Reviews (page 7 of 8)
Not a single interesting song here
Typical britpop, nothing else tbh. Imagine listening to Oasis in 1994 and going to coma the same day, then waking up in 1999 and creating this album. Sounds so outdated, even for 1999. Honestly can't say anything about this album, shit, only info about this album on wikipedia is that the album was included in 1001 albums list. Favourite(listenable) song(s): Natalie's Party, Comedy, others songs are unlistenable. I won't give this album 1/5, but gonna give 2--/5.
Pretty interesting story, neat album but not my favorite. Less good than the kooks
A perfectly decent Britpop record. Sort of feels a bit Oasis-adjacent, or is that my limited knowledge of Britpop showing? Anyways, never been much an Oasis guy, but I enjoyed this listen fine enough. Sounds like an album a really good local bar band would put out. This sound was probably about ready to be phased out by 1999, and as such, I'm sort of confused as to what about this album is revolutionary enough to warrant its place on the list, beyond the list's heavy UK bias.
3.5/5
I got about half way, then tapped out. I'm sure this album is fine for someone, but not me. Super boring.
it was good i giess idkk
Gutes Brit Pop Album. Hat jedoch ein paar Längen.
another band ive never heard of. solid britpop album. pleasant and catchy in parts. pretty, pretty, pretty good.
Never heard of these, and Im surprised they dont have much bigger appeal. I really dont like that Oasis / Ashcroft / Cast sort of thing, and this is very much in that Britpop bracket, but didnt really mind this. Very generic, but considering I usually hate this sound I think its quite an endorsement for me! Some very suspect lyrics and times, and often an annoying delivery, but overall not bad. Streets of Kenny was probably my favourite. Wouldnt return, but not bad
Never heard of these before, strange that a cult Scouse band would slip under the radar, guess they weren't active long enough to crop up. Didn't mind this, shades of crowded house and Travis but thought it was delivered better than either of those. Really hope some Shack fans were inspired to visit Kensington by Streets of Kenny, sounds quite mysterious in the song (though the lyrics suggest they are trying to find drugs which is on point). If it wasn't Scouse I'd be less interested I think, not really an essential album on its own, but nice enough.
I didn't mind it at all. Beautiful was pretty good. The album suffers from a bit of a lack of identity, lots of decent songs but I'd struggle to pick up on a specific sound. Nice songwriting though.
This was a pretty pleasant album but didn't do much else for me. Highlights: Natalie's Party Streets of Kenny Since I Met You
Lived in Liverpool for about 18 years now and never heard of these..... In parts I really quite enjoyed it. But, in others it did feel a bit generic 90s Brit indie type thing. Little bit of oasis, little bit Richard Ashcroft, little bit doves, etc. certainly nothing bad. Streets of Kenny was interesting. Comedy and Lends some dough were good On second listen a friend's band called Gintis sounds like them a little It's growing on me. 3.5. think I'll be back and I'm fairly amazed I hadn't heard of them before
Redelijk stom
Decent . A folky, less talented version of Oasis, albeit a smidge less annoying.
most of the songs on this album sounded like an off brand version of oasis. and i don’t like oasis, much less a cheap clone. pass.
Well, I see I'm the odd one out here, but I liked it. I also couldn't tell you a single song on it, but it was good chill tunes.
This was boring. One song was alright but I’ll be darned if I remember which and I’ll be equally assed to go back and find it.
A perfectly okay alt rock album from the turn of the century. It feels a bit too late for 99. Hadn't we sort of moved beyond this sound by then? 94 maybe, but this just sounds outdated for its time. There's nothing on display here that Oasis hadn't already covered. Why is it on this list?
The first few pints better be free if this is your pub’s entertainment for the night.
Fuck Britpop. 1.91
Heerlijk muzikaal. Mist net die knaller die het 5 sterren zou maken. Maar dit kan zeker veel vaker gedraaid worden.
Late 90s safe rock
Occasionally has Barenaked Ladies upside. Really remarkable for late 90s Britpop in that it doesn't completely blow chunks. It also doesn't sound EXACTLY like the other 259 late 90s Britpop albums on here. It mostly sounds the same, but not EXACTLY the same.
Passable I guess? Really not sure why this is on the list. Didn't mind it but would never intentionally listen to anything on this album again.
I went in blind (deaf?) but within 5 seconds I predicted exactly what kind of album this would be: jangly guitar pop that’s just melodic enough to enjoy at the time but far too bland to leave an impression afterwards. Probably benefited, critically, from being released in that post-britpop, pre-00s indie black hole where not much else was happening.
Didn't love the sound
It's like the non-alcoholic, diet, fat-free version of R.E.M.
Pleasant, hooky rockers with a strong pop sensibility. Kind of a middling album when held up against other Britpop albums, and I find the vocals to be a bit rough. But this album certainly is not without its charms. Fave Songs: Comedy, Reinstated, Daniella, I Want You, Natalie's Party
Я не особо понимаю почему приятно и в тоже время мимо. Но хочу влепить 4-
Я послушал ещё один брит-поп. Я молодец?
How did this make it on the 1001 list?
Natalie's Party is a warm starter. In fact it's kind of just a warmed over kind of album.
Beige beige beige. I did not like this at all. It riled me up on a PMS Monday morning. Nothing to it. Irritating lyrics
Not Shaquille O'Neal. Was quite boring, nothing special at all. Thinking about the time, 1999. Would have been crap then and crap now.
Bland, boring brit pop.
Streets of Kenny haha what a shithole
A very 90’s alt rock album. Sometimes sounds a little REM-ish
Mick Head is one of the greatest (unappreciated) songwriters from Britain in the last 30 years.
Good Britpop album. Subtly upbeat songs, not too cliche, some with cool symphonic arrangements. But mostly, I just had a good time bopping my head to the rich acoustic guitar melodies.
Britpop, kannte ich noch nicht, ok.
Ganz okay, nicht schlecht aber halt auch nix besonderes iwie?
December 7, 2023 Bland dad rock
Cool bro. Oasis exited.
Escuchable. Sin más. Un 3.
Nothing stood out in this album
I enjoyed it. It didn't grip me in a way that makes me feel compelled to come back to them or explore their other music, but it's well done.
I liked it more on second listen. The songwriting is what stood out on a second go-round.
It's mixed and mastered well, and very upbeat and happy. Very listenable and sounds like it would make good garage band music. Songs are different enough to keep it interesting but all laid back. British people.
A few standout tracks for me like Pull Together. Enjoyable listen.
Really well made album. Nice flow and every song feels well constructed. It picked up for me around captains table and streets of Kenny. I do get the feeling that this album was written for a musical that I haven’t seen before and feels like many of these songs could be in a old-timey version of Rent. Nothing wrong with it. I am surprised to see it ranked QUITE so high on all these “top 500 lists, so someone just have a soft spot in their heart for this album one never heard, but honestly I am also not surprised to see it so well received. I just don’t think I’d ever care to revisit it. It’s a very good but also feels like a little non-descript product of its time. 3/5
But why
not that interesting, 4/10
This is pretty dull I have to say. It's not bad, just bland and uninspiring
Call the police! I'd like to report an album that's been criminally under-rated.
I finished listening to this a couple minutes ago and already can't remember shit of this generic piece of crap.
Milk toast. Just milk toast.
"Hey 1999, remember that album NME listed as number 2 on their album of the year? Don't you just think you HAVE to hear that before die" "I mean, not really. Nothing better 25 years later? Is NME still a thing?"
Mjög kósí í heildina, þó það hafi ekki verið fyrsti væbinn sem ég fékk.
Nada, vamos empeorando.
It was okay. Very forgettable and did not stand out to me at all.
this better not be pirate rock. ok cool. what is this boring crap grrrrr stfu. srsly why is this on here this is pissing me off. lend some dough has some interesting vocal moments but then it does the do-re-mi shit and i cringe out of my skin. yeah i kinda hate this
Honestly I went into this with an open mind, hoping it would be something new and interesting but I think I am just disappointed. I’m not the best at identifying autotune so I could be wrong but at some points his voice just sounded so fake and weird. Autotune or not it wasn’t up my alley. I did like the calming aspect of it but overall just kind of a let down.
Either I don't remember them or I'd never even heard of Shack....let's go... First/immediate thought: I could have dated this right away with the 90s overly-crispy massively-compressed production. It was a bad era in the studio. I'm finding it hard to separate the sound from the songs. I like the melodic nature and especially a song like "Beautiful" - love that intro, there's a lot of power-pop influence shining through here (Beatles, Jellyfish, Nilsson), and even into the chorus with the strings. Hard to not hear a little Oasis albeit with more dynamics. In the end tho...ehhh....it decent I feel like this is an album I'd likely have ranked higher if I had any nostalgic love for / knowledge of it. In other words, how have I ranked Oasis higher than this album? Were they that much better? Probably sadly admit it's because of familiarity. Maybe these guys really should have been what Oasis were. Or maybe it's just another melodic Britpop sugar-high album that sounds good while listening to but I'm going to forget about tomorrow. 6/10 3 stars.
Wasn't great, wasn't awful.
Not sure what the significance of this album is. It’s British. It’s ballads and pop music. It is lesser than most other British pop. It’s nothing unique or exciting. All in all it didn’t seem all that great and it’s on to the next one. 3.6/10
Rating: 6/10 Decent Britpop album. Starts off excellent with the first three songs, then gets a little boring afterwards. Sounds like Oasis but not as good, the highlights were incredibly enjoyable, the use of strings was very tasteful. Favorite songs: Natalie's Party, Comedy, Pull Together, Captain's Table. Worst songs: Streets of Kenny, Re-Instated.
Wow this gets a lot of hate in reviews. Its pretty decent singer songwriter stuff with good production. It doesn't breat new ground but if REM (which it resembles a bit) made it, it would sell in the millions.
It's like They Might Be Giants meets Bob Dylan.
Tuneful and swinging, with enough melancholy and darkness to make it interesting. One doesn't know the band but is inspired to hear more and dig thru the "lost band" phase of their history, too. If there's a complaint, it's that it can be a bit too shiny (a la Elbow and Crowded House, two reasonable comps).
I liked Comedy, im glad I listened to the album and got introduced to the songs. Its an ok album if youre in the right mood. I added Comedy to my playlist. Good song.
Some really catchy songs here towards the beginning (especially Captain's Table) but teeters too much on the bland side to rate higher. Especially finishing with a song that contains the lyric "I know you love meat"
Album started really strong and didn’t completely hold that momentum, but overall really tuneful and enjoyable. Best song: Natalie’s Party
Not sure what to expect here, never heard of them. They sound like Oasis. There were several great songs here. I really enjoyed the slow acoustic melancholy vibe this album had. 4 stars.
Very good, expected more odes to the great briny sea ⚓️ But H.M.S Fable won me over nonetheless Oasis 🤝 Elvis Costello 🤝 The La’s HL: “Captain’s Table”, “Comedy”, “Natalie’s Party”, “Cornish Town” November 18th, 2023
Opening track Natalie's Party is fantastic, the chorus is just amazing, feel good, the orchestra sounds so good. I think the orchestra and the backing vocals make the album pretty great. High three, or low 4 I think I'll go 4/5
I expected absolute trash, but surprisingly, its pretty chill! Captains Table is my fav.
First song Natalie's Party is a great powerpop gem, second song comedy has really nice production and will probably be a grower. The third song Pull Together sounds like a Oasis knockoff track (not in a good way) I also liked Lend Some Dough, Captain's Table and Streets of Kenny. Cornish Town sounds like a British R.E.M track and I am here for it. Overall, a bit uneven but a very enjoyable listen. I would give it a 3.5
Nothing terribly innovative here but does does everything need to be? I enjoyed this one for what it is, a solid 90s Britpop album
Mellow rock mainstream sounding
Pretty good.
very folksy. Decent, but no songs really stand out.
I can see why when this was released it was received warmly; it has well executed guitar licks and dreamy chorus’. However, the pop quickly subsides and it’s clear that this is just a poor imitation of their Liverpudlian predecessors.
Meh
Comedy Beautiful Since I Met You
#1 - Upbeat sound, but forgettable. It feels like I've heard it before somewhere from another album from another artist. Is that going to be a recurring theme of this album? #2 - Jangly. Are you sure this is "britpop" and not bad modern country? It borders on mediocre and ok. #3 - The chorus is fine, but the rest of the song wasn't interesting to me at all. #4 - No. This was a skip after a minute. #5 - It's not bad and compared to what I've heard so far, it's alright. I felt it had a decent tempo and lyrics. Instruments worked well here. #6 - The intro starts of pretty haunting. What are we going to get? ...oh look, more of what you expect. Similar sounding vocals and instruments. I did stick it out for this one and.. well, it's not bad. #7 - Not awful. The lyrics were good with this one. Music fit well here. #8 - Eh. I was pretty done with the album at this point, but I'll soldier on. #9 - Again, the intro makes it sound like this could be something weird, but interesting? Then it launches into the album you were experiencing. It feels incredibly uninspired; they should have stayed more with the intro to it. #10 - I try to stick it out through as much of the album as I could, but this one was a skip too. Nothing was doing it for me here. #11 - Uh, weird? Most of it is bad, except for maybe the bridge of the song. #12 - If the vocalist could sing better, this could be a decent track actually. I was okay with the guitar rhythm here. I can see why this one may have been placed in the list, but considering my notes, it's tepid at best. Nothing really hit with me in this album and I ended up having to skip a song or two. I wasn't a fan of the lead vocalist. I also disliked that there was a tonal whiplash in my experience (like in #6 and #9). If we could give half points, it'd be a 1.5/5, but I'm going to be generous and say 2 since it's more lukewarm than outright mediocre.
pretty same-ish 90s alternative.
I really wanted to like this more but it just didn't stand out.
One of the least offensive 90's alternative albums I've ever heard. Absolutely nothing about any of this distinguishes itself from all the other "clean" sounding 90's alternative music I've heard. Seriously, as soon as a song ended I forgot about it. This is the definition of a 3 star album to me.
Not another run-of-the-mill britpop band... just waiting for this one to end.
I think I've developed a Britpop intolerance. I mean I can listen to it, I don't immediately break out in hives or anything, but it's only a matter of time before the diarrhea starts flowing. I probably would have never figured this out, but because there are so many fucking mediocre examples of the genre on this list, I was eventually able to figure out the pattern and make the connection.
I'm over brit-pop.
This album is wack AF. I want my 47 minutes back
Nothing special
apalling. Didn’t make it through track 3.
Decent, but again pretty generic. If you’ve heard one song in the album you’ve heard em all. 6/10
I thought that the album was pretty good. I don’t know if I would listen to more of their music, but other than that 3/5!
It's good. Really good. But didn't blow me away.
I rather enjoyed this album
Oh! Another surprise! I quite like this and haven't had a great track record being accepting of unheard of Britpop acts while doing this challenge. But yeah, this is hitting that sweet spot of melodic and aimless hipster tunes with subtle quirk that I do fuck with, very much. Yeah yeah, getting into it. Me likey.
I'd never heard of Shack before and not a single song from this album jogged my memory. It was pleasant enough stuff I guess, but it all felt a bit like a pub band who were five years too late to hit the curve. Got to the end and felt no reason to ever listen to this again. Dull enough to drop to 2 stars for me.
Good stuff. I enjoyed this.
The average rating on this feels incredibly harsh. It's a fun album to listen to with some pretty attractive arrangements throughout. I understand the gripes over its actual place in this book, but it's clearly better than a 2.8ish average. Favorite track: Since I Met You
Once this gets going there's some really good stuff on here.
Great album. Very chill. I liked it so much I added it to my Spotify favorites. I especially liked the vocals / harmony.
There’s some trend on this list to put perfectly-average examples of musical movements (i.e. psychedelia, grunge, drum & bass) on this list and call them “essential listening”. This is the BritPop example of that phenomenon.
Why is this here? It would be poor if it had come out six years earlier, when it sounds like it should be from. It's worse than Gay Dad's To Earth With Love. It wins a few points for the fact I was still relieved not to have Napalm Death or Jimmy Smith.
Rock alternativo razoável, não empolgou
It's fine? It's pretty generic stuff and completely forgettable. 2.5/5
Nice enough, but nothing special
Doesn't really do much for me to be honest. It's a solid but unremarkable bit of rock. I just don't click with britpop I think.
Solid 3/5
Got better towards the end, but overall just not very interesting. Very generic and non offensive. 2.75/5 Won't listen again
This album is an insult to the merit of 1001 list. Tacky, forgettable, pleasant-sounding britpop for the sake of britpop. Shame it took place of some worthwhile album.
I'd rather be stuck in a shack.
To be fair today and yesterday were probably the least engaged I've been with this list in quite a while. I vaguely liked both this album and the previous one (moreso the last one) but I can't really pinpoint anything I liked besides the overall sound and maybe one or two songs between the two. I liked comedy and I liked some of the genre changes of this album but in general it just sounded like a bland 90s britpop album.
enjoyable but nothing spectacular
Weak.
A pretty inoffensive Britpop outing. I'm not sure why it was deemed interesting or noteworthy enough to appear on this list, to be honest. I found that I'd stopped paying attention to it a couple of times and had to focus on it to even really realise it was there. Not "bad", per se, but certainly not of any particular note or merit.
Me rappelle certaines chansons de Robbie Williams de la même époque. Heureux mariage de rock et de pop. Belle trouvaille que l'enchaînement abrupt de Re-Instated après Streets of Kenny.
Never heard of them before, but really like this. Good energy, happy to instantly relisten. 3.5
That right there was some fairly "dime a dozen" 90's brit alt-rock, that I would've been just fine with not hearing before I died. I mean, seriously, why did the British music producers of that day think they could simply stick a string quartet behind any mediocre band off the streets and start printing gold records!?
SHACK! this band is comfortably the worst thing called shack and i think there should be a copywrite infringement case put in about this dirge. how the fuck was anyone writing music like this in 99 and even worse how did this get into the list? i was alive in 99 and invested heavily into listening to music and generally guitar music but i have never heard this shite before.
SHACK
A catchy compilation of songs from the last days of britpop era. It's a lovely album but at first listen it's not something that is unique and outstanding. It was still a good listen though.
Good! Underrated Britpop.
This one snuck past me when it was released. I may have heard a few songs before. Ultimately enjoyable.
Beautiful with exceptionally crafted pop songs that sound fresh and nostalgic at the same time. Not quite to the level of Water Pistol which sounds more immediate. HMS Fable is a little more produced and ornate in its production. 4.5 stars
This is a good solid album, there were a couple of stand out tracks (Streets of Kenny, Re-instated) but I enjoyed the whole thing.
the last song is the best
More alt-rocky than other britpop albums that I've heard, but not necessarily better.
Definitely a meh not list worthy
Never heard of this band - probably ignored the UK press a little bit in those years after the britpop hype, but this is not for me..
The overall sound is not bad, but the songs are very weak and boring, and there are moments where the singing is rather grating.
Nothing special; not bad to listen to though.
Incredibly mundane. The vocals are completely drowned out and the lyrics are incomprehensible jibberish. Absolutely not worth the listen. Yet another album I'm questioning how it made its way on the list. Only song worth a mention is "Lend's some dough".
Kinda bland
4/10
This is an example of some of the music from the UK that never made it to my ears over the years (especially in the 90s) that I've been so happy to give a proper listen. This is music I really enjoyed listening to, with its lush instrumentation and lovely melodies. Although I didn't find anything especially remarkable about it, it made me very happy today.
First impressions for this album were that it wasn't bad, but there was nothing here that was profound or that stood out for me. It was fine. On my second listen today, I started to think that maybe there was a bit more to it...but then, nah. It's still just meh to me.
This was saved from mediocrity by Captain's Table and Streets of Kenny. Those two songs made the album for me.
Some very 90s pop to me… a Rembrandts/Lightning Seeds smooth sort of feel. It took 1/2 the album to warm up to this but warm up I did. I enjoyed the listen.
Like butterscotch angel delight
Listened Before? N Surprisingly good! I did not expect to like this, and I actually loved it. I'll be revisiting this multiple times. Added to Library? Y Songs added to playlist: Pull Together, Beautiful
An early 200s movie soundtrack.
Not my thing. It was alright, but nothing outstanding in my opinion. Some tracks were more interesting than others, but the uninteresting ones bring this one down a decent bit.
mid brit pop album. nothing stood out here, but it could’ve been worse.
It's like Oasis and R.E.M wanted to record togeather but had a series of uninspired days in the studio resulting in the most boring super group record of all time.
5/10
Not sure what’s so amazing about this… sounds pretty unremarkable. Kind of like the strings at first but they kind of just are always hanging out. Almost no dynamic range on this record... About as good as a decent local band, TBH. Hard to imagine this is in top 10,001 albums let alone 1,001. Must be a regional thing. Captain’s Table and Streets of Kenny try to be a little psychedelic… kinda cool but still lackluster. It’s not terrible but not particularly inspiring. I'll go with a 3, some of the tracks are growing on me, and I'm glad that I gave it a listen because I normally wouldn't have given it any time of day.
Decebt guitar based rock. Imagine Oasis if the Gallaghers were educated middle class boys - this is what they'd sould like.
I really liked the first four songs, and if they were their own separate EP it could have been a quintessential britpop release. Unfortunately the album continued and, while there were some nice ideas here and there, it was mainly very dull and uninspired for the next half hour
Nice vocals.
Wry similar to other Liverpudlian bands - it’s a shame the others are more well known than them. Enjoyable.
A bit generic innit? 3/5
an Ok album. I'm not sure why it's on the list though. That being said, I love the last song 'Daniella'.
Decent Brit-pop. No big standouts for me. Occasionally the singer sounded like Michael Stipe to me.
New one for me, it was decent listen, fairly generic brit-pop, it just doesn't stand out from other albums from that era.
Highly produced pop that treads no new ground. Pleasant to listen to but completely forgettable.
It was fine. Nothing really stuck out to me and I won't re-listen.
It was fine. Couple of the genre changes were jarring, not necessarily bad but not expected. But overall fairly generic. Not sure why I had to listen to it.
2.5
This album might be a grower. Might be that this, after repeated listens gives away its depths and amazingness. But after 4 listens, one during work, one in the car, one while walking and one with good headphones, I kinda doubt it and am left with the feeling I'm either missing something, or this is just a real unremarkable album.
First listen of this band. Loved this record
Incredibly, incredibly mediocre. Definitely not an album you have to listen to before you die.
It feels like you already know the album. Sometimes it sounds like something from 70s, maybe Tim Buckley's vibes, sometimes it's 90s, like a decent version of Nickelback)) Totally like it!
A perfectly fine brit-pop album in the vein of the many that came before it. Probably doesn't really need to be here. Favorite track: "Streets of Kenny"
Don't hate it. Don't love it. Don't really feel anything. Just an empty void where feelings for music should be. It's not terrible. It ain't great. The best thing about it is the cover and yet the cover doesn't really do anything to me either. This is a 3 star album and I have to take one star away since nothing broke through.
I'm a fan of the Strands and the Red Elastic Band already, so no surprise that I'm very taken with this sweeping, shimmering indie pop, suffused with the merest hint of Pentangle-esque Brit folk. The rather dreich Michael Head himself remains one of the most lugubrious sounding men in rock, but there's a warmth to his downbeat, yearning songs that rescues them from outright misery. Lovely stuff.
Liked the first song, but on the whole it all feels a bit like a band you’d stumble into seeing live at some bar and go, “Hey they weren’t bad,” and then probably forget about for the rest of your life. Also, “Shack” is an awesome band name but in no way should it belong to this band. Some hardcore kids need to reclaim it.
For some reason seeing this cover always made me think this was some kind of bad Alt Country record. Boy, I couldn’t be more wrong. This, is a very welcome surprise and the record pretty much hooked me. It’s in the vein of Oasis, very strong Britpop with great instrumentation and songwriting. I’ve got a feeling this record is gonna creep up very fast and become one of my favourites! 8,5 out of 10
Honestly just pretty average and forgetful. Harmless late 90s rock but nothing stood out. As middle-of-the-road as it gets. 6/10.
Loved this, and never had heard it. I hear influences from the Beatles, the Who, the Byrds, maybe even a little Simon & Garfunkel. Will listen again.
Generic Britpop. Is it bad? No, i don't think so. Would i sit down and actively listen to it again? Also not really. It's great background music.
Why is this on the list? Who the fuck cares about Shack? Who even remembers Shack in 2023? Imagine the great album whose place on the list is kept occupied by fucking Shack
A bit more on the rock side of Britpop. Not many highs or lows, just fair to middling.
Good solid northern British rock with a shade of Oasis and Beatles
Meh
Bacana de ouvir
Surprised at how good this was.
Unremarkable.
There’s nothing particularly outstanding about Shack’s “Hms Fable,” but it’s good enough to place itself right into the ‘90s conversations alongside contemporaries like Oasis.
Gewoon leuk weetje
Oasis but bland. Sounds no different from any other pop album of the time. Honestly don't understand why it's on here
Not bad by any means, it just misses the spark that would make it exceptional. 3/5
Never heard of this, and not sure why it's on here, but it's fine. Not essential listening, or even essential britpop listening. The obvious comparison is Oasis, but I think they do enough to distinguish themselves. As you may guess from the cover, there's a good dose of nautical themes, often revealing themselves in the more folk-leaning tracks. The band has good melodic sensibilities, and I enjoy the variety of instrumentation and orchestral bits. The moments of electronic sounding effects strike me as odd and ill-fitting. The band can write a good track, but there are some duds too, and tunes can verge on corny. "Lend's Some Dough" comes to mind. I like the way some tracks grow and develop throughout, such as my favorite track, "Streets of Kenny." However, as layers of guitar pile on, and the soundscape becomes more dense, the track comes to a sudden, unsatisfying stop, which made me briefly think my audio cut out. I think I'll end my review in a similar fashi
Dull
sounds like a band trying to make that late 90s early 00s sound and not doing anything impressive with it.
Pretty good actually. Didn’t think I’d like it as much as I did. A little clunky at times and maybe not amazing cohesion between songs but overall I liked it
This album didn't evoke much for me, but I didn't actively hate it.
2.1 kind of album that would have been more impressive 35 years earlier, its fine, definitely not top 1001 though. can hear some stone roses and some simon and garfunkel inspirations but it's just not quite right faves: captain's table
The first song I did not like the second song starts to warm you up a bit and I did enjoy Pull Together, Lend's Some Dough, Captain's Table, and I Want You. While the album overall is ok, it doesn't really leave me wanting to hear it again.
Eh, pretty bland. I don't recall ever hearing of this band and in 1999 my media bubble was far from impenetrable - did they have a very low profile, or are they just extremely forgettable? 🤷 "Cornish Town" actively pissed me off. Fave track - ehhhhhhhh... I think I checked the track name of "Since I Met You" so let's say that one.
2.5
Britpop
It was fine I guess
Hoping for sea shantys, was disappointed
Too much going on at once here
Inoffensive Britpop and utterly forgettable. Will not get a repeat.
Wow, dit is vrolijke pop-muziek! Doet me denken aan The Rembrandts en zelfs aan Acda & De Munnik vanwege de meerstemmigheid. ****
Liked it, but just didn't have the something unique to take it over the top
3/5. Some really beautiful songs in this one but most of them are pretty forgettable. It’s a solid one, just some filler for sure.
BL: Never heard of Shack but i like the album cover AL: Pretty good album. Underrated in the britpop sphere, much better than any Oasis or Blur record i've listened too. Solid instrumentation and some very good mixing. a hidden gem for sure FT: "Comedy", "Streets of Kenny", "Cornish Town", "Daniella" 4/5
started off decent, but fell off at the end, overall okay, strong 2, weak 3
Boring, bland, uninspired pop rock. This feels like shit a church band would play. No thanks.
A few fun songs but many just don't make much of an impression. I like the minor variations in instrument arrangements that they use, and I think they pull those off well. 5/10
One of those albums that you instantly forget about right after finishing. Unfortunately nothing remarkable stood out to me on this one. Like i can't remember a single song to write a decent review
It's alright. Nothing crazy interesting, but competent music.
A nice album - not sure if it's a classic, though.
I was very surprised by this album. I really loved it! Not only did I enjoy every song, but also how the album ties together. It has this very nice cool calm alt-rock vibe that feels modern but it is also very distinctively 90s.
hombres fomes
Shack sound like the average you'd get from adding Oasis to Manics to Stone Roses to Lightning Seeds and dividing by four. It's a good job I never heard them in the 90s, because I would probably have really liked it, which would have been a wrong opinion. An enjoyable enough listen in a nostalgic way, but but there's absolutely nothing original going on here. Rating: 2.5/5 Playlist track: Natalie's Party Date listened: 25/04/23
It’s completely fine britpop.pleasant enough.Nothing amazing.Not really memorable at all.Kinda completely forgotten only 2 minutes of listening to it.
Enjoyed it but not quite enough to buy the album.
Ok album, listened 3 times and couldn’t really get drawn in. Nothing bad per se, just never heard the lyrics blend with the music and transport me.
Very nice, but can't see what makes it special. On one listen anyway.
3,5
Never heard of this before but It definitely sounds like a lot of other music released around the time. It's upbeat and fun but also kind of bland at the same time. The production is really good though and I enjoyed the variety of singing styles and songs. The last song was really interesting compared to the rest of the tracks. Score: 70 Art: 70
For a genre I really enjoy, this was incredibly mid. While I don't think the album is bad, I've heard this sound done better many times. It starts to come off as a parody at points. Best songs were Captain's Table and Daniella.
Didn't need to listen to this that's for sure. Bland britpop.
Beautiful record! Never heard of it before.
Bona descoberta. Brit pop de banda maldita arrastrada per la consumició de drogues, amb unes lletres que relaten l'adicció i unes melodies més que decents
Not bad
ehkä objektiivine kakkonen mutta ensimmäine nkuuntelekerta teki fyysisesti pahaa. En pysty sanomaan mitään muuta kuin Paskaa Paskaa Paskaa Paskaa ja Paskaa on tämä albumi. Hyvin Paskaa oli kuunnella tämä läpi. Paiskoin pöytää nyrkillä... Onneks en paskonut.. paiskoa... paskoa.. paiskoa.. heh.. i:n ero sanoilla..Hammas vääntelehti hammasta vasten.. Monta millimetriä tuli hiottua heh... Tapoin kadulla kävelleen lapseen isolla murkulalla. kivellä siis. Harmitti niin paljon albumi.. Eikun vaan murkula parvekkeelta.. Noh kyllähön se nyt harmittaa kun ei ole liikkunut sen jälkeen se lapsonen kun siihen jäi, mutta kun vitutti kuunnella oli pakko purkaa johonkin.. Heh.. Noh hinasin pois siitä kadulta ettei ihmettele ihmiset.. Tokalla kuuntelukerralla huomes että ihan kivojahan kappaleita täältä löytyy jes ..noh oli turha hermostua aiemmin.. Nooh.. Ei voi enää muuttaa.. ykköstä silmään ja seuraavaa albumia pääkoppaan ennenkuin aika vie......
Superb album!
Enjoyable. If I had first heard this at a different time in my life, I may have been a big fan. Sounds a lot like that one La’s album, or some of Oasis. Typical Brit-Pop, I guess.
Impossible to see how this is one of the 1001 albums I must listen to. Pleasant? At times. Cloying? More often than not. Enjoyed the vocals and was never offended. But far from essential. Two and a half. Fave track: Daniella
Honestly, a pretty unremarkable album - I guess they needed some padding when creating the 1,001 albums list. Not the most offensive record I've ever listened to, but just seems fairly unoriginal and bland, especially for a Britpop record in 1999. Just kind of 'been there, done that'; but this sound and style has been done by much more interesting bands. Probably will fade away in my memory somewhere - two stars. Fave track: I Want You
Pretty alright. I have nothing bad to say about this, but there's also nothing too special. The vocals weren't my favorite, but the strings were beautiful. Fave track(s): Lend's Some Dough
Better then expected. This record is melodic and also very beautiful.
early britpop, sounds like a down tempo Stone Roses.
This album doesn't shout listen to me it shouts thank you for buying 2 for 1 chinos at the GAP on lazy Tuesday afternoon. Still good but unremarkable in most ways.
Good listening but I don't really know where to place the album. Nothing really stands out and it doesn't have a lot of vigor. 2/5
its okay not my jam
I try to be open-minded about the choices this book makes that I don't like, but this was a litteral waste of time. There is no way that this album deserved a spot on this list. No chance. This is the bottom of the barrell of generic britpop and my life would have been better if I had never heard it. I hate this book.
This is so depressing, but not in a fun way. They're clearly just friends with the guy who made the list, otherwise it wouldn't be here.
Wish version of Oasis. At least guy from the band can say they are part of this book, because otherwhile nobody knows who they are...
I think that the fact that this album is in the 1001 is the biggest joke so far. I went to dozen of record stores, I'm on Facebook group with more than 15000 music lovers, I'm digging music for more than 15 years now and no one, absolutely no one ever recommended me this. I had never even seen this poor artwork before. And you know why? Because this album is insanely generic and because it is NOT a monument in the history of music AT ALL. This 1001 thing doesn't even contains albums from artists and bands likes Phil Collins, Gentle Giant, Broadcast or American Football, but of course, SHACK IS HERE! THE QUINTESSENCE OF MUSIC. Thank you and goodbye.
1.5
Wanneer je een relatief slechte film kijkt waarbij je op het einde de hoofdpersoon heel content met zijn / haar levens keuzes weg ziet rijden in een auto, de horizon tegemoet. “Natalie’s Party” vind ik echt een nummer dat je daarbij op de achtergrond hoort afspelen.
Britpop uit Liverpool dat nooit echt buiten het VK bekend is geworden. Geen bijzonder iconische nummers, maar de muziek is fijn om naar te luisteren. leukste nummer: Lend's some dough Leadzanger Michael Head heeft naast Shack ook in The Pale Fountains, The Strands en The Red Elastic Band gezeten.
Would've probably given it a 2.5 if I could but it was just kinda unmemorable, not really my style but I didn't hate it
I genuinely wanted to switch it up as soon as I began listening, but couldn’t because I really didn’t feel a need to. I liked it a lot actually! I don’t know for what reason I’d return, this isn’t really my genre, but I feel like I will. ‘Pull Together’ brought this up an entire star.
At the time of this little ditty, I was inching near a high rating. I then quickly realized that we had been getting so much garbage music in the recent days that this was just not horrible. Modernized sea shanties are a cool vibe, but not much beyond that. Can't say I'll be jamming out to Streets of Kenny on my way to work, but maybe if I was in the right mood I would revisit this.
this felt like it was made by ChatGPT.
Pleasant, but not exciting. Wouldn't switch it off, but wouldn't play it by choice, and I would not be upset if I never heard it again. I'm not surprised that I'd never heard of this band before today.
3/5 I didn't really love this album. I'm sad, but it seems like I don't like Britpop much. Maybe I just haven't found my band yet or something, but it just fades into the background. The music on this album felt dreamy but also felt fuzzy or out of focus? The best song was Daniella, obviously, because it was the most different sounding one.
Same score as yesterday's but I definitely enjoyed it more, BritPop WAS my era after all... Nothing that stood out but it ticked along in the background nicely so that's okay.
It was fine. Inoffensive and easy to listen to but zero staying power. It’s been 10 minutes and I barely remember what it sounded like.
I liked this one. Definitely a 90’s sound, and I prefer this to Oasis. A few different styles here. Will explore their discography
Lots of 90s rock sound here, mixed with the Liverpool/Beatles influence. Nice record.
Unmistakable sound of Liverpudlian jangly guitar Brit pop (La’s, Cast, Lightning Seeds, etc). A delight, but not necessarily essential!
mostly okay brit pop, some nicely arranged and layered songs, particularly the folky-sounding ones
I did enjoy this album! I'd never heard it (or this band) before.
Not bad, liked most of it. Would listen again.
wow, look: britpop
I really liked this.
I wasn’t impressed with the first couple of tracks, but the album did grow on me a bit. There’s nothing groundbreaking here. It is well made melodic Britpop and nothing more complete with Beatlesesque moments, occasional orchestration, and emotionally satisfying anthemic moments. The closing track is phenomenal though and ends the album on a melancholy and unresolved note.
Reminds me heavily of Stone Enjoyed it a lot. Added it to my playlist.
A pretty average britpop album. We've already heard better ones than this, and there are plenty of excellent ones still to come on this list
i have listened before!
Boy, Oasis really did a number on the Brits, didn’t they?
Power pop is how I’d describe this. Pleasant but nothing special.
Decent listen this. Never heard of them before which is mad because they’re from Liverpool
Never heard of these which is baffling. I feel like if I heard this album on release it would have rated higher but now I feel I’ve heard this album so many times. Extra point for being scouse. Decent. Bonus points for having a song about Kenny.
Know the period well. Never heard of this.
Pretty boring.
Jesus, 1999. Were people still doing this in ‘99? Blur were forming The Gorilaz, Radiohead had moved on to Kid A, Kasabian were starting out… and Shack were making this. It’s fine I guess, it’s like a very good pub band but I can’t see any reason for it to be on this list. I got quite angry that this is included.
Album #200! I had never heard of either Shack nor Hms Fable before. Solid britpop with all the hallmarks: british accent, strings, and catchy melodies. 'Comedy' is a standout track.
Another 1001 album with barely a Wikipedia page - always exciting! Oasis if they were from Liverpool. How come I’ve never even come across the name Shack before? This is great! The opening trio of songs are extremely well written and for a moment there I almost thought this might be a hidden masterpiece. There is some heavy R.E.M. vibe going on and I’m all in on Mick Head’s vocals. Unfortunately my interest starts to fade along the way but after just one listen I was still quite taken aback by this. Well hidden, Liverpool. Well hidden.
Normally I feel like I need to really dislike something to give it less than three stars. It is pleasant enough, but I paused it halfway and forgot about it entirely by the time I picked it back up. Whenever I find myself thinking "is this the last track then?" several times in a row, I know it's not really for me. Again, nice enough, but just incredibly unremarkable.
24th January 2023 Listened throughout the day while working from home and gym and chill in the evening. Nice bit of indie, good songwriting meaningfully sung. 3.5 if I could.
The last classic album to come out of Liverpool?
I think one of the most interesting things about this album is that it's impossibly mediocre.
Like The Flying Dutchman never able to make it to the shore, some trajectories in music history seemed to fall under some sort of curse. Those trajectories are the ones of generally talented protagonists who seem programmed for unmitigated success, and yet somehow never manage to leave their mark the way everyone initially expected them to. Michael Head seems to be one of those characters. Jinx, missed opportunities, personal addictions and even tragic deaths around him were the rubs he had to face, and one can only sympathize when you read the details about the latter online. In that context, the story behind *H.M.S Fable* is one that deals with a resurrection that's been a long time coming for Head, and given all that he went through to reach that point, one can only feel happy for him. As if it mirrored that optimistic state of affairs, the first two tracks of Shack's third album start on a very promisory note: "Natalie's Party" is an effective opener where the mix of lively strings and fragile vocals actually add a lot of emotions to the proceeding. And if the quite long "Comedy" overstays its welcome a little, it's an instantly catchy cut that can linger in your memory for quite some time... With such a nice way to leave the harbor and set out to the indie nineties seas, it seems that we're on board to spend some great moments with Shack during our voyage with them... Well, the thing is, not exactly. Contrary currents and hostile weather soon play tricks with our sails: the next two tracks "Pull Together" and "Beautiful" indeed bear the marks of utter disaster, and this for several reasons. First, what were the producer and mixing engineers thinking on those ones? The vocal mix in "Pull Together" is indeed terrible, and some other details are just laughable (what the hell is that cowbell doing, so loud in the mix at some point? Why are the levels of the different instruments so unstable?). Yet those flaws wouldn't be so critical if the songs themselves were a little more interesting. And for this latter point, your mileage may greatly vary, unfortunately. Released a few years after Britpop had its most timeless successes, *HMS Fable* indeed sounds like an afterthought. To be perfectly fair, and beyond any production issues that plagued them, the two songs we lamented about up there are mostly insignificant because they sound as if they were composed by your local band playing in the pub around the corner--that band desperately trying to imitate Oasis's hits at a time where the latter were already out of fashion, saccharine layers and fake epic choruses included. The result is more *Be There Yesterday* than *Be Here Now*--and this without even taking into account the already involuntary irony of the latter's title. Next, "Lend's Some Dough* uses another (and actually *older*) influence to better effects. The Kinks' long shadow indeed looms over this cut, which also takes its sweet time exploring chiaruscoro modulations and surprising chord progressions. At this point, one can hope tracks 3 and 4 were only early missteps... Alas, the album's titular ship then turns in circle in "Captain's Table", and the "Streets Of Kenny" lead to nowhere--or at least, not to any truly *memorable* destinations. Shacks alternates between different styles and moods in a very competent way, from mariners' tunes to folk to britpop again, but it all seems pretty pointless melody-wise. Besides, one can't help feeling that there's something a little tired in the vocal perfomances on the LP's second side, as if Head was himself a little unconvinced by his own songs. It takes the barebones final track drawing almost exclusively on his voice and acoustic guitar--with quite an amazing picking work and a poignant chord progression in it--to reconcile us *a little* with this record, at the eleventh hour. But it's not enough to let our sails pick up some needed wind, and it's far too late in the game. At this point, one wonders if the production choices for all the other tracks didn't distract Head from infusing enough *moving* elements into his songs. The last one clearly shows what could have happened if he had and his band had done so. Another missed opportunity, unfortunately. Some ships never return from their trip. All we can hope for them is that they're in a better place than ours. But mostly everyone knows that Flying Dutchmen stories or Bermuda Triangle legends usually cover up a far sadder truth: those ships are at the bottom of the oceans now. 2/5, for the four cuts actually still making this record worth the effort it takes to explore it. But of course, this can't be enough for a list of stellar, truly *essential* albums. What a cruel game this app triggers us to play... Number of albums left to review or just listen to: less than 700, I've temporarily lost count here Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: approximately a half so far Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: a quarter Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): the last quarter (including this one)
good not great
This is Warm 106.9 plain yogurt served with 8-grain toast and a glass of 2% milk. A very 2.5/5
This is what happens when you type in “music” into an ai music generator.
Shack? More like shat. Album is as milquetoast as they come. But it was pretty easy listening and some neat arrangements on a few of the songs so I’ll give it a 2.
Some nice folksy pop tunes
Pretty good light britpop. Saved a couple songs to Spotify, I'd never heard this band before
I wasn't too impressed, nothing really caught my attention. Didn't turn me off either, but there aren't any songs I can point to as standouts
Don't know how I've not heard of this britpop band before, being British and all. I was kind of hoping for sea shanties, considering the name and album art. Instead it was some indie britpop tunes. They were alright, seemed very well written. I found myself switching off during some of the songs, but overall it was quite good I thought. Favourite: Daniella
Didn't hate it but nothing made me want to listen again. One and done.
Didn't really do much for me. It was pleasant and there were a few songs I particularly liked.
It's another Brit Pop album. It isn't great. It's unnoteworthy. Not the worst album on this list. No need to listen to it again.
I had never heard of this, so I expected this would sound like 90's Brit-Pop. At times it does, they definitely sound like Oasis on some tracks, while on others they almost sound like they could be American. This was an interesting and enjoyable listen, will have to listen again to get the full scope of the band.
Pretty good!
I am forced to agree with my friend Jim on this one
Boring Brit pop
Not bad, and certainly not britpop in the Oasis/Blur sense; it’s more akin to The Clientele. Some strong tracks in here, but on average, not a standout album.
Ordinary
It's not a bad album, but it's kind of generic. Some of the songs have a nice change but besides that, I would say it's a very 90's British Pop Rock sound if you're into that you're probably going to enjoy it...
Was actually surprised by this album. I liked it more than I expected. Doesn't mean it was amazing just exceeded expectations. Had unexpectedly strange elements of traditional (Irish) music in the instrumentation/melody but still stayed true to that very late 90's/early 2000's English sound - the big, ringy drums, crunchy, almost shoegazey at times, guitars and unforgivable vocals. Reminded me of Oasis at times. Pull together was probably my least favourite track. Theres something weird about the vocal sound I couldn't get past. Too muddy and hard to understand or maybe too much compression? (which Jay Ray will find funny coming from me). Natalie's Party was the stand out track for me which was a little disappointing to have the opening track be the best one on the album; but, it picked up again for me with Streets of Kenny (which actually might be the better track of the 2 - very atmospheric, a lot of tension, the abrupt end. Feels like it would be great live.) Daniella was also a great closer, it was a nice break from how full on the rest of the album was and really made me focus on the lyrics. Overall with albums like this I find it hard to differentiate my modern day subjectivity from my nostalgia. I had never heard of this band before this but growing up in Ireland and around the UK its very much so a sound I have a soft spot for regardless of who it is. Unless it's utter dogshit, which, I don't think this album was.
This is one of those albums that makes me wonder how the 1001 Albums list was conceived, and what possessed the writers to put this on it. The album isn't bad by any stretch! Just fairly middle of the road. A stalk of grass among many, cut to exacting length. It's hard for me to get past the production, which seems very, very safe. Which leaves me with questions! Why is this on here? What cultural, historical significance does it have beyond the music? I must be missing context here. It certainly is hard to find in the music.
Great album, very enjoyable from front to back. Favorite track: Re-Instated
I‘ve never heard of Shack before today. Before listening, a rudimentary glance at Wikipedia shows they’re from Liverpool, which is basically a 15 minute drive from where I live. Did Shack not get very big, or have I been living under a rock? Songs I already knew: None Favourites: Comedy, Lend’s Some Dough, Daniella Is it the familiar accent in the vocals? Is it the similar sound to other bands I like? Is it simply that one of the song titles is my name? The amalgamation of all these little parts, as well as the excellently orchestrated music, gave me goosebumps several times when listening to this today. As the guitar played out the final track, the goosebumps came back, I removed my headphones, and had to take a few moments to appreciate everything I had just heard. Truly, this was a phenomenal album that I thoroughly enjoyed today, and definitely something I’ll be returning back to a lot.
Zwischen 2-3. Ich runde mal ausnahmsweise auf.
Sokay