This album changed the music scene for a reason...
592304
This album gets so much crap about being overrated that all the good about it becomes tainted. From "Teen Spirit" to "Something In The Way" there's not a bad song in between. Nuff said...
3004547
Perhaps I'm rating this five stars because it's a great album, and perhaps I'm rating it five stars because it changed my life around. I was about 10 years old, and my grandparents were at my house visiting (I don't know what day it was, might've been thanksgiving though). They brought me a gift however, and that gift was this album Hit Jazz. I had no idea what the album sounded like, but I had a very open mind for music, and almost immediately I got the CD player and put it on.

Perhaps it helped that I could relate to baseball, because I liked the sport and played it in the past when I was very little. I definitely didn't know any of the names (Art Blakey sounded familiar, but who DOESN'T that sound familiar to. I definitely had no clue who the heck Horace Silver was.) The first time I played the album, my mind had been blown away by the superb music. When I opened the case, the booklet with all the CD covers was right there, and I made a tough decision that was which album I'd buy first. Naturally, I chose "Song for My Father", and that album would bring me further into Jazz.

Anyways, this is the album that started it all for me, and now I'm even a Jazz musician.

Thanks to my grandmother and grandfather.
2887981
Ok, so this album was a strong departure from Rza's usual production style. It was different I'll admit. That's true, but if you really give it a chance and listen with an open mind you might just like it. I liked it from the beginning but I can understand why other Wu-Tang fans would not. Its not for everybody and only a select group of people even among the Wu-Tang fans will be able to truly appreciate it. It's a masterpiece in production and Rza's use of instruments and sound was brilliant. It truly sounds digital. The whole album has a high-tech, sharp tone sound to it. Most of the beats have a really shrill tonal quality to them which makes them sound digital. I liked it but I could see how this would be annoying to other people. Especially to people who weren't expecting this from the Rza. They might have felt cheated out of their usual Wu-Tang sound. This album is less of an exercise in lyrical prowess and more of an experiment in beats and sound. If you can't see Rza's vision in this album then you probably won't like it. It doesn't concentrate on any one aspect but rather incorporates them all to form a more complex work. Its a much more abstact album than the other Wu-Tang releases. I don't recommend this album to all hip hop fans, but I do recommend it to Wu-Tang fans and fans of abstract hip hop and abstract music in general. Peace!!!
3566539
I believe I know why this album is getting more bad reviews than the norm. It's because Mumford and Sons is evolving as a band. Some will follow them and still love them, while (undoubtedly) others will say how bad the band is now and will stop following them. It happens to every band. Here is my take on the album. The first time I listed to this in its entirety, I did NOT like it. Even though I KNEW going in that they ditched the banjo, and based on listening to their single, Believe, I had a hunch as to what to expect from the third studio album. However, I still did NOT like it. Then I listened to the album again, and again, and again. With each new time in listening to the new sound, I must say I still LOVE this band. They sound different musically, but they still have the same great lyrics. My suggestion is you can learn to adapt with the band or be left behind in the crowd that doesn't get and or like the new changes. Either way, Mumford is not going away anytime soon!
1217600
When i first listened to it it was clearly Our Lady Peace, my favourite band, but seeing as i didn't know the music i sat there entranced. To begin with it was too hard to differentiate between songs when you've never heard any of it and it's just in the background, but then after listening once through it was even more exciting.

  As time has gone on, Our Lady Peace has become more and more refined and this new album is no exception. Ultimately beautiful and melodic, it brings a new level to music that has been produced to perfection. Many would say that this is their best album yet, however i have to point out that sometimes slightly more raw music is the most interesting, i.e. their older, slightly more diverse music.

  I still have to give this album the hightest rating available though, because it is an amzing album of perfected levels. With variation in pace and instrumental focus it would be hard to get bored of this music and when you know it well enough, it is a good choice for background music as it won't distract you.

  Overall, i say that this is a further development in Our Lady Peace productions and deserves a lot of credit. Listen to the album!
611715
the weirder they get/the better they are.  i hated this album at first.  but after forcing myself to listen to it over and over, it is now my favorite.  seeing them pull it off live really helped too.  MOAM, this was a great one.  Now it's time to put out another studio album that is not old material!
1978461
It's rare when I listen to a band that I automatically love them. It's even more rare when I play that music at a party or in the car and all of my friends like it too. The reason: this band covers so many genres of music in every song. At times they're a rock band, other times they're rappers. Sometimes they get into house/electronic sounds and other times they sound like a metal band. And that all happens within every song. All that, plus the crazy tempo changes make for a completely fresh and invigorating sound. I definitely recommend this album to anyone looking for that new band to listen to.
336056
ive been a long time fan of saves the day, the get up kids, etc...
i found this band while looking up a further seems for ever album and then i saw it in record and tape traders and decided it was worth a try. i listened to it and wasn't too impressed at first, thought it was good but nothing too special. then i listen to the album for the rest of the day, and by the end the day, i was practicly in love with this album. its great. it grows on you.
i love this album. some of those irritating punk-rock kids are used to screaming and shi t  and cant understnd the genius of this band. some say it boring. its not boring! its emo!! BR>if your like me, this album could have a profound effect on your life. it did on mine.
i know that sounds cheesey but hey. it completey opened up a new genre and widened my musical tastes to a more calm type of music. also it changed my personality... sort of... i think
2366907
This album is music of the '60's to me.  I remember learning about blues hiding in an alley next to the stairs leading down to the Unicorn Coffee House in Boston, listening to the likes of James Cotton and the Siegel-Schwall Band and just being knocked out.  Then, on a rummage through the bins at a record store in Braintree, I just liked the look of the cover of this album. That choice changed my musical taste forever.
I had listened to blues, a lot of it, by the time I got this record; but, this stretched my imagination.  The first thing that grabbed me was the harp.  Butterfield on "Work Song" just made me want to turn it UP!  By the time I hit 'East-West' I was in magicland.  With an apology to a forgotten reviewer of many years ago,Bishop was from Chicago, and Bloomfield was from EGYPT!
I still listen to this album a couple of times a month, and have gone through a dozen copies on records, tapes, and CD's, which always seem to be missing after parties.  I don't mind . . . much.  As I have aged, and have seen rock lose its bearings more times than I can count, and then return to its bare essentials, the blues and folk, I return to this album like Linus' blanket.  It is comfort and joy for me.
In the many years since I have heard this music, which was ground breaking in its time, leading to much that followed, the odd consequence has been to send me back, to the old bluesmen to try and understand why 12 bars of repetitive use of three chords has been the hanger for a closet full of repressed feelings and release.  If you can't hear John Lee Hooker, all the great blues guitarists and harpists, Robert Johnson and the Devil, and some whiskey in this record, you haven't listened to it enough.
Buy it.  Often.
2538626
Not a bad album but what a departure from their heavy party sound...I spoke to soon earlier and lashed out because they changed their sound a bit. After listening to this album a lot (really) I ended up loving the album. Each song is an original sound and it's a very well done record. It's actually on my top 10 list for 2015. It's my #7
279141
Some kinds of musics are perfectly to some moments of our lives,and specially this "Lost Love & Highways" is an album to be hear at that days that we took the highway to nowhere,in a good company and want to be in syntony with great musical style. And what this album comunicates is exactly this awful capacity to inebriate the air around with a mix of great blues,rock,funky,country music. What we can draw out from this album is something new and modern,mixing styles with rare competency. And what great surprise,almost all of the lyrics are of own Teddy Morgan. We feel great influences of Rolling Stones in the whole album. The track 5 "Run Down Shacks"is great influenced by the "New Beats of funky,hip-hop,techno" that invades the Mississipi Delta with sinergy of rythms. Sometimes we could hear SRV's influences and others. No matter what influenced so more,the fact is that this is a great album full of happiness!!!
3802857
regardless of what anyone says, "Discovery" proves to be a huge step for Daft Punk.  This album explores the usage of vocals, whether synthesized or not, to bring their music to an entirely different level.  too many of these reviewers are trying to figure out if this album is "better" or not.  in reality, this is a whole new string of dance music that many artists are beginning to try.  artists like aphex twin and orbital have all switched the tones of their follow up albums to try a different sound.  instead of comparing it, try listening to it.
1402957
When I first saw this in 1994 on MTV when I was 14, I knew what I wanted to do with my life right then and there. I can honestly say that it changed the course of things for me, since I am hooked in more ways than one. I always listen to the Unledded album. I wore out my first CD, so I bought another one, the Australian version. The Australian version is on its way to being worn down, but I also bought the singles that came out around the time of its release, not to mention the fact that since I liked it so much, I decided to learn how to play guitar, hence "life-changing." I can now play entire songs off this album. Learning how to play the songs gives you even more of an insight as to why and how Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (as well as John Paul Jones) are held in high regard by people who really know their music. If there is one highlight of the DVD, it is at 4:23 into "That's The Way," the outro guitar part. Watch that part, and you'll see what I'm talking about.
671368
For those of us born too late for the initial revolution of Dummy and Portishead, and thus made to play catch up listening to those influential albums years after their release, this album is a blessing. It is not the sound of a band playing catch up or merely attempting to re-create a "classic" sound previously mastered, but a band interested in creating new types colors in the popular music palate. The structure of these songs are intellectually stimulating while not being too cerebral, there is always emotion put into the work, without sacrificing one for the other. It is a sound that is new, relevant and exciting.
  Being the unique work that it is, it is liable to alienate some fans of their previous work. These alienated fans no doubt have placed there own expectations and opinions of what a Portishead album should sound like onto the music before even hearing it. Try listening to it without thinking "This is Portishead and it's going to sound like...." Putting into that comfortable place in your head where Dummy and Portishead fit so well simply will not due for this album. This album is a much more mature, eclectic sound. It encompasses a wider array of emotional conflict and expression to simply limit it to a preconceived notion.

I am extremely glad and ultimatley surprised to hear how fantastic this album is. It leaves Dummy behind, while not completely forgetting its graces. Like Rsdiohead's "The Bends" Dummy is certainly a influential time capsule of a sound too imitated by others to be repeated. I am personally glad to hear the hip-hop and scratching behind them.
2693132
Released in 1989, this is almost the kind of Shamen most fans know and love. Therefore it's a radical change they made with this album. Throwing away the psychedelic indie rock they had used on the album Drop. And what a difference! Whereas Drop was more of the usual dour indie rock that you get no matter where you go. This, at the time, was something slightly different. It also showed that the band had a sense of humour. Admittedly you may want to have your sense of humour completely black. It's amazing to hear televangelists sounding completely unhinged to the point of being insane ( " GOD WILL DESTROY RUSSIA " ) - admittedly such hatred was understandable but there are some people who take things too far....! And for anyone who moans about getting biased reports from TV and newspapers, Misinformation will surely give you a chuckle. In fact, despite some of its politics being completely dated ( Russia, The Cold War etc. ) there are elements that surely hit home to some disenchanted people.

But it's not all doom and gloom - there are songs to lift you up and make you feel good. They wanted to change from being politics to partying.....but again at the time of these raves that were going on, these were intensely political statements itself. So it's funny, the album comes across as a really big political statement even though the songs about partying and drugs seem......well they seem normal these days....the edge has been taken off them slightly.

Most Shamen fans will see this as a transitional album to bigger and better things. And while some tracks do feel a bit off ( the start of Yellow Cellophane Day really doesn't do anything ), there are many delights to be found here that won't disappoint.
570156
It's been three years since Powerman 5000's last album, "Transform," and in typical PM5K tradition, a lot has changed. Not only is the band completely free from a major label, but there have also been some line-up changes, with the most noteable aquisition being former Alien Ant Farm guitarist Terry Corso. And just as tradition goes, "Destroy What You Enjoy" marks yet another change up in sound and style. Although not too far removed from the theme of "Transform," "Destroy What You Enjoy" is a bit different in one crucial way: Better songs.

Fans of the previous album will be happy to find that Powerman 5000 are continuing down the same path of delivering their version of good old, pure rock and roll. Like that album, "Destroy What You Enjoy" is a slightly stripped down affair. But this time, it all just comes together so much better. The first single, "Wild World," is similar to "Free" (from "Transform") both in sound and in lyrical content. "Return To The City Of The Dead" is probably the most "sci-fi" of the new material, sounding inspired by one of George Romero's "Dead" flicks, while "Heroes And Villains" (which appears as a live version here) and "All My Friends Are Ghosts" are the most fun of the bunch. "Murder," however, begs repeat listens. Easily the most exciting song the band have written in years, and the shining moment on the album. Oh, and did I forget to mention "Miss America?" You need to hear that one for yourself.

The influence of Corso (and former Halfcocked guitarist, Johnny Rock) is especially evident here, as this is some of the flashiest guitarwork ever to make it's way onto a Powerman 5000 album. To put it simply, the band sounds refreshed and better than ever. I'll admit myself that I had lost interest in the band, following the last album, but that I am very pleased with this album. Spider and the gang show that they still have what it takes. It may be a far cry from guys in space-suits, but if you just want an album that really rocks, "Destroy What You Enjoy" is the album for you. Which means that, for Powerman 5000, it's a mission accomplished.
1717955
Its important to understand the context in which this album was written, especially because some critics regard this album as "aimless." This album broke important new ground not just for U2, but was a big influence on a whole generation of sound that was to follow by many other bands. Thom Yorke, of RadioHead, for example, cites this album as one of his favorites of all time.
I've been a U2 fan from the very beginning, I owned "Boy" (their first album) about 1 month after it was first released in 1980, and I've been a big fan every since. The first three albums, "Boy", "October" and "War" show a brilliant band starting to "gel" and hit their stride. By the time "War" was released, with the big hit "New Years Day", U2 had opened up to a much wider audience while still remaining true to their music. War solidified a creative process they had started with "Boy.'
After "War", U2 could have, perhaps, produced several more excellent albums that were very similar to War. But to their credit, U2  have a restless creative spirit which saw them cast about for new directions.
The first three albums were produced by Steve Lilywhite, an excellent producer, who among other things, was famous for a sound that made the drums sound as big as houses. U2 decided to hook up with Brian Eno for their next album. Eno had achieved reverential status in art circles for his atmospheric "ambient" music. Eno was one of the early innovators in using the recording studio as an instrument in its own right. His influence is strong on "Unforgettable Fire."
This can be heard right from the very first cut on the album "A Sort of Homecoming". It has a beautiful, spacious quality with a muted drum sound that is none the less driving and energetic. It launches you into a beautiful dream world that much of the rest of the album continues. The second song "Pride (in the name of Love)" was the first big hit for the album - their tribute to Martin Luther King. Its a great song, but there are several works on the album that even better. Also "Pride" sounds more like the "War" album than it does like the rest of "Unforgettable Fire."
The third song, "Wire" is just absolutely incredible. It manages to be both fierce, and yet also, dreamy. It has great, searing guitar work, and great, driving drums. And yet it also sounds like it came from another planet! I think this is in part due to Eno's influence, who encouraged the band to just let it flow, to let the great unconscious come pouring forth.
However, as good as these songs are, they aren't my favorites on the album. The title track "Unforgettable Fire" and "Bad" are my favorites. They are just utterly amazing. "Unforgettable Fire" has both a rich, complex, sonic landscape, a dreamy ambience, and a killer beat that just pulls you in and takes you away. By contrast, "Bad" is quite simple in structure, and yet it spirals upwards until you feel like you've left earth behind! Just incredible.
And yes, to comment on some other critics, there are some cuts on this album which don't seem so wonderful, such as "Elvis Presley and America". However, I'm more than willing to accept them as part of the stream of consciousness that seems to be in play for creating the heavenly works that also inhabit this album.
"Unforgettable Fire" is for poets, artists, and dreamers of all sorts. Utterly amazing!