Grows with age like a fine wine. Suffers when compared to Nevermind - not comparable so don't do it. Couple of fillers.

Awesome album. Problem is, you judge Elton by Elton. So some filler here by Elton's standards. Some White Album syndrome too - if you could cull 20% of the tracks it's the perfect album. 4 stars.

An album of two halves. Or to be more efficient with my language, an album of halves. Bland big-band, saved in the second half by elegant orchestral balladeering.

Overall, a consistently soulful feel, a relaxed flow, great use of samples, anthemic tunes. A few distractions with the like if Takeover and Renegade (which are good but feel a little out of place here). This gets a fourizzle.

Think I've got something of a new found understanding of metal. I also understand that most of it is shit. But will this be different? No. (sic) sounds like an amphetamine-induced rampage, and as an opener it works pretty well. Can really imagine being in the mosh in the Des Moines metalfest, and punching a stinking teenager in the mouth with this one. Decent stuff. They aren't Pantera. They aren't Napalm Death. Thankfully. A scattering of interesting stuff here and there. But mainly feel like this pushes absolutely no boundaries and offers no memorable tunes.

You can sense from this why Elvis was such a success, interpreting rock n roll, country, blues, ballads, throwing them all in the pot and cooking up a very tasty Mississippi gumbo, with only a couple of bland ingredients. Easy four.

I'm really in two minds about this album. I find some of it, like Life in the Fast Lane or Victim of Love, gets too lost up its soft rock fundament and actually sounds very 80's ZZ Top-rock. Elsewhere they seem to be actively chasing the anthem - such as Wasted Time reprise which is Disney levels of trying to be meaningful. Aside from that it is consistently excellent. Title track, the country style licks harking back to previous albums, such as New Kid or Try and Love Again.

The Spector formula for Christmas really is faultless. Is there any other Christmas album that is bearable in such a fashion? I may put the recent Dylan one up there. And Chas n Dave's cockney Christmas. But nothing else comes close. And I haven't even mentioned the incredible vocals of Ronnie Spector, Darlene Love et al - incredible. It's hammy, It's over the top, and it sounds like Christmas. Great.

Overall, this keeps growing on me. The wall of noise, amorphous schtick works for the most part, as it's backed up with catchy hooks and melodies, which admittedly take repeated listens to find. I really like several of the tunes, particularly the first track, and this is better than Dirty. Just clears the hurdle for a four.

Several certified bangers in here. Many more which are above average to great. It melds New Wave, disco, 50s rock n roll, to create a definitive late 70s post-punk album.

This album has a lot of making up to do after that album cover. The first question to Mr Cave may well be 'who hurt you?'. Such is the industrial bleakness of the music and lyrics, it could be the dystopian soundtrack to the contemporaneous Mad Max. The album is the seeds of The Seeds. But much more refinement was to take place after this. Few Seeds-worthy songs such as Junkyard, 6" Gold Blade and Several Sins.

The soaring Living for the City and the towering Higher Ground, and in amongst that some fantastic album tracks (e.g. Golden Lady), culminating in the incredible He's Misstra Know-It-All. Probably my favourite Stevie album.

The production sounds great compared to many contemporaneous efforts - reverbed, Everly's-style harmonies, nicely mixed. It's the sound of the Western plains, and it is more Western than Country. Overall, I thought this a great embodiment of this tradition, interesting, excellently produced, and with some great originals, and excellent playing and harmonies.

This reminds me of introspective emos at school wearing hyper-baggy jeans with chains, who listened to bands like Coheed and Cambria and wallowed in their faux pain. Their only real pain at that time being they'd forgotten to do their homework for Further Maths and Mrs Cole was in a particularly foul mood so they were worried they'd get detention. It's bland, it's less ground-breaking than a plastic hammer, and the rapping/scratching is bad. It has 2 songs which I consider passable, one of which, In the End, is decent.

The sort of album that you look back on affectionately because the songs are associated with an 80s movie you really like. Except, here there is no movie. And the album is left floundering in the sea of forgettable could-have-been-soundtracks. Basically this needed to be a soundtrack to make it better. But While You See a Chance is superb. And there's some decent passages here and there.

On balance I think it's important, influential, innovative, and a word that begins with 'i' meaning powerful political messaging. It lacks Run DMC and NWA hooks.

For a sad day, a lonely train journey, a break-up, when you find out your newborn is ginger, this is quite the soundtrack, albeit highly formulaic. The formula features heavily reverbed guitar picking out a melody and downbeat delivery. The vocal duets work excellently. It's actually rather surprising how many of these tracks have seeped into my consciousness, without going out of my way to listen to them or ever to listen to this album. Maybe because the BBC has probably used every one of these for advertising various bleak dramas over the years, probably written by Jimmy McGovern. The album does dip as it goes on, never quite matches the opening run of 4 or 5 songs.

It's a great fusion of many style but delivered via angular rock with incredible alternative guitar. Tom Verlaine is my new favourite guitarist. And this my new favourite album. For today.

Some very nice tracks here indeed, mainly the first half of the album, after which my patience runs out a little with the lack of variety, and the surplus of introspection without catharsis or humour. It's a respectable three.

As a debut album it's impressive. No doubt the legend has helped its critical standing - but listening with critical distance I think it's a great album, full of atmosphere, emotion, great harmonies and Radiohead-influencing melodies. Self-indulgent here and there but hey, who doesn't like to indulge. I know I do.

Despite the album being languorous, indulgent, bloated, there is such a commitment to it - something completely imperious about this album. I don't think it has the warmth of Dark Side - it feels a lot more clinical. But there is an ambience to be enjoyed, and you can cast aside the pretension of a song in 9 parts. An album which conjures a mood and does it really well. And included one of the greatest tracks of all time, in the title track. It's so close, but it gets to a high four.