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The definitive album for anyone, regardless of your musical palette, that seeks a relentlessly domineering style of self-agency. The songwriting is kindred, raw and lyrically immaculate. The instrumentation is traditionally rigid yet gregariously digestible. The positioning of the tracklist is flawless. This is a record without any prominent blight or blemish. You truly can't go wrong with this LP.

And don't get me started on the vocal prowess of Chris Stapleton himself. If anyone feels every ounce of their pain, glory, regret, dominance, indecision and self-reflection: it's this mammoth of a talent. This man had me in literal tears with 80% of the material. I can't believe this record eluded my musical crosshairs at the allotted time of release. Another indication of my foregone ignorance.

I'm a lover of all things Country, but I'm aware at how the narrative earned by the more crass auditory presentations in the genre can prevent someone from engaging in a musical exploration. But this record has the innate potential to change your mind.

On a more personal note, this may very well be my favorite album ever. This album is all of my hurts and desires set to a soulfully tangible twang.

…and I also bought his Traveller Whiskey. For research, of course. If you’re of age, you should, too. Highly recommended. But no pressure.

5/5 stars.

Highlights:

…the entire album. Period.

An absolutely immaculate collection of well produced cuts enveloped with neo-futuristic style and flair. Ryan Leslie’s eponymous inauguration is a masterclass of lyrical acclimation and sonic production. This is a record that surpasses, defines, and justifies a great deal of the semi-primary and latter day R&B sensibilities that currently permeates the late millennium.

…and if you listen pretty closely, you can hear a brief but succinct echo of Drake’s (!!) stylistic endgame. Nowhere near a bad thing considering the expertise of this album. But if you look at the end result of modern day’s rhythmic realities… Um…

Great record, either way.
4.5/5 Stars.

Simply a magnificent piece of pop-fluff obscurity. On the surface, there isn't much of a juxtaposition between Jennifer Love Hewitt, Britney Spears, and the very underrated Jessica Simpson’s sonically similar debuts. But instead of fully harnessing the scantily-clad showmanship of the late-90's commercial scene (unless you count the quasi-psuedo-titillating effects of the album cover; the product still has to be sold, you know!), JLH's earnest and surprisingly soulful vocal prowess sails the saccharine and well-versed material into an undeniably timeless territory. With deep ballad sensibilities and R&B inflections, this is Teen-Pop in its most purest form. And without this template, the innocence of the latter "Wolves in Virgin's Clothing" of the Pre-Millenium Pop era would have nothing to skin or affix to its lily-white formula of adolescent marketability.

5/5 Stars.

Good GOD. The love that this man had for The Alpha and Omega is inimitable. The music is heavily accesible regardless of your path or religion, and Keith delivers beyond the heights of musical expectations. This gentleman is a ever-passionate pianist and soulfully emotive vocalist who deserves at least a collegiate course that highlights his passionate and instrumental intricacies.

This immaculately delivered album is a masterclass of preternatural devotion and dedication. I urge all who are even slightly curious in its contents to indulge in every last drop of its splendor.

Within the lane of subjectivity, Keith Green’s debut is within my Top 3 favorite albums in existence. This man’s revenant musicality can deliver even the most sunken of earth-trodden denizens to a place beyond mortal imagination.

5/5 stars.

The 4.5/5 rating originally affixed to this album years prior to the revision feels FAR more apt to this currently diminishing (but more conducive to the inscribed take) score. Superb record from start to finish, and fully captured the languid yet intense poetic artistry that encapsulates the preternatural essence of Bermuda’s very own: Heather Nova.

5/5 stars.

VERY rarely am I an individual of diminutively passive words. But that’s about as much as this record has inspired out of me. Not a BAD record, per se; the album’s glossy quirks compliment the edge of the mid-late ‘00’s understandable need for boisterous overproduction to withstand the desolate market of passionately obtuse radio-play.

But unfortunately, Colby O’s debut greatly suffers as a result of this adaptation. It doesn’t even scratch the surface of what his above-average vocals and visual appeal would suggest. This man’s bashfully PlayBoy-adjacent persona is capable of achieving FAR beyond the glory of a conveniently placed Top 20 single. And I wish this record was more indicative of the potential that bled within the few tracks that sleekly delivered well past the stylishly transient fluff that conclusively bloated most of the experience. Colby O’Donis doesn’t deserve to be a mitigated casualty among the evaporating nu-R&B pop that encompassed the garish declarations of the penultimate noughties. But the album’s commitment to flagrant currency and ostentatious accessibility tarnished the inauguration of a very talented muse.

3/5 stars.

A superlative LP that echos the fluidly stylish statement of independence that imprints the dearly departed Aaliyah's self-titled opus. And much like that aforementioned masterpiece, this album is filled with a delicate sense of braggadocious swagger accompanied with a vigorous (yet vulnerable) bout of lyrical confidence that seamlessly flows within every single inch of the pioneering production. This is a record that many a superstar, long-standing or otherwise, can only dream of possessing within their arsenal. It should be illegal for a record this fantastic to never receive the opportunity to produce a proper sequel.

5/5 stars.

An ethereal LP that has levitated and aged beautifully beyond its score-and-a-half positioning could ever suggest. Instead of swimming within the remarkable murk that encapsulated the deepest cuts of the 1994 juggernaut that is “Oyster”, this record instead decides to tame the cataclysmic beast that is recollection, and ultimately diverts Heather Nova’s quintessential rhapsodies into a more romanticized (and far more marketable!) affair. Full of lyrical effervescence and masterful production, “Siren” captures every single drop of love, loss, and occasionally lustful lamentation that epitomizes the introspective subconscious of a very talented songstress, potentially resulting in her most objectively accessible album in full.

4.5/5 stars.

Wow. This is one of the VERY rare moments where a remake not only encapsulates and epitomizes the very essence of the original source material, but is ALMOST better than the previously pivotal piece of work; which is an absolute amazement, especially when it’s a record as definitive as Taylor Swift’s best (in my less-than-humble opinion, at least) album, “Red”. My opinion of “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” was appreciative, but ultimately lukewarm at best (which breaks my heart considering my undying devotion to this woman and her expertise), but this album checks all of the appropriate boxes to become the essential version of this brilliant piece of neo-avant-garde pop. Unlike the retreaded iteration of “Fearless”, Taylor’s newly affirmed vocal afflictions work brilliantly with the in-depth piercings of heartbreak, affirmation and regret that encompasses the vast majority of “Red”. Even though there are a VERY small few songs that worked a bit better with her mid-evolution vocals of 2012 (almost like the vocally transformed Brandy re-recording her sophomore slugger, “Never Say Never”), most of the time, they still work just as well (if not better in a particular selection of songs) as they did during that questionable time period of music. Songs like “State of Grace”, “Red”, and “Holy Ground” are near-identical in performance and instrumentation to the original, but Taylor’s more refined sense of emotive expression towards the climax of the tracks is far more effective, making the theme of “out with the old, in with the new” in this remake prominent throughout the entire auditory experience.

On a fan-based note, Taylor’s Version of “Girl At Home” was a startlingly welcome surprise, ditching the guitar-laden princess poppish feel of the original for a more “1989” inspired piece of classic synth-pop; which, in turn, almost completely eclipses the original version of the song due to the liberties taken within the track. And of course, the long-awaited 10-minute version of “All Too Well”; arguably T-Swizzle’s best song ever according to many. The newly discovered version is a sight to behold, with the lyrics of “You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath” (as well as MANY others) shining a light of realistic bitterness and understanding sense of pisstivity on the formally nostalgic and almost safe-in-comparison original. Taylor’s storytelling absolutely shines on this track, and this song alone is one of the main reasons why this version of “Red” will probably become the only version that’s worth falling into entirely in this day and age, and that’s REALLY saying something considering the source material. This is pretty much the “Resident Evil 2002” (the initially GameCube-exclusive game, of course; NOT the movie) of Taylor’s catalogue, and the long runtime serves a major purpose in positioning the overall feel of the album instead of hindering the experience with excessive/unnecessary banter and overcompensation.

4.5/5 Stars.

I’ve been a unabashed fan of Taylor Swift since 2007, and I have zero intentions of changing that. But biased I am not, and as much as I will forever support this brilliantly lovable ingenue, there were a few little things I’ve noticed with this very welcomed but dubious-to-the-nostalgic-ear re-recording.

Taylor’s retaliatory effort against the music industry’s REAL snakes is a thing of legend: she knows her worth, and her fans certainly know it as well, so she executes the coup-d’état of the decade and decides to re-record her first 6 albums that’s currently affixed to multiple recipients (most notably her long-time record label: Big Machine Records), starting with her seminal sophomore record, Fearless.

The original record is impeccably crafted on its own, which captures the the heart and soul of an artist wise beyond her years, and a soon-to-be irreplaceable songwriter who crafts genuine and sincere country-driven pop numbers among an arguable sea of uninspired pop that was soon to accompany the following decade. The re-recording, however, is an attempted shot-for-shot remake of the original material. It tries its absolute best to recapture the original spirit of the 2008 juggernaut, with instrumentation and inflection that harnesses the message, but none of the youthful essence of the source material.

The core reason as to why the re-recording doesn’t have that same late naughties magic is on full-display: Taylor’s voice has matured and evolved significantly since her days of Fearlessness; so those who are expecting a splash of that endearingly naive affection from a 19 year-old superstar-in-training that they’ve been used to are bound to be disappointed. Some songs benefit from the new Taylor’s inflections: “White Horse”, “Breathe”, and “You’re Not Sorry” in particular become a bit more impassioned and reflective instead of regretful and dumbfounded, putting a very welcomed spin on an already wistful set of songs. But songs like “The Way I Loved You” and “Forever and Always” pretty much required the boisterous adolescence of the then teenaged-Taylor, so they probably won’t have the same heart-stopping effect that the original recordings had. Luckily, the record is purely solid overall, having its heart in all the right places despite the new interpretations of teenage plight by a more worldly, mature woman who’s learned quite a bit from those former woes. For those who missed out on the sophomoric splendor that is Fearless, there’s a lot to gain with this new-aged gift (Mr. Perfectly Fine is a gem to fans both emerged and experienced), but to those who are very much used to the original record, there’s bound to be some sense of longing, as that’s how nostalgia tends to operate. But in the words of Taylor herself: “count to ten, take it in”, and you’ll find that there’s a lot to love in this recreation, even if it seems to run a bit longer than both the standard and Platinum editions due to the very welcomed fan-service.

3.5/5 stars.