Loved the bluesy feel on that first track. The staccato piano was refreshing and a fantastic opener. Same with ‘You Make Me Real’, guitar was brilliant on this one. Stand out for me was Peace Frog. Reminded me of The Charlatans with that crazy back beat. Very ‘Mad’chester, right up my street. Blue Sunday was also a welcomed calm before jittery Ship of Fools. Overall, really happy with this, tough to rate properly with a quick listen but I’ll go with a solid 4/5.
As with everyone, definitely looked forward to this. As this is only the 3rd full album that I'm reviewing on here, I'm starting to see how hard it is to rate fairly with only 24 hours. As always, those sexy vibes flow through this album, wah wahing away in the first and title track. I like the vibe of this album (as with most Marvin) but I'm going to have to give a middle 3 here as I haven't listened to it enough really. Feel like I'll regret this in the future but this is the harsh reality of the daily ratings.
Got rather excited when this one popped up. The first track ‘Disorder’ is a cracking opening and for me, the best on the album. I did enjoy this all the way through, the strong, almost grunge guitar kept my interest. I will note that it seemed slightly samey throughout, that’s not to say it’s bad, just can be difficult to rate it quickly. Will probably regret these comments after some more listens. One brilliant track and some good ones. 3/5
This is right up my street. The opening track is quite possibly the best tune to ever kick off an album. Bittersweet Symphony gives you shivers that so many bands would only dream of passing to their fans. It then leads on to the brilliant Sonnet and The Rolling People, which is not quite on the same level but is a good tune in its own right; though, little does that matter once The Drugs Don’t Work flows into your ears. A beautiful ballad that brings a tear to ones eye. Catching The Butterfly is another somewhat atmospheric song that I really enjoyed, almost like a palette cleanser to Neo Wilderness which goes full acid trip for a little while before travelling through Space and Time. Weeping Willow is another wonderful experience embracing The Verve’s love of the ‘wah wah’. I almost forgot that Lucky Man was coming on this album due to the slightly druggy preceding tracks but it was a welcomed ballad to lift you up before the last portion of the album. The last few songs on this album wind down the feel and you can tell it’s coming to a close, what you can’t tell (if you bought the album when it was released) was the onslaught was heading towards you as a hidden track. Come on is a powerful ending to a fantastic album and if you end right to the end there is an extra piece of psychedelia for you. It sounds like you are supposed to play it in reverse and listen out for some satanic messages; but this isn’t the white album, so let’s not. Overall I loved it, thought about being a little more conservative considering it’s competition in this 1001 albums list but screw it, it’s getting a 5.
As the album name suggests, Miles Davis is the king of cool. I very much enjoyed this album, the vocals on the last studio track came out of nowhere and surprised me in a great fashion. As an extremely uncultured soul, this kind of cigar smoking, smooth jazz actually gives me nostalgic Tom and Jerry vibes from my youth. I kind of wish it didn't and kind of glad it does. Anyway, I love how relaxed I feel listening, cheers Miles.
Another brilliant one in my eyes. It's no Yellow Brick Road but what a way to start the album with Tiny Dancer. I also didn't realise that Indian Sunset was the 'those who wish, to follow me' song. A fantastic tune that gives me the rising ballad feeling that I so adore. Long may the hairs stand tall on the back of my neck. I was pleasantly surprised when Levon came on after the classic opener. Straight into another ballad type song but I suppose that is the bread and butter of Elton John if we're honest. Just to confirm: I really enjoyed Levon. Only listened to this all the way through once but I will almost certainly be listening again. I enjoyed the feel of the entire album, very ballad-heavy which is right up my street; however, I was hoping for a 'Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting' type tune to burst out of nowhere. Despite that, really good stuff.
Ah 90s hip-hop, feels like a distant paradise in a sea of mumble-bumble bollocks. I'm not saying there isn't a time and a place for mumble rap, it just doesn't fit into my schedule very often. Anyway... Step In The Arena was an album that gave me a brilliant feeling. I love the old school beats and the old school everything to be honest. Only reason it isn't getting higher is due to the album not having any absolute stand out tunes on there for me. I liked Step In The Arena but generally, this is an album full of pretty good tunes. I'm loving it more for the vibe.
It's a shame with this one for me. Seeing 1995 Britpop made me a little excited however it was to no avail really. There were a few notable tracks like 'Waking Up' but in general I wasn't blown away. I didn't hate it and can see why they could be popular. I didn't mind the heavily distorted guitar but the tunes just didn't excite me too much.
A hilarious start to the album with the bongo sounds to kick it off. What Have I Done To Deserve This is a fantastic pop tune, I liked hearing Dusty pop in with backing vocals and her own sections are great too. It's A Sin is my favourite off of the album and the driving backbeat is infectious. I'd like to comment more but I'm a bit behind. Enjoyed this generally, especially the singles. Solid 3/5.
Hotel California by The Eagles. This is some archetypical dad rock and I am unapologetically loving it. Similarly to a few of the albums that we have experienced so far, we kick off with a banger. The title track and an absolute classic, Hotel California slowly guides you into the LP with a gentle rock ballad including a soaring chorus punctuated with lovely little guitar licks and a classic rock guitar solo. I was expecting the second tune to be a big rocky blast but surprisingly out came the soft and easy listening 'New Kid in Town' which I actually really liked. As the 2nd tune came to a close, I started to wonder if this album really was going to be one for fathers to listen to whilst dropped their kids to school. It turns out that it was; even down to the name 'Life in the Fast Lane'. The Eagles 3rd track gives us a big guitar riff to kick us off and nod our heads to. However, it doesn't last long as 'Wasted Time' brings us back down with a very slow but lovely tune mostly orchestrated with piano, including an orchestral 'part 2' lasting a minute afterwards. 'Victim of Love' almost made me wet myself laughing as we blast straight back into some solid guitar riffs from the get-go and provides us with a power ballad feel. 'Pretty Maids...' and 'Try and Love...' were both less full-on rock with gentle but quality tunes to enjoy and smooth us into the end of the album. 'The Last Resort' (we see what you do did there) is a 7-minute creeper that slowly builds and builds as we enjoy the soft piano at first that builds up, drops again and then fills our ears with a loud orchestral finish. I was maybe expecting a couple more loud rocky numbers but I'm not disappointed with that. Thoroughly enjoyed throughout.
It has always been a strange one for me regarding Nirvana. I do like a few tracks but generally, I'm not the biggest fan. It's a similar story with this album. 'Heart-Shaped Box' is a tune that I have liked for a while but it doesn't blow my socks off. The controversial 4th track 'Rape Me' actually has a good instrumental to it but I find myself struggling to enjoy it for obvious reasons. I've seen that it is supposed to be an anthem that defies rape from the point of view of the victim; however, as much as this song seems to have good intentions, I could imagine it being an extremely difficult listen for an actual victim regardless of the context, especially with the pretty barbaric ending. Anyway, for a few notable tracks such as 'Heart-Shaped Box', I'll give this one a 2/5 overall.
Generally, this kind of 80s electric stuff is a bit of fun but not really my thing. I did enjoy parts and wouldn't be adverse to listening again but it's more for banter. Having said that, Don't You Want Me is an absolute tune and Open Your Heart is pretty good. I'm going to be slightly harsh here with a 2/5, just because there are so many albums to review but it could be a 3.
Firstly I'd like to point out that the backbeat for a lot of this album is brilliant. Especially in 'The Theatre', it had my head bobbing throughout. I preferred the overall feel of the album to 'Actually'. I felt more than happy to listen to every single track and experience the album without wanting to skip. 'I Wouldn't Normally...' was a really enjoyable tune and can't wait to drive in my car to it. When the end finally arrived I was proud to salute my laptop screen until the appropriate moment. I'd love to give this one a listen back in the future.
Elvis Costello certainly has an individual voice and I like it quite a lot. The clear standout song on this album is 'Pump It Up' and it is brilliant. That riff has become super famous at this point and I'm pretty sure it's been sampled many times. I thought 'Little Triggers' was actually pretty good to follow it too. Also, 'No Action' was a punchy opener and got me raring to listen to the rest. All in all, I enjoyed this one but it didn't blow me away, maybe it's a creeper.
Enjoyable and I vibed along whilst doing some work. Not something I'd have usually experienced with this platform so cheers 1001albums. Wish I had more to add but I'm so far behind on these!
This is why I don't like skipping albums! When listening to 'Bubble and Slide' as the first track I almost wrote this album off as a psychedelic bore. That couldn't be further from the truth. I could imagine that certain substances may enhance the experience of this album but it was enjoyable whilst working away regardless. I found myself head bobbing away slowly when listening to tracks like 'Planet D' and 'Tow Truck' put me in the mindset of James Bond as a lead character in Snatch. This whole album was a chilled out trip that I would never have had the pleasure of riding usually. 3/5 because of the lack of wow factor but this was a lovely listen.
So obviously 'Teenage Kicks' is an absolute banger of a song and 'Top Twenty' is pretty great too. I'd never seen a regular studio album with 26 songs on it before so fair play to The Undertones for that I suppose (even thought most are 2 seconds long)! 'Here Comes The Summer' is a pretty good tune as well. Generally, this album is littered with pretty decent little tunes but quantity over quality does ring true here I think. I'm not sure why they felt the need to put 26 tracks on one album but I'm not complaining too much as I think songs like 'Mars Bars' are pretty hilarious. Seems like The Libertines may have taken some influence from these punk rockers too so we can certainly thank The Undertones for that. Decent album. 'One Way Love' gets an honourable mention too as I've got a but of a soft spot for that one.
This kind of electro thing isn't bad and I didn't mind vibing out to it whilst working but generally, it's not my thing. This may sound a little 'amateur' but a lot of it is repeated, random sound effects and it's just not for me. That being said, I don't hate it and I wouldn't mind it being on at a house party, I'd probably quite like it.
I really enjoyed this. Quite a contrast between the chilled out 'Seeland' and the more 'in your face' 'Hero'. 'Hero' came across as the kind of thing a 70s punk bank would do if they were told to put a tranquil spin on a tune. I almost put a 4 for this one as sonically, this is right up my street, especially the early songs. It's just not something I'm going to be listening to much and I'm a bit 'take it or leave it' with the punk vocal. Might regret not giving this a 4 but for the fact that I won't be inclined to listen to this too much, I'm going to stick with a 3.
Jack and I lay back and thoroughly enjoyed this one. I've always loved 'Wild World' and 'Father and Son' but this whole album gives me a feeling of transcendence (it's probably because we were laying down in a very relaxed state for the entire album but still). 'Miles From Nowhere' does kick up a bit at times and 'On The Road To Find Out' is a pretty perky tune but generally, it's chilled throughout. The best part of this album, however, is the reminder of Andy Milman and Ross Kemp that we get from Tea For The Tillerman.
It's pretty much bang on what you'd expect an Alice Cooper album to be. 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' is a banterous hit and the rest is that classic dark American rock. It's a shame for me personally because I know how much of a cult icon Alice Cooper is and he seems like a bit of a laugh but this kind of thing isn't really for me. Don't mind drunkenly singing along to these kinds of songs but that's pretty much where it ends. Some of the lead guitar and horns are nice though and it's a solid album for this kind of rock. I'd definitely go watch him live though, only to see him cut off his own foot and eat it or something.
