This album is longer than 17 seconds! This is the most blatant case of fraudulent advertising since my suit against the film, The Never-Ending Story. The first example of the moody goth-rock that they became renowned for, and they nailed it. The fact they could pivot from this to the Lovecats in 3 years, then go back to this sound as one of the biggest bands in the world is astounding.

Reino Unido - ¡presente!

The riffs that sold a million Big Muffs.

The songs feel like they should rip. But they don't.

Probably the most equal-opportunity album ever recorded - because no matter what device you listen to it on, it will always sound like it's being played through a McDonald's Drive-Thru speaker. The 'unmastered' version floating around the web makes no difference. The master tracks have all been brickwalled. Other than that, it's a post-Navarro Chili Peppers album, and probably the best of them. Pop-rock with a tight, funky rhythm section, well played but uninteresting Hendrixesque guitar work, and some sleazy guy who raps sometimes and strains to sing in tune while you wish the backing guy led. The more laid back tracks like Scar Tissue, Porcelain and Road Trippin' show that they've learned how to reflect on themselves a bit, but on the whole the lyrics are still shallow. If it sounds like I'm being reductive... I am. But sometimes it needs to be said. RHCP's legendary status far outshines their material. They had a classic album in '91 and an interesting album either side of it, and that's OK.

The stripped down songs show that 60s/70s country was much closer to the Greenwich folk scene than they ever would have admitted. Dolly's a true storyteller. However, early stereo recording techniques strike again! 'Here I am' has the kick on the right, rest of the kit on the left?!

Feels more like a meme than an album at this point. No matter whether you love or hate it (or both, if your name is Kurt Cobain), nothing sounded like it before, and hundreds of bands tried and failed to sound like if after. It has the fingerprints of all of the US Indie/College rock and hardcore punk of the late 80s, but the pop hooks from each each member's contribution and the sheen from Butch Vig's production turn it into its own beast.

It's Willie Nelson singing standards. That's it. Maybe you had to be there at the time.

Hits right in that sweet spot between blues rock and psychedelic. Are you experienced? You will be after this. I recommend going for the UK track listing rather than the US, feels more cohesive to me but YMMV. Both digital versions contain the same tracks regardless.

Much better when Prince focused on being funky, rather than trying to use every preset on the Revolution's fancy new synthesisers. Listen to the 2019 remasters - improvement on the original CD masters in every respect.

Probably the most equal-opportunity album ever recorded - because no matter what device you listen to it on, it will always sound like it's being played through a McDonald's Drive-Thru speaker. The 'unmastered' version floating around the web makes no difference. The master tracks have all been brickwalled. Other than that, it's a post-Navarro Chili Peppers album, and probably the best of them. Pop-rock with a tight, funky rhythm section, well played but uninteresting Hendrixesque guitar work, and some sleazy guy who raps sometimes and strains to sing in tune while you wish the backing guy led. The more laid back tracks like Scar Tissue, Porcelain and Road Trippin' show that they've learned how to reflect on themselves a bit, but on the whole the lyrics are still shallow. If it sounds like I'm being reductive... I am. But sometimes it needs to be said. RHCP's legendary status far outshines their material. They had a classic album in '91 and an interesting album either side of it, and that's OK.

Was it the law that every rock album had to have psychedelic tracks in 1967?

This album is longer than 17 seconds! This is the most blatant case of fraudulent advertising since my suit against the film, The Never-Ending Story. The first example of the moody goth-rock that they became renowned for, and they nailed it. The fact they could pivot from this to the Lovecats in 3 years, then go back to this sound as one of the biggest bands in the world is astounding.

Rock solid punk.

The album that launched the careers of Travis, Keane, and Coldplay. But let's not hold that against them... Angst meets pop. This album has tension in spades, bitter lyrics beautifully sung, punctuated by Johnny Greenwood threatening to break his guitar at any opportunity.

Ambient, Drum & Bass and Classical Indian music meld to create a vision of a future that never came. Yes, the spoken word sections can come off as pretentious and some of the synths are cheesy, but it just adds to the charm. A forgotten artifact of Britain in the Y2K era.

The closest an album has ever got to a good British sitcom. A vivid portrait of eclectic ordinary people experiencing the funny parts of life mixed with real pathos. Fun, witty, bouncy, poppy. At the same time; cynical, bitter, aggressive, and reflective. Something most of Blur's contemporaries and copycats couldn't reproduce (and something that Blur themselves couldn't balance on their poppier but lyrically darker follow-up The Great Escape).

Would have been much better as an instrumental album. Mike Ladd obviously has good mic skills, but the subject matter is all over the shop. He ping pongs from conscious-rap, to sci-fi, to sex brags based on sci-fi - and as amazing as that sounds, it's not very fun. Album closer Feb 4. '99 is the odd one out. A moving spoken word about the death of an innocent man by the police full of religious imagery and post-rock backing.

Despite me being a Brit who grew up on Queen, thanks to my parents being a fan and going through a "le wrong generation" phase, I had never listened to this album all the way through. From how it had been described to me in the past, I expected two sides full of Prog epics. What I got instead was... a Queen album. Freddie's voice is a bit softer, the guitar overdubs are a bit less obvious, and the drumming is a bit more conventional than later on. But the parts are all there, apart from a John Deacon song. If it wasn't for the fantasy elements, this could have easily been their breakthrough album In the end, it wasn't. But due to Brian May's hepatitis, they had the chance to record another album in 1974, Sheer Heart Attack. Thanks Hepatitis!

The riffs that sold a million Big Muffs.

Dusty had a great voice: powerful, but always with a slight edge of melancholy. As with all cover albums, everything hinges on how well that voice suits the material. There's a whole bunch of tracks on Side B I already knew and loved through cultural osmosis: Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa, Anyone Who Had a Had a Heart, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Wishin' and Hopin'. Nothing else really hits in the same way, despite the fantastically stereotypically groovy early-60s orchestra and backing vocals.

"Wait. Let’s try this again. Do you see the band on stage?" "No, I don’t see The Band, that’s a different group entirely!" "On stage, Skippy! Look, see the band?" "No I don’t!" "Get rid of those John Lennon glasses and look! There, there’s the band!" "No, that’s not The Band! The Band is performing later on. Who is onstage." Beautifully engineered, very impressive as it was recorded without overdubs. Full of 60s rock flourishes that harken back to some of its roots in gospel, boogie, country, and rockabilly - loads of piano, Hammond organ, call and response vocals, counterpoint harmonies. The bass bounces about with a vintage thud. However, it all feels less than the sum of its parts. I can see why critics and other artists raved about them; doesn't mean I have to like it.

The whole album is Latifah stamping her authority. I can't jack my body, but when the Queen orders me I feel legally obliged to.

How can a man so bitter and jaded make music that brings me so much joy?

"Ṣe o fẹran jazz?"

From the Sheffield Strip, California.

Like the Instagram stories of your friend from school who married young - goes between gushing over her 'hottie' husband one day to posting 'why are men are such snakes? x' the next. In private, despite puffing up her husband and congratulating him on their sex-life, there's a growing sense of melancholy and resentment as she's coming to terms with family life, constantly having to tell herself that she's still got it. It's relatable despite being written by a multi-platinum-multi-millionaire married to another multi-platinum-multi-millionaire. Much more rewarding than her Queen Bee singles era.

I loved this album musically, the real blueprint for 2-tone. Massive shame about the adolescent views on relationships and the misogyny on Side B.

I already loved Nina Simone. Now I have more to love.

Earnestness is underrated - especially by hipsters. The first half of the album all hinges on how sexy the listener finds Karen O's voice, with the constant moaning and jumps into the whistle register. Does absolutely nothing for me - all a bit twee. Dancey drumming, punky vocals, crunchy fuzz, and the odd synth embellishment poking its head out - all the trademarks of early 00s indie rock are here. Maybe as a 30-something Brit I'm just overexposed to this sound; everything that felt fresh back then has been rehashed constantly for the last 20 years. Makes me appreciate Royal Blood less than I already did. Maps is the turning point. It just builds, and builds, and builds. Intimate, close-recorded vocals sounding like they could break at any second but they never quite do. A wide palate of guitar lines and tones that are deployed with pinpoint decision. They gave up trying to be cool and gave us a modern anthem in the process. The following songs continue on the theme - like the reflections of someone on one long slow come-down as their relationship crumbles.

The songs feel like they should rip. But they don't.

Opening instrumental Generational Genocide sets me up for an off-kilter carnival. Mudhoney sold me the world, inviting me to something truly spectacular and never-before seen. I went along for the ride, had some fun, but left feeling slightly disappointed. Like true carneys.

Not really 'ambient' - the drum patterns still bounce around in the hyperkinetic style Aphex Twin is known for, and there's so many little intricacies that must have been a pain to program. These tracks must have been astounding to hear when they were played in little Cornish clubs and released as singles back then. But thanks to modern DAWs, the shine has been lost - I can pull open a YouTube, SoundCloud or Bandcamp compilation full of bedroom musicians making music like this in about 2 seconds. Brownie points for including Gene Wilder.

Production is pristine. But I'm struggling to describe the vibe. Imagine you're listening to a classic 70s Stevie Wonder album and make it jazzier. But instead of most instruments being played by Stevie and a selection of players he knows intimately, you hire about a hundred session musicians and make them record their parts separately in the driest studio known to man. Instead of Stevie's dynamic, unmistakable voice, you have two guys who would struggle to get a gig doing backing vocals. And instead of lyrics that vividly touch on everything from spiritualism, everyday life, and social issues of the time, you get word-salad abstraction that fails to depict anything other than how clever the writers thought they were. So, Aja is nothing like a Stevie Wonder album... ...bet Steely Dan wished it was, though.

One of the more remarkable displays of virtuosity you're going to hear. Not from headliner and reluctant cover-boy Bill Evans, but by upright bassist Scott LaFaro. He bounds all the way across the fingerboard playing counters and solos, yet never loses sight of the melody. Evans leads incredibly well from his piano, and very selflessly. His sense of timing and dynamics on album closer (and LaFaro composed) Jade Visions brought me to tears. They clearly knew how to get the best from each other. The Stereo image on the recording is impeccable, capturing every nuance of the players and the club. If there was any downside, it's that I'm often left wanting the drums to do more, aside from the welcome solo on All of You (Take 2). Maybe it's the inner rock-child that still lives inside me, but sometimes there is such a thing as too tasteful. Today's the first time I've heard this trio and any of its member play, and I'm already crushed this was the final time they had a chance to. Scott LaFaro died in a car accident soon after. I couldn't think of any better tribute. PSA to anyone listening on Spotify: The bonus tracks have been mixed in with the originals, following straight after the preferred take. The correct track listing should be: "Gloria's Step" (take 2) – 6:09 "My Man's Gone Now" – 6:21 "Solar" – 8:52 "Alice in Wonderland" (take 2) – 8:34 "All of You" (take 2) – 8:17 "Jade Visions" (take 2) – 3:44

I can imagine a young Windham Rotunda sitting in his room and playing this album on loop while dreaming of becoming WWF Champion. Much like wrestling, this album blurs the line between reality and fiction. As cartoony as the idea sounds on paper, I never truly got the feeling that Dr John was just a character and it gives the recordings an air of danger. Somehow makes it more accessible, too. Voodoo-inspired psychedelia mixed with Louisiana blues, Haitian music and even harpsichords isn't an easy sell, but I got it straight away. The instrumental tracks in particular are pure Halloween mood music. However, many of the issues that plague other psych rock records also come up here. It's only 33 mins long, but many tracks go on past their natural conclusion, and the stereo mix jumps between channels without much rhyme or reason. A curiosity, rather than something I would want to listen to on the regular. And now that I've finished, I feel like praying.

Big beards and synthesizers... ZZ Top were Shoreditch hipsters with Texan accents. All I knew about the boys was their look, I didn't expect them to be combining southern boogie with new wave. On the first side the mashup is seamless and contains all the singles I somehow already knew. After Legs it begins to wear on me, especially when they inadvisably slow the tempo down on TV Dinners (the single I didn't know, for good reason). A really welcome surprise of an album for me after a run of disappointing rock records on my feed. The not-as-old-as-they-looked dogs showed they had new tricks.

Lush.

Judging by the album art, Carlos Santana has a very consistent taste in women.

Optimism mix with defiance to create a powerful expression of black pride - set the tone for a huge number of artists in the 70s. I didn't sex machine to go on for 13 mins. But then again, a never-ending sex jam also sets the tone for the 70s.

Bob Rock's production and the move to simpler song structures is such a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the band has never sounded better sonically, before or since, especially on the 2021 remaster. Hetfield manages to channel emotions other than rage in his lyrics and vocals. Hammett made his first solos that don't revolve around tapping (still couldn't avoid the wah, though). Newstead is audible! Lars is... Lars! They implemented strings in a love song and it doesn't want me to pull my teeth out like rock ballads of the previous decade do! The band could break through to radio and MTV in a way they never could've before. (I don't want to hear that they sold out, this still sounds like nothing else that any hard-rock or metal band were doing in America at the time). On the other hand, it means the album doesn't feel like an album in the way that all their prior records did. And I feel like their simpler is better approach starts to hinder some of their songs in the 2nd half; My Friend of Misery should have stayed an instrumental and The Struggle Within feels like it it's about to shoot off like Sanitarium or One before they end the song and the album abruptly.

Musically it's not punk, not glam, and not really anything special. Being daring doesn't automatically create great art.

Flying songs, Excellent songs Here they come. Despite inventing the sound of the decade when him and Phil Collins accidently created gated reverb, it took a John Hughes movie and a claymation dancing chicken to become a worldwide star. This is in the grand tradition of weird 70s artistes going pop on their own terms in the 80s. For all of the shimmering synths and glistening production tricks, this album doesn't really sound 'mainstream'. Gabriel's voice soars over gospel choirs, 'World' rhythms, and drumstick hit bass guitar. He delivers cutting social commentary on the yuppy mindset (the greatest WrestleMania theme), a minimalist song about birds featuring a conceptual artist, and love songs played endearingly straight. No-one else could have pulled it off. A classic.

In 2016, an in influential music legend with a career spanning 6 decades recorded a dark, brooding lament on his own mortality. He released it shortly before passing to great sorrow. Everyone was shocked. Grief poured in from all across the world, with many declaring the latest album to be one of his greatest ever and a fitting tribute to an incredible career. If I had a nickel for every time that happened, I'd have two nickels... which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Right?

Most of the record feels like Loveless 2: Electric Boogaloo. That's not a bad thing - Loveless is critically acclaimed, genre and era-defining album, after all. But over 20 years had passed between the two. It almost feels 'safe' in a way that a wall of several hundred guitars stacked on-top of each other shouldn't. But, there are several moments in the latter half where they decide to explore different rhythms, and it leaves me gasping for more. new you is an exploration of other genres from their era. Dance beats with far fewer overdubs. nothing is is a hypnotic guitar and drum loop, with layers upon layers of tracks stacking on top of each other like a shoegaze trifle. wonder 2 is drum & bass, but with the intensity of a fever dream. Probably the most frustrating 4 I have ever given.

Reino Unido - ¡presente!

Despite being one of the building blocks of rock & roll, blues is forever tarnished by middle-aged men telling me 'if you can play blues, you can play anything'. I can play blues, Bill; doesn't mean I can play Animals as Leaders. I can feel the joy in the room, but it doesn't result in a affecting record for me. I know this is a me thing.

Good, but exhausting.

This album often doesn't sound like the title track. It does live up to the statement, however - this is the sound of The Who's generation. From R&B, soul, the early sound of James Brown, rock & roll and even the jangle of The Byrds, there's hardly a corner missed.

What is it with 90s indie music and bass/baritone voices? Alabama/A3, Morphine, the Magnetic Fields, Giant Sand etc... Could you imagine any of these breaking through in another decade? As for the album itself, it's eclectic and wordy americana with great arrangements and playing. But despite how varied the music can be, Howe Gelb's voice still manages to become a drone by the second half. A great argument for splitting records into Side A and Side B like you would on vinyl.

Peak Beatlemania in sound, image, and ubiquity.

"But it's true. They didn't write their own songs or play their own instruments." “The Monkees weren't about music, Marge. They were about rebellion, about political and social upheaval!” The reality was that they were neither a novelty band made up of actors, or the voice of a generation. What the Monkees were was a group of 3 talented songwriters and musicians who were able to act, and the Brit teen-idol they were built around with incredibly restrictive contracts. This album ended up being a one-and-done display of their talents as a four piece, with them reverting to session musicians for the following records. When they had to churn out 7 albums in 3 years, can you blame them? Oh, and it was Michael Nesmith's real hat.