Absolute perfection! One of the best new wave albums in existence. I would not go as far to say that it is a pioneering record, but it certainly has set the bar for the records to come. Clean production, catchy rhythms, chord progressions and lyrics, experiments with instruments, electronic elements and sound effects - this one is a must-hear!

A 50-minute long melodic rock journey that starts off on a lighter note and gets more raw as it progresses, definetily influenced by some of the greats. Cohesive electronic elements and great bass production are what, in my opinion, makes this album almost perfect.

A cheerful and conscious blend of pop and country, embroidered with profound lyrics.

A great blend of contemporary and old, with its unique use of country, elements of pop and almost medieval sounds, reminiscent of early 2000s video game scores.

Absolute perfection! One of the best new wave albums in existence. I would not go as far to say that it is a pioneering record, but it certainly has set the bar for the records to come. Clean production, catchy rhythms, chord progressions and lyrics, experiments with instruments, electronic elements and sound effects - this one is a must-hear!

An uplifting, groovy record and a fascinating experiment. A breath of fresh air in Simon's musical catalogue.

In my opinion, what makes this album stand out is the track order. From the slow and lounge-ish start towards the fast-paced and uplifting middle, and back to middle paced jazzy rhythms. Melodies, vocals, especially drum production and very clean and technical guitar solos, all combined into a more than enjoyable whole.

When someone mentions Tom Waits to me, two things come to mind: "The Wire" and Nick Cave, the first one being one of the greatest TV shows that have graced our screens, the theme song of which is created by Waits, and the second one being one of the most profound and ingenious songwriters whose sound, heavily influenced by Waits, has graced our sound systems. Where to start? The excellent five-piece band led by Waits, the fact that this was his third album, at only 25 years of age, the fact that, even though it is a studio album, gives the listener a feeling of a live, unplugged album set in a jazz bar, his audience, his lively and humorous intermezzos between songs, his coarse voice, which adds to the realism of this record... I could go on, but none of this could present you even one percent of the record as well as listening to it would.

You can see the Beatles' influence, but in all its essence, this record does not bring anything new to the table, except for two or three catchy guitar riffs. I wouldn't say that the tracks are bad, but they do not spark any interest. Production-wise, the bass guitar stands out a lot.

An old-school voice we lost too early. Unfortunately, Amy's strong contralto and lovely jazz instrumental are overshadowed by loud and overproduced drums to an extente where one asks themselves what they are listening to. A jazz record? An R&B record? A hip-hop record? The rhythms of the latter two take away this album's soul and do not fit in at all, hence a two.

An excellent and electric live performance by one of the greats!

This was my first encounter with this genre, so I don't consider myself knowledgeable enough to say anything. A neutral 3 it is.

An honest and interesting country record.

A masterful soul record.

It doesn't leave much of an impression, but it's still one of the better Beatle-influenced records I've heard.

A great record and a great exhibition of English sounds. What makes this album stand out is a Pink-Floyd-esque sound quality and clean production.