Best Ever Albums

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

RockyRaccoon — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 14:51:49 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/16/2026 18:51

África Brasil (1976) by Jorge Ben

Genres are great, but the best albums transcend genre. They take influences from all over, throw them all into a blender, and create music, and Jorge Ben does that here on 1976’s “África Brasil.”

Samba, funk, soul, MPB, rock, it’s all here, and none of it is competing for space, it’s all thrown in together and comes out as something that sounds completely natural.

The first song on the album, “Ponta De Lança Africano (Umbabarauma),” signals a new era for Jorge Ben. Up to this point, much of his music had centralized around the acoustic guitar, but opening up “África Brasil,” we see Ben embracing the electric guitar, giving his music a sharper, heavier, and funkier edge to it.

What’s impressive to me is how much of this album sounds deeply Brazilian while also sounding remarkably close in spirit to American funk like James Brown and Sly Stone. Ben isn’t imitating American funk though, he’s absorbing it into his own musical language to create something all his own.

It’s hard to talk about this album without talking about “Taj Mahal,” for two reasons. First, it’s just a great song—it’s this huge, funky, catchy jam. But also because Rod Stewart famously borrowed (stole?) the catchy refrain for his song “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” which eventually resulted in a plagiarism dispute and settlement in which the proceeds were sent to UNICEF.

But top to bottom, this album is a blast. It sounds like a big party, Ben never feels like he’s trying too hard, everything is loose and fun with an incredible groove. “África Brasil” is impossible to resist.

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

RockyRaccoon — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 14:46:33 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/15/2026 18:46

Foxtrot (1972) by Genesis

Released 54 years ago today, “Foxtrot” represents a real turning point for Genesis, an album where they really started to sound like the progressive rock titans they eventually became.

They’d shown flashes of their brilliance on “Trespass” and “Nursery Cryme,” both of which are excellent albums, but “Foxtrot” is when Genesis really came into their own. It’s theatrical without being ridiculous, intricate without losing its sense of melody, and full of the eccentricity that would become central to the band’s identity.

You’ve got some of Genesis’ best early work on this album. “Watcher of the Skies” is an incredible opener, with Tony Banks’ ominous Mellotron immediately creating this otherworldly atmosphere before the rest of the band crashes in.

And of course there’s “Supper’s Ready,” one of the most impressive pieces ever released in progressive rock. At 23 minutes, “Supper’s Ready” could have easily become an exercise in prog excess, but Genesis impressively make the whole thing work. It moves through multiple sections and moods, from pastoral folk-rock to eerie psychedelia to full-blown symphonic grandeur. It also features some other-worldly drumming from Phil Collins (never let anyone tell you Collins was more a singer than a drummer).

“Foxtrot” serves as a foreshadowing of Genesis’ later masterpieces in “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” and “Selling England by the Pound.” It’s a landmark of early prog rock and the album that established the blueprint for the classic era of one of the genre’s all-time greats.

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

RockyRaccoon — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 14:48:15 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/14/2026 18:48

Magic Christian Music (1970) by Badfinger

Badfinger is one of those bands that’s equally remembered for their music as they are for the mythology surrounding the band.

The first band signed to The Beatles’ Apple Records and named after the original title for “With a Little Help From My Friends” (which was “Bad Finger Boogie”), Badfinger’s debut under their new name was this album, “Magic Christian Music.”

And it features some of their greatest tunes. You, of course, have “Come and Get It,” which was written and produced by Paul McCartney and remains one of Badfinger’s best-known songs. It’s almost an absurdly perfect pop song: instantly memorable, super catch, tightly constructed, it’s not only a showcase for how tight Badfinger was as a band but how ridiculously talented Paul McCartney is/was at writing a pop song.

While “Come and Get It” is probably the most famous song on the album, there are other songs that very much deserve recognition, including “Carry On Till Tomorrow,” which shows just how strong of a songwriter Pete Ham was, and “Rock of All Ages,” which features a bit of a tougher, more aggressive sound that foreshadows the band’s later work.

Unfortunately, Badfinger got wrapped up in the drama surrounding the end of The Beatles. By 1970 when this album came out, The Beatles were falling apart, and while Badfinger had a string of hits, Apple Records eventually folded in 1973.

And if that wasn’t chaotic enough, Badfinger’s manager, Stan Polley, defrauded the band out of its money, which led to years and years of legal battles as Badfinger tried to get their royalty payments. Pete Ham eventually hung himself at just 27 years old (specifically calling out Polley in his note when he did), as did Tom Evans years later at 36 years old.

But while the tragedy of Badfinger often envelops the band’s music, it shouldn’t, because albums like “Magic Christian Music” and the band’s later music show that the songwriting duo of Ham and Evans was a special one, and that Badfinger deserves a lot more credit than they get.

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

Johnnyo — Sat, 12 Sep 2026 12:20:39 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 09/12/2026 16:20

RockyRaccoon wrote:

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds (1978) by Jeff Wayne

The prog rock genre is littered with concept albums, but there are concept albums and then there’s “Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds,” an album so fully committed to its premise that it’s perhaps more accurate to call it an “album musical.”

On paper, the basic idea sounds ridiculous. Take a Victorian-era science fiction novel, turn it into a double album with over 90 minutes of music, have Richard Burton narrate the story, hire a collection of rock musicians and vocalists, incorporate a full orchestra, and build the thing around a series of elaborate musical themes.

Oh yeah, and do it all in 1978 amid the rise of punk rock when the general public had basically said they were tired of the pretentiousness of the prog rock dinosaurs.

And yet, it works magnificently. Within minutes, you’re entirely immersed in the album.

Wayne’s music has a distinctly late-70s prog rock sensibility, but it never sounds like he’s just trying to make another prog record. The synths, the orchestra, the electric guitars (including a killer talkbox effect later in the album) are all being used to create a cinematic world. When the Martian arrive, it’s not just Burton telling you they’re here, Wayne is using the music to make you hear their arrival.

Speaking of Burton, his performance is central to the album. His measured delivery gives a gravity that helps anchor the music and allows the more theatrical elements to become believable instead of campy.

And let me tell you, this album could’ve been really campy, but instead it’s remarkably sincere. The guest musicians, including Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues, Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy, Chris Thompson of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, David Essex, and Julie Covington are all fantastic and theatrical without ever overdoing it.

This is an incredibly ambitious record, but it’s unlike anything else in rock music. Truly an impressive work of art.

Got to gree with your thoughts on this album. It really does stand the test of time as well.

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

RockyRaccoon — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:17:11 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/11/2026 13:17

Unquestionable Presence (1991) by Atheist

If you’re like me, sometimes you enjoy hearing guitar players absolutely shred. Show off their chops, just absolutely rip solo after solo after solo, doesn’t matter if it’s ostentatious or over the top, I love it. And sometimes you get an album where not only do you get to hear some incredible guitar work, but the songs are actually pretty well done too, and “Unquestionable Presence” is one of those albums.

When this album came out in 1991, death metal was still in the process of establishing its vocabulary, and Atheist decided that simply making it heavier wasn’t enough. They wanted to make it faster, more intricate, more harmonically adventurous, and maybe most importantly, more musical. What resulted was this album, one of the greatest death metal albums ever recorded.

What makes “Unquestionable Presence” so remarkable is that its technical sophistication never comes at the expense of visceral impact. Atheist isn’t just showing off their guitar chops here, they’re using their extraordinary musicianship to create something genuinely exciting.

I mean, just take the opening seconds of “Mother Man” where the song launches into a dizzying barrage of riffs, time-signature changes, and rapid-fire drumming, all while maintaining a groove underneath all the chaos.

While Rand Burkey’s lead guitar work is front and center on this album, it’s important to recognize Steve Flynn’s drumming. It’s extraordinarily precise yet never sounds mechanical. He moves between blast beats, intricate fills, and jazz-influenced patterns the whole album.

And of course, there’s Burkey and Kelly Shaefer, who unload riff after riff and incredible solo after solo on this album. Truly in the world of best albums to listen to just for the guitar work, “Unquestionable Presence” stands right around the top as a masterpiece.

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

RockyRaccoon — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:45:50 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/10/2026 19:45

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds (1978) by Jeff Wayne

The prog rock genre is littered with concept albums, but there are concept albums and then there’s “Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds,” an album so fully committed to its premise that it’s perhaps more accurate to call it an “album musical.”

On paper, the basic idea sounds ridiculous. Take a Victorian-era science fiction novel, turn it into a double album with over 90 minutes of music, have Richard Burton narrate the story, hire a collection of rock musicians and vocalists, incorporate a full orchestra, and build the thing around a series of elaborate musical themes.

Oh yeah, and do it all in 1978 amid the rise of punk rock when the general public had basically said they were tired of the pretentiousness of the prog rock dinosaurs.

And yet, it works magnificently. Within minutes, you’re entirely immersed in the album.

Wayne’s music has a distinctly late-70s prog rock sensibility, but it never sounds like he’s just trying to make another prog record. The synths, the orchestra, the electric guitars (including a killer talkbox effect later in the album) are all being used to create a cinematic world. When the Martian arrive, it’s not just Burton telling you they’re here, Wayne is using the music to make you hear their arrival.

Speaking of Burton, his performance is central to the album. His measured delivery gives a gravity that helps anchor the music and allows the more theatrical elements to become believable instead of campy.

And let me tell you, this album could’ve been really campy, but instead it’s remarkably sincere. The guest musicians, including Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues, Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy, Chris Thompson of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, David Essex, and Julie Covington are all fantastic and theatrical without ever overdoing it.

This is an incredibly ambitious record, but it’s unlike anything else in rock music. Truly an impressive work of art.

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

RockyRaccoon — Tue, 8 Sep 2026 14:22:28 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/08/2026 18:22

A Farewell To Kings (1977) by Rush

I consider “A Farewell to Kings” to be right smack in the middle of prime Rush. While obviously some of their biggest hits came later with “Moving Pictures,” I’ve always loved the proggier-side of the band (“2112” is my favorite album of theirs) and this is the band at the height of their powers.

The title track kicks off the album and serves as a great mini version of what makes this album work so well: Rush is constantly shifting between delicate and bombastic without ever losing their identity.

And then we have “Xanadu,” one of Rush’s best epics clocking in at 11 minutes and five seconds of glistening guitar, synth textures, thunderous drumming, and all kinds of different shifting sections. It’s a song that manages to feel epic without feeling overly long and self-indulgent.

Of course there’s also “Closer to the Heart,” one of Rush’s biggest hits and one of the best songs they’ve ever written, and the closer, “Cygnus X-1 Book 1: The Voyage,” another epic clocking in over 10 minutes long and showcasing Rush at perhaps their most theatrical. It builds this ominous cosmic journey, it’s ambitious, maybe a little ridiculous (in the best way), and it works beautifully.

If “2112” was Rush discovering how far they could push themselves into writing more prog-focused tunes, “A Farewell to Kings” is the band pushing themselves even farther, focusing an entire album (rather than just one side) on that feeling. It’s one of their best and one of my favorites of theirs.

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

RockyRaccoon — Tue, 8 Sep 2026 14:21:12 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/08/2026 18:21

Repo wrote:

I actually LOVE his Christian period! Especially this album. I think it's really underrated. Knopfler is awesome on it!!! I'm currently obsessing over his basement-tapes era. I just discovered that the Dylan's basement-tapes era stuff was a huge influence on the Byrds!

Yeah, I would say that Dylan's Christian era isn't his best stuff but I also think it gets more hate than it deserves. "Saved" certainly has a few decent tracks on it, as does "Shot of Love" (both "Lenny Bruce" and "Property of Jesus" are very solid songs).

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

Repo — Tue, 8 Sep 2026 05:50:28 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 09/08/2026 09:50

RockyRaccoon wrote:

Slow Train Coming (1979) by Bob Dylan

This was the beginning of a rough period for Bob Dylan.

In late 1978, Dylan was a year removed from his divorce, he had just received horrible reviews for his film Renaldo and Clara, and his most recent studio album, “Street Legal”, had bombed (though personally I think it’s a pretty solid album).

Needless to say, Dylan was in a rough spot, and amid all of that, he converted to Christianity (in part because, he claimed, Jesus appeared to him).

Unfortunately the brand of Christianity that Dylan ended up embracing leaned real hard on the “fire and brimstone” message, which served to generally alienate a whole lot of his fanbase.

“Slow Train Coming” was the start of all that, his first album following his conversion, and while it’s far from his best, it’s still a pretty cool album.

You get some great tunes, including “Gotta Serve Somebody,” which ended up being a classic, as well as the title track and “I Believe in You”, all of which are great.

And even better, Dylan called in Mark Knopfler to play guitar on this album after attending a Dire Straits concert and seeing Knopfler play. Theres plenty if great Mark Knopfler guitar work all over this album, which makes it even more fun to listen to.

Again, this isn’t Dylan’s best, far from it, but considering the pretty rough run that Dylan’s Christian period led to (specifically “Saved” and “Shot of Love” which aren’t terrible but are pretty uneven), “Slow Train Coming” stands as a pretty enjoyable album.

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

RockyRaccoon — Mon, 7 Sep 2026 19:59:01 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/07/2026 23:59

Slow Train Coming (1979) by Bob Dylan

This was the beginning of a rough period for Bob Dylan.

In late 1978, Dylan was a year removed from his divorce, he had just received horrible reviews for his film Renaldo and Clara, and his most recent studio album, “Street Legal”, had bombed (though personally I think it’s a pretty solid album).

Needless to say, Dylan was in a rough spot, and amid all of that, he converted to Christianity (in part because, he claimed, Jesus appeared to him).

Unfortunately the brand of Christianity that Dylan ended up embracing leaned real hard on the “fire and brimstone” message, which served to generally alienate a whole lot of his fanbase.

“Slow Train Coming” was the start of all that, his first album following his conversion, and while it’s far from his best, it’s still a pretty cool album.

You get some great tunes, including “Gotta Serve Somebody,” which ended up being a classic, as well as the title track and “I Believe in You”, all of which are great.

And even better, Dylan called in Mark Knopfler to play guitar on this album after attending a Dire Straits concert and seeing Knopfler play. Theres plenty if great Mark Knopfler guitar work all over this album, which makes it even more fun to listen to.

Again, this isn’t Dylan’s best, far from it, but considering the pretty rough run that Dylan’s Christian period led to (specifically “Saved” and “Shot of Love” which aren’t terrible but are pretty uneven), “Slow Train Coming” stands as a pretty enjoyable album.

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

RockyRaccoon — Sat, 5 Sep 2026 14:53:04 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/05/2026 18:53

Volunteers (1969) by Jefferson Airplane

This is Jefferson Airplane at their most politically charged, confrontational, and unapologetically countercultural, and it also ended up being the last Jefferson Airplane album with the band’s classic lineup, as following this, Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen formed Hot Tuna while Paul Kanter and Grace Slick went off and did their own thing (that eventually turned into Jefferson Starship).

Released in 1969 at the height of the Vietnam War and the broader upheaval of the late-60s, “Volunteers” very much reflects the time it was released in, and it does it brilliantly. The opening pairing of “We Can Be Together” and “Good Shepherd” is excellent—”We Can Be Together” is a furious, defiant anthem with Slick and Kanter sounding completely convinced the old social order deserves to be obliterated. Then, “Good Shepherd” gifts into something almost spiritual.

The title track is perhaps the most famous moment, it’s a messy, exuberant, and catch song, with Slick singing with exactly the right amount of sarcasm and conviction. And you also get their version of “Wooden Ships,” a song that’s perhaps better known as a Crosby, Stills, & Nash piece, though it was written by David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Kanter (and this version is slightly different from the CS&N one).

Obviously “Volunteers” is an album that’s tied to its time, and while that has the potential to date the music, I find it a fascinating document of 1969—it captures the idealism, the anger, the absurdity, and the uncertainty of the era better than virtually any other rock album.

It’s not the Airplane’s most polished album, but it’s a great one. A loud, strange, idealistic, occasionally messy, but completely alive work of art.

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

RockyRaccoon — Sat, 5 Sep 2026 14:52:07 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/05/2026 18:52

Johnnyo wrote:

Dave Edmunds was a bit of a legend here in London. Saw him play Dingwalls in around 1984 and the half moon maybe three / four years later. Both legendary London music venues. He was absolutely brilliant both times.

Check out Rockpile as well. Nick Lowe was also in the band.

I wasn’t aware of love sculpture so going to have to check them out. Thanks for the heads up. Great thread by the way

I appreciate that! Yeah, Love Sculpture rocks, they're awesome, highly recommended

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

Johnnyo — Sat, 5 Sep 2026 14:01:54 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 09/05/2026 18:01

RockyRaccoon wrote:

Romanelli wrote:

Edmunds' best solo albums are these, IMO. They aren't REALLY solo albums, though. The band is Rockpile (who were great as well), but they couldn't record for awhile under that name, so Edmunds and Nick Lowe released the recordings as solo albums. Try these:

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Get It by Dave Edmunds

Tracks On Wax 4 by Dave Edmunds

Also...Edmunds recorded this live album in 1997 with Swedish band The Refreshments. He plays some wild guitar here. The album was recorded by my good friend and former guitar player Kenneth Skoglund.

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A Pile Of Rock Live by Dave Edmunds

Oh man, this is great, I will absolutely dig into these. I had never heard of Dave Edmunds before I dug into Love Sculpture and I love his guitar playing so I can't wait to dive into more of his stuff

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

RockyRaccoon — Thu, 3 Sep 2026 14:37:20 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/03/2026 18:37

Was writing up a review on this album to post as a comment and then realized I should get back into this, so here we go:

This is where I take a second and defend “Love Beach” and say it doesn’t deserve the hate it gets.

Love Beach (1978) by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Look, I’m going to start right off the bat, it’s not a great album. The cover is atrocious, even the band said as much. Both Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer have said they hate the cover and said they look like the Bee Gees (and they kinda do). And Emerson has even gone further, saying the album itself was “an embarrassment against everything I’ve worked for.”

Now, I wouldn’t go that far, but I do think there’s good stuff here. ELP made this to fulfill a contractual obligation. Per Palmer, they had basically broken up as a band at that point and were just hanging out in the Bahamas together when Atlantic Records called and said “hey wanna make another album?”

All three members of the band have acknowledged the album was a bit slapped together, but even ELP on autopilot has some enjoyable music. The album opener, “All I Want is You” is one of ELP’s catchier tunes, “For You” is fun and features some cool Emerson synths, and the band’s interpretation of Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Canario” is enjoyable.

And of course there’s side two, which is entirely dedicated to “Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman,” which clocks in at just over 20 minutes. Now, is this another great prog epic from a band that’s created a few all-timers? No. But it’s an interesting piece regardless, featuring some great work from Emerson and some great vocals from Greg Lake.

“Love Beach” is a far cry from the heights that ELP hit as giants of prog rock years before, and the fact it was released in 1978 when punk was well underway and the public had long tired of the stuffy excesses of prog led to this album going over like a fart in church.

But I will always defend it. If you’re an ELP fan, it’s an enjoyable listen. It’s not their best, but it’s also far from terrible.

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

RockyRaccoon — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 19:36:18 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 06/13/2024 23:36

Went on a minor Vanilla Fudge kick today so:

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The Beat Goes On by Vanilla Fudge

I picked this up at my local record store. I remember sorta digging into Vanilla Fudge a slight bit back in high school when I read in a Led Zeppelin biography that John Bonham considered Carmine Appice his idol, but I never really dug too deep into the band.

I remember this album being sorta interesting, so I picked it up, and man it turned out to be an interesting experience. This album gets ragged on for the way it's set up, and I get it. It's not really a series of songs but basically a sound collage of bits of various songs interspersed with spoken word, more often than not historical recordings. But there's something about the way Vanilla Fudge put this together that made this a really interesting and pretty compelling work of art for me. It's hard to explain, but everything sort of flowed together so well and the band had such interesting takes on the various snippets of songs they included that I was constantly engaged from beginning to end.

I get it if this isn't everyone's cup of tea, and frankly I totally understand the criticisms of this being too experimental and weird, but for whatever reason it clicked for me.

Vanilla Fudge by Vanilla Fudge

Naturally after listening to The Beat Goes On, I wanted to dive back into Vanilla Fudge's debut since it's been forever since I've listened to any of it.

I have a strong feeling about cover songs. I love a good cover song, but there's no point in covering a song if you're going to do a note-for-note replica of the song. No one wants that, no one needs that. What I want to hear is your specific interpretation or your unique twist on the song.

Vanilla Fudge do that on every song here. Each song on this album is a cover, and Vanilla Fudge do such a cool job with each song. Basically all the songs are slowed down to half-speed, and doing that really changes the flavor of each song. Plus, the band take each song and add their own unique spin (also listening to this, I can see why Bonham loved Carmine Appice so much, he's awesome).

I really feel like Vanilla Fudge gets lost in the history of rock music, prog music (which you could argue they were early adopters of), and psychedelic rock music. Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice went on to do other cool bands, like Cactus and Beck, Bogert, & Appice, but Vanilla Fudge stands out as a really cool, unique moment in the flood of psychedelic music that came out between 1966-1970.

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

Repo — Fri, 17 May 2024 20:48:35 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 05/18/2024 00:48

Repo wrote:

RockyRaccoon wrote:

Repo wrote:

Even Room On Fire got some backlash at the time. It's just that the press needs a story and most people are more than happy to go along with that story. I myself have been VERY guilty of this. :oops:

Could be!

I really think it was a time and place thing. The Strokes were massive when Is This It came out, so everything they did was magnified, which means an album that's good but not as good as the ones before it is seen as this massive failure. And it's funny, because honestly just about every Strokes album kinda sounds the same (and I'm not complaining, I love their sound), so it's kind of like, if you enjoyed their other stuff, you're probably gonna like this on some level too

I think u brought up two other key points. 1) Is This It was a massive debut album and it set expectations sky high.
2) The Strokes never surpassed their debut. Is This It became This Is It and people were, rightly or wrongly, expecting more than that. So many bands are weirdly measured by how they evolve. And The Strokes weren't having none of that. Instead they defied the tastemakers and kept putting out consistent albums of similar sounding indie rock. Now with the passage of time, we can just appreciate three great albums of indie rock, but at the time "What would the Strokes do next?" was part of the baggage that fell on their albums after Is This It.

And... they would come back in six years and successfully tweak their formula with Angles! So they did successfully evolve as well! And people STILL weren't happy. 🧱

Personally I like Angles even more than Room On Fire and First Impressions.... It's very fresh.

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

Repo — Tue, 14 May 2024 14:13:13 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 05/14/2024 18:13

RockyRaccoon wrote:

Repo wrote:

Even Room On Fire got some backlash at the time. It's just that the press needs a story and most people are more than happy to go along with that story. I myself have been VERY guilty of this. :oops:

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

RockyRaccoon — Mon, 13 May 2024 22:53:25 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 05/14/2024 02:53

Repo wrote:

Even Room On Fire got some backlash at the time. It's just that the press needs a story and most people are more than happy to go along with that story. I myself have been VERY guilty of this. :oops:

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

Repo — Mon, 13 May 2024 18:57:22 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 05/13/2024 22:57

RockyRaccoon wrote:

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First Impressions Of Earth by The Strokes

For the life of me, I've never understood why this is considered one of The Strokes' weaker albums.

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd imagine part of it is a time and place thing. This was their third album after Is This It and Room On Fire, both of which are classics, and I'll admit that First Impressions is a bit of a step down from the first two albums, so I can see in a time and place where The Strokes pump out two incredible albums, for them to then release an album that's a bit of a step back (even if it's a minor one) how that would be magnified into a more negative reception.

However, what's so strange to me is, listening to this album right now (and it's always been a favorite of mine), I feel like if you really enjoyed Is This It and Room On Fire, you probably would've liked this too. Maybe it's because The Strokes can be a bit one-note sometimes - while I love Room on Fire, it's definitely just doing Is This It over again, and maybe doing that a third time started to wear some of the shimmer off the band.

I'm not sure. I still think this is a great album. The main complaints I've heard about this, which have been generally focused on Julian Casablancas, don't feel unique to this album. Casablancas's voice is basically the same, it's what it always has been, and as for his lyrics, could they be better? Sure, but I mean, he wasn't exactly writing groundbreaking poetry on the first two records and I don't imagine too many people come to the Strokes for insights on the human condition or anything.

It's strange. But regardless of why this album is constantly slept on, it's excellent. If I was making a Strokes Greatest Hits album, I'd definitely put Juicebox and Vision of Division on there, and I might even put Heart in a Cage on there too.

Even Room On Fire got some backlash at the time. It's just that the press needs a story and most people are more than happy to go along with that story. I myself have been VERY guilty of this. 🫢

Re: From the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota: Rocky's Log

RockyRaccoon — Mon, 13 May 2024 16:56:18 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 05/13/2024 20:56

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