My friends in prog places would have my guts for garters for saying this, but I find it difficult to listen to most prog rock artists. It's too hard to hitch your attention to any single instrument or melody for more than a nanosecond. Gentle Giant's Octopus is the exception (inexplicably). When ‘We Have Heaven' came on, I had a horrendous flashback to my dad playing this record while doing the pools in the Express and Star, which meant it was Sunday. Say No to Yes. NB: if any of my listening peers made it through the whole album, I commend you.

A pop culture assault and cartoon violence rap masterclass.

The first true concept album. A groundbreaking innovation in music. Highlights for me are always Within You Without You, She's Leaving Home and A Day In The Life. Just sublime, especially ADITL, I think it's one of their finest examples of a Lennon and McCartney song i.e. part bleak and biting, and part jolly and bouncing. From the use of combs on Lovely Rita, to the pieces of tape randomly put together to make Wurlitzer noises on Mr Kite, this album always seemed like it was from another planet. I thought I'd hate listening to When I'm 64 and Fixing A Hole as I see them as songs for kids in a way, but they're brilliant too. Can't fault this masterpiece.

I found this all a bit dull. There are some pleasant lyrics and vocal arrangements at times, but I found it quite whiny. The guitars throughout meandered and irritated me, bit indulgent, and lacking character or conviction. Title track was my favourite.

This is soulless and aimless pap. Hated the delivery and annunciation throughout. At times, it sounds a bit like Eels, Flaming Lips, early Beck, but pales in comparison. The overall production is pretty good. Not an album or artist that resonates with me I'm afraid.

Pretty good album. I think the first half is loaded with better songs, and the ones that are good are exceptional. Nice vocals, guitar, piano. Some great songwriting.

I hate Tom Morello's dentist drill guitar solos. I had to take 3 Ibuprofen after this album. I have similar feelings about the slap bass. Unless it's Soul or Funk, leave slap bass alone, especially you Rap Metal. I think Rage fans romanticise this album being powerful. Musically it's just hectic, and lyrically it's not as clever as people go on about. I can see why Killing In The Name was popular, at least it's anthemic. Bullet In The Head was probably my favourite, started with a good hook, interesting sections, and then that solo! Just a smorgasbord of abnormal stool samples. By Wake Up, I couldn't believe there was still so much album left. I'll give Rage their flowers in the form of a 2, and that's just for actually following through with their activism, something that is often lamented by those with no real intention to fight for anything. If they pop up again in this list, my rating won't be so kind. Doubt they will though, seen as they really didn't do much else, and this is considered their best effort.

Exquisite vocal performances and impassioned songwriting made this one of my favourites so far. Only Love Can Break Your Heart is the stand out track, and holds nostalgic significance for me. Such a heavy and beautiful concept, expertly delivered. It's sacrilege to say, but I also love St Etienne’s cover. Other highlights are After The Gold Rush, great piano on that one, Southern Man has a jerky guitar solo that goes off the rails, and I Believe In You is another triumph in songwriting. I don't even mind the little incident tracks, nice breaks between the ballads.

Murky, vaudevillian, bat shit crazy. Loved it from start to finish. Underground sounds like it was produced by filthy trolls in the depths of a smelting plant. Booming drums, metal clangs, set to the marching trombone. A vocal performance that sounds like he's just gargled hot tarmac. Lyrically it paints a vivid picture of a dank underworld. Whispered stories weaved between, traditional blues, experimental noise, lacerated vocal chords, and a tatty chest of instruments, make this an eccentric masterpiece. Used jet trash! Halloween orange and chimney red! What a way to turn a phrase.

Here's 1 star. I thought it only fair to put myself in the mind of someone in 1950s America hearing this for the first time, but then I got really worried about catching polio, and this album was still boring and repetitive.

Discord in lieu of any compelling ideas. Zero likability. Massively overrated band. I've been dragged to plenty of gigs that sound and smell exactly like this, and despite what people say, nobody is having a good time.

I appreciated some mean guitar playing, but I didn't think there was much in the way of good songs. I found this one quite ignorable.

Legs reminded me of Stacy Kiebler, which caused one of my erogenous zones to tingle. However, that moment was fleeting and it marked the halfway point of an album that was far too long. I don't like the chugging guitar fuzz, it's relentless. The drums sound dead flat, no punch just a sort of ‘pfft’ on the snare. The bass was good in parts, a bit like the mighty Quo! I don't know why I had to listen to this album before I die. I imagine I'm going to be asking this a lot. If it turns out Harry Nilsson’s Soundtrack to Popeye the Motion Picture isn't on this list, I'm going to be furious with the curators.

Pretty great album. Music, lyrics, vocals all of the highest standard, and it still sounds great in terms of production. Unquestionably one of the all time greats. I don't think this needed to be a double album though, if it were condensed to one album every song would be a killer. But even the weaker Stevie songs are better than most other artist's best efforts.

The intro was cool and earnest. Impressive featuring artists throughout. Diverse sounding from one track to the next, quite eclectic, reminds me of other albums from similar time like Stankonia or the Ecleftic. Bring the Pain, was smooth, reminiscent of No Diggity with the backing vocal and a similar melody. I haven't heard Gossip Folks for years and it still stands out. I'm sure the Timmy from South Park impression was something a few artists did around this time, somewhat of a cultural linchpin. Work It is a work of genius, the woodblock sounds almost like a click track along with the drum machine, the lyrics, the gibberish, the elephant noise, the implication that the listener couldn't handle Missy, the record scratching, the get ya hair did, the badonk. It's all iconic. Pussycat is cool, it's like a parallel to Dre and Snoop’s Fuck You, with the ownership and intent coming from a woman. I sense sarcasm as much as realism, I don't imagine Missy is all that worried about her man doing the dirty on her. It's quite telling that she feels she has to add context at the end of the song, almost defending her music and the sentiment, where male rappers wouldn't feel the need to do the same. You wouldn't catch Three 6 Mafia apologising for Slob on my Knob. All the songs were great. Nice light and shade, fat beats, big dirty bass lines, soulful vocals at times, well crafted songs, attacking and humourous lyrics. Brilliant album, I'm only not giving 5 because perhaps 2 songs weren't as strong as the rest.

Even a turkey with a harmonica stuck in it's wattle can write good songs. However the good ones didn't feature much on this, it was an incredibly tedious listen.

Ok songwriting, Tangled Up In Blue is probably the best example, but also “I ain't no monkey but I know what I like”....are monkeys famously self-realising? Dunno, ask Bob ‘Monkey Whisperer” Dylan. My fillings started coming loose at the shrill combination of harmonica and organ on Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts. Underwhelming again, and felt like it went on forever, again.

Not an album I often think to put on, but I'm usually happy to hear it by accident. I appreciate Low in the context of the Berlin trio, which I always thought was a very cool innovation in how artists can release music and carve out their own little places and moments in time, and not be concerned with commercial appeal. Sound and Vision is a cracking song. Nice jangly guitars, driving bass, great vocal performance, synths, strings, sax and eno on backing. It's such a pop belter you forget it's about isolation at a time when Bowie has fled L.A to kick drugs and other life pressures. The bleeps and bloops, and overall dalliance into electronica come together well. Warszawa has the hallmarks of Eno and obvious kraut art rock influences, without being totally derivative. Hauntingly powerful even if the lyrics are total gibberish. The track was so influential, Ian Curtis named his band Warsaw before changing it to Joy Division. Enjoyable but omitted from my own Mount Rushmore of Bowie albums.

I felt nothing at all while listening to this. It's the musical equivalent to canvas wall art in an office complex.

Maybe if their projectors weren't so dirty they'd have been able to read the brief properly. It said “Make this album marketable", but due to the filthy smudges, they read it as “Take slim akram a marble table.” After acquiring an ornate and rather bougie marble table from a nefarious character on Gumtree, they spent a few weeks trying to figure out precisely who ‘Slim Akram’ was. It turned out this was Kaseem Akram, co-owner of Akram’s Markers, a Marker Pen manufacturer and almost palindrome. After this huge distraction, several failed attempts trying to claim the table on their record label's expenses, and a complete absence of ideas, they set about making a completely forgettable album.

Even completely heinous arseholes like Morrisey can do incredible things, and this album is a work of art. I enjoy it so much, I can even block out all the insufferable, smug, hipster cretins who adopt The Smiths in lieu of having personalities. Headmaster's Ritual and I Want the One I Can't Have are so lyrically sharp, and the melodies are well crafted, the guitar cuts through to the forefront, and the rhythm sections are certified bops and super tight. Rusholme Ruffians is a lovely, jangly romp in the hay. Even the peculiar, whimpering backing vocals sit nicely. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore has lots of lovely layers to unpack. The strings, the piercing guitar overdubs, echoing drums, the melancholy of the words and the myriad of sounds, the relentless repetition of “I've seen this happen…”, the vocal arrangement at the end, the false ending. Ahh, takes me to orgasmic stratospheres. Nowhere Fast, who doesn't want to drop their trousers to the things they find irksome? This is a strange rickety train of a song, but it's still full of character. Well I Wonder is another mewing, whimpering waltz, nicely placed between some pop-ier tunes. Pleasant spots of rain in the background and I think some synths in there too…. Barbarism Begins at Home has one of the most satisfying bass lines to listen to, and to play. What fun! The ‘sszooop’ sucking/sweeping noise throughout is very effective, similar to The Beatles’s ‘sszooop’ on ‘Girl’. Fantastic guitar work from Marr on this, so much going on. Great song title too. Meat Is Murder is compelling in its message. However, my taste buds will always beat my heart strings in this morality election, and the taste of pork swung that vote a long time ago. Nice try Moz, I'll enjoy the song for it's swelling soundscape and catchy hook, but little else. A perfect weaving of humour, despair, melody, romantic aesthetics, and some pretty mean riffery. What She Said is skip-able, and the album ending on slaughterhouse noises is irritating, but what do you expect from the precocious prince of indie. I'm asserting my discretion and slapping five stars on the table!

There's no denying she had an unstoppable voice, and there are some iconic songs on this album. However it doesn't do much for me, I found it samey at times and lost interest. I'd probably give it a 2.5, so I'm bumping down to 2 because the album cover art is incredibly dull.

As a working class Englishman, working in a low impact profession, it’s very unrelatable. I imagine it’s an album that resonates with throngs of working class Americans, in typical blue collar jobs. All tracks fade out apart from Working on the Highway, why is this? Did Bruce think the fade outs were a good metaphor for the fading in and out of geopolitical relationships during the cold war? Did the turning down of the music intend to draw a parallel with the dimming of family values as gen x'ers became the generation of latchkey kids, who witnessed rapidly increasing divorce rates? Or are we simply witnessing a songwriter all out of ideas? Some of the lyrics are Key Stage 2 rhyming couplets. ‘Tougher’ and ‘Rougher’, ‘Joe’ and ‘no place to go’. I don’t like being able to guess the next line unless there’s enough nuance or charm surrounding the song to justify such basic tropes. Musically, there was a lot to like. I didn’t expect to hear so much synth/keyboard for some reason. This intertwined with passionate vocals and slick guitar work (thankfully not in abundance), made it a somewhat enjoyable listen. While it’s not really my cup of tea, I do appreciate good pop songs. I’m On Fire was a highlight for me, but again, I’m not convinced the fade out was the way to go (making it the fifth fade out by this point). Dancing in the Dark is obviously one of The Boss's most recognisable tunes, and it's alright by me, especially Courtney Cox being in the video. Although in this, she does look like a prepubescent Ellen DeGenderless, rather than the height of her hotty-ness; your friend and mine, Monica Geller circa Season 1-3. The album is incredibly well mixed too. When you add this to the Americana, and the rousing pop belters, it does make for a pretty good album. Reminds me of things like Huey Lewis, and The Cars, decent pop efforts of that time. It’s getting the 3 treatment from me. If this guy broadens his rhyming horizons, and figures out a few more ways to end a song, who knows, we could be looking at the next Sam Fender.

Billie Holiday's voice stands alone in its uniqueness, it has it's own gravitational pull. The broken, trembled affectation she puts on every word never gets old. She certainly convinces me of her general turmoil and woe. Let's give props to the beautiful brass and string arrangements on this album too. A serene and elegant listening experience. I enjoyed it a lot, I'm only going to mark it down to 3 because I'll rarely return to listen to it, maybe when having a Radox bath and enjoying a Cadbury’s Flake. Billie also did the definitive version of The Man I Love. Which is of course from the movie Hot Shots! I like to listen to it and pretend I'm Topper Harley, cooking and eating breakfast off Ramada. Ooh, suit you sir! I'd like to end things on a downer. Billie had no love as a youngster, pretty much abandoned, locked in a room with a dead girl by evil nuns, addicted to drink and drugs, and then of course died in her forties. Anyway, I hope we get Chumbawumba tomorrow!

Ian Curtis's love of Bowie, Iggy, Velvet Underground, spliced with his own sardonic view of the world, the band's association with British punk bands of the day, and a mad hatter for a producer, made for some doomladen, unhinged, and truly original music. The gothic-office clerk smudge they left on Manchester, earnt them many famous fans and a dedicated army of sulking indie kids. The album sounds bleak and industrial, which of course was the whole point. I love it all, the high notes of Peter Hook's bass playing, accompanied by Ian Curtis’s crooning, drums with bags of echo and other percussive tricks, raw and at times primitive guitar riffs. My favourite example of their moodiness and distinct sound, is She's Lost Control. The lyrics are superb, I'm sure it's half about a girl Ian Curtis saw having a fit, but then it's expanded out into talking about a woman grabbing on to people in the street. It's great. Grace Jones did a pretty cool cover of it. Shadowplay is another highlight. If a few of the songs were replaced with say, Transmission, Love Will Tear Us Apart, Dead Souls and Digital, it'd get 5 stars from me. As it stands, it's a 4, as it's not quite all killer, no filler. If nothing else, Unknown Pleasures can now often be seen adorning the chests of women in the UK who like to wear iconic album covers on t-shirts in the hope they will attract a more sensitive and artistic class of men. But be careful ladies, one too many “can you put the bins out?”, and we all know how Ian reacted. Pff, men!

Lovely twee little intro, with a nice little revisit later. Save the Life of My Child comes in with an urgent, western synth medley, it's so unexpected and draws you in. America greets you like a friendly vagrant at the end of the bar, pulling up a stool and slinging you a Harvey Wallbanger. Voices of Old People is completely pointless. Old Friends is a bit grandiose without much else going on. Faking It is pretty cool, it's a little meta before that was a thing. It reminds me of Scott Walker. Punky’s dilemma, again not a world beater of a song, but some fantastic vocals. Mrs Robinson is ace. The Graduate is ace. Wayne's World 2 spoofing The Graduate is ace. I don't even know what makes this song so triumphant, but it just has “it”. Between the melody and harmony, it's just a whole vibe, no one's come close to constructing a song quite like it. From that first little guitar fiddle, you can instantly picture young Dustin Hoffman watching those tights come off, and a warm feeling washes over you, like having a CT scan, but with no prospect of a gnarly diagnosis. At the Zoo is a fun ending to an endearing album. With a couple of mediocre songs, and it perhaps being a bit too brief, Bookends gets a 3.

When I was a kid, California Dreaming and Dream a Little Dream of Me seemed like the most white bread, wholesome ditties from across the pond, and if you take them purely on their own merit, they are. But once you start to delve into the love triangles, and the drug addled, sex crazed, debauchery of the group, a dark shadow is cast over their otherwise whimsical pop legacy. Monday, Monday, California Dreaming, and In Crowd are all stand outs. Well written pop of the highest order. Got A Feelin’ is almost a lullaby with it's tiny bell chimes, and ticking clocks. You Baby has some great oohs and ahhs, it's Beach Boys-esque. But let's address the elephant in the room. Incest. We all know you did it John. A close friend said he'd like to drag John Phillips out of his crypt and kick the crap out of him. The story goes he desperately tried to stop his daughter's wedding the night before, and that's when they started their sickening 10 year union. The M’s and The P’s had a song called Young Girls are Coming to the Canyon, Michelle Phillips used to say “yeah and you've fucked them all John”. I'm sorry but it's all too horrible for this listener. If I want nice harmonies and whimsy, of this era, and in this rudimentary style, I'm picking The Monkees. Davy Jones and Mike Nesbitt would never defile their daughters.

Raucous, punchy album. Not all songs are heavy hitters though. I'm a big fan of the sweaty, leathery miscreant that is Iggy Pop, and The Stooges can obviously shred and rip it up as a band. I've not listened to them much, and this was a lot of fun. Search and Destroy was my favourite, powerful riff and catchy hook. Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell is a great title, but a middle of the road song. Penetration was probably quite daring in 1973, but in the age of WAP, it hasn't dated with any sort of relevance, and is more of a jam session than a song. Raw Power is a bit more like it in terms of representing Stooges at their best, chugging instruments and slithery vocals draping over them, top marks. I Need Somebody has a great descending guitar riff, and vocals akin to Captain Beefheart, loveable mangy mutt of a tune. Shake Appeal is just a sped up, punkier, Beatles song like I Wanna Hold Your Hand or I Wanna Be Your Man. Death Trip adds very little and is a bit of an anticlimactic closer. With hits and misses, charisma and indifference, this gets a respectable 3.

It's an odd collection of songs, with discord and crackpot tinkering that's not often explored this much on rap records. Some of the featured artists bring a bit of character to it. It's an album that I think struggles to know what it is. Just as Mowgli could hang with the wolf pack, but was better off in the man village, The Roots definitely have impressive Hip Hop credentials, but in my opinion, are better off as Jimmy Fallon's house band. I can hear Goodie Mob, Outkast, Saul Williams, it's kind of cool, but ultimately too busy, and a bit too long. I want to like The Roots, but their USP of experimentation, an ever-evolving lineup, and multiple instruments, just never turns into anything I enjoy. I'm hoping their earlier albums pop up in this list and pleasantly surprise me.

An easygoing, tranquil affair. I knew a few of the songs, and always knew I liked Brazilian jazz/bossa nova, and Stan Getz, as well as other jazz guitar artists such as Django Reindhardt. I haven't listened to these genres enough, and this has spurred me on to go adventuring. Immensely surprised by how neat and crisp this sounds, given it was recorded in 1964. I'm a fan of lazy guitar plucking nestled in a jazzy ensemble. The soothing trumpets, and the laid-back rhythm section are all effortlessly cool. Girl From Ipanema and Corcovado are my favourites, the latter makes me feel like I'm Austin Powers and I've just made tender love to a character called Ana Lingus, and told her “I've gotta go baby, Dr Evil has turned Christ the Redeemer into his evil lair, and he's threatening to blow up the good old U.S of A. I'll be back when the lady with the Coxinha arrives, yeah baby!”

Part of a movement of more thoughtful hip hop artists like De La Soul, Jurassic 5, Tribe Called Quest, Freestyle Fellowship. I enjoyed this album, partly because I gravitate towards this form of rap more so than some of the one dimensional artists that pollute the genre. You can see how The Pharcyde influenced the likes of Outkast, Busta Rhymes and Eminem. Their off kilter use of sampling and production methods, creates a curbside vision, car horns, cheers, chanting, real block party vibes, and nicely ties in with the promise of a ‘ride to the far side’. Very well thought out album, in concept and execution. Passing Me By, Ya Mama, On The DL, Otha Fish, are my favourites. Pretty flawless album. I was about to criticise the runtime, but by the end I don't think I'd cut anything, because doing so would take away from the well-balanced dynamic and storytelling. On occasion some of the lyrics are just vehicles to the next line, and completely meaningless, but I guess that comes with the territory when delivering slick and comprehensive flows.

Boring.

My friends in prog places would have my guts for garters for saying this, but I find it difficult to listen to most prog rock artists. It's too hard to hitch your attention to any single instrument or melody for more than a nanosecond. Gentle Giant's Octopus is the exception (inexplicably). When ‘We Have Heaven' came on, I had a horrendous flashback to my dad playing this record while doing the pools in the Express and Star, which meant it was Sunday. Say No to Yes. NB: if any of my listening peers made it through the whole album, I commend you.

I first became aware of Joni Mitchell when my mom used to listen to Blue and chain smoke Silk Cut in the kitchen, and stare off into the distance thinking about her youth, whilst also effortlessly caning our Cadburys selection boxes (yes it's always Christmas in this memory). For this reason, I've always disliked Joni. What was she doing to my mom? and why would anyone want this for themselves? Also, I cannot stress enough how much I fucking hate that bit in Big Yellow Taxi when she laughs at the funny voices she just did. AND SHE FUCKING DOES IT AGAIN ON FURRY SINGS THE BLUES! I'll give it a 2 because I know that objectively it's not shit, but I find very little to enjoy on any of her records. If she comes up again, this is getting copy and pasted.

I'm too smashed to review properly. 2 stars

God I love it. I was lucky enough to see The Specials and Terry Hall is one of my heroes. I Can’t Stand It really encapsulates the fact that the band were all pulling in different musical directions at this point, which caused tension and led to them splitting up a year later. But I’m fond of the busy yet lazy, reggae, lounge, punk, soul, mongrel product we end up with. Enjoy Yourself and Hey, Little Rich Girl are great fun, and more aligned with the sound of their debut album. International Jet Set, Man at C&A are class. Demented and eerie, scathing towards capitalist rat race types, unique arrangements going on. And best of all, Do Nothing is one of my favourite songs of all time. It paints a picture of a malaise across working class British youth in 1980, bored with Thatcherism, police brutality, racism, “living a life without meaning”. I prefer this album version to the much heralded remix with a more prominent string synthesiser. Being white and male, I’ve faced little persecution, but two police officers did once make me buy some Toilet Duck and mop up my own piss outside Subway City in Birmingham in front of queuing clubbers (let it be known, this was in a discreet side alley, I'm no an animal). It was quite the violation, and this song was looping in my head the whole time, and then the bouncers told them to fuck off, and Paul the cloak room bloke checked my jacket and my Toilet Duck into the cloak room and sold me some dodgy pills. It’s a 5 every time from this pop picker! It would be an enormously bloated 5 if Ghost Town and Friday Night, Saturday Morning could have somehow been on this. “Wish I had lipstick on my shirt, instead of piss stains on my shoes” will forever be my mantra.

I've got a great affection for these indie anthems, reminds me of the nightclubs I used to spend every weekend at, and pop culture during the early 90s. Even if Ian Brown is little more than a lairy chimpanzee. Remember when he started on T4’s Steve Jones for absolutely no reason? This is a musically sound album. Nice swishy swashy-ness, fat rhythm section, echoey vocals, and very well written pop songs. As I said, anthemic sums it up for me, Adored and Resurrection are immense, and Fools Gold is the stand out track, what a certified banger. It's a shame Stone Roses fans are often dickheads of the highest order. Calm down you paisley clad, helmet hair, vesper enthusiasts, it's not like they're really good like The La’s.

Rubber Soul is the turning point where you can clearly see the move away from songs in the style of She Loves You and Please Please Me, and the Fab Four exploring more mature themes and starting to include more instruments and production techniques. There are a few nods in this direction with Drive My Car and Run For Your Life. Norwegian Wood is an odd tale of late night encounters, simple and stripped back accompanied with sitar which was obviously a rarity in contemporary music in 1965. You Won't See Me, and Nowhere Man are well-written and have the classic three part harmonies working to lovely effect. Nowhere Man has some especially satisfying vocal melodies, ‘the wur-er-er-eld is at your command’ being my favourite. Think For Yourself has that wicked fuzzy lead riff throughout, again, good lyrics and vocals. Effective tambourine and shaker tinkering as well. The Word is junky, jerky and irreverent, while still having sweet harmonies at its core. I've always found Michelle a bit pretentious and wanky. It sounds nice enough though. What Goes On isn't even a good C-Side, god bless Ringo. I find Girl similar to Michelle but a far more well-rounded song and not wanky. I also like the sucking backing vocal thing they do, and the deh-deh-deh-deh-deh bits. Understated bit of mandolin sits nicely behind the plodding bassline and almost reversed symbol strikes. I'm Looking Through You is maybe my favourite. Everything is on point again, and Billy Preston has that mean bit of harpsichord that George plays a little riff over too. Billy also did a cool cover of this. The hand clapping/knee slapping even works. In My Life is sublime. Incredibly simple musically, but lyrically rich, a heartfelt composition. George Martin's piano solo is a joyous addition. Wait is also in contention for my favourite song on the album. It is one of the best examples of a Lennon and McCartney song, the angst and spikiness of Lennon's words and music, and the bouncing perkiness of McCartney’s. Day In The Life is the best example of a Lennon/McCartney number. If I Needed Someone sounds more like a song from Help! It's a little throw away but fine. Rubber Soul gets 4. Some superb moments, but not sheer brilliance just yet, and I feel compelled to mention how much I hate the cover and their hair at this time.

What a racket.

The wild haired murderer sure knew how to put a Christmas album together. Darlene Love went on to do my favourite Christmas song, All Alone On Christmas 🎄

Practiced lacklustre is a neat skill. The Pixies have this skill as well as unlikely coolness and a front man with a knack for zany songwriting. Very good album with a few classic surfy grunge hits. Tame is my personal favourite, ‘hips like Cinderella’ is a killer phrase. Few skippable songs, but plenty of sloppy riffs and pop songs earn Doolittle 4 stars.

Music for couples who watch 500 Days Of Summer in their matching Snorlax onesies, call chicken nuggets ‘nuggy nugs’, and watch NPC TikTok videos.

The songs all blend in to one another, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I found his voice and the simplistic style quite relaxing. Unfortunately relaxation quickly turned to boredom. Things Behind The Sun was my favourite.

Opening track reminded me of Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys theme. Would have preferred live drums rather than drum machine, which is something I thought throughout. Still sounded very full and atmospheric. I know Epoca from what I feel like is a thousand adverts. Listening in its entirety was truly magnificent. Frank Zappa covers…never thought I'd hear one on this list. Not bad either. Triptico is again familiar. Who knows why? Maybe it's from Parrappa The Rapper (it's not). Santa Maria was rousing, assertive, I learnt how to Tango during its nearly six minute soirée. Una Musica Brutal reminded me of the Mamushca from Addams Family, and also of Vic and Bob's remake of Randall and Hopkirk. That's not meant as a diss, top marks! El Capitalismo Foraneo had me thinking of Groove Armada and Morcheba and stuff in that vein. Last Tango In Paris was ok. I massaged some Herbal Essences into my scalp while this was playing, and then remembered I wasn't in the bath and/or shower. The next ones were fine. I'd ejaculated by this point so didn't make any more notes. By and large this album took me by surprise, from behind, and bought me flowers and a slap up dinner.

Decent opening track, genuinely don't think I've ever listened to it despite being familiar with the title. I enjoyed the booming kick drum and tapping on the hi-hat, and a very faint Starkey and Hutch wah wah. Didn't think the lyrics were all that, but the rhythm to the cadences definitely works well. Fuck The Police does what it says on the tin, but isn't interesting sounding or lyrically compelling. Gangsta Gangsta, If It Ain't Ruff and 8 Ball are very middle of the road. I Ain't Tha 1 is a neat little tongue in cheek number. It struck me as a bit of a predecessor for battle of the sexes songs like Biz Markie’s ‘Just A Friend’ or Outkast’s ‘Roses’. Express Yourself is the highlight. Super effective use of sampling and I feel the lyrics step up at this point. Quiet On Tha Set, Dopeman and Something 2 Dance 2 are far better than similar tracks earlier in the album. Side 2 of the album is better quality than Side 1. Some fully formed ideas, well executed, and other songs that feel unfinished. The album is generally not as iconic or gripping as I'd hoped it would be.

Jack takes the piss! You can't be having the blues on three separate occasions on one album. Not even the Blues Brother did that, in fact they had a proper knees up!

Felt like neverending jamming. I enjoyed some atmospheric bits and bobs, but found most of it to be drawn out nonsense. The longer the note, the more dread as Super Hans would say. I'm hoping some Floyd with Syd pops up later.