Look, the guy is a total douchenozzle, but I will be damned if this is not the raddest 15 minutes of raw punk rock.
Highlights: Rats in the Wall, When the Summer Ends, Change Your Mind, Push It Away
9/10
1989 - Ryan Adams
Funny that the last proper Ryan Adams album in this marathon is the album that you can actually trace the end of his career back to! Taking a women's work and making it his seems totally appropriate. I think he nailed the style changes for a few songs, and a few it is just like 'yeah, we get it, you are depressed'.
Highlights: Style, I Wish You Would, All You Had to Do Was Stay, Bad Blood
7/10
1989 - Taylor Swift
Due to the production, this is probably the only Taylor Swift I can enjoy - some of the songs have a bit of a Eurythmics kind of vibe, and I really dig that. Bah gawd, Swifties are the absolute worst and make their cult leader even more insufferable. The songs that feel a bit more genuine are the better songs.
Highlights: I Wish You Would, All You Had to Do Was Stay, Out of the Woods, Welcome to New York
8/10
1991 Christmas Single - Pearl Jam
The first Pearl Christmas single. Just one simple song and the band recording a message to their fans. There are many more to come...
Highlights: Quick?
5/10
1991 Remixes - Queen
When their studio albums were initially 'remastered' and re-released back in 1991, there was this fun gimmick of a few songs getting remixed in various ways. Most of it involves just adding a bunch of reverb to the vocals and drums. Some got a bit of a dance remix happen. And then Rick Rubin turned We Will Rock You in to a completely crazy hip-hop style thing.
Highlights: Tie Your Mother Down (1991 Remix by Matt Wallace), We Will Rock You (Ruined by Rick Rubin), Flash's Theme (1991 Remix by Mista Lawnge)
7/10
1992 Christmas Single - Pearl Jam
One of the best songs recorded by Pearl Jam and then a mess of samples? You know what? I deserve this.
Highlights: Sonic Reducer
6/10
1993 Christmas Single - Pearl Jam
Similar to the 1992 Xmas single, where the A-side is brilliant and the B-side is... not. At least this time it is a live jam where they were being pelted with shoes.
Highlights: Angel
6/10
1994 Solo Recording - Ryan Adams
Acoustic country numbers - sounds like they were recorded during a radio appearance or something? Who the hell wanted DRA on their radio show in 1994?
Highlights: I am still awake - or is that a lowlight?
5.5/10
1995 Christmas Single - Pearl Jam
There was no single in 1994 - I must have forgotten that. This one at least features four songs! And they are all live performances of covers - including a performance from the first concert I ever went to.
Highlights: History Never Repeats [Live in NZ w/Tim & Neil Finn], Sonic Reducer [Live in New Orleans w/Joey Ramone]
6.5/10
1996 Christmas Sing - Pearl Jam
One terrible song about not being good enough for the Olympics, followed by a very average live performance of a song off No Code.
Highlights: 1996 was 30 years ago?
4/10
1997 Christmas Single - Pearl Jam & R.E.M.
Dudes could not even muster the effort to record another rambling nonsense for their fans, so had to get another band to do it for them? Fair call; if I had known that was an option, I would have got someone else to listen to their music for me!
Highlights: I saw Kiss live for the first time in 1997
4/10
1998 Christmas Single - Pearl Jam
These recordings of two super bland old pop songs from the 60s were later released to the general public and Last Kiss became a big hit. I wonder if Eddie Vedder had given up pretending he was "very punk rock" by then...
Highlights: So very punk rock
6/10
1999 - Prince
Oh, thank Prime! This is pure 80s Prince R&B pop and funky rock. There is a bit of something for everyone. Especially the sex addicts?
Highlights: Little Red Corvette, 1999, Let's Pretend We're Married, All The Critics Love U in New York
8.5/10
1999 (Super Deluxe Edition) - Prince
Boy, there sure are a lot of 1999-era demos on here. Oh, wait - this is the 1999 box set! For some reason, I thought I was listening to the Purple Rain vault tracks. The really interesting part of these, for me, is that so many of the unused songs just got re-worked until Prince was happy enough to give them a home on an actual album.
Highlights: How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore? [Take 2 - Live in Studio], Moonbeam Levels, Irresistible Bitch, Lady Cab Driver/I Wanna Be Your Lover/Head/Little Red Corvette [Tour Demo]
7/10
1999 Christmas Single - Pearl Jam
Yawn. What a boring Christmas.
Highlights: 1999 with Prince was more of a party
5/10
1999: Promo Mixes & B-Sides - Prince
Speaking of partying like it is (was?) 1999... lots of edited versions of songs - which is kind of wrong, because these songs are classics, but radio is a bitch like that - and a couple of equally awesome B-sides.
Highlights: How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore, Irresistible Bitch, Horny Toad, Little Red Corvette [Special Dance Mix]
9/10
'Albums' listened to so far: 1956
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