Nov 10 2021
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The Genius Of Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Who am I to rate the musical genius of Ray Charles?
Seriously though, this album was my very definition of a 3/5 - started well, with let the good times roll being an absolute classic, and I was enjoying the listen through the cover of Alexander's ragtime band - after that point though, it slides into a series of interchangeable ballads where Ray moans about people dumping his sorry ass, only picking up for the final track come rain or shine, where he keeps to the subject matter but at least does it in a slightly more upbeat fashion. Would I choose to listen to this again? Probably not, but I wouldn't immediately leave the venue if someone played this to me.
3
Nov 11 2021
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Bongo Rock
Incredible Bongo Band
I never realised this album existed, and suddenly the origin of every hip-hop and dnb bongo sample I've ever heard has been revealed to me. Not only that, it's an absolutely banging album, I don't think there is a single track I didn't enjoy - whenever I got bored of the bouncy bongo beats a guitar riff appeared from nowhere to drag me back from the brink of not having fun.
5
Nov 12 2021
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Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin
This album starts on a high with Immigrant song, but can't really follow it up - a lot of good riffs but not much that really reaches out and grabs me, although celebration day is close. I'd come back to this album for an enjoyable listen, but it's never going to be one of my favourites.
4
Nov 14 2021
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Rage Against The Machine
Rage Against The Machine
Listening to this takes me back to seeing Rage headline Leeds festival when they were playing mostly songs from this album. Me and my mate Rich crowdsurfed out while they played Killing In The Name - I got one of the best memories of my life, he got some wanker stabbing him in the leg with a fork.
What a show, what a band, what an album.
5
Nov 15 2021
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Too Rye Ay
Dexys Midnight Runners
On first listen, while taking a pleasant walk through the park, I thought that this album was a confused schizophrenic mess.
And it is. But then, while filling out some paperwork I really didn't want to have anything to do with, I gave it another listen. I get it now - a confused mess it may be, with a frustrating track arrangement and sound bouncing all over the place, but it's one hell of a fun album. You can start in a melancholy mood, but by the time the riff of Come On Eileen kicks in you'll have left that long behind. Standouts for me were Precious, Plan B, and of course the greatest wedding disco track of all time.
4
Nov 16 2021
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Can't Buy A Thrill
Steely Dan
A pleasant, enjoyable, non too thrilling listen which loses a lot of its energy towards the end of the record.
The only track I could pick out of a line up would be Fire In The Hole, purely because that piano riff deserves so much better.
3
Nov 17 2021
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Bridge Over Troubled Water
Simon & Garfunkel
I found it hard to get into the right mood to properly enjoy this album - I eventually got there while staring at a troubled bridge over some disappointingly calm water, and it was only then I could properly appreciate the litany of hits this album has to offer.
It didn't quite do enough to make it to one of my favourites, but it came close.
4
Nov 18 2021
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Diamond Life
Sade
From the get go, this album sounds like something I should be listening to while sitting in a dimly lit bar staring out over a city skyline.
Sadly, this is an activity I engage in on a monthly basis at most, so this album isn't really for me, despite the undoubted talent Sade has.
If I want background music there are better options in every genre, so I highly doubt I'll ever listen to this album again under any circumstances.
2
Nov 19 2021
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Ramones
Ramones
I was really excited to listen to this album, but it ended up being a bit of a letdown. Blitzkrieg Bop is obviously a classic, Beat On The Brat had me grinning at the lyrics, but then it descended into a series of samey riffs that didn't do much to inspire me, even the cover of Let's Dance felt a little flat.
I feel like this is one of those albums more notable for the time and place it was made rather than the quality of the contents.
3
Nov 20 2021
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Either Or
Elliott Smith
Whenever dealing with lists like this, there are always entries which make me question their inclusion.
This is the first of those, I attempted to fight my way through the album twice but just couldn't get past the fact this man cannot sing, and can't make catchy enough beats to make up for that fact.
1
Nov 23 2021
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At Fillmore East
The Allman Brothers Band
Mildly entertaining, but it does drag on a bit.
3
Nov 24 2021
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american dream
LCD Soundsystem
When I saw this was the daily album my immediate thought was "ooh, I love LCD Soundsystem, but why would you include the worst of their four studio albums on this list??"
Having since listened to it 5 times in 24 hours, I'm prepared to revise the second half of that statement (although I do still think sound of silver is better).
The albums we've had so far have taken a variety of approaches to the problem of where they put the best track - we've had starting strong, finishing strong, and hiding your killer piano riff somewhere in the middle of 30 minutes of mediocrity. The American Dream approach is to build up, slowly at first, to the absolute behemoth that is tonite. The 5 track run from change yr mind to the title track might be the best example of how to direct the energy flow throughout an album I've ever heard.
My only knock on this album is that I don't feel that it sticks the landing, with emotional haircut/black screen being the weakest duo on the album (pulse wasn't on the original tracklist). If I wasn't such a massive fan of this kind of music in general and of James Murphy in particular, that might be enough to knock it out of my top records.
5
Nov 25 2021
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Nixon
Lambchop
This album wasn't at all what I expected, and I still am not sure whether that's a good or bad thing!
A pleasant enough listen that I don't think does enough for me to make it a favourite.
3
Nov 27 2021
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In Utero
Nirvana
I used to listen to this album a lot when I was a teenager, but going back to it I don't think it has aged particularly well.
Heart shaped box is still a great song, pennyroyal tea and rape me have a lot of energy to them, but the album overall seems to lack a certain something.
As with a lot of my 3 stars, I'd go back for a song or two but probably wouldn't listen to the whole thing with any kind of regularity.
3
Nov 29 2021
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Slipknot
Slipknot
I love albums full of energy, and Slipknot definitely deliver. From the moment it began I had a huge grin on my face, which peaked around wait and bleed/ surfacing and stayed there for pretty much the entirety of the record.
Why isn't this a 5 then? Unfortunately, it can't keep up the quality and starts to die off somewhere around the midpoint.
4
Nov 30 2021
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Low-Life
New Order
Given my musical tastes, it's no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed this album.
The strange thing about the rating I'm giving it is that I can't really think of a standout track, I just enjoyed the interesting synth work, breathy vocals, and absolute shredding by whoever is playing bass.
I know that even for its time none of this was particularly new, but I do think this might be one of the earliest dance rock albums that actually holds together as a single record - hopefully we'll get dealt up some earlier ones so I can make a proper comparison :)
4
Dec 01 2021
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Catch A Fire
Bob Marley & The Wailers
I'm a big Bob Marley fan but this album didn't really do it for me - stir it up was a highlight but there wasn't anything else to elevate it.
Pleasant enough to sit through, not pleasant enough to make my top rankings.
3
Dec 02 2021
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Tonight's The Night
Neil Young
I struggled through this one, without really enjoying any track after the first couple.
Is this rating artificially low because I feel like I've given everything else a 4? Probably. But this album is uninspiring enough I doubt I'd listen to it again.
2
Dec 03 2021
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Shaka Zulu
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
I found this album very hard to rate - it veered between strangely beautiful and strangely boring, and while I enjoyed listening I'm not sure how keen I'd be to repeat it.
As I feel it could have sat anywhere in the 2-4 range I've gone middle of the road, but this is a 3 I'll definitely be listening to in the future to see if my feelings have changed.
3
Dec 04 2021
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Elephant
The White Stripes
After the difficult of rating Shaka Zulu, the random generator has thrown me a bone with the easiest 5* I've given so far.
The album kicks off with seven nation army, and it doesn't even peak there - probably the highlight for me is ball and biscuit, but the entire album up to that point and beyond absolutely shreds.
It's also surprisingly deep in parts - when I picked this up as a teenager Jack and Meg were still pretending to be siblings, so teenage me missed a lot of the nuances of the fact this is an album made by a recently divorced couple, which really does add a whole new meaning to some of the songs.
5
Dec 05 2021
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A Wizard, A True Star
Todd Rundgren
Another very hard to rate album, some of the songs were hard to listen to, others such as Le Feel Internationale were absolute highlights.
This is very much on the 3/4 boundary, but the sheer interestingness of the sound has pushed me to the higher edge of that.
4
Dec 08 2021
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Protection
Massive Attack
This was an interesting one - an album that I bought as a teen and absolutely hated!
Adult me has slightly more time for it, but I still think the title track is whiny as hell, and a lot of the songs are barely better than background music.
It gets slightly better from there, with a few good beats and nice raps (highlights for me are karmacoma and heat miser), but due to my entirely arbitrary rating system and the fact I think I'd feel disappointed if you gave me this as a gift, it gets a 2.
2
Dec 09 2021
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The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
What a pleasant surprise this album was! I'd obviously heard of the velvet underground before but I'd never actually heard their music, and this is an album of laid-back rock I've got a lot of time for.
It's probably a 3.5 but today I'm feeling generous.
4
Dec 13 2021
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Fifth Dimension
The Byrds
This album was uninspiring enough that I can't even be bothered to write a proper set of listening notes.
2
Dec 14 2021
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A Night At The Opera
Queen
I'm a big fan of piano riffs, guitar riffs, ethereal vocals, and bands with a slightly unique sound - it's therefore no surprise I really enjoyed this album.
There are definite dud notes which stop it getting a 5, but lazing on a Sunday afternoon, prophet's song, and bohemian rhapsody (obviously) are enough to elevate this to a strong 4.
4
Dec 15 2021
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Music From The Penguin Cafe
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Well, this album was delightfully weird. I absolutely loved a lot of the instrumentals, but the tracks with vocals on just didn't land as well for me.
From the colonies sounds like it could soundtrack one of the jokier spaghetti westerns and it will be a while before I can get it out of my head!
A strong 3, but a 3 nonetheless.
3
Dec 16 2021
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Black Monk Time
The Monks
A really enjoyable listen with some very upbeat tracks that put me in a much better mood than I was when I started - sadly no standout songs for me (I can't get over you comes close, but is listed as a bonus track) puts it solidly mid tier.
Musically, I was surprised by how modern this album sounded to me - I had a number of albums released in the 00's that drew a lot of inspiration from this kind of sound and I never realised quite how far back it went!
3
Dec 17 2021
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Lady In Satin
Billie Holiday
Much as I hate to give the album this rating, as I absolutely love Billie Holiday's voice - it's not really an album as much as it is a bunch of songs on a record.
Many of those songs sound the same, and it's a bit of a dreary listen to fight the whole way through them. I'm a fool to want you and you don't know what love is are both good songs, but in my opinion the rest of the album is just sub-par from that point on.
2
Dec 18 2021
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The Yes Album
Yes
I'm not a huge fan of anything labelled as prog rock, and at first listen I was unimpressed by this album - it went down slightly smoother on a Saturday morning repeat, but this isn't one I'd listen to regularly.
3
Dec 19 2021
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Pelican West
Haircut 100
This album started promising, with Boy Meets Girl being quite a good song - unfortunately, even the other singles (love plus one, fantastic day) didn't rise to the same level.
Frankly this has gained a star as I quite like both new wave and the album name.
3
Dec 20 2021
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White Ladder
David Gray
4
Dec 21 2021
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Tidal
Fiona Apple
Another album I'm not entirely sure why it made the list - sure it's impressive the songs were written by a 17 year old, but they sound like it too.
It's pleasant enough but there's not a single track I could pick out, the overwhelming impression I've been left with is that music from the mid-90s really sucked if this album got picked, and given what was going on in the UK at the time that's a real shame.
2
Dec 22 2021
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Triangle
The Beau Brummels
I quite enjoyed this album - fresh, bouncy, couple of good tracks with Wolf of Velvet Fortune being a highlight, and short enough to not overstay it's welcome.
I'll definitely come back to this one.
4
Dec 23 2021
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Mr. Tambourine Man
The Byrds
While I liked this album slightly more than the first one thrown up by The Byrds, I still find it mostly uninspiring with no tracks that really hook me. I toyed with giving it a 3, but that's only relative to their other music. I just don't enjoy this as much as the majority of the other albums.
2
Dec 30 2021
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Boy In Da Corner
Dizzee Rascal
I remember greatly enjoying this album when it first came out, so when I saw it in my backlog I jumped straight to it.
What I got was an album of two halves - the first half (more of a third, really) showed why grime music in general and this album in particular was so great, songs about hopelessness and boredom rapped over discordant beats in a style that still stands out.
The remainder was much more the kind of bravado I can never take seriously when it's delivered with anything other than an American accent.
Fix Up, Look Sharp, Jus' a Rascal and I Luv U were stand out tracks, but ultimately this album was just a little bit too lacking for me to give it a rating of an album I'd be keen to buy.
3
Jan 20 2022
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Kind Of Blue
Miles Davis
I'm not usually a fan of smooth jazz, and I don't particularly love albums with no stand out tracks.
It is therefore bizarre how much I enjoyed this, I felt relaxed and much more focussed throughout.
Is it one of my favourite ever albums? No, but it's close!
4
Jan 21 2022
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Marquee Moon
Television
An absolutely brilliant album by a band I've never heard of!
The first couple of tracks were nothing special, but the album kicks off the moment the Friction guitar riff starts, and never lets off from there.
4
Jan 22 2022
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Play
Moby
Oh Moby, you were so close to making a great record.
The entire first half of the album is spectacular, with Honey a strong intro track and Why Does My Heart and Natural Blues being other highlights.
But then it all falls apart, and I think that happens around track 13 - Down Slow feels like a natural place to close the album, but then it continues, inexplicably, with 6 tracks of forgettable trip-hop.
A good listen therefore, but too bloated to be a great one.
4
Jan 23 2022
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Shadowland
k.d. lang
A little bit uninspired, but not entirely unpleasant. Definitely one of the most impressive voices of the albums we've had so far, badly let down by the backing tracks.
I do think the album delivered what little it had to offer early, then tailed off towards the end, with even a strong cover of Down To My Last Cigarette unable to rescue it.
2
Jan 24 2022
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Exodus
Bob Marley & The Wailers
I think this might be the peak Bob Marley album - chill vibes throughout, featuring all of Exodus, Jamming, Three Little Birds and One Love. A slow start loses the shot at the fifth star but I very much enjoyed listening to this.
4