1001 Albums Summary

I actually wanted to give it 3½, but it doesn’t let you do half stars so I'm rounding down in honour of Betty Davis (who sadly remains one of the most underrated musicians of all time). I always think Miles Davis’ earlier work would have been wonderful live and I quite enjoy it as background music for cooking dinner. Compared to his later work though, where Betty Davis’ influence really shines through, it’s just a bit dull. Heck, even he eventually refused to play his earlier work because he felt it was ‘over’ and he’d moved on.

I used to not mind some of the songs on this album, but now without the San Fransisco Symphony they’re just lacking. And even then I don’t want to listen to them all one after the other.

When this album came up my first thought was “oh yeah, why have I not listened to more Dire Straits? Sultans Of Swing is a great song!” Turns out I hate Knopfler’s vocals. Instrumentally this album is close to perfection for me, but there are literally only two songs (In The Gallery and the aforementioned Sultans Of Swing) where I feel like the vocals work and every other song they just really grate on me.

Five stars; no notes.

Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me is a truly exceptional song and I have a soft spot for Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before. The first couple of tracks are bland as hell though (sorry, but I don’t get why Girlfriend In A Coma gets so much love) and the last few are hit and miss at best.