Maxwell - "Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite": "Modern Rn'B" or "neo-soul" is not really my go-to genre under most circumstances, and this is pretty much the epitome of the genre. Slick, well produced and well played. But after a couple of songs I lose interest and at the last song I'm fast asleep. A can appreciate the talent at display here, and in small doses, in the right context, this is enjoyable, but at almost an hour of the same mid-to-slow tempo soul jams, I just lose focus after a while. Score: 3/5
Alice Cooper - "Billion Dollar Babies": A favourite hard rock album from the 70s, and it actually hold up pretty strong to this day. I like how the band pushed the boundaries of traditional "verse-chorus-verse" songwriting on a lot af their most enduring songs from the 70s (case studies here: "Billion Dollar Babies", "No More Mr. Nice Guy", "Generation Landslide" and "Elected"). And just check how the sugar sweet pop/rock-bliss of "No More Mr. Nice Guy" is subverted with some truly grim lyrics. This is essential listening. 4/5