1001 Albums Summary

One of my favourite albums and an incredibly important album in the development of modern music. "Endtroducing....." was the first album comprised entirely of samples and set the template for much of the way we produce today as well as being a huge influence on my music in general. Highlight Track: Stem/Long Stem - this track has some great memorable vocal sample moments "Waiting to be heard on my traffic offenses"! And some gnarly processed distorted breakbeats in the first half.

Taylor Swift's foray into folk pays off big time. A great album and one of those fantastic examples of what happens when a top tier song writer gets bored and decides to do something different. Highly recommended.

There's few genres I really get nothing out of but this type of Latin jazz is one of them, does absolutely nothing for me. The band seems talented but it just doesn't vibe with me at all

I'm familiar with The Stranglers bigger singles and have long adored 'Golden Brown' from 1981's 'La Folie'. I think I probably have heard Rattus, but probably a long time ago. I did catch them live at a small festival in Guildford (Their home town) many years ago and remember them being brilliant. This brand of punk with keys and a bit of sax every now and then really appeals to me. One thing that caught me a bit off guard is that you can hear little bits of the emerging bass heavy, repetitive, droning post punk sound, particularly on the standout song, the opener 'Sometimes.' I also caught snatches of Blues, Rock and Roll and even a little Skiffle in there, but nothing sounds out of place. Brilliant album.

A historically noteworthy and highly listenable album. I really love the very simple and early production on this album, but you can tell they were trying some things. The instrumentation sounds great and Solomon's voice is like silk. If you wanted one criticism its that the songwriting is a bit samey after a while, but then again, its soul, that's not really the point. What a pleasure to listen to.

P-Funk isn't something I often think to listen to but whenever I do I am reminded how much fun it is. Spending a bit of time in the world of George Clinton is a listening experience that's not quite like anything else I can think of. That being said there's only so much of it I can listen to before I get a bit lost, The fact that Clinton and crew have distilled funk down to pure well... funkiness both works in its favour and to its detriment. Highly enjoyable.

Jane's addiction have always seemed a bit like they didn't really know what they wanted to do. There's great moments in there, quite a few of them but then it lurches off to something else without pausing to fully explore an idea. Some good songs making up an album which, for me, never manages to elevate itself above pretty good

There's not many bands that have produced multiple anthems that have stood the test of time and are still in the popular consciousness; this album produced not only Common People but also Disco 2000. Which is to say there is certainly no lack of songwriting or production on show. Bar Itallia has to be up there with the all time great album closers as well. Jarvis Cocker always brings a lot of personality to everything he does but I tend to find his melodies and lyrical content a bit samey, his enthusiasm more than makes up for it though. All in all a brilliant album but not one thats in my regular rotation 4/5

Having never heard this album before I was expecting something closer in tone to Murder Ballads and that's definitely not what this is, much brighter and more hopeful in tone than you'd expect. Cave is brilliant as are the rest of the band but I don't think they are at their best doing this kind of work.

Wow so this album is quite a journey. I'll admit during the opening strains of Sea Song I wasn't expecting to give this a very high rating but at some point it clicked what was going on. This strange proggy, folky beautiful mess of an album unfolds in front of you, constantly surprising but never sounding out of place in context of the rest of the record. Robert is a brilliant songwriter and incredibly cryptic lyricist and his delicate warbling, meandering delivery takes a while to get used to but seems to reflect exactly what he was trying to achieve. Not to mention he has recruited a hell of a team to play with him. This is the sound of a group of musicians who have got wild experimentation down to a fine art. I can see myself revisiting this many times in the future.

I knew the name Teenage Fanclub but can't say I'd ever really given them a proper chance before and I was very impressed. A little bit indie, a hint of grunge, a little britpop its equal parts Dinosaur Jr, Pavement and Oasis. Not dissimilar to Ash who were coming from Ireland around the same time. A perfect example of that wonderfully carefree 90's indie sound but with enough interest and edge to keep it engaging.

How could you not give Doolittle 5 stars. There isn't a single moment on this album which isn't at the very least wildly entertaining. Its absolutely packed full of songs which not only set the template for decades of alternative rock. The fact that Here Comes Your Man, Wave of Mutilation, Hey, Monkey Gone To Heaven and the absolute monster of a song Debaser all appear on the same album is absolutely remarkable. Additionally a lot of modern music from Nirvana all the way through Pavement to the Strokes would probably sound very different. Dolittle deserves 5 stars and more.

This album was obviously put together with a huge amount of care and skill. Unfortunately this brand of 80's pop really doesn't speak to me on any level. Also it doesn't help that I've got a seething hatred of the awful wedding disco earworm that is Come On Eileen. Not for me unfortunately

I love Brian Eno and this is a brilliant record. Its bold and so packed with interesting ideas it can barely contain them all. You could accuse it of maybe jumping around a bit too much but I think that's part of what give it its charm. This is Brian Eno taking his influences and inventing modern ambient music before your very ears. My two standout tracks are The Big ship, an incredible though provoking swell of sawtooth synths and galloping drums. The Big Ship also contains some guitar work which is shockingly prescient of what would become post rock decades later. Second is Becalmed which would have sounded equally at home on his later Ambient works or indeed an underworld album from the 90's. Not my ultimate favourite Eno work but to say that on about an album which is this incredibly shows you how brilliant Eno's career is.

I've never been particularly taken in by Clapton's works and I wasn't on this album either. I find the songwriting a little bit middle of the road. The guitar work and tones are great though, as you'd expect from Clapton. Not for me but I can see why someone might really like this album, I didn't have an unpleasant time listening to it. But I cant see a situation where I'll ever think "I could really go for an Eric Clapton album right now"

One of the defining albums of the 200's indie movement. Franz Ferdinand immediately set themselves apart with razor sharp out fits, razor sharp cheekbones and razor sharp disco beats which immediately set them apart from the hundreds of "landfill indie" bands around at the time. The standout is of course take me out which is so much fun it has the power to stop you in your tracks to make you listen. But the rest of the album is packed with great tunes, dark of the matinee and auf achse are some favourites.

A bit motown, a bit funky, a great typical example of the sound of the era. I actually preferred the more standard Temptations stuff on the back half of the album from the slightly more funky and progressive stuff. I found the quality of the recording and mix varied wildly throughout the record, the highs particularly at points seem to get quite grating. A pleasant listen but not remarkable enough for me to put it up with the great motown albums

You tend to forget just how many hits Dusty made completely her own. The pure quality of that voice which has been rarely matched just transformed any song into something special. The vocal performances throughout are impeccable, (obviously) and the production on the instrumentation is timeless and supports dusty without overpowering her at any time. There's also the fact that it's just really really good. The song selection and track list is just really well put together and the whole album front to back is really entertaining.

Really not my thing. There's some good moments and I did like H2O Gate Blues. The delivery is passionate and the piano is great. Just not for me.

I have incredible respect for prince as an artist but I find this a bit too 80's pop for my tastes. Of course there are a few bangers, namely the title track. And I absolutely love the arrangements on the whole album, its dense and interesting and the range of instrumentation and samples are great. Similarly the production could be from 2022, not 1982 and you wouldn't bat an eye. I'm just not the biggest fan of how the whole package ends up coming together.

I find this album listenable but completely unremarkable. A standout single probably would have elevate this to a 3 but to me it sounds like a recording session with 2 people (Dion and Spector) who had slightly different ideas about what they wanted to do and it just didn't quite get there.

I wasn't taken in immediately by this one but as it got into the back half of the record I started really feeling it. The guitar work is incredible and the horns just wash over you, so smooth. Another one with absolutely timeless production as well, wouldn't bat an eye if this was from the 90's. I'm a big fan of Japanese City Pop and this was exactly the kind of thing they were influenced by so in a way I'm kind of approaching this from an odd direction. But I absolutely loved it.

A Perfectly serviceable album but one I find pretty unremarkable when compared to Wellers work with The Jam. I had a perfectly pleasant time listening to it but I wouldn't really be able to tell you any of the standout songs.

A great album, lots of fun and attitude. Not the best AC/DC ever produced but a banger none the less

Scroll back through my reviews and you will see that I really try hard to say something positive about albums, even if they aren't for me. But this album actually made me angry listening to it. Country and pop are two genres where you have to be an exceptional talent to pull them off, and more often than not that is achieved by Adding some kind of twist, or flair or just by being an incredible songwriter. This has none of those redeeming qualities. 45 minutes of meaningless drivel. Low point: Oh, what a world, for a song that I guess is meant to be abut how good life can be why it uses the most plain, devoid of emotion vocoder loop that I've ever heard. Kacey, go listen to some Bon Iver and see how its done properly.

I absolutely adore this album, always have. Girl from mars to me is the standout track, this sweet little love song poking its head above this sea of chaotic alt rock. Kung Fu is also great, such an infectious and high energy song. But the whole album is just really solid slightly grungy, slightly garagey alt-rock. Brilliant live band as well, so many good times seeing these guys at festivals. Plus it starts with a tie fighter sound, how could you go wrong.

A really important band in the development of rock and roll and a really great album. Not particularly listenable in the modern era though. Love what they were doing but as with so many trailblazers, because everything they were doing has become so much a part of the rock lexicon it didn't thrill me from 55 years in the future.

How can you fail to be charmed by this album? Every inch of it oozes confidence; a bunch of guys doing something new but with total conviction that everything they are making is pure gold. And what do you know? They were right. "Scorpio" is still a thrilling listen and "Its a Shame" is still as poignant now as it was when it was written. A incredibly entertaining and well put together album.

If you were going to get someone to do an album of unfinished Woody Guthrie works, Billy Bragg would be pretty high up that list. Wilco probably wouldn't be. But what a delightfully odd and successful pairing (a quick search tells me that Bragg approached Wilco, I'd like to know a bit more about what led to that phone call). Really good album, the star of the show is of course Guthrie's lyrics, which are strong throughout. It didn't rock my world, but I had a pleasant 50 odd minutes while listening to this.

Didn't really strike a chord with me but I can see why it gets a lot of love

A roaring stomping Pouges record, what's not to love. MacGowen is at his slurriest and swaggeriest and the band are as frenetic and folky as ever. Plus its got Fairytale of New York, scientifically the most Christmassy thing in existence. A great record.

How does anyone follow up Rumors? I think most people would break under the pressure, fortunately Fleetwood Mac were already a pretty broken and fractured unit. And it really shows in their work, more through the music here than on Rumors, where the tension was all about the lyrics. Tusk is a sprawling record that makes huge tonal shifts as it jumps between songwriters. Personally I feel like some of Buckingham's songwriting strays a little to far into Mccartneyesque novelty on songs like "The Ledge" and "What Makes You Think You're the One", which I don't think suits the band all that much. It does give an interesting counterpoint though to some of the less over the top songs by Nicks and McVie. Stevie Nicks is on frighteningly good songwriting form on this record and her songs really stand out as some of the highlights to me, she makes side two very much all about her with "Storms" and "Sisters of the Moon" and Side 4's "Beautiful Child" has got to be one of the best things Fleetwood Mac ever recorded. Christine McVie's incredibly grounded and honest songs make side 3 all about her, much like Nicks did on side 2. "Brown Eyes" into "You'll never make me cry" is such a powerful combo, and then being lifted back up by Buckingham into "I know I'm not wrong" is an absolutely phenomenal musical moment. John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, the eponymous Fleetwood Mac are also spectacular, the bass work is so interesting throughout, and never stops or dips in quality. And works so well with Mick's drums in a way that can only come from many many years of being a rhythm section. I was going to give this a four but over the course of writing the review I think I have convinced myself to go to a 5. I'm also compelled to revisit some of my favorite bits. So a 5 it is, I still don't think its quite on the same quality as the much tighter "Rumors" but an amazing piece of work. It also gave me an opportunity to play one of my favourite games, "Which member of Fleetwood Mac wrote this song". Its not a particularly hard game, but entertaining none the less.

What a difficult one to come to a solid conclusion on. There can be no understating how good Metallica are or their influence on metal and alternative music spanning many decades. But they are also capable of making huge missteps, St Anger for example where the snare sounds like someone hitting a wheelie bin with a shovel. Despite being a big fan I'm finding it really hard to figure out if this is Metallica pushing their stuff in a different direction with mostly good results or if this is the product of hubris and no one telling them to stop. The concept of Metallica backed with a symphony orchestra is awesome, I'll give it that, what a spectacle they managed to pull off, being there would have been quite something. The problem comes that the melding of the two styles is very inconsistent. It works great with some of their more epic slower stuff, the version of The Thing that Should Not Be is absolutely spectacular. Similarly it works quite well with some of their more mid 90-s Nu-metal type stuff with a wonderful rendition of Fuel. That being said, one of my favorite Metallica moments is the chanting in The Memory Remains which is usually absolutely chilling live being sung by 80,000 people but falls flat here with an orchestral part crowbarred in. Similarly Master of Puppets which to this day remains one of the most dynamic and exciting songs you can possibly listen to just really doesn't work which is a real shame because I think if they had nailed that it would have elevated the whole thing to the next level. I think some of the problem here is that its all got a bit over the top. I feel like a much more stripped down orchestra would have worked much better. When the slower numbers are backed by strings, wonderful, when you have those horns backing up some of the more powerful bits, amazing. But the more cinematic flute stabs, rumbles and bell chimes just come over a bit forced. It could have definitely benefitted from a more refined setlist as well but I do understand that everyone involved wanted to get their moneys worth and a long set really is the easiest way to do that, maybe a shorter release edit would have been a good idea. No casual browser in a record shop is buying this to hear "Hero of the Day" (as much as it is actually a really good version). The production on the record is great, the mixing is a bit dodgey if you are listening to it expecting studio quality but its a live album and it does a really good job of recreating the Metallica live experience, slightly stilted overly practiced James Hetfield crowd work included. The problems can be summed up in 2 points I think 1. Overly ambitious orchestra work which all too often doesn't mesh with the vibe of the originals and 2. They haven't nailed all the hits in the way they should have to really make this record shine (How did they not nail One! A huge swing and a miss). Its pure unabashed Metallica though, fully committing despite the obvious flaws and I'd defy anyone to say it didn't hold their attention throughout.

This is an album that sounds like a group of guys having fun. Didn't blow me away but there wasn't a single second of it that I didn't enjoy. Just a great collection of bluesy rock songs made by a bunch of legends who were/would go on to define British music of the era.

What a fascinating area of Post Punk that I have never heard before, or is it Art Rock, or is it New Wave, does it matter? I loved this album despite not really being the kind of 80's production that sometimes puts me off a little bit there's something very talking heads about it but also very Franz Ferdinand about it, if you told me blind it was an album by either of those two I'd probably have believed it. I'll definitely be revisiting this one many times, absolutely great stuff.

This is a very different Wilco than most people know from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. More Alt-Country than Alt-Rock. If I'm honest I'd never really heard this early Wilco before and suddenly their inclusion on Mermaid Avenue makes a lot more sense, something I've always been confused by. A lot of these songs are really great. You can hear Tweedy starting to head a little towards his later sound. The influence of bands like Pavement are all over this and tells a rather intriguing story of an alt-country musician starting to reinvent his sound into something a bit more enigmatic. I particularly like when the dissonant and noisy bit surface for a minute and you think "Yep, this is Wilco". The main problem is sweet christ on a bike it's a slog. Not because it significantly drops in quality, but because its an hour and 20 long. I'm a firm believer that if you don't have a particular reason to write a double album, don't do it! This could have been two releases and it would have been great! But you run out of so much energy after the 15th alt-country song that its really not doing its self any favours. Why did no one sit him down and go "Jeff... its an hour and seventeen minutes, tone it back a bit mate." The main feeling that I'm left with after listening to Being There is, why didn't I just go listen to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot? Because of the list obviously, but I don't think I'll ever consciously put this on again over YHF.

45 Minutes of absoloute chaos, I absolutely loved it. I have crossed paths with TJSBE (as I assume fans call them) many times over the years (notably of course from Baby Driver) but never sat down to listen to them, despite knowing it would be my kind of thing. But that's what projects like this are all about right, to help you get round to all these artists and I'm so glad I did with this one. There's a lot of good riffery and songcraft in here, its just hidden behind the noise on purpose and strung together in a way which is a hell of a brave move to make and one I respect immensely. The songs are short and never outstay their welcome and the amount of influences on show are staggering. This is great stuff. 4/5

I don't really get Bruce Springsteen. Not that I don't like the music, I do, its pretty good but I don't understand why he has this cult like fervor surrounding him. This is an album of above average pop rock (with the standout being the title track) but Springsteen fans seem to think he is the second coming. Which really confuses me. I don't have a huge amount to say about the music apart from it was good but I couldn't really pick out any standout moments. A Very solid 3/5 for me, liked it but probably not going to put it on again any time soon

I wasn't particularly looking forward to this one, disco isn't really my thing. But I didn't hate it and actually caught myself grooving along a few times. I still don't think I can rate it particularly highly because its definitely not something I'll put on again and I did find it quite repetitive. I feel like they could have done some more to make the songs go more places but then again that's not what they were trying to do and I totally respect it, it just doesn't speak to me personally. I'll give it a 3 because it did pleasantly surprise me but it didn't blow me away.

An interesting album. I've always been quite impressed by this brand of avant garde pop, its always so dense and intricately put together it boggles my mind how much skill and care these artists have. And this is no exception, Jane Weaver has had a varied career and by this point has obviously learned exactly how to achieve the sounds she wants. Always changing and holding your attention, Modern Kosmology didn't seem to have a standout track for me but in the best way possible, because the quality is so high throughout. This is one ill come back to definitely.

This is an album that has a few good 'Tom Petty' high moments but on most of it it feels like they are very much still trying to find their sound. Very middle of the road stuff from a bunch of artists that are definitely capable of much more unique things. Not that that's the worst thing in the world, sometimes it takes a while to figure out what works and obviously when they hit 'American Girl' its like announcing Tom Petty has arrived to the world.

Some bands take years and several albums to find their voice, Oasis come out of the gate, glass the waiter, steal someone's pint and leave. Its got to be up there in the best debuts. Oasis get a bad rep for being overly simplistic rock and roll for football hooligans. And I get that viewpoint, I do, but those people should lighten up, its great songwriting done well and with attitude and the wall of guitars sound is timeless. I absolutely adore the opening bars of "Live Forever", its a classic musical moment and for that reason id probably point to it as my standout song. I'm only not giving this 5 stars by its unfortunate virtue of not being "(What's the story) Morning Glory?". Its not Definitely Maybe's fault of course but sometimes you get overshadowed by your more successful sibling.

This was a fantastic album. I was a bit worried in the opening 2 or 3 songs that it was going to be a bit too ambitious for its own good and outstay its welcome. But as soon as the album hits its stride with "The art of peer pressure" (My personal favourite) it doesn't let up. Enough has been said about how good Lamar is as a wordsmith and rapper that at this point its almost become a cliché. But its only talked about so much because its true, he seamlessly shifts between styles and tones with such mastery its very impressive. But to me the true genius is how he puts an album together and who he surrounds himself with to do it. A great example of the fantastic sound design on show is on the titular "m.A.A.d city" which starts with quite an aggressive gangsta style beat and gradually morphs into something that would be quite at home on DJ shadow's "Endtroducing" but does it so totally seamlessly and without sounding out of place. I could keep writing for ages about this and while it doesn't fit into my usual criteria for a 5 (being usually reserved for my all time favourites) I've decided to promote it for being so engaging it makes me excited to do the review.

I have a slight annoyance with wings in that it seems like McCartney looked at the back half of Abbey road, which was famously a medley and went "Yeah lets do that, but all the time". The title track has so many good moments and really great pieces, but then lurches away from them before you get a chance to really get into it. I find the rest of it a bit disjointed as well. And the bits that aren't are a bit... "Maxwell's silver hammer" for their own good. Although Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five is an exception to everything I have just said, its an incredible song and exactly what I want wings to sound like all the time, they just can't quite keep that level of intensity going it seems. That being said its got that signature McCartney charm and the bas is as good as you'd expect from the man himself. The whole album is also very fun and entertaining which is probably exactly what he was trying to do over the last years of the Beatles, inject a bit of fun back into proceedings to bring them back together, something he carried on into Wings. Ultimately the fact that I've spent two paragraphs banging on about the Beatles probably sums it up really. A Really great solid album but wings never set my world on fire and really serve as a monument, as did all of the fab four's work in the 70's, to what came before.

How can you fail to be uplifted and refreshed by these kinds of wonderful African rhythms and singing. I had a smile on my face throughout. Its a little cheesy 90's Casio keyboard in places, but I try not to hold that against people because the early 90's were a weird time. Plus it kind of works here with the uplifting vibe of the record. I think my favorite track was Olel but they are all strong and I think that's this albums weakness as well as strength that its all about the same quality so its easy to get lost in and I can absolutely see why it would fail to make an impression on a lot of people.

Wow, within a couple of tracks this album just grabbed hold of my attention and just never let up. Q-tip's voice is so characterful and full, and I use the word voice there in both the physical and abstract senses. The production is top notch throughout, it's jazzy and uplifting without feeling too 90's and Q-tip effortlessly finds interesting things to do with whatever beat he's come up with. My favourite track was 'Won't trade,' most of the rhymes in this track go on a little bit longer than you think they should which gives the whole thing a slightly lazy syncopated feel which I absolutely adored. One of those albums that put a smile on my face that remained there for every second of its 46 minute runtime.

An absolutely amazing album. Brings back a lot of happy memories for me of a trip to Uganda (where reggae is a heavy influence on popular music), there's few experiences in life more chilled out than driving around the plains of central Africa blasting Bob Marley and watching the Giraffes and the Elephants. The opening of this album is incredibly strong with 'Lively Up Yourself' directly followed by 'No Woman No Cry' (although it always throws me a bit to hear the studio version). The title track is obviously another highlight but I wouldn't say there is a weak song on it. I'm giving it a 4 only because I reserve 5's for my absolute favourites, but its a 4.9

ZZ Top are a fine band, don't get me wrong. But I never quite got on with them as much as I feel like I want to. I feel like being in my 30's and from South West England I'm from the wrong time or place, or more likely both, to really appreciate what they do. That being said I really enjoyed this album, more than I thought I would if I'm honest and of course it has the absolute banger "La Grange" on it which massively goes in its favour. Although the version I heard is a 2006 remaster, the production and recording style of this album is very much of its time, the guitar and fuzz just sounds so 70's in that instantly identifiable way which if I'm honest isn't my favourite recording style, I prefer a more generic timeless production. The song writing is great and catchy but again very old school at this point. Not bad but not something I'll likely put on again any time soon. 3/5

Oh Great I though, a Coldplay album, much eye rolling and tutting ensued. But I wasn't really prepared for the weird mix of emotions that actually listening to a Coldplay album all the way through (for the first time ever I might add). I never really actually harbored a deep hatred for Coldplay unlike a lot of people, I just always thought they were vapid, middle of the road and just far too concerned with getting radio plays than actually making good music. And its so easy to rag on them, and quite fun as well to have a go when everyone else is doing it. First of all, let me get it out the way. Yellow is an absolute banger, for a song the the entire world (including me) has heard hundreds if not more times. I was shocked that I had never really listened to it. The electric guitar production in that song is so good, its played sloppily and sounds raw and really unique. Champions drums have this wonderful reverb tail on the snare which really binds the piece together and all of the little glissandos in Chris Martin's vocals are all far more deliberate and well crafted than I originally would have thought. I mentioned Will Champion's drumming, I really think that's the key to this record, he's definitely a Ringo rather than a Pert in that its all understated but played with so much groove, I don't think there's a bad drum part on the whole record. I could go on so let me just sum up a few short feelings about a few more songs; Don't Panic is so anxious and driving its a great intro to the album and Trouble sounds deep and wide and lush as the sea with that wonderful piano sound and lush percussive acoustic guitar. That being said I would call quite a few of the songs filler, Spies and Sparks failed to make much of an impression on me. But the reason I found this a weird experience more than anything was that I actually enjoyed a Coldplay album. In fact in the last year I've listened to and enjoyed a Coldplay and an REM album. What does this say about me? Does this mean I'm getting old? Should I got out and buy some slippers and a big bag of Werther's originals? Over the course of these 41 minutes and 55 seconds I was forced to take a look at myself and where I am in life as I get into my late 30's. And I came out the other side having realized that yes maybe I've grown up and am seeing the value in something that I didn't see any value in when I was younger. And you know what, that's fine! We are all a sum of thousands of experiences, and all of those have lead to me being a lot more self assured and artistic than I ever was in the year 2000. Maybe that naff band with the annoying frontman are worth a chance after all because there is something of value in there even if the package as a whole isn't perfect.

A really well put together album that I didn't find particularly engaging. I often get lost in the extended jams of this kind of music. Which I know is kind of the point but I like to have something I can sink my teeth into a bit more. Still Steve Winwood has this habit of making things that usually wouldn't be my kind of thing a bit more engaging than they would usually be. Which is the case here. I enjoyed it but probably wont be racing to give it a revisit.

Let me say before I start that this was the hardest album to rate that I've listened to yet. I swung throughout the course of it from 1 to 4 and ultimately can absolutely see why people rate it highly. John Cale's work with the velvet underground needs no introduction but this was my very first exposure to his solo work. A casual browse throws up words like avant-garde and experimental. Brilliant I thought a challenging listen in the vein of Robert Wyatt or a proto ambient work in the vein of what Eno was doing at the time awaits me. I don't think that's what this album is. I cant really tell what this album is. Is it a collection of 70's folk ballad nonsense? Is it a very accessible baroque pop album? Is it sublimely stripped down progressive rock? I genuinely can't tell. And therein lies the issue I want it to be more progressive, I want it to commit to being a weird album. However it just manages to dodge the question of if its a work of a mad genius or a singer songwriter going through the motions. Sometimes that enigmatic quality is to be celebrated, most of the time really but with this one it just left me feeling really frustrated. On the good points the title track is a great song and "Hanky Panky Nohow" has somehow wormed its way into the same part of my brain that's usually reserved for things much closer to outsider art. In fact, skipping back through the album, the song writing in general is quite strong. I just wish I could work out what he was trying to say with this album. I'm giving it a 2 but also following it on Spotify to give it more listens, I think that says it all really.

Not so much a release as a cultural touchstone in the way that only certain brands of indie bands seem to be able to achieve. The Suburbs does something that I think its quite remarkable, its a long album but it never really strays from sounding on brand. I'm not going to analyse what makes an Arcade Fire song sound like an Arcade Fire song, but they are an instantly recognisable band and every song on The Suburbs is of a very consistent tone and quality. Personally I love The Suburbs, the song writing as I have already mentioned is great, the vocals are never not totally on point, its got so many hits on it that most bands would take 3 albums to build up that many singles. But more than anything its interesting. There's always stuff going on to hold your attention and has been very finely crafted as such, its as much an achievement as a good record. If I had one complaint its probably that its bookended with the best song on the record which is maybe on purpose, start and end with your best melody but I feel like it could have been a really good mid album high point to keep the momentum up. 4/5

Sugary and Twee in a way that only a combination of Christmas songs and the early 60's can deliver. I've never been one for Christmas songs, and that's not something that listening to this collection of (admittedly iconic) songs is going to change unfortunately. I know a lot of people love this kind of thing but I just cant buy into it, its just far too cutesy and sentimental for me. There is however some great vocals and musicianship on show here. And it is a curiosity because of the Wall of Sound production style being applied to these songs. Definitely a little bit interesting, just really really not for me.

The Greschwin's music is incredibly iconic to a whole generation of people but unfortunately 1920's and 30's music like this hasn't aged particularly well. Everything from the sentiment to the references to the music itself just screams old fashioned and outdated. Which is a shame because there is obviously a lot of skill that went into writing these songs and Ella Fitzgerald does a find job performing these. But I just cant get into them. I'm chalking this one down as a "not for me".

I was expecting to hate this album. I didn't love it but I didn't despise it. Alot of the songs are more what we would describe as loops, or backing tracks today. I don't think thats surprising in context, the chap behind this album went on to be a very sucsessful pop producer in the 2000's so I think there is value here in hearing a early version of some of the sounds that would go on to back some huge pop hits. I did find myself smiling at a few of the tracks, which was unexpected. I think its got some personality. Unfortunately its buried in this wall of grating repetitive electronica. I'm gonna bump it up to a 3 though because it did surprise me in places.

Being only passingly familiar with Tori Amos, I didn't expect this album to have quite such an interesting and literate pop sound, its more closely aligned with Kate Bush and Bjork than Katie B. Hawkins (not that there's anything wrong with Ms Hawkins, she's written some bangers.) It was a pleasant surprise. Some of the sounds on the album err a bit to close to Casio keyboard territory for comfort. Admittedly it was the early 90's but the DX-7 had been in production for almost a decade, its not like they didn't know what good synth sounds were. It becomes a lot more palatable if you chalk it up to a low fi artistic choice on the part of Amos rather than a symptom of the cynicism and "progress over quality" attitude they had in the 90's but I suspect that wasn't the case. Either way that's just the Synth Nerd in me talking, it doesn't actually affect the songs which are strange, beautiful and charming. The album is a touch on the longer side but doesn't outstay its welcome. Very good 4/5

This is... definitely some jazz! For me this kind of music has to be incredibly special and unique to make a lasting impact. This is very well performed and written but ask me to recall any of the highlights or melodies tomorrow likely I will have forgotton. I did really enjoy it but unfortunately it doesnt quite elevate itself to something I'll come back and listen to time and again.

This list has made me re examine a few huge rock albums which I have always written off as trite and I now love. This was not the case here. They have taken all the elemnts of post punk and ambient pioneers and just made it all so incredibly boring. Even the involvment of the great Brian Eno couldn't save them from devolving on every song into the same pseudo ambient shimmering guitar and Bono droning in exactly the same tone on every track. Fair enough they have fit on a formula and it works but wheres the variety? Apparntly their previous album was much more experimental. I'll check that one out instead.

I really wanted to like this more than I did, especially after reading on their spotify description about how many diverese genres they mix. But unfortunately all I heard all the way through was Springsteen meets Wilco. There were some soundscapes and noise that were very well made and ovbiously done with great skill but were over very quickly. The recording, songwriting and mixing on show is impressive and I did enjoy it, but I couldn't get over how let down I was, expecting something weird and interesting and just getting a big old slab of boring Americana. A complete lack of standout songs really seals the deal for me. I dont think ill be in a rush to revisit it.

Classic Metallica, what can I say. Theres a lot you can unpack about the latter parts of Metallicas career from the 90's onwards, for the record I still love them dearly to the preset day but their history is definitely... complex. But any baggage caused by St. Anger is forgotton when that opening lead guitar part from Blackened comes in. Then you get One. I could spend paragraphs writing about how much I love one, mlodic, heavy, conceptual, creepy, all the performances are so bang on, Long enough to be epic but never outstays its welcome, the vocals are Hetfield at his absolute best. Hearing those guns, either on record, or especially live is just electrifying. And that guitar tone in the intro... wow. What a banger. I wont give it a 5 because if I was standing in a record shop and I could only buy this or another Metallica album I'd always go for the other once but its damn close.

I really respect what Suede were doing, but I think they were in a way a victim of being the most interesting of the Brit pop giants. Their brand of bowie throwback britpop isnt as high impact or easily digestable as the beatles-esque swagger of Oasis or the Art-Pop stylings of Blur but ultimitely it was those two that dominated the 90's. As such Dog Star Man feels like it has a little bit less clarity of vision with elements of what made all of their rivals great but because it meanders between all these diffrent sounds (with great skill and songwriting I might add) it never manages to hook me in like Whats the Story or Blur's self titled. One thing I'm constantly reminded of on this list is that you can do everything right and its not going to be for everyone. I did genuinely like Dog Star Man but I wouldnt say its for me.

From what little I know of Elvis this definitely isn't him at his most bombastic or provocative leaving me without much to say about it. Its serviceable early rock and roll at its highs, bizarre downtempo country and western during its lower moments, and the cover of fever is not only weird that he hasn't attempted to put any kind of personality into it at all but also why would you put it second in a track list? Its hardly a big into to an album. Sorry Elvis, its a 2 on this one

The beginning of the end for the Beatles. I always feel a little bittersweet listening to the white album because (more than even Let it Be) I feel like I can hear the pain of these four friends discovering that they are all different people than they once were and just can't work together anymore. But what a strange unique and wonderful album that they managed to produce. Lennon's songs tend to stand out as the high points, Happiness is a warm gun, Glass onion and The continuing Story of Bungalow Bill all show a sublime mastery of melody, dynamics and Lennon's signature bizarre lyrics. Subsequently there is a tendency to write off McCartney's "granny music shit" (John's words, not mine) but personally I wouldn't want to live in a world deprived of the unashamed fun of Rocky Racoon or Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da or indeed the wonderful creation that is Blackbird. My favourite part of the album comes right at the end with Revolution 9, an experimental piece that is so large in its scope and ambition that even at 8:22 (the longest Beatles track) it feels like they could barely fit in all the ideas they wanted. Its tempting to put this down as yet another influence of Yoko's influence on John but when you dig a bit deeper there appears to have been far more involvement from Ringo and George than you'd first think, but we will never know the full story behind exactly how it came to be, which gives the piece a wonderful mysterious quality. An of course how do you finish an album after 8:22 of pure experimental weirdness? With the pure corniness of "Goodnight", in a way I see them as companion pieces, Revolution 9 being pure tension and stress and Goodnight putting a very soft and surprisingly emotional full stop on the album. I always think Ringo's voice was incredibly under utilised and he is on great form here and his whisper of "Goodnight everybody" at the end of this remarkable album always makes me feel a bit emotional. Simply one of the greatest albums ever made and I don't think I could ever fully understand someone who couldn't find at least something to like in it.

While I love Lou Reed's attitude and vocals, something about how he brings the whole package together in his solo stuff never really does it for me and this is no exception. The songs are great and I really commend him for making it so heavy lyrically, its a pretty unrelenting album. But much like John Cale's solo work I kind of want him to commit to being a bit more experimental rather than packaging his music in a singer songwriter type fashion. I get the impression that I might be more into his later works which Wikipedia tells me he got more into ambient experimentation.

What an absolutely fascinating record and one that conjures up so many different influences and emotions. The record meanders along at its own pace, going wherever it wants and I really respect that. I feel bad that it had never even occurred to me that kind of blues fusion could exist but it doesn't just stop there its got heavy ska and reggae influences displayed and Arabic style scales are heavily used in parts. Much drone as well drone good, me likey. Very evocative, it takes me straight back to time spent in Uganda, sitting on a bus driving long hours through the colorful streets of Kampala. I adore this album and have saved it straight away for future listens. 5/5

This caught me completely off guard with how arty and packed with ideas, to the point that during one song my internet cut out and I assumed the sudden silence was an intentional choice. I caught snippets of Talking Heads, Madness and Squeeze in there, even a little bit of the spirit of Devo. That being said I don't think they execute their ideas as well as any of those bands. There's just too many of them and sometimes it can get a bit grating with how in your face it is. An entertaining listen and the right length not to outstay its welcome. But I would have liked it if they had sprinkled in one or two solid pop hits amongst the zaniness.

Ray price seems really talented and sincere and honest and the band are really solid and tight. I also really dig the intro, starting an album by directly addressing the listener is such a cool, meta idea. That being said its still ultra twee country and for me has to start at a 1 and earn a higher score. The reasons outlined above are enough to bump it up to a 2 (didn't completely hate it) but doesn't quite reach the lofty heights of 3 (really enjoyed it but didn't blow me away). Ray price really does almost carry it there on his charm alone but I don't think I can do it.

Ahh the Beatles middle years, in this case quite literally 1965, halfway through the bands time together. And Rubber Soul seems to be looking backwards and forwards at the same time Much of the pop sensibilities remain, the opener 'Drive My Car' is a proper Beatles pop banger. But then it dives into "Norwegian Wood" and shortly after "Nowhere Man" which are much more of a departure from what they had done before (but in the case of Nowhere Man still keeping a lot of great harmonies and la la's to keep it grounded) The fact that this came out only 2 years after Please Please me by the same group of songwriters is staggering. Its so easy to overlook just how quickly the Beatles were moving and reinventing no only themselves but pop music which I think is a key point that's not taken into account in modern Beatles parlance. I don't find myself appreciating these middle albums (By that I mean this and Revolver) quite as much as their earlier or later works and unfortunately Rubber Soul doesn't fit into my personal category of 5 being records that can have my personal stamp of approval as one of my favorites. Nor does it blow me away so much that I cant help but give it a near perfect score. Its got to be a 4 but that's doing it a disservice as well. I might have to track down Paul and Ringo and apologize.

This is one of two albums on this list that I very much enjoy but was dreading a little bit (the other being The Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs). Its a work bordering on genuis, so packed with ideas and switching genres at such a frenetic pace that it barely gives you time to draw breath. What other record could have the flamenco inspired instrumental 'Cohesion' right after the funk/punk staple that is 'Viet Nam.' But it's ..alot. Who writes a 43 song long, hour and fifteen minute album with a straight face and without an ounce of pretention or irony? Minutemen bloody well did and the world is a better place for it. But it's ...alot. I'm sure the ghost of D. Boon will be ok with me putting this down and appreciating it from a distance for another 10 years.

I usually love guitar drums two pieces, they more often than not come up with something wild and relentlessly interesting. This is not the case with the Black Keys. I really want them to be good, I really do because theres so much potential there. But what they do isn't clever or fun or even particularly interesting and thats never been more evident than on Brothers. This is an hour or so of blues for people who don't like blues and fuzz laden riffing for people who don't like fuzz. Its the John spencer Blues Explosion for people who are afraid of wild chaotic experimentation. Its Death from Above 1979 for people who are afraid of rock music. Its the White Stripes for people who don't care about authenticity. I can forgive a mediocre album, I find it harder to forgive acts who are deliberatley middle of the road when they have so much potential. I'm going to put on the John Spencer Blues Explosion's Now I got Worry, its what I wish this was.

This is a precursor to the 80's power ballady, hair metally music which I absolutely despise. Because of that I wasn't looking forward to this album at all. But it's handled with a sense of maturity and conviction which the likes of Leppard and Van Halen totally lack to my ears. There also a thread of 70's blues which runs throughout which I think was totally lost by artists that were influenced by this. Of course more than a feeling is the best song on the album, its the kind of tune that any band would find it difficult to top. But the rest of the album does a great job at keeping the energy going. I think Rock & Roll Band, which comes about half way through is another high point. A textbook 3

Here we go... a bit of Slipknot. Maybe not their best album but still an impressive collection of songs and sounds. The record clangs and chuggs and powers its way through its tracklist as you'd expect and I think Corey Taylor is on absolute top form here, as can be heard on the amazing Psychosocial, going from screaming to this lush singing without seemingly any effort at all. Mick Gordons guitar tone on this record is similarly amazing always keeping the record sounding heavy but never overpowering everything else going on. Not to mention Joey Jordison's drumming which really got Slipknot where they are if you ask me, so dense and maximalist but it still sounds really good and the little cymbal flourishes and bell type sounds really offset how intense a lot of the double bass drum work is, also the snare sound is so finley crafted its quite impressive. Does it have the most hits on it? no is it as good as Iowa? no but its got its own style and personality and I love it.

This brand of British Blues with the ultra squeaky clean strat guitar tones is just so.... nothing. Middle class English white guys who have heard the blues on the pub jukebox and gone 'I can noodle about on my guitar like that but take all the soul out of it'. I am not trying to slander John Mayall as I dont know anything about the guy (although Eric Clapton can get fucked), so I don't want to project my personal opinions specifically onto him. But to me its not just the fact that I feel nothing when I listen to this kind of music. It's also indicitive to me of a time in the 60's and 70's when it was accepted that it was ok for guys to be offensive, racist and sometimes more than a little creepy in their attitudes towards women (How anyone could write Little Girl and not once get the ick is beyond me.) I just cant endorse this one in any way.

Not the most accessible or hit packed album, even by Radiohead standards, Hail to the Thief is Radiohead taking everything they had done up till that point and bringing it all together into one sound. There's so much going on throughout this album that it almost defies analysis. I think that's the reason it feels so overwhelming, its so dense and changes so quickly even within tracks that there's not much to latch on to. When it does stick its head above water around the time of 'There, There' and give the listener some time to breathe there's an immense sense of relief which gives the whole album this great sense of tension and release, which is kind of what the best music does, just this is on a longer timescale. Of course Radiohead are one of the most analyzed bands in history and I could keep coming up with stuff for ages but I suspect that none of my analysis on this album would have really been intended. From what I gather about the way it was put together it was intentionally done in a slapdash way. Get something down and move on quick. Even to the point where they forgot parts and who played them. Its an exciting and liberating way to make music and a testament to how well Radiohead work together and how good Nigel Godrich really is that they managed to produce material so impressive. Its not my go to Radiohead album but its still a great 4. Its not particularly enjoyable in places but I'm left with the impression that that's not really the point.

Theres a lot to love here, great vocals (Twig's falsetto is to die for), interesting instrumentation and the production and mixing does a lot of things right, there's an excellent sense of space and depth in the mixing which I really love. Its also taking a rich history of interesting pop and updating it for modern times in a way that's not as maximalist as hyperpop nor falls into the pitfall of being samey, the way a lot of heavily produced music can be. That being said its major downfall is really in your face the whole time and hard to ignore. Its so clean, where's the distortion? where's the tape loops? where's the hiss? where's the slightly dodgey inconsistencies in volume. A few imperfections and some more lo fi techniques would have made this record really shine in a big way. Its so clinical and it never stops battering you around the head with how digital it all is. A massive detriment and a missed opportunity on an otherwise fantastic album.

This just isn't a sound I'm into, that twee 60's/70's California singer songwriter sound is just anathema to me. Almost all of it comes across not only as boring but also shallow and this is no exception. I find almost nothing to get excited about. I also really don't like the drum sounds and heavy use of Rhodes piano throughout which just screams "This was made in 1970" in a way that plenty of other music from the era doesn't. Also every single person involved in that absolute travesty of a "Help" cover should have received a slap and a good long lecture on why they should never do anything so idiotic again. I was tempted to mark it up to a 2 because, as far as I am aware, The Carpenters are at least partially responsible for creating this sound and have seemed to elevate themselves a little bit higher in the popular consciousness than the hundreds of copies of them. But its just... so... awful... sickly, sweet, twee, I don't like the production, I really don't like their use of backing vocals which is so in your face its almost screaming "Look... Look, Look how good at singing we are, are you paying attention, are you?' Its so not my thing its not even funny

Joan Armatrading is one of those artists that im vaugely familiar with from my Mum being a fan and playing her in the car when I was young but hasn't made her way into my regular listening roataion in the decades since. How I have been missing out all these years. It took about 18 seconds into 'Down to Zero' before I added that to my spotify favourites, such a wonderful lush intro to an album. Armatrading has such a wonderful voice and style as well. Her lyrics are so honest and her delivery has a really interesting rythmic style to it that I really love. The instrumentation on this whole record is also brilliant, often sparse with this wonderful interplay of keys and guitars. Definitely the opener 'Down to Zero' is an amazing track but I also adored 'Save me' so those are my 2 standouts. I'm going to give this the rare honour of a 5 which I usually reserve for my inner cicrle of favourites, thats how much I love it.

I've always been a bit fascinated by Marc Bolan, one of the worlds great talents and rockstars. Always having a great time, always experimenting and reinventing himself, never taking himself too seriously and casually staring a movment that would take over the world. Everyone and their mother has been inspired by Bolan, directly or indirectly. Despite this and despite being very very familiar with his fuzzy Les Paul guitar tone I don't actually think I've ever listened front to back to a T. Rex album before. Strangley though it feels familiar and exactly like it should. This is a very very fun album, chaotic, messy and utterly brilliant. Metal Guru which I was of course already familiar with is a great opener of course and then Bolan goes 'did you like that? do you want more of it?' and then delivers on that promise without it ever starting to feel old or less entertaining. My favourite part was the run of songs from Baby Boomerand through to Buick Mackane sandwiching the incredibly well titled Spaceball Ricochet. I don't think T. Rex are going to become my favourite band of all time but I'll probably break it out every once in a while.

Traditionally I've always put this down as an album that I don't really "get", especially not to the extent that I feel like I should. I've engaged with it several times over the years and always come away a bit perplexed that it didn't blow me away as much as it seems to almost everyone else. This time was a little different, I've got much more into experimental music since I last listened to this album and I think that was the context I was missing. Tuning all your guitar strings to the same note and pushing all the faders up till everything is clipping and calling it a day is a very bold production decision and I totally respect it on so many levels. But because at the core these are good pop songs it leads to this weird fusion of "Is it experimental? is it not? what's going on?" that you tend to get from much of John Cale's output. Its on the edge constantly of turning into a mess, occasionally crossing that line but not quite enough to totally descent into farce. Definitely the star of this record is how its made not in the songs themselves, that's what I was missing before.

Rattlesnakes on the surface is a bit of an unremarkable album, I was initially confused (as are many reviewers) why this would make the list at all. Despite some great guitar tones and playing, notably on Forest Fire. the whole thing just passes by as a little bit anonymous. But as I often do I scanned back through some of the tracks afterwards and started noticing that parts of it sound remarkably like pavements 'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain' which didn't come out for another 10 years. Parts of it also sound a bit more new wave or smiths brand goth pop. So it seems to occupy a space within the indie music cannon where its looking backwards and forwards, bridging the gap between older, more heavily textured precursors to modern indie and the brand of jangly cynicism we have had since the 90's. Unfortunately the interest only carries it so far and I still think its ultimately a pretty mediocre album. A solid 3, and I think a good candidate for dropping off the list in later revisions unfortunately.

Dusty is on as good form as ever on this album, one of those rare singers where there never seems to be any weak points in her performance. 5/5 for vocals. I don't know if its purely down to the lack of hits (with the exception of son of a preacher man of course) or something about the musical direction but something about it doesn't grab me as much as the spectacular "A girl called Dusty" I think it might be because this seems to have a bit more ambitious use of instrumentation which often stands out as a bit odd because its not always mixed subtlety. Still a great album and as with so many works its not its fault that it falls a bit short of a different work by the same artist but that's how it goes sometimes.

So 80's it sets my teeth on edge. Its by far from the worst offender of that decade because despite all the twee minimoog Winwood does manage to bring a soulful edge to it, which is actually quite impressive because it manages to break through all the awful synth stabs that put it firmly in its time. till most of the time it seems tailor made to be either 1. The soundtrack to a particularly forgettable episode of Magnum P.I or 2. Sung on a cruise ship. It gets elevated to a 2 because, to its credit, it didn't make me keep checking how long until the end.

Theres many things I respect and love the Canadians for, and Rush is definitely high up on that list. Being originally from the south of England, prog was to a yong me all Jethro Tull, Genesis and Yes. It was always psychadellic and folky wankery played by uptight Englishmen. I respect the hell out of Yes but I don't nessecarialy want to listen to them. Cut to discovering Rush in my late teens and I was blown away by how much it rocked. I loved how they didn't seem to take themselves to seriously and were doing fun dorky space operas. And did I mention how hard it rocks? Geddy wailing in The Temples Of Syrinx may be one of my favourite vocals ever and that phenomenal riff that runs through not just Temples of Syrinx but is woven throughout the whole of 2112 has got to be in the running has got to be up there with the greatest riffs of all time. And of course the musicianship on show from all 3 of them is just phenomenal. I love this album.

Out of all the French Disco revival bands these guys have always been my favourite. Less disco than daft punk, less grandious than M83, more developed than Les Ryhmes Digitals (Yes yes that last ones an english blok called Stuart but I still count him). But I just love their alternative edge, selling dance music to the rock kids, and as one of those rock kids I loved it. Some of their synth sounds are incredibly dirty, they seem to sculpt sawtooth waves into these jagged weapons which are capable of going up against the heaviest guitar. But then they offset it with these amazing catchy palate cleansers like D.A.N.C.E. Phantom part II has long been onc of my favourite electronic tracks of all time, it just blasts out of the gate with that looped tape stop sound from the first part (I think its some heavily processed vocals although I have no evidence for that) and then tha bassline drops in blows me away every time, such a powerful sound. The album is mabe a little bloated, I think it could have had a few tracks cut and been a belter of a 40 minute album but if thats their biggest crime then I'd sa they have more than got away with it.

My first thought here was.... Surely not that Malcom McLaren. My second thought was holy shit, its that Malcom Mclaren. I'm finding it quite hard to put into words how I feel about this absolutely mental record, part hip hop, mostly world music made by the manager of the Sex Pistols. One thing its not is subtle which is kind of to its credit. But its all over the place and such a weird mix of stuff, surprisingly it actually sounds quite cohesive though. That being said I don't think I'll be in a rush to revisit this one.

Look.. I get it, I really do. I get why its on this list and I really appreciate what it and Brian Wilson have done for music as a whole. It did so much for the album as an artform, the studio as an instrument and for making music more progressive which we are still feeling to this day. But I just can't bring myself, after decacdes of revisiting it every now and then to say 'I like like Pet Sounds'. I think it just boils down to just not getting the style of surf/barouqe/doo-wop pop that the whole thing is based around. Its just so twee and kind of annoying. I think thats probably hightened by Tony Asher's involvement (I mean nothing against the guy but who hires a jingle writer to help them create their masterpiece). I also don't think Wilsons perfectionism when it came to vocal harmonies helps, its too perfect and uninteresting. I think it would have been a lot more interesting and fun if Brian Wilson could just get out of his own way occasionally and have some fun with it, let it be imprefect and strange and do diffrent styles. Also it sounds more Phill Spector than a lot of Phill Spector records despite him not being involved, which I don't think does it any favours because it places it firmly in a canon of music which it really doesn't belong in. The stand out track of course is "God only knows" which is a nigh on perfect little package of emotion which I don't think many people have surpassed. A technically great album which is held back by perfectionism and overly twee and sentimental songwriting.

In a lot of ways this feels to me more like a David Byrne solo album produced by Eno than a true mixing of their styles and pretty much for that reason, this has never been my go to work from either of them. I don't find it as well formed as Talking Heads classics and I don't find it as engaging as some of Eno's work from the previous decade. That being said I'm definitely guilty here of criticising things I like more as its a brilliant album full of so many ideas and sounds that it could keep you entertained for weeks. I definitely perfer the back half of the album which is a bit more chilled out and I think it would have been more of a favourite if it had that vibe throughout. Still a solid 4 though dont get me wrong

I've always had a massive amount of respect for people who are anwsering a question that no one asked and that certinally holds true for the Stooges. Yes there was a lot of interesting stuff happening in 1969 but you get the impression that the Stooges had a vision of the future which just didn't exist in anyone elses head. In this 30 minute album you get punk (which didn't exist) but also a full third of its runtime is taken up with this avant garde drone chant. Thats quite the juxtaposition and from what I hear their early live shows had that same energy but amped up to 11 with bizzare homemade instruments and extended jam sessions which decended into walls of feedback and noise. Iggy Pop was also doing transgressive punk style performances half a decade before GG Allin came on the scene and the best part of a decade before Sid Vicious. Ultimately it feels like The Stooges were hooked into what would happen with noise and punk subcultures many many years before it had even occured to anyone else that could be a thing and they were making some bloody good music while doing it.

I don't really see why a soundtrack is on this list. I'm sure Issac Hayes has many many fantastic albums that don't have the disadvantage of not missing visuals to go along with it. That being said its ovbiously very well made funk and Hayes vocals are as smooth as you would expect. But being a soundtrack alot of the time it just meanders along without any really standout moments because thats exactly why it was made, as background music.

A little bit dream, a little bit shoegazy, dense opressive guitars, wonderfully lush vocals. There's so much to love about this album and what a fascinating and important stop on the road to Shoegaze and subsequently Post-Rock. That being said it falls down a very specific and unfortunate set of cracks when it comes to being a "good" album. The drum machine sounds are criminal in the way that they could only get away with without irony in the 80's. Bizarrely in a lot of places the drums totally work and sync up with the dreamy vibe of the rest of it but more often than not it just clashes horribly. What would have worked is using all the distortion and reverb they could get their grubby little hands on to make those digital drums sound even more bleak and industrial. Similarly I think that some of the vocals could have been mixed a bit better, that's saying nothing against the performance which is great but unlike contemporaries mbv the vocals stand out against the rest of the textures, music this dreamy should have the vocals swimming in a soup of guitar and effects. Both of those issues were likely just because this is such an early example of this kind of dream pop that they were still working out how to do it. But I can also see why the band think its unfinished, sometimes the songwriting doesn't seem to go anywhere and some vocal drum or guitar parts feel like they could have done with a rewrite to make them a bit more interesting. That being said I'm judging this overly harshly because its really great and fantastic fun to dissect. I find this very evocative because you could trace so many of my favourite sounds and tropes in music to this exact time. I'll definitely come back to this one.

Small bands with simple arrangements and a fuzz pedal have been revolutionizing music for well over half a century at this point, but few of them have done it with such style and confidence as the white stripes. It might sound funny looking back on it but around the time this came out no one outside of small group in Detroit had ever heard of them, and even they were skeptical. Then this happened and everything just exploded for them. Its a wonderful story of sticking to your art and just doing your thing. Personally I don't think they really hit their stride until Elephant but this is a fascinating look at a band charging headlong into "Seven Nation Army". The best songs are the ones that are seas of octave fuzz and Meg's wonderfully powerful drumming... I do love an octave fuzz. Ultimately an album that just falls sort of getting me excited, partly because I know just how good it gets when they really nail The White Stripes formula

What a wonderful warm hearted honest album, Miriam Makeba makes it feel like she's sitting right next to you and singing just for you. The album has a wonderful range of different sounds and languages that give it a brilliant amount of variety and held my attention throughout and it leaves you with that impression that she knew exactly what she wanted to make from the very start.

This is one of those ones where I looked at the runtime and though how am I going to sit through an hour of this. I am about as far from Destiny's Child's target audience as you can get. I did end having a little bit of fun hearing some songs that were so in the popular consciousness back then but that's about as much as I got out of it. The production on this sounds paper thin and has absolutely no oomph behind it. Its definitely mixed with the anticipation of being listened to in mono on the utterly awful radio and phone speakers of the time which I think is a massive cop out. At least give the kick drum some punch, its just a simple little EQ trick and would bring so much personality to the whole thing. Ultimately its because of this being the early days of pop music being made by committee which is something I absolutely can't get behind. Beyoncé is credited as a songwriter on almost every track and you get the impression that was more of a business arrangement than anything. Outside of the 3 big songs there is absolutely nothing exciting on the track list. A non offensive album but totally lacking in anything that appeals to me in music.

For many years I've really wanted to love this album, it ticks so many of the boxes of things that I love. Concept album, check, indie darling, check, dense and varied orchestration, check, long rambling and overly complex song titles, check. Its so overly dramatic and I love that in an artist, I love how committed he is to the concept and how confident Stevens is about who he is as an artist. It also sounds really big and bold which is great. But it just doesn't do it for me, it annoys me that I cant put my finger on why but for almost 20 years I've revisited this occasionally trying to see something in it, examining it from different angles and trying to see what I am missing. The only thing I can confidently say is I find it sonically quite grating and overly pretentious. The second of those confuses me because I love overly pretentious and highly literate music. I figured out at some point its easier if I don't think too hard about it so I've listened to it, and I think its better for my stress levels if I don't think about it again for another 5 years. I'm going to give it a 3 but only because I cant bear to put it in the "Bad categories" of 1 and 2 but ultimately at some point I need to admit to myself that this album is just not for me.

This is one of the greatest albums ever made. Let me tell you why in painstaking detail. First of all its fucking Neil Young, the mans the master and you should show some respect, he's been innovating and writing some of the best songs going for over 50 years now. As recently as 2019 I saw him blow Bob Dylan out of the water sharing a stage with him. The man is in his 70's and played for hours in sweltering heat, putting on a show which rocked so hard and was genuinely touching and funny in places without complaint or putting a foot wrong. That's dedication to your craft. Second of all My My, Hey Hey/Hey Hey, My My is one of the most satisfying suites of rock and roll ever made, what a sublime opener and closer. It sets out the mission statement for the acoustic/electric concept so incredibly well but even if one of those two tracks had been on any other album it would have been one of the highlights and he comes up with two variations on the idea that are equally as good as each other? wow. Also the Devo connection (this was written after Young's collaborations with the band, who subsequently did a typically angular version in Young's film Human Highway) gives it some extra mystique and appeal. Also, its better to burn out than to fade away... cmon. Then you get onto Thrasher. An often overlooked part of Neil Young's catalogue but I think its his best song. It feels like the ultimate expression of his love for and lamenting the loss of a certain period of Americana. I find this song so incredibly sad but beautiful and poignant, telling half made up stories and featuring references that you feel like you know from a dream but cant quite place. Its an wonderful rambling warning against globalization and to hold on to things you hold dear. Admittedly the next 3 songs were never going to be number one hits but each is written and executed with signature Neil Young enthusiasm. Then you get to Powderfinger, that first gently strummed electric chord lets you know that the record is going to change from here on. And it delivers, Young's falsetto warbling over the top of this wave of distortion is just so incredibly satisfying in a way that few vocalists have ever managed to pull off. In fact the distorted rhythm guitar tone throughout is night on perfect, its just so full of personality and doesn't cover up any of the detail in the playing while still sounding satisfyingly dirty and heavy. Welfare Mothers features such an amazing call and response chorus and some great guitar work and a brilliant solo which again has a brilliant tone and crucially doesn't outstay its welcome. And boom before you know it you are back at Hey Hey, My My which has one of the ganrliest distorted tones ever. What a record, I love it more every time I listen to it.

Paul Simon is likely in the running for greatest songwriter of all time and that's absolutely on show here, there's a few duds like Papa hobo but even those are pretty impressive songs, they just don't hold up to some of the stronger songs on this album, Run that Body Down and Me and Juilio Down by the Schoolyard stand out as highlights for me. The criticism id have of this album is that it can feel a little bit directionless, it is obvious that this is Simon striking out on his own and looking to figure out what's going to define him as a solo artist. Some of its just more of what he was doing with S&G, some is reggae, some is more blues but he doesn't seem to have figured out quite where he wants to go yet. Which is fine of course, it would take another 14 years for him to hit on the sound that would define his solo work with Graceland. But it does mean this particular album doesn't particularly sound like the same work at the end than the beginning.

The absolute best thing I can say about this album is that its mercifully short. Its all uninspired slide guitar and country twangs which is so far from my jam they aren't even on the same continent. I thought there was a little bit of potential with the rock and roll bits but even that comes across as uninspired to me. I've given some country albums a 2 in the past because they are exceptionally charming but I don't feel any personality from this. Its a matter of perspective of course and I'm sure for people who like this genre it works but I can't see how, even if you are a country fan, that this sets its self apart from a sea of other "kinda ok albums" Nothing here for me, 1/10

There's some really great songwriting and production on show here. It sounds great. The guitars in particular stand out to me as being really well produced and mixed, the slide seamlessly between different tones that serve the direction of the songs without ever being overpowering. Similarly there is just the right amount of bass and its doing interesting enough stuff to give some interest but without making itself the focus. The problem seems to come with the vocals here, the singer isn't untalented by any means but he seems to make some questionable decisions, sometimes stretching his range to try and get the effect of his voice cracking which doesn't really land. He also seems to operate in this raspy range which is far to low and slow for him to be comfortable a lot. The vocals are also mixed very strangely, in parts its almost like they have been taken from a completely different project and dropped in with only minimal effort put into making it sound like an organic part of the song. The lyrics throughout also scream "I'm 16 and writing my first edgy love songs" One thing I did respect was the ending. An instrumental (a good one at that) with a relatively complex title gives the whole thing a conceptual spin which I love. In fact I feel like the rest of the album could have benefitted from being a bit more high concept, they are so desperately reaching in that direction but don't quite get there. It makes me wonder if some A+R rep got involved and got them to tone it down from their original vision. Disappointing if something like that happened. Ultimately it has a lot of strengths and some cracking songs but I didn't love it.

My main criticism with a lot of the big mid 90's gangsta rap albums is that they are so self indulgent that, coupled with the super in your face 90's beat production, it ends up leaving me bored and my ears fatigued after an hour. This is no different, technically very proficient and Tupac was obviously an absolute master of his craft but this is 2 albums. Theres so much material here and most of it isn't distinct enough to stop this hour long behemoth from starting to sound samey before it even gets halfway. The main takeaway I ended up having from most of the songs was unfortunately how grating that very mid 90's layered vocal sound gets, especially when threes multiple overlapping vocal samples doing different things. It ends fantastically though, the last four songs from Old School through to Outlaw are are brilliant songs. I cant bring myself to give this a high score though despite Tupac himself being great throughout, its just too long and to dense and has far too much going on in order to be a pleasant listen.

Try as I might I can't see CCR as anything more than that band who are in all that Vietnam war stuff or the band who every pub cover band ever does a song by. That's my issue not there's of course but sometimes that's how it goes. I'm also just not a fan of this brand of bluesy rock. This started off kind of promisingly, for the first maybe 3 songs the blusey shuffle and mumbled vocals made quite pleasant background listening but then it just keep going with much of the same. Bad Moon rising is a highlight but the rest of it feels like filler to me.

I'd forgotton how much I loved this album. Its one of those that as your listening through you register you are way more familiar with it than you realised. The opening strains of Blister in the sun might just be some of the most fun moments in all of music and puts an instant smile on my face. The songwriting on display here is absolutely top notch and I adore the way the whole thing seems to barely hang together production wise. It's so chaotic and I get the impression that if any one small element of this was slightly diffrent it would bring the whole thing tumbling down. I'm also trying to rack my brains to think, was this the first album that we'd identify as 'Indie'. This was a decade before Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain came out and slightly off key ranted vocals and jangly plucky instrumentation became the norm. I think it was these guys, Dinosaur Jr and Pixies that really kicked off and set the template for alternative music for the next few decades. Thats a hell of a legacy.

I've written before about how I just don't get the cult surrounding Springsteen when I reviewed Born to Run, which is still true. I also said in my Born to run review that it wasn't because I thought the music was bad but because I just didn't get it. That's second bits is what I have to revise here, because I find almost no value in this album. Its 45 minutes of awful 80's plinky plonky synths, lead guitar lines that are totally devoid of any kind of personality and vocals just sounds like he's phoning it in. The lyrics are at best cliché and at wors downright creepy, I'm on Fire properly gave me the ick. So I don't get the hype and I really disliked the music so unlike Born to Run this falls into 'Dislike' territory

An incredibly influential album by a fantastic band. Trans Europe express is actually quite challenging by modern standards, but not because of the maximalism of IDM nor the inaccessibility of some of the more extreme metal genres (Looking at you The Body). It's challenging because of its simplicity and hypnotic repetitive electronics and vocals which is the result of a combination of their krautrock background and the early pioneering stuff they were doing with electronics. This kind of thing, taking a simple idea and repeating it over and over again until it becomes hypnotic is often relegated to ambient and drone but is on full display here. This is an album that rewards you if you have the patience to give it in exchange. Just like a train ride through the countryside of Germany or Austria there is an immense amount of value if you just sit back do nothing and look out the window. Favourite track: Showroom dummies

There was a time when this album came out that MGMT were taking the world by storm, rich and famous beyond their wildest desires. I conversely was working in a shop with a radio station that played seemingly the same 3 songs on repeat. Around this time those 3 songs were 'Kids', 'Electric Feel' and 'Time to Pretend' so I think I can be forgiven for rather going off them. For years I didn't think about the band that had so annoyed me during that summer in 2007 until a totally chance re-listen probably 8 or 9 years later. Immediately I was on the phone to a friend "Did you know that 'Oracular Spectacular' is really good!" I'd realized that there was far more depth to the non singles that I could have realized. Even the big singles clicked and I twigged that the reason 'Kids' took over everything was that it was meticulously well put together. The synth sounds in this song are just to die for. Melodic, deep, just the right amount of LFO and with a lush but radio friendly distortion which makes the hairs stick up on my arms. The vocals have a really interesting melody and some incredible harmonies to them and again have just a hint of distortion and reverb in just the right places to make it really pop. Same goes for Electric feel. But then you get to '4th Dimensional Transition' and it turns into almost a completely different album, much more understated and experimental, almost late 60's psychedelia, but crucially its not jarring or out of place. I adore this album now days, it hasn't quite elevated to a 5 but its knocking on the door with like a 4.8.

This is Bowie just being the most Bowie he can be, its super glam, a bit experimental, with poppy and some blusey flourishes. I'm a blackstar fan personally rather than his classic albums like this but that doesn't mean by any means that I'm going to give some classic bowie low marks, how could you?

When this album appeared on my list, my first thought, as it often is when it comes to Santana, was "This will be a fantastic album but not one I nessecarially want to listen to". Which is pretty much how it went. Look I get it, I get the smooth grooves and the amazing guitar playing and Santana's silky voice are all very proficient and its a great piece of Psychedelia. But for me its just not quite to my tastes. I'm not into such Latin jazzy type stuff is probably the root of it.

I respect the hell out of Sparks and what they do. They have a fantastic look, a great sound that really helped shape post punk and indie and their songs are catch af. There is a clarity of vision around the project that really endears me to the brothers Sparks. But I think I'd have to be in a very specific mood that doesn't come about often to actually actively enjoy a Sparks album. There's just far too much falsetto and its just a touch too upbeat pop without letting up once (ironically also one of the reasons I respect it). It would probably speak to me more if they diverge to more repetitive bass heavy post-punk (not that they term existed at the time, but it was getting there) or a bit more Depeche mode esque synth pop. I think what I'm saying is I'd like the to be Krafterk but I'm aware that's a ridiculous opinion so just go ahead and pretend I didn't say anything. Ultimately, I respect it, I don't love it. But I'm so glad Sparks exist in this world.

I did a review of another CCR album where I said I couldn't ever listen to them without thinking of them as "That band from the Vietnam war films". So I was presently surprised that this was something a bit different. Full on blues. That being said pleasantly surprised is probably the extent of it unfortunately. Although its all done quite well it just made very little impression on me. I just don't like CCR unfortunately and no amount of variations on the formula is going to change that.

I've said before in reviews, there is absoloutely nothing wrong with ZZ Top. I can recognise they are a great band and what they have achieved. It just never quite tips into great for me.