Liked it. Not surprised the Dude didn't get his Creedence tapes back to be honest. Sorry Dude, life goes on, man.

Expectation: Some funky Bee Gees beats to energise my day Reality: What the hell is this

Did not know what to expect with this one. There's so much going on here and it gets better with every play through. Stand out tracks for me are Mushroom and the experimental, brooding crescendo of sounds in Aumgn which transported me somewhere else altogether. Perhaps the wailing soundscape of Peking O goes a little too far into the avant-garde, but overall this is a stunning album, I can't even imagine being hit with this in 1971. So good. Probably not one to play at a dinner party though, unless your friend Saffron is planning to lace the avocado salad with something.

Listening to this album made me imagine my Dad careering around the streets of suburbia in his Vauxhall Viva modified with twin carbs; me in the back seat barely secured to the hot, faux leather vinyl that passed as a bench seat, him with his brown Aviators, 'tash, flared trousers and mop of hair blowing in the wind. Then I remembered he was more into Meat Loaf at the time and the daydream was shattered. Although lyrically, teenage kicks is still relevant today and the album as a whole was not unenjoyable if a little repetitive towards the end, I think this will end up forgotton, like a rusting car with Teenage Kicks as the singular component rescued and remembered in a museum of classics.

Had never heard of Skip and doing a bit of pre-reading I was ready to dismiss this out of hand. It's a surprising one, there's a variety of stuff on here and it never felt samey. War in Peace sounds like something Radiohead would produce and there's a range in his voice which adds to the appeal. Seems like Skip had a difficult life and you can feel it in some of these songs. It's not in any way polished but maybe that's part of the appeal. Overall, I enjoyed this.

no

Wouldn't go out my way to listen to it again

Not offensive but not particularly remarkable

'avv it

Tailed off a bit towards the end, but this was right up my street

Tainted Love is obviously a classic and I also enjoyed a couple of other tracks, but the rest of it was fairly forgettable

Listening to this album made me imagine my Dad careering around the streets of suburbia in his Vauxhall Viva modified with twin carbs; me in the back seat barely secured to the hot, faux leather vinyl that passed as a bench seat, him with his brown Aviators, 'tash, flared trousers and mop of hair blowing in the wind. Then I remembered he was more into Meat Loaf at the time and the daydream was shattered. Although lyrically, teenage kicks is still relevant today and the album as a whole was not unenjoyable if a little repetitive towards the end, I think this will end up forgotton, like a rusting car with Teenage Kicks as the singular component rescued and remembered in a museum of classics.

Did not know what to expect with this one. There's so much going on here and it gets better with every play through. Stand out tracks for me are Mushroom and the experimental, brooding crescendo of sounds in Aumgn which transported me somewhere else altogether. Perhaps the wailing soundscape of Peking O goes a little too far into the avant-garde, but overall this is a stunning album, I can't even imagine being hit with this in 1971. So good. Probably not one to play at a dinner party though, unless your friend Saffron is planning to lace the avocado salad with something.

Had never heard of Skip and doing a bit of pre-reading I was ready to dismiss this out of hand. It's a surprising one, there's a variety of stuff on here and it never felt samey. War in Peace sounds like something Radiohead would produce and there's a range in his voice which adds to the appeal. Seems like Skip had a difficult life and you can feel it in some of these songs. It's not in any way polished but maybe that's part of the appeal. Overall, I enjoyed this.

baseline reggae

Sinatra: None of the memorable ones The Girl from Ipanema is obviously the high point, but Getz / Gilberto is superior So, why bother with this?

I'm definitely not the target audience for this but there were some good tracks on here, if anything the second half of the album was more musically engaging than the first. If I could relate to it more lyrically I would rate it higher.

Do like me some hip-hop, but many of the tracks here have either aged like milk or were puerile to start with, and it's another culprit for pre and post-fixing tracks with skits which add little or just detract completely. Probably went down better in a cow-hide Chrysler Fifth Avenue, discussing your gang issues, at the time of release.

Liked it. Not surprised the Dude didn't get his Creedence tapes back to be honest. Sorry Dude, life goes on, man.

I lurched between being intrigued and wishing it would end but there's a certain something about it that lifts it out the ordinary - I'd go back to for another listen

I realised I was listening to this reminiscing about university days, and even though this album came out quite a long while before I attended, it somehow became part of the soundtrack to those times after being introduced to Nirvana by a friend I met there. Fired this up and it took me back, being as great to listen to now as it was then. So yeah I'm probably slightly biased, but the last track notwithstanding which I never got on with (I'm gonna ignore that), it's a solid 5 for me.

I was on the cusp of giving this a 4, Cherry-Coloured Funk has been a favourite for as long as I care to remember with its haunting synth and contrasting range of vocals, some of which are Kate-Bush-like in nature but ultimately all gel together brilliantly as a song that doesn't go on too long (unlike this sentence). And the rest of the album is, well, alright. But always found myself wishing I was listening to the first track again.

Alright, but spent a fair bit of time wishing it was Avalon

Ah, the "indie dirge" genre. Haunting melody on M62 song that I kinda liked, but overall this was a just a downer which I didn't appreciate being afflicted with.

So much tiresome crooning, and I did a cringe at half the lyrics

If I was a trucker in the 80s, I'd probably have played this

I love the uniqueness of her voice, the production values and the quirkiness of her music. On the flip side, it was rather maudlin overall, which was a barrier to engaging with it more. "Heirloom" gets a shout out for featuring some kind of Casio keyboard percussion track but making it work

Expectation: Some funky Bee Gees beats to energise my day Reality: What the hell is this

On one hand this isn't really my preference but it's undeniably great as inoffensive easy-listening and who doesn't know at least some of these songs?

Didn't like the lyrics, or the genre, or the same old same old country sob stories drawled out ad infinitum. Production seemed fine but that doesn't redeem it. Spent most of the time rolling my eyes and checking whether it was about to finish

Quite liked the title track. Scratchy Rod didn't really do it for me after that

Initially, I rolled my eyes at having to listen to a Bowie album, and one I'd never heard of at that. Surprisingly, I found myself quite enjoying it, thought it was a 3. Went back for another listen and I think it deserves more than that. Four stars - Bowie, but not as you know it, and all the better for it.

Turns out that I didn't know I needed some sweet, sweet Jazz Fusion on a random Wednesday, but I did. It's an easy listen and the 11 minute version of Street Life is the icing on the cake.

Definitely Queen, and obviously a foundation for greater things to come, but there was nothing particularly remarkable about this album to my ears

The Queen and the Solider and Marlene on the Wall are standout tracks, didn't much enjoy the rest.

Peak U2 before it all went downhill

Quite liked it. Would probs have given it a 5 if I'd been doing a lot of shoegazing in 2010.

There's some great stuff in here and it's well worth a listen. On balance, the genius moments outweigh the cuckoo-clock-shrieking of the last track

It's not Black Sunday, is it?