Tracks
- Metal Guru
- Mystic Lady
- Rock On
- The Slider
- Baby Boomerang
- Spaceball Ricochet
- Buick Mackane
- Telegram Sam
- Rabbit Fighter
- Baby Strange
- Ballrooms of Mars
- Chariot Choogle
- Main Man
The Slider is a playful album. The music is glam rock. Most of the songs feature a slow groove. The guitar-playing is slow, heavy and catchy. The vocals are the most interesting. The lead vocal is supported by a background vocal singing in falsetto. Combined with the tongue-in-cheek lyrics, the effect is seductive and sexy.
There's not much to this album. It's simple and harmless fun. So, far glam rock has been keeping rock music honest. This album succeeds on that front by virtue of not deviating much from the music on Electric Warrior, their previous album.
This album immediately and immensely enjoyable. It's worth listening to and either this album or Electric Warrior should be part of any serious music listener's collection. But because it sounds so much like their previous effort, there's no reason for this to be on the 1001 Albums list.
All the songs are quite good, although the middle songs flag a little bit relative to the opening and closing songs. The stand outs are: Metal Guru, Mystic Lady, Rock On, The Slider, Spaceball Ricochet, Telegram Sam, Rabbit Fighter, Baby Strange, Chariot Choogle and Main Man.
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- Song of Love
- Rock & Roll Crazies/Cuban Bluegrass
- Jet Set (Sigh)
- Anyway
- Both of Us (Bound to Lose)
- Fallen Eagle
- Jesus Gave Love Away for Free
- Colorado
- So Begins the Task
- Hide It So Deep
- Don't Look at My Shadow
- It Doesn't Matter
- Johnny's Garden
- Bound to Fall
- How Far
- Move Around
- The Love Gangster
- What to Do
- Right Now
- The Treasure (Take One)
- Blues Man
Manassas is a solid album. The music is rock—and country and blues and bluegrass. The band likes to get into a groove and jam, just like the blues. But what's played over the groove is country and bluegrass. It's similar in many ways to Will the Circle Be Unbroken. And it's also what one might expect if the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash were to merge together.
This album feels like one continuous jam that transitions by throwing in a groove or a melody. Thus, the songs are not always easily distinguishable and sort of become one long drone. However, there are enough exciting grooves, riffs and melodies to make to keep if from being uninteresting.
This album didn't impress me at first, but I've come to like it after listening to it over and over. It starts and ends strong. The middle is good but unremarkable. So, it probably could have been a single album instead of a double.
I think the album worth listening to. Although it's true there have been rock bands that have done country music albums, this one strikes a better balance between rock and country and emphasizes the groove more so than the others and that groove is essential to the country rock bands that follow. So, for that reason, it should be on the 1001 Albums list.
There are some really good songs on this album. The stand outs are: Song of Love, Rock & Roll Crazies/Cuban Bluegrass, Jet Set (Sigh), So Begins the Task, Don't Look at My Shadow, It Doesn't Matter, Johnny's Garden, Bound to Fall, How Far, The Love Gangster, What to Do, Right Now, The Treasure (Take One) and Blues Man.
★★★★★★★★★☆
Tracks
- You Are the Sunshine of My Life
- Maybe Your Baby
- You and I
- Tuesday Heartbreak
- You've Got It Bad Girl
- Superstition
- Big Brother
- Blame It on the Sun
- Looking for Another Pure Love
- I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)
Talking Book is a peaceful album. The music is soul and funk, but it's much different from the kind of soul and funk that has come before. First, it's a lot more mellow. Second, it's less about sex and more about love.
Stevie Wonder is a keyboard player, so it's the dominant sound on the album are from synthesizers. I don't completely enjoy the sounds and textures coming from some of the synths he uses. They have a cheap-sounding quality to them. Since synths were a new technology at the time, there were limitations to how they sounded. I'm not sure if that's what the problem is in this case or it's the sound Stevie Wonder exactly wanted. Perhaps, if I could get past some of the synth sounds, I could accept this album more.
The other problem I have is with the lyrics. I'm not entirely convinced they aren't the typical singer/songwriter tripe. I guess there's a quirkiness to this album that might be because Stevie Wonder is a bit off-kilter.
I like this album more and more, but I don't understand why there's so much love for it from critics. There are some really strong songs and the album is thematically and stylistically cohesive, but there are more than a handful of songs that could easily be filler. I just think I don't get this album.
I'll have to reserve judgement until a later time. I sense a lot of promise with it and it's certainly not a bad album, but I'm just not entirely convinced whether this is an album worth listening to and whether it's deserving of being on the 1001 Albums list.
There are some really good songs on this album. The stand outs are: Superstition, Big Brother, Blame It on the Sun and I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever). The songs that I'm unsure about are: You Are the Sunshine of My Life, Maybe Your Baby, You and I, and You've Got It Bad Girl.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Tracks
- Grand Ole Opry Song
- Keep on the Sunny Side
- Nashville Blues
- You Are My Flower
- The Precious Jewel
- Dark as a Dungeon
- Tennessee Stud
- Black Mountain Rag
- Wreck on the Highway
- The End of the World
- I Saw the Light
- Sunny Side of the Mountain
- Nine Pound Hammer
- Losin' You (Might Be the Best Thing Yet)
- Honky Tonkin'
- You Don't Know My Mind
- My Walkin' Shoes
- Lonesome Fiddle Blues
- Cannonball Rag
- Avalanche
- Flint Hill Special
- Togary Mountain
- Earl's Breakdown
- Orange Blossom Special
- Wabash Cannonball
- Lost Highway
- Doc Watson & Merle Travis First Meeting (Dialogue)
- Way Downtown
- Down Yonder
- Pins and Needles (In My Heart)
- Honky Tonk Blues
- Sailin' on to Hawaii
- I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes
- I am a Pilgrim
- Wildwood Flower
- Soldier's Joy
- Will the Circle Be Unbroken
- Both Sides Now
Will the Circle Be Unbroken is a fascinating album. The music is country. It's a more traditional form of country which is different from the "Nashville sound" and "Bakersfield sound" that starts to appear in the country music world in the 1960s. It's entirely possible that this music is not too far off from the hillbilly music that was played in Appalachia in the 19th Century and earlier, as suggested by the Civil War portrait on the cover.
It's not a coincidence that this album does a good job replicating hillbilly music. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, who hail from California and have no direct connection with Appalachia, are accompanied on this recording by some of the legends of country and bluegrass music.
I love this album. I love the sound of banjos and fiddles. They always sound happy and upbeat. I love listening to the smart and witty songs and I've always been a sucker for religious songs. I certainly think this is an album worth listening to. I think serious music collectors should consider adding this album to their collection. This album does deserve to be on the 1001 Albums, since it's nearly an historical document of a dead or dying form of traditional music.
All the songs are outstanding and for three albums worth of music that's no easy feat. What's even better is listening to the musicians talk in between songs.
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- I Saw the Light
- It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference
- Wolfman Jack
- Cold Morning Light
- It Takes Two to Tango (This Is for the Girls)
- Sweeter Memories
- Intro
- Breathless
- The Night the Carousel Burnt Down
- Saving Grace
- Marlene
- Song of the Viking
- I Went to the Mirror
- Black Maria
- One More Day (No Word)
- Couldn't I Just Tell You
- Torch Song
- Little Red Lights
- Overture–My Roots: Money (That's What I Want)/Messin' With The Kid
- Dust in the Wind
- Piss Aaron
- Hello It's Me
- Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me
- You Left Me Sore
- Slut
Something/Anything? is a prodigious album. The music is pop rock, but that doesn't even begin to describe the range of songs on this album. The songs span from the early '60s to the early '70s. It's as if Rundgren wanted to compile an anthology of rock song styles.
That variety, along with the fact that Todd Rundgren single-handedly made the first three quarters of this album—Yes, he not only wrote all the songs and produced the album, but he also performed all the instruments on the first three quarters of the album—potentially puts this album into a parody category. Did Todd Rundgren decide to do this album because he could? Did he challenge himself to write songs in a particular style? Do the songs have any value beyond this exercise?
This album is an absolute blast, but I do feel it's a very unserious album and that I'd be a fool to take it seriously. I think the album could have been cut down. The last quarter is much weaker than the previous three quarters and there are enough songs on the previous three quarters that could have been left off.
This album is worth listening to. I really would like to suggest that it belong in the collection of serious music collectors, but I can't. It does however belong on the 1001 Albums list. This album is a positive influence on power pop and a negative influence on the soft rock.
All the songs are solid. The stand outs are I Saw the Light, Wolfman Jack, It Takes Two to Tango (This Is for the Girls), Sweeter Memories, Saving Grace, Marlene, It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference, I Went to the Mirror, Black Maria, Couldn't I Just Tell You, Torch Song, Little Red Lights, Hello It's Me, Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me and Slut.
★★★★★★★★★☆
Tracks
- Tudo Que Você Podia Ser
- Cais
- O Trem Azul
- Saídas E Bandeiras Nᵒ 1
- Nuvem Cigana
- Cravo E Canela
- Dos Cruces
- Um Girassol Da Cor De Seu Cabelo
- San Vicente
- Estrelas
- Clube Da Esquina Nº 2
- Paisagem Da Janela
- Me Deixa Em Paz
- Os Povos
- Saídas E Bandeiras Nᵒ 2
- Um Gosto De Sol
- Pelo Amor De Deus
- Lilia
- Trem De Doido
- Nada Será Como Antes
- Ao Que Vai Nascer
Clube Da Esquina is an infectious album. The music is latin—more specifically—Música Popular Brasileira (MPB). That means nothing to me, of course and is obviously just a catchall phrase for any music made by Brazilian musicians. Anyway, the music sounds latin just by the way the guitar and drums sound.
This is one of the densest, richest and most subtle albums I've ever heard. That's partially because it's a double album, but I believe it's mostly because there is so much variety, the rhythms are infectious and the songs are intensely compelling. It could be that behind the Portuguese is nonsense, and that I'm really confusing profundity with exoticism. I don't believe that to be true, though. This music is neither traditional nor quaint. It is sophisticated and played with skill.
This is an absolutely brilliant album. I underestimated and dismissed it the first two times. I haven't made that mistake since. I think I'll have to listen to this a dozen more times to even get close to fully appreciate all the fine details.
I'm not keen on recommending albums that aren't rock albums since that's what the list is really focused on. But I'll make an exception here. This album most definitely should be on the 1001 Albums list and any album collection lacking this album is not a serious one.
All the songs are great. I could just list them all and should because any I fail to list are probably just oversights. These are the current stand outs: Tudo Que Você Podia Ser, Saídas E Bandeiras Nᵒ 1, Cravo E Canela, Dos Cruces, Um Girassol Da Cor De Seu Cabelo, San Vicente, Clube Da Esquina Nº 2, Me Deixa Em Paz, Os Povos, Saídas E Bandeiras Nᵒ 2, Um Gosto De Sol, Pelo Amor De Deus, Lilia, Trem De Doido and Ao Que Vai Nascer
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- Part Of A Whole
- Minawa
- The Big Apple
- Uhomé
- Maseru
- Inner Crisis
- Blues For Huey
- Nomali
- Maesha
- Ingoo Pow-Pow (Children's Song)
Home Is Where the Music Is is a soothing album. The music is jazz. The music is performed by a five-piece group, comprising of three South Africans and two Americans. That's interesting because of the possibilities of inflecting jazz with music from another culture.
And looking at the exotic titles for some of the pieces would suggest that Hugh Masekela is bringing in musical styles from his native South Africa. Perhaps that's what's responsible for the strong melodies since the jazz that they're doing is certainly more melodic that the jazz from artists previously featured on this list. If the influences are manifesting themselves in other ways, I can't tell, though.
This is a good album, but it's a little longer than it needs to be. Like I've said before: since the 1001 Albums list is primarily a list of rock albums from the US, UK and Canada, it's unnecessary for jazz albums and music from artists outside those countries to appear on this list. This album belongs to both categories, so there's two reasons for it not to be on the list. I think it's worth listening to, especially for those who enjoy jazz.
All the songs are good and are fairly equal in quality. All, or at least most, have a strong melody that makes it interesting and compelling to listen to. I'll leave it at that.
★★★★★★★★★☆
Tracks
- Vicious
- Andy's Chest
- Perfect Day
- Hangin' 'Round
- Walk on the Wild Side
- Make Up
- Satellite of Love
- Wagon Wheel
- New York Telephone Conversation
- I'm So Free
- Goodnight Ladies
Transformer is a rebellious album. The music is art rock. Song topics aside, this is a rock album. It's the countercultural themes that make this art rock or glam rock. There's a hint of David Bowie in the music which is because Mick Ronson, Bowie's guitarist, was heavily involved, producing the album and playing lead guitar.
When it was released, this album probably freaked a lot of people with the homosexual and drag references. Today, listeners might wonder why Lou Reed dwells on things which are commonplace.
It takes patience to "discover" this album. Vicious, Perfect Day, and Walk on the Wild Side are excellent from the start. Then after listening a couple more times, Hangin' Round, Satellite of Love and Wagon Wheel become enjoyable. Next to grow on me after a few more listenings were Andy's Chest, Make Up and I'm So Free. New York Telephone Conversation and Goodnight Ladies are just weeds in the way.
This is a decent album, but that's not immediately apparent. Lou Reed might just be a subtle genius. If that's true then this album certainly deserves to be on the 1001 Albums list because it contains the spirit of rock and roll: rebelliousness. Otherwise, it's just a waste of time.
Most songs are quite good. Vicious, Perfect Day, Walk on the Wild Side, Hangin' Round, Satellite of Love and Wagon Wheel are the stand outs.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Tracks
- Close to the Edge
- And You and I
- Siberian Khatru
Close to the Edge is an impenetrable album. The music is progressive rock. It's a concept album—obviously. Fortunately, for the band, they are able to come up with enough "concept" to avoid adding filler.
Like all progressive rock albums, this one suffers from self-indulgence. Beautiful, elaborate, complex and technical music is created to support a supposed revelation of profound and life-altering truth, but which makes little sense, either logically or lyrically. Either that or I'm too dimwitted to appreciate the truth within. Ultimately, this is music which is created to serve itself.
This is a good album musically, though. Unlike a lot of prog rock, the music doesn't assault the listener. This album features prog rock at its best, so it should be on the 1001 Albums list.
All three songs are quite good. I prefer the last two over the first, though.
★★★★★★★★★☆
Tracks
- Highway Star
- Child in Time
- Smoke on the Water
- The Mule
- Strange Kind of Woman
- Lazy
- Space Truckin'
Made In Japan is a lively album. The music is hard rock. It's a live album recorded in Japan. Four songs come from Machine Head and one comes from In Rock which are two albums already featured on the 1001 Albums list. For the live performances, the band extends the songs with guitar solos and jams.
Deep Purple sound louder, faster and fuller on a live recording than on a studio recording.
This is an outstanding album, even though its length despite so few songs can test your endurance. It's definitely worth listening to and is probably a better substitute for buying the three studio albums which the songs come from. I'm not sure it needs to be on the 1001 Albums. That it's such a good live performance and a model for future hard rock and heavy metal bands to emulate are two reasons for including it.
All of the songs quite good. The stand outs are Highway Star, Child in Time, Smoke on the Water, Strange Kind of Woman and Space Truckin'.
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- How D'You Ride
- The Whole World's Goin' Crazee
- Look at Last Nite
- I Won't Let It 'Appen Agen
- Move Over
- Gudbuy T'Jane
- Gudbuy Gudbuy
- Mama Weer All Crazee Now
- I Don' Mind
- Let the Good Times Roll
Slayed? is a coarse album. The music is rock—drums, guitar, bass and vocals. And these guys make the most of it. They've got stadium-stomping anthemic beats and a singer who does a great banshee imitation. What else does there need to be?
They should be classified as blues rock, too. Check out I Don' Mind and they do a great cover of Janis Joplin's Move Over.
This is rock and roll in the same tradition and spirit as the early pre-Beatles rock and rollers and contemporaries like Rod Stewart. This is pure fun, probably a bit more lowbrow and mindless than the others, but those descriptors are not meant as insults. This is rock and roll arguably at its purest and best.
The album is an unexpected breath of fresh air. It's simple, loud and fun. Glam rock is surprisingly the genre that's doing the most to keep rock and roll pure. This album was meant for the 1001 Albums list since it's really a thinly-veiled list of the top rock albums anyway.
All of the songs are great. The stand outs are How D'You Ride, The Whole World's Goin' Crazee, Look at Last Night, Move Over, Gudbuy T'Jane and I Don' Mind.
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- Little Child Runnin' Wild
- Pusherman
- Freddie's Dead
- Junkie Chase (Instrumental)
- Give Me Your Love (Love Song)
- Eddie You Should Know Better
- No Thing on Me (Cocaine Song)
- Think (Instrumental)
- Superfly
Super Fly is an earnest album (for a decidedly un-serious film). The music is funk with the Curtis Mayfield singing soulfully. The instrumentals don't allow a listener to forget that this is a soundtrack album. (What came first–the soundtrack instrumental sound of the '70s or the blaxploitation film genre?)
Despite what the album is, it contains serious music with serious social issues being addressed. The potential problem is that Curtis Mayfield comes off as a Marvin Gaye ripoff. Intention is the unknowable variable.
The album is great musically when it's not revealing it's soundtrack nature. However, even the soundtrack instrumentals are better than what some contemporary singer-songwriters have to offer. I think this would have been a lot better if it hadn't been limited by it being a soundtrack album. I do think this album should be on the 1001 Albums list; Curtis Mayfield has set the bar high for soundtrack album quality.
All of the songs are good. The stand outs are Little Child Runnin' Wild, Pusherman, Freddie's Dead, Give Me Your Love (Love Song) and Superfly.
★★★★★★★★★☆
Tracks
- Out on the Weekend
- Harvest
- A Man Needs a Maid
- Heart of Gold
- Are You Ready for the Country?
- Old Man
- There's a World
- Alabama
- The Needle and the Damage Done
- Words (Between the Lines of Age)
Harvest is an unfocused album. The music is mix of country rock and folk rock. The songs are lean, that is when there isn't an orchestral accompaniment, and mostly acoustic. No matter, there isn't a lack of melodies, riffs or solos. The lyrics are deeply personal and troubling; they're of a man suffering from loneliness and weariness of the world.
Neil Young writes really beautiful songs and he performs them as if he means it. But with this album Neil Young seems confused and doesn't have a real point to make; he seems uninspired.
The album is good, but it's hard to get excited about. Perhaps this album is just meant to be one big downer. I don't think this album is necessary for the 1001 Albums list; other Neil Young albums are similar enough, and they're the only ones that matter since he's the only who gets this style right.
All of the songs are good. The stand outs are Out on the Weekend, Harvest, A Man Needs a Maid, Heart of Gold, Old Man, The Needle and the Damage Done, and Words (Behind the Lines of Age).
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Tracks
- Do It Again
- Dirty Work
- Kings
- Midnite Cruiser
- Only a Fool Would Say That
- Reelin' in the Years
- Fire in the Hole
- Brooklyn
- Change of the Guard
- Turn That Heartbeat Over Again
Can't Buy A Thrill is a lush album. The music is soft rock. But that seems to simplistic. There's a complexity to this album that makes it seems more like jazz than rock. However, it's definitely not jazz, if jazz means improvisation. This album certainly isn't soft rock either; there are enough guitar solos and heavy drumming to counter that idea.
Ultimately, the music is mature and cerebral. This is rock and roll for the professional class, which might be why it gets classified as soft rock. There's a lot of rock music being made for the hippies-turned-yuppies and most of it is vapid pap, having lost it's rebellious edge. This album teeters on the edge of that leaning more on the side of the latter than the former.
The album is maddening. I want to like it and I want to hate it. I really like how it sounds, but the singers come off as smug and pretentious, like these guys are in on a joke you aren't privvy to and you're an idiot because of it. I do think this album should be on the 1001 Albums list. Like a lot of similar bands at this time, Steely Dan helps to usher in the soft rock nonsense that plagues the airwaves during the 1970s and 1980s.
All of the songs are good. The stand outs are Do It Again, Dirty Work, Kings, Midnite Cruiser, Reelin' in the Years, Fire in the Hole, and Brooklyn.
★★★★★★★★★☆
Tracks
- Wheels of Confusion
- Tomorrow's Dream
- Changes
- FX
- Supernaut
- Snowblind
- Cornucopia
- Laguna Sunrise
- St. Vitus Dance
- Under The Sun
Black Sabbath Vol. 4 is a ponderous album. The music is heavy metal. Most of the songs work from a simple riff. There is also an odd ballad or two and a couple of short instrumental fillers.
Most of the songs start off with the best of intentions with a really cool and heavy riff, but then quickly transform into lumbering behemoths that prefer to plod on than to lay down and die. Cornucopia is the quintessential example of this and it's not even four minutes long.
While Changes is a good ballad, it's doesn't fit on this album. And FX and Laguna Sunrise get in the way.
The album is decent. It's worth listening to for the riffs, but there's no need for it to be on the 1001 Albums list. And if this is the album that inspired 1000 hair bands from the '80s to include ballads on their albums, then it would have been best that this album had never been made.
Most of the songs on this album are good. The stand outs are Wheels of Confusion, Supernaut, Snowblind, and Under The Sun.
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Tracks
- Feel
- The Ballad of El Goodo
- In The Street
- Thirteen
- Don't Lie To Me
- The India Song
- When My Baby's Beside Me
- My Life Is Right
- Give Me Another Chance
- Try Again
- Watch The Sunrise
- ST 100/6
#1 Record is a carefree album. The music is power pop. The songs are sunny and unserious—pure summertime high-school fun. They have a clear sound, and the guitar jangles, but there's a potential to rely on more on formula than inspiration. The lyrics are reassuring and positive.
The music is pop rock that wants to be hard rock with all the riffs and solos. The album reminds me of a kitten. It's cute, energetic, aggressive, and completely lacking the potential to do serious damage.
The album is good. The first half of the album is strong; the second half not so much. Unlike most pop artists who try in vain to wax philosophical, Alex Chilton doesn't take himself very seriously. It's worth listening to because it gets pop right. With that said, it should be on the 1001 Albums list.
All the songs on this album are quite good. The stand outs are Feel, The Ballad of El Goodo, In The Street, Thirteen, Don't Lie To Me, My Life Is Right, and Try Again.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
