I was seeing this thing had rave reviews and the album cover looked pretty cool. Upon checking it out, it was alright, but nothing to write home about. The softer more melodic bits were dull. I really liked the screaming for the most part, but whenever this album would dip into more gentle sounds it would just make my eyes roll they did not execute it amazingly. Overall though, solid black metal album with fusions of post-hardcore.

I was new to learning that he wrote Respect. This was a pretty interesting album to dive into, but doesn’t really leave that much of an impression on me. There are some really solid songs on here but nothing that’s crazy stand out. It kinda just comes and goes.

Despite a slight dip near the middle, this album is incredible. Nina Simone is undoubtedly one of the greatest artists of all time. Sinnerman is truly an unbelievable composition.

I think this being classified as a ‘must hear’ is kind of crazy, as this thing tonally is all over the place. I like how the sporadic bursts of ordinary sounds makes the album feel like traveling through Dijon’s normal day (I don’t know if I’m interpreting correctly), but this album can get quite messy. But even as messy as it is, there are no bad songs on this thing, and that last song is great. It sounds super bittersweet, and I wish this album was more like that ... read more

It’s not bad, I’m just not super impressed. Steve Lacy showed a huge glimpse into his more experimental direction producing Foushee’s Pointy Heights, and with the song “100 bux” I was extremely excited for what he had next. That song is genuinely incredible, and one of the best songs of the 2020s, carried largely by Steve Lacy’s beat, which is so industrial and angelic, it’s truly unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. He clearly tried to advance ... read more

I think this is definitely biased, because I not only grew up with the Peanuts but still to this day read Peanuts comics. I really love the Peanuts. It’s such a comforting series that you can just shut your mind off to. These songs are REALLY good in terms of composition, so I don’t think the nostalgia and bias affects my score that much. There lies some of the most well crafted tracks in Christmas history on this project.

Besides that… interesting final track, this thing ends incredibly strong. But, in general, I have never been a big Rubber Soul guy. It’s really weird listening to a Beatles album without doing so in a discography listen which I always have done. I used to listen to the Beatles discography with my dad and we would rate every song and album. Those were very funny times :). Him and I both agreed that this album was kinda mid-tier Beatles; this does not make it a “mediocre” ... read more

Charles Mingus with this album really simplifies his work and makes it a lot more accessible, but it’s still very good. If this album was like that opening track, very loud and bombastic, it would be probably up there with one of his best works. It is too inconsistent for me to call it incredible, but it’s a great project.

João Gilberto seems like the nicest dude ever with the silkiest voice but oh my god, I’m allergic to liking this guy’s music. This is just calming background noise. I saw how much reviews this album had for its age, and how positive the reviews were, so I put my entire attention towards this, and man, this was so dull. I just don’t get it. I can admit that it was clearly made with passion and soul, and it was very groundbreaking for its time, but wow does this really ... read more

This album is completely fucking insane. Recording wise, low frequencies like the toms and bass drums send what can be described as a ripple throughout the recording and high frequencies like the flute literally peak through the audio, which can be quite painful. I don’t know if this is just a result of amateur production or what, but man, is it very characteristic and unqiue. That’s this album in general. I’m not super big on jazz in general, at least not like I used to be ... read more

Elvin Jones continues to not impress me. He’s obviously a better drummer than I’ll ever be but the choices he makes on this album can be head scratching to say the least. Some of it works; most of it doesn’t. Besides Jones, Duke and Coltrane are both fine, but it’s clear Coltrane simplified his sound around Duke, likely out of a respect thing. This is very much Duke’s album, which I don’t have a problem with, really. It was a nice collaboration but ... read more

It’s always weird seeing a live album rated this high on AOTY. This is a ‘must hear’? That’s kind of crazy. Unless I’m missing key context, this should not be one at all. There is nothing special about it despite the fact that James Brown can control a crowd very well, but, he’s James Brown, so that’s a given. This is just very mediocre, with nothing to really take away.

While it doesn’t reach the height of its first track (what a song), this album is still basically a perfect composition. Charles Mingus really was a one-of-a-kind artist. Everything here sounds so nauseous and dazed, like being drunk. There are no albums like this one, truly.

Wow, what a fantastic samba album. I think samba music tends to be kind of hit-or-miss from me, but this guy just has such good vibes and the music does too. There are some really stellar tracks on this thing. I don’t have too much to say, since samba is not really a genre I know enough to speak on, but this was excellent.

What a brutal listen. This was just a slog to get through, man. Admittedly, I have NEVER been into Bill Evans. I don’t have a problem with piano-centered jazz, as I do like a lot of Thelonious Monk’s stuff, and Ahmad Jamal is my favorite jazz musician of all time, but Bill Evans has never been someone I liked. His music always sounded very safe and milquetoast. This album is no exception. I’m obviously extremely harsh on this album, but with a ‘must hear’ tag on ... read more

I thought I would like this one a lot less, but it wasn’t that bad. I saw how Coltrane was pushing his music in a more and more experimental direction, emphasizing mood. So I was worried this was a complete backstep, and it kind of is, but it’s still solid. I definitely think that 86 score is insane but it’s undoubtedly a classic. It’s just not his strongest work. 1961 was really a crazy year for John Coltrane… two ‘must hears’ in a year.

This album really falls off after that masterful first track. What started as super creepy and atmospheric just became kind of generic and uninspired. I’m not that big on Elvin Jones’ style of drumming, to be honest. It’s still carried by that first track, though, so not a bad album at all.

Now that I’m committed to listening to all “must hear” albums, I came back for this one. I’m actually quite familiar with it. I really liked “Moon Dreams” back in the day. That track had no drums so I would try to add it in, mostly through brushwork. It obviously sounded quite bad, but it was fun. This thing isn’t awesome. Besides some iconic bop tunes, this thing is a lot more shallow than people give it credit for. It’s okay but not very good at ... read more

I recently decided to abandon my “reviewing the top 10 albums of each year from 1950 onwards” idea, because ultimately, I would be missing out on a lot of music. So, I settled on doing a kind of overdone idea… listening to every “must hear”. That’s obviously an extremely daunting task, but I’m dedicated. And, I’ve already covered all of them before this. I don’t love this Etta James album. Besides that one shockingly bad song in the middle, ... read more

This might be corny as hell, but this sounds like “pre-post-rock”, I’m so serious. Miles Davis explores so much timbre and texture while recording, making this basically a drone. It is incredible. I was not expecting to like it as much as I did. That first song is a masterpiece.