The Classic 100 Album Review Remastered: #93 Supa Dupa Fly byMissy Misdemeanor Elliot

Welcome back to another classic review of Rolling Stone’s top 100 albums of all time. Now that we’ve gotten past that ear worm that was that last album it’s time to come back strong and dive back into the world of r&b and hip hop and check out Missy Elliots debut album Supa Dupa Fly.

Ah yes 1997. It was the year I graduated high school and learned what it was to be an adult. Musically, it was the era of boy bands, Will Smith, and P Diddy. Then came Missy Elliott. In an album produced by the one and Timbaland, this was Missy, pre hip hop icon, shocasing her talents a an R&B songbird. The album is a nice sample of the talent that were big at the time like Busta Ryhmes, Lil Kim, and Da Brat. I’ve always considered 90s R&B baby making music because of the slow sensual beats and just laid back sound and this record has that.

We start off with a little rap intro from Mr. Rhymes as we lead into Hit Em With Da Hee. Right off the bat you hear the soft silky smooth vocals of Missy and to the signature sounds or late 90s R&B. Of course she raps on occasion but she would be known more for that in her later works, but even on this album you know she had a flow and it definitely shows she was destined to be big from the start. Some of her songs like the next track Sock It 2 Me reminds me a little of Aaliyah which as I did my research worked with Missy and Timbaland so it makes sense. Next we have the hit from the album The Rain, and I see why this song was a hit because that hook was so good. Add in that great rap flow I mentioned earlier and this one is an instant classic. Then comes Beep Me 911, which pretty much tells you what was the it thing back in the 90s. Again this track has that sound that reminds me of an Aaliyah beat but it is a great song. Another good jam is the modernized Pass Da Blunt which of course is a callback to the 80s Reggae hit Pass The Dutchie. Next up Friendly Skies featuring Genuwine, the group that brought you that baby making classic Pony, and yes that Ginuwine sound makes this a jam. So far most of the songs on this album have been methodical and very chilled and combined with the raps and vocals has been very relaxing as we push to the latter half of the record.

Speaking of Aaliyah, we get to Best Friends with Aaliyah and the two sound so good together. Now we get to the the Missy Elliott I’m accustomed to and get more rap track. Izzy Izzy Ahh is a great example of her awesome flow and her crazy fun rhymes. I’m talkin and Getaway are nice tracks to wrap up the album and the closing messages from Busta Rhymes and the heartfelt thank you from Missy Elliott were a nice little bow to finish off a fun filled album.

Back when this album came out, I wasn’t really a fan of the genre as I was more country transitioning into rock and metal but if I was and I heard this album, it would definitely be one of my favorites. There wasn’t really one bad tracj on this album and though most if not all the beats were the similar laid back tempo, the raps and the vocals we’re so well done it made it a delight to listen to. Timbalands influence was well represented as I know he had a hand in other pop stars going into the 2000s and all the collaborations we’re again done right. For the first half of the album, I really couldn’t tell if Missy was doing the rapping but by the end her signature flow shined bright and her tracks were really good. I’m on the fence on this one so what the heck 10/10. This is one I’ll probably come back to for a relaxing good time.

Well that takes care of another classic album. For the next review, on the last review I’ve mentioned Jimi Hendrix and now it’s time to take the experience. Thanks for reading and as always rock on.

The Classic 100 Album Review Remastered: #94- Funhouse by The Stooges

Okay so this one’s going to be a short one. This one is a loud noisy train wreck. That about sums it all up……..

Alright I took the time to listen to it so I’m going to give it a proper review. Funhouse was released in 1970 right around the end of the psychedelic era of music, and this record definitely is some version of that. The producer of the album was the keyboard player for the Kingsmen, the band that gave us Louie Louie. The other notable thing worth mentioning was one of the band members is the iconic “Godfather of Punk”, Iggy Pop. Reading up on the band, I did see the word “drugs” quite a bit and needless to say this sounded like one big acid trip. Thankfully it was only a seven track record and again this will be a fairly short review so lets jump in.

We start of with Down on the Corner which is a good introduction to the album itself. I kind of get Jimi Hendrix vibes as well as the Doors. There are good guitar riffs and drums so so far not bad. The same can be said about the next song Loose, which is another hard hitting jam. And then it kind of goes all over the place. There’s a wierd saxophone solo in the song 1970, to which I was not expecting and kind of felt off being in a fast paced punk song. By this part of the album we do get some random whooos from the lead singer pretty much sounding like he’s in happy mode if you catch my drift. The other songs were nothing too special and then we get to track number 7, L.A. Blues. This is the mother of all train wrecks. Incoherent nonsensical shouting, the drummer just banging on the drums while the guitars play loud screeching notes, it is a cluster of horrible sounds that left me confused and ready to turn this whole experience off.

So my thoughts on this one? This was definitely an acid rock album that I’m sure is a favorite for the die hard punk rockers, but this one was not for me. I thought for the most part the drums and guitars were good, but it ended up being too convoluted for my taste. The Album had a good start but three or four tracks in you can tell the drugs were kickin in and it went all Over the place. I give this one 4/10. That’s about the best I can give it. Not sure how this one made the top 100 but to each their own.

So that wraps up another review. Next time I’m heading back into the 90s and another iconic artist of the hip hip and r&b era, the Misdemeanor herself, Missy Elliot. Thank you for checking out this review and for those about to rock, we salute you.

Video Time Capsule: Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me by George Michael & Elton John

The scene opens to the roar of a live crowd. That all too familiar piano tune starts to play. The camera slowly pans over  to a silhouette on a dark stage. The light goes out for a split second only to come back on to reveal one of the hottest stars of the early 90s, Mr George Michael.

It’s no secret that I really enjoy the music of Elton John from the 70s, through the 80s, and even in the 90s, but next to Rocketman, to me, there is no song more iconic and is such a  personal favorite to me than Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me.  From the simplistic melody to the powerful lyrics, it holds a special spot on my ultimate playlist. Originally written in 1973, this song is such a timeless classic, and doing some research on this song, I see just how big the song really is. I didn’t realize that the Beach Boys and Toni Tenille sang back up vocals. Knowing that knowledge now, I can hear it, as is the case when you hear of other big names performing or writing for other musicians.

As I mentioned before, the song has amazing lyrics that tells a story, and as I get older and wiser, kind of speaks volumes. The first verse paints the picture so well, “I can’t light no more of your darkness,” “all my pictures seem to fade to black and white,”  and “frozen here on the later of my life,” the words express the pain and remorse of a love that’s coming to an end, asking not to leave because it’s “like the sun going down on me. The second verse, one last plea to say. Lines like “don’t discard me just because you think I mean you harm,” and “these cuts I have well they need love to help them heal” really tells how much that this love interest really means to this person. It’s a two verse, simple song with the way Elton sings it with such passion, it’s a powerful song.

So why am I bringing up the George Michael version, you may ask? Well, one of the biggest memories from the 1990s was music videos and VH1, to be specific. In 1991, George and Elton cut a special duet performance, and the video was massively played daily. The story is that George was wrapping up his Cover to Cover Tour at Wembley Stadium and asked Sir Elton to join him on stage. I could be getting ready for school at 6 a.m. or going to bed at 10 at night, and there’s the video. It went on to be a #1 hit for the duo and a fixture in the 90s time capsule.

What made this song a hit was the presentation. In my opinion, a remake or a cover song is best when the song is sung the way it’s intended to. Don’t get me wrong, you have to give it a unique spin whomever is covering the song, but songs are more enjoyable if they sound similar to it’s original song. There are a few exceptions, and maybe I will look deeper into that subject at another time. George Michael was red hot at this time, and he had one of the best vocal skills at the time, I did hear the George Michael spin to the song. Back to the video. As he sings the opening verse, they zoom out to show him standing on an elevated crow’s nest of a platform on the right side of the stage glowing in an orange light. As the chorus ends, a quick fade and a transition to Elton John backstage, dressed in his awesome 90s style, walking to the stage. “Ladies and gentlemen Mr Elton John!!!” The spotlight hits and he’s on a similar platform on the left side, and the fans go nuts. After he sings the second verse, they meet in the middle of the stage and put a pretty bow on this great collaboration.

Looking back, the video wasn’t too special unless you were in that moment, but the thought of two of the biggest English performers from two different generations coming together was such a great sight. I still enjoy the original version a little more, but I’m also a big fan of George from his Wham days to Faith and Freedom 90, so it’s still a fun listen to this day.

The Classic 100 Album Review Remastered #95:  Take Care by Drake

So here we are. Number 95 and it’s Drake. While I’m not a huge hip hop fan I do listen to it from time to time. As far as music from the last decade, I will admit it’s been hit and miss for me as some of the talent in this generation just doesn’t appeal to me. I’ve heard the name Drake but I’ve never really heard his music. So for the first time ever, I am diving head first onto 2011 hip hop and getting my first taste or Drake. All 19 songs on the album considered #95 best of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine.

The album opens up with a nice little introduction to what the rest of the album would be, methodical beats and good flowing raps. That’s the first thing I will admit, Drake does have a good flow. He kind of reminds me a little of Kanye West without the craziness of course. We then get a surprise spin around with Shot for Me, in which he showcases his R&B vocal skills. The second thing I noticed and really got into were the beats. I do remember hearing this style of slow drum rolling, mix tape sounding style of music but this was done really well and fit with the lyrical style very well. I also noticed a lot of the collaborations with big names likr Rhianna, Nikki Minaj, and the Weekend were evenly done well like the guest singer/rapper wasn’t the big focal point and vice versa. Other than Nikki I could hardly tell there was a collaboration on certain songs. Marvin’s room was a great jam with a great beat which pretty much was the beat style for most the record. HYFR (those who’ve heard this song knows what that stands for) is probably my favorite jam on this one. Featuring Lil Wayne, this track was just a “banger” as they said and had my head bobbing through the whole song. Lord Knows featuring Rick Ross had a great Jay Z vibe and the choir in the background made the song come off as an epic track. Practice also had a good callback as he pays respects to the Juvenile classic Back that Azz up and it works. The other track on the album that really impressed me was the Cameras/ Good Ones Go medley where he combined a half track rap half track vocal song performance and again the flow of it all was actually really good.

So what are my thoughts on this album? Did I really enjoy it? Well….yeah I really did. The beats and hooks on this album though slow and methodical really flowed nicely with the raps and the singing of Drake as well as his guest collaboratiors. Thinking back to the early 2010s, auto tune was the popular thing used by many hip hop and some pop stars to the point that it was annoying, but here it was just perfectly executed. The songs were boastful at times but not too cocky. I think for Drake’s Take Care album I have to give it 9/10. I can’t deny I enjoyed it more than anticipated. Am I a Drake fan now? No not really but I do have to give props to this album and even being 19 tracks long it didn’t feel like a chore to listen to.

Thus ends another album off the list. 5 down 95 to go. I was really unsure in how this one would turn out and next time on the review we go back to 1970 and another album I’m going into blind. Heads up, it might be a short one too. Until next time, rock on.

So

The Elton John Deep Dive: Honky Chateau (1972)

Last time, I took a deep dive into the debut of Captain Fantastic himself,  Elton John, and got a taste of the man before the icon. This time, we go a few years down the timeline. Your Song became his first big hit, and he’s quickly gaining notoriety with each album he releases. Today, I look at what he’s gone on record and said is his most cherished album to date. I’m looking at the 1972 album Honky Chateau and a little spoiler, it’s a classic.

This would be Elton’s first of seven consecutive albums to reach #1 on the Billboard charts. The album was recorded in the French Chateau d’Herouville, hence the inspiration for the title. There are three notable songs from this album, the first one being the opening track, Honky Cat. This funky little piano diddy hit #8 on the US singles charts. There’s also a song on there that’s still gets some airtime today called Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters. That’s just a brilliant ballad that was inspired by Bernie Taupins first visit to New York and all the chaos we witnessed, as well as a being  slight nod to the Ben E. King song “Spanish Harlem. However, the most notable song on the album, of course, is the iconic Rocket Man. In my opinion, this is up there as my all time favorite Elton John song because of the story it tells of that astronaut floating in space thinking of his family and realizing as the lyrics go “it’s going to be a long long time” before his job is done and how he’s “burning out his fuse up here alone.” I literally can’t do the song justice but it’s so good.

The other songs on the record are actually really fun and have that great Elton John sound. Mellow and Susie are such great hidden gems and are exactly those  funky mellow piano jams you come to expect from him. Salvation is a great, never give up melody, about working hard to find salvation and helping your fellow man out to get there. Slave, which actually has two versions on the album, is an inspirational country stlye song about a slave ready to rebel and break free and is actually well presented. Even songs like Amy and Hercules, have that fun honky tonk sound and compliment the album in between the hits and hidden gems. All in all, there is not a bad song on this record.

Hands down, Honky Chateau is definitely one of those definitive Elton John albums. It showcases his talent and the mega star he would go on to become throughout the 70s, into the 80s, and still to this day. This is a huge shift in style and presentation from the first album just three years prior, and the melodies, along with Taupin’s fantastic lyrics, really make the album an enjoyable experience. Definitely a 10/10. I’m definitely putting this in my personal rotation. This album is a good example of why I think Elton John is quite possibly the best entertainers and musicians of all time.

The 100 Classic Album Review Remastered #96: Automatic for the People by R.E.M.

I’m back at it with another one of my reviews of Rolling Stone’s 100 top albums of all time. Once again it has been a mixed bag of genres and the next three reviews will be no different. At #96, we take a trip back to the 90s and quite possibly one of the most infamous alternative bands that defined the era. I’m talking about Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Bill Berry, and Mike Mills. The band simply known as R.E.M.

I remember I first heard R.E.M. when their hit song Losing My Religion took over radio stations and MTV and VH1 (back when music videos existed). I always enjoyed the epic story that Michael Stipe told accompanied by a sound that was different but distinct to the music of the 90s. I thought this was that album but I was mistaken. Instead this is their follow-up album from 1992 but either way, I was excited to jump into this one.

We kick the album off with Drive which has a good acoustic feel and almost reminds me of a Johnny Cash song lyrically. The Sidewinder Sleeps is a nice song that showcases one of R.E.M. signatures as it’s pretty much a random rambling of lyrics. The best lines in this song about using a payphone to wake “her” up is as follows:

“A can of beans or black eyed peas. Some Nescafe and ice A candy bar, a falling star. Or a reading of Dr Seuss.”

A great song nonetheless, and then we get to one of their big hits in Everybody hurts. I absolutely love this song, and it serves its message well. If you ever feel overwhelmed and beaten up mentally, I strongly recommend listening to this song. It’ll definitely calm you down. The only song on the album I had issues getting into was Star Me Kitten. The music track was good it’s just that the vocals were so drowned out it was hard to hear it. Again, it’s not bad, but it did affect the song. Then there was their other hit single on the record Man on the Moon. A song inspired by the late funny man Andy Kaufman, which ultimately inspired a bio pic film about his life, in which a lot of people know it for the amazing role played by Jim Carrey. It’s just a fun song and next to Losing My Religion, probably one of the best lyrically from them. The album comes to an end on a beautiful note with the song Night Swimming. It’s a soft ballad with a great piano and orchestral background and such a relaxing song to wrap the whole thing up nicely.

So Automatic for the People: how does it rank? Other than maybe three or four songs on the album, the rest of the songs were new to me, and it was a very pleasant experience. As I mentioned before, the only flaw I heard was Star Me Kitten, but the rest was just a very mellow sound with Michael Stipe narrating throughout with his soft harmonic sound and his random lyrics. The guitars were great, not to hard but not too contemporary. All in all, this one gets a solid 8/10. This will definitely one I go back to down the road.

Well that wraps up another album on the list. Like I mentioned the next reviews are going to be polar opposites of what I review beforehand….and the next one I am totally going in blind. It is an album that would have naver crossed my mind and well totally out of my wheelhouse. Who is it? Will I like it? We’ll find out soon what’s in store for #95.

The Elton John Deep Dive. Empty Sky (1969)

I’ve decided to take a deep dive look into another one of my favorite musicians of all time, Elton John, and throughout the month of May, I will be looking at some of his albums. I decided to take a different route this time, and instead of going chronology like I’m doing with Santana, I will be randomly picking albums off the catalog and doing my reviews from there. Today, however, I am starting off with the debut album and seeing how the legend got his start. This is the review for Empty Sky.

This album was released in 1969 but never made it to American shelves until 1975 after Elton John had hit it big as was known world wide. This is his debut album and the first of many collaborations with his lyricist, Bernie Taupin. As the story goes, Elton hired Bernie to write random lyrics down and then Elton would go back and add the melody to it. So how was their opening act?

Notably, this was a year away from his first hit song, so all of the songs on this record I personally never heard before. I noticed he also tried out a variety of instruments in this album, such as bongos, guitars, saxophone, and a harpsichord, which he played on a couple of tracks. The title track, Empty Sky, opens the album and it already has that iconic Elton rock style. One of my hidden gem favorites has to be Val-Hala, which has a Bob Dylan sound and is one of the  harpsichord songs. I also like songs where you can close your eyes and picture the lyrics in your mind, and this song is just that as it talks about Thor and the North Mythology.  Western Ford Gateway is another good track. In this one Elton adds a nice organ melody and it has a Beetlesque sound to it. The most popular song on the album is Skyline Pigeon, and it’s another harpsichord tune that has that classic composer feel. Other notable songs are Hymn 2000, The Scaffold,  and Gulliver/It’s Hay Chewed, the last song of which has a quick refresher medley at the end of all the previous songs on the album before that.

Overall, for a debut album, it’s not too bad. The early stages of a rock and roll icon can definitely be heard, but some of the songs not mentioned came off a little flat and boring. Being that this hadn’t made it across the pond yet, and not hearing the songs I grew up with or even heard of, this was a different side of the Elton John I’m accustomed to. However, I did hear the ealry stages of what I consider the Elton John piano style of rock n roll, and admittedly, the harpsichord was a fun treat to hear on this record.

If I were to score it, I’d give it at least a 5/10. Probably not an album I’d return to but not by any means a bad album.

The 100 Classic Album Review Remastered: #97  Master of Puppets by Metallica

This one is going to be a fun one.

So far, I’ve heard a 60s Dylan-esque band, one of pop/country’s biggest stars today, and a alt country album from the late 90s. So this is the first album that’s in my wheelhouse from quite arguably the best rock/metal band in history. This could be thier best album of all time, which has given me another project for another time.

Master of Puppets is a Metallica concert on one album of itself. From top to bottom it is a non stop thrill ride of guitar riffs and solos and some of the best drumming I’ve ever heard. From the onset we get a pair of super hits in Battery and Master of Puppets, the title track. Some of the greatest rock ballads are the ones that change tempos and switch from slow and calm to fast and furious and these two, as well as much of the songs on the album, seem to do and Metallica does it so well. A lot of people talk about Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana when talking about great guitar players but with the speed and technique that James Hetfield has had over the years is truly remarkable. Same could be said with Lars Ulrich on the drums as he is pretty much the guy who technically keeps the tempos together. After a good calm down jam in The Thing That Should not be, we’re back into super hits with the always Awesome Sanitarium.

On one side it’s a bummer that this is only a 8 track album and we’re halfway in but like a lot of Metallica’s earlier albums were, most of the songs in the album were 6 to 8minutes long which gives them time to just rock hard on each song especially on this album. I definitely love the instrumental Orion which is just 8 and a half minutes of Metallica fun. As fun as it is hearing the brooding voice of Mr Hetfield, it’s just fun to hear a good guitar showcase. It’s just one of those “close your eyes and enjoy the joirney” songs and a good way to cool things down a little bit before the fast paced Damage Inc finale to put an end to the show.

So it’s obvious where I’m going with this one. Easy 10 out of 10 for me. Again, it’s not a dull track on a short list of epic Metallica ballads. It’s been years since I heard this album, I think it was probably the late 90s right around the time I started listening to Metallica, but this one holds up perfectly well. I’m not sure why this one is ranked so low and I know I’m being a little biased being a metal heavy fan, but I will say it’s definitely better than their Black album which is hard to say because that is another one loaded with super hits. So I will ask you where would you put this album? Which Metallica album is the best? Needless to say, I’m glad I got the chance to listen to this one in my 100 album journey and I’m sure there will be a few more of these gems that I’ll get to review on my way to #1.

The 100 Classic Album Review Remastered: #98 Car Wheels on a Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams

It’s time again to look at the album that Rolling Stone listed as the 98th greatest album of all time. Like I’ve mentioned in prior entries, although some of the genres of these albums might differ from my own opinions to others, I will try to be as fair as possible but give you my honest opinions on each one. A lot of these are not only albums I’m hearing for the first time but artists I’m listening to fir the first time. This album checks both of those boxes.

I don’t remember when or even if I’ve ever heard of Lucinda Williams before but in the recent years her name has popped up here and there. I did not realize this album dates back to 1998, right around the time I was listening to country music and transitioning over to rock and metal. Cat Wheels on a Gravel Road is what’s considered Alternative County which is like Rebel County music which is more electic guitars and rock beats. This album is pretty much that. At first listen, I’m reminded of names like Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders and more or less like Cheryl Crow. While the beats are great, there were a lot of things I wasn’t a big fan of with this one.

The first couple of songs fell a little flat for me as the vocals sounded okay but it didn’t really have any passion to it. Again it just sounds like Sheryl Crow. Even the title track just didn’t sound like a hit song especially when there’s a lot of repetitiveness in the song, which would be a reoccurring theme in the album. Now doing research, I know this was kind of a telling of her life living in the south and all the hardships she’s endired, but I feel she sang pretty much the same tone through the entire album…which again sounds like Sheryl Crow. All is not bad though as when I get to track four, Concrete and Barbed Wire, we get a nice little old fashioned country song reminiscing of the days of Hank Sr and Loretta Lynn. It’s the first time we hear a little country twang on the album. Lake Charles, one of many songs named after southern towns, has another catchy beat but once again sounds too much like Sheryl Crow. Probably the best track on the album is Greenville which has a beautiful faint accordion melody in the background that adds to the song perfectly. The final song on the album is another beautiful melody called Joy, but suffers for literally every single lyric is repeated twice in a row which to me just gets irritating. I will add that it was vocally done well with a nice blend on two soft vocal ranges that complement each other very well.

Overall I guess where I’m going to go with this one. While the music and the beats and melodies of the songs had that good rebel country, electric guitar, rock and blues sound that sounds great, it falls real flat vocally mainly on the sole reason that it sounds like a general store Sheryl Crow album. It wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t sing the same key on almost every single song. And in a lot of repetitiveness in the lyrics and it’s just a swing and a miss of an album. I give the album a 4/10. It’s probably one I won’t listen to again.

Classic Album Review: Moonflower by Santana

With April coming to an end, I wanted to get one more post in to cap off a month dedicated to Santana. I look at an album that has forever made its way into my personal collection. This is a review of the Moonflower album. Now I do have another deep dive review I’m still working on that covers the three albums before this release, but looking into it, this album plays more like a greatest hits collection and more. It’s one part studio album and one part live album and other than one other live album is the essential for live Santana performances. One of the best and most relaxing album covers there is, without further delay, this is Moonflower.

Like every album, it starts with a short warm up instrumental and instantly goes into the live version of the album. The whistle blows, and you get that taste of Brazil as we go into a medley of Carnival, Let the Children Play, and Jugando. These songs were part of their last album, the aptly titled Festival, and is such a fun medley to dance to with a fun message. After that, we head back to the studios for the song “I’ll Be Waitng,” a nice mellow song with smooth vocals by Greg Walker. Other notable studio cuts are Zulu, Bahia, and Flor d’Luna (Moonflower), all of which are great instrumentals and is Carlos Santana at his best.  There’s also a great cover of the Zombies hit She’s Not There complete with xylophone into and all. On the live concert side, we get the hits. Surprisingly, we get Black Magic Woman with the rarity of the follow-up not being Oye Como Va, which in later iterations becomes the standard. Other great live gems on this record are songs like Dance Sister Dance, Europa, and Savor/Toussaint L’Overture. The highlight of the album is the track Soul Sacrifice/Head Hands and Feet, which is the longest track on the album, but has an excellent showcase of their amazing percussion players. From bingos to the electrifying three minute drum solo by Graham Lear, which is a staple and a legacy carried on to this day by Cindy Blackmon Santana,  this is a 14 minute celebration piece and a really fun jam session.

To me, this is one of those albums that, from top to bottom, are some of the best music ever put on a record. As I mentioned before, this is a greatest hits album. The concept to produce studio tracks and combine it with a live concert show is spectacular. This was one of those albums I tend to put on in the background constantly while I work or just feel like listening to some great music. If you never heard this one, I encourage you to give it a listen. This album overall sums up the sounds and the culture to which Santana is known best for. The percussion, the guitars, the vocals, they all mesh well and will have you up and dancing through the album. This is an easy 10/10 and quite possibly a top 5 album on my list.