I love a bit of big band and this is no exception. Would I listen to it regularly, no.
A bankable title track followed by lots and lots of generic 70's sounds that could have been by anyone except for Bowie's distinctive vocal, which mostly seems secondary to his backing singers. Shall we just agree that this isn't his finest work, and move on?
I’m afraid that in the most part I just really don’t get the Beatles and I can only assume that you needed to be there. There are some good songs on here - USSR, Glass Onions, Guitar Gently Weeps, Helter Skelter. But it’s the filler that irks me. I mean, Why don’t we do it in the road? No thanks, and at my age the thought of seeing anyone else doing it in the road would just be ikky and a bit embarrassing. Basically so much of this is just tosh, which perhaps they had enough capital at the time to get away with.
I thought this was a real treat. A cracking selection of psychedelic pop evoking Teenage Fannies etc. but obviously with an earlier sound - I don't enjoy a lot of 60's stuff but when you come across something like this you can see with hindsight it was important. I also like it when an album you haven't noticed before holds one of those songs that you know so well without really noticing it (Time of the Season). I'm a fan.
Really quite listenable and I would even say good. Authentic and really quite accomplished early 80s songs that reminded me that for a while at least Lauper was a serious deal. Not something I would personally return to regularly by any means, but I will recommend it to the girls as a bit of history they should listen to.
Not sure why this makes it into the top 1000? Rubbish.
Already in my top 3 albums. Pretty much perfect from my perspective.
Good listen this. Accessible and very cool blues from a band that I probably haven’t listened to enough. Has certainly whet my appetite for more. The rif on Peace Frog is mental and must have been well ahead of its time. I like.
Ok but by then they were a shadow of their heyday
Pretty tough listen in the most part. Possibly one for the purists, but if so I’m afraid this may a bit highbrow for my taste. A few nice moments though, Just a Second and Giggy Smile in particular provide some light relief. I note from the Spotify figures that not many listeners make it to Disk 2, which says it all.
Kinda good. Great band name. I’m no officionado on early 80s though and tbh sounded pretty generic to me. Couple of highlights in the well known Reward and Treason, with the rest to me hanging off them somewhat. I’m just about interested enough to try out some of their other albums.
Actually loved this. It’s never going to be core to my library of course, but would happily listen again
I tend to agree with Lance, after a very strong opening it drops off a bit. But following a lot of interruptions I didn’t end up listening to this several times, and I enjoyed it. A lot more than when it first came out anyway.
I started thinking this was quite good. Upbeat (for Smiths) and quite easy on the ear. And then all of the songs started being the same and it just blurred into one. I did t quite make it to the end as a result.
Clearly a seminal album of its time. Even more so now with hindsight although it felt pretty important even back then. I could listen to this all day long.
Dah, it was always going to happen. I liked it. But then I’ve a soft spot for synth pop of that era. I can’t help it.
Very of it’s time, and would have sat nicely on a party album alongside the usual Nirvana etc. but blimey, what an exhausting listen. It is good stuff, but I feel like I need stronger drugs to keep up. Must be getting old.
Well, let’s rock! I began thinking that a trip to a TL gig would be a complete rock-out, but after a while I came to thinking it would be more of a nod along and a foot tapper, given that all the songs sound fairly similar. The crowd seem to be into it though, and there’s no doubt they do rock. You probably had to be there.
Flamin groovy baby! Never actually heard of these guys before, but great band name, great album name, and super smooth 60s style rock, which of honest I prefer to the mid 70s stuff. Will listen again.
Another Steve Winwood album, and another one I like. Although I’ve since come to prefer Muff (Winwood) for his early work. More than a touch of Paul Weller on this, which is unexpected given his later stuff. Quite good. Not classic though imo.
I would love to harp on about how this is such a sellout and far more commercial than their earlier work, but this is the first DL album I have listened to. Don’t mind it, but all that said it is actually quite solely, commercial, and dare I say a touch poppy . I’m guessing not like their earlier stuff which I’m sure we will be exposed to at some point.
Yes, nice work and some deft touches well ahead of their time (our time). I wouldn’t rush to any of their gigs without a large amount of mind bending substance , but a decent listen.
What Jim said
I always found this a pretty boring album and this listen hasn’t changed that. It has little of the catchy tunes or humour found in Diffeewnt Class or His n Hers, which if I felt the urge to listen to Pulp I would go to over this every time.
Nice listen. He’s got a very chilled vocal which is reminiscent of loads of later, apparent copycats. Think Belle & Sebastian, Jack Johnston, and Passenger (to name a few). All of which I like as well, so if this guy came first then mucho respect
Not at all clear to me what puts this in the Top 1000? It starts promisingly enough on Under the Pressure, and even Red Eyes is ok in a kind of “meh” way, but really, there is nothing ground breaking, genre busting, innovative, or even just that catchy to anything here. Although reading their Spotify bio (written by themselves), they seem to think they are pretty good. I tend to disagree.
Another fairly tough listen. I like a bit of jazz but prefer a few lyrics thrown in, big band style like Harry Connick etc. This was fine but there wasn’t enough there to have me listen again, because it all sounded quite samey.
Loved this. Didn’t have very high expectations but I thought it exuded quality from start to finish. Christmas was my highlight, but all good and a def re listen for me
Why
Apart from a brief moment of enjoyment on Dead on Arrival, this was utter crap.
Compared to Throbbing Headache, this was lovely stuff. Actually I did really like it. It’s the kind of dancehall rap of the era that I have allot of time for. There is a bit of the wince inducing sampling and “collaboration”, but in the whole just good catchy tunes.
This made me quite cross at times.
Started well, and tailed off. Sunday Morning is such a lovely tune, im giving it a 4. But I wouldn’t listen gain beyond track 4.
I can tell you right now that is not one of the Best 1001 albums of all time. It annoys me that anything Bowie did is automatically taken as great, when this is clearly not. Humph.
Really pleasantly surprised by this. Ticks along nicely with no duds of note. Some good rifs and catchy tunes, varied but holds together as a piece of work. And mccartneys lyrics are really strong throughout. I’m stopping before I sound like I like him.
I have always liked this lot from afar, without of course ever listening to this album. The singles and the band itself were clearly groundbreaking on several levels as per their banning etc. I tend to disagree with tgl when it comes to the extended versions, especially the title track, which I thought sounded great here and ahead of their time (although not that well qualified to comment on that really). That set me up for very high expectations for the reminder of the album which were then busted by the frankly odd covers and some much weaker material mid album. They could have just made a shorter album. But overall I do think they were an original band that put one great songs on this album which have stood the test of time. I would listen again, just no the whole thing.
Is it just me or was this just run of the mill electro pop?
I listened to this a lot as a teenager and am very familiar with it, although I haven’t heard it for ages. For me it has stood up well, there is just something about the melancholy lyrics and the sound that always resonated and still seems to, going by the 2bn steams on Spotify. I have this down as an all time classic
I didn’t massive mind this. There are a few nice tunes which are “classics” of sorts if you like that kind of thing, and a few I didn’t know he had done. I mean, you could prob successfully wheel it out in the background when your Auntie comes round for dinner. But otherwise, obvs never going to listen again.
Just really boring.
Can I give two ratings for this please? The first load of tracks are pretty good and I could see myself getting into the album fairly heavily, and then ouch you hit track 8 and it’s utter ballbags from then on. So it’s a 4 until 7, and a 1 from then on. I’m going to give the album a 2, because you just can’t have 4 such dire tracks to end a good album.
The Beatles are unusual for me in that I pretty much rate their albums in reverse order to release date (apart from maybe Revolver ahead of this). I think that’s reflective of the way that, in a relatively short period, they evolved their sound from the now super-dated early stuff, up to this album on which Lennon vocals, and in particular Harrison’s guitar is (1) unrecognisable from the early stuff (2) pretty fucking epic, and (3) probably quite ground breaking. You can certainly hear a lot here that was influencing other bands for decades after. What I do always steer those with is the rag n bone man songs that turn up on all Beatles albums, such as here Maxwells Silver Hammer. For that and a couple of others I’m deducting a star, but without those this would have to be a solid 5 from me.
I too have generally tried to avoid Dylan. I think we dis see him live a few years back, however drinking was more interesting and thus it’s hazy at best. I listened to this whilst working so wasn’t drunk this time and actually I didnt mind it. His lyrics are interesting, and there’s no doubting some of the tunes are catchy. I imagine it was quite cool in the day. My gripe is that after a while the vocals fall into a very samey kind of rhythm, which makes them pretty repetitive. Still, a solid 3.
Loved this. Super funky. I thought Steve was a product of the 80s, but who knew he was doing his best stuff in the early 70s? I’m now a fan.
I wasn’t previously aware of this album and was a bit low on expectations. Actually not that bad, but entirely forgettable imo. I fess hence why never heard of it before.
All very sweet in a Fanny’s stepping out with Maurice, Audrey and Herb met at Sunday School, let’s all go to the dance type of way. I can’t say I would have gone all Beatle Mania on the back of this, but I guess you had to be there. I can see it though, and quite like it.
Sometimes, all the time, I wish I had been born a 6ft 6 black dude in Brooklyn in 1951. Then I would have been right into this. Despite that not being the case, I’m still feeling it.
I think this album caught the end of the 90s hip hop / jazz trend and as a result it’s of it’s time. I thought it was ok, but it kind of left me with the impression that the people who made probably think themselves as the only ones cool enough to listen to it. I can’t say I would rush back, despite a few decent, catchy tunes.
Dogfight Giggle eh? But surely nobody else is laughing. Some of this was kind of just about ok (Sometimes I don’t Know… ), but 95% or so made my ears bleed, or at least made me want them to bleed so I can get a doctors note off the rest of it. One plus was that albums like this make me feel as if I could perhaps do it better, with my absolutely no musical talent. Maybe I could make the list?
Couldnt find this album anywhere so just listened instead to their stuff generally. This was quite up my street. Nice easy Weat Coast vibe. A bit nondescript. Just enough rock, folk, punk, loose mush to keep most happy ish. Admittedly it’s been done a thousand times, and probably quite a bit better by others later on, but decent and I would listen again.
Really not my bag.
A rare turn-off mid-album for me on this one. Awful durge.
Quality
Ok, but never quite hits the heights of their debut
