Guessing the plot to this film, I’ll go - A police constable is on a holiday cruise, stopping over in India somewhere, he’s not adverse to other cultures, such as dancing the cha-cha-cha early in the film but does see himself above it. Gets himself embroiled in a local crime of passion falling for the daughter of the victim as they have to combat someone bringing back colonialism to the region. They succeed, but he has to go back to his life and they share an emotional farewell on the docks as he boards. As she cries and waves him off, he comes up Behind her, choosing to stay. It’s never explained how he got of the boat. They embrace. Credits roll.

Beside the occasional killer baseline, this confirms that Stevie Wonder is not for me.

If you allow me to be indulgent as always… I was always Team Blur during the great Britpop wars but have grown to enjoy Oasis now the dust has settled, similar to the Bret Hart v Shawn Michaels debate of the sane era, being Team Bret it took to the 2000s for me to appreciate Michaels… …and similar to Michaels, Oasis are oft imitated and probably much more influential but Oasis still seem completely unique. This was a great album, I can see why it got so much hype at the time and can see too why it became such a weight round their necks thst they could never surpass.

Which Partridge quote is it going to be ‘Shitty Zombies’ Or ‘I’m not having a pop at the undead’ It was neither. Probably more like the scene in Shaun of the Dead when he goes to the shop and doesn’t notice the zombies. Until the last song which I had no idea was them and was Gods gift to film and tv montages.

Tried a couple of tracks but feared for my algorithm too much and binned it

I was really enjoying it until Wyclef turned up

Not my genre or style. Too soft. She had a nice voice though.

London’s calling to say this wasn’t my thing

I didn’t know what I though Massive Attaxk was but it wasn’t this Listening to this I distinctly feel that yes, this is the sound of 91. How do I know this? Was I a six year old who was big on the scene at the time and just forgot? I think what I mean by this is if I’d discovered this album when I was still musically formative, I’d easily made this my entire personality but alas, not this lifetime. One Love kept threatening to be a track of add to my eternal playlist but just couldn’t commit to those dirty brass beats. Blue Lines - sleepy spoken word rap was an interesting choice but again was just kidding that kick Unfinished Sympathy - justifiably seen as a classic Lately - I always enjoy a baseline that means I have to turn my volume down for self preservation Hymn of the Big Wheel - excellent closing track for the priors 3.5

Got this album close to release on the back of Time to Pretend and Kids and remember my horrified dissapointment that nothing else came close and was a slog to sit through. I haven’t listened since do this will be a good experiment… … turns out i was overreacting like a disappointed man, the rest of the album is perfectly solid but just not to the heights of those songs above.

Was dreading this but it was ok. Just ok.

Awful. Probably inspired a lot of stuff I’ve subsequently like but I didn’t think much at all of the blue print.

Familiar songs that got a bit samey towards the end

If you allow me to be indulgent as always… I was always Team Blur during the great Britpop wars but have grown to enjoy Oasis now the dust has settled, similar to the Bret Hart v Shawn Michaels debate of the sane era, being Team Bret it took to the 2000s for me to appreciate Michaels… …and similar to Michaels, Oasis are oft imitated and probably much more influential but Oasis still seem completely unique. This was a great album, I can see why it got so much hype at the time and can see too why it became such a weight round their necks thst they could never surpass.

Completely new artist for me, nothing seemed even vaguely familiar. Really enjoyed Born to be With You and added that into a rotation playlist of mine, and found myself enjoying the next few tracks too though a little less each After halfway it became a bit of a slog and I think whatever track 1 was would have been my favourite as it was a case of new skin bias Overall a decent listen but not one I’m likely to remember much about in a few weeks

This was an excellent slice of fun. Basically nostalgia for the summer special episodes of Mork and Mindy and the like.

Yea sir, my addiction is dirty bass and chaos. No sir, I’m not looking for a cure.

My enjoyment of that was like a roller coaster, but one of those ramshackle rickety wooden ones that doesn’t get very far off the ground. Will probably end up rated 1 star in lieu of 1.5 being a rating.

The first of these albums I had to skip partially played tracks. Some influences and technical skills similar to what I used to like when I listened to heavier stuff, but I really didn’t enjoy what they did with it. One Day Like This is an excellent song in isolation though.

This was like a tray of choice cuts and blueprints for other people to take inspiration or plain steal for something later/better. Realistically, to enjoy this I’d need to cut the songs down to 4 mins max and scale way back on Robert Plant which probably makes me a philistine. I appreciate your service Led, no I do not want to make a donation.

I quite like the wackadoodle song construction. Not hugely, but enough.

Murder Mystery was fun, the rest less so

Not my pick for listening to someone pick pickers.

A fun romp

Good production and the title track was excellent, the rest however very forgettable.

The middle got a bit bogged down with filler, but the start and ending were pretty good. I do like to think I like post-punk but it might just be the self indulgence I gravitate to rather than the actual music.

Great to listen to in the background, with the already famous songs the standouts

I waved goodbye to death metal a long time ago to take on this style as my jam, so stuff like this is always a treat. I like most of this, finding it to be something if a mix tape in terms of styles.

Very beautiful but very dull, like being dragged through a museum of exhibits I have no stake in.

I hadn’t thought I’d heard this before besides the obvious ones, but I must have years ago in the background of parties or gatherings and not realised. So it can be said that it’s memorable, although it’s only really the classic tracks I enjoyed, the rest felt very filler, so as I suspect Nirvana are not really for me.

I think I’ve been predisposed to think that Wings are corny, which I found to be mostly true however 1985 and Helen Wheels were both excellent.

Souvenir being the stand out though the rest was simply ok

Love Perry Farrell’s voice but not a big fan of the music itself.

I found the quirks to be more annoying than interesting

There was a lot going on in the song construction which impressed but ultimately it was another one I’m unlikely to listen to again

Not my tempo

A band I never thought I had heard before, just assuming they were Duran Duran. Around about in line with some of LeBon and groups average stuff.

Frontier Psychiatrist was an MTV2 classic, so nice to hear the rest of the album that spawned it.

This was one of the legendary albums thst I’ve heard about for so many years that it could never live up to the hype. And it didn’t. Lyrically it was excellent but musically I found my attention drifting.

I was always a bit intimidated by Fiona Apple. She always felt like an art house boogeyman who was hung over as a threat to little boys and girls who casually said they liked all music. I think the weakest part is her voice which was a bit generic when surrounded by terminal quirk and an instrumental album I might have preferred, certainly for the first couple of tracks but ultimately this was pretty decent.

Weird that Lenny and Motörhead are now basically dad rock. Fine for what it was though.

Sacrilege I know, but I’ve never really got Bowie in any of his eras. Aside from a few songs that are usually associated with other things that I’ve liked he’s just not an artist I’m interested in. Same goes for this one, though the last track is probably one of the best songs I heard in this challenge.

This album has a near 60 year legacy and I doubt I’ll remember anything about it after 6 minutes.

Solid background ambience

After track 2, I was ready to proclaim this to be the best thing since sliced bread before it settled into the honky think. There is something mysterious about the dude, even down to the vaguely sinister sort of neon slasher movie cover art before that was an actual aesthetic

Sounds like a band I’ve never heard before. Sounds like a band I’ve completely forgotten before.

Very samey with the framework being quite dull itself.

Each individual aspect (the vocals, the production, especially the bass) was great, but put them all together and it didn’t leave any kind of blended impression.

I’m not a fan of punk usually but this was quite enjoyable. Genuinely might be my second favourite album from the genre I’ve heard. I think it being only 30 minutes helps.

I appreciate it walked so daft punk could run, but the tracks were mostly grinds.

Not at all what I was expecting. Very lush sounding

Familiar with a lot of these but ‘I Miss You’ was the stand out

Sounds exactly what (I think) it was, some mates making an album of the favourite genre. Pretty fun listen but nothing I’ll revisit.

Reggae always just sounds like the intro forgot to bind to an actual song. I wait for the kick and it never comes.

I like how silly the whole thing is. Definately sounds like it’s been licensed out to channel 4 for all their kitchen related idents in the 2000s

This was pretty bland but Boogie on Reggae Woman was the stand out.

Avalanche is an all timer, but that put the rest of the album in the shade.

An odd time capsule of a sound I completely forgot about.

I think the 60s was the first era that music production wasn’t regimented by tyrants called stuff like The Colonel or actual Mafia men, hence we get this bizarre concoctions swinging wildly within itself. I think I’ve narrowed it down for 5 categories Great and will listen again: Dark Side if the Street Started off not really caring about but When I think about it, actually enjoyed it : my uncle, hot burrito 2 Music i imagine the people from Tremors listened to : Christine’s tune, Sin City, hot burrito 1, do you know how it feels Abysmal: Do Right Woman, Juanita , hippie boy Has a boat horn or something that caused Physical pain : Wheels

Loved this on release, loved it still now

The jangly 60s stuff was tolerable but the quirky storytelling stuff was utter garbage.

The definition of fine and forgettable

What is this? It’s like the B52s are doing a soundtrack for an experimental Disney movie.

Not sure what was linked was the actual album but if the guy wants to make it hard to listen to his stuff so be it.

I didn’t like this. I think the genre space rock should be much more exciting than what that was.

Beside the occasional killer baseline, this confirms that Stevie Wonder is not for me.

Weeding the back garden listening to and enjoying The Police really makes a guy realise they are no longer a young man.

The most interesting dull album I’ve listened to, can’t really explain what I mean by that though.

Abandoned in favour of some electro

Sea Song was the stand out, the others range from solid to inoffensive.

This is one of my all time favourites. Stress a song I listen to regularly to this day.

I enjoyed this one, …Ulysses and Take it Back (which might be the first song with a harmonica I didn’t instantly hate) being the stand outs. I figured Mothers Lament was a secret track or something that I’d have happily kept secret though (I could look this up but won’t)

Most of my teenage years were spent with my dad trying to convince me Yes were the greatest band to walk the Earth. I never once humoured him. Now 20 years later a random generator has forced me to listen. And you know what? Dad, they ain’t all that and their best song is still Owner of a Lonely Heart from GTA Vice City.

Nice but dull

Is it cool? Yes Is it interesting? Can I see why it’s held up as an all time classic? Yes Am I ever likely to listen again? Probably not Definition of a 3/5

I’ll be honest, I never knew this Queen existed. The only one I was familiar with was Killer Queen. Some of it sounded quite like the other high camp Glam legends KISS too (teaser for a later album?). Brighton Rock really stood out.

First Beatles album I’ve listened to, I think I’d get more out of it if I had listened to it as a progression from their earlier stuff. Plus it gave me horrible flashbacks to when we had Beatles Rockband set up in Game sauchiehall street and people playing the same songs badly over and over again. It was good though

Started off slow but kicked it up towards the end to the point I was sad it was over.

Sub par 70s rock

Off to a great start - filled with others that were equally timeless but a bit of filler too.

This is everything I dislike about punk, post-, hardcore, where musically it just seems to be a celebration of being crap.

I wanna destroy you in cracking and I will relisten. The rest of the album was also pretty good. But I likely won’t relisten.

Exactly what I expected, fine - no better

This washed over me completely, I barely noticed it. I probably owe them another listen but Spotify wrapped is coming up soon and I need to prioritise getting the embarrassing stuff out my top 5 so I have no time for redos.

First couple of tracks were ok (not You Really Got Me which was awful) but it died a death from middle to end.

Sleazy and creepy…but in a bad way. Probably my least favourite so far.

It’s sounds a bit like if Tame Impala never discovered synths.

Ehhh…I think I’ll settle on I don’t know art, but I know what i like and this wasn’t for me.

Early 2000s hip hop was a giant leap in production but that doesn’t make this particularly good.

I used to despise the Ramones but I think that was linked to people who liked them rather than the band itself. In isolation it’s fine and Blitzkreig Bop is a great song.

This is quite good. Big Black Snake Moan impression (which was invariably influenced by this)

1997 was when I first started listen to music properly so this was right in the sweet spot, I’ll probably rate it higher than it’s worth but that’s nostalgia for you. Also it was way longer than I thought it was gonna be.

Lots of ‘oh, that was this guy’ songs on this one.

Still a bit dull

Not as seminal as Doolittle but still an excellent listen.

I’ve never heard this before but it was all very familiar. I reckon it’s from being played in those weird little independent shops thst primarily stocked incense and incense related wares just off the beaten path from the high streets of every town and when film studios realised their set dressing wasn’t quite Mexican or Cubano enough, they inserted this as soundtrack over cut aways to women standing in doorways and dogs on unpacked streets. Fine overall but nothing to relisten to unless any of the above apply.

The run of Thriller - Best It - Billie Jean might be the best of any pop album

I feel like Tippi Hedren

I was disappointed in this. It’s held up as one of the all time greats but most of it is pretty lacklustre and the production doesn’t compare to what he did later. That being said, there was three great tracks on there, however not names I wish to write out or sing along to.

I found her voice pretty nondescript so wasn’t really listening to the lyrics until Flower where I realised I’d maybe misinterpreted everything before it. However, I think I’m most drawn to the instrumental and production when listening to albums so as this was quite bland in that regard it’s not one I’m going to go back over.

I liked this one slightly more than the other VH, mainly through familiarity with the two ‘big’ songs near the start.

Anthrax are very much spot 4 when it comes to the Big 4 of Thrash, but you can’t go wrong with the original recipe stuff from the 80s

It’s fine. That’s about it.

I was quite enjoying this until after Bullet The Blue Sky when it just became a U2 album. First couple are belters though.

Of the three Bowie albums so far, this was the better one. Took a while for me to get into it but by the end I was fully on board. I don’t think I’ll ever listen to his stuff for fun, but it’s been interesting seeing the various eras

First track is a classic, rest pretty forgettable

Some songs I’ll start to recognise from samples or such and then they’ll veer off wildly, makes for an interesting experience.

Fresh sounding 80s hip hop, decent listen, and one track going on rotation - The Pros

I could sit in a blues bar and listen and enjoy…but not to this guy specifically

I’ve never really gotten the Beatles before. They certainly had good catchy songs but there’s hardly a shortage of them…then I listened to this and I can see why the are held up the highest. I’m only about 50 years too late but I can say that this may be one if the greatest albums ever made. I had to stop adding songs to my regular play playlists for fear that it would just be the whole album taking it over for over an hour (not Piggies though). Martha My Dear, Rocky Racoon, Everybody’s Got Something to Hide…, Helter Skelter the stand outs for me if I had to pick.

Our House was cracking. The rest I really couldnt tell you.

A bit of a dirge and at times sounding like drums, guitar, vocals were in different recordings but interesting with it.

I have nothing to say on this. It washed over me and left no impression. It didn’t hurt though.

Pretty solid stuff. Her voice is the obvious highlight.

Fine background noise, The Girl from Ipanema so nice they played it twice.

Nostalgia is a hell of a thing. I don’t mind this, it reminds me of driving through to that chop shop in Linlithgow as a family and it being the album that everyone in the care didn’t protest

I always forget just how good Karma Police is until Iisten to it, and then I listen to it loads before forgetting all over again.

Which Partridge quote is it going to be ‘Shitty Zombies’ Or ‘I’m not having a pop at the undead’ It was neither. Probably more like the scene in Shaun of the Dead when he goes to the shop and doesn’t notice the zombies. Until the last song which I had no idea was them and was Gods gift to film and tv montages.

Listened to most of it, got the point. A blunt one that’s not one I’m interested in further.

The man is an arse but he writes good songs.

See yesterdays comments.

Solid

Didn’t ever got going, which I understand is the point but I needed a kick somewhere.

Every song plays the same trick…oh this sounds good, oh tom waits has turned up to dive bomb it.

This was 80% great, 20% naff. Spot on 4/5 album

I’m enjoying this, sounds like the it could obviously soundtrack any disco or less obviously soundtrack any fight…at the disco.

Big ‘bridging scene in an American Pie sequel’ energy.

Id probably rate it higher than 1 but otherwise I agree. I really liked track 1 but that probably could have been the case for any song he chose as track 1 - everything after just became a bit of a drone.

This is another one that smacks of ‘I’ve got 978 locked in but I’m spent, just add this bunch - who cares’

I think Prince is my ‘solid’ baseline, I enjoy everything he does fine, and love the obvious highlights.

This is just annoying. I think the only reason I’ll give it more than 1 star is the audacity of it all.

I did a deep dive on The Beta Band a while ago, they’ll never be my favourite band but I do appreciate they bring something different to the plate if your ever in the mood for something slower and weirder

Either was fast talk singing and plinky plonk guitars or a song that sounded like a David Bowie off it.

Very much doesn’t sound like a 70s album. Dark broody stuff, very on brand for me but not spiky enough.

Pretty bland 90s indie

This is great, but to me it is a sampler of what RZA subsequently did producing all the solo stuff that came around the same time which took the best of this an expanded it further. The skits are rank though.

I cannot be bothered with grunge or grunge affiliates for the most part, so I didn’t get much out of this. Black Hole Sun is the standout and the rest just sounded like lesser versions of it.

I thought this was the album I got on release which was pretty good, but that was Kala. This was fine, but didn’t have any real highlights.

First track is rightly named

It felt like we were on an upward trajectory with the 3 previous Bowie albums but this was mince. I couldnt tell you anything about any of the tracks.

I liked the vague menace permeating through the tracks

Free bird is a classic, the rest fairly forgettable

The first two I knew and recognised, the rest were pure filler to me. At some point it rolled into some other artist and I could not tell you when.

I don’t mind this, he does bring something different. Though this is clearly juvenile and he himself probably cringes st the lyrics too. It reminds me of the 50 Cent game that had loads of cameos from other rappers and they were all badasses except for Eminem who was a tweaking corrupt coward cop who looked like an idiot through the plot.

Probably should be more embarrassing than it actually was listening back. Durst’s vocals are easily the worst part.

Fun, though without any surprieee.

This is fine, not something I’d expect to listen to again, but I can’t see myself listening to the full 55 minutes.

The first 3 seconds intro was the best bit, struggled to hit those heights again.

Started this and quickly shut it off. It wasn’t bad it was just white noise.

4 absolute classics on here and the rest is their unique sound, an easy thumbs up

Nice enough, though the even slower stuff was too much or a dirge

I like the music and the production but I’ve always found his delivery to be too flat

I’m enjoying the gothy bits and the drums mixing with the synth. Can’t say I’ve ever heard of these guys but definately one I’ll explore further.

A blast (beat) from the past. Enjoyable as always

I’ve never heard of this band before yet I feel I’ve heard everything they’ve got to offer already. Fine, not very exciting.

Nu metal became such a vague term very quickly but whatever it was/is - this is the quintessential representative. Random DJ scratches People who have no right to be rapping, rapping Drop D guitars Superfluous band members Token shouting sections Still a classic with no hint of irony.

His deep voice singing almost seems like a joke, it’s like Ralph inneson when he’s on a podcast and it feels like it’ll damage your speakers. It was pretty good though.

I remember people going mad for this at the time, pretty sure it was in the album charts top 10 for years but seems to have had no long term cultural affect. Like David Gray I guess. Dull but harmless.

A fine slice of twee rock

Not bad, just not for me

Garbage modern country

It’s jangly jazz, I’m still uneducated to not really get it.

Solid. Nothing flashy but good for listening to while in the office. I think I got them confused with someone else as I was certain I’d heard them before but nothing rang a bell. Once it finished it started up with Kool Keith which is always a treat.

While I didn’t love this - I did like the gentle menace, like the train bit at the beginning of Dumbo. I know it’s harmless but there’s something underlying there.

I took a break about halfway as k found it very dull/samey. Coming back tonit for the back end was like listening to something altogether new and very very good. Do a three seems like a fair split.

Guessing the plot to this film, I’ll go - A police constable is on a holiday cruise, stopping over in India somewhere, he’s not adverse to other cultures, such as dancing the cha-cha-cha early in the film but does see himself above it. Gets himself embroiled in a local crime of passion falling for the daughter of the victim as they have to combat someone bringing back colonialism to the region. They succeed, but he has to go back to his life and they share an emotional farewell on the docks as he boards. As she cries and waves him off, he comes up Behind her, choosing to stay. It’s never explained how he got of the boat. They embrace. Credits roll.

This is great. Dicks all over that Run DMC album that I thought was going be like this but most certainly wasn’t.

Take Me Out is still an excellent track. Rest, perfectly fine.

The better of the Ray Charles albums we’ve done so far

Too odd

Walk is an all time great, the others follow the familiar pattern but never to the same heights.

State of this album cover. Music is pretty good though.

Listening to this was great, just some soft background country. I hope the Highwaymen appear on this, I never get round to actually listening to it myself and now I use this list as an excuse to keep holding off on new stuff too.

This is very good. I think I just assumed it was going to be an Eva Cassidy style softness, but she’s got some grit in her lungs. The unpolished 70s production really makes it stand out too.

Solid stuff. A lot of songs I’d completely forgotten about snd s very good outro track.

I listened to this this morning and have left it to marinate. My only memory is how annoying the organ was in the first song so I can’t say I enjoyed this.

It Ain’t No Fun to Me is worth holding on for. That bass/beat is something else from the rest of the album.

Mostly just annoying. Short though.

This is not the worst album we’ve had but it’s the one I engaged with least. I just could not get into it at all.

I think I just assumed this was all going to be ballads for the boys, but it’s very like the Manic’s rock opera style. An eye opener.

All brand new, really enjoyed it

A stone cold classic

Felt like generic punk but I did find myself getting into it as it went along.

I enjoyed this, acid house was an interesting little pocket that didn’t last long.

The classics are just that. The fillers are just that.

I think whichever of kiss, ac/dc, Judas Priest etc I listened to i was likely to like abd the other just felt like worse versions so I couldn’t get on board.

It’s a good mixture of what seems like would be bsides on later stuff and some early experimentation.

Having never listened to a Bob Dylan album this is exactly what I expected. I think I lose a lot from not really being a person that particularly listens to lyrics. But it is undoubtedly good.

I’ve heard this comment recently, so I may have even stolen it from this chat…but this sounds exactly like the kind of forgettable rock that would be playing in The Bronze in Buffy the Vampire Slayer to a group of bored extras.

This was not too bad. It’s no phonk, but then nothing ever will be.

I liked the beginning but it drifted off and got a bit too ‘boy band’ towards the end

This is pretty good. Like being stuck in a loading screen for Tony hawk pro skater and not being that bothered about it.

This suffered from following the day after the Buzzcocks, which seemed a higher tier of 70s punk.

I don’t know if the version I listened to was a remaster or rerelease but the ‘wall of sound’ was impressive for time. I’ve never been a huge fan but they influenced a lot of bands/genres I grew up loving so this gets a big thumbs up

His voice is the worst part but the music itself is pretty good.

As album covers go, I was expecting something different. As band names go, this was exactly what I was expecting.

I fully appreciate that riot grrrrl is not made for me, so all criticism is moot. Musically it’s not bad, vocals are too messy.

Nowhere near as seminal as the last one, but still a decent listen. Safe to say that this version of Changes was significant better than the duet Ozzy did with Kelly

I really enjoyed the first half, a lot of great songs I’d never heard before but as Ben said, twists on more famous sounds, but it dropped off in the back end.

Bruce Dickinson’s vocal are so distinct that listening to these guys without just feels like a cover band (appreciating that this was pre-Bruce) Some hints of what was to come make this worthwhile though.

I’ve never listened to this as a whole album but have likely listened to most of this just over time as singles and at peoples houses/in cars/radios etc. Overall it’s a bit too soft but I find turn to be an all time great track.

Another one of the weird hand drawn faces cover arts that lead you to expect something different from the music. Some decent indie on there.

The music is fine but his voice seems really put on, I ditched out after 5 tracks

Much better than the other Joni’s ones we’ve had. 3.5 really but rounded down to be mean for no reason.

It’s on YouTube as a 47 minute long video, which is probably its perfect form as just a meandering weird single entity. Free form jazz, much like all the other jazz we’ve had here so far, not for me.

I really wanted to dislike this so I could pithily post this, but alas, it was actually ok. Still, I’ll post it anyway. https://youtu.be/UatQsjjOIAc?si=0fNbPRJQLt9QWEXQ

Probably a 2.5, aka solid, but I’ll round up.

Too much jangling.

Nick in different

Very talented pianist but it’s not engaging me at all

A lot of the 80s sound has come back in fashion but this Casio keyboard basic drum beats hadn’t yet. Probably for good reason as it all sounds way too basic.

I can’t stand his voice and the deliberately crap style.

Really enjoyed this. Dre’s production on point and the MCs all distinct, only a few bits of filler.

A little tip for listening to Jerry Lee Lewis, is to do so without ever checking his Wikipedia page in detail. Would have been a fantastic gig to be at too.

Made no impression

Didn’t leave much of an impression

I like the rubbish production. Solid stuff. I prefer Depeche Mode’s version of Route 66 though.

This was fine. Not what I was expecting, I think he got more drum + bass later. I’ve listened to one of his later albums (pretty much only because he was cool in The Fifth Element) and really didn’t like it at all.

Solid

To echo what others said, I thought he was more spoken word soul man but obviously not. I enjoyed it. He was massive for a very particular moment in time so maybe another album will come up as I’m probably not going to listen otherwise though.

Nice enough but a bit forgettable

A great listen, heavier than I expected.

Ive got through disc 1. I don’t think I’ll continue on with disc 2 as it was all a bit samey and bland, with the exception of We Will Not Be Lovers which felt like it sneaked in from a much darker album.

Another one that I’ll stop after disc 1. The cover of Book of Love is great as Izzy says. The rest, a bit subpar Divine Comedy.

everything is just in the way until Ash Williams favourite song Space Truckin’ comes on

only shallow is a fantastic track, the rest of the album can’t match those highs. I feel I say this too much, but I can’t imagine listening to this in ‘91 and not been blown away, as if I’d just seen a new colour.

Fine, but not leaving much of a footprint

I didn’t like this. It seemed like something that you’d hear at an open mic night rather than some all time album.

I really liked the final track Pretty Big Mouth…which turned out to be from another one of their albums that had auto played. Everything from the above album completely washed over me unnoticed.

I didn’t last long, thought I was halfway through and looked to see that was the end of track 2.

Same as the last zeppelin album, lots of good bits that have been covered or sampled elsewhere but altogether, not amazing.

He’s got a formula, fun one though.

The Cure trying to confuse me further by sounding more like The Cult than ever.

This is a bit rubbish.

Sometimes I feel quite disconnected to the rest of culture. This was in the charts for some insanely long period and I have no idea why? There is nothing on it that’s really stand out and it’s quirky enough not to be middle of the road. enough to be a coffee table album. Was it just the cover?

This could really do with a tidy up rerelease, but given how bad the production was the master tapes were probably misfiled somewhere daft like the centre of the sun. Connection was the stand out track which was a theme song for Trigger Happy TV (a much better clearer version too)

This is the definition of ‘nice’ It’s probably also the definition of ‘won’t remember it’ and ‘won’t listen again’ but it was a pleasant soundtrack while walking in the rain.

This veers from sounding like nice background restaurant music to ‘is this from arrested development’ from track to track

This was fine. I thought it would be lazier given their efforts bending the band and promotion in general but it has a few decent tracks and a few thst were forgotten as soon as finished

First time I’ve listened to this (although tons of songs I’d heard before no realising they were from this) - it was great, the first half especially.

This is going to sound stupid and contradictory given I love the song Blinded by the Lights, but I appreciate it’s a concept album made for entertainment but it comes across as so disingenuous, it may well all be true but it feels very fake. But Blinded by the Lights is cracking, I can’t reiterate this enough

I was looking forward to this but I should have known nothing will ever live up to his performance in Rocky 4

Middling jazz

Naff. Definately the band loses a lot of its effect by it not being the live performances and the look of ‘I cannot believe this is a success’ that drove those appearances.

Rolling Stones have some all time classic songs (in this case Gimme Shelter) but from what I’ve heard so far by them, they are all spread apart on different albums , so you don’t get that amazing streak like the Michael Jackson album we had earlier. So there was a lot of filler between the classic in track 1 and the well known closing track. So to go full Alan Partridge I think my favourite Rolling Stones album would probably be the best of

Not the worst post punk we’ve had.

I’m enjoying this. A name I only know from The Simpsons lollapalooza that I guess I just wrote off as being smashing pumpkins lite. The distortion adds to it instead of just seeming like a gimmick.

It can’t possibly live up to the back story but it wasn’t bad.

I’d listened to this before and really like it. Cloudbursting is great on top of the more famous tracks. A great weird listen.

Didn’t listen to it all but it was nice enough

Sounds very much like Blur off cuts, but there are worse bands to be slightly worse than.

I thought this was going to be more dance-y than weird folk ghost-y, I must have confused it with something else.

Hadn’t heard of these guys before. Sounds like they have influenced a lot of stuff later on. Not really something I’ll revisit but decent enough.

Tried a couple of tracks but feared for my algorithm too much and binned it

2.5 rounded up

Bland

Love and Affection is a brilliant track, stops this from being fine but forgettable. The funk that sneaks in towards the end is a highlight too.

I thought it was fine, nice background music I should probably give another chance.

I think that 18 year old me would have been all over this, probably made it a pillar of my personality for a few months. Whatever has happened in the ensuing 2 decades, I’m become now just a husk who listened to it, thought it was ok and promptly moved on.

This is their most heralded album but it’s not my favourite. I find Great Expectations and Beth to be too naff but the rest is just good time bouncy rock and showcases their various talents, most sing and have very distinct sounding voices and Ace is a great guitarist. Detroit Rock City is an all time great rock and roll track as the stand out, I’ll give it 5 more for their whole catalogue than this album in particular as I’ll be surprised if any others turn up.

Beautiful for sure but not real stand outs.

I don’t know what I thought this was going to be, but 90s templates and layers was not what.

Good listening for the morning

The second track is decent rockabilly but too over produced for me, but the rest is pretty bland

I was looking forward to this one as I loved Clint Eastwood and the other singles back when it first came out but the rest was just filler. The Day of the Dead sample was pretty cool though.

Pretty solid stuff. If I ever needed an album that at least 70% of the people in the room would enjoy I reckon this is the pick. Probably a 3.5 rating overall.

I’ve never gotten Bruce and his popularity, I think he’s just on a different wavelength from my taste and this did nothing to convince me otherwise.

Least shocking hot take ever said: Father and Son is still a brilliant song. The rest was fine but don’t ask me to recall anything about it. 2.5

Great album with some absolute classics on it. The associated film is a fun watch too.

Beyond odd songs, I can’t really get into Radiohead. That’s not to say this is bad, far from it, but it’s not something I’ll seek out again. 2.5

I’m trying to remember anything about this from yesterday … I think I liked it? 2.5

3 feels high but 2 feels too low.

Pretty fun

So, I had this album and completely forgot (hence my confusion over paper planes). I remember not really liking it at the time but on this relisten I thought it was great. There is something about modern musics played on lesser heard instruments that I really enjoy.

The yeah yeah yeahs are great, I’ve slept on them far too much.

This is interesting. Would make for good ambience but not sure if listen to it by choice. Also not convinced that what Spotify has is wholly accurate.

Not bad/not great - just fine

This was cracking. Completely missed them as a band but will check out a bunch more now.

This was great. I’d heard of him but assumed his sound to be completely different

Heard one orbital song pretty much heard them all, but it’s a pretty good song.

Another group thst has a very obvious formula but also one thst is quite good

This didn’t leave much of an impression, was fine though.

I liked this, in out 30 minutes, perfect time.

One I listened to regularly prior to this. The single version of tainted love and where did our love go have one of the best transitions ever (not seen on this version sadly)

A curious one. Interesting but not one to listen to again. 2.5

He’s obviously good, and Superstition is obviously an all time great song. But I just can’t get into him.

Everything about this is nice, but not something I can get into

A bit all over the place. instrumentally it was interesting, vocals were the weakest aspect. I enjoyed the cover of kiss’s black diamond though.

I always get Sonic Youth mixed with Smashing Pumpkins because of that Simpsons episode, and this album has not helped Cool sound though, would listen again.

This was a better Jane’s Addiction album, first half anyway. Been Caught Steaking is great of course.

I’m really enjoying this, the famous songs (tonight, zero, bullet…) really stand out but with every double album there is too much stuff on there thst could just be cut and left for later.

I do quite like the jangly 60s guitar sound but not enough to really like one artist exceptionally. I think I’d probably get a kick out of something like Now! That’s What I Call Jangle so nothing feels too samey/state. I appreciated that this was only 30 mins though

This was pretty fun. Just a hint of prog stuff there to change it up so it wasn’t all just 70s rock sound.

Nice enough but not really for me

Very back loaded, and not with particularly good songs only more recognisable ones. One I wouldnt have been gutted to miss.

This was really good. The songs were his voice got pushed back in prominence to being an additional instrument it elevated it all. A Means to an End and Decades both stand outs.

Not very exciting but fine

Great production, solid everything else. No real stand out tracks.

I thought this was going to be naff and while it was, it’s was pretty listenable.

It’s was fine. Music was pretty fun though his voice was the worst part for me.

Very nice stuff, never gonna listen to it again.

Nowhere near as good as the other one, shame

More rocky than I remember and really well produced. Not particularly iconic though.

This was great, familiar at times too. Probably a 4.5

This wasn’t really my thing. The sudden appearance of rocky Dont Lie to Me was very jarring, especially as the next song is almost Xmas folk music, then back to rock hooks after that. Then In The Street literally rocks up at the end.

Really well produced, not very exciting though.

Good listen but I thought I’d recognise more, definately a good primer for what he did later.

If they’d all been as weird as the first track I’d have given this a higher rating.

This one was a bit bland.

Not bad

I might be outing myself as a philistine but I found this to be utter garbage.

I thought half was decent and the other half was pretty boring

High quality hip hop but even at half the time it’s too long

Jack White has a formula and this is very much that. It’s good though, but if you’d told this this was white stripes or from a different time period I’d have believed you.

This wasn’t bad, but it did over stay its welcome. Quite high on the jangle scale.

The joke review is that he could have released Hurt and then 12 tracks of static and it would still be seminal. The real review is that even the songs that start off without you really enjoying them slowly turn into something brilliant just because of his voice. Highlights-?Hurt, Personal Jesus, …Rose, Man Comes around Lowlights if any - Danny Boy and Laredo

Not for me

Pretty good ambient stuff, sounds like it was quite ahead of it’s time.

A bit meh

One of my faves from back in the day.

Turns out i like the smiths

Middle of the road 90s country is not for me

Probably the most in need of .5 ratings here. Probably a 2.51 though so I’ll round up. Vaguely familiar but definitely new of that makes any sense.

They got better later at least

I think I always knew that deep purple utilised the organ…but not this much.

One of those albums that probably influenced a lot but on its own is nothing special.

Pretty much the only thing I like by Green Day is the song Basketcase and on first full listen, this did nothing to change that.

The first track was amazing…but it was one of those albums where any album could have been track 1 and had the same response as the rest were all derivatives of the same style, albeit a very good one.

I put this on expecting hip hop, alas I was disappointed and out it off after a few boring tracks

I thought this would be heavier and much worse. It was fine. Dirty Work is a great song.

Fruit Nut and The Last Balloon are the highlights. Wish it was on Spotify so I could revisit it later/easier to see if they were growers

Solid 2.5

Fun little in and out listen

Quite liked it, but of a lil tracks 2-3 and then it picked up to the end

It’s probably wrong to complain about a band being formulaic when they invented the formula but apart from Holiday in Cambodia (which teases doing something else), everything was just ever decreasing circles of the same muddy songs and crap singing.

I liked this, never gonna listen to it again, but I liked it

Fine

I’m really enjoying it, it probably sounds great on vinyl too

Just blah 90s sound

This is not bad, not as overwrought as I thought it might be

This was ok. Just a nice easy one off listen, Jacob Marley’s Chain being the stand out. 2.5 really but rounding up.

Really enjoyed listening to this. Added Light to my rotation. Absolutely one I’ll listen to again.

Second in a row I wasnt expecting much from and really liked it

Pretty bland, but not dreadful

Enjoyed this, couple of stand out tracks but the rest were solid too. I imagine there is a lot more PJ in this list too so I’m looking forward to those

Solid stuff, closing track the one track I’ll regularly listen to again (I thought it had rolled into auto play when that baseline kicked in)

This is great. At places It’s like a chill out Balearics album with a random Icelandic girl chatting loudly over the top (track 4 is literally this) 3.5 but rounded up to 4

Not sure how this list is compiled but if it’s by votes then this feels like a ‘Boaty McBoatface’ style troll. Absolute tosh.

Good stuff. I remember hearing Irish Blood… when it first came out and really enjoying it as it was quite different lyrically and stylistically from the rest of 2003/4 but never investigated further, wish I had. It’s a lot more accessible than I’d have thought too, I can imagine he’s been approached by people to cover stuff here and because hes Morrissey just telling them to do one or just not replying.

Not the best Korn album but them at the peak of their powers.

Oh man, the hype at the beginning got me pumped and then he started singing… The rest of the album recovered and was pretty decent

Nice. Weird. Ultimately not for me though.

Bizarre. Their whole thing has become ‘yer uncle loves these guys live and has seen them 87 times’ but listening to this I can’t imagine anyone thinking it’d be a vibrant live experience, it comes across as very low energy as if Suggs is sitting on a stool knackered going through the motions. I was expecting it to be quite formulaic but some of the music is actually quite interesting in a ‘Jolly ironic haunting’ kind of way. Removing Suggs sluggish nature and this was really good

Pretty cool stuff. Like the next evolution of OutKast but without any of the stand out songs. Admittedly I said this before I got to Them Changes

I think discounting the misogyny and homophobia et al (a big ask I know!) and the cultural commentary that isn’t something aimed at me (also a big ask), I think production wise and musically this is the best hip hop album we’ve had, helps that It Was a Good Day is one of my favourites

Decent guitar pop which veers into strange a few times. Another one id like to have listened to in context, as it does seem quite different to watch else was around this time, to get its full impact.

Sad that she seemed to abandoned the tranc-y Ibiza style here. Good stuff though.

Better energy from the singer but not quite as interesting musically, put it off about 3/4 through

I was gonna abandon this one early but it’s only 30 mins so I powered through and some of the tracks later (the Dylan one) were good but overall I didn’t really like this. (That Scarborough one is abysmal.)

An unrelenting hit parade - 5/5 (I enjoy that some of the synths sound like they are from Sonic the Hedgehog, as if we were all psychologically trained to love this by our youth)

Top quality hip hop. It really shouldn’t work, with Chuck S’s rap tempo bearing very little relationship to the track beat , but his voice and presence is so strong it makes it even better. Flavor Flav gets written off by a clown, but actually is very good too. The tracks themselves really full sounding. Only downside is it’s way too long so has a lot of filler in the middle.

There is something soulless about Metallica and I’ve never warmed to them

Nice ambient stuff, won’t make much of an impression but that seems to be the point.

Nice to hear their stuff before they fell into comedy parody. It’s a 2.5 but round up to 3.

Pretty much my wheelhouse

Definately the best album I’ve heard recorded inside a bin. I think there is some pretty dodgy lyrics on there but is so muffled I can’t really tell.

This is probably sacrilege but I feel like this guy is the ultimate one trick pony, that trick being a deep voice almost spoken singing style that doesn’t always match the tempo of the often identical plinky plonk guitar. If you love that then this guy is for you, if you don’t then it’s not. It’s not for me. On one of them I liked the song Avalanche. On this album twice I’ve thought there was alternate versions of that song only to realise they are different with either exact same guitar or exact same vocal harmony. It must have been weird seeing him play live, cheering for your favourite song only for it to turn out to be another one.

28 minutes of sozzled Frank, perfect.

I was a bit bored by this when I was really listening it, however as I just let it play in the background it got more enjoyable as white noise. Not a ringing endorsement though. Titanium Expose was the one I’d listen to again 2.5 but rounded up to 3

A curiosity for sure, but I didn’t hear anything there to make it stand out.

Loved this album as a youth, Brazilian death metal band bringing in a tribal sound to their recordings. My neice recently got into Megadeth and other 80/90s metal so I got her this, perhaps a little too much for her yet. I still very much enjoyed it which I cannot say about a lot of my old cds

This was a drag at the start but picked up. The last couple of live tracks were really good, 2.5 rounded up

In my head I always thought Everything but the Girl were regional pop for parents who couldn’t move past cassettes so im intrigued that this is here So it turns out it’s a very 90s sounding tranc-y effort, which was pretty good.

First track is awful but after that it’s some pretty fun funk

Probably as nice an album from a genre I have no interest (modern country) in, so I can see why it’s here but it’s not made me want to listen to anything else she’s done.

As everyone has said, it’s nice but not very exciting. Give the masters to RZA he’ll sort it out.

Very 90s sounding, I liked the odd jazzy moments that would pop up but otherwise a bit bland.

Solid to good stuff but after three smiths albums and two solos I think that’s probably enough of this mad lad

Everything about it is fine but I’m not sitting through 90 minutes of it.

I like The Prodigy. I don’t think I’d be able to tell their albums apart but I like their sound.

This sounds exactly what you’d think hip hop from 1992 would sound like, even if you had no prior knowledge. It’s fine.

This is much more garage rock than having fun on the beach rock, than I was expecting. Also fine.

Same as previous comments, nice but does nothing for me

I always forget that grateful dead are some wee hippies instead of original punks. This was fine fir what it was, just distorted self indulgence, not something I’d listen to again though.

Blue Turk is a real direction switch, dodgy lyrics and all

Enjoyed this, some classics on there

Forgettable stuff outside of the anthems.

Happiness is a great track. The rest were decent but I think that’s three Goldfrapp albums we’ve had now and that’s probably enough.

Nice example of genre, absolutely I’ll forget this entirely in a few days though. Except the cover.

Fun stuff but another 3 star

Sounds exactly like you’d think it does

Looked up the tracks on YouTube. Just sounds like generic indie from the 90s but from 88 so must be influential. Not one to dig out if you can’t be arsed.

Pretty fun but an hour is more than enough

Perfect background music

This guy is talked about as one of the all time greats even being new/current but I found this quite generic. The content was pretty standard too, so while technically impressive it’s hardly unique and a bit of a disappointment. Picked up towards the end though.

Jesus, What did this sound like before the remastering? I do like the Cramps, they are 1 of 1 when it comes to deconstructed honky tonk with a singer who seems to be perpetually on the run from vengeful ghosts.

I think we’ve had a few of primal scream in the 1001 and the SAY lists, this is the best one. Some familiar ones, some forgettable but overall a fine album.

Surprised I’d never heard of these guys before. Like others have said, great stuff. The newly minted conspiracy theorist in me now things big media subdued them but hopefully didn’t imprison them. Only downside is it’s too long and some of the later tracks feel like restored off cuts.

I really liked the first track. The rest, not so much.

I like Portishesd generally. Machine Gun is the stand out.

Hated the first track, almost put it off, then powered through and loved track 3. Stayed on board for the rest which was a wacky ride (no idea when Spotify radio kicked in). Will listen to Autopsy (typical) again for sure.

It’s more long form jazz, I don’t have the sophistication to be able to differentiate it from the others we’ve had.

The cover of Lost in Music is abysmal, but it does start to pick up around the middle with Paranoid Man…, but your enjoyment will be based on whether you like the gimmick of solid guitar hooks underlaid, the singer’s witty poetry, which after a while - just feels utterly pretentious.

I was looking forward to this. But once you hear one T Rex song is pretty much all the same after.

The 90s was the decade of grunge, britpop, acid house, girl power and a whole other bunch, but this sound is what I consider to the the defining style, where pop producers got a bit more involved, so ultimately this was pretty good.

Solid

Found this quite dull. But it take take me about 20 years to get into the band they spawned from so maybe one to relisten to in the 2040s

Never really warmed to these guys. Wake Up is great though 2.5 rounded up

I’ve never heard Frank Zappa before but I think if I had to guess I’d have expected it to be exactly this

I know it has sort of swung all the way round from her not being cool, to being cool to now no longer cool again, but this is a genuinely great album. I was prodded into listening to Folklore and was floored by how good it was, and while this one doesn’t quite match it, it’s still a great listen - both being musical highlights of the pandemic era of nothing to do but listen to new music. What really stood out is the production, I found myself googling the instruments used in the songs as some I’d never heard/noticed before. The title track with Bon Iver is the stand out for me.

He’s got a nice voice but this is boring

I liked this. Though I have absolutely no memory of it now

Good music, weird vocals. Pretty much their tagline.

Perfectly fine, reminds me of Kiss with less energy/pomposity

Formulaic, but good formulat

This is a bit naff

It’s a pretty nice change of pace, but realistically I’m only ever gonna listen to the title theme and even then, probably the Bart and Lisa Simpson version.

Liked this, sounds similar to Editors. And now I don’t get them confused with Eels and iggy pop and the stooges which I always did (no musically, just the names)

He’s not amazing at anything but overall it’s good and he’s really important to the scene. He’s basically rap’s Claude Makelele.

Two classics (Hurt, Closer), everything else feels a bit incidental but it’s a cool sound and genre I don’t hear often 3.5 rounded up

Sounds like the promising kid in high school released their final project and the teachers were devastated.

I don’t know what this guys appeal is

I like Bad Company, the song. Bad Company the album was fine, nothing special. Bad Company the band I think I always thought were Bad Religion

I finally understand the ‘hey aqualung’ reference in Anchorman No other thoughts

Never really gave these guys much of a listen before and this did nothing to convince me otherwise. The famous songs are decent but the rest were filler

This was fine. I reckon you must need to be a very particular kind to give it 5/5 but I was expecting the worst and it was far from that.

I think everytime jazz comes up I say the same thing. Nice ambience, not got enough of a palette today I like it or not

The high pitched gimmick is a bit corny but without it like this it’s a bit bland.

Interesting to hear him not song all ballads but I do t think his voice suits anything but.

I like some good ambient stuff so this was a solid listen.

I like some good ambient stuff so this was a solid listen.

I always had the impression that ABBA were ‘a good pop outfit’ but this was pretty dull. I do fancy the Voyage hologram show that has an installation in Geeenwich still though, but I think that’s just because it’s the closest I’ll get to being like Tron.

The back story is pretty interesting, with the torture and starvation. And him sitting just bashing the piano to find his melody is again, something interesting to listen to. But, with a fan saying it takes 7 listens to really love it…I’m not ever doing that and I’ll go with my first impression, which is this is either too weird or too stupid.

This was daft, but I found myself enjoying it and it’s a rare one that’ll I’ll probably relisten to

You can see why these guys were big for a while, super accessible dance/world music when that wasnt all that common, but when everyone got online everyone also moved on. Fine enough though, a 2.5 if ever there was one.

This was fine, lulls you in with a bit of jazz then goes a bit off piste. Decent listen and some tracks I had no idea were them.

Movies of Myself was really good, the rest were interesting if not memorable. Overall a decent listen though.

It’s hard to rate Elvis, it’s such a specific sound/style. 5 Elvis’ out of 5. Good for what it was

Reading the wiki blurb, and knowing that they fell off hard I was a bit worried this was going to be crap and a complete cash grab (I love Love)…but it’s pretty good. The classic vocal style is still there though the distortion effects have been scaled right back, so it still sounds like The Cult (with a bit of AC/DC in there)

I like portishead, it should just be good ambiance but you couldn’t put it on with company, too omninous. The kind of thing I imagine Toni from Peep Show puts on when she’s trying to woo.

Either I can remember of every Eno album is something different.

2.5 really

Crap then, crap now

This was solid, though the lyrics are a bit embarrassing - A bit ‘did ye aye?’ but he probably did.

This is really annoying, I’m not sure if it’s pretentious or just stupid…but saying all that - I do quite like it as a one off listen.

Biggest takeaway is how long it felt, really dragging. I didn’t hate it - it was a bit of everything but nothing special. Feels like an album that made an appearance in one list because one compiler was a fan but then was removed the next year.

This was rubbish. It’s gonna be harsh giving it 1 star but it’s not as interesting even as latest 2 stars

I realise that the perfect time to listen to this is while sitting in a pompous cinema lobby, as I sit in a pompous cinemas lobby listening to this.

2.5

Never really got on with green day, Basket Case is their best work though

I initially thought this was on here by contrarian type voting it to say they prefer this lesser celebrated Knowles sister, but it was pretty interesting in itself. One I would relisten to sans all the interludes. Like she knew Beyoncé was nailing the main stream so she could just make whatever she wanted without pressure.

I’ve always found reggae quite samey and quite dull.

This was ok. Less formulaic than the Verve I’m familiar with (I also forgot that we’d had the other one). Track 1 was the highlight.

I was hoping for the psychedelic funk to be more psychedelic and more funky

I’d never listened to Living Colour outside of the big opening track before. I liked it - a good mash up of styles, though all the additional tracks at the end I should have skipped as they brought it down a tad.

Embarrassingly I have one of these songs on my main playlist already - Fuck Off (feat Eminem) - Which even more embarrassingly I always thought would be a good fit for a wrestling theme ————— If you’d told me this was a concept album where a rich kid bully got his emotionally distant father to fund him a shitty rap rock album recording and during the release party a sewage truck sprayed the popular kliq. I’d easily believe you. Rubbish.

On my personal enjoyment scale it’s a solid 3/5 On the jangle scale it’s a whopping 5/5

I never really enjoyed grunge, so always wrote these guys off as number three on the grunge totem pole but it’s definitely my favourite of what I’ve heard in that genre so far.

The more rocky songs were decent, but the slower ballady are very boring and by the end that’s all that’s left.

Didn’t have time to listen to all of this, but it’s pretty good. I am stuck in a 3/5 death spiral though.

That was a lot of fun…another 3/5

As Ben said, better to listen to actual Prince instead. I Got bored halfway through and put it off

Leaving aside the sleaze, it’s a nice chill out listen…But you absolutely cannot leave aside the sleaze and that’s not something to chill to.

This grew on me

My only takeaway is that this is an album full of the screaming music heard during the Hot Fuzz transition scenes.

Exactly what it aspires to be. But with Aphex Twin I want it to be weird.

Probably a bit generous

This guy obviously had a heavy influence on The Divine Comedy (the band, not the poem), and to be honest I’d rather listen to them

Blah

Fine but I don’t think I’ll ever be a ‘fan’

Pretty fun

Enjoyed this, probably a 3.5 but rounded up as it’s been a while where I’ve been stuck in 2-3s

This was mostly dull

Sounds like they were feeding off Janet Jackson scraps. (No idea who came first - I’ve done no research)

Always put off by his voice but when it’s part of an album is just nice coffee table ambiance

In/out 30 minute porto punk that the roller skate kids in The Warriors probably based their personality on.

If you liked Girl from Ipanema then this album is for you. It sounds nice but the talk singing isn’t very special.

Really grew on me, looked into him further and he’s the guy behind Thin White Duke and Jacques Le Cont remixes that I love.

No Goldeneye? No The Best? No party.

Once I’d heard Johnny cash, Charlie feathers and Kris kristofferson, all other country pales in comparison

What the, The The? This was great. I don’t remember much of the other The The album we had but it wasn’t a patch on this. Real surprise.

Sounds like an album he made in his home basement for the girl he liked. She didn’t respond well.

Sounds very false, like he was making music for soundtracks of films thst don’t exist to try hook that cash avenue.

Sounds like his voice is shot to shit and he’s doing his best Tom Waits. Not a fan.

Listened to them for the first time last year after Cherry Coloured Funk appeared in a music league. It became my most listened to song and these guys became my most listened to artist. Love this album, easy 5/5.

Sounds like every song released in 01-06 which is impressive given it was released in ‘97. Solid.

Pretty much the whole album is naff but fun, added benefit that it doesn’t sound like anything else except this era of the band.

I liked this…perfect early 90s upwardly mobile movie montage music with some wild jazz fluting.

Can confirm, this would be fun to listen to in a boat. Or even not in a boat.

This guy is like if Leonard cohen, the stooges and beta band accidentally all fell into the transporter from the fly. 4 is probably overrating but I was very much thrown by how much travelling of styles was here and it did interest me.

This one is pretty much less good than the one that was better than madness

I’d this the third or fourth REM we’ve had? Definitely my favourite

This was generally good, but only a couple songs (Faster and Die in the Summertime) really stood out for a relisten.

Always thought these guys were a bit fake, with the dungarees and aesthetic seeming very prepared, but giving the full album a listen it’s solid.

I did a deep dive into WTK and their solo/side projects last year or the year before. This is held up as the absolute best of it all but only one track criminology really stood out, so I’m looking forward to giving this another go and already I’m enjoying it more Rounded up to 4

I liked it, couldn’t say why but yeah I’d listen to this again

I can separate the man from the art. Or I think I can. I usually find his stuff ‘ok’ but this was tiresome

Tracks 2/3 were great, the rest was solid. I’ll probably listen again.

Might be the worst album name (sounds like something Graeme high hip hop icon WAK47 would drop) but the music itself was perfectly listenable scratchy beats

Another easy 5. Even covers/performances of him are top tier. In the recent Dylan biopic Cash and the Tennessee 3 have a shirt musical cameo (not even a full song) and it blows all the other music performances out the water. I enjoy when he plays a song about how shit life in that prison is, gets thunderous applause, has a laugh at the guards expense, then plays the same song again.

A few have nice instrumental openings - Bluebird Wine, Before Believing, And For No One is a nice song for the most part. Otherwise not really my thing

Very modern sounding, had to double check it was from 2007

‘Just One Fox’ clearly launched a thousand Industrial band ships. Every genre song since has basically tried to sound like this.

A naff gimmick by a band, who after their four album deal with the devil expired just could not escape naff-ness

Yesterday : Not sure how i feel about this yet, so not sure where my rating will land tomorrow. Nick Cave is someone I always thought I’d like (I like his books and films) but the music up until recently I couldn’t get into. This strange gothic western theme was definitely interesting but was it good? I’m not sure so fresh from listening to it. Today: playing it safe and giving it 3/5

The better of the Elvis Costello ones we’ve had. ‘Still too soon to know’ being the highlight. 2.5 rounded down

I feel like whoever we get this guy, Buckley Snr or Brian Zeno it’s never what I remember the last one being like either the albums by the same artists are very different each time. Or that I just simply delete them after it stops. Was Nick drake always country?

Too soft and clean for me.

An album 3.5 ratings were made for, rounded down.

I like it. He got lobbed in with nu metal and rap rock types but there was always more going on musically. He is a villain though, so hopefully the £0.0001 per song spotify gives out goes to the band mates and not his legal defence.

Is that 4 or 5 REMs we’ve had? Liked that this one was slightly heavier but I think I’m done and will just skip anymore we get.

This sounds like a musical OST gone rogue, escaping its physical performance and escaped into another universe. With all that said, I didn’t like it.

First couple of songs - I hope the brass section lets up soon. They didn’t.

Just perfectly servicable dad rock - not essential by any means, pretty sure this their second entry here? That feels excessive

Sounds like someone modern that I can’t place. Not interesting enough for me to go back and try to find out

Early 90s dance all sounds like they got the same Casio kit and ‘for dummy’s’ book for Xmas. It’s interesting the first time at least.

This however, was very cool

I love that ‘50s Memphis sound. I’m pretty sure every producer and manager was a villain (if biopics are to be believed ) but I do want to do a deep dive some day.

I liked this, big long loopy funk

I’ve flip flopped on slipknot since they first appeared. This is a bit formulaic but it’ll be interesting to hear other people’s opinions who are less familiar with them

I’ve always liked Divine Comedy, the guy steadfastly sticks to his own thing. Always enjoyed when they would pop up on the indie Shine albums

I wish I’d gotten into pixies earlier. Great stuff.

Pretty cool stuff, like the Sepultura album with all the metal stripped out.

I found it a bit dull, was expecting some yoko Ono madness but she was well behaved.

Sounds exactly as what the term ‘world music’ envisages.

Sounds exactly like you’d expect from the description. Not very exciting and not one I’ll revisit.

If this was a film, I’d probably like it. However my tolerance for pretentious wank doesn’t extend to music.

‘Critics were not immediately impressed; the 1970 review in Rolling Stone magazine by Langdon Winner was negative, with Winner feeling that, "none of the songs here rise above the uniformly dull surface." ‘ Agreed

This was a fun listen. I’d never heard them before but reckon I’ve heard hundreds of bands that were influenced by them.

Not my favourite of theirs, but solid goth work.

I might have been made biased because I quite liked the recent movie, but this was a great example of folk which I don’t normally give much shrift, I can see why he crossed over and quite quickly grew his fandom. Probably will revisit.

I’m only one track in, but I’m getting the back to the future vibe of him playing this at an ‘under the sea’ school dance to no reaction but Timmy Reznar holding the phone up for his cousin The later cowbell section stops that comparison dead

Always wrote them off as B tier Brit pop but there was more going on here. More artsy that I expected. I would listen again.

Not a word I use often, but this was a lot more ‘groovy’ than I was expecting. Not bad.

Hate to say it, but everything Pink Floyd touches turns to bland.

A bit of several other 80s sound in here, dexys, Depeche, Duran, etc, pretty good primer.

Pretty cool. I should listen again and focus on the lyrics a bit more.

This was pretty good a times, but the times where it was trying to be more poppy/accessible were real weak spots. Norah Jones, looking at you.

Naff

I expected a bit more liveliness from this.

I like the gimmick of the concept album, but ultimately is just sounds like generic forgettable who off cuts.

Really enjoying this, just left the radio playing after it finished. Something about that low quality 70s New York sound I really get on with.

The songs I recognised didn’t sound the same as the big music video or radio productions, I wondered if there was a rights issue ir re-recording so I ended up on the u2 Reddit page, when it was proclaimed as the greatest thing ever and to doubt that was insanity. Colour me insane, because this was a bit bland.

This seemed exactly what it was, a guy just jamming in his house having fun. Really picked up towards the end.

Found this quite dull, my only recollection being thinking thst if they stuck on Editors’ weird effects peddle it’d be infinitely better. But as I’m not musical myself I have no idea if that peddle exists or if they even sound like a stripped back Editors

I enjoyed this, was like a slightly more timid Depeche mode. Promised You a Miracle the stand out but after the 3rd or 4th version I was done with it.

Everything before that closing track just feels like filler. Never mind that shit, here’s comes 2 minute drums solos!

Was sure I was gonna enjoy this but I must have been in the mood for it, decent, wouldn’t mind listening again

I listened to their solo stuff all at once and some of their bigger projects didn’t stand out at all, but I’ve enjoyed going back and letting them breathe a bit more.

Even the Wild West of YouTube doesn’t have much. Of the four I could find, one was ok, two were average and one was bad, so not something I’ll try seem out later.

Ghostface is regarded by those in the know as the strongest rapper/mc in the group but I think in that case, because he’s so imitated his stuff doesn’t stand out at all. The highkights were when others like GZA and ODB showed up

I dont think I’ve ever realised that this is who Chvrches are, pretty good stuff.

Not a band I’ve ever understood the hype for. Two albums we’ve had now and only one song has stood out as ‘good’. Although Parker’s Band stood out for sounding like it was from the Peanuts Christmas special.

Enjoyed this a lot, first half especially.

First song giving Fraggle Rock Pretty bland inoffensive stuff for the most part but the guitar solo in Go Back Home was worth a listen

Instrumentally this was really good, some tracks having a real dark ambience. But thst vocalist is horrendous. I’d have probably gone 5 otherwise.

A phrase I’ve had rattling about my brain for a while and finally a chance to use it - Generic biddle.

I’ve never really got Springsteen, but his big tracks are usually good - Lonesome Road in this case.

around 700 albums in, there are no new mountains to climb. Love was fine but nothing special

ThI first couple of tracks were ok, but it’s a bit bland/samey later. Could have done with some pruning.

This steely Dan album really makes their last milquetoast one feel even more out of place on this list, with this one having something about it - lounge rock with a bit more going on behind the scenes, Bodhistavva and Your Gold Teeth being genuinely good songs.

Missing is the stand out

This was cool. Fresh sounding, I’d be interested to hear more.

I definately confused Chicago with Boston, I was expecting some American da rock but this is pretty cool. Beginnings being the highlight, Poem 58 too

Bit of a selection box here. Guy seems like he was having fun (between all the divorces and being a mad drunk).