8/10 The best thing about De La Soul is that they don’t take themselves too seriously. Hip-Hop can, from time to time, become far too serious for its own good, with beef between different rappers, diss tracks and violence, particularly in the more gangsta rap side of the ledger. De La Soul are the antithesis of that. They’re having a good time, they’re making music that’s fun and has great grooves, and when they decide to rip on someone it basically boils down to the, pretty tongue-in-cheek, “you stink, have a wash”. It feels almost as fun to listen to as it must have been to produce. This success of this type of music often rests on the sample selection, delivery of lyrics and the production and, by and large, the quality of all three across this album is very high. There’s great melodic selection, some really funky grooves, and enough audio interest to reward closer listening. They also have great lyrical flows that don’t just stick to basic rhythms, but are also delivered with a melodic edge that helps tracks to really gel as musical compositions, rather than just sounding like rappers with a backing track. The production is also, by and large, excellent, with tracks moving between large scale sample collages, down to more subtle, lyrically focussed efforts. The little skits and pieces also help to tie things together and aid the balance of the album. They also reference back and forth to different tracks here and there, which helps to paint this as a complete work, rather than a selection of tracks. Unfortunately, however, there are a few lulls here and there, and some occasions when the momentum of the album slides just a bit too much for this to get full marks. As is so often the way with albums of this length, it could really have benefitted from a more judicious track selection, as this could easily have been a 10/10 album if it was 40-45 minutes long, rather than a very, very good album that’s an hour and change. Either way, I was glad to listen to this again, and I’m sure it’ll be on again in the not too distant future.. Intro - It’s an intro. Quite a cool way to introduce the group though and sets up the album as some silly fun. (3 Is) The Magic Number - Straight out of the traps with an absolute classic. The melodic edge to the rapping adds a musical edge that can often be missing in some hip-hop records. Sample use and scratching add some variety through the track, and the main hook is just excellent. Banger. Change In Speak - There’s an interesting offbeat lilt to the rhythm here with the two drum loops playing against one another. The sample choices and blends are great. The rapping is subtle and flows well, and just like that, it’s over. Cool Breeze on the Rocks (The Melted Version) - A little skit to continue from the intro. Not the original version, due to sample clearance issues. Can U Keep a Secret - Suitably silly. This is kind of like a stupid takedown of diss tracks, and I’m here for it. Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin’s Revenge) - It’s perhaps a little too stilted from a rhythmic point of view, but when they start layering up the samples, things start to flow a little better. It’s a bit of a classic really, and they again have some great hooks and memorable lines. Ghetto Thang - The flow of this is really great. It’s super smooth. It’s less hooky than other tracks, but the bounce of the groove is fantastic, and there are some great choices in the rhythmic flow of the rapping, with good variety in syllable use to drag the emphasis around. Transmitting Live From Mars - A nice little intermission track. A few great sample choices and it creates a very evocative little piece to prepare us for… Eye Know - Another Classic. It’s harmonically rich, the grooves are great and the rapping is top notch. Sample choice is excellent here and it’s super funky, but with a nice chilled edge. It feels kind of timeless really, like it could have been made yesterday. Take It Off - Another fun little interstitial track. You can just hear how much fun they're having and it really adds to the vibe of the album. A Little Bit of Soap - More comedy, more great sample selection. Tread Water - There’s a bit more urgency to the beat on this track It moves really well, but it’s perhaps a bit lacking in hook and variety compared to the real prime cuts on the record, but it’s got great groove, and it’s a very worthy album track. Potholes in My Lawn - Another classic, and this might be one of the silliest yet. Yodelling and Jew’s harp samples? Why not? This was the first hip-hop song played on Mars, weirdly enough. Musically, it’s a bit thin on prominent and consistent tonal samples, but it makes up for that with the scattergun silliness of it all. Say No Go - And we’re back to something more consistent in flow. It leaves the focus on things more toward the rapping here, but there are some great samples in there too, particularly the little lead guitar. A proper head bopper. Do as De La Does - This one’s pretty silly too. Another one where they’re just messing around and adding to the fun vibe of the album. It doesn’t do a vast amount other than that, but it’s still got a good body moving groove to it. Plug Tunin’ (Last Chance to Comprehend) - The groove to this is decent, but it lacks a little bit of the magic some of the other tracks and kind of plods along without ever giving enough of a hook, or displaying enough range to be vastly interesting. De La Orgee - Kind of takes things away from the silly vibe of the record for me. It’s largely been fun and games up to this point, and it just feels a bit jarring. There’s been more adult content before, but it’s not been as blatant and in your face as this. Buddy - This is better. Solid grooves, nice bass line, some solid tonal samples to give it musical interest and some nice passing of the vocal around the group. It’s not massively varied, but it’s decent. Description - Another little interstitial track. It’s got a nice vibe. Me Myself and I - Classic. So much vibe and so hooky. There’s some great production on the samples here to give this a unique flavour and the sample choice is perfect. Superb flowing verses and then a banger of a chorus. No notes. This is a Recording 4 Living in a Fulltime ERA (L.I.F.E.) - Less hooky, but this has a great vibe, and it grooves really nicely. Production is fantastic and there’s some really solid scratching on there too. The vocals have more prominence here than other tracks and it’s a cool juxtaposition in styles against the previous track. I Can Do Anything (Delacratic) - This is cool. More fun with solid beats. D.A.I.S.Y. Age - This is ok. It’s a little bland and stilted and doesn’t really go anywhere. Can’t help but feel this could have been given the chop.

3/10 As someone who never really pays attention to lyrical content until a number of listens in, hip-hop can be a very hit and miss genre for me. I appreciate the rhythmical flow of a rappers delivery, but if the focus is lyrical, rather than rhythmical, it often doesn’t connect with me, especially if the rest of the track is musically limited. Unfortunately, this has had a significant impact on my enjoyment of this album. I did find myself bouncing to the beats, but by and large it’s so musically uninteresting it’s unbelievable. Obviously the focus is supposed to be on the lyrics, but this is music, so the music itself should be important and it’s just not. Some of the sample selection feels like RZA and Method Man have challenged themselves to create a whole album using only samples from records they found in one particularly small charity shop. Some of them tonally jar with each other, while others are just really odd choices. The amount of times this record has a single bar loop that repeats relentlessly for three and a half minutes with little to no production flair outside of a few extra samples chucked in here and there make the whole production feel so phoned in and bland. When Method Man actually adds a bit of verve to his delivery, things can get a bit more energetic, but there are often times when he just drones on in a very uninspiring way and, combined with the limited musical content, it’s just a recipe for boredom. With all that being said, there are a few really decent tracks on here, so it’s not a complete clunker, but as a whole it was pretty uninspiring. Tical - This doesn’t do a lot for me. The beats are ok, but musically, it’s pretty weak. The flow of the rapping is actually decent, but there’s so little drive to the rest of the track that it just drags. It’s like they’ve just grabbed some random samples and thrown them together without much thought. Biscuits - Another one where the harmonic content just seems to be randomly played and looped. The rapping is decent. The beats are decent. The music is shit. It could possibly work as part of a more varied piece, but it just drones on. Bring The Pain - This is MUCH better. More pace, a melodic bent to the vocal delivery, tonal elements that actually work together. It’s still light on harmonic parts, but those that are there actually work with the rest of the track, rather than against it. Really liked this one, but I’m not completely sure how much that’s by comparison to what came before. All I Need - Continuing from the last track, this continues with a similar level of consistency. The gang vocals are nice, the beats groove along well. It’s not the most musically interesting, but it’s well paced and all gels together well. What The Blood Clot - A one bar discordant piano loop and a two note bass line for the whole track. And some irritating backing vocals. Not very good and boring to boot. Meth Vs. Chef - This is better again but, apart from the occasional pause in the beat and some samples it’s another single bar loop that just runs for the entire track. Sub Crazy - There’s at least some attempt to have different musical sections here. They’re still not very interesting though. Meh. Release Yo’ Delf - What’s this? Some actual tonal music? I mean, it’s a riff on Gloria Gaynor, and the horn part jars against the vocal line, so it’s not exactly great. When it’s stripped back to the beat, rapping and horn sample, it’s pretty good, but when everything is playing together with the singing it’s a bit of a jumbled mess. Feels like he’s trying to write an anthem, but it just doesn’t pay off. P.L.O. Style - This one is ok. Again, it’s a very short loop that doesn’t change for the duration, but at least this loop is better than some of the others. The extra samples give it a bit more life and, again, the vocal delivery is good, but it’s all just too samey. I Get My Thang In Action - Decent pace, more variety in the delivery of the rapping, actual fills in the drum breaks and other instrumentation that doesn’t just drone through a one bar loop. Hurrah for musical variety! The musical content is still pretty thin, but there’s so much more emphasis on the vocal delivery that it carries this much better. Mr. Sandman - There are bit of this that work well, but it’s just a bit messy overall. There’s a lot of background noise going that just makes it sound cluttered. The use of the Mr Sandman sample is a bit weird. I appreciate the fact that there’s a bit more variety and range to this, but it just isn’t executed very well. Stimulation - Another track, another random assemblage of samples. Still some decent rapping, but it’s all very one-note. When he gives the lyrics a bit more range and dynamic to the delivery it works so much better, but this just drones on like the bass line. Method Man (Remix) - A remix of a track from another album on this list. Vocal delivery is better here. The track has a bit more range to it too and the samples actually work together, which is novel. Not a bad track to end what has been a fairly underwhelming listen.

5/10 Managed to have a good listen through. Liked it, didn’t love it. Some really good playing in there and some of the tracks were great, but it’s a bit of a mixed bag. As previously stated, sounds like a random assortment of tracks, rather than an album. Some really odd recording choices, particularly in Manenberg Revisited. Overall, I think there are some tracks in there that I’d come back to, but the album as a whole didn’t really grab me. Mandela - a bit too loose Song for Sathima - sort of reminded me of a much better Weather Report track (A remark you made) that I’d prefer to listen to. Manenberg Revisited - Like this track, but one of the instruments is recorded in a really off-putting way, like it’s clipping a ribbon mic the whole way through, but is then turned down in the mix. Tuang Guru - Like this, much better. Swings really nicely. Water From An Ancient Well - Loved this one. Smooth and playful. Plenty of little sections for each player to have a little bit of fun with the theme. Maybe a bit too long. The wedding - Nice enough, but I’d be pretty sad if this was a representation of my wedding. Quite melancholy. The Mountain - Again, nice enough, just a bit dull. Sameeda - Liked this one. Bit of a sudden change a couple of minutes in, but had a good swing to it. As previously mentioned, the muted trumpet is lovely. Bit meandering in places.

6/10 I listened to this twice, first time I enjoyed it more than the second, but I was concentrating less. It kind of washed over me in a kind of (like Jimbo said) ‘enjoying at a festival’ way. Second listen, I found it to just be a bit too ‘Indie Band with synths writing festival anthems’ for my taste. It also often relied on the same, or very similar basic chord structure or rhythm through both verses and choruses that made it a bit uninteresting in places. I think I wanted to like it more than I did actually like it. What it really screamed out to me is that they found or programmed some interesting arpeggiated synth patches, but didn’t know how to transition to and from from those patches between different sections of a lot of the songs, so a lot of them just kind of relentlessly persisted throughout. A bit like yesterday, liked it, didn’t love it. Zero - Decent kick off. Not massively keen on the driving synth that dominates the mix. Heads will roll - Liked this more than the first. Soft Shock - Decent song, but doesn’t do anything that interesting. Skeletons - Another, more low-key anthem. Dull Life - Really like this one. There’s a bit more to it, more dynamic and stylistic range, Shame and Fortune - Like this one a lot too. Not as interesting as the last one, but it’s got a great groove. Runaway - Good song, a bit samey throughout. Dragon Queen - Loved the groove in this one. Doesn’t really go anywhere with it though. Hysteric - A bit dull. Little Shadow - Nice, also a bit repetitive. Faces - Like it, didn’t love it. Similar to the rest of the album, it was just a bit repetitive.

7/10 I think the overwhelming feeling I have when listening to this is awe at the absolutely stunning vocal harmonies that are just all over the album. They elevate some good little pop songs into something much more special. It’s a bit of a mixed bag and definitely an album that works on vinyl more than other mediums as it’s very much an album of two sides. I think the cover tracks do stick out a bit. Listened to in context with the rest of their work, I’d say the quality of this could be a little overlooked. It’s no Pet Sounds, Friends, Surf’s Up or Smile, but what is? Assessed on its own terms, it’s a solid effort. I feel like the lyrics are maybe one aspect that lets things down as they’re fairly ‘lyrics by numbers’. Brian’s work is often elevated when collaborating with a separate lyricist to refine his lyrical intentions. I do love some of the choices Brian makes with his compositions though. He doesn’t always pick the more obvious chord changes and I love that. Best one we’ve had so far to me. Do You Wanna Dance? - Neat little pop song opener. It’s a cover, but the harmonies are a nice addition. Good to My Baby - Bit of a filler track for me. Nice enough, but nothing standout. Don’t Hurt My Little Sister - Fairly routine early Beach Boys fare, but lovely harmonies. I absolutely love the pre-chorus. When I Grow Up (To Be A Man) - Interesting twist on more classic Beach Boys love songs with the less standard instrumentation. Has beautiful moments. Help Me Rhonda - A brilliant, brilliant pop song. Great momentum and the harmonies are so lush. Dance, Dance, Dance - Another great pop song. Please Let Me Wonder - Quite an introspective ballad. Brian is starting to open his soul and it’s a sign of what’s to come. I’m So Young - Another cover. Nice enough, and elevated by the vocal arrangements. Kiss Me, Baby - That moment when the group vocals come in… Ooof So good. A little bit too on the nose as a ballad, but still lovely. She Knows Me Too Well - This is a proto ‘Don’t Worry Baby’. Lovely, but a little basic from a structural point of view. In The Back Of My Mind - There’s something Beatlesy about this. Some of the background percussion is also _very_ Pet Sounds. Nice little introspective closer. Bull Session With “Big Daddy” - They must have had time to fill. Pointless.

6/10 I expected to like this more than I did. The opener and closer are stone-cold classics and lift it from a 4 to a 6. But everything in the middle just doesn’t really connect with me. I like individual bits of quite a lot, but I don’t think that all of the component parts actually gel together into a completely satisfactory whole except for on Baba and Won’t Get Fooled. If they did a whole album that used those as a starting point and went from there, they could have made something very special. Side note - Roger Daltrey just seems like a bit of a try-hard in places. Overall, it’s not bad, but I don’t think I’ll go back to many more tracks than the two aforementioned ones. I just think there were quite a few bands doing the more straight-forward rock stuff a lot better than this. Baba O’Riley - Banger. I’ve always thought the folky fiddle bit at the end is a bit weird though. Bargain - Decent bluesy rock song that lost me a bit in the softer parts and was too long. Love Ain’t For Keeping - Liked this one. Had a good groove and didn’t outstay its welcome. My Wife - This just wasn’t very interesting. The Song Is Over - I wish it had been over sooner. Somehow seems to meander along despite Keith Moon trying his best to inject a bit of drive. Thought it was finishing and it was only half way through. Getting In Tune - Paul McCartney seemingly took the best bits of this wrote ‘Live and Let Die’. It wasn’t bad and had a decent groove in places, but as a whole it just didn’t really do much for me. Going Mobile - Liked some of the Instrumental parts, but didn’t grip me as a song. Behind Blue Eyes - Again, a decent enough rock song, but not a keeper for me. Won’t Get Fooled Again - Another Banger. Didn’t feel as long as some of the much shorter ones because it was actually interesting and all of the transitions and sections were much more coherent.

6/10 I enjoyed this one. The rhythm section is so tight. Really not an album for people who don’t like guitar solos though! So many of the hooks and grooves were really good, but I don’t feel like there was much development of the themes as the songs went on, though most tracks were pretty short so they didn’t drag too much. I think this one might be a little hard to judge outside of the context of the era. They were obviously doing something very American Deep South vs bands like Led Zeppelin, and I liked it, but I also don’t think a lot of the songs were that memorable outside of a few riffs here and there. I don’t expect I’ll come back to this often, but I did enjoy it for what it was. Waitin’ for the Bus - Loved the groove on this one. Not much to it, but it doesn’t hang around long enough for that to be a problem. Jesus Just Left Chicago - A bit more plodding. Pretty standard blues fare, but it’s pretty clear they have a great command of their instruments and a sense of groove. Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers - More driving, I like this one. Vocals do a bit more on this one, though still plenty of time for some soloing. Master of Sparks - Another good groove, it just didn’t feel like it went anywhere with it, really. Hot, Blue and Righteous - Nice change of pace to end side one. I enjoyed this one, particularly as a counterpoint to the rest of the first half of the album. Move Me on Down the Line - Another tight groove. Another fun solo. Precious and Grace - Good bit of attitude to this one, but ended up being a bit repetitive. La Grange - The quintessential southern blues riff. Great song, even though it again doesn’t really do much beyond a great riff, a solid groove and a bunch of soloing. Sheik - Another great groove and I really dug the vocal swagger on this one too. Have You Heard? - This one actually developed a few different ideas early on which was good, but it was a little bit plodding.

8/10 Well I was really not expecting to love this as much as I have. As a complete stylistic juxtaposition to the ZZ Top album yesterday, where they wrote one good riff and stuck with it, Genesis seem to have a hundred ideas and somehow combine them all into one coherent (to my ears), if a little bit batty, whole. It’s going to sound like a very odd comparison, but this reminds me in some ways of the Aphex Twin album Drukqs (One of my favourite albums of all time) in that it is so frenetic at points and often doesn’t settle on one idea for very long, but also has these little breathers sprinkled around, like More Fool Me and the ending of Dancing with the Moonlit Knight that just give you a minute to collect your thoughts before it lets loose again. I mention this during one of my track summaries, but this album feels like living in my brain. I can walk into a room with the intention of doing something, end up getting distracted, doing four different things before, ten minutes later, remembering what I started doing in the first place and then getting back to it. Anyway, I can really feel the folksy influence of traditional England that they’re trying to reference and I think the concept of the album does come through quite clearly. It’s obviously pretty self-indulgent in places (it’s a prog record) and it could probably have been made a bit tighter without losing anything, but all in all, that was a really fun ride that I’ll definitely be coming back to. Dancing with the Moonlit Knight - Love the way this tempts you in with a few builds that then just drop away, before it eventually goes balls-out. The change in tempo, time signature and dynamic at various points is great. This song feels a bit like my brain when I’m trying to do a simple task. It ends with a nice bit of reflective palate cleansing too. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) - Feels like they’ve listened to some of the Beatles more experimental tracks and said “you think that’s weird? Hold my beer.” It’s a more straightforward song than the first, but scattered with an undercurrent of lunacy. And that low mellotron note on the intro and outro is beefy and nasty. Love it. Firth of Fifth - The first minute or two of this is more what I was expecting from Genesis. Nice piano intro into a more straight forward rock section. I love the light and shade of this and the rhythm section really punctuates the rest of the music nicely. And it just drifts into various different ideas again and again while still sounding like a coherent whole. But does get a bit self indulgent in the second half. More Fool Me - I feel like this is them going, oh by the way, we can all sing too. Harmonies remind me of the Bee Gees. Lovely little track and another great palate cleanser. The Battle of Epping Forest - I’m a sucker for an irregular time signature. The way this track keeps changing emphasis is wonderful. The beauty of this is that, if you just had it on in the background and weren’t listen to it properly, you might miss how strange it is. Has enough little hooks to keep it from being too much of a jumble, at least to me. After the Ordeal - Another palate cleanser. Nice little track, if a bit cheesy. But I think these little bits of respite are key to the flow of the album. The Cinema Show - Quite a delicate intro and then it kicks in nicely. The drums sound amazing here, especially the little ghost notes on the snare. So deft and crisp. I feel this is a bit ponderous and, while there are bits of it I like, I felt like it maybe drifted a bit too much and maybe didn’t justify the track length. Aisle of Plenty - A pretty little coda. The overlapping vocals are nice.

6/10 This was a decent one. There are definitely echoes of this in a lot of music that would follow it, from Nine Inch Nails to the Pixies and some of the more abrasive Nirvana tracks. It was pretty non-stop, partly because of the (obviously) metronomic and unstoppable drive of the drum machine, which made it quite a lot to take in in one go. Some of the tones they dragged out of their instruments were absolutely epic, especially as a three piece, like metal being wrenched apart. While I did enjoy this, it was definitely wearing me out by the end. I think I’ll probably go back to it here and there, but listening to it a couple of times round for this was definitely a lot. Jordan, Minnesota - This is pretty relentlessly driving. Really sets the tone for the rest of the album. Vocals are oddly low in the mix. Passing Complexion - The sound of this is great, like the red mist that clouds your senses when you’re absolutely furious about something. Reminds me of Pixies quite a lot. Big Money - Liked the riff in this one. Another non-stop track. Kerosene - This one had more distinct verse/chorus sections and there was a great groove, especially after the chorus. Maybe not as balls to the wall as other tracks, but I really liked it. Bad Houses - There was a bit more dynamic to this one. There is always the almost threatening undercurrent of the drum machine driving away, but that almost emphasised the change of pace from the rest of the instruments. Fists of Love - This one had a ‘Scentless Apprentice’ feel to it. Back to the more driving, breathless stuff. Stinking Drunk - Loved the riff on this one, as well as the breakdown near the end. Solid track. Bazooka Joe - I really liked bits of this, but it felt like it was just a bit too long. Maybe the non-stop nature of the album is tiring me a little but. Strange Things - A bit of Oi! Punk. Again, pretty relentless and things are starting to feel a bit too repetitive for me at this stage. Cables (live) - I had wondered if the could pull off the massive sound of the record live. Turns out they could. Abrasive, noisy and relentless.

2/10 This sounds like a distillation of 90s pop-rock with all of the edges sanded off. I mean, it’s ok if you’re out shopping for dungarees at Top Shop, but as a ‘must hear’ album, I just don’t really get it. Her voice isn’t great, both from a control, or from a tonal point of view. It sounds like a mediocre open mic singer-songwriter that’s been given a decent budget to hire a band of pros, but made sure that she kept the reins on so they don’t do anything too interesting. With that in mind, I’ve no real idea why so many of these songs are over 4 minutes long. Aimee Mann’s fans are probably now all 50 year old women with ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ etched into bits of driftwood adorning the walls of at least 50% of the rooms in the house they kept in the divorce. It’s pretty well produced, although her vocal is a bit high in the mix and perhaps a little dry in places, which doesn’t help her. The band seems very competent too. It’s not offensively bad or anything, it’s just uninspired and dull. And way too long. I Should’ve Known - What a strange intro. Sounds like they forgot to trim off the bit where the band were pissing about before they started recording. 30 seconds in and the 90s appear. It’s got that 90s toe tapping rhythm to it, but it is bland. It’s also too long. Fifty Years After The Fair - This is twee and her slightly nasally voice that she doesn’t have great control over just helps it to sit in ‘mediocre pub band’ territory. I think she probably loves REM. 4th of July - I think this is supposed to be an anthemic ballad, but it doesn’t have a discernible hook. Meandering. Could’ve Been Anyone - The first 10 seconds sounded like something different might be happening. Then the song started and it was just the same stuff again. Real middle of the afternoon small stage at a festival stuff. Put Me On Top - I think she’s trying to do some more interesting stuff here with a few of the transitions, but this is the most blah 90’s chorus makes sure we don’t forget that this isn’t actually interesting. Stupid Thing - Boring thing. Say Anything - This actually sounds like the band are trying to do something a bit more exciting in the first half, but then it just gets worse and worse. The ‘I’ve heard everything’ bits are so so bad. Jacob Marley’s Chain - Sombre song referencing Victorian literature - check. Plodding and repetitive. Mr Harris - I think there’s a half decent song in here actually, the execution just isn’t right. Vocal isn’t strong enough and is also too high in the mix. I Could Hurt You Now - Strange verses that sound like it’s trying to be ‘dark’. Chorus is more bland pop-rock. I Know There’s A Word - That word you’re looking for? Boring. I’ve Had it - There are places where she just doesn’t hit the notes. This is another really boring one. Way Back When - Certainly not the worst verse on the album. A bit of whimsy that’s not too twee, and then the chorus is just rubbish. Forget what I said. The outro is way too twee. Piss off Aimee.

7/10 I’ve never really listened to much Neil Young outside of the radio hits, but I liked this. I do listen to a bit of early blues here and there and there are obviously big echoes of some of that music in here. The title track is a bit of a standout for me, but there are some other really good tunes in there too. In retrospect, Walk On is a bit of an odd album opener as the rest of the album is definitely more melancholic and bluesy, even on the more upbeat cuts, but perhaps that just goes to emphasise the emotion throughout the rest of the album. I’m pretty sure I’ll be back to this one as I enjoyed my second run through more than my first. Walk On - What a great little opener. I really like the transition between the pre-chorus and the chorus. It’s got a really nice swagger. See the Sky About to Rain - Big echoes of Heart of Gold in the vocal for this one for me. Nice song though. I’m a sucker for an electric piano and the Wurlitzer on this is lovely. Revolution Blues - A nice change of pace, this is a really great track. It’s got a good groove but is also somehow a little sinister. For the Turnstiles - I like this too. It’s got an old-school blues sound. Simple, but effective. Lacking in anything bassy which makes it sound a bit thin. Vampire Blues - Another decent bluesy number. Really like the chorus on this one. On the Beach - Immediately sounds more melancholic. This is one for when you’re wallowing in your own self pity. I love the dark, smoky atmosphere this evokes. There’s a little bit of hope and optimism that seeps through here and there. Dark times with a hint of dawn in the distance. Motion Picture (For Carrie) - This one was ok. A bit more pedestrian without the depth to some of the other tracks. Liked the harmonica solo. Ambulance Blues - I liked some aspects of this, others less. Liked the violin, but I’m not keen on this type of harmonica playing. That sort of rhythmical blowing on chords without picking out a note just sounds a bit lazy to me. This was too long as well. Thought int was finishing and there were three minutes left.

6/10 This was a very nice album. Paul Simon always seems like he’s singing from the heart and there’s nothing bad on this album at all, but there’s also not a lot of songs that would be troubling his ‘best of’ selection in my opinion. Honestly, I feel this is one of those ones that’s quite an odd inclusion on a list like this. It’s not his first album, it’s not even his first debut album (although his first only had a limited release), it doesn’t really do anything that groundbreaking, as far as I can tell, and it’s definitely not his best album. His voice is wonderful, his delivery is excellent and he’s clearly a very good songwriter. I did really enjoy listening to this one, though I still think I’m more likely to pop Graceland or Bridge Over Troubled Water over this if I’m in the mood for some Paul Simon. Glad to have been handed this one on a Monday morning though. Mother and Child Reunion - Nice enough reggae track. I like the melodies and the groove, but it does seem like a bit of a white boy distillation of a relatively new (at the time) music from Jamaican culture. Duncan - This is a more classic Paul Simon cut. I do like the way his vocal melodies move. Though I like it enough, I don’t think it does anything that interesting for a 5 minute song. Everything Put Together Falls Apart - A beautiful little piece of vocal work. Lovely. Run That Body Down - Another really nice track. He has such a great voice and I do like the way his vocals don’t always stick to the expected rhythm with the rest of the track. Armistice Day - Less keen on this one. There are elements that I like about it, but it never really lands on a memorable hook. Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard - Love this tune. This is the one I knew best from this album beforehand and it really is a standout. Joyful. Peace Like a River - Quite a tonal shift from Julio. Very pretty song with a sombre edge and some really nice guitar parts. Papa Hobo - A pleasant enough song, but it does kind of feel like we’re on a wind-down now. Hobo’s Blues - Jaunty little intermission. Paranoia Blues - A good little bluesy number. Good, but not really standout. Congratulations - A bit of an understated closer. Again, very nice, but it doesn’t really do anything to stand out.

9/10 Stevie really is one of those artists that, while being one of the most highly-rated musicians of all time, could still be considered under-rated. Yeah, he wrote (or co-wrote) some of the greatest songs ever, he’s a virtuoso on anything with a keyboard and he’s got one of the greatest (and most versatile) voices in popular music. But he also played nearly all of the main parts on the album too. All of the drums - Stevie. All of the bass (except the opener) - Stevie (playing a Moog). Oh, and he was the lead producer too. I feel like there are some very slight lulls in this album and it’s probably my 3rd favourite of his albums, but it’s still an exceptional piece of work. While a couple of the songs won’t be troubling my favourites lists, as a part of the album as a whole they combine to make something that flows so beautifully and really encapsulates the concept an album as a coherent singular piece of art. That opening to side two is just ridiculous too. The one, two punch of Superstition and Big Brother? Do behave yourself. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life - It’s a love song, but it’s got such a funky little undercurrent with the gorgeous Rhodes and Bass that just walks all over the place. Beautiful harmonies too. Maybe Your Baby - Again, the staccato funk from the combination of clavinet and Moog is so good. I love the way Stevie’s vocals just dive around all over the place but never seem set-indulgent or overdone. He doesn’t sound like he’s being a try hard, just that he can’t help his should taking over. That being said, this is too long. You and I - A more understated track. It’s nice, but not spectacular. Tuesday Heartbreak - Now we’re talking. What’s better than the Rhodes in track one and the Clavinet and Bass in track two? All three together. I’m not sure it’s possible to listen to this without at the very least tapping your toe. If you manage it, you’ve got no soul. You’ve Got It Bad Girl - This has some really beautiful harmonies. More of a jam piece than some of the tighter tracks on the album, but there’s so much talent in there that it’s a jam I’m happy to listen to. Superstition - I mean, it’s Superstition. The Clavinet does so much to bring the groove. The vocal is fantastic. And Stevie played everything on the track except the horns. Big Brother - Another absolute banger. Such a groove, and political Stevie somehow manages to be both funky and biting in his delivery. I love Stevie playing the harmonica and while it takes more of a backseat here than it does in some of his other tracks, it’s still so so good here. Blame It On The Sun - Slowing down the tempo for a love song, but there is so much going on here, it’s still fantastic. Little trills all over the place from the piano, guitar, even some lovely drum fills. And it still grooves. Lookin’ For Another Pure Love - The different instruments wash in and out of focus in this so nicely. Oh, and here’s a solo from Jeff Beck. I love the way all of the vocal lines compliment each other and again, the musicianship on show lends more of a jam feel to this one. I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever) - Bit more of a cheesy closer, but the way this ebbs and flows is great. And the vocal layering that builds in the second half is just great.

4/10 While I enjoyed this as a background listen, I find it quite an odd inclusion on this list. A collection of songs that weren’t written by the artist and, in every case that I could find, had been released by a different artist prior to this album being released. There also wasn’t much to differentiate these from the originals either. To be fair, that was just part of the way things were done at the time, but it hardly screams ‘must listen example of the art form’ to me. Dusty obviously has a lovely voice and when she got to stretch it out a bit it was really enjoyable to listen to, but I did find there were a few too many bland songs that didn’t really do a lot for me. I’ll happily listen to a few of these tracks again in the future on a playlist, but I doubt I’ll be actively seeking them out or bothering with the full album again in a hurry. Mama Said - I do like the vocal melody on this. It’s a nice little pop song. You Don’t Own Me - I really like the transition between the brooding versus and the more uplifting chorus. Another good little song. Do Re Mi - Another nice pop song. It’s like the way the bass moves the track around and it’s got a good groove. When The Love Starts Shining Thru His Eyes - In the chorus, it felt a bit like the lyrics had been written and then forced into the song despite the fact that they didn’t quite scan properly. OK, but not really interesting. My Colouring Book - This was a bit boring. Mockingbird - This was also a bit boring. Didn’t do a great deal. Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa - This was a bit more interesting, but I do feel like I’ve heard a lot of songs that sound quite similar to this but do it better. Nothing - Better groove to this one and she’s got the chance to showcase her vocal control a bit more. I did like this, but again it did remind me of something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Anyone Who Had A Heart - Nice enough. Again, a bit boring. Will You Love Me Tomorrow - This one’s a bit of a classic. Great tune, but we’re also going to hear it later in this project sung by the original composer, so… Wishin’ And Hopin’ - Another nice pop song but a bit bland. Don’t You Know - Strong closer. A good groove and she got to really work her voice on this one.

6/10 Looking at this purely from a modern angle, one could consider this to be pretty tame, but given that it was released in 1973, I suspect it was far more of a fresh and heavy sound at the time. It seems to take a lot of older rock ’n roll stylings and throw a bit of aggression and attitude over the top of it. It worked better in some places than others, but I thought the general vibe was good. You can definitely hear a load of things across the album that are direct influences to bands that would follow. I bet these guys were an absolute riot live. From a musical point of view, I think you’re either going to gel with the vocal style or absolutely hate it. As someone who listened to a variety of punk growing up, it worked fine for me, except when he tried to actually sing in a more traditional way, when it just fell to pieces. On my second listen, I felt the second half of the album was stronger, but maybe I was just getting into it a bit more. I’m definitely glad to have heard this and I did really like a few of the songs. Not one for the regular rotation, but a great pick for the project. Personality Crisis - This is quite fun. A bit of bluesy r&b slapped about with a proto-punk attitude. Looking For A Kiss - This is a bit more tame and doesn’t really pull off the attempted attitude as well. Vietnamese Baby - A decent Little Rock ’n Roll number. Nothing that special but ok. Lonely Planet Boy - A softer song like this really exposes the singers voice. It works for the more punky, heavy stuff, but it doesn’t sound good here. Boring song too. Frankenstein - Again, this one doesn’t do anything that interesting. The attitude and vocal works better here and I don’t mind it, but it’s just a bit samey. Trash - This is a weird crossover between punk and jangle-pop. I can hear elements of a lot of things that were to follow in this track alone. Fun if a little too repetitive. Bad Girl - The structure of this was less repetitive and I quite liked it. The vocal worked really well with a song like this. Dirty Rock ’n Roll. Subway Train - Another decent one. There was a nice groove to it and it had a good dynamic change between the verse and chorus. Pills - Anther good one. It’s a fairly straightforward bluesy rock ’n roll number, but it’s good and has a nice bit of attitude. Private World - Another good little tune. Maybe a bit too similar to the songs that surround it, but decent nonetheless. Jet Boy - This one seemed to be going the same way as the last few tracks, but it really hit its stride about a minute and a half in. Good riffs, good pace and a good mix of vocal styles from the lead to the backing vocals.

6/10 This has always been the one out of Stevie’s golden period that I was never really sold on. It’s just a bit too pedestrian for me and I typically think that his more laid back love songs don’t stand up in comparison to his more upbeat, funky and jazzy stuff. I think they can work as part of a more varied and more structured album selection, but these aren’t some of his better slow songs, in my opinion, and there are just too many of them in one place. There are little touches here and there that I just love, but I will nearly always find myself reaching for Songs in the Key of Life or Innervisions over this. I think the mix of the album doesn’t actually help it as some of the tracks just seem a little busy and the groove gets a bit lost, which on an album with quite this many slower songs doesn’t help to give it the juice it needs. I don’t think it’s a bad album, I just don’t think its up to the standard that he can hit, which makes it a little bit disappointing. Smile Please - Nice, smooth opener. It’s a cool little track and the little nuances give it interest. It’s got a subtle groove that I like. Heaven is 10 Zillion Light Years Away - There are elements of it that I do really like, but it does drift a bit too much. That being said, I did find myself toe tapping for the duration. Too Shy To Say - This is more boring. Nice enough, but just doesn’t do enough for me. Boogie On Reggae Woman - Classic. Such a tune. The different rhythmical elements of this track just give it so much groove. I love the way the jazzy piano just drifts in and out of focus too. Always dig a Stevie harmonica solo too. Creepin’ - Again, elements of this that I enjoyed, but it was just a bit pedestrian and not that engaging. You Haven’t Done Nothin’ - Another great groove on this one. Doesn’t really offer much in the way variety through the track though. It Ain’t No Use - I like this track. Good groove, nice layered vocals, but overall just doesn’t grab you the way his better work does. They Won’t Go When I Go - This one’s just a bit dull, especially for a 6 minute run time. Bird Of Beauty - There’s a decent shuffled rhythm to this, and it has hints of that Stevie staccato funk, but it just doesn’t have enough of a drive to my ear. It sort of lands somewhere between two worlds and ends up sounding a bit muddled. Please Don’t Go - Again, there are bits here that I like, but as a whole it doesn’t quite click for me in the way my favourite Stevie stuff does. It ends up sounding a bit too cluttered towards the end too.

7/10 This is a funny old album. It felt like a bit of a pick and mix at the beginning and the interstitial pieces didn’t really bring much to the party, but boy does this grow as it goes. Honestly, if you’d had started at Super Rich Kids, I think I would be ranking this much higher. Albums with little micro-tracks and interstitials can sometimes work really well, like in ArchAndroid by Janelle Monae, where they tie the concept of the album together, or in Boards of Canada albums where they just add little musical flourishes, but here, I think they don’t necessarily add much to the overall feel of the album. His voice is like cream in places, although there were times (particularly Thinking Bout You) where the vocal line didn’t work for his voice. There were also quite a few moments where his voice was way too dominant in the mix, but I think that’s probably due to the hip-hop production style. First time I listened through, there were bits that I liked, but on the second listen, I really started to groove with it, especially during the second half of the record. I think there’s a *really* good 35 minute album in here. But he released a 55 minute one, which just drags it down for me. Start - It’s an intro. Like he pocket dialled when turning on his arcade machine. Thinking Bout You - The verses have a nice groove, but I cannot gel with his falsetto in the chorus on this at all. Sounds so thin and forced. Fertilizer - The snippet of tune here is actually quite good, but I don’t really get the point of it. Sierra Leone - This has some potential, but it doesn’t really seem to settle on an idea until half way through, and then it’s over too quickly. Sweet Life - It feels like we’re getting into the swing of things now. The lead vocal is oddly high in the mix and the rest of the track gets a little bit lost because of it, which is a shame. Otherwise, this is a good one. Not Just Money - This interstitial seemed to actually have a bit more of a point to it, particularly followed up with the next track, but it was also hard to hear what was being said. Super Rich Kids - Another good track. His vocal is definitely at its best here. A good blend of hip-hop and Neo soul, and a nice juxtaposition between the very staccato rhythm and the smooth vocal during the sung parts. Pilot Jones - The falsetto sounds a bit better here. Again, there are elements of this that I really like, but it does seem to build momentum that then drifts away a little too much. Crack Rock - I liked this one too. A nice groove, but I didn’t feel like it added enough variety to different sections of the song. Pyramids - I really love some of the stuff in this track. Went a bit ‘dance floor rave synth’ in the middle, which I was less keen on. But as a whole, this was pretty strong for a ~10 minute track. Lost - This is a great track. A good groove, smooth vocals and all tied together with really nice instrumentation. White - Nice little instrumental. Not much to write about, in reality. Monks - I liked this one too. A little disjointed in places, but it was decent enough. Bad Religion - This is a great track. Soulful, a powerful vocal, a solid groove and plenty of dynamic in the backing. Really good. Pink Matter - Another good one. Again, a powerful, soulful vocal. The bass slaps (literally) in this one too. The track (minus the vocal) sounds a bit like it was pulled together from some Prince deep cuts, or something from The Plant Life. Like it. Forrest Gump - Another nice one. Perhaps a bit less interesting than some of the preceding tracks, but it’s not bad at all. End - A little drift away from the tail end of the album. Worked as a closer.

2/10 This doesn’t really do much for me. I think there are much better examples of similar music of the time, like Simple Minds or Tears for Fears, both of which had already released better music by the time this had come out. Weirdly, the label were apparently interested in the singer, but not so keen on the rest of the band. I think he’s the worst bit. He’s not a bad singer, but his delivery is all over the shop and lyrically it feels a bit like a teenager who thinks they’re deep. He’s also really having to work to fit some of the lyrics in with the rest of the song. I think there are some kernels of quality hidden in some of these tracks that having a really strong producer might have teased out, but even the production is a real mixed bag. I started getting more annoyed at this towards the second half of the album. Funnily enough, the version I listened to on Qobuz had a bunch of bonus tracks. They were way better than anything on the album and the production was SO much more subtle. But we’re not here to judge them by their outtakes. Overall, I’m not quite sure what to make of it. I don’t think it was as bland as Aimee Mann. But I also think that her album was more consistent and had better production. I’ll have to rank them equal. Bury Me Deep in Love - This sounds like it’s supposed to be epic and massive, but it just seems hollow. Likewise, the main lyric seems like it’s supposed to be really profound, but just feels awkward. This track was used in Neighbours for the wedding of Harold and Madge. Seems about right. Kelly’s Blues - This is a better song, but it’s also not that interesting. It’s very 80’s. A Trick of the Light - Some truly awful keyboard/synth tones on this. Very meandering and the lyrics seem somewhere between try-hard and didn’t try hard enough. Hometown Farewell Kiss - There are some nice ideas in this one, but the execution and the production just let those ideas down. And it gets more cheesy the longer it goes on. Unmade Love - This seemed to be building up, but never actually arriving anywhere. Just a bit dull. Open For You - This is just terrible. Sounds like a bad children’s Christian rock song. Holy Water - Some really odd choices in this one. A sort of steel drum synth patch and then some church bells followed by a terrible synth flute. And the lyrics are woeful. He couldn’t even be bothered to write some of them and just did do-do-dos. Underneath it all, I don’t think it’s actually a bad song, but it’s been produced to sound half way between a Christmas song and a calypso. Blinded By the Hour - Again, there are some decent elements to this one. But overall it’s a bit boring and doesn’t execute very well. And then it’s got a piano ;playing out of key in the background near the end. Vagabond Holes - Another one where there’s something decent in there somewhere, but executed poorly with bad lyrics. I particularly dislike the machine gun snare drum. Jerdacuttup Man - I quite like this one actually, but it really reminds me of something else that I can’t quite put my finger on what. The vocal delivery feels a bit try-hard and there’s too much reverb. Calenture - This is a strange little interlude. Don’t really see what it adds. Save What You Can - A ballad with tortured lyrics that sounds like the cleanest pop production of the whole album? Why not. It’s quite boring.

7/10 Radiohead are a unique band. In my opinion, it’s all of the thought that goes into the smaller elements of their songs that really elevate them, the little samples or synth parts that just emphasis a section or provide sonic interest or depth. While a lot of bands will repeat a verse with different words, Radiohead often have some completely different ear candy that separates one section or verse from another. How much of this comes from the band and how much from Nigel Godrich, I could only guess, but he’s essentially a band member at this point really anyway. This album was created out of the sessions for Kid A and released only 8 months later. To me, this does show and, while there’s a lot to like about some of the tracks, it overall does fell a bit like a b-sides and outtakes record. The highs are high indeed, but it has a less coherent sound than some of their other albums. Overall, I think this is very good and some bits of it are top tier, but they are capable of much better than this, and we’ll be hearing a few of them further down the line. Packt Like Sardines In a Crushd Tin Box - I love the staccato nature of the rhythms on this track, set against the smoother, flowing tones from the lead vocal and other instrumentation. There’s plenty of interest in the ever-changing accompaniment if you listen more deeply. Pyramid Song - I absolutely love the way the piano drags the rhythm in this track. It’s a really beautiful piece that just swells and then ebbs away again. Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors - I really like elements of this. You can definitely hear the Aphex Twin influence in this one. But it is a bit samey. These types of tracks can really work in an album, but I just think it’s a bit too long for what it is. You And Whose Army? - A decent song and it builds nicely, but it’s not one of the better ones on the record. I Might Be Wrong - That guitar riff is great and some of the rhythms here are great. There is some interesting elements that come and go through the track too, but it is a little on the repetitive side. Knives Out - Sometimes Radiohead thread the needle between sounding utterly depressed and somehow uplifting at the same time. This is one of those. Great track. Morning Bell/Amnesiac - A worse version of a track from the last album. Strange choice and only emphasises the ‘Kid A Offcuts’ nature of this album. Dollars and Cents - Quite an understated one here in some respects, but it’s got some of those great harmonic backing vocals and does the ebb and flow thing nicely again. Doesn’t sound like there’s too much going on if you just let it wash over you, but there are a load of interesting nuggets if you listen more closely. Hunting Bears - I don’t mind a palate cleanser here and there on an album and this one’s ok. Nothing too interesting really, but settles you for the next one. Like Spinning Plates - Radiohead do unsettling really well, and this is a great example. The flickering rhythms, the slow drifting of the instrumentation and vocal. Lovely stuff. Life In a Glasshouse - I feel like this one’s just a bit disjointed from the rest of the album. There are elements of it that I like, but it just feels a bit disorganised. Not bad, but just not great.

5/10 There was some stuff on here that I did really like, and it’s clear that this has had a significant impact on the emergence of the grime scene and the empowerment of disenfranchised people, which is only to be applauded. That alone makes its place on this list valid. But from a personal point of view, I found the production of quite a few tracks to be grating. There were some odd choices to have some elements of tracks dominate the mix to an extent that they were distracting from what was a decent track underneath. There were also times when the repetitively of a track just made it tiring to listen to. A two or four bar loop for 4 minutes without much variety around it just doesn’t do it for me. I often found myself thinking that if the vocal was more prominent and there was a bit more variety between verse and chorus, I would appreciate some of these tracks much more. When he got it right, though, there were some really good moments. Fix Up, Look sharp, Round We Go, Jus’ A Rascal were all great tracks, for example. I feel like if this had a more experienced hand in the producers chair and if the album had been stripped back to 10 tracks, this could have really floated my boat more than it ended up doing. Sittin’ Here - There are bits about this that I like, the overlapping vocals, the cadence of the beats, but the main melodic hook does just get a bit tiring after a while. Could do with more variety. Stop Dat - More variety on this one. The tonal elements seem a bit disjointed, but the focus is always on the vocals, beats and bass, which is always the main driver in this type of music. I Luv U - There’s more structure to this one and it probably works better because of it. I’m not massively keen on some of the sounds, but it’s a decent track. He self produced this age 16. Brand New Day - There’s a bit of theme building now. The synth bell tones that kind of dominate the mix just don’t do it for me. Under that there’s a pretty decent tune, but it is getting swallowed a bit by something that is slightly annoying and too much of a focus. 2 Far - It’s less dominant here, but there is a ‘Uh-Uh’ sample that is too loud in the mix and too relentless. I actually really like the track apart from that, the flow of the rapping is great and it’s got a good bet, but that sample is so distracting. Fix Up, Look Sharp - This is much better. The mix isn’t dominated by anything annoying. The vocals sit front and centre, the beat is beefy, if simple, the structure is good. Nice. Cut ‘Em Off - The production gives this an interesting vibe. It’s dark and brooding with a layer of aggression. Not bad, but perhaps a bit too repetitive. Hold Ya Mouf - I like this one. The beat has got a groove and there’s a bit more variety to different sections of the track. That being said, the melodic motif that runs through the duration is a bit annoying, but less dominant than on other tracks. Round We Go - Back to having a bit more of a sectional structure here and it really helps. Tracks like this one are the best ones on the album. Good grooves, great vocals and enough variety to keep things interesting. Jus’ A Rascal - This is a banger. Aggressive and driving. Wot U On? - Decent tune. That kick drum / bass is too much though and it’s quite long and relentless because of it. Jezebel - This one’s a bit annoying. The lilt of the beat/vocal/pizzicato strings just jars with me a bit. Seems 2 Be - This was ok. I feel like the nature of the album is starting to drag on me now though, to be honest. It’s not got a great deal of variety to it. Live O - Another one with an over-loud and repetitive element that dominates the mix. Does that high-pitched tone need to be that loud and insistent? Do It - I really like the vocal in this one, but I’m definitely getting to the point of being tired out by the musical content being a two bar loop that just repeats for the duration.

10/10 This album is so punk despite not really being punk at all. They do drift into a more punky sound on Shadowplay and Interzone, and you can clearly hear that influence, but the album as a whole is something else entirely. They’re clearly quite raw musicians, but they manage to produce some immensely evocative music. You would never get an album that sounded like this released today, because all the little fluffs and oddities would have been tweaked out of it before release, but to me it really adds to the overall vibe of the album. It feels like the band are teetering on the precipice of madness and trying to scream back how it feels to those further from the edge. Even Ian Curtis’ vocal, which frequently grasps quite loosely at the edge of tuning, just adds to the sense of anxiety that permeates the whole album. The production is magnificent too and was, I imagine, quite groundbreaking at the time. The little ear candy pieces like smashing of glass, and other sonic oddities that add variety and ambience to the music really help elevate it, and are clear influences on the later production of Radiohead in particular. This album feels like a real pillar for what would follow, with the emergence of alt-rock and grunge, and I really don’t think we’d have had bands like Pixies, Nirvana and Radiohead in the same way without this. Despite what others may see as flaws worthy of lowering the rating of the album, I feel that everything just melds together into something that is way beyond the sum of its parts. A brilliant, brilliant album. Disorder - Good track that’s both melodic and intense. There are some weird choices and mistakes(?) in the bass line, but the overall vibe is great. And it gets even more intense and massive as it crescendos. Day of The Lords - There’s a sense of brooding dread about this. It’s very atmospheric and massive sounding. A really great track. Candidate - This is more sparse and scatterbrained, but in a brilliant way. It drops down to almost nothing, in places but with these echoes of terrifying ambience in the background, but sweeps into cacophany now and again. Insight - Sonically, this is quite interesting, from the vocal that sounds like it’s being sung into a cardboard box, to the synth resonance sweeps. Lovely stuff. New Dawn Fades - This is quite a beautiful song to me. It sounds so full and atmospheric and builds from contemplative and melancholic to distraught and then just drifts away to a lonely beat. She’s Lost Control - Great riffs, great production, haunting vocals. Great track. It really drives, and the cluttered nature of the parts just flow over one another in quite a chaotic but visceral way. Shadowplay - Another great track. It ebbs and flows in a really nice way. The vocal harmonies are great too when they appear. The guitar sounds really good, despite being quite different than much of the rest of the album. Wilderness - Another one where it builds and drops, but with that swirling drum beat always driving it forward. Interzone - The call overlapping call and response of the vocal and how it follows the guitar line is great. The guitar recalls more of the sound from Shadowplay again with its more punk style. There’s a good groove to this one and it’s probably the most punky song on the record, but it still has that unmistakable Joy Division sound. I Remember Nothing - A dark and brooding track. The dissonant vocals that overlap one another add to the eerie ambience of the track. It does expose some of the weaknesses in Ian Curtis’ voice, but that does lend an element of madness to the sound. I really love the vibe of this one. It’s like a glimpse into the mind of someone desperately trying to hold it all together. A fitting end to the album.

7/10 This was an enjoyable listen. I felt like it got so close in places, but often didn't quite stick the landing for me. There was often a drifting quality to the songs that frequently didn't quite land on a hook that was completely satisfying. It was also a bit of a patchwork that didn't really flow that well through all of the styles it touched on and did seem to jump around quite a lot. There are big echoes of Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu in places (a very good thing), but the consistency wasn't quite there for the duration. It's clear she has a very special voice and understanding of how it works with the rest of the music, but this really has the hallmarks of a debut that she hasn't quite grabbed hold of her own style for quite yet. That being said, it's absolutely stacked with potential. Intro / Stronger Than Me - Not sure what the point of the into bit is. But the actual song is great. A nice blend of soul, jazz and hip-hop. She moves so nicely between smooth and biting on her vocal delivery. You Sent Me Flying / Cherry - the first half drifts around nicely enough, but doesn't really land anywhere until almost three minutes in. I feel like she over does the singing on this one and it gets a bit too warbly and 'look what I can do'. The Cherry bit is a nice little mini track. But why isn't it a separate track. Weird. Know You Now - This reminds me quite a lot of Lauryn Hill. I like it, and it has a good groove, but it doesn't quite land on something completely satisfying to me. Fuck Me Pumps - great track. It's fairly simple, but it has a quite naive, playful tone, which contrasts nicely with the lyrics. I Heard Love Is Blind - another one that's nice, but doesn't really find a solid hook for me. Moody's Mood For Love / Teo Licks - This one's a cover, so doesn't suffer from the same drifting nature of some of the others. I like the dub edge to the production, and it's just a satisfying jazz number. As with Cherry, I don't quite understand why these little inter-track nuggets aren't separated. (There Is) No Greater Love - A jazz standard. Really shows of her vocal in a more subtle way and she's not trying too hard on this one. Lovely. In My Bed - This is a good track. Much more hip-hop from a production point of view. Quite a lot of interesting instrumental elements too. Take The Box - another really nice track. The horns are used sparingly but beautifully. And she saves the vocal gymnastics for key moments. October Song - back to something with a bit more drive. It's another one that sort of drifts around a bit and never really lands on anything too hooky, but it is very good. What Is It About Men - this is quite reminiscent of Erykah Badu. I like it, but it's another drifter. I kept waiting for it to land on a solid chorus that never came along. Help Yourself - Hurrah, a chorus! This is really good. Light hearted, leaves good room for Amy to do her thing, but again, she doesn't overdo it. Really nice. Amy Amy Amy - another Erykah Badu-a-like. It's a good track, but another one that doesn't fully land on anything particularly special for me. Outro - It's just a bit of outro stuff. Nothing exciting. Brother - this has got a great groove to it and the vocal is top notch. Surprising that this is a hidden track as I'd say it was stronger track than a few on the main run. Mr Magic (Through The Smoke) - this is great. Hits all the right notes for me. Great groove, solid vocal, great hooks and a funky sax solo. Might be the best on the album and it's a real odd one to hide!

6/10 This is a bit of a funny album. To start with, I was really enjoying it, but I did feel it started to drift after the first few tracks. It’s very ronseal, in that it’s kind of the perfect music for the chill out room at a rave, a relaxed DJ set or an after party. Smokers delight indeed. I would happily have this album on now and then as background accompaniment, but I did have to keep skipping back while doing my song-by-song, because it frequently failed to cling onto my full attention. Some of the tracks really didn’t have enough variety to keep my mind fully engaged. Perhaps that’s partly the way my brain works, as I did have a similar complaint about overly repetitive motifs in Boy In Da Corner when we listened to that one. I suppose I’ll likely never stick this album on to just listen to it, and there are trip-hop albums that I certainly would do that with, but I can definitely see its place and it’s a very good album when placed in the right environment. A little hard to pick a rating for this one, but I think shooting somewhere down the middle is probably fair, and it’s getting 6 rather than 5 for that touch of nostalgia. Nights Introlude - A great little groove of a track that really sets the tone for the record. A good deal of this is sampled from Summer In The City by Quincy Jones, but NOW translates the vibe into something fresh. And the pads and strings that swell through sections are so 90s electronica. Dreaddoverboard - I used to run an electronica night at uni and played this one a lot. This has edges of dub, but sits firmly in the Trip-Hop wheelhouse (although NOW would disagree). The sections ebb and flow nicely, but there’s a nice drive that keeps the flow going throughout. Pipes Honour - A sparser arrangement here and a groove largely lifted from The Soul of a Black Man by Maceo Parker (legend). This is so chill and groovy. Me And You - Nice little interlude. Nothing special. Stars - Back to something more dub edged. This one’s a little too repetitive for me in places. The electric piano is a bit relentless. Wait A Minute / Praying For A Jeepbeat - Bit of a weird one. Just a sort of cluster of bits and pieces really. Groove Street - This is ok. A bit too repetitive and long, so got a bit boring. Time (To Listen) - Another interlude (Man) Tha Journey - This one’s definitely got more drive to it, but there are sections where I wanted it to throw in a bit more variety as it was getting a bit samey. Bless My Soul - A nice chilled groove. It’s not the most interesting, but it’s ok. Cruise (Don’t Stop) - A bit more variety and interest here. A nice bouncy beat and some of the samples add some nice lilt to the groove. Mission Venice - A nice, shorter track, The idea is decent, but it’s just very samey throughout, despite the dub mixing of the different parts. What I’m Feelin (Good) - This was better. Another short one, but it felt like there was just more variety to keep the momentum up. Rise - Another nice one. Not the most interesting of tunes, but a decent, relaxing little number. Rise (Reprise) - Not sure why we needed to have another 1:46 of the same track really. Gambia Via Vagator Beach - This just doesn’t really go anywhere. Too much like a hippy drumming circle in the park for me.

7/10 This feels like a big transition album looking back to the Motown of old on the second side, but working with the fresh new sounds that Sly Stone was introducing on the first side. The grit and funk on Cloud Nine and Runaway Child is just fantastic, and the grooves just drive. I think as an album, its beneficial to look at this one as a record with two sides as they are very different to one another, but it was perhaps a bold choice to order the sides the way they did, as old school Temptations fans may not have got on board with side one, but for me it really works. The second half is more trad Motown sound, and they are very good at it, despite the fact that it doesn’t really break new ground in the way that the first half did. I was toe tapping, finger clicking and head bobbing my way through it all and, although it lulled a little in the later tracks, really came together again for the closer. Cloud Nine - This is a great tune, really leans into the psychedelic funk side of things and makes me think of Funkadelic, Sly Stone and that type of music that was starting to emerge at the time, rather than the more traditional Motown sound. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - A Motown classic. Not my favourite version, but the doo-wop swing on the vocal is great. It definitely has its own feel and sounds like they’re having a lot of fun. Runaway Child, Running Wild - Back to the more dirty funk side of things, this is just great. There’s plenty going on and it evolves through its runtime into so many different areas and pushes and pulls so nicely without ever loosing the thread of the groove, whether through the half with vocals, or the instrumental half. Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing - This takes us back to some more traditional Temptations fare. It’s still great, of course, just not quite as energetic and exciting as side one. Hey Girl - This is smooth. I love the way they’re able to rotate lead vocal duties between songs to give a different flavour across an album. Why Did She Have To Leave Me (Why Did She Have To Go) - This swings so nicely and is a proper finger clicker. The lead vocal on this is SO good. Love it. I Need Your Lovin’ - Another great track. A bit more low-key, but it just grooves. Great harmonies and the way the backing vocals intermingle with the lead is just lovely. Don’t Let Him Take Your Love From Me - There’s something very James Brown about this vocal. It’s perhaps one of the weaker songs on the album as it doesn’t do anything too interesting, but it’s by no means bad, just not as good as what came before. I Gotta Find A Way To Get You Back - Lovely grit to the vocal here, and it’s got a nice drive to it. It’s another good track, but not one of the top rankers. Gonna Keep On Tryin’ Till I Win Your Love - Closing the album in style. This is great. That strolling bass line is fantastic, the horns do some lovely little things and the vocals are just excellent, both lead and backing.

6/10 There are bits of this album that I really like. Our House is a massive highlight for me. I’m a big fan of an understated little piece of ‘everyday life’ music. Stylistically, it’s a million miles away, but it makes me think a little of Starfish And Coffee by Prince. Anyway. When they got a bit more bluesy-rock, I enjoyed that too, but I’m not a massive fan of the overuse of the type of block ‘wall of sound’ vocal harmonies that they use. They work in when used sparingly, but to my mind, the mixing of them dominates without providing a satisfying amount of space for the lead vocal to shine. With that in mind, the tracks I’d likely return to would probably be those with a more clear lead vocal, and with a bit of rock ’n roll grit to the track, like Almost Cut My Hair. In all honesty, while I did enjoy this, I feel like there’s music out there that I’d go to first that focus more on the elements I did enjoy. Glad to have heard it though. Probably a 5, but Our House just tickles my sentimental fancy, so it pops up by one. Carry On - This is a good start to the album. The opening guitar line bursts with enthusiasm and the harmonies throw a great vibe over it. Could do with a bit more movement in the harmonies, but they’re still good. It then moves into decent groove half way through. Nice little guitar licks that pop up here and there through the track, and that wah tone is great. Teach Your Children - This one’s a bit more saccharine. It’s nice enough, but it doesn’t really have the grit or drive that I liked from the first track. Definitely more meandering too, though it does have a nice toe-tapping rhythm from the guitar. Almost Cut My Hair - The vibe to this one is more back to what we had from Carry On. Kind of sits somewhere between Hendrix and The Eagles in terms of feel to me. I think the more driven guitar really works here and there’s plenty of space for them to have a bit more fun with their playing. Nice to hear a bit of variety from the vocal too and less emphasis on the harmonisations. That might have got tiring if it stayed for every track. Helpless - It feels like a theme is developing here. Back to a more of a softer ballad-esque track now. Again, it’s nice. The vocal has a vulnerable edge to it that I like, but I just wasn’t really that grabbed by this one. Woodstock - The theme continues. Back to something with a bit more of a rock ’n roll edge and a bit of drive. The interplay between the organ and the guitar is really nice. The backing vocals are more subtle through the verses, which gives the lead space to breathe, although they definitely kick in on the chorus. There’s a nice ‘I’m having fun over here’ guitar solo too. Deja Vu - I thought they were going to change the formula. Nice driven start for a minute and then bam. Slow song again. I do like the groove of this one and the dynamics build nicely too. Some interesting little nuggets from the different instruments too as the track progresses. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, but there are elements of this that I do really like. Our House - I love this tune. Written by Graham Nash on Joni Mitchell’s piano about the everyday happiness of their relationship. I like the innocence of it and the celebration of the satisfying mundanity of an established relationship. The vocal harmonies actually have more movement and less of a ‘wall of sound’ approach than on most of the rest of the album, which is way better. Sometimes simplicity is beauty. 4 + 20 - Nice enough piece of melancholy. Doesn’t really go anywhere, but it’s short enough. That ending is pretty good though. Country Girl - I think the album is getting a bit tired by this point. This has some nice enough moments, but it doesn’t really shine and we’re definitely on the wind down at this point. It feels like they’re trying to go with something epic, but it just seems busy and loud rather than big and grand to me. Everybody I love You - Lets finish off with some fun. Back to the more wall-of-sound harmonies. This lets loose a bit more and they get to have a bit of guitar fun, but it’s not the most interesting.

6/10 This album quite obviously exists in a very specific time and place, and that does make it a little harder on the ears than it would have been at the time, but I can totally see why this was one that broke through. It’s got rock style beats in places, it’s pretty easy to understand the lyrics, and it isn’t really offensive in any significant way. The call and response vocals have aged, as has the vocal delivery, which is very samey for the duration. There’s also the old school ‘rhyme all lines, regardless of how silly the lyrics end up sounding’ rather than any use of deeply considered lyrics, but if anything that probably helped them at the time. It’s silly, relatively inoffensive and also feels like something kids could easily rap along with. I think there’s an element of fatigue to the sound because of the tech they were using at the time. Drum machines were pretty new and didn’t offer much in the way of dynamic adjustment, compared to what we’re used to these days, so some of the snare fills in particular are pretty hard to listen to. It would also take a while before people became experts at working with the limitations of the time to pull something more interesting out of these machines. Despite its flaws, however, I did quite enjoy bits and pieces of this. It sounds like they’re having a lot of fun making it and I did find that infectious as I bopped along. I probably won’t be coming back to it as a full album, but would certainly dig hearing a song or two here and there in a playlist. And I don’t think its importance to the direction of music that would follow can be overestimated. Peter Piper - Some of the production on this immediately ages it, of course, but it’s a good opener. It’s undeniably silly, but they lean into it in such a way that it works. It’s nothing special by today’s standards, but it’s got a good groove and is great fun. It’s Tricky - Now this is a stone-cold classic. A catchy as hell chorus, solid beats and some fun rapping. Yeah, it’s very much of its time, but it’s also great fun. My Adidas - That orchestra hit scratching so clearly places this in a time in history. This one is less hooky and the drum programming is about as subtle as a brick to the face. Less interesting, but still not bad. Walk This Way - The first rap/rock crossover track? This is another classic. The production has still aged somewhat, but the guitar playing probably saves it a bit from being quite so ‘of it’s time’. It hangs around a bit too long in the outro, but it’s still good. Is It Live - More of the same as we heard from My Adidas really. Nothing too exciting these days, but a solid beat and some more silly lyrics. Perfection - This one drags and that ‘chorus’ is just incredibly low effort. Big old meh. Hit It Run - I don’t know if that’s supposed to be beatboxing or what, but it’s bad. This is a bit more upbeat, but things are starting to feel a bit tired now. The rhythms to the rapping are so samey from track to track that it’s all starting to run together a bit. Raising Hell - Back to some rock guitars, but we’re still on a similar vocal flow. Again, it’s ok, but the drums in particular have aged poorly and it’s just not that interesting of a tune. You Be Illin’ - This one’s got more swing to it. Good track, with a simple but funky chorus. It’s a bit too repetitive, although there is an attempt to inject a bit of variety here and there. I think I’d enjoy this one even more if I wasn’t 9 tracks in. Dumb Girl - This one’s just not that exciting. The ‘dumb’ sample is bad and it’s just a bit of a boring track in general. Son Of Byford - More bad beatboxing. And that’s about that. Proud to Be Black - It’s a bit too pedestrian. If they’d have cranked this up by 5-10bpm it could really pop. I’m glad a song like this ended up on one of the first big mainstream breakthrough hip-hop albums though. Something like this getting in the ears of black kids was probably empowering. And getting it into the ears of white kids could have been a bit of a barrier breaker.

10/10 This album is quite hard to listen to critically. I’ve heard it so many times, particularly as a child, that it’s almost impossible to separate the music from my personal connection with it. But I’ll do my best. This album (as with Thriller before it) is a triumphant combination of songwriting, production and vocal talent. Even listening to this today in a more ‘critical listening’ mode, there were little bits and pieces that sit deep in the mix and just throw continued variation, emphasis and interest that I’d not consciously noticed before. I think this is where Quincy Jones takes very good songwriting and elevates it with his production. And then Michael steps up to the mic and his vocal delivery (uhs, oohs, shamones and all) just smashes it out of the park. He conveys so much emotion, attitude and soul in his vocals, and even his little noises just expand on the production styling of Quincy Jones to keep momentum flowing and make sure things always stay interesting. I think if you were to give this exact same list of songs to another musician / producer combo, you’d probably end up with something far, far more mundane, but they just manage to weave pure gold out of each other and it’s a joy to listen to. Honestly, the only thing that slightly misses the mark on this album is the concept of Michael Jackson being some kind of badass. Songs like Bad and Dirty Diana have big echoes of a nerdy theatre kid thinking he’s a badass because he’s got a lead in West Side Story and gets to hold a knife. But putting that aside, I actually think this is a more consistently high-quality album that the more critically revered Thriller. But it also never quite reaches the heights of that album either. I listened to this through three times trying to find a reason to not give it full marks, but I just couldn’t. Bad - The least threatening man in the world (at least he is if you’re an adult) makes a song about being a tough guy. But it works; this is a great pop song. It probably doesn’t quite hold up as well thematically as an adult as it did when I was younger, but it really is well crafted. The way the different lines just guide you through the different sections is masterful. The Way You Make Me Feel - I have always loved the rhythm of the lead vocal in the verses on this track and how it pulls against the swing on the bass and drums. There’s just a whole load of groove to this and it’s great. Speed Demon - I always used to love this track with its completely mad bass line. I expect it’s a programmed DX-7, but it’s a pretty unhinged thing to just toss under a pop song. It’s still a good effort, but I can see why some people might see this one as a bit of a filler track. Mega 80s vibes. Liberian Girl - Quite a drop in pace for this one and a chance for Michael to show some of his vocal chops in a more exposed way. The guy had so much control. It’s another great pop song. The vocal harmonisations are really pretty, and while the rhythm is pretty stripped back, it still keeps things moving in a very satisfying way. Just Good Friend’s - To my mind, this is one of MJ’s best collaborations, even though it’s one that rarely gets mentioned. It’s so funky. Stevie Wonder (Michael’s 3rd cousin) doesn’t really appear until half way through, but when he does, he comes flying in with this really gritty delivery. Love it. This track really bounces, the synth lines are great and the overlapping vocals just keep kicking. Underrated magic. Another Part Of Me - Another one with a kicking groove. Michael and Quincy just don’t ever let things go stale. Even during a repeating section, there’s always little bits of ear candy, little riffs or lines that just keep up the momentum. I’d hate to manage a pro tools session with this many tracks, but on an analogue desk? Fuck off Quincy. Funky Bass line, quality transitions between verse and chorus, cool horns. Lovely stuff. Man in the Mirror - Home to the greatest key change in history? Quite possibly. It starts slow, but it has SO MUCH momentum and drive. Again, there are so many little bits and pieces in there underneath the main instrumentation. The lead vocal is ridiculously strong and the gospel choir is just gold. An exquisite pop song. I Just Can’t Stop Loving You - This is a more low-key effort. It’s probably the least interesting track on the album. Michael can generally elevate mediocre songs with his vocal delivery, and he does a good job here, but the lyrical content does seem a bit… dubious. Particularly given the, uh, ‘allegations’. Dirty Diana - This is almost like an audio play in places with the use of sound effects and the atmospheric production. Again, the lead vocal is super powerful. I think it’s a great song and something just a bit different from other Michael Jackson tracks up to this point, which makes it a great addition to the album. Quality guitars on this one too. Smooth Criminal - Absolute banger. Love the overlapping vocal lines all over the place, but particularly on the ‘Annie are you ok?’ bit. The instrumental break is so funky. The whole thing just moves. Bass line, that snare slap, the little staccato guitar lines. Fantastic. Leave Me Alone - This is another one that has got such drive and exquisite overlapping vocal lines. Structurally, it’s not necessarily the most interesting of tracks, but the Quincy / Michael combo just dust it with their magic yet again and turn in a very very good track.

2/10 I entered this with an open mind, having heard (but never closely listened to) Take Me Out more times than I can possibly imagine. And boy oh boy, this is just bad. First things first, Alex Kapranos just has a bad voice. His delivery is weak, his control is poor and the production just makes it even worse. Which brings me on to the other aspect of this album that I thought was awful. The production was terrible. If a producer handed this to me, I’d be speaking to the label about getting someone else to give it another go. The obsession with vocals that sound like they were recorded through two yoghurt pots and a piece of string is baffling. To a certain extent, there’s an element of punk to it, but the music just has none of the attitude and energy of a punk record, and the band are really not tight players at all, so it just sounds sloppy and cluttered. The separation between instruments is non-existent and it just ends up sounding like a muddy, jangly mess. I don’t really have much more to say about this one, really. There were some catchy elements to the songs, and I feel like, with a really good producer, something moderately tolerable could be moulded out of this, but it sounds like a demo rather than a finished album. I’m stunned that this won the Mercury Prize. Jacqueline - Quite an uninspiring start to things. He’s not got the voice for such an exposed intro to the album, and some of the lyrics are pretty tortured. Rhyming ‘spectacle’ with ‘wrecked a girl’. Ew. When the song kicks in, it’s just too repetitive and fairly uninteresting. When you’re basing a lot of the song on a two-bar riff, you need to make things more interesting around that and they just don’t. Tell Her Tonight - This is just messy. Playing staccato rhythms requires better precision in the performances than this. Fells a bit like a cluster of demo ideas chucked together. Take Me Out - The big single. I’ve never listened to this closely before, but I’ve probably heard it half a million times. God damn is this production sloppy. The rhythm guitar part somehow clashes with the lead and just leaves a cluttered mess. I can see why it was the big single. It’s got a catchy riff and the memorable chorus. But that’s about it. The Dark Of The Matinée - This is probably a better song than Take Me Out. There’s a bit more invention to it, and more contrast between verse and chorus, and it’s got a decent groove to it. But his lyrics are so rubbish, and his voice still isn’t good. This also suffers from the undefined backing and cluttered production, this time between lead and backing vocals. Poorly structured harmonies and too much ‘singing down a phone line’ effect on the backing vox just leave another cluttered mess. Auf Achse - This has such a meandering start that I’m bored before the vocals actually start. The verse is boring, but here comes the chorus. Oh, that’s boring too. Cheating On You - Is this the best song yet? Probably. Manages to bring a bit of grit to meet the production half way. Decent riffs, but it does sound a bit like The Monkees cosplaying as Iggy and The Stooges. Not bad though. This Fire - Man, I really cannot get on board with this guy’s vocal delivery at all. Again, it lacks any sort of control, but without any of the emotion to make that make sense (no anger, angst or despair). The backing vocals just double down to make it messy and hard to tolerate. This is really boring too. Darts Of Pleasure - This one at least feels a bit more interesting. But it’s still like they’ve been listening to Joy Division, not really understood what makes them good, and stripped at all away. The gang vocals are annoying. The production is messy. And they don’t develop any of the ideas into anything that good. Michael - I can visualise the jerky staccato type of rhythm guitar playing that they employ all over this record, and it’s just relentlessly annoying. This song is boring and just lacks oomph. More sloppy production too. Come On Home - Oh, this intro at least sounds a bit more interesting. But when the vocal comes in, it’s just more of the same. Meh. 40’ - What happens when you remove the limited momentum that Franz Ferdinand has from their music? This. It meanders by and he restores to shit ‘la, la, la’ lyrics. I wonder if this track was titled 40’ because they wanted to make a 40 minute album, so they chucked this on at the end to fill up the time. They even failed at that, because it totals 38m 48s.

5/10 I have no real prior relationship with this album, having only listened to the odd track or two here and there in the past, so no nostalgia hit for me. I think my key issue with this album is that my primary focus on music is the music itself, whether that be tonal or rhythmical elements. Lyrics are always a secondary factor and the music here is just not very interesting most of the time, often just a two bar sample or synth line repeated for the whole track. Also, there are occasions (not loads, but enough) when Mike Skinners delivery just seems not that good either. He’s obviously written something that was narratively important to him, and had to sort of cram it into the space with rhythm being a secondary consideration, so it jars. Those assessments aside, there are some highlights to this. The last two tracks are great, and the general vibe of the album very clearly summons up clear characters, environments and a real space in time. It also feels like a very realistic portrayal of a lived experience and I do appreciate that narrative flow that exists through the album. I’m a sucker for a concept album, so that helps tick it up a little in my consideration, but I probably won’t be hurrying back to this one. Twice was enough. It Was Supposed to Be so Easy - Not the most auspicious start to an album. Mike Skinner is no singer. The sample used for almost the full duration is quite annoying and very oddly edited. Not very interesting either. Could Well Be In - This is much better. He backs up his singing with some backing vocals that help ground it a little. The music is pretty samey throughout, but this is more about the narrative really. A much more pleasant listen though and very much establishes its place in working class Britain at the turn of the century. Not Addicted - The singing here is a bit annoying again. The verses are decent, but the chorus rubs me the wrong way. And there are bits when the lyrics just don’t fit with the rhythm, so doesn’t scan well at all and sound forced, which is pretty criminal for rap based music. Blinded by the Lights - Better again. It’s obviously pretty repetitive, but focusing on the narrative, it really works. When he leaves the melodic elements to another vocalist, it is so much for the better. Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way - Another one where the singing is better, but I feel it may have been better with a more legato delivery. The whole thing is pretty relentlessly juddery. It does reflect the indecisively jittery nature of the lyrics though, so I guess it makes sense. Get Out of My House - This one is just a bit annoying. A return to a bit of Mike Skinner singing on his own, which is so weak. The melodic content is relentless. Fit but You Know It - Back to something a bit better. Again, it’s not musically interesting, but at least there’s a bit of variation between sections. Such a Twat - Another two bar sample that provides almost the whole musical content of the track. It’s just not very interesting. What Is He Thinking? - Here we go. Another two bar sample. The lyrical cadence here is often very irritating too. As with other tracks, this moves the narrative along, but musically it’s repetitive and pretty uninteresting. Dry Your Eyes - Best track on the album by quite a long way. Musically, it’s got a bit more variety to it and it’s also subtle enough that the vocal really takes the lead and the narrative is centre stage in a way it’s not on many other tracks. It’s his strongest singing performance too and the limitations of his voice actually really work with the tone of the song. Empty Cans - I really like the ambience that this one builds. It’s dark and brooding and the tonal content sits back in the mix to leave the vocals more prominent. The synth that echoes the vocal line in the chorus is just annoying though. I fell like he should have chosen an ending though, rather than taking the cowards way out and including two endings. The second version is by far the better. If he’d have blended the two with things starting off badly and getting better it would have been very satisfying both narratively and musically.

8/10 This is a very good album with, in my opinion, a very odd flaw. It comes out of the blocks brilliantly with The Queen Is Dead. It’s a quality track and sets the album up to be something very special, but then the following three tracks just sap that momentum almost immediately. If these tracks had been more evenly distributed through the rest of the album, I suspect they wouldn’t have had as much of an impact on the overall feel of the album for me, but I just feel like the track sequencing lets the flow of the album down a little too much. The production is excellent and there is a great deal of invention and musical interest throughout. People often speak glowingly of Jonny Marr, and I can really see why, but the unsung hero for me here is Andy Rourke on bass. He has some really great bass lines and just throws in little runs and fills every now and again that bring so much life to the bottom end of the album, it’s really delightful to listen to. They also really know when to build up a great harmonic blend of instrumentation at the right moments and that, combined with the tightness of the band set against the more fluid, flouncy vocals from Morrissey really work to develop such a specific and unique sound. This is definitely worth revisiting and I’m very glad to have heard it. The Queen Is Dead - This track moves. It’s got great momentum, the guitars are fantastic and the drums just give it such a great driving pulse. The tightness and thrust from the rest of the band really lays a bed for Morrisesy’s flouncy vocal to sit satisfyingly on top of. Frankly, Mr. Shankly - This is a bit plodding, particularly after the opener. Nice enough, although it is a bit boring, but blissfuly it does everyone a favour and lasts for just over two minutes. I Know It’s Over - This is nice. Sparse to begin with and ebbs and flows through its runtime and builds later on. Little bits and pieces of subtle interest that pop in and out like the strings and synths just add some depth to it too. It’s not really got the fire of the better tracks on the album, but is still decent. Never Had No One Ever - This one’s a bit dull. Not really a lot to say about it, to be honest. It’s meandering and doesn’t really feel like it goes anywhere. Cemetery Gates - I love the rhythmic balance of the different parts of this. The cadence of the guitar line is beautiful. The bass tone is really smooth. And this is pretty much Morrissey at his best. Everything about this song is just great. Bigmouth Strikes again - Another great track. I really like the choices Morrissey makes for some of his vocal lines here. There’s so much atmosphere and drive to this. It’s got pretty much every band member hitting it out of the park, with brilliant production that ties everything together with great clarity. The Boy with the Thorn in His Side - Another really good track. There are places where the lead vocal is just a bit too flouncy for me, but there are other places where it’s quite beautiful too. The interplay between the guitar and the strings is really lovely. Vicar in a Tutu - This is a bit weaker than what’s come before. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t feel as together as what’s come before. There just feels like there’s something missing to tie everything together. There Is a Light That Never Goes Out - Well this is obviously a classic. The juxtaposition between the music and the lyrics is brilliant. Even the vocal delivery just straddles that line between extreme happiness and depressing melancholy. Again, this is an example of every part being essentially perfect at delivering on what the song is trying to achieve. So good. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others - That little volume dip at the beggining is really weird. This is another great track with plenty of momentum. Quality guitar and bass playing as usual. It’s not really as interesting as other tracks, at least in part due to the pretty rubbish lyrics. This feels a bit like they’ve released a track that they’ve not finished with some scratch lyrics. It also doesn’t offer much in the way of development or variation. Not bad exactly, just not as good as the previous tracks.

7/10 This album sort of encapsulates everything I feel about R.E.M. When they get it right, it is so, so good. But it only takes them to miss the mark a tiny bit and the songs can become a bit boring and samey. For this album in particular, I feel like the first third and final third are both really good, and in places excellent, but the middle third is just a little dull. I really enjoy the rhythmic cadences that Michael Stipe often uses in his vocals. They’re very uniquely him and really give an identity to the sound. His tone is great and the combination of power in his delivery and the edge of frailty is perfect for the band. When they peak, the instrumental arrangements are excellent, with each player dancing around each other to pull the focus around but always reenforcing the bed behind the vocal. There are some really excellent moments of backing vocal too. Some of the string arrangements (written by John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin) are absolutely beautiful. When this album peaks, it’s genuinely goosebump inducing stuff. Tracks like Man On The Moon, Nightswimming and Everybody Hurts are real works of art. But it’s just not consistently interesting enough to rank higher for me. Drive - The build and release in this song is really nice. It gives you little bursts of song that develop and change each time they come around, but keep referring back to a more delicate and stripped back section. Each of the sections stand up well, but just the way they slide into and out of them is really great. Try Not To Breathe - This is another lovely song. The interplay between the different vocal lines and their separation by using different production techniques on them is really nice. The tempo and drive of the track is fairly consistent, but they manage to keep injecting fresh energy with little drum fills and such. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite - This is a great tune. The variation between the verses and chorus are good. The strings in the chorus are really nice. The little meandering organ part in the verses is great. It’s perhaps a little bit too repetitive, but it’s a moment of levity in what is otherwise a tonally sombre album. Everybody Hurts - This is obviously a classic. It’s a bit on the nose, but to be honest it says something that sometimes people need to hear in a straightforward way. The orchestration is beautiful and Michael Stipe’s delivery is just goosebump inducing. New Orleans Instrumental No. 1 - It’s a bit of an odd, plodding interstitial. Not much to comment on really. Sweetness Follows - This one’s perhaps a little dull. It’s got this pulsing tone that beats away underneath it that imbues it with a sense of ever present dread, and some of the distorted washes of guitar are nice, but it’s not a particularly interesting song otherwise. Monty Got A Raw Deal - This is quite folky. Again, it’s nice enough, but not the most interesting of tunes. Ignoreland - Out of the gate, this is immediately more interesting. Some of the guitar tones are great. The instruments all have their little moments to shine and it’s got a really full sound. It’s got a bit of a bluesy edge, but it isn’t the most varied of tracks. Star Me Kitten - This one has got a nice ambience to it. Again, it’s just not that interesting, unfortunately. Man On The Moon - Right, we’re back on track. There’s a lot going on among all the parts here and they all bring something to the table. Nice harmonies too. It’s just a really well written song. The verses are subtle, but sonically rich, while it build to a chorus that’s just sing-along excellence that get better with added interest as the song goes on. The vocal interplay on the final versions of the chorus are just wonderful. Nightswimming - Another great track. It’s subtle, but it ebbs and flows nicely and the quality of the composition is good enough to carry it without it getting dull. It just feels exposed and vulnerable in a very pretty way. Find The River - This is another pretty song. There’s such a bittersweet tone to it and the piano part is really nice in particular. Another one where there is enough quality in the melodic and harmonic elements to give it a really satisfying feel overall, and it’s a great way to end the album.

4/10 I don't know how much of my feeling for this album is impacted by the fact that there have been 56 years of rock music that have happened since it was released and I'm unconsciously comparing it to all of that, but it just didn't engage with me. There have been old albums I've been introduced to during this project that have really grabbed me though, so perhaps that's not it. In general, I feel like there's never really a hook that grabs me, or anything particularly interesting for me to engage with, it's just a bit of a wash of inoffensive pleasantry. Not bad, just not that interesting either. It never generates the tempo and drive to really rock, but I also don't feel the nuance to make it a particularly interesting technical listen either. I think the elements of this album that I do like, I can find in better quantities, of higher quality, elsewhere. If I wanted beautiful harmonies, I'd go for the Beach Boys or (closer to this stylistically) The Beatles. If I wanted bluesy rock, I'd be grabbing Led Zeppelin, for more folky edged stuff, Joni Mitchell etc etc. And that's just considering music that is somewhat contemporary to this. All that being said, I can appreciate the musicianship present here. Their harmonies, although not stylistically my favourite, are tight. The guitar playing in particular has some really quality moments and I really like a few of the organ lines scattered through the album. There's enough quality scattered across the album to lift it above a complete 'meh', but I just can't justify giving it a score that puts it above a 2 star. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes - This is quite nice. The harmonies are good, but quite static in a way. They move, but they all move together rather than around each other. The vibe is nice, but it's quite loose in places and feels a little unfocused. Marrakesh Express - A nice, if pretty twee track. There's some subtle instrumentation low in the mix that adds depth too. It's maybe a bit one note, but decent enough. Guinevere - This is pretty, with an edge of melancholy. Makes me think of The Wicker Man, but the music in that is better. It's nice, but just doesn't grab me. You Don't Have to Cry - I'm starting to feel a bit of a theme coming on. It's nice. But it's also not that interesting to me. It's all getting pretty samey at this point. Pre-Road Downs - This seems more promising to begin with. The organ part I really dig and it feels like it's building to a chorus that just never really arrives. It has a decent rock n roll edge, but fails to deliver on its promises. Wooden Ships- Oooh. This starts well. Great groove and vibe to kick things off. The little pulling of focus by the different parts during the instrumental sections are great, as are the fleeting calls and response vocals. The gang harmonies take a more subtle role behind the lead, which works better to my ears. A good track that has a little bit of that something I've been waiting for. Lady of the Island - It's nice enough. It's a bit boring. And don't do a 'do do do' bit in a two and a half minute love song. Although the ending 'do do do' is actually the best bit of the song. Helplessly Hoping - The harmonies are nice here, with a bit more interesting motion to them. I actually quite liked this track, although it didn't offer much in the way of development. Long Time Gone - A slow rock n roll number. It's laid back and has a bit of grit to it with a nice bit of tension built through the verses, but the chorus just doesn't ever really deliver a satisfying release. 49 Bye-Byes - There're some nice moments here. It's got a bit more thrust than the rest of the album, but at moments it just sort of drifts away from the thread and loses itself a bit. Probably one of the better tracks on the album because it seems a bit more consistent.

7/10 This was certainly an experience. I feel that the enjoyment of an album like this may in part be down to the listening environment. For the bits that I could sit and enjoy with my eyes closed, I felt more engaged with it and I'm looking forward to cranking it in the dark on the home stereo. I also feel like a little bit of the magic is lost by not being present in the moment. I can only imagine the experience that this would provide live, with the volume, lighting and the naked artsy hippy woman dancing on stage. The recording is also, unfortunately but kind of expectedly for a desk recording of a band with this much going on in 1972, quite muddy, so it's hard to pick out everything that's going on. I feel like if there was a really clean multi track of this available for remixing it would be absolutely incredible, with all of the elements given fresh space to breathe in. Those caveats aside, this really hooked me in. There were lulls, and some bits did drag on a little, but in general there was so much going on that it continued to hold my interest despite the length of some tracks. In some respects you could consider this to be jazz for stoned rockers. They have a few core ideas and then just riff around them with a constant ebb and flow of ideas that circle around the core structure. It's also very up its own arse, but in the most magnificent way possible. They are super into the conceit (until the bonus track, which is hilariously 'back to earth'). You can also hear a great deal of influence that this had on music that followed. In some respects, it's über 70s, but it has elements that sound very contemporary too. I can definitely see why this is on the list, and I'm really glad to have heard it. I'll definitely be back to this and relistening in a better listening environment could even pop it up a point. Earth Calling - A tone setting intro. It's going to be weird and psychedelic. Born to Go - This is anchored in the lyrical section, but just goes off-piste through the middle. It's noisy and wacky and definitely conjures up its own atmosphere. Down Through the Night - When this settles in the aftermath of the previous track, we end up on a far more traditional base of a song, although it does have it's 'freak out jam' section in the middle. There's still the swirling morass of parts that move around it, but the riffs are solid and at feels more song like than what's come before. The Awakening - A little weird sci-fi narrative interlude. I can really visualise this as a live experience. Lord of Light - A similar structure to other tracks. They don't often stick on one thing for too long which keeps it interesting, but there is generally some kind of anchoring thread that keeps it somewhat grounded. I am enjoying it as an experience. The Black Corridor - More 70s sci-fi poetry. I can just imagine the room that they wrote this stuff in. It smelled funny and many of the people in it were passed out. Space Is Deep - This is, by comparison, a pretty normal song. It does drift into a quieter section through the second half, but never gets quite as off-the-wall as other tracks. But the variety and interest is still present. Electronic No 1 - A little bloopy-bleepy interlude. Atmospheric but not vastly interesting. Orgone Accumulator - This starts off as a decent, and far more traditional rock song. You're not fooling me this time, Hawkwind. Ah, here we go. A jamming section that just goes on a bit too long before we return to the vocals. And then back to the jam. And there's still three minutes left! This one just goes on a bit too much for me. Upside Down - This is less interesting. It's a fairly uninteresting song surrounded by a wash of phase, delay and noise. Better than a fairly uninteresting song on its own, I guess. 10 Seconds of Forever - Ah, they've intercepted some Vogon poetry for us to enjoy. Brainstorm - Despite the fact that this is nearly 14 minutes long, I actually kind of got lost in it. It's got drive, elements come and go and there's always something happening to keep me engaged. And it's got such a vibe. Seven by Seven - The calm after the storm. But the storm will build back, and quickly. The swirling tones that build and build in the background are immense. And again, it just drifts out into something more sparse, but oh, so 70s. I really like this one. Sonic Attack - I think we can guess where Douglas Adams got some of his inspiration from. I mean it's weird, but it's also kind of great how deeply into this they are and how seriously they present it. Time We Left This World Today - A great riff to start us off, with nice dual vocals. I'm just getting more and more lost in the soundscapes they create. Even when the main thread is a fairly repetitive refrain, there's just so much going on around it, it really keeps moving and rewards engaged listening. Master of the Universe - Holy shit, this one comes firing out of the blocks. It's heavy and fierce with those spacy vocals. Tones just appear and disappear into the wash of sound. It's pretty intense and almost feels like it's falling apart at the seams towards the end. Lovely stuff. Welcome to the Future - A psychedelic end point. A drifting, warped mass of vocal, wall of sound clashes that drift away into a thank you to the crowd and chanting recorded through some kind of phased delay. You Shouldn't Do That (not on the original LP!)- This hilariously grounds them when the singer asks if there are any Liverpool fans present, because the drummer supports Chelsea. Maybe they're not the space lords they claim to be. This track builds slowly before it eventually lets loose. It's not as interesting as some of the others and is a bit to repetitive. I can see why it wasn't on the LP. They do seem to have almost decided to play Paranoid by Black Sabbath for a good chunk of this too.

8/10 While there are a few bands that can claim to have laid the foundations for metal, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple being the two most obvious others, I truly feel like Black Sabbath gave metal it's soul with this album. The opening ambience of the rain, thunder and tolling bell that build into a crashing, heavy riff that lands on that disturbing, unsettling tritone interval that wavers as it rings. The devil's interval indeed. It's just so atmospheric, evocative and as heavy as a tonne of bricks. Singing about wizards, figures in black, Lucifer and all of those themes that will forever be entwined with heavy metal, Sabbath kicked the doors down with this and it's impact has been monumental. From a musical point of view, the guitar and bass create such a heavy sound, and there are some really fantastic hooks and riffs across this, and Bill Ward's drumming just drives and rolls it all forward. And then you throw Ozzy over the top of it all. Ozzy was never a great technical singer, but he was the perfect singer for this band and the birth of this type of music. He sings like a possessed madman. I remember an interview where he said he only ever heard people singing at home when they were hammered, so that's how singing sounded to him, which kind of tracks. Trying to listen to this impartially the day after Ozzy left us is difficult, but the second half of the album does lose focus and drift a little bit. That first side though. Wow. It's hard to really state him much of an impact it had. Hard to know if I'm trying too hard to not let emotion get the better of me, but it doesn't quite hold it's level enough for it's duration to get as high a mark as it possibly deserves when looked at on it's own. Black Sabbath - This track is so evocative. It's simple, but it's all about the atmosphere and broiling sense of doom that it brings. And then, after the slow burn and dread of the first section, it just bursts into life. Great riffs, heavy sound and a twist of psychedelia. Phenomenal. The Wizard - An absolute classic. Iommi's riffs. Ward's beats. Even Ozzy's harmonica. It's heavy and driving with a unrepentant push and pull between that calm and the storm. Every player gets their turn here too. There's definitely a more bluesy edge to this, but it's still building the base for metal. If Black Sabbath (the song) brought the thematic tone, The Wizard brought the musicianship. Behind the Wall of Sleep - A very Led Zeppelin intro and altogether this is more bluesy. But it's still got that darker edge to it. Less iconic than the two openers, but it still rocks hard and has some fantastic riffs. N.I.B. - More of a psychedelic edge to this one, but it still has that weight to it and it absolutely rocks. They never hang around on a section for long so there's always a sense of driving momentum and the little accents and fills they drop in all over the place, even Ozzy's little "oh yeah!"s just add so much flavour. Evil Woman - Geezer Butler gets his mention here. He's anchored everything up until now, but is more prominent here. It's a more standard bluesy rocker really and is one of the album's weaker pure songs. It's still decent, but loses something of the weight and atmosphere of the album up to this point. Sleeping Village - The unsung hero, producer Rodger Bain, gets in on the act with the Jew's Harp to add some boingy flavour. There's plenty of atmosphere here, particularly in the opening, but it's less focused and gets a bit sloppy in places. It's a bit more of a jam track and again, it's not bad, just not quite up there with the earlier stuff. Warning - Again, there are some great bits and pieces in here. Some really heavy, sludgy, driving guitars and some dirty rolling bass lines, but it's a little unfocused. It reminds me a bit of Hawkwind, but without as much instrumentation going on through the middle section to hold the interest. Wicked World - This is more like it again. Heavy, driving and atmospheric with another edge of psychedelia. The vocal recording has issues from a production point of view. Sounds like he's clipping the mic levels. Other than that, a solid way to finish the album.

2/10 The first thing that strikes me about this album is that the lead singer is really ill suited to this kind of indie-pop stuff. His voice is weak, he half sings quite a lot and his vocal lines just meanders about. This can work in the right audio environment, The Meat Puppets, Dinosaur Jr, The Replacements all had a similar type of vocalist, but it sat well with they types of music they were all creating. Here it doesn't. The second thing is that I can't really work out what they're trying to achieve here. There's no thrust or direction to anything. It's like they've collected all of the bits a better band have cut out of their songs and pieced them together into a sound collage of mediocrity. More by luck than invention, they have stumbled on the odd piece of quality. Streets of Your Town is trite, but competent, Was There Anything I Could Do? was actually pretty decent, but this is all dragged down by the baffling lack of any real hook anywhere else on the album. I'm sitting here writing this less than ten minutes after the album finished and I can't remember a single melody or chorus from the entire album. I feel like I should be writing more, but I've run out of things to say, so I'll stop. Perhaps The Go-betweens should have had the presence of mind to do the same. Love Goes On! - it's inoffensive jangle pop to start us off. It's not very interesting, but it's ok. At least it has a bit of pep and momentum. Quiet Heart - This is dull. Plodding. The singer's voice isn't strong enough to be as exposed as this. I think they're trying to be clever by delaying the word 'heart', but it's just weak. Shit 'breathe in and out' harmonica solo too. Love Is a Sign - What is this half-talking, half-singing, half-in-tune nonsense? God, it's so meandering. There's no hook at all, the mix is cluttered and it's got another shit harmonica solo. You Can't Say No Forever - Well at least it's got a bit more drive to it. I don't actually mind the music here. It's at least a bit more interesting and has a bit of variety to the parts, but it's all squashed down by the whiny, annoying and uninspired lead vocal. The Devil's Eye - A cluttered mid and high frequency mix, but I'm sure it'll balance when some bass stuff comes in. Oh, no bass frequencies at all in this song? Good. More meandering meh. Streets of Your Town - This track at least feels competent. The lead vocal works better with a backing vocal to reinforce it. Feels like the kind of song that ends a straight to video chick-flick as a woman, now free from an oppressive relationship drives through town in her convertible before the credits roll. Clouds - Are they trying to be The Smiths? It's not working. This is repetitive, plodding and uninspired. Can't get on with this guy's voice or lyrics. Weak sauce. Was There Anything I Could Do - This actually isn't that bad. The violin part in the chorus is quite annoying, but otherwise, it's ok. The bass line is quite good, the drums give it a good bit of direction, and the lead vocal works better with this type of track. I'm All Right - Back to another unfocused meandering half-song. It's just not very good, lacks direction and the mix doesn't help bring it together either. And his voice and vocal lines are just bad. Dive For Your Memory - Again, they just seem borderline incapable of writing a memorable hook. It's just meanders along like a lost drunk and then ends.

5/10 Neil Young writes some great tracks. He can play a mean guitar too. But when he writes songs that push towards the top of his range, I find it genuinely hard to listen to. I can hear in places that there's a decent song underneath it all, but it's like bringing me a beautiful lasagne, all the layers cooked to perfection, and then instead of a generous grating of parmesan, you pull out one of those foot skin graters and get to work on your bunions all over my meal. When he's in a lower register, things are generally better, and in songs where he's not as exposed, things can get pretty good. That being said, apart from a couple of tracks here and there, I felt this was a much weaker effort than On The Beach. I feel like this album lacks a little bit in momentum and consistency, and there's not a particular thread going through it that I can grab hold of. I think things are not necessary helped by the production, as there are a few examples of tracks that lean heavily on the treble end of things and can seem a bit clashy up top and empty down below. I might pick a few tracks from this to return to once in a while, but overall the album just doesn't grab me. Tell Me Why - An ok track to start us off. Nothing vastly exciting, but there's some nice guitar work here. Overall it's a bit too trebley and lacking in weight for me. After the Gold Rush - This is a better song, but boy is his voice nasal and annoying here, which distracts from it quite a lot. When he pushes to the top of his range, it just doesn't gel with me at all. Only Love Can Break Your Heart - This has got some nice harmonies in it, but it's a bit plodding and dull and a bit too staccato in delivery across the board. Southern Man - This is much better. It flows, it has weight and there's a good groove underpinning it. Some of the guitar playing is quite loose, but it's fun and works. There's a real swagger here and I like it. Till The Morning Comes - Ah, his voice is back at a better register here. This is quite nice. But it's over already. Oh, Lonesome Me - Another good track. It's got emotional weight, his vocal is generally working at his lower register, which is better, and I really like the subtle use of driven guitars and the little harmonica flourishes. It's a well structured song too. Don't Let It Bring You Down - This has got a nice lilt to the rhythm. The sound is nice and full and there's a good dynamic between sections. His voice is still a bit annoying in places though and it sort of feels like it never arrives at where it was heading. Birds - This is good. His vocal is just the right amount of frail for the song. The piano is nice and there are a couple of interesting chord changes here and there to keep things from being too obvious. When You Dance I Can Really Love - There's quite a cluttered sound to this and it never really lands on anything I can get my teeth into. It kind of struts around like a boxer at a weigh-in. Plenty of strut and swagger, but no punches will be thrown. I Believe In You - This has got some great elements, but again, his voice just doesn't gel with me particularly for this kind of ballad. I can see it working with a different vocalist, and I still think it's ok. Cripple Creek Ferry - A much better fit for his voice, this has got another nice lilt to the rhythm and the harmonies are nice too. Oh, and it's over.

8/10 I’ve listened to bits and pieces of Wu-Tang before, and I think I have played this once or twice in the past, but perhaps with less focus. The general vibe is great. It really feels like a consistent and complete work as a whole, which is something I always want from an album. The production is gritty and crunchy in a way that really adds to the grubby feeling to enhance the tone of the rapping. The use of various spoken word samples and other bits of chat between the group tie everything together to make the album sound like a real slice of life from early 90’s Staten Island. It’s like they’ve just been hanging out, shooting the shit and then pop into the studio and record a track, before dropping back out to carry on where they left off. I think the subject matter just seems to be reflective of the environment these guys were growing up in, and it generally just feels like they’re having a laugh and messing around a lot of the time, rather than taking things too seriously. Even the more aggressive elements are presented with an air of off-the-cuff exaggeration, rather than with much actual ill intent. Musically, there are areas where things became a little repetitive or the choice of tonal samples didn’t quite work for me, but as a whole, the vibe is of a consistent quality throughout, which probably makes it a little more than the sum of its parts. Bring Da Ruckus - This is a real gritty start. Interesting sample choices and some nice little production edits to tie the music in with the rapping. There’s a slight looseness to the production that makes it feel a little bit on the edge of collapse, but I think that works with the general feel of this particular track. Shame On a Nigga - There’s a great pace to this track. I also think it really highlights the different styles of the MCs and there’s some nice tonal content in here too that lends it a groovy swing. Clan In Da Front - I really liked the piano sample to begin with, but it gets a bit grating after a while as it’s a constant for almost the entire track. I think the central idea for the track is good, but there’s just not enough variety in there to hold my attention in the same way as the first couple of tracks. The rapping is more sparse too, which doesn’t help. Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber - While the piano sample is quite repetitive here, there is more going on so it’s not quite as irritating as it is on the previous track. There are some nice flourishes in the production here and there that breathe life into things and again, the passing around and gang vocals keep a freshness to the track. Solid. Can It Be All So Simple / Intermission - There’s a bit of an odd juxtaposition between the intensity and tone of the rapping here and the fairly chilled nature of the rest of the track. I find the bass sample a bit irritating, it’s very repetitive and the actual sound itself just rubs my brain a bit. These tracks where things are a bit more sparse and the vocal has less variety and range don’t quite have the magic to me. The intermission sections (and other little bits like it) really put this whole thing in context and add to the general feel of the album. Da Mystery of Cheesboxin’ - There’s more going on here and the pace is great. There’s more interest with variety of sample use and there’s also breathing room left in the tonal elements by allowing them to drop in and out so they don’t get as tiresome. The gang vocals also add a great bit of emphasis and dynamic, as do the more subtle spoken woird samples. Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit’ - This beat is great. So crispy. There’s also more heavy editing to the bass line sample so it’s not as relentless as some of the other tracks. There’s a lot of movement with the sample use and dynamic with the gang vocals that come and go. Another great one. C.R.E.A.M. - This fulfils the brief in a more satisfactory way than ‘Can It Be All So Simple’. The tone between the rapping and the instrumental is a bit more consistent. There are also enough other elements to make the piano sample a bit less of a focus, so less tiring on the ears. The vocal also seems to be shared around a bit more here, which adds to the range of the track. Method Man - I appreciate the musical lilt to Method Mans delivery in this, and the variety between sections allows things to breathe nicely too. The backing vocals add great emphasis and depth, as do the little vocal nuggets and samples the are injected here and there. Protect Ya Neck - This reminds me of Cypress Hill more than other tracks on the album. I think it’s the sample choice rather than anything else. There’s a solid groove to this one and again, the passing of vocal between the Clan adds great variety. Tearz - There’s a bit of a different feel to this one, with the sample choices adding a different tone. It’s a little more wound down in tempo, but it still has a good swing to the rhythm. The instrumental sections are perhaps a little long in places and the momentum does drag a little towards the end. Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber - Part II (Conclusion) - This has got a great, gritty bass tone and a solid, driving beat. There are some nice references back to other tracks in the rapping too, which helps round the album off. It’s lacking a little bit in musical variety, though there are little bits of sample usage scattered around to maintain interest.

4/10 R.E.M. have the ability to write some really fantastic tracks, but they also seem to miss the mark pretty frequently. This album has a lot of ideas that never really go anywhere. There are a few standout tracks scattered through the album, like Orange Crush, Hairshirt and I Remember California, but the lasting feeling I had when listening to this was that it was all a bit underwhelming and underdeveloped. They frequently had tracks which didn’t have a decent hook to grab onto, and some which barely diverged from a single idea, which made them a bit of a tiring listen. There were also a couple of songs that sounded like really long intros to songs that never actually arrived. Every now and then, I’d have a little ‘oooh’ moment, but frequently this was relating to a small part of an otherwise meandering track. Perhaps this just hasn’t aged well, or it’s one of those albums that you had to be there for, but I just never really felt particularly engaged in the listening process, apart from in a few fleeting moments here and there. Pop Song 89 - This is a decent jangly pop number. It’s a bit repetitive though and feels just feels a bit too safe. To my ears it sounds like they were trying to make it have a bit of grit by throwing in some more driven guitars in places, but it’s not really consistent enough to give it an edge. Get Up - There is actually a bit more drive to this. It never actually gets massively interesting though. It’s not bad, exactly, and it’s fairly catchy. I quite like the little ‘dream’ bridge section as it actually throws something a bit more interesting into the track. It’s short, so it doesn’t outstay its welcome. You Are The Everything - A twee little song that sounds like a four minute intro to a song that never actually arrives. Meh. Stand - Immediately things take a step in a more solid direction. There’s more of a drive to this. I quite like the rhythmical choices that Michael Stipe makes, particularly in the chorus. They’re not that conventional and give it an interesting lilt. It’s a decent track, but things still aren’t really connecting with me in a significant way. World Leader Pretend - I feel like this kind of meanders around a bit without ever really landing on anything. Both the verse and the chorus sound like verses. Again, it’s just not quite engaging me and I can’t find enough to get my teeth into. The Wrong Child - Another song that’s a three and a half minute intro to nothing. It just never goes anywhere and it’s pretty boring. Orange Crush - This is a classic. The little off-beat triplet bass is really nice and it’s got a great hook. There’s a decent amount of momentum to it too. Like much of the album, it doesn’t actually do much in the way of interesting development around its core ideas, but the ideas are good enough to carry the song. Turn You Inside-Out - We’re back to something a bit more plodding. I feel like there are some decent ideas in here, like some of the backing vocals, and it’s actually a song that has grown on me through its runtime. It’s got a bit more grit to it, but it just feels like it could do with a bit of a tempo boost to really drive. Hairshirt - This is quite a nice song. The problem is, I don’t feel like there’s been enough momentum in the album to allow this sort of song to shine. If there had been a bit more tempo and thrust to the previous songs, this would have worked as a nice moment of calm, but as it is, I just doesn’t resonate in the same way that it could have done. I Remember California - I really like this one. There’s a real brooding sense of discontent about it. I can definitely hear echoes of this in some Nirvana tracks. There’s plenty going on here to and nothing gets too stale either. As with the previous track, though, I feel like this would have shone brighter on a more consistent album as a moment of despair. It probably deserves better, really. Untitled - This one just doesn’t really go anywhere. Again, some decent ideas, but it just feels a bit underdeveloped. They sort of break into what feels like a placeholder section and then swiftly return to the same motif that basically runs through the whole song. It’s just not that interesting.

5/10 Making a judgement on this album is very hard. There are some really good moments in there, with My Generation obviously being the standout, but it’s such a mixed bag of styles that it almost doesn’t sound like the same band from one song to the next some of the time. Rather than being a melting pot of ideas, it feels like a collection of ideas, with Townshend writing a Beatles song, then a Kinks song, then an almost Bob Dylanish song. Honestly, this feels a bit like a band who have been given their record contract before they’ve really pinned down who they are, especially when you throw in the James Brown and Bo Diddley covers. But there are hints of where things might be going, particularly when they start to follow the intensity of Keith Moon’s drumming. There are times when he sounds like he’s not really playing the same song as them, but when they join him on the ride, they really pick things up and there’s a pace and an edge that’s missing from elsewhere on the album. I’ve also never really heard it talked about before, but The Ox really does sound like the future compared to the rest of the album. I can kind of see why they were successful here, especially in an era that was far more single focused than the decades that followed, but as an album it’s just a bit too piecemeal, despite the little flares of quality scattered throughout. Out In The Street - This has a bit of a gritty edge for the time. It sounds like a fairly standard pop-rock song in most respects, but Daltrey has got a bit of grit to his voice and the drums have got that extra bit of thrust behind them. It’s not massively exciting, but it’s decent. I Don’t Mind - Well Daltrey can’t hold a candle to James Brown, so it’s always going to sound weak in comparison. It’s got a nice little bit of swing to it, but otherwise, there’s nothing too exciting here. The Good’s Gone - This kind of sounds like a blend of a bunch of bands that were knocking around at the time. A bit of The Stones, a bit of The Kinks, a bit of The Beatles. Again, it’s ok, but overall not that invigorating. La-La-La-Lies - This is quite loose, yet quite poppy. It’s quite odd from a drumming point of view as it’s so tom heavy and the recording makes them sound very thin, but it at least gives it that little bit of something different. It’s over in no time too. So far, I feel like the band haven’t really found their own sound and it’s a bit of a mash-mash. Much Too Much - The lead in to the chorus really reminds me of Dylan’s Like a Rolling Stone, which was released the same year. I kind of feel like Keith Moon is playing a different song to everyone else. He’s going a bit nuts over what is quite a sedate, poppy number. It’s quite funny to imagine him flailing around in the background while the rest of the band sing this. My Generation - Here we go. It’s got great pace, everyone gets their go at showing off, and that chorus hook is just top notch. I can really see why this took off for them, and I really wonder where they would have gone had this album not had this song on here. Would they have got another chance? It’s the first time they’ve not sounded like they were trying to more or less ape someone else’s style, and they hit it out of the park. The Kids Are Alright - Ladies and gentlemen, meet The Beatles. This is actually a pretty decent Beatles song, but it’s a Who song, so I don’t know where that leaves us. I do like it, but as mentioned on My Generation, much of this album sounds like Townshend trying to write songs that sound like his favourite bands. Please Please Please - Another walk down James Brown avenue. Another song that doesn’t match up to the original. And another song that’s at stylistic odds with much of the rest of the album. It’s Not True - I quite like this one, actually. It’s got great momentum. Despite the fact that, at it’s core, it’s another fairly poppy rock song, it feels a bit like they’ve tried to join in with Keith Moon’s intensity, which gives things get a bit more edge. It’s not hitting the heights of My Generation, but it feels somewhere between that and some of the more generic tracks on the record. I’m A Man - So we’re doing the blues now? These covers are all so odd in that they just don’t really sit with everything else, which is a pretty mixed bag as it is. It’s ok, I suppose, but it just doesn’t really belong here. A Legal Matter - I don’t really rate Pete Townshend’s voice here at all. It feels like he’s stretching for the higher notes a bit too much. This has a bit more of that My Generation edge, but with a bit of a different swagger. I feel like this might have been better with Daltrey’s more gritty and solid delivery on the vocal, but it’s not a bad song either. The Ox - They’ve let Keith Moon off the leash. I do really like the use of the driven guitars and feedback in here too, and this sounds like a pretty good foreshadowing of the kind of sound that was to come in the future, even though it’s just a bit of improv jam and not a traditional song. A really nice little ending to the album.

8/10 Björk is one of those musicians who does everything on her own terms, and this album is in some way testament to that. Going through a breakup with her husband and seeing the collapse of her family, her first port of call is to use those emotions as inspiration for an album. As she says in Stonemilker; “Moments of clarity are so rare, I better document this”. While this could be considered a bit of a tough listen for some, I feel that the quality of this album is in the journey of it. There are moments of dissonance and harshness, amidst others of beauty and sorrow, but all of that flows together to paint an overall picture of what she was experiencing at the time of writing. There are some obvious standout moments for me, as well as some bits that drag just that little bit, but even on the longer tracks, there’s often so many sections, developments and modulations that things are rarely too static. Personally, I feel that Black Lake is an absolute masterpiece that completely justifies a ten minute runtime. There are certainly some more avant garde choices that she makes, particularly during the later part of the album, but it’s all so expressive, and really sells what she’s trying to convey, at least to my ears. When compared to some of her other albums, and certainly specific songs, it isn’t quite Björk at the absolute peak of her powers, but when considering the ‘album as art’, I think this is a fine example indeed. Stonemilker - I feel like there are echoes in the strings here of tracks from Vespertine, which was the album she wrote at the start of her relationship with Matthew Barney. This is a really beautiful song. The strings just drift and flow over everything, alternating between hope and despair and the little shuffling beats also have a dark and bassy edge that add a momentum and grounding to the track. Lionsong - This has such a brooding tone. It’s a little more disjointed, which makes it a little harder to follow, but there are some really interesting ideas and I think the disjointed nature of it is thematically appropriate. That beat that comes in about 3:20 is so good. It’s not quite as satisfying a whole as the previous track, but some of the component parts are so, so good. History Of Touches - This is almost an interstitial track for Björk. Only three minutes long and with a fairly static theme, it’s interesting but doesn’t really grip in the same way as some of her more fully formed ideas. Listening to the lyrics, that does feel very intentional, and the wash of sound is sonically quite pleasing. Black Lake - A heartbreaking song. The sections come and go with pauses where a single chord or note just drones on. Emotion builds in many forms throughout, but each time drift back to bereft sadness. There’s fury in the beat that kicks in half way through as the strings build. This, to me, is one of the most visceral musical interpretations of grief, and the pulsing emotions that surround its underlying sadness that I’ve ever heard. How pretentious of me. Family - This one ebbs and flows. There’s anger and wavering tension, but it’s not quite got the emotional heft or consistency of the previous track. There are real shining moments and the song is a journey through unresolved tension and uncertainty, but it’s definitely not as easy a listen. As a soundscape, though, it’s all encompassing. Notget - If you’re not into the more avant garde end of the spectrum, you won’t engage with this. It’s harmonically non-traditional which can make it sound jarring. Definitely not one for a casual listen. Again, there are some really nice elements here. Some of the beats are so crunchy and squelchy, but the overall journey is a little all over the place. Atom Dance - This is like the start of a build out of the darkness. The little scuttering beats give it an immediacy, and some of the little string flourishes start to build us back to a more major tonality. That’s all mixed in with a note of confusion, particularly with the delivery of Anohni’s vocal parts. I really like the mix of this one too. Spatially, it’s very interesting. Mouth Mantra - This continues the more avant garde approach to things, with parts jarring against one another. When it gets moving, it’s got a great pulsing rhythm and the way the different parts overlap and flow in and out of focus can be quite overwhelming. That bass synth part that comes in about half way through is so meaty. Quicksand - So much meat and drive to the start of this one. That beat is great and gives this so much momentum. There’s stuttering sections, washes of synths and strings and Björk’s vocals which occasionally soar over everything. A quality end to the album.

7/10 This was an interesting album. The playing is obviously first class, Miles Davis doesn’t pick any slouches, but while the playing is great, and the sound is also a really interesting step away from his more traditional jazz sound of previous albums, there are areas where things just don’t get moving quite enough for me. There are lulls, which is fine, but those lulls can drag on a little too long. There also isn’t quite enough variation in the rhythm section for me, particularly in the first track. The overall feel does feel like a stepping stone from the old style to the shorter-form more rock style structure of some of the jazz fusion artists, like Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra that would follow. I can really see why the trad jazz heads would have had issues with the album. There are couple of quite glaring edits in there, which detracts a little from the flow, but overall, I think this is a really important step for Miles Davis and was a really decent effort. It’s kind of weird in that it probably rewards close listening, but also background listening, but not so much the sort of half-listenening that I suspect a lot of us do while doing something else. Shhh / Peaceful - This is good stuff. The rhythm section provides a consistent bed that gives momentum to the piece (although you’d be bored as hell being those players, because they don’t really diverge much over the 18 minutes), while the keys, guitar and organ just dance around each other in little bursts and flourishes, lending and taking back phrases and ideas from each other. Miles and Wayne Shorter both take their turns and, while their presence is relatively fleeting, they deliver some really subtle but delightful playing over the top. It could do with a bit more rhythmic variety for me, but it feels like a really chilled out jam where everyone’s having a great time. In A Silent Way - This is multiple tracks in reality. It has one movement that begins and ends the piece, with another in the middle. The opening and closing are almost a pre-cursor to ambient. They sort of drift around and flow without ever really landing anywhere over a droning bass tone. And then after four and a half minutes of ambient prep, the thrust of the track kicks in. It’s definitely got that fusion edge. It comes and goes and everyone gets their turn at the forefront of the sound. It’s definitely still got more of that traditional free-form flow from more traditional jazz, but some of the motifs and tones really hint at some of the fusion sound that would follow, particularly with Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter’s future band, Weather Report.

7/10 This album has got a lot going for it. There are some great hooks, but also some really interesting explorations of sound and momentum through the tracks. I particularly liked the fact that, for the most part, it wasn’t just a verse-chorus-verse repetition with only the lyrics changing, there was constant development throughout the songs, which kept them moving and interesting right to the end. It was also much more rocky than I expected, and some of the guitar playing was great. I gave up writing about how 80’s the songs were about half way through my song-by-song. But it’s so brilliantly 80s. That’s the kind of thing that can rub people the wrong way, but I want my 80s music to sound like 80s music. Sure, I’d maybe have a personal preference for the reverb to be toned down a bit, and for some of the obvious ‘synth playing a real instrument sound’ tones to have a bit more subtlety, but it just captures a sound and a feel and doing too much to change it would lose all that. Some of the songwriting was fantastic and they never really played it safe, with the possible exception of I Believe, but that worked as a nice palette cleanser before they went a bit wilder towards the end of the album. There were places here and there were things didn’t completely connect with me, but there wasn’t really a point at which I couldn’t appreciate at least something of what was going on. All in all, a really interesting album, and, for a pop record it didn’t just do things by the book, which is always a pleasant surprise. Shout - 80’s drum machine and synth programming ahoy! It’s a good song. There’s perhaps not as much variation between the dynamic of the verse and chorus as I’d like, but it does build interestingly with new parts adding depth as the song progresses which is an interesting approach. By the end, I’m certainly enjoying where they’ve built it to. The Working Hour - This is so reverb soaked that it gets a bit lost in the wash. There are some nice elements in here, but it’s a little bit meandering. It’s all pretty competent and well made, but there’s nothing that really hooks me in. Everybody Wants To Rule The World - My son hates this song. He says the lyrics are stupid. But it’s a great song. There are a lot of parts that come and go. The band seems very determined to avoid repetition by adding extra elements, which helps to maintain variety, especially with a pretty basic and repetitive drum machine pattern sitting under everything. There’s good bits of drive, some light and shade and some great little hooks and motifs that do enough to hook you in but aren’t overdone. Mother’s Talk - I really love some of the synth lines on this. It’s got a lot going on. It’s another one where it doesn’t rely too much on hooks, but theres is so much of interest that it doesn’t need to. At about 4 minutes it just goes a bit off the wall. I don’t know if they were aiming to make a pop record, but if they were, I really appreciate that they were brave enough to do stuff like this on it. I Believe - This is a bit more mundane. It’s a pretty little song and it grounds things after the end of Mother’s Talk. It was a nice bit of a breather from the more frantic and busy tone of the surrounding tracks. Broken - This has got a great kick, especially off the back of I Believe. Again, there’s a lot going on, with quite a bombastic overall sound and elements of slightly discordant brooding in the bridge section. I’m kind of sad this is short as it is, because it’s really good. Head Over Heels - It’s interesting the way this takes some of the elements from Broken and then does something very different with them. There’s a really nice groove to this. I think in places this track perhaps more than any other sounds its age. Some of the synth and samples parts show their age in a bit too obvious a way. But it’s still a really decent track and is a pretty interesting production, the way it blends out of and then back into the elements from Broken, finishing with a live section. Listen - This has got that building feeling similar to some of the earlier tracks, but also has areas where it dips in intensity before it grows. It’s a slow burn, and it’s got a lot going for it. A really nice, brooding, almost intense ambient way to end the album.

7/10 I can only imagine that Peter Gabriel lives life in some sort of permanent fever dream. Somehow, this album threads the line between brilliant insanity and daft inanity, sometimes even within the same track. It’s creepy and weird, yet it somehow occasionally breaks out into some decent late 70’s / early 80s rock. But, as with much of the album, I can’t quite work it out. Does it need that grounding, or if it would be better if he further indulged the weirdness? As I listened through a third time, some of this started to click a lot more with me. Perhaps the abundance of cutting-edge (at the time) production techniques makes the impact lessened to modern ears. I can imagine this sounded even more crazy to people without the experience of the following 45 years of music production that I’m listening to it through. The songwriting is interesting. Sometimes ideas linger, but equally, if not more often, things jump from place to place (and then sometimes back again), which only goes to further enhance the fever dream aspect of the album. Looking at the artwork, I can only assume this was what he was going for, and in that case, he definitely pulled it off. Intruder - This is a creepy way to open an album. It’s tonally quite jarring, and I can’t quite work out if I like it or not. The close-mic ASMR mouth-noise is quite off-putting, but that’s kind of the point. I’d say it really succeeds in what it’s trying to do, but what it’s trying to do is not really something for a casual listener. I think I might be falling down on the side of this being brilliant. No Self Control - There’s a lot of this that I like, but it feels a but lacking in direction. Not in a ‘too many ideas’ way, but more generally disorganised. It almost breaks into a really good song early on and then again in the last minute, but it never quite gets there and there’s a lack of organisation in the middle that distracts. Start - This is a nice enough little interlude. Very 80’s sax, but it was 1980, so… I Don’t Remember - This is better, there’s more coherence here. It’s got a good driving beat, and it sort of falls somewhere between Bowie and Talking Heads in terms of sound for me. There’s still quite a lot going on in various places so it can sound a bit overwhelming, but I think that’s just part of the vibe of the album in general, so it works. Family Snapshot - An interesting build through the first half and then it kicks in. There’s quite a Jaco Pastorius tone to the bass, which is cool. Not his standard of playing, but not many can do that. There’s a clear narrative through the song that’s good. I wish it had a bit more of the pace, driven stuff, but it;’s still a decent track. And Through The Wire - There’s a bit more of a traditional structure to this, and it perhaps suffers a little for it by being a bit too reliant on the main hook. That being said, it’s a good hook. Overall it’s a tad on the cheesy side for me, but it’s not a bad one by any stretch. Games Without Frontiers - This starts off strongly. There’s a whisper of the tone of Intruder mixed with a more Genesis sound. The lyrics are almost distractingly stupid in the verses. It kind of struggles a bit in the transitions between sections to my ears and it’s a bit of a wandering track, but some of the elements within are really good. Not One Of Us - Another decent track. Again, I really like some of the elements, but it just doesn’t fully connect with me as a whole for some reason. It’s very staccato in places and feels like it could do with a little bit of smoothing dynamically. I do like the way it builds towards the end. Lead A Normal Life - This is quite subtle, which is great when put in comparison to the bombast of some of the other tracks. There’s still that disturbing undertone of edge that creeps in here and there, but it kind of drifts along in a pleasing way. Bit of an odd comparison, but it reminds me a little of Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works 2 with the quite pretty tone edged with threat. Biko - This is really good. It’s brooding, but has a nice rolling thrust to it too. Hard to be criticise a song that’s so strongly ani-apartheid South Africa (although it does go on quite a bit). It’s quite a grounding finish to the album, which has been a bit nutty in places, so it feels a tiny bit out of place tonally, perhaps, but it’s still a worthy inclusion.

8/10 Smile is an album that needs assessing as a whole, as it’s very much an example of the ‘Album as Art’ rather than as a collection of songs. I’ve done a song-by-song for it, but there is so much referencing of ideas from all over the album in so many of the tracks, including full sections running over into one another, that listening to the odd song is just incoherent and doesn’t do it justice. This album was a long time in the making. It was the album that pushed Brian Wilson over the edge, and for him to eventually come back around to complete a version of it must have been incredibly cathartic. However, the intervening years do weigh this album down a little. Brian’s voice is obviously weaker than it would have been 37 years previously, and he’s seemingly in a more mentally stable place. To that end, the album is a little more uplifting and buoyant than the old recordings were, which adds an extra sheen of saccharine to proceedings, which is doubled down on with the sparkle of modern production. It also means that, rather than being the groundbreaking follow-up to Pet Sounds, there were nearly 40 years of musical invention and development that had happened by the time it was released. With all that being said, there is so much going for this album. The composition and arrangement of the multitude of vocal parts just endlessly flow, dive and soar over one another. The harmonies shift and shimmer and I personally find them incredibly beautiful and, in places, moving. I also get a lot of kicks out of how silly it all is. To some this might be a turn of, but there’s a lot of humour and surrealism in there, not only in the lyrics and subject matter, but in the odd little sound effects, slide whistles and other bits and pieces of ear candy that he throws in to the mix. It’s all just gloriously bonkers, yet musically brilliant, it’s still a joy to listen to. I ran it three times just this morning, and I found new bits to smile at every time. While this was never going to match up to the mythical ’Smile’ that Beach Boys fans had been clamouring for for the previous 40 years, it was a really good effort, and for Brian’s sake, I’m delighted he could finally get the Smile monkey off his back. Our Prayer / Gee - This is the kind of harmonic composition that I refer to when I comment about more ‘static’ harmonisations from the likes of CSN&Y. All of the parts move around one another, modulating through a variety of chords, rather than sticking with a single note, or just moving with the lead. To me, this kind of thing is glorious. It’s a great intro to the album. And then we get a twee little transition that works in a snippet of Heroes and Villains before we get there properly. Heroes and Villains - An absolute classic. The different elements roll over each other and intertwine in an ever-changing blend. It’s unashamedly silly too, with the slide-whistles, laughs and spoken word bits. There’s also an undercurrent of simmering threat about it too. This one kind of encapsulates the madness of Brian Wilson. Brilliant melodic and harmonic writing that’s just a little bit unhinged. Roll Plymouth Rock - This is more sombre in tone. There are a lot of references back to Heroes and Villains and it’s almost a link track in some respects. On its own, this would be completely nonsensical, but in the context of the album, it’s great. Barnyard - A silly little number complete with animal noises. It’s mad, but the musical hook is nice, and I really dig it. Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine - Another slice of melancholy madness before we move on. Cabin Essence - Such a beautiful song. It has so much dynamic range, from the little bouncy, low-key sections through to the full sections with the backing vocals rising and falling, before it drops back and then slowly builds back up to the ending. Lovely. Wonderful - Another really lovely song. Brian’s voice is perhaps at its most exposed here, but once the backing vocals come in it’s so good. Love those ever changing harmonies so much. You could never accuse post surf-pop Brian Wilson of creating static music, there’s always something going on, some development, variation or movement taking us forwards. Song for Children - It’s kind of hard to review this album song by song. This again takes ideas from Wonderful and Child Is Father of the Man, works them together, spins out new ideas and throws in bits from other songs too. It’s really bloody good though. Child Is Father of the Man - There’s again a darker tone here. It’s sparse in places and little motifs from all over the album. As with a few of these other short tracks, on its own, it’s mental, but in context it’s great. Surf’s Up - I prefer earlier versions of this song. There are elements of it that still stand up, but it lacks the bereft beauty of the version on the Surf’s Up album. But that wouldn’t work in the context of this album, so here we are. There are still some really beautiful washes of sound on this though. Soaring harmonies and rotating vocal parts that just dance over each other, oh yes. I'm in Great Shape / I Wanna Be Around / Workshop - Another little jumble of ideas that are all nice and a little bit crazy in their own way. Vega-Tables - Yes, Brian is a strange man. But this kind of lunacy connects with me so hard. It’s funny, it has moments of beauty it’s wrapped up with some really interesting composition. On a Holiday - Another silly little one. More calls back to other songs. More moments of melancholy. More beautiful rolling harmonies. Wind Chimes - This transitions from more low-key, small-scale sections into full almost big-bang bombast as it goes along. Another one where it’s kind of hard to separate it from the album, but as part of it, it’s fantastic. Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow - This one’s pretty batty. It’s more of a soundscape than a song in some respects. In some ways it’s quite jarring against the inherently melodic nature of the rest of the album, but it feels dangerous and threatening, which (history suggests) was the point. In Blue Hawaii - This transitions us slowly away from the fiery madness of the previous track, and then boom. We’re back to something more upbeat, with the occasional echoes of sadness. It’s quite nice. Less exciting than some of the rest of the album and more reminiscent of some of Brian’s post breakdown music. But that doesn’t last for long before we dip back to a bit of Our Prayer and on to… Good Vibrations - Well it’s not THE Good Vibrations, is it? That original was magic. Here’ the lyrics have changed, the vocals miss The Beach Boys even more than the rest album, and the production is almost too clean. I mean, it’s still a really, really good track. But when you compare it to the original…

3/10 This album really shows its age, but also suffers massively, to my ears, from the fact that it’s so threadbare in terms of actual musical content and rhythmic variety. Obviously, I’m assessing this 40 years after the fact. This is an artefact from the early days of hip-hop, and there are 40 years of developments that I’ve borne witness to in the intervening years, so it’ of course going to sound dated, but what really surprised me is how much of it was little more than a drum beat with rapping in some fairly routine (and endlessly repeated) rhythms over the top. They don’t really mix things up from track to track, and the only one which really had much interest to it was Rock Box, when they actually had some musical content on the track courtesy of the guitar playing. It’s Like That stood out, at least in part due to it being so well known, but it does feel slow when I’m more familiar with the Jason Nevins mix. With that all being said, this is a hard one to rate. Historically it’s massively important. It was the first real breakthrough rap album, and paved the way for so much great music to come, but it just sounds so thin and stale that it’s hard to look back on it with much fondness aside from the nostalgic and historic angles. Within the subsequent 5 years, you’d have Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, De La Soul, N.W.A., Erik B. & Rakim and a whole lot of other artists that were just doing this so much better, with so much more of a developed and interesting sound. Extra points for historical importance, but I won’t be hurrying back down Run-D.M.C. Avenue. Hard Times - It’s obviously very 80s, but it’s also incredibly sparse. That orchestra hit and a single note bass line is the only harmonic content in the song at all. They do add some melodic inflection to their rapping, but not a vast amount. The drums are actually quite interesting to be fair, but together with the vocal delivery it’s all a bit stilted and staccato. Despite all that, I actually quite enjoyed it. Rock Box - So they were blending rock with rap from the very beginning. This At least had something other than the absolute barebones that was present in Hard Times. It’s got a bit of variety to it and it’s got some decent momentum to it too. Again, it’s aged quite a lot, but probably less than the opener. I can imagine this was pretty fresh at the time, and it’s still not bad. Jam-Master Jay - Compared to the tightens of modern scratch DJs, Jam-Master Jay is pretty loose and basic. Another track with barely any harmonic content at all. It’s very repetitive and the DJing is also not very good. Hollis Crew (Krush-Groove 2) - Another track, another lack of harmonic content. The rapping is a bit better here, but it’s still pretty dated and there’s just not enough going on to hold the interest. Sucker M.C.’s - Apparently one of the first diss tracks. But it’s got quite a boring beat, and again, it’s just a beat with some rapping and a few scratches on it. No variety in the rapping rhythms here either. Pretty boring. It’s Like That - This is obviously a classic, but for my generation, it’s probably more famous for the Jason Nevins remix, which has more pace and a much stronger and more driving beat. This, by comparison, feels fairly pedestrian. As a song, the structure is better than some of the others on the album, and there’s a bit more audio interest, but it’s not exactly musically rich. Wake Up - There’s at least some effort to add something more varied here with the sound effects in the chorus, but it’s hardly hooky. That rotating of the vocal parts (also present elsewhere) sounds so dated these days. There’s just not enough here to really grab me and it just goes on and on. 30 Days - Wow, a bassline that isn’t just a single note! It’s even got a synth chord! Those little bits aside, this is still pretty uninteresting. It’s definitely an improvement over some of the more barebones tracks on the album, but it’s still a bit sparse and pedestrian, and all of the rapping of the whole album is very samey and lacking in rhythmic variation. Jay’s Game - Similarly to the rest of the album, there’s not too much to write home about here. Some of the scratching is a bit better, but it’s still all a bit stale.

8/10 Jimi Hendrix is obviously an exceptional, innovative and inspirational guitarist. Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell are also an absolutely excellent rhythm section. But that doesn’t always make for completely satisfying music. At its best, this album is complete genius, but it does drift into moments where Jimi spends just a little too long sniffing his own farts. When it clicks, there is so much soul, groove and bite to what’s going on, and it easily drifts between funky, psychedelic and bluesy in an incredibly satisfying way. When they utilise their skills to enhance and support a song, with the song itself the main focus, there is no doubting the quality, but too often the virtuosity is the focus, and that just doesn’t grip me in the same way. As is frequently the case with double albums, you could probably make a pretty much perfect single LP version of this album with some trimming of a few songs, shortening of others, and a bit of reordering of tracks. It’s obvious that this album was instrumental in developing guitar playing as an art form, and you can really hear the starting point of a lot of great music that will follow, and with that, you can’t deny the classic nature of this record. But I also don’t think it’s one that I will frequently feel the need to stick on during regular rotation, as it’s all just a little bit too self-indulgent for my personal taste. And the Gods Made Love - This is a great ’60’s recording tricks’ intro. So easy now, but I bet it was loads of work to get this sort of sound effect wash at the time. Very cool. Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland) - This is so laid back and smooth. Effortless cool. It’s loose in a great way, and Jimi’s guitar part just wonders around doing whatever he wants, always sounding interesting. Crosstown Traffic - A classic. After the first couple of tracks, it’s nice to dip into a more classically structured pop/rock song. It’s so funky and cool. They use enough variation to keep it going, but it’s otherwise pretty simple. But great, and only lasts two and a half minutes, so doesn’t need anything more. Voodoo Chile - Jimi gets to let loose here. For the vocal sections, it swings between laid back and smooth, like Have You Ever Been, and more of a psychedelic groove. The rhythm section really lays down a solid backbone for this, and some of the drumming in particular is fantastic. The rest of the band get their moments, and there’s some lovely organ playing in there too, but this one’s all about Jimi. Is it self-indulgent? Absolutely. Is it something I’ll listen to on the regular? Not really. Is it still excellent? Of course. Little Miss Strange - Ok. Why did they try and make a Beatles song? It’s a decent enough track, but it just doesn’t fit, especially with Noel Redding taking the lead vocal. It still has some of that great drumming and guitar playing, but it’s just an odd inclusion. Long Hot Summer Night - This is more like it. Back to the swaggering cool of previous tracks. It’s good when Jimi’s guitar playing is used to augment a solid track and it does slightly overwhelm in moments here. The song itself is maybe not quite as solid as some, but it’s still an enjoyable listen. Come On (Let The Good Times Roll) - A great little blues number and Jimi’s guitar gets its dedicated moments to shine. Solid from Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell. There’s big echoes of this in what Led Zeppelin would do later, although with their own twist. Proper toe tapper. Gypsy Eyes - This is little bit repetitive in places, and never really lands on anything massively interesting as a song. It does become one of those tracks where Jimi’s guitar work is the highlight and does kind of overwhelm everything else. Burning of the Midnight Lamp - This is pretty psychedelic. It sounds really full in places and transitions nicely between sections with a good dynamic shift. It’s not too overwhelmed by Jimi letting loose, which threatens to become a bit relentless, so it’s a nice departure from that. Rainy Day, Dream Away - Back to that laid-back cool. The guitar playing is (obviously) great here, but he leaves moments of calm here and there too, which is great. And he’s very restrained during the vocal sections. Great swing to this too. Top stuff. 1983…(A Merman I Should Turn To Be) - During the early section of this, there is a realtime that would echo later in some of Prince’s work that would follow. It then drifts off into an almost ambient jam section. The players all have their little moments. It oozes laid back cool. Again, it’s quite self-indulgent, but isn’t that what you listen to Jimi Hendrix for? Still Raining, Still Dreaming - This has got a great groove to it. There’s a lot going on here and the mix is so full. Another one where the focus is much more on Jimi’s guitar, rather than it being a traditional song. At this point, I’m kind of wondering if this could have been an exceptional single album, rather than a slightly too self-indulgent double. House Burning Down - Back to something more song focused here. Still moments of guitar mavericking (maverickery?) But it’s a bit more focused. Another groover. All Along the Watchtower - Stone Cold Classic. This is a prime example of the beauty of that fine balance between focus on song and guitar skills. It’s so, so good. Soul and groove for miles. Everyone playing at the top of their game. Space for everything to breathe. Exceptional. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - Possibly the greatest guitar riff ever committed to tape. This one strikes a quality balance of guitar wizardry while returning to the main refrain and dipping in and out of the vocal sections. Incredible groove, incredible guitar playing. It’s so mean and so solid.

10/10 This album is a songwriting masterclass from Carole King. She dances her way between folk, soul, rock and r&b, never letting it sound out of place and without ever sounding like anyone other than herself. Just the way that her songwriting moves and modulates through the songs is an absolute joy and I couldn’t help but admire the construction when she landed on certain chords, it was almost magical. Her voice is great, but with that little edge of vulnerability about it that makes it connect so much more than a technically perfect vocalist would. She, seemingly effortlessly, dances between sadness and joy with wilful abandon, which only enhances the beauty of the work. And all of this is just framed with a quite exceptional production. Every instrument has its place, and the focus pulls so deftly between different lines that it always keeps your ears in the right place to pick up on little licks and nuances. It’s not often that music can really grab me in a such a visceral way, but I did find myself welling up as I sang along to You’ve Got A Friend. It’s such an exceptional song and performance. But what’s quite remarkable about this album is that You’ve Got A Friend doesn’t just sit there head and shoulders over the rest. It sits happily there at the opening of side 2, in the midst of a collection of other fantastic pieces of songwriting and recording. Bravo. I Feel the Earth Move - This is such a great song, equal parts soul, rock and folk. It’s got excellent pace, there are some really lovely bits of instrumental flair here and there, particularly the little interplay in the middle between the guitar and piano. I really like the way the focus pulls to different parts through the track, which is mixed so well. Quality all round. So Far Away - It’s a change of pace. A song of longing and desire. It’s a really pretty little song that just wanders around in the verses and then lands on a great vocal in the chorus. Somehow it’s got a lot going on, but is also incredibly sparse. The instruments get their little moments, but each are fleeting. It’s Too Late - She’s such a good songwriter. The transitions between the sections are so smooth and effortless despite the change of tone. The playing on this is so great too. The harmonies are picked for the perfect spots, and her vocal has such a laid-back ease to it on this song. She’s not afraid to drift off into fairly lengthy instrumental sections too, which are great. Home Again - The cadences of the musical movement on this song are just beautiful. The way it builds and shrinks and how that aligns with the musical movement is just lovely. It’s short, but ever so sweet, and her vocal has something to it that just cuts through the skin. Beautiful - There are bits of this song that are really great, but as a whole it doesn’t quite connect with me as much as the rest of the album. I think it’s the more staccato nature of it. The rhythm section just plods a little bit too much for my taste, and the fairly relentless snare drum is just a bit too much. Way Over Yonder - Now this is more like it. That swing. The way the bass and the lead vocal tend to move in opposing directions throughout. Her vocal that just soars and sways. It’s incredibly satisfying and beautiful, but it’s also got a real fire in its belly. And that sax solo is like a perfect cheese accompaniment to this glass of wine of a song. You’ve Got A Friend - This is such a gorgeous song. It weaves its way between a bereft sadness and beautiful optimism in such a perfect way. It is an absolute songwriting masterclass. The way it modulates between keys is absolutely stunning. The restraint of the arrangement allows for everything to live in its own place, and it still seems so full when it needs to. It all just combines into something exceptional. Where You Lead - This leads perfectly on from You’ve Got A Friend, both lyrically and musically, even borrowing some of the progressions, but throwing a far more upbeat twist. There’s some really solid playing one this track, and some of those backing vocals are superb too. It’s almost a Motown song with a folky twist. Great stuff. Will You Love Me Tomorrow? - This is perhaps a little more on the nose than some of the other songs, which have a bit more subtlety to them. It’s still really gorgeous though. The interaction between the piano and guitar parts are really, really nice, and the vocal harmonisations with James Taylor and Joni Mitchell really move things around well. Smackwater Jack - From the a subject matter point of view, this does stick out a bit from the rest of the album. It’s a great little bluesy R&B number though. It’s a nice bit of fun, and as always, it’s a very well written song. Tapestry - This is a beautiful, wandering piece. It floats around without ever landing on anything to concrete in quite an ethereal way, slowly moving up keys through each verse and then stepping back down to start again. This is a really great album track, with no real centre to it, but as a wash of music between songs, it works so well. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman - Another songwriting masterclass. Again, the dynamic and tonal variation between verse and chorus is genius, and the way it builds to the chorus is exceptional. It drifts back down to the verse so smoothly too. The dynamic variation in this song is so fantastic. It goes from soft, almost whispered to full on balls-out passion and I’m here for it every time.

5/10 This feels like a bit of a mixed bag of an album. Background reading suggests that there was a bit of a divide between Dave Mason (who wrote half of the songs) and the rest of the band, and it feels very much like that, in that it’s a bit of a jumble of styles from track to track, rather than a smooth blend that one would hope for. There are some really nice bits and pieces across the album, and a few of the tracks are very good, but it struggled to maintain momentum for me and there was a bit of a lack of anything vastly memorable. Having listened through a couple of times, I can’t particularly recall any standout melodies, for example, as I often do with other albums that I listen to. I also found that, in places, the mix became quite cluttered and it felt a bit like some of the instruments were fighting for space with each other, rather than working sympathetically with one another. They are obviously talented musicians, and when they left themselves space to breathe and everything connected well, you could really see the potential, but unfortunately, there wasn’t really enough there to grab me and, alongside the uneven flow of the record I found it a bit of an disjointed experience over all. You Can All Join In - This is a chirpy little number. It’s nice enough, but it’s a bit lightweight. Sounds like they’re having great fun, but there’s just not enough to grab onto for me. And there’s not much in the way of variation either. Can’t fault the mix or the playing though. It’s tight and well produced. Pearly Green - There’s a bit more grit to this one. There’s a touch of the Hendrix of it, without the level of virtuosity. The playing is still great, of course. But it never develops too much and the vocal sections are a bit too limited by on the lead guitar and vocal playing the same notes, which swamps the rest of the music too much for my taste. There’s a bit more interest to the instrumental sections though. Don’t Be Sad - This is a decent song. It feels a bit cluttered in places, which isn’t helped by the mix, where a lot of the mid range in particular feels crowded. But when it brings everything together it’s very satisfying. There are some really nice little movements in the music that tie all of the parts together nicely, and it’s probably the best overall track so far. Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring - There’s a great groove to this one, and I feel like we’re getting into the swing of things now. The organ in particular is great in this track. This is a really solid composition and all of the instruments get their own space, so the mix feels really clean. Great track. Feelin’ Alright? - I’ve heard this before. It’s got another nice groove and some of the percussion is great. It feels a little busy in places, but this does open back out in cleaner sections, which works as a juxtaposition. There’s a bit more of a jazzy blues edge to this, which is nice. It’s got a good toe-tapping quality to it too. Vagabond Virgin - This is closest to the quirky tone of the intro song. Some of the timing on the vocal is loose in a way that just rubs me the wrong way. Some of the instrumental bits are quite nice, but it’s a bit of a mixed bag for me, which feels fairly disorganised and just doesn’t quite connect. (Roamin' Thro' The Gloamin' With) 40.000 Headman - Bit of a change in pace now. There’s something of The Eagles about sections of it. It’s decent, and even some of the slower bits have a nice psychedelic edge to them too, with that little twist of folksiness. But it never really landed on anything with much of a hook that grabbed hold of me, which was a bit of a shame. Cryin’ To Be Heard - This is a bit of a meandering one through the verses, but it does come back together a bit during the choruses, although they’re a bit brash and don’t last that long. Again, I’m not finding too much to grab on to here. There are bits that I like, but it does feel a bit disorganised in general. No Time To Live - I feel like Phil Collins may have been a fan of this. There are echoes of this in some of his stuff that would follow. It’s more of an organised piece than some of the others, and it really allows space for everything to move and weave around. It feels like there’s something a bit more to get my teeth into on this track and a really good balance between light and shade too. It’s a patient composition, without getting boring, which is a decent achievement. Means To An End - A complete change in tone now. It’s a good song, despite the fact that it doesn’t really run on that well from the last one. Sounds like they’re having great fun and there’s a solid pace to it with a decent groove. There’s more here that grabs me and I found myself bobbing my head more than I did with much of the rest of the album, and it felt like it had much better hooks to it, especially in the lead vocal. Nice change of tempo at the end too. A good finisher.

6/10 This is a bit of an ‘almost’ album for me. While some of the tracks have got real drive and that massive collapsing wall of sound that My Bloody Valentine are known for, there are also areas where that is a bit lacking. I also think that extends to the mix, where the focus of the sound is a bit jumbled through the album, where sometimes the noisiness of things overwhelms, and some where it is a little too in the background, but there’s not a satisfying flow as to how that happens across the record. It’s just a little bit uneven. The band’s sound became far more established and refined on Loveless that this just doesn’t quite scratch the itch in the same way. This is obviously an important record that inspired a lot of music that would follow, in both good and bad ways. Funnily enough, I feel like there are a lot of 90s bands that listened to this and then picked the least interesting bits as inspiration. With all that being said, when it gets things right, this album is massive and magnificent. It can be quite oppressive and tiring to listen to, but at its peak it’s a noisy, dirty spectacle of a record and a stepping stone to better things down the road. Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside) - It’s an interesting start to an album, for sure. It’s quite dissonant. It’s also quite one-dimensional, particularly the flatness of the snare drum, but the wall of sound is quite satisfying in some respects. Could do with more variety, but at least it sounds different, which is something. Lose My Breath - This is another interesting one, it’s kind of like a fairly run of the mill song idea that’s peering out of the mist and edged with chord choices that make it feel quite dissonant again and edged with anxiety and threat. Cupid Come - This is a more traditional song and feels like the kind of thing that saturated mainstream pop rock for the next decade, but there’s enough grit to it to elevate it above that, especially the haze of fuzz and noise at the end. (When You Wake) You’re Still In A Dream - This is a more like it. Really good pace. Again, it’s got a very 90s sound, particularly the backing vocals, but there’s so much grime and drive to it that it really kicks. It doesn’t do anything particularly interesting in terms of variation or dynamic change, but it’s a really decent song. No More Sorry - The shimmering, rumbling noise of this is cool, and the way it drops out is a great effect. But there’s not a great deal to it. It feels like a slightly underdeveloped idea. All I Need - Again, this feels like there’s a song under there trying to get out, but the stylistic wash of it all just swamps it. It’s all a bit too trebley for me unfortunately, even though I appreciate the sonic adventure of it all. There’s just not enough tonal variation for my tastes. Feed Me With Your Kiss - Back to something more driving. When it kicks, it really kicks. They certainly don’t go for the obvious mixing choices and the subtleness of the vocal, combined with its position in the mix is an interesting tone against the heavy, driving thrust of the rest of the song. I can imagine this is beastly live. Sueisfine - This combines some of the best elements from the album so far. There’s a bit more going on compositionally, the heavy noise and calm vocals work really well here. It’s frantic and noisy, heavy and driving. Great stuff. Several Girls Galore - This is back to more of a noisy wash, with elements of dissonance, but it has its moments where everything gets brought together really nicely. It’s got good drive to it and some of those distorted tones just cut through in such a nasty way. The vocal does feel a bit disconnected from the rest of the track in the mix though, which is a shame. You Never Should - Another more traditional song, but so noisy and gritty. They’re determined to be as noisy and in your face as possible, without ever being vocally aggressive. This is one of the more satisfying songs on the album, where everything is pulling in the same direction, without compromising on the massive driving wash of sound that they’re always striving towards. Nothing Much To Lose - Again, this feels more coherent, without any compromise to the overall sound. There’s a bit more structure, but the vast wash of noise and distortion still dominates and creates an epic soundscape for the song to live in and peak through from. Great stuff. I Can See It (But I Can’t Feel It) - This is a bit more pedestrian. There’s still a wash of noise, but it’s less overwhelming than on other tracks and I can’t really work out if that’s good or not. It feels a bit more straightforward and generally a bit less interesting as a result. Overall, not really the most interesting track on the album, but has some nice elements.

2/10 Well this is a dull little meander through the musical interests of The Bees. It very much feels like a band who have worked out a whole load of different ways to say what they want to say, but haven’t actually worked out what they’re trying to tell us yet. While the musicianship is nice and tight, the production is, on the whole, excellent, they seem completely incapable of writing any good hooks, choruses or melodies. It’s banality incarnate. Nice but uninteresting. And there’s no grit or edge to it at all. Instead of a smoky jazz bar with nice wine, we get a room full of people vaping and drinking alcohol-free rose. Instead of the weed-soaked swagger of a reggae festival, we get a white-boy dreadlock filled drumming circle in the park. Instead of prog-rock psychedelia on mushrooms, we get nitrous oxide balloons in the back of a limo. It’s all a pale imitation of what inspired it, made worse by the fact that most of the tracks just give us one fairly uninspired idea and just roll with it for three minutes. I kept waiting for something to happen, and nothing did. In fact, the second time around it just went from being almost intensely Mundine to downright irritating. It gets an extra point for the production and musical abilities on display, but this is really fighting out out with some of the clunkers on this list. Punchbag - This is a nice, breezy summers day intro. But then it just… carries on. There’s no hook. The vocals are a bit of a dirge and it’s just not that interesting. It’s well produced, but would it hurt to throw in something catchy? Angryman - This is a more promising start. The vocals are a bit annoying, but if it kicks into something, it’ll be forgivable. But no, all evidence so far suggests that these guys don’t know how to write a chorus. The solo section at 3 minutes is cool, but it’s fleeting. It’s just another song idea that’s underdeveloped and doesn’t really lead anywhere. No Trophy - Another one that feels like a great vibe, but doesn’t go anywhere. It’s like they’ve understood the technicality of a lot of the genres they’re trying to ape, but just don’t understand the soul of it. This is the best song so far, but there’s just no character to it. Binnel Boy - They’ve found their toy box. Again, this one starts out nicely enough. But it goes nowhere at all. No hook, no chorus, just vibe. And vibe alone does not make a satisfying track. Sunshine - Another “oh, this is nice” moment until I realise the track is halfway done before anything has happened. And what happens is just a slight development of the initial idea, nothing fresh. Meh. A Minha Menina - Newsflash, I think they’ve tried to write a chorus. It’s not a very memorable one, but it’s something. Sonically, this is probably one of the least interesting on the album so far, but it’s an actual song. Seems to be one or the other with these boys. Feels like an unfinished demo outline of a song and the production is at its weakest so far here. This Town - Another meandering slice of niceness that never goes anywhere. It’s just the same idea for 3 minutes. There is a very slight variation between sections, but there’s no dynamic change or any significant structural change, it’s just bumbling along being nice until they fade out when even they’ve got bored. Sweet Like a Champion - This doesn’t even have any of the pep of previous tracks. It might work quite well as a tonal shift if the rest of the album had more hooks or connected better, but amongst this album, it just feels like a bit of a dirge. But it is more of a structurally sound song than the rest of the album, which is something. Lying in the Snow - So they’re doing a Pink Floyd now. But they haven’t earned it. It doesn’t fit with the rest of the album, at all. But it does at least have some motion to it, some variation and dynamic change. This is probably the most competent song of the album, but it’s still a bit boring and doesn’t build up to the grandiosity that it hints at. Zia - This seems like a nice little interlude. But what’s that? It’s the second longest track on the album? Nice, but meandering and, amidst the banality of the rest of the album, it’s just another nice slice of nothingness. Sky Holds the Sun - Give me a bloody melody already, Jesus. This whole track is a three and a half minute intro to nothing. The vocals just feel like scratch vocals that they meant to replace but never got round to it. The music is nice, but it’s just boring and goes nowhere.

8/10 The greatest strength of this album is in the intimacy of it. Everything is recorded so close up and presented in such starkness that it feels like you’re almost stood beside Nick as he performs. You can even hear his breaths and the movement of his fingers over the fretboard, and that only enhances the beauty of the work. And when it hits, this album really is beautiful. Personally, there were a few places where things lulled and became a little repetitive, particularly when an idea was played out over a longer running time with less variation than personally appeals to me, and I also found the resonance in the guitar on Know to be quite grating to the ear. Aside from that, though, I felt that this was a really pretty portrait of an artist and his state of mind at this time of his life. There’s elements of sorrow, but also of hope, all presented with a starkness and restraint from a lyrical point of view, but with a guitar that delivers momentum and pace, with little ideas and motifs presented from around the fretboard while the pensive delivery of the vocal almost sounds reluctant in a way, that only adds to the intimacy of the production. Pink Moon - This is a really beautiful song that is elevated by the recording and production. He clearly sings at quite a low volume, but it’s presented in such a way that you feels so close to Nick as he sings that you’re almost inside his head. Even the simple piano line just flows out of nowhere and adds an unexpected depth. It rolls around in a really lovely way and then it’s done. Place To Be - The way that the guitar lilts and pulses adds such a satisfying rhythmic bed to this, and then his vocal that almost lazily flows over the top of it is such a pleasant blend of staccato and legato movements. The guitar can be quite deceptive, because there are some lovely little melodic edges that sit in the high register over the chords that there’s a rolling movement that exists outside of the lower, more prominent bed of the guitar part. It’s lovely. Road - The recording of the guitar in this track, even more than the first two, feels like you can almost hear every tiny sound of his fingers as he plays. It’s like he’s playing right next to your ear. I love the slight dips in tempo he takes here and there that just emphasise the structure of the composition. And he doesn’t overdo the vocals, just allows the guitar part to keep its focus and augments with a little bit of vocal flavour. Which Will - The guitar playing is so deft here, with the chords able to ring out over the picked elements. It’s always moving, but that doesn’t stop there from being a clear and solid structural bed that rings through. Again, the vocals are sparse but effective, anchoring the guitar as it flows and moves through the track. It’s incredibly well balanced and emotionally moving too. Horn - The last song was comparatively quite busy, but this allows a moment of pause to gather one’s thoughts before we move on. It’s sparse and open, but also quite pretty. Things Behind The Sun - There’s something very melancholic about the chord choices during some sections, but it lifts into something more optimistic and hopeful in others. I’m less keen on this track and there are a couple of places where it jars with me slightly, it feels a tiny bit rushed to me and a little too forcefully played, if that makes sense. I think the tracks work better for me when they’re more fleeting and this is a bit more long-form. Know - There’s some resonance on the guitar in this track that grates on me and the fact that it’s just the same bar played for two and a half minutes doesn’t help that. The vocal is actually really nice, but that guitar. Not for me. Parasite - The guitar movements are quite subtle on this track, but it is perhaps a little bit repetitive as the cadence of the guitar line remains very similar throughout, even with the changes in chord. Again, the vocal is an almost ethereal presence that drifts over the top of everything and provides a bit more variance to things. There are bits that are absolutely beautiful, but I do wish for a little more development in places. Free Ride - There’s a bit more variety to this and it benefits from it. Again, we feel so close to things that you can even hear his breath. There’s some fantastic drive and momentum to this one and the balance again between the staccato guitar and legato vocal is great, with the added twist that they meet in the middle for the sections that the vocal echoes the guitar in a really lovely blend. Harvest Breed - This movement of the guitar line as it moves up and down the scale is really nice. Again, it doesn’t offer a wide arrange of ideas, but it is so brief that that doesn’t really matter. From The Morning - I really like the guitar work here. There’s extra little variations and movements in there to make things have an added element of momentum. There are also some really nice choices of chords in there too. It’s really well paced and pretty and the vocal line really perfectly straddles the line between melancholic and optimistic. A great closer.

7/10 On my first listen of this, I was almost ready to write it off as something a bit lightweight and lacking in substance, but on listening to it a second time, there is actually a lot more quality at play than one would initially assume. There’s some really interesting songwriting across the album, with plenty of structural variation, instrumental breakdowns, and even a little bit of fun with time signatures at one point. But it’s all presented with this bubble-gum pop-rock sheen that gives it a more mainstream friendly tone. I can hear big punk rock echoes across the album, and quite a few of these tracks wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a Ramones record if they had a bit more grit to the production. It’s all pretty good stuff. I suspect there are a whole bunch of bands that have been influenced by The Go-Go’s, from the Madonna and The B-52’s to Green Day and No Doubt. I’d probably almost call this proto-pop-punk in the way it takes a lot of the structure and energy of punk and twists it with a softer, more user-friendly aesthetic. I would prefer there to be a little more grit to this, as well as a little more prominence of the low end, particularly as some of the bass lines are great, but lacking a bit of body, which would really elevate it to my ears, but it’s still pretty bloody good and interesting for a record from 1981. There are a couple of lulls in places, but overall, it’s got a lot more quality than one might think, it’s really great fun, and fells like a genuine gateway album to what was to follow. Our Lips Are Sealed - This is a decent little pop-rock song. It’s got a good, chugging backbeat that gives it good drive, and there’s a good bounce to things. It doesn’t quite deliver on the hook that I was looking for, but it’s a decent little opener. How Much More - This has got great pace and a really good pop riff. It doesn’t do anything vastly interesting, but it’s a chirpy little track that does everything it sets out to. I bet this kind of thing is great fun live, there’s just so much pep to it that it’s almost impossible not to move to it. Tonite - This is a lot like an old school punk song, but presented as a girl group pop song. Yeah, it looses a bit of the grit because of that, but it also gives it an extra sheen of production and bounce that makes it interesting. Good fun. Lust To Love - The tempo for this compared to the previous tracks makes it drag a little bit. The sparse vocal led section in the middle is great though, and I do like the way the backing vocals play around the lead. This Town - Ooooh. Chuck in a bar of two why don’t you? Fantastic to hear in a pop record. This is really good. There are a lot of ideas and it never hangs around. I can’t help but wish for a little bit more grit and weight to it, but the songwriting is really fantastic. We Got The Beat - This is also good, but I fell like it could do with being a tad faster and it would be great. There’s a bit less variation to this and it leans a bit more on the surf rock motifs, but it’s not bad at all. Fading Fast - This is a bit more pedestrian. It’s just a bit more by the numbers and it doesn’t manage to land on a particularly satisfying hook. It just doesn’t quite have the substance or musical invention of some of the other tracks. Drags on a bit much too Automatic - This is a bit plodding, but there is some sonic interest in there. While I’m not a massive fan of the track, I do appreciate the attempt to do something a bit different, it just doesn’t quite connect with me. You Can’t Walk In Your Sleep (If You Can’t Sleep) - Back to something with a bit more drive to it. I like the bass line and it’s super bouncy. It’s also pretty silly, but in a really good way. There’s actually quite a bit more nuance and quality to the songwriting than one would necessarily credit it for, and it’s another one that I can’t help but move to. It’s just good fun. Skidmarks On My Heart - More good fun. It’s got a good chorus, it’s got some interesting breakdown sections and it’s got that toe-tapping pace that they seem so good at. Another great slice of fun. Can’t Stop The World - Another chirpy, punky pop number. The way the verses chug along, building up to a song-along chorus is pretty good. It’s not the most musically inventive song, but it’s more fun and another toe-tapper.

5/10 This is one of those albums that is pretty hard to judge 60 years after its release. It’s kind of hard to believe that it was recorded in 1967 really. That’s the same year that Sgt Pepper’s was released, for goodness sake! That being said, there are elements of it that betray the era a little more than others. In particular, some of the distorted tones and overdrive they use sounds less intentional and more like the result of poor recording techniques, especially when it’s layered across the whole mix, rather than being added piecemeal in different tones to the different aspects of the tracks. I can appreciate what they were going for, and it’s a stepping stone to more established sound processing that would follow, but there are places where it just doesn’t gel with my ear, which has the output of 60 years of audio processing developments fed through it. Underneath all of that, though, I found the album to be just a little too patchy and, in places, self-indulgent. On Sister Ray, for example, there were a lot of good ideas, but as an unedited 17 and a half minute jam session, it just spends too long farting around and gets lost in itself far too often. The Gift, on the other hand, engaged me far more than I expected, despite its element of self indulgence. Unfortunately, the moments of quality were outnumbered by the ones that didn’t really connect with me. It feels a bit like they spent more time focusing on the weirdness and the sound while forgetting to throw enough thought at the actual songs, which is a real shame. Big points for influence (although is this album specifically as influential as their others? Probably not). Small points for enduring quality, at least for my personal tastes. White Light/White Heat - This just seems like a reasonably decent 60’s track recorded incredibly badly. It’s a fairly standard rock ’n roll number, with a bit of a freak-out section at the end, but the sound quality is awful. Not in a heavy, distorted guitars, driven tube amps kind of way, more in a malfunctioning microphones kind of way. Meh. The Gift - A one bar bass riff and drum beat repeated for 8 minutes? Ok. But I actually found myself getting quite into it despite myself. It was quite hypnotic and the guitar was doing enough to maintain variety. I also enjoyed the slightly absurdist narrative, which has a weird enough edge to be right up my street. But there didn’t seem to be a vast amount of relation between the narrative and what was going on in the guitar. It was all a bit disconnected. But it also worked in. A funny way. I may well come back to this one. Lady Godiva’s Operation - This is a nice slice of 60’s psychedelia. It’s ok, but it drags on a bit much with not too much variance throughout. It’s all just a bit repetitive and too long. When Lou Reed’s vocals come in, they’re just a bit crap and are too loud in the mix. But when it all starts falling apart in the last minute, it starts feeling a bit more interesting again. Here She Comes Now - I know this from Nirvana covering it. It’s a nice, subtle little song. It’s a pretty basic verse, chorus, verse format, but it’s a solid little composition and it doesn’t outstay its welcome. I Heard Her Call My Name - This calls to mind one of those live TV recordings you’d hear of 60’s bands in terms of the production. Not very good and very throwaway to be shown on TV once and then never seen again. And then the lead guitar kicks in and it’s just way too loud and feels only loosely related to the actual song. It’s like when Marty McFly starts going crazy in 1955 and the rest of the band just stops playing and stares at him. A bit like the opener in some respects. It’s another ‘meh’ from me. Sister Ray - There’s a decent driving groove to this one to begin with, and some of the swells of feedback and grit are pretty cool, especially for 1967. But good lord, does it drag on. There are some really interesting and innovative bits in there, but there are also bits where they go from ‘free-jazz’ to ‘free-fingers-from-connection-with-brain-and-flail-about’. It’s all just a bit too much for me, and I feel like they’ve spent a bit too long sniffing their own farts while Andy Warhol tells them they’re geniuses.

7/10 Nick Cave makes some really dark, menacing music, his voice occasionally wavering between singing and speaking like a man teetering on the border between reality and fantasy. The album starts off strong, with pulsing, brooding threat seeping out of every tone. Sometimes that threat drifts and drips from the speakers and sometimes it tips into manic urgency as the music drives away behind him. It’s a really interesting and gripping opening half that is sometimes uncomfortable to listen to, and can sometimes hint at something really pretty, but there’s always that undercurrent of grime and mania that persists from song to song. I really enjoy his use of sound effects and fleeting slices of tonality to inject further emphasis and musical variety into his songs, and the opening set rarely seems to rest without throwing something new and uncomfortable your way. But as the album progresses, things do start to slow a little. The variety and interest seems to drain away a little from The Kindness Of Strangers onwards, which isn’t helped by a 15 minute song that musically is pretty repetitive, although remains held together by the psychopathy of the narrative. Things just get a little stale by the end, and I can’t help wishing he’d released a 40 minute cut of the album with a slight resequence of the track order and dropping a few of the less interesting numbers. That first half of the album, though, is absolutely fantastic and the rest is decent, but just doesn’t quite hold up to the same standard for me. Song Of Joy - A bleak and brooding start to the album with little pulses of hope here and there that break through the gloomy bed. The distant elements in the background that sweep, throb and occasionally swarm to the foreground add a massive amount of depth and threat to the track. Nick Cave’s delivery is as dangerous and menacing as ever. Really good stuff. Stagger Lee - There’s a good groove to this one, especially in the bass. There’s a sense of urgency to the vocal delivery that drags forward against the groove which brings great momentum to things. It’s very sonically rich and dynamic with chords that ring out or drift away and the use of sound effects make things so visceral. The build at the end is so darkly evocative of terror. Henry Lee - This is a prettier track, but there’s still an undercurrent of menace. It’s like PJ Harvey is bringing the beauty and Nick Cave is bringing the threat, while the instruments straddle the two. It’s more stripped back than the previous tracks, but it allows the vocal parts to take prominence. Lovely Creature - There’s a driving pace and urgency to this straight out of the gate and we’re back to some more sweeping swells of noise that bring more of that grimy threat to proceedings. It feels like this is a constant build, getting fuller and more grimy as the track progresses, but never really revealing its destination in the best possible way and then just drifts away into the night. Where the Wild Roses Grow - It’s Kylie! I love the way her vocal is recorded here, it’s so closely recorded and feels really intimate as a result. Perfect for the part of a murder victim retelling the story of her murder. This is a more straight down the line song than others on the album, but it’s a beautiful and masterfully written song. It doesn’t lose the melancholy, but spins it into something more open and pretty. The Curse Of Millhaven - Wow, the intro to this jerks you straight out of the calm of the previous track, and then the swell subsides into a really pacy number. Love the organ. It’s perhaps got a little less grim depth than other tracks, but boy does it move. The variation in instrumental focus between the verses really keeps it interesting. I’d say it probably goes on a little too long, but it’s still really good. I bet this is fantastic at a live show. The Kindness Of Strangers - We’re back in calmer waters now and more into an actual ballad that the album title promises. It’s nice enough, but it’s not massively interesting. While the sound effects use on other tracks really add to the depth, I found the use of the woman in the background actually distracted from the song a bit here. Crow Jane - This track does meander just a little bit too much, and off the back of the last track, I feel like the pace of the album is seeping away a little too much. It just kind of plods along and it doesn’t really carry the same menace as earlier tracks. It also doesn’t really offer much in the way of variation or development through its duration either. O’Malley’s Bar - This has got some bite and swagger to it. But it’s also very long, and doesn’t do much interesting musically to justify the length. Narratively, there’s enough content, but personally, I feel like lyrics always come second to music and when the music doesn’t evolve or vary enough over this amount of time, things can start to become stale. It’s not bad, it’s just long. Death Is Not The End - A Bob Dylan cover with quite the gang of guest stars. It’s a bit plodding, hymnal, and fairly uninteresting. Not much to note other than PJ and Kylie are back, and Shane MacGowan and Anita Lane pop by too. It rounds out the album nicely enough, but unfortunately, things had been winding down a bit in the second half anyway.

6/10 There are elements on this album that are so, so good. Brown Paper Bag is a classic and there are really compelling parts to a large number of the tracks. Some of the bass lines are absolutely fantastic, there’s some interesting chopping and blending of breaks, and the mixes with vocals are, on the whole, really decent blends between dance tracks and songs. But it’s all just a bit too much. I get that for Drum ’n Bass, tracks need to be structured for DJs to mix them in and out of other records and that having lengthy sections is good for ravers on the dance floor, but isn’t that what 12” mixes are for? Part of this is personal preference, but I suppose this is where my love for more “IDM” artists comes from. There tends to be more variation, structural change and less reliance on a single great loop than there is in more dance floor oriented electronic music. And it’s not just the length of the tracks that wore me down. This is a LONG album and, given that they also released a single disc version, which is literally just the first disc rather than the best of both, it feels like there wasn’t necessarily that much thought put into track selection and sequencing before they put it out. It’s like they just said “oh, we like these 22 tracks, let’s release them”. That sounds like a lot of complaining, but in part that’s because the parts of this album that I love, I really do love. I return to this album every now and again and really enjoy it as background music, but I would never just listen to it in a focused listening experience, because it just doesn’t feel rewarding enough to justify that kind of listening. Had the album been 40 minutes of album cuts of the best bits, this could have been a 10/10 album, but unfortunately it’s just way too flabby, both track by track and as a compilation of songs. But don’t worry Roni, I’ll still be back. Railing - This is a great intro track, full of skittish energy and a really cool synth tone. It gradually builds with extra drum breaks and then drops to a smoother break. Vocals are great too and it ends perfectly into… Brown Paper Bag - An absolute classic. That call and response between the bass and guitar is so good. There’s lots of ear candy and little bits of percussion that flicker in and out to keep things interesting. It’s a great build up and then the main hook kicks in. It’s repetitive, but it’s supposed to be, right? And still, there’s plenty of that ear candy to keep momentum and interest. There are a variety of sections to keep things moving and while the focus is obviously on the bass, there’s some interesting stuff going on at higher pitches too. New Forms - This is nice and atmospheric from the off. There’s a nice bouncy lilt to the break, which is complimented by the MC, who drifts between different paces in her lyrics. It’s got a great sung vocal too. It’s less driven than BPB, and has a more verse/chorus structure, but it’s another great track, with some really cool little touches scattered around. It manages to stay pretty fresh and interesting, despite being nearly 8 minutes long. Let’s Get It On - A slower pace to kick us off here. It’s brooding and atmospheric and it’s got some great bass. And then here comes the DnB. There’s still some variation in here and little touches for variety, but it does feel a bit more relentless than previous tracks. The bass line is decent, but just a bit too samey and there’s maybe not enough harmonic content to give it as much of a hold on the ear. The later section does add a bit of a twist on things at least. Digital - It’s got a cool intro with the panned arpeggio and little effects. The half-sung, half-spoken vocal is nice too. The sparing use of some of the melodic content spreads things out nicely and there’s some nice little elements like the little phased beat that pops in here and there. The beat has a nice lilt to it too. Despite that, 9 minutes is quite a long time to be listening to that arpeggio and unchanging drum break. Obviously it’s a dance track, but for at home listening, that can get a bit tiresome. Matter Of Fact - There’s more going on here. The chopping of the breaks is pretty cool, especially in the stereo field. We get plenty of audio effects and trickery scattered around things too. But it never really kicks into gear with a particularly satisfying flow. Mad Cat - Atmospheric start. And then the slightly stilted beat comes in and we never really progress much from there. It’s good, it’s just very repetitive. This track is an example of where my electronic music interests lie from an at home listening point of view. This track sounds exactly like something Squarepusher would put out, but he’d go through this loop once or twice and create 200 variations so things are almost always modulating and changing, whereas more trad DnB producers would be happy with that loop playing for 4 minutes. Heroes - This has more of a song structure. Having lyrics tends to reduce the draining effect of repetitiveness because of lyrical variation, although there’s less variation here than there could have been. It’s a decent track though and the vocal hook is good. It’s got that chilled DnB feel that makes it a nice easy listen. Share The Fall - As with the previous track, the lyrics add more continuous variation to this. And there’s more going on here to keep things interesting too. It’s got a greatcoat that pulses along. The vocal just doesn’t quite do it for me. A blend between the style of the previous track and the variation in this one would be fantastic. Watching Windows - There’s a bit more of a dub flavour to this one. It’s got a good groove to it and it’s nice to have something at a different pace. While I do quite like the general feel, it doesn’t completely connect with me for some reason though. I think it’s the vocal, which never really grabs me. I do really enjoy the change in tone and the general swagger of the groove though. Beatbox - Decent little interlude. Doesn’t offer a great deal, but it’s only short. Morse Code - This starts off nicely. Nice simmering pad synths with the morse code beeps flickering in and out. Thankfully the morse code doesn’t extend through the whole track. Again, this is great, has a good beat, a nice bass line, and there’s quite a bit of decent variation and ear candy in the backing, but things are just a bit relentlessly repetitive for focused listening. I do like it, but these things can get a bit tiring. Destination - Another one where things are great, solid beat, quality bass line, some cool horns, but they don’t really offer much in the way of variety. Things are switched in and out, and there is a decent amount of ear candy, but it is very dance-floor orientated. Intro - An intro to the second disc. Crispy and crunchy and not very long. Hi-Potent - This is something a little bit different. Much more melodic over the first minute. The break that comes in drags lazily at things creating a stilted feeling, and then the track proper track kicks in with a really great bass line. When the drum break doubles up, the energy picks up even more. This is a really great track and I’m going to stop complaining about the lack of variety because it’s a bloody drum and bass album. It gets even better when the more melodic elements start dripping back in during the second half of the track. Trust Me - Another really decent start to a track. Skittering DnB drums and a reasonable bass line, but then it doesn’t really do much. This one is really short on interest beyond the basics though and is just a bit boring. Change My Life - There’s a bit more going on here. More harmonic elements thrown in, with a little more variation in general, like the occasional snippets of vocal or horns. Long though. Share The Fall - I like the way this one shuffles through different combinations of breaks early on. That descending bass tone is pretty mean too. Two and a half minutes and we’re actually getting a completely different section. Hurrah! I like the way things come together after the vocal section, and how the drums and bass combine to create a sweeping dynamic that swells across the bar. Decent. Down - Another nice one. Some good quality harmonic content. Some sections where we’re left with some of that content centre stage. Another mean sub bass. Some quality little pieces of editing and ear candy. Ticks all the boxes really. Jazz - This one’s a bit more plodding. I quite like some of the elements, but as a whole it just doesn’t maintain audio interest in the same way. The bass line in particular just isn’t that exciting. Hot Stuff - That slightly lagging break in the intro is cool. Then we’re into more sonically interesting territory. The crumbling pad/melody sounds great. There’s sections where we go into breathy pads that wash over everything too. As a sonic breather from the rest of the album, it’s really interesting and a good break from some of the more frenetic tracks. It’s a shame this wasn’t placed earlier in the album really. And then we get the beat kicking in. There’s some quality editing of the breaks here too, which keep things moving. Ballet Dance - There are some interesting choices of sounds in this one. Things bounce around between various different samples and other tones, while the beats sort of stagger along. The bass line isn’t very interesting and things seem a little disorganised, but there are some interesting ideas in there nonetheless. And after nearly two and a half hours, we’re done. Unless we want to listen to the 5h 14m Anniversary Edition. Yeesh.

8/10 I’ve never really given Pulp much of a chance in the past, Britpop was never really my bag, but there’s a lot more to this than I was expecting. Jarvis Cocker plays the role of disaffected outsider really well. He rolls between being sarcastic, sinister and sincere as the tracks roll by, and it’s all backed by a really comprehensive and dense arrangement from the rest of the band. There’s a load more synth parts than I was expecting, from the subtle to the full-bodied, and the sound design in general is really good. There’s a decent level of variation between the tracks, all while maintaining a consistent sound, as they drop to sparse, menacing moments before launching into crowd-pleasing choruses. There are a couple of lulls here and there and it didn’t always manage to maintain my full interest through some of the less sonically and musically rich tracks, but overall it’s a really decent album with some absolute bangers thrown in for good measure. Mis-Shapes - This is a really compelling start. It builds and builds in intensity and then drops away and builds again. The way it swells and drives is really nice. It never really lands on even ground, which might be annoying elsewhere, but really works for the first song on an album. Pencil Skirt - And the intensity drops away. It’s quite delicate, but there’s a slight bit of edge to it too from Jarvis Cocker’s vocal delivery. Some of the synth washes are really nice. It’s almost a bit sinister and it does get a bit of drive that builds by the end. Pretty decent. Common People - This is obviously a complete classic. It’s a great pop song and a great satirical skewering of the British class system. That driving bass line along with the stacatto synth arpeggiation under it all chugs along and gives it some really great momentum. I don’t think I’d ever really given this the credit it deserves for the quality of the instrumentation. The mix is so full without being muddy. And the chorus has such a great hook, with the intensity growing from chorus to chorus. Brilliant. I Spy - This is dense and dark. Again, it’s pretty sinister and reminds me a little of Nick Cave particularly during the more whispered vocal sections. Again, it’s a very full sound that shifts and moves, particularly as the strings move to higher pitches and intensity. Disco 2000 - Another 90s classic. Another brilliant chorus. I love the lead guitar in the chorus and the way it gets punctuated by the synth chords and the end of each run. Each verse chugs along before the pre-chorus drops and then they just go for it with the chorus. It’s such an uplifting piece of songwriting set against the bitter vocal from Jarvis Cocker. Live Bed Show - This is more sombre. It sounds so wide. There’s a slightly ethereal edge to some of the higher register parts that wash around the top too. It’s got a good thrust to it, but never quite lands on as solid a hook as elsewhere on the album, but sonically, it still offers a lot. Something Changed - There’s a sort of baroque pop edge to this. I don’t know if it’s the string parts that emphasise that, but I think it’s also the lilt of the groove. I really like this one. There’s quite a lot going on across the different instrumental parts, but it all ties into a pretty satisfying and pretty whole. Sorted for E’s & Whizz - Is the ‘In the middle of the night’ section the most Britpop Pulp ever sounded? I think so. There’s some really nice elements to this, particularly some of the synth parts. It’s a bit more of a plodder to my mind and isn’t really one of my more favoured tracks on here. F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E. - Oooh, I like the sparse, sinister nature of this. It’s icy and the skittering percussion bits that come in and out are great. And then it kicks in almost out of nowhere. The chorus is more high energy, but still has an edge of menace about it. Good stuff. Underwear - This is another that threads the line between creepy and uplifting. It perhaps doesn’t hit quite as hard as some of the others on the album, but it’s not a bad track either. Monday Morning - This kicks off with a great groove and atmosphere. It’s ever changing and only settles on a style for a short while before the throw in a double-time section, or a complete transition to the chorus. It almost feels a bit disorganised, but it’s also executed well enough that it actually flows really nicely. Some of the soundscapes they create during the slower sections are great too. It’s a bit weird, but it’s also really good. Bar Italia - This is a bit more pedestrian again. It’s a well written song, but it’s a bit more basic and straight down the line than the more interesting cuts on the record. It sways nicely enough and the dynamic between the verses and choruses is nice, but it just feels a bit mundane.

9/10 This album is all about vibe. The way all of the parts just dance around each other creating grooves that just bounce around giving so much movement to the sound is fantastic. And when they're at their best the vocals do the same thing, the lead and backing vocals twisting around each other, emphasising and enhancing each other, sometimes with call and response, sometimes with straight backing harmonisations. In terms of pace, the album leans towards the lower tempo of reggae and, on a song by song level, I tend to prefer reggae with a bit more pace. But as an album, this just begs for you to lean back, close your eyes and groove. There are places when things just drag a tiny bit, but they are relatively fleeting and, even on those tracks, there's still typically enough of a groove to keep things moving without getting bogged down. Concrete Jungle - A song like this could sound a bit all over the place if there was any sloppy performances on it, but it's so tight. All the little staccato lines groove around each other, the backing vocal harmonies support the lead vocal so well and it conveys the sombre tonality of the lyrics while still bopping. Slave Driver - This takes the intensity down a notch while it notches up the intensity of the lyrics and vocal delivery. There's sadness in the delivery despite the groove. It's not massively hooky, but it's good stuff. 400 Years - The backing vocals really make this song. Set against the lazy yet sharp presence of the instrumentation, the legato vocal harmonies add real weight and also deliver a great hook through the 'woah' sections in particular. Great tune. Stop That Train - I love this song. There's something almost gospel about the slower parts, but the chorus is just exceptional. The main vocal melody is brilliant and it'll stick in your head for days. The interplay between the drums, bass, organ and guitars is just peak reggae and behind the vocals? So, so good. Baby We've Got A Date (Rock It Baby) - Another quality song. It's perhaps a little more one note than some of the other tracks and lacks a bit of the depth. It's smoother in it's delivery and doesn't have the same lyrical gravitas, but it's a nice groove. Stir It Up - Yes, yes, yes! Everything about this hits so hard. That bass line is killer. It's both laid back and driving. The way the lead and backing vocals play around each other is beautiful, and the melody is so simple but brilliant. This whole song is just the embodiment of vibe in music. And that clav solo. Ooof. Kinky Reggae - Swagger. This grooves so hard. And Marley is at his off-the-cuff best with the vocal delivery. It's like he just opens a tap and all of his nonchalant cool just flows out. It's not as varied and interesting a composition as others on the album, but it's all about that vibe. No More Trouble - Taking it back to something more weighty. There are some really nice moments when the instruments all play in unison, breaking from the typical reggae flow, which adds a nice little bit of variety. It lacks a little bit in hook, but it's a nice little tune. Midnight Ravers - The vibe continues somewhat from the last track, but the combination of the vocal parts is so good here and adds that touch of quality that raises this one up. The percussion adds a bit of depth to the groove here too. It's interesting to have a song like this in that themes and musical sections have repetition in them, but it's not a typical verse/chorus structure and doesn't have a repeated chorus lyrics either. Good way to end things, I think.

4/10 Having only heard bits of Muse before, and never being convinced to seek out any more, I always used to dismiss them as “Budget Radiohead”. Turns out I was right, but not in the way that I’d originally meant. They’re actually “Big Budget Radiohead”. Strip out all of the grit and charm of a band who do things on their own terms and replace it with over-slick production and stadium pleasing musical choices and this is what you get. It’s cold. But there are moments when things teeter on the edge of being pretty good. Knights of Cydonia and Assassin have some great, heavy riffs, for example, but those moments are too fleeting among the easy ‘stadium rock’ choices of much of the rest of the album. And I don’t like Matt Bellamy’s vocal style at all. It seems to be always delivered in this drawling, legato manner that just washes over the top of everything. It wouldn’t be as bad if he switched it up a bit, but it just feels like he’s whining and crying about everything from start to finish. In short, my opinion on muse hasn’t really changed. There are times when they sound a bit like other bands that I like, but if I want to listen to that, I’d rather listen to those other bands do it better. Take a Bow - Well they’ve found the arpeggiator on their synth. Make that multiple. I think this is supposed to be building to something epic. But it’s still building and it all sounds a bit thin. It finally kicks in and it just clomps along. The pace never really picks up. It’s stadium rock with synthesisers by numbers. Starlight - This starts off with a bit of weight for the first few bars. And then the piano kicks in and we’re in stadium corporate rock (Coldplay) territory. Meh. Every choice they make is the obvious one. There are hints here and there that they could do something that sounds decent, but they don’t bother. I mean, it’s not like it’s completely unforgivable, it’s just uninteresting. Supermassive Black Hole - The big hit. It at least has a bit more swagger to it. But it still feels a bit of an artificial swagger, if that makes sense. It’s all too clean and calculated. It straddles the line between a pop song and a rock song and doesn’t really satisfy either brief for me. Map of the Problematique - It builds and builds and builds and… never gets anywhere. Songs that feel like an endless intro just bug me. Thing is, I really dig unresolved tension in music, but in something that is supposed to be massive and epic like this, it just feels like they never bothered to write a chorus to go with all of that tension build-up. It has got a toe-tapping drive to it, but it’s also annoying. Soldier’s Poem - What happens when Matt Bellamy tries his best to sing like Thom Yorke and the rest of the band try to sing like Queen? This is what happens. It’s ok, I suppose. Pretty forgettable though. Invincible - Ah, another Coldplay song but with Matt Bellamy trying to sing like Thom Yorke again. It takes two and a half minutes to kick in, and when it does it’s so anaemic. Fuck me, this is thin and boring. Give it a bit of welly, lads. Oooh, 3:40 or so, something happens! Is it going to kick off? Oh, no. Just a shit (really shit) guitar solo. Assassin - Oh god, this is actually good. Actual pace and intensity. It’s a bit Queens of the Stone Age. Except now Matt Bellamy has ruined it with his whiny little voice. This could actually be decent, if a little straightforward, but it doesn’t really offer much in the way of development and the insipid vocal just takes all of the weight out of it. How annoying. Exo-Politics - This one has some decent riffs and weight. The chorus is still pretty run-of-the-mill stadium rock, but it’s not bad. There’s even some somewhat interesting sound design in there. It’s got a decent driving pace to it too. Still not keen on his voice, but it’s less distracting here than it is on other tracks. City of Delusion - This is another one that has a decent amount of pace to it. The drums are pretty good on this, in particular. They don’t hold on too long to the build up sections, and it has a decent amount of variation. The string arrangements are pretty cool too. His voice is still annoying though and it all seems a bit artificially grand somehow. Hoodoo - Got enough reverb? And a weird spaghetti western guitar intro? This vocal part reminds me of something that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s a bit dull, and then when the other parts kick in it does that ‘building to nothing thing again. And then drops back away to the dull thing again. Knights of Cydonia - This has got a bit more of that western feel to it, but at least it’s more interesting. Not a big fan of the guitar tone though. Sounds super scratchy. It’s all a bit messy, especially given the context for the rest of the album. Not a big fan of the gang vocals, they sound very wet mouthed. When it kicks in it’s a really great riff. Nice and heavy and again, quite Queens of the Stone Age. But the gang vocals come in again and it just doesn’t do it for me. It’s a decent enough song though.

8/10 The Pharcyde fall into that sweet spot of hip-hop for me. They’re skilled rappers and lyricists, they create great, bouncy grooves, and they always sound like they’re having a great time. The sample selection on this album is really excellent and there’s a great blend of jazzy, funky flavours that really support the vibe of the tracks. The approach to lyric writing shifts from comedic to puerile, but always with a knowing wink, and there are also hints of political commentary throughout, although these never take centre stage. There are a couple of potential complaints that are common notes in hip hop, particularly around misogyny, homophobia and transphobia, but in actual fact, I feel like these things, while dating the album a little, are actually approached in more of a lighthearted way that actually pokes as much fun at the rappers as it does at any outsider, which is fairly refreshing. And let’s not forget this was an album made by a load of LA kids in their early 20s back in the early 90s. Personally, I think that the song sequencing on the album could have been a little better, as three more laid back tracks towards the end did lag a little, when they could have added a bit more dynamic variation if they were placed elsewhere, but other than that, it’s a high quality album that’s just a lot of fun. 4 Better Or 4 Worse (Interlude) - A nice little jazzy intro. Not much more to say! Oh Shit - This has got a nice bounce to it. I love the general vibe of the rapping, it’s really lighthearted and fun. They pass the lead around which gives a bit of variety. It’s a shame that the backing is basically the same the entire way through, although there are a couple of parts that they bring in and out, but the focus is so drawn to the vocals that it has less of an impact than it would otherwise. It’s also possibly a bit transphobic, but I feel a bit like he’s laughing at himself rather than being nasty. It’s Jiggaboo Time (Skit) - A little bit of silly fun between tracks. 4 Better Or 4 Worse - There’s more variety between verse and chorus here, as well as variety within sections too. It’s all delightfully silly, particularly the interplay between the rapping and spoken vocal. The blend of all of the little vocal bits and pieces is great. It all weaves in and out and creates a really cool blended collage effect. Quality. I’m That Type Of Nigga - There’s a real pace to this one. The flow of the rapping is really good too. The gang vocals against the horn samples sound massive and just continue the feeling of fun that they’re putting across through the album so far. The use of little cuts and changes to the track to emphasise certain vocal phrases works really well too to keep things interesting. Soul Flower (Remix) - This is so upbeat and full sounding. The use of little sound effects adds a lot of depth. They all just sound like they’re having so much fun making this record, it’s great. Despite the fact that the core track doesn’t vary much, the fact that various sections drop in and out means there’s a constant feeling of change and movement, especially when they trade vocals from verse to verse. Great track. On The DL - The pace drops a bit here. The instrumental melody perhaps clashes a bit with the intensity of the vocal delivery in places and the slightly frenetic energy of the beats. There’s a bit less variety to this in general. It’s not bad, but it’s not as engaging as when they’re in full party mode. Pack The Pipe (Interlude) - Another little breather. Officer - There’s a really nice lilt given to this by the piano sample, which just drags the groove a tiny bit. The beat for this is great. It shuffles really nicely, but has a decent momentum to it too. This is another one where it’s all so silly and entertaining. The lyrics and narrative are so good too. As with some of the other tracks, there’s less variety to the instrumental, but the vocals lead things so well that it hardly matters. Solid. Ya Mama - A whole song filled with ya mama jokes? This is The Pharcyde at their most puerile. It’s decent, but it lacks a bit of the variety and depth that some of the other tracks have. All a bit of fun and they have a really unexpected little vocal harmony that they chuck in the middle, which is cool. Passin’ Me By - Another change of pace. Stylistically, this stands out a bit from the rest of the album and they actually reign in their delivery a bit to accommodate the more relaxed nature of the track. There’s a good change of pace between the verse and chorus too. It doesn’t have the same level of fun and frenetic energy that a lot of the rest of the album has, but it’s a nice little diversion and is an obvious single too. Otha Fish - Another laid back one. They could probably have split these two tracks to create more of a dynamic flow to the track sequencing. It doesn’t have the variety of Passin’ Me By, but there are some nice slices of rap-singing that work really well, although they are perhaps a little high in the mix. It’s not bad, but it feels a bit weka when placed back to back with the previous track. Quinton’s On The Way (Skit) - An interlude like this just goes to emphasise the silly, fun nature of the group. They’re all just a load of kids having fun, not taking themselves too seriously. Pack The Pipe - Another one that keeps the tempo dropped. It’s jazzy and has a good groove to it. Again, I feel like the sequencing of the album lets this down a bit, as it’s a decent enough track, but suffers from coming off the back of two other more downtempo tracks. Return Of The B-Boy - And we pick the tempo back up. That bass line is great. There’s a shaker/hi-hat that runs through the whole track that’s quite grating though. Other than that, this is a really solid track. The vocal flow is great, there’s a load of swagger to it and it wraps up that feeling of these guys having a great time making some solid tunes, with a few nice references to hip-hop groups of the 80s.

7/10 There were parts of this that I really enjoyed. The musicianship was, as expected, fantastic, and when the parts all span and twisted around each other, it created this wonderful, constantly moving soundscape that was really engaging. I particularly enjoyed the use of irregular meters in the opening track, which gave things a really satisfying lilt. Some of the vocal parts I was less keen on. Jacqui McShee does have a tendency to get a little shrill and use wavy little trills that just grate on me a bit. When that’s toned down, her vocals can be lovely, but if she starts getting a bit too high pitched, it does detract from things. Bert Jansch, on the other hand, has this really earthy, unique voice that just blends in with their sound. There was the odd lull through the album, and also a few moments where there were issues with the recording, but by and large, I enjoyed my time listening to this, and I’m sure it’ll get a few more spins. Light Flight - Oooh. Love me a wacky time signature choice, and moving between 6/4 and a bar by bar alternation between 5/4 and 7/4 certainly is wacky. I do really like this. There’s obvious skill in the playing and all the parts just move and roll around each other really nicely. The secondary vocal is perhaps the weakest part for me. It’s a little on the shrill side, but it doesn’t detract too much from how good the rest of it is. Once I Had a Sweetheart - I’m a bit less convinced by this one. It’s more stripped back and the vocal does too much of the wobbly trill things that don’t do it for me. When it gets busier and louder it sounds like the tape is being overdriven too, so it gets a bit distorted and loses clarity. It just didn’t really engage me, to be honest. Springtime Promises - This returns to the parts dancing around each other in a far more satisfactory way. This a nice lilting movement to the track and some really solid guitar work in particular. I also like Bert Jansch’s voice. It’s quite unique but tonally works so well for this type of music. Lyke-Wake Dirge - This is very pretty. It’s obviously funereal and feels like a nice blend of pagan and christian traditions. The vocal parts are all lovely and it is very evocative. Train Song - Quite a jazzy number, with an edge of blues to it. It’s got a really nice pace to it and when that drops away there’s a cool swagger to the groove. There are some really tasty progressions in there too. Particularly in the second half, there’s some truly excellent playing too, with a fiery and dextrous dynamic. Hunting Song - A woodsy, folksy song that sounds quite trad. It slowly builds as it goes, with the extra percussion that comes in half way through adding an injection of pace and movement. The two guitar parts complement each other so well and there’s barely a break for breath at any point. The alternating vocals give it an interesting tonal shift through different sections. Sally Go Round the Roses - We’ve pretty much landed on a folk rock song here. Its shuffling rhythms, provided by the various parts all at once add a really good drive and swing to things. The bass is particularly good. It’s definitely more straightforward, but it’s also really decent. The Cuckoo - Another nice song. Again, I do find the vocals to be a little on the shrill side for me. The slow lilt that the bass lends to the always moving guitars strikes a nice balance. It doesn’t offer too much in terms of development through its duration, but it’s not bad. House Carpenter - Something about the use of the sitar just doesn’t quite gel with me. Probably a personal thing. But I also think there’s just a bit too much of a focus on the high-end for this song and it lacks a bit of weight. As usual, quality playing, but it doesn’t quite connect with me in the same way that other tracks have.

6/10 There’s just no way I could do my usual song by song review for this album. It’s just too long. But let’s leave the gripes for later. The first thing to note is that Ella’s voice is just magic. It’s spine-tingling, goosebump inducing magic. She has so much control and presence, but also has this laid back swagger that makes it sound like she’s just rolled in off the street, been handed a lyric sheet and bashed out each song on the first take with a glass of wine in her hand. The perfection of her timing as she slides effortlessly from note to note is something to behold. The orchestration is also absolutely exceptional. Nothing sticks out or gets lost anywhere at all and the balance is just beautiful. As for the recording? There are over 70 players on this album, which was recorded over a three month period in 1959, and it sounds like it’s happening right in front of me over 65 years later. It puts a number of the (much later) recordings on this list to shame. The songwriting is quite obviously of its time. There are some really lovely tunes in here, and Ella lends things such emotional weight with her delivery, from light hearted and fun, to sad and sincere and everywhere in between. Personally, I have a preference for her more pure jazz output, rather than this more pop/classical jazz and have a particular soft spot for her work with Louis Armstrong, but that doesn’t take away from the quality of what’s on display here. There are obvious lulls in places and there’s a lot of stuff that obviously sounds very very samey. Which leads on to the big negative of this ‘album’. It’s not an album, it’s a box set. It’s just too much. Partly this is down to the era that this was released. The album as a concept was only really starting to form at this point, and had been, essentially, a collection of songs, rather than a considered artistic whole up to this point and, arguably a good few years into the 60s. This isn’t really intended as a singular listening experience, more as something that you’d stick on a disc or two of here and there. So where do I land on this? At its best, it’s gorgeous. I love listening to Ella sing. But this is just excessive. I’ve really struggled to pin down a score because of that, but I guess I have to put a pin in there somewhere. I’m just very sad that this is the only Ella ‘album’ on the list.

6/10 I've never spent much time with the Stones in the past. I've heard the obvious hits, but never dug much deeper. Honestly, I found this very hit and miss. When it was good, I did really enjoy it, but when it was bad. Oh boy. Mick Jagger's vocal sounds quite different across the album, which is a bit weird, but on a couple of tracks, it just sounds terrible and really takes away from the rest of the track. Jigsaw Puzzle and Factory Girl were both big lowlights for me. Really awful vocals ruining otherwise decent songs. Often I felt myself thinking that I'd be happier putting on some of the blues music that this was obviously inspired by, as this lacked a bit of the grit and authenticity that you get from the old school blues guys. There was also quite often very little significant development across the tracks, which was a bit of a shame. It kind of works when it's a bluesman with a guitar, but when you bulk it out like this, I feel like it needs a bit more. That being said, the band was great. They were tight, there was some great grooves and some of the guitar work was first rate. But hard to call this to be honest, but it's pretty much straight down the middle for me. Sympathy For The Devil - A fantastic start to the album. It's actually got a bit of a slow build. That bass line is a banger, but it's been aped so many times that it seems a bit overdone these days. Guitar solo tone is pretty harsh and is too high in the mix. Great mix of percussion in with the rhythm. It doesn't really develop a great deal in the end though, which is a bit of a shame. No Expectations - Nice bit of slide guitar. This is a good little slow number with a bit of swagger. The guitar parts and the piano blend together into a really nice tonal bed. It doesn't really develop much, but it's a pretty decent little tune. Dear Doctor - Country territory now. It's feels like it's trying too hard and I don't like the half shouted gang vocals. It all just feels a bit insincere, without being tongue in cheek. I feel like music like this has to be in one camp or the other to really convince. It's a miss for me. Parachute Woman - I quite like this. But I like the blues that this is quite obviously inspired by a lot more. Give me Howlin' Wolf or Muddy Waters over this any day. It's a really good track actually. Just doesn't have the authenticity that the real trad bluesmen would give it. Jigsaw Puzzle - Nope. Don't like the slurred three note drop in the vocal melody at all. Sounds so non committal and half arsed. And the vocal melody just repeats through the whole song. The actual track is decent. It's got some great honky-tonk piano and a real nice groove, but eurgh that vocal is really distractingly bad. Street Fighting Man - There's an interesting emphasis to the rhythm of this. It gives it an interesting, almost lopsided thrust to it. Again, the vocal is not great. Too much time alternating between two notes. When he goes away from that, it's much better, but it's just a bit annoyingly repetitive. The song also doesn't offer much variety in general to be honest Prodigal Son - Oh, this is much better. Again, I'd prefer to listen to some old school delta blues, but there's a really good driving pace to this and the guitars sound great. Oh. It's a cover. And it seems they didn't credit Rev Robert Wilkins for writing it on the original sleeve. Nice. Stray Cat Blues - This is ok. It's got a nice swagger and a solid driving beat. It never really lands on a solid hook anywhere though, which is a shame. The component parts are decent, but it just never does enough to really grab me. Factory Girl - The guitar work for the intro is really nice. Oh god, the vocal. Is he going to sing in a strained way and fail to hit the high notes the whole way through? So flat. So drawling. Eurgh. Sounds like that guy from Puddle of Mudd trying to sing About A Girl. The rest of the track is really good, but I can't really hear it because of the unforgivable vocal. Salt Of The Earth - Sounds like a Bob Dylan song. It's pretty good. The piano part is great and the blend of the rest of the band sounds so full. It's got some solid drive to it and the backing vocals really add depth. There's enough variety between sections and the vocal line really ties everything together well. Nice little gritty jam at the end too.

4/10 There are some decent ideas scattered around on this album, but overall I don’t think things clicked very often and often sounded like disparate ideas thrown together in quite a haphazard way and then not mixed particularly well. It kind of feels like a home demo of something that could end up being pretty decent with the right producer at the wheel. But no. There are about 10 featured musicians on the credits and two producers (including Mike himself), so this isn’t just a home studio effort. I hear a lot of what artists like cLOUDDEAD, Boom Bip and Prefuse 73 were doing at a similar (perhaps slightly later) time, but their work is far more conherent. What those artists manage to achieve is a general through line in their music that tends to tie the variety of their musical stylings together in a satisfactory way. Mike Ladd seems to have had a thousand ideas and then not considered how to balance, blend and distribute them in a way that is ultimately musically satisfying. That being said, I could see the promise in this and there were moments when things did click into place, like elements of Airwave Hysteria, some of the parts of To the Moon’s Contractor (although that didn’t justify it’s runtime) and the later stages of Feb. 4 ’99 as a few examples. But ultimately, this didn’t manage to engage in a sustained way, despite the scatterings of interest that appeared here and there, which is a shame. 5000 Miles West of the Future - I can hear what this is trying to do. It doesn’t quite blend together that well though. The bass line hints at something more robust, but never really delivers and there’s a couple of odd note choices in there that ruin the flow. It all just feels a bit disjointed. I think the vibe is ok, but musically it just doesn’t really come together very well. Airwave Hysteria - This sample used in the intro and in a few places just doesn’t fit with the rest of the track. I actually think the verse is decent. It reminds me a little of cLOUDDEAD, but not as good. The scratching bit is quite nice too, but it’s all a bit of a jumble. Quite a few ideas that again don’t blend all that well together. And there’s a sample that is quite disonnant against the bass which doesn’t work. Planet 10 - Again, the vibe of this is decent. The beats are nice and subtle, but the singing doesn’t work. He’s tried to make it ‘alien sounding’ but he’s not succeeded in a musically satisfying way. It just shits on the rest of the track, unfortunately. Takes More Than 41 - Now this is shit. Discordant, badly mixed, and terribly sung. Bladerunner’s - Another disjointed intro, but when it kicks in it’s got a nice groove. I like the bass too. There’s a guest rapper who’s better than Mike is. Not a great look. Again, the different sections feel really disconnected acted from one another and don’t flow. It’s like he’s made a bunch of ideas and jammed them together. There are some interesting changes as the track grows, but it starts getting cluttered, which is ultimately unsatisfying. No. 1 Street - This isn’t bad to begin with, but it gets tired. The mix is bad and there’s a big resonance on the bass that’s horrible. His delivery doesn’t seem particularly considered either. To the Moon’s Contractor - There’s some interesting stuff in here, although there’s not enough development or variation to justify a ten minute runtime. There’s some nice bass playing in there though, and some of the harmonic elements brought Air to mind. It is just a bit on the bland side though. I Feel Like $100 - This kind of sound collage in hip hop is wonderful when it’s done right. It’s not done right here. The mix is terrible and things just jar against one another, but not in a satisfactory way. If you can feel some thread of continuity pulling through things like this, they can work well, but this is just too crowded and muddled. The Animist - This has a nice groove to it. The lyrics are not good though. Overall, not that bad, but there’s probably not enough to grip me and not any real hook to engage. The beats were nice and head-bobbing though. Red Eye to Jupiter (Starship Nigga) - I quite like the energy of this one, but again, the chorus lyrics are a bit try hard. It’s quite noisy, but I think that’s part of the charm of this. Things actually blend reasonably well. Not bad. Welcome to the Afterfuture - This one isn’t bad either. The beat has a nice bit of groove and drive to it. But it just never really goes anywhere. Another odd sample to finish it off, Wipe Out on the Wave of Armageddon - This starts really nicely. The swelling pad sounds are nice, as are some of the synth tones and pitch sweeps. There’s a weird and jarring shift at about 3 minutes that doesn’t flow and things start to fall apart from there. Feb. 4 ’99 (For All Those Killed by Cops) - This isn’t bad either. Nice to see some proper fire in his delivery. Another jarring turn at about 3 minutes in that doesn’t flow with everything else and then we drift away again. Some nice elements, though. The beat is lo-fi and crispy and the pulsing bass is nice, as is the melodic line. Decent finish.

6/10 This was an interesting listen. It had a distinctly 80s edge to it, despite being released in 1974, so there must be some element of this being ahead of its time. It also had places where it sounded very reminiscent of David Bowie. From a songwriting point of view, I didn’t find that there were too many memorable hooks that stuck with me past the end of the record, which was a bit of a shame. The vibe was often really good, but it rarely completely engaged me, despite the overall appeal of the sound itself. When they allowed things to get a bit weirder, things were pretty fun, although perhaps less synthy than I was hoping for (now that Eno had left the band, maybe that was to be expected). They do conjure up some really good grooves here and there and some of the guitar playing was particularly decent. There was a slight lack of balance to the album, in that a few of the tracks didn’t stylistically blend particularly well with the rest, like If It Takes All Night and Triptych, but sometimes that can be a really useful device to add a bit of intrigue to an album. It’s probably not an album I’ll be coming back to that often, but there were certainly some interesting aural flavours that were worth hearing. The Thrill Of It All - A good song to kick things off. There’s a nice pace to it that drives it forward with a tight and solid rhythm section. There’s plenty of instrumentation that comes and goes, with the strings and sax offering some interesting flavour. Solid guitar work too. Three And Nine - I’m a bit less keen on this one. It’s a bit more laid back, but it doesn’t really offer much in the way of interest outide of the main theme. There are parts of it I like, particularly the rhythm of some of the vocal lines against the track and some of the vocal blend of lead and backing. Nice, but not overly exciting. All I Want Is You - There’s some cool guitar playing on here. I like the overall vibe and it feels super 80’s, so must have been ahead of its time. There’s nothing about it that really grabs me hook-wise, unfortunately, but I did enjoy it. Out Of The Blue - There’s some great playing on this. Some really nice sweeping phasey parts too. I like the little breaks that they throw in here and there, and there’s a real driving thrust to it too. It’s quite Bowieish, and I like the slightly off the wall descent into mania at the end. Sonically, it’s a pretty interesting track. If It Takes All Night - A fairly straight rock n’ roll number, but with more modern production values. It’s decent, but it does sound a bit like Bryan Ferry trying to ape Elvis a bit too much. I kind of feel like this might have been the jumping off point for Huey Lewis & The News. Bitter Sweet - This is atmospherically interesting. It’s quite grand in a way and the climbing and falling piano is interesting, before the thudding, plodding weirdcore section, which is the kind of thing Mike Patton would take in an even heavier direction almost 20 years later with Mr Bungle. It’s pretty bold and wacky. Triptych - This is also a bit of an odd one. It doesn’t really offer a huge amount of diversion from its fairly plodding rhythm, despite the always moving harpsichord tone. It never really gets grand or big enough. Not for me. Casanova - This has got a really nice swing to the rhythm. Some of the best vocal delivery on the album, too. This is a proper head-bobber and it’s got a bit of grit and attitude to it too. It’s still got that twist of weirdness, bit it’s more anchored and has some really cool guitar work too, which pulls against the synth parts nicely. A Really Good Time - I quite like the attitude to the vocal and the way it sits against the rest of the track. There’s some nice rhythmic choices too, particularly with the descending beats that the band hit together. There’s a nice ambience to the instrumentation here too. Nice track. Prairie Rose - The groove of this is good. There’s a nice drive from the drums and the blend of the different dynamics from the staccato rhythm section and the drawn out vocal and slide guitar is nice. It feels like this track does do quite a bit of hanging around on one thing for too long though. More solid guitar playing, but the vocal sections are maybe a bit too broken up and repetitive. Not bad though.

3/10 I don’t know what happened to this band. They seem to have completely lost any ability to write the type of music that they’re actually good at making about 15 minutes into the sessions for this album. Two of the three big singles (Time to Pretend and Kids) had appeared in earlier forms on their indie label EP a couple of years before this album came out, and the only one that comes close to it, but still isn’t in at their level, is the other single. It’s kind of maddening. Their good songs are bombastic, euphoric, electro indie and when they do that, it’s great. But they seem to not want to do that for the rest of the album. Oh, and their lead singer is bad. With the high energy, big production stuff, it kind of works. The lead and bass lines are the stars and he’s the cheerleader during those, but when he’s left more exposed, oh boy. It feels like the producer is constantly trying different techniques and effects chains to make the vocal better, but it comes across as pretty scattergun and doesn’t really hide how weak the vocal is. Oddly, the guy who takes more of the backing vocals seems a much more competent singer. Maybe he’s just shy. This album is definitely held up by the singles, and I’d happily dip back in to those, but that’s all that’s elevating this album above the real cloggers on the list. Time to Pretend - This is an electro-indie banger. It’s got some interesting sound design, some great hooks and it moves. The beats are good, it’s got real weight and it screams ‘dancing, arms aloft at a festival in the rain’. Vocally it’s not great, but they are not the main focus of the track, so they work. Solid. Weekend Wars - Stripped back and thin, the weakness of the vocal is more exposed here. This is just a bit meandering and doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. It does offer development into different stages, but it feels like someone’s just muted a bunch of channels in the mix and we’ve got about half of a track. The Youth - Another wandering, meandering and thin song. It’s just rubbish. Doesn’t offer anything at all, plods along and then ends. Electric Feel - Another single! This has got a nice little groove to it, and some of the synth work is pretty decent. It is still quite thin in places and never reaches the height and weight of Time to Pretend. It just never really quite delivers on its promises. Decent enough album track, but still feels a bit bland. Kids - The other big banger of a single. It’s got a meaty, solid bass line and the intersecting synth lead lines are cool under that wash of pads. Again, the weakness of the vocal is compensated for by the scale and weight of the track. It’s very hooky and falls into the same category as Time to Pretend. Festival anthem. 4th Dimensional Transition - Another song that doesn’t really offer anything. Plinky synth lines that don’t go anywhere, and insistent percussion that bashes away, completely at odds with the rest of the track. It feels like it’s building to about the 3 minute mark, but it doesn’t build to anything except a drop off and some random guitar strumming that drags on for a minute. Rubbish. Pieces of What - Oooh, more terrible singing. This is the sound of an unbearable twat with an acoustic guitar around a campfire, but with an outrageous amount of reverb on his vocal. There’s obviously a bit of instrumentation, but it’s all very by the book and uninteresting. It finally kicks in 2/3 of the way through, for about 30 seconds, inexplicably, but the drums are splashy and bad, and then it just drifts away and… that’s it? Of Moons, Birds & Monsters - Sounds like pretty unspectacular indie rock, but with synths and a very muddy mix. He still can’t sing. Oh, that’s a bad guitar solo too. When it builds up the soundscapes it’s at least a bit more interesting, but the quality of the rest of the (non single) tracks on here has left me with less patience for this than I would normally have. The Handshake - It’s a fairly plodding little number with some arpeggiated synths. There’s a bit more to this than some of the other tracks. Rhythmically, it’s a bit more interesting in places and some of the synth washes are nice. Do we need a minute of ‘We got the handshake’? And with added whistling. Great. Future Reflections - This feels unfocused and I couldn’t help but lose attention to this multiple times. It’s just a bit uninteresting as a song. There’s at least a bit of an attempt to make it sonically interesting with some of the production, but it’s just a boring song.

7/10 When this album hits its highest points, it is really, really good. At its best, it’s an understated and subtle display of great songwriting and musicianship. The first couple of tracks, for example, are just excellent. It rarely blows your socks off, but it just wraps you up in a blanket and feeds you a metaphorical warm bowl of soup, while you sit back and sink into the audio delights. But there are flaws here. I feel like this is a bit of an exercise in clearing the decks for George Harrison. A lot of these songs are ones that were rejected by The Beatles, and it feels like he’s just throwing all of his ideas out in one big splurge, perhaps without casting enough of a critical eye over the combined consistency and quality of the collection. There are bits that drag, songs that don’t quite meet the highest standards, and just a bit of an overwhelming mass of music on display. I also feel like there are places when Phil Spector’s ‘wall of sound’ really swamps the songwriting and clouds a very good song under an overwhelming wash of instrumentation that actually detracts from the experience, whilst also often washing out any dynamic range. As has been stated a couple of times already for the longer albums on this list, there is a really excellent 9 or 10/10 45 minute album in here, it’s just a shame that there’s an extra hour that saps away some of the magic. I’d Have You Anytime - I really like the way he plays with switching between bars of four and three in the transitions here. The guitar playing is excellent too. It’s really chill and a pretty listen. My Sweet Lord - Obvious classic. It’s just a really well written song. It’s got a solid rhythm section that drives it, and I really, really like the transition of the last line of the verse into the chorus. It’s a bit sickly sweet in some respects, but it’s still a really good song. Wah-Wah - There’s a lot going on in this song, it’s a very Phil Spector production. In some respects, that doesn’t really give things a lot of room to breathe and it loses something from the dynamics because of it. It’s not got the most compelling chorus either. It’s a good song, but not a great one. Isn’t It a Pity - Another solid track that builds nicely from a stripped back start, into something more full by the end. When the bass appears it feels so weighty and rounded. There are some nice chord choices in there too. It’s a nice song, but it does drag on a bit. What Is Life - This has got great pace to it. It’s another very full, wall of sound production, but there is a bit more dynamic range to it, which really helps the flow of the song. Really solid chorus and there’s a lot of movement among the instrumentation that keeps things rocking along. If Not For You - I really like the cadence of the bass chord structure. It’s a Dylan cover and it’s good. Some nice slide guitar playing. Funnily enough, it sounds a bit like a Bob Dylan song done by a Beatle. Who’d’ve thunk it. Behind That Locked Door - It’s a pleasant little country song. There’s some nice guitar playing, and I like the piano part too. It’s simple, but effective. Pretty little ditty. Let It Down - This is a dreamy number until it builds into something more bombastic in the chorus. Some more great piano and guitar playing in there too, but it never really quite lands on something particularly coherent and engaging for me really. Run of the Mill - Love the little toying with the emphasis of the beat during this with a few bars of three thrown in to pull things off kilter. The horn parts are nice here, along with the piano work. It’s an understated song, but it has a little edge of magic to it. Really nice. Beware of Darkness - Again, there are some quality transitions here, with some interesting chord progressions. More lovely playing too. It’s just a really nice wash of a song. It just sweeps over you and wraps you up. Apple Scruff - Ah, blow in and out harmonica playing. Sounds like a small child that might have some musical potential. This song is, frankly, a bit of a mess. The singing isn’t great, there’s too much bad harmonica playing, and it doesn’t really do anything interesting. Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll) - There are some nice elements to this, but it feels a bit unfocused and like there’s just a bit too much to the production. It would probably work a bit better if it was stripped back a bit. It just sort of drifts along without ever really getting that interesting. Awaiting on You All - This has got a lot more to it than the last track, straight off the bat. It’s still very busy and that wall-of-sound production does unnecessarily clutter things. It’s a really decent song, but there’s just too much going on. All Things Must Pass - Is it just me, or is this ‘The Great Gig In The Sky’, but released three years earlier? It’s good. The horns are not great though, and again, I feel it’s over-orchestrated. Solid songwriting though. I Dig Love - This is cool. I like the use of different rhythms, and the space that allows. It doesn’t ever offer a great deal of development though. More quality playing, as usual. Art of Dying - Holy 70’s theme tune intro, Batman. There’s a great pace to this. It’s kind of like if The Beatles had joined with a mariachi band to write a knock-off James Bond theme. There are some great elements, but some of the horn sections don’t fit and it never really lands on a memorable hook. The vocal almost feels like it’s from a completely different song, one that has a completely different energy. Isn’t It a Pity - As if to illustrate that this album is too long, George gives us a second version of a song that is already on the album. At least this one is shorter. It’s got a bit more going for it as well, with some extra developments and a nice build of instrumentation. But why did we need the 7 minute version of this? Hear Me Lord - This is decent. Great playing again. Solid piano in particular. But it’s a little bit dull. I’d probably have more patience for some of this if the whole album was more concise, but it’s getting a bit tiring at this point. Out of the Blue - And as an answer to my prayers, he chucks in an 11 minute track. Thanks George. Again, good musicianship. There are some great ideas in here, some really good grooves and some of the guitar work and tones are really, really good. But it ends up riffing on the same ideas for too long. It’s Johnny’s Birthday - Like it. It’s weird but fun. Plug Me In - This kicks off really well. Great drive, quality playing and a good bit of fun. It’s very much a rock ’n roll electric blues number, but everyone’s letting loose and having a great time. The freedom of the playing gives it plenty of interest too. I Remember Jeep - More blues, less excitement this time. It feels a bit more slap-dash. It’s not bad, but it’s also not vastly interesting, and goes on for fgr too long. Thanks for the Pepperoni - This is another one that’s more like Plug Me In. There’s a bit more to it. The playing has a bit more interest to it and there’s a great pace to it. Not sure we needed 17 minutes of blues rock jamming to end the album though. I’d have more time for this if it hadn’t already been an hour and 40 minutes of music, I expect, because it’s very good.

10/10 How do you review an album of this scope? It’s pretty much the culmination of everything Stevie had learned up to this point. He took a year off his standard ‘album a year’ schedule and spent a bit of extra time working on something new. And boy did it pay off. It touches on his personal journey, politics, fatherhood, love and music itself and it does it all with so much groove, drive and musical talent that it’s, frankly, a little bit silly. It flows so beautifully from track to track, but touches base on some of the most heartfelt love songs, some of the funkiest jams and some of the most brilliant pop hits you’re ever likely to hear. And because it never stops shifting and moving, it fails to ever really slip into the ‘lull’ that other double albums often fall into. Yes, there are some songs that aren’t quite as brilliant as others, but given that there are at least a handful of 11/10 songs on the album, the 9/10s don’t really do much to drag down the average. And that’s without considering the album as a whole. It’s just an exceptional piece of work that just sits tall and proud above the sum of its (quite considerable) parts. I’ve listened to this album three times today and I’ve just started on my fourth. Listen closely and I guarantee you will find something new in so many of these tracks even on your 20th, 30th or 40th listen through. Some of these compositions are so thick with talent and musicianship that it’s almost hard to appreciate it in your first few runs through. But he also never lets that overwhelm things, throwing in something more stripped back now and again to let your ears settle before something massive comes cresting over the hill. Oh, and to chuck out a 4 track EP with limited edition releases of the original LP that’s as good ‘A Something’s Extra’, is frankly ridiculous. Fair play Stevie. Love’s In Need Of Love Today - This is a beautiful tour of Stevie’s vocal range, from the subtle to the soaring, with bits of grit and fire thrown in for good measure. Instrumentally, it’s relatively restrained, but the playing is so good. It’s laid back, but tight and has a great groove to it. This is quite like a jazz piece in that there are some defined chord structures and motifs that are then just riffed on in a more freeform way. Have A Talk With God - I love the blend of synths used on this track. It creates a really interesting soundscape, with the sample and hold driven pad in the background and the sharp, staccato tones, along with that fat, smooth bass. And then layer on those vocals and harmonica lines. Lovely. Village Ghetto Land - An overtly political vocal set over an almost baroque synth composition? It’s a bit of a strange blend, but allows the lyrics and vocal to take centre stage, which I think is the point. His vocal is excellent as always and it pays to have variation on any album, let alone one this long. Contusion - So much going on here. In stark contrast to the sparse arrangement of the last track, this is so full, almost to a hectic degree. Fantastic synth and guitar playing in particular. It’s got bags of attitude and drive and some really interesting rhythmic changes. I love this track, there’s always some little bit that I hear like it’s new, even though I’ve heard it so many times. Sir Duke - Well, it’s Sir Duke. It swings, it grooves and it kicks. If this doesn’t get you moving, then I presume you have no reflection. There is no fault to be found anywhere in this song. Exceptional composition, supreme playing and a perfect vocal delivery. How can you follow this? I Wish - Oh, so this is how you follow Sir Duke. It takes the pace down a notch, but, oh lord. That bass line. The horns on this track are absolutely spectacular. There’s so much movement all across this track and again, there are little nuggets all over the place that just beg from repeat listens. Knocks Me Off My Feet - What a love song. The vocal to this are just exquisite. There are some great grooves, the drumming is brilliant, and some tasty little transitions that play around with sequence lengths a little bit and makes things flow in a slightly unexpected way. Pastime Paradise - Another classic. That shuffling rhythm is great and it builds so nicely throughout. It’s got a pretty unique flavour to the composition and instrumentation for a pop/funk/soul tune too. The vocals are, as always, excellent. Summer Soft - The piano in this is so good, the way he kind of shimmers over the keys, tickling this beautiful bed of tone. And when it kicks in, it’s got so much vibe and energy. Great, toe-tapping rhythms, more fantastic vocal riffing and an abundance of key changes. Ordinary Pain - This is more stripped back, but it still just grooves. The synth bass is just great too. And then it just changes into a completely different song half way through. The second half is also decent, but is maybe just a bit too lacking in dynamic range. Some more hidden gems in the playing though. Isn’t She Lovely - A song that pretty much sums up the feeling of wonder a man feels on becoming a father. Is it self-indulgent? Certainly. Is it sickly sweet? Absolutely. Does it perfectly encapsulate the feeling that it is trying to put across? Without a doubt. It’s a brilliant pop song. It’s got some sick harmonica solos in it too. Joy Inside My Tears - The pace drops for something with a really nice slow groove. There are some lovely little fills from some of the instruments in here. It’s all just so warm and tasty. Black Man - This is so funky. All of the parts give so much movement and that bass in particular just shifts. It’s a really good political track too, even though one would perhaps not refer to people as yellow or red these days! It’s perhaps a touch long, but I get the point he was trying to make. Ngiculela - Es Una Historia - I Am Singing - Another change of pace, but this time with an almost lazy swagger to it. Again, the vocal is excellent, soaring and then biting. Is it a hit single? No. Is it a really decent album track? Yep. If It’s Magic - This is a beautiful song. So stripped back and just allows a focus on Stevie’s vocal, front and centre. A little palate cleanse and dropping of the pace before… As - So, so, good. The little lead key part that just trips its way along is gorgeous, the groove is rock solid, the chord structure just takes you on a funky journey. Oh, and the vocal… Woof. Is this Stevie’s greatest vocal performance? Maybe. The strength of the opening lines of the second verse are just special. His growly bit in the middle eight. The vocal runs at about 5:50. It’s a brilliant, brilliant song. Another Star - This one SHIFTS. Good lord, no double-album closer has a right to be this good and have this much pace and groove. The horn parts in particular are great, but again, all of the parts are so, so good. Just listen out for some of the little guitar licks that just sit there being amazing. Stevie just lets loose on his vocal too. (Extra EP - I’ve not had enough yet) Saturn - Another great song in its grandiosity. It’s just massive, but it’s got really good dynamic range too, stripping way and then building again. Quality musicianship again. Ebony Eyes - Love the phased backing vocals in this. It fells quite silly in its presentation with the little talk boxy bits, and the call of “Saxophone right here!”, but this is again, so quality. I feel like Vulfpeck probably listen to this before every recording session. All Day Sucker - How dare he release a tossed off bonus EP that’s THIS good. This is so funky, there’s so much going on and it’s hook central. Oh, and that lead guitar? It sounds so good and just bounces around the stereo field and you just can’t help but chase it with your ears. Easy Goin’ Evening (My Mama’s Call) - What a way to close everything down. It’s just so chilled and lazy, but it swells and rolls and it’s so cool. I mean you wouldn’t buy it as a single, but to close off the extra EP of a double album? Yes please.

6/10 From a technical standpoint, this is a really great album. The quality of the playing is excellent, and they’re a really tight unit. They also create some really great soundscapes and interesting sound palettes, particularly for a record from 1971. But I found that, while I appreciated the technicality of the music, it often didn’t really connect with me on an emotional level, or really have much in the way of memorable motifs that hooked into my brain. They also have a tendency to go wandering off (pretty typically for prog, I suppose) and lose reference to the core thrust of the track here and there. When they allowed themselves to work a little more tightly to a fixed centre, things were better, even when that centre shifted throughout the track like it does over the duration of Starship Trooper’s three parts. There were some sections of these tracks that were superb, and I did find certain instrumental flourishes really grabbing me, but my interest also ebbed and flowed a little too much for things to fully connect. Yours Is No Disgrace - A great attention grabbing intro that messes around with meter and rhythmic emphasis, and then we dive into some proper spacey driving music. It’s really cool. The vocal harmony section is nice enough, but didn’t really grab me, and then they fire back into it. It’s so tight and the playing is so good. The arpeggiated leads are particularly good. Some of the ideas and playing are very good, but things do lull a bit and drift slightly too far away from the core ideas for my tastes. When it’s good though, it’s great. The Clap - This is a nice little piece, with the ebbing and flowing of the tempo really adding a bit of interest to the feel. Supremely talented playing, obviously and reminds me a bit of those old school delta blues players. It doesn’t really have much in the way of a memorable tune, but as a technical exercise, it’s great. Starship Trooper: a Life Seeker, b. Disillusion, c. Würm - Technically, three tracks. This concedes the need for a more central hook to riff around and it benefits from it. They still get to go weird and experiment with effects and synth lines, but things have a more grounded centre. The middle section blends this idea with some of the frantic, technical acoustic playing of The Clap and then the staggered vocal harmonisations build a great bed of sound. The slow build of the final section adds a lot of grit to things and there’s some really great drumming in particular in there. Even though this track did wander about a bit and touch on a load of ideas, it felt more centred and focused than what has come before. I've Seen All Good People: a. Your Move, b. All Good People - This has gone quite folksy. Again, it feels like there’s a bit more focus here. It’s a pretty slow build. Some of the vocal rhythms are pretty nice. And then we hit a bluesy swinging development. Solid playing again, but I’m struggling to be massively engaged by it for longer periods while it noodles away. A Venture - This has a nice lilt to it. Again, I find myself admiring the technical nature of it rather than being emotionally engaged. While a lot of the surrounding instrumentation is great, the central vocal theme to this just doesn’t grab me, and then the piano solo bit is just a bit boring. Sounds like a banging guitar solo is about to happen when they fade out too. Perpetual Change - This feels like it’s calling back to the opener with its intro, but it doesn’t develop into something quite as driving. Again, there are some great bits in here. When they get to the call and response vocal part, that’s really nice, but it does, on occasion, become a bit meandering and listless. But there is some fantastic playing. And the bit where it just starts panning the whole track to the left before pilling more stuff around the stereo field is really great.

9/10 B.B. King has always been a bit of a blind spot for me. I did have a period when I listened to a lot of blues, but tended to focus on more of the early blues singers like Robert Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson and King just kind of passed me by. But this is a really fantastic live album. I often find that live albums can be a bit iffy, failing to capture the real feeling of interaction between the artist and the crowd, but here, the balance is pretty much perfect. You can get a real grasp of King’s charisma and he has the crowd eating out of his hand throughout, and that live energy is really successfully captured on the record. The playing across the board is so good, and they thread that line between being so in sync with one another while having that slightly loose swagger that lends a great deal of soul and coolness to the delivery. King’s vocal ranges from low and subtle to gritty and fierce, which adds another level of dynamic to the music, and when he lets loose on his guitar, he pours soul and vibe from his fingers. It’s rarely exceptionally complex, but it’s all about the emotion that he pulls out with the notes. Of course, it’s a blues record, so the compositions are all of a very similar style, though there is a reasonable blend of pace across the album, but there’s not likely to be much that jumps out as groundbreaking. But that’s not what you listen to a blues record for really. It’s all about feel, and this album has it in spades. Everyday I Have The Blues - The way the rhythm section pulls this forward is fantastic, seemingly playing just ahead of the beat early doors to get things shifting. His voice is just brilliant, as is his guitar playing. That’s to be expected, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive. Quality playing all round. Sweet Little Angel - And now things slow down. Such cool swagger about this., and he’s got the crowd eating out of his hand. The growl of his voice is just excellent. There’s nothing too complicated about the composition, but it’s all about the feel here, and there’s a great guitar solo. It’s My Own Fault - And we just smoothly slide into another track. More brilliant singing, more cool swagger, more charismatic crowd work. There’s some nice jazzy piano playing here in particular. So much vibe. How Blue Can You Get? - The band does some great work on this one. Despite B.B. telling me to, my focus is nearly always music first and some of the interplay between the piano and horns in particular is great. Quality drumming too, and some more of that fiery grit to his voice. Lovely stuff. Please Love Me - Let’s pick up the pace! There’s so much energy and groove to this, it’s impossible not to tap ones feet while listening. There’s quality guitar soloing as usual and the band play with such great expression. They’re the perfect balance of tight and loose to make it sound like so much fun. You Upset Me Baby - There’s a really weird bit at the beginning of this track, where they start playing something, it sharply cuts out and then something else starts playing. Weird. Anyway, again, they’ve got so much cool swagger about their playing here. King really allows plenty of time for the musicianship to take centre stage, which also gives his vocal great impact when it does come in. It’s all just so much fun. Worry, Worry - This is a masterclass in live blues delivery. Quality lead guitar work, a fiery and emotive vocal delivery, along with a bit of crowd banter, all backed by a band that knows when to strut along and when to flex. Woke Up This Mornin’ - This is pretty frenetic, but it’s a nice switch up in pace and the slower delivery of the vocal offsets it nicely. And then we drop into a great swinging groove. So much soul. You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now - Similarly to Worry, Worry, this gives us a slow build up with some fantastic lazy guitar solo work and then the vocal kicks in with some gorgeous piano lines just tinkling along behind it. Love the switch back and forth between vocal and guitar on this one. Help The Poor - There’s a bit more of a latin twist to the rhythm on this track. It dances around so well in more of a laid back, smooth way. There are some great little vocal flourishes here and there that jump out from the generally subtle delivery and really work to add some spice and fire. It’s not the most exciting of tracks, but it’s only short and closes the album nicely.

6/10 I really liked the tone of this album. It was musically interesting, there was some really nice arrangements among the instrumentation and I enjoyed the subtle delivery of Bill’s vocal. I also appreciate the fact that he does often stray away from the verse/chorus/verse structure, which adds an interesting twist to songs like these and makes things a bit less predictable. When all that came together, there were some really special moments, but I also found there were times when things just meandered a little too much away from the thrust of the track and kind of got lost to introspection. There were bits of tracks where I was just begging for things to be a tiny bit better organised, such as some of the drumming performances, which were just a little too sharp against the rest of the song, or when a sequence repeated for a little longer than it needed to, which was a shame, because often things were so close to being fantastic. To my mind, this is somewhat of a melancholic wash of an album that, were I walking in the rain and having a difficult time of things, it would feel like the warm hug of someone sharing my pain. Perhaps this is one of those ‘right time, right place’ releases that I’m not quite in the right mental place to truly embrace. But regardless of that, it was an enjoyable listen and may well be one that I make my way back to again in future. Jim Cain - This is quite pretty. The shimmering guitar that drifts between the foreground and background is particularly nice. There’s not much to the composition, but the accompanying instruments add some great depth to and variety to the different sections. It’s calm and fairly subtle, but it’s great. Eid Ma Clack Shaw - There are elements of this that are decent, particularly some of the string parts, but the staccato rhythm that persists through the whole track is just a bit relentless and tiring on the ear. His voice is obviously of a certain type, but it feels weaker here than in the first track too. The Wind and The Dove - This is better again. The cliche ‘Arabian music’ in the intro is a bit of a strange addition, especially as it just stops about 30 seconds in and only returns in the final 30 seconds. The modulation between a slightly threatening minor tonality in the verses to an almost melancholic major key in the chorus is really nice. Rococo Zephyr - There are some really nice moments in this, but I feel some of the sections are a bit to repetitive and the drum mix is a bit too sharp and aggressive and takes away a little from the rest of the chill nature of the track. It’s a decent track, but it just doesn’t quite come together as nicely as some of the others. Too Many Birds - There’s something quite bleak about the lyrics to this. It’s got a nice little rhythmic lilt to it, although I again feel like the drums were a little overplayed in a couple of places. It’s got a fairly bittersweet sound to the composition with some quite uplifting motifs in the instrumentation offset by a quite melancholic performance in the vocal, which I quite like. My Friend - There’s a really interesting transition into a dark passage at about 50 seconds which is great. And then it works its way out into something more upbeat quite subtly. Earlier in the track, the drums feel too sharp on the attack again, but the rest of the track does sort of catch up to them as it progresses. It’s not my favourite on the album, but I quite like the structure of the composition. All Thoughts Are Prey To Some Beast - There’s a slow build to this is the instrumentation becomes more dense. The brass has a really nice tone. Again, there are some bits of this that I really like, but it feels a little like it doesn’t quite come together in a completely satisfactory way and the the core motifs are just a bit too repetitive. Invocation of Ratiocination - I think this refers back to some of Bill’s earlier experimental lo-fi work. It’s quite a nice sound wash, but doesn’t offer much development. Faith/Void - This is really good. Some of the subtle playing in there, like the electric piano, and some of the guitar flourishes, are quality. But by god does it drone on too much. I agree we should put god away, but I’m not sure I need to hear him sing it that many times. This could have been a really good 4 minute song, but it’s nearly 10 minutes long. I have no problem with long songs, but they need to offer a bit more than this.

8/10 The best thing about De La Soul is that they don’t take themselves too seriously. Hip-Hop can, from time to time, become far too serious for its own good, with beef between different rappers, diss tracks and violence, particularly in the more gangsta rap side of the ledger. De La Soul are the antithesis of that. They’re having a good time, they’re making music that’s fun and has great grooves, and when they decide to rip on someone it basically boils down to the, pretty tongue-in-cheek, “you stink, have a wash”. It feels almost as fun to listen to as it must have been to produce. This success of this type of music often rests on the sample selection, delivery of lyrics and the production and, by and large, the quality of all three across this album is very high. There’s great melodic selection, some really funky grooves, and enough audio interest to reward closer listening. They also have great lyrical flows that don’t just stick to basic rhythms, but are also delivered with a melodic edge that helps tracks to really gel as musical compositions, rather than just sounding like rappers with a backing track. The production is also, by and large, excellent, with tracks moving between large scale sample collages, down to more subtle, lyrically focussed efforts. The little skits and pieces also help to tie things together and aid the balance of the album. They also reference back and forth to different tracks here and there, which helps to paint this as a complete work, rather than a selection of tracks. Unfortunately, however, there are a few lulls here and there, and some occasions when the momentum of the album slides just a bit too much for this to get full marks. As is so often the way with albums of this length, it could really have benefitted from a more judicious track selection, as this could easily have been a 10/10 album if it was 40-45 minutes long, rather than a very, very good album that’s an hour and change. Either way, I was glad to listen to this again, and I’m sure it’ll be on again in the not too distant future.. Intro - It’s an intro. Quite a cool way to introduce the group though and sets up the album as some silly fun. (3 Is) The Magic Number - Straight out of the traps with an absolute classic. The melodic edge to the rapping adds a musical edge that can often be missing in some hip-hop records. Sample use and scratching add some variety through the track, and the main hook is just excellent. Banger. Change In Speak - There’s an interesting offbeat lilt to the rhythm here with the two drum loops playing against one another. The sample choices and blends are great. The rapping is subtle and flows well, and just like that, it’s over. Cool Breeze on the Rocks (The Melted Version) - A little skit to continue from the intro. Not the original version, due to sample clearance issues. Can U Keep a Secret - Suitably silly. This is kind of like a stupid takedown of diss tracks, and I’m here for it. Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin’s Revenge) - It’s perhaps a little too stilted from a rhythmic point of view, but when they start layering up the samples, things start to flow a little better. It’s a bit of a classic really, and they again have some great hooks and memorable lines. Ghetto Thang - The flow of this is really great. It’s super smooth. It’s less hooky than other tracks, but the bounce of the groove is fantastic, and there are some great choices in the rhythmic flow of the rapping, with good variety in syllable use to drag the emphasis around. Transmitting Live From Mars - A nice little intermission track. A few great sample choices and it creates a very evocative little piece to prepare us for… Eye Know - Another Classic. It’s harmonically rich, the grooves are great and the rapping is top notch. Sample choice is excellent here and it’s super funky, but with a nice chilled edge. It feels kind of timeless really, like it could have been made yesterday. Take It Off - Another fun little interstitial track. You can just hear how much fun they're having and it really adds to the vibe of the album. A Little Bit of Soap - More comedy, more great sample selection. Tread Water - There’s a bit more urgency to the beat on this track It moves really well, but it’s perhaps a bit lacking in hook and variety compared to the real prime cuts on the record, but it’s got great groove, and it’s a very worthy album track. Potholes in My Lawn - Another classic, and this might be one of the silliest yet. Yodelling and Jew’s harp samples? Why not? This was the first hip-hop song played on Mars, weirdly enough. Musically, it’s a bit thin on prominent and consistent tonal samples, but it makes up for that with the scattergun silliness of it all. Say No Go - And we’re back to something more consistent in flow. It leaves the focus on things more toward the rapping here, but there are some great samples in there too, particularly the little lead guitar. A proper head bopper. Do as De La Does - This one’s pretty silly too. Another one where they’re just messing around and adding to the fun vibe of the album. It doesn’t do a vast amount other than that, but it’s still got a good body moving groove to it. Plug Tunin’ (Last Chance to Comprehend) - The groove to this is decent, but it lacks a little bit of the magic some of the other tracks and kind of plods along without ever giving enough of a hook, or displaying enough range to be vastly interesting. De La Orgee - Kind of takes things away from the silly vibe of the record for me. It’s largely been fun and games up to this point, and it just feels a bit jarring. There’s been more adult content before, but it’s not been as blatant and in your face as this. Buddy - This is better. Solid grooves, nice bass line, some solid tonal samples to give it musical interest and some nice passing of the vocal around the group. It’s not massively varied, but it’s decent. Description - Another little interstitial track. It’s got a nice vibe. Me Myself and I - Classic. So much vibe and so hooky. There’s some great production on the samples here to give this a unique flavour and the sample choice is perfect. Superb flowing verses and then a banger of a chorus. No notes. This is a Recording 4 Living in a Fulltime ERA (L.I.F.E.) - Less hooky, but this has a great vibe, and it grooves really nicely. Production is fantastic and there’s some really solid scratching on there too. The vocals have more prominence here than other tracks and it’s a cool juxtaposition in styles against the previous track. I Can Do Anything (Delacratic) - This is cool. More fun with solid beats. D.A.I.S.Y. Age - This is ok. It’s a little bland and stilted and doesn’t really go anywhere. Can’t help but feel this could have been given the chop.

4/10 This is the album of a man coming to terms with the end of his life. Largely, the songs relate somewhat to that context and, at its best, it’s a poignant and touching piece of work. Unfortunately, it isn’t actually at its best for all that long. When the frailty of his delivery works with the style of the songs, there are moments of magic, like Hurt, I Hung My Head and First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, but there are also times when it just doesn’t connect and the weakness in his voice becomes a weakness of the song as a whole, Bridge Over Troubled Water being a fine example. There are parts of that song that just soar with the correct vocal delivery, but here it just falls flat and sounds weak. And things aren’t helped by the production. In places, things sound super sharp and crisp, but there are places where Johnny’s vocal mic is way too hot and it throws distortion over the main focus of the track while the rest of the instruments are super clean, so it just sounds off. There are also a few areas where the mix of instruments feels a little jarring to my ear. I think one issue with this album is the length. If it had been kept to a tight 35 minutes, this would have probably worked far better. Cut out some of the lulls and I might have been more engaged in some of these tracks. But the truth is, the tracks on this album that I like are almost exclusively tracks that I would choose the original to listen to over Old Johnny Cash’s rendition. I appreciate what Johnny was going for with this, but, despite a few genuinely lovely moments, as a whole it was just a bit wide of the target. The Man Comes Around - This is ok. I quite like the transition from verse to chorus, but it’s a bit too repetitive for fairly big chunks. His voice has echoes of what it once was, but it’s faltering and doesn’t convey the power that would have benefitted this song. Hurt - This was a genius track selection, taking the song of a young man struggling with life and reframing it as the song of an old man coming to the end of his. The stripped back nature of the orchestration works so well. It’s a shame about the clipped vocal recording as it would sound better clean to my ears. The dynamic growth of the track is brilliant and the way it just rings out at the end is perfect. A brilliant performance of a brilliant song. Give My Love To Rose - This is nice enough, I suppose. It’s pretty simple, but it’s just not vastly interesting. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Oof. The weakness of his voice here really doesn’t work. The instrumentation is a bit odd too. I think there’s a couple of mellotron parts in there that don’t work well with the acoustic instruments in this mix. Fiona Apple’s vocal is just weird too. This is just bad. I Hung My Head - This is better. The frailty of his voice works better with the song and the way that the dynamic of the track changes with the instrumentation is nice. It’s not over-orchestrated like the previous song was either. First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Again, stylistically this works. It’s sparse and poignant. The instrumentation is subtle and mainly takes up the lower register, with only the arpeggiated guitar offering some brightness. It clips the vocal again near the end, which is annoying, but this was a really decent track. Personal Jesus - This is a bit of a mixed bag. I actually quite like the arrangement and the track itself, but the slightly lazy drawl of the vocal just takes something away from it for me. I just don’t quite believe in the delivery. In My Life - This is such a pretty song and it is quite a poignant delivery in a way, but it’s also quite a weak delivery that takes something away from the purity of the melody to my ears. I do not like the glockenspiel at all. It’s just sounds rubbish. Sam Hall - This is just an old country song. It sounds like a thousand other country songs and there’s nothing there to elevate it above that. I don’t hate it, and I quite like the bouncy rhythm of it, but it’s just nothing special and lyrically it’s just boring. Danny Boy - Oh do fuck off. It’s an overplayed song, his timing is all over the shop, and it’s boring. Desperado - Another one where the instrumental is nice. Another one where his vocal doesn’t connect and it just gets worse when Don Henley comes in for some random lines and is recorded too hot. Big old bucket of meh. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry - At least this duet actually connects a little bit better than the two previous ones. There’s just so little pace to this that it feels like it’s almost at a standstill. Tear Stained Letter - I quite like this song actually. It’s got a bit of zip to it. The piano part gives it a bit of momentum and dynamism. He actually sounds a bit invigorated in his delivery of the vocal here too. It’s not the most exciting song in the world, but it’s decent enough. Streets Of Laredo - Well this song seems longer than three and a half minutes. It’s just the same four bars round and round again. I know it’s supposed to be about the story, but it’s just relentless. We’ll Meet Again - Calm down, Uncle Albert. This is just bad. His vocal is bad, the orchestration is uninspired and it’s just a terrible way for Johnny Cash to wave goodbye to the world. Oh, and the shit gang vocals have just come in. Shit Sandwich.

3/10 As someone who never really pays attention to lyrical content until a number of listens in, hip-hop can be a very hit and miss genre for me. I appreciate the rhythmical flow of a rappers delivery, but if the focus is lyrical, rather than rhythmical, it often doesn’t connect with me, especially if the rest of the track is musically limited. Unfortunately, this has had a significant impact on my enjoyment of this album. I did find myself bouncing to the beats, but by and large it’s so musically uninteresting it’s unbelievable. Obviously the focus is supposed to be on the lyrics, but this is music, so the music itself should be important and it’s just not. Some of the sample selection feels like RZA and Method Man have challenged themselves to create a whole album using only samples from records they found in one particularly small charity shop. Some of them tonally jar with each other, while others are just really odd choices. The amount of times this record has a single bar loop that repeats relentlessly for three and a half minutes with little to no production flair outside of a few extra samples chucked in here and there make the whole production feel so phoned in and bland. When Method Man actually adds a bit of verve to his delivery, things can get a bit more energetic, but there are often times when he just drones on in a very uninspiring way and, combined with the limited musical content, it’s just a recipe for boredom. With all that being said, there are a few really decent tracks on here, so it’s not a complete clunker, but as a whole it was pretty uninspiring. Tical - This doesn’t do a lot for me. The beats are ok, but musically, it’s pretty weak. The flow of the rapping is actually decent, but there’s so little drive to the rest of the track that it just drags. It’s like they’ve just grabbed some random samples and thrown them together without much thought. Biscuits - Another one where the harmonic content just seems to be randomly played and looped. The rapping is decent. The beats are decent. The music is shit. It could possibly work as part of a more varied piece, but it just drones on. Bring The Pain - This is MUCH better. More pace, a melodic bent to the vocal delivery, tonal elements that actually work together. It’s still light on harmonic parts, but those that are there actually work with the rest of the track, rather than against it. Really liked this one, but I’m not completely sure how much that’s by comparison to what came before. All I Need - Continuing from the last track, this continues with a similar level of consistency. The gang vocals are nice, the beats groove along well. It’s not the most musically interesting, but it’s well paced and all gels together well. What The Blood Clot - A one bar discordant piano loop and a two note bass line for the whole track. And some irritating backing vocals. Not very good and boring to boot. Meth Vs. Chef - This is better again but, apart from the occasional pause in the beat and some samples it’s another single bar loop that just runs for the entire track. Sub Crazy - There’s at least some attempt to have different musical sections here. They’re still not very interesting though. Meh. Release Yo’ Delf - What’s this? Some actual tonal music? I mean, it’s a riff on Gloria Gaynor, and the horn part jars against the vocal line, so it’s not exactly great. When it’s stripped back to the beat, rapping and horn sample, it’s pretty good, but when everything is playing together with the singing it’s a bit of a jumbled mess. Feels like he’s trying to write an anthem, but it just doesn’t pay off. P.L.O. Style - This one is ok. Again, it’s a very short loop that doesn’t change for the duration, but at least this loop is better than some of the others. The extra samples give it a bit more life and, again, the vocal delivery is good, but it’s all just too samey. I Get My Thang In Action - Decent pace, more variety in the delivery of the rapping, actual fills in the drum breaks and other instrumentation that doesn’t just drone through a one bar loop. Hurrah for musical variety! The musical content is still pretty thin, but there’s so much more emphasis on the vocal delivery that it carries this much better. Mr. Sandman - There are bit of this that work well, but it’s just a bit messy overall. There’s a lot of background noise going that just makes it sound cluttered. The use of the Mr Sandman sample is a bit weird. I appreciate the fact that there’s a bit more variety and range to this, but it just isn’t executed very well. Stimulation - Another track, another random assemblage of samples. Still some decent rapping, but it’s all very one-note. When he gives the lyrics a bit more range and dynamic to the delivery it works so much better, but this just drones on like the bass line. Method Man (Remix) - A remix of a track from another album on this list. Vocal delivery is better here. The track has a bit more range to it too and the samples actually work together, which is novel. Not a bad track to end what has been a fairly underwhelming listen.

8/10 The first time I stuck this record on, I was drawn to some elements of it, but it kind of washed over me a little without dragging me in. After a couple more runs through, particularly after paying closer attention for a track by track breakdown and then letting it wash over me again, it just kept getting better and better. There’s so much to like about this. It’s brash, it’s noisy, but there are also hooks and melodic elements that just bubble out from the cacophony, or force their way out from the noise. In some ways, one could call it unfocused, but there’s an element of ‘stream of consciousness’ about it. It’s like a Kathe Koja novel in audio form, it’s grimy, punky and not the easiest thing to parse at first glance, but there’s so much life and experience poured into it that it feels like a very specific life, time and place distilled into a grubby piece of art that sometimes borders on horrific. You can definitely hear the influence of this on some of the more punky grunge bans like Mudhoney, L7 and Nirvana, so it’s really interesting to hear the genesis of that sound that would take on its own life only a few years later. The fact that the vocals are sparingly used adds to the sense of disorientation really works, because when they do appear they centre the record again before it spins off into more fire and fury. There are a few lulls here and there, and it’s not exactly the easiest of listening pieces, so it’s not going to get top marks, but it was a fantastic experience nonetheless. Schizophrenia - The way that the bass doesn’t just pick the obvious root notes for the chord choices and the impact that has on the feeling of the progression is really nice. It plays with song structure a little, but doesn’t drift so far as to become disconnected. They’re not afraid to be sparse, but they also never allow the momentum of the track to be lost. There’s a lot to like about this. There’s good grooves, hectic noise and great dynamic changes. Catholic Black - This comes out of the blocks with great pace. There are some solid riffs in here and it becomes pretty frantic in places. Again, they’re not afraid to make things a little experimental and have a drastic tempo change. It’s nice and hooky while still being brash and noisy. Beauty Lies in the Eye - This creates a very thick ambience with Kim Gordon’s voice barely revealing itself through the noise. It threatens to take off, but remains restrained. Stereo Sanctity - This is great. It takes that noise wash from the previous track and injects it with some real energy. The drumming, in particular, is great. It feels like he’s just about clinging on to the tempo, which really adds to the raw, frenetic, almost psychotic feel of the track. There’s more going on within the noise than there might initially appear too, and the slow build from the breakdown is great. Pipeline/Kill Time - More frantic energy and ebb and flow here in the first half. They tread a fine line, throwing memorable little riffs here and there, but never allowing things to take too mach of a focus. Then things drift into an echoing cloud of feedback. There are some great tones that they pull out of the guitars that just taste like anxiety. Tuff Gnarl - This one feels like they’re stretching things a bit far. The more traditional song elements don’t really connect with me and I don’t really gel with Thurston’s vocal delivery. When it drops to the noisy section, it’s a bit uninspiring until it starts speeding up, which is pretty good. But overall, it’s a bit meh. Pacific Coast Highway - There’s a lot of attitude here. I love Kim Gordon’s vocal delivery. Everything is so brash and threatening, and then we drift away to a more stripped back section. Things are almost pretty, but the distorted tones maintain that menacing edge. Hot Wire My Heart - This feels the most like a traditional song on the album. Turns out it’s a cover of a Crime song, which is why! It feels a little bit run of the mill compared to the rest of the album because of that. We still get the noisy cacophony of the Sonic Youth sound, but it loses a bit of the spaced out, avant edge that the album has developed until this point. Cotton Crown - There’s a lot of interesting work being done between the two guitars here and there on this track, with Kim Gordon and Steve Shelley keeping things just about pinned down with their rhythmic and tonal core. And the vocal sections that bookend the sludgy, noisy centre have enough hook to frame it all with something that you can cling on to after the track has ended. White Cross - The drumming here is fantastic. Again, we’re into frenzied fury territory. This is a really fantastic track. So much tempo, rage and some fantastic combinations of rhythm and attention grabbing riffs. Master-Dik - This has some great rhythms, not just from the drums, but some of the bass and guitar that just peek out from the wall of noise. The vocal is more prominent here than on most of the other tracks. It feels like it’s on the edge of collapsing quite a few times and then things just about cling back together again, which creates a really interesting effect. The ending is brilliantly weird.

6/10 This is album is significantly greater than the sum of its parts. Jerry Lee Lewis is not as good a singer as he thinks he is, and certainly not as good as some of the singers who recorded more famous versions of many of these songs. It’s also essentially a covers album, with Jerry only having a hand in writing two of the songs on the album. That’s not exactly uncommon for this type of music at the time, but still worthy of note when comparing this to other ‘essential’ albums. The band are, in the most part, excellent. There are great performances all round for a lot of the album, although they do have a tendency to try and attack songs with just a touch too much pace here and there, which leads them to struggle to hold things together. When Jerry lets things flow, his piano work is also excellent, but it’s clear that he can also get quite carried away with trying to show off and throws to many glissandos and trills all over the place and has a tendency to overplay when he gets a bit too worked up. But despite all that, the energy and feel of this recording just elevates things above the level that they would otherwise be. The delivery is often electric, and it’s hard to avoid tapping along as they blast through song after song. The attitude and ferocity of the fun they’re obviously having on stage really comes through and spin a real thread of gold through the performance. It’s not necessarily a collection of great songs, but more a record of an invigorating performance. Mean Woman Blues - This has way more pace than I was expecting. It’s a great rock ’n roll song, but it definitely feels like he’s aping Elvis, who had recorded this 7 years previously, in his delivery in a couple of places. When he forgets that it’s better. It’s brash, fast paced and has bags of attitude. High School Confidential - Another good, pacy number, but it feels like he’s trying too hard to give it everything and his timing goes a bit all over the place later on. Money (That’s What I Want) - I’m not that keen on his vocal delivery in places here, it’s a bit hit and miss. Again, it’s a very competently delivered rock ’n roll performance of a well written song. Sounds like they’re having a lot of fun. Matchbox - A bluesy number. He certainly likes sticking his own name into songs, doesn’t he? There’s a great little swing to this. Again, a solid performance. What’d I Say, Part 1 - The pace goes back up again. Apparently, this Ray Charles composition is the first ever soul song. Jerry Lee certainly didn’t get the memo with his straight rock ’n roll cover of it. It again feels in places like they’re just trying to play things as fast as they possibly can, which compromises things a bit for me. What’d I Say, Part 2 - For the second half of this song, they control things a bit better, and it works better. He can generate some fantastic grit on his voice. Great Balls of Fire - It’s obviously a classic. But I don’t actually like the incredibly affected delivery of the lyrics, particularly the ‘goodness gracious, great balls of fire’ lyric. Great performances all round apart from that though. Good Golly, Miss Molly - So much energy and drive and great performances. His vocal just isn’t as good as Little Richard’s though, is it? He definitely believes his own hype and can’t rein it in, even when the other musicians are having their moment in the spotlight he can’t help but throw glissandos all over the place. It’s quite funny really. Lewis Boogie - Only the second song on the album that he wrote and he had to put his name in the title. It’s actually one of the weaker songs on the here. It’s decent, but it’s just a fairly one-note standard blues progression with some nonsense lyrics. The guitarist has a great little solo. Your Cheatin’ Heart - A bit of variety, but his crooning isn’t actually great. When playing more up-tempo stuff, the delivery works, but it’s just over the top for this type of song. His piano playing is ace though. Hound Dog - A classic song. The band, as they are most of the time, are smashing it, but again, he just can’t provide the nuance in his vocal delivery to give it the feel that better vocalists would get out of this song. Give me this instrumental with a more controlled singer and we’d be on to a winner. Long Tall Sally - More Little Richard. Another great song where the vocal just isn’t as good as the original. And again, the band are smashing it, although they are on the edge of trying to attack this with too much pace, but you can’t deny the energy. Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On - There’s a load more groove to this because they’ve slowed things down and allowed room for it to vibe, but things get too cluttered when they start going for it. The band are on decent form, but actually, a bit of the magic is kind of lost when they lose the ferocity.

4/10 Elvis was obviously a legend, responsible at least in part for the breakthrough of rock ’n roll to a mainstream white audience. Listening to this, you can get a bit of an idea why. He takes some really great tracks like Ray Charles’ I Got a Woman and Little Richard’s Tutti Frutti, sands off the edges and presents it in a pretty boy package that has just enough edge to make it feel rebellious to teenagers, but not so much edge that their parents ban it from the family record player. But to me, that sanding off of the edges just dulls the quality of these tracks. I’ll happily listen to Ray Charles and Little Richard’s versions of these tracks now and again, but have literally no reason, with modern access to music, to ever chose the inferior product that Elvis provided. And that’s before we mention his voice. It just rubs me the wrong way. When he’s crooning, it’s bad enough, but when he puts on that affected seal-like quick legato into his phrasing, I find it massively irritating and inauthentic. As a 70 year old record, it sounds remarkably clean as a recording, the band are largely doing a good job, and I frequently found myself tapping my feet along to the music, but what I enjoyed, I enjoyed in a way that I’d enjoy a decent cover band at a wedding. I’ll enjoy them while I’m there, but would never choose to listen to their versions of classic songs over the originals if I had access to both versions. And there were quite a few tracks that I wouldn’t even bother with the originals either. Extra points for cultural impact and importance, but I this won’t be troubling my speakers again. Blue Suede Shoes - This is obviously a classic. It’s also a pretty straight cover that adds a bit of pace to the original but not much else. Elvis approaches it with a swagger and you can see why he took off. The recording sounds great and it’s a solid rock ’n roll song. I’m Counting On You - This kind of crooning nonsense just doesn’t do it for me. It’s a competent composition, but boy is it insipid and boring. I Got a Woman - Ray Charles wrote it and did it so much better. Elvis puts on his awful, affected whooping style to his vocal which is just terrible. It’s a decent enough performance from the band, but why would I listen to this when I could listen to Ray instead? Ons-Sided Love Affair - Looks like he was the first one to actually record this one! More of that affected vocal that’s just irritating though. It’s pretty thin gruel, although the band perform well enough and there’s some nice bits of piano. I Love You Because - More crooning crap. It’s boring. Just Because - This is pretty uninspired too. The guitarist sounds like he’s struggling to keep up with the pace. It’s just a bit sloppy all round, sounds very thin. I quite like the rhythmic thrust of it, but it’s just not got enough substance to be any good. Tutti Frutti - See my comments about ‘I Got a Woman’. Give me Little Richard over this any day. It’s a good song, but this version just doesn’t do anything to justify itself over listening to the original, just sands off the edges and strips it of drive. Sloppy guitar solo too. Trying To Get To You - Softer, worser, slower, weaker. Daft Punk wrote a song about how to make a better song than this. It’s just boring. I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You) - At least there’s a bit more pace to this. But there’s more of Elvis’ affected gulping vocal that just rubs me up the wrong way. It’s also not very interesting. Can’t help tipping my feet to it despite myself, but it’s more of the same really. I’ll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin’) - Croon. Yawn. Blue Moon - Even slower. Even more crooning. And it’s just the same thing round and round for two and a half minutes. Even Elvis sounds like he isn’t arsed. Money Honey - This just sort of plods along and doesn’t really give me much to chew on. It almost feels like they’re slowing down because they’ve got a bit bored themselves and are just starting to phone it in. Elvis is still giving it a bit of effort, but again, I just find his vocal grating. And we’re done.

10/10 The thing that kept coming to mind while listening to this album was just how good Marvin Gaye’s vocal performance is, Every note, from start to finish, is absolutely stunning. The instrumental composition and performances are also exceptional, but it’s so hard not to have your entire focus pulled by the vocal that you have to make a conscious effort to absorb everything else that’s going on. But just discussing the vocal performance here does the album a massive disservice. It’s a remarkable piece of social commentary, a masterclass in mood and tone, and an intensely personal exploration of the world around Marvin Gaye circa 1971. What’s also important to note is that releasing something like this was an incredibly bold move. Motown had typically been a hit single factory up to this point, and Berry Gordy didn’t even want to release the title track, only to turn back round and ask for a full album when it became their fastest ever selling single. It’s a fascinating work that really toys with the idea of this being a selection of individual songs, rather than a unified piece, and there are places where you can’t even tell where the transitions between songs happens without keeping an eye on the track count. There is so much groove and soul to this album that it almost drips out of the speakers, but it’s all laced with a deep undercurrent of wistful melancholy that just hooks into the emotional side of the brain and holds on tight. And with all of that said, it’s actually an album that is far greater than the sum of its parts. Looking at individual tracks, one might not fully appreciate the gravity of the work, or truly connect with the string of feeling that threads through the whole album, but listened to as a whole, it is a truly remarkable work that only gets better with repeat listens. What’s Going On - What a song. It’s got such a groove, an absolutely stunning vocal performance, and manages to be a successful social commentary without bashing you over the head with it. The composition is brilliant, with so many different elements that provide depth and nuance without overcrowding. It perfectly balances the groove with a feeling of melancholy to present a really unique tone.The strings are great, the percussion gives it a little bit of pep underneath everything. And the production is fantastic too. So well balanced. What’s Happening Brother - This is kind of a part 2 to ‘What’s Going On’. It carries the tone of that first track but takes the groove in a slightly different direction. I love the almost aimless stroll of the bass line. The backing vocals add a different flavour, and again Marvin is on point with the lead. It feels effortless. “And tell me, friend, how in the world have you been?” The delivery of that line gets me every single time. Flyin’ High (In The Friendly Sky) - And we drift into a dreamy number about heroin addiction. It’s a bit meandering, but when you connect it with the subject matter that really hooks things up and makes sense. There are some stunning moments in this and it touches base in various places in a remarkable way before drifting off again. Save The Children - And we slip into another track. Marvin’s voice soars and oh good lord, that vocal tone. It’s so rich. This track builds in intensity as the drums gradually become more full, and the saxophone drops in with some great little hooks. The final minute throws in a different groove, it’s almost like a different track and an intro to the next track. God Is Love - The combination of the funky bass, slow strings, the subtle groove of the drums and Marvin’s vocal doubling makes the hairs on my neck stand up every time. There’s something about this track that just hits me so hard. It’s just exceptional all round. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - And quick transition, the groove sticks around but the tone switches to more of a lament. There’s a lot going on in the instrumentation for a lot of this album and it’s easy to miss it because Marvin’s voice just demands your focus, but when the instrumental section for this track has it’s moment, the players get to shine. The groove of the bass, some brilliant horns, piano, percussion, celeste (I think?), strings, the whole works. Right On - Continuing the theme of the second half of ‘Mercy Mercy Me’, there’s a bit more space for the players to have some fun. This is such a great, jazzy groove that oozes soul. There are places where it maybe drags a tiny bit, but there are also some really beautiful phrases and riffs that pop out here and there, and Marvin’s little bits and pieces of vocal are a delight. Wholy Holy - This is a more sparse effort that softly ebbs and flows. It feels like the parts drift away from each other and then just thrust back together again in little bursts. It keeps teasing little resolutions, but quickly returns to points of tension, setting us up for the finale. Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Marvin’s vocal through the intro here is the epitome of soul. It’s so smooth and when he doubles up it’s so, so clean. The groove is restrained, but it just pulses so nicely. The build of the instrumentation is pretty special, too. The control of how instrumental parts dip in and out is exceptional. I absolutely adore some of his vocal harmonisations in this track. And then we get that lovely piano and vocal duet before the congas come in and we drift away.

3/10 I went into this album hoping that I’d be opened up to something great that had passed me by because it’s not in the typical genres that get recommended to me. Unfortunately, any good will I had was fairly quickly decimated by the horrific production style of Jack Antonoff, who has seemingly never heard of the term nuance. I assume his middle name is Anton, so he shall henceforth be referred to as Jack Off. Underneath a lot of the production fuckery, there are actually some decent tunes in here. There are some nice vocal hooks, some good pieces of rhythmic delivery and some promising musical structures, but there is literally no dynamic across this album at all. It’s like Jack Off has just pumped every track through a maxed out compressor and then a brick wall limiter, programmed every note of the synths, samples and drum hits at full 127 MIDI velocity and then cranked Lorde’s vocal so loud that it completely dominates the mix. It’s actually painful to listen to. This production style really doesn’t help Lorde’s vocal delivery either. When she drops into that indie-girl, infantilised, breathy, ‘can’t pronounce my Rs properly’ voice, it’s made worse by the fact that it’s so in your face. She clearly has a decent voice, but she insists on putting on this affect that just drains my tolerance and rubs me up the wrong way. But with all of that said, this album has actually left me moderately interested in taking a listen to a Lorde album that Jack Off had no hand in, because it feels like there might just be something in there worth hearing. And for that, it gets a slightly better rating than I was expecting after the first couple of tracks. Green Light - There are bits of this that I like, and bits of it that I really don’t. The dance piano chords that are completely lacking in dynamic are awful, and I just don’t gel with the club anthem sound at all. When things are stripped back, it’s pretty good, with a nice pulsing but restrained bass. I also find that she sings in a style that sort of drifts in and out of this weird affect that seems to have become popular. It’s kind of an infantilised breathy talk-singing that is common among female indie-pop vocalists. Sober - This is a bit better off the bat, but I feel like it’s going to get worse. Oh, it has. What the fuck are those horns? Other than those, it’s actually not bad. I feel like it tries too hard to force a driving beat in, and this would work better as something more restrained. I can feel a bit of Björk influence here, but it’s been given way too much of a pop sheen. Homemade Dynamite - More indie-girl singing. Again, there are elements of this that are decent. Some of the rhythm in the delivery of the vocals is nice, but it’s all just so overproduced that there is no dynamic range to this at all. Some of the synth sounds are crap too. The Louvre - How is it possible to pronounce your Rs as Ys? And what the hell is that “broadcast the boom, boom, boom” bit all about. Crap. There are elements of the sound design that are actually ok here, but it’s all so compressed and limited that it just becomes a brick wall of sound that has no nuance at all. Liability - This is actually quite nice, and she reins in her voice affect except for in certain places. But by god, how compressed is this vocal? It’s had every bit of dynamic range punched out of it, so the emotion is forcefully stripped out of the track. Hard Feelings/Loveless - The theme of this album strikes again. Some decent ideas, and if produced with a sympathetic nuance, something half decent could have been pulled out of this, but it feels like a half-baked idea that’s overproduced to the point of being almost unlistenable. And then, apparently this is the same track? It’s not. And it’s shit. The singing is worse. The production is worse. And it seems to bear no relation to the rest of whatever this track is. Sober II (Melodrama) - Go and listen to a Joga by Björk. Hear the subtlety in the string arrangements and the dynamic range that builds through the track, combined with the airy clarity of the vocal performance? Yep. None of that here. Obviously, this is not the same track, but there could be a half decent track hidden in here, but it’s just smashed over the head by Jack Antonoff, compressed to fuck and buffed with in your face sample choices. Writer In The Dark - Did they put the microphone literally inside her mouth? Mouth noise (that you can almost hear the automation cutting out between phrases) and compression galore. Vocals way too loud that it’s distracting. It’s supposed to be an emotive ballad, but it’s more like someone drunk and shouting in your ear about how sad they are. Again, a production that I’m struggling to pick out the actual song from. Supercut - A boring indie-rock song turned into a (yet again) over compressed, dynamically strangled club track. Big bucket of uninterested. Liability (Reprise) - As with the earlier version of this track, there’s actually something of value in here somewhere, but it’s clouded by this producer who is continuing to completely throttle every one of these songs. Perfect Places - Another attempt at an arms in the air club tune. That piano that echoes the vocal line now and again is so low effort, it’s unbelievable. This is a bad, pedestrian song made worse by Jack Antonoff.

4/10 Youth And Young Manhood one of those albums where, if the best songs were the album tracks and there were some really good stand out songs in place of the weaker ones, they could really be cooking with gas, but they don’t really ever elevate far above decent garage blues rock. I feel like I’ve seen a hundred bands doing something quite a lot like this and I’m not quite sure why these guys were actually picked up by a label. Apparently their bass player had not even learned the bass when they got signed. Weird. Anyway. This is generally some fairly by the numbers blues rock, with a few moments of quality scattered through the album. A lot of the songs don’t really have a great deal of variety from start to finish, which I often find a bit of a chore to listen to, especially when listening with a focused ear. There are some decent grooves and riffs here and there, though, that keep things ticking along. One of the biggest issues I have is with Caleb Followill’s vocals. A lot of the time I find his delivery to be pretty grating. He often sings in a kind of drawl that involves a lot of sliding up and down to notes, consequently drifting in and out of tune far too often for my tastes. On the faster, more energetic tracks, it kind of works, but any time his vocal is more exposed, I found it pretty irritating. Other than that, this is a fairly ok album. It’s probably a decent stepping stone in their development as a band, but it’s not one I’ll be bothering to return to much in future, as there are a decent number of bands out there that do this kind of thing in a way I find more engaging than this. Red Morning Light - This isn’t bad. It’s got a bit of pep in its step and a decent swagger to it, particularly from the rhythm section. It’s a bit samey throughout though, with the main guitar line essentially following the same chord structure the whole way through. Things do change around it, but it could do with a bit more range to elevate the track. Happy Alone - A nice bluesy rock number. Similarly to the first track, there’s not much change to the core structure of the song, but there are sections where there’s a bit more variety in the instrumentation, which changes things up a bit. I still like the attitude of it and it’s got a decent bit of groove to it, but I’m going to need a bit more variety soon. Wasted Time - There’s a bit more range to the different sections here, which is good. The rhythm section is holding down a solid base to things, but the actual riffs don’t quite connect with me. They’re ok, but not vastly interesting. Joe’s Head - This kind of suffers from the same issue as earlier tracks. There’s not much variety in there at all, at least tonally. There are changes to things, but the vibe is very static throughout. It’s ok, but not vastly hooky or engaging to my ear. Trani - This just isn’t that interesting. It’s very plodding, Caleb’s lead vocal drawl is just mumbled and ill-defined, which is fine for a more up-tempo track, but drags this down. And when he starts screeching towards the end, it’s just terrible. California Waiting - Thankfully we’re back to something with a bit more pace to it. There’s some hooky elements which are decent, but I’m still struggling a bit with the lead vocal. It’s like he can’t quite be bothered to fully commit to hitting the note he’s supposed to and he does some more screeching near the end too. The rest of the track isn’t bad, but it’s also not vastly interesting. Spiral Staircase - Oooh, when things kick in on this track, it’s great. The vocal delivery is much better here, it’s got a bit of bite to it, and it works well with the pace from the other instruments. There are some great little guitar licks here and there, as well as some nice rhythmic stops. Best track yet. Molly’s Chambers - Just that little bit more effort to the vocal lifts things quite a bit. It’s hooky, it’s got a bit of attitude and it’s got some good playing on there too, and doesn’t outstay its welcome. Nice. Genius - It’s an ok guitar riff, but it’s pretty repetitive and only gets broken for a little bit here and there. I don’t feel it’s strong enough to hold a whole song like this, to be honest. When they break into the middle eight and solo section, things get better. This has got a solid, toe-tapping groove to it, but I find the over-reliance on that riff a bit of a let down. Dusty - This is a bit similar to Trani. Not that interesting, quite plodding. It threatens to get a bit more interesting in places, but never does. There are some really awful guitar tones on this too. Holy Roller Novocaine - This is a promising start. Nice, rumbling bass line and a guitar that starts to build. The pay off is decent. It’s a nice, hooky little chorus. There’s nothing spectacularly innovative or complex about this, but it’s got a decent vibe and good dynamic range. Talihina Sky - This is quite nice. Again, the vocal delivery seems a little half-arsed and rubs me up the wrong way. This would have been a nice change up in pace on the album proper, and is perhaps an odd one to stuff on as a hidden track.

6/10 I listened to this album a few times when it came out and have always enjoyed the vibe of it, but it never really had a great amount of staying power with me. Having gone through it again with fresh ears, I’ve got a better understanding of why. Aside from Default, which is a really solid track, there are rarely any really great payoffs for the vibe and structural build of the surrounding work. If they’d have managed to pull off four or five really hooky choruses across the tracks, they could really have delivered something special, because everything else here is great. The production is solid, there’s a really nice blend of instruments, some fantastic non-typical drum grooves mixed in with enough straight four stuff to maintain the momentum. The sound design is also solid and there’s loads of ear candy all over the place. But all too often it builds a great foundation and then doesn’t add anything particularly hooky or memorable on top of it, and that’s a massive shame. I enjoyed the vibe enough that I actually stayed pretty interested throughout, but I was just willing them on to deliver something banging to reward all of the promise. This feels like something of a halfway house between The Bees and Alt-J, in that it creates a similar vibe and has stylistic echoes of Alt-J (who’s debut actually came out a few months after this), but also suffers a little from the fatal flaw that The Bees had, which was that there was nothing memorable about their music at all. Not to say that this is anything like as bereft of engagement as that album was, but there was a touch too much of that, and not enough of the other. That being said, this is pretty good background music, so it may get a few more spins here and there. Introduction - Arpeggiated synth, whistling, vocal pads and atmospheric drums. I think we know where we’re going with this. Nice build to the first track though. Hail Bop - This has got a good vibe to it. Some nice chords in the vocal harmonies and there’s a bit of bounce to things from the synths and beat. There’s quite a lot of variety in the sound design which adds some nice depth too. A pretty solid start. Default - This track has always been the standout one on this album for me. It’s got a great pulse to the rhythm and there’s a really good balance between the synths and other instruments. It’s super hooky, but also just a bit weird too, which just catches me the right way. There’s some pretty cool production tricks and ear candy in play that just give it extra vibe. Firewater - This reminds me of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s ‘Spread Your Love’. Not tonally, but the composition. Anyway, this one’s a bit more plodding. It feels like it’s building a lot, but never really hits the payoff. The synths feel fairly extraneous from the rest of the track here too, which is a shame. Waveforms - This has got a nice shuffling rhythm to it. The vocals build nicely too. I really appreciate the depth to the sound design, as there’s a load of variety if you listen deeply and it does build quite a lot from start to finish. It’s a nice little listen, but it unfortunately never really lands on a particularly satisfying hook to pay off the build. Zumm Zumm - Again, a good groove to this, with some cool little bits of production. It feels like it’s working up to something again. Will it pay off? Doesn’t seem like it. It kind of has the slightly frantic feeling of being in a queue for the toilet while you’re absolutely desperate, only to get to the front of the queue to find it’s the door for the smoking area. Where’s the payoff gents? Hand Of Man - This is pretty stripped back. Some really nice interwoven guitar lines in there. It’s kind of a nice wash of sound, and there are some pretty pleasing harmonies. There’s not much variety to it, but the whole vibe of it is great and it’s a pleasant little listen. Love’s Dart - Slightly ruined by the fact that this (and another track on the album) are used as musical beds for a podcast I listen to. This is pretty nice. Some of the vocal harmonies remind me of something that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s got a nice vibe to it. The drums could be a little more varied, but it’s another nice wash of a listen. Wor - There’s a bit more of a payoff to things here. There’s quality build up, some really nice pace and rhythm to it. When some of the guitar and drum combos get moving, it’s quality stuff. It’s just good fun and there’s plenty of audio interest, as seems pretty standard with this production. Storm - More good build up. More interesting drumming. They often seem to eschew the more obvious beats for something with a bit more variety, which is nice. Unfortunately this one, again, feels a bit like it’s all verse and pre-chorus, but they forgot to write an actual chorus to go with it. Life’s a Beach - There’s an interesting vibe to this. Like surf-rock with a middle-eastern twist. Some nice harmonies, more good grooves, some solid synth work. The breakdown in the middle is pretty lush too. But again, they seem to be allergic to the big chorus that all of the good work is crying out for. Skies Over Cairo - And here’s the other half of that podcast bed I mentioned earlier. Again, great vibe, but it doesn’t really go anywhere that exciting. Silver Rays - More decent sound design and a darker vibe. This synth lines are a tiny bit too piercing in places for me, but when the track drops to the more sparse arrangements the vibe is good. There’s lots of movement across the different parts, so it’s an interesting listen, but again, not too much of a hook anywhere.