Sep 26 2024
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Metallica
Metallica
Hadn’t given this album a listen in 15+ years. Starts off really strong but the last few songs are the weakest on the album and so it fizzles out with four rather samey tracks. Dare I say that the spoke. Word style in the middle of ‘Of Wolf and Man’ is quite Mustaine-esq…
3
Sep 27 2024
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At Mister Kelly's
Sarah Vaughan
Will be giving this one another listen. Fantastic singer! She brings such character to each song. There could well be a different vocalist for Willow Weep For Me and Just One Of Those Things. Stairway To The Stars is a fantastic tune.
4
Sep 30 2024
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Maggot Brain
Funkadelic
Far more psychedelic than I thought it was going to be but the clue is in the name! Can You Get To That is a stone cold classic.
4
Oct 02 2024
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At San Quentin
Johnny Cash
Definitely in my top 5 live albums. The original LP is nowhere near as good as the Legacy version as it’s largely truncated and cuts out most of the interactions between Cash and his captive audience. The way he is able to hold them in the palm of his hand is incredible and their reaction when he has the audacity to play San Quentin again is brilliant. Old 97 is probably the best song about a train ever. I’ve listened to some of Cash’s studio albums and they don’t capture his energy and presence anything nearly as closely as his two live prison albums. Fantastic stuff.
5
Oct 03 2024
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Hunky Dory
David Bowie
Must confess that this is the first David Bowie album I’ve listened to. Aside from the two really well known tracks there were a couple of mediocre fillers and a couple of really decent songs (Andy Warhole, Queen Bitch) which certainly sound like a blue print for the music that was to come in the 70s. Need to listen to more of his albums to understand where this sits in his catalog.
3
Oct 04 2024
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Surfer Rosa
Pixies
Decent. Jack White was definitely tapping into the vocal style in the early days of the White Stripes. Where Is My Mind is the stand out attack but I enjoyed the gruniness and hardcore punk vibes elsewhere on the album.
4
Oct 07 2024
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It's Blitz!
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Very different from their first album which I am far more familiar with. Their change of direction to more electronic sound might have reflected their increasing popularity as I can imagine this having a wider appeal and sounding amazing live.
3
Oct 08 2024
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Birth Of The Cool
Miles Davis
When I review jazz albums like this I feel like it’s the equivalent of me writing a review of a foreign language film that I’ve watched without subtitles. I’ve got some idea of the main plot but will miss out on most of the nuances and then someone who speaks the language will tell me that I’ve misunderstood the main plot anyway. So did I enjoy this album? Yes. Can I explain why it’s in the top 1001 and what sets it apart from other jazz albums? No.
3
Oct 09 2024
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Coat Of Many Colors
Dolly Parton
I’m a bit partial to the odd bit of country music now and again. There’s quite a wide variety of styles available on this album from honky-tonk to Carter family style folky stuff. Really enjoyed Early Morning Breeze but not all to my taste.
3
Oct 10 2024
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The La's
The La's
Brilliant album that’s more than just the hit single There She Goes. A blueprint for indie music that followed. Timeless Melody and Looking Glass are two standout tracks but every track is strong.
5
Oct 11 2024
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Diamond Life
Sade
Looking at the top 1001 albums released in 1984, this is one I would probably have picked last to listen to. However, that’s what makes this project interesting, you never know what hidden gems you might discover. Unfortunately, in this case... not much. It’s really not my cup of tea.
I was already familiar with the opening two tracks from radio play, and while it was nice to sit down and listen more closely, there wasn’t much beyond that. There are some interesting layers in those first two songs that I hadn’t picked up on before, but that was where the intrigue ended for me.
"Cherry Pie" was decent, but the rest of the album felt like background music a wealthy yuppie might play in 1984 to show off their brand new CD player at a party. Overall it's just not my thing.
2
Oct 14 2024
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The World is a Ghetto
War
Thought this album would be decent but fairly average after listening to the first two songs. Nice songs but nothing special.
The album really starts to evolve during City, Country, City and then gets more interesting in the psychedelic Four Cornered Room. The World Is A Ghetto has some nice Gil-Scott Heron vibes and again marked a distinct shift in tone. Definitely worthy of being the album’s title track.
Overall, the different musical stylings work to create a cohesive and very listenable album.
4
Oct 15 2024
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Born In The U.S.A.
Bruce Springsteen
Wikipedia says “Springsteen is a pioneer of heartland rock… reflecting the issues of working class American life.” So I’m sure this album has a broad appeal to a wide demographic which probably stretches across both sides of the Atlantic but this album didn’t do anything for me.
Wikipedia also says that Springsteen’s energetic concerts last four hours or do they maybe just feel like it because this album certainly felt longer than its runtime.
The music is quite repetitive so I started looking at the lyrics on Spotify thinking that there might be some interesting, socially conscious lyrics hidden behind the macho drum sounds but alas. In one song he travels from New York and tries to impress a ‘little girl’ by telling her $200 is a lot of money.
I could be really harsh and say this album is pure boomer fantasy fiction but I can see/hear why this would appeal to some. Perhaps the older and more conservative I get the more I will like this album.
1
Oct 16 2024
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This Year's Model
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
This was the first time I’d listened to an Elvis Costello album and perhaps a bit more familiarity with his other works might help to better understand where this sits.
He can certainly write a decent song and there’s probably more to discover in his lyrics with repeated listens. Can’t tell if he’s much imitated since or just doing what others had done before and blending musical styles together to make something that’s new.
I’m sitting on the fence with this one!
2
Oct 17 2024
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Elephant Mountain
The Youngbloods
Never heard or heard of this band or album so was surprised that it wasn’t too far away in sound from music of the same era that I like.
There’s a lot to like on this album, and I enjoyed listening to it. That said, it feels like it’s just after the high point of the late '60s, Woodstock era. The album touches on a lot of different styles, but nothing here really blew me away.
They do the country/rock crossover thing well, kind of similar to what The Beatles were experimenting with at the time. "On Sir Francis Drake" stood out.
I liked it, but I’m not sure I’ll be revisiting it anytime soon.
3
Oct 18 2024
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Africa Brasil
Jorge Ben Jor
Enjoyable enough. Not quite the cuica my heart but decent.
3
Oct 21 2024
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My Aim Is True
Elvis Costello
Perhaps starting to ‘get’ Costello after listening to two albums.
I can see his appeal to the adolescent who was too cool for ABBA and too sensitive for punk back in 1977. But the appeal is not there for me.
Favourite songs were the bluesy Blame It On Cain and Waiting For The End Of The World.
3
Oct 22 2024
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3 Feet High and Rising
De La Soul
Really enjoyed listening to this. Never owned it on CD and glad that it’s now available to stream.
It’s like it’s been made my the cool, clever, funny kids a couple of years above you at school that you aspire to be but never will.
5
Oct 23 2024
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Infected
The The
Struggled to get through this. Not a fan of the electronic drum sounds not the vocals. At times it felt like listening to selected tracks from a musical such were the different vocal styles of the lead singer.
2