This is my second attempt with this album. The way I have seen people talk about it online, I was expecting to have my mind blown but it’s fallen flat on both occasions for me now. Musically good, very competent musicians and production is solid on it which scores some points, but i just really don’t “get” it. Was expecting some big hitters but everything sort of melds into one for me. I’m going to score it 2 stars which feels low (in reality its probably a solid, middle-of-the-road 2.5) but 3 stars seems a bit high for it as I was kinda wanting some of the longer songs to end. Going forward my 3 star reviews will probably be albums i’ll intend to give a second go. Maybe it will change later down the line but right now I’m okay with not hearing this album again for a while.
Huge nostalgia for this one - I remember my Mum buying the CD. That CD now proudly sits in my cupboard as I went to check soon after listening. The first half of this album is indie classic hit after indie classic hit, it’s quite impressive how many bangers there are in a row. As sick as I am of Mr Brightside, it is popular for a reason. An album very of it’s time, especially production wise, but somehow doesn’t really sound too dated either. Tails off a bit towards the end though the “fillers” are decent enough tracks on their own. Probably musically a 3.5 star album, but rounded up to 4 for the nostalgia factor and happy memories.
Wow, pretty blown away that I’ve slept on this one until now but previous Blur albums failed to grab me so I’d probably just naively assumed they were all similar. The variety on this album keeps it from getting boring, something I thought was missing on say Modern Life. The lack of their brand of (for me) corny, pseudo-quirky Cockney thing that was there in abundance early on is a great progression imo. I can definitely hear early prototypes of the Gorillaz sound in this album - as well as parts sounding slightly darker, almost Radiohead-esque, with a hint of a trip-hop influence. No skips on this album, every track had something different, and considering I only knew of two songs near the beginning that is quite impressive. Amazing guitar work by Coxon as per usual, some really cool and interesting sounds. Will definitely be listening again. I can’t think of a reason to not give this my first 5/5.
Standout tracks on first listen:
Beetlebum (obviously)
On Your Own
Theme From Retro
Death of a Party
No notes required for this one, firmly in my top ten of all time. Have worn the grooves out on it. 5/5 all day long.
Love this album. Natural progression from their first album which is more of a blues-rock jam, it’s no nonsense musicianship - guitar, bass, drums and vocals and yet it never sounds like it is lacking anything further. The quiet space in it only adds to the difference in dynamics of when it gets loud and heavy. Despite being no fan of the heavy metal genre, it’s impossible to ignore just how influential this album is to that scene and how it still sounds kind of fresh today. Feel like i’m handing out the 5 stars like candy, but it is a strong 4.5/5 but I’m not sure it can be considered the same level as my top of all time so i think i will round it down to 4/5
18-25 year old me would’ve been all over this had I been aware of it back then. I’m not really too well-versed on anything of Muddy’s beyond his well known hits and Electric Mud. It is clear this was an incredibly important album though, due to when it was released; right at the beginning of the sixties and the market it was able to reach; young, aspiring, white (mainly British) musicians and therefore helped shape the sound of the decade and beyond. Its inclusion in this series is very well deserved. Its the case of being my favourite artist’s favourite artist, and thats alright with me. 3/5 will definitely revisit.
Standout songs;
Got my Brand on You
Tiger in Your Tank
Got my Mojo working
Definitely not my bag, baby. Knew it wasn’t for me about 15 seconds into the first track. Not sure why this would be considered an album anybody “must” hear - sounds exactly like tons of other stuff from that time period and that genre. Corny vocals, guitar solos that go on too long and sound like they’re being played full whack through a Line6 on Insane setting, every song sounding more or less the same. Ended up skipping most of the longer tracks or turning the volume down so it was just background music. ‘Funny Vibe’ was alright, that’s about it. Heard it, don’t need to hear it again. Glad it’s out the way - 1.5/5 bumped up to 2/5 for good musicianship and as I’m sure there will be a lot worse albums in this list.
Thought i was going to absolutely hate this, turns out it wasn’t so bad! Some okay songs - nice tones. Sounds like a band that would play a Nashville bar - accomplished Southern Rock musicians that you can zone in and out on whilst you eat wings and drink beer and watch sports highlights on mute on the screens. Bit of mix of slow/fast but all very similar sounding tbh - not sure a track in particular stands out really. 2.5 stars rounded down to 2 due to its length. Had to break it into two over the day and skip some tracks just to reach the end. Not ruling out revisiting this one though.
Never actually listened to this album in full and there’s a lot of tracks I don’t know. Unfortunately not many are on the level of the hits off this album - and some follow the exact same themes of some of the others and it can get a bit same-y, especially the tracks towards the beginning of the album. Some questionable topics from today’s viewpoint and some of the seedier songs and skits feel even seedier now in retrospect. Some incredible rap flow from Biggie though and the lyrics and storytelling are amazing for the most part, as well as having a concept, that is mightily impressive for a debut album. The samples used are great too, Mtume, Diana King and Isaac Hayes to name a few. No doubt a huge album for the hip hop scene and warrants its inclusion on this list. I would’ve given this a 5 back in the day - now though i think it’s about a 3.5. I’ll probably mark it down as a 3 as I can’t see too many times when I would think its a good time to play this one in modern times, maybe through headphones down the gym, but I’ll probably just stick to the hits.
Standout tracks;
Things Done Changed
Juicy (obviously)
Big Poppa
This album is great fun. Was expecting a hard listen at first with it not being in my language but it perfectly suited a sunny drive to work - felt like I was in a Tarantino film at times. It’s just good vibes, and some great musicianship - especially the bass. Part of the fun was trying to pick out the few lyrics I did understand and guessing the context of the subject matter, sometimes though that didn’t even really matter and I just got lost in the brass section or the vocal melodies. Not sure when I would listen again - maybe whilst cooking a nice slow brunch or doing some housework as it makes good background music - in the nicest possible way. Will pick it up if I find it on my travels and will definitely revisit. 3/5
Standout tracks;
Plastico
Maria Lonza
Ojos
Amazing album, amazing voice, amazing man. Still capable of creating captivating and moving music right up to the end and making cover songs completely his own. Many of these songs I knew of Johnny’s version before I’d heard the original and in a way preferred. Another album that I remember hearing as I was growing up - hopefully still got it somewhere, if not I will definitely repurchase. Along with more of the American series. Very much an album worth a listen. 4/5
Never really got the Manics so I was expecting a hard listen, it was at first but then it got easier as it went through and I’d listened to a few of the hits I knew of and by the second listen I actually enjoyed it. They’re never gonna be my favourite band ever but I can see the merit and appeal of their music - Design for Life is obviously amazing - but some of the album tracks I really enjoyed too. Will definitely be back to revisit 3.5/5
Standout tracks;
Design for Life (obviously)
Australia
Little Black Flowers
Removables
Interiors
The favourite album of pre-teen me and probably the first album that deviated from what my parents listened to and had lying round the house. Was also the first album I enjoyed with a friend and bonded over. A proper trip down memory lane this was, probably around 22 years after the last time I heard it. I have to say I’m impressed with how good it still sounds to me - I was expecting it to be way more dated and cringe but I really had fun and actually heard things I’d not previously noticed or forgot that if I had noticed. Enjoyed the more electronic-y sounds on this and the guitar tone is good, even if it has since been well over-done (no fault of this album). I think this is still somehow a 4.5/5 for me down to 4 as it’s no longer my taste - however would listen again and again.
Standout tracks (aside from the obvious hits):
Points of Authority
Runaway
Cure for the Itch
Always wanted to be into this band more than I actually am but I’ve always just felt like there was something missing, which is a bit of shame. I think it’s the bass, or lack thereof, that leaves some of the songs sounding a little bit 2D - like treble-y, thrashy noise with no actual grit or body to it. Maps is a phenomenal piece of music though, but I just don’t feel like there’s enough on the rest of the album to keep me interested. Warrants it’s place on the list as I get the importance of the female band lead in a male dominated scene yada yada, and I love what Karen O has gone onto to do since but just don’t think this album warrants more than a 3, and that’s me being pretty generous. I’ll maybe come back and try again. 3/5
Standout tracks:
Maps (obviously)
Modern Romance
Listened whilst driving through the countryside on a sunny Sunday afternoon - it was nice. Probably listen again next time the suns out 3/5
Not for me. Never has been, probably never will be 1/5
Not really sure what it is I’m listening to? Some sort of French Hip-Hop, cuban, acid-reggae mash-up. If you’re into that then fair enough. I don’t think I need to hear it again. 2 stars for creativity. 2/5
Very chill - some good songwriting, pretty Dylan-y in parts
Solid album - I think they had such a good sound on this. Nice fuzz tones on Tony’s guitar and Ozzy’s voice is top notch too. 3.5/5 will round it up to 4
I thought I would hate this album after seeing that it had influenced early Metallica - but it actually wasn’t that bad. I actually quite enjoyed some of the songs, namely Prowler & Remember Tomorrow. Alas, this style of music won’t ever be my cup of tea really and can’t see me listening again. 2/5
I think this needs adding to my focus music collection - lovely ambient background music. 3/5
Solid album from an undoubtedly important and influential artist for music of the late 50s and beyond. 3/5
Standout tracks:
Blueberry Hill (obviously)
Troubles of My Own
Poor, Poor Me
I imagine when this came out it sounded cutting edge, but now it just sounds very dated. Production is so of it’s time - overtly 80s percussion, treble-y bass tone and his voice, though no doubt is talented, just somehow grates on me. Album gets very same-y after a while too. Though i liked and recognised Sign Your Name, it wasn’t enough to save the album. 1.5/5
Feel like I need more time with this one as it might have the potential to score higher but as it stands giving it a 3.5. Some really cool, ethereal sounding 80s sounds drenched in chorus and reverb. Drum machine backing gives it an almost eerie edge and vocals are amazing but can’t pick out any lyrics so its more of a background listen on first impressions. Revisit needed
Good at what it does, fast paced rock riffs with an angry sounding vocalist. Questionable lyrics. Very same-y. Quite tedious after about three songs of the same themes and tempo. Don’t need to listen again. 2/5
Not long after giving their self-titled album 5 stars and wondering if I was finally “getting” Blur, I come crashing back down to earth with this. As an album it’s just so strange. An unbalanced, incoherent mish-mash of tracks. The front part of the album is loaded with the singles (and Tracey Jacks) - some good, some bad but all overplayed and I was bored enough of hearing them that I chose to skip past them. Then to the middle of the album where it seems to just be made up of random soundbites and jams, mostly annoying stuff, some of which I again skipped. Then to the end (pun intended) with a few tracks that I actually quite enjoyed but by that point I had already skipped enough tracks to make my mind up about the album. 2.5/5
Perfect album for a slow rainy Saturday afternoon/early evening such as the one I listened on. An autumnal, nocturnal, warm embrace of an album, why on earth did we stop making music like this. Full of melodic yet melancholic longing and themes of unrequited love, but it’s never depressing, quite the opposite actually. It has a kind of defiant assuredness that everything will be okay regardless of recent lost loves - and Frank’s confidence that there will be another just around the corner shines through on certain tracks. I wasn’t familiar with many songs, if any, going into this album and now feel like I’ve got a couple of new favourites. 4/5 album. I need to own this.
Standout tracks:
Deep in a Dream
I See Your Face Before Me
Three queens of Country music combining to create a really solid album here. It had this kind of hypnotic effect on me whereby it was impossible to feel anything but comfort - even on the songs with relatively sad lyrics. Warm hug of an album. 3/5
This was exactly the sort of thing that I was hoping to encounter when I started out on this project, discovering things that I’d never heard before and which pushed me outside of my comfort zone. This album definitely achieves this - a sonic stew of bossanova, 60s pop and psychedelia with occasional Walker Brothers-esque string backing. In parts it’s quite difficult to put an era, as well as a genre, on it. I enjoyed it all the way through though - no skips here. Throughly enjoyable listening, will look out for it in the wild for sure. 4/5
Standout tracks:
Clarice (medley of all sorts of genres)
Allegria, Allegria (Animals meets the Byrds doing Dylan covers)
Eles (great 60s pysch vibes)
Much like Blur’s self-titled album - this post-Britpop, dark and gritty sound is fast becoming one of my favourite periods of music. Needs another listen as I think this has potential to score higher. But for now 4/5
I used to like I Get Around when I was kid - and even then it sounded really old and like something that my Dad would have listened to when he was a kid. Totally dated sound and themes throughout. Got boring very quickly due to each song sounding more or less the same as the last. Nice harmonies, but then so do a lot of bands. Not sure why this album would be selected as a “must hear” unless you were around when it was released and it has sentimental value. 2/5
Standout tracks;
None, they all sound the same. If i was hard pushed; She Knows Me Too Well sounds the least same-y as others I guess.
Starts off great but then tails off into ballads and watered-down disco and funk. 3/5
Hard to separate this guy’s serious music from him being the Disney/Pixar guy. This album does a good job of it though - some pretty serious songs on here alongside the usual more whimsical numbers. I enjoyed the R&B/bluesy feel of Last Night I Had a Dream, and I read that Ry Cooder (who I love) provides the slide guitar on this as well as on You Can Leave Your Hat On which was the only track I had prior knowledge of. Decent middle of the road stuff 3/5
Skipped a fair few unfortunately 2/5
Up there among my favourite albums of all time, and probably my joint favourite Smiths record. I just feel they were at their absolute peak here, Morrissey’s best lyrics, Marr’s captivating guitar and compositions, Rourke’s iconic new-wave/funk bass and Joyce as solid as is humanly possible on the drums. The four of them combining to capture magic on tape. It is a mind-blowing collection of songs. Era-defining singles and the album tracks are catchy and quirky enough to elevate this album to classic status. More than warrants its inclusion on this list. Saved me from the whirlpool of my teens and twenties countless number of times, as I’m sure it did for others, and it still sounds incredible decades later. 5/5
Adele is undoubtedly a very talented singer, her voice is absolutely perfect for the style of music she creates. The album sits toward the better end of the pop spectrum for me personally, but it is also more on the pop-ballad side too which does not appeal to me and never has. I’m really struggling with accepting the albums inclusion on this list, as I’m not even sure it’s Adele’s strongest either. There was only ‘Hello’ from the track listing that I had heard previously (ad nauseum on almost every TV advert for the last decade). Everything apart from that was new to me, yet somehow I was already bored of it, except for maybe Sweetest Devotion which was alright. Can’t bring myself to score this more than a 2/5. Don’t need to listen again.
It’s almost astounding how indifferent I feel towards this album. It was just…there. 2.5/5
Wow, blown away by this. Great sound, it’s like Wire meets Gang of Four in the 80s, which is alright by me. Can clearly see the influence provided for the later Grunge scene and the late 80s bands like Nirvana and Pixies here too. Amazing approach to an album too, just banging out track after track with nothing really clocking over 2 minutes. Good variety of sounds and vibes too which never gets boring and just makes this a great, great album. I was having a really bad day when I listened too, which usually clouds my judgement and skews me towards the negative, but regardless of that I think this is a solid 5/5 and could go on to become a much-adored album for me on more listens.
Standout tracks (to many to name so here’s a few):
Viet Nam
Do You Want New Wave
The Glory of Man
June 16th
Dr Wu
Certain albums in music history (very few in all honesty), transcend musical boundaries and go on to have a profound influence on the society and culture of a certain time and place. This is one of those albums for western culture in the early 90s. I don’t think its impact can be understated really. For this reason alone it’s a 5/5 album. As a collection of songs it reads like a Best Of and is also a 5/5. I actually think that nowadays I’d probably be more likely to pull out and listen to Bleach or In Utero as they’re less familiar to me, but thats only more testament to how good this album is that I’ve listened to these songs a huge amount of times.
Great musicianship & production-wise, but just not my thing at all really. 3/5
I used to absolutely love this album when I was at university so it has a special place in my heart for sure. That being said, I know for sure this is nowhere near the best album of the Beatles. Arguably their first album, though with less originals, actually has something more endearing and more of a cohesive feel to it. It’s still a quality album there is no denying that, and I actually heard some new things in the songs this time around too which is testament to the timeless quality of the Beatles. Despite my familiarity, I’m still changing and chopping my favourites years after first hearing it. 4/5
Standout tracks (this time):
Don’t Bother Me
Til There Was You
Roll Over Beethoven
I was glad this leant more toward the jazz genre than cuban as I’ve had a few of those recently and kinda bored of it for now. I also appreciated the succinctness of these tunes, a rarity for the genre but nothing really clocked over 3 minutes. Nice listen 3.5/5
Disappointed with this one - I saw the Temptations and Funk and got very excited. Only to come crashing back down to earth after about two songs. Pretty boring - ended up skipping most songs. What a shame. 2/5
Much better than Synchronicity in my opinion - at least this one has somewhat of a vitality and edge to it. I didn’t want to turn it off half way through this time either. I think I prefer the more new-wave leaning songs over the reggae derivatives. Solid enough album all in all though 3/5
Standout tracks:
Message in a Bottle (obviously)
Bring on the Night
Contact
Another one of my university albums that I worn down the grooves on, back in the day. I genuinely thought I would listen back to this and it won’t have aged too well and may even be cringe inducing like some of my other musical obsessions from around that time. But no, this was like meeting up with an old friend, one who still has new things to offer too, so I’m pleasantly surprised. I think this album gets lost in comparison to EW and Tanx, maybe because the two singles aren’t considered as strong perhaps, although Metal Guru is up there with my favourite Bolan tracks. As an entire album package though I think it pulls its weight, the only track I could take or leave was Spaceball Ricochet and that was more of a “i like this less than the others” but don’t dislike it. All the other tracks are just great fun, glam-rock at its peak, with fuzz-box rockabilly-esque guitar lines and string backing. 4.5/5
Not for me. Maybe it was my short temper today that clouded my judgement but I found this album annoying af. Wanted it to end after about three songs as it was pretty exhausting. 2/5
2.5/5 - rounded up for a re-listen
