Journey Complete!
Finisher #384 to complete the list
1089
Albums Rated
4.01
Average Rating
100%
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Architecture And Morality
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
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Untitled (Black Is)
SAULT • 5/5
Pretty contemptible to see some bigoted dipshit reviews so heavily upvoted, though not, I suppose, surprising. This album caught a certain category of listener right in their white fragility, didn't it? They're running all the hits, too! To paraphrase - "I can't be racist, I like Beyonce" - ah yes, the "I have black friends" defense. To paraphrase - "I wouldn't mind them singing about race if they sounded more angry/passionate" - interestingly, the opposite criticism that real life protests get. A protest would always be better if they changed their tone to suit you, eh boys? To quote directly - "15 years ago few people even THOUGHT about race" - get the fuck outta here! I just got whiter reading that and I'm dangerously goblin pale as it is. Same person unironically complains about "SJWs" 🙄 Anyway, to review the actual album, yeah, I dig it! Soul meets protest song meets minimal electronica, occasional splashes of afrobeat and spoken word - it all balances out as a kinda moody trip-hop vibe that feels like it's taking you on a journey. Exactly my jam! Fave tracks - "Stop Dem", "Don't Shoot Guns Down", "Bow", "Monsters"...
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1970s
Favorite Decade
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Favorite Genre
other
Top Origin
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Rater Style ?
287
5-Star Albums
4
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
The Residents
|
5 | 2.03 | +2.97 |
|
Trout Mask Replica
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
|
5 | 2.28 | +2.72 |
|
Rock Bottom
Robert Wyatt
|
5 | 2.39 | +2.61 |
|
Opus Dei
Laibach
|
5 | 2.39 | +2.61 |
|
Suicide
Suicide
|
5 | 2.46 | +2.54 |
|
The Modern Dance
Pere Ubu
|
5 | 2.48 | +2.52 |
|
New Forms
Roni Size
|
5 | 2.53 | +2.47 |
|
Timeless
Goldie
|
5 | 2.53 | +2.47 |
|
Moss Side Story
Barry Adamson
|
5 | 2.53 | +2.47 |
|
Playing With Fire
Spacemen 3
|
5 | 2.54 | +2.46 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Picture Book
Simply Red
|
1 | 2.88 | -1.88 |
|
Follow The Leader
Korn
|
1 | 2.65 | -1.65 |
|
Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water
Limp Bizkit
|
1 | 2.47 | -1.47 |
|
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West
|
2 | 3.42 | -1.42 |
|
The Chronic
Dr. Dre
|
2 | 3.33 | -1.33 |
|
Rubber Soul
Beatles
|
3 | 4.12 | -1.12 |
|
White Ladder
David Gray
|
2 | 3.07 | -1.07 |
|
Devil Without A Cause
Kid Rock
|
1 | 2.06 | -1.06 |
|
Get Rich Or Die Tryin'
50 Cent
|
2 | 3.05 | -1.05 |
|
Your Arsenal
Morrissey
|
2 | 3.05 | -1.05 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Waits | 5 | 5 |
| Radiohead | 6 | 4.67 |
| Bob Dylan | 7 | 4.57 |
| David Bowie | 9 | 4.44 |
| Brian Eno | 5 | 4.6 |
| Miles Davis | 4 | 4.75 |
| PJ Harvey | 4 | 4.75 |
| Nirvana | 3 | 5 |
| Dexys Midnight Runners | 3 | 5 |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 5 | 4.4 |
| Sonic Youth | 5 | 4.4 |
| Leonard Cohen | 5 | 4.4 |
| Pink Floyd | 4 | 4.5 |
| Talking Heads | 4 | 4.5 |
| The Kinks | 4 | 4.5 |
| Johnny Cash | 3 | 4.67 |
| Pixies | 3 | 4.67 |
| The White Stripes | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Smiths | 3 | 4.67 |
| Nick Drake | 3 | 4.67 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 3 | 4.67 |
| My Bloody Valentine | 3 | 4.67 |
| Arcade Fire | 3 | 4.67 |
| Marvin Gaye | 3 | 4.67 |
| Beatles | 7 | 4.14 |
| Portishead | 2 | 5 |
| John Martyn | 2 | 5 |
| Funkadelic | 2 | 5 |
| Fela Kuti | 2 | 5 |
| Aretha Franklin | 2 | 5 |
| Barry Adamson | 2 | 5 |
| The Prodigy | 2 | 5 |
| Hole | 2 | 5 |
| The Flaming Lips | 2 | 5 |
| Jane's Addiction | 2 | 5 |
| The Chemical Brothers | 2 | 5 |
| Iron Maiden | 2 | 5 |
| Doves | 2 | 5 |
| Orbital | 2 | 5 |
| Stan Getz | 2 | 5 |
| Ali Farka Touré | 2 | 5 |
| King Crimson | 2 | 5 |
| Air | 2 | 5 |
| Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band | 2 | 5 |
| Massive Attack | 2 | 5 |
| Led Zeppelin | 5 | 4.2 |
| Neil Young | 4 | 4.25 |
| Metallica | 4 | 4.25 |
| R.E.M. | 4 | 4.25 |
| Björk | 4 | 4.25 |
| Stevie Wonder | 4 | 4.25 |
| The Beach Boys | 3 | 4.33 |
| Beck | 3 | 4.33 |
| Kraftwerk | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Cure | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Doors | 3 | 4.33 |
| Beastie Boys | 3 | 4.33 |
| Queen | 3 | 4.33 |
| Neil Young & Crazy Horse | 3 | 4.33 |
| Kate Bush | 3 | 4.33 |
| Simon & Garfunkel | 3 | 4.33 |
5-Star Albums (287)
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Popular Reviews
Michael Kiwanuka
5/5
Hot dang, this is fantastic! One of the best things this list has introduced me to, for sure.
Love the atmosphere - love the journey it takes you on, and the way the tracks follow on from each other. Genre and time period distort and blend. It often seems like I'm being reminded of music I can't quite place. Great stuff.
Fave track - "You Ain't the Problem" is a great opener. "Piano Joint (This Kind of Love)" and its intro are awesome.
Really, though, this feels like a whole album experience, rather than picking out individual tracks...
43 likes
SAULT
5/5
Pretty contemptible to see some bigoted dipshit reviews so heavily upvoted, though not, I suppose, surprising. This album caught a certain category of listener right in their white fragility, didn't it?
They're running all the hits, too!
To paraphrase - "I can't be racist, I like Beyonce" - ah yes, the "I have black friends" defense.
To paraphrase - "I wouldn't mind them singing about race if they sounded more angry/passionate" - interestingly, the opposite criticism that real life protests get. A protest would always be better if they changed their tone to suit you, eh boys?
To quote directly - "15 years ago few people even THOUGHT about race" - get the fuck outta here! I just got whiter reading that and I'm dangerously goblin pale as it is. Same person unironically complains about "SJWs" 🙄
Anyway, to review the actual album, yeah, I dig it! Soul meets protest song meets minimal electronica, occasional splashes of afrobeat and spoken word - it all balances out as a kinda moody trip-hop vibe that feels like it's taking you on a journey. Exactly my jam!
Fave tracks - "Stop Dem", "Don't Shoot Guns Down", "Bow", "Monsters"...
40 likes
Britney Spears
2/5
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Fave track - well, I was gonna say "The Beat Goes On" but it has a damn advert baked into the end of it.
I'd give this one star but I don't want to dilute the purity of my contempt for Kid Rock 😠
37 likes
The Mars Volta
5/5
Hahahhahha, yes! YES!
The pretentiousness is very much the point here, and I _love_ it. Singing absolute nonsense with such earnest conviction - fantastic!
(Although it's made me realize that Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea", another fine example of heartfelt gibberish, isn't on this list, which feels like quite the omission!)
I'll take this album over anything At The Drive-In did. It's also my fave Mars Volta album, by quite a stretch...
Fave track - the whole thing, really, but "Roulette Dares (The Haunt of)", "Eriatarka", "Televators" and "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt" are the stand outs...
20 likes
Rahul Dev Burman
4/5
This was a funky listen!
Also, indicative of how much of an afterthought world music is to this list. The original entry was "Shalimar/College Girl" because the list author had a bootleg album that threw two unrelated soundtracks together! 😆
"College Girl" is also worth checking out. The track "College Girl 'I Love You'" lifts a chunk of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" which is fun, and "Everybody Dance With Me" uses the riff from Iron Butterfly's "In A Gadda Da Vita"...
Fave track (on Shalimar) - "Countess Caper (Music)" - loved that Bollywood spaghetti western vibe! The opening track "Title Music" was also very atmospheric...
20 likes
1-Star Albums (4)
All Ratings
John Grant
4/5
Dream poppy singer songwritery loveliness - will check out more of his stuff, for sure.
Fave track - "It's Easier"
Johnny Cash
4/5
Awesome stuff - love the songs, love the chat between songs. So much more compelling than your average live album.
Favourite track - "San Quentin". I mean, I like a lot of Cash's tracks more overall, but that song on this album in context - WHOAH.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
Great album - I was a lot more familiar with it than I thought.
Picking a fave track is hard. "Today" was popular at karaoke while I lived in Japan, so I've probably heard it more than all the other tracks and have a lot of affection for it. "Cherub Rock" is a fantastic album opener. Might opt for the wildly OTT melodrama of "Disarm" though!
Mercury Rev
4/5
I didn't appreciate this album at the time because I was 🤘 VERY METAL 🤘 but these days it really hits the spot. You could definitely make some Flaming Lips comparisons.
Fave track - while "Goddess On A Hiway" and "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp" are contenders, I have to go with "Holes"..... so b e a u t i f u l . . .
Thin Lizzy
5/5
Glorious, seemingly effortless hard rock. Some absolute classic tracks.
Fave track - on this play through, "Massacre" really jumped out at me. Tends to get overshadowed by their more well known tunes, but it landed for me this time...
Cypress Hill
3/5
Eh, gansta rap isn't really my thing. Cypress Hill carved out an undeniably iconic sound for themselves - you can tell a Cypress Hill track within seconds.
Fave track... one of the ones with more Spanish, I guess? "Latin Lingo" or "Tres Equis"
Randy Newman
3/5
He's got a distinctive style, I'l give him that. I think a lot of the charm is probably in the lyrics, so it's not well suited to listening in the background while working. I'll potentially revisit it at some point!
Since the Monk theme tune wasn't on here, fave track "God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)", as that one made me stop what I was doing and pay attention...
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5/5
Fantastic album, love it.
Fave three track sequence = "Maps" -> "Y Control" -> "Modern Romance".... so good!
Carole King
4/5
Wow, Carole King was a pop cultural tyrannosaurus rex! I was largely ignorant of her, but bet I've heard countless dozens of songs she wrote over the years.
Fave track - "It's Too Late"
Tears For Fears
3/5
Some iconic tunes on this record, no doubt, but the other stuff left me a bit flat.
Fave track on the album proper is probably "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", but I really dug an industrial sounding bonus track "Empire Building", which was a b side of "Mothers Talk". Apparently they were listening to a lot of Art of Noise when they wrote that one, so imma check them out!
Jurassic 5
4/5
Jurassic 5 know exactly what they're doing. Great stuff.
Fave track - "Thin Line"
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Classic hard rock - so comprehensively influential that it's kinda washed out by everything that came after it.
Fave track - "Immigrant Song", c'mon. "Gallows Pole" is great too, though
Tom Waits
5/5
Gloriously weird. No-one does it like Waits. My fave Waits album is The Mule Variations, and Rain Dogs kinda prefigures that, so I'll definitely be revisiting.
Fave track - well, I love that "Jockey Full of Bourbon" sounds like the Black Books intro theme (or rather, the other way around) but was really grabbed by "Singapore" this time around...
The Mamas & The Papas
4/5
Lovely sunny harmonies, classic pop.
Fave track - "California Dreaming" - one of my absolute fave karaoke tracks because it's really easy to encourage everyone to sing along, whether it's singing the main lyrics, or the harmonies... 😍
David Holmes
4/5
Lot of nostalgia in this one for me - takes me right back to first year uni. Love how cinematic the album feels. Could absolutely be a soundtrack to something, and it's no wonder Holmes went on to do so much soundtrack work. (He did all the Ocean's Eleven movies, amongst many others)
Fave track - "Caddell Returns", maybe - it's not really about stand out tracks, it's about wandering around the neighborhood, soaking it in!
Marianne Faithfull
3/5
Such a distinctive voice and style!
Fave track - "Guilt"
Eh, not massively my thing, but it grew on me as it went on.
Fave track - "Memphis, Tennessee" - this song sounds like the template Elvis Costello mutated into the manic kaleidoscopic "Tokyo Storm Warning", which has long been a personal fave...
Donovan
3/5
One of the first psychedelia albums, so hugely influential on a whole bunch of genres that came later. A lot of drippy silliness.
Fave track - "Season of the Witch" by a mile!
The Temptations
4/5
The Temptations are awesome - sugary poppy doo-wop group turned psychedelia-embracing politically conscious funk superstars!
Fave track - "Papa was a Rolling Stone" 12 minutes of prog funk, what's not to love!
Ian Dury
3/5
What a weird mashup of an album!
Fave track - "Clevor Trever", maybe - or "Wake Up and Make Love with Me" I think this is a pay-attention-to-the-lyrics album, so probably need to relisten with more focus!
Quicksilver Messenger Service
4/5
Alrighty, from Donovan's drippy end of psychedelia, to the proggy jam band guitar wailing end. I enjoyed this a lot.
Fave track - the entire first 6 tracks being one long noodly "Who Do You Love?"
Oasis
3/5
Quite enjoyed this. Like the wall of sound production. Didn't find Liam Gallagher quite as intolerable as my teenage self used to!
Fave track - "Columbia". Don't recall ever hearing it before, and liked it - I guess that's how I'd feel about the rest of the album if I were hearing it for the first time now!
Michael Jackson
3/5
Does it sound dated, or was it date-defining? Who knows!
Fave track - "Smooth Criminal"
Femi Kuti
4/5
I do like a bit of Afrobeat. I'm more familiar with Femi's father, Fela, but this was great too.
Fave track "Plenty Nonsense"
Motörhead
4/5
Realistically, a three star album at best, but I have a big soft spot for Motorhead so I'm giving it four.
Fave track - "Ace of Spades", natch
X-Ray Spex
4/5
Yeah, this was great - love that saxamaphone added to the punk sound. Lyrically this album is so much more relevant than the Sex Pistols' manufactured nihilism.
Fave track - "Identity" - mainstream culture is only now (kinda) catching up with what this song is saying!
Bert Jansch
4/5
Listened on Thursday when I was in a bad mood and this largely slid off my brain without leaving an impression. Listened again today when I was more receptive, and I had a much more positive experience. There are a few artists I love that have a similar guitar sound, but tend to be instrumental. Fave track " Instrumental Medley 1964" which is possibly a bonus track rather than being on the original album? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Jerry Lee Lewis
4/5
The definitive classic rock & roll performer, wailing on a piano and belting out the hits! Great stuff!
Fave track - "What'd I Say" maybe, as I don't think I've heard it before, but it rocked and rolled just as much as the standards!
Joan Baez
3/5
Archetypal folk! She has an amazing voice, but I'm not so keen on the vibratto (if that's the word) technique she uses in most of the songs.
Fave track - Toss up between "House of the Rising Sun" (which has a really interesting wikipedia page!) and "Girl of Constant Sorrow"
George Jones
3/5
As I said in slack, this is exactly that kind of slide-guitary “my-woman-left-me-and-my-dog-died” mournful country balladeer the stereotypes come from!
I had to relisten to it today to pick a fave track, as non of them stood out to me first time around. I think I'll go for the title track, "The Grand Tour", as that seems the most sad sack....
Motörhead
4/5
Hah hah, more Motörhead! You know exactly what you're getting.
Fave track - "Capricorn", if only for the dedication to "all the poor bastards that only get one present for both birthday and Christmas"! 😂
Joy Division
4/5
Yuss, great album, even better cover art. This was hugely influential on post-punk, gothic, and darkwave, and probably a bunch of other genres too.
Fave track - I dunno, "New Dawn Fades"? "Shadowplay"? "Disorder" is a cracking tune. Or for campy melodrama, "She's Lost Control"!
The Beach Boys
4/5
A deliberately weird Beach Boys album - yeah, I liked it!
Fave track - well, "Surf's Up" sounded most classically Beach Boys, but I think I'm gonna go with "Student Demonstration Time" as being the most unexpected!
Boston
5/5
Awesome stuff! Hard rock turns power pop. I really enjoyed this. Thought I'd only heard "More Than A Feeling" before, but recognized "Foreplay/Long Time", which I'm naming fave track, from a bunch of TV shows and loved hearing the whole thing!
Caetano Veloso
3/5
This was a perfectly pleasant listen, but without knowing any Portuguese it kinda slid off my consciousness without making too much of a mark.
Fave track "Tropicalia" - though that just might be because I was paying attention to track one before going back to working and letting it play in the background ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Brian Eno
5/5
Oh yeah, I loved this. Pop rock from a parallel timeline, dissolving into dream pop as it goes on.
Fave track - "By This River"
Soft Cell
3/5
Not really my kind of thing, but there's some great pop going on, and "Tainted Love" is a karaoke monster! "Sex Dwarf" seems kinda questionable... huh, there's a video for it that was banned in the UK!?
Fave track - "Entertain Me" - liked the flow of the lyrics in that one...
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
Perfectly functional classic rock / folk rock. Listened to it twice and most of it didn't leave that much of an impression.
Fave track - "Bad Moon Rising" for being the most identifiable one!
Lou Reed
3/5
Weird album - half the songs are twee naffness, and the other half are incredible!?
Fave track - "Perfect Day"
John Prine
4/5
Social commentary and protest songs in a country style! I really liked this. Pretty Dylan-esque.
Fave track - "Sam Stone" - mainly because Spiritualized lifted some of the lyrics for one of my all time fave tracks "Cop Shoot Cop" from "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space" and hearing them in the original song was one of those "oooh, so _that's_ where that came from" moments!
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
I'm much less familiar with this album than "Fever To Tell", and there's no nostalgia bump. The first few tracks feel poppier, and then it gets more whistful? Those are both pleasant modes for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to adopt.
Fave track - "Dull Life" - though I think I need to give the album a couple more listens, as there are some other contenders there, for sure...
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
Pleasant background listening - it didn't bug me from getting over-exposed to the Pet Shop Boys in the bad old days of reliance on broadcast media.
Fave track - "Dreaming Of The Queen" had some truly WTF lyrics, heh
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
Very enjoyable jazz, mostly falling on the "hot" side.
(My mom categorizes all jazz as either "hot", "cool", or "what time does the tune start", heh.)
Fave track - "Kid From Red Bank" for hot, "Lil' Darlin'" for cool!
Pixies
5/5
Fantastic album! So, so good mirror universe indie rock.
Fave track - there are maybe 2 or 3 tracks on the album that _aren't_ contenders for being a fave. I'm going to pick "No. 13 Baby" from my listens yesterday as the highlight - those guitar lines!
Cocteau Twins
4/5
Lovely dreampop. I adore Elizabeth Fraser's otherworldly vocals.
Fave track - "Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires" for full on nimbly bimbly glossolalia!
The Birthday Party
4/5
Jangly discordant post-punk! Young Nick Cave tries to emulate Tom Waits. I really liked this, but can see why it scores low, I guess. "Pere Ubu" have a similarly low scoring album, so jangly discordant post-punk obviously rubs a lot of people the wrong way.
Fave track - "She's Hit"
Le Tigre
4/5
Banging electro rock! Great stuff.
Fave track - "Decepticon" - that track kicks ass!
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
I like an album that jumps through a bunch of genres - classic rock and roll, psychedelia, country, folk rock - good fun!
Fave track - "Lookin' Out My Back Door", for the Lebowski connection, heh, which also probably pushes the whole album up to 4 stars. But that's just, like, my opinion, man.
Elis Regina
3/5
Pleasant background music, at times funky.
Fave track - "Aprendendo a Jogar" for the wacky backing vocals
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4/5
Top quality cool jazz!
Fave track - while "Time Out" is a classic, I'm gonna pick "Blue Rondo à la Turk" for the playfulness!
Nina Simone
4/5
Smoky jazz club vibes - I was unfamiliar with most of these songs, so that was a bonus!
Fave track - "Four Women" - powerful stuff, great crescendo!
Liz Phair
3/5
Reminds me a lot of Lisa Germano, but less weird (and thus, in my book, less good) but yeah, acceptable early nineties alt rock singer songwriteriness.
Fave track - "Soap Star Joe", had some amusing lyrics that caught my attention...
Blur
3/5
This was released at the height of my "nothing but metal" phase, so I disagreed violently with how inescapable the singles from it were, but age has mellowed me, and I can enjoy their cheeky Lahndan britpop these days.
Fave track - I'm gonna go with "Girls & Boys" because even though it drove me spare in my teens, it's still inextricably linked to some good summer memories, so it gets a nostalgia bump...
Public Enemy
4/5
Commanding, authoritative, and sadly every bit as relevant today as it was when it was released.
Fave track - I really like "Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man" but it feels slightly wrong to pick the goofiest track on the album, so I'll go with "Burn Hollywood Burn" instead!
Q-Tip
4/5
So smooth, so funky - sounds great whether you're tuning into the lyrics or not.
Fave track - "Move", for the awesomely funky sample usage. Apparently that track was produced by J Dilla, who I know has an amazing reputation, but I've never really got what the fuss was about...
Amy Winehouse
4/5
Great album, amazing voice!
Fave track - I was expecting it to be "Rehab", but I think I'm actually gonna go for "Back to Black"!
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
Eh, this didn't make much of an impression. Pleasant, but not much stood out.
Fave track - "Are You Ready to be Heartbroken?", I guess, although they were all much of a muchness....
Madonna
3/5
Lots of different genres thrown into the mix, which I liked, even if "Dear Jessie" didn't seem to fit with anything else. I liked the weirdness of "Act of Contrition"
Fave track - "Like a Prayer" - that shiz is anthemic!
Judas Priest
3/5
I haven't really listened to much Judas Priest - not sure why, as they would have naturally blended in with a lot of the stuff I listened to as a teen. I liked this - quite a few different styles in play, including Kiss style party rock in "Living After Midnight", Motorhead style straight ahead metal in "Rapid Fire", and anthemic stadium rock in "United".
Fave track is "The Rage", though, for that funky underlying post-punk line!
Sebadoh
3/5
I think I've listened to some other Sebadoh album previously that gave me the impression they were intolerably twee potheads, but this sounded like more straight ahead indie rock. Didn't leave much of an impression on me at first listen, so went back for a second listen to pick out a fave track ("Sacred Attention", I reckon) and perhaps it is actually pretty above average indie rock? Gonna give it 3 stars for now, but I suspect more listens would get me to bump it to 4...
Butthole Surfers
4/5
Hah hah, gloriously weird, very noisy, exactly my type of thing.
Fave track - "Graveyard" maybe, although I did enjoy the faux metal glossolalia of "The O-Men" a lot
Iron Butterfly
3/5
Psychedelia gets heavy and helps create metal - what's not to like!
Fave track - "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vita", for the song itself, glorious prog noodling odyssey that it is, and for it's use in pop culture over the years, and for the mythology of its creation!
Van Halen
3/5
Yeah, fine - I have no strong feelings about this one way or the other.
Fave track - "Jump"
The The
3/5
Post-punk, but poppy! I didn't like that much at first listen - I guess I prefer my post-punk angry or angsty or depressed. On second listen I caught more of the lyrics, and they seemed pretty angsty after all - the poppiness is a veneer over the top.
Fave track - "I've Been Waiting For Tomorrow (All Of My Life)" maybe, as it sounds like very early industrial music. Or possibly "The Thinking Feeling" as that's the song where the lyrics clicked for me....
The The
3/5
Again, not quite my thing - I want more angst on the surface, more darkness in the tone.
Fave track - "Sweet Bird of Truth" Pretty bleak, lyrically, and as relevant as ever...
Beatles
3/5
Eh, why do the early Beatles albums get included in these lists? I guess they were massively popular at the time? If I ever make such a list, I'd skip the early stuff and only include the later stuff, which seems more revolutionary...
Fave track - "Money (That's What I Want)", I guess, though picking a cover feels slightly weird?
Sufjan Stevens
5/5
I've listened to this album before once or twice maybe, and it never really grabbed me, but paying more attention to it this time around and it's _wonderful_. Gorgeous music, poignant lyrics, amazing stuff.
Fave track - "Chicago", although I can imagine that might change with a few more listens...
Neil Young
4/5
I do have a soft spot for Neil Young, although I imagine his cracked wobbly voice is an acquired taste.
Fave track - "Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown" is a stormer, but also have a lot of love for "Roll Another Number (For The Road)", "Tired Eyes", and "Tonight's The Night"!
Pavement
3/5
I haven't listened to this album much, but some of Pavement's later albums are among my faves. The version I have is a 2 disc set, which apparently includes 3 EPs and a bunch of early versions of tracks that appear on Wowee Zowee, so I had to re-listen just to the original album tracks to pick out a qualifying fave - "Fillmore Jive"
Brian Eno
3/5
A fun listen - didn't grab me nearly as hard as "Before and After Science", though.
Fave track - not sure - quite like "Baby's on Fire", but the oddness of "Dead Finks Don't Talk" appeals, as does the triumphant almost kazoo-ness of "Here Come The Warm Jets"
Carpenters
3/5
Very pleasant easy listening, with lots of the songs familiar from film soundtracks or adverts...
Fave track - "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" - great lyrics!
Boards of Canada
5/5
Fantastic - music from a parallel timeline.
Fave track - "Turquoise Hexagon Sun"
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
Glorious, melodramatic, soaked in all kinds of gospel, from the euphoric to the hellfire & brimstone.
Fave Track - "O Children", though I resent Harry Potter using it in the soundtrack 😠
Fatboy Slim
3/5
This doesn't quite do it for me, I'm not sure why. I like his later albums more.
Fave track - "Santa Cruz"
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
Wonderful stuff - love both the lyrics and the melodies. I could definitely sink more listens into this album and hear new discoveries every time...
Fave track - "Beyond Belief" - I think I've loved this track for ages and didn't know what it was called or which album it was on, so good to find it!
Method Man
4/5
One of the first groups to switch me on to hip-hop was the Gravediggaz, and this album reminded me a lot of "6 Feet Deep" for obvious reasons. Love the grumbling hypnotic bass lines a load of these tracks have.
Fave track - "Stimulation" as it reminds me a lot of Dr Octagon's "Blue Flowers", which was another one of my hip-hop first loves. I'm a sucker for a meandering ethereal melody line lifted from a classical piece, it seems!
Missy Elliott
4/5
Very slick - Missy Elliott makes it all seem effortless.
Fave track - gonna have to go with "Work It" - love that the gibberish after the lyric "reverse it" really is the vocal track reversed. Always fun to hear people attempt it in karaoke! 😆
Otis Redding
4/5
Amazing soul, so many great tracks that Otis makes his own.... and apparently the whole album was recorded over 24 hours!?
Fave track - "Change Gonna Come", but "My Girl" and "Satisfaction" get honorable mentions.
Wu-Tang Clan
3/5
Having just listened to Method Man's "Tical", this album comes across as a bit unfocused? Or, I guess, it's more focused on mythology building than it is the music...
Fave track - "C.R.E.A.M." - C'mon, that shiz is iconic.
Kanye West
2/5
So this is apparently Kanye deliberately taking a "maximallist" approach, and it really doesn't work for me. For every element of a song I like, there'll be two or three more annoying elements jammed in. "Blame Game" samples Aphex Twin? Awesome! Oh, it has a 2 minute long Chris Rock skit embedded in it? ಠ_ಠ
Fave track - I dunno, "Gorgeous" maybe. I should probably give this 3 stars, but I'm deducting one because Kanye's obnoxious in a way that doesn't entertain me...
The Go-Go's
4/5
Fun! Very poppy, very upbeat - I didn't know this group was Belinda Carlisle's origin story!
Fave track - "Automatic", maybe? "You Can't Walk In Your Sleep (If You Can't Sleep)" is fun too...
Willie Nelson
4/5
Oh yeah, this is gorgeous. Sparsely arranged, masterfully executed. I love that Willie's record company fought him all the way on this and it ended up being a ludicrously big success.
Fave track - "September Song", but I suspect I might pick a new fave with each listen...
The Lemonheads
3/5
Yeah, fine. Standard alt rock type stuff. I didn't listen to it at the time, so it doesn't have any nostalgia value for me.
Fave track - "Mrs Robinson", and I know it's technically a bonus track, but sue me!
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
Fantastic, funky, infectiously groovy and a lot of fun even with the language barrier. Also, copious use of friction drums!
Fave track - "Taj Mahal" - can't really blame Rod Stewart for ripping off that great melody!
Tracy Chapman
4/5
This album was so popular, and the songs so good, that it's kinda become part of the cultural cosmic background radiation, right?
Fave track - "Talking 'bout a Revolution" maybe, but there's a lot of great tracks...
Parliament
4/5
Oh yeah, funky as anything. And sci-fi psychedelic as anything else!
Fave track - tempted to say "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" due to the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" connection, but I'm gonna go with "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" as it comes across as a funky manifesto...
The Style Council
3/5
Hmmm, a weird one - I quite liked the slightly jazzy easy listening of the beginning of the album (that apparently maps exactly to the A side of the vinyl) but was much less keen on the more upbeat poppier B side. Especially "A Gospel", which was cringingly bad.
Fave track - "My Ever Changing Moods" - makes sense that was a successful single!
Aerosmith
3/5
Got some nostalgia for this one from my teen years. It wasn't quite metal enough for my tastes, but this was pre-internet, and beggars can't be choosers!
Fave track - "Janie's Got a Gun" - gotta love that glass harmonica intro!
Bee Gees
3/5
Wow, listening to Bee Gees songs that haven't been rammed into my ears a million times before is actually quite a pleasant experience!
Fave track - "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" at the moment, but I should maybe listen a few more times as there are some other contenders.
Deerhunter
4/5
Oh, this wasn't at all what I was expecting - I thought it was going to be pretty abrasive noise rock. Is that because they have some other albums in that vein, or am I confusing them with another band? Who knows!
I really liked this - lovely blend of psychedelia, shoegaze, and a little bit of dream pop. Will definitely be revisiting.
Fave track - "He Would Have Laughed" at the moment. "Desire Lines" also stood out...
Gonna give this 4 stars but feel it could become 5 with more listens
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
I haven't listened to a great deal of album Springsteen - obviously a few of these songs have become massive cultural icons, so I've heard them a lot. Really enjoyed listening to the whole thing. Can definitely see why it was so massive. Quite a bit of it had a Dexys Midnight Runners vibe, which I liked.
Fave track "I'm on Fire" - although "Dancing in the Dark" is a great karaoke tune...
LL Cool J
3/5
Eh, not really my thing. For the first 5 tracks I was seriously thinking of awarding 2 stars because it just seemed like unreflective brag rap with fairly basic rhymes. It did approve a bit after that.
Fave track - "Cheesy Rat Blues" - a much more interesting listen than most of the other tracks. Plus it's where Run the Jewels got their name! The title track is also a pretty good tune, tbf
The Pogues
4/5
Hah hah, a raucous rocking time! I was introduced to this album during my "only metal" phase, and even though it's plainly not metal, I had to admire the level of punk wrapped up in this folk!
Fave track - "Sally MacLennane" maybe? A lot of good songs to choose from, though...
Beck
4/5
I loved Mellow Gold and was a bit non plussed with Odelay when it first came out, but I've warmed to it. It's still very very weird, and you gotta admire than weirdness being crammed into such a catchy pop sound.
Fave track - "Minus", maybe? Though all the tracks released as singles are banging. Also really like "Ramshackle", as I like Beck in mellow mode...
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
4/5
Yep, I dig this sort of folksy rambling gubbins. Very pleasant!
Fave track - "Grey Goose".... HONK!
Radiohead
4/5
I prefer their later, weirder albums, but re-listening to The Bends and it's really solidly well done - lots of great tunes.
Fave track - "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", although "Fake Plastic Trees" is a close second...
The White Stripes
5/5
Excellent, brash, swaggering, bluesy garage rock.
So many great tracks, but have to go with "Seven Nation Army" as a fave!
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
I mean, this is THE reggae album as far as mainstream taste in the UK goes, I think? Pretty much inescapable, but I think it's a testament to the songs that that much forced exposure to them never sent me into a strop.
Fave track - "Jammin"... No, "Three Little Birds"... No, "Exodus".... No, "One Love"...
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Anita Baker
3/5
Not really my thing, but not overdone diva-style antics which I can sometimes find grating. A pleasant background listen.
Fave track - "Sweet Love" is undeniably iconic
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Yep, fine.
Fave track - "Paint it Black", by a mile. "Under My Thumb" is a tune too, though...
Sparks
5/5
Rollicking good fun, and weird enough to keep my interest the whole time.
Fave track - "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both of Us" is an absolute tune. I really liked "Equator" on my last couple of listens, but not sure if it might not get irritating with more listens? Or, it could grown on me further, who knows!
Jeff Beck
3/5
Hmmm, apparently a very influential album in the formation of heavy metal, so I'm glad to have listened to it!
It's a little uncomfortable hearing a bunch of white Englishmen ripping off the blues, though...
Fave track - "I Ain't Superstitious" maybe? "Shapes of Things" is good too...
Jane Weaver
5/5
Very much my jam! Super soft dreamy vocals, driving krautrocky motorik rhythms, luscious indie pop melodies...
Fave track - "H>A>K", but "Did You See Butterfiles", "Slow Motion", "The Architect", and "I Wish" could all take the top spot too on a different listen!
David Bowie
4/5
Final Bowie. Ethereal, mournful Bowie. Cryptic and theatrical Bowie. 😢
Fave track - "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore"
Pink Floyd
5/5
I have massive nostalgia for this from my uni days which gets it 5 stars. I thiiiink I might still give it 5 stars even hearing it for the first time?
It's just a fantastic example of prog. Songs going off in unexpected directions and blending into each other. Sound effects and samples amplifying the ambient qualities. Clare Torry's outstanding vocal performance. I love it all.
Fave track - it doesn't really make sense to pick one fave track as a lot of the appeal of the album is how things flow into each other? "Speak to Me" -> "Breathe" -> "On the Run" is great.
"Time" -> "The Great Gig In The Sky" is magnificent - I guess this is my fave track pick...
"Brain Damage" -> "Eclipse" gives me triumphant chills every time!
Shivkumar Sharma
4/5
Gorgeous Indian classical music. This was apparently one of the key factors in sitar appearing in everything around this time? Understandable!
Fave track - "Ahir Bhairav/Nat Bhairav" for the lovely gradual build up.
Queens of the Stone Age
4/5
At first I thought "this isn't the QotSA album I'd pick", but I guess I haven't listened to it in a long time, as it's a banger. Lot of great tracks!
Fave track - "Avon", maybe? "How To Handle a Rope" and "You Can't Quit Me Baby" are great too!
Slint
5/5
I've heard this once or twice in the past, but it was good to give it a couple of listens with more attention. Super influential on a bunch of the genres that make up post-rock, you gotta love that quite/LOUD dynamic.
I was already thinking 4 stars, but an extra listen or two, including all the demos, has pushed me up to 5.
Fave track - maybe "Don, Aman", maybe "Good Morning, Captain".
Kinda feel like I want to listen to this album while reading the lyrics, which is not something I experience very often!
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
Good to compare this minimalist Springsteen with the maximallist "Born in the USA" which came from the same sessions. Again, I can see why he's been so acclaimed and has the reputation he does.
Fave track - "Atlantic City" - great track!
Black Sabbath
4/5
I mean, arguably the first heavy metal album, gotta be considered a classic! Got that brooding sound. Pushed blues rock into true heaviness. There's fairly juvenile songs about wizards and the occult, so it's really laying down some genre foundation stones...
Fave track - "Black Sabbath" - the first doom metal song! And doom metal, imho, is the finest of the metals! 🤘
The Avalanches
5/5
I have a lot of pre-existing fondness for this album - takes me back to end of uni / just graduated times. The title track was definitely the soundtrack of a summer around then.
It's just a fantastic melange of samples whirled together to produce some wonderful pop. I still really dig it!
Fave track - this is one of those albums where picking fave tracks makes less sense, as the way everything segues together is part of the magic. "Frontier Psychiatrist" should get a mention for the fantastic music video. "Radio" is a highlight, as is "Two Hearts in 3/4 Time" as is "Tonight May Have to Last Me All My Life"
Awesome stuff.
Madonna
4/5
Of the Madonna albums I've listened to, this is definitely my fave. Love that William Orbit production, and I'm a sucker for electronica with world music blended in.
Fave track - it always used to be "Frozen", but this time around the title track really jumped out at me. It's quite a tune! Got me pretty energised!
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
Messy raucous noise rock drenched in squalls of feedback. I can definitely see this won't be to everyone's taste, but I dig it. Can certainly hear the influence it had on shoegaze...
Fave track - "Little Fury Things", for sure.
Animal Collective
4/5
Yeah, shimmery synth drones and Beach Boys-esque vocal harmonies and jangly psych biz. There are some definite 5 star tracks, but it's not quite consistent enough to get 5 stars overall.
Fave track - "My Girls" - great tune!
Black Sabbath
3/5
I had their self titled debut on here a week ago, and Vol.4 suffers by comparison, I'm afraid, and that's mainly because of "Changes" (and, I guess, "FX"). They just completely mess up the flow of this album.
I quite like "Changes" as a song in its own right, but it makes such a dent in the tone of this album, I dunno, maybe because it's piano based?
Fave track - "Supernaut", I reckon, though I have a soft spot for "Laguna Sunrise" too. All the tracks apart from "Changes" and "FX" are pretty solid,
The Jesus And Mary Chain
4/5
Is it goth, or is it just goth-aligned post-punk? Either way, I'm a fan of this gloom!
Fave track - "Nine Million Rainy Days" for most depressive lyrics...
Supergrass
4/5
Upbeat, cheeky pop rock. When this first came out I was in an "only metal" phase, so didn't appreciate it at the time. Still, had a lot less antipathy for Supergrass than I did for Blur and Oasis.
Listening now, there's a lot I like. I appreciate "I'd Like to Know" and "Strange Ones" being like a call and response. Fave track is probably "Caught by the Fuzz"
Jamiroquai
3/5
I was kinda surprised to see this on the list, but wikipedia tells me Jamiroquai were actually a whole lot more popular in the nineties than I thought, and have influenced a whole bunch of people, so ok, fair enough!
It's funk and soul done competently enough, but it feels uncomfortably appropriative, and the way it tries to lay on a message is pretty cringe. I've no plans to revisit this, but probably won't object to it coming up on shuffle...
Fave track - "Revolution 1993", I guess?
Kraftwerk
4/5
Was initially thinking 3 stars during a background listen, but put it on again and paid slightly more attention and definitely bumping it up to 4. It's been so massively influential on a bunch of genres I like.
To quote from a Drowned in Sound review quoted on Wikipedia, it's "all at once antique, timeless, retro and contemporary".
Fave track - the whole of side 2! 🚅
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
It doesn't quite grab me - not sure whether that's because it came out during my METAL phase, or what. It's perfectly acceptable alt rock.
Fave track - "Faster" for sure. "Revol" is also pretty good...
Shuggie Otis
4/5
Oh yeah, this is lovely! Super chilled out soul, with a splash of psychedelia and folk.
"Strawberry Letter 23" is an absolute tune, but it's not present on most versions of the album, so I'll go with "Island Letter" or "Pling!" as my top track - love those relaxing latin rhythms underpinning them!
Foo Fighters
5/5
In my head I had it that I didn't particularly like the first Foo Fighters album, but that's completely wrong - I've _loved_ this re-listen! Fantastic alt rock, and I dig both the upbeat blasting tracks, and the slowed down mournful introspective ones.
Fave track - "Good Grief", maybe? Could easily pick 5 or 6 more that would get the title....
The Jam
4/5
Ok, this was great - not really what I was expecting - more melodic and with greater depth. Loved the Kinks cover!
Fave track - either "To Be Someone (Didn't We Have a Nice Time)" or "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight", but more listens might bring out other contenders...
Stephen Stills
4/5
I had no idea what to expect from this one, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the answer was "a little bit of everything"! I love an album that's not afraid to wade around the genre pool, so really enjoyed hearing rock, folk, country, blues and who knows what else in quick succession.
Definitely up for more listens. Fave track - "Bound to Fall"
Portishead
5/5
There is zero (0) chance that I'll be objective reviewing this. Looooved this album during my uni days, and have loved Portishead ever since. Such a moody, smokey sound.
Fave track - "Glory Box" maybe? Could easily be any of 5 or 6 others though...
The La's
5/5
This is unexpectedly excellent! Nearly flawless poppy alt rock. "There She Goes" is properly timeless, as I was very surprised to learn this was its origin - I assumed it must be a cover of something that had been around since the 60s or 70s!
There are a lot of great tracks besides that one, though. "I Can't Sleep" and "Timeless Melody" are both awesome, but my fave track award has to go to the closing phantasmagorical wonder "Looking Glass"...
Nitin Sawhney
4/5
This is an old fave of mine - and you couldn't really ask for bigger subject matter for an album, could you!? Lovely vocals and melodies, gorgeous beats, and sobering samples. Fantastic stuff.
Fave track - "Nadia" perhaps? "Homelands" is amazing though, as is "The Conference".
Ryan Adams
3/5
This didn't really grab me. It all sounded competent enough but nothing really lit up. Maybe you needed to hear it just after 9/11 to have it in context?
The cover invites comparisons to Springsteen's "Born in the USA", but the music doesn't seem to.
Fave track - "Enemy Fire" I guess...
Spiritualized
4/5
I'm a massive fan of "Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space", but I haven't listened to this album much, which seems.... weird. It's got all the elements I love. I think I just need to spend more time with it, so going into my third play through now...
Fave track - "Take Your Time", at the moment, but there are a couple of other contenders... I really don't know why I never got into this album as much as "Ladies & Gentlemen..."!?
Dizzee Rascal
3/5
I can respect the talent it takes to carve out a sound like this. It's extremely difficult to listen to while doing something else, I found. Every track sounds super busy and attention grabbing. It's a little vertigo inducing, which is kinda fun in itself!
Fave track -"Stop Dat", I think. I'm not doing a second play through to be sure, though...
David Bowie
4/5
David Bowie does ambient!? I've definitely listened to this album before, but somehow it escaped me that side B is just straight up Eno-style ambient instrumental loveliness. I actually like side B more than I like side A, even though "Heroes" is an absolute tune. (And weird to think that it wasn't that popular when first released!)
Fave track - "Sense of Doubt" - pure mood! "Moss Garden" is gorgeous, though, too...
Fugees
4/5
The individual members of the Fugees may have all gone on to get mired down in financial irregularities, but here they're all working cohesively together to create a great album! It all sounds so effortlessly confident.
Fave track - "The Mask" - takes on a different meaning in 2021, heh.
The Pretty Things
4/5
Yeah, ok, the first rock opera! Pretty psychedelic sounding, some obvious proggy elements - I enjoyed it, especially on a second listen. Would like to hear a version with Arthur Brown reciting the chunks of text between tracks - that'd be great!
Fave track - "Death", I think? "Private Sorrow" was great too...
Roxy Music
3/5
I wasn't familiar with this Roxy Music album, but really like some of their others. This didn't really grab me, and I gave it three listens. I don't know what's missing - it's not quite weird enough maybe? The lack of Eno?
Fave track - "Casanova" - it had a little bit of that "In Every Dream Home a Heartache" swagger...
Depeche Mode
4/5
Hah hah, yes! Moody, gothy synthy not-pop. Enjoyed this a lot.
Fave track - "Behind the Wheel", maybe? "Never Let Me Down Again" was great, and I enjoyed the weirdness of "Pimpf", too...
Pink Floyd
5/5
I've loved this album for far too long to have any objectivity. Flawless.
Fave track - "Wish You Were Here", I guess, but really I think the whole album should be consumed as one cohesive unit...
The Yardbirds
4/5
This was fun! Liked it a lot more than the Jeff Beck Group album that came up on here previously. More experimental, more all over the place, less just straight up ripping off the blues.
Fave track - "Ever Since The World Began", I reckon, but have a soft spot for "Over Under Sideways Down", "Hot House of Omagararshid" and "Jeff's Boogie" too...
The Cure
4/5
The first Cure song I ever fell in love with was "Burn" from the Crow soundtrack, and this whole album sounds like that, so I am very much on board.
Digging the abject gothiness of the whole thing.
Fave track - "The Hanging Garden", perhaps, or "A Short Term Effect". I like this album as an album, though, rather than discrete tracks.
Leftfield
5/5
I have massive affection for this album - one of the first electronic albums I properly got into after my nothing-but-metal phase. Love electronica that fuses world music into itself. Love an album that wanders over the genre map.
Fave track - gotta be "Open Up", really, but love everything on here...
Pink Floyd
5/5
I think I might have scored this 4 stars a year ago, as it's never been one of my favourite Pink Floyd albums... However, I watched The Wall movie this year, and that's added an extra layer of appreciation and bumped it up to a 5...
The rise of British fascism looking more likely rather than less these days, it's a disturbingly prescient work. 😑
Fave track - "Mother" maybe, or "Is There Anybody Out There?"
The Undertones
3/5
I can appreciate that this is pop punk done well, but pop punk's not really my thing. There are some great tracks on here, but a whole album of it wears a bit thin.
Fave track - "Teenage Kicks" is an absolute tune. Also really liked "Billy's Third" and "True Confessions"
Raekwon
3/5
I kinda like the overblown mafioso approach taken here, and as always like the Wu Tang sprinkling of kung fu movie samples.
Found the homophobia pretty grating, though - are the regular Wu Tang records this bad for it, and I just never noticed!?
Fave track - "Heaven & Hell", I guess. There wasn't really any particular track that stood out...
George Michael
3/5
Not really my thing, but I have to hand it to George Michael - looking at Prince and Michael Jackson in the late 80s and thinking to yourself "I can hit that level" and then _actually doing it_! Amazing! 😲
Fave track - "Hand to Mouth", I reckon...
Ice Cube
3/5
I like the railing against the police/racist society stuff, but dislike the misogynist gangsta braggadocio stuff, and unfortunately the latter seems to outweigh the former.
Fave tracks - all of the Inserts were pretty great! Prefer them to most of the actual main tracks. "Who Got The Camera?" was pretty good too....
John Martyn
5/5
Loooove this album. So mellow. Just glorious.
Fave track - "Solid Air" has long been a fave. "I'd Rather Be The Devil" gets an honourable mention too...
Primal Scream
4/5
Yes, groovy, digging it. Half euphoric "Screamadelica", half gritty jittery "XTRMNTR", and coming between those two albums, makes perfect sense!
Fave track - "If They Move, Kill 'Em"
The xx
4/5
I've been dimly aware of The xx for a while, but they never really made an impact on me. Giving it a decent listen as part of this project has definitely opened my eyes (ears?) to them, though - yeah, like it!
Dream pop-adjacent, knackered, end of the night vibes. Will definitely be coming back to this album a lot more in the future.
Fave track - "Shelter" at the moment, but I'm sure more listens will turn up more faves...
Sonic Youth
4/5
I've not really listened to much Sonic Youth, and always felt vaguely guilty about that hole in my listening.
This was great! A noisier, harsher Pavement (or rather, Pavement are a quieter, gentler Sonic Youth). I can definitely see myself bumping this up to 5 stars with more familiarity...
Fave track - "Trilogy", for sprawling grandeur. "Teen Age Riot" is a tune, too....
5/5
Bowie at his most accessible. This is a great rock record! "Starman" and "Ziggy Stardust" are karaoke staples. Even the B sides were great.
Fave track - "Suffragette City" this time around, I think, but "Five Years" and "Moonage Daydream" were contenders too!
Pink Floyd
3/5
I definitely have a strong preference for proggy later Pink Floyd over earlier twee psychedelia Pink Floyd. This was an interesting listen, picking out the elements that would go on to become foundational in some of my favourite albums, but ugh some of these songs were grating, like "Bike" and "The Gnome" 😠
Fave track - "Astronomy Domine", perhaps, or "Interstellar Overdrive"
Grant Lee Buffalo
3/5
The first thing that struck me was this sounded quite a lot like Big Music era Waterboys, but maybe lacked a bit of their pizzazz. I gave it two listens, and it's perfectly acceptable, I suppose, but nothing really left an impression.
Fave track.... uh, "Soft Wolf Tread", maybe? This album didn't make me want to look up specific track names very often. 😑
The Velvet Underground
4/5
I'm not nearly as familiar with this album, as "The Velvet Underground & Nico", but it definitely still hits the spot! The Velvet Underground being a little more straight forward and accessible, what's not to like?
Fave track - "Beginning to See The Light" and "What Goes On" have been my favourites in the past, but this play through I really dug "The Murder Mystery". Love the effect of two voices overlapping and interfering and generating urgency without sense...
Van Halen
3/5
Eh, not really my thing, but fine I guess. I enjoyed hearing the origin of the guitar line of Apollo 440's "Ain't Talkin' About Dub".
Fave track - probably the Kinks cover "You Really Got Me". I quite liked "I'm The One" too, as it started out sounding like a Motorhead song and then went off in an unexpected very un-Motorhead direction... 😆
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
Hah hah, this album is gloriously deranged! I've long been a huge fan of it.
Fave track - "The Curse of Milhaven", I mean, c'mon, almost every verse has a laugh out loud funny line. On this listen through, "Lovely Creature" really stood out to me, too...
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
4/5
This is lovely. Not sure this is the PCO album I'd have picked, if I was only picking one, but sure, whatever.
I'm a sucker for some instrumental ambient or indie chamber music or however you categorize this stuff.
Fave track - "Penguin Cafe Single", perhaps, or "Chartered Flight". It's not the sort of album with standout individual tracks, is it? It's all about the overall experience...
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
4/5
This was a perfectly pleasant listen. I'll freely admit I'm not at all knowledgable about salsa music, so this struck me as being kinda generic salsa, but after seeing on wikipedia that this is the best selling salsa record in history, I guess it's genre founding rather than generic!
Fave track - "Pedro Navaja" - I like the slow build up and shout outs to other tunes!
4/5
This is a welcome discovery - never heard of Suba! Getting a lot of Thievery Corporation vibes from it. It's been quite a while since I listened to any Thievery Corporation, but this maybe sounds better? A bit less plastic, a bit more authentic.
Will definitely be revisting.
Fave track "A Noite Sem Fim" for that awesome twanging noise. "Samba Do Gringo Paulista" had some great percussion lines, too....
Prince
4/5
About half the songs on here are _amazing_, but the others don't quite do it for me. I think this is the first album I've wanted to give a .5 star to, as it's not quite 5 stars for me, but maybe should be classed higher than the other 4 stars.
Massive kudos to Prince for defining his own sound with such confidence. Sounds fresher today than a lot of his contemporaries.
Fave track - "When Doves Cry" and "Purple Rain" are frickin' epic. Really like "Let's Go Crazy" and "I Would Die 4 U" too though...
Fats Domino
4/5
Classic rock n roll, what's not to love. "Blueberry Hill" is era defining.
Fave track - "La-La", or "Troubles of My Own" - they both have a backing rhythm that makes me think of a locomotive chugging away...
Miles Davis
4/5
Very pleasant. My mom categorizes all Jazz into three buckets. "Hot", "Cool", and "What Time Does the Tune Start".
I guess this is where "Cool" came from!
Fave track - hmmm, not sure any single tracks stood out to me - just enjoyed the album as a whole. "Israel", maybe?
Genesis
4/5
I think this is the first Genesis album I've properly listened to - not sure if this is a good entry point into their back catalogue, but yeah, enjoyed it! Prog with the folkiness dialed up, and without going too twee.
Fave track - "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight", perhaps, or "The Battle of Epping Forest". I definitely think more listens will be rewarded...
Green Day
3/5
Listened to this a lot as a teenager, so it was interesting to revisit. Weirdly, the stand out tracks had really stuck in my head, but the rest of the album had faded away almost entirely, which isn't exactly a great endorsement!
Fave tracks - "Basket Case", "Longview", "Welcome to Paradise", predictably enough!
Paul Weller
4/5
Solid musicianship, great songs.
Fave track - either the title track or "Sunflower", I reckon...
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
I hummed and hawed over giving this 5 stars but after 3 listens it hasn't quite grabbed me hard enough. "Tokyo Storm Warning" has long been one of my fave tracks by any artist after I heard it on a Best Of album.
Fave track - this time around, "I Want You" really, really sank its claws into me. That is one hell of a song! The version with Fiona Apple on vocals is well worth a listen too...
Michael Jackson
4/5
This felt less dated than "Bad", to my ear - I guess because of "Bad"'s use of synths? A bunch of these tunes are era-defining monsters. "PYT" was pretty cringe, though.
Fave track - has to be "Thriller", really. "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" are pretty epic too.
Les Rythmes Digitales
3/5
Hmmmm, couldn't quite get into this. I prefer my electronica to be either more banging, or more chin strokey, or ideally both. The album seemed to get better as it went on, though - definitely enjoyed the second half more.
Fave track - "Damaged People" for sure!
The Mars Volta
5/5
Hahahhahha, yes! YES!
The pretentiousness is very much the point here, and I _love_ it. Singing absolute nonsense with such earnest conviction - fantastic!
(Although it's made me realize that Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea", another fine example of heartfelt gibberish, isn't on this list, which feels like quite the omission!)
I'll take this album over anything At The Drive-In did. It's also my fave Mars Volta album, by quite a stretch...
Fave track - the whole thing, really, but "Roulette Dares (The Haunt of)", "Eriatarka", "Televators" and "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt" are the stand outs...
Metallica
5/5
I heard this at a friend's house as an early teen and it blew me away. Still had fragments of the songs going around in my head days later. This was the album that prompted me to start seeking out music proactively and build up a collection of cassettes, rather than just passively listen to whatever the TV or radio offered.
So yeah, 5 stars for personal significance alone.
Fave track - "Sad But True", let's say, but I have a lot of faves on this album even today...
David Bowie
4/5
This didn't grab me quite as hard as Ziggy Stardust, but it's cool hearing the more experimental stuff start to creep in to his sound.
"Time" made me think of It's Always Sunny's "Night Man" - I wonder if that's its source!?
Fave tracks - "Panic in Detroit" maybe, or "Cracked Actor"...
I feel like if I listened to this album a bunch more times that rating might climb to 5...
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
Oh yeah, this was pretty great! Sometimes listening to old school hip-hop can be a bit of a chore, as the rhymes can sound basic and dated, and the attitudes can be, uh, regressive, but this still sounded pretty fresh!
I guess the amount of rock music being sampled (and the Aerosmith collab) make this much more accessible to my goblin-pale ass. In the version of the album I listened to there was a bonus track of them recording a commercial for some live dates, and they refer to themself as "Rap n' Roll", and YES, that's a great label!
Fave track - all the singles were great - also liked "Proud to be Black" for the Tubman reference!
Brian Eno
5/5
Tranquil loveliness!
I am a massive fan of ambient music, so gotta give props to the album that started it all...
Fave track "1-1", I guess - not that it makes sense to break the album down into tracks...
Magazine
4/5
Ooh, proggy! This is not your average post-punk, and that made it a really interesting listen for me. Also, was pleasantly surprised to find the source of "The Light Pours Out of Me", which I was familiar with from Ministry's cover...
Fave track - love the rising hysteria of "Shot By Both Sides"!
Soundgarden
4/5
A favorite from my youth - still sounds solid.
Fave track - "The Day I Tried to Live", for sure. Although "Black Hole Sun" has a special place in my heart due to its availability as a karaoke option...
5/5
PJ Harvey was not fucking around when she put this album together. A lot of fantastic songs. Excellent stuff!
Fave track - the duet with Thom Yorke was great an all, but I have to go with "Good Fortune" overall, but like three quarters of the other tracks come in a close second place!
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
4/5
The first time I listened to this I very much wasn't in the mood, so it fell flat. I gave it another chance the next day and appreciated it a lot more.
You need to be in the right mindset to connect with morbid depressive off-kilter discordant folk, I guess.
Also, I can't help thinking of Jeffrey Lewis' "Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror" 😂
Fave track - "Death to Everyone", or possibly "Madeleine-Mary"
Paul Simon
4/5
Yeah ok, this was nice - you can hear he's starting to get a taste for incorporating world music into his sound.
The "Me and Julio down by the Schoolyard" lyric "Goodbye to Rosie, the queen of Corona" hits differently in 2021. 😞
Fave track - gotta be "Paranoia Blues". Relatable!
Chicago
4/5
How is this not considered prog? Is it the lack of lyrics about wizards? Seems pretty darned proggy to me! (Which is not a dis) I mean, c'mon, "Free Form Guitar"!
Anyway, yeah, this was a good listen - I don't think I've heard any of this before, with the possible exception of "I'm a Man", but it might have been the original I've heard.
Fave track - "Someday (August 29, 1968)". Sad to think that basically nothing has changed...
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
Eh, it's a perfectly pleasant background listen, I guess. It's too laid back to be energising, but not quite laid back enough to be chill.
Fave track - "Being Boring", but they're all much of a muchness...
Van Morrison
4/5
Wikipedia tells me this album was a huge deal. I guess it's been so influential that whatever made it so remarkable has now become commonplace?
It was a nice listen, for sure.
Fave track - "Glad Tidings", let's say, but I didn't feel like there were any stand out tracks - they all blended together...
Miriam Makeba
4/5
Great stuff - really interesting variety of songs! Incredible vocal talent.
Fave track - "Mbube" for that "Lion Sleeps Tonight" quality. Also "The Click Song", for clicking!
Haircut 100
4/5
I think participating in this project is developing a taste in me for new wave, as that was a lot of fun!
Upbeat, light, poppy and funky - they sound like an earnest, humorless They Might Be Giants.
Fave track - "Favourite Shirts", maybe. I like "Kingsize (You're My Little Steam Whistle)" too, but damn that's a bad track name!
The Cramps
4/5
I was hovering around 3 stars for this, but some additional listens have bumped it up to 4 stars. It's a lot of fun! B-52s meets the Addams family!
Fave track - "What's Behind the Mask?", maybe? "Garbageman" and "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" are both great too....
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
This is probably a three star album, let's be honest, but I've got a massive soft spot for it, so bumping it up to four. I'm a John Frusciante fanboy, for sure. A lot of these tracks made great karaoke tunes, too.
Fave track - "Otherside", maybe, or "Parallel Universe"
R.E.M.
3/5
Upon first listen this didn't sound like anything special, and I wondered why it had been included in the list, but apparently it was massively influential when it came out?
I guess the spangly guitar sound became so ubiquitous that this album now sounds a bit run of the mill?
Fave track - "We Walk", I think, or maybe "Laughing"
Tricky
4/5
Smokey underwater trip-hop. I like Massive Attack more, but this is still a great listen.
Fave track - "Black Steel" is absolutely badass. "Suffocated Love" really stood out to me this time around, too!
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
5/5
I'm genuinely pretty shocked to be giving a new wave synth pop album five stars, but this was looooovely!
I've never really listened to OMD before, except passive radio play, so I didn't really know what to expect, other than a vague idea they were very poppy? This was excellent - atmospheric, emotive, unexpected shifts happening mid song - it kinda prefigures post-rock!
Fave track - "Sealand". Just - WOW.
The Verve
4/5
Ok, this was pretty rocking - did not fit my preconception of what The Verve sounded like.
It pairs pretty well with Spiritualized's "Ladies & Gentlemen..." which came up on here recently, for being a bit droney wall-of-sound-style rock.
Fave track - "A New Decade". I'm definitely up for more listens to pick out other faves though...
Spiritualized
5/5
One of my all time faves - automatic five stars!
My neighbour in Uni halls during my first year had the cd version packaged up like medicine, and I was always deeply jealous - such a great release!
I love love love the way this album flows together, just fantastic stuff.
Fave track - "Cop Shoot Cop" if pressed, but really this is an album experience, it's not really about the individual tracks...
Gene Clark
5/5
This was unexpectedly great - started off sounding like it was going to be straight forward country, and then gospel and folk and soul and the kitchen sink get thrown in too!
Sad backstory to the whole thing, as well.
Fave tracks - "No Other" sounded very Zappa to my ear, and "Some Misunderstanding" has some powerful energy going on...
Mike Oldfield
4/5
A fun prog odyssey!
I was only familiar with the Exorcist bit previously, but largely enjoyed all the other sections.
I am gleefully anticipating all the complaints about the section that sounds like it's sung in Klingon!
Robert Wyatt
5/5
This is simply wonderful - probably my favorite discovery from this list so far.
I found this much more accessible than your average prog. The whole thing sounds like a dream, both the instruments and the vocals. I could get lost in this album...
Fave track - "Sea Song", but really this album demands to be listened to straight through...
Incubus
4/5
This is cheesy as anything, but I have a certain amount of nostalgia for it from my late teens. I can imagine I'd be pretty nonplussed if I was hearing this for the first time...
Fave track - "Drive", let's say...
The Doors
4/5
OK, a Doors album that's not the self titled one... Well, I wasn't in the mood at all when I first put it on, but within a couple of tracks it had won me over.
Definitely a solid album worth some more listens!
Fave track - "Riders on the Storm" is a classic, and I think the only track I was properly familiar with in advance. "L.A. Woman" is a great tune too...
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Enjoyed this - it's nice to hear so many songs that I haven't heard to death on best ofs or random radio play.
Fave track - "Them Belly Full" - the opening almost sounds like Tortoise!
The Who
3/5
This doesn't work for me, sorry boys. All the little ads and skits are annoying rather than endearing, and break the flow of the album.
Or maybe I was just in a mood while listening.
Fave track - "I Can See For Miles" is undeniably a tune, and the only track I was very familiar with going in. "Armenia City in the Sky" was fun, I guess...
T. Rex
4/5
Pretty flawless glam. Marc Bolan understood the assignment.
Fave track - "Metal Guru" is one of the standouts. Also "Ballrooms of Mars"
Everything But The Girl
4/5
Coffee table drum & bass with smooth female vocals over the top - what's not to like?
I only really know that "Missing" song from EBTG, so this was surprisingly trip-hoppy. I really enjoyed it!
Fave track - the title track I think. "Single" was also great.
Public Enemy
4/5
A great listen! That intro makes it sound like Public Enemy puts on one hell of a live show...
I love Tricky's version of "Black Steel" so it was great hearing the original.
Fave track - "Prophets of Rage", maybe, or "Louder Than a Bomb". "Don't Believe The Hype" is a massive tune too, of course...
David Bowie
4/5
Bowie does "plastic soul"? Yeah, I'm here for it!
I do love an artist that explores different genres, and Bowie's somewhat of an archetype in that area.
Fave track - "Fame" is awesome, obvs. The overwrought cover of "Across the Universe" is good for a laugh. "John, I'm Only Dancing" is a bonus track, but it's great, so I'm mentioning it...
The Smiths
5/5
This really is a fantastic album. I'm kinda tempted to deduct a star because Morrissey is such a prat, but that hardly seems fair.
Fave track - "Girlfriend in a Coma" maybe, on this listen through. I could honestly go with a different track each time, though - about three quarters of them are candidates....
Leonard Cohen
5/5
That voice. THAT VOICE.
Fave track - The title track is absolutely badass. "Traveling Light" takes second place...
Gene Clark
3/5
Eh, this didn't grab me even after 3 listens. I had Gene Clark's "No Other" a week or two ago and that was great, but nothing from "White Light" is really making an impact.
Fave track - "1975" maybe? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fleet Foxes
4/5
Perfectly pleasant indie folk. A nice listen.
Fave track - "White Winter Hymnal" was a fave going in. "Your Protector" caught my ear on this listen through, too...
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
Been a long time since I listened to this. Love the double bass - such a distinctive sound it gives to the album.
There's more misogyny than I remembered. 🤨 I guess there's less than a lot of acts were putting out at around that time, but still...
Fave track - "Buggin' Out" for that double bass goodness. "Scenario" was great too...
Dolly Parton
4/5
This was a great listen! I'm not massively into country, and only really familiar with Dolly Parton's inescapable mega hits, so it was great to hear something from her I wasn't already passively sick of.
Fave track - toss up between "Traveling Man", "The Mystery of the Mystery", or "Early Morning Breeze"
Pixies
5/5
That's an automatic 5 from me. Have loved this album for a long time. The guitar line from "Bone Machine" is one of my most frequently occurring self generating ear worms, and I _still_ love it.
Fave track - it could literally be any of them, I love them all. On this play through, let's say "Gigantic"...
Bee Gees
4/5
This was pretty gloriously unexpected! Took a second listen to get my head around what I was hearing. Only really knowing the Bee Gees' disco output, a sweeping melodramatic concept album about the close of the 19th century rather took me by surprise!
Fave track - "Edison", maybe? Or "Whisper Whisper". More listens are probably required...
T. Rex
4/5
The origin of glam rock - it's a gas!
Fave track - I mean, it's gotta be "Get it On" really. "Cosmic Dancer" is great too...
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
Solid stuff - easy to see how they took the genre mainstream and became so influential.
Fave track - love the guitar samples from "Rock Box". Also, gotta love the juxtaposition of the unsympathetic pragmatism of "It's Like That" followed by the dreamy idealism of "Wake Up"!
Bad Company
3/5
Eh, this was fine, but didn't really excite me.
I guess it's so foundational to classic rock that it now comes across as generic?
Fave track - "Bad Company" which is admittedly the only track I recognized. Maybe with more familiarity I'd grow fonder of the other tracks...
Screaming Trees
4/5
I'm way more familiar with Mark Lanegan's solo career, so it's interesting to hear his voice sounding a little younger.
This was apparently their final album? I should dig into their back catalog.
Fave track - "Make My Mind" or "Witness", I reckon....
The Roots
4/5
Yeah, awesome stuff, though a bit weird that it's the only album by The Roots on the list.
Being a bit contrary, I like the more genre bending experimental tracks that a lot of people seem to be complaining about, heh.
Gonna go for 4 stars, but I suspect it could bump to 5 with more listens...
Fave track - "The Seed (2.0)" is a fantastic tune.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Yeah, like this - sounds a bit more noir, a bit more cinematic than your usual Dylan. Even a bit Tom Waits in places!
Fave track - "Not Dark Yet" was good - think I need to go with "Love Sick" overall though, that's a great album opener...
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
I have a certain amount of nostalgia for this album, and some of the singles are still absolute tunes, but there's a lot of cringe on here too... Think I prefer RHCP in alt rock mode, rather than funk mode...
Fave track - "Give it Away", predictably enough!
The Doors
5/5
Pretty sure I'd be giving this a five star review even without the nostalgia bump. Have loved this album since teenagerhood - pretty sure the inclusion of "The End" in "Apocalypse Now" is what switched me on to it.
Fave track - still "The End", but "Break on Through" and "Light My Fire" are both awesome, and the rest of the tracks serve their purpose...
Patti Smith
5/5
Oh yeah, this was fantastic - a great discovery for me. I feel like PJ Harvey inherited some sort of spiritual crown from Patti Smith.
Fave track - "Land" is a wonderful post-punk (proto-punk? para-punk?) odyssey!
Björk
4/5
I like a bit of Björk, but wasn't really familiar with this album. I'm also a fan of that early oughties faux-vinyl-crackle glitchy electronica, so this was right up my street!
Fave track - "Hidden Place", maybe - loved the harp on "Pagan Poetry" too....
The Teardrop Explodes
4/5
Poppy post-punk with a splash of psychedelia? Don't mind if I do!
Reminds me a little of XTC, although I think I prefer XTC on balance. More listens might improve my appreciation though...
"You can watch Rafferty turn into a serial" - I have no idea what that means, but it's catchy as hell! 😆
Fave track - "Sleeping Gas" and "Treason" are both stand outs. Liked "When I Dream" a lot too...
Nick Drake
4/5
It's undeniably lovely, but doesn't move me quite the way his other albums do. Not sure I can put my finger on why exactly...
Fave track - "From the Morning"
U2
3/5
This might be the first album on the list that gets a nostalgia anti-bump from me! My first serious girlfriend used to like U2 - it must be over 2 decades since I've listened to a full album by them...
It was fine, I guess. The high points for me are when it started to sound similar to the Passengers side project they did with Brian Eno, which I much prefer to straight U2....
Fave track - "Mysterious Ways" maybe? idk
Bob Dylan
5/5
Oh yeah, this feels iconic - you can definitely see how Dylan captured the zeitgeist of the times. Most of these songs could be dropped into the soundtrack of a scene and instantly paint a picture of 60s cultural tumult...
Fave track - toss up between "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" and "Masters of War"
Nine Inch Nails
5/5
I can see how this isn't for everyone, but it sure does hit my spot. A real life sickos.jpg situation.
At the time, I loved this album for the pounding manic tracks like "Mr Self Destruct" and "Big Man With A Gun", but these days I appreciate all the little dark ambient flourishes that connect them. You can definitely hear the signature sound that they've brought to all the score work they've done. The soundtrack to the Watchmen series is _badass_.
Fave track - "Hurt" is an obvious choice - amazing song. This version's great, even if the Cash version is better. This play through, though, I'm gonna go with "Eraser", as it had that lovely soundtracky feel...
UB40
4/5
Nice hearing their early stuff, actually, rather than the hits that have been crammed down my ears since childhood!
Plus one star out of Brummie pride...
Fave track - "Tyler" was a great opening. "Reefer Madness" was fun, too.
Iggy Pop
4/5
Some bangers on here, no doubt.
Minus 1 star for the creep factor of "Sixteen" tho.
Fave track - "The Passenger" is one of my all time fave tracks by anyone - I even like the Terrorvision cover of it.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
Yeah, really liked this! Definitely giving the band side-eye for their rejection of the goth label, heh.
I can see me lifting this to 5 stars with more listens...
Fave track - "Sin in My Heart" - love the tempo ratcheting up throughout.
Hookworms
4/5
I enjoyed this - I like a bit of motorik style krautrock. Not entirely sure what qualified this album for the list, though? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fave track - uh, "Static Resistance" maybe? I listened to it three times and no specific track jumped out at me, although I liked the album well enough as a whole...
Rahul Dev Burman
4/5
This was a funky listen!
Also, indicative of how much of an afterthought world music is to this list. The original entry was "Shalimar/College Girl" because the list author had a bootleg album that threw two unrelated soundtracks together! 😆
"College Girl" is also worth checking out. The track "College Girl 'I Love You'" lifts a chunk of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" which is fun, and "Everybody Dance With Me" uses the riff from Iron Butterfly's "In A Gadda Da Vita"...
Fave track (on Shalimar) - "Countess Caper (Music)" - loved that Bollywood spaghetti western vibe! The opening track "Title Music" was also very atmospheric...
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Gave it two listens and it didn't really grab me - there are definitely Rolling Stones albums I like more.
To their credit(?), they decided that if they were gonna appropriate black American music, by golly they weren't gonna half arse it - the number of genres they're ripping off an incorporating is impressive.
Fave track - "Happy", maybe, or the execrably named "Turd on the Run"
The Notorious B.I.G.
3/5
Gangsta rap isn't generally my thing, but this was mostly a fun listen! The production was great, and the flows smooth. Deducting a star because the misogyny really started to grate as the album went on.
Fave track - "Intro" - I really liked all that story telling compressed into 3 and a half minutes - I coulda gone for a lot more of that...
Faith No More
5/5
Yuss! Love me some Faith No More!
This is the only album of theirs on the list?! That don't seem right!
Fave track - "Surprise! You're Dead!", but really I have such a longstanding affection for this album I could pick any of the tracks...
Thundercat
3/5
I went backwards and forwards on whether to give this 3 stars or 4. On the one hand, it's quite a fun listen. On the other, would I really come back to it?
I'll settle on 3.
Fave track - "Tokyo" is the funnest!
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Listened to this immediately after The War on Drugs' "Lost in the Dream" and it suffered for the comparison.
Listened on a new day, and it did better, but still didn't really grab me. Much prefer angry cynical Springsteen than patriotic inspirational Springsteen.
Fave track - "The Fuse"
The War On Drugs
4/5
Liked this a lot! Krautrocky rhythms overlaid with dreamy vocals and slide guitar - a very pleasant experience. Mostly preferred the more uptempo songs to the slower ones, but appreciate how it all blends together.
Fave track - "An Ocean In Between The Waves" maybe? This album is more about the album than individual tracks, though....
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Oh yeah, this is badass - liked it a whole lot more than III. Most of these tracks feel iconic rather than generic.
Fave track - "Misty Mountain Hop" - I'm pretty sure there's a Linda Perry cover of that song that kicks ass...
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
I thought this was alright when it first came out, and still find it pretty enjoyable. A bit scuzzy, a bit garage, and it's refreshing to hear a singer keep their regional accent.
You can also detect they have a lounge album brewing, if you listen closely! 😆
Fave track - "From The Ritz To The Rubble" caught my attention this time through!
Circle Jerks
3/5
Old school punk's not really my bag, but this was an OK listen - didn't find it grating or anything.
Fave track - "Don't Care", I reckon...
Fred Neil
5/5
Oh yeah, I loved this - one of my favorite discoveries from this project so far. Mellow and smooth enough to blend into the background if you're not focusing on it, but rewards attention if you do.
Strong opener with "The Dolphins". I'm a sucker for Elizabeth Cotton covers, so loved track 2, and then the quality holds up as the album keeps going, finishing with a psychedelic raga - great stuff!
Fave track - "That's the Bag I'm In" for the relatable pessimism...
Ray Charles
4/5
Nice little bit of easy listening style jazz.
Fave track - toss up between "Alexander's Ragtime Band" and "Come Rain or Come Shine"
The Isley Brothers
4/5
Awesome, seemingly effortless, funk and soul. A great listen.
Fave track - "That Lady" is badass - also loved their version of "Summer Breeze"
Janet Jackson
3/5
Not really my thing, but didn't find it an ordeal to listen to. The synth and drum machines sound very dated but, tbf, they're used well.
Fave track - "Rhythm Nation" still slaps.
Talvin Singh
4/5
Yes, love a bit of electronica with world music blended in. This pairs nicely with Nitin Sawhney's "Beyond Skin" which is also on the list.
Fave track - "Butterfly" perhaps. I also enjoy the jabbering of the title track!
4/5
I'm going by how much I enjoyed the play-through rather than how important an album is to the Western canon, so I'm gonna go with 4 stars.
There's a lot to admire here, no doubt, but also some weaker tracks, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fave track - "Within You Without You" for bringing in that Indian Classical music vibe, for sure. "A Day in the Life" is also a highlight.
Various Artists
4/5
Huh, this was the project's pick for Christmas Eve! Pure chance, or did the algorithm get fudged? Either way, I reckon the relevance of the date is worth an extra star from me. If I'd had to listen to this in July I can imagine it losing a star...
Fave track - "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by The Ronettes maybe, idk
Pixies
4/5
I am weirdly less familiar with this Pixies album than their other stuff. Now why would that be?
Anyway, it's still awesome, even if it doesn't give me nostalgia tingles.
Fave track - "Velouria" I reckon, though "Dig for Fire" is a contender too....
Sepultura
4/5
Adding berimbau and other traditional Brazilian instruments goes a long way towards covering up the faint whiff of nu metal that otherwise might have turned me right off...
Fave track - love the swivel eyed mania of "Ratamahatta"! "Roots Bloody Roots" is also a tune...
The Flying Burrito Brothers
4/5
Plenty of pedal steel guitar, country but not obnoxious plastic country - yeah, I can get on with this.
Fave track - "Hippie Boy", I reckon...
Stevie Wonder
4/5
On first listen this didn't grip me at all - was leaning towards 3 stars. A day later and a second listen and I liked it a lot more. Maybe I was in a mood?
The slower more saccharine tunes I could do without, but overall a worthy listen.
Fave track - I mean, c'mon, "Superstition" absolutely slaps! "Big Brother" was also great...
AC/DC
4/5
AC/DC are like Motorhead, in that they keep making the same album over and over again. Normally I have a strong preference for Motorhead and AC/DC leaves me cold, but this play through actually really worked for me. Maybe it's getting more exposure to it?
Fave track - "Back in Black", for sure. "You Shook Me All Night Long" also has some fondness, as it's a good karaoke tune...
Richard Hawley
4/5
Perfectly pleasant. Not entirely sure it belongs on the list, as the schtick is that he's perfectly and earnestly recreating the sound of a bygone era - so why not give us some of the originals this is aping? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fave track - "Coles Corner" was a lovely opener, and "Last Orders" a lovely closer, so let's go with them....
Happy Mondays
3/5
I don't have enough MDMA in by bloodstream to properly appreciate this. Was thinking this might be a 2 star review on the first listen, but a second listen exposed some of its charm.
Still, though, it's a bit of a shambley mess! 😂
Fave track - "Bring A Friend" maybe, or "Do It Better" for the weird grunting at the end!
AC/DC
4/5
I've historically not got on with AC/DC and now this is my second album by them within a week, and you know what? It didn't suck!
Maybe it's like acquiring the taste of olives or other pungent flavors, and you need to be exposed on a certain number of unique occasions, I dunno.
Anyway, that was a fun enough listen, and I didn't find the vocals too grating.
Fave track - "Highway to Hell", by a mile. Which reinforces my olive theory, as it's been featured in so many soundtracks...
Funkadelic
5/5
This'd be a five star album for the title track alone, but the rest of the album slaps for sure.
"Can You Get To That" is so strong Sleigh Bells can slap a vocal track over the top of a sample from it and produce a banger.
"Hit It and Quit It" is just funk brilliance. And "Wars of Armageddon" is a brain melter of a closing track.
I can definitely see that the album as a whole might be too weird for some people, but I've long thought the title track is a veritable Voight-Kampff test. If you can listen to the track "Maggot Brain" and not get the feels, then someone in a trench coat needs to come retire you. And I felt like that before finding out the backstory to the track, which only heightens its emotional impact!
Fave track - "Maggot Brain", for sure, but "Hit It and Quit It" gets an honourable earwormy mention!
Rod Stewart
4/5
I had some strong preconceptions about the naffness of Rod Stewart, but this album was actually pleasantly rockin'! I liked it more than some of the other "white Brits rip off Black blues artists" albums we've had. I'm not sure whether that's because I had lower expectations going in, or Rod genuinely did more to make these his own? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fave track - "Maggie May" is the only song I had much familiarity with going in, and I have some affection for it from karaoke. "(I Know) I'm Losing You" was a badass Temptations cover. "(Find a) Reason to Believe" was pretty notable, too....
Neil Young
5/5
I get that Neil Young is an acquired taste, but I acquired that taste quite a while ago, and this is one of the albums that was involved. His cracked forlorn voice perfectly suits the melancholy atmosphere of this album...
Fave track - "For The Turnstiles" has historically been my favourite, but "Walk On", "Revolution Blues", "On the Beach" and "Ambulance Blues" are all stand outs too...
Tim Buckley
3/5
I didn't find this too objectionable, but it's a little too ren faire, eh?
"Pleasant Street" really reminded me of "Here it Comes" by Doves, but after listening to them back to back they're not actually that similar...
And "I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain" sounds to me like it's about to break into "Get Together", but apparently no-one else on the internet is saying that, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fave tracks - the two mentioned ☝️
Lauryn Hill
5/5
She's super talented and switches effortlessly between rapping and singing in a number of styles. Bit hard to rate this one as I was introduced to this album by my first serious girlfriend, so it's tangled up in my melon heart biz.
I did really like the listen through, though. The classroom intermissions felt immersive rather than flow-breaking, like the skits often popular on hip-hop albums from this era. There are some absolute tunes on here, too...
Fave track - "Forgive Them Father", maybe? "Everything is Everything" is a contender, and "To Zion" and "Doo Wop (That Thing)" are both very strong too!
Fuck it, 5 stars!
Manu Chao
4/5
Heh, I don’t think Manu Chao had much of an impact on the UK, but he was apparently massive a lot of other places. I first encountered his music while backbacking around Thailand around 2000, as was the custom at the time, and a guesthouse owner kept asking me “Do you like Manu Chao?” and I assumed it was Thai for something, food, or drugs or lawd knows what, and when I said I didn’t know what Manu Chao was he just kept repeating “Manu Chao! Manu Chao!” and waving his arms around - in retrospect to get me to pay attention to the music that was playing - but I was utterly baffled for an embarrassingly long time…
The music is alright, I guess - chill, polyglot, a bit juvenile from what I do understand. Probably a three star album, but I'm awarding an extra star for the above anecdote associations...
Fave track - "Bongo Bong" which I'm pretty sure was the track that was playing in that guesthouse...
The Black Crowes
3/5
Yeah, fine, sounds competently done and is an enjoyable enough listen, although I notice even after two play throughs nothing's really stuck in my head.
Fave track - "Hard to Handle", but mainly because the The Black Crowes version of that song was reliably available as a karaoke choice, not because they did anything amazing with it...
The Velvet Underground
3/5
I like the Velvet Underground a lot, but this is far from their best work, and a pretty questionable inclusion on the list.
Lou Reed's (?) interjections on "Lady Godiva's Operation" seem like he's trying to tank the track!?
Fave track - the title track probably. "Sister Ray" is fun too...
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
I liked this well enough at the time, and it seems like they did a good job of raising the profile of lurchy angular post-punk as a whole, so hurrah!
Still enjoyable to revisit!
Fave track - has to be "Take Me Out" - that's an absolute tune. "Michael" and "This Fire" get honourable mentions...
Billy Joel
4/5
"Movin' Out" is a fantastic start, and "The Stranger" is great too, but then things take a turn for the saccharine - I definitely prefer his more upbeat numbers to the ballads. When I listened to this yesterday I'd have given it 3 stars, mostly due to disappointed expectations after the strong opening tracks... Listened again today with more of an idea of what to expect, and found it a lot more palatable...
Fave track - "Movin' Out", for sure, with the title track a close second...
Songhoy Blues
5/5
Yeah, I loved this - could happily listen to Mali's desert blues all day!
Super interesting to hear fragments of rock n roll picked up and woven into their own tradition.
Fave track - "Soubour" is a great opener. "Wayei" for something on the chiller side...
Robbie Williams
3/5
My face when this came up 😒
My face during the first coupla tracks 😯
My fave when frickin' "Angels" came on😡
I had the singles from this rammed down my throat for years so they can absolutely get in the bin. However, I actually quite liked the album tracks I hadn't been overexposed to, so fair play to the chap I guess.
Fave track - "Lazy Days" and "Life Thru a Lens" both struck me very favorably, possibly just because I was expecting horribleness!
Hugh Masekela
4/5
If it's possible to divide all Jazz into three categories, "Hot", "Cool", and "What Time Does The Tune Start", as my mom does, then this falls squarely into "Cool"... 😎
A very pleasant listen, and I suspect repeated plays would reveal more and more each time.
Fave track - "Minawa" maybe, or "Unhome"...
Bobby Womack
3/5
This didn't grab me - I think it's the 80s instrumentation and production creeping in. I want my soul to sound more 70s or earlier, I guess, and my funk to sound weirder and more psychedelic.
Fave track - "Stand Up" probably had the highest energy....
Depeche Mode
4/5
Yes, this was great - it could have been a bit gothier for my taste, but it still hit the spot.
I'm vaguely curious what fetish-wear "Blue Dress" was really about, but, uh, not enough to go digging.
Fave track - "Enjoy the Silence" by a mile - that's a tune.
MGMT
4/5
I think I heard this once or twice when it came out but didn't have much memory of it.
As soon as the first track kicked off it all came back, though - very distinctive poppy sound! I can dig it.
Fave track - "Time to Pretend" and "Kids" - both pretty iconic!
Morrissey
3/5
Haven't really listened to much solo Morrissey. There's still a fair amount of stuff I like carried over from the Smiths. Not a fan of the slowed down stuff, though, and the breathy "Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning" was especially horrible.
I could almost go to 4 stars for this, but minus one star for Morrissey being such an absolute prat. 😡
Fave track - "Spring-Heeled Jim" - kinda ambient Smiths!
Aerosmith
3/5
I haven't listened to any Aerosmith from this early in their career before, I don't think.
Eh, it was ok. I didn't find anything objectionable, but then my attention also seemed to completely slide off it. Took three listens to pick out a fave track, and even then my impressions remain indistinct...
Fave track - "Nobody's Fault", I guess...
Supertramp
4/5
Don't think I've ever listened to Supertramp before - I was expecting some fairly straight ahead classic rock, but they're actually pretty proggy!
Could probably do with a few more listens, but yeah, I enjoyed it.
Fave track - "Crime of the Century", I think? I liked the opener "School", and the oddness of "Bloody Well Right" too, heh
4/5
Oh cool! I've heard of this performance, when Dylan "went electric", but I didn't realize it was available to listen to.
Yup - it's exactly as advertised. Dylan does his usual folk crooning on disc 1, and then invents folk rock on disc 2. I like em both! Hard to imagine people disliking the rock sound so much.
I'm almost inclined to give it 5 stars for the historical importance, but gonna stick with 4 for the purely subjective listening experience.
Fave track - "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" from disc 1, "Like a Rolling Stone" from disc 2...
Miles Davis
5/5
Oh, this is lush! I could listen to this looped all day. Love those repetitive bass lines that come in and just get everything grooving. Reminds me of afrobeat, a little.
Fave track - The "It's About That Time" section of track 2 SLAPS.
The Damned
4/5
This was great! Seemed a lot more varied and inventive than yer average 70s punk album.
Fave track - "Looking at You" is awesome, although apparently it's an MC5 cover. "Melody Lee" was lots of fun too...
Emmylou Harris
4/5
A very pleasant listen. I'm not massively into country, but this all seemed very well done.
Fave track - "Bluebird Wine", maybe, or "For No One"
Beck
5/5
I have a long standing love for this album - Beck does dreamy alt-country. "Mellow Gold" is my absolute fave Beck album, but you have to take the rough with the smooth there, whereas "Sea Change" is smooth sailing all the way.
Fave track - "Guess I'm Doing Fine", maybe, or "Already Dead". This is very much a listen-to-the-whole-album piece for me, though, rather than picking out individual tracks...
Dr. Dre
2/5
Eh, this was 70% clown rap and I was wearing insufficiently floppy shoes. 🤡
Managed to get through the whole album, but it felt like a struggle. I definitely prefer East coast gansta rap, it seems - find that more tolerable on the whole.
Fave track - "The Day The Niggaz Took Over" - sounded very Cypress Hill...
Radiohead
5/5
Takes me back to uni... I think I'd probably still give this album 5 stars even without the nostalgia bump, though. Some absolute tunes on here.
Fave track - "Paranoid Android" - love that weirdness!
Saint Etienne
4/5
For some reason I thought Saint Etienne were Belle & Sebastien-adjacent twee guitar pop, so I was quite surprised to hear a downtempo electro album.
Yeah, I can get on with this. Probably would have enjoyed discovering this in the early 2000s quite a lot.
Fave track - "Stoned to Say the Least", perhaps. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" is a tune too, and I think the only track I'd heard before...
Eels
4/5
Haven't listened to this for quite a few years! I thought I was fairly so-so about it, but actually this listen triggered quite a lot of affection. I can still get down with the affected hipster ennui...
Fave track - "Novocaine for the Soul" was traditionally my go to, but this time around "Rags to Rags" takes the crown!
Badly Drawn Boy
4/5
Y'know, I kinda sneered when this came up, but listening to it brought back a bunch of memories, and there are quite a few tracks I actually quite like...
Fave track - "Once Around the Block" probably - "The Shining" too perhaps...
Leonard Cohen
5/5
Ok, this (unsurprisingly) definitely benefited from a proper listen paying attention to the lyrics! I think the only song I was particularly familiar with was "Suzanne", from Nina Simone's version.
Fascinating to learn that goth band The Sisters of Mercy took their name from a track from this album, and titled one of their compilations with a lyric from another song.
Fave track - "Teachers" - super bleak and weird, I love it.
Justice
4/5
Suitable treadmill music, yeah.
Fave track - "DVNO" sure is an ear worm, although my brain insists on changing it it "DVLA" which is the UK equivalent of the DMV 😆
Neu!
5/5
Krautrock with ambient tendencies? That's my jam! ✌️
I could happily listen to this looped all day.
Fave track - "Seeland" maybe? But this is an album album, and should be listened to straight through...
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Hmmm, I liked this a whole lot more than III. It's one hell of a debut, alright. I guess it has more of the stolen blues draped all over it, so seems fresher, whereas III became the template for a whole swathe of hard rock, and thus now sounds generic, as it spawned a genre? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fave track - "Dazed and Confused" that's a monster of a track!
Beyoncé
4/5
This isn't my usual type of thing at all, but gotta admit it's slick as hell. Beyoncé is undeniably talented, and I'd probably get more out of it if I gave it more listens than the 2 so far.
Fave track - "***Flawless" - the intro was kinda irritating but the rest of the track was captivating. Great stuff!
Talking Heads
4/5
Gotta love some Talking Heads. They're one of the few new wave bands I was familiar with before starting this project. Post-punk, but not miserable, and often delightfully abstract! Right up my alley...
Fave track - "Take Me To The River", perhaps, or "The Good Thing"...
Gang Of Four
5/5
One of my fave post-punk albums ever.
Some absolute bangers on here.
Fave track - "Natural's Not In It", "Guns Before Butter", "At Home He's a Tourist", "Anthrax".... I could probably add 5 or 6 more...
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
Yes, yes, another 5 star review.
It really is a great album, though, spawned from an archetypally/near-comically unhealthy band relationship situation.
Fave track - "The Chain" - that is an absolute monster of a tune...
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Liked this more than "Talking Book" - there was less overly-sugary sweetness.
Fave track - "As" is badass. Also enjoyed the educational "Black Man"...
Super Furry Animals
5/5
Probably my favourite Super Furries album, and I'm pretty sure I saw them live on the tour supporting it, and that was one of my all time favourite gigs.
Fave track - "Run! Christian! Run!" - absolutely blew my tiny mind when I saw it live, and it's been one of my favourite tracks by any band ever since....
Joni Mitchell
3/5
I can appreciated there's a lot of talent here, but I find all the little vocal flourishes she puts in a touch grating. Possibly it just caught me in an unreceptive mood...
Fave track - "California", let's say...
Elton John
4/5
I was interested to hear some of Elton John's earlier stuff, rather than the later ubiquitous stuff that was crammed into the ear of my generation. "Tiny Dancer" was the only track I'd heard before. It was pretty fun pop rock, sure! Can see how he got to where he did.
"Indian Sunset" sounds a bit questionable, mind.
Fave track - "Levon", maybe, or "Rotten Peaches"...
SZA
4/5
This was very slick - listened twice while working and it's melodic enough in most places that it slips pleasantly into the background - I'd probably get more out of it with a focused listen paying more attention to the lyrics...
Fave track - "20 Something", maybe? Or "The Weekend"... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Röyksopp
4/5
I'm sucker for this sort of downtempo chillout post-club electronica, and I liked this album when it first came out.
Fave track - "So Easy" and "Eple" are both pretty iconic. Love the guitar trill in "A Higher Place" too...
The Who
4/5
If there's a better rock opera about child abuse I don't wanna hear about it! 🙃
Fave track - "Pinball Wizard" - kinda has to be, right!?
The Who
4/5
This came up the day after "Tommy", and that's probably too much The Who in too short a space of time.
Still, though, it was enjoyable enough. No songs overtly about child abuse helps.
Fave track - "My Generation" - there's a reason this song was a massive hit and continues to be used all over the place. It properly slaps.
Machito
4/5
I very fun listen! Kinda reminds me of the exotica genre that was also popular at the time, but more upbeat, more jazzy, and less cringe.
Fave track - "Wild Jungle" is a great opener! "Blues / Machito" also stood out.
Metallica
4/5
I was a big Metallica fan back in the day, but I guess had started to drift away by the time this was released so hadn't heard it before.
It's got a lot of the songs I loved, but the addition of orchestra definitely doesn't work on all of them, but when it does work, it's great! This is also not a five star vocal performance from Hetfield, is it?
I see that in the year of our lord 2022 there can still be no discussion of Metallica without a bunch of absolute weeners protesting that they don't like Load/Reload. 😂 Seriously, just absolute pissbabies...
Fave track - "No Leaf Clover" - hadn't heard that before, and it worked with the orchestra really well, what with being composed specifically for the event...
Fela Kuti
5/5
Hah hah yes! Awesome! By turns funky, chill, groovy and banging. An archetypal afrobeat album.
Fave track - "Zombie" for upbeat, "Mr. Follow, Follow" for chill
Stereolab
5/5
Krautrock goes twee indie pop? Inject it into my veins!
I could happily leave this album on repeat for a good chunk of time.
Fave track - "Metronomic Underground", maybe, or the title track? I'm less into single tracks and more into the album as a whole on this one...
Gary Numan
5/5
Awww yes! This really illuminated my pentahedron, if you know what I mean! Properly brought a cheery pink glow to my pyramid!
I don't think there's any Vangelis on this list, so Gary Numan is the main source of synthesizer soundtracks of the future, from the past on here.
Fave track - "M.E." maybe - source of that badass sample the Basement Jaxx used for "Where's Your Head At?". "Cars" is obviously an absolute tune. "Metal" was a stand out. The bonus track "Bombers" was excellent too...
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Damn, there's some amazing talent on display here - a great listen! Many of the tracks may be covers but Aretha really makes them her own.
Fave track - "Respect" is an all time classic, obviously - really liked the blues-saturated "Drown in My Own Tears", too...
Beth Orton
5/5
Unnnngh big nostalgia bump for this album - takes me straight back to uni.
I think I'd still give it 5 stars even without the familiarity, but who can say?
Fave track - "Stolen Car" - such a fantastic album opener. The title track is great too...
Booker T. & The MG's
4/5
A fun listen! Great background grooviness to work to.
Fave track - gotta be the title track!
Living Colour
3/5
Hmmmm... kind like Faith No More with about 50% more glam metal.
I didn't hate it, but it didn't really grab me either.
Fave track - "Broken Hearts", I reckon...
TV On The Radio
3/5
Going backwards and forwards on this between a three and four. On the one hand, I enjoy it while it's on - on the other, it kinds slides totally outta my head as soon as it's over. Even after three play throughs it hasn't really stuck with me. A three then, I guess... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fave track - "DLZ" I remember checking the name of it while it was on... Can't remember much about it now though....
Pet Shop Boys
4/5
This is my third Pet Shop Boys album through the project, and while I scored the other two of them three stars, I think I'm bumping this one to four.
Partly their sound has grown on me, I suppose, and partly "It's A Sin" is an absolutely fantastic tune. My favourite PSB track from any of their albums....
Deep Purple
4/5
Banging proto-metal in the opening and closing portions of the album, they revert to blues appropriation, as was the custom at the time, in the middle portion.
Fave track - "Smoke on the Water" is obviously iconic, but "Highway Star" and "Space Truckin'" are prolly more fun to listen to....
Bill Evans Trio
4/5
Glorious cool jazz - put it on and ignore it and let it create a relaxing atmosphere for you, or pay attention and be rewarded at all the details you can hear. Works either way!
Fave track - eh, they blend together so I don't have a firm favourite - "Alice in Wonderland", let's say...
Gil Scott-Heron
4/5
Huh, the other Gil Scott-Heron stuff I've listened to has been almost entirely spoken word, so it was a surprise there was so much singing on here.
There's a lot to enjoy - funk, soul, jazz, and a little of that spoken word I was hankering for...
Fave track - "H2Ogate Blues" - that was great, and educational too!
Beastie Boys
4/5
I definitely prefer their later stuff more, and haven't previously given this album too many listens. There's a fair amount of cringe, but also a lot of fun, and I didn't find it too grating. If they took themselves more seriously it would be a much tougher listen.
Fave track - "Fight For Your Right" is an awesome collaborative karaoke tune - gets the whole room shouting along! "Rhymin & Stealin" was great fun - probably my new fave that I haven't heard a million times before...
PJ Harvey
4/5
I think I gave this a single listen back in the day and did not like it at all...
My sonic palette has broadened considerably since the only-metal days, and now I can quite get into it, albeit it took a couple of listens. This album is where singer-songwriteriness and noise rock collide, and it's rewarding, even if it isn't inviting.
Fave track - "Sheela-na-Gig", I reckon!
Jean-Michel Jarre
5/5
I got Gary Numan through this project recently, and was bemoaning the lack of Vangelis on the list, so awarded him the title of "main source of synthesizer soundtracks of the future, from the past".
That was shameful Jean-Michel Jarre erasure, and for that, I apologize.
Oxygene is great! Exactly my jam. On the one hand, it's the scifi soundtrack to the future TV and movies have been promising me my whole life. On the other hand, it's a nostalgia machine that whisks me back to my childhood.
Fave track - well, "Part IV" is the famous, nay, iconic section, but I really enjoyed the frenetic mania of "Part II" this time around. The second half of "Part V" is pretty badass, too....
Ryan Adams
4/5
This is some top quality Dylan worship, no? Or am I easily confused by harmonicas? Either way, I enjoyed this.
I think I've heard this album a couple of times before, and gave it a couple of play throughs for the list. I think with more listens this might rise to 5 stars? 🤔
Fave track - "Come Pick Me Up" - that's a tune!
Fela Kuti
5/5
Hah hah, awesome! I'm expecting a bunch of commenters losing their damn minds at the 16 minute long drum solo...
I could listen to afrobeat all day, and this is a great example of the genre.
Fave track - "Black Man's Cry" - funky as hell!
Amy Winehouse
4/5
Surprisingly jazzy! Not what I expected at all - I guess I only know her from her later stuff....
An engaging and enjoyable listen!
Fave track - "Fuck Me Pumps" was great, and I guess the only one of these I'd heard before. Also enjoyed "In My Bed" and "Amy Amy Amy"
The Rolling Stones
5/5
There are some five star tracks on here, for sure, but I wasn't convinced the rest of the album was going to be good enough to justify a five star rating overall.
Pleasantly surprised to be wrong about that! The tracks I'd be tempted to call filler had some really engaging instrumentation - definitely felt like my attention was rewarded.
Fave track - "Gimme Shelter" I mean, c'mon - that track is _transcendental_....
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
This is my fourth Springsteen album through the project, and it didn't really grab me. Both "Nebraska" and "Born in the USA" were more engaging.
Fave track - "Meeting Across the River", maybe, for that noir cinematic saxophone...
Mj Cole
3/5
Eh, I didn't like UK garage at the time, and this hasn't converted me.
At least it didn't actively piss me off, which some of the genre definitely did back in the day.
Fave track - "Rough Out Here", but maybe that's cheating as it's a straight ahead soul track, not very garagey. "Slum King" sound amusingly like it could come from "People Just Do Nothing" 😆
Elastica
4/5
Poppy post-punk with a splash of grunge - sure, why not! I didn't pay too much attention to them at the time, but I must have been exposed to the album once or twice because quite a lot of it seemed familiar.... and I don't just mean because they're blatantly stealing from Wire and the Stranglers, heh...
Fave track - "Connection" - is that the one from Trigger Happy TV? "Line Up" is a good opener, and "Vaseline" has its place, too...
System Of A Down
4/5
Not as familiar with this as some of their later stuff, and it's weird this is on the list rather than "Toxicity", but hell, it still rocks _hard_.
Fave track - "Peephole" this time around...
Beatles
5/5
There are some awesome tracks on this album, but I was gonna dock a star for some of the twee nonsense. A couple of listens and the tracks that initially seemed weaker grew on me (unlike Sgt. Pepper) so, sure, five stars it is.
Fave track - "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" in no small part because of Type O Negative's cover, although it's still a monster track on it's own...
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
Easy five benefiting from a massive nostalgia bump.
Alternating between grungy angsty alt rock and halcyon drifty dream pop, it ticks a lot of my boxes. Think I'd probably still really dig this if I was hearing it for the first time...
Fave track - honesty, about a third of the album would qualify depending on my mood during that specific listen. This time around, let's say "Bodies"...
Tom Waits
5/5
Glorious music beamed straight from some sort of mirror universe. I love this stuff.
Fave track - tough one. "16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought Six" has that awesome bizarro sound that would go on to make up most of my favourite Waits album "The Mule Variations". "Frank's Wild Years" and "Swordfishtrombone" make an excellent one two punch, too...
Beastie Boys
4/5
Had "License to Ill" only a few days ago, and the contrast is pretty stark.
The production is so much more mature here, even if the lyrics very much aren't, which is I guess part of the Beasties' charm, heh.
Fave track - "High Plains Drifter", I reckon, or maybe "Shadrach"
Isaac Hayes
4/5
This is pretty darn awesome! Comes reeeeeal close to getting a five, but "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" is a bit of a drag to get through. I'm usually pretty patient, but man, even I have limits.
Fave track - "Hyperbolicsyllablecsesquedalymistic" Love it! Hell of a jam!
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
There's some bangers on here, alright, and it's been sampled a bunch too. Funky stuff!
Fave track - "Stand!", "I Want to Take You Higher", and "Everyday People" are all stonkers!
OutKast
4/5
Used to have a housemate that loved Outkast so I have some familiarity with this album... I think back in the day I preferred "The Love Below" (maybe just for the presence of the hit single?) but these days it seems a bit cringily misogynistic. This play through, definitely enjoyed "Speakerboxxx" more...
Fave track - "Tomb of the Boom"
Paul Simon
3/5
Eh, his self titled album is already on the list, and presumably "Graceland" is too, so this feels a bit superfluous. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The vaguely ska song was pretty cringe, as was "Cars Are Cars" - what was that, an attempt to be a bit Talking Heads? ಠ_ಠ
Fave track - the title track I guess. "The Late Great Johnny Ace" had its moments, but also a lot of cringe...
Country Joe & The Fish
3/5
Eh, ok psychedelia I guess. Gave it a couple of listens and it didn't grab me super hard, although neither was it all that objectionable.
Fave track - "Section 43" - I like a bit of psychedelic noodling...
The Pogues
5/5
Awesome stuff! I don't think I'd heard this Pogues album before, but I think I like it even more than "Rum Sodomy & The Lash"! The addition of Spanish and Turkish influences really does good things...
Fave track - "Thousands Are Sailing", maybe, though I'm sure more listens would offer other favourites to choose from!
Michael Jackson
4/5
This was pretty great, actually! Perversely sounded way less dated than "Bad" because it wasn't using synths.
If there weren't a couple of overly saccharine ballads I could have stretched to five stars.
Fave track - "Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough", for sure...
Lou Reed
5/5
Oh, this was great - I've mainly listed to "Transformer" before, but this is much more consistent in tone and quality. I definitely want to revisit it more.
Fave track - "The Bed", maybe? There's one hell of a suckerpunch in the lyrics...
Elton John
5/5
OK, I've never really seen why Elton John got as big as he did before, but this album really opened my eyes. It properly slaps.
I'm not even going to deduct a star for "Candle in the Wind", despite having a certain amount of loathing for that tune due to working in a factory during the summer of '97 and being forced to listen to it at least once per hour every day for weeks on end...
Fave track - "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" maybe - that's one hell of an album opener. The title track is amazing too, of course...
New Order
4/5
Wikipedia tells me this was New Order's transitional album, and that makes sense - some tracks they sound like The Cure, others they sound like the electronic New Order I'm more familiar with.
The vocals are distinctly ropey in places, and I was leaning towards a 3 star review, but damn "Elegia" is a great track (I'm talking about the 17.5 minute version on the bonus disc - cracking stuff!) and after a second listen, everything grew on me.
Fave track - "Elegia" as mentioned. The loooooooong version please! 🙏
Kanye West
3/5
Ok, well, this was a lot less grating than "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy". I guess I can see the appeal - even enjoyable in parts!
Minus one star for Kanye being a knob, and "The New Workout Plan" being fricking awful.
Fave track - "Jesus Walks"
Sam Cooke
4/5
Would've loved to be in the room - sounds like a hell of a night was had by the crowd!
Sam Cooke makes it all seem effortless, and has a ball in the process. Weird that this is his only album in the list...
Fave track - "Chain Gang", maybe, or "Somebody Have Mercy"
David Bowie
5/5
Bowie at the height of his powers - a bunch of absolute bangers on this one.
Fave track - I mean, "Life on Mars?" is absolutely iconic, and I can never not dig it. "Andy Warhol" really grabbed me on this listed through, too...
Fiona Apple
4/5
Fiona Apple is one of those artists I know I should check out more because I'm sure I'd dig what they're doing, and this album confirms that impression. Really enjoyed it. Can see it rising to five stars with more familiarity!
Fave track - "Criminal" maybe?
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
Hmmm, not as cohesive as "Rumours", and not as many immediately obviously awesome tracks. Still, though, I can tell this is very good. Maybe more listens would boost this to a five!
Fave track - "The Ledge", maybe, or the title track. I like the coked-out-upbeat tracks the most!
Eminem
3/5
Ugh, the guy can rap alright, but he's a massive tool. The homophobia, misogyny, and general edgelordishness of it all are pretty tiresome. 😒
Fave track - eh, "Stan" I guess - gotta give him props for managing to verb a proper noun...
The Divine Comedy
4/5
Why include this Neil Hannon project, and not the cricket-themed concept album side project "The Duckworth Lewis Method"? That would really get the commenters foaming at the mouth about the UK-centric bias! 😆
Anyway, this is a perfectly pleasant listen - I got a Frank Sinatra album picked the next day, which makes for a nice contrast...
Fave track - "Everybody Knows (Except You)"
Frank Sinatra
4/5
Frank's easy listening crooning has permeated our culture to such an extent that after listening to this I put on a tracksuit and whacked off some mooks.
Fave track - "Anything Goes"! ✌️
Underworld
5/5
Bad. Ass.
Shame this is the only Underworld on the list!
Fave track - "Pearl's Girl" is storming! "Juanita: Kiteless: To Dream of Love" is also awesome.
Burning Spear
4/5
Nice to hear some non-Marley reggae. Great stuff.
Fave track - Hmmm, toss up between "Slavery Days", "Give Me", and "Resting Place"...
Daft Punk
3/5
Hmmmm, it's a little bit basic for my tastes. I want a splash of prog with my electronica, as a rule.
Having said that, "Da Funk" is an absolute tune, and the music video came out around the time my family finally got cable, so I've got a lot of affection for the sad bloodhound man in a leg cast....
Fave track "Da Funk", duh.
Brian Wilson
4/5
Solid studio sorcery with a wacky back story!
Fave track - "Good Vibrations" is obviously iconic. "Vege-tables" is another fave!
The Sugarcubes
3/5
Weird stuff! Poppy new wave liberally sprinkled with Björk. I gave this three listens and still don't really know what to make of it...
Fave track - "Delicious Demon", maybe? Sounds like a Björky B-52s track!
Can
4/5
Mmmmm, krautrock with ambient leanings - my kinda jam.
Fave track - "Future Days" for those latin rhythms!
Black Sabbath
5/5
It might have a much stronger first half than second half, but that's still a five from me.
The first 4 tracks are bostin'.
Fave track - "Planet Caravan" is a chillout track of epic proportions! "War Pigs" for the more standard metallic fare....
Janelle Monáe
5/5
Damn, this is a hell of an album! Opening with an orchestra tuning up is a ballsy move but Monáe has the goods to pull it off.
Fave track - a lot of great tunes on here, but the use of "Clair de Lune" on "Say You'll Go" was just b e a u t i f u l . . .
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
4/5
Oh yeah, this is great! Nascent industrial hip-hop. I was familiar with "Television, The Drug of the Nation" of course, but hadn't heard anything else by them.
It's a little bit clunky in places so not quite 5 stars, but I appreciate the experimentation...
Fave track - "California Über Alles" - gotta love some Dead Kennedys getting recycled!
Steve Earle
3/5
Hmmm, it's sub-Springsteen Americana, a bit samey.
Hah, I was going to pick "State Trooper" as my fave track, but it turns out that A) it's a bonus track and B) it's a Springsteen cover!
Fave track - "Good Ol' Boy (Gettin' Tough)", maybe, or "Someday"...
Slipknot
3/5
Hmmm, not as nu metally as I feared, so I didn't hate it... ...didn't get a lot out of it either.
"Gehenna" sounds like they really want to be QotSA, heh.
Fave track - "Gematria (The Killing Name)" - that was just straight up thrash! 🤘
Eric Clapton
3/5
Eh, inoffensive enough, I suppose. Didn't really grab me. The "I Shot the Sheriff" cover seems pretty appropriative...
Fave track - "Better Make It Through Today" had some atmospheric noodlings - two listens through and not many of the tracks stuck...
Norah Jones
4/5
This album was absolutely inescapable for a time, so enjoys a significant nostalgia bump.
It's chilled and it's mellow and it brings back good memories!
Fave track - "Don't Know Why"
Barry Adamson
5/5
Oh this is awesome - one of my fave discoveries from this project so far! Starts off sounding like it's going to be a "Screamadelica"-era Primal Scream knock off, and then gets properly weird, I love it.
Proto doom jazz! 💀
Fave track - "The Vibes Ain't Nothin' But The Vibes" and "It's Business As Usual" for being that one two punch that lets you know this album is not what you thought it was. "Dirty Barry" is awesome too. And I love a bit of Nick Cave, so "The Sweetest Embrace" is another highlight....
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
The Hendrix album I am least familiar with, I reckon. Gets off to a bit of a rocky start, but soon hits its groove.
Fave track - "If 6 was 9", perhaps? "Castles Made of Sand" and "Bold As Love" are both contenders too...
Iggy Pop
4/5
A lil bit of Iggy Pop weirdness? Don't mind if I do!
Fave track - "Mass Production"
Teenage Fanclub
3/5
Hmmmm, I didn't listen to this at the time so it's not getting a nostalgia bump. It seems kinda.... unremarkable? Not sure why it got so much acclaim, but maybe it pioneered some stuff that's become so commonplace I now just take it for granted?
I can see my affection for it might grow with more listens...
Fave track - "Sidewinder", perhaps, or "Metal Baby"...
Kid Rock
1/5
I'm more than a third of the way through this project and this is my first one star album. 71 minutes of cringe.
It took an act of willpower to listen to the whole thing.
😠
Fave track - "Bawitdaba", I guess. It got used on a TV show or cartoon I watch, maybe, so I have some slight positive sentiment towards it...
Harry Nilsson
5/5
Damn, he was on fire on this album, eh? Great stuff!
Fave track - "Coconut" such an iconic tune!
Neil Young
4/5
Not my favourite Young album, by any means, and I'm not sure the addition of a full orchestra does much for his sound, but still, a solid listen.
Fave track - "The Needle and the Damage Done" - probably my fave Neil Young track overall!
Queen
5/5
Growing up in the UK, Queen are as omnipresent as complaining about the weather, so I've always thought of them as a band I "know", but in reality I haven't really listened to any of their albums in a dedicated fashion.
This was great! A super fun listen, and it makes "Bohemian Rhapsody" seem slightly less alien when listened to in context.
Fave track - I mean, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is just ridiculously good, and a karaoke get-the-whole-room-yelling-along classic. "The Prophet's Song" seems almost as epic, and I'd never heard it before, so that feels like an awesome discovery!
The Smiths
5/5
It's everything I like about The Smiths. Great stuff.
Fave track - "How Soon is Now?", if that's allowed. Probably my favourite song of theirs over all. "Meat is Murder" if we're picking from the original tracklist...
PJ Harvey
5/5
Well this is unlike the PJ Harvey I'm familiar with - way less abrasive and raw, this is dreamy and folky, and I can't help feeling a little sinister...
PJ Harvey does the Wicker Man!
Fave track - "The Words That Maketh Murder", perhaps? Will definitely be coming back to this album....
Solange
4/5
This was a real smooth listen. A more consistent atmosphere than Beyoncé's self titled album which I got on here recently and can't help but compare it with.
It could definitely benefit from more than two play throughs...
I liked the interludes a lot - gave the whole thing a kinda documentary air...
Fave track - "F.U.B.U.", maybe? Or "Cranes in the Sky"? I need more listens for a proper standout to stand out...
Johnny Cash
5/5
This was awesome - even better than "At San Quentin". Loved the strong narrative many of the songs had.
Fave track - "25 Minutes to Go" - morbid!
B.B. King
3/5
Hmmmm, hot blues? Didn't quite grab me.
Fave track - uh, "You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now" maybe? I listened to the album twice through and none of the tracks particularly stood out ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Gorillaz
3/5
Hmmm, a bit hit and miss this one. The singles give it a slight nostalgia bump, but it felt like there was plenty of filler too.
Fave track - "Clint Eastwood". The video was awesome and Del the Funky Homosapien's flows are sick!
Beatles
3/5
Some great songs on the A side, no doubt, but the B side is significantly weaker. And minus one whole star for "Girl" and "Run For Your Life", Lennon you creep.
Fave track - "Norwegian Wood (The Bird Has Flown)" or "Nowhere Man"
Merle Haggard
3/5
Eh, I suspect I'd like this a whole lot if I were bourbon drunk in some seedy beer-sign-lit bar in America, but I'm not, so it didn't really grab me.
Fave track - "Mary's Mine" maybe - I enjoyed him doing slide guitar with his voice...
Guided By Voices
4/5
Huh, I was a bit nonplussed by this at first but had a vague sense it'd grow on me if I gave it a chance. Sure enough, third listen, properly starting to appreciate it. Feels a bit like the album equivalent of a Rick & Morty inter-dimensional cable episode...
Even the snoring track makes sense in that context!
Fave track - "As We Go Up, We Go Down". Poppy niceness.
Solomon Burke
4/5
Smooth - very smooth.
Fave track - "If You Need Me". I quite like his preoccupation with landlines.
Santana
3/5
Oooh, _this_ is where "Oye Como Va" comes from! Only it's not, as it's really a Tito Puente cover. Well, still nice to locate it!
Apart from that, sure, a pleasant enough listen, but nothing too captivating.
Fave track - "Oye Como Va", duh.
Drive Like Jehu
4/5
This is badass. Not really into emo and screamo, which this album apparently helped beget, but to my ear this sounds like noise rock meets post-rock, which is right up my alley.
This is another solid 4.5. Possibly more listens would yield a 5.
Fave track - "Luau" maybe? Or "Do You Compute"....
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4/5
Oh damn. Like this a lot more than I was expecting to. I had Frankie Goes to Hollywood mentally filed next to Soft Cell as being a more or less uninteresting pop act with a smash hit single or two.
Really enjoyed the first sequence of three tracks - really did feel like entering a pleasuredome! I also dug many of the covers, especially "San Jose (The Way)"...
Not quite a five as the second half has some lulls, but I'd definitely go 4.5 if that were an option.
Fave track - "Relax" - that shiz is utterly iconic. The title track was great too, and "San Jose"...
Grizzly Bear
4/5
Pretty dang lovely, I'll tell you whut...
Fave track - "Two Weeks", or maybe "Dory"
Metallica
3/5
My least favourite Metallica album, due to the awful, awful mix.
Fave track - "One". Mainly for having seen them do it live a bunch of times...
Paul McCartney and Wings
4/5
Some great tunes on here, no doubt. I was primed to be so so about this album but it won me over.
Fave track - "Let Me Roll It" perhaps, or "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five"
Flamin' Groovies
3/5
Ok, yeah, kind of a fun listen. I was thinking there was something Rolling Stonesish about the whole thing so it was interesting to read on Wikipedia "Mick Jagger reportedly noticed the similarities between the albums and thought the Flamin' Groovies did the better take on the theme of classic blues and rock 'n roll revisited in a modern context"
Fave track - The title track is pretty good. Like their cover of "Louie Louie", too...
The Stooges
4/5
I'm much less familiar with this album than "Raw Power", but there's still a lot to like.
Fave track - "T.V. Eye" - I swear Monster Magnet lifted almost their entire sound from this track, it's awesome....
Throbbing Gristle
3/5
I like me some experimental nonsense, so I found this an engaging enough listen, but nothing really wowed me.
Fave track - "We Hate You (Little Girls)" is delightfully deranged!
John Lee Hooker
3/5
I gave this three play throughs and it never really landed for me, but that might just be a question of mood...
Fave track - "Cullin Out", maybe? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
David Bowie
5/5
That's some top notch Bowie alright.
Fave track - "Golden Years" has long been one of my all time fave Bowie tracks!
Mylo
4/5
My first thought was who the fuck is Mylo, never heard of 'em!
But it turns out I've heard "Drop the Pressure" dozens of times and always assumed it was a Daft Punk tune.
I guess that's where this album sits? About half way between Daft Punk and Röyksopp?
Hmmm, I'd probably give this 3.5 stars if I could, but I'm in a good mood so will round up.
Fave track - "Drop the Pressure", I guess. It's the main banger...
Khaled
3/5
Yeah, a pretty groovy listen. Much prefer the less Western songs. I'd rather listen to straight up Rai than something mixed with europop...
Fave track - "Aalach tloumouni" maybe?
The Incredible String Band
4/5
Maaaan, all the one star reviews this got I was expecting some Comus-level weirdness, but it's actually a pretty straight forward listen? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Comus should really be on the list, teach these weeners a lesson in just how far psych folk can twist your melon!
Fave track - "A Very Cellular Song", I reckon. "Swift As The Wind" was another highlight...
Primal Scream
5/5
Big nostalgia bump on this one, but also, c'mon, this shiz is iconic. Era defining, even!
Fave track - "Come Together" leading into "Loaded" - awesome one two pairing!
The Prodigy
5/5
I was in my only-metal phase when this first came out so I recoiled from it at the time, but grew to love it not too many years later. Some absolute bangers on here!
Fave track - whilst I appreciate the bangers, this album won me over with the final three trancey/ambienty tracks "3 Kilos -> Skylined -> Claustrophobic Sting" 😍
Deep Purple
4/5
Solid "rock en route to metal". 🤘
Fave track - “Child in Time” is prime wizard rock! 🧙♂️
(I know it’s not literally about wizards but it fits in with the tradition of rock and metal bands doing ten minute epics, and they’re about wizards more often than not 😆 )
Germs
3/5
Old school punk isn't really my thing so this largely left me cold. I did start to warm up to it towards the end, I guess.
Fave track - "Lexicon Devil", maybe? I quite liked the proggy drawn out "Shut Down" too....
Hole
5/5
No doubt this benefits from a hefty nostalgia bonus - probably my fave Hole album!
Fave track - the title track maybe? It's a fantastic album opener. "Northern Star" is great too....
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
Yup, pretty captivating pop rock, generally quite a fun listen.
Fave track - "Oliver's Army" is an awesome tune, but I think "Accidents Will Happen" beats it to the title!
The Who
4/5
Bit of a redundant inclusion on the list, given the number of other The Who albums on there, but what the hell, sure, why not.
Fave track - "Shakin' All Over"
Bauhaus
4/5
Love a bit of goth and post-punk, and wasn't familiar with this album, so it was a very nice discovery. Judging by some of the reviews I need to get hold of the CD reissue as some of the bonus tracks generated quite a few comments...
Fave track - "The Man With X-Ray Eyes" sounded most gothy. Liked the dancepunkiness of "Dancing", too...
Suicide
5/5
1977!? Are you freaking kidding me? 1977!
So far ahead of its time!
Pretty sure I didn't appreciate Suicide the first time I heard them, but they've really grown on me. Very much an acquired taste - I bet there are a thousand horrified one star reviews! 🤣
Fave track - "Ghost Rider" or "Cheree" for more casual listening, "Frankie Teardrop" for a listening experience that breaks into your house and tools you up with a lead pipe.
Don McLean
3/5
Eh, this was fine I guess. Nothing too exciting.
"Everybody Loves Me, Baby", is basically the same song as "American Pie", right?!
Fave track - "American Pie" is a karaoke standard, so I have some affection for it. "The Grave" was my fave discovery on the album...
Incredible Bongo Band
4/5
Hah, quite the fun listen! I've heard this version of "Apache" countless times but didn't really know where it originated, so it's good to get some context.
I definitely want to check out the tabla tribute to this album, heh.
Fave track - "Apache", obvs, but also their version of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is great, and "Okey Dokey" is another song that's used loads and it's good to pin to down its origin....
Britney Spears
2/5
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Fave track - well, I was gonna say "The Beat Goes On" but it has a damn advert baked into the end of it.
I'd give this one star but I don't want to dilute the purity of my contempt for Kid Rock 😠
Ice T
4/5
Old school gangsta rap isn’t really my thing so I was expecting this to be a 2 or 3 star listen, but Ice-T’s rock inclinations and a couple of cool samples elevated this to a four!
Fave track - “Midnight”, “Body Count” and “The Tower”. Awww yeah.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
I like Nick Cave a lot but this was (perhaps understandably) a bit one note, and I think you probably have to be in exactly the right frame of mind to be receptive to it.
Having said that, though, it's still evidently a strong album. I look forwards to listening to it again when I'm in the right mood!
Fave track - "Ghosteen Speaks", I think. "Fireflies" and "Hollywood" were also good...
3/5
Punk's not really my jam but this wasn't a horrible listen - I'd give it 3.5 if I could.
Fave track - "The Once Over Twice", maybe, or "In This House That I Call Home"
4/5
Well, you can certainly see how U2 got so big. This is a great album, with a massive cinematic stadium-filling sound.
Reading the blurb about this album has made me want to check out their previous album "The Unforgettable Fire" which apparently has some strong ambient leanings?! That sounds like exactly my jam!
Fave track - I mean the first three tracks taken together are iconic AF...
Frank Zappa
4/5
I've listened to quite a lot of Zappa, but not this one particularly. Kinda weird to listen to an almost entirely instrumental Zappa album! The goofy lyrics are usually one of the main appeals...
Fave track - gotta be "Peaches En Regalia" for that soundtracky my-life-just-became-a-weird-70s-tv-show vibe...
Bob Dylan
4/5
Don't think I've really listened to this before, but if I'd have come across it in my uni days I'm sure it would have become one of my fave Dylan albums. He sounds.... happy? - in almost every song!
Fave track - "Tangled up in Blue" is a great opener. "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" and "Shelter From the Storm" were also stand outs...
Radiohead
4/5
Kind of a redundant addition to the list given all the other Radiohead already on here, no?
This has never been one of my fave albums of theirs, but giving it a relisten, yeah, there are a bunch of tunes on here I like.
Minus one whole star for "Backdrifts" - what a horrible flow-breaking mess.
Fave track - "2+2=5" maybe, or "Where I End and You Begin"
Adele
3/5
She can sing, f'sure, but about half of these songs are too straight forwardy pop to properly hold my attention. Some of them had some quite nice wall of sound cinematic production, I guess.
Fave track - "Hello", I guess?
Sigur Rós
5/5
I _really_ like me some cinematic post-rock, and this is a great album, sure, but its inclusion on the list throws into sharp relief all the other bands from this genre that have been omitted.
We could comfortably halve the number of albums by white (mostly British) guys ripping off the blues in the 60s and 70s and include more representatives of splinter genres, and that would make a much more interesting list...
So, this 5 star review is dedicated not just to Sigur Ros, but to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mogwai, Do Make Say Think, Mono, A Silver Mt. Zion, Explosions in the Sky, and 65daysofstatic!
Fave track - "Svefn-g-englar", I think - I coincidentally rewatched "Vanilla Sky" between listening to this and writing the review, and it's used excellently in the film...
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Not a Neil Young album I'm familiar with, but it hits all the right notes! I liked the solo -> full band transition.
Fave track - "Sedan Delivery" is surprisingly rocking! I like the juxtaposition of the first and last tracks, too...
Eminem
3/5
Same reaction as the previous Eminem album - dude's got just ridiculous raw talent, and could use that to portray himself as any kind of character he wants, and chooses to be a weapons-grade plum. 🙄
Fave track - "My Name Is", I guess. That was damn near inescapable for a while so kinda became era defining....
Rod Stewart
3/5
Eh, is there any need to have this AND "Every Picture Tells A Story" on the list? If you're gonna have multiple Rod Stewart albums, maybe don't pick ones from consecutive years?
This was fine, I guess. Didn't really grab me even with two play throughs.
Fave track - "It's All Over Now"?
Led Zeppelin
4/5
I don't think I've listened to this one much, actually, so it was nice to build up some familiarity with it. Absolutely solid Led Zep - at the top of their game!
Loses a star for being unnecessarily a double album - there's definitely some filler that could be dropped, although arguably Zep's filler is up there with most bands' killer...
Fave track - well, "Kashmir" has long been a fave, awful Godzilla movie notwithstanding. On this play through "In The Light" takes the title....
Eagles
3/5
lol at all the top reviews being Lebowski quotes. 😆
So, this was an inoffensive enough listen - didn't really grab me, but seemed perfectly pleasant. Some nice harmonies. I'd possibly rate it higher if I was hearing it in a different context?
Fave track - uh, "Nightingale" maybe? Not many tracks stood out to me, tbh...
Paul Simon
5/5
Is it problematic? Yeah, probably. Is it a five star album? Absolutely!
I have a lot of nostalgia for this - more so for the singles that would have been playing during my formative years than the album itself. I have to imagine they primed me to be more receptive to world music as I got older, so hats off for that reason if for no other!
Fave track - "You Can Call Me Al" for the childhood nostalgia factor, but as an adult "I Know What I Know" is the stand out track...
Mariah Carey
2/5
Did not enjoy this. Mariah may well be an amazingly talented singer but this album felt like a real slog to get through.
It's like really cheap diet popcorn. Horribly saccharine taste, but utterly unsatisfying.
Fave track - Uh... the remix of "Honey" with the rappers, I guess? Or "The Beautiful Ones" seemed to have a bunch of other singers involved to somewhat dilute the Careyness of it all... 😒
Steely Dan
4/5
Huh, I was expecting something... proggier? Or maybe folkier? There are a couple of big names from the 60s and 70s that are fused into one big amorphous blob in my head and evidently Steely Dan is one of them. Still, getting that all straightened out is the primary reason I'm doing this project, so hurrah!
So, Steely Dan (at this point in their discography, at least) are slightly yachty soft rock. Noted!
Fave track - Well, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" made me think of Trailer Park Boys, so that's a plus. "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" is quite an ear worm! "Charlie Freak" had some enjoyable strangeness, too!
I was gonna score this a 3, but quite a few of the tracks made a decent impression on me, so bumping it to 4...
Spacemen 3
5/5
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Awwww yeah, this is exactly my jam. Hypnotic, repetitive, drifting in and out of ambient. You can see the foundations of what would become Spiritualized but it's not as lush - raw, jagged edges.
Fave track - "Revolution" and "Suicide" are both bangers....
Peter Gabriel
4/5
The first track sounded about as proggy as expected, so the rest of the album came as something of a surprise! Enjoyed the variety, and the Randy Newman impressions...
Fave track - gotta be "Solsbury Hill" - it's an order of magnitude better than everything else on the album. Plus, I just rewatched Vanilla Sky...
Leonard Cohen
5/5
Good lord this man can write a song!
Wish I could travel back in time to the point I started diversifying my musical tastes and slap the Dylan out of my hand and put this in it instead. Not that Dylan is so terrible, or anything, but man I woulda enjoyed discovering Cohen at an earlier age....
Fave track - "Avalanche" is just absolutely tremendous. "Famous Blue Coat" is wonderful... A bunch of the others, too....
Ghostface Killah
4/5
Ok, sure, I can get on board with this. Usually not too into the whole crime braggadocio thing, but this is more like straight up storytelling - very noir!
Fave track - "9 Milli Bros" maybe? Or "R.A.G.U."? Probably need to give it more listens to select one...
Louis Prima
5/5
Well this is just tremendous fun! Loved it!
Hurray for King Louis! 🦧
Fave track - "Banana Split For My Baby" is awesome, but the title has to go to "The Lip"
Yip! Yip! Yip! Yip!
Dolly Parton
3/5
This was all a bit samey, didn't really do much for me.
I saw another reviewer label this as "country gospel" and that rings kinda true - most of the songs have the rhythm and feel of church hymns, and as I'm a product of Church of England, that means plodding slowness and not enough variation to be interesting...
Fave track - "Making Plans", maybe, or "Those Memories of You". It's all much of a muchness though...
The Smiths
4/5
Yup, solid Smiths content, and the timing is appropriate.
It's maybe slightly too twee in places for my tastes, so I don't rate it as highly as their other albums.
Fave track - "There is a Light That Never Goes Out"... One of my favorite Smiths songs overall.... Do I know it best from a cover, perhaps? Or maybe it was included on a mixtape I treasured back in the before times... 🤔
Ray Charles
4/5
Rather enjoyed this - made me feel like I was in a Scorsese movie!
I listened to both volumes 1 and 2. Tended to like the more upbeat numbers more than the slow ones, and vol 2 seemed to have more of those.
Fave track - "I Can't Stop Loving You" from vol 1 - that arrangement with the backing choir gives me shivers!
From vol 2 "Don't Tell Me Your Troubles" Oh yeah!
Love
3/5
60s psychedelia I wasn't previously too familiar with, though I like the genre in general. I gave this three listens and it didn't massively take a hold on me. No stand out tracks, really.
Fave track - "Bummer in the Summer", maybe, or "You Set the Scene"... The fact those are the last two tracks makes me think I zoned out for most of the middle part of the album...
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Not quite as strong as "Let it Bleed", but still very solid. Would award 4.5 if possible.
Fave track - "Sympathy for the Devil" - such an amazing tune. Great fun to sing at karaoke. Always welcome in a movie or TV soundtrack!
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
Fantastic stuff, both way ahead of its time, and a great tribute to styles of the past.
It feels like Zappa was really trying to keep a lid on the furthest-out-weirdness throughout the album, was only moderately successful, and then the weirdness came erupting out at high pressure in the last two tracks! 😆
Fave track - "Trouble Every Day" is one of my fave songs by any artist, and has been for quite a while! On this listen through, "Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder" and "You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here" were stand outs...
Kraftwerk
4/5
1978, eh? They really did invent a lot of the 80s with this one, it feels like!
Fave track - "The Robots", but I like the album as one big thing...
Ella Fitzgerald
4/5
That is a _lot_ of Ella Fitzgerald. She has a lovely voice so it wasn't exactly a trial, though I dare say my concentration wandered towards the end there.
Fave track - I've been making my way through some massive history of jazz boxsets called "That Devillin' Tune" so I've heard quite a few different versions of "Nice Work If You Can Get It" and Ella's version is absolutely sublime.
I also enjoyed all the deliberate mispronunciations in "Just Another Rhumba". 🤣
Happy Mondays
4/5
Huh, I have a surprising (to me) amount of affection for this album - I guess it got a lot more play in my uni days than "Bummed".
Fave track - "Kinky Afro" and "Step On" are both monster tunes. "Harmony" is a lovely outro, too!
The Auteurs
3/5
Huh. I like Luke Haines' schtick usually - love his Baader Meinhof side project, and have listened to quite a lot of his solo stuff, but haven't listened to much of The Auteurs...
Gave this two listens and it didn't massively grab me.
Fave track - "Early Years", maybe? Or "Home Again"? Dunno, didn't really hear any stand out tracks...
Jeff Buckley
5/5
Dang, what a talent. His covers are just _sublime_. "Hallelujah", "Lilac Wine" and "Corpus Christi Carol" are all just wonderful versions.
Fave track - "Last Goodbye" if I'm picking a Buckley original, or "Hallelujah" if covers are allowed.
Prince
4/5
Hmmm, doesn't have the same epic highs as "Purple Rain", but on the other hand it feels a bit more consistent.
Fave track - "1999" is iconic. "Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)" was great. "International Lover" is lols.
Joy Division
5/5
Oh yeah, this is exactly my jam! Apparently I've habitually ignored this album in favor of "Unknown Pleasures" as this felt like discovering it for the first time.
Considering how influential Joy Division were on post-punk and gothic rock, this still sounds remarkably fresh. One of my all time fave albums, "Deathconsciousness" by Have A Nice Life, is evidently patterned on it, too...
Fave track - "Atrocity Exhibition" is one hell of an opener, and "Decades" is one hell of a closer - both amazing tracks. Also fun to discover "Isolation" - I love the Therapy? version and didn't know it was a cover!
Kanye West
3/5
Wow, I liked this so much more than "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy". I might even conceivably revisit this in the future!
Minus one star for Kanye being a knob and the badness of "I'm in It"
Fave track - "Hold My Liquor", I reckon.
The Killers
5/5
Huge nostalgia bump for this one - was popular with the crowd I ran with when I first moved to Japan. "Mr Brightside" is a stonking karaoke tune, but there are a bunch of other tunes I regard fondly too, it turns out.
Fave track - toss up between "Mr Brightside", "All These Things That I've Done", and "Somebody Told Me"... They really front loaded this one, eh.
Adam & The Ants
4/5
"Stand and Deliver" and "Prince Charming" were decade-defining hits in the UK, so it's pretty weird the album they were on isn't the one on this list, eh?
Not having heard any Adam and the Ants apart from those singles, I wasn't sure what to expect, but this was quite a fun listen! A little punky edge to the poppy new wave, plenty of variety, yeah, I can get behind this. Gonna check out the "Prince Charming" album off the back of this too!
Fave track - "Feed Me to the Lions", perhaps? "Jolly Roger" was fun too. Also liked "The Omlette From Outer Space" if we're including bonus tracks...
The Cure
4/5
Yes, right up my street. Fetch me the black nail varnish!
Fave track - "A Forest" is an absolute tune - feel like I've heard a lot of covers of it, too...
Taylor Swift
4/5
This was a pleasant surprise! Pop's not really my bag, but Taylor (and, I guess, Aaron Dessner) sure can write a pleasing melody.
Fave track - "tis the damn season", maybe? The title track with the Bon Iver appearance is also rather lovely...
Leonard Cohen
3/5
My therapist: "Funky Leonard Cohen" was just a phase he went through in the 80s, he can't hurt you.
Funky Leonard Cohen: Jazz police are talking to my niece
A couple of great songs on here, no doubt, but some stinkers too.
Fave track - "Tower of Song" - that's epic!
Fugazi
5/5
Fugazi have been a big uncomfortable hole in my musical palette - I know they're feted and have influenced dozens of bands I'm super in to, but I never set out to give them a listen and make their acquaintance. Hurrah for this project, I guess!
To no-one's surprise, I loved this. A great and varied listen, with numerous little moments that made me stop and pay attention. I actually gave this 4 listens before rating it as each time it felt like it reward more attention, and it did indeed!
Fave track - that's a tough one - "Merchandise", "Blueprint", "Two Beats Off" all caught me attention. "Reprovisional", though..... yeah, let's say "Reprovisional"!
The Kinks
5/5
Absolutely glorious, The Kinks are such a blast!
Fave track - the title track is great, but "People Take Pictures of Each Other" is even better - long been one of my fave Kinks tunes. If we're including tracks recorded in the same session but inexplicably omitted from the album, then "Days" should get a mention too, as it's utterly halcyon, even if it has been co-opted by advertising with a vengeance....
Radiohead
5/5
An easy 5.
This is the Radiohead album that properly converted me to being a fan. Before that, I could concede that they had the odd awesome tune or two, but I never really felt like listening to a whole Radiohead album.
Fave track - "Idioteque", I guess, but every track has its place, and I love all of them!
The Hives
4/5
There are some five star songs on here, for sure, but it's a little too one note to get a five all around.
Also, what is this, a compilation? The book compiler breaks his own rules once again, heh.
Fave track - "Hate To Say I Told You So" is absolutely iconic. Fantastic tune.
Richard Thompson
4/5
Yeah, enjoyed this - the Linda-lead songs were folky goodness. Kinda reminded me of Steeleye Span. And some of the Richard-lead songs, particularly "The Calvary Cross" and "The End of the Rainbow" prefigured slowcore, which is probably my favourite core, music genre-wise.
Plus, "The Calvary Cross" was used to _such_ good effect in the movie "The Night House". If you like supernatural horror films, skip the trailer and go watch it!
Fave track - "The Calvary Cross", natch.
Queen
4/5
I'm not very familiar with Queen this early in their catalog - "Killer Queen" was the only song title that I recognized.
Fun to hear them playing straight ahead hard rock, before they became a detached self contained universe in their own right...
Fave track - "Now I'm Here", maybe, or "Stone Cold Crazy". "Killer Queen" obviously slaps too.
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
4/5
I thought this would be brand new to me, but turns out I'd heard the first track before - very Screamadelica!
This was quite a pleasant listen. Quite enjoyed the mix of dub, world music and electronics, though you can definitely have too much of that.
Fave track - "Visions of You"
Garbage
4/5
Ooh, lot of nostalgia for this.... Not _quite_ enough to bump it to a five, but I'd give it 4.5 if I could.
Fave track - "Only Happy When It Rains" and "Stupid Girl" both instantly transport me back in time...
My Bloody Valentine
5/5
I was dimly aware of shoegaze during my mid-nineties only metal phase, but I only really heard any from cheap tinny portable speakers in the sixth form common room, and it (unsurprisingly) sounded rubbish.
I wish someone had sat me down with some decent headphones or otherwise indicated that this stuff was best enjoyed LOUD. There's a slim chance I woulda broadened my musical taste earlier. On the other hand, I was a self absorbed little dickhead, so probably not amenable to suggestions from any source....
Anyway, this album is badass, and played at a bone-marrow-penetrating volume it's transcendental.
Fave track - "I Only Said" maybe? Doesn't make much sense to talk about the tracks in isolation on this one!
Turbonegro
4/5
Ok, this is dumb, but also very fun - gave it three playthroughs on different days to be sure it fell squarely on the "fun" side of the line.
Spinal Tap does punk vibes.
Fave track - "The Age of Pamparius" does an excellent job of being a pompous and portentous album opener, as is the custom. "Are You Ready (For Some Darkness)" also grabbed my attention.
I think if I'd have been familiar with this at the time the nostalgia bump woulda taken this to 5....
Television
5/5
Fantastic post-punk - just sounds so good coming from 1977.
I've previously mentioned that the Pixies always struck me as emerging from a parallel universe, but actually "Venus" could totally be a Pixies song.
Fave track - "See No Evil", "Friction", "Marquee Moon" three way tie!
Buena Vista Social Club
5/5
Absolute loveliness!
I have a lot of nostalgia for this album - pretty sure I've seen them live, too! As soon as I saw the cover the opening of the first song jumped into my head.
Fave track - "Chan Chan" as it's emblematic of the whole album for me. "Pueblo Nuevo" is also a great track...
The Flaming Lips
5/5
That's a big ol' 5 from me.
Been very fond of this album since it came out, and seen them live a couple of times, and they put on an AMAZING live show.
Fave track - I mean, it's gotta be "Do You Realize??" really - that song never fails to hit me in the feels. There are a bunch of other excellent tunes on here too, though....
Cyndi Lauper
4/5
Yeah, ok - poppier than my usual tastes, but a fun listen. "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" is obviousl'y era-defining. I'm gonna award a whole extra star for "Time After Time" as it's an amazing karaoke tune.
Fave track - apart from "Time After Time", I quite enjoyed the manic energy of "I'll Kiss You"
Dwight Yoakam
2/5
I'm generally not one to disparage an entire genre, and I have been making some inroads into appreciating country in recent years, but on the whole I'd say country isn't my bag, and it's stuff that sounds like this that I'm thinking of when I say that.
Is that because Yoakam was super influential and spawned a legion of imitators? I don't know. I do know that I happened to be listening to some Townes Van Zandt earlier, and Yoakam suffered horribly in the comparison...
Fave track - eh, "Streets of Bakerfield", I guess, but it's more for the backstory than anything else...
Love
3/5
Well, this is kinda a mess, but also not completely without charm! Psychedelia, but occasional dips into heaviness.
I can almost, but not quite, stretch to a 4. 3.5, if that were a thing....
Fave track - "¡Que Vida!" has quite a fruity melody that threatens to become an earworm...
Björk
4/5
My first serious girlfriend was super into this album, so it's getting both a nostalgia bump and penalty, heh.
The more clubby tracks really didn't appeal to me back then, but I dig them more now. The backing music to "Human Behavior" is nothing like I remembered - more like electro-swing than the moodiness of my recollections.
I do really like the effect this album gives that you're being lead around by Bjork - particularly "There's More To Life Than This" where it sounds like she's taking you on a shortcut backstage.
Fave track - I was expecting it to be "Human Behavior" but actually "Venus As A Boy" has aged really well. Still sounds absolutely lovely!
The Stooges
4/5
This is an absolute _monster_ of an album . Must have been quite eyebrow raising back in 1969!
The faster tracks are rockin'. The slower, dronier tracks are moody AF - kinda prefigure some of the things Sludge and certain flavors of Doom get up to.
Fave track - "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is just unspeakably badass....
Lana Del Rey
4/5
A very pleasant listen. From memory, on Lana's earlier albums she had a couple of vocal tics or flourishes that rubbed me the wrong way, but there's nothing like that here, which is good.
Fave track - "White Dress" is probably the stand out - did it get used in a soundtrack somewhere? I also enjoyed "Not All Who Wander Are Lost"....
The Kinks
4/5
It's not quite up to the standard of "The Village Green Preservation Society" but it's still a great listen!
Fave track - "Sunny Afternoon" is one of my all time faves, and a staple of my karaoke singing!
"Dead End Street" is also a great tune, if we're including non-album singles released around the same time....
Faust
4/5
Not my favorite example of the genre, but fun enough, for sure!
Fave track - "Krautrock", probably, as it was the most krautrocky. Also liked the mellowness of "Jennifer"....
Sugar
3/5
Wow, this could be the reference specimen for early nineties alt rock. It's truly generic, but for a genre I kinda like, so I guess that's not a bad thing.
Fun experiment - close your eyes, skip to any track, and watch as the opening credits to a nondescript teen drama TV show that doesn't exist play out on the inside of your eyelids.*
Fave track - Uh, "Hoover Dam", maybe, or "The Slim". Nothing from the second half of the album because try as I might, it all just starts blending together at that point...
* Offer not available to aphantasiacs.
4/5
I absolutely detested Oasis at the time, but in later years mellowed to them, in large part due to the number of their tunes that could be used to get a whole room (or field!) of people singing along at karaoke...
Most of those tunes from from this album, and listening to it now, I have to say, I really enjoyed it.
I reached out to give it a 5 but the specter of metalhead teenage me materialized and slapped my hand aside, sorry Gallaghers...
Fave track - "Wonderwall", for its karaoke qualities...
Fiona Apple
4/5
This is a very fun mess - kinda reminds me of Tom Waits, with the weird experimental backing music and vocal vignettes over the top.
Fave track - "Heavy Balloon", maybe, or "For Her". I can see that quite a few tracks would be contenders if I gave the album more listens....
Arcade Fire
4/5
A solid listen, yeah. Archetypal indie rock of a certain flavor.
Actually, this has made me realize there's no Decemberists in the list, which seems like a pretty whopping oversight. Not that the Decemberists are particularly like Arcade Fire - I guess I encountered them at a similar time so they're mentally filed close together in my brain? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fave track - hmmm, could be "Modern Man" or "Month of May" for being upbeat. "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains" with the female vocals is also absolutely lovely, and serves well as an album closer....
Todd Rundgren
3/5
On first listen this seemed like a frickin' mess. I'm glad I took a peek at the reviews as someone pointed out this album is split into 4 distinct sides, each with its own title, and that helped me make sense of it a little more.
The first side definitely seems the most consistent. The need for this to be a double album is questionable at best. Still, quite a lot of it seems like solid pop rock, I guess.
Fave track - "Breathless" was fun electronic weirdness. "I Saw The Light" and "Wolfman Jack" were fun. "Black Maria" combined with the title of the side made me think that side was gonna be Black Sabbath-esque, but it turned out to be an outlier....
Youssou N'Dour
5/5
Wow, this viscerally takes me back to my childhood. Sub 10 - maybe 6 or 7?
My very first media device of any description, that was mine rather than the family's, was a crystal radio kit.
You pushed the components into a perforated cardboard circuit board, wired them up, connected a wire to a radiator to act as an antenna, and listened through a little ear piece that looked like an old fashioned hearing aid. It had no power source of its own, and seemed like magic to me!
It was not capable of picking up too many radio stations, but one thing it reliably picked up quite strongly was a show playing world music that sounded a lot like this. Probably the first music that _I_ sought out for myself, rather than was just passively exposed to.
Fave track - "Immigrés/Bitim Rew" I guess, but the whole album is lovely....
Bob Dylan
5/5
This is another Dylan album that I didn't really listen to back when I got into Dylan, but playing it through it was clear it would have become a firm favorite if I had've.
Actually, enough of the songs really chimed with me on the second listen that I put off scoring it until after a third, and that play through has persuaded me to bump this up to a five - cracking stuff!
Fave track - "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" is probably the tune I was familiar with most before theses listens, and it's still great. Other standouts are "I Want You" and "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again"...
The Velvet Underground
5/5
An automatic 5, for sure, but I listened to it again twice because why not!
Fave track - honestly, about two thirds of the tracks on here are contenders. Maybe more like three quarters. "I'm Waiting for the Man" and "Heroin" are just amazing, iconic. "Sunday Morning" and "I'll Be Your Mirror" are so lush. The freak out of "The Black Angel's Death Song!"
Overall, though, I'm going to have to go with "Venus in Furs", which was probably the first song from the album to pierce my consciousness, due to that psychedelic Dunlop tires commercial! 😆
Jane's Addiction
5/5
Big nostalgia bump for this album - takes me right back to uni. Love the different moods encompassed - very different from the rest of the alt rock field - whimsical, dreamy at times, naïve.
Fave track - "Been Caught Stealin'" is a bop. The payoff to "Then She Did..." still gives me chills every time....
Soul II Soul
3/5
Listening to early house music, like early hip-hop, is mainly interesting only in an academic sense. Fortunately I'm a massive frickin' nerd and that's fine with me. 🤓
I enjoyed the way the tracks flowed into each other. The vocals from the women at least are still excellent, though the raps from the men are very dated.
Fave track - "Back to Life" obviously - that tune still holds up really well!
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Yep, solid stuff. I don't like it as much as I and IV, but more, I think, than III.
Actually I maybe need to re-listen to III, as I only gave it 3 stars, but that was right back at the start of this project when I was only listening to things once on average - I might have just been in a mood that day? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fave track - well, "Whole Lotta Love" is embedded pretty firmly in my childhood due to Top of the Pops, and then anyone that wanted to spoof TotP. "Thank You" is pretty darn awesome too...
The Kinks
5/5
Lawd the Kinks were great! "Death of a Clown" and "Waterloo Sunset" are load-bearing songs in the English psyche. This is the album where they really hit their stride, right?
Fave track - As well as the aforementioned, "Harry Rag" is infections AF - I had to look up what the dickens a harry rag, was though - apparently it’s rhyming slang! Harry rag -> fag -> cigarette!
Makes a bit more sense why everyone in the song is crazy about them - I was assuming it was some sort of miraculous cleaning product!
The Kinks also continue their somewhat bewildering habit of releasing some absolutely cracking singles that don't appear on the albums. "Autumn Almanac" and "Mr. Pleasant" are awesome...
Cheap Trick
4/5
Seems weird to include a random live album (when none of the band's other albums are on the list) but wikipedia filled me in with the why, I guess.
This was ok. Was hovering at a 3 but then those two big famous tracks came on, and "Clock Strikes Ten" nudged it up to a 4.
Fave track - gotta be "Surrender", but I did enjoy the clock one too...
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
3/5
It's not a terrible listen but the appropriation of it all is a little hard to stomach.
Fave track - eh.... "Another Man", maybe? "Parchman Farm" is catchy, but sticks in my craw...
Small Faces
4/5
The first half of the album felt like store-brand Kinks to me, but I warmed up to it once the "Unwinese" narration started.
Quite enjoyable overall!
Fave track - apart from the narration bits, "Lazy Sunday" is quite fun.
Pantera
5/5
Hahahhah, YES.
In my metally teens I was a little suspicious of groove metal, preferring thrash or industrial, or nwobhm. I owned this on CD, I'm pretty sure, but it was never one of my favorites.
Revisiting it has been an absolute pleasure. I like Pantera going balls to the wall, for sure, but I also really appreciate their softer moments - my absolute fave track is their cover of "Planet Caravan" from "Far Beyond Drive" - wish they'd done a whole album of dreamy lushness like that!
Fave tracks - "Walk" and "Fucking Hostile", naturally, and "This Love" for having splashes of that softness I like...
Supergrass
4/5
Oooh, it's thiiiiis 🤏 close to being a 5.
Really appreciate the flow of this album - feels like a journey. Love the shifts of tone between songs. Would definitely go 4.5 if that were an option.
Fave track - really like "Richard III", which was Supergrass' "Song2" in that it appealed to the metal enjoyer I was at the time it came out. Quite a few of the other tracks I really dig, but special mention to "Sometimes I Make You Sad" for some great squelchy noises....
The B-52's
4/5
Tremendous fun. 🪨🦞
Fave track - "6060-842" is so catchy!
Drive-By Truckers
3/5
Bit of a slog to get through, this one - think I prefer the second disk that has less narration as it's easier to have on in the background.
It could probably be a bit more overtly judgmental, for my namby leftist tastes.
Fave track - "Women Without Whiskey", perhaps, or "Plastic Flowers on the Highway"...
4/5
I was leaning towards a 3 on first listen as it left me mostly cold, but I warmed to it on a 2nd.
Yup - engaging enough - nothing too grating.
Fave track - I mean, I want to say "Intermission" and "Commercial Break" because I'm very much that kinda douchebag. "Chemical World" is fine too, I s'pose...
3/5
You know what, I didn’t hate this, and the younger version of me definitely would have. Maybe not even all that much younger, too - I think this project is doing a lot to rehabilitate me to 80s music.
Fave track - "The Look of Love (Part One)" - quite enjoyed "Date Stamp" too...
CHIC
3/5
dee eye ess see oh!
Not really my thing, but pleasant enough, and I couldn't help hearing it through the lens of all the times it's been sampled and remixed and referenced.
That's right, I hear things through lenses - what of it?
Fave track - well, "Le Freak" is the one I know best I suppose....
The White Stripes
5/5
A straight up 5, no doubt - three of the first four tracks are absolute bangers, and more than 75% of the remainder album had me going "oh yeah, I love this one too".
Fave track - "Fell In Love With A Girl" and "Hotel Yorba"
The Temptations
4/5
Not quite as good as "All Directions", but still solid stuff.
Fave track - "Runaway Child, Running Wild" - love the bit where the guy manages to sound like both a crying child and a police siren at the same time! The title track is great too....
Buck Owens
3/5
Yeah, fine - didn't hate it, but wouldn't necessarily revisit it.
Fave track - "Trouble and Me", I reckon.
3/5
Same as the Buck Owens album from the day before - I didn't dislike it, played it through twice, wouldn't object to hearing it again, but won't necessarily seek it out again.
Fave track - "I Got Caught", and the title track!
Wilco
5/5
I've listened to a little Wilco here and there over the years, but not this album.
Gotta say, I really like it - love it when indie rock dabbles with ambient. This sounds like an album Pavement would put out a couple of months after developing a penchant for cat tranquillizers.
Fave track - "Radio Cure" for that melancholy, "Poor Places" for those number station samples....
a-ha
3/5
This didn't do much for me - "Take On Me" without the video really loses something, too.
Fave track - "The Sun Always Shines On TV" maybe, but that's because I've heard some cover versions I like more? "Here I Stand and Fave the Rain", maybe, as it gets a little gothy....
Kate Bush
4/5
Don't think I've listened to any Kate Bush from this early in her career before? Definitely an interesting listen, and I appreciate her experimentation!
Not sure about the faux Ozzie accent in the title track, but I guess not every experiment is going to land.
Fave track - "Pull Out the Pin", maybe? I did enjoy "Get Out Of My House" for the donkey noises - great stuff!
Ministry
5/5
An automatic 5 from me - I've loved Ministry in general and this album in particular since my teens. (Though I reckon "Filth Pig" edges it out for the title of fave album)
I love the brutal battery of the fast songs, I love the portentous atmosphere of the slow songs, I love the incorporation of samples and Gibby Hayes glossolalia, I love it all!
Fave track - "N.W.O." or "Just One Fix" or "TV II" or "Jesus Built My Hotrod" from the fast category, "Scarecrow" from the slow category...
John Coltrane
4/5
Only listened to this maybe once before - it's great stuff! I was kinda expecting some listener-hostile avant-garde what-time-does-the-tune-start biz, (which I can handle and even enjoy, in small doses, when I'm in the right mood) but this was a pleasant experience! Will definitely be revisiting.
It's just shy of a five, for me, but maybe with more repeats it'll grow on me....
Fave track - "Part 1 - Acknowledgement"
The Byrds
4/5
Hmmm, think I was in a bit of a mood the first time I listened to this - liked it a lot more the second time around. Folk rock with a splash of psychedelia? Yeah, ok.
Fave track - "The Bells of Rhymney"
Linkin Park
3/5
Probably the most tolerable of the nu-metal bands.
I didn't hate it.
Fave track - "In the End", I guess? Or "Crawling" for the "this orange will not peel" meme. 🍊
Michael Kiwanuka
5/5
Hot dang, this is fantastic! One of the best things this list has introduced me to, for sure.
Love the atmosphere - love the journey it takes you on, and the way the tracks follow on from each other. Genre and time period distort and blend. It often seems like I'm being reminded of music I can't quite place. Great stuff.
Fave track - "You Ain't the Problem" is a great opener. "Piano Joint (This Kind of Love)" and its intro are awesome.
Really, though, this feels like a whole album experience, rather than picking out individual tracks...
Rush
3/5
Rush didn't seem to make much of an impact in the UK - not among my friend group, anyhow. I never listened to them back in the day.
Perhaps I'd look on them more fondly if they were getting a nostalgia bump? That not being the case, this leaves me a little cold. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fave track - "Tom Sawyer", I guess? Seems familiar to me - definitely seen it used in soundtracks, but didn't know it was Rush.
Cocteau Twins
5/5
Yuuuuuusssssssss!
Beautiful! Let me full-on disassociate out of this world, leave my body, and drift through the halcyon swirls of Elizabeth Fraser's voice.
Fave track - "Lorelei" is arresting, "Donimo" is a lovely sign off, but really this is a Whole Album kinda thing....
Nirvana
5/5
I didn't appreciate it at the time, but this really is one hell of an album. Absolutely smashed the trends of 80s rock and set the tone of decades to come.
Fave track - I dunno, man, lots to choose from - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is iconic, "Come As You Are" likewise. I think on this playthrough, "Territorial Pissings" really grabbed me....
Cream
4/5
This is great heavy-ish psychedelia - I didn't think I knew any Cream, but a couple of tracks turned out to be very familiar.
("Mother's Lament" used to be a campfire song back when I was in the cub scouts!)
I think with more familiarity this coulda been a 5.
Fave track - "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Tales of Brave Ulysses" are both monster tracks - great stuff!
Can
4/5
A varied and challenging listen! There's a little too much full-on avant-garde screw-the-listener type stuff for me to give it 5 stars, but I've definitely enjoyed playing it through thrice, and will happily revisit in the future.
Fave track - "Mushroom"
Def Leppard
3/5
Cock rock or hair metal or whatever this counts as has always left me cold, and this is no exception.
I guess it didn't majorly get on my nerves? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fave track - "Pour Some Sugar On Me" was the most familiar, I guess? The intro of "Gods of War" made it sound like it was gonna me some moody post-punk biz, but then it veered back into cock rock. 😒 "Run Riot" was kinda fun, I spose....
Elvis Presley
4/5
Pretty darn iconic, both the music and cover, eh?
Fave track - "Blue Suede Shoes" for the rock, "Blue Moon" for the roll. Honorable mention for "Heartbreak Hotel" which was a non-album single, but is a great tune....
Little Richard
4/5
So, got this back to back with Elvis Presley's self titled album from the year before, and Little Richard definitely rocks harder. His version of "Tutti-Frutti" is far superior!
Fave track - as well as "Tutti-Frutti", "Long Tall Sally" is a choon!
N.W.A.
3/5
Interesting from a historical perspective, I reckon -kinda a transitional album for hip-hop. Has the early hip-hop problem of sounding really basic compared to the rhymes and rhythms that the genre spawned later.
I gotta hand it to them - the Attitude is very much what they're brining to the table. Some pretty cringe tracks, tho. "I Ain't Tha 1" 😬
Fave track - "Fuck Tha Police" - as relevant today as it ever was!
ABBA
3/5
It's quite pleasant to hear some ABBA that I haven't been sonically waterboarded with for decades!
Fave track - "The Visitors" was the standout for me - would have liked more of the album to be like that. Also enjoyed "The Day Before You Came"...
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
Prettt-ay, prettt-ay good. Very polished - almost every track could be dropped into a film soundtrack, no doubt.
Fave tune - "Mr Blue Sky" is great, obvs - fun at karaoke too! "Birmingham Blues" also great, and I enjoyed the oddness of "Jungle"...
Frank Ocean
4/5
Smooooooooooove.
Fave track - "Super Rich Kids". That tune is a mooooood.
Serge Gainsbourg
4/5
It's probably a mercy that I don't understand the lyrics, eh? No doubt they're creepy AF.
I'm glad one of the other reviewers commented on the fact Beck's "Paper Tiger" samples this extensively - I love that track, but couldn't pin down why this album sounded so familiar when I started it. That woulda bugged me!
Fave track - "Melody" and "Cargo Culte" - they sound lovely to my uncomprehending ear! 🙉
Tom Waits
5/5
I scored the other two Tom Waits albums that have come up already as fives, and I see no reason to break that trend.
Who else can so completely transport you with a song? One minute you're wherever you are - the next minute you're bourbon-drunk, surrounded by cigarette smoke, and wearing clothes that haven't been washed in weeks. Magic.
Fave track - "Downtown", although the title track is a contender too...
The Dictators
4/5
Oh, this is tremendous fun! And 1975!? Wow! Some of the widdly-widdly guitar solos sound like they're taking the piss out of 80s glam metal, so I totally woulda believed this was from later - I'd probably believe you if you told me it was from this decade, in fact. A bunch of guys goofing around is kinda timeless, I guess.
Fave track - "The Next Big Thing" is a fantastic opener.
Talking Heads
5/5
Yeah, liked this more than "More Songs About Buildings And Food" - there seemed to be more oddness? Like, most songs had moments or features that made me go "Ooh, that was weird, I dig it!"
Fave track - "Heaven" and "Drugs" I reckon!
The Replacements
4/5
On first listen this came across as sloppy and unexceptional, but a second listen revealed more of its charms. I think I prefer their more thoughtful tracks, overall.
Fave track - "Answering Machine" is the standout, but "Unsatisfied" and "I Will Dare" are both good too...
Billy Bragg
4/5
I was wondering why this album was included, rather than "Back to Basics", and that's how I learned that "Back to Basics" is actually a compilation! The shame of it!
Anyway, I'm a fan of Bragg's schtick, and even though this album doesn't have "A New England" on it, it's still solid.
Fave track - "There is Power in a Union" - still as relevant as ever!
Baaba Maal
4/5
Very pleasant - could happily listen to this all day.
Fave track - "Djam Leelii" maybe? It's less about stand out tracks and more about dissolving into the flow, though...
Elvis Costello
4/5
I enjoyed this well enough, but I gotta question its inclusion on the list, given there are 5 other Elvis Costello albums on there already. It's not like this album represents him going off in a whole new direction, is it?
Fave track - "Sulky Girl"
Bob Dylan
5/5
Automatic straight up five from me, yessiree.
This was the first Dylan album I owned, and it instantly transports me back to first year uni. In fact, I saw him live at Glastonbury that year, and standing in a muddy field surrounded by new friends and baked-out-of-their-minds strangers as he launched into, IIRC, "Mr Tambourine Man", was one of the most transcendent euphoric experiences of my life.
Fave track - "Subterranean Homesick Blues" is what first hooked me, but about half the tracks on this album are utterly iconic - "Gates of Eden" really grabbed me this play through...
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
Nice! It's gothier than my mental model of Echo and the Bunnymen would suggest, I dig it.
Fave track - "The Killing Moon" is an obvious choice. "Nocturnal Me" is maximum goth. "Angels and Devils" is a tune too, if we're accepting bonus tracks....
Elbow
4/5
I enjoyed this more than I expected to. This album came out after I retreated into my algorithmic media bubble and no longer had songs force fed to me by the TV and radio, which probably helped.
I do enjoy hearing a singer with a regional accent. Reminded me of Eno-produced U2 at times.
Fave track - "Weather to Fly" and the way it segues into "The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver".
The Clash
4/5
Great stuff - a much more interesting listen (to my ears, at least) than a straight ahead punk album. I do like some genre hopping.
Fave track - "London Calling" is iconic, obvs. "Lost in the Supermarket" basically invented Pulp, right?! "Clampdown" is also a tune...
3/5
This is not my preferred flavor of prog. Is it not pretentious enough? Or too pretentious along some axes, and not enough along others? Not sure!
I didn't mind giving it a couple of listens but don't feel like I'll return to it...
Fave track - "Close to the Edge", I guess - possibly the bit of it that's "Total Mass Retain" is bonus track metadata is to be believed...
GZA
4/5
A solid portion of Wu Tang Entertainment Product. I much prefer extended samurai film samples to skits.
Fave track - "Liquid Swords" and "4th Chamber" - the ones with the most samurai dialogue 👺
The Police
3/5
Fine. Didn't massively grab me, but nor did it enrage me, even if "Every Breath You Take" has been played the frick out.
Fave track - "Mother" for entertaining weirdness. "Murder By Numbers" I quite liked, too...
Def Leppard
3/5
Eh, hair metal - I never cultivated a taste for it. This didn't actively piss me off, I guess.
Fave track - "Photograph" ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
John Lennon
3/5
Some pretty good tracks, but deducting a star for a wifebeater singing about being a "Jealous Guy". 😒
Fave track - "I Don't Want to be a Soldier Mama", but that's mainly due to the excellent version Mad Season did....
The Byrds
3/5
Yeah, this was fine - nothing massively captivating, but pleasant enough.
Fave track - I liked the oddness of "C.T.A. 102" - especially the fake backmasking. 😆 "My Back Pages" is catchy, too, and uses the album title as a lyric.
Miles Davis
5/5
Well alright! An enormous amount to explore here - I can definitely see myself coming back to this again and again. I think I prefer "In A Silent Way" as it feels a bit more coherent, but still, great stuff!
Fave track - "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down". Chunks of the first two tracks were pretty great - they might become faves with more listens. Also, I know it's a bonus track, but "Feio" is _awesome_. It's basically doom jazz, which is one of my fave flavors of jazz!
New Order
3/5
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This was fine, I suppose, but didn't excite me. Definitely preferred "Low-Life".
Fave track - "Run", maybe? None of them really stood out that much....
Belle & Sebastian
5/5
This gets a bit of a nostalgia bump, for sure - seem to remember piecing this album together from individual tracks obtained from napster or limewire in the very early naughts....
Actually, though, even without the nostalgia bump, this really holds up - some absolutely fantastic songs!
Fave tracks - "The State I Am In" is probably my overall fave B&S track. On this play through, "Electronic Renaissance" really stood out to me, too....
Goldfrapp
4/5
Got a certain amount of pre-existing affection for this. Love a girl who runs her voice through a theremin - how could you not?
Fave tracks - "Lovely Head" and "Utopia" are both pretty sublime. I for one enjoy the silliness of "Oompah Radar" 🤡
The Young Gods
4/5
This is currently number 9 lowest scoring album on the whole site. What's the matter, people, is Swiss industrial cabaret really so far out there? 😒
I dug it. Enjoyed the more straight forward industrial tracks most, but the cabaret was still entertaining.
Fave tracks - "Longue Route" and "Pas Mal" could almost be Ministry tracks, so yeah, them 🤘
Sister Sledge
4/5
Not really a disco chap, as a rule, but this was awesome!
I've heard "We Are Family" far too many times to really welcome hearing it again, but even so, I gotta give it props for being anthemic.
Fave track - "Lost in Music" - hypnotic, and I love the scansion of the "I quit" line... 💅
Coldplay
3/5
If I was encountering this album for the first time, I reckon it'd be an easy 4.
Thing is, though, the singles were fecking inescapable in 2002, and I got sick to death of most of them. ("Clocks" I can still just about stand, I guess.)
Fave track - "Daylight", let's say.
FKA twigs
4/5
Cinematic, a little bit otherworldly - exactly my jam.
Fave track - "Two Weeks" - a great tune, with a great video to boot!
Tom Waits
5/5
Weird Waits is best Waits. This album directly prefigures "The Mule Variations", which has been a long time fave, so I definitely plan to come back to it more. There's even a mention of the Eyeball Kid! 👁️
Fave track - "The Ocean Doesn't Want Me" is clearly a prototype of "What's He Building In There", so I love it for that reason. "Earth Died Screaming" and "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" were also standouts...
Napalm Death
4/5
Monstrously heavy and fast - you have to be in the right mood for it, for sure.
I saw Napalm Death live as a teenager, and managed to take a flailing fist in the neck whilst deep in the mosh pit. Neck injuries at metal shows are just the absolute worst! 😩
Fave track - "You Suffer", mainly because it was sometimes possible to select this as a karaoke song in Japan. Hilarious stuff. You're given three attempts, and you're counted in, and it's still ridiculously hard to nail it!
The Chemical Brothers
5/5
Absolutely bangin'. An A-1, tip top clubbing jam fair. It was a sandwich of fun on ecstasy bread, wrapped up in a big bag like disco fudge. It doesn't get much better than that.
Fave tracks - "Setting Sun" is great, even with Gallagher involvement. Really, though, it's the one-two glide of "Where Do I Begin" followed by "The Private Psychedelic Reel" 😍
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
I'm listening to the albums of this project while working, so I'm afraid hip-hop albums are probably suffering from not having sufficient attention paid to the lyrics, and not routinely getting a second or third play.
This album certainly grabbed my attention, though, and got a second play through. I definitely feel like I should come back to it again when I can concentrate on it more, too.
Fave track - "King Kunta" was an immediate standout. Also really enjoyed "How Much A Dollar Cost" and "The Blacker the Berry"...
Rufus Wainwright
4/5
This was a great listen - enjoyed the variety of styles and moods. Would certainly enjoy listening again.
Fave tracks - "Agnus Dei" - I'd happily listen to a whole album of stuff that sounds like that. "Old Whore's Diet" was great, too...
Super Furry Animals
4/5
I don't have the same sort of deep rooted love for this album that I do for "Rings Around The World", but it's still a lot of fun. I think with more familiarity it could rise to a 5....
Fave track - "Something For The Weekend" for the more scuzzy rocky side of things, "Gathering Moss" for the more floaty psychedelic side of things...
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
For a man who had no truck with drugs Frank Zappa sure did produce music that sounds exactly as if it's intended to be listened to while on drugs.
I haven't listened to this one much before, and there's a _lot_ going on, so it would probably benefit from more listens. Still, a lot of fun!
Fave track - "Let's Make the Water Turn Black" is the one I was most familiar with already. Also really enjoyed "Absolutely Free" running into "Flower Punk"...
Crowded House
4/5
"Weather With You" beams me straight back to childhood long car journeys to summer seaside holidays, so that's a massive nostalgia bump right there. It still stands up in its own right, too.
Otherwise, yeah, an enjoyable enough listen.
Fave track - apart from the childhood transportation flashback, I also dug "Chocolate Cake"
Arcade Fire
5/5
This slaps. Hell of a debut!
Fave tracks - "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" is a fantastic opener. "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" is awesome, and "Wake Up" is great too!
Scott Walker
4/5
I like older, weirder Scott Walker, as a rule, but this still has much to recommend it. The Jacques Brel covers, in particular, go hard!
Fave tracks - "Jackie", "Next", "The Girls and the Dogs"
Brian Eno
5/5
Oh yeah, lovely! Part ambient, part art rock, all my kinda thing.
Fave tracks - The opening run of "Sky Saw" -> "St. Elmo's Fire" -> "The Big Ship" with their ambient interludes is fantastic!
Also "Becalmed" into "Zawinul/Lava" is properly dreamy...
The Magnetic Fields
5/5
I've owned this digitally for ages, but that means it's one loooong list of tracks rather than 3 discrete discs, so obviously I've heard disc 1 WAY more than the others. If I was rating disc 1 alone it would be an automatic 5, but I wasn't sure the quality held up over the other discs. I carved out enough time to give the whole thing 2 play throughs, and I reckon discs 2 and 3 hold up well!
Love the exploration of styles and genres. Don't like this song? Wait 3 mins and you'll hear something totally different!
Fave track - "Absolutely Cuckoo" is an all time fave, "Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits" likewise, but this playthrough "I Shatter" takes the crown!
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Eh, kinda interesting from a historical perspective, but pretty cringe. The only non-cover is a stinker.
Fave track - uh, "Now I've Got a Witness" maybe? I don't think there's anything I'll be rushing back to revisit....
The Streets
2/5
Eh, I don't rate this. In theory narrative-focused hip-hop with a regional UK accent should be right up my alley, but in practice it's just not done well enough. The rhyme schemes and rhythms are basic, and not because it's elegantly simple. (Also, the chap is from Wolverhampton but sings in mockney 😠 )
I have no enthusiasm for giving this a second listen.
Fave track - "Blinded By The Lights" for the storytelling, I guess...
Pavement
4/5
Hmmmm, this has a lot of what I like about Pavement, but it's still no "Wowee Zowee".
Benefits from a nostalgia bump as Pavement were one of the first indie rock bands I properly got in to, and I do enjoy Malkmus' schtick.
Fave track - "Summer Babe (Winter Version)" is excellent.
Tori Amos
4/5
I prefer "From the Choirgirl Hotel", albums-wise, but this is still pretty great. Love the melodrama. Skipped "Me and A Gun" on the second listen because it's too powerful of a gut punch to enjoy, really.
Fave tracks - "Precious Things", for sure. "Little Earthquakes" is also great....
The Modern Lovers
4/5
Scuzzy fun. All the people making unfavorable comparisons to the Velvet Underground are reaching, if you ask me. While the VU comprise a spectrum of sounds, The Modern Lovers take only one of the shades of that spectrum and run with it, and the same is true of basically all garage rock, surely?
Fave track - "Pablo Picasso" has long been a favorite, but "Roadrunner" is awesome too....
Tina Turner
3/5
Golly that's an archetypal 80s sound! Her voice is phenomenal, but those instrument sounds are pure lol.
Fave track - "What's Love Got To Do With It" is pretty damn iconic. The beginning of "Let's Stay Together" was good but then it got poppy. I liked her version of "1984" - suitably bombastic!
k.d. lang
4/5
Knowing KD Lang exclusively from "Constant Craving" I was not prepared for an album of lounge/cabaret country!
I dug it! I wouldn't be averse to further listens.
Fave track - "Lock, Stock, & Teardrops" for lounge, "Black Coffee" for cabaret, and "I'm Down to My Last Cigarette" for country!
Baaba Maal
4/5
Hmmm, I liked the bulk of this, but every now and then it veers into more conventional sounding euro pop, and that kinda dampens my enthusiasm.
Probably woulda gone to 5 if it had been less crossover.
Fave track - "Yela" is a lovely opener. "Miniut" has some gorgeous moments, even if parts of it are a little-too-conventional ballad sounding...
Iron Maiden
5/5
Bruce Dickinson-era Iron Maiden is a load bearing pillar of my early adolescence. "Number of the Beast" is probably 4th or 5th ranked in my personal system, but giving it some listens now it's still solid as feck, and let's face it, Iron Maiden don't evolve a whole load sonically album to album, so it totally makes sense I'd dig it pretty much equally to the albums I consider faves...
So, I was expecting to give this a 5 to make up for "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", "Fear of the Dark", and "Powerslave" not being on the list, but actually I'm happy to give it a 5 on its own merits!
Fave track - "Run To The Hills" springs immediately to mind - karaoke classic, that one! "Children of the Damned", "The Number of the Beast", and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" are all quintessential Dickinson-era Maiden bangers!
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
There are some tremendously strong songs on here - I'm in two minds whether there's enough of them to justify a five star review...... I'd probably go 4.5.
Also, dig hearing the intro to "El Condor Pasa" as it makes me want to revisit DJ Shadow's "Private Press"...
Fave track - the title track is epic. "The Boxer" likewise...
Doves
5/5
I have a lot of pre-existing love for Doves (Although slightly prefer their previous album to this one) and, I'm not gonna lie, seeing all the reviews comparing them to Coldplay stings.
In my head they're filed in a totally different box to Coldplay, but I guess I can hear what people are talking about. 😒 Goes to show how much having stuff forced on me by the TV and radio really coloured my perceptions. If Coldplay had got less airplay and Doves had been plastered over the airwaves, maybe my sympathies would be reversed?
On the other hand, listening through again, maybe Doves are just objectively better than Coldplay and I was right the whole time - yeah, let's go with that! 😈
Fave track - "Words", "Satellites", "Caught By The River" are all solid. The bonus disc has a cover of something from the Wicker Man soundtrack too! 😍
Nightmares On Wax
4/5
I quite like the 2000 +/- 5 years downtempo chillout oeuvre, and this is a fairly solid example. Nice background listening. Fine to work to.
Fave track - "Nights Interlude" - apparently there are two other versions of this track on two of their other albums, and lord knows how many remixes. I'm sure I've heard it many times on interchangeable compilations with titles like "Ibiza Chillout Session" and "Clubbed Out 2000"
Abdullah Ibrahim
4/5
From the artist name, album title and artwork I was expecting world music, but ok, it's cool jazz! Nice!
The Abdullah Ibrahim wikipedia page is worth browse - this is a whole wing of jazz I was oblivious to.
Fave track - "Tuang Guru" sounds almost like Ethiojazz, I dig it.
Malcolm McLaren
4/5
Ok, this was a very entertaining listen. Kinda questionable premise overall, but if you just give in and accept the colonialism then I find it fascinating that McLaren co-opted hip-hop, South African choral work, and _line dancing_, and blended them all together! 😆
There's a definite ambient sensibility in the way the tracks all flow together.
Fave track - "Jive My Baby Jive" is a stomp. "Obatala" kinda prefigures vaporwave!
Dusty Springfield
5/5
Wow, what a voice! I haven't really listened to any Dusty Springfield before but I'm definitely open to hearing more now. Love her delivery!
Fave track - this version of "Son of a Preacher Man" is excellent - I should maybe listen to the Aretha version along side it. My top pick, however, has to be "The Windmills of You Mind". She starts off sounding aloof, maybe even drowsy, and her voice transforms over the course of the song - fascinating!
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Hot damn Hendrix was talented. That first three track run is worth 5 stars even before you get deeper into the album.
The messy rawness of garage rock with the fanciful whimsy of psychedelia - cracking stuff.
Fave track - "Manic Depression" on this playthrough, but let it be known that "Purple Haze", "Hey Joe", "Foxey Lady", "Are You Experienced?", and probably another 4 or 5 tracks are absolutely top tier.
Gonna start petitioning the site admins to add a 6th star for when I get "Electric Ladyland" come up...
Rocket From The Crypt
4/5
On the one hand, it's a bit one note, but on the other hand, it's a fun note, but on the other other hand, it goes on for over an hour, which is perhaps a bit much of that note. Shorter doses would be preferable.
I saw RFTC at a Glastonbury, late 90s, and they convinced the more chemically altered members of the crowd to treat the hellish mud quagmire in front of the stage as a slip n' slide, which was fun enough to secure them a 4 in this here review!
Fave track - "On A Rope", obvs...
Dead Kennedys
5/5
Hahhahhah sooooo good! Pure anarchy.
Metal and industrial were my first loves, so I encountered Jello Biafra via Lard initially. He sure is an acquired taste! Pure WTF delivery and voice at first listen, but it works so well that soon you think, how could it be otherwise?
Fave track - "Holiday in Cambodia" stands head and shoulders above everything else - that intro is so damn moody! "California Über Alles" is also iconic....
The Adverts
4/5
Unexpectedly punk! I thought this was gonna be psychedelia from the band/album name.
I dug this - it's veering towards post-punk in places - seems a more interesting listen than just straight ahead punk.
Fave track - "One Chord Wonders" is a fun opener. "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" is catchy as hell.
Billy Bragg
4/5
Quite a pleasant slice of Americana. I think with repeated listens this could really grown on me.
Fave track - "Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key" Natalie Merchant's vocals make a superb addition...
Jethro Tull
4/5
Jethro Tull is definitely one of those bands that I'm expecting this project to familiarize me with. Slightly proggy flute rock, alright!
Fave track - the title track is great. "My God" has some excellent flute jammin', and "Hymn 43" was good too!
The Byrds
3/5
Well, it's very harmonious and melodic, but that means it's very good at blending into the background.
I evidently wasn't paying sufficient attention to hear what was innovative or groundbreaking about it.
Fave track - "Goin' Back" I guess? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Suede
4/5
I really disliked Suede back in the day so was expecting this to be a chore, but actually I really dig it. Gave it a third spin just for the hell of it.
Much more proggy and less whiny than I was expecting. Could be that I've matured in the meantime?
Fave track - "Introducing the Band" is a great opener - it positively dismantled my expectations! Love the run of "Daddy's Speeding" -> "The Power" -> "New Generation". Shout out to "The Asphalt World", too!
Dire Straits
5/5
"Money for Nothing" is undeniably a 5 star song - that shiz is built into the bedrock of my musical appreciation psyche!
On first listen, the non-famous tracks felt quite filler-like so I was leaning towards a 4 score for the whole album, but a second pass through and most of them caught my attention in places - reckon I'd grow to love them with more listens, so reckon an overall 5 is justified!
Fave track - "Money for Nothing", problematic lyrics aside, is just so good - when the guitar comes in at around 90 seconds! Damn!
5/5
Unnngh - love this Devo album!
I saw them live at a festival in Japan in like 2008, and they looked like a bunch of portly middle aged men in yellow jumpsuits and funny hats, but they sounded exactly the same. I was convinced they were miming and kinda bummed out, but then towards the end of the set the singer started to get slightly out of breath and it became apparent that they’re just awesome and can recreate their sound from the glory days at will…. 😆
Fave track - "Gut Feeling / (Slap Your Mammy)" is just so so good. Love the moody intro to "Mongoloid" too...
The Jam
3/5
Yeah, pretty good - doesn't quite grab me enough for 4 stars - I think I prefer my post-punk to be a little more angular.
Fave track - "That's Entertainment" is obviously the one I'm most familiar with, and it's a great tune. "Start!" is good, too...
Orbital
5/5
Not necessarily the Orbital album I woulda chosen, but what the hell, you can't go too far wrong.
This is very much the sort of chin-stroking intellect-masturbatory music that appeals to the specific type of nerd that I am. I started out being a nowt-but-metalhead but I could see the utility in ambient music for soothing scene-setting. Orbital was the first act that made me think I could enjoy upbeat electronica too.
Fave track - "Forever", maybe, or "Are We Here?" - I'd happily listen to the whole album again at the drop of a hat though...
Tom Waits
5/5
A tough one to listen to while working as, like hip-hop, much of the appeal lies with paying close attention to what's being said.
I prefer Waits' later, weirder stuff, on the whole, but this banter heavy nightclub replication is awesome. I want to go to there.
Fave track - "Spare Parts I (A Nocturnal Emission)" made me laugh out loud!
Pearl Jam
5/5
Riding on a massive wave of nostalgia that's a big ol' 5. It's a damn good album, though, so it probably deserves those top marks even without those warm and fuzzy late nineties memories adding to the mix.
Fave track - well, literally more than three quarters of them are contenders - it's really only "Dirty Frank" that's definitely not a fave. Let's say "Even Flow" for this play through....
Jefferson Airplane
5/5
"White Rabbit" alone makes this an era-defining cultural mammoth, and then having "Somebody to Love" on same album? Geddouttahere!
Fave track - As well as those too monster tracks, gotta love the noodling of "Embryonic Journey" and the sixtiesness of "Plastic Fantastic Lover"
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
My fave Hendrix album. Yes, it's sprawling and chaotic, but that's rather the point? The swirling vortex of the intro track should make that pretty clear.
Fave track - I mean, "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" has been my overall favorite Hendrix track since seeing "Withnail & I". "Crosstown Traffic" and his version of "All Along the Watchtower" are absolutely era defining. On this playthrough, "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" really got me...
Guns N' Roses
4/5
I didn't much care for GnR at the time - too much cock rock, not enough metal - but I can definitely appreciate this album these days. Plus, the big singles make great karaoke tunes!
Fave track - "Paradise City" and "Sweet Child O Mine" both have lots of fond memories of whole rooms fulla people screaming along!
Alice Cooper
4/5
This was a pleasant surprise! I knew Alice Cooper had a theatrical presentation but didn't expect the music to be so varied!
I'd rate this 4.5 if I could!
Fave track - "School's Out" is great for karaoke purposes. "Gutter Cat Vs The Jets" was awesome, and I also dug "My Stars".
My cats _really_ didn't like the sound effects in "Street Fight" 😾
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
Oh yeah, this is great. Not a Neil Young album that I was already familiar with, however I _love_ Type O Negative's cover of "Cinnamon Girl" and it turns out the original slaps almost as hard! 🤘
Felt the need to give this a third play through, bumping it up to a 5.
Fave track - "Down By The River" is great, as well as the aforementioned "Cinnamon Girl"
The Everly Brothers
3/5
Eh, rock & roll so mild it's functionally easy listening. Very much of its time. I wouldn't seek this out but would probably enjoy its ironic usage in a Lynchian context.
Fave track - "Love Hurts" is the famous one, right? Yeah, that one...
Aimee Mann
3/5
This was alright - very of its time. I think if I'd've encountered it around uni time I'd have been well into it. It definitely doesn't deserve the hate it's getting in some of these reviews! 🙄
Fave track - "I Should've Known" was a good opener - would've liked the album to carry on in that vein more! "I Could Hurt You Now" was also a stand out...
The Fall
4/5
The Fall are an acquired taste, I reckon, but I've acquired it. I do like me some snide shambolic discordant post-punk!
Fave track - "Barmy", "Vixen", and "Paint Work" all stood out to me this time through!
Devendra Banhart
3/5
Hmmmm, this didn't quite hit the spot for me, although I like plenty of stuff that's adjacent to it. I think I prefer this kinda thing to be a touch more dreamy, maybe?
Fave track - "Todo los Dolores" maybe? Individual tracks didn't stand out too much...
Dr. John
5/5
Swampy goodness. Doesn't really sound like anything else you might come across, which is a huge accolade in my book!
Fave track - "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" has been one of my fave tracks by anyone for years! The "get it burn it" refrain echoing away always gives me chills.... 🧟
Pentangle
4/5
Mmmmm, folky! A very pleasant album - definitely Wicker Man vibes in places.
Fave track - "Hunting Song", no doubt!
Derek & The Dominos
3/5
This left me utterly cold on first listen (apart from the title track clicking into place as a tune I've heard dozens of times but never really knew who did it) but I did start to warm to it a little on the second play through - not enough to warrant a fourth star, mind.
Fave track - "Layla", obvs - "I Am Yours" leading into "Anyday" was pretty nice too...
Common
4/5
I haven't really listened to Common before, so this was a discovery for me - very nice! It's got that laid back R&B infusion and smoothness that makes for good summer time hip-hop.
Fave track - "Be" is a nice opener. Also liked "Go!"
Aphex Twin
5/5
Outrageous that this is on the list rather than SAW II - I shall correct that by talking about SAW II instead.
In my early teens, at the start of properly getting into music, and deep in the grip of "only metal" puritanism, I encountered a copy of SAW II at a friend's house - it belonged to his elder brother who wasn't around that day, so it existed as an artifact apparently portalled in from an alternate dimension.
No explanatory text anywhere, no track listing - unless the weird symbols on the disks corresponded to the extremely abstract textural photographs on the inlay booklet? I was entranced! Never seen something so alien!
SAW II is to albums as the Codex Seraphinianus is to books!
Anyway, SAW 85-92 is probably only a 4 star album, but I'm giving it a bump in honor of SAW II, and ambient electronica in general.
Fave track - I liked the pounding "Schottkey 7th Path" this time around. DOOF DOOF DOOF DOOF
Stan Getz
5/5
Glorious! From a utilitarian point of view this album is like a nanobot constructor swarm - put it on and luxuriate as the rough edges of your mood are smoothed away and you're transported to somewhere peaceful and warm. 😍
Fave tracks - "Desfinado" is a lovely opener, and "E Luxo So" has echoes of "Aquarela Do Brasil" and I'm a sucker for anything that reminds me of the "Brazil" soundtrack!
The Icarus Line
4/5
Literally never heard of The Icarus Line outside of this project, which is a bit weird.
Yeah, I dig it - very chaotic garagey post-hardcore. Enjoyed it enough for three listens, and would happily go back for more!
Fave track - "Getting Bright at Night" is a banger - especially the last third. "Meatmaker" is slavish Suicide worship, and I'm on board for it!
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
Hmmm, this didn't grab me nearly as hard as "To Pimp a Butterfly".
Appreciated the storytelling in some of the tracks, but others left me cold.
Fave track - "The Art of Peer Pressure", probably, and maybe "Sing About Me / I'm Dying of Thirst"
Hole
5/5
Lotta nostalgia for this - probably my fave Hole album... wait - I said that about "Celebrity Skin" when it came up 😆
Well, whatever. Due to a quirk of history I like Hole more than I ever liked Nirvana - didn't say that last time around!
Fave track - "She Walks On Me" this time around - there are a bunch of tracks I love, though. "Violet" always hits home...
Meat Loaf
4/5
A lot of fun! I was familiar with two of the tracks, but the rest held up too. That spoken word intro to "You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth" was a bit horny! I quite enjoyed it on these play throughs, but I imagine it might grow a bit tiresome with repeated listens?
Fave track - "Bat Out of Hell" - gotta be, really. It's anthemic - makes a great karaoke song for getting the whole room joining in...
The Cure
5/5
Simply lovely - could be the type specimen for "cohesive albums". Wonderfully consistent atmosphere where moods wax and wane but never introduce imbalance.
I think this project has really switched me on to The Cure, and I now wish I could go back and bump my score for "Pornography" from a 4 up to a 5.
Fave track - well, this is all about the totality of the album, so I'm not sure it makes sense to pick faves, but even if I did pick faves, more than half the tracks would qualify. If I had to give a short shortlist, let's go with "Pictures of You", "Lullaby", "Fascination Street" and "Homesick" ♠️
M.I.A.
3/5
Huh, electronica fused with world music is usually my jam, but this doesn't quite hit the spot. The beats are a bit basic. The rapping is extremely basic. I enjoyed the novelty of the different influences being mixed in, but I reckon repeated listens to this would actually drop my rating rather than raise it, as the novelty would wear off and it'd start to grow irritating... 🤔
So, I'm giving it one play through a 3, and M.I.A. should count herself lucky...
Fave track - "Paper Planes" was the only one I knew before hand, and it is kinda a tune. Liked the Bollywood of "Jimmy", and considering "20 Dollar" is a mashup of New Order and Pixies you'd think I'd like it more...
Ali Farka Touré
5/5
I love love love desert blues, or tishoumaren, or whatever you want to call it, and Ali Farka Touré is the daddy.
It's hypnotic, exotic, but familiar at the same time. You can easily let it blend into a wonderful background wash, but it also repays close attention, which is a quality I highly value in music.
Fave track - "Yer Bounda Fara" maybe? It's not really about individual tracks with this one...
Calexico
5/5
What is this? Post-alt-country!? It's wonderful, I love it! 😻
I'm a huge fan of albums that go out of their way to be cinematic, or dabble with multiple genres, and this album does both of those things well. I haven't really listened to Calexico before so this is a great discovery for me - that's what this project is all about!
Fave track - "Black Heart" - those strings are positively trip-hop! "Close Behind" sounds like a spaghetti western soundtrack, "The Book and the Canal" sounds like a revisionist western soundtrack, "Attack el Robot! Attack" sounds like Tom Waits, and let's say "Corona" for that mariachi feel....
Elliott Smith
4/5
This isn't an Elliott Smith album I'm all that familiar with - it sounds great, and I definitely want to listen to it more, but it doesn't quite hit 5 stars for me on these play throughs - maybe more familiarity would bump that up.
Fave track - "Everything Means Nothing To Me" is gorgeous. "Easy Way Out" is an ear worm, too!
Mekons
4/5
Fun! I bet these folks were a blast to see live!
I do enjoy a good shambolic mash up of folk and punk - CF, The Pogues...
Fave track - "Psycho Cupid (Danceband On The Edge Of Time)" was kinda post-rocky, with the spoken word biz going on. "Abernant 1984-5" for something more conventional...
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
4/5
Quite a fun listen, on the whole - I enjoyed the experimentation. "She's Fresh" is very funky, "It's Nasty" is delightfully twee - I guess that's mostly the Tom Tom Club sample... I almost want to penalize the album a star for the more ballady tracks, but I guess I should just accept them as the price of the group trying out new things...
Fave track - "The Message" is a monster, obviously - I also dug "Scorpio" for that early electro clash feeling!
Peter Frampton
3/5
I was pretty nonplussed about this to start with, but it did win me over a little as it went on.
Hearing a non-reggae version of "Baby, I Love Your Way" is pretty unsettling, even if this is actually the original!
Fave track - "Do You Feel Like We Do" - I like the talky guitar effects!
Syd Barrett
2/5
Nope, nuh-uh, didn't like this. "Love You" and "If It's In You" actively pissed me off. 😾
The best thing that ever happened to Pink Floyd was having this particular vein of twee foolishness excised.
Fave track - "No Good Trying", let's say, but I'd cheerfully never listen to any of this again.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
4/5
Very pleasant listening, though perhaps a bit one note.
Fave track - "Shaka Zulu (King of Kings) - love the clicking! Also enjoyed the ululations on "Homeless" though I think that's a bonus track...
Shack
3/5
Eh, pretty bland. I don't recall ever hearing of this band and in 1999 my media bubble was far from impenetrable - did they have a very low profile, or are they just extremely forgettable? 🤷
"Cornish Town" actively pissed me off.
Fave track - ehhhhhhhh... I think I checked the track name of "Since I Met You" so let's say that one.
Hot Chip
4/5
I haven't listened to a great deal of Hot Chip and, yeah, this was pretty good - "Motion Sickness" sounds like slavish New Order worship, but they mixed things up enough as the album went on to hold my interest.
Fave track - "Flutes" - it's got a prog house thing going on - reminded me a lot of Nathan Fake's "The Sky Was Pink" which is one of my all time faves!
Rage Against The Machine
5/5
Righteously badass! 🤘
I think I like this more now than I did when it came out.
Fave track - "Killing in the Name" is the obvious choice - "Wake Up" is great too...
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
Huh. Just like "You're Living All Over Me", this is messy raucous noise rock drenched in squalls of feedback.
I like it just fine - but at a meta level, kinda annoyed the list gives us two Dinosaur Jr albums made a year apart that do basically the same thing. 🤷
Fave track - "The Pond Song", maybe, or "The Post"
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
Smooooooth, very smooth - I like this slowcore soul!
I think more listens could possibly bump this to a five.
Fave track - "Billy Jack" is a fantastic intro track, and I dug "Love to the People" as a closer, too!
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
Of more historical interest than actively pleasurable to listen to, but fine I guess.
Fave track - "Not Fade Away" for the ones I recognized, "Rock Me My Baby" for the nursery rhyme shenanigans!
The Jesus And Mary Chain
5/5
Yes! YES!
Blast me with feedback! Wash away my consciousness with squalls of jagged noise! Sonically flatten me!
I like this more than "Darklands", which I replayed so as to compare and contrast. "Darklands" is much more conventionally sounding post-punk, but this - tis is gorgeous noise pop.
Fave track - "You Trip Me Up", followed closely by "Just Like Honey"
Kings of Leon
4/5
I really like the description "Southern Fried Strokes" one of the other reviews mentioned - that's spot on! 😆
Fave track - "Molly's Chambers" or "Holy Roller Novocaine"
Wilco
4/5
This project has taught me that I quite like Wilco! This isn't quite as good as "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot", but still pretty great!
I actually gave this 4 listens over a number of weeks to let it percolate.... 🤠
Fave track - "Misunderstood" was a great opener - woulda liked more of the album to be like that. Also really dug "Why Would You Wanna Live"...
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
Really enjoyed this - like a love letter to the 80s!
For sure, being 600+ albums into this project has better equipped me to think of anything 80s related in a more positive light. 😆
This album wears its influences on its sleeve, and that's a good thing in this instance. I can definitely hear the Suicide, Talking Heads, OMD, etc etc.
4.5 stars I think - would probably manage 5 with more listens...
Fave track - "Call the Police", maybe? "American Dream" sounds like prime movie soundtrack material - like, a modern film set in the 80s could have that playing during the emotional climax and I wouldn't bat an eye...
Cornershop
4/5
Quite a fun listed! I'm more familiar with their later “Handcream for a Generation” album.
"Brimful of Asha" was frickin' inescapable for a while so I wasn't looking forward to hearing it, but actually this album version was alright - I guess it was a sped up dance remix that got horribly overplayed for a few years.
Fave track - "We're In Yr Corner" was excellent. Also enjoyed their "Norwegian Wood" cover....
Violent Femmes
4/5
Sleazy scuzzy fun! I maybe thought the Violent Femmes were more indie pop than this, but no, they're punky garagey rock!
Fave track - "Blister in the Sun" is the most famous, and I dig it. Also liked "Add It Up" - that's a tune!
My Bloody Valentine
5/5
Oneirically unhinged! Love the otherness of this, the changes in pitch and tempo that you make you think either the music is fucked, or your head is.
Pretty sure I saw them on the tour promoting this album, and I think it was maybe the single loudest gig I've ever been to - louder than any metal band I've seen. Just an ego-obliterating wash of vibration. 🤘
Fave track - "New You", but this is an album album.
R.E.M.
4/5
I've heard the big singles from this, of course, but don't believe I've listened to the album before. It sure does sound like a specific point in time - I guess due to a combination of R.E.M. dominating the airwaves for a while, and influencing a bunch of other people to sound like them?
Fave track - "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" is an absolute bop - if anything it's even better than I remember! Also enjoyed "Oddfellows Local 151"...
King Crimson
5/5
This is wonderfully 'nanas! 🍌
Don't think I've really checked this King Crimson album out before, so thanks 1001 project!
Fave track - I love the contrast of 13 minutes of silliness in "Larks' Tongues In Aspic (part 1)" suddenly breaking out into beautiful conventional "Book of Saturday". It's like emerging from a tunnel, or the sun coming out from behind clouds - lovely feeling!
George Michael
4/5
I enjoyed this WAY more than I expected to. Was expecting a solid 3, but actually it's comfortably a 4. I see people complaining it's somber and slow, which I guess is what appeals to me - if it was too poppy I'd be turned right off.
Fave tracks - "Freedom '90" is a bop, naturally. "Waiting for That Day" is very pleasant, and his cover of Stevie Wonder's "They Won't Go When I Go" I found pretty arresting!
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
I don't think I've listened to their first album before. I do like some gothy post-punk and it certainly fits into (creates?) that bracket!
Fave track - "Simple Stuff" - cracking!
Buzzcocks
4/5
Haven't really listened to non-singles Buzzcocks before, but this was great! High energy and enough going on to hold my attention, which isn't always true of early punk.
Fave track - "Moving Away From The Pulsebeat" Hahhahah, what _was_ that? Fun! Also dug "Fiction Romance"...
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Oh this is great! My fave of the Stevie Wonder albums we've had so far. Not nearly as much cloying sweetness.
I gotta say I found "Too high" to be amusingly disconcerting! I've always thought of Stevie Wonder as being one of those amazingly wholesome family friendly entertainer types - quite a revelation to hear him singing about being stoned out of his gourd! 😆
Fave tracks - As well as "Too High", the ones I recognized and loved are "Higher Ground" and "He's Misstra Know-It-All", although that latter I think I know more from covers? "Living for the City" is great too...
Sonic Youth
4/5
Yeah, this is really cementing for me that I shoulda got into Sonic Youth decades ago. It's well badass.
I could see more listens pushing this to a 5 easily enough.
Fave track - "Youth Against Fascism" is delightfully catchy and off-kilter. Also really liked the vibe of "JC"...
Beck
4/5
Hmmm, bit bemused by the inclusion of this one - it's Beck in the same mode as "Odelay" and "Odelay" is already on the list - kinda redundant?
It's a fun enough listen, I guess, but doesn't benefit from the nostalgia bump his earlier stuff has for me.
Fave tracks - "E-Pro" undeniably slaps. "Farewell Ride" is a nice example of more mellow Beck
4/5
Occult noise rock? Ritual dance punk? I'm down!
I think I've listened to most of Liars' output once or twice previously, but I could definitely do with spending more time with them. I like their schtick.
Fave track - "There's Always Room on the Broom"
JAY Z
3/5
I was expecting to quite dislike this as braggadocio rap really isn't my thing, but the production was pretty good. I suspect Jay-Z is benefitting from me listening to this while working, and if I actually played closer attention to the lyrics my score would drop...
Fave track - "Takeover" - pretty badass samples underpinning this one....
Ozomatli
5/5
I have a lot of pre-existing affection for Ozomatli, although I'm more familiar with their earlier albums - saw them live a couple of times and they're fantastic - really bring the energy!
Fave tracks - "Believe" is a badass opener, "Dejame En Paz" is a jam, and "Ya Viene El Sol" is just totally joyous!
Jeru The Damaja
3/5
Eh, not a lot of enthusiasm for this - kinda interesting as a transitional link between old school and modern hip-hop I guess. Some of the production was alright. "Da Bitchez" was cringe AF.
Fave track - "D Original", for the wonky piano backing...
Arcade Fire
5/5
This might be pompous and overblown but it's pompous and overblown in a way that tickles my fancy. Very cohesive as an album, and with some absolute bangers.
Fave tracks - "Intervention", "No Cars Go" and of course "My Body Is A Cage", even if I have a slight preference for the Peter Gabriel version...
The Charlatans
4/5
This is fine. I suspect if it had the same sort of forced ubiquity as Oasis in the 90s I woulda hated it for much the same reason, but it didn't, so I don't.
Fave tracks - "One to Another" is a tune, and "How High" I can appreciate, although would probably hate it if it got endlessly overplayed...
Public Enemy
4/5
Wasn't too familiar with this one at all. Quite like the more stripped back sound - "Lost at Birth" almost sounds like a progenitor for industrial hip-hop - I dig the siren noise....
Fave track - As well as "Lost at Birth", also liked "By the Time I Get to Arizona", and of course the teenage metalhead I was likes the Anthrax collab "Bring Tha Noize" 🤘
5/5
This was pretty popular with the set I fell into my first year living in Japan, so it's benefitting from a massive nostalgia bump, although, I dunno, maybe I'd still be into it on its own merits. I don't think I like any of their other albums as much - should probably give "Origin of Symmetry" another spin.
It's melodramatic and pompous and urgent - a pretty fun listen!
Fave tracks - "Take a Bow" and "Starlight" are a great opening sequence. I also like "Map Of The Problematique" and "Knights of Cydonia"
Kraftwerk
5/5
So influential! As well as the title track's massive impact on electronic music, "Morgenspaziergang" sounds like the birth of folktronica!
Fave tracks - "Autobahn" for the immersive hypnotic motorway experience, and "Kometenmelodie 2" for the uplifting optimism!
Justin Timberlake
2/5
Nope, didn't enjoy that - the singles, of which there were far too many, got played to death when this came out.
I suspect if I was hearing them with fresh ears I probably wouldn't find them too offensive. But then three or four of the non-single tracks were slowed down syrupy ballads, and those were actively offensive to the ears. Gross.
Fave track - "Like I Love You" was the least aggravating single, so that one I guess, though it brought me precious little pleasure.
Aerosmith
4/5
Huh, think I like this more than "Pump", which is the only Aerosmith album I had much familiarity with before this project.
Almost tempted to dock it a star for the awfulness of "Big Ten Inch Record"... 🙄
Fave tracks - "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion" are the tracks I'd heard the most before, and are obviously iconic. Also really liked "Round and Round" - they were sounding a bit Sabbathy on that one!
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
Really enjoyed this - I think I was only really familiar with "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" going into it, and it's such a great track - so delightfully mellow!
Really liked the Dylan pisstake "A Simple Desultory Philippic" too.
Kinda annoyed with the people reviewing this saying "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" is a cliche 🤨 -pretty sure this kind of sound collage was pretty damn fresh in 1966, so if it seems a cliche now it's because it spawned so many imitations! Oh, plus there's an awesome Phoebe Bridgers cover of it that's well worth checking out... in December, maybe.
Fave tracks - as well as the ones already mentioned, I really dug "Patterns" and "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)"
Duke Ellington
4/5
[Kung Pow "that's a lot of nuts" voice]:
THAT'S A LOT OF JAZZ!
Great selection, meandering between cool and hot, with a splash of vocal. Very enjoyable - just occasionally the trumpet was perhaps a bit shrill for comfort.
I don't mind that some of the crowd biz was faked.
Fave tracks - "Blues To Be There" and "Jeep's Blues"
5/5
Really enjoyed that - this is more like a 4.5. I'm more familiar with War's collaboration with Eric Burdon than their own stuff, so it was good to rectify that...
Fave tracks - "The Cisco Kid" is a great opener. "City, Country, City" is wonderfully cinematic. "Four Cornered Room" is probably my fave track on the album - lovely dreamy hypnotic atmosphere - kinda reminded me of Black Sabbath's "Planet Caravan". "The World is a Ghetto" is a jam, and I liked the afrobeat sounding "Beetles in the Bog"
You know what, gonna round this up to a 5 since every track apart from one caught my attention!
Van Morrison
4/5
Yup, quite enjoyed that - I can see why it's celebrated as a great live album!
Fave tracks - "These Dreams of You" from the first disc, and "Gloria" -> "Caravan" on the second!
Dennis Wilson
3/5
Hmmm, bit nonplussed about this. I appreciate the studio wizardry and it definitely sounds very swish, but doesn't really grab me.
Fave track - "Dreamer" for the didgeridoo sounding.... thing.
Lambchop
4/5
A curious one, this one - kinda loungey alt-country. I enjoyed it, but suspect I'd like it even more if I were in just the right mood, though what mood that would have to be I can't say!
Fave tracks - "Up With People" for the upbeatness, "The Petrified Florest" for atmosphere...
Coldplay
4/5
I have a much less visceral dislike of this than "A Rush of Blood..." - perhaps it wasn't played quite as much at the time, or maybe I'm just more nostalgic for 2000 than 2002.
I can maybe accept a little more now the Doves comparisons to these guys. In this album, in particular, there's a kinda post-rocky atmospheric element, and Doves maybe share something along those lines.
Fave tracks - "Yellow", somewhat surprisingly given how much air time it got. Also quite liked "Spies" and "Everything's Not Lost" (though not the hidden track tacked onto its end)
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
Feels way less dated that some of the other hip-hop albums on the list from this time period. Good stuff.
Fave track - "Can I Kick It?" I liked at the time just from passive awareness, and it's still a great tune. "Footprints" caught my ear this time through, too....
Minor Threat
3/5
Not really my thing, but I can appreciate how influential it was. They're a bit one note, and it's not a note I particularly get excited about, but I like the speed and energy.
Fave track - "Cashing In" is definitely my pick - it's unclear to me whether that counts as a bonus track or what, though, so let's say "It Follows" as well, just in case!
Traffic
3/5
First couple of tracks made me think this was gonna be pretty uninteresting generic blues-appropriating British rock of the era, but side B got a little more proggy and to my tastes.
Fave tracks - "Cryin' to be Heard" and "No Time To Live"
Venom
4/5
I listened to this a couple of years ago and it left me completely cold, but listening again in the context of this project, and reading up a bit on it, I have a much more favorable reaction. I was never much into plain black metal, but I like some of its offshoots, like blackgaze and atmospheric/post black metal. And, to be fair, this was a big influence on thrash, too, and thrash was one of my first loves...
"Teacher's Pet" is pretty cringe, but an age of consent violating party tune seems to have been mandatory at this point in history. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fave tracks - "Black Metal" is a fun declaration of intent, and "Heaven's On Fire" and "Don't Burn the Witch" felt the most thrashy! 🤘😈🤘
Slipknot
2/5
Ugh, this was a chore to get through. I know Slipknot say they're not Nu Metal and it's just a coincidence they started up at the same time as that genre kicked off, but c'mon - this album is straight up Nu Metal! 😠
If it came out 3 or 4 years earlier I might have been into it, but as it is, I found it mostly pretty cringe. Still - it's better than Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock.
Fave track - eh, "[Sic]" let's say, though I have no particular enthusiasm for it.
Ramones
5/5
Fantastic pop punk, although wikipedia tells me that technically pop punk came a lot later and this was just a huge influence on it.
I feel like about half the tracks are deeply familiar, but the other half not so much, so maybe I've listened to a best of collection a bunch before?
Fave tracks - "Blitzkreig Bop", "Beat on the Brat" and "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" are all absolutely iconic. "Listen To My Heart" made me light up due to its use as the "AP Bio" theme music. And of the tracks I wasn't super familiar with already, "Havana Affair" was excellent!
Johnny Cash
5/5
Yup yup, pretty affecting stuff. Like Bowie's "Blackstar" and Cohen's "You Want it Darker", it's a fair well, an introspection, and a demonstration of skills developed over a life time.
Fave track - "Hurt" is epic, and kudos to Trent Reznor for spiritually signing the song over to Cash. "I Hung My Head" and "Big Iron" were stand outs, too, though I could probably comfortably add about half the album total to this list...
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Liked this about on a par with "Talking Book" - too many syrupy ballads to be truly great.
Fave track - "They Won't Go When I Go" is spine tingling - fantastic stuff!
Nick Drake
5/5
Sublime - just, absolutely lovely. 😻
Fave track - "River Man" is maybe my favourite Nick Drake tune overall. "Cello Song" stood out to me this time through, too...
Sade
3/5
A weird amount of vitriol spewed at this album in the reviews!
It's not quite my thing, but I appreciate the smooooveness and Sade has a lovely voice, so it's a perfectly pleasant background listen. No complaints!
Fave track - "Smooth Operator" was the one I was familiar with going in - "Sally" I quite liked, too!
Orange Juice
3/5
In general I like my post-punk to be gloomier, and my new wave to be more cinematic, so this doesn't quite do it for me. Bit too poppy and upbeat for my tastes, though I can appreciate what they're doing.
I particularly liked the tracks that had an African infusion - made me check I was still listening to the same album! 😆
This grew on me a fair bit on second listening, so I'd probably score it 3.5 if that were an option...
Fave track - "A Million Pleading Faces" and "Hokoyo" for sounding like they've come from a different album - one I'm more interested in! The title track is pretty good, too.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
Well damn - thought I was familiar with all of The Bad Seeds' discography, but somehow this one slipped through the cracks and I don't think I've ever listened to it before!?
It's in a similar vein to "Murder Ballads", so I am extremely well disposed towards it from the jump.
Fave tracks - loved the rough edges of "Papa Won't Leave You, Henry" and "Brother, My Cup is Empty" - also liked the occult portent of "Christina the Astonishing" and "I Had a Dream, Joe".
Well definitely be racking up more listens of this - it's like discovering an easter egg that's a whole new level of a game you love!
Rufus Wainwright
4/5
Huh. Really similar experience rating this as "Want Two", which already came up. I _really_ dug the first track, and although the rest of the album has its charms, I can't help but wish it was all like the opener.
Maybe one of his other albums is that level of OTT throughout?
Fave track - "Oh What A World", as mentioned...
The Byrds
3/5
Ok, this is my 4th (and I assume final) Byrds album from the list. They go folk and country on this one? Yeah, pretty nice! Good background listening, but not much grabbed my attention, which is now my verdict on 3 out of the 4. (I liked the psychedelia of "Mr Tambourine Man" so I guess that's my fave of the bunch.)
Fave track - "I Am A Pilgrim" - thought it sounded like something from the "Anthology of American Folk Music" - bit of an Appalachian feel maybe? And sure enough, it was their arrangement of a traditional song. Nice.
White Denim
4/5
Never heard of these guys outside of this project - I guess they got popular after my media bubble solidified.
Yeah, enjoyed it! The sound like The Shins got a little bit heavier, maybe, or Animal Collective dabbled with garage rock.
Fave track - Hmnmm, "Anvil Everything", or "Drug", or "Is and Is and Is". I like the fact those tracks all sound like they coulda come from different bands...
Goldfrapp
3/5
Don't think I've listened to this album before, and I can't help but be a little disappointed that it's not the ethereal trip-hoppiness of "Felt Mountain" or the electroclash of the two albums after that.
I guess I should let artists evolve as they see fit. 😒
I'm sure I'd grow to like this more with repeated listens as her voice is still absolutely lovely.
Fave track - "Cologne Cerrone Houdini" sounded the closest to my expectations of what Goldfrapp should sound like, so that one...
The Cult
4/5
I weirdly like this more than I probably should. Don't normally have any time for cock rock, but this doesn't put my hackles up. Maybe it's the splash of goth in the mix.
That "Born to be Wild" cover isn't great though, eh?
Fave tracks - "Wild Flower" is a fun opener, and "Love Removal Machine" was good too...
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Mmmm, it's really nice hearing some Bob Marley that hasn't been played to death. "Exodus" and the various "Best of" compilations are absolutely ubiquitous.
Enjoyed the funk sounds on this one.
Fave track - "No More Trouble" from the tracks I don't think I've ever heard before, "Baby We've Got a Date (Rock It Baby)" from the ones I was at least partially familiar with!
Sheryl Crow
4/5
I was expecting this to be a bit of a chore, but actually no, quite a fun listen!
"All I Wanna Do" has been overplayed to death so I wouldn't voluntarily listen to it again as a rule, but the rest of the album was alright.
Fave track - "Run, Baby, Run" for the ones I'd heard before - that's still quite a pleasant tune, and then "What I Can Do For You" for the new-to-me tunes, and an honorable mention to "The Na-Na Song" for kinda sounding like a RHCP song!
Ali Farka Touré
5/5
An easy 5 for me - I think this was one of the first world music albums I ever owned, around uni time - took me back to the kit crystal radio usage of my early childhood.
Fave track - "Bonde" sets the tone for the whole thing and the opening chords immediately transport me, so let's say that one, but really this is about the album rather than the individual tracks...
Fairport Convention
4/5
Enjoyed this! Fairport Convention is one of those bands from the 60s & 70s where I know the name, but don't have a clear idea of what they do, and they're all lumped together with a bunch of other dimly perceived bands from the era. Ah, I see members of Fairport Convention went on to be in Steeleye Span - that helps orient me!
This was an interesting listen - not so much "folk rock" as an established genre of its own, but folk and rock, separate but intertwined, coming close but never intermixing, like the canopy shyness of trees.
Fave tracks - "Matty Groves" and "Tam Lin" were both standouts for me...
Steely Dan
4/5
A fun listen, but seemed much stronger at the start and end and sagged a little in the middle. Not quite as yachty as "Pretzel Logic".
Fave tracks - "Do It Again" and "Dirty Work" are awesome openers! "Turn That Heartbeat Over Again" is a great closer!
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
4/5
Never heard of this guy. Quite an entertaining listen, though I think I prefer Scott Walker's version of "Next", and I'd be tempted to dock a star for "Gang Bang" although Abba's "Arrival" has just come up on the list too, and it has a whole song about kissing a teacher. The 70s, man. Absolutely uncivilized time period. 🫣
Fave track - "Swampsnake" was fun!
ABBA
3/5
Oof - a lot of the tracks on this album were massive hits, which is fair enough - they're immaculate pop - but that resulted in them being played to absolute DEATH. 💀
My first play through that didn't bother me too much and I was probably on track to give this a 4, but a second listen and they really started to grate - I've just heard them far too many times against my will to be happy hearing them again. Probably shoulda removed them from the second playthrough and just listened to the ones I was unfamiliar with - ah well, too late now.
Fave track - "Tiger", let's say.
Robert Wyatt
4/5
I hadn't really acquired a taste for Robert Wyatt until this project introduced me to "Rock Bottom", which I loved to pieces. This album has more of an upbeat atmosphere, which I initially found disappointing, but it's grown on me with a couple of listens. Still prefer the dreamy haze of "Rock Bottom" overall, though.
Fave tracks - "Free Will and Testament" is great, and I am apparently a sucker for Dylan pastiche cuz I really liked "Blues in Bob Minor" too...
Girls Against Boys
4/5
Never heard of these folks. This was a fun enough listen, although nothing revelatory. I'm sure there are a bunch of more exciting post-hardcore bands that shoulda made the cut before this, but thems the breaks!
Fave track - "Go Be Delighted"
The Verve
4/5
These guys were heavily overplayed back in the day, but they don't rub me up the wrong way nearly as much as Coldplay or the like. Still, though, the presence of those too-familiar tunes means I prefer "A Northern Soul" to this one.
Fave track - quite like the psychedelia of "Neon Wilderness" blending into "Space & Time"...
The Vines
4/5
Yeah, pretty solid stuff - I thought I'd heard this a bunch from a housemate in the early 2000s but it didn't seem that familiar - maybe it was a different one of their albums, or I've got them confused with someone else? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Almost tempted to remove a star for the awful ska stylings of "Factory", heh.
Fave track - liked the psych leanings of "Country Yard" - "Ain't No Room" was also a banger.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
My rehabilitation towards 80s music is obviously proceeding apace, as I really liked this, and it's quintessentially, indeed, _archetypally_ 80s.
Those collabs with Kate Bush and Laurie Anderson were awesome. I can't quite stretch to a 5, but would do 4.5 if possible.
Fave track - "We Do What We're Told", I think - very atmospheric! Probably about half the other tracks are contenders, though, including "Sledgehammer", despite it being played incessantly everywhere from childhood onwards! 😆
The Soft Boys
5/5
Have had a soft spot for this album for a while now. Really enjoy the fusion of post-punk and psychedelia, and love the lyrics, though I can imagine the voice they're delivered in is pretty divisive.
Fave track - "I Wanna Destroy You" has been a personal fave for a while now, but on this listen "Insanely Jealous" stole the limelight. Such great lines!
The night is black and thick
I wander past your window
And I catch a cigarette thrown from a jewel encrusted hand
It comes on pretty quick
Exactly like a crocodille
In search of a mirage across the undulating sand
David Ackles
4/5
Hmmmm, he's very Scott Walker, eh? Apparently more influential that listened to directly, so I guess I'm glad this project thrust him into my path!
Fave track - "Ballad of the Ship of State", perhaps, or "Midnight Carousel"
Joni Mitchell
3/5
I like this more than "Blue", but still, there's something about Joni's delivery that rubs me the wrong way. On paper this should be exactly my cup of tea, but in practice, no, I do not like.
Fave track - "Hejira" maybe?
Pere Ubu
4/5
Yes. YES! Now, weirder! MORE WEIRDNESS! MOAR!
I do enjoy my jangly discordant experimental post-punk, so this is a treat, but I can see that it's not to everyone's tastes. A lot of the people doing this project reveal themselves to be total pop-craving weeners when they hit this kinda thing! 😆
Fave track - "Caligari's Mirror" maybe? Really liked the atmosphere of "Codex" closing things out, too...
Queen Latifah
4/5
This was much more tolerable than a lot of hip-hop from the same period. Queen Latifah's flows are a little more complex than a lot of what was going on, and have aged a little better as a result. It also doesn't hurt that her songs aren't drenched in homophobia and machismo.
Fave track - "Come Into My House", maybe, or "Ladies First". Also liked the reggae accents of "The Pros"
David Crosby
4/5
Huh, thought I'd already reviewed this - must not have submitted it.
I dig it! It's the kind of chilled out mellowness that evolved into a whole subgenre of psych-folk that's right up my alley.
I also really appreciate the "I Think You Should Leave" energy of formatting the album cover so it reads "If I Could Only Remember My Name....David Crosby" 😆
Fave tracks - "What Are Their Names" for a more substantial song, "Kids and Dogs" for maximum mellowness, though that turns out to be a bonus track...
R.E.M.
5/5
I can offer no higher praise for this album than to state that about half the tracks here were absolutely ubiquitous for a chunk of my youth, and I never objected to hearing them one more time. I don't tend to put REM on of my own volition, but it's never a chore to listen to them when they come on.
Fave tracks - "Everybody Hurts" and "Man on the Moon" from the well played tracks, "Sweetness Follows" from the others.
MC Solaar
4/5
I'm more familiar with a couple of his later albums, and compared to this one they're waaaaay smoother. In this one, he's replicating old school hip-hop, with all its attendant clunkiness. Still smooth, of course, but a pick from later in his discography woulda been smoother!
Fave track - "Quartier Nord" for hip-hop, "Caroline" for trip-hop, and a hat tip to the guest MC on "Ragga Jam" cuz he was fitting in a LOT of syllables.
Blue Cheer
4/5
Proto-metal, yeah, fun! I'm more familiar with the UK proto-metal side of things, so it's nice to be introduced to some US stuff.
It's scuzzy and messy and it's got the attitude right, for sure.
Fave track - "Summertime Blues" - I know it's a cover but it slaps more than anything else on the album...
The Gun Club
5/5
Well I'll be damned! In my review of Pixies' "Doolittle" I described them as "mirror universe indie rock" because it's always seemed to me that Pixies emerged fully formed with their own weirdly idiosyncratic style, seemingly unrelated to everything that came before.
Well here it is, the missing link! Within the first couple of tracks I was on wikipedia checking whether The Gun Club was some sort of Pixies prequel band some or all of the members were previously involved in, it felt so much cut from the same cloth...
Very happy with the 1001 project today - have that satisfying feeling of a missing puzzle piece sliding into place! 🧩
Fave tracks - "Sex Beat", "Preaching the Blues", and "She's Like Heroin To Me" all get the album off to an absolutely cracking start. Gonna have to give it more listens to pick out the highlights from later in the album...
DJ Shadow
5/5
Taint my fave DJ Shadow album (Hello "The Private Press"!) or my fave work by him (Hello "Psyence Fiction"! Wait..... there's no Unkle on this list?! Harrumph!) but it's still plenty solid.
Really dig his cinematic sound.
Fave tracks - "Building Steam With a Grain of Salt" and "The Number Song" are 🤯
Talking Heads
4/5
Not as familiar with this album as some of their others - I guess, being their debut, their schtick is less polished.
Fave track - I mean, "Psycho Killer" is an absolute choon, and holds a pretty iconic place in the culture at large, right!? Of the tracks that aren't so ubiquitous, "No Compassion" stood out on these listens....
Milton Nascimento
4/5
A little bit folky, a little bit psychedelic - very nice!
Fave track - "O Trem Azul" was awesome. Also liked the cinematic atmosphere of "Um Gosto del Sol"...
Ms. Dynamite
3/5
Hmmmm - can't help but compare "A Little Deeper" unfavorably to "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill", but then most of my affection for the latter is based off pure nostalgia for the time period so I don't know that that's really fair.
Fave tracks - well, "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" and "It Takes More" I heard a bunch on the radio, so they remind me of some of my first nondescript office jobs, I guess. Not really the same thing as being taken back to your first love! 😆
Taylor Swift
3/5
Hmmm, it's very polished pop. I can admire the talent, and any individual song has something I can appreciate going on, but a whole album of it becomes a chore. If this came out 10 years earlier, before I retreated into a hermetic media bubble, I suspect I'd absolutely detest it for being overplayed.
Fave track - "Shake It Off" I was familiar with from people singing it at karaoke, and it's quite a bop, sure. And let's say "I Know Places" from the songs I wasn't previously familiar with...
Todd Rundgren
4/5
This is a lot of fun - Rundgren's obviously having a blast playing silly buggers!
With more plays I might be tempted to go up to 5? 🤔
Fave tracks - "Tic Tic Tic It Wears Off" and "Just Another Onionhead/Dada Dali" both caught my ear. Honorable mention to "You Don't Have to Camp Around" for the creation of snake jazz! 🐍
Frank Sinatra
4/5
Mmmmm, tropical - this is music to get sunburned and rumhammered to. 🌞
Fave track - "The Girl From Ipanema" is always a pleasure to hear, and this was a very nice rendition. "How Insensitive" from the tracks I was unfamiliar with - very chilled, that one.
Moby
5/5
Oof, bunch of feelings about this one - it’s grossly appropriative and Moby is a bit (a lot) of a knob, but it’s also intertwined with my first year of uni so the nostalgia levels are off the charts!
Even with him licensing damn near every track for adverts and making them inescapable, the underlying samples are so strong, and really acted as a gateway to exploring a lot of early blues and spiritual stuff, so all glory to the original musicians, I guess.
Fave track - "My Weakness" has always been my fave - pretty transcendental stuff...
The Divine Comedy
4/5
Neil Hannon does an album in-character as some sort of stereotypical sleaze. I found it quite entertaining in just these two listens, but would maybe go off it with too many more repetitions... 🤔
Quite amusing seeing all the reviews being "WTF" from most of the global listeners, and "Father Ted!" from all the British ones! 😆
Fave track - I mean, "Songs of Love" is a cracker. "Middle-class Heroes" amused me most from the ones I'd never heard before....
N.E.R.D
3/5
Eh, this doesn't really land for me. It sure sounds like everyone involved really thinks they're on to something, but it's distinctly mid.
Is it Pharrell Williams doing most of the singing? He, uh, doesn't have a great voice, eh? And not in a Neil Young kinda way where it's part of the charm.
Fave track - "She Wants to Move" was pretty popular so I have some nostalgia towards it, I guess, cringe though it is....
Air
5/5
I have a LOT of nostalgia for this - saw the movie during uni and listened to this quite a bit after - it's perhaps a bit redundant to have this and "Moon Safari" on the list, but what the hell, I'll allow it.
Fave track - eh, "Dirty Trip" maybe? Doesn't really make a lot of sense to break this one down to individual tracks...
Big Black
5/5
BADASS. Wish someone had introduced me to this as a teenager - it'd've gone hand in hand with my Ministry obsession.
Fave track - "Kerosene". GodDAMN that song embodies the teenage frustration of living in a crappy little nonentity town. 🔥
The Beau Brummels
3/5
Hmmmm, seems like fairly middle of the road psychedelia - not obvious why it was included on the list as it doesn't seem to do anything novel, and wasn't one of the first doing it?
With a different vocalist I'd probably have enjoyed this more, but I don't like his affect.
Fave track - "Triangle", I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Heaven 17
4/5
Wow, I enjoyed that a LOT more than I was expecting to - I only really know Heaven 17 from "Temptation" and I was not looking forwards to a whole album of that, but this was actually a really fun listen. I guess my rehabilitation to synth pop is proceeding apace!
Amusing to read that the BBC banned "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang"! The BBC uncomfortable criticising fascism? pikachu_shocked_face_gif!
Fave tracks - as well as the aforementioned, "Let's All Make a Bomb" was great, and also liked the bonus track "The Decline of the West"
Iron Maiden
5/5
I've been a Maiden fan since my pre-teens, just about, but I was always somewhat of a Bruce Dickinson supremacist, and didn't spend much time with their earliest albums.
That was probably a mistake, because this really slaps! 🤘 I still prefer Dickinson over Di'Anno, but it's not like he's awful, and everything else I love about the band is in full effect, right from the get go.
Fave tracks - "Phantom of the Opera" is probably the most iconic. Love the cinematic languor of "Strange World", and "Remember Tomorrow" stood out to me on the most recent listen, too...
Roxy Music
4/5
Ok, liked this a lot more than "Country Life" - maybe it's the Eno, definitely it's the weirdness!
I think with more listens this might climb to a 5, but for now I'm thinking it's a figurative 4.5...
Fave tracks - could be "Re-Make/Re-Model", or "2 H.B.", or "The Bob (medley)", or in fact "Sea Breezes"! Definitely more play throughs required!
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
5/5
What a wonderful artifact! 42 tracks full of bluegrass, and I did not think it too many.
I'm a fan of the "Anthology of American Folk Music" and this feels like a natural extension of that, and I loved the inclusion of the chatter between musicians - gave it an anthropological feel!
Fave track - "Tennessee Stud" for the songs, "Doc Watson & Merle Travis First Meeting" for the studio chatter!
The Blue Nile
4/5
Yeah, really liked this - made me think of Talk Talk when they were starting to get experimental but hadn't gotten too far yet. Talk Talk's "The Colour of Spring" is in roughly the same ballpark, so I reckon this was an influence on them. Feels like it could have been an influence on the emergence of slowcore, too!
Fave tracks - "Heatwave" for optimism, "Automobile Noise" for melancholy...
Van Morrison
4/5
Hmmmm, it's all quite samey, but it's a nice samey, so I guess I can't complain. Certainly wouldn't object to hearing it again.
Fave track - "Sweet Thing" - I swear I've heard this track a bunch in compilations, but lastfm says no - maybe it was a cover? 🤔
Skepta
4/5
Hmmm, I was leaning towards a 3 to begin with, but it won me over as it went on. It's a very distinctive sound he's got - the inclusion of "Ladies Hit Squad" which is much more than slowed down US sub-genre I don't know the name of really highlights how different the rest of the tracks are to standard US fare...
Content-wise I'm a bit ambivalent - prefer my hip-hop to be of the more conscious variety, and this has made me realize there's no Roots Manuva in the list, what the hell is that about!
Fave track - "Man (Gang)" maybe, or "Shutdown"
Django Django
5/5
Huh - I apparently listened to this once in 2014, but must have been in a mood as I never went back for more. Weird, because this is a sound I love! Presses the same buttons as Beta Band, The Bees, and Animal Collective.
Will definitely be giving this more plays, as well as hitting up their other albums.
Fave track - "Hail Bop" has that John Carpenter goodness, but there are bunch of other contenders here that have the potential to become beloved - "Zumm Zumm", "Love's Dart", "Life's a Beach" - probably a bunch of the others, too!
LTJ Bukem
4/5
That is a hefty slice of coffee table drum & bass, and I'm here for it, in the abstract, but the inclusion on the list is pretty feckin irritating. If consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds then Robert Dimery evidently enjoys a palatial mind, utterly hobgoblin free! 😠
Anyway - I enjoy these vibes. Gimme some chilled dnb with occasional cetacean sound effects and I'll happily while away 2.5 hours.
Fave tracks - I really liked both of the PFM tracks so should probably check out his albums. "Danny's Song" reeeeeeeally sounds like an Aphex Twin tune, right? Or perhaps I've just heard it on a different mix with a lot of Aphex Twin on it? 🤔
Kate Bush
4/5
Gotta hand it to Kate Bush - this does _not_ sound like generic late 80s early 90s anything! She really forged her own path!
I think I only knew "This Woman's Work" before going in, and that from an episode of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"!
There's a really interesting mix of sounds here, and not all of it works, but I'm grateful for the experimentation - I particularly like the Bulgarian Women's Choir stuff!
Fave track - "Rocket's Tail", as that's maximum Bulgarian vocal splendor with added Bush! 😻
Ice Cube
2/5
Goddamn that's a tiring amount of misogyny.
I was thinking it was gonna be a three during the first couple of tracks but it really wore me down - the only reason I'm not giving it a 1 is that I guess there's a bit of valid social commentary sprinkled in there, and, 706 albums into this, only Kid Rock has got a 1 out of me and this is not quite Kid Rock levels of contemptible, but damn it's close. 1.5, for sure.
Fave track...... pheeeeeeew, I dunno. "A Gangsta's Fairytale" had some slight comedic value, I guess...
Dirty Projectors
3/5
Hmmm, I saw another review call this "Captain Beefheart pop" and I think that's spot on. They're deliberately trying to violate as many conventions at once, which makes this a challenging listen. If you're not in the mood to be challenged... well, just look at all the one star reviews! 😆
I gave this two listens and I'm sure with 2 or 4 more I'd really start to grok what they're doing, but honestly I'm not sure it'd repay the effort - I think if I want indie pop in this vein then I probably want friendly welcoming indie pop, not challenging avant weirdness.
Fave track - eh..... "Remade Horizon" maybe?
KISS
3/5
I'm too young and too British to have ever gone through a KISS phase. I can appreciate this in a kind of Spinal Tap way, I guess, but lawd, don't focus too much on the lyrics! 😆
Fave track - eh, "King of the Night Time World" maybe? I am the kinda douchebag that liked the album intro and outro sound collages more than any of the songs, though. ✌️
Muddy Waters
4/5
This is a great listen.
I did a little reading on "Mannish Boy" because that song is absolutely iconic - my british goblin-pale ass has only ever parsed it as being about a teenager wanting to be seen as a viable sexual partner - never occurred to me to consider that "boy" was used as a term of social control in the south, so there's a strong political element to it, as well as the sexual braggadocio...
Fave track - as well as "Mannish Boy", "Crosseyed Cat" was a blast...
Snoop Dogg
3/5
This must have been quite a revelation to hear at the time! Quite a big step up from old school hip-hop, and the sound has aged much better than a lot of albums from around this time.
I find Snoop's misogyny much less grating than Dre's or Ice Cube's, for some reason. Not sure whether there's less of it, or it's just smoothed over somewhat by the g funk sound. Still not great, tho. 😒 I reckon this album was on track to get a 4 and then "Ain't No Fun (If the Homies Can't Have None)" came on and turned me back around.
Fave track - "Murder Was The Case (DeathAfterVisualizingEternity)" was pretty novel - that and "Serial Killa" seem to have prefigured horrorcore, although a quick skim of wikipedia tells me that actually horrorcore has roots way earlier than this - neat!
Lightning Bolt
4/5
Riotous!
I've seen Lightning Bolt live and they're a lot of fun - a LOT of audience participation, which adds to the chaotic energy. An album can't exactly capture that, but it certainly conveys a vibe and a half!
Fave track - "Dracula Mountain"! 🧛♂️
Lenny Kravitz
3/5
The fact it's pretty much a one man production is impressive, sure, but a bunch of it is pretty slavish Beatles worship. Dunno - it's all competent enough, but it just doesn't quite grab me. I'd probably go 3.5 if that were an option.
Fave track - "Let Love Rule", let's say...
Kelela
4/5
Hmmmm, kinda the same ballpark as FKA Twigs, but I think Kelela suffers in that comparison. Or it might just be that I'm a lot more familiar with FKA Twigs... 🤔
Pleasant enough - I think it might benefit from a listen with good headphones to catch all the electronic stuff going on.
Fave tracks - "Waitin" and "Onanon"
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
This is my fifth and, I think, final Springsteen album from the list. I liked it! The infusion of old timey religion definitely adds something - gives it a Tom Waits/Nick Cave murder ballad kinda vibe in places.
Fave track - "Adam Raised a Cain" is my immediate stand out fave. "Streets of Fire" was another standout... I think this album is my fave of the five on the list!
Megadeth
4/5
Even in my greasiest metalhead stage I never spent too much time with Megadeth - Dave Mustaine's voice just sounded too gimmicky and I felt they didn't hold a candle to Metallica.
A few decades later and my prejudices have cooled off somewhat, and this now strikes me as being a perfectly serviceable thrash album. What were Metallica doing in 86? Oh, "Master of Puppets"!? Yeah, Metallica are still winning this contest by a mile! 😆
Fave tracks - "Peace Sells" is legit great. "Good Mourning / Black Friday" was a stand out too...
Common
4/5
Similar to the other Common album on here, it's very smooth - easier to listen to while working than most hip-hop albums, although that comes at the expense of paying proper attention to the lyrics.
I see quite a few reviews mentioning homophobia but that largely slipped under my radar with only one play through. Not denying it's there, mind. The misogyny of "A Film Called (Pimp)" was distasteful, but I guess MC Lyte got to return fire.
Fave tracks - "Time Travelin' (A Tribute To Fela)" was a great opener. Like "The Questions", too - love a bit of Mos Def...
Beatles
5/5
Hmmm, I might like this more than "Abbey Road" on balance - seems like the weaker tracks here aren't as weak as they are there.
No hesitation about giving this one a five!
Fave tracks - "Eleanor Rigby" is probably my favorite Beatles track ever. "Tomorrow Never Knows" is an absolute belter too!
Mudhoney
5/5
Wasn't really into grunge back in the day, but that was more due to high school clique biz than anything else. Yeah, this slaps! Was gonna say 4.5 but due to its influence on a lot of stuff I now like, and the fact that more listens will surely deepen my affection, I'll round up.
This entry makes me want to stick Robert Dimery with TWO pins. Firstly for picking an EP (or a compilation, either is annoying) for the list, and secondly because it's made me realize there's no Melvins on the list, and arguably they were even more crucial to the birth of grunge.
Fave tracks - "In 'n' Out of Grace" from the original EP, with honorable mentions to "Need" and "Mudride" - "Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More" if we open it up to the 1990 compilation, and "Here Comes the Sickness" if we're using the 2008 compilation!
Roxy Music
5/5
Five stars just for "In Every Dream Home A Heartache".
No, wait - five stars just for Bryan Ferry's pronunciation of the word "deluxe" from "In Every Dream Home A Heartache"! 😆
This really hits the weirdness sweet spot for me - plenty to come back to and enjoy again and again.
Fave track - well, as well as "In Every Dream Home A Heartache", I really dug the psychedelic outro of the title track!
Ute Lemper
3/5
Bit of a puzzling inclusion on the list as Robert Dimery barely seems to know that continental Europe exists, but hearing Neil Hannon appear in a song and then reading that this is a side project of his, it suddenly makes sense. Really, Dimery shoulda included The Duckworth Lewis Method if he wanted to add some more Hannon - a cricket themed indie pop concept album would have provoked some delightful reviews from our cousins across the pond. 😆
This album is alright, I guess - some of the songs work a lot better than others.
Fave track - "The Case Continues" for being Bond theme-esque, and "Scope J" for being Bond credits music-esque...
2Pac
3/5
I haven't really listened to much Tupac but obviously I'm aware of his reputation. This is way blander than I was expecting?
Dude's flows sound extremely Coolio to my ear, and I see "Gangsta's Paradise" came out the same year as this. I dunno, maybe Coolio was biting Tupac's style?
And the production sound extremely Will Smith! This feels like he was shooting for feelgood summertime pop rap rather than anything gritty or subversive. Pretty underwhelming all in all.
I guess it didn't actively piss me off, so it's spared a 2, but this is a low 3 - like a 2.7 or something.
Fave track - eh, "Me Against The World" maybe? Or "Old School". Nothing really stood out in a good way.
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
Hmmm, think I prefer "American Dream" more than this one - it's a bit more consistent, whereas a couple of tracks on this one are a bit of a drag.
Fave tracks - "Get Innocuous!" is a great opener with a distinctly Nathan Barley-esque title, and "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" is a great closer - that song is a vibe....
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Some amazing five star tracks on here, and then some overly saccharine preachy schmaltzy ones, and I suspect everyone would draw the dividing line in a different place, heh.
"Save the Children" and "Wholy Holy" are on the bad side for me, and probably cost this album a star over all.
Fave tracks - "What's Going On", "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" from the original album. "I'm Going Home (Move)" was a highlight from the bonus tracks...
Sisters Of Mercy
5/5
The Sisters of Mercy have been an object lesson to me in the subjectivity of musical appreciation and the power of branding and creating a mood.
I first became aware of them in t-shirt form - they were a popular garment choice among the too-cool-to-approach teenagers I longed to emulate as a pre-teen, second only to Iron Maiden! Because of this, I was primed to be receptive to them, and sure enough, loved what I heard and had them in regular rotation throughout what was otherwise a nowt-but-metal phase.
For decades, actually, I had a blanket grudge against poppy music in general, and 80s music in particular - insisting almost nothing good came out of that decade. Continued to love Sisters of Mercy with not a hint of self awareness. All I could hear was the "goth" - it lived in a special little cocoon of fondness, detached from everything else.
A couple of years ago I was introducing someone to the idea of gothic as a genre, and played them "A Slight Case of Overbombing" (Which should really be on this list instead of this album, btw - “Under the Gun” and “Temple of Love” aren't on any albums and they are the _absolute peak_ of Sisters' power, and c'mon, Robert Dimery isn't opposed to chucking a compilation on the list when it suits him) and wow, hearing the music through someone else's ears, not having that "goth" preconception shaping my perceptions, I suddenly heard just how damn poppy they were - and how _ridiculously_ 80s their sound is! 😆
Anyway, a strong five stars!
Fave tracks - "Dominion/Mother Russia", "Lucretia My Reflection", "This Corrosion" are all absolute monster choons!
HEY NOW, HEY NOW NOW!
The Electric Prunes
4/5
Nice! I'd heard the title track a bunch of times from compilations, so it was nice to get a whole album from these folks.
With early psychedelia there's always a danger they'll stray over the line that separates groovy far-outness from nails-on-a-blackboard twee, and "The King Is In The Counting House" certainly falls afoul of that here, but everything else felt pretty solid. (I'm giving "The Toonerville Trolley" a pass as it's trying to be old timey.)
Fave tracks - as well as the title track, "Sold to the Highest Bidder" stood out - I suspect there are other contenders too....
Suede
3/5
Ok, this more closely aligns with my preconceptions about Suede. I much preferred "Dog Man Star" - heard the singles from this against my will far too many times, and the singer's little vocal flourishes now really grate, even on the tracks I'm unfamiliar with.
Fave track..... eh, "She's Not Dead" let's say, though I wasn't too enthusiastic about any of it.
Grateful Dead
3/5
It is pretty mystifying to me how this band came to hold the cultural position they do. I guess it's just one of those foibles of human culture, similar to how yellow umbrellas became a symbol of revolution in Hong Kong. It's nothing to do with the umbrellas themselves - the movement needed a symbol and they were to hand.
So yeah, this album is like a yellow umbrella. Perfectly serviceable classic/folk rock, with not much to distinguish it from all the other mass produced umbrellas, as far as I can tell. I guess I'll wait for their live album to come up to see if that makes them click for me.
Fave track - "Truckin'", that being the only track that had a little something going on...
Radiohead
5/5
I would have said this is my second favorite Radiohead album after "Kid A", but you know what? It might tie for first place.
It doesn't hurt that it came out while I was living in Japan, deep in the honeymoon phase, where everything was groovy.
Love the atmosphere of this album, blending urgency with otherworldly - exactly my jam.
Fave tracks - "Videotape" is such a badass closer. Most of the other tracks could get individual mentions, too. And if we're expanding things to disc 2, "Last Flowers" is stunning...
Lorde
3/5
It's hyper polished pop, and pop's not my bag. 😒
Initially it was tolerable enough, but by the end of the album it was starting to wear me down. Thank heavens for the near-impenetrable media bubble I live in these days, because I think if I was forced to listen to some of these singles a couple of times per day I would grow to hate them with a fierce passion by the end of the first week.
Fave track - eh, "Green Light" let's say.
Mott The Hoople
4/5
Hmmm, a fun listen! Glam rock with a splash of prog.
I haven't really listened to these guys much before, but have enjoyed various covers of "All the Young Dudes", and a lot of this album feels similar to that song.
Fave tracks - "Whizz Kid" and "I'm A Cadillac/El Camino Dolo Roso"
Al Green
5/5
Silky smooth - a lovely listen!
Fave tracks - "Let's Stay Together" and "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" are both absolutely sublime. Of the tracks I wasn't as familiar with, "Eli's Game" stood out too....
Queen
4/5
I'm a bit non plussed by this album being on the list, given I've already had "Sheer Heart Attack" which covers the same ground and was released in the same year!?
It seems that nothing after "A Night At The Opera" was included on the list? Dimery, you hack, you have neglected to include any albums of Queen being Queen!
Why do I need to hear two proto-Queen albums where they sound like a Led Zeppelin cover band in places!?
Anyway, it's perfectly serviceable hard rock with a few clues as to what they'd become, so I won't penalize the score.
Fave track - "The March of the Black Queen"
Frank Black
4/5
Hmmmm, to start with the inevitable Pixies comparison, this seems to be lacking a certain je ne sais quoi. Is it just lack of familiarity, or the absence of Kim Deal? A little bit of both, maybe?
I gave this three play throughs and it definitely started to grow on me - maybe with more plays I'd reach the same level of admiration I have for Pixies...
Fave tracks - "(I Want to Live on An) Abstract Plain", "Two Reelers", "Bad, Wicked World" all stood out. I'm not sure how I feel about the reggae-tinged "Fiddle Riddle"....
Public Image Ltd.
4/5
I had their "Greatest Hits (So Far)" in uni, or not long afterwards, and those being the pre-streaming days of music scarcity, played it a bunch even though I found it pretty baffling, and eventually acquired a taste for it.
This being their first album, it feels like they haven't hit their groove yet. It's a declaration of intent, sure, but I don't find it as appealing as their later work.
Fave tracks - "Public Image" is the only track I was familiar with. "Theme" and "Annalisa" were alright too!
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
Impossible to view this as anything other than a warm up for "Loveless", really, but it's still a fascinating listen.
I'd actually liken it to the novel version of "A Clockwork Orange", which is written in the inscrutable made up slang of the narrator - it's disorientating and confusing to begin with, but after you spend some time with it and internalize the vocabulary it starts to make glorious sense, and you even catch yourself thinking in nadsat!
Similarly with this album - sounds like a mess to begin with, but once you're dialled in it all starts to make sense!
Fave tracks - "Lose My Breath" and "Feed Me With Your Kiss"
The Stone Roses
5/5
This was popular with the crowd I ran with back in uni, but I never had a copy myself and never spent too much time with it, so the nostalgia bump is low level.
There are some definite 5 star tracks, but I wasn't as sold on the other tracks - there's some filler, for sure. I'd probably say 4.5 stars overall, but in this instance I'll round up, partially because King Woman did an _awesome_ doom metal cover of "I Wanna Be Adored", and the Flaming Lips and friends' cover of the whole album is fun too...
Fave tracks - "I Wanna Be Adored" takes the top spot, but "Waterfall" and "I Am the Resurrection" get honourable mentions too....
Beatles
5/5
It's a hot mess of an anti-album and, me being a pro-post-modernism douchebag, I'm here for it. ✌️
Fave tracks - well, "Rocky Raccoon" is one of my karaoke go tos. 😆 "Back in the USSR", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?", "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey", and "Helter Skelter" are all monster tunes. Even the "filler" tracks feel less fillery than on their previous albums.
And then we have "Hey Jude" recorded in the same sessions!
De La Soul
5/5
Seemingly effortlessly cool, and all the more astonishing for being their debut! Gotta give them props for making the skits not interrupt the flow of things too badly, too.
Fave track - I mean, "The Magic Number", obviously. "Eye Know" is great too...
Alice In Chains
5/5
That's an automatic five from me!
Soundgarden may have been my entry point into grunge, but Alice in Chains really captured my heart - I've loved this album for a long time. Layne Staley's death upset me in a way most celebrity deaths didn't come close to.
I love Alice in Chains' sound - it's so unique to them.
Fave tracks - "Rooster" is a karaoke staple, "Junkhead" is immense, but "Down in a Hole" takes the supreme title!
King Crimson
5/5
It's the daddy, prog-wise! Iconic both sonically and visually.
Fave tracks - doesn't really make sense to break this one into tracks, but I love the pomp of "21st Century Schizoid Man" and "The Court of the Crimson King", and the mellowness of "I Talk to the Wind" and "Moonchild"...
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
This is the fifth Elvis Costello album I've got through the project. Only one more to go! 🫠
Similar to all the others, it's fun pop rock - an entertaining listen, but not exactly my favorite, and certainly not deserving of 6 slots in the list. Ho hum.
Fave tracks - "Lipstick Vogue" is baller. "Radio, Radio" and "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" are great too.
Lucinda Williams
3/5
Hmmmm, can't help comparing this, unfavorably, to Lisa Germano. It's perfectly serviceable alt-rocky country-splashed singer songwritery stuff, but now I want to listen to Lisa Germano, so I guess Lucinda is losing a star for that, which doesn't seem fair, but there you go.
Fave track - the title track, and "Jackson", let's say....
Willie Nelson
5/5
This is wonderful - love the narrative quality!
I suppose it's no surprise that I'd find a concept album much more accessible than I find most country. They should do ten minute long songs about wizards, that's catnip to me, I'd be wearing a stetson in no time! 🧙
Fave tracks - love the repeated instances of "Time of the Preacher" - really ties the album together. "Hands on the Wheel" feels like a great conclusion, and really dug the instrumental "Bandera"...
David Bowie
4/5
Totally an excessive inclusion on the list given "Blackstar"'s on here, but still, I guess I don't mind being prompted to spend some more time with a Bowie album I'm not that familiar with. 🤷
It does have quite a cohesive atmosphere - and that atmosphere is chilly, paranoid, and unwell - I dig it! Should probably give it more listens still to get better acquainted.
Fave tracks - the title track is a really solid opener. "Valentine's Day" and "Heat" also stood out...
Sex Pistols
4/5
This album (indeed, this band!) is a cynical cheap trick, but golly it's an effective one! Can't argue with the results!
Fave tracks - the big singles are obviously iconic. Of the tracks I haven't heard as much, "Bodies" still has the lyrical juice to raise my eyebrows in 2023, and I liked "Submission", particularly the end of it where it almost starts to get krautrocky!
Os Mutantes
5/5
Os Mutantes are a giant swole doge, looming over the whimpering lil cheems doge of US & UK psychedelic bands - they sound so much more vital and experimental than most bands in this space!
Fave tracks - love their versions of "A Minha Menina", "Baby", and "Le premier bonheur du jour". Also really like "Panis et Circenses" and "Trem Fantasma"!
Big Star
4/5
Rollicking pop rock - progenitor of the power pop sub genre! I was introduced to this album via a record club I used to attend.
I gotta say "Thirteen" set some alarm bells off because a fair few entries on this list have had some very questionable songs lusting after the underage, but reading around, the consensus seems to be that it's a sweet and earnest tribute to adolescence, wholesome all round, so that was a relief!
Fave tracks - "In the Street" for uptempo, "Give Me Another Chance" for the more ballady offerings...
Randy Newman
4/5
Ok, wow, "Rednecks" made my eyebrows jump up over my scalp and end up on the back of my head. 😆
I'm grateful to the reviewer that mentioned Newman set out to make "dinner party music that you can’t play at dinner parties", because that adds some great context.
I definitely need to revisit "Sail Away" as it was one of the very first albums I got through this project and at that point I was giving them a single listen, and was distracted to boot. This one I gave two spins, but still, it was while working and I probably need to be paying more attention to the lyrics.
Fave track - as well as "Rednecks", "Back On My Feet Again" and "Rollin'" stood out...
Alice Cooper
4/5
Ooh, this was great - much more in line with my preconceptions about how an Alice Cooper album would sound when compared to "School's Out".
Again, I'd happily give this a 4.5 if that were an option - if I didn't have a backlog of albums from the xmas break to catch up on, I'd be tempted to give it a couple more plays to see if it'd get up to a 5!
Fave tracks - "Elected" and "No More Mr Nice Guy" are the ones I was familiar with going in, and they're both great tunes. "Generation Landslide", "Sick Things" and "I Love the Dead" were all stand outs too!
The xx
4/5
Similar to the other album of theirs on the list, yeah, I dig it, and should probably spend more time with it. I think I like "xx" slightly more? It had more of a hushed tone...
Fave track - hmmmm, tricky - ideally need more spins before picking. I dug the sample/sound effect on "Naive" though that's apparently a bonus track. "On Hold" from the main disc, maybe?
OutKast
5/5
Turns out I have a bunch of nostalgic affection for this album - I guess my house mate around 2000 played it a bunch. Also heard "Ms. Jackson" a whole load on the radio at one of my first office jobs post graduation. It's a testament to how good that song is that overexposure didn't sour me on it.
There are quite a few skits, but most of them serve more like song intros and don't totally derail the flow of the album...
Fave tracks - "Gasoline Dreams", "Ms. Jackson", the one two punch of "B.O.B." and "Xplosion".
Joni Mitchell
3/5
Yeah, this is the third Joni Mitchell album I've had through the project, and she hasn't really grown on me. This album has a bit more stylistic variation than the others, so I guess I prefer it, but it's not a strong preference.
Fave track - "Raised on Robbery", I reckon - didn't really sound like a Joni Mitchell song at all!
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Hmmmm, I don't like this as much as "Songs Of Leonard Cohen" or "Songs Of Love And Hate", but it's a damn sight better than "I'm Your Man".
It's possible my affection would grow with more listens, but for now it's a 4.
Fave tracks - "Bird on a Wire" is head and shoulders above the rest, I reckon. "You Know Who I Am" is decent too...
Ananda Shankar
5/5
Hah hah, this was excellent! I love world music fusions, and it appears this album was one of the first to popularize that trend, so very happy to be introduced to it!
(If you're also into that kind of thing I heartily recommend checking out Charanjit Singh's "Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat" - dude was a Bollywood session musician who got access to some synths in 1983 and basically invented acid house a few years early!)
Fave tracks - "Jumpin' Jack Flash" slaps - that's a great version. I'm also very taken with "Sagar (The Ocean)" - I love a track that builds and builds and builds....
Big Brother & The Holding Company
5/5
One of THE era-defining psychedelia albums - I don't have the same kind of personal connection to this one as I do to "Surrealistic Pillow", but I still gotta give it props. And Jackie Jormp-Jomp can pretty much go toe to toe with Grace Slick, which takes some doing.
Fave track - "Piece of My Heart" - an amazing version of an already amazing song!
Julian Cope
4/5
I haven't listened to any Julian Cope before - I was kinda expecting some new age woo, but maybe that comes later in his discography?
This was an interesting listen! Given that it came out in 1991, it prefigured a bunch of things alt rock that didn't go the grunge route would go on to do.
Fave tracks - "Hung Up & Hanging Out to Dry" sounds like it could be a Beta Band track! Liked the atmosphere of "Western Front 1992 CE", and "Safesurfer" had a certain psych proggy vibe I dug...
ZZ Top
4/5
I'm familiar with a couple of the singles, but I don't believe I've listened to a whole ZZ Top album before - it's a bit one note, but I kinda like the note so I guess it works for me!
The busy always-on rhythm section makes me think of "The War on Drugs" for some reason.
Fave tracks - "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs" for the ones I was familiar with, "TV Dinners" from the ones new to me!
Cat Stevens
5/5
Lawd, the song writing chops on this guy! THE CHOPS!
I couldn't name any Cat Stevens songs before getting this album in the project, but upon listening I definitely recognized a couple of them, and I'm pretty sure I've heard some cover versions too...
Each of those first three tracks sound like they could be the soundtrack for a pivotal movie moment.... and then you have "Father and Son" later on, that's like that but even more so!
Fave tracks - "Where Do the Children Play?", "Wild World", "Father and Son".
It's weird that the title track sounds like it's an epic into for something longform, and then it just stops after a minute!
The Specials
5/5
I don't think I've listened to a full Specials album before, but this was awesome! So much creativity and invention crammed in. I tend to think of ska as being very monotonous, but there was loads going on here.
...and it's obviously been HUGELY influential on all sorts of people. Loved hearing lyrics in "Blank Expression" that I was familiar with from Massive Attack's "Eurochild". Also "Little Bitch"'s guitar line getting used in The Dandy Warhol's "Bohemian Like You".
Fave tracks - as well as the previously mentioned, "A Message To You Rudy", "Monkey Man", and "Too Much Too Young" are classic versions of classic tracks...
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
5/5
Great stuff! I wasn't too familiar with this specific album, but I love some of his other stuff, and have been a fan since he appeared in the "Natural Born Killers" soundtrack.
Qawwali has a lovely hypnotic cinematic quality - I could happily listen to it all day.
Fave track - "Ali Maula Ali Maula Ali Dam Dam" let's say, but it doesn't make a great deal of sense to pick individual tracks off this album...
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
3/5
I got turned on to this album a few years ago because it was fairly foundational to a sub genre of dreamy psychedelic folk I'm in to. (Check out Brightblack Morning Light's self titled album for a great example of that.)
Oar understandably doesn't have the polish that later artists bring to this kind of thing, but it still has its moments. The backstory around it is fascinating too!
Fave track - "Weighted Down (The Prison Song)"
Pere Ubu
5/5
Ooh, this is great - a bit more accessible than "Dub Housing", I think, but, you know, still not _that_ accessible.
I was entertained, while listening, by trying to come up with similes for what I was hearing.
"They're like The B-52's on a bad batch of meth!"
"It's like the Pixies, but they fucking hate you!"
I was thinking 4 stars, but I wanted to play it again immediately after after my second play through finished, so that, plus the broken glass sound effects rounds it up to 5!
Fave tracks - any of the first 3 tracks, "Real World", "Sentimental Journey", I like the lot!
Nirvana
5/5
The boys knew what they were doing, eh?
Fave tracks - "Heart Shaped Box", "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle", "Pennyroyal Tea", "All Apologies"
Moby Grape
4/5
Haven't listened to these folks before, but this sounds very much of a piece with "Surrealistic Pillow" and "Cheap Thrills" - competently done summer of love San Francisco psychedelia!
I probably need to give it more listens to reach peak affection, but yeah - a nice discovery!
Fave tracks - "Ain't No Use", "Lazy Me" and "Indifference" - need more listens though....
Dexys Midnight Runners
5/5
Such fantastic energy - I bet their live shows were amazing!
I was introduced to Dexys way back when (along with the Waterboys, who I haven't had yet in this project, but I'm pretty sure there's at least one of theirs on the list) so have a certain amount of nostalgia for them, but I gotta think I'd be super into this even if I was hearing it for the first time. I guess Kevin Rowland's vocals can be a bit divisive, but I think they work.
Love the radio dial intro - here's some hard rock, punk, ska, and brass band music, and while that's not what's coming next..... it kinda has elements of all of those!
Fave tracks - "Burn it Down", "Geno", "Seven Days Too Long". "There There My Dear".... I mean "Thankfully Not Living In Yorkshire It Doesn't Apply" could make the list too, it's a laugh!
Traffic
4/5
I liked this a whole lot more than their self titled album. Has more character of its own.
Might need to come back to this one for additional listens!
Fave tracks - "Glad" and "Freedom Rider" are baller openers!
Blood, Sweat & Tears
4/5
Oh, this is great fun! I wouldn't have been able to name any BS&T tracks, but I've definitely heard "Spinning Wheel" a bunch.
I am a sucker for Satie, so opening and closing the album with versions of the Gymnopédies made me happy. Really enjoyed all the twists and turns this album took as it progressed - kept me entertained!
Fave tracks - "More and More" and "When I Die" work really well together, and I liked the absurdity of "Blues - Part II", too!
Stereo MC's
4/5
I was kinda contemptuous of Stereo MC's at the time (and that apostrophe still makes my eye twitch) but I lived with someone in the early 2000s that liked them, so I guess I warmed to em a little, and have a certain amount of nostalgia now.
They suffer horribly if you compare them with any proper trip-hop, but I guess they're not trying to be full trip-hop, just trip-hop adjacent? 🤷
Fave tracks - "Connected", I guess - it's not quite overplayed enough to grind my gears. "Playing With Fire" is probably their moodiest tune...
Madonna
3/5
Oof - first play through I was leaning towards a 2, but maybe I was just in a mood that day - the second play through it isn't striking me as being quite as objectionable.
It definitely feels like Madonna is trying to play catch up with Björk or something, right? A couple of the tracks feel like sub standard Daft Punk or Air knock offs.
Fave tracks - "Gone" maybe? "Don't Tell Me" is the least objectionable of the singles...
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
5/5
Oh man, I really tarred this with the "Trout Mask Replica" brush and have barely listened to it, on the assumption it's avant-garde AF. It's actually really accessible and I'm digging it a lot! Will definitely be revisiting.
Fave tracks - "Sure 'Nuff 'n Yes I Do" and "Zig Zag Wanderer" are great openers. "Electricity" and "Abba Zabba" are the true highlights though.
Ash
4/5
I actively disliked these folks at the time, but a couple of decades of broadening my musical horizons (exploring noise rock and power pop, specifically) has given me enough context to appreciate what they're doing. "Girl From Mars" still irritates, however.
Fave tracks - "Lose Control" is a great opener, and I woulda welcomed more noisier tracks like that. "Oh Yeah" is the best of the singles.
Beatles
4/5
This shoulda been the earliest Beatles album on the list - no need to have multiple entries from the early career, and this is the first one where they wrote their own songs, so yeah 🤷
It's a great demonstration of their talent - near flawless pop rock of the era. Later on they'd of course get more experimental which resulted in some order of magnitude better stuff, but also increased the rate of misses.
Fave tracks - "A Hard Day's Night" and "Can't Buy Me Love" are both iconic. "Any Time At All" and "You Can't Do That" stood out, from the tracks I was less familiar with....
Lynyrd Skynyrd
4/5
A pleasant enough listen!
Being British I haven't been over exposed to them, so nothing felt too tiresome.
Fave tracks - The ones I recognized, I reckon - "Simple Man" and "Free Bird"
Antony and the Johnsons
4/5
Vibrato often rubs me the wrong way, but it largely works here - I didn't find it grating at all.
I was gonna comment on "I am a Bird Now" being maybe an unintentional but amusing reference to trans-ness in British English but wikipedia tells me that Anohni was already openly trans when it was released, and what utterly shocked me - she's English!? 😆
Fave tracks - "Hope There's Someone" is a fantastic opener. "Fistful of Love" is the headliner, though.
The Police
4/5
Questionable album name, given they're not really trying to make reggae, just borrowing from it some. It is a pretty fun listen, though - the reggae infusion into their post-punk/new wave biz works pretty well, and they've still got some rough edges compared to their later stuff.
Fave tracks - "Message in a Bottle" and "Walking on the Moon" are the well known ones, obviously, and they still stand up. "On Any Other Day" had a kinda Talking Heads/They Might Be Giants thing going on that I rather enjoyed!
Deep Purple
4/5
It's another list inclusion that should probably see Robert Dimery get a smack in the teeth - a live album mostly comprised of tracks that already appear in their other albums on the list. 🤷
Taken on its own terms, yeah, I enjoyed it. Some iconic tracks, and some of the jamming and playing around they do is fun - particularly liked the singer/guitar call and response.
Fave tracks - "Child in Time" remains very wizard rock. "Highway Star" and "Smoke on the Water" are both classics, too.
Megadeth
4/5
Megadeth were my least favorite of the big four thrash bands, but this project has convinced me to give them a reappraisal, and I have been enjoying their stuff.
I see in the reviews this is considered one of their best albums and I didn't necessarily hear that first play through - "Youthansia" seemed stronger to my ear - but on a repeat playthrough there was a lot I liked. More listens might get it bumped up to a 5!
Minor synchronicity - I just read the (decidedly mediocre) fantasy novel that "Five Magics" was based on last year. I bought one of its (marginally less mediocre) sequels with paper round money as a teen, and in recent years have been satisfying my completist itch by accumulating full sets of all the series I only partially owned.
Fave tracks - "Hangar 18" is probably my top pick - I feel like other tracks could grown on me though....
Earth, Wind & Fire
4/5
An entertaining and varied listen. I definitely prefer the funkier more upbeat tracks to the ballads.
Fave tracks - "Shining Star" is a banger. Also enjoyed "Africano".
Dexys Midnight Runners
5/5
Love a bit of Dexys - I don't rate this quite as highly as "Searching For The Young Soul Rebels", and if 4.5 was an option I'd probably go for that, but it isn't, so a 5 it is!
"Come on Eileen" has no doubt been over played to death, but it's such a good song I don't think it suffers too much for it - I don't object to hearing it again whenever it comes up.
Fave tracks - as well as the aforementioned, "Let's Make This Precious" and "Plan B" are both bangers!
Hanoi Rocks
4/5
Had a bit of trepidation about this one - hair metal and cock rock, which is what I was assuming Hanoi Rocks were, really isn't my jam. Plus, my first serious girlfriend was Finnish and she always hated on them for being the most well known Finnish band, internationally, so I guess I inherited some prejudice, heh.
Turns out this was pretty fun! The first half of the album is a lot stronger than the second, but still. Wikipedia calls this glam punk, and yeah, I can dig it. It's possible Peacemaker has warmed me up to their schtick, too.
Fave tracks - "Mental Beat" is awesome. Dug "Tooting Bec Wreck", too...
Prince
4/5
Bit of a sprawling one this - I don't think two listens was enough to really get a grip on it. Lots of variety and experimentation, so a bit hit and miss as a result.
Some of the tracks almost verged on sounding like industrial, and I bet Prince woulda made an absolutely baller industrial album - shame that doesn't exist.
Learning about the proposed "Camille" project was fascinating!
Fave tracks - "Sign 'O' the Times" is the most industrial sounding, so that one. "It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night" stood out. "Starfish and Coffee" bemused me, and then I read its wikipedia page and was even more bemused!
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Moody! Got a kind of dystopian vibe to about half the album that I dig.
Also, this is a fun exploration of sounds. "No Self Control" is heavy on the xylaphones, and sounds like it could have come out this year. "Start" lets rip with the wailing saxophones and suddenly we're firmly in the 80s. 😆
Fave track - "Games Without Frontiers" - that's some sinister shiz
Gang Starr
4/5
This sounds pretty fresh for 1990! Their flows are a notch up from most other old school hip-hop of the time. Some excellent scratching on display, too.
Fave tracks - "Who's Gonna Take the Weight" and "Check the Technique" stood out. Loved the Jean-Jacques Perrey sample in "Just to Get a Rep", too!
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Oh yeah, that's some good Stones. "Let It Bleed" just about has the edge, I'd say, but this is still up there.
Fave tracks - "Brown Sugar" is a classic, even if it's problematic. "Wild Horses" is less complicatedly so. "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" and "Dead Flowers" from the tracks I was less familiar with...
Peter Tosh
4/5
Very pleasant hearing some classic non-Marley reggae. Chilled vibes!
Fave tracks - "Legalize It" is a classic, of course. "No Sympathy" and "Till Your Well Runs Dry" also stood out...
The Flaming Lips
5/5
Around these parts, The Flaming Lips get 5 stars. 😎
For my second play through, gonna listen to the live version with the Colorado Symphony, why not.
Fave tracks - "Race For the Prize" is an absolutely cracking opener - that first sound effect immediately whisks you into another world. "The Gash" also stood out to me this time around....
The Young Rascals
3/5
What a godawful combination of artist name, album name, and cover! The actual music is not too bad, although I had this come up very close to the 13th Floor Elevators and these guys suffer in that comparison.
Fave tracks - "Find Somebody" and "You Better Run"
Gram Parsons
3/5
Eh, this is from the end of country that I don't care too much for, but I didn't find it particularly intolerable, just left me a bit cold. It definitely benefitted from all the Emmylou Harris.
Fave tracks - like the "Medley..." track. Stand out was probably "Las Vegas" overall...
The 13th Floor Elevators
4/5
I dug this - psychedelia with garage rock swagger and surf rock guitar. The electric jug really gives them a unique sound, but they perhaps overuse it a skosh! 😆
Fave tracks - "You Don't Know (How Young You Are)" and "You're Gonna Miss Me" are the main ones. Liked the siren effects in "Fire Engine", and "Don't Fall Down" also had a certain something something....
Nas
4/5
Impressive as hell for 1994 - the birth of modern hip-hop, I guess!
For its place in music history it's probably worth a 5, but as I'm scoring these albums on pure subjective enjoyment I'm afraid it's only a 4.
Fave tracks - "N.Y. State of Mind" and "It Ain't Hard To Tell" are both baller. "I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death" is an absolutely cherry lyric! 😘
Joan Armatrading
5/5
Damn, how have I never heard of Joan Armatrading before? This is excellent!
One of my favorite albums of all time is Linda Perry (of 4 Non Blondes fame)'s solo effort "In Flight" and this album could very well be the blueprint that Perry followed. I set it playing again as soon as the second play through had finished.
Fave tracks - more listens definitely required, but for now "Love and Affection", "Save Me" and "Tall in the Saddle"
Genesis
4/5
Well, damn, that was sprawling. Two listens definitely not enough to get a handle on it. Apparently there's a (more or less coherent) story running through the whole thing, but listening while I was working, I wasn't able to follow it too closely.
Fave tracks - "The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging" and "The Colony of Slippermen..." both had me check the track names while they were in progress, so them I reckon. Overall, though, I'm pleasantly bewildered by the whole thing!
Sarah Vaughan
4/5
Lovely smooth vocal cool jazz - the only thing that was jarring was "How High the Moon", and that was a jape, so forgivable.
A very pleasant listen!
Fave track - "Willow Weep For Me" where she fluffs the timing and has to improvise was charming AF!
Bob Dylan
5/5
Top quality Dylan - has everything I love about "Bringing It All Back Home" in it, which makes sense given it was released only a few months later. Another redundant Dimery pick, eh.
It's also, for me, a reminder about how rubbish the before times were, music distribution-wise. I bought "Bringing It All Back Home" on cd in uni - only had a very limited budget so couldn't buy too many albums, and definitely not multiple speculative purchases by the same artist. I woulda loved "Highway 61 Revisited" just as deeply if I'd had access to it, I reckon.
Fave track - "Like a Rolling Stone" is an absolute culture-dominating monster of a song. "Tombstone Blues", "Ballad of a Thin Man" and "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" from the tracks I was less familiar with...
Meat Puppets
3/5
A scuzzy mess, but it has its charm, and you can definitely hear what Nirvana lifted from them. Pretty groundbreaking for 1984!
I'd probably go 3.5 if that were an option - can't quite justify rounding to 4 though.
Fave track - "Plateau" is fun, and segues into "I'm a Mindless Idiot" quite nicely
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
Looking back, I scored "The Holy Bible", the other Manics album on the list, as a 3. Not sure whether that was overly critical? Although if I'm quibbling, I'd have picked "Gold Against the Soul" for the with-Richey album, and "This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours" for the without-Richey one. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is solid enough, and I have a dash of nostalgia for the singles and was never over exposed to them, so yeah, good, enjoyed the revisit!
Fave track - "A Design For Life" I reckon - soaring strings work well there!
The Libertines
3/5
I have some sort of prejudice against The Libertines, and I'm not sure where it comes from. I like plenty of bands that sound like a shambles. I dig plenty of singers who sound like they can't really sing. I love plenty of bands whose media presence is more drug abuse than music. Still, this album leaves me pretty cold. Doesn't actively piss me off, so it avoids a 2 star rating, but still. 😒
Fave track - "Arbeit Macht Frei" maybe.
Bebel Gilberto
4/5
Mmmmmm, nice. I'm a fan of downtempo chillout utility music, so some trip-hop adjacent bossanova works nicely for me. I could probably do without the English lyrics in some songs, but they don't disrupt things too much.
Fave tracks - "August Day Song" even if it does have some English, and "Bananeira" for the pure Portuguese!
Aretha Franklin
5/5
An easy 5 - phenomenal voice, and some amazing songs.
Interesting to note that, unlike most albums on here, this one doesn't have a bunch of 1 star reviews bumped up into visibility. Now that's r e s p e c t!
Fave tracks - "Chain of Fools" from the ones I was familiar with, "Good To Me As I Am To You" from the others - that song slaps!
Kings of Leon
4/5
I wasn't exactly excited to get a second Kings of Leon album on this project, but this was sufficiently different from their first album that I guess I don't begrudge its inclusion too much.
Overall, a pleasant enough listen, with the massively glaring exception of "17". What the hell is that? A Christmassy statutory rape song? 🤨 Awful.
Fave tracks - "Closer" is a solid opener. "Manhattan" maybe?
Steve Winwood
3/5
My only point of reference for Steve Winwood is that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Dennis Reynolds is a fan, and listening to this, I can definitely visualize Dennis doing the American Psycho bit with this album. 😆
Other than that, not a very exceptionable listen. Very dated synth sounds, and not much stood out really, although it didn't actively irritate.
Fave track - "Night Train", let's say!
Eh, the first three tracks would make a pretty strong EP but then it keeps going and going.
Not horrible, but not outstanding, either. It seems to be the most listened to of their albums on last.fm, which is a bit puzzling!
Fave track - "Elevation", for sure!
CHIC
4/5
Teenage me would be aghast at the thought of scoring a disco album 4, heh. This has a lot of the same qualities as dub techno, and I like it for the same reasons - you can tune it out and let it exist in the background, but you can also concentrate on it and have a bit of a bop. Utility music!
Fave tracks - "Good Times" is obviously the one I recognized. "A Warm Summer Night" stood out from the ones I hadn't heard before - need to revisit it in the summer!
The Slits
4/5
A total shambolic mess, but enormously fun! I can definitely see why this would rub people the wrong way, but I really appreciate the experimentation.
Wow, one of the other reviewers mentioned Amanda Palmer, and yeah, she really lifted a lot of her schtick from Ari Up, eh?
Fave tracks - "Newtown" and "Typical Girls" from the album proper, but I have to mention the bonus track cover of "I Heard it Through the Grapvine" because it's tremendous!
The Cars
4/5
This is great and, given it sounds so mid-80s, quite ahead of its time, getting released in 1978 as it did!
Fave tracks - "Just What I Needed" has been a favorite for quite a while - an excellent tune! From the ones I was less aware of, "Moving in Stereo" stood out the most.....
Dusty Springfield
4/5
These are great songs performed with talent, so it deserves a high score from a subjective enjoyment POV - they're all covers though, and we already have another Dusty Springfield album on the list, so I woulda preferred if this one's slot went to an album of one of the originators of these songs!
Fave tracks - "You Don't Own Me" gets the top spot, but "Mama Said", "Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa" and "Anyone Who Had A Heart" get mentions too!
Waylon Jennings
4/5
Really enjoyed this - had a very consistent flavor and, reading the backstory, yeah, that makes sense!
Fave tracks - "Willy the Wandering Gypsy and Me" - it really reminds me of some other (non-country) tune but I can't put my finger one it. Also "Ain't No God in Mexico" had some real Cormac McCarthy vibes, and "Black Rose" was badass!
Roni Size
5/5
A stone cold classic - lots of nostalgia for this - I'm cheerfully listening to the full 4cd reissue version and it doesn't feel like too much of a good thing.
Re-listened to it recently, actually, as there was a minor kerfuffle in my friend group when we discovered that the version we'd all been familiar with (on a single CD) isn't even the whole album!? There were a bunch of extra tracks we'd never heard of, and looking at discogs most of the versions were on 2 CDs or 4 LPs - I guess we were all poor students back then, so bought the presumably cheapest option...
Fave track - could be quite a few of them, but I have to side with "Railing" for a line of lyrics that's lived rent free in my head for decades now:
Do you think that you can hang tough, when the rhythm gets rough and the DJ says "I think you've had enough"? 😎
John Lennon
4/5
Pretty good, preeeetty good.
I was kinda expecting something abrasively avant-garde - maybe I'm thinking of Yoko's solo stuff?
Fave tracks - "Working Class Hero" is obviously the big one, and it rightfully deserves the acclaim it gets - cracking song. Enjoyed the screaming in "Well Well Well", and have to add "Hold On" for the cookie monster cameo!
Morrissey
2/5
Ok, my first playthrough was some sort of bonus track version, and 1 hour 10 minutes of this was a bit of a slog. The album proper is a more manageable 42 minutes.
Hmmmm, there's less of The Smiths to this than "Vauxhall And I", the other Morrissey solo album I've had from the list so far, which makes sense as this came later.
Hmmmm, not a lot of enthusiasm to muster on this one.
Fave track - well, just from the sound of it "Bengali in Platforms" caught my ear, but upon seeing the title and knowing Morrissey is a racist twat, I checked the lyrics and it's immediately poisoned. So, "I Don't Mind If You Forget Me" takes the title, then.
Probably deserves 3 stars, but minus 1 for the prat tax. 😒
Bill Callahan
5/5
I've listened to Bill Callahan (and Smog) a little before, but it never made too much of an impact. He's got a fantastic voice, and the songs are usually very lush, melodic arrangements, so I suspect I've tended to let it drift into the background.
Well, this project has prompted me to pay closer attention, and I _loved_ what I heard. Such fantastic lyrics! He's maybe kinda in the same ballpark as Nick Cave, but whereas Cave is theatrical and bombastic, Callahan is more introspective, tinged with melancholy and .... hope? Great stuff - will make a point of going through his back catalog now.
Fave tracks - "Too Many Birds", "My Friend" and "All Thoughts Are Prey To Some Beast" is a hell of a 3 track run!
Klaxons
5/5
Damn, I must have had these folks mixed up with someone else in my head, (The Zutons maybe? 🥴) because this was not what I was expecting!
Pretty crazy I haven't listened to them before, as they seem to be extremely my thing - just looking at the song titles there's references to alchemy, Pynchon and Burroughs! "Magick" is clearly referencing Crowley from the lyrics, too.
Went back for a third listen as soon as I finished the second. Cracking stuff!
Fave tracks - "Atlantis to Interzone" love a good AWOOOGA to kick off a tune. "Gravity's Rainbow". though perhaps I'm influenced by my love of the book. Their cover of "It's not Over Yet" is fun too.
Scissor Sisters
4/5
I have a certain amount of nostalgia for this album, both because its singles were pretty inescapable for a while, and also because my mom asked me to pirate a copy for her, heh. 🏴☠️
Had this come back to back with Klaxons on this project, which makes for an interesting comparison - both doing a fusion of electronic and rock, but going in very different directions. Scissor Sisters being extremely poppy, I prefer Klaxons, contrary as I am....
Fave tracks - "Laura" and "Take Your Mama" from the singles, "Tits on the Radio" from the album tracks...
k.d. lang
4/5
So, I already reviewed her earlier album, "Shadowland", for this project - in that album I thought I could clearly sort the songs into lounge, cabaret and country. In this album, those categories are less distinct - her style is more unified and blended together. Still a nice listen!
The version I listened to had a bonus disc of MTV Unplugged performances, and that was great! Those performances actually felt like they had a little more oomph to them, which worked well.
Fave tracks - "Constant Craving" takes me back to listening to the radio on long drives for family holidays - one of the few tunes that would come on that I actively liked, and that's still true today - fantastic song! Of the other tracks, I really like the opener "Save Me" - it's like a fusion of dream pop and country!
The Strokes
5/5
Lot of nostalgia for this! It was definitely one of the highlights in 2001s musical landscape, and popular with my friend group. Still stands up to scrutiny, I'd say!
Fave tracks - "The Modern Age", "Last Nite", "New York City Cops" - really, though, any track from this album will give me that sweet sweet reminiscence!
Scott Walker
4/5
Scott's still pretty poppy on this one, but there are definite hints of the weirdness to come. I reckon "Tilt" or "The Drift" shoulda been on this list rather than "Scott 2".
Fave tracks - "The Old Man's Back Again" is freaking epic, and justifiably gets used in soundtracks to great effect. "The Seventh Seal" is also irresistible - a Morricone / Bergman mashup, c'mon!
The Band
4/5
Solid, archetypal classic rock - this is the sort of thing I do the project for - to fill me in on parts of the boomer canon that have otherwise passed me by.
Fave tracks - "Weight" is obviously the big one here - a classic track, and the only one I knew going in (unless you count knowing "This Wheel's on Fire" from the cover version used as the AbFab theme tune! 😆) "Chest Fever" and "I Shall Be Released" were also stand outs. Weird that the start of the album seemed so unremarkable, they usually front load some strong tracks...
Keith Jarrett
4/5
Dang! Listened to this with no knowledge for the first time, and thought it was perfectly pleasant piano cool jazz, but not particularly remarkable, and wondered why this album was picked out of all the candidates from this subgenre...
...then read the wiki page before the second listen! Pretty crazy he could come up with this on the fly! Definite props!
Fave track - it's not really a track kinda album, but there was a chunk of Part IIa (I think) that sounded a little like the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack (in a good way) so let's say that!
The Specials
4/5
Super fun! Raucous, all over the place, chaotic and joyous. Definitely a preferable listen to just straight ahead ska. "Ghost Town" not being on here (or their other album on the list) threw me off a bit - I reckon most of their prestige comes from that one track!
Fave tracks - "Man at C&A" is brooding - love it. "Stereotypes/Stereotypes Pt. 2" leading into "Holiday Fortnight" felt rather tropical. Honorable mention to the "Enjoy Yourself" bookends, too...
The Sonics
4/5
A fun listen - transitional fossil style, it's the missing link between trad rock & roll and punk. Kinda basic, but fun all the same.
I don't necessarily trust Dimery to pick a good example of such a transitional fossil, but skimming the wikipedia page for garage rock, it looks like these guys were big in the pacific north west, so arguably they are a forerunner of grunge? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fave tracks - "The Witch" and "Boss Hoss" stood out, and happen to be two of the non covers, huh. They shoulda trusted themselves more and included more originals!
James Brown
4/5
32 minutes absolutely flies by - seems like it's over when it's just getting started! I gave it a third spin just for the heck of it.
I definitely appreciate hearing some James Brown that hasn't been played to death by pop culture. Bet it would have been awesome to be there in person!
Fave tracks - "Lost Someone" was a groove - I would have happily let him swell all the other songs to 10 mins too!
Björk
4/5
Not a Björk album I'm familiar with at all, and oh yeah, she's really pushing the boat out, production-wise - those are some tasty IDM-inflected noises going on in the background.
Ah, wikipedia tells me it's Arca and The Haxan Cloak - badass! There's definitely a meme in there about the chad Björk vs the virgin Madonna and her William Orbit collabs, heh.
Fave tracks - "Lionsong", "Black Lake", "Quicksand" maybe? I feel like it would take a lot more listens to get familiar though...
Coldcut
3/5
I was a bit nonplussed listening to this, but when I realized it was released in 1989, yeah, fair enough! It's undoubtedly been influential on a bunch of stuff I like, even if getting through it now feels like a bit of a chore. Hip-hop, trip-hop, turntablism and house have all gone on to do more interesting things, but it's good to see where it came from, I suppose!
Fave tracks - "(I'm) In Deep" for the Mark E Smith cameo!
Astrud Gilberto
4/5
So cutesy! Capital K Kawaii! I for sure have days when this would have hit me like nails on a blackboard, but fortunately I was in a receptive mood for both play throughs and enjoyed it!
Fave track - "A Banda (Parade)" - it's such a weird inclusion! 😆 Jolts you out of the mellow trance the first three tracks were sinking you in to, and then when you pay attention to the lyrics it's mocking US pomposity - great stuff!
R.E.M.
5/5
Great stuff - the mandolin really does unlock the magic!
This is in a kind of sweet spot for me, in that I recognize some of the singles, for sure, but wasn't subject to having them overplayed.
Fave tracks - "Pop Song '89" is a great opener, "Orange Crush" for the upbeat poppier numbers, and, hmmm, lemme see, "Hairshirt" for the more slowed down esoteric ones....
The Pharcyde
4/5
The production and flows on this are sick as hell for 1992. If I'd have had this on the project before 2 Pac and Jeru The Damaja I reckon their ratings would have suffered. 😏
Some misogyny and transphobia, but more in a trying to be edgelordy funny way, rather than being earnest culture war bullshit. Still kinda icky, but not ruining.
Fave tracks - "Oh shit" sets the scene, "Soul Flower" was a lot of fun, and "Passing Me By" I actually recognized - musta heard it on some compilations....
Suzanne Vega
5/5
Last.fm tells me I listened to this once in 2013 and not since, so I guess it didn't make much of an impression, or I wasn't paying much attention. 🤷
Really liked it this time around, and definitely plan to revisit! It's got that mellow dreamy vibe I value in singer songwriters.
Fave tracks - I liked the flow of "The Queen and the Soldier" going into "Knight Moves"
Joni Mitchell
4/5
This is my fourth (and final 🤞 ) Joni Mitchell album through the list, and I have to say I like it better than the others. I don't _think_ it's because I've warmed to her - this album really is sufficiently different to her others.
As soon as "The Jungle Line" started I thought it sounded awesome. Although, catching some of the lyrics, and re-examining the song title and cover art immediately set some alarm bells ringing. A quick read up and it seems she thought she was a black poet for a while? And then later had a blackface alter ego (who was a pimp 🙄 ) - that is some epic white nonsense right there.
It's a shame more of the album isn't like that song production-wise. Gotta give her props for using sampling (and world music) first, I guess. I'd probably rate this album 3.5 overall, but I'll round up so I can easily see which of her albums I tolerated best if I ever get the urge to revisit her.
Fave track - as well as "The Jungle Line", I also liked the jazzy "Harry's House - Centrepiece"
Skunk Anansie
4/5
Seems weird to pick this over "Paranoid & Sunburnt" or "Stoosh"? I re-listened to both of them as part of this play through, and I guess this one has some injected drum & bass in places, but otherwise follows the same formula. Eh, it's fine. Preferred the more revved up tracks to the slowed down ones on this album compared to the other two, but maybe that's just familiarity....
Fave track - "We Don't Need Who You Think You Are"
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Neil Young gets grungy - you gotta give him props for getting this out before Nevermind!
It's not my favorite Neil Young, but it's still decent - I'll take it.
Fave tracks - "Fuckin' Up" is great. "Mansion on the Hill" was fun, and I liked both of the 10 min jams with "Love" in the title...
The Sabres Of Paradise
4/5
I'm a big fan of the Warp Records schtick - this kind of ambient / IDM blend is catnip to me. Amusing to see all the low scoring reviews from people that can't stand it though! 😆
I didn't have this specific album back in the day, so it's not benefiting from a direct nostalgia bump, but it's close enough to a lot of stuff I love to benefit a little.
Fave tracks - "Wilmot" and "Theme" are the bangers. "Chapel Street Market 9am" from the more ambient side of things...
The Monkees
3/5
Bit of a weird list inclusion, this. Their story is pretty interesting, I guess - totally manufactured Beatles knock off morphs into self facilitating Beatles knock off - but is the end result something it's important to hear? No, not really.
Fave tracks - well, "Zilch" made the strongest impression for weirdness, I guess! "Randy Scouse Git" was amusing too...
The Offspring
5/5
Big nostalgia bump for this album - my first serious girlfriend was a fan, and then later on, some of the songs were karaoke staples.
Fave tracks - "Self Esteem" for getting the whole room to scream along in karaoke. "Genocide" from the other tracks, on these play throughs....
David Gray
2/5
Ugh. This is perfectly bland and inoffensive and should rightfully get 3 stars, but it was wildly overplayed back in the day, and a bunch of the tracks I'm just sick of hearing - gonna have to mark it down.
Slap one of these vaguely melancholy tunes over a montage at the end of an episode of House and I'll tolerate it, but a whole album is too much.
Fave track - uh.... "My Oh My" I guess?
The Beta Band
4/5
This definitely shoulda been "The Three EPs" instead, and don't give me any "But it's not an album" nonsense - Dimery bends or ignores that requirement in plenty of other entries!
This album is fine, I suppose, but I don't have the same connection with it that I have with "The Three EPs", which transports me instantly back to uni days. I still dig the slacker psych aesthetic...
Fave tracks - "Squares" is great, though a band called Skinny also used the same underlying sample for a track, "On a Beautiful Day", in the same year, and theirs is arguably better. Also like "Quiet".
Fairport Convention
4/5
This is my second Fairport Convention album, and the first, "Liege & Leaf", was my introduction to the band. This one has some outright US influences, so I'd assumed it marked a significantly different stage in their evolution, but no - they both came out in 1969 (and there was a third album released that year, to boot!)
I enjoyed this - gave it a third spin, even. I should probably check out more of their discography. I think I have some of Sandy Dennys solo stuff lined up too...
Fave tracks - "A Sailor's Life" is the big one. "Si Tu Dois Partir" and "Who Knows Where the Time Goes"
were great too!
Bonnie Raitt
3/5
Ugh, this is aggressively of its time. It sounds like the archetype for a specific flavor of 80s pop rock. I don't know whether that's because it was massively influential and created that sound, or whether it cynically hopped on every bandwagon going at the time, but either way, I don't much care for the end result.
I'm just relieved I wasn't forcibly exposed to these songs in my youth - I think I'd probably have grown to hate them a lot. As it is, I guess this album didn't actively piss me off, so it avoids a 2 rating, but it's a low 3. Like, a 2.7.
Fave track - eh, I dunno, "Real Man" maybe? I don't particularly want to revisit any of them....
Cee Lo Green
3/5
I don't think anyone with a voice like an Aqua Teen Hunger Force character deserves a title like "Soul Machine". 😆
I dunno, maybe I'd warm to it with more exposure, but I found this album a bit of a slog because of his voice, and expectation this would be in any way soulful.
Fave tracks - "Childz Play" and "Scrap Metal" - ie, the ones where he brings other people in to sing for big chunks of em...
The Psychedelic Furs
4/5
I think I like their self titled album more than this one, but it's still very much my jam. I did a quick scan of the internet and it seems the Furs are not considered goth or goth adjacent, which seems pretty weird to me - they sound rather gothy. I guess if they wore more black nail vanish...
It's not quite a 5 for me, but I'd go 4.5 if that were an option.
Fave tracks - "Pretty in Pink" and "It Goes On"
Crosby, Stills & Nash
5/5
This is why I'm doing the project alright - I know the names, but don't think I've ever listened to any (oh, one time in 2013 it seems) and it's good to plug that hole in my knowledge of the boomer canon!
This is very much my bag - got all the stuff I like about late 60s rock, and infused it with some mellow folkiness. Yeah. Oh, and this is the origin of "Wooden Ships!?" I'd always assumed that was a Jefferson Airplane original! Huh - wikipedia tells me it's more complicated than that - hah! 😆
I have a slight preference for the more chilled tracks over the poppier upbeat ones, but the poppier ones still have undeniable charm.
Fave tracks - "Guinnevere", "You Don't Have to Cry", and especially especially "Helplessly Hoping"
50 Cent
2/5
This was hard work to get through - the production is alright but his delivery is just naff - mumbly and barely keeping on the beat.
That kind of thing can work well with sufficient skill, but he don't got it. It's thrown into particularly sharp relief on the tracks with guest rappers.
I was expecting to maybe have some nostalgia for "In Da Club" as it was pretty ubiquitous for a while, but it sounded way more cringe than I remembered. "21 Questions" was horrible.
Fave tracks - uh, "Don't Push Me" maybe, as it has two guest rappers. "Gotta Make It To Heaven", maybe. I'm not rushing to come back to this album...
Tito Puente
4/5
Great fun! Would pair nicely with sunshine and rum, but still a blast on an overcast day tippy-tapping away at a keyboard.
Fave track - "Cuando te Vea" sounds a little like the theme song to "Narcos", but really this album isn't about individual tracks - it's the _vibe_. 😎
Ravi Shankar
4/5
What a glorious artifact! Probably deserves a 5 for historical impact purposes, but the talky bits disturb the flow of the music so that's a 4 on my personal scale.
Pretty sure I saw Ravi Shankar (with his daughter) playing in Birmingham - the city's Asian population attended in full formal splendor so me and my slacker mates stood out as horribly under dressed! 😆
Fave track - "Dadra", let's say, but picking individual tracks out doesn't make much sense on this one...
Culture Club
2/5
This is not for me, I'm afraid. "Karma Chameleon" was played to death, of course, but has slightly redeemed itself in my eyes as a fun karaoke number, but the rest of the album was quite hard work to get through.
Fave track - uh, "Mystery Boy (Suntory Hot Whiskey Song)" had some novelty value, I guess!
Billie Holiday
5/5
Well, first of all Billie Holiday gets a 5, so jot that down.
Taking a step back - Is this a sensible pick? I have no idea. I've listened to quite a lot of her stuff, but it all tended to be either best ofs, or massive box sets of everything from a specific label or era, so I don't have much of a sense of which albums are her most important one. I don't think I recognized any of these songs, which maybe means something?
I think I'm more used to hearing her with a more stripped back accompaniment, too? These arrangements felt a bit more lush than I'm used to - maybe even a little OTT? Still pretty lovely, of course.
Fave tracks - "You Don't Know What Love Is" and "The End of a Love Affair"
The Youngbloods
4/5
A lovely discovery! These guys weren't on my radar at all. It's that classic late 60s rock sound, but they like dabbling in other genres and playing little games - right up my street!
This is like a 4.4.
Fave tracks - "Darkness, Darkness" is a great opener - loved that segue from bluegrass into rock. Liked the experimentation of "On Sir Frances Drake", and the elevator muzak diversion of "Ride the Wind"
Dire Straits
4/5
I dig the vibe - shamelessly steal some americana sounds, but give it all a sultry, loungey, early hours of the morning feeling. Chillout rock.
Fave tracks - "Sultans of Swing" is obviously the one I know best. "Six Blade Knife" I dug, too...
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
This is my third CCR album through the project, and the original source of "Proud Mary"!? Huh. Tina Turner absolutely made that song her own - this version feels a little lackluster in comparison...
I gave "Green River" three stars, but it was within the first 50 albums so my ratings weren't too calibrated - giving it another listen to compare to "Bayou Country", yeah, 3 is probably about right. They're fine - not objectionable, but not too exciting, either. I stand by "Cosmo's Factory" being my fave of their albums for being a little more varied, genre-wise.
Fave track - uh, "Born on the Bayou" I guess? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
10cc
4/5
Soooo... _not_ the album with "I'm Not In Love" on it? Is this another Dimery L?
This was a fun listen! Way proggier pop rock than I was expecting - like a mashup of Queen and Sparks. I guess "I'm Not In Love" is pretty experimental when you get down to it, so I should have been expecting the unexpected...
Fave track - "Clockwork Creep", I think, but it seems likely different tracks will stand out on repeat listens!
Christine and the Queens
2/5
Listened to the English and French versions, which I'm counting as giving it two spins - did not enjoy.
This is very polished, earnest pop. Archetypal. Generic, even. Really not my thing. If I was still exposed to general media and had to listen to these songs a couple of times per week against my will I think I might grow to really hate them, but minimal exposure is just about tolerable.
Fave track - eh, "Machin-chose" was more about being atmospheric than poppy, so that one, I suppose...
Sonic Youth
4/5
My third Sonic Youth album from the list, and the third I'm gonna score 4, but could foresee bumping it up to 5 with more familiarity! I should really spend some time working through their discography! 🤘
Iconic album cover on this one, that I've seen riffed on a lot. Didn't realize the connection to the Myra Hindley moors murders - grisly!
Fave tracks - "Tunic (Song for Karen)" and "Mildred Pierce"
Madness
4/5
This was fun, and not really very ska, either. I had 10cc's "Sheet Music" come up recently and this is kinda in the same ballpark - slightly proggy pop rock.
Blackface on the album cover is pretty regrettable. 😬 So, too, "New Delhi" - I liked the music of that one, but the mock Indian accents aren't great.
Fave tracks - "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)" was great. And of course, "Our House" absolutely slaps. Great tune!
The Dandy Warhols
5/5
I really like The Dandy Warhols' schtick - sometimes poppy, sometimes psych-cinematic, sometimes goofy, and this album is a great showcase of all of that, but c'mon - including this rather than "Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia" is a joke. Not only does "Thirteen Tales" have their global hit on it, but the three track opening of "Godless" -> "Mohammed" -> "Nietzche" is just _so damn good_. Probably my favorite three track run from any genre!
Anyway, back to "Come Down", it's still great. "Boys Better" is an absolute tune, and "Not If You Were The Last Junkie" is fun. The non single tracks are mostly great too.
Fave tracks - as well as the aforementioned, on this play through I really liked the psych outro provided by "Pete International Airport" leading into "The Creep Out".
Massive Attack
5/5
That's an instant 5 from me - loved this album for quite a while now. But if you'll indulge me for a second while I disparage Robert Dimery one more time - why. the. hell. is. "Mezzanine". missing. from. the. list???
I'm not saying that either "Blue Lines" or "Protection" should be dropped to make room for it - it should be on here _as well_ as them. The Beatles and the Stones have a half dozen entries each, including some of their earliest stuff where they're basically just covers bands! smdh. 😠
Anyway, this album is glorious - every track envelopes you like a dense cloud of smoke. Really carves out a mood. I can even get behind the "Light My Fire" cover.
Fave tracks - "Protection" and "Eurochild" on this play through, but I love em all!
4/5
Damn, these guys were ahead of their time, attitude-wise. 1969!?
Fave tracks - "Kick Out the Jams" is the big one, obvs, also dug "Motor City is Burning" and the slightly proggy weirdness of "Starship".
Joe Ely
4/5
Country in general isn't really my genre, and this end of country particularly isn't, but I actually enjoyed this a surprising amount! I coulda done without the slower more maudlin numbers, but the upbeat tracks were quite a bop.
I can see myself getting into this under cold fluorescent lighting, buzzed on cheap, nasty American beer, and surrounded by people in stetsons, and beyond them the huge skies and distant horizons of Texas... 🤠
Fave tracks - "Cornbread Moon" for sure - did a great job of winning me over straight out the gate. "Boxcars" was good too...
The Zombies
5/5
Came across the album just over a decade ago - I think because I heard "Time of the Season" in a soundtrack?
I had definitely assumed these guys were San Francisco based, as they really nailed that sound - surprised to learn they're actually British!
It's gorgeous stuff - lovely harmonies, almost but not quite too much tweeness, which can be a problem with psychedelia from this period - this is one of my fave examples of the genre.
Fave tracks - "Time of the Season" remains a fave. "Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)" is great, and "A Rose for Emily" too - I could pick out a couple more highlights with each listen, too....
Weather Report
3/5
Well, this is properly odd, isn't it? I can't help but view it through the lens of vaporwave, which I'm very surprised no-one else in the reviews has mentioned, because it sounds _extremely_ vaporwavey - but this came out in 1977, so I guess this is actually one of the origins of vaporwave?!
It's a bemusing 38 minutes - definitely not actively horrible, but nothing for me to get fired up over either. A benchmark 3, I guess!
Fave track - uhhhhhhhhh - let's say "Birdland" for kicking things off!
Stan Getz
5/5
Enchanting, languid, sultry - this album is a whole dreamy mood. Absolutely love it!
Fave tracks - I'm a sucker for almost any version of "The Girl From Ipanema" and this version is _lush_. Also, really like "Desafinado"...
Morrissey
2/5
This started out pretty strong! I thought this was gonna be a heavier, more rockin' Morrissey, and I woulda had time for that, but it fell off pretty quickly, and by "You're the One For Me, Fatty" it had soured considerably. Screw this guy.
Fave track - "Glamorous Glue" I reckon.
The Fall
4/5
The Fall's most accessible album, you say? Let me just take a deep sip of coffee and click through to the reviews to see all the glowing praise from the non-UK crowd...
😆
Well, anyway, I dug it. Mark E Smith's vocal tics kinda work for me, but I can imagine they're not for everyone.
Fave tracks - "Lost in Music" works really well. Liked the krautrockiness of "It's a Curse" too!
Maxwell
4/5
Smoooooove. It all blends together, but that's absolutely the point, right? This is music to put on when you want to maintain a certain mood but don't want your attention pulled away from whatcha doin'... 😏
Weirdly I gave Sade's "Diamond Life" 3, but this feels like a 4 to me for much the same schtick - I think that probably just comes down to being in a more receptive mood now that I was then.
Fave tracks - Uh, I dunno, "Dancewitme" maybe? "The Suite Jam" for that sultry outro? As mentioned, it's not about individual tracks with this one...
Rush
4/5
Hmmmm, liked this more than "Moving Pictures", I think. Doesn't sound very proggy to my ear - more like Led Zep style straight ahead hard rock.
I did wonder if this was the album parodied in the Bob's Burgers planetarium episode, but the internet tells me that was Styx (the album "Mr Roboto" came from, in fact!) so maybe I should check that out too? 🤔
Fave track - Eh, "2112" I guess? It's half the album right there...
Tom Tom Club
5/5
Well damn, this was a surprise! The only Tom Tom Club track I was aware of going in was "Genius of Love", and then it wasn't the whole song - it was the sample from Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's "It's Nasty" and it's partial use in an episode of "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia"! 😆 Based on that, I was kinda expecting some throwaway novelty record that would almost instantly become annoying to listen to.
This actually slaps, though - like a far less obnoxious Public Image Ltd in places. New wave / post-punk / disco / world music all thrown together, but it sounds like its own thing. "Wordy Rappinghood" on paper should be radioactive cringe but in practice it really works! I guess because they're riffing on early hip-hop rather than trying to actually do hip-hop?
Will definitely be checking out their other albums.
Fave tracks - "Wordy Rappinghood", "Genius of Love", "As Above, So Below", and probably my absolute fave goes to "On,On,On,On..." - the optimism of that song healed my soul, a little
ZZ Top
4/5
A decent listen - saw another review saying "This is what every bar band thinks they sound like" and yeah, that nails it!
"Hot, Blue and Righteous" _really_ reminded me of another track in a different mode than ZZ Top's hard rock and it was bugging the hell out of me trying to pin it down - saw some comments on Last.fm saying "Purple Rain" and YES! "Purple Rain" definitely has moments that sound like this.
Fave track - "La Grange" - you can't go too far wrong stealing from John Lee Hooker!
The Who
4/5
Some real strong tracks on this one - probably my fave of The Who albums on here. Not quite 5 stars as it sags a bit in the middle, but I'd go to 4.5 if I could.
Fave tracks - "Baba O'Riley" - I mean, c'mon, that's an absolutely colossal tune. "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Behind Blue Eyes" are also pretty epic.
Gillian Welch
5/5
I didn't think I'd heard of Gillian Welch before going in to this (which turned out to be slightly wrong - I loved her contributions to the "O Brother Where Art Thou" soundtrack) but within the first 30 seconds I knew this was going to be a personal favorite.
Appalachian folk meets slowcore? zomg yes! Will definitely be digging deeper into her discography.
Fave tracks - "Revelator" and "Everything is Free" are both so good they bring tears to my eyes and goosebumps to my skin.
Marty Robbins
4/5
Oh cool - I previously had Johnny Cash's "American IV: The Man Comes Around" on this project, and "Big Iron" was one of my fave tracks from it - it's great to head where that came from!
I enjoyed this - definitely prefer this style of country to the pop country nonsense the genre evolved into. All of these tracks would drop nicely into the soundtrack of a Coen brothers movie.
Fave tracks - as well as "Big Iron", also dug "Cool Water", "The Strawberry Roan" and "Saddle Tramp"
Frank Sinatra
4/5
One of the first concept albums, you say? Nice!
(That prompted me to look up concept albums more broadly, and the generally accepted first one was Woody Guthrie's "Dust Bowl Ballads" - which would surely deserve a place on the list if Dimery wasn't such a hack!)
Anyway, I quite dig a whole album of Frank in sad boi mode. People complaining that it's samey have attention span problems and a lack of appreciation for consistency of tone!
Fave tracks - "Deep in a Dream" and "Ill Wind" caught my ear, but really it's about the atmosphere of the whole album...
The Human League
3/5
Ok, so I may have become a little more amenable to synth pop in recent years, but this still doesn't quite land for me. Definitely prefer the Heaven 17 offshoot of this sound.
This album might just be a victim of its own success? It created such an iconic sound that it spawned a bunch of soundalike rubbish? I dunno. Listening to it at a decent volume and there were some flourishes in most of the songs that I actively liked, but they're embedded in a sound overall that doesn't work for me. I guess I'd go 3.5 on this, if that were possible.
Fave tracks - "The Thing That Dreams Are Made Of" was a good opener, and "Do Or Die" and "Seconds" both caught my attention. "Don't You Want Me" is fun in a karaoke room, but I've heard it too many times to dig hearing the album version again...
Red Snapper
4/5
Dimery, you schmuck - how dare you pick this over "Making Bones"!
There have been plenty of instances of the list ignoring a band's most popular release and going for their earlier stuff instead - The Dandy Warhols and Massive Attack being two recent egregious examples I've encountered - and he really shoulda done the same here, too.
This album is still pretty good, but it doesn't sound as cohesive as "Making Bones", and it doesn't make nearly as good a use of MC Det - he absolutely kicks ass on the other album, but here he gets a novelty sound-effect-sounding track with "The Rake". 😒
Fave tracks - "Keeping Pigs Together" and "They're Hanging Me Tonight" have that moody cinematic feel I love these guys for...
Duran Duran
4/5
Liked this a lot more than The Human League, which came up recently - this is the rockier end of synthpop, I guess.
Gave it three spins and it doesn't quite crack 5 stars for me, but it's close! And that album cover is absolutely *chef's kiss*.
"Rio" and "Hungry Like The Wolf" still stand up, despite being somewhat played to death. Great tracks!
Fave tunes - As well as those two singles, "Save A Prayer" was great - was also a single apparently, but I don't think it's received as much play in the following decades. Really liked "The Chauffeur", too - if there had been more moody, more experimental tracks like that on the album, woulda been a 5 for sure!
Alanis Morissette
5/5
5 stars on a wave of nostalgia, for sure.
This album was the soundtrack of my sixth form experience, for good or for ill. The singles were absolutely inescapable everywhere, and the whole album was constantly playing in the sixth form common room (and unlike My Bloody Valentine, Alanis' songs survive being played on shitty tinny travel speakers pretty well!). Despite being in a predominantly METAL phase, I think I caved in and bought a copy, too.
It's a testament to her songwriting, I suppose, because normally I balk at getting anything force fed to me like that, but I did grow to have some affection for this album. (Though, if I were to revisit some Alanis these days, I'd probably opt for "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie".)
Fave tracks - "Hand In My Pocket" stood out on these play throughs. Any track on the album can beam me back to the 90s, though.
William Orbit
4/5
I do rather like downtempo electronica with a sprinkling of world music, and this is a competent (and pretty early!) example of the genre, but it's never really been one of my faves and I've never had that close of a relationship with it, so it's not gonna manage 5 stars. Now if we were talking about Banco de Gaia's "Igizeh", that'd be a different matter!
Fave track - "The Story of Light" stood out to me, predominantly because of the non-English vocals. They seemed very familiar to me, and I was wondering if they'd been sampled in other songs, but after some googling I think it might be because that track was used in Chris Morris's surreal dark comedy series "Jam" 😆
The Associates
4/5
Slap some black lipstick on these lads and this would be goth AF! And the theatrical, overwrought vocals would probably make more sense in a gothy context...
Rather enjoyed this - I like my new wave brushing up against my post-punk, and my post-punk sprinkled with experimentation!
Fave track - "No". Great tune!
Nico
4/5
I think Nico might be more effective in smaller doses, as when used by the Velvet Underground. Something about her precise enunciation and flat affect gives me an uncanny valley feeling, which isn't necessarily a bad thing - a whole album of it makes me go to numb to it, though, which is.
Fave tracks - "These Days". If "Chelsea Girls" was like half the length I'd add that too. "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce" is nice too...
Marilyn Manson
4/5
I was pretty into this album during my A levels - even saw them live during the tour and bought a long sleeved tshirt with "WHEN I'M GOD EVERYONE DIES" printed on the back in giant lime green letters! 😆 Didn't really get into any of their albums after this one.
Even back then, though, there were a bunch of tracks I could take or leave, (Why is "The Beautiful People" so popular? It never landed with me) and re-listening now, they have become more grating, so even a hefty nostalgia bump isn't going to get it to 5 stars.
The Trent Reznor production is really doing a lot of heavy lifting here.
Fave tracks - "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" and "1996" were my faves back then, and they're still my faves now - I guess they're the most straight ahead industrial. Most of "Antichrist Superstar" I'm indifferent to, but the creepy looped announcement-sounding thing in the outro always reminded me of the movie "Prince of Darkness", which is neat. "Man That You Fear" would be my pick from the slower, gothier side of the album, and that also has a creepy looped outro, heh. I guess that's the way to my heart. 🖤
Charles Mingus
5/5
I've listened to a bunch of Mingus before, but never this album. (I'd strongly recommend people check out his "Blues & Roots" album - jazz that ROCKS! 🤘)
Within the first 30 seconds I knew I was gonna absolutely LOVE this - instantly transported to some over-the-top chaotically animated noir world - this is absolutely the soundtrack for getting tangled up in sinister underworld machinations at the behest of a femme fatale that's only told you half of the story! 🕵️♀️
Would love to see a dance performance to this, though would probably prefer something more modern/interpretive to ballet, but I'd take ballet, sure!
Fave track - Let's say "Solo Dancer" as it's the gateway to the album, but the whole thing is sublime!
The Cardigans
4/5
I had a certain amount of trepidation going in, that this was gonna be a whole album of sugary straight-ahead pop like "Lovefool", and I'm not sure I woulda dug that. This was a much more interesting listen, though! The tone is sugary, but the arrangements are almost proggy!
And then there's the weird metal connection (explained by some of the band coming from metal, it turns out!) - hearing "Heartbreaker" for the first time I idly thought "Huh, that almost sounds like they're borrowing from Black Sabbath" but dismissed that idea.... only for there to be a full on Black Sabbath cover later on! 😆 I gotta say, the first minute or so of "Iron Man" my psyche was rebelling, but it won me over - I dialed back in to the vibe.
So yeah, great stuff - I'd go 4.5 on this one!
Fave tracks - "Heartbreaker" and "Losers"
Soft Machine
4/5
Ooh, on first listen it was looking like bad luck for the Soft Machine lads, as this came up almost immediately after Charles Mingus' "The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady", and they do NOT do well in that comparison. When it comes to proggy avant-garde jazziness Mingus absolutely dog walks them.
Fortunately, though, it was only really the first half of the album that they were encroaching on Mingus' turf. Once they went back to less jazz, more prog territory, I could see the appeal more.
Robert Wyatt's "Rock Bottom" has been one of my fave discoveries through this project so far, so it was good to hear him singing in "Moon in June" and get a sense of where he came from. I liked the electronic noodling of "Out-Bloody-Rageous" too....
Fave tracks - "Moon in June" and "Out-Bloody-Rageous", duh.
Kate Bush
5/5
Excellent - my fave of the Kate Bush albums included in the list. She's an amazing talent and I have max respect for the way she's carved out her own path in music and celebhood!
Fave tracks - "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" is absolutely epic, and it makes sense it worked tremendously well in Stranger Things. "Cloudbusting" is gloriously positive, and I included a full re-listen of Utah Saint's first album as part of my experience! ✌️
Kacey Musgraves
3/5
Hmmm, tricky one to rate, this - on the one hand there a couple of slower, more introspective tracks that I _really_ like, but then most of the rest of the tracks are a little too poppy for my taste, and "High Horse" is absolutely godawful - just a couple more tracks like that in the mix and I'd give it two stars in a second.
3.5 I guess, and I'm gonna round..... down.
Fave track - "Slow Burn" is my fave by a mile. "Oh, What a World" has its charm, too...
The Black Keys
4/5
I liked the single "Next Girl" when it came out, and have given this album a couple of spins over the years, though I don't know it well.
It's pretty good! Very pleased with myself, because at some point I was thinking "Huh, this kinda reminds me of "Kiwanuka" by Michael Kiwanuka, and I found out that's because they both have Danger Mouse doing production! Kiwanuka does it better, though.
I find the amount of hate this album's getting in the reviews kinda surprising!
Fave tracks - "Next Girl", "The Only One", "Ten Cent Pistol"
Simple Minds
4/5
Ok, I've definitely had these guys mixed up in my head with Simply Red, so this was already a useful exercise! 😆
Ah, they're the "Don't You Forget About Me" guys - that helps orient me.
I guess my new wave rehabilitation continues - this was alright, mostly - sometimes a touch more poppy than I'd prefer, and I would probably increase the post-punk and gothiness in the mix, if I had my way.
Fave tracks - "Someone, Somewhere in Summertime", instrumental "Somebody Up There Likes You", and the title track...
Hüsker Dü
4/5
I don't know Hüsker Dü very well, but well enough to know picking this album over "Zen Arcade" is a bloody weird choice - I see lots of other reviewers making the same observation.
I didn't really like this on first listen - sounded tinny and sloppy. On a second play through, though, I dialed in a bit more on what they were doing and it grew on me quite a bit. It's gutter-R.E.M.!
If I had this on CD back in the before times I'm sure I woulda grown to absolutely love it.
Fave tracks - "Standing in the Rain", "You're A Soldier", and "Friend, You've Got To Fall"
Morrissey
3/5
My fourth and, god willing, final, solo Morrissey album from the list.
This didn't actively annoy me in the same way some of his other stuff has, but lawd, the lack of self awareness in some of these songs is pretty cringe.
Fave tracks - eh, "First of the Gang to Die" maybe?
Ray Price
4/5
Lounge country! Yeah, I can get behind this - nice relaxing listen. The spoken word intro could be a lot shorter, though, I imagine that'd get old fast.
Fave track - "The Twenty Fourth Hour" maybe? They all kinda blended together, but not in a bad way. Like spending time in a casino with no windows and no clocks, heh.
The Afghan Whigs
4/5
Hmmmm, these guys feel like two familiar bands mushed together, but I can't for the life of me pin down which two bands - it's on the tip of my brain. A bit of Trail of Dead, maybe? I feel like there's a slowcore influence in the mix. 🤔
I gotta say, some of the lyrics are just feckin awful - this definitely won't be getting a 5 no matter how much I dig the music. "Be Sweet", for example - great music, but _horrible_ lyrics. Annoying! This coulda been one of my top discoveries from the list with a different songwriter at the helm...
Fave tracks - "Debonair", "Brother Woodrow / Closing Prayer"
Sinead O'Connor
5/5
I really like an album where each song is different genre experiment, and a lot of these tracks were great! I only knew the big single going in to it, so found every track a pleasant little surprise.
Fave tracks - "I Am Stretched On Your Grave" for proto-trip-hop, "Three Babies" for new age ethereal, "Black Boys On Mopeds" for politically conscious folk, "The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance" for breakup song, and of course "Nothing Compares 2 U" is still spine-tingling....
U2
4/5
This is my last U2 album of the project, and the earliest from their career - it's fun to hear them not sound like the established U2 template on some of these tracks!
Fave tracks - "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day" are the ones I've heard the most before, and they are both bangers to be fair. "The Refugee" from the tracks I was less familiar with!
Pretenders
4/5
I didn't think I knew anything off this album, but when "Brass in Pocket" came on, that turned out to be wrong.
I liked the first, punkier half of the album more than the second, I think - this is totally where the Yeah Yeah Yeahs got their schtick, right? - but I did enjoy the new wave and rock n roll elements in the second half too.
I think more listens might get this to a 5, but for now it's more like 4.5...
Fave tracks - "Precious" is a great opener! "Tattooed Love Boys" and "The Wait" both slap. Their version of "Stop Your Sobbing" is pretty cool, and heralds the direction change in the latter part of the album.... "Lovers of Today" has that Yeah Yeah Yeahs-get-introspective sound I like, too...
Jungle Brothers
5/5
Wow, I'm blown away by this. Sounds amazing for 1989 - has aged considerably more gracefully than a lot of hip-hop from around then and a bunch of it still sounds fresh as hell!
Ugly Duckling are one of my fave recent hip-hop acts and I know they're deliberately trying to hark back to golden age hip-hop, and I reckon this is the album they have in mind.
I gave this a second play through right away, and I'm gonna listen to their first album next. Great stuff!
Fave tracks - "Acknowledge Your Own History", "Tribe Vibes", "J. Beez Comin' Through", "Black Woman", "Doin' Our Own Dang"
John Martyn
5/5
Ok, so, with John Martyn you've got to be able get over his voice - he has some pretty weird affectations and I guess I can see why some people can't get into it - works for me, though.
I've had this album for ages but I've barely played it - I always make a bee line for "Solid Air" instead, which is much more upfront and simplistic with its charms. Re-listening to "One World" as part of this project has actually been a full-on magical experience - I am enchanted! 🧙♀️
First play through and it's overall tone is hitting the chill, mellow, occasionally funky vibe I expect from John Martyn, but it also seems kinda busy and I fall back on my '"Solid Air" is the superior album' preconceptions. My copy of this album has a bonus disc full of live versions, demos and outtakes, and listening to those, which often felt a bit more stripped down, I liked them more. Re-listening to the main album again, I tried to dial into that busyness I heard before, and particularly in the first half of the album, the closer you listen the more bonkers things get! There's a bunch of stuff going on that shouldn't work together by rights, but it still somehow adds up to the vibe he wants. I saw another review describe it as "prog yacht" and yeah, that nails it! 😆
Fave tracks - "Dealer", "One World" (feel like Phosphorescent cribbed from this one), "Big Muff" are all awesome. The top accolade, though, goes to "Small Hours" - good lord that is a serene slice of sublime beauty. Amazing stuff.
Elliott Smith
5/5
Great stuff - mellow and melancholy. I think I prefer his self titled slightly more, but this is still top notch.
Fave tracks - "Between the Bars", "No Name No. 5" and "2:45 AM" all stood out this time around.
The Fall
4/5
Always different, always the same, as the Peel line goes. I do enjoy their schtick, but I don't think any Fall album is gonna get to a 5 with me. But at the same time, probably never get a 3 or lower either? 4s for The Fall, then!
Fave tracks - "Frightened" is a fun kick off. "Rebellious Jukebox" and "Futures and Pasts" are both stand outs. "Bingo-Master's Break Out!" and "Various Times" if we're allowed to include bonus tracks!
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
5/5
This is probably a 3 for the actual listening, but I gotta give it 5 stars for the bit, and what a bit it is! Rounding up a bunch of talented musicians and locking them down and making them rehearse the shit out of some horribly complex compositions over and over again until they can nail them every time - and the compositions in question sound, to the average listener, like a bunch of talentless fools playing at random? Top bants! 😆
Also, this review has been something of a personal revelation - I saw some of the other reviews talking about how looooong this was which struck me as odd - I assumed the site was linking to some anniversary edition with a disc of bonus tracks or something (which would have been a great bit in itself!) but it turns out my copy of this album is incomplete! I only had the first disc?! I've taken a crack at this album every now and again over the years and it turns out I've only ever listened to half of it!? 😆
Fave tracks - from the half I'm familiar with, "Ella Guru", "Moonlight in Vermont", "Neon Meate Dream Of A Octafish", "China Pig". From the new to me half, "Pena" (I love all the "fast & bulbous" stuff 😆 ), "Well" (quasi Gregorian chant!?), "The Blimp (Mousetrap Replica)"
Eurythmics
4/5
My rehabilitation to 80s music continues! To be fair, I've always thought the title track from this album slaps - and it's gotta be one of the main inspirations for the whole electroclash genre too, right?
I'm torn between a 4 and 5 on this one - there are some undeniably 5 star tracks, but there are some super dated sounding filler tracks too, and while they're maybe fun, they bring the average down. 🤔
Fave tracks - "Love Is A Stranger" is fantastic! "The Walk" is great. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" is obviously still iconic. "Jennifer" sounds like it could be dropped into OMD's "Architecture & Morality" fairly seamlessly. There's a fun cover of "Satellite of Love" in the bonus tracks of the edition I listened to, too... 🛰️
The Only Ones
4/5
Hmmm, don't think I've heard of theses folks before, and I wasn't very taken by this on first listen - mainly due to the singers voice I think? Warmed up to them quite a bit on the second listen, though. They remind me of someone I can't quite put my finger on..... Hanoi Rocks maybe? They've got that sleazy punky slightly goth slightly glam vibe...
Fave tracks - "Another Girl, Another Planet" which was apparently their big single, though I don't recall hearing it before. Also, "The Beast"....
Massive Attack
5/5
A nostalgia 5, for sure, but probably a 5 if I was hearing it for the first time too. Lot of affection for this album - one of the first non-metal albums I got into as I left my mid teens.
Sets a fantastic tone and blends a bunch of separate elements into something cohesive and smoky and dark.
Fave tracks - "Safe From Harm" has that throbbing bassline. "Unfinished Sympathy" is magnificent. "Hymn of the Big Wheel" is an epic closer.
The United States Of America
5/5
This is awesome! I like that late 60s psychedelia vibe and this is an exceptional example - the electronics make a great addition to it, and certain chunks sound way ahead of their time. The closing minutes of "The American Way of Love" wouldn't seem out of place on a late 90s downtempo / turntablism type record, for example.
Fave track - "Where is Yesterday" - I am a sucker for that sort of falling violin sound effect.
Sepultura
5/5
🤘 BADASS. 🤘
I don't have much of a relationship with this album - I was way more team Metallica back in the day, and didn't have the resources to invest in all of Sepultura's back catalog - I went for "Chaos AD" and "Roots" instead. But this is great! Everything I like about classic thrash, with their own subtle twists thrown in (and none of the nu metal taint that crept into "Roots")!
Fave track - "Dead Embryonic Cells" ☠️
Radiohead
5/5
Yes, I'm giving it five stars and I love it, but I'm also gonna carp on about Dimery being a fool for including this AND "Kid A" in the list - they're doing the exact same thing a year apart - completely unnecessary. 🙄
Fave tracks - "Pyramid Song", "You and Whose Army?", "Knives Out", "Like Spinning Plates"
Fever Ray
4/5
I dig this kinda thing, though it falls a little short of Dead Can Dance which is presumably what it's shooting for.
Wait..... there's no Dead Can Dance on the list? DIIIIIIIMERY!!! 😡
Anyway, yeah, I like this album - the theme tune to Vikings is awesome, and not many of the other tunes hit that level unfortunately.
Fave tracks "If I Had a Heart", "Now's the Only Time I Know", and "Keep the Streets Empty For Me"...
The Triffids
3/5
This didn't really land for me - I need my new wave to be either darker, more experimental, or maybe more bangin'. Wasn't actively irritating, though, and the song title "Vagabond Holes" caused a certain amount of side eye.
Fave track - "Keely's Blues"
Koffi Olomide
5/5
Fantastic music for a hot and sunny day, so upbeat and joyful!
The genre is "soukous" apparently, and according to last.fm Koffi Olomide is one of most popular artist in that genre, so maybe this is a good pick? I really wish Dimery had spent a lot more time listening to world music to put this list together!
Despite not having knowingly listened to this before, it gets a big nostalgia bump because as a young kid I had a crystal radio kit that attached to a radiator as an aerial, and one of the strongest stations it could pick up was playing world music like this.
Fave track - eh, "Elixir", let's say, but the whole album is a vibe...
Yes
4/5
Hmmmm, I liked this more than "Close To The Edge", which I should probably listen to again. Between the list bringing that album up and this one, I acquired slightly more of a taste for Yes.
Their single "Owner of a Lonely Heart", from a much later album, was used extensively in an episode of "Dead Boy Detectives" and it was pretty cool - I thought maybe Yes went through a new wave phase, but listening to "Roundabout", I think they had that dog in em all along.
Fave track - "Roundabout" is definitely the stand out - "We Have Heaven" is nice too, though feels like a snippet of something that should be longer...
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
Eh, this was fine - didn't get me too excited, but didn't piss me off either. Jam bands aren't particularly my thing - for every passage that made me go "oh, that was neat" there was another that made me go "hmmm, that's a bit self indulgent even for my tastes".
Dunno, I guess I'd go 3.5 on it, but I'm rounding down as it's definitely not a 4.
Fave track - "Hot 'Lanta" maybe? The slowed down "You Don't Love Me" had its charms, too...
George Harrison
4/5
I've listened to this album at least a couple of times before but the reviews here alerted me to the fact that the CD version properly butchers the track order - they drop bonus tracks at the end of _both_ discs?! Who does that! So yeah, rewrote my tags to use the original vinyl track order, and that improves the album a bunch.
It's definitely up there with anything the Beatles did, and it's lacking a certain twee wackiness they often indulge in, which I count as a plus. Not quite a 5 for me, but 4.5 if that were possible, sure.
Fave tracks - "My Sweet Lord" is pretty iconic. "Beware of Darkness" for those lovely chords. If we're including the Apple Jam tracks as part of the album proper, then "Out of the Blue" is maybe my fave track on the whole album - it sounds like Spiritualized style spacerock!
Joanna Newsom
5/5
I’ve seen Joanna Newsome live a couple of times and love her dearly. At one point at one of the shows her thumb split open and she just calmly took a minute or two to superglue it closed and then carried on. So metal! 🤘
I get that her voice can be divisive, and the reviews here didn't disappoint! 😆
Fave track - "Monkey & Bear", but really the whole album is tip top!
The White Stripes
4/5
Hmmm, my third White Stripes album, which feels a bit superfluous - they're not really doing anything on this album they weren't doing on their earlier albums? 🤷
I don't have much of a history with this album so it doesn't enjoy as much of a nostalgia bump as the others, but it's still some competently executed biz.
Fave tracks - "The Nurse" is fun, for the xylophone or xylophone-adjacent usage. "The Denial Twist" and "Take Take Take" were both standouts, too.
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
My third and final Echo & the Bunnymen album from the list, and I've definitely acquired a taste for them. Goth adjacent post-punk is very much where it's at!
Fave track - "The Cutter" - possibly my fave track of theirs from any album!
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
4/5
Hmmm, inoffensive enough, although not exactly captivating. I guess I enjoyed it enough while it was playing but nothing's really stuck with me, and I'm ambivalent amount more listens - might just not be in a receptive mood, I suppose.
Fave track - "Northern Whale", maybe? "Three Chances" had me looking up the track name, too...
Silver Jews
4/5
I only dipped my toes into the Silver Jews discography after enjoying the Purple Mountains project when that came along in 2019 - getting used to his vocal delivery takes an adjustment, so I imagine a lot of casual listeners hate this, but it definitely rewards the effort!
I can see that more little details unlock with each listen so it's not hard to imagine this might rise to a 5 with more familiarity.
Fave tracks - "Horseleg Swastikas" and "Tennessee" grabbed me hardest.
Little Simz
5/5
This slaps - her flows are awesome and the production is sick, and as others have noted, it's short and sweet - no skit bloat on this album!
As an aside, I was listening to Herbie Hancock's "Head Hunters" immediately before this, and the backing track on "Offence" could absolutely have been a "Head Hunters" bonus track - confused me for a second there! 😆
Fave tracks - as well as "Offence", "Venom" is absolutely BADASS - gave me spine tingles!
The Chemical Brothers
5/5
I wasn't too receptive to electronic music when this came out, so first encountered it in a batch with their next two albums as well, and it's certainly my least favorite out of that list - was considering giving it a 4 as a result, but it won me back around to a 5.
Fave tracks - "Leave Home" and "Chemical Beats" from the slamming first half, "One Too Many Mornings
and "Alive Alone" from the cool down half!
Slade
4/5
It's a blessed relief to hear non-Christmas Slade songs! 🙏
Straight ahead party hard rock, it's a fun listen. Amuses me that they spelled the song titles as they did, but Noddy's singing voice is actually pretty well enunciated - he doesn't drop the H when singing "I won't let it happen again", for example. I suppose a full on Wolverhampton accent while singing probably wouldn't fly though, heh.
Fave tracks - "I Won't Let It 'Appen Agen", "Mama Weer All Crazee Now", and "I Don' Mind" for the originals - their cover of "Move Over" is pretty good too!
Herbie Hancock
5/5
Awwww yeah, this is funky as hell! I've listened to this album once or twice over the years, I'm sure, but it didn't leave much of an impression. Possibly because it works too well as background music. It certainly landed this time though, I really dug it.
Fave track - "Chameleon" is awesome. Love the beer bottle on "Watermelon Man", too - I think maybe Cristobal Tapia de Veer heard that and it set off an explosion in his brain and led to his weird wibbly wobbly sound!
Digital Underground
2/5
Hmmmm, exceedingly cringe content, basic-at-best flows, unexciting production. This was a bit of a chore to get through and I'm not giving it a second listen. It was maybe less horrible than the Dr Dre and Kanye albums I scored as a 2, so I guess this one is like a 2.4 - it ain't getting rounded up to a three at any rate.
Fave track - "Underwater Rimes" was the highlight. I liked the parts of "Doowutchyalike" that addressed the radio station / block party DJ too, I guess, if not so much the rest of the song.
The Beach Boys
4/5
Ok, this is my second Beach Boys album through the project, after "Surf's Up", which is their almost-anti-Beach-Boys album - and this one is them deliberately stepping away from singing about surfing and cars? I believe the only other album of theirs on the list is "Pet Sounds", so Dimery apparently hasn't included any of their baseline albums?! What a joke! The Beatles and Stones both get their earliest albums included, when they were basically just covers bands, but we don't get a an exemplar of the classic Beach Boys sound!? 😡
Anyway, this is a pleasant enough listen, as one would expect - great harmonies and summery vibes, albeit with slightly gross patriarchal lyrics.
Fave tracks - "Help Me, Ronda" is the one I knew going in, and "She Knows Me Too Well" from the less well known tracks....
The Darkness
4/5
This was pretty inescapable when it first came out, but not gonna lie, it also felt like a much needed injection of straight forward fun into the UK music scene at the time.
So, a slight nostalgia bump, but I think not quite enough to get to a 5 - the album is pretty front loaded and the second half doesn't go nearly as hard as the first.
Fave track - "Growing on Me" this time around. "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" just got way too overplayed...
Japan
4/5
This was decent enough on first listen, and then I spotted it came out in 1979 on my second listen! 😳 Sounds great for coming that early in the synth pop trend! Very polished.
Fave tracks - "Fall In Love With Me" is a mood. Their cover of "All Tomorrow's Parties" didn't land for me on first listen, but really grew on me second time around!
Minutemen
5/5
I’ve listened to another Minutemen album before, but never this one. Wow, really doesn’t fit my mental model of hardcore punk - in a good way! I do love an album that blunders around the genre map from track to track.
Had to give it three spaced out listens to start to get a grip on it, and could definitely still benefit from more - I’m sure different things will stand out each time.
Fave tracks - “Viet Nam” for that spiky post-punk sound, “Cohesion” for some lovely classical guitar, “Two Beads at the End” is totally new wave, sounds a bit Talking Heads in fact, “Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing” is a laugh, “Corona” is very jolly, “There Ain't Shit On T.V. Tonight” gives great slacker ennui.
The Louvin Brothers
4/5
I dug this - country closer to Appalachian folk than anything else, and who doesn't like a good murder ballad!
Fave tracks - "In The Pines" - this version is positively cheery compared to modern versions. Also liked "Alabama".
1/5
This'll be my 925th review, and only the second to get 1 star.
Absolute dogshit, and the dog was unwell and is being force fed gross stuff. Not only does it have basically no redeeming features, but it goes out of its way to point out how shitty it is. The first track after the intro lifts a bunch of stuff from NIN and FUCK ME you did not want to invite that comparison, you red hat wearing fucking chump! Every time they lift a lyric from another song it rubs it in your face how utterly shite it is.
Fave track..... kinda boxed myself into picking at least one per album, so let's say "Intro" as it's mercifully short and doesn't have Durst singing on it. 😒
These guys and Kid Rock deserve each other in my 1 star containment facility - may their lives be beset by tragedy and poor health.
Orbital
5/5
A strong 5 from me - I fricking love Orbital.
I see a lot of reviewers moaning about "Time Becomes" - first of all, have some respect, that's Worf talking! Secondly, I wanna play these people some actual experimental music and watch their heads disintegrate like time-lapsed rotting pumpkins. 😈
Fave tracks - "Halcyon + On + On" is an all time fave track of mine from any band in any genre, so there's that. "Lush 3-2" also stood out on this play through....
Wild Beasts
4/5
I see some other reviewers making comparisons to The XX, music-wise, and yeah, that rings true. But whereas The XX have soft mumbly chill vocals, (which I admittedly prefer) these folks went, ahem, another route. Still, though, you'd think a little falsetto caused the cancer the way people are complaining about it! 🙄
I found this an interesting listen, for sure - probably more likely to revisit The XX than these folks, though - I probably shoulda given "xx" 5 stars.
Fave tracks - "Two Dancers" stood out, and "Through the Iron Gate" was a moody, proggy closer...
Fun Lovin' Criminals
4/5
Heh, this is kinda mid, but benefits from a bit of a nostalgia bump - pretty sure I owned a copy at one point, in fact!
I remember "Scooby Snacks" had an official video without the Tarantino samples - just rewatched it, and enjoyed the "You ain't got nothin' on us, cop!" chair shake that replaces one of them. 😆
Despite there being a fair amount of cringe here, I still have a lot of affection for quite a few of the songs. Can't quite mark this a 5, but 4.5 maybe, the nostalgia is that strong.
Fave tracks - "Scooby Snacks", obvs, but "The Fun Lovin' Criminal", "Smoke 'Em", "I Can't Get With That" (including the Schmoove version) and "Come Find Yourself" all made me happy...
James Taylor
3/5
I've apparently listened to this album once before but it didn't leave much of an impression. It's getting a weird amount of hate in the reviews here, did James Taylor do something? 😳
Seemed inoffensive enough to me - the attempts at soul were a bit cringe, preferred the folkier end of things, for sure.
Fave tracks - "Lo and Behold" for the folkiness. "Fire and Rain" rang a bell when I heard it and I was initially thinking maybe I heard a cover version, but I'm pretty sure it was the appearance on the Simpsons I was thinking of! 😆
The Boo Radleys
4/5
Huh, definitely had these folks mixed up with someone else in my head - I was expecting something much more poppy, and definitely not anything shoegaze adjacent.
This was an engaging listen - I enjoyed the different genres they dabbled in - will definitely have to revisit this in the future!
Fave track - "Butterfly McQueen" - I like the dubby basslines dropping in...
Adele
3/5
Hmmm, it's all very competently done, but none of it really connects with me. I'm glad my media bubble had become pretty hardened by 2011 because if I was forced to listen to some of these tracks repeatedly I suspect I'd grow to hate them, but as it is, I feel pretty neutral about em.
Fave track - uh, "Someone Like You" maybe? I was gonna say "Rumour Has It" as it stood out on these listens, but I suspect more repetitions and it'd start to annoy me...
Blur
4/5
I had a very anti-Britpop reaction at the time, but this album marked the beginning of Blur putting some space between themselves and Oasis, and becoming not totally contemptible to me - "Song 2" was obviously an olive branch to my metalhead self, and quickly become a staple at every rock club. 🤘
Listening now, I enjoyed the various flavors of indie rock experimentation here.
Fave tracks - "Beetlebum" and "Song 2" are still pretty decent, even if a little overexposed. Huh. "M.O.R." was apparently a single as well? Ok, then, "I'm Just A Killer For Your Love" from the non-singles...
Deee-Lite
2/5
Yeah, this is not for me - too poppy in spirit, and the music sounds pretty clunkily dated, to boot.
Was thinking it would scrape a 3 but the second listen really felt like a chore, so down to 2 it goes.
Fave track - "Groove is in the Heart" is obviously pretty iconic, and does seem to have an energy most of the other tracks lack. "Deee-Lite Theme" actually piqued my interest pretty hard on first listen - it has a moodiness I'd liked to have seen more of in the rest of the album... "Who Was That" was ok, I suppose.
Goldie
5/5
Without a doubt this is _the_ coffee table drum & bass album, and I'm pretty sure it was my entry point to the genre, and gateway to the harder stuff. A glorious cinematic sound. Massive props to Diane Charlemagne and Lorna Harris for the beautiful vocals that tie everything together and make it a cohesive listen.
Fave track - the "Inner City Life" section of the title track is iconic. "Angel" is awesome. "You and Me" is a great closer....
The Band
3/5
Didn't connect with this as much as "Music From Big Pink". It was alright, I suppose, but not much stood out, and it wasn't as folky as I'd probably prefer.
Fave track - "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" I think. "When You Awake" was alright too...
Holger Czukay
5/5
Weirdly awesome, and awesomely weird! Amazingly mature use of sampling for 1979 - prefigures a whole bunch of genres.
The video for "Cool in the Pool" is a true oddity, and well worth seeking out. Turns out I was familiar with that track (and one other from a different album) from the "Morvern Callar" soundtrack.
Loved this, and definitely need to dig through the rest of his discography!
Fave track - "Cool in the Pool" for something a little poppy, "Oh Lord Give Us More Money" for feeling like a voyage.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4/5
I think a Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers "best of" compilation was in the rotation of music I listened to at a job in the early 2000s, so this benefits from a bit of a nostalgia bump.
The tracks I recognize are great, but some of the others feel a bit filler.
Fave tracks - "Breakdown" and "American Girl" are both classics. Hah, I was gonna pick "Anything that's Rock n Roll" as a fave from the other tracks, but I checked and I'm pretty sure that was on the compilation too. Let's say "Luna" then....
Talking Heads
5/5
Oh yeah, Talking Heads firing on all cylinders - magic!
Fave tracks - "Once in a Lifetime" is obviously a cultural juggernaut and absolutely deserves all praise heaped upon it. I love the opening three track run leading up to it, "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" -> "Crosseyed and Painless" -> "The Great Curve" - they kinda carve out their own world and set up the rest of the album...
TV On The Radio
5/5
Huh, I gave "Dear Science" only 3 stars and really struggled to connect with it. This album, on the other hand, immediately hits the spot. I guess I played it a few times in the late 2000's so the familiarity probably helps. Gonna revisit "Dear Science" to give it another chance, I think.
Fave tracks - "Staring at the Sun" is an obvious choice - dig all the a capella biz on "Ambulance" too!
Björk
5/5
Oh, this is cool - I kinda stopped following Björk's releases closely after the 90s so had no idea she did an album where almost all the noises are human voices - I woulda dug that!
(Side note, making an album where almost all the noises are human voices and bringing Rahzel on board kinda feels like cheating, but damn, he does great work!)
This was a great discovery, will definitely be revisiting.
Fave tracks - "Where is the Line" and "Who Is It (Carry My Joy On The Left, Carry My Pain On The Right)" but really this is a whole-album trip!
Sonic Youth
5/5
This is my fourth Sonic Youth album from the project, and the earliest so far - only "EVOL" to go. I dunno whether this is actually better / more graspable than their other albums or whether I've just grown to appreciate their schtick more, but this really hits the spot. Definitely need to spend some time with their whole discography!
Fave tracks - "(I Got A) Catholic Block" is stompin, "Pacific Coast Highway" is cinematic, and "White Cross" slaps...
XTC
5/5
Picking this over "Drums & Wires" has me 🤨.
Still, though, it's a good XTC album - seeing some reviews talk about the different versions, I made sure to listen to one with both "Dear God" and "Mermaid Smiled" on it, though "Mermaid Smiled" didn't really strike me as an essential.
I love these guys.
Fave tracks - "Dear God" is the big one, and a fave to sing at karaoke if I get the chance - 2.40 on is great fun to sing. "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" is a fun jazzy departure from everything else. I really dig the opening run of "Summer's Cauldron" -> "Grass" -> "The Meeting Place" - really does instill a summery vibe over proceedings!
Destiny's Child
3/5
I'm not at all the target audience for this, and that's ok. The singles from this album were absolutely inescapable, so it's a testament to Destiny's Child talent that I don't loathe them - generally hearing them come on the radio would be a relief compared to whatever else was getting played to death.
Fave tracks - "Independent Women Part 1" from the singles, "Happy Face" from the songs I hadn't heard before...
Christina Aguilera
3/5
A pop double album didn't exactly fill me with excitement, but fortunately this wasn't too much of an ordeal - probably in large part because it came out after my media bubble had solidified, so there were no tracks I'd already been wretchedly overexposed to.
Still, this is not for me. I guess I should take a moment and be thankful that Robert Dimery treats pop as such an afterthought because I don't think I'd enjoy this project nearly as much if he took it seriously and had a couple of hundred extra pop entries.
Fave tracks - eh, "Makes Me Wanna Pray" from disc 1 - anything is improved with a gospel choir slapped over it. And "Candyman" from disc 2, for that old timey feel.
Arrested Development
5/5
Good stuff, and I think it's aged a little more gracefully than A Tribe Called Quest's albums from around the same time. Less overt misogyny, for one thing.
Benefits from a little nostalgia bump, and doesn't disrupt the flow with a bunch of skits.
Fave tracks - "People Everyday" and "Mr. Wendal" from the singles, "U" from the album tracks!
PJ Harvey
5/5
PJ Harvey kicks ass. Pretty sure I heard this in the mid nineties and while it didn't click with me as it wasn't metal enough, I had to give her props. It sure lands a treat these days!
Fave tracks - "Rid of Me" is a great opener. Both versions of "Man-Size" are great. "Me-Jane" slaps.
TLC
3/5
Hmmmm, I had Christina Aguilera and Destiny's Child this week as well - bit of a pop streak!
I think I had a more intense, but more variable reaction to this album than those other two. With them, I was pretty much ambivalent throughout, but with "CrazySexyCool" I actually kinda dig some of the tracks, and then actively dislike some of the others - I guess it's gonna wash out to a 3, but maybe a 3.5 if that were an option. 🤔
Fave tracks - I think I prefer "Creep" to "Waterfalls" when it comes to the singles, and "Diggin' On You" for the album tracks. Oh, wikipedia tells me that was a single too, huh. 🤷
Portishead
5/5
Portishead's ethereal trip-hop with an added splash of krautrock and industrial? Don't mind if I do!
Fave tracks - "Silence" is a monster, "The Rip" is cinematic as hell, "We Carry On" is a beast, "Machine Gun" has long been a favorite. Awesomeness all round, really.
Slayer
5/5
Slayer were always my second favorite out of the big 4 thrash bands - I probably woulda gone with "Seasons in the Abyss" over "Reign in Blood" but it's still a sold pick, so I won't quibble.
They really went balls to the wall to push everything OTT - yes, it's very silly from certain angles, but that's part of the fun!
I was probably leaning towards a 4 for this, but the specter of metalhead teenage me materialized and demanded a 5 while yelling SLAYurrrrrr over and over again.
Fave tracks - "Angel of Death" is an immense opener and a declaration of intentions. "Jesus Saves" is lolz. "Raining Blood" is an excellent closer.... 🤘
Laibach
5/5
Oh yeah, this was a missing puzzle piece in my musical landscape. I've got a bunch of "martial industrial" music that makes great WH40K background music, and I guess this is where that genre sprang from. I'm guessing this is also what Tool were riffing on with their track "Die Eier Von Satan"... 😆
It's kinda strange I hadn't checked these guys out already as I'm a fan of industrial music generally - I guess the fashy aesthetic put me off giving them a chance. Glad to learn that they're satirizing fascism rather than it being in earnest.
Fave tracks - "Geburt Einer Nation" is great - gets the message across loud and clear! "Leben Heißt Leben" and "Opus Dei" work well together. "Trans-national" is cool, and I dig the frenetic "Jägerspiel" too.
Grateful Dead
4/5
Liked this a lot more than "American Beauty" - some sections of the jams were a definite bop. Probably coulda done without the bluesy number, but otherwise, yeah, I guess I can see more why they gained the cult following they did.
Fave tracks - chunks of "Dark Star" were great. "The Eleven" was cool too...
The Byrds
4/5
A surprise 5th Byrds album! I thought there were only 4 on the list for some reason.
Well, I liked this more than quite a few of the others, so I guess doing this project has taught me that I prefer the early Byrds (before their arrangements got too baroque ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ). Or, to be more serious, I guess I preferred their psychedelia to their later more folky / country stuff.
Fave tracks - "Mr. Spaceman" for some vintage saucer worship, "Eight Miles High" was good, and I enjoyed their slightly frenetic cover of "Hey Joe". (Huh, I looked "Hey Joe" up just to double check that it was actually a cover and it turns out Hendrix wasn't the originator!? Damn, he really made that song his own though....)
Dion
3/5
Don't think I've ever heard of this guy, or knowingly heard any of his tunes - I dunno, maybe I've heard some of his doo-wop stuff? (Which, now that I think about it - there should really be some straight up doo-wop on this list, right? Kinda crazy that whole genre gets stiffed by Dimery, though not, I suppose, surprising. 😒)
Anyway, this is fine, I guess - didn't really grab me but didn't rub me the wrong way either. Won't object to it reappearing but unlikely to seek it out again.
Fave track - uh, "Your Own Back Yard" maybe, for the storytellin'.
Funkadelic
5/5
Funky and groovy - not even all the weird scatological stuff can knock off a star!
Fave tracks - "One Nation Under A Groove" is a great opener, and gets the party started. "Cholly" and "Lunchmeataphobia" are great. And of course, any version of "Maggot Brain" is always welcome...
Neil Young
4/5
Not one of his albums I'm particularly familiar with - quite a revelation to hear "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and realize the Saint Etienne version is a cover!
It's got everything I love about Neil Young going on, so I reckon with more listens it would rise to a 5, but we'll stick with 4 for now.
Fave tracks - as well as "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", "Don't Let It Bring You Down" and "When You Dance, I Can Really Love You" stood out...
Scritti Politti
2/5
Oof, my new wave rehabilitation hasn't stretched this far - this is way too poppy for my taste - I get that it's kinda pastiching pop music of the time, but still. 😒
Fave tracks - "Flesh & Blood" if that's allowed, as it's straight up reggae. "The Word Girl" as a a runner up, due to the dubby flavor - would have enjoyed this album a lot more if they went dub on every track...
Emmylou Harris
4/5
This doesn't sound like my pre-conceived idea of country music. (Complimentary.)
I see it's described as folk / world fusion, and yeah, that makes sense - I dig those genres and I dig what this is doing. It's really reminding me of another specific album but I can't quite put my finger on it.
Fave tracks - "Michelangelo" and "J'ai Fait Tout"
Elvis Presley
4/5
On the one hand, it's a pleasure to hear a bunch of new-to-me Elvis songs - I think I'd only heard "Fever" before. On the other hand, that's perhaps an argument against this specific album being included on the list? Or, I dunno, maybe it's an argument _for_ its inclusion.... 🤷
Fave track - as well as "Fever" which, c'mon, he does a good job of, I'll pick "Such a Night". I see some other reviewers mentioning "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" but I guess that was a bonus track - not present on my version, anyway, and I was interested to learn that that song's been around since the 20s, it's not Elvis' own!
Donald Fagen
4/5
The first track being cod-reggae, I thought this was a Sting / The Police rip-off act initially, but upon hearing more and reading up on the background, it's an extension of Steely Dan's yacht rock, which, it turns out, is something this project has positively inclined me toward... 🛥️
Certainly has its uses, and I can see myself returning to this when I want to invoke a specific mood.
Fave tracks - "New Frontier" was the stand out.
Cowboy Junkies
5/5
Oh, what a treat! Alt-country but make it dream poppy and slowcorey! 😍 I definitely thought of Twin Peaks when listening to this, and I see quite a few other reviewers making the same connection.
I think I had these folks mixed up with someone else in my head because I was expecting something more celtic punk? 😆 I'll definitely be revisiting this, and checking out more of their discography.
Fave tracks - "Mining for Gold" is an excellent opener. "Blue Moon Revisited (Song for Elvis)" and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" are both achingly beautiful. Their version of "Sweet Jane" was the only track I was already familiar with, I think, and it turns out I have 5 copies of it on various compilations and soundtracks, heh...
Jazmine Sullivan
3/5
An EP. 🤨
If you'll allow me to channel Walter from "The Big Lebowski" for a second....
THIS ISN'T 'NAM, DIMERY, THERE ARE RULES!
Adding an EP to the list is, ugh, par for the course, I suppose - Dimery is so clown shoes.
Anyway, on to the music itself - I'm very much not the target audience for this, so some of it didn't land. I do like the conceit of including interview snippets and then having songs expand on those themes. Can't help comparing it to Solange's "A Seat at the Table" for that reason, and "Heaux Tails" suffers somewhat in that comparison, but again, that's comparing an EP to an album, so 🤷
Fave track - "Put It Down". "On it" raised my eyebrows and caused a blush! 😳
Janis Joplin
5/5
Iconic stuff - she was a phenomenon!
Joplin is, of course, amazing, but her band on this are tight AF.
Fave tracks - "Move Over" is an awesome tune, and I liked Slade's version of it a few reviews back. It's got me wondering how many songs appear multiple times on this list, and which song is the most common! 🤔
"Mercedes Benz" is also tremendous stuff, though leave it to late stage capitalism to co-opt it into an actual advert. 😒 I also enjoyed hearing "Me and Bobby McGee" - I feel like that song title gets referenced a lot but I don't recall listening to the lyrics closely before...
Steely Dan
4/5
Hmmm, more consistent (and consequently slightly less fun) than "Can't Buy a Thrill", and not as yachty as "Pretzel Logic", I think this is my least favorite of the Steely Dan albums on the list. Still pretty solid, though - I can see myself coming back to it.
Fave track - "King of the World" at the moment, but maybe more listens would unlock more faves.
Gotan Project
5/5
Big nostalgia bump on this one, played it a lot in the early noughts. Tango meets trip-hop? Entirely my bag!
Fave tracks - "Queremos Paz" for kicking things off and setting the mood. Then, maybe, "Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre)" and "La del Ruso". This is more of an album album, though - doesn't make too much sense to talk about individual tracks...
Eagles
4/5
I dug this a surprising (to me) amount - certainly a lot more than their self titled. I'd go 4.5 on this one, if it were an option!
The first three tracks are a great run. Even though I've heard the title track probably too many times, it's still a great tune, and the next two carry that on. "Wasted Time" felt like the steam being let out of things, but "Wasted Time: Reprise" redeemed it somewhat.
I can certainly see myself revisiting this!
Fave tracks - "Life in the Fast Lane", "Victim of Love" and "Pretty Maids All In A Row"
The Clash
4/5
The Clash being more interesting than most of the genre right out of the gate - it's good stuff! I still prefer Strummer's solo stuff, but it's great to see where he came from.
I might need to check out the UK version of this album - seems it has some tracks not on the US version I find myself with.
Fave tracks - I mean, the covers "I Fought The Law" and "Police & Thieves" are probably the stand outs, here, but let's pick "Clash City Rockers" and "White Riot" for the originals!
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
4/5
Yeah, when I think of "prog", this is what it sounds like - and the album cover is a cut above!
I'd barely listened to any other EL&P so this is serving as a useful gap-filling exercise.
Fave tracks - the title track is great, especially the last couple of movements. Also enjoyed "Bitches Crystal". The comedy relief tracks, "Jeremy Bender" and "Are You Ready Eddy?" also had their charms, alarming lyrics notwithstanding....
Sabu
3/5
An interesting listen. I did capoeira for a while and some of these tracks made me nostalgic for all the singing involved. (I know this is Spanish rather than Portuguese but like any Englishman, I can just barely tell the difference.)
It's a bit too rough around the edges for me to want to revisit it often, so misses out on a fourth star, but still appreciated.
Fave tracks - "Billumba-Palo Congo" for all the call and response stuff. Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso" and "Tribilin Cantore" are pleasant listens, too...
Brian Eno
5/5
I almost did this album real dirty. Think I had it confused in my head with the David Byrne / Fatboy Slim project "Here Lies Love" which came out in 2010, so I was kinda nonplussed listening to this mashup of world music, samples and electronica, thinking I'd heard plenty of other projects that did the same thing but better. Just before submitting a scathing review saying I'd expect more originality from Eno and Byrne I noticed that it actually came out in 1981! That makes _way_ more sense, and all the projects I was thinking of actually used this as a foundation!
So yeah, massive props to this album - it spawned a couple of different genres that I really like.
Fave tracks - doesn't make tremendous sense to pick out individual tracks on this one, but "Regiment", "The Jezebel Spirit" and "Two Against Three" had me looking their names up on the last play through, so let's say them....
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
3/5
I've apparently unknowingly heard a few tracks by this band on compilations over the years, but have otherwise steered clear of them, probably because of the name? I was expecting some sort boomer-friendly vanilla blues dreck, not this raucous AF garage rock!
My cats really did not like the screaming in the first track, heh.
Once I got over my genre surprise, eh, this is ok - an interesting listen, though nothing grabbed me very strongly and I don't feel much of a need to revisit.
Fave track - eh, "R.L. Got Soul" maybe - gotta say, I didn't feel compelled to look up many of the track names while listening....
The Zutons
4/5
I didn't really care for these folks at the time but listening now I'm not sure why - they're kinda half way between The Coral and The Bees and I like both of those bands. I dunno, maybe their marketing was irritating and put me off?
I like their sound and I'm a fan of wailing sax being added to rock - I prefer their more upbeat stuff to the mellower songs.
Fave tracks - "Zuton Fever" - wish the whole album had this energy or more so. "Dirty Dancehall" slaps too....
Beach House
5/5
An easy 5 stars - I love this album. Sublimely dreamy stuff.
I see a bunch of people giving 1 star views and, frankly, I suspect those people were born without human souls.
Fave tracks - "Zebra" is possibly my fave Beach House track from any album. "Used to Be" and "Take Care" are both wonderful, too.
Pulp
4/5
Absolutely loathed the singles in '95 - they were absolutely inescapable, and got played over an over again.
The William Shatner / Joe Jackson version of "Common People" did a lot to rehabilitate them in my eyes, and then living in Japan for a while, they're great fun to sing at karaoke. So yeah, this play through was good! Enjoyed pretty much everything. Some of the stuff on the bonus disc I listened to started to grate, but the album itself was solidly enjoyable.
Fave tracks - "Common People" from the singles (though I will alway prefer the Shatner version in my heart), and "F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E" from the tracks I hadn't heard before!
Jimmy Smith
4/5
Definitely on the cool end of jazz - had me feeling like I'd stepped into a Steven Soderbergh movie - time to plan a casino heist! 😎
Fave track - "Back at the Chicken Shack"
American Music Club
3/5
Hmmm, a bit bland - didn't really grab me and I gave it a third spin because my attention slid right off it on the second. I think I either want it to be a bit more chill, or even relax into full on slowcore, or to be a bit more intense and rocking. "Bad Liquor" was presumably included as a gag track but I'd have liked a lot more of the album to be like that!
Fave track - "Blue and Grey Shirt" for being nearest the dreamy end of things.
The Crusaders
4/5
Smoove, very smoove! I'm a bit bemused at all the reviews calling this elevator music (derogatory) - those people only like music suited to one specific mood?
Fave tracks - "Street Life" is the big one, of course - "My Lady" carries on the goodness....
Christina Aguilera
2/5
A second Christina Aguilera album has hit the 1001 album project.
That is too much Christina Aguilera, c'mon. And, unlike "Back to Basics", I heard the singles from this one far too often. I am trying not to have a tantrum about this, but it's the morning after america decided to shit the planetary bed, so it's a struggle.
Fave track - "Make Over", which apparently ripped off the Sugababes and got her sued.
The Stooges
4/5
A little bit front loaded, this one, but it slaps none the less!
Fave tracks - "Search and Destroy" is a giant of a track, "Gimme Danger" is not far behind in stature. Really liked the sound of "Penetration" if not necessarily the title. 😏
4/5
Looking at all the 1 star reviews from people that think music must be fluffy, friendly and non-challenging like:
principal_skinner_pathetic.jpg
This is pretty badass, and nowhere near as extreme as some of these reviews make out. I probably couldn't listen to stuff like this every day, and definitely wouldn't want it inflicted on me without choice, but every now and again it's good to listen to something that stretches your boundaries!
Fave track - "Feet Music" is probably the most accessible? I enjoyed what "Peace Warriors" did too!
Talk Talk
5/5
Loveliness! I'm more into their proto-post-rock genre-shaping later albums "Spirit of Eden" and "Laughing Stock", which I'd argue shoulda been included on the list as well of or instead of this one, but fine, I can get on with this transitional album quite nicely.
Actually, given how much this project has softened my hardline stance towards poppy new wave, I should probably check out their earlier albums too - I'd probably dig them now! 🤔
Fave tracks - "Life's What You Make It" is the big one for me. "Give It Up" is great too.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
Bit of a weird one! A concept half-album, followed by an assortment of odds and ends. I'm afraid I found that "Voices of Old People" really torpedoed the concept album - really interrupted the flow. I think it needed to either be quite a bit shorter, or to have some music layered in more thickly or something.
I think this is my least favorite of the three Simon & Garfunkel albums on the list, but it's not bad by any means.
Fave tracks - "Mrs. Robinson" is the big one. A fun karaoke tune! Of the tunes I hadn't heard as much before, "Old Friends", "A Hazy Shade of Winter" and "You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies" all stood out to me...
Elvis Presley
4/5
Mid career Elvis, eh? This is the version that got sampled in Blade Runner 2049? That's certainly the vibe I'm getting, anyway.
An enjoyable listen - I quite dig the more croony songs.
Fave tracks - "In The Ghetto" is an amazing tune, and the one I was most familiar with going in. The bonus tracks included a cracking rendition of "Suspicious Minds", too. Of the tracks I was less familiar with, "True Love Travels On A Gravel Road" was my fave....
Doves
5/5
Automatic 5 from me - I love love love this album!
I was introduced to Doves as being former techno DJs that had switched to making indie rock but hadn't lost sight of the idea they were making music for people on drugs, and while I don't know how true that is, the end results are hard to argue with!
There's a dreamlike quality to the album, the way the songs blend into each other, the build ups of euphoria and the cool downs on the other side, the samples adding texture - it's all wonderfully cinematic, which is one of the main things I look for in music.
I am still pained seeing people compare them to Coldplay. 😆
Fave tracks - love the opening run of "Fire Suite" -> "Here it Comes" -> "Break Me Gently". Love the switchup of tone across "The Man Who Told Everything" -> "The Cedar Room"
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
Some list quibbling first - this AND "Tigermilk" should not be on the list together - they were released the same year and they're doing the exact same thing! The only way an artist should get two albums from the same year on the list is if they do something radically different in both of them - that's understood, right? That's just natural knowledge - the beasts of the field understand as much! 😠
Anyway, now that that's out of the way, yeah, this is good - Belle and Sebastien doing their thing. I don't like it as much as "Tigermilk" purely due to the lack of nostalgia - I never obtained a copy of this, never built up a relationship with it. The early 2000s were a dark time when it was not possible to access basically any music you wanted within seconds, so these kind of gaps in listening were frequent!
Fave track - "Me and the Major" on these playthroughs. It's all charming stuff though....
Blondie
5/5
An absurdly strong album. A bunch of these tunes I've heard an order of magnitude more times than I'd voluntarily choose to, and they still sound great. Debbie Harry is ridiculously listenable.
Fave tracks - "Hanging on the Telephone", "One Way or Another", "Sunday Girl" and "Heart of Glass" from the overplayed tracks. My overall fave from these listens, though, has to be "I Know But I Don't Know" - great stuff!
The Thrills
4/5
Huh, this was a surprise. When I started doing this project in 2021 I downloaded as many versions of the list as I could and merged them together so I could track things in a spreadsheet. 🤓 This wasn't on any of them. All the reviews start from mid 2023 so I guess this was added to the latest version of the book? 🤷
Well, I didn't think I'd heard anything by them, but when "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)" kicked off it was familiar, though I'm pretty sure I'd assumed it was a Flaming Lips song when I heard it.
These folks do an excellent job of nailing a particular sound, it's pretty baffling to learn they're Irish! Somewhere between The Flaming Lips and Grandaddy, but lacking any of the experimental weirdness. That makes them more accessible, I suppose, though a bit less interesting.
I can't go 5 stars on this because it's a little bit one note, but 4.5, sure.
Fave tracks - "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)" and then let's say "Hollywood Kids" for all the lap steel guitar.
Marvin Gaye
5/5
I see quite a few reviews complaining about this album being "one note" but that's rather missing the point - this is utility music!
This is an album you put on for a specific purpose, to set a specific mood, and you want it to maintain that mood, for, (checks runtime) 32 minutes. (Only 32 minutes Marvin? 😏 )
Anyway, you set a mood like this, you don't want to be jarred out of it, is what I'm saying.
I docked "What's Going On" a star for exactly that reason - the preachy schmalzy tracks really brought things down. Here, Marvin Gaye is staying on topic, and the topic is getting it on.
Fave track - as well as "Let's Get It On", let's say the comically dated titled "You Sure Love to Ball"...
Sonic Youth
5/5
This project has solidified the idea that I've been missing out by not digging into Sonic Youth more heavily. Definitely gonna go through their whole discography when this is over.
I really dug this! I'm not sure whether it's this specific album's properties, or just that I've grown to appreciate their schtick overall, but I think this is my fave of their albums on the list.
Hmmm, there's a comment on last.fm saying "Probably their most boring and unremarkable album", which made me feel like a noob. But then on wikipedia it's mentioned that Kim Gordon has referred to it as the band’s “goth record” so that makes me feel better! 🖤
Fave tracks - "Shadow of a Doubt" and "Secret Girl" are both awesome. Kim Gordon breathy vocal goth tracks, yes please. "Death to our Friends" rocks. "Bubblegum" is a kick ass closer!
Marvin Gaye
5/5
My third Marvin Gaye from the list, and only a couple of days after "Let's Get It On". I've apparently listened to this before, but must have put it on as background music as I didn't have any particular memories of it.
I was pretty captivated first play through - none of the preachy stuff that put me off "What's Going On" and not as relentlessly horny as "Let's Get In On" - a mood that intrigued me but was hard to pin down, melancholy, wistful, with, yes, a splash of horniness.
Then I read the backstory and it clicked into place! Kinda mad that he coulda phoned in a bunch of standards and covers, or otherwise skimped on the effort, and instead fully artistically engaged with the idea of a divorce album. I'm glad critical appraisal caught up!
Fave tracks - the reoccurring "When Did You Stop Loving Me" really ties the album together. "Is That Enough" is probably my pick for stand out track. "A Funky Space Reincarnation" is fun, too!
Missy Elliott
3/5
I liked parts of this a lot but it did start to drag in the back third. Could probably use about 15 mins shaving off (definitely including the ghastly "Best Friends") and it would really tighten things up.
The Timbaland production is great - loved hearing all the bleeps and bloops supporting Missy's flows, which were generally on point.
Fave tracks - "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" from the tracks I was familiar with, and "Beep Me 911" from the others.
Erykah Badu
4/5
Huh, was expecting a big nostalgia bump on this as my first serious girlfriend was a fan, but it turns out that was mostly the previous album "Baduizm".
Still, a perfectly pleasant listen in its own right. Smooth and funky. Only really suitable for one mood, but it does it very well.
Fave tracks - "Penitentiary Philosophy" is a nice opener. "In Love with You" benefits from having that extra voice. "Green Eyes" is an amusing closer....
Nirvana
5/5
The MTV Unplugged album series had some absolute belters, and this one is up there near the peak. I think it's only the Alice In Chains one I like more.
An easy 5.
Fave tracks - "Come As You Are", "The Man Who Sold the World", "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" - really, though, they're all bangers!
fIREHOSE
4/5
A fun listen, and not the screamy post-hardcore I was expecting - much more new wave and prog in the mix.
It does seem a bit front loaded. Or, hmmm, maybe there's just a lull in the middle. The drum solo tracks are very short, what are people complaining about! 😆
Fave tracks - "Riddle of the Eighties" -> "In My Mind" -> "Whisperin' While Hollerin'" was a solid kick off. Also, "If'n" was cool.
The Shamen
3/5
I was dimly aware of the big single from this at the time, and more aware of (and negatively inclined towards) their later releases.
This wasn't too bad, actually - there's a bunch of ambient and chillout music I like that shares DNA with this. Definitely prefer the tracks with less Mr C on them. I'm intrigued about their earlier stuff, too, where it sounds like they used to be a guitar psychedelia act? Didn't know that!
Fave tracks - "Possible Worlds: Deep PSI", "Make It Minimal". "Hyperreal Orbit" was alright too - apparently a single too, but I don't remember that one.
5/5
Aww yeah, I really dug this! Went for a third play through right after the second. These folks were not on my radar at all, so I'm grateful for the introduction - will definitely check out their other stuff.
I very much like their weirdness and experimentation, and they manage to steer clear of the naff tweeness that a lot of psychedelic bands from the time slip into. It's also cool when they slip back into something more conventional-sounding.
Fave tracks - "Prelude - Nothin' to Hide", "Animal Zoo", "Love Has Found A Way", "Life Has Just Begun".
Elvis Costello
4/5
My final Costello album - he's very overrepresented on the list, but that's Dimery's fault, not Costello's, so I won't hold it agains the album.
Once again, it's solid pop rock - and very impressive for a debut made while holding down a data entry job! It's a nice trip through a selection of rock sub-genres.
Kinda want to bump my review of "Blood and Chocolate" up to a 5 to signify I like it more than his other stuff...
Fave tracks - "Watching the Detectives" is like an order of magnitude better than everything else, but arguably it's a bonus track. "Alison", and "I'm Not Angry" from the other tracks. Liked the straight ahead rock n roll of "Mystery Dance", too...
Wire
4/5
Huh, I'd thought I'd done a pretty decent survey of classic post-punk but I'd only listened to a track here or there from these folks. Very happy to be remedying that as part of this project - "Pink Flag" kicks ass!
I'd go 4.5 on this one...
Fave tracks - "Reuters", "Three Girl Rhumba" (with obligatory side eye at Elastica 😏, "Pink Flag", "Strange" and "12 X U"
It's full of bangers, and if you don't like this track, wait two minutes and another will be along!
4/5
I don't have much of a relationship with this album. Found it initially a bit underwhelming. Decided to play Volume 2 as well, and immediately that hit better - it's a bit more rocking. Was gonna chalk this up as another Dimery L - however, on returning to Volume 1, I liked it a whole lot more, so maybe not.
Kinda reminded me of the Kinks' "Village Green Preservation Society, doing the whole English pastoral thing.
Fave tracks - "Frivolous Tonight" and "Greenman"
808 State
4/5
Got this only a week after the Shamen album that's from around the same time, and it's lucky for the Shamen I got em in this order because they don't do well in the comparison.
This is a bit clunky, sure, but how could it be otherwise? They were inventing a lot of what would become conventions as they went!
Fave tracks - "Pacific 202" is the monster here, for sure. "808080808" is a banger too.
Buffalo Springfield
4/5
Buffalo Springfield are one of those classic rock bands where I know the name but have no clear idea about who they were or what they were about - exactly the kind of band I joined this project to get some insight into!
Instantly recognized "Mr. Soul" from the Neil Young unplugged album - huh, so this is Neil Young's origin story?! And there's another version of it on "Trans", which I've never checked out, but it sounds like it'll be an experience! 😆
So, other than that revelation, yep, this is pretty much what I expected - classic rock.
Fave tracks - "Mr. Soul" is the big one. Shouts out to "Hung Upside Down" and "Broken Arrow" too!
Bad Brains
4/5
Hardcore isn't really my thing so I haven't really checked out Bad Brains before - this is great! Not really hardcore, more alt metal - I can definitely hear the influence they had on Faith No More.
(As an aside, is there any hardcore hardcore on the list? The Minutemen album didn't sound very hardcore to me either? 🤷)
Anyway, good stuff - liked the experimentation.
Fave tracks - "I Against I" and "Re-Ignition" are great. "Sacred Love" is probably my top pick. "Return to Heaven" is cool too...
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
5/5
The top review at time of listening reads:
"It's a live album of a keyboard-driven progressive rock band covering a 150 year old Russian romantic composer, and it sounds like video game boss music."
...which, yes, accurate - but then inexplicably they scored it 2!? Must have been a slip of the finger. 😏
This was great fun, and prompted me to listen to a performance of the original Modest Mussorgsky version. (And in a stroke of good fortune, the version I have tacks another track on the end, “Night on Bald Mountain”, which is one of those classical pieces I recognize but don’t know who did it. It’s the badass-demon-on-a-mountain bit of Fantasia!)
It's very proggy, but at a tight 38 minutes it positively flies by - a great listen!
Fave tracks - "The Gnome", "The Curse of Baba Yaga"
Terence Trent D'Arby
4/5
Wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did tbh. The production might be very of its time/dated, but he really makes it work!
Not quite a 5 for me, but I'd go 4.5...
Fave tracks - "Sign Your Name" is the only one I recognized and it is indeed a hell of a track. "If You All Get To Heaven" is a great opener. "Seven More Days" stood out, and "As Yet Untitled" was positively spine tingling.
Jacques Brel
3/5
Welp, I'd no doubt get a lot more out of this if my French didn't suck. Still an interesting listen, I guess, hearing where Scott Walker took some of his schtick from. I'm sure he's been influential on a whole bunch of other people I dig, too.
Fave tracks - "Amsterdam" and "Au Suivant" - the latter of which is presumably the song that appears the most on this list, as there's three versions of it? Are there any other songs with that claim? 🤔
The Doors
4/5
Eh, perfectly serviceable extra Doors. I don't think this adds much to their self titled so not really a necessary inclusion on the list, but it wasn't a chore to listen to.
Fave tracks - "Roadhouse Blues" is a solid opener. "The Spy" entertained me.
Simply Red
1/5
Ugh, this is wretched. My first one star review for something that isn't nu metal!
I had Terence Trent D'Arby this week and really enjoyed that, so I know I've overcome my kneejerk antipathy to 80s production. Thinking about it, it's probably the repeated exposure to Simply Red and their ilk in the 80s and 90s that generated that antipathy in the first place! This project has done a great job of opening me up to some 80s stuff I've been resistant to before - new wave especially - but this bland schmaltz is the devil! The very devil!
Fave track - well, that's the question, isn't it? I set myself the goal of picking at least one fave track from each album - "Picture Book" was cruising for a 2 after the first listen, but as I tried to pick out a fave on the second listen I got more and more irritated. "Heaven" is probably the track I like the most of this album, but it's such an egregiously bad cover when compared to the original. "Jericho" was shaping up to be a pick, but then it gets annoying as hell in the middle section. I guess I'll go with "Picture Book" as the slowed down cod dub is less grating than the rest of it.... 😒
Giant Sand
5/5
Yeah, I really dug this - slowcore-adjacent, often dreamy, often cinematic - this project has definitely opened my eyes to alt country! Will be digging into these folks' back catalog.
Fave tracks - "(Well) Dusted (For The Millenium)" is phenomenal. "No Reply" and "Satellite" work well together.
Really, though, this is more about the album taking you on a little slacker journey than individual tracks...
Black Flag
4/5
Heh, I was just wondering if there was any _hardcore_ hardcore on here, as the few albums we've had from hardcore acts have not sounded like my idea of hardcore. (Not that I should complain too much, as I'd generally rather listen to post/prog hardcore than the vanilla product!)
Well, this album has a credible claim to spawning the genre. I'm giving it an extra star for respect, because pushing the whole DIY ethos really was a baller move.
Fave tracks - "Six Pack", "Gimme Gimme Gimme", "Room 13"
Hawkwind
5/5
I'm a Hawkwind fan - seen em live a couple of times and everything - and this still seems like an odd choice to add to the list. Pick a studio album, damn it!
Still, the amount of outraged 1 star reviews is pretty amusing - I guess I appreciate the bit. 😏
Fave tracks - "Born To Go", "Orgone Accumulator", Brainstorm", "Sonic Attack"
Korn
1/5
I loathed nu metal at the time - Korn seemed maybe slightly less detestable than many of the other acts, but I was never really a fan. I thought this might scrape 2 stars, but no, pretty wretched. Jonathan Davis' vocal ticks do not entertain me - it's all super cringe.
Fave track - ugh..... Well, "Reclaim My Place" comes immediately after a track featuring Fred Durst, and the relief experienced that there was no more Fred Durst is about as close as I'll come to liking any of these dog eggs, so that one I guess. 😠
D'Angelo
3/5
Errr, yeah, this was fine - smooth enough that it disappeared into the background on both listens. On the one hand, that's kinda what you want from an R&B album, for gettin' it on purposes, but it would still be nice to have some stand out moments, or, I dunno, for the vibe to be a touch more lively?
Fave tracks - "Brown Sugar" is a good opener. And, I dunno, "Cruisin'" maybe?
Ride
5/5
I've checked out Ride before but they've generally played second fiddle to MBV and Slowdive (No Slowdive on the list? Dimery you berk.) so this is a good opportunity to get to know them better. I dig the injection of psychedelia!
I was thinking this was a 4, maybe a 4.5, but decided to treat myself to a third play through to pick out some fave tracks, and started noting down almost all of them as I kept going "Oh yeah, this is a good un" as they started, so actually upgrading this to a 5 makes sense!
Fave tracks - "Seagull" is a great opener, with great psych elements. I like the vibes of "In a Different Place" and "Polar Bear", and now I'm gonna stop listing tracks and bump the whole thing to a 5, heh.
4/5
I do love a bit of Kinks - I'm not as familiar with this album as some of their others, so this isn't quite a 5 yet, but on two play throughs it was definitely growing on me a lot, so more listens would probably bump it up. Seems very coherent, concept-album-wise.
Fave tracks - "Yes Sir, No Sir", "Shangri La" and of course, with the Kinks you also have to look at what non-album singles they were putting out at the same time. "Plastic Man"! That's a tune too!
M.I.A.
4/5
Interesting - I like this a bunch more than "Kala", I think - or I was just in a foul mood when I reviewed it that day. 🤷
Gave this two play throughs and it didn't start to grate.
Fave tracks - "Amazon", Hombre" and "10 Dollar" were all fun.
Dexys Midnight Runners
5/5
Three Dexys albums, three 5s from me! (And the fact they seem to infuriate a certain subsection of weenies doing the project is just sprinkles, as far as I'm concerned, heh 🍧)
I was introduced to “This is What She’s Like” when the full video was played in the chillout tent of a festival I was at - it’s such a weird artifact, I instantly fell in love with it… Highly recommend you watch it if you haven't seen it before - it helps but all the pre- and mid-song chatting into context.
Fave track - as well as the aforementioned, "One of Those Things" and "I Love You (Listen to This)" are both standouts.
But really, this is a vibes album - do the whole thing.
Beastie Boys
5/5
This gets a big nostalgia bump from me - takes me straight back to uni days. I do love albums that blast through a spectrum of genres, though, so I gotta think I'd fall in love with it all over again if I was hearing it for the first time now.
Back in the day, it was the most hip-hop tracks that stood out to me, but now that I'm an old man it's all the instrumentals and the weirder experimentation that delights.
Fave tracks - I could list loads, but let's acknowledge that "Sabotage" kicks ass and "Get It Together" is a classic, and then this time around I really dug "Shambala" -> "Bodhisattva Vow" 🕉️
Metallica
5/5
An easy 5 from me. Metallica's black album, heard at a friend's house, is what prompted me to start actively assembling my own music collection rather than relying on whatever the tv and radio served up to me. "Master of Puppets" is the first album I ever bought on CD. 🤘
Fave tracks - literally all of them, I reckon. On this playthough, "The Thing That Should Not Be" let's say. One of best Lovecraftian metal songs, and that's a pretty crowded field!
Nanci Griffith
4/5
Really liked this - she's got a knack for pulling on the heart strings all right.
A workmate linked me to a video of her performing "Love at the Five and Dime" live and she gives a little spoken word introduction, explaining the significance of the Woolworth's on the album cover - really charming!
Fave tracks - As well as "Love at the Five and Dime", "Love's Found a Shoulder" and "The Wing and the Wheel" stood out....
Tangerine Dream
5/5
This stuff is catnip to me - there are whole genres of weirdness spawned from here, and I love almost all of them.
A resounding YES to scifi background music! 🚀👽🛸
Fave track - "Phaedra" let's say, but you may as well listen to the whole thing!
The Monks
5/5
This kicks ass! A great surprise discovery from the list. I'd apparently listened to a track or two of theirs before, but very grateful to be introduced to the album, cracking stuff.
And from 1966, too - mindblowing! Imagine if their record company had had the stones to distribute this in the US - punk might have arrived a couple of years earlier. We could all be living in moon bases by now.
Fave tracks - "Monk Time" -> "Shut Up" is a hell of a one two opening! The weird yodeling of "Higgle-Dy - Piggle-Dy" and "Cuckoo" - great fun! The in your face 'tude of "I Hate You" and "Complication". "That's My Girl!" is pretty racy for the time! 😳
Einstürzende Neubauten
4/5
This is the joint last place album on the project at time of writing, illustrating the fact that a lot of people doing this equate something being easy to listen to, to being good, and something challenging to listen to, to being bad. 🙄 Plus, judging by a lot of the comments, they stopped listening only a few tracks in.
Anyway, yeah, this is engaging. Dark AF. I prefer it to the Throbbing Gristle album that's in joint last place with it, anyway!
Fave tracks - "Steh auf Berlin" for the liberal use of powertools to scare off the norms 😆, "Negativ Nein" is great (including the live version which is presumably a bonus track) and "Sehnsucht" is a fun little interlude!
The National
4/5
Pleasant enough listen - it's getting a weird amount of hate in the reviews! 🤷
Fave tracks - "Lemonworld", "Conversation 16"
Steely Dan
3/5
Hmmmm, this felt the most yachty of all the Steely Dan albums on the list, but all the others had one or two stand out tunes that got stuck in my head, and this one doesn't seem to. Comes across as highly polished blandness.
Fave track - Eh, "Peg" maybe? That came closest.
Bon Jovi
3/5
Got two sets of nostalgia with this one - heard it at a friend's house a bunch as a teen, where I roundly mocked him for being insufficiently metal. Then later, when I was living in Japan, I learned that some of these songs are tremendously fun to sing at karaoke. Proper get-the-whole-room-wailing-along stuff.
This album is super front-loaded, eh? Really drops off from track 6 onwards. There are some 5 star tracks, for sure, but the whole thing isn't quite getting to a 4. My inner teenage metalhead is assuaged.
Fave tracks - "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' On A Prayer", "Wanted Dead or Alive", duh!
The Stranglers
5/5
This slaps - the organ really knocks everything into high gear, it's great!
I see quite a few other reviews talking about the questionable lyrics and, yeah, that's an appropriate reaction - "Sometimes" is pretty egregious. 😬 On the other hand, show me an album from the 70s that doesn't have problematic content... 🤷
Fave tracks - "Hanging Around", "Peaches" and "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" are all pretty iconic. Of the tracks I was less familiar with, "Down in the Sewer" was great!
Kings of Leon
3/5
I had a housemate that played their first album a bunch so I guess I have some nostalgia for that one, but this one, not so much...
Nothing massively stood out, and the singer really isn't up to much, is he? Still, it didn't actively irritate...
Fave tracks - "Milk" and "The Bucket" both caught my ear with their talk of male pattern baldness, which you don't hear referenced in rock lyrics every day, heh. 🧑🦲
John Cale
4/5
John Cale proving he doesn't _have_ to be all avant-garde and try hard. I feel like there are big chunks of indie pop that can trace their lineage back to this, right?
I've listened to this once before, but it didn't leave too much of an impression - I think repeated listens unlock more each time, though, and I think I'll be revisiting it.
Fave tracks - "Hanky Panky Nohow" immediately inclined me positively towards the album - I'm very familiar with The Hope Blister's dreamy version of it, which I didn't realize was a cover. "Paris 1919" -> "Graham Greene" -> "Half Past France" is a great run of tunes!
Fatboy Slim
4/5
The singles from this were pretty inescapable so there's a certain amount of nostalgia. I like it more than "Better Living Through Chemistry", but less than "Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars" which doesn't appear to be on the list. Even that one would be unlikely to scrape a 5, though, Fatboy Slim is fine, but not world-shaking.
Fave tracks - "Praise You" from the singles, "Love Island" from the other tracks....
Tortoise
5/5
Mmmmmm, Tortoise. I first became aware of them in the very early 00s from reviews in the Onion AV Club - they sounded otherworldly, and were completely unobtainable in any of the record stores I had access to, so I had to piece together some of their albums on limewire and napster.
I have a slight preference for "TNT" over this one, but yes, otherworldly was what I wanted, and otherworldly was what I got. Listening to a Tortoise album is like going on a little safari to an alien world or an alternate dimension. There's flashes of familiarity but everything's in a strange context.
Fave tracks - "Djed" is a delightful little odyssey. "Along the Banks of Rivers" and "Gamera" are also stand outs....
The Go-Betweens
4/5
I very much enjoy the fact that the top review for this is "It's a bit like listening to the Smiths but without having to think about what a piece of shit Morrissey is!" which, yeah, I can see that! The music is maybe a touch more conventional alt rock / new wave than The Smiths, but the vibe is pretty similar.
Fave track - "Love Goes On!" was a nice opener! I'd probably need more listens to pick out more, which I'm not averse to...
The Waterboys
4/5
If this were "A Pagan Place" I'd give it a 5 in a heartbeat, but I'm less fond of this one. I still enjoy their schtick overall, though, and some of the individual tracks are 5 worthy.
This brand of earnestness can sometimes turn me right off, but The Waterboys make it land.
Fave tracks - "Fisherman's Blues" is great - wish more of the album shared that energy. "And A Bang On The Ear" was also great.
Mudhoney
4/5
Solid grunge - makes me nostalgic for a version of my teenage years that didn't happen in this timeline.
Fave tracks - "Something So Clear", "Shoot the Moon"
Paul McCartney
3/5
Hmmm, if you take the name of this project literally, there's surely no good reason why you'd need to listen to this before you die. If you interpret the project as "A Crash Course in the Boomer Canon", though, I guess its inclusion makes sense! 🙄
This was an ok listen - not dreadful, but not great either.
Fave tracks - uh, "Every Night" had me look up the track name, I think? And "Kreen-Akore" had monkey noises!
Green Day
4/5
I have no strong relationship with this album - I think my media bubble had started to crystallize around this time so I didn't find the singles too omnipresent.
Yeah, it's alright I suppose. Nothing too horrible, but not a lot of it really sparks my interest either. Probably rates a 3, but I'm gonna bump it up to 4 as the title track is pretty zeitgeisty now that Trump's second term is underway... 🤦
Fave track - "American Idiot" by a mile...
Jane's Addiction
5/5
An easy 5 for this one - it was in pretty heavy rotation during my uni days, and that was 10 years after it came out - must have been a revelation to hear it in '88!
Love the different moods it rolls through, and the general air of inscrutability.
Fave tracks - on these playthroughs, let's say "Ted, Just Admit It..." and "Pigs in Zen", but really any of the other tracks could take the title depending on my mood...
The Beta Band
4/5
I like The Beta Band's schtick - it's a shame seeing them get so much flack here, but I guess a lot of that is Dimery's fault. (Plus, you know, it REALLY shoulda been "The Three EPs" on the list rather than anything else.)
Fave tracks - "4 Easy", "Space Battle" and "Liquid Bird"
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
Dang, this is awesome - really kick ass soul! I think I'd only heard "Pusherman" before, but the whole album is great - I can definitely see why it became so popular! Haven't seen the movie, so can't comment on whether it deserved to be eclipsed by its soundtrack.
Fave tracks - "Little Child Runnin' Wild", "Pusherman", "Superfly" but my absolute fave was "Freddie's Dead"
Prefab Sprout
4/5
My main point of reference with Prefab Sprout is the track "The King of Rock 'N' Roll" as used in the "Spaced" soundtrack, and this album has some of that sound, but lacks the OTT ridiculous lyrics, perhaps. And that's probably a blessing.
I quite liked this - another piece of evidence that I just really really dislike Simply Red in particular, not 80s music more generally.
Fave tracks - "Goodbye Lucille #1" amuses me as it makes me think of "Arrested Development" - that chorus might get irritating with more listens, though. "Horsin' Around" maybe comes closest to the kitschy novelty I was expecting - like that lounge vibe. "Desire As" and "When the Angels" are probably the songs I liked the most...
The Last Shadow Puppets
4/5
I gave this a couple of spins when it came out but haven't revisited it since. Yeah, it's a decent listen - Arctic Monkeys doing a retro.
Probably not gonna seek it out any time soon again, but wouldn't object to it being put on.
Fave tracks - "Separate and Ever Deadly" and "I Don't Like You Anymore"
SAULT
5/5
Pretty contemptible to see some bigoted dipshit reviews so heavily upvoted, though not, I suppose, surprising. This album caught a certain category of listener right in their white fragility, didn't it?
They're running all the hits, too!
To paraphrase - "I can't be racist, I like Beyonce" - ah yes, the "I have black friends" defense.
To paraphrase - "I wouldn't mind them singing about race if they sounded more angry/passionate" - interestingly, the opposite criticism that real life protests get. A protest would always be better if they changed their tone to suit you, eh boys?
To quote directly - "15 years ago few people even THOUGHT about race" - get the fuck outta here! I just got whiter reading that and I'm dangerously goblin pale as it is. Same person unironically complains about "SJWs" 🙄
Anyway, to review the actual album, yeah, I dig it! Soul meets protest song meets minimal electronica, occasional splashes of afrobeat and spoken word - it all balances out as a kinda moody trip-hop vibe that feels like it's taking you on a journey. Exactly my jam!
Fave tracks - "Stop Dem", "Don't Shoot Guns Down", "Bow", "Monsters"...
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
At first listen this seemed like a bit of a mess. Kind of a drag, even. Reading up on it, that's at least partially intentional! 😆
It's sadly an entirely appropriate vibe for February 2025. 😞
Fave tracks - "Family Affair" is the one I was most familiar with going in. Enjoyed the silliness of "Spaced Cowboy". "Runnin' Away" is perhaps my overall top pick...
Miles Davis
5/5
He sure knew what he was doing. 😎
Fave track - it's not really about individual tracks with this one, but let's say "Blue in Green" - that's a proper nursing-a-glass-of-bourbon-wreathed-in-smoke-scratching-at-a-five-o'clock-shadow-staring-at-the-murder-board-looking-for-something-you've-missed type of song if ever I heard one! 🕵️♀️
Paul Revere & The Raiders
4/5
I had to look up whether these guys were some kind of parody or novelty act, as some of the songs really felt like they were spoofing specific other acts, but reading up on them The Monkees had a hit covering them, so I guess this kind of biting of style was the custom at the time? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Anyway, yeah, a fun mid sixties album - referenced a lot of the trends I like about music at this time.
Fave tracks - "Kicks", "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" from the original album. Also enjoyed the bonus track "SS 396" - they obviously felt the Beach Boys included insufficient tech specs when singing about cars! 😆
Big Star
3/5
Hmmmm, don't like this as much as "#1 Record" - seems to have a lower energy level, be a bit of a mess. Reading up on it a little, I can see why.
Dunno, perhaps if I were in a different mood this would click for me.
Fave track - let's say "Kangaroo" 🦘
Fishbone
4/5
Got off to a bit of a rocky start with this one - just heard the original "Freddie's Dead" through this project a week ago, and it's smoooove as hell. Fishbone's version is..... not smoove. 😆 Sounds pretty chaotic, in fact! And then we move into some ska numbers. 😟
Once we get a few more tracks in, though, it becomes clear they're experimenting with a whole bunch of genres, glam, punk, cabaret, funk metal, throw it all at the wall! I started to click with the overall vibe. Positively enjoying myself by the time the album closes!
Fave tracks - "I Like To Hide Behind My Glasses" - singer was channeling Bobcat Goldthwait on that one! 😆 "Bonin' in the Boneyard" is great fun. "Subliminal Fascism" is probably my top pick. Makes me pine for the days when the fascism was below the surface...
Neneh Cherry
3/5
Hah hah, this is painfully dated and the hip-hop flows are truly primitive, but it has an infectious kind of energy to it, and I did actually have some fun at points.
I mostly know Neneh Cherry from an awesome collab she did with a Norwegian jazz group The Thing 20 years after this - y'all should check out "The Cherry Thing" - they do a cover of Suicide's "Dream Baby Dream" that's 😘👌
Fave tracks - I liked "Inna City Mamma" - top pick has to be "Outré Risqué Locomotive" though - it sounds like something Finn and Jake would sing on "Adventure Time" 😆
Basement Jaxx
4/5
Bit weird to include this rather than "Rooty", but that's the way this list works, I s'pose.
This is a bit more dance oriented than I'd usually go for, but still an engaging enough listen.
Fave tracks - "Jump 'n' Shout" - MC Slarta John's vocals on that are badass! I quite like the weirdness of "Same Old Show" but it might outlive its welcome with repeated listens."Stop 4 Love" and "Don't Give Up" were also less dancey, more chin strokey, which is more my speed...
David Bowie
5/5
Guess I've generally gravitated towards his more accessible stuff, because this is another Bowie album where I was taken off guard by the second half being straight up ambient. I've listened to the Berlin Trilogy a few times before, but obviously not with enough attention, as that fact passed me by. I guess if I got into vinyl that woulda been more readily apparent!
I really dug this, and should really put the Berlin Trilogy on repeat a bunch to get it to bed in.
Fave tracks - "What in the World" from the more conventional half, "Warszawa" - love that Bulgarian Women's Choir vocal! - and "Subterraneans" from the ambient side!
Everything But The Girl
3/5
Tracey Thorn's voice is lovely, but it instantly makes me think of Massive Attack's "Protection" and then I realize I'd much rather be listening to trip-hop than sophisti-pop. 😒 Much prefer their other, later, album on this list, where they have indeed moved in that direction.
Fave tracks - uh, "Goodbye Sunday" maybe? "Tears All Over Town"? 🤷
Travis
3/5
Huh, I already had this in my library - turned out to be a janky 128kbps copy. I think it was an artifact of the early oughts when I'd offer to sort out the tagging of friends' digital music collections in exchange for absorbing them into my own.
Sourced a new copy at a decent bitrate, but I'm afraid it didn't make the music any less bland. I guess blandness is good in a sense, because the singles from this album were _wildly_ overplayed, but they're not triggering too much irritation in me hearing them now. 🤷
I see some people comparing this to OK Computer-era Radiohead.... ...wat.
Fave track - uh, let's say "Slide Show" - I liked the little lyrical nods to Beck and Oasis...
Jack White
3/5
Eh, this definitely didn't need to be on the list - there's three White Stripes albums already, and this is doing the exact same thing less well.
Fave track - uhhhhhhh, I remember looking at the track name for "I'm Shakin'" so let's say that one. Nothing really jumped out at me on either listen though....
CHVRCHES
4/5
Waaaaay more poppy than I'd usually like, but I guess my media bubble had become nearly impenetrable by 2013 so I haven't been over exposed to any of these songs.
I like that they've kept their accents!
Fave tracks - ok, "Gun" is catchy AF even if it is pop - I probably wouldn't appreciate hearing it too many times in a given week, mind. "Science/Visions" was good too. "You Caught the Light" is probably my overall fave, as it slows right down into dream pop territory...
The Coral
5/5
This gets a big nostalgia bump from me - takes me back to the just-out-of-uni era.
I'm seeing a lot of negative reviews for it which is a bit dispiriting - I dunno, I obviously can't tease the nostalgia out of my viewpoint, but it feels to me like I'd still really like this if I were hearing it for the first time now? 🤷
It's playful, inventive, genre-hops a bunch, is littered with nautical references - seriously, what's not to like?
Fave tracks - "Dreaming of You" has long been a fave - fun to sing at karaoke too! I could list pretty much any of the other tracks, too - I have a lot of affection for this album!
Afrika Bambaataa
4/5
Fun listen! The rapping is extremely basic, but c'mon, it was 1986. What I found way more compelling, though, was the production - it really felt like very early industrial music! It's interesting to hear the common origin of two wildly disparate genres!
Fave tracks - "Planet Rock" and "Renegades of Funk" are both bangers.
The Saints
4/5
A new discovery for me - I'd apparently heard one track of theirs on a compilation, but nothing from this album. It's great fun! Easily holds its own against The Stooges or The Ramones, and has definitely aged a lot better than a lot of punk from the era. The horns are great!
I'd probably go 4.5 on this - more listens might push it higher.
Fave tracks - "Know Your Product" and "No, Your Product" are both kick ass!
The Prodigy
5/5
Big nostalgia bump here - insta-5!
At the time of reviewing, the second most popular review is a multi-paragraph pearl clutching session about the song "Smack My Bitch Up"- click through to their profile and immediately see they've given real life wife beater Eric Clapton 5 stars. Good stuff. 👍
Fave tracks - as is my custom when it comes to the Prodigy, I tend to prefer the tracks that get a little bit trancey, so "Narayan" and "Climbatize" from this one...
Laura Nyro
3/5
Huh - I thought I new who Laura Nyro was, but I was expecting some British turn-of-the-millenium coffeeshop singer-songwritery biz, so evidently not.
It's a bit showtunesy for my taste, though it did hold my interest, I guess.
Fave track - "Eli's Comin" felt more like soul, so I enjoyed that. The intro to "Woman's Blues" was great - wish she did full tracks in that vein!
Finley Quaye
2/5
I never owned a copy of this but it was pretty unescapable at uni so I've definitely heard the whole thing a bunch of times. Pretty sure I saw him live at one or more festivals, where he was pretty unexceptional, from what I recall.
Ugh, learning that he's putting that accent on rather curdles things, too. Some of the songs that were iffy now become actively irritating. 😠
Fave tracks - "Sunday Shining" and "Even After All" have a certain summertime nostalgia bump, I guess.
Stephen Stills
4/5
A decent listen - you really can't go too far wrong slapping a gospel choir into some classic rock, can you?
Fave tracks - "Love the One You're With" and "Church (Part of Someone)"
The KLF
5/5
Love it when you have to spend a few minutes on wikipedia figuring out which version to listen to! 😆
In this case, I already had the "Director's Cut", and what I thought was the original version turned out to be the US release, so in the course of remedying that I've ended up listening to all 3 versions.
First off, the "Director's Cut" is a bit naff - the stadium house tracks have been absolutely gutted. The more ambient tracks fare a bit better.
The UK version is definitely superior to the US version - the tracks flow together much better and the added samples and crowd noise make it a bit more cohesive.
It's not my fave KLF album, but I gotta go 5 stars here as a matter of respect. Hail Eris!
Fave track - let's say "3 A.M. Eternal" - always a banger!
Astor Piazzolla
4/5
Chill vibes - serves nicely as background music but awards attention too.
Fave tracks - "Vibraphonissimo" and "Laura's Dream" had cool lil atmospheres going on. It's a whole album thing rather than individual tracks, though...
Nick Drake
5/5
Lovely stuff.
"Hazey Jane II" basically invented Belle & Sebastien's schtick, right? lol, doing a quick search on the reviews and 23 other people have already made that observation. 😆
Fave tracks - "One of These Things First", "Hazey Jane I", and "Poor Boy".
I threw in a re-listen of Boris' "Akuma No Uta", as well. 😎
Siouxsie And The Banshees
5/5
I've dabbled in Siouxsie And The Banshees before but reading up on this album I realize I haven't been giving them nearly enough credit - a lot of the things I associate with early post-punk that I hear in their sound likely originate with them - they weren't just going with the flow, they were the source of the current!
Definitely need to go through their discography in more depth!
Fave tracks - "Overground" was probably my main stand out - that slaps. "Nicotine Stain" was another. Also really dug their version of "Helter Skelter"...
Sleater-Kinney
4/5
Awww yeah, this slaps - post-punky indie rock. I've listened to the odd Sleater-Kinney album here and there, including this one, but never spent enough time with them to get familiar. I should remedy that!
Fave tracks - "One More Hour", "Words and Guitar", "Things You Say" - I like the tracks where the backing vocals are doing something different from the main vocals - great effect!
Thelonious Monk
4/5
Nice - blends into the background if you want, but if you pay attention there's all sorts of weird stuff going on!
Fave tracks - hmmm, sections of "Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are" were great. "I Surrender, Dear" was very chill, too. This is more of a whole album deal, though...
Yes
4/5
Yeah, a nice listen - now that I've gotten more of a taste for Yes I should perhaps go back and re-listen to "Close to the Edge".
I took a quick look at their wikipedia page to try to gauge which direction in their discography I should explore in, but then saw the truly parody-worthy numbers of personnel changes and squabbles and law suits and I got real sleepy. 😆
Fave tracks - the "Wurm" section at the end of "Starship Trooper" is pretty awesome. Also dug the second half of "I've Seen All Good People" which seems to be called "All Good People".
Isaac Hayes
4/5
Pretty cool stuff, alright, but I just recently had Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly" soundtrack on here, and Curtis wins that particular contest!
Although to be fair, this sounds more like an actual soundtrack, with a bunch of tracks covering different moods for different scenes, whereas "Superfly" just sounds like a badass soul album.
Fave tracks - "Theme from Shaft" is obviously one of the stars. I like the bleepiness of "Walk from Regio's" and the storytelling of "Soulsville". "No Name Bar" and "Do Your Thing" are pretty groovy.
Killing Joke
5/5
Loved this! Feels like a missing link between post-punk and industrial, alright. I think I've previously dipped into some of their much later albums, but wasn't too taken by them, but this is exactly my jam.
Went for a third playthrough as soon as the second ended, and will definitely revisit more, maybe check our more of their earlier stuff, too.
Fave tracks - "Requiem", "Wardance" and "Tomorrow's World" are a super strong opening salvo!
Dr. Octagon
5/5
Objectively, this is not at all a 5 star album, but in my personal music-taste-journey, this is the album that broke hip-hop wide open for me, so it's getting a 5!
In my first year of uni, just emerging from several years of listening to nothing but metal, a new friend - met through the most unhinged campus literary magazine - was convinced I could start liking hip-hop once I grasped the poetry and wordplay of it all. This was the late nineties, a year or two before Eminem appeared on the scene, so the only hip-hop I'd generally encounter would be either indistinguishable from pop music, or full on gangsta rap, and both those genres left me absolutely cold.
After a couple of failed attempts using other albums, my new friend tried "Dr. Octagonecologyst" and hit pay dirt! It was so out there! Yes, it's juvenile and scatological - quite edge-lordy - but that worked in its favor. I was too busy exclaiming "what the fuck did he just say!?" to just dismiss it, and by the time "Blue Flowers" landed I was hooked.
A freeform mess of science fiction, medical horror, and non-sequiturs was exactly what was needed to disarm my prejudices and catch my interest. And DJ Q-Bert's scratching is siiiiiiiick, too. The porn movie samples are still super cringe, though.
Fave tracks - "Blue Flowers", obviously, and "I'm Destructive", and then probably chunks of many of the other tracks...
Muddy Waters
5/5
The type specimen for electric blues - absolutely masterful performance that understandably had a seismic effect on rock music at large.
Fave tracks - well, I can say "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man", "Baby, Please Don't Go", and "I've Got My Mojo Working 1 + 2", but they're all bangers!
The Beach Boys
5/5
I've moaned about Dimery's Beach Boys picks before, but I suppose I can't quibble too much at "Pet Sounds" getting included. (Though I have a slight preference for "Smiley Smile" over "Pet Sounds" - more weirdness, plus "Good Vibrations"...)
Still, "God Only Knows" is worth the price of admission here alone! The whole album is cracking summer sound track material...
Fave tracks - all the predictable ones, "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "Sloop John B", and "God Only Knows"
Barry Adamson
5/5
Damn, what's with all the low ratings? This stuff is catnip to me! If you can listen to something this out-there and consider it to be a waste of your time, then I'd question why you're even doing this project? 🤷
Is it just that some people have a really narrow use case for music? They want upbeat songs they can dance to, and maybe songs for one or two other specific moods, and then anything outside that is just noise to them?
Or, an idea I've been idly mulling over the last year or two - is it an aphantasia thing? I'm a 4 or 5 on the aphantasia red apple test, so this album absolutely lights up my internal cinema screen. Every track suggests new scenes and images, it's a pretty wild ride! I guess if you're mostly aphantasic you don't get that. Sad. 😔
Fave tracks - doesn't make too much sense to talk about tracks in isolation on this one, but "Suck on the Honey of Love" was the point I thought "damn, this is a five" on my first play through. On my second play through, "The Swinging Detective" stood out as being particularly badass. I'm definitely going through the rest of Adamson's back catalog after this! 😎
Anthrax
4/5
This gets an indirect nostalgia bump. In the mid nineties, in my early and mid teens, I went through an only-metal phase. Of the Big Four thrash bands, I loved Metallica, liked Slayer, actively disliked Megadeth, and was just kinda meh about Anthrax. I think that was probably just because their mid nineties output was all I got exposed to? Those were the days when it was not trivially easy and free to dig into a band's back catalog, which is a shame, because I woulda liked their early stuff quite a bit, I think. 😞
Wouldn't have rated them above Metallica or Slayer, tho. 😏
Fave tracks - "Among the Living", "A Skeleton in the Closet", "Indians" (A thrash metal answer to Iron Maiden's "Run to the Hills", right, although the singer has Native American blood so it's less dicey, heh.)
Public Image Ltd.
4/5
I mentioned when reviewing their first album that I bought their "Greatest Hits (So Far)" in uni, and it being pre-internet, pretty much had no choice but to play it enough that it clicked for me.
Can't help but wonder what my music taste would be like if I'd grown up post-internet. Would I have got into every conceivable genre almost straight away, as it's all right there for the listening? Or would I just deep dive into the first thing I found comfortable and never branched out, because there was no pressure to do so? 🤔
Anyway, this sounds more like my idea of what Public Image Ltd. are. I guess I can sympathize with people finding this terrible because it is deliberately challenging. If you don't get swept up by the bass lines you're gonna struggle.
Fave tracks - the three track run of "Swan Lake" -> "Poptones" -> "Careering" is totally cherry!
Lupe Fiasco
4/5
Haven't heard this guy before, I don't think - my first impression was that the production sounded like "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy", but without Kanye West being an annoying dickhead all over it, and sure enough Kanye did some of the production on this, so I award myself some smug points!
Yeah, this is good stuff!
Fave tracks - "Kick, Push" is excellent. "He Say She Say" stood out. Ah, "Daydreamin'" is using the same underlying sample as The Beta Band's "Squares" - uses it very well, too!
Could absolutely do without the 12 minute outro, though.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
5/5
Yeah, really liking this - was thinking 4.5 but immediately wanted a third playthrough, so let's round up.
I guess it's an accident of personal history that I didn't get into these guys decades ago? I've liked Neil Young for ages - same with The Beach Boys' close harmonies - so if I'd been exposed to some CSN or CSNY I woulda yummed it up. Oh well.
The opening of "Woodstock" sounds a whole lot like the opening of Metallica's "Ronnie" to me. Or rather, vice versa.
Also, fun to hear the origin of "Our House" which I've encountered in soundtracks a lot.
Ah, and "Almost Cut My Hair" is what popularized the phrase "Let your freak flag fly", though it seems it originated with Hendrix...
Fave tracks - as well as those already mention, "Carry On", and the title track.
Throwing Muses
4/5
Pretty confusing that the album art here is for a different release - albeit, one that includes the original album. 😒
Anyway, I like this - went through a bit of a Throwing Muses phase in the very late 90s, early 2000s, though generally preferred Kristin Hersh's solo stuff. I'd forgotten how post-punky this is! I think they settle down into more conventional alt rock later in their discography.
I enjoy the way most of these songs sound like 2 or more songs smushed together!
Fave tracks - "Green", "Hate My Way"
New York Dolls
4/5
Oh damn, this is tremendous fun! I think maybe this project has instilled in me a taste for glam punk, because I liked the Hanoi Rocks album too. I've previously conflated all these bands with cock rock and hair metal, which a don't particularly care for, but the punk element really peps things up for me. Huh - since this is from 1973, I guess this is where hair metal got its look?
Fave tracks - "Personality Crisis" - damn fine opener! "Frankenstein (Orig.)" kicks ass too. It's only really the ballad "Lonely Planet Boy" that left me cold, everything else was cool.
The Undertones
4/5
Huh - I reviewed The Undertones self titled album in Jul 2021 and acknowledged that it was well done pop punk, but pop punk didn't do much for me.
I have changed in the intervening years! Quite like a bit of pop punk nowadays, and have added a "pop punk" tag to my personal library. I'd go 4.5 on this one if I could. I need to give their self titled a listen again, too, to see how it strikes me now!
"Hypnotised" is great fun - I dig Feargal Sharkey's voice here - it's like 0.5 Jello Biafras with a norn iron accent, good stuff!
All the teenage stuff in their lyrics - looking it up, they were in their very early 20s when this came out, and now that I'm middle aged that makes them basically teenagers, so whatever.
Fave tracks - "More Songs About Chocolate and Girls", "Under the Boardwalk" (it's a fun cover!), "My Perfect Cousin"
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Hmmmm, not one of the Bad Seed's albums that I've spent a lot of time with previously. Re-listening, I can understand why. I don't mind a somber tone but I'd like it more if there was some contrast. I'm definitely missing the hellfire they normally bring.
"I don't believe in an interventionist God" is an admittedly pretty baller opening line, though.
Fave tracks - "Into My Arms", "People Ain't No Good"
The Bees
5/5
A personal favorite - loved it at the time and love it still. Saw The Bees at a tiny music festival not too long after this came out and it was a perfectly halcyon moment. This is just lovely summery vibes in album form.
Pretty gutting to see all the negative reviews - a real "look how they massacred my boy" moment. I guess it's understandable, and entirely Dimery's fault for giving his list such a ridiculous title but not really making any attempt to live up to it. "The top 1001 albums of a British Boomer" probably wouldn't sell as well, heh.
Fave tracks - "Punchbag", "No Trophy", "A Minha Menina", "Zia"
Pulp
4/5
Nice - a Pulp album with no tunes I've been previously overexposed to.
I quite dig this - can see me voluntarily revisiting it.
Fave tracks - let's say the title track. Maybe "Party Hard", too, which desperately wants to be a Bowie tune. If I was a different sort of dickhead I mighta chosen the outro because I do totally listen to ambient drone all the time that sounds like that, but album length, but these days I can just admit that I like some Pulp tunes.... 😎
Death In Vegas
5/5
Long been a personal fave! Transports me straight back to uni. Thankfully there's a lot of high scoring reviews that have been upvoted on this one. Not sure I could have taken another kick in the nostalgia-centre like with The Bees. 😅
Ah cool, reviewing it has revealed to me that it's Dot Allison providing the dreamy vocals on "Dirge" - I got into her solo stuff pretty recently!
Fave tracks - "Dirge", "Aisha", "Lever Street"
Mike Ladd
4/5
Yeah, ok, this is relevant to my interests! Will definitely be revisiting, and checking out more of his discography - fingers crossed there's more sci-fi in the mix!
It was Dr. Octagon's "Dr. Octagonecologyst" with its sci-fi stylings that first got me into hip-hop, so I'm definitely positively inclined towards this. Mike Ladd doesn't have Kool Keith's panache, but he also doesn't have Kool Keith's cringe, so it kinda balances out.
I'd go 4.5 here - maybe 5 with more listens.
Fave tracks - "Bladerunners" really made me sit up and pay attention. Guest MC Company Flow is absolutely biting Dr. Octagon's style here, but he's also making lots of explicit sci-fi references, which lights up my pleasure centers. "The Animist" and "Red Eye to Jupiter (Starship Nigga)" were both cool. And the impassioned "Feb. 4 '99 (For All Those Killed By The Cops)" was a great closer!
The Residents
5/5
Cry, you one star weenies, cry! Your dismay and confusion amuses me!
I'm a fan of weirdness. I see a white rabbit with a waistcoat and pocket-watch, I'll follow 'em down a hole. I see an album put out by a bunch of tuxedo-wearing eyeball-heads, I'll give it a whirl. In both cases, it's the unexpectedness of it all, which can often be uncomfortable and disturbing, that provides the value.
This definitely feels like a wander through wonderland - at times childlike, nurseryrhyme-esque, at others downright menacing, and often both at the same time. There's an internal logic that consists at least in part of being anti-logical.
I dunno, I found it pretty stimulating! "Birthday Boy" is the only track I don't want to enthusiastically listen to a bunch more times...
Fave tracks - "Constantinople", "Semolina", "Hello Skinny"
G. Love & Special Sauce
3/5
Hmmmm, not sure how I feel about this, tbh. Saw another review describe them as "Beck without the weirdness, or Fun Lovin' Criminals without the cringe, or Beastie Boys without the boyish aggression" and yeah, a lot of that rings true.
Thing is, though, I loved "Mellow Gold" era Beck, but the weirdness was very much the draw. And I actually found this a bit more cringe than Fun Lovin' Criminals at points - some of his vocal affectations felt way too try hard, whereas FLC are so over the top that kinda thing is more forgivable. Part of the gag.
I guess if I'd have been introduced to this in the late 90s I might have been into it, but in 2025 it was a bit of a chore to get through. Didn't actively piss me off, though.
Fave tracks - uh, let's say "Blues Music"
Air
5/5
Strong nostalgia five on this one - it's all mixed up with the summer of the lovey honeymoon phase of my first serious relationship.
Fave tracks - "La Femme D'Argent" for kicking things off, let's say, but any of these tracks have the power to transport me back to those times.
Tim Buckley
3/5
Eh, Tim Buckley doesn't do much for me, it turns out. I was mostly neutral about this, except "Gypsy Woman", which actively irritated. I know singing about the allure of gypsy women is a classic rock staple but this one really rubbed me the wrong way - for god's sake, man, acknowledge your own agency! 😠
Fave tracks - eh, the more melancholic ones - "Buzzin' Fly" and "Dream Letter"
Tim Buckley
3/5
Hmmm, my antepenultimate and penultimate albums of the whole project have been Tim Buckley, and that's too much Tim Buckley in too short a space of time.
(I had to look up the correct term for "third from last" and will now be on the lookout for opportunities to bust our "antepenultimate" in conversation. 🧐 )
Perversely, though, I think I'm going to listen to some more Tim Buckley today, as reading up on his discography to try to put these albums in context, I see that his album "Starsailor", which is not on the list, is the origin of "Song to the Siren" the This Mortal Coil version thereof is one of my fave tunes ever. I've apparently given his version a couple of listens over the years, but not the rest of the album.
Anyway, back to "Greetings From L.A." - yeah, leaves me cold, pretty much. There were no standout irritating tracks, but nothing I really dug, either. I find his singing in low registers to be kinda inauthentic-sounding? Like he's trying to copy someone cooler? His higher register stuff is fine though.
Fave track.... eh, "Hong Kong Bar" I think? 🤷
Dagmar Krause
4/5
This, my final album of the project, is currently the 5th* lowest ranked album on the site, which seems unfair. I guess being Weimar cabaret-esque AND apparently quite difficult to stream combine to make folks want to give a punishment rating. 🤷 Maybe some misogyny in the mix, too - Like, if Tom Waits did something like this, I don't think it would cop nearly as much flak?
Anyway, yeah - an engaging listen. Storytelling and drama. I didn't mind giving it a second spin at all!
Fave tracks - "Mother Beimlein", "Ballad of (Bourgoise) Welfare", "The Rat Men – Nightmare"
* Real shame it wasn't the third lowest rated, 'cause then I coulda used "Antepenultimate" again! 😆