This was a good album. It was so simple but catchy. It is the band's 8th album in 8 years. I'm not sure how it ranks on the scale of their best albums, since I have only listened to one other, but how can it not be good when the first track is essentially the title of the song repeated over and over. That's some good song writing.
I actually liked this album. Once again it is old school country, which is the best kind. Everything about the album was good. Vocally, musically, and lyrically, it really shined.
This album was a little bit of a let down. It really only had two good songs and one cover version that wasn't as good as the original. I have liked the CCR songs that I had heard in the past, but wasn't impressed with the band as a whole album.
Another Eagles album, and some more great songs. It is one of the best selling albums of all times, and "Hotel California" is probably their most popular song. The only issue is that, once again, the best songs on the album are the four hits and the remaining songs are just average.
Didn't love this album. in my opinion it is sub-par, trying to be a punk album but never really getting there.
I actually kind of liked this album. It is the first exposure that I have had to the band. What I liked about it is that the singer sounded a lot like David Bowie, whom I really like. Musically it is very similar to what he would do to. Where it fell short is the lyrics. They weren't terrible, but definitely the weakest part of the album.
Wow three really enjoyable albums in a row. An indie-rock band from Washington state, the album is pretty raw, and the singer is not super great, but despite these flaws it was still really good. Actually it was probably good because of these faults. Definitely glad I had a chance to listen to it.
BB King is an amazing blues guitarist. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this album, even though it was live. The sound quality wasn't great and I hadn't heard any of the songs before but I still really got into it. I especially like the snippets of BB talking between the songs, very entertaining.
Listed as a hardcore punk band, I really liked this album. It was much heavier than other punk albums I have listened to, more bordering on heavy metal than punk, which is probably why I liked it more. Then when you least expect it they throw in a bit of reggae just to spice things up a bit. Good album.
ELO is one of those bands that, while I don't have any of their music and never listen to them, when I do hear them I really enjoy them. Their music is some really good 70's rock. Super catchy and fun to listen to.
I have listened to another band that is part of the "shoegazing" genre, My Bloody Valentine. The genre, if you don't remember, uses a lot of guitar distortion and obscuring of their voices to the point that the lyrics are almost indistinguishable. I haven't like My Bloody Valentine but this album was much more enjoyable. It wasn't great, but it was listenable. More mellow and less obscured.
The Tom Tom Club was formed in 1980 as a side project for two members, a husband and wife, of the band The Talking Heads. There has some weird albums so far on this journey. Sometimes they are weird and terrible and not worth listening to. Other times, like this album, it is just the right amount of weird. now I'm not saying it was awesome, but it was good enough, entertaining enough to warrant a listen.
I really like the Beastie Boys. In fact their album "Licensed to Ill" just might be my favourite rap album. Licensed is their first album and this is their second, and it is a pretty decent follow up. It is more mature and refined as an album compared to Licensed.
A little while ago I was talking to someone about Queen, after seeing the trailer to the biopic that is coming out about the band. They are definitely a band that I don't listen to very often but I was saying that when I do get a change to listen to them I always think that they are such a great band. Listening to this album reminded me of that again. They were just so far ahead of other bands of the time.
This album was a mess. It is the band's debut album and I really just could not figure out what they were trying to do. The music is all over the place and most of the time I had a really hard time even understanding the lyrics.
I haven't been a Sheryl Crow fan in the past. She has had a lot of hit songs but they just aren't my style of music. This is an example of an album that is much better as a whole instead of individual hit singles. It's not that the songs as a whole tell a continuous story, or that she was trying to make a concept type album, but the songs just work well together.
This album was terrible, good thing Queen Latifah has been able to carve out somewhat of a decent acting career.
An album of songs, some originals and some covers, all built around the bongos, what could be better? Well a lot of things actually. Turns out an album of bongo music, with no singing, gets old after a couple songs.
I wasn't overly impressed with this album. I know it was very popular when it came out and had a couple of huge songs on it but it just didn't do it for me.
Once again an album primarily in another language. In fact multiple languages, the can actually speak 8 different one. Manu is a Spanish guitar player born in France, and he is definitely talented, but it was hard to stay interested in it.
This is probably my favorite led Zeppelin album so far. I have liked them all to be honest, and listening to them have changed my opinion of the band. This album has a number of great songs on it and arguably their most popular song of all time "Stairway to Heaven". Two more Led Zeppelin albums and I'm excited to hear them.
This album was nothing I would listen to, but it had a lot of interesting elements to it. It combined world music sound, dance, electronic and Hip-hop sounds.
In 1988 and 89 Underworld released their first two albums, "Underneath the Radar" and "Change the Weather", both of which I really, really liked. In fact I they are still two of my favorite albums. imagine my surprise, that when I purchased their 1994 album "Dubnobasswithmyheadman", the band had completely re-tooled their sound and were now a techno/house band, a sound I have never been able to get into. Since then the band has released six more albums all in the same genre. I haven't attempted to listen to any of them until now, and I think I'll just stick to the albums that I like.
Jimi Hendrix is another member of the 27 club. Another musician who tragically died at the age of 27, after overdosing. During his short life, and career, he only released three albums, but from those albums and his live performances, his has become know as one of the best guitar players ever. Do I agree? He is up there, but I also think there are better. Over all the album was pretty good, even if it isn't my style of music. It has some pretty great songs on it but what I am totally amazed by is the fact that for a guy that only recorded three studio albums there have been more than 50 albums released since his death, mostly live albums of the same material repackaged over and over. His estate has definitely capitalized on his music, too bad he didn't live to see any of it.
I don't know much about rap, and I don't know anything about Kendrick Lamar. There was a clean version of the album however, so I was able to give it a listen, and it wasn't to bad actually. it had a lot of interesting elements to it, and it didn't sound like run of the mill rap. I am definitely not an expert on rap by any stretch, but it was good enough that I didn't want to shut it off, which is probably more than I expected.
I first learned about Joy Division after starting to listen to New Order, one of my favorite 80's bands. You see New Order was once Joy Division. In the late 70's joy Division was gaining in popularity. They had just released this album, their second, and were on the verge of their first North American tour. On the eve of their leaving for North America, Ian Curtis, the bands singer hung himself in his kitchen and committed suicide. Ian had been suffering from epilepsy his entire life, and was now facing a failed marriage and decided he couldn't take it any longer. After a short break the band reformed as New Order, with Joy Divisions guitarist as their new singer/song writer.
Being Canadian I almost feel like it is my duty to like Rush. I have never, however, listened to any of their albums before now. Mostly because they are before my time, also because 70's classic rock is not my favorite genre and lastly because the few songs that I have heard I didn't really like all that much. Geddy Lee's voice is a bit too much on the side of squelching for my taste. I will admit though, Neil Peart is a phenomenal drummer, possibly one of the best ever.
This album was terrible. Everything about it. The music, the lyrics, the singing, I have no idea how it got released or how it made it on to this list. It was just bad.
For a punk band this album was pretty tame. I expected a loud fast paced album and it wasn't that at all. Overall I though it was just average, nothing really stuck out to me as a great song.
This album was not good. I remember it from when it came out and the two singles that were released. The were definitely huge at the time, but as for the rest of the album it was just not very good. It's no wonder she is pretty much just a one hit wonder.
So if I didn't know who I was listening to I would swear this is a Duran Duran album. Japan is an English new-wave band that had most of their success in the late 70's and early 80's. Their sound is very very similar to Duran Duran, the lead singers even sound pretty much the same. Now I'm not saying one band copied the other, they both formed around the same time, they just both
The second Marvin Gaye album and I didn't find it as good as "What's Going On". In fact the only song on the album that I liked was the title track, which just might be his most famous and responsible for a lot of babies being born over the years 😖
I have been overly critical of the last couple Stevie Wonder albums I have listened to. They had a couple good songs on them but the rest of the albums were average at best, and I got the impression that everyone puts him on a pedestal that maybe isn't deserved. Well that opinion changed with this album. It was amazing. From start to finish I enjoyed the whole thing. Released as a double album if there is a weak part I would have to say it is the second album, but even they it was pretty darn good. Now I know what all the fuss is about.
One and done as a band I can see why. This album was terrible. I'm not sure if the band broke up before recording a second, if their label dropped them or if people simply begged them to never record again.
Who doesn't love them some Aerosmith. They are the 70's rock band. They have had a very long and very successful career, pumping out album after album, hit after hit, and this album is one of their best that's for sure. It has two of their biggest hits on it and all of the rest of the songs are really solid. Great album.
Now this is what I'm talking about. This is a great jazz album. Duke Ellington was a pianist and band leader for over 50 years and has made a ton of albums, and if they are all as good as this one then he had an amazing career.
I wasn't "Thrilled" with this haha. Actually, honestly, it wasn't terrible, and the band actually has a novel approach to basic rock and roll by adding elements of country like slide guitar and harmonica. Overall it was average at best but they do get a couple bonus points for their originality.
I loved the first Frank Sinatra album that I listened to so I was happy to have another to give a listen, and I was not disappointed. It was different than the other album in sound. The last was the big band sound through and through, and while this one also was, it was done with a Spanish flare, musically and vocally. While, in my opinion, it probably wasn't quite as good as the first it was still enjoyable to listen to.
One of Bob Dylan's "later" works, released in 1994, and many many albums into his career, his 30th in fact, I didn't really love it. I didn't really love his older albums that I have released, but with those at least I had heard a couple of those songs, and could appreciate his song writing, if nothing else. With this album I hadn't heard any of the songs, and nothing really struck me as being amazing, and I still think the guy can not sing.
David Crosby of Crosby & Nash or Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and this his solo work. Primarily folk music while playing with the others, he continued that genre with this album. I guess stick with what you know. It wasn't terrible I guess, just not the type of music that I like to listen to.
Another opportunity to try and like a Rolling Stones album, and I just don't.
Elton John has released a ton of albums, both studio, live and compilation, and has had more success than more than probably 99% of the artists that have ever released an album. I however have never really been a fan of his music. I can appreciate that the songs that I have heard, mostly his hits, are usually very well written, composed and sung. He definitely is an amazing piano player, one of the best and can sing for sure. I had only heard one song on the album and it was worthy of being a hit song, as for the other they were good, but once again not really my style.
The debut album from Californian punk-rock band Black Flag was much harder than most of the other puck albums I have listened to so far. It was almost a cross between puck and metal. I did like it although I wouldn't listen to it again.
Belle & Sebastian are a Scottish pop band formed in 1994. They have released a number of albums and although they have received critical acclaim they have never received much commercial success. After listening to this, their second album, I can understand why. It was the equivalent of a movie that wins best picture and all the critics love it so you watch it and you go "what the crap was that". This album was just like that. I can see why critics would think it was amazing but it did nothing for me. And a lot of the time the lyrics just plain terrible.
I only know a few things about Peter Gabriel. He was once the lead singer for the band Genesis, I didn't really like the one album I reviewed with him as the singer. I know a few of his songs from his mid-80's albums "So" and "Us", he was pretty huge for a couple years. And I know that the lead singer of my favorite band, Blue October, has often mentioned that Peter Gabriel is one of the artists that he loves and counts as a major influence to his music.
An electronic band from Australia, the band has only released 2 albums. One in 2000 and one in 2016. This album is their first and it was created using more than 3500 samples from songs from various genres. So literally none the music is their own or original to them. While it's a neat idea for me it was another electronic album where the songs all run together and pretty much sound the same.
No clean version of the album to listen to.
Way back when I started this blog the first time, I reviewed New Order's Technique album. Here is the link to that post: New Order - Technique In that post I wrote that Technique was my favorite New Order album. Seven years later that still holds true. The band hasn't been super prolific with their album production. In their 38 years as a band they have only released 9 albums of new material. They have also released 9 compilation albums, but in my opinion, for a true fan, they are a waste of money. It is just repackaging of hits in different ways, with the occasional new song or mix added in to entice you to buy it.