Tag: 1990s

Siamese Dream

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

Back into the rock genre with this album from Smashing Pumpkins. As this is the sort of thing I normally listen to, I was aware of SP and this album, but had never actually listened to it before.

The album opens with Cherub Rock, the only track on the album that I knew (from Guitar Hero). And it’s a great introduction into the pretty unique sound of SP. That sound carries on through the rest of the album. It isn’t about being a standard rock style, there’s a lot of melody driven riffs rather than the standard rock riffs. And Billy Corgan has a very unique vocal.

The Chronic

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

I also hit this album up the other day as well.

This had some inspired sections that I really enjoyed, there was humour too.

But…

It’s a very violent album, and I wasn’t a fan of that.

That is just my opinion though. The album, musically was good, it was a great introduction for both Dr Dre (as a solo artist) and others like Snoop Dogg. There was a nice mix of heavy beats and bass led melodies. Topped off with the distintive voices of Dre and Snoop.

I know that this album was meant as an attack on Eazy E following the split of NWA, and it continues with the gangsta rap genre, which explains the violence in it. It worked for me as a gym album, but it’s not something that I think I would listen to in the car or anything like that.

Psalm 69

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

This was a new album for me. I’d heard of Ministry before, and I think at some point I had an album, but not this one.

Proper industrial metal feel to this album, chunky guitar riffs over pounding drum beats, good use of samples and an edgier vocal style. Tracks of note obviously include Jesus Built My Hotrod, but also N.W.O. which as an opening track set the tone for the whole album.

I really liked this album, it does sit more within my usual musical taste, but it is different too, with a much faster and grittier sound, with a raw edge to it as well.

Maxinquaye

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

I went to the gym last night and I decided it would be a good time to try out this album as, although I am familiar with Tricky’s style, I’d not actually heard any of his albums. This really worked as a workout album, the beat kept me going all the way through my session.

It’s weirdly melodic, in that the melody seems to come not just from the usual instruments, but also the wide variety of drums (or drum sounds) used. There is also a good mix on the vocal styles from the expected rapping to male and female singers adding to the songs.

On the whole, I liked it, it wasn’t an album that I sat down and exclusively listened to, but then a lot of the albums that I write about here are going to be like that. The songs, were a bit bleak in places, but it suited the style and music so much that you don’t realise it until you think about it afterwards.

Smoker’s delight

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

Again another album and artist that I’d not previously heard.

This is very much a chill out album, mixing hip hop beats and sounds with more melodic tunes over the top. This is another album without lyrics, there’s no chance to sing along to anything, but to be honest, with this style, you don’t want to have it ruined with someone talking/rapping/singing over it.

This worked nicely for this afternoon when I needed to concentrate on various work things, the tunes were unobtrusive, and not so heavy to be distracting or get in the way of teh general mood of the album.

I would definitely pick NOW as the soundtrack to my day again (although maybe not on Spotify as the ads kick in at weird times).

People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

So I knew of A Tribe Called Quest because of a song off this album, Can I Kick It?, it’s a great song, so I was hopeful that the rest of the album would be along a similar style.

This was the debut album I think for ATCQ and it’s a great debut, they introduce the listener (me in this case) not only to their sound and style, but also to themselves with little filler tracks where they actually introduce the group.

It’s hip-hop and funk, that’s how I would catagorise it. It’s a much more mellow sound than the other rap styles of the 90’s and 00’s. It’s much less aggressive and offers a much nicer, more positive vibe, delivered with humour and humility. This is a feel good album that you could listen to anywhere.

Smash

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

So I’m hopping around the book a little, I didn’t want to go through it page by page, album by album. What I’m doing is opening the book at random and picking one of the albums there.

Today’s album was a real blast from the past. I remember buying this back when it came out, when I was in my mid-teens. I loved it back then, and still enjoy it now. Offspring are one of my favourite bands. I’ve only seen them live once, but that doesn’t matter, the memory still sticks with me.

I used to really enjoy the punky feel of this, with it’s pogo rhythms, punchy guitars and Dexter’s voice over the top of the tune. It doesn’t feel dated to me, but that’s probably because it’s my sort of music. It stands up well against their other albums and although it doesn’t feel as fresh and new any more, it does still really work as a whole album. Right from the intro opening through the more well known songs like Self-Esteem, to the last track.

It’s a great album, but it was a nice surprise for me to see it in the book, it’s not one that I was expecting there.