Sounds 5/5 at times and some cool riffs sprinkled throughout but I couldn’t tell you many actual tracks that stood out.. also feels very lacking vocally for extended stretches. Missed potential IMO! Incinerate >

Was confused when I didn’t know the first song because I remember this album being massive. Bit of a slow start but then the album transitions into ‘Black Space’ which is a bit of a classic honestly - still remember the words 10 years on! I also really like the production on this song - there’s something uniquely infectious about it. There’s some other good hits on here: ‘Style’ and ‘Wildest Dreams’ to name some. But in my opinion this album is very hits reliant and I don’t come out of it thinking about the album, just the big songs. A really enjoyable listen though! Personally ‘folklore’ is my favourite Taylor Swift album, with its folk style, so I hope to see this on the list one day as I imagine Mum and Dad didn’t enjoy this album much haha. Screw it, this is getting a 4, there’s too many memorable songs.

“We have Jimi Hendrix at home”

Never heard of this one before, groovy though and enjoyed having it on when writing my essay. Would give a 4* but I think that I will like most of the 1001 so will be harsh :)

Nirvana so it is still great. I know some people call this a classic and I can see its importance but I wouldn’t jump to listen to the whole thing through again! Great ending though. Favourite track: All Apologies

A masterclass in early hiphop sampling but maybe a bit bloated in the middle - could be better at 40 mins long. Social commentary has never sounded so cool 😎 Favourite track: Welcome To The Terrordome

No Woman No Cry 🥲

Felt so wrong not having Will Smith come in on the opener. Honesfly 2 feels harsh because I liked it but I think its better suited for a venue. Favourite Track: You’re a Friend to Me

Besides Tiny Dancer I’m not too sure about this. Indian Sunset was a bit of a weird listen. He can definitely sing well it just doesn’t click with me overall. Favourite song: Tiny Dancer

I probably won’t return to this often but that is partly because of it’s inaccessibility!! a weird fusion of sounds, definitely worth the listen favourite track: kerosene

A cool listen without loads of standout moments for me, but I also had it on while working on an essay so I’m not sure if that affected things. Funky album :)

‘Bridges’ by these two is a 5* for me! I unfortunately only had time for a few songs from this so anything other than a 3 would be unfair.. i really like their aura

This album definitely loses steam after a really strong start with an absolute classic to open. Also feels pretty dated for the most part and doesn’t hold up amazingly, but has some great moments.

The first truly top tier album of this list I think! If you could tell me how it could be better at what it does then please tell me! Awesome influences, sampling, and bass-lines, with consistently great vocals on top. Game show skit to string it all together gives a reason to listen to it all in order! Favourite track: Tread Water

Early in it’s genre and comes across that way, not bad in any way but not very memorable to me for either, and so I likely won’t be coming back to this one! Favourite track: Eight miles high

Actually had a sneaky look at the reviews before writing my own and what Mum said hits the nail on the head for me.. just not my cup of tea! Had some moments of cool wacky production though, especially the guitar solos on Editions of You. Favourite track: Editions Of You

A fun opportunity to listen to an early release from Lenny Kravitz, as I am a big fan of some of his releases during the 90s and definitely think he has gone under the radar as years have gone by. ‘Mama Said’ in 1991 was definitely where he hit full stride for me, and I think that shows here.. good stuff but not quite hitting the spot as much as his other work. Feels a bit lacking, hard to explain.

Finishing a great weekend with back to back albums.. first up Adele. Must be said that I appreciate Adele’s thing of naming albums after her age; with the songs telling the story of her life at her current age. Cool stuff! I found the opener overrated when it came out, and I still find Hello a bit anti-climactic and it surprises it was such a big single.. That being said, the 3 track run that follows it (Send My Love, I Miss You, and When We Were Young) are really brilliant - such a powerful voice and great music behind it. Remedy is where things slow down a little but it is still a good listen, definitely demands full listening attention but doesn’t justify having it as much as the previous few songs. Million Years Ago is a good song too. I do think the Adele formula grows a bit stale on me over the course of 11 songs but I think it remains consistently decent - and the quality of tracks 2, 3, and 4 can’t be denied! Very curious to see everyone else’s reviews for this one :)) Favourite track: I Miss You

Never massively rated U2 coming into this, but did enjoy some of their bangers (namely With Or Without You and Beautiful Day). Some heavy topics covered, such as the impacts of Bloody Sunday, which they covered in an impactful way. I do just find the U2 sound pretty dull though honestly, and don’t see many standout moments from a musical perspective, besides maybe the guitar solo on New Years Day. Vanilla ice cream for the ears, especially the vocals here. Maybe biased as I never fully forgave Bono for forcing his album onto everyone’s iPod around 2012 😂 Favourite track: New Year’s Day

No doubt Tom Waits is doing some cool, experimental, artistic stuff here, and I am glad I got to listen to this as it sure was an experience. I do just think its often lacking the logical flow and consistent quality that makes an enjoyable experience which I would be interested in returning to. +1 for the creativity but it does seem like he threw a lot of it together after a few too many beers at the saloon. I also really can’t take some moments like In The Neighbourhood and Down Down Down seriously with that voice, maybe it is an acquired taste. 😅 Favourite track: Gin Soaked Boy (maybe? the guitar was groovy)

It’s Sunday afternoon, it’s sunny, and you’re walking down the street in sliders. You also probably have sunglasses on. These guys would get along with Jack Johnson probably. Favourite tracks: Garbage Man,

Listening to this felt really nostalgic, like going back to summer’s days when I was only 7 and still pronounced three as free. David James is still England’s number 1, the Argos catalogue exists, and I’m eating boiled eggs with salad cream. I want salad cream now. Warming music and just flows very nicely as an album. I enjoyed a lot 🙂 Favourite track: War on War

YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Favourite track: yes

From track 1 alone I was already fairly confident that this would end up something I like. It’s like elevator music for a ride up to space. I’ve been going on a bit of a deep dive into ambient style music whilst studying recently through the likes of Brian Eno, C418, Mogwai, Sigur Ros, Floating Points, and some others, and so this really hit the spot for me. Favourite track: All I Need

Lots of cool songs but I’m not a fan of the format! I didn’t find it as perfect of a Thin Lizzy listening experience as one could get, maybe just not a fan of the recording style. Favourite track: The Boys Are Back In Town

I haven’t really ever gotten into Beck and this one didn’t convert me. So varied but I don’t really know if it justifies why? Idk hard to put my finger on. Not bad just not my thing.

After the Star Wars Tie Fighter intro, which gives some extra credit in my books, this was immediately sounding like a hybrid of Muse and Arctic Monkeys instrumentally, so bizarre how it seemed to ebb and flow between the two sounds (whilst also coming before both). Definitely strongest at the beginning though, and steadily tails off after the first few songs. Some songs that have been firmly added to my rotation but definitely wont listen to the album itself over and over. Favourite track: the opener!!

I really love Prince, I think he was one of the best live performers ever and I would’ve loved to see him in concert. However I feel like the magic of that wasn’t quite caught yet with this album, it didn’t fully show his skills as one of the best guitarists/frontmen in the business! Stronger start but tails off toward the end. Favourite track: 1999

This is great, perfect atmosphere music on a summer afternoon/evening. Makes me feel like I’m on holiday! Favourite track: The Girl From Ipanema

Maybe I have a negative bias having heard Wilco not long ago, but this just felt more flat and undeserving of being on this list. Just nothing much to report really, felt like more of the same and didn’t need to be a whole double album!

Bro just spoke facts over the most GNARLY reggae beats for half an hour. Jokes aside, this is excellent. Really no point in the tracklist that I wanted to turn off, and that is a great album to me. The incredible bass and tune of the opener is a highlight for me, but this energy persists throughout without being overbearing. Would have loved to have seen this live in its prime 😆

A real experience of an album. I loved the multiple parts of Another Brick In The Wall running throughout, and the wall coming down at the end was really cool. A little drawn out but they own it. Favourite tracks: Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2, Comfortably Numb, Run Like Hell

Really strong start with some songs that I recognised. Guitar riffs and solos are solid throughout but the overall quality of songs does seem to slow down as you listen further. I did enjoy this though, and didn’t realise how popular these guys are?! Favourite song: Walk of life

A decent album that left me with no strong feelings or opinions. Relatively inoffensive with some good tunes sprinkled throughout. Not a massive fan of the lead singers voice and it did break the immersion for me now and then. Recognise a few songs from Dad playing also (the better ones in the track-list of course). Perfectly fine, but wont be returning most likely! Favourite track: Pump It Up

A ‘sprawl’ of an album that manages to have relatively consistent high notes throughout. The Suburbs is one of my favourite songs ever! It’s so patient and subtle, slowly morphing in instrumentation as it progresses. I feel like it resembles the steady yet inevitable trudge away from childhood into adulthood. The imagery buried within the lyrics of this song are spectacular, too. Loads of other great moments throughout (Ready To Start, Empty Room, Month of May, Wasted Hours, Sprawl II). Similarly to The Wall, The Suburbs creates an atmosphere and sticks to it expertly. Also similarly to The Wall, it is a tad drawn out and is just off of the peak of this band. Still a great listen though. Favourite track: The Suburbs

It is brilliant, I know that it is. I enjoyed the listen, I did. It’s hard to explain, but I just don’t see that I will listen to this album in full very often though! It demands the attention a little too much to be good background music, and sometimes feels a little too static to be an enjoyable focused listen. This was groundbreaking, but has since been surpassed (even by Daft Punk themselves). Nonetheless, super groovy and I have a lot of love for the robots 🤖 🤖 Favourite track: Da Funk

Wasn’t particularly engrossed while listening to this one. I do like a few Madonna songs but the ones I know of weren’t on this album. Just felt a little indifferent towards this, not much to say. :)

Already 1 star from the album cover alone. 🤮🤮🤮🤮

Just atmospheric music! Not a bad listen but left no strong opinions on me and probably won’t be coming back as a result. I’m sure it would be great to hear live in a cool venue, though. Maybe not quite a 1001 greatest album for me, but definitely better than the last one 😵‍💫

Despite his creativity it just is genuinely dreadful if you actually have ears.

Sounds 5/5 at times and some cool riffs sprinkled throughout but I couldn’t tell you many actual tracks that stood out.. also feels very lacking vocally for extended stretches. Missed potential IMO! Incinerate >

Blimey these guys didn’t start out all that great?! The groundwork for their future success and best stuff is there, but this definitely doesn’t really have the magic of their classics. Similarly to with Sonic Youth, I didn’t find myself convinced by the vocals, and the instrumentals to match felt a bit weaker, hence the lower rating. I am also wanting to hear some punk on this list that feels more angry and passionate!! With Zack De La Rocha of Rage Against The Machine, for example, you can really feel his burning frustration through his voice! I want that!

I enjoyed Air and Daft Punk a lot, and considering that: I should have anticipated how much I would like this! I have always been aware of Kraftwerk (there were many tributes to them in Berlin when I visited) but have never listened. Despite being surpassed technologically by many that have come since, something about the minimalist soundscapes here is totally unmatched. The simplicity makes this one all the more effective. The long tracks and short runtime suits it perfectly, and I couldn’t have asked for more. Strongly approved by Lucy too.. WE ARE THE ROBOTS 🤖 Favourite tracks: The Robots, The Model

Does anyone else hear how this albums first 10 seconds sounds a lot like Stairway to Heaven?? Just me?? Ok. Awesome intimate guitar on the first track, don’t think his voice is strong but I do love the atmosphere. This just deserves some slightly better vocals I think. Quickly realised from track 2 that it wasn’t going to take the sound any further, though. A pleasant listen but not that rewarding as an album for me. Too one dimensional without enough to justify it? Favourite track: September Song

Snoop Dogg has great cadence and charisma that’s for sure, but for me it doesn’t change the fact that the G-Funk sound isn’t all that hard hitting for me. For me, mid-90s rap was being led by the south, with acts like OutKast from Atlanta pushing much better storytelling into their songs than I got here from Snoop. Beats are cool but that can also be seen done better elsewhere. I have always just felt Snoop Dogg is at his best as a feature on Dr Dre songs, where the production punches harder.

Similarly to Willie Nelson, I didn’t feel like this album caught my attention enough or felt like a rewarding full listen. Didn’t know that the opening two tracks were these guys though! The more you know 🧠

Despite being a fan, I had never heard their debut before. This was a great opportunity to do so. I didn’t expect their sound to seem so fleshed out at this early stage, and so was pleasantly surprised. There’s something about the noise of their guitars that is truly satisfying, despite its simplicity. Feels like a radio station you’d have playing on a drive through a cactus filled desert. 🌵 Favourite track(s): Regular John, How To Handle A Rope

WOW! I really didn’t expect this album to grow on me so rapidly throughout one single listen. My Sweet Lord is a classic, but I do think that the level of exposure I have had to it has slightly dampened it’s impact on me… I am unsure why 😉. My first big favourite came with Behind That Locked Door: so pretty sounding! I Live For You, All Things Must Pass, and Hear Me Lord were additional high notes. But then, as if out of nowhere, came that last however many songs of pure instrumental. I was engrossed the whole time while cleaning out my room! Soulful, Bluesy, Jazzy, Rocky, and everything in between. Prime example of respecting the listeners time; making a comparatively lengthy album justified in it’s length and not over-indulgent. At times, I felt notes of Elton John-y stuff, but somehow this felt different and better in every possible way. A perfect victory lap after his Beatles success - thanks for the experience, George @ Co.

To me it’s unbelievable that Here Comes The Sun, Come Together, Something, and Golden Slumbers (four legendary rock tracks), are all on the same album - and yet still somehow get overshadowed by Octopus’s Garden. P.S. I enjoy The End a lot because it is the only Beatles song where all 3 guitarists do a guitar solo. They trade off during that instrumental section!

“My mom couldn’t find a place to rest, until I got that ‘thug life’ tatted on my chest”. I think that line from So Many Tears sums up why 2Pac is so great. His music tells stories of dreadful violence, pain, and suffering, but does not glorify his life. In fact, it shows how this life was the only feasible route to achieve any relative comfort (let alone success) out of deprived communities on the West Coast of the states in the 90s. One of the biggest disservices to rap music is to write it off as harmful notions of violence that do not need to be shared with the world. People like 2Pac told real stories that shoved the truth of systemically oppressed African American communities into the mainstream, into the face of those living comfortable lives that often profited off of their suffering. Yes such lyrics made, and make, people uncomfortable, but why shouldn’t they? I’m sure life was a lot more uncomfortable for kids like 2Pac who grew up with crime as their only way out of absolute poverty, than for outsiders hearing their stories. Favourite track(s): So Many Tears, Dear Mama, Old School

Experimental mumbling

From track 1 this came off like a worse version of the clash album we reviewed. I really just don’t get that feeling that they truly care out of these songs. Feels like it lacks genuineness and it lost me very quickly as such.

Such a funny experience having a focused listen of an album I’ve heard in passing for my whole life! Makes me think of Lentil Pie 🥧 Maybe nostalgia attached to my enjoyment, but music is all about that right? Feel like I’m out by a campfire in the woods with this one, with the light slowly fading. Favourite track: Time Has Told Me

I have to admit I didn’t finish this. Dull and more dull.

I am a big fan of a large handful of Kinks songs, but have never really sat down with an album - and from what I can tell this probably wasn’t their biggest or best albums. A few lyrics and tracks come off as a bit outdated, which felt unfair to judge them on, but I don’t get that feeling from some other music from the same era. Definitely some gems in there that bring up the scorecard though - namely ‘Sunny Afternoon’ which is a bit of an all time classic in the Lovesey family lore if you ask me. That song will always remind me of boiled eggs and salad cream in the garden at Wickery Dene and High Street 😆

no

Not a bad listen but definitely some questionable tracks that have aged badly. Thriller is just better tbh. Although PYT from that one also aged badly.. (cough cough Leaving Neverland) Maybe MJ has just aged badly in general 😬 That aside I did really enjoy some tracks so he’s managed to snatch a 3. Favourites: Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Man In The Mirror, Smooth Criminal

Fun noise but nothing outstanding about many individual tracks. I enjoyed the fast pace of it though. Maybe just felt a bit one dimensional - but still good!

There’s a really specific, hazy nostalgia that I get from old Coldplay, and another really specific, subtle euphoric feeling that their guitars give when they lift off on songs like Yellow. ‘Don’t Panic’ and ‘Sparks’ were probably my favourites though - their soft, campfire song like sound really hits the spot. I think that after ‘Trouble’ the album kinda fades off though, which is why I’ve given a 4.

Not much to note here on my end - great band name though 😆

This felt like a social experiment, an alternate reality when The Strokes weren’t as cool and were actually a bit weird.

Is this the American Dream? 😵

Starts groovy and the guitars are really nice throughout. Reminds me of Khruangbin at times! Just all blended together a bit in my listen - but a very decent listen!

Gloomy and mysterious, done right. Favourite track: Wandering Star

It’s fun but it isn’t much more in my opinion. A very decent listen but I do find myself surprised that this made the list with all the great albums put out in the early 2000s.

I appreciate Talking Heads but less of what has made them cool to me was present here than I expected.. maybe more of this comes in later albums?

Unjustifiably bloated, no offence but it shouldn’t be on the list.

Was confused when I didn’t know the first song because I remember this album being massive. Bit of a slow start but then the album transitions into ‘Black Space’ which is a bit of a classic honestly - still remember the words 10 years on! I also really like the production on this song - there’s something uniquely infectious about it. There’s some other good hits on here: ‘Style’ and ‘Wildest Dreams’ to name some. But in my opinion this album is very hits reliant and I don’t come out of it thinking about the album, just the big songs. A really enjoyable listen though! Personally ‘folklore’ is my favourite Taylor Swift album, with its folk style, so I hope to see this on the list one day as I imagine Mum and Dad didn’t enjoy this album much haha. Screw it, this is getting a 4, there’s too many memorable songs.

I ended up having this on for a couple hours (discs 1-3) whilst coding my interview. A bit dated, especially on the songwriting and structure front, but she has a great voice and the music matches her well to create a very warm atmosphere. It’s like sitting in an armchair before a warm cosy fireplace with a mug of cocoa. I do think this isn’t much of an album, in the sense that we think of albums today, but it was a good listen nonetheless. Don’t think many songs will enter my rotation, hence the score, but I did enjoy this :D.

pedo music wtf?

Did Tim Buckley’s relative make this list?

Marvin Gaye can and did do so much better. I reckon he knew it too. Still ok to listen to, but a similar experience to that White Stripes album for me.

What a unique listening experience! Somehow it didn’t take long at all for me to slip into the groove of this despite the contrast between the soothing instrumentals his rough, aged voice. Somehow this came off like a slower, darker parallel to the Moon Safari album by Air for me. Totally opposite but yet similar in its constant groove and ambiance. Really enjoyed the piano work, bass-lines, etc. and Leonard had a lot to say. A cool experience!

This has too many classics to be denied really. I’m not sure what they were putting in certain music at this time to make it pop the way it does. Wanna Be Startin Something is a cool high tempo start, the Paul McCartney feature is random to say the least, but then the album really takes off. Thriller is cinematic and awesome, always reminding me of that one Preston Hedges performance we did, but Billie Jean steals the show. Michael Jacksons moonwalk routine during the instrumental is etched in my memory. I cant hear it without seeing it! One of the best songs ever for sure. -1 star for PYT because, lets be honest, thats aged a bit badly 😵

A testament to how much sound design can influence the outcome of an album. Feels like Kate Bush was held back by the technical aspects of the recordings. Hopefully some of her classic albums come up later :)

Just more jamming style stuff.

Lots to love about this actually! Run, Baby, Run reminds me of something that you’d see on These Days by Bon Jovi! Cool vibes :)

I never knew that Johnny Cash covered In My Life! Very cool. This album was a wise old man telling old tales near the end of his time. A unique experience. Favourite song: Hurt (only correct answer)

I didn’t recognise this band by name, so was surprised to see how popular they are! 2 songs exceeding a billion streams! The sound was nice and rich across this album, and it had a hazy, relaxed feel to it. I recognised Proud Mary, that was the best tune. The outro song was slightly odd though haha. Decent sounding album but I have no idea what to take from it.

This album was really it. I felt like I was in Tron. La Roux/Grimes/The 1975/The xx hybrid in the best way possible. I am now a CHVRCHES fan! Gonna be replaying this one a lot.

No joke, you could insert the chorus from Hit Me Baby One More Time into most other songs in this album and it wouldn’t feel out of place. Listen to track 2 and think of ‘my loneliness, is killing meee’ coming in at any point and you’ll see what I mean. 😂 ‘Born To Make You Happy’ is meant to be a sweet apology type song but it honestly comes off a bit intense and creepy.. ‘From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart’ is painful too. Note: this is coming from someone who thinks Britney Spears has some tunes (Toxic, Piece of Me…) This is bad bad.

Similar to you guys, I had no clue these guys existed. Wasn’t particularly blown away myself but it was very listenable while working. Call album cover too 😆

Not much to note, was listening while doing some work.. didn’t catch my attention. Sorry Iggy :(

Some classics beats but not as hard hitting as Dr. Dre’s other solo album - 2001. Still the quintessential example of the G-Funk sound and I really appreciate the instrumentals. Not a massive fan of this one lyrically, though, and that does bring down the experience. The gang culture around rap was real, and a reflection of racial inequalities at the time, so I have never had an issue with gangsta rap: it’s just the blatant misogyny that is a little tough to look past for me and brings this one down a lot. It’s also a bit too bloated.

YAWN. PLEASE MAKE ME THINK OR FEEL SOMETHING.

A trippy dive into the world of Jimi. Many of the songs don’t stand out to me as specifically memorable, with the exception of Little Wing which is one of the best songs ever. When the guitars take off there’s nothing else quite like it. Besides that though, I think the selling point of this album is it’s overall sonic landscape. Feels like being transported to a parallel universe. Can see how many people were massively inspired. It’s amazing this was around at the same time as The Beatles.. so many sounds that inspired hard rock etc seem to have come from Jimi! Favourite tracks: Little Wing, If 6 Was 9

Some mates sat down and found out they were decent at guitar so found a recorder and got cracking. Sounds alright but there’s no reason to re-listen to this.

What a rich and soothing sound this album has in places! I once read that The Smashing Pumpkins capture nostalgia through instrumentals like no one else, and that is definitely true with songs like 1979. My favourite on this album was actually a track that I am unfamiliar with - Galapagos. What an amazing tune!! A little oversized, hence the 4, but a great listen which put some songs in my rotation.

I steady began to enjoy this one more as it went on. The Resistance by Muse had it’s foundations set in 1974 by a band called Queen! This is glam rock 101. Not too many standout moments but I really loved the big dramatic finale.

This album comes out with its strongest song, White Orchid, and then just fades slowly. White Stripes have a cool cool sound but it doesn’t necessarily translate over a full album. Most of their best songs aren’t on here, either (see Icky Thump, Fell In Love With A Girl, Seven Nation Army)

I’ve never liked musicals.. and this feels like musical music. Almost sounds like a parallel universe where Lady Gaga travelled backward in time, lost her vocal skills, and became German - which if you hadn’t guessed, doesn’t sound great. I also highly recommend looking for the 1001 albums related comments below the youtube upload - well worth the read 😆

This was a vibe. I actually didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. It’s a dreary, miserable day in Howdon but this made me feel like I was doing my work from the back of a dimly lit jazz hop bar in the 90s. Weirdly enough, I found this pretty similar to the Air album at times. Cool stuff, D’Angelo!

As dad says in his review, Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car stand-in performance at Wembley is the stuff of music legend. A great song. She has a really powerful voice and I enjoyed the listen, it just didn’t really throw any surprises at me.

Bob Dylan is highly influential and respected, having a big impact on many artists that I love, but he just hasn’t quite clicked with me yet! The storytelling is intriguing but I find the sound of the album relatively one-dimensional, and so I struggled to maintain focus on the stories. His voice also isn’t quite working for my yet, nor are the harmonica solos. Emphasis on the YET with this, because I am sure that I will understand this music more in the future (like I have with Nick Drake and Van Morrison recently). Still not a bad listen, just not many highlight moments that will have me coming back for now. I also struggle to see an atmosphere that suits sticking his music on at this point in time. p.s. I am aware this will likely be controversial. I have no regrets.

Wow I love moments like this! ‘Four Women’ is sampled in a Jay Z song from 2016 titled ‘The Story of OJ’. I highly credit Hip Hop for getting me into Soul music like this - and I love learning about the connections between the two. ‘What More Can I Say?’ is great, I bet Muse wish they wrote this. Really see inspiration from these soul singers in some of their slower songs. ‘Lilac Wine’! I love the Jeff Buckley version. This is good too. Overall I like the atmosphere and how it is recorded. The band is awesome and Nina Simone is even better. Something however does stop this from being something I see myself regularly returning to. This made me want to listen to Bridges by Gil Scott Heron.. can’t believe it’s not on Spotify anymore :(

“We have Jimi Hendrix at home”

More of the same feeling as from Highway 61, except in Live form. Some of the songs felt so dragged out and lacked a bit of solid rhythm that would really elevate them. I can see Dylan’s influence on songwriting and guitaring but his contemporaries (Beatles etc) elevated his style by converting it into fully fledged songs with more enjoyable and rewarding structures for the listener.

What an amazing listen! I apologise for submit my review late, I did it yesterday and totally forgot to hit submit this morning. Every song was so rich and tuneful. Otis really does have one of the most iconic voices. I found that he recorded Dock of the bay just 3 days before tragically passing in a plane crash. So sad but meaningful that he got to record his magnum opus just before going. Although that track didn’t make this album, A Change is Gonna Come, Down In The Valley, My Girl, and his far superior version of Can’t Get No Satisfaction all more than made up for its absence. This one brought light to my Thursday morning, and for that it deserves the highest praise :)

A nothingy listen for me. Didn’t leave much of an impression on me at all. Fine but not much more.

It’s a classic for good reason! Although often reflecting sounds of the past the album doesn’t come across like a cheap imitation in the slightest. Some of the lyrical passages are just awesome, and pairing that with her unique delivery makes for something that will always unmistakably be Amy Winehouse. I do find it amazing how with just this one album she was forever cemented as a musical legend (I know she had one or two others but this was THE album). Sometimes, 2 sides of a record is all someone needs to make their mark forever. ‘Love Is A Losing Game’ is always one I think of when discussing Amy Winehouse but I forgot how good ‘Back To Black’ really is! Whoa! ‘Wake Up Alone’ also stood out on the back end and stopped this from slipping to a 4 for me.

What a weird album. Never seen anyone commit a whole track to their fans praising them as if they’re the second coming of christ before. The immediate tone shift from “Christina Aguilera saved me from killing myself” to “Nasty Naughty Boy” was really something to behold. Radiohead did dramatic left turns between albums. Christina Aguilera clearly does them within albums.. I have also never found a so called ‘tribute to those that inspire me’ so artificial seeming. The random backing vocals shouting names of soul singers really baffled me. “Otis Redding!”… like ok? 😂 I have to say, Candyman is a throwback from the radio when we were younger, however I’m pretty sure the radio version wasn’t quite so explicit - or at least we didn’t realise it 😂

An odd tonal shift on the final track brought this down a star. Otherwise, a nice bit of music! Didn’t overstay it’s welcome and felt like a portal into an old film. Definitely felt like it could be an old 70s. movie soundtrack.

Cool guitar noise from some very talented guitarists. HOWEVER, I can’t help but find music a bit dull when everything is so full on all the time. It’s almost like it all blurs together and becomes less impactful as a result. I might be talking nonsense, but it just didn’t wow me somehow.

Constant grooves but not much more

I think when you can call an album THE Oasis album, it is probably quite good. Obviously Don’t Look Back In Anger/Wonderwall are great, but I had a lot of good things to say about Roll With It, Morning Glory, She’s Electric, and even Talk Tonight (which might not be on the original listing idk). This was going to be a 4, as some of the songs in the middle/back end drone on a little bit for me, but then Champagne Supernova comes on and you can’t help but feel like it was all part of the plan to build up to such a finale. Epic song.

Heroes is one of the best songs ever, but also just about all I knew from this album going in. The rest of the album has some down moments but also some weird and wonderful instrumental moments that I really liked. I also really like how Bowie experimented with vocal effects. Quirky breaks are then pulled back around into some cool tracks too. :)

Eek. I’m with Sam on this one. I’ll give it points for clearly having a creative spark behind it, and not being soulless, but for the most part this was pretty unlistenable. The song about someone’s Dad passing just didn’t come across as in good taste at all to me, the use of so many strange ways of delivering the vocals really devalued the significance of the story. I won’t listen to this album again, that’s for sure.

A bit rough around the edges, shall we say.

The thing that stood out to me the most about this album is the way it expertly executed LAYERING. There is so much going on in these beats and that makes the songs so engrossing and groovy. Not much separates the type of riding groove of these tracks from those you’d see in hip hop tracks. Definitely could imagine a rapper jumping onto lots of these songs. ‘The Great Curve’ was a standout for that reason; I just love how it grows and grows. Infectious. Enjoyed the vocals here and there were some gnarly guitar riffs too. ‘Once In A Lifetime’ is fantastic too. What a legendary chorus!! It just sounds so perfect. To be fair, the talking style delivery of the vocals plays into my hip hop comparison on this track too. Thoroughly enjoyable album. :)

Didn’t know Bowie could rock out like this. 🪨 🤘 Felt like it wasn’t memorable enough for a 4, but much enjoyed.

the doors didn’t quite get fours from me

Sometimes being full-on all the time makes full-on feel less full-on… if you know what I mean. This one was a bit too musical theatre-y for my liking too, and lacked anything that I would call essential Queen listening. Strange, considering it’s one of their most iconic album covers.

A consistent but unremarkable listen for me

Gonna say it, Song 2 is overrated 😳 The rest of the album hardly grabbed my attention, either.

Alllllll the people. This album starts off really strong for me but tails off significantly. I really like the opener though; it’s a classic and the weird, harsh, grating guitars sound so perfect.

Some of the ‘best albums ever’ are a bit overrated. This album makes other 5s not feel like 5s. It’s a 6, hell maybe a 7. Let Down is the song that got me properly into OK Computer. I remember listening to it while doing coursework in class during A Level Geography. It’s genuinely a perfect song. Devastating, soul destroying even, but beautiful at the same time. I think the whole album is a commentary on the modern world we are creating for ourselves; while desperate for completion and perfection, we are actually striving further and further from it. In a way, we are becoming slaves to our own way of life. ‘Airbag’ poses the dilemma of modern technology, it can have great power to ‘help’ us driver faster, go places quicker, but demands that we put our lives in its hands to do so, becoming less and less ‘us’ in the process. I think ‘Fitter Happier’ puts it well, as it describes the average human experience through the filter of a robotic voice over an undoubtedly depressing instrumental. ‘The Tourist’ is a plea to reconsider, because where on Earth do we possibly need to be going at ‘a thousand feet per second’, if we are losing ourselves in the process? Maybe we aren’t on the right path to anywhere on Earth anymore, and instead are travelling on the highway to a dark, dystopian, alien future. ‘Idiots, slow down’ is the most up-front part of the plea. Maybe it refers to the uncontrolled pace of modern technological progress, but maybe it also refers to people who are getting in the car crashes described in ‘Airbag’, bringing the album full circle? Maybe if we just slowed down, we wouldn’t need technology to save us so often (when in fast German cars, but also in more general life). TLDR: this album made me sad. :(

This just doesn’t click with me. There is potential and artistic vision, but I hit a bit of a Tom Waits-type wall when trying to listen to this. Not for me, but not devoid of interesting ideas.

Pleasant listening but lacks the sonic depth of more recent folk classics from the likes of Fleet Foxes. I enjoyed the opening track a lot, though.

It’s amazing how much PERCUSSION can help music. This took Bob Dylan’s music from coming across as pretty aimless and wishy-washy to something with some drive and intent. The opening track is probably my favourite song from Bob so far, and the overall more limited (although still present) harmonica across the album was appreciated. Vocals were a bit better, but I think it is only because they received more of a touch-up than in other records. Better, but still not remarkable.

Degenerate rock. Live Fast Die Young just sucks so much I hate it. The moral of ‘Back against the wall’ is literally: protest all you like but you’ll just get arrested. I don’t know if this was meant to be a Fight The Power type song but it comes off as the opposite. 14 songs in 15 mins is pretty hilarious though. Slightly less impressive when they all sound the same… I didn’t even realise it had gotten back to the start.

The recording, the instrumentals, the voice, can’t really be imitated. To someone born in 2002, Frank Sinatra always feels like this hazy, rose-tinted window to the past. This also made me think of Christmas songs. It’s only November 8th. Boo. 👎

Incredible start but it does slowly fade, for me. First 2 tracks are excellent music. :)

A rather ill communication! Never listened to this album in full before, and was pleasantly surprised by how accurately it reflects the atmosphere of a live hiphop show. I recently listened to a Rick Rubin podcast on spotify where he discussed the past disconnect between hiphop on record and at concerts, and how the beastie boys was an attempt to merge the two. I think it succeeded! I also appreciated the cool instrumental breaks throughout. Vocals and backing band felt very much in harmony.

Emotional. Cinematic. Euphoric. Thought-provoking. This album feels like it constantly rises to reach new heights, new peaks, new crescendos. A great first-time listening experience, despite having no specific standout moments.