When I Was Born For The 7th Time

Great listen, if overlong. BOA here in the original not the Normal Cook version that everyone knows. Four stars over the first half, three over the second. Great 'taking it back' version of Norwegian Wood to close out. Such a late nineties album (in a good way). 3.5 but the length brings it down to a 3. Second Wolverhampton band on this list after Slade - no Mighty Lemon Drops or Babylon Zoo huh?

At first I thought "OH... the Brimful Of Asha song... Ugggh". But then I started to realize this band is both a product of the mid-late 90's alternative sound I associated with a lot of bands I didn't like at the time, and they were better than I was giving them credit for 3.5 stars

Really cool to hear a British-Indian album! Only really like the hit single though - loved the meaning behind it. Tracks to Track: Brimful of Asha

Definitely a band I assumed was a one-hit wonder thanks to a Fatboy Slim remix in the 90s when Brimful of Asha came out. Technically that's probably true, as I'm not sure anybody ever heard anything else from these guys, so not sure why this is supposed to be a game changing album. All of that said, it's not a bad listen. There are plenty of spacy psychedelic moments mixed with more 90s rock like elements. And some Indian fusion. It's definitely a different sound. It's not bad, but not sure I'd go back to this. Kind of just a flashback to the 90s that briefly made me remember the one Fatboy slim mix. 3/5

Perhaps a bit too long for what it offers. This album excels with its funky mixing and steady bass drum rhythms. The Indian instrumentation is a lovely element.

Cute fun good time. Not particularly noteworthy I thought.

I was just thinking about "Brimful of Asha" the other day and how I hadn't heard it in years. It's still a good song! I had never heard the rest of the album until today, and it's actually pretty good. The use of the sitar and the south asian drums are put in tastefully. There's even a little Beatles cover at the end (because of course...English band has to cover them during this time period or they were permanently jailed in the tower of London) I like the unashamed Indian cultural references with both the lyrics and the sound. It's easy to listen to and doesn't get in the way. Most of the songs have maybe 3 chords in them, but they're nice enough. Not bad, better than I expected from what I previously assumed was a one hit wonder.

The first two songs were nice, but after that it lost me. I prefer the Fatboy Slim version of "Brimful Of Asha". The album version is good but it feels like its missing something. I feel like I could grow to like this more since it reminds me a lot of Primal Scream which is a band that I've really grown to love but we'll see. Favorite track: Sleep on the Left Side

This is one of those albums that feels like it’s trying to be about everything at once — and somehow mostly pulls it off. It’s a melting pot of styles: indie rock, hip hop beats, Indian instrumentation, a bit of lo-fi psychedelia, and even a Beatles cover for good measure. There’s a real sense of playfulness running through it, even when it gets political or philosophical. The mix of sitar drones and fuzzy guitars gives it a distinctive flavour that you don’t really find anywhere else. “Brimful of Asha” is obviously the big hook that anchors the record, and it still sounds great — both in its original, hazy form and the famous remix that came later. But there’s a lot more to explore underneath, from the trippy grooves of “Sleep on the Left Side” to the strange spoken word and experimental detours that pop up throughout. It’s eclectic, but it somehow manages to stay coherent thanks to that laid-back, almost deadpan delivery from Tjinder Singh. That said, not everything lands perfectly. A few tracks feel like ideas that don’t quite get where they’re going, and the constant stylistic shifts can be a bit exhausting by the end. Still, even when it doesn’t all click, it’s never boring. When I Was Born for the 7th Time is messy in the best way — bold, odd, and unmistakably its own thing.

Anglo-indian beats. I did not expect this. It's groovy, weird, lo-fi, well-produced, uses found sounds I really like, and has some bops. I flows well the whole way through, has great anti-racist lyrics. Surprising good find!Could be leaner and a bit shorter but still good

Couple of great songs. The rest not offensive

Lets go go go ! Track 1: some great textures. Interesting beat and lyrics. Track 2 is a banger indeed. A legitimate hit. Super cool song. 3 another playful beat. Clumsy but nice. Great Indian touch. Track 4: Indian interlude 5 another Indian mix. Not as effective for me. Nice but that's it 6 a bit out of place, but a good song. 7 not sencesional at all. Track 8- something nice about that one. Love Allen ginsberg voice. But a rough section of the record. 9 good interlude 10 kinda cute kinda dumb. A fine listen but not incredible Track 11- Paula who joins in this track has a beautiful singing voice.  Maybe the best writen song on the album. A bit of a 'the blue mask ' lou reed vibe. A lovely lovely one. 12: very smokey. Too much so. Nice but not inspiring. Like most 'beat' leaning tracks here. Glad it's done. Don't need to hear this one again. Track 13: was expecting for this one on the track list, but it didn't deliver much. Cool a bit lazy production and Dull rapping. 14- like 12. boring. Last one is a Norwegian Wood cover. One of my favorite songs of all time. A very nice Indian version. The song remains beautiful. Ending on a high note! This album is a mess, I'm afraid. Was hoping for better to start the challenge again But not amazing Still a fun listen overall So

Giving this a 3 because I quite like the Asian touches and a couple of the songs, but I can’t stand the stupid squelchy noises in several other tracks. 2.5

A great listen. So good to go back to these songs

Not my usual vibe but I really liked it. The funk was funkin and the embrace of stereotypical British vs Indian culture and music was really cool.

This was a super interesting album spanning lots of different genres, but also some coherent. Reminded me a bit of Badly Drawn Boy and other late 90s, early 2000s indie rock bands.

Almost a 4. Some of these songs I will definitely listen to again, some are just not good.

Never heard of this group. Music felt a little all over the place but it was pretty interesting and some of it gave me gorillaz vibes.

I was not familiar with Cornershop, so had no idea what to expect going into this. It was definitely interesting. Some tracks I quite liked. Others were...confusing. Why are we talking about canned goods? Anyway, I want potatoes now. Listened before? N Saved to library? N Favorite track(s): We're in Yr Corner, Funky Days Are Back Again, Good Shit, Candyman ⭐⭐⭐: Liked it. Saved some tracks.

3/5

it has its own style and its a decent listen but i somehow can't get excited for it

Kinda cool

Indian 90s soft radio pop. "Brimful of Asha" was a throwback.

This album is really interesting. An alternative album that also has instrumental interludes with experimental, electronica and eastern influences. Definitely more sitar than I expected, but I enjoyed it overall. Highlights: “Brimful of Asha”, “Funky Days are Back” and “Good Shit”

Bro esto es lo que quiere hacer Damon Albarn en lo nuevo de Gorillaz, ¿conocerá este grupo? Seguro que sí. Easy-going quirky british music, la vieja confiable. Muy fan de los sonidos de la India que rompen la fórmula de siempre, espero que pongan grupos directamente de la India porque estoy muy a favor de descubrir esos sonidos en este momento Favs: We're in Your Corner, Sleep on the Left Side, Good Ships, Good to Be on the Road Back Home, Candyman, Norwegian Wood (qué bonita cover)

Mezcla de sonidos súper interesante que cuando pega, pega muchísimo. Fusionando elementos indios (especialmente los sitares molan demasiado) con britpop/hip-hop/trip hop, el disco es un muy buen reflejo del Reino Unido, que desde hace muchas décadas es un crisol de culturas tochísimo que va creciendo cada vez más con el paso de los años. Lamentablemente a veces las canciones duran más de lo que deberían (We're in Your Corner con dos minutos menos iría de cabeza a la playlist) sin dejar de ser una escucha curiosa. Se me ha hecho más ameno de lo esperado (pensaba que iba a ser más denso después de haber leído vuestras reviews. Pobrecitos los de Cornershop). ¿Esencial? A tope. Al menos para exponerse a música "distinta" y ampliar horizontes. Banco. A la playlist: Sleep on the Left Side, Brimful of Asha, Candyman.

Never heard of this group, so was hoping to discover some new music. There's nothing wrong with this album I just found it a bit boring. It has a laid back vibe that I normally like, but I just didn't connect with it. Nothing bad here, but nothing that really stands out either.

Lots of fun whimsy that becomes too repetitive. Brimful of Asha is obviously a classic though

Lots of fluff and some nice songs in between.

2-3 real bangers but a lot of filler material

Nice fusion of styles both musically and culturally.

This was a fun and funky record. It was easy to listen to, and I don't think there was any track I really disliked too much. Favourite Track(s): Brimful of Asha Least Favourite Track(s): It's Indian Tabaco My Friend

Pretty boring beach rock. Neat that it's an Indian(?) band so some of the later tracks were interesting. But yeah not inspiring. Like I'm walking past a tiki bar and definitely not drawn in... listenable but something for background music.

A delightful snapshot of 90's pop, mixed with Punjabi rhythms and instrumentation. I had never heard of Cornershop prior to this listen, and I was delightfully surprised. Great vocals, cool trip-hoppy production, and while it gets repetitive at times, When I Was Born For The 7th Time stands out as a gem.

Not a 5 star album by any means but there are decent enough songs rounded off by the massive hit single. Listening to it 30 years on it does sound dated.

Oh, so this is where that song is from

Este es un álbum bastante particular. Lo interesante es que toma elementos de la música de la India (instrumentación, fonética, palabras y sonoridades) aplicados a un estilo indie rock muy pertinente a los fines de los años 90. Pienso que suena muy original. Por momentos algunos beats tienen elementos del hip hop, y hay también algunas manipulaciones electrónicas. Sin embargo no puedo decir que haya conectado mucho con el material o que desee volver a escucharlo. Aparentemente el tema "Brimful Of Asha" y su remix tuvieron extrema popularidad en su época, y esto hizo que el álbum aparezca en esta lista, pero en lo personal no lo considero sobresaliente.

For every "Brimful of Asha" high there is a "What's is Happening" low. Included maybe because it was an oddity more than being a highly influential album of its time, because as much as music critics and Wikipedia want to make you believe it, the masses didn't really show up for this album, and it wasn't for a lack of not knowing about it. Favorites: "Brimful of Asha", "Chocolat" With the exception of "Brimful of Asha", I tend to prefer the pure instrumentals. Also, is it just me or on vocal performances like "Good Sh*t" does his accent end up sounding like a Southern American? If you loved this, check out the dub of Meat Beat Manifesto's ORIGINAL FIRE which also came out in 1997. "It's the Music" is a chef's kiss.

This is not a great album but contains one of my favourite duets ever about drinking and travelling. Good To Be On The Road Back Home Again should've been a smash hit! Lyrically 'Drinking is the devil that drives one apart, leaving memories of what should've been but wasn't' and 'I lost myself searching for what i ain't' particularly hit home The album version of Brimful of Asha is plodding and unremarkable on here compared to the mix by Fat Boy Slim which really brought it to life. Lots of the other tracks are sort of like Beck and a little half baked. Make way for a lady......

It’s been a long time since I last heard this. Totally forgot how slow the album version of BoA was. Enjoyed it. It was different, eclectic, and a pleasing trip down memory lane, but not enough to make me come back for another listen.

6/10 nothing really stood out, kind of cool to passively jam out to tho

Who? A mix of Brit-Pop, Electronica, Raga-Rock, and Avant-Pop that seems to be heavily influenced by large amounts of "wacky baccy". Supposedly, the track "Brimful of Asha" was a big international hit, but I must have missed it? My favourite track was the Raga-Rock track "We're in Yr Corner" and the album contains an interesting version of the Beatles song "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)", however, the rest of the album I could quite happily live without.

Disappointing, too disjointed, had nice moments

This was fun! Good beats, good vibes

Worth listening to but I don’t like it, would be better if singing less

Really enjoyed some of the songs, some were not my thing but I liked how they were playing around with different genres. Thought the cover of Norwegian Wood was fun too. Fav song: Sleep on the Left Side, also enjoyed Brimful of Asha, Good to Be on the Road Back Home Again and Funky Days Are Back Again Least fav: When the Light Appears Boy

Thought Chappell roan had hopped on a feature on one of their songs. Overall an alright album. Hit or miss really. I like brimful of asha, never knew the words just the tune before. Bit too sitar heavy. Liked the version of Norwegian wood too. Specific rating- 3.5 Fav song- brimful of asha Least fav- what is happening?

Good but inconsistent

Ok

no I'M the Candyman

Rolig indie rock, lättlyssnat.

NEED TO RE LISTEN NO LE PRESTE ATENCION AJJAJAJA

Me gustó bastante, muy eclectico, muy 90's.

Brimful of Asha is an iconic tune

It’s as if I’m writing code in a Mumbai cafe. Lo-fi Indian beats. I always wondered if there were more beyond Brimful…the answer is not much.

нигде не нашла его кроме ютуба, тяжело. та одна песня что знала ничё такая. в целом довольно психодел, повторять не будем

Good

ba pocetku dobar posle samo meh

The album is ok. I guess it's kind of interesting incorporating elements of Indian music into a more typical indie rock kind of approach, and there's some other quirky elements in here, but it's not really hitting for me overall. It's pretty dull in a lot of places. The original Brimful of Asha doesn't hit anywhere near the level of the Norman Cook remix version. It sounds like a demo in comparison, although it does have its own charms with nice bits of violin in there. 2.5 rounded up.

Divertido, mas não segue muito minha vibe, fora as músicas mais amadas

Chill vibes, very 90s. Unremarkable but would be great as the soundtrack to an hour of a road trip through the US.

The fusion of indie, electronic, and Indian music is really cool. There are some great tracks on here but for some reason the middle is forgettable. 6/10

Part indie, part Britpop, all fun.

I was surprised to hear that Brimful of Asha song. It's one that I obviously had heard from tv / movies, but never intentionally listened. This was a decent album over all from a band I had never heard of.

Brimfull of asha is such a banger, too bad the rest of this isn't :(

Should be 3.5. It runs just a tad long but it set the standard for the goa breakbeat/downbeat scene. Fun listen

Weird little album with a lot of middle east / indian stylistic influences, drum machines, and a semi-banger as the 2nd song. Reminiscent of Sugar Ray. 3.1

that cover on Norwegian Wood is funny asf

I enjoyed this. Bit of filler in the middle but lots of interesting stuff. Loved Norwegian Wood version.

Rolled my eyes when I saw this come up. I’d filed it in my head under ‘comedy one hit wonder album’ at the time it was released. Actually it’s quite fun in a 90s lo-fi yet upbeat some times hip hoppy beat vibe. Starts strong and then fades somewhat until you hit the standout Candyman track. S’ok innit.

Not what I was expecting. Not terrible.

I still don’t really know what a brimful of Asha means if I’m being honest.

A unique indie blend of rock, hip-hop, funk, and Indian elements. Not quite my taste, but I didn't think this was a bad album at all.

The back half really saved this one, but not by that much. Candyman and the Norwegian Wood cover are both solid.

Started off strong but was a roller coaster of highs and lows overall.

Zuhause, Heidenheim, Deutschland. Gut, wenn auch oft weird.

I have to give credit where credit is due, I never heard anything like this album, which is something that I usually appreciate it. This record feels very unique thanks to the combination of different styles like indie rock, trip hop, and, most notable, south asian music. Apart from the unusual melt of genres, my favourite parts of this album are the more indie rock oriented songs, specially the ones with lyrics, as they usually have a very positive message. With that being said, there are a pair of aspects that I didn't really enjoy. One being that there are a lot of songs which are instrumental passages, and they feel very weak in comparition to the type of songs I mentioned before. This makes the album feel a bit inconsistent. The last one being that I feel the performances could be more engaging. When they sing, they sing pretty well, but I always left the songs with this sensation of expecting a little more. Overall, it is a decent experience and the production is quite nice. Before ending the review, I just want to say that the first time I heard this, I dislike a lot, but I'm glad I decided to give it another try, as I left with more positive feelings than negative.

I'd heard Brimful of Asha but not this album. The cover of Norwegian Wood is good. I really enjoyed this!

7/22/25. Was familiar with one song, but pretty decent listen. The Indian fusion sounded cool to my western ears. Also a couple songs on here I had no idea was by this group!

A few real high points, particularly at the start, but felt very bloated as an album. 3.5

Blended several genres well and kept my attention, but didn't care for every track. Actually liked just the instrumentals like Coming Up the best. 3/5

This feels like madness with an album with Brimful of Asha to not be a smash but it really is not great after that. I enjoyed Where in your corner and candyman but most of the rest is not great, the score is massively probed up by one song but what a banger it is.

Surprisingly good. Its a catchy type of music. Good beats and melody. The lead has an excellent voice.

you know what? everyone does need a bosom for a pillow

Pleasant but forgettable. Right down the middle for me. Rounding up because it's pleasant.

This album had a strong start and end. As the album progressed, I was taken on an unexpected journey of electronic, indie-esque music with an indian flair. I appreciated the blending of Western and indian influences, I wish that it was a little more consistent on the album. I don't think I would listen to this album again, aside from resisting the songs I enjoyed.

I didn't really care for this on my first listen betond Brimful of Asha, but on my second listen I liked it a lot more. I like the idea of a British Indian fusion because it highlights so much of the muddy history between those cultures, but this album is just too bloated. Overall, Brimful remains the best here, but I also like Butter the Soul.

7/10

Interesting album. It's rich and diverse, and a bit weird at times, and challenging and glorious and full of soul and spirit. Just like anglo-Indian food.

3.2 2x

Sorti en 1997, et alors que la scène musicale britannique était dominée par les guitares tapageuses d'Oasis et la pop astucieuse de Blur, Cornershop, mené par le charismatique Tjinder Singh, proposait avec "When I Was Born for the 7th Time" une voie radicalement différente. Une voie qui se veut comme une déclaration d'indépendance musicale, un carrefour foisonnant où l'Orient rencontre l'Occident, où l'indie rock flirte avec le funk, le hip-hop et les traditions musicales indiennes. Si on ne devait retenir qu'un titre de cet album, ce serait bien évidemment le single monumental "Brimful of Asha". Cette chanson est un petit miracle de la pop. Dans sa version originale, c'est un morceau décontracté, presque nonchalant, une ode touchante à la culture populaire indienne et à son industrie cinématographique, citant les chanteurs de playback légendaires comme Lata Mangeshkar et Mohammed Rafi. La mélodie est simple, le rythme entraînant, et la chaleur qui s'en dégage est immédiate. Mais l'histoire de ce titre ne serait pas complète sans évoquer le remix de Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), qui a transformé cette charmante chanson indie en un hymne planétaire. En accélérant le tempo et en y ajoutant une ligne de basse irrésistible, Cook a catapulté Cornershop au sommet des classements. "Brimful of Asha" est la porte d'entrée parfaite à l'univers du groupe et reste, à ce jour, l'un des morceaux les plus joyeux et fédérateurs de la décennie. À côté de ce géant, l'album contient d'autres pépites qui confirment le talent du groupe. "Sleep on the Left Side" en est le meilleur exemple. Avec son riff de guitare entêtant et son rythme bondissant, c'est une chanson indie pop parfaite, infusée de cette saveur unique propre à Cornershop. Elle prouve que le groupe pouvait créer des tubes sans renier son identité. Dans un registre plus funk et décontracté, "Good Ships" séduit par sa ligne de basse groovy et son ambiance lounge. Ces deux ou trois titres sont le cœur battant de l'album, ceux qui justifient à eux seuls son écoute et qui démontrent une maîtrise évidente de l'écriture pop. Là où l'album devient plus complexe à évaluer, c'est dans son exploration musicale tous azimuts. L'audace de Cornershop est louable. Qui d'autre aurait osé reprendre "Norwegian Wood" des Beatles en la chantant intégralement en pendjabi ? L'idée est brillante et le résultat, bien que déroutant pour certains, est une réappropriation culturelle fascinante. De même, la collaboration avec le poète de la Beat Generation Allen Ginsberg sur "When the Light Appairs Boy" est un moment suspendu, un spoken word étrange et planant sur un fond de cordes et de rythmes électroniques. Ces expérimentations témoignent d'un esprit curieux et sans frontières. Des titres comme "We're in Your Corner" ou "Funky Days Are Back Again" explorent différentes facettes du son du groupe, mêlant sitar, percussions dholki, et guitares avec une aisance déconcertante. Cependant, cette profusion d'idées finit par créer un sentiment de dispersion. Si les grands singles sont des modèles de concision et d'efficacité, le reste de l'album peut parfois sembler manquer de direction. L'éclectisme, poussé à son paroxysme, frôle parfois l'éparpillement. Certains morceaux instrumentaux ou interludes semblent moins aboutis, comme des esquisses ou des idées qui n'auraient pas été menées à leur terme. L'écoute de l'album d'une seule traite peut s'avérer une expérience décousue, passant d'un tube pop à une expérimentation absconse, puis à un instrumental ambiant, sans véritable fil conducteur pour lier l'ensemble. Cette hétérogénéité, si elle est la marque de fabrique du groupe, empêche l'album d'atteindre le statut de chef-d'œuvre cohérent, à l'inverse d'autres classiques de l'époque. Au final, "When I Was Born for the 7th Time" est un album à l'image de sa pochette : coloré, dense, et un peu chaotique. Il est porté par l'un des plus grands singles des années 90, "Brimful of Asha", et une poignée d'autres chansons excellentes qui démontrent le génie mélodique de Cornershop. Pour son ambition culturelle, pour sa fusion audacieuse des genres et pour son refus des conventions, il mérite le respect et l'admiration. Il capture parfaitement un moment où le multiculturalisme britannique trouvait une voix vibrante et intelligente dans la musique populaire. Toutefois, son manque de cohésion et ses quelques longueurs l'empêchent de figurer parmi les albums parfaits. C'est une oeuvre importante et profondément sympathique, un "bon album". Un 3 sur 5 solide et mérité.

Pretty good, less 'rock' than I was expecting, quite a majority of the songs feel more inspired but hip hop and electronic stuff. The sampling is quite interesting, but can get repetitive in some areas where there's just a clip of people talking repeated. The Indian instruments and samples are for me what makes it quite unique, as I don't think I can think of another example which does it, and this does it well. Also some really catchy stuff on here. Quite a lot of the songs are a bit nothing though. Favourite songs: butter the soul, chocolat, we're in your corner, coming up, good ships, good to be on the road back home, It's Indian tobacco my friend. Overall around 6/10

Pretty interesting, cool production! Never heard of this before

An interesting album! I think I've heard mateen singing Brimful of Asha before. Happy to have listened

plenty of cool sounds but I suppose ultimately it was not my fav thing i ever heard

Swore I’ve heard “Brimful of Asha” before. Surprised by the album, would listen to again.

Brimful of Asha is a certi banger. Appreciate the influencers and the mergering of sounds but the production feels a little lazy, repeated samples and melodies throughout.

Sure. Why not.

This album was very much a produce of its time, and fortunately for us, it was a good time. The first song, Sleeping on the Left Side, started and my instinctual thought was College-radio stoner techno. Then when track three, Butter the Soul, hit and the sitar started, I knew I was right! I actually enjoyed this album a lot. It reminded me of Fatboy Slim or Lionrock about that same time, just more chill. The first half the album was pretty solid. The later half was odd with the skit-like interludes, but then came back with songs like It’s Indian Tobacco, and vocal variations like the rap on Candyman and female vocals on Good to Be. I’m coming back to this one (or maybe I already have….).

Random thoughts: * I distinctly remember buying this album. It was because Spin magazine said it was the best album of 1997. Sort of dubious now considering it was the same year OK Computer and Daft Punk’s Homework came out. Welp?!? * Brimful of Asha is still a fun and catchy tune. It doesn’t get enough play. * I also enjoyed the Sleep on the Left Side. As it gave me a shot of nostalgia. * I didn’t remember the Norwegian Wood cover but maybe because it’s not that good. * I will probably always be a little bit mad at this album just because Spin magazine oversold it. Solid music and interesting with the mash up up of pop and traditional Indian sounds.

Decent sound but repetitive and long

Only familiar with Brimful of Asha, which I've always liked. Overall, this is more interesting than average Britpop because it has a slight Indian twist. The influence is definitely there but doesn't overwhelm the sound.

Interesting mix of sounds here but not really sure why it is on the list.

Starts unbelievably great and descends into a spiral of nothing much

What a pleasant surprise! This is why I enjoy the 1001 album challenge. Very listenable and groovy.

Brimful of Asha

I can see the merits. BFA was a hit and holds up to this day but the rest is uneven and, while there are some fun ideas and culture mashing, I can’t see it rising to needing to be included on this list.

It's a UK alt rock band with Indian members, so I guess it makes sense that it would have a fusion of Indian sounds and rock/etc sounds. Still, the sound is all over the place. I only knew the one popular track: "Brimful of Asha".

I only knew the single and my recollection of a singer who couldn't really sing (mainstay of the 90s given Cake and Soul Coughing's success) with some Indian instrumentation held true for surprisingly few other songs. There were far more instrumental tracks than I expected, some hip hop beats, and even Allan Ginsberg spoken word samples. It was also surprisingly cohesive given the genre sampling - perhaps indicative of the overall theme of blurring/blending the lines between things. That said, I don't know this really rose to the level of being great given the singer who can't really sing, and the solidly dated sound. It could only sound more 90s if it came with a Delia's catalog and pucca shell necklace.

45

Cornershop created such a fresh, vibrant album, one that still sounds new in 2025. The combination of electronic, rap, and funk with Indian music wasn't created by them, but something Cornershop does makes them sound so unique. I feel like a lot of Indian-inspired music includes the sitar and nothing else. While I'm a huge fan of the sitar, Indian music is way more than that one instrument. Cornershop's single and their most well known hit, "Brimful of Asha," wasn't even that remarkable to me. The songs they created with stronger Indian elements were more fun and interesting. Could I have done without the R2-D2 beeps? Yeah, but I'll take the good with the bad.

This album was definitely eclectic, as if the album title didn't already clue me into that. The album is pretty hard to pin into a genre, as well, as it contains a lot of unique sounds. Ultimately, it was not hard to believe that this album was recorded with a lot of drugs going on.

I don't really know what to do with this one. It's all over the place.

I found this to veer between very good, a bit weird, very weird, bad, average and pretty much every point in between. Some fantastic tracks. The original of 'Brimful Of Asha' was good, but the Fat Boy Slim remix elevated it to a whole different level. I wouldn't actively seek this album out again, which I think means it's either 2 or 3 stars. I'll give it 3 as the good outweighed the weird/bad.

Brimful of Asha was an instant classic back in the day but the rest of this is a little boring. My wife and I also spent a long time feeling like this wasn't the definitive version of this song but couldn't find another one that sounded right. We probably listened to 4-5 different remixes and they all sound wrong now and I don't know if it'll ever sound right again.

Better than I thought it would be.

Didn't start out great, but grew on me a little as it progressed.

I thought this was an artist I’d never heard before, until the unmistakable theme song of taking a Lebomb James came on… IYKYK. Apologies to the staff at Corner Bar. This felt like the work of several bands, which is probably what they were going for. But personally I found it distracting.

I thought these guys just made commercials for LeeeeeeBrawn Jaaames. Was it Nike? Man, that would get me hyped…for going to the bars and drinking. This thing was all over the place but I guess kept me interested. Rounding up to 3 for that bass line.

Truth is anything would sound like a minimum 3* a day after suffering through yet another Steely Dan album. This album is a bit of a mess, but I did enjoy it. I enjoyed the first 3 or so minutes of Brimful of Asha...had me teetering between 2* and 3* at that point, but then I was pleasantly surprised by Candyman towards the end of the album. Blast from the past! Forgot it was by these guys. 2.75/5

Interesting

Enjoyed the East Indian influence and arrangements, but overall it's pretty lightweight British pop that doesn't really resonate for me.

This is fine. Lives in that 90's Beck-like world I guess. I don't think this is must-listen or anything, but I suppose it's a 3.

It was solid.

Starts off strong, but then peters out with too much filler. There's probably a tight 45 minutes somewhere in here.

2.5/5

This one grew on me as I listened to it - I was originally going to rate it as a 2. There's a lot of great songs and brilliant ideas on here, but I found that, as an album, it fell short and felt too disjointed to be as enjoyable as I would've liked.

Interesting album with a neat vibe and some good songs, unfortunately some of them didn't quite land for me.

I really feel like I understand and appreciate what they were trying to do with this album, however, it is pretty disjointed. I really appreciated a second listen. I don't think I would ever go out of my way to listen again or add it to my rotation. Many strong moments, but as a whole it's missing something for me.

Aight

I mean it was pleasant on the ears I suppose but the lyrics were meh (the ones in English at least). Also didn't really love the dude's voice. And the album kinda dragged for a while. Meh.

Eclectic sound, but dang this is a long album. Pretty fun though!

I won't revisit this, but it sounds pretty cool.

Not great, but I did like some of the songs.

Jeg troede, at jeg kendte Brimful of Asha, men det var åbenbart et Fatboy Slim remix af originalen, jegh havde hørt. Et charmerende album, der ikke lyder som meget andet, men nok heller ikke noget jeg kommer til at finde frem igen. Indisk cover af Norwegian Wood var godt

This has a lot of same DNA as bands I like: Rostam, TV Girl, etc. But it also has some DNA that I don't like. Namely 90s trip-hop which already inundates this list.

Curate’s egg

First 2 were great then quickly went south.

Enjoyed this. Remember the hit single but never heard the full album. Some good musical moments

One of those albums that was definitely all over the place. Some hits, some misses. Good Shit and Candyman were favorites of mine later towards the album (I want to say Candyman was in a sports commercial...that beat sounds so familiar). Any song that featured the sintar was kind of fun. I think overall there's not enough here to warrant giving it a 4, but I think it lands at a solid 3.

Getting strong Barenaked Ladies vibes from this. Middle of the album was a curveball. This album kept losing my attention and seemed to be a bit disjointed as well as lacking in overall energy. However, it had some interesting bits and pieces and overall had a bit of a groove. Pretty standard, if not a little bit low 3.

What a weird album so far. Don't know what to expect from any of these songs but there seems to be a decent amount of sitar going on which I'm a sucker for. Really loving Good shi** so far. Some of the background sounds on here are not needed and there is way too much of it. Works in some songs but they're just adding it to like every song. Definitely have heard Candyman before, no clue where though. Wild and great version of Norwegian Wood. Makes sense since it's influenced by Indian sounds (and more sitar). What a weird album. Gotta give it cred for bring crazy unique.

Eclectic mash of Btitish Indie, electronica and Indian influences make a stimulating listen.

This is what I like about this list, a band that I have never heard of making music that is slightly different, but still falls solidly into a category of music. I do not understand the international success of Brimful of Asha, I found it somewhat annoying. But there were others that I enjoyed and found interesting. Chocolat, We're in Your Corner, Funky Days and It's Indian Tobacco all were something I wouldn't mind listening to agian. What is happening made me thing what is happening, and a few of the interludes were just not necessary to me, but overall it was something I am glad I listened to.

Started out interesting but got repetitive.

3.5

I'm sorry your first songs didn't get into trainspotting but that doesn't mean you have to punish us with the rest

I enjoyed some of the songs on here, but others felt very out of place. Personal enjoyment: 3/5 Relevance to this list: 3/5

Oh, it's fine. Like, by my standards and expectations for British indie rock — neither is particularly high — it's serviceable. The biggest thing I can complain about is the way the album's big hit repeats the line "It's a brimful of Asha on the 45" a million times, and that's really not much. So, that's it, right? That's my review? Well... See, that right there is actually just my complaint about strictly the "British indie rock" side of things. When it comes to the album as a whole... Dang, I'll be 100: maybe the "British indie rock" could've been smaller? Like, honestly, for real? Y'know? 'Coz, look, like I just said, the indie rock stuff is fine. It'd get a shrug and a low-end 3 on its own. However, when it gets its raga rock on or Dan The Automator is allowed to do his thing... Aw, **hell yeah** — now **that's** what I wanna hear! That's the **good shit**! Mm! I mean, it's **unique** stuff, right? There's a billion indistinguishable indie rock albums on this list, but I can't think of many with songs that sound like "Butter The Soul". You ask me, **that** should have been the guiding vision of the album — that and maybe the "Norwegian Wood" cover. Seriously, there are spots to me where it sounds... Well, sub-Gorillaz, but Gorillaz nonetheless. This kind of stuff is what I **want** out of this list. **That's** more the kind of stuff I wanna hear before I die. Not yet another middle-of-the-road-ass indie album. And yet, that's still what about half the album is. Or maybe it's actually **under** half — either way, I'unno. The averageness of that stuff sticks out to me just a bit too much for me to get all that enthusiastic about it overall. Like, I'd rather not have spent so much review on it, and I'd rather have instead gone about the stuff I actually liked, but... Eh. "Jus' how it be sometimes," as I say. At the very least, I can say this album's gone from a shrug and a low 3 to a nod, a "yeah," and a high-end 3. Not much of an improvement, but a tick up's a tick up regardless of how big or small it is. Jus'... Eh. Not my tastes.

I’m at a 2.5 that will get the bump to a 3, because it’s not so bad as to warrant a 2. I admire that this is on the list – it’s a good showcase of some Indian flair, especially in terms of 90s pop-ish stuff. It’s not an outright bad album, but… goddamn, it’s just kinda boring. Not even boring in the “this has no potential” way, but boring in the “each track just goes way too long” way. They met their potential early on a lot of these tracks, and kept dragging it out to the point where it just got less enjoyable the longer it went. That’s the biggest issue here; this did not need to be 54 minutes. The instrumental tracks that permeate this album are fine, but they go on and on, and it’s just… ugh. Let me put it this way: it’s been a while since I sort of zoned out of an album. I love entering a zen state, where my attention is fully on the instrumentation, and I can feel in harmony with the tracks. I heavily dislike entering a zoned out state, where I’ve partially given up on the album and it turns into background noise after the first 30 seconds of a track. That’s where I ended up for most of the first half of the album, save for “Brimful of Asha” & “We’re in Yr Corner”. The back half is a little better – “Good Shit”, “Good to be on the Road Back Home”, and that cover of “Norwegian Wood” are nice, but the instrumental tracks on that back half are really, really bland (save for "It's Indian Tobacco My Friend", due to the loudness factor), compared to the vague experimentation present on the instrumentals in the first half. This album just needed to be condensed – cut down the instrumentals, put focus on your best tracks (and hell, shorten some of them down too), and make this a really concise 30-35 minutes, as opposed to the slogfest of a 54 that it becomes. Hell, even the best tracks feel like they could’ve done a bit more; I didn’t listen to the Fatboy Slim remix of Brimful of Asha, but I have to imagine it does that “bit more” that was really missing for me. As it stands now, it’s just a flat album experience, with a few moments that sound really nice, but they’re few and far between, stuck in the crevasses of longer instrumental tracks that kill the mood. It’s a 2.5 that earns a 3 for its competency, but that’s as high as it goes.

Quirky and had some ok to good stuff in my opinion, not too amazing though and never finished the album, probably like a 6/10 for me and a 4/10 for my dad.

Meh

Cool fusion of bad british indie rock and some really solid Indian music. Not something I'd listen to again, but I'm glad I went there.

fun and different! got a little bored towards the end tho

This would be great playing in the background of a really cool store

Nice trip hop esque style. A tad boring at times, but not ruling it out.

Definitely some interesting tracks on here. But too many fillers

Indie rock album, mix of a few good catchy songs, some beats/sound mixes, and some indian music. Hindi Norwegian Wood slaps. Stand-out: Sleep on the Left Side, Norwegian Wood

Had some good moments. A little too 90’s for me though

Есть очень хорошие треки и в целом не плохой стиль. Мне лично candyman больше всего понравился. Но к сожалению большая часть альбома забит просто звуками

British smothering things in borrowed Indian flavors marking this Indie Rock. Toneless guitar playing pentatonics, 2 chord songs, emotionless singing. Still I enjoyed having Something different in this 1001 album list. Would Not relisten though.

Experimenteller Brit-Pop mit wenigen lichten Augenblicken. Das die Truppe etwas drauf hat zeigt sie in „Brinful of Asha“. Ordentlich ist auch „Good To Be On Road Back Home“ und mystisch „Norwegisn Wood“. Insgesamt aber keine überdurchschnittliche Platte.

it was interesting

On kyllä aika sekoitus kaikkea. Joissain kappaleissa ihan hiphop instru, toisissa taas intialaisia soundeja. Sit ihan indie rockiakin. Aika pilipali kappaleita, mutta joukossa myös ihan hyviäkin. Norwegian Wood more like Indian Wood. Parhaat: Good To Be On The Road Back Home Again, Candyman

This one is odd. I admire it for trying to be totally unique, but I think as a result it's quite chaotic. At times it sounds like an Indian prog-indie record, then the next song sounds like a Blur or a Kooks b-side. I don't dislike it at all, but it's not exactly an easy listen

This was a first listen for me, all the way through the album—at no point was I able to predict where the sound was going to go. Way to keep music funky!

There’s a lot going on on this album. The most endearing quality is the wreckless abandon with which they dedicate their sound to experimentation. Ultimately the unfocused spirit of the record renders it an enjoyable listen that fades out of focus seconds after the music stops. Pleasant, admirable, unmemorable. Fatboy Slim flipped the single ‘Brimful of Asha’ into a global pop hit. His remix is identified with his actual name, Norman Cook; his debut record as Fatboy Slim had dropped less than a year before this Cornershop release in 1997. Rob Swift, founding member of the ground-breaking turntableist crew the X-Cutioners, remixes a track fresh off the release of his scratching group’s debut as well. This is all to say that time and place are key ingredients influencing the music on this record. There’s a lot happening musically in ’97: Hip Hop producers are emerging as artists in their own right (DJs Qbert, Krush, and Shadow, Prince Paul, Mix Master Mike), trip-hop has a stronghold on UK electronic music (Massive Attack, Portishead, UNKLE — Ninja Tune!) and of course Britpop (Blur, Oasis, et. al.). From that stewing scene Cornershop bubbles up. There’s extensive use of sounds, effects, and production techniques becoming popular at the time, and which were already become hallmarks defining the growing branches of electronic music (mix of organic/sampled, vocoders, sub-bass textures, dub use of delay, non-western samples). These techniques and styles are not always expertly executed, but their collective, consistent experimentation is admirable: they are committed to creating tracks that sit outside the bounds of expected pop song structures of any genre. I hear a strong connection between the soundscape Cornershop etched out on this record and the 2010s world-expanding phase Madlib is still immersed in — break beats, samples sourced from unexpected nooks and crannies of the world, sporadic vocals, voices from pop culture artifacts like documentaries, movies, and found footage — unexpected and undeniably groovy. A few things really stick out to me after listening to this record a few times. They employ a lot of classic break beats known at the time, a reflection of the expanding electronic music scene outlined above. The instrumental tracks are by-far the best parts of the album. And when vocals show up they’re unaffected, referential, posturing, slouching toward coolness — and the first thing that came to mind was James Murphy (lol). It sounds like there are two records fighting each other in this one release, and both suffer as a result; many of the songs feel like unfinished sketches, demos at best. I actually like this record. It grows on me with every listen, but it succeeds most as background music: inoffensively groovy, mid tempo’d, and varying enough to set a nice upbeat vibe that neither distracts nor entices. Familiar and foreign in the same hand. And when you do decide to listen closer you’ll discover stylistic nods to the music they were undoubtedly influenced by at the time, a half-hearted pastiche of the contemporary electronic music trends all around them — and today a fascinating time capsule of musical notes from a bygone era.

an odd one but it was interesting enough

First third 4 stars. Last quarter 4 stars. Got lost there in the middle forgetting to make songs.

Everyone needs a bosom for pillow! Words to live by!! I've always heard this song but never knew the name of it or the band. Glad this came up yesterday. Candy man is really good too. I enjoyed this all except for their demantling of Norwegian Wood, which was horrendous. Still a solid 3.4

Hadn’t heard of Cornershop and wasn’t aware of their other 6 incarnations but the 7th has a groovy vibe. I would have given it a 4 but the 90’s angsty boy Everclear vocals didn’t work for me.

A good one. Different

No so goof to be in the 1001 best albums list. Did not offer nothing new

English / Indian raga 90s eclectic electronic music was nowhere on any of my lists of expectations to ever hear, or enjoy. This is the kind of UK Electronic music I can get behind. 3/5

This album was funky, as in all over the place in style lol

Totally new to this, but I found it fascinating. Something I could get into with more listens.

It was fine. There are one or two semi-bangers outside of "Brimful of Asha", but the rest sounds like a sleepy jam session among friends. Nice beats but forgettable songs.

I expected to hate this because of that incredibly annoying remix of Brimful of Asha. Which isn't actually on this album. And lo and behold... The original version is grand, like, and it's a grand album. Could have done with maybe a couple songs cut from it that make it feel a tad bit long in the end without being really that inspired pieces of music. Could have otherwise been a 4/5 candidate.

Just messing around with musicality. I like the drum driven sounds and there are some great sections.

Kind of catchy

Least coherent album i've ever heard

Both better and worse than I was expecting. This is a pretty erratic album quality wise. At points it was just bland Britpop with a touch of India, but when things were more eclectic, the music was much better for it. A mix of 2-4 star songs, so a 3 seems about right.

The songs on this album ran the gamut from pretty bad to some fun and interesting bops. I liked the Indian spice. This would have been a better and stronger album if they had sacrificed some of the chaff for a shorter run time.

***An ok album

Pas fou, mais assez sympathique en raison de son originalité. Un groupe de pop anglaise fondé par deux frères indiens, pour un mélange de titres pop plutôt classiques et de trip hop, expérimentations sonores, le tout baigné par des sonorités indiennes… Ça donne un patchwork étonnant mais plutôt lassant à la longue, faute à un refus de tailler dans le gras et d’enlever des choses inutiles, genre “When the light appears boy” ce qui donne un album de presque une heure. “Brimful of Asha” est très sympathique mais est un peu plombé par le remix de Norman Cooke qui lui est supérieur. Une certaine légitimité à reprendre “Norwegian Wood”. En fond sonore ça le fait par moment.

It’s okay! Glad I listened but it didn’t grab me after a few tries, good vibes though.

3/5. I think this is a fun album with some nice ideas but overall not something that stood out to me. I did enjoy the instrumentals the most, as they took some new sounds to indie British pop. The album does flow nicely and there some hits that are okay. Might deserve a second listen but it was still a good first listen. Best Song: Brimful of Asha, We're In Yr Corner, When The Light Appears Boy

Good usage of eastern music. A nice pop feel but became a bit of a one trick pony as the album went on.

Very different.

Really surprised I'm not familiar with the album title or cover when am obviously aware of Cornershop growing up in the 90s. Quite a lot of instrumental. Pleasant background easy to work to music.

Tuo yksi hitti oli ennalta tuttu, mutta muuten vieras bändi mulle. Aika tällästä totutunlaista brittikamaa ysäriltä. Ehkä tässä on enemmän vaikutteita muista genreistä. Ei ihan huono. 3/5

Ihan kiinnostava instrumentaatio ja arvostan intia-fiilistelyä, mutta ei kuitenkaan onnistu herättämään.

The album equivalent of the film Napoleon Dynamite. In the sense that it’s unashamedly odd and moves at its own, excessively laid-back pace, without any obvious purpose or direction. But also in the sense that it was more enjoyable second time round once I knew what it was all about, and accepted the above quirks for what they are. For all that, it’s not as good as Napoleon Dynamite. But I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. 2.5 / 3

The more Indian influenced songs are great and really sparkle. The more British songs are all a bit Shed Seven. Mixed bag but decent overall.

This is a really high variance album for me. At it's best it was really enjoyable, but there were also some stretches that I wasn't really into. I'd never heard of this band before, but they're a British indie rock band fronted by a British-Indian guy. That's very relevant, because this album is full of Indian musical influences, from background instruments on some of the more mainstream sounding songs, to a few songs that are very fully traditional Indian sounding (including a non-English Beatles cover to close out the album which is interesting given the Beatles influence from Indian music). There's also some interesting electronic vibes too. Probably a bit unsurprising, but I struggled a bit more with the fully Indian music, but I really enjoyed the more subtle influences on the other songs. It led to a really interesting sound throughout. There's also some really catchy songs on this. The two opening songs are both great, super fun and catchy (apparently there was a hit Fatboy Slim remix of "Brimful of Asha"). I felt like it dipped a good bit after that, but it made a pretty strong comeback on the back half of the album, which moves a bit more into an electronic-rock sound than the front half. The best stuff on here is in 4-5 territory, and the worst is probably in the 2-3 range, so makes rating a bit hard. I think they could have cut a bit out of this (it's a bit long at 54 minutes), but I probably would have cut some of the stuff that really does make this more unique than your typical '90s indie album, so maybe they're right not me. Favorite song: Brimful of Asha Other: Sleep on the Left Side, Funky Days Are Back Again, Good Shit, Good to Be on the Road Back Home Again, It's Indian Tobacco My Friend, Candyman, Norwegian Wood 12/1/24

Real nice

pretty good but i had a bad day so it fucking sucks

Fine

Fun. Interesting enough that I'll give it another couple of listens.

Pleasant enough

Only knew the hit going into this. It was interesting. 3

No es de mis favoritos quisa en otro momento. Me gustó que suena diferente a otras cosas, y tiene sentido dado el origen de la banda. Creo que mi problema es lo poco acostumbrada que estoy a esos sonidos.

Just enough, not though in terms of length whatever that means.

I enjoyed this more than I expected based on the description. It didn’t take itself too seriously. It was a fun mix of rock and electronic.

Like one out of every 20 albums on this list is a clear case of "the Brits are at it again", and this is no exception, but for those of us born in the late 80s, somehow two of these songs became kind of iconic in America. The first was obviously "Brimful of Asha", especially the Fatboy Slim remix, but the second was "Candyman", which featured prominently in an early Nike campaign for LeBron, while he was still on his rookie contract with the Cavs. It was one of the last times in the internet/pre-streaming era where it felt like there was a portal for weird British stuff to latch on in the States (see also: Dizzee Rascal, Roots Manuva, et al). Sometimes I kinda miss that time.

Interesting listen for sure. I just had Ananda Shankar not long ago, so it was fun to continue down the path of eastern-meets-western music. There were some great songs on this album, really loved Good Sh*t in particular, but there were some songs that did almost nothing for me.

Þessi Brimful of Asha mætti Fatboy slim tempóinu og í samsvarandi hækkaðri tóntegund. Annars næs grúv og margt skemmtilegt, en sum lögin gera ekki mikið fyrir mig (It's Indian tobacco my friend). Solid þristur, myndi fara í fjarka ef fillernum væri sleppt.

Super interesting varied album with some really atmospheric tracks, some pop bits and big overarching Indian influence

Some good songs some bland songs but having this on cd got me laid in university so I should probably score it higher!

Generally when something comes up on this list that I have never heard of, I assume it's an underwhelming group from the UK that maybe had a hit. This is exactly that. Granted I will say it's more interesting than I was expecting and a bit more eclectic for something out of the UK in the late 90s than I was expecting. But unremarkable it remains. Get it off this list.

I had never heard another Cornershop song besides Brimful of Asha. Who knew they were so Indian/Bollywood Brit Pop influenced?

Very rarely do I come across an album with an identity crisis in which said identity crisis simultaneously works in its favour and -in places- to its detriment. My knowledge of this band was restricted to the more dance orientated version of the song 'Brimful Of Asha' (I much prefer the version on this LP, to be honest) that dominated MTV and radio airwaves back in the late 90's and early 2000's. In fact, I believe it is still in heavy rotation to this day. So I was very surprised with how much variety 'When I Was Born For The 7th Time' presented with me with. From use of strings, to solid use of tambouras, sitars, and the harmonium - alongside flavours of electronica, hip hop, and Indian sensibilities; and all of these elements are heavily layered over a britpop sound very similar to other bands around at the time. It sounds like an absolute trip, and it is. But it's also a case of just too many flavours being thrown into the pot. Some of it tastes amazing, but it could have used less salt and paprika; and why are we mixing chicken with the beef? I hope that anecdote made sense lol. While I do love an LP that features a mountain of variety, I also think coherency is important. If it feels like I'm listening to one of my many daily playlists instead of an actual, conscious, project it raises some flags for me. As I mentioned above, it works in its favour and to its detriment. Some tracks on here are brilliant. The mesmerizing 'Sleep On The Left Side'. The britpop classic 'Brimful Of Asha'. The beautiful 'Good To Be On The Road Back Home Again'. And the excellent cover of The Beatles' 'Norwegian Wood', which fits their sound perfectly; just a sample of tracks where the band are at their most focused. But, to its detriment, jumping from a tried and true britpop track to pure hip hop, or pure hip hop to acoustic rock is insanely jarring - with almost nothing in between to lead the listener to the drastic change. 'When I Was Born For The 7th Time' is good. But it could have been something brilliant. It's an album with some serious high points, but the lack of overall focus cause the low points to be hard to overlook. I feel there's no artistic vision here, but rather a blank canvas the band simply decided to splash every colour they could onto; and whether it was great, good, or just didn't fit wasn't really a priority. In saying all of this, however, I would still recommend listening to it; as it is an interesting LP despite its problems. Just be ready to hear a lot of potential go to waste. 3/5

Brimful of Asha is a song that still plays on the radio from time to time but I have never looked up Cornershop for any other song before. The album is very much what I would expect from the group that made Brimful of Asha. Easy listening songs throughout the album with some surprisers thrown in. The songs in Hindi as well as the songs with a female singer were a fun addition to the album.

This was a big surprise. Like everyone else, I have heard Brimful of Asha before. I hadn't heard anything else from this album before. I was impressed with the funky/DJ-heavy/Indian-influenced music; super refreshing. This is pretty well-recorded too. Least favorite track: Funky Days Are Back Again I was absolutely compelled to tap my foot and bob my head during What Is Happening

Surprised that I recognized the radio hit Brimful of Asha. This album certainly felt like it belongs to the late 90s. Wouldn't listen to the full album ever again, but enjoyed the nostalgia.

3- Stars (7/15)

Dig it. Scratches the Beck itch. Doesn’t really maintain its appeal for the whole album, though.

Some good songs, some meh.

This is 50-50 for me. Half of the songs I really like, the other half, not so much. I miss how many different types of music co-existed in the 90s compared to now.

Was ok

A lot of ideas on here… we could have revised some things a bit more.

Good stuff.

I enjoyed it. I'll listen to it again and other albums by them.

7/10. Liked it

Some good stuff but a lot of aimless meandering shit

All’inizio era molto bello anche con le influenze orientaleggianti ma poi è diventato una zuppa percussioni e altre percussioni e poi ancora percussioni che non interessano a nessuno

Never have I ever heard of this album / band. This exercise is exposing my experience in listening to music isn’t as worldly as I thought. Never would’ve I listened to this without this popping up. Glad it did. It was a good way to kill about an hour. A Beatles cover is always appreciated. Granted it wasn’t sung in English (Punjabi?) but I still knew the words.

Not bad, the Indian elements were quite fun!

Yeah. Kinda cool. Easy 3 for me.

Decent outing. Nice mix of Indian and indie styles with a dash of electronica and hip hop. Not everything works and at times they try too hard but this was listenable and I just might revisit this one in the future.

Apart from a few tracks like Brimful of Asha (and even that's a stretch) this seems to lack any of its own identity. A high 2, rounded to a 3

The album bounces between really good brit rock/indie and weird and difficult to listen to Beatles sitar-era rip-off music. If they would have leaned a little less into the latter, this would be a great album, but those misses drag down the whole for me. It's kind of a shame, because the album kicks off incredibly well with Sleep on the Left Side, that I'm left wishing the whole album was like that one song. Favorite Song(s): Sleep on the Left Side

I remember brimful of Asha on the tv and radio, but as far as the rest of the album, I can listen to it once and be ok.

Had a nice groove, but nothing I’d return to.

Interesting sound. Definitely a 90s vibe. Best Song: Sleep On the Left Side

It was a very strange experience. I liked it.

This was an interesting listen. I really did enjoy the fusion of genres (I'm hearing pop, electronica, and Indian). It's not a love for me, and I doubt I'll revisit much but I'm glad I listened to it. The instrumentals are definitely some of the strong parts of the album. I also was enjoying the non English portions a lot. I enjoyed Good Sh** a fair bit out of the ones that were in English. Also their cover of Norwegian Wood was pretty cool too. That said, the weaker songs were weak enough to drag this to a 3 instead of a 4 for me.

Some elements, like the third track “Butter the Soul” remind me a bit of the Gorillaz debut album. Mixing some heavy, late 90s style beats and other sounds/samples, it has some interesting grooves. Overall though, it’s a little scattershot, going back and forth between sample heavy, groove based tracks (“What is Happening?”), and more Brit-pop adjacent tracks. I guess it had a hit song, and a few tracks were used in commercials, but outside of historical context, I didn’t find much here that grabbed me.

Not unenjoyable - but I think I was used to the more dancey radio version of Brimful of Asha. I just wanted them to step on the gas a bit.

I didn't know what to expect, but it really threw me for a loop with Cornershop's mix of rock, electronica and Indian music. It ranges from an eclectic fusion of Indian influences to straight-ahead rock. At times, I had to check the track list to see if this was the same band. Interesting, yet boring at times. Bizarre and strangely weird, but in a good way for the most part. I'll need repeated listening to decide if I like it or not, but it's way toooo long...so I might not.

This didn’t leave much of an impression. And I have a distinct memory of thinking that the Fatboy Slim remix made Brimful of Asha because the original was dull and pedestrian. This isn’t bad it just doesn’t do anything for me. I want to give it 2.5

Eclectic mix of world music, turntablism, psych, trip-hop. Not everything hits for me and it's a bit too long, but I appreciate the wide array of styles.

6/10

Sonic potpourri, Modern mystics do chill pop, That’s quite appealing

you guys are not indian. go back to making british music

I didn't really dislike anything here, but I did find myself getting pretty bored about halfway through. 2.5/5

Different and funky…. Not horrible

Like the laid back delivery of some great songs. There are some hits and some misses, and if the songs would all live up to their delivery and the production, more would have been possible. 2.5 rounded up to 3.

3.75

It's chill, it's trance, it occupies the anxious parts of my brain whilst I work. On the whole, not bad. But also not great. Brimful of Asha is a banger, still every bit as catchy now as when I heard it as a younger person. And there's precious little Indian representation on this list, so that's nice as well. It seems that one of the requirements of the 1001 albums project is. "Remember this one single? Turns out it was also on an album!"

Liked the first 2 songs and then just ehhhhh

Dunno just not my cup of tea

Good sound on more than a handful of songs. Never heard them before.

Brimful of Asha is one of my favorite 90s one hit wonders and the rest of this was actually really nice

Very creative and unique album, not really my flavor, but a few fun tracks in here even for me.

The album is groovy but why is it so long

Didn't know what to expect and it's reasonably pleasant so ok!

It's nice to hear something a little different. Indian/East Asian sounds haven't really shown up for me so far. I didn't love this and won't really go back to it, but I'm glad I listened. It certainly wasn't awful.

Interesting.

‘97, cool, unexpected, indian

A musical masala where every genre-spice contributes a tantalizing detail, yet lacks an essential element of taste needed to truly make the dish sing.

This album was certainly interesting. It was like they changed their genre every 2nd or 3rd song. Thought first 2 songs were decent in Sleep On The Left Side and Brimful of Asha. Next 2 weren't my thing when they switched to instrumental. We're In YR Corner and Counteraction made me think of Shankar. Hope all is well in Shankar's world. Were those gunshots I heard in Counteraction? Also liked Good to be Back on the Road Home Again, until I started hearing the damn flute. No flutes, please. Starting with with Candyman, they switched up to some rap/hip hop sounding tunes and I thought even those were OK . I would have enjoyed this a little more if they cut out the experimental sounds, instrumental and the dance/electronica parts. Way too long for album like this, but what can I say, they kept me interested. Can't say I loved the album and not sure I would ever revisit, but I did enjoy my listens. Yea, I listened to it a few times and honestly, I was going to tear apart after my first listen. This album grew on me the more I listened. And I was reminded of my good buddy Shankar. Surprising myself here, but I'm going with a 3.

3.5 I’m familiar with Cornershop as an alternative rock band with a bit of an Indian-inspired musical flair to them and from their song here Brimful of Asha - a song that I enjoy, but, I gotta be honest, think was done better by Fatboy Slim. The original version isn’t bad, but every time I listen to it, I can’t help but find it slow and a touch dull in comparison to the remix. The rest of this album was brand new to me and gave me some mixed feelings. It’s entirely all over the place, going from alternative rock, to a more traditional Indian sound, before finally ending with some hip-hop. And I actually think that works to the album’s favor - while I enjoyed the first two tracks, if every song sounded like them, I think this would have grown stale really quickly. Though, at the same time, how it’s executed also feels a bit unfocused and unorganized, and there are way too many random instrumental/noise tracks for its own good (and don’t even get me started about the Beatles cover at the end). That all to say, I found this overall to be more enjoyable than not, and I think I could point to most songs here as being at least somewhat solid (also, tell me Funky Days are Back Again doesn’t sound like something from Homestar Runner). As imperfect as it may be, I think there’s something really interesting, unique, and honestly, a bit fun about what the guys set out to do here, and its charm has definitely grown on me as I’ve continued to listen to it. Hell, it may still keep growing on me from here.

Very interesting listen, familiar with a couple of the songs and will listen to the album again.

Funky vibe

Really strange album. Lot going on

Some good tunes but also some a bit meh..

Interesting and unique. I liked the elements of Indian music. Favourites: sleep on the left side, brimful of Asha, chocolat, we're in your corner, good shit, good to be on the road back home again, Candyman. I would rate it higher if it was edited because some songs weren't that good and made the album drag on, even though there were many good songs. 3/5

Took me many tries to get through this album but after yet another long hiatus we made it through. To be honest many of the tracks started to annoy me because of how repetitive and monotonous they got but there were some interesting ideas every now and then. Favourite tracks were Good to Be on the Road Back Home and Norwegian Wood - This Bird Has Flown but I fell asleep during a couple songs during the first half so there may be a banger in there that I’m missing. Overall cool album but I just didn't love it a whole lot evidenced by the fact that it took me this long to finally finish listening to it. 3

Cute

This album sounds like the 90s. The instrumentals are nice, the cover of Norwegian Wood was unexpected,but enjoyable.

cool

Disco flojo con un par de canciones estupendas.

Interesting musically with the broader instrument range than standard rock.

Wat een lekkere 90's creativiteit. Enerzijds de slackervibes zoals we die kennen van Pavement. Aantal composities zoals Portishead en anderszijds ook de invloeden en geluiden uit allerlei windstreken. En de ritmes zijn goed mixbaar tot een dansplaat, blijkt met Brimful of Asha. Wat een relatief onbekende klassieker is dat eigenlijk, met name de Fatboy Slim remix, maar eigenlijk is die plaat zelf ook een klassieker. Ik heb wel genoten van de creativiteit en de Indiase invloeden op deze plaat. Het is niet allemaal ijzersterk maar er zitten toffe dingen tussen, en de tijdsgeest is super herkenbaar. Beter dan verwacht. 7,5/10 Highlights Brimful of Asha Good to be back on the road back home again

Some good tracks, some stuff that sounds more like filler. Tracks are certainly varied in genre, some nice surprises in here, I liked \"We're in Your Corner\" especially.

An album of many vibes. Some good songs, but very disjointed due to the way it skipped round genres and some songs have not aged particularly well. A Brimful of Asher is an excellent song, regardless, and Corner shop are an interesting group.

Its OK. Quite unique.

This was an interesting album, a mix of indie rock, dub beats, Indian music, some rapping. It's very clearly a late 90s album where the artist really wants to show all their influences in one album. Brimful of Asha was the only song I recognized off this album. I heard it on the radio constantly at the time, but never knew the title or the band who wrote it. It was a good song that got thrown into the mix of a bunch of similar sounding things, but it wasn't bad. Overall this album was decent

Probably deserves a second listen. The Fatboy Slim remix of Brimful of Asha is so burned in my mind it is hard not to think of it while listening to the album.

This gets an extra point simply for having so many genres in one album! I kept having to check it wasn't autoplaying.

Holy shit I never knew Brimful of Asha was by these guys. I never knew these guys before. I didn’t even know it said “brimful of Asha.” I don’t even know what that means! All I ever knew was bosom for a pillow obvi. Anyway I’m kind of a Cornershop fan now. Super fun album.

A weird mashup of styles. Indian, hip-hop, Beck? Didn’t like everything, but wasn’t bad at all. Best track: Good to Be On the Road Back Again

👍🏻

The line “everyone needs a bosom for a pillow”? Perfection. A Punjabi version on Norweigan Wood? Chef’s kiss. 3.5

could i write poetry to this? n

Kind of a mixed bag and a little too long, but I think the highlights outweigh the low.

This album is really fun! A few too many fillers, but the actual songs are all pretty great.

Brim Full of Asha was on this

There are some songs I really enjoy but man is this project all over the place. What a mess. 5/10

Indian Beck 6/10

Undemanding. I suppose a part of it is that their No 1 (Norman Cook's remix of Brimful of Asha) detracts from their core musical mission significantly, creating a sort of cognitive dissonance vis a vis what to expect from them.

смешно алкоальбом: индийский стритфуд с пивом

I appreciated the diversity of each song here, while also remaining fairly consistent overall. I had completely forgotten about “Brimful of Asha” so that was a pleasant surprise. More of a 3.5?

Eclectic! Covering so many styles including Indian country and western! All quite engaging although some of the hip-hop record scratching instrumentals are a little too long.

Love "Brimful of Asha"

Thoughts before listening: I remember "Brimful of Asha" which I'm assuming is on this album. That's a great song, but I don't know anything else from them. Feels like this will be folky indie rock with samples and hip hop beats...like a British version of Beck. Review: "Brimful of Asha" is a great song, and the rest of this album follows in a similar vein. This is about as 90s as an album can be sounding like Odelay with Bollywood samples. I enjoy it, but it's nothing groundbreaking. 2-stars but pushed up to 3-stars because "Good to Be on the Road Back Home Again" name checks Chattanooga.

Fun album, though nothing really matches the singles I was already familiar with

Honestly a little surprise! There’s too much 90s Brit-pop on this list, but this had its own style. A lot of it is just funky instrumentals! Brimful of Asha is a classic. I think I remember the Fatboy Slim remix from the 90s, but it’s been like 30 years. I could definitely see myself playing this one again, or at least a few songs.

Some good stuff in there, but not enough to maintain interest. Was glad it was over by the end.