Top 10+ Music, Movies, and Visual Art of the Week (2023) - Music Diaries

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

Below is a list of albums rated 7.2 or less -- but not nearly in its most complete/up-to-date form -- only those that I've most recently revisited. I am simply tracking them here for the purposes of "fine tuning" my assessments of this branch of ratings (which I do every so often ... naturally, it helps the accuracy of the higher ones). I might make this into a more "official" list at some point in the future, which would include building it to a more up-to-date, complete version, but for now it is just the most recently revisited ones plus some newer entries.

NOTE: Any ratings updates for albums rated 6.8 and above can be seen on the most recent "Top 10+ of the Week" list

FAMILIAR ALBUMS - RE-RATED:
Private Dancer - Tina Turner (1984) 7.1/10 to 7.2/10
Dirt - Alice In Chains (1992) 7.0/10 to 7.1/10
Tidal - Fiona Apple (1996) 6.8/10 to 6.9/10
Ready to Die - Notorious B.I.G (1994) 6.8/10 to 6.9/10
In Utero - Nirvana (1994) 7.0/10 to 6.9/10
Castaways and Cutouts - Decemberists (2002)[/b][/color] 7.0/10 to 6.9/10
Gulag Orkestar - Beirut (2006) 7.0/10 to 6.9/10
Songs in the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder (1976) 7.0/10 to 6.9/10
Innervisions - Stevie Wonder (1973) 7.0/10 to 6.9/10
Good Old Boys - Randy Newman (1974) 6.9/10 to 6.8/10
12 Songs - Randy Newman (1970) 6.9/10 to 6.8/10
Facelift - Alice In Chains (1990) Not Rated to 6.7/10
Fishscale - Ghostface Killah (2006) Not Rated to 6.7/10
Me Against The World - 2Pac (1995) Not Rated to 6.7/10
Green Thoughts - Smithereens (1988) 6.3/10 to 6.6/10
All Eyez On Me - 2Pac (1996) Not Rated to 6.4/10
Here Are The Sonics - The Sonics (1965) Not Rated to 6.2/10
The Great Twenty Eight - Chuck Berry (1982) Not Rated to 6.1/10
Please - Pet Shop Boys (1985) Not Rated to 6.1/10
Dare - The Human League (1981) Not Rated to 6.1/10
Live Through This - Hole (1993) Not Rated to 6.1/10
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme - Simon and Garfunkel (1966) Not Rated to 5.9/10
If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears - The Mamas & The Papas (1966) Not Rated to 5.9/10
Relish - Joan Osborne (1995) Not Rated to 5.9/10
Parklife - Blur (1994) Not Rated to 5.9/10
Tuesday Night Music Club - Sheryl Crow (1994) Not Rated to 5.8/10
Celebrity Skin - Hole (1998) Not Rated to 5.6/10; 5.6/10 to 5.8/10
Cooleyhighharmony - Boyz II Men (1991) Not Rated to 5.5/10; 5.5/10 to 5.7/10
Emotion - Carly Rae Jepsen (2016) 5.5/10 to 5.6/10
The Beach Boys Today! - The Beach Boys (1965) 5.8/10 to 5.5/10
The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance (2006) Not Rated to 5.4/10
39/Smooth - Green Day (1990) Not Rated to 5.4/10
Purple - Stone Temple Pilots (1994) 6.8/10 to 5.4/10
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley (1958) [Compilation] Not Rated to 4.9/10
Rockin' With Wanda - Wanda Jackson (1960) [Compilation] Not Rated to 4.9/10
Meet The Temptations - The Temptations (1964) Not Rated to 4.9/10
Here's Little Richard - Little Richard (1956) Not Rated to 4.8/10
Sounds of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel (1965) Not Rated to 4.6/10
Wednesday Morning, 3AM - Simon and Garfunkel (1964) Not Rated to 4.5/10
Meet The Beatles - The Beatles (1963) 3.9/10 to 4.4/10
Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan (1961) 4.5/10 to 4.4/10
Help - The Beatles (1964) 3.7/10 to 4.1/10
Aquarium - Aqua (1997) Not Rated to 3.6/10; 3.6/10 to 4.0/10
Live at the Star-Club, Hamburg - Jerry Lee Lewis (1964) 4.4/10 to 4.0/10
Secret Samadhi - Live (1997) 4.4/10 to 4.0/10
Dangerous - Michael Jackson (1991) 4.1/10 to 3.9/10
The Fame - Lady Gaga (2008) 4.0/10 to 3.9/10
Joan Baez - Joan Baez (1960) Not Rated to 3.8/10
With The Beatles - The Beatles (1963) 3.1/10 to 3.5/10; 3.5/10 to 3.7/10
In The Hollies Style - The Hollies (1964) Not Rated to 3.7/10
Please Please Me - The Beatles (1963) 3.1/10 to 3.4/10; 3.4/10 to 3.5/10
Rock N' Roll Stage Show - Bill Haley and His Comets (1956) Not Rated to 3.5/10
Regulate ... G-Funk Era - Warren G (1994) Not Rated to 3.4/10
II - Boyz II Men (1994) Not Rated to 3.5/10; 3.5/10 to 3.3/10
The Fame Monster - Lady Gaga (2009) 4.0/10 to 3.3/10
Twist & Shout - The Isley Brothers (1962) Not Rated to 3.3/10
Backstreet Boys - Backstreet Boys (1996) 3.5/10 to 3.2/10
Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em - MC Hammer (1990) 3.0/10 to 3.1/10
How Do You Like It? - Gerry & The Pacemakers (1963) Not Rated to 3.0/10
Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley (1956) Not Rated to 2.9/10
Voices in Modern - The Four Freshman (1954) Not Rated to 2.8/10; 2.8/10 to 2.9/10
The Monkees - The Monkees (1966) Not Rated to 2.9/10
Look At Us - Sonny and Cher (1965) Not Rated to 2.8/10

NEWLY ASSIMILATED ALBUMS - RATED:
Solid Pleasure - Yello (1980) 6.1/10
The Lion Sleeps Tonight - The Tokens (rec: 1961-62; rel: 1994) [Compilation, Not Original Album] 5.7/10
Pure Religion and Bad Company - Rev. Gary Davis (1957) 4.3/10
Surfin' Bird - The Trashmen (1965) 3.3/10

7.2/10
Harvest - Neil Young (1972)
Aenima - Tool (1996)
Lick My Decals Off, Baby - Captain Beefheart (1970)
Private Dancer - Tina Turner (1984)
Led Zeppelin I - Led Zeppelin (1969)
Veedon Fleece - Van Morrison (1974)
Picaresque - Decemberists (2005)
Led Zeppelin IV - Led Zeppelin (1971)
One Nation Under A Groove - Funkadelic (1978)
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! - Devo (1978)
Remain in Light - Talking Heads (1980)
Nothing Important - Richard Dawson (2014)
Desire - Bob Dylan (1976)
Ekstasis - Julia Holter (2012)
Rumours - Fleetwood Mac (1976)
A Wizard, A True Star - Todd Rundgren (1973)
Countdown to Ecstacy - Steely Dan (1973)
Holiday - The Magnetic Fields (1993)
Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen (1975)
Music From Big Pink - The Band (1968)
Cosmo's Factory - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1970)
Contact - The Silver Apples (1968)
Electric Music for the Mind and Body - Country Joe & The Fish (1967)
Wheels of Fire - Cream (1968)
Fred Neil - Fred Neil (1967)
Negro Necro Nekros - Dalek (1998)
For The Roses - Joni Mitchell (1972)
Moon Pix - Cat Power (1998)
Sky Music Mountain Music - Eberhard Schoener (1984)
Discreet Music - Brian Eno (1975)
Another Green World - Brian Eno (1975)
Purple Rain - Prince (1984)
Maggot Brain - Funkadelic (1971)
Fear of a Black Planet - Public Enemy (1990)
Toxicity - System of a Down (2001)
Holy Money - Swans (1986)
Dirty - Sonic Youth (1992)
Nevermind - Nirvana (1991)
More Songs About Buildings And Food - Talking Heads (1978)
Aqualung - Jethro Tull (1971)

7.1/10
Hounds of Love - Kate Bush (1985)
Happy Trails - Quicksilver Messenger Service (1968)
The Great American Eagle Tragedy - Earth Opera (1969)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles (1967)
Aquemini - Outkast (1998)
Baduism - Erykah Badu (1997)
Madvilliany - Madvillian (2004)
Sign O' the Times - Prince (1987)
Learning to Crawl - The Pretenders (1984)
Low - David Bowie (1977)
Boomtown - David & David (1986)
Bat Out of Hell - Meatloaf (1977)
This Year's Model - Elvis Costello (1978)
Dirt - Alice in Chains (1992)
Blows Against the Empire - Jefferson Starship (1970)
Things We Lost in the Fire - Low (2001)
More Than a New Discovery (aka "The First Songs") - Laura Nyro (1967)
Grace - Jeff Buckley (1994)
Return of Red Emma - Lida Husik (1993)
The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do - Fiona Apple (2012)
Blank Generation - Richard Hell & The Voidoids (1976)
Slanted and Enchanted - Pavement (1992)
Crooked Rain Crooked Rain - Pavement (1993)
Chairs Missing - Wire (1978)
London Calling - The Clash (1979)
Low Kick & Hard Bop - Solex (2001)
After the Rain - Michael Jones (1988)
Homogenic - Bjork (1997)
Metropolitan Suite - Synergy (1985)
Amnesiac - Radiohead (2000)
Skag Heaven - Squirrel Bait (1986)
Raw Power - The Stooges (1973)
OK Computer - Radiohead (1997)
And Justice For All - Metallica (1988)
Mezmerise - System of a Down (2005)
Metallica - Metallica (1991)
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - Smashing Pumpkins (1995)
Pretty on the Inside - Hole (1991)
Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen (1984)
Sunshine Superman - Donovan (1966)
6 & 12 String Guitar - Leo Kottke (1969)
Indian War Whoop - Holy Modal Rounders (1967)
The Drift - Scott Walker (2006)
John Wesley Harding - Bob Dylan (1967)
On The Beach - Neil Young (1974)
Songs of Love and Hate - Leonard Cohen (1971)
Moondance - Van Morrison (1970)
Damn The Torpedoes - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1979)
Neon Bible - Arcade Fire (2007)
On The Beach - Neil Young (1974)
Being There - Wilco (1998)
Pearl - Janis Joplin (1970)
Tallahassee - Mountain Goats (2002)
Grievous Angel - Gram Parsons (1973)
Ice Cream For Crow - Captain Beefheart (1982)
Shiny Beast - Captain Beefheart (1978)
L.A. Woman - The Doors (1971)
Absolutely Live - The Doors (1970)
Songs From A Room - Leonard Cohen (1969)
Into the Music - Van Morrison (1979)

7.0/10
Pure Heroine - Lorde (2013)
The Soft Bulletin - Flaming Lips (1999)
Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators - The 13th Floor Elevators (1966)
Indian War Whoop - Holy Modal Rounders (1967)
The Queen is Dead - The Smiths (1986)
The Joshua Tree - U2 (1987)
Blood on the Tracks - Bob Dylan (1975)
If I Could Only Remember My Name - David Crosby (1971)
In The Falling Dark - Bruce Cockburn (1976)
Blacklisted - Neko Case (2002)
The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers (1976)
Ten - Pearl Jam (1991)
Let It Bleed - The Rolling Stones (1969)
The Gilded Palace of Sin - The Flying Burrito Bros (1969)
Heartland - Owen Pallett (2010)
Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs - Andrew Bird (2005)
Dusk at Cubist Castle - Olivia Tremor Control (1996)
The Tain - Decemberists (2005) [EP]
The Basement Tapes - Bob Dylan & The Band (1975)
Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs - Andrew Bird (2005)
Bozo - Lida Husik (1991)
The Milk-Eyed Mender - Joanna Newsom (2004)
The End - Nico (1974)
Old No. 1 - Guy Clark (1975)
Throwing Copper - Live (1994)
Paul's Boutique - Beastie Boys (1989)
No Now - Clarence Clarity (2015)
The Chronic - Dr. Dre (1992)
To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar (2015)
Tigerlily - Natalie Merchant (1995)
Little Earthquakes - Tori Amos (1991)
Sail Away - Randy Newman (1972)
One Nation Underground - Pearls Before Swine (1967)
Graceland - Paul Simon (1986)
Court and Spark - Joni Mitchell (1974)
Noble Beast - Andrew Bird (2009)
Tapestry - Carole King (1971)
Funkentelechy Vs The Placebo Syndrome - Parliament (1977)
New York Tendaberry - Laura Nyro (1969)
There's A Riot Goin' On - Sly & The Family Stone (1971)
Entertainment! - Gang of Four (1979)
Plastic Surgery Disasters - Dead Kennedys (1982)
Sandinista - The Clash (1980)
Songs the Lord Taught Us - Cramps (1980)
Surfer Rosa - Pixies (1988)
Noble Beast - Andrew Bird (2009)
Cardinal - Cardinal (1994)
Between The Buttons - The Rolling Stones (1966) [US Version]
Tusk - Fleetwood Mac (1979)
New Amerykah Part One - 4th World War - Erykah Badu (2008)
After the Gold Rush - Neil Young (1970)
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel (1969)
The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society - The Kinks (1968)
Ultraviolence - Lana Del Rey (2014)
Hey Babe - Julianna Hatfield (1992)
Younger Than Yesterday - The Byrds (1967)
Meditation - Eberhard Schoener (1973)
Smile - The Beach Boys (1967; released in 2011)

6.9/10
The Kick Inside - Kate Bush (1977)
Tidal - Fiona Apple (1996)
Ready to Die - Notorious B.I.G (1994)
The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground (1969)
In Utero - Nirvana (1994)
Kid A - Radiohead (2000)
Badmotorfinger - Soundgarden (1991)
Use Your Illusion I & II - Guns N' Roses (1991)
Who's Next - The Who (1971)
Undertow - Tool (1993)
Permanent Waves - Rush (1980)
Stand! - Sly & The Family Stone (1969)
Ocean Beach - Red House Painters (1995)
Oh Mercy - Bob Dylan (1989)
Bryter Layter - Nick Drake (1970)
Divers - Joanna Newsom (2015)
Clouds - Joni Mitchell (1969)
Bayou Country - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1968)
Desperado - Eagles (1973)
After the Gold Rush - Neil Young (1970)
Sleeps With Angels - Neil Young (1994)
Hotel California - Eagles (1976)
Vincebus Eruptum - Blue Cheer (1968)
Reign in Blood - Slayer (1986)
Rust in Peace - Megadeath (1990)
Street Survivors - Lynyrd Skynyrd (1977)
March 16–20, 1992 - Uncle Tupelo (1992)
Red Headed Stranger - Willie Nelson (1975)
Personal Journals - Sage Francis (2002)
White Blood Cells - White Stripes (2001)
Red Dirt Girl - Emmylou Harris (2000)
Back in Black - AC/DC (1980)
Filth - Swans (1983)
Suffer - Bad Religion (1988)
Rock For Light - Bad Brains (1983)
This Nation's Saving Grace - The Fall (1985)
Live at the Witch Trials - The Fall (1978)
Pink Flag - Wire (1977)
The Fragile - Nine Inch Nails (1999)
Ultramega OK - Soundgarden (1988)
Third - Big Star (1978)
The Score - The Fugees (1996)
Boy in Da Corner - Dizzee Rascal (2003)
3 Feet High and Rising - De La Soul (1989)
Doggystyle - Snoop Doggy Dogg (1993)
Late Registration - Kanye West (2005)
Since I Left You - Avalanches (2000)
Green River - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1976)
Johnny Comes Marching Home - The Del Lords (1986)
Strangers Almanac - Whiskeytown (1997)
Paradise And Lunch - Ry Cooder (1974)
Aftermath - The Rolling Stones (1965)
Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground - Bright Eyes (2002)
Fevers and Mirrors - Bright Eyes (2000)
Castaways and Cutouts - Decemberists (2002)
Gulag Orkestar - Beirut (2006)
Songs in the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder (1976)
Innervisions - Stevie Wonder (1973)
Waiting For The Sun - The Doors (1968)
Ptoof! - Deviants (1967)
Green - Green (1986)
Sunday's Child - John Martyn (1975)
Cluster II - Cluster (1972)
Hex Enduction Hour - The Fall (1981)
Pretties for You - Alice Cooper (1968)

6.8/10
The Trinity Sessions - Cowboy Junkies (1986)
Pontiac - Lyle Lovett (1988)
Gravity - Alejandro Escovedo (1992)
Dookie - Green Day (1994)
The B-52s - The B-52s (1979)
Second Helping - Lynyrd Skynyrd (1974)
Scarecrow - John Mellencamp (1975)
Flyin' Shoes - Townes Van Zandt (1978)
Thunder, Lightning, Strike - The Go! Team (2004)
Bee Thousand - Guided by Voices (1994)
Armed Forces - Elvis Costello (1978)
Tigermilk - Belle & Sebasitan (1996)
The Smiths - The Smiths (1984)
Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan (1974)
Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso (2014)
Teen Dream - Beach House (2010)
Heartbeat City - The Cars (1984)
Ocean Rain - Echo and the Bunnymen (1984)
Radio City - Big Star (1974)
The Notorious Byrd Brothers - The Byrds (1968)
Solace - Sarah McLachlan (1991)
Mr. Tambourine Man - The Byrds (1965)
Bringing It All Back Home - Bob Dylan (1965)
2112 - Rush (1976)
End of Amnesia - M. Ward (2001)
Days in the Wake - Palace Brothers (1994)
Every Picture Tells A Story - Rod Stewart (1971)
Flying Cowboys - Rickie Lee Jones (1989)
Dejavu - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (1969)
Excitable Boy - Warren Zevon (1978)
Abbey Road - The Beatles (1969)
The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter - The Incredible String Band (1968)
In Search of the Lost Chord - The Moody Blues (1968)
The Fugs [aka: The Fugs Second Album] - The Fugs (1966)
Surrealistic Pillow - Jefferson Airplane (1967)
Beware (The Funk is Everywhere) - Afrika Bambaataa (1986)
Paid in Full - Eric B & Rakim (1987)
The Love Below - Outkast/Andre 3000 (2003)
Reasonable Doubt - Jay-Z (1996)
On The Corner - Miles Davis (1972)
Disraeli Gears - Cream (1967)
Illmatic - Nas (1994)
Cop - Swans (1984)
Los Angeles - X (1980)
Go Girl Crazy - Dictators (1975)
Boy - U2 (1980)[/i][/b]
Is This It - The Strokes (2001) [UK Release]
Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A (1988)
Channel Orange - Frank Ocean (2012)
Curtis - Curtis Mayfield (1970)
Vivid - Living Colour (1988)
Paranoid - Black Sabbath (1970)
The Guild of Temporal Adventurers - Kendra Smith (1992)
Master of Reality - Black Sabbath (1971)
The Visitor - Jim O'Rourke (2009)
4 - Scott Walker (1969)
Beautiful Loser - Bob Seger (1975)
Give It Up - Bonnie Raitt (1972)
Willy and the Poor Boys - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)
Thriller - Michael Jackson (1984)
Good Old Boys - Randy Newman (1974)
12 Songs - Randy Newman (1970)
The Silver Apples - The Silver Apples (1968)
Debut - Bjork (1993)
John Prine - John Prine (1971)
Chris Isaak - Chris Isaak (1987)

6.7/10
The Colour of Spring - Talk Talk (1986)
Vs - Pearl Jam (1993)
Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd (1973)
Ray of Light - Madonna (1998)
Facelift - Alice In Chains (1990)
Fishscale - Ghostface Killah (2006)
Boston - Boston (1976)
Odyssey & Oracle - Zombies (1968)
Me Against The World - 2Pac (1995)
Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin (1969)
A Night at the Opera - Queen (1975)
Good Kid M.A.A.d City - Kendrick Lamar (2012)
Temple of the Dog - Temple of the Dog (1990)

6.6/10
Make It Big - Wham! (1984)
Same Trailer Different Park - Kacey Musgraves (2013)
Fifth Dimension - The Byrds (1966)
The Who Sell Out - The Who (1967)
Elephant - The White Stripes (2003)
Their Satanic Majesties Request - Rolling Stones (1967)
Transformer - Lou Reed (1972)
Empire Burlesque - Bob Dylan (1985)
Time Out of Mind - Bob Dylan (1997)
Abraxas - Santana (1970)
Letting Off The Happiness - Bright Eyes (1998)
The Moon and Antarctica - Modest Mouse (2001)
Green Thoughts - Smithereens (1988)

6.5/10
Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon (1970)
Stands for Decibels - DBs (1980)
Bleach - Nirvana (1989)
Selling England by the Pound - Genesis (1973)
Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers (1991)
Aladdin Sane - David Bowie (1973)
Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden (1982)
Songs for the Deaf - Queens of the Stone Age (2002)
Surf's Up - The Beach Boys (1971)
On The Threshold Of A Dream - Moody Blues (1969)
Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen (1982)
The Bends - Radiohead (1995)
Weezer - Weezer (1994)
Good News For People Who Love Bad News - Modest Mouse (2004)

6.4/10
For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver (2008)
Visions - Grimes (2012)
Love - Love (1966)
Mutations - Beck (1998)
Street Legal - Bob Dylan (1978)
Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters (1994)
Absolution - Muse (2003)
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John (1973)
Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin (1975)
American Idiot - Green Day (2004)
Out Here - Love (1969)
Louder Than Love - Soundgarden (1989)
The Sunset Tree - The Mountain Goats (2004)
All Eyez On Me - 2Pac (1996)

6.3/10
Kerplunk - Green Day (1992)
Tunnel of Love - Bruce Springsteen (1987)
Pinkerton - Weezer (1995)
Vespertine - Bjork (2001)
Arthur - Kinks (1969)
Trans-Europe Express - Kraftwerk (1977)
Dirty Mind - Prince (1980)
The Wall - Pink Floyd (1979)
I See A Darkness - Bonnie "Prince" Billy (1999)
Mark Hollis - Mark Hollis (1998)
Control - Janet Jackson (1986)
Frank - Amy Winehouse (2003)
Sixteen Stone - Bush (1994)
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars - David Bowie (1973)
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys (2006)
Marcy Playground - Marcy Playground (1998)

6.2/10
Like a Virgin - Madonna (1984)
Here Are The Sonics - The Sonics (1965)
Axis: Bold as Love - Jimi Hendrix (1967)
Blecker And McDougal - Fred Neil (1965)
Animals - Pink Floyd (1977)
Led Zeppelin III - Led Zeppelin (1970)
True Blue - Madonna (1986)
Melodrama - Lorde (2017)
Magical Mystery Tour - The Beatles (1967)

6.1/10
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan (1963)
Like a Prayer - Madonna (1989)
I'm Wide Awake It's Morning - Bright Eyes (2004)
Solid Pleasure - Yello (1980)
Violator - Depeche Mode (1990)
Urban Hymns - The Verve (1997)
Darkness on the Edge of Town - Bruce Springsteen (1978)
Origin of Symmetry - Muse (2001)
The Suburbs - Arcade Fire (2010)
Achtung Baby - U2 (1991)
Smiley Smile - The Beach Boys (1967)
The Great Twenty Eight - Chuck Berry (1982) [Compilation]
Please - Pet Shop Boys (1985)
Dare - The Human League (1981)
Live Through This - Hole (1993)
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey (1990)

6.0/10
Out of Our Heads - Rolling Stones (1965) [US Edition]
Morrison Hotel - The Doors (1970)
Something Else - The Kinks (1967)
808s and Heartbreak - Kanye West (2008)
Carrie & Lowell - Sufjan Stevens (2015)
Strangeways Here We Come - The Smiths (1987)
Days Of Future Passed - Moody Blues (1967)
Definitely Maybe - Oasis (1994)
Bat Out of Hell II - Meatloaf (1993)
No Code - Pearl Jam (1996)
Tragic Kingdom - No Doubt (1995)
The Beatles - The Beatles (1968)

5.9/10
Hunky Dory - David Bowie (1971)
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme - Simon and Garfunkel (1966)
Loaded - The Velvet Underground (1970)
Houses of the Holy - Led Zeppelin (1973)
Load - Metallica (1996)
Pablo Honey - Radiohead (1993)
Face to Face - The Kinks (1966)
Papa's Got A Brand New Bag - James Brown (1965)
Animalisms - Animals (1966)
Animalization - Animals (1966)
The Kinks - The Kinks (1964)
Faith - George Michael (1987)
The Party's Over - Talk Talk (1982)
If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears - The Mamas & The Papas (1966)
Relish - Joan Osborne (1995)
Parklife - Blur (1994)[/b]
Back to Black - Amy Winehouse (2003)
Fetch the Bolt Cutters - Fiona Apple (2020)[/b]
Otis Blue / Otis Redding Sings Soul - Otis Redding (1965)

5.8/10
Midnight Vultures - Beck (1999)
Don't Look Back - Boston (1978)
Third Stage - Boston (1986)
Death Magnetic - Metallica (2008)
Modern Times - Bob Dylan (2003)
Howling Wolf (Chess 1469) - Howling Wolf (1962)
Madonna - Madonna (1983)
Another Side of Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan (1964)
Yield - Pearl Jam (1998)
Sea Change - Beck (2002)
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got - Sinead O'Connor (1990)
Tuesday Night Music Club - Sheryl Crow (1994)
Don't Be Cruel - Bobby Brown (1988)
Station To Station - David Bowie (1976)
Parachutes - Coldplay (2000)
Celebrity Skin - Hole (1998)
Rhythm Nation 1814 - Janet Jackson (1989)

5.7/10
1989 - Taylor Swift (2014)
I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You - Aretha Franklin (1967)
The Lion Sleeps Tonight - The Tokens (rec: 1961-62; rel: 1994) [Compilation, Not Original Album]
Cooleyhighharmony - Boyz II Men (1991)
Animal Tracks - Animals (1965)
Bedtime Stories - Madonna (1994)
Presence - Led Zepplin (1976)
Viva La Vida - Coldplay (2008)
Sunflower - The Beach Boys (1970)
20/20 - The Beach Boys (1969)

5.6/10
Love You - The Beach Boys (1977)
Unplugged in New York - Nirvana (1993)
Emotion - Carly Rae Jepsen (2016)

5.5/10
The Beach Boys Today! - The Beach Boys (1965)

5.4/10
Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves (2018)
The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance (2006)
39/Smooth - Green Day (1990)
Purple - Stone Temple Pilots (1994)
Down on the Upside - Soundgarden (1996)

5.3/10
In Rainbows - Radiohead (2007)
Automatic For The People - R.E.M (1992)
Revolver - The Beatles (1966)
Love and Theft - Bob Dylan (2001)
A Crow Looked at Me - Mount Eerie (2017)
Insomniac - Green Day (1995)
Janet - Janet Jackson (1993)
Four Sail - Love (1969)

5.2/10
Binaural - Pearl Jam (2000)
Lola - Kinks (1970)
Do You Believe In Magic - Lovin' Spoonful (1965)
The Colour and the Shape - Foo Fighters (1997)
Re-Load - Metallica (1997)
Hail to the Thief - Radiohead (2003)
The Soft Parade - The Doors (1969)
The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones (1964)
Rubber Soul - The Beatles (1965)
In the Midnight Hour - Wilson Pickett (1965)

5.1/10
The Animals - The Animals (1964)
A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles (1964)
Confessions on the Dance Floor - Madonna (2005)
Tell It To My Heart - Taylor Dayne (1987)
Riot Act - Pearl Jam (2002)
Yourself or Someone Like You - Matchbox 20 (1997)
Butterfly - Mariah Carey (1997)
Summer Days - The Beach Boys (1965)
In Through the Out Door - Led Zeppelin (1979)
Hot Fuss - The Killers (2007)
Imagine - John Lennon (1971)
False Start - Love (1970)

5.0/10
Razorblade Suitcase - Bush (1996)
The Science of Things - Bush (1999)
Daydream - Mariah Carey (1995)
Mental Jewelry - Live (1991)

4.9/10
The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan (1963)
21 - Adele (2011)
Room On Fire - The Strokes (2003)
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley (rec: 1955-58; rel: 1958) [Compilation]
Rockin' With Wanda - Wanda Jackson (rec: 1956-58; rel: 1960) [Compilation]
A Rush of Blood to the Head - Coldplay (2002)
No Fences - Garth Brooks (1990)
Meet The Temptations - The Temptations (rec: 1961-64; rel: 1964) [Compilation?]

4.8/10
All Summer Long - The Beach Boys (1964)
Live at the Apollo - James Brown (1962)
Here's Little Richard - Little Richard (1956)
Yellow Submarine - The Beatles (1968)
Think! - James Brown (1960)
I'm Breathless - Madonna (1990)

4.7/10
Dangerous Woman - Ariana Grande (2016)

4.6/10
Reputation - Taylor Swift (2012)
Sounds of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel (1965)

4.5/10
Wednesday Morning, 3AM - Simon and Garfunkel (1964)

4.4/10
Candlebox - Candlebox (1993)
Meet The Beatles - The Beatles (1963)
Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan (1961)

4.3/10
Rated R - Rihanna (2009)
Beyonce - Beyonce (2013)
Pure Religion and Bad Company - Rev. Gary Davis (1957)
All That You Can't Leave Behind - U2 (2000)

4.2/10
Lemonade - Beyonce (2016)
Let It Be - The Beatles (1970)

4.1/10
Help - The Beatles (1964)

4.0/10
Aquarium - Aqua (1997)
Live at the Star-Club, Hamburg - Jerry Lee Lewis (1964)
Secret Samadhi - Live (1997)

3.9/10
Dangerous - Michael Jackson (1991)
The Fame - Lady Gaga (2008)

3.8/10
Born This Way - Lady Gaga (2011)
The Distance To Here - Live (1999)
Joan Baez - Joan Baez (1960)

3.7/10
Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift (2006)
With The Beatles - The Beatles (1963)
In The Hollies Style - The Hollies (1964)

3.6/10
Bangerz - Miley Cyrus (2013)
New Kids on the Block - New Kids on the Block (1986)
Younger Now - Miley Cyrus (2017)

3.5/10
Please Please Me - The Beatles (1963)
What's the Story (Morning Glory) - Oasis (1995)
Rock N' Roll Stage Show - Bill Haley and His Comets (1956)

3.4/10
Off The Wall - Michael Jackson (1979)
Regulate ... G-Funk Era - Warren G (1994)

3.3/10
The "Chirping" Crickets - The Crickets (1957)
II - Boyz II Men (1994)
...Baby One More Time - Britney Spears (1999)
The Fame Monster - Lady Gaga (2009)
Twist & Shout - The Isley Brothers (1962)
Surfin' Bird - The Trashmen (1965)

3.2/10
After School Session - Chuck Berry (1958)
The Woman in Me - Shania Twain (1995)
Come On Over - Shania Twain (1997)
Blackout - Britney Spears (2007)
Backstreet Boys - Backstreet Boys (1996)
No Strings Attached - NSYNC (2000)

3.1/10
Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em - MC Hammer (1990)
Blue - LeAnn Rimes (1996)
Red - Taylor Swift (2012)
The Velvet Rope - Janet Jackson (1997)

3.0/10
How Do You Like It? - Gerry & The Pacemakers (1963)
Kiss - Carly Rae Jepsen (2012)
Wilson Phillips - Wilson Phillips (1990)
It's Everly Time - The Everly Brothers (1960)
Hangin' Tough - New Kids on the Block (1988)

2.9/10
Spellbound - Paula Abdul (1991)
The Time of Our Lives - Miley Cyrus (2009) [EP]
Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley (1956)
Voices in Modern - The Four Freshman (1954)
The Monkees - The Monkees (1966)

2.8/10
Look At Us - Sonny and Cher (1965)
Forever Your Girl - Paula Abdul (1988)
Surfin' Safari - The Beach Boys (1962)
Fearless - Taylor Swift (2008)
Tiffany - Tiffany (1987)

2.7/10
Jerry Lee Lewis - Jerry Lee Lewis (1958)

2.6/10
Music For The People - Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch (1991)

UNDECIDED
Erotica - Madonna (1992)
Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison (1964) [Compilation]
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Last edited by AfterHours on 05/11/2020 10:34; edited 58 times in total

Facetious

Gender: Male
Age: 24
Location: Somewhere you've never been

AfterHours wrote:

RE: Kinks ... Whether the 5.8 holds up in comparison to the others as I am revisiting adjacent works and making further adjustments, I'm not quite sure. But they were much more spastic and consistent, almost every song a little gem. Very economical vignettes. From the voice, an early teenage "punk", preview of The Replacements et al, reflecting the frustrations of young adults on the verge of boiling over (both sexual anxiety/frustration and a pressing desperation, an urge to have a say and identity). The emphatic chords or frantic stabs of guitar & the wild, delirious harmonica, the rolling/climactic drums are in almost every case completely liberated from the boring and casual light music, sway and timidity of most of the merseybeat of the early Beatles (before Hard Days' Night). With The Kinks when the instruments fuse in unison, they also "collide" in frantic harmonic fractures due to palpable tension being created by their technique and sound. I am not totally sure it's better than Hard Days' Night but it certainly lays waste to the albums before that.

After revisiting, I can see some of what you've mentioned here in a few tracks: "Beautiful Delilah", "You Really Got Me" (duh), "Cadillac", "Revenge", "Got Love If You Want It". However, the rest is not any more revolutionary or dangerous than the average Beatles track from the period. (Not always a bad thing btw, "Stop Your Sobbing" and "Just Can't Go to Sleep" to a lesser extent are fairly decent pop songs.)
I take some issue with the accusation that the Beatles were "timid". Taking the example of Please Please Me (the album), I find the vocal performances across the board to be more consistently ecstatic, like a group of young adults pouring their heart out in a 30-minute session; all the band members are active participants, the backing harmonies engaging with the lead vocal in communal support/empathy, all of this while each member still maintains a distinctive personality when it's their turn on the lead vocal, adding to . Some examples (goes without saying that almost every Beatles album before Sgt. Pepper is much better in mono and the stereo mixes are often relatively drab):
- Paul's rabble-rousing performance in "I Saw Her Standing There", (the explosive countdown launching into the song, followed by the sly and winking opening lines) constantly punctuated by sexually charged shrieks and hoots, but such that they sound elated instead of frustrated, the vocalist almost swept off his feet by the subject of the song ("well, my heart went boom, when I crossed that room"). Also notable is the crazy way the vocals rush into the guitar solo around the halfway mark of the song. None of it sounds dangerous, but it's still intense and powerful and far from timid.
- The sardonic harmonies of "Misery", alternating between nostalgic remembrance and a comically exaggerated frustration that undercuts the pain of the vocalist (note the outro)
- the ghostly/haunted backing vocals of "Anna", drifting off into nostalgia, lifting John's passionate vocals later in the song as he reaches up continually in confusion and depression and abruptly sinks with a disappointed "ohh-ohh-ohh-ohh-ohh-ohh"
- the sha-la-la's in "Baby It's You", behind another earnest and pained performance from John whose vocal performance again keeps climaxing with frustrated cries
- they repeat the ghostly/druggy backing vocals trick behind George's more sly and playful lead vocal in "Do You Want to Know a Secret" but this time it sounds like a more playful and offbeat sendup to traditional doo-wop harmonies (same techniques in varied contexts, expressing entirely different moods)
- I don't have time to write out complete details for the remaining songs like "Love Me Do" (note the harmonica and the trick of dropping the harmonies for the hook), "There's a Place", "Twist and Shout" (this goes without saying...as intense as anything on Kinks easily but more communal) but if you assimilate all the details it's easy to see what's extraordinary about them. Even in the worst songs, you have at least an interesting detail somewhere, and it doesn't feel as inept as Kinks' worst.

I also revisited some of the Kinks bonus tracks by the way, and it's a pity some of their best songs from the period such as "You Still Want Me", "All Day and All of the Night", "It's All Right", etc weren't included on the album itself. There's a great album hidden in there somewhere. What are your favourites from the album+bonus tracks package (I'm thinking of the 26 track version on Spotify here)?

Edit: Relistening to Surfin' Safari right now...can confirm the Beatles', Kinks', and Stones' debuts do in fact annihilate it...

Facetious

Gender: Male
Age: 24
Location: Somewhere you've never been

AfterHours wrote:

@ Facetious: I could maybe get behind a 5.5 but Im already starting to get skeptical when I look at the other albums around, just below and above that. ... Lewis was basically a more exciting version of Elvis and in this live show his dancing, nearly percussive piano gets its glory with probably the peak of his vigor and impassioned singing. But in the end what does it have to say past its vigor? (His strength is his effort and base conviction; his weakness is that he is pretty much a one man show and there probably isnt that much else to his music than its base expressiveness). Ill update if that changes but while I respect Lewis' efforts and his influential attitude Ive never been a huge fan of his actual music except in small doses.

The live album is definitely not a one man show...and even if it were, that doesn't mean a one man show can't carry as much heft and conviction as most bands. The vocal and piano performances are clearly extraordinary in their sustained intensity over the course of the album, but are also matched by the drumming. Lewis throughout the album seems to be provoking the rest of the band to match his intensity, with the drummer often breaking into spontaneous drumrolls and constantly trying to keep up with the rhythm, the music always on the brink of chaos in a way only a live performance could capture, the drummer and Lewis engaged in a constant battle with each other. It's the ultimate in rock'n'roll rebelliousness and anarchy.

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

Facetious wrote:

After revisiting, I can see some of what you've mentioned here in a few tracks: "Beautiful Delilah", "You Really Got Me" (duh), "Cadillac", "Revenge", "Got Love If You Want It". However, the rest is not any more revolutionary or dangerous than the average Beatles track from the period. (Not always a bad thing btw, "Stop Your Sobbing" and "Just Can't Go to Sleep" to a lesser extent are fairly decent pop songs.)
I take some issue with the accusation that the Beatles were "timid". Taking the example of Please Please Me (the album), I find the vocal performances across the board to be more consistently ecstatic, like a group of young adults pouring their heart out in a 30-minute session; all the band members are active participants, the backing harmonies engaging with the lead vocal in communal support/empathy, all of this while each member still maintains a distinctive personality when it's their turn on the lead vocal, adding to . Some examples (goes without saying that almost every Beatles album before Sgt. Pepper is much better in mono and the stereo mixes are often relatively drab):
- Paul's rabble-rousing performance in "I Saw Her Standing There", (the explosive countdown launching into the song, followed by the sly and winking opening lines) constantly punctuated by sexually charged shrieks and hoots, but such that they sound elated instead of frustrated, the vocalist almost swept off his feet by the subject of the song ("well, my heart went boom, when I crossed that room"). Also notable is the crazy way the vocals rush into the guitar solo around the halfway mark of the song. None of it sounds dangerous, but it's still intense and powerful and far from timid.
- The sardonic harmonies of "Misery", alternating between nostalgic remembrance and a comically exaggerated frustration that undercuts the pain of the vocalist (note the outro)
- the ghostly/haunted backing vocals of "Anna", drifting off into nostalgia, lifting John's passionate vocals later in the song as he reaches up continually in confusion and depression and abruptly sinks with a disappointed "ohh-ohh-ohh-ohh-ohh-ohh"
- the sha-la-la's in "Baby It's You", behind another earnest and pained performance from John whose vocal performance again keeps climaxing with frustrated cries
- they repeat the ghostly/druggy backing vocals trick behind George's more sly and playful lead vocal in "Do You Want to Know a Secret" but this time it sounds like a more playful and offbeat sendup to traditional doo-wop harmonies (same techniques in varied contexts, expressing entirely different moods)
- I don't have time to write out complete details for the remaining songs like "Love Me Do" (note the harmonica and the trick of dropping the harmonies for the hook), "There's a Place", "Twist and Shout" (this goes without saying...as intense as anything on Kinks easily but more communal) but if you assimilate all the details it's easy to see what's extraordinary about them. Even in the worst songs, you have at least an interesting detail somewhere, and it doesn't feel as inept as Kinks' worst.

I also revisited some of the Kinks bonus tracks by the way, and it's a pity some of their best songs from the period such as "You Still Want Me", "All Day and All of the Night", "It's All Right", etc weren't included on the album itself. There's a great album hidden in there somewhere. What are your favourites from the album+bonus tracks package (I'm thinking of the 26 track version on Spotify here)?

Edit: Relistening to Surfin' Safari right now...can confirm the Beatles', Kinks', and Stones' debuts do in fact annihilate it...

Early Beatles is largely indebted to The Everly Brothers and other vocal groups before them (along with a near clone of Gerry and the Pacemakers created by the same producer ... listen to How Do You Like It). Their melodies and harmonies are almost an exact carbon copy, the main difference being a slightly more 'elated' sense of music-making (on some songs) whereas the Everly Brothers were more subtle and refined, while Gerry and the Pacemakers were more assured, instrumentally/technically polished. One can take their pick over who was superior. One could make the argument that The Everly Bros tend to capture a nostalgia for time and place and a more careful elicitation of harmonic integration. Whether that makes them better or not, I suppose is up for debate.

"Explosive" countdown to Please Please Me? Is this the leap into "4!" Ok. But even if this qualifies as "explosive" it is less than 1 second of the song. In any case, I Saw Her Standing There is perhaps the best song on the whole album both vocally and instrumentally (or Love Me Do). The handclaps and dancing/swaying/stabbing rhythm guitar gives more pounce to The Everly Bros/Gerry and the Pacemakers and others before. The song gets semi frantic play from the group during its calligraphic bridge, which is kinda cool. This displays some sense of 'frantic temptation' or similar 'lusting after' someone. I do not see how the shrieks are 'sexually charged' (unless very vaguely, in a trivial sense) as they do not indicate this by expression (if it is then it would be from someone naive to 'lust' or 'sexual frustration' or...), but they are exhilarated and surpass the Beatles' norm for this album.

Saying Misery conveys these emotions is arguable or if true, is like saying Britney Spears conveys the multi-faceted dichotomies/personas of Madonna or Mick Jagger. It is there I suppose but only in the sense of an over-simplification or sketch or lacking insight: it is so trivial and brushed over what does it matter? The band doesn't make it matter because they're probably unaware of it or lack the dramaturgy to imbue it with more distinction or meaning.

Same story with the rest of these points. That they are "doing something" is evident at all times, and sure this can be analyzed and is what keeps them mildly enjoyable -- but also as in any music (every expression contains "emotion/concept"). I would say your points generally have merit, but one could eval any music of the period and discover the same points, or when not, the same or more 'significance'. Have you invested the same time and observation in other artists of the period? Probably 95% of this is in Gerry and the Pacemakers as well, expressed in very similar ways, right from the beginning, tossed off as if it's nothing.

By timid is meant "about 75% of the album" not the occasional exceptions. In their instrumentation beyond all other aspects. It is also referring to how timid they are in creating new experiences, a new art, expressing new views, new ways of emotional expression, a palpable advance over previous ones, and so on (almost non-existent). At this point they were a "product" still a reaction to how others were doing it, so they did it the same way (most of the time, I do not mean there are zero exceptions; there is inspiration from time to time, and increasingly on avg as their career progressed and the became more adept and assimilated more, until they started becoming more their own to some degree on Hard Days' Night, consistently and palpably expressing the sensation of 'Beatlemania' the excitement of being there and alive in instrumentation and voice; then transitionally with their "Pop Art" excursions across Revolver, coming into a sort of culmination with Sgt Pepper and then the best parts of their career after that). Their weakness, as is continual in their earlier phase, is they cannot yet rise above naive expressions about that which they are singing/playing (almost uniformly derivative renditions of "love/romance", copying the formats of 50's/early 60s vocal groups). It is merely "performance" (of pretty much repeating what they were listening to) only barely brought to the point of "expressed concept/theme/experience", almost entirely without depth, a vague technical rendition of these states/expressions. This is because they are usually relying on their forebears for what is being said and they are merely "performing" their bouncier rendition of these (instead of an art more their own, their own views, experiences, and so on).

The difference with Davies and The Kinks is there is a much more complete persona conveyed by the vocalist, a whole characterization much more detailed and varied by the changes and dramaturgy in voice tone and changes in elicitation throughout the songs and across the album. Parallel to Davies vocals, the Kinks songs are much more charged by "tension" (the alignment of vocals, to instrumentation, including flinging harmonica, stabbing guitar and rushed percussion -- the colliding rhythm and dexterity between these forces -- creates harmonic juxtaposition and tension if one tries to capture all of them at the same time; a fighting for space while also structurally integrated). They are harmonically/structurally fractured even when aligned, and on average, much more frantic/anxious/frustrated and, consequently, more exciting than the vast majority of Beatles songs until that time.

Re: "Ecstatic" ... You will surely find their 'ecstacy' in their earlier period pales in comparison to even their own improvements on this with, especially, their Hard Day's Night album (both vocally and instrumentally, the palpable sense of vigor and elation throughout) and ... well, with most music expressing this really ... Seriously: listen to Shania Twain's Come On Over, to the Beach Boys (as they improved), to Michael Jackson, to the Temptations, to Prince, to Taylor Swift, to James Brown, to U2 to Carly Rae Jepsen to George Michael to Wham to No Doubt to Boyz II Men, and so on... I mean, it's actually hard to find higher rated albums that are 'elated/enthusiastic/glorious' that are "less" so and less compelling/expressive (hence 3/10).
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AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

@ Facetious

Despite disagreement, I do appreciate you taking the time and making your case for Please Please Me.

It ultimately doesn't really come down to me so much disagreeing with the points you're making. It's mostly that I don't agree with the significance of them, their emotional/conceptual potency. I don't see how these were new, revelatory expressions and/or I don't see how they were being expressed in such a way that would make them that way. Perhaps they were a slightly fresher boost beyond what was happening a year or so before, but it's pretty mild and almost negligible for all but their best songs. If you are saying they should be upgraded to 6s, 6.5s or 7s (or wherever) I would just suggest listening or revisiting to the albums in those ratings and paying them the same attention. I can pretty much assure you (although in the end it comes down to you) that you will find much more emotion, profundity, depth, and so on.

You may also be thinking that I think an album around/just below 5 is "bad" overall (yes it appears pretty ho hum compared to a 7 or so, and above, but not overall in the truest sense...) ...so it's important to remember that, in actuality, it's very often a solid, consistent, effective album, often doing nothing wrong (I know I've probably beaten this dead horse a bit too much recently, but it can be easy to lose track of... it can seem very unnatural to see 5s or lower being given to solid/effective albums, and 6s being given to what are often very effective albums, etc ... Will tend to make sense the more one has a complete picture of the whole scale or, if done already, doesn't lose sight of it). Each increment (4.9, 4.8 and so on down) only represents a slight break from this "consistently effective, mildly transcendent album" that a 5.0 tends to be. So a 4.9 is only slightly less than that but mostly the same -- not a sudden drop into some other degree of impact, not all of a sudden a poor or bad album just because it's now below a 5. The gradation downward is very gradual. So even a 3.1 (like the Beatles earliest) still has some good songs redeeming portions of it, with the rest pretty ho hum. Sometimes a 3 can even have 1 song that would normally be worthy of a much better album like a 5 or so. For instance, The Wilson Phillips album has one of the guiltiest pleasures of all time (Hold On, both awesome and cheesy as hell at the same time!) to open (an album replete with these wouldn't suddenly be a masterpiece, but it would certainly rate quite a bit higher) and then 1 or 2, maybe 3, solid ones (if memory serves...) and then becomes increasingly ho hum (more or less) on from there, petering out into a very mild experience overall.

Similar phenomena for Beatles' Help which has some of their higher points up to that time and until Revolver, but also a bit too much filler, while Meet The Beatles doesn't have quite the same higher points, but is perhaps a bit more consistent. So the ratings can be quite a balancing act. Below 5 tends to be some of the toughest calls because sometimes you're dealing with wildly inconsistent albums, and it can be hard to take it all into account and give a measure of its consistency and degree without getting only caught up in the best points.

Etc...
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Last edited by AfterHours on 05/06/2020 17:05; edited 1 time in total

DelBocaVista

For better Bo Diddley, you might want to rate his Chess Box compilation, or at least the 50s disc within it. Chess made one for Berry, Howlin Wolf, and Muddy Waters too.

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

DelBocaVista wrote:

For better Bo Diddley, you might want to rate his Chess Box compilation, or at least the 50s disc within it. Chess made one for Berry, Howlin Wolf, and Muddy Waters too.

Thank you, don't think I've heard any of those Chess Box ones. Not sure if I'll check out all of them during this current round, but probably eventually... Due to time, and the need to keep moving and building, Waters and Howlin' are perhaps the most likely to receive this sort of attention, but maybe Berry and Diddley too when I get back around to them next time. After all, I still have some very important matters to settle, like Aqua Laughing

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AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

@ Facetious

A small consolation perhaps, but some upgrades are on the way for a handful of albums below 5, including the Beatles. The leaps won't be huge but it's at least something. It's mainly due to some adjustments to the ratings scale itself and fine tuning the qualitative measures of the various echelons (working out what is the quality of a 4.5? A 4? A 3.5? A 3? and each of the increments in between, and so on ... hard work!!), which as noted earlier, were pretty volatile and has been under scrutiny and potential change (still might change a bit more before all said and done). That is the main reason. But it also did have something to do with revisiting their albums up through Hard Days' Night today, which had something to do with our discussion, so you can take a piece of the credit. I'm just working out the exact ratings at the moment.

Again, they're not skyrocketing but it's better than nuthin'!

Note that this section of ratings still could be very much on the move, so I can't guarantee any of this will be long term/permanent. Flogging a dead horse

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Facetious

Gender: Male
Age: 24
Location: Somewhere you've never been

Will reply to your posts above, although I'm glad to see there's been some effect on the ratings already. I'm curious what you think of Beatles For Sale. It's a bit of a tragedy how it contains what was easily their most mature batch of original songs at the time (their first signs of moving towards the folk rock/country rock sound that would eventually be fully developed on Rubber Soul) interspersed with covers that already felt outdated. Another all-originals album like A Hard Day's Night would've been the ideal way to go (filled out with I Call Your Name, I Feel Fine, and She's a Woman; an 11-track album that would've been better than AHDN?)

Also, how would you put together a 1963 Beatles album that's 4.8+, from the first two albums and the first seven tracks of Past Masters? My picks would include I Saw Her Standing There, Love Me Do, Please Please Me, Twist and Shout, From Me to You, She Loves You, I Want to Hold Your Hand, This Boy, It Won't Be Long, and All My Loving, not sure about the 3-4 remaining tracks to fill out a 13 or 14 track album (probably would include two George tracks and a Ringo track).

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

Facetious wrote:

Will reply to your posts above, although I'm glad to see there's been some effect on the ratings already. I'm curious what you think of Beatles For Sale. It's a bit of a tragedy how it contains what was easily their most mature batch of original songs at the time (their first signs of moving towards the folk rock/country rock sound that would eventually be fully developed on Rubber Soul) interspersed with covers that already felt outdated. Another all-originals album like A Hard Day's Night would've been the ideal way to go (filled out with I Call Your Name, I Feel Fine, and She's a Woman; an 11-track album that would've been better than AHDN?)

Also, how would you put together a 1963 Beatles album that's 4.8+, from the first two albums and the first seven tracks of Past Masters? My picks would include I Saw Her Standing There, Love Me Do, Please Please Me, Twist and Shout, From Me to You, She Loves You, I Want to Hold Your Hand, This Boy, It Won't Be Long, and All My Loving, not sure about the 3-4 remaining tracks to fill out a 13 or 14 track album (probably would include two George tracks and a Ringo track).

At a cursory glance, that seems about right. Not sure what the remaining few would be, unless one could include material from Help which would be enough. Aside from that, they might not have been able to do it before they actually did (Hard Day's Night).

(sorry, I can only spend so much time on the Beatles ... way too much to do)
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