Some energy in Elton's voice and playing back in the early '70s. Sprawling arrangements, great soaring melodies and decent songs well played. Good album.
Most interesting thing to me is how this influenced the likes of OMD, Soft Cell, Depeche Mode and so on. It's advanced synth work for 1977 but the sparse arrangements make for hard listening.
What sounds like a theramin saves a rather clichéd arrangement of Richard III. Interesting maj7 variation of the standard blues riff in Tonight.
Pleasing chord pattern and arrangement in Late in the Day.
Sun Hits the Sky and Cheapskate top, catchy tracks. You Can See Me also decent.
Sitting Up Straight nods to punk influence and Melanie Davis could have been spawned by her phonetic namesake Ray.
Sex sounds like a Stones cover - I like it!
Got to commend this album. 21 songs and enough variety to make it interesting throughout. Well played, thoughtful arrangements, interesting changes. Not an absolute classic for me but an enjoyable listen.
Wow, nearly 60 years old now this album. The classics are Blowin in the Wind and Don't Think Twice, probably two of my favourite Dylan tracks, and Hard Rain. Some great lyrics of course and the odd hint of rockabilly. Only his second album so not quite into his stride but well worth a listen.
Reckon this would have gone down a treat in the background when I was at uni getting stoned. Still pleasant, though the high hat 16s are irritating after a while. Miles' tone is always lovely.
Rubbish. Nothing Compares shines like a diamond in shit. Well, last couple of tracks aren't too bad but the rest is whining, preachy mediocrity.
Great playing. Goes on a bit..
Some decent tracks (Last Night I Dreamt.. Death at one's Elbow) and some ordinary ones. Morrisey's lyrics are sometimes clunky but also inventive - same for the arrangements. Well produced and engineered.
Title track and Live is a Stranger are excellent. Rest sound dated.
Excellent stuff! Why have I never heard of this before? Can't believe it's from 1981!!
Good stuff. Lush, acoustic instruments; unusual vibrato vocals and well written songs.
Mediocre until Brass in Pocket which is genius. Then Kid which is almost as good. Other than that, disappointing.
Don't make albums like this any more. Lovely acoustic guitar and piano; wordy, sentimental but often beautiful. Got to have a 4 for American Pie and Vincent.
Bloated, overlong, one-paced and self-indulgent for the most part. Couple of well-crafted singles the best of which owes much to the stolen string arrangement. Disappointing: I enjoyed this far more in its day. So the drugs probably did work.
Production is amazing. Close harmonies lush; great pickin'. Take it Easy is a classic of course. Witchy, Chug and Peaceful and Tryin' are decent tunes too. There's a few fillers but mostly right up my street.
Inventive and interesting but too fraught for my taste.
Awful. Sounds like a parody the Boosh or Conchords would do, without the irony.
More mother fucking niggas, bitches and hoes than you can shake a stick at but it's got a visceral energy and some heavy beats. Enjoyable in spite of the dubious lyrical content.
Some interesting arrangements but no songs that particular grabbed me.
Great production by Norman Whitfield and a stonking version of Papa. Otherwise, Roberta Flack did Ewan's tune better and no other stand out tracks for me.
Great sound - beefy guitars and drums. Nicely layered. Interesting meters without sounding smart-arsed. Hard to fault.
As usual with TH I love the rhythmic, layered guitars and funky bass lines. Songs are usually interesting too, but I can't get on with DB's vocals. Just find them too fraught.
Belting bit of 60s. And it is a bit, too - 34 minutes or so. Good to hear early Neil Young and Stephen Stills who tend to stand out.
Decent. Some great psychedelic guitar and good drumming. Songs aren't particularly well crafted though so it's not reet memorable.
Not heard PE for ages. Loved the movie quotes. Decent.
Can see how influential this was.
No doubting Al's got a great voice and the opener is a great track. Otherwise all a bit soul-by-numbers for me.
Lush arrangements and Billie's voice is as emotional as ever. Bit subdued and one-paced for my taste.
Not bad. Didn't think any songs were great.
Raw, eclectic mix of styles with Elvis not quite into his stride as he is on Armed Forces say. Still proper music though.
Enjoyed this. Reminded me of Solid Air but with more lush instrumentation. Arrangement and playing is great. Song writing isn't the most memorable so it loses a star for that but a top album nevertheless.
Can see how influential it was but doesn't make it much good.
Lush guitars are this album's only appeal to me. Melodies are samey and the songs are sprawling. Some decent fretless from Jaco but Neil Young's harp on Blues is terrible.
Possibly my favourite Stones album; Wild Horses and Dead Flowers my favourite tracks with only the clichéd blues numbers letting it down.
Hotel Yorba is immense. Otherwise, meh..
Usual mix of great songs and awful dirges.
Not my brew. I like a verse/chorus/M8 and all these just sounded like one long verse.
I like a bit of Neil Young: good songs, harmonies, distinctive mournful voice. Bit of iffy playing here and there but otherwise I enjoyed it.
No doubting Amy's vocal talents: one of the greatest. The songs on Frank aren't as good as her next album, though Fuck Me Pumps always makes me smile. Some of the production is inconsistent.
Genius. Been one of my favourite albums since I first heard it in the '80s and it still sounds wonderful.
It's got Le Freak on it which is a disco classic; trademark Bernie bass and top production. But the lyrics are dire and the other songs aren't great. The Beegees did it better.
Til Your Well Runs Dry is a top tune, though not a patch on You Don't Miss Your Water which it's probably based on. Otherwise, tosh.
Some belting tracks - the singles in particular. Tight band and some novel organ parts.
Great sibling harmonies. Top lyrics and traditional songs. Bit samey over the album as instrumentation is limited but still decent.
Awful. Anodyne, insipid shite. Worst of all are the terrible attempts at the blues.
Such a great gig: blistering performance from Sam and his band. Songs are too samey for it to be a great album for me but most enjoyable nevertheless.
Not bad, but can't be doing with a sax on a punk record.
Our Lips Are Sealed is brilliant. The rest is ordinary.
Top production if a tad overcooked at times. Good writing. Vocals aren't great imo. Decent stuff overall.
Prefer the less abrasive sounding later stuff, though I like the songs.
Enter Sandman is a belter and I generally enjoyed the first 30 minutes or so. After that it seems over-reliant on the overdriven guitar, four on the floor and rather clichéd lyrics. Not bad, though.
Decent distorted bubble gum pop!
Decent grooves if a bit too repetitive. Can see its influence on acid jazz the following decade.
Brilliant. Whisky sodden, laid back, great songs sounding like the band has set up in your living room.
Not sure when I'd be in the mood for this. Frenetic.
Pure 80s! Loads of chorus laden guitar riffs and wistful vocals.
Some interesting arrangements and beats. Got to love a tango.
Meh, shmaltzy big band swing. Not a patch on Ray's small combo R&B stuff.
Excellent. Varied grooves, song structures, instrumentation. Really inventive and a great listen.
It's got Waterloo Sunset on it.
Pounding is a great tune; otherwise a bit one-paced and samey for me.
Nah. Give me SRV any day.
Don't mind a bit of Latin but didn't find any of these songs grabbed me.
Great songs, great playing. Sweet!
