Peas, Poker Face - Lady Gaga, Just Dance - Lady Gaga, I Gotta Feeling - The Black Eyed Peas and Love Story - Taylor Swift. Trust me when I say it doesn't get much better than that for the remaining 95 songs. UGH, what a horrible year to have ears.

That being said I can see why critics praised this. In comparison to the rest of the years charts its pretty darn good and doesn't sound like it was produced by the exact same production team as everything else getting play that year. Let me know if in 25 years this is still an album you must hear before you die. Its not.

3 because 2.75 isn't an option.

One of the most endearing things about the Ramones is that it evokes the feeling that anyone can create music, even 8 year olds. One of the least endearing things about the Ramones is that it evokes the feeling that 8 year olds wrote and played this. The good news is it sounds like 8 year olds mixed and recorded this.
At least the leather jackets are pretty sweet.

Yeah, no. No thank you.

I will never understand peoples strange obsession with Gram Parsons. I guess he did pave the way for the "butt rock in a 10 gallon hat" people pass off as country music today, gee thanks.

I honestly wish I had never listened to this and that there was a score lower than 1 star, but here we are.

Perfect time for this when it was released. Surprisingly it holds up well, I had not listened to it in a very long time. The fingerprints of this are all over a generation or two of woman singer/songwriters that were inspired to believe its ok to have raw emotion. Alanis has a very take it or leave it voice and vocal style, Ill take it.
3.67 rounded up to 4.

THIS is the type of album that deserves to be on this list. A true stand out amongst its genre peer group, outstanding musicianship and phenomenal vocals.

Its pretty easy to hear how this was influential to the punk, post punk and new wave scene. One can hear how artists used this as a catalyst to create an evolution of what was laid in the groundworks here.

That being said the vocals make me want to punch someone. This is the type of music that critics and writers gargle all the way to the pubes while most people just think they are Ok. I am neither a critic or a writer, other than the vocals this is OK.

Not their best album by any means. Still better than 99% of anything released by anyone else. It speaks volumes that this group of guys recorded for 7 years together and had the impact in music and culture that they did. All of their accolades are deserved.

This was not for me.

I'm a Def Leppard fan, one of the first albums I bought (my parents bought for me but I got to pick it) was a Def Leppard album. THAT album is superior to this. I dont know that anyone needs to hear a Def Leppard album before they die but if they did its Pyromania. While Pyromania is clearly very polished rock aiming for the charts this is a damn set of antique silver its so polished for the charts in comparison. That being said it is a perfect reflection of its time and its 7 hit singles speaks to how successful this record is/was.

Not being familiar with LLoyd Cole and the Commotions I was actually excited to see that I would be treated to "4 extra tracks" of rattlesnakes. Surely if 4 extra tracks could be shoehorned in that means the original 10 tracks were so exemplary that these 4 couldn't even make the cut for the already long running 35 minutes and change of music I was about to treat myself to.

WRONG.

This sounds like the music you hear in the background of a bar in a mediocre 80's movie. I can see Patrick Swayze stone faced turning down the town hottie without saying a word and the bad guy somehow being mad that his woman got turned down by the new bad ass in town. That sounds more entertaining than this album was.

Here is a quick lyrical excerpt: She reads Simone de Beauvoir in her American circumstance.

Oh fuck all the way off for suggesting this is an album anyone MUST hear before they die.

I'll be the guy to say it... The Clash is overrated.

Yet another album I think would resonate with me if I were from the UK.
It is... unremarkable.

The only people that MIGHT think this is essential listening in the western hemisphere are people that thought it was cool to go down the Beatles influence path. Even those people aren't listening to this on a daily basis.

What are we doing here?