Reviews by zoobee20

This is really heavy and dark stuff. Decades is an incredible song. Unknown Pleasures is more immediate, but I can see how this is just as great. Favorites were Passover, A Means To An End, The Eternal, and Decades.

I preferred Arrival to this one. This one tries to be a little more serious. It still has highlights. My favorite songs were The Visitors, Soldiers, Two For The Price Of One, and Slipping Through My Fingers.

Lyrics? Who knows. The vocals are here for melody and texture. The walls of sound make this more of a set of feelings rather than songs. I just think Shoegaze is really cool. Not quite as good as Loveless, but there isn’t much that is. Favorites were She Found Now, Only Tomorrow, New You, and Wonder 2.

When I first heard this years ago I don’t think I got it and as a result never revisited until now. I get it now and I like it. Very much Beach Boys inspired. Favorite songs were My Girls, Summertime Clothes, Bluish, and Brother Sport.

OK I GET IT. Britpop was a big deal in the late 90’s/Early 00’s. That doesn’t mean we need to give every single Oasis soundalike a spot on the list. Like this is fine, but I’ve already heard this before I even hit play. And after listening I’m still not sure I did. I assumed I was going to be gifted a Dylan cover, but was underwhelmed when it was just a shared title. Favorite song was North Country Boy.

This is definitely not an accessible listen. Kate Bush has her own unique style unlike any other artist. I thought this was really good, but I can understand why many might not like it. Favorite songs were Pull Out The Pin, Suspended In Gaffa, and Night Of The Swallow.

I understand exactly why the debut and this one were picked to represent Iron Maiden on the list, but it doesn’t mean I can’t be mad that Powerslave didn’t make the cut. It’s hard for me to think about this as being metal given how far it’s come since this. Bruce Dickinson has more of a voice for Prog than for metal to me so I’m glad they decided to go in the direction they did. Invaders is probably my least favorite song here, but the back half is so great it makes up for most flaws.

Sometimes I find myself just saying “James Brown, James Brown!” This is a fun album. Of course I knew Genius Of Love, but the other songs were good I liked the usage of other styles to influence this. Probably not something I would return to super often. Favorites were Wordy Rappinghood, Genius Of Love, and As Above, So Below.

It’s a perfectly fine tribute to the blues and southern rock of the 70’s. One that I’m sure I would like a lot more if I had grown up with it and had the nostalgia factor (See The Black Keys review to come later for this to pay off). Favorites were Twice As Hard, Seeing Things, Hard To Handle, and She Talks To Angels.

I initially wondered why this reminded me of Carole King until I looked at the credits and everything made sense. Son Of A Preacher Man is a classic and this record as a whole has some great moments. Favorites were So Much Love, Son Of A Preacher Man, Breakfast In Bed, and The Windmills Of Your Mind.

This is an interesting one for me. This absolutely blew my mind when I first listened to it in high school. I’m not sure it’s as good as I initially thought. This feels like I should be listening to the stereo mix with instances like the panning at the end of Interstellar Overdrive. However, sometimes it’s so choppy with how it cuts out of one ear that it takes me out of the experience. Mono it is then chief. The goofy Britishness works in this album’s favor especially on songs like The Gnome where it comes across as slightly unnerving. Favorites were Lucifer Sam, Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk, Interstellar Overdrive, and Bike.

When this came up I went back and relistened to the other Undertones album I was generated. This band is just really fun. They aren’t too serious, but I don’t think they are trying to be. This album is basically another batch of the same stuff, but who’s going to complain about a second cake. Favorite songs were There Goes Norman, Whizz Kids, Tearproof, and Wednesday Week.

This fills me with the desire to punch my senator and toss rocks at the windows of corporations. I won’t do those things, of course, but the energy is there. Really really great punk record.

The production on this is so very 80’s in the not good way. Faith is a good song I just wish it was longer. Maybe I just don’t really care for George Michael.

David Bowie is probably my favorite artist of all time. I love just about everything he did, but he never really was an “innovator”. He always seemed to make musical trends he liked his own. This is no exception to that. Mostly a relatively standard rock record featuring flavors of 90’s alt rock. He sounds very old here. This is still good, but it doesn’t do anything exceptionally unique. Favorites are The Next Day, The Stars, Valentine’s Day, Boss Of Me, and Set The World On Fire.

I’m glad I listened to this, but I probably won’t return to it. It certainly is a jazz tango album featuring lots of vibraphone. My favorite song was Nuevo Tango.

I’m probably overrating this, but I really enjoyed it. I knew Jane Says, but everything else here was new to me. Favorites were Ocean Size, Ted, Just Admit It…, Summertime Rolls, Idiots Rule, and Jane Says.

Much better than Scott 2. Still not big into this style, but this one had songs I liked and the lyrics were good. Favorites were The Seventh Seal, Hero Of The War, and The Old Man’s Back Again.

It’s basically two solo albums put together, but even so they are both pretty great. Speakerboxxx is consistent and soulful. The Love Below is jazzy and really creative. Who would have expected a breakbeat version of My Favorite Things. I don’t think this is quite as good as Stankonia. Favorites were GhettoMusick, Bow tie, The Way You Move, Bust, Church, Last Call, Hey Ya!, Roses, and Dracula’s Wedding.

This is some really great dance music. The bass lines are filthy, the builds are captivating, and everything maintains momentum which prevents me from getting bored unlike lots of other dance music. Very diverse.