My 1001 Albums Journey

Album	You	Global	Diff
Djam Leelii Baaba Maal	5	2.79	+2.21
When I Was Born For The 7th Time Cornershop	5	2.92	+2.08
Germfree Adolescents X-Ray Spex	5	3.05	+1.95
Architecture And Morality Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark	5	3.05	+1.95
Autobahn Kraftwerk	5	3.09	+1.91
Honky Tonk Heroes Waylon Jennings	5	3.14	+1.86
Unhalfbricking Fairport Convention	5	3.14	+1.86
Machine Gun Etiquette The Damned	5	3.15	+1.85
Technique New Order	5	3.17	+1.83
Actually Pet Shop Boys	5	3.18	+1.82

Album	You	Global	Diff
Thriller Michael Jackson	1	4.22	-3.22
Bad Michael Jackson	1	3.8	-2.8
Off The Wall Michael Jackson	1	3.78	-2.78
Kid A Radiohead	1	3.71	-2.71
To Pimp A Butterfly Kendrick Lamar	1	3.61	-2.61
1999 Prince	1	3.6	-2.6
Blood Sugar Sex Magik Red Hot Chili Peppers	1	3.5	-2.5
Blackstar David Bowie	1	3.48	-2.48
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below OutKast	1	3.46	-2.46
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Kanye West	1	3.42	-2.42

Artist	Albums	Average
Oasis	2	5
Joy Division	2	5

Artist	Albums	Average
Michael Jackson	3	1
M.I.A.	2	1
David Bowie	6	1.83
Prince	2	1.5
OutKast	2	1.5
Kendrick Lamar	2	1.5
The Who	4	2.25

Artist	Ratings
Radiohead	3, 2, 4, 1

Creedence Clearwater Revival

4/5

I know some of these (and it's from the year I was born...). Easy to listen to and right up my street in terms of blues rock. I'd listen to this again without a problem.

Pink Moon

Nick Drake

3/5

A name I knew, but I'm not sure I've ever knowingly searched out Drake to listen to. I might have come across something he wrote on a compilation playlist, but it's not music I'm familiar with. But I do like a bit of folk music. My taste is probably either a bit more trad, a bit more celtic and/or a bit more upbeat, but this was perfectly pleasant to listen to and Quite Interesting, without standing out as being something I'd go back to time and time again. Reading about the album has made me go back and listen to some of the other stuff Drake produced with more of a band feel to it - which immediately led me to Hazey Jane II which sounds awfully like early Belle and Sebastian. Which is a Good Thing - and interesting to get a feeling maybe where some of that sound came from. But as an album I now understand why Pink Moon is the one to come back to. I might listen to this again, but I wouldn't make a regular fixture out of it. But it's perfectly decent and I get where it's coming from.

The Slider

T. Rex

2/5

Not really my thing. Glam rock always reminds me of being a really little kid. I probably liked it then, but I'm not six anymore. I think Metal Guru's been on a few playlists I've listed to - I always skip it. This dragged and I was glad when I had to go out of the room. I won't be listening to it again. It's not terrible as such, just a bit tedious.

Rumours

Fleetwood Mac

3/5

September 2014. A field in Sussex. 2am. Some dick is STILL playing Fleetwood Mac loudly around their camp fire on the other side of the camp site. I don't know if it was just Rumours they were playing, but I have a tricky relationship with this band as a result. I did listen to this. It's got the tunes everyone knows and which I heard on loop on that September night. It's also got some other quite nice tunes. It's OK. But, 2am has scarred me. I don't actively object to Fleetwood Mac, but I tend not to seek them out.

Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo

Devo

4/5

I'm a bit too young (5 years maybe) and probably on the wrong continent to have grown up with Devo as a thing. Beyond Whip It! I didn't know their music at all. And that was probably through Rockband or something. This is alright. I enjoyed the vaguely new-wave, punky sort of sound and there are some decent individual tracks. I'd listen to it again if I cam across it randomly but I might not go out of my way to find it. Better than average certainly.

Machine Gun Etiquette

The Damned

5/5

I never really listed to The Damned as a kid, beyond the stuff that got into the charts (which is tainted by Sensible's solo stuff). They were never played on the Friday Rock Show I guess - the punk label would have made that impossible. Which is odd of course: there's so many echos of bands like Motorhead here; even a touch of Iron Maiden in places. So this was a first listen. I like it. Love Song, Anti-Pope, Plan 9 Channel 7 and Smash It Up are all decent, and despite the oddness in places (better left to the likes of Half Man Half Biscuit) there's no real weakness here (perhaps These Hands?). Some good work all round, and a rhythm section that drives everything forward throughout. I'd listen to this again and it's made me want to explore more of The Damned and related bands. It's probably a 4.5, but, fuck it, I'll give it a 5.

Bad Company

3/5

This all seems a bit over-produced and thin. There are hints that it might not be like that: the title track, Can't get enough and (musically) Movin' on (although lyrically - ugh) all have a bit more drive and background to them. The rest just feels too pretty - the drums in particular are just too nice for an iconic hard rock album of the time. I was only peripherally aware of Bad Company - stuff that comes up on classic rock or road trip playlists. So it was interesting to listen to this. Although I wouldn't object violently to listening to it again, it was all just a bit boring and safe. I'd prefer some early Status Quo to this.

Either Or

Elliott Smith

2/5

Never heard of Smith, so this was an interesting pick that meant I had no idea what I’d be listening to during my 3 hour drive. This grew on me a bit, but ultimately seemed like a lost opportunity to either make a proper rock album or something properly folky. The drums seemed odd throughout - neither one thing or another (and a strong argument for employing session musicians btw). This is Ok. If something from it came up on a playlist I wouldn’t skip it, but I’m unlikely to go and seek it out.

Deep Purple In Rock

Deep Purple

4/5

It’s years since I listened to Deep Purple and I know I’ve never listened to this as an album before. Historically it’s obviously a key turning point in heavy rock, but it’s also pretty good still. Opening chords are nailing their colours to the mast and it pretty much stays that way. Well worth the listen and it filled part of a long drive excellently. I’d listen to this again but it’s a 4.5 scoring down to a 4 - drum solos have their place but a studio album isn’t the right spot.

461 Ocean Boulevard

Eric Clapton

2/5

I knew there'd be albums I didn't want to listen to for non-musical reasons. This is one and I sat on it for a week, thinking about what to do. Then I listened to the first 25 seconds or so of each track so that I didn't have to send any money to Clapton (apart from I Shot the Sherrif which is, obviously, awful). It wasn't terrible (with that exception). It seemed a bit bloated and naval gazing sort of stuff and I, obviously, won't be listening to it again.

Red Headed Stranger

Willie Nelson

3/5

I wasn’t able to give this a proper listen. The one time I was able to hear it it seemed OK without jumping out at me. I need to go back to this at some point to evaluate it properly, but for now it’s a 3.

Who's Next

The Who

3/5

This has its moments without, apart from Baba O'Riley, setting my world on fire. I prefer the rockier stuff - Won't Get Fooled Again is pretty strong - but this does feel like a concept album that never came together at times. I do rather like the version of Baby Don't You Do It on the re-issued version of the album I managed to listen to. More of that please! Enjoyable enough but it's not necessarily an album I'd listen to again as an album.

Atomizer

Big Black

4/5

Difficult to listen to as the band removed everything from Spotify - I can imagine why after reading biographies. That's a shame as I'm partially using this lsist as a way to break the Spotify algorithm (although I imagine it'll now just be made up of classic rock if I'm not careful). Found a version on YouTube. It's pretty decent and I'd listen to it again.

m b v

My Bloody Valentine

2/5

Fuck me, this is monotonous. Saved from a 1 by the electronic loveliness of is this and yes. And, lads, not using capital letters doesn’t make you look cool.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

4/5

The sort of thing I should like. And it seemed pretty decent without blowing anything away. Yes, it's got Springsteen vibes when you listen to it now. But Springsteen vibes from The River or Nebraska - stuff he was working on after this album was released. That's what makes this tricky - things you listen to now feel differently to how they were when they were first recorded, and I can see the influence this had. Overall it's at about 3.5, but American Girl, clearly the best song on a the album and cleverly positioned at the end, pushes it into 4 star territory.

Buffalo Springfield Again

Buffalo Springfield

3/5

A bit of a surprise as I’d never heard it but have listened to quite a bit of CS&N and Neil Young. This seemed odd compared to what I was expecting. Not unpleasant, just a bit unexpected. It’s OK but I don’t think it’s something I’ll choose to listen to again.

Green River

Creedence Clearwater Revival

4/5

The second CCR album I've had already. And the second one I've really enjoyed. There's lots to like in this bluesy rocky earthy sort of stuff and this is going to be something I'll listen to again - and I'll have to work my way through the catalogue of other stuff because not all of it is on this list.

Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music

Ray Charles

3/5

Although I get why this is culturally important, the sound - the orchestration and vocals in particular - just sounds so dated. Like it should be on a Saturday evening BBC Christmas special for old folks. And I like big band music and jazz. Give me these reworked by Pink Martini and I'll probably be happy. Put this in context: The Beatles first album came the following year and this is five years after Here's Little Richard and The Chirping Crickets. It's the *same year* as Booker T and the MG's Green Onions ffs. There are some saving graces - Hey, Good Looking' holds up entirely and I quite like the version of You Are My Sunshine. I don't actively dislike it, and might not skip some of the tunes if they came up on a playlist, but this isn't something I'll want to listen to again. It gets 3 stars for the cultural significance (and because it's clearly better than My Bloody Valentine).

I Should Coco

Supergrass

4/5

I rather enjoyed this. I'm a bit too old to have gotten into this sort of thing the first time around and most of BritPop outside Oasis and the general Pulp v Blur sort of thing passed me by. I knew Alright of course, but, honestly, I'm not sure that I knew it was by Supergrass. I might have guessed Blur or Pulp. I'm that bad at this sort of thing. But I generally liked this in total and I'm glad I listened to it. I'd listen to it again so it's four stars, although whether it's in the top 1001 albums of all time is another matter of course.

The Holy Bible

Manic Street Preachers

4/5

This is alright, although a bit repetitive in places with not too many tunes that stand out as being outright bangers. Yes was probably my favourite. Not entirely sure that the sections of auto were warranted at the beginning of tracks in every case - seemed an odd choice, but it was the 90s I suppose and it might be a point of difference perhaps. Not bad at all and I'd certainly listen to it again, although I might not go out of my way to dig this album out.

Mothership Connection

Parliament

5/5

Now, this is more like it. Stuff like this is the reason I started this. Never head of the band, never really listened to much in the genre and it's certainly not what I'd ever have picked out to listen to. Absolutely loved it. From the opening bars this was just great to listen to. It's opened up a whole back catalogue to me - perfect. Obvious 5 stars. First one yet.

Hunting High And Low

a-ha

3/5

I happened to listen to this n the car with someone who, when I put it on, said "oh, I never did buy this album. I wonder what it's like". And it's OK. There are the couple of hit singles, sure, that everyone from that era will know. And there's some stuff running across a wide variety of early 80s electronic, new romantic, poppy stuff. But nothing to outstanding. The verdict: "I'm glad I didn't buy that. It's a bit boring". Yeah, 3 stars.

Hot Fuss

The Killers

4/5

Aside from the two obvious hits on this, I'd never listed to the album - and I'm not sure I could have necessarily identified either of those as being by the Killers. They're the sort of band that if I'd been at a festival with them headlining I'd probably be at a side stage watching something obscure and North African instead. But I'm old and this isn't and it passed me by. But it's not bad at all - although the first side seems better, more productive, than the second maybe. I found myself tapping along to it and it's the sort of music I can imagine being on before a sporting event or in the interval between a support band and the main act. It's not going to alienate anyone and is familiar enough for everyone to get along with. It's OK then. A decent effort. 3.5ish, so it's a 4 because it's better than a bunch of 3s I've rated. The drums could use being a bit better produced perhaps, but then this was probably made, in part, for mp3.

Elvis Presley

3/5

Whatever else you think about the rest of this, what a way to open your first album! After the high note, well, it all varies a bit. The sequencing feels odd almost 70 years later - why go straight to the ballad? - and some of this seems tame. But I guess it was revolutionary in its day. Overall, some nice tracks, but I doubt I'd want to listen to the whole album again.

Spy Vs. Spy: The Music Of Ornette Coleman

John Zorn

3/5

I had to put this off for a few days - it came up at the weekend and there were too many people around the house for me to listen to it without having to explain why exactly I was listening to *THAT*. It's full on, that's for sure. The opening track in particular is really quite difficult to get through. It does get a bit better after that - a bit like how the pain from a dental abscess declines once the antibiotics kick in a bit. That's unfair. There are some decent moments on here and the sax players certainly know what they're doing. Most of those moments come when no one's thinking too hard about drumming I imagine. I doubt I'd listen to it again, but it's not entirely without hope and, hell, it's better than My Bloody bloody Valentine or T Rex, so it's a three.

The Beach Boys Today!

The Beach Boys

3/5

This was quite interesting to listen to as it's the sort of Beach Boys music that I'm less familiar with. I tend to prefer side 1 - and even knew a couple of the tunes on that. But I guess I just tend to prefer up beat music to ballads in general. Side 2 was OK, apart from the oddness at the end, but I guess we can give them that as it was the 60s. Overall, decent enough and interesting to listen to, but I doubt I'll seek it out for listening again. Side 1 might get a 3.5-4, but side 2 knocks this down to a 3 overall.

A Rush Of Blood To The Head

Coldplay

2/5

This is just all a bit beige. I can understand why this sold so many copies. It's the least inoffensive thing I've listened to in the first four weeks of this - and I had the Beach Boys yesterday. But it's so inoffensive as to be mind numbing at times - I drove whilst I was listening to this, twice. I barely heard the music. I get why people listen to it and it's well enough crafted I guess, but, heck, I could never listen to this again with any passion. It's probably good in a lift.

In Utero

Nirvana

3/5

I quite enjoyed this without it necessarily being something I'd listen to time and time again. I suspect I might prefer the slightly more accessible stuff they ended up with, but this was still quite interesting to listen to.

Damaged

Black Flag

3/5

Nothing that moved me particularly here. It's OK, and I wouldn't object to it coming on randomly, but I'd not go and seek this out to listen to again.

Paranoid

Black Sabbath

4/5

The track listing is clearly, in part at leas, the inspiration behind some of Spinal Tap - hilarious in places. I'd never really listened to most of this before - beyond the obvious track - and it was a fun listen on the whole. I liked it more than the easy Deep Purple I had a little while back and it seemed a bit more straight down the line. Perhaps it's the organ on Deep Purple stuff? An enjoyable listen. Yes, there's a drum solo but it's not quite as obnoxious. Might have scored a five without it though.

The Last Broadcast

Doves

3/5

Hmm... I quite enjoyed the use of ornate instrumentation, but this is an album I probably need to try to find time to listen to again at some point to really decide whether I like it or not.

Seventeen Seconds

The Cure

5/5

Never listened much to the Cure before. There are obvious tracks I've heard a lot and I think someone once taped me an album - I'm that old, but that would probably have been later stuff. Really enjoyed this. Perhaps I was in the right mood for it, but it strikes me as exactly the sort of thing that I never knew that I enjoyed. It's subtle as well, doesn't try and do too much and this is certainly something I'd listen to again. Good stuff.

Ready To Die

The Notorious B.I.G.

3/5

I quite enjoyed this. I don't know much about hip-hop but it was, in the main, easy enough to listen to and I could see the flow going on. It sounds good and works as an album pretty much. Lyrically I didn't spend long enough with it to dive too deeply into it. I get why people con't like this sort of thing in places, but contextually it works I guess. I mean, we can wrap sex up as a baseball commentary if you'd prefer... Yeah, this is OK. it's close to a 4, but I'm not sure I'd listen to it again, so it's a 3 here.

Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1

George Michael

4/5

Growing up in the 80s I, obviously, despised Wham!, complete with their annoying exclamation mark. As you do when you're 14. Obviously that rejection carried over into a general dislike of George as well. Why would I listen to that? It'll be like White Christmas or Young Guns. Someone I know very well, on the other hand, claims to have "known all the dances" when she was that age. Thankfully we didn't meet then... So, this was a genuine surprise and is clearly a decent album with a whole range of different styles and subtle things going on way beyond the couple of famous tracks at the start. My prejudice was clearly unjustified. Would I listen to it again? Yeah, maybe I would. I wouldn't say it's guaranteed but there's a decent chance. So, yeah, this'll be a 3.5 going to a 4. Decent stuff.

Fly Or Die

N.E.R.D

4/5

A curious album, and one that grew on me through the day. Impossible to pigeon hole but rather fun and I'd give this another listen for a change of pace.

Autobahn

Kraftwerk

5/5

Genre defining genius. Love it. I think I'd only ever listened to the short version of Autobahn before so I didn't realise how melodic the track is and how cleverly it uses repetition and melody to achieve its aim. Entrancing. Full of interest and a really interesting piece of music. Is it pop? Or rock? No, of course not. But it's brilliant. Hypnotic. Driving. Did I mention I like this? I listened to it two or three times and have done so again since. It's just mesmerising and full of interest. And sounds modern still - an album that's close to 50 years old. Side 2 is then full of melodies and electronic oddness. It's really interesting to hear the flute play such a key role on Morgenspaziergang, and both the Kometenmelodie are lovely pieces of music. And the oddness of Mitternacht seems like a bridge to early punk - look at what we can do in our basement... I need to unpack their earlier stuff and some of the related music. I get why some people don't like this. I get that it's easier to like Fleetwood Mac with "tunes" that you've heard on the radio all your life. But some of the 1 star reviews are hilarious and seem narrow minded. But, you know, I love this. I'll be driving most of the way across Germany in the summer and I already have this lined up to make an appearance on the soundtrack for that. Oh, this is good. Really good.

Fulfillingness' First Finale

Stevie Wonder

3/5

At the top of this I feared it was going to be easy listening hell - the first couple of tracks did little for me. But it got better with some proper swing later in the album - thankfully. I know people generally reckon Wonder as a genius and I do get that. Bits of this really got me, but other bits I can take or leave. But an interesting listen none the less.

Medúlla

Björk

4/5

This was interesting. Never listened to any Björk beyond the odd hit I might have come across on the radio, but I enjoyed the oddness of this and it's mix of music. I wouldn't say it's made me a huge fan, but it's clearly interesting and an obvious sort of thing for inclusion on this list - some of the 1 star reviews are laughable and sound like frat boy/Wayne's World style reactions. It's way better than that. Would I listen to it again? Maybe. But it's still at least 4 stars,

Fear Of Music

Talking Heads

4/5

Rather like this. Like most of the albums here, I knew bits by the band but had never listened to anything deeper than what might appear on a playlist or on the radio. So the style was vaguely familiar, although the rhythms were bit of a surprise. Some clever stuff and it was easy to listen to and very pleasant. I'd probably listen to it again without a problems so it's an easy 4 stars.

Private Dancer

Tina Turner

2/5

I managed to download the 1997 remastered version. Which is longer. Which isn't good. BUT it contains I wrote a letter - clearly, obviously the best track I listened to by a mile. That has what the rest of the album, with it's oh so precise 80s production, is missing. Heart. Grind. Guts. Stuff that makes it more than just carefully placed. I grew up in the 80s and they produced some great music. Some of the time at least. But this just feels like it's being done on a cruise ship by some kind of tribute act. Or it's Opportunity Knocks. Tonight Matthew, I'm going to be Tina Turner. It sounds knocked off. I do get why her voice is important. I do get why the album might be important in terms of her control over it and so on. But I just don't like the way most of it sounds.

Pink Flag

Wire

5/5

Not heard of the band - a bit before my time - but this sounds pretty good. Reminds me musically of things like The Undertones. Stuff like Mars bars, Smarter than you, She can only say no and Emergency cases could all be on here if you replaced the Derry tones with something a bit more estuary. And I do love that estuary English voice not trying to sound American and cool. It's a bit Ian Dury and Billy Bragg and you can hear years later in Blur. So, yeah, I rather liked this. Short, sharp and to the point. As it should be. A nice discovery that I'll listen to again. Keep on going back and forth between 4 and 5 stars but, fuck it, I'll stick 5 down so that I can keep arguing with myself about it.

Wild Gift

X

3/5

Hmmm, I get this. It's OK. It has some nice moments and it's listenable certainly. It's quite clever in places. But it doesn't sound groundbreaking to me - even when I try and put it in context. Maybe it's the California in it. Maybe I just prefer my punk to be a bit more London, Derry, Dunfermline or New York based? Keep on going back between 3 and 4, But 4 means I commit to listening to it again and I'm not sure I want to do that. So it's probably a 3 - but a solid 3.5.

For Your Pleasure

Roxy Music

3/5

Interesting to listen to this. Obviously I know who Roxy Music are and I know some of the hits - and can remember Jealous Guy being everywhere when I was a teenager... From this I think I only knew Do The Strand - and that would only be because there's a clip from, I presume, The Old Grey Whistle Test which seems to appear on BBC 4 quite regularly. It was an exploration then, which was nice - and generally I enjoyed it. You can see where it's laying some of the ground for what's to come with punk and post-punk electronica, all of which I enjoyed. Editions of You in particular. Some of the rest I was less keen on, and maybe it's just a little bit too cool for me. Better than Jealous Guy though... It's a 3.5, but I'm trying to be a bit more selective with my 4s as I get toward 50 albums, so it'll be a 3.

Actually

Pet Shop Boys

5/5

So much of this was familiar, even though I've never set out to listen to the band. It's just such a clear and obvious sound and, you know, pretty good - better than I was expecting I think. A lot better. And there are some damn fine bangers on here - and not just the singles that everyone of my age would have absorbed from the ether somehow or another. In particular I'd forgotten how good a tune Rent is - love the vocal and the brass sort of sound going on. And then Heart as well, which had me dancing around my kitchen. The opener is proper dance music too, and Dusty's vocals just work beautifully on What Have I Done. On first and second listens I wasn't such a fan of the rather slower It Couldn't Happen Here - seems an odd way to start side 2 (back in the day when it would almost certainly have involved turning the vinyl or cassette over) when you've got It's a Sin hidden behind it. But even that's growing on me with repeated listens. Maybe it's the extra bit of variety the album needs to set it up as really very good? This is just the perfect soundtrack for being 18 that I never realised that I had. To put this in context, I’d have been listening to exclusively guitar rock in 1987, probably involving men with long hair, but this just sums up that period perfectly. Great cover too, and I love the comma. Very clever, even now. Actually. My other half came in from work when I was halfway through listening to this and seems to know all the words to all the songs, despite claiming she's never brought a copy of the album and never listened to it - she assumed they were all singles. Maybe someone in authority has been pumping this out while we've been sleeping? Or it's on so many soundtracks that we've just absorbed it somehow. Catchy as hell might help as well. Jolly good - pleased I listened to this. I'd listen to it again certainly, and at one point I had it as a solid 4, but it's too good for that. I'm not sure what the 18-year old me would think about giving this a five - probably be vaguely appalled. But what the fuck do 18 year olds know?

The Age Of The Understatement

The Last Shadow Puppets

3/5

The first album, I think, I've had come up where I own a copy of it. Not that it's ever been played much. It's OK. I quite like the sound and it has some interesting bits and pieces on it - the slightly retro vibe in places is particularly nice to hear. And the Sheffield vernacular vocals are distinctive enough to make this worth listening to. But it doesn't overly move me - certainly not in the same way that Dancefloor did. Honestly, I'm unlikely to listen to this again. I wouldn't object if something on it came up randomly, but I'd probably identify it as being Arctic Monkeys rather than Shaddow Puppets.

New York Dolls

3/5

Ooh, I Know the first one. And it's quite good, and I can sing (?) along in the car. But after that I was kind of waiting for the Timewarp to appear somewhere or other. I mean, that's not necessarily a bad thing and I can see where this all fits and everything, and in theory it's the sort of thing I'd like. But it's just a bit meh and I'm not going to listen to it again - maybe I'll add Personality Crisis to a playlist. It's not terrible, but it just dragged a bit after the start.

Straight Outta Compton

N.W.A.

3/5

I'm not sure I'd ever listened to the whole album before, and my knowledge of hip-hop in general is marginal. Interesting to listen to and I'm glad I managed to do so. It's obviously massively influential and clearly belongs on this list, but I'm not sure I'd really go back and listen to all of it in one go again. Some nice moments but it dragged a bit and seemed quite long and a bit monotonous at times. Which was unexpected. That's five three stars in the last six albums. Maybe that's just me settling into a scoring system after 47?

Histoire De Melody Nelson

Serge Gainsbourg

4/5

Interesting. I had no idea what to expect, but on the whole I enjoyed this. The funky bass groove that starts pretty much straight away is addictive, and the drums and pretty - and that's appropriate in this case. Add to that grungy blue guitar riffing away and sonically this is right up my street. The orchestration is fine, although so much of it isn't necessarily my thing. I understand why spoken word lyrics can be divisive, but it works here for me. Most of my French comes from the kitchen and bar, so I don't understand enough of it, but I, unlike others it seems, have no issue with this being in French. And, hey, put your view of the record in context eh. Love the cover photography and design as well - from the backdrop, the shadow, the typography, the angle of that right foot, the way Birkin focuses her gaze right down the lens. Striking. I started the day thinking 3 or 4 stars. I'll end with a solid 4 - I don't think this is 5 and I'm not sure quite how often I'll listen to it again, but it gets up to 4 just by not being in English - we need less anglophone rock music on this list (I mean, really: no Pirates Choice or Night in Club Baobab? No Bhundu Boys?). Some of the reviews ("French!" etc...) suggest that 30p Lee's doing the project. Very interesting.

Roger the Engineer

The Yardbirds

2/5

I'm sure that this sounded quite interesting in 1966. I hope it did anyway. This is all a bit up and down. There are some things I really like, such as The Nazz are Blue (although I'm a sucker for this sort of blues stuff that reminds me of early rock style Status Quo). But that's followed by I can't make your way that, frankly, I can't quite understand how it belongs on the same album. And then Rack my mind? And then the piano intro to Farewell??! In 2023 it sounds, well, a bit odd. It has moments, sure. As individual songs I like some of them, but I wouldn't play this as an album again. So, 2 or 3 stars? Hmm... It's just too odd a collection of songs for me and, I'm afraid, doesn't stad up as an album. Hell, I'm sure it's Important and Influential. But, no thanks.

Neon Bible

Arcade Fire

3/5

I didn't really know anything about this band, other than having heard the name and the passing thought that they might be a rock band of some kind and might have played some sporting event. I've still no idea if they did that. I did read a little and saw the words "recorder", "accordion" and "hardy gurdy" and was quite hopeful. But it's all a bit, well, boring really. There are a couple of brighter moments, but the vocals are generally well hidden - which I don't like - and there's nothing particularly melodic that stands out and makes me want to dive into their back catalogue. It's not something I actively dislike, but I won't be searching this out to play again. That means it's a 3.

The Wildest!

Louis Prima

5/5

Really liked this. Not something I've ever listened to before and I don't have that much experience of jazz, although I did notice a version of Body and Soul on this - not my favourite version of the track. But the rest of this is splendid and I listened to it 4 or 5 times without any feeling that it was dragging. Keely Smith's voice is gorgeous and it's a bit of shame there's not just a touch more of that. The trumpet rocks though and is full of style - it's great on The Lip which is clever throughout. Jump, Jive an' Wail is fab and the way Buona Sera kicks up gears throughout is just lovely. Full of joy this and I'll certainly be listening to it again.

Your Arsenal

Morrissey

3/5

Never got into the Smiths when I was growing up, and certainly never listened to Morrissey in any depth. In fact, I had him blocked on Spotify. The tunes have their moments, although the album doesn't start well. When it gets a bit more jangly towards the end it's better probably, although he can be a little turgid at times and comes across as a right twat. Not terrible, but it didn't change my view of Morrissey, which is a shame. Perhaps when I get to some Smiths it'll be Johnny Marr who grabs me and makes me listen.

Sincere

Mj Cole

3/5

Reading around this suggests that it's on the list as a good example of a genre. OK, I get that. I can live with the idea of that. But, well, it's just all just a bit boring I'm afraid. I quite like electronic music it seems, but this isn't my cup of tea - just seems a bit mindless and without a hook or some style to get me into it. The persistency of the drum line doesn't help possibly. I wouldn't choose to listen to this again, but if it were background music for cooking to, for example, that wouldn't be the end of the world. It can have a sympathy 3, but it's probably a 2.5 in reality.

American Idiot

Green Day

3/5

Never knowingly listened to any Green Day and, having seen the name in loads of places, was quite looking forward to this. It's OK, in a bit of a generic sort of way. It reminded me of something, but for the life of me I can't remember exactly what it was. Perhaps a bit of the Saw Doctos, which is a bizarre thing for it to sound like. But then Davy Carlton was in a punk band so maybe it does sound a bit similar. It's certainly radio friendly enough and, I'm afraid, a little bit bland for me. I probably need to listen to this a few more times to get a true impression. Perhaps it's absolute genius, I don't know. It's not really punk though is it? Alt-rock, sure. College radio friendly I imagine.

Countdown To Ecstasy

Steely Dan

2/5

Obviously heard of the band but beyond that one hit that's quite catchy never dug into them. So that's a good thing to do here. But... Meh. I get that the musicianship is lovely in places, but it feels like a bit of a self-absorbed wank fest most of the time. I imagine it might have been really new and interesting at the time, but I really don't like this. It's a bit like Rumours but without the catchy tunes. I was going to say 3 stars, but it's not that good and there's no way I'm listening to this again. I'd probably skip, so it's 2.

Goo

Sonic Youth

3/5

Another band I've heard of but never listened to - and was interested to hear. And this is OK, pretty decent much of the time. At one point I was considering 4 stars. And then Scooter + Jinx came on. Really? I mean, whose idea was that and what did they think they were doing. That alone drops this to a 3, and it was close to a 2 in the end.

Meat Is Murder

The Smiths

3/5

First full Smiths album listened to - and I got a Morrissey one earlier this week. This is better than that was - the guitar work makes a difference and the rhythm section's generally tighter. But it still doesn't really move me, certainly not on the only listen I managed. Perhaps if I listened to it more I'd get into it, but I was never one of the cool kids. It's perfectly fine. I wouldn't necessarily skip a track if it came on randomly, but I'm unlikely to go and seek this out again.

The Köln Concert

Keith Jarrett

5/5

Wow! Improvised genius. What a gorgeous piece of music. Obviously not something I'd have listened to at all without this list, but this entranced me all day and I managed four listens. I'm not sure how frequently I'll listen to it again, but I will. Usually that would mean 4 stars, but for being different and for the obvious brilliance of the musician and recording it's an obvious 5.

Remain In Light

Talking Heads

4/5

I probably need to listen to this a few more times to get a better feeling about it, but I only managed a single listen. There are tracks on here I know of course - Once in a Lifetime naturally. But I did generally like it. I do like a west African rhythm (and there should, obviously, be way more African music on this list in general) and that really helped. I'll listen to it again I think, just not sure how frequently.

Coles Corner

Richard Hawley

2/5

Val Doonican was far too much of a feature of TV growing up for me to have any positive feelings about this type of music I'm afraid. There were, maybe, two slightly brighter moments and I think that just about - and it is just about - saves it from my first 1 star. If I hadn't given that My Bloody Valentine record 2 stars then this might have fallen - as it is it joins it as the worst thing I've listened to on this list I'm afraid. It's probably genius, but I quite actively dislike it.

Mama's Gun

Erykah Badu

4/5

I quite enjoyed this - an interesting mix of styles and so on and it's something I could listen to again. I might not, but it's not out of the question.

Automatic For The People

R.E.M.

4/5

Oh, we bought this album when it first came out I think. Pretty much Peak REM at that point. I don't think I've listened to the CD this century though and I was slightly wary of what it would be like. And actually it holds up pretty well. It's the bit of REM where there aren't as many jangly guitars and it's all a bit more downbeat, but the underlying style is still there. Enjoyable to listen to after all these years and I'll clearly have to go back and dig the old CDs up. Or download a few more of their albums. And Everybody Hurts happened to be mentioned on a TV programme we were watching the other night. Or maybe Night Fishing. Either would have worked. Half decent this.

Funeral

Arcade Fire

3/5

64 albums in and this is my second Arcade Fire one. So that doubles my historical Arcade Fire listening experience. I didn't get what the hype was about on the previous one and I'm afraid this one's the same. I'm sure that if you're a fan this is sublime or something. I'm obviously not a fan. It's not horrible, but I won't listen to the album again out of choice.

Pretenders

4/5

I'm just a little too young to be a Pretenders fan. I remember them being on Top of the Pops a little later in the 80s (for some reason I have them being introduced by Kid Jensen in my head, but it was probably one of the dodgy ones) and there's music that everyone knows - Brass in Pocket in the case of this album seems to come up every now and again. But I'd never listened to a Pretenders album. I really enjoyed it. Really strong start with Precious and then The phone call, and it keeps on giving all the way through. The style is exactly the sort of thing I like these days and Chrissie Hynde's voice is just gorgeous of course. I'll listen to this again, and it might well grow into a 5 with time, but on a first listen it's a 4.

Space Ritual

Hawkwind

4/5

I visited Bob Calvert’s grave a couple of years ago. He’s the one responsible for the lyrics and much of the spoken word stuff that seems to divide the crowd. It’s down in Kent in a bit of an odd spot, just in the shadow of the runways at Manston where this government is treating refugees like cattle just now. I went for obscure reasons that a very small number of people may be aware of, not because I’m a massive fan of Hawkwind or anything. I happened to be driving a silver car that day (it would have been a bit far to go by bike) and parked it on an odd little road just down the way. The car’s no longer with me. Not that the visit to Bob cursed it or anything - someone burned the clutch out after 12 years. I can’t remember what I was listening to that day, but I hope it was at least as good as this. Fantastic start and plenty of other good stuff. And how nice to see a double live album on the list - the proper way to listen to music. And bluesier than I expected. Nice. Bob’s gravestone quotes Sonnet 116. Love’s not time’s fool, eh Bob? RIP.

Illmatic

Nas

3/5

I quote enjoy hip-hop but if I'm honest I don't really get it. I was hoping for something that would blow me away here, and maybe if I'd been listening to this when it first came out that would have happened. But it was all just a bit too repetitive to do that. Then right at the end Represent and, maybe, It ain't hard to tell got close. More of this and this would be a 4, but as it is - for me - it's a 3 - I'm not going to choose to listen to this again. Which is a shame, as it's obviously a classic and everything. But I just don't quite get it enough. Sorry.

Court And Spark

Joni Mitchell

3/5

Like folk music, and have liked the Joni Mitchell stuff I've heard before. But this left me a little cold - maybe it was the adverts cutting up the album on You Tube, maybe it's the jazz style to some of it, maybe it's just because I prefer my folk either a bit more trad or a bit more celtic. I'm not sure, and maybe with repeated listening I'd grow to love this or something. Quite disappointingly it's a 3 for me. I had high expectations but I doubt I'll listen to this again.

Remedy

Basement Jaxx

2/5

Meh. The start of this is OK. As background music. But it just gets so tiring and repetitive after a while. And then it all starts to get a bit silly about two-thirds of the way through. As if they got bored. Which I did. I like a bit of electronic stuff and can understand why other people might love this, but this sort of stuff is the reason I gave up on music in the 90s for a bit. It's just thin and vapid after a time. As an album, that's not a good thing. It's also just so long. Cut 20 minutes and I might have enjoyed it more. I'll not listen to this again, although it's not terrible enough for 1 star.

Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black

Public Enemy

4/5

My favourite hip-hop album in this list so far. I don't know enough abut the genre at all, but I liked this - the energy and hardness of it got me much more than Gas did earlier in the week. And probably the overt political messages helped. I'd listen to this again.

Thriller

Michael Jackson

1/5

I thought this was going to be better. A lot better. It's not. Yeah, it has the threee big numbers in the middle - and Billie Jean is by far the best of those btw. Beat it's OK and Thriller - well, relies on having seen the video a bit maybe? But the rest of it is utter bollocks. Turgid and really terrible at times - This girl is mine is particularly dreadful - I mean, honestly, a fucking awful way to close an album. And what the fuck was McCartney thinking about when he agreed to collaborate with the utter horseshit that is The girls is mine? And Pretty Young Thing hasn't exactly aged well as a concept has it? Genuinely can't understand the 4+ rating here. Yes, there are two, maybe three, decent tracks in the middle. Yes, the start of side 2 is pretty strong, but the end is so, so bad. I'm stuck between a 1 and a 2. I suppose it should be a 2 because it has some half decent tracks, but, in this instance, I'll bring in the man being into things. So it's my first one. And not just because of Jackson - I really, really disliked this and can't imagine I'd ever listen to it again.

Africa Brasil

Jorge Ben Jor

3/5

This was quite interesting and an enjoyable listen without being earthshaking in any way. It almost gets an extra point just for not being in English, but ultimately I'm not going to listen to this again, so it's a 3. Decent stuff, but not my favourite sort of world music.

Aftermath

The Rolling Stones

3/5

Really interesting. You can almost hear the band coalescing around a sound to go forward with here. Lots of different styles and I enjoyed listening to it. It's unlikely to feature too regularly on my playlist but I'd certainly think about listening to it again. 3.5 but down to 3.

Femi Kuti

4/5

Right up my street here and I've listened to some Femi Kuti before. I do like this type of west African vibe, although this doesn't quite hit the heights of Orchestra Baobab. I do appreciate the political edge to some of this though and the whole package is something I'll choose to listen to again.

Bryter Layter

Nick Drake

4/5

Hmm, Pink Moon was the second album I got on this list; this is the 75th. I'd actually listened to a bit of it then as Drake intrigued me without really brining me on board as somebody I'd really, really want to listen to time and again. This is certainly better (gasp) than Pink Moon. It's got more of a band feel and more variety, both of which I think are useful for Drake. There are bits of it that remind me of Belle and Sebastian - a band which I adore on so many levels, so this isn't a bad thing - and I enjoyed listening to this much more than Pink Moon. Would I listen again? Hmm, don't know. I might. That and the B&S comparison will take me up to a slightly surprising 4.

Good Old Boys

Randy Newman

3/5

Well, that was different. Satire, sure. But I'm not sure Rednecks wouldn't be interpreted literally at times - wouldn't surprise me to hear it had been played at a Trump rally. And that's not a good thing. I'm struggling to rate this. The music is fine and I didn't hate it so I think it's a three. But...

A Grand Don't Come For Free

The Streets

4/5

That was unexpected. Heard of the band and even knew the name of the vocalist, but I don't know if I've ever heard anything produced by The Streets. I'm not sure I've ever heard anything quite like this actually. And I quite like it, actually. I think. It's different and a bit out of my comfort zone at times, but and interesting enough listen and it kept me engaged, despite being a bit long perhaps. Having read some reviews of it I may have to go and take a look at Original Pirate Material which seems to be recommended but not on this list. It might help that I get the cultural references - ITV and so on. It is very routed in this country certainly. I got the odd Randy Newman album with Rednecks on yesterday and struggled a bit with the references on that. So that helps here I think. The cover, by the way, is lovely. Just my type of shot. So, I think this is a 4. It almost deserves it for rhyming nowt with out.

Come Away With Me

Norah Jones

5/5

Oh, what a voice. I know I've heard Jones before - on Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John from Bella and Sebastian's Write About Love. But not very much and I didn't appreciate quite how strong a vocalist she was. I gather this was quite big at the time. Well, that would correspond to when I had very small children so it we were playing more Bob the Builder in our house. So I missed this. Whether that's a good or a and thing is anyone's guess I suppose. I rather enjoyed this and had time to listen to it more than once, which is always a good sign. It's laid back and pretty, but there's nothing wrong with that. And at times it's just what I want. It's somewhere between a 4 and a 5. Heck, it's different (for me) so it'll be a 5 then.

Jazz Samba

Stan Getz

4/5

Very enjoyable - but I do like a bit of bosa nova and it turns out that quite a lot of jazz is also something I'll listen to quite happily. This is fine background sort of music but I'm not sure I'd choose to listen to it time and time again. And I'm not sure it'll have me dancing around the kitchen in the same way as other bosa nova stuff might. But there's a time when background stuff is exactly what you need and this is all really solid with a couple of stronger numbers. Half decent then. It's a 4.

The Lexicon Of Love

ABC

4/5

I've heard this album a number of times before. We have a copy in our house on cheap 80s vinyl and it's one of the other half's favourite 80s albums. She's a fan. So I get to hear it every now and again. And I remember it from the 80s - the hits anyway. And there seem to be enough of them. But it's not something I'd ever choose to play, so this was interesting to do for a change. And, you know, it's not a bad 80s album. Catchy, a bit overblown at times and has a couple of bangers and a couple of dodgier pieces (4 Ever 2 Gether really grates). The slightly extended version had Theme from Mantrap which is horrible, both in execution and as an idea, and that might have caused the loss of a star by itself. But I'll ignore that. Maybe it's because I'm relatively familiar with this already, but it's OK you know. But I'm an 80s kid so that's easy for me to say. Hell, 4 stars. But don't tell the wife...

Halcyon Digest

Deerhunter

3/5

Never heard of this or the band, but the 00s are a blind spot for me in general. Does sound a bit like Vampire Weekend maybe in places, proving they aren’t a total blank. This is OK, but all a bit meh. In places there’s promise but they never really seem to get going properly and nothing properly catchy ever really makes an appearance. It’s not dreadful but I doubt I’ll listen again.

Lost In The Dream

The War On Drugs

3/5

Perfectly pleasant without standing out as anything more than that. Maybe if it were a band you were into this would be something to love, and I’m sure there will be albums on here that I feel that way about. Pheasant’s not bad. But it sort of passed me by a bit.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

The Smashing Pumpkins

3/5

I really enjoyed the first piece of music on this - the piano instrumental. After that, it's OK, but the sheer length of this one makes it really difficult to listen to as a whole piece. Something tighter might have been better here - and I've never objected to long albums on principle. It's just hard when you don't know the band's music perhaps. So, 3 it is then

The Stone Roses

5/5

This is totally the right era for me, but I'd never listened to it before. Or any Stone Roses really, other than what I'd have heard on Top of the Pops or what have you. Maybe it was the whole Madchester thing put me off. Maybe it was Bez. Or the hats. I don't know, but this is a really, really good album and I really enjoyed listening to it. I think by the end of the day I was on my seventh or eighth listen, which tells you everything about how much I enjoyed this. Really tight, with call backs to the 60s obviously, but there's lot of different stuff in here - I mean, there's some early Marillion (Grendel etc...) in places in there - and you can tell how influential it was to Britpop. Loved it. Straight to the saved list and I'll listen to this again for sure. I wish I'd listened to it when I was 19. But, then, you do stupid things at that age and I might have worn one of those hats.

The Pleasure Principle

Gary Numan

3/5

Instantly recognisable for anyone of my age from the UK. I like a bit of electronic music, but this left me a bit cold. Which is a little ironic perhaps. It's OK and I might just listen to it again maybe, but it didn't grab me and make me want to play it again straight away.

Black Holes and Revelations

Muse

2/5

Sounds a bit like Coldplay or something. This is not a compliment. All a bit boring and overblown really. It might have got a 3, but Soldier's Poem is dreadful, so it's a 2.

Electric Music For The Mind And Body

Country Joe & The Fish

3/5

This wasn't terrible at all and I guess it was quite interesting to listen to something like this - something I've never heard of before. The use of such extreme stereo was irritating though - I guess this is in the quite early days of stereo recording being standard so I can understand why people were experimenting with it, but I imagine that these days this would be better listened to via a mono speaker. For me at least. It's OK but I'm not going to seek it out to play very frequently. So it's a 3.

Vincebus Eruptum

Blue Cheer

3/5

Wikipedia told me that this had been placed in a list if the 40 greatest metal albums of all time. Interesting, I thought. I liked a bit of metal back in the 80s, I'll see what's on the list. Hmmm... I mean, the list has some nice records on it. But it's also got a Rate album on it - and Ratt were objectively utter shite. I bought that album when I was deluded and young. If it's on this list it'll get a 1. And, oh help me Mrs Medlicott I don't know what to do, there's a Motley Crue album on the list as well... So, yeah, inclusion on that list is clearly no indicator of even half decentness, let alone greatness. I can see, maybe, why this might have been quite important in the history of the genre. But it's not great really is it? The bluesy stuff is better - I disliked the cover of Summertime Blues because it was really quite boring, but preferred the version of Rock me baby. Overall I tolerated it. I wouldn't necessarily skip a tune if it came up, but I'll never go searching for it again - I'd rather listen to some early Rush or Quo.

Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul

Otis Redding

5/5

I'm getting a lot of 2s and 3s just now - albums that are either perfectly OK but don't move me or stuff that's really quite tedious after a time. This doesn't fall into either of those categories and was a joy to listen to. It's pretty rare that every song on an album has an article on wikipedia, but that's the case here. Different versions of classics as well - and it's packed full of classics. And I really enjoyed it. Always a good indicator if I choose to play an album again pretty much straight away. And then play it again later in the day.

Forever Changes

Love

3/5

The first couple of tunes actually sounded quite modern and I thought I might enjoy this. Then it all got very 60s - and not in a great way. The dubious use of steroids at the end was a particular issue. Overall this is OK. It's not worth a 2, but I'll never listen to it again.

Songs For Swingin' Lovers!

Frank Sinatra

4/5

I wasn't quite sure what to expect here, but I really quite enjoyed listening to this. I mean, it's not rock and roll, sure. But the guy has a heck of a voice and the tunes are pretty decent on the whole. I preferred the stuff with a bit more swing - You make me feel so young had me wishing I knew how to foxtrot quite frankly. But it's all pretty decent. It's not often that there's a wikipedia article on every song on an album. - and this is the second in three days where that's been the case (Otis Blue was the other). That seems to be a pretty good indication that the album's going to be pretty decent. I wouldn't object to this coming up again on a list. I'm unlikely to listen to it directly, but for a nice dinner as background music, yeah, maybe. It's a solid 4.

Legalize It

Peter Tosh

3/5

Not dreadful, but a bit tedious if I'm honest.

Fragile

Yes

2/5

So, those first few chords. I used to teach geography back in the day. When we used to watch videos sometimes - you know, actual video tape, taped from the schools programmes on the tele (we used to colour in as well, of course). Those chords remind me so much of the sad music chords that were on the classic Skyscrapers and Slums video (I think it was that one - might have been one about the Tropical Rainforest). Took me back to days in warm 90s classrooms. But, well, after that all a bit meh really. I quite like prog rock, but I've never been ablate get on with Yes. The pseudo-classical stuff is a particular issue and there's no way I'm ever going to listen to this again. It's not dreadful, but it's really not OK. So, despite those first few chords taking back to another time and place, it's a 2 here.

Mama Said Knock You Out

LL Cool J

3/5

Most of the hip-hop albums I've gotten on this list have been fine but left me a little cold. This is no exception I'm afraid. It is perfectly fine. It does go on for too long and is a little monotonous. I doubt I'd listen again.

Exile In Guyville

Liz Phair

3/5

Something I'd never heard of and interesting enough to listen to without really exciting me. I quite liked the style, and it reminded me at times of Half Man Half Biscuit or The Mountain Goats - neither of whom appear on this list at all but are well worth a listen. Perhaps if I listened to it a couple more times I'd grow to like it more, but as it is it's another that's perfectly OK without being ground shaking.

Live!

Fela Kuti

5/5

I'd never listened to this before. Although I generally enjoy most West African music I guess I rarely venture into Nigeria. The inclusion of Baker is interesting, although I'm not entirely sure whether it's necessary, what with Tony Allen being a genius and everything. When European heritage musicians get too involved it's always a question mark, but I enjoyed everything on here and I'd certainly listen to this again. A lovely mix of styles and tracks where you don't notice the length. Usually drum solos are red flags. This is the third album in 96 that's had one. The other two were gratuitous and, frankly, sucked a bit. This one, recorded way after the album was, actually worked. I imagine it's the duelling drummers thing. This is probably 4.5 stars, but it's a rare African record on the list so that pushes it to 5.

It's A Shame About Ray

The Lemonheads

4/5

Heard of the band, but never knowingly listened to anything they'd produced. A little too recent for me to get into and on the wrong side of the ocean. I quite enjoyed it though. Nothing really, really catchy to grab me and force me to want to listen to this really regularly, but all good enough to be enjoyable and I out it on more than once, which is always a good sign. I like it. With time I could even grow to love this. So 4 stars I suppose.

Rocks

Aerosmith

3/5

I grew up listening to heavy metal, but never Aerosmith. American bands like them or Kiss and so on just never really appealed on the other side of the Atlantic. This was OK though. Better than I feared it might be anyway. Enough bits of blues and boogie to make it listenable to, although I probably won't seek out any more of it.

Timeless

Goldie

3/5

I didn't mind this at all. For driving to it was perfectly decent and I imagine it'd be pretty good background music for most things. I do kind of like the ambient nature and the sight trance sort of feel to it. If I needed two hours of backing tracks for doing something else then this might be OK. Maybe it's a favourite in prep kitchens or something. But it is awfully long. I suspect that the single CD version of this would be a better listen - and that's still over 70 minutes. And the length loses it a star - I want to given this 4, and I'd listen to individual tracks again; but the whole thing is just too much.

The Downward Spiral

Nine Inch Nails

1/5

Honestly, this is fucking awful. I should like it, but it's just noise.

Butterfly

Mariah Carey

1/5

Oh my. There are a couple of songs here that sound different - the first one for example - but otherwise there's nothing at all to redeem this. I was tempted by 2 stars just for the odd note that was in any way interesting, but fuck it, this is a nailed on 1 star disaster zone for me.

Headquarters

The Monkees

3/5

Does what it says on the tin really. Unfortunately wasn't able to source a non-extended version so it's more difficult to judge, but this is more or less what I expected. It's OK but it's not about to set my world on fire.

Ace of Spades

Motörhead

5/5

I've never listened to this album before, although a few of the tunes I knew from a live Motorhead album I had when I was a kid - We are the road crew in particular. So, quite jolly here and I enjoyed the extended album. Brought back memories of Scumbag College in the 80s as well - probably the first time I'd have heard Ace of Spades I suppose. One I'll definitely listen to again. Somewhere between 4 and 5 stars, but it's got enough memories on it to push it up to 5 just about.

The Blueprint

JAY Z

3/5

Quite enjoyed this overall, and there were some nice bit and pieces. But as with most hip-hop I'm unlikely to listen to it again anytime soon, so it's 3 stars

Vivid

Living Colour

3/5

I'd never heard to this - clearly they didn't make it across the Atlantic. All sort of OK and there's bits on here that reminded me of all sorts of stuff from the 80s. But without any history of the band I'll not be listening again, so it's another 3 star album.

Sound Affects

The Jam

4/5

I do like a bit of The Jam, although I know that I've never sat down and listened to a whole album before. Enjoyed this and there's enough of the sound I like to mean that I may well listen again. Not earthshaking, but pretty half-decent.

Dire Straits

3/5

It was always Love Over Gold that was the Dire Straits album of choice when I was a student back in the 80s - I imagine because of Telegraph Road primarily. I'd never listened to this album before although, obviously, Sultans of Swing is a tune I'm very familiar with - you can't be my age and into rock music without knowing it by heart I reckon. The rest was largely unknown, although it's obviously Dire Straits throughout and obviously driven by Knopfler's guitar. It was OK. I wouldn't scream and shout if I were made to listen to it again, but it's not a whole album I have a particular desire to list to time and time again.

Ogden's Nut Gone Flake

Small Faces

2/5

Hmmm... Iconic cover, but I really didn't enjoy the album as much as I hoped I might. Not going to listen again, so it's 2 stars.

Duck Rock

Malcolm McLaren

3/5

A properly odd album that's difficult to rate. I think I must have heard Buffalo Girls before, and my wife described it as a "skipping song" that she knew from school. And there's that stuff on here. And then there's the rather lovely African inspired stuff as well that reminds me of the Bhundu Boys and other southern African music which seems to very rarely appear on this list. A shame that that stuff doesn't - although this is nice to hear McLaren not properly crediting the musicians from that part of the world that either inspired or contributed directly to this is shit. Ultimately I enjoyed the rhythms on most of this, but the "annoyance quotient" is just too high to make me want to listen again. And, anyway, I'd rather listen to the actual African stuff that inspired it.

Hard Again

Muddy Waters

5/5

Joyous. Never listened to this before. Love it. At some point someone will explain to me how Rumours scores higher than this. I expect the explanation will include the phrase “ignorant bunch of fuckwits”.

The Dark Side Of The Moon

Pink Floyd

3/5

Honestly: meh. It's not terrible, but it's not anything to write home about anymore. Sorry.

Emergency On Planet Earth

Jamiroquai

3/5

Full of hope for this, but it's not as good as I'd hoped for. The lead singer did make an arse of himself in a coastal town that I taught near many years ago mind.

Kimono My House

Sparks

2/5

Some tunes I know beforehand, but this isn't great

This Year's Model

Elvis Costello & The Attractions

4/5

Quite like this - never been particularly into Costello, but this hit lots of buttons for me and is listenable to.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme

Simon & Garfunkel

4/5

I'd happened to spend some time listening to S&G stuff, this included, earlier in the year so the album was pretty familiar to me. I enjoy this sort of thing - there's enough variation and enough of interest on it to keep me listening and make me want to go back and listen again as well. Solid 4 stars

Steve McQueen

Prefab Sprout

3/5

Never listened to much Prefab Sprout, but I've always thought I should do. So it was interesting to listen to, although ultimately it's not going to make a long term playlist for me.

Be

Common

4/5

I struggle with hip-hop in general, but I quite enjoyed this. Lyrically it seemed stronger and had a bit more going for it than some of the other albums I've gotten from the genre, and the last track was particularly on the mark. I'd listen again to this.

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

4/5

Really enjoyed this. A nice mix of long, rockier stuff and bits of folky style work as well - the fiddle was a nice breakaway from the main drive of the album. My only real listening to Young before this project was 2006's Living with War which I got into after Andy Kershaw featured it on his Radio 3 programme. There are echos of the guitar riffs from Everybody Knows on that album and it seems familiar as a result perhaps. I certainly preferred this album to the Buffalo Springfield one I got a while back. The rockier side of this I guess.

At Newport 1960

Muddy Waters

4/5

As always, a joy to listen to Muddy Waters. Not as strong an album as Hard Again - which I got 9 albums ago and was an immediate save to my playlist for ever choice. But still pretty darned decent here.

Walking Wounded

Everything But The Girl

4/5

Rather enjoyed this and I was happy to listen to it twice. All very atmospheric and backgroundy, but sometimes that's fine. The general groove was pretty cool throughout and I'd put this on again if the mood was right.

1999

Prince

1/5

Just boring. I was originally going to review this with "horse shit". But it's worse than that - it's boring horse shit. And Free is worse than that again. I have a mate who really likes Prince - the sort of bloke who hears one song and decides he's going to like everything the artist does. Little Red Corvette doesn't make this a great album (you can keep 1999 - that's more of the same). Great albums need more than one or two decent tunes, and this is just boring as fuck.

Maggot Brain

Funkadelic

3/5

Nowhere near the same league as Parliament's Mothership Connection which introduced me to this band. This is all OK, but never really hits the same level of funk.

The Notorious Byrd Brothers

The Byrds

3/5

I had a long drive ahead of me, so it's a bit of a shame I got this album - nothing really stuck in my head from it and it was all a little bit background music. Nothing terrible about it, just nothing that I particularly want to listen to again.

The White Album

Beatles

3/5

This is everything that I expected it to be: overlong, bloated, confused, odd, bizarre, experimental, interesting (in places), frustrating and with some absolute classic bangers. You can absolutely hear the egos fighting for control as the band spirals into the death throes. There are some tracks I really enjoyed on here - and starting with Back in the USSR is genius. Then I reckon you could get most of a decent album out of this if you just took the tunes that make a real impact. And most of the rest just isn't very good I'm afraid. As an album it's pretty shite. Take those 30 minutes worth of gold and add a couple of fillers and you've got an album worth listening to time and thime again (and I'll take the Siouxsie version of Dear Prudence as well fwiw).

Shalimar

Rahul Dev Burman

4/5

Never heard this before, but I enjoyed it. Not really a genre I'm awfully familiar with, although I'm a deep Cornershop fan as there are rhythms and so on from them that resonate here.

Moss Side Story

Barry Adamson

3/5

What an odd idea. I'm a fan of odd ideas, but I'm not really sure that this works properly. Something about the production is a bit off and it lacks the story to tell that it needs as a soundtrack. Yesterday's soundtrack album - Shalimar - was better. This was interesting, but I'm not sure I'm listening to it again. Somewhere between 2 and 3 stars, but it can have 3 for being odd.

Come Find Yourself

Fun Lovin' Criminals

3/5

For hip-hop this was OK, although when I downloaded it I assumed it had Suspicious Minds on it. Damn my memory for band names... I didn't know any of it other than Scooby Snacks - which I had no idea was by this band. But, yeah, it was OK - one of the more listenable hip-hop albums I've come across on this list.

Getz/Gilberto

Stan Getz

4/5

Friday night, so it's time to cook a decent meal, pour a cocktail or two and have a nice evening. So this was perfect for that. Very enjoyable as jazz/bosa fusion in it's own right, but perfect as background music for something like a nice meal. I'll listen to it again in those circumstances and it might get occasional other play. Yeah, it's OK.

Marcus Garvey

Burning Spear

3/5

Perfectly listenable but it failed to move me really.

Let It Be

The Replacements

4/5

I'd dug this out earlier in the year after enjoying something else on this list that led me to The Replacements as something I might like. And I did. Hadn't heard it before that, but this is right up my street in lots of ways and I'll certainly listen to it again. It's even got a listenable version 20th Century Boy on the extended version I could download as well as some acoustic versions which are a nice change of pace. Yeah, this is pretty decent. Proper rock and roll band as well.

Bringing It All Back Home

Bob Dylan

4/5

I'm not sure I've ever listened to this album before, or any whole Dylan album actually. It's always seemed like music I'd like but a bit distant for me. Subterranean Homesick Blues is obviously a genius tune to kick off the album with, and there's plenty that I enjoyed on here. More importantly, it led me back to the first version of It's All Over Now, Baby Blue that I really got into - Energy Orchard recorded it on Stop the Machine. And I really loved Energy Orchard and their energy and vibe in the early 90s. So this kicked me to listen to that stuff again, which was a fab way to spend the rest of the day. For that alone it can have 4 stars, but it's not a strong 4 as an album by itself (and I *much* prefer the Energy Orchard version of It's All Over Now, Baby Blue fwiw).

It's Blitz!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

3/5

This was all new to me and I quite enjoyed it, without anything particularly sticking in my head. I probably need to listen to it again a couple of times - there's a few long drives coming up and this will probably fit well on one of those. For now, a solid 3, but one with hope.

Throwing Muses

3/5

Another one that was all perfectly listenable and that I probably need to listen to again when I have time.

Siamese Dream

The Smashing Pumpkins

3/5

I ended up getting a bit bored with this - which was my experience with the even longer follow up album that I've already come across on this list. This time was better, and I even knew one of the tunes - Today must have been on a Rock Band version of some kind (maybe the Lego one?). So, yeah, it's all OK I suppose. Just abut 3 stars as I didn't dislike it as such.

Iron Maiden

4/5

After the first listen I turned the volume up for the second. And up again for the third. All of which made my wife query whether I was 16 still... I'm not quite old enough for this to have been my introduction to Iron Maiden - that was Piece of Mind, with a side helping of The Number of the Beast. So, although I listened to a fair amount of Maiden during my school days I never really explored this album. I knew a few songs from some of the live albums and have played this album maybe a couple of times randomly - although I'm much more likely to end up listening to Killers. But this was an enjoyable album to delve into and it's one I'll listen to again for sure. Particularly enjoyed Iron Maiden and Charlotte the Harlot - they've really gotten into the stride by the end of the album - and Phantom of the Opera is always good value. I've not really listened to this version of Running Free before - the live album from the 1985 album was my only real previous exposure to it and that has the bass play the lead rhythm rather than those drum. Those drums. And the damned swing of it. A bit of a revelation. The closeness fo Antmusic, recorded later the same year, is bizarre. So, yeah, I enjoyed that. Is it 5 stars? Probably not - there are better Maiden albums, although I get why this is here as the break point for NWOBHM. It's a 4, but, heck, I enjoyed it.

Aha Shake Heartbreak

Kings of Leon

3/5

I listened to most of this whilst driving through Sheffield - a city I really don't know at all. As a result it's a bit of a blur if I'm honest. There were some nice moments, but I'll need to take the time to listen to this again perhaps to get a better impression

Low-Life

New Order

4/5

Right up my street and a really solid album that I listened to more than once. Nice mix of styles and you can hear the band evolving. Never listened before but this is well worth a listen and I'll listen to it again for sure.

Blue Lines

Massive Attack

5/5

I'm just a little bit too old to have really gotten the whole trip-hop thing. I knew about it but never got into it and haven't bothered listening since. So, this was new and I really enjoyed it. A fine mix of laid back rhythms and hip-hop vocal that was easy to listen to. And I'm sure there's a Bristol twang when whoever it is sings "lover" at one point... Obviously important as well, but that doesn't always equate to being enjoyable to listen to. This does both: solid 4.5 stars, so it can have 5 for being different

Ray Of Light

Madonna

4/5

This was a total surprise. The only things I knew about Madonna were the adoption stuff and her hits, more from the 80s with that big, brash style. I really wasn't expecting to enjoy this, but it was easy to listen to and surprising in it's style. I'd happened to get Massive Attack's Blue Lines the day before, so the slightly laid-back trip-hop nature of this was interesting to compare - it's all fine enough, but lacks the drive and energy and rawness of that album: just a little too bland and over-produced in places perhaps. Not half bad though.

Debut

Björk

3/5

I got Medúlla 102 albums ago and really quite enjoyed it's oddness. I was expecting this to be more strange as well - not necessarily at that level. But it seemed surprisingly conventional and, frankly, a little bit (just a little) boring. Perhaps I was just expecting something that I had no right to expect. But I doubt I'll listen to this one again.

Vento De Maio

Elis Regina

3/5

I really didn't enjoy this - which is unusual as anything not in English usually grabs my attention. It just seems a little dated and not very interesting. I'll give it 3 stars with the last one being for not being in English.

Definitely Maybe

Oasis

5/5

Off the back of starting this project I happened to have downloaded Morning Glory recently and listened to it a few times during a very long drive over the summer. Probably the first time I'd listened to the band since the 90s with one thing and another. And it's full of absolute bangers and made me remember how damned good Oasis were. This isn't quite as good maybe - but it's close and repeated listening over couple of days has led me to appreciate it a bit more I think. The loudness is impressive and the style just iconic - I always preferred Oasis to the other Brit pop bands, although I'm just a little too old to have really been captured by all of that stuff. Really enjoyable with some really strong tracks and nothing that really lets it down. Yeah, I'll listen to this again.

GI

Germs

3/5

Hardcore is just a little too much for me most of the time, and this was no exception - although I am impressed at the inclusion of a 9+ minute track on a 16 track album with a running time of less than 40 minutes. This was OK. I guess it was interesting enough to listen to. For a bit.

Peter Gabriel 3

Peter Gabriel

4/5

Never listened to a solo Gabriel album before, although I have hours under my belt of early Genesis and know the hits from this and the other albums. So I was interested in how I'd feel about this. And it's interesting with lots going on, and lots that I like. The experimental feel is interesting - Invaders is pretty cool and there's a lot of variety. I loved that Lead a Normal Life reminded me of the Kometenmelodies from Autobahn, an album I fell in love with after listening to it again as a result of this list. And the variety is nice. I'd forgotten how good Games Without Frontiers, although I had no idea it was inspired by It's a Knockout. Suddenly Eddie Waring and, err, Stuart Hall were in my mind. Hmm... But a really strong tune with a nice hook. And, Biko. Oh my. I've not heard this for maybe 20, 25 years. But, fuck me, it's powerful. And a piece of utter brilliance. And it's easy to forget how important - damned important - it was in raising awareness of apartheid, with the British establishment doing nothing about it and Thatch about to make that situation worse. But does it belong on the album? An album that has variety as a virtue? I'm not sure it does. I love it, but I'm not sure it could belong on any album; it's just too big, too powerful. So. Enjoyed this very much. But it's not 5 stars.

Faith

George Michael

2/5

Nowhere near as good as Listen Without Prejudice. There are some strong tunes and it opens really strongly - once you get beyond the slightly odd church organ intro Faith really kicks arse. And there are some half decent other tunes as well - Hand to Mouth I enjoyed (and is an excellent title too). But. It just doesn't all hang together as well as it could do. There's a song on each side for the Wham! audience and that doesn't help - fluffy ballads for children. And he'd clearly been listening to 1999 when I Want Your Sex was being developed. To lots of people that might be a good thing, but I found the 1999 album utter shite. So, there's some OK stuff, some blandness and one bit of horseshit. 2.5, but the horse has shat itself too much for me so it's a 2.

Frank

Amy Winehouse

2/5

Never listened to this before, or her other album, although obviously I know the name and the story. So, interesting... I'm conflicted. I like the damned style of much of it - the beat that hits you on Stronger Than Me, for example, is really powerful. And there's lots going on here. I particularly enjoyed the bossa nova notes and there's lots to like. And she can sing - No Greater Love is a triumph and I really liked that. But I think I just don't like her voice enough to listen to this as an album again. She can hold a note; she can sing; she can put together a tune - although the lyrics largely passed me by. But I just can't get behind the voice. It makes it difficult to listen to a whole damned album. Two, maybe three tunes in a row is enough. I know I'm probably wrong, but I just don't like it enough. Sorry.

Bookends

Simon & Garfunkel

4/5

We were driving with this on and the other person in the car made the observation that "this is later than that other album, yes?" (the herb album) And you can tell it is. And it's not quite got as much in the way of real S&G hit stuff on it: Mrs R, obviously, America, Old Friends, and A Hazy Shade of Winter, which on this version sounds like it could make an appearance on a Belle and Sebastian album (which, for me, is a Very Good Thing). Fakin' it was one I didn't know that might make the cut as well. Voice of Old People is clearly odd and I don't like it as much as 7 O'Clock News on the Herb Album. And I'm not 100% sure I'd have known that the first side was a concept, but that does at least explain the inclusion gf Voices. So, it's 3.5 stars. I guess it can have 4 because ultimately I would listen to it again.

Duck Stab/Buster & Glen

The Residents

2/5

There are a handful of good things about this album: 1) I managed to download the 30 minute version rather then the longer one with “bonus” tracks that the link directed me to; 2) an example of 70s avant-garde experimental music clearly belonged on this list; 3) it was at least a vaguely listenable example. Mostly; 4) I didn’t entirely hate all the tracks; 5) it’s better than that god awful Mariah Carey record I endured; 6)* hopefully 1 and 2 combined means we got away lightly with this sort of thing (although it seemed longer) Someone came in the kitchen when I was listening to this and asked what the hell I was listening to. They have a point. At least it's not Rumours, 1999 or Thriller (two of which I scored lower than this...). Not a fan really, but as I say, there’s worse things on this list. * I’m from Norfolk

Pearl

Janis Joplin

2/5

A couple of reviews ago, someone down there wrote that Joplin was the 70s version of Amy Winehouse. That had me worried as I got Frank a couple of albums ago and didn’t particularly enjoy listening to Winehouse’s voice. Fortunately Joplin has a less divisive singing voice in my view, although she’s clearly less talented from a composition point of view. Having said that, this was no more than OK for me. Nothing really made me want to keep listening time after time, although I managed two back to back listens. Beyond Mercedes Benz though, there’s little I’d want to listen to again. I’ve heard better versions of Me and Bobby McGee and much of the rest lacked imagination really. Perhaps back in the day it was considered cutting edge new wave stuff, but now, despite the decent playing and production, it’s rather got a dated feel for me. I was flip flopping between 3 and 2 stars - having given Frank 2. It’s more listenable to because of the voice, but less creative and I don’t know how much Joplin simply takes credit without doing that much. Harsh. And then I read a number of descriptions of her as a “sexual predator” with manipulative tendencies. We change our view of male artists based on their creepiness, so why not women? Maybe she was never in the same league as Jackson etc, but there’s a view which seems to have some credibility to it that suggests there are issues. So, that’ll be 2 then.

Want One

Rufus Wainwright

3/5

Just not very inspiring, despite being completely pleasant. I imagine singer- songwriter isn’t a genre I’m ever going to embrace properly. So, meh really.

It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Public Enemy

4/5

Not much of a hip-hop fan but I enjoyed this

Scissor Sisters

3/5

All quite fun and poppy, but it’s quite long and I don’t really remember anything from it.

Doolittle

Pixies

4/5

This was OK and I can imagine a situation where I listen to it again. Possibly a bit shouty for my taste, but there are some decent tracks.

Shaft

Isaac Hayes

3/5

Hmmmm. As much as the vocal times are pretty decent, this is a lot of soundtrack for a film that I’ve never seen. I totally get why the movie is imported, but if you don’t know it it’s tricky to get past the fact that there’s a lot of instrumental warbling here. And if we’re having soundtracks,‘where’s Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Rocky Horror or, heck, Restless Natives.

Catch A Fire

Bob Marley & The Wailers

3/5

It’s OK, but not really something that I’d listen to again. Fairly predictable really, and I don’t tend to love this sort of reggae

Ellington at Newport

Duke Ellington

3/5

There's just so much of this that it's difficult to get into a consistent vibe with it - too much talking and so on. The music is fine but it never really rocks my boat like some of the other jazzy stuff on here does.

Superfuzz Bigmuff

Mudhoney

3/5

It would really fucking help if whoever decides what goes on Spotify other streaming services are available) could avoid only putting deluxe versions of albums on there. I'm usually downloading these at 5:30 in the morning and don't have time to curate a playlist and check what the fuck I'm actually supposed to be listening to. I listened to this ages ago and disliked it because it was just too much. The 22 minute actual album version is much more manageable for me - someone totally new to the band - rather than the two hour deluxe wankfest. So, in short doses I quite like it. The 22 minute version might get 3.5 stars or maybe 4 if I'm feeling particularly like loud music on that day. I might even listen to it again if it were easily available. The two hour version gets no more than 2. So, 3 stars overall and let that be a lesson to you mrs record company executive...

The Visitors

ABBA

2/5

Not as good as I'd been led to believe it would be. I didn't particularly enjoy all of this in one go I'm afraid. Maybe it was the day, maybe I just don't like ABBA album cuts. I won't listen again.

Sunday At The Village Vanguard

Bill Evans Trio

3/5

The first time I listened to this was in the car. That was months ago and I forgot to write up a score. From a vague memory I didn't enjoy it much. Today I came back to it, this time in the kitchen whilst cooking away a bunch of stuff. It's much better suited to that sort of thing. Light background music - and there's nothing wrong with that. The improv aspects, especially the drums, are a bit much at times for me. But I'm not a jazz aficionado and I guess that there will be people who love that shit. I'd take the gentle background nature of this, or one of the related performances. I won't actively seek this out to listen to regularly, but I might easily stick it on on a Friday afternoon when I'm cooking something good for dinner. It's another of those solid 3.5 star ones that don't quite merit a 4, but are better than some of the stuff that gets a 3.

Homework

Daft Punk

2/5

No doubt if I were in a club this would be banging. But I can count the number of times I've been "in a club" on one hand. And I'm 54. Lacks the imagination, wit and style of Kraftwerk. It's not entirely terrible, but really not my thing.

Nebraska

Bruce Springsteen

5/5

This all starts with Jungleland of course: "and the poets down here/don't write nothing at all/they just stand by and let it all be". From there we get to the small town dystopia of Darkness, through the oddness of The River, to here. The bleakness of a four track recording. Where's that screen door slamming? Or the pretty little place down San Diego way? Where's the hope? The escape? Man, Nebraska is bleakness. Ordinariness. And I love that. This isn't my favourite Springsteen album from the 70s/80s cannon. But it's special still. So, is it a 4 or a 5? Is it a really great album that I want to keep going back to? It's somewhere in between, but it's getting a 5 because it's different and it's ordinary. And bleak. The Magic Rat got gunned down in Jungleland. On Nebraska it seems everyone dies in some way, physically or emotionally. I'll take some of that.

Crime Of The Century

Supertramp

2/5

There’s some pleasant piano on this, but the whole thing is just too overblown for my taste. I’m sure that if I were 10 years older stuff like Supertramp might be exactly my thing. There are hints of stuff I like - that piano and there are little snatches of actual prog sounds. And then the sax starts or it all gets a bit too soft rock bollocks. Not offensive as such, just a bit boring.

Natty Dread

Bob Marley & The Wailers

3/5

There's nothing wrong with this. It's perfectly fine. It's not objectionable in any way. I just don't seem to like reggae very much. Some half-decent grooves in places and if the odd track or two came up in a random playlist it'd be absolutely fine. But I'm not going to listen to the whole album again. So it's a 3.

Elastica

3/5

This is the sort of music I like, but it left me rather cold. It's fine, but it's all a bit vanilla and generic. There's nothing exciting here - the riff at the start of SOFT, the drums on Never Here and Stutter are quite nice, but there's not enough wow factor to have me come back for more. The 90s were a bit of a blank for me in lots of ways - I was too old to get into most new music throughout them - so I'd never really heard anything by the band. But why would I listen to this when I could listen to some Catatonia? I assumed International Velvet must be on this list, but it appears not to be. So, put something totally generic on it but miss out that voice and the way it makes the sound unmistakable? Fuck, that's just a flat out mistake.

Rage Against The Machine

3/5

If I were ten years younger I might have been into this. Vocally I quite like the hip-hop style and the drums aren’t bad, but the guitars seem really generic. It has it’s moments and I’m glad I listened to it, but I’m unlikely to listen to it again I think.

All Hope Is Gone

Slipknot

3/5

This was better than I thought it might be. Never knowingly listened to the band, and it’s a bit too much like Lordi for my taste, although there are some nice moments. I probably prefer my metal more British and slightly earlier and I’m unlikely to listen to this again. But I’m glad I did listen to it.

Darkdancer

Les Rythmes Digitales

4/5

The album cover is the dude from LazyTown, yes? This is pretty banging actually. Never heard of the band but this is the sort of thing I’m here for: stuff I absolutely wouldn’t usually listen to. Lovely. More of the different please.

Is This It

The Strokes

3/5

Perfectly listenable to but a bit repetitive maybe. For me it's a good job it’s a short album. The guitars are solid enough, although I might want a bit more funk in the baseline perhaps. The vocals seem a bit lost in the guitar which isn't my preference. Glad I listened to it though, and reading about it the album's clearly influential. It had already occurred to me that it's similar to early Arctic Monkeys, so the influence it had on that sort of sound is a good enough reason for it to be on this list. It just lacks the wit and style to go with it. It's all fine. I enjoyed it enough but I doubt I'll listen to it again, certainly not regularly. A solid 3.5 though.

3/5

Too stylistically schizophrenic for my tastes really. All sorts of things going on and, as someone else says, it is like it’s the soundtrack to a musical like Rocky Horror. I quite liked some of it and could hear why it may have influenced tonnes of people, but not an album I’d listen to again. Especially not the Glam bits

Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

Wu-Tang Clan

2/5

Meh Just not very interesting I’m afraid. I have no doubt that it was massively important and influential, but I appear to prefer my hip-hop harder and more obviously political. This is just a bit bland and boring. And as for the king-fu sounds - yeah, sure squire. Very clever I’m sure. But a bit bollocksy. No chance I’ll be listening again here. So a 2.

The Rise & Fall

Madness

2/5

When I was 12 Madness were the band that all the cool kids in school liked. So I know the sound because I’m absolutely the right age. There’s some decent tracks here but nothing to keep me coming back for more really. It’s just a bit thin and lightweight. I get why the cool kids liked it and as a greatest hits band they’re fine. But 12 year olds know fuck all.

My Generation

The Who

3/5

Very sixties sound. There’s also that slightly schizophrenic nature to this that I don’t find helpful and that I associate with the decade. Some stuff I like and then some I don’t ever want to hear again. Odd how Muddy Waters and Otis Redding can produce albums that are so solid and then you get ones like this that are just so flakey. I managed two listens though so it wasn’t that bad.

Nighthawks At The Diner

Tom Waits

2/5

I'v always had a problem distinguishing Tom Waits from the British actor Tom Watt. So I always think I'm getting Lofty from Eastenders. First off, this is more than just about the bass. The drums are lovely and the sax is just right. The piano is pretty solid as well and most of the guitar works. So, more than the bass player. The slightly rambling intros remind me of Springsteen intros from about this time. The differences are that a) the music that followed the intro was generally pure rock and roll with Springsteen rather than a bit more rambling; b) Bruce is funnier in an everyman sort of way; c) Springsteen didn't put out a live album for more than 10 years, and even then the intros were generally pretty short. I'm not sure it was a good idea to inflict this level of wankfest on the world. I mean, it's OK as far as wankfest goes, but it's not really my thing.

Justified

Justin Timberlake

2/5

Unmemorable. Lift music. Nothing caught my ear but it’s not actually offensive either so 2

In A Silent Way

Miles Davis

3/5

I'm not clever enough to really get this - it's all a bit over my head. Perfectly pleasant and I wouldn't run screaming if it came up on a suggested playlist. But it's not really my thing.

Talk Talk Talk

The Psychedelic Furs

4/5

Knew the name but never listened before. Rather good as it happens- and sounds a lot more modern than I’d expect from 1981. Grunge like in places and of you told me this was 10-20 years later I wouldn’t have been surprised. Vocally bits reminded me of the magnificent Half Man Half Biscuit, which is never a bad thing in my book. And I can get onboard with the overall sound. Pretty good overall and I’d listen again without a problem.

A Short Album About Love

The Divine Comedy

2/5

After listening to this three times I was still unsure about how to score it. So I put on another album from the same era - Catatonia's International Velvet. Fuck me, that blew this pile of pretentious horse shite away. How the actual fuck is this on this list but Catatonia aren't? Just listen to the two albums back to back ffs. It's not even close. So, any thought of a potential 3 disappeared in the time it took for the opening chords of Mulder and Scully to finish. It's not a 1 - somewhere buried deep inside this is the makings of half of a reasonable Belle and Sebastian EP. The muted horns, some of the orchestration when it's not too over the top, the guitar break with the horns behind two and half minutes in to Everybody Knows (the best thing on the album, although it vocally lacks drive let alone the groove and swagger that Murdoch would bring to a song like this (and the fun and variety B&S bring)). The whole vocal line throughout is a bit Val Doonican at times. More rock and roll please. And less overblown orchestra - it's nice when it's subtle, not when it gets over the top. Timewatching in particular is all a bit dire. And don't get me started on the fucking horses and dogs. There's something in there. But so much shite to go with it.

Cafe Bleu

The Style Council

2/5

Once they’d got over Madness being a bit shit, most of the cool kids in school decided that The Style Council were the best thing ever. I was never one of the cool kids. As a result this is my first listen to a full Style Council album. I wonder what the cool kids made of it? Probably confused the fuck out of them as it's all over the place stylistically. The early 80s were a bit bleak for just teenagers in small towns in the provinces with just Top of the Pops, Steve Wright and Smash Hits to inform them about the world. Hence The Style Council being cool. There are lots of lovely things on this record. Many of them are quite good, although the range of things makes it all a bit hit and miss and I get the feeling that because it can't settle down that you end up with second best of everything. Tracey Thorn's vocal, for example, is fine but it's not Norah Jones; the jazzy bits are perfectly OK but just fall a bit short perhaps; the rap bit... Well, the less said about that the better. Rap for provincial small town teenagers perhaps. I think the sheer range of this is just too much for me. I don't want it all to sound the same, but there's just too much here to make a great album.

Songs Of Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen

2/5

One song, I could cope with. Suzanne or So Long, Marianne in particular. A whole album? No thanks. Five whole albums? Hell no. I get people think Cohen's a genius and I understand why one or two albums might be on the list, but I might skip the next four because I really don't like this enough to bother with. So Long, Marianne saved this from 1 star. Just.

Truth

Jeff Beck

2/5

When this is good it's very, very good. When it's OK it's OK, but when it's bad - oh, yes, Greensleeves I'm talking to you - it's horrible. The blues rock tracks are pretty damned good. Let Me Love You, You Shook Me, Rock My Plimsoul (despite the cringe title) and I Ain't Superstitious are all stand out tracks. The version of the album I initially downloaded didn't have Blues De Luxe on it, but that's not bad either. Of the rest, not sure about Shapes of Things and I've heard better versions of Morning Dew. And then the rest... Beck's Bolero (also not on the initial version I downloaded) seems like a bit of a self-indulgent wankfest, and I really don't get this version of Ol Man River at all. And the plodding, turgid version of Greensleeves seems like it belongs on a Spinal Tap album. I have no idea what the hell they were on when they decided it belonged on this album, let alone happy with this recording which seems like it's just filler. It's maybe Grade 4 classical guitar standard if that. A real indictment and it pretty much destroys this album by itself. So, a score. This has three or four tracks I could listen to regularly, but as an album I never want to listen to it again - a combination of Greensleeves, Bolero and Ol' Man River pretty much guarantee that. So it's a 2

My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts

Brian Eno

4/5

A very peculiar thing. I quite like it and might listen to it again - decent music for a long drive. And it's obvious where it's been influential. Not exactly full of bangers though. But following on from four scores of 2, it's clearly more likeable and playable, so 3.5 seems fair. Bump it up to 4 because it's different.

Fever To Tell

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

3/5

Half decent bit of noise here. Nothing revolutionary - at least, not looking from 20 years in the future anyway, but this is short, sweet and listenable. Vocals are pretty cool in particular.

She's So Unusual

Cyndi Lauper

3/5

So, this takes me back to being 13. I never know if that's a good thing or not - being 13 can be pretty fucking terrible. I know a couple of the songs of course and I think I remember seeing her on Top of the Pops. The voice is generally fine - although the best moments on the album are when it slows down on Time After Time and on Money Changes Everything where there's a change of pace. But it's the early 80s and it's pop. So that means those drums. Or drum sounds. That are just so in your face. Not a lot of room for subtlety across the album and it all gets a bit wearing after a track or two. Relentless. Which is probably why I prefer the album when something different's going on. But it's OK pop music. There's a lot worse out there, although I doubt I'd listen to the whole album again.

Exit Planet Dust

The Chemical Brothers

2/5

Bit relentless this. And a bit too dancey for my taste really. Chico’s Groove is a bit more chilled out and I prefer that sort of sound over the full on 90s club dance stuff. I get why this is on the list and I’m glad I listened to it, but I don’t really like it very much.

At San Quentin

Johnny Cash

5/5

I didn't think I particularly liked country music. I'm still not sure I do, but then there's so much different stuff going on here that I don't really think it's country music - folk, blues, bits of rock and roll. Maybe it's just Americana. So, I really enjoyed this. Being live helps for me, but the music was really enjoyable as well. So much so that I dug out the extended version with Carl Perkins and the Carter Family stuff as well. I almost never do that, so this must be good. So, 4 or 5. Hell, the live nature does it for me so 5 it is. First one for ages

Chirping Crickets

Buddy Holly & The Crickets

4/5

Nearly 70 years old and without the 50s harmonies this would be as fresh as it was then. Oh Boy is a great start to the album - a bit like Blue Suede Shoes is on the first Elvis album. This is a better album than that as there's fewer saccharine ballads. But it's the harmonies and the ballads that do make it (Send me some levin' is particularly turgid) that mean that I can't give it a 5. Which is a shame, as if this had more guitar and less harmonies it'd be pretty darned good. I do love that it's so short mind you.

Closer

Joy Division

5/5

Oh, I just adore this. The whole feel is epic. Moody, dark, throbbing, powerful guitar and bass drive everything. And THAT vocal. Overwhelming. And fucking brilliant. I was too young (just) to be into Joy Division back in the day, and it took me a while but I have the oven gloves and all now. Talk to the hands; talk to the hands An easy 5.

Bad

Michael Jackson

1/5

I remember lots of things from 1987. It was the year I finished school and went off to university; the year I worked in the US over the summer; the year it was Very Windy. I remember The Joshua Tree, Solitude Standing, Appetite for Destruction, Hold Your Fire, The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death, Cluthing at Straws, and even Hysteria. But I honestly wouldn't have placed this in 1987 - it seems earlier than that. Certainly no one I knew was playing it and it seems kinda dated in the context of the other albums produced that year. As I vaguely recall, this is Jackson in his crotch grabbing, staccato, most affected, whoa shouting period. Maybe moon walking - I don't know, this shite all merges into one really. I tried to listen to this. It might not be quite as bad as Thriller in total, but it gets repetitive with those "whoa!s" and so on, and I struggled to listen to any complete songs after the first couple. Maybe I just don't like Jackson. This is a 1 or 2 star album for me - I just don't like it I'm afraid and if you love it then I'm sorry; I'm sure you're right. Jackson being an utter twunt drops it to 1.

Power In Numbers

Jurassic 5

5/5

Really enjoyed this - had no idea it existed. The funky baseline does it for me, with just the right amount of voice over the top. Full of interesting ideas and I'll certainly listen to this again.

Pelican West

Haircut 100

2/5

Meh. I'm not sure Haircut 100 deserve to be taken this seriously really. As background music this was OK, but I didn't even notice Fantastic Day was on the album until I read the article about it afterwards. Just all a bit anonymous and, I'm afraid, uninteresting. There were worse things produced in 1982 no doubt, but this is a poor man's alternative to Lexicon of Love, Rio or Rip It Up. My wife loves it, but it's really not my thing.

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

3/5

I think I've come to the conclusion that I prefer Dylan songs when someone other than Bobby sings them. Most of the time anyway. This has some lovely songs on it, but I'd really rather listen to, say, Peter, Paul and Mary sing them. Or Joan Baez. Or John Martyn. I'll draw the line at Clapton obviously, but there are lots of nice versions of a number of these songs that I'm very happy to listen to multiple times. Fwiw, Blowin' in the Wind might be the time when Dylan's is the better version. So, it was nice to listen to this to say that I have, but I doubt I'll ever put it on again.

Arular

M.I.A.

1/5

This sounds overwhelmingly like the sort of skipping songs that primary school kids used to sing. In isolation some of the tunes aren’t entirely horrendous. Put together, however, this is, I’m afraid, one of the worst things I’ve listened to for a while. It might even be worse than Thriller, and I really hate Thriller with a passion. Whoever categorised this as World music is having a laugh. This is firmly routed in Saaarf London primary schools.

MTV Unplugged In New York

Nirvana

3/5

Perfectly fine, and it was interesting to listen to. Not really my thing entirely, but there are a lot worse albums than this on this list.

Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

2/5

Never knowingly listened to Nick Cave. I happened to have to do a pile of work in a short period of time and put this on to listen to at the same time. I finished the work and realised that the music had finished a whole before. I have no real memory of any of it. I didn't turn anything off so it's not a 1, but unmemorable enough to make me unlikely to ever go back again.

Treasure

Cocteau Twins

3/5

I quite enjoyed this. I might even listen again.

Group Sex

Circle Jerks

2/5

Oh, someone's trying really fucking hard to be as good as The Undertones. The difference is that those boys out of Derry had the wit and style to go with the drive and the short songs. As much as I admire the spirit to release an album that's 15 minutes long, just think what they could have achieved with a bit of JJ O'Neill's swagger. I listened. Then I stuck on The Undertones and rocked out.

British Steel

Judas Priest

4/5

I'm sure that I had a Judas Priest album when I was a kind, but for the life of me I have no idea which one it was. Not this, that's for sure. I grew up listening to the NWOBHM bands that followed Priest. They were always there in the background but I never really got in to them. The cassette I must have had just never really fitted with the sort of stuff I enjoyed and for some reason Priest always seemed a bit corny. Listening to this now, 40 years later, I was clearly wrong. The influence of touring with AC/DC is clear, and I can hear how this must have impacted the sound of bands like Saxon. I really enjoyed it and will (and have) listen again. Multiple times. It's not quite up there with the absolute drive that bands like Motorhead added to this sort of sound, but it's pretty darned good.

Station To Station

David Bowie

2/5

I'm not clever enough to understand what the fuss is with most of Bowie's stuff. As a result I was a bit bored.

Synchronicity

The Police

2/5

I never got into The Police really, so I never got around to buying anything that they produced. After listening to this that was probably a good thing. Not really up my street now, and it certainly wouldn't have been back then. It's not entirely offensive, but I won't be listening again.

Djam Leelii

Baaba Maal

5/5

Those first few bars had me. I love this type of sound - not quite desert blues in the Ali Farka Toure mode, but pretty close in places. That guitar and then when the kora kicks in (yes, that's not all guitar you know...) This might be better in its original eight track package (although Kettodee is one of my favourite tracks). But it's pretty darned good anyway. I must have first heard Baaba Male on the old Andy Kershaw world music show on Radio 3. Not that it was really world music - just whatever Andy felt like playing really. Miss that show; there's not really been anything like it since and it made Sunday nights special. Tossing up between a 4 and a 5. Assume the shorter, eight track version and then add a point for not being in English anyway and it's a 5 from me. More non-English music please.

Nevermind

Nirvana

4/5

I think, in 202 albums, this is the first one I have on vinyl. Obviously it's classic. Obviously it's a bit too long - you could lose 10-15 minutes I reckon and it wouldn't hurt that much. I've not listened to it for a while and enjoyed re-listening, but it is a tad bloated for me, so it's a 4.

Green Onions

Booker T. & The MG's

4/5

Groovy I enjoyed this. It's different and I didn't really know that much about Booker T and the MGs before other than Soul limbo as the sound of TMS on the radio. But for the most par this stuff has a pretty sound groove to it and I'd easily listen to this again in the right sort of situation. Certainly put that Ray Charles album from the same year into perspective. This has so much more funk going on.

Nothing's Shocking

Jane's Addiction

2/5

All a bit too shouty. Which is boring. Found this really tedious. I probably need to listen to it gain to be sure, but I have some nails to drag down a chalkboard instead. Blah.

Wonderful Rainbow

Lightning Bolt

3/5

I decided to approach this in the spirit of that bit of a Sea Power concert when Hamilton get's all freaky with feedback and it all gets a bit too much. A bit along the lines of Apologies to Insect Life and Favours in the Beetroot Fields. In those terms, this is OK. It goes on a bit longer than that bit of a concert though, and lacks the whimsy, wit and style of the rest of what Sea Power do. And the viola. And that's the thing here. I've no doubt this is improved by lacking very much in the way of vocals. I got a Jane's Attraction album yesterday that was just too shouty for me. The same with that god awful Nine Inch Nails album. The lack of vocals in those terms in a Good Thing. But it also means that the wit and style of the vocals on, say, Carrion from that Sea Power gig aren't there either. And, it seems, I like wit and style and that those, along with whimsy of course, are much more important than I ever imagined. So, not dreadful, but all a bit much. Again. And: the cover. Nice colour. But why the fuck would you get the order of colours wrong like that? That sort of does my head in a bit to be honest.

I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

Aretha Franklin

5/5

Got this on International Women's Day, which is a happy coincidence. Because what a voice! Obviously I was familiar with some of the tunes here - and have already had the Otis Redding album that the original of Respect is on and which also happens to have a version of Change if Gonna Come on as well. There are a couple of slightly weaker spots on the album, but on the whole Franklin's voice carries anything that isn't perfect. And what a voice. Iconic, and for that alone this is worth 5 stars. I played this four times on the day I got it and have played it more since. It's class.

The Sensual World

Kate Bush

4/5

Never really got into Kate Bush. I sort of get it, but I suspect that this is the sort of album that I'd need to listen to a bunch more to really appreciate what's going on. I love the soundscape sort of approach, but I've never been entirely convinced that I particularly enjoy Bush's voice over more than a couple of tunes in a go. This Woman's Work is excellent and there's a lot that I think I should like on this, but I imagine that I'd need a week to be sure that it's some sort of genius. Tentative 4 stars because it's probably brilliant and I don't really have time to decide if it is or not.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Elton John

3/5

This was quite pleasant without really rocking my world. I knew a few of the tunes from radio play and so on and, other than Candle in the Wind which is so associated with mass hysteria bullshit, there's nothing on there that isn't OK. With more time spent listening to it I imagine I'd like it more.

Nowhere

Ride

2/5

Another album that there's nothing wrong with per se. I quite enjoyed the sound on the whole, but the album is just too long. There's no way that this needs to be more than 70 minutes in length - it could have been in the sweet spot between 35 and 45 minutes and then had an EP only release or B sides or what have you. A function, I imagine, of being produced in the CD era. It's the over length that brings this from 3 to 2 stars. There's really no excuse for it here.

Everything Must Go

Manic Street Preachers

2/5

Honestly, really quite boring. Nothing wrong with it as such, and I should like this sort of thing. But it's bland as fuck.

Melody A.M.

Röyksopp

2/5

I enjoy electronic music, but this was quite tedious.

Moon Safari

Air

4/5

I rather enjoyed this, after not expecting to. I take all the points people make about it being a bit AI and so on, but it's also got a bit of funk and style about it. And has lots of interesting bits and pieces. It'll do for me.

All Hail the Queen

Queen Latifah

1/5

I keep on expect Will Smith to break in and start with the themes from Fresh Prince. That's not a complement. And this isn't as good as that. It's almost - almost - saved by Evil that men do, which is the only tune I'd ever want to listen to again from this. But ultimately it's so dated and just a bit too crap. So it's one star. This is more hippity-hoppity than hip-hop.

OK Computer

Radiohead

3/5

Never listened to this before - it just sort of passed me by in the days before streaming and I've never bothered to listen since. It's probably something I'd really enjoy if I listened to it about 20 times. I managed three listens over a couple of days and I'm sure there's something there to justify the hype, but I'm not particularly inclined to put the time in I'd need to find out. I can understand why people liked it though and I'm glad to have listened to it.

Fifth Dimension

The Byrds

3/5

A bit odd, in that sixties sort of way that things are. I didn't object to anything on it - although there are many better versions of Mountain Thyme - and there are some OK tracks. But I don't think I'll listen again anytime soon.

Cosmo's Factory

Creedence Clearwater Revival

3/5

The first album I got on this project was Bayou Country which I really enjoyed. The 17th was Green River which is also pretty good. This is the 216th and that's it for CCR. I didn't enjoy this as much - both the others got 4s but strong ones and maybe now I'd go for a 5 for one or both of them. This has less earth and grime to it, which is what I enjoyed about the first two albums. It's still OK - and I enjoyed hearing the couple of tunes that I didn't realise I knew. CCR aren't a band that was played much on the radio on this side of the Atlantic so the hits on this had largely eluded me. I'm not sure the world needs a ten+ minute version of Heard it on the Grapevine though. Certainly not this one. Ultimately this isn't as good as the other two albums I've listened to by the band, In both of those cases I listened multiple times in a day. This time I moved on to other things.

Peace Sells...But Who's Buying

Megadeth

2/5

There’s so much potential here but in the end the majority of the album just lacks wit and style. And as a result there’s just not quite enough swing to do it for me. The best moments are mainly the first minute or so of Good Mourning/Black Friday, although there’s some interest in It Ain’t Superstitious. But otherwise it’s all a bit too shouty for my taste.

This Is Fats Domino

Fats Domino

3/5

This is pretty good actually. Not set the world on fire good with modern ears, but I can imagine that in context it might be seen as that. A bit of a mix, but much better than most albums I’ve listened to from the 55-65 era. Maybe the compilation nature does help.

Are You Experienced

Jimi Hendrix

5/5

Blows the doors off and then knocks all the walls down for an encore. From the top it’s got absolute style. Never listened to any Hendrix before. Really enjoyed this.

Fromohio

fIREHOSE

2/5

What an odd album to include on this list. I didn’t hate it at all, but there’s really nothing about it as an album that would make me want to listen to it again. I guess this might be the reverse of the reviews I read of British bands where North Americans are confused.

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols

Sex Pistols

5/5

Fuck me, this still sounds fresh. It’s years since I listened to the album - I think someone taped it for me and I probably lost the cassette in about 1998. And I was far too young to appreciate it at the time. But heck, it’s a pretty good album. The musicianship is surprisingly strong and the vocal carries everything with the damned attitude. Enjoyed it more than I thought I would and will definitely listen to it again.

Hunky Dory

David Bowie

2/5

I'm still not clever enough to really understand what Bowie's trying to do here. Some nice individual tunes, but as an album it's not for me really.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill

5/5

Really enjoyed this. Clever and with wit and style throughout.

Jack Takes the Floor

Ramblin' Jack Elliott

4/5

So much has been built on the shoulders of the music Elliott is playing here. Really enjoyed this. It’s not perfect, but a really decent effort. And it made me dig out the Jackson Browne version of Cocaine Blues which led me back to Running on Empty, an album I’ve not listened to in a while.

Buena Vista Social Club

5/5

Dig out the CD version of this to listen to it on a proper set up. As splendid as it was back in the day. Not listened for ages and ages - years. But splendid to go back to. Betwixt 4 and 5 stars, but it can have the extra one for not being in English

At Folsom Prison

Johnny Cash

3/5

I recently got the At San Quintin album which is obviously very similar. I preferred that - there seems greater variety and a bit more swing to it. This is still pretty decent, but I’m much more likely to listen to San Quintin

Honky Tonk Heroes

Waylon Jennings

5/5

Yes please. Loved this. Short, to the point and with a fuck tonne of attitude.

Head Hunters

Herbie Hancock

2/5

Meh I’ve grown into jazz, but evidently not this type of jazz. Too much fucking around here for me.

Rock Bottom

Robert Wyatt

1/5

Oh my. I like a bit of prog rock in the right circumstance, but this sort of bollocks just proves why the Sex Pistols were so damned important. Horrible album. Really unpleasant.

Phrenology

The Roots

2/5

Meh. There are some OK bits to this but too much of it is unremarkable.

Ananda Shankar

3/5

Odd album but I quite enjoyed this. Last heard a sitar at a graduation ceremony at the end of last year and in the right hands it can be very pleasant. Not quite sure how I feel about this being rock and roll covers, and I’m not sure I could ever go to 5 stars here. But it’s OK

Since I Left You

The Avalanches

1/5

One of the few albums I’ve not wanted to even try to get through. Honestly, this is shit.

Crazysexycool

TLC

2/5

For starters, too long. There is no need to fill an hour when 35 to 40 minutes would have worked better. Especially when a lot of the stuff sounds the same. And it all sounds a bit 14-year old to me. Not a fan.

The Doors

3/5

This was OK. I knew some of the tracks and the length if pretty good. But I doubt I'll listen again to it as an album.

3 Feet High and Rising

De La Soul

3/5

Not terrible, but I'm not a massive fan of the game show stuff going on. I don't think it improves the album. The music is pretty decent in places and goes on a bit in others. It was pleasant enough but lacks the edge that I look for in the sort of hip hop I come back to.

You Want It Darker

Leonard Cohen

2/5

Marginally better than the previous Cohen album I listened to. Still not a fan, but this is a strong 2 stars rather than just reaching that level.

The Next Day

David Bowie

2/5

I still don’t really get the deal with Bowie. And this album just seems overlong and a bit tedious. Perhaps if I loved his music I’d have listened to this hundreds of times and I’d think much more of it. But I don’t.

Trio

Dolly Parton

3/5

This is just all a bit calm and twee. There's o denying that it's pleasant enough, but no more than that really. Wildflowers stood out as something worth a bit more time, but other than that I'd not come back here.

Live At The Harlem Square Club

Sam Cooke

5/5

Imagine suppressing something for more than 20 years because it sounded like too much fun. I do like a live album. And this is a heck of a live album. There aren't many where you can absolutely feel the sweat on your back and the sticky floor under your feet. This is really, really good. So much better than the pop image they tried to preserve.

Ritual De Lo Habitual

Jane's Addiction

2/5

Forgettable

Blood And Chocolate

Elvis Costello & The Attractions

3/5

This was OK but didn't really set my world on fire. I needed to drive 3 hours each way and only listen to it once.

Parachutes

Coldplay

2/5

Beige. I get that if I were a certain age I’d have almost certainly played this on a loop. But I’m not. Not offensive. Just beige.

Don't Come Home A Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)

Loretta Lynn

1/5

I thought I might be coming around to liking some county music. Seems that there are types I like and types I dislike. This is one I dislike. Maudlin, sentimental and just not very interesting. It was going to be two stars but she endorsed Trump so it'll be the one.

Out of Step

Minor Threat

2/5

I'm getting the impression that there's rather too much "hardcore punk" on this list. At least this lot can manage a power chord or two in an interesting way.

Teen Dream

Beach House

3/5

Vaguely reminds me of The Mull Historical Society in their pomp, but without the catchiness and hooks. It's OK. I doubt I'd listen again, but it was fine for driving to.

Beauty And The Beat

The Go-Go's

4/5

This is very much my era, and although I wouldn't have listened to it at the time there's enough that's familiar about the new wave sound to make me smile. And to enjoy the record. Yeah it's pretty straight down the line. There's nothing musically that innovative here - even for the time. But it's enjoyable.

Ambient 1/Music For Airports

Brian Eno

2/5

Bits of this reminded me of the stuff off the second side of Autobahn. But quite a lot of it reminded me of a sixth form piano composition. And not in a good way. I loved Autobahn. It really is genius. But that's because it does something with the style. This, well, didn't grab me at all and, as I say, seemed too basic - certainly not what I was expecting. I didn't hate it, but that's not exactly a ringing endorsement of ambient music. In fact, if anything it was too prominent in places - and I really was trying to do a lot of other stuff at the same time.

The Who Sell Out

The Who

1/5

Maybe this sounded innovative in 1967. Fresh and cool and interesting. It doesn't today. I said the same thing about Roger the Engineer as it happens. That was pretty shit; this is worse I'm afraid. If any of the songs between the adverts and jingles moved me or did anything particularly interesting, it wouldn't be so bad. They don't. I can see for miles reaches meh levels of adequacy, but that's probably only because I've heard it before. The rest are forgettable.

In Rainbows

Radiohead

2/5

Perfectly pleasant, but not in any way exciting

Odelay

Beck

3/5

There are some quite nice things on this. But as an album it’s just too diverse and doesn’t hang together in any real way. Maybe if I were younger and had listened to it a lot in my teens I’d love it. I’m not and I don’t. Naturally it’s rather too long as well, but that’s the CD era for you.

Doggystyle

Snoop Dogg

1/5

Very few albums can manage the "clever" bits between songs. Rather like The Who Sell Out this one fails as a result - it's just a bit boring and tedious and, as a result of the bullshit between tunes, far too fucking long. Lauryn Hill managed it; this doesn't. The actual music is OK, but as an album this fails. I was toying with 2 stars, but this is about the album so it's in the bin for me.

Country Life

Roxy Music

2/5

The most offensive thing about this is its utter lack of offensiveness. For a bit of naval gazing I suppose it's not utterly terrible. But it's just so boring and shows pretty clearly why punk was needed.

Darklands

The Jesus And Mary Chain

5/5

It took me a long time to fall in love with The Jesus and Mary Chain, and this album in particular. It's totally my era, but I don't recall knowing anyone who was in to the band back then. And I was listening to more prog rock style of music. So, no one to borrow the album from, so I didn't listen to it until I came across it via Spotify a ew years ago, And I love it. I don't know if I would have been open enough to it when I was 18 – it's the sort of thing I might have rejected as a teenager, because, frankly, teenagers know fuck all about what makes music great. I love the rock and roll style to this and have listened to it hundreds of times over the past few years. It's just got hooks to die for. One of my favourite albums.

Parallel Lines

Blondie

4/5

I’m exactly the right age to totally get this album. Really catchy pop/new wave/rock and roll album with lots of classics on it. The cover of I’m Gonna Love You Too was unexpected but really enjoyable. A really nice listen and one I’ll come back to every now again. Exactly the right length as well. Good stuff

Central Reservation

Beth Orton

3/5

I really struggled with this and had to listen to it multiple times over quite a long period of time to get my head around why. Stolen Car is lovely, and towards the end of the album stuff gets pared down a bit more and that sort of works. But there's just way too much production on most of the album for me to really like it. Now, I like a bit of trip hop. I really like folk music. And I like some folktronica that actually goes out there a bit (think a bit of Tunng). This doesn't. As a result it's all a bit pedestrian and overblown. There's no Eddi Reader on this list. No Julie Fowlis. No Cara Dillon. No Kate Rusby. Hell, I'd take any of them ahead of this. It's OK. Just OK. Stolen Car moves it to 3 stars.

Devotional Songs

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

3/5

The idea of this excites me more than the reality I’m afraid. I generally really enjoy non English language music but this is a bit too relentless for me. I’ll add a star for not being in English, but this isn’t something I want to come back to really

Live At Leeds

The Who

2/5

I like a live album in general, but this one stands nowhere near the great live albums. It seems pedestrian, and that's before you get to the shit about the mini-opera which feels incredibly dated 50 years later. Certainly this is nowhere near the class of the Sam Cooke live album and goes to show just how patchy some of the "great" albums from the 60s and early 70s are.

Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Aphex Twin

3/5

The sounds are quite nice and there's some variety here, but this doesn't feel world changing. And, obviously, it's too long. Pleasant enough, but I won't listen to it again.

Metallica

3/5

Not really my thing but totally fine. Some catchy enough bits and pieces and I imagine that if I spent more time with it I’d probably get into it a bit more.

Stankonia

OutKast

2/5

Motherfucking tedious at times. Some of the motherfucking tunes weren’t so bad, but the motherfucking skits can get motherfucking boring especially the motherfucking one where someone called other motherfucking people morherfuckers for motherfucking ages. Not terrible, but really not my thing either

When I Was Born For The 7th Time

Cornershop

5/5

Genre defying genus. A glorious mess of fabulously groovy and so very different tunes. When Tjinder and Ben are on their game, there's literally nothing better. And they're on their game here. Now, let's address the (currently) top review: "smothering things in borrowed Indian flavors doesn't make up for their own boring cuisine?". Yeah sure, Cornershop are a product of anglo-India, of course they are. That's the point. It's a mess, a melting pot, a fusion which works because of Tjinder's heritage and outlook. It's just like modern Britain: a glorious mess of cultures and ideas. That's the fucking point of Cornershop - there's nothing "borrowed" here. It's why they burnt photos of Morrissey, campaigned against racism and Brexit, and remain relevant today. It's nothing to do with borrowing flavours; these are the flavours of Britain, whether we like it - and I do - or not. And if you don't, fuck off and watch GB News. You can dislike the music, but insulting the idea for cheap laughs, that's not on. This is a really good album. It's rich and diverse, and a bit weird at times, and challenging and glorious and full of soul and spirit. Just like anglo-Indian food. And that's what makes it fucking amazing. Love this. Hadn't listened to it for a while. Do yourself a favour, and go and listen to their 2009 album Judy sucks a lemon for breakfast, which is even better than this in my view, and at least Something Makes You Feel Like from 2012's Urban Turban album. Glorious. I must listen more often.

Madman Across The Water

Elton John

3/5

Like the other Elton John album I listened to a while back, this is OK without really standing out in any way. Tiny Dancer reminds me of early Jackson Browne, which is no bad thing, but beyond that it’s all a bit bland. I can’t quite make up my mind about Indian Sunset. I suppose benefit of the doubt is reasonable, but it still feels a bit off 50 years later. Just a bit meh really

Electric Warrior

T. Rex

2/5

Really not a fan of glam rock in general now that I’m no longer right.

Unhalfbricking

Fairport Convention

5/5

This grew on me. I knew Who Knows Where the Time Goes, although I'm not sure from where other than the Eddi Reader recording of it. I kinda prefer Reader's voice on that, but it's a glorious and beautifully sad song and took me down a Spotify rabbit hole for a bit, taking me to the Susanna Hoffs covers albums which are a bit odd... But other than that, I didn't know what to expect at all. On first listen, side 2 stood out more. Cajun Woman seems Creedence Clearwater Revival influenced, which is always a good thing I've discovered through this project, Percy's Sing sounds awfully Trad Arr Tune, which I enjoyed, and Million Dollar Bash is a decent ending. Side 1 grew on me, although I'm still not that enamoured with A Sailor's Life actually. But I enjoyed the album as a whole and it's opened up the thought of exploring more Fairport Convention through the years. They're even playing quite close to me early next year so I might go along... This started out as close a 3/4 but ended the day as a 5. That's the beauty of shorter albums, I get to listen to them more than once if they're any good at all.

Stardust

Willie Nelson

3/5

What a curious album. I wasn’t at all sure about the idea, then I sort of liked it, then it seemed a bit saccharine in places. It certainly surprised me and was perfectly pleasant, but there’s not really anything much to bring me back again. It’s certainly a curious choice for this list. Not sure exactly what the critic that put this forward was thinking really as it is all a bit sweet and sticky and there doesn’t seem anything overly notable about it.

Palo Congo

Sabu

3/5

When the tres is featured and there's a vocal line to speak of, this can be really pleasant – the son style vibe is lovely. But there's too much congo for me I'm afraid and I ended up skipping some of the tracks, which I really try hard not to do on principle. I'm unlikely to want to listen to this again. It gets the obligatory +1 star for not being in English, but that only gets it to 3.

Strangeways, Here We Come

The Smiths

3/5

I never managed to get into The Smiths when I was a teenager. And I've never really mangled to do so on the odd occasion that I might have listened to some of their music since. Partly it's that it was just so cool to like them back then. Partly it's because Morrissey is clearly a bit of a cunt at times. But I can never really manage to listen on a regular basis – despite Marr being astonishing. I knew a couple of the songs here, although I imagine I've heard Girlfriend in a Coma more on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue than anywhere else. It was OK, and maybe I might listen to this again occasionally. Despite Morrissey.

Bug

Dinosaur Jr.

3/5

This is OK. Freak Scene almost reminded me of The Undertones, but without the class. Not really my scene, and it’s all a bit relentless at times, and not in a particularly good way. But it’s OK. I might not listen again, but I’ve heard a lot worse and at a few seconds over 35 minutes for the original release I’m happy I listened. Bit of a shame about Don’t really; that sort of spoils it. To the extent that I had to skip it. The non-original Keep the Glove is a much better ending, and a half-decent tune into the bargain. It doesn’t really fit, so I can see why it wasn’t on the original LP, but more of that would go down better with me.

Chemtrails Over The Country Club

Lana Del Rey

2/5

Really not very interesting I’m afraid All very breathless and warbling. Just not my cup of tea and I’m pretty convinced this belongs nowhere near this list. I didn’t actively hate it, so a 2, but only just.

Smash

The Offspring

2/5

Passed me by really. The spoken word stuff is shit and if you’re going to put a hidden track on make it worth listening to. Some half decent moments, and in places there were echos of both The Undertones and Iron Maiden. Which suggests I should have liked this a lot more than I did. Not something I plan on listening to again

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

Genesis

3/5

I quite like a bit of early Genesis, but this has always left me a bit cold. Perhaps it's the length, perhaps it's the rambling storytelling going on, perhaps it's the lack of memorable tunes. But, for whatever reason, this always leaves me a little cold and it's not an album I'd pick out to come back to. Foxtrot, sure. Selling England by the Pound, yes. I think Seven have a copy of Trespass on CD somewhere. But not The Lamb. The Carpet Crawlers is, obviously, a lovely tune. The Lamb Lies Down itself is OK as well. But there's too much going on here and, ultimately, I'm an 80s kid so this version of Genesis was something I came back to after I'd gotten into Marillion and so on. This is a 3. It's all fine, but not my favouriteGenesis thing. Glad I came back to it and listened again though. Now, where's that copy of Script For a Jester's Tear...

Blood, Sweat & Tears

3/5

I've come to accept that there'll be stuff on this list that's unusual and that I'm not a massive fan of. That's OK. I'm starting a new job in January with a longer commute everyday, so I'll be able to listen even to the longer albums quite comfortably. It'll teach me things. I knew Spinning Wheel, obviously, but had no idea who had produced it. It's catchy, certainly. And it's nice to hear Gymnopédies I guess, which I know. These sections almost reminded me of the B side of Autobahn with the flute and everything. And the rest of the album is a bit of a mess of styles and ideas. Which is OK I guess – and it's interesting that on Cornershop's When I Was Born for the 7th Time album I love that mess, whereas here I'm all a bit meh about it. Probably a little too jazzy for me. It's OK, but I wouldn't listen again quickly.

Black Sabbath

4/5

This is OK and still holds up pretty well after 50 years plus. I've never been a fan of Ozzy's voice particularly, but I can live with it in reasonably small quantities. The drive and style of this mean that it's really not a problem here. Half decent and I'd listen again for sure.

Exodus

Bob Marley & The Wailers

4/5

Easy to enjoy and packed full of well known tunes. Probably my favourite for the reggae albums I've had so far, although that might be because this is very mainstream – to be honest I don't really know. But I'd listen again certainly.

...The Dandy Warhols Come Down

The Dandy Warhols

2/5

Unremarkable I’m sure it’s ok the list for a good reason, but no idea what it is. For me a 2.5 which I’d tend to go with 3 for, but this could have been 25 minutes shorter and would have been a much better album. So it’s a 2. Learn some restraint. Just because you have a CD you don’t need to fill it.

The Renaissance

Q-Tip

4/5

Pretty decent actually, with some nice, laid back hip-hop. The sort of thing I'd be able to listen to multiple times.

Green

R.E.M.

3/5

Orange Crush is clearly the best thing on here, although there are some other nice jangly guitar moments. And I do like a jangly guitar and have been known to enjoy an REM album from time to time. Not my favourite but there’s a chance I might listen again.

Blackstar

David Bowie

1/5

Shocking And not in a good way I really disliked this. A cacophony at times and really not very pleasant. It seems self serving and actually quite unpleasant. Is it a 2 for sympathy? No, I really, really hope I never have to listen to this pile of shite again

To Pimp A Butterfly

Kendrick Lamar

1/5

Overlong, self-indulgent bullshit with no redeeming features.

Parklife

Blur

2/5

Never listened to a Blur album before, but now I get why Oasis won that battle. A couple of hits which everyone knows and there’s one or two half-decent other numbers - I quite liked Bank Holiday. But other than that there’s a pile of overly arty crap here that’s trying to be too clever by half. Interesting to hear Cocker’s vocal revert to RP at times. Didn’t enjoy this at all. My last two albums have been 1s. This scrapes a 2. Just

The Number Of The Beast

Iron Maiden

5/5

Sometimes you were right about stuff when you were 14. Not very frequently, but this is one where nothing’s changed. Paul Wilkinson taped this for me in third year. That was more than 40 years ago, but somehow I still remember that. Must have made an impression then. I don’t remember when I last listened to the album, but it would have been without Total Eclipse on it. Full of good things. I particularly enjoy Hallowed Be Thy Name and Children of the Damned - must be those slow starts. Invaders and Gangland are obviously the weak points, but they’re still tracks I remember well from that old C90 that this got put on. If I remember Paul stick a mix of other stuff on the back of that tape, probably including Free Bird. Not thought about that in years. Thanks Paul; hope you’re having a good one.

The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

Pink Floyd

1/5

The sixties are odd to listen to. There’s some banging stuff, like Sam Cooke, Otis Reading, CCR, and Fairport Convention. And then there’s some absolute tripe like this. I appreciate that it’s historically significant. I quite enjoyed Astronomy Doctrine, which felt a bit like a Sea Power number. But the rest was meh at best and awful at worst - that’s really not whimsy for me. And, of course, we’re just discovering stereo recording so let’s play with it and produce something clever. Which sounds so dated. I toyed with a 2 for a bit, but I never want to hear this again.

You've Come a Long Way Baby

Fatboy Slim

5/5

Catchy as heck. Totally mainstream and this was everywhere back in the day. My wife says it was one of her favourite albums and enjoyed listening to it on our Christmas shopping trip today. It’s not high art but Norman really knows what he’s doing with music like this. Somewhere between a 4 and a 5. It can be a 5 just to piss anyone off who hates it - at least it isn’t fucking Rumours for the 576th time.

Reggatta De Blanc

The Police

2/5

Another Police album that drags and does enough crap stuff that I won't be listening again. Clearly a band to listen to the Greatest Hits album by and ignore everything else.

School's Out

Alice Cooper

3/5

This is OK without being anything particularly special. I listened a handful of times, but it was background music in the main and never really caught my attention.

S.F. Sorrow

The Pretty Things

1/5

A bit like root canal fillings, you want rock operas to be handled by experts. This wasn't. I found it uninteresting. And a bit shit really.

Spiderland

Slint

2/5

The fist track reminded me a bit of early Rush. I'm sure that wasn't their intention, but there you go. Other than that there was little of interest here, and it got increasingly tedious. It scrapes a 2.

Time Out

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

3/5

Not the most interesting jazz I've ever listened to. I can see why this sold so many copies though - bit it's really just a bit too tame and vanilla for me.

The Suburbs

Arcade Fire

3/5

I’m sure that if I listened to this enough I’d grow to like it eventually. It’s pretty fine, but I don’t have anything invested in the band, so it’s no more than fine. And would probably be better if it were twenty minutes shorter.

21

Adele

3/5

Never listened to an Adele album, although there were obviously songs on it that I had heard before. And she’s clearly got a fine voice and the music is technically very sound. Possibly too technical. I’m sure this is a hit with any algorithms it encounters and I can see why so many people bought it. But it left me a little cold, despite the voice. Undoubtedly played at weddings. Maybe that’s what leaves me cold. It’s just too engineered to hit that demographic. And I’m sure chat gpt likes it as well. I might listen again. But not regularly.

Music From Big Pink

The Band

2/5

I was surprised that I knew a couple of tracks from this, but other than those there really wasn’t anything here that grabbed my attention. Just seemed like a lot of fillers. There’s no chance I listen to this again and I found it quite boring on the whole.

Dig Me Out

Sleater-Kinney

4/5

I listened to this three times, so that’s a good sign. It’s pretty solid without being outstanding. Some nice rock tunes, with some decent riffs. I’d probably listen again if it popped up as a recommendation.

Hotel California

Eagles

3/5

I didn’t hate this, but it’s the first Eagles album I’m listened to and the orchestral elements took me by surprise. Obviously there’s two or three songs I knew, and those are pretty solid. But nothing else really grabbed me and I doubt I’d listen to this again as an album.

The Dreaming

Kate Bush

3/5

I switched to this after listening to some Orchestra Baobab – specifically Kelen Anti from A Night at Club Baobab. The opening track to this album has a similar groove going on in the back, but whereas the lads from Senegal bring a total groove to it, Bush seems to hide it. Not cool. I get that Bush's big weapon is her voice. It's the most important instrument on this album for sure. But there are countless times when the music itself could sing some more, make more of an impact. And it just doesn't come anywhere near to where it could do. Maybe that's the production and Bush's lack of experience at this stage. Maybe it's the 80s and those god awful drum styles, presumably from the sampler she used. Not my thing. A mate of mine dominates his musical likes through a degrees of separation thing. He likes Big Country. Bush sand on The Seer, so, by default, he loves Kate Bush. With no reservations. I don't get that idea. I mean, how? Especially with an artist as diverse as Bush. I didn't find this overly experimental fwiw. I much preferred Björk's Medúla album. I listened to this once. I doubt I'll listen again, but it did send me down NPR's list of greatest albums by women, so it can come it at three stars for that alone.

Aqualung

Jethro Tull

4/5

This is OK. I've clearly heard some of the tracks before, but I have no idea where. I know I have a Tull album lurking somewhere in the house - Creast of a Knave from the 80s iirc. I quite enjoyed that back in the day and this album is fine, without really lighting anything on fire. Oddly I barely noticed the flute. This is probably a 3, but I'll give it a 4 just to piss off all the wankers complaining about the flute.

Step In The Arena

Gang Starr

4/5

Entirely listenable to. I'm not sure if that's the aim of hip-hop, but there you go. I enjoyed it. I'd listen to it again.

At Budokan

Cheap Trick

2/5

Mercifully short. For starters, the intro is hardly even worthwhile is it? Compare this to the one on Status Quo's live album from three years earlier ffs. And then you get to the music... I can hear T Rex. I can hear Poison. I can hear the fucking Glitter Band. None of this is a good thing. What I don't hear is Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Motorhead or Hawkwind. I don't hear The Ramones. A few months later, Iron Maiden released their first album. Compared to this, that's a masterpiece - and I only gave it four stars. Fuck me, Slade were producing better music than this at the time. I suspect it's that American heavy metal is just a bit shit when it's not really, really good. There were songs on this that I knew vaguely - I think from some edition of Rockband we'd have played with the kids. I really don't care for it at all. I suppose it's not actively making me angry, so it can just about scrape two stars. But it really is just.

If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears

The Mamas & The Papas

3/5

Harmless. Pleasant enough, and, for the time, not that odd, but it’s very much a product of its time. A couple of odd bits - I call your name sits oddly, there’s some experimental stereo stuff going on, and those bloody apostrophes are ridiculous. Some OK bits as well - I enjoyed Straight Shooter and the hits are obviously well known enough to do the job. But it is all a bit harmless. And feels longer than it is as a result - it just sort of wallows in beige and, sixty years on doesn’t excite me really. I’ve heard worse from the sixties. A lot worse. This is perfectly pleasant, in a polite sort of way.

Endtroducing.....

DJ Shadow

3/5

Not terrible at all. Not really my thing, but there were some nice moments and I didn’t feel the need to skip anything on my drive to work. Listened twice. I’m unlikely to come back to this regularly, but I’m glad I listened to it and as an indicator it certainly belongs on the list

Meat Puppets II

Meat Puppets

3/5

OK, and reminded me of early Half Man Half Biscuit stuff which it’s contemporary with. I might occasionally listen again but there’s not a lot here to bring me back regularly.

Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches

Happy Mondays

3/5

My era, but I never listened to this sort of thing back in the day. It’s OK, but none of this hits the heights like The Stone Roses album from the previous year. When I listened to that as part of this it blew me away, whereas this is just OK. I knew a surprising amount of tracks from it and it obviously has some decent moments, but I don’t know if it’s one I’ll come back to again.

Beggars Banquet

The Rolling Stones

3/5

Sympathy for the Devil is obviously utter genius. But beyond that, although there were some OK moments, nothing came close to grabbing me in the same way. Overall a little disappointing and just not standing up to the sort of music they’re taking inspiration from.

There's A Riot Goin' On

Sly & The Family Stone

3/5

Pretty decent without ever really grabbing me. Not a band I’d ever listened to knowingly before, although at least I’d heard of them unlike my wife who claimed to not know the name at all. She recognised one of the tunes though, which is more than I did.

Goodbye And Hello

Tim Buckley

2/5

The sort of music I should love, but I just couldn’t get on with this. All a bit warbling.

Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Red Hot Chili Peppers

1/5

Ooh, a Beastie Boys tribute band. How cool… There are some quite nice moments hidden away in here, but they’re few and far between. I imagine people who like this probably still think Beavis and Butthead are funny. I found it rather tedious. And clearly far too long.

Stephen Stills

4/5

Surprisingly funky in places. I wasn’t expecting that, but it was a pleasant surprise and this made for a nice listen whilst cooking on Christmas Eve. A good length and easy to listen to, although the last couple of songs weren’t as strong. Side A makes this well worth a listen though.

A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector

Various Artists

3/5

I put off listening to this until the first day back at work in January. On principle really It’s actually a pretty decent Christmas album and it clearly helped define a set of classic Christmas songs. And it’s short and doesn’t include Mariah Carey. I’m obviously unlikely to listen that regularly, but I might break this out next December as a one off

Clube Da Esquina

Milton Nascimento

3/5

I wanted to like this more than I did. It has its moments, but just didn’t capture my interest in the way I thought it may do. Even with the +1 for non-English language I habitually add, this only scrapes into mediocrity.

Deloused in the Comatorium

The Mars Volta

1/5

Tedious, self-indulgent wankfest. Far too long. Dislike. A lot.

If I Should Fall From Grace With God

The Pogues

5/5

Despite being a bit fan of Celtic music, I'd never listened to a Pogues album. Which is odd, and this certainly grabbed my attention. A couple of tracks I knew, and I deliberately chose to keep the extended mix tracks in to see what the collaborations with The Dubliners would be like – not entirely sure the other extended tracks are worthwhile and might make this all feel a little overlong if you didn't like a trad-arr tune. But I do. And I've been missing out on this and, presumably, other Pogues albums. I enjoyed this. It's really, really close to a five, and I'll give it that because of all the other missing Celtic music and shanties which deserve to be here.

Kind Of Blue

Miles Davis

3/5

This would be really cool for cooking to or as background music for a nice dinner. Unfortunately I was driving for two hours and this isn’t really what you want on such occasions. It didn’t send me to sleep, but there wasn’t anything to really stir my interest. As jazz it’s half decent. I don’t know enough about jazz to understand how important this is. It has its place, but this isn’t one to come back to everyday for a week.

Sunshine Hit Me

The Bees

2/5

Bland. I’ve no idea why this is on this list Not terrible; just boring

Heartbreaker

Ryan Adams

1/5

Day one of a much longer commute, so I was hoping for a set of bangers. I didn’t get them This just washed over me. I can’t imagine why I’d ever want to listen again

On The Beach

Neil Young

4/5

I quite like a bit of Neil Young. The voice is OK and the style of music he’s played generally is up my street. I had no idea what era this was from - parts of it are similar to much more modern stuff, like Living with War. Perhaps I prefer that a little, but this is still pretty good. The second of many Young albums. The second four, although this is a 4+ I think. I listened four, maybe five times, but it’s a short album and an easy enough listen. It’s nice to find a really solid album on this list rather than one with a great single or two dominating it. And a stunner of a cover image btw. Although you can keep the typeface. E2a: it’s also inspired me to go listen to that 2006 Living with War album again, both the release and the Raw version. Fuck me, but that’s a really fucking good album, especially the Raw version. Maybe by the morning this might be a 5- as a result. E2a2: not quite. Just doesn’t hold up to Living with War

Blue

Joni Mitchell

3/5

Hmmm, I have a feeling Mitchell is going to fall into the same camp as Dylan for me: I like her songs, but I’m just not sure I like them when she sings them as much as I do cover versions. There’s just something that doesn’t quite do it for me, even for an album with California on it. I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Crosby, Stills & Nash

4/5

Hmm, I took a short break from this project over Christmas- too many people around to listen properly. Then the first three days back it’s: Day 1 - Neil Young (On the beach) Day 2 - Joni Mitchell (Blue) Day 3 - this If I get a Dylan album tomorrow I’ll start making a tin foil hat… I quite liked this. First listen I included the bonus tracks from the remastered, but they add very little so hide them after that - certainly I much prefer the Beautiful South version of Everybody’s talkin’. It’s certainly a better album with those hidden. I particularly liked Wooden ships, Long time gone, and 49 bye-byes, but there’s lots of decent stuff here. Not quite a five, but close. It’s going to be Dylan isn’t it?

The Atomic Mr Basie

Count Basie & His Orchestra

4/5

An interesting inclusion. Nice and short, obviously, and full of swing and swagger. If I'm going to listen to "jazz" then this sort of thing tends to be what I seek out. I'd certainly consider listening again, although it lacks the hook to bring me back regularly.

The World is a Ghetto

War

3/5

Had no idea what to expect here. Generally all OK, but without really hooking me like Mothership Connection, for example, did.

Dr. Octagonecologyst

Dr. Octagon

3/5

I wanted to hate this. I do hate the childishness of some of the lyrics and the intro is obviously one of the worst things ever recorded. But the music, for the most part, won me over and I quite enjoyed it. Obviously 20-30 minutes too long - fuck, this really dragged. But not as bad as I'd thought it might be.

25

Adele

3/5

Obviously she's got a fantastic voice and both the song writing and production on the album are fabulous. It deserves to be on this list for sure: not even close. But, as with 21 - which I got just over a month ago – it leaves me cold. A hit with algorithms, AI, wedding DJs, and colour designers who enjoy beige. There's plenty of torch song passion, but no *passion*. It seems odd that both of these albums have fallen out of the book in more recent editions. I'm not sure that's entirely deserved, given some of the shite that's in it. This is pleasant. But I just don't like it.

Queen Of Denmark

John Grant

3/5

You see, that’s not what I call folk music. I’m a big fan of folk music, but my ratings for the genre on here are on the low side. This is why. This was all perfectly pleasant and a bit bland and washed over me for the most part. And, after I’d removed the 20 minutes of bonus material, was over quickly. But it’s not folk music. Soft rock is about right. Maybe even easy listening. But not folk. That requires an attitude. Rather bland. Lacks attitude. Unlikely to listen again.

Play

Moby

3/5

Never listened to a Moby album, although I’m sure I must have heard at least one of the eight (!!!) singles from this at some point. If I’m honest, I was busy and this passed me by. I don’t remember much about it. It seemed neutral enough. I suppose I should listen to it again really. But I don’t have any desire to just now. Maybe one day I might. We’ll see.

Planet Rock: The Album

Afrika Bambaataa

3/5

Yeah, this does sound a bit dated. It’s OK. I’m not a massive hip-hop fan, but I like some bits and tend to prefer older school stuff anyway. I probably won’t listen to this again, but it wasn’t a bad listen.

Diamond Life

Sade

4/5

This is OK. Sure, I get why it's seen as easy to listen to, but at least it has some swagger to it. Maybe it helps that it's my era, so I can put images to Smooth Operator. But I quite enjoyed this and would, frankly, listen to it again as an album.

Kollaps

Einstürzende Neubauten

3/5

It's different certainly. And, to be honest, I'd rather be given the chance to listen to this than another fucking Coldplay album. Or fucking Rumours. Will I listen to it frequently? No, probably not. Am I glad I listened to it? Yes, sure. At least it has some balls.

Quiet Life

Japan

3/5

My wife, who is much more of a New Romantic fangirl than I'll ever get close to, says she never got into Japan back in the day because they were "too monotonous". After a strong start – the title track is more Duran Duran than Duran Duran ever were – I can see why she says this. It does get a bit, err, boring really. It's OK. I listened twice easily and would probably go back again if it came on at random. But it doesn't ever live up to the start.

Gorillaz

2/5

"Now he's making lots of noise/Playing along with the art school boys" Kevin can fuck off, and so can this pretentious bollocks. Boring. Just like Subbuteo

Antichrist Superstar

Marilyn Manson

2/5

At times eerily reminiscent of Gary Glitter. And certainly rooted in glam rock, which, as I've said before, I grew out of by the time I was eight. The rest is just a bit tedious. factor in the twattage, and I'll not listen to this again.

Cheap Thrills

Big Brother & The Holding Company

3/5

Rather gloriously ramshackle at times. And it evokes something or other I reckon. Not a massive fan of Joplin, but her voice works fairly well here most of the time. It probably needs a bit more discipline – as does much of the album really – but it works well enough I guess. Not something I'd search out, but it's half decent I suppose.

Led Zeppelin

3/5

I mean, it's *OK* I *quite* like bits of it, but it rambles too much for my liking really. And I've heard better versions of Dazed and Confused. I should probably like this more than I do, and I managed three listens on my commute. But it just doesn't quite do it for me.

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

OutKast

1/5

Somewhere lurking within the two hours of music here, is the basis for a probably half-decent 40 minute album. The basis of one anyway; I’m not sure it’s all there, but there’s at least 20 minutes worth. Clearly an independent producer who could have turned round to the musicians and told them to stop the vanity project would be necessary. And that would be painful and involve hurt egos and tantrums. But the end result might just get 3 stars. As it is, this is full of filler and, at times, excruciatingly bad. Quite how tripe like My Favourite Things was ever allowed to make it on to a final release I have no idea. Whichever record company executive signed off on that deserves shooting. So, other than being far, far too long, painfully bad in quite a few places, what else? Oh yes, lyrics that seem to come from a year 8 music class at times, salted with some fairly unreconstructed misogyny. I almost forgot about that. So, yeah, this is getting a one. There are some OM moments, but as an album it’s honestly one of the worst out together I’ve ever come across.

In Our Heads

Hot Chip

2/5

Not horrible at all, just a bit boring and safe. I can’t imagine ever wanting to play this again, so it’s a 2.

Melodrama

Lorde

3/5

What’s this? A “modern” album that comes in at under 45 minutes? Thank the Lorde. This was OK. It’s a bit too modern for my taste, but it wasn’t boring or too hideously auto tuned.

Hot Rats

Frank Zappa

2/5

Hmmmm. Not really my thing. It’s OK in small doses, but as an album there’s just too much of it. One listen was enough.

Surfer Rosa

Pixies

4/5

Half decent, and a bit less shouty than the previous Pixies album I got. Not bad at all and I could listen to this again.

Technique

New Order

5/5

I was never cool enough to be into New Order when I was a teenager. I’m certainly not cool enough now either, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I really enjoyed this. Right up my street and there’s enough variety and just darned coolness to keep me interested. Lots of good stuff. Bits of Pet Shop Boys, hints of The Cure, and you can tell this is only a few months before the Football Song. I think I’m on listen number seven today. I’ll probably listen to it again tomorrow. At one point I was thinking four stars, but then I heard the sheep sampled on the lead track. Obvs five after that.

Risque

CHIC

3/5

Way too cool for me to ever have been into. A bit too clinical and clean for my taste as well. It’s OK, but nowhere close to stuff like Parliament.

Dookie

Green Day

2/5

I’ve never got the hang of Green Day. I have no idea why this is so popular, it just seemed a bit tedious to me to be honest. And the last track sucks fwiw

Olympia 64

Jacques Brel

4/5

I am familiar with Brel from having seen Tom Robinson a number of times. He has a version of Les Bourgeois in English that goes down well. And he’s done other Brel tunes as well iirc. Obviously this gets that +1 for not being anglophone, but I’m not entirely sure it’s quite a five. Close - I really enjoyed this - but I don’t know how frequently I’ll listen to this.

Nixon

Lambchop

2/5

Not really my thing. Seems to lack any guys tbh

Led Zeppelin III

Led Zeppelin

3/5

We were thinking about going to see the Led Zeppelin documentary that’s in cinemas just now. So I stuck a playlist with early stuff on and listened to some of this again. It seemed that all the good stuff was on the other albums though. A bit too much noodling around here for my taste again. In other news, we decided not to see the film.

Clandestino

Manu Chao

4/5

So, beyond any doubt this list needs more non-anglophone music. I’m not convinced that this is really the best choice to add, but I’m still grateful for it being on the list. It will, obviously, receive the obligatory extra point for being not in English, if for no other reason that’s to piss off the twats who give this a low score for being in French.

Violator

Depeche Mode

2/5

This feels dated for it’s time. A bit old fashioned - early 80s vibe. Perhaps that’s what they were after, but it doesn’t really make me want to listen to it again - and the early 80s are totally my era. You’d think that they’d have moved on a bit by 1990, but I guess that this was a US hit so that’ll be why it’s on the list I guess. I won’t be listening again

The Colour Of Spring

Talk Talk

2/5

I honestly can’t remember a thing about this. It was foggy and I had to concentrate on the road I suppose. It didn’t seem overly inspiring.

Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

The Flaming Lips

4/5

I get the impression that quite a few albums on this list are trying to do something similar to what this does. But rarely as well as this. I enjoyed this enough to listen several times. It’s a bit odd but I enjoyed the good bits enough to go back again. It’s not perfect but it’s half decent.

Apocalypse Dudes

Turbonegro

4/5

I know the lyrics aren’t clever, but I enjoyed the general vibe of this. Reminds me a little of The Undertones and so on, which is my wheelhouse. Good length album and pretty straight down the line, but that works sometimes. I’d listen to this again.

Blur

2/5

Ah, heck. How many fucking times: one song doesn’t make a great album. Beyond that song this just isn’t very interesting.

xx

The xx

4/5

I reckon this is probably the coolest album that I owned when it was cool. I’ve not listened to it for ages, but it’s still pretty good and I’ll certainly listen again and again I imagine. Not quite a five star album, but pretty close.

Who Killed...... The Zutons?

The Zutons

2/5

Some OK moments, but the whole thing doesn’t really cut the mustard.

Faust IV

Faust

3/5

It’s different and it’s the sort of thing that should be on this list. It’s not particularly inspiring, but different enough to get three stars here.

Basket of Light

Pentangle

3/5

A bit of a mixed bag here. I like a bit of folk music, and really enjoyed the Fairport Convention album I got from about the same time as this. But this doesn’t work as well for me. A bit too trad in terms of arrangement maybe at times - I much preferred the bluesier stuff like Sally go round the roses. And I do like a trad arr tune. Overall a little disappointing.

Queen II

Queen

2/5

I've never really got into Queen beyond the obvious singles. They seem to be at that intersection between rock, pop, prog, and glam rock where I get into an uncanny valley sort of situation. And it just doesn't do it for me. It's the sort of thing that never got played regularly on the Friday Rock Show when I was listening in the 80s. Certainly from an album point of view, this was disappointing. I get why other people might really enjoy it, but it just didn't excite me. My wife loves the band, but she wouldn't usually play this album either. There must be a good reason for that.

The Good, The Bad & The Queen

2/5

This sort of washed over me with one thing and another. I'd probably need to listen again to be sure, but it just didn't seem very interesting I'm afraid.

OK

Talvin Singh

3/5

Full of interesting ideas, although getting this on a day when I'd barely slept and needed to drive an hour and a half each way to work probably wasn't ideal - it's a little too relaxed for that sort of thing. Not really my sort of thing, but interesting and something that certainly belongs on the list. Not sure if I'd listen again though

Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde

The Pharcyde

2/5

All a bit meh I'm afraid. There are some decent enough moments I suppose, but this didn't really do much for me.

Ill Communication

Beastie Boys

2/5

All a bit shouty and in your face. I suppose that's what makes it, but I got it on a day when I wasn't really looking for that level of relentlessness.

War

U2

3/5

I knew some of these of course. Quite enjoyed the album and listened to it multiple times, but there are better U2 albums.

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm

A Tribe Called Quest

3/5

Obviously influential and I can hear echoes of later stuff in this. But for me, a bit samey and meh

Ingenue

k.d. lang

2/5

Just lacks much interest or anything to grab me

Larks' Tongues In Aspic

King Crimson

1/5

And this, boys and girls, is why punk rock happened. I like a bit of prog, but this is disappointing throughoit

Low

David Bowie

2/5

I really don’t get Bowie

Life's Too Good

The Sugarcubes

4/5

Entirely enjoyable.

Raising Hell

Run-D.M.C.

3/5

I hoped this didn’t have the Aerosmith song on it. It did. That’s a shame. Some decent moments, but a bit too shouty for me really.

The Bones Of What You Believe

CHVRCHES

2/5

Doesn’t have very much depth. I was expecting to enjoy this more than I did

D

White Denim

2/5

I listened but remember next to nothing

Can't Buy A Thrill

Steely Dan

2/5

Not a fan

One World

John Martyn

2/5

A bit too clever for me

#1 Record

Big Star

2/5

Tedious

Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs

Marty Robbins

3/5

A short dose is OK. But this is too much. Different though

Coat Of Many Colors

Dolly Parton

4/5

Half decent, nice and short and easy enough to listen to. The shortness helps avoid any danger of the style getting too repetitive and there are some decent numbers on here. I’d think about listening again for sure - 3.5 so rounding up for a change

Sister

Sonic Youth

3/5

I have no idea what people’s problem with the “noise” is here. This doesn’t feel remotely challenging to me - it’s not exactly I Hate Nerys Hughes is it? Not necessarily my thing, but it was OK.

Liquid Swords

GZA

3/5

It’s OK. Didn’t much care for all the spoken stuff, but I rarely do. The music had a nice rhythm to it, but not really my thing.

Rip It Up

Orange Juice

4/5

Obviously I know the title track- it was even on a TOTP episode that we watched last Friday. It’s great, although the rest of the album doesn’t quite live up to its promise. Still pretty decent though, especially as it’s totally my era. Probably a little too over produced at times, but an important album when you look at the development of the indie scene in Glasgow that so many marvellous things have come out of. I appreciated this. It’s a welcome break from a diet of frat boy rock and shouty hip hop that this list seems to have been giving me. And I might just go listen to some more Orange Juice. There’s probably a “man from Del Monte” joke in here somewhere, but I will restrain myself. Worth a listen anyway.

Harvest

Neil Young

5/5

Yeah, pretty decent. I like Young’s voice and this had some pretty cool stuff on it. Harvest is obviously a classic as is Heart of Gold, but I went back twice more to listen again and haven’t yet removed this from my downloads do there’s certainly lots here for me. Oddly the guitar work on Words, the track that ends this, reminded me so much of Marillion’s early classic Grendel. I have no idea if Steve Rothery wad influenced by it, but it’s oddly familiar. I tend to give Neil Young albums four stars. Fuck it, this can have five.

The Low End Theory

A Tribe Called Quest

3/5

Pretty decent I suppose, but didn’t really grab me and makes want to listen again. Quite repetitive I guess. Not really one I’d keep going back to.

Crooked Rain Crooked Rain

Pavement

2/5

Nothing that really caught my attention here

Heroes to Zeros

The Beta Band

2/5

Just not very interesting as a whole piece. Some reasonable moments but didn’t make me want to listen again.

The Slim Shady LP

Eminem

4/5

Quite enjoyed this. Not something I’d listened to before and I know it’s not very mature or grown up, but it kept my attention and I could see myself listening again.

Suede

3/5

Not terrible by any means, but I didn’t feel the need to listen to it again. Which is normally a good indicator that something doesn’t quite do it for me. I’m just a bit too old to have gotten in to all the Brit pop stuff. Maybe if I were 10’years younger this would have been fabulous. Certainly bits were OL and some of the guitar work was quite pleasant

Hounds Of Love

Kate Bush

3/5

I know this is supposed to be some sort of genius record, but I just don't like it that much. It's OK. Just. Obviously her voice is amazing, but I just don't enjoy a whole record, even with the 80s styling, which is very much my era. The jog in particular is just odd in this context – and, trust me, I love a jig and reel. But not here. I don't dislike it and I recognise totally that it belongs on this list. But it's not my cup of tea at all

Teenage Head

Flamin' Groovies

2/5

So, if this gets on this list I can expect to see some Status Quo, yes? Piledriver at least? This is perfectly fine rock and roll. But there's nothing stand out on this. Seems like it's on the list because of what Jagger said about it. He was probably wrong. Just doesn't seem to fit on this list at all.

Happy Trails

Quicksilver Messenger Service

2/5

Too complex for me I'm afraid. And, because of that, basically a bit tedious. Perhaps if I were in the mood for it I'd have enjoyed it a bit more. I can't see myself listening again

There's No Place Like America Today

Curtis Mayfield

4/5

I don’t know enough about the genera here to really know if this is any good or not. It seemed entirely fine to me, although nothing set the world on fire as such. Pretty solid and I’d listen again.

Midnight Ride

Paul Revere & The Raiders

2/5

There are some interesting moments here, but nothing excites me about this. I guess it’s an indicator album, and that’s all well and good, but other people seem to have gone on and done more interesting things with the genre. Not dreadful, although the spoken one where he’s talking about a girl he’s not met yet would be better without any of the speaking and loses the album a point by itself.

Murmur

R.E.M.

4/5

I’m absolutely a sucker for a jangly guitar, and this hits the spot. I’m not entirely sure how frequently I’ve listened to this as an album before, maybe not at all or only a handful of times. There are some bits that don’t quite work, but there’s enough good stuff to make me come back again. Debut albums are rarely absolutely top of the pile, and this is no exception. But a solid 4 stars and it’s difficult to deny the importance of this as an album.

good kid, m.A.A.d city

Kendrick Lamar

2/5

Seemed pretty big standard stuff and didn’t really stand out. One listen only - just seemed a bit boring really

Aladdin Sane

David Bowie

2/5

I think I'm just at the point now where I accept that I'm not clever enough to understand most of what Bowie did. The rockier numbers on this had me thinking it might be an improvement. It's not, despite Gene Genie obviously being rather good. I'm sure it's fabulous, but Bowie leaves me cold.

Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water

Limp Bizkit

2/5

I had a suspicion I might not love this from the start. Musically it's OK. Ish. But it's clearly too long - laboured towards the end - and there's just too much of the same old shite. The Outro by itself almost relegated this to 1 star - whichever record exec Okayed that deserves firing. But at least I was tapping away on the steering wheel on my commute, so there are worse albums.

Sea Change

Beck

2/5

Sorry, but this was just boring.

Band On The Run

Paul McCartney and Wings

2/5

I know a couple of these tracks, but generally this wasn’t particularly gripping to listen to. Which is a shame because jet and banned on the run are both half decent. The rest of the album just didn’t inspire me.

Welcome to the Afterfuture

Mike Ladd

2/5

Lacking in attitude and generally not very inspiring. I’m not going to be listening to this again.

Revolver

Beatles

3/5

It's OK. Quite simple in lots of ways – innocent almost. Eleanor Rigby's a bonus; Submarine isn't. I'm really not a big Beatles fan and tend to find their albums have a bit too much filler. This is OK

Pump

Aerosmith

1/5

Fortunately this bunch of knobs never really made it across the Atlantic when I was a teenager. I have a vague recollection of love in an elevator and finding it grating then, but this appeared after I'd moved on enough from shitty rock music to have a bit more maturity. Not very good. Dated and pretty shit really.

Vauxhall And I

Morrissey

3/5

I've heard worse things involving Morrissey. Obviously I'm unlikely to listen to it again. But it was acceptable.

Red Dirt Girl

Emmylou Harris

3/5

Perfectly pleasant and it’s always nice to hear a voice like this. But not particularly inspiring or anything.

Imagine

John Lennon

2/5

Nothing that would bring me back for more as an album. Obviously Imagine is great, but beyond that I wasn’t a fan

Among The Living

Anthrax

2/5

I prefer my heavy metal to be a bit closer to home really.

Deserter's Songs

Mercury Rev

1/5

Oh fuck off. This was like a musical or something. But not a good one. Not for me

Amnesiac

Radiohead

4/5

Actually not that bad at all and I quite enjoyed listening. I didn’t think I liked Radiohead, but there you go. Half decent.

A Northern Soul

The Verve

1/5

Horrible. Really disliked this.

Drunk

Thundercat

2/5

As background music this is fine. But it’s nothing more than background music for me. Not really my groove.

The Grand Tour

George Jones

3/5

Does exactly what it says on the tin. I just don’t particularly care for this style of tin. And I don’t know enough about country music to know if this is particularly good or whether it’s a case of “we must have a George Jones album on the list”.

Third/Sister Lovers

Big Star

2/5

Cult album eh? Glad I didn’t join the cult. There are some interesting musical sections, primarily piano based. But otherwise I didn’t really enjoy this and I’m not sure it holds together as an album that well.

Gasoline Alley

Rod Stewart

2/5

Nothing to write home about

Picture Book

Simply Red

2/5

Bland

The Chronic

Dr. Dre

2/5

The doctor seems to be slightly obsessed by the size of his dick. That says it all really. The version of P Funk is, obviously, the best thing on here, but doesn’t hold a candle to the original from Morhership Connection (an album I discovered from this list). To suggest, as Wikipedia does, that this version “samples” that is taking the piss a bit to be honest. It’s a less good cover. The best thing about the original is that it doesn’t mention anyone’s dick.

A Night At The Opera

Queen

3/5

And this children is why we needed punk rock. So, I know a few of these tunes. My wife is a Queen fan, so most of this I’ve heard before. It’s disjointed and musically a bit of a mess, although that, in this case, is livable with. It’s just symptomatic of the bloat that was so prevalent during the early to mid 70s. It’s not dreadful - there are much worse albums on this list- but it doesn’t really do much for me. And it’s worth noting that even Brian May can’t save that fuck awful dirge at the end from being boring as fuck.

Music From The Penguin Cafe

Penguin Cafe Orchestra

4/5

How refreshing. I seemed to know half the melodies - no idea from where. Not something I’ll listen to everyday, but a pleasant enough thing for a change.

Locust Abortion Technician

Butthole Surfers

2/5

Not my thing at all

Scott 2

Scott Walker

2/5

Well, it’s different certainly. To much cheese for me really, and lyrically weird. What’s with all the slapping of arses? Not my thing. It’s the sort of tripe that Top of the Pops producers insisted on putting on the programme when the charts were full of really cool bands with a proper lasting legacy. When you see those episodes now it just seems a bizarre set of choices. One listen was enough.

My Aim Is True

Elvis Costello

3/5

Perfectly listenable to without being in any way outstanding. I’m familiar with Costello rather than being a fan. I quite enjoy most of what I’ve heard, and this is no exception. But he rarely sets my life on fire. Listened multiple times which is a good sign. The Springsteen/Young notes were interesting. On the whole, pretty decent.

Sweet Baby James

James Taylor

4/5

Quite charming. Never really gotten in to Taylor, although I have heard some bits and pieces. This were perfectly relaxing for my morning commute and I enjoyed listening to it. Not something I’ll come back to that regularly, but I’d certainly not be disappointed if it happened to pop up again. Half decent.

Ragged Glory

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

3/5

I tend to enjoy Neil Young, and this is rather similar to his 2006 Living with War album, which I like very much. This lacks the overtly political nature and associated fury of Living with War, and is worse for the lack of those things. It also falls victim to the curse of the CD format and is 20 minutes too long. And meanders a bit too much as a result. I enjoy the sound, but as an album it’s not quite what I’m looking for to add to a regular rotation.

Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor

Lupe Fiasco

3/5

There’s nothing to dislike here as such, but this is just a bit too long and a bit too samey to really grab my attention. Not really my thing either, but I don’t actively dislike this and it was tolerable background music on my morning commute. So three it is.

So Much For The City

The Thrills

3/5

Listenable to, and all perfectly fine without being really outstanding in any way. Not something I'd listened to previously, or even heard of, and probably fairly generic early-20th century indie pop/rock, but that's fine by me and I listened twice. One Horse Town is catchy as heck, but otherwise not much really stood out. All fine. But it's a 3.5, rounded down to a 3 because I give too many 4s.

Germfree Adolescents

X-Ray Spex

5/5

A recent (late August 2025) review says, in its entirety: “This kinda sounds like the Go-Gos on a coke bender with the Clash as the backing band” Absolutely. So why the fuck did you only give it a three? That album’s a six. And this one’s a five. V enjoyable. Ticks all my boxes from the opening chords. Great cover, the right length, love the vocals. Yes please.

Bat Out Of Hell

Meat Loaf

5/5

When you want Rock Opera done right, Jim Steinman was the go to guy. Bonkers, over the top nonsense and gloriously addictive. I don’t remember when I first heard this, but I’ve listened to it enough times to know every word. It’s a great album. Mars, but Steinman could write great albums and at this point Meatloaf could still perform them. That Old Grey Whistle Test performance of Paradise is enough for me.

More Specials

The Specials

3/5

Some albums can manage a slightly disorganised nature - Cornershop seem to have mastered this, for example. This album doesn’t. I get why The Specials are Important and generally enjoy a bit of 2 Tone. But this moves a bit far away from that core sound for me. It’s fine, but no better. I’m glad I listened to it, but I doubt I’ll listen again.

Bert Jansch

4/5

The guitar work is lovely and overall I quite enjoyed this as an album. And obviously I get why Jansch is Important. And I like folk music in general terms. The problem here is the faux American vocals and writing about Highways and so on. I understand totally why that was necessary back in the 60s – I remember Runrig saying that they felt they needed to do the same in their very early days. But to a modern ear, when it's acceptable to sound as if you're from Glasgow, or Derry, or Portree, or Romford, it just doesn't work in the same way this probably would have worked back in the Revival days. And I find that just a bit frustrating. Which is on me. I only listened once, which is never a great sign. And then I stuck Mànran's latest album on and listened to Kim Carnie and Ewan Henderson sing in their own voices, and, indeed, their own language at times. Which is what I want really. This is pleasant, but not something I'll probably go back to that frequently. I might, though, check out some other albums by Jansch. It's sort of a 3.5, and I shouldn't really give it a 4, but I will. Because I can.

Architecture And Morality

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

5/5

So we're at the "sounds like Depeche Mode" stage are we? That'll be the Depeche Mode, founded by Vince Clarke who specifically picked out OMD as being massive influence, will it? Or the Depeche Mode who released their debut album a week before this, OMD's third album, was released? C'mon now. Depeche Mode sound like OMD, but OMD are, frankly, better, cooler and obvious trailblazers of British synth pop. This is a great album. I'd forgotten how good early OMD sounded – experimental and weird at times, but also with absolute banger hits, three of which are on this album. Massively influential on virtually everything that happened with a synthesiser in the 80s and 90s, and clearly the second best band to come out of the Wirral. The influence of Kraftwerk is obvious in places – the title track in particular seems to call back to the second side of Autobahn, and Sealand has enough in common as well. This is no bad thing at all. Just as OMD influenced everything that came after them, certainly in the UK, Kraftwerk are the genre defining geniuses of electronic music. I don't know how on earth any of the three UK singles failed to get to number 1. Maid of Orleans, in particular, seems like it was all over the year – I certainly remember taping it off the end of the year charts on Radio 1 – and at this point I'd have been in to greasy haired guitar music. Quite how this cut through to me at that point in my life I have no idea. Must be because it's really good I suppose... How did it not get to number 1? The top 5 the week it got to number 4 was A Town Called Malice, Golden Brown, Say Hello Wave Goodbye, Maid of Orleans, The Model. Fuck me, that's a fantastic top 5 (The Lion Sleeps Tonight was number 6, so we'll ignore that then shall we?). Oh, the best and from the Wirral? Half Man Half Biscuit of course. No other answer is even vaguely acceptable. You know this. Or if you don't, you fucking well should. This stuff, fwiw, holds up live as well. And that seems rare for this type of music. Depeche Mode? Please: budget OMD for wankers :-) This is really good. Really, really good. A joy to listen to and I must listen more frequently to early OMD.

Teenager Of The Year

Frank Black

2/5

62 minutes? Who the fuck thought that was a good idea? Not very punk is it? Just because you have CD technology it doesn’t mean you have to use the full data does it? This is more or less OK. Sort of. It feels a little indulgent at times and doesn’t really hang together. I suspect that’s primarily the length: a producer who could make some decisions could probably trim this by 20 minutes and I suspect it would be a better album. Certainly tripe like Fiddle Riddle could be cut and the world would be a better place. The best thing I heard whilst playing this was the new Idlewild single. I forgot that I’d added it to the queue and was thinking “oh, this has picked up” when I realised it wasn’t actually what I was supposed to be listening to. This isn’t offensive, but there’s just too much of it and it isn’t interesting enough. And it’s a mess in places. Ultimately, this is only on this list because he used to be in Pixies. I was wondering about three stars, but it’s too boring for that and not bad enough for one.

Close To You

Carpenters

3/5

I wasn’t expecting a Beatles cover. This is not what I would usually listen to. It’s not really my thing. But it’s perfectly OK. Not really exciting as such - although I quite liked Another Song right at the end. But it doesn’t deserve the hate it gets. And there are albums from the early 70s on this list that are a lot worse.

Oedipus Schmoedipus

Barry Adamson

1/5

It’s incredibly rare that I don’t listen to all of an album. I can only think of one other that I’ve skipped a few tracks on. But I didn’t get close to finishing this. It just really bored me. I listened to the first 25 minutes or so but had nothing good to say about it. Skipped a couple of tracks after 30 seconds or so and then decided that I just didn’t want to listen to this. Much preferred Moss Side Story that I scored a 3. I’m sure that if I listened to this enough that it might be a bit less boring. But I really couldn’t get on with it at all. Oh, shit title as well that absolutely doesn’t do what he thinks it does.

Fire Of Love

The Gun Club

3/5

I’m surprised this is a debut album as it lacks much interest aside from a couple of tracks. You just expect more on debut I guess. There’s nothing wrong with the music as such. It’s just a bit tedious and unexciting.

A Little Deeper

Ms. Dynamite

3/5

Perfectly pleasant, especially on the sassier tracks. Without any of it being really outstanding. A touch long of course, although that felt less of a problem here than it sometimes is. Nothing really dragged, but beyond the first couple of tracks not a lot stood out either.

Hms Fable

Shack

3/5

Not a band I’d heard of - I was too old and they were probably far too trendy for me to listen to at the time. I imagine that if I’d seen them as a support band I might have gotten in to them. A bit. Maybe. This seems a curious choice for a list like this. I’m not convinced it adds very much and it all feels a bit bland and not all that interesting. It’s not bad; it’s just not something that I feel I’ve particularly missed in my life by not having heard before.

Protection

Massive Attack

3/5

This is another OK album without being anything exciting. One listen was plenty, unlike Blue Lines which I really enjoyed. The addition of the live version of The Doors track on the end didn’t help at all here. I won’t actively hold it against them, but this isn’t something I’ll be listening to again.

Tical

Method Man

3/5

I've heard a lot worse than this. Generally it's OK. It was sort of on n the background rather than attracting my full attention, so perhaps that helped? But, yeah, this is OK.

Blonde On Blonde

Bob Dylan

3/5

Yes, Dylan is obviously super influential, a lyrical genius and so on. And this wasn’t unpleasant in any way. It might even have been a bit less grating than the other Dylan albums I’ve had. But there’s an awful lot of it. As background music it was OK. Lots of it sort of merged together and I didn’t know much of it. But it’s no better than OK for me.

Back to Basics

Christina Aguilera

3/5

I’ve listened to some great double albums. And some great long albums. By bands that I already know and enjoy. I’m not sure that a double album is the best introduction to an artist I’m unfamiliar with though. The first disc was OK, but I much preferred the jazz/blues style of disc 2, and that’s what I’d choose to listen to if I were to do that. It’s almost like it should be two albums. A shame it’s not as I’d give disc 2 at least 4 stars and would probably have listened to it more than once. It goes without saying that it doesn’t deserve a 2.75 rating at all and that some of the opinions people have about it are a bit OTT. It’s better than a 2.75 certainly.

Tuesday Night Music Club

Sheryl Crow

4/5

Wasn’t sure what to expect here, but I really enjoyed most of this. Obviously I knew The Hit Record, but otherwise have never knowingly heard any of Crow’s music. There’s a nice variety of stuff here, poppy, but a lot of it grounded in American roots styles with some stuff that reminded me of John Mellencamp, Bonnie Raitt, or Jackson Browne. All of which is a good thing. But this isn’t just that sort of music. There’s other stuff going on and ultimately it’s Crow’s music. And that seems pretty good, and in places excellent. And I rather like this. Which was unexpected. A solid 4 stars, pushing 5 at times

Time (The Revelator)

Gillian Welch

4/5

This needed a few listens for me to appreciate it properly. It's a bit all on the same level initially, and not too much stands out in its own right. But I do like a bit of folk music, and I appreciated the Americana vibes going on here – a genre I've never really taken the time to explore as much as I probably should. I had Sheryl Crow's poppy Tuesday Night Music Club the day before this. That's good in its own way – this is maybe the pared down base that lies deep down inside that. I enjoyed both of them in different ways, so they both get 4 stars.

(What's The Story) Morning Glory

Oasis

5/5

Yeah, it’s pretty basic at times. A bit generic with lots of pastiche. But, fuck me, it’s a really good album. Really good. So, I'm basic, sure. Hell, I still think Status Quo's Piledriver album from 1972 is well worth a listen. There's something to be said for basic. Especially when it produces an album full of absolute bangers like this does. I don't care if this is Oasis. I don't care about the drama, the fights, the Brit Pop battles, the ticket prices. This is a really fucking good album. My wife seems to know every word of it. Neither of us are Oasis fans. It didn't even cross our minds to get in the queues for tickets. But this is an easy 5 stars.

Ys

Joanna Newsom

1/5

I tried. The combination of Newsom's voice and the orchestration made this sound like the soundtrack to a slightly odd Disney movie. The bits they don't release for the singalong album. The orchestration in particular I found really grating. I could cope with her voice – heck, I gave Medúlla four stars – but in concert with the strings (oh, the strings...) and the lack of apparent structure it was just too much for me. I didn't finish it. I'm sorry, I do try to do that for every album, but I couldn't manage it here. I know there are people who love this. Good on you for loving it. I'm sure there's stuff I love that you dislike as well. That's as it should be. But I never want this to darken my door again.

Ramones

5/5

Simplistic, repetitive nonsense. Love it. Really easy to listen to and although I don’t think I’ve ever listened to it as an album before, I seem to know most of the songs. Massively influential and a classic of its type. Really enjoyed it as well.

Off The Wall

Michael Jackson

1/5

Well, the first half at least is better than Thriller or Bad. But I really disliked Bad and hate 80% of Thriller with a passion. And then the slower stuff started - Girlfriend, She’s out of my life etc… And I really disliked that again. There must be a reason McCartney kept collaborating on shite ballads, but it seriously calls into question his judgement. So, turns out I don’t like Jackson’s music very much. That and being a nonce doesn’t help me rate this objectively. I’m struggling between the clear 2/3 of the first half and the obvious 1 of the slow stuff. So, nonce rule applied and it’s a 1 then.

White Light / White Heat

The Velvet Underground

4/5

There was this kid at school. She spent her time making life-size models of the Velvet Underground. In clay. Slightly odd kid, but in a good way. Last I heard she spent her time turning tables round in Marks and Spencer’s. Apparently they were OK with it. This was an interesting listen. I’m not sure I’ll come back to it all that regularly, but it was enjoyable enough. And I do like that fuzzy guitar sound. I’ve certainly heard a lot worse and it went straight on for a second listen, which is always a good thing.

Back To Black

Amy Winehouse

2/5

I sort of understand why lots of people really like this. But I just find it a bit meh. Maybe it’s Winehouse’s voice. Maybe it’s the lack of oomph in the music. Or the volume level of the recording. It just lacks something for me I’m afraid. It’s not bad as such, but I can’t imagine ever listening to this again. It just doesn’t do anything for me.

Apple Venus Volume 1

XTC

3/5

A bit too clever for me I think. I had no idea XTC had kept going for anything like this long. I imagine that if I were to spend long enough with this I’d probably really enjoy it. In places it reminded me of ELO - the orchestration - and Gabriel era Genesis - vocal elements. But without the obvious catchiness of either. This would probably grow on me given repeated listening, but it’s a bit too boring for me to put in the time.

Gris Gris

Dr. John

3/5

I think I must have heard of Dr John via an Old Grey Whistle Test from way back when, probably on some kind of clips show. This was OK and had some interesting moments, but lacks a bit of drive for me. I doubt I’d listen again, but it was pleasant enough.

Unknown Pleasures

Joy Division

5/5

As a way to kick off your debut album, Disorder is pretty fucking epic. Maybe not quite in the league of Blue Suede Shoes, but it’s a great way to define your sound. After that it all gets a bit dark and moody. As it should do. And I love it. This isn’t an album I own or one I’ve listened to on repeat for years. But it’s really good. Really good.

Virgin Suicides

Air

3/5

I got the first Joy Division album yesterday, and I think that’s made me realise that I prefer my electronic music to be dark and moody. This is OK. I quite enjoyed it, but nothing really grabbed me other than the spoken word elements, the last of which reminded me of The Necromancer from Rush’s old Caress of Steel album that I played to death in university.

The Man Machine

Kraftwerk

4/5

Always enjoy Kraftwerk, although this isn’t as innovative or as interesting as Autobahn. Solid though and easy to listen to.

Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

TV On The Radio

2/5

I got Joy Division’s debut album earlier this week, and I can see some attempt at a similar style in this. But whilst that was obviously catchy as heck, this is just a bit boring. Perhaps if I spent longer with it I might like it more. But I just couldn’t get into it.

Odessa

Bee Gees

2/5

Tedious rather than flat-out terrible. The best bits were when I left the room.

Os Mutantes

2/5

This is probably far too clever for me. Didn’t enjoy it. Even with the obligatory +1 for non-Anglophone lyrics, I’m struggling here.

If You're Feeling Sinister

Belle & Sebastian

5/5

In 16 months, Belle and Sebastian released the equivalent of three full albums worth of material – Tigermilk, Sinister, and the three EPs that followed. How on earth can you do that and there barely be a bum note in any of them? As your first releases? This isn't "difficult second album" territory at all. I'm not sure what was in the water in Glasgow, but Stuart Murdoch was on a rich vein for a while there. And followed it up with another two albums and another EP within the next couple of years. B&S are probably my favourite band, and Sinister is probably their most consistent album, certainly until The Life Pursuit. Personally I prefer Tigermilk and have a soft sport for Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, bt this doesn't stop this being a pretty darned good album with songs on it that I want to keep on coming back to. Lyrics as always full of whimsy: nice to see Rediffusion joining C&A and M&S, and quite what Hillary was up to I'm not entirely certain. I get why people may not like them, but for me they're full of joy. So, I didn't have to download this because it was already there. I listened four times on my commute – perfect length album here as well btw – and then stuck the vinyl copy on later in the day to dance around the living room to like no one was watching (they weren't). Obviously it's an album I love, so five stars is a given. But it's also massively influential and full of great stuff. It is astonishing quite how much really good stuff they produced in such a short time.

Songs From A Room

Leonard Cohen

3/5

A much more tolerable Leonard Cohen album than either of the other two I’ve had. Good length and there were touches of Guthrie and so on on here that I quite enjoyed at times. Didn’t love it, but a 3 is an improvement on either of the other two. I’m still dreading the two to come mind you.

AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted

Ice Cube

3/5

I don’t mind this musically, although for most of the record it’s a bit shouty and repetitive. But I’d rather listen to pretty hard hip hop like this than something a bit more arty. Obviously the problem is the misogyny in the lyrics, although I think there are worse albums with the same problem on here. The political edge helps balance that, and I found Gangsta’s Fairytale quite amusing. But it does get a bit much over the whole album. So it’s a clear 2.5. The misogyny came close to bringing this down to 2, but I can just get to 3 in the end.

The Hour Of Bewilderbeast

Badly Drawn Boy

2/5

I vaguely remember music like this now. I’m not sure it wasn’t the sort of thing that stopped me listening to most new music at the time. Probably stuff like this anyway, although I have no recollection of having heard this album before. Overlong and a bit tedious are my takeaways now. At times it reminded me of a much less catchy Mull Historical Society album. But whereas those have wit and style, this just bored me a bit.

The ArchAndroid

Janelle Monáe

2/5

Clearly really ambitious. Pushes the envelope and there are some nice bits of music on here. But as an album I'm much less convinced – not helped by the length of course. I admire that ambition, but it just doesn't really work for me, and not something I'd want to listen to again.

evermore

Taylor Swift

4/5

Haters, as the young people appear to say, gonna hate. I quite liked this. Not something I've heard before, but the lo-fi nature with folky bits helped, and I found myself on a long drive and choosing to listen to this four times. Which says something about it. There's enough to enjoy, although perhaps it's a little too polished in places. Or maybe that's just the song writing. The gents melancholy nature of the sound was attractive, and I imagine that if you wanted to you could take all sorts of meaning from the lyrics. But I'm not 15, so I won't listen too hard. I wondered if I might get to a 5 here, but ultimately it's too long – 15 to 20 minutes shorter would have been a better choice probably.

The Contino Sessions

Death In Vegas

3/5

A bit of a mixed bag. There were bits I liked and others – generally the more manic, house style bits – that I didn’t particularly enjoy. It’s the sort of record that if I had the time to spend time with, that may well grow on me. But that’s unlikely, and those manic bits reminded me of a time when everything seemed to sound like that. Good on them at least for making things sound different across the album. A non-committal 3 here.

Foo Fighters

3/5

This was OK, but nothing really grabbed me. Some nice moments, but then it got a bit repetitive. I’m sure it was super influential, and obviously Grohl did an amazing job producing this single-handed, but not really my thing. Not horrible, but it just dragged a bit and seemed longer than it is.

First Band On The Moon

The Cardigans

4/5

Obviously aware of the band but never listened to anything they’ve done before. Recognised the big hit, but enjoyed the rest. It’s of an era, but doesn’t sound dated. Pretty decent on the whole and somethingvI’ll listen to again.

Peggy Suicide

Julian Cope

3/5

Even taking out the “bonus” disc that’s in the only version I could find, this is too long. But musically I enjoyed it – much to my surprise. I suspect I should really try to spend more time with it. So it’s a shame it’s effectively a double album which means I probably won’t.

Vulgar Display Of Power

Pantera

1/5

I've never gotten the hang of thrash metal. It's really not my thing. There were some pleasant enough moments in there, and I'm sure that, as Wikipedia claims, all the band members are amongst the greatest at their positions that have played in the wider metal journal. Err {{debatable}}, but there you go. So, I got through it but didn't particularly enjoy it. Musically it probably deserves two stars, but the frontman is an obvious cunt, so it gets one

Ghosteen

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

2/5

As a project this is obviously full of value. But I really didn't want to listen to it today and, frankly, I didn't enjoy it much. One of the few albums I haven't managed to get all the way through. It doesn't mean it doesn't belong on this list, obviously, but just not for me.

McCartney

Paul McCartney

3/5

Back in the late 80s/early 90s I saw McCartney play at Wembley Arena. I'm not a fan particularly, but the woman who's now my wife is and, well, it's not too often you got to see someone of that stature play live. I don't remember much about the gig – it was quite cheesy in places I think, which seems par for the course – although he almost certainly played Maybe I'm Amazed, the only song on this album that I've heard before. As an album this is OK without particularly inspiring me in any way. I quite enjoyed it and in some ways it seems sort of timeless – it doesn't feel like this was released in 1970 and there's not too much weird stuff on here. I doubt I'd seek it out to listen to again, but if it came up randomly that'd be fine.

Deja Vu

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

3/5

This was OK - some stuff I knew before and I like this sort of music in general. A bit of an odd mix of stuff, and I can't quite decide if that's a good or a bad thing. Perhaps one I need to come back to and listen a bit more to to really get in to.

Mr. Tambourine Man

The Byrds

3/5

Jangly guitar is always a good thing, and this is pretty jangly. And the title track is obviously a banger. Overall it's pretty decent without ever really grabbing me. I've heard better versions of Chimes of Freedom and, frankly, We'll Meet Again is a bizarre choice, particularly to end the album. But there are a lot worse records. For a mid 60s recording there's nothing really weird (other than the choice of the final song) and no one's trying to do anything odd with early stereo, which is a Good Thing. Perfectly listenable to without being really striking.

The Poet

Bobby Womack

2/5

Not really my thing. This is the sort of stuff that always made it on to Top of the Pops at the time. Which seemed boring then and just seems odd now, given what else was going on. This didn’t really excite me now. It certainly didn’t back then. I’ve certainly heard better music from this genre on this list (Parliament’s Mothership Connection for example). This just seems boring and old fashioned to my ears. And I’m both boring and old fashioned.

Purple Rain

Prince

2/5

Another album on this list because it has a couple of hits on it, but that, **as an album**, for me, doesn't really work. Even the hits are pretty thin and lack soul to my ears. That's probably its age – that horribly thin electronic drum sound even makes me cringe on Purple Rain, which is the only track that's really solid (maybe I'm the only person on the planet who doesn't like When Doves Cry, I don't know; maybe Prince is in the same ballpark as Dylan: I prefer it when other people do his songs). So, thin, dated, lacking soul, and lacking depth. The hits range from half decent to a bit meh, but the supporting album tracks are a bit shit (see also, The Beatles). The cover's not bad though. I prefer this to Thriller, but then I hate Thriller with an absolute passion and gave it a 1. So, I've likened this to Dylan, The Beatles, and Jackson. Many people would say that's good company. So obviously it's a 2 then.

Little Earthquakes

Tori Amos

3/5

Insert generic “sounds a bit like Kate Bush” comment here. Which is sort of true. I’m not a fan of Bush though and I preferred this, especially towards the end of the album. Nothing particularly grabbed my attention but it was pleasant enough.

Channel Orange

Frank Ocean

2/5

Uninspiring in every way. I didn’t hate it. I’m not sure it’s possible to hate anything this boring.

Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room

Dwight Yoakam

2/5

I don’t know enough the genre to know if this is any good or whether it was particularly ground breaking. Nothing really my thing. I didn’t find it offensive but it seemed a bit one dimensional to me. Certainly there is more interesting music that I’d say should be added to this list.

Celebrity Skin

Hole

3/5

Ok but not something I’ll listen to regularly

Peter Gabriel

3/5

Obviously a complete mess stylistically. So, as an album I'm not sure it succeeds in the basics. Some of the songs are pretty decent - look at the reviews and Solsbury Hill stands out. And it's a decent tune which saves this from 2 stars. And I quite like some of the other bits. But I'd not want to listen to this as an album again because it seems like a selection of demos playing with very different ideas. And I don't think that really works. This is so close to 2 stars.

Urban Hymns

The Verve

3/5

I think we just have a copy of this album somewhere on CD. It certainly seemed familiar, beyond the obvious tracks. And was a lot better than the previous Verve album I'd listened to earlier this year. Perhaps that's the familiarity, I'm not sure. But this was OK.

Highly Evolved

The Vines

3/5

There's nothing wrong with this as such – a bit mixed in places, with a couple of odd choices, but not unpleasant. I just found it a bit boring and generic. I don't think I'd ever heard it before, but it's not something I'll seek out again.

Searching For The Young Soul Rebels

Dexys Midnight Runners

4/5

Beyond Geno I'd not heard much of this album before – this was back in the days when you needed to but it on vinyl or rely on radio play remember. And I'd never had a reason to go back and find it until now. I do, however, have somewhere a copy of something by the Blue Ox Babes on vinyl – the group that spun out of this early Dexys lineup. I must dig that out as I thought it was an album, but Wiki tells me the LP was never released at the time... I enjoyed that sound, and I rather enjoyed this as well. Certainly different to the sound from Too-Rye-Ay. I lie that sound to, but I think I prefer this one and this is something I'll want to listen to again for sure. I suspect if I spent more time with this it would rise to a 5.

1989

Taylor Swift

3/5

I got Evermore a month ago and really liked it – it's actually gone up in my estimation since. This is much more poppy, although there are similarities in places of course. But I find the poppieness a little less attractive and the lo-fi nature of Evermore more preferable. Maybe part of tha comes with a little more maturity from Swift, or maybe the circumstances of recording and releasing an album in 2020. Anyway, this is OK. I knew some of the songs and I guess they're pretty catchy. But I grew up in the 80s and this isn't the sort of pop that's endured from then really, not for me anyway. This isn't quite at Stock, Aitken, and Waterman levels of production, but it's getting there. And that's not really a place I'd want to be. I might listen again, but this didn't really catch me.

Wild Is The Wind

Nina Simone

3/5

Disjointed and not really in my wheelhouse. Got lots of respect for it and it was all perfectly … fine. But not really my thing.

American Beauty

Grateful Dead

3/5

Pleasant enough and gentle. But not really something that excites me particularly. And I generally enjoy this type of music.

E.V.O.L.

Sonic Youth

3/5

Another Sonic Youth album. Another 3 stars. Again, it’s OK. I imagine that if I had the patience to spend more time with it I’d rate it higher. But I don’t. The spoken word bit seemed a bit annoying.

Appetite For Destruction

Guns N' Roses

3/5

Probably overexposed to this from that era and the constant reuse of tracks on sports broadcasts and so on It holds up better than most American metal from this period. But that’s not saying much. Between 3 and 4. The overexposure drops it

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

The Kinks

3/5

I mean, it’s fine. Without being that exciting

Let's Get Killed

David Holmes

3/5

Pretty much washed over me. Didn’t hate it by any means, but not overly interesting

Another Green World

Brian Eno

2/5

More noodling around

B-52's

The B-52's

5/5

Wonderfully odd throughout. Obviously I knew Rock Lobster, but I really enjoyed all of this. Splendid

Chicago Transit Authority

Chicago

1/5

I just dislike the idea of Chicago. Just too much noodling around. Sorry - I guess there are people who love this and see the playing as being a reason to do so. Not for me

I'm Your Man

Leonard Cohen

3/5

I really struggle with Cohen. I’ve heard worse albums of his

The Trinity Session

Cowboy Junkies

4/5

I quite enjoyed this. Didn’t know what to expect but it was pretty decent

Smile

Brian Wilson

2/5

More noodling around. Meh

Music in Exile

Songhoy Blues

5/5

Yes please more of this sort of thing Love a bit of desert blues, so this is right up my street. Modern enough that I’d not previously heard it. Probably my favourite discovery from this list and I’m halfway through

The Last Of The True Believers

Nanci Griffith

3/5

Perfectly decent

Calenture

The Triffids

3/5

I imagine that if you like this band you probably really love this album. It was all very pleasant. But without the background in the band I wasn’t finding anything that excited me in any way. I guess that if I listened multiple times I might well get in to this. But that probably won’t happen

Youth And Young Manhood

Kings of Leon

2/5

The previous album by this lot I listened to was a bit of a blur. This one seems similar. Listened to whilst on my long commute. There was music. I didn’t particularly notice very much of it.

Pet Sounds

The Beach Boys

3/5

Meh. I get it, but with modern ears?

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Kanye West

1/5

Fuck, he don’t half go on. Too long, too repetitive, too many sexual fantasies. Not interested I’m afraid.

Kala

M.I.A.

1/5

I hated the last album of hers. I hate this as well - it’s just more of the same primary school skipping songs.

Street Life

The Crusaders

2/5

Would sound great in a lift

Kid A

Radiohead

1/5

I’m very much in the camp that finds this whiney and irritating.

Slipknot

1/5

Really not my thing. Listened a bit, skipped a bit, switched to some cricket commentary from Adelaide. That was more tuneful. I get that there are people who like this, and I understand why this is on the list. But not for me

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