1001 Albums Summary

People often debate if this is a concept album. I'd argue it's only a concept album for the first four tracks, and is all the better for ditching the 'Yoshimi' concept. Though things get off to a bright start with the ever-exciting 'Fight Test', the next 2 songs give this album an uneven feel. I know it's slander to criticise 'Part 1', but in my opinion it drifts a little too much despite some lovely vocal melodies. However, the segue from the dynamic 'Part 2' into 'In the Morning of the Magicians' provides the fresh start the album needs. Gone are the meandering synths (that often meander nowhere in particular) and in come bounding instrumentation that is truly thrilling. Juxtaposed against beautifully melancholic vocals, the back half of this album is fantastic. 'It's Summertime' slows things down but provides some of the most tender moments of the album and the change of pace flows well. Next up is the biggest, and arguably best, song on the album - 'Do You Realise', though undeniably brilliant, suffers from poor placement on the album. The anthemic feel of the album would have worked better before the 'Yoshimi' songs and would have provided some much needed drive to this album's slow start. Though at times uneven in pace and quality, there are some truly special moments hidden within the album tracks. The lyrics are introspective and, like much of the instrumentation, quite beautiful.

Cohesive, slick production and a huge blend of genres such as Americana, Blues, Funk and Psychedelia. This album unveils its complexities slowly and leaves you with some thrilling moments. Comparisons to Cream are valid for musical style but also musicianship. White Denim are so tight as a band and its clear they crafted this album meticulously. Though it flows really well and there are some great songs, it does at times lack a little originality in its sound which stops it getting an even higher mark.

By all accounts this album should scream '5 stars' for its undeniable influence and what it would inspire. Portishead's Dummy and DJ Shadow's Endtroducing don't exist without this record and its ongoing legacy is heard throughout modern British music even today. There's no doubting this is a pioneering piece of work and many would consider it as one of the greatest UK records ever released. Every fibre of my being wants to hit that 5th star and move on. However... I just can't convince myself that, when you detach yourself from what has come after and focus purely on the music at hand, all of this album stands up to scrutiny. Tracks like 'One Love' come and go without making much of an impression, and several songs suffer from what feels like a lack of focus at times. The second half of the album is noticeably stronger, and 'Hymn of the Big Wheel' is a euphoric and fitting crescendo to the album managing to extract great emotional depth from some really quite silly lyrics. The album is centred around the lead single 'Unfinished Sympathy' - scrap everything I said before, this track is a masterpiece in every sense of the word and rightly stakes its place as one of the greatest songs of the 90s and of all time. It goes to show how brilliant Massive Attack can be at their finest, I just wish that midas touch stretched across the whole album, and not just half of it.