I’ve heard George Harrison was the best songwriter from the Beatles. Although saying that, the only song I know he wrote for them was Here Comes The Sun. Songs I already know: My Sweet Lord Favourite after listening: Apple Scruffs Overall: 9/10. Was nearly a 10/10 but the last few songs were annoying stoner jamming Some songs make me wants to join a hippy drum circle. Other songs make me want to take my clothes off and dance.

It’s only over recent years that I’ve started paying any attention to prog-rock. Rush came up on my radar and I fell in love, and I have since listened to Yes as well. I’d never really given Genesis a chance as the songs I’d already heard (Invisible Touch and Land Of Confusion) were much more pop than I expected. Songs I already knew: none Favourite after listening: Counting Out Time, Carpet Crawlers First, this was a double album so is longer than most, taking just over 90 minutes to get through all 22 songs. Longer albums have scored poorly from me before as it takes a lot of mental stamina to focus for that long. However, I was able to sit through this in one session and at no point felt bored. I will say that some songs are a little weird, but in a way that fits well with the rest of the album. Overall, I loved it but I know that prog isn’t for everyone, so I can understand people hating it too.

An artist that has never come up on my radar, with an album of songs I don’t recognise. This is why I love the 1001 Album challenge (if you want to call it that). It’s allegedly one of the best albums ever created, and I’m going in clueless but optimistic - I like the album art. Songs I already know: none Favourite after listening: Bewilderbeast, Everybody’s Stalking Songs I disliked: This Song - the weird rapid panning between each earphone gave me a headache Overall: 9/10 This album was near perfect, and very much to my taste. It reminds me a lot of Eels and that’s definitely no bad thing. It’s the kind of album where if I was listening to it and somebody spoke to me, I would want to pause the music rather than talk over it. It’s so beautifully composed, and he has such a nice voice. 90’s alt music it always going to go down well with me, and I’m going to be coming back to this album a lot (except that one song). Edit: turns out it was released in 2000, so it’s technically not 90s alt, but definitely feels like it.

I saw Cheap Trick live at Download Festival many years ago. I remember the singer was dressed as a sailor, and the guitarist had a guitar with 4 necks. They were excellent live. I have already heard a couple of songs from this album, so am excited to hear the rest! Songs I already knew: I Want You To Want Me, Surrender Favourite after listening: I Want You To Want Me, Surrender This was genuine excellence. Live albums don’t tend to be as good as studio albums but this was perfection throughout, and with a good set of headphones you can imagine being there with them. Every single song gave me goosebumps at one time or another. Everything was very tight, no voice cracks, no duff notes. And most importantly, each song was catchy and very enjoyable. I would recommend absolutely everybody listens to this album.

I do tend to get a lot of enjoyment out of music in other languages. I think that when I can’t understand what the lyrics are saying, I can enjoy the voice more as an instrument rather than a means of conveying a message. I quick google tells me that Miriam Makeba sang in Xhosa, Zulu and Sotho. I’m not sure which of those the songs on this album (or any combination of them), but I’m excited to listen! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Mbube, The Naughty Little Flea, One More Dance This was a very enjoyable album. There are a few songs sang in English as well as African dialects, and the variation is very enjoyable. Miriam’s soft voice is a pleasure throughout, whether I can understand the lyrics or not. The styling of the music sometimes sounds somewhat similar to samba which I wasn’t expecting. Mbube (a version of The Lion Sleeps Tonight) was fantastic and even more enjoyable than the Tight Fit version which I do also like. Overall, a very enjoyable album which I’d recommend to anybody with an interest in music from around the world.

I hadn’t listened to a whole Beatles album before today. I didn’t like the mixing on Apple Music - too much going on on left speaker and not enough on right, but the music was excellent. Songs I already knew: Hard Day’s Night, Can’t Buy Me Love Favourite after listening: I’m Happy Just To Dance With You Overall: surprised by how much I enjoyed it. 9/10

I’ve heard George Harrison was the best songwriter from the Beatles. Although saying that, the only song I know he wrote for them was Here Comes The Sun. Songs I already know: My Sweet Lord Favourite after listening: Apple Scruffs Overall: 9/10. Was nearly a 10/10 but the last few songs were annoying stoner jamming Some songs make me wants to join a hippy drum circle. Other songs make me want to take my clothes off and dance.

I saw the album art and though, “Who is that? I’ve never even heard of this one.” I then looked at the track list, and it turns out I do know some of the songs after all… I just might be more familiar with covers by other artists. Songs I already know: It’s Too Late, You’ve Got A Friend, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman Favourite after listening: Beautiful, You’ve Got A Friend Overall: 10/10 I went in expecting not to like this. Listened to the first couple of songs and thought it’s just not my taste. But I kept going back through the day and started loving every song. I needed to pause it at one point because I almost started weeping openly in public while listening to You’ve Got A Friend. This album is a grower, not a shower. I’ll definitely be saving this album and listening to it again.

I think this is the oldest album on the list. It’s from 1955. Obviously, I’ve heard of big Frank, but was surprised that I don’t recognise any song names. I’m hopeful for this one. I have a soft spot for big band music. Songs I already know: none Favourite after listening: In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning Overall: 6/10 I can’t fault the composition, the running theme throughout of sadness and depression, or even the crooning vocals. However, it’s just not for me. And that’s ok! Nothing can please everybody. I’m not the biggest jazz/swing fan, but the songs that I do like have more bombast. Would be a good album to have a cry to after a breakup.

So the person that runs the album generator has a bit of a dark sense of humour. I can assure you this is their doing, not mine! To my knowledge, I only know one song by the Smiths and it isn’t on this album (it might even be by Morrissey on his own, I’m not actually sure). It’s hard to not go in automatically wanting to hate this, based on him saying many somewhat controversial things in the past. But let’s try to separate the art from the artist… Songs I already know: didn’t think I knew any, but I did recognise There Is A Light That Never Goes Out Favourite after listening: Frankly, Mr. Shankly Overall: 7/10 I think I’m right in saying people think Morrissey is an excellent lyricist… “Cause there's always someone, somewhere With a big nose, who knows And who trips you up and laughs When you fall” Really? Their music is catchy, I’m sure I’ll be humming some of the songs through the day today, but the lyrics are silly and the singing seems to just be rambling on about things 13 year olds get sad about. I might come back to a few of these songs one day, but I can’t see me listening to the whole album again.

An artist that has never come up on my radar, with an album of songs I don’t recognise. This is why I love the 1001 Album challenge (if you want to call it that). It’s allegedly one of the best albums ever created, and I’m going in clueless but optimistic - I like the album art. Songs I already know: none Favourite after listening: Bewilderbeast, Everybody’s Stalking Songs I disliked: This Song - the weird rapid panning between each earphone gave me a headache Overall: 9/10 This album was near perfect, and very much to my taste. It reminds me a lot of Eels and that’s definitely no bad thing. It’s the kind of album where if I was listening to it and somebody spoke to me, I would want to pause the music rather than talk over it. It’s so beautifully composed, and he has such a nice voice. 90’s alt music it always going to go down well with me, and I’m going to be coming back to this album a lot (except that one song). Edit: turns out it was released in 2000, so it’s technically not 90s alt, but definitely feels like it.

I honestly do try to go into listening to each album without any bias, but when I saw that today’s album was by Robbie Williams, by first thought was, “Seriously?” But then, it must be on this list for a reason! Songs I already know: Angels, Let Me Entertain You Favourite after listening: Clean, Old Before I Die Overall: 7/10 This album is not at all what I was expecting. I thought it was be cheesy Take That pop music that I would forget after 5 minutes but it isn’t at all. It, dare I say it, is all rock music. Pop-rock, don’t get me wrong, but still not at all what I expected. If I was to buy an Oasis album from Wish.com, this is probably what would arrive. Same genre, not quite as good at what I hoped for, but still good in its own right. Overall, I’m happy to have been wrong with my expectations.

This is the first album I’ve been generated which I’d say I’m already very familiar with. It has been a few years since listening to it in full, but there will certainly be a somewhat positive leaning bias going into this. Songs I already know: all of them Favourite after listening: You Oughta Know, Hand In My Pocket Overall: 10/10 Now I know that it might seem like a high score, and you might be wondering how this album can rank as one of the best of all time but hear me out. Every ranking is personal to my own enjoyment, rather than how revolutionary the music might be. With that in mind, I can honestly say there is not a single song on here that I would ever skip past. Every song could have been released as a single (and a lot of them were). My partner and I often finding ourselves singing songs from this album when going about the house - “I’ve got one hand in my pocket, and the other one’s washing the dishes!” I know that the song Ironic doesn’t actually contain any Ironic situations, but I’d say that’s pretty ironic in itself. All in all, I’d say this is a must hear for anybody with at least a slight interest in 90’s alt music.

Another artist I’ve never heard of, although I think it would be fair to say that jazz is my least familiar genre. I’d probably not be able to run out of fingers on one hand naming jazz artists, and that’s not even counting my thumb. There are only four songs on the album, yet it’s 42 minutes long. I have a feeling this is either going to be great or a real drag… Songs I already know: none Favourite after listening: Sly Overall: 4/10 This album was an experience. It was a journey. The thing about journeys though, is that some have crashes along the way which frankly makes the rest of the trip less fun. I expected jazz, but immediately in the first track Chameleon, I’m hearing straight funk as it starts. I’m no jazz aficionado, but this wasn’t what I was expecting. However, after around 10 minutes into the 14 minute song, I’m bored. Halfway through the second song, I’m wishing I was listening to anything else. The third track, Sly, is much better than the previous tracks, but I’m still not sure I’d go back to it. After the fourth track which sounds more traditional jazz to me, the album is finished! It is 4 songs long, but still 42 minutes in total. Sly is the best thing about this album, which is what bumped it up to a 4/10 for me.

I went many years thinking I didn’t like Rod Stewart because I hate Sweet Caroline, and only a few years ago found out it’s actually Neil Diamond that I don’t like. Another reason I thought I didn’t like him was because I don’t like the song Mandy, but again came to realise my dislike is for Barry Manilow. So let’s give Rod his fair chance! Songs I already know: none Favourite after listening: Only A Hobo, Country Comfort Overall: 5/10 This was very middle of the road old-man-rock music. It doesn’t try anything interesting, but also doesn’t do anything terribly. It’s the kind of album where you just stop paying attention and forget you’re listening to anything. You’re not anticipating the end so so can stop listening, but at the same time you’re also not invested while listening. It’s very fitting that the main colour on the album is beige, because this album could not be more neutral. Side note, the two tracks I thought were best are covers of Bob Dylan and Elton John, so he shined brightest for me when performing music where somebody else took the wheel with the actual writing.

Yesterday I was listening to Flogging Molly’s newest album, after not hearing them since my teens. Teenage me loved Celtic punk and I couldn’t tell you the amount of times I had Flogging Molly or Dropkick Murphys on rotation. Despite this, for some inexplicable reason, I had never given The Pogues a chance, having only heard Fairytale Of New York before now. It should be interesting to hear a band that would have been a big inspiration for the artists I loved in my younger years. Songs I already knew: none Favourite after listening: Dirty Old Town, The Band Played Waltzing Matilda Overall: 8/10 The Pogues are excellent at painting a picture with their music. As is common with Irish folk music, they tell stories through their prose and do so brilliantly. I expected Shane MacGowan’s vocals to be grating, but it suits the music perfectly. I especially enjoyed Dirty Old Town as made famous by The Dubliners, as well as The Band Played Waltzing Matilda which must have been heavily inspired by No Man’s Land by Eric Bogle (as well as every vaguely Celtic singer since). I’ll definitely be returning to this album again.

I’ve never really understood what the whole “mods and rockers” thing was, but maybe you had to be there at the time. As far as I know, the only song by The Jam that I already knew is A Town Called Malice which doesn’t appear on this album. And my dad will take any opportunity to tell anybody that he once smoked a joint with Paul Weller when he used to work festivals. Songs I already knew: none Favourite after listening: To Be With Someone (Didn’t We Have A Nice Time), Down In The Tube Station At Midnight Overall: 9/10 I might not understand the whole mod scene, but the album definitely stands out as great many years on. It definitely doesn’t feel like an album from 1978 as many modern indie bands still sound very similar to this. Down In The Tube Station At Midnight certainly sounds like it could have been released within the last decade. Bruce Foxton has some excellent bass riffs throughout, and I absolutely intend to learn some of them myself to play at home, and maybe pretend that I’m in the know and totally understand what a mod is.

I think Stevie Wonder is probably one of those musicians where I think I only know a handful of songs by him, but when I actually look into it I actually know loads. My favourite of his (Sir Duke) is unfortunately not on this album, but there are still some that I know to be fantastic. Songs I already knew: Living For The City, Higher Ground, Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing Favourite after listening: Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing, Living For The City Overall: 7/10 Stevie was 23 when this was released, and it was his sixteenth album. Can you wrap your head around that? Musicians were just built different back then. When I looked at the track list and recognised some of the songs I hoped that this would be a great listen. However, aside from the ones I already knew, everything else fell a little flatter. That is not to say they were bad by any means, but goodness just compares that way with greatness. Overall, a very good album but I’ll likely only return to the songs I already knew anyway.

This should be a good one! I saw Queen live a few years ago (with Adam Lambert singing) and really enjoyed them. They have written so many extremely catchy songs that stay in your head for days, but this will be my first time listening to one of their albums from front to back. Songs I already knew: Killer Queen, Stone Cold Crazy Favourite after listening: Killer Queen, Lily Of The Valley Overall: 8/10 There are some truly amazing songs on here such as Killer Queen, but then also some filler. I found Tenement Funster frankly a little boring but the rest was enjoyable. Brian May is an excellent guitarist, but limits any showing off to Brighton Rock, otherwise playing only what benefits the songs. Freddie Mercury’s vocals are as pristine as we would expect. Despite the few filler songs, the level of excellency from the others certainly brings up the album. Also, after all these years, there are still no other bands that have been able to emulate Queen’s sound, with is certainly remarkable.

There is definitely a running theme of classic albums that I had never heard before, and this can be added to that list. I did used to own a Best Of David Bowie album, so the ones I recognised are likely from that. I’m excited to listen though because I love everything I’ve heard before! Songs I already knew: Changes, Oh You Pretty Things, Life On Mars Favourite after listening: Oh You Pretty Things, Queen Bitch Overall: 10/10 I have been giving out a lot of high scores recently, but that should not detract from the perfection of this album. The version I listened to was the 2015 remaster so I can’t comment on the original version, but this was bliss from front to end. Piano is heavily featured throughout this album and is all beautifully composed. His singing, as expected, is pristine throughout but it is the songwriting that really shines for me. Would most definitely recommend to anybody, whether they enjoy this genre or not.

Today we have something a little different from all the 70s rock that seems to have been recommended recently. I’m excited for this one - I always felt that old school hip hop was so much better than modern day rap. I’d take Sugarhill Gang over Dave any day. Songs I already knew: The Message Favourite after listening: The Message, She’s Fresh Overall: 8/10 I really enjoyed this album. The highlights were definitely bookending the album, with She’s Fresh at the front and The Messgage at the back, but the songs in between have excellent funk, rapping and singing. There are some fairly odd lyrics at times - such as an ode to god in You Are as well as an ode to Stevie Wonder in Dreamin’, but it didn’t stop me from dancing like Tommy Verceti for the duration. An easy recommendation for anybody who enjoys older rap music.

As someone who enjoys playing bass guitar, I must admit that funk has a place in my heart so I’m excited to hear this one. Sly and the Family Stone feels like a band I’ve heard of many times, but I’m not sure if I’ve actually heard. Songs I already knew: none Favourite after listening: Everyday People, Sex Machine Overall: 8/10 I really enjoyed this album. Each song has a beat you can’t help but dance to, and the bass stays funky throughout. I know instrumental music isn’t to everybody’s taste, but I loved Sex Machine - almost 14 straight minutes of uninterrupted funk. They also sounded to use a voice box for the guitars, which I truly didn’t know were being used in the 60s (but perhaps that is simply me being naive). Overall, I would definitely recommend to most people who like to move their bodies.

A slightly more modern album today - although saying that, it’s still 25 years old so it’s not exactly new. Most music I’ve been listening to recently is from 60s-70s, and variety is the spice of life. Songs I already knew: none Favourite after listening: none Overall: 1/10 Unfortunately, I just don’t get it. Possibly if I was blitzed off my face on a cocktail of party drugs it might be more enjoyable, but sitting at my desk with my headphones on does not make for an enjoyable experience. This is also the kind of album where after you’ve heard the first song, you’ve basically heard them all. It is extremely repetitive, and it’s around 140 minutes long. I expect this would be exhausting even for the diehard fans. I’ll be honest and say I didn’t listen to the whole thing, but it was exhausting and I wasn’t getting any enjoyment from it - putting myself through the whole album get like a waste of my time and my sanity.

The 80s generated the most consistently good pop music, and I will fight anybody that tries to tell me otherwise. With that in mind, I was very happy to get this as my album for the day today! Songs I already knew: Faith Favourite after listening: Faith, I Want Your Sex Pts. 1 & 2 Overall: 7/10 There are some fantastic songs on this album, but as we get to the middle point and towards the end, the songs do tend to get a little less interesting. The album does feel quite front-loaded, with all the best songs being the first ones you hear with the only exception being Kissing A Fool which is a breath of fresh air with its smooth jazz piano. With all of this in mind, it was still a very enjoyable album. It’s frankly a crime that the synths popular in the 80s are rarely used any more. Would recommend to anybody who enjoys camp 80s pop - although I’d be surprised if anybody with that taste hasn’t already heard it!

Another band I have never heard of. A quick look online shows them to be a 60s psychedelic rock band, compared to The Beatles if they were born in Kent and were less successful. Excited to have a listen! Favourite after listening: S.F. Sorrow Is Born, Loneliest Person Overall: 8/10 I’m finding that I enjoy 60s music a lot more than I initially thought. This album is a rock opera about the life of a man called S.F. Sorrow, but is much less bombastic than other rock operas that I am more familiar with (such as Bat Out Of Hell). It is quite a strange album at time, as would be expected from a band described as psychedelic, but is still very much enjoyable. When the album finished, I had it playing again from the top within 10 minutes. Would recommend for people who enjoy the stranger genres in music.

I’ve definitely heard of Siouxsie and the Banshees, but I haven’t a clue if I know any songs by them. For some reason, I immediately thought they were a similar band to New York Dolls, but then again I don’t know what they sound like either so that isn’t much help really. Songs I already know: none Favourite after listening: Monitor, Night Shift Overall: 5/10 It seems strange to me that the leading singles from this album were Spellbound and Arabian Knights, as I found both to be quite boring. I think that in general I tended to find the beginning of the album to be somewhat rubbish, but it did get better as the album went on. Based on the first half feeling like 3/10 songs, and then the second half feeling like 7/10 songs, it felt only fair to say 5/10 overall. I highly doubt I’ll be searching out any more songs by them afterwards, and I won’t likely be returning to this album again.

It might surprise people who know me to hear that I’ve never actually listened to this album in full before. The songs I recognise are from radio play, and I hadn’t really ever considered playing the album from front to back. Songs I already know: One Step Closer, Crawling, In The End Favourite after listening: Point Of Authority, Crawling Overall: 8/10 There aren’t really many bands that sound like Linkin Park. Even the other Nu-Metal bands of the time didn’t really sound the same. The distortion of the guitars and the melodies on piano make a beautiful juxtaposition, yet it works perfectly. Similarly, Chester Bennington’s style of singing (some might argue it to be screaming, but I’d argue it to be distorted singing) goes excellently with Mike Shinoda’s rapping. I loved the use of a killswitch in Points of Authority - the music felt like something a wrestler would use to walk into the ring, so appealed to my sillier side. Overall, I’d recommend to anyone with a remote interest in rock/metal.

If I remember rightly, when I was listening to Carole King and reading up on her music, I came across Joni Mitchell’s name there. I couldn’t tell you anything about her, but if she’s anything like Carole King then I expect I’m going to enjoy this. Songs I already know: none Favourite after listening: Raised On Robbery, Twisted Overall: 9/10 A month ago, I would have laughed in your face if you’d have said I would really enjoy 70s singer-songwriter folk. And yet here we are. Joni’s voice is silky smooth, and makes you want to cosy up by a fire with a hot chocolate. The music makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and is just generally lovely. If the music was taken away and we were left with only the lyrics, we’d be left with writing that stands up by itself as poetry. I’d definitely recommend to anybody who likes a bit of easy listening, and anybody who is fortunate enough to own a fireplace.

Another musician I’m only vaguely familiar with, whereas perhaps I should really know more songs than I actually do. I’m hopeful and hesitant at the same time - R&B/soul are generally genres I don’t enjoy much. Songs I already know: Respect, A Change Is Gonna Come Favourite after listening: Respect, A Change Is Gonna Come Overall: 5/10 I feel like this is a score that people are going to disagree with, so let’s get one thing out of the way - music is very subjective, and no album is going to please everybody. Respect is still a classic and an enjoyable song, but the rest of the album just doesn’t do much for me. Aretha Franklin is an excellent singer, but vocals have always been the least important part of a good song to me. Take away the vocals, and it is frankly uninteresting music to my ears. I can respect (pardon the pun) the talent of Aretha Franklin, but it just isn’t music that clicks for me. I even went back and listened to this again in case I was wrong the first time round, but that actually made me lower the score from a 6 to a 5 as I got bored halfway through.

I didn’t particularly enjoy the last Sinatra Album I heard (Wee Small Hours) which I rated as 6/10. In hindsight, I think that was too high a score but it was early in my new album listening hobby. Regardless, I’ve heard from others since then that this album might be more suited to my tastes. Let’s find out! Songs I already knew: You Make Me Feel So Young, I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Anything Goes Favourite after listening: You Make Me Feel So Young, I’ve Got You Under My Skin Overall: 8/10 This whole album made me feel warm. It is like a cosy fireside and hot chocolate album. It also feels a little Christmassy, despite none of the music being about Christmas at all. Whereas Wee Small Hours was a song about being depressed, Songs For Swingin’ Lovers couldn’t be more different - it is about love and happiness throughout, and the composition of the music reflects this. This made for a much more enjoyable experience as a newcomer to the album. Overall, an easy album to recommend for anybody that enjoys swing music and a good crooner.

I always laugh at Rach when she goes into a full rendition of the song American Pie because it just feels like something that has always existed and is about 3 hours long. I’m a bit familiar with Vincent, but I can’t say I’ve ever paid it much attention. I’m intrigued to hear the full album. Songs I already knew: American Pie, Vincent Favourite after listening: Vincent, American Pie, The Grave This is the second album during this music spree that hit me right in the heart. I’ll admit it, I started crying while listening to Vincent. Maybe it’s partly because I slept badly last night and had nightmares, so feel not quite all there this morning, but the outcome is the same. This song broke me a little. I did read a few user reviews before listening and the consensus seemed to be that this album only has one good song (no prizes for guessing which). I absolutely disagree with this. Maybe I’m wrong, but singers don’t tend to be as silky smooth with vocals any more like this used to be. I’d also feel bad if I didn’t comment on the excellent guitar composition in The Grave - it doesn’t sound hard by any means, but it’s perfect for what the song is. I wouldn’t necessarily say American Pie is perfect, but it’s not far from it.

It’s only over recent years that I’ve started paying any attention to prog-rock. Rush came up on my radar and I fell in love, and I have since listened to Yes as well. I’d never really given Genesis a chance as the songs I’d already heard (Invisible Touch and Land Of Confusion) were much more pop than I expected. Songs I already knew: none Favourite after listening: Counting Out Time, Carpet Crawlers First, this was a double album so is longer than most, taking just over 90 minutes to get through all 22 songs. Longer albums have scored poorly from me before as it takes a lot of mental stamina to focus for that long. However, I was able to sit through this in one session and at no point felt bored. I will say that some songs are a little weird, but in a way that fits well with the rest of the album. Overall, I loved it but I know that prog isn’t for everyone, so I can understand people hating it too.

When I was in college I remember hearing NWA and thinking they were great. This led me looking into Wu Tang Clan too, but they didn’t click for me at the time. Since then, I can honestly say I never looked into them again, and likewise never thought to look into the solo pursuits from the members. Hip-hop is generally a genre that I rarely listen to, so I’m interested to hear something new. Songs I already knew: none Favourite after listening: The Champ, 9 Milli Bros Damn, this was so much better than I expected! It hits hard, has lots of violent lyrics and he clearly knows his way around… substances. Aside from the lyrics, the beats were so tight, and I think I hear some influence from the older funk rap at times (Grandmaster Flash, etc.). I think I’d need to be in a certain mood to seek out this album again, but I’m definitely impressed and enjoyed it a lot.

I saw Cheap Trick live at Download Festival many years ago. I remember the singer was dressed as a sailor, and the guitarist had a guitar with 4 necks. They were excellent live. I have already heard a couple of songs from this album, so am excited to hear the rest! Songs I already knew: I Want You To Want Me, Surrender Favourite after listening: I Want You To Want Me, Surrender This was genuine excellence. Live albums don’t tend to be as good as studio albums but this was perfection throughout, and with a good set of headphones you can imagine being there with them. Every single song gave me goosebumps at one time or another. Everything was very tight, no voice cracks, no duff notes. And most importantly, each song was catchy and very enjoyable. I would recommend absolutely everybody listens to this album.

I’m quite unfamiliar with Kraftwerk. My only knowledge really is that every now and then Rachael will just shout “Rah rah rah at the autobahn” at me. That song isn’t on this album, but I’m interested to hear it nonetheless. Songs I already knew: none Favourites after listening: The Robots, Neon Lights I had completely wrong expectations of what Kraftwerk were. For some reason, I always thought they were retro goth rock and I couldn’t have been more wrong - they feel more like they could have been the musical parents of Daft Punk. Each song on this had me tapping my foot away. This might sound a little oxymoronic, but it sounds futuristic in a retro kind of way. Like a soundscape to getting abducted by aliens in a film where they used puppets. I’d definitely recommend to people who enjoy pop and EDM. Maybe less so for goths, but then again it is a pretty great album all round so who knows?

I’ve heard a few Alice Cooper songs, but admittedly not many. A few years ago when watching Riverdale I found it quite amusing that Betty’s mum is called Alice Cooper, thinking she was named after the singer. Oh, how silly I felt when it turned out it was (quite obviously) the other way round. Songs I already knew: Billion Dollar Babies, No More Mr. Nice Guy Favourites after listening: No More Mr. Nice Guy I’ve listened to many albums recently from the 70s, and been very impressed by how modern they sound. Unfortunately, this sounded very much like old, dated rock. The title track, much like the majority of this album, is frankly rather boring. I heard Billion Dollar Babies for the first time when playing Guitar Hero, and only really played it to unlock other songs - it was a chore to listen to even when gamified. I will say that No More Mr. Nice Guy was enjoyable, but it is really the only standout track from a fairly dull album.

First thing’s first: this album is The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn by Pink Floyd. It doesn’t actually say that anywhere on the cover. I know they are renowned as geniuses, but I think I’ve only ever heard Another Brick In The Wall, and that is only through my grandma singing it on karaoke when I was a kid. Songs I already knew: none Favourites after listening: Lucifer Sam, The Gnome This is definitely an album that should be listened to as an album, meaning it would be a shame to pick and choose different songs or to listen to it on shuffle. Lucifer Sam was my favourite, although it did seem significantly different to the other songs - it wouldn’t be out of place in a Scooby Doo chase scene. It feels like I might not be on enough substances to enjoy this album at its fullest as it is quite trippy. I don’t usually mind that in music, but it did outstay its welcome for me in Interstellar Overdrive. Overall this is a good, but not great, album. Recommended to anybody who is totally high right now.

Once upon a time, I was a guitarist in a band that covered Fear Of The Dark by Iron Maiden. That’s not on this album, but I thought it was a fun little fact. Songs I already knew: The Number Of The Beast, Run To The Hills Favourites after listening: The Number Of The Beast, The Prisoner Despite my history as a guitarist, I hadn’t actually listened to any Maiden albums from front to back. First of all, that album art needs a mention because of how iconic it is. There is no mistaking who the band might be when you see big Eddie there. The music is fantastic throughout - although it can sometimes fall into the realm of all songs sounding the same, it doesn’t outstay it’s welcome like it might have done if there were a few more songs. The harmonising guitars are bliss in each song, and holy guacamole Bruce Dickinson was blessed by some divine being to get that voice. A definite recommend from me.

A quick spot of research shows this to be country pop. Completely out of the realms of music I’d choose to listen to, but let’s keep an open mind and discover something new. Songs I already knew: none Favourites after listening: Space Cowboy, Velvet Elvis Perhaps it’s just that my ears aren’t acclimatised to the nuances of country music, but I’m not sure why this warrants being on a list of albums I must hear. I think I don’t really understand country pop in general. I can totally understand how somebody like Merle Haggard is country, but this is just generic pop music sang in a Texan accent. Sonically, it sounded fine. There was nothing wrong with it at all, it was just generic pop music that (to me) gets diluted within all the rest that sounds the same.

Who isn’t at least a little bit familiar with Metallica? My familiarity mostly comes from a mix of Guitar Hero, and local bands covering Master Of Puppets when I was still a youngling. Song I already knew: One, Harvester Of Sorrow Favourites after listening: One, Eye Of The Beholder This started off pretty strong. I don’t think I was ever going to love it because it’s just not my kind of music, but I was enjoying the first half of the album. However, as it went on there seemed to be a lot of… well, nothing. Just chugging away on guitars with solos that didn’t really serve any purpose aside from “hey guy, look at how good I am.” Also, as much as I enjoyed Eye Of The Beholder, it is hard not to laugh at how James Hetfield sings. “Freedom of choice is made for you, my frienDAH!!” It’s kinda unintentionally funny for most of the album.

It’s surprising how many musicians I’m finding that I know the names of, but know nothing about. I could t even say before listening to this what genre Ray Charles comes under. Interested to listen to this. Songs I already knew: some I knew by other artists, but I didn’t know any Ray Charles versions Favourites after listening: Hey Good Lookin’, You Are My Sunshine - I’d go as far as to say these are both vastly superior to the original versions I did quite enjoy this, it often sounded similar to Glenn Miller who I do enjoy. I think I’ve always enjoyed swing music if I’ve come across it organically, but I haven’t tended to actively search for it. Despite being a double album, it was an enjoyable listen from front to back. I admitted did get a little tired towards the end, but that’s the nature of how I’m choosing to listen to these albums.

I’ve never given Pearl Jam much of a chance. I remember playing Even Flow on Guitar Hero and thinking Eddie Vedder sounded like he was singing with a mouthful of marbles. Songs I already knew: Even Flow, Alive, Jeremy Favourites after listening: Even Flow, Alive I enjoyed this quite a lot more than I expected to. Again, the singing style can be a little unintentionally funny at times but it honestly just added to my enjoyment. The music is excellent - you can’t really go far wrong in my eyes if you have plenty of wah pedal in a song. I will say that the best songs from this album were definitely the ones that got made into singles, as the rest fell slightly flatter and didn’t seem to pack quite as much punch. Not to say they were bad, but you know what I mean. Overall, I’d recommend. I didn’t think I really liked grunge music, but I did enjoy this.

It’s been a while, but today we have an album I’m already somewhat familiar with. I think I peaked in strangeness a few years ago when I performed in a burlesque show to around 10 people, performing as a vicar that strips and turns into a leopard to the sound of Closer by Nine Inch Nails. Songs I already knew: all of them Favourites after listening: March Of the Pigs, Closer, Hurt Despite this not exactly being a new album, it feels it could easy be the soundtrack to a cyberpunk story. The music sounds far ahead of its time, blending aspects of metal and techno into something that just works excellently. You can also see how Trent Reznor went on to win Oscars for soundtracks. The lyrical theme is very emo - but before emo was really a genre. And instead of crying-angst, it’s very much punch-myself-in-the-face-angst without crossing the line into more cringy territory (cough… Limp Bizkit… cough). Overall, not only a great album to listen to when you need to release frustration, but a genuinely excellent album I can easily enjoy at any time. To my ears, this is perfection.

In the interest of being fair, I’ll be up front and say I listened to this with a possible migraine so I was not in the best frame of mind. Songs I already knew: none Favourites after listening: Liberty For Our Friend I’m finding that post-punk rarely tends to click for me. I don’t really understand what that genre means, but that’s what Wikipedia says fIREHOSE are. To me, it sounded like a similar vibe as The Jam, just with weaker vocals and all around songwriting. The bass lines were often interesting, but beyond that there wasn’t much memorable going on here for me. The only time my ears pricked up was for Liberty For Our Friend which I did enjoy, but the rest of the album just seemed boring. Oh, and two of the tracks are just drum solos. Two whole tracks of just drums. Unfortunately, it’s just not for me.

Hotel California is one of those songs like Wonderwall, in that if you told me you’d never heard it before I would call you a liar and punch you clean in the chin. I do very much like the songs I already know if this album, so let’s listen to the rest! Songs I already knew: Hotel California, Life In The Fast Lane Favourites after listening: Hotel California, Life In The Fast Lane, The Last Resort Many times during this album I found myself covered in goosebumps. The solo of Hotel California even gave be goosebumps on my scalp, so I was likely looking somewhat similar to Doc Brown for a little while. I loved this album from front to back - the singing is buttery smooth, the guitars and drums are beautifully played, but the highlights for me were the piano and strings dotted around throughout. I think the Eagles seem to be seen as a bit of a cringey band these days (like the boomer version of Nickelback) but I can earnestly say that I enjoyed this very much, and will definitely be listening again.

Another artist I’ve never heard before. Folk music (based on albums I’ve listened to so far) seems promising though, so let’s listen! Songs I already knew: House Of The Rising Sun (although not this version) Favourites after listening: Mary Hamilton, El Preso Numero Nueve Well I stand corrected. First of all, this album was very minimalist, with mainly guitar and vocals and nothing more. The nature of this meant it did not particularly excite me. Her voice sounded very “church-caterwauling”. You know, like when old ladies sometimes sing so high pitched it makes dogs be sick, with so much vibrato it makes your eyes shake. This was especially prominent in Fare Thee Well. There were a few jauntier, more interesting songs, but I think it’s fair to say I did not enjoy this as an album and I do not plan to return to it at any point after this first impression.

Despite only ever hearing the bigger hits from Prince (his greatest hits were on loop in my car for a good while), I still always had a great admiration for him. He pushed gender boundaries and sexuality in a time when it was far more taboo, and that’s frankly a very easy thing to love. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Starfish and Coffee, I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man It’s hard not to compare these songs to hits like Raspberry Beret and Little Red Corvette. Personally, I don’t think that the tracks on this album were quite as strong as some of his other work. However, there isn’t a single song I didn’t enjoy, and it definitely has that funk-charm that Prince is known for. There are no blazing guitar solos here like you’d find in Purple Rain, but it’s is still a strong album for what it is. I’ll likely be returning to some tracks from this, but with such a big Prince discography out there I do not think that this is up there with his best. But again, to be clear, it is still excellent.

When people ask about my favourite type of hip-hop (which admittedly isn’t often), I usually refer them to the old classics like Run-D.M.C. and Sugarhill Gang. I wouldn’t exactly say I’m overly familiar with either, but the simple beats and simple rhyme schemes have always sounded better to me. Songs I already knew: It’s Like That Favourites: It’s Like That, Rock Box I was quite looking forward to listening to this today. However, what I found was that although any one of the songs sounds good by itself, a whole album is very tiring. With the exception of Rock Box which did sound different, I probably wouldn’t have even known when one song ended and another started if there was a cross fade there. Each song had me thinking, “Hasn’t this song already been on?” Taking the album as a whole rather than single by single, I’m a little saddened to say that this wasn’t a particularly enjoyable album for me.

I heard a song by Faces a while back and was surprised that it was good, because I’ve always found Rod Stewart to be quite boring. I think it was Stay With Me, which is on this album. It bodes well, so let’s listen! Songs I already knew: Stay With Me Favourites: Stay With Me For the sake of fairness, I’m full of the flu so didn’t exactly go into this with a cheery disposition. This album was just so boring. Stay With Me was the best song on it, but that song isn’t exactly an exciting song anyway. Rod Stewart is obviously a very successful guy, but I just don’t get it. It’s the most boring, generic rock music out there. I have no intention at all to come back to this album because it’s the audio equivalent of watching paint dry.

I think I’ve heard Chicago before, but then again I’m not sure if I’m thinking of the stage musical. Or I could possibly be mixing them up with Boston or Kansas because… you know… America places. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Beginnings, Poem 58 This is quite different to Boston and Kansas after all. It is still rock music, but also incorporates plenty of RnB and funk. It’s much jauntier than I was expecting, and overall was a very enjoyable listen. Musically, everything is very tight and works well which isn’t always the case with older albums where the odd mistake can sometimes slip through. Overall, I’d recommend for anybody who, like me, thinks rock music needs more horns. I’m late to the party, but I’m very happy to have discovered Chicago today. My only criticism is it is a very long album, and Free Form Guitar is just noise which I felt should have just been cut.

I know I’m a bit late with this one (since it was yesterday’s album) but COVID has been wiping me out. But better late than never! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Soubour, Nick Have you ever heard alt rock blues from Mali? I’ll be up front and say that I had not. They sing entirely in Songhai which I don’t understand, so I can’t really comment on the lyrics. What I can say though, is you can hear the passion and feeling I’m the singing, and the music itself is excellent. I’m honestly unsure of any bands to compare them to in order to give you an idea of how they sound. If you are a fan of blues music though, definitely give Music In Exile a listen. They’ll definitely be staying in my music library.

Imposter syndrome usually sets in when people know I like rock music and play guitar, as I’m not particularly a fan of any Led Zeppelin songs I’ve heard. It seems to be a key point in rock music to talk about Led Zeppelin with other guitarists. That being said, I don’t recognise any songs on this album so let’s see! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Dazed and Confused, Babe I’m Gonna Leave You It’s going to sound like I’m being purposefully contrarian, which I promise I’m not trying to be, but I just don’t get it. Perhaps if I was a teenager when this album came out then it might have rocked my world, but when listening to it now it just feels very mid. The vocals are certainly very good, but the rest of the music definitely doesn’t blow me away. It seems blasphemous to say it, but I just don’t find Led Zeppelin to be that good! I’ll go hide somewhere now.

It can’t be right that I don’t know any songs by Crosby, Stills & Nash, right? I don’t recognise anything of this album at least. How can a band so famous be so far off my radar? It’s not the first by any means, but it does make me wonder. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Marrakesh Express, Helplessly Hoping I really enjoyed this album! The vocal harmonies are very similar to the Beach Boys which is certainly no bad thing, but the music is more folk rock. I don’t know why, but this album review project has made me realise how much I enjoy rock songs about trains. That’s weird, right? I don’t even like trains. Anyway, I’m digressing. If you’re one of the dozen out so people left who haven’t heard Crosby, Stills & Nash (like I was), then give this a listen. They’re good.

Fred Neil is another artist I’ve never heard of. I’m barely into the 1001 Albums book and have already discovered so many new musicians already! This is proving to be such a fun project. Songs I already knew: Everybody’s Talkin’ (although it was a different version to what I was familiar with) Favourites: Everybody’s Talkin’, Sweet Cocaine This is a prime example of music that I enjoyed, and yet doubt I’ll ever return to. It was fun to hear it for the first time, I liked his voice, the instrumentation kept me interested - but not interested enough to have me hooked. I can’t quite hone in on why that is either, other than maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood, or maybe it’s just not my kind of music. Regardless, I am happy to have discovered this album even if it’s not likely to stay on rotation.

Another project I have on the go is learning Spanish on Duolingo (currently on 577 days in a row!). All of my childhood holidays were to the Canary Islands too. I say all this to explain my likely bias towards Spanish music. Songs I already knew: none, although they all sounded very vaguely familiar Favourites: 3-D Mambo, Honk Kong Mambo, Água Limpia Todo This was such a fun album. I love that calypso style piano and it’s here in abundance for this album. The vocals and instrumentation are great, and it’s an all round happy album that’s pretty hard not to like. Everybody sounds like they’re having a good time, and it’s kinda contagious and you can’t help but to wiggle those hips without even realising it. I definitely recommend, as it is not what you think of at all with 50’s music.

I like the simplicity of the band name Can. It’s so basic, it’s somewhat startling. Is it a declaration of optimism, or is it a container of beans? Who can say? Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Moonshake My thoughts on this tended to yo-yo as I listened. I quite liked Future Day, but then Spray felt like a drag. Then I enjoyed Moonshake, but Bel Air had me checking several times how much longer until it was done. And then that’s it. Another four song album, which takes up 41 minutes. I guess with the standard 15 song album of 3 minute songs, if there is something you don’t like then there may be plenty more that you do. With albums like this, if you don’t like two songs, then that’s half of the album gone. Overall, I’d lean slightly more towards liking the album than disliking it, but I don’t expect I’ll be revisiting it any time soon.

The rarity within 1001 Albums You Must Hear… in that it is an album I’m already quite familiar with. Nothing new to be discovered for me today, but it definitely makes for an enjoyable listen and an easy review. Songs I already knew: all of them Favourites: Basket Case, She Well what can I say? It’s the album that shot Green Day to stardom. There is a definite charm to the simplicity of this album - drums, bass, layered guitar, vocals, done. This is where I feel Green Day have become less interesting with subsequent albums (aside from American Idiot which was incredible), but then again they’d be considered boring if nothing changed. Regardless, this is a punk rock album with plenty of punch, but without the hard-to-listen vocals of the more hardcore punk bands out there. This is likely why they’ve been considered to be more pop-punk, but whatever you want to call it, it’s a great album and an easy recommendation.

Brace yourself… another band where the familiarity comes from Guitar Hero. I truly didn’t recognise until recently how much music those games introduced me to. Songs I already knew: Them Bones Favourites: Them Bones, Rain When I Die Almost all of this album was a pleasure to listen to. I like the tone of the guitars, and I’m always a fan of odd time signatures (there seems to be a fair amount of 7/8 going on here). The vocals would sometimes remind me a little of James Hetfield, and other times would remind me of Mike Patton. I was teetering on giving this album an 8 out of 10 because I did really enjoy it, but then I asked myself, “Am I likely to come back to this and listen again?” The answer was no. I enjoyed it, it was good fun, but it didn’t leave me wanting more. Overall, an enjoyable album and an easy recommend for rock fans.

I’m excited to listen to this! I really like the Daft Punk I’ve heard, but it’s been a very long while since I listen to an album all the way through. For some reason, I thought one of my favourites (Robot Rock) was on this album. I was wrong. Songs I already knew: Da Funk, Around The World Favourites: Da Funk, Around The World, Phoenix This hit the spot many times for me. Several times I found myself with goosebumps, wondering when and how certain chords would resolve or how long I’d be teased. The beats are great throughout, and I love the rubber synth. The best songs on this album were 10 out of 10 for me. However, I did find there to be a fair amount of filler dotted about. This is the kind of album where you find your favourites, and then tend to skip the others because they don’t add much to the experience. Overall, I would still consider this to be a great album despite the lesser songs included. An easy recommend for people who enjoy EDM.

I think I only know one Elbow song, and as luck would have it, it is on this album! One Day Like This is such an amazing song, so I’m looking forward to hearing the rest. Songs I already knew: One Day Like This, Grounds For Divorce (didn’t know I knew this song until it came on) Favourites: One Day Like This, Grounds For Divorce, Mirrorball What an excellent album! It sits somewhere along the softer side of rock for the most part, with plenty of orchestral strings thrown in for good measure. The call and response between the vocals and strings in One Day Like This is simply perfect. Buttery smooth vocals is always a plus for me, and the fact that the singer’s accent makes him sound like he lives down the road from me isn’t a bad thing (a cursory google search shows they’re from Bury, so yep, just down the road). A very easy recommend, with some incredibly catchy songs.

I’m unsure if Billy Bragg & Wilco are two different artists or if they are one band. The names seem vaguely familiar, but I can’t place where from. I’m excited to hear something new! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Christ For President, Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key I did enjoy most of the songs on this album, and yet none of the songs stuck to the point where I’d be able to hum a chorus. The music is quite folky, with a dash of the blues for good measure. Google tells me that Billy Bragg is a British singer and Wilco is an American band that played the music. You wouldn’t be able to tell that this is a collaboration of two different artists as they do seem to work pretty seamlessly together. Overall, a good album. I’m glad I heard it, but it doesn’t make me want to keep it on repeat.

I’m completely aware of how sacrilegious this might sound, but despite playing guitar for over half of my life I’ve never actually listened to a Jimi Hendrix album from front to back. Better late than never! Songs I already knew: Purple Haze, Hey Joe, Foxey Favourites: Purple Haze, Foxey, May This Be Love It’s common knowledge that Jimi was a revolutionary guitar player, but I don’t think that his vocals are talked about quite enough. His smooth baritone definitely deserve more recognition as it sounded frankly divine. The song compositions were amazing throughout the album, displaying excellent rock sounds with a pinch of funk for good measure. I thoroughly enjoyed this album and would consider it quite exceptional. I can see why the world loved him, and why the world grieved so much when he passed away so young. I definitely recommend everybody gives this a listen.

I’ve listened to one Joni Mitchell album before and really enjoyed it. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned a few times that I’ve recently discovered a love for 70’s folk music so I have high hopes! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Little Green, California Joni continues to be a delight to my ears. She demonstrates not needing a symphony of music to write a great song, with the majority of tracks being simply vocals, piano and/or guitar, and very minimal percussion. Each track on this was great - at no point did I grow bored or want to skip to the next track. I’ve made a mental note to add River to any Christmas playlists I may make in the future as I hadn’t heard it before today and it was lovely. I’m sure you can tell from everything already written, but I’d recommend this album. It’s great.

I went through a phase a few years ago when I had Pet Sounds on very heavy rotation, so it’s fair to say I love the songs by the Beach boys that I’ve already heard. Google says this is Brian Wilson’s version on an unreleased Beach Boys album from many moons ago. I’m excited to listen! Songs I already knew: Good Vibrations Favourites: Heroes and Villains, Cabin Essence I know this is a bold thing to say, but this was an actual perfect album. I’ve never been a believer of there being no such thing as perfection and this is a prime example of this. Brian’s composing is far beyond anything I’ve heard before. The opening track Our Prayer is comparable to a symphony, but with only voice. Heroes and Villains is much the same, but with a typical orchestra thrown into the mix too. There is so much going on with this music, and yet it manages to never sound too busy or overwhelming. It’s common knowledge that Brian Wilson isn’t the most mentally well man in the world, and being able to write something as beautiful as this in the midst of ongoing hallucinations should inspire people everywhere to never let anything stop you from doing what you love.

I’ve never really understood how The Who got so big. I don’t mind some of the songs I’ve heard, but I’ve only really heard one song I’d consider to be good (Pinball Wizard). Despite this, I’m still interested to hear an album in full to see if I can try to grasp what it is that others love. Songs I already knew: My Generation Favourites: I Don’t Mind, The Kids Are Alright Unfortunately for me, I’m yet to really see what all the full is about. It’s not that there are any awful songs, but nothing really clicked with me. I found the vocals quite annoying a lot of the time - is Roger Daltrey considered a poor singer or is that a controversial opinion? As I’m sure you can tell, I’m not going to be rushing back to this album any time soon. It was mostly fine with occasional good bits, but there was nothing amazing to be found here.

I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anything by Grateful Dead. Are they the band that people were mad about in the 60’s and would follow on tour, making big events of it? I’m interested to hear if it sounds aged or if it can still win over new fans these days. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Truckin’, Till The Morning Comes This was a really enjoyable album. I’d consider it to be a mix of folk and rock music, probably leaning more towards folk. The vocal harmonies work very well, and the instrumentation stays interesting throughout. I didn’t feel like any songs were bad, but some songs were definitely better than others. Overall, I can definitely see the appeal the the Dead, and I didn’t really feel that the music had aged at all. It still sounds current enough to my ears! An easy recommend to rock/folk music fans.

I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anything by LL Cool J. I could say if he’s hip hop or R&B, but I feel somewhat confident that he’s one of them. They’re both genres that I don’t tend to gravitate towards, but I’m always interested in hearing something new. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Around The Way Girl, Mama Said Knock You Out There were a few good songs on this, but in general I found it to just be uninteresting. It is hip hop, and I think I do tend to prefer that over R&B, but most of this just didn’t really do anything for me. There were some quite dodgy lyrics, such as, “And I can't make you, I sure wouldn't rape you.” There was also a song where he says a lady is milky cereal. I just don’t get it. Don’t think I’ll be coming back to this despite the few good songs.

Another band I’ve never heard of. Wikipedia says they are post-punk. I don’t really understand what that means, but other post-punks bands I’ve listened to, such as Siouxsie and the Banshee, haven’t really clicked for me. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: No Xmas for John Quays I’ll be completely honest and say I just don’t understand this genre of music. The vocals are difficult to listen to, the guitars are overly twangy, and it was generally an unexciting listen. I’d love to find an album of a similar genre that does click with me so I could at least appreciate other albums from a musical standpoint. As things are, I find it boring and kind of annoying. Needless to say, I can’t see myself returning to this album any time soon.

I listened to this album a few years ago when I went through a very short lived phase of reviewing what was new in the charts 20 years prior. At the time, I wasn’t really a fan of the album. However, I’m intrigued to give it a listen with a fresh set of ears. Songs I already knew: all of them, albeit not very well Favourites: Doo Wop (That Thing), Can’t Take My Eyes Off You I had a completely different experience listening this time, in that I really enjoyed it. It shows just how subjective music can be when the same person can have such differing opinions over a few years! I really enjoyed the songs, but it should also be mentioned that the short classroom skits also really added to the experience. It was refreshing to hear hip hop music about love and showing a softer side. Overall, I completely disagree with my past self, and would definitely recommend this album.

My only familiarity of Sonic Youth is Kool Thing via Guitar Hero. I didn’t particularly like that song, but it’s not on this album so no need to worry. Let’s see how we go with a full album and if I become a fan! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Wish Fulfilment, Sugar Kane, Purr I was quite impressed with this. I’m somewhat unfamiliar with noise rock as a sub-genre of rock so it was quite different to what I’m used to, but it was certainly interesting! Youth Against Fascism shows excellent use of guitar to simply make noise, but (no so simply) without being grating. The distortion on the bass guitar is perfection throughout. The vocals aren’t amazing, but it would likely be too jarring if they were - the style suits the genre very well. Overall, I surprisingly enjoyed this and didn’t particularly expect to.

It’s a strange coincidence that I’m reviewing this album today because my next video review on YouTube will be T-Swivel’s newest album (you heard it here first!). My expectations for this album are very low from what I’ve heard so far of TayTay. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Willow, No Body No Crime I really expected this album to be bad and a chore to listen to. I’m quite happy to be proven wrong - it didn’t blow me away but there were some really good songs to be found here. SwifTay started strong with Willow which was a truly interesting song. The instrumentation was unusual but worked very well. No Body No Crime was again a different sound to the other tracks and told the story of getting away with murder. The problem lies in the fact that the majority of the songs on here were very boring! Having mostly bad songs with a few great ones unfortunately does not make a good album, but there are some redeeming songs that are fun. I’d say 30-40% was enjoyable, with the rest being skippable.

The only song by The Clash that I’m somewhat familiar with is the title track London Calling. I’ve been shown others over time which I remember liking, but none of them stuck with me, to the point that I’ve no idea what those songs actually are. Excited to hear a full album though! Songs I already knew: London Calling, Train in Vain (I stand corrected in my earlier comment about only knowing London Calling - I never knew Train in Vain was The Clash!) Favourites: Jimmy Jazz, Clampdown, Wrong ‘Em Boys Much of my teen years were spent listening to Rancid. I think it’s fair to say there if The Clash had never been, then Rancid wouldn’t either, as they definitely had a lot of inspiration from this. It’s also rare to hear an album with no filler songs. I’m aware that London Calling was a single, but beyond that I’m not sure which the big hits were (I’m writing this on a plane with no internet so I’m unable to check). Every song on this was well written enough, and catchy enough, to have been big hits. I’m too late to the party, but this has definitely turned me into a fan of The Clash.

I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Elvis. On family holidays as a kid, my dad used to always sing Suspicious Minds on the karaoke (he probably still does, to be fair). Hence, Elvis’ voice causes a Pavlovian feeling of being young again. Songs I already knew: Fever Favourites: The Girl Of My Best Friend, Such A Night I enjoyed this album a lot. I love the era of rock and roll where there was plenty of “du wa ooo” backing vocals - Buddy Holly was one of my favourite singers when I was around 10 years old (I was a strange child). Elvis’ voice is so iconic and can’t really be replicated. There are many good Elvis impersonators out there, but none seem to have gone on to be genuinely successful authentic singers outside of simple replication. I really enjoyed the walking bass guitar, and the fairly simple but very effective guitars. No doubt though, the vocals are where the talent really shines here. An easy recommend to… well pretty much anybody.

Was Al Green a one hit wonder? I couldn’t say with any confidence whether he was or wasn’t, but I couldn’t name any other songs aside from the title track before listening to this. It will be interesting to hear the rest of the album, when the song Let’s Stay Together still gets very frequent radio play. Songs I already knew: Let’s Stay Together Favourites: Let’s Stay Together The album opens with the track we all already know. It’s easy to not realise how well composed Let’s Stay Together is, with its unusual chords and key changes dotted around, as it never sounds harsh when doing so. This, to me, is a marker of a well written song. However, the rest of the album is much less interesting. His voice stays as you would expect, but the composition stays somewhat simple for the other tracks. You can see why they leaned so heavy on the title track. Overall, I did enjoy the album but one song certainly outshines the rest by a wide margin.

I’m familiar with a few Primal Scream songs, and I do like the ones I’ve heard. I was surprised the first time I heard them because I expected them to be death metal or something - the name Primal Scream would suggest being quite brutal, but this isn’t the case. Songs I already knew: Movin’ On Up, Come Together, Loaded Favourites: Movin’ On Up, Loaded Screamadelica seems to find the line between trippy and catchy music. Oftentimes, I’ve found psychedelic rock to be a little too far into the weird, to the point that it becomes hard to listen to. Primal Scream toes this line, but never becomes hard to listen to. There are plenty of catchy hooks that I found myself easily singing along to. For some reason, I always thought Loaded was by The Prodigy, but that might be become it is a little similar to Stand Up by them. Overall, I really enjoyed this album, and am happy to have heard an album in full.

I’ve never been the biggest fan of The Killers. The weird kid in school (every school has one) was really into them, and also really into me. That made them a band that I never really looked into. I suppose it’s about time I gave them a chance! Songs I already knew: Mr Brightside, Smile Like You Mean It, Somebody Told Me, All These Things That I’ve Done Favourites: Somebody Told Me, Smile Like You Mean It A few tracks into this album, I was having a really good time and was willing to admit being wrong to dismiss The Killers. Mr Brightside still gets lots of radio play - maybe even more now than when the album was released. To me, this is more power pop than indie rock, but that’s all subjective. The keyboards were more remarkable than an other instrumentation, hence me remarking on them. The second half of the album was much less interesting, and Everything Will Be Alright was quite annoying. Overall, the first half of the album was quite fantastic, and the second half was mostly good with the one rubbish song. I’d recommend listening to the first 6 songs then pretending that the rest don’t exist.

Ok so first thing’s first. When I saw it was The Temptations today, I somehow mixed them up with The Foundations and was wondering if Build Me Up Buttercup would be on this album (what a great song). Obviously, it isn’t. However, I still look forward to hearing The Temptations! Songs I already knew: I Heard It Through The Grapevine Favourites: Runaway Child Running Wild, Why Did She Have To Leave Me This wouldn’t usually be my kind of music, but what a fun album! The bass singer has a fantastic voice, and it was always a treat when he’d get a solo line every now and then. The music stays exciting throughout and it’s easy to find yourself bobbing you head along without even realising it. It didn’t exactly melt my face of or change my life, but not every album needs to. An easy recommendation for anybody who just wants a fun album and nothing more.

I’ve never heard of The Icarus Line, but alt rock often doesn’t go wrong with me. I quite like the album art of this - it gives off White Stripes vibes but more greasy. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: On The Lash Maybe I shouldn’t have set my expectations so high. There were definitely some meaty riffs on this album (as a vegetarian, riffs are the only meat I consume), but unfortunately not much else. I’m can’t say I like the singing - it’s not awful, but it’s also not great. I feel that any rock loses a lot of its charm when too well produced, which might sound a bit silly, but a lot of what I like about bands like Plumtree or Smashing Pumpkins is that they sound like they could have been recorded in a garage. As the album went on, it did start sounding more rough and ready, but the quality of the songs also declined so it didn’t really seem to get better despite this. Maybe that’s just me though.

This was a hard album to find. It seems that Caetano Veloso has several completely different self titled albums, and this particular one wasn’t on Apple Music. YouTube to the rescue! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Tropicália, Onde Andaras, Soy Loco Por Ti America Firstly, to address the elephant in the room, the majority of these lyrics went right over my head. I don’t speak Portuguese. I could pick up some bits from the Spanish I know, but I’m really not going to attempt some dissection of the lyrics! Musically, this was very interesting. It had some obvious bossa nova influence, but without really being bossa nova. I’d consider it to be psychedelic jazz with a Spanish flair (I know Spanish is a different language, but the music itself sounded Spanishy). Overall, I did quite enjoy this. It’s definitely not going to appeal to everyone, but as for me… me gusta.

I’ve mentioned this many times before, but hip hop is one of my least familiar genres. I never really listened to it growing up, and it wasn’t really until I was in my mid-twenties that I gave it a proper chance. I’ve been meaning to listen to this album for a while, so I’m happy to listen today. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: King Kunta, Alright, i When listening to hip hop, the gold standard for me has always been Because The Internet by Childish Gambino. Everything gets compared to that in one way or another in my head because I love that album. However, Kendrick Lamar might have just taken that crown. This album was incredible from front to back. If there was no rapping at all on it, the music was still fantastic. If there was no music at all, the lyrics, rapping and poetry would still have me hooked. Putting the music together with the vocals brings it all together into something amazing. He has a very distinct voice too, which always makes for a good listen when it works, which it very much does here. I’d recommend this to anybody, but especially people who, like me in my younger years, didn’t really know or understand hip hop. This is excellence.

I’m gonna be honest… when I see 70s punk, my first thought is, “Oh, this is going to be a drag.” Hopefully I’m wrong, but this era of punk tends to mostly be people playing instruments badly, with bad tones, and an overly cockney man shouting over it all. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Bored Teenagers, Gary Gilmore’s Eyes Well my initial assumption was wrong. There is much more melody than I was expecting, with nice thick guitar tones. The first few songs started off well, but then the rest of the album (with the exception of Gary Gilmore’s Eyes) just became a bit of a snore-fest. I will say that the overall sound seems more modern than I expected, but it still wasn’t especially excited for me. Overall, it might appeal to anybody already very much into old school punk, but I doubt anybody else will get much from this.

I’ve heard the Cowboys From Hell album before and quite enjoyed that. I wouldn’t particularly consider myself to be a fan of Pantera, but I’m still interested enough to be happy to hear more. Songs I already knew: Walk Favourites: Walk, Hollow I think I might get a little hate for this, but I didn’t really like this album. Walk was fun, although I have to question if that’s just through familiarity and nostalgia and head banging at the metal club nights in my younger days. Hollow was a very good song, and the transition from ballad into metal within this track was fantastic, and gave it much more punch. However, is one good track with a dash of nostalgia enough to make it a good album? I’d unfortunately have to say no. However, thrash has never been a sub-genre of metal that I’ve particularly liked.

I’m past the point of feeling silly saying, “I know this band from Guitar Hero.” Well guess what? Guess where I heard Cult Of Personality? I’ll leave that question with you. I will say that I liked the song at time time, but it was too hard to play on expert. Songs I already knew: Cult Of Personality Favourites: Cult Of Personality, What’s Your Favorite Color, Which Way To America I never expected this album to be anywhere near as good as it is! I expected Cult Of Personality to be the highlight, then a load of filler. I don’t know why I thought that in hindsight. But there is not a single band song on this album! They remind me somewhat of Extreme, in how they blend metal with funk at times, and I love Extreme (I promise most of their music doesn’t like More Than Words). The singing was exceptional, and those guitar tones and solos were perfect! Overall, an exceptional album that I’d happy recommend to anybody remotely into rock/metal music.

I’m fairly sure that The Flying Burrito Bros have not come up on my radar before. I feel like I’d probably remember a name like that. Happy to hear something new (to me) today. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Christine’s Tune, Sin City, Hippie Boy This wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. It’s very rare that country music does anything for me, but there were some pretty good songs on here. Don’t get me wrong, there were also some pretty bad songs, but I was expecting to like none of it so I’m happy to be proven wrong. I can’t quite put my finger on why this is different to any other country music either. The vocals are very hit and miss - sometimes they harmonise beautifully, other times they just seem a bit off. Overall, as a whole album, this was decent but nothing more.

It’s always more exciting for me when there is a more recent band on the daily album generator that I haven’t heard of. It makes sense if I haven’t heard of a band from long before I was born, but something from just a few years ago then went under my radar is always good fun to explore! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Ullswater, Negative Space This was such a fun album. I’m always a sucker for a good synth, and I got the feeling from only the first few notes that I was going to like this. The synths stay throughout, but it is much more rocky than those first few notes would suggest. The music is high energy throughout, and the vocals sound great - somehow reminiscent of playing sports games as a kid despite this album being released long afterwards. Overall, an easy album to recommend if, like me, this album passed you by when it released 4 years ago.

I’ve listened to one other Smiths album (The Queen Is Dead) which I thought was ok, but it didn’t blow me away. It didn’t make me see Morrissey’s supposed genius, so let’s find out if this album sways me. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: The Headmaster Ritual, Barbarism Begins At Home This album started off strong. I really enjoyed the first couple of songs and the last couple, but the middle was very… well, mid. Morrissey continues to caterwaul nonsense in if faux croon which often makes me cringe with the silliness he spouts - Nowhere Fast highlighted this when he spoke about wanting to flash the Queen. I’m no royalist by any means, but this is a grown man with a litany of fans who call him a genius. I’m fully aware of how contrarian I sound when I say this, and I know everyone would disagree, but I just feel the Smiths would be a better band with a different singer. The rest of the music is generally interesting and fun to listen to until the singing starts. Just my thoughts!

Thinking about it, I’m not sure I’ve heard anything by The Byrds. I’ve certainly heard of them, but I’m not sure if I’ve actually heard them. Excited to hear them for possibly the first time today! Songs I already knew: We’ll Meet Again (although not this version) Favourites: All I Really Want To Do, Mr Tamborine Man As soon as this album started playing, I knew I was wrong about not hearing The Byrds before. Their whole sound, and mainly the way they sing and harmonise, was very familiar, and it turns out I do know at least one song (Turn, Turn, Turn) which isn’t on this album. I found that in itself very impressive - I instantly recognised them based solely on their sound. In regards to this specific album, it is mostly covers although the only song I recognised was We’ll Meet Again so they were mostly new to my ears, at least. A very nicely composed and sang album, which was fun to listen to throughout.

I never knew that Goldfrapp were reputable enough to be considered for one of the “albums you must hear before you die”, but here we are. To my knowledge, I’ve only ever heard Ooh La La before today, which is not on this album. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: A&E I remain confused at the inclusion of this album if a list of supposed essential albums. There was nothing interesting happening for the most part, with only occasional songs that were at least half decent. Even my favourite song from the album A&E isn’t really a song I’d bother going back to listen to again. On the whole, I don’t really see the point of this album. It’s not unlistenable, but I still can’t really think of a reason to listen to it by choice.

I must have been tired when I looked at this cover at and thought I’d be listened to a band called Specimen 3. Clearly, I’ve forgotten how to read. I hadn’t heard of this band or this album until today so let’s see how it is. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Revolution Experimental music has always been somewhat hit and miss for me. If it’s too different to what I’m used to, I’ll often have a hard time listening to it. Well four minutes into track 3 (How Does It Feel) I had completely lost interest in this album. Track was was okay, but then it was all downhill from there. I can say it was interesting at times, but that isn’t to say I enjoyed it. If I woke up one morning without kneecaps, that would also be interesting but not very fun. I think that’s an accurate simile for this album. It’s the audio equivalent of unexplainably losing your kneecaps.

The legend that is Miles Davis! For almost a year now, I’ve been wanting to buy a trumpet but keep talking myself out of it because I’ve absolutely no need for one. But it would be cool though, wouldn’t it? Right? Please? Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Shhh / Peaceful Well holy macaroni. I thought Herbie Hancock was wild for having an album with only 4 songs, and along comes Miles Davis with only 2. A two-song album. If you’re used to standard chart topping music, that’s a pretty gosh darn unusual thing to see. The album is still 38 minutes long so you still get just as much bang for your buck, don’t you worry. Both of these very long songs were just so very good. I was walking through the cold, woolly hat on with headphones over the top, and the composition of everything, but especially the trumpet, warmed me up inside like a shot of whisky. Jazz usually doesn’t click for me, but this was fantastic.

I can’t say I’ve heard of this band before. I think I might have heard of the country in passing, but not the band nor the album named The United States Of America. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: The American Way Of Love, I Won’t Leave My Wooden Wife For You Sugar I reckon this album might be a completely different experience under the influence of the devil’s lettuce. However, sans-substances, it was still a fun experience. There were some songs that I felt leant maybe a little too far into the unusual, but on the whole, this was an enjoyable melding of genres, and the last song was fantastic. Also, it would be a crime for me to not mention the zany song titles. I’d easily recommend this for fans of psychedelic rock.

In my head, I always mix up The Verve and Pulp. Both are of that very North West England sound of the 90s to early 00s that I was surrounded by as a child, being from the exact area of the world. I’m not sure I recognise any song titles from this album though, so let’s listen. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: History, A New Decade I was hoping for much better from this album, knowing that Bittersweet Symphony and The Drugs Don’t Work are such good songs (neither of them are Pulp, right?), but unfortunately I just didn’t find this here. The vocals were sometimes good, sometimes awful. The guitar licks were sometimes catchy, sometimes grating. No songs were fantastic, yet none were awful. Overall, a very average and forgettable album that will likely just mesh into everything else in my mind. Doubt I’ll be seeking this album out again.

I’m not sure if I’ve heard Killing Joke before. I might be thinking of the graphic novel, although I’ve never read that either. It seems to be 80s rock from what I can gather from a cursory glance on Apple Music, so this could potentially be very suited to my taste. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Requiem, Bloodsport What a fantastic sound! When the synth intro of Requiem started up, I wasn’t sure which way it would go as it wouldn’t sound out of place in house music, but this is punk rock through and through. I can definitely say that I’ve never heard punk rock that utilises synths quite like this. It never veers into what would be considered pop-punk these days, which is hard to wrap my head around with that synth. I thoroughly enjoyed this album, and the instrumental Bloodsport was outstanding. I’ll certainly be giving this a lot of play time.

I’ve always thought Tom Petty to have been somewhat overrated. I’ll admit, I’ve only heard a handful of songs before today, but the ones I’ve heard never exactly made me want to seek out more. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Breakdown Each song on this album was pretty good, but there wasn’t really anything that made it stand out. I’ve always found his squeaky nasal singing a little annoying and almost like a caricature, but thankfully the album was short at only 30 minutes so it never got to the point of making me want to stop listening. Vocals aside, the music was much better than I expected it to be. It reminded me of Foreigner at times, which I wasn’t expecting at all and was a welcome surprise. Overall, this was a decent rock album but certainly not something I’d consider amazing. Oh, and can we also take a moment to really soak in how cringy that album set is?

Yes! 80’s pop is very much to my taste. Even better, I’m pretty sure I only know one song from this album, which means I’ll have a lot to discover and (hopefully) enjoy a lot. Let’s listen! Songs I already knew: Don’t You Want Me Favourites: Don’t You Want Me, Open Your Heart, Love Action It saddens me that nobody seems to make music like this any more. The sound of the drums, the overuse of synths, the style of singing - it all got stuck in the 80s and never made it further. Perhaps it may have overstayed it’s welcome if it did continue longer, but I do wish we still had new music to look forward to that sounded like this. My only critique is that I Am The Law felt much less exciting to me, but otherwise this was full of very good songs. If you’ve somehow never heard The Human League before, I’d be happy to recommend trying this album.

Today’s artist is another that I’ve never heard of, and from a genre I rarely listen to. I’m going into this a little apprehensively, but still somewhat optimistically. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Whenever Wherever Whatever, The Suite Theme I think that the act of me listening to this album might have gotten everybody in my neighbourhood pregnant. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to a solid hour of porntastic music before today, so I can now scratch that off my bucket list. This was soul/funk throughout and never strayed much from this. The musicians are clearly very talented and I did enjoy listening to this album, but I’m not sure it enticed me enough to want more. Overall, I enjoyed this and would recommend it to anybody trying for a baby.

For some reason, Peter Frampton and Peter Gabriel have always been the same person in my mind. Clearly, that sounds nonsensical because it frankly is. Looking at the track list, the only song I recognise is one covered by somebody else. Songs I already knew: Baby I Love Your Way (but the Big Mountain version) Favourites: Doobie Wah, Baby I Love Your Way I’m sure most people would agree that live albums are generally nowhere as good as studio albums. In general, I’d only really bother with a live album if I was already a big fan of a band. However, this album is an anomaly to that rule. The energy from the band is palpable, and a good set of headphones can make you feel part of the crowd. The music is energy filled rock and is easy to enjoy. The use of the voice box with the guitar is different enough to keep your attention. Overall, I’d recommend this album to any rock fans, regardless of your preconceptions of live albums.

I only know Minutemen as those fellas that did the Jackass theme. I was surprised to see them in the book of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die as I never knew they were that reputable. I’m interested to hear more of their work. Songs I already knew: Corona Favourites: Corona, #1 Hit Song, Toadies This was not at all what I expected going into a Minutemen album. Based solely on Corona, I expected hillbilly redneck rock but this isn’t the case at all. They often reminded me of Primus, but less jarring. Primus can sometimes be a little too strange for my tastes, whereas Minutemen toe that line but never cross it. There are 43 songs on this album, yet it’s only 75 minutes long - often tracks can bleed into each other and you don’t even realise that a new one has started. I’m not sure the reasoning for this, as what actually sounds as one recognisable song is actually 2-3 tracks. Maybe it’s to feed into the Minute part of the name. Overall, much better than I expected.

This will be the second Bowie album I’ve listened to from front to back after Hunky Dory (which I loved). I don’t think I’ve heard a bad David Bowie song, so I’m excited to hear all of this. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Sound and Vision, Speed of Life It’s very easy to see how Bowie got his god-like status in music. The sound of this album is significantly different to the piano-focused Hunky Dory, but much more rocky on Low. I would compare they sound of this album to The Smiths, but without Morrissey’s annoying voice and instead with Bowie being fantastic. It is fascinating how a musician can release such vastly different sounding albums to this level of success. I’d recommend this album to pretty much anybody. It is a brilliant album.

Todays album is a fairly recent one, yet an artist I’ve never come across. I also don’t recognise any song titles, so I’m wondering if it just genuinely went under my radar or if it maybe got big in the States but not the UK. Either way, happy to listen to something different! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Black, Hold Me I appreciated the message of this album. I’m all for equality regardless of skin colour, religion, sexuality, etc. However, I just felt this album wasn’t as good as other albums that preach the same message. It was ok throughout, but there were no songs that blew me away, and I’d occasionally find myself drifting off and losing concentration at times. There were occasional catchy hooks and good beats, but just not enough of them for my tastes. I feel like this album would probably be better appreciated as an art piece rather than a musical piece.

It’s been a good while since I’ve listened to any Jane’s Addiction. Been Caught Stealing was always a great song to dance to in clubs back when I had the energy for those kinds of shenanigans. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Had A Dad, Jane Says I really needed an album like this today: high energy, feel good, alt rock. I’m not even going to try to pretend to have no situational bias here - we had an overnight leak and a good deal of water damage. An extremely stressful morning was made slightly less awful through having this album on, so straight away I’m getting positive energy from it. I do enjoy the vocals from Jane’s Addiction, with Perry Farrell kind of shouting but not quite, and still with plenty of melody. Overall, a good album that made my day slightly less terrible.

I always get rather excited when I get a very old album or a very new one to listen to. It seems like at least 50% of the albums in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die are from the 70’s, so the outliers such as Fats Domino are markedly different to the majority. Songs I already knew: Blueberry Hill Favourites: Blueberry Hill, La La, Trust In Me Despite not hearing much Fats Domino prior to today, when I was around 10 years old in 2000, I was somewhat obsessed with Buddy Holly and the Crickets, and this album has a very similar vibe to them. Rock doesn’t really roll any more like it used to - there are plenty of rock bands still making good music, but very few that I’d consider rock and roll. Fats Domino delivers very well here, which excellent use of instruments, and an excellent voice to go with it. A fantastic album that I’d recommend to anybody that likes the oldies.

It is a strange coincidence that this album was generated for me to listen to today, as it was less than a week ago that I was requested to review it on Instagram. I thought I’d recognise every song of this album based on the simple fact that he’s Michael Jackson, but I surprisingly do not. Songs I already knew: Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’, Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean, Human Nature Favourites: Thriller, Human Nature, The Girl Is Mine It is very clear from this album why Michael Jackson was known as the Prince of Pop. His voice is incredible throughout (if a little funny at times with all the hee-hees) and his music remains very catchy and easy to sing along to. The Girl Is Mine stood out to me as a song I wasn’t remotely familiar with, yet really enjoyed. My only real criticism of this album is something that could only really be said with hindsight - P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) does sound somewhat dodgy in light of the many very public allegations towards MJ.

I have been wondering if I would like Bob Dylan more nowadays. I tried listening to his music some time ago but it didn’t really click for me, but I’ve since fallen in love with other folk musicians (namely Carole King and Joni Mitchell) so maybe my opinion might have changed. Songs I already knew: Mr Tamborine Man Favourites: Mr Tamborine Man, It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) I think my biggest problem with Bob Dylan is that I just find his voice quite grating. He sings with this strange nasal tone with a somewhat squeaky timbre that just makes his music somewhat difficult for me to listen to. Vocals aside, his instrumentation and storytelling through music is very good. Other than the songs mentioned above, I did also enjoy Maggie’s Farm for its storytelling. Overall, I can certainly appreciate aspects of this music, and certainly understand the appeal for some people, but the vocals are just too jarring for me to say I really enjoyed this album.

I’m apprehensive about today’s album. A lot of Iggy Pop that I’ve heard before just sounds like average rock music with dreadful singing. Don’t get me wrong, he seems like a very interesting person and it is fascinating reading about his hijo la, but I’ve always felt his music left plenty to be desired. That being said, I don’t recognise most song titles here so I’d be very happy to be proven wrong. Songs I already knew: Nightclubbing Favourites: Nightclubbing I was unfortunately quite naive to hope for greatness here. This is exactly what my previous experience of Iggy has led me to expect: uninteresting droning music with truly awful vocals. I’m at a loss how Iggy Pop got famous at all, never mind being so highly revered. So much of this album seems like it is trying to annoy the listener, with shoehorned in dissonant synths or poorly tuned instruments. I’m honestly bewildered by this album. Who listened to this and thought it was ever worthwhile listening to again?

I‘ve never heard of Shack before today. Before listening, a rudimentary glance at Wikipedia shows they’re from Liverpool, which is basically a 15 minute drive from where I live. Did Shack not get very big, or have I been living under a rock? Songs I already knew: None Favourites: Comedy, Lend’s Some Dough, Daniella Is it the familiar accent in the vocals? Is it the similar sound to other bands I like? Is it simply that one of the song titles is my name? The amalgamation of all these little parts, as well as the excellently orchestrated music, gave me goosebumps several times when listening to this today. As the guitar played out the final track, the goosebumps came back, I removed my headphones, and had to take a few moments to appreciate everything I had just heard. Truly, this was a phenomenal album that I thoroughly enjoyed today, and definitely something I’ll be returning back to a lot.

It’s a little unusual to be listening to a soundtrack rather than a typical album today. I’ve also never seen the film Superfly, so I’ll be listening to the music without the intended context of the movie. Songs I already knew: None Favourites: Superfly I’ll be very up front and admit from the start that I’ve had the worst day in a very long time today, and as much as I try to listen to each album without any bias, there is likely to have been some impact by this when listening today. Moving on to my thought, this album seemed fine to me but nothing outstanding. After finishing listening, there are no riffs that stuck in my head and I couldn’t actually tell you how any of the songs went. No songs sounded bad, but nothing was great either. I’m sure people that love funk might enjoy this, but it didn’t blow me away.

Why do I feel like I’ve heard of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and yet couldn’t tell you a single song by them? I couldn’t even tell you the genre. And yet, I’m almost certain I’ve heard them before. That’s a bit odd, isn’t it? Songs I already knew: None Favourites: Heads Will Roll, Faces After the first two tracks on this album, my hopes were high for something amazing. It was a very strong opening and I was immediately hooked. However, after these first few songs, the quality definitely dips a little until we get to the final song Faces, which again is very strong. I want to make it clear here that there were no bad songs on this album, but going from amazing down to good feels like a bit of a drop, despite still being obviously good. I especially liked the vocalist - her tone is great and very easy to listen to. Overall, I had high hopes for an incredible album, but in the end it was only very good. Still ain’t no bad thing though, eh?

This will be the second Sonic Youth album I’ve listened to after Dirty. I wouldn’t consider myself to be a fan of Sonic Youth - my experience so far has been some decent songs, and some dull/annoying songs. Let’s find out how this one ranks! Songs I already knew: None Favourites: Teen Age Riot, Kissability This album started pretty strong, and it had me thinking I’d prefer this over Dirty. However, after only a couple of songs things went downhill pretty quickly. I’d find very few songs hooking me, to the point where 3-4 songs could pass and I wouldn’t even particularly realise. Certainly, even straight after a song had finished, I wouldn’t be able to tell you how it went. I think this kind of music (noise rock) just doesn’t click with my brain. Overall, I didn’t particularly enjoy this album. I can appreciate parts of the music, but overall it just wasn’t enjoyable for me.

I’d never heard of Grizzly Bear until today. The album art and the strange text layout does have me a little intrigued. I’m not exactly sure what to expect from this, but am eager to find out. Songs I already knew: None Favourites: Two Weeks, Foreground This album was very up and down for me. The good songs were very good, the bad songs were very forgettable. I did like the vocal style very much - sad, soft vocals do tend to be enjoyable to my ears. The music was best when it was kept minimal, and tended to counterproductively become less interesting as more instrumentation was added. Overall, I would say I enjoyed the album, and yet I’m doubting if I’ll ever be returning to listen again.

This is the second Jimi Hendrix album I’ve listened to since starting the (at least) one album every day project. The other album, Are You Experienced, absolutely blew me away, so I’m excited to hear more. Songs I already knew: Voodoo Chile, All Along The Watchtower, Crosstown Traffic Favourites: Voodoo Chile, All Along The Watchtower, Crosstown Traffic This album had some phenomenal tracks with exceptional guitar planning, rich vocals, and all around fantastic craftsmanship with the composition of the music itself. However, it also had plenty of songs that I don’t felt really added anything - I don’t feel that anyone would really miss Burning Of The Midnight Lamp if it was never included. It’s also a fairly long album, so the less interesting songs can result in the better ones having less impact. Overall, I did enjoy the album, but it could have been better if it was cut shorter.

It seems like it has been ages since I’ve listened to an album that I already know very well. Well today is that day! I has admittedly been a while, but 19 year old me was a big fan of Def Leppard. I remember being very disappointed seeing them live and them not being very good. Songs I already knew: all of them to some degree Favourites: Pour Some Sugar On Me, Armageddon It, Hysteria What can I say? I just really love this era of music. Whether it is pop or rock, the snare drum is unusually loud, the vocals are a little strange, and yet it still manages to sound fantastic. This is certainly an album where every song is somewhat similar to the others, but it’s a style that is very suited to my taste. Therefore, although this can be sometimes frustrating with other albums, it didn’t bother me in the slightest this time. Overall, I enjoyed this album a lot, from that strangely loud snare, to the thumping bass, to the face-melting guitar solos, to the high screeching singing. This is my jam.

Before today, I had never heard of Boards of Canada. Apple Music tells me it is electronica. From the limited electronica that I’ve heard, I seem to find that I usually either strongly like if dislike it. There doesn’t really seem to be any electronica that leaves me feeling indifferent. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: An Eagle In Your Mind, Turquoise Hexagon Sun Fortunately, this lies on the loved side of electronica for me. It reminds me a little of Lemon Jelly, but more leaning into the electro side of things. There is minimal vocals on the album - just occasional samples. There are specific situations where I love this, such as studying uni work. I can very easily see me coming back to this when I’m studying, with big headphones on, a large cappuccino, millionaire shortbread, and tomato and mozzarella panini. Super basic, I know, but that’s my happy place, and I think this album would make it even happier.

I honestly can not tell you why I’ve never listened to Roxy Music until today. It’s my preferred genre of music in general, I’ve been aware of them for many years, I’ve even had friends who loved them. And yet, I never thought to listen to them myself. Bit odd, that, innit? Songs I already knew: none Favourites: The Thrill Of It All, Out Of The Blue I really enjoyed this album! I was expecting rock music, but I wasn’t expecting it to sound quite like it does. They have great use of the traditional rock instruments, but also the occasional nice sax riffs. They sometimes lean a little into the more operatic experimental side of music, but never jarringly so - it never grates, and is always still close enough to expectations to never lose where the music is actually going. After listening, I definitely feel somewhat silly for leaving it this long to try out Roxy Music.

Wait, I’m supposed to believe Deep Purple had other songs beside Smoke On The Water? Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Child In Time This was not at all what I was expecting a Deep Purple album to sound like. It opens with shredding guitar, and demonstrates Halford-esque vocals at times. It’s certainly prog at its core, but you can easily draw parallels between this album and power metal (although I don’t think power metal had started existing yet when this came out). As groundbreaking as this all is, it is still 2022 when I’m listening to the album, so listening to it for the first time today isn’t quite as revolutionary as it may have been in 1970. They may have put the building blocks in place for various genres yet to come, but others have since perfected this which makes Deep Purple In Rock unfortunately somewhat dismissible now. Not a bad album, by any means, but if I wanted to listen to music like this, I’d likely go elsewhere.

I’m surprised to find another Yeah Yeah Yeahs album so soon, as it was only around a week ago that I heard another album of their’s (It’s Blitz) that I really enjoyed. Unsurprisingly, I’m excited to hear this one too! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Rich, Maps I enjoyed this album a lot! The Yeah Yeah Yeahs remind me a lot of Plumtree, but more modern sounding. The singer occasionally has somewhat bluesy sounds similar to Taylor Momsen, and yet at other times sounds very different. I’ll be keeping this review short today with it being the Christmas season and having lots to do, but this is certainly an easy album to recommend to any pop-rock or alt-rock fans out there.

I’m very surprised to find a Christmas album on the list of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, but here we are. It is there, and so it shall be reviewed! Songs I already knew: all except A Marshmallow World and Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers Favourites: Christmas (Baby Come Home), Santa Claus Is Coming To Town I sit here next to the Christmas Tree, with a pretend fireplace on the TV, waiting for Christmas dinner to cook. I say this to make it clear of how unapologetically biased I am when listening to this album. Perhaps if I listened to it in the middle of summer then I might not love it quite so much, but the fact of the matter is that I listened today, so I’ll review my thoughts for today. Each song on this album has likely been covered by dozens of other artists, and yet none have really come close to the versions we have here. Phil Spector utilised The Ronettes, The Crystals, Darlene Love, and Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans to create an album of Christmas songs that was better than anything that came before and has yet to be topped. Clearly, I loved listen sing to this album today. It made me feel warm inside despite not having a drop of alcohol in me.

When I started my music review project, I was sceptical about the inclusion of live albums as I’d previously always preferred the studio recordings. However, my experience of listening to other live albums has completely changed my mind and I find myself liking them a lot. Excited to listen to the hardest working man in show-biz! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Lost Someone There are no other voices quite like James Brown. Strangely, I remember exactly where I was on the day he died, despite never exactly considering myself to be a fan. I always respected the music he made, but it wasn’t exactly like I could name more than a few songs. 16 years later (almost exact to the day), I’m driving to meet up with family and listening to this album, and frankly appreciating the fantastic music as much as it deserves. This man clearly knew how to write a funky track, and how to win over a crowd. Overall, I enjoyed this album a lot today, and wish I’d listened to more James Brown long ago.

I’ve mentioned this a few times in my reviews, but 1970s singer-songwriter albums have been tending to suit my tastes a lot. The only artist where this wasn’t the case was interestingly Bob Dylan, but I’m still excited to listen to today’s album - I don’t think I’ve heard of Nick Drake before today. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Hazey Jane 2, Northern Sky, Sunday This album was frankly phenomenal. It isn’t exactly minimalistic like some other similar artists from the same era, as there are plenty of instruments playing at any time. Nick Drake’s voice (to use a phrase I possibly might overuse) what buttery smooth throughout. I loved his voice so much, that I felt sad at the end because I wanted more. And when the only criticism I have is that I wish the album was longer, despite it being a very normal length, it’s fair to say that this album was pretty much perfect.

I remember being a teen and been told that it was really uncool to like anything about Courtney Love, so I went a long time without ever hearing Hole. Then, around 10 years ago, Celebrity Skin came on the radio in a shop and I Shazammed it because I thought it sounded amazing. Obviously, it was Hole, and I realised I was very stupid to have avoided listening for so long. Songs I already knew: Celebrity Skin Favourites: Celebrity Skin, Northern Star There is something really great about Courtney Love’s voice. She has a good amount of growl in her singing, without losing any melody which isn’t an easy thing to do. The guitar tones throughout are fantastic, always packing a punch and giving loads of energy. I don’t know if it’s still uncool to like Courtney Love, but this album is undeniably great and nobody is going to change my mind on that.

I’ve certainly heard of The Replacements, but I’m not sure if I’ve actually listen to their music before. I’m very familiar with the song Androgynous, but that is due to the Joan Jett cover. I’m excited to hear the origin of this song, as well as the rest of the album! Songs I already knew: Androgynous (but not this version) Favourites: Androgynous, Unsatisfied, Gary’s Got A Boner Firstly, Androgynous sounds very different here to what I’m used to. It’s much more stripped back and minimalistic, and it works really well. If you aren’t familiar with this song, it’s all about breaking gender norms and just being who you want to be rather than what society dictates you should be. There is a great variety of songs to be found here, as we also have the tongue in cheek punk rock track Gary’s Got A Boner which is great fun. Overall, a very good punk album and an easy recommend to anybody that enjoys the genre.

I haven’t heard much by Jerry Lee Lewis as far as I’m aware. I did used to like Great Balls Of Fire as a child, but I think that may have been because I found the word “balls” funny. Songs I already knew: Great Balls Of Fire Favourites: Great Balls Of Fire I’m very surprised that this album is considered to be essential enough to be in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. There are 8 songs on the album, and I counted 6 of them to be 12-bar blues, basically meaning the music was the exact same, just maybe in a different key off at a different tempo. As much as I may have enjoyed Great Balls Of Fire in my youth, I would say this song makes it worth buying this album, and the rest of the songs certainly don’t either. Overall, it feels Mosul like listening to the same song over and over, so I simply don’t get the speak of this.

I’ve said it many times before, but I’ve always felt my least knowledgable genres are hip-hop and jazz. I’ve never come across Pharcyde before, so am excited to hear them for the first time today. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Soul Flower (Remix), Passin’ Me By This was a pleasant surprise for me as I wasn’t sure quite what to expect. The music is kind of funk/soul with Pharcyde rapping over it, and it works well. I often got the feeling that it was a bunch of friends all having fun together which ended up with songs being made, and that often shines through. Whereas a lot of hip-hop tends to focus in on money and women as lyrical themes (and don’t get me wrong, Pharcyde does this too at times), there are also songs like Ya Mama and the interlude Quinton’s On The Way which shows they don’t take themselves too seriously. Overall, a pretty good album.

I’ve heard of The Band, but I’m not sure I’ve ever actually heard them. It’s a strangely vague name, that even in the age before Google must have been a difficult band to find much out about. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: The Weight There was nothing exactly wrong or bad with this album. Everything they did, they did proficiently. However, nothing really clicked with me to the point where I’d say I enjoyed it. I can appreciate the sound of it, but I can’t see myself ever seeking this album out again. Even immediately after listening to it, no hummable melodies have latched into my head - I couldn’t even tell how how the last song went. Overall, a decent album, but it’s just not to my taste.

I thought I’d never heard Incredible Bongo Band before. It’s a name that’s pretty hard to forget if I’m being honest. However, a look online shows that this version of Apache has been sampled many times in hip-hop. That’s pretty rad. Songs I already knew: none of these particular versions Favourites: Apache, Bongolia I wasn’t expecting such well rounded funk from such a comically named band, but this was such a fun album! No vocals to be found anywhere, with the instruments doing all the talking. The bongos do tend to be the centre of attention which is rare with any percussion instrument (I know piano is percussion, but you know what I mean). Overall, a very fun album. Very easy to dance to. I’ll likely be adding this to any party playlists.

I expected to not recognise Everything But The Girl as I didn’t recognise the band name. However, the drum and bass/techno sound together with the soft female vocals definitely stuck a chord of recognition. I know Missing by them, but that’s from a different album. Still cool how the sound is recognisable enough to recognise them. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Before Today, Big Deal I quite enjoyed this album. It is certainly a sound of the 90’s, as we don’t tend to get much music that sounds like this any more which is a shame. As mentioned above, the vocals stand out as consistently beautiful, and the techno/electronica/drum and bass music works surprisingly well together with this. It seems like a combination which shouldn’t sound good, but it just does. It’s not an album for everybody as it might sound a little dated to some, but I found this enjoyable.

Before you ask, this is not a Dion of the Celine variety. As far as I can tell, they’re unrelated. Now that we have that cleared up, let’s listen! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: You Showed Me What Love Is, Streetheart This album what somewhat all over the place for me. Firstly, at 79 minutes long, it’s quite a lengthy album. The first five or so tracks didn’t do much for me, and I found it a little too evangelical for my tastes. I expected much of the same from the rest of the album, but it suddenly takes a turn and gets very good indeed! Around the halfway point, it begins to sound like a completely different album recorded in a different time which was a little jarring, but it certainly got a lot better as the album went on. Overall, I feel I can’t give this album too high of a score because the first few songs had really put me off to the point of almost discarding it entirely. If the first half of the album was axed, I’d likely be ranking this a lot higher.

I do tend to get a lot of enjoyment out of music in other languages. I think that when I can’t understand what the lyrics are saying, I can enjoy the voice more as an instrument rather than a means of conveying a message. I quick google tells me that Miriam Makeba sang in Xhosa, Zulu and Sotho. I’m not sure which of those the songs on this album (or any combination of them), but I’m excited to listen! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Mbube, The Naughty Little Flea, One More Dance This was a very enjoyable album. There are a few songs sang in English as well as African dialects, and the variation is very enjoyable. Miriam’s soft voice is a pleasure throughout, whether I can understand the lyrics or not. The styling of the music sometimes sounds somewhat similar to samba which I wasn’t expecting. Mbube (a version of The Lion Sleeps Tonight) was fantastic and even more enjoyable than the Tight Fit version which I do also like. Overall, a very enjoyable album which I’d recommend to anybody with an interest in music from around the world.

Today I’m listening to an album I’m somewhat familiar with. It was only a few months ago that I listened to this album from front to back, as my partner is a fan of MGMT. Still, I’m excited to listen again with some fresh ears! Songs I already knew: all of them to some degree Favourites: Electric Feel, Kids As expected, I enjoyed this album a lot. There is a great use of synth throughout, as well as excellent vocals. I’ve always found MGMT vocals to be quite androgynous, and therefore somewhat unique. Every song is a rump shaker, and generally has deep lyrics that are easy to miss on the first few listens. Overall, a very easy album to recommend.

It’s exciting to get more non-English music today. The album generator seems to have made a good week for that as I also had Miriam Makeba just a few days ago. I’m only familiar with one Jorge Ben song, so I’m excited to hear a full album. Songs I already knew: Taj Mahal Favourites: Taj Mahal, Ponta de Lanca Africano, Cavaleiro do Cavalo Imaculado Today’s album was another rump shaker which is never a bad thing. I couldn’t understand the lyrics, but I could feel the passion coming from the vocals. The instrumentation was interesting throughout, with occasional use of less common sounds, such as whistle. Overall, the music made me want to dance at times, and play football at others. Overall, a very good album that I enjoyed.

I’m not sure I’ve actually heard many songs by Johnny Cash now that I think about it. I know a few songs very well, but I’ve certainly never heard any of his albums in full. We’ll today I can change that - let’s listen! Songs I already knew: Hurt Favourites: I Hung My Head, Streets Of Laredo I went into this album hoping for greatness because my sister adores Johnny Cash and has loads of his records. This album wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but I will say I enjoyed it very much. The album is quite melancholic from front to back and is quite stripped back - this is mostly Johnny and his guitar with not much else in terms of instrumentation. The format of this really allows his voice to shine, and you can hear the pain behind his lyrics regardless of if it is an original or a cover. Overall, a very well put together album, and a delight to listen to.

I frequently have to remind myself that Santana is a band and not just Carlos. I have discovered this maybe five separate times, then promptly went on to forget it. Let’s listen! Songs I already knew: Black Magic Woman, Oye Como Va (although I’d only heard the Tito Puente version before today) Favourites: Samba Pa Ti, Black Magic Woman I think Carlos Santana might be one of my favourite guitarists. At the risk of sounding very cliche, he really does make the guitar sing when he plays. The distorted tones mixed with the samba music feel like something that shouldn’t really work, but it certainly does. The vocals are good when used, but it is quite sparingly throughout the album. Nothing is lost due to this though - there is a reason why the band is named after the guitarist as this is what shines most. Overall, a very easy album to recommend.

When I first Rach, I remember her telling me some of her favourite music was by Simon & Garfunkel. I thought that was really cool, so I thought I just might stick around. We’ve been together 11 years now. Songs I already knew: Bridge Over Troubled Water, The Boxer, Bye Bye Love Favourites: Cecilia, Keep The Customer Satisfied, The Boxer I love when an album can take me on a journey, and this certainly did. There are the highs of Keep The Customer Satisfied which is immediately followed by the bittersweet lows of So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright. Throughout, there is exceptional guitar playing - almost Spanish sounding, but not quite - as well as perfect harmonies and brilliant compositions. The build in the title track into the final chorus gave me goosebumps all over my body which doesn’t happen often. Overall, as dramatic as it might sound, I felt this album is a perfect example of a masterpiece.

I remember in school singing the strange scat intro in Blue Moon by The Marcels to myself, and being asked if I was singing Bawitdaba. I told the person that, well, no. Songs I already knew: Bawitdaba Favourites: Cowboy There are lots of things I didn’t like about this album, but to start with a positive: the music itself isn’t actually terrible sometimes. There were a few times during the album where a vocal hook in a chorus caught my attention. However, Kid Rock would then start rapping and it would be all downhill from there. As well as the blatant misogyny throughout, the lyrics are just awful. Sometimes it sounds so simple it could be a nursery rhyme, and then leans into angsty 11 year old who swears for no reason, and then into dumb teenager who wants to convince his friends that he’s loved by women, when truly nobody cares. If I was to condense this album into one word, it would be “stupid”.

The RNG gods must be smiling upon me today, as I’ve been generated another Simon & Garfunkel album to listen to. After only recently hearing Bridge Over Troubled Water in full, I’m excited to listen to this one. Songs I already knew: Scarborough Fair, Homeward Bound Favourites: Scarborough Fair, Patterns, The Big Green Pleasure Machine Firstly, Homeward Bound was apparently written in Widnes train station, which is about 15 minutes away from where I live. Anyone that has visited Widnes can relate, as they also want to be Homeward Bound. Anyone that lives in Widnes might relate more to Anywhere-Else Bound. Now that we have that out of the way, we have another fantastic album. I especially liked the first two tracks, which wouldn’t have sounded out of place being sang by a bard in a tavern. The harmonies and the composition is just as interesting as I hoped. I also enjoyed that this isn’t a case of every song sounding the same - Simon & Garfunkel clearly have their own sound, but they aren’t shy about exploring other genres too, and always sound fantastic doing so.

I can’t say that I’m very excited about today’s album. I’ve heard one Bob Dylan’s album before, and I found his voice to be really annoying. Still, let’s listen and give it a fair chance! Songs I already knew: Make You Feel My Love (although I had no idea it was written by Bob Dylan) Favourites: Not Dark Yet I’m finding that Bob Dylan tends to write songs that other people go on to perform much better. Jimi Hendrix made All Along The Watchtower Better and The Byrds made Mr Tambourine Man better. For this album, we have Make You Feel My Love which is a good song, but Dylan’s vocals sound horrible to my ears. But no worry, Adele covered it and did it better. I often say that I found vocals to be the least important part of a good song, but these vocals go when beyond what I found tolerable. Far too nasal, far too squeaky, often not quite in tune. I just don’t see the appeal, but acknowledge that I’m likely in the minority.

I can’t say that I was particularly excited for this album. I listened to Ju Ju by Siouxsie and the Banshees a month or so ago and wasn’t a fan. However, today is a new day with a different album so let’s listen! Songs I already knew: Honk Kong Garden Favourites: Honk Kong Garden, Jigsaw Feeling I did find this album more enjoyable to my previous experience. I can’t quite put my finger of why, but I just find the vocal style quite annoying. I didn’t realise until listening to this today that I was already vaguely familiar with Honk Kong Garden, but I did enjoy that song when it came on. Overall, this album is validating my thoughts that post punk doesn’t really do much for me in general. There are occasional songs that click with me, and a lot of songs that don’t.

I worry this might be another case of me seeming purposely contrarian, but I’ve never been the biggest fan of Adele. She seems fun on chat shows, but her music is just a bit too miserable for me. Regardless, it’s been a long time since I’ve listened, so let’s have a go! Songs I already knew: Rolling In The Deep, Rumour Has It, Set Fire To The Rain, Someone Like You Favourites: Rolling In The Deep, He Won’t Go This wasn’t quite as miserable as I was expecting. Don’t get me wrong, there are occasional bouts of sorrow, but it wasn’t chronic grimness. So that’s good. I was also surprised by how bluesy it was at times. The singing was technically great, but I found it quite boring. Don’t get me wrong, Adele can hit all of the notes, but there just isn’t enough excitement here for me. Overall, this was better than I expected but still nothing I’m going to be rushing back to listen to.

I’m not overly familiar with Jeff Beck. When I looked at this album, I saw that Hi Ho Silver Lining wasn’t actually on the original release and was only added on bonus versions. Every album so far has only been the original releases, so I’ll be sticking with that today too. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: You Shook Me, Beck’s Bolero The first thing that struck me when listening to this was the similarity between the vocals of Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart. The difference, however, it that this album was at least somewhat interesting. I didn’t blow me away, but I did enjoy the rawness of the music. The guitar wasn’t always precisely in time, and there were occasional duff notes, but this worked in the album’s favour and made everything sound more real. Overall, this was a decent album but is unlikely to be one I’ll be returning to.

I feel like I’ve heard the name PJ Harvey before, but I couldn’t say why. A quick google shows she has an MBE so she’s clearly a bigwig. Excited to listen and find out what I’ve been missing! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: The Glorious Land, On Battleship Hill I could tell straight away from the first track that I was going to enjoy this album. There are the occasional strange music timings, somewhat ghostly and eerie vocals, and an overall “I don’t care” sort of vibe to the whole sound. These are all things that I tend to love with music, and this was no exception. I’m glad to say that I’ve finally heard PJ Harvey, and look forward to hearing more.

I thought I had heard of k.d. lang but I’m not actually sure I have. Country music usually doesn’t click with me for some reason, but nevertheless I’m still happy to have something to expand my horizons. Let’s listen! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: (Waltz Me) Once Again Around The Dancefloor, Don’t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes Well I’m certainly surprised by how much I enjoyed this! The vocals are simply beautiful throughout, and the music is mesmerising. The songs that sound typically country with the slide guitars don’t repulse me like a lot of other country songs - I wonder if this might be because there is nothing patriotic and screaming ‘Murica throughout (I’ve since read that k.d. lang is Canadian, so that makes sense). There are also influences from salsa music that come out now and then, as well as Tears Don’t Care Who Cries Them, which sounds like it could be a secret Buddy Holly song. Overall, despite my expectations, I enjoyed this very much.

I’d never heard of Grant Lee Buffalo before today. Apparently, Michael Stipe from REM says this album is one of the greatest of its time. However, I’m not really a fan of REM so that doesn’t mean much to me. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: The Shining Hour There was nothing exactly bad about this album. I enjoyed having it on and had a pleasant experience listening while doing some studying. The only problem I have with it is that it is very much a background album. I feel that actively listening to it for the sake of listening would get quite boring, but it’s fine to have on in the background while doing other stuff. There wasn’t a single song that remained stuck in my head after the album finished.

What a throwback! From my teens into my early twenties I was in love with Beck’s music. I’ve definitely fallen behind with his newer releases, but Odelay was always on of my favourites (Sea Change might have been my actual favourite). I’m excited to listen to this today. Songs I already knew: all of them Favourites: Devil’s Haircut, Jack-Ass, Where It’s At What a musician Beck is! My understanding is that he generally writes everything himself, and plays each instrument himself too. Maybe it’s having that specific vision which means something fantastic can be created as there is no dilution from outside sources. Beck tends to be just the right amount of strange and experimental for my tastes - it leans into the weird, but never so much that it becomes hard to listen to. This album traverses genres from alternative, funk, hip hop, and singer-songwriter - but again, never strays too far out of its own box as to sound too jarring. This is a fantastic album that I’d recommend to anybody.

I hadn’t heard of Elis Regina before today. I’m guessing from the song titles that she sings in Portuguese, and I have enjoyed most non-English artists that I’ve heard. Let’s listen! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Sai Dessa, Tiro ao Álvaro First thing’s first, I don’t speak Portuguese so won’t be able to comment on any nuances in the lyrics. I can, of course, comment on how it sounds though. Whether it was directly or indirectly, I think that the music from The Sims must have been somewhat inspired by Elis Regina. Sai Dessa immediately gave me vibes of The Sims: Hot Date, despite it being a very long time since actually playing that. The album feels like generally upbeat jazz and was a nice listen. I can’t see this being to everybody’s taste, but I enjoyed it.

It’s always exciting to hear a band I’ve never heard before, as I’m always eager to find out if I’ve been missing out on much. Moby Grape are a band that I’m already disappointed in myself for never hearing before, based solely on the fact that “Moby Grape” just sounds inexplicably funny to me. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: 8-05, Omaha This album takes us back to the 60’s where it’s was cool to sound like The Beatles. Moby Grape do this pretty well, leaning mainly into rock, but also slightly into psychedelica - slighchedelica, perhaps. The vocals and the harmonies are great, and it has that rawness of music back before everything was extremely precise with tempos and making sure every note sounded perfect. I do quite like music that isn’t too over-produced. Overall, an enjoyable album for me. I’m not sure if I’ll be rushing back to hear it again, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

This is the second Miles Davis album I’ve reviewed. I remember the first one surprising me as I generally consider jazz to be outside the boundaries of what I tend to enjoy, but I rather enjoyed it. I’m excited to listen to more today! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Jeru, Budo, Boplicity You might be wondering about the very high score. I listened to this album this morning and have been thinking about it all day. This album has changed my stance on jazz. I’ll admit that I haven’t heard much jazz outside of a few albums, but this had got me wanting to find more. There wasn’t a moment when my foot wasn’t tapping and I wasn’t lost in the music, and that is quite the statement considering the genre and my personal preferences. Overall, a definite recommend regardless of whether you are already familiar with jazz or not.

The spirit of jazz has clearly blessed me, as I’ve been generated another Miles Davis album today making it two in a row. I’ll certainly take that and am happy to listen! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: So What This time, similar to In A Silent Way, we only have a few songs on the album but they are extra long. This is in contrast with Birth Of The Cool yesterday which had shorter, more traditional length songs. Once again, the music is fantastic, if perhaps somewhat more morose at times. It’s quite amazing to hear all the different emotions Miles Davis is able to express through his trumpet, and it’s very clear why he is considered one of the greats. My only criticism might be due to being a millennial - if songs are too long my mind can wonder a little. Overall, another fantastic album.

I’ve already reviewed a few albums by The Smiths, but this will be my first review of Morrissey by himself. My thoughts so far have been that it has been decent music but with annoying lyrics and vocals. Let’s see if this is more of the same. Songs I already knew: We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful Favourites: We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful, You’re The One For Me Fatty I hate the fact that I’m writing this because Morrissey seems to be a horrible, racist, mess of a human, but this album was really good. So much better that I expected it to be. I didn’t find his lyrics quite as annoying here as I did with The Smiths albums, but maybe I’m just in a good mood. The overall music just felt it had more going on, and had a bit more attitude. If you can separate the art from the artist, and if you haven’t heard this album before, definitely give it a listen.

Just a fun little nugget of information: when I was very young (think 6-7 years old), I used to think that Queen Latifah was the queen of Africa. I know there is a fair bit to unpack there, but thankfully I’m ever so slightly smarter now than I was back then. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Princess of the Possee, Ladies First I’ve said it before in other reviews, but I miss this era of rap music. Plenty of content in the lyrics and rhymes rather than mumbling about some nonsense, or otherwise just trying to cram in as many words as possible. This was a simpler era of hip hop, so just sounded so much better to my ears. I’d very happily listen to this before modern rap. Overall, quite enjoyable.

I think I said this in my last Pogues review, but I can’t get over how Shane McGowan isn’t even Irish. He’s from Kent! My mind is blown every time I hear him sing. Songs I already knew: Fairytale Of New York, Fiesta Favourites: Fiesta, Turkish Song Of The Damned I don’t think I’ll ever decide whether I like Shane McGowan’s voice. I’m always airing towards saying no, but then again the Pogues would sound bizarre with a perfect singer. The tracks here don’t really feel as strong as on Rum, Sodomy & the Lash with a few exceptions (Fiesta is such a good song), but that’s not to say it’s bad by any means. Of course, Fairytale Of New York needs a mention, although I do think that radio play at Christmas has pretty much ruined it at this point. If any radio DJs ever read this… moderation!!!

I think I’ve only heard a few Neil Young songs. I know that he’s one of the bigwigs of classic rock, and yet my knowledge of him and his music is pretty minimal. Let’s change that today! Songs I already knew: Heart Of Gold Favourites: Heart Of Gold To be honest, I’m really quite underwhelmed. I was expecting the music of some kind of rock god, but it was more the moanings of a tired old man. I don’t know how old he was when this was actually recorded, but this is how it came across to me. Heart Of Gold definitely stands out more than the rest, with Old Man being another that was at least somewhat memorable. Otherwise, this just wasn’t for me and didn’t really float my boat.

I honestly can’t say I’m a fan of U2, mainly because Bono just seems super annoying. I remember years ago I read about him getting a private jet to fly his hat from Ireland to USA. This is the guy shouting about climate change. He must have really needed that hat. Songs I already knew: Even Better Than The Real Thing, One, Mysterious Ways Favourites: Even Better Than The Real Thing I was expecting this album to be bad and annoying just because I don’t like Bono. His voice was as whiny and annoying as expected, but the music itself was actually ok. It wasn’t anything amazing, but it was fine. Fairly uninspiring, but fine as pop music. Typical radio music, but nothing I’d ever go seeking out. Overall, it was better than expected but still pretty mid.

Today we have the supergroup comprised of Bing Crosby, Stephen Stills, Kate Nash, and Angus Young. What a power cuatro. Songs I already knew: Our House Favourites: Our House, Teach Your Children This was a really enjoyable album. A real standout was the vocal harmonies throughout which never failed to sound fantastic. The music itself was a blend of folk, rock and country and made for a nice easy listen. It was like an audio version of a thick blanket on a cold night - it sounded cosy. Overall, an easy album to recommend. You may not like it, but I’d be surprised if you hated it. You’ll probably like it.

I remember being surprised when I realised that Blondie is a band, rather than just the blonde lady that sings their songs. Before listening today, I was already pretty familiar with a bunch of songs and would consider myself a fan. Songs I already knew: Sunday Girl, Heart Of Glass, One Way Or Another, Hanging On The Telephone Favourites: Sunday Girl, Heart Of Glass Firstly, I almost mistyped that as Heart If Gladys. I just found that amusing and worth mentioning. The music on this album is fantastic throughout. It’s was hard to pick a few favourites because every song here is great. There are ear worms throughout here, and I’ve found myself singing to myself throughout the rest of the day. I genuinely couldn’t say anything bad about this album. There is nothing that can be improved as far as I’m concerned.

This is the second Stevie album I’ve been generated, and I still haven’t had the one with my favourite song - King Duke. However, Superstition is here which we can all agree is an absolute banger, so let’s listen! Songs I already knew: You Are The Sunshine Of My Life, Superstition Favourites: Superstition, Maybe Your Baby I love albums that are good rump-shakers, and we certainly have one here. There is plenty of clav used throughout this album - an instrument that it frankly criminally underused it modern music. The vocals are perfect and the music makes me want to dance without fail. A very easy album to listen to, and definitely one to recommend.

I’d never heard of The Birthday Party before today. My assumption based on the album art is that it’s likely punk. My worry is that the album art is a lot better than the music. Let’s find out! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Dead Joe (2nd Version) There was a time in my life when I might have really liked this music, but it just didn’t do anything for me this time. Perhaps it needs a Tony Hawk game to be played to get the most out of it. Honestly, I didn’t really like any of the songs off this. I just picked Dead Joe (Second Version) as it’s the only one the made me look at what the title was. I can’t remember why I looked, maybe I was just curious if the time so turned my phone screen on.

When I was in school, there were a bunch of other people who were really into Nirvana. At the time, I didn’t really see the fuss. I liked Smells Like Teen Spirit but didn’t really understand the hype. I will say, however, that hearing dodgy covers of Smells Like Teen Spirit by high school bands used to be a fundamental teen experience. Songs I already knew: Smells Like Teen Spirit, In Bloom, Come As You Are, Lithium Favourites: In Bloom, Lithium, Lounge Act This just shows how our tastes change over time. As a little dingus youth, I wasn’t much a fan of this. As a 32 year old, I thought this was fantastic. Kurt Cobain’s vocals are fascinating - been able to sing softly and clearly, while still with some natural distortion and vocal fry, is certainly not an easy thing to do. Yet, he makes it seem effortless. It’s also worth noting that the tone of the bass guitar was often so thick and spicy. The riffs weren’t anything amazing, but the sound was just so big. Overall, I definitely enjoyed this a lot.

Ok so first thing’s first. I’m writing this review full of pizza and Prosecco so I’m not of sound mind (the Prosecco wasn’t actually technically Prosecco, but I’ll let them off). Anyway, for some reason I always thought Dinosaur Jr and Dinosaur Pile-Up were the same band. Obviously, I was wrong. This can be blamed on the fact that I’m an idiot. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: No Bones Alright so this music was pretty good. the singer is a little bit whiny so he could probably do with a bit of pizza and Prosecco to be honest. The sound of the music is fun though. I think the rest of the band were probably having fun even if the singer was a little bit sad. I liked this album, but I’m not exactly feeling like I’ve missed anything by not hearing it before today. Hello mum, if you’re reading this.

I’d never heard of Lambchop before today so didn’t have any preconceptions. I’m a vegetarian though so if manes sense that I hadn’t consumed their music before. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: You Masculine You, Up With People This was a perfect album to listen to on a Sunday morning. It was nice relaxing music and helped me to recover from a hangover. Musically, Lambchop remind me a little if Eels which is a big positive for me. The singing was very unique at times, going from a gritty tenor into sudden falsetto. It can be a little jarring at first, but after a couple of songs I’d fallen quite in love with his voice. This was a very good find, and I’m happy to have discovered it, even if I was 23 years too late.

This is the second album I’ve reviewed by The Band. My first was Music From Big Pink which left me quite underwhelmed, so I can’t honestly say I’m super excited for this album. I still love the name “The Band” though. It’s almost as good as “The The”. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Rag Mama Rag, Jawbone Well colour me surprised, as I quite enjoyed this! The whole instrumentation stayed mostly interesting with a lot of hits and only a few misses. Rag Mama Rag was a standout for me personally. It put me into the headspace of sitting in a saloon partying with the Sundance Kid. I wasn’t blown away by this album, but I definitely enjoyed it which is far more than I was expecting.

I hadn’t heard the name Little Simz before, but then again I’m not very knowledgeable on hip hop. I did note that it seems to be odd to be “Little” rather than “Lil” based on a bunch of other artists, but that’s pretty much the end of my preconceptions. Songs I already knew: Selfish Favourites: Selfish, Venom I was surprised that I recognised Selfish after hearing it. I can’t even place where I’d heard it, but it was definitely familiar. It’s quite refreshing to hear hip hop by a British female artist, as you don’t tend to hear that very often. Overall, there were some very good songs and some less so. I’d recognise this to hip hop fans, but I’m unsure if it would win over anybody that isn’t already a fan of the genre.

I’m a little familiar with The Cardigans, in that I’ve heard the main big hits that still get radio play. I really enjoy the songs I’ve heard, so im excited to hear more. Let’s listen! Songs I already knew: Lovefool Favourites: Lovefool, Iron Man What a fun album! It’s a mix of alt and pop-rock, and I love the soft singing and how this is mixed with the music. I would love to hear what other people think of their cover of Iron Man - I was excited to show it to my partner as I thought it was amazing! It is very different to the Black Sabbath version and they really make it their own. However, my partner said she thought it was terrible and far too different from the original. Feel free to tell me that I’m right and she is wrong! Overall, a very easy album to recommend.

I hadn’t heard of the Young Rascals before, but I love the band name and I think the album art is great. Music from 60s-70s seem to have been a generally safe bet with me so far, so let’s find out if I can add another album to that! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: A Girl Like You, Groovin’ I felt pretty certain after the first track that I was going to like this. I wasn’t wrong. This had the kind of feel-good vibe that I also get from the Monkees. It was a great album to just sit back and have fun listening to. It’s not the kind of album to change your life or turn you into a philosopher, but it’s frankly enjoyable and that’s the main point of music in my humble little opinion. I’ll definitely be keeping the Young Rascals in mind for playlists when hanging out with friends.

I seem to remember that my dad liked The Chemical Brothers when I was a kid, but I might have made that up. I don’t know whether I’m going to recognise anything off this album, as I don’t recognise any of the titles. Let’s find out! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: One Too Many Mornings, Alive Alone Well I didn’t recognise a single song, so I more than likely did make up my dad liking The Chemical Brothers! I wasn’t expecting quite as much grit as there was on this - I expected it to be typical dance music, but it was more drum and bass at times with some similarities to The Prodigy. A definite positive is than once Alive Alone was coming towards the end, I checked the track list as I was starting to get tired of listening, and that was the last song. Creating an album that doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, yet also doesn’t get cut too short is a very difficult thing to do, but this album aces that. Overall, a pretty good album, but not really something that I’ll be rushing back to listen to again.

I’ve never heard of Mudhoney before today. However, I don’t know if “Superfuzz Bigmuff” has the same connotations in the USA as it does in the UK, but I personally found that hilarious. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Mudride This was only the second album of all my days of reviewing that I couldn’t make it all the way through. The deluxe edition was over 2 hours so I didn’t even consider that, but the standard edition with 12 songs at 44 minutes still felt too long. Grunge misses more than it hits with me in general anyway, and this felt like a caricature of grunge. Mudride’s lyrics actually made me laugh, so is the only track that I found worth noting: “I got a mouth full of dirt, a hand full of charms. Got a rusty old spade, don’t care who I harm.” Those lyrics are genuinely ridiculous. I got 8 songs in out of 12 before I gave up.

Another artist I’d never heard of. I love that there are albums like this in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Dir. even if it turns out to actually be a really big artist, which may well be the case, I like listening to things that I’ve never come across before. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Holes, Goddess On A Hiway This was a perfect Sunday afternoon album. Admittedly, I’m writing this a day late, but the last day of the weekend can feel a bit naff, and super chill music can always make it a bit better. This might be another album for me to bear in mind when I’m studying. I can see it being a relaxing album and helping with assignment related stress!

It seems a bit silly that I’d never listened to this album in full before today. My favourite Aerosmith song (Love In An Elevator) is on this album, so you’d have thought I’d have looked it up before today. But nope. Songs I already knew: Love In An Elevator, Janey’s Got A Gun Favourites: Love In An Elevator, Don’t Get Mad Get Even I’m gonna be honest, I’ve had an awful couple of days where I’m lacking any motivation to do much of anything at all, including listening to albums. However, I’m glad I did decide to pop my headphones on and listen to this. Aerosmith can sometimes be quite mood-lifting, as there is a bounciness to their music. There were no bad songs to be found here. Some songs were certainly better than others, but I enjoyed this album a lot and frankly helped me feel a little bit more alive.

I’ve never really considered myself a fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers. I think the music is interesting enough (and the bass is frequently fantastic), but I’ve always found Anthony Kiedis’ vocals to be annoying and whiny. Regardless, let’s listen to this from front to back and judge it fairly. Songs I already knew: Suck My Kiss, Give It Away, Under The Bridge Favourites: Under The Bridge, Naked In The Rain, Apache Rose Peacock I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this! I do stand by the fact that the vocals can be quite annoying - the “YEAHHH”s at the beginning of suck my kiss sound so stupid that it comes back around to sounding funny. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the tracks that I wasn’t remotely familiar with. Naked In The Rain was fantastic, and had me bopping my head away and having a good time. RHCP have a pretty unique sound, and respect is due for that and finding their own genre. Overall, this was better than I expected.

There’s something in my head telling me I’ve at least come across the name Screaming Trees before, but I can’t place where. I don’t recognise any song titles on this album, but I’m eager to find out if I get any pangs of recognition. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: All I Know, Gospel Plow This was pretty great. I enjoyed it to the point that when I could feel the music wrapping up, I was a bit gutted as I wanted it to continue on. The album isn’t too short by any means, taking 44 minutes to listen to everything, and yet I still wanted more! The singing had such a deep, rich tone, and the guitar distortion was such a delight - not too distorted that it becomes a mess, but still with plenty of grit. Overall, a very enjoyable surprise for me with this album today.

I keep misremembering this band name and thinking they’re called The Inbetweeners. That would be incorrect. I hadn’t heard of The Go-Betweens before today, so I’m interested to hear them. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Was There Anything I Could Do? This feels like a strange album to be considered as one of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this album, but there’s nothing great about it either. Overall, I did enjoy the album, but it’s also somewhat forgettable to me. I can’t imagine that I’ll be rushing back to this, but overall I’d consider this to be absolutely fine. Nothing more, nothing less.

First thought: “Ugh, Coldplay? Really?” Second thought: “Well I guess Yellow is a pretty good song.” Third thought: “Yellow isn’t even on this album.” Songs I already knew: In My Place, God Put A Smile Upon Your Face, The Scientist, Clocks Favourites: Clocks I was surprised by how many songs I recognised from this album. Despite my own feelings about the music, it’s certainly remarkable how somebody that wouldn’t even consider themself to be a fan still has a level of familiarly with a good chunk of the album. As much as this album may not have converted me, I can still recognise how people do enjoy this. However, I still can’t understand how anybody can love it. It’s hard to imagine people getting excited about a new Coldplay album - I’ve no doubt that they do, but it’s hard to see why. The music is decent, but I truly don’t think it is anything special. Each to their own, I guess.

It’s hard to say whether or not I think I’ve heard The War On Drugs before. I’ve certainly heard of the war on drugs, but the uncertainty is around The War On Drugs. You know what I mean, right? Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Under The Pressure, Eyes To The Wind My expectations of this album were very different to what it turned out to be. I expected some kind of psychedelica or stoner rock (I think for obvious reasons). However, this was very easy listening pop rock with a dash of folk thrown in for good measure. Sometimes, it can be easy to think it’s might be an album by The 1975, but with better vocals. Don’t get me wrong, I quite like The 1975, but the vocals can be a bit annoying at times. Anyway, I digress, this album was really good and I liked it a lot.

I first heard The Sugarcubes on the radio only a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t recognise the music, but I thought, “This sounds like Björk but it isn’t super weird. Who could this be?” And that’s when I found out the Björk used to be in a band. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Motorcrash, Blue Eyed Pop I write this review as somebody who never understood the appeal of Björk. I’ve always found it to lean a few miles too far into strangeness to find it appealing. However, with The Sugarcubes, we have music that it much more approachable while still showcasing her unique voice (and the other singer too). Despite being released in 1988, this reminded me of 90’s alt rock bands such as Plumtree at times, perhaps demonstrating being quite ahead of their time. Overall, a really enjoyable album. If you’re one of the few who doesn’t particularly like Björk’s solo work, don’t necessarily write off this album.

I’ve always liked Blur, but personally prefer Damon Albarn in Gorillaz. Looking at the track listing, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything of this album. I’m excited to listen! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Star Shaped, Chemical World This whole album was pretty fantastic. It’s got that very British feel, hence the genre of Britpop, that you don’t really tend to hear anywhere else. I was correct that no longs on here were recognisable to me, but that does surprise me as you’d think some of these songs would still get plenty of radio play, especially on the radio stations that I listen to which are mostly 90’s music. Regardless, I can say with confidence that I really enjoyed this. If you’re into 90’s British pop-rock bands, give it a try.

I knew the moment that this album was generated for me today that I was going to have a great listening experience. My partner calls him “the twat in the hat”, and I can see why, but oh lordy I love his music. Songs I already knew: all of them to a degree Favourites: Too Young To Die, Emergency On Planet Earth, Didgin’ Out I really enjoy funk as a whole. It’s hard to not like! It’s music designed to make your rump shake, so if you don’t enjoy it it’s a sure fire way to find out that you have no soul. Jamiroquai masters the art of this. There is no point throughout this album where I didn’t want to dance. That’s not to say it all sounded the same because that would be very untrue, yet I still wanted to dance nonetheless. Overall, I obviously love it, and that says a lot considering there’s a load of didgeridoo in it.

Today we have an album by Bryan’s twin brother, Ryan Adams. It was very cruel of their parents to call them such names, but I’m no parent so I can’t judge. Obviously, none of the above information is true (except me not being a parent), but sometimes it’s fun to imagine silly things. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: To Be Young, Bartering Lines Ryan Adams is one of those artists I could confident say I’d heard of, but I couldn’t say whether I had actually heard his music before today. Thankfully, that has now changed. This album was pretty great from front to back. The music is that old school kind of rock where the guitars aren’t too distorted, and the singing is silky smooth. I’d go as far as to say it borders on country at times. Overall, very enjoyable. Kinda reminded me a bit of Bryan Adams.

Still today, living relatively close to Manchester, it’s rare to go a week without hearing Step On by the Happy Mondays somewhere, whether that’s on a local radio station, in a shop somewhere, or simply in your own head. I’ve never listened to the album in full before now, so let’s listen! Songs I already knew: Kinky Afro, Step On Favourites: Step On, Dennis and Lois Well today I learned that the Happy Mondays had more than one big song. I immediately recognised Kinky Afro and never realised it was this band. Well there we go. Overall, the album was fun, but it was a bit samey. If you’ve heard Step On, you’ve pretty much heard this whole album really. It felt like a fine album to have on as background music while doing something else, but the lacking variety can make it grow a little stale if the music itself is the focus. Still, a decent listen.

I’m not sure why, but I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for old country music. Modern country mostly sounds a bit rubbish to me, but the older stuff generally tends to win me over. I tend to pick the country radio stations when I play GTA. Maybe it’s down to that. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Big Iron Much as expected, I did quite enjoy this. There is a bit of a rock element to be found, in the same way that perhaps Johnny Cash is a bit country and a bit rock. I enjoyed the storytelling through the lyrics when you don’t tend to get in a lot of modern music. There are some nice harmonies with the vocals, and the instrumentation in fun. Overall, I quite enjoyed this. I’m not sure I’ll be rushing back to listen again, but I enjoyed it for today.

I’m quite apprehensive about this album. Having heard only one Frank Zappa album before, I go into this with pretty low hopes. I actually went back to look at my last review for Joe’s Garage, and I’m surprised I rated it as highly as I did, because I thought I didn’t like it. I guess I was wrong and I just have a bad memory. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Absolutely Free I don’t think it’s any exaggeration to say that this album was absolutely awful. There is lots of noise that I wouldn’t really consider music, parts where music is played backwards instead, and generally just comes across as really annoying. The only times where I’d find myself saying, “Well, this song is decent at least,” was only because it came after something that made my ears bleed. Taken in isolation, even the better songs on this album are still pretty bad. Don’t listen to this album. Do something better with your time.

It was only recently that I was reviewing A Rush Of Blood To The Head. I was disappointed at the time to find that Yellow wasn’t on that album. Well, I shall be disappointed no longer as it can be found here! Songs I already knew: Yellow, Trouble Favourites: Yellow Yellow is the one Coldplay song that I really like. Since it is on this album, I was hoping that I might find some gems here. Unfortunately, my hopes were a little dashed here. Yellow is genuinely a great song, but the rest of this album just left me feeling rather bored. At the risk of repeating myself from my other Coldplay review, I just can’t comprehend people getting excited at the idea of hearing this album. I know it must happen, and Coldplay have lots of very dedicated fans, I just can’t fathom why.

Despite being one of the most recognisable album covers from The Beatles, it’s likely the one I’m least familiar with. Looking at the track listing, I had no idea that With A Little Help From My Friends was a Beatles song! I thought it was Joe Cocker originally. Songs I already knew: With A Little Help From My Friends Favourites: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite I really enjoyed this album. It was a little odd at times, but never overbearingly so. Any psychedelica here still comes from a grounding of catchy pop music, so remains easy to listen to and enjoy. I’d heard of the song Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds before and knew it was one of the big ones, but found that I didn’t actually recognise it when it was on. Overall, this was a fun record with a bit more bombast that other Beatles albums I’ve heard. I definitely recommend this.

When I saw that I had been generated Tubular Bells, I’ll admit I did get quite excited. This is an album where I’ve always thought that id have to get round to listening to it at some point, but just never have. I love the other Mike Oldfield songs I’ve heard (In Dulce Jubilo is one of the best Christmas songs ever written). Songs I already knew: Tubular Bells Pt. I (but just the opening minute or so) Favourites: Tubular Bells Pt. I, Tubular Bells Pt. II This album was quite phenomenal. There are parts where you can close your eyes and be in a horror film, a Spanish romance, or even in a high fantasy world. Tubular Bells Pt II even features some vocal from an actual orc around halfway through, or maybe it’s the demon from The Exorcist. When the actual tubular bells play towards the end of the opening track, I was covered in so many goosebumps that I wouldn’t be surprised if they were even on my eyeballs. This was incredible from front to back, and I’m very glad to have finally heard it.

I’ve never listened to much Marvin Gaye. I know the super famous stuff like Let’s Get It On, and I Heard It Through The Grapevine, but beyond that it think I’m somewhat clueless. I’m excited to give him a real chance today, so let’s listen! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Anger, Sparrow This is a little difficult to review. I can certainly see why people love this, as he has an excellent voice, the music is good, and the narrative of a relationship breakdown is interesting. However, for some reason, the songs just didn’t really click for me personally. Despite being able to recognise the talent on this album, I still highly doubt I’d be coming back to listen to this again. If you love this album, I totally see why. But it’s just not for me.

I’m excited to listen to this album, as I’ve never heard a single bad song by the B-52’s. Admittedly, I’ve only heard two songs by them, but that’s still a 100% success rate. Songs I already knew: Rock Lobster Favourites: Planet Claire, Rock Lobster I really enjoyed this album. It’s the perfect blend of silliness and good music for my taste. The lyrics are complete nonsense at times, but I still want to boogie to it nonetheless. I do generally have a soft spot for music that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it’s a fine line between silly and stupid. And once you get into stupid then you’ve lost me. Thankfully, I found this album pretty great, and I’ll likely be keeping this in mind for party playlists in the future.

Was Ace Of Spades on a Tony Hawk game back in the day? For some reason it reminds my of Tony Hawk. It’s one of those songs that everybody has heard of, isn’t it? Even if you’re not into rock much at all, you know Ace Of Spades. Not sure I’ve ever heard anything else by Motörhead, but there you go. Songs I already knew: Ace Of Spades Favourites: Ace Of Spades Ok, so it turns out that if you’ve heard Ace Of Spades then you’ve basically heard the whole album. The guitar solos are remarkably similar in each song, and I’d bed that if you played Fire Fire and Ace Of Spades at the same time that you wouldn’t even notice there were two different songs playing. The elephant in the room on this album is the song Jailbait. It feels bad to speak ill of the dead, so I’ll just state the facts. In this song, Lemmy sings about how he wants to “taste” a teenager. It’s pretty damn weird, and made what was a decent (if not very samey) album, into something much weirder.

Today we have another band I hadn’t heard of before. Google tells me that Wire are a bit post-punk, a bit Britpop, and a bit punk. That seems like a fairly promising combination to me, so let’s listen! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Three Girl Rhumba I had to look up Three Girl Rhumba after listening because it sounds remarkably similar to Connection by Elastica. Apparently there was a lawsuit that was settled out of court. Makes sense. This album was good fun and I quite enjoyed it overall. That older type of punk where it’s mainly shouting and chanting tends to be a bit hit and miss with me, and although this does fall into that category, it was mostly hits for me. Overall, a good punk album that I’m happy to have experienced!

I hadn’t heard of Laibach before today. The album art made me think it might possibly be death metal, but Apple Music describes it as electronic. Not quite what I was expecting, but I’m very intrigued. Let’s listen! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Geburt Einer Nation, The Great Seal This album was fantastic! I’ve some heavy guitars were thrown into the mix, you’d definitely be forgiven for thinking this was Rammstein, except this album was released seven years before Rammstein had even formed. There are a couple of covers here which are excellently done (Geburt Einer Nation in a very unique take on Queen’s One Vision), and plenty of brilliant originals too. I will say that I don’t speak any German so I don’t understand any of the lyrics, but from a completely musical point of view I found this to be very good. It does fizzle off into a few duller tracks towards the end, but overall I’m definitely glad to have heard this today.

A few years ago I used to think that the Beatles were over rated. Since starting my review project and having two previous Beatles albums and a George Harrison album, I’ve come to see just how wrong I was. I’m excited to listen to this one today. Songs I already knew: Please Mister Postman Favourites: Please Mister Postman, All My Live Firstly, to clarify, my familiarity of Please Mister Postman comes from the version by The Marvelettes. I never knew there was a version by The Beatles, but it’s pretty great! When listening to this album, I felt it started very strongly, but I felt my attention starting to waver by the last couple of songs. I imagine that if I had this on vinyl, side a would get a lot more play time than side b. Still a very good album, but my least favourite when compared to A Hard Day’s Night and Sgt. Pepper.

It is a good feeling to look at my daily generated album and see Simon & Garfunkel. I’ve had two albums by them so far, so I’m excited to hear what Bookends has to offer. Songs I already knew: Mrs Robinson, A Hazy Shade Of Winter Favourites: Mrs Robinson, America Firstly, this album was very familiar at times but also very alien at others. There is a track which is simply old people speaking their thoughts with no music at all, and Save The Life Of My Child is really trippy at times and made me feel quite uncomfortable. I’ve no doubt that this was the intention with the song, but it’s definitely worth noting. Overall, the majority of this album was very good, but the psychedelic side wasn’t quite to my taste.

My partner’s all time favourite artist is Bruce, but I’ve never really seen the fuss. I’ve always thought the big singles were decent, but were never something that made me want to listen more. Let’s see if this album changed my mind! Songs I already knew: Born To Run Favourites: Born To Run This album was fine, but I do think that it validated my previous thoughts on Bruce. Nothing really blew me away on this album. It was fine with a couple of ear worms but not really anything more. I found the piano at the beginning of Jungleland eerily similar to Tiny Dancer, and the vocals (especially in She’s The One) eerily similar to Trey Parker parodying rock music. Overall, I didn't dislike the music by any means, but I also doubt I'll be rushing back to hear it again.

MJ Cole is an artist I’ve never heard of, although sometimes I think I might live under a rock in regards to popular music so that may not mean much! The deluxe version of this album is over 2 hours long, so I think I’ll still with the standard edition, thank you very much. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: none When this album started, I thought, “We’ll this is certainly different.” It’s definitely not the type of album I would gravitate towards, being garage music. During track one, I was unsure but felt like I’d give it a chance. However, by track 5 I’d had enough. It reminds me of the type of music chavs would have playing from their phones as a teenagers, while they were trying to beat me up for looking different. Admittedly, that does bring in some bias, but the music is genuinely boring anyway. Somebody tell MJ Cole that it’s ok to have a different tempo once in a while.

I haven’t heard John Coltrane before. Prior to this review project I was pretty much a blank slate with jazz in general, but Miles Davis easily won me over. So let’s see if I enjoy this as much! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: A Love Supreme Patient 4: Psalm This album gave me a headache. There is an old saying in jazz in that it’s all about the notes they AREN’T playing. Well I’m pretty sure than John Coltrane plays all the notes regardless of what the rest of the band is doing which ends up making a big mess of sound. There are parts where you can hear the brass instruments squeaking (I think it’s saxophone) and it’s just an all round unpleasant sound. The one positive is that track 4 was a little easier to listen to, but it’s still not good by any means.

After a couple of days having albums that I didn’t really enjoy, I’m excited to see Public Enemy as my generated album for the day. I only recognise the title of one song, but this feels like a pretty bankable album. Let’s listen! Songs I already knew: Fight The Power Favourites: 911 Is A Joke, Fight The Poser, Burn Hollywood Burn Thankfully, this album was very enjoyable. There was a good amount of angst, mixed with occasional apathy and social commentary about racism in the USA. Lyrical messages aside, the music itself was great. The beats are good, and the bass is often funky. This is my preferred variation of hip hop. Overall, a pretty great album.

I don’t think I’ve heard much by The Doors, but I do like the few songs that I have heard (People Are Strange and Light My Fire are absolute bops). I know they’re a somewhat legendary band, so I’m excited to give an album a full listen. Songs I already knew: Riders On The Storm Favourites: Riders On The Storm I was left feeling a little disappointed by this album. That isn’t to say that it was bad by any means, but the status of The Doors made me expect something incredible. It was a lot more bluesy than I expected, and I didn’t really find any song on here to be as good as the songs I’d mentioned above. Riders On The Storm was fun, and the vocals were generally full of character throughout, but I don’t really expect that I’ll be returning to this album again as it didn’t really blow my socks off.

I believe this is the third Sinatra album I’ve listened to. His music has been a little hit and miss with me, but I do seem to enjoy the happier songs over the miserable ones. I’m eager to listen to this and see where it lands for me! Songs I already knew: The Girl From Ipanema Favourites: The Girl From Ipanema, How Insensitive I’ll start this off by saying that this is likely my favourite Sinatra album out of the ones I’ve heard. My music is interesting throughout and his voice is as perfect as you’d expect. Whereas The Wee Small Hours Gad me growing bored at times and eager for the end, this one had me hooked from beginning to end. It still isn’t the type of music that pulls me in, but I can certainly appreciate the artistic talent on show here, and so would be an easy album to recommend to others to try.

I’m not sure I’ve heard anything by Funkadelic before. I’ve heard Parliament who I believe are basically the same band, which bodes well for me (Flash Light is an absolute banger). Let’s listen and find out! Songs I already knew: None Favourites: Maggot Brain, Lunchmeataphobia This was a little up and down for me, but with more ups than downs. The bass lines are super funky throughout, and the vocals are pretty great. The times where my attention would wander were when they leaned a little too far into the strange side of music. A cursory look online says that Funkadelic are the more psychedelic version of Parliament which I do think makes sense here. I enjoyed this album, but I think that Parliament are probably better suited to my tastes.

It’s pretty bold to just name your band X. You’ve got to respect bravado like that. I hadn’t heard of X before being generated this album today. Apple Music tells me they are an 80’s rock band which feels like a safe bet for my tastes. Songs I already knew: None Favourites: Adult Books, It’s Who You Know I enjoyed this album a lot. It was mainly punk music, with a pinch of rockabilly thrown in at times. Adult Books had a melodic rocky feel to it which I enjoyed a lot. The mix of male and female lead vocals sound great together and keep it fresh when they switch it up track by track. There is plenty of attitude and angst to be found here, and it’s an easy album to recommend for fans of punk rock.

I’m a little anxious about listening to today’s album. The last time I listened to a jazz icon (John Coltrane) I really disliked it, and I had a very different opinion to the vast majority. Nina Simone is certainly someone I have come across before, but I’ve never really put much focus into her music. Today, we’ll change that. Songs I already knew: None Favourites: Lilac Wine, Four Women My hesitancy was completely unfounded. This album was phenomenal, and I honestly can’t fault any of it. There are parts that I would consider to be more rock and roll than jazz (I Love Your Lovin’ Ways has guitar playing that, with some distortion, could easily be a Status Quo track). But this album really shines on the slower tracks. Lilac Wine actually took my breath away. I’m in the fortunate position where I can not relate to the singer’s position of having lost their love, but regardless it still had me choking up. I’d recommend that everybody listens to this. It is genuinely perfect.

I’m not 100%, but I think I’ve heard something by LCD Soundsystem in a shop at some point, and remember being quite blown away and needing to find out what the song was. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name so I can’t say I’d it’s on this album. Songs I already knew: None Favourites: North American Scum, All My Friends Ok so it turns out that I was mixing up LCD Soundsystem and Motion City Soundtrack in my preamble above. I was expecting rock music and received electronica! But that’s entirely down to my own confusion. I did enjoy this album today despite the mix up. For me, it was pleasant music to have on in the background while doing other things. It didn’t wow me enough to want to focus and actively listen to it, but it was still enjoyable in its own way. I’m not sure if I’ll be returning to listen to this again, but I’m still glad to be able to say that I’ve heard it.

At the risk of writing a repetitive introduction when thinking back to previous reviews, today we have an artists whose name is vaguely familiar, yet I’m not sure I’ve heard any of his music. The album cover leads me to expect something that sounds like The Cure, so I’m looking forward to listening. Songs I already knew: None Favourites: Jersey Girl, On The Nickel If there was ever a perfect example of not judging a book by its cover, this would be a top contender. I certainly wasn’t expecting a gritty, soulful baritone that could be compared to somebody like Louis Armstrong. The music was very good - I especially enjoyed the use of the electric piano. The opening track drew me in, and fascinated me enough to want to stick around for the rest, and I’m glad that I did. Give it a try.

I’m quite excited for today’s album. I’ve previously listened to Celebrity Skin and thought it was fantastic, so I’m hoping for more of the same today. Fingers crossed! Songs I already knew: None Favourites: Plump, Jennifer’s Body I love this album. There is so much attitude, but without sounding the same all the way through. I adore Courtney Love’s voice - there is plenty of natural distortion there but without losing any melody. She reminds me of a slightly cleaner sounding Brody Dalle whom I’m also a fan of. The guitar tones of this record are fantastic too - the cleaner sounds are good, but when they crank up the distortion it is simply bliss. The lyrics to Plump reveal just how unchanged the media is now in regards to promoting unrealistic bodies. This is genuinely a timeless album and very easy to recommend.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the other George Michael album that I previously listened to (Faith) so I’m quite hopeful for today. If you’d have told me 10 years ago that I’d like George Michael’s music I’d have laughed at you, yet here we are! Songs I already knew: Freedom ‘90 Favourites: Freedom ‘90, Cowboys And Angels Another album to prove how much my music tastes have changed over time! I really enjoyed this. The tone of his voice is so soft yet clear, making it very easy to listen to. The melodies are catchy and stick in your head very easily. A lot of pop music tends to be very formulaic and just follow the tried and tested 4 chords over and over, but this tends to be much more inventive. There are elements of jazz throughout, chord progressions can often go where you might not quite expect. Overall, a very enjoyable album.

I spent an embarrassingly long amount of my late teens and early twenties thinking that Velvet Underground was that band with Slash and Scott Weiland. I even used to proudly tell people that my band covered Slither by Velvet Underground. Nothing more needs saying about that though. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: What Goes On, Pale Blue Eye, Jesus There is a hard to define feeling that I get from some albums. It is like the cosy feeling of sitting by a fire on a cold winter’s night with an oversized mug of hot chocolate. Interestingly, those albums that stir this feeling tend to be from 60’s-70’s, which this falls into the bracket of as well. I hadn’t heard any of these songs today, and yet the album still caused this happy, relaxed feeling. The music is interesting throughout, and I love the vocals. The lyrics can sometimes get a little zany (“Put jelly on your shoulder, let us do what you fear most”) but generally tend to make sense and make for good listening. Definitely give this a listen.

I feel like I’ve heard of Le Tigre before but I can’t quite place where. I can’t say with any confidence what there Music even sounds like (before listening) so I’m excited to hear them today. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Hot Topic, What’s Yr Take On Cassavetes This was such a fun album to listen to. It reminded me a lot of Plumtree who I’m a big fan of. It wasn’t over-produced which gave it more of a fun feel, like you’re listening to a very tight band practice in a garage somewhere. 90’s alt rock is always going to go down well with me, and it is unsurprising to find that I really enjoyed this. Le Tigre will definitely be in my mind for any party playlists.

Today is my 200th consecutive day of reviewing albums. I was hoping for a great album to mark the occasion, but based on my previous Motörhead review my hopes aren’t too high here… But still, fingers crossed! Let’s be optimistic! Songs I already knew: Ace Of Spades, (We Are) The Roadcrew, Jailbait Favourites: Ace Of Spades, Motorhead To be clear, the songs I already knew were from the previous album I heard. It’s possible that there was more crossover than I’ve written above, but Motörhead fall pretty heavily into the all-songs-sound-the-same area of music. To give credit where it is due, they do sound very right on this live album, and Lemmy sound just like on the studio recordings. However, this music just isn’t for me. I don’t think I’m really the target market and that’s perfectly ok. I was bored after around 6 songs, and there were will 12 more to go (I didn’t listen to the bonus tracks that make this album “deluxe”). I still cringe at the song Jailbait though. The lyrics are genuinely awful.