Shortly before he finally transformed rhythm & blues into soul, Ray Charles appeared in 1959 with this crossover hit repertoire, half in full big band regalia and the other half embedded in Hollywood-esque string arrangements. Maybe not Charles' best or most relevant album, but a relic of an era when Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee still ruled the so-called pop charts and Atlantic Records contributed to the de-segregation of American society with records like this. What remains today is the recognition that Ray Charles could make any music his own.

The debut album by the British legends combines a lot of what I don't like about metal: most of all the tendency towards a thematic lack of imagination (seriously: Phantom of the Opera? Transylvania? That's cheap - as if someone for inspiration had read the synopsis of the films in the video store which were on display in the horror section for lack of ideas of their own). Then this craft-over-style mumble: playing in unison when you want to show how good you can play etc., while in the end this doesn't offer anything really impressive for anyone used to stuff like fusion jazz, Zappa or the better prog rock bands. The record has nice parts, the musicians can play and it's not the worst thing in the world but at the core is a little-boys-big-pants aesthetic for wannabe blokes. I understand this one is a bit of a pioneering release, so 1 extra star for that.

Band and especially this record represent music I genuinely don't like but do so in a way I cannot find fault in. Few things here are the stuff my music-fan dreams are made of but still I have to admit to liking this record. Always had many friends who absolutely love the record so I guess it's ok if I still will not put this in my, say, top 500.

I was there when it hit and it hit hard. Hip hop in 1996 was so happening and this was one of many highlights back then, especially due to Lauryn Hill's vocals. Over time some of the glitz has rubbed off for my taste, but still a good record.

Given into what a total asshole Morrissey has turned since (or was revelaed to be), it's testament to the genius of the Smiths moment in Brit Pop that their music is still up there with the best of the 1980s.

When this record came out I was a New Wave/Post Punk loving teenager trying to be edgy and considered Springsteen to be music for normies and dorks. i did like I‘m On Fire, but hated Dancing In The Dark and the title track which would.be unescapable for the next couple of years on German radio. Today I‘m in my late 50s and not so much has changed, except I‘m probably normie and dorky myself now. The rejecting passion has calmed but still no Springsteen fan, really. The album is a defining soundtrack of the 1980s though, a cultural impact which I kind of respect in its own right.

Essential listening in the early Noughties (or Aughts, however you want to call that era). Crossing musical bridges you didn't know existed and setting new standards for indie/art rock.