Unapologetically British, albeit sometimes painfully so. Fun shit. Madness is def one of the stranger groups in that late 70s/early 80s aka scene. Pretty playful and weird in a fun way. Feels like it would score an 80s comedy starring a Brit version of judge reinhold where he ends up randomly going in and out of an un-explained cartoon universe Fav tracks: Rise and fall and Primrose hill

So there was only one thing that I could do Was ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long

Can’t say much more than hasn’t already been said about little Richard, the consensus top guest appearance on full house (suck it, Mike love). Rock music wouldn’t be the same without this man, and the songs on this album in particular (even if many were released years prior), so this gets a 4/5 just from that perspective. I’ll bump it .5 for the amount of hair lost and blood pressure boosted from angry white dads that couldn’t deal. If I had to make any complaint it’s that this is still generally a singles-heavy era, even if it’s in those waning years. This is largely a collection of those as opposed to a cohesive album. And while “Here’s…” made the cut, many other blues, swing jazz and spiritual/gospel artists that inspired him aren’t going to make this list because their compilations weren’t put together until years later by yazoo, arhoolie etc. in the 60s and 70s. Not so much a dig on this album as a drag and borderline disservice that we prob won’t get many albums before this time for the rest of this 1001 albums project. Fav tracks: rip it up and oh why?

Shit was pretty boring. Will not revisit. Best track was Jenny, and that just sounded like a Elliot smith b-side from disc two of a deluxe package reissue

I’m mostly here to see what direction Layde goes with his impending (hopefully) hot blue-eyed soul takes. As far as my take - I think Dusty has an amazing, sultry voice, and while …in Memphis has a great set of songs with lush arrangements it’s still just a good album. All those pieces, while great on their own, just don’t completely come together often enough. The blend of pop and soul is too balanced, never creating its own identity. Her rendition of Windmills of Your Mind is probably the song that puts those three aforementioend elements together the best, but it’s also the furthest away from the style of the rest of the album. Breakfast in Bed is similar, but to a lesser degree. That all said, tracks like Son of a Preacher Man, Just One Smile, No Easy Way Down and Don’t Forget About Me are such great fuckin songs that this album is worth repeated spins. But I’d feel that way regardless of who’s singing. 3.5

Meh. I really don’t understand how this album is on this list. The “best” track and definitely the reason it’s on anyone’s radar (or this list, tbh) is because of a song that is popular because it bit the instrumental from the orchestra version of “the Last Time.” There are plenty of Britpop and neo-psych out there that’s much more enjoyable. From just a contemporaries standpoint: - blur, oasis, manic street preachers, stone roses, shit - even supergrass is a better option - same shit with neo-psych. There’s too many better options of that era to even mention here. I’m being kind of harsh, but it’s only because of the presumed accolades of being on this list. It’s not a horrible album, but it’s not essential. The Verve will go down in the books as a one hit wonder and a case study on plagiarism

Fuckin all American classic. The four covers were unnecessary, but this just proves how great of a songwriter Fogerty was. Extra kudos to Lookin out my back door being immortalized in one of the best film scene and song combos in motion picture history. Also - Swamp rock is a goofy subgenre, so it’s fun to reference.

Not the best stripes album but a stripes album nonetheless. Satan bless jack and Meg.

A spray fart in album form.

Amazing pivot from the early garage sound from just a handful of years earlier to this charming blend of folk, music hall and pop all the while talking mad shit in that oh so wry British way. Sonically, it kind of picks up where Village Green left off and since that’s my fav Kinks album all-time, that bodes well for the rating. 4.5/5

Beautiful, gloomy and lush as fuck. Hits in the feels every time.

Not my bag. Can’t really deal with Robert Smith’s voice. Pretty whiney. Like the Smiths for goth kids. I wish the album title was apt to the length of the record. Would prefer to never listen to this again.

Not my fav. It’s fine. Probably won’t revisit this album.

What a great debut from a great band. Bunch of fuckin nerds that figured out a cool way to talk shit about the knuckle draggers amongst us. Just a unique take on new wave and post punk with 70s electronic influences (can, cluster, prob kraftwerk etc) that is so much fun. The stones cover is honestly my least favorite part. It was kind of interesting, but that could have just been left for live shows. Fav track: mongoloid

Great album that gets stronger as it progresses. The latter half is filled with absolute bangers (Live Hurts, Lucille, Donna Donna and Cathy’s Clown as the highlights). The amount of under the poodle skirt hand action this soundtracked must have been mind blowing. Good shit. I’ll have another.

Love it, but Folsom is still the superior prison live album

Top notch

This ain’t it. Gonna give it a 2 out of respect

The objective was accomplished. Gonna chalk most of this up to Germans being a weird lot

Absolute tits combo of hair metal and arena rock. Catchy as all hell. Great hooks. Gang vocals galore. Fun shit. Def soundtracked a lot of STDs being spread in the late 80s. 3.5/5

Ryan Adams is most definitely a twat, but this album is great even if he bites Dylan excessively. Shoutout Dave Rawlings for (co)writing the best track on the album. Fuck you, Ryan Adams. Take your 4/5 and pound sand.

This one was real fun. My fav part is listening to these jams and trying to pick out parts that have been sampled by hip hop artists. De la soul, will smith, pac, Kanye etc have all sampled joints off of this album. Good shit. Not something I’m going to go back to much, but the impact this has had on music and culture alone gets this a 3

This might be my least favorite type of music. This shit is for folks who constantly talk about their one black friend and wear fedoras with bulky white tennis shoes. This music is for dudes who tuck their t shirt into their jeans. This is grocery store background noise at best. Fuckin lameass smooth jazz with cheesy funk bass lines. Kind of impressive to take a bunch of genres, boil them down to their worst elements and then throw it in a blender. Listening to this album was a net negative on my life, and if I could give it a negative score then I would. Fuck steely Dan (If you enjoy this - please ignore and keep enjoying … and may god have mercy on your soul)

Solid Brit pop that rolls on the darker side (which seems like it should be the norm, not the exception). I’ll revisit. 3.5/5

Is it really post punk any longer? Idfk. Prob depends on your definition of punk. Regardless, this shit was an apocalyptically weird experimental mind fuck. Pretty cool, but not something I’m going to revisit much.

Legend

Can’t say more than has already been said. Hail Lou!

Depressing. Destructive. Delightfully so

3.5

Wack but not as wack as aja

3.5

An all-timer. This should be the blueprint of how to successfully reinterpret the blues (as well as evolving off the 50s folk revival). Mayall and the rest of the Brit blues-rock faction should have taken notice

This is the vibe. 5/5

Fourth Metallica album and their fourth best. Has some absolute classic tracks, great riffs and cool themes. Production was not ideal. Should have let this shit breathe a bit. And obviously the bass is pretty much inaudible and that was certainly a choice. Still a strong cap to the decade that solidified Metallica’s place as metal royalty

Interesting and seems well down, but it’s not for me. 2.5/5

Long live Bob!

Intervention showcases arcade fire at its best. Big emotional builders that hit ya in the feels. Great stuff. 3.5/5

No thanks. 1.5/5

Runs the gamut of Distorted, contemplative, Spacey, meditative, hypnotic, psychedelic and fuzzed the fuck out, often at the same time. 3.5/5

Grunge classic. Love the added orchestration on tracks like dumb

I don’t care if it’s more of a collection of songs as opposed to a cohesive album. Shit is great

Legend. Never gonna prob sit and crack thru this entire thing, but many many classics

Not as good as 20 year old me thought. Still fun for nostalgia.

An appropriate amount of weird.

Meh. This was the beginning of the end.