The funny thing is listening to this album, it was even worse than I expected it to be. There have been some dubious selections so far which make me question the validity of the 1001 albums but this takes the biscuit. I refuse to believe that this is one of the 1001 greatest albums ever made. If you Google 'Best albums of 1985' you get lists with some great albums, none of which are by Simply Red.

Is there anything else to write about this? These songs have been omnipresent in my life for most of it. It's good. I can't imagine Ian Curtis discovering ecstasy and making a record like 'Technique' (maybe I would have been surprised) so a fairly limited discography helps permeate the myth. Great cover art though. PS I hate this website's UI. Why is it so hard to use? I was going to write some words about Jethro Tull's 'Aqualung' but rated it before adding comments and it won't let me go back to revise it. So anyway, I was having a prog moment a couple of months back and had a listen to 'Aqualung' and 'Thick of Brick' as part of the albums-I've-never listened-to-but-probably should. There's some interesting things going on by the band, almost a folky Black Sabbath, but it's just a bit too hey nonny nonny for me. Would I have liked this more as a teenager? Perhaps.

I always find this a strange listen. It's ok but never fully grabs me but everyone else loves it. 28 years old? I guess I was still going through my grunge phase? Tell you what I did love at this time - The Disposable Heroes of Hypocrisy. 1992's 'Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury' still sounds more vital than this. Shame Franti decided he wanted to be reborn as the new Bob Marley.

Oh man... I love Elliott Smith but it's impossible not to feel a profound sense of sadness every time, in every song. Has there ever been anyone who has this affect? I think I get a bit of the same feeling listening to David McComb but not on the Elliott Smith level. Wonderful and heartbreaking and beautiful and despairing.

An album I've listened to countless times in a vain attempt to like it as much as some other people do and as much as I probably/possibly should. The answer might be that I've never had the need for a late-at-night album for stoners. It's one of those albums where you get 5 or 6 songs in and wonder how it's not yet at the end. One thing I will say about Tricky is that he has the greatest West Country accent.

groan of disappointment that this was the first album to come up. I guess I was hoping for something new and/or different, not an album I've listened to a million times over the last 35 years. Teenage me loved this album but it's one of my least favourite PF albums now. Back then this and WYWH were my favourites by a long way, these days DSotM is the one I listen to the most, I really enjoy Animals, have started to like TFC a lot more than I did. I've always been ok with the post-Waters stuff, possibly because I didn't have the history. There's some great stuff on this though, esp Side 3 (Hey You to Comfortably Numb) and Side 1 is also good but at times it's patchy.

I listened to the 'legacy' edition as per the album cover photo even though it's a 2006 version and possibly not the 'original' album that made the 1001 list. I think this was one of those albums I listened to once or twice because I'd never listened to it but it has the reputation. I know it's a live album but there's a lot of talking.... it would be better if it was tighter overall rather than being something more akin to a historical artifact. The legacy version is 1 hr 40 minutes, more than an hour longer than the 34 minute original (even if it doe have San Quentin played twice in a row). Also the crop of the photos for the Legacy version is pretty terrible and the orig cover photo wasn't that great to start with. I think this is the problem with all the expanded/box sets that became a thing, so much is unecessary and doesn't add a lot. After a listen or two you just end up skipping all the filler. Plus it often detracts from the original album. I'd give it 2.5 stars overall if I could, more if they edited it better.

We listen to this in the car a lot (along with the rest of the B&S back catalogue). Having gotten used to how it sounds over terrible speakers with the drone of traffic in the background, it's surprising how rich it sounds over headphones via iTunes. I think I gave to my wife on vinyl for a Christmas present a few years ago. We've seen the band a bunch of times, including at ATP Minehead (Bowlie 2), talked about going to the Boatie w/e cruise in the Med, and have talked about going to the next one (if borders are open, the stars align etc). Good album.

Now this was the sort of thing I was hoping for from this generator, something that fills in some of the large gaps, something I probably should have listened to by now. With that drumming, fat bass and the wah guitar, you know within 20 seconds that it's going to be a classic, even before anyone sings. The female vocals are what makes it. Some songs are better than others, I lost a bit of interest in the middle but pretty good overall.

I've got this on CD somewhere I think, possibly in my parent's attic. Always had a soft spot for it, has some interesting songs on it, interesting structures and sounds. Bit of a shame they were never as good live. Songs that bring back good memories of my life in 1996, which was one of my very favourite times.

Is there still grand ambition in music? You listen to that orchestral intro to 'Show Me' and it's the sound of someone wanting to make a big impression. This continues throughout. Has the death of people paying for music meant minimising time spent in the studio working on songs and the halcyon days of the 1980s of throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the mix are long gone? As a 1982 album, the singles from the album are songs on the radio and Top Of The Pops from when I was first becoming aware of music. Over the years. those singles (Poison Arrow and Look of Love) have been diminished somewhat due to over-familiarisation and use in adverts. I've never listened to the album in full but it really works together as a body of work. An album of its era but you have to admire the craft from the Art of Noise people.

After The Lexicon of Love (which has been on constant for more than the day that was allowed), this just feels really boring. I always struggle with music that doesn't go anywhere. It wasn't on iTunes and only the remixed/extended 2 hrs 35 mins version is on Spotify. The first song is more than 17.5 mins. Wikipedia tells me the original album is just the four songs. I'm sure it's important in the development of electronica and ambient music....but 12 mins in to that first song and nothing much has happened. Noodling for stoners

A million years ago (1994) I was in Seattle for 9 days at the same time Bumbershoot was on. It was $9 per day although if you wanted to see X and Sunny Day Real Estate, neither of who I knew, it was a separate $10 ticket. So obviously I didn't go to see them and instead saw Penn & Teller be amazing doing loads of slight of hand in a small theatre and Richard Thompson (with Danny Thompson on double bass) basically playing on the pavement for $9. And some random stuff I've long since forgotten about although I do have a t-shirt in a bin bag in my parent's attic in the UK. Anyway, I moved to Australia and there's a completely different band called X who I'd never heard of either. I've seen the Australian X and they were pretty good. The US band are a bit punk-by-numbers years after this type of punk was in fashion everywhere else. It doesn't even really have memorable songs/hooks/melodies etc and is all a bit plodding 4/4. It feels a lot longer than its 32 minutes, never a good sign when about half the songs are less than 2 minutes.

The most extravagant thing I've ever done is fly to the UK to see Kate Bush twice in a week back in 2014. It's not The Hounds of Love or The Dreaming but there's a lot of good things on this album. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this album. The B-side (starting with 'Deeper Understanding') is a go to but I often skip the patchier A-side. There's something about the "mmm, yes" at the start of the title track, the whole song is one of my favourite vocals of hers. 'Love and Anger' is interesting but after this the first side gets increasingly patchy. 'The Fog' is ok, 'Reaching Out' is a bit of a nothing song and 'Heads We're Dancing' is one of the worst songs she's ever released. The second side is a different story though, some of the very best of her songs - 'Deeper Understanding', 'Never Be Mine', 'Rocket's Tail, 'This Woman's Work' plus the tacked on B-side 'Walk Straight Down The Middle' included on the CD version. I was originally excited hearing about 'The Director's Cut', anticipating she was taking the worst songs from this album and 'The Red Shoes' and making something of them. Instead she took the best songs from both albums and made them worst. Not her best but up there. Would probably give 4.5 stars but have no problem rounding up to the full 5.

Back in the day, there used to be a really good second hand record shop called Catapilla in Exeter, where a lot of my albums came from during the period when everyone was moving to CD and ditching their vinyl. This still has the price label on it, I think it was UKP3.99. It's one of my favourite Yes albums, there might be some long songs but it has more direction than some of the albums that come after it. Probably because Tony Kaye wanted to keep things simple and Rick Wakeman (who replaced him) obviously didn't (and was brought in to be more expansive). Never quite sure if I like Jon Anderson's voice but it works better in the harmonies and always love Chris Squire's bass.

Today has made me realise that at some point 'Pet Sounds', aka the world's most overrated album, is going to pop up for me to listen to. I can never quite put my finger on why I struggle to like it. Nice harmonies for sure, but the actual songs were never that good. It always seems that the people who praise it are doing so for the technicalities but the same people always seem to hate technical ability in other music. This is more of the same, but with some terrible lyrics and sounding very muzak at times. This album could only have come out in the very early 70s. The title track is ok in a bunch of harmonies tacked together to form a song way.

I tried. The funk stuff, sure but a big "Nope" to the cliched 70s syrupy ballads.

Similar to C&W and Bob Dylan, I think at some point you reach an age when jazz becomes a genre of interest. It's there, there's a lot of it, it's been around for decades, lots of people like it, there must be something in it, right? Spending time in Japan also probably helped plant the seed as jazz is the choice of background music everywhere you go. In the last few years I've had the likes of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and more playing when at work. It's not a something to have purely as background noise but more for the typing groove purposes. Despite never having heard of Machito before today, I could see myself listening to this more regularly as an audio aid to pumping out a bunch of lengthy reports.

A second day in a row of jazz. What really stands out is how good this sounds, everything is so clear. That fade in on the first track is also unexpected. Nice.

I had an extended Suede streaming session earlier in the year. As with many bands of that era, I'd lost touch with them but discovered their last album, 'The Blue Hour', which is excellent (and highly recommended if you haven't heard it.) I had all the initial EPs that came out before the album so at the time it felt like I'd already heard a large chunk of the album. I think I like this album even more than I did back when it first came out. The album of theirs I listen to most often is Sci-Fi Lullabies, which has always shown they left many of their best songs off this album. Seen the band a bunch of times over the years, including their first tour (still have The Drowners t shirt, it's not as white as it used to be) and a fan club show at the Electric Ballroom, that I can't remember how we got into. They played all of the just released/about to be released 'A New Morning' and then did a random greatest hits set where they got people out from the audience to spin a big wheel with the song names on it. Great show, good times. Can't believe this is going to be 30 years old next year. Was Bernard Butler the last British guitar hero?

Is there anything else to write about this? These songs have been omnipresent in my life for most of it. It's good. I can't imagine Ian Curtis discovering ecstasy and making a record like 'Technique' (maybe I would have been surprised) so a fairly limited discography helps permeate the myth. Great cover art though. PS I hate this website's UI. Why is it so hard to use? I was going to write some words about Jethro Tull's 'Aqualung' but rated it before adding comments and it won't let me go back to revise it. So anyway, I was having a prog moment a couple of months back and had a listen to 'Aqualung' and 'Thick of Brick' as part of the albums-I've-never listened-to-but-probably should. There's some interesting things going on by the band, almost a folky Black Sabbath, but it's just a bit too hey nonny nonny for me. Would I have liked this more as a teenager? Perhaps.

For as long as I remember, from when I first started reading music magazines, the man/myth/legend of Willie Nelson, the pro-weed stance, the legal issues, his politics, has been written about more than the actual music. One of those people whose public persona overwhelms everything else, even the thing that made them famous in the first place. Have I heard a Willie Nelson song before? I think so, probably, in passing. Have I ever sat and listened to one of his albums from start to finish and then repeated the process a few more times because what I'm hearing is so good? Not until this very point in time. I like my C&W sparse, downbeat, and full of misery. Just like this.

I was in the car recently and triple j played NWA. It was probably the most exciting thing I've heard on triple j in at least the last decade. It was startling to hear how fresh, vibrant and exciting it still sounded. It still sounded like the future. It's pretty much the same experience listening to 'Raising Hell'.

I like this but would like it more if it wasn't 77 minutes and 16 songs. Most of the songs are in the 5 - 6 minute range. In isolation, each songs is good but it becomes a bit of a chore to listen to it all. It still has some of the hip hop tropes I hate; all the uh-uh-uhs, yo-yo-yos, skits, etc. Some of the ballads are very syrupy in a bad 1970s way. The personnel credits are something; so many people. Fun fact: album includes Frank Dunnery from It Bites. It's some culling and editing away from being a much better album.

That album cover, that title. That voice though. At times a bit too honky tonk, the ballads are the best. Imagine what they would say about a 28 minute album in the reviews if this was released today.

Everyone and their parents love Simon & Garfunkel. It didn't bridge the generation gap in my case though. I've always been left trying to work out the fervent levels of reverence. 'Save The Life of My Child' not being what I expected makes it really jarring and odd, more what you'd expect from some weird late 60s prog band. Similarly 'Voices of Old People' - which is exactly that, tape recordings of old people talking for two minutes - is just bizarre. Elsewhere its sounds like expected, acoustic and folky with some nice orchestration. The 'Mrs Robinson' and 'A Hazy Shade of Winter' singles are the most immediate of the 12 songs

It's seems funny that back when I was a lad, this album had a terrible reputation. But even with the huge sale numbers for 'Rumours', and as with a lot of those late 70s soft rock/AOR/MOR band, I can recall Fleetwood Mac being regarded as very uncool and naff, a relic of the outdated music from the previous decade. 'Tango In The Night' reestablished them but even after 1987, they didn't have the reputation they have now. The full reappraisal of the Mac is a relatively recent event. Over the 20 songs it's good, bad, ugly, totally incoherent and generally all over the place. It unsurprisingly sounds an album that was heavily influenced by a very large mountain of cocaine. Having said that Lindsay Buckingham never gets the credit her deserves - for both his songwriting and his guitar playing. The Twilight Singers version of his "What Makes You Think You're the One" is far superior though.

I always find this a strange listen. It's ok but never fully grabs me but everyone else loves it. 28 years old? I guess I was still going through my grunge phase? Tell you what I did love at this time - The Disposable Heroes of Hypocrisy. 1992's 'Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury' still sounds more vital than this. Shame Franti decided he wanted to be reborn as the new Bob Marley.

Not the best of Neil Young's album in the 1970s but the bar is pretty high and it's still pretty good, especially the title track and the closing 'Ambulance Blues'.

Any time I listen to the Beatles I'm never not astounded that they existed for such a short period, pulled songs out of the ether as it was nothing, released them on records year-after-year, and we're still talking about them more than 50 years after they split up. And that McCartney was still in his 20s when they split. This should probably lose points for 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da' and 'Why Don't We Do It In the Road'. It's a far easier job to name the worst Beatles songs than the best songs. Worth listening to the extended version for the 'Esher Demos'

I audibly groaned as soon as the screen refreshed and this loaded after voting for the last album ('The White Album/The Beatles'). Maybe not as bad as I remembered but so much wailing.

Strange album. Bunch of 2 minute songs and then an 11 minute cover of 'Heard It Through The Grapevine' that goes on forever.

I remember seeing SR play a festival (Harvest) and finding them boring and too earnest while everyone was on the verge of tears. I want to like them... I think it's the vocals that puts me off. It's too choir boy. The made-up language stuff makes it all a bit D&D cosplay, which doesn't help either.

Saw them back in '93 (with Tool supporting) at a show that got upgraded from a 550 cap room to a 1,500 venue. It was so good. Every few days I wind up thinking "We need a band like RATM now." Does this album ever go out of fashion?

I bought this and the 'Propaganda' follow-up on vinyl for very little money during the great vinyl purge of the early to mid 1990s. I've never listened much to either album. They're a bit too much on the showtunes side of glam for me.

Oh man... I love Elliott Smith but it's impossible not to feel a profound sense of sadness every time, in every song. Has there ever been anyone who has this affect? I think I get a bit of the same feeling listening to David McComb but not on the Elliott Smith level. Wonderful and heartbreaking and beautiful and despairing.

Good album, good memories of the times. Is still an interesting and inventive listen

Meh. A bit like that recent Wu Tang album but less interesting and even more like a couple of stoners mumbling over some beats.

An old favourite. Good enough to make you forgive them for their role in Britpop. 'Waterloo Sunset' is one of the all-time greats

I was a late getting into Nick Cave and this is where I entered. Driving across the Nullarbor in the late afternoon, chasing the sun, windows down to compensate for the lack of air con and this blasting out, counting the road kill per km to pass the time and the continuous terror of WA road trains.

I liked it more towards the start rather than towards the end. It just went on forever with its 21 songs and 72 minutes. Further evidence that most double albums shouldn't be.

She's been pretty much a household name in the UK for as long as a I can remember and yet almost everyone would struggle to name/hum one of her songs. Back in the 80s it always sounded like the sort of music old people listened to but even as a legit old person, I still don't feel adult enough to get Joan Armatrading.

It feels very old school in terms of style and sounds but lyrically it hasn't really dated, which is scary and depressing. Still sounds kinda breezy and fun despite the content.

It's surprising how English folk this sounds at first, less so once you find out most of the songs were English/Scottish folk songs. When it's just guitar and voice, you've got to love the voice.... Bet there's no Vashti Bunyan in the 1001

Never been much of a New Order fan outside a few singles. They've never been that good when seen them live either. Picked this up in an op shop on CD for $1. Loved it. Subsequently bought it on vinyl. Their best album.

Where do I even start? Or end? The band and album that changed everything. From hearing 'With Or Without You' in the car on the drive back from school, seeing them on Whistle Test the week the album came out playing 'Exit' and 'In God's Country', buying the 12 inches for the extra tracks, my first concert at Cardiff Arms, buying the program full of Anton Corbijn photos which really kicked off my interest in photography. All of it. Seeing them in pre-COVID play the album in full, going with low expectations and being completely blown away at how stunning it was. However annoying Bono might have become, however patchy the band might have been over the last 20+ years, this album is still pretty perfect. It not be quite as beautiful sounding as 'The Unforgettable Fire' (being more of a Lanois album than an Eno album) but it's the band at the peak of their powers. There's so much on here that still floors me for a band in their mid-twenties on their fifth album. Bono's voice when it was still beautiful, before age, drink and smoking wrecked it. the minute and three quarters at the start before you hear a voice. 'Bullet The Blue Sky', still probably their best song even if there's plenty of live versions on YouTube that surpass the album version. The B-side of non-singles that are better than the singles - 'Red Hill Mining Town', 'In God's Country' (I think it might have been a US single), 'Exit', 'One Tree Hill'. An album that always makes me wants U2 to rediscover themselves and realise they can make an album like this if they choose to. The band is still pretty good, Bono needs to pull his finger out and remember how he used to write lyrics.

Is it me, or is there a lot of hip hop in these 1001 albums? And why are all hip hop albums so long? Yeah, it's ok

I haven't listened to this in an age. I remember Everett's review in Melody Maker calling them the "New Nirvana", buying it based on that single written review from HMV in Exeter and being disappointed they sounded nothing like Nirvana. It really grew on me though, although it is a bit patchy. Listen to their other albums more regularly as they're more fully formed but would guess they're not going to be in the 1001.

This was my first Dylan album experience. Got it via the small tape collection at Exmouth Library in the late 80s but unfortunately at the same time as borrowing his 1986 album, 'Knocked Out Loaded', which I've read as being rated as his worst studio album (and there is some serious competition for that honour). So on the one hand, 'BIBH' was a revelation and is still one of my favourites of his (took a while to get into 'H61R', love 'BotT, also a big fan of late Dylan, esp 'Time Out Of Mind', always struggle a bit with 'BoB'), on the other hand, the 'Knocked Out Loaded' experience stopped me from further investigations into his back catalogue for a long while. Probably not helped by Dylan's late 80s output at the time.

Oh, more Beach Boys. Maybe you just had to be there. Is part of the problem that this sounds more like a 1950s album than something that came out in the same year as Rubber Soul, Help, Highway 61 Revisited, the first Who album, and A Love Supreme. Or is it the portrayal of all-American wholesomeness that permeates throughout that's just hard to take. Sure, nice harmonies, as you'd expect but it just sounds so old fashion and out of place.

I accidently clicked on some super deluxe version which goes for 6 hours and five minutes but luckily found the original 78 minute version. Even on the original version, the songs go forever but nice guitars. I think I would have liked this a teenager.

The funny thing is listening to this album, it was even worse than I expected it to be. There have been some dubious selections so far which make me question the validity of the 1001 albums but this takes the biscuit. I refuse to believe that this is one of the 1001 greatest albums ever made. If you Google 'Best albums of 1985' you get lists with some great albums, none of which are by Simply Red.

I've always thought of this as 'the singles' but overall the third best Jimi Hendrix Experience album. (The JHE is always the argument I use for why Crowded House aren't an Australian band. Although I'm more than happy for JHE to be considered a British band, given 2/3 of the band were English, they made their name in the UK and the first two albums were recorded in London, even if 'the talent' was American).

I got to photograph Tony Iommi (and Geezer Butler) when they toured as Heaven and Hell with Ronnie James Dio doing that era of Sabbath songs. Standing in right in front of Iommi for a few songs and watching him play really close-up and seeing how much the crowd absolutely adored him was one of life's great moments. Dio was pretty great too I saw Sabbath with Ozzy on their last tour (as ever via a last minute ticket fire sale for a seat towards the very back of the Entertainment Centre because I'm such a cheapskate), and it was so much better than I ever expected it could be (the reason why I left it so late on deciding whether to go). There's good stuff on most of the Sabbath albums, irrespective of who's singing, but those first two albums are really all you need.

Love the voice, but it's a bit too late 90s 'jazz' for me

The greatest secret about Portishead is that all of their albums are really good, not just the first one. 14 years since this last one, must be about time for another?

I always used to think this wasn't as good as any of the Steely Dan albums owing to its absence of extremely tasteful guitar playing. I like it more these days (and picked it up cheap on vinyl in Tokyo) but it still doesn't have enough guitars. (3.5 stars)

An album I've listened to countless times in a vain attempt to like it as much as some other people do and as much as I probably/possibly should. The answer might be that I've never had the need for a late-at-night album for stoners. It's one of those albums where you get 5 or 6 songs in and wonder how it's not yet at the end. One thing I will say about Tricky is that he has the greatest West Country accent.

I've photographed Kanye a couple of times and it was fun. Fun for the spectacle and ridiculousness of it all. Fun for 20 minutes but watching it afterwards it all became a bit boring. Inside this 21 track, 76 minute album, there's probably a fairly ok 10 track, 45 minute album trying to get out. At least half of this is just unnecessary.

This album sounds familiar. I think I may have inadvertently heard to it while on hold on the phone or in a lift.

I think I saw Radiohead twice as a support band before they were famous, (once supporting the Frank and Walters, I can't remember the other time) something that only became interesting once they did become famous. It wasn't something that happened seeing them play. Loved The Bends Loved OK Computer Seeing them headline one of the nights at Glastonbury in 1997 was one of the greatest shows I've ever seen. Hated Kid A (mostly) Never been able to quite put my finger on why. Some good songs (esp 'The National Anthem') but patchy, Starts well, but well before the end I'm bored by it. Sometimes I think it's because I bought it on the 10" double vinyl and it's just annoying to have to turn it over ever three songs. I keep going back it but even on streaming it just doesn't improve, which is sad because it's largely when I stopped listening to Radiohead. Saw them again at Glastonbury around 'Hail to The Thief' and songs from that album were so much better live than on the album. Seriously good live band.

An album that makes me wonder if 'alternative' music still exists. How did a band like Sonic Youth become so massive and influential and could it ever happen these days for a band that sounds like this?

I think everyone has a gap in their musical knowledge, someone big/famous/influential that they don't really know that well, if at all. I think Mess+Noise might have had a thread on this back in the day. Leonard Cohen is one of those blindspots for me (as is Tom Waits (don't hate me!). I have heard songs by both so could probably identify the performer by their voices without knowing the song or whether it was a big song for them. I think I remember 'First We Take Manhattan' from when we got satellite tv and MTV in the family home in the late 1990s (Recommended read: 'I Want My MTV' by Marks/Tannenbaum, which brought back so many memories of those times). But thing about the song at the time was just how weirdly campy, Euro Pop it sounded. And in the late 80s, I wasn't in a campy, Euro Pop space. The album is the same. It might be lyrically rich and you can't deny the voice but it sounds almost dated by the time it was released in 1988. There's something about it that reminds me of Roger Water's 'Radio Kaos', not sure why. Possibly just how stuck in the 80s it sounds.

Back when I started university in Newcastle, I lived in student flats out in the 'burbs. We used to frequent our local pub on an afternoon if we'd finished lectures early as they had a pool table and that time of the day we at least felt that we were unlikely to get beaten up for being students by the locals. Or "Get worr heed kicked in" in the local dialect. As well as the pool table, they also had a mostly terrible jukebox but I used to select the title track from this album, and other things like 'Rainy Days and Mondays' by The Carpenters that I'm sure made us really fit in with the daytime clientele in a suburban pub in the North East. The Collingwood isn't there anymore, they knocked it down and built an Asda. The university sold the flats and now it's a weird motel place. Which is kinda sad as that first year at university was one of the absolute best years. The title track is so good they basically repeated it for the fourth song. And look, any album that has a song called "You Sure Love to Ball" has to have something going for it.

Oh good, more hip hop skits on an overly long hip-hop album with far too many tracks But to be fair, this ain't too bad. There was always something more interesting about the Daisy Age sound and the samples they used. It's kinda sad that even in the 2020's, listening to a group of mixed gender MCs sounds really fresh and interesting

One of music's great injustices is that Eno is best known for his work on other people's albums. This is at least as good as the Bowie Berlin albums that came in the next couple of years get all the column inches, and probably better. It's more coherent as an overall collection of songs and a lot denser sounding and textured, more polished, and I say that as a massive massive Bowie fan. Admittedly, he doesn't have the greatest voice but maybe if Eno had had better hair, it could have all been different.

I liked this more than I expected. Does everyone reach an age where suddenly music like this appeals? I'm less likely to put something on the turntable that's harder, faster, louder than maybe even 5 years ago and listen to something softer, slower, quieter. That might just be an after work/evening thing; it's different during the working hours with headphones. Also I have a theory that all art, whether it be music, painting, architecture, whatever, reaches an artistic peak and then descends to its lowest common denominator over time. Craftmanship and beauty become far to expensive, quick and cheap trumps all. You can't fail to listen to the orchestral arrangements in this and think "Well that's really lovely".

I read Tracey Thorn's Bedsit Disco Queen bio last year and it was pretty good, and am really keen to read her latest one about Lindy Morrison. Her Marine Girls stuff is great but then it all went far too 80s jazz-lite. Then post-Massive Attack's Protection it all went trip hop lite. The sound of young professional dinner parties in the second half of the 1990s. Listening to it now, it's not terrible, just not that interesting and a bit samey song-after-song

It's impossible to rank those original era Pixies albums, at least the first three. 'Bossanova' is probably my favourite, then maybe this one, then 'Doolittle' and 'Trompe Le Monde' fourth. And I really love Doolittle and some days it is their best. That Pixies at Brixton show on YouTube in 1991 is amazing if you haven't seen it. While No Kim, No Deal might be true, that last album (Beneath The Eyrie) wasn't too bad. Their best since Trompe Le Monde

Sometimes I wish I could see the entire 1001 and some breakdowns of the total. Of all the albums released in 1966, this makes the cut, which gets me thinking about what albums didn't. Back in my undergrad days, the girl who broke my heart was an absolute militant Donovan fan. Woe betide anyone who didn't take this seriously. 'Sunshine Superman' is fine as are 'Bert's Blues' and 'Celeste' , but then there's a lot of hey nonny nonny. And at times he sounds a bit like Matt Berry singing something from The Mighty Boosh/House of Fools/Toast, etc, which makes it hard to take seriously

A pleasant surprise, not what I expected based on the album cover. It's a lot less Bollywood-sounding than it looks. The title music sounds like something from a 70s Hollywood thriller and other instrumentals have shades of Morricone western soundtracks. The film sounds pretty good as well.

Is this what they meant by repetitive beats? It's ok but long-winded. At least Jazz and Prog kind go places. This just plays the same riffs over the same drum patterns without going anywhere

Another week, another overlong hip hop album with too many songs and skits. Is there any point in the making of these albums where someone pipes up that maybe 17 songs is too many and 10 or 12 is more than enough. Some good stuff, a lot of average, the Busta Rhymes intros/outros are embarrassingly bad as is 'Missy's Finale', where she thanks the people who worked on the album. Same time next week?

I think largely because of Peter Cetera's 80s solo career, I assumed Chicago was some dull 1970s US soft rock band and had no need to investigate. Scratching at the surface with this album, it sounds like a lot of the 1960s rock music I like and wouldn't sound out of place in my record collection. I don't know if this is a typical Chicago album but there's some sweet guitar playing, and even some of the vocals sound Hendrix-like. Might need to listen to some more of this.

As good as the two Eno Roxy albums are, the next two after he left are better. Overall I think 'Stranded' is better than 'Country Life' (although I prefer this album cover!). Still tonnes of great songs on this one though. 'The Thrill of it All' is an incredible album opener. The second half isn't as strong as the first and 'If It Takes All Night' and 'Bitter Sweet' are weak moments . Interested to see what other Roxy albums appear on this list, as it could be most of them. The later 70s albums might get given a bad time but they sound like a bunch of bands who were big in the last decade. And I'll always have time for 'Avalon'.

According to Wikpiedia, Jacques Brel is the 3rd best selling Belgian music artist. Technotronic are languishing back in 8th place. Yes, I know Bowie, Scott Walker et al, but it's all a bit showtunes

Somewhere between Guthrie and Dylan but not as good as either.

I know the name but have never listened to any of his stuff. Never heard this before but it's really nice. I'm always slightly amazed at how crisp and clear all the instruments sound in the classic jazz albums. On first listening, 4 stars, but could be higher with more time

Do I have to listen to this? It was going to turn up eventually... Perhaps The Beatles' 6th best album (with at least Hard Days Night, Rubber Soul, Revolver, White Album, Abbey Road ahead of it. And maybe also Magical Mystery Tour and Help) Sonically it's a beautiful sounding record, the bass playing is amazing, but it never gels despite some of their best songs. I probably never need to hear those first 3 songs ever again though.

The sounds of the very late 80s. Some of those sounds and the production sounds so dated now. But it's fun in a weirdly nostalgic way

In the mid-90s I would have happily have said this album as in the my Top 10 favourite albums. Not listened to it in ages, probably overplayed it a bit in the 90s. Probably not in my Top 10 All Time these days but still a pretty great album. More coherent and consistent than S&E. Saw them on this tour, bought a very poor quality bootleg maroon long sleeve t-shirt outside afterwards for a fiver.

'This Band Could Be Your Life' brought to Minutemen. Book is ok but a bit overrated, just a compendium of fairly standard band write-ups that could be in any music mag back in the day (albeit with a smaller word count) Band is ok but a bit overrated. 43 songs just isn't a good idea, even if most of them are less than 2 minutes. Some you end up wishing were longer, some you wish they'd kept back

Q. Why do streaming services only have the extended/remastered versions and not the shorter originals? I think they released 'Vow' as the first single and it's still sounds amazing. 'Supervixen' too. 'Vow' is one of those songs that pops into my head every now and then and I have to go and listen to it straight away. But they were never as good as Curve! Curve should have been massive. As a palate cleanser, I'm gonna go listen to 'Doppelganger' now I think.

Have just finished Jon Savage's weight tome '1966' (not as good as 'England's Dreaming') , in which there are words about The Byrds, 'Eight Miles High', the influence of drugs in the music of 1966 and the start of psychedelia. Strange how their career was largely based on Dylan covers. Disappointing how the songs sound strangely thin. Despite all the covers, Gene Clarke's songs stand up pretty well, especially 'I Feel A Whole Lot Better'. Where would indie jangle be without them?

I have yet to find a Nina Simone album that I haven't liked. And yet, with a nod to Alan Partridge and his favourite Beatles album, I tend to find myself just going back to "The Best of Nina Simone"

One of those bands I'd heard about, read about but never heard. I like this, there's some good stuff on it and yet I know there'll probably be a whole bunch of stuff from this late/post-Britpop era that's more deserving of being included in the 1001 (e.g. both of Mansun's first two albums).

I probably should like Leonard Cohen... I can't quite work out why I don't. Musically it's all a bit dull and I don't think I have enough time in my life these days to sit and listen to the lyrics in depth

This album was on in the background everywhere I went in the late 2000s but I never realised how short it is (35 mins). It's pretty good but it's strange that the production and that Mark Ronson sound feels a bit dated when they were trying to make an old school sounding album. The 'Amy' documentary is one of the saddest things I've ever watched.

I felt a bit harsh only giving 'Back in Black' 3 stars so glad this came along to reinforce that it was reasonable. It's a bunch of covers and the songs I know (e.g. Respect, My Girl, Satisfaction) aren't as good as the originals but everything about this still sounds classic. That Stax houseband was so good

Not much of a fan of reggae. Band sounds good. Ok if it is your thing.

Have long known the story behind the album. Knew less about the post-script but it's nice that they eventually got along. It's a lot better than I had been led to believe, even as it leans slightly into being a more 1980s sounding soul album. I was under the assumption that it was a much-panned album but looks like has been re-appraised in recent years. Too long though, and the songs are generally too long as well. Would have been better as a single rather than a double.

For one of the best 1001 albums, the wikipedia entry is pretty scant. Starts of sounding like bad 80s jazz before becoming the sound of dirty hippy stoners in the mid-90s and keeps on this path throughout.

Knew a couple of the singles but this is immense. Seriously impressive pop, the production is next level (give or take a few of those late 80s synth sounds). Can I become a Janet Jackson fan at my age?

Oh man, from Janet Jackson to this. That's a big ask... Never been much of a Manics fan, I think it's because I don't like his voice. It's always a struggle when you don't like the bit that's front and centre. I saw them on one of their early tours (You Love Us, Feb 92), when they were still in their Gn'R phase, they weren't very good. Always been a bit bored them.

According to Wikipedia, sandwiched between Breakfast In America and the Flashdance soundtrack in the best-selling albums of all time. Fairly astonishing that it sold that many copies on the back of a hit song. Does anything like that still happen these days?

Every time I've seen them live, they've been disappointing. Better as a studio band. I didn't think this was meant to be their best. It's ok, fine, some nice sounds and textures but can be a bit background-y

I kinda liked 'Loser' and the singles off this album but generally find Beck a bit insufferable and average. There's always been something a bit fake boho and smug about him. Always struggled to get how some people think he's the absolute best.

It's like they combined all the worst bits of grunge, alt rock (for want of a better genre description), industrial and nu metal and made it into an album

Last year I finally got around to reading 'No One Gets Out Of Here Alive' and Jim Morrison was even worse that you might have thought. A truly terrible person, even when he was a kid (army family brat) Some people passionately loathe the Doors. I love them. They were such a gateway band into music and literature. They're the band that every teenager needs at that time in their life. The singer might be a total dick but his songwriting and singing is great. And the band and their songs are really interesting thanks to those jazz (Densmore and Manzerek) and blues (Krieger) backgrounds plus Morrison's poetry. They still sound like no one else.

The best Britpop album (at the time) The best Britpop album (in hindsight)

Apple Music has this under the genre of 'Old School Rap'. Is it Jason Nevin's fault that most of this album sounds like it's playing too slow?

Still their best album overall, still listen to it regularly. The worst song is the one with Phil Collins singing, a sign of what was to come. There's a live version of Cinema Show on Youtube from 1976 with Bill Bruford doing the twin drummer thing that's amazing if you haven't seen it. Shame they didn't bring this last tour out here. One of the few bands I've never seen. Haven't seen PG ever either.

Somedays I have an instant lol reaction when the new album pops up as the screen refreshes. Shame about the late 80s production, some great vocals The big question is do I keep going onto 'Neither Fish nor Flesh'?