Reviews by zoobee20

Kingfish reminded me of Nothing From Nothing by Billy Preston so I guess that automatically makes it better than the other album by him I listened to. I understand the point he is making and stories he is telling, but it’s not one I really want to come back to. I like that white dudes in the 70’s were super comfortable with dropping slurs in their songs in the name of “social commentary”. My favorite song was Mr. President.

At the intersection of U2 and The Pogues this is a right good time. I think the first half was overall stronger than the second. Solid fiddling throughout. Favorite songs were Fisherman’s Blues, We Will Not Be Lovers, World Party, and Sweet Thing.

The percussion on here is super interesting and the sampling is pretty cool. Not 100% sure when you would listen to something like this. Like it’s little too weird to be danced to. The soundscape on Mountain Of Needles had me floating. Favorites were Regiment, Help Me Somebody, and Mountain Of Needles.

The first half of this I thought was pretty good. The second half is such absolute shite that I can’t even consider giving this album above a 2. Concept albums aren’t for everyone guys and that’s ok. Favorites were Afterglow, Song Of A Baker, and Lazy Sunday.

I thought this was good. It’s not typically the type of music I would choose to listen to, but I can tell it’s well made. The lyrics were interesting. Favorite songs were The Calvary Cross, I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight, and The Little Beggar Girl.

Pretty good. I thought this was closer in style to The Stooges than it was to many of the other punk albums I’ve received. The horns on Know Your Product were an interesting attention grabber. Favorite songs were Know Your Product, Memories Are Made Of This, No, Your Product, Run Down, and Untitled.

A classic for a reason. You come for Layla and stay for the high quality guitar playing from both Clapton himself and Duane Allman. Probably not one I would regularly listen to the whole thing of, but it is really good. Favorite songs were I Looked Away, Bell Bottom Blues, Anyday, Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?, Little Wing, and Layla.

This very much reminded me of Spilt Milk by Jellyfish. Some high quality power pop here. There might be too much Britpop on the list, but it allows me to find new ones I like such as this so I can’t always complain. Favorite songs were Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier, Kevin Carter, Ebola / Alone, Everything Must Go, and Australia.

This was one I had never heard of and was a pleasant surprise. The stylistic blending on noise pop, indie rock, and even reggae sometimes was very enjoyable. I’m not sure I really got the vibe that this was a “shoegaze” album. Vocals are pretty good. Definitely one I will return to. Favorites songs were I Hang Suspended, Leaves And Sand, Barney (…and Me), and If Your Want It, Take It.

BONUS:
I also listened to the similarly titled album by John Coltrane that does not make an appearance in the book. That man is a wizard on the saxophone. The bass here is also really impressive. Just a constant sense of movement. Definitely one of my favorite jazz albums and probably the one I have listened to the most.
5/5

My grandma was a big fan of Rod Stewart and owned a lot of his CDs. I never really listened to any of those, but a guy called Rod Stewart did seem like the kind of artist to poke fun at. There is very little edge to this and it’s hard to really say this has an identity of its own beyond his voice as many of these songs are covers. That being said I did like it. Favorites were Gasoline Alley, Country Comfort, and You’re My Girl.

Prior to this I had only heard Rust In Peace from them, which I really liked. This isn’t that, but it’s still solid. The Metallica comparisons are always going to be made when discussing Megadeth. I think the pure musicianship here is better. However, I think I prefer the melodies and overall songwriting on Master Of Puppets which came out the same year. Favorite songs were Peace Sells, Good Mourning / Black Friday, and My Last Words.

This guy is Tim’s son? For some reason I have never listened to this one. I sorely regret that now. This is absolutely fantastic. The kind of music that can strongly affect me and make me feel. It feels very 90’s yet at the same time has shades of the 60’s singer-songwriter.

This is “we have Oasis at home” that really shouldn’t be here because the entire time I was thinking about how I could be listening to Oasis. Like it’s not technically bad, but I’m not itching to relisten. Favorite song was Natalie’s Party.

This is a lot more straightforward than much of the Velvet Underground I have listened to, but that’s not a bad thing. These are good, well written songs that form a pretty cohesive album experience. Definitely something I will go back to. Very immediately appealing. Favorites were Child’s Christmas In Wales, Andalucia, Paris 1919, and Antarctica Starts Here.

Yep, this is certainly music that I listened to. Reminded me of Duran Duran. Wait… what did I just listen to? It’s gone already? I mean, it was fine, but it’s another one to add to the pile of albums that were fine but were forgotten as soon as I finished listening. Favorites were Love Plus One, Fantastic Day, and Snow Girl.

Goofy looking armadillo tank on the cover here. I like it. When people talk about progressive rock wankery this is the kind of stuff they mean. How the hell am I supposed to understand that there is a story/concept here without having it explained to me? The title track does some neat things sometimes when it’s not keyboard nonsense for the sake of it. The rest of the album is a mixed bag ranging from plain bad to just ok.

The only thing I knew about Tom Waits was that people said he had a weird voice. I was expecting something like Bob Dylan, but was very surprised from the first track. This album took a second listen for me to really get it. The imagery he creates with each song is really amazing. It’s like each song is a scene from a movie. The guitar on the album is really great too.

It is possible to be interesting musically and lyrically while making a political and societal statement. This album does not do that for me. His lyrics are clearly very sarcastic, but he bashes that sarcasm over your head with a comically oversized mallet. I liked Political Science.

This is fun. Like a jazzy party. Lots of horns. Unfortunately the most interesting song was first and I don’t think the rest quite match up to it. Favorites were Wild Jungle, Kenya, and Cannonology

I mean, it’s not as good as The Low End Theory, but not many hip hop albums are. The beats are fun, the rhymes are fun. Just a very colorful album. Can I Kick It? Yes you can!