The Official Needles and Grooves 1001 Album Generator Project (aka Preachin’ about the Preachers if today’s selection sucks)

I only recognize the official album when Bandit posts it!

As for Illinois.... I really like Sufjan Stevens but this is actually one of my lesser favorites, despite it generally being recognized as his masterpiece. There's not really wrong with it but it does seem like it has about 3 or 4 songs too many. My favorite Sufjan tends to be the more stripped down acoustic stuff like Seven Swans or the more experimental stuff like Age of Adz. I'm just not a big fa of he sound of this one. And some of the song titles take longer to read than the actual song. 3.5/5 for me.
 
dbarila said:
I only recognize the official album when Bandit posts it!

As for Illinois.... I really like Sufjan Stevens but this is actually one of my lesser favorites, despite it generally being recognized as his masterpiece. There's not really wrong with it but it does seem like it has about 3 or 4 songs too many. My favorite Sufjan tends to be the more stripped down acoustic stuff like Seven Swans or the more experimental stuff like Age of Adz. I'm just not a big fa of he sound of this one. And some of the song titles take longer to read than the actual song. 3.5/5 for me.
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I was sooooo confused about the first sentence. I think my synapses need a cleaning.
 
Illinois is one of those albums that I forget is great until I am listening to it. Like @dbarila , I get much more out of the experimental stuff, but I feel like that disparages this a bit, because it's not like it is your typical singer songwriter fare. It is very much of the same ilk as Age of Adz and Seven Swans - melodically and thematically, it is just the bridge between. I imagine that this is the kind of music that Tim DeLaughter and Brian Wilson hear in their head. 4 stars

I never commented on Document... I think this isn't quite a five star album. It feels long. Part of that might be that the 1 2 punch of It's The End of the World and The One I Love Happen in the middle. It also isn't quite as timeless as their other albums, it feels like a political album made during the Reagan presidency. I don't know it just never hit me like Murmur or Life's Rich or Out of Time or New Adventures did. (I haven't listened to Automatic in a long time, but as I recall, it seems like second tier with Document to me - and really, when those are your second tier, what is there to complain about.) 4 stars.
 
6/6/23
60f590b053fcc709c07858748106b023dfbccba3

Robbie Williams - Life Through a Lens



www.allmusic.com

Life thru a Lens - Robbie Williams | Album | AllMusic

Life thru a Lens by Robbie Williams released in 1997. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
 
I'm fairly certain I have heard a Robbie Williams song before. I would be hard pressed to tell you the name of one. However, I remember him being a big deal across the pond, but not so much here. I'm also fairly certain I thought he was Robin Thicke. I do not believe I have ever listened to an album before.
 
Lee Newman said:
I'm fairly certain I have heard a Robbie Williams song before. I would be hard pressed to tell you the name of one. However, I remember him being a big deal across the pond, but not so much here. I'm also fairly certain I thought he was Robin Thicke. I do not believe I have ever listened to an album before.
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I think "Angels" was the big hit from this one
 
Bohnjaggs said:
I think "Angels" was the big hit from this one
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Lee Newman said:
I'm fairly certain I have heard a Robbie Williams song before. I would be hard pressed to tell you the name of one. However, I remember him being a big deal across the pond, but not so much here. I'm also fairly certain I thought he was Robin Thicke. I do not believe I have ever listened to an album before.
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I remember "Millennium" (not from this album) being a pretty big MTV hit in the states.
 
Lee Newman said:
6/5/23
View attachment 174452

Sufijan Stevens - Illinois



www.allmusic.com

Illinois - Sufjan Stevens | Album | AllMusic

Illinois by Sufjan Stevens released in 2005. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
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I have a bit of home state bias regarding this one. Sufjan came on my radar with Michigan but Seven Swans was the album that made me a fan and I recall being super stoked to learn that the next album up in his way too overly ambitious “50 State Project” was Illinois. So much historical Easter Eggs in those songs and their titles. I learned a bit about his process during the press that basically Sufjan had like a whole hard drive full of music and could then rather easily mold the songs lyrically around each tune. The supplemental album, The Avalanche is nearly as good too. The subsequent albums haven't been up my alley in the same way, though Carrie & Lowell was quite good, it's too sad to enjoy often.
 
Lee Newman said:
6/6/23
60f590b053fcc709c07858748106b023dfbccba3

Robbie Williams - Life Through a Lens



www.allmusic.com

Life thru a Lens - Robbie Williams | Album | AllMusic

Life thru a Lens by Robbie Williams released in 1997. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
Click to expand...

I'm going to be 100% honest. I don't hate this. I've never actually heard much Robbie Williams besides a few songs here and there so this is the first time I've listened to one of his albums. Listening to the album in a vacuum, there's actually some pretty good catchy songs. Granted, we Americans don't have Britain's favorite past time of hating Robbie Williams. 3/5.
 
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