I wanted to be cynical about this (probably due to his recent indiscretions) and say that on reflection they didn’t deserve the godlike indie reverence they received, but it’s just banger after banger.
Awesome bass lines, I wish the trumpets were real.
The link between Sex Pistols and GnR, but the drums really grated on me after a while. And the less said about Jailbait the better…
Was going to go 4 on the strength of the singles, but fuck me is there a lot of bloat. Guitars sound amazing and Chamberlain is an incredible drummer.
Starts with Baba O’Riley and ends with Won’t Get Fooled Again. What more is there to say.
I used to own this, but it wasn’t familiar at all... Will probably go back to it later.
An artist I always think I like but really I haven’t listened to much more than the hits, and his excellent stuff with the late great Burt Bacharach. Another 3 but I’ll definitely listen to this again and imagine it will grow on me as the lyrics become more familiar. I might be tempted to delve into the catalogue as well.
Good fun, sing a long kitchen stuff.
Nothing particularly redeemable here….
Hard to believe it was made in 1972, loved it.
At first I had to piss about with the audio settings of my stereo as it sounded dreadful. Eventually reverting back to original settings and starting from the beginning something clicked and I started to really enjoy it. Not what I was expecting at all. Instantly made me want to watch a Todd Rundgren documentary to learn more about him.
Love the singles but I prefer his more reflective / dour stuff to disco cowboy Beck.
Really enjoyed it will listen again.
Mostly ignored this at the time as it didn’t feel like it was for me… Seemed a bit style over substance… How wrong I was. Have since enjoyed their most recent album and been meaning to revisit. Glad I did, I can see what the fuss is about now.
Good listen. Less guitary than expected and better for it.
Although some of the rapping reminded me of the epic HipHopapotamus and Rhyme-nocerus from Flight of the Conchords, this has generally aged pretty well. The production reminded me of Blue Nile at times and Unfinished Symphony is an absolute classic. Lovely stuff.
It’s brilliant obviously, will spend more time with it. Only issue I find with earlier Bowie that I’m not already familiar with is that all the music in my teens paid homage, from Grunge to Britpop, so it’s difficult not to think of them. And some of that was bollocks.
As soon as he started singing I couldn’t be fucked with it at all.
Surely their best album. A masterpiece front to back. Still sounds so bright and moody at the same time. Love it.
Wow, I expected to enjoy it, but it’s amazing. Horns, piano, his voice, all sound fresh as fuck.
Nice enough but too much flute for me.
Great stuff. I don’t love some of the cover versions and the production isn’t great but what a voice.
A statement record if there was one, a significant improvement on Pablo Honey that showed the heights they would reach. Planet Telex, Just and My Iron Lung include some of my favourite guitar lines, while the more subdued High and Dry and Fake Plastic Trees in particular hinted at their sensitive side. They’ve made better albums since, but hard to argue that there are many better moments in their catalogue than the solo outro of Just or the haunting melodies of Street Spirit. First listen for some time and I’m reminded Black Star is a solid deep cut I’ve not revisited lately. It’s going on the playlist. They’ve not stumbled since, what a band.
Only had a quick listen, didn’t grab me so I’ve decided to carry on and live my life.
I liked the music much more than the vocals.
An unfamiliar album of theirs, apart from a couple of tracks I don’t think I’ve ever listened to it. I always thought this was an early career retrospective, despite the fact I now realise the cover clearly states REM no 5 on it. The cover is dogshit and it’s not my fault. Glad to have finally heard it as it was excellent, a more polished affair than I was expecting.
Great set, shake he was a nonce.
Tried persevering through a few tracks, started skipping, gave up. I like a couple off the next album of theirs but this is bollocks to be honest.
Probably much better live…
A good album, the start of them moving out from under the britpop banner into something more interesting.
Loved Big Pink but somehow never got round to this. It’s great and a reminder that I ought to watch Last Waltz finally.
A consistent if not always thrilling side two buoyed by a flawless side one.
Brilliant album but a little too experimental towards the end for me.
Quite enjoyed the Grapevine cover despite itself. Probably a 3.5 overall so I’ll round up to a 4.
So so cool.
I like it, I don’t love it.
I wanted to be cynical about this (probably due to his recent indiscretions) and say that on reflection they didn’t deserve the godlike indie reverence they received, but it’s just banger after banger.