Thank you 1,001 albums. My faith in you has been restored. This is why I’m here! Obviously knew the mega hit single (who doesn’t?) so thought at least I’ll enjoy that. But, wow! Loved the start of this album, and then the album mix of ‘Brimful’ absolutely slapped! Not heard that version before and I prefer it. I then hoped that the album wouldn’t drop off as some of these do, but no, the energy just kept coming. Indie guitars, sitars, a bit of scratching and it just had me boogieing all through. The duet with the Doris really worked too (Good to be in the Road Back Hone Again).

Very pleasant but unremarkable. If I had a posh dinner party to host I could play it to show how cool I am. A low 3.

5.0 out of 5. An absolutely stunning album. Still sounds fresh today. The songwriting and arrangements on every single track are top drawer. Everything seems so perfectly thought through and the whole album just flows together. An album of contrasts: ‘Richard III just bangs’, and ‘Late in the Day’ has an incredibly mellow vibe. It’s just so interestingly put together, with little brass sections, percussion arrangements, keyboard solos and guitar riffs popping up to change the dynamic of each song. An album to have in the background to brighten your day but also one that gets better when you have time to sit down and just absorb every detail.

How bad does an album have to be before it’s good? Who gave them the keys to the sound affect cupboard? Was that a kazoo solo? Have a band ever formed because of their musical differences? Is it any wonder Brazil has a drug problem? I’m really not sure what the hell I’ve just listened to, but I couldn’t bring myself to skip any of it, I was completely transfixed. So it can’t be a 1 rated album if it’s generated this level of wonder.

Awful and talentless. I just don’t understand who would buy this and for what occasion? I don’t see any talent in coming up with a 5 second long drum pattern and overlaying it with no more than 3 notes, then looping it endlessly until you lose the will to live. I always read the Wiki reviews on each album to get a deeper understanding of the artist & the album. Having read about this one, I’ve learnt nothing. I just wonder why this obscure artist and album made the 1,001 list. It wasn’t for commercial success (and neither should it just be about that), and it wasn’t for outstanding critical reviews. It doesn’t seem to have inspired other artists and doesn’t seem groundbreaking in any way. I guess the author of the list just likes it. Each to their own.

Pleasant enough! File under ‘Easy Listening’. Album propped up by the singles, especially ‘Sloop John B’. ‘Wouldn’t it be Nice’ has been spoilt by being overplayed on TV adverts recently but still a good tube. A mid-table 2 out of 5

A high 3. Great song writing and musicians to back up an incredible voice. First time I’ve ever listened to her and just read up on her story too. Another huge slice of education served up for me! Surprised how much of this I knew without knowing I knew it. Will get more listens I’m sure.

Enjoyed more tracks than I thought I would, as brought some memories back from that era. Not my bag, but glad I spent an hour giving it a listen!

Couldn’t get the passed the feeling I was listening to Meat Loaf. Knew the title track and Thunder Road, but wasn’t inspired by any of the other tracks that were new to me.

Fantastic album with the unmistakable Billy Gibbons & Dusty Hill magic. I only discovered it about 5 years ago. In a different life and time, I would have loved to have watched these guys play the blues. RIP Dusty - uncomplicated but brilliant bassist. Standout tracks: Waitin’ for the Bus Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers La Grange Sheik

You’d need to be in the right mood to listen to this. If you ever see me in that mood, please shoot me. Just awful. Never heard of this before and now I hope I can quickly unhear it.

Before listening to this album. I only knew Gimme Shelter (it was also my ringtone for years) and You Can’t Always Get What You Want. I’d only ever listened to The Stones hits before and never their album catalogue, so was curious when this popped up. Really enjoyable. Highlights ‘Live with Me’, and ‘Let it Bleed’

Pleasant enough. Way Over Yonder is a stand out track. Undeniably beautiful vocalist and classic song writer. Just a bit too nice for my usual taste! Filed under ‘Easy Listening’

Absolute garbage. I listened to the whole thing to be sure.

Remember this being released. Very experimental sounds and there are pockets of brilliance on here. I just love the shoe-gazing melancholic lazy grooves and so many interesting sound loops. Stand out tracks for me are ‘Tomorrow Comes Today’, ‘Slow Country’ and ‘19-2000’ Sadly, Damon Albarn has spoilt quite a few of the tracks with some really strange vocal weirdness, and there are too many fillers to stop me scoring higher than a 3. The second album ‘Demon Days’ built on this sound and delivered so much more.

This was a bit of a test for me as I had a very negative opinion of Steven Tyler. So this was a case of trying to separate the art from the artist. I thought that ‘Sweet Emotion’ was one hell of a great track but when I listened to the lyrics it just made me cringe! Similar with ‘Round & Round’ - the lyrics about a 16 year old…and ‘Walk this Way’ about schoolgirls. He was 27 when this was released. Lyrics and story telling is a huge part of why I enjoy music, and this was just too sleazy against the backdrop of his life choices. It just made it too difficult to enjoy the art. I tried, but I failed!

Title track and ‘The Kids Are Alright’ are stand out tracks. The rest of the album had a few surprises, notably ‘The Ox’. A real mish-mash of styles on here but some lovely harmonies and hints of the bigger rock sounds that were to come later (and I prefer!)

It’s a big fat no from me chief.

A strong 3 rating. New album to me. Always loved ‘Peaches’ - such an iconic track. Really enjoyed ‘Sometimes’, ‘Get A Grip’ and ‘Hanging Around’. Going to give this a lot more of a listen in the coming weeks. I often play albums to match my mood, and this one matches one of my most common moods 🤣

Massive album! No track needs skipping. ‘Ramble On’ is one of my all time favourite tracks - just rock perfection. I just love that you can really hear all 4 musicians shine, not just through their solos. The bass of John Paul Jones is especially strong throughout. This album has many gear changes, a great example being ‘Thank You’ which is essentially a beautiful love song. There are changes of pace within the songs too. They must have been incredible to see live and I know why so many of my favourite bands from the decades that followed cite Led Zep as a huge influence on their music. 6 out of 5 if I could.

Ok, so she an undeniably classically beautiful voice. However, I am allergic to this type of Bing Crosby at Christmas songbook. I can’t imagine a single moment when I’ll ever play this again. One star to acknowledge the quality of her voice

I know nothing about this band, but as a first listen to this, I am a little intrigued. Some really nice melodies and arrangements in amongst a little weirdness! My gut feel says a 3 star rating, as I’m definitely going to give this another listen when I have the time as it deserves an hour of my undivided attention!

Another band I’d never heard of (call myself a music fan?!). Lots to like here. Positives: 1) the vocals - love his tone and range. 2) at times frantic guitars! 3) the unmistakably Flea bass style. 4) some decent mood changes. Stand out track: Eriatarka

My least favourite part of the broad church that is Rock. Find it a bit cliched, especially the vocal style. Fairly one dimensional musically, although quite enjoyed a couple of the tracks, especially ‘You Don’t Have to Be Old to be Wise’. Thank God for that!

Got a soft spot for Uncle Neil, the Godfather of Grunge. Probably because of his influence on Pearl Jam and their collaboration on the epic Mirror Ball album. Standout tracks on this are the epic ‘Heart of Gold’, ‘Old Man’, ‘Alabama’ and ‘Words’.

Nope. Too repetitive

New to me apart from the famous singles. A banging start to the album with ‘Vicious’. The David Bowie influence is clear! Always loved the iconic ‘Perfect Day’, ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ and ‘Satellite of Love’. I might have been tempted to dish out a 4 star rating, but ‘Make Up’ and ‘New York Conversation’ are just poor album fillers, and the album tails off.

Dreadful stuff. I have no idea what they were trying to achieve here. Whilst there’s the unmistakable Beach Boys harmonies in every track, it doesn’t suit the songs at all. Not the vibe I associate with them. Nothing cheerful, fun or uplifting about any of it. Weird.

Well that was a surprise! I’m clearly not her target market when she’s singing to her audience, and this is definitely not a genre of music I know. But, I actually enjoyed it a bit! She can sing, and unlike a lot of her peers, she rarely over sings which is a pet peeve of mine. A low 3 rating

Oh. This might be quite a decent album if he’d just shut the f@&k up and stop ‘singing’. One decent track was ‘Transylvania Blues’, not just because it’s an instrumental (but that really helps), but it actually goes somewhere.

Not quite the perfection of ‘II’ despite the highs of the massive hits on this album. Knocked a star off as I always find myself skipping ‘The Battle of Evermore’ and ‘Misty Mountain Hop’. Having released 4 classic albums in 2 years whilst they were riding the wave, it’s not surprising that a couple of tracks miss the mark for me!

Always been intrigued by Arcade Fire when I stumble across them, but never owned any of their albums. Enough good stuff on here - love their unique sound. ‘No Cars Go’ stands out for me.

What an album and what memories of playing this in the early 90s. Still sounds fresh

Completely new to me, and much better than my preconception!

Decent enough. Enjoyed the blues guitars and the stand out track for me is ‘Anyday’. A strong 3 overall

There’s bits of this I like, but it’s all a bit too much in one album.

Iconic album. Huge anthems in Baba and Won’t be Fooled again, but the rest of the album provides so much. Absolutely adore ‘Behind Blue Eyes’, and ‘Bargain’ keeps the energy up after the opener. I’ve watched the documentary on the making of this album before and was blown away about some of the pioneering recording techniques and the innovation of Townshend. So much musical depth here. Love love love it

That were alright, weren’t it? A low 3

Nope, not for me

Least favourite genre. Came out in a rash just considering listening to it.

Awful

I enjoyed this more than my preconceived opinion thought. More on here I recognised than I’d have guessed. Favourite track is ‘The Only Living Boy in New York’. Pleasant album but unlikely to form any part of my rotation going forward. 2 stars

I used to think I had a pretty diverse music taste, but this week’s selections have thrown a few different genres, and I’m struggling to enjoy stuff that’s out of my lane. I can appreciate this for its technical brilliance, but it just doesn’t inspire any of the emotions that make me turn up the volume, or listen again.

I’m had to wait until track 5 (Higher Ground) before I started to enjoy this, then found the rest of the album absolutely fine! Not my thing, but quite a pleasant Sunday morning listen.

Whilst I would always turn up the volume when ‘Once in a Lifetime’ came on the radio, I’d never explored their albums. So this was a nice surprise to have a reason to give this a listen. Love the energy of the first side (fired up my Monday morning nicely), and then the change of pace and mood that followed in the 2nd side. Lots of grooves, loops and different influences. Rated as a high 3 star, but will definitely listen again and maybe explore some of their other work.

Nope. Lyrics and language = an immediate switch off. I’m not adverse to a bit of a potty mouth, but this is relentless from the start, hard to work out any odd word in between!

There’s a really good album in here. It’s just been infiltrated by some absolute rubbish tracks that make me cringe and reach for the skip button. But when I find ‘Take A Look Around’ or ‘The One’, I just can’t help but turn it up and rock out! Guilty pleasure? Maybe. Credibility? Nope. Cheesey? Yup. Huge smile? Absolutely. This would have made a cracking 8 track album and preferably would have had a different title too 🤣

As a rock music fan, what’s not to love? This was out long before I gravitated towards rock music, but most of the bands I love were in some way inspired by Lemmy and Motörhead. This album is just great. Simple punk rock and roll. Title track is just iconic but there’s real energy throughout.

Punk perfection.

An absolute no brainer for a 5 star rating. 1994/95 was a great time of my life, finding my way in the ‘adult’ world and having my independence. My music tastes were expanding quickly, at a time when grunge was my main staple diet. I was exploring new stuff like Massive Attack, Portishead and The Prodigy. Whilst there was plenty of new Indie/Rock to explore, this album just smacked me in the face from the first listen. Short sharp powerful punk rock songs, with fantastic story telling. Basket Case must have been on the Jukebox in the Plume of Feathers every night. Happy days and happy nights. Impossible to pick a favourite track from this. It just all works together. An album to put on and play from start to finish, LOUD.

At the start I thought that they sounded like they were having a lovely old time, but pretty soon I realised that I wasn’t. By the time I got to ‘Giddy Up a Ding Dong’ and ‘Next’ I’d had enough. Too theatrical.

Thank you to 1,001 albums for making me play me this again after a very long time. Whenever I feel in a Fleetwood Mac mood I do the obvious and put Rumours on. I was put off this album before as it lacked the unique edge of Rumours. I also hated so many of the Lindsey Buckingham lead songs on Tusk. Listening with fresh ears today, there is so many beautiful moments on this album. Stevie Nicks is just sublime. Beautiful Child and Sisters of the Moon in particular are just stunning and dreamy. But Buckingham’s songs are mainly so deliberately quirky and self-indulgent. They spoil the whole mood of the album. He is a brilliant guitarist. Mesmerising to watch. He has written and sung some great songs, but on Tusk it seems like he was too hell bent on trying to be different. In these modern times of listening to music streamed from my iPhone the problem is easily solved. By adding 14 of the 20 tracks (a few of Buckingham’s survived the cull), I now have a stunning (shorter) version of this album ready to play when I’m feeling in a Radio 2 Sunday Morning kind of mood. Which is increasingly often these days. My personal short version of the album is worthy of 5 stars, but I’d best rate your full version so it has to lose a star for Lindsey’s attempts to swim against the tide.

The first ‘side’ (the 20 minute opening track), just didn’t do it for me at all. Pleased to see side 2 didn’t follow the same format. After surviving the cheesy faux Chinese melody of ‘A Passage to Bangkok’, the rest of the album improved. I really liked ‘Lessons’, but this was the only true highlight. 2 stars.

Nope

Decent enough album, but it just kind of trundles along without any real highs or any horrible lows. Nice country/blues vibe, and love the guitar work. However, there are times when his ‘unique’ vocal style gets a little strained, in fact some might say that he hits a few bum notes. Not my favourite Uncle Neil album.

Awful and talentless. I just don’t understand who would buy this and for what occasion? I don’t see any talent in coming up with a 5 second long drum pattern and overlaying it with no more than 3 notes, then looping it endlessly until you lose the will to live. I always read the Wiki reviews on each album to get a deeper understanding of the artist & the album. Having read about this one, I’ve learnt nothing. I just wonder why this obscure artist and album made the 1,001 list. It wasn’t for commercial success (and neither should it just be about that), and it wasn’t for outstanding critical reviews. It doesn’t seem to have inspired other artists and doesn’t seem groundbreaking in any way. I guess the author of the list just likes it. Each to their own.

Stunning album. Track one sparks into life half way through when Johnny Fucking Marr just takes over. The whole outro to the track is pure gold. For me, the album goes to another level with ‘Cemetery Gates’, the iconic ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’ and the beautifully melodic ‘The Boy with a Thorn in His Side’ - 3 great tracks back-to-back in the middle of the album. The musicianship on ‘There is a light that never goes out’ is incredible. Yes, I love this album. I can’t help singing along to most of it…even after all these years, the lyrics are just burnt in to my permanent memory. I saw Johnny Marr in concert last year and he’s still very much got it. What a guitarist! Really enjoyed him revisiting the Smiths back catalogue, and it still feels fresh. Not a bad consolation for not seeing The Smiths live in their pomp.

That was a nice surprise. Talented musicians and vocals. As somebody who likes songs that tell stories, I wish I wasn’t that typical English bloke that only understands English! But it was a very pleasant listen, I enjoyed the acoustic guitar work and the arrangements, which created a lovely relaxed atmosphere.

I’m probably one of the only humans on the planet who managed to make it to their mid 50s without ever listening to an EJ album. I have an impulsive reaction to change the radio station as soon as I hear his tones, or if I’m somewhere in a public space I just put my fingers in my ears and shout blah blah blah blah until I’ve managed to escape the torture. Irrational behaviour by an otherwise fairly rational and balanced man perhaps. It’s not just EJs long association with an unmentionable football club down the M1 that warrants this abnormal response, although I am guilty of playing up to this as it’s now simply expected of me. In the same way that I’m expected to keep repeating the same Dad jokes and laughing at myself whilst my family just shakes their heads and fondly pats my arm. I knew that this day was coming as soon as I signed up to this 1,001 albums thing as I guessed there would be EJ presence. I thought I’d just skip it. But in this new progressive version of myself, I listened to the whole thing. Under headphones. So it’s our secret. So, my review… Positives Song writing - there are some ok songs on here. How much credit does EJ take for this? I genuinely don’t know. Arrangements - some beautiful orchestration and very clever use of tempo change, soft then loud and harmonisation. The title track - great song with a nice atmospheric build to it. Piano - obvious I guess but he can play the piano pretty well cant he! Negatives I absolutely hate his vocal style. Over pronunciation and over singing at times. It’s my number one hate on any piece of music (Mariah Carey for example) but EJ just has this weird exaggerated twang to his voice when he sings. What’s that all about? Like he’s either trying to be American or play a theatrical character? Ends up just sounding like a Benidorm club singer/Vic Reeves Shooting Stars parody act. ‘Indian Summer’ is an example. I’m proud of myself for trying and for being objective enough in my review. Zero stars for his vocals and choice of football team, but 2 stars overall - carried by the quality of some of the songwriting and the production.

A nice change of direction for the 1,001 list, which brought a smile to my face. Sadly, the rest of the album didn’t hit the heights of ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone’, but I still really enjoyed the album as a whole. Would probably give a ‘Best of’ album a listen, as it’s only the big hits that would make me decide to play this lot again by choice. A high end 2 stars from me (miles better than EJ🤣)

Dull

Taking music to a new level of mellow. I really did like her vocals, and the bluesy guitar vibe. I’d happily listen to any single track on this album, but the whole album was just too one paced for me. Background mood music. A 2 star rating because I’d listen to this before any of the shite I’ve rated as 1 star, but can’t see myself buying it, or listening to it again.

I started out thinking that this is going to be a very interesting listen, but soon found out that it was actually really hard work staying with it. Quirky and awkward. There’s obviously a lot of creativity and production gone into this, but it just feels like arty pretentiousness to me. Clever for clever’s sake.

Absolutely not for me. Before giving up on it, I spotted that Michael Kiwanuka appears on the last track, so I stuck with it. So much anger in the album, then we arrived at that final track and the gloriously soulful vocal of Kiwanuka. The world was so much better for just dialling down the hatred. A glimpse of what Ms Simz is capable of producing when she takes a more R&B path. Off with that rubbish…I’m off to indulge in Kiwanukas eponymously titled album.

At least it was only 4 tracks! Turns out I’m just not funky enough for Herbie.

An awesome album! Just love this genre of rock/punk/pop/Americana. I discovered Husker Du late, starting with Bob Moulds solo stuff, then working back through Sugar and then onto Husker Du. Moulds vocals and lyrics are great and I just love the relentless pace of this album.

I’ve not been sleeping much lately. This should help 💤

Wow. Not quite sure what happened there! Whilst I do enjoy a lot of punk influenced music, this was way too hardcore and extreme for me. It makes the Sex Pistols sound like a complete commercial sell out (which I guess it probably is considered to be by those that really love punk music). I understand it and can appreciate it as a piece of art, but it’s just not something I’d ever buy. Glad I listened but can’t rate too highly.

Don’t know much of James Browns work before he became a sex machine. So I quite enjoyed listening to this early version of him. Great voice and arrangements. Liked it 👍

5 stars! The other albums that have got top marks from me were all ones I already knew and loved. This is the first complete surprise for me. I’d only ever heard a handful of Thin Lizzy songs, probably the ones that every other human has heard & I’d never really given the band another thought. So I played this one today curious to hear some more. It started really well, but I was kind of busy pottering around with it on in the background. When ‘Massacre’ came on, I started to pay some closer attention, then the guitar solos on ‘Still in Love with you’ just stopped me in my tracks. Awesome song. The album got a 2nd play later on, under the headphones and without any other distractions. Blown away by it all to be honest. Phil Lynotts vocal and bass incredible. But the song writing and musicianship is so so strong. Plenty of variety here too. Slightly saddened to read on the Wiki review about the contentious amount of studio overdubbing of the live recordings, but it shouldn’t spoil things. It’s a brilliant piece of work, and I can feel the energy they must have had ‘Live’. Why has it taken me this long to realise that this a seriously good band?!

Not for me really. Find it just a bit too cheesy. Overly long and pointless keyboard solos and maniac wailing just isn’t my bag. Music to gallop on a horse to maybe.

Complete nonsense.

A really interesting album. One to listen to properly, not really background music fodder. I like his quirkiness and talent on so many instruments. I prefer some of the more stripped back songs that show off his melancholy vocals and songwriting. Quite vulnerable and emotional rawness. Highlights ‘Once Around the Block’, ‘Pissing in the Wind’ and ‘Another Pearl’. A strong 3 from me. Let down by a few tracks that are just experimental fillers, and boosted by the fact that he was born in Dunstable. This makes him one of the best things to come out of Dunstable, apart from Kevin from Grand Designs. Oh, Faye Tozer from Steps. Top 3 ain’t bad for such a hot bed of talent.

Surprisingly, this wasn’t as terrible as I thought it might be. Probably as good as 1970s hair rock gets. Wasn’t expecting to find a Kinks cover on it and some of the other tracks didn’t seem to fit with my preconceptions. Loving some of the cheesy guitar riffs and some decent rhythm section moments. A mid 2 rating.

I can’t explain why I’ve never liked this band other than I’ve always thought of them as pretentious and annoying. Maybe it’s just the extreme disappointment I felt when I first heard ‘Take Me Out’. An incredible first 1 minute and 3 seconds of intro, that built my hopes up far too high for the dross that was to follow. So, with an open mind I listened to this today. And I was right about them. Still just annoying. And there are better ways to experience 1 minute and 3 seconds of joy 🤣

I did listen to the whole thing, reading the lyrics as I went. So much hatred, anger and violence. The violence isn’t even implied. Just couldn’t find anything I could hang a complimentary remark upon. Sorry, just not for me.

Musically, so much better than the Circle Jerks rubbish we had on here recently. But I can’t stand the vocalist. So it can’t be any higher that a low 2 rating because of him.

Really enjoyed a little bit of groovy business on a wet Thursday afternoon! ‘Hard Times’ was the standout track for me. The tracks that were funkiest and had the most wah-wah action were the best. When I play it again (and I will) I’ll probably skip a few tracks in search of the magic.

What a masterpiece. Such a game-changing album. Achingly beautiful in places, it was such a unique and inspiring album. I was already a Radiohead fan when this was released and this one just blew me away with its creativity and fresh sound from the start. By the time you’re into ‘Paranoid Android’ you realise that this is different level. A onslaught on the senses! Some of the softer moments and harmonies are just incredible (‘Subterranean Homesick Alien’, ‘Exit Music’, ‘Let Down’, ‘No Surprises’), but ‘Lucky’ is still one of my favourite all time tracks. 26 years old, but still one of my ‘go to’ albums, and in the conversation for the best album of all time ever.

Bloody lovely listen that! Beautiful harmonies and created a sense of tranquility. Stand out tracks for me were ‘Your Protector’, ‘Ragged Wood’ and ‘He Doesn’t Know Why’. A strong 3 star, but might have grown into a 4 if had more listens.

That’s not normally the sort of music I listen to. If that was the sort of music I listen to, I’d probably listen to this. If that makes sense. Better than I thought it would be. Had a little snooze half way through but it didn’t induce nightmares, and when I woke up it was still bobbing along quite nicely.

I really should like Nick Cave. I stumble across his songs here and there and really really like them. He’s a story teller and I like his voice. So I should like him. But then I look up an album and give it a play and it bores me to death. This is no exception, but there’s not even 1 banging track here that might have lead me to this album. ‘Idiot Prayer’ was as good as it got for me. Scrapes a 2 based on his voice and a nice violin here and there.

Found this very predictable and cliched. Sounds very old, and not in a good way. At one point my cat started joining in, and it might have actually improved it.

Kanye. West. Why? Is he only famous for generating PR by being an idiot? That doesn’t impress me. Why does he have to collaborate with so many artists, producers, MCs or whatever’s on every track? To mask the fact that he is a talentless idiot if left alone to make ‘music’? If I judge the man just on this album, as I have tried to do, then there is literally nothing there to admire. A solid zero score.

I love and hate this album. If this list was “The top Albums you that love the first half of despite the fact that the singer can’t sing a note”, then this would be in the conversation. The first 5 tracks are pure Indie Pop bangers. Songs you sing loudly to when drunk. And then it just collapses into a dreary whiny mess of a record. If anybody tries to defend the vocal ability of Mr Flowers, just play ‘Everything Will Be Alright’ then the prosecution can rest. He gets away with it for the first 5 tracks as the anthems are pumping and everybody is having a good time.

Much to my daughters disgust, I have always believed that Taylor Swift is an alien sent to this planet to infiltrate us and commit heinous crimes. I once let her play one of her albums on a car journey and she chose ‘Folklore’ the album before this. Having read up about this on Wiki, I now understand the similarity. I’m amazed to say that i actually like this album. So different from the horrible sickly sweet American High School princess diva pop shit I hated her for. Credit to her for evolving, and the fact that she has made 2 albums with such a folk vibe is showing she is more than I gave her credit for. There are some beautiful tracks on ‘Evermore’, my favourite being the title track at the end of the album. Ms Swift can really sing, some of these songs showcase that, and the harmonies with Bon Iver are just stunning. The album is a bit samey, however, the one track that is different is the one I like the least! (No body no crime). That’s a bit too corny Country and Western Yee Haw nonsense for my liking. I would listen to this album again. Maybe as Ms Swift gets older she’ll start to sing about things more relevant to me (like getting old and grumpy) and I’ll like her more. Was I wrong about her or is her evil now evolving to brainwash a wider audience now that she controls the minds of every young girl under 25. Am I doomed? Crikey. A strong 3, maybe a 4.

C&W is just not my thing at all, unless it’s a lot more subtle than a lot of this album. However, I stuck with it because of her voice. Undeniably a great singer. Got to ‘Boulder to Birmingham’ and found a song that I could enjoy, then the next track ‘Before Believing’ was really beautiful. But just as I was now off-guard and wondering if I could be a convert, the next track was everything I hate about the genre. I stayed with the album until in the end with optimism that I’d hear another track or 2 within my tolerance zone, but it wasn’t to be. 2 stars for her voice and for these lovey 2 tracks that I’ve added to my library so will stumble across at some point randomly again in the future.

Very raw and angry with some heavy subject matter. I really liked it and fully understand why Fugazi inspired so much of the music that I love. I can only imagine the energy they would create live, probably a much better live band than in recorded form. The album really builds for me. ‘Brendan #1’ drives it on at a furious pace and the album gets better from there. A solid 4.

Nostalgia overload! I must have listened to this loads in my life, but not for at least 35 years! Simon le Bon pouting in a linen suit and/or posing on a yacht. Too much hairspray. Pastel colours. Jumpers for Goalposts etc etc. So it was nice to be reacquainted with an old friend. But just like a school reunion, whilst it was nice to briefly catch up, I’ve soon realised that I no longer have much in common and probably won’t stay in touch. Good bass guitar throughout. Stand out tracks ‘My Own away’ and ‘Hold Back the Rain’.

‘Sing A Simple Song’ was awesome. It had the funk turned right up. ‘Everyday People’ just great, although I only really knew it from the Arrested Development sample. ‘I Want To Take You Higher’, and ‘You Can Make It If You Try’ was also good enough to get me throwing some funky shapes at breakfast time. The rest of the album underwhelmed.

I know Morrissey the human divides opinion, and so does his music. Now, I’m not saying I like the human, and he’s not my favourite member of The Smiths, but I do love this album. He brings his unique style of hatred and self-deprecation and mixes it with a few catchy pop songs. There are enough masterpieces on this album to warrant a 4 (‘I Have Forgiven Jesus’, ‘Let Me Kiss You’, ‘Irish Blood, English Heart’, ‘First of the Gang To Die’). Some lyrical brilliance, and some perfect musical arrangements. The guitar and keyboards on ‘Let Me Kiss You’ are magical. A few fillers so not a 5.

I made an audible sigh when I saw a Slade album pop up here. That album cover. That album title. I’m just not going to like this am I? Scrolling through Apple Music looking for it, I couldn’t believe just how much music this lot made. First impressions were that Noddys voice will just annoy me. But they all seemed to be having a bloody good time making music. I then got into a little run of tracks that must have broken through my inoculation against 1970s big-flared-cheese-rock and I realised that I was having quite a good time too. Maybe I had a bang on the head or something, but ‘I Won’t Let it ‘Appen Again’, ‘Move Over’, and ‘Gudbuy T’Jane’ are decent tracks! I’m a sucker for good bass playing and this was decent enough to distract me from Noddys screeching. I guess this is why I’m still here with 1,001 albums every day. There’s some rubbish on the list, and some albums I already absolutely love. And occasionally I get a surprise like this! I’d never have listened to a Slade album and would’ve gone to my grave believing they were nothing more than a novelty Christmas act. P.S. I bet they were great to see Live P.P.S. Just because I like this it doesn’t mean I’ll suddenly like Status Quo. So don’t try it Mr 1,001 albums. Just don’t ok?

There are some phenomenal tracks on this album. Taper Jean Girl, Razz, Pistol of Fire, Four Kicks and The Bucket have such hypnotic energy. These boys used to know how to write banging tunes. Also, they really know how to end their songs (guitar solo outro on Pistol of Fire as a great example) No slow fade outs just brilliant crescendos. I had to argue with my son and his KOL Suoerfan girlfriend about why I still couldn’t give it a 5 rating despite how much I adore most of this album. It’s because…. I can’t understand a fucking word Caleb sings, and lyrics mean a lot to me. He has a great tone and rasp to his voice but boy does he mumble. Or is that just a southern drawl? Later albums don’t seem so bad on that front. Either he learnt how to enunciate properly, or the recording / production improved. I did some more research on the song lyrics to try and learn what I was missing out on. Having read them, I’m largely still none the wiser about what he’s on about, and the bits I do understand are often a bit questionable. For example, the track ‘Soft’….. hmmm…. a song about drug induced erectile dysfunction my teenage son explains. That wasn’t awkward at all. And there’s also the track ‘Milk’. Just painful, yet they still manage a great outro! I’ll stick with my 4 rating and will continue to dance like nobody is watching whenever I play ‘Taper Jean Girl’. The Kings of Mumble Rock used to be an epic band and this is still a phenomenal album.

Never listened to Funkadelic before, much to one of my mates disgust. He was so enthusiastic about this album when I told him it came up on the list, bless him. So I listened with an open mind. Track one went as I imagined. Nice and funky (obviously). Soon went downhill as track two was poor. Track three was surprising - whilst I didn’t like it, I appreciated the variation of the lead guitar part. Track four takes the award for the best and the worst song title of all time, and just droned on for far too long. Did the Chef from South Park sing ‘Into You?’ - awful song. About to give up after that one, and started skipping tracks until ‘Maggot Brain’ caught my attention. So out of place on this album…more Jimi Hendrix than Funkadelic… really good stuff. Bad again after that ‘highlight’ Well, that was a lot more varied than anticipated, but a mixed bag of rubbish. 1 star

I tried. But it seems that I’ll never be able to enjoy Jazz improv. I’m clearly not intelligent or cultured enough.

Controversial opinion I’m sure but this is just over rated rubbish

Top album! Sets the tone right from the off with the first 4 tracks showcasing their strengths. Plenty of the old grunge sound but mixed up with some Americana pop and harmonies. Standout tracks are ‘Awful’, ‘Boys on the Radio’ and ‘Heaven Tonight’. A solid 4 and a nice trip back down memory lane.

5.0 out of 5. An absolutely stunning album. Still sounds fresh today. The songwriting and arrangements on every single track are top drawer. Everything seems so perfectly thought through and the whole album just flows together. An album of contrasts: ‘Richard III just bangs’, and ‘Late in the Day’ has an incredibly mellow vibe. It’s just so interestingly put together, with little brass sections, percussion arrangements, keyboard solos and guitar riffs popping up to change the dynamic of each song. An album to have in the background to brighten your day but also one that gets better when you have time to sit down and just absorb every detail.

Listening to Joni Mitchell is another first for me. I thought I’d recognise some of her songs but nothing jumped out at me, yet I’m left with an overall sense that I’ve heard it before. Probably just the sort of noise I would have heard on my dad’s radio in his Vauxhall Viva. Found it all too boring. Her voice was sweet enough but absolutely no edge to it…even more dull than The Carpenters. The lead guitar was nice in places, but everything was obviously playing accompaniment to Joni’s voice. A 2 star rating as I’d choose this over all of the Gangsta rap rubbish, or the country and western, or the rat pack, or the jazz improv that we’ve had on the list. Perhaps a beige Vauxhall Viva is the perfect analogy for this record. Cheap, boring, reliable and best left in the 1970s.

Not as good as i remembered it. Highlight is the brilliant ‘Self Esteem’. ‘Gotta Get Away’ is ok too. But the overall album just not strong enough.

Oh wow. Was interested by the concept but my interest soon disappeared. I tried to stick with it hoping to find some good songs, but no. I finished early. The irony of this is not lost on me.

This album really builds. Second listen of the day and it’s growing on me. I’ve always found Arcade Fire interesting when I’ve stumbled across them, and loved ‘Everything Now’ almost obsessively, but never ventured back to their early work. This album has the expected mix of instruments and arrangements that I hoped for. There really are a lot of musicians and instruments here and it all works. The male vocals are at times strained, yet they are quite mesmerising. Really liked the harmonies with the Bjork-esque female vocals on a couple of the tracks. ‘Wake Up’ and ‘Rebellion (Lies)’ are the immediate stand out anthems for me, and together with ‘Haiti’ sandwiched between them formed the best spell on the album. But that 2nd listen really prodded my senses more. So I’ll be adding this to my library and explore more of their work too. A solid 4.

Much to my amazement I enjoyed the start of this album, but it really faded (or just became samey) after the first 5 tracks. Thought I was listening to Michael Jackson at times. I’ll give it a mid 3 based on how much I enjoyed some of earlier tracks and wasn’t offended by any of it.

Love the opening bars of the first track ‘Debaser’ (that bass 🤩) and it then builds into that power-punk-pop sound that’s right up my street. And there’s that simple but beautiful bass again on ‘Tame’ the platform for some swirling guitar riffs and some weird angry and melodic vocals. What’s not to love? The pattern for the album is set with some great hooks and guitars. Highlights for me are ‘Here Comes Your Man’ (the catchiest and poppiest they get), ‘Monkey Gone to Heaven’ and ‘No. 13 Baby’. A high 4.

Been waiting over a hundred albums for this lot to appear. Worth the wait for my favourite Beatles album (I think!?🤔). Going to be tough to write up this review as I don’t think I’m eloquent enough to describe it. It’s a straight 5. Nothing comes close from that era. The song writing. The variety of song styles. The richness of the guitar work. The way the B side just flows from one song to the next. All time classic songs. Just incredible and a regular ‘Go To’ album throughout my adult life. If I have to find a negative, then it’s Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, which isn’t very good but I’ll forgive and forget.

This really was one of my favourite albums of its time so have listened to this a lot in my life. So the 5 rating was a pretty impulsive response to seeing it appear on this list today. With the gift of time to be able to listen again properly, it was great to revisit it and see whether I had my nostalgic head on when throwing out a 5. But it still sounds great! As well as the big anthems such as Design for Life, it has some really enjoyable quirky and non conventional little tracks like Kevin Carter and some lovely little bop along pop songs too. Much more commercially accessible than their previous more punky offerings and some wonderful melancholy obviously shaped by the tragedy they had to go through. Great song writing and musical compositions. Everything delivered with emotion. Still a 5 rated album all day long.

It’s not terrible. I quite like the lazy soft jazzy business but there’s just not enough happening on here for me. It’s all so samey. I’m sure the same drum pattern is on nearly all of the songs - maybe with a slight variation on the tempo or adding a high cymbal here or there. The creativity is only in the lyrics which aren’t bad. I quite like the vocal delivery but where’s the catchy chorus or the instrumental solos? Maybe I just don’t understand this genre. It’s listenable as background fodder only. It’s better than everything I’ve rated as a 1 so it gets a generous 2!

Dreadful init

A mid to low 4. Great songs when they eventually get around to them, but just too much nonsense in between. I suppose that’s art. Iconic album with iconic artwork, but too much nonsense I skip and not enough non-nonsense to enjoy. Best track ‘Us and Them’ - pure class

Disappointingly dull and basic.

Nausea inducing. Just can’t stand her voice. Pop is not my thing, but even this cold old heart can be warmed occasionally by a nicely sung pop tune. We all have guilty pleasures right? Just not this bile. The closest to thawing me out was ‘Sometimes’. I’ll give 2 stars because it’s better than the other genres clogging up the bowels of the 1 rated albums.

Oh dear Uncle Neil. The 3rd album of yours we’ve been given so far and each one has got worse. What will the 25th one be like? I’m afraid that your vocals were harshly exposed on most of these tracks. I thought I was listening to Big Bird from Sesame Street on ‘Don’t Let It Bring You Down’. It was only when the guitars got cranked and the background vocals pitched up that you got away with it. ‘Southern Man’ was great. ‘Oh, Lonesome Me’ was good. ‘When You Dance’ and ‘I Believe In You’ are the only other tracks to make it to the prestigious Uncle Neil playlist. A low 3 stars as it’s better than both Elt@n Jo!n and Britney Spears, who I apparently gave 2 stars too.

I’ve really wanted to like a hip hop album that this list has thrown at us before, and until now have been left disappointed. But this was great. It has the same hard hitting social commentary, but I found it so powerfully delivered. Loved the energy and pace of the record, it was just relentless. What sets it above the others for me is the music! Dumb thing to say perhaps, but this album was full of great tunes, and creatively mixed up with samples and story lines. It kept me listening (and reading) which is surely the best way to engage the listener. It has to be entertaining otherwise I’d switch off and the message would be lost. Added this to my albums as I know I want another listen. There’s too much going on to take it all in. A very high 3 rating.

Uninspiringly beige.

A classic sound. You can’t hate on it in any way, it’s Phil Spector and it’s Christmas. 🎅🏻 🎄🍻

When this popped up, I hoped I might enjoy it. I didn’t. Hasn’t aged well, and Mr Harket does whine a bit especially on some of those slower songs. Highlights were the 2 upbeat singles (Take On Me & The Sun Always Shines On Tv).

Very interesting. The dude makes some interesting noises, but… It’s almost like he comes across something in a little jam session that sounds nice, doesn’t know how to drop it into a song and build it out so he just gets stuck. Perfect example of what I mean is on ‘Revolution’. The opening bars were awesome but a great song didn’t emerge. I think I liked it, but just when I thought I might give it a second chance, 11 minutes of ‘suicide’ killed off that chance.

Wow wow wow! Never heard this album before. I was only familiar with some of their later stuff. Now on my third listen and I’m starting to really love it. ‘If There is Something’ builds into a great song and leads into the one song I knew ‘Virginia Plain’. The album feels fairly unique and quirky. ‘2HB’ dreamy keyboards (Brian Eno?). Overall, a slightly weird experience with lots of creativity and mood. Right up my street that!

I thought King Crimson was something completely different to this. Apart for the 5 or 6 minutes of nonsense jazz at the end of track 4, I really enjoyed this. The opener was lively but my favourite was the vibe of ‘Epitaph’ and ‘I Talk to the Wind’. Great vocals throughout. Really good album, maybe better because it was such a surprise! A really high 3.

Beavis and Butthead made a record? Who knew! Apart from the classic ‘Fight For Your Right’ and ‘No Sleep Till Brooklyn’ (when the rock got cranked up), there’s nothing here for me. A low 2.

Well that was much better than I imagined. There was enough music here to support the below average rapping, and the backing vocals really lifted it. The album had a nice flow to it and was quite easy to listen to. I enjoyed ‘WeFight/WeLove’ and ‘Good Thang’. A low and generous 2 stars

Music for posh people I reckon. Pleasant enough but just kind of passed me by. Nothing jumped out enough to make me want to listen again. Background music. A mid 2.

There are some really beautiful arrangements on this (Playground Love and Dead Bodies for instance). The album seems to lack something because it’s a soundtrack and therefore feels a little disjointed by the really short interlude tracks. However, listening to this was really interesting and has definitely motivated me to dig out some other Air albums and give them a go. And that haunting final track has made me want to look out the movie too. Having now heard the soundtrack it might give an extra edge to what feels like a decent (and potentially harrowing) watch.

Not heard this album before! Instantly recognised ‘Intro’ - heard it a billion times on TV without knowing what or who it was. That opener made me sit up and take notice. I was pretty blown away by the album on first listen. Such a simple stripped back lazy style. The vocals just work together somehow, although I prefer her voice. At times they sound completely disinterested in each other, but the melancholy is just beautiful. At times I’m reminded of some of the dark melodies on some of The Cures albums. The prominence of that bass guitar. It’s a properly moody album and I love it. Another big reason to crack on with this 1,001 albums business :)

Gave it a couple of listens but it really didn’t grab me. Nice orchestration and variety of songs but all in the pleasant easy listening style that just passes me by. 2 rated as not inoffensive!

Nope. Corny basic rock and roll.

Firstly, I find it tragic that any 24 year old’s life was taken in such a violent way. The album. Nauseating. Not sure if it’s the horrendous skits, the appalling lyrics or the consistent call to violence that I hate the most. The violence is glamourised and celebrated far too much. I don’t believe in censoring artists material, but I have a choice, and I will never choose this. If that makes me a boomer, then so be it.

Never listened to a Bjork album in my life. Have really liked some of her singles (Play Dead as an example), but always put off by her weirdness, her portrayal by the media and by the dreadful ‘it’s oh so quiet’. This album was a complete revelation. Sure, I still hear some weirdness but either it’s below my gag-reflex trigger point, or I’ve evolved! The album is just beautiful. Her voice is distinctive and is a huge part of her art. And the music behind her voice is incredible on here. Fantastic arrangements with a wide range of instruments with a lovely flow from track to track, creating a hypnotic dreamy mood. Listening to this an experience and I bloody loved it.

I owned this album but haven’t listened for ages so was looking forward to revisiting. I remembered that the singles banged but didn’t remember anything else about the other tracks. The album opens strongly full of rage and noise, but that disappeared on track 3 (Perfect) where she tried a sugary sweet ballad that was rubbish. She’s much better when she’s activated her angry bitch mode. ‘You Oughta Know’ is the stand out track for me - love that bass! ‘Mary Jane’ was the nice surprise for me - didn’t remember it at all… not angry bitch mode but she delivers it much better than some of the other slower tracks. A mid range 3 rating for a nice reminiscence.

That was great. Unexpectedly so. I’m obviously aware of this band (how could you not be) and their distinctive style, but never listened to an album. I really enjoyed it. Bopped along nicely. A couple of times I felt it was going a bit Status Quo but that soon passed thankfully. Really loved the hits, and quite a few others. A beautiful and appropriate appearance by a cow bell on ‘Night in the City’. I’m a sucker for an appropriately used cow bell. I enjoyed ‘Steppin’ out’ and ‘Big Wheels’ too. Another ‘New to Me’ old album I’ve added to my library. A mid to high 4

Twice as good as I thought it was going to be so I will give it twice the number of stars I thought I would.

Even without consideration for how and when Dave Grohl recorded this album, it stands up as a solid post-grunge album. However, it means so much more. To think he played every instrument and threw it together in its rawest form of garage recording, distributed anonymously via his friends on cassette tape makes it astonishing. It doesn’t stand up alongside some of the Foos following albums, but what it lacks in terms of production, big guitar layers and that obvious chemistry making a record as a group brought, it more than makes up for with raw emotion. It has all the soft soft loud ingredients, and cute melodies that define him. Thank God he found the strength to carry on as a musician and get this album out there. My world would be a much worse place without Mr Grohls music. Five. Stars. All. Day. Long.

One of the few dance acts that when I see on Glastonbury I’ll watch. So I’m familiar with a lot of their hits and I really like some of their collaborations. I didn’t recognise anything on here. A strong start but soon enough it just deteriorated into lots of boring / annoying repetition. I stuck with it and in parts it improved but overall just passed me by. Still hoping there might be another Chemical Brothers album on the list that might be better. I could try and find one myself but I’m busy and can’t be arsed !

I really liked ‘Sound and Vision’ so was excited to hear this album. Wrong. Rubbish.

Always put off of Stevie Wonder by the cheesiest of pop songs he released like ‘I Just To Say I Love You’ and ‘Isn’t She Lovely’. Whilst I’d never listened to one of his albums I knew that this one is highly regarded by many. I found it really laboured to start with. The first 3 tracks were a drag. Then it came to life with ‘Contusion’, ‘Sir Duke’ and ‘I Wish’ and became listenable. The rest of the (long) album was much the same. I definitely preferred the more funky tracks ‘Ordinary Pain’, and enjoyed the gospel parts. I skipped the large dollops of cheese.

I had no idea that Beck could make an album like this. It completely escaped me! I really like a lot of his stuff, very quirky and creative. The opener of this was brilliant - took me completely by surprise. Track 2 had fantastic orchestration and arrangements, and then track 3 had the right amount of country and western slide guitar action for it not to be vomit inducing country and western. I could play those first 3 tracks on repeat - just great. The rest of the album didn’t quite hit those heights but as with all Beck’s stuff it was a really interesting listen. The quirkyness dialled down and replaced with awesome melancholy and melody. If The Doris ever leaves me, I’ll reach for this album - it would be perfect. Not that I want to be heartbroken of course, but this might, just might, make it worthwhile 🤣. A solid 4 rating - maybe will grow into a 5 with more listens.

First impressions not great. Track one just sounded like a drunk mumble. But that might be ‘jazz’. Never understood it. Warmed to the next couple of tracks marginally but lost complete interest soon after. Reading wiki I just can believe this fella has recorded so many albums yet I’ve never heard of him. Not saying I know everyone and everything, but if I’ve not come across him in all my years on the planet then maybe there’s a reason.

A solid 2 mainly because of her voice. She can sing beautifully and the production elevates her vocal, the music plays second fiddle to her. I can’t imagine any situation where I’d play this album again, as it’s just not my thing, but I completely respect her talent. Just wish she’d sing something I’d like 🤣

A no brainer of a 5 star rating. Love this album, especially the ‘B Side’. Doesn’t matter what mood I’m in, this album just hits the spot. Beautiful.

A really interesting listen. Album has one of my favourite Queen tracks on it (‘Now I’m Here’) and I loved the big guitars on ‘Brighton Rock’. But too much operatic nonsense to make me give more than a solid 3. ‘Leroy Brown’ just awful. ‘She Makes Me’ unexpectedly different. All very interesting.

Sensational. My only criticism is that ‘Litte Wing’ is too short 🤣 That song is crying out for a lovely long dreamy guitar solo outro.

I know it’s iconic and it’s a nice enough listen. But it’s maybe just a bit too middle of the road nice for me.

Nice to hear the singles again I guess, but I don’t think they were the radio edits I remembered (?). The rest just passed me by.

Decent but didn’t really go anywhere. Not their finest work. A low 3.

It was ok

Strong opening (tracks 1 to 7), drops off in the middle (8 to 11) and a nice close out (12 & 13). When it’s good it’s absolutely brilliant - all energy and craziness, and some thoughtful storytelling. I love the mix of instruments on here and a great guest appearance by Karen Elson. A low 4. Prefer his work as ‘The Raconteurs’, especially ‘Help Us Stranger’…one of my favourite albums of the last 10 years.

Can’t find it on Apple Music. Having read the Wiki review I can say for sure that I would have absolutely hated it. Whilst I have been surprised a few times by this list, I have complete conviction in my guesstimate of a 1 rating.

A solid 4. Don’t like the cheesy singles (Our House & Teach Your Children). The rest of it is great. ‘Almost Cut My Hair’ is the stand out track - that bluesy rock that’s right up my street with a superb guitar solo. Love it 🤘🏻

It was ok I guess. Recognised the last tune from the Fleetwood Mac sample on Tusk?

Monotonous uninspiring rubbish. Like I’d expect to hear in a wanky London restaurant or hotel lobby.

Complete bollocks

I was pleased to see this appear and haven’t listened to it for decades! Better than I remember. There’s a real rich fullness to the sound and the songs are just great. A very high 4

Really really good! Surprised I’ve not heard of them as this was definitely my sort of thing back at that time! I guess the charts were full of similar artists and seeing as this lot didn’t have a lot of commercial chart success, they escaped me. Decent songs, vocals and variety. Reminds of ‘World Party’ and ‘Dodgy’ but with a little hint of ‘Waterboys’ folky business. Liked it!

Boring. I know I’m dull, bat that was another level.

Not my favourite Smiths album but still decent with some banging tracks on it. Highlights for me are ‘Headmaster’, ‘Well I wonder’ and ‘Barbarism’. A solid 4.

I have no words to describe how bad this is. I only have questions about how such an obscure and unsuccessful album can make this list. A generous 1 star.

A fun album. Listened to the version with the big singles on it, but the whole album was decent. Will listen to it again for sure.

That was actually ok in places. You can really hear the Bowie influence and they love the same chords as they had on ‘All the Young Dudes’! There’s a fair amount of nonsense on here…especially ‘Violence’….alright, I get the point, you don’t need to sing it to me 117 times. But I really liked ‘Hymn for the dudes’ (they love singing about dudes), ‘Ballad of Mott the Hoople’, ‘El Camino’ and ‘I wish I was your mother’. A really low 3

It was ok! It had its moments I really liked (‘Supercut’ stands out), and some other tracks where her voice just really annoyed me. A high 2.

Some albums define a stage in your life and evoke such strong happy memories. This is definitely (not maybe) one of those for me. I remember seeing these idiotic brothers being interviewed on a Sunday night MTV show I used to watch in my first house. Check me out - not watching whatever my dad wanted to watch for the first 20 odd years of my life. Their debut album was out the next day and I got to see a few of their tracks being played acoustically in the studio and their first video. I bought the album the next morning and it became the soundtrack to my first year of living alone. Well, my next door neighbour used to sing opera in the morning so she deserved a little fight back! Possibly the best opening track to a debut album ever, and so many anthems throughout. Difficult to pick out a favourite track but Live Forever, Columbia and Slide Away are immense. Still a ‘Go To’ album for me, usually in the car when I crank the volume and sing and air-tambourine and let it all out. So much swagger. Iconic album cover. Great videos. A perfect album.

Really good! Enjoyed the more hypnotic trancey tracks to the pop ones.

Very pleasant but unremarkable. If I had a posh dinner party to host I could play it to show how cool I am. A low 3.

I absolutely love Peter Gabriel’s voice. Such a rich tone. I find his music needs listening to properly (although he has had a few radio friendly pop tunes) and I had to give this a second listen under my headphones when I had time to myself. As background music it feels a bit odd in places. Now that I’ve given it my undivided attention, it is another fantastic piece of art. I can really sense his obsession with the arrangements, so much goes into the use of percussion and the overall composition. Never been this far back in his catalogue and glad that I now have

Surely the best of that genre.

I’m getting confused by Bjork. Before the 1,001 albums list I just dismissed her as a lunatic. However, this is the 2nd album so far in the list and I found lots I really like. Maybe the radio only really played the whacky silly pop tracks and that built up an intolerance. I’ve given this a second listen today and now have a slimmed down 6 track version of the album I’ll keep and listen to again. Gone are the nonsense tracks that irritate me and I’m left with a decent half hour of great music. ‘Crying’ and ‘One Day’ are the standouts, but some lovely mood, harmonies and percussion throughout. I have to give it a 3 star, as I’ve culled half of the album, but I’m really happy with the bit I’ve got left!

Undoubtedly a masterpiece of its time. As much as I love the bass (especially) and a lot of the guitar work, I’m afraid I just don’t like Ian Curtis’s vocal. I know it creates the overall mood but the music does that enough for me. ‘Heart and Soul’ and ‘Twenty Four Hours’ are absolutely brilliant, and shine so much more than the rest of the album.

It’s a full on assault of a listen. Loved parts of it (‘Missed’ and ‘Ecstasy’ stand out). Found it hard going at other times. A mid 2

I enjoyed that more than I should’ve. Was in a good mood and on a long road trip so pumped it up loud in the car and really enjoyed it. Knew more of it than I thought I would. Silly segue nonsense but that didn’t spoil my fun. I’ll give it a 4. Not sure whether that’s because I was I a good mood, or whether the album was good. I’ll listen again once my grumpiness returns.

Hmmmm. Boston. Nothing more than a guilty pleasure track ‘More than a Feeling’. Well, now I’ve actually listened to a Boston album for the first time, it’s now a guilty pleasure album. I love it all. Cheesey as hell, but it definitely scratches an itch or two. This one landed on a Friday so I’ve had a whole 3 days to decide if I’ve lost the plot. But it’s late on a Sunday night and I’m still air-guitaring like a twat and hand-clapping along with terrible timing. So it’s an unashamed massive FIVE from me. Good night and party on. 🤘🏻

Classic enough, but it’s just not Boston is it 🤣🤣

2 stars because it’s better than most of this genre, but it’s just not my thing. I did recognise more tracks than I thought I would!

I can appreciate it but it’s not my thing. Far far worse albums on this list, so a low 2.

Another Neil Young album? A mid to low 3. Much preferred it once he found where to plug the guitars in.

Nope, not for me. Clash of styles and very aged production quality.

It was ok considering they seem to have had Sean Dyche as lead vocalist. I preferred the more bluesy tracks than the straight up rock and roll ones like ‘Good Golly Miss Molly’, but only a low 2 stars for me.

What a shame. High hopes for this after the first track but was left disappointed. Found another couple of tracks I really loved, especially ‘Fountain Stars’ but just left frustrated overall.

I absolutely love Radiohead (and The Smile), but I never did like this album or the follow up ‘Amnesiac’. It was just too much of a leap down the experimental route that was just too quirky for me to get into. Coming from the unbelievably awesome ‘Ok Computer’ this left me a bit frustrated. All the albums that came after ‘Amnesiac’ were a return to my taste, and had the right amount of weird to make them completely different to any other act around. When I want to listen to Radiohead, there’s too many choices to ever go for ‘Kid A’. So when this came up on the list, it was the prompt I needed to give it a go with fresh ears. Better than I remember but nowhere near their finest work. I can appreciate it but just won’t be reaching for it when I need some Radiohead.

It’s a stunningly beautiful album. Melancholy, orchestration, story telling and Guy Garveys amazing tone. Love it. Mirroball and Friend of Ours stand out alongside the epic One Day Like This

As far as Live albums go, this is pretty good.

What an incredible album this still is. It got me at the first 30 seconds! Throughout the album, there’s such power. The bass rumbles along and then the guitars just explode. Whilst the lyrics don’t relate to my life (thankfully), it doesn’t matter. The album just delivers anthem after anthem. Always has been a ‘Go to’ album for me!

Never listened to an album of his before. Best track was Willie the Pimp, coincidentally the only one with a vocalist. That one had enough going for it. The rest was just too jazzy for me, apart from The Gumbo Variations which I kind of enjoyed. A mid to low 2

A perfect punk/pop/rock banger to open the album - I love that track - regularly crops up on one of my playlist shuffles. But the rest gets nowhere near that level for me. A high 2.

How bad does an album have to be before it’s good? Who gave them the keys to the sound affect cupboard? Was that a kazoo solo? Have a band ever formed because of their musical differences? Is it any wonder Brazil has a drug problem? I’m really not sure what the hell I’ve just listened to, but I couldn’t bring myself to skip any of it, I was completely transfixed. So it can’t be a 1 rated album if it’s generated this level of wonder.

The 2nd best Brazilian album I’ve listened to this week. Nice happy vibe but I’m not loving his vocal. A low 2.

That was really boring. 1 star.

Awesome album! Buick Mackane the stand out for me.

Bile inducing.

Not much to write home about. It just kind of plodded along. Enjoyed the guitars on ‘Wooden Ships’ but nothing else jumped out. Thank the Lord for sending Neil Young their way to spice things up a bit.

Not a fan. Don’t like his voice and the music just too dull. Just don’t understand the hype.

Felt like I was trapped in a Tom & Jerry cartoon. There’s worse places I guess. I can respect the musicianship gone into this and I have endured so much worse on this 1,001 list. At least the wife didn’t walk in and tell me to switch this rubbish off, so I will give a solid 2.

I think I had this in my collection once upon a time, but definitely not listened to it for ages, so was looking forward to revisiting. It was good, but not brilliant. Probably why it hasn’t lasted in my rotation!

Yee-hah? Yee-nah.

WHY DID I READ THE LYRICS!!!! Listened to it once, fairy quietly as I did other things and actually thought it was pretty decent and worth an unprecedented second play of an Aerosmith album. So I had another go later and louder. Why is he so damned obsessed with young girls that he has to write songs about it and only it?

Disco perfection. Guitars and bass out of this world and smooth smooth smooth vocals. Not a disco fan so let’s file this under ‘Guilty Pleasure’.

Chas and Dave attempt Sargent Pepper? There were some moments where some decent music attempted to break through the crap. Sadly, not often enough. A high 1 star.

Blur always frustrated me. When they were good, they were fricking epic. ‘This Is A Low’ is perfection. ‘End of a Century’ and ‘To the End’ are just awesome. As much as I tried to resist ‘Girls and Boys’ and ‘Parklife’ I just couldn’t help falling for their catchiness and they were part of a soundtrack to one of the greatest times of my life. There’s some undisputed rubbish on here too…little curiosities not ‘proper’ songs. It’s probably the sheer variety of styles in their songs that stopped me from becoming a fan. There’s no flow, no cohesion l. I also thought of their music as childish - but later discovered that it was wholly due to them coming from Essex. It’s not their fault.

The album has so many beautiful harmonies and arrangements amongst all the anger and bleakness. ‘Where I End’, ‘Go to Sleep’, ‘There there’ and ‘Punch Up’ are all just brilliant. ‘Sail to the Moon’ has the dreaminess of stuff to come on ‘In Rainbows’. Not their best album, but some tracks are up there amongst their very best.

I really enjoyed parts of the album when I had it on in the background whilst pottering about. Nice R&B arrangements and harmonies. Didn’t really tune into any of the lyrics or the narrative in the filler ‘tracks’. So wanted to give it a second listen properly. Second listen under the headphones whilst reading the lyrics. Wow, didn’t realise ladies were this direct in this day and age! I felt very old, in fact I felt like a dirty old man listening in on something I shouldn’t be listening to 🤣. A little relieved that I hadn’t casually popped this album on whilst having dinner with the family as I sometimes do with the 1,001 album list as it usually generates a conversation!

Great album. Chesters vocals steal the show and just work with the crazy screaming rap/dude. Banging singles came from it. My standout track is ‘Pushing Me Away’.

I mean, let’s be honest, it’s not very good is it? Sure, there’s a handful of classic songs on it (Helter Skelter, Dear Prudence and While My Guitar Gently Weeps). But there’s so much shit on here, it virtually makes it unlistenable as an album. Had they got so massive that they just threw any old crap ideas on it knowing that people would worship it?

Like being trapped in an Austin Powers movie. Was decent in parts despite annoying vocals.

If only this was an instrumental! Loved the guitar work and mood but ruined by a maniac trying to sing

A solid 3 star album. Beautiful reminisce of the early 80s. Boosted by the epic ‘Reward’.

Shock horror. An album from this genre I enjoyed! What has this 1,001 list done to me? Doesn’t hurt to occasionally enjoy something outside my normal lane. This was a lovely soft melodic funky jazz, as opposed to the overly clever nonsense I usually run away from. A very solid 3.

Another pleasant surprise. Never thought I’d listen to an Iggy Pop album let alone enjoy it! Knew the 2 iconic singles before and that was it. But really loved this album. Can definitely hear the Bowie influence. And plenty of cowbell which is never a bad thing!

This is similar enough to the sort of music I like for me to have enjoyed this more. Maybe, because it’s a live album and I don’t know any of the songs it loses something on me, but nothing grabbed as different enough about them to make me want to look them up. A mid/high 2 as it’s kind of my thing, it’s done well enough, but not in the same league as the bands I listen to

I never liked them at the time. And decades later and having listened to it in full for the first time ever, I still dislike it. I never liked that early 80s synth based music and it just sounds so dated now. I was obviously on the other side of the school playground away from all the cool kids who loved it. I was in hibernation, waiting for guitar based indie pop to break through and inspire me. It was worth the long wait.

A very interesting new discovery for me. Really liked the overall happy mood of the album. An eclectic mix of sounds and loops. Didn’t reach for the skip button at any point. A high 3 star ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

Another album I own but rarely listen to. Giving it a couple of plays this weekend makes me wonder why it doesn’t get more spins? I obviously have too much music annd anlways reach for, and still keep finding new good stuff to dominate the amount of hours I dedicate to my music. But this is a great album. Superb vocals. Moody. Great bass lines. What’s not to love? A solid 4.

Sensational album. Perfect bluesy rock. Story telling. Great vocals. Interesting throughout. Riffs that just stick in your head for the rest of the day. The whole thing just hangs together - nothing to skip. Can’t really pick a favourite track, as it depends on how the mood catches me. Today’s mood was ‘Ten Cent Pistol’ for the lovely noodling on the lead guitar. Oh, and the slow groove of ‘I’m not the One’.

I think I must be a David Bowies Greatest Hits kind of guy. Whenever I listen to an album I just don’t get into it. A solid 3.

Just about good enough to scrape a 3. Song 2 is just perfection but countered by some absolute shit.

Perfect summer time listening that, just as the weather decided to play nicely. Such a fantastic mellow trip-hop style. 4 stars!

I really like this version of Bruce. Interesting backstory I just discovered about his management issues causing a delay in releasing this, and the anger that comes through in places. I like the story-telling (although tainted for me by how the American politicians seem to hijack his songs for their cheesy ads - does this annoy Bruce?) His vocals in places are just spot on, I prefer the less angry Bruce vocal like on Racing in the Street - the outro to this song is beautiful - the keyboards and the bass 👌 I also love the guitar solo on Adam Raised A Cain, and the quiet drum/vocal ‘duet’ on Something In the Night. There’s plenty of the trademark harmonica / saxophone/ keys / bridges on the album, but there’s so much more to it than that almost cliched Springsteen Americana. A 4 or a 5 star? Got all weekend to think about that one!

Wow. I wasn’t expecting that! I thought that the African influences worked brilliantly with the blues/rock. The opening track kicked things off superbly. The backstory sounds insane. So much respect for this and can only imagine the energy they’d bring live.

Having listened to and surprisingly enjoyed 2 Bjork albums on this 1,001 albums journey already, I was looking forward to listening to this when it popped up this morning. But what I got was that weird / jerky/ experimental Bjork that I thought I’d get on the other 2 albums. This did nothing for me. Her voice was so front and centre of all of it, I could hardly hear any of the clever musical arrangements and the variety of instruments underneath. And her vocal arrangement felt like it was deliberately quirky and angry to the point of making it unenjoyable and almost unlistenable. It was a break up album I believe. And when she’s in this mood I’d run as fast as I could in case she wanted to get back together.

I hoped this would be a lot more fun than it was. I knew the iconic theme with all that lovely funky wah wah business. But as with all movie soundtracks (especially mainly instrumental like this one) it’s not a great listen unless you absolutely love the movie. Having never seen it, it was all a bit lost on me.

That was a beautiful surprise. Was never into synth-pop in the 80s really, so why I liked this caught me off guard! Great vocals and overall mood. Highlights were ‘Whats-her-face’ and ‘the Walker’

Not unpleasant but very middle of the road to the point of being boring. A low 2.

Undeniably such a great vocalist, but just too middle of the road easy listening for me. A high 2 stars.

From when KOL kicked ass! So much energy. Red Morning Light one of the top 3 all time uses of a cowbell! Surely? Can’t argue with that. Caleb’s vocals occasionally scream like a mad lunatic, sometimes completely incoherent but I still love them. The album captures all of their live energy - simple party rock and roll.

Hold the back page. I like an album from this genre! Was fearing the worst once I’d read that Mr Common was a rapper and the album was produced by Kanye West. But…it was more than bearable. In fact, there was nice music! The vocals were really good and not too offensive lyrically and it felt like a nice R&B mood.

Just terrible. Lyrics are just silly and put to random generic background music.

Ah. The unmistakable sound of the world’s most over-rated band and most successful seller of T-Shirts. The word ‘repetitive’ doesn’t do it justice.

Iconic! Such a beautiful trippy vibe. Incredible vocals. A solid 5 and a lovely revisit to a masterpiece.

Never heard of them but thought it was pretty good. A few tracks I’d skip if listened to it again. But I probably won’t, as it doesn’t offer anything new or exciting to add to my existing guitar based indie rock preference! A low 3.

Enjoyed that more than I thought I would. Don’t know why, but I’ve spent my life avoiding listening to Ms Bush but now forced to listen to this album I gave in and can admit it was decent. I can’t stand ‘Hounds of Love’ which might explain my prior Bush-based intolerance. I’ve added half a dozen or so tracks to my library which will pop up from time to time and it will remind me how much I’m growing as a person 🤣.

No no no no no

I just can’t fault this album. Perfection. It’s always been a go to album when I’m in need of a mellow listen.

Yes, I know it’s not punk like punk should be. But who cares? It’s non-stop energy, great songs and great musicians. Have always liked Billy Jo’s vocal. Whilst I hate rock operas and musicals, this is the exception to the rule.

Never heard this album and only knew their cheesy hits from Top of the Pops and wedding discos! I didn’t recognise any of these tracks which was a blessing. Really pleasantly surprised. His vocals slightly annoying at times and I’m not sure about the talky bits, but the music made up for it. The Irish music shone through. A very high 3 stars that could grow into a 4 with a few more listens.

Brilliant album. One of her most accessible albums? Got plenty of the dark melancholy edge but also has something much more joyous than I’d normally associate with her work. No bad tracks. The duet with Thom Yorke (This Mess We’re In) is standout, as is ‘This Is Love’.

9 months ago I fractured my humerus in a cycling accident and had it pinned. This operation failed and I remained in pain. 2 months ago I had a full shoulder replacement and I’m now going through a painful rehab. I’d rather go through all of this again than listen to another minute of this idiot.

Smooooooth.

2 hours? 40 tracks? They have too much time and not enough talent. Absolute rubbish.

Decent. Love the vocals. Not so keen on the talky bits between some of the tracks, but a great collection of songs!

Boring hotel lobby Muzak

Just horrible, cheesy and over rated. Better than Elton John, but only just. And a whistling solo is a crime by the way.

That was a striking experience. Very emotive. Glad I’ve listened to it as probably wouldn’t have stumbled across it. Glad because it’s just a very unique piece of work and the backstory to it is incredible. Won’t listen to it again, but can appreciate and respect it for what it is. 2 stars

Perfect for a summer evening sat in the garden. Fantastic funky guitar solo on the opener, the classic ‘Who’s that lady’. Great vocals throughout. A high 3

Now I love to bang my bongos as much as the next man. But even this simple act that produces such a wonderful sound can get painful after a while. If any one of these tracks cropped up on the radio it would be fun, but the novelty quickly wore off when faced with 78 minutes worth. Take the bongos away and the underlying music is pure Gorgonzola. A pure novelty album. It’s a no from me.

So very very dark but it really gets a groove on too! Lyrically suspect but he’s a great vocalist. Musically it’s heavy of course, but a great range of pace and style. I know I’ll end up in hell, but I really love this album. It’s an album for the right occasion, usually alone under headphones and not distracted but the joyous things in your life.

Never heard of these. It was ok. Tinseltown in the Rain was decent but on some of the tracks I just felt this vocal was strained. Not sure he was singing songs that suited his tone. But what do I know. Brandon Flowers has made a career out of it.

The album is elevated by the epic singles, that make it deserve a 4 star rating overall. My issue with G&R is that there is such a narrow formula that the album tracks just seem to follow the same path. A bit of copy and paste at times. Great to have on rumbling away whilst you’re pottering about, and then turned up to 11 when Sweet Child comes on.

Sounds very dated, but in a good way. A welcome dose of nostalgia. Not my favourite album of his by a mile, but really nice to revisit. Little Red Corvette 👌

There was a point where it all good far too stereotypically C&W but most of it was alright!

I love the New Order sound, especially the iconic bass lines but as always, Bernard’s vocals are as sketchy as. It doesn’t seem to matter on a lot of tracks but some are just far too much for him. Sunrise is the standout banger.

Boring and repetitive. Not for me.

A bit hit and miss. But when it’s good it’s great. Jealous Guy and Imagine 👌 3 stars.

Repetitive uninspiring samples. 2 stars

One of the best albums of all time ever. Where do you start to describe this? Not sure I can do it justice really. It is beautiful, emotional and intoxicating. Thom Yorkes falsettos are just dreamy throughout with some unbelievable harmonies. The album jumps from full on to subtle. To think they just gave this masterpiece to the world for free and said pay us how much you want only if you want. The biggest ‘fuck you’ to piracy and leaks and commercialism. Can’t pick a favourite track. It’s all 💯

If a complete mish mash of electronic sounds with squeaky breathy vocals is your thing then give this a go. It’s not my thing so I wish I hadn’t bothered. It screams pretentious hipsters to me!

Like a child trying to play their first guitar. Basic and repetitive until it has weird bits then back to basic and repetitive.

Was looking forward to this. Great vocals and chilled mood. But far too much cheesy-Jesus-business. I believe that’s the right technical term for this genre. ‘Save the Children’ really is the low point. Can’t argue with the sentiment but listening to that track makes me care about the cause slightly less. Yes, it’s that bad.

Synth based pop music is not my thing. However, this is a solid pop album. Had to skip ‘Shake It Off’ and ‘Bad Blood’ as they are just too sickly sweet (and probably over played), but there’s some great songwriting and arrangements on here. A respectful 3 stars.

One ‘iconic’ song doesn’t make an album great

Dreadfully weird and repetitive.

Beige

It’s a high 4 star. A bit more variety and exploration of styles than the other Zep albums, and without the iconic stand out tracks that have lasted the test of time. ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’, ‘Out on the Tiles’ and ‘Tangerine’ are the highlights for me.

Wow. Wasn’t expecting this to be that good! Much more punky and more great guitars than I imagined. Added to my library and listened to a few times already.

Left frustrated and a little disappointed by this. In places, it really draws you in and has you hooked. It’s a fascinating listen and the beat becomes a little hypnotic in a good way. But then I think it gets spoilt by overdoing it!!! Some of the static/feedback sections and outros just go on and on, and plays hell with my tinnitus. A big 3 stars to reflect the really great parts of it.

Decent opener and my hopes were high but soon dashed by some tiring stuff to get through until ‘China Girl’ lifted the spirits.

I enjoyed that more than most from this genre. Rumbled along nicely.

I found a positive… great bass playing on so many tracks really stood out for me, but not enough to distract me from the rest of it. I guess it’s as good an example as you’ll find from an absolutely terrible genre. 2 stars for that.

Got better after the first few tracks.

So boring. And what was that last track all about?

The positive: he has a nice voice. But I just don’t get Prog. Too many ideas jumbled up into 1 track. No flow. Just weird.

Quite liked that

Love most of it. Great music for drinking, dancing and fighting (although I’m rubbish at all 3 of these activities). Title track, Streets of Sorrow, Lullaby of London and the Broad Majestic Shannon elevate this to a 4 star.

Complete guilty pleasure of an album. It’s just fun straight up bluesy rock and roll. ‘I Need You Tonight’ is just incredible. Everything just powers along with such driving rhythm. Can’t help but turn it up. The cheesy videos were iconic and of that golden MTV age. Love it all.

I enjoyed this twice as much as I normally like Country Music so will give it twice the number of stars I usually give Country Music. Liked the instrumental songs most! Even the story telling between tracks was bearable.

Started off with a bit of nostalgic hopefulness but soon faded after the first few tracks and a repetitive mundane feeling took over.

Dad rock at its best/worst

Possibly my favourite Bowie album

Better than the other Yes album on here last week. But, my view of Prog hasn’t changed. Too much going on, not enough flow.

Musically I loved it more than most albums from this genre. Vocals pretty standard stuff though.

Superb stuff.

So bad

So boring

Cracking opening track and then into material that was new to me. Track 2 was good, not too much of the slide guitar to make it too cringey. But then what happened? A few awful tracks where I don’t think they knew what they wanted to be. It’s good to have a variety of styles on an album I guess, but this was awful. Back on track with the excellent ‘Street Fighting Man’, and I also liked the closing track with its gospel vibe. So it seems I prefer the Stones when they stick to their script.

Awful stuff.

That’s not even music is it?

A banging album of its time, and still great today. I prefer REM when they either have the jingly jangly happy guitars alongside the melancholy vocals, or when they rock it up a bit. And this album does both of those things brilliantly. Not 5 stars as the slower stripped back songs don’t do it for me. Pop Song 89, Stand, World Leader Pretend, Orange Crush and Turn You Inside Out are all just mega!

What’s with that voice? Like he’s trying to sing like a spoilt-brat-child. Songs are dross too. Zero stars.

Thank you 1,001 albums. My faith in you has been restored. This is why I’m here! Obviously knew the mega hit single (who doesn’t?) so thought at least I’ll enjoy that. But, wow! Loved the start of this album, and then the album mix of ‘Brimful’ absolutely slapped! Not heard that version before and I prefer it. I then hoped that the album wouldn’t drop off as some of these do, but no, the energy just kept coming. Indie guitars, sitars, a bit of scratching and it just had me boogieing all through. The duet with the Doris really worked too (Good to be in the Road Back Hone Again).

I’ve never been much of a Suede fan but this wasn’t too bad despite Brett’s crooning. ‘The Wild Ones’ is the standout track for me, with some lovely noodling on the guitar.

This really hasn’t aged well has it? Everything about it is pure hair-rock-cliche. The ‘love songs’ on here are just so corny. Did girls in the 1980s really want to hear that and feel loved? I wouldn’t know as whatever I was doing in the 1980s wasn’t working either 🤣

Perfection. This came out when I was 16 years old and was my first purchase on CD. This hasn’t aged at all and still never fails to give me goosebumps. The band were on the top of their game with Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno’s production bringing the best out of them. Adam’s bass the constant driving force and The Edge producing the magic throughout. I started to write a track by track review but will save any dear reader from my constant gushing. Let’s just say that I find the album absolutely faultless. I get lost in its magic every time I play it. It’s a huge part of my life.

Ironically, I just found this boring

That was really enjoyable! Will need to listen again to appreciate it fully. I hope it doesn’t matter that I don’t know what he’s singing about. I’m sure it’s nothing bad!

I’ve struggled to write a review on this for some reason. Firstly, I don’t like musicals or ‘rock operas’ unless I like the story. And I really really really don’t like this story. Therefore the songs are just too hard to listen to. The vocals feel like they are forced in to tell the tale rather than something that makes a lovely song! This was all about Pete Townshend being too arty/clever/up his own arse.

For all of the clever little samples, this is just Beavis and Butthead trying to be hard.

Ok, time for me to perform a U-turn. Last week I said I don’t like musicals / rock operas as the vocals seem crowbarred in to tell the story. Well, this is a bit of an exception! The songs transcend the need to enjoy the story. I’m not sure Japanese-anime-robots-meaning of life-stories are my thing at all so I’ll swerve the musical. This album is really good. Lovely melodies and harmonies. Quirky and interesting. A very high 3 stars.

‘Even After All’ is one of my all time favourite songs and I bought this CD off the back of it. The other singles are good but don’t hit the same highs for me. Overall, a really solid album which was nice to revisit

I refer the rougher edgier early albums. This was much more polished and the resulting singles suffered from complete radio overplay. Still a solid album with the standout tracks being ‘Crawl’ and ‘Notion’

I rarely reach for a Coldplay album to play, but whenever I do, I can’t fault it too much. This one is just great. Beautiful arrangements throughout. Only 4 stars as there’s clearly something missing as I’d play them more!!

Tom and Jerry the musical

His vocals are just terrible and so is his harmonica playing. There, I said it. You’re all thinking it. He gets stuck in this monotone ranting whingeing style so much that he permanently sounds miserable and angry. And his harmonica is just gratuitous; for example on ‘Gates of Eden’ he seems to fill any gap with a single toot on his organ. Unnecessary nonsense.

The guitar work was really exceptional in places, but I couldn’t take to his vocals.

Time to Pretend is an epic track, Electric Feel decent too. The other single I know (Kids) is ok. But the rest of the album is pretty poor overall. I bought this CD off the strength of the singles and it’s somewhere gathering dust as I was disappointed then with wasting my money..2 stars for the banging singles and I also enjoyed ‘Of Moons, Birds and Monsters’. The rest was garbage.

It’s really good in small doses, but an album full of it is just too much for me. He does go on a bit doesn’t he? Throwing any Fat Boy Slim track on at a wedding disco is fine with me. Always gets the drunk aunties up dancing.

I didn’t realise until now that it is possible to be even more underwhelmed by a Genesis album than I previously imagined.

Thought this was going to be ok. Decent musician and vocal. But then the jazz took over. Kept getting the feeling that he was singing along to a different song than he was playing. But maybe that’s just jazz for you. Gypsy woman just killed the whole thing off for me. How many times does he have to say that a gypsy woman has cast a spell on him? The answer is 12 minutes worth.

A solid 3. Great bass obviously.

I really shouldn’t like this because of many things, but mainly because of the continuous homophobia and misogyny. But, somehow I do. I can’t take him too seriously and I don’t actually think he takes himself too seriously either. There’s no denying that his vocals are superb. He has such variation of styles and the music is too catchy.

So smooooth. Got so much soul, and some funky wah-wahs too. Had this album back in the day which was way out of my usual taste. A very high 3.

There was some interesting arrangements and quite a list of collaborators. But it was still a load of crap. Sounds like a musical.

I’ll add this to the list of pleasant surprises provided by the 1,001 albums. I’ve never bothered to listened to an Alice Cooper album as just dismissed it as over the top parody. But, this album is really really good! (With the exception of the loving dead people bit). It’s musically so much better than I imagined, with great arrangements and a decent vocal.

I usually find this type of album too generic, but this one is superbly done. I now understand why he is credited as being so influential.

I did groan when I saw another album by Rush pop up, as I really wasn’t keen on the last one. But this was so much better musically. I’m not keen on his vocal but it was overall worth a solid 3, and probably another listen some time

Side one of the LP an unquestionable 5 stars. If that doesn’t get you moving and grooving then you’re not wired up right. Disco/funk perfection. Side two of the LP far too mushy.

Great album. Love a bit of blues rock and this is so well done. They’ve got something to say and I wasn’t offended by it either! Some brilliant guitar work. More please!

I owe Suede an apology. The 1993 version of me was overwhelmed by so much good music, I dismissed Suede as not as good as too many others. I was wrong. This is a stunningly beautiful album and I glad I rediscovered it!

So desperately bad at the start that I nearly gave up but thankfully stuck it out until ‘Annalisa’ which was a banging track. Musically so much better with awesome bass guitar. The next couple of tracks were ok but as an overall album, absolutely dreadful.

Some classic tracks on here but the album is spoilt by Jagger trying to do some parody Country and Western vocals on too many tracks. It was a parody right?

This album was difficult to get into, and as a rule that should be a bad thing. The opener and track 3 are just too random, experimental and awkward. But, I’m a sucker for Thom’s vocals and Johnny’s guitar work, and they start to shine through on ‘You and Whose Army’, quickly followed by ‘I Might Be Wrong’ and ‘Knives Out’. When the chemistry works, it creates a beautiful, hypnotic and melancholic sound.

An album I’d have never stumbled across without this list. I’m glad I’ve listened to it before I die. Beautiful vocals and atmosphere.

Not as bad as the previous Bob Dylan album I had to endure on this list, but still pretty tedious stuff.

I’ll give this a mahoosive 2 stars. More than I’ve ever given a Jazz album. This I could tolerate. It was much more accessible to an idiot like me. Quite mellow. Reminded me of watching the TV series ‘Homeland’. The highlight for me was the bit that went Be-doo-be-dum-da-doooo-parrrrrp

I can respect it, but it’s not my thing really

That was a nice surprise. Shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, or an album by its title! Enjoyable guitar work as I’d expect from this lot, but some really weird samples that spoilt things.

A fairly recent album by an artist I’ve never heard of is quite rare on this list, so I was looking forward to it. Started really well. I liked her vocals and the mood. But then a few tracks in, it sounded like Les Dawson had joined the band. Overall, the songwriting just didn’t match the quality of her voice.

Can’t decide whether this is pleasant or boring. Very of its time, just simple songs sung simply but proficiently.

Well, it was a much simpler time I guess. I think I may have been a backing singer for Elvis in a former life. At least the tracks are very short. My brother loved Elvis, but preferred Shakin’ Stevens, which explains a lot.

Don’t like her vocals. Too high pitched so that its borderline whingeing

The Doors really are over-rated crap aren’t they.

There’s nowhere else to start with this review than the criminal assassination of ‘Comfortably Numb’. Has there ever been a more heinous cover version? There are some fun tracks on here that might have doubled my rating, like ‘Take Your Mama’ for example.

This didn’t help my hangover. Too much going on. Maybe I need to go and have a lie down in a dark room and give it another listen later.

Groovy and chilled. A high 3.

For a Bowie album, it’s pretty good.

Not my favourite genre by any stretch but quite liked the short opener and the bass driven second track ‘Miracle Man’. But it’s the more pop/rock n roll/doo-wap-crap tracks that are bile inducing. And there are plenty of those.

Freak out and give in. And so it began. Stunning intro to the album…Cherub Rock grabbed my attention way back when. I can’t explain just how beautiful I find this album. The Smashing Pumpkins have their own completely unique sound (not just the unmistakable vocals) which is really quite an achievement in the early to mid 90s when guitar driven indie rock was living its best life. The blend of soft/loud is exceptional. There’s the heavy distortion of the sweeping guitar riffs coupled with some very intricate and delicate guitar work too (‘Today’ being a superb example of how it should be done). And they throw in some beautiful arrangements with a variety of instruments. There’s even bells for fucks sake. I know Billy’s voice isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it just works for his music. This 1,001 list has been a slog recently with some music I’ve tried hard to find a level of appreciation from, and largely failed. But when this came up today I could really indulge with multiple listens, and I fell in love with it all over again. Knocked 30 years off me tonight 😊

I did not expect to see this album on the list! I loved it back in the day but almost forgot it existed. It’s probably in a box in the garage somewhere. Really enjoyed listening to it again. It’s decent enough throughout with no bad tracks. The energy and momentum keeps going. A high 3 stars! I can’t rate it higher as I’d had enough when it was finished, as it is a bit samey. Won’t be hunting it out of the garage any day soon.

No, not for me. If I want gloomy and dark (and I often do), then there are so many bands that do this so much better. It does get a bit of a groove on at times, when the lead singer gives us a break, and that’s when it’s at its best.

Getting bored by the constant basic rock by numbers from the 1970s so popular in this list.

What a time to be alive. Turning 18 and discovering lots of new exciting things. Music was changing for the better too. This album was my introduction to REM. A band who continually hit and miss for me. But this album grabbed me with the simplicity and perfection of ‘The One I Love’. Such an awesome rock pop song with harmonies, banging bass lines and dancing guitars. ‘Finest Worksong’, ‘Disturbance…’ and ‘Oddfellows…’ are other stand outs for me. Back then, I found the whole album fresh and interesting, and it still holds up well. 7/10 rounded to a low-ish 4.

The album hits a real high from ‘Kowalksi’ through ‘Star’ and ‘If They Move Kill ‘Em’. Great album - very high 3 stars

Not as terrible as most from this genre so I’ll give it a massive 2 stars

I am grateful to the list for making me sit through albums from artists I’ve heard of but never listened to. This is one of the many artists that I now know that I never have to bother with again. Beige.

An all time classic album. Dark, beautiful, introspective, atmospheric and emotional. Too many highlights to call out individual tracks, but collectively this is the best Cure album for me.

For some reason, I expected something different to what I’ve just heard. Yes, it’s lovely and positive, in a gospelly way. These fellas have a lot of love to spare for you and me, which has to be a good thing as there’s plenty enough angry music about. But it just sounds dated to me, and not in a nostalgic way. 2 stars as it’s inoffensive and nice and I’m not dropping my rating for some of the mad outros or intros.

Enjoyable stuff

I thought this would show up sooner or later. I remember listening to it ‘passively’ when it came out. Just couldn’t avoid it at the time. Having just sat through it today, I have no connection to any of the music or the lyrics or anything. The only half decent track comes right at the end, the title track is decent enough, very atomospheric, but it’s not enough to lift this piece of trash from a 1 star.

I really enjoyed that. I know that might surprise you Dear Reader, but not as much as it surprised me. Not sure I can explain why, but I guess I don’t have to justify it. I know I’ve just listened to it, wasn’t offended by it, and liked the variety and originality.

It’s not bad is it?

I now know the backstory, but I can only judge it on how I like the album. Whilst it’s simple singer songwriter stuff with a beautiful acoustic guitar, I just found it so dull. Not something I’d reach for to play again.

Hmmmm. Not quite sure why this made the list. Compared to the other Mondays stuff, or even Black Grape, it’s unremarkable. It funks along nicely in parts but really doesn’t hit any highs where you just want to turn it up and/or dance (even in a 54 y/o dad dance head nod kind of way). As a foot note, how on earth has Shaun Ryder carved out his own mini National Treasure status these days? Ah, look, it’s Mad Uncle Shaun with his lovely new teeth on the telly again.

Love this album. It rocks. It’s quirky. It has attitude.

For me, this is the best of its genre of its time. Beautiful vocals and arrangements.

It was ok for that sort of thing. Better than Elvis and Shakin Stevens combined, so that’s worth 2 stars.

Stunning album and an instant favourite from its release, and still one of my ‘go to’ albums to this day. It was a complete change from the 1980s U2. I didn’t think they’d make a better album than the Joshua Tree, but this comes very close. The introduction of the distortion to the guitars mixed with a very dancey foundation to a lot of tracks was new for them. Even Better Than The Real Thing is perfection. No bad songs on here, just happy memories of a very care free time. I also love the album cover, and all of the artwork surrounding its release and the visuals for their tour and their videos from this era too. Happy happy days.

Very interesting. Heard of them but never listened to them. Started off mildly intrigued but the album grew on me the further I went. So much so that I listened again with headphones on. Like the arrangements and the mood. Vocals excellent too. But it just didn’t quite hit the mark overall. I will have another listen to a playlist of their other work as there’s something there. Might be a grower!

Music hey? Weird isn’t? Logic says I wouldn’t like Van Morrison. It’s all too close to so much I don’t usually enjoy (Jazz, Croon, Swing). But I love so much of his work. When it works for you it works for you, no need to overthink it. This whole album is great, but ‘Into the Mystic’, ‘Brand New Day’ and ‘Glad Tidings’ are different level of beautiful. The album artwork though would get zero stars! (I’ve seen him live. Exceptional voice, catalogue of songs and musicians with him. But my God he’s a miserable bugger. Never said a thing between songs, never thanked his band, didn’t acknowledge the crowd for coming. Nothing. Just went on, sung his heart out and fucked off 🤣)

No. I really tried, honestly. But just can’t find any joy or inspiration from this man’s music.

There’s only so much that can be created from a bontempi organ on the bossa nova setting, and a saxophone. It was the perfect soundtrack to shredding old bank statements. The sound of the shredder added something that was missing on the original recording.

Classic album from one of the best years of music ever. I’m more at the ‘Nothing Else Matters’ and ‘The Unforgiven’ end of the Metallica scale, but an all round solid album.