624
Albums Rated
2.74
Average Rating
57%
Complete
465 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1990s
Favorite Decade
Shoegaze
Favorite Genre
UK
Top Origin
Critic
Rater Style ?
74
5-Star Albums
124
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kollaps | 5 | 1.9 | +3.1 |
| Penance Soiree | 5 | 2.5 | +2.5 |
| Playing With Fire | 5 | 2.54 | +2.46 |
| Bummed | 5 | 2.64 | +2.36 |
| Live At The Witch Trials | 5 | 2.64 | +2.36 |
| Orbital 2 | 5 | 2.69 | +2.31 |
| Mask | 5 | 2.85 | +2.15 |
| Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret | 5 | 2.87 | +2.13 |
| A Northern Soul | 5 | 2.91 | +2.09 |
| Psychocandy | 5 | 2.94 | +2.06 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Led Zeppelin III | 1 | 3.96 | -2.96 |
| What's Going On | 1 | 3.94 | -2.94 |
| Innervisions | 1 | 3.87 | -2.87 |
| Live At The Regal | 1 | 3.68 | -2.68 |
| The Joshua Tree | 1 | 3.67 | -2.67 |
| With The Beatles | 1 | 3.66 | -2.66 |
| Bringing It All Back Home | 1 | 3.65 | -2.65 |
| Pink Moon | 1 | 3.65 | -2.65 |
| Birth Of The Cool | 1 | 3.65 | -2.65 |
| After The Gold Rush | 1 | 3.64 | -2.64 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beck | 3 | 5 |
| The Smiths | 3 | 4.67 |
| Joy Division | 2 | 5 |
| Blur | 2 | 5 |
| Suede | 2 | 5 |
| The Cure | 2 | 5 |
| The Verve | 2 | 5 |
| Nirvana | 2 | 5 |
| Pixies | 3 | 4.33 |
| R.E.M. | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Steely Dan | 3 | 1.33 |
| Tim Buckley | 3 | 1.33 |
| Leonard Cohen | 2 | 1 |
| Marvin Gaye | 2 | 1 |
| Missy Elliott | 2 | 1 |
| Tom Waits | 2 | 1 |
| Bob Dylan | 5 | 1.8 |
| Neil Young | 4 | 1.75 |
| Björk | 4 | 1.75 |
| A Tribe Called Quest | 2 | 1.5 |
| Beastie Boys | 2 | 1.5 |
| Eagles | 2 | 1.5 |
| Yes | 2 | 1.5 |
| Nick Drake | 2 | 1.5 |
| Elvis Costello | 2 | 1.5 |
| Fiona Apple | 2 | 1.5 |
| Christina Aguilera | 2 | 1.5 |
| Fairport Convention | 2 | 1.5 |
| Miles Davis | 4 | 2 |
| Joni Mitchell | 3 | 2 |
| Bob Marley & The Wailers | 3 | 2 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| U2 | 1, 5 |
| Metallica | 5, 2, 1 |
| Beatles | 4, 4, 1, 5 |
| Stevie Wonder | 1, 4 |
| Elton John | 1, 4 |
5-Star Albums (74)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
The Icarus Line
5/5
When this popped up, I’d never heard of The Icarus Line, no idea of genre, there was a clue with the record label, V2, that it would be guitar led, that was all I had to go on, so I just stuck it on and hoped for the best. After probably less than 10 seconds I had a very big smile on my face.
This album totally blew me away. It was released in the raising children period of my life, so they got missed. OK, I did discover At The Drive In in this period, but this is on another level. That deep rumbling bass, the mangled guitar. The changes of pace and styles, that very random ode to Suicide with ‘Meatmaker’ I didn’t see that coming. I could hear hints of Jesus and Mary Chain with ‘Getting Bright at Night’ and also ‘Sea Sick’ with a hint of Loop in there too, leaning into some classic grunge, not to mention the obvious Stooges influences, some surprising influences for a band from California.
Ironically when I read up about this album, and the band in general, I found out I’d seen Joe Cardamone live back in 2017, supporting Mark Lanegan, but unfortunately, I didn’t do my homework, and didn’t concentrate too hard on what I was listening to at the time, if I had then I would have had this band in my life a lot earlier. Also this was engineered and recorded in London by the legend Alan Moulder, who is responsible for many of my favourite albums of all time, I could see how he must have shaped their sound, and make it appealing especially for my ears.
This album is a beauty (the follow up sounded brilliant too), it is one of those reasons why I am doing this challenge. Amongst the shite, there is a gem like this. It’s probably going to be a future top 50 all time great for me. I’m going to buy it today.
5 likes
Missy Elliott
1/5
I cant think of any positives for this album whatsoever, so I won't pretend there are any. I do struggle with rap/ hip-hop at the best of times, but if you are going to release a 'work in progress', then please show me ears the decency of finishing it before final release.
2 likes
Drive-By Truckers
2/5
On first impressions I was thinking this is yet another typical lyrical American myopic vision which is focused on a small part of their large country. The other impression I had was this sounds like traditional 'Southern' rock done in the style of Lynard Skynard. By the end, my first impressions were correct. My only question is - why? Musically it's very competent, but not anything I'll ever want to listen to again. 2 stars
2 likes
Suede
5/5
I love Suede, a great live band. One of the artists lumped into the original wave of Britpop, but they never were as unsophisticated as Oasis, so this was overlooked at the time as it didnt fit the mould for your average Britpop fan. This is probably why it is one of my favourite albums of 1994 because if you are going to do hedonism, then do it with a bit of style. Although, I do prefer their debut, this is a massive follow-up. Full of glam, drugs, and sleaze provided by Brett Anderson's vocals and lyrics. Bernard Butler's guitar playing is just astounding, especially when you consider how the album was recorded and the state of relationships with the rest of the band. But it all works and brings a cinematic feel to the whole record.
2 likes
Spacemen 3
5/5
Spacemen 3 are arguably my favourite band. This, their 3rd album is seen as their peak creative output by critics, but I think their best is their second, 'The Perfect Prescription', which is my favourite album of all time. However, this still in my top 30 and is one of the best examples of neo-psychedelia in the last 35 years. Admittedly it took me a few listens back in 89 to get into it as it was fundamentally different to their debut album 'Sound of Confusion' which was a straight up Stooges/MC5/13th Floor Elevators noise fest, but the drugs kept flowing into a different vein by the time they made 'Playing with Fire'.
The two main men, Kember and Pierce, have two very different styles of playing and vocal delivery, which complement each other so well. Kember's fixation with drones and predominantly using 2 chords, together with Pierce's ear for simple melody, which was unified with their shared love of experimentalism and noise.
‘Honey’ is probably Pete Kember's best song on this album, closely followed by the MC5 inspired 'Revolution'. Jason Pierce's tunes are as usual beautifully fragile. The fractures in their relationship is evident on this album with separate writing credits, except for the massive ode to Rev and Vega with 'Suicide' a 9 minute psyche-out blast of 2 note noise. I never got to see them live, but have seen their later bands many times where they have played all these over the years, which I'll take! Most people won't get it, but I love it and it is a straight high 5.
2 likes
1-Star Albums (124)
All Ratings
The Beach Boys
5/5
Great early psychedelic masterpiece.
Janis Joplin
3/5
De La Soul
2/5
.Best tracks are; Ghetto Thang, Tread Water, Potholes in my Lawn, Say No Go. Not as bad as I thought it would be as not a fan of Hip Hop or Rap
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
Backstreets, Born to Run and Jungle land are good. Big brass section, guitar or piano led. Dad loved it.
ZZ Top
2/5
Sheik - best track. Great rhythm section. however not my thing, too Bible-belt rock.
The Band
2/5
Best tracks - Chest Fever, probably due to its big fat organ sound! And This Wheel's on Fire - Siouxie and the Banshees did a great cover of it. They did the right thing ditching Bob the trampy old busker. Certainly not as bad as I thought it would be considering it is folk.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Gimme Shelter, one of my favourite Stones tracks. Very blues orientated compared to some of their earlier stuff, works for me, sticking to a tried and tested style I guess. The album version of Honky-tonk women done in a playful country style was a surprise. Let it Bleed, Midnight Rambler, Monkey Man and finally You Can't Always Get What You Want - all excellent songs. If out of 10 it would be a 7.5. So it gets a high 3.
Weakest track - Love In Vain
Carole King
3/5
I've heard of the prolific songwriting partnership of Goffin/King, but I never realised one half was Carole King, she certainly knows how to write a tune! A product of its time in pop music, though, you can almost hear the Carpenters at work! I recognised the titles of half of the tracks and realised this migh be a bit special. Best tracks; I Feel the Earth Move (overshadowed in my mind by the Martika cover), It's Too Late, Beautiful, You've Got A Friend, Will You Love Me Tomorrow (covered by numerous artists too), (YMMFLA) Natural Woman (Originally written by G/King partnership for A Franklin). In fact I don't think there was a bad track on this LP.
All in all, a very enjoyable listen, a very talented songwriter who wrote some famous songs for other artists as well as influenced a new generation of artists. Better than I expected - a high 3
Gang Starr
1/5
Best tracks; Enter The Arena, Check the Technique (only because I like the sampled track!) and Here Today, Gone Tomorrow.
All a bit samey, hardly any variation in energy or tempo. I sure there is a lot of talent and technical enginuity gone into making these songs from the samples, but it's lost on me completely. Hence only a 1.
Gorillaz
1/5
A big fan of Blur and Albarn in general, but at the time of release, I didn't get the virtual band stuff. It's a Damon side project, it didn't need all the cartoon characters. That said, maybe it needed all that bullshit to sell it, as it is a bit boring in many places. The concept of mixing genres didn't seem to work very well in this case, certainly worked better on subsequent releases. Quite liked Man Research, 19-2000 (but even that isn't the single mix on the original album, that was added to the end of the album like some sort of extra which oddly is the standout track by a mile). Albarn finding life after Blur (at the time) a bit tough or self indulgent? - a high 1.
Aerosmith
3/5
Ah fuck all my notes have disappeared! Anyway, I was surprised at how much I liked it, as I'm not a metal fan or whatever genre they were at this time in their career. Interesting sound, at times sounded a bit like a heavy Bolan/T Rex, mixed with blues. But you can hear the influence they must have had on the hideous soft rock from the 80's. Best tracks; Walk This Way and the second half of the album. - 3
The Who
2/5
Only familiar with the most famous
and eponymous track on the album, the rest is an interesting mix of Blues and I guess an emerging rock sound, which must have been pioneering in 1965.
Best tracks - My Generation, It's Not True and The Ox - a beast of an instrumental!
Ok, not special a high 2
Dusty Springfield
2/5
Actually a lot better than I thought it would be! She has a great ageless voice and style (much better than the ridiculous belters we have today such as Adele and Florid Florence; who will sound dated very soon). 3 great songs; You Don't Own Me, Anyone Who Had A Heart and When Will You Love Me Tomorrow. 1960's pop at its best. (what is the matter with me?) A high 2.
The Stranglers
3/5
Haven't listened to this since the mid/late 1980's! Not really punk is it? But what it is is very good. Older heads than most other Punks of the time, so less aggression and more melody. A slow start but kicks off at Princess of the Streets. Not a fan of the all pervasive cheesy organ sound, but that was their thing. Peaches probably the most famous track I would hazzard a guess that these must have influenced a very young Mark E Smith to start a band, but for the opposite reasons why the Sex Pistols did! - A low 3
Led Zeppelin
4/5
It's not metal, but certainly at the root of it. Not a fan of the solos eg Moby Dick drumming. Seems to have led to the beginning of the 1970s -80's over indulgence by the big rock gods. But I'll forgive them as they probably started it. However being one of the cornerstones of modern rock music it is groundbreaking stuff. Whole Lotta Love, The Lemon Song and Ramble On being the highlights. A low 4
Ella Fitzgerald
2/5
A nice pleasant trip down memory lane when I explored Jazz in my early 20's. The milder and more accessible end of jazz (which I prefer) as a whole, nice to have playing in the background at a civilised dinner party (I don't have civilised dinner parties, so it could be a while before I listen to it again). Sung beautifully and the band creating a nice atmosphere of relaxation (something I'm not used to when listening to music often) - 2
Wilco
3/5
Interesting eclectic style, definitely worth another listen. Lots of laters and textures to their sound, maybe a bit to folksy/ bluesy for my normal tastes, but there is something about them. A low 3, which may change with a few listens.
The Mars Volta
3/5
How did I miss this band when I loved their previous band At The Drive In! You can hear style and sound of the two main men from ATDI on this record. They have certainly expanded upon their roots and gone down the experimental route. Bixler-Zavala' s vocals are more more melodic and less shouty, whereas Rodriguez-Lopez's guitar playing is Avant Garde to say the least, but the similar staccato and loud/quiet style is very much in place. They bring the same energy to these songs from ATDI, which is a fucking lot! Very enjoyable, definitely worth a lot more listens to appreciate the complicated song structures they have created. A high 3 (for the moment).
Judas Priest
3/5
Apparently the first proper heavy metal album. Influenced Metallica et al. It's ok for what it is, certainly better than 99% of metal that followed it. Big riffs and the growly to operatic style of singing which some other artists took to either extreme, but here it is just about palatable. Recognised the 3 singles! So as it is a pioneer of its genre. A low 3 (me being very generous)
Neil Young
4/5
What a great album! Haven't listened to it or Neil Young in too long. His voice is so good, much more quieter than most of his output. Such classics as Heart of Gold, Old Man and The Needle and The Damage Done will never get boring. Such an influential artist. The grandfather of Grunge lol gets a 4.
Fela Kuti
3/5
I remember listening to John Peel back in the 80's and he had a thing about Afrobeats, couldn't work why back then, but now, about to turn 52 - yeah! Really enjoyed the groove and repetition of the exceptionally long songs.The drumming with the blasts of brass is hypnotic! Apparently Fela Kuti invented Afrobeats near enough singlehandedly, reminded me of 1970's blaxspoitation film soudtracks. Will definitely be checking out some of his back catalogue. A very high 3 could go either way, up or down a point if I do listen again (This album is only let down by the bonus track as far as I'm concerned - which wasn't on the original release, so doesn't count and would have dragged the score down. I like Ginger Baker's drumming but not for 15 minutes or so!)
Lou Reed
4/5
A classic album! Not listened to it in full in such a long time. Vicious is a great opener, reminiscent of the Velvets at their best. Some brilliant tracks; Walk on the Wild side, Satellite of Love and the song the wife walked down the aisle to (an edited version of) Perfect Day! Very campy and glammy in places which fits the era. A low 4 - just because it isn't the Velvets!
The Beach Boys
3/5
Not listened to it in years. A couple of classics; Feeling Flows and Surf's Up. Not a masterpiece like Pet Sounds, but still good. A high 3.
Beyoncé
1/5
Supposedly a groundbreaking album, sounds a bit run of the mill. A particular lowlight of the album is shown by her ignorance of the Working world from her privileged high pedestal with 'working 9 to 5 just to stay alive' just about acceptable for Dolly in the 70's but in the 21st century? Out of touch and overrated rubbish. I read that she had a team of writers and producers living with her for a month - I pity their greed and sychophantic attitude for prostrating/prostituting themselves for this person. Apple's review describes 'Beyonce's willingness to explore music's edges', well if she had done a collaboration with Gibby Haynes I'd believe she had. Yes it's a bit different to full on pop music of her past albums (I guess? Only heard a couple of tracks) but really nothing special. For her ideas 1, for her arrogance? Minus 1000,000.
Silver Jews
2/5
Interesting alternative country sound. Certainly ain't Dolly Parton! Even though I don't normally do Country, I quite liked it. Best tracks; Slow Education, Transylvania Blues and Tennesse. A middle of the road 2.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Not listened to it before, apart from the famous track. Really enjoyed it, I could hear their influence on a couple of the bands I listen to. When the Levee Breaks is the second best track, only beaten by H to S - a low 4.
Arcade Fire
3/5
It was pretty good, but I prefer The Suburbs. 3
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
1/5
Pleasant enough, I used to like a bit of World Music of the early 90's, but I'm sure I've heard this before - in the many Indian Restaurants I've been to. I'm sure the bloke is a master of his craft, I'd only play it again if I had an Indian themed dinner party (never going to happen) a high 1 as it was ok.
Massive Attack
3/5
Not listened to it all the way through in years. Unfinished Sympathy is still the best track on the album. 3.
Marianne Faithfull
3/5
Interesting album, I was aware of her 1960's stuff and her Girl on a Motorcycle film. But was pleasantly surprised by the wrecked voice thing going on here, brought on by too much drugs etc. Surprised I've missed this. On first listen seems a bit samey in places, but will give this a few listens in future. 3
B.B. King
1/5
Not my thing at all. In my head his legacy was tarnished with that dreadful collaboration with U2. However, this live album certainly shows how good a performer he was in his prime. But still just a 1
Derek & The Dominos
3/5
Some great tunes here, absolutely blistering guitars in places! haven't listened to this since the 1980's when my dad used to play it. Standout tracks; Little Wing and obviously Layla. A high 3
Public Enemy
2/5
Loved Being the Noise back in the day, the rest? Ok in places. A low 2
The Who
4/5
Great album, the spine chilling Behind Blue Eyes is such a beautiful/ugly song and probably their best. The rest is excellent too. A low 4.
The Modern Lovers
4/5
Yet another album I haven't listen to since the early 1990's. I had forgotten how good and influential it is, with its proto punk feel. Also you can hear the influence of the Velvets instrumentally and the Stooges vocally on the record. Standout tracks; Pablo Picasso, Hospital, Someone I Cared About. However I was never a fan of Roadrunner. Gets low 4
Nas
1/5
Naa if only I could I'd give it 0. No redeeming features at all.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
I made it through the whole thing. As it was 1956 Sinatra and not Bublé from 2006, it does make a difference (but not much!) However all the songs sounded similar, same pace, and very little variation in swing style. Pleasant, but boring. I suppose to modern ears. But I'll give it a 2 for his voice and the musicianship for the band. NB got better with a second listen when Charlie got in, due to more familiarity with the songs. Still a 2 though.
The Beau Brummels
2/5
Interesting psychedelic record by a band I've not listened to. A very 'west coast' sound which isn't a bad thing, but tinged with a bit of folk. Some reasonable moments such as Painters of Women, Triangle, Wolf of Velvet Fortune. Was expecting more, it might come with further listens if I can be bothered. Probably deserves more than a 2, but that's all it's getting at the moment!
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Some big songs on this LP. Again reminds me of sitting in the living room on the late 70's with my parents. Bridge, El Condor Pasa, Cecilia and The Boxer the obvious highlights. Was never a big fan of them, but their songwriting is top notch. Let down by some of the slower folkier stuff such as Song For The Asking. A low 4 or a high 3? See how I feel in the morning 😂.
John Coltrane
3/5
Very interesting, I've always wanted to listen to this! As jazz goes, it is on the more palatable end for me. Quite enjoyed it and well worth either a high 2 or a low 3.
Stevie Wonder
1/5
Nope! Didn't do it for me at all 1
Talking Heads
3/5
Interesting album, which I have been aware of ever since I was 9 years old. I remember the lyrics and vocal style on Once In a Lifetime used to scare me as a kid 😂 never really listened to much by them over the years, however, it must have been one of the earliest western albums inspired by Afrobeats, I'll definitely have a few more listens, but really loved The Overload especially. A high 3
Dr. Dre
2/5
Damn nigga or is that damn mutha fuckin Nigga? Dreadfull self indulgent lyrics which shows the double standards in our society. Musically reasonably good for a rap or hip hop (don't know the difference and don't really give a mutha fucking shite). Due to having something about it and it's influence on the rest of the effluence that followed it, I'll give it a low 2.
3/5
Saw this lot live a few years ago and were pretty good. Also I'll have to admit to owning this too. I do prefer Nu Metal to proper(?) metal as there are more layers to the sound than your standard boring Metallica et al. One you get past the first few songs, especially the piss take Hot Dog, it gets much better. My Way, Rollin, Take a Look Around and I'll Be Ok, Boiler are really good. However I can't for the life of me work out why this album is on this list! (It appears later ed's of the book thought the same 😂) a high 3 anyway.
Motörhead
4/5
The fact that Lemmy and co didn't class themselves as Heavy Metal, but thought of themselves as just Rock N' Roll, is a bonus for me, as that might have penalised the score 😂. Don't think I've heard anything except for the title track Ace of Spades, you can feel the energy that they must have put into their live shows, in a different life I could have been into them. (We are) The Road Crew and Fire Fire are excellent for their use of wah wah, a winner for me. 5 out of 5 for amphetamine consumption while recording and performing the album. However I'll give it a high 3 or a low 4 for its originality (at the time) and that I actually quite enjoyed listening to it.
Sex Pistols
5/5
Go back to being a small boy in the 1970's, with mum taking my brother and I to Bedford - Scrawled on Flitwick railway bridge is a 'Sex Pistols' graffito. So my brother asks mum what that means. She says they are a rude and awful band! Fast forward 10 years, which in that time we had been given their first 3 singles by my uncle, had fallen in love with this rude and awful band. The B sides were good too, which included a cover of 'No Fun' but not included on the album. Enough waffle, although simplistic musically, the energy carries the songs. Nevertheless, the singles are iconic, but probably my favourite track is Submission. A 5 all day long.
Green Day
4/5
Very entertaing album from the pop punk trio. Was quite refreshing, to hear a band daring to make punk sound happy and without politics etc. Liked it back in the day,, still like it now. It gets a 4 for me!
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
3/5
Never heard of this lot, as I'm not knowledgeable of the early 70's era. Ain't nothing like a gang bang to blow away the blues. Need I say more? Glam meets Prog and trips over proto-punk. Heard a lot worse! I can see why Nick Cave liked them so much. When I got to Giddy Up a Ding Dong it sounds almost like Chas N' Dave meets Shakin Stevens, not good at all. Next was 'Next' what rhymes with fear? Gonorrhea! Words were beginning to fail me at this point... but thank god for Vambo Marble Eye to save the day with just sleazy guitars and also the ballad-like intro of 'Last of the Teenage Idols' which brings back a bit of sanity 😂 A very interesting album indeed! I MIGHT give it another listen when I have nothing else to do at all... I'll sleep on it and decide if it's a low 2 or a high 3.
Fleetwood Mac
1/5
As a band responsible for a couple of the my most hated albums of all time, I thought I'd give it a go. Daunted by it being a double album too. On the plus side according to the write up it was influenced by post punk. If you like post punk sounding like Fleetwood Mac then this is your bag. Unfortunately it isn't either. Certainly reined in some of the elements that make me want to vomit. So due to the fact it is far superior to Rumours because of the above. Edit, still sitting here after what feels like 32 hours and the tedium of this record is really starting to piss me off, so scratch my previous attempt at praise or appreciation of their collective talents blah blah blah. It's getting a low 1 just because it isn't Rumours.
Rush
2/5
Not listened to too much prog before, did
this have a hand in the influence of 1980's soft rock? It was pleasant enough and melodic, not sure about the lyrics, but a thing of its time I suppose. Best track was Tears. Deserves a 2 for not being Tangerine Dream.
Sarah Vaughan
1/5
Pleasant enough, a nice midnight dinner party wind down album. As said before I don't have dinner parties and if I did it wouldn't go on that late nowadays, so probably won't listen to it ever again. The most interesting part was where something fell over (a band member?), which generated a fit of laughter from the audience and from the Vaughan lady too. Just a middle of the road 1
Neil Young
1/5
I sometimes tell myself I should listen to more Neil Young as I'm sure he will be right up my street. However the reality of this wish is like the Three Billygoats Gruff, this one didn't do it for me. A tinge of country, way too much harmonica - they should be banned and only used in special circumstances. There were a couple of track that piqued my interest, but on the whole, not as good as Harvest and do wonder why it is on this list. Just a high 1.
Nightmares On Wax
2/5
Harmless chill out music after several joints I'd imagine. But I gave up smoking normal ciggies 2 years ago this month, and gave up joints in the early 90's as always threw up after as they never agreed with me, so never quite reached that the chill out point of cannabis related tranquility, to appreciate a lot of this sort of stuff. But nice background music while I went through old paperwork for chucking out. In other words this album just drifted along and over my head without really entering it, but I'll give it a low 2 for the relaxation. (Glad I didn't listen to the deluxe version or I might have died of a sofa chill out related deep vein thrombosis).
The Smiths
5/5
For starters, we all know Morrissey is a bit of a dick, but, who cares? - a great album. Contains some of my fave Smith songs especially tracks 5 - 9. Love the raucous opener of TQID, the upbeat 'Frankly', then closely followed by a nice morose pair of tunes. Then the songs just take off, and the song along (for me) starts. 'Cemetery Gates', another whimsical song of death with a lovely tune. 'Bigmouth'? One of their finest, the three musicians just nailing the rush of the whole song with Morrissey nearly at his finest. 'The Boy with the Thorn'.. just beautiful, I can sing it all, word and pitch perfect, even the moans at the end! (In my head it is, so there). The bouncy 'Tutu', who ever said The Smith's are depressing?? Ah, then the next song 'Light' a wondrous sad depressing, but still upbeat tune, (leave it alone John Lewis!). To finish with 'Some Girls' the fine balance between sad and whimsical, tunefully strong, not Morrissey's finest effort lyrically, but does highlight the bands talents.
Great distinctive vocals, one of the most recognisable and brilliant singers ever, one of the tightest rhythm sections England ever produced with Rourke and Joyce. As for Marr? Up there with the best ever guitarists who never had to resort to stupid solos to carry a song. As a trio of musicians, they were able to produce such a uplifting as well as some of the most depressing songs ever made, add Mozza to the mix and who knows how the irony of happy Vs sad would go? On this album I think they had mastered this style and probably their most consistent LP in their back catalogue.
There's always someone somewhere with a big nose who knows that this was always going to be a middle 5.
Milton Nascimento
5/5
What an interesting record. So many twists and changes of direction in most of the songs. It's a strange mixture of pop, classical, psychedelia and whatever the Brazilian version of flamenco is, but it works for me and absolutely loved it. One of the best things I've heard this year. A low 5.
Elton John
1/5
Great songwriting, great musicianship, great everything. Just not for me, anyone with a career that long at the top deserves a bit of grudging praise. I knew the first track, the rest? Nope. It was harmless and not very inspiring, so I do wonder why this album was chosen over some more famous ones. Unfortunately I now have a fucked up earworm which goes 'Im a tiny dancer, I dance all for money...' it's beginning to weird me out, so someone please put me down. Gets a middle of the road 1 because I expected a bit more than what I got in the way of his big songs.
The Temptations
3/5
Excellent album, only knew the big famous track on it, but the rest was pretty solid. Great singing and the band behind them were bang on, with the funky wah wah laced guitar work and the slightly staccato rhythms. Yeah, that's how to do the 'N' word properly Dr Dre, no need to over egg it to the point of stupidity. You've gotta love a bit of the Temptations on a nice sunny day. A middle 3
Gene Clark
1/5
It was not my thing, it's what I expect early 70's American stuff to sound like in my head. All Bob Dylan tinged and generally uninteresting. Way too much harmonica. However I did have a strange dream last night where I imagined I was listening to today's album, this project is obviously playing on my subconscious mind, in it some odd solo American Saxophonist playing The Joshua Tree in its entirety, so I suppose this album is actually better than what my dream/nightmare was by a small margin. 1
Cowboy Junkies
2/5
I remember reading about this band and this album in the NME back in 1988 and I was equally intrigued and put off by the 'alternative country' tag given to it. After all these years I've finally listened to it. AND.... it was okish. I don't mind a bit of slow, but it was pretty much the same all the way through, but not in a disastrously boring way. I assume the compiler of the book is an avid lover of the harmonica with two albums on the trot featuring this noise, but I don't want to keep labouring a point regarding my lack of love for this object. Quite liked the use of the accordion and guitar work with a pleasant enough vocal. Sweet Jane was by far the better cover than the other cringey effort. A middle 2
Grizzly Bear
2/5
Interesting album by a band I'd heard of and remember 'Two Weeks' when it came out. A nice mellow sound, it is commercial poppy sounding but experimental enough not to be too mainstream. Best tracks; Dory, Ready, able. It gets a high 2.
Little Simz
3/5
I first came across little Simz at All Points East near enough opening the proceedings in 2019 and thought she had a bit of energy about her. Sounded better (or just more agreeable?) than most of this genres' offerings. Since then she's more famous apparently and well regarded. Poor girl has a chip on her shoulder about being a woman in a male dominated genre, ah fair enough, you gotta write about something and nout wrong with dissin ya mandem! Full of tunes and a nice mellow vibe, luckily I don't hang on lyrics, and appreciate homogeny of a work, so all good with this take on Rap/ Hip hop. 3
Herbie Hancock
3/5
Didn't know what to expect when I started this up at 5am but I really enjoyed this very interesting take on Jazz. The first two songs were the best out of the four. Loved the looping hythm section and all the 70's electronics going on. The intro to to Watermellon Man was great in a very peculiar way. On the whole I'd listen to this again and have already. Would have got a 4 if it wasn't for the last song, so a high 3.
Hüsker Dü
4/5
And the world thought Green Day invented pop- punk? Husker Du were a band I used to listen in my youth, but for some reason I haven't returned to them like other US hardcore/ punk bands. However, it still sounds fresh. But as they are a band I've not listened to in more years than I care to think about, it gets just a low 4
Billie Holiday
1/5
I agree with Iain I'm sure this is what he is thinking, it was Christmas music for old people. When I'm really old I'll listen to this at Christmas. Not her best at all, she sounded like she was about to die. Turns out after checking, she probably was... Shame, but not her best work and not one for the epitaph. Would give it 0.
Circle Jerks
3/5
I used to listen to Black Flag back in my younger days, which was Morris's first band, loved The Dead Kennedys as well, but never came across this lot. Right at the beginnings of what became known as US Hardcore, a genre which got wilder and more experimental with every passing year. However it has to start somewhere, so speed punk it is. Very well structured, tight playing and what I'd expect from California in the early 1980s. Very enjoyable and will listen again. A middle 3.
James Brown
1/5
Feel dreadful with a cold. Needed something neutral. This was neutral, but shit in a nice way. So I'll just give it a 1.
Thin Lizzy
3/5
Better than I expected. Gary Moore's guitar playing was excellent. However a few songs did seem to start with similar intros and thought The Boys Are Back In Town was beginning about 3 times before it actually played. Enjoyable, will I revisit? Maybe. A low 3 for destroying my preconceptions of this band. Thank god there was no Whisky in the Jar (or Jarrow if you're that bloke from Metallica) or it would have been a lot lower
Deep Purple
3/5
Pleasantly surprised by this. The ethos of turn everything up is noticeable and works in a not unpleasant way. Not a prog or a metal fan, but this early 70s stuff is growing on me. I think I might prefer this to Led Zep? The guitar work is very intricate in places and do like the heavy sound when Blackmore isn't fiddling around. Not sure about the keyboard stuff, but is a product of the time with the tech available. But generally very good. A high 3.
Pere Ubu
3/5
A classic art-punk record which I listened to back in the late 80's, because a few friends used to be into them. Not revisited this since mind you. Not a lot like it back then or even now. Seems odd listening to it in perfect clarity instead of what was probably a very old worn LP! It's pretty good, best tracks; Street Waves, Real World . It gets a 3.
Badly Drawn Boy
4/5
Woolly hatted bloke! Whatever happened to him? I knew the singles, but was never interested in listening to his album at the time. It's pleasant enough, with enough going on in his arrangements for me to keep listening to it (The first impressions at the beginning). 'Another Pearl' and 'This Song' (loved the tremelo), 'Cause a Rockslide' and didnt mund the poppy 'Disillusion are really good songs. It actually gets better and better as the album progresses. I do think the most famous song on the album 'Once Around the Block' is one of the weakest. The last song could have been dispensed with though, if it had been slimmed down by 5 tracks it could have got a 5, but this
was the CD era where an album could be as long as you wanted! Gets a 4 for being A) really good and B) not what I was expecting.
Van Halen
1/5
I was expecting to get shingles listening to this. Pleased when I didn't. Musically not my thing, and was mildly impressed with Ed's guitar playing. A high 1
Franz Ferdinand
5/5
Easily one of my favourite albums of the Noughties, and loved the Post Punk revival going on when this came out. All the tracks on this album are excellent, not one bad one and flows so well, standout track 'This Fire'. The three singles are outstanding, which brought this lot to my attention at the time which made me buy it when I heard 'Take Me Out') then it was followed 'the Dark of the Matinee' and 'Micheal'. Tight, melodic and with a slight humourousnes/ Edginess about it, like they were engoying themselves when they recorded it. It's the party album Joy Division didn't write. 5
Skepta
1/5
Mmm. My kids love it. I don't. Mandem, fam, Fireman Sam... Musically it was basic but ok. However, the vocals, lyrics and the phone calls? Nope. A low 1, not a complete 0.
Dead Kennedys
2/5
Another from my teens when I know no better! Good old US Punk. 'California Uber Alles' and 'Holiday in Cambodia' always the standout tracks. Loved Jello Biafra's vocal delivery. Haven't listened probably since my teens, as moved onto more mature listening experiences, nice to revisit and enjoy. So a gets a high 2
Curtis Mayfield
1/5
After the first song, which I liked, I had high hopes for this, but it just plodded along. And didn't go anywhere in particular. Shame as he does have a nice voice and don't mind some of his stuff. Surely the albums 'Curtis' or 'Superfly' would have been better choices? Just a 1 for this. Sorry Curtis and I hope the lighting engineer is still feeling guilty.
Radiohead
5/5
According to the NME, the 2nd best album of 1997, which they got right! However this has probably overshadowed their original no 1 of the year choice ever since. It is a straight up
mid 5, even before I listen to it today. Only one weak track which is 'Fitter Hapoier' and also written in tiny letters on the track listing on the record. I often wonder why that is? Did they think it was crap too? Apart from that, the album is virtually flawless in its sometimes beautiful but mostly melancholy way. Such great experimentalism going on with these songs, the guitar playing is abstract and a shining example of how to get the most out of a guitar. Very few guitarists are as good as Jonny Greenwood, bringing raw emotions of angst and madness into their playing. Along with Yorke's vocal delivery, builds a fucked up and exhilarating ride into the depths of their souls. Sorry to sound wanky, but it is a classic which as far as I'm aware, they never topped and have I listened to a Radiohead album since this one? Not properly, as they never got close to perfection as this again.
Fleet Foxes
2/5
Released on Sub Pop in the US and Bella Union over here, what's not to like? Dug out my copy I bought a few years ago from a charity shop and gave it a proper listen. Not your 'normal' Sub Pop band, but I suppose times change. It was ok. Best debut album of all time? No. It drifted along in a pleasant enough way, nothing particularly stand out really. So gets a mid 2.
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
Great band, who apparently had a fair bit of hype around them, due to bringing up kids etc I missed it all, so I was a bit late to the party. Didn't listen to anything by them until 'American Dream'. So had to delve into their back catalogue and this was an absolute stunner of an alternative dance LP. Great dancy tunes with a happy vibe and a tinge of humour. Standout tracks; 'North American Scum', 'Someone Great'. But the rest of the album is really solid stuff. A band at the top of their game a high 4
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
What a journey NC has had over the years, I'm amazed he hasn't done himself in especially with his doom laden tendency to write about the darker side of life. Dipped in and out of his career over the decades and this one passed me by. Nice to finally have a listen, it does seem to be a break away from their noise driven earlier material. So his muse was the break up with PJ Harvey? Not surprised its sad and anguished as it is, some beautiful arrangements and melodies on these piano led songs. Sometimes you have to be in the right mood for NC and luckily for him I was in a chilled out mood. So he gets a high 3 for this effort.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
4/5
Even if you hadn't seen the 'with' you'd have guessed it was Eric Clapton playing guitar, and then would have said 1970 or later. But 1966?? I never knew the bloke was so far ahead of his time in this style of playing. Let's not take anything away from John Mayal and the others, but it does seem like a showcase of EC's talents. Loved the first 4 tracks and I did start to get a bit lost during the drum solo in 'What I'd Say' but it can't be all about Clapton! Starts to get a bit more bluesy with the Harmonica by 'Parchman Farm' but it isn't offensive in the way many blues musicians play. 'Have You Heard' could be the best track with its soft organ (mmm...), trumpet all held together with Clapton's guitar and great vocals by Mayall. Certainly a taste of what the world was going to get! The last few were seriously hardcore classic blues, not my thing, but made pleasant enough by Clapton's playing. After listening to this, with some of Clapton's earliest recordings, I can see why my dad loved him in the same way I do with my guitarists/ musicians I grew up with and have stuck with over the years. Enjoyed it more than I thought I would, so gets a low 4, mainly for the surprise of enjoying most of it.
Kanye West
4/5
Oh my, 3rd song in and I almost feel like dancing. This never happens and it isn't going to, but the feeling is there - amazingly, so far so good. After seeing the accolades chucked at this LP on Wikipedia, as usual I was highly skeptical due to its genre and writer/performer, it is actually really good. Maybe a bit overlong, but it is a part of the CD generation, so can be forgiven for that. Due to my preconceptions of the genre, it is let down by Mr West's vocal performances,.that is the nature of the genre unfortunately, but musically and it's production is, as far as my limited knowledge goes, it seems visionary in the rap/ hip hop genre. I'm actually surprised at myself as I'd written this man off as I complete moron who is out of touch with reality. Turns out it could be media twisting and spinning, the bloke has talent after all. Maybe there is something laced in my tea which unbeknown to me, some mouldy mushroom fell into it and I'll wake up and it was just a bad dream. A low 4.
The Killers
3/5
Back in 2004 I thought the Killers were really good, with a bright future ahead, another band seemily a part of the post punk charge, albeit through a glitzy Las Vegas lens. However if I could go back to 2004, without the hindsight of the rest of their back catalogue, i wouldn't feel beholden to give it a low score, due to the rubbish they have managed to throw out since. Anyway, it is a solid enough album with a bit of an edge to it. The opener is one of the best tracks non single tracks on it, then leads into the 4 singles, the strongest being 'Somebody Told Me', at that point I'm hooked. The rest of the album trundles on nicely, but doesn't reach the heights of the first 5 tracks, maybe with the exception of 'Midnight Show' which is a great tune. After all these years since I last gave it a spin, and discounting my bias against Brandon Flowers, I think it's a high 3/ low 4 as it is a good debut.
Taylor Swift
2/5
Never listened to Swifty before, I was aware of the 'I hate you so much and we aren't ever getting back together song' and the 'shakey song' , but that was about it. However I'll give an artist I've steadfastly tried to avoid a listen as it's on here. I see the words 'Indie', 'alternative' and 'experimental' mentioned for this album, the latter two words intrigued me, as I thought she was just some cowgirl with boyfriend issues. I was annoyed with the first word, I'm aware she is a stupid-multi platinum selling artist which makes a mockery of the word in my opinion, but that aside, and definitely no bias at all, I'd give it a listen.
Liked the first track 'Willow', a nice vibe and seemed like the cowgirl had been locked in rehab or something. Definitely the highlight and I had high hopes of enjoying this. The rest was pleasant enough, although a bit wordy (I didn't give a shit about what she was singing about - probably a few more blokes who didn't come up to scratch). 'Experimental'? Probably for her I guess, as I didn't get too much of a smell of sweaty chaps while listening to it, so a bit of a departure from her country and mainstream pop roots (I take that back as the smell came through loud and strong on track 11). 'Alternative'? Maybe, compared to listening to a whole album of Haim I suppose. Pleasant enough, but plain and ordinary and no bile. 3/4 through it and just wished to pace would change... A mid 2.
Emmylou Harris
1/5
After the warm up act of Swift yesterday, we have a real cowgirl! I feel like doing lines in the Grand Ole Opry or whatever they do in there.... She's got a nice enough voice, backed up with clichéd Country slide guitar, totally inoffensive, what's not to like? And that is where the problem is, it's just not totally terrible to describe it as complete horse shit, that's the smell I was looking for! But it is backing up my lifestyle choice to avoid country music as much as possible, as it is the antithesis of that other ghastly US led genre Rap which is just offensive. If these Yankees could find a balance and someone write an offensive Country album, I might be happier. Now cringing in my living room to 'Bottle Let Me Down' - did I mention anything about cliche? I did think 'For No One' was really beautifully put together, so not a complete waste of 40 minutes. Im guessing there is a factory in Nashville which must churn out these artists like plastic X Factor people as they all sound the same. A really really high 1.
Fugazi
5/5
I liked this when it came out, but never saw them live unlike many of their contemporaries. Back then, this would have been lumped into the UK music presses catch all 'U.S. Hardcore' moniker, and many of the bands from the 1980's/90's have now either mainly categorised in 'noise rock' (more experimental with chord/dischord and song structures) or 'hardcore' (like thrash punk) however, like all over analysing of the past some years later, it's all splintered further, like 'Grunge' which is a stylistic offshoot of these two genres, so I get the 'post hardcore' tag this band have been given. Anyway, now that has cleared up my understanding of the modern terms these bands are now linked to, this album is excellent! The title track and 'Shut the Door' are good examples of the mix of 'noise rock' and p'ost hardcore' with their discordant, start/stop, fast/slow style. Whereas 'Merchandise' leans more to 'Hardcore' Standout tracks: Repeater, Blueprint, Styrofoam, Shut the Door. Now I've rediscovered Fugazi, they will be payed more often now. A low 5.
Duran Duran
5/5
1982, what a year for music! The year two of my top ten albums of all time were from, which I discovered 5 years later, it must have been some sort of golden age of great music (well, all the 1980's were, there wasn't a fallow year). Back in '82, a very young me used to look at bands like Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet with disdain, pop pretty boys with no talent. Fast forward to 1990 and for some weird reason I bought 'Decade' their singles compilation, at the time (and still do) I thought this is really really good. Never listened to an album proper by them all the way through, so I had in my head the preconception, singles = bangers, rest = fillers. How wrong I was! No fillers, all bangers, any song off that album could have been a single. However I remember wearing a deep groove into 'decade' playing 'Save a Prayer' too many times than a male teenager should.The playing by all members is astounding, the bass player Taylor is truly exceptional (he had a lot of competition back then, with Hook, Forbes and Gallup, just to name a few). The weakest link has always been Mr Le Bon, but what he has lacked in the vocal department, he made up with charisma and sometimes that is all you need. A low 5. Will be listening to this again and for once the wife won't mind.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
Didn't know what to expect from this, but I liked the sound of psychedelic funk/soul in the write up. Turns out I did like it, very much so. Sly Stone and his family did good! The standout tracks for me were 'Stand', 'Dont Call Me Nigger, Whitey' and especially, 'Sex Machine' as I was expecting that James Brown song! Loved the fucked up vocals on it too, when the guitar work gets going it just takes off! The album as a whole has a great groove, super funky psychedelic guitar and such a chilled out vibe. On my second listen and may want to give it a 5 if I do get to listen to it regularly, but will suffice with a mid 4 as I can't keep giving out 5's to every Tom, Dick and Harry.
Morrissey
3/5
Morrissey! He's a pillock, but I love him. At the time I thought he'd given up making music, then this appears, or so it felt like at the time. Loved 'first of the gang to die', but don't remember the other singles apart from 'Irish Blood English Heart'. After listening to this in full, it's not up to The Smiths standard at all, and never will be. I agree with his sentiments on track 1, but not his execution. The rest of the album is ok, pleasant enough. Not his best by a long way, but good enough for a solid 3.
Slade
2/5
Oh dear, two songs in and it's as bad as I thought it would be. I tried so hard to turn my unconscious bias off in my head, but it turned out impossible. I've never worked out if they were supposed to be serious or not, well they are Brummies, and it's difficult to take them serious at the best of times. This isn't helped by the deliberately bad spelling of the song titles. However, then the third song started and liked it to a certain degree. Probably as it wasn't as cringey as the previous two efforts. Fourth track in, and still out of the cringe zone and vaguely enjoyable (Can I hear sleigh bells in the background?). Are they Glam rock or just rock? Too many questions which I don't really care too much about to answer. Track five and enjoying certain bits of the song. Dave's guitar playing is good, Noddy needs to move to Toyland. Six. Mmm... Na. Seven. Gudbuy Gudbuy (was that a 70's discount store?) They nailed it instrumentally, poor Noddy... pretty good though! Eight. Crazee stuff. Their most famous non-Christmas song? It's probably the best fast paced song on the album. Nine, back to slower pace, which works better in my opinion. Finally ten, bleugh, back to square one like the beginning of the album. A band far from fashionable to even admit listening to, but liking it? Giving it another play in the future? Again, too many difficult questions to answer. It's a low 2 as there was some promise. And no, I won't be listening to it ever again, life is too precious to waste.
Kings of Leon
4/5
Ah the Follow-through brothers, what is it with Americans and their family bands? This has always been a put off for me for giving these a chance. The main issue with this lot is with Celeb's odd vocal style, but why do I? Probably unconscious bias again, being Americans and a sniff of inbreeding possibly? Maybe, maybe not. That said, I did come across them with 'The Bucket' when it was released, which I thought was pretty good at the time, then promptly forgot/ deliberately ignored them until they forced themselves into the collective public consciousness with that hideous 'Sex on Fire' song. On occasion I've wondered why they made it in the UK before the US, and after a brief enquiry, I may know now - they are hardly your average Nashville product. So definitely No Grand Ole Opry for this lot, must have made them a right buch of outcasts in Nashville, so im guessing Caleb chose a singing style far removed from your average musically inclined resident of that god-forsaken city. Discovering this fact has now made me much more amenable towards them! Anyway, had this in my collection for an eternity and now a have a reason to dig it out. It's actually pretty good and I can appreciate their talent as musicians, if not singers. It's a solid album, the best being; 'The Bucket', 'Pistol of Fire' and 'Rozz' and the garage rock sounding 'Four Kicks'. It's the sound of four brothers having a great time before the pressures of fame forced them to be more radio friendly. I really don't know what to give this in my enlightened state, this being a true benefit to doing this albums challenge. A generous low 4.
Funkadelic
4/5
The lazy uncultured part of me after the first track wanted to say ' a loopy KC and the Sunshine Band' all whistles and funky shit, but I'm not that crass. I like it, funk and psychedelia mixed together, it works for me. The bands name is a bit lazy, a portmanteau of obviousness. Shame the Gallagher brothers weren't as lazy and had named themselves 'BeatlesBollocks', then they might have got the recognition they deserved. Anyway, these songs are looong, this is not a problem, they could have benefitted by being trimmed down by a minute or two maybe. Track 2 was great with its off beat rhythms. The 3rd was excellent. The 4th sounded like too many people wanting to share one microphone and arguing over it, which detracted from the very good instrumentals going on behind the ruckus over the mike. Track 5, I'll have a Babysham! (Persons of a certain age will understand) nice lazy groove and at least all the vocalists had sorted out their argument on the previous song and decided to harmonise. Track 6 was again bordering on a KC moment, but infinitely superior, love the big heavy bass! I chose to listen to the bonus tracks, the first seemed like a live jamming session, but the 2nd was proper hard rock funk! Liked that. The others didn't add anything special.
The guitarist/s and rhythm section are so good, tighter than Clintons spandex pants im sure. There is a lot going on in these songs, too much to take in on a first listen, bit with repeated plays it will probably be fantastic. However this is not what I would choose to listen to of an evening, not sure when I'll listen to it again (but I intend to), as the songs don't lend themselves well to a dinner party setting (oh yes they don't happen). A low 4, in another universe George and I could have been good LSD buddies.
Miles Davis
3/5
If I had been born 20 years earlier, I would have been a big fan of this and would have had a lovely time playing this to my friends at dinner parties (I would have have them as I would have been a different person). However I wasn't and don't (have dinner parties that is, but hopefully I have friends). Although i have been aware of Miles Davis' Jazz rock, I've only just listened to this for the first time, and first impressions were very favourable. For this first time, a cold baptism of over 90 minutes of exceptionally long songs could have been over quicker than a real cold immersive baptism if I hadn't have had to drive to Leighton Buzzard and back with nothing else to listen to. So I stuck with it and am glad I did. Don't really care what the songs were called, it seemed a bit over long in places, but that is free-form Jazz for you. Did they know how long it was going to be before performing? Probably not. Loved the way the band just got on with creating something from what was probably an initial idea and just taking these songs wherever they felt going in the moment. The only track I didn't enjoy was the chicken and dog noise song at the end (that was my interpretation anyway). I'd like to listen to it again sometime in the future or maybe the odd track now and again. A low to mid 3.
The Doors
5/5
The Doors! One of the best late Sixties U.S. West Coast bands. You can spot them a mile off, just like East Coast bands of any era, you can just tell what coast from the whole sound and attitude. Some big songs on here! 'Break on Through', 'Light my Fire' and 'The End'. Another album I haven't listened to since my formative years. And why not? I have not a clue, but I should have done. Maybe its the ghost of Val Kilmer (is he dead?) who caused the issue maybe, great film though. Got to love Ray Manzerek's keyboard playing, especially on the extended version of 'Light my Fire'. Jim Morrison, what a front man! A band I'd loved to have seen live, so I suppose Mr Kilmer was the nearest I got to it.. The rest of the album is class, the nearest they got to a duff one was 'Alabama Song' but it's still good. I have to give it a low 5, I have no choice as it is excellent. This is why I feel 1-5 stars can be very restricting which can skew ratings as it is quite a distance away from some of my favourite albums of all time.
Hole
4/5
Hole! I bought their debut single on 7" and thought it was great, as is their debut album (Sounds just like Mudhoney). However this is a million miles away from their debut. I know 'Celebrity Skin' which is good for what it is, not so much Grunge or Hardcore, but pop-rock. (Can't beat a good old radio friendly unit shifter, sorry!). Mrs Cobain sounds much more calm and controlled vocally, similaly with the toned down instrumental agression. Also, on the cover, Courtney doesn't look like she's in need of a good scrub for once, in fact quite the opposite. I'm she sure she would have done anything to make this sell by the bucket load, so lets be glad she didnt go too far. Some really good tracks here, such as; 'Use Once and Destroy' and 'Playing Your Song'. Turns out Billy Corgan helped with arrangement of the songs, so glad he didn't supply any vocals. I really don't know whether to give this a 3 or a 4, as I did enjoy it.
Supergrass
5/5
OK I'm not a huge fan of the whole Brit-pop thing, I do still struggle with, what I now perceive as the dumbing down of British creativity and its subsequent surge in popularity. However nothing is that simple, the whole thing was a weird transitional phase for me which I found annoying at the time. More on this subject when certain bands/albums which irked me at the time will surely appear. Supergrass, back then I thought they were fronted by a weird looking monkey man, which was refreshing in itself! I didn't mind their debut, but this was a much more polished, accomplished affair. I don't think there is a bad track on this LP. 'Late in the Day' is probably my favourite Supergrass song, the other singles are quality too. No fillers. A high 4 or low 5.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
Bugger all my notes have disappeared! I thought I would hate it, but I actually quite liked it. There was a lot going on with the instrumentals,, too much to take in on 1 listen. A big change in vibe after the 4th song, more jazzy bits and an up tempo track which took me by surprise. I'd like to give it a 4 if I had time to fully take it un, but for now a mid 3
The Offspring
3/5
Another West Coast band, alongside Green Day which propelled Punk into the mainstream. This lot stay a bit more true to the Punk ethos of the '70's, certainly with the album tracks, such as 'Genocide' and 'killboy Powerhead'. However with the single 'Come Out and Play' unfortunately is the thing that put me off them at the time. Revisiting this band after a very long time and listening to this for the first time, I think I actually prefer this to Green Day, in part to the vocals are better and as stated earlier, sticks to Punk's roots without too much overt 'Pop'. A high 3 for definite. As one of my friends says, if I see it going cheaply, I'll pick up a copy for my aging car's CD player.
The Magnetic Fields
4/5
2 hours and 52 minutes? First impressions: The word 'indulgence' springs to mind, as in both 'self' and 'over'. Started listening to this at work with just the phone speakers and had to stop when the other member of staff came back from lunch and I'm only 15 tracks in. Mr Deep voice is already grating on my shredding nerves. This album is causing me 21st century anxiety problems with the sheer thought of having to trawl through this in one day. When can I fit all in? A couple on the toilet, 15 while cooking, 8 while filling the dishwasher. See? It's causing me to be anxious about this magnus opus, who does he think he is, a modern day Richard Wagner? Music should be enjoyable not a chore. I wouldn't mind it if the material was consistently good, but it is not (the first Volume im judging at the moment). This could be the most stressful musical experience since I saw a band called Deaf Center who supported Slowdive in 2014 and It's not a good feeling. Too long, even if it was fantastic... However, I did think their 2008 LP Distortion was pretty good though. Furthermore, I do like the fact that they break up the potential monotony by having different lead vocalists.
UPDATE: Now onto Vol.2 and stuck in traffic in Ampthill and I've got to say I've now started to break the back of this LLLP. The tracks on this part are much better, maybe due to better speakers? (Headphones, my car isn't advanced and only has a CD player and a clock!) Mr Deep voice has entered my DNA now, like stem cell treatment I'd imagine. Some pretty good tunes here starting with 'My Boy Walks Down the Street' and continues to be of a higher melodic standard until 'Epitaph for my Heart' followed by some interesting experimental violin stuff epitomised by 'I Shatter' which I really liked!
UPDATE: after a shortish break to re-enter the real world, i started Volume 3. 'Underwear' is definitely sleazier than Pulp can manage! Next song 'its a Crime' sounds like Mr Sleazy Marc Almond! It could have only been done on purpose. Then followed by piano drivel. 'I'm sorry I Love You' garage/folk rock. Just by highlighting these few songs at the start of '3, shows their versatility in changing their sound. Like Vol.2, most of Vol.3 is class, is it because of the psycological light at the end of a tunnel effect?
If I carry on writing then this review it will be nearly as long as the bloody album. When it's good it is excellent, but there are to my tastes, quite a few fillers. A nice try at a concept album, very clever, maybe a side or 3 too many. Some could be a 5 star and some a 1 star. I actually think there are more good songs than bad. But like all the best artists, it's not about money, it's about artistic integrity and releasing this in one go shows they have that in spades. I'm giving this a 4 for sheer bloodymindedness of their vision and that its actually good in more places than not.
Arcade Fire
4/5
Solid debut album this from one of Canada's finest, before the fame and media attention Win Butler probably could have done without. A big well rounded sound and quite bombastic in places showing a confidence in their material. Top tracks - 'Neighbourhood (Power Out)', 'Crown of Love', 'Wake Up' and their big single 'Rebellion (Lies)'. Another 4, but a low one.
Justin Timberlake
3/5
Should I admit that I like Mr Timberlake? 'Cry me a River' is one hell of a song, I adored it when it came out 20 years ago. Back then I downloaded it from some dodgy Internet source and played it far too many times, loved the rhythm and his voice, although very high, he can hold a tune as well as put feeling into it when he needs to. The other great single - 'Like I love You'- how to make an acoustic guitar sound good! However, I've never listened to this album in its entirety, the album tracks seem like run-of-the-mill R&B stuff, but as the album progresses it gets better. Currently listening to this on a nice relaxing Eurostar journey (after a shit alfresco Weatherspoon’s dinner on a rainy night in December with a few glasses of wine), even the really overt R&Bness of some of these songs are leaving me feeling chilled (in a completely different way to my dinner). I'd forgot 'Rock Your Body' was on this too, simply a great tune to think about getting up to dance to. For the singles alone it's a 5, the rest is not too shabby, especially 'Last Night' and wow! Love the JJ collaboration '(And She Said) Take Me Now' a definite highlight, surprised that wasn't a single. 'Right For Me' excellent vibe and rhythms sounds so simple and complex at the same time. A high 3, or can I give it a 4? Its a 3, because the last song didn't do it for me, a piano ballad doesn’t seem to be a good fit.
Pixies
5/5
10/10, a straight high 5. Shall I just put that? No, sorry. This is in my top 50 albums of all time (I must make a definitive list). I saw them live touring this album, a great experience. I still have this on vinyl and know it off by heart. Quiet quiet loud loud angry screechy quiet. Best tracks - all of them. I've always said that music has to elicit and make one feel emotion, this one does. The joy of 'Debaser', the anger of 'Tame, the melancholy of 'This Monkeys Gone To Heaven'' all standout tracks, my other two standouts being 'I Bleed', with the rumble of Kim Deal's bass which eventually leads into where it sounds like Black Francis trying to make the guitar bleed as well as his fingers. 'No.13 Baby' has a wonderful change in tempo and mood. On the quirky 4AD label which has had a fantastic rosta of bands over the years. Thank you John Peel for playing tracks from their previous album in 1988, it was another life changing moment which led to lots of different bands I love.
Beatles
4/5
Never listened to this in one go before, but knew all the tracks. This the problem with some Beatles albums you know the songs but forget which albums they are on. Like most Beatles albums for most, the cover art transcends the actual music. Makes a change to concentrate while listening to them with fresh ears so to speak. Away from the famous standards, 'I Want You (Shes so Heavy) and 'You Never Gave Me Your Money' were the ones that grabbed me the most. The songs on this are all excellent, Paul's bass playing is a standout for me, they have had so many creative trailblazing peaks throughout their career and this is no different. It would be wrong to give this a 5, as I've never bothered to listen to this properly before, and rude to give it less than a 4 as it is so good.
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
Apparently, MSP sought out Mike Hedges, who has been responsible for some of the finest music ever made to produce this album. Surely nothing can go wrong? Luckily for all involved, nothing does. At the time of release, they had never really been a band I got overly excited about. After what seems an eternity, revisiting this on a decent set up in my music room, it sounds bloody good for what it is - a good comercial indie rock blaster. Even the album tracks are quality. Maybe they benefitted by the shock departure of Ritchie Edwards, who either did jump of a bridge or became an ice cream seller in Aberystwyth - who knows? This is getting difficult again in grading, it gets a high 3
A Tribe Called Quest
2/5
Although its not my thing, it makes a change to listen to an old school Rap album without excessive swearing, talk of drugs, guns, murder, rape, niggas, etc. A time before the days of mandems and all the bollocks they murmur about nowadays. Quite refreshing! They all sounded like they had a nice time on the record, I did too, for a short while, then the first song finished. Musically better than most, so I'll give it a low 2.
Dizzee Rascal
2/5
I should hate this. Its Grime apparently. I have no idea what he is saying. Its probably a blessing. I like the arythmic beats and the sample arrangements going on in some of these songs such as ' I Luv U' and '2 Far'. The beats on 'Fix Up' are great too. I've heard far worse than this, I wonder if it is because he is British that I don't find it alienating/ irritating? My take out from this is the drum machine and bass patterns going on underneath the rest, which I like and can appreciate. If this is an introduction to Grime, then it isn't a bad one. A mid 2.
Pink Floyd
5/5
Ultimate Dad music, one of the first albums I ever listened to. Not quite forced to listen to it more times than I care to think about, as it was one of the best albums my Dad had out of a very bad bunch. The other one I used to ask to hear was Gustav Holst's Planet suite. Then I grew up and never listened to Dark Side of the Moon again. I can't say the same about Holst, as I have a copy of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying its bad in any way, it's just that I don't need to hear it as I know it well enough. Nice to give it its once a century play since the parents have passed on. Roll on to the 22nd century for the next play! But seriously it is a stone cold classic and deserves nothing less than a 5.
Depeche Mode
3/5
The first DM album I bought at the time of its release. I was so looking forward to it and paid for it out of my 4th ever pay packet from Tesco. After teasing us with 'Strangelove' and the monumentally brilliant 'Never Let Me Down Again', on first listen I was gravely disappointed by it. At 16, I don't think I was ready for the slow pace of most of the album. Being a goth at that time I felt this album would be better than it was, with all its reverb and a darkness to the tone. However I have grown up and fast forward 36 years, I've finally got round to listening to it again. This time round? Better, but still not exciting me as a whole. All the singles are bangers, most of the album tracks are at best good, a couple are just fillers. However 'Pimpf', a track I hated at 16, sounds really good to my old ears now, I wanted it to go on longer. You can hear their sound slowly transforming into what would become 'Violator' three years later. Difficult decision in what to give this, so I'll give it a high 3.
Britney Spears
2/5
Oh baby baby! I bought the single when it came out. Shoot me now or have I just got eclectic tastes? '...Baby One More Time' and 'Born To Make You Happy' are the standouts. 'Soda Pop' is a very low point. The rest just drifts along in a sugary sweet sort of way. So pleased there are no pop-Country songs which I was half expecting, some small blessings. It's not a bad first outing for the trailer trash which done good. A low 2.
Neil Young
1/5
I remember saying I need to listen to more Neil Young. I've changed my mind. I don't want to any more. I was looking forward to hearing the original version of 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart' and was disappointed (check out St Etienne's cover- its great). His vocals hover somewhere between intruiging and god awful. When he was singing 'it's over' I wished it was. Then the only rock out number 'When You Dance..' happened. A reprieve! Especially as 'I Believe In You' was good too. Finishes with a load of country bollocks. It gets a solid mid 1.
Public Enemy
2/5
This was a big album in 1990. Although not my thing, I respected it from a musical and cultural distance. I remember the singles but never had the inclination to listen to any of their albums, but this is a nice hard hitting big beats angry sort of thing which brings on a bit of an emotional response in me. So all good but things are never that black and white are they? This leads directly to my only caveat, which is that I think over the course of the album, they successfully rammed their political and cultural points down my throat - where if this ramming was a literal physical thing, I would now be more like a ring doughnut shape than humanoid. It gets a mid 2, just because it is too much and not enough variation in subject matter.
Paul Simon
3/5
Yet another album labelled 'Folk- rock'.
Shit album cover.
Thought I'd hate this.
I didn’t.
Paul Simon again proves he can write a decent song or 10.
I bet if you gave him a kazoo and a xylophone, he still would create a masterpiece.
I'm not a fan of acoustic guitars, but what did did with it was excellent, plus all the other instruments to back it up worked really well.
A low 3 as I probably won't listen to it again, but it was very good for what it was.
Various Artists
4/5
I bit the bullet and listened to this at 6am after my usual bout of insomnia. So many classic Christmas Standards on here produced by a musical genius. I never realised all these were released on a single album and that Phil Spector was behind them all. What's not to like? Maybe being murdered by said musical genius. A high 4.
a-ha
2/5
It's got better with age. I thought of them at the time as tacky Duran Duran pretty boy wannabes from Norway. They probably were, but there are some great tunes, especially the singles. Wiki describing them as New Wave? No, it's Electro-pop full stop. Made the wife happy playing it, so all good. It gets a high 2 for 'Hunting High and Low' alone, thr rest is a bonus.
Spacemen 3
5/5
Spacemen 3 are arguably my favourite band. This, their 3rd album is seen as their peak creative output by critics, but I think their best is their second, 'The Perfect Prescription', which is my favourite album of all time. However, this still in my top 30 and is one of the best examples of neo-psychedelia in the last 35 years. Admittedly it took me a few listens back in 89 to get into it as it was fundamentally different to their debut album 'Sound of Confusion' which was a straight up Stooges/MC5/13th Floor Elevators noise fest, but the drugs kept flowing into a different vein by the time they made 'Playing with Fire'.
The two main men, Kember and Pierce, have two very different styles of playing and vocal delivery, which complement each other so well. Kember's fixation with drones and predominantly using 2 chords, together with Pierce's ear for simple melody, which was unified with their shared love of experimentalism and noise.
‘Honey’ is probably Pete Kember's best song on this album, closely followed by the MC5 inspired 'Revolution'. Jason Pierce's tunes are as usual beautifully fragile. The fractures in their relationship is evident on this album with separate writing credits, except for the massive ode to Rev and Vega with 'Suicide' a 9 minute psyche-out blast of 2 note noise. I never got to see them live, but have seen their later bands many times where they have played all these over the years, which I'll take! Most people won't get it, but I love it and it is a straight high 5.
Roxy Music
4/5
A big surprise! I knew 'Virginia Plain' which is a good song, but the rest of the album is great. I love a bit of experimental art rock. I'm surprised it's taken me all this time to get round to listen to this. The two Brian's on top form, some eclectic disjointed songs on here, which leap in different directions - brilliant stuff. Interesting to discover where the synth band 'Ladytron' got their name from - my favourite song on the album. Certainly a million miles from 'Avalon' etc. A high 4 and will be listening to this and more of their back catalogue.
King Crimson
2/5
This is a very well-known album and it's art is possibly more famous? I was expecting the sound of hair flying everywhere and massive guitar solos and was pleased when that didn't happen. Love the mellotron! Didn't realise Greg Lake was the singer (I quite like his anti Christma song). Turns out it's not as bad as I thought it would be, very hippyish stuff, well it is prog! The mellow 'I Talk To the Wind' and 'Epitaph' are very good. The rest sort of just fizzled out for me. A mid 2.
Beastie Boys
2/5
I remember this as a 15 year old schoolboy. All the metal heads loved it. I didn't, I thought it sounded more immature than I was. Not a good thing at that time and dismissed them as a joke. Then saw them at the legendary day at the 1992 Reading Festival and thoroughly enjoyed them. Strange how things change. Listening to this now, it sounded better than it did in 1986, maybe a shame I don't listen to lyrics until I get to know songs well, so maybe I'm missing out somewhere? It still sounds immature, in a 'Weezer/Wheatus' sort of way, which only Americans can do, but did like the big heavy guitar samples and their cheeky take on hip hop up to a point. So it gets a mid 2.
Q-Tip
1/5
It was OK in places. Never going to listen to it again. Not sure why he was talking about a shoe on one track.
Röyksopp
3/5
I bought this when it came out as I liked some of the less vanilla down tempo dance stuff back then, such as Portishead, Air, etc. Loved the first 4 tracks, especially the dreamy 'In Space'. Was never a fan of 'Poor Leno' as it is heading into full on House territory, but now it sounded ok. The rest of the album plods on in a chilled out sort of way, with its good rhythms and the odd squidgy noises. It gets a high 3.
Air
2/5
I loved Moon Safari and then they released this! It was about time the French managed to give us something other than Mr Jarre, but there is still his influence through Air's music. This seemed like a distancing from that style and I didn't know what to make of it at the time. It seemed a brave creative decision, after the success of their breakthrough LP. It's pretty good for what it is, a film soundtrack, with all its repeated melodies running through it. But as an album of songs it's OK - mellow in a creepy way and the perfect musical setting for your Catholic themed dinner party. A mid 2.
The xx
3/5
I remember this when it was first released. Minimalist clever songs. Mellow enough for a low 3
Sufjan Stevens
3/5
I only found out how to pronounce his name when I heard it on University Challenge last year, as I'm shit with things like that. Over the years, I've only listened to the odd song by him until now. Not what I was expecting, as it was much more quieter and tuneful. Really liked 'Jacksonville' and ''Chicago', and a couple of others. This album had a similar vibe to The Polyphonic Spree, which is a good thing. Nice enough for a low 3.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Interesting album. Their debut is mainly covers with their own twist I'd guess. Once past the first two excruciating songs it got better. You can hear this album's influence on musicians as diverse as Johnny Marr, Jason Pierce, James Osterberg and loads of others. Groundbreaking one could call it. It gets a mid 3
The Notorious B.I.G.
1/5
One of the greatest albums of all time? Unlike the people in that fateful car, I must be missing something. I just don't see what there is to like, or dare I say, admire about overtly sweary morons like this. Boring and tedious are just some of the positives for this effort. If I was remotely interested in going to town with what I really want to say, I might find myself riddled in shotgun pellets by some disgruntled muthafuckin hip hop fan. As for the interlude which sounds like a recording of BIG having sex? Just too much for me. Update: now up to the 'Blow job' interlude and I've had enough of this dead twat. I'm actually glad he isn't around anymore to make any more of this dogshit and have turned it off. Can I give it 0?
Björk
2/5
I've always wanted to like Bjork as she is so cool. I quite liked The Sugarcubes, but when she hit the big time with 'Post' and that song, I went right off the thought of bothering to listen to her ever again. So 29 years later, for me and 6 years after that song, here we are. Nothing seems to have changed much, the same vocal affectations going on, the best I can say about it is that it is harmless and inoffensive, which is a massive antidote to yesterday's B.I.G. This just wafts along on its own fluffy little way. On first listen there seems to be no particular standout tracks as they seem to merge into some sort of homogeneous mass. Maybe on repeated listens there would be a separation into distinctive songs, so it may be worth playing this several times just to find out. A low 2 for the time being.
Alanis Morissette
3/5
Another female artist who is okish. I do own this, but bought for a fraction of the original asking price, as I wouldn't ever have paid full price for this at the time. The downside of this album is it is a polished plastic rock effort, made to sell millions. The upside is that although she is unintelligible at times, she sounds so pissed off and full of emotion. Which makes you think it wasn't as cynical a cash maker as it first seems. (Oh I've just discovered that all the lyrics are printed in the booklet! A good move). So its a tricky one to rate. I have always loved 'The cross-eyed bear' song, Taylor was a good student! A low 3.
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
How cool was it to say 'I love ELO' in the 1970's/80's? It wasn't. Luckily for them, I believe thanks to The Magic Roundabout film and the distance of time, they are actually cool nowadays! Thoroughly enjoyed this. It was nice to delve a bit deeper into their catalogue than just my 'Best of' collection. The rock/ classical sound with a hint of prog/ psychedelia, along with excellent songwriting, it is a winner with a mid 4.
Orbital
5/5
This took me straight back to 1993 when I was listening to more electronic music than I do now, mainly the weirder end including; The Orb, William Orbit and this. Strange how they all like globes... loved all the repetition and all the squelchy noises. The Lush's are banging and 'Impact' is full of squelch and sampled horns, love it. Nice to discover the singer on 'Halcyon' was actually the one from Opus III as it sounded like her. Loved nearly every minute of it, maybe apart from Worf from ST-TNG at the start. Well worth a low 5.
Foo Fighters
2/5
Ah, Dave Grohl's upstart new band and 29 years later, I still think that! I think DG must have been gutted with the direction Cobain was taking Nirvana, so when all that went bang, this was the result. Which was something pretty much an oven ready radio friendly rock album with a not particularly sharp edge. It's OK, loud when it needs to be and quiet when it needs a contrast to Grohl's rather bland guitar playing. But it, like all Foo Fighters material, it is missing that 'edge' to make it truly something great. Some great tunes though, like 'This is a Call', but I thought the last 2 tracks were the best as there seemed like a tiny hint of experimentation going on. It gets a mid 2.
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
A very interesting duo. I didn't really listen to this lot at the time of its release, but I remember all the buzz around them as The Dust Brothers. It wasn't until their follow up when I was made to listen to them properly as they had radio airplay by then. To fuse electro/ samples and psychedelia together was quite novel. Anyway, this effort is pretty solid for a debut. The standout track is 'Alive Alone' which could have been for Beth Orton's great vocals.i don't think it's as strong ad later efforts, but still pretty good for a mid 3.
David Bowie
3/5
Fascinating! I've never delved into Bowie too deeply, but I always wanted to. I'm glad I'm doing this 1001 thing for reasons like this. The chameleon of the music world reinvents himself as a Krautrocker, you can hear the German influences throughout this, as well as very 'Eno' ambient and experimental production. When they said they were hesitant to release this due to its potential uncommerciality, I get it - that is what makes this very good from my perspective, an established star who wants to do his own thing is always a good sign. It will certainly be getting another listen soon. A 'low' 3.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Another surprise. A Stevie Wonder album which is listenable, but actually really good? Yes. Some bangers on here like 'Pasttime Paradise', who'd have thought it was turned into 'Gangstas Paradise' by Coolio! One learns a new thing every day. 'As' is a beast too. This whole album lives up to the expectations which Wikipedia gives it. Really enjoyed this and it was nice to sway my head to in a very odd way while listening to it. A mid 4.
Beck
5/5
I wasn't looking forward to this when i read the write-up, it didn't sound like something I'd enjoy for some odd reason. Well, holy crap, this is good! I knew his albums 'Mellow Gold' and 'Odelay', but this is so different compared to those, also completely on another level. Loving the melancholic feel to all these songs, he can certainly write a miserable ballad when he wants too, so he does a whole album full of heartbroken sadness. It seems heartbreak can inspire greatness, it's almost up there with Spiritualized's LAGWAFIS in inspiration. I'm only on track 4 and its getting a low 5. Update: My god, I've been blown completely away by this. I keep expecting a right duffer of a track to turn up, but no, there wasn't a single one. It's a super depressing album, not like Joy Division's life ending nihilism or The Cure at their most miserable or angry gloominess, but a beautiful introspective sadness. I feel his pain. It's a straight up high 5.
John Martyn
3/5
I was told about this album by some random man I got talking to on a train coming back from a gig and he highly recommended it to me as I said I liked psychedelia. Obviously I got home and forgot about it, until now. So finally I've listened to it and it's not too bad. The three standouts are the title track, 'I'd Rather Be The Devil', and 'Dreams By The Sea'. The middle track is immense with that weird Echoplex tape delay effect thing! This gets a low 3 just for those songs. Without them, probably a star lower, as it then would sound like a pretty ordinary 70's psyche tinged folk rock album which I would ignore forever.
Kelela
2/5
Never heard of Kalela. Electronica R&B? It was 'alright', nothing particularly special. The standout track was 'LMK', it looks like she and her label must have thought that too. I'm sure with repeated plays and a careful study of the lyrics, it will bring out the subtleties of this record, and then one would appreciate its inclusion to the 1001 albums. However, I won't doing either any time soon. It gets a low 2.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
2/5
Apart from Three Little Birds, which made me chuckle, then wished I hadn't, Jamming and One Love, it was standard boring reggae. Not my thing, even if it is done by the master. A low 2.
Queen
2/5
Oh no, Queen. They are ok in very small doses. I knew 1 song, that's because I'm not a fan. I guess this was the build up to their operatic rock sound which evetually led to B Rhapsody, so very groundbreaking for hard rock at the time. Interesting, but gets a low 2.
Jimi Hendrix
2/5
Don't mind a bit of Jimi H. A high 2.
Eagles
1/5
I don't mind the eponymous track, but unfortunately it was Codeine 1 - Eagles 0. I dozed most of the way through it. Became fully conscious during the last song and thought it should have bèen used as advert theme music for some Christian Evangelist TV channel. Very ordinary. Fuck knows why they are so big. 1
Arrested Development
2/5
I own this, and didn't mind it at the time. Southern Hip-hop doesn't have that wonderful 'Coast vibe, which can only be a good thing. Nice and chilled out. So gets a low 2.
Arcade Fire
4/5
The Suburbs' was one of my favourite tracks of 2010. The rest of the album is great too. A melancholy tinged beauty runs through the whole thing. A low 4.
Parliament
4/5
It's really excellent! Not sure why George Clinton performed under at least 2 monikers. It sounded like Funkadelic, so why Parliament - or is it the other way round? Doesn't matter as it was great. Lots going on instrumentally with the fusion of funk and psychedelia, i like the idea of psyche you can dance to, and i must investigate GC's back catalogue sometime. Apparently the lyrics are out of this world too, but didn't concentrate on those too much as usual. A low 4.
Jack White
2/5
It's better than I thought it would be when taking into account the Wiki write-up. Not as one dimensional as The White Stripes. I thought it had a bit of depth and variation to the songwriting. A high 2
2/5
Fascinating! I can appreciate the lack of subtlety of these interesting free jazz compositions, as they are done in the style of Grindcore/ Thrash! I mean, who'd have thought Napalm Death style Jazz could possibly be a thing? I get it, but do I like it? It's very good for an improvised sonic attack. It gave me an immediate rush of adrenaline, so an emotional response which is always a huge positive for me. I shall have to give it a proper listen if I ever find a cheap copy of it. But I don't think it will ever become a regular fixture on my playlist. It's too odd (in an intriguing way) and not crap enough for a 1, so a 2.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
2/5
Better than I thought it would be, probably because it wasn't as 'Country' as I thought it would be. It was also helped by NY having to share the burden of singing with the other 3. Some really good tunes on here, so it gets a high 2.
2/5
It was OK, nothing special. Don't think it will get another spin any time soon, even though i am beginning to rekindle an interest in 70's funk because of doing this. Good enough for a low 2.
DJ Shadow
2/5
Made entirely from samples? Very good, very clever. Is it any good? Pleasant enough mood music when you are enjoying a nice ride.... in a lift. I'm being a bit disingenuous here. It wasn't too bad, just a tad bland. It doesn’t deserve a 1 as it wasnt crap, so low 2.
Todd Rundgren
2/5
I haven't listened to much by Todd, and certainly not this. The wiki write-up was ticking all the right boxes, Beach Boys Smile era style production, experimentation, alienation of half his fan base to make something he wanted to make. But it didn't do it for me unfortunately, I don't know why, maybe caught me on the wrong day.
Tears For Fears
3/5
A big famous album loaded with hits. Haven't listened to the whole thing since the 80's. The hits are very good, but the rest seemed like fillers nowadays. So only gets a mid 3.
Shack
4/5
This was a nice surprise! Never heard of them (although I'd heard of the Pale Fountains). You could tell there was a link to Cast which was more than just geographical. Nice guitar textures and some good tunes. I'll be giving this lot another listen soon. A low 4.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
As much as I want to dislike S&G I just can't. They are too talented. This contains some of their most famous songs and very good they are too. A mid 4.
The Smiths
4/5
'I've seen this happen in other people's lives, and now it's happening in mine'.... beautiful, sad, true, my favourite Smiths song by a country mile, there have been times in my life where I've played it 4 times in a row (only twice on this listen). A quality album, Headmaster Ritual, Nowhere Fast, really good. I'm not a fan of the track 'Meat is Murder'. It would get a low 5. However, you have to discount 'How Soon Is Now' from the track listing (on my CD copy) as it wasn't on the original release! Therefore, it gets dragged down to a high 4.
The Flying Burrito Brothers
1/5
A groundbreaking album? It would be if I wrapped it up with a brick and threw it out of a window. It was not going to be something I'd enjoy as it was pretty much standard 'folk'. A couple of ok tracks, the standout being 'Burrito #2' - J Mascis thought it was OK too! It's getting a high 1.
The Undertones
4/5
Nice bit of poppy 'New Wave' to brighten up a miserable day. I didn't mind them as a kid. However I preferred That Petrol Emotion as an adult. All the singles are excellent, even the album tracks are good. Both versions of 'True Confessions' were the standouts for me. A low 4.
Mott The Hoople
2/5
Not completely without merit. Sounds like early David Bowie, but without the class. Don't think I'll be listening to it again in a hurry but worth a low 2.
Lorde
2/5
Green light is class, the rest was OK.
Oasis
4/5
I was getting rather fed up with all the hype around Oasis by all the media juggernauts of the time. I remember the first grand hyped up play of 'Supersonic' on Radio 1 and felt underwhelmed at the time.i couldn't help thinking j&MC with punk attitude, Is this really McGee's new great white hope for the wonderful iconic Creation Records? (Lets not go there, I'll save some vitriol for their follow up effort, which is bound to appear sometime I'm sure).
This album is by far the best thing they made for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was made before the media expectations grew more than they already had at the time, and secondly, because of the hedonistic direction they decided to take their music with their ghastly follow-up. Some really good songs on here starting with 'Columbia' their best song of their career by far. Also ‘Supersonic’ was their best single. The first minute of ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ is also truly great, but only ruined when Liam opens his mouth. And there lies the problem with Oasis, Liam Gallagher. I admire him and detest him in equal measure. His nasally vocals, at the time of release I did not like at all, but has grown on me since. This album is very good, although I have to ignore the ridiculous nursery rhyme lyrics of 'Shakermaker', genius or plain lazy? But on the whole a solid debut. A mid 4.
The Dandy Warhols
4/5
I really like the Dandy Warhols. Wiki got it right with 'Space Rock' but 'Shoegaze'? I never thought of them like that. The heady days before 'that advert' weirdly propelled them to the mainstream for a brief moment. This was the first album I discovered, due to hearing 'Not if You Were The Last Junkie on Earth', which made me go out and buy this! I remember thinking at the time 'Every Day Should be a Holiday' sounded uncannily like 'Spinning' by Loop, which is no bad thing, it certainly cemented their psychedelic credentials. As for the monster which is 'Good Morning', its such a downer in a good way. Are they cool as Ms Deal? Yeah baby! A low 4
Erykah Badu
1/5
No. Not my thing. I was glad I had the distraction of working while listening to this or I might not have finished listening to it. It was a recipe to cure insomnia. Sorry Silly name lady but you were shite! A generous 1.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
'Games Without Frontiers' is an absolute banger of a song. It used to scare me as a young child. What was it about 1980, which produced many iconic songs which the ambiguous or just plain odd lyrics left an impression on me?
One thing I remember about this album was that PG banned cymbals, I do think sometimes they can be overused by many bands, but no cymbals definitely creates an intruiging muted atmospheric sound. I was never a fan of 'Biko', which Simple Minds went on to wind up the nation with a cover, I hate the Lion King and it always reminds me of that. Fascinating experimental post punk which is a million times better than anything his previous band ever managed in their over long career. Another 4.
T. Rex
4/5
A timeless classic, it sounds as fresh as the first time I heard the singles in the 1970s, unlike other 'Glam-Rock' acts of the same era. I mean who could listen to the Bay City Rollers nowadays without cringing? I love Bolan's guitar style, it's surprising how influential he was. Shame he drove into a tree. A low 4.
Björk
3/5
Great debut solo album. A low 3.
Joy Division
5/5
I don't need to listen to this as it is in my top 10 albums of all time. My words while I'm on holiday will not do it the justice it deserves..
One of the most desolate, depressing albums ever made. Well, the vocalist Ian Curtis did top himself a few months after this was completed. He obviously lived the pain in his voice. The jagged opener 'Atrocity Exhibition' Bernard Albrecht's (or was it Dicken or Sumner at the time?) Is a masterclass of how to make a guitar sound like a piece of construction equipment and also howl in strange ways, with it's repetative primal beats and like all JD and New Order songs, held together with the melody played on Peter Hook's bass.
Probably the most 'uplifting' tune is 'A Means to an End' where Curtis is just complaining about trust issues. I love this album so much it hurts, and probably hurt the makers too. It is a 100% perfect record from beginning to end. The final 2 songs are so gloomy and sad with the use of minor notes, it's enough to cheer anyone out of their own depression with the knowledge that there is/was someone worse off than you. (It's my go to album when I'm depressed and it works for me!). The highest 5. 100% perfect.
PJ Harvey
3/5
I liked their debut 'Dry' but for some reason PJ Harvey fell off my radar, God knows why. This album, should have been an album on my
turntable back in the day, but something must have happened for me to turn my back on this. Especially as it was produced by one of my heroes, Steve Albini, who just makes records sound great, and one thing that jumps out is the sonic similarity to another of Albini's engineered albums 'In Utero', which appeared around the same time. Well, I just googled and this was first! The way the guitar just chugs along in the first song, backed up with the rythm section, excellent stuff. It's definitely going to get further listens. A high 3.
TLC
2/5
This was one of my favourite songs on it, namely 'Waterfalls'. However the rest is not quite in the same league, but still good for a genre I normally avoid like the plague. A high 2.
Boston
4/5
I am horrified to discover that this is really good. Please don't tell anyone. What a nice thing to listen to on a cold wet Sunday afternoon in England. I do think 'More Than a Feeling' could be a contender for best opening track of a debut album. It was a tingly moment. It's the only track I know and probably everyone knows, but the rest is pretty great Rocky stuff. Thoroughly enjoyed it more than I probably should have done. A low 4.
Black Sabbath
2/5
Famous album. I had it played to me too many times in the 80's by my metal head colleagues, but its just not my thing. A low 2
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
This was big when I was a teen, I discovered Aerosmith (not a great thing), and Hip Hop hit the mainstream (not a great thing) but to two not a great things make something totally terrible? No, it's OK enough for a 2.
Buena Vista Social Club
3/5
Surprisingly better than I expected, very good musicianship by all concerned. I have listened to traditional flamenco being performed, which was quite rough and ready, but this is as smooth as butter. I can imagine sitting in a run down bar in South America or Cuba, enjoying a mohito while being eaten alive by mosquitoes. A rather off putting thought. However sitting in Bedfordshire, dreaming of being there seems more pleasant presently. Next time I eat Fajitas for dinner, I might play this just to piss off the wife. A mid 3.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2/5
Is this another reason for me to be disappointed with Mr Young's output? Yes and no. It's infinitely better than the previous offerings served up on here, but it really wasn't until the last two songs that I started to enjoy it. That was probably due to the anachronistic 'grungy' Sound to those guitars. Well he is called the godfather of Grunge and with those songs you can see why. His singing sounded better with age too. So it gets a high 2
Big Brother & The Holding Company
3/5
This album could have the second worst record cover in existence, just behind the 'Lionel Blair Does Aerobics' LP I saw in a charity shop the other day. One cannot wipe the image of him in a tight t shirt and skimpy shorts from one's head that quickly. The music is pretty good, a product of its time, garage style psychedelia, with a young Janis screeching over the top of it, as though she has been impaled on a rusty pitchfork. I like that some of it is live, to capture the energy of the songs. It might get another listen in the future, but I have no idea when that may be. A low 3
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
This wasn't as bad as one always dreams it would be. Swamp Rock? Ok a new one on me, i thought this lot was Rythm and Blues. I wasnt much sold on the vocals, but the guitar work was good, even the extended harmonica on 'Graveyard Train' didn't grate, that is high praise from me indeed! 'Proud Mary' is a famous track and never realised it was them. It was somewhat let down by 'Good Golly Miss Molly' - good grief! Why did they decide to do that? On the whole pretty solid stuff and gets a low 3.
Deerhunter
4/5
I had this album on high rotation only last year. This is a top album by a quirky band, they fit with that classic 4AD ethos and sound. The absolute banger of a track is 'Desire Lines', the rest of the album is pretty good in its darkly dreamy way. A low 4
Radiohead
3/5
After 24 years I've finally got round to listening to this and what are my first impressions? Very experimental, but maybe a bit too self indulgent? Very different to their previous albums. I will need to give this a few listens before I can make a proper judgement. There were no particular stand out tracks as far as my ears could ascertain. A mid 3
Elbow
3/5
I don't mind a bit of Elbow, but not too often mind! This album is pretty good, even if all the songs are similarly paced. If I could be bothered to find out I would imagine the lyrics are very cerebral, as one would expect from Mr Garvey, which I'm sure his fans love all that sort of thing, but I don't care about that, it's the tunes that matter, and they are well orchestrated and executed. It does have 'that' song as well - cue big 'emotional reveal' music on TV programmes. A low 3.
The Who
2/5
It's OK for what it is, the best live album ever? No. I was entranced by Roger Daltry's monologues in between the songs, rather than the songs themselves, which is a bit of a worry. But I did like some of Townsend's guitar work. So a mid 2.
Rage Against The Machine
5/5
Great debut album! I first heard 'Killing in the Name' being played in the Underworld night club in Camden and thought this is going to be big. They got a bit bigger, but took some weird X Factor protest for them to be recognised properly by your average Auntie Mabels.... Anyway, you can hear the energy from their live shows in this record, which is a hard thing to get across in a studio, but it works. The opener 'Bombtrack' is like a bomb going off! there isn't a bad track on this album, shout outs to 'Killing in the Name Of', 'Bullet in the Head' and 'Wake Up'. A mid 5
Frank Zappa
2/5
Not too bad, I was expecting super weird, but got (what I consider) relatively normal jazz psyche fusion. It will get another play. A low 2.
The Hives
4/5
Great album by Swedish people who know how to rock! I'm surprised they have allowed a compilation album on this list (All Our Yesterday's is a banger of a comp. I look forward to its inclusion). Its got their most famous tracks on it m, so what's not to like? A low 4.
Os Mutantes
3/5
Now this is a very interesting album! After one listen, there is so much going on, it's too much to take in straight away. That normally is a good thing, and in this case I think it is. It will hopefully get another listen soon as there was a few promising tracks - the second ans the last especially. It gets a mid 3 at the moment.
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
Now this is fucking great! The album title sums it up really well. It reminds me of 1993 when World Music was all the thing. Thus has pit a big smile on my face and nothing to do with watching the wife grooving along to it. I think I need to move to Brazil. However I'm scared of all the guns and drugs out there. A well deserved 4
Elliott Smith
3/5
This is really good. Another reason for continuing doing this 1001 albums thing. I had heard of him, but that was about as far as it went. I may have to delve into his discography. Nice soft vocals and heavy guitar, what more do you need? Melodies and there is plenty of those too. A low high 3
T. Rex
2/5
That was a tedious listen. Not their best at all. I like Telegram Sam, and Buick McCane but apart from that, my big problem is that all the choruses seemed repetative and go on and on and on and on and...... It seems like that tree couldn't come quick enough towards him. A 2 star effort.
Joan Baez
4/5
I liked this, not in a 'oh I must go out and buy this' sort of way, but in a 'this is folk, its really old and it's refreshingly good' kind of wsy. Her vocals were captivating and she showed her dexterity with the Spanish song. Not normally something I'd like, but I did. A 4.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
2/5
No. No. No. No. Bland. Bland. Bland. But I have to be grateful that Neil Young hadn't added his considerable vocal talents at this point. However, I did like that backwards guitar on 'Pre-Road Down'. Update: 2 thirds of the way through this album, the songs got a bit more lively and interesting. So not as bland as it could have been. So a 2 rather than a 1.
Bob Dylan
2/5
And to finish a rum old week of folky poo, with the king of folky poo. I just don't like Bob Dylan, he's just a dirty looking trampy busker. Does he play the drums with his feet and knees? I've no idea, and don't really care. However, this album drifts along in its own not so merry way, apparently its about his with his wife. I'm amazed she stuck with him so long, maybe that is why it seems quite up tempo. It's really not poo enough for a 1, so I'm going to be nice and give it a 2.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
1/5
Pleasant but uninspiring. Not crap enough for a 1, but not good enough for a 2. I'll see how I feel in the morning.
The Lemonheads
4/5
Listening to this reminds me of the Sunday of Glastonbury 93, feeling very chilled on a lovely sunny day and a bit off my face. Perfect memories. This is such a good album which I just don't play too often. I remember it sounding far too polished back then, but it's aged well. I adore the title track, it's beautifully done. 'Confetti', 'Rudderless', all the songs are excellent. BUT, then there is the single which didn't feature on the original release, which is included on my CD copy, its still a great cover. A high 4.
Steve Earle
1/5
This could have been one of my favourite albums of all time! Except for all the cliche Country sounds, lyrics, and attitude. Did he really write a song called 'Hillbilly Highway' and expect me to be able to appreciate it for its fine Nashville nuances? I'm sure to a stetson wearing aficionado, they could tell the difference between a Steve Earle song and a Waylon Jennings. I personally can't. It is truly so by numbers rubbish, that I hope I never hear another song by Mr Earle. That being said, I did like the tone of some of his guitar playing, just not the style. Then the slide guitar kicked in....... 0.
Aerosmith
2/5
It was alright for what it is, softish rock. Unfortunately it was anathema to my tastes when it came out. Luckily for Aerosmith, I'm a more reasonable man than I used to be, so I didn't mind it. A low 2
Sister Sledge
4/5
Sister Sledge were great. This was their defining album, helped by the writing and production of the genius of Nile Rogers. 'We are Family' and 'Lost in Music' are two of my favourite 70's disco songs. A 4 for the happy vibe.
3/5
The concept album appeared to be a big thing at that point in time. Interesting how us Brits panned it and the Americans loved it. Well I thought it was very good, I've never listen to it before. But I was aware of the song 'Victoria' which was covered by The Fall. It fills a sort of cultural gap between 'Ogden's Nut Gone Flake' and 'Tommy'. It will get another listen. A high 3.
Blur
5/5
I've been a big fan of Blur since 'Shes So High' was released, Leisure is a great debut album too. I remember hearing 'Boys and Girls' in an indie nightclub, which must have been early 1994 and thinking wow! That is one hell of a song! The album that followed was a tour de force of tunes. Their inspiration for this album ranging from Magazine, Wire and (now I get it) The Kinks. But the title track still rankles to this day. It's just too Hokey cokey Laaahhdan, because of Phil Daniels. (Kinks Arthur anyone? I totally get it now) the rest is just quality. I always feel like crying when I hear 'This is a Low'. But as soon as that song ends, it's back to Hokey cokey for the end. Even with the cheesy fairground stuff, It still is a 5 star album, but a mid 5
Radiohead
4/5
Well, that was a lot better than I expected. After listening to that, I feel a bit gutted that Radiohead fell off my radar after OK Computer. I do recognise a couple of tracks, but the rest? There is a lot going on here, most songs seem to start with arty farty noises, but once they get going, they are glorious. This is getting a 4 star on its first listen.
Jazmine Sullivan
2/5
The problem with this is, according to the write up, it's all about the lyrics and the issues she wishes to address. So as a casual listener who approaches this for the first time will miss this point and think, this is pleasant enough, but is it really the best of the genre? A 1.6 of a star. So rounded up to 2.
Linkin Park
4/5
As I hate the whole Metal ethos, (there's just something wrong with metal fans, everything they do seems exaggerated, from just walking, breathing, reacting to things, speaking, not to mention their clothing, the list is endless) I didn't expect to like this sort of thing. Nu-Metal seemed to buck that awful attitude thing by producing halfway decent tunes. I really liked the singles and bought the album. It's a shame the whole scene was short lived and Metal came back.... I love the whole genre mash ups going on. The Perfect example is 'Crawling'. So just to piss off purist Metal knobs, I'll give this a 4.
Beatles
4/5
One of the Beatles best efforts. Some misses, but mostly hits. 'While my Guitar', 'Helter-skelter', 'Back in the USSR' are some of their finest efforts. But there is some trash. So only a 4.
Love
4/5
I love Love! Their third album is in my top 50 all time favourites. This, their second is a solid one too. This is right at the dawn of psychedelia, with nothing like it around at the time, truly groundbreaking. An excellent first side, Arthur Lee can be forgiven for his deep singing on the occasional track, also the long rambling 'Revelation' still a mid 4.
Devendra Banhart
2/5
Not as completely hideous as I thought it might be when I read the wiki. Currently up to 'Fall' and although I will never listen to this ever again, it's well done for what it is. Which is a strange man who can play an acoustic guitar extremely well without any, or minimal accompaniment. It's quite an achievement. Now finished it and it gets a high 2 for being melodic and interesting in a totally unChrislike way.
The Teardrop Explodes
4/5
An excellent debut by Julian Cope and Co. Great psychedelic New Wave. Its a nice happy jump around stuff! 'Sleeping Gas','Treason', 'Bouncing Babies' and 'Reward' are real quality, the rest are excellent too. A mid 4.
Fela Kuti
3/5
This is great, I love the rhythms, repetition and vibe, the call and response, just so much going on. It's apparently a protest album against the Nigerian government. It's difficult to tell how much of a protest it was with the sparse lyrics, but the end result of the antagonism was for Fela to be beaten up, his commune burnt to the ground, and his mum defenestrated. God knows what might have happened if he had really gone to town with them Billy Bragg style. Still, like most normal people, he took solace by marrying 27 women to drown (or is that to add) to his sorrows. Poor fella. But his music is great and I would have loved to have seen him live in concert as it sounded like a party! (Maybe the Nigerian Government didn't like parties?). A mid 3
Iggy Pop
4/5
Iggy is great and I adore the Stooges. This album is his best solo effort with 2 of his best known tracks. You can hear the Bowie influence running through this work like a stick of Blackpool rock. That in itself not a bad thing, but it isn't the Stooges and it was never supposed to be. What this is, is the sound of a man who wanted to clear away the proto-punk excesses and create something new. It works. A 4 star.
Cheap Trick
1/5
Horrible, horrible, horrible. (It's is important to use 'the Rule of Three' to get one's point across in making speeches, or even just reviews in this case. Sorry if anyone thinks it is a cheap trick). It's just not my thing, too much hair rock. So they thought a live album would show their energy? Yawn. 1 star all day long.
Soft Cell
5/5
This is such a good album, sparse keyboards and atmospheric use of a drum machine, while you almost feel a bit voyeuristic just listening to this, such is the affect of the arrangements and Almond's fantastic vocals. I love it. How can anyone not enjoy, if not laugh at 'Sex Dwarf'. Marc Almond is probably the only front man who can get away with playing it live in this day and age and not get cancelled. 'Say Hello, Wave Goodbye' is one of those deeply moving emotional songs, which you just can't help but belt out the chorus with a tear in your eye.
I feel very privileged to have seen most of these songs performed live and I personally don't think this album has dated at all compared to 99% of the artists from that point in time. (Maybe the liberal use of saxophone does pin it to the early 80's, but that's about it). It's a riot of musical colour, and a rollercoaster of fun and emotion. A 5 star debut all day long.
Stereolab
5/5
Lo-fi, repetative and on occasion sung in French. What's not to like? I saw Stereolab 32 years ago in a pub on West Hampstead, it made me buy their first album, and the 2nd time was the first indoor gig after the pandemic - they were great both times. Laetitia Sadier and Tim Gane weave a hypnotic set of songs which you can lose yourself in. They have always been on the periphery of my musical tastes, but they are always a pleasure to listen to when the occasion arises. This is probably a high point in their career, Cybele's Reverie and Percolator are class, the rest are great. It gets a low 5.
Garbage
5/5
One of the few albums to pique my interest in the mid 90's. When I heard 'Stupid Girl' I instantly loved it, then followed by 'Happy When it Rains' which was equally good. The whole vibe of the album took me back a few years to a time before Britpop. It reminded me strongly of Curve, who mastered this sort of sound four years previously. Then throw into the mix, some of the best the U.S. had to offer over the past decade, such as Pixies and Nirvana, but watered down to make a great alt pop record. As Butch Vig is involved, I had suspicions that the band were manufactured, and probably were but I didn't and still don't mind.
Starting with the immense loud/quiet 'Supervixen' and finishing with the James Bondesque 'Milk', everything in between is crafted with just the right amount of angst, anger and melancholy which hit all the right notes for me at the time. A 5 star debut.
The Black Keys
3/5
El Camino is a great album, but not ventured further than that, so when this came up instead, I was surprised and intrigued to hear what this would be like. It seems a lot more effects laden than I expected. Their sound is a slower bluesy garagey style, which is a bit different to their later stuff, but I like it. Are there any standout tracks? On first listen, the songs seem to blend into each other in a nice enough way, with quite a bit going on in each song, gentle guitar licks here and there, but when he gets going the guitar playing is excellent. Maybe its a bit too American vintage blues sounding for my regular tastes, but it is good enough for a high 3
David Bowie
3/5
The sound of Ziggy trying to be more Iggy, but with added vaudeville keyboards. I have an unconscious bias against DB, as well with early/mid 70's music in general, but it was hard not to like this. He rocked out in all the right places. I only knew 2 songs and one of those was a ropey cover of the Stones. However that didn't matter and I enjoyed it for what it was. A 3 star.
Blur
5/5
Blur have always made good albums and this, their post Britpop album is no exception. My least favourite track is 'Song 2' woohooo.... but probably their finest moment ever is 'On Your Own'. Every time I hear it, it makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck (apart from when I've had my hair cut, that is). The drum machine, that abuse of a guitar, the wonky melody, just perfection! To run away from a scene of which Blur were so central, was a bold and thank goodness, a very good move. It made me really sit up and think. I'd already realised Graham Coxon was a very good guitarist, and one of my favourites of the 90's, but this reinvention put him up there in my opinion, one of the most underrated greats. A 5 star.
Saint Etienne
4/5
Neil Young - that is how your song should be sung! But its not just a better cover than the original, OLWBYH was one of those songs that make up the soundtrack to my life in 1990. The other single, 'Nothing Can Stop Us' proved to me this lot werent one track wonders. The rest of the album is equally mellow and a nice summery set of tracks. A 4.
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
The cover photo with that thousand yard stare always reminded me of the Boss bossing it with too much coke. When I listen to some of his vocals on this he sounds stoned out of his face too. Is it just me? My dad loved this, I can see why, well played blues/ folky rock music, crystal clear production - I mean those drums! The drummer must have had mics placed everywhere, it's amazing you don't hear the sound of one accidentally being mistaken for a random percussion thing. That would never have been allowed past the quality control (I bet his coke was uncut too). The Boss would have pierced the scared drummer with those cold dead eyes, pulled the tape out of the recorder and had that take burned in front of him I'd like to imagine. However, this is a pretty solid album from BS, but I just don't like the style of music. It gets a high 2 for its merits.
Songhoy Blues
3/5
3
Björk
1/5
The machine gun drums are just too annoying over not a lot else 1
Isaac Hayes
4/5
Mellow sounds to suit my mellow mood. Mr Hayes exploited my black feelings and turned them white! Loving 'Do Your Thing' I'm a suckered for a wah was pedal. Great funky tunes just makes me want to binge watch all these classic films, the wife would be so happy! A low 4.
Christine and the Queens
2/5
Pleasant enough electro pop from some dodgy looking French bird. It doesn't seem to go anywhere, with no highs or lows in any emotional sense. I prefer La Roux. She did this sort of thing better. 2
Willie Nelson
3/5
I must feeling mellow, fuck knows why. This was one of the least painful 'Country' records I've ever listened to. Probably because it's mainly missing a lot of the typical clichés in the songs, or to put it better, spread out across in a palatable veneer. On the other side of the coin, if I was feeling in a less charitable mood, which is probably how I should be feeling, I would sum it up as the American version of Val Doonican, replete with rocking chair and jumper and all the bile I could throw at it. By ‘Sunny Side of the Street’ I was getting seriously bad Micheal Buble vibes...... However, I'm feeling nice. It's going to get a 3.
Norah Jones
1/5
Poor Snora Jones. I knew the first song and unfortunately nodded off halfway through it. I woke up with a couple of songs to go and can't say they were particularly lively. Not my thing 1
Kings of Leon
2/5
Early KOL. What does he actually say when singing? I don't care. I'm glad these Nashville boys don't sound like Kenny Rogers and thats worth a star in itself. It's not bad, but it's not great either. A high 2.
Common
1/5
Be Common. Fell asleep. It sounded less offensive than other Rap albums when I was awake. But due to its lack of draw on my consciousness. 1 star.
John Grant
5/5
This is yet another reason why I am doing this 1001 albums challenge. On paper, I should avoid like the plague, with echos of Supertramp and all that 70"s softy shit. But this is extraordinary in it's mellow vibe and beautiful tunes. All songs are of a very hogh quality, but if i jad to pick a couple of standouts, then 'Marz' and 'Leopard and Lamb'. I love his voice. A 5 star surprise.
Ramones
4/5
This is proper punk! Lo-fi, low budget fun. (Nearly) where it all started. A right blast. However I always preferred The Dammed, The Clash, The Saints and loads of others. The Ramones have never featured heavily in my listening rotation throughout my life, so it is nice to revisit after what seems like an eternity. However I'm pleased to say I have seen a 'Ramone' live! It gets a 4 star for being stupidly influential.
Portishead
4/5
The mid-90's Bristol scene. Massive Attack were the sound of the night out, and Portishead were the sound of the lonely 3am walk home down the back alleys. I used to like this lot as a bit of an antidote to the guitar music that was appearing around this time. They always gave me the impression of being clever muso types, not a bad thing. Haven't listened to them in years, will I again after this? Definitely the 2 class singles, the rest? When I'm in the mood for a chill out vibe maybe. A low 4
The Replacements
2/5
It is ok for what it is, which is the beginnings of punk-pop. Not listened to them since he late 80's. There must be a reason. 2
Kate Bush
3/5
It's the first time I've listened to a Kate Bush album in its entirety. I've had worse experiences, a bit weird and whacky in places as I expected. I was going to give it a 4, she is a fantastic songwriter and has a woderful voice, but the inclusion of 'The Jig of Life' knocks it down to a 3, as it just smelt of faux Irish bollocks like Ed Sheerhole's 'Galway Girl'. Songs like that should never exist, and if they do, then be treated with the derision they deserve.
The Beach Boys
3/5
The beginnings of Brian Wilson's move into experimental use of instrumentation. Yes it sounds lame to modern ears, but at the time it was pretty groundbreaking. Some really good tunes and everyone must surely love 'Help Me Rhonda'?
Coldplay
5/5
I know Coldplay get a lot of bad press for being a beige band, but this was made before any expectation of popularity or future greatness. I bought this when hearing the singles on the radio which I really liked. Their sound reminded me of a mellow time of the early 90's, like a very watered down and commercial Verve/ Slowdive etc. It it's a very good debut album and I'm not embarrassed to say this. Great guitars, melodies and vibe. Chris Martin even makes a piano a great addition to a rock band. It's a 5 star record.
Green Day
4/5
Big songs on this, some of Green Day's best on my opinion. The first 4 songs are bangers, with 'Boulevard' probably my favourite GD track. ' Are We the Waiting' is the sound of a band embracing their Stadium credentials and coming across life John Farnham bless them. Thank goodness for 'St Jimmy' to bring it back to some sense of normality. I could go on but the essence is that there are so many pace changes, from Punk to ballads going on and to punk purists, it's probably a step too far. Luckily I'm not one and can appreciate a band trying to add a bit of versatility to their sound. It works do a 4 star.
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
Boring Boring Boring. I am in a foul mood and this isn't improving it at all. Betrer mood this morning and having another go. I liked 'Knowledge of Beauty' the rest plods on in a reasonably pleasant way. But I do think the songs could have been a bit shorter, for example I went to make a cup of tea during 'One of those Things' and when I came back, it sounded like the same bit when I left the room. Pleasant and annoying in equal measure, too much odd talky bits (Understandable as Kevin Rowland is a bit odd anyway) It's going to get a 2 star.
5/5
P J Harvey's finest album. I love it. A moody, melancholic masterpiece. There isn't a bad track on this.
Elton John
4/5
I didn't expect to enjoy this album as much as I did. Having it start with four of his strongest songs must have played a part. I was surprised at how 'rocky' it was in places, and I was surprised to discover that it wasn't just 'Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting' that rocked. The whole album was pretty solid from start to finish, but why does a pop star of any era, feel the need to do a faux country number? Italy a 4 star for Reg.
Dusty Springfield
3/5
Thank goodness it wasn't Dusty in Nashville. That would have been horrible. But a few miles up the road was good for her, and my ears. A few classics on here including 'Preacher Man', which is an all tkm3 great song. It deserves a 3 star.
OutKast
2/5
It's OK in places, cheesy in others. It's way too long and just not my thing, but better than most stuff of this type. 2
Lauryn Hill
2/5
I never understood why The Fugees and Lauren Hill were admired so much back in the 90's. It's all a bit tedious and up it's own arse with all the made up school recordings in between songs. The only song I actually liked by her is 'Everything is Everything' probably because it is a halfway decent R&B song in the style of TLC. The rest veers between hip hop, gospel and Blues. On occasion when she wants to, she shows she can sing, but not for me. 1.5 to 2 stars.
Everything But The Girl
2/5
I liked the 'Missing' remix from their previous album, but never liked their folky style. This on the other hand is a cash-in on that remix and they really did try hard to replicate that electro sound themselves. Yes just throw away your folk beliefs and morals and go for the money. I didn't mind the singles when it came out, but I can't say they grabbed me in any way. A 2 star effort.
Billy Joel
4/5
Funny how I knew several tracks on this. It must be a testament to BJ's genius as a songwriter. He's not my normal listening material, but this is very good. No Rock songs on here and I don't care! A 4 star album.
Leonard Cohen
1/5
I was wondering if this was recorded 17 days after he died. It's not his best. I don't mind the odd Cohen song, but not this.
The Isley Brothers
3/5
Great album. If I had been born in the 1950's this is what I would have been listening to, not Slade, T-Rex or any of that stuff. Nothing bad to say about this.
Incredible Bongo Band
3/5
Great vibe, great tunes. Leans in the direction of cheesiness, but turns away at the last moment in the direction of a cool party album. It could have gone down in history as the 70's equivalent of Black Lace et al, but it appears not. I'm glad, as i liked it! Probably the best version of Apache I've ever heard. I'm not sure whether every album should have a Bongo duel mind you.
Nine Inch Nails
4/5
Never one to judge when I was younger, but I always classed NIN as a Yankie B-Tec Depeche Mode. After listening to this for the first time in its entirety, I was quite impressed, it has a lot of depth to its arrangements, some fast thrashy and some dead slow. I've heard 2 songs covered by other artists, so it must be quite influential. I still can't shake off that US insincerity to some of the emotion - us Brits do that much better, or maybe that is because of cultural reasons? For that it's losing a atar
The Blue Nile
2/5
This was alright. I'd heard of them, but that's about it, it sounds like the beginnings of slick synch pop which bands like Aha ran away with. So I'm guessing Aha must have been fans as they sound like an upbeat version of this. No particular stand out tracks as it just groans on in its merry way. A 2 star effort.
Guns N' Roses
5/5
Hair rock of the late 80's... I hated it, the clothes, the attitude, almost everything about it. Except this album. It's great. 'Mr Brownstone' is probably the best non-single track, due to his singing style on it, it's not forced into that weird high pitched squeak. I actually bought all 3 singles on 7", but only had a taped version of the album from a hair mate. That must tell how much I liked this album at the time, which was a complete departure from my usual Goth. 'Sweet Child O' Mine' is still one of the finest singles ever released.
Prince
2/5
Never liked Prince or his music, but he certainly was a clever little man. He knew how to write and perform a hit (whether I like them or not). Obviously I knew the singles, but the rest? Not a lot to grab my attention really, it just drifted on by...
Lucinda Williams
2/5
Just by looking at the title and cover I knew my expectations were going to be low. I didn't mind the first 2 songs, then the full on Country effect started to bring me down. I was expecting it to be more cliche ridden than it was mind you. So a 2 star for that reason.
New Order
4/5
My third favourite New Order album. Its still a blinder. Peter Hook's basslines are the driving force throughout the songs. The Perfect Kiss and Elegia are the standouts. I much prefer the remixed single of Sub-Culture as the original does highlight Bernard/Barney's weak vocal abilities.
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
A couple of big tracks on here. It was better than I thought it would be, only let down by that ancient drum machine, which I suppose was a mid range model back then. Those electro hand-clap sounds running through most of the songs got very wearing and dated the album to the mid-80's.
John Lennon
4/5
Loved this. As good as some of the best Beatles output. 'Gimme Some Truth' is a right stomper. Then you have the emotion of 'Imagine' and 'Jealous Guy'. It's great all round album, no real duff tracks.
The Avalanches
1/5
Not my thing. If you like hundreds of sampled songs glued together, then listen to Jive Bunny and the Master Mixers. Not this.
Radiohead
3/5
I'd lost interest in Radiohead long before this came out. Turns out that it's not bad and just more of the same sounding songs. There is no particular stand out track on it. Which surprised me, but all are just good enough. Not sure if I'll ever bother with it again, unless I need some melancholy background music, but I have much better go to albums than this.
FKA twigs
2/5
I remember listening to it a few times when it came out after all the hype. For alternative R&B it's excellent. But where it fits for me, It's just ok, off the wall enough for it to pique my interest back then. But nowadays it's not got enough going on for it to be a regular listen.
Can
4/5
You've go to love a bit of Krautrock and you can't get more earlier than this. It's a great album, so far ahead of it's time and so influential. There are a lot of bands I love who state them as an inspiration. Long and sprawling songs that hit a groove such as 'Halleluhwah'. 'Mushroom' is a great song, full of brooding menace. 'Oh Yeah' again, repetitive drumming and groove, these ust tick along like a well made Mercedes Benz. Some of this album is seriously experimental, sometimes just plain mental, especially with some of Damo Suzuki's vocal performances. But maybe with the exception of 'Aumgn' - maybe a tad too fucked up, and some of 'Peking O' these two run along like a well worn multicoloured VW Campervan. A mixed bag of German engineering, but still a 4 star effort.
Marvin Gaye
1/5
What's going on is some great tunes, some not so great tunes and some really bad lyrics. I mean dreadfully bad ignorant religious bollocky lyrics. 10 out of 10 for his sentiment and attempting to predict that the kids of of the early 70's were going to have it shit. 0 out of 10 for execution. 1 star for the title track.
Taylor Swift
4/5
I've been dreading this appearing. My fears were unfounded. Its a great pop record, relatively unpretentious and life must have been good for Tay Tay at the time. This is reflected by the hate dial being turned down towards ex boyfriends. Unlike the ghastly Folklore, can't really fault it.
The Mamas & The Papas
4/5
Loved this. Obviously knew the singles, but the rest was top notch stuff. Very much a Beatles meets Beach Boys sound. What is not to like? Great harmonies and pop tunes. My only gripe is that it was only 34 mins long. A 4 star. Could have been a 5 if it was something I would turn to more often, but certainly lifted my grumpy achey self from the dumps.
Faust
2/5
A very interesting album, not heard much by them over the years. I liked the first track 'Krautrock' with it's incessant beat and great guitar noises, but then it all became a bit oompah oompah in places. Did I enjoy it? In places. Will I listen to it again? Probably not.
Bonnie Raitt
1/5
I looked at the album cover and instantly knew what to expect. In that regard I wasn't disappointed, in every other I was very disappointed. Country tinged blues rock that was softer than talc, polished to a level where it would have put Fleetwood Cack to shame. What's not to like? Nearly everything, I didn't mind the bass rumbling on in the foreground on occasion, apart from that its pure dross, the type of which the Yanks are exceptional at churning out. My take away from the lyrics was that she likes men who smack her around and treat her bad. Not a good role model for the modern woman. It should be 0 stars.
Led Zeppelin
1/5
Led Zepp's legacy is gargantuan, they are loved by people of all ages. Their body of work is eyed with envy by multitudes of artists. I never got into them (should I admit to that?) This album was a severely average, I don't mind 'Immigration Song' its not their best, but listenable. The rest? It was a yawnfest and I couldn't wait for the album to end. However, at the end, I quite liked the vocal tremelo effect on 'Hats off to Roy Harper' but that was about it. A 1 star poor effort.
Pretenders
4/5
A great debut album, before the rough edges were smoothed out for mainstream pop radio. I've always loved 'Stop Your Sobbing'. It's just not played enough, unlike the big single. 4 stars.
Spiritualized
5/5
My favourite band, Jason Pierce, my favourite musician. His magnum opus. The best album of 1997 according to the NME. Does it live up to this amount of hype? Yes of course. Poor old Jason going through the break up from hell with his long term girlfriend Kate Radley (the keyboard player) She is often cited as the reason S3 split up. She wasn't about to break this one up, so she became the inspiration for Jason to pour his heart out and make the ultimate heart-break album while obviously continuing to dabble with drugs in an attempt to cheer himself up. I don't think it worked. How to describe this? Best to say its a psyche/blues/gospel/free jazz rock album.
The dreamy first song ‘LAGWAFIS’ builds up and up, and leads to the thumping 'Come Together' - one of their best and a live staple to this day. 'I Think I'm in Love' clocks in at 8 minutes and I think if it was twice as long I'd never get bored of it. Things get more melancholy over the next two songs as he is yearning for more drugs and probably his ex. 'Electricity' is another stomper, along with 'Cool Waves' are probably the most cheerful songs on the record. The serious weirdness kicks in with the gospel/blues/jazz/psychedelia over the rest of the album, culminating with the epic 14 minute Dr John collaboration 'Cop Shoot Cop' it builds up and comes down just like a good trip should. Is it perfect? No, it doesn't even make my top 10 albums of all time, but it's up there in the top 30.
Iggy Pop
5/5
This is probably Iggy’s best album outside the Stooges. Again, like Lust For Life, it has Bowie stamped all over it and it is probably some of his best work too. The whole thing has great sounding guitars and some stomping Krautrock beats going on. You can hear where Siouxsie and the Bamshees and similar got their inspiration. Love it.
Public Enemy
3/5
A classic influential album, full of energy and minimal swearing! Groundbreaking in its commentary of black racial issues in America. Musically it is very well constructed. It was on my radar, as my brother used to play it, but it wasn't and still isn't my thing. That said, I do have a soft spot for ' Don't Believe the Hype' and 'Bring the Noise'.
Dolly Parton
1/5
The best thing about this album is that is is only 27 minutes long. I still think that it is too long by 1620 seconds. Some things should never exist, like Nashville, it would make a great nuclear test site. I hate everything else about it from the cover artwork to the dreadful songs. Line up all the musicians and their stetson wearing freaky line dancers and shoot them all. The world would be a better place.
Pixies
5/5
After hearing tracks from this other John Peel show in '88, I was blown away. But not as blown away as my Mum, when I asked her to pick up my ordered copy from Andys Records in Bedford (Yes, if it was deemed too esoteric, then that was what you had to do kids!). When she got home from work, I could tell something about the record was not right, as she thrust it at me and said, "Don't ask me to pick up filth like that ever again!" When I saw the cover I got where she was coming from....
5 stars for the cover.
Musically, this is a wild ride of energetic guitar hammering, yelping vocals, mixed with great tunes, sometimes tender and more often than not feral. All helped along with Steve Albini's recording techniques, (the album that sealed his reputation as the go to man for guitar led indie bands), with his usual attention to detail with the drum sound.
Stand out tracks - all of them, but 'Where is my Mind?' And 'Vamos' Steal the show.
It's an album that shaped who I am and unsurprisingly in my top 50 albums of all time, so it's an obvious 5 stars for me.
Cream
4/5
Great album by one of my Dad's heroes. One of the few we both liked! The first two songs 'Strange Brew' and 'Sunshine' are up there with his best work, along with 'Tales of Brave Ulysses'. Clapton's guitar work was groundbreaking at the time, as well as Ginger Baker's drumming style. The rest of the album is pretty solid too.
2/5
Prog is just not my thing. It sounded exactly how I expected it to be; with harpsichords, big riffs and odd lyrics about stuff no one cares about. Then there was the third song with it's funky way-outness. I did like that one so it gets a 2.
The Adverts
3/5
It's classic punk stuff. Not my favourite from the era, but a great album nonetheless. Its always good to hear 'Gary Gilmore's Eyes'.
The Pogues
5/5
The Pogues. I remember hearing 'Dirty Old Town' then 'The Irish Rover' and thinking, this is a bit mad. Then this came out, which was an improvement on 'Rum, Sodomy and the Lash', this features one of my favourite tracks 'Thousands are Sailing' and so many more quality tunes. It's punk played with traditional Irish instruments, it shouldn't work, but it does and so well. Everyone loves 'Fairytale of New York' , like the rest of it, it's bittersweet stuff. Well maybe apart from 'Fiesta' it brings a huge smile to my face when I hear it. A 5 star effort deserved by a band firing on all cylinders, before the wheels fell off a short few years later.
ZZ Top
2/5
It was as I remembered, a bunch old old hairy people trying and succeeding to be cool, for a year or two. This produced the massive 'Legs' and 'Gimme All Your Lovin'. Everyone knows, or should know these two songs. On their own, those two deserve a 3 star score. I liked 'Thug', however the rest knocks it down a star.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
1/5
Nashville must be destroyed and have salt ploughed into its land.
It's possibly the most Nashville centred rubbish I've ever listened to, I mean 'the Grand Old Opry Song'? Centre of the world to these Hicks. It's the sound of a small group of people who have spent to long in one town for too many centuries. Not to put a too fine a point on my meaning, it reminds me of the last time I lwatched 'The Deliverence', I can almost picture the banjo solos being performed my in-bred freaks, even the spoken interludes can't dispel this image.
Musically, it's not bad in places, but the concept behind the album was to try to reintegrate the old guard of Nashiville musicians into the then latest styles of Country. What's the matter with them? Are they stuck in a time loop? Can't they come up with innovations of their own? If they can't adapt then exterminate them.
I couldn't bring myself to listen to all the songs all the way through as I couldn't see any benefit to it. Currently up to 'Sunny Side of the Mountain' and nothing has changed my opinion of the city of Nashville and it's inhabitants.
The biggest irony is that one of my favourite bands, Spacemen 3 have recorded a cover of 'May the Circle be Unbroken', its a perfect example of the adapting and renewing in action, rather than this hideous stuck in a timewarp backwards step Dukes of Hazzard toilet.
All things said, this could have been a good introduction to Country for a lot of people if it wasn't so bloody long, I could have actually enjoyed some of it as there is a lot of energy and passion and great playing on here 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown' (not on the original release) is a excellent example, but it's still back to 'The Deliverence' in my head. I want ro give it -100 stars for my prejudice and preconceptions, but also I want give it 2 for its musicianship. But 1 will have to do.
The Shamen
4/5
Where do I start? When I tell people I love the Shamen, people always think of 'Ebeneezer Goode'. It's very depressing. Their debut is in my top 5 all time great albums, their second is in my top 50 (For some reason, you can't find them on streaming sites!) Where does this fit? Top 2000 probably. I discovered them on the J Peel show with 'Knature of a Girl' in 1987 and loved them from that moment. When I heard 'Omega Amigo' for the first time in 1989, there was a huge departure from their previous sound. Next was 'Progen' in the same year, I expected it to be a huge hit, but no... (that only happened when they renamed it Move any Mountain!). The nearest they got to their old sound was with the single 'Make it Mine' with it's great guitar hook. 'Hypereal' is just dreamy and was probably the first time I came across the genius of W. Orbit. 'Lightspan' is probably the best non single track on this rather eclectic and what sounds like, thrown together album. They were still experimenting and finding their feet in a different environment to which they began. It isn't perfect in any way, and it's not helped with the tracks being rejigged on streaming sites, which makes it a bit different to the original release. It still gets 4 stars
Steely Dan
2/5
Easy listening rock music which was enjoyable as it was inoffensive. I always thought 'Reelin in the Years' was some old shite like Dr Hook. I was surprised/ not surprised to find out that was the worst song on the album. I want to give it a 3, but I would have to hand in my cool badge.
David Bowie
3/5
I quite liked this a lot. I'm not a Bowie expert, I knew the singles, which were very good. The rest was hit and miss, especially 'Andy Warhol' which was a bit of a mess. Worth a 3
Yes
1/5
No. I just don't get it. Prog seems to be about guitar playing going up and down the fret board. It's not a lot different in style and tone to the other Yes album we had to listen to only a week or so ago. So I don't understand it's inclusion to this list.
Wire
4/5
Wire were a great band who I got to see a couple of times in the very early 90's, ironically once supporting Blur, who are heavily influenced by them. This debut, falls into the category of Punk, but it's more than that due to the more complex arrangements of the songs - this is shown more on their follow up 'Chairs Missing'. But as a punk album in 1977, it was vety different from the other bands of that scene at the time and there isn't a bad track on it. And I successfully avoided the Brit-pop elephant in the room!
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
Great album by a legend who died far too young. Don't do drugs kids, but if you do, then not so much you end up choking on your own vomit, It's not a good look. Musically, it goes from straight heavy blues, to some experimental guitar and production work with 'Are You Experienced?' The whole thing is good from start to finish. Purple Haze is such a great opener. 'Third Stone From The Sun' is immense and rambling. Excellent stuff.
John Prine
1/5
Yet another by numbers Country album- queue slide gutar etc. There was one song I didn't mind, but just a general feeling of apathy towards this rather than any particular hostile feeling. The cover art was definitely the worst thing about the album. Closely followed by the music. It would get 0.5 of a star on a very good day.
Nick Drake
2/5
It was OK, maybe a bit too hippyish for my liking. Great use of instruments, with a cello and a guitar. I wasn't a fan of his voice. I prefer his sister, Gabrielle's and she doesn't even sing.
The Rolling Stones
2/5
An album of extremes for me. 'Sympathy For The Devil' is one of the greatest songs of all time. 'Strrt Fighting Man' is epic. Liked 'Jigsaw Puzzle' but the rest? Painful Americana Blues which is very tedious. I'd like to give it more than 2 stars just for 'Sympathy' but I can't.
John Lennon
1/5
This album was quite bland and not helped by some muffled production, which might have been to make it sound a bit garage rock? I'd expect a bit more from one of the greatest songwriters ever.
Johnny Cash
5/5
A Country album that is good and worth listening to again? Yes, it can happen when you are as funny, witty, and talented as Johnny Cash. This is what I like, someone pushing the boundaries and doing something different with a genre of music and turns it black. Unlike those vanilla guest dinosaurs on that Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, who just couldn't have an original thought between them. Once Id got past the a whoopin' and a hollerin' from the audience, I was hooked. Then later, I was laughing out loud to '25 Minutes to Go', great song, even with the irony of the venue.theres always a gem in a pile of a dogshite genre and Johnny Cash is it. 5 stars.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
4/5
Most people find stuff like this a difficult listen and can't see past the noise. I get that, the drumming was excellent, like a not stop pounding rhythm driving the chaos forward. To play guitar like that takes a lot of practice and planning and certainly not straightforward, these two elements were the genius of this album. The vocals added to the whole experience. They were a massive influence of the Fall so I was hardly going to dismiss this as people throwing instruments around, you've got to look past that and admire the daring attempts at something completely new.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
I have a soft spot for Kendrick Lamar (and his mum, she nearly got me into Jesus in that interlude). He is one of the few big stars of this modern 'Nigga' shite rap that I have seen live, and not just managed to see the whole set without walking away, but actually enjoyed it at the time. (That is saying something about my self control under the influence of watered down beer at Reading Festival). As a whole, if you ignore the self centred, vanilla bollocks lyrics, the 'hard life growing up in the ghetto this sort always go on about, and just let the rhythms wash over you, and combined with the excellent instrumental arrangements - its really good, albeit a bit long. I liked the ambience of the music, I have no idea how much input a rapper has in writing the tunes but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he had a hand in it. If it had been anything other than a rap album, it would have been a 5, because of the vanilla lyrics. But, as I gave Kanye a 4 for the same reason, it would be very unfair not to give Kendrick the same. 4 stars
R.E.M.
5/5
My first R.E.M. album. It's my favourite by them. It's got 'Stand' on it, one of my best Karaoke songs back in the 90's. 'Orange Crush' one of the best songs ever. It was many years later when I discovered it wasn't an Amercan drink! The rest of the album is a band beginning to hit their stride into the mainstream, and unable to do wrong even with a mandolin and a megaphone (TOTP 1989 appearance). So a well deserved 5 stars.
Randy Newman
1/5
Oh dear. I'm confused. I was expecting Randy Crawford (not a good thing). Instead, I get someone who sounds like he should be singing the song from Toy Story. Turns out it is the man who sung the song in Toy Story. I don't mind that song in the context of the film, but all this was a bit wearing, he even managed to make another of his classic songs sound shite, until Tom Jones came along and did the definitive version in The Full Monty (in my opinion). On the whole it is underwhelming and bland. 1 star.
Cornershop
2/5
I bought this back in the day, I always preferred The Fatboy Slim remix of 'Brimful of Asha' at the time, but revisiting it, I did enjoy the original more now. Some of the rest was pretty good, some awful. 2 stars.
Suede
5/5
I love Suede, a great live band. One of the artists lumped into the original wave of Britpop, but they never were as unsophisticated as Oasis, so this was overlooked at the time as it didnt fit the mould for your average Britpop fan. This is probably why it is one of my favourite albums of 1994 because if you are going to do hedonism, then do it with a bit of style. Although, I do prefer their debut, this is a massive follow-up. Full of glam, drugs, and sleaze provided by Brett Anderson's vocals and lyrics. Bernard Butler's guitar playing is just astounding, especially when you consider how the album was recorded and the state of relationships with the rest of the band. But it all works and brings a cinematic feel to the whole record.
Bon Jovi
3/5
A band who I have seen live. I was dragged there by my friends, being a Goth at the time, what could possibly go wrong? The only song I enjoyed is on this album. 'Wanted Dead or Alive'. It's great, in a cheesy way. The other singles are very well known, and well done, but I just don't like Soft Rock, as it was a cultural thing back in the late 80's. But with the passage of time, I am now a fairer judge. So it gets 3 stars.
1/5
I liked U2's earlier material and I liked Achtung Baby onwards, to varing degrees. This was smack in the middle of their up-your-own-arse stadium era, a truly horrifying time to be alive. Similar to Simple Minds' Street Fighting Years, this is overblown toilet, made in the image of their own importance to the music industry. The singles when they were released made me hate them with a passion, funnily enough this is the first time I've ever listened to this album. There are the 3 monstrosities all lined up in a row at the start, is there a way up from here? Yes and no. I cooed admirably through 'Bullet the Blue Sky' which wasn't too bad, apart from the old sounds coming from Bono' throat. Towards the end of the album things improve slightly, the last 3 songs were probably the best. But that doesn't mean it is good. Sorry Bono, Edge, etc, but this is an over polished turd.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
This two are excellent live, and they played one of my favourites, 'So Hard'. This was
a good change in direction at the time for PSB, it seemed like they were trying to go a bit moodier and maybe dancier. It's pretty good and worth 3 stars at the very least.
Baaba Maal
3/5
I liked this. It's not my normal go-to music, but it's very good. It has great understated guitar playing and, combined with his stirring vocals, gives this an uplifting vibe. It might even get a second listen sometime in the future. A well deserved 3 stars.
The Who
2/5
I remember watching the film with the family when I was a small person, laughing at the antics of Uncle Ernie, it all seemed very innocent and fun. Yesterday, I listened to this album and realised it is just disturbing. These things happen nowadays unfortunately and are dealt with a bit more sympathetically. The themes of paedophilia, underage sex, mental and physical abuse, all in one album is quite an undertaking, and then to make light of it, obviously must have been a 60's and 70's thing (probably why i laughed at it as a kid in the 70's). How times have changed. Musically it's OK in places, 'Pinball Wizzard' is still a great tune. Lyrically, I think I have covered that. I think I'll give it 2 stars for the entertainment Keith Moon's 'Fiddle About' gave me as a child. (That last sentence doesn't look so good in print, but what the hell).
Beastie Boys
1/5
I assume is supposed to be clever satirical stuff or an immature joke. Which ever it intended to be was lost on me. It was not remotely funny or engaging. Basically a mess.
The Flaming Lips
4/5
This is a band I discovered when I borrowed 'In a Priest Driven Ambulance' off a friend in 1990. Which was around the time I discovered Mercry Rev, and I always saw these two bands intertwined, especially ad they shared band members for a while. Strangely I thought MR got steadily worse and this lot got better. This album is definitely one of their best and a million miles away from their debut. I suppose they have to please their major label paymasters. The whole album just drifts along in a really nice mellow vibe and I was very surprised when one of the tracks was featured in a Marvel film recently! 4 stars
Burning Spear
1/5
2 things: Once I realised the artist wasn't Marcus Garvey, I felt a bit happier for some reason, i did think it was a bit arrogant writing a song about one's self in the 3rd person. The other thing was I felt the same outrage that the musicians felt when listening to this travesty of a 'more palatable' version. God knows how bad the original was, or was it better? 0 stars.
Finley Quaye
2/5
The singles on this album got a lot of rotation on the radio. It wasn't my sort of thing at the time and it still isn't. I'm not sure what it is supposed to be, is it Reggae or Pop? However it's OK in places and its not uniformly dreadful for a 1 star so it gets a 2
Kings of Leon
5/5
I hated 'Sex on Fire' when it came out. A truly overblown anthem of the sort I'm not predisposed to appreciate. So I ignored this album for a long time.A year or so later, while I was watching an episode of Casualty, they played an awesome song, which I Shazzamed, and it was 'Closer'. That was the turning point for me, which overcame my bias and led me to begrudging respect for this band. I've listened to this a few times since, and I'd say the album tracks are better than the singles, probably due to the fact they are less familiar to my brain. 'Crawl' with it's fuzz bass is immense and the last song evoked a feeling of 'Faith' by the Cure for some reason (This lot are not in the same league) which is always a good thing. Even with SOF it's getting a 5 star rating.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
2/5
A very mellow Jazz album. I now know the name of 'Take Five' and who did it. It's a great tune. The rest is pretty good for what it is. ⭐️ ⭐️
Coldplay
4/5
I'm slowly reevaluating my relationship with Coldplay. I loved Parachutes when it came out and also the singles off this album. I also bought this back in the day and probably listened to it once all the way through. Today probably is the second time I have played it all the way through. Once I had turned off my unconscious bias of the slowly evolving sound into stadium rock, and all the lame trappings that go with it, there is a lot to like. I really enjoyed it, a solid piece of work. A 4 star job
Machito
3/5
I would sooner listen to a million hours of African/Cuban Jazz than 1 minute of vanilla Country music. This music is great cheerful stuff, where you are in a world where there is no badness at all. Then it ended and back to reality (probably for the Cubans too). Well deserved fantasy 5 stars. But in the real world, a 3.
Bob Dylan
1/5
I don’t like Bob Dylan. He is a dirty old busker with a superiority complex. I have had the displeasure of hearing this album more times than I would have liked to, and it doesn’t get any better. The only tracks I vaguely liked are ‘On the Road Again’ and ‘Mr Tamourine Man’ (to be controversial I do think The Byrds version is still 8 miles better). 1 star.
Bert Jansch
3/5
When one sets their expectations low, you can normally only go upward. In this case, it did. I don’t normally like this sort of stuff, but it was certainly listenable and dare I say it, enjoyable. Some really good acoustic guitar work. For the surprise, it has to get a 3, due to the adversity it faced from my personal bias
MGMT
4/5
A great bit of Neo-psychedelia, which I thought was becoming a dying breed at the time (Well, it felt like it to me). The even better thing was that it got normal people to like the genre too. It was a very odd time, especially as 'Kids' was my 5 year old son's favourite song. So what is there not to like? I have to give it 4, due to the fact I don't play it often.
Fatboy Slim
2/5
I wonder what possessed me to buy this. Was it because of the singles? Was it because I picked up the wrong CD? For whatever reason, I did. Anyway, the singles are ok the rest is toilet. 2
Genesis
2/5
Putting their massive career aside and listening to this for what it is, is difficult when you remember 'Sussudio' and the rest of Phil Collins' hideous legacy. However, this is when Peter Gabriel had Centre stage. You have to give credit to Mr Collins as his drumming is exceptional. I have no idea of what the songs were about, apart from the life story of a random Puerto Rican or something. Take the music as a whole it was very good in a lot of places. My biggest criticism is that it is just too long. If it had been half as long it might have got an extra star.
Tim Buckley
2/5
Interesting album, I listened to this bloke 30 odd years ago round a mates house, who loved all this sort of stuff, and I wasn't a fan back then. With the passage of time, am I now? No, but it isn't disappointingly bad. OK in places, but the songs were bit long and could have been chopped in half, as some did sound like 2 songs shoe-horned together. He is marginally better than his son. 2 stars.
Joy Division
5/5
One of the most influential albums ever made, and one of my top 50 of all time. Every generation has its Joy Division inspired bands, from The Cure, Interpol, to The Murder Capital. Ironically, the band initially disliked Martin Hannet's production, (I believe the drums were recorded in a toilet for the acoustics) - it was quite visionary for its time, but they eventually did come to appreciate it. Sumner's glorious guitar playing, Hook's melodic bass, and of course Curtis's introspective lyrics and distinctive vocals created a dark and brooding atmosphere. There isn't a bad track. TmFrom the sad minor key of 'Day of the Lords' to the punkier 'Shadowplay'. My personal favourite is 'New Dawn Fades'. the last time I played this album was on a flight to Venice, and I ended up with that track as an ear worm for 5 solid days. It nearly drove me mad.... Its one the best albums by one of the best bands ever. 100% 5 star job
Eminem
1/5
I tend to appreciate shock, anger and rudeness in songs (I'm being polite in my description of certain lyrics), and feel the mood the artist is trying to create. I just feel rappers just take it too far in their boring rags to riches life stories- they are all obsessed with this. No one actually cares (I hope). I've always hated Eminem, because of his whney, whingeing voice but I'd give this a fair crack. It's horrible. The only redeeming song was 'Stan' as I liked the dark humour and story to the lyrics. For that he still gets a 1 star.
Sade
3/5
Smoother than a 1000 telephone operators. (If they still existed). A very accomplished debut album, which washes over you like waves on a beach. That's enough romantic twaddle for one day.
Ute Lemper
2/5
It was OK in places, the places where I didn't nod off especially. It was like a bad west end show at times.
Alice Cooper
3/5
I have finally listened to a whole Alice Cooper album. It wasn't the train wreck rubbish i expected. I loved some of the strange effects going on with the bass. Not being particularly interested in messages/stories in lyrics, I didn't care what nonsense he was going on about, I'm sure one had something to do with necrophilia, each to their own, I prefer women warm (ish). Musically it was decent enough for a 3 star.
Muddy Waters
2/5
This was better than I expected it to be. But the sings did sound very similar instumentally to my untrained blues ear. 2 stars
Rush
2/5
I suffer from for apathy for this sort of proggy soft rock. I didn't like the vocalists' voice. It all just passed me by in a disinterested haze. I'm not saying the musicianship and songwriting is bad, it's just boring. As it didn't make my flesh creep like some on there, it gets a 2.
Michael Jackson
3/5
One has to take his future antics, as well as the musical abomination he became and judge this on its merits, not easy. but it's pretty good for a pop record and some famous hits, which I don't mind too much. He deserved his fame if it was based solely on this effort
Drive-By Truckers
2/5
On first impressions I was thinking this is yet another typical lyrical American myopic vision which is focused on a small part of their large country. The other impression I had was this sounds like traditional 'Southern' rock done in the style of Lynard Skynard. By the end, my first impressions were correct. My only question is - why? Musically it's very competent, but not anything I'll ever want to listen to again. 2 stars
Suede
5/5
One of the finest debut albums of all time. When I first heard ‘The Drowners’ I thought this band were going places. A couple of months later I saw them live and was blown away by them, such swagger and glam, which seeped into their music. These elements also translated onto this album. There isn’t a bad track. It starts with the serene ‘So Young’, leading into the belting ‘Animal Nitrate’. The pattern across the album continues with varying tempos of the songs. Although there are no bad tracks, one of the highlights is ‘Pantomime Horse’ Anderson’s vocals convey emotions so well, and combined with Butler’s unique style of guitar playing (for the time), create such ‘Moving’ songs. Well it was always going to be a 5 star album, as I think it is better than Dog Man Star.
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
I haven't listened to this in a lot of years. I would imagine the reason is because I never bought it, and consequently forgot about it. So not anywhere in my list of artists I would bother with. However, their debut single is great, I've played that a fair few times over the years, the rest is not bad. I have to be fair and give it a 2, rather than a 3
The Rolling Stones
3/5
The most constistant Stones album so far on this list. So far the only one I enjoyed without wanting to skip tracks. 'Brown Sugar' has always been a song which I enjoy and used to enjoy when my Dad played it too.
Radiohead
3/5
I liked this. I’m not a big Radiohead fan, their 2nd and 4rd albums are great, then I lost track of their career. I recognised the 2 singles, which were great, the rest was a bit of a mixed bag of good and not so good. If I’d got into this when it was released, then I’d probably be raving about it. But I didn’t and I’m not. But it’s still worth a 3 star score.
Bebel Gilberto
4/5
It appears I like a good Brazilian. All the albums from that country have been excellent so far. This was wonderfully mellow in places, which was interspersed with some slightly more energetic songs. Its great
Bob Dylan
1/5
This is probably the worst album I’ve listened to out of the over 300 so far. To beat Notorious B.I.G. is a challenge Old Bob seems to manage quite easily. Certainly one of the most painful albums, I’ve ever had the misfortune to listen to. It’s like a symphony of sharp nails on a row of blackboards, and then combine this with a flock of Magpies to chatter at you for 100 hours non stop. This is the affect this ghastly buskery tramp has on me. I’m trying to give Mr B a fair crack of the whip, but he isn’t compromising with my ears. If I could give this turd a 0 I would.
Miles Davis
3/5
Thus is a very famous jazz album, which everyone should hear at least once. This is the second time I've listened to it in my lifetime, it's really good, but not what I go out of my way to listen to on a daily basis. It would be perfect for a dinner party to host refined friends. The problem is I just don't know anyone who fits the bill, so listening to this again will have to stay a dream for the time being. I loved the pace, with its gentle , almost inaudible timpany, and melody of the those trumpets. It's a 3 star job that.
Nina Simone
1/5
Not a fan of her voice or arrangements. I expected better from such an icon.
Funkadelic
3/5
I seem to like George Clinton's sound, mellow stuff going on in the background and a fuzzed up whah whah fest of a guitar. But I don't like it enough to listen to it as a go to.
Jane Weaver
5/5
This is excellent! I've not heard of her, initially I was thinking of Jackie Weaver of the Handforth parish council, I'm so glad it wasn't her. It reminded me of Lush/ Stereolab/ Velvet Underground all mixed together in a minimalist droning way. There wasn't a bad track on this and I shall have a listen to her back catalogue.
Suzanne Vega
1/5
I remember this when it came out, with her clever lyrics and folksy sound eg 'Marlene on the Wall'. This type of music was about as far away from what I liked at the time. Although the years have been kinder to it in my opinion, its still something i wouldn't go out of my way to listen to for nostalgias sake. On top of that I still hate her voice.
Elvis Presley
2/5
I'm a luddite, i never realised that 'Fever' was Presley. With its minimalist arrangements, he produced such a captivating performance with that song alone. The rest ventured into equal helpings of Dowap (nope) and rock and roll (yes). If it wasn't for this 1001 thing, I'd never have listened to an Elvis album ever, and enjoy some of it.
Joni Mitchell
1/5
Too folky for me and didn't like her voice. I do believe it got better with age.
The Doors
3/5
'Waiting for the Sun' is a great track. The rest was not as good as their earlier stuff, as they had moved away from their psychedelic sound. Still, it's pretty good overall, but the Doors never made it into my egular rotation of goto 60's/70's music. So it's just a low 3.
Scissor Sisters
4/5
When this came out, one just couldn't dislike the catchy songs. It was a right blast giving this a spin again 20 years later. I enjoyed it so much I stuck Ta Dah on after it. I do think the weakest track is their cover of 'Comfortably Numb'. Due to not listening to it regularly enough, it's a 4.
M.I.A.
2/5
There's a lot going on on this record. Maybe too much for just one listen, lots of world beats, rap and dance. So it will have to be based on first impressions, it wasn't dreadful, offensive or abrasive. Maybe if I have more time I'll give it another go just for curiosity's sake, as there was potential. So I'll give it 2 stars first starters.
A Tribe Called Quest
1/5
A couple of big tunes from my youth which were played incessantly on the radio. But the problem is they weren't in my orbit of musical tastes. The rest of the album wasn't good enough to pique my interest either.
David Bowie
3/5
Finally a David Bowie album I enjoyed listening to all the way through. I don't know why, maybe because of his change in direction to a soul inspired album, or because it had no amazing highs and crappy lows like the albums I've had to listen to so far. DB has never been a go to artist for me and he never will, but it was good enough for 3 stars.
Elvis Costello
1/5
I've always had a problem with Elvis Costello with both his music and his image. Not as bad as Shakin' Stevens with the old late 50's early 60's styling, but more of a 'secret lemonade drinker' sort of thing. He would have been more at home on Jimmy Saville's old record club on a Sunday afternoon. Musically, the first half fit my description above to a tee, even down to the wierd fake American accent. But the last 4 or so songs it got better and more contemporary (for 1977). One of his best songs the last, wasn't even included on the original release so if that isn't counted then it's a 1 star.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
I always viewed this lot as a bunch of Johnny come lately's of the grunge scene. This wasn't helped when I received a promotional flexi disc of 'I Am One' through the post its a great song from their debut album. But I did wonder about their stupid name at the time and thought, they wouldn't do very well. I got that wrong. This is their best album by far. Great tunes and the use of loud/quiet Pixies influence. It's not got a bad song on it, however I've never been a fan of Billy Corgan's nasally whine, which got worse with every release and made them virtually unlistenable later on their career.
Stereo MC's
4/5
I'd forgotten how good this album is. I'd also nearly forgotten seeing them live at Glastonbury 93. Probably too many mushrooms with my breakfast or something? When I played this again it brought some great memories back. All the singles are banging tunes and the whole thing has just a happy vibe going on. Nice to have a small slice of my youth brought back to me. I'll be playing this again very soon. 4 stars
Bauhaus
5/5
What a surprise. The masters of Goth on Halloween! Having been a Goth back in the 1980's, it's always a pleasure listening to something from the dark side. Mask has two fine singles in the shape of 'Passion of Lovers' and the album remix of ' A Kick in the Eye' (I do refer the single version). The album features the immense 'Mask' at the end which is so atmospheric. This lot were more on the camp/ glam side of Goth and plenty of ghostly death inspired lyrics, add together some great guitar work and funky bass playing, you end up with what is probably the best thing to come out of Northampton since Doctor Martens. 5 stars.
Deep Purple
3/5
Blimey! Some 70's hair rock i didn't mind for once. It's impossible not to like 'Smoke on the Water', the rest was OK in parts. Still a tendency to head for the Prog route, but tolerable. I want to give it more than 2 stars but I'm not sure if it deserves 3.
R.E.M.
3/5
'LEONARD BERNSTEIN' I've been shouting that out without fail for the last 35 odd years since I first heard that song. This starts with the banging 'Finest Work Song', and is a solid album from start to finish. Not an album I turn to very often, but I know it's there if the mood arises. I now feel I was overly generous to Deep Purple yesterday as I want to give this a 3 too, but this is infinitely superior. That is the problem with scoring out of 5...
Primal Scream
3/5
I've seen Primal Scream 3 times, but never as the main draw, and two of those were headliner shows. That is my problem with them, they can be very hit and miss. This album has some really great tracks like 'Burning Wheel' and 'Kowolski' and then the rest is nothing special. They try to please too many with too many different styles and just doesn't gel. Bobby's singing is nearly as good as his dancing, but that doesn't matter as he does try, and everyone loves a trier. (Again it's still miles better than Deep Purple).
Lupe Fiasco
2/5
Better than I expected from a Rap artist, probably due to the samples and arrangements of the songs. This was also helped by the non-extreme lyrics. He seemed to be an exemplar of his genre, when it comes to lyrical content. Not that I was really concentrating on them too heavily. Worth a 2 (about the same level as Deep Purple's Machine Head).
The Byrds
5/5
People have said to me in the past, 'listen to the Byrds, they are right up your street'. Very never understood why, probably because it's always end up listening to the one with 'Mr Tambourine Man' on and think, this is slightly better than Busker Bob... So i had no high hopes for this.
What a surprise! A great bit of classic psychedelia.I really loved it, lots of experimentation and the use of the early synthesiser on 'Space Odyssey' I'm always a lover of a good effects pedal or two, then chuck in a few horns and what have you got? A 5.star record. I'm easy to please.
The Cure
5/5
One of the best albums ever made and it's not even my favourite by the Cure! When I first heard 'Swimming The Same Deep Water As You', which had been preceded by so many masterful songs... words failed me. With this album, they deserved to be one of the biggest bands in the world at that time, there are no fillers. I still find 'Lullaby' the weakest track in the album, but everyone loved it. The Cure probably wouldn't have had the year they had if they had released a 9 minute single though!
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
Not listened to much by Earth Wind and Fire, but maybe I should. Smooth funky soul stuff which was only done well in the 70's. A high 3.
Fats Domino
2/5
After listening to this, I'm feeling nostalgic for the innocent days of listening to Jimmy Saville's Old Record Club on Radio 2 on a Sunday afternoon. Luckily for me, this is the only Fats Mr Saville forced down my throat in my prepubescent years. But for its jolly tunes it gets a 2.
Dire Straits
3/5
It was hard to ignore this album when it first came out, especially as my dad loved it and he was one for playing things regularly. Today was the first time I've listened to it without my dad in the room. It could have been an emotional moment except for, in these modern civilised times, the use of the word 'faggot' in 'Money for Nothing' I'd forgotten about that. On the whole it's a quality album and deserves all the praise it has had over the years.
LL Cool J
3/5
I shall have to use similes to describe my feelings towards this; If LL Cool J is a finely crafted film like 'The Excorcist', then most modern rappers are like 'The Human Centipede'. I remember seeing him on the cover of the the NME etc and my natural reaction was to frown and avoid like the plague. So this is the first time I've got to actually hear anything by Ladies Love. First impressions were very favourable, pretty good use of samples, the lyrics didn't sound particularly offensive, but the most impressive thing was that his lyrics rhymed. All in all, excellent for its genre. 3
3/5
Bowie over an album can be more miss than hit. This is an exception, as its pretty good all the way through. But still I'm just not a Bowie fan and probably never will be. 3
Nick Drake
1/5
After reading the wiki page, I thought oh God no, this probably will be a pile of steaming excrement. Luckily it wad slightly better than what I expected. 1
Happy Mondays
5/5
1988 what a great year for discovering new music, with the Happy Mondays being one of the acts. I remember playing this to my unsuspecting colleagues, I loved it, they hated it, they loved Metal. They said nothing would come of the crap I listened to. A few years later I was redeemed. Well luckily for the world, Vince Clarke liked them enough to really launch their career with the remix of ‘Wrote for Luck’ and the rest is history. This is my favourite Mondays LP by a long way. A true masterpiece of Manchester sound. ‘Performance’ is a one hell of a song, but the album as a whole is pretty much perfect.
The White Stripes
4/5
A great album which should be played more often. Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this. Love the production, even the ballads are pretty good. 4
Tracy Chapman
3/5
My god this lady must have had a few issues with men in her life. Nothing like keeping it bottled up and putting a jolly front to the world, or not as the case may be. I've got to say my cold heart was touched by her story (ish) and musically it's was very good indeed. As for that Boyzone song, it was a surprise to find out she did it originally and also much better too. A high 3.
Solomon Burke
3/5
I really enjoyed this. Loved 'Crying', its a famous song, apart from the education given to me from good old Jimmy's Old Record Club, early 60's music is an undiscovered country to me. I liked his vocals, and the guitar was excellent, I love a bit of tremelo!
U2
5/5
Haven't listened to this in a long time, but i always love listening to 'Mysterious Ways' when it hear it on the radio. It's their finest song by a long way. Gone is the flag waving, and the later over indulgences of Joshua and Rattle, thank God. It made me despise this band and then they reinvented themselves in the best possible way. The Edge's guitar sound takes on a whole new life, the songs have an edgier feel to them (sorry), like the opener 'Zoo Station' which sets the scene for what comes next. 'One' is probably the nearest you get to old U2, but it still sounds refreshing. You can even dance to 'The Fly', or just stumble around to it if you are like me. 5 stars.
The National
3/5
Not really listened to this band, my brother has mentioned I should listen to them on occasion, and I can now see why. There is an element of melancholy and sadness about these songs, a world weary sound. I'm sure with further listens there will be standout tracks, but on one listen, all the songs sort of went on there similar merry (or not so merry) way. Definitely something I shall listen to again, but good enough for a 3 star score
Van Morrison
3/5
It's always good to have a happy sounding album appear on this 1001 thing when people have made you feel sad. You learn a new thing every day, and this one being discovering 'Crazy Love' was originally one of his songs. My preconceptions of him was that he was just a B-Tech Irish version of that old tramp Bob Dylan, but no, he's better than that. So just for bringing a bit of joy to a shit day, Mr. VM, you are going to get a better score than I'd normally give.
Elvis Costello
2/5
Another Costello album? Am I missing something? I thought 'Rocking Horse Road' was the standout track, the rest? I just found quite bland, maybe if I listened to him more I'd probably get him, but I don't in both cases. I would have to file this under; R Whites Lemonade or Easy Listening. Still, it's 100% better than his debut and the score reflects this.
Stan Getz
1/5
Sadly it got too repetitive with the same beat and rhythm near enough all the way through. A change of Latin beat may have boosted it up from 1
Metallica
5/5
The heady days of 1991 when grunge had become a thing in the public consciousness with 'Nevernind', so what does the masters of metal do? Go commercial! Just to put it out there, I hated metal, it's culture, it's clothes, all of it at the time. So what did I make of Metal lite? Its very good, listenable, tuneful, with a bite. I hate that odd metal vocal thing they all do, but apart from that it's a low 5. Yes I'm giving a Metallica album a 5.
Soul II Soul
1/5
Soul II Soul, those two singles were massive back when I started to go to proper nightclubs in 1988, where you had to get dressed up in suit and tie, those were the days! Those two songs were my two favourites from those days and evoke such happy memories of Sweetings in Bedford and Golden Flamingo in Milton Keynes. Shame that the album version of 'Back to Life' is some shitty accapella version, so due to only having one decent track on it, it's getting a high 1 star. Sorry!
Sam Cooke
2/5
Its better in places than I expected. Really enjoyed 'Nothing Can Change This Love'. I felt the vibe he was obviously trying to create at the venue, generating a lot of energy and fun. Worth a high 2
Giant Sand
3/5
I've heard a few Giant Sand songs a long time ago, and I never realised they were still going! This album was pretty good for them, I'm pretty sure they were more experimental and off the wall than this, but that does shine through in places. Maybe a bit too Americana folksy for my tastes though.
The Verve
5/5
This is the culmination of a wave of psych rock from the early 90's, where unknown bands suddenly became popular. Spiritualized were on TOTP, and this lot had a number 1 single! Madness! If LAGWAFIS was the heartbreak album, then this, the 3rd best NME album of 1997 was the happy 'I've got the girl' album. Lucky man indeed. Even though it is heavily watered down psychedelia for the masses, it is a gem of an album. Anything that brings public attention to these underground bands is a good thing, as they need to earn cash to keep going. Ashcroft must have known he was on to a winner, but also he should have checked to see if that violin sample was out of copyright ©️. Pretty much perfect from start to finish.
Blondie
5/5
Blonde are great, the New York scene in the 70's was buzzing with talent. The guitar work is fantastic, the different edges and emotions Debbie Harry manages to put into her vocals show how good a singer she was. Not really a bad track. A low 5.
Kid Rock
3/5
In places this is pretty good, but in places it's about as dire as it gets, eg 'Cowboy'. Some great Nu-Metal stuff, then why do a shitty yankie ballad and use auto tune? Only God Know Why... Pillock. As for the lyrics on other songs banging (on about) hoe's. Unoriginal and boring. Musically and vocally, as I've said, in places, it's really good, so it's got to be a high 2 or a low 3. Difficult.
KISS
1/5
Joke metal dressed as clowns. Truly awful. There is nothing positive I can say about it , apart from it ended.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
2/5
I'm too culturally separated from this stuff for me to fully appreciate it. They used to be featured on many an occasion in the music press back in the day, but I used to skip over it. So is is any good? I have no idea, as i have nothing to compare it with. But I liked the man who made the funny noises, because I am a child at heart. All I could think about was Paul Simon's Graceland, then I discovered why for obvious reasons. Good to see its not just Bob Geldorf who thinks it doesn't rain in Africa, even the locals sing it, so it must be true. I can't give it a 1, just because I don't understand it, as this could be the pinnacle of Adrican singing, so a 2 star seems fair.
Fiona Apple
2/5
I've seen Fiona Apple in many years' best albums lists, so I was looking forward to listening to this. The first song was pretty good, with its effects laden guitar. Then it all seemed to slide downhill with piano ballad after piano ballad. Things picked up on the last song, but it wasn't enough to lift it out of that rut. Shame.
Pearl Jam
3/5
Through my love of US hardcore, I came to like the nascent grunge scene featuring Green River, then Mudhoney, and all that sludgy grunge stuff, such as Dinosaur Jr, Nirvana with Bleach, then the super popular grunge of Nevermind. Then like all scenes, came the also rans, holding onto the coat tails, cashing in of the success of all these great bands, appeared Pearl Jam. OK, they were the other half of Green River, but I felt at the time (and still do) that they appeared as a polished, metal leaning chart orientated version of ‘alternative rock’, more in common with Soundgarden and Metalica’s Black Album. My problem has always been that Metal orientation. However I absolutely adored ‘Alive’, it’s an absolute better of a song. The rest of this? It’s ok, but I felt this album led to a downhill slide that led to all those other commercial heavy alt rock pop bands, finishing up with the ghastly Stiltskin. It’s always been a classic rock style album in alt rock clothes done good, plenty of great songs, but just too polished for my taste (Sorry Iain!). But with this listen when I take out the layers of history, I could appreciate it for what it is – a really enjoyable album that propelled guitar music further into the mainstream, so that’s a good thing!
Bill Callahan
2/5
I should dislike this on paper, words like country and folk, enough to make me run for the hills, but I didn't. That could have been due to the little word 'alternative'. Once I'd got over his distinctive voice and settled into its gentle style and rhythms, there was a lot to like on first listen. Will I listen again? Probably not.
Guided By Voices
2/5
This seemed like a missed opportunity. There were several potentially great songs on this, but it appeared to be a load of half baked ideas lobbed onto a record. I loved the Lo-fi production values, which reminded me of early Fall, but the ittty bitty songs should have condensed. Maybe this style was what they were aiming for, and fair play. It probably way ahead of it's time, and would have been perfect for Tik Tok's 15 second video clips or something shite like that.
Brian Eno
4/5
What a great album, I've never listened to Brian Eno before, I shall now. I really loved the experimental nature which Eno instilled in his collaborators. It sounds way ahead of it's time. Who said the early 70's was a barren wasteland for British musical talent? Err me. I've been proved wrong on this occasion.
Metallica
2/5
My problem with heavy metal as a genre is exemplified here, with the same old riffs, silly growly vocals, trying to sound aggressive and not to forget, the melodic introspective, which lead into the heavy guitar. Standard formulaic stuff.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
By far the worst Reading Festival headliner I've seen all the way through. There was just no energy, AK had to keep resting in between songs and Flea brought on his (grand?) children to do cartwheels. WHY? That said, that event will not cause any unconscious retrograde bias for this album. I knew the singles and very good they are too (for them). The rest kept my attention well enough nit a big fan of Fleas bass playing but Frusciante's guitar playing is exceptional. They certainly aren't a go-to band at all for me, (in fact there are very few US bands that are) but I may play my CD in the car again sometime in the future.
Frank Ocean
2/5
Certainly not Billy Ocean. This man has received lots of praise over the years from music press, and I can see why. It was a very interesting take on modern R&B, wuite experimental. I liked his voice too.
Kate Bush
2/5
I didn't expect an experimental album from Kate Bush! Not that I know much about her apart from her singles from the radio. I suppose she wanted to be seen as a proper artist and not just a sex symbol I suppose. I did recognise one song and it wasn't disastrous.
The Stooges
5/5
One of the cornerstones of punk and indie rock. This band have influenced so many of my favourite artists. This, their second album, still has that raw energy, and dare I say it, power from their debut. But the main difference between the two is they must have spent a bit of time learning how to play their instruments properly, although that has normally not a problem if you have the enthusiasm, which the Stooges had in spades. This contains their best track, the slow burning, sleazy 'Dirt'. 'T.V. Eye is immense. Even the freestyle jam at the end, 'LA Blues' highlights their inventiveness. It's such a glammy, energetic, riot of a record, which I dont think they ever got close to matching. It's in my top 75 altime great albums somewhere. A high 5 all day.
Jurassic 5
2/5
This was inoffensive, which made a refreshing change in this genre. Maybe because it didn’t hold my attention well enough, for whatever intricacies there were in this, to seep into my consciousness. Well, some old crap like that. I might give it another listen when I'm not as distracted, but it seems unlikely my opinion would change from 'ordinary' to 'wonderful'
Nirvana
5/5
This was the best way to stick two fingers up at the corporate music industry. You hire one of the most scary of sound engineers to record the follow up to what is probably one of the biggest rock albums of all time, those Geffen Execs must have been shitting themselves when the name Albini was mentioned. For good reason, the influences are all there, hardcore Big Black with ‘Scentless Apprentice’, what a track! I remember buying ‘Heart Shaped Box’ and playing it stupidly loud about 12 times in a row (how my parents must have loved that), it’s probably the only Nirvana song I cannot get bored of. Plenty of loud/quiet Pixies influenced stuff. But the big middle finger to the millions of Nirvana fans who have never heard of Mudhoney, etc, is ‘Radio Friendly Unit Shifter’, not exactly what it says on the tin. What a follow up to the shiny Nevermind, the masses lapped it up, but I have no idea why. It’s not your average rock album is it? Musically it is a complete smack round the head, I can imagine it made the average listener think they were really cool, without really understanding they were being mocked. Bless them all and I wonder if they still own or even play it? It’s a massive 5.
Gotan Project
1/5
Name me a good French artist.... go on then... Plastic B... Daft P.... Vanessa P... Jean M..... nope. Air! Yes! How about Metal Urban? Yes! Maybe the Gonad Project? Nope. It was a bit tedious wasn't it?
The Triffids
3/5
I'd forgotten all about The Triffids until I played the first song which jogged my memory. It's rare to find a halfway decent Aussie band. My only issue with it is that I had forgot about them, so they were never a band I would actively listen to. That said, I might stick a couple of tracks on a playlist. Or I might not as I'll probably forget about them again.
The Icarus Line
5/5
When this popped up, I’d never heard of The Icarus Line, no idea of genre, there was a clue with the record label, V2, that it would be guitar led, that was all I had to go on, so I just stuck it on and hoped for the best. After probably less than 10 seconds I had a very big smile on my face.
This album totally blew me away. It was released in the raising children period of my life, so they got missed. OK, I did discover At The Drive In in this period, but this is on another level. That deep rumbling bass, the mangled guitar. The changes of pace and styles, that very random ode to Suicide with ‘Meatmaker’ I didn’t see that coming. I could hear hints of Jesus and Mary Chain with ‘Getting Bright at Night’ and also ‘Sea Sick’ with a hint of Loop in there too, leaning into some classic grunge, not to mention the obvious Stooges influences, some surprising influences for a band from California.
Ironically when I read up about this album, and the band in general, I found out I’d seen Joe Cardamone live back in 2017, supporting Mark Lanegan, but unfortunately, I didn’t do my homework, and didn’t concentrate too hard on what I was listening to at the time, if I had then I would have had this band in my life a lot earlier. Also this was engineered and recorded in London by the legend Alan Moulder, who is responsible for many of my favourite albums of all time, I could see how he must have shaped their sound, and make it appealing especially for my ears.
This album is a beauty (the follow up sounded brilliant too), it is one of those reasons why I am doing this challenge. Amongst the shite, there is a gem like this. It’s probably going to be a future top 50 all time great for me. I’m going to buy it today.
Isaac Hayes
4/5
4 tracks, each over 10 minutes long? An 8 minute monologue on the last? Yeah baby! This was great. Loved the orchestration on track 4. Probably the best cover version of 'Walk on By' ever. Worth 4 stars.
Beatles
1/5
Early Beatles just sounds dated nowadays. I don't mind the numerous cover versions on this mixed in with the odd self penned song. but its just pure pop music for the screaming hoards. Its all a very happy and positive sound of youth, before experience of life, and drugs kicked in.
Pixies
3/5
Pixies' third album is a polished affair compared to their previous 2 efforts. Still not what I'd call full on mainstream, but just enough oddness to keep them from becoming a huge band back then. As far as I'm concerned it is the start of a downwards spiral for them. Well, there was only one way to go after making two of the finest albums of the 1980's.
The Waterboys
2/5
I was not a fan of their pompous, overblown 'Whole of the Moon' era. This sounds more like the Pogues, but without the edge, which I guess was the aim? Pleasant enough and slightly more enjoyable than I expected.
Christina Aguilera
2/5
Ah Xtina! I prefered her over Britney in every way, better singing, songs and videos. Should I admit to that last one? 'Dirty' and 'Beautiful' are 2 of her best songs, the rest of it is just ok. I bought this years ago, and I haven't played it since 2002 probably, which must say something.
Miles Davis
1/5
Jolly jazz at its best. Great for background music, which it was on this listen. So unfortunately it didn't have or grab my attention as much as it should have done.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
2/5
It's not bad for a 60's rock record. I couldn't work out what their singer was saying in a couple of songs. No way was he singing 'Wrote a song for Everyone' in that chorus. But in the whole it passed half an hour pleasantly enough.
Korn
1/5
Ah Nu Metal. I quite liked this genre with Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit, but this lot passed me by. For good reason, it's awful, especially the vocals which were, like fully fledged Metal, cringeworthy at best. This is like a desert for me in terms of music.
Pink Floyd
4/5
Instrumentally this is so good, absolutely groundbreaking psychedelic stuff. Lyrically it is a bit iffy, but what do expect from ideas drawn from a shed load of drugs? Its not an album I intentionally listen to a lot nowadays, or even when I was younger for that matter, but it is still a pleasure to listen to when the opportunity arises. The standout tracks are 'Astronomy Domine' and 'Interstellar Overdrive'. It is let down by 'The Gnome', I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Eric Clapton
5/5
For personal reasons. 5 stars.
Eagles
2/5
More beige than my teddy bear. Paint by numbers rock. I think you get it
Kanye West
3/5
This is the second KW album I've listened to now. I first thought my first experience was an aberration, so much so that I enjoyed it and gave the first on a 4 star review. Maybe it isn't an aberration after all as this was better than expected. The standout track was 'Jesus Walks', I might even add it to a playlist! He may not be my thing but I can understand his appeal.
The Divine Comedy
2/5
I don't understand why this is on here, surely it's not even their best work? I liked it, but it really isn't a standout album i feel I need to listen to before I die.
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
I used to love those 1970's Blaxploitation films when there was nothing else to watch back in the days of 3 or 4 channels on TV. The soundtracks were always good and this one, Like 'Shaft' were the most famous. When a funky soul is done well, it should sound like this.
Aphex Twin
2/5
Very ambient as it says on the tin. I did prefer the previous album 'Digeridoo'. By thr time this album came out I had moved on to Mahler I think. Great as background noise.
Bill Evans Trio
1/5
What the hell was that? Best live Jazz album ever? No it can't be. The only way I will ever listen to this again is on vinyl, with all the grooves glued up.
Radiohead
5/5
An exceptionally good record, not a bad song. I still think it is their best album, but only marginally better than 'OK Computer' though. Highlights are 'Just', 'High and Dry' and 'Fake Plastic Trees'. This has a special place in my heart, as it was a 'British' album which wasn't 'Pop'. It is my go to Radiohead album when I'm in that sort of cheery mood.
Tim Buckley
1/5
After listening to this I was left baffled. I was trying to work out if I liked it or not - another case of Marmite syndrome? After a brief spell of reflection, the answer was no and a tiny bit of yes. Instrumentally it was OK, but the vast majority of the vocals were a big messy pre-Ayrton Senna style car crash (they knew how to do them properly before 1994). One thing is for sure, I shall not go out of my way to listen to anyone called Buckley in the future, unless James Buckley decides to do a cover album of Kasabian songs playing a violin.
Talking Heads
3/5
Talking Heads are a bit like Marmite, sometimes they hit the spot, and sometimes it's just brown sludge. This was definitely the former I've never listened to this before, and it's well worth another spin. There was a lot going on, so I was unable to appreciate the subtleties, another few plays and it might get a higher score.
Madonna
4/5
What a combination, i like Madonna and i love Wiliam Orbit. At this point in his career, Mr Orbit was at the height of success and called in to produce some of the biggest names in music. So this should be a top album? On the most part, it is, it has thr usual fantastic spacey instrumentation one expects from Orbit, with its electronic bleeps and lush guitar sweeps. But there are a few odd bits like 'shanti shanti' religious stuff yes Madge, we knew you had taken up some obscure religion, but we dont have to hear it on your record. So if she had left the kobblers out and it could have been a high 5. Because of the odd annoying thing its just a high 4.
Hawkwind
4/5
I don't know whether I should admit this, but I really liked this. Long thudding repetative tunes, filled with swirly noises and loads of effects. I always love a good bit of wah wah pedal action too. Stylistically it's not a million miles from many bands I love in alternative psychedelia. It might have got a 5 star rating, but it gets knocked down by the pseudo mystical bollocks about space and stuff.
Beth Orton
3/5
I discovered this album only a couple of years ago. I absolutely adore 'Stolen Car', its such a great song, the rest of the album doesn't live up to its quality unfortunately. But it's still pretty good for a folky rock album.
The Mothers Of Invention
1/5
What was probably seen as groundbreaking at the time can only be seen with my modern eyes as childishly inept. I could only compare this to modern immature cringeworthy artists like Wheatus and the like. If you want bad taste art rock then check out the Butthole Surfers.
Roni Size
1/5
A genre I don't understand or particularly like. Basically it's music for brainless people who have no imagination or curiosity in the large world in front of their eyes. If this is an exceptionally good example of Drum and Bass then I dread to think how bad the shit stuff is.
Neu!
2/5
This was so mellow and ambient that it just washed over me, entering my consciousness every now and then in a reasonably nice way. Stuff like this is for doing things and listening to it in the background. I wouldn't dare listen to it in the bath, as I might relax so much and drown. Did anyone check to see what Whitney Houston was listening to that fateful day? I bet it was this.
Donald Fagen
1/5
I shall paint a vignette of a scene in the making of the album. 'There they all are, Donald's curated set of professional musicans in the studio, sitting in a circle, smiling at each other in that knowing way, encouraging each other, and all deep in that vibe only musicians can get into, feeling that they are lovingly crafting a masterpiece for the ages. In the other room, behind the glass is sitting the sound engineers, he's not feeling it at all. He is questioning why he signed up for this gig. Aghast at what he his seeing and hearing, he had forgot to press record on the new fangled digital recording device, he gets up and walks out muttering someing like ' fucking pretentious musos'. When Donald and his merry crew go to check out the fruits of their labours, they are shocked to discover the empty room and nothing recorded. Unfortunately, they were never able to recreate that wanky vibe in all its hideous technicolour. Such a shame.
The Go-Betweens
2/5
Firstly, I find Australia a desolate barren place with nothing much going on in the centre. It is echoed in 90% of this country's musical output. This is ok, pleasing enough, but it has that empty Autralianness about it.
fIREHOSE
2/5
This is another band who I should have heard of but probably haven't, although, i have listened to MINUTEMEN back in the day. It could have been a review in the NME that may have put me off them in the first place. On first listen, it fell somewhere between Math Rock and the Eagles. Maybe that is why I didn't bother first time round. But on the whole it was ok with just enough of an edge to keep me happy.
Weather Report
1/5
I was expecting Jazz, I got slightly jazzy lift music instead. I happen to be able to enjoy jazzy lift music in the right setting. Today was one of this moments where 90% of my brain was occupied elsewhere, and this seeped through the cracks in my concentration.
The Sugarcubes
2/5
I was never a big fan of these when this came out. So I never bought it or listened to it, apart from when my brother was playing it on occasion. Surely that must mean something? But after all this time, it was actually quite good.ill have to give it another play to name any standout tracks, apart from the famous 'Birthday'. But it's worth a 2 for the moment, just for the fact that I haven't listened to this in over 35 years.
Sugar
3/5
Great album by ex Husker Du man, Bob Mould. It brought back lots of memories of the times I used to go to stay round friends houses and going to nightclubs in London. The problem is that I haven't listened to it since those days, which is an indicator that this was a take it or leave it album. But it was good to give it a couple of blasts over the weekend.
Gram Parsons
1/5
No, never again. Cliche ridden rubbish. I cannot see any entertainment value in this dreadful genre.
Nirvana
5/5
This is a fantastic album. Itwas the album that brought 'grunge' into the public consciousness. It's a shame as with the singles still being played on heavy rotation on many radio stations, it has lost that sparkle. Some songs I just can't listen to anymore because of this. If Nirvana had stayed esoteric, then I think I'd play it more. But it is full of bangers
The Residents
3/5
I've only met one fan of the Residents, he was slightly odd, but a nice bloke. I get the impression the same could be said of the band members. Apart from the silly vocals, the songs and their arrangements were pretty good. I shall explore this band further.
Miles Davis
1/5
An album of slightly more than nothing.
Barry Adamson
2/5
This could have been so good if 50% of the tracks had been culled. What was point of some of these, such as 'Vermillion Kisses' and 'Dirty Barry'? It became a very jarring listen.
Missy Elliott
1/5
I cant think of any positives for this album whatsoever, so I won't pretend there are any. I do struggle with rap/ hip-hop at the best of times, but if you are going to release a 'work in progress', then please show me ears the decency of finishing it before final release.
Steve Winwood
1/5
Tedious.
Dion
2/5
I quite liked this, which surprised me. The first few songs really grabbed me, but it did seem to drag on towards the end. The arrangements were good, but I do wonder if Phil Spector's involvement helped make this album what it is.
Moby Grape
2/5
This was quite hard to find, and had to listen on YouTube. A couple of my favourite albums aren't on big streaming sites, people are missing out on so much music because of this. So I was expecting great things from this potential forgotten treasure. It was ok, nothing particularly outstanding. The back story was probably the best thing about it.
Aimee Mann
1/5
Whatever sums this up. It's too smooth and well produced for my palette. I'm sure Americans lapped it up, but I can't see why it's on this list, asit hasn't improved my life in any way at all.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Don't tell anyone, but I actually enjoyed a Bob Dylan album. 'Cold Irons Bound' was bloody marvelous. The rest plodded on in a miserable but great kind of way.
Steely Dan
1/5
As bad as Fagans solo effort. But with more mates rather than session musicians. Who would want to actually listen to this non entity?
Buffalo Springfield
2/5
After one listen I can't make up my mind whether I like it or hate it. Maybe after a few listens I might decide. But life is too short.
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
The mid 2000's a bit of a desert for decent music. Just ask the UK government. Reporter; 'Mr Blunket, have heard of the Arctic Monkeys?', David Blunket MP; 'Yes of course I have, I look good on the dancefloor, and I've seen them twice!'. Reporter raises his eyebrows and walks away, muttering 'bloody lying bastard'. It's a great album and it didn't need all the rubbish hype that went with it.
Tori Amos
2/5
In places this really grabbed my attention and thought, she's great, then in lots more places, I was thinking, just shut up please. I'm sure she was getting some very important message across on large parts of this album, but it was completely lost on me.
Steely Dan
1/5
Steely Dan appear to be the Black Hole of music. Into the event horizon disappears this bands’ and their merry gathering of session musicians’ credibility, whilst sucking the enjoyment of music out of people.
If I was talking literally, that this Black Hole was a real thing, and it were even possible to escape an object like this, Steely Dan and their session musos would be propelled into the far future. This monstrous group would then be able unleash more shit like this on my descendants. In this strange scenario of my own making, before these musicians return, I would now be hoping Earth will be hit by a nine and a half mile wide asteroid* to save others from this beige misery.
*An object somewhere between 8-9 miles would be of a sufficient size to destroy all life on Earth, but it is best to make sure there is no margin for error when the stakes are this high.
Leonard Cohen
1/5
I love J&MC's cover of 'Tower of Song', it's a bit of a wall of noise, like a lot of their songs. So I was hoping for great things from Leonard's alleged return to form. I didn't get them, it wasn't very good, the cheesy synths made it worse. I don't like poetry either, so he was on a hiding to nothing.
Meat Puppets
2/5
Lo-fi, as expected from the SST label in the 1980's. Meat Puppets were on my radar, but never in my collection. I was too busy listening to their label mates Screaming Trees. That said this wasn't too bad, but you can hear their influence in many bands that followed them. It's a 2.4, just not enough to get it to the other side for a 3 star.
Willie Nelson
3/5
Surprisingly better than I hoped. This is how Country music should sound like. This is the sort of thing you would go to see performed in a barn, sitting on haystacks. I bet there wasn't a single glossy cowboy boot anywhere to be seen when this was recorded, and certainly no line dancing. It's still not my thing, but I get it.
Ray Charles
1/5
Just looking at the title, this was on a hiding to nothing. Then imagine my surprise after listening to it, discovering that this really wasn't Country and Western music, old or modern after all. What a blessing. However it was still of load of crap.
The The
3/5
'Infected' is a great record. Not as good as 'Soul Mining', which is in my top 50 of all time, but a solid effort. ' Sweet Bird of Truth' and the title track are bangers. As I don't play this like it's predecessor, it's a high 3, not quite a 4
Wild Beasts
1/5
I remember this when it was released. Listened to it once. Forgot about it until now. After typing this I will forget about it again.
Adele
4/5
Adelle's finest year. An album full of bangers. One has to overlook that dreadful Cure cover though. I can actually listen to this album with some modicum of enjoyment still and remember the time she had talent.
Anita Baker
1/5
Loved the big hit at the start 'Sweet Love', then it was just pretty ordinary stuff to the end. No wonder I didn't know anything else by her. It's not bad enough for a 1 star and not good enough for a 2. A dilemma I shall not lose sleep over
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
I don't mind a bit of Echo and the Bunny men. I grew up listening to them being played by my brother. They aren't a go to band for me, but they always brighten up my day when I listen to them. I don't think this is their finest release, but the two singles are great.
The Smiths
5/5
Stop me if you've heard this one before, but this is a beautiful album full of pop tunes and typically melancholy lyrics. The excellent production and extra instrumentation gives this record such a big sound. It was such a shame this super talented quartet split after this. I love it.
Ride
5/5
Ah shoegaze. One of the finest sub sub sub genres of guitar music. Much maligned at the time, forgotten for years. Then a whole new generation rediscovered it in the mid 2010's. I personally have never forgotten it. It is intertwined with some of my favourite times of my life. Early 1990's bumming around mates flats and houses in north London, gigging and clubbing more nights than I should have. I love anything with lots of guitar effects, with a tune or not. Luckily Ride's debut has all these elements in spades. I remember reading a review of one of their early gigs in the NME and describing them 'like the House of Love with chainsaws'. What was not to like? Alan Moulder produced this too.
Seagull a great opener with it's Beatles bass line, it just thunders along.with it's big crashing ending.
kaleidoscope noise and pop done with a headlong rush to the finish.
in A Different Place is a beautiful song, I love the chorus pedal leading this song.
Polar Bear with it's tremelo ridden phased guitar line chugs along.
Dreams Burn Down is majestic with it's feedback driven highs and crashing lows. A highlight of their sets in small pubs in Dunstable, and now in Brixton Academy.
Decay ups the tempo again, with a scorching guitar line and thudding drums.
The dreamy Paralysed is a pure pop song, with a tough of sadness about it.
Everyone loves (or should love) Vapour Trail with that long intro/outro jangling along through it.
This is in my top ten albums of all time. To be in there it has got to be able to cope with me discovering a new facet to it with every listen. This still keeps my attention after 35 years.
The Young Rascals
2/5
There is so much to like on this record, but there is so much to dislike too.the first two and last two songs were great. The highlight was most definitely 'Find Somebody'. The rest was ok and kept my toe tapping and head swaying in a Stevie Wonder style. This is all well and good at home, but on a train in the way to see my favourite band? Maybe not. The only thing stopping me giving this a 3 star rating is the fact I cave my friends favourite bands record a 4 and he will be cross with me. So it will have to be a mid 2.
Fred Neil
1/5
What the fuck was this with his deep voice? The least worrying thing was the cover art.
The Rolling Stones
1/5
Another reason why I never got into the Stones. It's great that they managed to capture that 'vibe' they were looking for. But it's totally lost on me. There were a couple of glimmers of greatness, but I really couldn't be arsed to find out what the tracks were called. I won't bother with this again.
Frank Black
3/5
This was a bit of a mixed bag, as in styles not quality. As with most artists I do tend to lose interest in them after 1, 2, 3 or if they are lucky 4 albums. Poor old Black Francis or whatever he chose to call himself on his solo albums fell into this category. I was impressed,as some of it was better than late Pixies work. I shall have to give it a few more listens though.
Christina Aguilera
1/5
I don't mind a bit of Christina, but 78 minutes continuously? No. It was all too much for me. I can cope with in 10 minute bites, but no more.
Tom Waits
1/5
Oh dear, I've heard of this and possibly have listened to it, as I had a mate who liked him a lot. He left such a lasting impression. It's not very good.
Morrissey
3/5
I did think at the time that it be eclipsed by the disintegration of The Smiths not long before. But it was a solid debut by Morrissey, nevertheless it was and like all of his solo material, missing that magic his former band members, especially the co songwriter Johnny Marr. The two singles are head and shoulders above the rest of this album, the rest is ok.
Sepultura
2/5
Experimental Thrash Metal? I failed to hear anything experimental. Is sounded like Trash Metal. I wasn't aware the album had finished, as the song playing straight after sounded exactly like then, but is was by a band called Exodus. That's the problem with this genre, there is little room for experimentation when you are hammering your instruments as fast as you can. Maybe that's why I like the Wedding Present, they did fast better. It was ok, but it didn't make me want to delve deeper into the genre.
Pulp
3/5
Not my go to Pulp album, that's 'His 'n' Hers', but this has lots of bangers from start to finish. It's always good to stick it on every once in a while.
Buzzcocks
3/5
The Buzzcocks were a Punk band that I could take or leave. I saw them in 1990 and was still of the same mind. Haven't gone out of my way to listen to them in 35 years. But does that mean it's rubbish? No, it's very good in places. In fact the last 4 or 5 songs were excellent.
Haircut 100
3/5
Everyone knows the singles, the rest was of a similar level of quality and energy. I really enjoyed listening to this and will play it again very soon and lose all my credibility.
The Youngbloods
2/5
This was a bit of a Hodge podge of styles. It had bit of psyche, folk, country and god knows what, all slapped together over the course of the album. It could have been great, but it sounded like a slightly edgy Eagles. That's not good in my book. I don't think it was bad enough for a 1, but not really good enough for a 2. I'll sleep on it.
Simple Minds
5/5
One of my top ten albums of all time. The criteria for the top albums: it's got to not have a duff track. It's got to survive continuous plays without it becoming a chore. Every play you have tingles and goose bumps. You can appreciate it as a whole or focus on different elements and sometimes discover something new. This fits the bill. It is a perfect album in every way. The drums are often metronomic and then can go in irregular patterns. Derek Forbes, one of my top 4 bassists, is on fire here, sometimes complex, sometimes subtle, but always something that holds the songs together. The swirling keyboards often take the foreground with Kerr's vocals, but aleays backed up with Burchill's effects laden guitar, which adds to this chilled atmospheric work. My review will never do this justice. 100%.
Femi Kuti
1/5
An interesting African album, unfortunately I have no idea whether this is in any way 'African sounding' or it's Western influenced, so I'll judge it on what it was: not for me.
The Darkness
2/5
Musically this is ok for some sort of neo-glam rock thing. Then Justin opens his gob and it just becomes a parody of the genre which the world could have done without. That said it was fun in places.
3/5
In some ways Muse should be a band I really like, great guitar work, baselines galore, quality tunes. Then there reasons why I should hate them, that grandiose Queen style over the topness of it all. Basically, I don't hate it like them that much, but I do own several of their albums and can take them or leave them. That said this album is one of their best, so it deserves a 3.
Pink Floyd
2/5
I've always felt I should be a Floyd fan, but I think they were tainted by one of my 'dads bands', which equals the kiss of death most of the time on the whole the album is ok, with the big singles, but several duff songs too. It's a tricky 2.
Mike Ladd
3/5
As Rap goesz this is really good. That could be because it sounded very different to the standard fare the genre trots out. Lots of strange electro noises and even the vocals were not grating on my nerves. Well done Ladd.
The Beta Band
3/5
At the moment, I'm giving this a 3 star, as this was very good. They are yet another band which I have never got round to properly listening to. It was a lot more electronic than I expected, as I'd always thought they were a guitar band. Life is full of surprises.
CHIC
3/5
Yeah baby! The distinctive sound of Nile Rogers' Chic. It's so distinctive that I can tell his guitar work from 100 paces. That's the only problem, it's a bit repetitive, but a nice sounding repetition. I really liked this.
George Michael
2/5
Dear George,
I hope you realise that listening without any prejudice would mean an instant 5 star review. Unfortunately I am, like all humans, fatally flawed. Therefore there will be an element of judgement involved in listening and the subsequent review of your album. The saddest thing is that you will never get to read my letter to you as you died of a heart attack. I will not even hold that 'lorry driver in the toilet' incident against you, that is how unprejudiced I shall be. Loved the singles mate, didn't like some other tracks. I felt you didn't need to do a new version of Freedom, but I guess you weren't happy with the original. First you don't succeed and all that crap..
Yours sincerely,
Chris
Jeru The Damaja
1/5
I was expecting the worst, it's always good to set ones expectations before embarking on most things. Sometimes it is good to have surprises too. This was a surprise as it wasn't as dog shit as I thought it would be. Still, I was glad it ended and I could put on some Kylie.
The Psychedelic Furs
4/5
This is a great album, yet another 'I haven't listened to it in years' album. It's a bit post punk/goth so I'm bound to like it. Amazingly enough it was produced by Steve Lillywhite who is renowned for his polish and sparkle. None of that here thank goodness. A dark fuzzy mess is the best thing I can say about it.
1/5
This did not do anything for me at all. Their heyday had definitely passed by this point in their career. All soft edges and very little quirkiness.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
1/5
The only Reggae song I've ever liked was SL2' 'On a Ragga Tip'. Badaya badaya bad ddd die deya. Marley is poo.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
1/5
I'm sure this is an excellent example of this genre. The thing I loved the most about this was the song titles, 'The Boll Weevill' is inspired. As for the actual music, I can imagine this hasn't dated at all for some people and they think this is still relevent in this day and age. For me, it was a very painful 30 minutes.
Sonic Youth
5/5
I loved Sonic Youth when I first heard the album 'Sister' and was hooked. I saw them at Brixton Academy in 1990 when they toured this album and they were immense. I remember reading that the band toured and recorded with around 30 guitars tuned in a certain way. My mum hated them as she could hear those special tunings better than I could, so I tended not to play S.Y. when she was around. If you don't like energy, chaos, noise and detuned guitars, then this probably isn't for you.
Black Sabbath
2/5
This was a lot better than I expected, Metal isn't one of my things. Maybe that was the reason it was ok as it wasn't really metallic. I didn't realise 'Changes' was a Sabbath song either. So I shall put this listening as a reasonably enjoyable learning experience for me, rather than the usual chore.
The Cars
2/5
Its slightly better than I had thought it would be. What makes it special though? The radio play of the singles even nowadays? I don't know. It's well performed and glossy, which is something I normally avoid in albums of this vintage. Not really much more to say about it apart from it's complete lack of offensiveness
Killing Joke
4/5
Class stuff. Funny how I listened to a lot of contemporanious stuff as well as influenced by this band, bit not this band. It's a case of too much around and not enough time. Still now I have heard the whole thing and not just the singles, it's excellent.
Adele
1/5
M.e.h. she had lost any appeal I may have had 4 years before. Her singing style had become so last decade. the songs were up her own arse. Nothing to see here.
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
It's good to dust this off every now and then. 3 big singles which blow your head off. But it is 'My Kingdom' which is the standout album track. The strings bring an extra layer to their sound, giving the songs a more epic feel. They should have been as big as U2 but they missed that boat.
Slipknot
1/5
It's nothing new, it's not big , it's not clever. Brain dead rubbish for brain dead people.
1/5
Yet another reason why I hate Bob Dylan. It was not helped by it being a double album. Do people actually listen to this for enjoyment or just to annoy their pets? The only saving grace was 'Like a Rolling Stone'. I always say an artist has one classic in them and that is his. But it's not enough to give this any more than a 1 star.
Youssou N'Dour
2/5
It was ok for what it is, I could have seen him at Glastonbury 92 but didn't have a clue who he was and there was artists much more to my liking to see instead. Now I've listened to him, I feel I made the right choice.
Girls Against Boys
2/5
I liked this up to a point, it's on Touch and Go records, which is a good thing. But it sounded like safe, by numbers U.S. hardcore, you could smell the influences from a distance of at least a mile away. If I had been a mile a way I wouldn't have heard it. The best way I can get my feelings across would be to describe this as a bunch of Big Black wannabees who had the smack over the head clout of Black Lace.
Amy Winehouse
1/5
Sorry Amy but I don't like your music. Although she was probably a genuine credible artist, she was still packaged like the X Factor artists they were trying to differentiate from. I remember this album being advertised on the TV, like Micheal Bublé albums were, and that was like the kiss of death for me back then. Musically and vocally it's competent, but it's boring.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
5/5
This beastie in in my top 20 albums of all time. Psychocandy on its release is one of those albums that reset the musical landscape. There was nothing like it beforehand, they had the idea of mixing a strange take of US surfer rock with the sound of Hell seemed like a good plan at the time. Think about what was coming out of Scotland prior to this, and you'll be thinking of the Jangly twee guitars of Orange Juice and Aztec Camera, or the stadium rock of Simple Minds. This band with their cool image, backstory of friction between them, and a broken fuzz pedal should have taken over the world with this and their later releases. [A Manchester band tried the same tactic about 9 years later, but with a working fuzz pedal, yawn] Thee isn't a band track on this, my personal favourites are 'You Trip Me Up' and 'The Hardest Walk'. 100% perfect begining of a legendary band.
Daft Punk
1/5
Boring. Why would anyone choose to listen to this bland excuse for electronic music?
Doves
3/5
A top album by an underrated band. They are a bit of an outlier when it comes to my regular go to artists. At least it's not Sub Sub par.
The Temptations
2/5
If stuff like this comes up I enjoy it at the time, then I instantly forget about it. It's very good for what it is, but just not my everyday listen.
Magazine
2/5
There are two absolute stone cold classics on this album;' Shot By Both Sides' and 'The Light Pours Out of Me'. Most of the rest is a bit wild with the keyboards in places for my taste. That's probably why I only listen to those two tracks when I'm in a post punk mood. It's a 2.5 star effort for just those two songs.
k.d. lang
1/5
Not for me. Cliche ridden country pop.
Pere Ubu
2/5
A very odd but intriguing album. They were one of those bands doing their own thing. The vocals are very way out there, which does make it a difficult listen. I can't dismiss this out of hand. There is a lot going on instrumentally too, so I shall have to give it another listen to see if it's worth my time.
Aerosmith
2/5
As 'Rock' goes it was an easy listen, maybe too easy for my taste. I didn't take in his lyrics, which always seems to be in the sleazy side. By numbers rock.
Super Furry Animals
5/5
I love the Super Furry Animals. What is not to like? Who would have thought there would have been a thing as Welsh Psychedelia? It must be a prime mushroom growing area I suppose. Although it's a top album, it isn't as raw as their earlier stuff, which I prefer. This is one of those albums you can listen to without skipping a track and enjoy it's eclectic weirdness. A 4.5 star album.
Hot Chip
3/5
A take or leave band. I've seen them live, where they were entertaining enough, although the highlight of the set was 'Sabotage' by the Beastie Boys. That got the crowd going! Although I've listened to a few of their albums, just to see if they would grow in me or not, they hadn't as yet....
However I had not listened to this one, it does seem to be their best effort. It has a fair few nice cheerful melodies which put me in an instant good mood. If you don't 'feel' the music then it's not done it's job. This I did, so I'm happy to give it a 3 for starters.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
4/5
Wow! What a great album. I really should have listened to more of Captain Beefheart when I was younger. It's certainly more accessible than TMR, but still off enough to make it stand out from most 1960's artists. This will certainly be getting a few more listens in future.
Tim Buckley
1/5
Popstar attempts psychedelia. This is the 1960's equivalent of Taylor Swift making a death metal album. It's not going to turn out well..
The Pretty Things
2/5
This psyche band have been on my to listen list for eternity, and finally I have at long last. It wasn't too bad if you ignore the fact that it is a rock opera with some crappy story. Instrumentally it was excellent in places but over all it was a bit underwhelming.
Kendrick Lamar
1/5
This is scattergun rubbish. Too many ideas, such as a sort of freeform jazz number with a crap rap, then there would be some sort of rap ballad. The only song of note was called Mr Kunty or some attention grabbing nonsense like that. Very disappointing for Kendrick, I expected better from one of the superstars of this genre.
The Auteurs
2/5
I always saw this lot as a sub par Suede. I still do. Enjoyable enough, but just no spark.
Dagmar Krause
2/5
WTF? I was expecting an Eastenders Pub singalong album, then I realised I had read the artists name wrong. What I actually got was even more surprising, an German bird goose stepping through the Teutonic version of Gilbert and Sullivan. I just don't know what to think. Was it good or was it something that should never have happened? 1 star for the surprise, and 1 star for not having Kathy and Wilmott-Braaahn on singing duties.
Al Green
3/5
34 minutes of Al Green was just perfect. A minute more and the whole vibe would have crashed and burned. Obviously I only knew the famous single, but the rest complimented it very well. A great summer album.
Baaba Maal
3/5
Repetition Repetition Repetition. 'We have Repetition in our music and we will never gonna lose it' MES. This has some intricate guitar playing repeated over and over and over in each song. This is combined with Lion king style vocals, but it works so well.im waffling.
Morrissey
4/5
Heavy Morrissey! It's been too long, as I had forgot about this. Great guitar work, vocals on top form. What is not to like?
Brian Wilson
5/5
The legendary Smiley Smile, finally completed in 2004 was a big deal back then. After reading many accounts regarding its rather unconventional approaches to recording an album I was not surprised it was abandoned. Not to mention Brian Wilson's legendary trip to the cinema to see what is regarded a cult classic 'Seconds', appeared to be the final nail in its coffin. I'm so glad he revisited it to finish this psychedelic masterpiece. Seriously odd in places, wondrous harmonies and melodies, as well as the use of some peculiar instruments. A 5 star all day long.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
5/5
One of my go to albums for a bit of Goth post punk. Juju is one of their best albums. Its got wo great singles and the beast that is 'Monitor', what a song. Not a bad track on this.
Depeche Mode
3/5
The album that propelled D.M. to megastardom. I've always thought they are a very good singles band, but their albums are always littered with too many fillers. Although I've owned all of their 1980's and early 90's back catalogue, I never listened all the way through their albums more than a couple of times except for MFTM. I do believe this is probably the 3rd time I've played this all the way through, and I still stick with my assertion. That said, it is a dark and moody, with some incredible highs. But I shall return to the singles compilations in future.
The Fall
5/5
The Fall, what can I say about them and this album? As fans say, there is no middle ground, you either get and love them or you don't and hate them. Luckily for me I have loved the Fall since I was 16. I got to hear this a few years later when I bought it from a record fair, and although it's not their best from their golden period (1979-95), it's still great. 'Frightened' is the best, and I've always had a massive soft spot for 'No Xmas for John Quays'. This is the sound of a band with limited resources and equipment making innovative music, which was a signature of their early years. MES RIP.
The Jam
3/5
Like the real thing I can take or leave the Jam, and every now and then it's good to have a dollop. I quite like their take on 'Taxman', the rest is of a good standard, but they will never be one of my go to artists.
AC/DC
2/5
This was slightly less cringey than I expected. What are they? They are too lame for Heavy Metal, so i guess it's some sort of hard (ish) rock. It's just not for me. That said, i didn't get the urge to chew my arm off. As they are all musically competent I would have given them a 3, but as the guitarist uses to dress up as a schoolboy its a 2.
CHVRCHES
2/5
Synthpop at its most mediocre. It was almost all done at the same tempo, that it could have been knew long song. That said, i didnt mind it in places. The last song, sung by the bloke was by far the best.
LCD Soundsystem
5/5
This is a top album. I love the slow build ups on some of these songs, and the way these songs eventually reach their final crescendo. Some songs are nearly 10 minutes long, but they don't feel it, which is a sign of quality songwriting. As for those the heavy bass keys, its enough to piss your neighbours off.
LTJ Bukem
2/5
When i saw this appear, my first thoughts were this will be a painful hour. It turns out that it was not irritating at all. It is ok for background music, but there is no way would I choose to listen to this for my main form of entertainment. I'll leave that for the people who take substances to make it worthwhile listening to.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
I like the odd song here and there of Jimi, but over an hour of him in one go? I'm not a regular listener of his music, but after that I often wonder why I never was! There was a lot of crazy shit going on, in a good psychedelic way. When I get the chance I shall have a few more listens to get to appreciate it better.
William Orbit
4/5
I love William Orbit. The ambient scene of the early 90's was one of the many genres i got into, Bassomatic were excellent and then i came across his solo stuff and I bought this album when it came out. It would be a 5 star all day long if the album finished half way through. 'Water From A Vine Leaf' is such a laid back beautiful tune, like all of the first half. If you weren't going 'heeeyyy nowuwowa' through the story of light then their is something wrong with you, or maybe something wrong with me depending on your perspective. Then the second half of the album begins with 'Gringatcho Demento' and the whole vibe changes, whether its supposed to as some sort of theme for the album, I don't know but it jarrs with me. It finishes with the dreamy 'Water Babies' reprise and the chilled mood is back. So when I stick this on at least once or twice a year, I tend to listen to the first half. So if I'm going to rate this as a whole, its got to be a 4 star due to the reasons stated.
Belle & Sebastian
2/5
This is a tricky one. Ive always avoided this lot as it didn't seem like my sort of thing. After the 2nd song, I was thinking ' this is not bad'. But then it started to get more tweets and folky as it went on. I don't mind twee, but folky is a no go.
The Yardbirds
2/5
Shit! I always thought Clapton had something to do with this lot, but no. I quite liked its quirky psychedelia. I shall give it another listen soon as it may grow on me more.
Alice In Chains
1/5
I thought Alice In Chains were Metal trying to be Grunge back in the day, I still do. It's awful.
Orbital
2/5
I expected this to be as good as their first two albums, but it wasn't. Good for a chillout in the living room when doing something else, but not the listening experience of earlier material
Iron Maiden
4/5
If I ever utter the words 'I quite liked that Iron Maiden album' within earshot of another human being, you can shoot me.
Its got all the Metal pretentiousness going on here, the operatic singing, the twiddly guitar solos one would expect from the centre. But most of all it had some bloody good tunes.
I must have been in a very good mood.
Goldfrapp
3/5
This was very different to their first albums, much more mellow. But I do prefer la la la la la la.....
Einstürzende Neubauten
5/5
It is not often one finds the perfect album to fit ones' current mood quite as well as this. I just wish their had been a few more angsty screams. Just when you think you've hit rock bottom, this comes along to make the day oppressive as fuck. I am one with the music. The sound of the pneumatic drill actually cheered me up for a fraction of a second. German Industrial music at its finest and most raw. Now what to score it? Normally something like this would be 3 or maybe a 3. But today its the perfect soundtrack to my life.
Kate Bush
3/5
This was very good. Some nice mood music going on, with lots of instrumental layers. Not sure if it was remotely sensual though.
Van Morrison
2/5
Musically it was very good, some nice mellow hippy vibes, then Van the Man opened his gob and continued to do so throughout the record. I wish he had kept it shut.
David Holmes
3/5
A surprising thing happened while listening to this. I thought it sounded like something id heard before, as it there are layers to this music. Turns out David Holmes wasnt the gnarly old Baker I used to work with, but the bloke from Sabres of Paradise. It all made sense then.'Rodney Yates' is a banger.
Marvin Gaye
1/5
Why make this record, my Dear?
No idea, my Dear.
Forgotten about pretty quickly, my Dear?
Yes, My Dear.
Will I play it again?
No, my Dear.
Prince
3/5
Never liked Prince, he was too slimy for my liking. I dismissed this when it was first released, but it more enjoyable than I expected it to be. He was so talented being able to play so many instruments, however its just a shame he wasn't as talented in keeping his medicine cabinet in order. With that amount of stuff he could have written some fantastic psychedelia. But he didn't. Shame.
Ian Dury
4/5
A Marmite man depending on my mood. Yesterday he was fine, tomorrow could be a different story. This is some sort of an hangover from the pub rock era, but its a good example, clever lyrics and some great tunes.
George Michael
2/5
My inner pop personal leapt out when I put this on. I spent my teens steadfastly avoiding George Micheal, public toilets and also lorry drivers just for good measure.
At the time he was a figure of hatred for me, encapsulating pompous 'me me me' pop. Im sure you are now thinking dear reader 'he hates it, get ready for a 1 star!' Well, yes and no, as i seem to have mellowed somewhat and now wear infra-red glasses, and i finally appreciated this for the masterpiece it actually is. It's well written and performed. I shall give it the highest i can score it in all good faith.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
2/5
A very different thing to what Im used to, so its difficult to score. The bass playing was great, but the drum patterns were obviously going to become repetative. The novelty wore off about half way through before it became a chore. If I could dance then I might have given it a 5. I can't, so as a less interactive listening experience its a 1. However, with one of the duo called 'Willie Colon', my imagination runs riot and have to snigger. Just for that its a 2.
The Pogues
2/5
This was the album which brought the Pogues into the public spotlight. I wasnt a huge fan, probably as im not actually Gaelic. Unfortunately I still have Sally MacLennane as an earworm, its a bloody good song. 'Dirty Old Town' is top drawer too. Now I shall flush that song out of my ear and forget about this album for the next God knows how many years.
Michael Kiwanuka
3/5
A strange one this. I really enjoyed it in many places, but I just got an underlying feeling that it was corporately contrived. I think i need to listen to it a few times to see how it shakes out, if i can be bothered.
The Undertones
2/5
Thr Undertones are a band I will happily listen to on the radio when they come on, but i wouldn't chose to listen to a full album. After doing so, I haven't changed my mind.
Black Sabbath
4/5
I don't believe in coincidences. The day after Ozzt's death? Are they trying to pull on my heartstrings and give this a high score and glowing appraisal? I have never had anything to do with Black Sabbath or Metal as a genre, so this could be a hard task for me. Turns out it was pretty good for what it was. The title track was a beast and the rest was better than I expected. But this stuff will never enter my rotation. As a one off it deserves a 4.
Thelonious Monk
1/5
The problem i have is that I'm now too historically and culturally distant from this sort of music to fully appreciate it. I did try in my 20's but I never stuck with it. That's not the music's problem, but mine.
It was pleasant enough to listen to. But with the tracks being about 10 minutes long, my concentration kept wandering, then it would return a minute or so later, and I'd be back wondering if I'd actually missed anything.
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
Its not bad, and contains probably Liam's best vocal performance ever. Sadly a B-Tec Prodigy.
Ryan Adams
1/5
Middle of the road sort of Country stuff. He became famous for two things; he was some sort of sexual predator, which didn't do his career much good. The other was having a name similar to Bryan. Nothing here for me.
Billy Bragg
2/5
Fucking leftie tosspot. While high at Glastonbury I was coerced into seeing him live. It was a dreadful experience which I am still recovering from. Time has been kind to him musically, a million times better than Jerry Cinamon, but I just hate the overtly political nature of his lyrics.
The Cult
5/5
The follow up to Love, one of the best albums ever made. After aborted sessions, the band chose to go down a harder rock sound. I bought this album in the week it was released. I loved Love Removal Machine, the first single to be released, followed by Lil' Devil, both top tunes. Thw album as a whole was a solid follow up, but the inclusion of the cover of Born To Be Wild was unnecessary. It still gets the odd play now and then. Compared to the Manor Sessions versions of these songs, they have a much harder edge which was in vogue at the time. Which did help their career, but alienate their original fans to a degree. But I still like it.
Björk
1/5
Life is too short for whatever this was. Bjork's voice is like nails on a blackboard at the best of times. This is made far worse when it is being used as the main instrument, then sampled to create layers of silly vocal noises. Then add in some of the most basic and jarring keyboard noises, rendering the whole thing an unlistenable mess.
If this was a piece of physical art, it would be in the Tate Modern, sitting comfortably between the painting of the spatchcock lady and the three crows nailed to the wall. 0 stars. But I'll give her 1 as Iceland is such a beautiful country.
Air
5/5
A beautiful album which i love to listen to every so often. There is not a bad track on it, from the build up of 'La Femme d' Argent', the mellow vibes just keep coming. Who would have thought the French could make such a great album?
Megadeth
2/5
Megadeath and all those ghastly 80's hair Thrash, denim, denim bands. They all had to have a shitty looking skeleton thing as a mascot. Truly appalling for a Goth like me at that time. Fast forward 39 years, and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. But that doesn't equate to being good or anything I would chose to listen to when hoovering.
Joe Ely
1/5
Nothing for me here. Softer than an Andrex factory, and I'd soon listen to their mascot puppy being taught to sing by the choir in Ely Cathedral.
Fiona Apple
1/5
Poor in every way, maybe except for her bank balance, I'd imagine. She's trying to be edgy and quirky (I had to steal that word from my friend) in the way only Americans can do. So it comes across as contrived drivel. Horrible.
Cee Lo Green
1/5
That was hard work. Harder than the week I had at actual real life work, and that is saying something. What sort of soul does he possess? A self centred, egotistic one filled with gibberish? Dreadful.
Sabu
2/5
Firstly I had a morbid thought going through my head listening to this in the car. All these musicians are most likely dead. Oh well, we all have to go sometime, and hopefully leave a legacy. This is theirs. I found the repetative rhythms rather hypnotic at times. The vocals were in a class of their own. I doubt I will ever listen to this again, but what a ride!
Joni Mitchell
2/5
Thus was better than I expected. But I kept listening out for said hissing. Nope couldn't hear it. I have notified trading standards to have a word with her. It was nice and mellow, but not enough to hold my attention.
The Cure
5/5
The first in the Cure's gloomy trilogy. This is the bleak one. There is not a bad track on here. It's got my favourite single of all time on it, 'A Forest' it makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck every time I hear it.
Nitin Sawhney
2/5
I was expecting a full-on Bhangra fest. It wouldn't have been a problem if it had, but there was a lot of layers and different styles going on here, more than one listen can take on. It was an interesting theme to structure your album. Unlike the film Threads, I won't be giving this a spin again, so its a hight 2.
Rocket From The Crypt
3/5
Loved 'On a Rope' and 'Young Livers' at the time, but I never got any further than the singles as I was probably listening to Wagner instead. It was great to see this on the list as I had forgotten all about this band. Although the rest of the album doesn't reach the same highs as the singles, its still a riotous romp at high speed. I shall give this another spin soon!
Living Colour
4/5
My HM workmates played this to me when it was first released. Obviously I was biased and hated it without giving it a chance. There went my brush with this band.
Fast forward to today with the same preconceptions, but with older wiser ears. I loved it! Funky basslines, great guitar playing and excellent tunes. I may have to listen to this again, just to make sure I wasnt in some sort of funny mood!
David Crosby
4/5
Nice and mellow psychedelia. I liked quite a bit. A good surprise.
Motörhead
3/5
My first Motorhead album I've ever listened to. What can I say? Lots of energy going on, due to the excess usage of amphetamines I think. Nothing wrong with that. They must have put on a good show live, as you can feel the raw energy from the band. Did I enjoy it? Yes, it was a good Thrash and a fairly tuneful one at that. Great speed drumming too. Will I listen to them again? Not by choice.
Beck
5/5
Another Beck album on this list? Hell yes! The geezer is a genius. So many styles going on here, all combined with killer tunes. It seems he can do no wrong to my ears.
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
Not listened to this before, as they were not a band I got into. Maybe I should have as there is a lot of skill and energy going on. I really should get my arse into gear and listen to their back catalogue sometime.
Fairport Convention
2/5
This is difficult. Im trying to bury my prejudice for this sort of drivel. There are hints of something I may like on this with the instrumentation, but the woman's vocals are done in that hippie preachy style which just annoys me, a lot. Then 'Million Dollar Bash' came on with a totally different vibe and with some bloke singing. That was where the rot set in. Not my thing at all.
Neneh Cherry
3/5
This was a massive album in 1989, which coincided with my conventional nightclub days, dressed in suits and the cattle market at the end of the night, which I used to sit out more often than not. Ahhh poor me. They used to play stuff like this which was on the better side of the tracks when it came to pop music. I have only listened to this once since the 80's and have even seen her daughter live in the time it has taken me to get round to it again! Its pretty good , but does sound like a product of its time, that's not bad thing as it made me remember happy times with friends.
Madness
3/5
Its got my favourite Madness song on it, 'Our House', but so do their many best of complations. I've never listened to a Madness album all the way through until now, and it was pretty good in places. But I won't make the effort again.
Keith Jarrett
3/5
I was expecting very little from this and only get through the first five minutes before ditching it. However, i thought his piano playing and the understated jazz of his compositions were very pleasing on my ear. My only gripe was the funny noises Keith made every now ant then, but I'll forgive him for being in the 'moment'. All in all, a nice surprise.
Louis Prima
1/5
I you didn''t know, I hate classic Disney and their musical cartoon films. One film in particular which causes me oceans of bile is The Jungle Book. You can see where this is going. You hoo hoo are a c**t, and I don't want to listen to you hoo hoo. That said, he did seem to be the 2nd happiest man on the planet in the 1950's. But that is not enough to win me over.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
I actually thought this was good. There was some really unspringseenlike guitar playing on here which I enjoyed more than I should have. I feel as though my cool level has shrunk with this admission.
ABBA
2/5
When I introduce my lovely wife to people, I quite often follow it with 'and she likes ABBA' much to her annoyance. She caught me playing this when she got in from work and I had similar guilty feelings like when ones Mum catches you doing something indecent (she never did!). Did i actually enjoyed the album? Yes, in places, it was excellent, great synths and vocals, but its ABBA.
Missy Elliott
1/5
ts just not my culture and not in any way relevant to me.suffice to say, I did not like it.
Destiny's Child
2/5
Super slick American pop for the masses. Its pleasing to the ear, but nothing special.
Soft Machine
2/5
Bloody long sprawling songs filled with just about every possible instrument known to humankind. I had it on in the background while doing things, which is fine. If I had to give it my full concentration, then I think I would get a headache.
Talking Heads
2/5
I now understand why I never became a Talking Heads fan. Don't get me wrong I love the singles they banged out in the late 70's and 80's, but i never scratched below the surface and listened to an album in full until starting this 1001 journey. Psycho Killer is the banger, the rest is not. Maybe i need to listen to them more to appreciatethe finer details of their work, but i probably won't.
Aretha Franklin
2/5
A bit too preachy preachy God God for me. That may sound odd coming from a Spacemen 3 fan, but she means God, they mean drugs. Still it was a nice short happy clappy album
Drive Like Jehu
3/5
Quality stuff. I do like a bit of U.S. hardcore, even if it is 3rd generation stuff. I was intrigued to learn there was a musician in this band who went on to form Rocket From The Crypt, I think he made a wise decision as there is no commercial mega value in this. Its not the best example of Hardcore from this era, some songs seemed to drag a bit, others galloped along like they should. But I enjoyed it.
SAULT
1/5
I remember all the fuss about their live shows and the mystery surrounding them, and thought for a nanosecond at the time, I must find out about them. I didn't, but i wished I had to prepare me for this. It was truly dreadful, but could have been so much better. Basic level songwriting at its worst. Those lyrics, talk about some sort of paranoia regarding their race. Credit to all the rappers out there, I may dislike their songs, attitude etc, but at least they nail their point home in a much more straightforward and mostly forceful way. This had the equivalent force of being hit around the face with a wet lettuce leaf. Over hyped twaddle.
Rod Stewart
3/5
Rod had something back then. The songs were not as good as his time fronting the Faces, but you could hear their influence throughout this record. In other words there were a few songs which reminded me of 'Stay With Me'. But I still enjoyed it more than I should have.
R.E.M.
5/5
R.E.M. at the height of their fame. The only criticism is they sound like they were taking themselves a bit too seriously by this time in their career. Its chock full of bangers. I adore the first and last songs, and everything in between is top notch too.
ABBA
3/5
Big glitzy hits, great production. What's not to like? Im not sure if the question is rhetorical.
Supergrass
3/5
It's ok, not their best. Safe Britpop. I'm not sure why it's on the list. But I still like it apart from the song which sounds like a kiddies TV theme.
Paul Simon
1/5
So far Paul Simon albums have been a nice surprise. Then this turned up. I read their was 'Overshadowed by Graceland'. There's a reason for that its not very good, a rare miss from a musical genius. No one can get it right every time. It was just plain dreary.
Digital Underground
1/5
A joke right? Its not very good at all. Humpty Dumpty was the 'highlight' then it descended into the dark pit of 'why bother making music for the sake of it?'
Grant Lee Buffalo
4/5
After more years than I care to think about, I've got round to listening to this again. Its better than I remember. There is a tinge of folky roots rock to it but just enough edge to keep me interested.
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
5/5
I never knew this was made! Probably too hist bringing up kids. A supergroup made up of Albarn, Tong and Simonon? What's not to like? I did have to check who the drummer was though, much to my shame. This is on a par with some Blur and Verve albums. Suffice to say I loved it and will definitely listen to it again.
Bee Gees
3/5
I knew the Bee Gees had a very different sound in the 1960's but this was a big surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed the melodies and arrangements etc. Even big chief Gibb didn't sound as though his balls were being kept safe by his pet Doberman. Why did he start to sing like that anyway? Here, his vocals were very good, just a shame about the lyrics, but it was the 60's, so that can be forgiven. Its a difficult one to score.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
1/5
This is not his best and I am wondering why it was included in this list at the expense of something else. There was very little 'mood' and a fair bit of bad singing.
The Zutons
2/5
Much better than I expected, funny how I bought it on CD when it came out but never got round to actually listening to the bloody thing. Why I wonder - yes why did I buy it on the first place? Good question. I am not a huge fan of Saxophones but the little farty noises are a highlight. Competent but a bit boring, only American mainstream can pull off.
Neil Young
1/5
Sorry Neil, but i will never like you. The Mission did a better version of 'Like a Hurricane', the only song I rate by you. This album compared to the previous efforts is much more competent in every aspect, apart from that weird guitar solo thing where it sounds like your fingers were taped together with Gorilla tape. I liked that bit of originality, but it just wasnt enough to save you from another 1 star. The rest of the album was just a plod. I'd prefer to enter the Longest Walk competition than listen to this again.
Faith No More
4/5
One of the few bands associated with 'Metal' I can actually listen to and enjoy. When this came out it was like a breath of fresh air blowing away all that denim and hair. Only a couple of songs are misses but on the whole a solid debut.
Television
4/5
A legendary album by an influential band. You can hear how they influenced many newer NY bands and others from further afield in their sound. Great guitar interplay, but I've never been a huge fan of Verlaine's vocals.that said, there isn't a duff track. But for some reason, it is not a go-to album at all, so it isn't getting 5 stars.
Chicago
1/5
Bleuugh. That's for the smooth stuff. As for that pointless guitar bashing effort, its unimaginative and doesnt add anything to this dull record.
The Byrds
4/5
This has the best version of Mr Tambourine Man ever recorded on it. Great guitar playing and vocal harmonies.
Venom
3/5
On paper this has nearly everything I detest about Metal. Time to throw the playbook in the bin, as this was pretty good in places , especially where they used chorus pedal with standard 'Gain up to 10' or should that be 11? Then you have the lyrics and all its 'Burn the Witch' sentiments. Its just a bit different from your average metal and there is my reason why its getting a three star.
Black Flag
2/5
Henry Rollins is a bit of a legend, just not my legend. This was entertaining in its energy and rawness, but it just didnt have anything standing out for me.
The Coral
3/5
Better than expected. I shall have to have a few listens to decide whether I really liked it. Its got a bit of psychedelia and a folky vibe in places, and that is what I find a bit difficult to work out whether its my thing or not.
X-Ray Spex
2/5
This was one of the original Punk movement's better efforts, not quite up there with the Damned or The Clash, but certainly not down n the bottom of the barrel with The Lurkers (thank goodness). I've not listened to this lot for decades, as the simplistic style of Punk just does not have enough to keep be interested for too long, but when one is in the mood for a bit of energy the genre is a good place to go. That said, sorry Polly but this hasn't been, but that could change as I did enjoy it more than I thought i would - caught me on the right day!
The Verve
5/5
I prefer this album to Urban Hynms as it has a much more raw sound to the production. The guitars is proper psyche style, the perfect balance between the noise of their earlier material and the watered down latter stuff. After seeing them live several times when they were just 'Verve' around the time of their first few singles, I was very surprised when I first heard 'History', then the rest of the album by its subtlety and cohesiveness of the songwriting, and thought at the time there is a bright future ahead for Ashcroft and co.
Incubus
2/5
Is this where Nu Metal was born? If so, it was a very handsome baby shorn of those long golden locks and not a double denom nappy in sight. (Sorry, I've only just woken up). I liked it, there were no particular standout tracks, but nothing particularly jarring either.
Method Man
2/5
Rap is a funny old game. After the first couple of tracks I was beginning to sort of enjoy Method Man's delivery and the clever use of samples to build a song. But then he, like most modern rappers, began to invite a merry old crew of poor performers to join him on vocal duties, which instantly destroyed that [for want for a better word] connection I was starting to feel with him. Why do they do this? Do these confident sounding men have confidence issues? Do they like to sabotage their own work as some sort of joke? Or are they just being charitable, by helping out the less fortunate? Whichever it is, it affects the amount of stars I'm going to give him. Im sure Mr Man will be heart broken when he sees this, but instead of a 3 star, its a 2.
Small Faces
5/5
'Goin' with a stoker from the coast of Kuala Lumpa!' I love this album, it was boight for me as a burthday present by a friend back in 1991, he said knowing you, you'll love it. He wasn't wrong. The first side is the most accessible where all the big songs are; but i love the humoir running through the album, starting with the raucious 'Rene' and onto the 2nd side with Stanley Unwin's peculiar monologues. There is not a bad track and one of my favourte albums from the 1960's.
Maxwell
1/5
Smoother than a thing which is very smooth, I can't think of the right analogy today. How about this, I would have been happier if the vinyl version had very smooth sides and I only had to listen to the sound of the needle skidding all over the place. Unfortunately I had to listen to the digital version on my streaming service and I was bored of it by the second song. I realise he was a precocious young man at the time who had made a very grown up soul album for the ages. But just not my ages. Sorry mate but the odd feedback screech or an out of tune guitar would have created a fantastic juxtaposition and made me happy, but your producer and target audience would have strung you up.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
4/5
I really liked this when it came out, probably due to Franti's vocal delivery and its far from run of the mill hip hop. There were some quality rap artists around this time, i have no idea where it all went wrong with the latter crop of crap rap. I actually got to see them live when they were touring this album and they were amazing. There some banging songs on this, especially the first few. 'California Uber Alles'is a cool cover, which endeared me to them straight away, but its not enough for a 5 star job.
Mercury Rev
5/5
A stone cold classic. A go to album since its release. Jonathan's vocals are so fragile they bring beauty and warmth to my soul every time I listen to this, the soaring guitars, mellow vibe, wonderful. A much more accessible album for the casual listener than their previous albums, and one of their least experimental. At this point in their career they had toned down their excesses, after sacking the rather odd David Baker. This is a band hitting their stride, almost mainstream I dare say. Tracks from this album were played at both my wedding receptions.
I got to see them recently for the first time since the 1990's and they played 5 tracks from it. The two I went with were scratching their heads much to my bemusement.
A masterpiece, not a bad track to be seen here.
Aretha Franklin
2/5
It was ok, we all have to live in a world where Urethra is almost universally adored. I think she is ok. Nice voice, but once the big songs had passed, not a lot to hold my attention.
Fairport Convention
1/5
Dated hippy shite. I can almost smell the flowers in their hair and picture them all sitting cross legged in a circle in some weird log cabin when they recorded this. No no no.
Beck
5/5
Beck's debut was a kitchen sink effort - every idea was a great one no matter how odd it seemed. I'm glad he toned it all down in his latter releases, but as a first go, it is top draw.
Syd Barrett
4/5
A strange one this. I'm not a huge Pink Floyd fan and find them a bit pretentious in a serious sort of way. However, Mr Barrett brought oddness to the party. Thus his debut solo album is something I should have listened to, but never did. I've heard 2 different cover versions of 'Golden Hair' and the original is quality stuff. The album has an element of sounded ahead of its time, and I enjoyed his experimentation and oddball humour in the songs. You can tell the album was comprised of different sessions across a long time, as it does come across as a bit disjointed in places, but that does add to the general air of peculiarity. I liked it more than I probably should have, but I'm a sucker for drug influenced experimentation.
The Black Crowes
1/5
Dreadful boring by numbers blues rock. But it was a good example of boring by numbers blues rock, hence the scoring.
Eels
4/5
Quality mellow stuff from Eels. One of the few bands of the late 90's i got into and it is still a good listen now.
XTC
3/5
Even though it has nothing like 'Making Plans For Nigel's etc, it has still got that old XTC quirkiness which I like. As a whole I enjoyed it, but there just wasn't any particular standout tracks.
Metallica
1/5
Why does a thrash metal band feel the need to make this? Vanity? Another reason to feel vindicated why i detest Metal.
The Kinks
3/5
I do like the wild frontier of 1960's experimentation. This is another perfect example. Sadly there is just not the hours in the day to listen to everything on a regular basis. Perfect for a Monday afternoon.
Ozomatli
4/5
This was bloody good once I had finally found a version of it on YouTube. Completely eclectic world infused tunes. I love it! I shall hunt for a copy on ebay!
Public Image Ltd.
4/5
What can I say about a legendary album which I haven't listened to since the 1980's, and that time was once round a friends house. For some reason in this modern age of streaming, I have not thought to return to this.
So, I was finally nudged into playing it today. Did this live up to my expectations? Yes and no. Yes, Metal Box had influenced just about everything in the five years after it's release, from Bauhaus, Big Black to Simple Minds. It is groundbreaking in its style and musicality. My only problem is that I should have been playing this over the decades once in a while just to get used to it's harsh abbrasiveness, but I haven't.
Maybe I should play it more often, as on the first listen in recent times, I was intrigued by it and I find the best albums always require several listens to 'get' it completely.
My uncle owns an original copy. Lucky bugger.
Dire Straits
5/5
A tricky one this, I will have to put all my Dad music bias to one side for this. It was and still is bloody good. If you are going to make a nice relaxing blues album, then do it like this and not like the Black Crowes etc.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
Do do do do do. That's my impression of a Bossanova. It's not great. But luckily Old Blue Eyes and his mate what what they're at, also this album was mercifully short. I don't think I could put up with it being any longer.
Kanye West
1/5
On a positive note, I did find the arrangements of many of the songs intriguing and could appreciate the Punk/ Industrial Rap moniker given to this record. But there were many moments of things becoming jarring, such as the big single 'Bound 2', horrible. The other positive thing was the overt usage of auto tune, it was not subtle and probably used as a dig at other artists who feel they have to use it? I don't know. I shall end my list of positives there.
Moving on to the lyrically side of things, for once I wss in a posttion to concentrate on them. I wished I hadn't. I just do not understand why someone feels the need to write such vile diatribe. The level of misogyny is breathtaking. I do wonder what his listeners choose to take away from an album such as this, especially if you are female. It does make me wonder about the the effect of the normalisation of such behaviours discussed on this record has on his young and impressionable fans, it must skew their worldview in some way. It must have some sort of effect, especially as in the news, our government is seeking to make non-fatal strangulation in porn illegal, which is just another form.of misogyny seeping into everyday life for the younger generations.
Maybe to old Jeezy it is all just a joke, one I just don't get. It is possible he is a really nice bloke just making stuff to shock, but I'm not sure judging by what I've read and seen in the media over the years.
Oh well, I may just be getting old and these behavours are becoming normal, sorry ladies. Stand up for yourselves and strangle the bastard back or something.... Move along to the next album please.
Deep Purple
1/5
Luckily it's been three days since I listened to this, so my initial thoughts have now been sanitised by plenty of decent music in between. But I do have some reasonably clear recollections of wondering why this crap was ever put on record. I remember thinking there were some very bland songs, awful guitar solos and a very boring over indulgent drum solo. When the idiot on vocal duty started aping the guitar sounds i wanted to pull.my ears off in embarrassment. I really wish I had written this review straight after I listened to it to really do it justice.
David Ackles
1/5
This was like some sort of vaudeville Neil Diamond. Truly awful.
Slint
2/5
It's a tricky one. A very influential album so they say, I have listened to it in the past just to see what the fuss was about, and I was never really bothered with it. It's not going to be a regular player any time soon, but it did have its merits.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
It was nice to hear a black man sing nicely and not talk about treating women like meat. If fact it was quite uplifting with his love and be happy vibe. There were a few times where Bob went down the familiar path of 'slavery' but it was subtle enough to be ignored. The guitar playing was excellent, without it being too much in the reggae style I find tedious to listen to. On the whole. IThis album was much better than all of his famous material which bores me to tears.
Thundercat
1/5
It was nice to hear a black man sing nicely and not talk about treating women like meat. It was a shame it was a load of rubbish. I don't mind a bit of gibberish, but mixed with some tedious soul vibe, it was too bland with little variation over the album. The quirkiness was in a similar vein to Fiona Apple, maybe Americans just can't pull it off convincingly. As for making cat noises, he's hardly Robert Smith.... stick to Hardcore Thrash.
Orange Juice
2/5
I quite like Orange Juice's debut album, but this was not to my taste. The two best tracks were obviously 'Rip it Up' and the angular 'Turn Away' which was the only song to hark back to their original sound. I forgot Zeke Manyika drummed for them. You can hear the influence this had on Simple Minds and The The, but it's just not in those artists' league. Anyway I much prefer the work their labelmates Josef K.
Jamiroquai
3/5
It's like someone found a tape of Stevie Wonder's unreleased demos down the back of his special grand piano playing sofa. Actually, as it is some sort of hero worship, it's bloody good. That bass playing is top stuff. The songs are all very well written and performed to perfection. But that said, I just can't shake the image of Mr Wonder wondering where the demos to his next six albums had disappeared to? He's hardly in the position to get the torch out and look. So, did the lucky recipient of the sofa demos repackage it all under some shit name?
This is the sort of rubbish which revolves around my brain whenever I hear Jamiroquai's music. Sorry for the glimpse into the odd thought processes. But it's very good no matter the provenance.
Calexico
1/5
Not my bag at all. I now remember why I have steered clear of this band. I just cannot cope with all that Latin country folk americana. It's just too much for my uncultured ears to handle.
Scott Walker
1/5
Mmmmm the legend that is Scott Walker. I really wanted to like this, but I found his vocal delivery too cringy to ever want to listen to it again. I didn't mind the last couple of songs, but it was all a bit Typical Righteous Brothersesque. Is that a word?
Napalm Death
1/5
Someone once said to me 'Napalm Death are literally one trick ponies'. Being a pedant, I replied ' no, they are one trick humans'.
I remember the school metal heads thinking how cool and hard they must be to listen to this. I didn't give it the time of day.
A few years later I a friend told me he went to see them at the start of their career in a pub. It was carnage, people jumping off the bar etc. That is cool.
Today I finally listened to this album for the second time. The first was back in 1987, so I needed to refresh my memory. The songs are all very similar, done at breakneck speed, I have nothing against that, the vocals were fine as I rarely bother with the content of lyrics. He could do with some Halls Soothers maybe.
The only problem is it is a very boring listen. The novelty wore off very quickly. I think I preferred the Electro Hippies 'Mega Armageddon Death' to 'You Suffer' at the time, but there was not a lot in it.
Astrud Gilberto
1/5
Not for me. I had a Casio Keyboard which played this stuff by pressing one button. There was another which did the Bossanova, which was much more to my liking. Next time Astrud lyrically suggest pressing the other button to get 2 stars.
Laura Nyro
2/5
This was really intriguing in places and quite enjoyable. It certainly didn't sound like it came from the 1960's.
The Byrds
3/5
I've never really listened to the Byrds too much over thr years, but I do remember the big tracks on this, especially 'My Back Pages' a top tune. This could be the first album to feature aliens and no doubt the last to do so. There was some early experimentation probably under the influence of substances, which always appeals to me, so it's a 3 star effort.
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
I have no idea what the hell this was or whether I actually enjoyed it. That is a problem. I guess I didn't or I would be saying nice things about it. Want one? I havent a clue. For being not run of the mill it will get a 2 star award. That's fair isn't it?
N.W.A.
1/5
I cannot think of anything complementary to say about this. Was this the album where U.S. Rap moved from politics to just scrappy shock tactics? It was the particular one which caught my attention back in the day, because of all the ink being spilled over it in the music press. Not for me, and fuck off back to Compton wherever the hell that is.
Beatles
5/5
Brilliant album. It has some very early experimentation going on with the backward guitars. It' would be pointless and also a very long list to mention even a small amount of bands who would cite this as an influence. But suffice to say, this was part of the origins of alternative rock/ Indie. Apart form the cringe worthy 'Yellow Submarine' (but it still is a classic), this has some of their best work.
Germs
2/5
Not bad for a Punk album, I liked the energy. I have not come across this band before, and I have no idea why. But then again, it was a genre I only dipped my toes into in my teens, then moved onto more musically complex stuff. I doubt I'll listen to it again.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
4/5
I enjoyed this much more than I expected, considering its age, and early rock and roll style. But then considering my age, it is akin to a teenager liking 90's music. This stuff was still being played on the radio when I was growing up, so it must have left its mark. This is the sound of innocent times and happiness or some old nostalgic crap like that. The big famous ones even had me singing along. Luckily I for the wife I have currently lost my voice. A small blessing.
The Afghan Whigs
3/5
Ah Greg Dulli and his band. I used to love the way they would murder a classic soul song - he may have the padsion, but not the voice for it.. I loved Congregation. But I had moved on to other things by the time this had come out. I should have stuck with them as this is great stuff. Its certainly a darker album to their earlier stuff. It will get another listen soon.
Tom Waits
1/5
What the actual fuck? The mad world of Tom Waites. I remember reading the review of this in the NME and steered well clear. Now I've finally listened to this, it's not for me. The best I can say is it lacks refinement.
Ash
3/5
I bought this for 'Oh Yeah' as I liked it a lot, as for the rest, I'm fairly sure this is the first time I've listened to it all the way through since I bought it. It's ok, a fair bit of filler, but some banging tracks nonetheless. They are a band I'll go and see if they are playing on my doorstep for £20.
Mekons
3/5
I liked this a lot. I never listened to them in the 80's, maybe I should have. It was very quirky in dare I say it, in a 'Fall' sort of way. But much less uncompromising.
The Pharcyde
2/5
These were a jolly old bunch! A counter to gangster rap apparently. It doesn't mean it was any good though. It was very samey like most of this genre.
Minor Threat
4/5
This is a decent album to highlight the steady progression from standard Punk Rock to proper Hardcore. I lived to energy and speed, while managing to have decent tunes. I much preferred this to Rollins' lot. After one play it is hard to identify any song as a stand out, but as a whole, I liked it a lot.