1001 Albums Summary

Passed me by, with the exception of the two big singles ...don't understand the hype tbh

What a surprise! Had to resist the urge to stop and move on fairly early into listening as hip hop generally isn't my thing, but so glad that I persisted. Such a wide range of influences and references kept me listening through to the end with anticipation. Really enjoyable and has left me wanting more

Dirty, bluesy, rock. Just perfect for an overcast Thursday morning in January, hugging a cup of tea to my wheezing chest, whilst struggling with yet another cold. How has this passed me by until now? Straight into my library with this one!

Like a soft maternal kiss on a fevered brow, this album makes me feel that everything is going to be ok, wrapping me in the lightest, yet most comforting embrace. It's simplicity is alluring, Norah's voice is seductive yet calming. I loved it when issued and thanks to this nudge, I realise that I still do now.

I welcomed this album popping up on the generator yesterday as I've always been uncertain as to where I stand on Lynyrd Skynyrd I'm still uncertain .....

From the quizzical eyebrow-raising of the first notes of the first track, through to the solo jig being performed around my office to the last song, this both entertained and yet at times "just was". Pleasant. Not sure whether it'll get many replays, but another stitch in the tapestry of sound

Oftentimes, it's the environment that you're in when listening that alters your perception and yesterday's manic workday didn't do this album any favours. There's no denying how wondrous Buzzin' Fly is though! The rest largely passed me by I'm afraid ...damm work!

Heard less than favourable things about this before listening. Or had I? Perhaps it was just those "yeah, not a patch on the early stuff" comments, but Morrisson delivers again with with "that" voice and references to love, war, peace, lust, and hope. A friday well spent

As exciting as the first time I heard it. A classic album! Love every second of this

Not for me

Persevered (I want a medal) to track 7 and then gave up and started looking up the slovenian for awful (grozno) and rubbish (smeti). A collection of "that" song from Eurovision, but without the visuals that make you chuckle. Truly Hudo (dire)

Not sure that playing this on speakers attached to my PC was the best way to listen and suspect that it'd evoke a different response elsewhere, but a bit underwhelmed if I'm honest. Some belters in the midst though!

Aaaah memories! I was 19, a musical sponge and so taken by Marr's infectious, looping almost poppy guitar's battle with Morrissey's melancholic, dour Manc vocal delivery. I still am! Love it

I had to keep on reminding myself that this was 1978. 1978!! I would have been 11 at the time, yet remember how fresh and new it sounded. Futuristic, generational, yet it felt "right". Trail-blazing excellence.

Loved this. Such a disparate mix that comes together to keep me listening, moving, smiling, and making worryingly guttural noises at some stages. If nothing else, the guitar on the title track is jaw-droppingly awesome.

Beautiful album, with songs delivered in such a soft, almost mellow manner that grab you and demand attention and appreciation. 5 stars aren't enough. Love this

Three wedding disco belters (if that's your kinda thing)...then ...warble, warble, warbly-warbly-warble Not for me

Top notch!

Great tonic for a drab, grey UK monday. I enjoyed this.

More Goodbye than Hello for me

Where's the half-a-star option? I like XTC, always have, and always will, so that pushes me towards a 3, but this isn't where I'd start if introducing anyone to them, so it forces a more honest 2. One or two highlights, but wouldn't make it into my 1001 albums 2.5 stars for being XTC

Such a simple thing, a voice...yet at the same time it can be evocative, emotive, calming, and yet divisive. 55 minutes well spent. Just wonderful.

Annnnnnd chillllll

At some stage in your life, this album will get you.. I was a little late to the party, due to someone at school droning on, and on, and on, and on (you get the idea) about just how perfect it was, meaning that being 15 and a man of my own mind, I wouldn't listen. It got me eventually though! Stunning

Full of life and fun, but ultimately not my thing. I didn't get past the first playing, but it was in the background whilst I was working and I somehow feel it deserved a little more attention. Hasn't made my list, but might well get a revisit

What a pleasant surprise

I sang along a bit, tapped my toes a bit, and played it a couple of times. Pretty decent fare

Just WOW!

Jolly

I really, really, really want to like a Tom Waits album. I hear the odd track in a film and scramble for Spotify to listen to some more....only to sigh three tracks in and move on......

M****r F****r lyrics aside, this is a great album!

Solid 4/5 for me. Volume up to 11, dancing like a nutter and smiling, pretty much the way I did 30 years ago when first hearing it. An album that pointed the way for me to another musical avenue to explore and enjoy!

Wonderful album with some truly beautiful moments

Greeted today's random generator album with a "meh" Soon found myself singing and dancing with a "whahey" Made for a good day

Very enjoyable indeed

An album by one of my favourite bands, featuring Bloodbuzz Ohio ..easy rating this one Not quite their best album in my opinion, but a very solid 4 stars

Coffee, mushrooms, red wine and Neil Young are amongst the many things that the younger me would have rejected and the older me enjoys beyond reason. Great varied album.

What a strange experience listening to this album was and I'm grateful for that. Never heard of Pere Ubu, not sure I'll listen again that often, but thoroughly enjoyed it (even the sometimes jarring vocals). All over the place and yet wonderfully cohesive as an album. An antidote to most of what's generally heard day to day.

Struggled with this. Solsbury Hill is a classic and Here Comes the Flood is quite special, but the rest just hasn't aged well. Disappointed if I'm honest

A reasonably pleasant trip down memory lane, but the production and publicity that made it stand out at the time have faded badly.

Energy, passion, simplicity, yet surprising rhythms and great lyrics. This is why I love the 1001 album generator...unearthing gems like this....albums that I would never have listened to otherwise and my library is so much better for it.

A spandex-clad beauty of an album from a band that knows how to put on a live show. LOVED it!

I've never really got on with The Who, as hard as I've tried...and boy, I've tried. Fantastic, no, superb opening and closing tracks, but in between I found myself making a cuppa, completing a form for life cover and ordering "Clasica" Foldable Tin Plate Bread Toaster for an upcoming camping trip. Browsing other reviews, I'm obviously a neanderthal, but isn't that the point. Music and life are about opinions and it'd be very boring if we all liked the same things. Great album cover though. Who's next?

An album that on a personal level evokes so many emotive memories, with Switch, Staircase and Mirage being the standout tracks. Angular rasping guitars and Siouxsie's distinctive delivery not only paved the way for many bands to follow as a gateway to post-punk, but also provided a soundtrack to my formative years musically.

Skin on skin.....

Two absolute belters in "You're the best thing" and "My ever-changing moods", but I'm really not sure what the rest of the album was trying to be. More meh, than heh.

Funkaliscious

Fantastic album and a lamentable loss Glam with no spam

Brought the funky samba into my life that I never knew I needed

Bewitchingly beautiful, both musically and lyrically. I absolutely adored this album

Hmmm

Had I been in my late teens, instead of my late thirties, when this came out, I'm sure it would have been played to death. I wasn't, and it didn't, but that doesn't make it any less of a fantastic album.

GUITAR!!

Not sure it's dated too well, but can imagine that it sounded great on a decca music centre at the time, but was no more than background music when played today. Liked the grunts, hated the jig at the end, and astounded that he was 19 when he produced what would have been groundbreaking material at the time.

Listened to the album on Friday and it announced the weekend with ooompf

Great lyrics, pace and structure...a solid 4/5 album for me

Kept my interest throughout

N'est pas pour moi

Dark, minimal gothiness building up to A Forest. Not an everyday album, but it has it's place on the list ...whichever list that might be

One day, a fair few years ago, under the guidance of a techie friend, I bought my first stack system, complete with Yamaha amp, Yamaha record deck, Mission speakers, and a Pioneer multi-track CD player. Part of the deal with the CD player was that I could choose 6 CDs from the shop's not so extensive offering. Said friend/techie advisor lept into life, grabbed this album, and said "the clarity of sound and production will blow your mind man". He wasn't wrong. Some 30-40 years later, the production is still there to be enjoyed, but the enthusiasm has waned. Individually, there's some great tracks that will still turn my head when heard whilst sat in a cafe, but a play of the full album just "happens" and then I move on to something that grabs me more.

Never heard of this before and started playing it with slight concern that it might be "of an age". How wrong could I have been. Love this. Grabbed my attention and kept on shaking me to get more. On my third listen and I still don't know where the next track is going to take me apart from looking up their other releases. Thank you for unearthing another unknown gem

Bit too show time for me

Almost moved on after the first 4 minutes of this one, but saw it through to the end...at least I assume I did, as something else was playing when I next heard a track. Far too clever for their (and my) good. Dull No passion No energy Disjointed "Ooooh look at me and how technical my artistry is" The complete opposite of what music should be If there was a zero stars option, I'd be hitting it

Enjoyable without being memorable (Loved where Spotify took me on the follow on playlist after playing this album though, so very grateful for playing it)

So many beautiful moments, musically and lyrically.

If Mr Man were ever on Sesame Street, his letters of the day would certainly be the letters "N" and "F". And for the record, this is the exact point at which I thought "no thanks": "The ism helps to stimulate my pugilism I bust rhymes like jizm Impregnate the rhythm with the wisdom"

Simple Enjoyable

Well, this was a strange little curiosity. Hony-tonk, old school, misery-ridden, alcohol-fuelled country that I didn't think I'd particularly warm to, yet I feel that I ought to listen to again. This time, I'll follow the advice and take off my shoes. This is what this list is about

If you took away the warbles, the 16-track album would shrink to a 2-track EP, and be all the better for it. Some might say that her voice dances and weaves, but for me the frequent thought was a simple plead: "Make it stop!" (Tip to anyone that ever takes me captive and wants to break my will, play the last minute of track 9 on a loop and I’ll cave in and tell you everything you want to know)

Good music takes you somewhere. In this case, it's the top deck of the No 24 bus, halfway down Butts Road in late summer 1980. The sun is shining, I'm on my way to the sports center to run a 1,500m race (poorly) to try and impress my girlfriend, before returning (caked in failure) on the No5 bus, all the while, listening to these brilliant tracks on my Panasonic portable cassette player. Food for Thought, Burden of Shame, King, Tyler and Little by Little.....songs that have a place on any playlist and an album that deserves it's place on this list.

Ah, the curse of the difficult 12th studio album strikes again! I'm afraid I could wait for it to end, which as I understand it, was the same sentiment for several band members

Hmmm

Disappointing

Can't

YES!

Thoroughly pleasant (would have been a 4, but can't rid myself of the image of David's wobbling head)

Well crafted folk songs that have mass appeal

On another day this might/would have ranked higher, but today, given that my general demeanor was meh, it did nothing to un-meh me, which music's gotta do hasn't it

I sang, I jigged, I hollered, I fancied a Guinness or 5, and in an instant I was back in the tiny Portsmouth Polytechnic students union bar, watching them in 1985.

I don't like live albums...no idea why, never have. Except this one! Musically and vocally superb

Often wonder what they would have produced had they stayed on the Being Boiled/Empire State Human track, but nevertheless, this was thoroughly enjoyable

Dark, bleak, bare, challenging, and yet at the same time beautiful and rewarding. The simplicity of the arrangements, coupled with the raw honesty of the lyrics addressing the loss of faith and love, had me engaged throughout. Truly wonderful. On first listen a solid 4 stars, but I know that on further listens it'll be a 5, as any album that opens with Into My Arms deserves to be.

Sometimes there needs to be a zero stars option...awful

Great album, great tunes.....BUT....Paul Weller

Surely it's THE must-hear before-you-die album?

I SHOULD love this I try to love this I don't love this repeat, repeat, repeat..... I know that one day, I'll listen to this album at exactly the right time, in the right place, in the right weather, and through the right speakers and I will LOVE it Today's not that day.

Had I closed my eyes, I could have been listening to this in a bougie boutique, a slow-rising elevator or a dentist's waiting room....I think ...and that's my issue with this album; I'm fairly certain that it happened, but I can't definitely state that it happened.

Perfectly 80's style marriage of perky synth arrangements and deadbeat vocal delivery, make for a pop masterpiece that still sounds fresh. What have I done to deserve this? and It's a sin are the standouts Put a broad smile on my face as I was singing along

Still perks my interest

Took me by surprise. Didn't know them/it and really enjoyed it. Shades of LCD Soundsystem and Tame Impala with a rock twist. Into the library it goes!

More my wife's thing than mine, but it wasn't totally unpleasant

Feel as though I'm being harsh with the rating but the tracks are all too familiar from wedding DJ "mega-mixes" for me to feel any great emotion, as ground breaking as the album no doubt was

Fresh, energetic, driving, complete album, showcasing yet harnessing Bjork's wonderful quirkiness ...I LOVED it

Pleasant

Some hilights and some fillers

Struggled with this one I'm afraid

Tough week with the random generator got tougher

Yes it's dour and downbeat, but there's beauty and optimism throughout. This one needs further listens, but time well spent.

Rikki might not have lost that number, but I lost interest shortly afterwards. Great production and all that, but I had to remind myself a couple of times that it was still playing. As you can guess...this won't be added to my library (particularly as I now know that the baseline from Rikki was lifted from Horace Silver)

I suspect that ratings for this are either: 5 stars - musical and lyrical perfection or 2 stars - I appreciate why people might like this, know that I probably should like this, but just can't find the hook that draws me in.

One cool dude

Funky, jazzy, folky 70's rock. I enjoyed that!

Saw this was next and my heart sunk...for whatever reason, I've never really gelled with The Who and I'm not a big fan of live albums. How wrong could I have been!

Ok, so this isn't my thing, but every time I was on the verge of stopping the album, something grabbed my attention and made me stay with it. Perhaps there's something there that further plays will draw out of me ... or perhaps not

Best listened to as individual tracks on a varied playlist, but I drifted off playing it as an album

Really quite pleasant

I'm a grey, overweight, 58-year-old mortgage broker in the south of England, and I can tell you that it's just what I needed! My IT and work issues evaporated within the first 5 secs! God help anyone that tries to stop my clients' completions this afternoon, as they will get both Ministry and Rammstein filled barrels! Loved it (especially Jesus Built My Hotrod)

This warranted more attention than I was able to give it yesterday, but even so, the simplicity was beguiling, the lyrics were beautiful and the structure was strong. Great album (I think) 4 stars for what I think it is, but this might be adjusted when I listen again, when slightly less distracted

Abrasive, challenging, raw and so rewarding. Recorded in one day (!) in 1979 (!!) and sounds so fresh Added to my library, and set me off on an exploration of The Fall. Loved this!

So, I have a penchant for distinctive male voices, something that grabs your attention from the first note and is the antithesis of the bland, artificial manipulation that is everywhere today. This album is a smorgasbord of styles and influences that keeps you waiting for the next thing, totally unaware of where it's taking you and I loved it. Folk, pop, indie, cinematic and show music styles, they're all in there and the subject matter and emotions conveyed are equally as varied. A beautiful piece of work.

ramblin' for sure, but would love to sit around a campsite listening to this

I'm sorry, as I'm going to offend some people here, but at times this sounded like three siblings, each with an instrument, desperately trying to get their mother's attention, before falling, as one, down a metal fire escape and into a metal rubbish bin. I just didn't get it

Personally, not a patch on the first two albums which benefitted from being raw, but still a pleasant ditty or two

No matter how many times I hear this album, it still stops me in my tracks

Thoroughly enjoyable window into another era. Beautiful tone of voice. As is often the case with listening to these albums on spotify, it's the playlist that continues afterwards that amplifies my gut feelings about an album, and yesterday's was wonderful.

Zzzzz Two hours later I thought the album had automatically restarted ....it hadn't ...it was a fly caught inside my office window, desperately trying to get out

Quite enjoyed that ...definitely something I wouldn't have heard without this list and life's all the better for the eclectic mix

Strange how I can't remember what I ate for dinner on Monday and yet I sang about 75% of all the words to this album. Quality album that stood out amongst it's peers at the time and still does.

Short but sweet. Glorious version of "Pappa was a rolling stone" and a delight that felt like the universe was talking to me in "Mother Nature".

First run through, I thought it was of interest. Second run through, I realised it wasn't. Disposable, unremarkable. forgettable, pap-pop

Alluring

Not their best album, but still beautifully ethereal

Hell, I really enjoyed this and the fact that I had no idea of where it was going next. Listened to it 4 times in total and still have no idea. Fun, experimental and just the tonic when it all gets a bit "samey"

I think (but I'm not sure)

aaaaaand ...breeeeathe

Two tone at it's best. This album delivered a metaphorical slap when I first played it, and it still does. So much more than the commercially successful hilights of A message to you Rudy, too much too young and Monkey Man, but they're not a bad start are they?!

Wham bam, no thank you ma'am

I mean, come on... it was a 5 star album back in the day and it still is! Great individual tracks, that collectively make for a seminal moment in music, capturing the attitude and energy of the time. You could narrow this list down from 1001 albums to 10 and this would still be there!

At first when seeing the album was 59 songs and 3 hours long, my immediate thoughts were that I'd give it a go, and see how far I got. The reality was that I started listening 1t 11am on a Friday morning and have been listening all weekend. What a beautiful voice! Simpler times that comfort today.

This rather took me by surprise and deserves another listen or two

Like there's really any other score that this album can be given?

Hell, that's aged badly

Not at all what I expected and I really enjoyed it, playing it three times in a row.

and this is why I love this list....challenging engrained views of bands/genres/albums that originated at a time and place in my life that have changed. Totally reassessing my opinion of REM as a result of this album.

W, what, m, ah, eh? I really quite liked that....I think Will definitely listen again, with headphones on in a darkened room

Put a smile on my face

Try hard

Oh, it's finished!

About as stimulating as a quadratic equation

Ear snot

Is this it...I certainly think so. What this list is for

Any album featuring Wild Is The Wind, Lilac Wine and Nina Simone is time well spent

Strange mixture of brilliant and quite frankly, a little disturbing

How has this slipped off my playlist...Immense

Approached this with trepidation, having lovely memories of road trips playing this as sunsets disappeared over the horizon. But that was the 1980s, the roads were invariably littered with roadworks and I suspect that it might have rained more than my memory recalled. Would the album hold up? Yeah...of course it did

Dope

Banger, banger, banger ........ 5

Pleasant

Well, that was a surprise. Put a smile on my face and a tap, tap shuffle into my day

Sublime, atmospheric, melancholic majesty. Traces of Dylan, Springsteen and Bon Iver combine to make for a wonderful album.

Felt a little conflicted by this at times but overall, couldn't help but be won over by the album. Some lyrics aside, I enjoyed the experience thorougly

Nick Drake never fails to stop me in my tracks, have me closing my eyes slowly, being aware of the now, aware of my breathing, and feel the emotions wash over me and chill. God I love the man. Simply beautiful album

Thoroughly pleasant

Not my usual cup of tea, but thoroughly enjoyed this

I mean...seriously...how can this be anything other than a rock solid 5 stars. A perfect album, start to finish

Potty mouth

Interesting What tracks I could listen to (Spotify didn't have many and I had to seek on You Tube) were interesting. Varied, and interesting

What a lovely addition to my Spotify Library...just a different vibe

Might have been because this came fast on the heels of the "meh" that was yesterday's album (Creedence Clearwater Revival), but this, and the subsequent Spotify playlist, was just the burst of energy that I needed. No idea about the lyrics, no real recollection of song structure, but the vibe was just what I needed

Great live act to boot!

First and last tracks aside, turned this up and waheyy!!

Thoroughly pleasant, but never one of the 1001 must listen to albums surely?

Ahhhh....the MTV days. Those first 30 seconds take me straight back there. Oversized suits, with sleeves rolled up, John Taylor's hair blowing backwards whilst perched at the front of a yacht and a super model or two in bikinis...oh, and there's some pretty decent songs in there as well. Enjoyed that (again)

Vegas residency says it all...if it were a colour, it would be well worn beige...next!

Neither of any interest or any annoyance. The album came, played and left...next!

Should have "got the hell outta dodge" after track one. Whatever the honky tonk country phrase is for "No Thanks, not for me", I bet it's annoying

Just fun...simple as that...had me shuffling around my office dancing like an excited grandpa wearing in his new slippers. Enjoyed that

New to me, but will definitely revisit

Scooby Snacks aside, this is an album that benefitted from Britannia Music Club and Huey Morgan being front and centre ... certainly not one of my 1001 Albums, but not horrendous

There are two potential ratings for an Elvis Costello album; 4 stars when I'm listening and investing, and 2 stars when I have it playing but I'm busy elsewhere I was working on a case for half the album and taking a rest from said work for the other half

More fall than rise

This is what this list is all about. Never heard of John Prine, and probably never would have, as it's not my go to genre, but BOY oh BOY, I loved this. First play it was a 4, with a couple of lyrics jumping out at me. Second play and I'm hooked. Hello in there ...wow Country Folk Poetry I'm off to listen to more

Not sure if I'm still tainted from experiencing him moan on stage at a festival about the sound crew, then the lighting crew, the amount he was getting paid by the festival and then the crowd or whether this is just an awful album . . . no, I've tried to listen to it some more . . It's an awful album (he has a couple of decent tracks in his locker though)

Dirge, not Serge

I tried...I really tried

Just the thing to fill that space on my shelf between Beck, Cage The Elephant and the Fun loving criminals. Of it's time, and I know I've been played, but had me hooked. Enjoyed that and will go back to listen again

Lazy pun, I know, but when's it's served up that obviously, it can't be ignored. On a drizzly, grey, Wednesday morning, the week after a disappointing holiday and just prior to a compliance review....that was a CHORE. Maybe on another day, on another week, anywhere other than my work desk and just after a Full English with a decent cup of coffee, it might have enchanted me...but .....I doubt it

Sounds like a stroppy teenager, moaning through a hose pipe

So confused by this album, often times ready to turn it off, only to then find myself emersed in it's atmosphere. Got to be listened to again to try and get a handle on it, so that's got to be a good sign....hasn't it?

What a surprise this was! Thoroughly enjoyed the whole album.

Glad I persevered

An album full of songs you'd hear in a pub, shop or friends house and will cut through all other noise

Yet another album that I can't believe I've never listened to..it won't be the last time it gets played

Not for me

What a great little album

Pop isn't normally my thing, but a catching myself singing and dancing along to this a couple of times makes me think otherwise. Deserves to be on this list for sure

4 of the first 5 tracks are lovely little pop tracks. Tracks 6 onwards will NOT be played One More Time

Where do I start with this review? Hell, I won't bother because quite frankly, the lyrics alone don't deserve any further airtime. Lazy, boring, misogynistic, tripe. It's a waste of a single star

I have no idea what I listened to and no idea why, but I enjoyed that

Well that got under my skin, into my head and down to my feat

Utterly divine in places

Alas, what could have been eh? I adore Billy's voice and and the eclectic nature of this album still keeps me on my toes today. So much going on. I really should listen to this every couple of weeks

Dug that

Not sure what just happened ...

Now that's an album !!!

Decent, without standing out

Know their singles, but the album didn't really add much beyond. Pleasant

Nö

If Loveless before, there's certainly none coming from my direction

Reading the reviews, I was looking forward to this as it's not a genre that really strikes a chord with me ....it remains that way