Apr 30 2024
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Stand!
Sly & The Family Stone
Everyday People is the only track I had heard before listening to the album, good song. Title track is good and the funky jams are cool but not something I would listen to much.
3
May 01 2024
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In Utero
Nirvana
Not as catchy & melodic as 'Nevermind'. Only All Apologies and Dumb stand out for me, so sad & honest, the unplugged versions are even better.
3
May 02 2024
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Fear Of A Black Planet
Public Enemy
Public Enemy sound like nobody else. Such a musical mash up and Chuck D is a great voice. Only heard a couple of tracks before and the whole album deserves more listens, the words matter and I read some while listening. Gets an extra star for Fight The Power alone!
4
May 03 2024
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Natty Dread
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Love them but somehow this doesn't really grab me. Brilliant recording though, sounds so good 50 years on. The first 3 tracks are great but as a complete album 'Catch A Fire' is still my favourite.
3
May 06 2024
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We Are Family
Sister Sledge
Sister Sledge, I never liked them! I still don't like anything on this album except one song. Hearing it for the first time on a good speaker, with the volume up high, the guitar, bass & percussion on 'Thinking of You' sound great!
2
May 07 2024
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Madman Across The Water
Elton John
Overblown nonsense, it's just so boring. .Next......
1
May 08 2024
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Atomizer
Big Black
Abrasive but weirdly cool. 'Kerosene' is a mad highlight, growling bass and spiky guitars. I can hear Killing Joke and Jesus & Mary Chain in them and I think Nirvana and Bloc Party (!) took elements from them. Not bad but I won't be playing them regularly :)
3
May 09 2024
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One Nation Under A Groove
Funkadelic
Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock? Not me :) The first 40 minutes are a right old mix of funk psychedelia and craziness (a sermon about a deadly sandwich?) Echoes of Pink Floyd give a hint of where it's heading so I listened to the last 20 minutes lying in dark. Wow, it's fantastic! Like Dark Side of The Moon plus Jimi Hendrix. Earned the album another star as the last section is XXXXX. I will definitely listen to this again and it certainly deserves to be in the top 1001.
4
May 10 2024
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Winter In America
Gil Scott-Heron
I like him but don't like the ultra slow jazz style of most of this album. One big exception is the live track, 'Watergate Blues' is great.
2
May 13 2024
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Aftermath
The Rolling Stones
Interesting listen as I'd never heard this album before. It sums The Stones up for me, Jumping Jack(?) flashes of brilliance but otherwise just average. They sound so cool on Paint It Black and Under My Thumb but clunky elsewhere and the songs aren't great. To be fair I think their best albums came a few years later.
3
May 14 2024
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3 Feet High and Rising
De La Soul
This was huge. Hippy/trippy, fun, likeable, and so much in the melting pot. 'Eye Know' still stands out and 'A Little Bit of Soap' is hilarious! Overall it's too long for me, the best 40 minutes would make a much better album.1989 was a great yearππ©·π§‘ππ»πΌπ·
4
May 15 2024
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Fifth Dimension
The Byrds
I absolutely love The Byrds guitar sound. Add the vocals & harmonies and they were so cool, at their best the music somehow just connects emotionally. This is not their best set of songs but I could listen to that 12 string Rickenbacker all day. 'Eight Miles High' still sounds incredible and always will, play it over and over. 'What's Happening?' and 'Captain Soul' are great too.
They mixed with Dylan and The Beatles, influenced each other, created their own thing and influenced every folky jangly melodic guitar band that followed them: CSN, Neil Young, The Smiths, REM, Lloyd Cole, Teenage Fanclub, early Primal Scream, The Stone Roses, Crowded House, Fleet Foxes and more. I love them and so many of the bands they influenced.
4
May 16 2024
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For Your Pleasure
Roxy Music
Final album with Brian Eno, before they gradually smoothed out their sound. Some great music but the lyrics and vocals try too hard to be weird at times. 'Editions of You' is a banger! Grey Lagoons is good and the title track is a brilliant closer, really atmospheric.
3
May 17 2024
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Let Love Rule
Lenny Kravitz
I thought I'd like this, I wanted to like it, but I didn't like it!
He's talented and I always thought he was cool but not so much here. Some of the themes are important but it's way too self-righteous and preachy for me, Christian rock?
The garden song is awful! Mr Cab Driver was probably my favourite.
2
May 20 2024
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25
Adele
By far the best thing about this album is the production. Big and bold, perfect for her audience and earns the second star. The less I say about the songs and her voice the better!
Favourite song? Rolling in the Deep
2
May 21 2024
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War
U2
I bought this one and played it lots! Side A is great, love it. Side B not as good, apart from Two Hearts. Bono really finding (and using) his voice, he had plenty to say! Still has the raw energy (Like A Song x) but you can hear their sound developing. Global stardom awaits!
Favourite songs: the first four and Two Hearts Beat As One.
4
May 22 2024
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Swordfishtrombones
Tom Waits
Welcome to the mind and music of Tom Waits! An often bizarre, underground, back street, dive bar, dead end world of lonely souls and characters. His voice(s) can be challenging and the musical backdrop incredibly varied and willfully weird but there is beauty in the madness.
'Underground' leads us into this other world, 'In The Neighbourhood' (the single, and only track I knew) is great, 'Johnsburg, Illinois' and the closing instrumental are beautiful, as is the poignant 'Soldier's Things' (And everything's a dollar in this box) the stand out track for me.
I love the tough blues guitar on 'Gin Soaked Boy' too. Reminds me of the track that first introduced me to Tom Waits, via a Levi's ad in '93!
I played this a lot today, and it's becoming my favourite album on the list so far.
He's a one off. A great songwriter and musician who started relatively mainstream then took his own direction.
4
May 23 2024
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G. Love And Special Sauce
G. Love & Special Sauce
Cool music, sounds very live, but for me let down by the vocals & songs.
Interesting mix of styles and genres though, which is probably why it made the list.
3
May 24 2024
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Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wilco
I knew I liked them from 'California Stars' and 'Jesus etc' but didn't expect this.
I'm completely hooked and can't stop playing it. Every track, every minute, every moment gets better and better with every listen. So much depth, so immersive. I love it.
5
May 27 2024
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Back In Black
AC/DC
Riffs, Riffs and more Riffs. Great Riffs.
Punchy production. Every track sounds similar, obviously. The formula works.
No comment on the lyrics or his voice!!
I wouldn't listen to this again but will definitely hear them on the radio π
3
May 28 2024
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Moon Safari
Air
I've tried to listen to this before and I always lose interest.
It's like they took lots of cool 90s bands, took out anything interesting or exciting, mixed them up in a processor, smoothed out any rough edges, added some French vocals and out popped a hit album.
Inoffensive background music but I can't get into it at all.
2
May 29 2024
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Live And Dangerous
Thin Lizzy
A live double album is a lot in one day!
Great guitars, good tunes, melodies, variety, a cool singer, great voice and decent lyrics. Classic rock π
This version of 'Still In Love With You' is EPIC! My favourite track so far.
'Dancing In The Moonlight', 'Cowboy Song' and (especially) 'Massacre' are great too.
Will definitely listen to this album more β€οΈ
4
May 30 2024
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Odelay
Beck
Never start an album with your best track, only one way to go from there!
I quite like Beck but somehow it all sounds a bit gimmicky.
3
May 31 2024
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1977
Ash
Got to love Ash :) Energy, cool guitars, powerful drums and great tunes.
Tim Wheeler wrote 'Girl From Mars' when he was 16, at 18 it was a hit and they were on Top of The Pops. When this album was released he was only 19.
The first 3 tracks are fantastic! 'Lose Control' is blistering, what a start to a debut album. Blasting it out makes me feel more alive, young again.
It's all good stuff, 'Oh Yeah' is another highlight, but they can't possibly keep the momentum going for nearly an hour. Cut to 40 minutes it could have been a 5 βοΈ album but it fades a bit towards the end.
Good closing track though and a solid 4 stars, how could anyone give less?
4
Jun 03 2024
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1999
Prince
Two decent hit singles followed by an hour I will never get back, an hour when I could have been listening to something great, an hour when I heard 9 songs which are all contenders for the worst song I have EVER heard. Finally 'International Lover' arrived and claimed the prize!
I would rather listen to Right Said Fred singing 'I'm too Sexy' on a loop for an hour than listen to this again, and hear Prince going on, and on, and on, and on about how he is so sexy. I can't stand Right Said Fred but at least they were having a laugh, Prince seemed to believe it all and it's so boring!!!
He was an incredible musician, he wrote and performed some great stuff, but only when he dropped this egotistical nonsense!
1
Jun 04 2024
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Getz/Gilberto
Stan Getz
We're transported to Brazil in the early 60s, somewhere chic, with beautiful people and a peaceful atmosphere as the sun shines and the waves gently lap Copacabana beach. CafΓ©s across the world have been playing this to try and capture the vibe ever since.
It's so mellow, creates a mood. The recording is so good it sounds like they are right with us. The voices are great and the saxophone sounds like a third voice.
Much as I like it, I know I won't listen to it much, my interest fades.
Best track - The Girl From Ipanema, obviously, the long version.
3
Jun 05 2024
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Being There
Wilco
Two Wilco albums in the first 27, what are the chances? Glad I like them!
Wilco make country rock sound brilliantly different. Imaginative, unpredictable, melodic, emotional and beautiful - uniquely them.
So many great songs, I could listen to this all day. Misunderstood, Far, Far Away, Kingpin, The Lonely 1 and Dreamer in My Dreams all stood out and got second and third plays.
4
Jun 06 2024
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Marcus Garvey
Burning Spear
Roots!
Political, spiritual, the voice of the oppressed. Love his voice, I think Finley Quaye does too.
Serious content and yet the sound of this album is really chilled, so deep, such a cool groove. Play loud and feel it!!
4
Jun 07 2024
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The Wall
Pink Floyd
Comfortably Numb is incredible. Hey You is good. Lovely acoustic guitar on Is There Anybody Out There. Beyond that I can't really get into this album.
Dave Gilmour is wonderful. Not sure about Roger Waters, he goes way over the top here for me, I don't think rock operas are my thing!
3
Jun 10 2024
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Brothers In Arms
Dire Straits
Good guitarist but I never liked them much as a band.
This was huge, almost unavoidable as half the tracks were singles. 'Private Investigations' and 'Romeo and Juliet' are good, shame they aren't on this album!
2
Jun 11 2024
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This Year's Model
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
I bought four of his albums and saw him live in '89. I loved the singles but never listened to this album before.
So much energy and so many punchy songs. Love the basic production and brilliant drumming that drives it along. He's a great songwriter but his songs are rarely pretty, often angry, even spiteful. A year on from 'Alison' he's become bitter and twisted.
Radio Radio is my favourite, the lyrics are so good, so eloquent, perfectly delivered, still relevant.
'Some of my friends sit around every evening
And they worry about the times ahead
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference
And the promise of an early bed
You either shut up or get cut out
They don't wanna hear about it
It's only inches on the reel to reel
And the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools
Tryin' to anaesthetise the way that you feel'
π
4
Jun 12 2024
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The Suburbs
Arcade Fire
Having loved Funeral and liked Black Mirror I lost track of Arcade Fire for a few years. Partly because I lost my Black Mirror CD! Also the first couple of singles from this didn't grab me.
So the first full listen. For me it starts slowly but from 'City With No Children' onwards it's pretty much faultless. One great track follows another. I love that they produce coherent albums where the tracks flow from one to the next so well. Hard to pick favourites but 'Suburban War' and 'We Used to Wait' are fantastic.
Will certainly listen again x
4
Jun 13 2024
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Homework
Daft Punk
I'm guessing this was ground breaking. Sounds like they had fun in the studio playing with sounds, the production is amazing right from the start.
The trouble is I don't like many of the tracks! Is it an album to dance to, or an album to listen to? For a huge hit 'Around the World' is really flat, and like a lot of the album, repetitive.
One track really stands out. The incessant beat keeps pushing forward, the darker atmosphere and energy make it sound cooler than anything else here. Right near the end 'Alive' came along like a 90th minute equaliser to snatch another star :)
3
Jun 14 2024
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Like A Prayer
Madonna
Like a Prayer is a great song, I always liked it. Created some controversy too which is always fun!
The collaboration with Prince is cool, if I knew it I had forgotten it.
Aside from that this is typical 80s pop from Madonna and the odd ballad until a big surprise with the final track! I googled 'Act of Contrition" and now I get it, making a point in her own way.
All in all she was better than most, a cool pop star who wrote some good tunes.
3
Jun 17 2024
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Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Track 1 - better than Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree, but only just, and not in December
Track 2 - silly voice
Track 3 - swing your pants
Track 4 - sounds like an early Bon Jovi demo
Track 5 - decent guitar break, tired Stones influenced rocker
Track 6 - I prefer Frank Sinatra singing Strangers...
Track 7 - I don't like It
Track 8 - silly voice, ok guitar
Track 9 - silly voice, dull song
Track 10 - The title and chorus are a master stroke - in terms of marketing. Good tune & guitars but the Strokes stole it, energised it, and made something much cooler.
Final comment - is this the worst album cover ever produced?
Absolute final comment - a top 1001 album, really?
2
Jun 18 2024
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Ellington at Newport
Duke Ellington
My Dad loved this music so much that I associate it with him completely, I want to hear it as he heard it, feel as he felt. I feel closer to him as I listen. It's a different kind of music, a different kind of listening, lost in music!
He was a huge fan of jazz, swing and big bands. Duke Ellington was a big favourite and he saw him and his band in London at least once.
When I was younger I didn't understand this music at all, but now I can. The musicianship is amazing and I can feel the atmosphere, the recording is so good.
My rating would probably be much lower if it wasn't for my Dad but that's fine with me :)
4
Jun 19 2024
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Bone Machine
Tom Waits
Rattle them bones :) They sure do, and create a wild, swampy, bluesy, even funky racket! I love it!
At times it sounds like they are raising the dead; grave diggers, or murderers, or body snatchers, as musicians.
'In The Colosseum' is brutal, 'Murder in the Red Barn' makes Nick Cave sound like Ed Sheeran!
The slower ones are wonderful too, beauty among the madness, especially 'Who Are You', A Little Rain' and 'Black Wings'.
Got me listening to The Pixies 'Bone Machine' too, now there's a track.
4
Jun 20 2024
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Dirty
Sonic Youth
I love noisy guitar bands, Mary Chain, Pixies, Ride etc but somehow I never really got into Sonic Youth. Cool guitar sounds but where are the tunes?
'Sugar Kane' is fantastic, if the whole album was that good it would be 5 π but sadly it is not.
3
Jun 21 2024
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The Clash
The Clash
Only 3 stars?
It's raw, angry and energetic which is the point, but listening in full It's not a great album. I was too young for punk so got into it retrospectively. What I love about The Clash is how they developed, wrote great songs and crossed over with reggae. 'Police and Thieves' is the only one I Iove here and it's a cover. This album was their starting point and was part of a movement that changed movement, culture and attitudes so brilliantly.
Their second and third albums are so much better though!
U2, Green Day, The Libertines and loads more stemmed from The Clash but as 1977 debut punk albums go this is a long way behind The Pistols and The Damned.
P.S. this came out a few months before Pretty Vacant, I think they stole the riff from 'I'm So Bored'!
3
Jun 24 2024
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The Man Machine
Kraftwerk
Love it! Brilliant from start to finish.
Is this the best electronic album ever?
5
Jun 25 2024
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Stardust
Willie Nelson
Willie plays American standards. I guess these songs have their place.
Maybe a hotel lobby somewhere in the Southern states or Midwest, maybe a tired old department store, or a Nashville bar - but not a cool one, or a quiet restaurant 40 years ago where most of the customers were over 50, or an old cab driver playing them on a journey anywhere in the US, or maybe on a cruise ship leaving the US for the Caribbean - before they pass half way and switch to the calypso/reggae playlist, or popping up on the soundtrack of an old film, or a CD in a car boot sale, or in the vinyl collection of a country fan who bought it 46 years ago and hasn't played it for 45.
I don't mind Willie Nelson's voice, he's a cool character, and some of the songs he wrote are great, I just discovered he wrote 'Crazy'.
But if there's one place this collection of covers DOESN'T belong it is the best 1001 albums list!
P.S. weirdly I think his '92 version of 'Always on My Mind' is great
2
Jun 26 2024
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Doggystyle
Snoop Dogg
More groovy than I expected.
For me Eels, The Pixies, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, and even The Mighty Lemon Drops swore with more style, impact and emotion than this!! Less is more π
The lyrical content is repetitive nonsense, and that's being kind! I got bored early on and it was a struggle to listen to the end.
1
Jun 27 2024
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Disraeli Gears
Cream
Starts with a couple of Blues/Rock classics then goes nowhere until the bizarre final track which was clearly included for one reason alone, to reveal (57 years later through 1001 generator reviews) who listened to the whole album, and who did not!
3
Jun 28 2024
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Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
More mush than grunge.
I'm not convinced by them or him, there's the odd exception but none on this album.
All a bit dull to me.
And he ruined the Arctic Monkeys! π
2
Jul 01 2024
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All Things Must Pass
George Harrison
What a shame. Most of the first hour is wonderful. Beautiful songs with such feeling, and such love. I relate most to a person, or people, and some are very moving. George may have been writing about a person, but most are probably for his sweet lord, a higher power. Simply beautiful.
It starts to tail off an hour in though, and the last half hour - 5 tracks that are just bluesy rock 'n' roll jams are a disaster! Why did George spoil the album by including them? Maybe Clapton bullied him into it! In the days of vinyl the third record would have been played once then returned to its sleeve, never to be played again.
Favourite tracks: My Sweet Lord, If Not For You, Behind That Locked Door, Run of The Mill, I Dig Love, All Things Must Pass. And I Live For You, which incredibly wasn't on the original release. How that was cut to include the rubbish towards the end of the album is beyond me!
4
Jul 02 2024
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Abbey Road
Beatles
I bought four Beatles albums and the red/blue compilations but not this one. Time, finance and space made it impossible to buy everything! I knew and loved the singles but hadn't heard the full album until Joe told me how great it is a few years ago and I listened on Spotify.
From 'Come Together' and 'Something' to 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer', from the sublime to the ridiculous? It doesn't matter because almost every track is sublime, the flow on the second half is perfect.
They are firing on all four cylinders. Three of the finest song writers in one band, it's just ridiculous. But it's not just the songs, or the voices, their playing on this album is amazing, across a variety of styles and textures, with such creativity. They are all on top form including Ringo whose drumming here is so cool and distinctive.
Collective genius at work, and for me this is not even their best album!! No band will ever compare β€οΈ
5
Jul 03 2024
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Me Against The World
2Pac
Goes above Snoop in my growing list of all time rap albums but a very long way behind Public Enemy and De La Soul.
2
Jul 04 2024
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Tago Mago
Can
Experimental and influential but are they any good?
I tried half listening during the day and it was awful. Gave it another go late evening through headphones and it was better.
I like Paperhouse and Oh Yeah. Unusual rhythms and interesting guitars. Halleluhwar has a groove but 17 minutes, really?
The next two tracks are equally long but more experimental, more sounds and effects than music. Something stronger than my glass of stout is required to get into this!!
Some tunes tomorrow please :)
3
Jul 05 2024
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Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Dead Kennedys
Not really a fan.
The best punk bands had split up or moved on to better things by 1980.
Silly voice too!
2
Jul 08 2024
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Five Leaves Left
Nick Drake
I bought the NME every week in the late 80s/early 90s and a name kept popping up in interviews. Robert Smith mentioned him a lot, then Paul Weller, but I never heard or bought any Nick Drake records. Then about 15 years ago I heard 'Northern Sky' on the radio while driving home one evening, the sun setting, and I still remember the moment.
He became a favourite in the house and was played a lot (!) but not so much recently so it's great to listen to this again in full.
It's a beautiful album, a haze of hushed words, gorgeous folk guitar and jazz bass.
An underlying sadness is clear from the start, 'a troubled cure for a troubled mind', but this only adds to the emotion of it all.
He worked with great musicians, there is so much feeling in every word and note, it's so sad that he wasn't more widely recognised in his lifetime.
Favourite track: 'Three Hours' is incredible
5
Jul 09 2024
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So
Peter Gabriel
So.....boring!
Over produced 80s stuff, and he was somehow annoying.
'Don't Give Up' is the best song here but listen to the Willie Nelson & Sinead O'Connor version, it's much better.
2
Jul 10 2024
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Face to Face
The Kinks
I love The Kinks and Ray Davies so this review is longer than most! I've been a fan since I bought a singles compilation when I was 18. I love them from their raw youthful classics to the songwriting that developed and dominated.
This album sits at the start of the transition. It's not their best, the music is ok, production is thin and dated, but there's still plenty to love.
'Sunny Afternoon' stands out as the best known and loved song on the album but there's much more.
'Too Much On My Mind' is perfectly constructed. 2 minutes 30 that sums up how we all feel at times, except those who are lucky enough to not have a care in the world. All set to a beautiful tune. Few were writing like this in the 'swinging' 60s.
'Session Man' is a simple ditty about a session musician but listen again and it could be about anyone who had a dream, came close to realising their dream, but was forced to compromise and do as they must to pay the bills.
'Rainy Day in June' is out there, really unusual imagery and sound for a Kinks song and I love it.
'House in The Country' makes another social statement, 'Little Miss Queen of Darkness' is a great tune but so sad. Davies creates characters and worlds in seemingly simple songs.
'Dead End Street' from the same year missed the original release but deserves a mention. A truly great song of the times, it's like a Ken Loach film. Class, inequality, isolation and human struggles in a changing world were common themes in his songs. Elsewhere there was plenty of humour too.
Glad this album is on the list, but there are better Kinks albums to come...
4
Jul 11 2024
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Devotional Songs
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
They play, and play, and play.
He sings, and sings, and sings.
2
Jul 12 2024
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Bad
Michael Jackson
Almost every track was a single and they were played to death. I barely needed to listen to the album to confirm that I don't like it!
2
Jul 15 2024
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Ramones
Ramones
I like them, but I've never loved them. Almost every track sounds the same, their signature sound. They don't care, and they sold millions of records and t shirts.
Nothing great, the guitars and attitude are better than the vocals, but gets an extra star for being part of something that influenced so many of the bands I love.
3
Jul 16 2024
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Parachutes
Coldplay
Good to revisit this 24 years after I bought it then first played it in the kitchen at Crossbrooks! Listening in a different house and kitchen I'm thinking of so much that has happened since then.
'Don't Panic' is still a great opener and probably my favourite track on the album. 'Trouble' was the first Coldplay track I heard and the reason I bought this album. It still sounds good, very accomplished for an early single. The same could be said of most of this, especially for a debut album.
Overall it didn't grab me though, somehow the emotion isn't quite genuine, maybe too calculated, too smooth. I guess that's why I haven't played it for 10 years or more.
3
Jul 17 2024
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Infected
The The
'Heartland' is one of the best songs of the Thatcher years. When it was released I was 18 and becoming more politically aware so it really struck a chord. If I was a history teacher covering the 80s I would play it to bored students, along with 'Ghost Town' and 'Between The Wars'.
Britain was not a fair place and greed dominated. 'Angels of Deception' continues the theme.
I like the opening track too, really cool through headphones and cranked up loud. Aside from that it's ok, some good lyrics but not great songs, the production is very mid-eighties so it hasn't aged well.
I had to listen to 'Dusk' from '93 too, a very different and far better album. Johnny Marr lifted them so much musically. Give it a go!
3
Jul 18 2024
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Hypnotised
The Undertones
I was bound to like this. I've liked The Undertones since I was 10 or 11. My mates liked them too, we all played subutteo, and I've got a cousin called Kevin!!
They were fun and sharp, with their wit and guitars. I only had a singles tape and never got to see them live (too young) but did see That Petrol Emotion who were a great spin off with the O'Neill brothers and their brilliant guitars.
It's typical Undertones; joyous, catchy, punk influenced pop. Lots of favourites but 'Tearproof', 'Wednesday Week' and the unexpected cover of 'Under The Boardwalk' stood out today. And of course 'My Perfect Cousin', a classic :)
4
Jul 19 2024
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Nick Of Time
Bonnie Raitt
Awful
2
Jul 22 2024
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Dire Straits
Dire Straits
They sound better here than on Brothers In Arms, more understated.
I know he's a good guitarist and I quite like his voice but I find it all really dull. Not emotional, energetic or original. Sorry π
2
Jul 23 2024
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Dummy
Portishead
Mysterious, cinematic, unsettling, cool, strong, oppresive, delicate, original, light, dark, beautiful, enigmatic, surprising, edgy, sad, fragile, desolate, inventive, hypnotic, absorbing, elegant, uncomfortable, seductive, intimate, unique.
5
Jul 24 2024
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Highly Evolved
The Vines
Oooh, this is good, really good.
They have a go at almost every kind of guitar tune from the 60s to the 90s and almost everything works. A wise move to avoid metal!
Packed with great melodies and lots of energy. Sounds great in the car and I'll be listening more on our travels.
4
Jul 25 2024
View Album
More Songs About Buildings And Food
Talking Heads
Talking Heads are instantly recognisable. They sound like nobody else, and nobody ever sounded like them, which is a good thing.
I like their fidgety sound and interesting lyrics, and bought later albums.
'Take Me ToThe River' stands out, a cover and the only track I know well. An album that deserves more listens and the rating could go up but I don't have time now!
3
Jul 26 2024
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Double Nickels On The Dime
Minutemen
One reasonable track, 'Cohesion' has nice acoustic guitar.
I don't like anything else. I guess it's on here because it mixes low-fi rock with funk and (almost) jazz but I don't like it.
2
Jul 29 2024
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1989
Taylor Swift
'Darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a Daydream'. A great songwriter? Really?
I love swifts, and swallows too, but not Taylor Swift.
2
Jul 30 2024
View Album
The Gershwin Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald
My Dad loved her. She can certainly carry a tune but I don't love her voice.
To me there's more emotion listening to Billie Holiday or Etta James (who also sounds much cooler.... Amy Winehouse must have been a fan)
I couldn't possibly listen to over 3 hours so listened to some random songs and went with that. Then I listened to Etta instead of Ella!
2
Jul 31 2024
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Histoire De Melody Nelson
Serge Gainsbourg
I only knew Je t'aime, everyone knew Je t'aime!
The music on this album is great, really cool. Vocals very French! Not sure what the lyrics would be like translated, sounds a bit dodgy reading about it.
An interesting diversion and an album I would never have listened to without the generator :)
3
Aug 01 2024
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Greetings From L.A.
Tim Buckley
From 'Song To The Siren' to this in just a few years. What the hell happened?
Dreadful
2
Aug 02 2024
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Here, My Dear
Marvin Gaye
Not a massive fan of the songs or music but the production is great and he really had an incredible voice.
Gets an extra star for that voice.
3
Aug 05 2024
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You Want It Darker
Leonard Cohen
Ooh, this is unexpected and wonderful. I didn't know he produced an album as good as this relatively recently.
Gravitas in his words and voice, and quiet beauty in the music. Imagery abounds in the darkness.
Bright August sunshine doesn't quite suit the atmosphere of this album, I Want It Darker!
4
Aug 06 2024
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Thriller
Michael Jackson
Not Bad, but it doesn't thrill me.
3
Aug 07 2024
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The Sensual World
Kate Bush
'Hounds of Love' is fantastic, 'Aerial' is wonderful, two albums that would easily make my top 100. I wouldn't put this one in the top 1001 though!
Somehow she sounds so much more worthy here, and it's all too lush, over produced, overblown and boring. Even 'The Fog' which I like initially is overdone.
One exception, 'This Woman's Work' is so sad but so beautiful.
This got me listening to 'Aerial' again, an album that floats and transports the listener. Unfortunately this one is not in the same league!
3
Aug 08 2024
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Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses
I bought 'The Real Ramona' on tape, it was OK. I preferred 'Star' by Belly which I bought a few years later. I always associated them with The Pixies even though they are very different.
This is obviously much earlier. It's not great but I like the changes of pace and texture, and I always like the drumming on their tracks, especially that thing he does with the sticks, like on 'Green'.
I like the edgy near madness of them too.
'Hate my Way' is getting better with multiple listens. The whole thing could grow on me with more listens and maybe in a week it would get another star.
3
Aug 09 2024
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Tuesday Night Music Club
Sheryl Crow
'All I Wanna Do' was such a massive catchy hit that it became annoying!
The album was huge too. It's not bad, easy listening. 'Strong Enough' is probably my favourite track. 'Solidify' is quite funky.
Overall it's a bit too Americana for me.
2
Aug 12 2024
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American IV: The Man Comes Around
Johnny Cash
'Hurt' is incredible, obviously, in fact the first three tracks are all great. I always loved 'Give My Love to Rose'.
If it was all this good it would be 5 π from me but it's not.
Only a few of the other covers really work for me, and some are awful! They are great songs but this left me just wanting to hear Roberta Flack, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles and Depeche Mode!
A couple of exceptions, 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry' and 'I hung My Head' which I really like.
A bit disappointing, I thought I would love it all.
3
Aug 13 2024
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Bayou Country
Creedence Clearwater Revival
What a perfect album for the hottest day of the year!
I love CCR, I don't know why, I just do. There's something really groovy, swampy, soulful, even primal about their sound and the songs are great.
I'm not massively into classic American rock but something sets them apart. His voice could be annoying if the music and songs weren't so good but everything comes together and it works.
The album is good from start to finish, and it's refreshingly succinct. 'Proud Mary' is an absolute classic, I can't think of a more rhythmic track by a guitar band β€οΈ
Last thing, how good is the recording and production? 55 years old and still sounds amazing belting out of the speaker.
4
Aug 14 2024
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The Bones Of What You Believe
CHVRCHES
I saw these years ago on Jools and at Glastonbury and always liked them.
Love the synths. If Clare Grogan fronted The Human League instead of Phil Oakey they'd sound a bit like this!
'The Mother We Share' is a spectacular opener, especially cranked up loud. The closing track 'You Caught The Light' is superb too, a dreamy move into Mogwai territory, I love it.
Everything inbetween is good listening but with few other stand out tracks which is a bit disappointing. Maybe with more listens it will grow on me, I do think they are very cool.
3
Aug 15 2024
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...Baby One More Time
Britney Spears
I have to say 'Baby One More Time' is a great pop song. I also have to say it's the only track here I can bear.
2
Aug 16 2024
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Hms Fable
Shack
I like this. Sits somewhere between The Coral and Super Furry Animals but very much their own thing. Never heard it before but will listen again.
3
Aug 19 2024
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Lust For Life
Iggy Pop
The Passenger, what a riff.
Lust For Life, what a drum beat.
Tonight, what a song.
Otherwise, underwhelming.
3
Aug 21 2024
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Pretzel Logic
Steely Dan
If I had been a 35 year old New Yorker in 1974 I might have liked this, but I was 6 and making dens in Haversham.
It is quirky in places which I like but the overall sound is so polished it's a bit MOR and I'm not tempted to listen again.
One of them produced 'Flaunt the Imperfection' by China Crisis 10 years later, an album I like much more, a soothing listen on a Sunday evening.
2
Aug 22 2024
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Axis: Bold As Love
Jimi Hendrix
I lied down on the rug and closed my eyes to listen straight through and get the full experience, well as much as I could without the aid of some dodgy substance!
What a trip. Back to '67 with Jimi, Noel and Mitch. On the swinging streets of London, in a psychedelic club, to a party, then to the sky, the stars and over a rainbow π
Did guitar, bass, drums and voice ever sound more together and more wonderful?
5