Reviews (page 6 of 8)
Такое надо слушать, когда на улице дождь
A bit like Bowie, but less exciting
Interesting album. Strong atmosphere
This is average for me.
Listened before?: never. i didn't like much of what i heard after listening Walk Across the Rooftops - 1/5 Tinseltown in the Rain - 2/5 From Rags to Riches - 3/5 Stay - 2/5 Easter Parade - 2/5 Heatwave - 3/5 Automobile Noise - 3/5 Average score: 2.3/5 ⭐️⭐️
Somehow I made it through this entire album without dozing off.
MORE synthy new wave out of the UK! This list is already awash with this exact sounding music, so I just cannot see anything here that I particularly liked. This entry does seem to take itself a bit more seriously than others in this genre, if thats your bag. Its just a little too limp in the vocal department, and there are some super long drawn out intros, making it more of a chore to listen to.
Pretty dull and uninspiring. One I'll certainly forget I ever listened to in a few days time.
Scotch music. I don’t mind it, andI’m glad it’s another Scotch band I’ve listen to, but I’m not sure it’s a must listen.
Not a bad album in the traditional sense but an incredibly boring one. A lot of the songs sound the same or sound like other songs I've heard before (but done better). Some cool instrumentation here and there, like the plink plunk noises on "Heatwaves," but other than that not a whole lot else good to say other than that I was glad it has a run time under 40 minutes. 2/5
This felt like a more boring version of a lot of other bands of the era.
80s slop
Not sure what the point of this one was
Lame. 2
A bit meh
the good news is that this was loads better than the drum and bass i just listened to. the bad news is that it still isn’t really my cup of tea
This is very 80s, very minimalist, very clean and pretty boring. I like minimalist, but usually I want something juxtaposing it, like a harsh guitar tone, or a dark bass sound. This is all just nice. The drums being electronic don't give me any excitement either. I also think if you're commuting to that minimal and exposed your vocalist has to either have the most incredible voice, or at least a really unique voice that brings something fascinating to the work and this guy just has a voice, neither exciting nor crass, nor different, not even just bad. An vocalist struggling to hold a tune might make this more interesting to me. But he was fine. I can cope without this.
Bits were okay but it went on far too long and got quite boring by the end
Very meh
First time listen. Sounds like the ‘80s. It’s fine. 2 keepers in 7 (29%). 2 stars.
I was very surprised this was only 38 minutes.
This album is a bit of a strange combination of mostly 80s synth and smooth jazz. Which, by all accounts should be really fun. but a couple of things make this less fun than it could otherwise have been. Paul Buchanan's vocals sound like he is squeezing them out. Not that it is laboured or that he cant reach the notes he is going for. It is a stylistic choice. I feel like he has made a decision to try to put a Mick Hucknall/James Brown level of effort into pushing out every syllable when he really could have backed off a bit and it might have felt just as impact-full. The second links to the vocals and if it was resolved, the vocals might not be an issue. All of the songs have a level of significant melancholy. To me, if you have a beautiful melancholy to the song, the vocal should reflect that with a whistful, ethereal or even understated quality. This feels like someone shouting at beautiful sparkling otherworldly lights. Overall, I feel as though I like what The Blue Nile was hoping to do. Then they did it really well in exactly the way they wanted to do it. But, as it turns out, the reality of their creation was less enjoyable that the way I thought it would be. (2.100)
Ret unik stil og lyd, kunne godt bruge nogen flere hooks
Very boring, but sounded very nice!
The album did not inspire much in me. The vocal were off-putting to my ears. I don't have much else to say, it was one big ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
it's like if U2 was slightly more listenable, but i'm still not going out of my way to hear this again. a little extra credit to this album for being under 40 minutes, since i knew it wasn't for me roughly 10 minutes in
Detta är tråkigt och intetsägande för mig. Jag gillade det faktiskt inte alls. Ett band jag inte tidigare hört talas om, så det var ju kul att lyssna på något nytt för mig men insåg snabbt att detta inte var för mig. Tråkigt rakt igenom.
No thank you
ok
Très nul
Kinda pleasant but also boring.
Eh
"Word of mouth" records can be great, terrible, or anything in between. But they definitely don't belong on a list of the 1001 most important albums of all time. Unless they were the first-ever instance of "word of mouth" music, which AWATR definitely was not. The opener/title track is like an 80s Bowie track gone very wrong. None of the musical elements particularly mesh with one another – they seem thoughtlessly tossed together. The singing itself doesn't impress or offend, but the melody goes absolutely nowhere. I worry about the remaining six songs. Tinseltown In The Rain fares better. Immediately more singable, which is always a plus if vocals/lyrics are involved. The piano and string parts cut nicely through the mix. Though everything is almost aggressively "of its time", in my mind this sort of music is a tongue-and-cheek nod toward that style of music rather than an endorsement of it. From Rags To Riches has a quirky sound, especially with those retro-video-game synths, but ultimately it treads water for six minutes without going anywhere with its musical ideas. Stay is probably the strongest song up thus far, but don't get any crazy ideas. It's good at best. Again the piano does a lot of the heavy lifting, though having a decent-sounding guitar part helps a heck of a lot too. Groovy, happy, floaty. I could see this appearing on a Talking Heads record with some minor reworking. If you were anxiously awaiting a fifth consecutive ballad, look no further than Easter Parade, perhaps the most balladesque of them all. At least keyboard is a good choice of solo accompaniment to the singing. I would have filed Heatwave under the same "too weird and weakly experimental" category as the opening track, but it reminds me strangely of soundscape experimentation from the following decade – the likes of Radiohead and Aphex Twin. It gets a pass! Automobile Noise, though... a very "empty" way to end the album. And that singing is just not good. 2/5 Key tracks: Tinseltown In The Rain, Stay
Sounds like bad Thomas Dolby.
It was a nice enough album, but a bit spaced out abstract
Too slow and not that charming for it to be remembered. Didn't bother me on any level.
Sound familiar but not quite to my liking.
Sounds like a Bowie/Byrne hybrid doing karaoke
peter gabriel with a sprinkle of david bowie that somehow doesnt really work
Not compelling enough to compete with similar bands of the time (im thinking Talk Talk) in terms of singing and musical structure
This reminds me of shit my dad listened to after my parents got divorced but mixed with Talking Heads.
That was one of the most incredib…ly boring things I’ve ever heard.
Never heard of them somehow and grew up in the 80s.
TO ME this sounds like an unfinished demo that desperately needs more layers and to be handed to an accomplished lead singer. I understand that for a lot of people the vocal style is what they are drawn to. I would like to have a sit down with the person that thought this needs to be on a list of albums you need to hear before you die so they can explain exactly what about this I needed to hear. Melancholy synth/pop/folk? I've heard 20 artists on this list that do it better and 100 others that didn't make this list. 2.5, this exists and I am no better or worse from having heard it and never need to hear it again.
i can’t tell if i’ve hit some sort of mid-1001 burnout or if this project is actually making me more critical of music. this album made me open up spot*fy and wistfully glance at other, better albums i could be listening to. i’m not cut out for sophisti-pop.
This sounded good but very pretentious. It sounds like they are very arrogant people. Very 80s. It didn't sound bad but it got boring.
This felt kind of meh to me, which sounds harsh but it’s just not my sound and the singer almost seemed dispassionate and uninterested
Overall, nothing too exciting, just alright leaving it in the background.
Oei, ik hoor eigenlijk al meteen iets waar ik niet zo vrolijk van word: Een zeikerige zanger. Muzikaal zit het verder wel best interessant in elkaar met strijkers enzo. Maar ik merk dat ik eigenlijk meteen al de zanger niet zo goed vind. Goed, we geven het , zo neutraal mogelijk, toch een kans, misschien valt de zang me toch mee? Het is wel duidelijk new wave, en dat vind ik ergens nog wel geinig, maar dit hele album is zo ontzettend pretentieus. Je hoort gewoon bijna dat de zanger een driedelig pak aan heeft tijdens het zingen en continue sigaretten aan het roken is ook al mag je niet roken in de studio. Dat hoort nou eenmaal bij zijn creatieve proces, want net als Vincent van Gogh wordt hij niet begrepen bij leven, maar zal iedereen er later achter komen hoe geniaal hij was. Ugh, ik krijg een nare smaak van dit album, gelukkig duurt het maar 38 minuten, maar het zijn wel 38 ontzettend lange minuten zo... FAVO:
Whenever I review an album, I really try my best to give my thoughts in a reasonable amount of detail, without just writing a straight up entire essay. And I guess technically that is what I'm doing with this review too. To be fair, I am writing this a good few hours after having actually listened to the album, but even then I feel like I should still remember *something* about it. Was this good? Was this bad? Honestly I have no idea, all I can tell you is that it was forgettable, since I genuinely can't recall anything on this entire album that stuck with me.
Archetypal 80s pop of a certain type. Spiky bass, drums machine, swirling synths. It hasn’t aged well stylistically and it doesn’t help that the songs (despite sounding quite portentous) are pretty mundane in content.
2/5
Klingt wie eine schlechte Version von etwas, das ich sehr mag
This wasn't bad bad, but it wasn't for me. I'd love to know the criteria that got this on the list and meant I simply had to hear it before I died.
Despite the difference in number of listens, I actually really like From Rags to Riches more than Tinseltown In the Rain. The latter is pretty generic, in my opinion, but Rags to Riches hits a really cool fantasy sound.
It definitely occupies a unique space. It was pleasant enough but I have no urge to listen again. Rating: 1.8
The town is abuzz with excitement over the new installation down at the art gallery. You go in, and see a crowd of people around the new exhibit. When you make your way to the front, you see a blank canvas, and upon it is a broken bicycle pedal, a popped latex balloon, half of a soda can, and a banana. You take a deep breath, blink hard a couple of times, and take it in. No matter how many artsy folks in berets talk about how amazing it is, you just don't get it. It's just a bunch of shit on the wall. That's the visual equivalent of this album. The singing is so wistful, I hope that guy eventually found happiness, but I doubt it. I certainly didn't listening to this album.
The Good: We get a different view from the city! The Bad: The police thought we were cat-burglars… The Ugly: Falling off the rooftops, realizing we are no cats… When I was introduced to The Associates, or Orange Juice, I was grateful to this journey. The Associates, due to the rawest of energies, while Orange Juice just embodies ‘80s fun perfectly. Blue Nile, The Blue Nile, well… this one’s a head-scratcher. I am certain that, should I have been one of few to listen to this back in the ‘80s, then I might be a massive fanboy. Defending the off key singing as a perfect way of showing one’s feelings… But I did not listen to Blue Nile in the ‘80s… I gave The Human League 3* yesterday… in all fairness this means that this album should get 1 1/2… Not my cup of tea… keeping my fingers crossed to see what kind of odd ball I am presented today. 2*
Snooze fest.
Although the tracks were harmless enough, I found the album a tad boring.
Some good music, especially in the synth textures. The tone chosen by the singer is a bit too whiny.
Not to my taste felt pretty droney where songs kept going and i didn’t know where in the song I actually was
I feel like I have some disease, as a result of this challenge where every new album sounds like a derivative of some other artist. The singer here is an art rock crooner who sounds like an imitation of Bowie with a heavy dose of Peter Gabriel — a cheap imitation. He can’t sing as well as those two and the musical backdrop is not as interesting. A 2.
The sleepy crooner. An album you forget you're listening to while listening to it
Too 80’s for me
Felt like a wannabe bowie
sounded fine but I didn’t care Why it matters: One of the earliest and best examples of atmospheric synth-pop, replacing 1980s excess with loneliness, space, and mood. Its influence can be heard in artists from U2 to The xx, yet it remains largely unknown outside music-obsessive circles, where it’s regarded as a cult masterpiece.
liked some parts, but some sounds where not there, started off kinda weird, then it came back, idk... i have mixed feelings
Just completely unmemorable. Nothing bad, but ten minutes after listening I don’t think I can say one thing in this album that I had an actual reaction to.
Another Talking Heads, Genesis sounding wannabe band. It gets two because I didn’t absolutely hate it but man, it wasn’t great.
1 aardig nummer. De rest vind ik niets.
Really not my cup'a tea. I liked the second song but after that it's just bad slam poetry
Not great.
Dunno, it was meh or mid, I actually forgot how it was 24 h later
Its not awful, but at the same time I wasnt sad when it ended.
No, not really.
Too much moaning on the album. Bascially a boring sound.
A slice of David Byrne, a little Peter Gabriel, plus a whole lot of nondescript synth and moaning.
I don’t hate it, it’s listenable and I would finish the album, but probably will not listen to it again because it’s not memorable
Good but boring
First off, I have never heard of this band or album. It came out in 1984, so I believe I’ll take a stab at the band being new wave? By that point, new wave and post-punk had taken over, especially on MTV. I’ll also guess they’re English. Track 1 is A Walk Across Rooftops and it builds slowly up to a fat bass groove with plucking orchestral strings and a snare hit. The production puts it in the 80s for sure. According to our good friends at Wikipedia, The Blue Nile are known as sophisti-pop, ambient, synth-pop and blue-eyed soul. I’m not sure they can be all those, but we’ll see. The song is a love song, but sonically hasn’t gone much past how the song opened. The singer is good. He sings with passion. The band is Scottish, rather than English. A piano has now joined the song. And a trumpet solo of sorts to close the song. It has a harp or chimes or something playing in the background that gives it this dream-like quality. Not blown away by this first track, but it gives me an idea of what to expect. Chill vibes, love songs, and no rock. Track 2 is Tinseltown In the Rain. Oooh, this song starts out a bit peppier with a nice groove. You’ve got another bass groove, electric piano, the whole drum set, and some Nile Rodgers-like guitars. I’m not sold on the lead singer, Paul Buchanon, but he’s giving it his all. I hear the synth now. The band uses synths to essentially create an atmosphere, so you don’t really pay attention to them. This was the second single released from the album. It seems it never charted in the U.S. and barely did so in the U.K. According to my good friend, Wikipedia, this is Blue Nile’s debut album. And the reason the songs are so sparse is that Buchannon wasn’t a great guitarist. So, to hide your deficiencies, you play up your strengths, which were synths and the ability to create a mood. And the bass playing of Robert Bell, the only other member of the band as The Blue Nile are a duo. By the time they got around to recording the album, they added drummer PJ Moore. I like this song. Track 3 is From Rags To Riches. Again, very sparse beginning. Synths and someone whacking a hollow log in the background. There are synths in this song that sound like the synth riff from The Who’s Baba O’Riley. No matter what I think of the album, it’s barely 37 minutes long. The good old 80s, where songs were barely over three minutes and albums were almost always around 40 minutes long. This song is boring to me. Maybe it’s the caffeine I’ve ingested. I want to chair dance or at least shake my knee 100 miles a second. This album seems to be more for winding down after a long day, maybe for taking a nap. It’s not appreciably bad, it’s just not….Oooh, I like this breakdown at the end. The song is six minutes long, but this band is experiential, so I don’t fault them too much. When the singer dips out, and you’re just left with all the synths and bass, it’s a pretty good song. From a review in Sounds magazine when the album came out, “The Blue Nile's stunning debut album seduces the emotions as well as the senses, and instead of fighting its effect, the sensible thing to do is relax and enjoy it ... There's a mesmeric quality in this music that makes you want to savour every track with the respectful appreciation of a connoisseur.” I’ll agree with most of that. Stunning? I’m not sure. I’m beginning to think this is an album you need to hear a few times before truly understanding what it’s trying to be. Though I do catch glimpses. Track 4 is Stay, which was the first single off the album. I like this song from the start. It has a good, catchy chorus. It’s the first true pop song on the album. I can find no info on how it charted or if it did, or Wikipedia has no info. I will say the chorus does sound familiar. It does have a nice, simple guitar solo in it. It fits the song perfectly. Not all solos need to be high wankery like Steve Vai. I’m adding this song to my singles playlist. It also has a timelessness to the production. It doesn’t give 80s vibes off of it. Track 5 is Easter Parade. The song starts out with both a piano and an electric piano with soft vocals. I like it. The singer reminds me of someone, but I can’t pull it out of my brainpan. He doesn’t sing with a deep Scottish brogue, but you can hear his accent subtly in there. Okay, here’s another one going on my singles playlist. I don’t know if it took me four songs to get into it, but I love this song. Still basically just piano and vocals. Synths kind of wash up every now and then, but for the most part just a beautiful, soft song. Buchanan described the song as a “Sunday song.” It has a quitness and almost sacredness to it. It’s a waking up on Sunday morning and just sitting and finding peace in the hustle and bustle. Loved it. Track 6 is Heatwave, and I’m expecting this to be a bit more uptempo. Nope. I’m not sure what’s playing the melody in this song. I assume synths, but they sound like wind chimes. Now we have a piano and a guitar joining the music during the chorus. Back to the wind chimes. I don’t much care for this song already. The last track is Automobile Noise and again, this song seems to be about living in the city. After listening to every song and doing some research, it seems the whole album is about living in the city, both the highs and the lows. The song is a lot of beating and banging, or synths programmed to make it sound like beating and banging. It sounds more like construction noise than automobile noise. After thinking I was getting into the album, it closes with two songs I dislike. This album is one of those albums on the list that I have no idea why. I’m not saying the album stunk, in fact, I quite liked it, at least the first six songs. As I said earlier, this may be one of those albums you need to hear a few times before it sticks with you. Though I’m doubting I ever listen to this again. If you like chill, ambient, synth pop, this is probably for you. Otherwise, you can listen to Cheap Trick At Budokan again.
man I get it that you're in love but most of the songs sound exactly the same
The instrumentals are truly a work of art. But the voice threw me off.
got nothing out of this
..
Tenía poten, pero no me terminó gustando. Muy triste se volvió al final, muy estático todo. No conecté.
the name rings a bell I can't quite place. I think an internet friend recommended a song from these guys? nothing on the album is connecting unfortunately so I think this is one of those half-remembered things that wears at me for weeks until the right neural connection sparks. oh well. anyway it mostly sounds like if Duran Duran were forcibly infected with The Smiths-itis and they weren't fun anymore, or if Dead Can Dance had an ill-advised Bowie period, or if someone engineered an unfortunately coherent version of The Pogues and gave it depression there's a version of this album I'm into but this isn't it
A poor man’s David Bowie. Good vocals on the album, despite lacking stimualting lyrics, and the music itself was never more than simple beats in the background. Nothing extraordinary here.
The syntheeist of synth pop muzak sung by the ghost of the 80s.
This did nothing for me
Ну вот как то вроде изысканно, но все равно что то не так. поп музыка не может быть шестиминутной
Wow, an absolutely forgettable, uninteresting, uninspiring, lacklustre, non event of an album. To be fair though it’s listenable, doesn’t mean it’s good
Music to make you want to take a walk off the rooftops.
No me termino de convencer
I didn't need to hear this. Maybe thee algorithm has just given me too much New wave and post-punk music recently, but I just don't care about this genre anymore.
That's it?
Easy boy. Softly now. Gently put down the knife. It was all just a simple mistake. No harm done. Just walk away, pretend you never heard this album. I know, I know… it’s still burning your ears, but the knife won’t help. The pain will fade eventually. Time heals these wounds too. That’s a good lad. Let’s just move onto the next album.
I've loved to like this more. But its way to sparse, meandering, and downright boring. The opener and closer save it from a 1star
Boring. Monotonous
It’s kind of a 2.5 stars but I didn’t like it enough to round up to 3
im so sick of 80s music 😭😭😭😭😭😭 like ive never heard this before but the sound is just tired
This thing is pure, pulpy, 80s synthpop noir. All gloomy blips and bloops drenched in synth reverb. It's like a John Hughes movie achieved sentience and started a band.
1,8/5
I’m not mad about it, but it’s boring.
I feel like I should have loved this, but I was so, so bored.
Unmotivated & lifeless. 30 minutes too long.
Nothing special
In a nutshell, this was a snooze fest.
I enjoyed bits and pieces of it but for the most part, it felt pretty toothless. This seems like an important album for bands like Coldplay and Keane but neither one of those acts are really my bag. I thought the singer's voice was pretty interesting but outside of that, nothing else really was (at least to me)
It reminds me of music I like. But it lacks that real quality and catchy elements
It’s like talking heads, but make it weird and low energy. I guess you could call them a “vibes” band if you want to, better listened to on vinyl with a joint in hand. Fun for some, not my idea of a good time
Probably awesome in its day, but just sounds like pretentious 80s pop to me. I have more than enough of that, so I'll take a pass on this one.
This was not for me. I didn’t really enjoy the vocals and found the lyrics and music uninteresting. Hard pass
pretty short album, i liked it I just didn't love it, cone out in 84 but doesn't have much 80s fun and colour that I'm used to, fell a bit flat for me
Pretty generic 80s synth pop
No private session used for Spotify and no idea what I was getting in to. This was interesting, as in there was a lot going on with instrumentation, and the vocals added to that. I don't think I will put this on ever again.
I was born and grew up in Glasgow. So liking this album is meant to be in my DNA. I was also really like Paul Buchanan’s voice. But this just doesn’t do it for me. Very 80’s but not very interesting
Nice kind to background music to put on and pretend you're a cool uni student during the 80s. Otherwise kinda forgettable.
Första intryck, "hmm, vad är detta? 🤓" var lagomt förvirrad att läsa texten och höra instrumentalen av allting. I helhet hade jag ingenting emot albumet, det kändes kanske varierat låt från låt men kanske ingenting jag skulle lyssna på igen. De är lite bakgrundsmusik man kan om man vill vissa låtar iaf. 5/10
Dreamy 80s pop. Meh
Are the Blue Nile and Steely Dan the 2 most boring bands ever ?
meh, feels like Im watching paint dry
This is so painfully boring. And wtf is Folk-ambient? Sophisti-pop?
After a good week I seem to be back in the dregs of synth pop. Not terrible, but forgetable. 2/5
This was new to me. A bit bland on first listen (like Prefab Sprout without the tunes!) but enjoyed it more second time round. Heatwave was my standout track
Never heard before, quite liked it
I found it repetitive and there are much better albums at that time of a similar style and sound
It was fine, really don't have much else to say. Drifted into the background for me.
- Ok album, ikke noget sindssygt godt eller banebrydende, men kan godt lide et par af sangene - Mellem to og tre stjerner
Just fucking boring, non-descript 80s music.
2.07
Bad high school poetry set to milquetoast music.
Really meh.
it was fine..... as just some background music. 2.5 stars
I liked it well enough that I listened to it all the way through, but I honestly don't remember any of it a day later. I'll leave it on my phone in the shuffle for a while and see if it does anything for me again in the future.
okay?
Not as bad as I anticipated
Beautifully orchestrated - and feels very lead gray skies/Irish. Vocals give pogues vibes a bit.
Started out not so bad, but took a nosedive into mediocrity. 2/5
This is like if the worst soft rock you've ever heard, lo-fi, and Sting had an unfortunate love child who decided to make music. We as a society don't need this. I'm sure there is a reason why so many critics love it, but it is beyond me.
Kinda felt like a mixture of Sting and The Killers, but all the songs by these bands that I don't really like.
Mid
Random thoughts: * This was like 80s soft rock + The Wall. I felt like there was a theme or this was a concept album. * But after thinking about it more it was a less poppy Peter Gabriel. * I'm not sure I got this album and there was something else here but I didn't give it enough dedicated listening to really get this album. * I just went and read the AllMusic review and the backstory is even crazier. They "wanted a demo track to demonstrate the fidelity and versatility of their new recording console...To demonstrate the recording equipment's dynamic range and clarity, the song was arranged most peculiarly, with vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, and full string and horn sections all appearing, but never at the same time." * I guess maybe this was good for demoing the newest technology but the music didn't hold me.
Trancy but boring. 2/5
Not exactly my cup of tea, but the music was quite good. The voice, ehhh
OK, so this is almost as if someone put together a list of early '80s artists for some sort of "That's What I Call Quirky Music" compilation - David Byrne, Bowie, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Japan, Bill Nelson - but then didn't get permission from the original artists to release the album, so they just hired a wedding singer to cover all of their songs.
It's got a very distinct 80's feel to it. Feels like a bunch of random noises thrown together at times. Fave track: Tinsel Town
This is like a worse and more pretentious version of the Police.
This passed me by fairly unnoticed. I should probably give it another shot, but then again there's loads of other stuff to listen to so why bother. Felt like a fairly decent 80s synth pop album, with strained and not-so exciting vocals. Overall not very fun, but not terrible either. Think a strong 2 will be alright.
Sometimes an album just pass you by and this was one of those. The only tracks that remotely stood out was "Tinseltown in the Rain" which i guess could be a standard if I listened to it a few more times. Not bad just not something that really left an impression. Strong 2.
Temu David Bowie. Haven't come across a"sophisti-pop" album on this list yet that I have liked. Fingers crossed this was the last one, but i do have around 700 to go. :(
New wave idk. Hurts my head
If it was actually Peter Gabriel, I’d probably give it a 3. But it’s someone trying to be Peter Gabriel, so it gets a 2.
Boring.
I didn't hate it just can't really give it more than 2 stars
Very generic and forgettable 80s stuff.
Slow and droning vocals backed by some light synth. The pacing of the album felt like it was trying to present some grandiose concept but it all honesty most of the lyrics were either intelligible or just didn't make sense. So if there was a message here, it went straight over my head.
Det er glemt over en weekend, men mindes at tænke det var total 80er lyd.
So so boring
It was emo 80's. It was fine, but also a downer. I really wanted to give it a 3 but the longer I listened I just really couldn't stand it....
This was OK, but again, nothing to write home about.
Tasting notes: Hints of Roxy on the nose, with fleeting scent of Peter Gabriel (or is that Kate Bush? Hard to say!) The first taste wants to remind you of a more modern, more romantic Beatles (possibly). However, it eludes that comparison while begging for the same. Very smooth, sweet but thin, perhaps too chilled and could use some aeration. I never prepare well for these tastings! Ah well! On the tongue, centrally, I'm noticing unusual and fleeting flavors - The Police ("When the World is Running Down" bassline jumps out in the song "Stay" possibly the most exuberant experience here today), XTC, Talk Talk, and a Bowie-esque mouthfeel. No finish or aftertaste whatsoever. Overall a very well made and pleasant white blend, though sadly forgettable. Pairs well with closing a restaurant at 2:30 AM on Wednesday, or brunch at Grandma's.
Sounds very modern indie rock, wasn't terrible
not the stuff for me
Pretty forgettable. Having a hard time remembering anything about this album. 2/5 Probably won’t listen again
mid asf
Very 80s
44/1001 First listen. Another album from a band I’ve never heard of which is great but it’s another dud that leaves me questioning this list. Pretty generic sounding music. Nothing memorable to me. 3/10
2.5
Is a bad idea because it's too dangerous.
Bold choice for the opening track on this album, it predisposed me to hate it almost immediately.
the 80's were rough, all around
Oh great, more '80s crap. How many of these albums are there? Those new-wave albums seem to take up 10% of the list. "Easter Parade" is the only good song. It should've been at the end of the album. 2 stars for "A Walk Across the Rooftops".
Okay. Not quite sure why this made the list 🤷🏼
Wannabe Talking Heads with a bit of Sting sans the knack for melody or hooks.
Unfortunately I think this is one of those bands I won't remember having listened to in a few years. Reminder to self: Like a husk of Peter Gabriel.
Didn't do much for me. A little aimless and soft.
Background music at best.
2.5 - Meh
At its best, it made me want to listen to Peter Gabriel. The rest of the time, it made me hate Peter Gabriel.
Holy cow, it's the progenitor of Coldplay and Sting! Brits really have a high tolerance for noodly pablum.
I sort of like the style, but it is a bit too slow and gloomy for me. If I listened to any individual song I would think it was good, but a full album was a bit too much for me.
Man. This is the brand of 80's that I'm not a fan of. I listened a couple times through and forgot to actually review it and here I am a couple weeks later listening again to remind myself what it was. It's not offensive, it's just blah. Gets an extra star for Stay.
Not for me.
I seemed to stop listening
Ihan hienoja soundeja elektronisia kitara tai jotain muuta pimputtteluja
Fine
This album gave me narcolepsy.
This album doesn’t warrant a score of 1 because it’s technically well done and produced. I just find it sooo boring! So, thanks to its production, it gets a 2 from me. Not an album, or a band, I’ll be listening to again.
441/1001 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
Meh, Destroyer did it better:)
Chato, mas não tão ruim que mereça uma estrela.
My God this sucks. It's like the soundtrack to some shitty 80s movie.
Is this thing on? For the first 15 seconds I thought my headphones were broken. Well, I didn't recognize the band name and honestly, though I have bit of homer bias for these Weegies, Tinseltown is fun new wave, synth pop. However, if I understand correctly, that track basically gained their access to create the album as a "showpiece" for a recording studio. In comparison to that track, the rest of the album feels like listening to a Dyson advert. Comprised entirely of attempts to capture and demonstrate the audio qualities of the equipment — when a song is dynamic it feels like an audio engineer was watching a bouncing meter with a reassuringly crisp thumbs up to the band. In that context, I'm surprised it's on the 1001 albums and I'd love to have been proven wrong.
I just can’t stand 80’s pop music
It was okay. I mean, I made it through. But it's not going on my list to listen to again.
Kan er de vinger niet opleggen, maar op een of andere reden niks voor mij
I'm on a serious run of sad white guy music right now. Genre variously described as sophisti-pop, synth-pop, ambient, and blue-eyed soul. Whatever it is, it's not for me.
⭐️⭐️ 1001 ALBUMS- # 78 The Dull Nile 😴 This album wasn’t bad by any measurable standard, however from an entertainment forum that music is intended to evoke, it felt quite flat. Perhaps a curse of its time, as the 80’s generation seemed to really love their flavour of synth pop. Now there are elements of these song arrangements to enjoy-Rhythmic and cinematic, with layered textures and a pulsing bassline that mimics a heartbeat with sparse instrumentation lets Paul Buchanan’s voice shine — vulnerable, longing, and utterly human. A Walk Across the Rooftops is not just an album — it’s a mood. It’s what happens when emotion, restraint, and atmosphere blend with each note, albeit to varied effectiveness. 🎧 Classic Track: Stay 🎧 Deep Cut Gem: Easter Parade 🚫 Skip Track: From Rags to Riches It’s not immediate, not catchy, and definitely not pop in the traditional sense. This is an album that demands patience. If you’re not in the right headspace, it might leave you cold. The record thrives on mood. Every sound — synth, drum machine, horn, or silence — feels hand-placed. It builds a world more than it delivers “songs.” 🖼️ Album Artwork: Whatcha lookin’ at fellas? The album feels too distant, even emotionally inaccessible. The tempo rarely rises above a slow walk. If you’re not already tuned in, it can feel like it’s going nowhere. Repetitive an arrangements with tracks often relying on a small palette of repeating musical ideas. While this adds to the hypnotic quality, it can feel monotonous — especially over multiple listens. There’s little variety in rhythm or structure. While some of the lyrics are poetic and poignant — others veer into vague abstraction. There are moments where you wish Buchanan would say more, rather than just suggest. Perhaps apt for a rainy day listen or just background white noise not intriguing enough to dedicate closer attention. Required listening before I die??
Some elements on this perhaps I should like, such as some nice sequenced synth but over al I found it pretty awful
not too but gets a bit repetetative. Heatwave and Stay stuck out to me. But a pretty forgetable but short new wave album.
Definitely a miss for me.
I made it through 4 tracks and axed it. It's not for me.
Seems like rather standard 80s synth-pop fare.
A little too emo for me. The singer sounded like he was going to start crying any second.
#663. This probably shouldn't even be on the list of best 1001 albums from 1984, let alone of all time. 2/5: meh
Not so much
The synths and percussion give the album a darker feel to it Highlights: - Tinseltown in the Rain - From Rags to Riches - Heatwave
Listened to first couple of tracks . Was OK, but repetitive and did not overly enjoy
bleh
Very highly produced album - probably over-produced to the point it really lacks any emotion. To my ears anyway.
Not really much to say about this. Quite a boring album.
Nothing Memorable
Unremarkable in every way
Started off hopeful seeing it was released in the mid 80s (My favorite decade) but after the 1st song felt like Temu The Cure. Guess it started to grow on me because by the time I got to work I decided it wasn't horrible but not sure I could give it a 3. Solid 2.5
Not my thing. Very homogenous as well. 1.5/5
This did not do anything for me.
This was very dull and sounded like a mediocre Bowie album. I like new wave and wanted to like this more, but it just was not it.
It’s fine. Nothing lame or offensive about it, but also zero people I would share this with
Not for me, dawg
Some interesting production and song structures...and that's about it
First impressions are important, and this album was a bit of a disappointment off the bat. Did grow on me a bit, but only a bit. Sounded more like a poor impression of Bowie or Genesis or some other group I can’t place but would rather be there than here. This I can’t in good conscience score higher than 2/5
Fucking booooorrrriiiinnngggggg
Boring
That was a long 38 minutes from someone who thought he was Peter Gabriel. He wasn’t.
Couple okay songs but most are forgettable.
Beetje een saai album. Waarschijnlijk wordt het beter naarmate je meer luistert, maar de eerste indruk is niet heel geweldig
Very 80s. But not in the good way. 5/10
Didn’t do much for me
Meh, some parts were pretty chill and vibey but overall the songwriting here doesn't really do it for me
First two stars. This album was not good and I wanted to skip every song in order to find something good. Nothing resonated, and all songs felt kind of forced
Not very catchy and I have a hard time imagining that anyone who isn't British and born in the 1960s would include this on their top 1000 list.
anos 80 obscuro e chatinho 2 estrelas
My god this is in need of auditory viagra - might have been the softest soft-rock I've ever heard. It's like they thought Discipline era King Crimson and the Police were far too experimental. I wanted to rate this a 1 because it sickens me that this is in the 1001 list where there are >10 million albums in existence, but the ambient bits warmed me up a tad at the very end. 1.5/5 -> 2/5
A Walk Across the Rooftops feels like someone took every 80s pop cliché — glossy synths, moody vocals, dramatic pacing — and crammed them into one album. If that’s your thing, great. But for me, it just didn’t hit. It’s not unlistenable, but it’s definitely not memorable either.
eh
Artsy, atmospheric
Pretty boring
I did not enjoy this
This was a slog to get through. I felt like celebrating when it finally ended!
Meh, ok
My only previous exposure to The Blue Nile was tracking down their original version of the song, 'The Downtown Lights' - which I had first heard (flawlessly performed, by the way) by Annie Lennox on 'Medusa'. While I did enjoy the dark and moody atmosphere of the original, it wasn't enough to hook me, and I forgot all about them. Until now. If you're into this genre, there's some great stuff here. If you're not, I imagine this would be as painful for you as all the jazz, blues, and folk tripe on this list has been for me. That said, this has been a repeat experience for me for them: I love the mood that's set, and there are wisps of brilliance (e.g. the instrumentation on Tinseltown is choice), but once again, there's just not enough here to hook me. Sadly, I'll likely be forgetting about them all over again as I pursue other, more interesting finds throughout this challenge.
This wasn’t terrible to listen to, but terribly boring. Nothing stood out.
I already forgot this
I can see why this was a commercial flop when it came out, and why it gained popularity over time as a non-popular music album. It's got a lot of the 80's feel to it that popular music of the time had. The synths, the real and computerized basslines and drums mixed together, the particular tone of voice the singer has, it's all very 80's. I don't think I would call this revolutionary or anything, but it's a side of the 80's I hadn't really heard. It's experimental art pop using a whole different sound "kit" different from any I'd ever heard before. What it is missing unfortunately is much listenability. It fails to cross that line from interesting to pleasant, exciting, or danceable. It just kind of lives in the realm of cerebral, and not in a really good way. "Tinseltown in the Rain" is the radio ready track from this and despite the number of streams it has, it's not really any good at all. It's lacking the parts of the rest of the album that make it unique and just sounds whiny. I think "Heatwave" is a better tune and it's not really that good either. There's too much effort required to really appreciate this, I think. You'd have to have grown up at a certain age to really get this, I think, and even then you'd also have to be pretty far up your own ass to say it's great. A bit too pretentious for me - it's art school music for synth lovers that isn't far enough in either direction to make me want to care. It's a 2.5 for me but I'll round down because there are plenty of 3's better than this.
They kept taunting me with songs that seemed like they had potential but then they just threw it away. Nothing caught my interest, and I was looking forward to the end. These guys wish they were U2.
Alexa, play me Travis, but from the eighties.
Not very good
not for me, mate. dude just keeps whining...
I don’t like this……….
This reminds me of other bad 80's albums except it was consumable.
Really interesting instrumentals let down by boring songwriting and lacklustre scotch morrisey vocals
Not a fan of dissonence, but I can conceptually get how this is innovative
I don't know about this album. 2 stars.
This was not unpleasant but pretty dreary and boring. Not really sure why this made the list.
If the snare drum wanst deafening it might be ok, but it was too hard to listen to
Meh. This one was pretty meaningless to me. I have no intention of listening to The Blue Nile again.
Sonically very much of its time. I like the wobbly synths, the vague, dreamy vocals but not that Seinfeld-esque slap bass . At all. I would like to adore this record in the way that many of my friends do, but the moment that the slap bass comes in, I am turned off.
The instrumentals were nice but didn't like the singing.
Nix für mich
underwhelming. pünkt gits für experimentierfreudigkeit, aber ich erkenne weder es konzept (ussert repetition), no isch d singstimm schön. d grüsch wo de bass macht erinnered mich teilwiis a verdauigsgrüüsch. easter parade isch aber sehr schön, experimentell und nöd zu tonal, aber ruhig und nachdenklich. allerdings mues ich amerke, dass de sänger sowohl d vokäl als au d konsonante schleikt und ungnau singt und s gfallt mer gar nöd. di ruhige songs (ungefähr ab easter parade) gfalled mir generell besser, will det isch s repetitive und experimentelle eifach so öppis wie meditativ und bide songs wo schneller sind oder meh passiert ischs i mine ohre eifach all over the place.
It's ok, just a little mellow for my liking
Liked the last song best and somehow it's the least played on Spotify
Tried listening to this during my morning routine. Felt like my coffee was judging me. It’s clean, slow, and borderline sterile. There’s a tiny little smidge of beauty in the minimalism, but it’s buried deep under layers of melancholy. I kept waiting for something to happen and it just… didn’t. Very few albums actively feel like they’re trying not to be catchy. Maybe someone finds this haunting. I just found it feels like getting ghosted by a jazz band. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions: - Tinseltown In The Rain
2.5 too slow for work
Voice is a bit Bowie-esque
I'm trying, but this sounds like so much 80s Brit (I know they're Scottish) pop that never broke out of its core group to the wider world, and definitely not to posterity. That's fine. I have favorite bands like that. Why is this one on this list, though? I could barely remember anything to write after the album was over because my mind was already reset by anything else I heard that was more interesting. Okay, that sounded mean, but I think you get it. It's not bad, but it doesn't rise to the level of mortal recommendations.
A typical 80's production but in a good sense. Very UK Worth a deeper listen...
Average
Arguably interesting but not really my thing.
Unless you want generations of people checking their headphones, don’t start your album with 10s of silence! A good album - bleak yet heartfelt.
Weird. Not bad, but weird.
lil bro sinä et ole david bowie.. älä laula kuin retardi henkilö plIIIIIS. oonneksi hidas, introspektivinen ambient-tarinankerronta pelastaa katastrofilta.. tämä on aikuisille albumi.. ei lapsille.. olemmeko rikkaita vai olemmeko köyhiä, onko sillä enään edes merkitystä?? no on. tarkoittaa ketkä paiskiihommia ja ketkä pummeja... pummit siis rikkaita heheh... saatana leikatkaa vammaistukia NYYYYT!!! epstein records hold up.. satuloippa hepat ja sitten mennään from rags to riches
Never heard of it before and I have to say that it didn't really do anything for me. This album feels extremely dated with its instrumentals that sound like stock sounds that you'll find in keyboard that you picked up at a sale. It is probably a product of its time and it's difficult to judge it without any context regarding this album. Maybe they pioneered a new genre with the drumkits, synths and sequencers but man this album is really a snooze fest. Honestly, it didn't age at all and I had to struggle through it quite a bit. Upon further listens, I think I can get behind the idea of the album but it just doesn't come together in a cohesive way. The title track and Tinseltown stood out to me because they were a bit more engaging with a groovy bass and more energy. Unfortunately, a lot of it feels pretentious and just incoherent. These instrumentations are thrown together in an isolated fashion which makes it all feel super disjointed, the missing song structures aren't helping either. If the artist wanted to create a moody and atmospheric album, I think that that they failed in their execution and mostly because the instrumentals sound so terribly dated. I don't think I can recommend this to be honest.
I had really high hopes from the lead song, but all the other ones let me down. The lead singer gets really whiny the longer you listen to him
25/02/25 This was terrible.
Ok 2/5
Relativ langweilig und nichtssagend
Solid projectand felt like something refreshing. But on a honest note, it is not really crazy and dont made me feel something after the first 2 tracks.
As far as New Wave goes this was ok. I appreciate how they were aiming for an expansive sound. I don’t think they were ultimately successful but at least they were trying.
A boring early 80s album
Another hard one to listen to. I seem to remember hearing "Tinseltown In The Rain" when it came out and quickly changing the radio station. Just vapid generic 80s British new wave. Not for me
Enjoyed the ambient music parts - this would be so much better without a singer. 2/5
Dull
This didn't do much for me. It's well done. But I won't come back to it.
Not the worst I've heard during this journey, but certainly not something that makes me want to listen to this for a second time.
methinks the singer is trying a little too hard to be a modern day frank sinatra. not for me.
Just listened to this about an hour ago. I do not remember anything about it.
Boring forgettable dated album. Singer tries so hard to sound like Peter Gabriel. Not working.
This list is not disabusing me of the notion that 80s music sucks.
The whole thing kind of passed in a blur, and I was on the way through an accidental second listen before I realized
These guys a boring version of all the good bands from this era. Also his lyrics are weak. He's trying way too hard.
Indie music for the era of cassette tapes and boom boxes. Not too bad as far as synth music goes, and I appreciated the non-sex subject matter.
This one sounds like it's probably decent if you can get on the same wavelength. There's some good piano in there, but the general vibe is not something I enjoyed. 2.2
Sonne un peu comme The Police mais en moins bon. Très contemplatif, pas très entraînant.
Sophisti-pop, lidt kedeligt
The songs on this album are very good at setting the mood. Its and album I think need the right place of mind to really enjoy fully. That being said I didn't dislike the songs as and the album is definitely something I could see myself listen to if I remember it existing when I'm in the right time and place. that's a big if though.
Given that this is "sophisti-pop", it's interesting to listen to what passed for sophisticated in the mid-80s. The songs amount to a "lite" version of Peter Gabriel's music - the lead singer's style is basically an imitation of Gabriel. As such the album lacks any originality.
I'd rather not hear it again but it wasn't awful.
Forgettable