Obvious references are Radiohead and Flaming Lips but YHF leans less heavily on studio tricks than either of those bands. Compared to Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots it has clearer provenance and compared to Kid A it is a lot more accessible. The trade-off is that it's more boring than either of those records. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart begins with a pleasant musique concrete hum which continues in one form or another throughout the album. There's a nice contrast between the warm and fuzzy guitar tone and hum and the story of regret. Kamera is an indie rock song and it would be fine if I turned on the radio with friends in the car to find it playing. Radio Cure starts with quite a nice tense acoustic guitar strum but occasionally swells into a twee pop thing at odds with the message about a long distance relationship. The single War on War is a fun and upbeat number with a climax that pays tribute to Sonic Youth. Jesus Etc. starts a bit more interesting with a lounge number with surrealist lyrics and a fiddle. Ashes of the American Flag is indie sludge that shows you everything that was wrong with music in the 2000s. The other single Heavy Metal Drummer has the best studio work, with breaks and a heavy synthetic bass line in the chorus making it the rare Indies song that you could dance to. I'm the Man Who Loves You keeps the energy going with a country tinged song with simple yet effective lyrics and some great brass. Pot Kettle Black is a pretty standard indie pop number which does nothing for the album. Mellotrons are nice I suppose. Poor Places again channels Sonic Youth with lyrics that could have come straight out of Thurston Moore mouth before a pop resolution which morphs into a kind of cool instrumental vamp and then back to noise. Reservations is a ponderous and overwrought love song which is entirely skippable. The final three minutes of slow piano chords and the ubiquitous radio noises are fine but won't win any awards for sound design. As an unrepentant jungle and IDM freak I was surprised by how often the overdubs and abstract stuff in the album felt like it took away from the story telling. I know the album is full of radio themes but why? There are flashes of brilliance and a few songs which I'd put on a mixtape for my girlfriend but ultimately this isn't earth shattering. On the one hand what they did to secure the master and self release on the internet was super cool, but I think if a label had a bit more control and cut the length by 15-20 minutes this could have been a 4.

Combining the worst of jazz and rock we aren't off to a good start with a prog album... Overall says nothing that Pink Floyd hadn't in the preceding decade. Bloody Well Right has moments of groove ruined by tenor sax noodling. Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson's love of the keyboard. Hide Your Shell is years behind Bowie, who was already looking past glam with Diamond Dogs. Listening to this you can literally hear John Lydon straining to rip it up and start again. Asylum is an over orchestrated ballad mitigated only by some wild vocals by Davies at the end. The album single Dreamer is the standout, with a catchy hook leaning into their London accents. Nonetheless the structure of the track betrays it, the lack of verses means it cannot claim its place as a successful straight pop song. Rudy has some great classic rock moments but ultimately repeats the mistakes of Bloody Well Right, occasionally sounding like Kenny G had wandered into the wrong studio before quickly exiting. If Everyone Was Listening and the Title track are pointless prog ballads. Like all prog most of the tracks are needlessly over 5 minutes with over-complicated structures and are in desperate need of a producer with a razor blade.

Worthy successors of Ali Farka Toure's legacy building the link between West Africa and the US Songhoy Blues blend blues rythyms with more sophisticated Malian techniques on Music in Exile. Soubour combines Malian lead with blues rhythm sections. Al Hassidi Terei goes one step further by incorporating time signature changes and polymeters(?). Sekou Oumarou finds the synthesis with a stripped back 2/4 call and response. Nick sounds like something straight out of the Chess back catalogue with a strong electric 12-bar blues. Al Tchere Bele takes us furthest away from the blues paradigm featuring complex rythyms and anxious guitar melodies and vocals. Kaira Arby provides beautiful backing vocals to Wayei, another track closer to Malian traditional music. Petit Metier starts with a familiar yet distinctive vocal intro before introducing almost gospel choir call and response. Jolie begins with a syncopated ballad before slowly building up to something reminiscent of Rokia Kone's Bamanan (2022). Desert Melodies and Mali round out the album with simple traditional sounding techniques on guitar and vocal. While many of the tracks feature virtuoso Malian, blues and R&B guitar they are mixed bass forward, recognising the importance of the rhythm section in all the styles they incorporate.

By 1975 classic rock was already being eclipsed in the charts by Elton John and a plethora of excellent funk acts. In this environment Springsteen entered the scene sounding like he has lung cancer every time he tries to belt out a verse. Columbia was paying attention to trends though and the album is saved by a magpie approach to production, with the E Street Band stretching across multiple genres and styles while staying faithful to their rock aspirations. Thunder Road is a Twangy country rock that probably sounded a lot fresher 50 years ago. Tenth Avenue Freeze Out is a competent motown tribute. Night is a bit more interesting as an up tempo love song about knocking off work. Backstreets is an unintended gay masterpiece about making out with a non binary person. The title track has a legitimately spine tingling chorus although by this point we're rehashing lyrical themes. She's The One takes some sixties pop riffs in an interesting direction. Meeting Across the River is the best track from a structural and vocal standpoint, starting with a great little sax solo and prefacing a tragic meeting. Jungleland ends the album with a pretty epic sax solo. While there's a lot of competent music on here the phill spector style of throwing pianos and strings at everything doesn't really work with the lyrics and I wonder what this album would have sounded like if they'd taken the 'less is more' approach more common in the second half of the decade.

Very pure punk album from before the Clash started experimenting with other genres and styles. Some very satisfying tracks, stripping back all of the pointlessness of prog and studio rock in the 1970s and criticising the state of Britain. White Riot and London Burning are now classics, but sitting here at the end of 2024 Police and Thieves is the standout, already looking past punk, which was always going to be a self terminating movement. The moments of dub are artfully executed given the otherwise handsoff studio production. Garageland is a great reflection on what was going on with punk (and maybe a shot across the bow of Malcolm McLaren?) Structurally there's a lot more going on than Never Mind the Bollocks or Ramones, it's not surprising that The Clash pushed boundaries for a longer time than either of the other two although ultimately it limits the impact of this album compared to the statement made by Never Mind the Bollocks or the sheer energy of Ramones.

A seminal album which sets the foundation for all the good rock and roll in the 70s. I had actually convinced myself that this was a post 1969 album and was surprised to see so much cynicism and sleaziness in a rock album from 1967. I was also surprised to see how much bands like Sonic Youth had taken from the solos and production styles of the album. Sunday Morning is a lullaby for clubbers with blissed out strings and slightly paranoid lyrics. Waiting For The Man set the tone for the late sixties and seventies and shows Bowie the way forward. Nico presages Kim Gordon on Femme Fatale with a production style that wouldn't have been out of place on a Sonic Youth album in the early 90s. Venus in Furs is the sleaziest piece of psych ever created and Lou Reed's. Run Run Run is a blues standard mutated by screeching guitar solos. All Tomorrow's Parties could only have been sung by a Berliner (and a seamstress no less), stoically meditating on the inevitability of partying. Heroin is fairly boring as far as melody but structurally foreshadows the quiet /loud style of grunge even if the link to the lyrical heroin rush is a bit trite. There She Goes Again subverts expectations by using a 60s pop vehicle to talk about hustling and violence against women. I'll Be Your Mirror is the low point of the album, the lyrics' optimism clashes with the rest of the album and the song itself does nothing. The Black Angel's Death Song gets the album back on track by force-feeding Woodie Guthrie LSD and manipulating him into joining a violent sex cult. John Cale's viola performance is truly unhinged. European Son closes out the album in a cacophony of guitars phasing between styles (is there some surf rock in there?) The themes and lyrics are refreshingly upfront and don't hide behind the need to sanitise allusions for commercial appeal (which this album never had). This album deserves a 5 just for how futuristic it is (even if that future is a tired and filthy and poorly recorded one).

Obvious references are Radiohead and Flaming Lips but YHF leans less heavily on studio tricks than either of those bands. Compared to Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots it has clearer provenance and compared to Kid A it is a lot more accessible. The trade-off is that it's more boring than either of those records. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart begins with a pleasant musique concrete hum which continues in one form or another throughout the album. There's a nice contrast between the warm and fuzzy guitar tone and hum and the story of regret. Kamera is an indie rock song and it would be fine if I turned on the radio with friends in the car to find it playing. Radio Cure starts with quite a nice tense acoustic guitar strum but occasionally swells into a twee pop thing at odds with the message about a long distance relationship. The single War on War is a fun and upbeat number with a climax that pays tribute to Sonic Youth. Jesus Etc. starts a bit more interesting with a lounge number with surrealist lyrics and a fiddle. Ashes of the American Flag is indie sludge that shows you everything that was wrong with music in the 2000s. The other single Heavy Metal Drummer has the best studio work, with breaks and a heavy synthetic bass line in the chorus making it the rare Indies song that you could dance to. I'm the Man Who Loves You keeps the energy going with a country tinged song with simple yet effective lyrics and some great brass. Pot Kettle Black is a pretty standard indie pop number which does nothing for the album. Mellotrons are nice I suppose. Poor Places again channels Sonic Youth with lyrics that could have come straight out of Thurston Moore mouth before a pop resolution which morphs into a kind of cool instrumental vamp and then back to noise. Reservations is a ponderous and overwrought love song which is entirely skippable. The final three minutes of slow piano chords and the ubiquitous radio noises are fine but won't win any awards for sound design. As an unrepentant jungle and IDM freak I was surprised by how often the overdubs and abstract stuff in the album felt like it took away from the story telling. I know the album is full of radio themes but why? There are flashes of brilliance and a few songs which I'd put on a mixtape for my girlfriend but ultimately this isn't earth shattering. On the one hand what they did to secure the master and self release on the internet was super cool, but I think if a label had a bit more control and cut the length by 15-20 minutes this could have been a 4.

CCR and this album in particular hold a special place in my heart - this tape (along with the Big Chill soundtrack) were practically stuck in the tape deck on family road trips. Because of this I had to put it on while I went for a long drive. The album holds up well on a revisit. Despite their rep as a singles band the filler tracks show the highs and lows. Ramble Tamble starts with a surprisingly funky groove before indulging in some credible psych rock. All the singles are gold with the exception of As Long as I Can See the Light which is a nice ballad but a bit ponderous. Only thing stopping this from getting a 5 is that it isn't trying to accomplish anything new. It feels more like a Swan song for rock and a reminder of where it came from which maybe is important as a beacon for the dark days of the early 70s.

Pete Tosh comes out from the shadow of the Wailer's with a great reggae and rocksteady album which, while masterfully produced is let down by fairly generic vocals. The album starts with the title track, the questionable medical advice in the lyrics play a back seat to dub mixing and psychedelic phaser effects on the backing vocals. I never realised the links between dub, Burial and General Levy revealed in the second track. Watcha Gonna Do feels a bit lame with the corny organ drowning out some good guitar skank. Wailer's classic No Sympathy gets back on track with a heavy hook and lyrics. Why Must I Cry opens with a soul break and heartbreak, again the synths feel a bit out of place but at least sit in the back of the mix this time. The proselytising on Igziabeher falls flat but there are some great piano vamps at the end. Ketchy Shuby is a nice little rocksteady number but isn't going to blow minds. Till Your Well Runs Dry constantly shifts between a ballad about an on again off again relationship and a reggae skank chorus. Brand New Second Hand closes out the album with more dub mixing. The return of the synths in this song doesn't grate as much as the others. Beautifully arranged with a complex roster of studio musicians, the album demonstrates Tosh's natural musicality. The mixing is bass forward as it should be. Sets the scene for Tosh's brilliant solo career.

Forgettable, indulgent, sub-Bowie glam. A cynical cash in. Occasionally good hooks (Whizz Kids, Violence) ruined by over-production and those annoying talking/singing vocals. Drivin' Sister is about as good as it gets thanks to a simpler structure, much more restrained arrangement (although not immune from studio tricks) and a few proto-punk guitar riffs. I'm a Cadillac has some okay psych noodling. It's telling that the best two tracks are not in the style of the rest of the album. Really struggled to devote much headspace to this, looking at Allmusic it's supposed to be a wry commentary on rock and roll? Maybe some other glam rockers can transcend that self-reflexive pop thing but not these guys.

The Rolling Stones play competent blues covers on their debut album. The Stones are at their best when they put the rock and roll elements in front. I Just Want to Make Love to You ramps up the energy of the Muddy Waters original. Carol rocks hard. Slower bluesier tracks like Honest I Do and I'm a King Bee don't really feel sincere coming out of Mick Jagger's lips. The poppier Tell Me is actually a lot more exciting than a lot of the other tracks and makes you wonder what would have happened if the Stones took as varied a path as the Beatles did. While everyone knows the Beatles vs Stones rivalry I think a more fruitful comparison is with the Sonics who shared a similar stylistic focus to the Stones. When you put this up against The Sonics' singles from the same time it's really clear how much less rock and roll the Stones were. Compared to the Sonics heaving version, the Stones' version of Walking the Dog right at the end lacks rhythm and leaves the album feeling fairly derivative. The Stones are one of the greatest bands of the 20th century and its well deserved for their live act and subsequent albums, if it weren't for the fact that this is the start of something amazing it would probably have scored lower.

Run DMC's third album goes hard and Rick Rubin knows how to get the white boys into rap. This album and its four singles represent rap finally being recognised in the charts. Peter Piper is pretty standard 80s rap riffing on nursery rhymes over a stripped back mardis gras beat. Rubin and Jam Master Jay's pop genius is on display with It's Tricky sampling My Sharona. My Adidas continues to demonstrate Jay's chops on the deck with a series of complicated scratch routines over a clever homage to Adidas. The Walk this Way cover achieves the seemingly impossible task of making 80s hard rock funky (although points off for paving the way for rap rock I suppose). Is it Live struggles to squeeze some groove out of an 808 and while the boasting is fun it hasn't aged well. Perfection keeps things stripped back with a (live?) drum track and more lyrical boasting. Hit it Run brings back the turntablism and amps up the vocals with Run and DMC aggressively spitting bars. You can see where the LA rappers got their ideas from. The title track brings the guitar locks back but the vocals don't maintain the energy. You be Illin has some great storytelling in the style of the Biz. Dumb Girl has a great 808 and feels like a bit of inspo for Memphis. Proud to be Black closes the album with an important message for the bigger audience the album attracted. 1986 is a huge year for rap (Licensed to I'll, Eric B is President, The Source, Kool Moe Dee, 2 Live Crew). Not sure what else we're going to see from this year in the list but Raising Hell earns it's place for figuring out how to give rap commercial appeal. Anyone who got rich rapping in subsequent decades owes this album a lot.

Not feeling confident after seeing the MS Paint cover. I could have gotten Nevermind or Loveless or Screamadelica or Low End Theory but noooo, the RNG had to give me this gen x sludge. The Concept opens the album with a by the numbers indie rock number with some truly atrocious lyrics although some nice harmonisation in the chorus. They add insult to injury with a few minutes of prog guitar noodling at the end. Last 20 seconds of Satan rocks but only increases my concern that the rest of the album is going to be ponderous and frustrating. December confirms my suspicions. What You Do to Me recovers a bit with an acceptable glam number (although the lyrics remain vapid). I Don't Know occasionally has some My Bloody Valentine style dissonance but otherwise remains in the comfortably mediocre depths. Star Sign continues the primary school level rhyming (why do they sing with American accents?). Metal Baby has some nice jangly moments but is let down by a forgettable chorus and would have had more impact at half the length. Pet Rock as a title and as a track perfectly encapsulates what this album is. Tenor sax in a rock song tells you all you need to know about their sensibilities. By the time we get to Sidewinder I'm ready to hit the eject button. The final track Is This Music is actually pretty alright, the fact that it's an instrumental should clue you in to what's wrong with the album. The drums sound like they were recorded inside a sofa. There are occasional noisy bits at the start and end of all their songs. They would have had much better effect stringing those together and releasing it as a single than wasting my time with this nonsense.

Fetch the Boltcutters is a great little piece of anxious pop. Complicated percussion tumbles over sometimes beautiful and sometimes dissonant piano and vocals. I Want You to Love Me opens with some wonky percussion before revealing a wonderful piano line and Apple singing about love. The addition of a double bass in the second half makes it even more powerful. Shameika amps up the energy with the same piano motifs combined with improvised percussion creating a tumultuous song about not fitting in. The title track continues the themes of Shameika but at a slower pace. Under the Table borrows blues and gospel structure, maybe a little too much. The rap style vocals don't necessarily hit the mark but there is some redemption in the bridge. Relay status with an anxious chant about evil before returning to the less enjoyable rapping. Again the song is saved by a fun improvised bridge. Rack of His tells a story infatuation with an anxious string line. Newspaper opens with a desolate percussion track before lyrics about what's shared between women who've had a relationship (and not necessarily a good one) with the same man. Ladies continues this theme with a more conventional pop structure. Heavy Balloon starts with a stripped back percussion and bass track which slowly grows in frustration. Cosmonauts starts with dubby percussion before morphing into a fun pop track about devotion. For Her is a hyperactive song speculating about other people. Something that could only be written from neurodivergence or trauma and not necessarily as fun as it sounds at first. As the name suggests Drumset has one of the better percussion tracks in an album that should be pleasing to anyone who enjoys good rythyms. On I Go is what I imagine Mike Patton would write if he was a woman. The track closes without resolution and leaves you feeling confused about what you just went through - the perfect conclusion. Formally the album is a treat. Arrangements quickly change pace and climaxes quickly melt into delicate and vulnerable solos. Choruses and overdubs come and go seemingly without reason. The improvised percussion and disjointed production style owes a lot to Matmos. The lyrical theme of the complex relationships that women have is worthy of Apple's treatment. I can definitely see how this album would be divisive, and I can already think of quite a few subsequent female singer-songwriter albums that sound like copies of this. The rapping isn't really called for and sometimes the chants and repeated phrases start to grate (noting that this is what I think she's going for) Suspect it won't age well if the copycats continue but this is nonetheless a great album.

Very credible album from the Doors. I'm mostly surprised by how funky some of the tracks can get. Roadhouse Blues is a fairly traditional 12 bar blues song but with occasional psych vocal flourishes from Morrison. Waiting for the Sun has an organ line that presages Suicides synthetic punk. The song lurches from a quite pretty intro into an intense and anxious middle section. You Make Me Real has some great 8:4 drumming in the chorus, adding some interest to an otherwise traditional 50s rock number. Peace Frog is a nice little piece of funk. Bue Sunday slows things down with swirling organs and Morrison crooning about love. Land Ho! is a regrettable bluesy number which shouldn't have made the cut. The Spy is stripped back paranoid blues. Queen of the Highway is another funk number, constantly shifting from psych rock to blues and back. Indian Summer is a very slow and beautiful piece of psych. The album ends with another dirty blues song with Maggie M'Gill. Bruce Botnick's engineering is impeccable. The mixing positions instruments sensibly and captures the dynamic song structures perfectly. The album integrates a lot of diverse ideas in seemingly simple tracks.

Fine blues rock. Sort of bridges the gap between Muddy Waters and Sabbath. Waiting for the Bus has some proper chugging bits. Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers is practically hair metal with a few 'virtuouso' solos over the most boring bass line you can imagine. Master of Sparks hints at something more interesting in the intro before reverting to type. Precious and Grace is the highlight, essentially a Sabbath song, with a stripped back bassline cascading guitar fills and Dusty Hill reaching for Ozzy Osborne lyrics. La Grange rocks hard with the John Lee Hooker groove but also reveals that unlike Sabbath, at the core this is just white boy blues and isn't trying to accomplish anything new. Sheik is a funky number with stabbing guitar licks, it's fun coming off like a Stevie Wonder/Hendrix/Average White Band tribute. I suppose this album is fine but I'm sitting here in the 2020s with the music industry in shambles and every song ever written at my fingertips. If I want to listen to blues I'll listen to the originals.