Dead Leaves on the dirty ground is a very strong start with awesome guitar. Fell in Love with a Girl is also cool. Surprisingly metal for some songs, reminds me of black sabbath. The Same Boy You’ve Always Known sounds like a late Beatles rock song which is fantastic. We’re going to Be Friends is a surprising Folk song, but it actually fits very well. Offend In Every Way is simple, but works super well as a bluesy, rocky guitar song. I Think I Smell a Rat is also Superb, such great guitar. Definitely could have done without Aluminium, experimental track that I’d probably like if it wasn’t for the wacky missed beats throwing it off. Guitar tone is very Stooges-esque which is always a win in my book. Album definitely gets weaker near the end, but none of the songs are ‘bad’.
Overall, very good album, definitely one I would consider coming back to. Such an interesting mix of genres that feels like it set the template for 2000s indie rock.
4.5/5
First song was ok, classic dad rock stuff, but then all the songs felt like they were the exact same. None of them were particularly bad, but it got boring and repetitive after a while.
3/5
Guitar is very cool, the songs feel a bit all over the place tho
Second song was my favourite
The 9 minute songs were just too much for me, couldn’t really get into any of them
2/5
It was very very chill music. I wasn’t expecting to like it that much, but there was enough variety that while the songs were similar they all had unique qualities and were very pleasant to listen to. Might have to listen to some more Nick drake now.
4/5
Not the worst thing I’ve ever had to listen to, but it was much too long and definitely not my cup of tea. I can kind of understand the appeal, but it just doesn’t do it for me.
2/5
Just an easy listening album. Thought I’d get bored of it quickly but it actually makes quite nice background music when I’m doing something else. Country isn’t my thing, but I can see the appeal.
3/5
Fuck yes! I love DEVO!!!!! (I can’t get no) Satisfaction sums up perfectly everything they do well, take an existing song that is great and make it so sharp, jarring, and full of energy that you can’t help but dance to it. unfortunately one song has aged catastrophically, so badly that I couldn’t listen to it, but the rest of the album and how different DEVO were still makes this a great.
4/5
Really good album, better than the other Nick Drake I’ve had. Such a wonderfully peaceful style, enjoyed it a lot.
4/5
Absolutely superb. Such a fantastic debut album with so many dance floor fillers, and it also just brings back so many memories of the greatest city on earth! Not a thing I can fault in this, it’s just so good!!!
5/5
Fantastic album. There isn’t a single bad thing I can say about it, some amazing acoustic songs (I especially like the covers of the man who sold the word and where did you sleep last night) and from a band that is absolutely not known for being acoustic. Unfortunately it just doesn’t have enough of an oomph for me to give it the five stars, but I still loved it.
4.5/5
Really good album. Starts off incredibly strong with blowing in the wind, and while the rest is good, it just can’t top the first track. Overall it’s still a really nice album with some fantastic guitar and lyricism.
4/5
It’s Heroes, need I say more?
5/5
Hell. Fucking. Yes. I obviously have a slight bias towards this his as first wave British Punk is one of my favourite periods of music but my god what an album. Beyond the fact it is such a solid punk album, it is THE punk album that set the foundations for an entire genre. This album shows that even if you can’t sing, play instruments, or write songs, you can become music legends. Shame all the band members are complete cunts.
5/5
Good album, but I have nothing of particular note to say about it. I’m not a big reggae fan but it’s not a genre I dislike, all the songs are nice an chill with a good groove so they’re enjoyable. Just a very steady album with nothing I disliked, but nothing that stood out.
3/5
Very Average album. I liked it more than I expected, but it was still nothing to call home about. I didn’t dislike any of the songs, but the album definitely felt like it dragged, and the cover of ‘Help!’ is definitely one of the most unusual Beatles covers I’ve ever heard, and not in a good way. Not much else to say
2.5/5
Came into this album expecting not to like it, and I wasn’t wrong. Generally most metal music doesn’t do it for me so I’m not too surprised. There are exceptions (Doom eternal OST <3), but metal just isn’t my thing.
Not awful, but I didn’t like it.
2/5
You really can’t go wrong with Elvia Costello, and especially not early Costello. In an era when punks were all about loud and fast guitar, Costello’s witty lyricism and sharp guitar is like a breath of fresh air. So many good songs on this album from start to finish, but (I don’t want to go to) Chelsea is definitely my favourite. Pump it up and Radio Radio are absolute classics though, and even though I didn’t know a lot of the rest of the album it didn’t disappoint! Will definitely listen to this another few times!!
10/5
Like the Willie Nelson album, country isn’t my kind of thing, but it’s also not music that I actively dislike. This album, like red headed stranger, is just really chill and nice as background music, makes me feel like I’m walking the prairie on a horse, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it. None of the songs really stood out though, so it’s hard to say any of the songs were particularly good.
3.5/5
This was very different to everything else I’ve listened to so far. I know a little Albeniz so tango music isn’t new to me but this was pretty interesting and experimental, and it worked well as study music. It really dragged tho, lots of pieces had interesting sections but it was far too much for me. Not bad at all, but I wouldn’t ever pick it out to listen to.
2.5/5
Considering how much Beatles i listen to, I know surprisingly little post-Beatles-Beatles music, but this has definitely made me more curious. The album started very strong, first few songs were very good and reminiscent of Abbey Road stuff (esp the intro to Mrs Vanderbilt reminded me of you never give me your money). The album seemed to tail off in the second half but 1985 was good. Definitely enjoyed this and will probably come back to it at some point.
4/5
I really really enjoyed this. I’d heard of Janis Joplin, but didn’t know any of her music other than a little piece of my heart, but this album blew me away. Absolutely superb from start to finish, so bluesy and cool with Joplin’s incredible singing. This has been the first album that’s caught me off guard so much and will be the first album I rate 5 that I didn’t know, but it thoroughly deserves it.
5/5
I knew what I was going to rate this going into it, but my GOD is this a spectacular album. I think there was a quote from Brian Eno that went “only about 2000 people bought this album when it first released, but all them started bands” and that sums this up pretty well. This album initially only caused a little ripple in the music scene, but over time it grew and grew into a tsunami of musical importance that’s affected almost every genre. It also just contains some phenomenal tracks, with I’m Waiting For The Man being my all-time most listened to song on Spotify for good reason. Everything about this scream legendary.
5/5
This album surprised me. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it going in but it was actually really good. Form the first song Little Child Runnin Wild with its unusual time signature and cool guitar it caught my attention, and managed to stay pretty good throughout. The orchestration in each song worked so well complementing the singer without being overpowering, and the drumming was fantastic. Overall it was a pleasant surprise.
4/5
Exactly what I expected. This album just does absolutely nothing for me, I’m not sure I could pick out anything I liked. That’s an hour of my life I’m never getting back.
1/5
I really liked this. I obviously know Alex Turner from the Arctic monkeys, but I hadn’t heard any Last Shadow Puppets before and this was a wonderfully different experience. It feels to me like a combination of the arctic monkeys and a spaghetti western soundtrack, as if Ennio Morricone was trying to write for a film set in Sheffield, but I loved it. Some of the songs in the second half dragged a bit and were more likely modern AM, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the album.
4.5/5
I’m not really sure how to describe this album. The first track is pretty cool, but the rest is such an unusual, eclectic mix of genres, languages, and instruments that I can’t see it having any clear appeal to any listener. It does so much, but nothing is done particularly well, so I don’t know how to react to it other than by being bored as it lasts over fifty minutes. Not the worst album I’ve heard, and I’m sure it influenced some musicians, but it’s not my cup of tea.
2/5
Absolutely unbelievable. I woke up this morning to the news that Shane MacGowan had just died, and then this was my album of the day!! It was meant to be. Obviously I have some slight bias today, but this album is incredible and pulls of such an unusual combination of Irish Folk and punk that works so well from the raucous energy of Sick Bed of Cuchulainn and Sally MacLenanne to the haunting story telling of The Band Played Waltzing Mathilda. It’s just so good!!!!!
In Shane’s own words:
They’ll take you to Cloughprior, and shove you in the ground,
But you’ll stick your head back out and shout “We’ll have another round!”
Absolute 5/5
Really liked this. The raucous energy and fuzzy, distorted guitars made for some really fun songs that were so powerful, but the second half of the album became much slower and wasn’t as much my taste. Overall still a really good time.
4/5
I quite liked this album. It feels more upbeat than lots of the other new order songs that I know, which does work, but I feel like it definitely isn’t where they work best. There wasn’t anything i disliked about this tho and I still thought it was really good.
4/5
This is such a phenomenal album!!!! I love every second of it, and it’s such a unique approach with the haunting start of station to station leading to the awesome, cathartic ending. Each track has such a different character but they are all just so wonderful I love it so muchhhhh!
50/5
This isn’t what I usually listen to, but god damn is it a fun album. All the tracks are just full of energy with great guitar solos and powerful vocals that make it almost impossible to not want to sing and dance along. They know what they want and do it so well, but I think it could do with just a little more variety as it felt a little derivative by the end.
4/5
Very chill and funky album. I enjoyed this quite a bit, but only as background music, as it doesn’t feel like it has enough oomph for me to go out of my way and listen to it.
3.5/5
Pretty good. A weird psychedelic 60s album that’s was exactly what I expected it to be. Some very good songs, and some very mediocre ones, but I definitely see why it would have been influential. I enjoyed it and will come back to some tracks, but won’t ever listen to the full album again.
3/5
I liked this more than I thought it would. Lots of nice chill music, as I expected from Coldplay, but some of the first tracks like Don’t Panic and Shiver had a surprising amount of energy to them and some really good guitar. I definitely enjoyed this, but it got a bit repetitive near the end.
4/5
I’m not sure how to describe the this. The whole album is like a bunch of love songs written in the apocalypse, and it’s so unusual I’m left confused about how to actually rate it. It was all very novel and interesting, and not awful, but it’s still not something I’d come back to.
2/5
This album is exactly what it says on the tin. I love Brian Eno, especially early Roxy music, but ambient music is never a thrilling listening experience. it works well as background music, but it is thoroughly forgettable
2/5
Once again, an underwhelming Yes album. It started off strong with Roundabout, but the song itself began to drag and the rest of the album was so eclectic going from prog rock to baroque to whatever else and I just didn’t understand it. The lack of structure in songs makes it difficult to lose myself in any of them, and the album as a whole suffers with the same issue. It’s a shame as there were lots of really good musical ideas, I just don’t like the way they choose to use them. Prog rock just isn’t for me I think.
2/5
I’m yet to find an album better than this. Wherever I am, whatever I’m doing, however I feel, chucking this album on is always a sure fire way to make everything better. I cannot explain it, but it’s just phenomenal!
100000000/5
This album was disappointing. I haven't really listened to much Prince, but I've heard a lot about him, so I had high hopes going into it, but they were not met. The songs all seemed like they had potential but they just didn't click with me, and as a double album it went on far too long with far too little variety. It wasn't awful, but I'm definitely never coming back to it.
2/5
Wonderful. My dad used to put this album on and we would play card games on the living room carpet with my brothers, so this brings back good memories. It is also just a freaking phenomenal album with every song being superb. I don't know what else to say other than that this album is probably as close as anything can get to perfect.
5/5
This was a really great album. I like the Stones and listen to them every so often, but I actually knew very few of the songs from this album, and they didn't disappoint. Not too many songs I would deem exceptional, but none of them were bad at all. An overall super solid album, but not good enough for the full five stars.
4/5
I am so glad I got this. I absolutely adore soul mining, but I haven't listened to much else of The The, so I was looking forward to this and was not disappointed. This album is a perfect portrayal of angst in all its forms, from songs about the hopelessness of the modern world to the difficulties of opening up to another person. Everything from the lyrics to the stilted, powerful vocals, and the bizarre assortment of instruments fit together perfectly to paint such a wonderfully detailed emotional picture. Not quite as good as Soul Mining, but this is still absolutely a five star album!
5/5
I never properly listened to any buddy holly before. I can totally see why this would be considered such an important album, but it just seems so tame in comparison to all the music it would inspire so it didn't do enough to excite me. Still very good, but its hard to see how spectacular it was at the time when Im listening to it almost 70 years later.
3.5/5
Not bad at all. This music is nothing exceptional, but it does work very nicely as chill background study music. Also 'The Weight' is a fantastic song so that's a bonus. The album as a whole seems kind of forgettable, so its getting a three stars.
3/5
Very weird album. From the manager of the sex pistols this is the last thing I expected. It seems to be an almost random combination of different genres and instruments, and it just doesn’t do anything for me, not awful but certainly not good.
2/5
Well... I love the smiths, but god damn Morrissey's solo stuff is just not it. I actually like the first song which gave me high hopes, but it turns out that's just because it was Mick Ronson on the guitar (absolute legend) and the rest of the album was bog standard solo Morrissey. Its lucky Ronson could redeem this with the first track or it would have been a one.
2/5
This absolutely slapped. It felt to me like a 90s, grunge take on a stooges album in all the best ways. So much energy, such fuzzy and powerful guitars, and immense drive. Didn’t quite excel enough to be a full 5, but this was still fantastic.
4.5/5
Sublime. This album is just Britpop perfection, there isn't a single song on the whole album that I could think of a single way to improve. Its got great guitar, some more chill songs, some rockier songs, fantastic lyricism, and almost every song is a guaranteed floor filler. What's not to like?!
5/5
I knew this would be good going into it. Not only are they a Sheffield band (hell fucking yeah), but it’s also the first one I’ve been able to listen to on vinyl as my dad has the record, and it did not disappoint. Some of the best 80s electronic tracks, with Fascist Groove Thang and the titular track being my favourites. The combined use of synths and drum machines with a hectic bass line and fantastically satirical lyricism makes this just excellent. Pavement side was perfect, but the Penthouse side tracks tailed off a bit, so I can’t bring myself to give it a full 5.
4.5/5
