I had actually never listened to I’m Your Fan before. And I’m not a huge fun So why did I read this? I enjoyed Ray’s first book a lot, and was interested in the next one. And, full disclosure: I write for his website, Cover Me. In order to read the book, I did manage to listen to the …
Category: 1991
I’m Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1991) by Various Artists
So I listened to this because I have Ray Padgett’s book and, though this is one of the more famous tribute albums, I’d yet to hear it.
The Up Documentaries (1964, 1970, 1977, 1984, 1991, 1998, 2005, 2012, 2019)
When I first was trying to figure out how I would sum this up, I said “probably the most ambitious documentary project ever.” I should have said “in English” as this idea was actually not invented by this series. Rather, the Germans beat the British to it by a few years. Due to typical Anglo …
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (1991, Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper, Eleanor Coppola)
Having seen Apocalypse Now many times – including Redux, which I maintain is better – I have finally got around to watching the documentary about the infamous shoot. At this point I have seen hundreds if not thousands of documentaries and most of them were made since this one. And I will say that your …
Unquestionable Presence (1991) by Atheist
Oh my science, YES! Where has this been all my life?
The Comfort Zone (1991) by Vanessa Williams
Who is this for? Some of it feels like it’s for Janet Jackson fans (who have lower standards). But some of this is for your grandma. Well, maybe your parents. Either way, some of this is super cheesy adult contemporary. (Her “signature” song being the most obvious example.) And that leads you to wonder why …
Pocket Full of Kryptonite (1991) by Spin Doctors
What a bizarre story. A bit like Ten but with way fewer sales and hits. “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” hit #17 in December of 1992. “Two Princes” hit #7 in April of 1993. (The album came out in August 1991.) When this came out, the world was apparently not yet ready for it. I’m …
Cypress Hill (1991)
So I thought Cypress Hill were East Coast, which tells you everything you need to know about my knowledge about hip hop and Cypress Hill in particular.
Mental Vortex (1991) by Coroner
I know nothing about Coroner so I know nothing about how this is apparently an evolution of their earlier sound. So I can only go off how it compares to other “thrash” metal from the era.
Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience (1991) by P.M. Dawn
I don’t know what I would have thought about this if I hadn’t yet heard Dearest Christian already, but I have, and I can’t help but have that experience colour this one.
A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (1991) by Black Sheep
I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard at a hip hop track as I did on my first listen to “U Mean I’m Not.” There aren’t that many songs from other genres I think I’ve laughed that hard at, actually. It’s basically exactly how I feel about gangsta rap and I’m glad someone in …
We Can’t Be Stopped (1991) by Geto Boys
So, for reasons I will never understand, YouTube Music – where I do most of my listening to new music – only has the “screwed” version of this album. I didn’t know that meant something and so I listened to it. And I was extremely confused as you might imagine. I knew I had at …
Trisha Yearwood (1991)
I have no investment in country music, so whether or not a particular album indicates “a star is born” is irrelevant to me. Perhaps if there was something truly distinct, I might notice but I don’t know that Yearwood’s from Georgia and, having heard numerous singers from many different genres, I’m not sure why Yearwood’s …
Into the Great Wide Open (1991) by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
The Jeff Lynne infestation of Petty’s Full Moon Fever has been allowed to fester and now infects the entire band. I understand this was a big hit, and I grew up with the two biggest songs here too, but this is a particularly polished version of the Heartbreakers, that is relatively unrecognizable to the band …
A Future Without a Past…(1991) by Leaders of the New School
I must admit that I was kind of charmed on the first listen to this album. That charm wore off a bit with repeated listens – why that happened is probably a long story – but that initial positive vibe is pretty rare for me with hip hop, especially hip hop that is this obsessed …
Woodface (1991) by Crowded House
I can’t figure it out, but I know “Chocolate Cake,” “Fall At Your Feet” and “Weather With You.” I’m confused because I was 9 when this album came out and only “Chocolate Cake” reached the Canadian Top 10. Somebody must have had this album, or a greatest hits record or something, right? Anyway, it’s created …
Solace (1991) by Sarah McLachlan
I’ve never heard McLachlan’s debut, but I have heard a few of her later albums. (Yes, going at another artist backwards. Yet again. I know.)
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991) by Van Halen
You know what’s worse than a normal Van Halen album? A 52 minute Van Halen album.
Slow, Deep and Hard (1991) by Type O Negative
There are many impressive things about this debut, and at least two pretty big problems but, on the whole, it’s the auspicious debut of a fully formed band.
Slave to the Grind (1991) by Skid Row
The first album from any genre to go #1 on the US album charts is often not what it “should” be. A genre usually has to percolate for a while before it becomes mainstream enough, especially something like “Heavy Metal,” which is not obviously appealing and perhaps deliberately unappealing to most people. But, supposedly this …
Gish (1991) by Smashing Pumpkins
There are people, usually older people, who will tell you that Gish is actually the Pumpkins’ best album, or their only good album, or something like that. I suspect these people are either just old or they are being deliberately contrarian/curmudgeonish, or they are trying to be hipsters (“I liked the Pumpkins before they were …
Like an Ever Flowing Stream (1991) by Dismember
Hot take: Florida is better than Sweden.
Seamonsters (1991) by The Wedding Present
We all have musical sweet spots, things we like so much that we just eat up anything that fits into those sweet spots. This album, the first I have ever heard by The Wedding Present, hits me in a few of mine. And I left wondering, not for the first time, why it took me …
Seal (1991)
I know one Seal song. (I’m too young for “Crazy.”) Seal was not big in North America and is known here to my generation for “Kiss From a Rose” and, for younger people, as being Heidi Klum’s ex-husband. So I didn’t know what to expect.
Blessed Are the Sick (1991) by Morbid Angel
So yes, I’m listening to this without ever having heard Altars of Madness. That is likely a mistake but I have a good reason: despite its reputation within the metal community, mainstream critical appreciation isn’t really there, so I missed it in 2019. As a result, I’m likely going to say something stupid.
Spellbound (1991) by Paula Abdul
I know very little about Paula Abdul. I remember a couple of her songs – and, honestly, remember the video for “Rush Rush” than I do the song – and I remember some vague reason for her being kicked off some talent TV show. That’s it. So I was expecting some kind of early ’90s …
Cooleyhighharmony (1991) by Boyz II Men
I began to mature as a music fan in a world where Boyz II Men were ubiquitous. It felt like you couldn’t avoid them because, unlike so many other artists on the music video channels I watched, they were also played in malls, in doctor’s offices, everywhere.
And Now the Legacy Begins (1991) by Dream Warriors
I have no memory of Definition, probably because I was not even 8 when it ended its run. But I certainly felt the reverberations because the moment “My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style” came on, I knew it. I’m not sure I had ever connected it and the theme to Austin Powers before, as …
Blue Lines (1991) by Massive Attack
Is this the first ever trip hop album? My limited research suggests that yes, it absolutely is. There may have been some “Bristol sound” singles that presaged this record but nobody seems to have produced an LP. So, whatever you think of this album, and whatever you think of the term “trip hop,” there’s this …
Mama Said (1991) by Lenny Kravitz
I get why people like Lenny Kravitz. I think there was probably a time in my life when I could have quite liked Lenny Kravitz. (And maybe, for a while, I sort of did.) And maybe, had I not become the music history obsessive that I am, I would like him to this day. But …