Excellent. Morrissey is a wanker but the album is iconic, fog-horny, self-aggrandizing in such an amusing way. Big fan. Don't listen to the smiths that often but I usually enjoy it. V appt album considering the context (the queen died) doubt that was. Agenuine mistake tbh
Excellent album(s). I had listened to the original 1973 a few times before. But theres a 2001 version with a different track listing. Both are extraordinary. Greasy, groovy, moody, cool. The music is tight, era defining and unparalleled as far as reggae goes anyway. The lyrics are incisive, precise, enigmatic. Very listenable and there's nothing quite like this album, even in the Wailers back catalogue. A unique, edgy, exciting album I would always always recommend.
Dunk me in water and sing hallelujah, this is nice bluesgrassy close harmony southern tunes. Very influential over bands like First Aid Kit I'd say. Great window into a very American form of Christian baptist music if you're into that. It's good for a particular coen brothers mood, or from an anthropological l/ music history perspective. Otherwise it's quite one note and overlong.
Ah, air-heady positive wholesome indie fun. Not wholesome in a twee moth-eaten sort of way, but in a youthful exhuberant summery sort of way. Two well-known tracks to sing along to, and the rest zips along with fresh speed. More than a three? No
Brilliant synthy scene music. Shears falsetto evokes British gay icons like the Communards or Elton John and always reminds me of similar bands during my twelfth year (The Darkness, Franz Ferdinand, Electric Six). The music is tight, zippy, funky, cocksure and enjoyable. Plus, from memory, the mamas loved it. Stronger than I remember if a touch poppy for me
The highlights were due to the strengths if the sample (which, I believe, all come from the Sounds of the South album - which is excellent) The authenticity of the original field recordings disguise Moby's cringey try hard bullshit. I don't think you can just add a drum beat to a song, cut it up and call it your own. kinda musical colonialism. I did enjoy parts but other bits were really quite dreadful
Fine, ploddy and morose but generally easy listening. Still haven't quite got why he's such an icon but that's probably my fault.
Cheesey but fun, very blues inspired. Lyrics are dreadful. Basically fine
I actually liked this one. Not like groundbreaking but fun with a sorta outsiders sound, bit velvet underground/ violent femmes. I'd heard bits and bobs from richman before but I liked taking the time to listen to the album. Good!
Excellent. Morrissey is a wanker but the album is iconic, fog-horny, self-aggrandizing in such an amusing way. Big fan. Don't listen to the smiths that often but I usually enjoy it. V appt album considering the context (the queen died) doubt that was. Agenuine mistake tbh
Loads of fun, loads of childhood nostalgia due to the Jungle Book connection. The gigolo song's good, upbeat, amusing. Enjoyed listening to it but it is a touch one dimensional and doesn't have much depth. Still, good to appreciate it for what it is - would not have listened to it otherwise
Absolutely awful, all the bad bits of Janis Joplins band - self indulgent, noisey, hectic, over elaborate, pretensious. Can see how it was influential though just basically unpleasant. I'd give it 1.5 but I can't so I'm rounding down to be dramatic. 1 star BAAAD
Brilliant album, very enjoyable. Karen O is great. Very positive, melodic, easy to listen to. Would listen again. Just very good, very nice - if not completely life changing
Fine. Long, a bit boring in places. I think his influences are too obvious - usually people like Dylan. Laura Marling liked him when she was young but changed her mind when she got older and various allegations about him emerged. Apparently he also did a full cover of a Taylor swift album which is lame. I dunno, I think maybe he's just lame? I thought about giving a 3 but downgraded to a 2. #me2
A little disappointing, very lo-fi which isn't necessarily bad but at times basically unlistenable. The rhythm if the rap is really samey, throbbing, predictable but I'm listening in retrospect. Run DMC are really influential but actually not so interesting imo - much prefer NWA, public enemy, last poets etc as like forefathers of hip-hop rap. Probs won't listen again.
Surprisingly good bit not particularly attention grabbing. Some famous songs, a lot of drawling, basically okay - evokes the epriodnwell. But tbh, I can't stand Jim Morrison because he's so far up his own rectum.
Honestly an excellent album, one of my very favourites. Had on vinyl since I was about 16.excellent voice, wonderful mood. Evokes something nostalgic, moody and warm. Well arranged genuinely great.
I could see why someone else might like it. It's punchy and rythmic, strong hooks, coherent mood but just not for me I don't think. Sounds pretty dreadful on my brother's car stereo too which doesn't help. Just seems sort of relentlessly one dimensional despite being competent and tuneful. I dunno. Okay.
Ah it's okay. Reminds me of my German exchange in 2005 and of girls I used to be friends with. Chris was driving me and Sinead down from skipton when we listened to it and he enjoyed it. I was never that fussed at the time and I remain unfussed now.
It's a very long album with some nice patches. I like how she ties it all together with a nostalgic school theme. There are some good tracks, that thing for example and she's a very good singer. Having said that, it went on a bit as an album and had plenty of what seems like filler. I would probs listen to parts again but not as a complete unit. I also think that, to some degree, the album was created without me in mind. I think Lauryn would more than tolerate my mild criticism.
Y'know I liked it. At first I hated it, the jumped between irritated, bored, into it, then bored again. But, then, that's jazz and a great part of why I usually hate it. But I listened to it again and it was better. Maybe not 100% for me but I sorta, kinda get it. I'd say it's a 3 personally, probably a 5 for it's cultural importance so it gets a 4 all considered
Genuinely excellent album, full of nostalgia, not like life-changing but seemed to be of it's moment. Meant a lot to a lot of kids. Have memories of mum ironing to it following the divorce. Great, angsty, whingey, teenage - exactly what you want
Energetic, noisey, chaotic rock n roll. May be a bit abrasive for some. Musically relatively simple although played with gusto. Janis is just one of the most charismatic singers to grace the planet. She was a huge fan of Otis Redding and you can tell - she always had a more soulful bent imo and is a little bit wasted in this sort of band where she basically shouts through the set. Very lo-fi recording, little bits of filler here and there. A bit too frenetic to really settle into. Joplin's solo work albums are better examples of what she can do but the album has a mood, has Janis and does a good job of passing 50-odd minutes. Groovey, sexy and has Cr mb illustrations on the cover. Great bit of 60s psych hippy funk rock with a competent band and a generational singer
Sexy groovy guitar, very listenable - sorta sounds like a dad driving album though. Solid
Perfectly serviceable album. Little bit dull. Has some songs I know, has others I'll forget. I probably would give it a two but I have a sort of inexplicable affection for Costello and I'm not sure why, so I'll give a bonus
Too interesting to review after one listen. Rhythmic, exciting, raw. Will run to it a few times to learn what it's like after a few listens. Very afro inspired Cuban drumming and singing. Liked it.
Enjoyable, bouncey, some of it familiar. Often stupid and funny. Good samples, good beats, they were all clearly having a good time. It's just a sorta feel good hip hop album.
Okay. Can see where she either influenced or was influenced by Kurt. Noisy, power chordey, lyrics are kinda stupid but the album zips by nicely I have a friend who really enjoys Courtney and this album reminds me of her. Hole gets a bonus star for that
Honestly, I can see why musicians might like her but I found her weedling and annoying. Her music seems self-consciously quirky, a tad dull, broadly annoying. She reminds me of carol king who evokes the same sensations for me. She's a bit Regina Spektor too. My life would not change if I never heard one of her songs ever again. It's not *bad* just not very good.
Really enjoyable album. Classic driving-with-your-dad music. Satisfying, not dull but certainly not overpowering. Almost tricks you into enjoying it while you're busy doing other things. Not thoroughly groundbreaking but extremely solid album you could listen to over again and enjoy just the same
When I was a teenager I had Travis on my MP3 player and my aunty took the piss out of me, she was right to. I mean - it's basically a fine album. Not offensive. Has a lot of songs that refer to other, better, songs which is a pet peeve of mine. I've almost completely forgotten the album since listening and I had almost completely forgotten about Travis too u til they popped up on here - that symbolises how I feel about them I think.
Excellent album, great slice of cantankerous rebel music history. Love the hooting prison guys throughout. The cheek and humour. Showmanship. The songs are excellent too. Johnny Cash at his most extraordinary. Wonderful
Nothing special. Some psychy rythmic guitar, feels very of its age. A track from a later album (Holy are You) happens to be one of my favourites and seems like it could be from any period but not this. Very sixties, generally uninspiring. May have felt very different at the time.
Good album but far from his best. Better after a second listen. Low key funk, a bit of edgey electro glam. This was the period where Bowie was super into coke and fascism. I wouldn't say that's noticeable but the overall impression is that the album is a little bit flippant and lacked a bit of focus. I'd listen again but I'd always rather listen to 4-5 other Bowie albums I think. Better after a second listen though.
Dull and annoying. It had some semblance of a vibe but I didn't really get into it. 1.5 but I'll give a two as I wasn't outright offended.
Excellent album(s). I had listened to the original 1973 a few times before. But theres a 2001 version with a different track listing. Both are extraordinary. Greasy, groovy, moody, cool. The music is tight, era defining and unparalleled as far as reggae goes anyway. The lyrics are incisive, precise, enigmatic. Very listenable and there's nothing quite like this album, even in the Wailers back catalogue. A unique, edgy, exciting album I would always always recommend.
You know, I gave it a go but it's not for me. Melodic in its way but quite samey, his voice often grates, the close harmonies are uninteresting perhaps because they've been so pervasive. It feel brainless, simple and a little one dimensional to me. The Beatles loved them and I really like the song Don't Worry Baby from a different album but this is the third or fourth time I've tried this album and I simply don't care.
Absolute cheesy metal gold. Good for aiding productive work and smiling to. Corniest, 80s-est, best-est. 8 year old me would have lost my mind over it. It's not a work of art but it's the perfect representation of what it is
Some greasy cool era defining punk, groovy very nice. At times however, the album sort of disappears up its own arse and takes you somewhere angular and uncomfortable. Perhaps I'm not up to the challenge but it felt like an occasional lack of focus. I've enjoyed this album for a while though despite its scent of incoherence
Glorious album, Tuesday's gone - excellent, Free Bird - probably the most enjoyable long-form southern rock track in history. New layers each time you listen although missing real depth. Genuinely wonderful but with a few dull points here and there. I imagine it would be very good to drive to.
A solid album. Timeless rock, punchy mood, swaggering but a bit one-noted.
Perfectly reasonable classic rock album. Knew many of the songs, all were fine, in offensive, perfectly listenable.
Unbearable tbh. May have been influential for noise music bands maybe, but I've heard better, more interesting, less simply awful versions of the same thing. Couldn't get through it. Might try again but I doubt it.
Perfectly serviceable live album from a perfectly fine rock band. Very energetic and affirming but beyond that nothing especially exciting. Some classic tracks for the right kind of person - I just don't think I am that person
Quite dull, run-of-the-mill soft rock album. Moves along at a normal pace, finishes at na appropriate time. Nothing unexpected. All filler no thriller. It has a steady rhythm, so good to walk to (as I was doing) but only if you're intending to think about something else.
Actually surprisingly good, groovy, 90s ravey vibes. Great to work to. Sorta corny from time to time. A bit jez from Peep show. Encapsulates the age well and zips along very digestibly.
You know what, quite enjoyable. Almost bland on first listen but had some high points on the second. Something I'll listen to again just to be sure. Soft rock rhythm, upbeat. It sounds as if the album was very influential on noughties US indie and UK musicians such as badly drawn boy, iamkloot and the like. Perfectly nice.
An iconic album although sometimes self indulgent and a little long winded. Moments capture a moment and mood that typifies the Manchester rave indie phenomenon going on in the early 90s. It's also an enjoyable album, upbeat, undeniably cool but loses its way too often to be a true bona fide gem.
Good album, famous tracks, nothing quite like it. Very typical late 90s, early noughties R&B partly because it's so influential. Loose in some areas and very much targeted towards a listener other than myself but nevertheless an icon of the genre.
Absolutely excellent album. Must have heard it a thousand times. Cat Stevens is a slow burner I think but once you get into his mood it's hard to recreate anywhere else. It's not a challenging album but has quirky little elements that keeps it interesting. If I was to describe the album in one word it would probably be friendly. The album is sincere, well produced. Well conceived and utterly complete.
Excellent album. Wonderful jazzy afro funk. Brilliant long build ups to great long groovy tracks. Fela's charisma shines through but isn't overpowering. Iconic
I'm throwing out too many 5 stars ratings and this isn't my favourite Radiohead cover so it will receive a harsh 4. Hard to recreate the feeling of listening to this album anywhere else. Like a dystopian rave inside a large can.
I listened to this album twice and it left little impression. It may be influential to some but couldn't I fluence me to give a shit. Would gladly forget I'd ever listened to this extremely unremarkable hip hop album
Really excellent, voice of the century. I've loved this album for years. Never Loved a Man (the track) is wonderful as is Do Right. Brilliant, evocative, soulful - very gospel inspired, beautifully arranged. Just really really good
Okay. Interesting little guitar tricks and games with melody and harmony - probably, I mean, I'm not an expert. Unfortunately, Don MacLean is just so annoying. Lyrically, everything is drenched in a claggy sentimental syrup. Far too many adjectives for EVERYTHING. Some deeply self indulgent belief that the masses don't see some hero figure (big bopper van Gogh, whoever) quite like MaClean does because - don't you know - MaClean is an ARTIST just like THEM. God, what an annoying characteristic. For what it's worth, Vincent would probably think he was a complete drip. Overall impression is that the album is as self conscious as a precious teenage girl and about as precious. Musically, Elton John did the same thing better.
Brilliant album. Funny, cool, clever, era-defining. Absolutely loved it
Some absolute tunes on this and some funky hiphoppy grooves which bring a smile to your face. A quirky, unusual album with outsized influenced. A lot of fun and optimism packed in. Good for unusual dancing. Probably need to listen to it a few times to fully appreciate. Otherwise a strong 3
Iconic 80s/90s voice it's easy to forget you've ever heard. A bit like the cranberries in that respect. So when Pretenders pop up it reminds you of childhood car journeys (should you be of a similar age that is) I will always know the pretenders as the band whose LPs are most commonly donated to charity shops. That's unmarises this album really, popular but not really enduring. A perfectly serviceable soft rock album other than that, if a bit mum-dad.
Actually really disappointed. Joy Division were such a remarkable spooky band and New Order have some famous tracks which were highly I foeintial in electronic dance but this album didn't supply anything if note to me. Just sort of went by
Actually quite good - little bits were very T-Rex glam singer-songwriter guitar rock. Easy listening. Pleasnt, lyrical. Dipped at points but basically good
Dull dull dull, left not a trace. Hum drum guitar music from America
Extremely enjoyable, fast paced metal music. It's just, I would happily never to it listen again.
It started fine and got worse. Lyrically simple bordering on laughable, musically uninteresting. I quite like LK as a concept but this album needs binning
Wonderfully influential album, inspired Dylan, Fairport Convention and others and fair enough but I was broadly untouched. Nice honky tonk politely raucous harmonising, some bluesy slide guitar, a nice mellow groove throughout but the album seems to lack a punch. It sorta just wombles on in the background to forget about. From time to time you'll remember it's on and be pleased but it doesn't feel like it has much sticking power.
Brilliant album, cool, groovy, I like anything else. Greasy, edgy, smooth, gospel, soulful funk goodness. Short too, which I like
Lots of classic disco, perfectly satisfying. Captures a mood and an era quite distant from today. Exciting but maybe not 100% for me
Ah perfectly good, exactly what you'd expect, edgy, almost unpleasant, utterly unique white guy hip-hop. Great to run to but awful to live to.
Great album, love Elton. Musically complete, melodic, competent, distinct. Misses a bit of edge as you'd expect
More dull than I thought, especially given how short the songs are. California Dreamin is obviously a highlight but even then Bill Withers did it better. The rest is fine, twee, good to rock your head too while walking around a garden in wellies. A bit like the Magic Numbers before the Magic Numbers, but no one remembers them (and probably for good reason)
I don't know whether the circle ever did break but I asked myself on many occasions whether this album will ever end. Some familiar voices such as Johnny Cash and Emmy Lou Harris offer highlights in this otherwise consistently continuous album, offering album track after album track of bluesy country gospelly covers but missing the guts that really brings the best out of those forms. Generally quite humdrum and a bit of a s l o g
Fuckin awful. Influential on the noise music thing probably but broadly unlistenable or annoying or lazy or attention seeking or dull never musical or evocative or moody or exciting. Not me, not anyone.
Excellent album, unique, groovy lyrically raw and exciting, often incorrect in a way that appears honest or vulnerable. The music prefaces the new move to neo-soul but has some more guys behind it. The production is slightly dates now but wasn't it always? Her story is interesting and summons up a distinctive moment I history, and like with all real life tragic heroines highlights how the machinery of modern capitalism will commercialise your weaknesses until they eat you up. Still - very very good, if not wholly my bag.
A good album which well represents the style and mood of a underrated British folk-prog-rock group. Sandy Denny is brilliant. My girlfriend introduced me to her and she was right to it's not a complete album though and has some flat areas, or patches where it touches on cliche. Their best album far and away is unhalfbricking, which would have gotten five stars
Ah, dull whispering french music for horny pretentious students. We didn't need another example that goofy bug eyed weirdos from france have inexplicable sex appeal because we already had Sartre. Sensual and randy as he may be, the album left me untouched.
Extraordinary album, one my favourites since I was young. Beautiful cutesy moments, horrible machine music moments, joyful little experiments, the odd inclusion of a Welsh accent among the squall which is deeply satisfying. Pale blue eyes is one of the simplest, nicest songs written. The album sometimes dissolves into an uncontrolled difficult morass but it reforms well. An iconic, stand out record. Although I wonder if the velvenlt underground are a five star band that only produces four start records.
Fine, bit corny. Feels like dated white guy hip-hop but I haven't checked if they're white guys - in many ways it doesn't matter. Basically a big shrug from me really
Enjoyable album, competently produced, classic tunes. Very of its era. Great songwriting but lacks edge for me.
Actually a very fun, extremely digestible album - good solid guitar music, bordering on (early) metal I suppose, rhythmic, bluesy, rocky, punchy. Lyrically unambitious but satisfying. Could listen to it quite happily driving down a motorway near a new town in the late 70s or whenever it was released.
Dull nerd rap, interesting afro-inspired lyrics, annoying sampling technique, dull lollopy groove. Easy to forget it's on but slight relief when it isn't
Greasy unique atmospheric raspy clonky cool. If Bourdain was musical he'd be Tom Waits. If Bernard Black was musical he would be Tom Waits too. The same with any scruffy, dissolute, boozy favourite uncle actually. The sort of music enjoyed by precocious students more than genuine grown ups but still very very enjoyable.
Dull girl music tbh. Consciously intellectual, sometimes showy, rarely gripping. The album just seems to go on with unvaried variety.
Surprisingly excellent. He has this wonderful cinematic baritone and a sort of mournful, vulgar lyricism in his original songs. I feel like there are layers to this album so can't go to in depth and I'm keeping reserved with my stars. Guy feeling is the album is more the work of an eccentric than a genius on first, but that's not such a bad thing. Think Baccarach, Spector, Jake Thackeray. Enjoyable.
You know I really like Thin Lizzy while simultaneously having simply no desire to ever listen to them. Phil Lynott is very charismatic and you can tell in this live album and you know what the songs are pretty good too but my life would basically be the same if I never listened to them. They are a band I would love to like but basically don't. Perhaps too many Liz songs ended up on Top Gear compilations and they have become indelibly marred. As far as this album goes, it's think Lizzy songs but live. There's some electricity in the air but otherwise there's limited benefit to the format. On top of that, the version I found was the deluxe edition which was perhaps overly deluxe. No one needs Thin Lizzy live for 1 hour 40 unless you were actually there. Felt like a slog by the end. I remain neutral.
Enjoyable - sensitive, sometimes melancholy, has that sort of early housey synthy beat that proliferated gay clubs in the 80s and 90s. Still, somewhat relieved it's over.
Great, jangly, atmospheric, almost shoegazey Scottish Baroque goth. If you like it, you'll love it. It's not a melodic album without being relaxing, and perhaps a smidge one dimensional but it's also completely joyful, self-confident and of its moment. It edges a four because I've been giving out too many threes.
Fine, better than the other one. Teenage, whiney, some edge but generally not for me.
Thought I'd enjoy this more. I love a bit of Brazilian afrobeat but that squeaky drum they use drives me up the frigging favela. Less rhythmic or exciting as I'd anticipated, subtle, good for doing something else to. Far from life changing but could have on again no problem
Dull as dishwater. Such a fruitful decade full of pop in its pomp and drug fuelled experimentalism and all the Young Rascals can provide are generic 3 min long filler tracks
Honestly just fucking terrible. High tempo music is not always short, mercifully it was in this case. Just over half an hour, sadly just half an hour I won't get back. Not experimental or interesting enough to justify its unlistenability. Stupid stupid dirgey shite
Excellent funky cool, really low-down satisfying voice, great funk rhythms. The title is a spot-on description. You could drive around in a fat white Cadillac listening to this, with pink furry dice and people would just say y e a h
Cheesy, very 90s, positive vibesy hip hop - political without edge, interesting afrocentric ideas but none of them compelling. Just a bit... Alright. Musically there's a few well known tunes but they were never enough to smoke my kipper beforehand and that hasn't changed now.
Excellent album: calm, lilting, quietly uplifting. There's a very sweet, light, but mournful lyricism throughout. Gentle without being soft, subtle without being boring. An album you'll remember and revisit through your life, and an album that will evolve with the listener.
Fine, noughties-y funky housey something or other. Think basement jazz and daft punk. People went wild for that sort of sound but it washed over me a little bit. The album art is Sarah Lucas, who is excellent, and that's the highlight. If I recall, she did tlher crosses based on the crucifixion of Sebastian Horsley who was a very interesting man. Massive fan of top hats, heroin and sex workers. Basically, this album refers to more interesting stories happening elsewhere.
Catually loved it. Always thought the cure were kinda ditzy airheads for moody girls but their earlier goth-rock mood is actually very satisfying. Apparently Robert Smith was going through a sever bout of depression and substance abuse with this one and it gives the whole affair a nice edgey chiaroscuro.
Brilliant, funny, fresh, hard, cool, well pitched 90s heydey hip hop. Musically sophisticated, lyrically smart, thematically so stupid in a light life affirming way. Not lamely political, not gratuitous, not egotistical, simply clever. Biggy absolutely shits on Tupac. This album is very good
Actually quite a nice album. I've heard rumours she's a country musician but I'm not having it. Musical, melodious, easy listening - short, sweet and listenable while interesting enough. I'm, very literally, not a fan but I can see why others are and the album certainly does not offend.
Greazy, dark, tight, filthy jazz. Full disclosure here: I fucking hate jazz. I hate the tootling, self aggrandizing bullshit. but I. love. Charles Mingus. It's gutteral, dirty, almost scatalogical. Whereas jazz is so often cerebral, long winded, unstructured and lame - this feels rhythmic, deep, penetrative, and primeval. Brilliant
Loads of fun, have me a terrible wired energy though and I scrubbed the kitchen til 3 am. I'm not a metal guy but this was very listenable for the most part. Not too cheesy, a few really good solos which sounded accomplished, rhythmic and satisfying. Almost like some early hippy prog stuff. You know, when it just goes. Other times, a bit like early hippy prog stuff, it falls if a cliff but those moments are few and far between.
Excellent spikey rock n roll, great baselines, wonderful sometimes nonsensical lyrics but excellent EXECELLENT attitude. I've listened to this album since I was a teenager and I have always loved it. Liberating, fun good guts - pitched just right between interesting and melodious and edgey effortless cool. I could probably listen to this album every day til I die
Nasally reedy voice, sometimes earnest, usually forceful in a quiet persistent way. A bit country but musically thick and fully produced. Some iconic tracks with a consistent mood through. Very good album. Makes me feel like I'm in my girlfriend's parents car in the 70s or something
This was an enjoyable album with the conventional Three Good Tracks from artists who want albums to be an unobtrusive vessel for singles. However, I do think Costello writes songs quite cheaply and packs in some half-baked musings alongside some solid singer-songwriter pop. I find his American accent grating though and find it hard to pierce the surface level to find any depth.
Quite nice, interesting album. Sorta music for musicians but perfectly listenable. I dunno, three? Three.
Sorta moody early MTV cool alt girl Daria melodic chill pop. Your girlfriend will like it, but not too much. It's undull but not unusual. I had to listen to the album three times to remember it enough to write about. I could listen to it another three times without really noticing. It was, however, quite nice. It's between a 3 and a 4 for me
Loud, amusing, almost mind-bendingly competent. A very complete album. Compact and muscular like corned beef. It misses something for me though - some guts - relatability - vulnerability - life something like that. In the end though, I just think the album was made for someone else.
Iconic Christmas album. There's nothing like Phil Spector's sound, uncompromising, full-figured, encapsulating. This album is jangly and about as good as a Christmas album can be, which is a pretty low bar all truth told. Very serviceable album, one of the coolest options for the festive period. Is it a great album in it's own right? Perhaps not quite
Good album, very inspired by European electro, extremely 80s, melodic and listenable. Better than I expected, a touch experimental, not too poppy. Lyrics were amusingly stupid in places. Worth a listen
Good fun little indie album. Limited depth but evokes the mid noughties hipster zeitgeist relatively well. Very Where the Wild Things Are. May have even been the soundtrack. I remember NME journos pissing themselves over this album but it's basically just better than fine
Excellent greasy off-beat punk. Nightclubbing is excellent and made the Trainspotting soundtrack famous. Lots of lovely little gestures to Bowie blood but the energy is very Iggy. Interesting, groovy, slunks along in a gravy strut. The production makes the album sound like you are overhearing it from an adjacent room which lends the whole experience an air of cool I can really get into.
Dunk me in water and sing hallelujah, this is nice bluesgrassy close harmony southern tunes. Very influential over bands like First Aid Kit I'd say. Great window into a very American form of Christian baptist music if you're into that. It's good for a particular coen brothers mood, or from an anthropological l/ music history perspective. Otherwise it's quite one note and overlong.
Quirky yank new york piano nerd. Like Regina Spector but older and probably slightly more exciting. I would listen to this one again but struggle to summon the energy
American indie doing generic American indie things with guitars. It almost sounds like Manic Street Preachers but not to my taste. A lot of this genre has aged appallingly. It's almost unlistenably fine.
Brilliant, soulful, British, 60s pop. Motown flavours in places, very gospel inspired by very much its own thing. Good, zippy album
Incredibly normal album from an exceedingly usual 90s indie band. It feels accomplished but unexciting. If I was a 13 year old alternative pop punk fan in 2003 I would probably play these songs on my first guitar. I am a 30 year old cynic in 2023 though so fuck that
Boring shit dad rock
I love Bob but he was fucking dreadful live
Fucking hell, this was dreadful. Long, meandering, chaotic, lyrically self-indulgent and deeply stupid. At the same time, however, it's a really interesting window into a the hippie mentality. The problem is, I think I truly hate hippies. Can't quite shake the feeling this album is unremitting garbage
Brilliant album, experimental, homely, quirky, clever, powerful, puts you in a special mood. Intelligent, well-crafted pop for sensitive souls
How much Elvis Costello is there on this list? It's about as fine as the last one. He has a fetish for 50s Americana and puts on a silly accent, his lyrics are plain and sometimes mundane. Musically well structured but unexciting. He feels alone, but I'm not sure why. I think it's because he's pretending to be someone he saw in a magazine and must know, deep down, he hasn't quite gotten away with it
More interesting than pet sounds. It feels like it's played on a water damaged cassette or something. It's sort of slow, bogged, suffocating. Altogether warped and moribund. The lyrics are fine and sunny enough, there are touches of Moog here and there but a generally stripped back production. It's not a classic in my book but more interesting than I imagined and a very minimalist, tonal representation of the beach boys.
Twee, quiet, fine. The sort of music for precocious teenage girls starting art college. Quirky I suppose, simple, understated, not quite boring but not far off. You won't be offended by this folksy, twinkly, introspective little album but it struggles to light a fire for me
Beefy and aggressive, exactly what you want. Not usually my bag but I missed it when it was over. Excellent for anxty cycle to work
It's fine. More than fine for people that like this sort thing, I just don't know what that is. Kinda souly and that's fine. Kinda funky Motown, that's fine too. VERY 80s sounding, despite the fact I think this one in 79. His voice is pitched in a way I find grating but that's not his fault. The album shows flourishes of something exciting, just for someone else
Excellent funky, throbbing, rock, groove music. Heady, heavy, thick. Love it
Dreary mumblecana. He chooses to mainly list obscure brands of car lost to history than craft a song with any narrative. At point point he talks about working in his pa's garage as if he wasn't clearly 40 years old by this point. The boss is toss
Perfectly pleasant jazz record.
A fine 90s brit-pop indie album that misses something. Richard Ashcroft is a very good songwriter with an ear for a satisfying melody and he has an arrogant self-assuredness that is satisfying as much as distancing. The album is the equivalent of a britball 442 - tracks are all normal lengths, the singles are spaced out reasonably equally. The album feels like the euros 96. It lacks a romance or imagination to push it into greatness. A pragmatic album with some good songs. The drugs don't work is a highlight in my view.
Excellent album, soul affirming funky hip-hoppy metal rave. Hard, uncompromising, energetic, wonderful. Strong, British, full of a sort of anarchic liberty which is deeply satisfying. I remember hearing it for the first time as a child in the 90s and it absolutely blew me away. What a record
They're an okay band and make a record which could be interesting if I was more teenage, more angry and more American. Feels like a song missing a melody though. It just sort of starts, does it's thing and ends leaving the listener broadly unhooked. Maybe after the millionth listen I'll get there but not today
I tried this one a few times but couldn't crack into it. Cheesy without being camp and amusing; over produced, uncompelling - just not a bit of me really although nothing truly offensive. Generic American rock album. All the tracks in the usual places. Forgettable
Dull, slightly cringey lyrics with an admittedly youthful lack of self-awareness, generally a bit warbly and unstructured. Karma Chameleon is obviously a classic but can't carry this amount of filler. Very 80s cheese throughout, a half hearted attempt to get some gospel in the background that didn't quite pay off. Not for me
Gutless flat album that goes nowhere. Spots of texture here and there but no thrust. Constantly seems to lead to somewhere more interesting but never quite manages it. The lyrics are bland and static, the mood is steady, stable and finishes at an ordinary moment. The album stands plain as a wardrobe.
Quirky innit. Very British. Little psychedelic flourishes that sound a bit silly now. Think paisley, hippies, private school, cricket, that sort of thing. Occasionally goofy in a charming way, like Hugh Grant's hair bobbing round the corner of an Oxford book shop. It's wet and self aware but only to a limit. It also feels a little one note on first listen but not compelling enough for a second any time soon
I listened to this - thought it was boring and shit. Trying to remember an interesting observation but I simply couldn't think of one.
A fair, punchy, interesting pop rock album from my early teenage years. Elements of glam, and a mysterious corny cool that comes from that slightly seemy, tacky, evangelical Las Vegas world from which the Killers emerge. The lyrics are sometimes laughably fucking stupid. So much so, that I remember binning the album off at 13. Nevertheless it's okay. Wouldn't put it in my 1001 list though
Grumbling anxiety fuzz, kinda cool, kinda backgroundy, kinda terrible in places. It feels unstructured and loose. Makes you lose track of time in a overstimulating kinda way, like getting lost in Selfridge's or Cyberdog in Camden, or both simultaneously.
Angular, funny, stupid, horrible, uncompromising 80s post-punk. It almost gets to a groove but not quite. You listen to this album for a mood not a boogie though
A fair, solid, fuzzy 90s album that sounds not quite like anything else, without feeling especially unique. Some of the songs are recognisable, the filler tracks are pleasantly traversable. A fair go.
I used to think Harry Nilsson was dull: overplayed, ploddy, a bit McCartney-esque. It makes sense, his songs feel tuneful but touch repetitive; simple and easily conceived. Nilsson's dressing gown schtick supports this view that he doesn't strain for his work - although I believe this to be affectation. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this album. I'm perhaps the right age. There's good bluesy elements, a kind of sloppy, well-arranged rock n roll, it sounds like someone enjoying making music and it runs off. When the things over you miss it and that's the sign of a good album
Interesting to hear woodie Guthrie set to modern music. Bragg as dreary as ever. Both he and Guthrie I've felt I've had to like because of their politics but it's damn hard work. Sad to say I preferred the Waco tracks. The end result was middling indie with a few bright spots. Dylan would possibly have done it better if he found these tapes in the 60s but watcha gonna do
You know it was alright - nice country harmonies. It sounded like you were listening to the radio in a big car in Alabama or something. Otherwise ungripped but maybe worth a second listen
Listened, didn't get. Would give it another go but I'm not sure I enjoyed it. Kinda dancey but not in a way that made me want to dance. Interesting but not in a way that made me want to listen. I dunno. Two stars?
I never really got it with these guys. Just listen to the rolling stones or oasis or, failing that, a good band composed of more than a semblance of an attitude and a haircut. It's all just fine. Fine
A great angular, teenage, British punk album. Simple, catchy, edgy, about great teenage things like kicks and girls and hanging out. Great energy although a bit moth-eaten now. No teenager would be caught dead listening anymore and that's for the best. Youth is ephemeral like it's culture. Clinging to this album is like clinging to a hairline. In summary, a good album long dead
Layered, wall-of-sound instrumental. Kinda proggy, electric, heady, good for endurance exercise probably. Kinda went over my head on the first listen, the second was better and I'd recommend if asked.
NEEE-ON LIGHTS WEOOOW GLITT-ERING NEEE-ON LIGHTS etc. Great, listened to it 3 times. Brilliant cycle ride to work. It's just a very nice album. Smooth whizzy synth tunes that evoke the Autobahn, long brown trench coats and a declining GDR for me, despite the historical dissonance. Lovely noises, pleasantly arranged what more could you want in an album
Ah, air-heady positive wholesome indie fun. Not wholesome in a twee moth-eaten sort of way, but in a youthful exhuberant summery sort of way. Two well-known tracks to sing along to, and the rest zips along with fresh speed. More than a three? No
Sultry r&b for habitual hash smokers. It's kinda sexy just not for me. Makes me feel like a cuckold. It's funky enough and you can happily groove away but ultimately I was never destined to be in this gang and that's fine. If you want cool, laid back neo-soul go for it
A bit soppy, slow, cute, indie, emosh. A touch over quirky for me. Reminds me of a great doc about this dude who can't get erections.
Shit, boring, turned it off
Excellent album. Jagged, dark, mournful, forceful guitar music with mild industrial electro on occasion. More deep, existential and serious than the 80s goth movement that it spawned. True nihilist post punk. Musical, lyrically unique and quietly compelling. Think grey, hopeless, northern, gruelling, yet - despite what The Wombats want you to believe - actually quite good to dance to.
Brilliant, exuberant, energetic youthful record. Lacks a maturity and focus in places but quite fun. Bjork is excellent but hasn't quite claimed the forefront at this point. Birthdays a good track. Perfectly bloody nice
Soft tracks for gentle souls. Pleasant but bloodless. Pleasingly short. Famous songs but generally forgettable. The album ends in a light ebb.
Ah fine - college rock or something. Later albums are more mature and the songs have more distinction but this is youthful and fun.
For long stretches certainly more sad than happy; where the album isn't sad, it's certainly long. It's meandering and indulgent like early Van Morrison and self-confidently sexy like Buckley junior but in a way that seems occasionally try-hard. In patches, particularly towards the end, there are good grooves and nicely layered textures that you can really get into - in other segments it can all feel a little loose and soppy. It's a reasonable, jazz-inspired, often mournful, singer songwriter album with sweet spots interrupted by the occasional slow motion warble.
Some classic 80s stuff. Not really for me. The album doesn't hold together especially well and relies on it's two famous tracks to get by. It gets dull fast. Glad they exist I suppose but not for my own sake.
Just the best dad music. Not my dad, of course, who's a Beatles guy - but someone's dad. Byrne is cool as fuck. Great rhythms. Great lyrics. Nice taste in suits. Rhythmic, angular, great life-affirming, funk-adjascent groove. I particularly like the section where Byrne says heaven is a place where nothing really happens. Dunno what it means but it feels like it means something good.
Acerbic, caustic, other time fantastic. Jello's warbling but assertive voice sets nicely with the fuzzy diy musicianship. The lyrics are funny, provocative and excellent for precocious teenagers looking for a sharp edge to their politics. When I was 14 I bought this album for a girl I fancied who I believe still has it. Kill the Poor and Holiday in Cambodia are highlights. The album does sometimes disintegrate into sparse noise but that's sort of the point. Five star band but maybe a four star album.
Oh it's just fine. Country inspired rock music with some slidey strings and some harmonies. I can imagine driving one of those large modern American trucks to a gas station near an Arby's to it and pretending to myself that I am a free American man rather than mere detritus on capitalisms factory floor. I am, as it happens, neither American nor detritus so the fantasy does not last long. This is such a normal album with some extremely normal songs that it can't exceed 2.5 stars and I'm in a rounding down kinda mood
The baroque harpsichord can grate early doors and often the songs feel flippant, superficial and in the case of Session Man perhaps a little mean-spirited. The album descends into an almost ironic psychedelic instrumental before getting significantly better. Sunny Afternoon is a classic for a reason: warm, funny, seemingly relatable (despite my lack of stately home or significant taxable income). The other tracks feel immediately more mature and better for it. I never really got the kinks, but this album brings me closer.
Remarkable album. Hard, uncompromising, invigorating. Never listen to metal normally but this was extraordinary - no campy machismo, self-regarding instrument fondling,l or school-shooter vibes. Metal without North American involvement. Turns out it's excellent.
Fun 80s campy tunes. Simple, familiar, exuberant, fun. Won't listen again.
Huge swinging Americana from Dartford's finest. The yank fluffing in the Stones' back catalogue is so overpowering it feels like some drawn out parody. Most of the songs on this album are broadly forgettable and, on the whole, indistinguishable one from another. It picks up a little with the jangly and subtle Let it Loose but still never quite leads anywhere. I will never ever understand the NME pretense that there was any sort of comparison between this extremely one dimensional, samey band, albeit with a handful of excellent tracks, and the Beatles.
Quite fun for a live album although many of the tracks passed me by. I Want You to Want Me is pleasant enough and buzzes along with a warming euphoria. The band have a swingy air-headedness which brings a smile. I listened while on a long run and it motivated me to chomp up the miles quite happily. Whether it leaves a mark, I dunno
A satisfying 90s album full of okay songs. Considering Blur were at their prime during my young years I'd have thought this album could bring a twinging nostalgia but nothing. Ready Salted record, less good than their more famous album, and a fair precursor to better material from Albarn's later projects.
Excellent 80s British band. Satisfyingly angular, fuzzy edge with relatable lyrics if you grew up in the UK. Excellent music for urban cycling and wistful memories of teenage simplicity
A tame, trendy affair unlikely to offend or inspire. The rhythm is self-consciously cool and smooth but buzzes along in a very usual manner. Musically competent but rarely gripping I would happily put this in the box marked "clearly not for me"
Dunno, like it's good but I'm not American and 13 so it's certainly not great. I've also heard Alice is a stand up guy but he simply feels like a creep and there's no getting past it.
More interesting than most Stevie. Groove, subtle, gospel and nicely layered. Great as background but interesting enough to sincerely sit and listen to. It's has a lot of fun space synth noises twiddling about but very little of that stupid honking synth horn I find so off-putting with a lot of Stevie Wonder's more commercially successful tracks. A very nice album.
Excellent album. Punchy, unique, strong, thrusting. You will always always have a smile on your face to this. Excellent UK race with punk, metal, D&B, jungle elements. What a mix.
Move over Travis, you are not the only purveyors of blandy noughties inoffensive indie music. The album starts and ends at the usual points with precisely three recognisable songs and suitable filler in between. Are the recognisable songs good? No. Is the album? No. Was it influential? Not in a positive way. Will I listen again? No.
Always brilliant. This one has all the classics and I probably should have listened to this before Live at San Quentin which appears as the fresher, sharper album of the two probably as a result. An excellent raconteur, performer and musician. Jonny Cash united all people in thinking he was an extremely cool fucking guy
Reedy warbling vibrato and piles of self-conscious sincerity but a remarkable voice nevertheless. These are predominantly covers, and dominated by a stripped-down folk faux-socialism. I think there is inadequate vulnerability, honesty or artistic expression to be considered truly era defining but she's left her imprint and deserves some recognition for that
Very American classic rock tunes for dull dudes who drive a lot
The tracks in this album take a long, meandering time to go nowhere in particular. It's very grand, layered and, at times, bombastic, but the end result is a little soulless and showy for its own sake.
White guy blues. Don't get me wrong, I like white guy blues sometimes but this is just like black guy blues other than a sheen of inauthenticity. The voices are an imitation, the guitar licks have been overheard elsewhere first, the band is a homage and the grooves are affectations. The problem is that these people admire blues musicians not for the emotions they evoke but the technical ability they have. And generally these early British blues guys practiced that in their private school dorm rooms. It's a different, worse, world. And throughout this ineffable sensation that they thought they were so cool for producing this fake bread. The album, in the end, is forgettable, cliched, at least by now, and just a bit annoying
Not a one track wonder. The album makes me think of those moody 90s new age-witches: all purple and black fabric and dark eye-shadow. The actual album is melodious, serious, and even a little bit cool. Nothing compares 2 U is extraordinary if a little familiar and black boys on scooters is good controversial daily mail bait which is always good for a bit of seasoning. A better album than I anticipated
I think Richard Ashcroft is a cool guy and this is a cool album. Low key britpop with a bit of swagger and musicality. The Verve, despite being the lesser exposed of the 90s lad bands somehow remains terminally uncool. Oasis and Blur have their accolytes, Pulp have their cult following (despite having at most three songs) and yet the verve. Who listens to *them*? Well, I did, twice, and possibly possibly never again.
I used to have a fantasy of playing 2+2=5 to Simon Cowell on stage or something when I was 14 just because the drop is so serious and undeniably thick and heady. Thought his taught botoxed cheeks would loosen from their chemical girdle and wabble appreciatively and he would know, he would simply know that music had finally happened. That the holy war was waging and he was on the wrong side. This is a good, overlooked, Radiohead album. People get sniffy because it's not OK Computer or the Bends but those people are idiots. An extraordinary album if not quite their best.
Morose samey with moments of brilliance. Moodily encapsulates the dingey, paranoid, nihilist 80s attitude. Musically: fuz guitar music, low and monotonous but absolutely worth a listen
80s adult contemporary, oddly enjoyable, a bit yuppie but it has a nice groove generally. Layered harmonies, a touch of subtle synth, just a bit of guitar distortion. Just feels a bit American Psycho that's all
Chirpy upbeat rock pop from a bunch of goony middle aged yanks. Perfectly fine.
Very steady, satisfying indie album. A few familiar tracks, a nice consistent ryhthm. Interesting enough but not era defining or anything. Simple, understated, hits the right spots without overexerting.
Brilliant synthy scene music. Shears falsetto evokes British gay icons like the Communards or Elton John and always reminds me of similar bands during my twelfth year (The Darkness, Franz Ferdinand, Electric Six). The music is tight, zippy, funky, cocksure and enjoyable. Plus, from memory, the mamas loved it. Stronger than I remember if a touch poppy for me
Slimy, greezy swamp funk with assertive, gravelly rock n roll vocals. My grandads favourite band - for him Creedence were the culmination of music and nothing of note happened since other than, perhaps, Abba. Foggerty's presence is effortlessly, unobtrusively cool. The only band universally accepted as excellent.
Extraordinary improvised piano music. The album is like watching an extraordinary creative intellect just ticking over. It feels like having a great idea every few minutes. Extremely rewarding, beautiful stuff.
There will never be a voice like Aretha's - never a mood to match. She perfectly straddles the transition from gospel to 70s soul and brings the essence of spiritual devotion into the secular world seamlessly. Her voice is controlled while expansive and completely inspiring. It's such a complete expression it makes you want to punch walls. Having said that, I still found elements of this album a touch humdrum and incoherent. Aretha is a five star, life-changing singer but the album falls shy of its potential.
The worst wainwright. Goes on but goes nowhere. The Laurence Fox of music. Couldn't do much, so did what his family did.
Dull sort of adult contemporary. Sometimes piled in with Roxy Music's excellent Avalon as genre leaders but this is not a patch on that excellent album
I knew I'd hate this album when I saw how she spelled her first name. My granddad would have liked this album but he also liked the Corrs and being a racist so that doesn't mean very much. I found it a very standard album, from a very normal musician. Put it in the bin with the others.
Thick, fulsome 90s rock. Not for me, a bit crusty, but for someone I'm sure.
Heady, moody, generally good but goes off the boil in places. Satisfying otherwise and worth a second go.
Blood awful.
Ah, normal, fine, I want to like it but can't. Just sounds like bland oldy country. Overrated on first listen. Sorry Willy
Great band, great album, lyrics nonsensical but feel right music is on point. Just brilliant psuedo cerebral American 90s guitar music.
Didn't realise there were so many bloody temptations. Good ol' well-established funk. In the mood for not-too-funky funk? Well here's a plateful. It'll fill that funky hole but you aren't gonna gurn baby.
Little moments but degrades into self-indulgent, thoughtless guff which is too easy to dismiss. I expected more from this icon but, like many teenage cult figures, his death overshadows his life.
If you like Mike you'd love this album - if you think he's a bit of a weird nonce then you'd probably still like this album but to a lesser extent.
Ah, a fine album with high points (Maps and Y Control are absolute bangers) otherwise faintly nostalgic noughties indie pop with a charismatic frontwoman and a fairly normal backing band.
Honestly, excellent. Always thought they were a bit cheesy and lame but sweating up a large Spanish mountain in my bicycle to this really helped. Is it real funk? No, not really. Disco? Not that either. Does it matter, only a little bit.