unprofessionalmusicrater

[unprofessionalmusicrater]

Erykah Badu, 'Baduizm' (#89)

Erykah Badu is widely credited as the queen of neo soul. While it’s a sub-genre I’m unfamiliar with, I’m excited to try something new.  

Baduizm begins with “Rim Shot”, which acts as a groovy introduction to the album. Badu once recalled "If the head wrap was my trademark, the drums, African drums, were my soundtrack”. The statement holds true as the second track, “On & On”, begins. Badu’s vocals are difficult to make out, but nevertheless they are addicting. The song forces you to sway back and forth and just take in what you’re listening to. “On & On” was the breakout hit of Baduizm, and definitely lives up to its sales. On “Appletree”, which follows, Badu compares food to wisdom. She states “Since knowledge is infinite, It has infinitely fell on me”, and although the lyrics are arrogant, it’s hard to disagree with her. “Appletree” is incredibly enjoyable and follows an interesting concept few artists are willing to truly dive deep into. “Otherside of the Game” is told from the perspective of a drug dealer’s girlfriend, specifically the difficulties of pregnancy she faces while dating him. While unrelated to the song, Badu actually dated Andre3000 of OutKast at the time she wrote Baduizm. It’s speculated Andre was an inspiration for the song, but the theory has never been confirmed. On the track Badu pleads to her lover “But the seed had grown, I can't make it on my own”, asking him to step away from his life of crime and start a family with her. It’s slow, impactful, and addicting to listen to. On the next track, Sometimes (Mix #9), Badu displays an impressive soulful freestyle. Her rapping is unexpected, but does not disappoint. Immediately after, Badu begins “Next Lifetime”, a song about a woman who is in a committed relationship but loves another man. “Now what am I supposed to do, When I want you in my world, How can I want you for myself, When I'm already someone's girl?” she asks. Lines after she answers, “I guess I'll see you next lifetime, No hard feelings, I guess I'll see you next lifetime, I'm gonna be there”. The song is beautiful, but heartbreaking to hear. Badu’s music sounds incredibly similar but somehow finds a way to impress me. Every. Single. Time. 

Halfway through the album, Badu freestyles an interlude on “Afro”. The song is written about Questlove, drummer of The Roots, a popular hip-hop group Badu worked closely with in the 90′s (they also had many appearances on Baduizm). There are multiple theories about what the next track, “Certainly”, is about, but my favorite is the idea it is about how Africans had to change their culture when they were forced to come to America. Regardless of what you choose to believe, it’s impossible to deny it’s one of Badu’s best displays of range. On “4 Leaf Clover”, Badu displays a newfound sense of confidence and swagger. Instead of longing for love, she feels in control; “Like the wind, I am free, Going places, being things I wanna be, To settle down is oh so hard, But I will grant you that one chance, So pick the right card”. Yet, Badu contrasts her happiness with heartbreak on the following track, “No Love”. She asks “How can anyone be so cruel?”, and reflects on how although she opened herself up to a lover, she was somehow still betrayed. She did everything right, but is still left wondering why did they leave?. On “Drama”, Badu reflects on all of the problems of the world, “Race relations, segregation, no occupation World inflation, demonstration, miseducation”, and hopes the next generation will have the ability to solve them. You can feel Badu’s exhaustion as you listen, as well as a connection to something deeper. You don’t know what it is exactly, but it makes you want to fight for what you believe in. The third to last song of the album, “Sometimes”, is about a love/hate relationship. “Where did the love go?” Badu asks, struggling to find the person she once loved in what she currently sees. The second to last track, “Certainly (Flipped It)”, feels unnecessary. It’s the exact same as it’s parent-track “Certainly”, only with updated and funkier instrumentals. 

Baduizm concludes with “Rim Shot - Outro”. It’s incredibly similar to the intro, but it still serves as a nice reminder of how artistically far the project has come. There’s nothing special about it, it’s simply just a nice way to end the album. Baduizm was a great project, and it’s honestly hard to find any serious problems with it. 

[unprofessionalmusicrater]

Neil Young, 'After the Gold Rush' (#90)

Neil Young has always been an artist I’ve known of but not known. I’m excited to see how his first project in the top 100 holds up, and how he compares to the rest. 

After the Gold Rush begins with “Tell Me Why”, a soft-sung folk track that encompasses nostalgia and longing for something greater. “Is it hard to make arrangements with yourself, When you're old enough to repay but young enough to sell?”. Neil’s younger self doesn’t understand the future, fearing what it holds in the form of existential questions. Neil takes a lonely feeling everyone can understand and turns it into a comforting song. The next track “After the Gold Rush”, is another example of an incredible folk song. Neil’s soft-spoken choruses and fading trumpet create an immersive experience that you find yourself not wanting to end. On “Only Love Can Break Your Heart”, he reflects on a breakup over a set of smooth drums and softly-played acoustic guitar. It’s just so easy to listen to, its simplicity proving incredibly beautiful. The first “upbeat” song of the album is “Southern Man”. It features an electric guitar looping, which amazingly still sounds soft. On it Neil sings about the Confederate South’s rise to power off of exploitation and the backs of slaves. It’s a surprising commentary track that somehow fits just right. Neil sings, “Southern man better keep your head, Don't forget what your good book said”, reminding the Confederates of the blatant hypocrisy in their actions, claiming to have devotion to religion but still enslaving other humans. “Till the Morning Comes” acts as a short but sweet interlude to mark the 5th track of the album. It features a relaxing piano, chorus, and trumpet. 

The second half of the album begins with "Oh, Lonesome Me”. Neil tells of how although he frees now that he is out of a relationship, his lack of motivation is killing him. “I'm a fool for staying home and having none, I can't get over how she set me free, Oh, lonesome me”. The next track, “Don’t Let It Bring You Down”, follows the death of a blind man and an elderly man, but as the song progresses Neil restates the message of not letting negativity ruin positivity. He repeats “Don't let it bring you down, It's only castles burning”. The track after, “Birds”, feels angelic. It’s comforting, encompassing, and is one of those songs you have to listen to twice to appreciate it fully. While I enjoyed the next track, “When You Dance I Can Really Love”, it doesn’t hold to the standard the rest of the album sets. It’s a great track, but is too electric for the softly-sung tone every prior track follows. I still highly recommend it to any classic rock fans looking for a piece with guitar, piano, and fantastic vocals. Yet Neil makes up for directly after on “I Believe In You”. It’s a painfully regretful track, but as always Neil delivers. 

The last track on the album is titled “Cripple Creek Fairy”. On it Neil tells the story of the “Cripple Creek Fairy”, a water monster currently being hunted by a captain. It’s reminiscent of a traditional summer camp song, ending the album in the same beautifully nostalgic way it began. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this album. Prior to listening, I couldn’t name a single Neil Young song, now almost the entirety of After the Gold Rush is on my personal playlist. This project is a must-listen for any folk fans. It’s easily the most digestible album I’ve ever heard, and with more listens has potential to become my favorite. The paragraphs above do not do the songs justice. The only way to appreciate its beauty is to listen. I promise you won’t regret it. 

[unprofessionalmusicrater]

Bruce Springsteen, 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' (#91)

The boss has always held a special place in my heart. Besides from growing up here, my Mom’s family has lived in New Jersey since they immigrated from Italy in the early 1900s. Bruce Springsteen is one of those people every New Jerseyan has at least one favorite song from, and I’m grateful to say “Jungleland” has always been that for me. When I got my first Walkman a couple years ago, Born to Run was the only album I had. I would spend hours listening to Clarence Clemens’s solo at the end, wishing I had his talent. Growing up and going to the shore, Bruce always played. Going into this review, I understand there is a stigma around listening to him, I hear people all the time say he’s too “New Jersey” or “corny”. But it’s important to forget what we know going into an album, and just listen. I’m excited to begin. 

Darkness on the Edge of Town begins with what feels like home. “Badlands” is filled with guitar, piano, drums, and the Boss. It’s everything you could ask for in an opening track, and incredibly easy to digest. There’s nothing to overthink when you’re listening to Springsteen sing, you’re just having a good time. He’s always been one of the few artists who lets me step away from the stress of daily life, and just be in the moment. The next track, “Adam Raised a Cain”, is brilliantly composed religious reference. In the Bible, Adam gave birth to two songs: Cain and Abel. Abel was always a good, rule-following kid, while Cain lived his entire life feeling like a black sheep. Springsteen sings angrily and rebelliously, encompassing everything I love about protest music. The next song, “Something in the Night”, is hard to put into words. It’s lullaby-esque but at the same time captures every feeling of nostalgia, hope, and love you wish for in a Springsteen song. It’s the first “slow” track on the album, but don’t let its simplicity distract you from its beauty. I highly recommend it to anyone who disagrees with the notion that the Boss belongs a spot in history as one of the best artists of all time. There’s references to the Stone Pony, the Jersey shore bar Springsteen rose to popularity in, and beautiful pictures like “But they caught us at the state line, Burned our cars in one last fight, And left us running burned and blind”. On “Candy’s Room” Springsteen falls in love over guitar and a building drumroll. It’s exciting and imitative of a fast heartbeat, which I hope the Boss was going for. The next “slow” song on the album is “Racing in the Street. One lyric describes the song perfectly, “ Summer’s here and the time is right, For racin’ in the street”. It’s a song you run through the streets at night listening to with no worries. It’s plain but complex, slow but made my heart speed up, and just a masterpiece of a song. It slowly closes out with an almost 2 minute long instrumental, a very, very, very pleasant surprise. 

“The Promised Land” is not my favorite track on ‘Darkness’, but definitely the stand-out hit. On the track Springsteen wants to start over, “Explode and tear this whole town apart, Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart, Find somebody itching for something to start”. He composes a perfect track that describes everything terrifying about growing up and just wanting to be happy (the exciting harmonica solo at the end was the cherry on top for me). Springsteen creates a subtle yet powerful social commentary on “Factory”. He describes his father’s own mistreatment in the working class, and the tireless cycle many Americans feel stuck in. It’s a repeated theme Springsteen has always followed: America is beautiful but flawed at its core. On “Streets of Fire”, he confessed “Eat at your insides and baby I ain’t no liar, I walk“, just before a powerful array of instrumentals come in and take control of the song. Hearing his masculine voice range and waver with pain is refreshing to hear. 

The album begins wrapping down on “Prove It All Night”. It’s nothing special, but the piano, electric guitar, and Clarence Clemens on the saxophone shine through more than ever. "Darkness on the Edge of Town”, the self-titled track of the album, actually happens to be the closing one too.  It’s Springsteen’s best display of emotions on the album, filled with the regret and lostness the end of album can do to you. As the Boss struggles with his working-class self-hatred and a longing for more, you find yourself not wanting the moment to end. Like many tracks aforementioned, the last song of the album slowly fades away over instrumentals. 

Darkness on the Edge of Town is a perfect coming of age album. The reason I love music is its timelessness. The message, emotion, and music doesn’t age, it can affect an 80 year old the same it affects me. ‘Darkness’ in particular is a masterpiece example of this. I find comfort in knowing my parents underwent the same experience I did tonight when they were young. It’s the ultimate display of music’s complicated power. 

[unprofessionalmusicrater]

The Jimi Hendrix Experience, 'Axis: Bold as Love' (#92)

Axis: Bold as Love begins with a interview skit about aliens and an 8D industrial-sounding guitar. Jimi Hendrix has always been a name I recognize, but can never name songs from. I’m excited to enter the Jimi Hendrix experience. 

While I wasn’t a huge fan of the second track, “Up From the Skies”, after looking it up and realizing it was sung from the perspective of alien I became immensely more interested. “I have lived here before, the days of ice, And of course this is why I'm so concerned, And I come back to find the stars misplaced, And the smell of a world that has burned”. The alien who once lived on Earth finds himself disgusted with what the new age humans have done, introducing the incredibly interesting album concept. On “Wait Until Tomorrow”, Hendrix creates a fun and spunky chorus to introduce his love interest, Dolly Mae. The song ends with Mae’s father shooting Hendrix. On the next track, “Ain’t No Telling”, the chorus repeats “When you gonna see me, I really hope, That uh, it will be tomorrow”, a connection to the previous track I can appreciate. 

The mood of the entire album changed on “Little Wing”, a light-hearted love track. “When I'm sad, she comes to me, With a thousand smiles she gives to me free”. The song has hypnotic guitar and great lyrics, allowing the creation of my favorite track on the album. On “If 6 Was 9″, Hendrix does self-reflecting and finds peace in himself. He sings “If all the hippies cut off all their hair, I don't care, I don't care, Dig, cause I got my own world to live through, And uh, and I ain't going to copy you”, embracing what he loves about himself and refusing to be changed by everything society wants. The track is psychedelic and freeing, reminding us all that our life is our life, and especially the idea that we control our own happiness. The drone-y and mysterious outro is reminiscent of Hollywood alien sound effects, Hendrix again proposing the idea that we are not alone in this universe. A few tracks later on “Castles Made of Sand”, Hendrix reflects on his parent’s divorce as he narrates it from the third-person. The chorus, “And so castles made of sand, Fall in the sea eventually”, reflects on the fragility of life and how eventually everything falls apart. On “She’s So Fine” Noel Redding beautifully sings about his significant other in a nostalgic, Beach Boys-esque melody. It perfectly contrasts the aforementioned heartbreak. “One Rainy Wish” does a great job at capturing the hallucinatory sound Hendrix is famous for. On the track he expresses his love for a woman, repeatedly stating how little he wants to grow up. 

The last track of ‘Axis’, “Bold As Love”, is beautiful. And honestly, there is not much more I can say to describe the emotions Hendrix puts into it. The guitar was electric, his voice made me nostalgic, and best of all I found myself wanting nothing more at the end of the album. The electric guitar outro left me staring at my keyboard for a good minute, that being the highest compliment I can give to a song. As with most albums on the top 100 list, I didn’t know what to expect before I hit “play” on that first track. But also as with most albums I found myself more appreciative of the artist and grateful I listened at the end. I’ve never been a huge rock fan, but there’s something about Axis: Bold as Love that makes me want to travel back in time to Woodstock and mosh-pit with hippies. The album was short but sweet, and I highly recommend anyone who has 39 minutes of free time to sit down and listen. 

[unprofessionalmusicrater]

Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott, 'Supa Dupa Fly' (#93)

If there’s one woman credited with dominating the 90′s rap game, it’s Missy Elliott. Credited with breaking gender norms and creating some of the greatest hip-hop projects of all time, I’m excited to see if Supa Dupa Fly holds up. 

The album begins with a funky, psychedelic intro from Busta Rhymes. It’s fun and relaxed, and as a Busta Rhymes fan I was delighted to hear him create such a simplistically beautiful track with another great. Missy makes her debut on the second track “Hit ‘Em wit da Hee”, and her talent is recognizable from the very beginning. With clever lines like “While Misdemeanor hit notes like Sarafina, I subpeona you”, there’s nothing not to like. She establishes herself as the queen of funk rap early on. Missy describes the feeling of late night lust on the next track, “Sock It 2 Me”, in a slow and melodic way that reminded me of “Slow Jamz” by Kanye West. "Sock It 2 Me” is an example of a beautifully made song that covers one of the most frowned-upon topics in music. I’m not really sure where I stand on the hit track off the album, “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly). While I absolutely love witty lines like “My finger waves these days, they fall like Humpty”, I honestly just found myself wanting more from such a critically acclaimed song. Yet I found Missy redeem herself on the next track, “Beep Me 911″, where she gets vulnerable and emotionally desires her ex-lover. The chorus, sung by female hip hop group 702 is painstakingly beautiful. The track encompasses all the best things of 90′s hiphop with funky beats, soul, and comical lyrics. The sorrowful feeling changes on the track after, “They Don’t Wanna F*ck” with me. Timbaland, who has stayed in the shadows producing prior to, makes his rap debut on the album and flows perfectly to match Missy’s style. The track is relaxing, cool, and nostalgic all in one. It makes you want to walk down the streets of Virginia in slow motion right alongside them. “Pass Da Blunt” is Missy’s appreciation for track for Timbaland, the chorus repeating “He got the beats, He got the beats that make me jump, jump, jump”. It’s clear when listening to Timbaland’s production throughout the album how close him and Missy are, and how well they work together. Missy also has the album-title line on the track, stating “My style is supa dupa fly and yours is so so”. 

When “Friendly Skies” begins with heavy bass and moans of pain and regret after the interlude, it’s hard to not feel anything but everything Missy wants you to. The entire song is filled with heartfelt lyrics alongside experimental instrumentals, and I highly recommend it to anyone wondering if this album is for them. Following “Friendly Skies”, late singer Aaliyah introduces us to “Best Friends”. Aaliyah’s voice is hypnotic and she hits every note perfectly, leading to the creation of a pretty great song. On “Don’t Be Cominn’ (In My Face)”, Missy tells her ex off. “It's the thing that you do, make me not love you... When you leave, you can leave out the back door” and other lines  clearly show Missy is done being pushed around and is starting to change for the better, as much as it hurts. On one of the last tracks of the album, “Why You Hurt Me”, Missy uses some of her best rhymes to tell the story of her friend who has fallen into a unhealthy sex-driven lifestyle. “Neighbors out the window sure was lookin', She greasy like chicken, I don't give a cotton pick and she can do her thing, 'Cause me and her don't hang, The ugly bitch sang”. 

More great tracks follow, but the album begins to wrap up with “Busta’s Outro”. Busta Rhymes’s breaking of the fourth wall is INSANELY COOL. When he says, “And right about now with this particular time, As we bring this LP to a close, Busta Rhymes and the whole entire flip mode squad, Would like to congratulate you all for being such a wonderful audience” I can’t help but smile. 

Supa Dupa Fly is the reason I love music. It’s two artists having fun and creating beautiful music, and there is not much more I could ask for on the album. It’s everything hip-hop should be and what I want it to be. It’s Missy Elliott, the 90′s, and hypnosis all crammed into one perfect LP. As Missy says on the last line of the album, “Make it hot, aight, I'm out”. 

[unprofessionalmusicrater]

A Tribute to DOOM

The supervillain of rap went by a number of names: Viktor Vaughn, King Geedorah, and many more. But one thing Daniel Dumile, famously known as MF DOOM, can be remembered for is changing hip-hop. “Your favorite rapper’s rapper” is a phrase I’ve only heard associated with DOOM, and with a quick bit of research it’s honestly amazing how much influence the late rapper had. 

So why was he the “supervillain” of rap? Just like any villain in a comic or movie, DOOM had a turning point when his rap partner-brother was hit and killed by a car, eventually leading the two’s label to drop the remaining DOOM. DOOM went off the face off the Earth after, only to come back into the game years later with a chrome mask on, which completely covered his face. DOOM never took the mask off, even up to his death months ago.

Now, about his music, influence, and rise to fame. If there is one word that comes to mind when any rap-head hears the name “MF DOOM”, it’s intricate. "Wrote this lyric from in the bed wit’ a chick, She had the tightest grip around the head of my……Bic. Now, can I get my pen back?” It’s witty and honestly genius lines like this that have invented a style rap stars Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler, The Creator, and J. Cole continue to build off and reach new demographics and standards. 2000s rap group Odd Future (consisting of some of the artists mentioned aforementioned) managed to meet DOOM in a heartwarming interaction that the internet has recently found and fallen in love with. DOOM’s set the precedent that rap doesn’t has to fit a quota or standard, and also accelerated story-telling in rap to a place I believe isn’t even reached in today’s game. Especially on his hit project with producer Madlib, Madvillainy, Doom’s use of sampling is able to create an insanely nostalgic story that is so enjoyable to follow.  Lyrics like “Got more soul (sole) than a sock with a hole” support my personal belief that in order to listen to DOOM, you need the lyrics in front of you. 

While it was only announced this week, DOOM passed on October 31st, 2020 (a pretty awesome date for the accepted “supervillain” of the rap game). Prior to his death I had never listened to a DOOM project all the way through. I knew certain songs sprinkled here and there across multiple aliases, but had never sat down for a full length listen. I finished Madvillainy earlier today, and as I’m writing this it’s 1:46 am and I’m near the end of MM...FOOD. I’ve fallen in love with his story-telling and creativity, and I’m willing to admit his death had a heavy part in my interest in him. I can see him becoming one of my favorite artists of all time. For now, I’ll  “remember ALL CAPS when you spell the man name“. 

Rest in Power DOOM. 

[unprofessionalmusicrater]

The Stooges, 'Fun House' (#94)

I’d never heard of The Stooges or Fun House before this review, but after reading the Rolling Stone’s description of the album I understood I had thirty-six minutes of 70′s drug-fueled groove ahead. 

Fun House begins with a track titled “Down on the Street”. I didn’t find there to be anything special to it, but was impressed with its electrifying guitar. It was a little too “grunge” for me. The next track, “Loose”, sounds like exactly what you think. Aggressive, fun, and groovy, famed lead singer Iggy Pop carries the song all the way with a range of vocals. The chorus is repeated very softly, and Iggy is able to perfectly build up to a bellicose “I’m Loose!”. “Loose” set the mood for the third track on the album, “T.V. Eye”. While I wasn’t as pleased with Iggy’s vocals on this track, the looped guitar in the background combined with drum crescendos was amazing. Lead guitarist Ron Asheton has an amazing solo around halfway through the track which is completely encompassing. We find the first slow-paced track on Fun House in “Dirt”. With lyrics like “Said do you feel it?, I said do you feel it, When you cut me?, Said do you feel it, When you cut me?, It's a fire, it's a fire, I'm a fire inside, Oh it's just a dreaming”, the track is infused with depression and anger in a perfect balance (there’s even a sweet guitar solo around four minutes in). “Said do you feel it?, I said do you feel it, When you cut me?, Said do you feel it, When you cut me?, It's a fire, it's a fire, I'm a fire inside, Oh it's just a dreaming”. Next, one of my favorite tracks on the album was “1970″. I found its placement after “Dirt” to be perfect, and the chorus incredibly catchy. “1970″ beautifully builds to a soundtrack-esque chorus with a variety of instrumentals, and features arguably the best guitar solo of the record. Aggressive and refreshing at the same time, “1970″ is simply a great track. The self-titled track of the album follows after, and “Fun House” does another great job at mixing and balancing all aspects of the album thus far. “Fun House” is where Iggy shows his true vocal ability, all of it over an addictive saxophone melody. I enjoyed the track so much I barely cared about the harsh yelling towards the end. Who knows, maybe “Fun House” turned me in to grunge fan :). 

The album ends with the track “L.A. Blues”.Despite the relaxing name, the song is a mess. But... it’s a mess I can appreciate. I couldn’t understand anything Iggy yelled over the drums, guitar, horns, and ominous instrumentals, but I still found myself smiling as I listened. Fun House is aggressive, plain and simple. I was glad it didn’t get corrupted by the “slow closing track” theme most artists fall for. To me the record was a group of guys having fun and making some pretty great music, as well as some not so great music. While it definitely isn’t one of my favorite albums of all time, I can understand the legacy it has had on grunge. It set the precedent that music is subjective, and experimenting with underground concepts should not be looked down upon. As a music nerd, I can 100% respect it. 

[unprofessionalmusicrater]

Drake, 'Take Care' (#95)

As Drake put it, “That's what the album is pretty much about, just staying sane, but maybe, maybe not really though”. Take Care deals with the ups and downs of fame. At the time of recording in 2011, Drake was an upcoming artist who had few hits, yet to cement himself as a great rapper. Take Care is also where he established his image as “Champagne Papi”. It’s crazy to think of how he is now one of the most famous musicians in the world. 

Take Care begins with “Over My Dead Body”, where Drake introduces himself and begins to tell his story. The slow piano in the back creates a sense of comfort and homeliness. Romantic and confident, in the second track titled “Shot For Me”, Drake reflects on an ex and flaunts how “he made it”. The track begins with Drake singing, but builds to a badass verse where he remembers a relationship before his fame, the chorus repeating “take a shot for me”. The track is beautifully made and ends with an array of abstract beats to close it out perfectly. Drake “overdoses on confidence” next on the party track “Headlines”, and demonstrates his clear ability to create hits with anything. The Weeknd and Drake are a deadly combination. On “Crew Love”, the Weeknd’s unmatched vocal ability combined with Drake’s flawless flow creates a  masterpiece. “Smoking weed under star projectors, I guess we'll never know what Harvard gets us, but seeing my family have it all, took the place of that desire for diplomas on the wall”. On the self titled track of the album “Take Care”, Rihanna and Drake create one of the most popular songs on the album. The duo, who was secretly dating at the time, create an emotion packed hit with their chemistry. Drake is known for creating hits after hits, and this idea does not disappoint on Take Care. On “Marvin’s Room”, Drake sings from the perspective of himself drunk-dialing and ex, and the beat is honestly so beautifully made it just makes you want to play the song over, over, and over. “I’m just saying you could do better” Drake pleads on the track, “Talk to me, please, don't have much to believe in”, and he makes it easy to understand his hurt. Kendrick Lamar’s feature on the first interlude of the album feels surreal to me. My favorite artist of all time making a surprise visit on “Buried Alive Interlude” just made Take Care so much better. Drake’s music feels like soundtrack to a movie, especially in songs like “We’ll Be Fine”. As Drake recounts on his success and lavish lifestyle, it’s hard to not envy him and his talent. Another thing I noticed about Drake on Take Care is his effortless ability to collaborate with other artists. He makes tracks with stars like The Weeknd, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, and Rihanna on the album, and yet manages to not outshine them or vice versa. His chemistry with other musicians is unmatched, my favorite collaboration being with Rick Ross on “Lord Knows”. The gospel rap anthem remains one of the best I’ve ever heard. Other tracks like “Doing It Wrong” demonstrate just how perfectly executed all of Drake’s beats were on Take Care. For me, there was a never a song where I was disappointed4 with the background. It’s crazy to hear a rap legend like André 3000 on the track “The Real Her”, but it’s also a testament to how much trust greats like André had in Drake from the start. On “Look What You’ve Done”, Drake demonstrates his storytelling talent over a distant sounding speaker, as Drake recounts his father’s life as a black man in America. The track sounds like Drake is rapping over conversation at a party, and is raw and emotional. 

The second to last to song on the album, “The Ride”, was one of my favorites. Drake is smooth, his wordplay is amazing, and the Weeknd on the chorus brings it all together. On the last song of the album, “The Motto”, Drake ends his first commercial project with one last collaboration from Lil Wayne. The pair that had been creating upbeat hits the entire album does it once more on this closing track. The beat is bouncy and fast, and I was a little disappointed Drake didn’t choose to end the album with a slower song. The end of the song feels awkward, and I would have much rather preferred the prior track, “The Ride”, to end. “The Motto” is about Drake’s expensive lifestyle, and I just feel that because there were so many deeper concepts on Take Care, Drake should have ended with a track covering them. Still though, the album was overall amazing, and it was incredibly interesting to see how talented Drake has always been. 

[unprofessionalmusicrater]

R.E.M., 'Automatic for the People' (#96)

R.E.M. released Automatic for the People in 1992, 12 years after the initial formation of the group. By the end of the century, Rapid Eye Movement (R.E.M.) had already cemented themselves as the kings of college-rock and “spokesmen of a generation”, but Automatic would prove to ultimately be their most acclaimed work. I found the opening track, “Drive”, to be nothing special. It was slow and unexciting to me, but the album started to redeem itself in the following track “Try Not To Breathe”. Catchy, tackling concepts of death/closure, and almost “folk-y”, the song was easy to listen to and enjoyable. Immediately after, “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight” hits you with an upbeat and fun song, the chorus repeating “Call me when you try to wake her up”. There are few unappealing songs on Automatic For the People. One of R.E.M.’s most popular songs, “Everybody Hurts”, is placed at track number four. The slow and hypnotizing vocals take control when listening, and when the band begins building to the end, bringing in an electric guitar and organ, it’s perfect. R.E.M. makes it clear throughout the album why they’re considered one of the greatest bands of all time, and why they’re on the list. Another one of the favorite tracks I found was “New Orleans Instrumental No. 1″. Just an instrumental, the beautiful 2 minutes and 16 seconds of it were so easy to listen to, and somehow captured all the emotions any vocal track could. Tracks like this one flowed amazingly well with the rest of the songs, and overall made the entire album easy to sit down and listen to. While I didn’t live through it, tracks like “Ignoreland” give me a feeling of nostalgia to the 70s and 80s. Jumpy music, electric guitar, and singing about how “they hypnotized the summer, ninteen-seventy-nine”, on the eighth track on the album R.E.M. reminds me of a simpler time. “Star Me Kitten”, the track that follows describes the story of a young man and his lover. While “they used to be on fire”, the spark once had seems to be slowly dying, and both find themselves asking when will it be over. While Automatic for the People has no specific concept, tracks like this demonstrate the band’s ability to cover a range of topics. 

“Man on the Moon”, one of R.E.M.’s most popular songs, is listed at track number ten, and the inspiration the entire track follows is enough to give you a heart-ache. The song feels like the end of a movie, and knowing you have to leave soon but not wanting to. The track feels like the epitome of a freeze-frame ending of The Breakfast Club, and sets the tone the last two tracks will follow to close out a near-perfect album. “Nightswimming” reminds me of Sandy Olsson dancing on the beach in Grease, the entire album honestly reminding me of an easier time. The ending track, “Find the River”, beautifully ends the album as slow as it began. I found Automatic to be a rare kind of album, progressively getting better and creating hits at the same time. It’s clear why this album is considered one of the greatest of all time. 

[unprofessionalmusicrater]

Metallica, 'Master of Puppets' (#97)

Master of Puppets was Metallica bassist Cliff Burton’s last album with the band. After his death in 1986, Master of Puppets (which was already wildly popular), became a way for hardcore fans and casual listeners alike remember an artist that brought them such joy. The album focuses on the rage and terror drugs bring, and the energy it hopes to capture definitely bleeds into the music. The opening track, “Battery”, does not wait for listeners to settle down for Metallica to do what they do best: electric guitar solos. While the track is 5:12 long, the energetic and aggressive guitar chords speed the song along and it’s over before you know it. The self-titled track of the album lands spot number 2 in the order. “Master of Puppets” builds an electric guitar looping to the first verse where lead singer James Hetfield repeatedly uses the words “faster” and “master” to paint a violent picture not for the faint of heart. At around 3:45, “Master of Puppets” slows down and allows a mesmerizing guitar solo to take hold of the listeners. While at first I did enjoy the vibe Metallica had going for it, by the 3rd track, “The Thing That Should Not Be”, I was tired of it. One problem I found with the entire is album is the repetitiveness of many of the tracks. I found the most meaningful song on the album to be “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)”, where the band dives into other emotions like fear and sadness, made clear through the slow background and heartfelt lyrics. 

While I appreciate the concept of the album and the talent that goes behind creating such legendary guitar solos like the ones on Master of Puppets, it was ultimately tracks like “Lepper Messiah” that turned me off. The track had the least amount of creativity put into the lyrics than any other track, and even the guitar was unpleasant. In total the album has a runtime of 54 minutes, and is composed of 8 tracks. The limited number of songs leads to multiple songs ranging well over 8 minutes, and makes the album very tiring to listen to at times. I can understand the appeal Master of Puppets would have to a normal heavy-metal fan, and I respect the contributions Metallica has made to music and rock. Maybe I’m missing something, but to me Master of Puppets feels like 54 minutes of deja vu. 

[unprofessionalmusicrater]

Lucinda Williams, 'Car Wheels on a Gravel Road’ (#98)

While I had never listened to Lucinda Williams, I had high hopes going into Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Knowing it was ranked higher than Red and Music From Big Pink, I went into it with an open mind. The opening track of the alt-country album, “Right In Time”, has a catchy guitar loop and easy on the ears chorus. It sets a pleasant mood the rest of the album aims to follow. The title track (2nd on the album), reveals the “runaway” concept Williams tackles in the other tracks. Sung from the perspective of a woman escaping an abusive relationship with her child, Williams does a great job of capturing the emotions of the main character and narrating their journey. Listening feels like a trip through mid-western America at dusk, and the tracks on the album do a great job of placing the listener right inside the beautiful stories they tell. While some of the lyrics are a bit basic, the concepts they tell are far from it. I personally disliked tracks like “Concrete And Barbed Wire”, and found the whole “country” feel to bleed through a bit too much for my liking. While I could understand the appeal banjo might have to other people, I was not a fan. I enjoyed “Can’t Let Go” (track 7), and its use of electric guitar and looping to create a beat that makes you want to runaway from an abusive partner and never look back. Williams’s emotions are most compelling on “I Lost It”, where she sings about the regret of a breakup, and the constant worrying if she made the right decision. The slow track builds and reaches a beautiful chorus at the end to bring everything together. I found beautifully made choruses to be a reoccurring theme on the album, regardless of the rest of each track. The mood shifts on the second to last track, “Joy”, where Williams angrily sings about how “he” took her joy and she wants it back. It’s a badass song that allows Williams to show her audience how she can play multiple parts. 

On the closing track, “Jackson”, Williams finally gets her closure and recognizes her abusive relationship for what it was, abusive. As she travels through different towns she reminisces on her relationship and just how better she’ll be without it. “Once I get to Baton Rouge, I won't cry a tear for you”. “Jackson” is a perfect way to end the beautiful story that Car Wheels on a Gravel Road tells. 

[unprofessionalmusicrater]

Taylor Swift, 'Red' (#99)

Taylor Swift was already well known in the music industry prior to the release of Red, but the album would change the path of her legacy forever. Once a young, country star, the release of her 4th studio album cemented her as one of the post popular pop artists in the world. The opening track, “State of Grace”, feels like the beginning sequence in a coming of age movie, a theme that progresses throughout the rest of the album. Swift’s voice over the building instrumentals is beautiful to listen to. The second track of the album where Swift describes the agonizing feeling of heartbreak has a great vocals and a catchy chorus (not much more you can ask for in a great pop song). This track, titled “Red”, reveals the theme of the album. Swift sings that loving her partner “is red”, comparing the fiery color to the emotions of a breakup. While the album definitely explores deeper concepts, it still has its fair share of chart-toppers. We hear the first one through “I Knew You Were Trouble”, the entire song building towards multiple bass drops, talk-box elations, and beautiful vocals. My favorite track of the album is “All Too Well”. While it’s slow, I find it to be filled with the most emotion. Swift reminisces of the first time meeting her ex-partner, and how much pain it causes to think about them now. You can feel her regret through the headphones, and the song encompasses you fully when listening. “22″ is another hit, Swift excitedly expressing the joy of being young. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” depicts a toxic relationship, and is arguably the most well-known track on the album. Swift has a monologue on it halfway through the song, playing a mock recording of her talking to a friend about the relationship, vowing to never return to her ex. The following track, “Stay Stay Stay”, is intended to make you get up to dance, and I have no shame in saying it did that for me. The slowest track on Red, “Sad, Beautiful Tragic”, is about exactly what is sounds like. It’s another track where Swift demonstrates the diversity of her art and just how consistent she is. Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift are famous for their celebrity friendship and chemistry, and there is no better track to demonstrate it than “Everything Has Changed”. Sung from the two perspectives of a loving relationship, the track sets the nostalgic mood the last two tracks follow. 

There could not have been a better song to end the heartbreak Red follows than “Begin Again”. Wanting to start over and put her past behind her, Swift finds herself escaping a toxic love and falling for someone else. The refreshment she feels bleeds through to the beauty and simplicity of the music, yet you still are able to feel everything Swift feels. Taylor Swift’s mastering of storytelling is put on full display through Red, and it is entirely clear why this album is considered one of the best of all time. 

[unprofessionalmusicrater]

The Band, 'Music From Big Pink' (#100)

Music From Big Pink was released in 1968, and while I had never exposed my myself to “Woodstock Era” music prior to this album, I was pleasantly surprised after giving it a full listen. Tracks like the opener, “Tears of Rage”, had a calming and nostalgic feel to them, and were stuck in my head all day. The Band demonstrated their story-telling ability as well on tracks like “In A Station”, where the main character finds himself infatuated with another character at a station, but is too scared to talk to them. The main character is consumed with the thought of the other throughout the day, and the slow bass in the back of the track brings the mood together. I had actually heard “The Weight” before, and recognized its catchy chorus immediately. The album even pulled off electric guitar on “Chest Fever”, demonstrating the diversity and immese beauty of the album. (The cover art is awesome as well, abstract and totally cool). When I closed my eyes during tracks like “Lonesome Suzie” I was taken back to a simpler time, before technology and divison, where everything was simpler. Time moved slower, and music was made more beautifully. The closing track, “I Shall Be Released”, is sung from the perspective of a man who longs to denounce soceity’s expectations of him and “be released”. The song has a runtime of only 3:12, and when listening I felt desolate knowing my listening was almost over. 

I had a problem writing this post because I felt so compelled to come back and write about my love of each track. I find it to hard to believe that there are 99 albums better than Music From Big Pink, and can’t decide if I’m excited or nervous for the next reviews. Many tracks from this album found a spot on my personal playlist, and it is more than fair to say that The Band delivered with this 10/10 classic album.