...Like Clockwork

I’ve been saving my 100th review for something really special and while I was torn between this and Illmatic I think this is the perfect album for that milestone. First of all this album has an incredible concept. It is about a man who spirals into depression after a break up. It is a very real and poignant story that is full of emotion. The last two songs where the man jumps off a bridge, and on the way down, thinks about his life is one of the best endings to any concept album out there. It feels strait out of the Bojack Horseman episode, The View From Halfway Down, which discusses something very similar (I won’t go too in depth because it is one of the best episodes of all time and I don’t want to spoil it). Asides from the story, Like Clockwork also has some incredible songs. I really can’t say anything that hasn’t already been said about I Appear Missing so all I’m going to say is that it is one of the greatest songs ever made. The album, however is much more that that one song. Songs like the title track, Kalopsia, and The Vampire of Time and Memory are very emotional, while having some incredible riffs. Songs like Smooth Sailing, My God is the Sun, and I Sat by the Ocean are some of the catchiest in Queens discography. Some of the lesser songs like Keep Your Eyes Peeled and Fairweather Friends are still phenomenal songs that continue the story in a fantastic way. The album art is another thing that really stands out to me. I love a red album cover and this one really pops. This is honestly up there with In the Court of the Crimson King and The Low End Theory as one of the best album covers of all time. It really is a piece of art that not only conveys the themes and story of the album perfectly but is also one of the most visually striking covers I have ever seen. The process that took to make the album is also very interesting and is actually how the album got its name. I won’t really go into it but there is a video by Middle 8 that explains it better than I ever could. Like Clockwork really is a shining light in a not so great decade for rock music and is one of my favorite albums of all time.