1001 Albums Summary

I’ve been listening to this album for about as long as I’ve been listening to music. Nearly 50 years. My first albums were Beatles albums followed by British Invasion bands. Most of those bands had broken up by the time I started listening to them. It was only natural to investigate the solo Beatles albums. I’ve lived with this album for nearly 50 years. So it’s hard to be impartial. Catchy pop rock with stellar production. Very pleasant to listen to. Lots of sounds and vocal harmonies.There’s a good bit of variety in the song styles, but the album as a whole is very cohesive. Band on the Run - This song has three “sections” but feels seamless. Progressive pop rock. Very catchy. Feels like the lyrics are telling a story, but it’s rather vague. Jet - This one is a rocker. Strong vocal harmonies. Really catchy and very pleasant to listen to. Nice flourishes of sounds. Bluebird - Mello folky soft rock song acoustic guitar driven, but lots of soft embellishments and very nice vocal harmonies. And sax. Mrs. Vanderbilt - Catchy uptempo bass driven song. And Sax. This is a really good song completely different in style to the other songs on the album. It also fits in seamlessly. Let Me Roll It - Bluesy bass line with recurring guitar riffs. I don’t know what he’s singing about, but this is one of the best songs on the album. Mamunia - A folky rock world music-ish mello song. It’s a good song, but probably the closest thing to filler this album has. No Words - Very pleasant, gentle pop folky song. Ends on a guitar solo that goes pretty hard. . Picasso’s Last Words (Drink To Me) - A folky song that seems to go on and on and continuously changing styles. Experimental and a bunch of vocal harmonies and a good bit of orchestration. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five - It’s a Rock song, but there’s Funk in there. And sax.

5 / 5 I remember when the Sex Pistols and “Punk Rock” were on the evening news. I remember when Sid killed Nancy. I must have been in 6th grade or so. I had this album. Right there next to my Beatles, Cheap Trick and Queen records. This album smokes and rips. It’s full of attitude. Relentless guitar. It's perfect at what it does. -April 7 2024

The White Stripes - White Blood Cells 4 / 5 I’ve never heard this album before. I’m familiar with the White Stripes and have heard songs here and there and it all sounds pretty much the same. I guess you could say that about a lot of bands. They have a very stripped down guitar, drum and vocal sound. The drum kit sounds minimal as well. Jack White has crossed over and become somewhat of a pop culture figure. I read this is their 3rd album and there’s no covers on it. Sounds like they’re mining the same Blues as Led Zeppelin. There’s high energy rockin’ songs and some mello folky numbers. For just guitar and drums this album sometimes sounds huge. They also sound quaint on the mello numbers. Which is good, this isn’t a continuous blast in the face. That wouldn’t be bad either. I would probably prefer that, but Jack White wouldn’t be the celebrity he is today if that were the case. Whiny vocals that work well.There’s keyboard on a song and piano on another. The songs are relatively short. Only a few surpass 3 three minutes. This album came out in 2001. It’s post grunge retro classic rock garage blues and really catchy. I suppose there’s a punk influence underlying everything. Bonus points for the song “We Are Going To Be Friends” being on the opening credits of the movie “Napoleon Dynamite”. Also the standout rocker song on the album is “Fell In Love With A Girl” it’s a catchy one and most people know as “The Lego Video”. This album flows really well from rockers to mellow tunes; everything seems like it belongs here. Overall the production of the album sounds great. It’s effective.

Coldplay (2002) A Rush of Blood To The Head 3 / 5 I’ve never listened to a Coldplay album. I think I can think of a Coldplay song I know, where the say “It was just Yellow”, or something like that. I’ve assumed they are some kind of light weight Adult Contemporary music that they play on the doctors’ office radio station between Maroon 5 and Adele. I’ve listened through this a few times and it all feels very very bland. Sometimes I feel like there’s hope but it’s all so very light weight. There's a song on here I think I recognize but it’s so generic and faceless I’m not sure. If these songs were all sad or something I would like it more. It’s so extremely middle of the road. Sometimes I think Radiohead but without any of the interesting stuff. Sometimes I think of Oasis or that other British band from the same time. When Coldplay is at their most rockin’ they kinda touch on U2 at their lightest. Sometimes when I listen to this I wonder if it really is better than I think. Maybe I’m just coming at it wrong. Maybe it’s not them, maybe it’s me. I don’t know, it kinda feels like work coming around to Coldplay and to find out what I’m missing Production wise this album for sure sounds like a cohesive unit. The whole thing just lays under my skin. It never lets loose and always, no matter what happens always feels like the whole thing is riding in the same pocket. . I think really for me it’s not much more than pleasant background music. Maybe after repeat listens it will be pleasant background music that I’m more familiar with.

The Velvet Underground & Nico 5 / 5 Well, it’s drug music isn’t it? Often cited as the most influential rock music album of all time. From 1967. Things are minimal and they drone on and on. All the vocalists are very mello. Sometimes very matter of fact. Almost bored. It’s mostly mellow and abrasive at the same time. Sometimes I hear touches of contemporaries …The Byrds (I get Byrds vibes more than once during the record, but it’s just a sliver or the overall sound), Jefferson Airplane, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys…Garage Rock. It feels like a majority of the album is the repetitive spell inducing minimal hypnotic rock. And there’s freak outs.

Blur - Blur (1997) 4/5 I’ve never listened to this album. When I listen to this I hear…Paul McCarteney/Wings…The Kinks, David Bowie. I suppose that makes this British? I’ve read that this is their third album (This is actually their fifth album) and the first two are Brit Pop, but this album is a departure from that. So that’s where the Pavement/Sonic Youth Influences I hear come in? I’m suspicious at first, but this seems like a pretty good album. I only have a day to listen to it, grade it and move on. I’ll probably return to this. I guess I’ll check out the first two to see what the departed from. These aren’t the guys who are brothers? I think that’s Oasis. They are bad boys I think, does Blur have any identity? Are these the guys who sampled that Rolling Stones song and it was huge but they didn;t get permission, but it was OK because 30 years later the Stones said it was OK? Things get experimental sometimes. This album is better than I expected. Now I’m trying to figure out if it’s A Lot better than I expected. There’s a bunch on here that seems pretty good, but since it’s all new to me…I’m trying to determine if it’s even better than the first listen reveal, or if this is just kinda it. I like the weird stuff here more than the normal stuff. It seems like, as the album progresses it gets more and more weirder.

The Stooges - Raw Power 5/5 I love the first Stooges more than almost any album. This one rocks from the get go. It’s a pile driver in 1973 and just as effective in 2024.

War - The World Is A Ghetto (1972) 4 / 5 Cisco Kid is a killer all time classic song. Where Was You At - Funk, soul and rock this is not too far from a song that might pop up on “Band On The Run”. City, Country, City - Funky jazzy soul. Mellow grooves. Four Cornered Room - Mello vibes for 8 minutes. Beastie Boys would mine this Funky Latin groove feeling 20 years later. The World Is A Ghetto - Mello funk. Beetles In A Bog - This is four minutes of instrumental jamming. They’re really good musicians and the whole album has a Funky Latin jamming vibe, but this song feels a bit more like filler.

First and foremost I'm a fan of Rock, Metal and heavy boundary pushing extreme music. I of course had heard Aretha and was familiar with what her deal is, but it wasn't until I heard this album about 10 years ago (I found it at a thrift store) and was pretty blown away by how great this is. Gospel/R&B/Soul from 1967. There's only a couple songs on here that are really memorable for me, but it's so enjoyable to listen to. Musically I like the way it sounds, but it doesn't really have any personality. Aretha is all the personality! I think the production is just fine. It also all feels like mid tempo burners. If the musicians pushed harder and the production punched harder this would be a 5/5. But, that's not what this was intended to be and it still an all time great!

Supergrass - I Should CoCo (1995) 3.75/5 I’ve never heard this so I watched the video for “Alright” first. I guess they’re kinda goofy and have a Kinks kind of thing going on? This is the kind of thing I really would not have cared for when it came out in 1995. Quick Google scan lets me know this album is “BritPop” and it’s their first album. I’d Like To Know - is a high energy alternative rocker, with nasally vocals. Then they add some parts at the end to make it climax. Caught By The Fuzz - Also a high energy alt rocker. Telling a story. Mansized Rooster - This one is a stomper. It has the high backing vocals that remind me of Cheap Trick, and more and more White Stripes garage energy seeping through. Alright - Is a slightly different style. More of a Ray Davies/Kinks story telling pop, piano driven. With a guitar solo. If you listen long enough, it starts to feel catchy, but it feels annoying before that. Lose It - This one feels like a more serious rocker. Grunge/Garage style with vocal harmonies. Previous songs have these harmonies and are starting to feel like a big part of the personality of this band. Lenny - Some of these songs bring to mind Mudhoney. The garage rock aspect. This song is pretty good. I think it was released as a single. Strange Ones - Bluesy White Stripe type rocking. Then the really distinctive vocals that happen on all these songs. This song is pretty good then takes a turn for the worse when the goofy vocals kick in, but they end up getting back to good rocking again. Sitting Up Straight - Another high energy song with really quick singing. ANd a Rembrandts type chorus. Theme from Friends. I guess these guys were pretty young when this album was recorded and it really is high energy. She’s So Loose - This one is a different style. We’re Not Supposed to - A novelty song? Where the vocals go fast? Time - This one reminds me a bit of Cheap Trick. Sofa - Experimental late Beatles vibes… Time To Go - Feels like yet another style and it’s getting weary but the song is over in two minutes and so is the album. This is a high energy alt rock (Brit Pop?) with quirkiness? Almost like Jack White but more goofy. I’m surprised I like this album more than I thought I would. I’ll listen to it again.

Peter Tosh (1976) - Legalize It 3/5 I don’t care for Reggae. It’s fine in very small doses. Outside of Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and this album from Peter Tosh…this is the only Reggae I’ve listened to on purpose. I’ve worked with people who listened to Reggae at work and I’ve had hippie friends that listen to it. This Peter Tosh album I’ve always considered to be alright. It’s got the pleasant rhythms you associate with Reggae. His voice works.aaand Legalize it.

The Mothers of Invention - Absolutely Free The goofiness is something I don't care for. The rock opera start stop stuff is something I don't care for. The “wacky psychedelic” stuff I don't like. The jazzy rocking out I do like. When they are moving forward it's usually really good.-----So, I've been listening to the wrong album. I've been listening to Absolutely Free, which is the one that follows Freak Out. — So I’ve been listening to Freak Out and I like it quite a bit more than the one that follows. They have the goofy vocals here, but really double down on that for the next record. This one is more straightforward and the musicianship is top notch. A lot of sarcasm and political stuff here. Weird mix of Doo Wop and Garage rock …psychedelic 1966 style. Sounds ahead of its time and a little bit dated all at once. It's experimental too… I’ve tried Zappa over the years but get turned off by the vocals. I’m glad I tried harder with this one. It’s pretty dang good.

There's a couple songs on here I'm familiar with. I like those. I was never able to give my full attention to this, but did listen several times with it in the background. It never grabbed my attention, but if the strength in this is really clever lyrics and word play then I missed it.

Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True 3/5 Well, it sounds like Joe Jackson or Billy Joel right off the bat. So, I’ve listened to this a bit and feel disappointed. Now I see this is from 1977 and not like…1981. Now, I have to re-evaluate. This stripped down straight ahead rock. Not full speed ahead, but just sitting there rock. Singer songwriter tunes, but with a band. Good songs, all the songs on here are well crafted. This album lacks the “energy” I want. These are songs that… It feels flat to me. I want more. These are pleasant and good easy listening songs. I’ll return to this, I may appreciate it more when I’m in a different mood.

Every year, kids go to college, take some Acid, and realize the Doors are the greatest band ever.

Starts out with sitar and turns into wacky japanese pop and turns into some weird...this is only the third song. This is just crazy. Now, Fool On The Hill? It sounds like little Orphan Annie if she were an 8 year old boy. Bjork - Bjork 2/5 What I picture in my mind when I listen to this is a young “cute” child actor singing jingles for things like Oscar Myer, or national pride songs sung by some kid. I don’t really care for this and it was a struggle even to listen to it a second time.

I've listened to Joni before, Blue and Hejira mostly and this is very much like those albums. I'll have to listen more to find the subtleties between this and other albums from this era.

I love this album. It goes hard and it sounds like Jerry Lee is jacked up on something stronger than coffee. Relentless. The energy level is through the roof. The crowd is going bonkers. This is the best Jerry Lee Lewis album I've heard and probably the best of all the mid 50's rockers like Elvis, Carl Perkins ect... I can't think of one single other piano driven album I even remotely enjoy. This one is full steam ahead from the get go. The energy going on here alone qualifies this to be at least 4/5 stars.

4/5 There's a lot of ...melodies? That sound very much like early Hip Hop. No surprise, this album came out in 1992 but there's some added elements that makes it sound like they're moving forward. Chill and humorous. Good production. Jazzy and fun. Party like energy throughout. Really good blending of beats and samples. The album is coherent and all over the place at the same time. I think there's three or four vocalist on here. It adds to the chaotic feel of the album. Sometimes the business of the production reminds me of early Public Enemy albums. It sounds dated and modern at the same time. I'm reminded of Brockhampton or Danny Brown sometime and the Fresh Prince of Bel Air or the Beastie Boys. I've listened to this in the past and dismissed it based on the "Fresh Prince" type vocals, but there's also some Easy E type vocals...anyway the more I listen to this the more I come around. It's on the cusp of the early days of rap and moving forward...to the future. This is pretty good.

It's hard to listen to this album and not think back to when it was released. I was 20 years old and the record was absolutely huge when this came out. U2 was inescapable. I saw them on this tour and they played two nights at the Oakland Coliseum. That place probably hold 70,000 people. Half these songs are burned into my head thanks to much MTV and radio airplay. It's hard to listen to this album objectively. It's...U2. It's just understood, but listen to it I have. It's pretty good.

Very light psychedelic rock. Sounds like early 2000's.

I don't hate this.

Art pop? Minimalistic production lots of low key sounds and whisper singing. Abstract avant-pop? This came out in 2014 and certainly sounds like it could have come out yesterday in 2024 and would not be out of place at all. I've listened to this several times and I'm not sure what I think about it. I do think I need more time with it. I went and read some reviews and it turns out that it's a polarizing album. People either love it or hate it, but more people love it. 2/5

Mellow. Understated. Reminds me of early 2000's ...like Radiohead or something, or a long lost descendant of U2. It all sounds really samey. Singer sounds like he's singing the same song the whole album. He tone is almost a whisper sing and it verges on getting under my skin the whole time. Even with all these drawbacks this album isn't too bad. These guys are better than Coldplay. 3/5

This is one cohesive album! Mellow jazz vibes and in the pocket rhyming. Super smooth and a landmark album where the Jazz meets the Hip Hop in the perfect package. This is really good, but not hitting me personally. 3/5 -5/6/2024

High energy big band stuff and easy going mellow stuff. I don't care for much big bands but this is good. It came out in 1958 so that probably helps. I like this quite a bit actually.

I know Tainted Love of course and have always like it. Oddly enough I've never listened to this album. I have now and it's better than I expected. This is another of the 1001 that I need to listen to more. 3.5/5

I've never heard of this album or this person. I'm listening to the song "Queen of Denmark". Is this parody? We have a singer songwriter thing going on here. I assume the piano is his weapon of choice. These songs are really good and it's a nice listen. There's noticable a lot of playfulness in the lyrics. Sometime the music is very dramatic and the lyrics seem a little goofy at the same time. Maybe this guy is autistic. It's all very straightforward. There's a song about religion here and it goes pretty hard. Looks like this guy knows what he's doing after all. So after listening to the song "Sigourney Weaver" it clicked with me, the slice of life, storytelling style here is similar to Mark Kozelek/Sun Kil Moon. It's all a bit weird but engaging and interesting. The music is often times very dramatic and I'm getting Pink Floyd vibes every once in a while. This is really good. 4/5

I've never listened to a Morrissey album before. This rocks a little harder than I was expecting. This is good. Not quite great.

This one is a lot to think about. I like the Who quite a bit, but I never reach for this one when I want to listen to the Who. The good songs on here are some all time classics. The shorter/lesser songs that are used to progress the story are a bit samey. The whole album is a bit samey. It's a big undertaking and they pulled it off...basically.

There's a world music meets funk sort of thing going on here, coming out of the new wave-ish/punk-ish world. Some odd-ish vocal deliveries. This album is still pretty unique in 2024. I can only imagine how innovative it must have seemed in 1977. I don't really care for it too much. Psycho Killer is alright. 2/5 May 12 2024

Good vocalist singing over jazzy stuff. Like Joni Mitchell or something. Sometimes it;s country tinged. This is just fine, but not for me. 2/5

I've tried with this album a few times over the years. It's fine I suppose, but I'm not quite sure why so many people consider it an all time great, up the with Dark Side of The Moon and Abbey Road. It sounds English to me. It sounds outside the box and has some synth sounds and stuff. I guess it spoke to a generation that is not me. If feels like it's ground breaking and amazing if you've never listened to anything outside of top 40 popular music. One of the song on here really remind me of Steel Pole Bath Tub. This sounds post U2. It sounds cohesive as an album. The production is good. Everything is good. Just not one of the greatest rock albums of all time. Not for me. I'm not sure about what's going on with the lyrics and that might be a big part of it. 3.5/5

I like the Stooges better, but this isn't bad. 3.5/5

The production here is really good. A lot of sounds, a lot of layers and parts and stuff. This sounds like pandering. I don't know what year this came out, 2004? It sounds like a mish mash of popular things thrown together. There's a lot of voices on here. The one I hear once in a while that I assume is Cee-Low Green, I don't really care for the sound of his voice. There's some Soul singing and rapping. It's all over the place but cohesive. This album feels really long and the more it goes on the less I like it.

I'm like four songs in and I absolutely hate the drums on this album. I'm surprised by how bland and boring and generic this sounds. Did I say I really dislike the drum machine vibe this record gives off? After repeat listens. I like the songs with the darker vibes...the production is actually good in the sense...hearing the different elements going on, but it feels like the energy has been robbed. It sounds narrow. Thanks to the drums, it doesn't sound like a live band. It sounds like something that has been assembled. You know, like in Pro Tools or whatever.

Reminds me of the White Stripes, but less Blues more "Punk". I guess these guys were a good live act. The singer sometimes sounds like PJ Harvey or Chrissie Hynde. The song "Y Control" has a post punk thing going on that makes it probably my favorite song on here. "Modern Romance" goes a little more minimal which I also like.

This came out in 1989? and does not sound dated one bit. It's industrial-ish and ...cinematic? The singer has a deep gravelly voice that I don't really like. He sings in what I assume is French. I don't like industrial music and a lot of this leans pretty heavy into that. The songs are not obvious, so it keeps you engaged, but I don't really care for this.

It's like a New Wave band playing Classic Rock.

This was recorded over three sessions in 1949/50. Swing Jazz was on it's way out and Cool Jazz starts right here? This is the cool toe tapping kind of Jazz. They do it perfectly I assume. This is super easy to listen to, almost to the point of being background music. It's totally enjoyable. I think most any other music you listen from 1950 is immediately going to sound dated and of a completely different era. This stands the test off time and there's enough here that's been carried on over the years where it doesn't completely sound alien in 2024. This doesn't blow me away but it's 100 percent easy and pleasant to listen to. 3.5/5

I like PJ Harvey. This is not one of my favorites from her but its alright.

Musically this album has got Krautrock vibes. The vocals are airy dreamy style. I didn't know what to expect here, but this is really good. 5/24/2024

This is pleasant enough. Americana Folk Indie with some Western twang and some cinematic bits. The mellower parts of Neil Young and Thin White Rope come to mind. 3.5/5 5/27/24

This sounds like the other Joni Mitchell albums, Blue, Hijra...the Hissing Lawn one. I would have to listen to all of these back to back to sort out the differences. Lyrically this has some clever word play and musically the song mix it up and they don't all sound the same. This is just as good as her run of top shelf 70's albums. This might be the best one, I don't know, it's like splitting hairs. 3.5/5 5/28/2024

This sounds late 70's and I would say a bit ahead of it's time. I'm not Country expert. This is in the neighborhood of Gene Clark, but more country. Similar to what Elvis was doing later in the 70's...but more country. It's Country rock, but not quite Lynyrd Skynyrd...more Country.

4.5/5

I like how personal the production is here. I like Neil Young. There are several Neil Young albums I like more than this one, but this one is good as well.

A lot of guitar rock out over jazzy proggy tunes. Practically cop show jazz. Did I mention there's a lot of guitar rockin' out. It's Jazzy and pretty much an instrumental album. Jazzy and chaotic sometimes.

It's very English. It feels like outsider art. Like somebody who didn't know what he was doing decided to take on a grand project. An Opera, a concept album. It's serious and not serious. It's great storytelling.

Arty and Jazzy. Big beats.

This is garbage. Low energy forgetful boredom. I think this is the first album out of the 50 or so 1001 albums that I will not listen to ever again. There's nothing here that makes me think, "Maybe I'm missing something".

Very early 80's pop punk reminds me of the Vapors. The singer has a quivering voice like Jello Biafra. These guys are not political at all. Pretty good overall. 3.5/5 6/8/2024

This is pleasant enough. Male/Female vocals. Minimal pop tunes. Soft indie. Good modern sparse hip hop-ish production. 6/9/2024

I want this to remind me of Tom Petty, instead it reminds me of Billy Joel. I just do not enjoy listening to this. 6/10/2024

The first two songs I think we singles from this and the sound very similar. There is a bit of variety in some other songs. I don't care for those so much. The production is really good here. Makes the album tolerable.