Chill. If I owned a cafe this would be on repeat!

Intriguing potential grower. Signs off with a banger!

Love a bit of Leonard!

Surprised how enjoyable this was. Very of its time in terms of production, but accessible and not overly cringe

A solid afternoon playlist addition at the mythical “Cafe Kelvinos”

Seminal work. One of my favourite Beatles albums.

Would not be in any way worried if I never heard this album or any track off it ever again.

More eclectic than I was expecting. Solid 4 for me although a couple of fillers pull it down half a mark, though they are forgiven and offset by the timeless enchantment of the Badfinger cover which is quite simply one of the most beautiful ballads ever written, and a candidate for best song from Swansea 😎

Was very skeptical about this album, glad I gave it a go though as it really grew on me, proved to be surprisingly eclectic, and displays some interesting production. I hear Jagger/Richards, Townsend/Daltrey, and a bit of late Beatles/early solo McCartney in various places. Yeah, there’s some cheesy stuff there but an inspired pick for US election week!

Nothing wrong with it, just a difficult album for me to listen to as it’s not my genre. no tune really grabbed me musically aside from liability which was a lovely song. Lyrically nice and angsty in places too. Can safely say I will never listen to this again and it can be filed alongside Taylor Swift in the “not me” category.

Solid 4.5 from me. Forgotten how consistent this album was and I knew most of the words to most of the songs. Playful in parts, brooding in parts. A fine rediscovery of young adulthood!

If someone wanted an archetype example of a hard rock album from the 70s then look no further. I mean there’s even a drum solo! Not my bag at all, but clearly delivers for a certain listener.

What a grower! What a find! In memory of Elizabeth Reed? Wow! This is a sure fire playlister at the Café Kelvinos’ afternoon Espresso sessions.

Like many 70’s double albums, it’s a bit fat. Starts blandly, finishes weakly, but there is a banging full length album in the middle starting with the timeless Kashmir which offers lots of musical variation Its a hesitant 4 from me which only marginally scrapes above 3 due to the volume of filler tracks

Pixies. The band I always should have liked, but never did. Still don’t get the love for them. Where is my mind aside, this for me is mediocre as anything.

Started strong. Relentless rhythm section and some fine synths. It became samey samey towards the end by which time I was, frankly, bored.

That’s a 3.5 if ever there was one. Strong creative work for a sexagenarian, but lacking killer tracks.

A marginal 4. I thought 3 was a bit mean. Why only integers? Some classic tracks on there but it gets a bit soft and uninspiring in parts. Defo heard some guitars towards the end which sounded like Bernard Butler was playing

I made it though 3 songs before deciding I had better things to do with my life. Not enjoyable in any measurable way.

Dated AF sound, but some seminal tracks on there. Enjoyed listening to this

Loved this! Not sure how it’s passed me by for over a decade.

One of those perfect moments where musical craftsmanship and melody meet. Don’t tell me Kid A is a better album, it’s simply not, and anyone who says so is trying too hard to be cool. This is hands down their most consistent and listenable work, and one of my all time favourite albums. 6 stars!

Finally! A Pixies album I really like. I was not looking forward to it after struggling previously with TLM and surfer Rosa so this came as a pleasant surprise.

What a groove! I’m already back playing GTA San Andreas 😂

Like many a double concept album from the 1970’s, this 2010 version of the format doesn’t quite hit the mark. 3 stars is harsh as there are some really high moments on this album, and there’s a definite 4* potential 5* in there for a shorter edit, but I can’t help but think that when sitting through 1h 4m of their songs, many of them start to sound indistinct from each other.

More accessible than I had anticipated. Sounds dated, but clearly a good example of its genre. Love Ozzy’s vocal!

Never heard of this band. Don’t feel I’ve missed out on any way. Some interesting production but generally a bit bland and poppy for my taste.

Contextually incredible, musically strong. Not as amazing as some make out IMHO, but certainly an album worth listening to, if not one I’d have on repeat

Saved from the 2* whimsical mire of Stipes incessant whine by the beautiful uplifting everybody hurts. Otherwise this served as a reminder to why I detested REM as a young man. Musically I find it uninteresting, vocally I find it jarring.

One of my all time favourite albums. Timeless classic!

Didn’t really excite me in any way. Not sure it even gets played at Cafe Kelvinos

Dated but fun!

Not available on Spotify but fro lm what I heard on YouTube this is god awful experimental shite

Really strong album. Made me want to drop a pill and chill TF out 😂

One of my all time faves. If we had 5 years left to listen to music, this would play a significant role

Despite ranking “Move on up” as one of my favourite tracks, I’ve always struggled with Mayfield’s broader oeuvre. It just doesn’t resonate with me and lacks the tempo I need in soul-funk tunes

Drifted into mediocrity in places but still edges a 4 from me. Always loved a bit of the pogues, though a “best of” serves me perfectly well

Ain’t gonna lie, I was skeptical going into this album. Then the opening refrains took me by surprise and whacked me with those beautiful strings. My excitement didn’t last, as 3 mins later the song had descended into an infinite loop of melancholy. From then on, it was 58 mins of Björk performing unintelligible spoken word poetry above an experimental electronic, and at times cacaphoric soundscape. This was a truly tough listen and is only the second album in this challenge so far that I’ve failed to give ear to in its entirety without skipping to the end of tracks. Not for me. File under esoteric guff.

Seminal debut. Captures the spirit of British working class youth like few albums have ever achieved. 2 or 3 fillers, but when it’s on form it soars with energy and observation.

Enjoyed this chilled blast from the past. Very mellow.

Still struggling to get the love for Led Zepp. This is a very average album which only pulls above mediocrity for a few tracks and feels very disjointed throughout. Thought about 3 stars, but concluded it fails to even get there.

Still love the opener, plenty of intriguing tracks but never been an album Inreturn to regularly

It’s a going out album if ever there was one

Listened to this in the car on a long journey last week! Always loved the first 3/4s but feel it badly trails off at the end. A classic if its era.

Way too underground for my taste. A couple of tracks I could see fitting into a John Peel show but most of them I found tuneless and drab to the ear

I was surprised how much I was almost enjoying this, but as I’m finding throughout this exercise albums of an hour or more generally lose me after the halfway mark. Solid enough, but reiterated why I never really went for grunge generally

I’m just too old and boring for avant garde stuff these days, that said, there was a nugget of something decent in here which lifted it above the experimental, and I particularly liked the incorporation of the Swan theme