Before I purchased this, I had high hopes. Great reviews and some family members, including my son, loved it. So, bought it on vinyl, a 2014 issue. Played it. Nice snappy tunes. Nothing too remarkable, IMO, considering the reviews I've read. I think the most disappointing thing though was the production/engineering. The lead singer sounds like he literally "phoned it in". The vocals I find crushed with no depth of expression or emotion at all. Instumentation is not so bad. But those vocals hurt my ears. Was this intentional? Anyone else have any thoughts on this album?
They had used the Lo-fi effect on the vocals when they recorded a previous demo at the same studio, the singer loved it so much they used it on the whole album.
Vocals were absolutely intentional and part of what pulled me in to this album in 2001. Loved all the albums after that up until Comedown Machine.
I’m guessing it’s crappy vinyl mastering. Plenty of that around. My digital version is a sonic masterpiece, and I would never describe the vocals as lacking emotion. Though those emotions tend to be apathy, irony, sarcasm, and general ennui. Give it some time maybe. I was slow to the party. But once it got me, I stayed got.
I always thought they should have recorded the album with the same raw sound production as they had on The Modern Age EP. The album versions of those songs were too slick for my liking. Still a good album though.
I would have thought the vinyl would have sounded at least as good as the digital version. The rest of the instrumentation is fine. But that vocal recording ....
At the time, the change in production was quite stark and a bit shocking, but I can't say that it really bothers me anymore. I've long gotten used to the sound of the LP.
Production was intentional. Unfortunately, so were the songs. I never understood what anybody liked about this album.
The first two Strokes records are both masterpieces. The disaffected, crooning, deadpan vocals are a huge part of the style of their music. Brilliant songwriting and sound. New York at the turn of the millennium. The guitar sounds + the drum sound + the vocals + the atmosphere = brilliant, for me. Two of the best records of the 2000s.
Loved this album when it came out; played the crap out of it. Vocals were recorded through a small amp, from what I've read.
Same here. When this came out I figured they’d be a quick flash in the pan and then everyone would forget about them. It’s comfortable rock. No tension, no desperation, but cribbing cool influences and repackaging it. I’ll never get what made them click with so many people.
This album also was a breath of fresh air at the time. Rock and Alternative music had grown stale in the 1999-2000 period. Then you had the Strokes, The White Stripes, The Libertines. They really kicked things up a notch. The Strokes First is a classic. The Music on Vinyl which I have a copy and really like is supposed to sound a lot better than the other pressings out there but I have not personally heard them just read all the negative reviews. That 2014 pressing I have heard a lot negativity for so that probably isn't helping if you are just hearing the album for the first time through that pressing. Here is the discogs for the Music on Vinyl The Strokes - Is This It
The greatest album of this Millennium bar maybe a Radiohead LP - I've seen this band live three times this year and a further 8 times until NYE. I still remember the excitement of Is This It? coming out - I was obsessed with The Modern Age EP The Strokes are my Nirvana / Beatles / Elvis - I was there for the Strokes Some shots from Paris and Poland
I liked these guys. Good hooks. I think I even had a Strokes t-shirt at one time. I stopped at "Angles", though. Never heard their last album. Seems like they are done now. "First Impressions" is too long but has my favorite Strokes song, "You Only Live Once".
They don't play anything from their last two albums on current tour - and their LP6 is hotly anticipated. Rumours are Rick Rubin has produced it... These guys still headline festivals all over the world. They were only act to sell out their day of All Points East in Hackney this year in London
Same here, I was pretty excited about them at the time having bought The Modern Age and Hard to Explain. Saw their first UK show too. Then the album came out and I felt it was just.. Fine? I actually ended up selling the first press a few years later, no doubt for much less than it goes for now! I suppose a lot of that mild disappointment came from already knowing the best songs well though so it's probably a bit unfair. I should go back to it one of these days afresh.
I love the first Strokes record! What you call poor vocal recording was intentionally done to make it seem more "low-fi". These guys idolized people like The Velvet Underground and Guided By Voices and it really bleeds all over Is This It. It's in my top 10 albums of the last 20 years.
You can tell these days Julian and co really are sick of these songs and not interested in playing them anymore and it's just about money. They basically still live off that first album.
This pretty much sums it up for me. I liked the debut well enough, but it didn't strike me as anything remarkable or groundbreaking--not that it has to be, but given the amount of hype they got, I was expecting more. I'd say that it was aptly titled.
What I find quite amazing about them is how they went from having mediocre demos to creating the Modern Age EP and Is This It a short while later. This is the earliest live video/audio of them out there now from 2000 when they still played bars. They would through 2001 until the end of the year when they became huge.
I loved these guys when they came out. The first two albums are great. I always felt worn out after a full listen to the first album, it was a ride. Saw their first two tours, great shows. I discovered Television because of The Strokes. Comparisons were made at the time about how they were ripping off Television's sound, so I had to go find out. Television are great, so for me, it was like a two-'fer discovering two great bands. I thought their were some mild similarities, but not nearly enough to warrant all the bad press; different bands completely.
