I love Talking Heads, and this record sums up a lot of what I love about them. In a time when soul, punk and glam rock seemed to dominate, you have this weird art-pop-rock collective making weird accessible music you can dance too. I just think the whole album is ace from start to finish, and even today sounds fresh and unique to me. I cant think of anyone who comes close to Talking Heads in terms of making this type of music. Strange enough to be interesting, catchy enough to catch on. Just what you’d expect from something Brian Eno has been involved in. Id love to have a pint with Brian Eno.

Struggled to understand about 60% of what he sang, but quite enjoyed it overall. Lots more energy than I expected and enjoyed it more as it went on. Can’t shake the fact he’s a wrong’un though

Before Calvin Harris we had Mylo... Definitely vibes of 2-4-1 Becks on a Monday night, but enjoyed parts of this. Mainly the album tracks and In My Arms, but not bad at all! Guilty of Love a highlight

Expected to hate it after disliking all CC singles that I’ve heard. Skipped track 1 but enjoyed most of the album, decent enough background music with some nice surprises. Probably won’t listen to it again but it’s definitely improved my opinion of them.

Knew very little about Rufus Wainwright so I was looking forward to this. Incredible voice, excellent lyrics, and on a whole really well put together. At times it did drift in and out of substance and I think it’s probably a bit too long, but overall thought it was very good. Will return. Particularly liked the tracks that flirted with Radiohead

Boring version of Kate Bush. Not bad at all, great voice, but struggled to pay attention

Absolute belter from start to finish. Undeniably now a ‘classic’ and the quintessential early 00s ‘New York’ band. Shame they influenced so much shit in the mid 00s (although some of the blame must lie with the Libertines…) but they can be forgiven. Tomorrow’s album wont be as good as this.

Another album I’m familiar with, and another I really like. Easy to forget how massive this was too. My only criticism is they do have a ‘tried and tested’ sound that is repeated through the album, but for the whole works in their favour.

3 absolutely belters in a row! Another album from my youth which I haven’t listened to in a while, but instantly felt familiar. I think I prefer their self titled album, but this is still an absolute classic. Only downside to listening to this now is I’m at work and not a smokey bar with a whisky…

4 in a row! What a great streak. Love this album (their later stuff is great too - well worth diving into!). Along with the likes of Tinariwen and Imarhan, it’s ridiculous to think of how much bluesy/pysch/rock talent has come out of this region.

Another belter, long live the streak! I used to play this on repeat when I was about 18, and it still feels new today. Love it.

Quite enjoyed this, but it was exactly what I was expecting. Probably would listen to it again for a bit inoffensive background music. I reckon I’d have given it 5 star if I was listening to it for the first time back in the 60’s, but it just now feels unexciting

I’ve listened to this 100000 times already, and I’m so glad it made the list. I feel it gets overlooked a lot by QOTSA fans, but this to me is quintessential Queens (well, perhaps Rated R is but this paved the way). Robotic, hypnotic, weird… I don’t think there’s a song on it that you’d play at a house party compared to later records, but all the more reason for this being a rough little gem punching above its weight

This was my AOTY for 2010. Haven’t listened to it in years, but still sounds as good now as it did back then. Felt strangely nostalgic too for a time that doesn’t feel very long ago. Absolutely class. This album got me into Bella Union, never looked back.

Surprised at how much I recognised from this without knowing it was them. There’s a couple of tracks I really didn’t like but that was offset by how much I enjoyed large parts of the rest. I’d never heard The Boxer until now, but what a song!

Couldn’t get away with this sadly. I really like this kind of music and have listened to and liked other things by FD, but this on a whole didn’t do much for me!

This is just class. I think I needed to hear this when I went through my brief Cramps phase when I was about 20. Weird, punky, elements of Talking Heads at times with the natural awkwardness of DEVO. Could even hear echoes of Stories from the City by PJ Harvey, and bits of LCD Soundsystem in the guitar sound (especially the last 1min of Rock Lobster). Often flirts with becoming novelty but pull it back at the last second. Class. Mint. Belter. Toppa. 5/5 from me.

On a whole, I do think this is pretty good but it didn’t age as well as I hoped. Perhaps though as a 16 year old when I first listened to this I was more susceptible/impressed by solos and heavier riffs. I find them boring now, and I extend that to the long repetitive riffs which at first sound class but after hearing it a few times they get old quick. Agree with Jamie that this is too long. 20mins shorter with less of the ‘my dad’s harder than your dad’ riffs/solos and this wouldve been a solid 4.5/5! Oh, and another point chalked off for some incredibly 6th form-esque lyrics. If they were playing a festival I was at I’d definitely make the effort to see them. Anyway, once through is enough for me, I served my time back in 2004 with this one. I’m going back to B-52s…

Meh. A bit of a misc album for me. Neither nout nor something. If this is your cuppa tea I think you’d love it, but apart from the mad flute and the Back to Life remix, it did nothing for me.

A 90’s gem. Reminded me how sad I am I missed out on tickets for their new tour. I don’t think anyone tells a story in a song like Jarvis Cocker, and when he cranks up the emotion it’s like a punch in the stomach. It’s long, but I never got bored or wished it was shorter. A brave change too following Different Class, and definitely a more refined sound than almost all other bands of that Britpop era. They reckon this album finished Britpop. Good. It’s been a long time since I properly listened to this and even then there’s a good few songs I didn’t recognise. Sounds fresh. Sounds class.

When I saw Leonard Cohen pop up I was hoping it would’ve been one of his older ‘classics’ as he’s another one who I heard the odd song by, liked, but never dived in. That said, I still really enjoyed this, can definitely see why Matt Berninger / Mark Lanegan often get compared to him. His lyrical style is up there with the best and the time flew by. Will definitely check this out further and look into his back catelog.

Never realised this version of Hard To Handle was by Black Crowes. That realisation was probably my highlight. Oh and that the singer was married to Kate Hudson. She Talks to Angels has a nice guitar intro and a heartfelt theme, if a bit cliche. But then this whole album is canny cliche. Once upon a time I’d have probably really liked this, but I also used to like Eastenders and used to drink cans of Fosters and I think both of them are shit now too

I think I overplayed this when it first came out as its been a good 10 year or so since I last heard it. Thankfully I still enjoyed it as much as I used to. Perfect psychedelic pop which is just weird and experimental enough to keep it interesting without ever becoming boring for me (although from memory I remember people we’re definitely split on that!)

I’d only ever heard one song before by him and that was only because Beirut covered it, so was nice to dive a bit deeper in. Felt strange listening to pure sunshine when it was lashing it down and very grey, but it was a nice listen nonetheless. (Much prefer Elza Soares in terms of Brazilian musicians. She’s a total legend. Music that sounds like it’s been written by someone 1/4 her age!) Extra credit due to him being a key part in the left wing battle against the far right Brazilian govt back in the 60s/70s. But, I then found out he was also a wrang’un.

Meh. Found this quite boring, not my usual cuppa tea. Had some nice little interesting parts to this, particularly the bass in Alright. Can see how it’s gone on to influence others, especially the likes of Blood Orange. Could not be bothered with this one but enjoyed it slightly more than I expected, although I can’t see me listening again.

Never heard of these before. Bright future ahead of them. It sounds at times like they’d had a little bit of drugs, but that’s ok. Fixing a Hole was my favourite track of first run through. When I’m Sixty Four had elements of the theme tune from One Foot In The Grave, and sounded a bit novelty compared to the rest of the album. Will definitely return to this, from these bright young upstarts

Enjoyed this. Vaguely familiar with a small handful of their songs, mainly from the Woodstock DVD I used to watched aaaagggeeesss ago. Much preferred their bluesier stuff to their more country style, but overall very good. Will return

Incredible voice with a couple of hits guaranteed to get stuck in your head. I grew up with soul in the house and this is definitely more up my street than some of her contemporaries. Dont Forget About Me was my highlight. Probably wouldnt return to it but glad I listened to it and would definitely recommend to others into this genre

I’d never heard of or listened to these before. Sounded so much before it’s time, plenty of nice surprises in this too including a decent cover of Femme Fatale. It’s only with the hindsight of listening to it you can hear how many bands they influenced (heard a few glimpses of Teenage Fanclub and Wilco throughout). Their sound is even more impressive given the landscape of music at the time.

First time I’ve ever properly listened to PF, finally ‘get them’. Incredible album, so many layers to it. Easy to forget how influential they were and how iconic some of these songs are starting from the off. Only managed to listen through once (busy weekend), but I’ll definitely be returning soon to this one and I imagine I’d be rescoring this a 5

This grew and grew on me as it went on. Some absolute bangers on this, albeit some did sound quite dated. Boyz has been a regular on my ‘songs I like that my wife will also like’ playlist for a while, but I think Jimmy was my highlight. Didn’t realise she has an MBE. Disappointed to learn that for all the good work shes done outside of music, she’s one of them daft anti-vax/5G conspiracy theorists.

I was surprised this was the Iggy Pop album they picked, given his back catalogue. Pleasantly surprised though as I’m a casual Iggy/Stooges fan and and never listened to this until now. His delivery is totally different from Stooges / other Iggy Pop albums, almost sounds like a robot at times. Glad it popped up though. Weird, twisted, innovative post-punk. I can hear influence from this in almost every band I’ve ever loved. Can definitely hear the Bowie influence too, but in a good way. I imagine this is played at 5am at the end of every nightclub in Berlin. Sounds like it should anyway.

I think I liked this. I really can’t tell. I started thinking how terrible it was but then found I listened to it a few times over. It is too long, and there is some bits that arent my cuppa tea, but the bits that were good I really enjoyed. A very confusing listen.

Love Velvet Underground, the most interesting/innovative band of that era for me. This isnt my favourite VU album, prefer Loaded / VU & Nico, but this is still great. It’s also probably my least listened to album by them so will definitely spend a more time on it

Pretty sure I enjoyed this a lot more when I was younger. I think I was hoping for an album of ‘Feel like making love’ - that’s how I remembered this. Reminds me a little bit of a luke warm cup of coffee. You know you’d have enjoyed it more when it was first made, but it’s still ok. Perks you up. Bit underwhelmed by it now, although there’s still a few decent highlights to it. Better than a lot of this type of rock of that era.

20mins in to this I decided I owe it to myself to stop listening. Shite.

Enjoyed this way more than I expected. Feel like I’ve said that a lot since starting this. I usually find the whole NWOBHM / 1980s rock very cheesey, but I thought this was canny. Quite a few songs started off sounding a bit cheesey but ended up surprisingly melodic. I’ll definitely return to this for a bit background music

I love this. So many great songs and way ahead of its time. More upbeat than other NO records, but nails that whole synthy/dancey rock vibe. I always feel like it’s taboo to say, but the older I’ve got the more I sway towards New Order rather than Joy Division.

Never listened to Billy Bragg before, big fan of Wilco though. This one slipped me by, but it’s going in my frequent circulation pile. Proper underrated gem this, with ‘Way Over Yonder’, being my highlight. In fact the opening 3 or 4 songs were all ace

Always assumed ‘Victoria’ was by The Fall, didn’t realise it was a cover. Anyway, couldnt be bothered with this. Mondays are always really busy for me, but I’m glad I made the time. This is class. How’s it like 50 year old? Can hear so many bands in this record. Much prefer this to previous Kinks. Another concept album that’s way better than it sounds on paper.

Enjoyed big chunks of this but it often got a bit distracted. Can music procrastinate? If so I think this album does that a lot (and I know a thing or two about procrastinating). Can definitely tell Brian Eno played a part in this. Nice background music with some really good parts and interesting sections, if you knocked about 15mins off I think this would be a 4 for me. Will probably listen to it again but mainly to try stop me procrasti

Very familiar with more recent DB records but I’ve never listened to this one before. Really enjoyed it, I think this style can often sound familiar or samey, but he manages to keep it interesting with his sound and lyrics. Mostly folky, sometimes lo-fi-y, always bordering strangeness. Most of this album wouldn’t be amiss on a Wes Anderson film, or pretty much any mid-2010s indie film.

Big fan of Christmas songs usually, but most of these were pretty flat. A few exceptions but I dont even have the enthusiasm to remind myself and type them here. If Phil gifted this to me, I’d probably regift it next year.

Some fairly decent tracks on this, nothing amazing. Pretty much the same template used across the album. Also have to remember that at the time the charts were full of Spice Girls, Take That, Vengboys etc., and this is on a total other level to that. Decent songwriter really, it’s just not for me

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Refuse to believe its age. Massively innovative and unbelievably influential on lots of bands I love, without having ever listened to them before. Not a single song passed without me thinking ‘this is class’, or at the very least ‘this is interesting’. Although I am soft for odd beats / angular riffs / general chaos in songs

My favourite album so far since I joined this. Familiar with later DR stuff but this is entirely new on me and I loved every second. They nail the whole distorted lofi indie rock while still being melodic. I use the word ‘influential’ a lot on these little reviews, but it’s difficult not to hear bands that followed (like Pavement, Built to Spill, Grandaddy, Dismemberment Plan etc.) take influence from this. Totally class.

Not my cuppa tea anymore but this is pretty damn good. Brought back lots of nostalgic memories too (mainly listening to this on my Creative Zen mp3 player on the way to college). Nowhere near as cliche as other metal albums that have made this list, and the riffs are something else. Rifftastic, if you will. I just wish 99% of Sunderland metal bands circa 2006 weren’t pale imitations of Pantera. Kinda cheapens it for me through no fault of the Pantera chaps.

I don’t think there’s any doubting how incredible Nina Simone is. Apparently this album was made up of songs that didn’t make previous albums! Quite amazing. I’m a big passing fan of Nina Simone, if that exists. Like I’ve listened to her a lot but mainly her bigger songs and albums, rather than a proper listen like this. Even the songs that sometimes don’t hit like others still have this pain in her voice. Kinda forces you to stop and listen. Her voice is like no other I’ve ever heard, and for use of a better term, she’s versatile as fuck. She covers blues, soul, jazz, pop… chuck in her gospel roots and it just works so well. I Love Your Lovin Ways, Break Down and Let it All Out, and Black is the Colour of my True Loves hair were my favourites, but I think most songs caught my attention in different ways.

Not a big rap fan but quite like Kendrick Lamar. Think I preferred ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ but this is also great in its own right, and I imagine it’ll grow into a classic one day. Lyrically, it’s superb. Doesn’t follow the usual / stereotypical rap template - manages to easily mix the simple with the complex. I read a while ago that this album was being used in Universities to study language, alongside books by Hemmingway (I think Hemmingway anyway, my memory aint great). Only downside is it’s a bit long for a casual rap fan like myself, but regardless of that he’s the best of the best in his area (especially since Kanye West decided he was actually a massive bellend)

I love B&S. Spotify reckons they’re my 3rd most listened to band since I joined in 2009. Despite that, Tigermilk is for some reason one of their albums I haven’t ‘milked’ as much. On a whole I think this a good record with the delicacy and intricacy you expect from B&S. It’s not their best though. It sounds to me like a young band finding their way, before perfecting it on follow up albums (If You’re Feeling Sinister in particular being a gem of a follow on). I can’t bear to vote them anything less than a 4, as they are such a special band, but this album isn’t quite as special as others. And it’s the album up for review, not the band. But I love them. Perhaps if I spent as long working as I have agonising over an arbitrary star rating system, I perhaps wouldn’t have to work late tonight.

Having overplayed Bob Marley a lot in my youth, I thought I wouldnt really get on with this. Turns out that despite me being a ‘big Bob Marley’ fan when I was a teenager, I’d never listened to this and I’d only heard a few tracks (turns out listening on repeat to Legend and Exodus is only a fraction of his work). Really liked this though and it’s made all the better for not being expertly produced like some of his bigger records. Really adds to it and brings out the other instruments more rather than the typical wahwah/drum beat combo which a lot of reggae borrows. Feels a lot more of a band playing than other records, even if they are purposely more minimal. Lyrically, I dont think you can beat Bob Marley for telling his truth and baring all. I’m also a sucker for anyone sticking it to ‘the man’. Here’s a little fact I found out recently, remember the kids show Arthur on CBBC? The theme song was sang by Bob Marley’s son, Ziggy Marley. I still know most of the words.

This started to grow on me after a few listens, and there’s some killer highlights, but I’m not sure I get the hype. This often comes in the top 100 of all time lists, and gets referred to as Bowie’s ‘second best album’, but it didn’t really do it for me. Not like with Aladdin Sane, Low, Blackstar, Heroes… It’s good, but it’s not that good.

This is very fun. Makes me wish I could dance like a cool New Yorker. There’s a hell of a lot I recognise, either from samples of other songs or having been sampled on others. Fight for your right brought back nice nostalgic memories from a random casette I had as a kid - me and my sister used to play that on repeat circa 96. Never properly paid enough attention to these, but glad I have now. Very iconic, can instantly recognise their sound, and a lot more layered at times than I expected

Decent enough. Never listened to anything by him before, strange that it cropped up on the list a few days after he died. I think I’d have loved this when I was about 18, and mad into Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. Echoes of both at times. Also found it interesting how many of his songs he started off sounding like Rod Stewart vocal wise, before thankfully changing into his own style. One Rod Stewart is enough for me, thank you very much. His cover of Ol’ Man River was my highlight, along with Beck’s Bolero and Shapes of Things.

Perfect from start to finish.

Really enjoyed this. I think I just about enjoyed ‘You Want it Darker’ more, which is testament to his longevity. But this is probably one of the more intense albums I’ve heard, and his lyrics and voice stand up with the best. Dress Rehearsal Rag was my highlight

I really enjoyed this. Found it went by relatively quickly and before I knew it I’d listened to it 3 or 4 times over. Different to what I was expecting, I found it more ‘radio friendly’ than other stuff I’ve heard, so I was surprised to hear this was their first album on acid. ‘Girl’ was probably my favourite, reminded me a bit of Zorba the Greek… but actually I think most songs are strong and work well together

It was alright. But samey at times, definitely a ‘tried a tested’ approach. In some ways I preferred it to earlier Arctic Monkeys albums, especially the songs with more going on (I don’t like you anymore being my favourite), but then they take it too far - Jamie nailed it by saying they sound like they’re trying to write a Bond theme at times. Overall, I prefer it to older Arctic Monkeys, it’s not as good as newer Arctic Monkeys (from AM), and it’s not a touch on anything James Ford has done with Simian / Simian Mobile Disco. Never listened to Miles Kane beyond his singles, and I can only assume this is better than him on his own

Haven’t listened to this since I went through the obligatory Slipknot phase when I was 16. It’s kind of a lot better than I’ve given it credit for over the 20 years that have passed since I loved this. In my mind they’re a band for teenagers. And maybe they are, but I thought it was canny nonetheless. Perhaps it’s because I’ve had 2 hrs sleep and I’m both delirious and in need of something loud! Aggressive, energetic, pounding drums like not much else outside of drum and bass (remember when that was a thing?). That little tune over ‘Tattered and Torn’ was my highlight, weird in a way I cant describe but works class with the heavy backdrop. I could taste the £1 Jagerbombs when Wait and Bleed came on, and I swear my feet stuck to the floor for Spit it Out. Anyway, I’m off for another coffee

Great album. Less loud and punk than their previous two, but still got that familiar krautrock/pysch sound with the addition of more synth / electronic. The antithesis of laddy indie rock. Lyrically too they don’t shy away from sensitive themes, which made the allegations about the singer even more shocking at the time. Pleased to see other members have found success elsewhere- they’re far too good to have their careers cancelled by the actions of one idiot

Really didn’t take to this. It definitely has some good highlights, like Acid Queen, and Underture, but for some reason from start to finish I just wanted it to end. Musically wise it’s great at times, lyrically it annoyed me although I know it’s not a typical record in that respect. Kept going into See Me Feel Me, which is a song I love but without actually playing it fully. Not a bad album, just not for me.

Was a bit surprised this was on the list at first. Did sound entirely whay I was familiar with at first, bar the big hitters. Seemed to be a bit slow and not really going anywhere, but the second half picked right up and after a second listen I ended up liking it. Will definitely give it a few more goes

Decent this. Never really listened to Johnny Cash, but I can get on board with this. Tells a great story, simple music but fun. Quite a bit chat between songs at times, but it kinda made it more extraordinary for me to think of this guy singing in a prison. Cant imagine Chris Martin belting out a few tracks for the likes of Gary Glitter and Rolf Harris, so fair play to Johnny. San Quentin was my favourite

Liked it more than I expected. Much prefer this sound to their big songs, albeit is quite repetitive after a while. Decent background music but no rush to return

This just passed me by. Nothing stood out, nothing made me think ‘wow this is good’, or ‘this is terrible’. Just a total ‘meh’ album, I really can’t understand how it made the list. It’s obviously not a bad album and there’s some decent little guitar bits but I cant tell you which songs contained them as it was just one big bland song to me

Loved this, already in my frequent circulation list having listened to it quite a bit since Friday. Love that whole simple repetitive beat sound with lots of layers over the top. It must’ve sounded like the future listening to this for the first time back in the mid 70s. Never realised they were originally in Kraftwerk, surely making them some of the most influential musicians going. If 4.5 existed I’d give it that - loses 0.5 pt after it slightly loses its way in the middle

Starts off well but quickly gets a bit tried and tested. I guess that’s punk rock though all over, and this is staple punk rock. Was a lot better than I anticipated given that I’d only ever heard their bigger songs and wasnt really a fan. Cant get away with Lydon’s vocals, and his lyrics are a bit confused at times. One minute ultra conservative, next calling out fascists and leaving London for Berlin. Cant deny the impact this has had though