Album Reviews

(Note: Ratings are out of 10 points)

Yet to come: Natalie Imbrulia, Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox 20

Beck, Mellowgold:
This album brings up an important question: does one great single make an album great or does a lot of good songs make an album great? I say an album has to be overall good in order achieve "greatness". This album has the single "Loser", which may be one of the best songs of the decade, in my opinion.... a simple concept, a nice beat. It has a few other songs that are pretty good as well, but in general the album is kind of silly and all the songs sound pretty similar. I give the album a 7, but only because of the general coolness of Beck (I respect anyone who can dance like that). It probably deserves less.

Beck, Odelay:
Same deal here as his other album. It has "Where It's At", one of the better songs I've heard, but also a lot of junk. Actually, I think this album is generally better than "Mellowgold", but it has a lot of the same problems. I bet his next album is going to kick a lot of ass. But I only give this album a 7.

Bloodhound Gang, One Fierce Beer Coaster:
Besides their hit "Fire Water Burn," this album has a lot of other good stuff. The tunes are decent, but it's the funny lyrics that make this album great. You can sing along to most of their songs and repeat the lyrics in conversations. Jimmy Pop's monotone singing voice also accentuates the humor. A major problem with this album is that they are a rap group and some of their songs have a rap quality. However, many of their better songs have this quality. I rate the album an 8.

Bush, Sixteen Stone:
It's a little hard to judge this album objectively, because I bought it during a time when I was not ready to be appreciative of any albums. Now I'm going to try to look at it objectively.... it has a lot of classic songs. Plus, I can't think of anything on it that is bad. The major minus is that Bush gets a little boring after a while. I am being rushed off the computer, so for now I'm going to rate it an 8.

Butthole Surfers, Electriclarryland:
Surprisingly, the Butthole Surfers have some other good songs besides "Pepper". Not a whole lot, but enough to make the album pretty good. Okay, their songs do sound similar, but the lead singer (whoever he is) has an interesting voice that makes the songs distinctive. And it doesn't have any dumb soft songs either, which is always a plus. I give it a shaky 7 (this could go up or down, since I haven't heard the entire album).

The Cranberries, If Everyone Else is Doing It, Why Can't We?:
A great first album. It's generally a little softer than my taste, which makes me all the more appreciative of how good it is. I love Dolores' Irish hollering and the songs are all sweet and/or sad. Occasionally (and this is very rare), I get in the mood for romantic music, and this album is great for that. I give it a 9.

The Cranberries, No Need to Argue:
Probably the best album by the Cranberries. It combines a perfect mix of the sweet romantic stuff that they put in too much of in their first album, throwing in some of the louder harder stuff that was plentiful in their third album. It doesn't have any bad songs, except maybe the title song. I'll give it a 10, but you've got to be a Cranberries fan.

The Cranberries, To the Faithful Departed:
The weakest of the Cranberries albums. It had a lot of good stuff on it, but it's too preachy. It's okay when the Cranberries preach about Ireland and stuff, since that's where they are from, but a song about Sarajevo is just going a bit overboard. However, it's still the Cranberries and it's still decent stuff. For all its problems, I still give it a 8.

Everclear, Sparkle and Fade:
I never would have bought an album like this. I copied it and realized how great it was. Pretty much every song on it kicks ass. Some of them are really really good too. I'm surprised more stuff on it didn't make it to single status. They're loud enough, the lyrics are good, and the music is good. No complaints I can think of. I rate it a 9.

Everclear, So Much For the Afterglow:
I only bought this because of how great the first album was. And I must say that I was very disappointed. It had a very good songs, but in general it wasn't that good. It was dull, for one thing. Furthermore, every song was too complaining. I got the feeling this guy thought he had a lousy life and he wanted to bitch about it. It's okay if a song is complaining if it's good otherwise... in fact, it can sometimes make a good song (e.g. "Self-esteem" by the Offspring), but these songs did not fall into that catagory. I give the album a 6 and that's kind of generous.

The Foo Fighters, The Foo Fighters:
An incredibly good album when Dave Grohl quit pretending to be Kurt. In general, he stuck to his own style, but in a few songs he tried screaming and hollering and it sounded terrible. Some of my favorite songs are on this album. When they stuck to their own style, they made some great music. Unfortunately, the bad stuff affected the entire album, which was already too short. I'm going to have to rate it a 6.

The Foo Fighters, The Colour and the Shape:
Why did I buy the second album after I disliked the first? Good question. Anyway, no regrets. The Foo Fighters have finally gotten the hang of it. This was a lovely album (I hate to use that word, but it's the only word I can think of for this album). There are two bad songs surrounding "Everlong", but everything else is very good. But to be a little picky: they didn't have any really incredible songs, like on their first album. But no matter, I still give this a solid 8.

Garbage, Garbage:
This is a great first album. There are a lot of catchy songs and interesting themes, but I think the thing that makes it great is the lead singer Shirley Manson (no relation to Marilyn, I don't think). She has throaty voice that makes people think Garbage has a male lead, but it's also sexy. If you see Shirley in one of Garbage's videos, you'd realize that her appearance goes with her voice. This album has some great stuff on it and is worth buying. I rate it a solid 8.

Goo Goo Dolls, A Boy Named Goo:
If you leave off the first single "Name", this is an excellent album. No bad songs really, lots of really good songs. For some reason, the lead singer Johnny sounds very different in a lot of the songs, enough to make me think there might be a second lead singer. But neither voice is bad. Nice loud songs and definitely enough screaming. I actually liked this album the first time I heard it, which is a big compliment. I give it a 9.

Green Day:
I already did a pretty thorough review of all five Green Day albums, which you can find on my Green Day page. Yes, I have a Green Day page. I am not really obsessed with Green Day, but I kind of was for a few months (me being obsessed consisted of putting up a Green Day poster and making a page... I didn't go TOO overboard). Besides, the page was actually supposed to just be a review of "Nimrod", but then I got carried away with pictures and it just turned into a whole page. Now I realize they are only a band, and Billie Joe is not a god. Oh well. Anyway, I give all their albums 10's, except for "Nimrod", which kind of disappointed me by straying from a lot of the things I like about Green Day. So I give it a 9.

Natalie Imbruglia, Left of the Middle:
I realized after listening to this album a few times that Natalie Imbruglia reminds me of Alanis. Once I found out she is British, I decided she is probably a British version of Alanis. For anyone who like her single "Torn", this album is not a disappointment. Some sweet songs, some angry songs, and nothing too soft. I've listened to it several times now and I've decided that although some of the songs are very good, the album as a whole is kind of boring. That's why I give it a 7.

Insane Clown Posse, The Great Milenko:
ICP doesn't care whether you like them, so you can listen to this album without any obligation. Prepare to be disturbed. But if being disturbed by an album appeals to you, there's no better album. The single, "Halls of Illusion" conjures up some not-so-nice images, but it's a great song, in my humble opinion. They're funny too, in a disturbing way. I'm not completely familiar with all the songs from this album, but what I've heard of it is surprisingly good. I rate it a nice solid 7, maybe higher if I had listened to it a few more times.

Jewel, Pieces of You:
I want to say something very bad about this album, but I can't. I hated it. I felt that I wasted my money on it and that it isn't my kind of music. But I feel obligated to add that I didn't give it much of a chance, and Jewel has an awfully nice voice. Some of my friends really loved this album, but I can't work up the same enthusiasm. Something about a whole album of soft songs about love and stuff makes me nauseous. Plus she has too many morals in her songs. But I'll add again that this isn't my kind of music and I had no business buying this album in the first place. I think MTV should be more careful what they call alternative. I give it a 4.

Matchbox 20, Yourself or Someone Like You:
This album is unbelievably good. I don't think I had much respect for Matchbox 20 until I heard their album. I can't say there are any bad songs on the album. Every song is good in its own way, soft or loud. A lot of their songs sound somehow familiar, which I think is a good thing. The lyrics are meaningful as well, something a lot of groups won't bother with. As first I couldn't get used to the lead singer's voice, but now I think he has a great voice. I give the album a 9.

Alanis Morrisette, Jagged Little Pill:
Okay, Alanis got a bad rap. Everybody hates her now because she got overplayed in a big way in the last few years. And I must admit that I shudder even at the thought of hearing "Ironic". But I bought her album and I have no regrets. It's an angry and clever album, which is why it got played so much. If you loved "You Oughta Know" before they played it half a million times, then this album is worth checking out. There are so many great songs on it that never made it to the radio. I recommend blocking out the overplayed stuff and listening to the rest of it. I give the album a 9 (but take away a point or two if you get rid of the stuff that's been overplayed).

Nirvana, Bleach:
This is the first album by Nirvana. I bought it because I was at Tower Records and I couldn't find anything else I wanted. In general, it has some good stuff, but all the songs kind of sound alike. There's the classic "About a Girl", and some other good stuff as well, but the songs kind of blend after that. Some people really like this album, but I'd say Nirvana had not reached maturity yet at this point. I played this album many times, and I still never liked it as much as their other albums. I'll give it a 7, only because I really love Kurt's voice.

Nirvana, Incesticide:
You gotta love the title on this one. It has more good songs than "Bleach" and remixes of songs from other albums that are pretty good. All the songs are pretty unique and have a nice tune. The problem with this album is that Kurt goes overboard and starts screaming off-tune in the middle of the album and it becames pretty painful to listen to. But every song has a nice chorus, even the ones where the verse is pretty bad. My roommate informed me that a lot of the songs are actually remakes of songs by other groups that Kurt liked. Anyway, I give the album an 8.

Nirvana, Nevermind:
Finally, they got it right. This album is full of good songs, and two classics ("Teen Spirit" and "Come As You Are"). Kurt uses his voice to its full extent and doesn't scream pointlessly very much. I'm not as familiar with this album as I'd like to be, but I'm familiar enough to point out that every song on it is good (except for the bonus, ew). I give it a 10.

Nirvana, In Utero:
A slight fall from "Nevermind". This album has a lot of good stuff on, definitely better than their early songs. I couldn't listen to this as much as I wanted, due to some technical difficulties (though "not enough" for me is probably about as much as most people have listened to their favorite albums). The beginning songs are all great, but then the songs get progressively worse, becoming screachy (the music this time, not the singing) until they are literally painful to listen to. Then come the finale of "All Apologies", a great song. I can't say this is a perfect album, like "Nevermind", but it is definitely up there. I give it an 8.

No Doubt, Tragic Kingdom:
I love Gwen Stefani's voice, which is a must in order to enjoy this album. I think No Doubt has a unique style, but their talent hasn't quite been honed yet. They've had albums before and I've heard this is the only decent one, so I expect lots of good things in the years to come. What I like best about this album is that it has a lot of energy.... it makes you want to shout along with the music. What I don't like about it is that the songs are a little corny. The group reaches maturity in "Don't Speak" and I expect a lot of good things in the future. For now, their album earns an 8.

Oasis, What's the Story Morning Glory?:
This album is full of life. It has a very Beatlesque quality, which is on of the things I like best about it. Some of the songs are out and out copies of Beatles songs, while others just imitate the Beatles quality. In any case, they are very good at what they do. I appreciate this album even more now that I've heard some of the terrible singles off their new album. Be warned, however, that there is something depressing about their songs. Maybe it's the psychedelic quality. In any case, I give it a 9.

The Offspring, Ignition:
My most recent addition (as I write this). The first song is incredibly good, then they get progressively worse, hitting rock bottom with "LAPD", a preachy song (I hate preachy songs, especially by groups that have no right to preach). Then the songs get better again. They have a very Nirvana sound in this album, which I didn't recognize in any of their other albums. I originally rated this album an 8, but that was after only listening to it a few times. I have changed my mind and decided that it's worthy of a 9.

The Offspring, Smash:
A kick ass album. Mildly to very depressing. We play it during bouts of depression or during problem sets that may never end. It has three songs that are incredible (the singles) and a bunch of other songs that are really good, and then a few mediocre songs. If you don't mind the fact that Dexter Holland doesn't know how to sing and can just enjoy the catchy tunes and disturbing lyrics, it's a perfect album. I rate it a 9.

The Offspring, Ixnay on the Hombre:
Generally, this album is better than Smash. Its misfortune was in coming after Smash, so every song had to be compared to the ones in Smash. It doesn't have any classics, although "All I Want" was admittedly great (I can't be objective anymore, since I've listened to it many times and grown a bit sick of it). Again, it's very depressing, so be careful while listening to it. I rate it a solid 8.

Joan Osborne, Relish:
This album was shockingly good. It's something I would never buy, due to "One of Us" being played ad nauseum on the radio. However, I borrowed it and fell in love with it. This may be Osborne's debut album, but the songs have a certain skill and maturity that it's surprising she posesses. I've even learned to appreciate "One of Us" again. She has a great voice (some people think she sounds like Shirley Manson), but the songs stand on their own. I rate the album an 8.

The Presidents of the United States of America,The Presidents of the United States of America:
I can't decide exactly how I feel about this album, since I haven't listened to it very much yet. I've listened to it enough to say that it has a lot of good songs on it. Sometimes the group sounds a bit too Western for my taste, and I have to say that some of their lyrics are bordering on ridiculous (you've heard "Peaches"). But there is enough good stuff on it to make it fun to listen to, and it is also mildly amusing. I'll give the album a 7, and add that I'm sick of white guys who shave their heads.

The Refreshments, Fizzy Fuzzy Big and Buzzy:
This album was recommended to me by the great Michael Develin, who rated it number one of all his albums. I wouldn't go so far. Their songs are reminiscent of Sublime, which I like, but a lot of their songs reek of country music. And their lyrics are generally unimaginative. Although they got some of their songs just right. And the tunes are pretty good. Also, I like the fact that their Southern drawl sometimes reminds me of Kurt. Also, they have been called "Green day wannabes" and anybody who wants to be Green Day couldn't be that bad. I rate it a 7.

R.E.M., Monster:
A lot of people said this was the worst R.E.M. album, but I must disagree. True, I haven't really become familiar with the other R.E.M. albums... but I think this one was pretty good. It has a few near-classics. I guess some of songs are a bit boring, but it's pretty good in general. Any R.E.M. fan would appreciate it. I give it an 8.

Smashing Pumpkins, Mellon Collie and the Infinate Sadness:
Although a lot of the songs on this album have been played as much as those from "Jagged Little Pill", there are twice as many songs to enjoy. In general, SP is good when they are loud and bad when they are soft. The song "Love", probably the best on the two albums that make up "Mellon Collie", applies a fuzzy, staticky sound that I first thought was my speakers misfunctioning. I think SP's main attraction is Billy Corgan's distinctive voice. He sounds kind of evil, which isn't a bad sound to have. Although I don't know if I agree with the head shaving... Anyway, I rate the album an 8. I have arrived at this rating by taking the average of the two albums that make up "Mellon Collie", the first of which is a 9 and the second of which is a 7. The top 14 songs of the two albums could push the rating up to a 10 (maybe), but the bad soft songs detract too much.

Soundgarden, Down On the Upside:
I respect any group that puts their best song first on the album. That way, I don't need to hear a bunch of bad songs before I get to it... a strong opening is always best. Not to say that this album is a steady drop after "Pretty Noose"... just the opposite. It maintains a stream of good songs that lasts for over an hour. They even have an instrumental piece that I don't dislike (and I even disliked Green Day's instrumental piece). The album also has some really great songs at the end, another thing I respect. I give this album a 9.

Stabbing Westward, Wither Blister Burn + Peel:
First, I must say that this album loses points right away for having only ten songs. I mean, what IS that? I don't feel like I'm getting my money's worth with only ten songs (even though I borrowed this album). Only ten songs also means that mostly likely the songs are long, and I generally can't stand long songs. But enough about that. The songs on this album are good when they are not long and soft. The loud songs are great, but everything else is borderline. So I'll say there are five great songs and five OK songs. You can take that any way you want. Also, something that's pretty cool about Stabbing Westward is that they sometimes sound like Soundgarden. I give the album a 7.

Stone Temple Pilots, Tiny Music From the Vatican Gift Shop:
This is the bad thing that happens when you buy an album after hearing only two songs from it. STP has had a lot of good songs, but not enough good songs for the amount of albums they have made. But this album does deserve some credit because the good songs on it (there are maybe four of them) are quite good. The kind of songs you like right away and never get sick of them. But I was unaware of the general style of STP music that doesn't appear in its single, so I was seriously disappointed when I heard the album. I give it a weak 5.

Sublime, 40 Oz. to Freedom:
I didn't like this album at all the first time I heard it, but I now rate in in the top five. It takes a good few listens to appreciate it, but it's well worth it. Excluding a couple of songs at the beginning, every song is great. And since it has over twenty tracks, that's a lot of good music. It's a different kind of music than I generally like; it's sort of Spanish reggae. But I never had anything against Spanish music or reggae, so I guess it's okay. Plus, they handle rock excellently. Okay, so half the songs are about drugs. I still give the album a cool 10.

Sublime, Sublime:
I have to give this album some credit for getting me to like Sublime and also for containing the very excellent "Wrong Way". This album has some songs that are better than anything on their earlier album, but in general it's not as good. Not to say that it isn't very very good. It contains all the classics, such as "What I Got." I give it a 9.

Superdrag, Regretfully Yours:
I took a big chance with this album and bought it after hearing only one song off it and hearing no advice about it being good or bad. Considering all this, I think I lucked out. This may not be the best album after made, but it definitely ranks up there. Superdrag is what I call "chainsaw music" (if this term starts getting used, I'll know people are actually reading my webpage). This means basically what it sounds like... their music sounds like a chainsaw. This may seem like a bad thing, but I kind of like it. It's something that Weezer does in at least one song I can name ("Tired of Sex"). There are a lot of similarities between the music of Weezer and Superdrag. Unfortunately, Superdrag makes a lame appearance and their lyrics are pretty dumb too when you look at them, so that's probably why they never got more popular. Superdrag has a style that not everyone likes, but I happen to like it a lot, and love this album. I originally gave it a 9, but I think I'm going to have to drop it down to an 8, because I've realized it has some bad songs. Hmm, maybe a 7.

Third Eye Blind, Third Eye Blind:
The first half of this album is excellent. It has all their singles and a couple of other songs that are great. Then the end of the album sort of runs out of speed. The songs get kind of dull. It becomes elevator music. The exception is "London", which is a pretty good song, but it still suffers from having stupid lyrics. The album is an our long and I've usually lost interest by then end. This in not to say that it's not worth buying. The first half is way above average and makes up for the very mediocre ending. I rate the whole album a 7.

311, 311:
With their first two singles off this album, 311 did an excellent job of hiding the fact that they are a rap group. Whether 311 is a good rap group, I do not know or care. I feel that I was tricked into buying an album I was guaranteed not to like. It has a couple of good songs, but in general I dislike it and rarely listen to it. I give the album a 3 for sneakiness.

Tonic, Lemon Parade:
I am here to answer the age-old question... does Tonic have any good songs besides "If You Could Only See"? Well, I guess that's not really an age-old question, but anyway, the answer is yes. The album is actually surprisingly good. They released another single off it, which is almost as good as the first one, and there's lots of other good stuff on the album. Don't expect a lot of variety, but anybody who can appreciate their singles will not be disappointed. I give the album an 7.

The Verve Pipe, Villains:
Shockingly, the Verve Pipe has a lot of good songs on their album. They're not really British (yea, I was surprised too), but they have that pseudo-Brit style that a lot of groups seem to have now. I really can't tell until I check the homepages. Anyway, besides the four or so good singles on this album, it's generally pretty decent. Slightly depressing, yes, but so are a lot of albums. I rate this one an 8.

The Wallflowers, Bringing Down the Horse:
I don't know if I've listened to this album enough to give a qualified review of it, but I DO have an opinion of it. I would say the son of Bob Dylan is rather disappointing. Their songs have a quality that I think is purposely trying to imitate the elder Dylan, but it results in dull, lifeless songs. They got it right a couple of times, but generally they just hit the same notes over and over and the lyrics aren't so great either. I have to give them credit for two pretty good singles though. I rate the album overall a 5.

Weezer, Weezer:
This album is comparable to the Foo Fighters first album. It has a few songs that are just incredible and some stuff that is just plain lousy. Also, it's Weezer's first album. The best Weezer songs are on this album, without a doubt. Nobody can dislike the sweater song. But it has some bad songs too. Okay, it has three bad songs, but that's a whole lot when the album only has ten songs on it. Maybe it was a bad thing that I was already sick of "Buddy Holly" when I bought the album, since I loved that song when I first heard it. Anyway, it's a fun album and I give it an 8.

Weezer, Pinkerton:
If there is a such thing as a perfect album, this may be it. I admit that it is not perfect for everyone and a lot of people prefer their first album, but for me it was the absolute perfect album. See, I like to listen to love songs, but love songs are generally soft and boring, a quality that I can't stand. This album has nice, loud, sweet, romantic songs. I think I have played this album more times than any other album I own (for a while, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to stop). Of course, this could be accounted for partially by the fact that it's only half an hour long. Also, my mom agrees it's the best album I own. I give it a 10 (well, duh).

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