1001 Albums Summary

Skipped this when released 18 years ago. Felt the singles were overhyped and I wasn’t into the retro aesthetic. Luckily the two singles were the first two tracks on the album and got past them first on a full listen. Blown away by the rest of the tracks. The marriage of 60s girl group instrumentation/vocals with lyrics touching on throughly modern struggles and triumphs, if done any less earnestly, could come off as cheesy, but it’s packaged in such a way as to be highly enjoyable, carried by her palpable enthusiasm for this kind of music. Should earn frequent relistens if only to remind me of the feeling you get hearing talent meet passion.

I can appreciate this as a rebuttal to the self-serious hyper-produced schlock of the 70s but to me it just sounded tuneless and jarring. It comes off as Byrne and co being cheeky for the sake of it. I couldn’t quite connect to the lyrics. Music is supposed to make you feel something and all I felt was mild irritation. “Psycho Killer” is a classic, obviously, but one songs does not an album make.

Found this highly enjoyable. Thom Yorke’s vocals are delivered with passion and soul over an ever-shifting soundscape that defies gene. Separate the numerous pieces of instrumentation and you’ll find yourself wondering how it all fits together; but sitting back you let the alchemy work its magic and don’t ask about the man behind the curtain. Highlights include “knives out” “packt” and “morning bell.” Loved it.

I have never been so moved by music in my life. A man and a piano providing a building, swirling, enveloping auditory experience that defies explanation and must be heard, begs to be heard. I confess I barely have words for the technical aspects other than “sheer brilliance.” Transcendent listening that I cannot recommend enough.

Ambitious in scope yet lacking focus, this feels like the output of a band suffering through a profound identity crisis. It simply doesn’t come together as a cohesive piece of art. They are truly at their best in post-grunge goth mode of “JellyBelly”, “Zero”, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings”, etc. The ballads seem out of place, mostly because the harder edged tracked are so perfectly executed in comparison. While every song on the album is done well, some of the softer ones seem included solely for the sake of making a double album - they feel like outtakes rather than thoughtfully curated elements. While some of their best known work is here (“1979”, “Tonight Tonight”) it feels like they would be better suited for another album. It’s just too much thrown together. Again, any 10 songs on here put together would be a 4+ star record. This suffered from being too packed. 3.5