723
Albums Rated
3.33
Average Rating
66%
Complete
366 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
Jazz
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
138
5-Star Albums
80
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Trout Mask Replica
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
|
5 | 2.28 | +2.72 |
|
Suicide
Suicide
|
5 | 2.46 | +2.54 |
|
Don't Stand Me Down
Dexys Midnight Runners
|
5 | 2.61 | +2.39 |
|
The United States Of America
The United States Of America
|
5 | 2.61 | +2.39 |
|
Scott 2
Scott Walker
|
5 | 2.63 | +2.37 |
|
Cut
The Slits
|
5 | 2.71 | +2.29 |
|
Next
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
|
5 | 2.71 | +2.29 |
|
Hms Fable
Shack
|
5 | 2.77 | +2.23 |
|
The Grand Tour
George Jones
|
5 | 2.79 | +2.21 |
|
Apple Venus Volume 1
XTC
|
5 | 2.85 | +2.15 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd
|
1 | 4.43 | -3.43 |
|
Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
|
1 | 4.3 | -3.3 |
|
The Wall
Pink Floyd
|
1 | 4.14 | -3.14 |
|
OK Computer
Radiohead
|
1 | 4.1 | -3.1 |
|
A Night At The Opera
Queen
|
1 | 3.96 | -2.96 |
|
Ten
Pearl Jam
|
1 | 3.92 | -2.92 |
|
(What's The Story) Morning Glory
Oasis
|
1 | 3.84 | -2.84 |
|
Californication
Red Hot Chili Peppers
|
1 | 3.7 | -2.7 |
|
Sheer Heart Attack
Queen
|
1 | 3.65 | -2.65 |
|
In The Court Of The Crimson King
King Crimson
|
1 | 3.6 | -2.6 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Dylan | 4 | 5 |
| The Byrds | 4 | 4.75 |
| Stevie Wonder | 3 | 5 |
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | 3 | 5 |
| Prince | 3 | 5 |
| Neil Young | 3 | 5 |
| Neil Young & Crazy Horse | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Beach Boys | 3 | 4.67 |
| Steely Dan | 3 | 4.67 |
| David Bowie | 8 | 4.13 |
| The Stooges | 2 | 5 |
| Alice Cooper | 2 | 5 |
| The Rolling Stones | 2 | 5 |
| Miles Davis | 2 | 5 |
| Muddy Waters | 2 | 5 |
| Kraftwerk | 2 | 5 |
| Willie Nelson | 2 | 5 |
| Fairport Convention | 2 | 5 |
| Joni Mitchell | 2 | 5 |
| Stan Getz | 2 | 5 |
| T. Rex | 2 | 5 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 2 | 5 |
| Funkadelic | 2 | 5 |
| Frank Sinatra | 2 | 5 |
| Beastie Boys | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Fall | 3 | 4.33 |
| Beatles | 5 | 4 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Queen | 3 | 1 |
| Arcade Fire | 3 | 1 |
| Kanye West | 2 | 1 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers | 2 | 1 |
| Kings of Leon | 2 | 1 |
| Emerson, Lake & Palmer | 2 | 1 |
| Pink Floyd | 4 | 1.75 |
| U2 | 3 | 1.67 |
| Rush | 2 | 1.5 |
| The Cure | 2 | 1.5 |
| Pavement | 2 | 1.5 |
| Traffic | 2 | 1.5 |
| King Crimson | 2 | 1.5 |
| Morrissey | 3 | 2 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Can | 2, 5 |
| Everything But The Girl | 4, 1 |
| Radiohead | 4, 5, 1, 3, 3 |
| Pink Floyd | 1, 1, 1, 4 |
5-Star Albums (138)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
John Lennon
1/5
I found this album even more mean-spirited, and insecure than I remembered it - "Imagine no possessions", sang the man who had a temperature-controlled room for his fur coats. 1 star
35 likes
Joy Division
5/5
a magnificently bleak record, songs of dread and gloom and dissociation, filled with slightly odd driving rhythms, rumbling bass, and peppered with strange noises
7 likes
Slipknot
3/5
furious, confusing, brutal, raging- lots of lyrical references to worms, killing fields, burning cities down, smashing, war, murders - with a vocal style that switches from regular guttural metal to Styx-like sweetness on some choruses. ("and the rain will kill us all" on Psychosocial).
Great drumming throughout.
6 likes
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
4/5
Fragile, tender, warm, haunted, fragmented in parts, with a very odd soundstage - drums (where they appear) way over one side - a singular album, an enriching and challenging listen
6 likes
1-Star Albums (80)
All Ratings
Deep Purple
3/5
obviously an LP that I will have heard at some point in the past - but not since the late 70s, I think. I'm a little surprised at the lack of roll in the rhythm section - it is all rock, and Iain Pace is regarded as one of the great British drummers. Blackmore defining the form for future waves of hard rock guitar players with widdling (nearly always pentatonics, and sometimes in harmony.) Meat and potatoes. No veg.
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
BOY those are some mannered vocals, and really era-specific drum and keyboard sounds. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Time After Time are great songs. Miles Davis covered Time After Time!! But that snare drum is wearing to listen to, as are those shiny keyboard sounds. She Bop is great too- subversive Pop! really dated by the drums and keyboards, though.
Yes
3/5
The album starts with a loud declaration of 1971 sounds - Hammond organ, Rickenbacker bass, then a burst of beedly-beedly guitar playing and finally the banked harmonies of Jon Anderson. Some very nice and intricate guitar work on The Clap. And next is the full experience of Yes making progressive rock on Starship Trooper. I find the whole album very bitty - very well-executed, but so many disparate ideas cut and shunted together. I can hear definite Beatles echos in here, especially on Perpetual Change
The Stooges
5/5
primitive and ferocious, muddy and brutal - a great album
Aerosmith
3/5
Packed with Single Entendres, great guitar sounds, decent drum sounds, rooted in the Yardbirds. Some rocking good fun as we start out. Love In An Elevator has sounds that are more modern-tweaked - weird radio-friendly snare and odd synths near the end. Starts well. Gets lumpy by track 4. Not much in the way of songs, really, and the guitar riffing becomes pedestrian at this point. By Janie's Got A Gun (track 5) it is falling away. Track 6 is by-the-numbers with no redeeming qualities Track 7 has some Beatles At The Cavern stylings - but no actual song, sadly. Started well. Faded badly, and the last track is Aerosmith Ballad By The Numbers.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
an album full of hurt, low self-esteem and desperate need - great arrangements and vocals, but a sad sad person at the heart of it.
Paul McCartney and Wings
4/5
Classic 70s pop, packed with hooks. Great cover - Parky and his showbiz pals, only missing Tarby!
Thin Lizzy
4/5
I saw Thin Lizzy on this tour in 1978 - they were wonderful, and set the template for hard rocking bands to follow. Les Pauls and Marshalls on the side, bass player in the middle - Big Country, Hanoi Rocks, Guns N Roses and The Supersuckers all made hay on the basic form. This is a cracking live album, even if there are strong suggestions that lots of it was tweaked after the event.
Goldfrapp
4/5
some lovely spooky sounds
Alice Cooper
5/5
One of the high water marks for the classic lineup - excellent songs, great arrangements. Elected is particularly stellar - the rolling buildup of the bass at the start, the horns ....
Public Enemy
4/5
Relentless, crushing beats and noise, and wave after wave of sounds and noise and drones. Dizzying panning and cutups, sonic bombardment, a cavalcade of voices and slogans
Rocket From The Crypt
3/5
Hi-Octane rock and roll energy, hollering and whooping, cracking riffs and pounding drums, with the salsa piccante of a horn section. The sound of a rock and roll gang. They do rather run out of puff by Ball Lightning - the album is "front-loaded", with Born in 69 and On A Rope the best tracks by far, and there are several songs towards the end that are a bit lumpy - but it's still a refreshing blast!
Portishead
4/5
I listened to this a lot when it came out, then it became omni-present, so I didn't need to keep the CD. I've not listened to it end-to-end since a few months after it came out. The foundations of trip-hop are here ... rolling drum samples, film noir strings, theremins, occasional twangy guitars, some lovely Fender Rhodes. Beautifully crafted, and very moody. Anguished, tender vocals. Sonically overall, it draws from Isaac Hayes' solo LPs , and his contrasts of space and lush instrumentation
Ray Charles
4/5
Genius at work - great arrangements, fabulous band, and every vocal OWNS the song.
Suzanne Vega
2/5
angsty, folky, thoughtful, but not for me - chac'un a son gout!!
ZZ Top
4/5
Classic era Z Z Top, with the glorious fat guitar sound, deep rooted in the blues. Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers - some of their trademark sly wit in there. La Grange is one of the all-time great grooves. Lovely gospel vibe on Have You Heard.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
songs of dread, songs with tiny guitar amps running flat out, songs of longing for the good old days - classic Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Johnny Cash
4/5
Hard nosed country songs of loss and longing and love, and fighting and jail and oppression - perfectly judged, heartfelt performances, finishing with a wonderful version of Greystone Chapel, which was written by Glen Sherley, who was an inmate at Folsom. Glen had a hard knock life - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Sherley 4 stars
The Prodigy
2/5
Packed with interesting synths and samples. Relentless, banging, and kind of wearing after a while. EVERYONE IS SHOUTING and ALL THE SOUNDS WANT TO BE IN THE FOREGROUND and HERE'S ANOTHER ANGRY MAN SHOUTING WITH A FIZZING SYNTHESIZER
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
4/5
Fragile, tender, warm, haunted, fragmented in parts, with a very odd soundstage - drums (where they appear) way over one side - a singular album, an enriching and challenging listen
The Young Rascals
3/5
Blue-eyed soul, with a psychedelic tinge - bonkers panning of the guitars, especially.
Paul Weller
1/5
Dadrock.
The Pharcyde
1/5
Maybe it is just of its time - I did not get much from this one. It is broadly gentler and more playful than a fair amount of the hip-hop of that time, but it does not get anywhere near the heights of Del Tha Funkee Homo Sapien, or De La Soul. Not very bizarre at all.
John Lee Hooker
4/5
this one kicked off a huge boost in interest in the venerable bluesman - but it did so by remaining true to what made him special, honouring his roots, his great voice, and his heart. Many guests, great vibe throughout.
Jimmy Smith
4/5
slinky grooves, great musicians, fabulous Hammond organ - what's not to love?
Elvis Costello
4/5
Bursting out with all the classic Costello trademarks- pounding drums, lyrical piano flourishes (always a suggestion of Abba in there), Bruce Thomas octave flourishes on the bass (on some tracks - on the rest it is either Nick Lowe or Elvis himself stepping through the smoke. pink Precision at the ready, saying "Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be Bruce Thomas out the Attractions"). As always with Elvis, he spits out lyrics packed with tension, about women who are out of reach, of frustration and exclusion, and adds McCartney-esque flourishes to sweeten the rage. Clever-clever, as always "but its by Julie Andrew not by John Coltrane" - you need to join the dots yourself to get "My Favourite Things". Often the protagonists in the songs have a misogynistic outlook similar to the Stones on Aftermath. "Sulky Girl" - "You're talking like a Duchess but you're still a waitress". Great lyrical specificity, such as the use of Hungerford Bridge in London's Brilliant Parade. I think my issue with Elvis is that he had made quite a lot of quite good albums, which can end up sounding much of a muchness - that's probably on me rather than on him! 4 stars
The Young Gods
2/5
Early industrial - loops, anger, some noises, some accordions, lots of overdriven bass guitar and tortured, furious vocals - heavy going.
Pixies
4/5
Pixies go surf/scifi - songs about girls, weirdness, the elements, weird girls, now with added reverb and theremin
The Rolling Stones
5/5
A stone cold classic - recorded on the run while touring, Mick Taylor meshes beautifully with Keith Richards to make glorious soulful rock and roll
1/5
I like Alan McGee's theory that Noel Gallagher came down from Manchester with an Adidas bag full of songs, and never wrote anything of note once he left his home town. Having said that, I find Oasis dull and dreary, with weird, clunky lyrics - "take that look from off your face". But that's ok, like Liberace they will be crying all the way to the bank.
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
Jazzy, swinging - a fair amount of double bass providing the low end. lovely flow to the raps
Lambchop
3/5
delicate, breathy vocals, spacious yet rich countrypolitan/americana arrangements with lush strings, a reflective, thoughtful album. I'm less keen on the falsetto songs.
Fleet Foxes
4/5
Rich harmonies and delicate, spacious arrangements - like a folkier, more psychedelic Beach Boys. White Winter Hymnal is particularly good.
Deerhunter
3/5
Hints of the more experimental end of the Beach Boys, particularly Smile, and of Mercury Rev. Songs are mini-symphonies - or bags of bits, depending on your perspective. Some pleasant moments, but not fully realised - their reach exceeds their grasp, which is not a terrible failing. Better than not reaching at all.
Miles Davis
5/5
"Directions in music by Miles Davis". A massive album, dark and funky and rock-influenced. This set the scene for the fusion of jazz and rock - wait, come back! It's a really good listen! Relentless, yet swinging, packed with ideas and grooves, spacious, full of interesting sounds and arrangements. A deep set of sounds.
Otis Redding
5/5
A stone cold classic album - Otis with one of the best backing bands ever.
Fiona Apple
4/5
This is a well-thought-through piece of artistry - it's not all in 4/4, there are interesting, unusual rhythmic accents and structures - not one I connected with, at first, but it grew more on a second listen. "you can kick me under that table all you want but I won't shut up, won't shut up" is a great line. This is the 37th LP offered to me by the random selector from the 1001 LPs on the list, and the first that has made me think "yep, this needs a third go round".
John Lennon
1/5
I found this album even more mean-spirited, and insecure than I remembered it - "Imagine no possessions", sang the man who had a temperature-controlled room for his fur coats. 1 star
David Holmes
2/5
Beat-heavy, sample-heavy, filmic, with spoken-word samples for the gritty sound of the streets, and hints of Roy Budd's Get Carter soundtrack - probably state of the art when it was made but sounds dated now.
Slipknot
3/5
furious, confusing, brutal, raging- lots of lyrical references to worms, killing fields, burning cities down, smashing, war, murders - with a vocal style that switches from regular guttural metal to Styx-like sweetness on some choruses. ("and the rain will kill us all" on Psychosocial).
Great drumming throughout.
The Smiths
2/5
The high water mark of this album is the deadpan darkness of "Girlfriend in a Coma" - which is a 5 star song. The rest shows the band flirting with different styles, stretching out into extended Beatles-isms, and other explorations - none of which are anywhere near as rich.
Marvin Gaye
5/5
Glorious late night soulful grooves.
Kanye West
1/5
Dull. No swing.
Queens of the Stone Age
3/5
Interesting use of dissonance. all rock, no roll. solid.
John Grant
3/5
An album that reaches out, lush, inviting, mixing with delicate piano with a range of mysterious vocals, some crooning and some harmonised/treated. There's a Brian Wilson feel to some of it, but darker lyrically. Elton John, too, and echoes of "Freebird" on "Sigourney Weaver".
Sex Pistols
4/5
It is much slower than I remember it being - listened to it a lot when it came out, when it all seemed to hurtle along. Now, even the faster songs feel fairly considered. Great guitars from Steve Jones, fabulous sneering from Rotten. (Famously described by Captain Sensible as " 'e sounds like Old Man Steptoe!" )
David Bowie
5/5
This is tomorrow calling, wishing you were here. Fabulous, defiant, uplifting, the sound of a man reinventing himself. The side of instrumentals is brave and rich.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
2/5
Revolutionary in its day - pretty dated listening now. Not their fault, really - this was the blueprint for so much that followed. The ballads are honking.
Chicago
2/5
Funky horns, guitars that take turns blazing and noodling, a melange of Andy Williams vibes and hippy idealism. "Free Form Guitar" is 6 minutes and 49 seconds of self-indulgent tosh.
Slint
5/5
A landmark album - great experiments in sound, beautifully crafted.
Aerosmith
3/5
a solid mid 70s classic rock album - doesn't swing as much as I had remembered it as doing.
Jane's Addiction
4/5
vibrant, dynamic, stop-start, carrying hints of prog in the harmonies and the keyboards as well as flavours of Led Zep in the guitars and drums. an ambitious album, packed with ideas - most of which are well-executed
Suede
2/5
anguished, grandiose, murky and deeply indebted to Ronson-era Bowie.
Frank Black
4/5
pop punk with some Beefheart overtones - short sharp songs packed with hooks and tunes.
Lou Reed
4/5
magnificently bleak - a bitter, gloomy heavyweight.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
a soul extravaganza, brimming with energy and joy
Black Flag
4/5
equal parts furious (Rise Above) and goofy (TV Party) - the authentic voice of American Youth. the better tracks are mostly placed earlier - it loses focus as it progresses to the end - but it still pelts along, full of rage and signifying something. iconic cover.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
4/5
A high water mark for British Blues - Clapton channelling Otis Rush, Freddie King and Albert King - using the genre-defining combination of a vintage Les Paul and a Marshall amp. Great rhythm section - Hughie Flint and John McVie really swing.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
Delicate songs about troubled people in difficult and dangerous situations
Can
2/5
long experimental psychedelic grooves - obviously an influence on the Happy Mondays and the groovier side of Primal Scream, very much a record of its time.
The Beach Boys
5/5
tender, ecological, elegies for kindness and gentleness
Dizzee Rascal
2/5
multi-layered yet minimal, disorientating, futuristic - but it is 18 years old! well done but not a record I will want to listen to again anytime soon
Dusty Springfield
4/5
smart 60s pop and soul from one of the great British voices
Love
4/5
the dark side of the hippy dream
Justice
1/5
Joan Armatrading
3/5
classic sophisticated 70s pop
Simple Minds
3/5
ambitious, full of hope and wonder, packed with sonic details specific to the time of recording.
Tears For Fears
3/5
Stadium Pop, packed with yearning. Sonically VERY 1985.
Morrissey
2/5
"And I just can't explain so I won't even try to" from the opening track encapsulates Morrissey's outlook here - a wilful enigma, languid, unfortunate and eternally misunderstood
Muddy Waters
5/5
Hard nosed Chicago Blues, from a master of the form, with a great band that swings!
Charles Mingus
5/5
magnificent, ambitious and mystical
Kate Bush
4/5
epic, mysterious, ambitious, dramatic and singular
Johnny Cash
4/5
hard-nosed country music performed for a very appreciative crowd. excellent recording
LL Cool J
2/5
mainstream, massively successful - but not for me
The Damned
3/5
Poppy punk era Damned, packed with tunes and catchy guitar riffs, phased guitars, wobbly keyboards, with hints of psychedelia, cymbals merrily splashing all the while, in a hearty, ramshackle way
Don McLean
3/5
in a word - smug.
3/5
A landmark prog LP - songs with many different parts, switching time signatures, organ fugues and jazz breakdowns, with those singular Yes melodies
Joy Division
4/5
Still a disconcerting album - dark lyrics and experimental noises
Marilyn Manson
1/5
Whiny tosh
The Who
4/5
The songs skitter along on Moon's drums, powered by Townshend's guitar - Daltrey's fierce vocals are the sound of youth in rebellion, needing to be heard
Roxy Music
4/5
Mannered, clever, pop art!
Orbital
2/5
standard issue electronic music
Joy Division
5/5
a magnificently bleak record, songs of dread and gloom and dissociation, filled with slightly odd driving rhythms, rumbling bass, and peppered with strange noises
Elastica
2/5
spirited, but very derivative (Stranglers. Wire. Buzzcocks.)
Iron Maiden
4/5
Banging, rocking good fun
Orbital
2/5
standard electronic music - gave it a couple of spins in case I had missed something but nothing really grabbed me.
The Sonics
5/5
glorious raw primitive garage rock - thrilling!
Screaming Trees
3/5
mildly psychedelic, mildly grunge
Common
4/5
lovely flow of the raps, swinging arrangements
The Zombies
2/5
a period piece
Sister Sledge
4/5
The genius of the Chic Organisation working hand in hand with a great vocal group - smart, sophisticated disco, packed with hooks, great tunes, fabulous vocal performances. All the big hits open with the title (in classic Chic style) - Lost In Music, He's The Greatest Dancer, We Are Family - "BOOM! HERE WE ARE! TO THE DANCEFLOOR EVERYONE!"
Various Artists
4/5
It is the sound of Christmas - sugary, of course, but rammed with sleighbells and tambourines and extra pianos and a second choir
Mudhoney
4/5
Grunge incarnate - squalling guitars, fizzing with sass
The B-52's
4/5
kooky, packed with hooks and joy
Ride
1/5
lightly Byrds-y, tinny guitars jangling away with no songs, no swing, and a weird mix where the slightly fey, whiny vocals are mixed way way back, behind the guitars that never really develop into anything
The Mamas & The Papas
2/5
great harmonies - but I will try the mono mix as the stereo version was mixed in cinemascope with most things WAY over to one side or the other and not much in the middle.
The Modern Lovers
5/5
heartfelt, simple, direct rock and roll that draws from the Velvet Underground but makes its own world.
Frank Zappa
5/5
flaming genius, fabulously intense - not one for listening to every day, but like many great LPs, there is an itch that only Hot Rats can scratch.
Pet Shop Boys
4/5
stadium pop, laced with melancholy
Depeche Mode
3/5
much darker and weirder and deeper than I remembered it being - some great sounds and hooks and songs, but it fades towards the end
4/5
wistful, melancholic, Ray Davies reflections on suburbia and and Englishman's place in the world
Incubus
1/5
Nu Metal - Nein Danke
Talking Heads
3/5
Talking Heads unlock the funk and bring African beats into the mix - increasing intensity and tension
Pink Floyd
1/5
pompous tosh
The Black Keys
2/5
its ok but it does go on a bit without much happening - nowhere near as good as the Junior Kimbrough covers album
Def Leppard
3/5
very carefully crafted and arranged - every song has a couple of twists in it - packed with singles, stadium hard rock/pop classics
The Byrds
4/5
As country as can be - simple, direct, heartfelt music, from the 7 month period where Gram Parsons was a Byrd, before defecting (in London en route to a tour of South Africa when the Rolling Stones explained apartheid to him, leading him to agree that he didn't want to be touring there. )
Queen
1/5
clever-clever pompous mock-rock
Metallica
4/5
Intense. Furious.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
an excellent album, and, astonishingly, one of three marvellous albums they released in 1969. great songs, fantastic vocals, well-played, tough, resonant and rooted in real life.
Miles Davis
5/5
my favourite album - timeless, works for any mood. a marvellous band charting new territory and creating beautiful music
The Police
3/5
shiny stadium pop, let down occasionally by Big Words Crammed Into Lyrics Just To Show Off (Mephistopheles) and Clunky/Smartass Rhymes (College / Knowledge)
Prince
5/5
the sprawling genius of Prince - pop and funk and filth and love
Aretha Franklin
5/5
perfection
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
playful, packed with uplifting samples, searching for the joy
Bauhaus
1/5
po-faced proto goth, slavishly indebted to Bowie for the vocal mannerisms.
Derek & The Dominos
2/5
Not as flabby as I remembered it - but the guitars do widdley-widdle on, without moving through the gears, and Eric is in full anguished mode throughout.
Bad Brains
5/5
ALL KILLER NO FILLER!! A singularly powerful album - retains the great intensity even when it slows down.
Sam Cooke
5/5
soulful genius, swinging and raising the roof
David Crosby
4/5
an austere album that in some ways seems to lack a centre - glorious harmonies, built on wisps of smoke, some lovely guitar parts, fragments of hurt and anger and loss. not an easy listen, but like many great LPs, there are times when this is the only record that will scratch the itch.
Sebadoh
2/5
generic american indie
David Bowie
3/5
I never found Bowie to be that convincing as a straightahead rock and roller. He was a great synthesist, artist, explorer - but not a rocker. For me the sonic highlights here are all Mike Garson's piano and how they work collectively to integrate new weird sounds.
Gene Clark
4/5
a tough collection of songs - Dylan/Manuel's "Tears of Rage" is the pick of the bunch - but Gene Clark sings them all with great depth.
sloppy genius - great rock and (EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY) roll. those boys could SWING!! Debris is especially magnificent, as is Stay With Me.
Herbie Hancock
4/5
sophisticated, swinging, funky electric jazz 4 stars
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
a great rock and roll record - a wonderful band, fantastic arrangements and dynamics, glorious guitar parts that you can sing and one of the greatest voices in rock & roll
Skunk Anansie
2/5
some big riffs, some try-outs at ballads, lots of emoting, but nothing that resonates with me. 2 stars
The Clash
3/5
a classic of its time, a smorgasbord of rock and roll, rockabilly, bluebeat, reggae, ska, soulful ballads and poppy punk. 3 stars because its good but I don't need to hear it again - there were no surprises hiding in there for me.
Bill Evans Trio
5/5
a fabulous jazz trio playing in a wonderful jazz club - what's not to love?
The Human League
4/5
classic pop, with really human synths, and great tunes.
The Slits
5/5
fierce, female, fabulous, five stars
Orange Juice
4/5
the glossy remodel of Orange Juice - shimmering with funky guitars and squelchy basslines
Prince
5/5
Purple genius.
Bad Company
4/5
A benchmark Hard Rock album, beautifully simple and direct
Tom Waits
4/5
Tom transitioning from Boho jazz balladeer to skronky blues hobo.
Songhoy Blues
4/5
vibrant music from Mali, swinging and righteous
Morrissey
2/5
One extra star for Mick Ronson's production. But as ever, Moz is whining on in an arch "poor me" style, and flirting with racism.
Black Sabbath
4/5
lumbering menace - glorious!
George Michael
3/5
dramatic stadium pop
Garbage
3/5
poppy grunge
William Orbit
1/5
plinky, pseudy, sub-ambient
David Bowie
4/5
spiky, optimistic through the gloom
Stevie Wonder
5/5
a golden soulful funky classic
Kid Rock
1/5
an utter phony with his clunky hip hop / classic rock mashup
Bonnie Raitt
4/5
a grown-up album, warm and tender and wise, which opened the floodgates for the next huge wave of her career
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
punky, noisy, fierce, flighty
Bobby Womack
4/5
silky smooth, resonant and true
Neu!
4/5
beautifully repetitive, insistent, and driving
Blur
1/5
as English as tuppence, mockney Britpop
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
gloriously, madly in love with the joy and elevation of classic 60s pop and 50s rock & roll, self-mythologising to the highest degree, every ounce of drama squeezed out, everyone racing through the streets till dawn, gazing at girls on porches, and busting out of here
Nine Inch Nails
3/5
disquieting, filled with self-loathing and rage, scritchy noises and distorted voices - well-executed but not one I would listen to for fun or relaxation
Antony and the Johnsons
4/5
lush - dreamy, yearning, songs of transition
Santana
4/5
what a MONSTER rhythm section - hard driving, with a great swing in the grooves. the whole album sounds like sunshine - the happy side of the hippy dream
Red Hot Chili Peppers
1/5
an album full of testosterone and nervous energy. the relentless crack of the snare drum is exhausting. the whole thing feels very agitated.
Soul II Soul
3/5
swinging, confident, summertime sounds
Marianne Faithfull
4/5
dark, fractious, bohemian, a glass of wine and a Gitane. then another.
The Clash
3/5
tinny and furious, great backing vocals, and the guitar sounds are a one-off.
Dwight Yoakam
4/5
dark songs of honky-tonk life, beautifully crafted
Roxy Music
4/5
POP! ART!! POP ART!! Rushing headlong through a glamorama, Ferry is gloriously arch in front of a wonderful backdrop of sounds
The The
3/5
dark, paranoid, angry, lots of different instruments - very much a product of its time and sonically very 1983
Jungle Brothers
3/5
bouncy, conscious rap
James Brown
5/5
one of the greatest live albums, the hardest working man in showbusiness giving us his all
Prince
5/5
a genius gives us a sprawling pop/funk masterpiece, rammed with hits, and hooks, and funky jams
The Crusaders
3/5
very sophisticated, and swinging
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
Smart, bittersweet, packed with tunes and sharp lyrics, often with the feeling that Neil Tennant has one eyebrow raised.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
The singles stand up pretty well - Fun Lovin' Criminals, Scooby Snacks, (the one with the Tarantino samples), and King Of New York, all of which were heavily played on the radio and in pubs and clubs when the record came out.
The rest is pretty inconsequential, albeit with some nice trip hop shuffles and grooves, and some decent guitar parts.
Black Sabbath
4/5
Punchy, doomy in parts, drums sounding more like a jazz kit than MONSTER BOOMERS. Iommi has a singular timing - nobody sounds like him
k.d. lang
4/5
sophisticated, languid, seductive, - the line when she sings "oh Katherine ...." is wonderful.
beautifully recorded and arranged.
The Who
2/5
Stodgy, underwhelming, with (especially in the first half) too many very similar, not very good, songs. It all feels a bit “take me seriously”.
Keith Moon is on muted form throughout
Moby
2/5
Elegantly constructed - a relentlessly commercial sheen over solid beats and blues/gospel samples – it is all very familiar, having been used on so many adverts and so many tv beds.
Sometimes in this listening process there is a very familiar album that, when I listen to it as an album, sounds much better than I remember it (for example - Rumours). Not the case here.
Guns N' Roses
4/5
great snarling attitude throughout, loads of rock, not much roll, with a handful of cracking songs. the work of Izzy Stradlin's guitar, holding things together and swinging is not always celebrated, but he is the secret weapon of this album.
it does run out of steam towards the end, but the highs are pretty high!
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
One good song - Killing Moon - and a couple of cool guitar sounds here and there, but otherwise pretentious tosh with lyrics like anguished Sixth Form Poetry - "Thorn of Crowns", indeed.
Foo Fighters
3/5
like a poppier version of Nirvana(of course), with some nice tunes, good guitar sounds.
Metallica
3/5
some storming tracks, but some dull bluster too.
Serge Gainsbourg
4/5
cool, mysterious, slightly off-kilter, an interesting listen and even better the second time
Kraftwerk
5/5
Groovy, ground-breaking, packed with tunes, sonic gems and great rhythms. Still a great listen.
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
this is an odd-sounding record. much more dissonant than you would expect from Fleetwood Mac, unusual harmonies, and drums that sound dropped on to the songs rather than built in as the foundations.
the overall mix is also unusual - guitars louder and more insistent, vocals lower in the mix on several songs, such as Sara
an interesting listen, but not an integrated album, at all- fragmented, with several different sets of ideas challenging for supremacy
Jeff Beck
4/5
It’s all about the guitar. Rod Stewart sings pretty well, Ronnie Wood is a swinging bassist, the other musicians are all solid, but Jeff Beck's guitar is what lifts this up, adds the razzle-dazzle.
Dagmar Krause
4/5
1920s German songs, words by Bertold Brecht and several other contemporary German writers, music by Hanns Eisler. Great arrangements, carefully stylised staccato vocals. Melancholic and powerful.
This edition has the lyrics in English Translation. I also listened to some of the German language edition - despite not understanding the words, it sounded even better to me in German
Cypress Hill
4/5
a smoking pressure cooker of an album, banging beats and samples, and relentless, loping, cross-talking raps and wordplay
Duke Ellington
5/5
The swinging genius, with a great version of his band - a wonderful, joyful album.
Basement Jaxx
2/5
banging beats, relentless, uptempo but lacking a human touch.
Beatles
3/5
Classic Beatles, from whimsical kids' songs through the great Something and then a second side of glued-together pieces.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
5/5
sizzling, swinging big band - great Neil Hefti arrangements, too.
Os Mutantes
5/5
Brilliant, bonkers, ideas overspilling everywhere, great tunes, weird noises, and uplifting joy.
Jethro Tull
1/5
fussy prog rock. a grim listen.
Ella Fitzgerald
5/5
Magnificent.
Wonderful songs, beautifully sung, splendid lyrics, fantastic melodies, great arrangements - so many delightful details of oboes or clarinets or percussion at just the right moment putting the cherry on top.
Three hours of glorious music - makes up for having to sit through the fussy prog rock of Jethro Tull yesterday!
Thelonious Monk
5/5
awww, MAN!!! Amazing!!!!
A true genius of modern music on piano, with a great band.
Monk has a singular sense of time, and a singular sense of how to make a harmony. A fabulous listen
Pixies
2/5
Herky-jerky hiccupping frenzies of noise and rage and mysticism.
VERY agitated.
2 stars
Dexys Midnight Runners
5/5
The singular genius of Kevin Rowland - I love how he interrupts himself, gives commentary on what he is singing about, lays himself bare. I love the muttered asides, and love that his reach exceeds his grasp - who could possibly achieve everything he has set out to do ?
A deep listen.
Beatles
4/5
Poptastic! Still hints of skiffle in there, too.
Ringo, especially, is on great form – delicate accents that really lift the songs.
Electric Light Orchestra
2/5
The singles still sound pretty sparkly, but the album felt long.
They do what they do very well, but it goes on and on. .
There was a claim that this was the first album to use a Vocoder - Kraftwerk's Autobahn beat them to that, in 1974
The Byrds
5/5
A fully-realised experimental album, albeit with some slightly weird sonic artefacts, like the phasing on Old John Robertson.
Great songs, with the band trying as many different ideas as possible to make them standout - fuzz guitar, strings, phasing, tape manipulation, wide panning, etc.
Willie Nelson
5/5
Dusty careworn songs of love and loss, drifters and desperadoes, beautifully played, sung, and recorded.
When I listened to it for the first time, the next thing I did was to play it again. A balm for the soul.
The Flaming Lips
4/5
gently psychedelic, dreamy and wistful
Deee-Lite
2/5
Mixed for clubs - booming drums - some sly grooves but mostly four on the floor. Groove Is In The Heart is a timeless gem, the rest not so much
The Verve
1/5
Dreary, pompous, "I'M AN ARTIST FEEL MY PAIN" Dadrock
Beatles
4/5
It covers a lot of sonic territory, and shows the individual visions of the Beatles as John becomes more John, Paul becomes more Paul, and George gets to spread his wings. Ringo is, classically, still Ringo.
Having said that, it is a coherent piece of work, with some lovely spaces in the arrangements and harmonies.
Beach House
1/5
Light, breathy, insubstantial.
Robert Wyatt
4/5
woozy, wobbly and wonderful
The xx
2/5
Some pleasant guitar sounds, some breathy vocals, but little of substance and not many memorable tunes.
Arcade Fire
1/5
overblown, pseudo-dramatic, like a goth ELO, with hints of U2 and occasional nursery rhyme melodies.
Fairport Convention
5/5
Deep, dark, weird tales of crows and foxes and death and vengeance, intensely performed.
Django Django
2/5
Like a poppier, lighter New Order. Insubstantial.
The White Stripes
4/5
Meg White is a great drummer, as well as being the perfect drummer for The White Stripes. When she swings, she swings with great power - the louder songs on this remind me of early Led Zeppelin.
Blues, roots, garage, punk - all these things blended together in an uplifting, ferocious album.
Eric Clapton
2/5
Slick. Occasional sweet musical flourishes - some nice Hammond organ, some gritty guitar - but overall pretty dull
Paul Revere & The Raiders
4/5
Kickass Garage Rock. "Kicks", "Hungry" and "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" still sparkle.
The Cult
2/5
Heavily indebted to AC/DC, and with a pointless cover of "Born To Be Wild", this record has delusions of grandeur. All rock. No roll.
Meat Loaf
4/5
Grandiose in the best possible way, crescendo after crescendo of wonderfully hammy, fully committed rock and roll. Great arrangements and performances throughout, with over-the-top singing on top of a Wall Of Sound, nodding to Phil Spector and Bruce Springsteen.
It reminds me of a friend who played in a Scottish Meat Loaf tribute act, whose singer was Pete, hence - "Pete Loaf". They went down a storm in Miners' Welfare Clubs and the like, with Pete stamping across the tiny stage, emoting like hell.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Righteous, indignant, uplifting
Marty Robbins
5/5
This delivers exactly as promised.
Impeccable arrangements, beautifully delivered songs of death and dust, cowboys and lawmen, men trying to live a good life, and men on the run and men facing death.
Radiohead
4/5
I had listened to this a few times when it came out, and didn't connect with it. It just sounded messy.
Today, 24 years later, listening on headphones, it makes a lot more sense. I think the headphones is what made the difference - the mix is wide, and instruments move across the soundstage a great deal.
Layers of sounds, overlapping, with little nuggets popping up here and there, and the sonic centre always on the move, weird little noisy overdubs appearing and disappearing, exploring dissonance, slightly disorientating- wonderful!
Sarah Vaughan
4/5
elegant, swinging classic jazz trio with the wonderful Roy Haynes on drums.
AC/DC
4/5
Wicked, sly, rocking hard. Malcolm was the beating heart of this band, with Bon the dangerously charming front man.
The big hits still stand out, but even tracks like "Night Prowler" are always good to hear if they pop up on radio.
Lana Del Rey
4/5
Singular, romantic, heartfelt songs of love and loss and adventure, with echoes of the best of Laurel Canyon. Fabulous tunes, great harmonies. A deep collection, which will reward repeated listening
Al Green
5/5
Willie Mitchell, at the peak of his powers, making great, luxurious, spacious settings for the magnificent Al Green to croon and purr and plead his way through them. Fabulous songs. Wonderful grooves. Wonderful songs. Terrific performances from everyone involved.
A classic
The Monkees
2/5
Unremarkable 60s pop.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Magnificent. Wonderfully specific (occasionally waspish) lyrics, great tunes and arrangements, one of the high points of a great series of albums from the singular talent that is Joni
Coldplay
1/5
Dreary tosh
Lenny Kravitz
2/5
This is an album that is trying to be cool, to rock, to emote, to be taken seriously - it tries too hard.
Some nice fuzz/wah guitars, loads of Beatle-isms, not many memorable songs. "Mr Taxi Driver" is the best of the bunch - it is less desperate than the rest of the album.
The Pretty Things
4/5
very English psychedelic with a strong undercurrent of menace
The Sugarcubes
2/5
Fizzing with ideas, Bjork's singular harmonic sense and singular sense of timing adding soaring tunes - always with a sense of unease. Lots and lots going on, but much of is is agitated.
not a listen that I enjoyed.
Stan Getz
5/5
Summery sounds, elegantly played, swinging and impeccable
Lorde
3/5
bright, some catchy tunes with Green Light the standout
Leonard Cohen
4/5
insistent and demanding, dark and rich, packed with tension and love and lust
Snoop Dogg
3/5
some fantastic beats, sizzling basslines, and great loping raps from Snoop - but loads of filler. this would have made a great EP. 3 stars because the good stuff is very good indeed
Cowboy Junkies
4/5
Intimate, tender, warm and wise
Robert Wyatt
4/5
woozy, dreamy, singular, wonderful.
Ivor Cutler's drones are particularly magnificent
Thundercat
4/5
A smart, sophisticated set of funky grooves and soulful tunes, with a mix of funk and yacht rock sensibilities - layered vocals like Michael McDonald, jazz-influenced keyboards like Steely Dan
Nirvana
3/5
Obviously an important album, with the band in a fragile state, and unsure if they would be able to carry it off. Kurt sings very well indeed, raw and emotional.
Robbie Williams
1/5
Released at the fag end of Britpop, a cynical attempt to make stadium pop with echoes of the Dublin Castle. Sub-Oasis (and that's a low bar) - sneering vocals like Liam, really obvious tunes - Ego A Go Go.
He's like Tommy Steele - an all-round entertainer, playing a rock and roller, and entirely unconvincing in the role.
"To me it's magic, to the landlord it's tragic" - one of many clunking, lazy rhymes.
Shack
5/5
Pop Genius. A wonderful collection of lived-in songs, celebrating real life, with sharp observations and great tunes, uplifting strings and heartfelt vocals. Streets of Kenny is one of many stand-outs, a story about falling back into drug use, aching, melancholic
Black Sabbath
4/5
Heavy, of course, but deftly played, with some great light touches. A four star classic
Wilco
4/5
Wide ranging, packed with catchy tunes, country flavours, Beach Boys flavours, cracked moments - a deep and involving listen, from a band transitioning into themselves
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
4/5
A great gathering of country stars celebrating the roots and deep tales of their music. There are a few too many tracks of chatter, which would not bear repeated listening, but the high points are wonderful
Megadeth
4/5
Fierce, Very Hard Rock - not for every day, but a great listen for when you need that testosterone blast
U2
1/5
Pompous overblown tosh
Alanis Morissette
4/5
Fierce, righteous, singular, angry and powerful
Arcade Fire
1/5
Dull, Dull, Dull - sub-U2, with those staccato basslines, sub-Coldplay whining.
A miserable listen.
Pulp
4/5
Sharp, bittersweet songs about growing up different, finding your tribe on the journey through life, with echoes of the Kinks - a modern take on the swinging 60s. Sly lyrics packed with puns and insight, powerful arrangements with plenty of hooks
Hawkwind
3/5
Underground Rock 1972, perfectly captured. Long instrumental sections ("wig-outs"), wobbly synthesisers, saxophone, and lots of songs about space, with portentous voice-overs.
Rush
2/5
Geddy Lee’s voice is an acquired taste, as is the slightly fussy kind of arrangements that Rush deliver – very accomplished, of course, very well executed, but – for me – all heading towards being clever-clever.
Ice Cube
2/5
Angry, fierce, relentless, prophetic, but rather wearing as an hour long listen
The Temptations
4/5
funky, soulful, dynamic, great voices and harmonies
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
3/5
Unsurprisingly, it sounds very like Blur - leaning more towards the gentler, whimsical, mildly psychedelic end of Blur, heavily indebted to The Kinks for the melodic sense.
John Coltrane
5/5
Magnificent.
Healing, uplifting, spiritual jazz
Violent Femmes
4/5
Spiky, very direct and heartfelt. Sharp, raw and challenging with some very catchy tunes
Jack White
1/5
Unremarkable. Some nice Yardbirds style guitar sounds, but the best song on it by a mile is his cover of Little Willie John's "I'm Shakin'" .
I am surprised that this qualifies as an album that anyone needs to hear - everything on this was done much better by him in the White Stripes, and before that by the first 3 Gun Club albums.
Anyone would be better informed by listening to Magic Sam's Black Magic, or Eric Dolphy - Out To Lunch , or Sun Ra - Space Is The Place none of which made the list. One Star for not being good enough at all, and for needlessly taking up a space.
The 13th Floor Elevators
5/5
Fierce, bright, explorations of psychedelia, turmoil and inner space.
Best in mono.
LCD Soundsystem
1/5
Very derivative - New Order (all the beats, many of the synth sounds), Talking Heads (especially 'Other Voices') and David Bowie around Lodger ('Change Yr Mind' )
Nothing in the way of an original idea here
One star
The Cure
2/5
Thin proto-goth.
The Mars Volta
3/5
FIZZING with ideas and energy, very dynamic, beautifully executed progressive rock (small p, small r) - rock that is trying to move on, be intense.
Motörhead
5/5
Classic Heavy Rock AND ROLL. The Roll is the important part - Phil Taylor's drumming is aggressive, powerful and swinging.
Vic Maile does a great job of production, too - everything is strong and clear.
The White Stripes
2/5
I think the White Stripes had peaked before this - pretty ordinary.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Some brisk, urgent songs - interesting guitars and strings, especially the eastern influences. Pete de Freitas' drumming is wonderful, throughout.
Mac's melodramatic vocals can become wearing after a while, though
New York Dolls
5/5
flash, trashy, vibrant and fabulous
The Isley Brothers
4/5
Fabulous guitar sounds, great harmonies, a band totally cooking - gloriously soulful and uplifting
The Smiths
3/5
Still some playfulness in the band, a sense of mischief, and "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" is wonderful.
Super Furry Animals
4/5
The song Rings Around The World has a glorious groove, great hooks. Rest of the album is good, too - catchy, infectious, gently psychedelic.
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
Challenging, diverse, thought-provoking and quite pleased with itself
Public Enemy
5/5
Relentless, slamming, fierce and smart - believe the hype!
3/5
Very English.
Splendid harmonies, some catchy tunes, with hints of the underlying melancholy that they developed further on the next album, Parklife.
.
The Kinks
4/5
Sharply observed vignettes of urban and suburban life, of frustrations and disappointments. A key source for so many English songwriters who followed him - Townsend, Weller, Difford & Tillbrook, Albarn and many others.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
funky, packed with great, deep, songs, fabulous hooks and "listen to the voices!"
The Rolling Stones
5/5
magnificent sleazy rock and roll, a huge step forward for the band
Tangerine Dream
3/5
Somewhere between ambient and exploratory
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
1/5
Shout, derivative.
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
Magnificent, sharp, soulful commentary on inner city life
The Go-Go's
3/5
A couple of killer singles - filled with sunshine
Fever Ray
1/5
Very ordinary electronic music, mildly atmospheric, but in no way innovative or an album that anyone really needed to hear.
Steely Dan
4/5
So sophisticated, but not as fully developed as the later albums. Wonderful songs, dynamic arrangements.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Nick Cave - part melodrama, part comedy
"John Wilmot penned his poetry
Riddled with the pox
Nabokov wrote on index cards,
At a lectern, in his socks
St. John of the Cross did his best stuff
Imprisoned in a box
And JohnnyThunders was half alive
When he wrote Chinese Rocks"
Glorious, and wild, and very alive
Sparks
4/5
fabulous, spiky, catchy, dramatic pop, bursting with ideas and adventures
The Avalanches
2/5
initially sparkling - packed with samples, which flash swiftly past - but that sparkle quickly dims. Not much substance beyond the question of "where was that from?"
The Smiths
3/5
some nice jangling guitars
Tim Buckley
4/5
Vibrant. Horny. Intense, impassioned, largely incomprehensible vocals, luxurious strings, and lots of libido, horniness and funkiness
The Thrills
2/5
sounds like sunshine, dreamy wistful West Coast pop, with strong harmonies, jangling guitars, big arrangements - but, sadly, largely insubstantial and forgettable
PJ Harvey
4/5
Fresh, singular, wide open, heartfelt and direct - a powerful listen
Wilco
4/5
Interesting - weird in places, warm, melodic, with bursts of intrusive noise
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
drawing from the Velvet Underground, Pebbles, and the Shangri-Las, a dreamy romantic blast of noise
Lucinda Williams
5/5
A marvellous collection of careworn songs from a life well-lived. Beautifully recorded, sensitively played, with wonderful vocals.
The Notorious B.I.G.
3/5
Relentless flow, and deliberately claustrophobic.
This suffers from the mindset of early CD era - "PUT IT ALL ON, WE HAVE GOT SEVENTY MINUTES TO FILL." It could do with some edits, I think. But the highs are pretty high!
Wild Beasts
1/5
ludicrously mannered vocals, some ok beats and sounds, but there is nothing here that has not been done before, and done much better, by many others.
this is a long way away from being an album that ANYONE needs to hear
Sonic Youth
2/5
the guitars sound GREAT, the bass sounds pretty good, the vocals are "interesting from a sonic perspective" and the drums sound like they were recorded over the phone before the guitarists mixed it.
it's fine, as it goes, but for this sonic space, Glenn Branca's LP THE ASCENSION breaks ground in a way that this never does.
2 stars for being late to the parade
Aphex Twin
4/5
shifting, developing, moving - interesting listen!
Van Halen
4/5
Hollywood Rocks!
Spiritualized
4/5
Spacey, Droney, Noisy, wonderful.
Giant Sand
4/5
dusty. baked. crafted. resonant. wise.
Billy Joel
3/5
very well crafted, packed with radio staples
Donovan
4/5
A period piece of early British psychedelia - sitars, tablas, hedgerows, ravens and dark forebodings.
Dire Straits
3/5
Radio-friendly Unit Shifter
Louis Prima
5/5
sly, smart and swinging - vibrant, energised, rocking joy
Michael Jackson
4/5
Beautifully crafted by Quincy Jones - the percussion on "Don't Stop" is wonderfully insistent - and packed with the wordless, other-wordly vocalisations that add more spice. Great tunes, fabulous grooves.
Beyoncé
2/5
This was pretty bland - hook-free, and un-memorable
Def Leppard
3/5
precision engineered pop/hard rock
T. Rex
5/5
Solid Gold Genius - "I got stars in my beard, and I feel real weird, for you ..."
Slinky, sly, and very special.
The strings and saxophones on Get It On are especially glorious.
Pearl Jam
1/5
I am reminded of the "Bowling for Soup" line - "Her CD changer's full of singers that are mad at their dad".
There are some ok arrangements on here, some good dynamics, but the voice grinds my gears. The songs mostly outstay their welcome and are overblown, too
Obviously I am in the minority here, but from this seat, one star.
2/5
slightly agitated electronica
The Saints
5/5
a MONSTER record, glorious, joyous and still fresh
Blondie
5/5
Debbie Harry is an under-rated vocalist. Fabulous, joyful power pop, brimming with invention. Clem Burke is on top form, too - dynamic drums throughout. And an all-time classic cover.
Billy Bragg
4/5
Varied, charming - especially good work from guest star Natalie Merchant on these songs with lyrics by Woody Guthrie, found in his archive, and then put to music by Billy Bragg and Wilco.
Way Over Yonder In A Minor Key is a standout
The Everly Brothers
4/5
great voices, wonderful harmonies
Van Halen
4/5
\m/ Hollywood Hard Rock \m/
The Doors
5/5
Their peak - grizzled, nearly burnt out, but swinging the blues. Great music to drive to, especially
The White Stripes
3/5
I have probably heard this album too many times - I listened to it a lot when it came out, and it was a breath of fresh air, not least because it sounded like two people playing live, in a room, having fun making stripped down rock and roll.
The songs are not as strong as I remembered them being, but the playing is still vibrant.
Parliament
4/5
Relentless, joyful, swinging funk
Bob Dylan
5/5
magical songs that sound like spells being spun for the first time while the tape rolls
The Electric Prunes
3/5
this has some wonderful, shimmering, edgy pop-psychedelia - the singles are standouts - some of the rest is filler
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Genius - great singing, great playing, wonderful songs, and massively inventive in terms of sound. Still a thrilling listen
The Smashing Pumpkins
3/5
Dense. Angry. Anguished. Sprawling, in a sense, but samey, too.
(If I had enjoyed it more, I would probably have said something like "sonically consistent", but there is a lot of it that is ok, but also very like the rest of it without being in any way outstanding.)
Some good guitar sounds, and striking bass playing.
I listened to it twice, which is probably not enough to unveil its mysteries, but twice round was plenty for me
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
classic singer songwriter album
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
5/5
Fierce, wild, wonderful, swinging, vibrant and very authentic. (Albeit with some outdated lyrical themes)
As we say in Glasgow - "gallus". Which probably translates as "Arrogant, but carrying it off with charm".
Five stars, of course.
Paul Simon
2/5
perfectly pleasant if unremarkable set of songs, nicely played, well sung. I am not at all convinced that it is strong enough or special enough to be on this list.
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
slinky, swinging, uplifting
Soft Cell
2/5
seedy, sleazy, singular, melancholic, fixed in time.
Björk
3/5
warm, deep, and lustrous - not too many memorable songs, but some lovely vibes and grooves
Stan Getz
5/5
gently swinging, warm sounds of summer
Elvis Costello
4/5
Spiky, well-written songs, with much more of a country/pub rock vibe than it's punk reputation.
Björk
4/5
part skittering and drifting electronica, part ethereal Bjork - a lovely listen, packed with ideas and melodies
Brian Eno
3/5
Historically significant, with layers and layers of samples, radio noise, tv sound clips, and the classic herky-jerky set of beats. It opened the door for many more sample-based records - found sounds, "this is what the city sounds like", etc.
Jefferson Airplane
4/5
Grace Slick's voice is wonderful. Dark, weird, explorations of life and the human psyche
Ice Cube
3/5
Full on, with the light touch of "It Was A Good Day", the more soulful swing of "Check Yo' Self", new beats from DJ Muggs and DJ Pooh, but over it all Ice Cube, King of the Gangstas, Voice Of The Streets.
DJ Shadow
3/5
the mixmaster, assembled from his massive collection of vinyl, pulversing with endless snippets - beats, piano, instructional LPs, old funk singles. definitely an album to be admired for its craft. if it sounds dated, that is partly because so many people lifted ideas from it, so this form of making an album was very popular for a while
Deep Purple
4/5
Classic British Hard Rock, with just a touch of roll from the maestro Ian Paice
Fatboy Slim
2/5
Bouncy, mechanical floorfillers
Pink Floyd
1/5
Dull.
Hole
4/5
Fierce, raw, honest, furious and messy
Radiohead
5/5
Stephen Stills
3/5
unremarkable, but covers a broad spread
Billy Bragg
3/5
A great step forward for Billy Bragg, adding deft instrumentation to a strong set of songs. That foghorn of a voice though ....
Norah Jones
4/5
sophisticated, but absolutely heart-felt.
wonderful version of Cold, Cold, Heart
The Style Council
4/5
Some cool blue-eyed soul, smart mod jazz, a very clunky rap, and the wonderful "My Ever Changing Moods", which is a CHOOOOON!
Grateful Dead
4/5
long, sympathetic jams and grooves, with lovely improvisational feel
Duran Duran
2/5
Very Glossy. Packed with sounds and flourishes which are Very 1982.
Janelle Monáe
2/5
it all sounds pretty derivative to me - trying on a Prince costume, a Stevie Wonder costume ... it lacks a unifying feel.
Pulp
4/5
Anguished, isolated, coming down, heavily influenced by Roxy Music and other Art Rock - little of the sly humour or bounce of the "Mis-shapes" era, until we reach the anthemic "Glory Days".
A good, dark, listen
Earth, Wind & Fire
4/5
Vibrant, sophisticated funk
Iggy Pop
5/5
Rocking and Rolling, great band, strong set of songs, Iggy at his most charming on the cover - what's not to love?
Le Tigre
4/5
Sharp political pop - girl group sounds, simple drum machines, the Shangri-Las crossed with the B-52s, calling out the patriarchy.
3/5
Indie Queen
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
5/5
Swinging and rocking - it still sparkles.
You can draw a direct line from this to the Beatles and to the Stones - making it an extremely significant LP, as well as a good listen
Supergrass
4/5
spiky, perky, catchy!
Germs
3/5
a great rush of sound, raw, sneering, energetic
American Music Club
3/5
Classic Americana, songs of death and loss and tears and yearning with nods to Springsteen along the way.
Television
5/5
A wonderful album - beautiful recording, great songs, excellent band spreading their wings and taking flight.
Innovative guitar playing, especially - fluid and considered.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
The album opens with a brick wall of sound, irascible and scornful – songs of endurance and bitterness.
Later songs develop through classic early Beat Group to Beatle-esque, all with the hallmark of Costello’s layered wordplay
Living Colour
3/5
slightly funky, metal/hard rock, plenty hooks, political in places, too. very much of its time
The Last Shadow Puppets
3/5
nicely melodramatic pop, wordy, with strings and twangy guitars
The Who
4/5
Moon's drumming is the star here
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
4/5
spacy, bouncy, splendid
Scott Walker
5/5
gloriously stylish, mannered drama
Yes
3/5
Classic English Prog Rock. Bursting with ideas, and all over the place.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
2/5
pretty thin - a hippy take on the idea of a soulful big band, but there is not much more here than a couple of nice arrangements by Al Kooper
Todd Rundgren
4/5
sprawling genius, packed with ideas, some brilliantly executed
Japan
2/5
The first New Romantic LP - even if the band denied the tag, this wrote the book for the sonic picture of New Romantics - drawn, of course, from Roxy Music. Melancholic, slightly detached vocals, bubbly synths, occasional shimmering guitars, drum machines sounding very mekanik
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
a stoner classic, and a wonderful combination of band and singer
Gillian Welch
4/5
Beautifully crafted, in a way that makes you miss the fact that they have been crafted - some of these songs (in particular "Dear Someone") sound like they were handed down through many generations of mountain people, whereas they were all written by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings). Great performances, splendid arrangements, and awesome harmonies throughout.
Terence Trent D'Arby
1/5
Very, very 80s. The most plastic soul.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
a work of sprawling genius, captivating from start to end, covering soul, rock, and outer space along the way
Tina Turner
2/5
The sound of 1984. Great re-invention of a wonderful singer - she sings especially well on this, but the music sounds very dated
Grant Lee Buffalo
2/5
Declamatory vocals reminiscent of The Waterboys, guitars and backing vocals drawing from Bowie's glam era with Ronson - ok, but nothing remarkable here at all
Little Richard
5/5
The King And Queen of Rock & Roll. Rocking, sly, funny, and joyous.
Supertramp
1/5
Very 1974. Lumpy, bitty, and dull.
CHIC
4/5
Vibrant, sharp, stylish, full of hooks - a great listen.
It is sad that the contributions of Tony Thompson and Bernard Edwards are less remembered, a fabulous rhythm section.
Beastie Boys
4/5
Groovy flute loops, banging beats, great raps, a smorgasbord of hip hop, funk, hardcore and dub.
Beastie Boys
4/5
State of the art 1986 white boy hip hop - puerile, whiny, deliberately offensive, fully committed to the bit
Vapid.
"a mole, digging in a hole, digging in my soul ...."
10cc
1/5
Very English, Very 1974 - Prog Pop.
Very bitty. Very pleased with itself.
Clever-clever.
The Beach Boys
5/5
tender, wistful, optimistic, wondering, wonderful symphonic pop
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Zeppelin exploring and moving outwards - Ramble On is the standout, adding the magic of roll to the rock
4 stars
The Shamen
1/5
a tiring listen - computerised, quantised, made from standard synthesised sounds - and, like many albums from this era of CDs, needlessly extended to make up one hour and seven minutes, just because the capacity was there.
not much in the way of a song, no grooves, and full of sounds that are hard on the ears.
FKA twigs
4/5
disorienting, in a good way - wobbly synths, vocals in different registers, minimalist arrangements with fast-shifting, interesting components
Dr. Dre
3/5
A classic of its time, defining an era of hip-hop - but all these years on, it is a tiring listen by the time you reach the end, no light and shade, lots of banging beats and bragadoccio
5/5
Magnificent, ambitious, glorious pop. Wonderful melodies and harmonies, thought-provoking lyrics, and great arrangements, beautifully recorded.
Doves
2/5
some interesting sounds, but it gets pretty dreary by two thirds of the way through
Adam & The Ants
3/5
Fizzing with pop energy, burundi drums, and wild nobility - catchy, twanging, and joyful
Eminem
2/5
important in its time, but not a rewarding listen today
Simon & Garfunkel
2/5
a couple of gems - Homeward Bound and 59th Street Bridge Song - but Simon's greed and ego in claiming songwriting credits for songs he did not solely write (Scarborough Fair and Cloudy) do diminish my respect for him.
some of the rest do sound rather twee.
The Smashing Pumpkins
2/5
Intense, with some interesting dynamics and good guitar sounds, but essentially this is a band venting at length, loud and long, and repetitively. Wearing. Tiresome. Unrewarding.
2 stars
The Black Crowes
2/5
rock, with a little roll. plenty of swagger, not many actual songs.
If you need to hear music like this, you will be far better off listening to an LP by The Faces, who did it first and did it much better
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
melodramatic vocals, some nice arrangements and intricate melodies, but a dreary voice - pretty forgettable, overall.
Brian Eno
4/5
Some ground-breaking albums are dull to go back to, so long after their original impact. This, however, is still a refreshing listen - great use of space, of unusual sounds, and full of hooks.
Goldfrapp
4/5
Big pop tunes, with a hint of menace, lovely strings and use of space
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
nearly 40 years old, still tough! swaggering, boasting, with minimalist beats and backing.
Stephen Stills
4/5
It opens with a classic, swinging, uplifting piece of Hippy Soul, Love The One You're With, and maintains a decent standard throughout. I will happily go back to this one.
4 stars
The Band
5/5
beautiful, soulful voices, none of them perfect but they blend to make magic
U2
3/5
I had heard most of this album down the years, without liking it much - but I was pleasantly surprised on this listen by how strong and tender "One" and "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" are. "Mysterious Ways" is decent, too. Much of the rest is standard-issue U2, which I don't connect with.
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
Beats, not grooves. Insubstantial.
Metallica
2/5
Dense, relentless, epic, bludgeoning power - all ROCK, no ROLL
Leonard Cohen
4/5
the wise, literate lyrics ,the sly humour - "they don't let a woman kill ya, not in the Tower of Song" - the marvellous melodies, and great arrangements, let down a bit by the very dated 80s synths. Still a great listen
Elvis Presley
5/5
Around 1991, a dear friend made a compilation of 70s Elvis, long before that was fashionable, and he titled it " Still Dead. Still King." This album is one of the key roots of rock and roll - vibrant, impudent, teenage energy.
The Psychedelic Furs
4/5
Art rock - squawking saxophones, dense swirling arrangements, spiralling nagging guitars, mysterious lyrics, all delivered with bohemian panache
Pretenders
2/5
a couple of great singles - Kid, and Brass in Pocket - and a mish-mash of sixties pop and angular late 70s new wave ideas.
Talking Heads
2/5
tense, compressed, agitated - Lower East Side 1978 captured perfectly.
an itchy listen.
Gang Starr
2/5
solid, unremarkable early 90s hip-hop
Nas
5/5
a game-changing album when it came out, and still a striking listen
The Sabres Of Paradise
3/5
spacy, dubby, plinky, cool
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Magnificent soulful funk
The United States Of America
5/5
layers of sound, electronics, Beach Boys style harmonies, great variation and depth - a very entertaining and stimulating listen
Erykah Badu
3/5
Nu soul, good grooves, relaxed vibe - pleasant without being essential listening
Lynyrd Skynyrd
4/5
Classic Southern Rock, with more swing than they are sometimes credited for - some funky shuffles in there, like Gimme Three Steps, as well as a great band with a sly frontman
Sugar
3/5
this has a strange mix, with the vocals tucked behind the guitars.
as you would expect , it is like a poppier Husker Du - interesting listen, strong melodies, driving arrangements
New Order
2/5
New Order - as ever, providing some nursery rhyme melodies over techno beats, and then adding a splash of melancholy. Doubtless a groundbreaking record of its time, especially for the use of drum machines and sequencers, but the highlights were those little bittersweet melodies, hinting at regret.
Björk
4/5
Big, bold, dramatic, emotional, moving
The Zutons
2/5
light, insubstantial, inessential
Ryan Adams
4/5
bright, tuneful Americana
The Byrds
5/5
magnificent, chiming, psychedelic explorations of sound - great melodies, harmonies and arrangements
Elliott Smith
4/5
gently psychedelic power pop, strong Beatles vibe - very different to his doomy reputation
The Streets
2/5
clunky
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
5/5
Magnificent. Challenging. Singular. A behemoth of a record, a menhir, a standing stone of sound.
If you only listen to one record from the list, this is the one.
Five Hundred and Fifty-Five Stars.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3/5
historically important - Dylan started out very much like Ramblin' Jack - with some high points, San Francisco Bay Blues in particular.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
great harmonies and some lovely tunes
Animal Collective
3/5
woozy, shifting, hard to pin down - a feeling which the cover captures beautifully
Drive-By Truckers
4/5
sprawling, wonderful, deeply rooted in classic rock
Talvin Singh
3/5
interesting mix of indian percussion and electronica - worked well both as music to listen to and then for a second spin, background music while I was working.
George Harrison
4/5
A much more gripping listen than I had remembered it being. Loads of ideas, some Beatle-isms, of course, but really well-executed
Tortoise
5/5
wonderful shimmering, shifting, evolving, driving music - this works both as a main listen, and also as music in the background.
Fiona Apple
2/5
insubstantial
Randy Newman
5/5
dark, sarcastic, mean, challenging, and still a great, uncomfortable listen
3/5
classic shiny, ambitious, glossy 80s pop - striking production by Trevor Horn
The Pogues
5/5
A wonderful collection of gritty songs, a huge step forward from their (also excellent) first album, which was more frantic. Shane McGowan never sang better than he did here, and the band's songwriting and arranging had matured significantly.
In an interview promoting the album, Spider Stacey showed the low regard that the band had for the music press, who tended to present them as a bunch of drunks, ignoring the fact that they were a bunch of drunks who crafted a great band and wrote great songs. He was asked "The songs - they're pretty much all about death, aren't they?", and he explained that they are ALL about death, because the instrumental "The Wild Cats of Kilkenny" is about two cats in Irish legend who fought each other so hard and so long that all that was left were their two tails.
Romantic, yet bleak, a marvellous work
The Libertines
1/5
phoney
Morrissey
2/5
flowing melodies, Smiths-style settings, one BIG TUNE in The First Of The Gang To Die, and lashings of self-pity.
Baaba Maal
3/5
bouncy, uplifting
Afrika Bambaataa
3/5
Relentless braggadocio, booming beats, BOOM-tastic, very much of its time
2/5
loads of ideas, some better than others
KISS
3/5
cartoon rock and roll
Big Star
5/5
Glorious, uplifting, bittersweet power-pop
George Jones
5/5
the greatest singer in country, singing his heart out on songs of regret and loss
Public Image Ltd.
4/5
Challenging, fierce, unsettling, singular, slabs of atonal noise, hints of disco, splashes of dub, rooted in krautrock, with Lydon's sneering howl the icing on the cake
4 stars
Merle Haggard
3/5
a couple of great songs - I'm a Lonesome Fugitive, My Rough & Rowdy Wats - but several pretty ordinary ones.
Willie Nelson
5/5
this album would bring a tear to a glass eye - beautifully sentimental, richly emotional, with wonderfully economic playing and singing. great arrangements, too - by Booker T. Jones ! (yes, from Booker T & The MGs!)
Willie Nelson's timing is singular - late on every note, increasing the tension, with a beautiful flow and a glorious voice.
this is one of a handful of the LPs in this adventure where I listened to it a second time immediately after the first listen
Elliott Smith
4/5
in turns bouncy and dark - more influenced by Big Star than some of his other albums. refreshingly concise - 37 minutes is an excellent length for an album if every song is as good as these are.
The Offspring
2/5
well played and very well recorded straightahead 90s punk rock, let down by whiny vocals
Skepta
3/5
in the fast-moving world of hip-hop, few things sound as dated as music from 10 years ago.
it's ok.
2Pac
3/5
great flow, strong beats, but by the end of the album I was tired of the relentlessness. plenty braggadocio, but no chiaroscuro.
Suicide
5/5
Genius. Terrifying. Deep. Magnificent shards of noise, inner city life, electric rock and roll and futurism.
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
Vibrant nu-soul
Beatles
4/5
splendid pop but Lennon's bitter misogyny spoils it at the end
Happy Mondays
4/5
The apogee of the Mondays - weird, wobbly, paranoid, slippery, spaced out and spacious. Amazing that they built a stadium-filling career on this difficult music.
On the expanded edition, the many luxurious 12" mixes open up the sound and give it all space to expand and take over.
James Taylor
2/5
Dull
Funkadelic
5/5
gloriously funky, uplifting, vibrant music.
The Bees
1/5
light. hints of dub. pleasant falsettos. but, ultimately, it sounds like music for a cider advert. no depth.
Kings of Leon
1/5
Music as mannered and studied as their annoying, fussy hairstyles.
The Triffids
3/5
solid 80s indie music
Laura Nyro
5/5
Welcome to the wonderful world of Laura Nyro, weaving jazz, show tunes, soul music and deep personal lyrics together, with great melodies and a spectacular voice
Muddy Waters
5/5
marvellous - fierce, singular, with one of the greatest voices in popular music
LTJ Bukem
4/5
interesting range - I much preferred the instrumentals, but the rushing percussion and dynamic arrangements were a refreshing listen
Hugh Masekela
3/5
It's a good album. But there are dozens of better jazz albums that have not made it on to the list - nothing by Ornette Coleman, or Sun Ra, or Eric Dolphy, and only the most obvious John Coltrane and Miles Davis.
That's not Hugh Masakela's fault, but there are many more jazz albums that would broaden the listener's experience if they had been included instead of this.
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
A charming record, with beautiful, long, melodies, well-crafted lyrics, and lovely, minimal arrangements.
Pavement
1/5
smug, clever-clever, herky-jerky indie rock.
Travis
2/5
would-be anthemic indie pop - slightly melancholic, but tiresome overall
Kings of Leon
1/5
faux-anguished, pompous, mock-rock, underpinned with dull clatter and U2-style bombast - landfill indie-style rock, no better than the Pigeon Detectives.
there is absolutely no reason for threadbare bands like this to have 2 (so far) albums in the list. I do not want to hear a third from them.
Iron Maiden
3/5
a refreshing blast, which manages to be both bombastic and tinny - classic New Wave Of British Heavy Metal
T. Rex
5/5
The unwavering genius of Marc Bolan, supported by the sensitive production of Tony Visconti.
A gigantic, dreamy record, slightly weird, always sure of itself, packed with hooks, sung with urgency, jam-packed with great sounds and fantastic songs.
Ananda Shankar
3/5
A refreshing listen with a couple of strong highlights - Jumping Jack Flash, especially
Patti Smith
5/5
rock and roll poetry, wild and enchanted and heartfelt, desperate to share, to be seen, to enlighten
Beck
2/5
Lovely strings, lush acoustic guitars, hints of Nick Drake, Moby Grape, but none of it feels heartfelt. It all feels like a pastiche.
Femi Kuti
4/5
Bright, vibrant, swinging
The Blue Nile
2/5
Sonically very much of its time.
I like the wobbly synths, the vague, dreamy vocals but not that Seinfeld-esque slap bass . At all.
I would like to adore this record in the way that many of my friends do, but the moment that the slap bass comes in, I am turned off.
Buena Vista Social Club
5/5
swinging joy, sinuous, flowing, uplifting - great musicians in perfect groove
Bee Gees
4/5
ambitious, psychedlic, sprawling - but all with a certain charm, and I prefer albums where the reachs exceeds the grasp of the makers, rather than albums where everyone plays safe, plays within known boundaries.
Einstürzende Neubauten
4/5
a refreshing, invigorating, difficult listen, designed to generate the response "what the HELL is this? - is it even MUSIC?"
I would love it if the list had more albums like this, that challenge preconceptions, rather than so many comfortable, homogenised, mainstream pop / rock / indie / whatever.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
Big, ambitious sound, with a couple of big songs, and some longueurs - mapped out the direction for his solo career, and for Simple Minds (and many others) too
Doves
2/5
Bog standard indie rock.
Pere Ubu
4/5
unsettling, from the very first piercing notes, the wild vocals - with panic rising - sometimes frantic, always intense. a great listen
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
by no means a bad record, but I will always rail against the under-representation of jazz in the book.
great musicians, but a mix that hides the rhythm section
Air
2/5
mildly pleasant, but a fairly minor album
Ice T
4/5
Fierce, and smart
Happy Mondays
4/5
Loose fit is sublime, a woozy anthem for the baggy times. There are a couple of other gems on here, too - Kinky Afro and Step On, especially
Steely Dan
5/5
precise, yet swinging - wise, literate, sharp tales with a band rooted in jazz, looking for the next wave to catch
Bebel Gilberto
3/5
gently swinging summer sounds, music for the hips
Grateful Dead
4/5
Mystic country, lightly baked
Leonard Cohen
3/5
It's not his fault, he had no choice, he was cursed with the gift of this golden voice - early, bleak songs from someone whose humour became more evident over time.
Neil Young
5/5
slowly climbing out from under depression and overload, finding ways to accept it all, and keep on going.
“I’m deep inside myself, but I’ll get out somehow,”
beautifully bleak
Calexico
4/5
dusty, twangy, heat-baked gems
The Allman Brothers Band
5/5
glorious, intense, swinging, driving music - great interplay
Napalm Death
4/5
In the same way that high end restaurants will offer a palate cleanser (like a sorbet) between courses to help reset your taste buds, this is the kind of album that resets your ears away from the mainstream music that overpowers this list. Enough with the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Pavement, Oasis et al - here's some primitive rage.
As Hobbes put it - "Nasty, brutish and short."
I listened to it, enjoyed it, and will now enjoy an hour of silence.
Brian Eno
4/5
A wonderful, mesmerising album. It works very well as background music, but also stands up as a listen on its own.
John Martyn
4/5
Spacious, with great vocals and some wonderful grooves
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
4/5
spiritual voices, swaying and moving together - resonant and moving
Randy Newman
4/5
smart, sharp, sarcastic - full of bite, full of great tunes
Kanye West
1/5
Nope. Nazi rappers can fuck off, too. He's no good.
PJ Harvey
4/5
elemental, primal, fierce
Traffic
2/5
the band who invented getting it all together in the country - hippiedom incarnate
Solomon Burke
5/5
magnificent, soul infused with gospel, and the best songs also have a country flavour
Air
4/5
stylish organic grooves, some lovely keyboard sounds - fresh and spacious
Neneh Cherry
3/5
Buffalo Stance still whips, bubbling with energy, but not every track has stood the test of time so well. Three stars for the glorious, chuckled, "what is 'e loike?"
Finley Quaye
4/5
sunshine music, soulful reggae - lovely voice, some sweet grooves
Bee Gees
3/5
Beautiful harmonies on melancholy melodies, powerful arrangements - classic Bee Gees
The War On Drugs
1/5
Dull, without a single original thought. Re-treading the vibe of the Waterboys on a few, some Dire Straits guitars, some Pink Floyd guitars ... no redeeming features, at all.
Arcade Fire
1/5
Dreary, mannered vocals, occasionally melodramatic, served over lumpy rhythms.
The whole thing is derivative - little sprinkles of U2, Talking Heads, Franz Ferdinand, Wilco, and many others.
Insipid.
Dull.
The Fall
4/5
Awkward, and charming - The Fall, always changing, always the same
Queen
1/5
pompous overblown tosh
Astor Piazzolla
4/5
A beautiful record, fresh and swinging - an interesting listen
David Bowie
5/5
Crisp - 6 carefully carved pieces, mixing soul and Krautrock and melodrama.
The CD era conditioned people to think that 74 minutes was a suitable length for a record. This makes full use of its 38 minutes, and is far better for it.
Key lyric - "It's not the side effects of the cocaine". *eyeroll*
Bob Dylan
5/5
swift, sharp, one of Dylan's many peaks
Sepultura
4/5
Brutal.
Neil Young
5/5
tender, ragged and wise
The Fall
4/5
Curmudgeonly, challenging, and singular.
Kelela
2/5
rather ordinary
Mike Oldfield
2/5
prog-tacular!
Everything But The Girl
4/5
cool beats, interesting shifting shimmers and bleeps in the music, languid melodies
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
4/5
ferocious, conscious, wide-awake and furious
The Cardigans
2/5
well structured pop, with annoying, mannered, fey vocals
Dusty Springfield
5/5
timeless, beautifully crafted, soulful pop
Cheap Trick
4/5
joyous power-pop - great energy and swagger
The Youngbloods
2/5
disparate styles - some nice electric piano, some folk-rock, some mild psychedelia, some ragtime - inconsistent and sketchy
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
rather dull, meat and potatoes stadium rock
Caetano Veloso
2/5
slightly odd Brazilian pop
Saint Etienne
2/5
some pleasant moments, but oddly dated
Fishbone
2/5
A very 80s mix - snare-heavy, with date-specific keyboard sound - of songs that lean towards herky-jerky, many of which are rather agitated. Not a relaxing listen
CHVRCHES
2/5
stadium electro-pop
The Temptations
5/5
Ground-breaking psychedelic soul, joy and darkness combined
Eagles
4/5
Great harmonies, and a strong input from every songwriter - more variety than I had remembered
The Gun Club
5/5
Furious, primal blues. Fear and lust and avarice all bundled together - all dressed up like an Elvis from hell.
Jack White studied this closely!
Five stars
Paul McCartney
4/5
Bright, gritty, full of hooks and melodies
4/5
Conscious funk, sophisticated but still gritty
Blue Cheer
3/5
Grunge before grunge, metal before metal, a sludgefest
Hüsker Dü
2/5
Husker Du had run out of steam by this album - too many songs that are ok, but no significant thrills. They had done all of this better, on previous albums.
Waylon Jennings
4/5
hard nosed honky tonkin' - "the devil made me do it the first time, the second time I done it on my own"
Maxwell
4/5
cool neo soul
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
There is maybe half of a great album here, with a load of filler
3 stars (for the good stuff)
The Afghan Whigs
3/5
Dense. Oppressive. Agitated. Dark, bleak howls, with the vocals hiding behind massive guitars.
Brian Eno
4/5
Exploratory, fresh, arty, playful
Throbbing Gristle
4/5
Genesis P-Orridge was described by Alex Petridis as having "a grating, Mancunian-accented whine that somehow manages to sound out of tune even when there is no apparent tune to be out of."
It is refreshing to have an album that demands a response, and which makes you think about the music that is a daily listen.
This is an exhausting, confusing, demanding noise - uneasy listening, and all the better for it. More of this kind of din, and less landfill indie.
Radiohead
1/5
At its core this is a 90s version of 70s Pink Floyd, with occasional glitches and splashes of more recent music.
Dreary
Christine and the Queens
3/5
Horny French pop
Mudhoney
4/5
splendidly snotty fuzzy noise
The Beach Boys
4/5
Tender songs, about confusion and uncertainty, with backing and arrangements that became the new LA Standard - timpanis, glockenspiels, layers of harmonies.
The maestro of vulnerability - RIP Brian Wilson. This LP was presented for my listening on the day after the news came that Brian had moved on from this plane, making this even more of a bittersweet listen than it would have been.
Magazine
4/5
a step both sideways and forwards from the first blast of punk rock - propulsive, deliberately difficult in places, aloof, singular
4 stars
Red Hot Chili Peppers
1/5
puerile tosh, with an exhausting, compressed sound
The The
3/5
a set of sounds rooted in 1986 - that heavily processed snare, those digital percussion tracks, all the Fairlight sounds - supporting brooding, dark songs of distrust and unease
The Stooges
5/5
magnificent, canonical album of songs about being bored and frustrated, from the surliest punks
Shuggie Otis
5/5
the funkiest! Great grooves and vibes
Tito Puente
3/5
Bouncing, tight, sounds like the music Scorsese would use to place a scene in 1957 Manhattan
Steve Earle
2/5
a couple of high points - Guitar Town, My Old Friend The Blues - but some pretty ordinary country spread across the rest of the record
The Specials
3/5
Much more expansive than their debut, some excellent songs and great grooves, but let down by the gleeful misogyny of "Hey, Little Rich Girl". By 1980, everyone knew better than that - it would have been 4 stars for the wide range of influences, and how well they are integrated, without that.
The Byrds
5/5
Magnificent - soaring pop genius, with great melodies and psychedelic country experimentation
Liz Phair
4/5
beautifully crafted - wry, raw, provocative and powerful
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
1/5
pompous, twiddly, self-indulgent tosh, topped with a dreadful rip-off of "The Girl Can't Help It"
Sufjan Stevens
4/5
quirky, dreamy, imaginative, symphonic pop
Mott The Hoople
4/5
Classic seventies gang of rock and rollers, anthemic outsiders. A rousing listen
Tricky
4/5
smoky, murky, woozy, claustrophobic and intense
Dr. Octagon
1/5
nowhere near as smart or innovative as it thinks it is
Rush
1/5
The cover captures the ethos of Rush perfectly, placing them on the "clever-clever" end of the line between "clever" and "clever-clever"
There are some splendidly propulsive drum parts here, and loads of well-thought out bass and drum parts, but nothing in the way of a song. Everything is bitty - "wait, here's another bit!" - never settling in to a section for any time because the next on-edge staccato section is on its way.
Geddy Lee's vocals are one of a kind, and while I can see the effort that has gone into trying to make a pop album on prog-rock principles, it is one star from me.
An exhausting listen.
John Prine
4/5
Marvellous songs, full of the detail and grit of real people and their sufferation
The Boo Radleys
2/5
I remember this being promoted with the notion that Martin Carr was a musical genius on the level of Brian Wilson.
This is not, in fact, true. This album is a mish-mash of ideas, with some catchy tunes here and there, but nothing at all of any stature or substance. Frequent switches of style or genre within a song are not an indication of genius. Also, it is far too long - 17 songs, 64 minutes - with a feeling of "Never mind the quality, feel the width."
Third rate, at best.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Magnificent, deep, layered, beautifully crafted, and such magnificent lyrics - "In France, they kiss on Main Street
Amour, mama, not cheap display"
Sonic Youth
4/5
gritty, noisy, extended jams and wonderful noise
Green Day
4/5
feisty poppy punk, very well executed
Coldcut
1/5
Bitty. Annoying
Heaven 17
1/5
slick, glossy, album which set the scene for a BIG WAVE of synth pop. all these years on, it is a tiresome listen - limited sounds, mannered vocals.
Bill Callahan
4/5
great voice, resonant songs with lyrics full of ideas and poetic snippets
The Dandy Warhols
1/5
Plain indie : not very good at all, self-indulgent, derivative, and far too long.
Just because there is room on the CD, that does not mean that the band should fill it up with thin gruel like the 6 minutes and 9 minutes of the last two tracks
This would have been a better listening experience at half the length. It might even have got a second star.
Throwing Muses
2/5
In a word - agitated.
This is obviously of historic significance, in terms of opening doors to less conventional singers, blending folk influences into skiffly punk, raw emotion, but I didn't really enjoy the listen
Alice Cooper
5/5
Magnificent - some killer classic rock to open, then spreads out to Show Tunes and a jazzy take on The Doors, leading to with McCartney-esque drama before bringing down the curtain with a final Broadway climax
Minor Threat
4/5
Fierce. Intense. Singular
Crosby, Stills & Nash
1/5
smug
Brian Wilson
5/5
Sunshine genius
Britney Spears
1/5
Cynical. Totally manufactured pop. This is the Ultra Processed Food version of pop music, mostly made up of synthetic chemicals that are designed to be addictive, and containing no natural ingredients or anything of any nutritional value.
Mj Cole
1/5
Booming beats, repetitive : the only positive is some occasional soulful flourishes. All in all, dull.
Taylor Swift
4/5
Carefully crafted pop, with a human feel, especially joyful on Shake It Off
Lupe Fiasco
1/5
formulaic, and obvious
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
righteous roots music
Funkadelic
5/5
Funky psychedelic genius
ZZ Top
4/5
A juggernaut, more sleek and sophisticated than it first appears to be
Scissor Sisters
1/5
sophisticated pop, heavily indebted to Elton John - but entirely forgettable.
TLC
2/5
When this came out, it sounded state of the art. Now, there are a couple of standout songs - Waterfall and If I Was Your Girlfriend - but the rest has not stood the test of time at all, sounding very dated.
Dion
3/5
a couple of standout songs, with an overall vibe very similar to John Lennon and George Harrison's solo work of the early to mid 70s, helped by the presence of Klaus Voorman on bass
Missy Elliott
3/5
A classic in its time, which stands up better than many albums from then
Leftfield
4/5
bouncing . dynamic. layered. nicely weird and haunting in places
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
pop proto-goth, with John McGeoch on splendid form, shimmering and swooshing
Guided By Voices
3/5
lots of short songs, which feel like sketches, or seeing inside an artist's notebook - packed with ideas - weirdly mixed with rattly drums that hide behind the guitars, Beatle-esque melodies over Husker Du guitars, sprinklings of Big Star and Sonic Youth, too.
an interesting listen
Big Black
4/5
pulverising, relentless, breathless and bleak
King Crimson
2/5
beedly-beedly, with some Steve Reich influences.
Pink Floyd
1/5
Beautifully recorded pompous tosh
Simply Red
2/5
not as annoyingly stylised as I remembered it
Adele
3/5
soulful, sophisticated
Can
5/5
fabulous - deep, restless and relentless
Peter Frampton
1/5
tedious
Raekwon
5/5
Slamming!
Iron Butterfly
1/5
36 minutes, but it feels much longer
The Cure
1/5
anguished, and dreary
Slayer
5/5
Brutal, magnificent
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
A lovely fuzzy sprawl, barely contained
Supergrass
3/5
Chirpy
Machito
3/5
It's a perfectly good album, but given the very small proportion of world music and jazz in the list, it does feel like tokenism. Off the top of my head, Frank Morgan, Kenny Dorham, Ruben Gonzalez, Mongo Santamaria, Afrocubism, and Dizzy Gillespie have all made stronger and more innovative albums in this area.
Röyksopp
2/5
pretty ordinary
Franz Ferdinand
2/5
herky jerky, knowing, Art School pop
Pink Floyd
4/5
Very English, often fragile, sometimes whimsical.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
a sleek juggernaut of an album, packed with Costello's dense wordplay, puns, allusions - opening cheekily with the line "Oh, I just don't know where to begin" and motoring through the many layers of Oliver's Army.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
2/5
A classic production, using a host of un-credited guest musicians (including Ian Dury's Blockheads) and leading the way in the use of the studio, with ground-breaking use of the Fairlight CMI to make brand new sounds. Trevor Horne and his team put all of this together, assembling it like sleek sonic Meccano, with many layers of sparkly samples to brighten it all up.
However, the album is vainglorious, has many tracks that are filler - Born To Run is a pointless, aimless cover - and is far too long.
Ian Dury
4/5
"is also very rude" - a Dury lyric from this album which helps to sum up his charm. Vulgar, frank, uplifting - a great band, too
Eels
4/5
urgent, intimate, dark, and beautifully crafted
Bon Jovi
2/5
Hair metal goes stadium pop - sleek, machined, crammed with hooks, and with one foot up on the monitors
Massive Attack
4/5
Immaculately spacious and groovy
George Michael
2/5
The opening track is spacious and rocks along smartly. Much of the rest is a bit gloopy.
Donald Fagen
5/5
Sophisticated, beautifully crafted, elegant and swinging
Incredible Bongo Band
2/5
A curio - some good grooves, and an interesting backdrop to early hip hop and the use of funky samples to build new grooves. But not essential listening - there are 4 Blue Note collections of hip hop roots that are far more interesting than this. (Blue Break Beats Volumes 1 to 4)
4/5
rockabilly, country, punk, all gathered together in a joyful rocking bundle of fun
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
classic rock, of the finest kind - rootsy, real, and timeless
David Bowie
3/5
some high points - Changes and Kooks - but the mannered vocals become very wearing over the duration of the album
Slade
3/5
Lumpy. All Rock. No Roll.
A couple of good singles, and that great screaming voice redeem it
3 stars
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
5/5
beautifully bleak
Amy Winehouse
2/5
a mish-mash - vocals heavily influenced by classic jazz but some very standard nu soul beats. this album can't decide what it wants to be, and it would have been more fully realised if it had been ALL THE JAZZ or ALL THE NU SOUL/HIP HOP BEATS.
Sabu
3/5
it's fine - but there are so few jazz albums in this list, so many great jazz albums left out, that this will only earn 3 stars - nor a remarkable LP, not a ground-breaking LP.
Cocteau Twins
2/5
dreamy, shimmering, spooky, reverb-drenched nursery rhyme pop, with a sound that lacks any core - sparkly chorused guitars, ethereal choirs and fragments of lush melodies, all filigrees and sprinkles but no bottom.
it is not their fault that the album allowed music journalists of the 80s to write dreamily adoring tosh about "cathedrals of sound".
Todd Rundgren
4/5
a marvellous, sprawling bundle of prog, pop, soul, rock - another album where the artist's reach exceeds his grasp, and is still a rewarding listen
Fugazi
4/5
Direct, straightforward, intense, honest, raw.
Suede
2/5
anguished, mannered, and rather dreary
OutKast
2/5
a very ordinary album, that goes on for far too long. 73 minutes of standard-issue hip hop, with skits.
Queen
1/5
Pompous tosh. Mock rock.
1/5
Rotten. And far too long, including a 9 minute outro just to make sure every second of the CD is packed with their malodorous tosh.
It would be slightly less rotten if it was trimmed to 45 minutes, but - to be clear - would still be rotten.
Blustering, belligerent, whiny, tiresome, puerile tosh
Little Simz
3/5
refreshing to hear an album of steady quality, and with strong beats, good use of space, that does not overstay its welcome.
(several recent listens have been 73 minutes, CDs crammed full of third and fourth rate leftovers.)
Slipknot
4/5
ferocious, raging anger and dark undercurrents of misery and mischief
fabulous drums
The Flaming Lips
4/5
Dreamy, strange, and wonderful
The Incredible String Band
4/5
Deep-rooted folk music, dark and weird and mysterious and magical
Cee Lo Green
2/5
pretty ordinary neo-soul - nothing remarkable about it, at all
Judas Priest
4/5
Classic British Heavy Metal
N.E.R.D
3/5
Bouncy, poppy, neo-soulful r&b
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
5/5
Beautiful
Peter Gabriel
3/5
Very 80s
Janis Joplin
5/5
It's all about the voice
Mylo
1/5
Very ordinary electronica
The Fall
5/5
Fierce, singular, challenging, wonderful (and it gets the fifth star because there have been so many insipid mainstream albums in my feed recently, this actually IS an albumyou need to hear)
Frank Sinatra
5/5
magnificently melancholic
Primal Scream
4/5
sometimes woozy, sometimes wild, futuristic and also very much of the time it was made
Les Rythmes Digitales
1/5
Badly dated, and a very dull listen.
a-ha
2/5
dreamy synth pop - time has not been kind to this, the synths may have sounded like the future when the album was released, but it sounds very dated now.
Fela Kuti
4/5
driving and grooving
SAULT
3/5
soulful, groovy, but somehow an album that did not lodge in my memory - I enjoyed listening to it, but 10 minutes later couldn't remember anything much about it
Rod Stewart
4/5
swinging, grooving - Rod on great voice, with really sympathetic backing which is all about the roll, as opposed to the rock.
Fairport Convention
5/5
glorious swinging folk rock
Beck
2/5
Beck goes back to his roots - but I can't see why he would do that. An unsatisfying retread of his earlier work, without the sly wit and sense of new creation that was there
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
perfectly gloomy
Barry Adamson
4/5
a delightful jumble of ideas and stylistic jumps
Beatles
5/5
timeless
Genesis
3/5
the most English, proggiest prog rock, blathering on at great length
3 stars for the cultural importance
(It would have been 2 for the listening enjoyment)
Megadeth
3/5
a grinding, relentless listen
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
woozy, uncertain, mysterious, dreamy
Emmylou Harris
4/5
beautifully tender country - hard-nosed, too
1/5
bland, vapid and formulaic
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
swinging, driving, and furious
Jeru The Damaja
2/5
very ordinary macho hip hop - "Da Bitchez"
Crowded House
4/5
smart, catchy, hook-filled McCartney-esque pop
Tom Tom Club
3/5
bouncy, slightly goofy, and fun (in a way that Talking Heads never really were)
two excellent singles, and quite a bit of filler - lifted to 3 stars by Wordy Rappinghood and Genius of Love
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Melodramatic, beautifully overblown and intense
Cat Stevens
2/5
gentle, tender, and rather dull
Hole
3/5
Magnificent opening track, great swaggering bass and chopping riffs, snarling vocals - but the rest of the album is rock ordinaire
3 stars, just - elevated by the bass on Celebrity Skin itself.
Faith No More
1/5
blustering, tiresome - it manages to be both shouty and whiny at the same time, and has that era-defining BIG drum sound.
It would have been 2 stars, but the pointless, very dull instrumental that preceded the cover of War Pigs combined to take it all the way down to 1. Why cover War Pigs if all you are going to do is play it like the original ?
Depeche Mode
1/5
dull, thin, and very mannered.
David Gray
1/5
bland
Fred Neil
4/5
toughness and tenderness, ragas and rage
1/5
Bombastic amalgam of U2 and Queen.
Nirvana
4/5
the drums sound magnificent, vocals are great - this stands up much better than I thought it would have done
Motörhead
4/5
a magnificent racket
Taylor Swift
3/5
pleasant, but not memorable. the lyrics feel like they have been written to be dissected for clues rather than to express an emotion or a moment
John Martyn
5/5
gentle, deep, wistful and wonderful
5/5
The playfulness of the acoustic set, all those internal rhymes and lyrical ideas, stretched phrases, intensely delivered, is marvellous.
Then the wild rocking freedom of the electric set, those loud guitars and joie de vivre - magnificent.
Beastie Boys
5/5
A bouillabaisse for the ears - packed with flavours, spices, and joy. So many samples - "he thinks HE's the passionate one" was the one that leapt out on this listen
The Roots
1/5
Very ordinary. Nothing surprising, rewarding, or innovative. Drums too loud.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
1/5
pompous tosh
Steely Dan
5/5
sophisticated, sharp - and somehow this avoids the feeling of being over-worked, despite the legendary tales of the near endless quest of the recording process.
Neil Young
5/5
tender, full of empathy, and beautifully recorded
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
a joyous, wild racket, free rock and roll. intense and intimate - magic made by having sympathetic musicians all breathing the same air as they blast away.
Scritti Politti
2/5
ultra sophisticated, ultra smooth, state of the art sounds and grooves for 1985
Anita Baker
3/5
beguiling, seductive, smooth
Aerosmith
4/5
Stadium rock and roll - sleazy, sly, flirty, full of innuendo
The Specials
2/5
Sparkling ska, spoiled by some sour misogyny - Little Bitch and Too Much Too Young especially - which takes away the achievements of A Message To You Rudy and Doesn't Make It Alright.
Love
4/5
all over the place - baroque pop, harpsichords, flutes, shifting time signatures, the frenzy of "7 & 7 is", and Revelation - a John Lee Hooker style jam which rambles on (and on) for all of side 2.
some of it is wonderful - Revelation is, however, a dull self-indulgence
Bob Dylan
5/5
long, flowing, multi-layered lyrics, studded with jewels - the Kerouac of rock - over a band which is rattling like a ghost train
The Teardrop Explodes
1/5
Chirpy. Tiresome.
Madonna
4/5
poptasti
Ghostface Killah
4/5
Slamming
Steve Winwood
4/5
sophisticated, soulful
Isaac Hayes
4/5
Funky genius
Madness
2/5
alternately chirpy and melancholic - a band spreading its wings, but not really achieving flight on many of the songs
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
beguiling, swaying, deeply groovy desert blues
Moby Grape
5/5
Shoulda been huge! cracking psychedelia, fizzing with ideas and energy
Janet Jackson
2/5
very busy. clattering percussion everywhere, all the sounds are harsh and demanding - cavernous drums, clanking bass synths - no light and shade
Led Zeppelin
4/5
much more varied than its reputation deserves - some gentler vibes, but all with swing and drive
Solange
2/5
the best parts were the snippets of Minnie Ripperton stylings, and the casual harmonies that sounded like a warmup. pleasant, but not memorable
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
paranoid, filled with dread and suspicion, mumbles and whispers. Prince obviously drew on this, as did Massive Attack and many others.
R.E.M.
4/5
shimmering, mysterious, an album whose charms slowly unfold
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
overblown stadium rock - strangled vocals, arm pumping in the air for punctuation, that exhausting snare drum, thumping pianos on the beat, all the simplistic repetitive keyboard parts - partly saved by the gentler I'm On Fire , but overall the sound is desperate, oppressive, bludgeoning
Roni Size
2/5
gently clattering along, with some snatches of pleasant melodies, but very repetitive
David Bowie
4/5
One of many peaks in Bowie's career - calling back to the tension of his Berlin trilogy, and it also has some glorious melancholy
Traffic
1/5
Aimless, bland noodling.
The Velvet Underground
5/5
A bleak, wonderful, new dawn
Pavement
2/5
herky jerky , bratty , agitated, fizzy, in thrall to the Velvets and The Fall, tiresome
Genesis
1/5
Folk-inflected prog. Pompous, and often overblown. Beedly-Beedly guitars, fax-classical keyboards, big dynamics.
Very English.
King Crimson
1/5
pompous. smug. clever-clever.
Drive Like Jehu
2/5
furious, frenzied, hurtling along with nagging, neighing, ragged guitars and whining/screaming vocals which are mixed far back - obviously they are very agitated about something, but none of the words shed any light on what that might be.
a tiresome, enervating listen
Stereo MC's
1/5
dreary, mechanical
Tori Amos
3/5
dramatic, melodic, emotional
Super Furry Animals
4/5
Fizzing with ideas, psychedelic to the core, drifting from wistful to urgently rushing
Radiohead
3/5
messy, claustrophobic, unsure of itself - the best parts are the experimental parts, the noisy, uncertain sections
Joanna Newsom
4/5
dramatic, singular, music far from the beaten track, with splendid orchestrations
5/5
a joyous eruption of fiery, inspirational rock and roll
Dead Kennedys
4/5
The original Fast & The Furious -sharp, funny, and rocking
GZA
5/5
relentless, glorious flow, which mixes mysticism, chess and gangsterism, and a deliciously doomy vibe throughout
The Undertones
4/5
wise beyond their years - short snappy songs about chocolate and girls. joyous
Michael Jackson
3/5
The slickest of the slick
Everything But The Girl
1/5
Eighties Wine Bar music
Radiohead
3/5
sometimes messy, sometimes glitchy, an album of a band exploring and wondering and trying things on for size. some of it works well, some doesn't, but an interesting listen nonetheless
Circle Jerks
3/5
Snotty, urgent - rages then departs swiftly
John Cale
4/5
basking in melancholy
MC Solaar
3/5
This would sound wonderful in a Paris brasserie, with a cup of coffee, or even a glass of vin rouge.
On this cold, wet, December day in Glasgow it still sounds pretty good.
Some excellent flow, over busy, shifting tracks.
Sheryl Crow
2/5
radio-friendly, lightweight
David Bowie
5/5
magnificent, deeply resonant, and a very powerful farewell
4/5
melodramatic, with flashes of brilliance
Elis Regina
2/5
Tepid.
I cannot understand why an album as ordinary as this has made the list. No vibrancy, no energy. Nothing unusual or striking about it.
I can think of ten artists more worthy of people's time than this one - off the top of my head, Eric Dolphy, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Marc Ribot, Carolyn Franklin, Betty Harris, Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, Pat Metheny, Link Wray.
A dull choice
The Who
4/5
A band exploding into a happening, with Keith Moon on especially magnificent form
The Charlatans
1/5
it was called "baggy".
it is dire.
Frank Sinatra
5/5
Nimble, swinging, beautifully crafted.
The Coral
5/5
Fizzing with ideas and great guitar sounds, informed by the scuzzy garage punk of Nuggets, and by ska and dub.
Imaginative, vibrant and catchy
Kraftwerk
5/5
gleaming, sleek, a wonderful journey
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
oceans of shimmering fuzzy guitars, everything slightly wobbly and not quite in focus - lovely
Julian Cope
4/5
Cope reaching for the majestic kingdom of rock and roll - it does not all work, but I am all for albums that aspire to greatness
ABBA
4/5
pop with a fabulous sheen
UB40
2/5
Worthy, but rather dreary - there are many more vital reggae albums that have not appeared on the list yet - Dr Alimantado : Born For A Purpose, Culture : Two Sevens Clash, Augustus Pablo : King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown to name but three.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
The star of the show, of course, is John Bonham - driving and swinging and occasionally leaving a beautiful gap where you expect to hear a bomb drop. Great riffs, and stellar work from John Paul Jones in helping make everything swing and adding splendid counterpoints