Jul 28 2024
1984
Van Halen
This is a real dudes rock album. Two of my favourites up front, Jump and Panama. Both with superb instrumentals and decent vocals. These two both get me very hyped.
Top jimmy and Drop Dead Legs had some pretty sweet guitar and drums parts.
Instrumentals are good overall and very mu huch a product of their time with the overdriven and squealing guitars. The vocals are here and there
4
Jul 29 2024
Thriller
Michael Jackson
This is pretty close to a greatest hits compilation. Ridded with bangers. Thriller, Beat it and Billie Jean are immaculate.
Baby be mine, The Lady in my Life and PYT were new ones for me that I enjoyed.
Human nature had great vocals of course, but didn't hit quite as hard as others.
Spectacular overall. King of Pop
5
Jul 30 2024
Can't Buy A Thrill
Steely Dan
Superb album. I adored the instrumentals. Vocals and lyrics were great overall.
Didn't enjoy Brooklyn or Turn That Heartbeat Over Again as much as the rest of the album but these were still pretty good on their own.
So many bangers on this album
5
Jul 31 2024
Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs
Marty Robbins
Favourites:
Big Iron, They're Hanging Me Tonight, Billy the Kid, The Master's Call, El Paso, Saddle Tramp
Vocals and songwriting are fantastic, no doubt. Some songs have particularly superb instrumentals, when the bass and guitar work hits just right. Overall fantastic album.
5
Aug 02 2024
Reggatta De Blanc
The Police
Message in a bottle - this is the hit, it's catchy, I like the instruments, I don't care for the lyrics or vocals
Regatta de blanc - this song has minimal vocals, which helps it immensely. Reading the lyrics on Spotify is funny. I really enjoyed the last minute, no vocals just drums, bass and guitar, if the rest of the album was as nice as the last minute of this song it'd be awesome.
It's alright for you - great guitar solo in the middle, I'd like to learn how to play it. Rest of the song was very ordinary
Bring on the night - rubbish lyrics,
abysmal vocals I couldn't stand another hour of The Police after this one, and I've got 7 tracks to go. Guitar work not great not terrible. Drummer and bassist would have been really bored in this one.
Deathwish - not great not terrible, still let down by the vocals. Instrumental were decent enough.
On Any other Day - wackier lyrics made it a more interesting listen, vocals were less grading than usual. Instrumentals were nothing special
Beds too big without you - I liked the bass parts, that's about it. More rubbish lyrics.
Contact - At least this one was over quickly
Does everyone stare - I quite liked this one, lyrics and vocals worked fine. Instrumentals were solid too. Had a good build up around the middle. Perhaps it was helped by the piano throughout.
No Time This Time - All the instruments were cooking on this one, but they found some kind of filter that made the vocals much worse and more annoying. Really nice guitar solo in the middle which the other tracks lack. Drum parts were great.
I guess The Police were ahead of their time with this album, but they were leading the way for music I really don't like. It blows me away the band has 31.1 million monthly listeners in Spotify, The Beatles have 37 million. I'd like to interrogate one of their top listeners.
Sting should have left the band and focused on his acting career. It would have helped this album if he'd done so, that's for sure
2
Aug 05 2024
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Arctic Monkeys
In the brief moments where I can understand what Alex Turner is yapping about, I find it thoroughly uninteresting, and not relatable, just pap.
I really dislike Alex Turner's vocal style with the Artic Monkeys, this is subjective but it certainly precluded me from listening to the album a second time.
The best performance I've ever heard from Alex Turner was a live acoustic cover of 'Feels Like We Only Go Backwards' by Tame Impala. I quite like it and that performance is better than anything I've listened to on this album.
The instrumentals have glimpses of unique hooks and momentum but it's few and far between. The instrumentals are quite repetitive even between tracks albeit technically sound. Very much a product of its time but I don't think it's held up.
The songs in this album elicit very little from me, nothing to chew on.
Really not an album for me.
2
Aug 06 2024
Songs Of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
I'd listened to Suzanne before, but not the rest of the album. Boy am I glad I did, each track just about reaches the same level of quality as Suzanne which is incredible.
Both the lyrics and the music are masterpieces in their own right, the sensation to me was like the bit in Ratatouille where Remy eats the Strawberry and the Cheese at the same time. Cohen is one of the best to ever do it.
A lot of good folk music I find is generally well written but sometimes falls short in the instrumentals or the vocals, but Leonard Cohen and this album are a cut above. The magnificent finger picked guitar, solid bass in a few tracks, fun percussion in Sisters of Mercy and the angelic backup vocals in Suzanne.
I feel inadequate just writing this piddly review about an album put together by a wordsmith.
5
Aug 07 2024
At Fillmore East
The Allman Brothers Band
I'd heard the Allman Brothers before, but only with later studio tracks like Ramblin' Man, but they never stuck with me.
I quite like this album, great blues guitar solos. Vocals get the job done. I think if I was in the crowd for these performances in '71 it'd probably go very hard and I'd be well and truly all about it.
Statesboro Blues - This tune is great, fantastic blues rock guitar, probably the best of the album. I think the tighter length helps immensely. Lyrics are standard fare.
You don't Love Me - some of the solos show proficiency and some nice licks but ultimately lingered on too long, quite a bit of needless repetition particularly between minute 7 and 11. Sometimes a Live show just turns into a Jam session with an audience and not in a good way.
Whipping Post - I'd always thought this was a Frank Zappa song, pleasant surprised to find out there's another version of this great tune. I don't mind this tremendously long live version, it has its fun quirks but I prefer the studio version off their first and self titled album
4
Aug 08 2024
Slippery When Wet
Bon Jovi
Let it Rock - opening with an electric organ is very cool. They rest of the track was quite good, standard 80s rock fare.
You Give Love A Bad Name & Livin on a Prayer - Quintessential 80s arena rock, iconic. If you want to blow your voice out singing karaoke on the beers, Livin on a Prayer is the way to do it. Vocals and instrumentals just spectacular on both of these
Social Disease - glad I had headphones on for the start of this one
Wanted Dead or Alive - Incredible start to the song, very cool and I wish it continued along the same vein. Instrumentals are excellent throughout the rest of the track. I imagine the lyrics made very coked out 80s guys in Corvettes feel really cool.
A lot of the songs in this album start in a very interesting and unique way and then Bon Jovi remembers he's making an 80s album and Hollywood movies need to use his songs for cheesy montage scenes for the next 10 years, and then again 30 years later but ironically.
The album is like eating a whole cake that's all icing, it's so over the top and jacked up, it gives me a headache. Everyone likes icing though.
4
Aug 09 2024
Searching For The Young Soul Rebels
Dexys Midnight Runners
For starters I'm reading the lyrics to a bunch of these songs in Spotify as the song plays and it flat out doesn't match what they're saying most of the time. The prime example of this is There There My Dear. How can anyone sing along to this, nobody sounds like this.
Geno - good tune, I can understand I bit more of what he's singing about and it's enjoyable. Instrumentals stood out a bit more too.
I don't know what you'd call this kind of music on this album but it's really not for me.
I gave Come On Eileen and The Celtic Soul Brothers a listen off Too Rye Ay. Better tunes than anything in this album by a long way. Took them 2 years to figure out how to write bangers.
2
Aug 12 2024
Guero
Beck
Really enjoying the instrumentals and just about all the tracks
Tracks 12 and 13 are a bit ordinary. All the rest a great in their own way.
There's a few tracks where Beck has the Chris Cornell-lite vocal style common with grunge rock from around this period. I don't mind it, and works for these songs more often than not.
My highlights: E-Pro and Broken Drum, the guitar was spectacular on these two. Scarecrow, luv me harmonica, simple as. Missing, excellent string section popping in reminded me of some late Beatles songs.
Honourable Mentions: Go it Alone, Hell Yes and Girl, very fun groovy tunes
Overall a great album, lots of variety, superb instrumentals throughout. Vocals solid overall.
4
Aug 13 2024
Lady Soul
Aretha Franklin
Wow, the lady from the Blues Brothers had a great solo career, that's awesome.
Ain't No Way, Chain of Fools, Money Won't Change You, A Natural Woman, all bangers.
Niki Hoeky is a bit weaker compared to the other hitters.
I think I would have enjoyed going to church more if they busted out numbers like People Get Ready.
Aretha Franklin is one of the best to ever do it, without a doubt. She only got better after this album particularly with a higher calibre backing ensemble, but this album is strong overall nonetheless.
4
Aug 14 2024
Forever Changes
Love
Alone Again Or - sounds very familiar and I'm not sure why. This song has great instrumentals and vocals, solid all around. I can see why this is the top of their listened on Spotify
A house is not a motel - pretty good too overall, guitars and drums doing heavy lifting on this track with some great solos
Maybe the People would be the times or between Clark or Hilldale - nonsense track name, why so long. Great vocals on this one though
You set the scene - vocals were good on this one, the instrumentals were very Sargent Pepper-esque towards the end of the track. Although Sargent Pepper came out exactly six months after this album. Interesting, but I won't investigate further.
Other tracks are a quite average. I seems like the band were on par with other early psychedelic rock coming coming out at the time bud didn't have as much going for it.
I just looked this up, since 1994 Love has a guy in the band that goes by 'Rusty Squeezebox', unfortunately this isn't also the instrument they play in the band.
3
Aug 15 2024
Sister
Sonic Youth
Really didn't like the guitar work in Schizophrenia, sounded really amateurish.
Catholic Black - maybe the least dreary song in the track. Had a better energy and pace compared most of the other tracks. Pretty cool but in the middle.
Pipeline/Killtime - enjoyed the drowned out psych guitar part at the end
Hotwire my heart had some cool guitar parts.
There was nothing else to write home about on this one. Some tracks have glimmers of interest, but usually fall flat. Don't think I'd listen to any of this again, not checkout the group's other music.
2
Aug 16 2024
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Animal Collective
My Girls - kaleidoscopic, loved it
Also Frightened - instrumentals are awesome and wouldn't be out of place in the Hotline Miami cutscenes, vocals are really yucky. The vocalist is like if my aunty told me at a family event that my annoying cousin moved overseas to sing and make music and I should checkout his first song. This is the vocals of that song. Gave this one a second go, vocals aren't that bad but not as good as others on the album.
Summertime - I really like this one, vocals and instrumentals are both great.
Bluish - I really liked this spacey one. It all came together, instrumentals and vocals, very nice.
Guys Eyes - really creative instrumentals and sounds that actually sounded pleasant. Kind of an epic track all put together, really impressive.
Taste - like this one a lot. Everything on point, enjoyed the lyrics, vocals and instrumentals. The jingle bells added a lot
Lion in a coma - chaotic and unique in a cool and fun way. Liked the oingo bingo instrument throughout sounds great. Might have been a didgeridoo too but that was a nice addition
No more runnin - loved the instrumentals and vocals on this. Very spacey and chill.
Brother sport - very frenetic energy. Very dense with stuff going on I'm the middle and comes together at the end in a satisfying way.
Overall a great album, lots of variety every which way. I can't think of a track that really misses, but there are plenty of hits. I've listened to this album a few times now, it's damn good and gets better each time
5
Aug 19 2024
The Queen Is Dead
The Smiths
The Queen is Dead - wtf this bops, instrumentals are immaculate, the drum, bass, guitar and loose percussion all doing amazing things. Vocals are more my speed, better than the most of their hits.
Frankly, Mr. Shankly - goofy ahh song. I didn't enjoy it quite a bit though, instruments all doing wonderful things. Morrissey wasn't too bad in this one.
I know it's over - starts off like a song one of the bands in that weird Twin Peaks roadhouse would play while Agent Cooper tweaks out in the corner. Great lyrics well sung.
Never Had No One Ever - really liked this one overall.
Cemetery Gates - this one didn't jive with me in any way, but nothing about it is particularly awful.
Bigmouth strikes again - bass and drums going hard on this one.
Vicar in a Tutu - another goofy ahh song, but it's sounds very good. Instruments and vocals on point, the thumping bass in particular
There is a light that never goes out - I think this song having been needle dropped in over a dozen movies I've seen kinda ruined it for me in the past. However, actively listening to it now I can certainly appreciate that the instrumental work is excellent and I enjoy it a lot. The vocal performance and a few of the lyrics are put on a bit much.
Some girls are bigger than others - really liked the layered guitar, the reverby steel string guitar sounded great
I think Morrissey's yodel-esque voice on most of these tracks make it hard for me to totally love the album. I can see the appeal for a lot of people, it just doesn't work for me. The vocals were most enjoyable for me on I Know It's Over and The Queen Is Dead.
The songwriting is great and clever, sometimes a bit silly/quirky which is all good. The hits on this album have been played to death in films and series for decades to the point where I can't take the lyrics of these songs seriously. Each line of these hits deal psychic damage to me.
The instrumentals are on point throughout the whole album and I enjoyed it immensely.
4
Aug 20 2024
Bad
Michael Jackson
Bad - Total banger, one of Michael's best, instrumentals are better than most of the rest of the album. Layered keyboards and a brass section, I couldn't ask for anymore.
The Way You Make Me Feel - Another Total banger, one of Michael's best. More excellent thumping bass and synth, some trumpet peppered in.
Speed Demon - this one is okay, I didn't really Juve with the vocals or lyrics. The instrumentals wouldn't be out of place in a middling arcade machine racing game.
Liberian Girl - Vocals and songwriting are quite nice. Instrumentals were quite unique to the rest of the album and sounded pretty good.
Just Good Friend - banger. Good overall.
Another Part of Me - instrumentals going very hard, nice guitar bits shining through. Underrated track, I enjoy it a lot.
Man in the Mirror - Another total banger, one of Michael's best. The choir part was a great addition. Very catchy song, and the instrumentals were on point
I just Can't Stop loving you - a smooth and cozy one.
Dirty Diana - this song is not good. Michael could not salvage it.
Smooth Criminal - iconic, takes a bit to get going and the second half is a lot better.
Leave me Alone - This track sounds great. It's a bop with some awesome hooks.
HEE HEE WOOOHOOO AWWWW
This album must be where all the synth and drum sample sounds in my school music class keyboard came from
4
Aug 21 2024
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
I really like the samples and instrumentals, reminds me of Jet Set Radio at points. 'How I Could just kill a man' I really like the overdriven guitar trills, it sounds awesome. Each of the tracks had their own instrumental and sample quirks which are really cool.
I generally don't think this album is for me, I'm not a big fan of the vocals. Some of the bars were quite funny, 'hand on the pump' had some bangers. If it wasn't for the solid instrumentals this album would have been a real chore to get through.
3
Aug 22 2024
The Healer
John Lee Hooker
The Healer - aaaahhh this is fucken awesome. Immaculate guitar and keyboard work. Love the percussion. Santana is NOT fucken around on this one. Maybe one of the greatest collabs of all time.
I'm in the Mood - another great song, nice duet. Blues guitar and bass on point, with a nice guitar solo in the middle
Cuttin' out - love the tempo in this one. This'd be good walkin' around music
My Dream - really pleasant song in the slower side, very well put together, sometimes less is more
Rest of the album is pretty good, but it kinda blends together a bit. Good blues guitar all round. Consistently powerful vocals.
4
Aug 23 2024
A Date With The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
Love hurts, Lucille and Cathy's Clown stood out a bit better than the others. Rest of the album was pretty dull and a chore to get through.
Donna, Donna ends very awkwardly, like the fadeout didn't work properly. Maybe this is an issue with the remaster idk.
I'm sure they were rock and roll trailblazers but it hasn't aged as well as acts and albums that would come out only a few years later.
At least 'A Date R@pe With The Everly Brothers' was only 27 minutes long
2
Aug 26 2024
Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys
To All The Girls - I identified with the lyrics of this song in a big way. This review goes out to all the Oriental girls.
Shake Your Rump - A really fun one, really liked the instrumentals and samples.
Johnny Ryall - Another really fun one, really liked the instrumentals and samples.
Egg Man - quite wild and even frenetic in parts, but I still liked it a lot
High Plains Drifter - not a fan of this one, samples were all kinds of fucked up, and the vocals were not as good as the others so far
The Sounds of Science - this song is is all over the place, better after the midpoint. The Beatles guitar sample was an great choice.
3-Minute Rule - loved the bass. I liked the tempo on this one. Solid beats and samples. Lyrics are better than many of the others on this album so far.
Hey Ladies - immaculate track, everything going for it. Instrumentals going very hard. Vocals are more my speed. Lyrics are fun and have a great energy. Samples are on POINT.
5-Piece Chicken Dinner - pretty neat I enjoyed it, stick out pretty hard and was quite jarring off the back of Hey Ladies.
Looking Down The Barrel of a Gun - HARD. Really cool track. Not sure if I enjoyed this one because of the rock samples they picked or if it was just really well mixed but this was good stuff either way.
Car Thief - fantastic instrumentals, enjoyed the lyrics a lot.
What comes around - really fun lyrics, but the instrumentals were a bit more lopsided than others, not as sharp as others on this album.
Shadrach - I liked the Mario Andretti reference. Track was standard fare otherwise.
B-Boy Bouillabaisse -
I really liked A Year and A Day, Hello Brooklyn.
Didn't really like AWOL. The rest were all pretty good.
I've listened to only a couple Beastie Boys tracks before, nothing from this album. I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. A few tracks I saved for really hitting the spot. Not a genre that is really my speed but I've got to recognise a great album when I hear it.
To summarise, this album is a trip, it's got funky beats, and I can bug out to it!
4
Aug 27 2024
Kid A
Radiohead
Everything in its right place - enjoyed the synth keyboard and the vocals a lot on this track.
Kid A - if you're going to have Stephen Hawking feature at least credit the man, god damn. Enjoyed the instrumental work, very neat.
The National Anthem - I don't know what was going on but I enjoyed it as the song went on.
How to Disappear Completely - Great vocal performance. The guitar and string parts and string parts were excellent , particularly towards the end.
Optimistic - I fw this one. Sounds great
In Limbo - one of my favourites on this album. The layering works really well just before it gets to being overwhelming, and then gets very abstract to close off.
Idioteque - nauseating
Morning Bell - Really liked the instrumentals, the guitar in particular.
Motion Picture Soundtrack - started to enjoy this one after the midpoint. The harp and choir parts coming together sound fantastic
I enjoyed the instrumental tracks on the album too, very atmospheric and well made.
Really good album overall, far from my favourite Radiohead album though. As a more experimental album there's not as many songs I'd single out to play against but there are a few.
4
Aug 28 2024
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
Northern Whale - very silly instrumentals, but didn't sound bad. Whale sounds on the guitar were pretty neat. Distinctly Gorillaz D-Sides energy. Enjoyed the vocals on this too.
Herculean - liked the instrumentals in the one
Title track is a good jam.
None of the other songs are worth writing home about, nor are they terrible.
It's pretty cool that Damon Albarn worked on this album after his masterpiece Demon Days, got all the mediocre songs out of his system, and followed that up with another brilliant album in the form of Plastic Beach.
3
Aug 29 2024
Nighthawks At The Diner
Tom Waits
Highlights
Warm Beer and Cold Women, Eggs and Sausage. Nighthawks Postcards was very fun. Big Joe and Phantom 309 was reminiscent of a Johnny Cash tune if it was quite loose.
Last song sounded like he was closing out a stand-up set.
Very humorous album. I enjoyed it overall, the jazz and at points country music was great.
I don't think it's something I'd listen to again, but it was a unique, enjoyable, albeit long album.
3
Aug 30 2024
The La's
The La's
One hit wonder band. Even the 'hit' on this album is mid at best. I guess it's just an earworm pop song that's made it into karaoke mixes because literally anyone could convincingly sing this song which is almost an indictment on how basic this tune is.
This was a total chore to get through. Really plain, no spark or panache. It must have been a chore for the band members too because The La's have had gone through more band members (25) than they've released songs on studio albums (12-17 idk)
It's astounding to me that anyone would give enough of a fuck about this band or this album to warrant a DELUXE edition. The peak chart position in the UK was 30 and in the US it was 196. Nobody gave a fuck about this album when it game out, why am I listening to this in current year?
1
Sep 02 2024
Superfly
Curtis Mayfield
Little Child Running Wild - awesome track, a great start. Saxophone going hard.
Pusherman - not my favourite of on the album. Just doesn't reach the same highs as my favourites on this album
Freddie's Dead - a standout amongst bangers. Instrumentals are immaculate. Brass section was awesome. Bass guitarist getting a workout. The best tunes have a spicy little flute.
Really funky and cool. Totally adore the instrumentals, no critiques. Vocals and lyrics are pretty great overall. Kinda makes me want to watch the movie this is from.
4
Sep 03 2024
Machine Head
Deep Purple
I've only heard Hush and Smoke in the Water from Deep Purple before listening to this album for the review.
Highway Star - this just rocks. Awesome tempo and layered guitar bits. I just love this tune, it's so cool and I'm very glad I've discovered it.
Maybe I'm a Leo - this one is already, nothing special off about it, just doesn't hit the same marks as the other tracks in the album. Pretty good guitar solo followed by a keyboard solo around the middle. Another solo at the end, okay this is pretty sweet then.
Pictures of home - another awesome tune that just rips. Same vein as Highway Star that has an awesome thumping tempo. This has a bass solo too!!!
Never Before - a little funkier at the start. Decent track overall, not as epic as some of the other tunes in the album. Helped somewhat by the solo around the end
Smoke on the water - can't take this song seriously anymore. It was introduced to me when I was 8 and learning guitar for the first time. The riff is seared into my brain permanently. I guess it speaks to how immortal this song is that it's so simple and catchy that it's literally baby's first tune learning and instrument. Great song overall, keyboard, bass and drum bits were excellent which I hadn't paid enough attention to on this track in the past. Superb guitar solo too.
Lazy - really enjoyed the keyboard section at the start. Best parts of this song are either side of the vocals. Particularly during the first section of vocals before the harmonica the bit the song went mild for me before it picks back up again. I did enjoy this track though.
Space Truckin' - pretty fun lyrics in this one. Most of the instrumentals were pretty basic but this didn't stop it from being an enjoyable track. Not as good as others in this album.
When A Blind Man Cries - this might be my favourite on the album. I liked the slower tempo to close the album out. Vocals were clean and showed off more talent that some of the other tracks. The guitar parts too were sensational.
The more I listen to the album the better it gets. Which is taking it from a 4 to 5/5
5
Sep 04 2024
Tellin’ Stories
The Charlatans
North Country Boy - this one was kinda catchy, instrumentals were more interesting than most of the other tracks. Solid guitar parts, with decent vocals.
One to Another - quite liked the instrumentals on this, guitar parts were great. This tune had a great structure. No wonder this is the most streamed in the album, it's got a lot more going for it overall.
You're a big girl now - this one really sucked. A stinker amongst mid songs
How can you leave us - same thoughts as above. This sucked
None of the other songs are worth writing home about. The first two songs mentioned above have have inched the album from a 2 to a 3 for me. The others in this album are really plain, and could serve as forgettable filler soundtrack in any late 90s early 00s English film about Hugh Grant running from one side of London to the other to stop some bird from getting married to a rich ponce she hates, idk.
3
Sep 05 2024
Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert)
Bob Dylan
Disk 1
Fourth Time Around - really enjoyed the way this sounded.
Visions of Johanna - really enjoyed the lyrics on this one in particular, stopped me in my tracks to listen to the end of the verse lmao. Quality dips severely at the end which is unfortunate.
Just like a woman - this one was great all around.
Mr. Tambourine Man - Dylan really needed a lozenge at this point in the set.
Some of the harmonica and vocals are a bit rough around the edges. The nature of the album is that it has some rough parts in recording quality. The harmonica parts were really rough on the first track in particular but got better as the album went on.
Disk 2
Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat - the guitar solos in this were pretty terrible
Ballad of a thin Man - really liked this track, shame about the audio quality. I must check out the studio version
Like a Rolling Stone - I really like the studio version of this tune, instrumentally and vocally. This live version is very rough, audio quality is grim, and Dylan REALLY needs a lozenge his voice is blown out for 8 whole minutes. Tough to enjoy.
Standard blues rock fare overall on this disk.
Decent album overall, songs are a bit hit or miss for me. Not sure why a live album needs to make the shortlist. I prefer studio Dylan
3
Sep 06 2024
D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
I.B.M - sounds like it was the soundtrack to a experimental/psychedelic film project. If this was part of an AV experience it might go alright. On its own though it's a bit how ya goin'.
Hit By A Rock - as above ^
United - I think this is the whole of Sargent Peppers Lonley Hearts Club backwards and sped up. For the last time, there are no secret messages to Beelzebub or Moloch in the Beatles albums, stop looking.
Valley of the Shadow of Death - soundtrack to a film created by David Lynch's British twin.
Dead on Arrival - low-key I fuck with this one. Sounds kinda neat. Maybe the consistent backing beat his helping me along.
Weeping - guitars out of tune, to me this is like the part in Spiderman 3 where Venom is surrounded by the metal rods Spiderman is banging then to give Venon psychic damage, well I'm Venom in this scenario. Also, the worst vocals I've heard on the 1001 album list, all of the singers in my highschool's Battle of the Bands we're better than this.
Hamburger Lady - take the crumby vocals out and this is a decent soundtrack.
Hometime - CREEPY TRACK FOR PERVERTS
AB/7A - another decent soundtrack I enjoyed
At the end of all that, consider my Gristle, well and truly Throbbed
2
Sep 09 2024
I Should Coco
Supergrass
I'd like to know - pretty fantastic instrumentals, keyboard at the end, bass drums and guitar throughout. The thumping tempo was great. It's a shame the lyrics and vocals were underwhelming.
Cauiby the Fuzz - great instrumentals again. I enjoyed the lyrics and vocals more this time around.
Alright - this one was really fun. It deserves the play count on Spotify. Great instrumentals and solid albeit stylised vocals.
Lenny - Couldn't stop tapping my foot to this one. Great momentum, really enjoyed it.
Strange Ones - hated the vocals on this but loved the guitar solo
We're Not Supposed To - unlistenable and loathsome, this will tank the review score for me
Time - tediously mediocre
Sofa (Of My Lethargy) - The vocals weren't bad, but I really enjoyed the instrumentals. The instrumentals reminded me a bit of a longer song off Abbey Road or All Things Must Pass with a Billy Preston keyboard feature. A really pleasant track overall.
A really mixed bag. A few great tunes, average tracks throughout, and some really bad stinkers
3
Sep 10 2024
Getz/Gilberto
Stan Getz
Nothing to criticise. Sounds lush in all conceivable ways. I saved this whole album before reaching the first half of the first track. Impeccable vocals and instrumentals. I couldn't resist listening to this again immediately after the last track ended. Buttery smooth sax.
5
Sep 11 2024
Hms Fable
Shack
As soon as this album finished, Spotify played Doldrum by The La's next. The algorithm is too good, it can delineate meaningless FM radio Brit-slop and wanted to give me more.
There are flashes of good instrumentals on a few tracks, but not enough to save it. Vocals are actually really poor on a few tracks like Re-Instated.
I don't know what the point of this album was. Zero cultural resonance, why am I listening to this in current year.
I tried searching through Spotify for the song from this album Since I Met You (which I enjoyed the most despite being the least streamed) and Spotify thought I meant Since I Left You by The Avalanches which is a better song by a better act. Thank you Spotify for trying to gaslight me into not listening to dull mush music.
1
Sep 12 2024
At San Quentin
Johnny Cash
It's nice to have a live album where the audience isn't scrubbed out of the audio. It certainly wouldn't be appropriate to remove it on this album anyway because Cash asks the prisoners 2 songs in what they want to hear next. The prisoners are almost a 2nd or 3rd vocal performance in each track, they're so rowdy. Cash also tuning his guitar mid set and riffing for like 3 minutes at the end of Darlin Companion was pretty fun. "I'm sorry I couldn't hear you, I was talkin" - bars.
Cash is truly one of a kind.
Immaculate vocals, guitar, bass. Lyrics are always very authentic.
PSA - watch the video component of this. The prisoners go crazy when Cash plays San Quentin .
Everything in this album is great but the standouts for me were; Wanted Man, San Quentin, A Boy Named Sue, Folsom Prison Blues
5
Sep 13 2024
Palo Congo
Sabu
Instrumentals are great throughout, guitar and drums are excellent. Vocals are hit or miss. The call and response part in song 2 sucked and went on far too long.
The instrumental heavy tracks are great
3
Sep 16 2024
Stankonia
OutKast
I like the production and samples. Fair amount of decent tracks. This isn't really for me but I can appreciate it. Bombs over Baghdad was such a sick song, an unexpected but welcomed guitar solo, hell yeah. Some tracks around the tracks particularly in the second half I wasn't don't of bring the album down
3
Sep 17 2024
Back To Black
Amy Winehouse
2 great tracks, 2 that I really didn't enjoy, the rest were fine
Rehab sucks apparently, and this song does too. This might be ruined for me because it's the pop radio earworm on the album.
You know I'm not good and Me & Mr Jones are fine
I didn't enjoy Just friends.
Back To Black is really good. Certainly the best production. This could have been an awesome Bond theme song.
Love is a losing game and Tears Dry on their own are quite good too.
Wake up alone is an underrated banger. Thoroughly enjoyed this one.
Some unholy war, he can only hold her and Addicted were fine
3
Sep 18 2024
Go Girl Crazy
The Dictators
I admire the guitar work and lyrics on this energetic album. Great work overall
The Next Big Thing - incredible track, an instant add to the rotation.
I Got You Babe - I adored this cover; it was very enjoyable.
Back to Africa is a fun one
Master Race Rock, another wicked tune that I got a kick out of.
I also Live for Cars and Girls
4
Sep 19 2024
What's That Noise?
Coldcut
People Hold On - Stone-cold banger
Smoke Dis One - Clean as fuck, really liked it.
Cool and funky album overall. Steady quality throughout. Probably didn't need the Headmaster mix at the end, or the Beats and Pieces Remix, but wasn't intrusive enough to knock my score down.
It boggles the mind that this album was put together in 1989, when the technology at the time was a series of tubes, switches and dials.
This album walked so many of my favourite artists and albums could run.
5
Sep 20 2024
Kimono My House
Sparks
Overall, this album sounds like it was released in the 80s, despite being released a decade earlier. It is a bit how ya goin’ and outside the opening track, there isn’t too much I’d relisten to, but I can appreciate that nobody else was cranking out tunes like this in the mid-70s
Thumping opening track, loved it, saved.
Amateur Hour, decent track despite the name.
Here in Heaven, I quite liked it, middle of the track was solid, trails off a bit at the end.
Thank God It's Not Christmas - really solid track. This came together very well, production-wise, and I bopped along to it.
Hasta Manana, Monsieur - some nice catchy guitar sections, but the lyrics were ordinary and repetitive
Lots of the other songs were a bit campy and didn’t leave much for me to cling to.
Talent Is An Asset, Complaints, In my Family - These sounded more like standard 70s fare (not a bad thing) instrumentally and vocally.
Equator - a bit silly in the first half, not for me. The song gets worse as it goes along. The trumpets and loo loo laa laa vocals were quite annoying, couldn’t wait for this song to finish
Barbecutie - not great, not terrible
3
Sep 23 2024
The College Dropout
Kanye West
I'm hearing most of this album for the first time and it's is awesome. Great instrumentals, lyrics and vocals. The little interstitial tracks are fine
Particularly enjoyed We Don't Care, Spaceship, The New Workout Plan, Two Words
4
Sep 24 2024
Music From Big Pink
The Band
The Weight - really solid and catchy track, bass and guitars doing wonderful things. Liked the lyrics a lot.
Chest fever - quite enjoyed, liked the central progression and instrumentation
Not a fan of a few vocal performances throughout, I found it a bit grating at times. The instrument work was consistently good however. I’m a fan of the live jam quality that many of these tracks have.
4
Sep 25 2024
The Cars
The Cars
Good Times Roll - very ordinary tune
My Best Friend’s girl - song kinda sucked, instrument work saved it for me. Particularly the guitar and keyboards
Just what I needed - banger, sounds awesome instrumentally, synths, drums and guitar riffs and solo are all on point. Catchy vocals.
I’m in touch with your world - this starts off very goofy, we get glimpses of some sick guitar work and synths, which are nice. Just a goofy ahh song with great technical proficiency instrumentally and on the production end.
Don’t Cha stop - fell off for me quite quickly after a briefly strong start
You’re all I’ve got tonight - Liked this one instrumentally, great guitar and drum work.
Bye Bye Love - Synth solo, yes thanks. Great track, liked this one quite a bit
Decent album overall, instruments were very sharp with interesting bits throughout. I particularly liked the second half. If not for Just What I Needed it’d be a blowout in favour of the last 6 tracks.
4
Oct 14 2024
Bringing It All Back Home
Bob Dylan
Favourites
Subterranean Homesick Blues, Outlaw Blues, On the road again, Bob Dylan's 115th dream (the blooper at the start was kinda odd though), Gates of Eden
Beautiful guitar work, simple but great effect. Dylan's vocals are hit or miss for me, but the songwriting always hits.
Great album overall, really enjoyed it.
4
Nov 15 2024
The Hour Of Bewilderbeast
Badly Drawn Boy
Favourites
Everybody's Stalking, another pearl, Bewilderbeast
Disliked
The Shining, cause a rockslide
Lots of variety, a bit hit or miss. Overall not my thing but there were a few tracks in on the album I did quite enjoy.
3
Nov 18 2024
Synchronicity
The Police
Synchronicity 1 - pretty sweet instrumentals. Vocals weren't as bad from Sting, better than on most other tracks of his
Walking in Your Footsteps - Horribly grading vocals. Instrumentals were unique, interesting but not really my thing
O My God - This song should be called, 'O My God, All The Reveb Dials Are Stuck On The Max, O Well It Can't Be Helped, Play On'. Just a nutty song overall.
Mother - Christ this was more diabolical trash from Sting, maybe me feel really in uneasy, was that the point? At least the bass guitar work was decent.
Miss Gradenko - once again, fucked up white boy reggae nonsense from Sting what I hated. Maybe the catchiest guitar hooks so far and solid instrumentals. I'm going insane.
Synchronicity 2 - I really liked this one, more of a straight up and down rock song. Really nice tune. Fabulous and catchy instrumentals. Bipolar ass album.
Every Breath You Take - The album very noticeably changes gears at this point, this track is way more polished and produced. Seems like they knew at this time this would be the hit. This might be one of the most lopsided albums for plays in Spotify that I've ever seen. Probably a side effect of the popular 80s playlist including it consistently. Definitely the best vocals and lyrics on the album. Production value of the instrumentals are top notch.
King of Pain - this track really sucked. Bass and guitar work were good in parts but no where near good enough to save this. The fade out and restart towards the end was utter trash, why put that in the song, somehow made this song worse.
Wrapped around your finger - the first minute and a bit of this song is torture, gets better for a moment when the instrumentals pick up before it's goes back to being rubbish again. I'm glad white boy reggae, at least in this form was short lived. The biggest slog on the album is this track I reckon.
Tea in the Sahara - boring snoozer, album filler. This goes nowhere, how did it make it onto the album.
Murder By Numbers - guitar and basswork is catchy, lyrics are fucking goofy, no thanks. Cut the clapping at the end, Christ.
A few of decent tracks in this album, but its littered with forgettable stinkers. Sting's vocals and lyrics don't deserve these instrumentals.
2
Nov 19 2024
Grace
Jeff Buckley
Hallelujah is definitely a standout for me, fantastic cover. Overdoing it a touch with the vocal flourishing on some other tracks, but Jeff is a really solid singer overall. Instrumentals are consistently good throughout the album with decent variety.
Highlights - mojo pin, hallelujah, dream brother, forget her
Lowlights - lilac wine
4
Nov 20 2024
Exile On Main Street
The Rolling Stones
Pretty groovy and fun album overall. But it did run its course with a lull towards the end
Highlights - Rocks off, Rip this joint, sweet Virginia, ventilator blues
Lowlights - casino boogie, tumbling dice
3
Dec 23 2024
Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin
Highlights - whole lotta love, thank you, heartbreaker (loved the solo), ramble on, bring it on home
Lowlights - living loving maid
Led Zeppelin will always have a place in heart. Mothership was the first physical piece of musical media I'd ever bought after my guitar teacher told me to go and buy some good guitar music. I don't listen to them as much as I used to but most of my favourite bands these days still cite Led Zep as a crucial influence (only musically!)
This is probably one of the better albums, a nice spread of classics. No major complaints
5
Dec 24 2024
At Mister Kelly's
Sarah Vaughan
Great instrumentals from the band and vocals from Sarah Vaughan. This genre of music isn't typically my speed but I enjoyed this album quite a bit overall.
4
Apr 29 2025
Aja
Steely Dan
Great jam overall, fantastic instrumentals and composition from Steely Dan as usual. Pretty relaxing and easy going album.
All the tracks were on par quality wise, Deacon blues, Peg and Josie stood out a bit as favourites
4
May 15 2025
Since I Left You
The Avalanches
This is so funky. I like the samples bleeding over between songs, it makes it a great album for a full listen. The only mark on it is some of the repetitive vocals samples overstayed a bit on a few tracks, but not enough for me to knock my score down
5
Jun 04 2025
Here Come The Warm Jets
Brian Eno
Instrumentals are pretty awesome throughout, however there were some truly odd synthesizer parts in The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch (awesome name) that were not for me.
Baby's on fire was fantastic.
Vocals were pretty ordinary throughout the album, particularly on Driving me Backwards, instrumentals were very nice on this one however.
On Some Faraway Beach, an insane leap up in quality, astounding, no notes, just bliss.
Blank Frank, sounds very much like a late Beatles tune to me (which is a good thing).
Dead Fink's don't talk, I really enjoyed the whimsical lyrics, production on this is fantastic, cemented by superb instrumentals. The last 25 odd seconds of this track were very scary someone should have warned me.
Some of Them Are Old, another superb track.
Here comes the warm jets, this track could have come out in any subsequent decade from this album and it wouldn't be out of place, astoundingly timeless.
The second half of this album brought my rating up significantly.
Highlights
Needle in the camel's eye, baby's on fire, on some faraway beach, dead Fink's don't talk, here come the warm jets
5
Jun 10 2025
The Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd
This is about as close as it gets to a perfect album. This could be my favourite album.
No critiques worthy of note, if at all.
The time is gone, the songs are over, thought I’d something more to say.
5
Jun 16 2025
Moving Pictures
Rush
Superb guitar solo, bass backing, drum work and keyboard/synth sections, Tom Sawyer GOES VERY HARD.
Many other tunes are close, but don’t quite reach the heights of Tom Sawyer.
Red Barchetta had the neat harmonics section at the end, along with the synths.
The Camera Eye was quite repetitive and dull compared to the wicked tracks on the first half of the album, that was until the solo at the end, which was good, but not enough to redeem the other 10 minutes of the track.
Witch Hunt, very unique start for a song on this album, decent change of pace and sound.
Great album overall.
Highlights: Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta
4
Jun 17 2025
Tea for the Tillerman
Cat Stevens
Yusuf is a fantastic singer with an impressive range. Songwriting is superb too.
I was impressed with the production and mixing, it all sounded polished. There's a special quality to guitar pieces you can picture every pluck of the strings and the reverberation of the strummed notes in the body. Beautiful and heartfelt album, I liked every track.
Favourites
Miles from nowhere, Wild World, On The Road to Find Out, Father and Son
5
Jun 18 2025
Pretzel Logic
Steely Dan
Rikki Don’t Lose That Number - Clean as fuck guitar solo in the second half, which is the best half by far. Pretty slick tune overall, really liked it.
Night by Night - pretty good instrumentals, liked the sax in the mix.
Any Major Dude Will Tell You - beautifully written, produced and performed.
Charlie Freak - great lyrics and instrumentals.
A disappointing album overall, certainly when they have Can’t Buy A Thrill and Aja in the catalogue, which are all-timers. 2 bangers, 2 great, the rest were not much to write home about, which is a bit sad.
3
Jun 19 2025
Want Two
Rufus Wainwright
Agnus Dei is awesome, I stopped what I was doing at the midpoint to take in what I was hearing. This is the high water mark of the album, its unique and cool, nothing else comes close to it.
Ah heck, back to normal songs, damn it, The One You Love is pretty good.
The vocals on Little Sister was giving Bublé, not sure if it’s a Canadian thing, I will investigate further.
Wicked bass on Waiting for a Dream, great production and strings too sounded like a recent Radiohead track (which I’m generally quite fond of)
Crumb by Crumb was fun by fun. Enjoyed it quite a bit
Old Whore’s Diet was a sharp change of gears. Not bad to start, but lingered far too long
Rufus vocals are consistently enjoyable throughout the album. Any orchestral buts in this album I liked a lot
Favourites
Agnus Dei, Waiting for a Dream, The One You Love
4
Jun 20 2025
16 Lovers Lane
The Go-Betweens
Love goes on - great catchy opening track
Quiet heart - I adored this song lyrically, awesome production and instrumentals.
Love is a sign - gushing over instrumentals and lyrics will continue. Bass, strings, guitars, and of course, the harmonica, are getting a generational run here. Saved this track.
Streets of your Town - ahh, here we go. I’ve heard this one more than a few times. I do enjoy it, but it’s not as ambitious instrumentally, albeit solid lyrically. I’ve also listened to pieces of this track on probably 12 different TV ad campaigns throughout my childhood.
The second half of the album trails off a little, not as strong as the first 6 tracks.
Diverse sounds and styles on this album, this was a treat to listen to.
4
Jun 23 2025
Cloud Nine
The Temptations
Incredible vocals throughout this album, bass singers like this fella are always a treat. Instrumentals never missed the mark. Wasn't a great deal of variety in sound and styles. Pretty wild to have an almost 10-minute track, in an album of otherwise exclusively 2:30 to 3:30 minute songs.
Favourites: Cloud Nine, Hey Girl, Runaway Child Running Wild
4
Jun 24 2025
Fulfillingness' First Finale
Stevie Wonder
Boogie on Reggae Woman - Instruments going wild on this one. Very fun and upbeat.
Creepin - Smooth
You Haven't Done Nothin' - super funky, the brass instruments and layered guitars and bass working wonders. Exceptionally rousing vocals.
Vocals consistently great, with some tracks standing out in this regard more than others. There's a great variety in sound and style on the album, too, with a night-and-day difference between 'It Ain't No Use' and 'They Won't Go When I Go', both superb tracks.
Favourites - Boogie On The Reggae Woman, You Haven't Done Nothin', They Won't Go When I Go
4
Jun 25 2025
Modern Kosmology
Jane Weaver
Literally Who Tier artist (and I don't mean The Who).
H>A>K and The Architect are fine, the rest is boring slop.
The production is okay at points, and the vocals are consistently average. The guitar work on Loops In The Secret Society could have been performed in the studio by a primary school music class.
This came out in 2017, it's astounding that the authors/critics involved in this list felt the need to include it. This album influenced nobody.
2
Jun 26 2025
Among The Living
Anthrax
Superb the guitar work on my highlight tracks, and the instrumentals throughout the album were solid to great. Many songs had a good momentum that thumped along and switched up at the right intervals. Enjoyed the solos on NFL and Skeleton in the Closet. The lead vocals don’t gel with me. Lyrics are generally quite basic too.
Highlights
I am the Law, Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.), A Skeleton In The Closet, Medley
4
Jun 27 2025
The Blueprint
JAY Z
Good use of samples throughout the album, but it hasn’t aged well overall. This doesn’t seem to be my speed. I am, however, quite fond of the bass line on Renegade. The album did have a couple of bangers.
A few of these songs sucked quite bad, like All I Need, Renegade and Girls Girls Girls. This album was a bit of a slog to get through at points, the runtime really didn’t help it.
Highlights: Izzo, Heart of the City, Blueprint
2
Jun 30 2025
Rust Never Sleeps
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
This is my first solo Neil Young album. I’ve not consciously listened to Neil Young before.
My My Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) - I had no idea that the Chromatics track Into The Black wasn’t an original. I quite like this version too, very different of course. Great lyrics and central chord progression. Into the Black was a nice followup to this and closer for the album.
Thrasher - quite liked the instrumentals and songwriting on this.
This album is a bit of a fairybread sandwich, I liked the bread more than the filling. Not great, not terrible.
Highlights:
My My Hey Hey (Out of the Blue), Thrasher, My My Hey Hey (Into The Black)
3
Jul 01 2025
Graceland
Paul Simon
Paul Simon is an amazing songwriter with an effortlessly smooth singing voice. The instrumentals on this album are fantastic, the echoey guitar and fuzzy bass lines come together so well. You can call me Al goes particularly hard. Front-loaded album for sure.
Some of the more inconspicuous tracks on this album, instrumentally, reminded me of 2010s comedies, particularly Sandler ones. I felt this the most on Crazy Love Vol II. That track could have played under a wide shot of a resort or cruise ship in one of the movies Sandler made to give his friends millions of dollars and film while on a nice holiday. Still easy to listen to though.
Highlights: The Boy In The Bubble, Graceland, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes, You Can Call Me Al
4
Jul 02 2025
Halcyon Digest
Deerhunter
I enjoyed the vocals and instrumentals overall. This album is a well-packaged one; the more upbeat tracks have better replay value. I liked the sound and style offered up, even on the slower and moodier tracks
4
Jul 03 2025
Who's Next
The Who
‘Who’s Next’ is what I repeatedly think as I feverishly catch up on 200 missed reviews.
Baba O’Riley, iconic, unforgettable, immortalised. Sublime instrumentals that go every which way.
Behind Blue Eyes, better songwriting and vocals than Baba O’Riley. I liked the slower and more acoustic sound that builds up to the last third of the track, which came together really well.
The ending of Won’t Get Fooled Again, hell yeah, I had no idea that scream came from this song.
This album’s instruments are consistently on point, only let down by some more ordinary songs in the middle compared to the hits at either end.
Highlights: Baba O'Riley, Bargain, Getting In Tune, Behind Blue Eyes
4
Jul 04 2025
Wild Is The Wind
Nina Simone
Four Women, superb songwriting vocals that interrupted what I was doing. A pleasure. The crescendo and the end was incredible.
Break Down and Let It All Out seems a bit underrated. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Incredible voice from Nina Simone, with a great band behind her.
Highlights: Four Women, Lilac Wine, Break Down and Let It All Out
5
Jul 07 2025
Jagged Little Pill
Alanis Morissette
Astounding vocals and songwriting on display by Alanis. I enjoyed the instrumentals all around, despite them being very much a product of their time. The sentiments expressed in the hit songs on this album are timeless, even if that probably gets lost by the average listener of the Totally 90s Throwback playlists. Giving these songs, particularly the hits, a proper listen, rather than just absorbing them over a car radio, has been a pleasure.
Highlights; All I Really Want, You Oughta Know, Right Through You, Forgiven
5
Jul 08 2025
Born To Run
Bruce Springsteen
Instrumentals are very impressively performed and put together, which certainly helped the album for me. I did enjoy the songwriting too.
Springsteen’s vocals don’t quite sit with me on most tracks, it might be a style that grows on you, but it sounds to me like a fella at Karaoke 15 beers deep. With that in mind, I think Bruce sounds better when he is belting out sections, rather than on the more mellow parts.
Born to Run is my favourite by a margin, very catchy and still an immense track.
Highlights: Backstreets, Born to Run
4
Jul 09 2025
Midnight Ride
Paul Revere & The Raiders
Kicks - This is a nice, catchy radio pop-rock banger. Quite fond of this one, and it certainly bumped the album out of the doldrums.
I’m Not Your Stepping Stone - Best song writing on the album I reckon, along with some neat guitar, bass and drum sections.
The rest of this album is corny and not really memorable, it sounds like very plain 60s rock slop. None of it is bad on its own in a technical sense, but outside of my 2 highlights, it just melds together. This is the sound that Paul McCartney was rightfully trying to escape around the time this came out.
I guess Indian Reservation is a better album, with a great title track and more instrumental interest. But it took them 5 years to get there.
3
Jul 10 2025
Deserter's Songs
Mercury Rev
Holes - Instrumentals clicked with me on this. Vocals are alright too.
The Funny Bird - Solid guitar solo
Very plain album, nothing much stuck out to me. Hard to point at anything particularly bad, it was just all over the place, and nothing much was great about it. Very mid.
Highlights: Holes, The Funny Bird
2
Jul 11 2025
Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
The Residents
A Who-tier band. A 'what the fuck' album.
Lizard lady sounded like it was sung by assorted Sesame Street characters, but in a frightening way. An odd track, didn’t fancy it.
Weight Lifting Lulu & Hello Skinny- These were the best of the worst, fairly listenable, but nothing to write home about.
Pink Floyd was chucking out some goofy and bizarre music like this in the 60s, but executed it better overall, and not in an end-to-end straight-jacket album fashion like this. In the year of our lord 2016. It's baffling that anyone felt the need to include this in the amendment to the 1001 albums.
No Highlights, just happy it’s over. If I were an evil person with captives, I’d loudly play this album on repeat like they did with other music at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp
1
Jul 14 2025
The Downward Spiral
Nine Inch Nails
This sounds awesome, very impressive mixing and instrument work.
Real top-shelf sicko stuff. Not a single track was wasted on this album I reckon.
Closer in my mind is the soundtrack to a scary orgy scene in a film.
Ruiner is musically spectacular.
Thank you Adam Curtis, for introducing me to NIN (albeit, predominantly ‘With Teeth’ tracks), a fitting soundtrack to our interesting times.
Highlights: Closer, Ruiner, A Warm Place, Reptile, Hurt
5
Jul 15 2025
Cosmo's Factory
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Incredible opening track with Ramble Tamble, I adore this.
Run Through The Jungle - Spectacular, evocative. The instrumentals and vocals on this track are perfect. This is an all-time great.
I Heard it Through The Grapevine - Great lead vocals and supporting harmonies. The Instrumental section is awesome, great solos.
This whole album is spectacular, there are a few tracks that don’t reach the high marks as my favourites, but nothing misses.
Highlights: Ramble Tamble, Run Through The Jungle, Who’ll Stop The Rain, I Heard It Through The Grapevine
5
Jul 16 2025
Back In Black
AC/DC
Tricky for me to review this with ACDC nostalgia goggles. I learned how to play guitar with several songs from this album when I was young. I bought their greatest hits CD, and every track from it has been seared into my memory.
I’m still fond of them, but I don’t listen to them often anymore and some of their songs are quite corny to me now. The lyrics can be too repetitive within the songs themselves.
Solid guitar work throughout. All of the instrumentals are on point. Brian Johnson is about as good a replacement lead singer gets, and I like his vocal talent on this album.
Have a drink on me was probably the best track I hadn’t heard before.
Wall to wall dudes rock songs
Highlights: Hells Bells, Shoot to Thrill, Back in Black
4
Jul 17 2025
Catch A Fire
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Very nice guitar solos on Concrete Jungle and Stir It Up, I didn’t know Reggae could go that hard. Honourable mention for Baby We've Got a Date too.
Stir It Up is quite instrumentally impressive, even if nothing is going on lyrically.
Most of the tracks on this album are quite dull. It’s only been saved for me by nice guitar work on many tracks and good songwriting on a few.
Highlights: Concrete Jungle, Baby We've Got a Date, Stir It Up, High Tide or Low Tide
3
Jul 18 2025
John Barleycorn Must Die
Traffic
Freedom Rider: rousing vocals, flute putting in some work. This song is my favourite on the album
A very front-loaded album for me. The second half of the album didn’t go as hard as the first, but recovered on Every Mother’s Son with the double keyboard solos and guitar sections.
I enjoyed the instrumentals on this quite a bit. The first 2 songs and the last song were standouts. I quite liked the vocals too.
Highlights: Glad, Freedom Rider, Every Mother’s Son
4
Jul 22 2025
In The Court Of The Crimson King
King Crimson
I've saved most of the songs on this album individually over the years, thoroughly enjoyed them all, but never listened to this whole album top to tail.
21st Century Schizoid Man, Epitaph and The Court Of The Crimson King are epic tracks that have been in my rotation for a long time.
Moonchild starts very well, but after the first few minutes, it’s just too much jangling keys and other random percussion that didn’t build to anything on the track. Thank god The Court Of The Crimson King was up next with a strong start.
Music ahead of its time by leagues, very impressive. GOATED debut album. No doubt influenced many of my faves.
5