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The Low End Theory
A Tribe Called Quest
Hard to imagine that hip hop didn’t sound like this before A Tribe.
4
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Clandestino
Manu Chao
Cool use of sampling and mixing of languages
4
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Urban Hymns
The Verve
Classic songs but I still don’t like Richard Ashcroft’s voice to make me want to listen again
3
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Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
Great album - weird to think that this was a good 25 years before Bright Eyes!
4
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A Hard Day's Night
Beatles
Great mix of completely fresh and Beatles twists on other influences
5
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Foxbase Alpha
Saint Etienne
Decent background music and some recognisable hits
3
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Exile In Guyville
Liz Phair
Like an 80s Joni Mitchell. Glad to have listened although probably wouldn’t relisten.
3
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Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Elton John
Classic tunes and more and more appreciation for how good a song writer Elton was
4
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Five Leaves Left
Nick Drake
One that I’m aware of - cello song being a classic. Lots of influence here on other artists which is fun
4
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Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme
Simon & Garfunkel
Classic
4
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The Scream
Siouxsie And The Banshees
Interesting but probably wouldn’t listen again
3
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Shadowland
k.d. lang
Not my cup of tea
3
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The Nightfly
Donald Fagen
Of its time
3
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Mask
Bauhaus
Can hear a lot of ways that they influenced later artists. Interesting stuff!
4
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O.G. Original Gangster
Ice T
A classic for sure although pretty long!
3
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A Girl Called Dusty
Dusty Springfield
What a voice, love the classic arrangements and sound
4
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Close To The Edge
Yes
Great guitar, hear inspiration for bands like the mars volta
3
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Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin
One of Zeppelin’s most complete albums - nothing that doesn’t still hold up as a classic
5
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Live At The Harlem Square Club
Sam Cooke
Proper music that
4
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The Pleasure Principle
Gary Numan
Some bangers on there and interesting to note the number of samples that other artists have used
4
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Murder Ballads
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2
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Welcome To The Pleasuredome
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3
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Imperial Bedroom
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3
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A Date With The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
3
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If I Should Fall From Grace With God
The Pogues
Some iconic songs, but not huge amounts of variation IMO
3
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Music From The Penguin Cafe
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
2
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Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo
MC Solaar
Really enjoyed that!
4
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Talking With the Taxman About Poetry
Billy Bragg
3
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The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
The 13th Floor Elevators
3
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I’m a Lonesome Fugitive
Merle Haggard
2
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Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Obviously got a banger on in sultans of swing, otherwise a good album
4
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xx
The xx
Cool vibe and some decent singles but feels very of it’s year
3
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Californication
Red Hot Chili Peppers
I remembered there being more energy in this album than this. Not quite blood sugar sex magic.
3
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Music From Big Pink
The Band
Classic!
4
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Hot Rats
Frank Zappa
Nuts but that’s Zappa right?
3
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Beggars Banquet
The Rolling Stones
Early Rolling Stones is a hoot of different styles and influences. Fun, easy, not too full of itself
3
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The Joshua Tree
U2
Outside of the singles, some good songs and energy but not quite the polish of the big start
4
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Smash
The Offspring
Reminds me of my youth - although not necessarily in a good way
3
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Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix
Classic as it gets. Love that the biggest songs are right at the end of the album, and it’s a real “I don’t care” in terms of structure, length et al.
4
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Buffalo Springfield Again
Buffalo Springfield
3
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Back To Black
Amy Winehouse
Masterful
5
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Central Reservation
Beth Orton
Masterful
4
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Ten
Pearl Jam
More fretless bass than I remember, but the power of that album! Still sounds fresh (bass parts aside) today
5
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Crooked Rain Crooked Rain
Pavement
Well, hair cut is iconic and the influence is clear but I wouldn’t say it totally floated my boat
3
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It's A Shame About Ray
The Lemonheads
3
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Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
PJ Harvey
4
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Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
Could defo listen again, although the title track is perhaps a little overrated
4
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The La's
The La's
More gritty than I was expecting. Great proto-Brit pop
4
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Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo
Devo
3
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Ritual De Lo Habitual
Jane's Addiction
3
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Sunday At The Village Vanguard
Bill Evans Trio
4
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School's Out
Alice Cooper
Never realised how varied Alice Cooper’s sound was. What a kooky album
3
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Selected Ambient Works 85-92
Aphex Twin
3
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Boston
Boston
It’s a great debut and lots to admire, but didn’t make me want to binge listen
3
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Violator
Depeche Mode
More proggy than I expected especially with the singles on it too.
4
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There's A Riot Goin' On
Sly & The Family Stone
3
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A Nod Is As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse
Faces
4
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Surf's Up
The Beach Boys
Way not what I was expecting
3
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The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
Bit ponderous
2
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Teenage Head
Flamin' Groovies
Way not what I was expecting
3
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Water From An Ancient Well
Abdullah Ibrahim
3
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A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
4
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NEU! 75
Neu!
Fine in the background but wasn’t revelatory
2
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Architecture And Morality
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
First song and thought it was a one star. But by the end of the album I loved it. Can hear inspiration that so many artists drew from OMD
4
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All Hope Is Gone
Slipknot
Not the best SK album but still a big fan
4
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Catch A Fire
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4
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Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek & The Dominos
Classic songs
3
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The Hour Of Bewilderbeast
Badly Drawn Boy
Love this album - I was bought it when it came out. Many memories
4
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Machine Head
Deep Purple
DP at their best
5
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Tragic Songs of Life
The Louvin Brothers
3
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Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Arctic Monkeys
Still sounds great today. Minor quibbles with the guitar tones but songwriting, performance and vibe are just legit
5
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The College Dropout
Kanye West
Objectively great, although it doesn’t make my rotation
4
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The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
4
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A Northern Soul
The Verve
Better than urban hymns
3
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Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3
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Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Doesn’t float my boat
2
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Kings Of The Wild Frontier
Adam & The Ants
2
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OK Computer
Radiohead
No bad songs, great mix, mastery, flow - a very familiar album that I love
5
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Club Classics Vol. One
Soul II Soul
Old school
3
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Step In The Arena
Gang Starr
Guru has an iconic voice
4
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The Sun Rises In The East
Jeru The Damaja
Filthy beats, filthy lyrics. Good example of non violent gangster rap from the 90s but prefer lyrics that are more thoughtful
3
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Like A Prayer
Madonna
I forgot that 80s pop, especially Madonna, was so wildly different across the span of just one album.
3
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Sea Change
Beck
Interesting but nothing really stood out.
3
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Tidal
Fiona Apple
I recognised the single and it floated on well enough
3
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Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
Lucinda Williams
2
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The Boatman's Call
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3
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My Generation
The Who
Very of it’s time, more Beatles than the bombastic rock I normally think of
3
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Brothers
The Black Keys
Nearly 5 stars for me - very familiar and really like it but gets a wee bit samey in the back half
4
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Automatic For The People
R.E.M.
Nostalgic album and some great arrangement including strings by JPJ on nightswimming
4
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James Brown Live At The Apollo
James Brown
3
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Songs Of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
The old school singer songwriter. Unobtrusive but lyrically challenging
3
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Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Tortoise
Big fan of post-rock and this didn’t disappoint
5
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The Visitors
ABBA
Just not a big ABBA fan and couldn’t really hear what was different about this from other singles or albums.
2
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Highway to Hell
AC/DC
There’s a reason why the title track is the one that is widely remembered. They never struck me as an album kind of band, more a live act with a few killer new songs every album or two. Their set list is just epic, but the track lists on albums feel like there’s a bit of filler.
3
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Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
Mean tones, a remarkable complexity in some of the songs I’ve not heard before, and the energy and snark of the singles flows through the whole album. Very impressed
5
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Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert)
Bob Dylan
4
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The Madcap Laughs
Syd Barrett
Can hear the psychedelic genius in there although makes for uncomfortable listening to know how about his tragic story. Not my cup of tea per se either.
3
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The Gershwin Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald
4
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The Last Of The True Believers
Nanci Griffith
2
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The Holy Bible
Manic Street Preachers
4
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I See A Darkness
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
3
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Rust Never Sleeps
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5
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A Walk Across The Rooftops
The Blue Nile
4