High energy prog rock. Awesome musicianship. Didn't listen to any of the lyrics because it'll be the usual prog rock nonsense. Drifts into jazz-rock for YYZ. Entertaining. 3/5.
The big band arrangements on side A are off-putting, but the orchestral arrangements of side B suit his vocal style better. This sounds like an attempt to mold him into a standard crooner, but there are much better singers for that. I don't think we get the real Ray Charles on this record.
Love everything about this album. Strange to think this was recorded in 66/67, just 3 years after they were a rock and roll covers band.
Hugely popular album from my teenage years. Still had plenty of interest.
The least favourite of his winnings for me.
With Thundercat I started off thinking it was great. But it's too splintered to make a good album, just a collection of ideas really. It's overwhelming, and towards the end I was counting down the tracks.
It's excellent. A very rich mix of Latin vibes, Americana, country and cool jazz. Complex and accomplished.
My least favourite from the rock and roll era.
So long as you stop at what is supposed to be the final track, it's a low 4. Lots of imaginative music and arrangements that take you in unexpected directions.
This is a pointless reworking of Gilberto compositions by her daughter. All spirit of the original has been lost.
Some monster tracks you know plus great sounding slow burners. Before from listening on a good hifi.
With the Beatles - not quite in their stride yet but you can see why they stood out from the other Merseyside bands. Paul and John's voices meld so perfectly and the original compositions are good.
On Fromohio firehose seem too keen to show off their prowess as musicians. The voice is weak and way back in the mix. Impressive in many ways but lacking the songs to bring you back for a repeat listen.
Everyone should have Thin Lizzy in their collection. Superbly executed hard rock and well crafted songs. Love the dual lead guitar format and driving bass. It's only rock and roll but I like it.
Catching up with Stevie Wonder and Fulfillingness First Finale. A mix of jazzy, funky, gospel-ly, soul music. Not his best I think.
They moody reflective tracks are good, let down by a couple of songs. Not as constantly good as The Next Day
A random set of noises that occasionally form interesting music.
A pretty inconsistent collection.
I can't get as enthusiastic about this album as other people seem to be. The opening track is the hook, but the rest is not so engaging.
More variety than expected. Authentic, heartfelt lyrics.
Love the voice, lyrics and sound of this album.
Not real identity to this album. Not a bad album butt but great.
It's okay, but not an experience to be repeated. If... is quite funny, and the arrangements are high quality.
A real hidden treasure. Love every song. Somehow they can get away with being as quirky as they like.
So much good music in here and you just know it's going to grow on you.
Great album only let down by Private Lives and some filler tracks.
By far my favourite Prince album. 9/10
The Dire Straits' album scrapes 3. A few very strong tracks, and Mark Knofler is pretty handy on the Stratocaster.
https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-beatles/the-beatles-white-album/
Objectively a good album with folk infused blues rock.
Incredible come back after a 10 year hiatus and incredibly 30 years after Let's Dance
End of an era statement from the boys who's identity was bound to sunshine, optimism and the American dream.
If you're looking for excitement look elsewhere. It is very quiet. Whispered lyrics. Brushes rather than sticks on the drums. Unfussy arrangements. Languid. Good songs, but the delivery becomes tedious by the end. Ultimately that meant she just had the one hit album. 5/10.
Side one is perfect with great song after great song. The Prophet's song gets side 2 off to a shaky start. Nice recovery with Love of my life. All in all a good album. 8/10.
On first listen not hitting the spot for me. Many of the elements are there - easy going music with lyrics that demand you listen to them. It's probably the vocal delivery that's not working for me. So a 2 out of 5.
Based on the first half, this would be a 9 or even 10. After that, interesting but not to the same standard. 7 over all, which converts to 3 stars.
All the energy and sparkle you expect from 80s REM.
Still sounds fresh and relevant. Genre defining.
I fully respect the fact that so many people love this record. Not their best in opinion.
Generic. Self-indulgent. Good musicianship.
I love Dare. All lyrics are quite inventive and worth listening to. Hooks a plenty. Energy dips here and there but near flawless for me. 8/10
An impressive debut with better still to come
Track 1 is a classic. The rest doesn't come close. Listening on phone speakers as we're away so probably not giving it the best platform.
Wasn't sure what to expect. A bit limited / formulaic. Easy listening, classic hip hop. 5/10 for me.
Enjoying Rock Bottom much more on a second listen. Love the nonsense rhymes, except they get a bit too repetitive. Some avantgarde jazz edginess here and there. Trance-like. Quite a lot of Mike Oldfield influence along with guitar parts. 7/10.
Lots of good individual songs but no overall integrity to the album. Arrangements are bare / interesting. Big drum sound. Deconstructed rock (?)
All hail the Queen - enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Not likely to go back to it.
Not their best album, but some flashes of brilliance
Crazy first half. Weak side B.
Should have checked this album out years ago. It's probably just overlooked because of hit-laden later albums. Ahead of their time.
Intelligent lyrics for a pop record. Superb voice. Songs are great in French and in English, so actually worth having both.
Bad start with America..., unnecessarily abusive. Irish Blood... is a good song, again love/hate, but that's fine when you talking about your own country. Then there's the unfair world, self-loathing tracks. First in the gang... is a stand out track. Overall sounds great if not quite the Smiths.
Overplayed at the time, no surprises here
A unique mix of traditional, protest and lighter material. A work of genius.
Some sublime moments, but does not work as an album for me.
Even better than I remember. Kind of makes you want to get your guitar out and play along.
Good album. Strong voice. Strong songs.
It's worth checking out the video for Teenage Kicks. Puts the record into context when you see how young they were. Northern Ireland's answer to the Ramones. Would love to rate higher but quality veres from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Loved it at 16, outgrew it by 18. Good to hear again, but just the once.
It's fun. Rocked along nicely. Scooby Snacks and King of New York are standout tracks. Glossy production.
Thought about not voting. I get it he's not a gangster, but brought up in that environment. Still not comfortable with the vibe and language.
Fun, experimental. Fresh. Great production throughout.
The first 2 tracks feature Percy Jones and Phil Collins. If you like these you'd probably like Percy's band Brand X, which also featured Phil in the 70s.
The rest of the album is made up of pleasant vinyets and dities. While the approach to song writing may have been experimental, the outcomes are surprisingly conventional. Overall a pleasing listen.
I really dislike this album.
Enjoyed the first few tracks but became tedious. Too low energy.
I like this guy in small doses. Clearly a talented songwriter, with songs covered by other artists.
It's a really good album. Improves with repeated listening, on the evidence of listening twice!
Alpinist in the top tier of Bob's albums.
Big band arrangements of this period tend towards the angular and shrill, same with the Ray Charles 'genius' album side 1. The percussion is the best part and the inspiration I guess. Not for me, though.
I think I have downgraded previously because it's not the Smiths, but objectively this is a great album imo
The Beastie Boys were a lot better than I thought they'd be. A lot of quality and depth.
I liked the album. Simple and effective with a distinctive personality. They don't have the songs that the Strokes have but it's better than the average White Stripes album. The voice is Great. Last 2 tracks out of character with the rest but equally good. A Strong 3, almost a 4.
Surely a big influence on talking heads. Manages to be extremely odd but very listenable. A creative tour de force.
An iconic album from 1973. Part one is a masterpiece, and part two a bit of fun.
Can I Kick It? was a massive hit. This is a stand out track, and I really like the J Cole mix at the end of the anniversary edition.
It's easy going and charming.
Put off by the over the top theatricality.
Superb voice and songs. Ambitious and brave. Would be even better with repeated listening.
Two or three very strong tracks and a fair amount of filler for me. Bass and drums always to the fore with vocals dialled down, except on the singles.
Some great stadium rocking moments, such as Assassin, SMBH, Knights of Cydonia, Starlight, etc.
The lyrics are a bit meh, but taken in the right spirit this is a strong album, if not their best.
Sioixsie not hitting the spot (yet) on her debut album.
Lovely sound but ends on weaker tracks.
No coherence, just a couple of good songs.
Crazy good. Genuine find. Experienced as a 4, could become a 5 with time.
Lovely voice but the material is generally weak.
A superb album from the coolest band.
Not their best, but still features some string tracks. Polished as ever.
Great opener. The rest is interesting but not a compelling listen.
Pure joy from start to finish.
BS4 is much better than expected with a surprising amount of variety. Fav tracks are Supernaut, Cornucopia, and Under the sun / Every day comes and goes.
It's the coolest and most sophisticated background music, but that's all it is. Luckily I have a very high tolerance for repetitive music that has no sense of development.
Best tracks are the covered and early singles (only on the extended version)
The acquired Jamaican accent is annoying. The singles are okay.
Piano led and very distinct sounding record from Bowie
Surprisingly bad given the prominence of the singles.
Unique and highly entertaining.
Songs not strong enough to carry ambitions.
Bright live recording. Strong songs and virtuoso guitar playing.
Very enjoyable. A superb voice.
Prefer the more developed songs.
One of the best albums of all time.
Hitting the Cool Jazz sweet spot.
Not into so much boasting, he's really not that interesting
Nice mix of pop and soul. Lovely voice.
I didn't realise Our lips are sealed (co-written with Terry Hall) was recorded by them earlier than Fun boy three. The rest of the album not quite up to the same standard.
I have really enjoyed the Spirit album. Sounds like four bands in one, but that's okay. So much music packed in.
Sounds like Dad's hip-hop to today's ears. A fun album.
Not classic Joni but Jazz Pop Joni. Very enjoyable and engaging.
The musical palette of Hot Chip is top drawer, so would have loved to give their album a 4. Unfortunately it is let down by weak songs and vocal delivery. 3/5
Classic album. U2 at their best.
Some nice southern rock vibes, but inconsistent quality.
One of their best. The greatest rock band of all time.
I like the band. Some good songs but inconsistent
Guitar playing and song writing at it's best.
A few strong tracks. Just sneaks a 3
Trying to be a hard rock band and not succeeding. Singles good.
Expansive sound world and vocals that are strong and vulnerable at the same time. Especially good from Aurora onwards
Like the idea of free flowing experimental minimalist music but not enough to hold my attention here
But consistently good. Finishes strongly.
Innovative use of layered samples thanks to the Dust Brothers, paired with Beck's nonsense rhythms. Works for me
Some strong tracks but things out of steam
At their best, and focused on harder rock elements. Now I'm Here a favourite.
Stuart Copeland is full tilt on this album and drives the whole thing along. Big singles and no real duds.
Not for me, not into completely freestyle improvisation.
I like the New York Dolls album a lot. Giving a generous 4 as they have influenced so many great bands.
Often my go to album when I want to listen to REM.
The blues numbers were a bit generic. Otherwise strong songs and a great voice.
Exuberant and wild. Great example of the transition from jump blues to rock and roll.
Sadly, KLF are more interesting than their music.
Some good songs but does not make a good album
From the intro to Planet Claire, we're transported to a different sound world. Great stuff.
Grace Slick's contributions shines out. Otherwise okay.
Some excellent moments, but a little low key overall
Deceptively clever. Really takes off from Identity.
Alone Again Or and Andmoreagain are iconic.
A lot of nonsense with a few flashes of genius
Great reminder of the beginnings of house music. Not really my thing but an entertaining listen nevertheless.
Gets a little boring hearing lots of 12 bar blues with no real distinguishing features
Elton has much better albums
Disintegration is epic, glorious, dreamy, melancholic, reflective, dealing with grief, disappointment and hope.
Unfulfilled with previous pop success, Robert makes a deliberate attempt to produce his masterpiece. Each track lays down a musical pattern through a long intro that stands on its own. Reminds me in some places of Cocteau Twins and other places of New Order.
Only a few songs landed with me.
Much better than I remembered.
Great album. Roots reggae in a minor key.
Great singles, and side 3 works as a series of linked tracks. Overall too long.
Dated, but has some appeal.
Jangle pop heavily influenced by 60s music
Disappointing. Lacking strong songs
Original and contagious. Bjork has no fear.
Amazing to think they made this music 50 years ago. Hugely influential and just brilliant.
A pale reflection of Rumours
Entirely derivative. Sweet voice, slick production. Weak songs.
Solo album in Roxy Music era. Experimental and works well on many tracks.
Loved hearing Emmylou Harris on second vocals. An interesting mix of clean country and soft rock.
The lead track would be worthy of led Zeppelin, the rest more run of the mill. Vocals unrefined.
Competent crossover country rock album.
Superb album. Not competently joined up as singles added to side two. Still great.
I'm not a huge fan of crooners. For some reason the songs didn't land for me.
Some good music here but so long it inevitably became background music
Well produced, well written, well performed power pop. Missing a standout song to make it a truly good album.
Some classic tracks but then a lot of filler.
Only serves to confirm that Abba are just a singles band.
Stacked full of hits from his best period.
An interesting listen but not something I would come back to.
Atmospheric. A great showman.
Rock ballads and psychedelic rock are a great combination here.
Butt for me. Sounded like Nirvana but still didn't engaged me.
Better than their second album in my opinion
Entertaining but not something I'll come back to
The level of improvisation drives me mad
Surprising number of blues tracks. Only just realised that Riders on the Storm is based on the 12 bar blues.
Classic era, very enjoyable
Excellent musicianship but songs have not stood the test of time
Butt his best but still good
A surprising album. Very different from Everything must go. Glad it was included.
Strong start to the album, then fades.
Interesting but not something I would put on.
Eclectic, strong voice, great singles. Entertaining throughout.
US version is best, including early hit singles.
The first British folk roll album. Beautiful voice.
Singer gems in there but not an album you're likely to put on ever
First ever jazz rock album. Maintains interest throughout.
I like the turned percussion. Fabulous voice. All a bit drawn out and low energy though for me.
Faultless production and musicianship but just missing some stand out songs. Love the country numbers.
Rocks along nicely but many weak songs.
Starts out promising but then pulls in too many directions
Hilariously bad until it becomes tedious.
Nina Simone is a superb pianist and vocalist with one foot in the fifties. This album lacks coherence, and was apparently made up from left over studio recordings from previous albums.
Need artist to me. Unique style, great songs and musicianship. Looking forward to hearing more of theory music.
The flat tone and delivery works only for a few tracks before it started to grate on me.
They make an awesome sound. Unfortunately the vocals are relatively weak and the songs do not mean through
Classic proto punk. Menacing, raw and powerful.
Not his greatest but very listenable
Remain in Light is an unusual album, the 3rd and last to be produced by Brian Eno. More or less consistently, there are no chord progressions or development of any kind within each song. Rather, a groove is established and maintained, a patterned background onto which melody and lyrics are placed. The music is compelling without the sense of progression.
I like it a lot, though it's not my favourite of theirs.
Singles are awesome and overall sounds great
Singer good songwriting but I find her voice irritating.
Love the setup of a live studio recording. Neil is on top form
Classic era U2. Unrefined, raw, relevant.
Her student voice works fine on singles but not for a while album.
Packed with hits. Good song writing
Probably my favourite prog rock album.
Similar material to The Beatles at the time but with more of an edge.
Started off liking this - nice voice - but after a while realised I'd stopped listening. It's just too bland.
A legend. Clean cut and simple.
Does well to maintain interest over two hours. Sure to get better with repeated listening. Awesome sound and surprisingly worded range of styles.
Incredibly accomplished given that were so young. The singles are well known and stand out, but the whole album rocks along nicely
Some great tracks such as Song of Life and Open up, but a lot of ordinary material sonic the way.
#1 album of 1976 and my favourite from Stevie. Chock full of amazing tunes right up to, but not including, the last 2 tracks, which would have been on the b side of the accompanying EP.
Buenos Noches almost sent me to sleep.
A conservative revival of a conservative strain of a conservative genre.
Some nice fiddle playing here and there.
This album is quite good. Although I'm not the biggest fan of musical theatre, abba seem to have perfected the format albeit in album form. Fabulous production adds a gloss to everything.
Got into the vibe for parts 2 and 3.
Blues music with an African accent
Side one is quite strong and almost a complete work. The other tracks are only okay. Didn't quite work as an album.
Okay, but unlikely to play again
Johnny Cash is cool, so you'd like to give a good review. However, many of these covers do not work.
The best tracks are the unknown (to me) country songs.
Lucinda Williams is an interesting artist, and I will return to listen to her other bolded albums. A more authentic sounding Sheryl Crow.
Mix of new wave and electronic pop. Perfectly listenable but without any truly outstanding tracks.
The first truly exciting Beatles album.
No need to qualify this as 'white reggae'. It's a really good reggae and dub album in the political tradition.
Without merit of any kind
One of his better albums. Quite varied. Kept the flag flying for guitar based rock music.
Strong singles, but a succession of novelty songs grates.
A shame the strongest track Stay with me was spoilt with orchestration. Otherwise generic.
Combining rock and hip hop works well in places but can't sustain a while album. Ends up a bit like a novelty act.
The Crusaders serve up easy listening jazz fusion.
Great opening tracks but then Child in Time spoils the vibe and it never fully recovers.
I'm not a great fan of the voice. Put me off listening to the lyrics.
The tunes are predictable and while he's clever with the lyrics, it's not what I'm looking for in an album.
Not for me. Not sure this should be on the list
The best parts are the classical Indian ones with subtle beats. He takes a lot of risks here and not all of them work, but still a very interesting listen.
Not his best album, but interesting all the same. Some very raw and edgy content showing a different side.
Blondie's // is full of variety, from cute pop to new wave and disco. Full of hits and no real duds.
Spirited and youthful. Honestly not something of return to.
Consistent with other CCR albums, a couple of killer tracks booked out with generic blues. I'm in a harsh mood.
Papa was a rollin' stone is a classic. The first and last tracks are also strong but apart from that a mixed bag.
High quality country selection for a cosy quiet day in.
Forgot all about this album. Not a particular fan at the time but must have heard it loads. Sounded great this time round.
Promising debut with much better to come
Starts well but peters out so it's almost not there.
Not bad writing but not good enough too break through.
