* House of Pain biography by Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it four stars out of five, and said that it saw the band " strip back their music to the basics " and was their " strongest and most vicious record to date.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described Vaughan as " the leading light in American blues " and developed " a uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded like no other guitarist, regardless of genre ".

" In its review of True Blue, Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that " she is using the music to hook in critics just as she's baiting a mass audience with such masterstrokes as ' Papa Don't Preach '.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated Ball three out of five stars.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it three stars out of five and said that " Sponge's sense of alternative rock goes back as far as Pearl Jam, or maybe only Stone Temple Pilots, judging from the hit single ' Plowed.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Heather Phares wrote in Allmusic's biography of Pavement that, with Demolition Plot J-7, Pavement " had begun to forge influences into its own signature sound.

A retrospective review by Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine was still mixed.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described him as " the catchiest, smartest professional mainstream pop songwriter of the early 2000s.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album a five out of five rating, writing that " it serves as a reminder of the sheer brilliance of the music within this peerless show.

Referred to as a " stoner rap " by Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the lyrics are mostly surrealistic and nonsensical.

In his review of the reissued album, Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that " the thought of a group of Insane Clown Posse protégés isn't exactly inspiring ", the album " may take you by surprise ... Mostasteless actually works better than most ICP records ," that " Twiztid often is more convincing than Dark Carnival colleagues ," and concluded that " if you don't buy into the whole comic book-horror schtick, Mostasteless ... will be irritating, but if you've bought into it, you'll enjoy this record as much, if not more, than most ICP albums.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it four and a half stars out of five, and said that it " delivers a set of similar rockers and a handful of power ballads, including a revamped version of Harry Chapin's ' Cats in the Cradle '" and described the music as a " mixture of fizzy, fuzzy riffs, sing-song melodies, and calculated obnoxiousness isn't that offensive.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine was not impressed by INXS " playing a competent but unremarkable variation on droning new wave synth pop " but noted that Hutchence " exuded a powerful vocal charisma ".

Writing for Billboard, Michael Paoletta chose " Through the Rain " as a top pick from the album, as did Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated Heavy three-and-a-half out of five stars.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated Pretties for You three-and-a-half out of five stars.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine estimated that Cantrell was a reluctant solo artist who would prefer his work to be published through Alice in Chains.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it a " nervy breakup tune.

" Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the song as " a vivid portrait of a seaside vacation where Difford's vignettes are made all the more vivid by Tilbrook's bright, invigorating pop.

" Complete with anthemic choruses, spoken word story lines, and plenty of bombastic power metal punctuating every dramatic turn ", says Allmusic's Vincent Jeffries, " Nightfall in Middle-Earth is perhaps Blind Guardian's most triumphant ".

Allmusic's retrospective review was largely negative, particularly criticizing the solo sides of Keith Emerson (" on the level of a good music-student piece, without much original language ") and Greg Lake ("" C ' est la Vie ," the featured single, says little that " Still ... You Turn Me On ," from their previous album, didn't say better and shorter ").

Allmusic's Sean Hickey says, " According to the composer, Density 21. 5 is based on two melodic ideas — one modal, one atonal — and all of the subsequent material is generated from these two themes.

In his review of the album, Allmusic's Brad Mills wrote that " this kind of music appeals to a small sector of hip-hop listeners and will probably do well within niche market, but the average hip-hop listener will just have to understand that this is a different kind of album.

" Allmusic's Heather Phares called it " a good retrospective of a band that just may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

" Kerosene ", one of Atomizer < nowiki >'</ nowiki > s standout tracks, is viewed by both Azerrad and Allmusic's Andy Kellman as the band's peak performance.

As Allmusic's Richard S. Ginell writes: " Hands down, this epochal concert ... was the crowning event of George Harrison's public life, a gesture of great goodwill that captured the moment in history and, not incidentally, produced some rousing music as a permanent legacy.

* Allmusic's Greg Prato gave the album 3. 5 stars ( of 5 ), saying they " had improved their songwriting and strengthened their focus and musical approach.

Allmusic's Steve Huey said that it " brought back some of the pounding speed of Reign in Blood for their third major-label album ", and addressed it to be " their most accessible album, displaying the full range of their abilities all in one place, with sharp, clean production ".

Allmusic's reviewer, Ned Raggett felt their early work had been " as goth as it gets ", while this album saw them " plunging into a wider range of music and style ".

Allmusic's album reviewer, Mike DaRonco, felt " the first two songs are great in that catchy, playful pop-punk sort of way, but the rest ... fall under the trap of having all their tracks sounding like one big, long song ".

Allmusic's Bruce Eder praised the album, saying that it was better produced than their debut, but he also said that it " doesn't tread enough new ground to precisely rival In the Court of the Crimson King ".

Allmusic's Ned Raggett review of Live Seeds noted that " some fans consider many of the songs on album to be superior to their studio equivalent – a testament to its overall quality ".

Allmusic's retrospective review consisted of a single sentence: " A record that ELP released only because they owed it to their original label, and that's all one needs to know.

On 25 April that year Crime and the City Solution issued their second album, Shine, which Allmusic's Ned Raggett felt was " a touch less classically smooth and arranged, more rough around the edges and jagged, especially with Bonney's delivery ... his lyrics come across as distinctly unfriendly to a usual verse / chorus structure, sounding like a spoken-word recitation sung a line at a time ".

Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia named it an AMG Album Pick, noting that it tops its " brilliant " predecessor by " taking their unique sound to unprecedented heights of invention and inspiration.

Allmusic's Heather Phares described it as " a pretty good overview of Grandaddy's evolution from shambling, fuzzed-out indie rock to the more ambitious, spacy sound of their later work ".

For instance, Allmusic's Alex Henderson described the album as " one of the strongest albums of the 70's " and " EWF's crowning achievement ", and Billboard Magazine called it " a very tightly produced and performed package ".

Allmusic's review of the original single argued that the song was the band's " crowning achievement ".

" Allmusic's William Ruhlmann considers that the band's follow-up to # 1 Record " lacked something of the pop sweetness ( especially the harmonies )" of the debut but captured " Alex Chilton's urgency ( sometimes desperation ) on songs that made his case as a genuine rock & roll eccentric.

" According to Allmusic's Thom Jurek, the album is a " triumph not only for Henry — who has set a new watermark for himself — but for American popular music, which so desperately needed something else to make it sing again.