Giant Steps

bit more on the twee than the shoegaze

Good album. Very 90s. Interesting bit not too memorable

Interesting but inconsistent. Feels like two different bands mashed together at times

Ég þyrfti að hlusta á þessa aftur, gæti trúað því að hún vinni á. Sumt er mjög skemmtilegt prótó-Britpopp en það fer minna fyrir því í öðrum lögum. Stundum svolítið dated radd effectar og helst til mikið gítarískur, en virkar stórt séð vel. - Jú, fjarki frekar en þristur.

Really enjoyable, a mix of genres and styles, with echoes of Ooberman, Blur, Nirvana, the Clash, ELO, The Beatles, and many more from across the whole of music. I'd only heard a couple of songs before, but loved wish I was skinny, barney (and me), Lazarus, and the white noise revisited.

This album was shoegaze. its was lame and boring.

Made no impression on me at all

OK - little on the baggy and samey side - can't believe I've not listened to this before, I'm sure I had the CD!

They explore many different avenues and styles, which is great but there will be somethings you like and don't like. It was hard for me to stay consistent with this album b/c I could not find a common thread.

Mjeh... ekkert spes.

Never heard of these guys. Enjoyed this moment though.

Pretty meh

It's Brit pop but has a few other interesting influences. Not enough good songs ultimately

meh

Some songs felt very modern indie. A pretty eclectic variety of styles, but I couldn't focus on this album

Son como una mezcla de Pavement y Dinosaur Jr., ¿no? No sé, no me parece que estén haciendo algo súper innovador. Tal vez no esté en el momento correcto para escuchar esta música. Me está sonando muy normalito, no sé muy bien qué hace en el libro este disco. Molan algunos detalles, los vientos que meten a veces. Personal: 4. Con muy baja prioridad me lo volveré a escuchar, pero no está en mi lista de mejores discos definitivamente. Trascendencia: 2? Una banda de culto en UK que por eso aparece en este libro? Género: 5. Me parece que hay mejores discos en Shoegaze / Rock alternativo de esos años

Bit of a weird one

Sounded like Adam Buxton’s songs without the entertainment.

Terrible. Sounded like a piss-take album

Boring music

Three stars because of the overall alt-90s vibes, but I don't know if it's such an enormously great album. Just nice enough.

Great 90s tunes

Decadeologists, I’m reliably informed, look upon the ‘3s as transitional years. The dawn of a new decade is slow to break – and it takes a year or two for the morning stars of the previous era to fade into blue sky. For that reason, and many more, this feels like a record caught between multiple different states. There are ideas here that the Boos have taken and run with from various giants of genre (MVB, Beatles especially). And then there are ideas – riffs, atmospheres, sound textures and compositional choices – that will be picked up and refined by bands throughout the 90s (by the Manics, Radiohead, Creation’s entire roster, etc.). There are even concepts that, seen in the context of the next record’s contribution to britpop cannon, feel work in progress within The Boo’s own career, too. And so it is that, on this album from the 90s own ‘3, we find our Boos still slightly shoegaze snoozy and just now rousing. While this album will mean more to many than my “a prelude to the 90s proper” allows for – it’s also exactly that. It’ll be a year or so before the stars are fully faded and they yell out “Wake up, it’s a beautiful morning.” What a thing it must be to be able to say you were there first.

This started off with so much promise, first song was great and I thought I had found a new band to listen to.But this rest was rubbish!!!

Pick a lane, guys! This wasn't terrible, but it is another example of "why the heck is this on this list?". Just some guys goofing around. Why is it that all the bad albums are OVER AN HOUR LONG? Like what is it about mediocre musicians that makes them go, "Let's just keep playing. Everyone will want to listen to this track for six minutes at least!"?

I’m not sure you could find an album that has more of that “early 90s” sound. I also like that this music is all over the place. Tons of secondary styles. None of which particularly move me, but it was fine.

Good but tooooooooo long. Liked the dub bass lines on odd tracks.

Don't really get it. Pretty boring stuff.

I think The White Noise Revisited cost them a star.

One of Coltranes best albums, really showing how he pushed forth the boundaries of what jazz could be. Wait, wrong album. Kind of generic and borring at times, but not bad.

This album really took me on a journey - in the beginning I thought it was just another early 90’s alternative/indie record that at best I liked, at worst I was indifferent to, but by the end it had gone to so many weird and abstract places that I actively disliked it.

solidan indie, kinda nice

Interesting though not entirely convincing. However, some tracks are really good.

-I like the guitar and the groove in the background of "Upon 9th And Fairchild" -"Leaves And Sand" has some serious jamming and drum fills -Some of the songs were pretty plain -I am interested in listening again, so I think that just barely bumps it up to a 4

good, but not as good as loveless.

Too long for an album that has nothing standing out. I found it actually dragged on and got quite boring.

Not bad

Maybe generous but I did listen to it

Not bad, but more of a 3.5

I like this record a lot. It's wonderful to hear a record that was released during the peak of a couple movements (britpop and shoegaze) that I haven't heard. It's like a gift. This band blends gentle with noisy really well. Love it. This came out the same year as Blur's "Modern Life is Rubbish." It's better than that record, but isn't as good as any of the Blur records that came afterward. THERE REALLY AREN'T ANY WEAK POINTS ON THIS RECORD. VERY DESERVING OF ITS PLACE IN THE TOP 1001. Highlights: The controlled feedback on most songs; The refreshingly clean/poppy "Wish I Was Skinny"; "Leaves and Sand"; The fuzzed/phased out guitar at the end of "Butterfly McQueen" and how it segues into "Rodney King - Song for Lenny Bruce."

I have so much to say, but not sure how to articulate it. First of all, great name - I'm a big To Kill a Mockingbird fan. But also - the songs on this album somehow combine all of the musical styles that came in the 20 years before them as well as what would come in the next 20 years. You can hear British Invasion, psychedelic rock, 80s metal, 90s pop/punk (Rivers Cuomo definitely heard this album), techno, indy rock, and on and on. Big fan.

I'm not sure if I've heard of this band before or not. The music was new to me, but definitely sounded like it was produced in the 90s. Nothing spectacular, but I didn't hate it. Here's to "okay".

This is pretty good. I probably need to give it another listen to fully appreciate it, as I was a bit distracted today. Much more eclectic and diverse than I was expecting, surprised to hear some reggae vibes in some of the songs. 3 stars.

Would give 3.5 if I could. A good listen most of the time. Some more experimental things didn't feel like it was executed quite right. didn't feel like there were any breakout hits.

Very 90s but not bad.

Meriterebbero più ascolti per capirli. Li ho trovati interessanti, ma una cosa che non riesco proprio a digerire è il timbro del cantante, mi irrita. Allora ho deciso di guardare qualche video per inquadrarlo un po'. Ed è stato sorprendentemente simpatico. Quindi ho deciso di non essere troppo severo. Probabilmente li riascolterò perché penso di non averlo capiti abbastanza..

Pre-note: Devo ancora iniziare a sentirlo ma la copertina è bella trash. I Hang Suspended: Cazzo non me aspettavo questo. Qua è inutile che vado avanti a commentare i pezzi, sto a metà album e non ce n'è uno che non abbia pensato fosse geniale. Ma chi so sti Boo Radleys?? Ma dove so stati fino ad ora?? In conclusione: Crisi totale. Questo album è una bomba. Il '93? Ma seriamente? Suona come gruppi che venivano considerati all'avanguardia nel 2000, alcuni che posso nominare (Death Cab for Cutie), altri che non posso nominare perché stanno in lista. È più di un'ora di disco e onestamente non c'è un pezzo che possa dire che è debole. Quello che forse m'ha colpito meno è Lazarus, ma parliamo di 1 su 17. Ci stanno pezzi che vorrei sentire in loop come Take the Time Around. Adesso il punto è: è possibile che cazzo dopo 63 album ascoltati e un solo cinque me trovo a dare tre cinque di seguito? Che m'è successo, me s'è bloccato il dito sul cinque? Tutte domande che mi sono posto. Volevo dargli meno di cinque a sto album, mi sono svegliato e ho detto "ora me lo risento a mente fredda sicuro trovo un motivo per dargli quattro". No, 4 è troppo poco. Diamo a Cesare quel che è di Cesare. (Secondo me Luca ha dato 2 e Andrea 3)

Non conoscevo il gruppo e devo dire che mi ha stupito. Alcune scelte stilistiche non rispecchiano pienamente il mio gusto però ho apprezzato molto l'originalità visto anche l'anno. Mi piace il fatto che abbiano messo dentro tutto quello che gli piaceva senza farse troppi problemi nell'attenersi ad un genere. L'uso degli strumenti è spesso sperimentale ed il risultato è affascinante e psichedelico.

3 tracks in - giving me London calling vibes. Very diverse. About halfway through and I’m much less impressed.

Haven't heard about this band before. It was a nice discovery, enjoyed the sound very much.

Wish I Was Skinny Barney (...and Me)

I absolutely love this. This often has a distinctive 90s sound but is also the best shoegazing album that is actually reminiscent of 60s psychedelia. Some tracks reminds me of the Beatles. Some remind me of the Beach Boys' Smile, especially the one with the wind chimes. Each track offers new surprises. Starts off enticing and ends with satisfaction. This album is perfect from start to finish, and my personal preference guarantees a 5 star rating.

qué GUAPO el britpop y a la vez normal que durara menos de diez años

It's something

Yeah. Not bad. Some cool tunes. Not likely to come back to this one.

Not for me. Found like one song. They do a few cool sounds, almost like Real Estate and then the occasional reggae sound

Lots of unique sounds and flair that I haven’t heard anywhere else! I need to finish listening to this.

// Favs: – Score: Light to Decent 3

Unfortunately, the sound goes from too soft to hear to blazingly loud at the drop of a hat. The vocals are often too quiet. At times the sound can just be grating on the ears.

Quite fun, though got a bit bored of it towards the end

The orchestral arrangements are a nice touch. DK if I'm not in the mood or not cuz I'm usually a fan of the shoegaze sorta style but I thought it was kinda same-y after a while.

It was ok. Started with some good songs. But got boring in the second half.

Garbage

Funky, psyedelic. Not great.

Shoegaze 🥰 a bunch of really great deep cuts of the genre

I like Ride better

Not good

Better than I expected.

"Giant Steps" by The Boo Radleys was released in 1993 to critical acclaim. It falls under the following genres: shoegazing, Brit pop, psychedelic pop. Per Wikipedia: Reviewing the album's rerelease in 2008, Sic Magazine wrote, "For 64 minutes they were the greatest band on the planet." The tracklist: "I Hang Suspended" "Upon 9th and Fairchild" "Wish I Was Skinny" "Leaves and Sand" "Butterfly McQueen" "Rodney King (Song for Lenny Bruce)" "Thinking of Ways" "Barney (...and Me)" "Spun Around" "If You Want It, Take It" "Best Lose the Fear" "Take the Time Around" "Lazarus" "One Is For" "Run My Way Runway" "I've Lost The Reason" "The White Noise Revisited" This album opens with "I Hang Suspended." It's a poppy, rocky, fun song. They sound like any respectable alternative rock band, like maybe Matchbox 20, Third Eye Blind, or Incubus. I like it! Track 2, "Upon 9th and Fairchild" is another rocky, cool tune. It has fun bass and guitar work, with a distorted voice (Going Under-ish) and it's pretty catchy. It also sounds like No Doubt with some funky guitar work. The lyrics "this is my life too" are cool and repeated throughout. It also features a cool crying guitar with spooky violins. "Wish I Was Skinny" is a boppy, fun track with wishful lyrics of being skinny and having everything. It has fun clapping and really great guitar work. It ends in a chaotic psych breakdown and it's pretty cool. The next track is "Leaves and Sand," and it is unfortunately the last track I have time to listen to. I will also listen to "Lazarus" after this per Wikipedia's suggestion, and will complete my review. I'll finish this album tomorrow. I like it and I owe it to myself. "Leves and Sand" is a chill track that starts off quiet and dreamy before bursting into a band-heavy guitar/drum instrumentation. It's cool and sounds Tony Haw-friendly! It's very shoegazy. "Lazarus" is the track I have chosen to break free from the tracklist. This album has 17 songs, and though I've run out of my allotted 24 hours to review, 5 is still better than nothing. "Lazarus" fades open with a funky, psychedelic guitar that is quite addictive. It flows between the left and right headphones, and I really dig it. I'm getting major Wavves vibes from this track! I am eternally disappointed in myself for snubbing 70% of this album (and I will remedy that tomorrow). But I've really enjoyed what I've heard. Their lyrics are dark but their claps and "buh buh bums" are refreshingly ironic. Favorite track: Lazarus Honorable mention: Wish I Was Skinny

Este álbum são imensas merdas ao mesmo tempo que individualmente dava um álbum de 4. Mas como está, mama com 2 que já é bom.

This turned out better than I expected it to be. There is a lot of quite interesting stuff going on musically. It rocks more than I thought the band were capable. I am big on voices though, if a voice isn't right then I find it difficult to enjoy the music at all. This guy's voice is really quite irritating. A shame, it could have been so much better.

I love the Boo Radley's, but this album is all over the place.

25% decent music, 75% noise.

If you got rid of half the songs you might have a mediocre album. 6.4/10

absolute meh, do not like the noises that guitar makes in their songs.

I’m kind of annoyed to have listened to this in this context. I MUST have listened to this album before I died? Why?! It’s... fine. Actually, to be more specific, it’s completely unremarkable. I can’t remember a single song. Is this really the standard for albums I MUST listen to before I die? An album I LITERALLY do not remember a detail of the following day?

damn pretty fucking tight vibes first song goes hard as hell sounds like oasis but more punk rock

I thought the first song had kicked things off nicely with some winsome harmonies and key changes and a swaggering riff, but then I blinked and it was track 7. The rest of the album was lost in the same "Whoops, too much water in my watercolours" vein. One more for the list of bands 60s nostalgia has to answer for.

This album has genuine moments of bliss and authentic rock music. However, they are broken apart by disjointed efforts and forgettable tracks, which limit the entire experience.

Not bad. Liked the early tracks more with a bit of a pop shine. Got a little my morning jacket-y towards the end

3/5. It's a disjointed album but I do feel there is something for everyone here. I definitely get the sense that these guys inspired radiohead. Favorite songs are Leaves and Sand, Best lose the fear, and White Noise revisited.

Este álbum é muito semelhante, nada de novo e interessante. Contudo, é tão longo e tão chato que tenho de dar um 4. Existe uma versão estendida, está já não é comprida de mais. Nota:4/10

Not quite as bad as other albums I don't finish, but I didn't listen to more than 3.5 songs because it was too distracting during work. Seems like a mix of standard brit-pop and annoying noise.

Like early ish indie rock. Tries to be a bit psychedelic at times. Not a fan. Thinking Of Ways was so so bad 😂. Just shite. 1/5

Kind of liked only one song from it

Pretty terrible. Bland and bloated. But a couple of decent tracks and fleeting moments of enjoyment save this from one star

The auditory equivalent of dog shite.

Boo Radleys is the sound of a semi competent bed wetting student band with no real tunes

The chord progressions that Coltrane used in his song Giant Steps weren't exactly new back then, they had been used some years prior by Ellington and other composers; and the second part of the song is a mere transcript of a passage from a music theory book. But the song worked so well by itself that the term "Coltrane Changes" began to be used to describe these rapid and complex progressions. And maybe -just maybe- that was the point of the name; this album seems to me like a recollection of styles, of the best rock-ish stuff you could get back in the 1990s, and it comes out nicely. A lot of nice songs, an overall consistent sound, and it never gets boring thanks to the leaps between styles.

Probably didn't give it enough run throughs, but didn't excite me

I might have liked them if I knew about them at the time.

Nao fede nem cheira.

If you like the white stripes you might enjoy this album

It was ok, nothing really stood out to me and although there were parts that I enjoyed somewhat it was short lived for the majority of the album. 2*

Enjoyable but I expected more from an album listed as Shoegaze/Dream Pop

I actually thought I would like this more. Was fine but nothing stood out. Think the singer didn't really connect.

Was made in the 90s but sounds like the 70s? Nope.

klinkt wel als leuke rock van goeie kwaliteit.

Solid listen. Nothing super jumped out at me like it was a great song but nothing made me want to skip the track. Probably won’t search out again or be able to say “hey I’ve heard this song before”

Didn’t know much about this band. Had heard the name, and that was probably the reason I had never bothered to check them out. So good, so bad, so average. I liked parts of most songs and disliked parts on par. Yin of mesmerizing rhythms coupled with the yang of mediocre 90s pop. One song came close to good (Upon 9th and Fairchild), and one was fairly bad (Wish I was Skinny). Doesn’t get more solid 3 than this.

Eclectic. Surprising. Ambitious

good album, wouldve given it a 3.5 but you cant do half ratings on here.

This is ok, some good ideas, but lots of it quite forgettable. Would probably benefit from repeat listening

Rokowisko alternatywne z elementami spogladania na buty, ktore wplata elementy psychodeliczne, 17 kawalkow na godzinnym albumie, o ile kompozycje instrumentalne mi siadly, bo czuc z nich 70s i klasyczne rokowanie, to tak samo wokal mi nie pasuje, choc rowniez jest stylizowany na tamten okres, kawalki ktore leca na plejke to wish I was skinny oraz thinking of ways i the white noise

Really good album, it was a pretty big surprise. 2 discs, so over an hour of music

This was some pretty solid 90s alternative. Dug some of the experimentation they attempted, but they seemed to fall back into that 90s sound before too long. Some pretty cool songs on there though.

Parecidos a Belle & Sebastian. Les voy a dar un 5.

Pop.

3.4* some good songs for sure but definitely some snoozers.

I really enjoyed this album--clearly I should look at more classics of the shoegaze sub-genre

Delightful hourlong trip into a washed-out summer memory. The light blend of synths and woodwinds/horns with a more traditional rock band kit was fun! Modern 'indierock' imitations or evolutions of this style have bothered me, but listening to this, I see why so many people have tried! Probably a 4 or 4.5 in reality, but rounding up because it is the first album I know I would not have given a chance without the 1001 list, and I truly feel glad to have been exposed to it.

Very distracting

Nice, sometimes a bit proggy

Not bad, very easy listen even with so many tracks.

I mean, it sort of sounds like most any other alternative rock band of the 90s. It’s alright, but not really anything to write home about.

Definitely caught me by surprise, good variation of songs and caught a Smiths vibe which I can always get around

There were moments of this that I found compelling - the end of I've Lost the Reason, for example, when the distorted vocals kick in. Overall I found it dull. I liked the last couple songs. My mind could be changed about this album, but not a great first listen for me.

Modern groovy-esque feel. Pretty good

Love it. Want it.

Was totally ready to write this off, it started slow. But damn if the second half didn't totally impress.

Pretty Cool big fan

Iets te experimenteel voor mij, al zitten er wel wat lekkere deuntjes in

Thought it was decent, but not much jumped out at me. "Rodney King (Song for Lenny Bruce" was a stand-out

Never heard this one before. Interesting blend of influences. Like the dubby basslines throughout. Some of the singing and lyrics irk me a bit. Tend to prefer the more laid back tracks to when they try to rock out.

Some interesting ideas, but the execution never hits for me. I don't mind the vocal style and sort of like it, but lyrically it's uninspired. Very early 90s sounding.

Enjoyed this a lot. Would never have given them time of day having only previously heard Wake Up Boo, but I guess that's what this is all about.

Didn't finish it, but plan on going back to it.

Ein generisches Rockalbum, das durch seine experimentellen Anklänge wenig aufgewertet wird. Im Gedächtnis bleibt davon- nichts. Wenn dies DAS Album des Jahres gewesen sein soll, wie einige Kritiker und Magazine schrieben, spricht das insgesamt gegen den Geschmack und Zeitgeist von 1993.

Quite bland. Nothing that really stood out to me.

This is my least favorite album yet.

Grunge-y, mostly okay

Didn't even finish it.

Steve Miller band synth and psychedelic rock. I think I need to listen a few more times to get a good feel, but I liked it so far.

*I would give a 3.5* Dig the sound. Not sure if its because it sounds more 'familiar' in some ways than the other albums (with some song exceptions, Changes/Born to Run/etc.) Enjoyed: 'Wish I Was Skinny', 'Best Lost the Fear' 'Take the Time Around'. Did not enjoy: Spun Around, 'I've Lost the Reason'.

Another hidden 90s alt rock gem. This was great

bra grejer

Most of the album was good chill vibes.

doesnt have a specific nice song but the album is pretty cool overal

Very nice!

Loved the variety, thought it stretchers on a bit too long though

Upbeat shoegazey 90s alt-rock, not too bad but also not too good. It sounded like a band that had a lot of playing talent and access to decent recording gear... but went into a studio with two songs, determined to record an hour and 15's worth of music. In the end I turned it off halfway, which I don't do often (but was still like 40min into the album). This is the very definition of a 2.5/5.

Indie!

This is a serious, 5 stars, benchmark album. A classic in every sense. The way all the styles are different, yet blend together seemlessly , is outstanding.

As sicmagazine so nicely put it: "For 64 minutes they were the greatest band on the planet."