Cracking debut from the lads. Four number one singles, some classic pop tunes. Excellent!
Drop the Pressure is the stand-out of course, but there are a few other good 'uns that make this a good listening experience.
Very much a 'late night' album. Lo-fi beats, flowing raps and some killer samples laid over a concept around a sleazy doctor. Noice.
Missy showing she was one of the finest rappers of the era. Some great collaborations too, including Meth, TLC, and Beyonce. Good times.
My favourite live album ever. Every track is superbly done, The Man Who Sold the World and Pennyroyal Tea are particular highlights. I do love this one!
Started off all right, jazzy, funky, laid-back tunes, so laid-back they were almost horizontal. But more of the same and more of the same just got wearing after a while and I was glad to get to the end. Just kidding, I didn't get to the end.
Confident album with some excellent collaborations. I liked.
Sounded more like a collection of B-sides, demos and outtakes to me. Not the best start to his solo career.
Cracking debut from the lads. Four number one singles, some classic pop tunes. Excellent!
Superb. Spawned a couple of huge hits, and the rest of the album holds up well too. Excellent stuff!
Cracking album, with some big tunes, as rock music started making its comeback in a difficult decade dominated by pop, electro, and the end of disco. A good listen.
Nice this one. Early REM is good REM. Mind you, late REM isn't too shabby either.
Every day, we stray further from God's light.
Synth pop with an ethereal yet earthy quality. Contains their four biggest hit (love a bit of Wood Beez, me) and the rest ain't bad either.
One of their better albums, yet I still found myself yearning for some OK Computer. Maybe I just can't let go...
Yes. This is a cracker. Full of memorable songs that will get you up and dancing, or nodding in a reflective mood, as the mood befits. She's not a bad actress either you know...
Think Tool. Think Nine Inch Nails. Think (of course) At the Drive In. Think Tool again. Yeah you're pretty darn close. Some standouts but it's not quite my scene.
With the exception of the truly godawful Yellow Submarine, every track here is a belter. Eleanor Rigby is probably my favourite Beatles song of all time. And then you've got Here There and Everywhere, Tomorrow Never Knows, Taxman, Got to Get You Into My Life... All superb. 5 stars all the way!
The title track got me through most of my first year at Uni. The rest of the album though, is largely forgettable if I'm honest. It's a shame really, but there you go. Two stars normally, but an extra one for 'Connected'. I see through you, I see through you...
Most excellent. Afrobeat at its finest. Adding Ginger Baker on top is tremendous!
When the reviews mention the amount of distortion as a positive, you could be forgiven for thinking you're in for a tough listen, especially if you like your rock a little less on the fuzzy side. You were never going to get a "classic" set of tunes, with things like being in tune, and discernable chord progressions, let's be honest. Come on, this is early VU. But if you like wailing guitars, loads of feedback, poetry recitals, and occasional interjections from Mr Reed and his attempts to... 'sing', are we calling it? Then this will be right up your strasse.
Dexy's in their Northern Soul original incarnation, featuring of course, the stomper that is "Geno", bangier than a box of firecrackers. Of course, they would go on to discover violins and dungarees and give us the timeless classic "Come on Eileen", but let's enjoy them as they were...
Some nice songs, but not quite my scene. All fine though.
Morrissey is a twat. I'm boycotting this album, because Morrissey is a twat. Now don't get me wrong, I like the Smiths, they had some belters, I've got a lot of time for them, but Morrissey was a twat then too. He had a couple of big hits off this effort, which are fine and do a good job, but at the end of the day, when all is said and done, Morrissey is a twat. I would give it three stars, but I'm knocking two of them off because, well, you know, Morrissey is a twat. Make sure he sees this review, yeah?
Excellent stuff! Britpop's slightly fuzzier offspring, with some rocking tunes and great guitar work and vocals. Recommended!
Sublime, a joy from start to finish. The next album is going to be a disappointment compared to this.
Nope. Not for me. Too dark, too deep, too abstract to get into.
Cracking. London Calling, Guns of Brixton, Brand New Cadillac are the standouts, but this stands the test of time as not only one of the finest albums of the punk era, but of the 1970s, and - to be honest - of any period and genre since.
Eh, it's fine. I think you'd have to be in a... er, certain frame of mind of appreciate it.
Absolutely banging. Like a sledgehammer to the base of the spine.
It's a good album - lots of classic tunes (With a Little Help From My Friends, When I'm 64, A Day in the Life) - but it doesn't deserve the mythical status conferred upon it by so many. There are better Beatles albums out there - the ones immediately before and after, for example.
Bangin'
Lovely. A warm bath of an album. Brought back many memories.
Weird, but wonderful. And also very weird. I was torn between 3 and 4 stars, but I eventually settled for the higher.
Jimi Hendrix was, is, and always shall be, the man.
A belter. The new Michael Jackson - very different from Off the Wall and Thriller, which were more R&B-ish, this is more pop, and it works, and it works very well!
Not. One. Bad. Song. On. This. Album.
Drop the Pressure is the stand-out of course, but there are a few other good 'uns that make this a good listening experience.
Banger after banger! Top tunes all the way through!
Heard this as a kid and I'm sure I changed my life even then. If not the father of electronic music, then at least an uncle once removed. Superb stuff!
The album that launched Ladysmith Black Mambazo onto the wider world. "Eclectic" somewhat fails to cover it, to be honest. I first heard this as a 15-year-old and I couldn't get into it at first, but it won me over and I ended up playing it and playing until the tape broke. The most famous track is of course You Can Call Me Al, though my favourite is the opener, The Boy in the Bubble. The collaborations are a joy: Homeless, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes, Under African Skies, and That Was Your Mother are all excellent. In short: I love it. If you haven't heard it, try it out and see if it has the same effect on you.
Cracking! Tremendous beats throughout and a couple of excellent collaborations. Recommended!
Superb. Michael was a superstar already of course, but this just elevated him to a whole new level. You know you're onto something good when you can release seven singles off an album and they all thunder into the top end of the charts without breaking sweat. Top, top album; here's five stars!
Alternative rock that really is alternative, it's out there but in a good way.
We're still with the early Beatles here, so there are a few covers (Please Mr Postman, Roll Over Beethoven, Money (That's What I Want), and others), but they're done very well, very well indeed. They do manage to avoid Difficult Second Album Syndrome on their own compositions - All My Loving went on to be a classic in their stable, and the others can hold their heads high. All in all, if you're a fan you'll know it, if not give it a try, you won't go far wrong.
Wonderful. What a talent we lost when Jeff passed away. Most famous for Hallelujah of course, but the rest of the album is heartfelt, evocative, ethereal, atmospheric, and just plain beautiful. Worth several listens, because this is one of those albums that gives back a little more with each repeated playback.
Now this I like. David Gray burst onto the wider scene with this debut effort, showcasing a very talented singer-songwriter. Most famous for Babylon, Please Forgive Me and This Year's Love, it's My Oh My that has stayed in my brain with the most effect, if I were to choose a word for it, I would say haunting. Excellent effort all round from the lad, recommended!
One word: bangin'. It's incredible (and harrowing) to think that this debut effort is now thirty years old; it sounds just as fresh as it did in the mid-90s. Every track has something to offer, and if you don't start grooving (yeah I'm that old) then honestly you should check for a pulse. It's a 5 from me!
Top stuff, and a most excellent follow-up to In Search Of... Key track for me (and I suspect for many) will be She Wants to Move; it is impossible to sit still and listen to this, you will be grooving or your money back (lawyer's note: no refunds will actually be given). If I could give half-stars it would be a 3.5 from me, but alas I have to give it a reluctant 3 (reluctant in the sense that it almost makes a 4 - almost).