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.
Cochran x Hendrix = a heavy blues-rock soup! Nothing stands out until the final track 'Second Time Around' which was cool. Not cool enough for me to ever play this again though!
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 🌟 but sadly it is not.
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.
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
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.
Not as catchy & melodic as 'Nevermind'. Only All Apologies and Dumb stand out for me, so sad & honest, the unplugged versions are even better.
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!
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.
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!
Overblown nonsense, it's just so boring. .Next......
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 :)
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.
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.
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.
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 year💛🩷🧡💚🌻🌼🌷
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 😀
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.
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 😎 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 ❤️
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.
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 ⭐️ album but it fades a bit towards the end. Good closing track though and a solid 4 stars, how could anyone give less?
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!
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. Cafés 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.
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.
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!!
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!
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!
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' 👌
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
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 :)
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.
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?
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 :)
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.
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 🌟 but sadly it is not.
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'!
Love it! Brilliant from start to finish. Is this the best electronic album ever?
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
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 😀 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.
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!
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! 😀
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!
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 ❤️
Goes above Snoop in my growing list of all time rap albums but a very long way behind Public Enemy and De La Soul.
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 :)
Not really a fan. The best punk bands had split up or moved on to better things by 1980. Silly voice too!
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
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.
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...
They play, and play, and play. He sings, and sings, and sings.
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!
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.
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.
'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!
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 :)
Awful
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 😞
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.
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.
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!
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.
'Darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a Daydream'. A great songwriter? Really? I love swifts, and swallows too, but not Taylor Swift.
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!
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 :)
From 'Song To The Siren' to this in just a few years. What the hell happened? Dreadful
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.
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!
Not Bad, but it doesn't thrill me.
'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!
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.
'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.
'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 🌟 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.
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 ❤️ Last thing, how good is the recording and production? 55 years old and still sounds amazing belting out of the speaker.
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.
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.
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.
The Passenger, what a riff. Lust For Life, what a drum beat. Tonight, what a song. Otherwise, underwhelming.
I'll listen to anything, I gave it a go, I just wish I could give it zero. What's the point of rap if doesn't make a point, if it's not eloquent? This is a million miles from 'The Message', 'White Lines', 'Fight The Power' or even 'The Magic Number'. Sad that so much rap went in the wrong direction. And it has to be said, their attitude to women is shocking.
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.
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 🌈 Did guitar, bass, drums and voice ever sound more together and more wonderful?
'Who Do You Love' is a classic tune but there are better versions. Then it's endless bluesy 60s guitar noodling....yawn. It says everything that my favourite song here is the 90 second closer 'Happy Trails', a quirky drunken Cowboy Song.
My wonderful wife bought this on CD as a gift many years ago. Listening again takes me back and I feel the same about it now as I did then. Around a dozen tracks are wonderful and if they were the album it would be up there with Automatic For The People, Doolittle and Nerrmibd as my favourite from American bands of that era. The only issue is the heavier tracks don't really do anything for me. That said the opening instrumental, 'Tonight Tonight', 'In The Arms of Sleep', '1979', 'Cupid De Locke', 'Galapogus', 'Stumbleine' and the last 5 tracks are magnificent! There you go, a perfect 12 track album among the 28 :)
Just magnificent! Heavy, glam, incredibly varied, OTT, full of riffs, fun, complex, multilayered. They threw everything at this, I can hear Sabbath, Led Zep, Bowie, T Rex, even Motorhead and Muse before they existed! Really it's all just them, no other band could do this. The riffs are amazing, Freddie sounds incredible (voice and piano) and wonderfully OTT. Countless brilliant tracks that only work because of them. The track sequence is staggering, so much variety but somehow it flows. Their best album for me. Play loud!
I didn't really like this. At this stage he became a bit annoying to me, sounds like he's trying to be too smart, believing the hype. Nothing here comes close to Hotel Yorba!
80s German music hall is a narrow genre but in the spirit of generator listening I was happy to explore it for the first time. In for a penny, in for a Deutsche Mark. Not on Spotify so I went hunting and found every track on YouTube. It was an interesting listening experience. YouTube adverts between tracks would usually be annoying but here they were light relief and the most enjoyable aspect of the overall listening experience. Thankfully some of the songs were shorter than the ads! 1001 is an odd number for the books and the generator. If they choose to round down this is a strong contender for exclusion :)
The laid back jazzy hip hop feel is quite cool but the vocals and lyrics are all quite cringy. Baby, baby, lady, lady, feels likes heaven when I think about you, we'll ride our looooove and walk on street of gold, touch me with your soul. Yes, yes, yawn 🥱
She's hard not to like. Her performance of 'Fast Car' at Wembley when she was almost unknown was incredible. It still sounds great and I've always liked 'Baby Can I Hold You' too. But much as I like her it's not the most exciting or emotional album is it!
Where to start? An album which opens with one of THE great songs, the iconic moment when Dylan went electric, and closes with one of the most incredible. I still remember when I first heard 'Like A Rolling Stone'. A wet bank holiday when I was about 16. Radio 1 counting down the best 100 songs voted for by listeners, it was about number 5 and Stairway to Heaven number 1. Times have changed but it still sounds incredible, music and words coming together so perfectly. Words words words! Does any album on the list have more words than this! It's poetry but not babbling brooks, open skies, hearts and flowers. It's urban poetry of characters and chaos, it's so evocative and often bizarre but Dylan creates a world in each song. 'Desolation Row' is remarkable. An 11 minute journey through New York - maybe? So many characters, so many names, he ambles all over the place, it's often surreal but it works. Musically a track this long heading in one direction could get dull but it never does for me. The strumming is fine but the lead acoustic guitar flourishes add such beauty and contrast, elevating the whole thing. Funny to think that My Chemical Romance introduced me to this song 15 years ago! The tracks between are fascinating, full of characters and brilliant words, often bluesy and downtrodden. 'Just Like Tom Thumbs Blues', 'It Takes a Lot To Laugh' and 'Tombstone Blues' are probably my favourites but they are all growing on me. It's so imaginative and compelling, I can't wait to hear what he's going to sing next. But nothing matches the iconic opener, when Dylan went electric, and the fantastic closer. I want to give this 9/10 but that's not an option and who am I to round Bob Dylan down? Even The Beatles looked up to him! It's easy to hear why.
She was a force of nature and a remarkable artist. Brilliant pianist, great songwriter across styles, great voice, and an outspoken activist. At times she seemed and sounds a bit crazy but nothing wrong with that! Not heard this album before but glad I have now. So many great songs and a lot of variety. To mix something so strong and important as 'Four Women' with beautiful jazz numbers and soulful r&b like the opening track and closer 'Either Way I Lose' is really cool. Will come back to this again. Such an enjoyable listen.
Cochran x Hendrix = a heavy blues-rock soup! Nothing stands out until the final track 'Second Time Around' which was cool. Not cool enough for me to ever play this again though!
I wrote such a long review and deleted it all! The songs and performances speak for themselves, just imagine being there to see, hear and feel it live. I'm becoming obsessed, he's rivalling Ray Davies as my favourite songwriter.
What a voice, what a band and what a recording! The Stax sound is so cool. Full of life, soul, swing and swagger. I don't listen to this stuff often but it always sounds so good. The only negative is that so many of the best songs here are covers of classics; Smokey Robinson, Sam Cooke, Jagger & Richards etc
Ah, the 70s. I was 4 when this was released, 'Do It Again' and 'Reelin' In The Years' were played on the radio a lot but I never really liked them. I preferred 'Seasons in the Sun' and 'Billy Don't be a Hero'! Planet Rock play these tracks now to give their listeners a quiet moment. In the palette of rock music Steely Dan are magnolia.
This is undeniably great. Retro but modern, brash yet tender, strong but fragile, desperate but uplifting. Full of character and emotion, rooted in her situation. Everyone talks about her voice but her songs are fantastic; full of brilliant words, tunes and hooks. The band, arrangements and production are perfect... Mark Ronson 👏 The title track is amazing. I love the changes of pace, and the melody lifting into the chorus... 'We only said goodbye with words....' only to fall back into sad but beautiful darkness again. 'You know I'm no good' was the first song of hers I heard, on the radio driving to work 17 years ago. It jumped out of the speakers and still does, what a groove! 'Love is a Losing Game' is timeless. I don't know the second side as well but it all stands up, especially 'Wake Up Alone' and 'He Can Only Hold Her'. Her love of classic soul and jazz is obvious but this is so original and contemporary. She was a precious talent and it's just so sad.
Horrible singing, horrible wailing. Just horrible. Name checking greats from the past in an effort to somehow relate this is laughable.
This is a mixed bag, some I love, some I don't. It starts off sounding like Duke Ellington, track 2 was when I got really interested though, 'Song for Samitha' is a kind of sad drifting tune but gorgeous. 'Mountain Song' and 'The Wedding' are beautiful and I like 'Manenberg' too, the jazzy bass underpinning it all, and his great piano. I really wish I could sit and listen to this album with my Dad. I think we'd agree there's a lot to like but maybe not the final track, that's an odd one! I'm glad this came up on Abdullah's 90th birthday. What a talented chap :)
Where to start with a band who inspired a hundred 80s hair metal bands? 1978 when this was released. In the same year The Jam were covering The Mighty Kinks and wishing they could be like David Watts, millions of American teenagers were wishing they could be like Dave Lee Roth 😀 I like that Van Halen covered The Kinks and opened them up to a huge new audience, but I can't stand their version! Listen back to back and to me it's clear that less is more. Lots of the tracks are familiar because Planet Rock love them but I don't really like their sound or style. Some decent riffs but 'shredding' doesn't do much for me. So sorry, not my favourite. I like 'Jump' but that came much later, and even then I prefer the live acoustic Aztec Camera version. Guess I'm not cut out for hair metal 🙃
They can certainly play and this is beautifully recorded. Listening in the car it feels like I'm in the room with them in Cuba! Glad we had this on Friday. On first play it was pleasant enough background music but with more listens I'm getting into the rhythms and the vibe. I really like it, relaxes and transports me away, and Monty too! I played it in 3 different rooms and each time he came in and curled up. I'll come back to this, it creates a warm calming mood, good for the soul. Favourite track: Chan Chan, but there are hidden depths throughout.
Great to listen 30 years later when they are back in the news. But oh god, this is tricky and I may disagree with some! 'Don't Look Back in Anger' is so perfect in every way, so familiar yet it still gives me goosebumps. The song, the structure, the perfect (Imagine?) start and perfect (beautiful and gentle) end, all the instrumentation, Noel's delivery, the huge chorus, the guitar break, all are second to none. And the more I listen to it the more I notice the drumming, it's perfect throughout but the fill between the guitar break and final chorus is magnificent! 'Wonderwall' is iconic, a song of the time. 'She's Electric' still sounds as bright and breezy as ever, playful and lovable. 'Hey Now' is better than I remember. Aside from that there are only 2 or 3 songs I really like. The rest I can take or leave, so I haven't played this in full for over 25 years. End to end it's not a truly great album for me. Sorry!
The coolest man in rock. I listened to this on headphones yesterday and on the drive to work this morning. I got lucky with the weather, dark and misty. I love 'Low' and this is so similar and just as good. Cool spiky groovy guitar tracks on side A, darker instrumentals on side B, I love losing myself in those tracks. Eno really played his part. And then there is 'Heroes' itself. Imagine seeing a couple kissing by the Berlin Wall and creating that. Robert Fripp's guitar just tops it off. I always find it really moving. To produce 'Low' and this in one year is amazing. Add 'Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy' in that same year and it's clear, the man was a genius!!
Literate, original, impassioned, imaginative, intelligent, compelling, beautiful, challenging, brave, rambling, fluid, spontaneous, unabashed, unique, influential. What a great album. Who else was doing anything like this in 1975? I knew I loved 'Because The Night'. I knew I liked 'Gloria' and 'Dancing Barefoot', I knew lots of the artists I love were influenced by her but somehow I'd never heard this before. I had to play it twice, read the lyrics, read about their meaning. In 1975 (for context) punk hadn't kicked off, the most popular poet, and one of the most popular 'entertainers' in England was Pam Ayres. Thankfully people like Patti Smith provide an alternative to all the shite.
I just read that he turned down the Rolling Stones, Bowie and Stevie Wonder. Bet he regrets that! I'm sure he's very talented but this does nothing for me.
An odd one this. He writes, plays & produces everything and he's done film soundtracks so he's obviously talented. But the disaffected youth thing all seems a bit contrived, not genuine, overblown. It aims to shock and strays into Marylin Manson territory :( And the drum sound is dramatic but all too engineered for me. 'Piggy' is a cool sounding track but I hate the lyrics. 'Hurt' is obviously a great song. I like both versions but right near the end he goes OTT, he can't resist. My favourite track is 'A Warm Place', for me the most powerful track here, maybe because it stands out from all the noise all around it. I like noise, but not this noise! Maybe when I was young and alone I'd have been more into this, but I doubt it, whenever I wanted to drown in the depths of despair I had The Cure and The Smiths :)
What a band, what an album, but most of all what a sound. I turned it up very loud and it was amazing, the rhythms & basslines, some great guitar touches and the one and only David Byrne. Eno went from 3 great Bowie albums to producing this, the midas touch. The first half is brilliant, so good that 'Once in a Lifetime' doesn't stand out, and it made me dance around the kitchen! Second half drops a bit but 'Listening Wind' is incredible, the lyrics, those guitar noises and the groove really remind me of David Gilmour and The Orb, their album recorded 30 years later. More and more is revealed with each listen. In a week I may wish I'd given this 5.
The surprise comeback album. 'Where Are We Now' was the first release and caused a stir, it still sounds beautiful. 'Dirty Boys' and 'I'd Rather Be High' are cool. Some good lyrics but overall there's not much spark or originality. He had one far better album to come.
I loved my 'Best of The Doors' tape when I was young and getting into 60s bands, played it to destruction. 'Break on Through', what an opening to a debut album. The first three are all great, 'Crystal Ship' my favourite. After that the stars start to fall. 'Light My Fire' is a classic but let's be honest, it's too long! Then lots of fairly average tracks until 'The End' which I used to think was amazing, I still like the music but Jim's stoned rambling is nonsense really, tedious. Maybe this just got me on a bad day, who knows, People Are Strange :-)
Nonsense.
If this album was a mountain then 'Higher Ground' would be aptly named as it would be the summit. Such a groovy tune! 'Visions' and 'Living in The City' would be half way up, good tunes held back by some bad lyrics. Everything else sits at the base, just not my thing. He's a great musician, there's a lot of good music and he probably plays most of it but I don't like many of his songs, most of the lyrics are terrible! I love 'Higher Ground' though, and the Chilli Peppers version too, so that adds an extra star.
I like Song 2, Song 5, Song 7 and Song 8! The rest is mixed and for me it tails off badly from Song 9 onwards. This is Blur going alt-country, sounds like Wilco in places but they did it better. Just listen to 'Misunderstood'
This takes me back! The essence of Britpop and their best album. Fake cockney laddishness abounds but it's an album with a heart; that Parklife verse about feeding the birds, Badhead, To The End, This is A Low. I like the short, energetic and quirky tracks too, they hold it all together. 30 years later this still sounds pretty good to me. 9/10 but I can't quite round it up.
Where to start, what to say, how to end? This is an impossible review. How can I describe the brillance I hear and the emotion I feel? They cracked the code, unlocked the door, tapped into the vein, went intravenous to reach your brain and body, your soul, your hopes and fears. I've sometimes said The Bends is my favourite Radiohead album, listening again how can that be true? Has any guitar band surpassed this? Picking this apart seems ridiculous but here goes! To me the sequence of four tracks starting with Subterranean Homesick Alien is incredible, and the final three tracks are just so beautiful and deeply emotional. But that's doing a disservice to the rest of the album which adds so much of the abrasive, edgy texture. It's so complete, so whole. An amazing, complex, shifting, swirling, flowing piece of art. We are lucky they created it.
Would be greatly improved were it fully instrumental or sung by someone else! I like all kinds of voices, many unconventional, but hers really grates on me. This somehow made me think of Mary Margaret O'Hara so I listened to 'Miss America', now there's an album.
From an album ruined by a voice to a group who were known for their voices. The first three minutes of this album are so wonderful. I've heard this song so many times and still it moves me. His voice is absolutely incredible, so beautiful. I think it's a shame they went for the crashing drums and the big crescendo though. The second track is a tune I remember from when I was really, really young, played on the radio I guess. After that my favourite track is 'The Only Living Boy In New York'. That's about it though. They did some beautiful stuff but for me their best album came 4 years before this.
This was the first one that took me beyond his greatest hits. Good songs, nice guitar throughout and his voice is better than it often was. Could this be a little more bearable for a younger generation? 🤔 😀
I like this! A short sharp shock. The lyrics are sharp, socially aware and funny too. Beverly Hills is good, World up My Ass is genius 🤣 1980 so fairly early for US punk. Bet they influenced loads of others including Green Day.
I love this! ❤️ It's just magical. So pleased it came up, I played it all evening :)
Not listened to this for a while, it still sounds as good as it did when Joe bought it for me one Christmas :) There's far more atmosphere in this than most rock albums, it's a hazy, often gentle atmosphere, sometimes retro but still modern. With long intros and outros it's quite cinematic and is a great album for a car journey. Some great guitar, his voice often sounds like Dylan but works. It works as a complete album but 'Eyes To The Wind' stands out and I have always loved 'An Ocean In Between The Waves', which sounds like a faster, updated, Americanised version of 'A Forest' by The Cure,. I only just noticed that! One of my favourite guitar tracks this century :)
This so cool. I always liked them but never went beyond the first album. What really surprised me is the musicality. From funky 70s sounds to 90s grooves that sometimes even sound like Massive Attack. The instrumentals are great. Exceeded my expectations and I'll come back to this.
Wish I had a week to listen this rather than a day, or two, I'm falling behind! Deserves to be played through in one sitting. Slowdive meets Mercury Rev meets a string quartet, then a full on orchestra. There are lots of beautiful moments and it's a style of music I love but I haven't heard it all enough yet to know if I love it. Track 4 stands out, restrained power. And track 7, the piano part is really beautiful and it builds from there. Sigur Ros, music to close your eyes to, my second favourite Icelandic band of all time :)