Loved the outlaw tales, especially the first few songs. The novelty wore off a bit in the second half but still a good listen.
I’m familiar with Yes and a lot of their big singles. This album has a couple and is a great proggy romp through a number of genres.
I enjoyed this but didn’t think there many standout tracks; I’m a sucker for a single.
Stop reading my thoughts Tim.
Dream pop without the pop. I kept waiting for something to happen. Purgatory pop? Not for me.
On a side note I would have bet the house on them being Scandinavian with the dual lead singers, possibly
Phwoar. Now we’re talking! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this for the first time in probably 20 years.
Plenty of different ideas on here, which I’m into. At first my instinct was to champion the big riffs, electronic crescendos and general return to upbeat alternative music, but on reflection the quieter and drawn out moments are as much of the band’s back catalogue as anything else up to this point. This feels like a band confident enough to ignore the pull of constant invention and look back on their previous releases, revisiting whatever ideas they still find exciting.
Oh, and the drums sounds incredible on this album.
When I saw this come up, I was feeling Optimistic, only to find that Everything was not In Its Right Place.
At the time this genre bending album would have been a five out of five, but without the shock value of their sharp left turn some 24 years later, it’s another story. The bangers still bang, the unsettling moments still unsettle and the Aphex Twin-light ambient tracks still do what they’re supposed to. Familiarity breeds contempt and in the wake of many of these genres hitting the mainstream (before disappearing again) and the diversification of popular music in general, perhaps the main thing this album had going for it is now a moot point. For example, the pure soundscapes of Treefingers and Untitled feel like a bridge too far and even boring at times.
Two Radiohead albums back to back has reminded me how good they are at writing a bass line and how the drums always sound incredible.
What, another Radiohead album?!
43 minutes from only 8 tracks was the first thing I noticed and when the album began with a country twang, I wondered what kind of journey we'd be on. Sadly, outside of a slight foray into funk on No Other, I found it a pretty middle of the road collection of country rock ballads. Some nice production and the odd interesting idea but not enough to make me revisit it.
Well this makes me sad. I knew this album and was excited to hear it again. Listening to it back though, I realised that I MUCH prefer the soundtrack to the film than the original album. The songs are reworked, the theatrical style suits it better and despite it being a longer album it’s a much faster pace. Plus the incredible appearances from Tina Turner, Oliver Reed, Elton John, Ann Margaret, Eric Clapton, etc.) really help define and distinguish different characters.
In the original version I found myself wondering about the gaps in the story. I even looked up the story afterwards and found the lyrics didn’t really align with what was supposed to be happening. It’s never explained how Tommy got introduced to pinball and how he went from being cured of his deaf dumb and blindness to being seen as a new messiah.
One final thought on the lyrics - did we need the song about him being molestes by his uncle? I can’t imagine that making it on to too many playlists.
Musically the songs are good but the knowledge that they weren’t the definitive versions kinda prevented me from enjoying them wholly. At times I found it a bit exhausting but the final half really picks up and some tracks still sound amazing. Overall I respect the ambition, concept, and musicianship but this wasn’t a trip down memory lane I needed.
So good I listened to it twice! I knew a few singles of theirs but had never listed to a full album. As if this was their first?! Love the mix of Latin, soft rock, white guy RnB, etc. One track even sounded like Thin Lizzy. I’ll be listening to more!
Good god this album is annoying. Before I listened to it I would have said I was a fan of Beck’s based on the singles, so I was surprised to find how much I disliked this onslaught on nonsensical noise. Just awful.
Dolly steals the show in this trio. Wildflowers is a highlight, Hobo’s Meditation (jeeeesus christ) is a low point that hasn’t aged well. Musically a lot of the songs are interchangeable; just vessels for the harmonies and to sit upon, which is a shame. A lot of country sub-genres are visited though and it was great to hear the twang of the slide guitar in The Pain of Loving You. Not something I’d revisit in a hurry but it was nice to be reminded what a great singer Dolly is.
“Fleetwood Mac made some of their best music while they were fighting.”
“Rumours?”
“Nah it’s all true.”
Love the harmonies and the guitar tone but I think I’m more of a ‘The Best of The Eagles’ kinda guy
What an opener! Only for the vibe to drop for next five songs :(
Me and Julio… was another false dawn. The man can really write a song, but for me some of these just dragged
Another great opening track and another artist whose singles I know well but I've never heard an album. This was a bit up and down in terms of quality I thought. The man can write a fantastic single but I found some tracks to be a bit middle of the road. Another 'Best Of' artist for me.
I'll be honest, I couldn't finish it. Those vocals drove me mad.
Not for me
Where to start with this one... I knew a couple of songs like Where the Wild Roses Grow and love the few Nick Cave songs that I know, including his new album....but at times this was a bit of an uncomfortable listen in terms of lyrics. Song of Joy was pretty full on and I wish they'd have built up to it and had it as anything but the opener, but I guess that's a minor quibble and arguably the whole point of the song/album is to create those feelings of discomfort in the listener.
The album that launched a thousand bands. It still sounds so good, all these years later
Another day another Radiohead project, eh? Whilst this and Pablo Honey are somewhat cut off from the rest of the band’s discography you can hear that they are no normal indie rock band on this record. What an opener Planet Telex is and what a wonderful album it is in general
Back to the unfamiliar, which is nice! However, this album was a bit of a tough listen. I’m sure in the mid-nineties this was very new and boundary pushing but to modern ears it sounds like someone who is new to the genre and is cramming as many samples as they can into most songs. At times it was a pretty hard listen. The highlights were the more ambient tracks where less is more.
CCR are one of my favourite bands and I can't help but feel criminally underrated. What they aren't though, is forgotten, as I read an article a few weeks ago about their greatest hits album basically never leaving the Billboard Top 200, floating around the 30s, and they split up 52 years ago!
Anyway, what an album, what a band, if you liked this go and check out some of their other stuff ('Fortunate Son' is one of my favourites).
Big fan of Supergrass! Not the album I would have picked but nice to hear this again after so many years. Amazing singles, some forgettable deep cuts though
Pretty interesting, especially Four Women. Not sure I’d listen again but what a voice. After hearing her big singles and now this I’d definitely try another album
Enjoyed it but not sure I’d listen again
Quite repetitive, Hooooo!
Decent. Mixed bag though. No time for more thoughts, sorry!
I liked the rock and I liked the soul
I prefer their upbeat (as much as Depeche Mode can be upbeat) stuff so this album was a bit hit and miss for me
I was super into REM in my mid-teens and I remember this album quite well. They were a popular rock band by this point but not the mega stars that they would become with Automatic For The People. I really like the earlier sound captured here and if I could have seen them live it would probably have been in this era. Cool band. Cool album.
Really middle of the road stuff. Couldn’t get into it at all
I don’t want to be harsh, but seriously, how did Randy Newman make it as a singer? Musically it was fine but man that was a hard listen at times
Obviously I know the big hits but this was my first Prince album and I really enjoyed it! It’s very of it’s time (especially the big synth drums) but it’s easy to overlook that. I Would Die 4 U still sounds amazing. Baby I’m A Star is the perfect song for a montage.
At time repetitive but overall I liked it.
There are two types of B-52’s songs. One with the organ slapping you in the face whilst Fred Schneider does his unique vocal stylings. I prefer the other type.
Wow, I didn’t expect to see this on the list! It’s not my favourite but undeniably a classic of the genre. It’s funny to hear it again after so long as I’d forgotten that it’s way more Lo-fi and melodic than I remembered. Hardcore punk from this era is usually a lot more abrasive but the vocal melodies really carry this record. Holiday in Cambodia and California Uber Alles still sound great but overall the album drags a bit. It’s kinda crazy and depressing how some of these themes persist to this day.
I liked it at the start, then there was a huge lull and then they pulled it back a bit. At times it sounded like a BTEC Broken Social Scene. Overall not bad, but I wish they’d have kept that energy from the first few tracks up
Not for me. Can’t put my finger on why.
I was a huge fan of Ryan Adam’s, specifically what would be his mid-career, but then all the allegations came out and I stopped listening. It’s interesting to drop back in now, especially to his country roots, which pre-date his indie singer songwriter phase. Overall it’s fine, but it doesn’t have what made him such a captivating artist for me.
It started so strong but I found the mid section to be a bit, well, mid.
I always thought his stuff was typical downbeat singer songwriter stuff and never gave it a go. I really enjoyed some of these songs and will definitely check out more
I really don’t like Iron Maiden but i have it a go. It’s more punk than I expected so it gets an extra star.
Thoroughly enjoyed this trip down memory lane. It holds up pretty well too! Although the hidden track (not so hidden these days, on Spotify) wasn't needed and leaves a bit of a sour taste after a really well put together pop-punk masterpiece.
The opening track elevated this beyond standard punk fayre, but it quickly regressed to the mean. I enjoyed it overall, the sporadic (not enough!) use of harmonica and the horns were welcome additions but not enough to make this album stand out in the punk scene.
This was brilliant. I knew of the band from a couple of songs but really enjoyed this slice of 60s pop. Even the recording quality, fairly typical at the time, doesn't detract from the diamonds in the rough. Time of the Season is the big one, but This Will Be Our Year is a beautiful song that could have been released the decade after.
Hotel California is one of the all time classic songs. The rest of the album is pretty middle of the road. I'm going to give this 3/5 and one of those stars is solely for the title track.
I love the songs Family Affair and If You Want Me To Stay, so it was cool to hear some more of their work. Stand and Everyday People were real highlights of this album and ones that I'll listen to in the future. However, Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey was a pretty full on listen and not only for the lyrics! The repetition was grating quite quickly and a few other songs on the album went in that general direction too. Overall it was a good listen and I picked up a couple of great tracks to add to my knowledge of what was a very cool band
What a legend! So many hits on one album and in so many genres. I’m not sure it needed to be a double album though, but overall very good!
You know when you watch a sketch on SNL or in an American comedy when they do a British accent and it's awful? Usually someone like Jimmy Fallon is doing it. Obviously I always thought it was miles off but there are a couple of guys on this album rapping in that exact voice. It's like nails on a chalkboard.
The album is basically made up of songs that either have that great female vocalist (everyone should recognise Unfinished Sympathy, it's a classic) or are ruined by the MCs. Some of the songs sound like Deftones, which I'm really into, but then MC Dick Van Dyke pops up...
I thought I’d really like this but it was way too repetitive and far too long
I love hearing songs 'for the first time' and then realising I know them but have no idea how. I just had that with Take Five. Turns out it's the biggest selling jazz song of all time, so that's probably why! I enjoyed this album and after finishing I sought out some of their other material, stumbling across another familiar song - Unsquare Dance, which is excellent.
I wrote this review and it disappeared. Long story short, it was a pleasant surprise to recognise some of these songs from films. I really enjoyed the album and listened to some of their other stuff afterwards
This was a surprisingly hard listen. I've never gotten around to listening to Van Morrison outside of Brown Eyed Girl, but I've come to understand him as 'your favourite singer's favourite singer'. Honestly I found this album to drag and at times sound like a knock-off Bob Dylan. Most songs are waaaaaaaaaay too long.
When loading this up on Spotify, the first thing that jumped out was '12 songs, 36 min 16 sec'. The only way that could have made me smile more, is if each song was literally 3 minutes and 1 second, as opposed to an average.
Definitely a notch above the 'landfill indie' which plagued the era, but still very much Coldplay-lite for me. Nothing bad but also nothing leaping out at me.
Waaaaaaaaaaay too many songs, but I love that he's pushing RnB and Hip Hop in a direction like this. What an amazing bass player by the way!
This is weird, I was just listening to the Adam Buxton audiobook and he mentioned this album! I understand the genre pushing aspect of it, but it's really not aged well at all! Some of it was unlistenable.
A live album is an odd choice for this list, no? Anyway, I don't mind a bit of prog rock but my patience was tested in some more of the more wail-heavy songs. Some decent songs but way too self indulgent, which was obviously the style at the time...but it's not for me
Dylan's voice sounds the same on his Christmas album so it wasn't too much of a shock, but it really drags after a while
It started off so well and then became way too self indulgent for me
It's good to hear some other songs by Elbow that One Day Like This, but that song still is amazing and the standout track of the album. Overall I enjoyed it and would probably listen again. Some of the lyrics really drew me in, but some songs passed me by. I'll probably have a dig around the rest of their work and see what else grabs me
