All Time Top 1100 Albums (Aerosmith - Big Ones) P265

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Interesting how this one, not unlike many others, is dividing opinion. Funnily enough, I do not have a strong opinion either way - it's not an album I would ever buy, and I won't be in a rush to play it again, but it's much better than the 2/10 scores that are being bandied about.

I enjoyed reading @FogBlueInSanFran 's review as usual, and his brass turned up to 82 comment had me chuckling for a few minutes, but I also think that when judging the album as a whole, it was a little unfair. There are two terrible tracks in the middle of the running order- horrible, soulless 80s, over-produced rubbish, but there are also moments of genuine quality and my overriding memory of this album was the tasteful piano, sax solos and noir atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, this is not my kind of music - there's nothing that rocks and there's no earthy twang within a 100 miles, but given a choice between this and our go-to yardstick of Talking heads, it'd be JJ every time.

But only 5/10.

Ha, I assure you every one of my reviews is wholly unfair! Admittedly, my reviews are to some degree a bit "meta." I do think a lot about artist motivations, influences, novelty, originality, purposes and impact on others, rather than just "Does this stick in my ears?" which probably clouds my judgment both for good and for bad. It's a totally fair criticism of my criticism in this case that I was sorely disappointed by his move to blues and jazz after liking his first two records so much. Maybe I should give him more points for having the courage/desire to do so. But . . .

As such, while this isn't my kind of music either, which definitely pressed down my score, the other part of my issue here is that this record is Joe Jackson fiddling around with genres that I'm pretty sure have been done by many other artists better than he will ever do them. Which makes this in effect an album of "covers", even though they aren't covers, or copies, and worse, covers/copies with almost nothing new nor interesting to say. He doesn't make these songs his own other than his voice is unique (I've always liked his voice). When Talking Heads cover Al Green's "Take Me To The River", e.g. they make it wholly their own song.

A small part of this also offends me, because Joe has a recording contract, which allows him to get away with putting out average copies of other people's genres and still make money, whereas other bands who specialize in these genres and probably do far better work remain unknown/unheralded. Read the wikipedia entry on this record which talks about how it was made -- in a way no mere Latin jazz band of any repute could afford. I actually just learned this now but it strengthens my initial perspective that this record was much more about style than substance.

 

[Onholiday(somemightsay)]

Ha, I assure you every one of my reviews is wholly unfair! Admittedly, my reviews are to some degree a bit "meta." I do think a lot about artist motivations, influences, novelty, originality, purposes and impact on others, rather than just "Does this stick in my ears?" which probably clouds my judgment both for good and for bad. It's a totally fair criticism of my criticism in this case that I was sorely disappointed by his move to blues and jazz after liking his first two records so much. Maybe I should give him more points for having the courage/desire to do so. But . . .

As such, while this isn't my kind of music either, which definitely pressed down my score, the other part of my issue here is that this record is Joe Jackson fiddling around with genres that I'm pretty sure have been done by many other artists better than he will ever do them. Which makes this in effect an album of "covers", even though they aren't covers, but copies, and worse, covers/copies with almost nothing new nor interesting to say. He doesn't make these songs his own other than his voice is unique (I've always liked his voice). When Talking Heads cover Al Green's "Take Me To The River", e.g. they make it wholly their own song.

A small part of this also offends me, because Joe has a recording contract, which allows him to get away with putting out average copies of other people's genres and still make money, whereas other bands who specialize in these genres and probably do far better work remain unknown/unheralded. Read the wikipedia entry on this record which talks about how it was made -- in a way no mere Latin jazz band of any repute could afford. I actually just learned this now but it strengthens my initial perspective that this record was much more about style than substance.

We can't keep them out of the head lines can we........?

 

[BlueHammer85]

Cheers Blues, low turn out for poor Joe - 11 reviewed and scored
But a couple of 7's means he does survive hitting rock bottom


Joe Jackson / Body & Soul
11 votes
Average Score = 3.2

new album review tomorrow.
Updated table on Page 1


Next up, We stay in New York for this huge selling Artist with a controversial album from the 90's!

 

[Onholiday(somemightsay)]

Cheers Blues, poor turn out for poor Joe - 11 reviewed and scored
But a couple of 7's means he does survive hitting rock bottom


Joe Jackson / Body & Soul
11 votes
Average Score = 3.2

new album review tomorrow.
Updated table on Page 1


Next up, We stay in New York for this huge selling Artist with a controversial album from the 90's!



View attachment 26373

Controversial.............(strokes chin)

 

[chedlee]

Sorry, I missed submitting my score. I enjoyed reading the reviews and I love the way these albums are splitting opinion so starkly. clearly great albums do not require universal acclaim - perhaps that is what makes them great in the first place?

Anyway, for what it's worth, I loved the first two JJ albums but stopped listening to him after them. That was a mistake, I think this is a really good album.

6/10

 

[BlueHammer85]

18/1100





Erotica is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Madonna, released on October 20, 1992 by Maverick and Sire Records. The album was released simultaneously with Madonna's first book publication Sex, a coffee table book containing explicit photographs featuring the singer, and marked her first release under Maverick, her own multimedia entertainment company. Erotica is a concept album about sex and romance, incorporating her alter ego Mistress Dita, inspired by actress Dita Parlo. Some of its songs also take on a more confessional tone, influenced by the loss of two of Madonna's close friends to AIDS.

Madonna recorded the album in New York City with Shep Pettibone and André Betts while she was working on her book and film projects. She began creating the album's demos with Pettibone in his apartment in October 1991, and wrote the melodies and lyrics on top of the basic music which Pettibone produced in the style of his remixes. During the sessions, they had problems during sequencing, and, as a result, Pettibone kept trying to move development as fast as possible as he did not want Madonna to lose interest in the music. According to him, Madonna's compositions were serious and intense, moving the creative direction of the songs into a deeply personal territory.

Erotica received generally favorable reviews from critics, who regarded it as one of Madonna's most adventurous albums and praised her comments on taboos and AIDS. Commercially, the album was less successful than Madonna's previous albums, peaking at number 2 on the US Billboard 200, becoming her first studio album not to top the chart since her debut. Internationally, it topped the charts in Australia, Finland, and France, and peaked within the top five of several other countries such as Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Erotica was later certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold more than six million copies worldwide.

Six singles were released from the album, including the title track and "Deeper and Deeper", both of which reached the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100. The album was supported by The Girlie Show World Tour, which visited cities in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and Australia in 1993. Overlooked at the time of its release in part due to the backlash surrounding the Sex book, Erotica has been retrospectively considered one of "The 100 Best Albums of the 1990s" by Slant Magazine and one of the most revolutionary albums of all time by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Many critics noted the influence of the album on the works of other female artists from Janet Jackson to Beyoncé.


1. Erotica
2. Fever
3. Bye Bye
4. Deeper And Deeper
5. Where Life Begins
6. Bad Girl
7. Waiting
8. Thief Of Hearts
9. Words
10. Rain
11. Why's It So Hard
12. In This Life
13. Secret Garden


Here we go! Review No.18 - We've had the Queen of Soul, now we have the Queen of Pop - It's Madonna. This her fifth studio album and as the title suggests it’s all about sex, love, and romance - although controversial at the time it does touch upon some serious issues like sexual taboos AIDS.
Her book 'SEX' accompanying the Album seemed to over shadow this release and was more talked about -
It's a world away from the squeaky clean pop she broke into the scene with, here there is more dance beats and RnB - Like all great Artists she finds a way to reinvent herself and produce a different image - much to her credit.
I struggled to find many stand out tracks here - by far i enjoyed 'Rain' the most - Unlike most of the songs on here this one showcases her voice and is a reminder that she can actually sing! and pretty much the only ballad on here, 'Deeper And Deeper' and 'Bad Girl' are ok dance/pop songs but i just found everything else a real struggle - nauseating sexual innuendos, tinny pop sound and I found her barely audible in most tracks - she must have done better albums than this.

This placed 340 out of the top 1000

Have a good weekend Blues and please contribute with a score out of 10


3/10

 

[Onholiday(somemightsay)]

18/1100

View attachment 26443


Erotica is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Madonna, released on October 20, 1992 by Maverick and Sire Records. The album was released simultaneously with Madonna's first book publication Sex, a coffee table book containing explicit photographs featuring the singer, and marked her first release under Maverick, her own multimedia entertainment company. Erotica is a concept album about sex and romance, incorporating her alter ego Mistress Dita, inspired by actress Dita Parlo. Some of its songs also take on a more confessional tone, influenced by the loss of two of Madonna's close friends to AIDS.

Madonna recorded the album in New York City with Shep Pettibone and André Betts while she was working on her book and film projects. She began creating the album's demos with Pettibone in his apartment in October 1991, and wrote the melodies and lyrics on top of the basic music which Pettibone produced in the style of his remixes. During the sessions, they had problems during sequencing, and, as a result, Pettibone kept trying to move development as fast as possible as he did not want Madonna to lose interest in the music. According to him, Madonna's compositions were serious and intense, moving the creative direction of the songs into a deeply personal territory.

Erotica received generally favorable reviews from critics, who regarded it as one of Madonna's most adventurous albums and praised her comments on taboos and AIDS. Commercially, the album was less successful than Madonna's previous albums, peaking at number 2 on the US Billboard 200, becoming her first studio album not to top the chart since her debut. Internationally, it topped the charts in Australia, Finland, and France, and peaked within the top five of several other countries such as Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Erotica was later certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold more than six million copies worldwide.

Six singles were released from the album, including the title track and "Deeper and Deeper", both of which reached the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100. The album was supported by The Girlie Show World Tour, which visited cities in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and Australia in 1993. Overlooked at the time of its release in part due to the backlash surrounding the Sex book, Erotica has been retrospectively considered one of "The 100 Best Albums of the 1990s" by Slant Magazine and one of the most revolutionary albums of all time by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Many critics noted the influence of the album on the works of other female artists from Janet Jackson to Beyoncé.


1. Erotica
2. Fever
3. Bye Bye
4. Deeper And Deeper
5. Where Life Begins
6. Bad Girl
7. Waiting
8. Thief Of Hearts
9. Words
10. Rain
11. Why's It So Hard
12. In This Life
13. Secret Garden


Here we go! Review No.18 - We've had the Queen of Soul, now we have the Queen of Pop - It's Madonna. This her fifth studio album and as the title suggests it’s all about sex, love, and romance - although controversial at the time it does touch upon some serious issues like sexual taboos AIDS.
Her book 'SEX' accompanying the Album seemed to over shadow this release and was more talked about -
It's a world away from the squeaky clean pop she broke into the scene with, here there is more dance beats and RnB - Like all great Artists she finds a way to reinvent herself and produce a different image - much to her credit.
I struggled to find many stand out tracks here - by far i enjoyed 'Rain' the most - Unlike most of the songs on here this one showcases her voice and is a reminder that she can actually sing! and pretty much the only ballad on here, 'Deeper And Deeper' and 'Bad Girl' are ok dance/pop songs but i just found everything else a real struggle - nauseating sexual innuendos, tinny pop sound and I found her barely audible in most tracks - she must have done better albums than this.

This placed 340 out of the top 1000

Have a good weekend Blues and please contribute with a score out of 10


3/10

This one's going to be a struggle - I generally can't stand music based on sex.

Bizarrely a huge turn off for my ears.

Will report back as usual BH............

 

[Boo or Boo-urns]

Like a Prayer (1989) >> Like a Virgin (1984) >> True Blue (1986) >>
Ray of Light (1998) >> Madonna (1983) >> Erotica (1992)

 

[blueparrot]

Not sure whose choices these are but many of them don't even rank that highly in the artists own catalogues, this wouldn't even make Madonnas top 5 albums.
4/10

 

[BlueHammer85]

Like a Prayer (1989) >> Like a Virgin (1984) >> True Blue (1986) >>
Ray of Light (1998) >> Madonna (1983) >> Erotica (1992)

where have you been hiding ?