Not listened to this one in a few years, and it’s better than I remember. It’s consistent, It Ain’t Easy notwithstanding, and it’s cohesive. This is one the best and most influential albums ever. What else is there to say?

It’s fine. It’s not wildly different from his first album, and I feel like it doesn’t really go anywhere. I listened to it three or four times and kept waiting for it to take off and was disappointed that it didn’t. Hazey Jane II is a highlight.

I already own this one. His vocal is very high in the mix. Some songs could be shorter because they start to feel too long. Overall it’s a rollicking affair, and enjoyable enough. Not sure it’s essential listening, though. It just expands on Bringing It All Back Home which for me is the better album

This is my first listen because hip-hop isn’t my genre. However, it’s there is a lot of jazz and funk on it. I love his powerful lyrics and the challenge they throw down, particularly on The Blacker the Berry, which was a highlight. The album is KL’s self awareness and understanding of the social and political environment he is living in, which comes to a point on Mortal Man. While the album wasn’t made for me, it’s an excellent piece of social and optical commentary.

It’s light. It’s fun. It has some tasty guitar licks. It also reminds me of something for the old timers at the North Pier in Blackpool. I didn’t like it much. I can see how it influenced southern rock, and there is a real bluesy feel on a lot of the tracks, but the organ becomes wearing after a while. It should be in the book because it does something new, but it isn’t for me.

I was a young teenager when this came out, and I remember the fuss it caused. There are a lot of cliches on it, and some of the lyrical content sounds outdated now. The album is mostly a lot of nonsense, but there is a joy in it. It’s party rap. It’s about having a good time which is reflected throughout, most overtly on Fight For Your Right I have no idea if it’s technically good or not, but I like it in a way I have never really liked the Beastie Boys again. Whether that’s nostalgia or because it’s really good, I neither know nor care!

Big voice, big talent, but this album is a big disappointment. It’s polished and it’s over produced. There are some great tracks - Hello is the clear standout - but it’s very safe and predictable. It’s 21 lite, and it’s not even half as good.

I heard this album for the first time about a year ago, and I really quite like it. I like the half arsed, demo quality and its low-fi sound. I’m not really a GBV fan, but I enjoyed this offering

A shoegaze, sonic experiment, that reminds me of all the bits of 1997 that I can remember. There are some beautiful tones on this album, and there is a huge amount of layering on each track. It’s a collection of genres that intermingle well with each other, but it’s long. The final track, a 17 minute sonic journey that left me feeling the tiniest bit exhausted. As much as I enjoyed this album, I did find it a bit inflated and lacking any more substance than pretty soundscapes.

This is sounds exactly like the late 1970s. It’s filled with colourful, glossy tunes and a very polished and smooth production. The tunes are pure disco funk and so much fun. I think the album is pretty front loaded, side two is not so uptempo, and I think that lets it down a bit. It’s a great album and it’s the start of MJ’s meteoric rise to pop mega stardom, but it’s not for me.

I really struggled with this one and I didn’t like it. The singer does that Bob Dylan inflection in his singing, which is an unnecessary affectation. The album is described as mystical folk rock, but that hobbits and elves vibe doesn’t really kick in until after Magic Hollow, but there doesn’t seem like the band feels any conviction to it. It should sound a bit whimsical,like early Pink Floyd, or a less committed Led Zeppelin , but it doesn’t. This makes the album start to feel really long on side two. The album floats along at a fairly sedate pace, but while the band plays with the folk rock genre, and pulling out the harpsichord and psychedelic strings, it’s a pretty lacklustre display.

Let’s be real here. This isn’t really a Byrds album. It’s the album Gram Parsons made when he stole The Byrds for a backing band, and took Chris Hillman home as a souvenir. The album is fine, it’s inoffensive and the players are really good. It just doesn’t excite. Hickory Wind notwithstanding. I recognise the importance of the album as a crossover and an experiment, and while it’s far from terrible, I will never deliberately listen to it again.

Not listened to this one in a few years, and it’s better than I remember. It’s consistent, It Ain’t Easy notwithstanding, and it’s cohesive. This is one the best and most influential albums ever. What else is there to say?

I have had this album since it came out back in the day, and it’s hard to review this one without nostalgia. It’s a decent enough listen. A bit safe, but the Charlatans weaved some nice melodies. Better than a lot of their contemporaries , this album is a pleasant way to spend 40 odd minutes.

Mystical jazz dronings that go on for what seems like astral weeks! Hated it. I’ve tried a few times over the years to get into it, but it’s just not for me.

I don’t mind a bit of shoegaze dream pop or whatever, but I do mind when it’s safe, samey and on album that feels long than 40 odd minutes. Every track sounded like a minor revision of the one before, and they lack any rough edges. It doesn’t surprise or enthral , but it’s not terrible. On the plus side, it’s gentle and soothing, and the lyrics don’t really trouble the brain much. Better Times was probably less not great than the other songs, and it has a floaty feel about it. I also liked 10 Mile Stereo because it reminded me of MGMT being played at half speed. Overall, though, it ain’t for me.

I don’t like Sting’s voice and I’m not a fan of his cod reggae, which I find becomes offensive at times on this offering. Not for me at all and not required listening in my view

Actually better than I remember it being. The piano is relentless, and gets a bit wearing after the halfway mark, but I liked more than I didn’t like. I reminds me a lot of Leonard Cohen’s Songs of Love and Hate, which isn’t a bad thing. Some of the lyrics are uncomfortable, and he sounds quite detached, but I like the melancholy and the sparse sound.

I always want to like the B52s more than I do. That’s not to say I don’t like them, they always just sound like the aural equivalent of a 1950s B movie. This album is a lot of fun though and I enjoyed the quirky vibe throughout. I like they have taken the post punk aesthetic in a totally different direction than every other post punk struggler. However, the last track is fairly horrible and the album, generally, tends to tip into self-aggrandising their weirdness. I like the album well enough, but not that much.

It’s a decent album, but it’s nothing really to get over excited about. VU have made better albums, but it was pleasant enough listening. Not keen on The Murder Mystery and hated it after near 9 minutes. It doesn’t seem to fit on this album, it’s got more White Light/White Heat vibes. Huge fan of Candy Says and Pale Blue Eyes. And the Moe Tucker closer is an underrated classic. It’s a pleasant enough effort, and although I have a copy it’s rarely in my rotation selection.

There is nothing really wrong with this except that it’s uninspired and, frankly, a bit dull. He’s got all his famous pals playing on it, and it still doesn’t excite. It’s a no from me. I will never listen to this album again, or if I do, I will forget it half an hour later.

Unremarkable for the most part. The exceptions being American Pie: rambling, nonsensical, epic; Vincent: sad, slow, a bit self-conscious; and Everybody Love Me Baby: ridiculous (with Don doing Dylan inflections throughout); really quite bad.

Is it prog? Is it rock? It’s not a million miles away from Tarkus by ELP, and there is an early Genesis vibe on Tears. It has a very long opening track, which I was expecting to absolutely hate, but didn’t. I don’t love it either. I’m just not fond of the subject matter. And at the 14 minute mark, I was exhausted. The rest of the album is not quite so exhausting but doesn’t do anything particularly remarkable. It covers much the same ground as ELP and Genesis, and sounds more like indulgence than innovation.

This album is all samples and layers and I don’t particularly like it. It’s incredible how many samples there is, and that’s where the innovation is. The problem is that PB is not as good as 3ft High and Rising. It’s also very long and the shouting gets wearing after about 40 minutes. It was okay. I didn’t hate it and technically it’s very accomplished. I wouldn’t turn it off if I heard it, but it would not make my play rotation.

This is totally in my wheelhouse, and I have been a fan of this since it was released; back in the day, before we knew anything about Urban Hymns. I enjoy the dreamy shoegaze landscapes and RA wailing over soaring guitars. It’s got an abrasive, unpolished sound, which I really love. Lyrically it’s very angsty, and that suits the low-Fi sonics. However, it’s long and a bit flabby. It starts off well, but then runs to fat in the middle. It picks up again with History and No Knock on My Door, then loses me again at the end. Overall though, I still enjoy it.

Back in my wheelhouse. I really like this album but its inclusion in the book is mystifying. The album plods along nicely, and it’s fairly standard 90s alternative fare. It’s got a grunge feel, and GLP, lyrics and vocals suit that grunge vibe. If you crossed Neil Young with early Radiohead, this is what you would get. I can see why people find this album bland and/or stodgy because there is nothing that truly excites, or is innovative, which is why I don’t think it should be in the book, but it’s consistent and warm and I will listen to it many more times.

This album is fine. It’s rough around the edges, and DG shows off his musicianship and grunge roar adequately. I like the songs for the most part. They have a decent energy and catharsis. However, there isn’t much variety on there, and the beat is relentless. It sounds very much like the cheap band you booked because Nirvana were too expensive. It’s pretty front loaded and drags a bit towards the end, but on the whole it’s a decent listen. I like it well enough, and it’s probably the best offering from the Foos. It’s just not that innovative or inspiring.

ABBA do exactly what it says on the tin. They make well crafted, upbeat (for the most part), pop tunes. Sometimes the lyrics are a bit silly, but the music is constructed in such a way as for that not to matter. I don’t understand why people get all snotty about them. ABBA are not going to make political songs, they are not going to spiral into a 25 minute sitar solo in the middle of Dancing Queen. They ARE going to make a 40 minute album of delighted pop music, and they are no less good, or important because of the genre of music they make. This album is upbeat, unpretentious and joyous. It opens with momentum and it takes that energy through to its conclusion. Dancing Queen isn’t my favourite, but it goes with the vibe on this album. It’s perfect pop music delivered by fantastic performers.

This is like the Brian Eno of the fusion jazz world. I’m sure the players on here are proficient, and may well be gifted, but I found it wholly soulless. It just sounds like bland, background music from wine bars in the 1980s. The cover is more interesting than the 37 minutes of music and it didn’t engage me at all. I never want to hear this album again and I’m pretty sure I didn’t need to hear it before I die either.

This is my first (and last) listen because this is really not music that was made for me. Some really nice samples, and it is a very slick production, but my god he goes on! Not a fan of his style, his constant grunting would have been better turned into some kind of melody. Also not a fan of his or amazing ability to praise himself. The album is at least 20 minutes too long and I almost gave up listening 4 or 5 times. Maybe it’s a grower, but my ears could stand giving him the chance. Definitely won’t listen again. Will not listen