1001 Albums Summary

Some classic songs on this album, including A Long Way from Anywhere, which I sang at school. It's disconcerting to realise I still know my part, and all the lyrics roll straight off my tongue. Fire and Rain, Suzannah, are standouts, but I feel the same mix of attraction and repulsion to some of the more saccharine numbers. Some lovely guitar work, and the inimitable JT voice - know it anywhere. Some cringey appropriations. No blues singer, really. Even so, I'd give this 4 stars.

This is a work of genius. Pastiche meets pop. I’ve forgotten how brilliant the lyrics are. How dense each song is. How distinctively Elvis Costello’s voice is in each song. Puns and deft rhymes. Rhythms pushing each track forward. One of the greats.

It's so weird to listen to an album I would have insisted I did NOT know and find I know almost every song. And as for this singer's voice... no idea of his name, yet it's so familiar, I'd know it anywhere. I don't know what the album is about; I feel no need to know. Faint echoes of Nick Drake? It's good music. Yep. They know their way round a song.

This is cool. Political black music that is unapologetic. I've heard of Fela Kuti but this was my first listen. I doubt I'd go back for more, but it was great to hear the artistry.

I could not find a single thing about this to appreciate.

Nothing distinctive here. Pop pap.

This was totally new to me. I liked it a lot. Breathy, high, floaty, but then the odd whiff of Joan Baez.

Brilliant as it ever was.

Unforgettable. Once heard can never be unheard!

Don't know this one except for the one iconic anthem.