The Coral

Jesus, the bar must have been set lower than I thought for what constitutes the top 1,001 albums of all time

starting to dread hitting my submit button and seeing the random ass band I definitely do not need to hear before I die

It's 2002. Rock is back again baby! Here comes another "The" band ready to ride the hype train with a fresh take on an aging genre. But what comes next is more than unexpected, it's sea shanties. It's polka, reggae, klezmer, and punk. It's not very good. It's The Coral. Their name evokes tropical seas. They are a pirates, sailing from foreign land to foreign land, stealing the unique musical riches of each country, pillaging the local harvest, and shitting it all onto a record. D Postscript: In my ever-increasing musical nationalism I'll point out that these dudes are British, talented, likely white, and possibly tone deaf to the fact they're "borrowing" music from the queen's former colonies

My first 5 from something I've never heard a lick about beforehand. Very enjoyable psych-influenced indie, with a little polka and ska for good measure.

Not even in the best 1001 albums of 2002.

I had heard one song from this, and always liked it. Turns out the rest of the album is even better. I love this! It's an easy listen, fun, melodic, and rocks out. I wasn't expecting this to be so good. A very nice surprise.

I was really surprised that there was a band that was prolific, part of the early 2000's rock revival, and enjoyable to listen to that I had never heard of. These guys really felt unique amongst many of their peers, and I see why they made this list, even though either I am just ignorant of they didn't achieve nearly the fame of bands like The White Stripes or The Strokes. My Personal Enjoyment: 4/5 Did it belong on this list: 4.5/5

The algorithm is in a foul mood. The only explanation for this appearing on the list is for everyone to hear what a horrible album sounds like. It turns out this album WAS bumped off the list on the latest edition, a wrong that I hope this generator corrects as well. Perhaps this band got better with future albums, but I don't intend to test that possibility. There are parts of a lot of songs that sound great, only to suddenly veer off into an annoying direction. I'm going to want those 34 minutes and 32 seconds back before I die. What a snooze.

Nothing great about this album . Not terrible but not memorable in the least

I had heard one song from this, and always liked it. Turns out the rest of the album is even better. I love this! It's an easy listen, fun, melodic, and rocks out. I wasn't expecting this to be so good. A very nice surprise.

This is a weird album, and I kind of love it. The opening track, "Spanish Main", is definitely my favorite: it's a psychedelic rock sea shanty, and I would listen to a whole album of songs like it. Unfortunately, this album is not that and the rest of it is more of a psychedelic folk rock album. Still, the highlights of this album more than make up for the lowlights and it's well worth checking out for anybody who wants to hear some stuff they've never heard before

Wow, that was a real piece of shit. Why the fuck is this on the list? Are the Coral like the genreless Ween band of the UK? Good musicians who don’t have any taste. They mashed up tons of my least favorite, annoying experimental genre rock: Gogol Bordello, Ska, Arctic Monkeys and Nick Cave. There’s a couple of moments, moments, where there’s some very Oh Sees inflected guitar effects, maybe they were an influence. Maybe they deserve credit for that? I hated this album. Wish I could give it a Zero. All that after I was excited by the album cover. Yuck.

If Syd Barret era Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones had a baby that was raised by the rest of the 60's, you would have this album.

Lovely record!

Seen the album cover but had never listened to one single song that I could remember. They were not big enough to reach my hone country. Although I lable it indie rock their style of old school rock and country and a hint reagge dub made me instantly love this album. It hooked me on the first song and has gotten better after that. Albums like this are the reason Im doing the 1001 album thing cause we cant know everything and we cant listen to all the music. This is a great example for me of an unknown band to instant playlist material.

Part of what made me love this was maybe the surprise? But it was great and I'm definitely going to listen to it again. And the spotify radio station that played at the end was freaking bitching.

Based on the Wikipedia article, my expectations going in weren't great, but this was a very pleasant surprise. I'm not even sure if I would call the psychedelic, since this is the rare case of psychedelia feeling whimsical rather than just weird (with varying degrees of uncomfortableness). But what really impressed me was the breadth of experimentation and yet, everything sounded organic and accomplished. The only track I was on the fence about was Skeleton Key, but even that one was still OK. A great album with simply good music, in an impressive amount of different shades of rock.

Wow, fell in love during the first couple of songs

Made me want to cry in bed. A+ original and interesting.

Never heard of this band before but love their sound. Cant wait to listen to more of their music!

Cover art: what is this? A high school project? I wouldn't be surprised if I find out this collage was made with scissors and a glue stick. Historically the weird covers have been British, but we'll see. British rock band again and it was another pretty good album. Just as I was getting in to the first track it ended abruptly, which as I checked the run time to confirm something didn't happen I thought 'was that meant to tease me and leave me wanting more?' either way it worked. Throughout the rest of the album I kept trying to place what it reminded me of, and the only specifics I could come up with was that it was an older style rock. Some influences even back to the 60s but with modern instruments and techniques. "goodbye" is an example of what I'm talking about. I don't think there was really a song I wanted to skip, pretty solid overall. Favorite track "I remember when" 4/5

Really surprised this is in the list

Wasn't a fan. 1/5 stars.

Amazing! Dreaming of you is a timeless classic, but "Waiting for the Heartaches" totally got me! 9.5/10

Forward looking retro! Here's an album that builds on the past yet has its own distinct voice. Listened multiple times. LOVE IT.

A solid, enjoyable listen. Part of me feels like it was lacking just a little bit of oomph for it to be truly memorable, but overall, great instrumentals and good vocal work. 'Dreaming of You' was my fave.

The Coral son uno de los mejores grupos del siglo 21. Infalibles, ni un disco flojo o regular. No tienen la fama ni el reconocimiento masivo pero su estilo es innegable. Este debut y Coral island son los mejor recibidos por crítica y público, pero cualquiera es de enorme calidad, sobre todo Sea of mirrors. Spanish main, Dreaming of you... todas son excelentes. Con ecos de Love, The Byrds, Teenage fanclub, Kinks, Small faces, The LA´s... pocos grupos están a la altura: Ladybug transistor, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Super Furry Animals...

10/10 scouse magic. Pure me. 10/10

Loved it! A great combination of energy similar to other modern rock bands with an old timy sense of creativity. The singer sounds like a proper rock star, and the band always rocks, sometimes reminding me of the specials and then jumping to Arctic Monkeys and then Green Day and then the Doors.

Day 7: The Coral - The Coral. The Coral released an album that somewhat perplexes me. It's somewhat difficult to wrap my finger around what I just heard. It reminds me of circus music. I also feel bard music vibes and musical theatre music vibes at the same time. I can't tell if this album is secretly genius, or just boring and uninteresting. Is this Britpop? It doesn't sound like Britpop. Upon reading the reviews of this album, it does appear that it isn't very well-received. Neither was Kollaps, but that is an awesome album. Well, this album was removed from the list. However, so was Medúlla, and that album is also awesome. It seems like The Coral have a form of artistic vision that is difficult to see. They feel like one of those bands that you either don't get, or make you salivate over the thought of buying the band members' toenail clippings. Whatever, three stars it is. Personal Enjoyment: 3/5. How Much It Belongs Here: 2/5.

Never heard this - like Gomez and burning spear fronted by a rabbi

This is the first one that has popped up that I don't actually own--nor have ever heard before. Weird how a seemingly popular album like that just can be completely missed out on. As for my thoughts...I dunno. It's interesting. But not terribly so. It's...fine? I'm honestly not sure why this is on the list other than it seems England was particularly enamored with this one. Glad I heard it. But I doubt I'll bother ever giving it another listen. It's not bad. Just not all that memorable to me. 2 stars. It's not BAD. But for being one of the 1001, this is just pretty boring.

I like beats like their beats. But it lacks the spark. Even their best song from this album lacks it. I think there are better albums. 2.5/5.

Forward looking retro! Here's an album that builds on the past yet has its own distinct voice. Listened twice already. LOVE IT.

I barely listened to it but the vibes were good

Bloody loved it

great album, their top

Hell yeah

Fun

Aldrig hört förut men det här var en positiv överraskning. Plattan är ju jättebra.

This is pretty good! Giving it a 5 because it's a pleasant surprise.

Where do I start. OK. The Coral are from The Wirral, where I live. As kismet has it on the day I go t this album I actually went for a little walk along the Prom in their home town of Hoylake. It's a town by the sea. Not a seaside town. Most of The Wirral is like that. An urban area (nearly) surrounded by estuaries. It's probably me reading too much into it, but The Coral's music feels like home. Salt soaked, melancholic, a bit weird, borrowing lots of ideas from elsewhere, but very much it's own thing.

Sort of a reverse Elvis Costello here (since this list has loved giving me Elvis Costello albums lately). Whereas Elvis Costello was very much ahead of his time, this is a throwback to a lot of sounds from the 70s. It's very much in the psychedelic rock world, but it also pulls in some really lovely folksy sounds as well as some strong indy rock influences. This is an absolutely lovely album. I'm not sure why Dreaming of You is the only real "hit" from this album, but it deserves far more love.

always liked this band

Cool

Super cool album

A short sweet old favourite. It still holds up.

Brilliant debut

This blew me away. Instant favorite

10/10 everything I could ever want and more perfect rock revival album

4.5, super fun music, really needed it today

Loved it. Weird, quirky, jazz/ska/indie mix. Didnt realise I knew them until -the- song came on.

banging start to end

Sehr spannendes Album - mal erinnert es an die Beatsteaks ("I remember when", eins meiner Lieblingslieder auf diesem Album), dann taucht plötzlich russische Folklore auf (immer noch "I remember when") und überall schwingt 60er/70er Psychedelic mit. Kaum zu glauben, dass das Album erst so "jung" ist, aber mir macht es Lust auf mehr. Definitiv eine Entdeckung, auf die ich selbst nicht gekommen wäre 😊

I bought this when it first came out and knew it would be a classic. How anyone can give this anything other than 5* is beyond me

Outstanding. Can't wait to listen to more of their catalog. Right up my alley.

Dreaming of you is een zalig hitje met nostalgische waarde. De rest van het album is ook erg opzwepend en tof

Wow this was a total new discovery for for me and I loved the album Simon Diamond and Skeleton Key are great but it a really retro sounds with a twist - its a ride for sure listen to the whole thing please

I’d never heard of The Coral before, but every song on this album rocks.

Grew on me after the first listen

Great actually was not expecting this.

Very good, but very short. Possibly the most Scouse thing ever to exist, which is a good thing! A band I loved when this came out, and will always think of fondly

Love it Beatles-esque. Very mod and jangly.

Bwoah

One of my favorite albums in high school.

Rating: 10/10 Best songs: all

No los conocía. Están entretenidos.

Dope Psychedelia. Would probably be a 9/10, but a lot of the early songs squarely place this in a 5.

5/5

Liked

Punk indie rock

Stylish

What a surprise. I had not heard of The Coral until the list, but it is a delightful surprise. The album moves between fresh and new to older and familiar. Some tracks sound like they could have been produced in the late 60s and other feel right out of the 90s, and yet they keep it together throughout.

Kind of a fun album

Has a nice little foot-bouncing kind of feel to it.

This was a fun one. I'd never heard of the album or the band so I went in blind. Every song was so interesting and dynamic and I was never bored listening to it. I could actually see myself playing this on my own if I'm cooking or just doing things around my apartment. Really happy with this one

Never heard of this band until now. It seems to me that they were trying different styles of music on this album. I appreciate their creativity. The album is now on my playlist. I’ll be sure to keep the songs from this album in my rotation for a while.

Spanish Main 3.6 I Remember When 4 Shadows Fall 4 Dreaming of You 3.7 Simon Diamond 3.5 Goodbye 3.9 Waiting for the Heartaches 4 Skeleton Key 3.8 Wildfire 3.8 Bad Man 4 Calendars and Clocks 3.7 Score: 3.818181818

very interesting sound, reminded me of the Zutons, may be higher rated with more listens. 4.5

At first, I wasn’t sure what to make of this album, but it grew on me fast. It’s like a 60s whimsical psychedelic sound blended with a modern indie twist. There’s also a playful and quirky vibe throughout the album that makes it even more enjoyable.

I recognized the song "Dreaming of You" from the vast Rock Band library I share with my husband. That was the only song I was familiar with. Overall I can say I liked this, although I don't know yet how much. I think I'm going to leave it on my phone and listen to it again in a few weeks. I could see myself really enjoying this with a few more listens, but I can't say for sure. Nice to hear something with more of an original sound!

i really vibe with their psychedelic folky sound and i was already aware of them because of this album, and specifically the song dreaming of you because of the show Scrubs and a sax.co.uk video from a decade ago. I know they've released a few albums recently and this makes me want to give those a go since i really enjoyed this

Really liked the 2021 remastered album it was a double but I want to hear more of these guys

The Coral was a British pop rock band that evolved through several styles in the course of their career. At the time of their self-titled debut, they were a retro-psychedelic rock band - retro, for the aughts - with effect-laden guitars and organs. They employ rhythms that approach rockabilly, giving their songs a bouncing, upbeat sense. The album's success was driven by the single "Dreaming of You," the band's first hit, and the surprising range of sounds found on the album. The band wanders between an array of styles and sounds, making an interesting collection of songs.

Never heard of this band or album before but found this to be an enjoyable listen. Very unique for a rock band and combines a bunch of different genres into their sound.

A near perfect blend of psychedelic and modern rock, The Coral rush head on into instant classic status while remaining firmly in the promising stage. Such things as this can be seen as tired and worn out and it shouldn't work as well as it does given that, but work it does and The Coral have found a nice niche for themselves. Favorites: Spanish Main, I Remember When, Shadows Fall, Dreaming of You, Simon Diamond, Goodbye, Waiting for the Heartaches, Skeleton Key.

Wat een leuk verrassend album is dit! Ik verwachtte standaard 13 in een dozijn rock, maar dit doet me een beetje denken aan die oude old school rock. Zanger heeft een goed prettig randje op zn stem die ik echt goed trek en daarnaast is het instrumentaal gewoon echt goed. Wel kakt het album nogal in halverwege, met Skeleton Key als dieptepunt voor mij. De rest swingt wel nog steeds best wel goed, maar het haalt niet meer het niveau van de eeste paar nummers die ik echt fantastisch vind met I Remember When en Dreaming of you als absoluut hoogtepunt. Toch vind ik dit absoluut een vermakelijk album en is dit zeker geen straf geweest om te luisteren. FAVO: I remember When, Dreaming of you, Goodbye

Énergique et bien rythmé, intemporel et solide.

Favorite Track: Dreaming of You

14/12/24 This was a good listen.

Great stuff. I don't really get the critics comparing this with psychedelia. Apart from the album cover, which resembles some 20th-century psychedelia classics, the record is more akin to a collection of rock-influenced sea shanties. You've got the drunken choral vocals, the shrill harmonica, the shoop-shoop chugging of the drums, the tonic-dominant basslines... It's not unpleasant by any means (in fact, it's surprisingly enjoyable), but does it really belong on the list of the 1001 most important albums in history? Even the hit track, Dreaming of You, maintains this strange nautical dance energy that eludes comprehension of how it came to be such a hit. It's a fun track, sure, but having 100x the number of Spotify streams as the next-most listened on the album is a little extreme. The vocals are an obvious strong point here. They're clearly inspired by the likes of Jim Morrison, Piper-era Floyd, the Stones, and perhaps a sprinkle of CCR. Definitely a throwback to 60s and early 70s music with its thick vocal harmonies, brash mixing, and simple rocking energy. The song Goodbye is particularly suspect here. We love some good retro singing. The high-energy shuffle of all the songs does get a little repetitive, and the album feels a little lengthy even for just 34 minutes – but judging by other entries on this list, it could be much, much worse. 4/5 Key tracks: Spanish Main, Dreaming of You, Goodbye

Interesting could use another listen

That was a really unique album with the mix of hard rock, folk, and a touch of reggae in some songs. Was a nice switch up from the norm on this list. Some of the guitar work was really cool and the singer has a pretty interesting voice which worked well. Dreaming of You I think was in Scrubs if my memory was unlocked correctly.

Never heard of these guys, but that was some pretty sweet psychedelic alternative folk-y shit. Noticed a lot of songs had some really solid harmonies too. Skeleton Key is wildly different than the others. This was just a strange album that was super interesting to me. Felt like it had a bunch of different genres and worked well. Creative af.

10 seconds in I realized this was a Very Serious Rock Album and had to return to it later when I had time to actually listen. Was great. will return to it, unlike almost every other album from this that I wasn't already familiar with

Floating between a 3 and a 4. Its rough around the edges, but its like an updated version of The Kinks or something which this list loves, so I'm moving it to a 4 with a "this is how it sits in context" mindset.

Great find for me.

Never heard of The Coral, but seems like they’re good enough that maybe I should have. A lot of severe tempo transitions in the middle of their songs and lead vocals make them sound very much like The Doors. Liked all songs except Skeleton Key. The Coral comes in at (4.2*s)

Great debut... Obviously has the mighty Dreaming Of You but the whole record bristles with a sense of daring and taking risks. Nothing sounded like it at the time and it only really sounds like The Coral.

Whoa. A UK rock album that I actively liked, that's rare on this list. This album was all over the place and it was fun. The lyrics and feel of the songs was often silly and lighthearted, I thought. I would listen to this album again, I hope I don't forget that it exists.