Listed below are the best albums of 2012 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 59,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 4 hours ago).
"If he would just stick to Blues Rock this would have been an awesome. This album reminds me of Sandinista, way too many different styles. There are some really good songs but some really bad ones too."Reply
"There isn't anybody in hip-hop (or any other genre, for that matter) who puts words together like Roc Marciano. And the production is surprisingly experimental - I don't remember a hip-hop album on which the drums were less prominent than they are here. Anyone who dismisses Roc Marciano as a Mobb...""There isn't anybody in hip-hop (or any other genre, for that matter) who puts words together like Roc Marciano. And the production is surprisingly experimental - I don't remember a hip-hop album on which the drums were less prominent than they are here. Anyone who dismisses Roc Marciano as a Mobb Deep knockoff or '90's throwback is missing the point and just being plain lazy in their judgement. This is a cold record, but so vivid - and whilst people have lauded Kendrick's album for being so 'cohesive', I genuinely think this album is even more so. It's just amazingly crafted. Even better than his impeccable debut album. One of rap's most distinctive voices, and a fully fledged artist to boot. They are becoming rare in hip-hop, so cherish Roc Marci whilst he's here."[+]Reply
"They're on an adventure. The young scrappy kid is now traversing mountains, battling trolls, stoping at taverns and generally moving from A to B if you want it painfully simple. This was all starting from 'A Thousand Suns' where the group sounded like they had ambitions of recording THE NEXT DARK...""They're on an adventure. The young scrappy kid is now traversing mountains, battling trolls, stoping at taverns and generally moving from A to B if you want it painfully simple. This was all starting from 'A Thousand Suns' where the group sounded like they had ambitions of recording THE NEXT DARKSIDE OF THE MOON, I AM BEING SERIOUS! Well the tap is stuck, lofty ambitions are there but not reached with out stretched arms. 'Lost in the Echo' the fire in the heart stills burns before going out to the mind with an envelope and a punch in the 'Burn It Down'. 'In My Remains' keeps enough thunder to sustain my interest even though it is wedged in between the two. The thing is, listening to this I am nodding along, hearing the occasional good sound, the whole time not running into something horrible all the day... yet... that's really it. It's a quest without finale
and all a bit too serious now. While a song like 'Castle of Glass' sustains my interest throughout, there is this feeling of some utmost importance. I want my rock exciting. I want fun. Here Linkin Park completely miss their medium, the words don't belong and the air is thick... it's all calculated. If you want a Linkin Park aiming to write something to put beside 'Ramayana' or 'Aeneid' this is and the album before will do just fine."[+]Reply
"The production is definitely the strong point of the album, reminds of his earlier work but still far from conventional hip-hop. In contrast to his most acclaimed album up to that date (that would be Labor Days), where he produced only 4 tracks, here he is in full charge, which definitely helps t...""The production is definitely the strong point of the album, reminds of his earlier work but still far from conventional hip-hop. In contrast to his most acclaimed album up to that date (that would be Labor Days), where he produced only 4 tracks, here he is in full charge, which definitely helps the cohesion of the album. Considering he followed the same route for his next album, being again the producer, we can safely assume he was also happy with the outcome. One could argue that it hurts variety, but I don’t think that’s the case here, there are songs like Ruby ‘81 which signify a welcome change of pace. Moreover, as his name already suggests, rock music has been an influence (“Led Zep staring daggers down page mill”), something that is apparent on songs like 1,000 O'Clock, Grace, or Saturn Missiles, which help spice things up.
Despite running so smooth, I have to point out that you can tell it's 17 tracks, especially after repeated listenings. On the other hand, there is no track I would consider skippable or too long, so I can’t quite put my finger on what bothers me. 55 minutes isn't that long for a hip hop album anyway. Also, not sure how I'm feeling about the female vocals in Crows 1 , in theory you'd expect them to fit the overall sound and spirit of the album like a glove, but I can't say they do it for me. However she delivers one of the most memorable quotes “And they call to let you know your friend is dead in a box The crows have the tools to get the meat out of the box”. In Tetra it’s even worse, they are distracting and sound somewhat out of context. Finishing with the downsides, I’ m not a fan of the outro of Cycles to Gehenna, without it I would consider this a candidate for best song of the album.
Being a producer also helps when it comes to rapping. His delivery is neither spectacular nor below par, it’s dictated mainly by the beat, which is no easy task when you have to fit so many words, but it works just fine.
The lyrics are what I like to call "randomly sophisticated", at times leaning more towards randomness and at times towards sophistication. Even when the former is the case, it still works. It can be because it helps approach some deeper themes in a lighter way, for example in Fryerstarter spirituality and donuts go together ( “Picture if you will a witching hour on a weak night in the trenches Where paranoia dead-ends in a bright florescent heaven With sprinkles, I know right yum”) or in “Racing Stripes”, where there’s more to a visit to the barber shop than having your hair cut (“Crudely, some say to praise the lord I say you wanna feel saved baby shape the orb And I will see you all in Helven Read he fled a panic room pissed”). After all, some silliness balances out the overall dark tone. Or it simply provides some great storytelling (for example in Grace, who can’t relate to being forced to vegetables as a child) or contribute to some funny wordplay (see the second verse of Homemade mummy), that along with the production and the delivery save the day.
Best song: I would go with Zero Dark Thirty and Racing Stripes would be a close second. Other highlights include the first verse of Fryerstarter, the third verse of Leistureforce (“Grace of a misled teen who prefers his scenes with a little Wilhelm scream”), the wordplay – or dare I say letterplay – in ZZ Top and the outro of Gopher Guts, no matter if I’m prepared, I never see it coming.
Favorite line: “The scarf thank Mom's new hobby, kssssht! Copy”
All in all, an album that can be appreciated and enjoyed by pretty much anyone no matter your general attitude towards hip-hop."[+]Reply