Customer Reviews

Is This It (Vinyl)

5 star:		(396)
4 star:		(192)
3 star:		(100)
2 star:		(88)
1 star:		(117)

 

 

This seller is really fast / good. The CD is fun to listen to. It's a must-have for any Strokes fan!

I am a fan of the stokes & if you had to buy only one album, I recommend this one. Many classic songs on this CD... very happy music!

I'll start this off by saying: I may be biased. My sister gave me this record when it was released back when I was still in high school and it pushed me from being a casual music fan to getting on an endless journey of finding great music. So if you think that the strokes aren't cool enough to push anyone to like music, you can stop reading now as your probably now biased against my opinion.

I used to listen to this all the time and even today and pop it in and enjoy it as though I'm hearing it for the first time. Every song fits. Every melody and sounds seem perfectly placed. Every lyric is still embedded in my memory.

Despite the likeness of Casablanca's voice and singing style to that of Lou Reed, this is no VU record. It doesn't break ground, push the limits of music through insane distortion or even contain life altering lyrics that you would expect from someone touting this as a must own record. What it has is pace, style and songs so catchy you'll be singing them in your head for months to come. Lyrics awesome enough to think about and smile, recalling past experiences in your life. Musical backing that sweeps you and engages you through the entire record.

Some people buy this because they heard "Last Night" one day while at a bar. This cd isn't about "Last Night". It's a great song. It's song #7 and that's where it belongs: between the slower "Alone, together" and the faster "Hard to Explain".

Some people buy this because they like Interpol and these two bands seem to get compared all the time. All they have in common is that both bands released and album near each other that happened to be amazing (If your looking for more Interpol, I recommend the Stills' "Logic Will break your Heart").

This record will always be attached to some great and not so great moments in my life. If there is one cd I can recommend someone try, it is this one. I've made most of my friends try this album and almost all loved it by the 3rd listen. Give it a try, it may become your favourite.

this is a great debut. ever song is catchy in its own way and the lyrics are good also. In the title of my review i put UK issue, meaning that this is 5 stars for the UK issue. The North American issue has been ruined by taking off NYC cops and replacing it with another track which sounds like something to slap on a single as a bside. Rumours say that it was removed from the album after release because of the september 11th tragedy, which isn't surprising and was probably best to take the track off. But i do think it's stupid that they still dont issue the North American album with NYC Cops on it. People are going to be able to hear the track anyway from a little thing we call the internet.

I honestly believe this is the best record ever recorded. This album not only jumpstarted a revolution, but contains the best music I've ever heard. Julian Casablancas dull drone is incredible, and the band is just as brilliant. Nick and Albert are two guitarists who complement each other as good as Slash and Izzy ever did. Nickolai bass is always consistent, and Fab is the best thing on drums in a long while. From the creative opener "Is this it" to the album, and set-closer "Take it or leave it" there is not a dull moment. You could argue "Led Zeppelin I" and you could argue "Appetite for Destruction", but "Is this it" will never be duplicated.

The creative fuel that drives mandy rock stars to create masterpieces can either be clear or hidden. The strokes leave little to the imagination in regard to their juviant drive. Women and alcohol are the two main focuses on this amazing debuet. This import is the real version of Is This It? and in my opinon contains the best Strokes song yet to be recorded. NYC Cops is an epic track that is shroded in a rockstar mystisicm that hasn't been felt since L.A. Women. Any true Strokes fan should purchase this album based on the premise of NYC Cops and the original coverart.

Considering the enormous amount of hype the came attached with this album on its first release, it's interesting to see several years on if it still stands up to closer scrutiny. And surprisingly the answer is an emphatic 'Yes'. The raw paired down sound, still feels vital and self-assured, energetic and anxious. Tracks such as "Is This it" & "Last Nite" still brim with a confident swagger from a band that were yet to truly establish themselves as a viable act. "Alone Together" & "Trying your luck" express the more contemplative side to the band, that dismissed critics arguements that the band were a pastiche of new wave 80's bands like "Blondie", "The Police"....(although I'll concede that the band are obvious admirers of "the Velvet Underground"). Even though the songs that weren't released as singles and make up the rest of the album ("Trying Your luck", Take it or leave it", "Someday"), still remain impressive even today, and more importantly their knack with an infectious melody appears to be no one off!!! And although the jerky guitars, Convulsive drumming and exuberant sneer of vocalist "Julian Casablancas'" urgent singing, has since been copied a thousand times over since the release of this debut. Many people will still come here, to find the answers to the raw, revealing and minimal production values, that were able to make the mainstream (mostly) sit up and notice.

Nobody here is trying to pretend that what Casablancas and Co, were trying to do is original or new.....because those with a keen ear will hear different influences peppered throughout the album (I myself seem to hear a tangible influence from "Blondie" & "Velvet underground"), but what they did make is a indie rock/ Garage rock revival album that does actually stand up, after all the huge hype following its initial release. Ironically for an album that is a fantastically realised and impressive performed, with that air a Art-rock cool, that separates a mediocre act, from something impressive....my fave track that was removed from the U.S. version (but included in the U.K. release) "New York City Cops" for me......encapsulates everything that is special about the Storkes. Funny, urgent, impeccably performed, and sneeringly cool, the band made a debut that whether they ever scale these heady heights again is debatable, but for now, lets enjoy one of 2001's most remarkable albums.

This is a killer debut by a great rock and roll band. Every song's a winner and, in my opinion, the best tracks were never released as singles (why do you think you can download "Last Nite" here at amazon for free?). Believe the hype surrounding this one and get it today.
One of the best CDs I've bought in a while, along with Mr.Deviant's "Techno Obsession" which is a killer mix of power rock and hard dance instrumentals.

With out a doubt "Is this it" is the most important record of the new millenium, and it may be the most important since "Nevermind." This record, and maybe, "White blood cells" kick started the garage rock revolution. Without this record you would have no Hives, no Vines, no Franz Ferdninand, no Kings of Leon, none of those bands. The Strokes overcome the tremendous hype put on them helped all those bands get signed. As far as the music goes, this record is pure genius. "Is this it" kicks things off very well. "The modern age" is Velvet Underground inspired and has great dueling guitars. "Last nite" is possibly the best druken mumbling of all-damn-time. "Hard to Explain" has Fab Morretti drumming like a god. Litterally, every song on this album shines. Buy this record, and you will be buying garage-rock records for years to come, that i promise.

I have listen to many bands and know one can beat the Strokes. Influenced by the Velvet Underground and sounds just as good as them, if not better. Casablanca's voice is like Lou Reeds in The Modern Age. Every song is just like magic, two great singles are in this album, Last Night and Hard to Explain. With other great songs like The Modern Age and Soma and Is This it? Overall this album is great, 5 stars as well as their recent album Room On Fire. You can also listen to their songs and see music videos of them at www.thestrokes.com

Ps. When they come to town I recomendend grabbing tickets, even better live, you wont want to miss It.