240
Albums Rated
3.45
Average Rating
22%
Complete
849 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
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Rating Timeline
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Taste Profile
1960s
Favorite Decade
Britpop
Favorite Genre
UK
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
51
5-Star Albums
7
1-Star Albums
Taste Analysis
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Ratings by genre
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Rating Style
You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuzzy Logic | 5 | 2.94 | +2.06 |
| Psychocandy | 5 | 2.94 | +2.06 |
| Deserter's Songs | 5 | 3.02 | +1.98 |
| Germfree Adolescents | 5 | 3.04 | +1.96 |
| Liege And Lief | 5 | 3.1 | +1.9 |
| Tubular Bells | 5 | 3.1 | +1.9 |
| The Man Machine | 5 | 3.32 | +1.68 |
| Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus | 5 | 3.32 | +1.68 |
| If I Should Fall From Grace With God | 5 | 3.34 | +1.66 |
| Sulk | 4 | 2.36 | +1.64 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Sun Rises In The East | 1 | 2.92 | -1.92 |
| Vulnicura | 1 | 2.79 | -1.79 |
| The Score | 2 | 3.68 | -1.68 |
| Birth Of The Cool | 2 | 3.65 | -1.65 |
| The Genius Of Ray Charles | 2 | 3.63 | -1.63 |
| A Love Supreme | 2 | 3.63 | -1.63 |
| good kid, m.A.A.d city | 2 | 3.61 | -1.61 |
| To Pimp A Butterfly | 2 | 3.61 | -1.61 |
| Blood Sugar Sex Magik | 2 | 3.51 | -1.51 |
| The Atomic Mr Basie | 2 | 3.5 | -1.5 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Radiohead | 4 | 4.5 |
| Johnny Cash | 3 | 4.67 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 2 | 5 |
| Talking Heads | 2 | 5 |
| Bob Dylan | 2 | 5 |
| The Velvet Underground | 2 | 5 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Björk | 3 | 2 |
5-Star Albums (51)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Mercury Rev
5/5
10/10
This is NOT the greatest album ever. Maybe it wouldn't make some people's top 1001 - I wouldn't hold it against them. It's not a 10 if I could be ston-cold objective about it. But I can't.
It hits me hard in whatever it is we call a soul. It captures a time and takes me back there. It fills me with the emotions of that time, of being that age. It reminds me of my friends and my future wife who I'd just met. It reminds me of the hope I held at that time and the abandon of enjoying myself with life stretching out in front of me. And yes, Opus 40 might make me cry a little bit because for 4mins, it almost becomes too much.
"I'm alive" she cried, "But I don't know what it means". That lyric defines it all
So what I'm saying is that I hope YOU have an album like this, that holds memory and emotion, love and joy, nostalgia and hope. It almost certainly won't be this specific album, but that is not the point. There will be an album out there that does it for you and I hope you know what it is.
I think that might be what they call Art...
P.s.Even the Devil Horn on Hudson Line is almost acceptable.
5 likes
The xx
2/5
4/10
Another album that doesn't need to be on this list. I counted 18 yawns during my listening. I can't put my finger on particularly frustrating tracks, it's just as a whole piece it is massively underwhelming.
3 likes
Prince
3/5
6/10
I was firmly of the opinion that Prince is overrated. For the first half of this album, I had serious doubts about that belief.
But then I listened to the second half and read the Spotify bio, and he definitely is.
I enjoyed parts of this album much more than I thought I would and it was a very strong 4 star. However, the longer the album lasted, the further the score dropped ...
1 likes
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
2/10
I want a survivors T-shirt for this album. It's comical really, banging and drilling and shouting. Being in German, the lyrics are obviously pointless to me as a non-speaker, so there is nothing to gain from it there.
Why not 1/10? Well, there is some rhythm to it and it is certainly challenging. Kind of made me think about what is the point of music - is it to only be beautiful or meaningful? How wide is that bracket, and isn't it boring if nothing else is worthy?
I don't think I know, but ultimately this didn't bring me any joy or touch me in any way other than the satisfaction of making it through.
1 likes
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
6/10
1st up, I hate sax. 2nd, the songs are so earnest, so pained, so overwrought. It's exhausting. At times they are like they are from a musical, where everything has to accommodate the lyrics, and be damned the tune and the song structure.
But it is obviously still a great album, with some brilliant songs.
1 likes
1-Star Albums (7)
All Ratings
Sufjan Stevens
5/5
What an album to start this journey with! The lyrics are fairly impenetrable for me, but I love their feeling. The music is genre defining -melodic indie with folk and rock. It feels li-fi, but is so well produced and comped it is on another level. Wonderful 5⭐
Beck
4/5
4 stars
Kraftwerk
5/5
5 ⭐
The Strokes
5/5
Top 10 favourite. 2001, 21 years old at University. It was like this album was made for me - angular guitar underwritten with classic 60s pop sensibilities. I can remember where I was when I 1st heard Last Nite, and that is what your Favourites are all about.
Fugees
2/5
The songs that aren't covers have 1 musical idea, repeated to the point of medium. The covers are ok, but hardly greatest album material.
I don't appreciate it lyrically, and I feel that it is where it's got to hit you, as the songs are so repetitive.
Radiohead
4/5
The aim of doing this is to 1. find great albums I'd never listened to and 2. reasses albums I had once dismissed. This is one I am glad I have reassessed.
After OK Computer, Radiohead dropped off a cliff for me. Kid A etc left me absolutely cold. This album had a cursory listen at the time, but the purchasing process was odd and I considered it less of a proper release because of it. I know I did prefer it to their post-OK releases at the time, but I never listened to it again until it appeared here.
What I like about it is that there are songs with melodies and bass lines that groove a bit. And rhythm. Overall, it feels like these songs are allowed to breathe - all the intensity is dialled back a bit to let the tunes rise to the surface.
Glad I listened again. The first time it was almost a 5, but a 4 is probably closer - it's not that great, but very, very good.l and one I will listen to again.
Faust
3/5
After slogging through 11mins long track 1, I was dreading the rest of the album, but I found I quite enjoyed the rest! It was weird, but inventive.
Keith Jarrett
5/5
I had a friend who said "Why would I go and watch **** live? I can listen to all their songs perfectly on CD." For me, this album is the reason. Songs shouldn't exist in one perfect form - they are living, evolving things. And on this album, with Keith Jarrett improvising them from the musical either, that is demonstrated to perfection. He shows music isn't about the best piano, the best rehearsed, the best produced. It is also about the immediacy of the moment.
My only problem with this album is that it sometimes reminds me of the theme tunes to those 80s US law dramas! They really spoilt melodic jazz for me.
The Youngbloods
3/5
Inoffensive and pleasent, but hardly exciting. Obviously not up with the real big hitters of the period and lacks the standout tracks that elevate bands from the crowd
Radiohead
5/5
The Who
3/5
Dirty Projectors
3/5
This was going to be a 4, but caught me on the wrong day where the angular and spiky songs hit wrong and annoyed me. Ultimately the instruments and vocals sounded so distinct from each other, rather than helping into a coherent sound.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Everything But The Girl
2/5
Music with no soul. I can hear the midi instruments as they beep and click. It's redeeming feature is that it is largely inoffensive and recedes to the background.
Curtis Mayfield
2/5
Emmylou Harris
4/5
7/10
Badly Drawn Boy
3/5
5/10
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
9/10
The Last Shadow Puppets
3/5
It's nice! I enjoy listening to it. But it is hardly exciting, and I'm not sure I MUST listen to it before I die?
The orchestration seems a bit lame really, perhaps signposting the garbage heading out way from the Arctic Monkeys. But here, the tunes remain and Alex isn't wholly up himself.
6/10
Talking Heads
5/5
9/10
Jeru The Damaja
1/5
2/10
Got very bored after the first couple of tracks. Had to skip Da Bitches, with it's terrible, dated lyrics. Also was about to skip Mental Stamina with it's atonal, arythmic phone beep thing. Not good.
Willie Nelson
3/5
Hmm, incredibly inoffensive and safe - although I appreciate the background of the album. Kind of music that is like a warm bath or good to recover from major surgery from. It ain't going to get you too ruled up. However, I can't deny that these are some of my favourites versions of the behemoth songs. I'm just not that much of a fan of the songs.
5/10
Fairport Convention
5/5
9/10
Traditional British folk is an odd genre - I listened to this on my way to a beer festival in the West Country (UK), and I couldn't think of anything more fitting!
I love it because the band, and the guitar especially, lifts above the trad folk. And Sandy Denny's vocals are genre defining. Thoroughly enjoyable, much better than I expected
PJ Harvey
4/5
7/10
Angry, frantic, but also tuneful. Aged very well compared to other music from the early 90s.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
9/10
Maybe a bit generous - sometimes the noodling is a bit, sometimes the tracks are too long - but Born on the Bayou and Proud Mary are excellent and I love the general feel of the album. Go on, have 5 stars.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
6/10
1st up, I hate sax. 2nd, the songs are so earnest, so pained, so overwrought. It's exhausting. At times they are like they are from a musical, where everything has to accommodate the lyrics, and be damned the tune and the song structure.
But it is obviously still a great album, with some brilliant songs.
Scritti Politti
1/5
2/10
Little to redeem this. It is everything I dislike about 80s pop - it's music with the soul removed.
Adele
3/5
6/10
4 good pop singles sat amongst some fairly bland tracks. Lyrically, a relentless breakup album, which gets tiresome after a while
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
8/10
Great guitar. Very angry
David Crosby
3/5
4/5
7/10
The Clash
4/5
7/10
Definitely an extra star for its influence. At times it's excellent, at others it just sounds a bit rubbish! One of the many double albums that would have been a solid 5 ⭐ single album.
Billie Holiday
2/5
4/10
Music I can't relate to, so it's hard to give it a decent score. It's just so syrupy-thick. Maybe if I were to hold a dinner party and invite some mid 20th century intellectuals, this could play low in the background, smothered by the smoke from our cigars.
I find it hard to grasp how raw emotion can be conveyed by such bland music, but what do I know. I was glad when it finished.
The Thrills
2/5
4/10
Painfully average. The 3 singles I remember are still decent slices of jangle pop, but this album is one of those that is sorely out of place on any list of greatest albums. Even 1001 of them.
The xx
2/5
4/10
Another album that doesn't need to be on this list. I counted 18 yawns during my listening. I can't put my finger on particularly frustrating tracks, it's just as a whole piece it is massively underwhelming.
The Who
5/5
10/10
The best 1st song/last song combo I can think of, and what's in between is great too. All the better for not being a rock opera - these are just brilliant songs with no agenda other than to be awesome.
Potentially a top 10 all-time favourite. And probably the only Who album that'll get 5stars as they always seem to let themselves down with a few dodgy tracks. But none of that here.
Janelle Monáe
4/5
8/10
Well, well, well. My heart sank when this came up. I didnt know it and I was all set to be granting it 2 stars.
But I was wonderfully wrong! It's funky, funny and clever. It's superbly varied. It has SONGS that evolve and are coherent. It has some guitar!!
The point of doing this is to challenge oneself to listen to things I wouldn't normally in the hope of finding things that are fresh. Hooray
Bee Gees
2/5
4/10
I wouldn't have guessed this was a Bee Gees' album, although there is the odd moment where the future distinctive vocal can be discerned from the largely forgettable late 60s pop on offer. Sounds so much like the Beatles at times, it is almost comical, as are most of their lyrics. I have no doubt that in is time it would have been a decent listen, but today, with the wealth of other music around, it felt irrelevant.
Johnny Cash
5/5
10/10
It's wild! A great live album gives you an inkling if what it was like to be in the audience, and none does it better than this one.
4/5
8/10
Well, ok then. Never knowingly heard Spirit before, but I thought this was rather awesome. They sound like they're having fun and have a sense of humour. They know how to rock and how to write a song. Thank you 1001 STHBYD
Gotan Project
2/5
4/10
It sits in the background and rumbles along in its inoffensive way. It's well produced, but an hour? Oof, it was a bit of a slog.
I don't begrudge this album being on the list, assuming it represents a high mark in Euro-electronic reinterpretations of Tango music. I would question how they have managed to take the soul out of something meant to be so raw. It does nothing for me - most of it feels like it could be on a Brittany Ferries infomercial
Elvis Presley
3/5
5/10
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
5/10
Love the bass, appreciate the instrumentation and arrangements. But I get a bit bored and I don't get grabbed by the songs. Glad I heard it, but I'm unlikely to revisit.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
3/10
It's harsh, but I just don't like this type of music. It was absolutely vital though: the antithesis that rock and roll needed to become the phenomenon it did. You got to have something to rebel against and these perfectly orchestrated, perfectly sung, perfectly bland songs were that.
Iron Butterfly
3/5
5/10
A bit too rough round the edges, but solid psychedelic rock. And it made me think of the Simpsons.
Dire Straits
4/5
7/10
Money for Nothing is epic, 10/10. So Far Away and Walk of Life are great. But it does lag and drift for long stretches - you just want to give it a boot up the butt in the 2nd half.
Le Tigre
3/5
6/10
2Pac
2/5
4/10
So I thought I was going to hate this album but, while I didn't actually like it, I definitely enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
5/10
I feel I should like this more than I do. It's so flippin noisy though. And discordant.i can appreciate it.
Parliament
3/5
6/10
Could have been 4 stars - the best bits are great, although the 1st track has my least favourite elements of meandering.
Circle Jerks
2/5
3/10
Out of context, there is little going for this album. Mercifully short. Ridiculously short, in fact.
John Grant
3/5
6/10
At times I think it's great - I find his lyrics funny and interesting, and musically it can be melodic and solid indie folk.
But this does not need to be 72 mins long. An album should be 42mins, 12 songs. It can be longer, but you need a good reason. Like books over 306 pages, or movies over 1hr 44mins. It's doable, gee, most of the top albums ARE. But this album does not make its case. Easy to find 4 songs to cut and 20mins. Now that would have been an excellent album...
Buena Vista Social Club
3/5
6/10
It's cool - the musicality is top drawer and I like the feel to the album. However, there are no stand out tracks I'd say I love and it gets a little too jazz for me. But obviously great and worthy of it's place on this list
The Cure
3/5
6/10
Enjoyed more than I thought I would. It stays the right side of dirge on all but the title track, which, on an album of only 8 songs, resulted in it losing a mark and this a star. Bad luck, The Cure.
The Isley Brothers
4/5
7/10
Funky, obviously. The musicianship is top notch, and the song writings great - whether it is theirs or finely picked other people's.
X-Ray Spex
5/5
9/10
A great punk album. Tunes, energy, funny lyrics. Even the Devil Horn saxophone doesn't spoil the tracks it appears on.
Prince
3/5
6/10
I was firmly of the opinion that Prince is overrated. For the first half of this album, I had serious doubts about that belief.
But then I listened to the second half and read the Spotify bio, and he definitely is.
I enjoyed parts of this album much more than I thought I would and it was a very strong 4 star. However, the longer the album lasted, the further the score dropped ...
1/5
1/10
Oh god. The devil horn. In stereo, playing different random notes while a drummer violently disagrees with them both on anything that might be construed as a cohesive sound.
It's relentless, although on a couple of occasions a tune tries to break out, only to be brutally assaulted around the head with a barrage of sax notes blasted at the full limit of the infernal instrument's gasping worst.
I ran out of time and inclination to make it to the end, but unless there is some kind of musical epiphany halfway through, I don't think anything was going to happen to change my mind.
Björk
1/5
2/10
I don't like Bjorn. I recognise the need for unique voices, and I salute her for having one. It's just I really dislike it. The staccato, broken delivery does my nut in.
Maybe slightly harsh on this album, but it took a big effort to make it through
Stevie Wonder
3/5
7/10
Am I giving this an extra star cos I feel that I'm obliged to? Maybe. Sir Duke, I Wish and As are superb songs. But I don't like a lot of the album, and there is a lot of it. I never liked Isn't She Lovely's sickly pop, and to have 6+ mins of it is bordering on torture.
If it's your thing then 1hr45mins is probably heaven, but for the casual fan it is far too much.
Isaac Hayes
2/5
4/10
It's a soundtrack. It sounds like a soundtrack. It has one song and then lots of sound tracks. They sound ok in places, but rarely hint a cohesive album in the way I think this list understands it to be.
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
2/10
I want a survivors T-shirt for this album. It's comical really, banging and drilling and shouting. Being in German, the lyrics are obviously pointless to me as a non-speaker, so there is nothing to gain from it there.
Why not 1/10? Well, there is some rhythm to it and it is certainly challenging. Kind of made me think about what is the point of music - is it to only be beautiful or meaningful? How wide is that bracket, and isn't it boring if nothing else is worthy?
I don't think I know, but ultimately this didn't bring me any joy or touch me in any way other than the satisfaction of making it through.
Django Django
4/5
7/10
I enjoyed it. Totally passed me by when it came out, but that was when my attention was elsewhere.
Hard to justify it being in this list, but 1001 is a lot of albums and this is probably in the top 1000 LPs. It's just hard to think of it as something exceptional, something for all time. Maybe this list is too long.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
10/10
Wow - what an album. Guitar rock, redefined and the bar set for everyone else. The one thing Jimi had that so few other guitarists do is the FEEL of the instrument. He's technically awesome, obviously, but that what his playing is about.
Every song is great. For me, the drums and bass are much better on this than Electric aladypand, where they were trying too hard to keep up with the virtuosity. They didn't need to.
Dolly Parton
3/5
5/10
Full-on country. It couldn't be more country. It can be twee and overwrought but the harmonies are great and they three superstars sound nothing like they look on the cover. Which is a good thing, as I was fearing an 80s C&W album with synths and the like. Maybe that isn't a thing.
Whenever C&W comes up, it reminds me of my grandad, so that is a good thing.
The Stranglers
4/5
7/10
Really solid punk album. Much more interesting than some of their peers who get more plaudits.
Billy Joel
3/5
6/10
It's a good album and Billy Joel is a Good Songwriter. But I don't particularly like it. Is it too polished? Is it the constant threat of the devil horn? Too many jazzy chords? I think so, but it is so Radio 2 l, it hurts l. Bet Ken Bruce loves it.
Pavement
4/5
8/10
So painfully cool, to my way of thinking. Always been in my peripheral, but missed them in the 90s and never revisited.
Really liked this - noisy but tuneful and interesting. Super slacker indie
Aerosmith
3/5
5/10
Pedestrian - kinda weak sounding for a hard rock album. Sweet Emotion is great, but the rest is fairly average fodder. Yes, even Walk This Way, which has an obviously excellent riff, but was strangely flat
David Bowie
3/5
5/10
Fine. If it wasn't Bowie, it wouldn't be here as it is at best average. Nothing stands out for me - no real tunes or catchy hooks.
Johnny Cash
5/5
9/10
Black Flag
2/5
4/10
While on the one hand I can see how the Angry lyrics could connect, and musically it isn't terrible - although punky, it has definite skill to it - on the other hand I'll happily never hear it again.
You can hear how this would go into to be honest and polished into the influences of later US punk bands and deserves it's place on this list. I just don't happen to like it.
Prince
4/5
8/10
A great pop album. The man was obsessed, and that is to it's detriment, but I guess it was one of his defining qualities, so what are you gonna do. Musically it is funky and upbeat.
I don't love any of the tracks but equally I like all of it. Just please get him a cold shower.
Simple Minds
4/5
7/10
Enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Very 80s, but in a good way. It drifts at times, but the songs are good and it holds a lot of strong nostalgia for me
Mercury Rev
5/5
10/10
This is NOT the greatest album ever. Maybe it wouldn't make some people's top 1001 - I wouldn't hold it against them. It's not a 10 if I could be ston-cold objective about it. But I can't.
It hits me hard in whatever it is we call a soul. It captures a time and takes me back there. It fills me with the emotions of that time, of being that age. It reminds me of my friends and my future wife who I'd just met. It reminds me of the hope I held at that time and the abandon of enjoying myself with life stretching out in front of me. And yes, Opus 40 might make me cry a little bit because for 4mins, it almost becomes too much.
"I'm alive" she cried, "But I don't know what it means". That lyric defines it all
So what I'm saying is that I hope YOU have an album like this, that holds memory and emotion, love and joy, nostalgia and hope. It almost certainly won't be this specific album, but that is not the point. There will be an album out there that does it for you and I hope you know what it is.
I think that might be what they call Art...
P.s.Even the Devil Horn on Hudson Line is almost acceptable.
ZZ Top
4/5
7/10
Slightly generous, maybe, but it is solid, chunky rock.
Fleet Foxes
5/5
10/10
I knew I already loved this album, but maybe underestimated how much.
Bert Jansch
4/5
7/10
British folk - pretty much one man and his guitar. No polish here, just the quality of the playing and the songs. Sometimes it's excellent, others it is a bit too folksy. Maybe music I prefer to play than listen to.
Oasis
5/5
10/10
The album that started it all for me? 14-years old and it blew me away. Ive not listened to any album as much again, and although there are many I now consider better, I know I won't hear anything that will consume me so wholly as this album did.
For such an album that was The One for me back in the day, I'm glad it still holds up as an excellent piece of guitar rock. The lyrics are really poor, but everything else is sublime. Still love it.
They never matched it again, and I moved on, but this will always be a top 10 album.
The Doors
3/5
6/10
Enjoyable in parts, but it has the issue I have with a lot of the Doors stuff, which is I'm not sure they are very good. It's the kind of music I kind of like, but it lacks any Oomph. They don't seem too bothered and it's hard to generate any enthusiasm when the band sound bored.
1/5
2/10
Really bad. The guitar riffs almost boosted it to 2 stars, but lyrically it is just awful. And then the Outro track had to be skipped, which is an automatic point deduction.
The Temptations
3/5
6/10
Nice tight album. Maybe missing some big tracks that really grabbed me, but I loved the second half of really solid Motown.
Not the biggest fan of their cover of Heard it through the Grapevine. And not happy about the track with a baby crying. Don't do it! It's horrible. Lost a mark for that.
The Beach Boys
4/5
8/10
Well, what a coincidence that this album comes up today, the day Brian Wilson passed away.
The Beach Boys are a core pillar of pop music and when the songs on this album are good, they are very, very good. The music and harmonies are immaculate - you can feel it defining what pop is and what it can do.
At times, it is a bit weak and a bit wet, they feel like they are so desperate for girlfriends that they are a bit pathetic. And it is so short - the last track is nonsense, so it is 11 songs long at about 25mins! But it didn't need to be any longer.
Hats off to Brian Wilson, a true legend.
Tears For Fears
3/5
6/10
3 good songs, the rest are just ok and largely forgettable. Disappointing, really, as I was expecting some solid 80s nostalgia and then a realisation how much better Tears for Fears are than I gave them credit for. This happened with Simple Minds.
But here, the musical landscape between the hits felt great. Couple of chords, lots of synth. Bloody devils horn grating on my ears.
Lou Reed
5/5
9/10
A healthy smattering of classic tracks, and the roots of so muchusic I now love. There are some duff lyrics (rhyming nose with toes not once, but twice!), but maybe that's the point.
Bob Dylan
5/5
10/10
I'm a big Dylan fan and I've listened to this album a lot. Don't Think Twice is one of my top songs ever. Hard Rain, Masters of War, Blowing in the Wind are excellent.
The songs are sparse - Bob, a guitar and a harmonica. For me, they are like exquisite pencil sketches - the songs are so good that Dylan achieves with a few strokes of his genius that which very few manage with all the production, songwriting team and instrumentation money can buy.
Beatles
5/5
9/10
Ooh, finally a Beatles album. I'm interested how i feel about these.
This is a classic example of my issue. Loads of it is so, so good Drive My Car, Norwegian Wood, In My Life - it is a 5 star album. But it also has at least one garbage track: here it is Michelle. And the horrible gasp bit on Girl.
And lyrically, I'm sorry, but most of the time I feel they were so far behind not only Dylan and Cohen, but also Ray Davies, Jagger/Richards and the other members of the British Invasion. But then they were leading the Art of the Pop Song, so I can forgive them that.
I often think I'm hyper-critical of the Beatles cos they are placed on such a high pedestal - there's some truth in that. They still get 5 stars, so they can't complain too much.
Black Sabbath
5/5
9/10
What an awesome album! Really surprised...
Black Sabbath, or at least Ozzy Osbourne, we're a joke really for all the time I've been into music. Stupid reality show, Sharon, biting heads off bats etc. But that did them a massive disservice, because this is a great album with Rick solid riffs wrapped up in great songs.
Maybe only an 8, but my Mum was a fan in the early 70s, so they get a nostalgia point.
Johnny Cash
4/5
8/10
A little too disjointed as an album - half a Folsom prison, two San Quentin, a whole lot of talking. But the songs here are good, especially A Boy Called Sue
Robbie Williams
2/5
4/10
The bullet in the back of Britpop's head - after this, guitar, jangle indie was deeply uncool. Oasis were never the same again. Death of an era.
It's guitar pop and mostly dull, perfectly crafted pop songs with no soul. Hated Angels and Entertain You back then, but I didn't skip em.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
9/10
Absolute stonker of an album. Near perfection of the heartfelt, good ol' boy American rock. After having Born to Run earlier this month, I didn't have high expectations, but where that album is almost musical theatre, this is proper songs keeping to the right side of overwrought, heart bursting emotion.
Every song is good, a few are great. Well done Bruce.
Ray Charles
2/5
3/10
Nope. The blasting if the trumpets is like the painful pangs of a migraine. The sickly strings are waves of nausea. I need to listen to it with my head between my knees to try and make it go away.
I could probably tolerate it as background music, but then what's the point?
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
7/10
I thought I didn't like Nick Cave, but turns out I was wrong!
Pink Floyd
5/5
9/10
The Young Rascals
3/5
5/10
Perfectly servicable 60s jangle pop. Probably more of an impact in its day, but with everything else that has happened since, it is hard to get excited about it
Lenny Kravitz
2/5
3/10
Like an alcohol free version of Hendrix/Prince/Beatles - none of the depth of flavour, no edge and it won't make you want to dance.
Lame songwriting. Teenage poetry lyrics, uninspiring music. This album had added nothing to the world and does not need to be listened to.
"Does anybody out there even care?" asks Kravitz. 'Fraid not, mate.
R.E.M.
4/5
8/10
Giant Sand
3/5
6/10
At times it's almost beautiful, raw and tuneful. At others it is the sound of a coma, dragging you down into a long, endless sleep.
I like the guitar and some of the songwriting, but I think it is the sense of energy actively draining from my body as songs lull past that means I can't fully fall into it
Count Basie & His Orchestra
2/5
4/10
The best jazz album I've heard so far, which ain't to say a lot. If perhaps we could remove the BLAST of the brass, I could tolerate it more, but there it is. Mostly reminds me of Police Squad and the intro music to all those 60s comedies on when I was a kid, so not all bad.
Talking Heads
5/5
10/10
One of my all time favourites. Interesting, experimental, funny, funky. No bad songs.
Liz Phair
3/5
6/10
Pretty good, actually. But 15mins too long - why is it so hard for artists to know when to stop?
Enjoyed the lofi-ness of it all, although feels a little dated now. Lyrically, pfft, don't know - I can't really relate.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
10/10
Top ten album, for sure. It's massive for a reason - near perfect
Radiohead
5/5
10/10
Monster album - it kind of felt Radiohead completed alternative rock and said everything they wanted to say. They never produced an album as good again, and nor did anyone else - at least, not in this "genre". Superb.
Meant a lot to me as it was The Album of my A-Levels. Listening to it now, I can picture my teenage bedroom, my desk, my cd player.
Rod Stewart
4/5
7/10
I enjoyed it well enough - some good tracks, albeit with nothing amazing
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
8/10
Love America, although the low sax is detrimental to it. Also Mrs Robinson is obviously excellent. Just a bit too much is meh to lift it to 5 stars, but it is very good.
Jefferson Airplane
4/5
8/10
Two of the best 60s songs in Somebody to Love and White Rabbit earns it 4 stars. The rest is good, but mainly forgettable.
Ryan Adams
4/5
7/10
Enjoyable, and was a solid 4star, but outstayed it's welcome and got a bit dull.
Ah, but I did enjoy it. Go on, have 4 and count yourself lucky
John Coltrane
2/5
3/10
Music is about connections - between the notes and rythms, harmonies and voicings, about how individual elements fit to make something bigger than the parts. Jazz fights this. Each instrument is on its own journey - they often seem to wilfully ignore each other. So where is the magic and the beauty? I can't find it in the jumbled mess of a jazz track.
I don't want to hear the tip tap of a hi-hat, the tedious meandering of a double bass, the incessant stabbing of a discordant piano. And most of all, I don't want to hear the rasp of a reedy clarinet searching through every note to see what fits.
So no, I don't like jazz. I don't get it, and that's ok. You don't have to get everything. I could say I wish I did see it, but I don't need to. I'll leave it, thanks.
The Soft Boys
4/5
8/10
Totally new to me. Excellent album.
Kendrick Lamar
2/5
3/10
Jeez, what a slog. There is nothing here for me. No tunes, no bass lines of bot. Rythms are about as tedious as they can get. Stupid answer phone messages. And lyrics? That's all it's got and I don't care for them. At all
It did lift me at the end cos I thought it was 1hr18, but the last two tracks were bonus repeats, so I didn't need to listen to those. The nobber out a 12mins track in near the end, but that couldn't deter my glee at knowing I was going to make it to the end! Never will I need to listen to this album again. Hoorah!
The Rolling Stones
5/5
9/10
So it isn't all great, but Gimme Shelter and YCAGWYW are another level and I love Let it Bleed too
Serge Gainsbourg
4/5
7/10
Some great sounds, although at times it is a bit weak and I'm not a fan of those Beatles style strings that really date the music. But the general feels is sooo cool. Just a shame about the subject matter...
Kanye West
2/5
4/10
I must be as soft as lily white marshmallow, ready to melt in the salty rain of my liberal tears, but the lyrics are horrendous! It's porn, not art. What on earth do they say that is of any value? I mean, not everything has to be Dylan, but hell, this stuff is just filthy.
Musically I was pleasantly surprised. Ok, so it is kind of 1 idea, tweak it once and that'll be another song done, but it was alright.
But jeez, those lyrics are disgusting.
5/10
So incredibly "Meh". The songs have so little soul. What band sounds like when they know how to play and write, but have zero spark.
The Doors
4/5
8/10
I like this more than most Doors I know. The additional guitar and bass really lift it and Peace Frog, especially, is great
The Cardigans
3/5
5/10
It's... Fine? Jingle, jangle pop guitar. Very much of its time.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
4/10
A load of relentless Meh, punctuated by the awesome Under the Bridge.
Rest of it is too long and boring
Judas Priest
4/5
7/10
A really enjoyable metal album, especially when the songwriting comes through on the less heavy tracks.
Kelela
2/5
3/10
I experienced some weird glitch listening to this album. I could have sworn I'd listened to an hour. I would have put a lot of money on it.
But when I checked, I wasn't half way through! How was it possible?? Either I fell into some kind of time warp, or the bland, mono-pace of this music caused the audio illusion of time slowing to a snails pace. Please make it stop.
4/5
8/10
A huge album for me when it came out. But it's always been one tainted slightly with disappointment. Wonderwall, Don't Look Back, and especially Some Might Say are obviously great, but equally Roll With It, Hey Now and What's the Story are all a bit rubbish. And ultimately it was the last hurrah for Oasis, after only 1.5 good albums, before the rot set in.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
6/10
The tunes are alright - gets a bit much at times.
Black Sabbath
4/5
8/10
Van Halen
4/5
7/10
It's all about the guitar, which is always excellent. The songs are good, but the lyrics peurile. That doesn't bother me much though
The Pogues
5/5
9/10
A passion and feeling that is all too rare in a lot of albums. Musicianship is top notch and the songs are angry, informed and funny. Loved it.
Fairytale of New York got skipped as it is a baking hot day in July and I ain't listening to a Xmas tune, no matter how great it is.
Patti Smith
4/5
8/10
Obviously a great album. The lyrics are poetry. Imagery like few others have ever created in the world of Rock music. And some real energy and performance. But maybe, just maybe, the slower songs are too slow.
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
5/10
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
6/10
I like parts, but it's all a bit sincere and overwrought. Pretty sure I used the same word in my review of Born To Run. Thing is, I feel like I should like Bruce more, but there is some many songs you need about breaking free from a crappy town, right?
Meat Loaf
4/5
8/10
Rock opera at its best - the title track is awesome. The rest has its moments too, obviously, although it often feels like the sum of its parts. My wife hates Meatloaf, so let's keep my admiration for this between ourselves, shall we?
Sepultura
2/5
3/10
Christina Aguilera
2/5
4/10
Pop, just pop. Not much more. Except there was more - much, much more. Too much. 1 hour 20 mins. Tough going.
Wilco
4/5
8/10
Great songs, beautiful instrumentation. Just a couple of bit where it's a little too slow, meandering.
Solange
2/5
4/10
It came, it went. I couldn't tell you a song, but at least they are kindly separated by some interludes, as otherwise I'd struggle to know where one ends and the next comes along. It's just a meandering dullness I tolerated - how someone can be excited by it is a mystery to me, but hey, it's cool, I ain't going to like everything
Kings of Leon
3/5
6/10
Solid 00s indie rock. Some nice tunes, but there is only so much KoL I need.
Dr. Dre
2/5
3/10
Man I hate gangsta rap. Jeez, it's so aggressive and vile and nasty. It means nothing to me so it is painful. I can't give it 1 star because occasionally I enjoy something musically about it, but come on...
The Verve
4/5
8/10
Hmm, a reassessment. I dismissed this album 30 odd years ago (I might not have ever listened to it all...), but I wasn't a fan of Lucky Man was simplistic, Bittersweet was massively overplayed and Drugs and Sonnet were a bit... naff? But listening to them now, along with the rest of the album, I can see that The Verve were much better than I gave them credit for. Love the guit especially, which lifts the manc-rock to the next level.
D'Angelo
2/5
4/10
Crikey, I dislike this kind of music. The widdly, jazzy electric piano (setting 03 on my old Casio) plinking incessantly. Backing vocals meandering like a slow moving brook of milky tea, trying to give the impression they know where they're going. Strings and synth that layer everything to ensure there are no edges that might pique interest.
I try to concentrate on the bass, which is the one thing I can at least get something from. But then Mr D'Angelo drifts into my attention with his inanities about what he wants to do to his long suffering girlfriends. Sounds like Flight of the Concords parody. Give em a break and take a shower.
It gained a mark (but not a star) cos it kind of got a bit of rhythm and funk going on in the second half.
Pixies
4/5
7/10
Great album, with a couple of absolute Monster tracks that showed why Pixies were so good. Some of it is a bit too rough round the edges for me to truly love, but their attitude was something else and when the tunes fought their way to the surface, there is not many I like better
Mariah Carey
2/5
4/10
Hated this in the 90s, nothing's changed. Saccharine music with no rythmn, blues or soul.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
6/10
Ahem, I find it a bit... boring? And "You Sure Love to Ball" is comical to my ear. But there is so much quality here and I ain't denying that, I just find it hard to get invested in an album so rooted in rooting.
Wonderfully short, mind.
Gil Scott-Heron
3/5
5/10
I'll concentrate on the bits that didn't grate terrible boy and we're politically charged so that I can give 3 stars. But some of it was god awful Jazz and the bloody stereo whizzing from side to side was making me feel sea sick.
Derek & The Dominos
4/5
7/10
Layla is huge - it blows everything else on this album away. But that's fine, it blows most rock music away.
There's some very good other tracks, but it suffers from the affliction if most Blues guitarists - they dont
Bob Dylan
5/5
10/10
Love the imagery and the music.
Ryan Adams
3/5
5/10
I think it is incredible that anyone could think that there is enough interesting material to fill a 90mins double album. As an artist, you should be challenging yourself as to what NEEDS to be included. For example, Nobody Girl in absolutely No Way requires to be 10mins long. It doesn't have a message. It doesn't have a musical statement. At 3mins, its fine. Deeply forgettable, but pleasant. But 10mins??? What on earth are you thinking?
The music is weak, the lyrics are bland. It kind of makes me very angry, but equally, I can listen to it. Makes me wonder how I am rating these albums relative to each other.
The Prodigy
3/5
6/10
Ok, so dance wasn't my thing. I get a bit bored by the repetition. Or really bored, actually. However, this album has something that lifts it above most of the rest. It just is so synthetic I can't connect to it.
Mike Oldfield
5/5
9/10
As I've listened to this list, one thing that has struck me is how some albums (a lot from the 90s) seem to lack a fundamental intertwining of their various instruments. Everything seems to exist as a track the is forced to coexist with a load of other beeps and clicks. I can SEE the midi and audio tracks on the old CRT monitor as they scroll by.
This album is the antithesis of that. The tracks live together. They support and compliment each other. It is an organic thing and, for me, that is a central column of good music. It is what links it to our hearts and souls - without it, it's just noise. If you record music, even if you don't like this album specifically, you should really listen to it to understand How Music Works.
Ray Charles
3/5
5/10
I don't like big band, ok? Bit o love Ray Charles's voice and when it breaks free of the horrible shackles of saccharine strings and BLAH BLAH trumpets (only ever for a moment), you get an insight into what music was about to become.
Morrissey
4/5
7/10
Surprisingly good, although I'm not sure why I'm surprised as I like the Smiths and the handful of Morrissey singles I know. I just never listened to his solo albums.
Elvis Costello
4/5
7/10
One thing that has struck me listening to all these albums is how poor a lot of artists are at knowing when to STOP. When those 18 tracks should have been 12 or that 6mins35 track shoulda been a punchy 3mins 20.
Elvis gets this and that's what makes him a great songwriter. There is no flab here, no guff or padding. Ok, so the songs lack the impact they may have originally, but he gets a lot of credit for being a master of the trade.
Arcade Fire
5/5
Beck
4/5
8/10
Lacking the obvious highs of Odelay, but also doesn't have the frustrating tracks of that album too. Really solid
4/5
8/10
Eek, a concept album. Except the songs come first, so it's fine. Really fine. Victoria is one of my favourite Links songs.
Christine and the Queens
3/5
5/10
Is this all at the same tempo? Certainly feels like it. Not a crime in itself, but this is a POP album and needs to DO more. It needs to be memorable and toe tapping.
Highlights the issue with my scoring. 5/10 means YAWN.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
10/10
So here it is - one of the three albums I think of when I consider my top records of all time. Immaculate song writing and epic songs. Bye Bye Love is odd and I'm sure in hindsight they would have dropped it, but the rest is so good I ain't going to complain.
Don McLean
4/5
7/10
American Pie is an immense sprawling masterpiece - everything else on the album wilts in it's shadow, apart from Vincent. Still great though.
Eagles
5/5
9/10
Man I love Hotel California, the song. Best chord progression in a rock song? Almost certainly. Guitars everywhere, thuddy bass, great harmonies. Yummy.
A load of other great tracks, but are there too many ballads? Is the Last Resort too forced? It feels like it compared to the easy awesomeness of the title track.
Does the nostalgia of it making me think of my parents raise it a point? Am I overthinking this? Yes and Yes.
Now, can you please stop writing your reviews as a series of questions??? Aaaarrrrgghh!!!
The Vines
3/5
5/10
Fine to middling. But what the hell were the British music press on about? If you think that this in anyway represented a new Nirvana, you don't get music as an art form. It's not something like Lego where you can follow some instructions and build your nice little rock album and expect it to have a soul. Jeez. The NME was bloomin desperate back then (anyone remember Terris!?) and anyone who wrote for it then andgot on the hype wagon for The Vines should be ashamed.
Also, sorry peeps, but anyone claiming there were great other Australian rock bands at the time is also wrong. They all sucked. Problem was not many proper bands toured there, so they had some amazing tribute groups. But a tribute ain't the same and something gets lost that results in soulless band ls like athe Vines.
All that said, it is guitar rock and I have some indie-club nostalgia for it. But it ain't a great album and no-one needs to hear it.
Tito Puente
2/5
4/10
How do I grade this? It means nothing to me and doesn't move me, but it isn't bad either. It's just not in my spectrum of music that I have reference for. I find it largely repetitive and unremarkable, but I expect that is because I'm a philistine when it comes to this type of music.
I wonder what Tito Puente would grade the Strokes?
Nick Drake
5/5
9/10
Sublime guitar folk. Nothing but the songs and the man and his guitar. The recording of the guitar is wonderful - it plucks and chimes directly in your ear as if nick were sat in front of you.
Super Furry Animals
5/5
9/10
The abundant bad reviews surprised me, but then music has a contextual component and I can see that, if you weren't 16 when it came out, then it probably doesn't mean much to you.
For me, putting aside the huge nostalgia I have for it, it is full of humour and melodies, fuzzy guitars and energy. Obviously people don't love that as much as I do.
Every song takes me back to a great time to fall in love with music. I can link locations and memories with every song - Something 4 the Weekend was a trading estate in Launceston; Hometown Unicorn was the first song I heard on my new triple deck hifi system.
And it was so cool. Here was a guy singing full throttle in his Welsh accent, sticking two fingers up to The Man. And having a bloody good laugh while he did it.
Dolly Parton
4/5
7/10
Short, sharp and sweet country. Does exactly what you'd expect
Duke Ellington
4/5
7/10
Musically, I don't particularly like this. In fact, I decidedly don't like it. Jazz is odd - it always sounds dated to me, a relic of another era with little for me to connect to.
However, as this album progressed I got dragged in by the performance and the reaction of the crowd. It is infectious, hearing the Cool Cats in the audience lose their heads and The Duke whipping them further into a frenzy and trying to control them.
The top review for this record ATM says it is less good for not being recorded in a studio?! If it was, it would get a 2 star review, like the 1000s of other jazz recordings. This is special exactly because it is live (or at least based on live recordings thelat we're supplemented).
Pulp
5/5
9/10
Classic of Bristol, and hence my teenage years. 5 huge tunes from that era, and the rest are pretty great too.
At times it gets a bit much with Jarvis's heavy breathing and wet dream lyrics, but overall it is nothing but a solid classic
Joe Ely
2/5
4/10
So this is where the horrible sanitised music if Garth Brookes. Lame and disappointing
Pink Floyd
3/5
6/10
Contains the worst elements of prog (daft, childish lyrics, aimless widdling) that now makes it sound self-parodying. However, at times you can hear the weight of invention that was to have so much influence on rock music
Dusty Springfield
4/5
8/10
What a voice - exquisite. As a body of music, it is a bit too smooth, maybe, to lift it to the very top for me. Something about the churning machine of Tinpan alley songwriters seems to take a bit of the heart out of the endeavour - but you cannot doubt how great this album is.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
6/10
The Stones got a lot better by the end of the 60s. This album has some fairly weak songwriting - "Stupid Girl" and "Under My Thumb" are nasty little songs and "Going Home" is a pointless 12mins ramble that would have nothing going for it if it was 3mins long. Why would you do that?
Much of the recording is dated and sounds like it was done on rubbish handheld tape cassette recorders.
Maybe I'm harsher on this because I have high expectations of such a big band, but it really isn't all that good
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
5/10
Vanilla rock. Wholly inoffensive, largely forgettable
R.E.M.
4/5
8/10
A great album. Thinking of when it came out, it feels so far ahead of what else was going on - it has dated much less, or at least in a different way. Could be 5 stars, mlbut it drags a tiny bit in the middle and it would be nice to hear the lyrics
Kendrick Lamar
2/5
4/10
It's so depressing to think you're near the end of an album, only to look and see you're less than halfway through. How is this possible!?
Musically, it's alright. Dense and (relatively) inventive, but it's still vulgar and nasty. If this is your Dylan, ok, but we're gonna have to agree to disagree.
I did quite like "I" though - a bit of bounce to that one until it goes into a diatribe for 2mins. Ho hum. And of course the last track is over 12mins long. Screw you, Kendrick
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
3/5
6/10
The bass is great, in that"Guns of Brixton" way and I like the atmosphere generated by the songs, but the songs don't really go anywhere. The seem more like a sketch for a verse rather than a completed thing.
Beyoncé
2/5
4/10
Music through committee. You can hear the meetings and the flip charts that this derived from. You can't put your finger on what music loses when you run it through the machine repeatedly, but Beyonce captures it.
It has some moments, but this is meant to the preeminent pop of the last 15 years.
Muddy Waters
5/5
9/10
Proper blues, delivered perfectly. I love the noise of the crowd as they lose their minds over what must have been a defining experience. And the wind blowing on the mics, the spontaneity of it all - I'm beginning to love me a live album.
Dr. John
4/5
8/10
Creates an excellent atmosphere and feeling. Can hear these songs in so much of the music that followed it
Roxy Music
4/5
7/10
I liked it. There are some great sounds and some really interesting ideas. There are also dull stretches where it is hard to understand what they were trying to achieve, but overall, I enjoyed it
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
9/10
Hmm, see, I owned this back in 2004 and, while I like it well enough, I certainly didn't love it. Maybe I was still hungover from the Strokes and it was a bit dark for me.
Listening to it today was a revelation. The first disk is stonking, with Nick Cave coaxing his gospel rock through a rip-roaring set. I love how he manifests the unhinged band leader, barely controlling the music as it surges and crashes around him. He's like Prospero conjuring his storm - the guitars howl, the drums and bass throb while the choir build and moan, with those beautiful snatches of blue sky that give you some light to hang on to.
Excellent.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
5/5
8/10
Some of the best harmonies in rock - so effortless. The songs are gentle, maybe as a result, but so solid.
David Bowie
2/5
4/10
Hate the saxophone, the whispery vocal and the time signatures with Radioheady beeps and clicks. Another Bowie album not for me...
The Boo Radleys
3/5
5/10
So this is a good 20mins too long. There is no way they couldn't have found 5 tracks to drop.
Of what there is, it is fine, mostly jangly not-as-good-as-they-think-they-are guitar pop. A smidge before my time, but in the lullbefore the Britpop storm this probably sounded better.
Miles Davis
3/5
5/10
It's ok - it mainly sits in the background. It is so hard to see this as groundbreaking as it is really mellow. But I think fundamentally I don't get it, it doesn't sit within my field of vision, so I can only judge it against the music I do like.
The Shamen
2/5
3/10
Just awful - repetitive, robotic junk. I was kind of into this when I was 10, but then I grew up. Is that patronising? I hope so.
Haircut 100
3/5
5/10
Painfully twee, albeit with some "classic" singles. The sound of early 80s o music, no doubt
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
7/10
I like ELO, but this is too long and there is a fair amount of meandering. Why not finish sh on Mr Blue Sky?
Radiohead
4/5
8/10
Another post-OK Computer album that I find myself reassessing. Much better than I remember - I was still looking for tunes and "proper" song structure when it was released, but in retrospect this is dense and interesting.
Stereo MC's
3/5
5/10
Solid three star album. Fine, inoffensive and slightly nostalgic but totally non-essential
The Pretty Things
3/5
5/10
Slightly generous scoring, probably. It's all so dated and the songwriting doesn't hit any magic.
Björk
3/5
6/10
I don't like Bjork, ok. However, I can admit when something is good - as this is
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
3/5
5/10
If the faux strings and brass were removed then there would be a half decent album here. Sounds really early 90s
Hole
3/5
6/10
Needs a few more actual tunes rather than just bashing the guitar. But sometimes I just want someone bashing a guitar
Solomon Burke
3/5
6/10
Such a great voice, just the songs are not up there with it.
DJ Shadow
2/5
4/10
I strongly disliked the start of this album - it's ugly music. Brtlutal drums that crash through the samples, laying waste to any musicalitym but I like the Organ Donor song
Silver Jews
4/5
7/10
Decent
Sonic Youth
3/5
5/10
When a song breaks out, it's ok, but there are large expanses of noise that it is difficult to convince myself I enjoyed
Guns N' Roses
4/5
7/10
The three big singles are epic, the rest not so much.
Miles Davis
2/5
4/10
I just don't like jazz. It sounds dated and of a different era. I might as well be rating Beethoven and Mozart.
Mike Ladd
3/5
5/10
Everyone knows I strongly dislike hip hop, right? However, while this does have the excessive profanities and the vulgar misogyny, violence and comically sexual lyrics it has to be recognised that, musically, at times, it had some creativity to it! Hoorah! There were chords and progressions! Not everything was beep, thump n click. Well done Mike!
I mean, I didn't like it much, but you get a point for giving me something to hang on to
Destiny's Child
3/5
5/10
The first 3 songs are modern pop classics, no doubt. The rest is forgettable filler of varying degrees of banality. The Thank You song is so cringe inducing I had to pull over from driving as my curled toes made it dangerous to operate the pedals
Fela Kuti
5/5
9/10
Just feels important. Even without reading the history and aftermath, you KNOW this funked some shizzle up and rattled some cages. Musically not in my normal wheelhouse, but it's funky and inventive and, unlike a lot of jazz (to mine ear, obvs), it has a point. Hoorah!
Suicide
1/5
2/10
Genuinely gave me a headache. Was probably sat on a low 2-star rating, but Frankie Teardrop was so long and so bad, it pushed the album to the depths.
Just cos you do something 1st isn't always enough. This was terrible.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
5/5
9/10
The combo of great tunes with noise is almost always great and rarely grates. Bonus star for being one of the 5 semibal albums of my uni years.
George Harrison
4/5
8/10
Some very, very good songs, but George Harrison seems almost embarrassed by them, unable to really deliver them fully in the way a true front man would. His vocal is often low in the mix, with a voice that is shy and timid. With lesser production, this would have been fine, but with Spector's wall of sound it just comes across as a bit weak.
However, as I said l, the songs themselves are great. A bit of a slog to cut out the subsequent additions that bring nothing to the album (I'm including Apple Jams in this), but very glad I heard this
Incubus
3/5
5/10
Chugga-chugga rock for the late 90s. Didn't do anything for me back then, doesn't age any better
Miles Davis
3/5
6/10
Some people don't like jazz, but score it 3 stars cos they recognise that it must be good somehow. And they want to look like they "get it", they just don't "Get It".
Marvin Gaye
2/5
3/10
I strongly dislike this album - I am of the opinion that Mr Gaye is one of the most overrated artists ever. The songs meander with no point. And then the sax turns up.
T. Rex
5/5
9/10
Some top drawer songs and a genre defining album. Some times music is about having a bloody good time, and this album captures that
The Cure
5/5
9/10
I'm on holiday from today and my good mood puts this up a star. Well done
The Incredible String Band
2/5
4/10
Large swathes of this album are just horrible: amateurish guitar, terrible vocals, bloody sitar twanging for 7mins. There are odd glimpses of a tune, but mainly just No.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
5/10
Oof- I bought this on CD 20 years ago based on it's reputation. Didn't get it then, still don't get it. Just fiddly meandering, with songs that are instantly forgettable to mine ears. Marvin Gaye is one of my top three most overrated artists. At least it was better than Here, My Dear...
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
3/5
6/10
Brightened up a wet commute in SW England. Repetitive, but cool
CHIC
3/5
5/10
I never realised some of these songs were so long! What were they thinking - a very low ratio of musical ideas
Snoop Dogg
3/5
6/10
Well the best gangsta rap album I've heard so far. The lyrics are still, by and large, offensive and insane, but the rythmn and bass are great and there is songwriting here.
The Velvet Underground
5/5
9/10
I find it hard to believe this came out in 1969 - it's sound feels so much more modern than a lot of the other music from that time. One of the big influences on all things indie, so I got to love it
The Teardrop Explodes
4/5
7/10
I knew and liked Reward from an old indie club I went to that always played it, but I never explored TDE anymore than that. I didn't realise they were early 80s for a start. I really enjoyed it - it sounds like a decent mix between the crappy synth sounds of 80s pop with an actual edge.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
10/10
A great album - such a high level of quality throughout.
Rush
3/5
6/10
Unfortunate for Rush they were the day after the Masters, Led Zeppelin. Whereas Led Zeps genius seems to be so easy, Rush feel like they have to force everything a little bit too much. It is all a bit too clever and you can really see their workings at times.
Still, enjoyable rock music for sure
Green Day
5/5
9/10
Excellent
Emmylou Harris
3/5
6/10
Pleasant enough and on a relisten it improved. Just sounds like a lot of those 90s/00s country singer revival albums.
Franz Ferdinand
5/5
9/10
Punchy and fun - classic indie guitar pop rock from the 00s
Stevie Wonder
3/5
6/10
I just don't like a jazzy ballad
Björk
2/5
3/10
Horrible. Like, really horrible. For all the experimentation and innovation, it's just a painful experience. I will never listen to again and I can now, after three Bjork albums, have confidence in my assertion that I Don't Like her music.
Couldn't bring myself to give it one star as it is ART.
Lucinda Williams
3/5
6/10
Please to listen to, but didn't rock my world.
Lorde
3/5
6/10
You know, it's alright. Pop, but moves along nicely. Lyrically I found it as tedious as any other pop album, and as a musical piece of work it sounds like it was done on a computer, but there are tunes here.
LCD Soundsystem
5/5
9/10
The Style Council
2/5
4/10
Sounds so lame. For Weller to produce this is one of the most baffling turnarounds in rock. The jazz is horrible and almost all the songs suck
The Associates
4/5
7/10
Better than I expected - don't understand the other reviews. The main thing being people calling this Britpop - what the actual? I'm giving it an extra star for that
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
7/10
Intelligent, interesting hip hop. Proper lyrics about proper things with no F/N bombs falling all over the place. Misogyny rates low too.
Steely Dan
4/5
7/10
Solid smooth rock. A bit too polished - could do with a few rough edges.
Stan Getz
3/5
5/10
Very hard to rate - I don't particularly care for it, but maybe it is an awesome exponent of its genre. Playing it safe with a 3
John Cale
4/5
7/10
I enjoyed. Kinda Kinks-esque, very Beatles orchestration. Lyrics are opaque, which lifts it. Not what I expected from Cale, but why should an artist ever do anything that is expected of them?
3/5
6/10
I mean obviously it is too Country and Western, but I can't get away from the quality of her voice and the heavy nostalgia that it brings with memories of my grandad.
Devendra Banhart
4/5
7/10
Gentle and fiery. Very odd lyrics - too odd, if I'm honest - but I love the guitar sound.
The Velvet Underground
5/5
9/10
Iconic album. Becomes a bit of a chore as the cello screeching kicks in, but this album feels like it defined something that still shapes great music to this day.
Burning Spear
3/5
6/10
It's very reggae, which is fine.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
4/10
Deeply unenjoyable. I strongly dislike Joni's penchant for rambling, jazzy songs. Every so often an actual song threatens to break out, but then it is swamped again by meandering.
AC/DC
5/5
9/10
Straight up rock. 10 great tracks, 40mins, done.
The Darkness
3/5
6/10
It's fun, until it's not. Really a novelty album, just with a handful of great tunes. Justin Hawkins' vocal pushes it into comedy too often, but when it all clicks, it's rather good
Fatboy Slim
2/5
4/10
Recipe: get 2 musical ideas and a drum beat. Every 16 bars change their combination. Rotate volume nob, put through a filter. Maybe chuck a vocal sample in every so often.
I had this in the 90s, due to the song Going Out of My Head, but I didn't realise it was the Who song I Can't Explain that I actually wanted (source of the 4 chord riff). Sounds awfully dated and not a lot of fun.
Steely Dan
4/5
8/10
A very fine debut, with some great tunes. It's all a bit too polished, maybe - makes me think of Keen Bruce and Radio 2, but a lot to enjoy
ZZ Top
4/5
8/10
ZZ Top are one of those bands I didn't take seriously - their image, to me in the 90s, was one of embarrassing old men getting all her up over impossibly long legged blondes. Now I know they were much better than that.
Grizzled, hard rocking, hard riffing blues rock. Excellent.
Spiritualized
4/5
8/10
The first half of this album is awesome - beautiful, interlinking lines of guitar, bass and sonics. It was looking stellar.
Somewhere around 35mins my energy wanted and it got a bit tiresome, which is a real shame as I love Spiritualised for reasons tangible (melodic, guitar, experiments with packaging) and intangible (a feeling, a sense, despite its simplicity). Still, very good and I reckon they'll have a 5 star at some point in this list
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
4/10
It's kind of odd, but this largely feels like novelty to me. And that is weird because they were obviously talented musicians, but performing classical music on synthetic and electric guitar is just naff. Don't know if this is partly because I'm looking back, but I don't think so. Mad to hear the crowd going so crazy for it!