I find it very hard to get excited about an album like this. It was probably big or important in its time (67, right at the beginning of the whole psychedelic pop-rocknsummer of love shit) but this is the same crap I've heard a done much better a million times. I paid more attention to the lyrics to see if I was missing something groundbreaking - cool cats, diggin trips, fuck LBJ, nothing new to see here. And I get that these are cliches now but might not have been at the time, doesn't make them less annoying. It's raw, and I fucking love raw albums, but these guys needed a couple more takes of a few of these songs. And the bluesy track that could have been a nice song was ruined by the loudest tambourine I've ever heard in a song, followed later by the loudest maracas I've ever heard in a song. "Death sound". Maybe I'd have enjoyed it if I'd heard it before I heard Jefferson airplane, grateful dead etc. Or if I never watched ANY Vietnam movies. Or if I dropped some acid first. Other than that, great album.

Am I insane? This album makes me so fucking angry. The distortion is so OTT it makes most songs unlistenable. Seriously, I had to switch my earphones to make sure my speakers weren't broken. If they blasted this in Guantanamo Bay it would be classed at cruel and unusual punishment. What makes it worse is the songs under the added effect sound pretty decent.

To say I'm baffled is an understatement. I had to triple check that I was listening to the right album, especially after reading some of the reviews. There's about 3 half-songs on this record and the rest is noise. And those half-songs are OKAY, not great. In what universe does someone sit down and listen to "sister ray" - 17 and a half minutes of fuzzy garbage - and enjoy the experience? I had to lower the volume down, it was literally hurting my ears. Same with "I heard her call my name". Wtf am I missing...?

Wow. What a find. Never listened to them before but after Venus I knew this album was going to be a good one. I don't throw 5 stars around willy nilly, and certainly not for an album I've only heard once, so this is a strong 4.

Gets progressively more annoying.

Best album I've listened to all day.

Dull, tried to enjoy it more but couldn't. Might be okay live but boring.

Inoffensive background music

This album caught me off guard. I'm listening to these albums while working but this one kept drawing me in. Just as I'd start getting into the grove of a long melodic song it would mix it up, keep me on my toes. Initially I thought the song changes were a bit jarring but towards the end I realised the album was breaking up the pace with shorter tracks, funny bits etc in the same way that the individual songs were. I felt like I wanted more of some tracks and less off others. It's like a Nolan film, I'll get more from it the second time cos I know what to expect.

I find it very hard to get excited about an album like this. It was probably big or important in its time (67, right at the beginning of the whole psychedelic pop-rocknsummer of love shit) but this is the same crap I've heard a done much better a million times. I paid more attention to the lyrics to see if I was missing something groundbreaking - cool cats, diggin trips, fuck LBJ, nothing new to see here. And I get that these are cliches now but might not have been at the time, doesn't make them less annoying. It's raw, and I fucking love raw albums, but these guys needed a couple more takes of a few of these songs. And the bluesy track that could have been a nice song was ruined by the loudest tambourine I've ever heard in a song, followed later by the loudest maracas I've ever heard in a song. "Death sound". Maybe I'd have enjoyed it if I'd heard it before I heard Jefferson airplane, grateful dead etc. Or if I never watched ANY Vietnam movies. Or if I dropped some acid first. Other than that, great album.

For an album I thought I had to "get through", I really enjoyed listening to this. Reeks of early 90s in a good way. Few hits on the front end, followed by some nice songs. Got a wilco vibe off "4 seasons", r.e.m. vibe off some other songs. I was cooking dinner while listening to "Fame is" and I felt like Ted Danson in "3 men" montage. Played it twice. Lost me a bit after that with the absolute downer "all I ask", then "as sure as I am" with too much accordian for my liking.

This genre is not for me, especially from this era, but wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt and give it a fair listen. These guys are taking about some interesting issues but they are not doing it in an entertaining or skilful way. Some songs are straight up history lessons, all are very preachy. Overall I found it monotonous, apart from the musical song "music & politics" which was different but still awful. There were some attempts of humour throughout but much more needed to make it less of a tirade. "Why most people think Central America means Kansas". Self righteous, unpoetic.

What an amazing album. I came in pretty cold - had only heard "cult of personality" before. But wow, they sound like a few other bands from the time but have their own distinct twist. And what a varied album, hard rock, pop rock, funk, soul, rap, little bit of country. Memories can't wait is a great cover. Every song is fantastic. Coming out of the gate with a debut album like this, I dunno how I've never listened to them before but I'm blown away. I'm keep 5-star ratings for what I consider to be perfect albums. I would give this a 4.5 but have to round down.

Even for a 1990 album I thought the rap was very basic, a bit silly, and in some cases very predictable. Like when a show like "saved by the bell" did a rap episode. Not terrible though. But the music was spot on.

Just about made the 4 stars

I was very surprised that this was 77 and was way better than I had expected. Everyone's heard passenger a million times but it has not lost its impact on me. The song "lust for life" - I honestly thought that was late eighties / early nineties. I would rate this a 3.5 but am rounding up because I WILL be playing it again.

Tom Waits has a couple of 5-star albums in my mind, both before and after swordfishtrombones (closing time, raindogs...), but this one doesn't do it for me. It was a big change to his previous style, couple of songs I really like on it but many I don't.

This probably deserves more than a 2 but I'm honestly never going to listen to it again so I can't give it 3. The second song "what's wrong" is just terrible and it was hard to recover from that. Terrible. The album highlight for me was halfway through "thoughts of you" when it reminded me of the M*A*S*H theme song for 2 seconds.

This barely scrapes a 3 for me which means I will listen to PJ Harvey again - mainly because some of the songs gave me a pixies vibe. I want to listen to more to see if they're an inspiration or of she's straight up copying them.

It goes against the spirit of the whole album-a-day thing but I stopped listening to this after "golden hair". I can see why some people might like it. Some kinks / small faces / Beatles vibes but overall depressing and folky. Not for me.

Couple of nice songs on here but I'm not going to be rushing back to hear it again.

Loved this. I have a backlog of albums to listen to but stuck this one on a second time.

Love it. Some absolute belters in here - all your love, what I'd say (ridiculous solos). Even the songs that are not very original are great. Granted, I've heard this album a few times growing up so nostalgia could be a factor but ive added it to my rotation.

Have to admit, I enjoyed this more that I thought I would (my expectations were not high) but Morrissey's voice is just so fucking annoying. Most of the songs are very samey but there were a few I was talking my foot to like "well I wonder". "Barbarism..." is a great example of a decent song ruined by Morrissey's wailing.

I expected much more from this. They've so many great songs that I figured their debut must have been a banger but most of the songs were just....meh. And a couple I never want to hear again - Uh-oh Love with the Carribbean steelpan sound, or Tentative Decisions with the soldier rat-a-tat drum. But David Byrne's voice goes a long way, and it's interesting to listen to their first album knowing what's to come. Just not interesting enough for me to listen to again.

Decent. Reminds me of the Black Angels.

So there are many phenomenal songs here, but for me there are certainly a few fillers in there too. Songs like "Power of equality", "Mellowship slinky..." & "Naked in the rain" are good, just don't think they stand up on their own. These "fillers" just sound like generic chili's to me, and maybe it's unfair to compare them to the other masterpieces on the album, and maybe I'm unfairly comparing the album to other chili records that are undoubtedly 5-star (Californication, by the way) but I'm rating it as great, not perfect.

One of (if not THE) easiest Zappa albums to get into. Peaches en regalia is one of my favourite songs, it's a masterpiece. It's his first album without The Mother's and this new lineup is tight!

I listened to this album a couple of songs at a time and it was tolerable but overall it's very repetitive, apart from a couple of songs in the second half that gave a much needed change of pace. British punk pop rock bands - buzzcocks, sex pistols, stranglers, clash etc. have their songs but not a genre I can listen to for any length of time.

No one's jumping out of their chair to change stations on the wireless when a Sinatra song comes on. He's universally loved. However, this one's a little tricky to rate because it depends on the context. If I'm sitting in an armchair on Christmas Eve, looking out the window and the snow starts to fall as I take a sip of whiskey - this album is getting 4.9 stars. Easily. But for everyday listening, this isn't making it into my rotation so it has to get a 3. Enjoyed listening to many of the non-hits for a change. Great album, it's clear why he's up there with the all time big band singers like Seth MacFarlane.

Hard to see why this is a standout album from a million others released late sixties but it's okay. It has its moments (few and far between) like "Maybe the people..." that bump this album up from 2 stars to 3 for me - the horns & guitar solo in this number are great.

Am I insane? This album makes me so fucking angry. The distortion is so OTT it makes most songs unlistenable. Seriously, I had to switch my earphones to make sure my speakers weren't broken. If they blasted this in Guantanamo Bay it would be classed at cruel and unusual punishment. What makes it worse is the songs under the added effect sound pretty decent.

I'm rounding up from a 3.5 because I'll listen to this again. Few hits on there and songs like Sad Lisa & Miles From Nowhere are worth a listen. Pleasant, mellow, inoffensive.

Admittedly this album has grown a lot on me over the years, but its outstanding. Simple but powerful and evocative. 10 great songs with a nice buffer (Fantasy) seperating them in the middle.

I was really enjoying this album and then I noticed it - the rhythm guitar strumming is identical in nearly every song. Yes the chords change but that da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da goes through pretty much every song. Without it, the songs are very different (and good) but it seems like a cheat. Can he do anything else with his instrument? Knocked down from a solid 4 stars.

Couple of songs on here that didn't really land on me the first time, like Hard Times, but as the album was only 35 mins I went back and relistened to them. I can't really fault any track, great album. And one of the best album covers I've seen.

I'm sure it would grow on me with repeated listens. I went back and listened to 3 songs on the back half, Early Morning Breeze & the way I see you - all brilliant. I found the songs with the most interesting stories (if I lose my mind, she never met...) to be a little dull musically.

This did not have any of the handful of NY songs I know well and there are some whoppers on here. Cinnamon Girl took me by surprise but my favourite 2 are the long ones - cowgirl in the sand and down by the river (unbelievable).

Great sound, impossible not to get sucked in. It's funny listening to the laser and bomb-drop whistle sound effects now but I think they date it without making it too cheesy. Definitely makes me wanna dust off the old Casio. Made great use of stereo sound too, if a little overplayed. You can hear where so many artists like daft punk, Robert Miles and Ross Gellar got their inspiration.

It's a toe tapper, but I think if you removed the silent gaps in between the tracks, in some cases you wouldn't notice you were listening to a new song. Couple of exceptions in there but come on lads, mix it up a bit.

Way better and more polished than I was expecting. Some brilliant songs on it like half moon, all are decent. Giving 3.5 rounded up to 4.

To say I'm baffled is an understatement. I had to triple check that I was listening to the right album, especially after reading some of the reviews. There's about 3 half-songs on this record and the rest is noise. And those half-songs are OKAY, not great. In what universe does someone sit down and listen to "sister ray" - 17 and a half minutes of fuzzy garbage - and enjoy the experience? I had to lower the volume down, it was literally hurting my ears. Same with "I heard her call my name". Wtf am I missing...?

She is not a great singer.

Not really a fan of rod at the best of times.

Ok to listen to but way too heavy for me.

Really happy to be giving this 4 stars because I'm not a huge Beatles fan and didn't think id like this. The first and last tracks are absolutely class, with 1985 building up to a big finish back at the first song. Couple of songs that I wasn't mad about like Let Me Roll It but overall great album.

This one's not for me, boooiii

I prefer when his songs are also a recipe but this is pretty good. Love "By the time I get to phoenix". Why don't all songs have a 9-minute intro?

Some brilliant pop songs and some are still stuck in my head 3 days later. Cherish, like a prayer, dear Jessie.

Not my bag really but didn't mind listening to it.

Unremarkable. Similar to many pop rock bands around that time, mainly Coldplay, but not as catchy. Bland, inoffensive roadtrippy. 2 stars may be a bit harsh but this is not a 3-star album.

I thought I would (and wanted to) enjoy this more than I did but most of the songs didn't really grab me. Will give it another listen.

Nice. Some songs a little slow, some a little honky tonky. Before Believing was the highlight for me, brilliant tune.

Takes me back. Some nice nostalgia, few decent songs I hadn't heard. Haven't really heard of these guys since this album.

I find must blues to be predictable and formulaic but I rarely dislike it. Couple of stand out songs for me are "I want to be loved" which I know from the stones' version and "crosseyed cat".

Not for me. Enjoyed parts of many of the songs but too heavy and crap for my liking.

Lots of the iconic songs and some nice ones I wasn't too familiar with. Brilliant

Some really nice songs and it warrants another listen. 3.5

Not bad

Some good songs, some didn't do it for me - like Big Time Sensuality. The song from the Leon movie soundtrack "Venus as a boy" is class.

Brilliant. Being live adds so much energy to it.

A couple of songs started like they were gonna be good and then shat themselves.

Not bad. Crystal Days made me think of the smiths (but with a decent singer) and thorn of crowns reminded me of David Byrne and the doors at the end.

Only disliked "jig of life" and the rest were ok. Some nice tunes, but can't give it 3 stars.

Not my bag but some entertaining songs on it.

This is good. I love that you could play 5 seconds from anywhere in the album and immediately know it's mid 80s. Good fun and more to it than I expected.

Wow. What a find. Never listened to them before but after Venus I knew this album was going to be a good one. I don't throw 5 stars around willy nilly, and certainly not for an album I've only heard once, so this is a strong 4.

Perfect

Strong start, tapered off a bit.

Nice, chilled indie. Never heard of these guys. Loved this, will replay and check out their other stuff.

Nothing to write home about.

Not bad but not for me

What...is this?

Inoffensive background music. Decent stuff but won't be listening to it again.

Wasn't overly impressed but gave it a second listen and a couple of songs like "Little Dreamer" bumped it up from 3 to 4 stars.

It doesn't warrant a 1-star review but it's a low 2. Generic bland r&b and the only songs that stood out for me were for the wrong reason, except the last song "20 something". She has a nice voice.

Gets progressively more annoying.

1 song at a time it would be ok but overall it's pretty boring. The hazy, organy style is too overdone.

I've only recently listened to his music other than the hit(s) and I've been underappreciating this guy for years.