Signing Off
UB40Super chill, nice listen. Didn’t get a chance to listen to actively but had it on while running errands, need to revisit this. Great background music though
Super chill, nice listen. Didn’t get a chance to listen to actively but had it on while running errands, need to revisit this. Great background music though
Sounded like a rave backdrop. Pretty repetitive beats but some interesting lyrical choices (also repetitive within the song). Reminded me of chemical brothers? Would fit into the Matrix soundtrack
Interesting timing on custard. In my time dying I thought was too long.. Trampled under foot or Kashmir probably most well known. Bron-yr-aur is beautiful. Enjoy this album
Songs blend together as if one long set - meant to be heard as an album? Short samples bound by music. “Tonight” is my least favorite, although I didn’t really enjoy any all too much.
Bit of a funky feel to begin, remnants of 60s with the orchestration. Beatles vibe. Kinda reminds me of Little Feats (around the same era). Get it on (bang a gong) certainly the most popular song on the album.cool groove on Motivator. Most songs have room to breathe. I enjoy this one a lot
Liked how the early songs blended together. Tommy mentioned throughout, pinball also. Curious if real person. Pinball wizard probably the big hit from this album? Enjoyed it
Heard the “I ain’t got nobody” riff/phrase before but not in context, that was cool. Jump Jive and Wail popular cover (Brian Setzer) late 90s so I knew that one. Buona Sera another popular one. Cool to revisit swing/jazz/big band again, many great players. Some funny lyrics throughout, I enjoyed this collection a lot.
Don’t know many Beastie Boys songs (none on this album), interesting with a lot of low-hanging rhymes but then something much more sophisticated. Album seems sample heavy but works in the genre. Unsure how B.B. is regarded within hip hop, but they have an undeniable sound. Imagery is comical. B-Boy bouillabaisse set is a totally different sound. Think my fave was either “egg man” or “looking down the barrel of a gun”
Baba Oreilley is a massive hit, probably the biggest by the Who. Another great album
I immediately liked the music but thought the vocals sounded like a drunk at karaoke. But with more listening I started to enjoy it more. Maybe that’s the way with this punk music, not caring about a commercially/stereotypically “good” song package, and more about staying true to yourself and your message.. “Futures and Pasts” is my favorite, but enjoyed “Industrial Estate” and “Underground Medecin”
Brand new artist but Wow, really like this one! Reminds me a lot of different bands like Poison, the Cure, Duran Duran, even the Beatles.. but there is such a variety across the album it speaks to the talent they have. “Elizabeth My Dear” sounds exactly the same as Scarborough Fair, and therefore in my opinion the weakest. Loved them all so hard to choose my favorite for my Spotify playlist but I have to go with “She Bangs the Drums”
What a guitarist! “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va” are huge hits - that I’ve heard before - but this album is more than those two songs. Great blend of Santana’s solos with the rest of the band proving their abilities as well. Cool Latin vibe underlying with classic 70s rock sounds overtop. Liked how the songs wove together to provide a tide of music, slowing and quieting just to swell again; made for a pleasant album-long listening session.
Hard to find, not on Spotify. Nice easy listening. To me it’s good but not amazing, middle of the road. Would listen but probably wouldn’t seek it out.
Definitely interesting compilation-style album. Many songs in different “styles” but then some seem out of place. Favorites are the titular ‘Rip it up’ and ‘Can’t help myself’, reminded me of INXS, Prince, the Cars.. I enjoyed ‘Louise Louise’ although had an older feel to it. ‘Million pleading faces’ and ‘Hokoyo’ had an African (Swahili?) vibe.
New artist/album although I have heard of Elvis Costello.. I enjoy the punk flavor with some classic 70s aspects as well, like synth keyboards. ‘Pump it up’ reminds me of ‘Voodoo Child’ - possible sample/influence there; one of my album favorites. Noticing some familiar sounds that remind me of later artists like Counting Crows and Tom Petty, but also earlier like the Who (‘You belong to me’ resembles ‘my Generation’). Interesting phrase “she’s last years model” in ‘(don’t want to go to) Chelsea’ when the album is titled “this Years Model”. Overall I really enjoyed the whole album, pretty cohesive across the board.
Somewhat familiar with VH so this was a fun listen. ‘Jump’ is probably the biggest song they have, but ‘Panama’ is big too. To have these back to back speaks to the albums quality. The song ‘I’ll Wait’ was charting the week I was born (#18). Love the drums on ‘Hot for Teacher’. Guitar solos throughout are incredible.
Know a couple queen songs but not many. Definitely a classic identifiable sound in Mercury’s vocals. ‘Killer Queen’ the biggest hit of the album (and only one I knew), but lots of fun variety regarding time, emotion throughout. Lyrically impressive with some sophisticated rhyming but still cohesive. Some really nice guitar solos across the board. ‘Lap of the Gods’ seemed to imitate Pink Floyd, in sound style as well as the echoes in the revisit at album’s end. I’m not a huge fan of the ballad-style songs although ‘Dear Friends’ was nice. Reference to Jim Croce’s character in ‘bring Back Leroy Brown’?
I don’t know what to say about this, definitely WEIRD and experimental. Never heard of this artist before. I enjoyed “Lord give us more money” as background music but there is so much going on it got a bit disjointed and fatiguing for my taste. I enjoyed the more laid-back vibe of ‘Persian Love’ and ‘Hollywood Symphony’. Maybe a jazz background, certainly playing with sampling. Enjoyed hearing something new
First heard of Marty Robbins from a Rick Beato video, so familiar of this album. Great voice, sneakily good guitar, beautiful harmonies. Very fun cowboy western music. ‘Cool Water’ was fun to hear as I remember it from the “Buster Scruggs” movie. Favorites are ‘Big Iron’ (love the harmonized octave slurs) and ‘El Paso’.
This reminded me of lots of different bands: Grateful Dead, Allman Bros, the Doors,Steve Miller band, CCR… and I kept thinking I would rather been listening to those bands instead. Liked the A-side treated much like 1 long jam, B-side definitely more disjointed. Added ‘Who do you love pt 1’ to my list as I enjoyed the first half more. Unfortunately this album is quite forgettable for me, even though I didn’t hate it
Some songs just gave me a headache, some I enjoyed. As something that isn’t really my taste, this album was more fun than I thought at the outset. Favorites include ‘Boys’ and ‘Jimmy’, more than the commercial success ‘Paper Planes’. Beats were fun, almost had an Indian/Persian flair at times. I wanted to like/dislike this album more than I did
Not bad but wasn’t feeling it. I have heard of Supertramp but not sure I could name any specific songs. Favorite from the album is probably ‘Dreamer’
I only know of the Byrds for their psychadelic rock. Maybe this Americana style was present in the undercurrents of their earlier/other music (‘Nothing was Delivered’ sounded the most like the Byrds I was familiar with). I can’t tell if this album was made as satire or the group was truly interested in Country/Western music. Either way, I can appreciate the songs’ quality of production and musicianship even if I don’t enjoy the genre too much. Favorite song is probably ‘Hickory Wind’ or ‘Lazy Days’
Wasn’t sure what to expect but what a cool album. Long-form jazz takes a certain kind of mood, but didn’t take too long to feel it. Very funky Afro jazz, great drums, fat horns… First time hearing of Fela, but I may have heard some of his music back in my jazz band days. Interesting to read up a bit about him while listening! Favorite song probably ‘Ye Ye De Smell’
Great Hendrix album. Pretty recognizable sound, exactly what you’d expect. ‘Purple Haze’ is probably the most popular song on the album, I think my favorite is ‘Hey Joe’ since that’s my name (also a pretty big hit).
Nice album, heard of ‘money for nothing’ and ‘walk of life’ but the others were easy listening.
Elton John is a great artist. There is always so much movement in his piano playing! ‘Tiny dancer’ is the only song I’ve heard from this album and must be the biggest hit, but every song was definitely enjoyable
I’ve heard the song ‘Kids’ but overall a totally new artist.
Definite similarities with other English bands, like the Beatles or Hermans Hermits. Didn’t know any songs on the album but in searching I did know several other Kinks songs. Fun use of different sounds (horns, kazoo) throughout. I enjoyed every entry on this album, favorite was ‘Shangri-La’ but not a bad choice to be made.
Certainly lots of energy! Good live album but wasn’t really into it
Nice folk album, beautifully simple and profound at the same time. The vibrato in her voice became a bit much for me all at once but was better broken up around the errands I had. Definitely renaissance festival vibes. Nice chill listen
Bjork takes the weird and turns it up to 11.. I was expecting to dislike this album more than I actually did. Ethereal.
Good live album, the audience was quiet during to songs - due to nationality of recording I’m not sure. Was familiar with ‘Smoke on the Water’ but several other great songs too. “Disc 2” was weird as it was the same encore (?) songs from different dates, so I only listened thru each unique song.
Fun music, my first fully foreign album on here
Familiar with several Iron Maiden songs but none from this album.
Bob Dylan is a beloved artist and songwriter, but not really for my preference. His decision to be so loose with the time structure of some songs is distracting to the point that the lyrical strengths are lost to me. ‘Blowing’ in the Wind’ is certainly the most well-known from this album, I think my favorite was ‘Hard Rain’s a-gonna Fall’. Pretty decent folk album, feels like a soundtrack to the 60s.
I wanted to like this album as there were different aspects of each song I enjoyed. But it was a chore to get through.
Cool alternative/grunge sound, good listen.
Liked it
Great high-octane metal album. Was familiar with many of the songs but a couple were new. Liked them all, good mix of blazing speed with melodic ballad
Nice jazz album, short form may be more accessible for general audience but would have been nice to have longer songs
Even though the Spotify link doesn’t go to the original album, it was still a good listen. Fantastic ambient listening, very relaxing and meditative. Very cool
I was a fan back in the Nirvana heyday, and possibly have been exposed to this set either thru MTV or something else, but wow what an amazing live set! I understand that some people can love or hate it, and can see both perspectives, but I really enjoyed the listen (nostalgia? Taste?). Nice curation of songs that doesn’t rely too heavily on Nirvanas smash hits, and also covers that highlight their talent within the acoustic space. Cobain’s haunting and soulful singing works just as well “unplugged”
Nice unique singing voice, soothing songs that remind me of old Disney movies. I enjoyed the music behind, great horn solos that compliment and aren’t starved for the attention. Songs did blend together a bit. Not my favorite album but overall very nice
I remember some of these songs from the time of release. ‘Drive’ and ‘Pardon Me’ are the biggest songs on the album. I liked the funkiness of ‘Battlestar Scralatchtica’. This album is a pretty good summary of my music tastes at the end of the 90s
Interesting music for the background but not something I’m terribly interested in.
Nice live album, the crowd noise even enhances it; would have been great to hear it in person, sounds like everyone was having a great time. Was not familiar with any of the songs, although I did know BB King was a big name in blues.
First album that I know well, and it’s one of my favorites!! A lot of depth layered within the songs that is easy to miss on a quick listen. And such a great debut for a band too
Thought I wouldn’t like this much but I did. Not sure what they mean by ‘ambient’ because some songs definitely bring your attention. Brand new artist, never heard the name. I could see listening again, at least in the background. Favorites: Xtal, Ageispolis, Delphium Least favorite: Green calx
I have two feelings about this album; I generally like it but the angsty lyric screaming over the top in places seems to be trying too hard (I liked the lead female vocals when more controlled). Reminds me of Scott Pilgrim movie, I saw a review say the early 00s EA Sports and that seems appropriate also. I enjoy ‘Maps’ and ‘Y Control’ the most, and they are at the end of the album, reminds me a bit of Paramore
Don’t listen to rap much, and this is probably my first UK rap album. Decent variety in the hooks, interspersing of conversation seems fairly common in the genre but was a distraction. Not bad but nothing terribly new or valuable. Hard to find a song I wanted to add to my playlist.
Pretty big variety of sounds on this album, very eclectic. Enjoyed some, but it was all so weird that it was hard to take it seriously. Which maybe was the point.. Very middle of the road ratings-wise, not my favorite but not terrible.
I have heard some of these (‘Kicks’, ‘Not your Stepping Stone’), at least as far as I know. Fun bubblegum music for the most part. Definitely reminds me of the Monkees, the Grassroots, early Beatles, maybe a bit like Herman’s Hermits. ‘SS 396’ is more like a Beach Boys/Jan & Dean song, didn’t fit in with the others.. with so many styles and that this was a pretty early album for PR&tR, may have been identity decisions, or just chasing commercial success.. Classic 60s sound that is fun to hear.
Great album, I’ve heard a couple songs here and there but never to the whole. As one review said aptly, so excessive but so uncluttered! Shows its age but it has aged well. Lots of hit songs just from this one album, was a pleasure throughout.
This is a hard rating for me. There’s been some albums that I didn’t enjoy AND didn’t understand them being on the list. I can see the importance of this one but it just didn’t grab me in any way. It’s not that I didn’t like it though.. maybe it just wasn’t a good day for this one to come up.
Another hard one to rate. There were certainly times that were too experimental for me and I hated it, but at the same time could see myself getting into it.. guess I should have gotten high before listening. Middle of the road but rating down as I dont see listening again
Great album full of hits! Easy to argue the importance of Carole King, some of the songs on this album were massive hits for the covering artists. Really liked this one, I was familiar with some of the songs.
Lots of songs that I enjoyed, although it was monotonous in places. I wish I heard this when it was released! I would def listen again.
I’ve heard of Sonic Youth but don’t think I’ve ever listened to any of their songs. Few places that were a bit like noise but overall very cohesive. I enjoyed, would listen again but may not seek it out.
Never listened to too much Pearl Jam but an old neighbor was into them enough for the both of us!! Amazing A-side with hit after hit, but 2nd half dropped off a little bit — could be that I just wasn’t as familiar. There were some songs I didn’t know the title but that, once started, seemed to come back to me. Fantastic debut album, for me it’s a 4.5... I wish they would allow half-star ratings but rounding up
I enjoy this album more than my previous from the list (Sheer Heart Attack) despite not knowing any of these songs. There are definitely typical Queen glam sounds but in general a bit heavier. I like the fantasy subject matter, some beautiful lyrics throughout. White queen on A-side, black queen on B-side. 3.5/5
Reading some of the other reviews, I understand why this may have been added to the list. Was it a minority choice to appease the jazz listeners? It was barely listenable, and I’m somewhat a fan of jazz. Every so often something would bloom from the chaos and be quite nice, but then degrade back into noise. The high point is that I made it through the whole album… 1.5/5
Sounded familiar but also new. Decent album, middle of the road
Cool old-school hip hop. Think I’ve seen that ‘Walk this way’ gave Aerosmith a resurgence. Fun listen, 3.5/5 but rating up as you can easily see how it was influential to the genre
I knew several of these songs as I had a Beatles anthology set as a kid, but at least half were new to me. They’re all pretty much bubblegum pop, short songs, exactly what you think of with early Beatles. Fun listen, even the “throwaway” songs were decent. 3.75/5
Knew a couple of these songs from back in the day, plenty of new ones too. Great album with lots of big hits.
I wanted to like this album, and ‘That Lady’ was a great start. But it just devolved into covers that I’d rather hear the originals, some other instrumentally decent songs that were forgettable. 2.5/5
Plenty of big hits, one of the biggest albums of all time. Still, amazingly, was my first time listening to the whole album thru
Couple songs I knew, overall a really fun listen. The excess of 80s hair bands but some real subtlety hidden there
Remember this from back then, never quite my thing.
Album started off nice and I thought I would love it, but it quickly became nothing more than background music and didn’t hold my attention. I enjoyed ‘Unfinished Symphony’. Overall middle of the road- enjoyed but wouldn’t seek it out, 3/5
Decent mix of punk alternative and rock. Sounded familiar yet don’t think I have heard any of these songs. A couple played with the time signature which added interest. 3.75/5
Decent album, many new songs. 3.5/5 rounding down as I don’t think I would seek it out
Short album, I enjoyed it a lot 4/5
Great album, remember from back then.
Thought I would enjoy more than I did. May be my unfamiliarity with the genre but didn’t do it for me. 2.5/5 but rounding down as I won’t be seeking it out again
Only 8 songs but some massive hits! Nice listen, surprising it’s only 41 minutes. Hit songs I knew well but even the ‘filler’ had some cool sounds and ideas within them. 4.5/5 but with ‘Everybody wants to rule the World’ having 1.5 billion plays on Spotify, I’m rounding up 👍
Great album with lots of huge hits. Catchy tunes, not 100% my style but still a fun listen that’s massively popular. Can’t fault, 4.5/5
Cool album from a brand new band to me. Really enjoyed, did blend together a bit.
Pretty cool, reminded me of The Rolling Stones 3.5/5
Not sure what to say. Some songs were nice, some were awful. Some had decent production, some sounded shit. 2.5/5 but I’m rounding down because I’d be ok not hearing ever again
So good. Except ‘promentalshit…’ really rug-pulled the rest of the album. I have heard some Funkadelic before but none of these. Accessibility hurts this one; as good as it is, should be on streaming platforms. 4/5
Strange album, couldn’t figure out the cohesion.. ok but not great, 2.5/5
Decent easy listening, ‘Sultans of Swing’ their biggest hit with over a billion plays on Spotify. 3.5/5
Know of Radiohead but not crazy familiar worth many songs. Pretty good album, from my musically-formative years so a bit of nostalgia rates this up. Not seeking this out but enjoyed listening throughout. 4/5
Really cool old-school hip hop, really enjoyed. Not my typical listen but it was a treat. Never heard the album but I swear the album art is giving me serious deja-vu. 3.75/5
Decent folk music. Nothing outstanding, middle of the road
Not into it. Not that it’s bad, but I just don’t get it
Know Coltrane is a jazz master but I don’t like free-form jazz anymore
Decent, pretty typical 80s pop songs but pretty sexual. Didn’t really hold my attention too well, right down the middle 3/5
Unavailable on Spotify but found on YouTube, wish streaming accessibility was better. Enjoyable listen, although I was working on other things so nothing specifically stands out. Somewhat generic electronic pop sounds, but still holds up today. 3.5/5
A lot of reviews are talking about blues, and I kinda get it, but I always thought of the Black Keys as an alternative rock band. Decent album but does blend together. 3/5
This was a weird album, it sounded like so many different artists: Tom Petty, Beatles, Prince, Hendrix… it showed the talent that Kravitz has but also all the influences taken. I didn’t realize how well rounded that he was, I admit I hardly know any of his songs. There’s definitely some hidden depth, I’m gonna go 3.75/5
Definitely goes hard.. nice head-banger that can hang with the likes of Metallica and Megadeth. Wasn’t sure if I’d like it as much as I did, although it could have used a reprieve from the high octane chugging. 4/5
Another brand new artist for me. Wasn’t sure what to expect and was nervous about the run time but it was a joy. I liked how each song had a certain hook that they explored from different sides, reminded me of Pink Floyd. Really can’t believe this came out in ‘89.. I think ‘Lord can you Hear Me’ will be most people’s favorite as the most “song”-y track I feel like I want to be stingy with my 5/5 ratings but this album was my jam.
Decent, didn’t know much about them
It was ok. Unfortunately my rating system is based on my replay-ability and I just wouldn’t put it back on much, if at all. 2.5/5
Nice enjoyable album. A lot of times with my hearing I have a hard time with lyrics, so it’s more about the music. And this doesn’t translate too well with rap/hiphop. Nice variety of hooks, cool to hear so many different artists on here too. 3/5
Nice album, played it while watching the eclipse
Love Tom Petty, but not super familiar with album releases. Huge hits in ‘Breakdown’ and ‘American Girl’ but also some outliers that sounded out of place (‘Mystery Man’ and ‘Luna’). For a debut album it shows the promise of the great artist Petty will be, overall a solid album but not his greatest. 3.75/5
Another wu tang member’s solo album 2 days later… again middle of the road listen, again it’s not something I mind but wouldn’t listen to often
Nice album, I enjoyed some of the covers. Great soulful singer
I was too young when Nevermind came out but I was into Nirvana starting around 1996. Awesome album, tons of great hits here and very deserving to be on the list.. 5/5
Nice album, variety of sounds spanning from the 60s to 90s. ‘Lovefool’ the big hit here but other good ones here. 3.5/5
I liked this, definitely more of an ambient album. Another album that I wish I could rate half stars: want to give it more but can’t quite give it a 4.. glad to have it on the list but somewhat forgettable within the scope of the 1001-album challenge. 3.5/5
I liked this. Remember some of these songs from the release. 3.5/5 but rating up as I’d listen again without much convincing
Another fun album, didn’t know any of the songs but was a cool transitional mesh of psychedelic and hard rock. 3.5/5
This was not at all what I expected. There were times I couldn’t tell they belonged on the same album, so heavily influenced/mimicking the Beatles or Beach Boys.. but even on the same album there were so many different sounding songs, it was quite disjointed. Still was a decent listen, some songs missed the mark but some were great. 3.5/5
Cool story behind the album, and I know what a great artist Brian Wilson was (is?). But this was a weird listen… some songs had cool harmonies calling back to Beach Boys hits, but then other songs were a fever dream during a drug binge. Disjointed flow between songs with some hard transitions, where some faded well. I wanted to like it more than I did. 2.5/5
Nice indie pop music that can be on in the background or searched for deeper meaning. Not terribly familiar with Arcade Fire other than a single from their 2022 album I found last year, but I’m a fan. Easy listening, 4/5
Super chill, nice listen. Didn’t get a chance to listen to actively but had it on while running errands, need to revisit this. Great background music though
Subsequent plays are better, and I want to like this album/artist, but I just can’t into it. The first 30 seconds of the first song of the album is just a screech, like it’s actively trying to get the mainstream listener to dislike it so the punk fans can claim superiority.. second Pere Ubu album, another 2/5
I first heard of Kate Bush a couple years ago as ‘Running up the hill’ was surging in the charts (thanks to Stranger Things, I now learn), and Rick Beato breaking down the song. Listening through now, the whole album is a true experience. The 80s peek through the curtains but I also feel this could have been released any time since and it would fit in. Mix of pop with much more experimental stuff. Both lyrically and melodicly interesting, it was a pleasure to be (finally) introduced to this album. 5/5
Tough to rate this one: there were some points where I felt I could get into it, but devolve back into the muddy soup of noise. I haven’t heard of “noise rock” before so maybe this is exactly the point. First impression was of a low-production dirty bootleg for a little known punk group. There were some nice bass lines throughout. 2.5/5
Like it more after a couple songs, like a slow burn. Once you’re in for a bit you realize the tide has pulled you deeper than you thought.. more sophistication melodically, and deeper sadder lyrics blossom. Not sure if I’ve heard of Big Star before but certainly the first time with all these songs. And by the end it had me digging into more of their catalog. 4/5
Started ok but quickly got repetitive. Background music at best for me, not amazing not terrible 2.5/5
Another album that I didn’t expect to be as good as it was. And only gets better with subsequent listens. It’s sparse but yet very deep, “simple” stream-of-conscious lyrics that are incredibly profound as they simmer. Incredible voice (that initially grated me) that truly makes the listen feel all the more real and personal. Awesome album 4.5/5
Great album and makes jazz very accessible to the layperson. You could listen to this any time. Smooth with a great groove, nice tight playing.. well done. Heard of both credited artists but not terribly familiar with their work, I’m a fan. 4/5
Pretty typical late ‘00s alternative/indie rock, reminds me of Arctic Monkeys, a bit of Black Keys here and there. Enjoyable but nothing too amazing. I liked the different styles from song to song. 3.5/5
‘Sympathy for the Devil’ is the hit of this album, but other than that I didn’t hear anything too spectacular. Granted I was driving a van full of kids to go camping, so my attention was divided.. 3/5
Nice chill album, nice one while relaxing while camping. 3.5/5
This is the great thing about this album project - finding great music that you wouldn’t necessarily know about! Great singing and hip groove, 3.5/5
I appreciate the challenge mindset behind this album project, but this was too much. Some songs were okay but they really all blended together and became monotonous. 2.5/5