1001 Albums Summary

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.

7/10 This was an enjoyable bluesy album when it got going. The first side did take a while to get moving, with a bit of meandering and not too much in the way of memorable songs, but things did start to improve towards the end of the first half. One issue I had was that, for chunks of the album, Jim Morrison just doesn’t seem that interested. All too often he just leaves the band to it and just jumps in here and there and, as a result, there’s quite a lot of the band just plodding on. They’re obviously great at what they do, and are a tight, solid blues rock band, but without any of the engagement of the vocal it just feels a bit cold in places. When he showed a bit more energy, things did come alive a bit more for me, particularly with the title track, Crawling King Snake and Riders on the Storm, which were highlights. What I did enjoy was how much the band felt in the pocket. There were some solid grooves and some really nice interplay between the musicians, which is always rewarding to hear. Perhaps Jim was too busy vibing off that to pick up the mic except for when he felt he could contribute. Either way, it was a slightly mixed bag of an album, but the highs were enough to elevate things and the strength of the musicianship made it a worthy experience even on the less memorable tracks. The Changeling - A great, funky little intro. Jim Morrison has a nice bit of growly vocal fry to his delivery which gives a bit of edge to things. There are some good riffs and there are some little switches up here and there that add variety, particularly with the solos, but it’s nit necessarily the most memorable song. Love Her Madly - There’s a bit more swing to this. It gets a bit fairground in places, but it’s a pretty groovy blues rock number for the most part. There are some nice little bits of instrumental flair here and there that add a bit of extra depth too. Pretty decent. Been Down So Long - This slows things down a bit. It’s got quite a strutting rhythm, but it does tire a little after a while because it just keeps on going. There’s the odd fill here and there, but in general this is really more of a jam track than anything else and it’s not vastly interesting. Cars Hiss By My Window - This just plods along. There are big sections where Jim Morrison doesn’t sing and the band just play along like they’re just waiting for him to get involved. They’re a tight unit and they play with a good groove, but it’s ultimately not that engaging even, apparently, to the singer. L.A. Woman - And Jim Morrison becomes a bit more interested! It’s got a good rumbling bass line and a sense of urgency. Nice interplay between the different instruments too. There’s a bit more verve in the vocal delivery and a good dynamism to the playing in the various sections. It’s a slightly unnecessarily long song, but there are at least various phases that it moves through to keep things more interesting, and they mess around with tempo in there too, which is always fun. Best on the album so far. L’America - Nice moody intro, but it feels a bit thin, like there could be more going on to enhance the ambience. It takes a couple of minutes and then drops into something more typically The Doors, before it drops back out again. It’s all a bit of a meandering hodge-podge of ideas and psychedelia. Hyacinth House - This is pretty nice. I like the cadence of some of the riffs and rhythms and the song feels it offers variety in tone through different sections, rather than relying on one theme throughout. Jim has a bit more to do and doubles up nicely with some extra backing vocals. Crawling King Snake - There’s a laid back swagger to this, but there’s enough going on that it doesn’t drag so much as earlier tracks and Jim seems a bit more invested. There’s some really great subtle quality to the playing on this that’s really fun to listen to. The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat) - There’s a good bit of attitude to this. Some really nice playing on there too, but it does have that tendency to drag just a little, like some of the tracks from the first side of the record. And there’s nothing particularly memorable about it either. Riders on the Storm - This one’s obviously a bit of a classic. Again, one where Jim Morrison feels like he’s actually engaging with the band in a more significant way. Some solid riffs and hooks in there and it’s on that catches in your head. As with L.A. Woman, it does perhaps drag a bit and the storm effects seem a little unnecessary, but it’s a good way to round out the album.

7/10 The quality of the musicianship and production on this album is outstanding. Things are super clean and you can hear every part occupying its own space, which is great for noticing all of the little bits of flair within the playing. They are also just super tight and in the pocket together, writing some great hooks and some solid grooves. When all of that comes together, there are some truly great moments on the album, but I did find the standout moments to be a little fleeting. There were times when some of the tracks lost sight of the actual song part of it all and get a bit lost in the noodling. When they allowed the song to take centre stage and the rest of the musicianship to work around that, things were great. To my ears, the David Palmer led songs didn’t really grab me as much as the Donald Fagen ones. Fagen has a bit more swagger and edge to his delivery and it just gives a bit more feel to the tracks and I felt that was lacking a little on some of the others. The first time I listened to this, it kind of washed over me, but I got a lot more feel out of it the second time. By the third time, the wash maybe returned a little, because there isn’t a great deal of stylistic variety. But overall, it was a solid, enjoyable listen and I’m looking forward to their other albums as we come across them further down the list. Do It Again - A nice percussion infused drum beat to kick us off. There’s a lot of feel to this, and some really nice hooks. The vocal line on the chorus, brief as it is, just oozes smooth quality. Some of the solo bits are a little self indulgent, but when they drop back into the chorus, all is forgiven. Really great stuff. Dirty Work - This drops back the pace and swings a bit more. It doesn’t offer as much range as the opener, but it’s still a smooth little track. Kings - Again, there’s a nice groove to this and the blend of lead and backing vocals in the chorus is great. Quality musicianship again and I can just imagine the guitar face going on during the solo. They throw some really nice rhythmic variety into some of the lines that sit further back in the mix and it adds a good deal of flavour. Midnite Cruiser - This is pretty nice too, although I could do with something to lift things soon, as it’s starting to feel a bit too stuck in a soft-rock rut. On its own, this is a decent enough song, but it just lacks a bit of grit. Only A Fool Would Say that - The vocal delivery here gives things the lift they needed. The band grooves really well again, and the vocal takes us along with a bit of swagger and drive. Everything’s so tight and smooth and we get some more quality playing, but things don’t overshadow the actual song. Reelin’ In The Years - There’s a bit of a change to the feel here. It’s got an insistent, driving rhythm, and the cadence of some of the chord changes are really nice, but they keep bringing things back together into an engaging, memorable chorus. And they make sure everyone gets to have their fun with some noodling. Fire In The Hole - Oooh, a nice bit of piano taking the lead. Some of the chord changes are unexpected, which I often appreciate, but the chord sequences do perhaps get a little lost in places. When they settle again for more piano soloing, it’s solid. There are some really solid moments and the groove when the guitar solos come in has got so much feel. Unfortunately, I don’t think the song part is as string here, so the core of the track feels a little weak. Brooklyn (Owes The Charmer Under Me) - This is more mellow. It has its moments, and it grooves along nicely enough, but it doesn’t really kick into a higher gear and doesn’t do much to hold interest beyond being pretty nice. Change Of The Guard - The rhythm section struts along nicely here. The bass line in particular is great. I think the stops in the groove going into the ‘change of the guard’ vocal are top notch and break things up well. Again, this is super tight, well played and produced. Turn That Heartbeat Over Again - This is a bit meandering. Can’t deny the quality of the musicianship, but it just feels like they wander about too much and nothing really sticks in the mind. There are some really decent bits, but they kind of feel a bit disconnected, which is a shame.

3/10 Country music is not a genre that I typically spend much time with and, as a consequence, I feel like the bar I set for it is much higher than other types of music. When I hear really top-tier country, I can engage with it, but the more middle of the road stuff often just doesn’t grab me at all. It’s typically a very formulaic genre with a very consistent sound between different artists and, if you like that sound, there’s a lot to enjoy, but it’s rarely for me. For the most part, I found this to be ok. The more energetic tracks did get me tapping my feet, and the songs were so short that they rarely outstayed their welcome, but it all just felt like a wash of country, none of which really stuck with me for long after the end of each track. There are also a couple of really odd aspects to this album. Firstly, the bass is way too loud, it almost overwhelms the lead vocal, which is super weird, especially as, from a compositional point of view, it’s the most basic element of the whole thing, largely just plodding away. When it’s given that much prominence, it doesn’t really benefit the songs. The other thing is that, for a good few of the tracks, the engineer seemed to just give up part way through and drop the faders. The fade outs were inexplicable, as sometimes there would be a change in the song, a solo, or Waylon would still actually be singing, and the producer would give up and end the song. Which was super weird. Overall, while this isn’t something I’ll be going back to, I also didn’t find it particularly terrible or offensive. But I’m, also glad it was only 27 minutes long. Honky Tonk Heroes - I was not convinced at all by the intro to this track, but once it kicks in, it’s decent. There’s not a great deal to it, composition-wise, but it’s pretty good fun and has a decent swing to it and a bit of attitude. Weirdly, they throw a slightly interesting rhythmic change in at the end that sounds like it’s going somewhere, but fade it out. Old Five and Dimers (Like Me) - This is so slow and plodding, and this type of croony vocal just doesn’t really do it for me. This song just sort of exists and then stops existing without much more to remark on. Willy the Wandering Gypsy and Me - Similarly to the previous track, this just sort of plods along. It’s got a bit more to it when the fiddle comes in, but it aside from that it just doesn’t do enough to grab me. And then it fades out while he’s still singing! So weird. Low Down Freedom - This has got a bit more pace and dynamic to it. There’s a bit more range to some of the instrumentation too, particularly some of the less front of stage parts. I’m getting a bit more out of the range of the lead vocal too. It still feels quite ‘country by numbers’ to me, but it’s fairly enjoyable. And again it fades out while he’s still singing! Omaha - The pace is still up. There’s not a great deal to it compositionally, but it’s got some backing vocals to add a bit of extra variety to things, which works quite well. It’s not bad, but it’s also not vastly interesting. At two and a half minutes, I guess it doesn’t need to be though. You Ask Me To - A return to the more croony vocal delivery that rubs me up the wrong way. The solo bits are quite nice, but overall, the dominating and uninteresting bass line and overly hard strummed rhythm guitar aren’t helping me to enjoy this. The best bit of the track gets faded away. Ride Me Down Easy - This just plods along, with very limited musical content. It’s maybe got a bit more going for it tonally than some of the other slow songs, but it’s still not really gripping me. But it does have a proper ending. Ain’t No God In Mexico - A bit of pace again. As with previous tracks, thinhgs get moving a bit more when the players get to have some solos, but it’s not the most engaging track and it’s so short it almost doesn’t get going before it’s done. Black Rose - Stick your thumbs in your belt loops and chew on a stalk of wheat, this here’s some country music. It’s got a nice lilt to it. It’s so unapologetically country, particularly with the vocal harmonies, but it does it pretty well and had me tapping my toes. We Had It All - More croony stuff. A very thin composition and it feels quite stylistically different from the rest of the album. Too much reverb and the bass seems even louder than the rest of the album. What a bad way to end the album.

9/10 Well, well, well. This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for from this project. A band from nearly 60 years ago that I had no prior knowledge of, but have absolutely blown me away. For an album recorded in 1968, this not only sounds super fresh today, thanks to the quality of the production, but also stylistically pre-empts a lot of bands that I love from later decades. They create an absolutely superb blend of rock, funk, soul and jazz, with a little twist of other bits and pieces for good measure. It’s like if you chucked Dave Brubeck, Tower of Power and Cream in a blender, with a pinch of country and folk spice blend. The balance between smooth, funky and jazzy is pretty damn good, and they mix things up enough from track to track that things never get stale. And that’s before I mention the musicianship. They are so tight. So controlled. So in each other’s pockets that it’s an absolute treat to listen too. The drummer and bass player in particular are superb, but there’s not really a missed step anywhere on the record. The compositions are complex, without really losing touch with the feel, and they can switch tempo and style at the drop of a hat, flitting between something very focused and something a bit more freeform as they go. There were perhaps a couple of slight lulls here and there, and there’s just a little bit of something holding me back from giving top marks, but I’ve massively enjoyed this and will definitely be back. Variations On A Theme By Erik Satie (1st And 2nd Movements) - An interesting intro. It’s played with a pretty straight bat to begin with and then they start getting a bit weird with it. Lots of phasing and grandiosity, perhaps hinting at what’s to come. Smiling Phases - This busts down the door. It’s frantic, yet controlled. So much fun. The vocalist is great, as is the drummer. In fact, they’re all doing solid work here. It’s a brilliant blend of jazz, funk and rock. They just keep throwing changes in there too, but it’s still very coherent. Love some of the solo sections, and it packs so much in to 5 minutes. Exceptional stuff. Sometimes In Winter - And now a folksy, easy listening type track. Sure, why not? It’s well put together and actually makes for a nice settler after the controlled chaos of the previous track. I mean, it’s cheesy as anything, but it’s well written and well executed. More And More - Enough of a rest, let’s kick up the pace again. This is like a proto Tower of Power. It’s not as frantic as Smiling Phases, but there’s loads of groove and attitude to it. It’s got great tempo, and some of those horn fills are just great. Love David Clayton-Thomas’s vocal on this. The rhythm section is so solid too. And When I Die - A plodding little folksy intro, but it doesn’t take long before they up the pace and add a bit of jazzy swing to things. Bobby Colomby is an exceptional drummer. For a song that varies tempo so much, this is so, so tight. It’s cheesy, but they know it and embrace it. That ‘yeehaw!’ is hilarious. It just sounds like they’re having so much fun, but when that’s wrapped up in something so technically proficient, it massively elevates things. It’s really, really good. God Bless The Child - This is smooth. It’s cheesy, but brilliantly so and it sounds like a blend of Weather Report and Tower of Power. Some of the organ chord choices are super lush. The bass playing is quality and they pull the rhythm around but stay so tight. There’s a lot of feel to this too. And why not throw in a mambo style latin section?. They’re really very good. Spinning Wheel - The chorus of this is so good. I feel like the section after the first chorus section drifts a little, but it’s pretty brief and good lord, that chorus is funky. The trumpet solo section swings so hard too. Love some of the little rhythmic fills they chuck in. And that flute bit is superbly silly. You've Made Me So Very Happy - And we’re back with something smooth again, but they throw in some super funky sections too. The way the horns and bass echo each other in some of the riffs is superb. This song does perhaps drift a little in places, but there’s still so much quality in the musicianship. Blues, Pt. 2 - There’s a slow build to this. It’s got a lot of vibe to it, but it takes quite a long time to get going. When it kicks in though. Ooof, that strolling bass line is great, with such subtle control from the drums. And then the drummer gets his go. Again, Colomby is not just in the pocket, he is the pocket. We’re just rotating through the players now. It’s self-indulgent, but so good. They’re all on such form that it’s a great listen, and there’s so much touch and feel to what they’re doing. This does just drift from section to section, but that’s the point really. And why not play some little slices of songs you like. That bit of Sunshine of Your Love is banging and there are a couple of other bits of songs in there that I know less well too. But it’s all good. Variation On A Theme By Erik Satie (1st Movement) - And we go full circle. Nothing to add, except that this whole thing was great.

9/10 Paul Simon writes music that is deceptively deep and complex. There’s so much going on, but there are enough fantastic hooks and choruses that the nuance could easily get missed if you weren’t paying attention. His vocal delivery is, seemingly without exception, flawless. He has this laid back, conversational lilt to his voice that he can flip into a more driven, engaged pace at the drop of a hat and it’s so satisfying to listen to. The blend of his more folksy rock roots and the music of southern Africa is a stroke of genius and the production does a great job of blending those styles, even though it does lean a touch too far into the 80’s gated reverb sound to make it truly timeless. The southern African guitar style that uses really arpeggiated lines that dance around each other in a staccato, rhythmical way is something I’m fond of anyway with bands like Bhundu Boys and Four Brothers, but it brings so much rhythmical style to the more anchored drums that the whole album has this body moving groove to it that’s hard to resist. The fretless bass typically sits between the two worlds and there are echoes of Jaco Pastorius in the tone and delivery, which is always pleasing. This is an album that gets regular replay with me already, so it was never going to get a low score. There are a few lulls here and there that keep this from being a 10/10 album for me, but the strength of the songwriting, hooks and the demand for focused repeat listening, while also offering reward for casual ears too sits makes this a really solid record that I’ll no doubt be back to again soon enough. The Boy In The Bubble - A very good start to the album. The bass line is great. It’s got some great hooks and his vocal is just quality. The slow build of the backing vocals is nice too. It’s not stylistically or dynamically that varied, which is probably the only drawback, but it’s a lovely kick off. Graceland - And now we’re pumping. This just shifts along with a beautiful, bouncing rhythm. Some of the reverby guitar lines are just exceptional. They’re subtle, but add so much depth. I love the little blend of staccato bass and lead guitar lines that skip around together. It all just keeps you grooving and sticks in your head. I Know What I Know - The combination of the different guitar lines in this track are nice, as are the blends of backing vocals. Everything sort of dances around each other, but it’s all grounded by the kick drum. I would often find that a bit relentless, but the fact that it everything else is shifting so much gives it real purpose. It’s not vastly varied across its runtime, but its still really good. Gumboots - This charges along at a clip again. I really love the delivery of the lead vocal on this. He sings in a relaxed way, but leans into the frantic nature of the song at points too. It’s not necessarily the most interesting song on the record, but it’s a solid album track. Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes - Fantastic song. The blend of different guitar lines and the dancing bass are just great. There are so many different sound textures to the different elements of the track and it just melds together into this smooth, danceable, understated production. The horn sections provide a dynamic change that keeps you on your toes and, again, the vocal delivery is just so, so fluid and effortless. You Can Call Me Al - Another banger. That synth chord line that opens the track is absolutely iconic, the bass line is immense, the ‘call me Al’ vocal when he goes high is just perfect. The rhythms are so solid and everything just compliments everything else so beautifully. It’s an absolute masterpiece. It’s got a palindromic solo too, so yeah… Under African Skies - A change of pace now. There are some beautiful harmonies in here. Again, the bass line is great and provides a lot of the rhythmical drive to the track. There’s a lovely flow in the dynamic of the track too as different parts ebb and flow. Homeless - So lush. Ladysmith Black Mambazo bring it here, it’s like a bed of voices, but there are loads of cool little vocal flourishes that pop up all over the place to add rhythmic range and interest. There’s a great groove to this too, which is achieved so well using only voices. Crazy Love, Vol. II - There’s such beautiful guitar work on this track, with the arpeggiated, intertwining lines of the verses and then the more legato, delay enriched lines in the chorus. There are so many parts that contribute subtly to the tone of this one that it really does reward close, repeated listening. I think this would be an easy one to overlook, but it really is lovely. That Was Your Mother - This a more swinging number with a folksy rock ’n roll base. It really moves and fells like it speeds up as it goes. It’s pretty impossible not to jiggle your way through this one. It’s not the most complex composition, but it’s another solid album track. All Around The World Or The Myth Of Fingerprints - The intro and chorus are so solid. Great rhythmic choices and drive. Lovely change of dynamic between the verse and chorus too. The lilt of his vocal in the verse is so good, and the chorus has some really engaging guitar lines. It’s another toe tapper and if anything, it ends too soon. Give us another chorus Paul!

8/10 This record is kind of hard to pigeonhole. There are elements of country, rock, folk, even soul and funk that bounce in and out of the sound, but it all still has a fairly consistent ‘The Band’ sound about it. There is an edge of rawness to the playing and production that gives it a more folksy, earthy feel to it, but when they want to, they can tighten things up and knock out some really excellent, connected hooks that are super engaging. I really enjoyed a lot of the songs, and even the ones that I didn’t connect with as much had elements that I really dug. There were really shining moments of performance from across the group, with some quality vocal harmonies and some really nice piano and guitar playing in particular. As an album, it certainly conveys a very specific vibe, and everything, despite the different genres they touch on, has a pretty consistent tone, which helps with bringing things together as a coherent whole. There are moments I absolutely love and some that I find less engaging, but as a whole, it’s a high quality record that has a few absolute bangers and served as inspiration for a lot of bands that would follow. Across The Great Divide - I love the tone of this. It’s folksy rock, but there’s a good deal of soul to it too. There are some nice vocal harmonies and the variety of different elements from the different instruments provides depth to the composition. The organ line that sits in the background is great, for example. It’s just really engaging and has great drive to it. Rag Mama Rag - It’s a proper country start, with a great swagger. That piano is fantastic and the overall energy is infectious. Hard not to move to this one. It’s got a bit of a raw edge which really works for it too. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - The pace drops and the vocal delivery is very evocative in this one. It’s not a perfect delivery, but that kind of works in its favour to make it feel more raw. The dynamic swell into the chorus with the backing vocals and the aggressively struck piano chords and drums is top work. When You Awake - This feels a bit less well organised, but there’s some quality in there. I suspect the vocal delivery isn’t for everyone, but I really like that edge of strain and just hanging it together that it suggests. It’s a bit more of a wandering track that doesn’t ever really find its centre, but it’s still not bad. Up On Cripple Creek - Love this song. The limping cadence of the rhythm is just so good and it’s really funky, with all of the instruments just bringing so much feel. Piano, guitar and rums in particular, but everything’s so good. It’s got a banger of a chorus too. Whispering Pines - There’s a bit of a Beach Boys feel to this. Some of the chord choices are really beautiful and the general ambience is lovely. The vocals on a prettier song like this do perhaps feel a bit more stretched, but it’s a fairly minor quibble. Jemima Surrender - More of a rocky number now. Some great piano playing that just adds quality flavour to the track. There are some great bits of synchronicity between the instruments when they join together for a few key hits and chord changes. The main elements aren’t vastly memorable, but there are a load of bits that are super satisfying. Rockin' Chair - This is a bit of a mixed bag. Some elemets of it a really good, but it does kind of drift in places too. It feels a bit like a jumble of ideas that don’t always flow that smoothly together. The chorus is great though. Look Out Cleveland - The tempo kicks up again and we’re into a rocking number. I like the difference in feel between the verses and choruses and the way the chorus slowly drops before rising up quickly. It’s a great musical effect. Jawbone - They play with tempo a lot here, which is pretty cool. The verse is a little disjointed, but I absolutely love the chorus of this song. Everything comes together so well, and then when they break into the solo it’s equally excellent. The Unfaithful Servant - This is a little on the plodding side. There are some nice bits, but overall, it’s not that engaging to me and lacks a bit of the variety or catchy nature of the better songs on the album. King Harvest (Has Surely Come) - Back for another really funky little number. Some quality playing on this. The vibe is great, but it never really lands on a memorable hook, which is a bit of a shame. But I’ll still enjoy it for the vibe. The solo section is top quality and a great way to round off the album.

8/10 Despite being fairly obsessed with Blue, Court and Spark is not an album that I’ve listened to that many times. I’ve spun it the odd time here and there, but it’s never had as much airplay as it probably deserves. I think part of the reason for that is that I typically prefer a more sparse orchestration than this for her work. The more full band sound can take away a bit of the intimacy that’s inherent in her best work, and it doesn’t quite get its hooks into me in the same way. With that being said, this is still a great album. Joni composes in a very non-traditional way, with her combination of chord choices and rhythmic delivery often providing something counter to the obvious. That could go one of two ways, but with Joni it’s that little element of surprise and wonder that keeps me engaged. Her songs are also frequently one narrative thread, rather than a standard verse, chorus, verse structure, but for me, that just takes me on a wonderful journey, alongside the previously mentioned choices she makes in her composition, and it doesn’t need the more traditional structure to centre things. There are some really fantastic tracks here and I really enjoyed giving it a more close inspection, but I do feel that, as a whole, this album is just a little bit disorganised. It stylistically bounces around a touch too much, with the final three tracks almost feeing like they don’t quite gel with the rest of the album. There’s also the odd lull here and there that allowed my attention to drift just a little bit. The funny thing is, I’ve finished listening to this, only to find myself singing songs from Blue instead. I’ve really enjoyed this and I’ll definitely be back, but I’ll probably stick on Blue first. Sorry Joni. Court And Spark - I love Joni’s piano playing. She makes some really interesting chord choices, and her style is so unmistakably her. It’s a wonderful composition, and her voice is so good as always. Her songs can often be so fleeting, but somehow also have so much to say. Help Me - While my preference for Joni tends to be her more bare-bones arrangements, there’s so much quality in this song. Loads of little bits of instrumentation and rhythmic choices that are so engaging to the ear. It’s got drive and groove, but it’s also so smooth. Free Man In Paris - This is more rocky than I was expecting. Again, there are some really lovely little riffs and lines that reward deep listening. The momentum of the track is excellent and her vocal is so good, particularly the control of her pitch sweeps. The rhythmic stops sections are just brilliant too. People's Parties - This is a bit of a prototype of the kind of sound she’d explore in more depth on Hejira. It doesn’t feel as refined as that album, but there are some really great moments here. She approaches her vocal rhythms in such a great way in which lines can roll from one to the next over parts of bars, rather than always in full bar counts, which is such a great way for the cadence of the vocal to change across a verse. The Same Situation - Some of the sound design here is so nice. The effect on the guitar (I think? Sounds like a synth) in the background adds a beautiful, subtle depth. The song kind of meanders along, but it’s the meandering of a lazy walk in a picturesque landscape, rather than anything aimless. Car On A Hill - This has got a really pretty start and then we get some really unexpected chord changes as we move into the delightfully odd middle section. It’s perhaps a little out of place, but I feel like weird quirks like that should be celebrated. Some gorgeous vocal harmonies in this ones too. Down To You - Things are more stripped back to begin with, just letting the piano and vocal shine. And then there’s this tension that builds, and floats away before we’re back to the sparsity. It’s hard to pin this one down as it drifts and shifts as it goes along. Some moments of pure beauty that drift away from some almost uncomfortable moments of tension. It’s almost a collage of musical ideas. Just Like This Train - This is just very beautiful. She wanders her way through the song which sort of evolves as it goes, with interesting changes to rhythm and feel that might last for a bar or too, but just tweak that feel and inject such flavour to proceedings, but never derail the thrust of the song. Raised On Robbery - This is quite a change. It’s a pretty straight rocker, but it’s so good. There’s some grit to it, but not too much, and it’s got so much drive. Love her vocal delivery again. Perhaps an odd change of pace in the context of the album, but why not? Trouble Child - More typically Joni now. There’s some beautiful guitar playing here and the cadence of her compositional choices are so satisfying, injecting these little off kilter moments that bookmark some impressively pretty passages. Great little jazzy edges here and there too. Twisted - And now we’re pretty much full-on jazz. It’s a cover, but it shows a different side to Joni’s vocal. She’s so, so good. The little bits of vibrato, the switch between spoken and sung delivery, and those little staccato runs. Excellent.

3/10 Aside from the hits, Dexys is a band that I’ve never spent much time with. Looking at the history of this album, I suspect this wasn’t the best place to start. It wasn’t well received, happened after the band had shed over half its members, and they ended up splitting not long after its release. In all honesty, I can see why. There are some real indicators of quality that bubble along under the surface here, and the band are clearly skilled players, with some really great bass playing a particular highlight. But they spend a lot of their time getting in their own way, particularly when it comes to the vocals and spoken word sections. Kevin Rowland has a very particular way of singing, but it also seems to be delivered in levels, so sometimes the affectation is fairly mild and works really well and others, like the opening track, he sings with the slurring mispronunciation of a deaf person who is speaking based on a life of lip-reading rather than hearing speech. At least it’s tuneful for the most part. They also seem determined to make every song as long as they possibly can. You could probably make a pretty good version of some of these tracks by trimming them to 3-4 minutes, but having to hear compositions that don’t offer vast variation over a 12 minute period is just hard work. The spoken word sections are seemingly intended to evoke some sort of concept or narrative across the album, but either the message didn’t really get to me, or they never really committed to the process, because they often just felt tacked on and unnecessary. All in all, this was a bit of a jumble that could probably have been made into something decent with another round of studio time and a good producer, but unfortunately it ended up being a swing and a miss. The Occasional Flicker - This is kind of plodding and Kevin Rowland seems determined to sing in his most extremely affected way. The actual track is pretty good. There are some great piano lines in particular, but it all drags on too much and spends too much time being hidden by the warbling vocal that descends into having a chat for a good chunk of the song. There’s a good song in there somewhere, but they didn’t find it. This Is What She's Like - A minute of inane chatter from one paranoid friend to another. Ok. Then another minute of very drawn out intro. When they bother starting the track, it’s not bad. When singing like this, Rowland’s vocal style is a bit less annoying. The vocal melody is pretty meandering though, but the chorus hook is pretty good. The breakdown section in the middle is quite nice and there are some good harmonies as things build back in, before things kick up a gear, which is pretty good, before another inexplicable pause. I feel like this could have been a really good 4-6 minute track, but it’s a meandering 12 minute epic without enough ideas or range to justify it. Knowledge Of Beauty - This is nice enough, I just don’t feel they’ve done enough to earn the patience for a track like this. It’s fairly pretty and has a nice little country twist, but the vocal is way too loud in the mix, and it’s way too long and it sounds a bit like Kevin’s been drinking quite a lot as the song goes on and he’s had too much by the end. One Of Those Things - There’s a bit of cool swagger to this track. The spoken vocal actually kind of works here as part of the intro. The track has a good vibe, but it just doesn’t really go anywhere. There’s some really good playing in there. Solid bass playing in particular, and the band are doing good work to add musical variety, but the core structure just keeps on plodding. It all sounded the same indeed. Reminisce Part Two - Another rambling spoken intro. Only it’s not just the intro, it’s the whole song. The music in the background is nice enough, but this just feels a bit of a jumbled, directionless record at this point. Listen To This - Here comes something better! There’s more structure, the vocal works better with the track and it feels altogether more coherent. It’s not a brilliant track, but it’s pretty good. There’s a bit of urgency to things and there are some nice little riffs here and there, and there’s a bit of dynamic and variety too. The Waltz - Another meandering, country tinged track. Again, nice touches here and there, the piano playing being a highlight, but it’s just a bit rambling and WAY TOO LONG. If you’re going to write songs this long, they have to offer something to justify the length. This does build, drop and build again, but it takes too long doing it and it just drags because of that.

6/10 Bit of a funny one this. I really enjoyed my time with it, but I also don’t feel like any of it was particularly memorable. There’s not really anything in the way of a hook or melody that’s really stuck with me after listening through a few times, and it all felt like a bit of a vibe wash, rather than an engaging collection of songs. Looking at the two sides of the record, each side was very much of a type, and it did feel like one song just sort of ran into another without a vast amount of change happening, like these we’re all songs written to guidelines rather than anything more personal. It almost felt like you could drop the needle anywhere on the side and it wouldn’t be appreciably different from anywhere else. His voice is fantastic, and there is some really great playing here, with some of the little solos and bits of flair, often from his piano playing on side two, which did provide some standout moments here and there. On the flip side, the recording was not great. I kind of got over it after the first couple of tracks, but every now and then something would clip and I’d kind of wince a little at it, which did hamper my enjoyment a little. Overall, while this was a very pleasant musical world I was happy to inhabit for 40 minutes, and I did enjoy it as mood music, I don’t really feel like any of it really got its hooks into me and is likely to stick with me now that the album has ended. For me, I much prefer his more driven, up-tempo work and I’m more likely to spin that than come back to this any time soon. Let The Good Times Roll - Great swing. I love the freedom that he sings with. It flips between creamy smooth and gritty at will and it’s so good. The recording is a bit of a letdown as this would be really good to hear without the distortion, but it’s a quality start otherwise. It Had To Be You - Leaning more on the smooth side of things now. There’s some really nice, subtle piano playing in here that just seems so easy and cool. It’s just butter for the ears. Alexander's Ragtime Band - This is a bit more bombastic, which is a bit more affected by the audio fidelity. There are some fantastic moments in this, but I don’t find it to be the most interesting of compositions. It’s a decent, enjoyable listen, and there are some really cool little solo bits, but it also doesn’t feel vastly memorable. Two Years Of Torture - Some more quality vocal work here, along side some quality soloing from the sax. It’s just cool. This is all vibe and that smoky jazz club vibe is always a good thing. When Your Lover Has Gone - More laid back, buttery goodness. The dynamic is great. Some lovely, chilled and subtle bits that are punctuated with the big band blasts. Deed I Do - His vocal here is so good. Some of the work is so subtle that it’s almost not noticeable, but that dynamic control he has and the little bits of vocal fry are just glorious. This is just a warm blend of quality playing and singing. Lovely stuff. Just For A Thrill - A flip to the second side and the big band has been given the boot in favour of a string section. Again, this is lovely. Beautiful piano playing in the second half and things just swing along nicely. You Won't Let Me Go - More solid work, particularly in the vocal department. He drops to some great deep tones in places here that are so good. I’m glad the piano is getting a bit more of a workout on this second side. Tell Me You'll Wait For Me - There’s a lazy quality to this. Super smooth and laid back. It’s a bit too Disney, but there are little bits of flair in the piano that really pop. Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin' - Ah, this is great. There’s just something a bit more engaging about the composition here for me. It’s still a bit Disney, but the way all of the instruments work with his vocal makes things gel better. Am I Blue - It’s still good, but it could also just be the previous track, there’s not really much to differentiate things at this point. It’s a very nice experience, but I doubt I’ll be singing any of these songs this evening. Come Rain Or Come Shine - Some really nice vocal and piano playing again here. It’s all lovely, and everything, but it also just blends in with everything else here, if I’m being brutally honest.

5/10 I can hear the direction of travel that The Smiths are taking with this album, but for me they haven’t really quite hit on the winning formula that they’d reach on The Queen Is Dead the following year. All too often, Id’d find myself waiting for a hook or an engaging chorus to land and it never really arrived. The framework for things is there, but unfortunately there was rarely anything that really grabbed me and demanded my attention. I mention it in my track by track, but it often felt a little bit aimless, like they were searching for something they couldn’t quite find in the same way that I was as a listener. There were also places where the blend of the band and Morrissey’s vocal just didn’t gel all that well. It probably wasn’t helped by the mix, which typically placed a reverb-soaked Morrissey far too prominently and relegated the band to background artists, but when things don’t gel in the juxtaposed styles that The Smiths often have between band (jangly, staccato) and vocalist (more of a lazy drawl) it can feel quite jarring. I also found the frequent use of sampled material seems a bit strange, as they often just seem to be added for the sake of it rather than any specific purpose. They work well in places, but in others seem to stick out like a sore thumb. As is sometimes the case with albums by artists whose other work I know better, I found myself singing songs from a different album after this one was over. The sound got into my head, but none of the songs did, which is a shame. It was an ok sound on a fairly uninteresting album, and there’s not really any likelihood I’ll be hurrying back this way again. The Headmaster Ritual - A jangly little intro with some decent riffs thrown in for good measure. The opening of the vocal promises more than it delivers. They keep threatening to break into a hooky chorus, but it never arrives. It’s one of those ‘almost’ songs. Not bad, but also not very memorable. Rusholme Ruffians - A cool, upbeat bass line to kick things off. Morrissey’s voice is a bit odd against this instrumental, it doesn’t quite gel. The song doesn’t really vary much either, so it just feels a bit relentless and uninteresting. Even that cool little bass line just feels stale by about half way through. I Want The One I Can't Have - Some great guitar work here. This is a better song, there’s more variety between the sections and it’s got great pace. What She Said - This sounds like the band and Morrissey are almost playing a different song to each other. Morrissey is too loud and swamped in reverb, the band is playing some pretty driven stuff, but Morrissey is flouncing over the top. It all just feels a bit aimless. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore - Things are much more aligned here between music and vocals. Things are a bit meandering though. I have no problem with soundscape type tracks, but there has to be something more to grab onto than there is here, and feel like the album as a whole at this point has been very thin on things to really connect with. Nowhere Fast - There’s a bit more verve to this and the verses are really great, but then there isn’t really a chorus, just some sort of bridge bits and instrumental sections. This could be a really great track if they’d bothered to write a chorus. The guitar lines in the verse sections are quality, and the vocal is solid and compliments it well, but it just doesn’t deliver on its promises again. Well I Wonder - This one’s quite nice. It’s got a good blend of tones from the instruments and a satisfyingly complete sound to it. There’s decent momentum and the bass keeps things rolling along. It doesn’t do anything vastly exciting, but it’s a nice listen and a good vibe. Barbarism Begins At Home - This is a great track with lots of movement to it and it feels very well balanced. There are some great little hooks from the instruments and vocals. The blend of almost frantic work from the guitars and the lazy drawl from Morrissey create that distinctively Smiths sound that is the backbone to their best work. Really nice bass work too. Meat Is Murder - This is pretty good. It’s a bit more meandering and plodding, but it has quite a nice sway to it. There are some good riffs and lines here too, but it all just drags on a bit too much without enough variation for my tastes. Not a terrible way to end the album, but it is pretty long and dreary.

8/10 I wasn’t expecting this to be as consistently strong, or as well produced as it is. I obviously know Sultans Of Swing, and it’s the jewel in the crown here, but the album as a whole is a really great blend of solid songwriting, incredibly tight playing and understated flair. There are a lot of solos, flourishes and riffs that are exceptionally delivered, but it never feels like showing off and, importantly, is never presented in a way that overshadows or gets in the way of the core song. The production is so crisp that you can hear every element of each track with extreme clarity, which makes repeat listening very rewarding, due to the aforementioned moments of flair that pop out all over the place as each track progresses. The vocals are unspectacular, but ground the songs really well. Anything more and it might have ended up sounding too showy, but it strikes a great balance against the rest of the playing. Mark Knopfler takes centre stage, as expected, but there are some really great moments from the rest of the band here and there too, which keeps things interesting and don’t let this become a one man show, which is always nice. While this isn’t necessarily my go to type of music, it was an engaging listening experience throughout and, while there were some lulls, they were fairly fleeting. A worthy addition to the list, no doubt. Down To The Waterline - This is smooth. The production is great, with every instrument having its space and the clarity of the tone and precision of the playing really shining. The control that they all have is so good, and the playing feels so fluid. The musicianship is obviously top tier and they allow themselves space to indulge, but also don’t let it overwhelm the actual song. Water Of Love - A change of pace here. It’s not quite as engaging as the opener, but the quality of performance and production is still so good. It just feels like it’s lacking the verve and range of Waterline and is just a bit too country for my tastes. It’s a nice, warm listen though. Setting Me Up - The rhythm of the guitars layered together is so good here. It’s all got a great swing and swagger. Again, it’s perhaps a bit too country blues for my tastes, but when it’s delivered this well, it’s kind of hard to not get sucked in. Six Blade Knife - Smooth. It’s got a little bit of grit to it, and some of the little flourishes from the guitar are so subtly delivered, but super cool. It’s a really decent, laid back track full of vibe. Good stuff. Southbound Again - More swagger. That staccato riff on the guitar has got great feel to it, and the little accents from the lead that just pop in now and again add great flavour. There’s nothing too complex to the structure, but the feel is so good. And it’s over in a flash. Sultans Of Swing - We all knew it was coming and here it is. This has got better pace than I ever really remember. It somehow shifts, but they also give it this laid back edge, like it’s built for dancing while having a lie down. There are more killer guitar licks in this one song than many bands have on an entire album. And none of it overshadows the actual song either, which is quite the balancing act. Everyone knocks it out of the park here, with even little touches of flair from the rhythm section here and there. They’re so tight, the performances are insanely good and the production lets you hear every bit of it in exceptional clarity. Beautiful. In The Gallery - This is solid too. It’s got swagger and feel in spades. The rhythm guitar tone and playing are quality in particular here. It’s not necessarily the most interesting or varied song, but the little moments of virtuosity hold your attention and keep things moving along while the rhythm just keeps things bouncing along nicely. Wild West End - This has got a different vibe to it. It’s pretty cool and has a really nice flow. I started off thinking I wouldn’t be that interested but the longer it went on, the more I got sucked into the vibe. Another quality track. Lions - This isn’t grabbing me quite as much, it’s feels a little less grounded than the previous track and some of the vocal delivery seems a little bit forced. the blend of smooth and sharp just seems a little bit less balanced than elsewhere. It’s still decent, just not as engaging for me.

4/10 This should be an album that clicks with me far more than it does. It came out just before my 16th birthday, had heavy guitars and angsty lyrics and followed in the footsteps of bands like Korn, Slipknot and Machine Head that I was already listening to. But Linkin Park were never a band that I’ve ever bothered with. I’ve heard all the big hits, which were impossible to miss in the early 00s, but nothing engaged me enough to dig deeper. Perhaps because I was already indulging in heavier music, this band that were a gateway for many people didn’t have much to offer someone who had already gone in the deep end. Listening to it now, a few things really jump out at me. First, it sounds so of its time that it’s almost laughable. The scratching, the rhythmically uninteresting rapping, the loudness wars mastering, it’s the dictionary definition of 2000’s production. Secondly, this is very much an anthemic pop record. It’s like someone gathered the most palatable aspects of bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit and wrapped them up in an emo NSYNC bow. Not that there’s anything particularly wrong with that, and again, it makes them a perfect ‘first heavy band’ for those just diving in, but it just isn’t my bag. The production to my ear is terrible. Despite the ‘quiet verse, loud chorus’ that they try, the over-compressed nature of it all just makes it lack the oomph that that dynamic change ought to have. The guitars in particular are so compressed that they feel like a wall of tone, rather than organic pieces of musicianship. There’s so little space for the instruments to breathe and it ends up feeling like an assault on the ears that you have to work hard to pick the parts from. From a song-writing point of view, they can obviously write heavy anthems, but frankly, the bits that I liked the most just reminded me of similar bits from songs by other artists that I like much more than this. It’s also all very, very samey and something about it just doesn’t quite feel genuine to me. Essentially, the ingredients are all great, but something about the meal doesn’t taste right. Extra points for being the gateway drug for so many. Papercut - Oof, the scratching does not kick this off well. The riffs are ok, I guess, but there’s no dynamic range at all. This type of rapping does not gel with me, particularly the strong emphasis that doesn’t really highlight the lyrics, but just adds a sort of soft aggression to the delivery. The singing is very pop too. One Step Closer - A big single. This verse reminds me a lot of Korn, but if Jonathan Davis was replaced by Nick Carter. It’s a great chorus, but the production just gives it this plasticy edge that makes it not sit quite right with me. I had this song in my head after the first spin through the album and my head canon version is better than the reality of it. Over-compressed and lacking dynamics, it’s a shame really. And the shut up bit near the end makes him sound like a budget Zack de la Rocha. With You - I think there’s too much going on in some of these songs. Even the quieter bits here are just stuffed full of too much and again, the loudness war mastering of this just makes it relentlessly lacking in range. There’s no subtlety to it. This one doesn’t have much in the way of hook either, it’s just a bit of a wall of bar long guitar chords for a chorus. Points Of Authority - Again, this feels quite Korny in the verse. It feels a bit corny in the chorus, as it happens. The scratching might as well be a bloke in the background just shouting “Year 2000” over and over again. The riffs here are pretty good actually and the rapping is better. But the balance of all of the parts is just bad. There’s not space for everything to have its place, everything just sounds like its competing with everything else to be heard. Crawling - Another big, big single. And there’s some actual dynamic range. Hurrah! This verse could have been clipped from an NSync song, but builds into the chorus. Perhaps a bit too much going on as it builds for my tastes, but when it hits, it’s a proper nu-metal anthem. Well written for what it is. Not really my bag, but I can see why it grabbed people. Runaway - Again, there’s a bit more dynamic range here. And again, it sounds like Backstreet Boys playing Korn in the verse. The chorus is ok, but it’s all a bit music by numbers and just isn’t grabbing me. By Myself - They really can’t have any sections where they don’t overdo the instrumentation can they? It’s like an assault on the ears. It’s more of that anthemic pop-metal that feels like it’s had its charm produced out of it to make it as radio friendly as possible. They really love those ringing, compressed chord structures, don’t they? In The End - Ah, the biggest hit single? Too much going on in a ‘quiet’ verse? Check. Unashamedly basic rapping? Check. Full bar compressed chords that follow a super basic structure? Check. It sounds like I hate it, but I actually don’t. It’s a well written, really decent pop song produced to sound heavy. But it’s also so boyband and so, so 2000. Fair play. A Place For My Head - More pointless scratching. There are some actually interesting rhythmic choices here so it stands out a bit from the other tracks. While I like some of the choices here, there’s nothing that really grabs me either. There’s a bit of a radio-friendly Machine Head about this. Forgotten - Some of these songs I can hardly tell when one ends and another begins. But there’s a bit of dynamic range again here, and some more rhythmically varied riffs, so that’s to be applauded. It’s very pop-rap in the verses. Again, nothing that’s really grabbing me though. Cure For The Itch - Ah, someone’s listened to Endtroducing. This is just not very well done though, is it? No subtlety to it at all. Pushing Me Away - At this point, this could have just been a repeat of any one of the album tracks from this album, it’s all just blending into one for me. It’s over-compressed, dynamically squashed and nothing in there grabs me. And my ears are tired.

4/10 On first listen, I quite enjoyed this. As with most of these albums, my first run through happens while I’m lying in bed reading, so I can get into the vibe. As background music, I was putting this somewhere in the 5-6 range. It’s not groundbreaking necessarily, but it’s got some decent grooves, her voice is good and it’s fairly inoffensive. The more I listened to it, however, the less value I saw in it. There are elements of musicians that I really enjoyed here, like Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu as particular examples, but it all felt a little bit lightweight by comparison, and there often wasn’t enough range or depth to the compositions to really expand on the base ideas and develop a really rewarding experience with a more focused ear. It really feels like there are a bunch of half decent starting points, but they are rarely developed into something beyond that, which is a big shame. I wouldn’t say this was bad overall, but it was definitely over-long and could have benefitted from the editors blade slicing a few tracks away entirely, and cutting some of the more repetitive ones down. I also kind of wonder what an album between Ms Dynamite and her brother Akala could be, as I felt that the hidden track really showed potential and was one of the strongest things on the album. Natural High (Interlude) - Can you have an interlude before anything else has started? I don’t think so. Bit of a dub edge to this, which is nice. Dy-Na-Mi-Tee - The big single, and I’ve probably heard this a thousand times without ever playing it myself. It’s always bothered me that the chorus bit after ‘dynamite-ee-hee’ is flat. It’s a decent enough pop song other than that though. Anyway U Want It - This is fairly boilerplate R&B. Some nice flute lines, and it bounces along nicely enough, but it’s hardly that memorable. Put Him Out - This has got a bit more zip to it and has my toes tapping. This chorus is so 00’s though, and it’s pretty Missy Elliot lite. Some of the piano stuff adds a nice bit of range to the sound, but again, it’s not one that’s going to stick with me. Brother - A song about Akala! This is a decent slice of life from working class London. It doesn’t offer a great deal of variety, but it’s well produced and her voice is great. A nice little down-tempo offering. It Takes More (Bloodshy Main Mix) - This is quite Lauryn Hill. I mean, it’s not as good, but it’s not bad either. The bass sound is pretty cool and her vocal delivery is quality. It’s got a solid groove too. The rapping section is good too. Like it. Sick 'N' Tired - She’s got good flow. That main riff is a bit too repetitive and irritating. But the rest of the track has got a nice blend of legato and staccato texture. It’s a shame the verse and chorus don’t have much to differentiate them, which makes this drag. Afraid 2 Fly - The string samples are bad, hurried and don’t fit. There’s also some weird, noisy samples that just make this sound cluttered. This is a miss. Nothing that grabs me and poor production, should have hit the cutting room floor. And its too bloody long! Watch Over Them - This kind of feels weird as a straight acapella, because it really sounds like she was singing to a backing track that was then removed. It was ok, I suppose. Seed Will Grow - One of Bob Marley’s many kids appears here. This has got a nice bounce to it. It’s not got a vast amount of variety to it, but the duet nature of it gives it a bit of extra interest and the groove is good. There’s not enough depth to hold up to too much close scrutiny though. Krazy Krush - Again, this has got a decent groove to it, but it’s pretty thin. The initial idea is ok, but it just keeps on doing the same thing the whole way through which doesn’t really keep the attention, which is a shame. Now U Want My Love - A bit of a reggae edge to this, but here voice isn’t at its best. Again, the base of this track is pretty decent and it’s a nice little chilled album track that’s got a decent groove, but doesn’t develop a great deal. Too Experienced - Well this one is rubbish. The synth sounds are really odd choices. It all just seems like a weird bunch of sounds chucked together, rather than a song. There are some nice bits in the vocal delivery from both of them, but the instrumentation is terrible. Gotta Let U Know - I think I’m getting tired of this by now. This is pretty uninspired stuff and I feel like I don’t remember ever hearing this before, despite the fact that I’ve heard this album three times today. It’s just pedestrian and uninspiring. All I Ever - This one feels aimless too. The chorus is pretty bland, but ok for what it is. The verses are a bit weird and lack any sort of direction. The guitar part just sound like someone doing some weird arpeggiation exercise, rather than playing a song. A Little Deeper/Get Up, Stand Up - This is again, quite nice, but it never goes anywhere. It feels like a proper beat wants to come in, but it never does. Nice enough, but nothing special. The hidden track is pretty good. Great flow from Akala. The production is decent, and the combination of his rapping and her vocal is really good. I reckon an album of the two of them together could be really good.Probably the best thing on here.

3/10 This is a compilation album comprising songs from two previous albums and an EP. So it doesn’t belong on this list. With that out of the way, the music here is ok. The vibe is really good in places and I bet they’re a really great live act, but unfortunately that doesn’t seem to translate into the studio. It’s all just a bit too lacking in grit and rage. It’s quite punky, but it all feels too clean and sanitised, like the singer wanted to be in a punk band, but hasn’t really got enough angst to pull it off. Apparently he was a postman and 6th grade teacher before the band took off and that kind of makes sense. It also sounds like the rest of the band would prefer to be playing more indie-rock stuff, so it often lacks the pace and intensity that is implied by the vocal. It felt like a lot of the album just rolled one song into the next and there was nothing particularly memorable about any of it. I’d often forgotten everything about the last track by half way through the following one, which was a particular achievement, given that most of the songs aren’t even three minutes long. The one memorable song on there is the big hit that was so overplayed that it’s pretty annoying to hear at this point. Perhaps it’s only memorable because it’s been burned into my brain over the years? Basically, on this evidence, The Hives seem to take elements of bands that I do like and roll them up into a package that I don’t, without ever really adding any hooks, or reasons to listen to this over any of those aforementioned bands. But I still reckon I’d enjoy them live. Hate To Say I Told You So - The big hit, straight off the bat. I mean it’s ok, but it was so overplayed at the time that I’m tired of it already. It’s the same chords round and round, the guys voice is quite annoying and it doesn’t have enough aggression to it to justify the simplicity, in my opinion. It’s sanded down punk rock. Main Offender - This is a thrashy garage rock type song, but it feels a bit too slow to me. It’s quite plodding and the singer is wrecking his voice with an intensity that doesn’t match the pace of the music. Supply And Demand - This is very stilted and doesn’t really flow for me. There are some awful noises in here that, again, don’t really match to the snaded-down punk rock of it all. It’s just so mild and lacking in grit. Die, All Right - This has got a bit more pace to it, which is good. The verse has got a decent bit of drive to it, but the chorus doesn’t follow up on that promise. Untutored Youth - This is actually a bit more punk, but it still all feels quite sanitised. Where’s the anger? Where’s the ferocity? Outsmarted - This has got a good riff to kick things off. There’s more pace, and a bit more drive and ferocity to things here and it’s pretty good. This is when the formula works. Add intensity, and I’ll start buying in a bit more. Mad Man - Again, this is ok. There are some bits of variety here and there and it’s got a bit more intensity to it. It’s not vastly interesting, but it’s not bad. Here We Go Again - This has got a decent riff with a nice cadence to the rhythm. BUt again, it’s not overly memorable or particularly engaging past that point. A.k.a. I-D-I-O-T - The vibe is good, again, the drive and attitude is better here, but I also don’t think this is very memorable. They write decent punky-energy songs, but don’t seem to be very good at writing memorable hooks. Automatic Schmuck - This is ok. Again, energy good, vibe decent. There are some nice little bits of writing here that give it a bit more range and variety, but it almost feels long at only 2 minutes long and I don’t think I’ll remember it by the time I’m half way through the next track. Hail Hail Spit N' Drool - I’m starting to sound like a broken record. If I was going to listen to music like this, I’d want something more grimy, punky and with something more to say. And I can’t remember how the previous song went, so I was correct. The Hives Are Law, You Are Crime - This is plodding and uninteresting. Half way through and nothing’s happened. And now it’s finished. More repetitive riffs, but not even any vocal. Big old pile of ‘meh’.

6/10 This album was created off the back of a massively successful remix of ‘Missing’ from their previous album, and it continued a change in direction for the band. This was indie pop going electronic, and to my ears they did it reasonably well. The first thing that came to mind here for me was Lamb, whose debut album came out the same year as this. There are also elements of Portishead and Massive Attack in there too, amongst others, but unfortunately, this album doesn’t enjoy the same quality and subtlety of composition or production as those other groups. While some of the production is very good, it does kind of sound like they are feeling their way through the production, rather than being full comfortable with the change, and from time to time it does feel a little bit in limbo between the two worlds of sound. There are some nice bits of programming, but I found these moments often didn’t develop enough, and the songs often felt a bit stale and repetitive by the end, especially as the instrumentation was often pretty sparse. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it. It was good background listening, and was fairly engaging in places, although it did have lulls here and there. Looking back, I also didn’t find anything particularly memorable about any of the tracks and, ultimately, I didn’t feel that there were that many really good hooks to rival Missing, so while it was enjoyable enough for a few spins, I’ll probably revert to my trip-hop favourites rather than revisit this any time soon. Before Today - This is good. Reminds me a lot of the more poppy end of Lamb, although this came first. The drum programming is good, in particular, but the rest of the instrumentation is a little thin. I enjoyed it, but wish it developed a little more. Wrong - There’s a bit more going on here with the pads in the background and a few more melodic elements. It’s a bit more of a basic house beat, but it moves things along nicely. Again, there’s not loads of development across the track, but it’s a decent pop/house track. Single - This has got a bit of a darker trip-hop flavour to it and her voice sounds great. The production is sparse but really good here, with elements floating in and out, but never overwhelming the vocal at the forefront. In fact, the whole thing is pretty sparse but in a very pretty, vibey way. Really nice track. The Heart Remains A Child - This is a bit more throwaway pop. It’s still got the more electronic beat to it, but this is a fairly mundane indie-pop song. It’s reasonably well written, but ultimately fairly uninspiring and forgettable. Walking Wounded - This one was written by Spring Heel Jack. They certainly love a snare rush. I think this type of skittering drum programming can be really great, but it feels both a little overdone and also lacking a little in variety here, which is a shame. This just feels a little disjointed in places. The core idea is pretty good, and some of the sections are really good, but in places it just feels a bit try hard. Flipside - This is pretty good but feels pretty dated, particularly the little spoken bits. The production is more full, although there’s not too much variety, which is a shame. I quite like thee double-tracked vocals, but it does sort of drift after a while because of the repetitiveness. Big Deal - This is good again. It has that sparse, dark trip-hop edge to it again. It feels like they’re trying to force a a hooky chorus into this one, but it’s just not really grabbing me. I think the vibe is great, the production is really decent too, but it’s just not engaging me in the way that better songs of this style do. Mirrorball - Back to a more trad 90s indie-pop song, with slightly too aggressive electronic elements. This would be a better song with more subtlety to the production, but the blend isn’t great and it’s another fairly forgettable pop song. Feels like there could have been something there, but they just didn’t pull it off. Good Cop Bad Cop - This is another decent one. Again, quite Lamb-like, but not as well executed. Some of the beat programming is great, but it still feels a little limited, and while the main hook is decent, I don’t think there’s enough range or subtlety in the track for it to stick. Wrong (Todd Terry Remix) - Ah, the old 90s trick of sticking a couple of club remixes on the end of the CD. The original track was quite dancefloor oriented anyway, so maybe a slightly odd one, although it’s definitely got a more club vibe to it. Loads of reverb, piano arpeggios and a four on the floor beat. Classic 90s, but not my bag. Walking Wounded (Omni Trio Remix) - This one’s quite boring. A repetitive drum beat, a fairly thin composition and the vocal being so spread out over the track, that most of the time we’re just listening to the repetitive break, bass line and a slow pad. Meh.

8/10 As a big fan of funk and soul from the late 60s into the 70s, this was always going to be an enjoyable listen. I’m familiar with some of Hayes’ work, though I’m not sure I’ve ever sat and listened to this one before, but I’m glad to have been handed the opportunity. The Bar-Kays are always worth listening to, and they create a really solid base for everything to work over here. They’re super tight and play with such feel that it’s hard not to get lost in the flow of the tracks. And then you throw on the flourishes over the top, particularly from the keys, which just roam around between soulful, funky and jazzy, adding little bursts of nuance and flavour all over the joint, it’s just glorious to listen to. The extra instrumentation from the strings, horns and woodwind just go to add depth, swells and punctuation to the whole thing, but it never feels overdone and really helps to engage the ear on songs that are pretty lengthy efforts. Top that all off with the buttery soul of Isaac Hayes’ voice and you really get a special blend. His delivery is often understated, not trying too hard to take centre stage, but delivering soulful lines like the smoothest man alive. His dynamic control is great and while he flows along beautifully for the most part, he also knows when to up the intensity enough to bring extra depth and range to a track. Sure, he gets a bit self indulgent on the intro to the last track, but frankly, who cares. I suspect I’ll be spinning this again soon enough and it might be time to dig a little deeper into his back catalogue. Walk On By - A great build and then it drops into something so smooth, the Bar-Kays doing great work as always. This is a proper 12 minute song, so many builds, different sections and developments, but it keeps referring back to the core song, so it all feels unified. All too often with long songs, they’re just a normal song with too many verses. Not here, this is a journey. The playing is so good and Isaac’s voice is, as promised, like hot butter. Some of the high tones are a little on the harsh side, but those moments are fairly fleeting. Solid stuff. Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic - This one doesn’t have as much development through its runtime, but it’s so undeniably funky and groovy that it can just roll with it and work. There’s some top notch playing on here from everyone, the piano being the obvious standout, but there are some great little fills and bits of flair all round. A really enjoyable funky experience. One Woman - He needed to stick something a bit more soul croon on here, and if you’re doing that make it something like this. The interplay between the lead and backing vocals in the chorus is just soul gold, and his voice is so, so good. The string runs and builds are top quality. By The Time I Get To Phoenix - Props to the bass player and drummer for not falling asleep while he rambles on for half of the runtime here. At least the organ player just needs to hold his chord. This isn’t as strong as the songs on the first half, but it’s still some decent soulful stuff. His voice is fantastic as always, and there are some really beautiful pieces of playing from the musicians again. Some of the little piano fills are gorgeous and the little horn, flute and string flourishes give things so much flavour. It does drag a tiny bit and feel a little self-indulgent, but if listening closely, there’s still a lot to hold the ear.

10/10 While I was too young to have felt the hit of this album on release, Nirvana were really the big band of my teenage years. Amongst all of the alternative music of the time, they were the ones that spoke to me the most and coming back to this album is like catching up with an old friend. And it holds up so well. Even early on, there were glimpses of Kurt’s pop song sensibilities and ear for a melody, but this album is where those sensibilities flourished into a ‘right place, right time’ blend of pop-song simplicity, punk energy and angst-ridden attitude. One of Cobain’s biggest skills was his ability to combine all of his disparate influences into simple but emotionally effective songs that hooked into the disenfranchised feeling among young people at the time. The album bursts into life with probably the biggest song of the generation. It has dynamic range, catchy hooks, simmering tension and enthusiastic aggression in spades, and it never really lets up from there on in. Sometimes the dynamic shifts exist within a song, sometimes it happens song to song, but that fluctuation of tone and intensity gives the album a rolling momentum that demands your attention as it races by, with the solid drive of Krist and Dave providing a pulsing bed that is an often under appreciated part of the Nirvana experience. The production is perhaps a tiny bit too poppy and clean, and a little bit more grit to the sound might have helped to my ear, but that’s potentially a minor personal gripe that comes from hearing all of Nirvana’s output a million times, and doesn’t detract from the overall vibe and energy of the record. At his heart, Cobain was two forces fighting with each other. The experimental, furious punk and the Beatles loving pop-song writing music nerd. Those two forces balance perfectly on this album, which I think is why it impacted the world the way it did. It was angsty and energetic, but it was also accessible and hooky. And it still sounds that way today. Smells Like Teen Spirit - The song that woke a generation and launched a scene into the stratosphere. It’s essentially impossible to listen to this song without over 30 years of baggage associated with it. Pretty much everyone has heard this so many times that it’s now more a part of pop culture history than it is a single piece of music. But underneath all that, it’s a damn good song. The jangly intro, the drum intro that precedes the full weight of the band firing out of the speakers, it’s just iconic. It’s got everything, the soft, clean verse, the slightly psychedelic pre-chorus and then the heavy, furious roar of the chorus. It’s so simple, but there’s no fat to it at all. It’s like a pop song strapped to a bomb. In Bloom - This continues the dynamic shift style of Teen Spirit, but it’s got a real groove during the verses, and builds so nicely as the guitar comes in, Dave Grohl fires a burst of drums and the chorus kicks in. The vocal harmonies are raw and excellent, adding depth to things. The crumbling groove of the solo is so good here too. Again, it’s a simple song in principle, but its a masterclass in dragging as much out of an idea as you can without overdoing things, and using dynamic and structure to give a song growth and momentum. Come As You Are - Another iconic track. It’s got more of that psychedelic edge to it with the watery chorus on the guitar and the ‘don’t have a gun’ backing vocals. I always think of this as being more of a chilled track, but there is a lot of energy that bubbles away underneath things during the chorus and solo in particular. The sound is so full here, and Kurt’s vocal is really deftly delivered too. Great stuff. Breed - Back to the full-bodied intensity of the heavier stuff we’ve heard earlier. This is more reminiscent of Bleach than the rest of the album to this point, but it’s got a really solid pop chorus. The weight of the bass is great on this one in particular. Lithium - Another single, another great pop chorus, another soft/heavy dynamic switch between verse and chorus. Again, there’s a pretty good groove to the verses and, while there’s not the ferocity of some other choruses, it’s so hooky. The melodies are great and it’s easy to sing along to. Great pop rock. Polly - This is so simple, and tonally it’s a nice little breather in the middle of the album. But it’s also a song about torture and rape, so let’s not relax into it too much, eh? Some really nice subtle harmonies in here. Territorial Pissings - And after the calm comes the storm. It’s beautifully noisy and punky. The drive of the drums and bass in particular, even during the quieter bits is just brilliant. Cobain’s vocal is at its most intense, falling apart level. And it does everything it needs to in just over two minutes. Drain You - I really like the vibe that the backing vocals generate on this. Again, it’s a super simple song, but it’s got so much drive and they throw in an almost creepy little middle eight section that drops away and builds so nicely. The execution is just top drawer. Lounge Act - Back to that groove that they drop in now and again. I think the rhythm section feel of Nirvana is actually an underrated part of the band. This is almost a jangle pop song with distortion and screaming. I absolutely love the transition from verse to chorus on this song, there’s just something about it that feels so satisfying to my ear. Stay Away - The rolling drive to this that threads the whole song is so good. It’s got a brilliant bass line, so much fury and momentum and the vocals are epic. Again, the simplicity is almost perfect and the ending sounds like the studio has collapsed around them. On A Plain - This is such an uplifting song. The soaring vocals and backing. vocals, the drive, the intensity. The middle eight has this dark edge to it, but the transition back to the verse just kicks that uplifting feeling into gear again. It’s just quality. I went to school with some kids who insisted he sang “I’m on a plain, I’m Kurt Cobain”. Unimportant point, but I always think of it. Something In The Way - This track really shows off the nuance of Kurt Cobain’s performing ability and songwriting. Again, it’s simple, but it’s so packed with emotion that you can almost hear the cello weeping. He could channel emotion into a song like almost no one else. And he was actually a decent singer with great dynamic range, which is something the can often be overlooked. Endless Nameless - And here’s the other end of his dynamic range. I love that they were never afraid to do this cacophonous noise thing. There are moments through the album, and more on In Utero, but when they left this off the first pressing Cobain was furious. This is his nod to Sonic Youth, I think. It’s just brash, noisy fun.

7/10 This album feels oddly more than the sum of its parts. At no point did I think any of it was spectacular, and I frequently recalled versions of these songs that I much preferred to these ones, but despite that, I really enjoyed my time with this. It was a proper warm hug of an album. His voice has its limits, in range more than control, but the relaxed, smooth tone of it really gelled everything together in an satisfyingly listenable package. In some places I did feel that the orchestration was a little on the basic side, but there were some deft pieces of musicianship here and there too that just gave things enough of a lift that the momentum never really dipped enough to lose me. When I first looked at the details of this, an album of jazz and pop standards by a country stoner, I was sceptical, but I think he really pulled it off, and I may well find my way to this when the right listening moment comes along. Stardust - This is quite nice. His voice is smooth and comforting without being spectacular and the guitar work is very good. It's obviously a classic song, and it's a nice listen, but I doesn't really feel special in any way. Georgia On My Mind - Willie seems to have a very nice voice, but a fairly limited range. You can hear him reaching the lower and upper limits at points, but when he's in the middle it's smooth. Another classic song, another nice performance. Some nice background elements like the piano and harmonica that gives it something a little extra Blue Skies - This has an unexpected bit of pace. The bass playing here is super strong and has a great wandering groove to it. Another warm hug of a song, and again, some solid moments from the background players. All Of Me - This is a bit more meandering and goes a bit too far in the direction of twee for me. It's nice enough, but it's all very straight and simple, perhaps not giving enough nuance to the cover. Unchained Melody - It's certainly an understated version of this track. I can't quite work out if that works in it's favour or not to be honest. I think perhaps it's just a little dull and doesn't have enough drama, but it also has an endearing charm to it. September Song - This one drifts a little too far into dull territory for me. There's nothing really there for me to grab on to and if I was looking for a song like this, I feel like it needs a spectacular singer to hold it together. On The Sunny Side Of The Street - Another absolute classic. It's got a great shuffling swagger to it, especially the bass on a stroll and the piano dipping in and out with it's jazzy trills. It's never going to live up to Ella or Louis, but it's pretty damn nice. Moonlight In Vermont - Such a beautiful song. I know the Ella and Louis version of this like the back of my hand and it's so, so good. But this really lends something different to it. It's got a laid back warmth to it that I really like. Not my favourite version, but a good one none the less. Don't Get Around Much Anymore - Another slight lull. It's ok, but it's just a bit plodding and doesn't quite have the warmth of the better songs on the album. Someone To Watch Over Me - The album is petering out a little here. It's another one that just kind of plays things by the book and doesn't add the ornamentation to grab the ear, or quite provide the warmth and vibe to fully engage. Not that it isn't nice, it just isn't special either.

7/10 This was a bit of a grower for me, and I also think it's one of those vibey albums that would really hit the mark in the right headspace, and wildly miss it in the wrong one. It's got that indie electronica sound that feels a bit like a mix up between Björk and Alt-J, but with a dash of Boards of Canada thrown in for good measure. All good things, and when you let it settle over you, it creates a very satisfying atmosphere of sound, but just never quite hits the heights of any of those acts. This isn't about big hooks and choruses, and if anything, the lack of those just leans into the unresolved tension that drifts over the whole album. It's got a throbbing heart that pulses away underneath it all and a sparse quality that allows a lot of the sound design to weave it's way in and out of focus in a pretty satisfying way. It has lulls here and there, it's not entirely consistent, and it doesn't have any individual songs that would draw me back in paticularly, but as a vibey whole, I think it's pretty good. It's cold, it feels fairly bleak too, and it really captures an almost cyberpunk feeling of darkness and depression. It's the soundtrack of a side character in a Philip K Dick novel who's having a really shitty life, and I guess that kind of thing appeals to me when I'm in the right mood. If I Had A Heart - A slow build of a track that broods and pulses. It's very soundtrack worthy and the vibe is nice, and it works great as an atmospheric intro track, but doesn't really provide it's own hook and just throbs along. When I Grow Up - Another atmospheric grower of a track. There's a bit more going on with the vocal, which moves things along. Some nice synth patches and lines here and it does gain a bit of momentum near the end, but it takes a long time to get moving. Dry And Dusty - Similarly to the last track, this is pretty sparse and then slowly builds and fills out. It never gets that thick, but there are some cool little bits of synth programming here and there. It never feels like it does more than create a vibe though. Seven - This is a bit fuller and has more of a traditional song structure. It's still got a laid back subtlety to it, but the drums give it that bit of drive and zip. It maintains the uncertainty to the sound and never feels fully resolved, but that's part of the sound of this album really. Triangle Walks - The increase in rhythmic interest continues with this track. The push and pull of the different drum sounds create a nice shifting bed that undulates beneath the tonal sounds. It's got a satisfying vibe that still seems determined not to commit to resolution in a solid hook. But that's a vibe that I quite like in the right situation. Concrete Walls - The warbling, drifting synths and vocals here create a slightly unsettling sound. It's like something between Múm and Boards of Canada and that drifting broodiness works really nicely. It's musically quite simple, but the sound design and atmosphere make it. Now's The Only Time I Know - This goes back into a more structured form. It's a bit Björk lite, but without the payoff of a solid chorus. I think the fairly relentless rhythms lose a bit of the eeriness from other tracks, which takes away from the intriguing vibe. I'm Not Done - I quite like this one, it's a bit more of a traditional structure, but has a pulsing drive to it that pushes it forward, and the ambience is good. Keep The Streets Empty For Me - Another slow, pulsing effort. Some of the distorted synth tones that wave in and out are great. It doesn't do anything vastly different for it's duration, but this is all about the creepy, dark vibe and I really dig it. Coconut - It's got a decent enough vibe to it, but it's not as dark or consistent as previous tracks. The lack of vocal for the first half makes it seem a little more repetitive, and it's a long one too. When the vocal comes in, I feel like it pulls together a bit better though and I was quite enjoying it by the end.

8/10 At it's dynamically varied, inventive and virtuosic best, this album is absolutely magnificent. The smoothly pulsing ebbs and flows of the work take you on a real journey as the songs rush, stride and drift by. The drum work in particular is so strong. I just kept having my attention grabbed by little adornments and rhythms that were there for a moment and then gone, and it's all delivered with such control over the timing. In general, the musicianship is just wonderful and, with one particular exception, doesn't ever descend into self indulgence. That one exception is Moonchild, which does drift a little too much into avant garde farting around. That would be more forgiveable if the track didn't account for over a quarter of the runtime. Perhaps with a few more listens, loud, in a dark room, this would start to enchant me a little more, so I will give it that time at some time in the future. I can hear so many other bands who would follow in various parts of this, from Black Sabbath to Pink Floyd that it's influence is undeniable. I've heard this album a number of times before and it still manages to delight and surprise, something I'm always happy to experience. 21st Century Schizoid Man - This has got riffs for days. It varies between heavy and jazzy, driven and frantic. The speed and tightness of the playing is so good all round and they can so smoothly change tempo, it's super satisfying. Some of the ride cymbal rhythms really jump out at me as being of such high technical quality, in particular. And that cacophony that they wind everything up into is fantastic. I Talk To The Wind - There's more of a folky edge to this one and the flute work is just lovely. It's far more of a straight down the line song, but it's a great palate cleanser after the opener. It's such a nice vibe, but the drums keep the little hint of frantic yet restrained mania to provide a slight edge to things. Epitaph - This is a great song. It soars with a fantastic grandiosity and there's a deftness to the dynamic flow of the sections as parts come and go and the chord structures ebb and flow. But it's all narratively held together by the focal that anchors at all. Really nice. Moonchild - Back to something with a bit more of a folk edge, at least to begin with. It does drift quite a lot into very sparse, noodly sections that lose a bit of momentum. I think with focused listening in a dark room there's probably more in there, but it's not as engaging in passing as the rest of the album up to this point and it does drag on for quite a long time. It does, however, all come together into something very pretty by the end. The Court Of The Crimson King - This gathers up the highlights of everything on the album up to this point and blends it into a really satisfying journey of a song. The grandiosity, the dynamic and tempo ebbs and flows, and the virtuosity of the playing, it's all there. At points it's subtle, at others epic, but it's all woven together in a satisfying narrative arc

8/10 This is a really great debut, particularly from an, at the time, unsigned band. While they haven’t fully hit their stride yet, Led Zeppelin are only a few steps away from hitting the heights of what they would achieve in the albums that followed. In its best moments, there is some truly special work on this album, from the dynamic range of Babe I’m Gonna Leave You to the hard rocking excellence of Communication Breakdown, but there are also times when things don’t quite hook up in a completely satisfying way. I feel like there are little drifts here and there, and some of the tracks that would no doubt have been epic live experiences don’t necessarily translate quite so well onto record, like the call and response guitar and vocal solo in You Shook Me. It’s probably also worth highlighting the outright thievery of Jimmy Page for a number of these tracks. Zep did start to swing more to truly original compositions as their career progressed, but the uncredited plagiarism on display across this album is a real shame. In the blues tradition, there’s no problem covering, adapting or borrowing, just give credit where it’s due, eh Jimmy? But that aside, this is a really enjoyable and fascinating listen. It’s the sound of a band finding their sound, creating (or stealing) some fantastic songs and putting them together into a really competent package in preparation to continue their journey in future albums. This will rarely be the first Zep album that I choose to put on when I’m in the mood, but that’s as much due to the quality of their later work rather than a low opinion of this. Great songs, quality album, better yet to come. Good Times Bad Times - It’s a good start to the album. Solid if unspectacular bluesy rock, with some strong work from Bonham and Page in particular. Robert Plant gives us a few hints of what he can do, bit it doesn’t really catch fire just yet. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You - We’re starting to lift off now. The soft opening with just Plant and Page is excellent, and the dynamic switches are really great. The vocal is that typically languid style to begin with and then he drives it harder into the soaring sections later. This track is patient in its delivery and shows great restraint to save top gear for key moments. You Shook Me - Back to something more trad blues. That languid, pitch sliding on the vocal and lead guitar is great and there’s some really solid harmonica playing here. It perhaps lumbers along a little bit too long, particularly at the pace it moves at. I feel like this is one of those ones that would be a fantastic experience live, but doesn’t quite hit the same way on record, particularly the vocal and guitar call and response at the end. Dazed And Confused - This has more of the slow blues thing from the previous track, but throws in more pacy sections to pick the momentum up here and there. There are some really quality riffs here and about halfway through, things really take off. It takes its time over certain sections, but it’s a really great journey of a track, and every member of the band really shines. Your Time Is Gonna Come - The intro is perhaps a bit disjointed from the rest of the track, but when it drops to the stripped back organ line and the band joins in, it’s so, so good. It’s folk, bluesy and rocky in a brilliant blend. It’s fairly straight down the line, but it’s executed so well. Black Mountain Side - Some Bert Jansh playing here. It’s apparently a pretty straight take off of how Jansch played this himself before Page stole it and failed to give credit. It’s very well executed, but this is probably the most stark example of uncredited thievery on this album, as even the playing style is so closely copied. Communication Breakdown - Ok, you’ve got me back on board gents. That riff is top tier Page work. This is the kind of Zep stuff that I love. It’s driven, exciting and so hooky. It’s a fantastic slice of heavy blues rock and every element of it is engaging and invigorating. Quality. I Can't Quit You Baby - Back to a song with some fantastic tempo and dynamic changes. It simmers along and Page and Plant get to show off their chops while Jones and Bonham lay down a super cool groove. They strike a brilliant balance of all of the different elements here and it’s such a satisfying performance all round. How Many More Times - There’s a great swing to the opening of this and that psychedelic guitar effect is great at building the vibe. It’s another one of those journey songs like Dazed and Confused and there are some really top notch riffs in here, and moments when the band just come together in a beautifully connected form that gives everything such drive and impact, especially those triplet breaks. It’s a pretty glorious way to end the album.

7/10 As is often the case with such early albums, it's very hard to listen to this and really understand the context of it with almost 70 years of music history between its release and now. But apparently Buddy Holly has been credited with popularising the two guitars, bass and drums rock band formula, so to say he's had an impact would perhaps be understating things. There are definitely echoes of this music that I can hear in a lot of bands that would follow, and the production of the album is excellent, particularly given its vintage. There are some really great songs here, particularly the more upbeat numbers and, while there are lulls here and there, the fact that not a single track bothers the three minute mark, the lulls are fleeting. From what I've read, Buddy took some of the 'hiccuping' vocal style from Elvis, and it's a sound that grates on me. It's the 50s equivalent of the indie girl voice, an unnatural singing style that's done because it's in fashion, despite the fact that it's overdone and immediately dates a record. But Buddy's take on it, while annoying at its worst, is actually more musically pleasant than Elvis' version for the most part and is more subtly used. It's a big shame that we never got to hear where Buddy would go from here as, to my mind, he blows Elvis out of the water with this, and he was only 21 at the time. While I enjoyed my time with this album, I doubt I'll be back to it all that often, but it does get a couple of bonus points for musical significance. Oh, Boy! - It's a classic. Great jangly rock n roll guitars, lovely backing vocal swells and hooky sing along melodies. Not a big fan of the Elvis inspired hiccup vocal embellishments, but they're fairly restrained here and he throws a nice bit of grit onto his vocal now and again, which is great. Not Fade Away - The vocal hiccups kind of work ok here. It's super simple, but there's a great swagger to the vocal delivery and guitar playing that I like. It's got a toe tapping quality, doesn't offer much variety but gets its job done in short order. You've Got Love - I'm not generally a massive fan of these old rock n roll ballads, but this isn't too bad. Feels a lot more sincere and endearing than the Elvis equivalents, so that's a plus. Maybe Baby - This is a bit more rockabilly and almost edges in places towards a sound that the Beach Boys would develop. Again, some great laid back swagger to the vocal delivery. It's just got a good vibe and it's pretty slick. It's Too Late - Back to a more croony ballad stuff. Less keen on this one and the odd reverb choice in places is a little jarring. It's ok for what it is, but I'm not exactly fully engaged by it. Tell Me How - The tempo picks up a bit now and there are some really nice moments, but it is a little dull and he threatens to throw in some of that vocal affect that just doesn't gel with my ear. That'll Be The Day - A good little swinging number and while he does a bit of the hiccup vocal, it's used rhythmically and sparingly. It's got a decent little hook too Not bad. I'm Lookin' For Someone To Love - This has got some zip to it and some really nice guitar work. The vocals do go a bit far for me, but I can just imagine how engaging this stuff was in the mid 50s. An Empty Cup (And A Broken Date) - There's a nice vibe to this. It's not the most memorable of songs, but it's a warm, engaging song and it sounds great. Send Me Some Lovin' - So there's a theme here. These ballads are just not grabbing me too much. It's pretty pleasant, but the vocal affect here is at its most stark and jarring on this track. Again, it's pretty inoffensive and it's well produced, it's just not really my thing. Last Night - Well it's another ballad. Some nice vocal harmonies and it sounds like they're trying to do something interesting with the vocal blend. Rock Me My Baby - Solid groove here and it's almost proto surf rock in places. It's a good song with some quality dynamic range and development. It's just a shame that this is the most criminal of his vocal try hard performances, otherwise it would be brilliant.

10/10 Where do you start with the biggest selling album of all time? It can’t be shit, can it? Well no, it’s not. But it’s not just brilliant because it sold loads, it’s brilliant because it is an exceptional blend of songwriting and production, topped off with one of the greatest and most unique pop vocalists to have ever been committed to wax. The key thing that stands out to me listening to this in focused listening mode is how much of the quality of this record comes down to the layering of fundamentally simple structures, intertwined with some truly brilliant motifs and phrases that hook your ear and don’t let it go. If you were to listen to each multi-track layer on these songs in isolation, they would nearly all sound boring and simple, and would have vast periods of silence between the moments of playing. But when everything is built together, you get these shuffling, fiercely funky rhythms that force your body to move, and these undulating washes of sound that bloom and pulse into exceptional soundscapes that variously drive, move and embrace the ear. And then you throw Mike over the top of it. His vocal control is ridiculous, and if you listen to all of the different vocal tracks that he lays down, there is so much nuance, inflection and inventiveness in what he delivers that it’s impossible not to be enraptured by him. Again, in isolation some of his vocal ticks sound ludicrous, but built into the production, they add depth and funk to the vocal in such a unique way. Apart from the cringeworthy little dalliance with Paul McCartney (not actually a bad song, but pales in comparison to the rest), there isn’t a missed moment, and I still wouldn’t skip that one. All in all, Quincy and Michael are just a match made in pop music heaven. They both bring out the absolute best in one another and this was them at the peak of their powers. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin’ - The staccato and shuffling rhythms of this are just so good. There’s nothing overly complex about the songwriting, but it’s the layering of sound that makes it special. The call and response with the backing vocals is quality and the way the music develops towards the end and drops into the ‘mama-say mama-sah’ section is glorious. Baby Be Mine - This is smooth, but it’s the climbing cadence of the synth and bass parts in the chorus that really get me. There’s some absolutely outstanding funk guitar and synth playing in this song, a lot of it just rolling along in the background minding its own business, but adding so much feel to the groove. And when it catches your ear now and then it’s hard to avoid smiling. Try not tapping your feet to this song. Did you manage? If so, you’ve got no soul. The Girl Is Mine - Ah, the big clunker of the album. It’s a well written pop song, but boy is it cheesy and that little conversation bit is spine-tingling cringe of the highest order. If they’d re-written the vocals and maybe not done it as a duet, it could have the foundations of a decent song, but they didn’t. Also, Paul. I think Mike is more into boys anyway, so the girl probably is yours after all. Thriller - Another triumph of production and layering. So many of the riffs and lines are just one bar long, but it doesn’t get boring because there is SO MUCH going on. Instrumental parts come and go and just build this poly-rhythmic melting pot of groove. Just listen to the transition out of the chorus. Woof. Even the different verses have variation in the instrumentation that are subtle, but give extra depth to the songs. And the chorus hook is just iconic. Beat It - Time to throw some rock into the mix. The intro is brilliant and that riff is absolutely killer. It has a bit of a lagging swing to the beat with the snare only hitting on the four, which adds a cool pulse. The vocal is great too and plays so well with little bits of backing that bounce off the lead, along with some really nice choral pads to give extra weight. And then in pops Eddie Van Halen for a quality bit of shredding. Why not? Billie Jean - That bass line. This song is so simple, but so, so effective. Again, it’s a masterpiece of production. A song this simple could easily become boring and repetitive, but the little bits of instrumentation and backing vocals that drift in and out through various sections just grab your interest and keep things moving. From the string swells to the horn lines and the funky guitar strumming, there’s always something fresh to keep the groove moving. The vocals are so clear, singable and memorable that this is pretty much a perfect pop song. Human Nature - I love the vocal delivery on this song. It’s soft, but there are some really beautiful phrasings, like ‘does he do it that way’ and the backing ‘you are the one’. It’s such exceptional control and precision of phrasing that it’s glorious. The blend of instrumentation is again so good. There’s an edge of funk to the guitar, but the warmth of the different pad sounds just create this thick embrace of sound that’s so good. Some of the synth sounds do date this a little if you listen closely, but lost in the wash they don’t stand out too much. This is cheesy as anything, but I’m here for it. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) - Bringing back the funk. So much to love about this one (except perhaps a paedo singing about pretty young things), from the switch from the staccato of the chorus into the more legato feel of the verse, the slap bass, the call and response ‘na, na, na’ vocal. It’s all so good. There’s one synth riff that comes after the two main lines of the verse (after the ‘pretty young thing’ and ‘tender lovin’ care’ lines) that I adore. So simple, but so funky. And this track is stuffed with little riffs, lines and moments like that. It shifts, it moves and it grooves. The Lady In My Life - The call and response between the synth and guitar kicks this off nicely. It’s an interesting use of the kick to place emphasis rather than provide a steady beat through the intro. It’s smooth and cool, but when it really kicks into gear at ‘lay back in my tenderness’. It’s super funky and again, the layering of so many different parts just creates this bed of shifting, pulsing sound that drives and swings away under Michael’s vocal. And his vocal has more of that exceptional control and nuance. He can drive it, he can soften it, he can throw in little bits of vocal fry and trills, along with his occasional whoops and other vocal ticks. It’s just magnificent in pretty much every possible way.

9/10 The Pixies are a band that, along with Sonic Youth, shaped the development of the alternative rock scene that would emerge through the late 80s and into the 90s. While Sonic Youth leant on the more experimental noise edge in their 80s work, Pixies took a bit of the experimental edge away, added a touch of pop sensibility to their songwriting and bundle a load of insanity into the stylings of Frank Black on the lead vocal. Variously undulating between different levels of sanity, he often sounds like a man screaming his "theories" into the cold wing of a mental institution that he is the sole resident of, and it’s genius. The rest of the band provide a really solid footing and the production of the rhythm section is so strong. Kim Deal’s bass in particular is a massive highlight to the Pixies sound, and David Lovering provides a really solid, stable tempo that grounds a lot of the rest of the ebb and flow of lunacy that drives away on top of it. They prove in various places how competent they are at writing hooks and brilliant melodies, but they only allow fleeting glances into that before they bring you back to a wash of feedback and distorted guitars that crumble away the edge of those poppy moments. You can hear so many different slices of different styles of music that they reference, but it all blends together into this melting pot of experimental, noisy insanity. Those little moments of light among the menacing tone of much of the album are actually one of its strengths, and when that’s combined with the trademark soft/loud Pixies dynamic, it makes for a pulsing, throbbing journey of a band that teeters on the edge of control. The second half of the album does drift a tiny bit, which is the only thing that keeps this from top marks, but other than that it’s a really brilliant album that is so uniquely Pixies in sound that I’ll be back to this time and time again to revel in the mania. Debaser - There’s a great poppy groove to this, and even the backing vocals have a sweet edge to them, but it’s given this psychotic finish by Frank Black. It’s a great song that’s equal parts fun pop-rock and screaming insanity and we’re only just getting started. Tame - Kim Deal’s bass playing is so clean and the drumming is super crisp too. There’s a brooding weirdness about the verses and then, again, things go loony into the chorus. It’s noisy and unhinged. You can definitely hear the influence on Nirvana here in particular. Wave Of Mutilation - This is just a brilliant song. Some of the chord sequences are so satisfying, especially the descending four chords at the end of the lines of the verse. The vocal has less of the lunacy, but it still has a layer of brooding threat to it. And it’s all done in two minutes. I Bleed - This starts off fairly calmly and just builds with more discordant elements thrown in as it goes. I love Kim Deal’s backing vocals in this, they’re somewhere between sweet and unhinged. There’s not too much to the song here, but it’s all about the noise and the choices they make in the production. It feels like it’s falling apart around itself and they’re deliberately pulling things in and out of key, like someone teetering on the edge of madness. Here Comes Your Man - And this is straight down the line surf pop-rock. It’s so hooky and well produced, and it’s just a great song. There’s an edge of that madness to it, but it generally feels like it’s being held under control. There’s light and shade on this album and moments of light like this serve to anchor the darkness in a really effective way. Dead - And, as if to prove my point here’s a descent into darkness. It’s noisy and abrasive without being overly aggressive. The vocal is almost hidden amongst the noise and they throw in these hooky moments now and again, but it’s a controlled, pulsing journey of evolving deranged ideas. Monkey Gone To Heaven - We’re back to another slice of pop-rock gold, but this time with more of the bands trademark noisy insanity infesting it as it goes. The rhythm section is so strong again, they sound so good and their parts are simple, but so precise. The addition of the cello really adds something to this. It’s quite beautiful in places, offset by the increasing insanity of the lead vocal. The screaming of ‘god is seven’ over such a beautiful bed is, frankly, genius. Mr. Grieves - This is frenetic and confusing as they bust their way through 3 or 4 genres in a two minute song. Stylistically it maybe steps a little too far from the rest of the album in places, but that probably just makes it all the more suitable. They can’t help but be a little loony in everything they do. Not my favourite, but it’s a suitably odd part of the album. Crackity Jones - This has got so much pace to it, it just rolls along. Again, love Kim Deal’s bass here, it’s so round and punchy. It’s a frenzied burst of a song and then, bang, it’s done. La La Love You - There’s a great atmosphere to this. The drumming is great in particular, but the production in general is top notch. It’s like the love song of a stalker with the slightly creepy whistling and discordant elements that drift in and out. It could be overly simple if it wasn’t for those noisy, experimental edges that just give it a fantastic edge of weird. No. 13 Baby - This reminds me a little of Meat Puppets. It’s a solid composition that moves through a range of different sounds and stages. It perhaps lacks a little bit on the hook front, but the overall sound is great and the way it drops back out to the quiet sections is excellent. There Goes My Gun - This is another ’collapsing in on itself’ song. There are great hooks and riffs in this, and it’s all so atmospheric and well produced and it just falls apart at the edges and then it’s done. Quality. Hey - The opening guitar riff is so slick and rhythmically satisfying. It’s super groovy, and then it drifts into something that sounds almost like My Bloody Valentine if you took away a few of their reverb pedals. This song ebbs and flows, but it’s got a bit of something about it that I really like and I can’t quite put my finger on it. Great stuff. Silver - Pistols at dawn. There’s so much vibe to this. The production is again fantastic and the dual vocal lines are brilliant. It’s super creepy and threatening. Gouge Away - We get some more of the classic soft/loud dynamic here. It builds and drives in places, but it doesn’t really land on anything that grabs you quite as much as some of the stronger tracks on the album.

7/10 Having heard bits and pieces of Primal Scream in the past, but never fully engaging, I wasn’t really quite sure what to expect from this album. What I definitely wasn’t expecting was what I actually got. Apparently this was made as an alternative soundtrack for the 1971 movie of the same name and, with that in mind, this makes much more sense than it otherwise would. These a lot of sound design work that swirls and washes around the music here, and the actual ‘song’ moments are relatively fleeting. There are grooves and pulses that drive things along, but a lot of this album is about imparting a vibe on the listener. That’s perfect for soundtrack work, but perhaps a little unfocused for a pure musical listening experience. That being said, the sound design work was, for the most part very enjoyable and I did find myself lost in the work as it poured out of the speakers. The mix is, for the most part excellent, particularly the use of the stereo field, as sound effects and ear candy throbbed and whooshed from side to side, adding a real depth to the sound. It was however, from time to time, a little bit confused, especially in the high frequency spectrum where some of the elements overwhelm the rest of the track, which is a bit of a shame. If things had been a little better balanced, those sections of tracks would probably have worked that little bit better for me. As a soundtrack, I can imagine this being very effective, as an album it is maybe less so, but it was still an enjoyable and rewarding listen, despite being a little inconsistent. Burning Wheel - It’s a slow build into the album but when it gets there it feels super 90s. The sound design is great and there’s a lot going on all over the stereo field. Underneath it all it’s a fairly standard yet decent 90s rock song that’s pretty brit-poppy, but with all of the extra production and audio trickery all over the place it brings a different aura to the track, which is cool. Get Duffy - This is pretty nice. It’s got an electronic jazzy sound to it, kind of like Bonobo, Air or Cinematic Orchestra. It’s a change of pace from the opener, but it’s a decent track with some nice bits of composition and production. It kind of drifts around all over the place without ever landing on much that feels particularly significant, but it’s a nice ride nonetheless. Kowalski - We’re back into more energetic territory now. Some of the production of the sound design is pretty in your face and probably overwhelms the music a little too much now and then. There are some cool riffs in the bass here and there and the whispered vocal works quite well. There are some really nice crunchy drums in there later on too, which I really dig. Again, a nice journey if a little aimless. Star - This kind of feels like a blend of the other tracks we’ve had so far. It’s got that smooth electronica edge to it, but there’s a bit of bite and grit to it too, along with the busy soundscaping. It delivers a nice hooky chorus too, which helps to give the track a bit more direction and centre. If They Move, Kill 'Em - Proper movie soundtrack type stuff here. It’s got a good groove and some decent hooks to it. There’s a lot going on, with different instrumentation and sound design dropping in and out, like fragments of guitar and sitar. It’s a nice mood piece. Out Of The Void - There’s something quite proto-Gorillaz about this. It’s got that lazy, drifting sound with the laid back, slightly drawling vocal. Again, it’s got a constantly shifting and moving soundscape that encompasses the central song, which just meanders along inside of it all. Stuka - We’re back in with a pulsing electronic, almost dubby sound now. When the effect swamped vocal comes in it switches the inflection of the rhythm in a really nice way. It’s all very soundscape focused again, drifting along with a super cool vibe and a good bit of groove to it. Medication - And now we’re almost in Rolling Stones territory. It’s got a good groove to it, and it’s landing those hooks nicely. There are some great riffs here and a nice, memorable chorus to centre things. Oddly, there is a distinct lack of the sound design that permeates the rest of the album, so this kind of sticks out by virtue of its relative normalness. Motörhead - A cover of a Hawkwind song, which kind of seems fitting for the all encompassing washes of sound design we’ve been experiencing throughout the album. This one again has more of a traditional song core to it, but there’s plenty to enjoy around the edges too. Trainspotting - Similar to If They Move, this is some more movie soundtrack fodder. It’s got a cool swagger to it, especially in the electric piano, and there’s a lot of interesting sound effects used to enhance the beat, which is nice. Another one that drifts along as a great listen, but refuses to grab you by the throat, preferring to just tickle your ears. Long Life - An almost ambient, drifting soundscape of a song, but it has that core of a song here. It washes around, but there’s a solid beat that ticks along and gives it something to grip on to. This is another one that I like as an experience, but there are not really any specific standout moments and it’s all about vibe. But the vibe is really good.

10/10 It’s moments like these that make me appreciate this album reviewing journey all the more. I already know and love Radiohead, have seen them live, have listened to all of their music, but for me, my introduction to them was when they started diving into the more electronic end of things, Kid A onwards. I’ve listened to and appreciated OK Computer before, but have perhaps never listened to it in as much depth as I have today. It’s glorious. The songwriting just flows, with songs almost endlessly developing and advancing, but they also know when to throw in something a little more subtle and static when the need arises. It’s art rock for the sake of the music, not for the sake of calling it art rock. The production is remarkable, as they undulate between sparse, bare-bones icy clarity and the cacophony of sound that almost overwhelms the speakers, filled with thick instrumentation, grit and distortion. The way they flow from idea to idea, without ever losing the thread of a song is remarkable. They throw in these almost poppy singles here and there through the album that work within the flow of the album, but have a slightly more radio friendly sound, but never derail the album. Every song has something different to say, all in a slightly different way, but it all blends into an all encompassing sound and thread that shifts, undulates, ebbs and flows. And in amongst all that, there is the overall vibe of the album. It’s a melancholy, but incredibly beautiful and, at times, uplifting album. I often see beauty in despair and this album encapsulates that feeling perfectly. It’s a singular piece of art that startles and delights. Airbag - What an opening. That riff is great, the drum fill is quality and then it thins out for the vocal and the bass comes in sparingly but impactfully. This builds and falls, ebbs and flows, with little tweaks and flurries of interesting effects use and ear candy. And there are some really fantastic hooks in there too. Paranoid Android - So many good riffs and some top quality pushing and pulling of the meter during the breakdown section. The vibe of this track is immense. It has the dynamic range of the Pixies, the melancholy of Joy Division, the ear for melody of the Beach Boys and the experimental edge of Can. And that’s all wrapped up in an evolving, adventurous pop song. It’s glorious. I could write about the different sections at length, but I write too much already. Subterranean Homesick Alien - That warm bath of synth/e-piano is so lush. They really know how to act with restraint in places. There are some busy elements here, but some of the guitar and electric piano lines are subtle and fleeting. There are so many beautiful arpeggiations and movements, and they also throw in a slight edge of distortion here and there that makes it feel like things are starting to crumble at the edges. It’s so good. Exit Music (For A Film) - Now we have something more stripped back. The changing dynamics of this album are so good, and this is no different. It never builds to the cacophony of other tracks, but there’s a really satisfying development as the various instruments come in and out, from the mellotron choir to the biting bass synth. It’s all so pretty, but with an edge of grit to it. Let Down - Good lord, it’s just banger after banger. There are some incredibly beautiful moments here, and there are so many ideas that the effortlessly shift through, never losing the thread of the song, which is such a hard thing to do. Some of the ideas start off seeming unfocused and then they just pull the focus wheel and everything sharpens up and clarifies, it’s just gorgeous. Oh, and I LOVE the arpeggiated synth outro. Karma Police - Oh, my, god. We’ve only just hit Karma Police and I’ve spent the last 5 tracks rambling about their greatness. This is melancholy pop perfection. The way it builds and drops away to the piano and vocal for the ‘this is what you’ll get’ section is absolutely glorious. There’s so much subtlety to the composition, but it all anchors around a simple core thread that just grips and engages the ear. Fitter Happier - It’s an interlude track, but it’s all vibe. The music and sound effects beneath the vocal is actually underrated in the depth and nuance it gives to this track, and it flows so well out of Karma Police. Electioneering - Out of the back of the interlude, we get some real pace and drive. The shifting, climbing and falling of the guitar against the vocal is great, and the drumming has got so much energy. It’s perhaps not got the level of inventiveness and variety of some other tracks, but it’s the perfect injection of vigour after Karma Police and Fitter Happier. Climbing Up The Walls - That evolving bass synth is great. This is another one that builds, washes and drifts, almost crumbling at the edges in places, even in the vocal which keeps saturating until it descends into a screaming wash of distortion. There’s a thread of clarity from the strings that hold the crumbling edifice together. No Surprises - The clarity and precision off the back of the last track is so effective. It’s a simple, yet incredibly potent song, another that does the build of instrumentation that drops out into something more sparse here and there. Another great poppy little number that still hangs on to the momentum of the album. Lucky - There’s a darker undertone to this, but it rises up into some incredibly beautiful, uplifting moments of clarity out of the sound wash. Those transitions are so smooth, that you hardly notice them until they’re done. Another remarkable song that’s composed and produced with such subtle dexterity. The Tourist - We finish off with another song that threads that fine line between sombre and uplifting. There’s so much depth and warmth to this track. There’s some really beautiful playing here from Jonny Greenwood and Philip Selway. This is such a calming way to end an absolutely genius album, while still having layered complexity, fantastic composition, musicianship and production.

4/10 It seems that I revert to an overuse of the word ‘nice’ when I land on music that is reasonably pleasant, fairly well executed but ultimately fairly unengaging to me as a listener. And this is another of those ‘nice’ albums. As an experience, it was inoffensive but fairly bland. There was nothing that really hooked me in or grabbed hold of me and it just passed me by in a wash of niceness and reverb. And boy do they massively overuse reverb. Not only that, but the reverb itself is really artificial sounding, because it sounds like a massive space, but with no tail, like no real space could ever offer. Very odd. When this album first washed over me, I enjoyed it more than on a focused listen, when the repetition and lack of inventiveness became more exposed. In a funny way, they kind of sound like an indie band cosplaying as a folk band, rather than being an actual folk band, and the result is a kind of like wallpaper music, but the wallpaper is an expensive designer print that has been appropriated from some traditional origin. It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that this album came out just a few years after Brian Wilson’s Smile, as this feels like it’s taken a lot of inspiration from some of the work on that album, but without the same songwriting ability, range or edge of insanity that carried that project. There’s just no sense of adventure to this at all. Not that it’s really bad, it’s just not very interesting either, and I don’t feel like they’ve actually got anything to say. The aesthetic is nice enough, if I’m in the mood for something like this, there are many albums of greater substance and quality that I’d jump to ahead of this. Sun It Rises - Talk about setting your stall out early, twee campfire vocal harmonies with lyrics about woodland life that give way to folksy acoustic guitar twiddles. It’s fairly pleasant, but so soaked in reverb that things are getting kind of washed in together, and then it sort of tails away. White Winter Hymnal - This has got some nice harmonies, but there’s not much to it really. It’s not bad, but I think it’s made to sound bigger than it is by the mixing, and there’s not much under the surface apart from a sheen of pleasantness. Ragged Wood - This is better. There’s a bit of pace to it and the instrumentation has a bit more depth to it. There’s some good dynamic range and the nice vocal harmonies persist.There’s quite a jarring change in the middle, which is a bit odd and then it builds up nicely again from there, but never gets back to anything that interesting. Tiger Mountain Peasant Song - This is another ‘nice enough’ song. Too much reverb again, especially for a ‘bloke with a guitar’ track. It loses all levels of intimacy that a track like this should have. Underneath it, the track is fairly pleasant. Quiet Houses - This is very repetitive. I’m not sure what they’re trying to get at with this one at all. Some of the ideas are ok, but they are dragged out to the nth degree. He Doesn't Know Why - I don’t know why either, to be fair. It’s kind of meandering and all gets lost in the cacophony of reverb and instrumentation. The rhythms are very stilted and the melody just wanders around. Then it ends with some unrelated piano playing that I don’t know the purpose of other than to somehow say “look, we really play these instruments”. Heard Them Stirring - More ‘nice’ music that doesn’t really do anything apart from exist. I’ve really nothing more to add, and apparently, neither did they. Your Protector - This one builds quite well to begin with, but then sort of plateaus. It’s got a bit of toe-tapping rhythm to it, but it’s still fairly bland and unengaging. Meadowlarks - This is quite a nice song that loses itself in the swamp of reverb. The verses to meander around a little, but when it thickens up it’s very pretty, although again, so much reverb. Blue Ridge Mountains - There’s a nice bit of melody to this and while it gets thicker in sound, it never lands on a satisfying denouement. And that hammered single note piano line is really bad. Oliver James - This one seems pretty nice again. It’s got a pleasant chorus, but there’s not a great level of development, except for wandering around the core thread of the song again, and then it just drifts away into an overly reveberant acapella vocal.

6/10 I can’t help but get a vibe of the performative ‘look at me, aren’t I weird’ about Syd Barrett, like a man playing the Blue Peter theme tune on two recorders up his nostrils as some kind of busking ‘performance art’ in a provincial town centre. He was obviously a troubled man, but I feel like he definitely leans into it and tries to be kooky. Perhaps his real troubles started when he leaned further into being the real life version of the character we hear on this album. Who knows? Anyway, on to the album. It’s a bit of a mixed bag. There were rarely moments that I hated, but there were certainly moments where it did step a little too far over the line into self indulgent farting around. There were a load of really great ideas spread across the album and when I felt the thread of a song managed to maintain itself while they played around with sound it worked really well. Some of the vocal harmonisation and sound design were of particular note and a lot of the studio work they obviously did on this brought great results across the whole album. It did, on occasion, feel a bit like they were trying loads of ideas to see what stuck, and at times that lead to some odd decisions, such as the strange panning choices and some vocal takes that clipped the levels in quite an unpleasant way. But as the album went on, I kind of felt myself drifting into the zone of the album and it started to get its hooks into me just a bit more, although never quite enough for the more jarring elements to throw a spanner in the works every now and then. This was certainly an interesting one to hear, particularly as it’s so far away from what Pink Floyd would become, but I doubt I’ll be hurrying back to it very often. Astronomy Dominé - This is quite meandering. It’s one of those tracks that has lots of build up, but never really reaches a destination. There’s a collection of somewhat decent ideas and moments in there, but they’re stitched together in a fairly incoherent way. Lucifer Sam - This has got a good bit of drive to it and actually lands on some decent hooks here and there. Although it does stray quite close to sounding like the soundtrack from a 60s spy tv show in places. The mix is all over the place, with some sections being incredibly unbalanced to the right channel, which is odd. There are some really cool bits of effects use here and there that add a bit of extra depth and range to the sound, which I appreciated. Matilda Mother - This is more of a folksy number. There are some nice vocal harmonies in there and some interesting rhythmic approaches. While things do wander off in slightly odd directions, there is a general thread that holds things more or less together, which helps with overall coherence. Flaming - This has another little edge of folk about it. I mean it’s also twee and kooky, but it feels performatively so. It’s too coherent to be completely mental, but they try and stray off the rails and do get a bit too self indulgent in the middle where it drifts away into almost random tinkling. At least they wrap it back together again at the end. Pow R. Toc H - Another oddly right balanced mix to start off. This is a drifting, meandering piece, that seems to be all about the vibe. I actually quite enjoyed this one and there felt like a bit more purpose to the psychedelic soundscapes and effects they were using. It was hardly a conventional song, but it was a pretty good experience nonetheless. Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk - This feels like it straddles a sound somewhere between The Kinks and The Doors. It does wander off into little avenues, but it’s quite an enjoyable journey and it does feel like there’s a central thread that holds it all together and it doesn’t ever get too thin and erratic. Interstellar Overdrive - There are parts of this that are really great. When they get the pace up and build a swathe of sound, it can be satisfyingly yet almost terrifyingly all encompassing, but they do collapse into fragmented moments that are a tad wanky and self indulgent. It’s a fine line to tread and at times they have a foot either side of it, but overall, as an audio experience it’s pretty good. Some of the effects work and sound design is just fantastic and I can imagine something like this sounding remarkable in 1967, whereas it may sound less otherworldly and strange to modern ears. The Gnome - This is another performatively mad song. I mean, it’s very silly, but some of the progressions are actually very nice. The production of the creepy whispering bit is very cool too. I ended up enjoying this more than I expected to. Chapter 24 - There are some really nice moments to this, particularly some of the harmonies, but it does drift off into a bit of a meandering wash at various points. It also clips really badly late on. Bit of a swing and a miss for me, this one. The Scarecrow - Another slightly meandering effort. I quite like the slightly unexpected pacing and flow of Barrett’s vocal, but as a whole, it just feels a little too twee and aimless apart from that. Bike - A suitably ‘listen to me being weird’ end to the album. But it’s also a pretty good song that blends nicely across different ideas and threads, which could easily be lost under the silliness of the vocal, but is actually well structured and pretty accomplished from a musical and atmospheric point of view. It does end with a fairly deranged sound collage, but in this instance, I quite like it as the closing act.

6/10 Cards on the table, I was never a britpop guy. I was too busy binging on grunge and punk at the time It was popular, but I'm always happy to give a chance to something I may have overlooked in the past. I obviously knew the big singles, it was hard to miss them as a living being in the late 90s, and this album starts off strong. I expected Beetlebum to be a tone setter, with its languorous vocal delivery, backed with a solid rhythmic base and some good melodic hooks to give it energy, but things seem to vary pretty wildly from then on. It kind of feels like a melting pot of different ideas, from both a musical and production point of view and it doesn’t really flow all that well as a result. It’s quite front and back loaded for me, with a big old lull of inconsistency in the middle. After the first couple of tracks, the consistency really dips and I found some of the tracks were fairly dull and uninspiring, despite apparent attempts to inject some experimentation and verve to proceedings. The production was odd, in that from one song to the next the vibe and tone would change from crisp and full to almost four track cassette demo levels of quality, which was quite jarring. I felt that the second half picked up quite a bit and some of that experimentation started to enhance the music, rather than feeling so disconnected from it. There was some great songwriting in places; interesting chord changes, nice harmonies and that aforementioned rhythmic base all contributing. There were also some tracks that leant towards the Gorillaz sounds that Damon Albarn would work with later in his career, which I enjoyed. I think this album has the makings of a very good 40 minute album, but as it is, it's just a little bloated and inconsistent, particularly in the middle. Beetlebum - A britpop classic. It’s almost lazy in its delivery, but the dynamic change into the chorus is great and the subtle backing vocals are solid. I like the way the vocal pushes and pulls the emphasis of the beat here and there. Song 2 - A throwaway joke of a song that becomes your biggest worldwide hit? Of course. It’s very simple and short, but it’s another classic. It’s got great energy and solid hooks, and that’s all it needed. Country Sad Ballad Man - You couldn’t drop the intensity much more. This is a fairly meandering little number. It feels like Graham Coxon is doing his best to inject something into it, but it just kind of plods along and Damon Albarn doesn’t sound like he’s particularly arsed about it. There are some nice moments here and there, but it does plod along a bit too much for me. M.O.R. - This is more interesting straight off the bat. Some cool guitar work, and when it launches into the song proper, there’s much better energy. The melodies are pretty good, and there’s a good bit of variety in the dynamic, which keeps things moving along. It’s not spectacular, but it’s pretty good. On Your Own - This is a bit of an odd one. It sounds like they’re trying to do two different things at the same time. There’s some semblance of an attempted anthem, alongside some sonic experimentation that sort of drowns out the base song, and it doesn’t really pull off either thing. It all just feels a bit muddled. Theme From Retro - We’re on to a wash of sound that just drudges on. It’s another lean towards experimentation, but it’s not experimental enough to actually be interesting. There’s no drive or variety to it at all, it just kind of exists and then stops existing. You're So Great - There’s something quite Dinosaur Jr about this track. It’s pretty nice, but compared to the rest of the album so far it very much feels like a demo, rather than a finished track, which is a bit odd. Death Of A Party - And we’re back too full on production. There’s more than a hint of Gorillaz to this. It’s got a bit of creeping menace to it in the verses and a nice switch up into the chorus. The organ part is great, and it’s got a good swagger to the rhythm, and Albarn’s delivery works much better on this one. This is much, much better. Chinese Bombs - Another stylistic switch up. This is almost punky, it’s got some good energy to it and it’s super noisy. Pretty good, but the stark changes in production style is confusing me quite a bit. It doesn’t feel all that coherent. I'm Just A Killer For Your Love - This is a bit cleaner, except for the vocal. The post chorus development is pretty good and has a bit of cool swagger to it. On one hand, I quite like the tone of this, but it doesn’t necessarily add in enough range or variety into the dynamic to really keep me fully engaged. The thrust of the rhythm is good though. Look Inside America - Good morning lethargy is a fairly fitting opening lyric for some of the tracks on this album, although not this one. It’s another stylistic switch up, but there’s some really good drive and pace to this one. The strings feel a bit forced, to be honest, but the pre-chorus and chorus are solid. The breakdown is a bit weird, but in a good way. Although it switches styles about a bit, it all feels like it’s pulling in the same direction, which is pretty satisfying. Like it. Strange News From Another Star - It’s got an interesting intro and then drops into something more plain. But it’s a good kind of plain. This is a really solid, relaxed effort that builds nicely into different sections. It’s quite Bowieish, even in Albarn’s vocal delivery. The production is simple but effective, and the sparing use of soundscaping really helps develop the dynamic depth , and then it launches into a noisy burst at the end, which it feels like it’s earned. Another good one. Movin' On - And the drive is back. I feel like this album has saved some of its best work for the end. This is hardly reinventing the wheel, but its got a good bit of zip to it, the experimental work all serves the narrative of the song and doesn’t overwhelm and there’s some really good build and release of tension and range. It definitely kept my attention, and had me tapping along. Essex Dogs - This is a cool end to the album. It’s got another edge of Gorillaz to it, and sonically, it’s really interesting. It’s got a really solid groove, and the subtle sung vocal that drifts in and out behind the spoken word vocal is great. Again, the experimental edge enhances rather than overshadows, and it ebbs and flows in a really satisfying way. A quality closer. And we get a bit more experimentation as a bonus track, which is a bonus bit of fun.

8/10 This was a pleasant surprise. It hits right in my wheelhouse of hip-hop that has a fun edge to it, along with a good sense of melody. It’s very well produced and there are only hints here and there that make it feel like an album from as far back as 1992. There’s a decent amount of experimentation and depth to the production that helps to lift it away from the pitfall that hip-hop can fall into of becoming overly repetitive. With thin productions, that can become very tiring on the ear, but when, by and large, they thicken things up with a depth of sound and also throw in enough variation between sections and add in extra musical flavour here and there, it rarely drags. I particularly enjoy the amount of singing that they mix in with the rapping, and even the rapping itself quite often has a melodic delivery that’s really nice. There was a good range of tempos across the album, with tracks that barrelled along, like Mama’s Always On Stage, and then the more laid back grooves of People Everyday. The rapping was generally very good and didn’t get stuck in too much of a formulaic rhythm, and some of the backing vocals that supported the lead were often of really high quality. As is so often the case with albums that came out during the CD boom, this is perhaps a little on the lengthy side, and there are there are a few tracks that don’t quite live up to the highlights, but as a whole I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to checking out their other work. Man's Final Frontier - A great little opener. It’s funky and has great pace too. Some quality sample choices and some fun scratching too. It’s very well produced and there’s quite a lot going on too. Definitely a solid way to introduce the record. Mama's Always On Stage - There’s a real melodic edge to even the rapping delivery here and it’s really good. The pace of this absolutely shifts, and it just flows brilliantly from section to section too. It rarely stays on one theme for long, and that keeps it interesting. Another great track. People Everyday - The tempo drops here but it’s got such a cool swagger. I love the original Everyday People, and the sample is given a different inflection with the pace and lilt on the beat that’s really satisfying. The switch between the rapping of the verse and the sung chorus works really well. Blues Happy - An interlude. Not much to say other than that they sound like they’re having a great time. Mr. Wendal - This reminds me quite a lot of De LA Soul. It’s got a really solid groove, and there are some really nice bits of flair to the music here and there that just add a little touch of variation and interest. It does perhaps drag on a little too long, given the main theme is ever present, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless. Children Play With Earth - The bass line here is quite fun, but it’s a fairly unfocused track that just drifts into a fairly meandering but of spoken word. It’s just lacking the central thread to pull it through and almost feels half way between a song and an interlude. Raining Revolution - This has got a nice laid back groove, and the blend of singing and rapping is again very good. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer a vast amount of variation or depth to the track for most of its length, so it does drag a little bit. Fishin' 4 Religion - This is solid. It’s got great pace and some interesting cutting of the beats here and there too. There’s a lot of depth to the instrumentation and the backing vocals, making it a rewarding listen. The synth bass sounds comedically dated, but I kind of like it for that. This is half way between a hip hop track and a Prince track, and it’s really good. Give A Man A Fish - This is another cool song. The bass line is good, and the party gang vocals add a different twist to the vibe. The verses perhaps go on a tiny bit too long. The chorus is good too, although there’s a slight disconnect between the parts rhythmically that jars a tiny bit. A pretty decent, bouncing track though. U - This starts with something that’s more like another of those musical interludes, but once it kicks in it’s another really great track. So much pace and a really solid groove between the bass and drums in particular. It’s got a brilliant singing rap to the main vocal, and the bits of backing vocals that drop in here and there are quality too. I couldn’t help but bounce to the groove of this. There were a couple of bits that were a bit on the repetitive side, but there was enough going on that that didn’t really dampen the fun. Eve Of Reality - Another interlude. It’s a nice, calm build though. Natural - I really like the vibe of this, and the verse is really good. The vocal delivery is great and it’s got a nice flow to the music, but when it hits the chorus, the string synths just slightly miss the mark for me. It’s a shame really, because this is a decent chilled out little track otherwise and has a nice bit of pace and feel to the groove. Maybe it’s a minor gripe though as the rest of it is just a great vibe. Dawn Of The Dreads - Something with a bit more swagger now. I really like the lilt to the vocal and the grooves are good. It’s perhaps a little stilting in some of the production and could do with being a little smoother, particularly the drums which stutter a bit too much in places. But it’s still another enjoyable track. Tennessee - This is another good one. Reminds me a little of What I Got by Sublime for some reason. I think it’s just the thrust of the groove. More solid half sung, half rapped vocal delivery. As with much of the rest of the album, this has got me bouncing along to the beats. It’s not as musically rich as some of the other tracks, but it’s got hooks that just grab you and bring you in. Washed Away - This is another that has delivery quite like De La Soul. It’s got a nice vibe to it, but it’s a bit too repetitive for me and doesn’t necessarily add enough depth and range to the instrumentation to give it the range that allows repetitiveness to get a pass, particularly when it goes on this long.

8/10 On first listen to this, I was worried that the production techniques and standards had aged this too much for me and, while that was a slight issue in places, the general feel of the album sucked me in and kept me engaged enough to largely let that slide. Sure, there were moments when the slightly aged scratching techniques and drum fills that lack dynamic nuance did stick out a little, but as a whole, I found myself swept up in the vibe. The strong moments on this album really are super strong. Bring Tha Noise, Louder Than A Bomb, She Watch Channel Zero?!, for example were excellent tracks. The production was full and interesting, there was a lot of range to the different sections of the songs, there were some quality hooks and the delivery of the rapping didn’t settle into anything too formulaic. But there were also some weaker moments, many of which were tracks that suffered from that old hip-hop chestnut of the ‘prominent, repetitive and annoying sample’. When this happened, I did find my attention wandering a little, particularly on the longer examples. There were also a few interludes that seemed a little pointless. I’ve noted in the past that albums of the late 80s and early 90s seem to lean much more towards the hour mark and beyond, presumably the advent of CDs allowing more space to fill, but I feel like this often ends up with a looser collection of tracks than would have otherwise happened. My focus on music is largely on the music itself, so I can’t comment too much on the lyrical content. The bits I did pick up sounded decent, and it’s good too hear some political and social focus in the content, but it was also a nice blend between that and some slightly less serious stuff, which was nice. I’ll likely give this a few more spins here and there in future and it may grow on me a little more. Cultural importance probably knocks this up a mark too. Countdown To Armageddon - It’s an intro, but it’s also quite funny that it’s recorded in Hammersmith for the BBC. Bring The Noise - It’s a classic. There’s a bit more of a melodic edge to it than I remember, with the horn samples across both the verse and chorus. The back and forth between Chuck D and Flavor Flav are great and there’s some decent depth to the production too. Don't Believe The Hype - There’s a cool rolling groove to this, and I like the way that Chuck D drags the emphasis of the beat around with his vocal delivery, not always sticking to a simple, flat approach. The verses maybe drag on a little too long, but that’s probably a personal thing with my focus on music over lyrics. Cold Lampin With Flavor - The sporadic depth of the piano samples in this one adds some great melodic flavour, and there’s some clever little bits of cutting to the beats. It’s got a really good, body rocking beat to it. The siren type sample is perhaps a little overwhelming and relentless for me. But again, there’s quite a lot going on underneath that to give it extra interest. Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic - Bringing the DJ to the forefront cool, and this is pretty good for the age it is, but the precision of the mixing and scratching is not up to the standard that later DJs would hit, so it feels a little dated. The groove is solid, despite that, and it keeps your toes tapping. Mind Terrorist - This is just a bit repetitive. I like the beats, but it’s just basically the same thing over and over for a minute and a half. Louder Than A Bomb - There’s a nice funky edge to this, not just from the sample choice, but the cutting of the beats enhances it too. And the vocal delivery is quality. It’s so thickly layered and dense in places, but it allows space for the vocal to breathe as it builds too. The production is some of the best on the album thus far. Great track. Caught, Can We Get A Witness? - There’s some great pace to this one, it positively shifts, but it’s still got a really funky edge to it. Some of the funk guitar samples are so good. The transition into different sections is so smooth and adds plenty of variety as the track progresses. It moves so much that it never gets the opportunity to get stale. Another solid entry. Show 'Em Whatcha Got - This is another that is almost an interlude track. It’s more or less the same thing round and round for a couple of minutes. The vibe of it is good and the lyrics are important, so that’s the purpose of it, but it’s a little too repetitive for me. She Watch Channel Zero?! - This is solid. The Slayer riff is solid and adds some great energy to it. Who knew the Funky Drummer break would work so well with Angel of Death? Some great moments of production in here and it’s a proper head bopper of a groove. There’s a nice mix of input from Chuck and Flavor here too, which is nice. Great little bits and pieces of other effects samples too. Fantastic track. Night Of The Living Baseheads - This album is at its best when it changes things up and isn’t too focused on a couple of prominent samples that dominate the mix. This has a nice break in the middle and again at the end that add a bit of range, but it’s a bit relentless with that horn sample otherwise. There’s actually quite a bit of range to this, but it’s just too overloaded by that sample, which is a shame, because it detracts from what sounds like decent work underneath it. Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos - The piano sample is subtler here, so doesn’t dominate the mix in the same way, which allows everything else space. This has got a nice, driving groove and some of the break chopping is really solid, particularly working well with the bass line, which is great. There’s that depth to the production again that there’s quite a lot going on that reward close listening. The little moments that are almost sample collage are really nice too. Security Of The First World - It’s a nice enough beat, but that’s literally it. A pointless inclusion. Rebel Without A Pause - The transitions on this one are a bit jarring and the high pitched sample is pretty tuneless and annoying. It’s kind of hard to concentrate on anything else because it just overwhelms everything else. There’s some nice scratching in the second half, but it is, as mentioned previously, a fairly old school interpretation of the art. Prophets Of Rage - This is much better. Variation between sections, good momentum to the beats and lyrical delivery and some interesting layering of samples. There’s some nice bits of scratching that are more subtly used to enhance the song and some more good audio collage sections. Party For Your Right To Fight - Some great sample choices here. There’s a good flow for a lot of the track and it’s a really nice twist on the Beastie Boys song with a strong political point. It’s got a solid bounce to the beat and has a decent amount of depth to the production too. A decent way to end things.

8/10 The first thing to mention about this album is the recording and production. It’s simply magnificent. If you’ve listened to this album on crappy headphones or speakers and in any way enjoyed it, you owe it to yourself to hear this on a proper system. The dynamics in particular are just glorious. It goes from quiet, almost whispered and sparse production up to these thick, full sounding passages. The strings are beautifully recorded as they ease and swell their way under the rest of the instrumentation. And there’s so much nuance to it. There are little bits of instrumentation that sit deep in the background, but add a quality to the music that isn’t particularly apparent on the surface. Dusty’s voice is really controlled in both feel and dynamic, going from the almost whispered, close-recorded start of Windmills Of Your Mind, through the smoky soul of Son Of A Preacher Man, to the full bodied peak of Don’t Forget About Me. The album as a whole does lean a little too far towards the more poppy side of things here and if there had been an edge more of the smoky soul to some of the song choices, I would be pushing this hard towards a higher rating. The song choice is largely good though, and the album pretty much flies by. This is one of those albums that you could stick on in the background and it would be a perfect bed to a great many things, but it’s also super rewarding when you dedicate some focused listening time to it. I suspect I’ll be back to this again fairly soon, and there’s a good chance it could retrospectively get pushed further up my rankings, as I feel, as good as it already is, it might be a bit of a grower over time too. Just A Little Lovin’ - I love this smooth soul sound of the 60s and 70s. The strings in particular are delightful and evocative. Her voice has just the right edge of smoke to it and there’s a laid back lilt to the delivery, which sits nicely against the more drive on the drums. It’s a shame it fades out so soon really. Great opener. So Much Love - When she goes up to those high notes, she really hits it, and along with the backing vocals, it’s buttery smooth. It perhaps leans a little more towards the poppy side of things, but it's still a brilliant production. Again, some great work from the drummer to inject a bit of extra verve, but it’s never overplayed either. Son Of A Preacher Man - An absolute classic. Again, that edge of smoke on the vocal is beautiful. The horns are so deftly balanced, injecting emphasis and nuance but never overwhelming. The backing vocals are an absolute delight. The inflection of Dusty’s vocal is brilliant, especially during the middle eight and final chorus. It’s an exquisite work. I Don't Want To Hear It Anymore - This is another track where the strings do a magnificent job of bringing stacks of vibe into the recording. Her voice is great again, the inflection she uses brings that edge of despair to the delivery. It’s a decent song, but the performances and recording are again the stars of the show. Don't Forget About Me - The guitar and electric piano in the intro are great here. It’s got a really nice change of feel between verse and chorus, and there’s a nice laid back swagger to Dusty’s delivery. Not an amazing song, but the feel is still solid. Breakfast In Bed - The groove that kicks in with the drums is really good. A lot of the playing is subtle, but full of feel. It’s pretty understated, but it’s undeniably cool. It’s got more of that toe-tapping swagger that seems to be the hallmark of this record. Just One Smile - This is more a more laid back ballad. There’s some more great subtle playing. I really liked the odd moment of flair from the guitar, and the use of dynamic change between the different sections really gives it a solid flow. The Windmills Of Your Mind - There’s something quite intimate about the recording of the vocal here. You can hear the subtlety of the mouth noise like she’s almost whispering the vocal. It's very restrained at the start and gradually builds and almost moves with a slow pulse as it grows. By the end, it’s got a load more zip and the dynamic has completely changed from the quiet restraint of the intro. A great production. In The Land Of Make Believe - This drifts around in a quite lovely bed of sound. I feel like it never really lands on anything particularly hooky or memorable and it perhaps pushes her vocal to slightly too high of a register to be completely comfortable, but it was still a pleasant and enjoyable wash of a song. No Easy Way Down - Smooth. Super smooth. It goes back to that laid back swagger, but again just dynamically ebbs and flows. Some of her vibrato here is just exceptional. There’s an edge of gospel to this, and I find that the little references to blues, soul, gospel etc really add an extra depth to the surface level pop of this record. I Can't Make It Alone - Another one where the strings and the vocal are really the highlights, but every part contributes. The strings in the verse are particularly excellent, and the vocal delivery of ‘something in my soul’ is so good. It fades out a little too quick, but it’s another lovely track nonetheless.

8/10 This is an album that I know very well. It’s an excellent blend of electronica, jazz and pop that for the most part works equally well as background music as it does with a more focused ear. Air create sumptuous sound beds, with evolving synth lines and pads, sweeping string arrangements, and wonderful elements of ear candy that provide nuance and momentum to their arrangements. And amongst all that, they have a really good ear for melody. Whether focusing on a jazzy Rhodes piano, a close mic’d intimate vocal or even a tuba, in the case of Ce Matin La, they deliver real moments of melodic and harmonic quality that dance and wander in and out of the weave of the other instrumentation. I think the bass is probably also an underrated element of Air’s work. They write strong and mobile bass lines that give solid drive to their tracks, and form a rolling base that allows the other elements to flutter in and out and provide the airy top to that strong foundation. There are moments on the album where the momentum does dip a little, and that focused listening experience can drift a little into something a bit more repetitive and slightly less defined, but those moments often serve as palette cleansers between the more focused, hooky tracks that steal the attention back and engage the ear. At its best, this is brilliant, at its worst, it’s still very enjoyable and I’ll no doubt be back with it again in the not too distant future. La Femme D'Argent - That bass line is just so good. This track eases its way through movements and sections with such an ease. There are solo sections that offer delicate and nuanced performances, some really lovely bits of synth programming and ear candy and a beautiful build of soundscaping that delivers depth and smooth quality. It’s easy to dismiss this as background music, but there’s a lot more to it than that to my ear, and it doesn’t drag at all for a 7 minute song. Sexy Boy - Quality. Another great bass line, that high pitched ringing tone that responds to the first bass note is beautifully well placed. There’s some really lovely ascending chord progressions in the electric pianos. The structure has form almost of a dancefloor track, and there’s still an edge of that to the production, but it just wraps you up in a warm, jazzy cloud rather than thumping you with energy. The Moog solo is brilliant in such a lazy way and plays really nicely against the Rhodes. There are so many lovely bits of playing and composition that reveal themselves under the surface. All I Need - Some more lovely synth work to open this up and then a really deft little guitar line. There’s perhaps a little less depth to the production here, but Beth Hirsh’s vocal is lovely, with some great backing vocal pieces thrown in here and there to back it up. It’s a pretty pop song infused with that electronic edge that gives it a flavourful twist. Kelly Watch The Stars - There’s almost a fierce edge to the bass here, which gives things a bit of bite. There’s perhaps a little too much repetitiveness here in the vocal, but there is still some decent variety in the other sections, with the arpeggiated piano and some more bits and pieces of synth work. It’s not the most inventive track on the album, but still a pleasant listen. Talisman - There’s a slow intro to this, but when things ramp up, there’s a really nice shuffle to the beat. This is a track that lacks the musical development that the better songs have. There are some interesting production changes and tweaks of the instrumentation that keep the sound moving along, but the thrust of the composition is a little too centred on the same motif. It’s not bad, but it’s not the strongest either. Remember - This has more of a standard song structure, so maintains more interest as it runs along with the verse / chorus structure adding variation. There’s some lovely interplay between the strings and synths and there's an almost overwhelming depth of sound that modulates the dynamic really nicely. By the end, the spooky synth tone and electric guitar add an extra edge to the flavour too. You Make It Easy - Beth Hirsch is back and this is another beautiful effort. The bass line continues driving the song, and the rest of the instrumentation provides a bed, but allows space for the vocal to breathe. The strings are great here, and again the little bits of ear candy, primarily synth based, just give an extra layer of audio interest and depth to the production. Another great alt-pop song. Ce Matin La - Just the bass alone against the shaker gives this a body bouncing start, which drops away into some really pretty string and synth work. And then when things drop back in, the Tuba link is perfect in its simplicity. It’s such a strong hook in its soft, lilting delivery, set against the arpeggiated guitar. This is just a really lovely track. It has an uplifting, almost ethereal vibe to it. It’s just lovely. New Star In The Sky - This holds itself back and weaves around lightly for a while and then drops into a really gentle groove. It’s got a nice hook to it, but perhaps does wander off a little too much here and there. It’s really beautiful background music, but perhaps loses the the thread a little too much to be as engaging as some of the other tracks. Le Voyage De Penelope - More laid back, jazzy work. There’s some really nice synth work in here with the modulating depth of the LFO. It could be overdone, but there’s enough surrounding musical work to allow it to not overwhelm. It’s not a spectacular track, but it’s still a nice blend of sounds to close things out.

5/10 This is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde album for me, in that a decent chunk of it feels like there are some decent rock songs that have been massaged into anthemic pop-rock shape by an overenthusiastic producer, while some of the weaker songs have been given a far more straightforward and gritty sound, but don’t really deliver the hooks and songwriting chops of the overproduced ones. One of the things that often turned me off about the overproduced songs, Kevin Carter and The Girl Who Wanted To Be God for example, was the over instrumentation of the tracks. A lot of the strings seem to offer fairly basic padding to the songs, rather than anything particularly interesting, which is a similar story with the harp parts, and it generally towns down the verve and vibrancy of the underlying songs, which is a real shame. It’s almost like these parts are added for the sake of building a ‘bigger’ sound, without any concern for whether it’s actually a ‘better’ sound. When left to a more straightforward rock band instrument lineup, there’s a lot more grit and weight to things, but those overproduced, anthemic production standards just push this too far away from the kind of sound that really engages me with music like this. This overproduction does ease during the second half of the record, which helped to engage me a little more, and there are some strong parts too. Everything Must Go and Australia lean more towards the kind of sound that grabs the ear, and when the production allows the bass and guitar in particular to sit further forward and provide a bit of overdriven grit to things, the sound was way better. The songwriting was pretty good in places, but did have a tendency to meander a little on the weaker tracks, sometimes becoming a little uninteresting and repetitive, but when they landed on a hook, there were some solid moments. Overall it wasn’t a bad album, but I don’t think it was a massively good one either. That’s not to say I don’t see some value in it, but it feels like things were just taken in a direction that doesn’t suit my ear, and the balance of the album, on the whole, feels a little too uneven for me. Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier - There are some nice riffs here and there on this, but it doesn’t quite connect with me. There are some decent moments, but it just doesn’t connect into a coherent whole for me and kind of feels a bit meandering and unfocused. It feels a bit like James Dean Bradfield stretches his vocal a bit too much in places as well and that makes it sound a little stretched. A Design For Life - You couldn’t accuse this one of being unfocused. It’s got good hooks and decent pace, and the pre-chorus into the chorus is really well structured. In all honesty, the production is all a bit too soft for me and if this had a bit more grit and drive to the sound, I think I’d like it more. The strings are just a bit obvious and it feels a bit like the edges have been sanded off the composition. It’s a decent song, but needs a bit more fire for me personally. Kevin Carter - This is another nice moments song that doesn’t bring the component parts into something focused and coherent to my ear. It feels a bit like there’s a decent rock song under there somewhere, but it’s been put through a pop music producers ear, which has made it lose its edge and urgency, so it just feels a bit flaccid as a result. Enola/Alone - There’s a bit more to this. The guitars and bass are given more prominence and there’s a bit more drive and grit to it as a result. The melodic elements to the chorus are pretty good too. It’s a little meandering in places and doesn’t necessarily offer as much development as it could, but tonally, it’s much better. Everything Must Go - Following on from the last track, there's a bit more fire to the production here. There’s a great melodic flow to the chorus, and I like the transition out of the back of the chorus too. It’s got a good bit of momentum to the rhythm section. It’s perhaps a little cluttered and the drums could do with sharpening up to give a bit more clarity, but otherwise it’s a pretty decent track. Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky - This is quite pretty, although I feel like the harp glissandos are already feeling a bit overdone on the record without this one where they’re drastically overused. Again, it all feels a little too overproduced and a bit more restraint would have worked wonders. The Girl Who Wanted To Be God - A promising start leads to something that again feels unnecessarily augmented with strings. When the strings drop out, this is much better. There’s more space for the lead guitar and vocal to breathe and it helps to give everything a bit more punch. Look, I love a string arrangement, but they just feel like they’re there for the sake of trying to make it more anthemic, but it just softens things too much without adding real value. This could be a really good song, but it's kind of ruined by being overworked. Removables - This is tonally a lot better. It feels a bit like a demo in that there’s a decent skeleton to it, but it feels a little underdeveloped. It’s kind of a stark difference to the preceding track, which was overproduced. Another one where there's something there that, to my ears, they haven’t quite found the heart of yet. Australia - This is more like it. Again, the band are given more space to breathe, it has a bit more drive and the production suits things a lot more. There’s still an edge of the anthemic production to the chorus in particular, but it takes a more subtle backseat and lets the band get on with being a rock band. The melodic choices here are great and it has some solid hooks and a nice guitar solo. Pretty good. Interiors (Song For Willem De Kooning) - Things meander a little bit too much here, particularly the vocal, the melody of which just seems a bit forced to me. It never really lands on anything to give the song a solid centre and just sort of flounces about. The production is a bit more gritty and rewarding here, but unfortunately the song is less gripping to me. Further Away - The production is sticking with the more rocky side of things now, which is doing the music a lot of favours. There are some nice melodic movements here, particularly in the chorus. It’s not particularly interesting in its development of ideas, and it does get a little bit repetitive as a result, but it’s otherwise a pretty decent little song. No Surface All Feeling - Another where the production delivers more of the sound that I’m looking for. It’s got a decent bit of weight to it, and some really nice dynamic shifts between the verse and chorus. It builds nicely as the bass and guitar ramp up through the verse and then the weight kicks in with everything except the vocal, which stays pretty limp in the chorus, unfortunately. Give this a bit more emphasis and drive to the vocal in the chorus and we could be cooking with gas. Unfortunately, it just falls short in that part.

8/10 I came into this not quite sure what to expect. I went through a time in my life where I listened to a fair bit of jazz, and still take the time to indulge now and again, but the reference to samba in the title would probably have steered me slightly away from this historically. I’m not sure why, really, but there you go. The truth is, I would have been wrong to sidestep this. Almost as soon as it got moving, the quality of the musicianship just jumped out of the speakers. Stan Getz typically takes the lead and struts around, but when the two of them weave their playing around one another, it’s an absolute joy to behold. The little references to each other’s playing, the harmonisations and the back and forth are so good. The nuance in the sax playing is top drawer, and Getz can go from a laconic, laid back drawl of a sequence into something with real zip and vigour and take you on the ride with him with every note. The first time I listened to this, some of the backing musicians kind of got lost, as the main two are pretty prominent in the mix, but on second run through, I pushed the volume to get a bit more clarity on their work and boy was that rewarding. The louder I had it, the better it got. It’s easy to miss the depth of sound to the rest of the band (two bass players and two drummers/percussionists? Yes please), but when you push the levels, the clarity of this just opens up and delivers a really compelling and full sound, and a greater appreciation for the quality of the work. There were the odd moments where things did wander a little to f for me, but those moments were fairly fleeting, and they soon pulled things round. It’s not getting top marks, but it’s definitely getting more spins and might even move itself up in my opinion the more I listen. Desafinado - The sax playing here is so deft and subtle that it sounds almost simple, but there’s a lot of understated complexity to it. Some of the runs and motifs are absolutely delightful, but it’s never overdone. The guitar is also excellent and brings a nice change of pace, but the sax is the star of the show here. It wanders around with purpose drifting through the movements with the rest of the band in an effortlessly cool way. Samba Dees Days - There’s a bit more zip to this one. I fell it does ramble around the core motifs a little more, so does drift a little far here and there, but it does gather things up now and then to keep things centred. The back and forth at the end is great though. O Pato - We get a lovely little swing to the groove here. Stan and Charlie dance around each other in a really beautiful way when they’re playing together. There’s moments where we get to focus on each instrument, and Charlie Byrd gets a bit more focus with a couple of solo sections, but when their playing intertwines, there’s magic in the air. Samba Triste - And now on to something a bit more sultry. There’s some fantastic guitar work in the middle of this, while the guitar has its solo section. The rhythm section takes a bit of a back seat in general on the album, but the quality of the bass did reach out to me here, which was nice. We also get some more of that understated sax playing that’s not too showy but full of emotive nuance. Samba De Uma Nota So - Some of the runs on the sax here are just brilliant, I can almost hear Getz smirking as he glances out over the mouthpiece at the rest of the group. And we get some bass soloing too! It’s quite low in the mix, which is a bit of a shame, but it’s there. It might perhaps be lost a bit because it’s only one of the basses soloing while the other plays some simple lines. Or maybe they just want this cranking. Happy to oblige. There’s a nice amount of extra percussion to add a bit of bounce and movement, and I couldn’t help but get a bit lost in it, which is what really good jazz can do. E Luxo So - We’re back to something with more fizz to it again. The way the sax takes its time before launching into moments of intensity is lovely, and there’s some of my favourite guitar work on the album here too. Some of the note runs between chord changes in particular are just gorgeous. This is a proper toe-tapper, but it has enough nuance to push and pull the feel about in a really satisfying way. What a lovely track. Baia - This has more of a shuffle to it, but again, that push and pull between Getz and Byrd is so good. Things do drift a little here and the middle section gets a tiny bit bogged down and muddy while Stan wanders around and the focus just gets pulled a tiny bit, which is a shame. It’s the kind of thing that’s a bit more excusable with this being a longer cut, and it does pull things back around for the final third, where we get some more brilliant interplay between the two.

6/10 This album was obviously massively influential and key to the proliferation of gangsta rap, so it's historic importance is without question. It has aged fairly poorly in quite a few regards though, and some of the lyrical content was dodgy even then. With that being said, it's easy to complain about some of the lyrical content of this album, but much of this can be attributed to the marginalisation and ghettoisation of black America during this time. If you essentially criminalise people’s existence and make their lives very difficult to live, why would they adhere to your standards of decency and morality? Would all of the group stand behind these lyrics today? Probably not, but they were young men lashing out in all directions. That doesn't make the worst offenses any easier to hear, but it does offer some explanation. When it hits its heights, this album is really very good. The grooves are funky, driven and insistent and the rhythmic flow of the rapping is great. The more socially conscious lyrics are also great and tell an important story. But at it's weakest, there are some very poor parts. It's over long and some of the tracks are very thin and uninspired. I think Eazy-E is far and away the weakest rapper of the group and he has some of the most crigeworthy lines and delivery across the album. The rest of the guys have their weak spots, but he seems to be the standout with some of the most heinous offenses. This is not really the kind of hip hop that really floats my boat, so it was never going to be troubling the top of my rankings, but at it's best it's a decent and important reflection of it's time and place. Straight Outta Compton - It’s a reasonable start. Bags of attitude, and a nice bit of drive to the beat and the bass, but it’s a bit too repetitive, with only brief pauses and a bit of scratching to break the monotony of a two-bar loop for over 4 minutes. Fuck Tha Police - There’s more groove and swing to this, with a bit more variety even in the verses, and then we get more of a break into the chorus. It’s angry but justifiably so. As Malcolm X said, "You don't have a peaceful revolution. You don't have a turn-the-cheek revolution. There's no such thing as a nonviolent revolution.” This track is a classic. It bounces, it grooves, and it carries a message about how marginalised groups feel while they are criminalised and oppressed. Gangsta Gangsta - Another great funky groove. There's good flow to the rapping, some nice use of sound effects here and there too. The chorus adds a bit of variety, but it is generally a bit repetitive and could do with a bit more range. Some of the sections they throw in for variety also sound quite disconnected from the rest of the track and don't flow that well. If It Ain't Ruff - Again, the groove is decent here, but it's all a bit one note. It needs a bit more depth and range to it to really hold focus. There are some nice moments here and there and it does get me bobbing my head, but it's not one of the strongest cuts on the album. Parental Discretion Iz Advised - There's a theme going here, another decent groove that's overused. One bar going round and round for 5 minutes just doesn't really do it for me. The rapping doesn't seem quite as good here either. There are moments where things seem a tiny bit forced, others that are decent, but it's a mixed bag from that point of view. Odd flex from Eazy-E to admit he's bad at sex, but you do you fella. 8 Ball (Remix) - This one is not good. The music is stilted and too slow, has aged incredibly badly and the whole thing just doesn't flow very well. It's erratically put together, the lyrics are pretty terrible too. Something Like That - The pace picks back up again here, but other than that, it's still not great. The repetitive nature of it all just doesn't engage and it's very thin on harmonic content, so it doesn't really scratch that musical itch. The beat bounces nicely, but it's too thin otherwise. Express Yourself - And we're back in the game. It's funky, driven and super cool. Obviously a great amount of the credit for this goes to Charles Wright and co, but there's actually a good use of the samples, rather than just a loop of one short section, and the rapping is artfully weaved around the music to actually give a bit more range and variety to the track. Great track. Compton's N The House (Remix) - Musically, this is super thin. It's just a sporadic beat and some scratching. The rapping and lyrics are pretty weak too. It all seems pretty hollow and self congratulatory, but without anything particularly funny or interesting. Meh. I Ain't Tha 1 - Good lord, I'm willing to forgive some of the lyrics on this album, but this is total cringe incel level shit. The music isn't bad, but offers no variety so gets boring very quickly. I bet Andrew Tate has this as his alarm. Sheesh. Dopeman (Remix) - And we're back to something with very limited tonal content. It's all very scattergun and disconnected and feels very undercooked and far too loose. The rapping is not particularly great either. The album is really sliding towards the close. Quiet On Tha Set - Wahey, we're back! Good pace, a solid, funky beat and a bit of range and variety to the production. There's also a decent amount of depth to the vocal delivery. A lot of the samples are fairly repetitive, but they're split up well and augmented with extra bits and pieces to keep things moving. This is solid. Something 2 Dance 2 - This sounds very much it's age, straight off the bat. It's got decent pace though and there's some really nice bouncing of the vocals back and forth between the group. It's all a bit of fun, has a decent groove to it, despite the aged sounds. Plus it's where Squarepusher got 'let the bass kick' from, which is cool. A nice way to end.

8/10 A huge amount of popular music from the subsequent 70 years can be traced back to Little Richard. He was instrumental in the movement that transformed rhythm and blues into Rock and Roll, he was a flamboyant and vivacious performer and his vocal style can be heard echoing through the years in voices as diverse as James Brown, Robert Plant and Freddie Mercury. The number of artists who cite him as a pivotal influence is simply staggering, and his place in music history is set in stone. As an album, this sounds a lot like what it really is, a collection of singles. That’s exactly what an album was in 1957, so that’s to be expected. But it’s so full of fire, drive and fun that it’s essentially impossible not to get hooked into the groove and tap your toe or bob your head. I can only imagine what a Little Richard show must have felt like in the 1950s. It sounds like it’d be pretty riotous even now, but 70 years ago, it must have been completely off the charts, and this album does a fantastic job of capturing that vibe and presence. The musicians all do a fantastic job and there’s bags of energy from start to finish. With that being said, and despite the occasional change of pace, the biggest criticism of this (and other early rock ’n roll music) is that it’s all very much pinned on the 12 bar blues as a backing, so things do get a bit samey after a while. There are some fantastic hooks and solos scattered across the songs, but the underlying music was very much established and adhered to throughout. That’s not really a criticism, more an observation. From a production point of view, the vocals are perhaps a bit too loud in the mix and the music can get a little lost. They also get a bit distorted when he gives it full beans, but I think that may well be an intentional artistic choice, as it gives that little something to the louder parts of the delivery. This is an album very much worthy of listening to for any music fan and, while I may not revisit it often, it has certainly cemented its place as one of the pivotal records in the development of modern music in the west. Tutti-Frutti - Welcome to rock ’n roll. “Whop bop b-luma b-lop bam bom” is quite the way to kick things off. It still sounds vibrant and urgent to this day which, given that it is almost 70 years old, is quite remarkable. His vocal delivery has verve and bite, there’s swing and pace to the band and it’s got some great hooks. What a song. True, Fine Mama - The intensity drops a little here, but it’s still insistent and has a great bit of edge to it. The piano and sax have some lovely moments, but it would sound way more pedestrian without the little bits and pieces of bit that Richard throws in with the rawness of his vocal delivery. Can't Believe You Wanna Leave - This is a bit more mundane. It’s well produced and performed, but is more of a slow toe tapper. Again, there are some great moments from the lead vocal, but it doesn’t deliver the full-bodied drive of the more pacy numbers… Ready Teddy - …like this one. So much pace, some great soloing and that dropping in and out of the band for Richard to give the vocal some beans is just great. Some of his runs are so, so satisfying and it’s kind of hard not to move to something like this. It’s a bopper and hard not to have a grin on your face with stuff like this. Baby - This swings. There’s some solid piano work in there, which is a little too far back in the mix, which is a little bit of the shame. Another nice sax solo in there too and Richard’s vocal delivery is, as usual, vivacious and compelling. Slippin' And Slidin' - We get a bit of a different lilt to the rhythm here, which is nice. There’s a bit more subtlety to the vocal delivery here, which makes for a bit of a change. It’s another decent song with a couple of nice solo sections. Slippin’ and slidin’, peepin’ and hidin’ is a particularly amusing lyric given what he got up to later in his life. Long Tall Sally - Another classic. It’s another in the canon of ‘Richard sings something while the band stops and then they all come back in together to kick the beat back in’ songs. It’s a really great song and his vocal is absolutely top notch. Quality grit, drive and control to it. Miss Ann - Another change of pace. This is another one with great swing and a toe-tapping vibe. These songs are decent and break up the higher energy ones well, but they’re not the most musically interesting. Good vibes though. Oh Why? - This follows on from the previous track really. It’s another decent one, but these slower numbers don’t have the get up and go of the more pacy numbers. But the album would be relentless if it was all bangers, I suppose. Rip It Up - There’s a slightly different feel to this with the staccato horns adding a bit of a different flavour. The drums are pretty cool on this one too. It fits to the standard formula of the rest, but that slightly different sound that they put together is welcome. Jenny, Jenny - His little falsetto ‘whoo’ is so good here. It’s a very one-note song, but you can just feel the energy of the performance firing out of the speakers. I can imagine this being one hell of a party in 1957. She's Got It - Another great vocal intro, and a pacy, swinging groove. It feels like they’re maybe pushing this one to go a bit too quick, in fact as it gets a little loose in places, but it’s so full of verve and energy, that you can forgive it. A lovely way to close out the album.

5/10 The more I hear of them, the more I feel that R.E.M. fall into that category of bands where I really love some of their songs, but there’s not a single one of their albums that I love from start to finish. I feel like they have actually written 4 or 5 really good albums worth of music, but have spread those albums out over 15 releases and chucked in a load of waffle to fill up the gaps. This album has its moments, and the one two punch of End Of The World and One I Love is brilliant, but on a lot of the other tracks, I am often just begging for a more engaging hook or melody. There are hints of them and lead ups to them, but I often find that things just wander around without ever finding a solid centre to hang the song from, so things feel a little aimless. The vibe in general is great, the production is solid, the drums really punch and they move fairly effortlessly between the more jangly guitar side of their sound and the more heavy, driven elements of some of the songs, and some of the harmonies are lovely. But too many of the tracks feel like vibey fillers rather than engaging songs in their own right. I think I could probably pick an REM song out just from the vocal melody, even if it wasn’t being sung by Michael Stipe. He has a very distinctive melodic writing style, and when he allows himself to settle on something catchy, there’s magic to be found, but when he gets a bit more loose, I find it more of a struggle to maintain an interest. Often I feel like they overwrite some elements while underwriting others, which results in songs that have a fairly boring chord structure repeating for too long while the vocal just wanders around without ever honing in on something memorable or hooky. And even that could work if you built it around a chorus that delivered that musical centre, but that rarely came along. I can appreciate the development of sound and tone that R.E.M. developed, and you can hear bits of it all over the music that would follow in the subsequent decades, but the overall package isn’t one that does enough to stick with me long term. Finest Worksong - The production of this is great straight off the bat. It’s got a solid punch to it, and a real sense of space. There are some really nice moments, particularly in the blend between lead and backing vocals and the odd little flourish of guitar, piano and percussion here and there that add nice moments of nuance and depth. It’s a pretty strong opener. Welcome To The Occupation - And we’ve fallen back into the more dynamically and musically flat end of R.E.M.s work. It’s nice enough, but it kind of does more or less the same thing the whole way through with only minor flourishes of dynamic change. Yes, the chords change between verse and chorus, but the vibe and dynamic remains very one-note. It doesn’t quite deliver on the hooks either, so it all just feels like a bit of a wash of pleasant but unspectacular music. Exhuming McCarthy - There are some nice dynamic and tonal changes in places this song, but it’s also a bit meandering. The guitar strumming pattern seems just a bit sloppy and repetitive. Again, there are some nice moments, especially during the stripped back sections, but it’s very plodding and overly insistent without having the bite and anger that justifies the insistence. Disturbance At The Heron House - This one is a bit better. There’s a bit more variety and range between verse and chorus, and moments where things are allowed a bit more dynamic movement. Things do meander about a bit too much though, and it feels like Michael Stipe is singing along trying to find something that really works, but never quite finds it. Strange - Ah, what a great intro. Michael Stipe adds a bit more drive into his delivery here, and alongside the more chugging nature of the guitars, it gives it a much more interesting edge. I quite like it, but it also never feels like they ever really find the chorus this song is looking for. It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - A classic. There’s a great pace to this and it has all of the elements that I’m looking for in a song like this. The instrumentation ebbs and flows during the verse, the pulse is great and there are interesting little bits of musical nuance here and there, and then we launch into a brilliant, hooky chorus. It’s got dynamic range, a relentless verse vocal that makes the chorus seem more fluid and smooth by comparison. Solid backing vocals too. The One I Love - Another great song. It develops through different sections really nicely and rarely stands still for long. It has a slightly laid back pace to it, but the drums really give it a bit of drive and attitude that dust some spice into the mix. Michael Stipe has found his melodic hook writing stride by now in the album, and this follows on from the previous track in that vein. A one two punch of quality. Fireplace - This gets a bit darker in tone and it pulses along, but as with some of the earlier tracks, it never really finds its centre. I feel there’s a bit of a clash of styles in that it could have been made to be more brooding, but there’s probably a bit too much energy for that to really work out, and it doesn’t have enough of a melodic focus to latch on to the energy either. I can’t say I’m a massive fan of the sax work either and find it a bit jarring. Lightnin' Hopkins - This has got some great drive and a bit of bite to it. It almost doesn’t sound like R.E.M., so it does stick out a little, and Michael Stipe sings with a bit of a rasp that is quite uncharacteristic. The drums in particular are good here and there are some really solid riffs, but I’m just not quite sure what to make of it. King Of Birds - We’re back to a more classic R.E.M. sound now, but with a rolling military style drum beat. It’s quite drony during those sections, but it does find a bit more of a solid groove through other moments. But there’s nothing particularly melodically satisfying about it. Oddfellows Local 151 - I like the vibe of the verse here, it’s pretty brooding and pulses nicely, with the lead vocal using some nice dynamic range and taking moments to soar above the almost malicious tone of the instrumentation. But then the chorus is just rubbish. It’s more or less the same thing as the verse from the band and MIchael Stipe just Singing the same line about a firehouse again and again. Give this a strong chorus and it would be great, because the verses are great.

9/10 I’ve heard this album a few times before, but never spent the time to really focus on it. First thing to note is that this is a really spectacular blend of a lot of musical styles that I really love. Jazz, funk, soul and an edge of electronica all weave their way in and out of one another in a really unique way. There’s so much going on that it keeps your attention, and really rewards repeat listening too, which is generally the hallmark of a great album. With hip-hop, the musical content can often take a bit of a back seat, but the vocals and the music are all part of one coherent whole here and the singing and rapping are not given the overwhelming prominence, which allows the quality and complexity of the music to shine. There are times when I, as a musically focused rather than lyrically focused listener, find hip-hop to be an overly repetitive genre, but there is no way this album could be accused of that. The leaning on, for the most part, fresh musical recordings rather than samples really gives this album its own identity and some of the musicianship is really exceptional. Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper and more just bring so much quality and nuance to their parts that it’s hard not to get sucked in to the mood of each track. There are moments when the depth falls away a little and we find ourselves a little more stuck on a more sparse, repetitive track, but those moments act almost as palate cleansers so that you an refocus for the next epic. This far in and I’ve not really touched on Lamar’s vocal. His delivery is generally pretty understated, with intent and feel conveyed through rhythm rather than intensity, more often than not. He does ramp it up now and then, but that general restraint makes it more impactful when he does inject a slice of venom. And the lyrical thread is strong too, touching on life as a black man in America, discrimination, personal struggles, the pressures of fame and more. There are moments when he slips a little back into the more classic hip hop tropes with hints towards misogyny and financial bravado that I could have done without, but there is a chance that those were intended as more tongue in cheek references to the hip-hop of old. His pacing, rhythmic flow and his ability to switch up emphasis and rhythmic cadence is excellent though, and that kept me interested more or less throughout. I think the slightly thinner, more repetitive moments do hold this album back a tiny bit, as does its length. 80 minutes is a long old album and I feel like he could have said everything he needed to in 60 without losing the quality and depth that he built, especially by chopping the Tupac bit from the end. As a rapper, he can say what he needs to with verse and didn’t need to end the album that way. Wesley's Theory - There’s a lot going on here. The depth of the music is fantastic and there is so much variation and nuance to the composition that it keeps the ear busy at all times. No one part dominates, not vocals or beats, which can be more typical in hip-hop, and there’s a wide range of harmonic and melodic content. But it’s also all very coherent and creates a slightly unsettling edgy vibe to the tone. A very good start For Free? (Interlude) - A nice jazzy interlude. I mean it seems lyrically a bit silly, but there are some really nice rhythmic choices in the delivery. I think the music is great, as is the cadence of the delivery, but I’m not a big fan of the lyrical content. King Kunta - This is a bit more stripped back to begin with, but it builds nicely, allowing all of the elements time to grow and breathe. The back and forth between Kendrick and Whitney Alford on backing vocals is great. There are some really effective key changes and musical drop-outs that let the musical impact hit that bit harder. The shuffling beat and solid bass line give things a solid groove with a nice edge of funk to it. Lovely. Institutionalized - Again, we get a stripped back start. This reminds me a bit of Plantlife and the sound design of it is great. There’s some really interesting editing of the vocal with the double layered elements and panning work on the touches of backing vocals. The beat bounces nicely and he drifts on and off the beat in a really satisfying way. There’s less complexity to the instrumentation, but there’s enough range and production nuance in what’s there to never let things get stale. These Walls - And now we gat a more traditionally structured verse/chorus song. It’s got a nice jazzy edge to it and the sung vocals are top quality. There are some really nice guitar licks and riffs and it all just flows and floats together in such a satisfying way. Again, the production is top quality, with all of the elements getting their space and a really finely struck balance between sparsity and depth through the different sections of the track. U - This is almost free-jazz rapping. The production techniques are really effective at creating almost disturbing experience with the way things cut in and out and pan, and that really backs up the erratic, bereft nature of the track’s themes. This could be hard to parse for some, particularly as a background listen, but it’s a really, solid and effective exploration of self hatred. Alright - Running nicely on from the previous track, some of the instrumental flavour continues onto this, but it lifts up tonally and gives us a solid, rolling beat that forces the momentum. There are some nice instrumental elements, like the sax in particular, that add extra variety to the sound and stop things from getting too stale. The vibe is great too. For Sale? (Interlude) - Much better than the previous interlude, this has a nice blend of synth tones and a more jazzy funk sound. It’s also almost completely absent of any beat apart from a subtle güiro type sound, but still has a solid groove. It ebbs and flows really nicely and there’s a really warm, all encompassing harmonic bed of sound that drifts around the vocal. Really nice. Momma - I think the beat here is great. It’s super loose, but it’s got a lot of feel to it and the sounds used are really interesting for a hip-hop track. There’s so much vibe to this. The backing vocals are gorgeous and the rest of the backing track is super smooth too. Again, it’s another where things could get stale, but there are enough little moments of nuance or sound design to keep things moving along and keep an interested ear engaged. His delivery is really nice here too; smooth but with an edge of insistence. Hood Politics - Oooh, the feel of this intro is nice. I was hoping we’d get more of it, but we quickly shift onto something else. This one has some more of that cool vibe, but it does end up being a little bit too repetitive for once, both lyrically and musically. There are some little changes here and there that add a change to the feel and break the monotony, but not as effectively as previous tracks. I think perhaps the more repetitive elements are just a little too dominant, but it’s still not bad, just not as good. How Much A Dollar Cost - He’s really not afraid to break from the beat and build these harmonically rich passages is he? The slight lazy lilt to the beat is super cool and the sound of it has such great depth. There’s a very rich, downbeat soul sound to this and some of the strings in particular, add something really special, despite not being anything overly complex. Another really lovely track. Complexion (A Zulu Love) - Bring in the funk. This has so much groove to it and the sound design of the beat is strong too. As with a lot of this album, there are some really gorgeous passages of instrumentation that just drift in out of nowhere, like the piano in this one, and some of the instrumental changes are so deftly written that you hardly notice that the entire sound of the track has shifted. The Blacker The Berry - That beat really hits. There’s a real feeling of rage to this and the soundscaping is almost unnervingly icy in its tone. This is less varied and full than some of the other tracks, but I think the focus is meant to not be drawn away from the lyric, which offer a purposeful and effective expression of anger. You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said) - And we’re back to something more full. There are so many parts going on that it’s easy to miss some of the depth to songs like this. There are some really lovely little riffs that just pop in and out from guitar, piano and synth. That variety just enhances the smooth groove of the main themes, but keeps things shifting along in such a satisfying way. I - Ooof, I love ‘That Lady’ by The Isley Brothers, and he uses the sample really well to create something fresh. This pops and shifts brilliantly. It’s got pace and bounce to it and it's super hooky. Again, he’s not afraid to drop things out and develop sections that build on little ideas and flesh them out. It’s a shame this is as short as it is before we get the spoken word section, which is making a point, but isn’t really part of the song per se. Mortal Man - The warm wash of tonality that sits behind the prominent bass here is great. It’s kind of muddy, but in a really pretty way. There’s some lovely slices of instrumentation here too from strings and horns in particular. Some of the Rhodes piano is really pretty too. His vocal is insistent and injects the drive to an otherwise laid back vibe. Another great one during the musical section. And then it gets a bit weird and self indulgent as Kendrick cuts up a Tupac interview to make it sound like he’s having a conversation with him. I get that there are some important and relevant subjects covered, but it’s just a bit weird. He’s been making his point with music up until now and doing this just seems unnecessary.

7/10 This was a nice little surprise. I’ve heard bits and pieces of The Cars before, and may have even spun this record once or twice in the past, but it was nice to get a refresher and listen to it as a while with fresh ears. As an overall feel, there is a lot to like about this. There’s a power pop feel to quite a few tracks, they’re hooky, infectious and have a decent amount of drive to them. The first three tracks in particular just jump out of the speakers and grab your attention, I haven’t got Just What I Needed out of my head all day. On first listen, I did feel that things started dropping off in the second half, but on relistening, I think there’s more quality there than I first heard and it’s only really the last couple of tracks where things start to lose their way. For an album that is quite poppy in tone, there are actually some really interesting choices in terms of structure and composition. Just What I Needed really builds nicely, and the instrumental structure ebbs and flows through the track so that it’s not just a static pop song construction. In fact, they often get quite a lot done in each of their tracks, despite the fact that most of them are only 3-4 minutes long. The production is by and large great, with everything having its place, and great restraint shown with the synth parts to not allow them to dominate the mix, which may have been tempting for an album in 1978. They’re also better instrumentalists than might initially be apparent from the pop sheen of the production. Listen out for some nice fluid guitar solos and some lovely rhythmic blends between the instruments, and you get drawn a little deeper into the music. That said, the last couple of songs do start to get a little dragged down, both pace and production wise. Things get a little muddy and plodding, which unfortunately slows the momentum of the album down as it winds to a close. Regardless of that, I had a great time with this album and will probably take the time to check out some more of their stuff. Good Times Roll - It’s an interesting start with a lack of commitment to where the beat is, which always makes for a cool intro. It’s got a nice pulse and some solid synth lines that augment rather than dominate the sound. The variety of rhythms across the parts is decent too. The ‘Good Time Roll’ vocal harmonisation reminds me a lot of Good Day Sunshine by The Beatles. Nice opener. My Best Friend's Girl - It’s a cool stripped back opening that’s begging for audience participation at a live show. The way the music kicks in is really satisfying with the diving synth and drum fill. There’s a nice strut to the groove, and some really nice riffs and licks. It’s also super hooky, particularly with the vocal harmonies. Another quality track. Just What I Needed - This is a classic. It starts off with quality intro and then the tension build up in the verse as it progresses is great. Then it lulls you in with a break to a synth line instead of a chorus, before building back up again. The chorus is SO good. Hooky pop rock perfection. The ebb and flow of the intensity and instrumentation in the verses is great for maintaining interest, and the lead synth part is superb, despite its simplicity. This one has been hanging around in my head all day and I’m here for it. I'm In Touch With Your World - This is slightly mad in a really fun way. It has echoes of Oingo Boingo about it with the edge of creepiness, and it’s a great way to follow on from such a great pop song. There are some lovely little bits of sound design in there and it keeps threatening to get more coherent and then pulls the rug. Don't Cha Stop - There’s a solid, driving groove to this, but they’re not afraid to break out of it and go a bit off piste with bits like the drum roll driven section. It’s another hooky song but also has some interesting songwriting choices and some cool guitar work too. It feels like they are gathering a lot of influences and creating a really satisfying blend of sounds and again, the depth and subtlety of the electronic instrumentation is great. You're All I've Got Tonight - And now for something more heavy that almost goes stadium rock in places. The synth work is cheesy but excellent, and there’s a good, driving energy to this that I really like. They switch things up rhythmically now and again too, which keeps things fresh. The musicianship is also great. Bye Bye Love - We’re continuing the stadium rock theme now. This perhaps has a bit less of varied interest in terms of the depth of instrumentation and compositional chops, but it’s still a decent effort, and some of the synth work is cheesy gold, especially the filtered synth arp leads. Moving In Stereo - Pace wise, a much more pedestrian song. There are elements of it that are great and it has a very 80s sound despite being a record from 1978, but it doesn’t offer as much quality and impetus as the rest of the album, and as it’s the longest song on the album it does drag a bit too. All Mixed Up - Again, the pace of this stays low and it becomes a bit cluttered and overwhelming in terms of the sound. There are some really decent elements in there, but it all gets a bit lost in a cacophony of sound that doesn’t help the song along to my ear. It’s a shame the tone of the album dropped towards the end of the album, but I suppose a band like this gets nowhere without trying things in the first place.

3/10 This album is the equivalent of that photo of builders eating their lunch on the steel beams of the RCA building while it’s under construction, or the painting of dogs playing poker. The fact that so many people have a copy in their house doesn’t actually mean that they’re peaks of their respective art forms. While the title track is an absolute all time classic, for me this just massively tailed off from that point on. Sure, there are moments here and there, but by and large it feels to me like music that’s been written by committee, rather than someone with an artistic need to create. There are some nice riffs, the occasional groove and even the odd bit of grit, but for the most part, it felt pretty soulless. Very competent, yes, but on the whole just incredibly bland. The production is decent; everything has its place, and there is clarity to the sound, but again, it all just felt a bit too slick and lifeless. It’s like the band gathered up all their influences, pieced them all together using the Penguin Guide to Songwriting, and then pulled out a belt sander to makes sure there were no edges anyone could possibly snag themselves on. And that more or less covers the inoffensive parts. At its worst, this album is saccharine, uninspired and beige. In fact, it’s kind of remarkable that it didn’t really manage to evoke any emotional response in me at all. It was just pretty flat, boring and obvious. I wonder how many people bought this album on the strength of the title track alone? In all honesty, this feels like music for people who don’t really like music, but prefer to avoid silence and being left alone with their own thoughts at all costs. But fair play to the Eagles; this is the American Dream writ large. Make something competent enough for people to embrace, inoffensive enough to not turn them away, and with with one aspect that captures the zeitgeist. Add in a dose of incredible luck with the timing and exposure you get, and cling onto that for as long as you can and wring every cent out of it that you can. It gets a point extra for the title track, but it’s luck to get that. Hotel California - A song that’s almost impossible to listen to without the baggage of it being almost permanently included on every radio station or shopping centre playlist for the last 50 years. It’s got a great groove to it, it’s super hooky and their playing is super tight. Quality soloing too. The use of little licks to break up the vocal parts is nice, and there’s a good blend of dynamics. A classic, no doubt, but a classic for a reason. New Kid In Town - This is pretty pedestrian and flat. I mean, it’s perfectly nice, but it’s pretty boring. It just doesn’t do anything particularly interesting or invigorating. It takes a handful of soft country, a handful of soft rock, stirs them up and buffs them to a slick sheen of inoffensive edgeless music soup. Meh. Life In The Fast Lane - A solid riff to kick us off. It’s got some grit and drive to it, which is good, but it doesn’t quite grab me for some reason. I think they just don’t have the authentic attitude or edge to be fully convincing. There are bits of it that I like, but it’s just too clinical for me. It’s like a group of middle-aged dentists cosplaying as Deep Purple. The component parts are pretty good, but it just feels a bit soulless. Wasted Time - This is saccharine. Cheese central. Nothing wrong with a ballad and there are elements of this that remind me of Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters, which is a great Elton John track, but has so much more soul than this. The other thing it reminds me of is Community Property by Steel Panther, which is a complete piss take of this type of song. This is really, really bad. No real hook, massively overproduced and less edge than a snooker ball. His vocal delivery of ‘baby’ also made my toes curl. Wasted Time (Reprise) - That song was so bad they couldn’t leave it alone and had to drag it on to the second side of the record. Victim Of Love - Much better. A solid riff with great feel leads into a pretty heavy, crunching riff. The vocal seems more convincing here too, and as a whole, this verse has got a good bit of swagger and grit to it. But it all just falls apart when we come to the chorus. It seems to foreshadow some of the more offensively power ballad tracks of Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams. It’s just too much cheese in the wrong kind of way for me. Cheese that is trying way too hard to be sincere. Pretty Maids All In A Row - This just plods along like a soft rock lullaby. It just feels like it’s got literally nothing to say and, oddly the production makes the bass have such prominence that the softness of it isn’t even particularly well indulged. The strings are awful, just doing the most by the book thing you could possibly imagine and sounding super thin. If you’d have thrown in some sleigh bells, this could have been one of those sad ‘I’m alone at Christmas’ songs. At least then it would have felt like it had a purpose, even though it would have still been a shit purpose. Try And Love Again - More saccharine soft rock and it’s pretty low energy too. There are some nice moments of musicianship here and there, but they don’t really serve to elevate this. It all just feels like a wash of beige sound. Even the drum fills feel like they’re being read from a book of drumming basics. It just doesn’t really evoke any feeling from me whatsoever. The Last Resort - Cut my life into pieces. Just make sure none of those pieces contain this song. Plodding, flat, boring, uninspiring. It’s soft pop rock by numbers and again, it just feels like they’ve got nothing to tell me at all, but they’re going to keep trying to tell me that nothing for way too long and way too repetitively.

7/10 I don’t really know where I fall down on this. As with most live albums, there is the element of disconnect here that is a natural part of sitting down at home listening to music that is being performed in a completely different environment, with the connection between musicians and audience absent. You can still feel the enthusiasm and vibe of what’s going on here, but it’s never going to be as engaging as the real thing. Putting that to one side, there are some moments of spellbinding quality here. When the band is in full flow, the command of their instruments and the tightness of the performances are excellent. The vibe of the performances and the quality of the tone, both instrumentally and vocally was also spot on. My preference among these songs is when they have a thematic centre, typically focused on a vocally led section, that they can drift away from and return to here and there as they indulge their more jam-oriented sections. When they lose that thread a little more, things get a bit too self indulgent and that more noodly end of the spectrum tends to lose me a bit. That’s not to say there aren’t moments in there that I really like, it’s just that everything feels a bit more dragged out and tenuous during those extended solo and jam sections. And that’s where the real flaw to this album comes for my tastes. Three of these songs together total over 55 minutes of the album. It’s just a bit too much for me. I still actually enjoyed some of those tracks as more background music, but with a more focused ear, my attention started to wane, especially in the sections where they stripped things back, or latched onto a single theme for too long. And herein lies the conundrum. Some of those self-indulgent moments just wandered off too far for my personal taste, and it was a little on the long side, but it also feels too good to be a three star album. So it’ll just sneak its way into 4 star territory. Statesboro Blues - A good, weighty blues start to the album. It’s a fairly standard bluesy number, having been written by Blind Willie McTell in the 20s, but it’s well executed, the vocal delivery is excellent and the musicianship is fantastic. Great energy too. Done Somebody Wrong - This has got decent swagger and pace to it. It’s another cover, this time of an Elmore James song, but it’s a good one. The sound is satisfyingly raw, the harmonica and guitar work are really evocative. The vocal work is sparse, but it carries that same swagger as the rest of the instrumentation so works really well. They’re very tight and controlled as a band too. Stormy Monday - There’s a nice drop in pace here. They’re certainly dragging a lot out of the original, which was only three minutes long, but there’s some really solid work as they pass the soloing work around the band. I find organ work in blues like this really satisfying, and the organ solo is great. I can just imagine the guitar face that went along with some of these solos. It’s another good one. You Don't Love Me - We’re moving into something a bit more rhythm and blues territory here. The pace is great and there are some really satisfying hooks and licks. Again, the vocal, while being relatively sparing, does exactly the right job. It’s got an edge of grit and swagger to it, but it shifts the focus along a little bit and then gets out of the way for the rest of the band to indulge. When we get to about the seven minute mark, things do descend into a bit of self indulgence. There’s some nice guitar work and then eventually the band starts to get involved again. But it does drag on. I can imagine that this might work well enough live when there’s a band and crowd connection going on, but listening at home it all just feels a bit unnecessarily self indulgent. They do eventually break back into a tune about 14 minutes in, before drifting away again. This kind of thing just loses me a bit, unfortunately. Hot 'Lanta - This is more of a jam type of song straight off the bat, but it doesn’t drift too far from its centre, unlike the more wayward sections from the last track. It doesn’t have the vocal sections to give it that central hook to deviate and return from, which is perhaps why it doesn't connect with me in the same way as some of the others. The synchronicity of the band is top quality though, and there’s a lot to enjoy about this when you get lost in the flow. There’s even a decent drum solo in there. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed - This one just kind of riffs around the same theme for thirteen minutes. I mean, they’re very good at what they do and there are some really nice moments. The musicianship is excellent, they’re super tight and flowing together, but it all just goes on for too long. Again, I think this is an audience connection thing. In the live environment this is recorded in, I think this comes across better. Not to say I’m not enjoying the groove and playing, but it’s a bit much for me, particularly for a track that doesn’t have a vast amount of variation or a vocal hook to return to now and again. Whipping Post - I know this from Frank Zappa’s version from the ‘Does Humor Belong In Music?’ concert film, which is excellent. Likewise, the core to this is great, but boy oh boy do they go off piste. Unlike the last track, there is at least the central vocal section that they return to now and then, which is a fantastic vocal hook The riff that follows it is top notch too. But as a home listener, I’m not convinced that I need this song to be 23 minutes long. Again; great musicianship, a quality song, some brilliant moments, but it’s all a bit too much for me.

8/10 The first thing that hit me about this album was how much it reminded me of Kate Bush. She has a similar tone to her voice, and makes some similar melodic decisions now and then during her songwriting. There’s also a depth to the production and a nuance to the vocal delivery that is reminiscent of Kate’s work. Good job I’m a big Kate Bush fan! This album has tremendous range to it, while at its core being the product of one woman and a piano. The instrumentation that is used to build around that core is fantastic, but never overwhelms what Tori is trying to bring across with each song. Her vocal delivery is exquisitely nuanced, ranging from delicate to fierce, and even throwing in some twists of humour here and there. She doesn’t often let her compositions settle into anything too basic, and even when the core structure presents something more simple, the orchestration creates a real dynamic shift across the tracks that keeps things moving in an interesting way. I love the very sparing use of heavy distorted guitars to add grit and texture to various sections, but she never allows them to become permanent fixtures of the sound. Likewise, there’s some full orchestral sections on a couple of tracks, but the sparing use of those elements really allows them to have a fresh impact when they are used. The dynamic depth of this record is so, so good. It goes from whispering, stripped back quiet to full-bodied, almost hammered piano lines with a cacophony of sound behind them. A lot of music, particularly in the modern era, really does a lot to strip out dynamic range, but this kind of depth really brings life and emotion to music in a really evocative way. There were a couple of places where I felt things either got a tiny bit haphazard, or perhaps lulled a tiny bit, and the echoes of Kate Bush did make me inclined to head of in that direction after this finished, but it was certainly an intriguing work and I suspect I’ll be giving this another few spins in the not too distant future, and probably checking out a few more of her albums. This has the feel of a grower to me, so we’ll see where I sit on it in a few month’s time. Crucify - This is a nice start. She’s got a very Kate Bush-esque vocal tone and delivery style. The piano roams about in a really nice way, and has some quality dynamic control to it. There are some really nice vocal blends across various sections too. It’s maybe a bit too heavy on the reverb, particularly on the drums, but theres a lightness to some of the piano and guitar parts that offsets that a little to my ear. Girl - There’s a nice distribution of different instrumental parts through this that make it feel like it’s in constant motion. It builds into a cluttered cacophony at one point, but it all feels purposeful and then falls away into a more sparse arrangement. It feels a bit more structurally confused in places, but it’s a decent and interesting song nonetheless. Silent All These Years - This treads a really fine line between being really beautiful and absolutely heartbreaking, both profound and flippant. It’s very stripped back for the most part, but the delicate ebb and flow of the instrumentation really adds depth. I love the way the track modulates between the different sections, and the recording of the vocal feels very intimate. What a great track. Precious Things - It’s an interesting, if slightly off-putting start with the breathy rhythm, but when it settles into the rest of the track, it works really well. There’s some really deep and unnerving sound design here, and the reluctance to ever let this pin itself into a standard structure of rhythmic flow is really, really nice. It soars, dives, broods and pulses. Winter - She’s got great control of her voice, and the little touches of vibrato during this intro are great. It builds a falls really beautifully and the arrangements and dynamic range are so good. It’s more of a straightforward structure than some of the other tracks, but the arrangement, particularly of the orchestra as it builds to its dramatic peak is just exceptional. It’s a fine example of dragging absolutely every ounce of range out of a fairly straightforward underlying composition. Happy Phantom - This is much more of a quirky little number. Again, there are huge echoes of Kate Bush here, but I’m here for it. It’s obviously a bit more piano focused, but she’s not afraid to be a little bit weird with her production and composition approach. It’s almost got an edge of jazz to her approach in places, and this is a really nice little diversion after the more dramatic Winter. China - She’s found her reverb control again. It’s very pretty but feels a bit more safe than the better tracks on the album. She does inject a little bit of extra depth in a couple of places, but I find this to be nice, rather than special. Leather - Another one with a bit of a jazz edge to it. It fells wonderfully exposed, and she uses a little bit of distorted guitar to add some really interesting texture, as she has done previously. Again, the dynamic range of this record is superb, and she does it again here. The vocal delivery is great, and she adds some great little moments like the ‘fat cigar’ line. Mother - This one roams about the same central premise for most of its length. It still has that great dynamic range to it, her vocal is excellent again, and it’s another emotional and evocative performance. It's perhaps a little unfocused to my ear, as it gets a little lost in its own musings. That being said, it generally finds its way back eventually, so it’s not exactly bad, just didn’t connect with me quite as well as others. Tear In Your Hand - This has got a bit more drive and groove to it. It feels like more of a straightforward pop-rocker, but it’s got undeniable quality and feel to it. It’s hooky enough to engage the ear and while it lacks a little of the dynamic nuance of other tracks, it’s still really engaging. Me And A Gun - The intimate, close-mic’d nature of this is so effective. It’s a truly harrowing song about a real, lived experience and the production choices are so exposing and serve the song and its subject matter so well. The decision to leave the lyrics completely exposed in acapella also feels very important. Little Earthquakes - There’s a lovely depth to this. It’s back to being a bit heavy on the reverb, but the doubled vocal lines are great. The way it changes tone as it modulates up and down her vocal range is really nice. The thrusting rhythm that sits at the heart of this is great too. It’s another where the dynamic range and increasing intensity of the instrumentation works so well to deliver feeling into the song. It’s a journey of a song, moving through a range of tonally distinct sections. A really great way to wrap up the album.

6/10 Queen’s third album. Can they disabuse me of the notion that they are a singles band, rather than an album band? Lets see. From the opening track, this kind of feels like there are some fantastic raw ingredients in the mix, but that they haven’t quite harnessed them into a completely satisfying and coherent whole just yet. The fact that we then jump into the album’s one true classic kind of reaffirms that opinion. When they find their stride and swagger, they can really pack a punch, but those moments are a little too thin on the ground on this album. I feel like Queen are kind of finding their feet here, and there are little touches of compositional and production techniques that would define their sound in the years to come, but are not necessarily the most refined at this point. As we progress through the rest of the album, it feels stylistically, a bit all over the place. A pop song here, a heavier rocker there and a dip into prog up next. There’s nothing wrong with experimentation and variety of course, but it does make for a slightly disjointed listen. There are some sections that flow nicely though. Tenement Funster through to Lily Of The Valley flow really nicely together and hint that there is potential for the band to develop their sound and production techniques into a more rewarding album band. Perhaps that comes with albums that follow this one? Freddie’s voice is absolute magic as always, and even when they’re drifting off piste a little, they undeniably sound like Queen. There are some moments of exquisite quality, moments of almost ridiculous lunacy, but also a few too many moments of wayward idea throwing and the occasional dip into drudgery. When they get it right, they get it oh so right, but they’re a band that seems happy to experiment, have some fun and then, when the stars align, produce some of the greatest songs ever written. Unfortunately, there was a little too much of the former and not enough of the latter to really keep me connected to this one. It was good, it just wasn’t great. Brighton Rock - This is a decent opener. It’s got some solid, heavy moments and some great riffs. It perhaps loses its way a little bit when it gets a bit too noodly, Freddie’s part is fairly limited here, but that riff at the end is quality. Killer Queen - An absolute classic. From an album point of view, it’s quite the change in tone. But besides that, this is chock full of hooks, that very specific Freddie Mercury swagger in the vocal delivery and that unique Brian May guitar work. The well positioned backing vocals and harmonisations are fantastic, and there’s a lot going on here production wise too. It’s got that edge of weirdness despite being , at its core, a brilliant pop song. Tenement Funster - This is great. It’s got more quality riffs and the vocal has a great bit of edge and bite to it from Roger Taylor. The delivery of ‘gimme a good guitar’ is perfect. There’s some proggy edge to this one too and some interesting use of effects. It’s also got a really solid, driving groove to it. Flick Of The Wrist - And we transition beautifully out of the last one into a Freddie led work. It’s definitely got its quirky moments and it transitions between almost 70s metal, via prog to some quite poppy moments in places. It’s wacky, interesting and sounds great. There’s just so much going on! Lily Of The Valley - Another seamless transition into more of a ballad. Freddie’s vocal is great (quelle surprise). It builds and falls, has solid harmonies and still allows Brian May to do his little bit of characteristic guitar work too. Nice. Now I'm Here - A nice build into this, with some cool little panning and delay effects. And then we kick into a nice driven groove of a track. Some elements of this are great. There are some great riffs, particularly in the non vocal sections, and some solid drumming, but it doesn’t really grab hold of me the whole way through. In The Lap Of The Gods - You can hear elements of Bohemian Rhapsody in here, with the dynamic changes, piano led parts, vocal harmonisations and more. It’s obviously a lot more raw and not as fully developed, but you can hear this kind of work developing into something more later down the line. It’s decent enough, and there are some really nice sections, but there are bits that get a bit repetitive, and others where it drifts a little too much. Stone Cold Crazy - Ah, what a solid riff. This is pretty much an early metal song with Freddie Mercury on vocals and it’s great. Those little touches they thrown in to their compositions (like the cut out to the ‘stone cold crazy’ vocal harmonies) are so much fun. It’s a simple but effective rocker of a track. Dear Friends - A lovely little Freddie interlude and I’m always happy to hear him sing. It’s very pretty, but gone in an instant. Misfire - This is a proper pop-rock number. It’s reasonably catchy and incredibly chirpy. It’s got good pace and a toe-tapping drive to it, but it ultimately feels a bit of a chuck away pop song rather than anything with more substance. Bring Back That Leroy Brown - Do you remember that time when Queen got together with George Formby and wrote a song that sounds incredibly reminiscent of ‘Knees up mother Brown’? Well luckily they recorded it and put it on this album for the sake of posterity. Despite that, it’s brilliantly wacky, very catchy and so well put together. It feels very, very silly, but it’s executed so well that it’s still super enjoyable. She Makes Me (Stormtrooper In Stilettoes) - This is quite ponderous and boring. It just doesn’t go anywhere or do anything, and it’s got Brian May on lead vocals, so it doesn’t even have that sparkle of Freddie magic to free it from the drudgery. Big old bucket of meh. In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited - And we return to the themes of In The Lap Of The Gods from earlier. More foreshadowing of Bohemian Rhapsody, but this is a bit more coherent than the earlier take on the track. It’s very, very good actually. It soars and dives, it’s got great riffs, some quality gang vocals and closes that album out really well.

4/10 An indie-rock focused album that won a Mercury Music Prize in the 2000s and barely got a sniff of success outside of the UK? Let’s see if it lives up to that shining overview, all we? In actual fact, I think there is a little bit of something to this. Unlike previous Mercury winners Franz Ferdinand, with whom critics compared them, I feel like there’s actually a bit more of a consistent vibe to this, a few more hooks and it generally engages my ear a little more. I found myself tapping my feet along with some of the rhythms and it did manage to drag me into its world now and then. Unfortunately, despite having some decent moments, things do kind of get swamped here and there by underdeveloped structures and repetitive songwriting. They do drift in and out of a generic indie-rock sound across the record, but at least there’s some attempt at developing a bit more interest and nuance to the sound, even if they don’t always pull it off. There were times when they built some decent sonic interest or grooves, but were let down by the lack of development of those ideas. Perhaps that’s a little churlish when most of the songs are under three and a half minutes, but I could have done with a bit more adventure to expand on the central ideas of the songs. In terms of overall sound, I don’t really get the ‘new rave’ label. Yeah, it’s got some synths on it, but it leans far more towards higher-tempo indie rock with a couple of synth lines than dance music to my ears. I suppose it’s a label meant to say ‘this will go down well at 1am in an indie club’, but it hardly screams ‘rave’ to me. The biggest problem I had with this is that the elements of it that I liked had been done in better and more inventive ways by other bands. Chuck me a Gorillaz, Electric Six, Everything Everything or M83 album and I could pick out elements of those that were my highlights on this album, but form part of a more stylistically and musically satisfying whole than Klaxons manage to offer. All in all, not awful, but not particularly great or memorable either. Two Receivers - It’s a decent enough start. Some nice driving drums and atmospheric synth work. It feels like it’s building to something. When the next section comes, it still feels like it’s building to something. I mean, it’s ok, but it seems to constantly hint at a destination that it never arrives at, and it’s a bit too repetitive while doing it. Atlantis To Interzone - Good lord, that ‘DJ’ casio keyboard sample is a terrible way to start things. It gets a bit better though. There’s nice pace and drive to it, and then it breaks into something akin to Electric Six. This isn’t bad really. The pacy verse vocals are a bit too on-the-nose 2000s indie for my liking, but the rest of it is pretty good. The way it’s put together doesn’t quite click 100%, but it’s a decent effort. Golden Skans - Ah, a single. Another that’s decent enough. The vocal lines in the pre-chorus and chorus feel a bit overwritten and could do with a bit more space. It also drags on a little too much through some of the sections, making it a bit too repetitive. Quite an achievement for a song that clocks in under three minutes. Add some variation lads! Totem On The Timeline - Generic 2000s indie rock beat - check. Generic 2000s indie rock riff - check. Generic 2000s indie rock vocal line - that’s a full house! It’s pretty derivative, but it’s got decent energy to it. It’s not bad, it’s just another one off the production line. As Above, So Below - The pace drops for this one. It’s a bit more plodding and the production is overly saturated, but in a way that isn’t particularly pleasant and doesn’t really fit the tone of the song. It’s a fairly by the numbers indie rock song, but it’s made worse by that odd production decision. Isle Of Her - It feels like there are some decent ideas in here, but the organisation of them just doesn’t expose them in a completely satisfying way. It’s almost got the tone of a Gorillaz song, but there’s not enough of a hook anywhere and it feels a bit disorganised and gets stuck on its ideas, rather than expanding on them. Gravity's Rainbow - There’s more pace to this and a decent shuffling little rhythm to it. Some of the guitar work is actually pretty good too, and I quite like the bass line and tone. There’s some nice range between the verse and chorus. It’s not necessarily the most inventive or innovative song, but for a two and a half minute pop-rocker, it’s pretty good. Forgotten Works - This has got a bit of underlying pace and drive to it from the bass and drums, but the rest of it is pretty monotonous and repetitively uninspired. I feel like this song was just washed over me and didn’t really offer much in the way of inspiration or intrigue. Magick - This is quite frantic from the instrumentation, but the vocals don’t match the intensity of it and the stilted vocal lines during the verses go on for too long and become quite irritating. I think there are some moments in here, but again it feels like a mish-mash of ideas and intensities that doesn’t quite achieve its goal or really feel completely coherent. It's Not Over Yet - This is a cover, and it’s not bad. Proper indie club night fare. There’s a good dynamic and pace shift between verse and chorus and it’s got some good hooks. I’m not ever going to be choosing to listen to this personally, but I can see why it was successful. Four Horsemen Of 2012 - This has got a bit more to it. The drive and grit of the instrumentation and the vocal actually match pretty well. It’s noisy and brash and has a bit of something about it. It doesn’t feel like anything particularly new, but it’s got a bit of weight and interest to it. It’s another that could get repetitive after a while, but it's only just over two minutes long so doesn’t get the chance.

5/10 I never really gelled with the White Stripes when they were around, but I did eventually connect with Jack White and some of his solo work that followed. Maybe I’m in a better place to get stuck in to them as a band with that increased familiarity in my pocket. The album kicks off with some solid, heavy guitar work that inspires confidence, but I find that the production is all a bit strange. The drums are very splashy, not just from a playing point of view, although I could do with fewer ‘cymbal crash at the start of every bar’ passages across the album in general, but also from a production point of view, where the cymbals are very bright and brash. Weirdly, aside from the bright cymbals, a lot of the drums sound like they were recorded in the corner of a slightly boxy room on a single microphone, which is a slightly odd choice when some of the other parts are so clearly recorded. It just sounds a bit messy and sloppy to me. That represents a lot of my feeling about this album, in fact. Stylistically, it feels quite muddled, with tracks veering wildly across styles, but without even a consistent production style to pin them together. I’m all for variety and range, but a lack of internal consistency makes it all feel a bit patchwork. Quite a few of the tracks feel like early demos, where there are solid moments and then bits that sound like they’ve not quite been worked out properly yet, and there are even some quite odd choices to keep takes together that drop a beat here and there. I feel like the bones of a really good album are actually evident here, and there are a few tracks where things get together really nicely, My Doorbell and The Denial Twist, for example, but often those moments of coherence fell away as the next track rolled in. I feel like some of the choices on this album fall back on the ‘look at me, I’m a kooky man’ persona that Jack White likes to promote, which if you buy into that probably work, but just feel a bit calculated to me. If you’re really kooky, it’ll show in your music without you having to try this hard. Apparently, the album was recorded inside two weeks at Jack White’s home studio. The cover photo was produced in a five day photo shoot in that same location. Maybe spend more time on the music and less on the aesthetic, eh? When Jack White gets out of his own way, he’s great, and the music world needs people like him. I’m still looking forward to listening to more of his work, both solo and as the White Stripes, but this album was just a bit of a swing and a miss for me. Blue Orchid - It’s a solid, meaty riff and that guitar tone is great, but the drums are a bit splashy for my taste. It’s a slightly odd mix in that it feels like the guitar takes up a large amount of the audio spectrum but the rest of the parts are quite thin, so it feels a bit sonically gappy. It’s a decent enough song though, and it’s got some good hooks. Short but sweet. The Nurse - This is a bit odd. It’s plodding and not that melodically interesting. The little bursts of guitar and drums are weird and jar massively against the song. It just feels a lot like a song that’s trying to scream “look at me, I’m kooky!” There’s probably a song in there somewhere, but it’s been very oddly orchestrated and produced. My Doorbell - And we’re back on the right track. It’s got a great shuffling groove and some solid hooks. The vocal seems to lose prominence in places, like he’s not bothering to control his mic position at all. But it’s a really good, toe-tapper of a song. Lyrically it’s very repetitive, but in this case it kind of works for the hooky nature of the composition. Forever For Her (Is Over For Me) - We’re back to something a bit more plodding and (in places) splashy. It builds quite nicely, but compositionally it’s quite limited. I quite like some of the sections, but as a whole it’s just a bit too jumbled and messy for me. Little Ghost - This is a bit more stylistically and structurally focused. It’s pretty country, and sounds almost like it’s designed to sound like it’s recorded at some kind of hoedown. It doesn’t really offer much development or variation, but it’s over in just over 2 minutes, so I guess that works. The Denial Twist - They’ve found that groove again. This is solid, with some great hooks from the piano in particular. There are some good developments of the themes, and it’s got great energy and vibe to it. When they hit their stride like this, they’re great. There’s so much swagger and attitude to it. Great track. White Moon - And we’ve slowed down again. The calmness of things is often punctuated with big thumps and, again, too many cymbal splashes. The stilted, staccato nature of the drums and the more intense sections just jar for me. It just all feels a bit unbalanced an inconsistent, even within a single song, let alone across the album. Instinct Blues - This starts off really well and then in places it drops away like he hasn’t quite worked out how to transition from section to section. There are some good riffs in here and the sound and style is more consistent, but it just sounds like an early demo of a song idea, rather than a finished song. Sounds like the finished song would be really good, it's just a shame he didn’t get that far before he released it. Passive Manipulation - More of an interlude than a full song. It’s more plodding, staccato stuff, and then it’s done. Take, Take, Take - Jack White launches into this with great swagger. There are some really nice rhythmic breaks in this and it’s one that feels much more complete and consistent again to begin with. The break to the “take, take, take” bit is a bit odd and then it takes them a couple of bars to catch the rhythm again, which furthers the oddness. Again, this has started to feel a bit jumbled and demo-like, because the production is a bit muddled and there are even a few glaring timing issues in places. The bones are there, but it’s just not coherent enough. As Ugly As I Seem - Another stylistic switch-up and it tonally sounds like it’s from a completely different album. It’s a nice song and feels far more straightforward and by the book than pretty much anything else on here. It’s nothing spectacular, just a nice little acoustic number, but at least it’s internally consistent. Red Rain - Sometimes, I can find Jack White’s voice to be quite pinched and grating. This is one of those times. There are some decent riffs in here, but again it’s all a bit of a jumble. Moments of quality, surrounded by moments of Jack White showing off how kooky he is. And it never really develops any of the real quality into anything that particularly grabs me and holds on. I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet) - Moments of Jack White straining to hit notes that he can’t quite reach over some nice piano work. It’s a nice little slice of Memphis style blues. It’s ok, but not spectacular. Another one where the production and compositional style is far more coherent and consistent, so it’s perhaps more of a flowing track to close things.

6/10 This is my second dive into the work of Steely Dan, having been impressed but not blown away by Can’t Buy A Thrill. Let’s see what's changed two years and two albums down the line, shall we? As the album first washed over me, it felt very much like that. A wash. It was a pleasant, even moderately enjoyable listening experience, but one that had little to no temperature variation, just coasting along at a set, lukewarm temperature. But Steely Dan are, if nothing else, a tight and talented group of musicians, and sometimes a first listen doesn’t really expose the nuances and quality of a group like this. Unfortunately, the second and third run throughs just kind of plodded along in the same vein. The musicianship is excellent, the band is super tight and they can write some engaging enough music in moments, but it’s all incredibly one-note. There is little dynamic variation within each track, and even from track to track, and apart from the odd moment here and there, there was also very little in the way of rhythmic dynamism either. With their debut album, I felt there were a few more moments that stood out and grabbed hold of the ear, but here, more or less the whole album seemed to just start, exist, and then end with nothing particularly noteworthy happening in between. It was, as may be revealed by my track notes, a very ‘nice’ experience, but a largely forgettable one. Perhaps it’s the perfect kind of music to stick on at a dinner party where it gives you a stable bed of music with a bit of groove and a nice ambience, but nothing vastly more exciting than that. But I guess I enjoyed myself enough that it just creeps its way the high side of average. Rikki Don't Lose That Number - This is a pleasant little song. There’s some quality playing, particularly from the piano, which has some nice bits of flair but isn’t overplayed. The transitions between the different sections of the song are really nice and it’s got some solid harmonies and quality hooks. The guitar solo is great too. It’s all quite understated, but pretty effective. Night By Night - This has got a nice groove and feels super fluid. It’s lacking a bit in bottom end, which would have helped it to have a bit more weight to it. The horn parts are really nice, with the variety between staccato in the verses and the swells in the choruses. The playing is deep in the pocket and it all pulses and flows nicely. Any Major Dude Will Tell You - This is another nice but not really spectacular song. The playing continues to be excellent, and it’s such an easy and smooth listen, but it’s never going to grab you by the balls or change your life. The electric piano is a particular highlight for me and I it was a solid and enjoyable listen, but still fairly unspectacular. Barrytown - Another entirely pleasant experience. It sort of meanders around without ever landing on anything particularly memorable, but the journey is pretty nice. So farm the album has been pretty one-note. It’s a nice note, but it does start to wash over you a little after a while. East St. Louis Toodle-oo - And now we’re served up a Duke Ellington cover that’s a little bit different at least, but it sounds more like it was written to be the soundtrack to some kind of slapstick comedy silent movie. It’s a complete tonal departure from everything we’ve had up to this point, and it’s all just a little odd. Quite a funny way to end side A though, I suppose. Parker's Band - I think part of what has not helped my enjoyment of this album is that everything’s very dynamically flat. There aren’t any particularly raucous or subtle bits, it's all just... there. It starts, it flows along nicely, and then it ends, not ever really deviating from its path. This is another of the same ilk. It’s more niceness with nothing particularly special about it. Through With Buzz - Contrary to my comments on the last track, there are some slight moments of tempo and dynamic variation here that give things an interesting edge. They’re fleeting, but at least make for a change of pace. But it’s all over in a minute and a half. Pretzel Logic - There’s some nice swagger in here. It’s still fairly one-paced, but it’s got a decent groove. There’s the odd breakdown that moves things around a bit, and some of the vocal harmonisations are pretty good. It’s perhaps a little too laid back for my taste and could do with a bit more get up and go, but again, it’s solid if unspectacular. With A Gun - We get a bit more zip with this one. It has its moments, but it’s another that very much picks a lane and chugs along enjoying itself with no deviation at all. Sometimes, with an album like this, I start to struggle to find fresh ways to say that a song is pleasant but just a little bit boring. And here we are. Charlie Freak - This is a bit more instrumentally sparse, but it’s so dynamically one-note that the piano in particularly almost feels robotic in its delivery. If you told me it was a sampled piano playing a MIDI score at 100 velocity for every note, I’d 100% percent believe you. And now we've got some sleigh bells. Is this their Christmas single? It’s very, very rhythmically stilted and I think I’m getting ready for this album to end. Monkey In Your Soul - There’s a bit more grit and space here, which is nice. It’s more bluesy and it’s got a slightly quirky, cheeky edge to it. The groove is decent and it strides along nicely. I feel like this could have been used to break up some of the more samey tracks earlier in the album, but it’s nice to finish off with something a little bit different.

4/10 I was quite looking forward to this one. My initial expectations were based largely on the title track, which I’ve heard countless times over the years. It’s a pretty great blend of frantic, heavy and theatrical, all rolled into one high-camp and fairly ridiculous track. Sadly, after enjoying my journey back through the opener, the rest of the album went downhill fairly quickly. There were moments where it threatened to break back into what makes that track special, particularly through Paradise By The Dash Board Light, but for the most part, this albums was disappointingly boring. I mention during my track breakdown the similarities to Bruce Springsteen, and artist of whom I have little fondness and, while I typically prefer Meat Loaf’s voice to that of The Boss, that wasn’t enough for me to find this anything more than a fairly mundane stroll through some fairly uninspiring rock songs and even less inspiring ballads. And those ballads. Woof. I just do not buy the vocal delivery at all. It feels emotionally disconnected and insincere, which is something that really needs to connect for a ballad to have meaning for me. The musicianship was largely solid, the production likewise, but it all felt a bit by the numbers. There was nothing particularly edgy or exciting about the large majority of the album, and besides the two above mentioned tracks, the camp over-theatricality didn’t really extend to the rest of the album. It gets a few marks for those two tracks, but in all honestly, it didn’t do anything to make me want to bother revisiting it again in the future. Bat Out Of Hell - It's certainly an up tempo start to the album and then it works its way through some slower sections before we even get to the vocal. It takes metal, turns up the camp and theatre of it all to eleven in the most unapologetic way possible. There are so many changes and tweaks to what's going on that it often doesn't give you a moment to think before it shoots off again. It's kind of gloriously mad and frantic. There's some great musicianship and so much energy. It almost sounds like Meat Loaf is sprinting around the studio as he delivers his vocal in an over the top theatrical presentation. High camp, theatrical hard pop rock fun for all the family. You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night) - And just to emphasise the theatrical feel of things, we get a spoken word intro. This one is a bit less pacy and has an edge of Christmas song sound to it, which is partly the percussion, but the cadence of the melodies takes it that way too. It's sounds more halfway between a stage musical song and a Bruce Springsteen one, but without having to listen to Springsteen sing, which is a plus. It didn't really grab me as much as the opener, but it's not bad. Heaven Can Wait - This one isn't as interesting. it retains the theatrical presentation, but it's a little bit of a one trick pony and that trick isn't actually that good to my ear. It just feels a bit insincere and emotionally disconnected from the kind of ballad that it's trying to be. The piano playing is great, but it kind of feels like ticking a box that says 'must include a ballad'. All Revved Up With No Place To Go - Rhythmically, this is very stacatto and plodding. It does swing a little in places later. Again, I'm getting more Springsteen vibes from this. The sax is massively overdone without actually offering anything vastly interesting. It's not a bad composition, necessary, but it's all quite by the numbers without offering anything particularly engaging. It suddenly becomes way better for the last 30 seconds of the song, but it's too late by that point. Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad - Another ballad. Another plodding and quite boring song. It feels like they're trying to keep that theatrical tone to it, particularly with the strings and reverb heavy drums, but it just feels like it plods along without offering significant dynamic change or a particularly believable vocal delivery. He's obviously a great singer, but I don't buy what he's selling on his ballad performances. Meh. Paradise By The Dash Board Light - This is more promising. There's a great swing and drive to everything here and Mr Loaf is a far more enjoyable singer when he's got something with a bit more zip and grit to play with. It's obviously way more bluesy rock, but there are some nice tempo switch ups and variety to the composition than the last few tracks. The piano work is great fun. It's kind of weird that this song is presented as a single entity, because it's really not that. The cut to the second part is quite jarring and feels like transitional music from a musical rather than part of an actual song. There's some really nice bits and pieces in amongst this, but there are also some less enjoyable bits, it's a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the changes and transitions just take the steam out of this a bit too much, which is a bit of a shame, because there's a lot to like about quite a lot of this song. For Crying Out Loud - Again, I'm not really buying these ballads. He gets a bit too shouty in places and the composition is very overwrought. There's nothing particularly hooky or memorable about it, it's just a bit boring while trying to be impactful and dramatic. The dynamic shift into the second half is an improvement and works better for Meat's vocal talents. It still feels very over written though, and not in the 'god, this is fun' way of the title track.

10/10 I’d been an admirer of Aretha Franklin’s work for a long time before listening to this album, and there were a ew standout tracks on here that I was already familiar with, but this album as a whole was a fresh one to me. It kind of goes without saying that Aretha has one of the most controlled, nuanced and distinctive voices in the history of recorded music, and you will find reference to her vocal talents all over my track by track breakdown. But that would all be for nothing, if the songs and music didn’t at least come close to providing a worthy backdrop to her abilities. And thankfully, here they step up to the plate in an almost majestic way. The band stride confidently along the line of giving exactly the amount of space for Aretha to do her thing, while still allowing themselves to step into prominence when she provides them the space. They consistently deliver a locked in yet smooth and fluid groove with all of the dynamic range and control that's needed to bring a living, breathing pulse to the music. The song choices are fantastic, with a really considered range between slow jams and higher tempo grooves that tickle towards edges of funk. There's also a nice mix of covers, songs written for Aretha and self penned tracks, which all adds up to a superb blend of quality. And that all ends with the unexpectedly spectacular final song that just blew my socks off, written by Aretha’s little sister Carolyn. There were a few moments that were perhaps slightly weaker than others but, frankly, the highs did enough to balance out any slight dips. So it’s safe to say they nailed all of the ‘non Aretha’s voice’ parts too. But final word should go to that very thing. Aretha owns every song she sings. She has so much effortless quality and delivers the required emotion out of a melody every time. From soft, sultry moments to soaring, driven highs, via vocal trills and vibrato that just seem tossed away like they’re second nature, she’s an absolute joy to listen to time and time again. The Queen of Soul indeed. Chain Of Fools - Such a groove to kick off the album. The alternating and then unified backing vocals are quality and Aretha eases herself into things so smoothly before giving a little taste of her vocal gymnastics here and there. There’s so much feel to the band here and it’s super tight, full of movement and has so much soul. Money Won't Change You - Her vocal delivery is exquisite but feels so effortless. She can chuck in a lovely bit of grit when she wants to and she can flick her way up and down scales and runs with reckless abandon, never losing the thread of the groove or melody. There’s a really great pulse to this that gets handed off between the different parts, but they also all come together at points to really drive home the rhythm. Super solid again. People Get Ready - A nice change of pace now. This one has some absolutely fabulous moments, the piano and guitar in particular add some quality nuance in places, and there are some really lovely chord changes. It’s slightly more of a meandering track, but Aretha just keeps delivering to give it undeniable quality and heart. Niki Hoeky - This has got a great rolling rhythm and the little horn stabs and swells give it that little extra dose of feel. It really makes you move. The bass work is so deep in the pocket you can barely reach it and it just strolls around brilliantly giving a pulsing tonal heartbeat. Some of the high notes she hits are stunning and there are more little runs and trills that just blow you away but are never overdone. Love the little breaks for the guitar too. Quality. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman - Carole King’s songwriting just gets deep into my bones. This is just a spectacular song. The harmonies in the chorus are stunning, the slow lilt to the rhythm in the verses oozes groove, and the subtle brass parts just add a gorgeous warmth to the song. And then you get Aretha just delivering a vocal masterclass of vocal and emotional control in her performance. It’s got bags of dynamic range, it ebbs and flows and it’s got an absolutely killer hook. Since You've Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby) - Back to another solid groove. Aretha is smashing it again. It’s super tight and well put together, and the horn parts are great, in particular. It’s perhaps a bit less hooky and focused than some of the other tracks, and relies a little too much on repetition of the ascending scale motif, but it’s still a solid, tail shaker of a track. Good To Me As I Am To You - What a great, jazzy intro. The piano and guitar playing against one another is top notch. It’s a slow groove and Aretha just delivers again and again. She really knows how to push and pull her vocal intensity. A lot of the players get their little moments in here too, and it’s a great all-rounder that really delivers a great range of dynamic and passion. Come Back Baby - The bass line here is brilliant. It just strolls all over the place and gives everything another solid pulse. The call and response of Aretha and the backing vocals is great too and this is just a a super solid uptempo bounce of a track. It’s kind of hard not to be uplifted by a song like this. It’s not the most deep and meaningful of songs, but it’s and absolute beast of a good-time jam. Groovin' - Damn right they’re groovin’. This is smooth. It’s got that laid back soul feel to it that has enough zip to give it drive, but is relaxed enough that you can just chill while you bob your head. The little offbeat climbs from the band and backing vocalists during the verses are just slow soul perfection. Aretha gives a more restrained performance, for the most part, and here trills and vibrato at that low intensity just go to further prove her vocal control credentials. What a great track. Ain't No Way - Good god, this is excellent. It’s another slow jam, written by Aretha’s sister Carolyn, who is credited with backing vocals. If that’s her doing the high vibrato into a descending run, vocal talent must run in the family, because that is spectacular. This track is just a groove that does exactly what it needs to, which is provide a superbly written backbone to let Aretha just do her thing over the top. It’s chill inducing stuff and, again, she knows how to push and pull that dynamic. She’s got exceptional range, not only pitch wise, but the intensity and firmness of her delivery is so flexible, and she knows how to drag every bit of feeling out of a song. What a way to end the album.

3/10 I came into this expecting to not really jive with it, but to at appreciate the pop quality of it. Good pop songs, well produced with competent vocal performances. I knew some of the singles beforehand so had hopes, as Rock Your Body is a really solid pop song with a decent groove to it. And in reality, for the first 6 tracks, that was what I got. A Mickey Mouse Club graduate trying his best to be a slightly more ‘street’ Michael Jackson with some decent songwriting and production behind him. Yes, I wasn’t a massive fan of most of those tracks, but there were a few decent moments and I could appreciate what they were going for. I never really bought his delivery and, to my ear, Justin Timberlake does a fantastic job at being the 21 year old that 12 year olds think is the coolest 21 year old, but that other 21 year olds think is icky and are careful not to leave their drinks unattended when he's present at a party. For a few songs, the songwriting and production (and occasional flashes of performance quality) does a good enough job to keep it ticking along. Señorita isn’t bad. Cry Me a River is, retrospectively, awful, but it’s a really solid pop song. Rock Your Body is great. But after that point, the insipid qualities that are present in the first few songs start to swell and envelop everything. There are still the odd moments here and there, when Pharrell Williams remebers the brief, but frankly, as the songs dragged on, I felt a bit like Artax from The Neverending Story, unable to bring myself out of the swamp of sadness, or in this case, beigeness. It gets a couple of extra points for the first half, and if they’d have made this a 35 minute album, it wouldn’t have been nearly as bad, but I expect more than this from a group of artists and producers that were (apparently) aiming for Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire and Angie Stone. Sheesh. Señorita - Well it’s a pretty cringeworthy intro, but it’s a well written and produced late-era Michael Jackson style pop song. By late-era, I mean lacking the charm and quality of hook inherent in MJ’s earlier work, but it’s still got a good groove. Justin is a very good pop singer, but he’s nowhere near the standard of MJ and he just sounds like another cookie-cutter pop star who wants to be like MJ, but doesn’t have anything particularly unique or special to offer. And the call and response and spoken word parts are just toe curling. Like I Love You - I just don’t buy his delivery. It’s like someone trying to be cool, rather than actually being cool. But putting that aside, this has a pretty decent groove to it. There’s depth and sheen to the production, but it all feels very calculated rather than organic. There’s nothing particularly memorable about any of the hooks here. I mean it’s not bad, it’s a very well produced pop song (with some very, very MJ moments) but it feels completely disposable. (Oh No) What You Got - There’s a nice shuffling groove here, and there’s a lot there that contributes to the rhythmic flow of the track. But there’s no real hook that grabs me here either. It’s like a beige wash of pop that has enough of a funky groove to it to grab people who aren’t paying a vast amount of attention. But I’ve pretty much forgotten everything about it by the time the next song starts. Take It From Here - This is a well produced track with some particularly lightweight and insipid vocal delivery. I’m not one to put too much focus on lyrics really, but these stuck out to me as being particularly awful. It’s very, very repetitive and even the odd bit of production trickery to add variation can’t save it. I think underneath it all, the bones of something with potential is in there, but they haven’t managed to eke anything of significant quality with this effort. Another completely forgettable little pop song. Cry Me A River - This is one of the big hitters. In hindsight, it’s also one that shows Justin up to be a colossal prick, basically publicly shitting on Britney Spears despite seemingly being the big problem in their relationship. Not the last time he slid through, squeaky clean, while throwing a woman under the bus. Remember Janet Jackson? Yeah. Anyway. It’s a very well written pop song. It’s got a solid groove to it and is actually quite interesting from a sound design point of view. His vocal is pretty try-hard, but serves the song pretty well. It's not really my bag, but it’s easy to see why it was successful and why people like it. Rock Your Body - And here’s the best song on the album by a long way. This one’s actually a knock off of a really good MJ song. It’s got great rhythmic choices that sit really nicely against one another and create a really funky groove. It's got solid melodic hooks in the vocal, and a variety of sections to add diversity and range to the track. The vocal, and particularly the lyrics do lean a little too close to being cringeworthy, but it can just about slide through because the rest of the track is so solid. Nothin' Else - Ah, so they listened to Paint It, Black and decided to make a weak-sauce version of Liberian Girl from the main riff. Interesting. Or, as it happens, not very interesting. It’s more insipid stuff. There’s one synth part that really doesn’t blend in with everything else, which is super odd. But the rest is just another beige wash of well produced but ultimately meaningless drivel. Next. Last Night - He's trying SO HARD to be Michael Jackson. He’s not succeeding. Even the composition here is super limited. There’s very little going on and it’s very repetitive. There are touches here and there that are nice enough, but as a whole it’s just uninspiring and lightweight, again. There were moments during the opening few tracks, but this is falling off a cliff fast. Still On My Brain - I feel like I’m just repeating myself at this point. This is another weak Jackson-a-like song. There’s no real memorable hook to it. The vocal delivery is actually on the stronger end of the spectrum for the album, at least in part because his Stars In Their Eyes mimicry is the closest he’s got yet to his hero. But the song is now fading out and I already can't remember how it went. (And She Said) Take Me Now - Well this is a rhythmically decent start at least. It’s got quite a nice groove to it, but again it’s a bit of a wash of forgettability above that when it comes to the melodic and harmonic content of the composition and production. It does have the odd moment of interest, particularly when the layering builds up and there’s a bit more depth and nuance, so it’s not all bad, but it’s not going to find its way onto my favourites list any time soon either. Right For Me - This is a vaguely interesting beat that pretty much repeats as is for four and a half minutes with some uninteresting vocal nonsense over the top. I’m not even sure what they’re trying to achieve here. It’s dull, it’s uninspired and it inexplicably drags on for far longer than the limited idea has any right to do. Let's Take A Ride - It’s a very stilted start, and then we’re into a repeating pattern of a backing track that only changes by adding some fairly poorly designed synth patches to add flavour. There’s no hook to this at all, it’s just sort of generic R&B singing, the effect of which is somehow lessened by the doubled vocal that creates a more distant connection with the lead. It all feels very forced, while at the same time being utterly generic. If you asked AI to write an early 2000s R&B pop song, it would give you this. Never Again - Weak sauce. It’s supposed to be a heart-wrenching ballad, but I just don't buy it. Timberlake is to busy trying to throw in vocal gymnastics that he forgets that he should actually inject some kind of emotion into the song. He sounds like a whiny little boy, and the backing is so by the numbers and generic that it almost completely passes me by. And how on earth did they drag this crap on for four and a half minutes. It’s shit.

10/10 Thinking about this album and how often I revisit it, I wonder if it’s the single album that I’ve listen to most in my life. Whatever musical moment I’m in at any one time, there’s always been time to spin Grace, and it was nice to listen to this in a different way, taking specific notice to the nuances of an album that is so familiar to me. Frankly, this album is glorious in almost every conceivable way. Jeff writes songs that frequently dip into various sections and evolve as they progress so that nothing ever gets stale, but equally he never forgets to anchor that range around a core song that keeps everything tightly on theme. He writes so many little hooks, some of which are fleeting, and some which a song returns to time and again. But nothing is ever repeated too often, in part thanks to the constant evolution, ebb and flow of the composition around those themes. It’s funny, because while people don’t often categorise it as such, there are some very strong elements of grunge to this album and, for me, that helps to give it the kick and drive that provides a significant element of its momentum. The performances from the rest of the band are perfect at allowing the songwriting to shine, striking a beautiful balance of doing enough to enhance but never overwhelm. Matt Johnson’s drumming is particularly noteworthy, but everyone plays their part in creating an organically moving bed of sound that just elevates every moment. And then we come on to Jeff’s vocal. He’s one of the most emotive to ever do it. He can sing with depth and grit, woody mid-range and soaring falsetto, often within a bar or two of one another. He’s melodramatic, but in the most believable way possible, dragging out the pain, anger, heartbreak and occasional humour in his subjects in a way that feels like the overwhelming pit of emotion that one can find themselves in from time to time, even if you're self-aware enough to know you’re being a drama queen. It’s also a stunningly well produced album. You can hear Andy Wallace’s experience of working with bands like Nirvana, Sonic Youth and L7. There’s a great deal of punch when required, but the nuance of production that allows the quiet parts to breathe beautifully while the most intense parts kick with fire and fury. The world was robbed of a magnificent talent when we lost Jeff Buckley, but to have this album as a legacy is more than most could even dream of. It has every right to be considered among the truly great albums of all time, and Jeff one of our greatest and most emotive singers. It’s just a remarkable achievement for anyone, let alone a man making his debut studio recording. I’m off to listen again Mojo Pin - It’s a lovely slow burn of an intro. There’s a lot of depth to it, with a lot of little parts that could easily go unnoticed on first listen. The movement of the guitar arpeggiations is really pretty and the shuffling, jazzy beat from Matt Johnson just gives the song a beautiful drifting sound. There’s so much dynamic to the composition, with bits that swell into grungy aggression, and parts that are almost whisper-quiet. And Jeff's voice is spectacular. He builds it up, he tails it off, he uses vibrato in all the right places. Just beautiful. Grace - The opening guitar line to this goes through my head at least once a week. It’s just wedged in there as one of my most internally referenced musical motifs in my life. Again, the dynamic range of this is so good as it builds in intensity, and it's actually packed with hooks. There are subtle shifts in tone throughout the track, and the changing emphasis of the rhythm is so, so satisfying. Jeff really gives it some here, and we get so much grit from him in places, as well as the soaring falsetto, but it’s never lacking the emotional punch. Last Goodbye - There’s so much movement through various sections in Jeff’s writing and this is a fine example. But he can also write mean hooks too. There’s loads of drive and pace to this song, but that never overtakes the beauty of the songwriting and vocal. The drumming is brilliant, the string arrangements are just so excellent and full and there’s a great blend of rhythms across the other parts too. And then you have Jeff deliver this pleading, yearning, desire-filled vocal over the top. Lilac Wine - And now, we get a stripped back cover. Everything is super restrained and pretty and Jeff’s vocal just ebbs and flows in intensity. The orchestration allows so much space for everything to breathe, and that dynamic range that’s present across the record is here again. It's a showcase of the subtle side of his vocal talents and it’s just a super well executed and beautifully performed song. So Real - There’s something beautifully unsettling about the composition of the verses here. It’s full of unresolved tension and unnerving chord choices. The choruses build in intensity from the first to the second and then we get an almost Nirvana-esque cacophony that drifts us back to that tension-filled verse. Dynamic range, baby! And it just closes with a brilliant tension resolution. Hallelujah - Is this the greatest cover version of all time? It’s in with a shout. It’s just an exquisite performance. Again, it builds, ebbs and flows in such a glorious way. There's so much movement in the guitar and Jeff tears every single drip of emotion out of his body and through his vocal cords into the lyrics. There are sneering moments, sombre moments, uplifting moments and bereft moments. It’s simply a vocal performance masterclass and it’s beautiful. Lover, You Should've Come Over - The lilting, slightly dragging rhythm of this is so sweet. We get subtlety in the vocal early doors, but there’s still that tiny edge of grit that surfaces in fleeting moments. And the song just builds as it goes. He just refuses to adhere to a simple structure, with the composition shifting and evolving, but never going too far from the soul of the song. It’s melodrama in the best possible way. Just another beautiful journey of a song. Corpus Christi Carol - Similarly to Lilac Wine, we get another palate cleanser of a stripped back cover. It’s super pretty, if perhaps a little less compositionally interesting than the originals on the album, but it’s another lovely vocal performance and serves as a nice breath before we dive into the last couple of tracks. Eternal Life - And we dive into this one with a kick. I love the rolling, broiling rhythm of this track. It’s a fiery and driven song and is the most flat out rocker on the album. There’s so much intensity to it, and some of the instrumental tones are glorious. The bass, for example has got so much grime all over it, but it serves the song so well. And amidst the tempestuous instrumental storm, Jeff’s vocal swims atop the waves, diving in and soaring out of the grungy deep. Dream Brother - Another brooding, pulsing composition. Another where Matt Johnson’s drums are a perfect shuffling heartbeat to the track. The bass is so clean but has a bone-shaking solidity to it too. As with much of the album, there are more quality explorations of dynamic range, and the rhythms of the different parts creates an ever moving bad of tone and rhythm. It captures that dreamy quality, but with an undercurrent of nightmare just bubbling away beneath the surface. Jeff’s vocal is angelic as always, but there’s always that little bit of bite that he dips into nopw and again to give it extra weight and range. A great way to close out the album.

4/10 Knowing and enjoying The Band's second album before listening to this, I was hoping for a bit more of the same. Folksy music with a good groove, a bit of grit and drive and some decent hooks to engage the obvious talent of the players. Unfortunately, this album very much feels like they hadn’t quite worked out how to combine all of their obviously talented ingredients into a completely satisfying dish. There are moments when things really hook up, particularly towards the end of side one, with Caledonia Mission and The Weight, and they really show the direction of travel towards their second album, but much of the rest of the album is a little bit too disorganised and lacking in focus for my taste. They’re obviously a talented band and the playing is, for the most part, great. But there are too many moments where they kind of end up getting a bit too wayward and drifting around in a way that I’m sure some pople enjoy, but wasn’t really tight enough to satisfy my ear. There were also moments where things just became a little too dull and uninspiring. When they land on exactly the right vibe of a track, the vocals can actually work quite well, but when thy miss that, they can end up distracting rather than complimenting the music. The last track, for example, is a really pretty little song, but the vocal just doesn’t work and actually drags the rest of the song back with it, which is a shame. Perhaps part of this is that the genre that this leans towards is not one that I particularly connect with, and the transition to a more groove and rock oriented tone on the follow up just sits a bit more sweetly in my ear, but while I enjoyed moments here, it’s not one that’s really going to stick with me. Tears Of Rage - There’s a laid back cool to this. It’s certainly full of vibe, and there are some really nice moments, but it’s perhaps a little too dragging in pace for me. It has a pretty clear structure underneath it, but it all feels a bit too unfocused over the top of that. There are moments when things all tie up together, but it all seems quite samey and a little meandering at the same time. To Kingdom Come - There’s a bit more pace to this and it’s got a bit of an old school R&B edge to it, but that's a bit dulled by the strained vocal. Again, there are moments that I like, but there’s nothing about it that really grabs me and sticks in my mind. I like the vibe, but the execution just doesn’t quite connect with me. In A Station - It’s a very twee start. This feels a bit more focused and structured in the verse and it feels like it’s building to something, but then the chorus just doesn’t deliver. I was expecting it to launch into something, but it all stays at a very similar level. Unfortunately, that just makes it a bit too drifting and dull and it never really deviates at all from that fairly middle of the road tone. Caledonia Mission - This starts off at a similar pace and feel to the previous track, but then it modulates around really nicely and actually switches up into something pretty jazzy and far more satisfying into the chorus. The lilt and groove of this also plays more into the vocal stylings of Rick Danko. There are some really solid, groovy riffs in this and there's nice variation between the different sections which evolve nicely and create the most satisfying song on the album thus far. The Weight - And now we’ve hit our stride. There’ a solid, hooky chorus, some really great playing and it feels like everyone is pulling in the same direction. There are some great moments from the piano, but everyone does a great job. It’s got a great groove and the instrumentation has a clarity that was missing on some of the earlier tracks. The structure of the group vocals are really well done too. Great track. We Can Talk - Some nice organ work to kick us off here and it’s another where things feel more focused to begin with, but we start losing focus a bit part way through. There are some nice moments with some solid hooks, but it feels a little more meandering between those sections of quality. It’s not bad, but it gets a little lost in its own journey for me. Long Black Veil - This is a bit more plodding. The structure of it is a bit more focused, but it’s not the most inspiring or exciting of songs. It has some nice enough moments, but it’s just a bit on the dull side. Another where they’re executing the idea really well, but the idea itself just doesn’t really connect with me. Chest Fever - This feels like we’re going to get something with a bit more fire to it, but it never quite delivers on that promise. It’s got a decent groove to it, but it never really lifts off n the way I’d hope. And then half way through they just start doing something a bit weird and disconnected for no reason, before returning to the theme. It actually picks up a little after that, but it in general feels a little bit unstructured and disconnected in places. The bones of something pretty good are actually in here, I think, but I don’t think it’s been fleshed out in a particularly satisfying way. Lonesome Suzie - And we’re back to something a bit more focused. It’s actually quite pretty and well put together and they stick to the theme and structure throughout. I’m not completely sold on the vocal, but it has an edge of vulnerability that works to a certain degree. A pretty decent track. This Wheel's On Fire - Another slightly muddled track. Things move pretty nicely through the verses. There’s a good groove, some great playing and a solid vibe to it, but then the chorus just… doesn’t deliver at all. The intensity drops and it’s just a bland, plodding distraction from the work that’s been done during the verses, which is really disappointing. I Shall Be Released - And it’s quite a nice track to close us out that’s not as nice as it should be because the vocal is way too strained in places. Listening to the instrumental behind it, it’s got a great vibe and is really well put together, but the vocal just distracts too much and doesn’t work at all with the delicate nature of the rest of the song. It’s a shame, but it kind of sums up my feeling about this album in general. A lot of potential, some good ideas, but the way that things are put together and executed just doesn’t really deliver on that promise.

8/10 Treading the line between heavy, theatrical, technical and catchy, this album is a really satisfying slice of heavy metal gold. Some of the individual songs have as many quality riffs as some other bands manage across an entire album, and it’s all delivered in a brilliantly tight rhythmical package. The introduction of Bruce Dickinson to the band allowed the compositions to lean more heavily into the theatrical and you can really hear them embracing that, particularly on the standout numbers. The first side of the record is a really solid mix of songs, if perhaps unspectacular. They delve into a variety of changes and sequences, rarely sticking around on a theme for too long, but always staying true to the concept of each song. There are some great moments of guitar work, as would be expected, but the rhythm section also pokes its head over the parapet now and again to go above and beyond their standard consistent pulse and emphasise the rest of the composition in really satisfying ways. And then we reach the second side and all hell breaks loose. Number Of The Beast and Run To The Hills is an absolutely magnificent one-two punch to launch the second half. They’re two hook-laden, melodramatic metal masterpieces. Every member brings their A game and these two songs in particular thunder along, delivering energy, inventiveness and musical expression in a brilliantly catchy and memorable package. The quality dips a little after that, although the standard is still high, but those two tracks alone are enough to recommend this album for a repeat listen. It’s perhaps not the most consistently brilliant album over its full duration, and there are moments when things lull, but it’s still an overwhelmingly engaging and exciting record. I think it has possibly lost a tiny bit of its impact because of how much heavy music has evolved over the subsequent 40 plus years, but that has certainly not dampened the quality of the composition and performances, and there are so many little moments that you can pick out on repeat listens that make it worthy of many revisits. Invaders - This is so stuffed with quality riffs. It’s super pacy and has quality drive to it. The chorus is a tasty proggy diversion and is probably the least hooky part of the song, which is a nice inversion of expectations. In fact, I like the fact that it's not completely what you would expect. There’s loads going on in this track and, while it’s very singularly paced, there’s so much range and quality to what they’re delivering that it doesn't really matter. Children Of The Damned - This plays more to expectation in terms of composition and structure. It’s melodramatic in a really endearing way and the pretty verses and slow headbang of a chorus are really great transitions. And then they pick up the pace with some quality dual-guitar work. Some quality drum fills in there too. Another solid track. The Prisoner - There are some solid, chunky riffs and rhythms to kick this off, but it does take a little too long to kick in to the track proper, but when it gets there, it’s more high quality theatrical 80s metal. The verses do drag on just a little bit too, but the chorus is great. I feel like the vocal could have been a bit higher in the mix during the chorus, but it's a minor gripe. There’s more high quality widdly guitar solos here again. A very good song that’s possibly been dragged out into something a little longer than necessary. 22, Acacia Avenue - So much pace and some more chunky and engaging riffs. They play quite a lot with dynamic here which adds depth to the song, and when it kicks, it packs an excellent punch. I think the transitions into differently emphasised sections is really good and keeps things on their toes. I can feel a lot of influence on Metallica in the way that it evolves through a variety of sections with different intensities, but it always feels coherent to the vibe of the core song. The Number Of The Beast - What a way to kick off the second side. This intro is just iconic. The riff, the vocals, the way it all builds together, it’s just superb theatrical metal. The bass line, something that often gets overshadowed in metal, is really great here. There are some brilliant guitar solos too, and Bruce Dickinson just keeps on bringing the drama and energy. It’s just great. Run To The Hills - And the one-two punch. If the intro to the previous track was iconic, what is this? It’s magnificent. And then it drops into that wonderful galloping rhythm that sustains through the verse and chorus. It’s so rhythmically satisfying through the verses and then when the chorus hits, it raises its game even further. The lead vocal melody is brilliant in every way, and the way the rest of the band play around it with little fills between the vocal lines is perfect. The backing vocals add that extra bit of drama to it too. This is just an absolutely top tier song in pretty much every way. Gangland - I think this suffers a little from following the previous two tracks. It’s still solid, but it doesn’t have the same level of hook as they have. It’s pretty balls to the wall though, and the energy is great. I feel like it would work better if there was a bit more dynamic or tonal variety between the verse and chorus as it’s a bit to dynamically flat across the full length, but again, the musicianship is excellent and the drive it provides is still enjoyable. Hallowed Be Thy Name - And we’re back to something with more development and dynamic range. There are some great rhythmic choices here and it just seems like they’re having great fun writing their way through various changes. It never quite lands on the same level of hook as the standouts on the albums, but there are still some really engaging and memorable riffs and passages. And damn, they’re tight. It’s all so fluid, but packs such a punch when they want it to too. Fantastic widdly guitar solos too, and it just sounds like they’re having so much fun.

5/10 Peter Gabriel very much feels like he’s finding his feet with this debut solo album. There are times when he seems to be wanting to dive into the Syd Barrett school of performative quirkiness, times where he wants to become a cultivator of the finest cheesy power-pop, and a variety of things in between. When it hits, there are some really solid tracks on here. Solsbury Hill and Down The Dolce Vita were highlights for me, but it also feels like a bit of a mixed bag of styles that doesn’t really come together as a unified artistic vision. The compositions are largely decent, but some of the transitions between sections felt a little underdeveloped, and he didn’t seem to fully commit to being one type of performer across individual songs, let alone the whole album. That could work with the right execution and careful transitioning from one thing to the other, but there does need to be some kind of central thread to tie everything together that wasn’t really apparent to my ear. There were also times where things got a bit stale, and once the expectation of audio oddities has been established, the lack of them can make the less varied tracks seem a bit limp by comparison. Is this an essential listen, I don’t think so, but if you’re into any of his later work, it’s a pretty interesting stepping stone from his Genesis days to those later records, and there are some solid moments to enjoy too. Moribund The Burgermeister - It’s a quirky blend of ideas that goes for a grandiosity that I don’t think it quite achieves. I think he’s perhaps pulling a little to hard on the performative weirdness thread in places and on the other hand it’s fairly run of the mill in others, so it doesn’t really feel completely satisfying in either direction. There are elements of it that I do quite like, but it doesn’t really feel like the weirdness carries enough to make it consistent throughout. Solsbury Hill - This is a well constructed pop-rock song. It’s not complex, despite being in a 7/4 time signature, but the riffs are nice and it’s melodically pleasing. The transition out of the chorus is nice with the couple of bars of 4/4 that throw an interesting rhythmic twist in. The song builds nicely in dynamic as it goes, and he does his best to add a bit of weirdness in with the backing vocal bits near the end, but they don’t really detract from it and work with the build up of parts. It’s a really solid song. Modern Love - This isn’t bad either. It’s another decent pop number with some nice pacing and dynamic changes in there. It’s reasonably hooky and the instrumentation is pretty well constructed. It’s not necessarily my kind of thing, and it’s not the most exciting of songs, but It’s pretty good at doing what it’s trying to do. Excuse Me - This is quite the tonal shift. It’s another attempt to be quirky, and it does achieve that goal to a certain extent. It’s a fairly straightforward composition in some ways, but there are actually some quite nice rhythmic choices here and there that keep things interesting. Production wise, it feels a bit too slick and somehow lightweight at the same time, but it did grow on me as it went. Humdrum - There are some ideas in here that I quite like, but it doesn’t quite come together in a completely satisfying way for me. There are quite a lot of changes across the track that could work with slightly more gradual transitions, but things just jar a little too much for me. And then when it gets to the more full sound towards the end it starts to lose me. Slowburn - This another one that has its moments for me, but doesn’t feel completely coherent all the way through. There are moments when the flow of the composition works really well and everything comes together in a tonally and rhythmically satisfying way, but it just wanders off the beaten track a little too much and loses momentum from time to time. He feels a bit lost between wanting to make something a bit weird and something epic, and fails to really hit either mark. Waiting For The Big One - The jazzy style of this is great, and there’s an almost Tom Waits-esque lilt to his vocal delivery that I like. There’s a lot of dynamic range in here. The musicianship is great, particularly the piano playing, which is lush. He throws in some odder moments, but they all work tonally with the rest of the track and it all flows together really nicely. It perhaps drags on a little too much, but the guitar and piano work during the solo section is really worth sticking around for. It’s a really satisfying listen and possibly my favourite on the album so far. Down The Dolce Vita - This has got decent pace and drive to it. It blends the more theatrical orchestral parts and the heavier rock sections quite nicely and I quite enjoy the transitions and blend between those two sides of the track. It does lull a little here and there, but when it gets going, it’s good, and I really like some of the rhythmic choices. Here Comes The Flood - Ah, some power-pop to end the album. It’s a bit too cheesetastic for my tastes. The softness of the verses and the grandiosity of the choruses work really nicely together, but it’s all a bit too on the nose for me. The playing and production are exactly right for this kind of song, but It’s just not for me. Bring back a bit of your weirdness, Peter, all is forgiven.

4/10 This album feels like it’s a bit of a stepping stone for The Rolling Stones. It’s the first album on which they composed all of their own songs, and there are hints towards the sound that I would personally more associate with them, of a more gritty, driven blues rock feel, particularly with songs like Under My Thumb or It’s Not Easy. But it’s also a really mixed bag of a record. They drift from more generic 60s pop-rock akin to the Beatles, the Kinks and the Who to almost folky tunes, and then some way more standard blues tracks, and it never really feels completely coherent. It’s also way too long (I listened to the UK version), particularly the arduous experience of the 11 minute Goin’ Home. If they had trimmed some of the fat here and worked to make it stylistically a bit more coherent, I might have gelled with it a bit more. Some of the stronger elements of the album were not bad, but often felt like fairly generic blues rock. Perhaps the significance is a bit lost to time for me, but it all feels a bit derivative of blues that had come before it, wrapped up in a package of edgy white boys to sell records. The production of the record is a bit all over the place too, with some tracks sounding full and balanced, and others where certain parts of the music was either way too prominent or lost to the background. The musicianship is decent enough, and there are some quality moments in the performances all round, but it’s only when they get into the more driven stuff that it all really connects together for me, particularly Jagger's voice. I’m not generally a massive fan of his vocal style, but with high energy, gritty stuff it can do a good job. Here it was exposed too often for me and that made for a more difficult listen. I came into this not being a big fan of the Stones and they haven’t done much to change that opinion with this record. Perhaps that will change with their later work. Mothers Little Helper - I’ve never really seen the comparison that’s made between the Beatles and the Stones, but here we have it. This is quite similar to the sound of the Beatles at the time, but less good, because frankly Mick Jagger is not as good a singer as any of them. It also lacks the harmonies that thicken up and give interest to the Beatles sound. It’s an ok 60s pop-rock song, and there is a bit of grit. and edge to it, but nothing much more than that. Stupid Girl - Tonally, this sounds exactly like Spinal Tap (back when they were the Thamesmen) doing Gimme Some Money. It’s more fairly run of the mill 60’s British Invasion rock stuff, but It’s a really decent song. I feel like some of the impact of this may be lost to time, because I feel like I could lump this in with a lot of music from the time and, despite it being a well written, catchy song, it doesn’t really do much to stand out. Lady Jane - This is a strangely folk edged diversion from the sound thus far. Jagger is putting on a very deliberate inflection on his vocal which is a bit weird. I mean it’s ok, but it's not particularly exciting. I suppose it’s moderately interesting due to the instrumental choices, but it’s just a bit on the dull side for me. Under My Thumb - This is much more like it. There’s enough of an edge to it that it suits Jagger’s vocal style much, much better. This sounds much more like they’re starting to find their own sound, with a blend of the more bluesy, gritty sound with an edge of the 60s Brit rock in there too. It’s got a good groove to it and the Marimba is nice too. It’s a good blend between slightly more driven sound and the lightness of that Marimba that give it a satisfying tone. Doncha Bother Me - And now we’re on to some more straightforward blues stuff. It’s a pretty good blues track and it’s got a nice bit of grit to it. It builds fairly nicely in intensity, but it is perhaps a bit on the repetitive side. Although at less than three minutes, that hardly matters. Goin' Home - This continues the bluesy vein, but to begin with it’s also got slightly more of the 60s Brit edge to it. The vibe isn’t bad, but it’s a bit on the dull side. And then it drags on. And on. And on. I don’t know why Mick Jagger is trying to filibuster his way through over 11 minutes of this record for, but he’s not very good at making it interesting or engaging. Flight 505 - More fairly generic bluesy rock with a rock and roll edge. Again, the vibe is decent, but there’s nothing particularly hooky about it, it’s just well executed bar band music. The piano and guitar are doing good work here, but it just doesn’t feel like anything that will stick with me. High And Dry - We’re chugging along with more blues here. It feels a bit more engaging, and it’s got a good groove and some nice harmonica playing, but the cymbal splashing from the drums is so, so draining. Out Of Time - Back to something that’s more akin to the other 60’s brit rock of earlier tracks. Jagger doesn’t actually have the chops to pull of some of the lines he tries to on here and it’s all a bit plodding and not that interesting and it goes on for too long. It's Not Easy - There’s a bit more to this. Stylistically it’s pretty similar to the last one, but it’s more hooky and it’s got a bit more zip to it. It feels a lot more fun and engaging. The guitar solo is great too. Much more impressed with this one. I Am Waiting - This is more folky again. It’s got a bit more pace to it than our last folk diversion, but it's quite repetitive, both musically and lyrically, and doesn’t really do anything for me. Take It Or Leave It - Another fairly pedestrian and plodding song that doesn’t have anything particularly hooky or memorable about it. It’s just not musically that interesting and the vibe is nothing particularly exciting here either. Think - Straight off the bat, there’s a bit more zip to this, and the vibe is a bit better. But other than that, I’m not finding it particularly engaging. It just doesn’t really do anything for me. What To Do - I actually know this one. It’s quite a bit more hooky and a nice, full sound, but sits in that land of decent, but fairly generic 60s stuff. It doesn’t have the grit and drive that the Stones do at their best and, while it’s got a more memorable melody to it, it’s still not the most exciting of tracks.

7/10 This marks the point when Bowie cast off his glam shackles for good and stepped into the world of ‘plastic soul’, as he would dub it. For an album that completed that full transition, this is stylistically a very consistent record. It slides its way competently and smoothly between more laid back sleazy soul and more funky up-beat grooves, never losing touch with the fun, pop music edge that would typically keep Bowie connected to the mainstream for most phases of his career. The songwriting is solid, if a little plain in places. There are moments when hooks come and go with regularity, and others where, despite a solid groove and vibe to the track, he never stumbles upon anything particularly memorable. That being said, there was rarely a point (except for the cover track) where he lost me. It was almost like it was wavering between being really good background music and something that was able to grab and engage my ear in a more substantial way. I never felt bored or uninterested, just didn’t always keep focus on it and found myself bopping along, my attention drifting elsewhere. From a production point of view, it is really well put together. There's quite a lot going on, particularly with the sharp staccato rhythms that built into those all encompassing grooves, but nothing ever felt crowded out or lost in the mix. The musicianship was excellent throughout. With this kind of music, staying in that pocket is crucial, and they tackled it with a tight swagger that kept the groove of the album pulsing along nicely. The backing vocals are great and work as a smoother contrast to Bowie’s more edgy delivery, and the man himself just has this vocal charisma that, despite him not being the world’s greatest singer, is endlessly engaging. This is a funny album where I think no real part of it (Beatles cover excepted) was anything less than solid, but it only really rose above that a few times. And despite that, I'm quite looking forward to having it on again in the future and it may end up growing on me. Young Americans - A smooth and groovy start. It’s got a nice, easy style about it and it's got some great hooks. There’s some really nice rhythmic blends across the different instruments. It’s got a pretty cheesy edge to it, but that’s part of the charm, I think. Bowie’s got that cool swagger about him that just makes it easy to buy into a song like this. Win - A laid back vibe. It paints a warm picture, but it’s perhaps a little unfocused in places. The first part of the chorus doesn’t quite connect for me, but the second half, from “all you’ve got to do is win”, is super smooth and works really well. The backing vocals are quality in particular here. It’s sleazy, no doubt, but with an edge of cool. Fascination - Ooh, funky. Co-written with Luther Vandross. It’s got a great groove and some really nice staccato rhythms across the different parts. The call and response between Bowie and the backing vocals is super cool. It’s a fun little song and it’s really well produced. There’s a lot going on in there, but it doesn’t feel crowded and it all comes together to create a really bouncy vibe. Like it. Right - Another solid, if unspectacular track. He’s got some really good grooves going on and the vibe and style is great, but I don’t feel it necessarily elevates above being a good slice of r&b to being something really standout. It’s good, and I again enjoy the interplay between the different vocalists, the groove also keeps me moving along with it, but I’m not sure it’s a massively memorable song. Somebody Up There Likes Me - This one kind of drifts a little further into the world of incredibly competent, well produced music that doesn’t do much to elevate itself above being really good background music. I like it, and I’m enjoying listening to it, but I can’t find myself being fully absorbed by it. That being said, there’s some great vocal work again, and Bowie’s throwing some nice bits of grit and swagger into his delivery, and some of the sax work is solid. Across The Universe - An unnecessary Beatles cover? Why not? Bowie got chummy with Lennon at this time and they did this one and Fame together. It’s just not a particularly good cover and doesn’t hold a candle to the original. It seems all together a bit too fierce and overdone to my ear. Lennon said this was better than the Beatles version. He was wrong. Can You Hear Me - This builds quite nicely and I like the string arrangements. There’s a nice flow to the composition and it’s another really easy listen. There’s a nice dynamic range across the track and Bowie really hams it up in a great way. There’s a nice bit of grit and drive to it towards the end, and the band do a great job with it all. Fame - Bookended by the hits. It’s undeniably funky, but in an oddly thin way, but I think that does emphasise the groove really well. There’s not a lot of low end drive to it, and everything is very staccato, but the hooks are really good. There’s some really great guitar work across this and the second half starts to have a bit of fun with the established groove, which is fun. It’s a bit weird to chuck this right at the tail end, but it certainly ends the album on a high.

7/10 Apart from a few key tracks, Cream are a band that I know more by reputation than output. They obviously hold an important place in popular music history and each member is particularly known for their individual proficiency in their respective instruments. With that in mind, there was obviously a lot to enjoy here, from a musicianship level if nothing else. Ginger Baker’s drums not only provide a solid groove to proceedings, but have their own virtuosic twist, with his choices to build more complex patterns without ever overwhelming the songs, and also knowing when to play things more straight, of particular note. Jack Bruce’s Bass provides a solid anchor to the songs, although it doesn’t really stand out as much as the other players. And then Clapton just delivers quality all over the place. There are some really quality guitar tones on there, and he has some super solid riffs. Admittedly it doesn’t feel as spectacular nearly 60 years later, but I can imagine this was pretty special at the time, and even now the feel of his playing really stands out. None of them are spectacular singers, but Clapton is the most consistent, and he and Bruce both have their moments where their vocal works really well with specific songs. The first two tracks are so, so good. There are super solid riffs, great hooks and some incredibly engaging playing. After that, things do lull a little, and some of the more laid back psychedelic efforts do drift a little, but there were generally at least a few moments to enjoy even on the slower tracks. It does rise up to meet the standards of the openers here and there through the record, particularly as we begin side two, and it generally weaves its way between blues and psychedelia really nicely. I don’t think it’s necessarily the most consistent album, but there is a great deal to like about it and I did generally enjoy my time listening to this a few times round. Strange Brew - A classic track. The laid back delivery of the vocal is smooth and the guitar work has such a great vibe. It’s not an overly complex composition, but it allows adequate space for the instruments to thrive, but also has a great vocal hook through the chorus. Solid. Sunshine Of Your Love - Even more of a classic. What a riff. The chorus then adds a bit of variation to the feel and the build up of the vocal harmonies through it are excellent. This track is just packed with cool swagger. The solo is understated but quality and the general vibe of the whole thing is just so good. World Of Pain - This one has less drive to it. It drifts a bit more into the psychedelic edge of things. The chorus is really nice and the verses kind of drift along. They have their moments, but seem generally less focused, although perhaps that’s what you want from a psychedelic record. As usual, the guitar work is great. The chorusy phase of one guitar part during the chorus is particularly good. Dance The Night Away - This continues on stylistically from the last track, but has a bit more drive to it. It does meander around quite a bit and doesn’t ever really land on a particularly standout section, but creates a pretty decent vibe. It’s perhaps a little bit cluttered from a production point of view, but it’s very vibey. Blue Condition - Ginger Baker is a legendary drummer, but he’s not a great singer. It just feels very low effort on the vocal front here and because of that it all feels a bit plodding and stilted. Rhythmically, it's also quite stilted. Again, there are bits of quality in there, but it just doesn’t have the fluidity of the best work on the album. Tales Of Brave Ulysses - We’re back on track now. It’s just a lot more flowing and fluid. It’s got some great performances all round, with some quality drumming, the usual moments of guitar excellence, and the bass underpins everything with a solid base. As a song, it doesn’t rise to the level of the two openers, but it’s still a decent track. Swlabr - That opening is great, and the motif between the vocal lines is so good. We're getting back up to the quality of the first couple of tracks now. It’s got that swagger and drive to it and it’s got some really hooky riffs and moments. The vocal is really good here too. That fuzzy guitar tone on the lead is great too. Excellent track. We're Going Wrong - Again, we lose a bit of impetus here. It kind of floats about a bit, but the vibe is decent. It builds quite nicely, but Jack Bruce's voice doesn’t really have the power to really keep me hooked. Outside Woman Blues - Back to riff city. Some solid blues work, and the groove is great. Clapton’s vocal delivery is the most consistent and suave delivery among the band. This has got such a great flow to it, it’s hard not to move as they do their thing. As usual, quality guitar work and Ginger Baker makes sure things are always moving along nicely. Another solid entry. Take It Back - And now we’re in real blues country. It’s a bit more straight down the line, and perhaps leans less on instrumental excellence (although Ginger Baker does a brilliant job) but it’s superbly executed. Jack Bruce’s vocal here is way more assured. The harmonica work is solid too. Another that keeps you bopping along. Mother's Lament - A mad, mad way to end the album. It sounds like Monty Python just popped in for a track at the end. It’s super fun and stupid, even if it is a bit of a tonal leap from what’s come before. Excellent.

8/10 I was mostly aware of Tim Buckley via his son Jeff (take that, Tim!), but had listened to the odd track here and there in the past. I’ll not spend too much time on the Tim vs Jeff thing here, but it’s safe to say that Jeff got a lot of his ability to emote through vocal delivery from his dad. Jeff’s a better singer to my ears, but there’s an emotional weight to them both that feels cut from the same cloth. Anyway. Tonally, this is a really nice blend of folk, jazz and a little bit of soul. Tim has a really nice woody tone to his vocal that feels very full and warm throughout, but he’s never over reliant on his voice at any point through the album, often allowing the instrumental composition to take the lead and allowing room for everything to breathe. It drifts around here and there in a fairly jazz-esque way, but I feel like it rarely loses the thread of the song, which is always important to make a composition feel unified and complete. There are some outstandingly pretty moments here and some of the interplay between the different instruments is really great. Without properly concentrating on what’s going on, I think it would be very easy to miss the nuance and variety in the instrumental work across the album, but that compositional flow, along with the well controlled dynamic of the production is a really engaging thing to hear. So much of the rhythmic variety actually comes from the tonal instruments, and it felt like there was a very organic pulse to the way they came together. There were moments when things became a little too self indulgent, particularly doing the middle of Gypsy Woman, but for the most part this record flowed really nicely and would be equally at home as pleasant Sunday afternoon listening as it would on a more focused session. That being said, it rarely felt particularly exciting, so it’s not quite elevated to the top tier, but it was certainly an enjoyable listen. Strange Feelin' - This is a track that wanders around its themes really nicely, touching back on some key reference points and motifs regularly enough to let it feel centred as a composition. There’s a good amount of dynamic and tonal shift within the track, and it’s as much about the instrumentation as it is the vocals. It floats somewhere between folk and jazz, and it’s a really pleasant listen. Buzzin' Fly - The pulse of the rhythm here is really nice and the lead guitar tone is really lush. I really like his vocal delivery on this. It’s another one where there’s a central thread that runs through it, but the instruments offer a massive amount of interplay and variation that weave around that solid centre. There’s more great dynamic across the track and it’s a really engaging listen. I really liked this one. Love From Room 109 At The Islander (On Pacific Coast Highway) - We’re taking a step in a more laid-back direction now. It feels a little more meandering and a little less focused than the previous tracks. There are some really, really pretty moments scattered through this piece, although I’m not completely sold on the sound of waves that persists throughout. It does have some really lovely chord progressions and it feels like there’s an air of menace that seeps in here and there too. It’s an engaging journey, for sure. Dream Letter - Continuing on the slower side of things here, this song fluctuates between incredible melancholy and moments of optimism. It’s fairly sparse, but the dynamic is really nice. It’s a little less rhythmically focused than earlier tracks, but that kind of suits the dreamy theme of the song. Another really pleasant listening experience. Gypsy Woman - This is a decent song that’s dragged out too far and too self indulgently. There are bits of it that are really great, but to my mind he spends far too long farting around to maintain the focus of the track, particularly when it thins out to some sporadic percussion and vibes with a single cello note played over and over again. It actually builds again fairly nicely from there eventually and kicks into something pretty groovy. When he’s at it on this track, it’s genuinely excellent, but it doesn’t justify the middle waffling. Sing A Song For You - This builds really nicely. He emotes really well. Not as well as Jeff, but, you know. It’s a very pretty composition that pulses quite nicely along with an ethereal feel to the higher register. Another really nice little track.

9/10 I’ve heard this album a few times before and it’s one that I do pop back to now and again, so nice to get a prompt and listen to it with my critical ears on. The record kicks off so, so strongly. The synth patch set’s the tone and atmosphere straight off the bat, and the whole of Tom Sawyer that follows on from that is truly excellent. There are hooks and riffs galore, some fun with irregular meters and some brilliant, brilliant musicianship. And after that, they don’t really let up for the whole of the first side. There is so much to enjoy about it on pretty much every level. The compositions are interesting and engaging, particularly as they throw themselves through so many rhythmic changes, always sounding so fluid and natural, which is a remarkable achievement. The performances from the whole band are excellent. Guitar possibly takes a bit of a back seat, but that's no problem when you’ve got Peart and Lee doing their thing. And the production is just top tier. Everything has its place, there's room for all of the parts to breathe, but it also sounds so full and dynamic. They blend in synths in a really natural way, with nothing ever sticking out as being placed in for the sake of it, and they know when to act with restraint. Geddy Lee’s vocal is possibly an acquired taste, but it really works for me. The focus of this band is on the musicianship and his vocal is strong enough to do what it does without dominating, while still being competent and engaging where it needs to be. The second half of the record does seem to lose a little bit of focus here and there, but there is still so much quality packed in, it's just a tiny bit more stretched out than the barnstorming opening half. It may also be that this second half rewards repeat listening, particularly on a longer song like The Camera Eye, so I’m willing to give it a few more spins over the coming weeks to see if it grabs me a little more over time. Either way, I’m sure I’ll be dipping back in and out of this now and again, regardless. Tom Sawyer - Straight from the off, this is epic. The opening synth patch gives it so much weight and tonal interest. It’s got great dynamic changes throughout and it has that 80s futuristic sound that’s so evocative but somehow doesn’t feel dated. It’s stuffed full of killer riffs and hooks, some really fun messing around with time signatures but it never loses the stylistic thread. It’s also super tight and well produced and everyone in the band has some really great moments. A monumental album opener. Red Barchetta - This starts off more subtly but gets super thick and heavy when it gets going. Neil Peart’s drumming drives this along at a pulsating clip and they make some really interesting and engaging developments, throwing in some really great rhythms and riffs. It packs a lot in to 6 minutes, but never drifts into the territory of losing its thread. Another solid track. YYZ - This is heavy metal jazz. To produce something like this when your starting point is the morse code identifier for Toronto’s main airport is musical mad scientist stuff. Every performance on here is just outstanding. They’re super tight while also sounding really organic, which is a great sweet spot. There’s enough variation and development to really engage the ear throughout. Limelight - There are so many time signature changes through this song that it’s ridiculous. What’s more ridiculous is that it sounds so natural and smooth while doing everything it does. Geddy Lee’s bass work is a particular highlight here, but his vocal is great too. There are some great hooks in here, which can be hard enough to achieve when you’re writing in a straight time signature, but it’s so impressive here. There’s an edge of cheese to this, but it’s one I’m really here for. Love this track. The Camera Eye - A song of this length can be hard to pull off. The intro is a slow burn, but it builds nicely and has lots of interesting tones that it plays with as it develops. And then it kicks in and the riff is so good. It’s got a nice rounded, weighty tone to it that’s great. There’s so much to like about this. Again, they throw in those cool time signature changes, but everything is anchored so well by the rhythm section. All of their transitions are so smooth too. It’s supreme musicianship and production. It does perhaps drag the idea on a little too much, but it’s still enjoyable. Witch Hunt - This has got a great atmosphere to it. It’s more sparse than earlier tracks for quite a while, but it builds really well. It’s got a great groove to it, which is perhaps a bit of an underrated element of Rush’s work. It’s less memorable or hooky than other tracks, but it makes up for that in vibe, at least for me. Vital Signs - They skitter along through this. It’s got a frenetic edge to it and rhythmic edge that reminds me slightly of The Police in places. There are some solid riffs in the choruses and again, the band are all really tight and throw in little flourishes of quality all over the places. It feels a bit less focused than some of the earlier tracks, but there’s still a lot to like about it.

6/10 This is an interesting album. I know Rufus Wainwright by name, but I’m not really familiar with his work. He’s a very talented vocalist that drifts quite nicely between a Thom Yorke style and a more flamboyant folksy pop style. There were some really lovely moments on the record, and I found myself kind of lost in the sound mix now and again, which is generally a pretty nice place to be. With that being said, there were also moments when I was trying to find something to hold on to and I couldn’t quite find it, despite enjoying the auditory experience. It was kind of like trying to catch smoke in that a little motif or moment would happen and you’d reach for it, but by the time you got there, it slipped between your fingers and went off in a slightly different direction. It also felt a little jumbled stylistically, as there were very sparse, pretty piano and vocal focused pieces, those with more of a musical theatre edge and those with almost more of an indie edge to them, and the way the album went from one to the other of those styles didn’t seem altogether that smooth. When things connected, this was a very pretty wash of sound, but I don’t think that, having listened to it a couple of times, there are any real moments that have stuck in my head by the time the album ends, which is a little bit of a shame. I fell like with a little bit of trimming and some song sequencing changes, I’d probably get a bit more out of this album, but it’s probably a touch too inconsistent and long for my particular tastes. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, but I find it unlikely that I’ll be returning to an album that didn’t really click with me in any meaningful way. Agnus Dei - There’s some pretty horrible scratchy strings in the beginning of this. They’re bad enough that the dog got disturbed and ran out of the room. When the vocal comes in, it’s really pretty. The wash of tone in the orchestration is really, really lovely and warms things up for the album. It’s not necessarily a brilliant track on its own, but as an album opener, it’s really good. The One You Love - We get a bit more of a groove here. He makes some nice rhythmic choices with his vocal delivery. It kind of sounds like a more upbeat Radiohead, but with less nuance and variation in the main melodic lines than their better work. It’s still decent though, and there’s some nice work across the instrumentation to keep things fresh. Peach Trees - Another Radiohead-lite song, but with a slightly latin edge to it. It’s very pretty, but it’s also quite one paced. There’s plenty going on that floats around the main vocal and guitar lines to give things a bit more depth, and some of the backing vocal additions are really nice, but it all feels just a tiny bit too locked into one rhythm for my taste. Little Sister - I’m beginning to get the ‘baroque-pop’ tag that this gets. It’s quite twee. His vocal is very good, but it’s all a bit too roaming and whimsical for me, and lacks a coherent centre, preferring to float around and create a pleasant embrace of tonality, and it ends on quite a funny and overly dramatic note. The Art Teacher - This is far more sparse. It’s again very pretty but is another quite meandering track and despite his vocal flourishes, it’s all a little bit samey throughout. It feels a very personal track, but it still feels a little bit aimless and despite bing pleasant also isn’t that exciting. Hometown Waltz - This feels like a kind of transitional song from a musical. The piano work is good, but it’s all a little bit too whimsical for my tastes. I feel like the album is kind of drifting around to too many styles to feel completely coherent at this point. This Love Affair - Another sparse number that soars and dives with great dynamic range. There’s a bit more musical variety to the track here and his vocal is wonderful. It’s perhaps still not got a real hook to it, but I think it really works despite that. Some of the orchestration is lovely too. Gay Messiah - This is quite plodding and aimless. It picks up the pace a little bit half way through, but the rhythm still remains pretty metronomic. I feel like he hasn’t really found the central motif for this song and just wanders around over the top of a fairly basic repeating chord structure. Tonally, it’s a pleasant listen, but musically it feels a little lacking. Memphis Skyline - This is about Jeff Buckley, apparently. There’s a bit of a theme here in that it’s very pretty, but feels a bit meandering and aimless in some respects. Again, it’s a sparse arrangement and I do appreciate the dynamic range and subtlety of the performance, but it also feels like there’s nothing substantial to grab on to. Waiting For A Dream - The alternating between the effect soaked and very forward vocals is a bit jarring to begin with, but it feels like it’s building to something. The slow groove to this is nice in an almost Air or Zero-7 way. It’s a little disconnected from the rest of the album in that way, but again, this is a very pretty song. There’s more of a central focus to this and while it does drift around, it feels a bit more anchored. Crumb By Crumb - This is another with a bit of a show tune edge to it. There are moments that are decent here, but it’s quite cheesy and doesn’t have the depth of emotion or range to the composition that a lot of the rest of the album has. It’s a pleasant enough pop song, but it doesn’t really completely connect with me. Old Whore's Diet - Theres quite a lot that goes on with this track. It’s a bit of a journey that transitions through different phases and sections. It’s quite a spectacle of a song and leans a bit more to that showy side again. It’s all a little bit too grand for me and feels a little too crowded in places too.

8/10 This is a great debut. It’s full of energy, drive and pace, but they also do a good job of breaking things up now and again to stop things from getting too relentless. It’s way more punky than I was expecting, but there was plenty of rhythmic quality to it too, with Matt Helders on drums perhaps an underrated highlight of the record. It has a feel of something somewhere between Nirvana and Green Day in some respects, but dragged up through the streets of Sheffield and given a British rock sensibility to it. Alex Turner’s vocal style may not be for everyone, but part of that probably comes down to the fact that he actually sings in his own accent, something that is sorely lacking in modern music, with so many singers just singing in a very generic American-esque accent, regardless of where they’re from. He is weaker when he isn’t singing a more driven song, but when they're going for it, he’s really well suited to the music. There are some obvious highlights here, with the two singles and Mardy Bum particular standouts, but there’s not really much thats particularly weak across the whole album. It does occasionally become a tiny bit repetitive, and the intensity (particularly of the vocal) can become a little much from time to time, but they typically add decent amounts of dynamic shift or rhythmic breaks to let things breathe adequately, which is a decent achievement on an album where the majority of tracks clock in at under 3 minutes. While I don't think it’s entirely the most consistent album, and a few of the tracks don’t manage to quite connect as well as the best songs on the album, it’s a really solid collection of songs and hints at even stronger things to come. The View From The Afternoon - They come out of the blocks flying. There's great pace and attitude to this. They use some interesting rhythmic variations and changes here and there to give the song movement and life. It’s quirky and skittish in places and actually quite heavy in others. A great opener. I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor - And here comes the massive hit. It might have been overplayed at the time, but it’s one hell of a single. It’s got great swagger, a solid groove and a nice jangly/heavy dynamic change between the verse and chorus. It’s hook city and it’s full of attitude and drive. Excellent. Fake Tales Of San Francisco - This drops things back a bit from a pace point of view. Alex Turner kind of only has one level of delivery which is a bit aggressive for anything that’s not fairly balls out. This has got a decent groove to it, but it’s a little too repetitive and doesn’t manage to gather anything quite as hooky as the last couple of songs. It’s still not bad and the second half brings a nice dynamic switch to keep things moving along. Dancing Shoes - Things pick up again now. Great pace and a more consistent attitude. There are some solid riffs here and it’s got some nice rhythmic stop moments in there that break up the flow really nicely. Another decent one that just smashes its way through and refuses to stick around for long. You Probably Couldn't See For The Lights But You Were Staring Straight At Me - And the pace jumps up again here. This is frantic and dives its way through various sections with reckless abandon. It doesn’t necessarily latch on to anything quite as hooky, but the vibe is solid and at just over 2 minutes, does what it does and gets out of the way. Still Take You Home - They are probably more punk than they get credit for. This is another that chips along, but they throw in more rhythmic breaks to prevent things from being too relentless. There's a quite funky little breakdown section in this one too. It just feels fairly chock full of ideas, which is pretty impressive for another sub-3-minute track. Riot Van - This gives us a bit of a pause from the frenetic energy of the album thus far, and Alex Turner actually reins in his aggressive delivery for the first time proper on the album. It’s quite melancholy and kind of pretty. A lovely little interlude. Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured - There’s a solid groove to this, but it still has good drive too and ebbs and flows in intensity. It’s perhaps a little too repetitive with that main riff being a little too prominent for a little too long, but it’s not bad. Mardy Bum - They carry on a bit of that skittish groove here and the switch between the staccato verse and the legato chorus is really nice. It’s really upbeat and has some great melodic choices. It’s a really great pop composition that’s incredibly engaging. Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But.. - The snarling attitude is back. The verse is solid, if a little repetitive, but I really like the rhythmic approach to the chorus. The breakdown section is nice too and builds brilliantly. There’s an edge of Nirvana to it in some respects and then it does a great job of giving a driven, riff heavy ending. It’s a nice switch up to give a more instrumental lead in this one. When The Sun Goes Down - Another really great single. The intro doesn’t really give you a hint of what's about to come, but lulls you in and then you get that punch of riffs. Again, it’s hook city. They drop in little tempo breaks here and there that let you grab a breath and then punch in again. It's really powerful. The drumming on this one is so good, it’s just absolutely balls to the wall. And this is the perfect kind of song for Alex Turner’s voice too. Absolute quality. From The Ritz To The Rubble - We’re back into a bouncing, rolling rhythm here. Again, they throw in really good range for such a short song, a drop out, a build up back to a crescendo at the end. It’s not as consistent as the best songs on the album, with the build up perhaps taking up a bit too much of the runtime, but it’s still got real moments of quality in it. A Certain Romance - This is a bit of a meandering one that just roams about without having much of a central thread to tie it all together that well for me. It’s a shame, really, because it lacks the fire and drive of much of the rest of the album. It’s not bad, it’s just a little bit unfocused. It does improve as it builds towards the end, but it’s a bit of a limp over the line.

8/10 This is a hard album to rate for me. I love Marvin Gaye, and there is some really special work on here, with his vocal in particular just shining the whole way through, but this is more of an overall vibe record, rather than being a collection of clearly defined and constructed songs. Some of these tracks are, despite the obvious quality of the performances and production, just a little bit too drifting and jam like to really hold my focus. I guess maybe it's an album designed to be on while you’re busy getting busy, and it certainly fulfils that brief. It’s smooth and sexy, earthy and beautiful. But it’s also music in soft focus, which doesn’t quite connect with me on the same level as his previous record, which is one of my favourites of all time. Every musician plays their part here and the pulse of the album shifts and moves through its duration with a practiced ease. In some respects, this is an excellent album because of that very thing. It’s a singular work. Yes, it’s divided into songs, but you hear little call backs and motifs thrown in here and there from other parts of the record, to the extent that Keep Gettin’ It On refers back to the title track and wanders off in a slightly different direction, and that ‘complete work’ aspect is incredibly appealing as an album prioritising listener. But the slight lack of compositional centre does detract just a little for me. All of that goes to say that, while I do really like this album, to me it almost feels like a record to put on and allow it to just wash over you rather than focusing too closely on it, and that doesn’t elevate it from an album that I really like to one that I love. Let's Get It On - This is one of the smoothest songs ever recorded, isn’t it? So much groove and feel to this one and Marvin giving it so much movement across his vocal range, while always sounding like it’s effortless for him. The instrumentation takes a back seat to the vocal, but it's got so much quality, it’s so tight, and it’s chock full of vibe. Please Don't Stay (Once You Go Away) - It’s more understated, but it’s still smooth and high quality. It’s got a little less range than the title track, but that vibe is so good. The blend of drums and percussion give this a satisfyingly pulsing life. If I Should Die Tonight - Keeping, and perhaps even furthering the laid back vibe of the last track, Marvin emotes so well over the top of a really nice weave of tonality from the rest of the instrumentation. The vibe is just excellent, although it's perhaps a tiny bit limited in range. Keep Gettin' It On - And we get a return of sorts to the opener. There’s some really lovely piano work in there, and the groove is impossible not to move to. It’s a bit of a jam rather than a more traditional song structure, but it’s a quality jam. Come Get To This - This one swings. It’s more vibe, but things are becoming a little bit too drifty for me at this point. It’s got a bit more get up and go than some of the slower jams, so it’s got that toe-tapping quality to it, but it’s perhaps a little unfocused. Distant Lover - And talking of the slower jams, here comes one now. This one is perhaps a little more focused around the distant lover section, but it does still drift along and slide its way through some changes in composition so that they’re almost not noticeable. The playing, production and vocals are worth the price of admission. It’s so smooth and pleasant, but compositionally, I find it a little to loose. You Sure Love To Ball - We get a bit more focus here as the structure seems a bit more well organised by comparison to other tracks on the album. There’s a clearer movement between sections without losing any of the vibe. He does such a good job with the overlapping vocal lines and the vibe continues to be so, so good. Just To Keep You Satisfied - Another very pretty song that drifts along, but has such a loose focus that it struggles to really grab my attention. This one, perhaps more than others, feels like it doesn’t have a central thread that it clings on to, it just floats along. That’s not to say that it’s bad, because it’s a really pleasant listening experience, but it’s also not top tier because of the lack of focus.

5/10 Country is always going to be a more difficult genre for me. I have no cultural links to it, so it’s got to do a lot of the heavy lifting to make me connect with it, whereas other genres I can meet a little more half way. But when a country album really hits the heights, I can still find myself fully on board. The first half of the album felt like more of a struggle to me, with a few too many slow tracks, and too much crooning, which is always something I struggle to connect with. I find it an uninspiring and often insincere type of vocal delivery that turns me off a song pretty quickly. There were some nice moments in that first half when the pace got driven up a bit and the band got a bit more involved, particularly the guitarists and piano player. There wasn’t a vast amount of range or development to many of the ideas, but given that only one song ran over 3 minutes, that’s hardly surprising. In the second half, there were times when this record really got moving, and there were some really good moments. It felt fun in a way that the first half rarely managed, and I found myself tapping my feet and bouncing along with it, quite enjoying the swing and swagger of the performances. Merle Haggard has a good edge to his vocal delivery when things are moving, and when the band got more involved again, the level just jumped up. I can’t say I’m likely to spend much time with this again in future, but it was a pleasant enough experience and has me optimistic for any future country albums that might live up to the highs on this record. I'm A Lonesome Fugitive - There’s a nice flow to this and some nice bits of nuance to the instrumental parts. Some nice vocal harmonies too. It’s perhaps a tiny bit plodding, but it’s nice enough. He’s got a nice warm vocal tone too. All Of Me Belongs To You - We get a bit more zip on this one and it has a nice toe-tapping rhythm. There’s some nice guitar work in there too. It doesn’t have much range or variety, but it's less than three minutes long, so does that really matter? House Of Memories - This is more crooning, which is the type of music from this era that I struggle with a lot more. There’s some nice piano and slide guitar in there, but it doesn’t do a lot for me in general. Life In Prison - Straddling the line between the crooning and the more up-beat stuff, this is a bit better than the last one, but it’s still a bit plodding. There’s a good little guitar solo in there that gives this a slightly different edge, but ultimately, it’s a bit dull. Whatever Happened To Me - And the tempo drops again. There’s some nice piano work on here in a couple of places, but it doesn’t do enough to save it from the plodding drudgery and crooning monotony of this song. Drink Up And Be Somebody - Finally, a bit of a lift. There’s a decent pace to this and we’re back to having more of a toe-tapping rhythm. The instrumental work is solid and there are some nice vocal harmonies in there too. Not bad. Someone Told My Story - Again, there’s not a bad lilt to this one. It’s a bit too welded to the downbeat, which gives it that plodding edge, but it feels like Merle’s giving it a bit of range from that, despite nudging his way into crooning territory a little too much for me. If You Want To Be My Woman - This is much, much better. Good pace, a bit of swagger and it actually sounds fun. Quality guitar soloing and the bass and piano provide a really solid swing to the beat. Some nice rhythmic stops in there too. I could have done with more like this on the album, as I really enjoyed this one. Mary's Mine - I could, on the other hand, have done with less of this. Crooning, slow, plodding and dull. There are some decent bits of piano in there and the rhythm section feels like they’re trying to inject a little bit of momentum to it, but it’s just not very interesting. Skid Row - We’re back! I can’t pretend I’m ever going to be an enormous country fan, but I can at least get behind something like this a little more. It’s got drive, pace and a some more of that much needed swagger to it. Ram those thumbs in your belt loops, kick out your feet and jig along. My Rough And Rowdy Ways - While the pace has dropped a little here, there’s enough of a swing to this and it doesn’t resort to the crooning stuff that drags some of the other slow ones down. More good guitar playing, a nice edge to his vocal delivery and a finger clicking lilt to the rhythm. Not bad at all. Mixed Up Mess Of A Heart - Let’s end this on something of a high. The bass player feels like he’s finally woken up and gets to do something a bit more interesting. It’s got a good kick to it and I particularly like the piano work. The vocal delivery is great, as are the harmonisations. This has a solid pace, is really good fun and gets it all done in no time at all. A solid way to end the album.

3/10 I was hoping for something good here. There are a couple of tracks on here that I know as really solid songs; I Want You To Want Me and Surrender, so I was hoping for more of that, despite the fact that I will typically approach any live album with caution. For me, it's incredibly rare for that live experience to be captured effectively in a recording and some of the quirks of live music, like over long build ups to build anticipation in a crowd, or sing along sections that just grate with me in a recorded context. Unfortunately, this record not only fell flat for me in that regard, but also in a musical one. For a band labelled as Power Pop, there was a shocking paucity of hooks and big choruses and way too much time spent on building tension that was rarely released in a satisfying way. Of the ten tracks here, you could play them all back to me next week and I'd probably only recognise the two aformentioned classics, despite having listened to this record three times through today. And as for the album construction. We get unnecessary intro and outro tracks and an encore, a pointless addition on a 40 minute record. We get a 9 minute track that goes nowhere. We get a lot of high pitched screaming in between songs too. The band seem competent enough, if not particularly adventurous with their songwriting or performance, despite the guitarist and drummer trying to give it some now and again. And the recording isn't great either. It's muddy, has little clarity and definition, the bass is weak and the balance isn't very good. Rolling Stone have this as their 13th greatest live album of all time. So maybe live albums are just not very good? This one certainly wasn't. Hello There - It's very much an intro and it's not that exciting. The recording isn't that good either. It feels like they're trying to get the crowd up and going, especially with the drumming and perhaps for someone present at the gig it would work. But I'm not there. Come On Come On - and then they drop the tempo to this is quite pedestrian number. It feels like it never settles and just keeps roaming around hunting for a hook that it never finds. This has not been an auspicious start. Look Out - This has got a bit more drive to it. The drumming is pretty good here at least and I can hear why this might work in a live environment, but it still feels like they're struggling to find the big chorus that they need. For a supposed Power Pop band, I'm not hearing much of a pop sensibility just yet. Big Eyes - Again, this is getting a bit better. It's a bit too rhythmically staid for me and feels pretty unadventurous because of that, but there are moments creeping in here and there. The chorus feels like a really good pre-chorus, but again the big, hooky chorus never arrives. Need Your Love - It feels like we're going to get a nice slow build here. But we don't. God, this is plodding and pedestrian and the attempts to add some flair with the guitar are both too repetitive and also at odds with the dull thud of the backbeat. There's the odd decent riff in here, and again, it feels like it's building to something, but just drops away. This song is just 9 minutes of unfulfilled promises. Ain't That A Shame - And as if 9 minutes of build up wasn't enough, here's some more. It takes them a couple of minutes, but at least they actually arrive somewhere this time. It's not bad, but it's still a fairly by the numbers bluesy inspired rock number. It definitely gets better when they start having a bit of fun with solos. But that relentless bass line is a really uninspiring backbone. I Want You To Want Me - Finally! Something worthy of the Power Pop label. This is a great song. There's quality guitar playing, a solid, hooky vocal melody and lyrics. There's more hooks in here than the rest of the album up to this point, and it bounces along really well. It feels a bit like it suffers a tiny bit in terms of production and depth of instrument for being a live recording, but it's a really high quality composition. Surrender - Another great song, although it feels a little on the slow side. With a bit more tempo,this could be great. It builds nicely during the verses and then actually delivers into the chorus. There are some solid riffs and some quality vocal harmonies. Why did they wait so long to drop some satisfying tracks? Goodnight Now - We get the counterpart to the intro track now. It feels like it's got more drive, pace and groove to it now that they've got into the swing of the show, but it's still a bit of a pointless thing to have on a live record in my opinion. Clock Strikes Ten - And an encore. This has got a nice bit of grit and drive to it. It's more of that bluesy style rock, but again the chorus never really delivers on the promise and feels more like a pre-chorus. Solid verse, solid pre-chorus and then no actual chorus. It's a bit weird. Tempo and groove wise, this is pretty good but it feels a bit of a let down from a compositional completeness point of view.

7/10 I’m sort of approaching this in a unique way, as a Christmas album, by its very nature, is not something designed for year-round appreciation. It’s also a ‘various artists’ album, so doesn’t really fall under the same umbrella as a more traditional album either. Phil Spector’s ‘wall of sound’ production techniques are something that often jar with me. I need a bit of space in my music, and his inclination to fill every part of the audio spectrum often makes his production feel overly muddy or cluttered to my ears. When he leaves space for things to breathe, it can really work, but there were times on this album where it all became a bit too much. The most difficult parts for me were when the drums were overplayed (and sometimes swamped in reverb) compared to the rest of the instrumentation, and it just didn’t’t feel reflective of the tone of a track. These were fairly rare though, so it wasn’t a complete dampener. Other than that, there are some absolute classic tracks on here. The vocal performances, both lead and backing are pretty much flawless throughout. There’s also plenty of nice little instrumental sections too that break up the tracks well. When Spector gets out of his own way, his production is great and everything gels together fantastically. It’s a slightly uneven album, but none of the tracks are long, so the unevenness doesn’t stick out too much. Overall, it’s an excellent Christmas album, and an ok album in general, so a 7 seems fair for what is a fairly specialist pick. White Christmas - This has got a nice pace to it. It’s laid back, but still has enough energy to keep it moving nicely. Darlene Love has obviously got a fantastic voice and her delivery is excellent, although the spoken word bit is a tiny bit strange. But she collects everything back together after that. A very pleasant rendition. Frosty The Snowman - The rhythm of this swells in a slightly strange way. The drums are bit too overplayed here for me and the wall of sound production makes it all a bit too busy. The vocals, both lead and backing are great, but it feels like there’s too much attempt to add weight and drive to a good, but deliberately lightweight song. The Bells Of St. Mary - I’m less keen on this. Again, the rhythm section feels like it’s adding too much pace to a track that otherwise is quite laid back, which creates a strange juxtaposition of style. It’s not got a very substantial melodic hook to it either. It might have worked as more of a tonal wash, but the overdone production and drumming just don’t connect it together in that way. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Everyone is singing off the same hymn sheet here. The drums are energetic, but the rest of the track matches that energy. There’s a great sax solo in here too, followed by a solid breakdown. There’s space in the mix and a real drive and groove to the performances. Solid work. Sleigh Ride - This follows on perfectly from the last track. Good pace, a nice bouncing groove to it, and a superb lead vocal. Again, there’s space in the mix and the backing vocals are a perfect Christmas treat. The string part is really well written, in particular and adds an extra dimension to the basic song. A Marshmallow World - Another one with good pace, but there’s an extra bit of swagger here too. The instrumental solo parts are great and break the song up nicely. Darlene Love’s vocal is excellent again. It’s a lesser known Christmas song but works really well here. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - This is a classic song, but it’s not my favourite version of this track. Again, I feel like the drumming is perhaps a bit too energetic and forward for a track that could have done with a slightly more toned down presentation. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer - And another example of that strange juxtaposition of a fairly plodding chord structure with the rhythmic elements playing at twice the speed of everything else. It’s all a bit weird, and this is another where it just feels overproduced and too full, which overwhelms the actual song. Winter Wonderland - Some actually toned down drums? Colour me shocked. There’s still energy there, but it all syncs up in a more successful way. The vocals are top notch and the general energy is great, but it all feels a bit too muddy from a production point of view. Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers - Ah, what says Christmas more than a military parade? I’llm half joking, but it’s not really my kind of thing. There are some nice enough moments, but the general feel of it is all a bit too regimented and parade ground for me, even if they are trying to invoke a children’s toy solider theme. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Now this is what we’re here for. There’s actually some good dynamic range to this one (see Phil, it’s possible!). The lead vocal is spectacular, the instrumentation is fantastic and it’s got such a pleasing swing to it. It gets very full in places, but when there’s range, the can really work. Excellent. Here Comes Santa Claus - There are some really fantastic elements to this, but it’s quite one-paced. That being said, that pace is decent enough. It’s an enjoyable enough experience, even if it’s not quite as hooky as the better songs on the album, but it’s well performed and produced. Silent Night - Ah, the man himself. What says Christmas more than a direct message from a murderer and all-round monster like Phil Spector? Merry Christmas one and all!

7/10 I’m a massive fan of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust... It will always be my go to Bowie album. It feels so coherent, concise and considered, and really tells a great musical story. But I’ve oddly not spent too much time with his subsequent album, so this was an interesting listen for me. It kicks off where Ziggy left off in a lot of ways. The tone and direction of travel feels very Ziggy, but it doesn’t manage to launch with the same standard of hook or consistency that the previous album had. Fortunately, things do move and evolve from that point on, delving into more jazzy and bluesy moments across the record, while also dipping here and there into some slightly more avant garde indulgences. While I did enjoy some of those moments, they’re not ones that, after 3-4 listens have really demanded my attention any further, which is a bit of a shame. I did feel the record started to get moving towards half way, Panic In Detroit onwards, and by then it felt like Bowie had transitioned further from the core of what he was doing on Ziggy. There were some really heavy and beefy elements, and you could really pick up some of the influence of Iggy and the Stooges in there on those more gritty cuts, which was enjoyable to hear. There were also some really outstanding vocals on this album. When Bowie gets into full swagger, there’s not many that beat him. He’s not the most technically gifted necessarily, but the emphasis and attitude that he imparts into his delivery is so uniquely his that has the ability to really elevate a song. With that being said, I did find that his lead vocal was occasionally just a bit too quiet in the mix, which was an odd choice. As an overall experience, I did enjoy this record, despite it not being quite as consistent as his previous effort, but I do appreciate the evolution that he made to the sound rather than delivering the same thing again. Is it an essential album? Probably not, but it had enough moments of quality to make me tempted to revisit it again in future. Watch That Man - It feels like Bowie is picking up where he left off on Ziggy here. It’s got a swinging glam rock drive to it, but it never quite clicks into gear to the same level as the previous album. There are places when it feels a little rhythmically cluttered, but when it comes together it’s decent. Some of the piano playing later on really adds a nice bit of high end prettiness to it. It’s good, but not excellent. Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?) - And we’ve moved nicely away from the rockier tone to something that’s more jazz influenced. It’s got some really nice elements, but does get a bit self indulgent during the dissonant piano solo section. I don’t mind it actually, and it does fit with the general disquiet of the song’s tonality and intent. I can see why it would turn people off, but I do feel it’s a core part of his storytelling here. Drive-In Saturday - The focus is pulled into more clarity again here, and there are more Ziggy echoes, but with an edge of swing. I feel like the chorus in particular is a little meandering, but I did enjoy the vibe of the track. The lead vocal is oddly low in the mix, and this is another good but not great one. Panic In Detroit - I like the lilt of the rhythm on this. There’s a really good sense of movement to it, yet it feels like all of that movement is circling well around the central thrust of the track. This is the kind of Bowie that really works for me. Less obvious phrasings in the vocal, a central thread to things, but enough weirdness and edge to it to make it interesting. Cracked Actor - That’s a beefy intro. In fact, it’s pretty a pretty weighty song in general, and Bowie’s vocal is delivered with a brilliantly gritty swagger. It’s rhythmically solid and pulses nicely. There’s a lot of interesting variation in emphasis between the parts, particularly the guitars, but there's enough of a solid backbone that it keeps everything in touch. Time - This is a pretty quintessential example of a David Bowie vocal delivery. Strong, delivered with swagger and drama, doesn’t always take the obvious direction, not tonally perfect, but that only adds to the character. This is a really, really good track that kind of sucked me in. It feels like there is plenty of range and variety to the composition and it felt really engaging. The Prettiest Star - We’re on to something a bit more plodding here. It’s still reasonably good, but it is perhaps a little odd to be throwing in an updated version of a single he’d released three years earlier. A well written and executed song that stylistically feels a little at odds with music that has had a slightly more driven or experimental edge on the album thus far. Let's Spend The Night Together - And now a Stones cover. It’s pretty good actually, has a lot of pace and drive to it. I think I might like Bowie doing the Stones more than the actual Stones. Again, it has that swagger and drive to it. The guitar work is really good and Bowie’s addition of bits and pieces of synth work add an extra dimension. The collapse before the final chorus is great too. The Jean Genie - The biggest song on the album. It’s a great little bluesy number through the verses, with a nice bit of grit and grime over a pulsing beat. Just the kind of dirty blues I like. And then it breaks into that iconic chorus. It doesn’t deviate too far from the blues backbone, but it’s such a great pop hook. So much swagger and feel to this. Lady Grinning Soul - The piano here is so good. It has a swirling quality that has some brilliant rhythmic punctuations. As a track it’s quite a drifty little number that perhaps never really finds its centre. There are some really nice moments from the guitar and vocal in a call and response section. It’s perhaps a little muddled, but it was still an enjoyable enough listening experience.

8/10 Creedence are a band that I know bits and pieces of, but not one that I have fully engaged with, despite enjoying what I've heard, so this was fun. The album manages to provide a really high-quality blend of vibe and momentum. I found myself bouncing, bobbing my head or tapping my toe the whole way through, but the general swagger and delivery, particularly of the lead vocal from John Fogerty, is so laid back that it’s almost horizontal. Managing to thread that line of maintaining momentum while presenting such a relaxed level of cool is a challenging thing, but they pull it off with aplomb. And that feeling is really representative of the album as a whole. It’s all about the vibe. They are clearly a tight unit, with all of them playing superbly in pocket while maintaining that almost dragging swagger, but they rarely throw more than the odd moment of flair at things, performing with a restraint that allows the little flourishes to have more impact than they would have with a more showy performance. The song writing is solid, though rarely spectacular, but it doesn’t really need to be anything more than it is because its the spirit of the performances that provide the quality here, and the fact that barely any of the tracks clock in at more than three minutes or so means that they don’t need to overwork the ideas for them to be effective. While it’s not a mind-blowingly brilliant album, I found it so engaging that I was wavering between a 8 and a 9 on this one, and I suspect that further relistens may push this higher, but I feel like it was a tiny bit uneven in places and the last couple of tracks maybe didn't gel with the rest of the album, despite their standalone quality. Either way, this was a lovely little listen. Green River - A solid riff to kick us off. There’s a really satisfying swagger and lilt to this. The guitar work is just the right amount of laid-back cool, and the vocal matches that aesthetic perfectly. There’s quite a lot of movement built up by the different parts, particularly during the short instrumental sections. It's not the most widely varied song, but it’s also only two and a half minutes long, so who cares. The vibe is great. Commotion - There’s a bit more urgency to this with the persistence of the beat in particular, but it’s still got a nice bit of bounce to it. The instrumental breakdowns here are great and while the track itself hasn’t really hooked me in the same way as the opener, it’s still a decent effort. Tombstone Shadow - And they’ve dropped that pace down again. That swagger is back and it’s got a solid groove to go along with that bluesy base. The vocal call and response with the guitar is simple but effective, and his very occasional pop up into falsetto is great. Again, the vibe of this is just superb and the playing, while fairly understated, is so smooth and engaging. Wrote A Song For Everyone - Now they’ve taken things even more laid back. Despite that it’s still got a good bit of impetus and feel behind it. John Fogerty's vocal is great here, as he pushes a little bit of grit into it here and there that adds a nice emotional edge to the delivery. There are some really pleasing piece of instrumental work in this one too. It would be easy to make a song like this boring, but I found it full of enough movement and variety that it was really engaging. Bad Moon Rising - This is the biggest hitter that I’m aware of from the album. It’s got great pace and momentum to it, it’s written around a great hook and it moves so smoothly through its transitions. It all just feels so effortless. It’s a proper toe-tapper and has more of that vibey swagger about it. Lovely stuff. Lodi - There’s quite an insistent drive to the instrumental parts here, but it's offset really nicely by the lead, both the vocal and then the guitar when it takes over. It’s just a really nice balance between driven and relaxed. There’s nothing spectacular about the song writing here, but the feel of it is so infectious and engaging. Cross-Tie Walker - This continues that up-beat drive from the last track, but throws a bit more of a bluesy lilt to things. It’s not quite as engaging as the last track, but it’s still got a solid toe-tapping swagger to it. The band are really tight and the little bits of instrumental flair that they chuck in now and again are great seasoning. Sinister Purpose - This is a nice switch up from the last couple of tracks. It’s got a cool funky edge to it. Oddly, it feels a little thin sound-wise compared to the other tracks, which is a bit of a shame. I think perhaps there’s too much staccato work going on across the instruments and nothing working to give it a thicker padded base. That being said, it’s still a cool little number and it may be that it just doesn’t feel as warm as the rest of the album. The Night Time Is The Right Time - The blues is in full swing now. It continues on nicely from the last track, but there’s a bit more thickness to the sound. From a musical point of view, it's not vastly interesting, but it’s really well executed. The vibe pushes into being more intense, which adds an extra flavour to the record, but isn’t quite as comfortingly engaging to me as the more laid-back vibey stuff.

9/10 Sigur Rós gather up a whole load of different types of music that I love and, in broad strokes, create undeniably evocative and ethereal music. This album sort of came out of nowhere in 1999 and I think even they weren’t expecting for it to do much more than sell a couple of thousand copies in Iceland and keep them ticking along, but it catapulted them to international acclaim. This is an immensely beautiful experience of an album, drifting between ambient soundscapes, clouded folk motifs and crumbling post rock distortion. There’s a real melodic core that exists underneath it all, but they are careful to only expose it from time to time, preferring to build an ebb and flow of sound that serves those melodic inclinations as moments in the journey, rather than the destination itself. The songs are long, but they nearly always do enough to keep things interesting to a close listener, while creating a superb bed for those wanting something that just washes over them. There is a great deal of dynamic and tonal range, but the slow progress of those changes allows everything to feel very natural and organic in its movement. That range is also present in the variety of recording techniques they employ, from obfuscated washes of tone that peek out from under reverb or distortion, hiding their origin, to guitars with exposed fret noise and close mic’d vocals that fell like Jónsi is whispering in your ear. The intent and interest that these choice bring to the project is fascinating and engaging. I do feel that the record is a shade too long, and a little bit of trimming here and there could have made this a slightly tighter experience, as there are moments when it drifts a tiny bit too much, but that’s perhaps a personal take and others could probably love it even more were it longer still. Either way, it’s a beautiful piece of work and one that I have incredibly fond memories of and will revisit again many times over the years, Intro - It’s a scene setter, using bits and pieces from elsewhere in the album and establishing tone and vibe from the off. Svefn-g-englar - This is such a beautiful song. That synth sonar ping that rings out, the crumbling edifice of the distorted, bowed guitar that gives way to a wide open ambience. It’s just glorious. The “Tjú” lyrical hook is etched into my consciousness. Everything moves along slowly, but there’s still momentum to it and the drums don’t play it completely straight, so it has a slight shuffle to it that gives it an organic feeling. The transition at around 6 minutes is gorgeous too and takes things in a slightly darker direction. It feels ethereal and icy, yet dangerous, like standing on a glacier looking out into a crisp, white landscape, but with the occasional sound of cracking from the ice beneath your feet. Starálfur - There’s something so melancholic about this. The interweaving lines from the piano and strings are lovely and then Jónsi comes in with a lament of a vocal that takes its turn to weave around over the strings. There’s some really nice bits of ear candy in there too that add some nice depth. The way it strips out to a really dry vocal for the lo-fi guitar strumming section is so stark. The range in this track is superb, and it moves through a range of equally interesting and engaging sections. Some of the string swells are just fantastic too. Flugufrelsarinn - I think there’s more sonic range to this album than some people give it credit for. There’s a wider palette of sounds if you listen closely enough, but it all fits so well with the aesthetic that it all blends into a unified tone. This track just builds this warm fog of tone with that subtle rhythm driving it from beneath. And then the lead vocal just tears a space over the top of it with some subtle but gorgeous harmonisations. The sweeping and shimmering of the sound design is so good and, even though the there’s no clear melodic hook, the vibe and atmosphere is so gripping, it doesn’t really matter. Ný batterí - They do a really good job of building and stripping away the scale of their music. The dynamic range is fantastic. This is so much more sparse to begin with. It has more of those alien, shimmering textures, but it’s restrained. It threatens and threatens to burst in to life, but keeps you right on the edge. And then those drums come in and add that extra depth. It get’s a little too splashy and the drums take over a little too much at some points, but it’s quite deliberately intense. Hjartað hamast (bamm bamm bamm) - Here’s another example of that wide palette, that rhodes and harmonica intro bring a different twist to the tale and it all than gets engulfed in the glorious wash of their sound. This shimmers and pulses, but the insistent bass line keeps it centred. The vocal is so closely recorded, and I feel like they play with depth and distance really well across the record, with this being an example of something a bit different. The way they pull into and out of washes of crumbling distortion into clean baths of tonality are so pleasing to my ear. This is another with no real melodic hook, but there are fleeting moments here and there that link together the amongst the vibe. Viðrar vel til loftárása - And slowly drifting out of the wash of noise, comes this almost hesitant but lovely piece of piano work. This is an example when there is more of a hook or motif that holds things together. It’s not there all of the time, but it keeps getting referenced back to beautifully. This is such a slow, pretty build of a track. Everything takes its time to arrive, such that you don’t even notice things straight away. I feel like there are moments when it starts to lose its way, but it manages to gather everything up again quite well when it strips back to the piano and vocal, and the build off the back of that is absolutely glorious. Olsen olsen - The pulsing bass here gives it a superb drive while the ethereal elements begin to swarm and build over the top. The melodic line here that starts on the flute is another part of this album that just lives inside me. The track ebbs and flows in a way that is somehow both insistent and drifting, with little melodic and harmonic treasures popping out of the wash now and again. And as they move into the second half of the track, it almost becomes a Sigur Rós show tune evolution of that melodic hook. There’s still that vibe and grit under there, but they pull a very different feeling out of it. And then the final use of that motif becomes so haunting as the track ends. Ágætis byrjun - This is another slow transitioning and very pretty piece. It's perhaps a bit more tied to its main theme than some of the other tracks, but they bring in and out different moments that create a really interesting rhythmic blend of tonality. I actually really like it when they strip things back to the more folksy sound of the vocal, piano and guitar at the end. It feels like it exposes the core of what they are doing, which is to write solid, pretty songs and build them into these grand sonic sculptures that only expose the song at their centre in very cautious ways. To me, that’s a really engaging way of delivering songwriting, somewhat reminiscent of Radiohead, process wise, rather than end product wise, at their enigmatic best. Avalon - A dark and brooding end. It’s a slow movement as the album drifts to its conclusion. There’s not too much to grab hold of from a melodic point of view and it doesn’t really evolve or develop much either, but I kind of get where they were aiming with it, and there are touches in the sound design that I really like. But overall, it feels a little bit too hollow for me.

6/10 This is a funny old album, in that it seems to straddle a range of different genres, but doesn’t always convincingly blend them. There are elements of punk, pop and new wave in there, and you can definitely hear their influence on bands that followed like The Smiths and a lot of the 90s britpop bands, but it often feels a little bit jumbled. I think it takes a little while to get going too, and it only really lifts off at around half way through. But when they get everything together, some of this is really compelling. The rhythm section bring a great, rolling, bouncing drive to a number of the tracks, and when they take the time to develop their ideas and allow them to breathe a little bit, things come together really nicely. Bruce Foxton on bass is really the standout for me. Even on the less engaging tracks, I often had a moment where I’d hear a little run or flourish in the bass that would hook me in. I think something that emphasised the lack of balance to the songs on here was Paul Weller’s voice. When he’s in punky mode, it works really well, but as soon as he becomes more exposed, you can hear its weakness. It sounds to me like he’s always straining just a little and has a little edge of cold, which is perfectly fine for the high energy stuff but it felt like the slower, more melodic stuff didn’t quite come across as well as it could have with a better singer. As the album progressed, I did find myself engaging a lot more, even if it never felt completely even, and the back half of the record is actually pretty solid, despite the occasional misstep. It’s certainly done enough to make me consider checking out more of their stuff, and I may even take the time to revisit this again now and again. All Mod Cons - There’s a punky edge to this, but also an edge of stadium rock with the guitar tone. It’s a jittery little song that never really settles itself. There are a couple of nice riffs in there, but it feels a little confused. To Be Someone (Didn't We Have A Nice Time) - The bass here is great and there’s a nice blend of staccato and legato phases within the song. It rolls along quite nicely and it’s got quite a groovy edge to it. It’s kind of like a more melodic punk. Fairly simple song writing but with a little bit of flair here and there and an ear leaning more towards harmony and melody. Mr. Clean - This sounds almost like the prototype for The Smiths. There’s a decent drive to it, and I like the verse, particularly the guitar riff and the way it plays against the bass, but the choruses and then the middle eight section just don’t quite connect with me. It just feels like the development out of that opening riff isn’t that satisfying. David Watts - This is a bit better. It’s got good pace to it and some nice melodic hooks. I’m not sold on the piano that just follows the lead vocal though, it’s a bit too insistent. It’s another decent enough song that doesn’t quite connect everything together into a completely satisfying whole, despite the fact that there are moments that did catch my ear. English Rose - This is quite nice. The sound design adds a bit of extra depth to it, which is pleasing. Paul Weller’s voice does sound a bit exposed here and it feels a bit stretched, particularly after the key change though. It’s pretty basic, but that’s kind of the point, I think. In The Crowd - Ah, we’ve finally got a bit of lift off. There’s good pace to this, it feels much more consistent and there’s a bit more going on instrumentally. The bass is again a highlight. There’s some really nice melodic choices in there, but they also have moments of tonal range in there that give it added depth. I even enjoyed the more experimental developments later on, because the backing keeps the momentum, there’s some impetus to it, and the song had earned the right to go off the rails a bit. A solid track. Billy Hunt - I’m glad that the momentum from the end of the first side has carried over to the start of the second. This drives along really nicely. It’s bouncy but driven, punky but with a melodic sensibility and some really nice bits of playing from the band. Again, great bass playing and the attitude of this works way better with Weller’s voice. It's Too Bad - I like this one too. It’s got more of that bounce to it and an edge of Beatles to the vocals, but without losing that edge of punkiness that's bubbling under the surface. It’s quite pop-punky in a way, but it still has that new wave edge. There’s a nice melodic thread, but it’s underpinned by a little bit of grit and tempo too. Fly - Now Weller is a bit more exposed again. I can’t quite buy him doing stuff like this, it feels a little bit try-hard for some reason. The cut into the full band feels just slightly off too. This is a bit of an odd amalgamation of sections that don’t completely blend together particularly well. There are moments of this that I quite like, but I felt like I would start getting into something and it would change again to something that didn’t seem completely connected. Strange. The Place I Love - They’ve hooked it all together again now. This has got that insistent pace to it driving it along and the vocal blend is really nice. I particularly like the legato sections that they throw in here and there. They’re very short but leave you wanting more, which is a nice little trick. That main driven section perhaps gets a little too repetitive, but hey, it’s a short song. 'A' Bomb In Wardour Street - This is a strong intro, but it needs to do more. It does drop into some brief sections of variation, but it returns far too often to that main motif that’s just a bit overly repetitive, despite them throwing in the odd bit of solo work here and there. It’s a shame, because I actually quite like this, but feel like they need to do something else for a little bit longer. Down In The Tube Station At Midnight - This sounds half way between The Clash and The Smiths. It has a great groove to it in places and a nice menacing edge to it in others. The different sections are given enough time to breathe and develop and it’s got an excellent, insistent, driving base to it with some satisfying melodic choices thrown in for good measure. A great ending.

6/10 David Bowie returned after a decade long hiatus with an album recorded in secret and revealed only with the release of the album’s first single. Surprise albums weren’t really a thing at the time, so it was Bowie being Bowie and trying something new. Again. Fair play to him. The resulting album is one that does a good job of dipping back in to the sounds of a lot of his previous work and spinning them into something new. There are touches of Ziggy glam, Low introspection and even Labyrinth fantasy scattered through the album, and when it gets things right, it does a fine job. Bowie can pretty much always elevate songs with his charisma and vocal delivery, which is a rare and superb talent. The first half of the album in particular chugs along nicely and there are some really, really engaging pieces of composition and production. There’s a sense of brooding melancholy and menace that’s pretty much ever present across the record, which provides a subtle yet unifying tonality to proceedings, but there are moments when that swamps things a little too much and drags the record down, particularly into the second half. In all honesty, this album would have been considerably better had there been a more brutal hand in the edit room, as the trimming of 15-20 minutes of material could have made the impact of what was left far more effective and created a tighter and more well rounded listening experience. In reality, this is never going to trouble my top Bowie album list, but you’d hardly expect any artist to come out with their best work at 66 after a ten year hiatus, and this was still a good listen. Oh, and Bowie would kick back against my statement about artists putting out top tier work in their 60s wouldn’t he? This was just prep for the final act. The Next Day - There’s a great bounce to this. Bowie knows how to drag the momentum of a track around so well. He builds things, he drops them and he so often keeps things moving while staying true to a song. There’s something quite Pixies about this in a way, but with a more poppy inflection. It’s not one of his hookiest ever songs, but it’s still pretty engaging. Dirty Boys - I really like the weird, menacing edge to this. It makes me think a little of Nick Cave, but with that Bowie clarity that somehow makes a song that's off-kilter and a bit weird sound like a pop record. The juxtaposition of the verses against the chorus is great and it feels grubby in a really satisfying way. The Stars (Are Out Tonight) - The subtle “ooh oooh ooh” harmonies here are lovely. This has got drive, but it’s got a great atmosphere to it too. There’s some quality guitar playing here in particular, but as a whole it’s a really full and engaging composition and production. The transitions feel really natural and there’s enough range in here to keep the ear engaged. Lovely stuff. Love Is Lost - Another brooding and somewhat menacing effort here. It’s got an insistent, throbbing tone to it, though I’m less enamoured with the middle chorus, which loses a bit of that threat but also don’t quite connect to a different sensation either. It’s a slightly unbalanced track that didn’t quite meet its potential. Where Are We Now? - This is a great song. Smooth, atmospheric, melancholic and all wrapped up in a sparse but effective production. His vocal delivery is fantastic. It kind of reminds me a little of ‘As The World Falls Down’ from Labyrinth, which is an underrated gem. The chorus is haunting and emotive in such a brilliant way, and there’s a great rhythmic thread to keep things building and moving as it goes. Valentine’s Day - This is decent, but feels quite run of the mill. Bowie’s vocal is great as usual, but it feels like the track is just a bit pedestrian. It's kind of like if you blended Ziggy era Bowie with Pulp, but forgot to include any of the quality hooks. All of the players do a decent job and the production is great, but it’s just a bit safe. If You Can See Me - And we’re back on to something a bit more weird and engaging. It’s just the right amount of odd, but doesn't drift far from it’s centre, so everything feels connected. I really like the subtle octave doubling on the vocal, which really suits the tension of the rest of the composition. I’d Rather Be High - Similarly to Valentine’s Day, there's something a bit safe about this, but there’s a few nice hooks there, particularly the guitar lead line. The chorus feels like it's almost found the brilliant hook it’s crying out for, but doesn’t quite pull it off. The chord change into the chorus works really well though, and the drum part is pretty good too. Boss Of Me - There are some great slap bass moments in here. The vibe of the track is solid, it has a bit of drive and grit to it, but with a funky edge that rolls it along really well. I’m not convinced by the bridge and this is another that I quite like, but feel like it doesn’t have the hook or edge of Bowie's best work. Dancing Out In Space - I was hoping for something a bit more classic Bowie with a title like this, but it’s a bit mundane really. Again, the production is great, but it all feels a bit rigid and routine. The rhythm isn’t bad and there’s nothing bad about it, it just isn't vastly interesting. How Does The Grass Grow? - There are some nice moments in this track, but it feels a bit stilted through the verses and while the chorus makes an effort to be a bit more interesting and inventive it doesn’t quite manage to connect. Some of the guitar work is great here, and it feels like it’s calling back to classic Bowie, but the answer isn’t as good as one would hope. (You Will) Set The World On Fire - This isn’t a bad track. Some nice riffs, some quality guitar playing, a decent central hook, but it’s another that just feels a little safe and unadventurous. I quite like it, but I also don’t think I’ll really remember it tomorrow or be that interested in revisiting it, which is a shame. You Feel So Lonely You Could Die - Bowie elevates this with his emotive vocal, but it’s a little bit of a dull song really. Honestly, I fell a bit like this album is starting to drag a little now and I would be more able to engage with this were it part of a shorter album. I mean it’s really not bad, and as a pause between songs with more fire, I think I could buy into this. Heat - And we close off with a dark, brooding and atmospheric piece. It’s not bad, and the sound design is great, but when we’ve already wound down with the last track, it’s like the album is sort of drifting away, rather than closing out with any gusto. It’s a bit too repetitive, and lacks anything particularly memorable.

6/10 When this album is at its peak, it is so, so good. It’s funky, groovy, has bags of soul and attitude, and the instrumental work from The Funk Brothers is exquisitely in the pocket, and rammed full of vibe. The better vocals on the record are delivered with a bit of bite and edge to them, while maintaining a smooth swagger that really hooks your ear into the song, with the rest of the band providing superb backing and punctuation to elevate that main delivery. Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone is an absolute classic of the genre and is rightfully considered one of the high points of Motown’s catalogue. It may not be the first version of the track, but it’s certainly the definitive one. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Funky Music and The First Time, both of which have superior versions released by other artists, which makes the ones on here feel like a little bit of a letdown by comparison. I think that using a fairly poorly recorded live version of Funky Music was also an incredibly strange choice to open the record with. And that’s the main problem with this album: It’s quite uneven, both from a song choice and recording point of view. The first side builds from the opener and gets stronger, culminating with a masterpiece, but then the quality feels like it drops again, only really building back up to its best for the last couple of tracks of side two. That’s not to say any of it is bad, per se, it’s just a little unexciting here and there, which is only put into starker relief by the aforementioned ‘other, better versions’ issue. With all that being said, this was still a solid listen and Papa is an exceptional 1/3 of the album, so it’s definitely worth giving this a fresh spin now and again. Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On - This is a great song. I’m a big fan of Edwin Starr version, and while this sounds like a decent performance of the song, it lacks a bit of the grit of that earlier version. It also sounds like it was recorded on a single mic from the sound desk. It’s a weak recording, a lot of the detail and nuance is lost and it’s just quite an odd way to open a studio album. Run Charlie Run - Now we’re getting into the swing of things. The verses are so fluid and groovy and the instrumentation from The Funk Brothers is great. I feel like the momentum gets a bit lost in the chorus which just feels a bit stilted. The lead vocal is great and has a tasty bit of attitude, but it feels a little bit lost in places as the mix feels a little muddled. Papa Was A Rollin' Stone - This is an absolute classic. It ebbs and flows so nicely through the instrumental sections, with parts coming and going, building and falling away. It would be easy for a track like this to get boring, with the bass and hi-hat repeating for so long, but the considered arrangement and mixing hold it together superbly well. When we get to the vocal, it’s delivered so smoothly and emoted so well that it shines. The backing vocals only enhance it too. There are so many little moments of quality that just flutter in for a moment here and there, particularly from the guitar, but also the strings and trumpet. It’s an atmospheric, slow funky soul masterpiece. Love Woke Me Up This Morning - We’re swinging over to something a bit more pop soul. It’s decent enough, but it’s a bit too much of a soft ballad for me. I prefer their funkier efforts. The lead vocal is a tad on the shrill side too, which makes it more of a challenging listen. I Ain't Got Nothin' - Similarly to the last track, this is pretty laid back. The lead vocal is more subtly delivered and has a bit more body, so it’s more satisfying in that regard. The backing vocals from the rest of the band are solid too. It’s a bit of a drifting composition that occasionally comes together really nicely, but generally does drift in and out of focus a little too much. The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) - It’s a difficult thing to listen to a song like this that has been recorded so many times and be completely objective about it. Particularly when Roberta Flack has complete ownership of this song and her version precedes this one. This is a really nice recording. The instrumentation is well put together and has a lazy but persistent drive to it. The piano and strings are great. And the vocal was pretty great too. It just wasn't Roberta. Mother Nature - There’s a funky groove that sits under this and gives it a bit more vibe and feel than some of the other tracks. It’s a proper finger clicker of a track. The lead vocal has a little bit of grit and drive to it that gives it edge too. The Funk Brothers are on top form here, it’s so in pocket and every instrument brings so much soul to the recording. Quality. Do Your Thing - More of that slow, funky groove. This has got great swagger to it from everyone. The lead vocal is smooth, the backing vocals elevate it too, and The Funk Brothers are back in the pocket. So much feel and groove to everything here, this is just so cool and smooth. Quite a lot of the instrumentation is sparingly used, but if anything it’s more effective because of that. What a great way to see out the record.

6/10 The Rolling Stones are a band that I’ve tried to get into a whole bunch of times in the past. I really enjoy blues and the development of 60s and 70s Brit rock, which should make them right up my alley. Unfortunately, they kind of manage to straddle both worlds without ever landing on completely sure footing in either. When they get things right, they can be an incredibly compelling listen, but they can often be an inconsistent band that makes me, as an album listener, unable to completely get on board with their work. This album is another mixed bag of an album from the Stones. Not just from a quality point of view, but stylistically too. None of the first four tracks seems to actually have much of a common thread to them and, after throwing out an all-time classic as the opener, they really struggle to follow it up. There’s so much vibe, an edge of psychedelia and some excellent musicianship across the board in Gimme shelter, but when they drop back to a more traditional Blues and then Country sound for the following tracks, it just doesn’t feel as engaging or convincing as that opener. They do build a little into the second half of the album, but it’s still a fairly disjointed experience and they still don’t feel like they’ve completely decided what they want to be as a band. There are moments of quality scattered across the rest of the tracks, but there was nothing vastly memorable aside from the brilliant bookends of the opener and closer. You Can’t Always Get What You Want is another that uses that Blues base but adds that rocky, psychedelic edge to elevate it and bring it towards the Rolling Stones sound that I’m really looking for from their work. It’s a brilliant way to close the record, but unfortunately what lies between those two magnificent tracks is just too uneven and variable to keep me hooked. Gimme Shelter - An absolute classic to kick us off. Everything about this is great, it’s so atmospheric and vibey, the rhythm has such a great groove to it and the guitar oozes quality. Merry Clayton’s vocal is brilliant and steals the spotlight from Jagger, although they do compliment each other really well. The chorus is such a great hook too. This is a fine example of dragging the most out of what is a fairly routine chord structure and backbeat that just plugs away for the whole tune. They do so much with the work that sits above it, combined with the superb vibe, that it never gets boring. Love In Vain - This crashes down quite significantly from the high of Gimme Shelter. It’s pretty plodding, Jagger’s vocal is quite whiney and it feels super sparse by comparison. There's actually some nice playing on there, particularly from the guitar, but it's just another Stones blues cover that doesn’t particularly do anything to stand out or make it unique. I think it suffers due to its placement on the record, but I’d rather listen to Robert Johnson do it to be honest. Country Honk - A country version of Honky Tonk Women that sounds thin and poorly recorded. It kind of sounds like a barn dance singalong, rather than a rock band. It’s not a terrible song, but it’s not a great version. Meh. Live With Me - This is a bit better, although it’s another that feels stylistically very different. It’s got a decent pace to it and some great playing, particularly from the piano and sax. There’s a decent driving groove behind this and it’s got a good dose of swagger and feel to it, and it definitely got me tapping my toe. It’s this kind of thing that works really well as a solid album track. There’s nothing overly hooky about it, but it has a decent vibe and enough grit and drive to engage the ear. Let It Bleed - It feels like we’re getting back into the swing of things now. This has that laid back cool but with enough drive in there to keep things moving along nicely. The chorus is really good here in particular, but it’s all good really. The band sounds like they're having great fun and every member gets to show their stuff. There’s a load of little riffs, licks and solos in there that add depth and flavour to the track. Midnight Rambler - Back to something more basic and bluesy. The groove is decent enough, but it doesn’t really offer anything vastly interesting in terms of development or variety for the first couple of minutes. They do change the tempo and emphasis about half way through, which is a welcome change, before it then drifts away to almost nothing. What follows is just a bit disjointed. There’s probably something in there, but it all feels a bit too dragged out and there’s nothing that particularly grabbed hold of me. You Got The Silver - I quite like the vibe of this one. It’s smooth, and the interwoven guitar and organ lines are really nice. Jagger’s vocal delivery works really well here too. This feels like one of those tracks where all of the band get to have their moment of fun and focus. Everything dances around everything else really nicely and the general feel is really good. Monkey Man - There’s a nice bouncing groove to this, particularly from the main guitar riff. It’s another where they’ve got the vibe right. It doesn’t necessarily bring a vast amount of range or variation to things, but it’s carried enough on that vibe that it doesn’t matter too much. The piano and guitar playing are great, although Jagger’s vocal gets a bit distracting later on. Not the most memorable of tracks, but not bad either. You Can't Always Get What You Want - Another classic to close things. It’s a really slow build, but that gives great impact when the beat does kick in. It’s got a great syncopated feel between the guitars and drums which gives it a solid, toe tapping groove. The main vocal hook is great and the build from the verse to chorus is really nice. There’s some beautiful playing on this track from the whole band, but guitar and organ stand out for me. Jagger’s swagger here is brilliant too. The bookends of this album are just so good that they elevate the rest of the album. What a great way to close.

9/10 Slipknot burst onto the scene out of nowhere in 1999. They made an immediate impression through their aesthetic, but that wouldn’t have lasted long without a solid record to back it up, and this is certainly that. For an album that managed to catapult them to mainstream success, this is a remarkably grimy and gritty piece of work. Yes, they did manage to include what is essentially a pop song on the record in Wait And Bleed, but when taking in the whole range of the album (which the aforementioned single still fits into perfectly well), the breadth of sound, from heavy and aggressive tracks to the more creepy, threatening ones, it is mind boggling that they managed to break through the way they did. With this album, Slipknot took the tools of their nu-metal contemporaries (detuned guitars, samples and turntablism and a heavily rhythmic approach in particular) and combined it with obvious influences from much of the metal that had come before to spin something that was truly unique and horrifying. If Black Sabbath were the Hammer Horror of music, Slipknot are more akin to The Blair Witch Project, Saw and Hostel. Grimy, psychologically menacing and brutal. Of course this isn't for everyone. Neither is Stevie Wonder. But for those who are interested in psychological horror, heavy, dirty and aggressive music, this is a joy to behold. The rhythms are intense and compelling, driven by the magnificent talents of Joey Jordison, the riffs are heavy brutal, with a side of groove thrown in, and around all of that, the sound design just elevates the power and atmosphere of the music. It really is like listening to an audio representation of the descent into psychotic madness at points, and anything that can evoke that kind of sensation is doing something right. And then, over the top of that, you have Corey Taylor’s vocals. I’ve often wondered why Corey’s vocals have worked for me when a lot of other throaty metal vocalists don’t click, but I’ve realised today that it’s the fact that he often sounds like he’s on the verge of falling off the edge of aggression and into uncontrollable sobbing. There’s an emotional weight that means it doesn’t sound like artifice, it sounds like genuine uncontrollable fury. And he’s got great range too. I could probably lose the moments where he leans towards rapping, but the rest, from whispering threat, through well controlled singing to the aforementioned guttural, emotional collapsing roar is bang on. The only reason that marks this down for me is that it has a tiny touch too much of the nu-metal edge to it, and it’s also just a tad too long. I think stylistically, that’s probably in part down to the record label trying to sell this to the nu-metal crowd (and it obviously worked), but for me, their masterpiece was to come next. 742617000027 - A scene setter. It’s dirty, grimy and almost hypnotic and it pretty much perfectly creates tension… (Sic) - That absolutely bursts into life. There’s so much weight and drive to this and the drums in particular just punch and punch. It’s so heavy and aggressive, but they don’t just rest on that. They play really nicely with emphasis, pacing and rhythmic variety to create something that pulses and breathes until it builds to the repetitive, force it down your throat denouement, before fading away in a really satisfying dynamic drop off that provides a moment of pause. Eyeless - The jungle drums at the start give this an interesting twist. The dynamic space they afford by backing off for sections of this track only make things punch harder. The groove that they’re able to build is an underrated part of their sound, and that’s on show here too. Corey’s vocal performance is excellent and so emotive. It feels like he’s about to break down at any moment. Wait And Bleed - The hit single! I kind of get why it hooked people. It’s a pop song with a hooky chorus presented by a super heavy metal band. That being said, the fact something this heavy getting into the UK top 40 out of nowhere is still mind boggling. It’s a simple song, Corey's vocals transition well between singing and screaming. The riffs are great, the drums drive and compel and it does it all in less than two and a half minutes. Lovely. Surfacing - The intro to this brings a bit more of that hypnotic build that the intro gave us. There’s more of those rhythmic switch up moments there too and we get some nice bits of percussion pulled to the forefront here too. More killer riffs, more great rhythmical drive. There are moments when the guitar tones get a bit too crunchy in the top end and lose a tiny bit of weight, but that’s pretty minor. The lyrics are very teen angst, but that’s almost part of the charm. Spit It Out - It’s so relentless! There’s some more nice alternating between sung and screamed vocals. Some of the sound design in her is so excellent too, particularly in the pauses between the heavier sections. They drop and build brilliantly all over this album, and the same can be said here. There’s great atmosphere to a lot of this that sometimes slips under the radar too. Tattered & Torn - More of that atmospheric work on display here. It doesn’t have the heavy, relentless pace and riffs of what’s come before, but there's so much intensity and horrific energy to it that it keeps you totally on edge. If music is built to evoke emotion and feeling, this really achieves that goal, even if they’re not the kind of feelings that most music evokes. Frail Limb Nursery - This is another pause in the album (deleted from subsequent releases due to copyright infringement), but it’s another horrific pause that, while it dips from the frantic intensity, maintains the dirty, disturbing menace of the album. Purity - A super chuggy riff to kick us off here and the scratching gives the rhythm a nice groove. It’s a slow, atmospheric burn of a track that twitches and pulses before it bursts into life for brief moments. It then transitions into something more melodic half way through. This is a great journey of a song that moves through a wide range of different sections, all maintaining that grimy, menacing edge, but playing really nicely with dynamic range and atmospheric sound design. Liberate - More monster drumming here and some solid grooves with more deftly executed riffs that give the beat space to have focus. Again, the way the flip emphasis now and again is so satisfying and Corey’s vocal sliding subtly between almost rapping and almost roaring is great. The album is emotionally relentless, but they still create enough variety and dynamic shifts to keep it fresh and this is more of that. Prosthetics - Another unsettling, menacing start to a track that builds really nicely. More top notch sound design in here too. The groove is so compelling and driving. It’s not as balls to the wall as some of the other tracks, but it’s so rhythmically satisfying and auditorily interesting. There’s so much grime and threat to it all that it feels like a fever dream in the basement of an unlicensed mental institute run by psychopaths. No Life - This kicks us back into a higher gear. There's a lot of rhythmical interest going on in the verses that comes together into a unified pulse for the chorus. Some more great atmospheric melodic moments in there, all backed up by more grimy, creepy sound design. There may be a lot of members in the band, but they really do all contribute to the atmosphere and tone of the work. Diluted - Corey’s vocals have a lot of range across this album and here’s another interesting delivery through the verses. This is insistent, but still has more of the rhythmic variations that break the songs up so well. This is dirty, grimy and furious, but never loses that atmosphere of psychological menace. Only One - This leans a little too far into the typical nu-metal sound in places, particularly the rapping and doesn’t quite have the depth of sound design to it feeling almost too clean. But it ends strongly. Scissors - There’s so much going on in this track. There’s atmospheric tone setting and sound design, some great riffs, some brutal and brilliant drumming and percussion, and Corey Taylor giving us a wide range of different deliveries to the vocals that accompany the varied intensities and tones of the track really well. It’s a long form horror track that’s a glimpse into the deranged mind of a tempestuous and volatile mind on the edge of collapse. Mudslide - A relic of the CD era that hasn’t made it into the streaming era, this is a recording of the band in the studio hidden after silence on the previous track and before the hidden track. Eeyore - This has intensity and drive in spades and, to my mind pre-empts the direction that the band would take with the following album. Heavier and even more intense. It’s a short one, but it’s a great way to close the album, particularly with the sound design of the ending.

4/10 Ray Price appears, from this album at least, to be an incredibly nice man. His strange, almost shy little introduction to the album onwards, there is something very pleasant about everything he delivers. There’s more than a hint of easy listening to it, and if you’re into easy listening country, this is the album for you. He kicks things off with a track that leans a little towards bluesy jazz, which did perk my ears up a little, but unfortunately that edge fairly quickly recedes out of view, only becoming apparent the odd time here and there through the album. The rest of the album plods along nicely, never daring to raise its energy above that of a sleepy, leisurely Sunday stroll. Unfortunately for me, Ray does lean towards a more crooning vocal style for decent chunks of the record, which is something that can push the songs over the line from being pleasant if uninspiring, to something that I struggle with a little more. But it never really became offensive in any way, because it was all delivered in such a pleasant package. The band were very tight, even though they barely had to do much more than play remarkably similar parts for most of the album, but there were the odd moments of flair and interest that peeked out from the background now and again. I would say that it’s remarkable that nearly every song on the album was written by a different person, but they all sounded so similar that they could almost have been variations on the same original idea. I guess that’s what you get with such a formulaic genre, but it does beg the question how much songwriting actually goes on if you’re using essentially the same chord structure, bass line and rhythm for every song. I think part of the reason I’m giving this the score I have is that it doesn’t really stand out as anything special, despite its overall pleasantness. My streaming service started playing similar music after the album had finished on my first listen to this, and it took me a few tracks to notice, because so much of it sounded exactly the same. And while it was a nice enough listen, I won’t be bothering to listen again, and I also don’t really understand what sets this apart from so much other music in the same style. Introduction And Theme - What an oddity this is. I don’t recall ever hearing anything like this to kick off an album. He seems like a nice bloke, and the music is perfectly pleasant, but it is quite strange. Night Life - And now we’re into the album proper. It’s quite nice actually, with an edge of bluesy swing to it that’s quite pleasing on the ear. His voice is quite of its time, but doesn't feel forced in the way of someone like Elvis. There’s some pretty nice jazzy piano playing in there in the second half, which adds something to it. Not bad at all. Lonely Street - This drifts more towards the country side of things and gets a bit more croony. Again, it’s perfectly pleasant, but it lacks a little bit of the interest to me and sticks very solidly to the very static rhythmic inflection for the whole song, which makes it a little repetitive. The Wild Side Of Life - I think I might overuse the words “pleasant” and “nice” during this review. Another that is a little plodding, but has a decent bit of feel to the rhythm. It doesn’t really do a lot for me, but it’s a well written song delivered in about the most inoffensive way possible. Sittin' And Thinkin' - It’s almost like the band has just carried on playing the last song while Ray sings a slight variation. It’s funny, because tonally everything seems very similar, regardless of the lyrical content. It is getting my toe tapping along, so there is that, and they seem to be a very competent band. Everything is tight and swings nicely, despite the clear focus in the mix being the lead vocal. The Twenty-Fourth Hour - It is incredibly formulaic. Again, this is a similar composition to a lot of the previous ones. It’s super easy listening and it’s never going to hook me in much more than as pleasant background music because there are no edges at all to hang on to, but it manages to not be yawn-inducingly boring either. A Girl In The Night - We’re really not really getting much variation in pace or style here at all and it’s all blending a little into one for me at this point. It’s also making a track by track review quite difficult, because I could just say the same thing for quite a lot of the tracks. Pleasant. Competent. Starting to get a bit boring. Next. Pride - It feels like the tempo has lifted a touch now. There’s so little variation between different sections of the song that it all just kind of washes over you. The violin is at least wandering around a little and trying to do something a bit more interesting. There are the odd nice bits of guitar in there too. There's No Fool Like A Young Fool - For this one, there’s a bit more of a discernible difference between sections and it does benefit from that, although he does croon a bit too much. I’m kind of feeling like the very plodding and persistent rhythm is starting to drain me at this point. They try to break it up by slowing it down at the end, but they do it at the end of every song, so even that has become stale. If She Could See Me Now - There’s some nice moments of guitar and violin playing in here that give it a bit of a lift, which is nice. It definitely sticks to the formula in terms of songwriting, structure and vocal delivery though. Bright Lights And Blonde Haired Women - This feels a little different for once. The swing of the groove is a little more dragging and the groove is a bit more prominent. Some more good guitar work too. When he does this slightly more bluesy stuff it works so much better for me. I prefer his vocal delivery here to the more croony stuff too. Pretty good stuff. Are You Sure - And we’ve drifted back to the more plodding stuff that we had before. It continues to be pleasant and there’s some nice strings in there too, but it is all kind of a wash. Perfectly pleasant background music, but not a lot more. Let Me Talk To You - OK Ray, I’ll give you one more chance. Oh, you’re doing the same thing again? But the band do feel like they’re doing something a little more jazzy even if you’re not. Some lovely moments of piano in the background, but they almost get lost in the mix, which is a shame.

3/10 I feel like there are moments on this album where I can see why people enjoy U2. Some of the instrumental writing is pretty decent in places, and they do create some really nice vibes here and there. But too often it just feels very underdeveloped and frequently doesn’t really go anywhere or deliver any payoff when they’ve built quite a good opening to something. What I can’t ever gel with, though, is Bono’s vocal. He sounds like he’s trying so hard to be a cool rock god of a singer, but it just comes off as inauthentic to me and overdone in the most 'theatre kid' way possible. Another thing that grated through this album was the mixing. It was all over the shop. There were times when the bass was way too loud, times when the vocal got lost in the mix, times where the whole thing got cluttered and muddy, and it was all so inconsistent, which made it feel quite disconnected from track to track. Adam Clayton’s bass lines were almost exclusively the most boring, uninspiring, "play the root notes please, Adam” choices, which really didn’t help with momentum in a lot of the songs either. It made me laugh when I actually noted a more interesting bass line in the closing track and then found out that The Edge did the bass on that track. If they’d have spent more time developing variations and paying off the build ups of the songs, this might have done something more for me, even if I would have needed to struggle past Bono, but unfortunately each track felt a bit too one paced and compositionally thin for me to give this any higher marks. Sunday Bloody Sunday - It starts off with a fairly interesting beat that shifts into something less interesting when the guitars come in. And then Bono comes in. I just don’t like his vocal style at all, it sounds so performative. It hasn't really added much of interest and the beat is just too repetitive. They try to inject a bit of rhythmic variety from the other instruments, but it’s all a bit thin. And the violin that comes in sounds so scratchy and horrible. Oh and the guitar solo is shit. Not a good start. Seconds - If this bass line persists through the whole song, I’m going to be so annoyed, it’s very boring and too prominent in the mix. It does change a tiny bit, but not enough. I don’t think the central chord structure and riffs are too bad, even if they’re a bit bland, but they do nothing to develop them at all. There’s some nice moments in the drums, but all in all it's just uninteresting and underdeveloped. New Year’s Day - The mix is way better for this track straight away. This is a pretty good composition in the verses. It drives along nicely and has a good atmosphere to it. Still not keen on the vocals, they sound so faux-sincere, but I’ll let them ride when the rest is decent. The work has been solid up to the point where they hit the chorus, but where is the payoff? It’s such a limp chorus! Then the instrumental section is too long. Like A Song - It’s an atmospherically interesting start that moves along with decent pace. This isn’t bad actually. There’s a nice bit of movement across the different instrumental parts. Bono’s vocal line wanders around a bit too much, but it comes together at the right points. Still not into the delivery, but otherwise, it’s not a bad vocal melody. This is probably my favourite so far, but this uninteresting instrumental bit at the end isn't helping it. It was ok, but I’m not desperate to hear it again. Drowning Man - Oooh, Bono isn’t overdoing his vocals at the beginning here. Oh, but he makes up for it. Yuck. Again, it feels like they’ve come up with a half decent idea, not developed it far enough and then put Bono’s try hard vocals over the top. It all feels like it’s building to something that never arrives. All of the development is just adding to the one section that just repeats and they don’t build it into anything, which is super frustrating. The Refugee - I feel a theme coming on. Some half-decent ideas that are underdeveloped and don’t really go anywhere. There’s quite a nice feel to moments of this, but the mixing is so weird. The big drumming section in the middle just swamps everything. Adam Clayton must be the most bored man in music, playing a one bar bass line for the entire song again. It all just feels like their main way to develop an idea is to just pile more instruments on top to thicken the sound, rather than actually write with forward momentum. Two Hearts Beat As One - The instrumentation in the verse isn't bad, even if it’s a little too one paced. I’ll stop talking about how much I dislike Bono’s vocal now, so just take it as a given. The chorus here is crap though. It’s way too staccato, which doesn’t work well laid under the more legato lead vocal. And by the time we get to the end, i’m just tired of it. Red Light - The band puts together a more sparse arrangement here that has quite a nice atmospheric vibe to it, but then Bono just wails all over the top of it in a completely disconnected way. And then what the fuck is that trumpet bit? It just tails off into more repetitive, uninspiring nonsense. Big old meh. Surrender - I’m just starting to get bored of this now. Again, there are some not too bad moments in here, but the bass is crap and too loud, it just cuts straight through everything and makes it hard to concentrate on anything else. It’s ok, I guess, it’s just really uninspired songwriting and doesn’t interest me in the slightest. And good god, it’s too long. “40” - Apparently The Edge played the bass on this one. It’s better than the bass elsewhere, so maybe they should have got rid of Adam Clayton? “How long, how long, how long” will this album go on for? Too long, too long, too long, Bono. Too long. It’s actually a fairly pleasant song, but I’m just tired now and struggling to get to the end. Bono, my tyres are gone.

9/10 Afrobeat is a wide-ranging and somewhat difficult to parse genre for people more familiar with western music traditions. Its stylistic and regional spread has resulted in it covering a wider range of musical output than the earlier categorisations would cover, but it all started with Fela. He pulled influences from American jazz, funk and soul and injected a dose of Nigerian and Ghanaian rhythms and vocals to create a musical style that persists to this day. This album was a bold statement against the Nigerian military, one that came at significant personal cost to him, his family and the wider Nigerian people. But while the historic and political importance of the album is significant, it would be nothing if the music wasn’t up to scratch. Luckily it’s absolute killer stuff. It moves and grooves throughout, flowing effortlessly through various phases, with so many excellent performances from Fela and his band that it’s hard to really appreciate everything in there in a single sitting. This is music to savour and to lose yourself to. The grooves are infectious, the vocal sections engaging and hooky and the performances strike just the right balance between loose and tight that it feels incredibly organic and drags you along with its flow. While it's not a perfect album, and focus on the small moments where things get a touch too loose a brought into sharper focus by its short length, it is pretty damn close and it may even get there when I listen to this again and again. And again. Zombie - The groove on this is great. It’s all a little bit loose, but that makes it feel so organic and full of life, and they bring everything in nicely for the key rhythmic hits. People sometime accuse jazz playing of being a bit sterile and technical rather than emotional, but you can really feel the drive behind the playing. It’s infectious and engaging in such a satisfying way. The opening third is funk infused jazz, but it becomes more funk focused for the vocal section in the middle. It’s got so much feel and it moves with so much groove and passion. The keys into the final third are a touch high in the mix, which exposes the looseness a tiny bit, but it’s a minor gripe and it doesn’t last long before we’re back in the funky groove. Mr Follow Follow - It’s a change of pace into the second half of the record, but it’s such a compelling groove. It’s so smooth and pretty much impossible not to move to. All of the musicians throw in little moments here and there, with the drumming being a highlight. There’s so much movement and feel in the playing. I could get lost in music like this for hours. I can imagine that some would find it repetitive, but there’s so much actually going on that just organically shifts and moves as they play but could easily get lost with background listening. Again, he has a vocal section in this one and he does so much to inject feeling in, with the call and response style of the main theme creating a solid and memorable hook. I bet Fela was ridiculously good fun live.

7/10 This was an incredibly interesting album, especially considering its vintage. It’s equal parts abrasive, creepy, menacing and aurally offensive, but as I ran through my three listens, I found myself more and more engaged and intrigued by it. Don't get me wrong, this is not mainstream music by any stretch of the imagination, but what it does is it pushes boundaries and opens the floor for others to step on to. Do not come here for melody or harmony. Do not come here for easy listening. Do not come here unprepared for a challenge. If you accept this album as an experience, you may well still not enjoy it, but you will get way more from it than if you approach it like you would a Stevie Wonder or Fleetwood Mac album. This pushes at the edge of music as art and needs to be embraced as such. It’s abrasive, harsh and intense, but it has a certain something about it that draws you in. The place it draws you in to may be part fabrication plant, part concentration camp, but it’s certainly evocative. I personally found this to be darkly hypnotic and, while doing a focused listen, I did have to take pauses now and again due to the stark intensity of it, but overall I felt it was an experience worth having. An album like this may push at the extremes of what music can be, but I feel like it paved the way for a great number of bands who would tame the edges of what this is and create innovative, evocative music that walks somewhat in the footsteps of where Einstürzende Neubauten first walked. Would we have Sonic Youth, Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails, Death Grips, even the more extreme ends of Aphex Twin and Autechre without these guys forging a path? Maybe not. And although I suspect it’s unlikely that I’ll listen to this many times again, if ever, I think that pushing of the boundaries is a significant enough act to give this the rating that I have. Tanz Debil - This is certainly not an easy listen, but is also quite rhythmically hypnotic in its very own way. There’s something about it that takes it away from just being noise to being something quite artful, in that it evokes a visceral emotional response. Interesting. Steh Auf Berlin - We’ve moved from the metal fabricators workshop onto the building site. The metallic percussion here is great, the vocals distorted, aggressive and mentally imposing. From a sound palette point of view, there’s something really engaging about this, but it’s so stressful and anxiety inducing too. The central rhythm holds it together, and you’re never sure when the next moment of audio aggression is coming from and what form it will take. Negativ Nein - There’s something kind of revolting about the wetness of this as it starts. Again, it becomes quite hypnotic as it progresses with the persistent tonal line and the pulsing delay on the vocal. It’s certainly intense and musically limited, but it continues to be evocative. And some of the sound design is so, so brutal. U-Haft Muzak - Another sparse and monotonous yet hypnotic rhythm augmented by distant screams and whistling with the occasional flurries of noise and chaos. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and your sanity, but it just leaves you hanging there. Draussen Ist Feindlich - This feels like a snippet of audio snatched from an old grimy family super-8 film that they’ve worked their rhythmic, sound design brutalism over the top of. Creepy and weird. Hören Mit Schmerzen - The pace here is slow and brooding, but the intensity of what they weave in over the top is savage. More abrasive brutality in the sound design, but again, there’s somethingcuriously engaging about it. Jet'm - A random cover (sort of) of a Serge Gainsbourg track? Why not. It’s thin and abrasive and weird, but it’s actually less engaging than the rest of their more intense stuff. Kollaps - Interestingly, tonal music actually starts to creep in here. It’s an interesting development of what's come before. Sparse, hypnotic and still maintaining that edge of insanity. It’s long form and persistant but has a brooding, menacing intensity. It does drag on a bit too much without any tonal variety, but I think that’s kind of the point. Sehnsucht - The dissonance of the tonality and the inconsistency of the rhythm here gives such a creepy, unpredictable vibe. And it’s over in an instant. I’m not sure how long I could have stuck with it, but as a brief moment it was interesting. Vorm Krieg - An interlude of sorts. Wacky and deranged sampling of some old records. Hirnsäge - I like the rhythmic fading of the static noise here. There’s an interesting clash of rhythms and the creepy vibe is solid. It’s sparse but what’s there is sonically weighty and impactful, and the build of intensity in the rhythm to the end is good too. Abstieg & Zerfall - A droning, tonal intro and some really nice sound design that ebbs and flows over the top. It’s another brooding, menacing effort and that increased presence of tonality helps it to have a little bit of a different feel to it. It’s sonically intriguing and has more than an echo in music that would follow it. Helga - A strange bit of sampled audio and then… Silence. Time to think about what you’ve just experienced. But you might need more than 30 seconds for that.

5/10 Having now listened to this album four times through, I’m still really not sure what to make of it. Rhythmically, there’s a lot to like about this, with the band utilising the rare double-drummer aspect of their lineup well. And stylistically, I really appreciate the kookiness and reluctance to settle into one specific sound. The moments that stood out for me were when that quirky edge teetered a little towards mania, or they threw in some fairly significant tonal juxtapositions within a song, but I think perhaps that didn’t happen often enough to fully engage me. It’s pretty amazing to me that an album so unconventional and quirky would become the best selling album in the UK in 1981, so fair play to them for that. To me, the mix was a little all over the place, with some parts getting lost in the background a little too much and the lack of mixing consistency probably didn't help the tonal inconsistency to slide quite as well as it otherwise could. But how do I sum up my feelings about this? I’m glad I listened to it for sure, but I also don’t think much of it was vastly memorable, and I don’t suspect I’ll bother coming back to it again either. I think essentially, I liked the idea of this album more than the execution of it. Which is unfortunate. But I’d probably rather listen to slightly more off-the-wall stuff like Oingo Boingo, or stuff with a bit more consistency like Talking Heads, whereas this just threads the line a little too narrowly down the middle for me. I enjoyed my time with it, but that’s probably enough. Dog Eat Dog - It’s a rhythmically compelling start. The drums are obviously driving, but there’s also an interesting juxtaposition of different rhythms from the tonal instruments too. Some really nice stuff in the bass.It’s got a fairly persistent feeling of building to something that never really arrives. I quite like it, but feel a little like it didn’t quite reach where it was going. Antmusic - Similarly to the first track, this is rhythmically interesting and there’s a lot of interesting sounds in there too. Again, it feels like there’s a lot of unresolved tension in the songwriting, but there’s something fairly compelling about it regardless. Feed Me To The Lions - This is pretty pop-punky, but has a restrained pace to it. There are some nice elements there, particularly with the layered vocals. The riff in the verse is pretty solid and the bass is good too. I can’t help but feel that we’ve yet to be delivered a really satisfying chorus though. Los Rancheros - We’re getting into more straightforward new-wave pop territory now. I like the vibe of it and it’s got a nice bouncing groove that keeps it ticking along. There are definitely some wacky elements in there, from some of the vocal choices and sound effects in particular. It's a little bit repetitive after a while though. Ants Invasion - There’s a bit of a creepy edge to this one. It’s got a bit of an Oingo Boingo flavour to it, which is great. For something with this vibe, I don’t really mind the lack of resolution and think it works really well. It’s persistent, a bit odd and got a really intriguing and compelling tone and drive to it. Good stuff. Killer In The Home - This continues that vibe from the previous track, but dials down the creepy edge a little bit, while maintaining that persistence and unresolved tension. There’s some great moments of sound design later on with the drums and studio work. There are parts of this that I really like, but overall as a song it feels like it doesn’t fully deliver on its promise. Kings Of The Wild Frontier - There’s more compelling and driven drumming on here and the bass tone and playing is great again. They play around with intensity of the rhythm through the song and there are some interesting uses of secondary percussion and the slow intensity build through the song is pretty decent. It does eventually just sort of tail off though. Feels an odd one to end with a fade out. The Magnificent Five - And now we get a slice of quirky, jangly pop, but it’s punctuated with some heavy guitars for the chorus. This is gloriously weird. It feels like the production is a little bit muddled, but I really like the tonal shift they throw in. There’s quite a lot going on in this track, so probably good reward for multiple listens too. Just the kind of oddity I can get on board with. Don't Be Square (Be There) - More quirky, odd stuff that fluctuates between clean, jangly stuff and more distorted tones. There’s some more off the wall guitar playing on this too. It’s all tonally quite confusing, but it’s good stuff because it keeps you on your toes, but does have a central thread to grab on to, so works pretty well. Jolly Roger - And now for a pirate song. Sure, why not? It’s not the most compelling song and is a bit instrumentally thin. The stuff that's there is ok, but it doesn’t do a lot for me really. Making History - We get back on track a little here. Although have we ever been fully on track? This makes me think a bit of some 90s and 00s ska punk in tone. Rhythmically, it continues to be fairly compelling and there’s some decent, if a little repetitive hooks in there. The Human Beings - Again, there are some nice ideas in here and the vibe is decent, but it never quite connects fully with me and the mix is a bit odd. There’s some stuff in there thats so low in the mix you don’t really pick it up. This song kind of connects with me in the same way as much of the album. Rhythmically quite compelling, idealistically and intentionally great, but the execution doesn’t quite hit for me.

8/10 Coming off the back of previous album, Stand!, this is very much the darker compatriot to that more uplifting, optimistic record. It maintains the intrinsic groove and rhythmic flow of the previous record, but tones down the vibe to a gritty, dirty and dense one that somewhat reflects Sly’s apathy and issues with drug abuse. It’s a more introspective and dense record, for sure, and it presents a dimmer view of the America of the time. The grooves and rhythms are rock solid across the album, with so much of the feel of the music being brought out by the layered instrumental parts that it feels like the groove is almost constantly shifting and moving, but never straying away from the central pulse of the songwriting. When all of that comes together, there’s nothing better than getting lost in the work, the gritty, fluctuating pulse that anchors you while the players weave subtle magic from their instruments. There are even moments where a little bit of brightness pokes through to give you something to cling onto as things progress. Unfortunately, there are times when things get a little unfocused and dragged out, with moments where it feels like Sly is becoming a little self-indulgent of his malaise and allowing the music to drift just a little too much. While I do really appreciate the work here, I do feel like it could have done with being trimmed down and refined just a little bit, and my personal preferences leans towards his more optimistic work, but there is still a great deal to love about this record. Luv N' Haight - The guitar and drums are so good here. The groove moves around in a really organic flow and the track itself shifts through a range of different sections with a constantly shifting feel. It’s in parts dirty funk, in parts soulful pop, but whatever’s going on it has something to capture your ear and keep you moving and engaged. Just Like A Baby - The lazy swing to this groove is a really satisfying listen. It’s smooth and swaggering but there’s a bit of grit in there that gives it an interesting edge too. It potentially drags the groove on for a little too long, but there are moments when a little bit of instrumental flair pokes up and gives things a shift to keep things moving. Poet - Another with a slow, shuffling groove. The rolling rhythm created by the layering of the instruments is so funky. There’s a decent amount of range in the feel of the playing despite the core being fairly unchanging, but it lets you soak into the groove, which is no bad thing. Family Affair - This follows a more traditional verse/chorus structure, but doesn’t lose the slow groove. It’s so well written and full of feel and the ever shifting instrumental parts create a gorgeous bed under the compelling vocal lines. Such a quality track and it’s a shame it’s so short, really. Africa Talks To You "The Asphalt Jungle" - The interplay between guitars and bass here is spectacular without being ostentatious. The layered gang vocals add a really hooky feel to it, but they also give the super funky instrumental time to breathe. It’s another slow groove, but boy does that groove move shift and shuffle its way around, all while staying unbelievably in pocket. This does go on for quite a long time, but I barely noticed because it was all so locked in and I just let myself soak in it and went along for the ride. Such great playing. There's A Riot Goin' On - A moment of silence. Brave & Strong - We drift again into something a bit more typically song structured. It doesn’t quite manage to deliver the same quality of hook in the vocals as Family Affair, but the bubbling, fluctuating groove of the instrumentation is still solid. It perhaps feels like it loses its focus a little more than some other tracks on the album though. (You Caught Me) Smilin' - This is so smooth and cool, but Sly rarely leaves out that little dirty, gritty edge to his production. Some of the staccato guitar work on this track is so good. It’s another that shifts and evolves, but never loses the thread of its groove, and when you get lost in that groove it’s so good. Time - A subtle slow jam of a track. There's some really good dynamic range across this as it ticks along and then bursts towards you now and again. It’s a pretty restrained effort in terms of evolution and variation though. Spaced Cowboy - The groove that this opens with is fantastic. In fact, the whole instrumentation is pretty damn good. Unfortunately, the country yodelling vocal doesn’t really jive with me all that well. It’s just a strange juxtaposition of feel that at jars a little too much for my tastes. It’s a shame really, because the rest of the track, even the harmonica, which does lean in that country direction, does actually work really well. Runnin' Away - This has a little bit more pace to it than some of the earlier tracks and is a super satisfying, hooky funk number with a pop music sensibility. The horn lines are so engaging in particular, and the instrumental in general feels tight and focused, but without losing that quality to the groove and feel. Lovely stuff. Thank You For Talking To Me Africa - Quite a significant call back to their last album, Stand!, this gathers up a lot of the shuffling, shifting groove from the rest of the album and builds what is essentially a rework of ‘Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)’ into the style of this album. It's laid back, groovy and the instrumental work is so strong and in pocket. As with the best parts of this album, it’s one to sink into and just roll with the rhythms. And what great, body moving rhythms they are. What a closer.

6/10 Simon and Garfunkel have the ability to craft some stunningly beautiful music. Their voices are a sublime compliment to one another and Paul Simon is a masterful songwriter. What he isn’t, on the evidence of this album, is a masterful producer. This album reportedly took two years to complete and the first half is defined as a ‘concept’ album. What that apparently means to Paul and Art is that they should overdo the production, throw in some over-loud sound effects and include 2 minutes of poorly recorded, miserable grumbling pensioners chatting in a cafe for no apparent reason. It definitely sounds like they’ve been listening to Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper’s an awful lot, but it also sounds like they couldn’t quite make out why those albums were so special. According to Paul Simon himself, the second half was largely spare tracks left over from their work on The Graduate, including the full version of Mrs Robinson which, bafflingly, wasn’t included on that soundtrack album. On this second side they actually, for the most part, allow the production to do its job and highlight the quality of the songwriting, rather than swamping or overcomplicating the work, which actually results in a far stronger piece of work. When they get it right on this album, it’s really good, America, Mrs Robinson and At The Zoo being good examples, but overall it feels a little overworked and inconsistent. It’s pretty odd to me that this album is considered by many to be their strongest work as a duo. I feel it’s pretty significantly overrated as an album and they’re typically at their best when they don’t let the production get in the way and focus on the quality of the songwriting and the musical performances. Bookends Theme - A nice little guitar intro. Save The Life Of My Child - Well that’s a beefy Moog synth tone. Quite the shock to the system after the intro. This is an interesting track, although it does feel like a really good Paul Simon composition that’s been produced in an incredibly extravagant and strange way that doesn’t actually gel particularly well with the core of the song. It all feels a bit swamped by the production, rather than being part of it, which is a shame. America - And we’re back on more stable S&G ground now. This is really pretty folksy stuff and their vocal work together is as fantastic as always. Some of the percussion has a very ‘Pet Sounds’ production style to it. This builds really nicely and that dynamic growth really helps the song to flow. There’s some really nice pieces of guitar in there too. A really solid song. Overs - This continues to be pretty, but it’s very restrained compared to the preceding tracks. There’s hardly anything to the production at all and it’s stark in its beauty, but there seems to be a fairly thin stylistic thread holding this ‘concept’ half of the album together. It’s really lovely though. Voices Of Old People - Apparently Art Garfunkel gets a writing credit for this. It’s pretty pointless grumbling of a few old folk and, as 2 minutes out of the 15 minute ‘concept’ section of the album, it is frankly a bit of a piss take. Old Friends - This is very nice. The S&G vocals are lovely, and the string arrangement is excellent. It becomes oddly dissonant in places which is presumably supposed to represent something. The varied ups and downs of a long term friendship perhaps? But it is quite jarring against the very pretty rest of the song. Bookends Theme (Reprise) - This extends the intro. More pleasant guitar playing and the addition of some lovely vocals. It’s really nice, but it doesn’t really go very far and then fades out to nothing. Fakin' It - Good lord this sounds a whole lot like the Beatles. There are touches that remind you that it is, in fact Simon & Garfunkel, particularly the staccato parts in the chorus. But it’s pretty weird how much this is like the Beatles in the verses. It’s a good song though. Punky's Dilemma - Another solid song and it’s far more S&G styled, although there’s definitely some edges to the production that feel very inspired by The Beach Boys and Beatles. It’s a gorgeous track, but some of those production edges don't really enhance things for me. Not sure what the sound effects bring to the table, especially as loud in the mix as they are. Mrs. Robinson - Well this is obviously a classic. An utterly brilliant folk pop song. There's so much to like about it, the guitar work, particularly the lead, is so, so strong. The chorus is an exceptional hook. The way all of the instrumental parts dance around each other is exquisite. It’s got an edge of Beatles about it too, actually, but not too much. The dynamic and tonal range between the verse and chorus is a perfect balance. It’s pretty much a perfect song. A Hazy Shade Of Winter - Another quite Beatlesy guitar riff to open the track. This is another solid effort. It’s got a decent bit of pace to it, but does allow for a pause here and there. It's good, but not spectacular. I like the drive and guitar work most, but it doesn’t quite have the beauty of their better work and feels a little bit of a throwaway. At The Zoo - This has an edge of Mrs Robinson about it in the upbeat moments. I do like the tonal variation between the two sections, and the bouncing rhythm and bass line of the upbeat sections are really good. It’s pretty short though and it feels like they could have done a bit more with it.

10/10 I've always loved this album. It's a brilliant blend of hip-hop, soul and reggae, with elements of funk and jazz thrown in for good measure. It would be easy for such a melange of styles to come across as overworked or inconsistent, but here they a combined into a singular vision that deftly bobs and weaves its way through movements with Lauryn flexing her vocal chops both through rapping and singing, sometimes drifting swiftly from one to the other beautifully. The little classroom interludes are great too. They could be overdone, but they're really well placed and tie things together in a suitably thematic way. The craftsmanship on this record is absolutely top notch. It's crisp and clean, with a groove that ebbs and flows and instrumental playing that fulfills the brief exactly, never pushing things to far but equally never holding back. Everything pulls together to tell the story of a woman's life, the trials and tribulations, love, heartbreak and motherhood, presented with stark honesty and lyrical excellence, all presented through a voice that shines. There are the very off moments of vocal self indulgence, but never enough to dampen the effect of the music. One could also argue that it could be a touch shorter, but you would maybe lose the breadth of stylistic steps that she takes, so I think it gets that just about right in the end. It's a brilliant record, it's just a shame she was never able to capture that lightning in a bottle again. Intro - It's a great little scene setter with a nice bit of guitar work. Lost Ones - The beat that backs this is great and plays well against the bass and guitar parts. She has great attitude to her rapping and plays well with pronunciation to sync up lyrics in a solid flow. The verses are a touch on the long side, but when she gets there, it's a really nice switch up in tone and her sung vocal is great and she can write a great vocal melody. It gets even better in the second chorus with her excellent backing vocals. Ex-Factor - She's got such great vocal control. This is a beautiful change of pace and again, the vocal melody is brilliant. She kind of wanders around, but it all feels so centred and focused despite that. The instrumentation is so smooth and well produced too. It does exactly what it needs to do to present her a playground for her vocals to shine. The layered vocals are exceptionally well structured too. What a song. To Zion - The rolling beat here is great and is just the right amount of loose. The wandering guitar has a similar freedom to her vocal in the last track; centred but free. It's another great song and motherhood is a rare subject matter for a popular song, which is a shame really, but she pulls it of with aplomb. Doo Wop (That Thing) - Such a banger. The beat is so driving and forward leaning, the bass is so round and groovy and the rest of the instrumention is so finely placed that it enhances that main groove brilliantly. But all that needs something to sit above it to complete the song and she knocks it so far out of the park. Catchy, hooky vocal melodies that grip and enthrall, a perfect blend between sung and rapped vocals and some utterly sublime vocal layering. Exceptional. Superstar - Another change in pace and a really interesting melodic choice in the vocal line. It all feels purposefully compressed into a small tonal range, but it's really evocative. It's a slow burning soul groove and lets her lean back into the rapping more than the last couple of tracks. It's less hooky and poppy than those, but it's still musically compelling and really well produced. Final Hour - And now the rapped vocal is at the forefront again. She's got a really great ability to pull things around rhythmically but maintain the flow and it could easily get lost if you're not paying attention. This is a subtler song, but the downtempo, jazzy groove is great and suggests influence over artists like Cinematic Orchestra and Bonobo that would follow. When It Hurts So Bad - The feeling lifts a little here. It's still downtempo, but it places the sung vocal back in control. The lilt of the groove is really nice and it grooves along really well. She touches here and there on some cool hooks, but doesn't let them take over. Again, there's some brilliant vocal layering here. I Used To Love Him - I love the slightly wonky beat and repeated sample here, it gives things a bit of an off-kilter edge. It's a jazz inflected hip-hop presentation and she picks lovely little moments of melody and then drifts and flutters her way around them. It's slightly unfocused but in a stylistically deliberate way that suits the song. It perhaps drags a little too long and the sample, while good, is a bit over-used and could do with being used more sparingly. Forgive Them Father - A more reggae inflected groove now. The chorus is absolute killer stuff. This track is a gorgeous blend of hip-hop, soul and reggae. There's some brilliant guitar and horn work on this in particular, but the whole thing is such a great vibe that twists and turns and delivers again and again. Every Ghetto, Every City - Another great groove and her soulful delivery is so solid. It dances around in quite a jazzy flow and is fairy reminiscent of Stevie Wonder in parts. It never really lands on a hooky chorus, but the way it moves and flows is so engaging that it doesn't matter in the slightest. The layered quality of everything here is top notch. Nothing Even Matters - A lovely bit of D'Angelo to ease us into a slow jam. It's more stripped back, but the vibe continues to be solid. It kind of dances around the motifs in a slightly unfocused way, but I think that's part of the charm here, it's not supposed to be sharp, it's supposed to be smooth and sultry. Everything Is Everything - Back to a more forward driving effott. It's a little understated and I feel she could have raised things slightly for the chorus, but it's still solid and the central hook is great. The rapping bits are really nice and the jazzy piano is great when it has it's moments to poke its head above the water. The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill - This is a bit of a meandering effort. There are some really sweet moments from both vocals and instruments, but it feels a tiny bit self indulgent. But why not, it's still very good and she's earned it. Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You - We're into hidden track territory, but they're on the original release, so let's roll. If you're going to cover something give it your own spin and commit to it. She does absolutely that here. It's got a persistent, funky groove to it and she holds true enough to the original melody while adding her own inflection and style to it. It's sweet, soulful and groovy. Lovely stuff. Tell Him - A slow jam to finish is off. It builds slowly, but some of the vocal harmonies that it lands on are gorgeous. The beat has great feel to it and it all swings so well. It's stripped back, but every part works together to make it more than the sum of its parts.

6/10 I was pretty interested to listen to this. I've heard bits and pieces of Elvis Costello before, but not really indulged in much more than a casual listen here and there. Apparently this is categorised as "Rock and Roll" and "Hard Rock" and hard was not something I'd mentally associated with Costello, so that had me intrigued. Oddly, while I get the edge of rock and roll in there, and it hints a little bit towards punk in places, this leans way more towards the indie rock that would follow rather than anything hard. His voice, which is probably an acquired taste, seemed the heaviest thing about the record and even that sounded more like the gruff delivery of a ska punk singer than a hard rocker. It jarred a little with me at first, and still does in places, but it did grow on me. With regards to the songs themselves, Costello does seem to have a tendency to write songs that do quite a lot of things by the book, but he occasionally throws in little twists to throw you off really nicely. When he gets it right, this was pretty solid and there were a few tracks that worked really well for me, with good development and interesting musical ideas blended with good melodic composition. Unfortunately, for me he doesn't really do enough of that on this record and things have a tendency to drag out a little too far or get stuck in a bit of a musical rut a little too often. I felt like the flow of the album was a little inconsistent and while I enjoyed moments of it, it didn't really do enough to grab me. Interestingly it did sound almost ahead of its time, because there was a lot of bits that felt very 90s and 00s indie, while on the flip side it did call back to older rock and roll styles. It was a nice blend and I'm actually interested to hear more from him, despite the fact that this didn't quite grab me. Uncomplicated - Not a bad start. It is, appropriately, a pretty uncomplicated composition and could probably do a little bit more, but it's got a decent vibe even if it's a little basic and static musically. I Hope You're Happy Now - This is a decent rolling number that makes some really nice transitions and chord changes. There's a natural flow to the composition and it never hangs on one thing for too long before moving on, but is still a very coherent song. The bass is of particular note and drives the track really well. Tokyo Storm Warning - Another rolling rhythm here and it's quite persistent. It's decent enough, but for me it drags itself along on without much change for too long and it ends up being too repetitive. There are changes here and there, but the general thrust and rhythm changes very little and his vocal becomes grating singing the same melody with the same inflection again and again and again. For six and a half minutes. Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head - There's a nice onward flow to this. It's sombre but uplifting in equal measures. It doesn't linger on one part for too long and has some interesting progressions. It's not the most exciting song, but it's not bad. I Want You - There are some really nice chord choices in here that don't just follow the obvious trajectory. They're used sparingly which improves their effect too. It's a really nice groove of a track that slowly builds and falls away with great dynamic control. It feels very sincerely delivered, but is perhaps a little too long. Honey Are You Straight Or Are You Blind? - This is more of a rock n roll inflected track. It's ok, but it feels a bit underdeveloped and one paced. But it does it all in a couple of minutes, so doesn't overstay its welcome. Blue Chair - Somehow, Elvis has written something that sounds like a Christmas song but isn't one. I mean, it's pretty good, but it's definitely a Christmas song about a blue chair. It's got a nice lilting rhythm to it and the musical structure moves around nicely. It's not spectacular, but it does what it does pretty well. Battered Old Bird - There's something about this that I really like. It's got a bit of drive to it despite the general laid back vibe of the track. It's got some interesting rhythmic and musical choices that keep you guessing, but the central vibe is solid and keeps things anchored. Crimes Of Paris - Things are more by the book here. Again, it's nice enough but doesn't do anything particularly spectacular or vastly interesting. Weirdly, this is a song that feels kind of ahead of its time, in that it sounds quite like a 90s indie song. One of those ones that's kind of familiar from radio airplay, but you couldn't pick the band name out of a list. Poor Napoleon - Similarly to the last song, this is ok but doesn't do anything particularly engaging or interesting to elevate it above a fairly bland experience. There are moments where it threatens to darken into something a bit more oppressive and daring, but it never actually descends to that, which is a shame. Next Time Around - And we close on a slightly meandering rock and roll edged number that suggests that it inspired a lot of 90s indie musicians and has a touch or REM to it. It's another that's not bad but doesn't really deliver anything particularly memorable. Decent enough, I suppose, but nothing more than that.

2/10 Ah, the Bee Gees. Kings of Disco. Jive Talkers. Patient zeroes of Night Fever. Oh, but this is not a disco album. It's, bafflingly enough, their ninth album and they still haven't found the hook that they needed to plough their own musical furrow. The best bits of this album variously sound like weak copycat Beatles and Elton John songs. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but both of those artists have enough material that I'd rather just listen to the genuine article rather than traipse my way through this slog of an album to find something that might vaguely pique my interest. Unfortunately, the rest of the album is way worse. The production is a bit all over the place, the songwriting is either limp or so obvious as to be mundanely predictable and it's actually quite an uneven selection of tracks. Robin Gibbs voice is outrageously bad. Not in a "that's unique and interesting" way, but in a "please Barry, make him stop" way. It's very lucky for the Bee Gees that they came along at a time when artists could get away with bundling out a string of nothing albums while they found their own path. If they were starting out today, there is now way we would ever have found our way to the brilliant disco era of their work. Which is a massive shame. Anyway, I digress. This album was limp, boring and, in many places, vastly irritating, as well as being saccharine and dull. I toyed with a 3/10, but the worst bits dragged the passable bits down like the French at Trafalgar. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart - An inauspicious start with one of the least convincing bass slides I've heard committed to record. This is so limp and uninspiring. By the numbers easy listening pop rock that sounds like so loads of other bands that aren't worth remembering the names of. Insipid stuff. Israel - At least there's a bit of something to this. It's still not brilliant and feels a lot like a fairly weak Elton John effort, particularly in Barry's delivery, but at least it's not as limp as the opener. In the current climate, I'm not particularly enamoured by a love song to Israel, though. The Greatest Man In The World - Back to the easy listening rock of the opener. There are tiny hints of inspiration from Brian Wilson's songwriting, but they're hidden under a sea of the world's mildest cheese. It's not very good. It's Just The Way - Ah, now we get a Beatles-lite effort. Like, very Beatlesy. In that respect, it's not bad, but if I wanted to listen to the Beatles, I'd probably pick one of their albums, rather than finding my way to the fourth track of a random Bee Gees album. Remembering - Ooh, croony over-vibratoed vocals? This album is really doing its best to irritate. This is another limp, by the numbers soft rock number and the vocals are almost unlistenable. It's both over dramatic and incredibly dull at the same time. Somebody Stop The Music - The Bee Gees must be reading my mind. I also want to stop this music. The disco era can't come fast enough for these guys. To be fair, this isn't actually that bad. It's another Beatles inspired effort that moves through a range of different styles and moods. It's not bad, but it still feels like it's not their own style of music, just another from the pile of Beatles copycats. Trafalgar - This sounds like the Beatles too. Again, it's not bad, it's just also not that interesting or inspiring either. Competent songwriting, reasonably well performed and produced. But again, it's another song that gives me no reason to revisit this album when the Beatles back catalogue exists. Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself - I can't quite put my finger on who this sounds like, but it's very reminiscent of another band. It's not bad actually. Pretty morose, but there's nothing wrong with that. There are some nice harmonies and it ebbs and flows nicely in a way that echoes the themes of the song. When Do I - This is pretty weak. Robin definitely has the most irritating voice in the band. It feels very affected and he uses a fast, subtle vibrato that I find quite grating. He's also not got great tonal control. The song is pretty plodding and uninteresting, as far as I can tell, but I'm struggling to deal with the vocals so can't focus too much on the underlying instrumentation. Dearest - Oh God, it's Robin again. At least he's split lead duty on this one. But it's a plodding song that's half nursery rhyme, half sickly love song. Too much warbly vibrato. Too aimless. Too melodramatic. Truly awful. Lion In Winter - That's a nice cardboard box they're using for a kick drum. This is a bit of an Elton John lite song this time during the verses and then what the actual fuck is that chorus? The vocals are completely awful in an entirely different way to the last couple of tracks. It's like they asked the Gibb brother they normally keep locked in the attic to come down and have a go at the chorus. Which is a shame because the verses are not bad. Walking Back To Waterloo - This isn't terrible and it's kind of half way between a Beatles and an Elton song in certain ways. But it also feels like it just kind of exists without having anything particularly memorable or engaging about it and it feels unnecessary ponderous. Perhaps I'm just Bee Geed out at this point.

10/10 When this album dropped out of the sky in 1967, it must have been remarkable. Sure, there are elements of 60s British Rock and American Blues simmering under the surface on this record, but those influences have been thrown into a melting pot with a uniquely charismatic swagger and cool, a pulsing, throbbing rhythm section and moments of instrumental virtuosity. And it's not just Jimi. Mitch Mitchell's drumming is absolutely phenomenal and provides the drive and momentum that anchors Jimi to the earth, ensuring that he never flies too far away. The production is gritty and raw, but there are silky smooth moments that shine through to provide excellent light and shade dynamism. The balance of songs is great too. Tracks like Foxy Lady and Fire give the album its presentable face, while tracks like Love Or Confusion and Third Stone From The Sun give it it's psychedelic and experimental heart. In future records, Jimi had a tendency to, in my opinion, let the experimentations in virtuosity take a little too much of the focus which could distract from the essential quality of some of his songs. But the balance here is perfect. It feels both massively ahead of its time as well as being very much of its era in a way that only someone as brilliant as Hendrix could be. Foxy Lady - So gritty, soulful and hooky with a pounding drive that sweeps it forward with relentless enthusiasm. It's such a charismatic performance from everyone, both vocally and instrumentally. Brilliant. Manic Depression - This comes at you like a tide, pushing again and again over you with such insistence. It's grimy and gritty, which only adds to how compelling it is. Jimi's guitar is obviously great, but Mitchell Mitchell's drums are the star here. Red House - We take a little lean back into the blues now and Jimi just goes off. It's almost a call and response between his vocal and guitar. He can obviously wail, but it's the balance that he gives things that allow it to have the impact it does. He knows exactly when to throw everything at it and when to just leave in a bit of restraint to allow the flair to shine. And it's all so full of attitude. Can You See Me - Now Jimi takes the 60s British blues pop rock template and bends it to his will. There are echoes of the Beatles, The Who and the Stones, but wraps it all up in an unmistakably Jimi package. It's driven hard by Mitch's drums again, but the riffs and hooks carry on that drive and run with it. Love Or Confusion - Leaning more towards psychedelia now and almost teetering towards post-rock noise pretty much 20 years ahead of schedule. It's a great wash of ringing tone and grit that brings itself together and falls apart again and again. I Don't Live Today - This pulses and crashes and Jimi's guitar dives in and out of focus through a haze of feedback and delay before they bring everything together for a clashing, driven chorus. Mitch does a brilliant job here again giving a heart beat to the madness. There are a few odd production quirks, particularly with volume adjustments, but they're relics of experimental production of the time, I think. May This Be Love - The rolling beat here is really interesting. It's probably the most straightforward song on the album so far, but there are still some really fantastic moments in there, particularly the drifting guitar solo that meanders around in quite a purposeful but scenic way. Nice. Fire - Oh yeah, this is when Jimi tames all of his skills into a gritty, dangerous poppy banger. He doesn't restrain himself, more focuses all of his energy into delivering a hook laden, driven and heavy pop song that has so many moments of quality wrapped up in a brilliant and engaging piece of songwriting. Third Stone From The Sun - Back to something a little more psychedelic that maintains rhythmic focus. There are some great little moments of sound design in here and it shuffles it's way through a range of different movements as it goes. Nice to have a less vocally focused track to allow attention to shift more clearly to the instrumentation. They're all so tight and locked in to one another that even when they're pushing and pulling at the edges of the rhythm and tempo, it all stays controlled and synced. Again, there's big hints of that post-rock sound that bands like Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine would run with years later. Remember - More pulsing soulful rock now. It's pulled along by a rock solid and weighty bass and beat combo that gives it so much body. They never land on anything quite as hooky as the best tracks on the record, but it's still pretty compelling and effortlessly cool stuff regardless. Are You Experienced? - Woof, that intro is great. Such cool soundscaping for the era and it sets the tone for a brooding, psychedelic and throbbing groove that follows. The composition is loose in a very cool way and Jimi's having so much fun with dragging compelling and varied sounds out of his guitar. They are always sure to drop back to the core rhythm of the track, though, which ensures that there's a centre to the track that doesn't get lost. And finishing with something like this is an excellent choice.

5/10 This was always going to be a tough one for me. Oasis have never been my thing, but as with any album, I always do my best to go in with an open mind. There are some decent enough songs on here, actually. Nothing particularly spectacular, but passable pop-rock songs that would sit well in the songbook of many half-decent mainstream rock band of the time. Unfortunately, they’re often compromised by Liam Gallagher’s voice, which nasally drawls and drones over the top of it all, prioritising attitude over musical skill. That obviously works for some, but for me, it’s always come across as pretty unlikeable and this full listen of the album hasn’t done a lot to change my mind. Weirdly, his vocal style is actually fairly inconsistent, and in places isn’t actually too bad, but that doesn’t particularly help with the flow and consistency of the album to my ears. The songs themselves are often pretty simple compositions, but are, in most instances fairly well put together, performed and produced. You can definitely hear that this is a debut album, as there are weak areas where things go a little underdeveloped, and there are times when basic ideas are dragged on for too long, but for the most part, things aren’t bad. I think the thing that really gets me about this record, and Oasis in general, is that it actually, vocals excepted, sounds pretty generic and doesn’t stand out from among the crowd. I kind of feel, as mentioned in my song by song, that if you removed Liam and replaced him with another singer, most of these tracks could have been by one of any number of britpop bands that were around at the time. I’ve heard a theory that Oasis became as big as they did because the Stone Roses, in their failure to follow up their debut album in a timely manner, left a massive vacuum for a northern, attitude edged rock band to fill and that Oasis were the first to fit the bill, which kind of makes sense. As for this album, I think it more or less met my expectations. It wasn’t terrible, by any stretch of the imagination, but it is still pretty middle of the road and in no way worthy of being as highly rated as it is. Awful? No. Over-rated? Massively. For me? Again, no. Rock 'N' Roll Star - This is a decent enough rock and roll based number. Liam’s voice is quite irritating, the way he slurs and drawls over everything, but underneath that, it’s not bad. It’s a fairly by the numbers rock song that doesn’t do anything vastly interesting or innovative, but does what it does fairly well. Unfortunately, it’s also a half-decent three minute rocker that drags on for five and a half minutes. It feels like they’re trying to be ‘experimental at the end, but it’s pretty unconvincing. Shakermaker - An uncredited take-off of a Coca-Cola advertising jingle? Ok then. It’s slow, plodding, unoriginal and boring. And then we have to listen to Liam's awful slurring vocals droning on (and on and on) over the top. The pace is all wrong, the composition is basic and boring and it drags on for over five minutes! What a load of old rubbish. Live Forever - Ah, one of the big singles. It’s got one of the most unconvincing transitions to falsetto that I can recall. It’s pretty basic, particularly the guitar solo, but it’s not a bad little song really. Liam continues to be the worst thing about the band, but other than that, this is a decent entry into the brit-pop/indie songbook of the 90s. It’s instrumentally well performed, has some decent melodic hooks and captures the sound of 90s British rock well. That said, listening to this, I don’t really get why this has is any better than other contemporary bands. Up In The Sky - This isn’t that bad, it’s got a fairly repetitive riff that drags on a bit too much, but it’s got decent pace. When Liam isn’t unnecessarily dragging out his vowels, he's far less annoying, and he perhaps does it less here. I can’t believe they dragged this riff out for as long as they have though. Columbia - This is another by the numbers indie rock number. As with the rest of the album thus far, it’s largely competently performed and produced, but it doesn’t really offer anything that elevates it above being a decent album track from one of any number of bands of the time. Swap out the singer and tell me this is a Space, Dodgy or Supergrass track and I’d fully believe you. It’s not particularly exciting, but it’s decent enough. Supersonic - I’m not one to hook on to lyrics particularly often, only ever really latching onto lyrical content with songs that I've listened to a lot of times. But the lyrics here stuck out as being particularly poor. Lazy rhyming that sounds like the last minute poetry homework of an unengaged teenager. It’s a slow, fairly ponderous song with some decent elements of sound design in there, but it’s pretty slow to do anything. There’s at least a bit of range between sections, but it does become pretty repetitive. Bring It On Down - This has a nice rolling start that leads into something with really good pace and drive. The drawling singing drags away some of the momentum though. With a sharp, staccato vocal, this could have worked a lot better. Some nice guitar playing in here and the drumming is solid too. Unfortunately, it never really develops particularly far and it’s all pretty dynamically flat, but it’s still pretty decent. Cigarettes & Alcohol - Ah, Bang a Gong by T-Rex, but if you strip it of all its charm away and get an annoying prick to whinge over the top of it. It’s very splashy and cluttered in the highs in the mix which makes it a little tough on the ears. And good god, Liam’s vocal delivery is just atrocious. It eschews timing and tightness for ‘attitude’, but that attitude is of someone threateningly asking you for a quid so they can get the bus. Digsy's Dinner - This is better. It’s got a bit of rhythmic range and dynamism to it and Liam is reigning in his more irritating tendencies. Not convinced by that piano solo though. Sheesh. It all becomes a bit of a wash after a while though and then it’s done. Again, sounds like a decent but not standout track from any number of bands of the time. Slide Away - This is another by the numbers pop-rock composition. It’s pretty one-paced, but it’s not too bad. It’s got a decent amount of musical swagger to it and there are some decent bits of instrumental work in there. And then it drags on for 6 minutes, which is just way too long. Especially the two separate bits where he relentlessly sings “slide away”. Married With Children - This sounds a lot like Blur. It’s pretty good actually. Liam’s voice is a little on the nasal side, but it’s got less of the annoying drawling. It’s nice and stripped back and doesn’t overdo things and while it’s a pretty simple composition, what it does, it does right and then doesn’t overstay its welcome.

9/10 This is the first in Michael Jackson’s truly great trilogy of albums. He’d released solo albums prior to this, but this was the first time he and Quincy Jones would get together for a record, and it was a marriage made in heaven. While the core sound to this album is disco, there are clear elements of funk and soul woven throughout, all layered over a selection of magnificent pop music compositions. The key standout for me on this album is how much every individual part contributes to its ever-moving groove and flow. That layering is a trademark of Michael and Quincy’s work together and here we get to hear that process finding its feet. If you were to take individual components of each track and play them solo, they would often sound basic and straight, but when everything is layered together, it becomes a living, breathing pulse of groove that’s impossible not to move and bounce to. With that as a backing, it would be hard to go wrong, but there are so many hooks all over the record that it elevates a compelling, funky record into something poptacularly special. It’s hard to pick out single examples, because there are so many, but listening to the call and response between MJ’s lead vocal and the horns in Working Day And Night, or the shuffling swagger of basically every part of Burn This Disco Out really shows what a special talent Michael and Quincy had for selecting songs and sculpting them into a tonally unified record. It’s important that Michael’s vocals get a shout out here. The guy had so much control over what he was producing, both tonally and emotionally. The difference in tone he could produce between backing and lead is really skilful. He would throw in attitude and swagger whenever it served the song and his ability to subtly vary his vibrato and even bring his voice to the edge of cracking during key moments of the slower numbers is simply stunning. And those vocals are always given the space to shine. The production is crisp and clear throughout, and underneath that starring vocal, there is so much depth to the instrumental parts that there is something fresh to grab on to nearly every time. Sure, it’s cheesy as anything and maybe it doesn’t quite have the range of the following couple of records, but it’s still a magnificent effort, and really shows the momentum that Michael was making towards creating the unique sound and musical personality that would sit him on top of the world for the next decade. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough - What a great bass line to roll us in. MJ’s shy little vocal intro is camp as Christmas, but eases us in nicely. The blend of rhythms is solid, with some lovely little bits of percussion that dip in and out and the staccato nature of the bass and guitar only add to the blend. It’s stuffed full of great hooks too. The only complaint could be that it’s a tad long. Rock With You - This is so smooth. The short build up of the pre-chorus is just delicious and the blend of different instrumental parts add so much variation and flavour within each section. Again, MJ writes some stunning vocal hooks and it’s all backed up by a tight and groovy instrumental that just lets his vocal shine. Working Day And Night - This feels like the genesis of the Jackson vocal ticks as rhythmic elements within a track. The call and response of the piano and guitar is solid and there’s a lot of great little riffs spread around the instrumentation that could easily get lost in the background if you weren’t paying enough attention. The almost skittish nature of the groove gives such a solid forward momentum to the track and there’s a great mix of different vocal parts there too. Get On The Floor - Ooof, that bass line slaps (literally). It’s a slow build into this one and there’s more instrumental restraint in there in general which gives it a bit of a different texture to some of the earlier tracks. When the instrumentation does build, it’s superbly balanced and it all supports that funky groove and MJ’s superb (as always) vocal. The breakdown in this is fantastic too. So funky. Off The Wall - Again, the blend of instruments providing the compulsive rhythmic base to this is fundamental to the groove and it’s great. There’s a nice change in emphasis to the groove between verse and chorus on this track that keeps things interesting, but keeps your body moving. The choral vocal multi-tracks are so well executed and MJs delivery on the lead has got just the right amount of swagger to it. He really was an exceptional vocal talent, not just in tonal control but his presentation and delivery was so well executed at all times. Girlfriend - Back to something more soulful and smooth here as we get a Paul McCartney composition onto the record. There’s some absolutely gorgeous Rhodes playing in the background that you only really pick up with close listening. It drifts a little into the cheesy end of the spectrum, but the groove is still really compelling and it provides a nice bit of contrast to the more dancefloor leaning tracks. Solid vocal harmonies, some really nice rhythmic stops and runs, and a solid groove. All hail the cheese. She's Out Of My Life - We take a further step back in pace. It’s more cheese, but another vocal masterclass from Jacko. There’s so much subtlety to his delivery, controlling little punchy pieces of rhythm and the easing in to his vibrato is so smooth. Even the little breaks in his voice feel purposeful. It’s cheesy as fuck, but it’s a high-class, expensive cheese. I Can't Help It - Time for a Stevie Wonder composition now. The bass drives the momentum of this really nicely. The higher tones create a drifting little cloud of harmony that float around beneath MJ’s (again) beautifully controlled vocal. But that’s not to say it lacks on the rhythmical front. There’s a really smooth, groovy pulse and the instrumentation all contributes, just sometimes in very subtle ways. It’s such a solid, hooky chorus too. It's The Falling In Love - The guitar here is so, so funky. This is another where the balance and strategic use of the instrumentation is superbly handled. Things weave around each other beautifully, passing the groove around and then bringing everything together in parts too. Patti Austin’s vocal perfectly compliments Jacko’s, never even trying to overshadow it. There are some particularly nice horn arrangements in here that are worthy of note, but as a whole it’s super satisfying. Burn This Disco Out - Again, what a compelling groove. Find someone who can stay completely still while this tracks spins, and congratulations, you’ve discovered someone with no soul. This is so stacked full of hooks and quality riffs that there’s more exciting and engaging moments stuffed into this one song than other artists manage across a whole record. Seriously, run this track a few times and focus on one instrument at a time and you’ll hear something genius that you missed the previous time on every pass. Bass, Guitar, Horns, Piano, Drums, Vocals and on. All spectacular. What a way to close.

4/10 I’ve heard of TV On The Radio before, but couldn’t tell you much about them really, so this should be interesting at least. There are a lot of elements here that are right in my wheelhouse, creative sound design and synth use, an edge of funk and a quirky little indie edge. Unfortunately, none of that really gelled particularly well for me or really grabbed hold of me and demanded my attention. One of the strangest things about it was that, despite them seeming to have spent quite a lot of energy working on building dense rhythmical ideas, these were limited to fairly short loops that then repeated fairly relentlessly. It also felt very robotic, with everything feeling almost too tight and lacking a human edge to it that would bring out the heart of the groove. And that extended to a lot of the instrumental parts too. I don’t know how much of it was live instrumentation and how much was samples, but much of the instrumentation felt like it had had a lot of its soul quantised and compressed out of it in the production process. When this sat in the background, out of my main focus, I grooved along to it nicely enough, but every time I tried to focus on it, I found there was little to hold on to and beyond that, there were bits that were actively annoying. I don’t think the lead vocalist is particularly good and he has a fairly affected style that only really worked for me during certain songs. As a background listen this was decent enough, but there are plenty of bands that lean in this direction that I would much prefer to listen to, and unfortunately there was nothing memorable enough to really settle this is an album worthy of continued repeat listening. Halfway Home - An interesting droning into that feels like it’s building up to something. It’s quite a nice tension builder, but it never really develops into anything vastly satisfying, and also feels overly long for an album intro track. I quite like the sound design and atmosphere that’s built, but it’s not particularly harmonically interesting. Crying - A nice bit of rhythmic programming to start this off, and it’s already got a bit more to it than the opener. The funky guitar is pretty tasty, but lacks variation to give it more feel. I quite like this, and the shuffling groove is pretty good, but it all feels a little bit too robotic, lacking the fluidity of something a little more human. It’s also a little on the repetitive side and never really finds its way to anything vastly memorable. Dancing Choose - There’s a little more attitude thrown in to the vocal here in places. There’s also a little more variation to the emphasis from verse to chorus, which is nice, but it starts feeling a bit too hurried after a while and things get a bit loose and cluttered. It all feels a little bit relentless and like it’s struggling to keep up with itself. Stork & Owl - This is a little plodding and melodically unfocused. I think the lead vocal here is pretty weak and the strings feel very static and robotically programmed, rather than warm and organic. It also doesn’t really go anywhere. The layering of everything is theoretically nice, but doesn’t feel all that well executed to me. Golden Age - This starts out pretty promisingly, but again, I feel the programming of a lot of the parts is very, very static and because of that it feels like it takes a long time to get anywhere. When things do come in, it builds quite nicely. The general groove is pretty good, but the lead vocal largely seems very thin and fairly unconvincing. This is in that weird space where it’s getting me shuffling along to it, but there’s no really standout element of it to me, and I expect I won’t really remember much about it by the time the next track comes on. Family Tree - This kind of sounds a bit like Coldplay if they were a more interesting band. The string arrangements are pretty nice and they do some decent work of building things up, but it all feels a little bit obvious and the piano and vocal line running along the exact same melody doesn’t hep to add depth to the composition. I can hear little touches of inspiration from Sigur Rós in there, but it’s way less lush and emotionally centred than them. It’s nice but fairly bland. Red Dress - This is better. It’s got a great skittering rhythm and plenty of different instrumental parts that extend and enhance that rhythm. I’m still not convinced by the vocalist. It feels like he’s doing a bit with his vocal delivery, or is so unconvinced by his vocal ability that he has to ‘sing’ in a half-spoken, very plosive way. It works better here than it has on other tracks and I’m getting into the groove of this one a lot more. There’s some solid layering on there, but it’s got such a weak keyboard solo to end it that it just limps away. Love Dog - We get another interesting, shuffling rhythm that after a couple of loops starts to feel altogether too static. It’s weird, because it does quite a lot in that loop, but perhaps that’s why it sounds so repetitive. This builds quite nicely in ambience. It’s another where the component parts tick a lot of boxes for me, but ultimately the execution, while making me tap my toes along to the groove, doesn’t really produce much of an emotional or engaged response. It feels a bit stylistically mixed between the shuffling, skittish drums and the long, legato wash of strings and it doesn’t really gel all that well for me. Shout Me Out - A slow shuffle gets us moving here, but it takes too long to develop. I keep getting distracted by other things while trying to review this because nothing is really getting hold of me. When it finally gets a shift on and does something, it doubles time, but it’s really not convincing. The guitar parts in these sections are repetitive and jarring. And then they drift off into an aimless guitar widdle that does nothing aside from aimlessly meander. DLZ - Ah, this is a solid, atmospheric start. This vibe works better with the vocal and he gives it a bit more swagger in his delivery. This is definitely my favourite on the album. It’s really nicely produced and creates a deep and interesting vibe. It also manages to create some good hooks, build some nice dynamic range and maintains the best of their skittering beats. I think this just managed to hook up the best bits of what they were trying to do elsewhere and brought them together in a coherent and satisfying way. Lover's Day - This is oddly militaristic in sound. It feels like they’re trying to build something, but despite that rolling beat, it never really goes anywhere. Overall it feels pretty unconvincing, a little to rhythmically repetitive and lacking in any significant musical phrases to grab on to. Ultimately, it’s just a bit boring.

5/10 Separate the art from the artist, separate the art from the artists, separate the art from the artist… Let’s leave aside Morrissey and his awful opinions for a moment and focus on the actual music here. This is actually a pretty good album. There’s a decent range of styles across the tracklist, but it all feels very stylistically consistent and well produced. For an album from 1988, there is a very 90s indie sound about a lot of this, and it’s clear that Morrissey was very influential among the indie and briptpop bands that would follow. The strongest aspects of the best songs on this record are undoubtedly the bass and drums, which bring a solid and reliable drive and impetus to proceedings. Morrissey’s voice is exactly what you would expect; a bit flouncy, always somewhat maudlin, and consistently ensuring that there is a morose edge to even the most uplifting of tracks, but he’s got good control and does what he does well. He does have a few common phrases and intervals that he uses again and again in his work, which does stand out after a while and makes his work have less range and variety than it could. The quality of the songwriting does vary a little, with some strong efforts and some that are a bit dull and underdeveloped, but by and large it’s not bad at all. Production wise, there are a few odd choices. The guitar in I Don’t Mind If You Forget Me, and the vocal delay in Late Night, Maudlin Street, for example, and the the reverb is pretty overdone in places, but for the most part it’s well balanced and competently presented. Unfortunately, Mr Morrissey does give us an indication of some of his worst opinions on Bengali In Platforms, and his subsequent behaviour has essentially doubled down on the sentiment therein, leaving no further room for doubt about his intentions. It’s a shame, because this is actually not a bad album, but I’m not going to go back to it. At least listening to a Smiths record puts money in Johnny Marr’s pocket. Alsatian Cousin - An interesting piece of sound design to start us off and the guitar emerges in a wash of tonal distortion. It’s Quite a dark and dreary, but has a decent drive to it in places. It’s not a bad track and there’s a decent bit of range to the different sections. I quite like the ambience to it too. Little Man, What Now? - This doesn’t really go anywhere. It’s a nice enough idea of a track, but it just doesn’t really do enough with the idea. Morrissey has a lot of go-to melodic phrases and runs that he goes back to again and again, which often makes it feel like a lot of his vocal performances are incredibly similar, and this is one where that is pretty blatant. Everyday Is Like Sunday - This is a more Smiths-like song. It’s ok, but it’s a fairly basic composition that more or less does exactly what you expect and it’s a bit on the dull side. Ok, but not in any way exciting or invigorating. Bengali In Platforms - It’s not entirely clear if this song is intended to be Morrissey representing the views of others, attempting to speak about immigrants trying to fit in, or just him sharing his own views, but given his subsequent behaviour, I think we can probably make an educated guess. The guy is an odious little prick, and just grouping people as those who “belong here” and those who don’t (particularly from the son of Irish immigrants) is enough to turn me off. The song beneath is pretty enough, but fairly plain. Angel, Angel, Down We Go Together - The string arrangement here is really quite nice. It moves really nicely and there’s enough variation in the lead violin part to give it extended interest as the song flows. It’s a stark and open song that’s really nicely produced and backs up a really convincing vocal delivery from Morrissey. When he produces stuff like this, he can be really good, which makes all the horrible shit even harder to take. Late Night, Maudlin Street - Maudlin is right. It’s a thin old production too, at least to begin with. It does thicken out a little, but there are some odd choices of effects in places with a slightly distracting use of delay on the lead vocal in places. The rhythm is quite nice, but pretty repetitive after a while, although when it eventually gets fuller late on, it does add a bit of extended interest. It’s a slow build that the core musical structure is perhaps a bit too basic to justify, even though there are some nice moments from the piano. I mean, it’s not that bad and could have been decent at 3-4 minutes, but how on earth did he drag this out for nearly seven minutes? Suedehead - There’s a bit more of an uptempo approach here, although Morrissey’s vocal delivery fails to ever let any of his songs be truly uplifting. This is quite a nice little track and actually sounds a little ahead of its time. I could easily see this fitting in with the jingly indie-pop canon of the 90s. The bass is a great driver to this track and there’s a solid drumming performance in there too. It’s got great tempo and I’m not surprised to see this was a single. Break Up The Family - This runs on nicely from the previous track. More decent driving bass and a really solid groove to the beat keep it shifting along. The arpeggiated guitar is pretty nice too. Overall, the ambience of this is really pleasant and Morrissey uses rhythm nicely in a few places to give the vocal range an interest. This album is growing on me, much to my chagrin. The Ordinary Boys - I had to look around for this one, as Morrissey decided to remove it from the remaster and replace it with something more plodding and boring than this. This is also quite plodding, but there’s a little more about it. Some decent moments of piano and guitar and it’s pleasant enough, but overall, it’s just a bit dull. I can see why he removed it, but I can’t see why he replaced it with something that is also dull. I Don't Mind If You Forget Me - I wish I could forget you Morrissey. I’ve quite enjoyed this album in places, but you’re an arsehole. This has got a really good drive and pace to it. There’s a nice blend of guitar tones in here, although there is a bit into the chorus where the guitar goes off piste and sounds distractingly odd. In fact, the longer the song goes on, the more out of place that bit sounds. It’s awful! Besides that, it’s a good piece of pop-rock songwriting. The bass and drums are solid and driving and the vocals are well delivered. But that guitar can do one. Dial-A-Cliché - This is a pleasant enough folk-edged track. The rolling drums are restrained, but give a really solid shuffling pulse to things. It’s another slice of good pop-rock songwriting that’s quite emotionally compelling, but it kind of has that Morrissey trademark ‘always the victim’ mentality to the lyrics and delivery. He seems very sad that people might not like him, but would rather look outwards than inwards. Margaret On The Guillotine - A song about Margaret Thatcher that could easily have the name ‘Margaret’ replaced with the name ‘Morrissey’ and be a suitable representation of how many people now view Morrissey and his take on the world. It’s stark and pretty and closes the album out quite nicely.

8/10 The Cure are one of those curious bands that are essentially impossible to pigeon hole. Play someone unfamiliar Boys Don’t Cry and Close To Me before sticking this album on, which was released exactly half-way between those two singles, and they’d be hard-pressed to believe that they’re by the same band. But they do what they want and that’s to be applauded. This album is a dark, brooding, throbbing examination of depression and drug abuse, and it wears its heart very much on its sleeve. It’s a dense and textured record that washes and grinds away over a fairly relentless and insistent rhythm section that gives the album a tempo that juxtaposes against that desolate tonal blanket. In some ways, that insistence can be a little draining, but it’s a very accurate artistic representation of the seemingly unending sensation and darkness of depression. You can, just about, hear the melodic talent that Robert Smith has in his armoury, as there are moments where his vocals work their way towards an almost poppy sensibility, but those moments are relatively fleeting and, if anything, enhance the stark hopelessness of the albums theme. I feel like an album like this is one that you really need to listen to at a volume that allows the full weight of the record to push down on you, as that oppressive ambience really needs to be given the opportunity to overpower and consume your senses in order to deliver it’s full impact. It’s an album that, to me, is probably greater than the sum of its parts. There’s not many individual tracks that have stuck with me, but the overall weight of the album is one that has left an impression on me that I can’t quite explain. If art is designed to evoke or echo an emotional response, the Cure have certainly achieved that goal and, while it’s not an album for everyday listening, at least for me, it’s probably a worthy companion for those times when the weight of life is becoming overwhelming. One Hundred Years - It’s a hypnotically insistent start. That drum machine drives it along from underneath a swirling and throbbing wash of distortion, delay and reverb. It’s one of those tracks that is fairly compositionally simple, but the sound design and production elevates it into something that wraps itself around you and envelops you in its atmosphere. There’s actually a little bit more range to the different sections than might first be apparent, and it certainly creates a very compelling, dark vibe. A Short Term Effect - If you were to grab a poppy new-wave band and keep them chained up in a dark basement for a month, this is the kind of song that they’d probably create on their release. There is a poppy sensibility to the vocal melody and underlying chord structure of this, but it pulses away under a sea of effects modulated guitars that tease away at the edges of that structure, never losing it completely, but doing it’s best to pull at the threads, which is only enhanced by the dissonance of the piano that drifts in and out. The Hanging Garden - The tempo ramps its way up now. It’s fairly frantic underneath Robert Smith’s vocal. There are some nice little production tricks here with panning and depth of the vocals and some cool reversed tonal sounds that shimmer out at you. It all builds in energy and weight of sound as it moves along. There are moments of stark respite from that wash of sound, but it continues to be rhythmically persistent throughout. It perhaps drags on the idea a little too long, but it’s still a solid execution. Siamese Twins - Again, this really throbs its way along in an insistent manner. It’s fairly harmonically stark, but the bass and drums give it an underlying thickness and weight that balances against the starkness in the higher frequency range. It perhaps plods along a touch too much, but I think that relentless pulse is a very deliberate artistic choice, like time driving forwards with complete indifference to the human experience. The Figurehead - This is less rhythmically in your face, but remains insistent in its delivery. Again, it’s very darkly evocative and the instrumental and vocal parts, aside from the drums and bass, weave in and out in a wash of reverb and effects, building a fascinating, ever-moving cloud of sound. It actually manages to pull out something quite hooky in there too with the “never be clean again” vocal motif. It’s a slow, brooding effort, but it’s really good. A Strange Day - There’s a nice modulating synth line in here that adds extra weight to the rhythm section. Again, this has got almost poppy new-wave sensibilities to the melodic writing, but it’s set against something that grinds away underneath it in a very brooding, un-pop music way. There are moments when it teases an emotional uplift in the chord structure, but it cycles round and round and never finds it. Again, solid atmospheric song writing and production. Cold - This is super heavyweight in the bass and then becomes gothically melodramatic when the synth strings come in. It’s fantastic sound design that really builds a fantastic bed of atmosphere. As with much of the album, it’s very insistent, but there’s a particularly unique drama about this track that makes it more bold and forward than most of the other tracks. There are also some lovely pieces of reverb and delay heavy sound design that add ear candy and depth. Pornography - This is almost a sound collage that takes place over that trademark brooding and insistent underlying bass and rhythm, although the drums take on quite a different tone here. As a sound design piece, this is great and it ebbs and flows as a soundscape, evolving as it goes. I could imagine this being quite impenetrable to some people, but this conjures such a dark, menacing vibe, with an edge of frenetic insanity that I find at really compelling. Tone sort of drifts in and out of the fuzz, but that droning anchor keeps everything pinned together really nicely. It’s a really cool way to end an album too.

8/10 The first thing that stood out to me about this record was how much of a fluid groove they managed to build, despite the metronomic and sequenced nature of so many of the sounds. Somehow, while creating machine music, they gave their robots a soul. It’s the layering a blending of different elements that really gives this album life. While there are some elements that could be a little on the repetitive side, they play so much with sequence length across different synth lines that it rarely becomes too static or dull to the ear. The synth sounds that they use add a decent amount of depth to the production and there are some absolutely gorgeous warm, creamy patches in play here that bathe you in a satisfying wash of sound. The composition is also great, with them building some really interesting harmonic beds, while also delivering some memorable and catchy melodic hooks. The drift into pop music territory in places, and into atmospheric ambience in others, which is a great skill for an album that manages to maintain such a coherent voice. It’s also ridiculously far ahead of its time. It’s a 48 year old album that sounds like it could have been released today, and there are clear examples of production and composition that would inspire artists and whole genres in the decades that followed. The one track that didn’t quite connect with me was Neon Lights, which felt a bit too basic, thin and underdeveloped, which was a shame, especially as it covers a quarter of the record. That’s the only thing keeping this from a 9/10, to be honest, as otherwise, this was a really fantastic listening experience that I’ll definitely adding to the regular rotation. The Robots - The sound design here is so good. Some of the synth patches and tones are great; crisp, clear and punchy. It’s a buttery smooth sound that manages to impart a really solid groove despite being so metronomic. There are some really great combinations of melodic and harmonic sequences and tonal modulations that make it feel really alive while never drifting from the robotic theme. It feels incredibly ahead of its time too. Spacelab - The juxtaposition of the urgent beat and arpeggiated synth against the drifting, dreamy lead is excellent. The filter-swept Moog tone is so beefy. There’s some interesting use of layering and the way they pull and push different elements in and out of the mix adds a rolling, adapting feel to the composition. It perhaps gets a tiny bit lost with some of the flutey synth patches that flow around each other, but it’s a minor point. Metropolis - This feels like driving through a neon-lit city at night. Again, the persistence of the beat and arpeggiated synth give this so much drive, but they’re really careful to use sounds with a slower attack against that to not make it overwhelming. They use a range of frequencies at different points to develop tonal differences over the course of the track, which is an interesting approach. Although there’s obviously a lot of sequencing work going on, they manage to use extended sequences to ensure that the track as whole never gets locked in too much of a short loop, even if some components do. It’s really clever stuff, especially with the limited technology they were working with. The Model - This is the closest we’ve come to a traditional song really. Some of the synth lines are so hooky, which is great and it’s definitely a pop song, even if it is a bit of a weird one! I’m not generally a massive fan of having a prominent instrumental part that plays the same line as the lead vocal, but at least it gets a break to do that nice arpeggiated pattern when the vocal isn’t present. As with The Robots, there’s a great groove to this, despite the metronomic nature of it. And, as with the rest of the album, the synth patches are so well matched and create a really warm tonality. Neon Lights - There’s some more nice sound design on here, but it does become a little plodding. Unlike some of the earlier tracks, there’s not as much depth in the synth layering to make this feel as fluid and broad. It all just feels a little bit too rhythmically static and repetitive, which is a shame. It’s not really bad, it’s just a little on the dull side and a bit meandering, lacking in the scope of the rest of the album. It does throw in some developments across its almost 9 minute runtime, but they’re so stretched out and even when it does develop, it feels a bit thin by comparison to the other tracks. And it’s too long. The Man-Machine - And we’re back on it again now. That atmosphere and layering brings so much more depth and there’s a pulsing groove to the rhythmic elements that creates a superb depth to the sound. You can hear how much influence Kraftwerk would have on so many electronically focused types of music that would follow, from house to hip-hop, just from this one track. It’s pretty wild for an album created in West Germany in 1978. The sound design and atmosphere to this is solid and engaging, even if the music depth isn’t quite as pleasing as the first four tracks.

8/10 Early Queen is an interesting beast. They were yet to find their way to mainstream success and were still digging their way through various inspirations to find their own sound. In truth, Queen did experiment a lot through their career, which does go some way to explaining the sometimes uneven nature of many of their albums. That being said, this album really does feel like a coherent piece. It would be easy to miss the depth and range of this record if it were just chucked on as a background listen, but there are so many ideas put together here that it really does deserve a closer listen. And the more I listened to this, the further it sucked me in. This is not the Queen of Don’t Stop Me Now, Somebody To Love or Killer Queen, although there are indications all over the place that that kind of stuff is ready to present itself, but this is a band throwing so many ideas together in a roiling, frothing storm of heavy prog music. The thing that stood out to me the most here was how heavy it was. Not the whole time, but when they wanted to, the band really lent into a beefy, hard sound more reminiscent of Led Zeppelin than what Queen would become. Freddie doesn’t really reach the levels of grandiosity that he would on later records, but his vocal is so controlled and dynamic, and his songwriting on the second side shows a man really starting to flex his creative muscles. There was great dynamic range across this album, with elements of stark beauty, lush, full harmonic movements and balls to the wall thundering cacophonies, often inside a single track. Some of the production was really fantastic and full sounding, and you could hear them experimenting quite heavily with layering, panning and other techniques to build a really interesting sound. It was a little rough around the edges in places, particularly on Brian May’s first side, and there wasn’t as much range to Freddie’s vocal as I’d have liked, but as a whole, this was a really enjoyable album and I think it’s a bit of a shame that Queen lost as much of this sound as they did on future releases. Procession - There’s that Brian May guitar tone. It’s unmistakably Queen as soon as that sound comes out of the speakers. This is a bit of a ponderous intro that seems to be aiming towards grand, but never really gets there, but it’s leading up to… Father To Son - The intro to this is great. That spacey arpeggiated keyboard against the heavy chords from the guitar and bass is really nice. I was expecting it to lift off into something heavier straight away, but it builds and teases that more slowly. It’s pretty proggy too in the number of different phases it runs through. It reaches that heaver sound a couple of minutes in and there are some solid riffs in amongst the clash of dirty noise. It’s a good little number this and it has the feel of a track that probably gets better with familiarity. White Queen (As It Began) - Freddie’s voice hasn’t exploded into action yet, but his delivery is so deft and emotive. The choral backing vocals are great and back him up really well. This is pretty heavy in places too, but has excellent dynamic range between the verses and choruses. There are moments of that classic Queen sound, but there’s further range and variety in there too. A really good track. Some Day One Day - This runs nicely off the previous track and it’s a bit more restrained. Again, it’s quite proggy, but we don’t get as much heavy stuff, but the layering of the different parts creates a really pretty tonal bed that sits under Brian May’s vocal. This is a drifting, evolving little track that’s a really pleasant listen with lots of rhythmic and tonal interest. The Loser In The End - Ooof, that’s a weighty start off the back of the last track. This is quite Zeppelin bluesy and we get Roger Taylor on vocals now. Some of these riffs are really top notch and Brian May’s solo work is delicious, especially with that much grit over his characteristic guitar tone. Theres’s some interesting layering of different rhythms here that give the track so much life and movement. Ogre Battle - What a brilliant intro. Quality sound design into that high vocal and then a pulsing, throbbing blend of forwards and backwards playback layered together. This is really heavy and punchy, but also slips in these little legato moments that add really nice little twists here and there. Again, this is so proggy and it very occasionally dips into hooky moments, but they’re fleeting and this is all about the journey. And then all of a sudden, it’s over. Solid stuff. The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke - They’re just throwing ideas at the ear again and again and I’m here for it. This jumps between phrases with different rhythmic emphases, but it’s all so frantic and compelling. It’s pretty wacky, but I’m finding it pulling me along and not letting go. It’s really heavy in places, really grand and pretty in others, and it does so, so much in under 3 minutes before rolling straight on into… Nevermore - This is so pretty and signposts us pretty much directly to the kind of thing that Mercury would develop into Bohemian Rhapsody. It’s stark in places, full of tone in others and it’s so dramatic, both tonally and with the pull and push of the tempo. Really lovely stuff. The March Of The Black Queen - Again, this is a track that shifts, modulates and develops as it goes. There’s drama, some really heavy, rolling drums, vocal harmonies, guitar solos, and so many interesting pieces of composition and production, particularly around the vocals, which fire at you from all directions. There is so much range across this one track that it’s kind of hard to sum it up, because it’s like they’ve written about 6 songs and blended them together, but it manages to still remain coherent and compelling, which is a fantastic achievement. What a psychotically brilliant piece of music. Funny How Love Is - I can’t get a breath, the second side of this record is relentless. This is more of a straightforward composition, but the production is bloody massive. It sounds so good. The vocal layering is top quality It doesn’t offer a vast amount of range, but it has this constant climbing sensation that drives it forward and it’s so well delivered that it doesn’t need to do any more, especially clocking in at under three minutes. Seven Seas Of Rhye - That pulsing, driving beat against Brian May’s wailing guitar is über-Queen, but everything around it is way heavier and grittier than their more poppy work that would follow. It’s another incredibly compelling and driven piece of work. There are some solid riffs in there too, as well as some really nice rhythmic choices. And then a very Queen choice to roll out into I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside. A suitably weird ending.

6/10 This is Peter Tosh’s first album after departing the Wailers, although there is plenty of crossovers in personnel from his time with Bob Marley, including Rita Marley and Judy Mowatt’s backing vocal contributions, so it’s not exactly a massive step away from what he was working on prior to going solo. As you’d expect from a man who wrote some great songs with his former band, there’s some good stuff in here. When he’s able to catch a good hook, Tosh knows what to do with it and he builds some really engaging tracks. It’s rhythmically compelling, as reggae often is, with the interwoven layers of so many grooves creating an ever shuffling backdrop that, at the very least, keeps your toes tapping along, and the instrumental work is really well performed, sitting deep in the pocket while remaining laid back and groovy. Unfortunately, the amount of material that Tosh wrote for this record does just feel a little on the thin side, a fact emphasised by the inclusion of a track that he’d released with the Wailers 6 years prior, and a few other tracks that have co-writer credits from other members of his former band. There are tracks that just circle around a single idea too much to really connect, and others that are decent enough, but are a little too middle of the road to fully engage the ear. He does pull off a few gems though, with tracks like Why Must I Cry, Ketchy Shuby and Brand New Second Hand. The biggest problem here for me is that it feels just a little too uneven in quality, and the highs don’t really do enough to counteract the lows. But it wasn’t bad either, and I’d be interested to hear more of his work. Legalize It - Ah, that classic reggae drum roll gets us moving. This is a nice, laid-back swagger of a track. It’s a little one-dimensional to be honest, with the same short chord structure underpinning the full 5 minutes, but it’s a nice enough vibe and there are moments of variety thrown in by the bass player and drummers that add a bit of extra range. I think he might need to check a few facts though. I’m not convinced that smoking weed is really that good for asthmatics. Burial - The strolling bass on this is really nice, as is the reverb-heavy guitar that pops in and out. The layering and blending of all the rhythmic playing creates such a pleasant sound bed. Again, it’s a touch one-dimensional, but the vibe is great. There’s some really nice playing and it’s so groovy and in the pocket, it’s just a shame they don’t really do much more with the underlying structure. Whatcha Gonna Do - There’s more of a nice shuffling lilt to the beat here. The synth part is a bit aimless and high in the mix, which is weird. Other than that, we get a bit more variation between the different sections, which is good. It does sound oddly like some kind of reggae nursery-rhyme. I mean, I’m here for it, but it’s a little strange. No Sympathy - Ah, we’re getting into something with more range that also doesn’t sound like a nursery rhyme, and it’s a Tosh written song that was on an earlier Bob Marley album. There’s a solid vibe to this and that bass line gives it a real weight. I like the chord holds that get used here and there to add a bit of rhythmic depth to proceedings. It feels like there’s a bit of extra freedom for the instrumentalists here and some lovely fluid guitar playing in places. There’s nothing too hooky about this, but it’s got a great feel to it. Why Must I Cry - This is great. It gathers up a lot of the best elements of the earlier tracks and delivers a compelling groove with some solid hooks and a nice, bouncing rhythm. The playing is great and the band are all just hanging out in that pocket. The way the chord structure moves around is expected in some places and unexpected in others, but satisfying whichever way it goes. The guitar solo is so smooth too. Great track. Igziabeher (Let Jah Be Praised) - There’s a shift in tone here. It’s got a darker edge to it and the production makes it feel a little more oppressive, with more reverb and the legato organ tones. The section that used a lot of sound effects reminded me an awful lot of a similar section in Revolution by Bob Marley, at least from a lyrical and rhythmic point of view. There’s some great piano playing in this track that adds a bit of light to the darkness, but it’s not the most musically satisfying of tracks other than that. Ketchy Shuby - We’re back in the vibe now. It’s nothing too complicated, but it’s a catchy little number. The groove is solid, there’s enough variety between the verses and choruses and that chorus is an infectious hook. It does drag itself out for perhaps a touch too long, but just let that vibe swallow you up while Peter Tosh tries to sweet talk a lady into his bed. Till Your Well Runs Dry - A nice, smooth opening here that eases us into the track really nicely with some great guitar playing. And then the beat kicks in and this is another great groove. It’s nice to have a track like this with so much tonal and dynamic range between the verses and choruses. The bouncing rhythm of the chorus gives it a great base and it’s a suitably hooky lead vocal. As with the last track, this does perhaps pull things on for a little too long, but it’s a nice track nonetheless. Brand New Second Hand - This is another good one. The groove and backing vocals are excellent, and the whole thing has a great, shuffling momentum. It’s got a really satisfying and engaging chorus too. The blend of rhythms is great and there’s some more solid lead guitar playing that just dances over the top of everything. There’s not much compositionally complex about this, but as with much of the album, the vibe is solid.

7/10 Knowing the title track, as everyone who has been alive for more than about 15 minutes probably does, I was expecting more of the same here, but that’s not really what Don McLean delivers. To get it over with, the opener is a well written song that managed to capture mainstream attention enough to become one of those songs that gets played again and again, despite its 8 and a half minute runtime. That doesn’t make it bad, but it does make it hard to approach it critically. It’s a good song, it’s massively overplayed, it’s a bit too singalongy and it’s quite long. Let’s move on. The rest of the album is actually really pretty and dynamically subtle. McLean’s voice is the star; he’s got so much control and emotion to his delivery, with some really gorgeous moments of vibrato and other deft little flourishes, and the warmth of his tone is just buttery smooth. It’s also been incredibly well mixed and recorded, with the reverb perfectly placing it in space and adding to its natural body. McLean’s compositions are really pleasant too, and he seems to have a great knack of moving through transitions incredibly smoothly and naturally. There are some tracks that offer less range than others, and some that drift a little too much for my taste, but all in all, this is a really beautifully written collection of songs. Everybody Loves Me, Baby is the weird outcast among the sequence here and feels a bit like McLean’s response to a request for another American Pie style track to appease the record company. It didn’t really work, though, and was quite a jarring moment on the album. Interestingly, while I found this to be a very pretty album, it doesn’t feel like it’s really managed to grab a hold of me. It’s a tiny bit uneven and, while I appreciate the beauty of a good portion of the tracks, none of them are really calling out to me to listen again. I might give it another spin here and there to see if it gets its hooks into me further, but for now, it’s one of those albums that I can appreciate but not love. American Pie - This is one of those songs that has been overplayed to the point that it’s almost impossible to look at it critically any more. There’s some fantastic piano playing on here that I’ve never really paid much attention to before, probably because the only times I hear this is in a supermarket or shopping centre. It’s got great pace and there are some other solid bits of instrumental work in there too. The rhythmic break for “this’ll be the day that I die” is a clever piece of writing to break up the pace. It’s obviously a bit on the long side, but he throws in dynamic and tempo variations in a couple of place that help to keep it fresh. And it’s obviously overplayed too. But it’s actually a good song. Shame about the singalong bit at the end, which is shit. Till Tomorrow - A nice change of pace, and this is quite pretty. It’s not vastly interesting, but it has its moments and has a nice mellow tone to the production. The composition actually flows really nicely and organically too. Not bad. Vincent - Again, this is very pretty. His voice is really warm and his diction is so clear too. It flows along beautifully, which seems to be a strength of McLean’s work, with transitions and modulations coming to him so naturally. The mix here is lush, with the reverb perfectly creating an evocative space for his vocal to sit in. I’m not 100% keen on the strings, as they feel a tiny bit too prominent. Crossroads - A more stripped back song now, with Don singing with just a piano accompaniment. Again, i it really is quite pretty, but this one becomes a little repetitive, feeling a bit like it cycles around the same theme again and again. There are little moments of variety in there, and given the subject matter, it may be deliberate, but that made it feel a little stale to me. Winterwood - That main guitar hook is decent, but it does get a bit overused. This is a bluesy little number and the orchestration is pretty nice, particularly the electric piano. I’m not so keen on the bit of sound effect they’ve used. It just sounds like noise, rather than anything deliberate. Another nice song that has its moments, but isn’t necessarily vastly exciting. Empty Chairs - The guitar playing here is really deft, really nicely dragging the tempo to and fro to emphasise the pulse of the song. The string arrangement is really nicely balanced and used sparingly enough to give a suitable impact. Again, his voice is great and holds up so well when this exposed, which is quite a skill. He throws in these lovely little trills and moments of vibrato and it feels like he has such control. Another really pretty one. It’s not the most compositionally interesting song, but the tone and performance of it elevate it. Everybody Loves Me, Baby - This is quite jarring off the back of the last song. It’s stylistically the closest track to American Pie, and there are even some melodic moments that feel lifted directly from that track, but it feels less focused than that and a little more instrumentally cluttered too. For such a good singer, he really hams it up here and it doesn’t work nearly as well. It just feels like a fairly middle of the road pop-rocker of the era. Sister Fatima - After that little diversion, we’re back to something more stripped back. Again, it’s very pretty, but this seems a little less focused than the better songs. I feel like it meanders around a bit and doesn’t really find its centre because of that. The fact that it rambles around a bit too much doesn’t help it to maintain the ear either, so it feels a little on the dull side. The Grave - From a very stark, exposed start, this builds in intensity and orchestration as it goes, which is a really effective compositional technique and plays superbly with the thematic thread of the song. When it drops back out again the guitar playing feels really exposed, and that final “he’s gone” is really affecting, especially as they just cut the reverb tail off. Babylon - This is an arrangement of an 18th century composition. It’s another stylistic shift, but it’s well handled and sounds pretty. Not really my bag, but it’s pretty enough and doesn’t overstay its welcome.

7/10 I like the Black Keys, their general schtick is to create a dirty ‘sticky-floored back room of a bar’ bluesy tone but with enough of a pop music melodic sensibility to make the songs memorable and engaging. And they’re very good at it. Dan Auerbach has got a great ear for a riff and a melody, and Patrick Carney actually builds some really nice atypical drum grooves, the kind of thing you don’t often hear in popular rock. When they get things right, they can create some really great songs that are hooky, tonally interesting and have enough grit and swagger to give them an earthy tone that set them apart from many contemporary rock bands. This is probably their best record, with tracks like Next Girl, Howlin’ For You, Sinister Kid and Never Gonna Give You Up. There’s enough range in those tracks to keep things moving along and that ear for a hook, combined with Auerbach’s gritty yet slightly soul-edged vocal come together to create some great results. But to be completely honest, I don’t think they’re very good editors of their work. From time to time, they drag ideas, and certainly rhythms, towards the end point of their viability. For the most part, they strike the balance just about right to prevent things from becoming too repetitive or dull, but there are moments when things don’t have enough range or variation to justify a song’s length. And it’s not just the songs, but the album itself. This album is WAY too long. At 35-40 minutes, this could be a much tighter, more consistent album that was really elevated beyond what it is in this state. I don’t think it has the variety in tone or style to justify its length and it wouldn’t lose anything by 4-5 tracks being dropped, especially as there are some pretty good tracks stranded at the end of a nearly hour long album. This is an album that gets a decent bit of rotation at our house, but rather than the even longer deluxe version (yeesh), I wouldn’t half mind a trimmed and re-sequenced one to elevate the very best of what’s here. Everlasting Light - It’s a decent dirty blues riff to kick us off. There’s a lot of weight in there, offset against the falsetto vocal. It’s got a nice groove to the beat too. Simple but effective and with enough of a hook in the vocal to hold it up. It’s not the most interesting song in terms of development, but the vibe and tone are good. Next Girl - There are some really dirty but interesting tones to the guitars here and again, we get another solid hook through the chorus. It kind of pulses along in a grotty but engaging way through the verses and then lifts off during those choruses, not in an up-beat way but in terms of energy. The production is great too. Tighten Up - Dan Auerbach writes some great riffs and hooks. They’re rarely particularly complex, but they do grab the ear and weave their way nicely into a groove. It does possibly stretch things a little too far here without enough range, but when they throw in a breakdown towards the end it does lift again. Howlin' For You - More grime, more solid riffs and hooks. It’s not reinventing the wheel, but it’s certainly having fun using it. The layering of different tones does add an extra dimension to the base of the track too. It’s got another compelling groove to it that begs your toes to tap. Nothing here is complex, but it’s the grit and vibe that make it. She's Long Gone - Patrick Carney doesn’t often stick to the basics with his beats, preferring to create grooves that throb and pulse around the kit. Sometimes they get stuck in one place for too long, but he goes back and forth between something more interesting and varied and something more straight here, which is nice. This is another with some good riffs and hooks, and more of that grotty production tone to it. It’s just good fun. Black Mud - The intensity and pace drops a little here and it suffers from not having a vocal hook in there to drag it along. There are some nice bits of playing here and there, but it just feels a little limp and lacking in what has elevated the rest of the album up to this point. The Only One - There’s some nice sound design that bubbles away in the background to this one. It’s probably the most by the numbers song we’ve had so far, and it’s not bad, but I feel like it lacks a little bit by not being quite as grubby as the better cuts. It’s still got a nice shuffling groove, but the transitions feel less sharp and it all feels a little bit flabby in the production and it’s a little too long. It’s still not bad, but the album has dipped a little in the last couple. Too Afraid To Love You - We’re keeping the tempo lower, but that slightly dragging groove is nice. The vibe here is much better and the production helps to build a more interesting tone and space for the song to fill. It’s got a an engaging, head-bobbing groove to it and there’s a good bit of attitude and swagger to the vocal delivery. Ten Cent Pistol - The lead guitar part that drifts around here is really nice, and the tone is lush. I really like the verses here, but I’m less keen on the chorus, which just seems a bit too obvious and I don’t find the guitar and vocal following each other particularly satisfying. The drop out after the instrumental section seems a bit stark and the tonal shift isn’t that clean. But I’m still digging the groove. Sinister Kid - Ah, we’re back. This has got a really solid pace and pulse to it. The transitions are smooth and the swagger is in full flow both vocally and instrumentally. This has some solid hooks and it’s all blended so nicely together with more of that grotty, distorted tone that just blends everything together into this living, breathing wash of grit. More like this please. The Go Getter - I can’t believe there are still 5 tracks to go, this album is too long. This is another where things feel a little flabby and disconnected. There are some ok ideas in here, but they’re dragged on a little too much and the overarching structure and arrangement just feels too disorganised and cluttered. I think there’s an ok song under here, but the execution just doesn’t quite sit right with me. I'm Not The One - The laid back swagger to this is pretty nice, but it needs to lift itself to something with a bit more zip in places, but instead it actually slows down. It’s nice enough and there are some nice moments, especially from the bass. I feel like I might have engaged with this a little more if it was part of a more concise album, but sometimes the length of an album does the later tracks dirty. Unknown Brother - The vocal delivery here is great and there are some nice riffs in there too. It goes off in a slightly strange direction about half way through and then gathers itself back up again. It’s got a nice feel to the rhythm again, but might be suffering a bit from the ‘late album cut’ issue of the previous track. Never Gonna Give You Up - Ah, this is a decent one. Structurally it’s pretty straightforward, but it feels tighter, it’s got some really nice riffs and hooks and it’s got a nice soulful, emotional edge to it, along with a robust groove. The transitions are really smooth, there’s good dynamic and tonal variety and the vocal delivery is really nice. A solid dirty soul number that doesn’t deserve to be stuck here at the arse end of the running order. These Days - A slow, slightly morose number to finish us off. It’s almost hymnal in tone, but it runs really nicely off the last track. The ambience of this is actually really good and it’s musically and emotionally engaging too. It’s very restrained and exposed, but Auerbach brings his A game to the party. He sounds vulnerable, with enough of a wavy edge to the delivery to give it that edge of emotion, but still remaining in enough control to give it a musically satisfying delivery too. The last couple of tracks really deserved better than being stuck 50 minutes into an album.

4/10 Sting has always come across as one of those unbearably self-important people who holds himself in such high regard that he deems every opinion he has as not only correct, but also necessary for the world to hear. He’s the English Bono. Poor Stuart Copeland and Andy Summers. He’s a pretty decent bass player though, and the main strength of this album lies with the interplay between Copeland’s beats and Sting’s bass. Unfortunately, what sits above it is fairly flouncy soft rock that only occasionally bothers to find something worthy of note to tell us. That being said, I can understand why it’s popular. It offers a fairly decent groove while not ever (Mother excluded) rocking the boat or challenging the listener in any significant way. This is perfect wallpaper music, but for me, there’s just not enough of musical interest or even enough of a quality hook present in much of the work outside of Every Breath You Take, which tonally doesn’t even actually sit that comfortably among the rest of the track selection. I mean, it’s rarely terrible, but it’s also rarely exciting or invigorating in any way. It’s dynamically very flat and it feels like nearly every production and compositional choice that’s made is the safe option. Give me a bit of drive, attitude or intensity and this might start to work its way into my brain, but it’s all just a bit meh. Sting is a well known exponent of tantric sex, and after listening to this, it doesn’t surprise me at all. His love making must be a lot like his song writing: Things kind of meander along well enough to keep you engaged, but have nothing particularly exciting to tip you over the edge into really enjoying it. It’s probably a fine needle to thread in the bedroom, so fair enough I guess. Synchronicity I - Oooh, we’re teased with an almost Kraftwerky sequence to kick us off. What follows is not that though. It’s ok, has good pace and a driving intent that’s pretty satisfying. Although it does make some changes to the chord structure in places, it is pretty dynamically and emotionally level, not offering much range beyond its insistent drive, which is a bit of a shame. Walking In Your Footsteps - The rhythm here is really subtle and nice, but the flutes and vocals are so soft that it all just feels limp. Sting’s voice sounds crap when he strains to hit the highs, and what the hell are these lyrics? I quite like the guitar based soundscaping work, but other than that, this is a pretty weak and uninspiring effort, and again, there’s so little variation in dynamic that it gets even more dull as the track rolls by. O My God - We get a bit of dynamic range here, finally. The bass tone is quite nice and it’s got a decent groove to it. The elements are pretty much all there, but it just doesn’t manage to hook it all together in a completely satisfying way. The drumming is great, and it’s kind of funky but I can’t help but feel like it’s just a bit of a lightweight appropriation of much better music made by other people. Mother - This is quite wacky, but I kind of like it. It reminds me a little of half way between Mr Bungle and Oingo Boingo. I can appreciate this kind of slightly dark, discordant experimental work being put on an album by a band as mainstream as The Police, so fair play to them. The instrumental work is pretty good and it certainly conjures up quite a specific vibe. Miss Gradenko - This is another where many of the ingredients appear to be here, and the groove is pretty good, but it just doesn’t quite connect. It’s so dynamically static, despite having that decent toe-tapping pulse to keep it ticking along. I don’t mind the vocal hooks here actually, but again, there’s just not a lot to it. It’s just slightly funky white bread background music. Synchronicity II - There’s a bit more to this, with some nice riffs and a bit of dynamic and tonal variation. There’s a bit of drive and atmosphere underpinning it all, and it’s got an almost Genesis edge to it. Over the top it is a little bit lightweight, but there at least appears to be a bit of an effort to lift it above the more bland productions of the earlier tracks. Every Breath You Take - This is obviously a classic. It’s so simple, but just goes to show how much a good hook can elevate an average song into on that captures the attention of the world. The vocal hook of the verses is great, but it’s the guitar that makes it, it’s staccato yet fluid. The chorus is actually a bit shit, but it’s only used a couple of times, so it doesn’t really matter. Oddly, this track doesn’t really fit in with the style of the rest of the album at all. It doesn’t have the groove or production aesthetic, but it wins out just by virtue of how catchy it is. King Of Pain - This takes quite a long time to get going and it’s a bit meandering for the first minute because of it. I like the way the beat comes in off-beat and it takes your brain a moment to catch up, and the groove to the beat is pretty good. The chorus is quite mediocre pop-rock though, and doesn’t pay off the more delicate construction of the verses. It’s not bad, it’s just not that interesting either. Wrapped Around Your Finger - This is another that’s just fairly bland soft rock. I think the rhythm section does a decent enough job, but there’s just nothing really to grab hold of. This is just more of the beige wallpaper rock that lacks much verve or bite to it. They try to lift it up at one point more than three minutes in, but it’s too little, too late. Tea In The Sahara - Do you know, I think I don’t really like Sting’s vocal presentation. It’s like a flouncy non-committal version of Bono. There’s actually some nice work here between Sting’s bass and Copeland’s drums, with a nice bit of off beat interplay, but it’s all sat behind a really vague, wishy-washy melodic and harmonic front. Meh. Murder By Numbers - There’s quite a nice swing to this, but it also has a little bit of punch in the production. The chorus is pretty good and has a decent vocal hook, and some really nice bits of drumming. The verses get a little bit lost in themselves, but as a whole, this isn’t a bad song and is definitely better than the more bland entries on the record.

9/10 I always imagine Radiohead as a band that sits around together and writes some fairly standard songs, before working out how to deconstruct, rearrange and pull them out of shape in as many different way as possible so that, while the core of that original song still exists within, they end up with something so unique to them that it stands apart from what that original kernel of song once was. As their career progressed, the extent to which they pulled at the threads of their songs became more extreme and, with influences from other musicians of every era, the production and structural dynamic of how they worked twisted even further from that ‘rock band’ core. You can hear how influenced they are by electronic music here, not just instrumentally, but structurally, often developing themes and building intensity outside of a more traditional verse/chorus/verse structure. It’s pretty apparent on tracks like 15 Step and Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, but they rarely settle themselves into a truly traditional basic structure, outside of a couple of tracks. While the signs for this had been developing since Kid A, this was really where that work cemented itself in its most coherent form within their sound. The result is a shifting, pulsing embrace of an album that takes ideas and weaves them together into delightful soundscapes that ebb and flow around Thom Yorke’s vocal performance. The production is at times crisp and at others gritty and grimy, with some really nice saturation used on a lot of the instrumentation that allows the vocal to sit with more clarity above it. But that blend of sounds allows everything to feel so natural and organic in a way that a crystal clear production wouldn’t. The songwriting is great and there’s obvious thought put into how to maintain freshness throughout a song, with different pieces of instrumentation pulling into and out of focus, a trick that also allows the more structurally static tracks to have more impact, juxtaposed against the more adventurous ones. There’s really good variety to the track list too, with driven, high tempo songs like Bodysnatchers and Jigsaw Falling Into Place and much more withdrawn efforts like Nude and All I Need. There was the odd moment here and there where I felt that they could have either moved things on a little more quickly, or let things ring out a little longer to allow things to have their maximum impact, but for the most part, this is an album of real quality where an envelope pushing band gather up all of the things they’ve learned over the previous 6 albums and create something that is both fresh and exciting, but also calls back to what came before. 15 Step - The crunchy, skittish 5/4 beat kicks us off in style. It’s hard to pin down the centre with Thom Yorke’s vocal drifting around without the rest of the instrumentation. It’s a great effect, and then it’s really pretty when the guitar comes in. The tone is nicely saturated and warm too. It all just builds so well, and then there are some really nice variations and production tricks that give it so much depth and range, always keeping your ear invested in what’s going on. Bodysnatchers - This has a great tempo and upbeat groove to it. Strip it back, and there’s a fairly straightforward (but very good) rock song under here, but the production and sound design elevate it to something beyond that. The lead guitar line that sits in a cloud of reverb is so lush, but there’s also so much grit and saturation to a lot of this too. It blends elements of grime and clarity really well. Nude - Now for a change of pace. The layering of forward and reversed elements here build a really beautiful and interesting soundscape that drifts away into the starkness of the vocal, drums and bass before we slowly build up again. Thom Yorke’s vocal could be a really bad fit for some bands, but with Radiohead it’s beautiful. There are some really gorgeous string arrangements here too. I love the build up that peaks at around 3 minutes and then we just have this drifting loveliness of tonality that guides to the end. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - The interwoven arpeggiations that form the bed of this track are really nice, and it’s another that builds in weight and intensity as it goes. During the “weird fishes” section, the instrumentation reminds me a lot of Björk’s work with Matmos on Vespertine. It’s lovely. And there’s so much depth to the sound design in what follows, with different elements drifting in and out of prominence. It’s not ambient music in the slightest, but it has the same effect of rewarding a listener who just bathes in the sound and gets lost in the experience of listening. All I Need - There’s something so sombre about the combination of bass line and vocal here. The drums drive things along, but the tonality of the bass and the use of reverb on the vocal is so evocative, conjuring up the feelings of someone walking through the darkness, alone and depressed. Again, the soundscaping and instrumentation slowly builds, this time swamping the vocal, which is a great effect. It’s a really beautiful and haunting song. Side note: I’ve thought it in a few places thus far, but I do feel like they’re a little too quick with some editing of sections, like reverb tails and note releases. It happens inside songs too, but it’s most obvious at the end of songs like this. Let it ring! Faust Arp - They often have fun playing with either time signatures or at least the emphasis of where the down beat sits within their songs, and this is a fine example, never letting you completely relax into the beat until the second half. The different musical lines just weave around each other beautifully and there’s quite a lot going on, despite it sounding fairly simple to the casual observer. It’s a short one, but it’s really nice. Reckoner - The width of the beat here is great and it sounds so crisp and pretty. The shuffle to the groove is so nice too. Another with a slow build and eventually the beat recedes to allow space for the tonal work. The harmonisation from the vocals is great and the production and sequencing of the orchestration does such a fantastic job of pulling the focus into different areas so that no one thing dominates, but it guides you around the different motifs beautifully. House Of Cards - We’re into something much more traditionally structured now, but it’s still really lush. There’s a pulsing depth that sits under this that gives it a throbbing weight and tension to it. The other instrumental parts drift in and out and call a little to Sigur Rós with their tone. The range of different tones and sounds that they bring in give this forward momentum despite the underlying simplicity of the core song. It’s another that puts me in mind of ambient music from a listening point of view, rather than the inherent sound of the song. It’s just an all-encompassing and shimmering blend of sound. Jigsaw Falling Into Place - The tempo picks right up here and this is a really driven and danceable track. There’s a bit of a call back to the sound and composition of late 90s britpop underneath the song here, but as it’s Radiohead, they’ve pulled at those threads and transformed it into an evolving, shifting spectacle that drags you along in its wake. There’s some really nice pieces of guitar work in there that could easily get lost in the background, but Radiohead are a band that always reward repeat listens, so it’s nice to have different parts to focus on as you spin back through the songs again and again. This one’s a bit less dynamically varied, but it’s just another great song. Videotape - Another stark production (although the bass is perhaps a tad high in the mix) that builds and builds. The off-kilter pulse to the percussion is great, with a J Dilla type lilt to it. The sound bed of layered vocals is an excellent piece of production. In the same way that it builds, it also falls away gradually into nothing. It doesn’t quite have the same depth of soundscape building as some of the other stuff, but with the offset in rhythm between the beat and tonal elements, it has this tense, unsettling feel to it that doesn’t let the more pretty elements dominate.

5/10 On an initial background listen of this, there were promising signs. I actually quite like the aesthetic of the sound, with its synthwave edge and attempt at constructing deep and evocative atmospheres. Unfortunately, as I listened closer, and as the album rolled on, I often found that the actual musical compositions that the musical content that the production built around we’re actually pretty thin, a little lacking in really engaging hooks, and at certain points, became just a bit boring. It also feels a little bit half-done, in that while the overall atmosphere was decent, it felt like they could have spent more time working with dynamic and timing subtleties to introduce a bit more of an organic and human feel to it. As it was it just felt a little bit cold and uninspiring. Not that it didn’t have its moments. There were times when I started to sink into the vibe a little more, and when it did begin to wash suck me in, it was actually fairly enjoyable, but they definitely stretched the material too far and there were too many times where I felt like I was a bit stuck in an endless loop of arpeggiations and reverb. Neither of the vocalists were particularly special either, and I never felt like they were able to capture me with their delivery, which may have helped with my general appreciation of the music. Not to say that Lauren is a bad vocalist, she’s just a little bit safe, perhaps. I feel like I’d have maybe enjoyed this a little more if they’d work to add a bit of extra dynamic and variation in tone, not just in individual tracks, but across the album as a whole, and the fact that it was fairly stylistically flat wasn’t helped by its length. Overall, I’ve sort of found myself floating somewhere in the middle here, which is a frustrating place to be after listening to an album three times through. It doesn’t feel right to say it’s bad, because it’s not. I don’t feel like it ever really drifted into that zone, so as a whole, I can’t mark it down too far. But it’s also not really for me. The Mother We Share - There’s a fairly retrofuturistic synthwave sound to this. It’s got some decent melodic elements, but it all feels a little bit obvious and derivative without adding a vast amount of anything new. It’s not bad, though and you can definitely hear the anthemic sound that they’re going for coming through. Atmospherically, it’s not bad either. We Sink - The tempo to this isn’t bad and there are some promising bits of synth programming and sequencing, but it’s very harmonically static, despite the momentum of the programming. It does lift itself a little during the choruses, but it’s quite dynamically limited and a little too insistent even during the breakdown section. I feel like there could be something more if they’d given a bit more space and variety to the different elements. Gun - Again, the programming to this doesn’t provide much subtlety and dynamism to this, it’s all very dynamically flat and rhythmically fixed. It’s not bad, necessarily, but I feel like it could do with being a bit more organic. I was pleased to hear a little bit more saturation to the synth tones to begin with, but that distorted synth tone really isn’t very pleasing on the ear and jars with the rest. She’s a decent singer, but struggles to command attention for me. Tether - They’re trying to build something a bit more atmospheric here, but again things are a bit too robotic, not in a hypnotic, Kraftwerk way, but in a way that just feels a little bit flat. When things get moving a bit more, the drum beat is crap and the arpeggiated synth is just super 90s dance cliché and drags on for too long. It’s also very harmonically thin. Meh. Lies - This is very rhythmically stilted. It actually manages to build a decent bit of a danceable groove to it despite that, but it’s all very repetitive. Even when they do transition to slight variations, the changes are fairly limited and there’s nothing particularly hooky about any of the melodic composition either. I mean, there’s a core sound to this that appeals, but I don’t feel like it’s fully or particularly well developed. Under The Tide - More static arpeggiations and beats. Martin Doherty is less inspiring on vocal duties than Lauren Mayberry, sounding really quite generic. I can see what they’re going for here, but as with a lot of the other stuff, it’s terribly repetitive and dynamically limited. I’m kind of struggling with this a little at this point. Recover - Sometimes you hear an album where you feel like a lot of it comes from the preset synth patches for whatever synth they’ve got hold of, in this case, I assume a Prophet (yep, turns out it’s a Prophet 08). This is one of those albums. It may not be the case, but they definitely program the kind of sounds that sound like presets either way! And the fact that I’ve rambled on about synths says more about this track than whatever I might have written otherwise. It’s ok, the melodies aren’t bad, but are quite repetitive and stilted. It’s much in the same vein as the rest; atmospherically ok, but quite one dimensional. Night Sky - There’s a little bit more dynamic range to sections of this, which is nice. I quite like the vocal melody in the chorus, and the vocal edits in the breakdown section are pretty tasty too. There’s a bit more of a throbbing pulse to the rhythm here that gives it an extra element of tension. This isn’t bad, if still a little repetitive here and there. Science / Visions - The arpeggiated synth line that persists through a lot of this has got at least a little bit of tweaking going on to give it life, but it’s a very short sequence that gets repeated for too long. Martin’s vocal part is crap. I really do think there are some elements of quality in a few of these tracks, but everything feels a little bit underdeveloped. I’m just finding it a bit boring, to be honest and it’s not sweeping me up in the anthemic grandiosity that the production indicates that they’re trying to achieve. Lungs - This is a good, hooky pop melody, and it’s finally grabbing me. It feels like there’s a bit more consideration been put into the programming and it feels a bit more fluid and groovy than some of the other stuff. There’s a bit about a minute and a half that’s really beefy, but unfortunately it’s a bit too fleeting and only reappears at the end. Sadly, they don’t really take the core concept of this track very far, because what’s here is actually really good, but it just feels like it could have been expanded on to make an excellent track. By The Throat - More dance-music inspired stuff built on synth presets. It’s a bit limp to begin with, built it’s building to something, I think. Hang on, where the fuck is the bass after that build up!? They really pulled their punches there and it’s so unsatisfying. Eurgh. All it would have taken was a thumping bass and it could have really worked, but a miss is as good as a mile. Some of the synth parts here are really nice, but it’s so lacking in something to give the required punch to the gut. You Caught The Light - We had this distorted synth tone earlier and it’s just a little too harsh against the rest of the sounds for me. It’s really close to working, and it probably would if they’d avoided such a clean sound for the rest of the production, but as it is, it jars. Martin’s back with his beige vocal delivery. There’s some more good atmospheric production here and there’s a nice bit of dynamic range to it, but it’s just a little bit too dull again, and his vocal just doesn’t have the charisma or energy to achieve what it sounds like they were going for.

7/10 Underpinning this album, there is a generally solid soulful backbone with live instrumentation providing a more fluid, organic sound than more traditional sample based hip-hip often has. As someone who naturally focuses on musical content (including the rhythm of a rappers delivery) over lyrics, that tends to tickle my fancy quit well and, at its best, this album really delivers on that promise. The first couple of tracks were a little limited in range and depth of production, but once things got into full swing on Selfish, I really started to get into the flow of this. Simz has got a great ability to convey emotion subtly enough that her lyrics remain coherent, while still conveying the depth of the feeling behind them. When she gets into the flow of a track and her vocal rhythms push and pull with the groove of the backing track, things become incredibly satisfying and engaging. There were moments that I was less fond of, particularly when things became a little repetitive, and I feel like with a little more nuance to a few of these tracks, the flow of the album could have been slightly better, and the results that bit more consistent, but for large parts of the album, I was fully invested. The production was well managed and maintained a fluctuating vibe of tension across the album that suited the cadence of Simz’ rapping incredibly well. While there were moments that lost me, the final four tracks really encapsulated everything that was great on the album. Her rapping was excellent and varied, the collaborators she brought in added to her style beautifully (particularly Michael Kiwanuka on Flowers), the depth of the compositions were rewarding, and the production brought all of those elements together in a suitably atmospheric way. Despite feeling that this was a little inconsistent, I’m definitely interested to hear what Little Simz did next. Offence - A nice rolling beat with a bit of swing to it to kick us off. The sound palette here is a bit more broad than I expected, with a blend of soul and jazz notes sitting underneath Simz’ vocal. The vocal rhythms and delivery are perhaps a little one note, but she does pick up the pace here and there. It’s not a bad start, but it does feel like an intro track, so let’s see where we go. Boss - Tonally, we continue where we left off. I quite like it, but it’s a little repetitive, both musically and in the rhythmic pattern of her vocal. This is also quite musically thin, which is a shame. I like the attitude and intensity of the vocal delivery, but it’s just a little bit musically limited for me. Selfish - This is better, it’s a really nice soulful track, with the bass a particular highlight. There’s more variation to the rhythmic cadence of her delivery here too, so feels more fluid and interesting. It’s a really nice blend of a fairly laid back tone with an insistence and pace to the beat. The vocal hook for the chorus is solid too and the all round production is buttery smooth and warm. Wounds - The sound design here is great, it gives things a really interesting element of tension that works superbly with the climb and fall of the composition. As with the previous track, this feels much more well developed, and the variety between verses and choruses is excellent, without ever losing the flow of the groove. Another really solid effort. Venom - Now this is great. There’s so much brooding tension and menace in the music, which perfectly accompanies that undercurrent of fury in Simz’ vocal delivery. It’s a simmering fury in that she delivers it with a biting calmness that ensures coherent enunciation of the lyrics while really conveying the required emotion. And she really gets stuck into the flow here too. 101FM - I’m not entirely in love with the lead musical elements here. It’s nice to have something a bit tonally different, but I think it maybe just dominates a little bit too much, and it just persists through the whole track, which doesn’t help either. This goes back to the problems I had with the first couple of tracks in that it’s not bad, it’s just a little too repetitive, musically thin and underdeveloped, which is a shame, as I felt we’d broken away from that on the tracks that followed. Pressure - This is really nice, the juxtaposition of the calm beauty of the piano and vocal harmonies against her fiery vocal is great. And then when the beat and bass kick in, it pulls things towards the middle of those two feelings, which is an excellent trick. The beat is really nice, especially working with the modulated synth parts. The production here really elevates the track, and we’re back on course. Therapy - Again, there’s a solid atmospheric vibe here, conjuring up an element of threat and menace. There are some really interesting choices in the sound design of the production and it feels really deep and engaging as a result. The backing vocals that sometimes waver in and out of key really work well with the theme of the song too. Sherbet Sunset - The flanged beat is lush here, and when they throw in an unaffected beat over the top, it’s a really satisfying sound. There’s a good amount of range to this, although the electric piano line is a bit repetitive and too loud in the mix. The chorus is another solid effort and her rapping has a good amount of rhythmic range to go along with the heartfelt lyrical content. Flowers - Ah, Michael Kiwanuka, always good to hear his lovely voice. The layering of the different tonal parts create an incredibly satisfying tonal bed. The bass is beefy, the trumpet is sparingly used, but excellent and the drumming is really top notch. This is definitely the deepest and most satisfying musical moment on the album. Her vocal is perfectly delivered and conveys emotion beautifully, especially alongside Kiwanuka’s part. What a gorgeous little track.

8/10 Led Zeppelin are a funny old band in many ways. Every member is incredibly talented and bring a lot to the table, and they are capable of writing some incredible songs, but they also every now and then lose the thread of a song and just meander a tiny bit too much or tip themselves over into self-indulgence. I think for the most part, that’s a Jimmy Page trait, as main songwriter and producer, but it does lead this album to be a little bit stop start for me. Weirdly, that stop start element tends to happen in the middle of tracks, rather than from one to the other, which is a bit of an odd situation. Aside from those moments, they conjure up some absolutely classic riffs here, all running over the top of an absolute powerhouse of a rhythm section. Bonham plays with such a groove and Jones is just welded to him, providing a strolling low end root for Page and Plant to play around over the top of. Page, on the other hand, is actually a bit less of a clean player, but it’s the emotion and bluster of his playing that sells it. And boy can he deliver a riff. I really appreciate the way that the vocal is just another instrument for them and they’re not afraid to have fully instrumental sections, or sections where the other instruments are stripped back and the vocal is given it’s own solo sections. They also do a good line in call and response between guitar and vocal. Plant delivers his vocals with so much swagger and strut, but he’s also got a deftness and nuance to his delivery and melodic choices, that he can be quite enchanting to listen to. At it’s best, this album smashes it out of the park, but I feel like the aforementioned moments of inconsistency do detract a little too much for me, and as a result this would not be the Zep album that I would automatically reach for. But it still rocks. Whole Lotta Love - It’s the Top Of The Pops theme tune! In all seriousness, what a great riff and a great groove. Plant’s vocals are great and full of swagger as always. The breakdown builds some really interesting soundscaping in and there are some nice bits of percussion and production in there, but it does perhaps drag on a little too long. What is and What Should Never Be - This is a very Hendrix sound, particularly during the verses, but it gets nice and heavy and more Led Zep sounding during the choruses. The riffs are solid, the rhythm section are tight and powerful and there are some nice bits of production, particularly later on, but as a composition it feels a tiny bit loose and unfocused in places. The Lemon Song - That riff is so killer, and the groove absolutely slaps. It’s blues at its core, but they give it so much drive and weight that it moves into something beyond that. Then when they pick the pace up, we’re more in rock and roll territory, but again with that heavy, driven tone. The transition so well during this track into different sections with very different tonality, but it’s still really coherent. The bit where we get John Paul Jones noodling around under Plant’s vocal is so, so funky, it’s delicious. They’re all at the top of their game here and in the pocket. It’s exceptional. Thank You - This is a pretty track that runs really nicely off the back of the last one. It uses space really well, but also has a really great soulful groove. There’s some great guitar playing and drumming across this, and Plant’s vocals are vulnerable in places, but stride forward in others, which is a nice balance for the tone of the song. It does meander a tiny bit in places, particularly towards the end, but as a whole, it’s a nice change of pace. Heartbreaker - Another killer riff, and this is super weighty, but John Bonham gives it such a funky shuffle from the drums. The bass tone here is beautifully crunchy, and the whole thing has so much swagger and attitude. Again, they go on a bit of a self-indulgent diversion in the middle where Jimmy Page just widdles away for a bit, but when things get back together again, it picks up the pace and throws in some great drive. Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman) - This calls back more to the 60s British pop rock sound, but it’s still got that Led Zep grit and drive to it, with their characteristic swagger and pulsing groove. Solid riffs as usual, even though this is a more routine composition, but the little breakdowns and half-timed sections add a bit of flavour and range. Ramble On - A nice slow build with Plant’s subtle brooding vocal gradually increasing in intensity. The guitar just before the full beat kicks in is lovely, and then the groove that kicks in is really tasty too. This is a really restrained and delicate production, and JPJ gets to show off his bass skills with a bit more prominence, which is nice. This song really gives them all a chance to shine actually, it’s great. Moby Dick - Is this the world’s most famous drum solo? Probably. The riffs that lead up to it are great, but it’s all just a set up to let John Bonham do his thing. I mean, he’s obviously incredibly talented and it’s quite fun in a way, but it is also a bit boring. His talent is best showcased in the ‘so far in the pocket, he’s in a shoe’ command of groove he has, particularly paired with JPJ’s bass grooves. Bring It On Home - Some tasty harmonica playing to warm us up here. It’s a nice slow build, but it does feel quite disconnected with the rest of the track when that kicks in. But when it does, it’s so funky and driven. That pocket I mentioned when discussing Moby Dick? Here it is. They’re all just so on it and it’s so textured and full of swagger and groove. And then we dip back out into the bit that doesn’t quite fit again. Weird.

8/10 London Calling is the point at which The Clash dragged punk out from it’s classic style, pulled in a load of influences from new wave, reggae and ska, amongst others, to create something with a development of the punk attitude, blended with the rhythmical sensibilities and musicianship of those other styles. It’s a really good record that ducks and dives through those varieties of styles and does it fairly effortlessly for the most part, while always still sounding like The Clash. They clearly have a great ear for a melody and Paul Simonon and Tipper Headon provide a rock solid, and sometimes undeniably groovy backbone for Strummer and Jones to get stuck in to. There’s a clarity of production and quality of musicianship that wasn’t present in the early days of punk, but it still has that edge of grit bubbling underneath that ties them to their roots. There are some absolutely classic tunes on this record, from London Calling via The Guns Of Brixton and ending up with Train In Vain. Those three tracks alone form a high water mark for the album. It does lose a tiny bit of focus here and there are some times when it felt like it had begun to drift along, but it would normally pick itself back up again within a track or so. In all honesty, I feel like this could have been a superb 35-40 minute album, but as it is, it feels a little too flabby and some of the more mundane, less developed tracks do drag it down a tiny bit. I wasn’t there to experience it, but looking back more than 45 years, it feels like this was a point at which a wider array of genres really exploded out of the punk scene and the rock music of the 80s probably owes a lot of debt to this record. This is one that I’m going to have to spin a few more times to get a stronger grip on, I think. London Calling - A classic. The bass line is great, they shift the emphasis of the beat around beautifully, and it’s so atmospherically charged. There’s the core punk attitude to it, but it’s got enough clarity of tone to the production and performance quality that it moves beyond more traditional punk. There are the hints of reggae influence in here that would expand further into the album, but this is a great stepping stone between the two sounds. Brand New Cadillac - Now we get a bit of a new-wave, surf rock sound, but again, there’s still a punky attitude and drive present. It’s a fairly simple blues structure underneath, but the production values, tonal mix and attitude help make it remain a very Clash sound. Jimmy Jazz - And now we get a slow stroll of a track. It’s pretty stripped back and relaxed, but there’s some really great playing both from the guitar and horns. It’s super chilled, but has got enough going on to give it a groovy bit of swing and enough nice bits of instrumental work to keep it interesting and fresh throughout. Hateful - This takes a bit of the groove from the previous track and brings it forward a notch. It’s rhythmically engaging in quite a poppy way, but they do good work between sections to add musical interest and prevent it from being too basic. It manages to sound just gritty enough, but the production allows everything to be presented with clarity. It’s a strong composition too. Hooky and engaging. Rudie Can't Fail - There’s another tilt into reggae groove territory here. It’s a bit rhythmically skittish in places, but it’s musically interesting and doesn’t always take the expected route, which is nice. I’m not sure it ever finds a really satisfying hook to centre the rest of the song around entirely, though. Spanish Bombs - And back to a more clean-tone punk effort now. It’s a solid track with some really nice harmonic choices. It’s quite smooth in places but sharp in others, which is a nice blend. The central motif is melodically good, but is perhaps a little over-used. The Right Profile - This feels quite like a prototype of ska-punk. I think there are some great elements to this, the rhythms are nice and the horns are great, for example. But it just feels a little unrefined and underdeveloped aside from the main section, which is good but overused. Not that keen on the vocal which jars a little too. Lost In The Supermarket - Another almost new-wave groove now with a decent bit of pace. This has got a great feel and a solid melodic hook. There’s a lead guitar part that sounds particularly good. The bass is great too, but could do with a bit more low end in the mix. Clampdown - This is a solid punk track with some great backing vocals. The central pulse of the rhythm section is really good and there’s some good depth of sound over the top. The organ and some of the lead guitar stuff is subtle but quality. You can almost feel them pulling more adventurous musical ideas out from their punk roots as they go and it’s great. The Guns Of Brixton - This is another classic. The vibe and ambience of the production is so good and is echoed in Ghost Town from The Specials that would come along soon after. It’s got a really hooky chorus and the rhythm of the groove is super infectious. The drumming is so good on this one too. Lovely stuff. Wrong 'Em Boyo - And now we’re into full on ska. It’s a fairly formulaic sound, but boy is it fun. There’s a lot to love about this. The groove is solid, it’s got some great melodic choices and the whole sound is so coherent and engaging. The call and response vocals are top notch too. Death Or Glory - We’re really striding along now. It’s a superb punk rock chorus, but it’s got so much musical skill and nuance around the rest of the track that it just elevates that art to something new. The vibe of this is perfect. It’s got a solid melodic ear, has harmonic interest and it the chorus hook is brilliant in its simplicity. It’s stuffed full of attitude and the drumming is fantastic too. Koka Kola - This is quite staccato and frenetic, only taking brief moments to gather itself, but it works with the theme of the song. And it’s such a fleeting song that it all works really well. The Card Cheat - And now we’re in more Elvis Costello territory! It’s stylistically quite different, but there are some nice compositional flourishes in there. All together, it’s a little bit more on the dull side though and doesn’t necessarily offer enough hook or range to really keep my focus us well as some of the better tracks. Lover's Rock - And we’re back into the groove again now. It’s got a real smooth flow to it that ebbs and flows nicely. It’s got a slightly grubby edge to go along with that groove, which is a nice blend. The rhythm section is great and there are some tasty bits of lead guitar to add flavour. It gets a bit distracted towards the end though. Four Horsemen - This is more of a trad punk track, although there’s a more broad instrumentation to it. The guitar that swings across the stereo field is really nice. It’s a simple but effective track that takes the attitude and structural simplicity of punk and adds an extra layer of development and musicianship to it. Solid. I'm Not Down - The vibe from the previous track continues here, but it throws in an edge of ska to the sound here and there. It’s a song that shifts really nicely through different movements, each of which are satisfying in their own way, but it all holds down to a really solid and engaging groove. There has been the odd dip here and there, but it feels like we’re on steady footing towards the close now. Revolution Rock - Another great reggae edged groove and a solid, hooky chorus. The shifting, skittish rhythm of the drums and percussion is really cool here and the bass rolls around beautifully to anchor it all. Love the organ too. It’s a really fun and engaging sound that’s hard not to groove along to. Train In Vain - And they finish off with another classic. This is so hooky and rhythmically engaging. It shifts the groove around brilliantly to transition through the different sections, but calls back to that central motif expertly time and again to keep things centred. Again, the rhythm section hold this down so tightly with a super funky groove, and it’s a hell of a way to round out the record.

7/10 Jazz piano is one of those things that I would absolutely love to be able to play. Having the mental command of keys and scales enough to just jam away creating soulful, groovy and smooth music like you’ve just turned on a tap of creativity is something really wonderful to me, and to add in the chops to dance around the keyboard and present whatever your brain brings to your fingers is another level on top of that. Monk is obviously an exceptional jazz pianist and composer, and was certainly not afraid to try and push the envelope, something that the title track of this album is a testament to. This record shifts in and out of moments of smooth beauty, swinging groove and rhythmic and structural complexity to present an evolving, pulsing record that, while occasionally challenging, spends enough time returning to it’s more focused moments to keep the listener engaged. For a 70 year old record, this sounds absolutely fantastic and on I Surrender, Dear, you can even hear Monk humming and vocalising the beat here and there, which is a delight to pick up on. All of the players are, as you would expect, masters of their craft, and some of my favourite moments were when Monk would hook on to one of the other players and they would pass motifs and developments back and forth between one another. That kind of playfulness is what can really elevate a jazz record, at least for me. With the above being said, there were times when this slowed down a little too much, and wandered a little bit too far off piste. I feel like if I were to get to know this record a little better, my opinion of it may increase, but as it is, there were a few too many moments when the hook got a little too lost, or we ended up with a bass or drum solo that lacked the rest of the band to give it the anchor it needed. But aside from that, this was an enjoyable spin, and I’m keen to spend some more time with Monk. Brilliant Corners - Well it’s a discordant start, but then once it gets moving, it’s a really interesting shifting rhythmic study. The tempo and emphasis shift around all, sometimes settling before flipping about again. Apparently this was a notoriously difficult song to play and the band didn’t manage to play it through correctly a single time during the session, so they had to stitch this together from incomplete takes. There are some really excellent moments in this, but it’s a challenging listen in places too. I quite like that juxtaposition though, with the easier stuff easing you in to the more adventurous bits. Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are - This is smoother and more easy on the ear. There’s a swinging, soulful groove to it and the soloing is, as you would expect, fantastic, I particularly enjoyed Monk’s Piano solo, but they all do a bang up job, and there are some exceptional little call and response runs with Monk and Sonny Rollins in the second sax solo. In fact, this is one of those songs where you really need to sort of sink into the groove of it and just let the playing wash over you. There are moments of spectacular beauty in there, but it’s all achieved by playing around together and latching onto those little moments, giving them their fleeting prominence and then driving forward. Bass solos like this are always trickier when the rest of the band dips out, apart from the drummer, and then it becomes more challenging again when we’re just on with the drums alone. It just lacks the harmonic interest to underpin the centre of the track, but despite that, it’s still a really enjoyable track. Pannonica - We continue with more smooth, sultry stuff that lazes along. They’re just leaning back from the groove, which is just about dragging them along for the first 2-3 minutes until they subtly catch up and go with a slightly upped tempo into the sax solo, which is a super sexy delivery. Monk chooses some really gorgeous chord movements in here. I’m a little less keen on the thinner tone of the celesta, particularly when more discordant intervals are used, because the tone of the instrument can create a more clashing tone with the dissonance, but it’s a fairly minor gripe. This is a really lovely, smooth and romantic jazz number. I Surrender, Dear - The playing here is so great. He pushes and pulls the tempo around, meandering up and down different alleys, but popping back to the central theme frequently enough for it to feel like home. There are some stunning little rhythmic changeups and runs in this. Yes, he goes a tiny bit off piste now and again, but this is jazz. Where’s the fun in playing exactly what’s expected all the time? Part of the joy is roaming around into those little moments that feel a little off, but either finding your way back or sticking with them unitl they sound right. Bemsha Swing - And the band return with a level of brashness and bombast that acts as stark contrast from the last track. The timpani adds to that bombast and creates an interesting tonal switch up against the rest of the record. This is a great song to listen to in order to hear how jazz musicians can take a main refrain, which in this instance is simple and easy to remember, and drift around, yet present that main hook in different forms and fleeting moments through the rest of the track. The playing is excellent and it’s also a great deal of fun.

7/10 Well this was certainly an experience, and one I was glad to be exposed to. I’d rather get handed an album that pushes me into a different musical world than yet another slice of landfill indie from a bunch of kids who’ve just graduated from art school. As an introduction to hundustani classical music, this was an interesting starting point. The ragas are unfamiliar enough to me that I lose track of what he did in the introduction of each track before the track has really got going, but I think over time and with enough listening, I could get my head around it. I dis find the persistent background tanpura droning to be a little hard to deal with for so long, kind of like the background drone of a bagpipe. I get that it gives us a tonal centre to anchor the song, but it’s so relentless and unchanging that I find it a bit of a challenge. That being said, when I was able to just sit and allow this to take hold of my ear, I did find it to be engaging. That flow state of listening appears very important as the combination of the length and the constantly changing, improvisational nature of it defies my ability to hook on to musical structure or melody in the way that most western music does. It’s kind of like ambient soundscaping in that way, but with more of a hectic edge to it. Overall, I’m glad to have listened to this, and I did enjoy myself, but it’s so far outside of what I am used to from an album, that it’s kind of hard to really sum up my thoughts. Either way, it was an interesting 50 minutes of music, and you can’t say fairer than that. An Introduction To Indian Music - It’s an interesting introduction and summary of Indian music. Interestingly, and I know he specifically says it’s not like jazz, the way he describes it does sound a lot like jazz. Tonally, some of this also makes me think of the duelling banjos from Deliverance. But let’s get on to the actual music. Dādrā - It feels a lot like Ravi (and this may be typical of the form) drifts into an almost flow state when he’s soloing. Because of the use of microtones, it’s so tonally unlike western music that it’s kind of hard to parse, although the bulk of the key motifs do adhere somewhat to somewhat recognisable intervals, you can latch on to those, but the work that goes on between them is where the uniqueness of the sound lies. It’s certainly interesting and I really like the way the rhythms and tempo pulse over the course of the piece, from moments of almost calm to frenetic whirlwinds. Some of the way that rhythmic syncopation just pops out of nowhere from the back of those flurries is really satisfying. Māru-Bihāg - This feels more restrained and I was able to let it flow over me a little more easily than the previous track. It has a nice pulsing groove to it that sucked me in. It did get a bit more frantic later on, but that was a little easier to wrap my western ears around after having been eased in through the track. Again, it seems to be about that flow state, not just from the players, but also as a listener. Just let it wash over you in let the rhythm pull you along and these lovely little moments just pop out now and again. Bhimpalāsi - As with the previous track, there are quite a few moments of calm here that drift along and then little flurries burst out of that calm. It’s like watching the ripples of water on a lake and then a fish flailing out of the water and disturbing the gentle ripples with a burst of activity. I enjoy it when he grabs certain movements and works on repetitions and variations of those as it helps to centre me a bit more within the track. Again, this is an enjoyable listen, but quite hard to mentally process. Sindhi-Bhairavi - There’s a slow build into this. The way some of the notes drift and change even as they fade away is really evocative. It takes a good while for the rhythm to kick in and the shimmering quality of the sitar is really nice here. The intensity builds and builds until the tabla comes in. You really have to let this wash over you and allow different pieces of playing to present themselves to you here, from what I can hear. When i get into the flow of it, I do find myself slow bobbing along to it, but sometimes the intensity does get a bit too much and the lack of a central motif to hold onto makes it hard. There’s clearly a massive amount of skill here and when It does absorb me, I find it engaging and fascinating, but it’s so far outside my zone of understanding that it’s pretty hard to quantify how good it really is.

7/10 Do not bother with this album if you’re looking for hooky choruses, a four piece rock band lineup or another landfill indie album to pop on the pile. It’s experimental, it’s weird and it’s sinister, but if you are willing to open your mind up to something that pushes at the edges of western popular music, then you will find something quite engaging and sonically interesting to whet your palate. The production across the record is an absolute delight, with some really menacing, beefy and interesting pieces of sound design always keeping your ears on edge. There are times when this drifts towards sounding like the nursery rhymes of an asylum and times when it feels like the sinister pulse of a psychological horror film, but there’s also an edge of dark humour that bubbles away under the surface. In some ways it feels like they take themselves both way too seriously and not seriously enough and end up in this hinterland of insanity that steals from both sides of the ledger. There were times during the album where I felt like I was being hypnotically sucked in to the throbbing weirdness and it was sometimes a shame that those moments didn’t go on for longer. Equally, there were times when they didn’t quite pull quite enough at the thread to make it as engaging as it could have been. But this is experimental, oddball music, so they’ve got to try and walk that line to make something both listenable and weird. I’d be inclined to say that many would actually find this unlistenable, but weirdness isn’t for everyone or it wouldn’t be weird, would it? It feels like The Replacements kicked down this particular weird door so that bands like Primus, Ween and Mr Bungle could walk through it, gather up the pieces and create their own blend of slightly more stable lunacy, but it’s often the case that an artist has to push things to the edge so that others can find a safe space inside that boundary. And for that, this album was not only a worthy and engaging listen, but an important one in the development of weird. Constantinople - A dissonant and unnerving but amusing start. It’s certainly weird, but in a brash, “don’t give a fuck” way. There are developments to the sound as it rolls along and I’m left feeling… something. Sinister Exaggerator - Sinister is right, this is menacing, brooding and pulsing. There’s enough of a tonal centre to it that the effect of sitting either side of it works really well to create a creepy and unnerving tone. I actually really like this. It’s not one for day to day listening, but it’s an excellent and intriguing production. The Booker Tease - This almost, almost closes in on being more traditional, but they don’t let it get there. It’s like they’re fighting against musical urges, but it doesn’t take long for them to win the fight. Blue Rosebuds - This is really atmospheric and takes a production turn towards being a bit closer in and more direct tonally. It’s like a deranged nursery rhyme, but the soundscaping and production is really excellent to back that up. Another that falls into the category of weird boundary pushing and I’m really glad it exists. Laughing Song - There’s been hints of Primus before this, but this steps even further in that direction. Again, there’s more of a stable tonal centre that runs underneath, but they do their best to twist it and drag it out of shape and then throw in that layer of farce and absurdity over the top. Bach Is Dead - They develop this less than some of the other tracks. The effected gang vocals are great though. Elvis And His Boss - Oooh, there are some great tones in here. The rhythm is engaging too. The combination of sounds as the track progresses is quite interesting, although the ambience is a bit less engaging to me. Lizard Lady - Another that feels like a Primus precursor in some ways. It’s rhythmically compelling and flips through some interesting tonal changes, particularly between the two vocal styles. It builds and develops as it grows and ends with one hell of a disconcerting and beefy way. Semolina - Another psychiatric ward nursery rhyme. There’s a traditional structure and choice of motifs under there, but they’re tugged away and twisted into something so unsettling and absurd. It’s not my favourite, but the general vibe is so enticing. Birthday Boy - Well I’ve found the song to play at my children’s birthday parties in future. If only I’d know of this when they were younger and I could have got myself banned from every soft play in the area. It’s hilarious, ludicrous and well produced in equal measure. Weight-lifting Lulu - How many ways can I describe or praise the absurdity of this album? There is some glorious sound design at play here, with the production just dragging every element of menace out of the compositions. It just puts you on edge, but then lulls you into a weird space with the fairly innocuous silliness of the vocals. They sound crazy, but not dangerous, but the music says I need to watch my back. Krafty Cheese - Woof, there are some really beefy bits of sound design in here. I like the undulating and persistent rhythm that runs along with that high buzz, but when they drop into that descending bass tone, it’s so good. The effects on the vocals are really cool too. What a great little track. Hello Skinny - The rise and fall of this is cool and quite hypnotic. It’s another where they tread quite close to something more traditional but just tweak it into something weird and then just cycle it round in way that just pulls you in and taps against your brain. The Electrocutioner - They drag things further off the rails here, particularly with the lead guitar that does whatever it wants. This descends into a chaotic mish-mash of sound design that almost becomes hypnotic but doesn’t stick around for long enough before we drift out to a deranged folk song from an alien culture. It’s bafflingly weird, chaotic, non-sensical and delightful.

4/10 This is a really strange move from The Cult, stepping away from their more psychedelic, goth rock edged material to produce this selection of middle of the road hard rock tracks. Anything that was interesting about them feels like it’s been stripped away here and the album, while not being particularly bad, is also in no way innovative, exciting or memorable. The best way to describe this album is that it sounds like it’s entirely made up of the filler songs that they play on radio stations like Planet Rock because they can’t only play the really good bands. There are hints of AC/DC in there, but none of the hooks, attitude or humour. It also leans into more 80s cock rock, but without any of the grandiosity or pizzazz. Ian Astbury seems to have decided that he’;s going to be a gravel voiced hard rocker on this record and it completely neuters his voice. I can’t quite believe that this is the same guy who sang She Sells Sanctuary. Or that this is a band from bloody Bradford. It just lacks any kind of unique identity at all. The band are all very proficient, the performances are all decent, the production (weirdly by Rick Rubin who had mostly done hip-hop records at this point, as well as Reign in Blood) is passable, but again, it’s all just very middle of the road. I personally think Rubin can’t have thought much of Astbury’s voice, as it’s not been made particularly prominent within his mix. I suppose the fact that I can’t remember a single hook or melody from this record only 10-15 minutes after finishing it probably says it all. It feels like I’ve woken up in the morning after having seen a half decent pub rock band, thought about them for about a minute and they have subsequently never crossed my mind ever again. Wild Flower - It’s quite an AC/DC opening, but it doesn’t have the same drive, intensity or attitude, particularly from the vocals. The riffs are pretty simple, but ok. It’s just quite by the numbers stuff, kind of like a band that you would expect to run into on a random week night in a music pub. Peace Dog - The beat is ok, but the riffs and chord structure are very rhythmically dull and uninspired. In this track, Ian Astbury seems to be trying to bring more force to the vocal performance that doesn’t quite jive with the pace of the rest of the music, at least at the beginning. The band does pick things up a little in the second half of the track. Again, it’s ok, but there’s nothing particularly memorable or hooky about this. Lil' Devil - The riff here is better. It’s still not a patch on an AC/DC riff, but it’s a step in the right direction. And then we find ourselves in a fairly milquetoast verse that just bobs along doing its thing. I just feel like I’ve heard about 500 bands doing this exact thing before, and this lot probably sit somewhere in the middle of that number in terms of quality. Aphrodisiac Jacket - Ah, at least we’re getting a bit more of a rhythmic mix up here and it’s way more interesting because of it. The riffs aren’t bad, but there’s nothing massively standout about them either. Ian Astbury’s vocal is decent enough, but it’s a very put on style for a bloke from Cheshire singing for a band formed in Bradford! I mean, it’s really not bad, it’s also just not that interesting either. Electric Ocean - This has got a little bit more to it, but then it doesn’t really go anywhere. The composition is all very static, in that they come up with a riff or groove and just play it round and round for three minutes and call it a song, which is fine, I suppose. It’s just not that interesting. The blend of the guitar solo and beat in this jars quite a lot too. Meh. Bad Fun - This is much better. It’s got good pace to it, the riff is more engaging and the instruments drop in and out to give it a bit more movement. But again, it’s the same thing over and over again, but not in a hypnotic, engaging way that repetition can sometimes work, but in a bit of a lazy way. This album is very one dimensional, and even when there are bits that pop out, they quickly get swamped into the rest. To be fair, the pace and groove to this at least carries it better than some of the other tracks. King Contrary Man - This is better again, although I expect to be burned by my initial thoughts. Actually, there’s a bit more range to this composition finally, with more development between sections. There’s some rhythmic interest in there and some decent riffs. They really are a solid act as a band and when they get into it, it’s pretty good. Love Removal Machine - I’m sure this is a riff from somewhere else, but I can’t put my finger on it. Anyway, it’s not bad. Driving cock rock with some decent enough riffs and a bit of swagger. There’s a bit of range between sections here and an extra bit of development after the solo, where they crank up the pace a bit, which is quite nice. Born To Be Wild - The vocal here is particularly terrible He oversings it massively and tries to pull off a gravely tone that he can’t manage. The chugging guitars don’t really work with the song either. It’s stripped any nuance out of the original composition, made it dynamically and rhythmically flat and then they’ve added a terrible solo on to it. This is one of those covers that just makes you think “why”? Outlaw - More half decent riffs, the vocal is really starting to grate on me at this point though. It’s more passable pub rock with reasonable driving grooves, but it feels like they’ve got nothing to say here at all, and it’s all so samey that I’m struggling to have anything to write about the tracks now. Memphis Hip Shake - When Astbury’s vocal is exposed, it gets worse. In the mix, he’s not that bad, but I think there’s a reason he’s actually not that prominent in the mix. Aside from that, this is stilted, disjointed and plodding. It feels like they’ve decided they wanted to stick another song on the end but didn’t bother to fully develop this final track at all. It has its moments, but none of them feel connected and we didn’t need him saying “shake” so many times at the end.

8/10 Elton John is an incredibly talented and diverse songwriter, and an excellent performer, both vocally and at the piano. Sometimes his voice isn’t pitch perfect, but he emotes so well that it more than makes up for it. He has got one hell of an ear for melody, but he equally writes with a tremendous appreciation of rhythm, dynamic and drama. He can be a little inconsistent at times, but I think much of that is him trying to satisfy his wide ranging musical interests and ideas. This golden period of Elton’s during the early 70’s is remarkable for the number of absolute classics that he produced, but he also had depth. This album is a shifting, evolving journey through Elton’s development at the time. He brings in subtle beauty, in your face drama and engaging hooks in an ever-moving blend that keeps you on your toes and hooked into the story remarkably well, especially given that most songs are around five minutes or longer in length. He uses dynamic really well and rarely reverts to a basic verse/chorus/verse structure, preferring to build, work and stretch his ideas until he’s ready to let loose with the full weight of the composition. That’s not to say it’s perfect. There are moments when things lull a tiny bit here and there, but there was at least something in every song that caught my ear and hooked me in, even if it wasn’t completely consistent throughout. The performances across the record are super solid, with Elton’s parts on the piano and vocals being the obvious highlights, but the rest of the band and the strings section do exactly what they need to do and allow the main man to flex his stuff. The production is top notch, with so much depth to the arrangements and it’s a rewarding listen as a result, with so many instrumental pieces to unpick and enjoy on repeat listening. While this isn’t a perfect album, it’s a really, really good one, and Elton would go one step further with Honky Chateau to tweak his formula and deliver an absolute knockout. Tiny Dancer - The piano in this is really beautiful. It dances around so nicely, and when the guitar comes in the way the spin around one another is an absolute delight. It’s bold to open an album with a track that doesn’t bother getting to the chorus for two and a half minutes, but every second of this gold. Elton’s voice is excellent, the mix is gorgeous and the build of dynamic is epic. As a composition, this is remarkable. There’s so much instrumental depth and range, it moves through a range of clearly defined movements but feels so natural, and the string arrangement is so lush. Oh, and melodically, this is absolutely out of the top drawer. Levon - More lovely piano playing around a really lush, evolving chord progression. Elton knows how to write songs with great verses and choruses, but builds more structural interest around those core sections to make things way more musically interesting. It’s dramatic, but not overly so, the orchestration is deep and warm and it’s all produced with great clarity, but still with plenty of space for Elton’s emotive vocal performance. Razor Face - This takes a step into something a bit more laid back. There’s some nice guitar playing in here and it’s got a lovely bit of swagger to it, emphasised by Elton’s vocal, which is delivered with an edge of attitude over a really decent tonal range. This has a nice rhythmic blend as the song progresses, with the groove around the solo section being particularly nice. It’s not as strong as the opening couple of songs, but it’s still solid. Madman Across The Water - This is a bit of an epic. It’s a slow, subtle start with some really nice rhythmic stops and a groove that builds slowly enough that it’s barely noticeable until it’s suddenly pretty full and punchy. The passing of the rhythm between the different instruments in various bits of call and response is really cool and it’s so dynamically rich, building and falling in two distinct cycles, which is not a common approach in pop music. Tonally, it’s quite interesting too, as it’s quite a proggy composition, but is instrumentally quite traditional, which is a cool blend. Indian Sunset - This is another epic. Lyrically, it’s pretty ropey, with Taupin plucking as many cliché Native American Tropes as he can and throwing them together in a story that is almost offensively inaccurate. But aside from that, it’s pretty nice. It’s not quite as hooky or consistent as some of the earlier tracks, but when it gets into its stride there are some really dramatic and beautiful moments, particularly when the full orchestration comes into play. Elton really knows how to let a song breathe with structure and orchestration, and this is another fine example of that build, ebb and flow of his more florid, evolving work. Holiday Inn - And now we’re leaning more into the country Americana that’s been hinted at elsewhere. This has its moments, but it doesn’t quite manage the consistency and engagement of some of the earlier songs. There are still some really engaging moments in here though and Elton’s swagger in his vocal delivery is great. I kind of love that a guy from Middlesex can lean so far into the Americana thing and then flog it back to the yanks. Another decent track, even if it’s not as spectacular as others. Rotten Peaches - The chorus here is great and the best part of the song is the little break in the chorus where he sings “Mercy, I'm a criminal, Jesus, I'm the one” before leaping back into the main chorus melody. That bit is so, so, so good. Seems silly to love such a small part of a song, but that just does it for me. And he doubles down on it later on. Cheers Reg. This is a really solid track and leans a little more towards the kind of sound that he would explore further, and probably more consistently on Honky Chateau. Great stuff. All The Nasties - There are some excellent moments in this, but it’s tonally a bit of an odd one. The piano playing is great, as usual. The chorus is solid too. But it kind of roams off into some odd places in the middle and then the ending is weird too. It’s just a fairly inconsistent track that doesn’t quite manage to thread the needle in a particularly satisfying way. Goodbye - This is pretty. It’s a bit saccharine and dramatic, but it’s a decent and brief ballad. The arrangements are nice, his vocal is delivered well with good emotional depth and it’s a pleasant way to end the album.

4/10 An album like this is always interesting to get. It’s a genre that I have no real fondness for outside of a few artists here and there that just click with me, but I’m always open to hearing something different, so I was hopeful enough when I gave this a spin. The first thing to note is that the production and musicianship are both excellent here. The sound is crisp and clear, and apart from Marty’s vocal being a little too prominent, meaning things got a little lost behind him now and again, the balance and coherence of the sound is really good, particularly for a 67 year old record. The band are really tight, but play with a fun, free style that elevates the feel of the songs really well. Marty himself is an excellent singer, and when they’re playing the more fast paced numbers, I found myself getting a bit more into it, but when things slowed down, I began to struggle quite a lot more. Crooning singing with fast vibrato really grates on me and when he started on that kind of stuff this became much less engaging. Fortunately, the record did shift around a bit and things rarely stayed at the same pace for long. As a whole, it kind of has the sound of an Elvis record had Elvis stuck to playing white boy music, rather than pinching black music and packaging it for his white audience. I did find myself bobbing along to this and, while it was generally fairly simple stuff, there were little moments of musicianship and composition that just perked up my ears a little and helped me along. All in all, not a bad record at all, but just not one that is really my thing, and it didn’t have enough of musical interest to drag it over the line into something that would have grabbed hold of me and demanded further attention. Big Iron - There’s a decent pace and bouncing rhythm to this. His vocal style reminds me a bit of Elvis, but it feels a bit more honest. It’s not exactly complicated or anything, but it does what it sets out to do really well. The production is great, the backing vocals are really nice and it’s just a pretty coherent and consistent song. Nice. Cool Water - This is more hard for me to stomach. Warbling vibrato croony vocals are a bit of a kryptonite for me. There’s nothing terrible about this, but it’s pretty plodding and where the previous track had a bit of drive and groove to it, this just settles back into benignity. As a composition, it’s pretty standard and doesn’t offer anything particularly interesting, but it kind of hits the tone it’s going for. Billy The Kid - Ah, a cowboy waltz, why not? Again, this is quite a plodding, but there is more of an interesting choice of chords here to create a bit of an uncertain feel to it as it shifts between major and minor tonalities. Unfortunately, it’s more of that vocal style that doesn’t work for me. A decent production, an interesting song, but ultimately not something that really grabbed me. A Hundred And Sixty Acres - This a bit less croony. It’s still a bit plodding, but feels a bit more foot forward so drags itself along with a bit more panache. There are some decent bits of guitar work from the lead here that add a bit of extra depth to the composition, but it’s still a little on the dull side. They're Hanging Me Tonight - Oh, we’re backing the pace down again. This does sound quite a lot like a crooning Elvis track and it’s just not for me. Compositionally, it’s very basic, both structurally and instrumentally and it leans too much on the warbling vibrato. It does sound great for a 1959 recording though. Strawberry Roan - The pace has picked up again now and it’s more engaging for it. When he’s not crooning, he is way more subtle with his vibrato, which helps a lot. It’s quite a plodding rhythm, but there’s some pretty decent lead guitar that drifts around in there. The way the vocal climbs and falls up his register is quite nice too. II don’t think this is bad actually, but I do think it’s a little on the boring side. El Paso - Some pretty guitar to kick us off here and Marty’s vocal is subtle but well delivered. The composition shuffles around into different movements pretty nicely. It’s quite a breathless song, despite not only having a moderately fast tempo, but it’s pretty persistent. The band are really tight and flow around each other really nicely, and the vocal harmonies are really consistent and well controlled. It does drag on a little too much though, sadly. In The Valley - Back to an extremely plodding, croony number. The thing is, the quality of the playing, singing and recording is really good, but it’s just a little bit uninspiring and doesn’t particularly do anything to grab hold of me. It’s very nice, but that’s about it. The Master's Call - The rhythm and swing to this is way better. The bass line is a little too deep in the mix, which is a shame as it gives this a bit of a bouncing drive to it that I quite like. There are some pretty interesting developmental changes at places in this that don’t always take things the way you would expect, but it does get a bit samey as it goes along. I’m finding the general pace and groove of this pretty decent and I feel like I want to like it more than I actually do. Running Gun - More pace, yeehaw! There’s a nice bouncing groove to this, some solid instrumental work and it’s got some decent hooky melodies in the vocals. As with the rest of the album, the quality of the playing and production is great. This was an enjoyable little ride, did its thing and then it was done. Lovely stuff. Down In The Little Green Valley - We’re back in croon town, sadly. Again, it’s competently done, there are some nice tight harmonies, but it’s a bit too plodding and croony for me. It’s a decent example of the genre, but it’s the genre itself that I find the problem. I can appreciate the artistic quality of this, but it’s just not for me. Utah Carol - This is quite plodding and rhythmically uninspiring. The melodies are decent if a bit too repetitive. It’s quite a nice little track, the performances are decent, but it’s also just… Not that interesting.

6/10 Where do you start with a band that released 31 studio albums in 38 years? Especially one that also released many part studio/part live albums, live albums, compilations, EPs and more. The first studio album seems as good a point as any. This is definitely an interesting musical step away from punk into something a bit more artsy over the more attitude-pure sound of trad punk. The rhythm section do a lot of the heavy lifting here, particularly Karl Burns on the drums, who pulls the record along with a good, varying pace that, for the most part, maintains a really good momentum. There are echoes of bands like Joy Division, The Clash and more in tone and attitude, but it doesn’t quite manage to pull itself into as completely coherent a sound as either of those bands, despite starting to show signs of an interesting musical direction. There were times when the repetition became hypnotic and effective and others where its lack of intensity lead it to become a little on the duller side. Mark E Smith certainly has a charisma and “fuck you” attitude that oozes out of every pore of the record, and you can tell almost instantly that he’s probably the kind of guy who’s fun to know, but an absolute shit heel to be friends or colleagues with. There was a rawness to the performances on this record that largely worked in its favour, with that punky DIY aesthetic imbuing the sound with a certain edge of authenticity, but it rarely edged into sloppiness, with one real exception. I feel like the keyboard player, who seemingly only played on this record for the band, has some pretty simple and fairly uninteresting lines that are sometimes given too much prominence in the mix and are also often performed pretty poorly, with timing that slips out of the scope of rawness and into the sloppy. It’s a shame really, because those lines often don’t even offer a great deal extra to the track anyway, so just chopping them out completely wouldn’t have made a lot of difference. Aside from that, I did feel that the record had the sound of a band finding their own direction and sound, so it was a fairly enjoyable taste of that journey. It did have its lulls, and drift into moments of ennui here and there, which doesn’t make me feel like this is a great album, but it’s certainly a good one and has made me interested to see where the band went next. Frightened - After starting in a slightly discordant way, this drifts into a more tonally regular sound quite quickly, but still has a little edge of weirdness to it that I like. The drums are really punchy and drive things forward, with the bass adding in some great fills at the top of its ascending line. It’s quite repetitive, but manages to offer enough variety to keep your ear busy while also building an edge of hypnotic engagement to the composition. Mark E Smith is half way between angry and dismissive and that fits really well against the insistence of the instrumental. Crap Rap 2 / Like To Blow - This takes us in way more of punk territory. It’s driven and pacy, but has a slight lag into the beat that makes it feel deliberately halting in places just to slightly disturb the flow. The keyboard part sounds a bit like the sound a car makes if you leave the door open with the ignition on, which is a bit weird. Not something to consider in 1979, but certainly a tiny bit distracting in 2026. I like it though. The band are tight and deal with that (seemingly) deliberate drop of the rhythm really nicely to add an edge of wonkiness to the sound. Rebellious Jukebox - Oof, the bass line here is quite dissonant for quite a lot of the track, which makes it a challenging listen. As a track it doesn’t quite have the range or quality of performance of the first two tracks either, and it becomes overly repetitive as a result. Luckily it’s pretty short. No Xmas For John Quays - Back to something more darkly punk. It’s menacing and intense, with the drums doing a lot to add interest and aggression to the performance. It has an edge of dissonance, but it works really well thematically here. It feels quite deranged in its composition and has that hypnotic quality to the repetition of the arrangement too. The breakdown sections give it a bit of breathing space too, which works well. Mother-Sister! - The tempo switching in this is pretty cool. It feels like it’s sinking into a repetitive flow, especially with the music having a fairly short cycle, but then they just chuck in a double speed section really briefly that throws off your ear really nicely. There’s a bit less to this, so it does become a bit too relentless by the end, but there are at least those little moments to elevate it. Industrial Estate - The sound of this is good, but it falls again into the trap of being a bit too repetitive and focused on a loop that’s just a bit too short. I think the attitude, pace and delivery of it is really good, it’s just not quite got enough going on for me to get fully engaged in it. But again, it’s short so less of a problem. Underground Medecin - The double tracked vocals in the intro are pretty cool here and then the pace and sharpness of the track proper are really good too. It’s got a punky franticness to it, but it’s clear and crisp production that works well with it. The drumming is great and there’s that edge of dissonance in there that gives it a slightly menacing edge. Pretty good stuff. Two Steps Back - This is a bit more ponderous. I quite like aspects of it, but the keyboard part feels a bit aimless and meandering, particularly as it is so prominent in the sound. It’s an interesting sound, but it feels a bit jumbled and unfocused, even rhythmically at points. It’s also too long to maintain interest, with the meandering and off-kilter approach to the composition not helping in that regard. Live At The Witch Trials - A bit of an odd interstitial track which seems a bit rambly and pseudo-intellectual. Meh. Futures And Pasts - This is based around a decent riff. It drives along nicely with some really good driving that has a tasty bit of swing to the fills. The keyboard player has an exceptionally simple line that they can’t seem to play in time, which is quite distracting. Other than that, this is a pretty good punk track. It’s got attitude and pace and it shifts in and out of its different sections really well. Can’t look past that terrible keyboard playing though. Music Scene - This is a bit of an epic. The keyboard parts are again very simple and not particularly well execute, but the rest of the band are pretty consistent. The track roams and develops quite nicely, although it could probably do a bit more with its length. It’s a tad rambly, but it works pretty well as an album closer as they take their time to drift between different ideas and let Smith’s vocal have a bit of breathing space. Still a bit too long though.

9/10 Elton has the ability to write some absolutely phenomenal songs. Sometimes that doesn't completely translate into completely consistent records, but during the early 70s, he was bashing them out at a clip and, for the most part, they were of a standard that most musicians would aspire to. This record is considered to be his magnum opus and you can see why. It runs the gamut from prog rock inventiveness, via heartfelt ballads all the way to country rock party tunes, all the while feeling coherent and maintaining a smooth tonal flow. The band are at the peak of their powers and the whole album is super tight, full of fluid groove and played with an immense standard of feel and control. But the best thing is Elton’s melodic writing. By god, the boy can write melodies that grab you, hook you in and lodge in your head in the best possible way. Not only that, but whether singing them or playing them on the piano, he puts so much swagger and presentation into his performances of those melodies that it just kicks them up another notch. It’s pretty remarkable that this album was released in 1973, as it sounds so coherent, with the sound design and instrumental mix, particularly the use of synths feeling completely natural, which was not something many acts had managed to completely nail at this point. It also manages to keep in just enough weirdness and depth that it becomes a rewarding album to listen to again and again, because there are so many layers to each track and so many twist s and turns to the compositional structure that it never gets boring. Yes, it’s perhaps a tad long, but this is so much fun that even the less inventive and musically dense tracks just beg for you to bob along, and the album does fly by pretty quickly, despite its length. I was going to rate this an 8, but frankly I can’t stop listening to it, having played it from start to finish 6 times in two days. It’s just so moreish. Keep on rocking, Hercules, you mad bastard. Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding - What an absolutely epic start to an album. It’s a slow building, proggy masterpiece of a track. The synths are cool, the piano work is nuanced and interesting and it does so many interesting things, all the while anchoring itself around some beautiful hooks and melodies that occasionally touch here and there on motifs that pop up across the rest of the album. It’s subtle in places, grand and exciting in others. And when it gets going, it really rocks too and never gets stuck in one place for too long. It’s hard to make an 11 minute song seem so interesting and varied, but he pulls it off. Fair play, Elton. Candle In The Wind - I only heard this 3-4 million times in 1997, so this is somewhat coloured by that fact. It’s still funny to me that Elton quickly got Bernie to switch up the lyrics and chucked out an old one for “England’s Rose”, but it’s actually a really good song. Well written, beautifully performed, the piano here is great and Elton’s vocal is spot on. It’s pretty saccharine, but I don’t know how much of that is impacted by the Diana thing. No, It’s definitely cheesy as fuck. But there’s nothing wrong with that. Bennie And The Jets - Another banger. It’s got a laid back swagger to it that’s so packed with groove, especially focused around the way he works between his two hands on the piano. There’s nothing overly complex about it, but it just hooks up so much feel into the delivery. The jazzy piano breakdown in the middle is so lush too. Good lord does our boy Reg know how to write a melody. It does go a little off-piste with some of the synth and crowd sample parts, but it doesn’t do much to detract from the cool smoothness of the track. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - And here he goes with more magnificent melodic moments. The switch up between verse and chorus here is really tasty. It’s got subtle groove to the verses and then the soaring, harmonic richness of the pre-chorus into the chorus is great. I’ve been singing this chorus all day and it’s still so good. There’s grandiosity to it, but it also manages to be incredibly bittersweet, which is a hard feeling to evoke in music. This Song Has No Title - This is more proggy again, but focuses around the man himself and his piano just roaming around to begin with before twisting into this odd fantasy sounding chorus. It’s a really interesting and instrumentally pleasing track. I love Elton’s dynamic control on the piano, you can just feel him pulsing his emphasis in and out as he feels the underlying groove. It’s less hooky than other tracks, but it’s still solid. Grey Seal - There’s an edge of crocodile rock to the verses here, but it adds a proggy twist into the choruses, particularly the transitions back out to the verses, which are so cool. It’s pacy and engaging, with great rhythm. The drumming here is excellent, giving a solid backbone, but adding in great range and excitement to that groove. It’s half way between a rock and roll and a funk track, and it’s just a great deal of fun. Jamaica Jerk-Off - An ill advised cod reggae track in which Elton actually leans into a Jamaican accent. It's not good and feels pretty out of place on the record, in part due to the tone and feel of it, but also because it really lacks the depth, variety and inventiveness of the rest of the tracks too. It's pretty repetitive, the synthetic percussion doesn't sound great and,to sum it all up, apparently Elton has never played it live and Bernie claims to have no memory of writing it. I've Seen That Movie Too - This is a nice slow groove that builds really nicely. Elton does a great line in a super slow build into the chorus and being restrained with a central hook and he's at it again here. The orchestration is subtle but dynamically impactful here and the way the piano and bass play around each other is really good. It's perhaps a tiny bit on the long side, but it gives him the chance to throw some cool instrumental parts and some nice jazzy piano licks in there, so that's all good. Sweet Painted Lady - It's a slight change up of feel here, but that hook up between the piano and bass carries on again nicely. It's more melodic excellence and the combination of melodic writing and vocal delivery gives this a really smooth and satisfying sound. Nice if not spectacular. The Ballad Of Danny Bailey (1909-34) - This is a more sombre little number that meanders a little. There are some really nice moments in here, and there are some really tasty chord progressions, but ultimately it doesn't manage to give the same standard of melodic hook that's present in the album's beat tracks. The instrument section is pretty damn solid though. Dirty Little Girl - This has got, rather appropriately, a solid dirty groove to it. It's got an edge of soul and and edge of rock n roll to it. The pulse of the groove is great and I love Elton's vocal delivery here. It's gritty and chock full of swagger and attitude. It's not quite got the compositional depth of the most compelling tracks, but it's a really solid vibe. All The Girls Love Alice - Ah, now we're cooking again. The pace and drive of this is so good. Again, he takes his time to get to the chorus, but the tonal switch up into it is superb. The sound design in the chorus is excellent too; that distorted guitar and synth bass are just sexy. The backing vocals are excellent. In fact, I think everything here is excellent. The juxtaposition of tone between verse and chorus, the groove, the instrumental performances, the production. It's all top notch. Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock 'n Roll) - He's just having fun now. It's trad rock n roll, done at an absolute clip. It's got great attitude, a little edge of grit and it's delivered with such a sense of enjoyment. It's hardly ground breaking, but it's silly and fun. Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting - Bosh, straight into an absolutely iconic song. Elton's vocal delivery here is so on point, full of grit and swagger. The chorus is another Elton pop masterclass, taking the gritty rock of the track and spinning it through his pop melodic sensibility to make something incredibly infectious and danceable. It takes the fun of the previous track, cranks it up and spits it out with so much verve and panache. Beautifully fun stuff. Roy Rogers - This leans more towards country, but it's a nice change of pace after the fun and intensity of the last couple. Elton's melodic chops hang this one together nicely, even if it's a tad on the slow side. The piano and orchestration are really nice and the groove is slow but endearing.  Social Disease - It's kind of weird how quietly this starts, but god damn it's got a great groove when it gets going. If all country had this level of funk to it, I'd be all over it. It's got swagger and pace, plenty going on across the instrumentation and it's super fun.  Harmony - And we get something that's a bit more ballady to end things. There are some tasty harmonies in here, appropriately, but I think interesting things in here are some of the chord changes, which occasionally move in an unexpected way. It's a pretty way to finish.

7/10 Duke Ellington managed to hang on as a big band leader beyond the time that many of his contemporaries had packed in the style, but this album triggered something of a resurgence in his popularity. While there is a heavy big band flavour to this record, I think there are decent moments where the big band aspect does take a backseat to the more subtle, virtuosic playing of single players improvising over a more restrained backing. The big band do pop in here and there to accentuate things, which provides a nice bit of dynamic flair to proceedings, and it feels like a fairly nice balance between the two styles. Personally, the more intimate small band focus is a little more my flavour, but I did find this to be an engaging and enjoyable ride. The band are, as you would expect, completely hooked up with one another and provide a super tight groove that switches lanes from smooth and sultry to up-tempo and danceable with ease. Duke controls his band really well too, and there are points where you can hear him geeing them on and encouraging them to give it all they’ve got, particularly during Paul Gonsalves’ epic solo in the closing track. It just sounds like they’re having a great deal of fun together, and listening to musicians with this much intimate control of their instruments letting loose and having fun while always staying completely locked in to the groove is always a satisfying experience. Unfortunately, while the final track is really excellent, it is kind of let down a little by the crowd noise. It wouldn’t be so much of an issue except for the fact that they added it in afterwards! According to resurfaced tapes, only 40% of this record was actually comprised of the live tape, which is kind of amusing, and a little bit of a let down at the same point. Either way, an enjoyable listen and worthy of a fresh spin now and again. Festival Junction - The intro feels like a relic of its time. I don’t imagine having a minute of chit chat at the beginning of an album, live or otherwise these days. Either way, once we get into it, this is some nice up tempo swinging jazz. There are some superb little runs and moments of musical punctuation from the band, but it’s when the solos start kicking in that this really starts moving for me. It’s got that roaming freedom to it that’s the result of so much knowledge and control of one’s instrument and the underlying theory of the music. They can just roll about having so much fun. I can almost hear the little looks and sly nods the band are giving each other as they throw control of the track backward and forward. It’s lovely, expressive work. Blues To Be There - This is smooth and sultry. The way it builds a subtle, bubbling tension in each section before finally resolving to the root is so tasty. It’s got a mysterious edge to the sound, but still offers plenty of space for virtuosity, and some of the clarinet runs in particular are gorgeous. It does slow down a little too much at points, so that the crowd start applauding because they think it’s done. It’s a strolling groove with a purposeful edge of meandering to it, but it plays really well with dynamic range and tempo to create a push and pull between sections. Newport Up - Now the pace has kicked up a notch, it leans a bit more into the big band sound, which is quite cool, but less my cup of tea than the more subtle individual work that has been a bit more in focus on the previous tracks. There’s still plenty of time for virtuosity here though, and some of the soloing is, as you’d expect, really good. They’re super tight, even going at a clip like this. It’s a bit less nuanced, but it’s certainly good fun. The momentum to the rhythm is great and it really gets you frantically toe tapping as it chips along. While I can appreciate the quality and musicianship, I feel like there’s not as much for me to hang my particular style of hat on here. Jeep's Blues - More of the big band flavour here, but leaning its way back into the more sensual tone. When they let things drift out to a simple backing and the piano and sax play together over the top, it’s glorious stuff. The two of them bouncing back and forward against each other is so tasty, although I could probably do with the piano being a little more forward in the mix - perhaps a harsh complaint for a 70 year old live festival recording. When the band comes back in more subtly it’s super cool and some of the motifs here are so hooky and evocative. Lovely stuff. Diminuendo And Crescendo In Blue - Apparently Paul Gonsalves’ tenor sax solo was actually overdubbed here later because he played it into the wrong microphone during the show. But he also pretty much collapsed when playing it because it took so much out of him. This has got a lot of get up and go to it, but it’s balanced out well with some more laid back, legato moments, despite the tempo never really dropping. When we get to it, it’s a great solo, touching base on the central motif enough to keep it relevant, but dancing around enough to keep it fresh. Blowing for a 27 chorus solo must have been exhausting, especially when he doesn’t have many audible breaks for much more than a quick breath. This is the kind of thing that I can really enjoy for the musicianship but does go on for quite a long time as a recording. Live, I can imagine it being mesmerising as he just goes and goes. As mentioned before, there’s a sense of simple joy about this in that joy can feel the enthusiasm of the band through their playing as Gonsalves drives away at his sax like it’s the last time he’ll ever get to play it. Duke takes over the reigns once Gonsalves is done and they take us through a bit more of the big band stuff to finish. Reportedly that solo was credited with revitalising Ellington’s career, so fair play. This big band flavour of jazz is never going to be my favourite, but this track is still a really enjoyable and engaging ride, despite it’s 15 minute length

4/10 This album sounds quite a lot like what it is, the un-road tested demo of a guy just knocking some tracks together for fun. He's an exceptionally talented drummer who, at this point, is starting to find his way with guitar and songwriting, but hasn't quite refined those crafts just yet. It does feel like an extension of the song Marigold that he wrote and sang for Nirvana, but was only considered good enough for use as a B-Side. Not bad, but also not particularly great, and there aren't really any particularly engaging or memorable melodies that have stuck with me past the end of the record. What's particularly odd about it is the tonal mix. The songwriting often sounds like fairly bland indie singer-songwriter fare, but it's delivered with the production stylings of a heavy rock record in a blend that just doesn't quite gel. Grohl's vocal is also, for the most part, fairly limp. It doesn't manage to have the intensity to match the production choices for quite a lot of the record, but he does manage to get things more in sync now and again, in tracks like Weenie Beenie and Wattershed. All in all, I found this a fairly frustrating listen, because many of the ingredients were good, but it never managed to connect things together in a completely coherent or interesting way. The follow up album, The Color And The Shape is a way better demonstration of what Foo Fighters can be and I'd choose that one over this to listen to any day of the week. It's not that this is bad, per se, it's just that it's about the most ok album I can think of, and ok just isn’t that good. This Is A Call - This has the melodic sensibility of a fairly run of the mill indie track, with the heavy guitar and rum sound of a hard grunge band. It's kind of a weird mix because, at the surface, the tone is aggressive and feisty, but the underlying composition is fairly bland and beige. It's like if Nirvana had written the theme tune to a long forgotten 90s sitcom. I'll Stick Around - Dave certainly has chops on the drums. This is better than the opener, but it's still quite dynamically flat despite him trying to do a more shouty chorus. There's just something about the delivery and production that I don't quite buy because it feels forced rather than felt. To it's also not that musically interesting either. Big Me - We're back in sitcom theme tune land again. It's incredibly competent, but it's super simple and has the emotional heft of a supermarket valentine's card. Alone + Easy Target - This has more of that grungy sound again sort of half way between Mudhoney and Alice In Chains, but Grohl's vocal in the verses feels pretty half arsed. It gets a little better during the choruses, but yet again I find this to be pretty melodically uninspiring, particularly for how repetitive those melodies are. It's all just a bit bland up to this point. Good Grief - There's good drive and pace to this one. Vocal delivery is a bit on the limp side during the verses and just feels like it's lacking in punch and aggression to match the rest of the track. The chorus leans in the right direction, but never finds the hook to elevate it. Again, the composition just doesn't feel like it matches up with the production and intensity of the tone, just leaving me feeling a bit confused. Floaty - Floaty is right. It's another indie singer-songwriter type song given the sheen of heavy rock production. The drums are great and give this way more drive and direction than it would otherwise have. It almost comes together into something better, but ultimately there's nothing overly hooky or memorable and it still feels like there's too much of a disconnect between song and presentation. Weenie Beenie - This is way better. It has the grit and fire of punk mixed in with the sound of early Seattle grunge. The songwriting isn't complex, but it blends so much better with the production that it's the first time I've felt like the two have been in complete harmony for the entire album. It's got great riffs, great drumming and a consistent and forceful energy. Oh, George - This again feels a little more connected. It's not the most inspiring of songs, but at least everything is pulling in the same direction. It does lack a bit of intensity though and it's quite dynamically flat. For All The Cows - A bit of whimsy now. It's pretty good songwriting and has a nice bit of dynamic variety between verse and chorus, which is cool. I actually buy what Grohl is selling here and it's another where he's managed to tie it up better sonically and deliver with a little bit more of an engaging intensity and drive. Not bad. X-Static - The intro to this reminds me a little of Lit, but they're way more fun and poppy than this verse. There's decent drive and energy to the track, but Grohl could not sound less interested delivering this vocal. It sounds like he's drunk and stoned and singing himself to sleep while all the other Dave Grohl's playing in the band are giving it six nowt, it's super odd. The track behind isn't bad, but that vampiric vocal sucks all of the life out of it. Wattershed - Much better. Good intensity, drive and delivery. Some solid riffs, great playing and all of the elements working to the same end. This is an example of where vibe and feel can elevate a song when everything is pulling in the same direction, unlike much of the rest of the album. Exhausted - Haha, that's quite a disgusting guitar tone. When the second guitar and bass come in, it does sound better, but it's another fairly uninteresting singer-songwriter song put through the lens of hard rock and grunge. There are some great, crunchy riffs in here and some solid grunge production, but again, the vocal is limp and lacking in intensity. I like the way it dissolves into noise and filth near the end though.

7/10 Coming off the back of White Light/White Heat, this is a pretty interesting change in direction. It’s much more of a traditionally structured, musically safe album, and whereas the former album was a challenging listen that I found to be a little too repetitive and a little to unfocused to completely connect with, this managed to present the ideas in a much more palatable way. It was the overall vibe of this that connected with me more than anything else. There was some decent melodic writing and engaging song structures in there, but it was all melded together with a really interesting blend of tones that added an extra depth to the recording. There were plenty of lo-fi elements in there, but they would also mix those up with more crisp and clear tracks that would create a really warm, engaging sound that helped to bed everything together into something that was sonically interesting and cohesive. There were moments of experimentation on here, not least The Murder Mystery, but even that track felt a bit more focused and coherent, despite its more menacing and avant garde bent. While I wasn’t completely in love with this, it definitely had something about it that made it worthy of further consideration and repeat listening. I can kind of see why Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground were so influential, because this sounds really interesting for a record from 1969 and I can hear some of the ideas presented here echoing over the music of the decades that would follow. This may be one that I need to dip back into over the next few weeks and months, and my fondness for it may grow, but for now, it was an enjoyable, if unspectacular record. Candy Says - It’s a tonally pleasant start and an interesting and dramatic change of pace and intensity from their previous record. The chord structure is really pretty and it roams around really nicely, but does manage to maintain an edge due to the subject matter. It’s pretty intriguing to hear a song about gender dysphoria and transgender issues as far back as 1969. What Goes On - And now the pace picks up a bit. It’s another more traditionally structured song, but the experimentation in sound design gives it an interesting twist. It’s a slightly muddled mix, but that gives it a bit of a DIY sound that I actually quite like. The driving rhythm from the guitar and bass give this a bit of force and zip, although the instrumental stuff in the second half perhaps drags on a bit too long. Some Kinda Love - This has a really nice blend of parts that drift and circle around each other, but it’s way too repetitive and relentless. I actually quite like it, but the same couple of bars of fairly laid back and pleasant music that only very occasionally dip into anything else is a bit much for me, which is a bit of a shame as the vibe and core musical concept are pretty good. Pale Blue Eyes - The vibe here is solid too. It’s laid back and has an almost hymnal backing with the slow organ chords. The guitar line is great too. There’s something really subtle but effective about the whole presentation here. It’s nothing groundbreaking from a songwriting point of view, but it has a little edge of something that makes it an endearing listen. Perhaps its the time and space they allow for everything to breathe. I don’t love it, but I still think it’s really good. Jesus - I really like the blend of tones that they bring to the table here. They meld really lo-fi aspects with some much crisper and clearer elements and are happy to not strive for musical perfection. The vocals waver a little here and there and sometimes slightly miss the mark, but it all combines to create such an interesting sonic palette and a really engaging vibe. The sparing dynamic lifts they use are really effective too. Beginning To See The Light - Now the pace has picked back up again. It’s got a nice groove to it too and there are some nice bits and pieces of range and variety to the songwriting too. Some of the vocal harmonies are pretty cool. It’s got a great raw edge and it sounds like they’re having great fun recording it too, which is sometimes a difficult thing to put across, but can be quite infectious when it’s done well. It’s a bit repetitive in places, but the vibe continues to be great and it’s got some decent melodic hooks too. I'm Set Free - This is a slow build of a track. It starts off subtly but increases in intensity and then drops away before building again. It’s a nice idea to build a track around and it works well here. Again, the tonal mix is really cool and it all feels very warm and welcoming. There’s nothing overly complex about it, but it’s a really effective presentation. That's The Story Of My Life - There’s a nice little swing to this and it’s subtle but effective. Again, I really dig the tonal vibe of this, it’s sonically very interesting and engaging, despite the fact that it’s a simple composition. That being said, there’s enough melodic quality to hold it up and backed by that sonic vibe, it all just comes together really well. The Murder Mystery - And we’ve arrived at the most experimental, traditionally Velvet Underground track on the album. It’s weird, it shifts between various phases and it’s musically and sonically more challenging, but it’s really interesting and carries over that warm tonal vibe. The panned dual vocal lines are a really interesting effect, as is the shift in intensity between what you might consider to be the verses and choruses. It’s a pretty tasty piece of experimental work and doesn’t sound like the kind of thing you’d expect from the late 60s. It’s quite pretty in places, it’s unnervingly intense in others and it has this delicious undercurrent of menace about it, and then it ends in this increasingly intense, hypnotic and threatening way. Great stuff. After Hours - We close with something more delicate and pretty. It’s melodically pleasant and is a really nice palate cleanser after the previous track to close us out, as well as echoing the sense of fun and camaraderie that is sprinkled across the album.

7/10 On first listen, I got quite into this. It’s pretty simple in places and it burns its way through tracks like it’s going out of fashion, rarely hanging on an ideas for too long, but there’s a certain charm to it and the fact that it doesn’t often outplay its ideas by dragging them on is definitely a strength. There’s a good pop music sensibility to the melodic aspects of the composition, but it’s got a little twist of other influences spread throughout, with elements of punk, rock n roll and even an edge of ska. The band here (Clover, members of which would go on to form Huey Lewis & The News) do a magnificent job and it’s a crisp, tight performance all round that really adds to the light, poppy edge of the production. That’s not to say it doesn’t have a bit of grit and edge to it, but that mix of tones is presented in a really approachable package. Elvis’ voice treads a really nice line between the raw punky edge and the more sincere, subtle delivery of the more relaxed numbers, and that little bit of range helps to add an extra tonal variety. He writes some decent melodies in here that do a good job of hooking you in to a track, but he’s also not afraid to throw in some less conventional chord changes and transitions that keeps you on your toes just that little bit. On repeat listening, I did find that there were a few lulls here and there, and there were some tracks in which the component parts didn’t quite gel into a completely coherent and consistent whole, but for the most part it was a pretty enjoyable record. It’s definitely an interesting starting point and I’d be interested to hear where Mr Costello goes next. Welcome To The Working Week - It’s a strong start that’s clean and poppy, but has a little bit of punk edge to it. It shifts between a sharp, staccato sound and something more smooth. The vocal harmonies are great. It’s rhythmically compelling too. Kind of a shame it’s less than a minute and a half long! Miracle Man - It’s slightly disappointing that the tempo of the opener is lost so quickly. This has a nice swung groove to it and a nice melodic sensibility and is very tightly performed. It’s a well written song, with plenty of interest across the instrumentation but unfortunately it’s not quite as engaging as the opener. No Dancing - This feels like we’re building to something with a bit more pizzazz. It’s got a bit of a motown blended with 60s pop-rock sound to it, but it never quite bounces its way to the heights that it promised early doors. The sound is pleasant and coherent, but I’m just left wanting something a little bit more from it. I think it maybe feels a lot like it’s made up of lots of intros that never actually lead up to the proper song. Blame It On Cain - Ah, here we go. This has got a solid hook of a chorus with a verse that builds up nicely to it. The swing of the groove is really nice and the tonal mix is solid soo. It has a good blend of clean rock and roll stylings with a pinch of punky grit and a poppy melodic sensibility. Pretty good. Alison - Now we’re on to a smooth ballad. There’s some nice guitar playing here and I really like the way the lead vocal wanders around, rather than just sitting on a fixed motif. It’s still got that little rough edge to it that gives it a bit of charm, and the chorus is a really nice piece of composition that actually does something musically interesting, rather than anything too obvious. Sneaky Feelings - The pace has picked up and it feels like we’re more into the swing of things now. There’s a cool strolling swing to this with some tasty transitions between sections. The general blend of grooves across the instrumentation is solid and the piano and bass are particularly worthy of note. It’s just a really good pop-rock number. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes - Another great bit of pop melodic writing. This is smooth, has great rhythmic elements and flows really nicely. The vibe is rock solid and it’s got that little edge of attitude in the vocal delivery to give it a bit of an extra kick. There’s nothing overly complex about it, but it’s good songwriting that’s executed brilliantly. Less Than Zero - There are some really great elements to this track, but there’s something about it that feels a little bit disjointed in places. I think it maybe rests too far back on the groove in places where I feel like it would benefit from driving forward a little. It’s a shame, because there are bits of this that are really compelling. Mystery Dance - Now we’re into flat out rock and roll. It’s great stuff, really well played and has a compelling pace to it too, although it’s a pretty standard example of the genre from a songwriting point of view. It’s also over in a minute and a half. Pay It Back - Another nice rocky swing number now. It’s got a great, finger-clicking groove to it with a lovely strolling bass line. Again, there’s a solid pop melodic sensibility here that gives things an engaging vibe. The band sounds completely locked in and there are some great pieces of instrumental work in there too. It’s just a really competent and coherent swinging pop rock song. I'm Not Angry - The guitar is full of attitude on this track, playing with swagger and feel. It’s a pretty simple song, but again, the vibe keeps it driving along well. It’s got that little bit of grit to it and the transition to an almost country edge through the softer sections is pretty cool. It is a little on the repetitive side though. Waiting For The End Of The World - This is another that I really like aspects of, but it feels like it lacks a little bit of fluidity in places and is a bit too plodding or rhythmically stilted in a few places. The general gist of it is pretty good though and the vibe continues to be solid

7/10 It’s always nice to be exposed to a band that you have literally never heard of before, and it was interesting to see this categorised as ‘post-hardcore’, which was not a genre that I’d consciously listened too either. Weirdly, it was also categorised as indie, which on first listen seemed pretty bizarre. There are elements in here of Sonic Youth, Pixies and My Bloody Valentine, but it also had pretty big echoes of early Seattle grunge bands like Tad and The Melvins, which is right in my wheelhouse. What I liked most about this was the grimy, hypnotic nature of it. It was one of those records that you could let wash over you tonally and settle into the persistent, throbbing pulse of each track. Yes, it was quite repetitive in places, but that actually helped it to bed into this filthy soundscape that was almost like an ambient record in the way that it shifted and buried its way under my skin. Only at the same time, it’s about as far away from ambient as it’s possible to be. It’s noisy, with driving bass and drums that punch it along yet somehow add to that hypnotic vibe. I quite liked that the vocals sat further back in the mix, so they became more a part of the sound blend as a whole, rather than dominating as would be more typical in popular music genres. It was a bit creepy in places, sludgy and dark in others, but it had this overall vibe of a grotty squat house where everyone is nodding out, having a breakdown or both. It’s kind of a bit like the audio equivalent of Kathe Koja, whose writing always puts me in mind of a very 90s, grungy art scene, not always through the content, but through the style of her writing. I did feel it lost its way a little towards the end, when it shifted a little further away from that punchy, grimy mess of sound, but other than that I found this to be an evocative and sonically interesting album by a band that I’m keen to hear more from. In Like Flynn - There’s a good bit of punch to the production here and the tone isn’t bad. It’s grimy and grotty with a bit of a hypnotic persistence to it. Fundamentally, it’s an incredibly simple composition that lacks much in the way of variety, but there’s something about the vibe that helps it to stay engaging. Not sure how that’ll last over the course of a full album though. Go Be Delighted - It almost feels like we’ve transitioned into a different section of the first song, so similar is the vibe and pacing. Again, I’m getting quite into the hypnotic feel of it and there is a bit of extra tonal flavour from the use of backing vocals. I think there’s a bit more of a hooky element to the chorus here too. Rockets Are Red - I actually quite like the groove to this. The wash of distorted tones is given a solid drive from the bass and drums. It’s kind of like somewhere between Sonic Youth and White Zombie in a way. The vocals aren’t prominent and it’s more about the wash of tone driving away at you. It’s almost like listening to the structure of ambient music pushed through the prism of hardcore. It could probably do with a little more experimentation and variation, but it’s an interesting sound. Satin Down - Now that the vocals are more prominent, they are less effective and this sounds like a weak version of something the Pixies were doing, without the same level of creativity and weirdness. It’s also too plodding and loses some of the production wash that held the earlier tracks together. There are some promising elements in there, but it’s just not quite blended together completely effectively. Let Me Come Back - The pace is back again and this has solid drive to it. It’s a good central riff and it develops reasonably well too. It’s persistent with an edge of harshness, but it’s the bass and drums that really give this its kick. Again, the gritty, grubby vibe is pretty enjoyable, even if the songwriting is a little limited. Learned It - This reminds me a little of Nirvana in their heavier and grimier material, particularly during the chorus. It’s another pretty compelling rhythm and the sonic blend is crunchy and heavy, and it really packs a punch in the production. It leans towards something a bit more melodic too, which was a nice change up. Get Down - A slow burner now with some cool feedback tones shimmering away under the surface. It’s a rolling, saturated soundscape that lets elements of harmony drift out from the noise and is another fairly entrancing blend of pulsing tones. It loses its thread for a short while towards the end, but it gathers things back up again well. Bullet Proof Cupid - A decent riff. It’s very persistent in pace again, but I think that that’s where some of the joy of this sits. It’s got punch, but still has that wash of noise and dirt that makes it lean almost towards My Bloody Valentine in some respects too, but with perhaps a more traditional structure underpinning it. It drifts away and punches back in again nicely too. I’m kind of surprised that the repetition doesn’t annoy me, but somehow I quite like it. Who knows? Seven Seas - This leans a bit more towards indie in places weirdly, and because of that more traditional song structure, it loses a bit of its charm. It feels like they’ve decided they want to be more melodic here for some reason, but it doesn’t really work. There are bits in here that I like, but it doesn’t manage to maintain the pulsing grit of the more mesmeric tracks. Billy's One Stop - This is a bit better than the last one, but again, it feels like they’re resorting to a more rigid and obvious song structure rather than fully committing to the heavy ambience of what came before. I think it’s partly the more aggressive vocals, but the guitars are also a bit more forward and it starts to make them sound a bit less interesting. Bug House - This drifts back more towards the Pixies-esque sound that they approached earlier on. It’s got an edge of weirdness along with that gritty tone that swells over the more aggressive vocal, before drifting into something more melodic, but still with that slight creepiness to the delivery. It’s a slightly odd blend, but I think it works better than if the vocal had been more prominent. It’s quite a nice, restrained way to round out the record.

5/10 I was perhaps hoping for a little more from this. The Pogues are a band that I hear every now and then, and obviously regularly every Christmas, but I’ve never delved into their back catalogue. There sound is a punky take on traditional Irish music and when it hits, it can be really good, but it can also be pretty formulaic and lacking in range. The band are obviously excellent, they tear into songs at a clip and are rhythmically on point, even as they swing backward and forward with the beat, but are also capable of dealing with more subtle moments really well. Shane McGowan is hardly a world class singer, but his punky, sardonic delivery really suits the band and helps them to forge a sound that makes them instantly recognisable. And I did enjoy this, in bits and pieces, but the good stuff was just way too relentlessly similar, lacking in melodic and rhythmic variety. They did throw in some stylistic changes here and there, but I also found a lot of those less pacy, danceable numbers to be just a bit dull. To really emphasise my point about the lack of range, they even basically played the same verse for both Fairytale of New York, and The Broad Majestic Shannon. If I were to stroll into a pub with a band playing the uptempo cuts from this album, I’d pretty much be all in, dancing with strangers, tearing my way through pints and having one hell of a time, but sometimes music like that doesn’t translate all that well to a record, and unfortunately, that’s what I found here. It’s not that it was bad, it was just a bit too formulaic and didn’t manage to hold my interest when they did try and go off the beaten track now and again. If I Should Fall From Grace With God - If you asked me to describe a Pogues song, this is what I would attempt to describe. It’s trad Irish music with punky pacing and vocals stylings. It’s great stuff, and would be exceptional live. But it’s quite formulaic and if the whole album is just this round and round, I might struggle a little. Turkish Song Of The Damned - They’ve switched up into a middle-eastern modal composition now, but it definitely slips back into the celtic punk in the choruses. As a blend it feels a bit muddled, unfortunately. The chorus isn’t bad and falls way more into the wheelhouse of the opening track with a bit less zip, but those verses feel a bit forced. And then they finish it off by upping the pace again. Bottle Of Smoke - This is a bit relentless and not that interesting during the verses. The instrumental breakdowns are pretty cool, but the cadence of the instrumental melodies all seem to be very much of a type. It’s not bad, but as music to sit at home and listen too, it’s quite a lot. Fairytale Of New York - Well this is a classic Christmas song. It’s a classic for a reason, but perhaps not one that I’m in a hurry to listen to in March. It’s also the most pop/rock song structured song so far and while it has the classic Pogues instrumentation, it leans less on that style of composition. Shane McGowan’s biting delivery shines here and he and Kirsty MacColl is a superb foil for him. It’s really well written and has a decent range of sections and a nice narrative arc too. Metropolis - Back to the relentless rhythms of the earlier tracks. Kind of weird that it breaks down into an almost James Bond theme bit of big band in the middle though. It’s good music, well performed, but it’s not vastly interesting as music to sit at home and listen to. Thousands Are Sailing - We’re almost leaning into ballad territory now. It’s still got a bit of pace and drive to it, but it’s nice to have a bit of a stylistic break. It’s still quite rhythmically relentless through the choruses. This is tonally pretty good, but I do find the songwriting to be pretty middle of the road and not vastly interesting. Fiesta - This is great fun and is certainly one of their more well known singles. It is a bit of a novelty hit, in some ways, but it’s good fun regardless. Jumping off the Spanish inspired section it gets straight back into the frantic celtic punk of their normal sound. There’s something a bit more engaging about this than some of the other tracks. The gang vocals are great and that little blend of styles helps to give it something a bit different. The performances are all excellent, and it has compelling melodies and it’s super catchy. I bet this was an absolute riot live. Medley (The Recruiting Sergeant/The Rocky Road To Dublin/Galway Races) - And back we go to the more traditional Irish style. The strange thing about this is that in some ways I quite enjoy it, but listening to this quantity of it, I find that there isn’t as much stylistic range as I would like and I find it a bit relentless. I also find with songs like this that it never really lands on a hook that brings me in. But I’m still nodding my head as it rolls along. Streets Of Sorrow / Birmingham Six - It’s a delicate and poignant first half that builds political charge as it goes before Shane McGowan takes over and kicks the doors down. It’s a really good song that has hints of their more typical melodic cadences, but in a more restrained and varied way, which is nice. This is probably one of my favourites on the record so far, it has power, grit and has a good bit range of and dynamic interest. Lullaby Of London - This is more plodding. It’s not bad, but it’s a little bit dull and doesn’t really have anything particularly musically interesting in there that grabs me, unfortunately. It’s also very one paced which makes it drag even more. Sit Down By The Fire - This has a bit more pace again, but ultimately, it falls back onto that pretty generic sound and musical cadence that, by this time on the album is feeling pretty stretched. It also feels like there’s a bit less fire in the delivery from both the band and McGowan, whose delivery here just feels a bit phoned in. The Broad Majestic Shannon - Ah, this is basically exactly the same as the bit in Fairytale of New York when the band comes in. Listen back to it, it’s almost identical. It’s very good, but it’s not as good as Fairytale, so it feels pretty redundant. The chorus is obviously a bit different, although it does have some little moments of similarity, but it’s also not as good. Worms - A weird little cover of a traditional song about human decomposition. Why not, I guess?

6/10 Well we all know what happened with these lads from Liverpool in the years that followed and this is an interesting piece of history in that regard, but standing aside from that, is it all that good? You can obviously hear the talent they have and their songwriting is certainly stepping in the right direction, but this is definitely more of a work in progress than the finished article. It feels a lot like bands in the 60s were given way more opportunity to develop their sound and grow. Would a band like this be given the time in the 2020s to work from Please Please Me and this album to become the band that would deliver albums like Revolver and Sgt Peppers? I suspect not, and that’s a massive shame. As I say, for the most part, this is really well performed and reasonably well written, but only All My Loving really stood out to me as a really excellent Beatles track, and there were too many covers that either didn’t live up to the quality of the originals, or didn’t add anything to make them particularly “Beatlesy”. There were moments in the songwriting where I could recognise little piece of melodic writing that hinted towards where they would develop their sound, so it was interesting in that regard, but it still never felt completely satisfying. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy bits and pieces, and as a half hour album, it zipped by fairly quickly, but as a whole it was relatively underwhelming. I also don’t think this was a particularly significant step forward from Please Please Me in the way that A Hard Day’s Night would be only 8 months later. It gets an extra mark for historical significance, but if I’m in the mood for a Beatles album, this would be way down the list of what I’d pick. It Won't Be Long - We kick off with a prime slice of early Beatles. It’s not their best and most catchy work, but it’s pretty good and it has those classic Beatles harmonies that sound so nice. There’s nothing spectacular about it, but it’s decent pop rock music that does its thing in two minutes and doesn’t overstay its welcome. All I've Got To Do - Again, some lovely harmonies. It’s a well written little song, which you’d expect from Lennon and McCartney, but it’s not one of their best or most engaging melodic compositions. There’s some really nice stuff in there though. All My Loving - Ah, this is more like it. Superb melodies, great harmonies and a decent pace to the whole thing. It’s obviously not as adventurous and thoroughly developed as their later material, but it’s songs like this that gave them the popularity and foundation to build themselves up to that. Excellent stuff. Don't Bother Me - A George Harrison number now. It’s not bad, although it is perhaps a little unfocused. He’s knocking on the door of something with the melody in the chorus, but it doesn’t fully connect for me. The playing feels a touch sloppy in places too, weirdly. Little Child - You can hear that they’re trying out ideas as the songs roll by. Again, this is ok and shows a bit of promise, but doesn’t fully deliver on the concept. The vocals are great, I like the addition of the harmonica, but ultimately, it’s a bit throwaway. Till There Was You - A Spanish guitar influenced ballad now for Paul to get his pipes around. It’s the first cover on the record and it’s nice enough, despite being a little sparse. It’s very well produced though and sounds crisp and clean with some really good playing and an excellent vocal performance. Please Mister Postman - Carrying on the covers now, we get a track that’s pretty well done, although it feels a touch slow, but in all honesty this is one of those where it feels pretty unnecessary as it’s not as good as the original and it doesn’t really add anything to that version. It’s well performed, but just feels a bit of a redundant song. Roll Over Beethoven - Another unnecessary cover, and this one is pretty criminal in that it sands the edges off a song that sounds way more electric and exciting when performed by Chuck Berry. It just feels too safe. Hold Me Tight - There’s more hints at where the band would go here, but it’s another that feels like a simple idea that’s not vastly developed at this point. It’s well enough put together, but it’s not particularly catchy or interesting. You Really Gotta Hold On Me - Another cover now that doesn’t necessarily do anything particularly interesting compared to the original. The vocal harmonies are nicely balanced and performed, but it’s a bit plodding and not particularly inspiring. I Wanna Be Your Man - Now Ringo gets a go. There’s a bit more pace to this and it’s actually one of the better tracks, but Ringo is not the greatest singer and some of the notes feel a bit of a stretch for him. It’s a shame, because this has got a nice bit of drive and attitude to it, and has a better melodic hook than some of the weaker tracks. Devil In Her Heart - Back to another cover. There are some really nice vocal harmonies in here and it’s a good song that’s ballady but has a little bit of pace to it too. Again, they’re working on their craft here, and it’s pretty good, but not the most interesting of songs. Not A Second Time - This is a bit of an unfocused, meandering melody. It touches on a few phrases that are very, very typical of Lennon’s melody writing, but they get a bit lost in the meandering. It’s a pretty weak track that isn’t particularly clearly recorded either. Money - And we close out on another cover. It feels like they’re trying to generate the same voice wrecking vocal as they used to finish out Please Please Me with Twist and Shout, but this track just doesn’t have that energy or pace and it feels a bit try hard in that regard. It’s not a terrible track, but it’s a fairly standard bluesy rock number that again, isn’t vastly inspiring.

8/10 Nick Drake has something of a reputation for delivering sad, melancholic, but quite beautiful music over his short life. The way his life ended obviously informs that to a certain degree, but I feel like it’s important to recognise the moments of optimism that he writes into his music too. Melancholy can be an incredibly affecting tool within all art, as it reflects the fragility and bleakness that can exist in the world, but having those little moments of positivity that appear now and then can punctuate that nicely and go a long way to enhancing the beauty of that sadness. When it’s at its peak, this album can be hauntingly beautiful, but it also doesn’t rest completely in that emotional state. In fact, there are a few tracks that actually flip that script a little, with the main focus being more optimistic, despite a slight undercurrent of melancholy that remains. Because of that, there’s a fairly nice emotional ebb and flow to this record that allows each moment to breathe, but also enables the listener to get dragged along with those emotions without getting weighed down by them. The playing across the album is fantastic, and it’s really well produced, so that every part is crisp and clear. One of the interesting aspects is that there is very limited percussion across the record, but due to the other instrumental parts, the rhythmic drive and flow of the songs are incredibly strong and coherent, the bass and guitar in particular acting not only as tonal instruments but percussive ones too. Nick’s vocal delivery is, for the most part, understated and somewhat withdrawn, but he somehow manages to convey a great deal of emotional weight in his singing despite that more restrained technique. For me, there were a few tracks where things kind of drifted around in a slightly unfocused way, which made them a little less easy to grip on to, but I think that’s in part due to my lack of familiarity with folk music that tends to have more of a roaming musical structure than that of rock and pop music. After spinning this a few times today, I feel like it’s probably best appreciated almost like a landscape painting, in that the experience as a whole can be incredible beautiful as you take it in as a whole, but there are little moments of nuance, inventiveness and brilliance present once you start to take a closer look. Time Has Told Me - This is pretty but a little meandering. There are some absolutely lovely bits of guitar in there and the blend of rhythms across the instruments are really nice too, but it’s a little bit dynamically and rhythmically persistent, so it feels like it lacks a little bit of nuance and feel that would have helped the composition to really shine. River Man - Again, this is very pretty and in places starkly beautiful. There’s more development and variation in here that gives it a more satisfying journey as the track progresses. I really like the way it can quickly flip on a single chord change from being really bleak and slightly unsettling to gorgeous and calm and those types of chord choices are not something you hear often in popular music, so that was delightful to hear. Three Hours - Another great blend of rhythms from across the instruments here, but that rhythm is fairly persistent, at least for the first half, but there is a bit of a shift at the half way point. There are moments of dynamic variation in there that push and pull, particularly around that mid point. It’s a really pretty composition and has that usual Nick Drake sense of reluctance in his vocal delivery that adds a great deal of character to his songs. Way To Blue - As with River man, this is really beautiful and drifts between minor and major chords giving it an uncertain feeling that simmers among the beauty of the sound. As with the album so far in general, it feels a tiny bit unfocused, but I think that’s maybe more of a trait of folk songwriting as a form that I’m less familiar with. Some of the resolutions in the chord structure on the strings are so lush though. Day Is Done - Some more great guitar playing, as you would expect, and the string arrangements continue to be excellent. This is a fairly brief track, but it feels a little bit more focused, dancing around its core ideas and landing on a satisfying resolution at the end. Lovely stuff. 'Cello Song - This is a fantastic song. The cello part is a highlight, as you might expect from the title, but this feels like the most focused track of the album so far. The playing is fantastic, there’s some excellent dynamic control that imbues the song with a compelling organic pulse that pulls it along, and it offers enough variation without feeling like it drifts too far from the heart of the song. It’s so subtle and pretty and the delivery of Nick’s vocal is again, just the right type of understated. The Thoughts Of Mary Jane - This feels almost light and happy by comparison to what’s come before. There’s an air of optimism and positivity that has only been hinted at elsewhere, but actually feels like the prominent emotion that this song is working with, which is an interesting change of pace. There’s still that slightly withdrawn delivery that’s typical of his vocal style, but even within that, he feels more free and open. It’s another lovely composition with great playing and beautiful heart. Man In A Shed - This leans into more of a jazzy flavour and I find that shuffling rhythm and jazzy lilt from the piano really satisfying. The shuffling rhythms across the instruments are pretty tasty here and it brings more of the positive vibes from the previous track along, although there’s perhaps a slight bit of melancholy drifting in there too, but it’s fairly subtle. Some really excellent playing across the board on this one. Fruit Tree - The melancholy has seeped back in again, but there are still moments of light that peek through here and there. This track does feel a tiny bit meandering and unfocused again in places, but it continues to delivery that bleakly pretty sound even while it’s drifting around. He does also gather things up into thematic touch points now and again, before things start spreading out again. It’s another pretty landscape of a song that is worth just allowing to wash over you. Saturday Sun - And we close up with a song that leans more towards the optimistic side of things. It’s a fairly bluesy number and it’s a slightly odd inclusion, because it feels tonally quite different to the rest of the album. It retains the pretty sheen, but it has way more of a standard song structure to it, so feels more focused. Nick almost seems quite happy here in his delivery. It’s a really nice track actually, and it’s quite nice to end on something that’s a bit more uplifting, but it does fell a tiny bit disjointed from the rest of the album.

6/10 From reading around, it’s noted that this album was a bit of a tonal departure for the Waterboys, leaning more into the Scottish and Irish folk music traditions, as opposed to their more dramatic rock sound of their previous work. You can definitely hear elements of that more stadium rock sound over the course of this record and it’s actually a fairly decent blend of the two, bringing some of the instrumental flourishes and folksy vibe of those traditional art forms and providing a richer rock production and focus to the tone of the sound. There are hints towards the sound of U2 in there, but I actually thought they were presented in a more palatable way than their more successful contemporaries. There were times when I quite enjoyed this album. The band are really tight and play with a really strong vibe, blending the styles in the music really well and there are some incredibly good pieces of instrumental work scattered across the record. Mike Scott’s a decent singer too, combining decent tonal control with a bit of earthy grit in a sound that compliments the fusion of genres really well. Unfortunately, despite those inherent qualities of the work, they did fall down quite a lot on the editing side of things. 55 minutes is way too long for this album and if they’ve been a bit more judicious with their editing, they could have created a really concise and engaging 35-40 minute record that would have done a far better job at maintaining momentum and engagement. As it is, you have to do a pretty good job to include four songs that are as good as 7 minutes long or even longer, and unfortunately the core of a lot of these songs didn’t manage to justify those lengths. Interestingly, they did manage to keep my interest more than I expected, as they worked quite well at bringing different instruments to prominence, playing with dynamic and tonal shifts, but the underpinning chord structures and rhythms were often just a bit too repetitive for my tastes. All that being said, the vibe of this album was pretty good and despite myself I actually enjoyed it more than I anticipated on first listen. It’s not one I’ll necessarily be hurrying back to, but I might check out a bit more of their work at some point. Fisherman's Blues - There’s a solid toe-tapping vibe to this. It takes a nice balance between upbeat rhythms and a more melancholic lilt to the tonal work, which is a cool compositional device. It’s pretty good stuff and has a power to the delivery, with the lead vocal injecting emotion that develops as it goes. Great performances all round and a fairly strong start. We Will Not Be Lovers - Another decent groove underpins this, although the bass seems slightly oddly recorded, sounding a bit ragged at least during the intro. This leans a little more towards a stadium rock sound over the top of that more traditional core, and reminds me a little of U2, although I actually prefer this to the U2 that I know. It’s pretty persistent and lacking in much range and variety unfortunately, which isn’t great for a seven minute track. They do take a few dynamic changes here and there, but the underlying musical base for this is just too repetitive. Strange Boat - This is a fairly pleasant number. The subtle beat and rhythm from the guitar create a nice rhythmic bed and the violin is really nicely played and recorded. I quite like Mike Scott’s vocal delivery in that it has a bit of punch to it, but feels quite honest in its delivery. This is not the most interesting of songs, but it’s nice enough, although the fade out feels quite abrupt. World Party - We’re back to something with a bit of punch again. The rhythm and flow of the bass is good here. As with the rest of the album so far, I think this is decent if a little repetitive. The groove is solid, the blend of traditional tones with a more rock sound is well balanced and it’s really well produced. There’s an extra layer of drama here with the broader orchestration and there are some great bits of drumming there that augment the solid rhythmic base. Sweet Thing - Things are getting a bit dull now, this is another overly long song that isn’t bad, but doesn’t have a vast amount that differentiates it tonally from the previous track and then drags on for over 7 minutes. The instrumental work is good, it has decent pace and feel, but the core idea that they never stray far from just doesn’t offer enough to support such a long song. They do play a bit with dynamic here and there, with some nice stripped back sections and a few bits of fun instrumental work, but there’s just not enough musical range in there to keep me interested, despite the fact that the vibe itself is pretty good. Jimmy Hickey's Waltz - Strange that they’ve seemingly added a track that sounds like it was recorded in a half empty pub, because they’ve kept in the sounds of people chatting and then applauding at the end. It’s nice enough, but just feels a bit of an odd diversion. Maybe they just thought it was a good idea to break up two very long tracks with something throwaway. And A Bang On The Ear - This goes back to more of that traditional celtic sound. It’s pretty good to begin with, but it’s going to need to do some work to justify being over 9 minutes long. It’s really well performed and produced, with a full, coherent sound. The groove is good, if a little persistent, but I’m now 3 minutes in and we’re still more or less doing the same thing that we’ve been doing for all that time. I do quite like it, but 9 minutes is a long time. There is at least some good instrumental breaks when the band gets to show off a little bit and it’s not as relentless and dull as I was expecting. Has Anybody Here Seen Hank? - The pace has dropped quite a bit now. There’s a decent enough vibe to this, but it’s a little plodding. As with much of the album, it’s decent enough, biut also a little unremarkable. There’s some nice bits of instrumental work, with some of the piano and violin moments standing out, but overall, this is just a bit dull and rhythmically flat. The chorus is probably the worst part about this, which is a shame. It’s just a bit too slow and stilted. When Will We Be Married? - This continues on from the last track, it’s just a little bit dull and in this case, it’s quite instrumentally thin too. There’s just not enough there to hook me in, although it does build a bit of intensity right at the end. It has that feel of a more traditional celtic song, but there’s not much there to grab on to really. Again, well performed, but just a little limited. When Ye Go Away - Another that continues on the theme. It’s got a bit more going for it here, but it’s not particularly interesting. I had predicted that this album might be a bit touch going at 55 minutes, but it’s managed to hold me a bit better than I’d imagined. Again, there’s some great playing here, therhythms are nice, but it’s all a bit repetitive and this one feels a bit meandering too. Dunford's Fancy - This is a better pause than Jimmy Hickey’s Waltz was earlier. Some great playing that’s pretty engaging and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Not bad. The Stolen Child - This starts off fairly promisingly, but it doesn’t offer a vast amount of development and variation, again becoming pretty dull due to the length and repetition. I quite like the vibe and feel of it, but it’s just a bit too bland and unchanging at it’s compositional core for my tastes. There are bits and pieces of nuance in there, and some strong bits of instrumental work, so it’s a bit of a shame that the core of it doesn’t offer anything more to highlight those parts. Like much of the rest of the album, it’s something that I quite like the vibe and performances of, but ultimately doesn’t quite do it for me, despite getting close. This Land Is Your Land - Another little pub ditty to close us out, but there’s not really anything particularly noteworthy about it.

5/10 The impact of this album feels more significant than the actual quality of the record would immediately suggest. It's a rough and ready effort that feels like the initial step from the rock and roll and rhythm and blues stuff they were covering towards a noisier, attitude-laden and tonally experimental sound that would be furthered by bands like The Stooges and Velvet Underground. To that end, this is a pretty interesting album. The original tracks here are really the ones that stood out as the most interesting, and it's a shame that such a high percentage of the tracks were covers, particularly as so many of them were so frequently covered by other bands, but in those covers you could here the sonic steps they were taking. Sure, it was pretty unrefined and in places sounded like it was recorded through a couple of yoghurt pots and some string, but there was a certain charm to it that helped this to maintain my interest in spite of the limited recording quality. I wasn't the biggest fan of the amount of shrieking and "Wow"s that Gerry Roslie threw in there, but I think that was as much down to an attempt to capture their live intensity as anything else. It was pretty interesting to compare this to the early Beatles, who covered some of the same songs, as they feel like the start of two different musical legacies bursting out from a similar starting point. Ultimately, this wasn't the easiest of listens and I didn't really get a lot out of the more common covers, so it's tough to give this a higher score, but there were definitely bits that I enjoyed and it probably gets an extra mark for it's influence in the beginnings of noisy and experimental musical directions. Witch - This feels like the direct midpoint between old school rock and roll and the punk sound of The Stooges that would follow. It’s simple but has an element of power to it that comes through the grubby, cheap vibe of the recording and the gritty nature of the delivery both instrumentally and vocally. It’s not the most exciting music listening from more than 60 years into the future, but it certain feels like the vibe of it is important for the time. Do You Love Me - And now, just to throw spanner into the mix of what I said about the last track, we get a fairly straight cover. It’s got a bit of edge to it, but all in all it doesn’t have the feel and vibe of the original, the recording sounds pretty terrible and Gerry Roslie starts getting a bit too excited with his screeches. Again, there’s probably something in this from the position of stylistic development of rock, but it’s not exactly bowling me over. Roll Over Beethoven - Great song, recorded by a vast number of bands, but there’s nothing particularly special about this. It’s well performed, but Chuck Berry performed it well too, as did the Beatles and Jerry Lee Lewis.. The recording quality is pretty terrible too. Boss Hoss - An original again, which is nice, but it definitely takes a lot from the Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis sound. There’s a decent energy and urgency to though and it at least feels fresh compared to the two covers that came before. Not bad. Dirty Robber - Another rock and roll cover in which the recording quality continues to be awful and Gerry gets a bit too excited with his Wows. The saxophone in particular sounds like it’s been etched onto a wax cylinder by hand. Have Love Will Travel - This is another cover, but I suspect this is the most well known version. Here they manage to bring a bit of swagger to things that works well. The sax is again offensively poorly recorded, but other than that the groove is pretty good, as is the attitude. Again, this has a pre-Stooges vibe to it, and it’s pretty strong. Psycho - Well this verse is pretty much a direct lift of the previous song, despite being an “original composition” by The Sonics. Unfortunately the main hook isn’t actually as good as the cover, but again, that swagger and vibe is core to it and works pretty well. Money - Another song that was endlessly covered at the time, and this version doesn’t bring much new to the table really. I bet these guys were a blast live, but this is a record and while it’s a decent rendition, I’m just not sure why I’d pick this poorly recorded version over one of the countless other recordings. Walkin' The Dog - Another cover. It’s got decent attitude and drive to it and a bit of swagger, but ultimately it doesn’t drag things far from the rock and roll roots of a track like this. Nighttime Is The Right Time - This is a slower effort that gets too stuck in the shrieking vocals, but is still a fairly routine rock and roll song. I quite like his vocal delivery apart from the over-reliance on shrieking, and it’s not a bad song, but again, apart from the grungy vibe, it doesn’t really feel essential. Strychnine - I’m all for this kind of song. It takes the core from the covers that they do, but adds a bit of their own spin and maintains that grimy, overdriven, attitude filled sound. I’d have been far more accepting of an album with a few more originals like this, even if he does lean a little too much into the shrieking again. Good Golly Miss Molly - Another cliché rock and roll cover. The pace they use is pretty good though and I like the grit and urgency of it, although it’s obviously more of a straight rock and roll track stylistically.

5/10 I’d only listened to bits and pieces of Elvis Costello prior to embarking on this 1001 album journey, and I’d never been quite sure how to categorise what he does, or how much I like his work. It turns out that, after now having listened closely to three of his albums, I’m still not sure. I want to like this record more than I actually do, but there’s just something about it that makes it not quite gel with me. There are a lot of things to like about it; the band are good, the production is largely (with one exception that I’ll come back to) excellent, with everything sounding clear and well balanced, the blend of styles that he uses are satisfying, and he touches on some really nice melodic moments. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that it sometimes feels like a musical stream of consciousness, rather than a really focused, intentional composition. That in itself isn’t a problem, but this music FEELS like it should have more focus than it does. I’m not against music that drifts around its themes, but this feels like it’s trying to have more focus than it actually ends up having. For example, Costello has a tendency to go two or three (or four or five) steps further with a sequence of chord changes than he really needs to so musical sequences lose their sense of place and drift. And it’s a pretty consistent approach to his songwriting across the record. He nearly always seems to drag each section or idea on just a bit longer than works for me and his phrasing ends up being too long, so it turns into a ramble. Maybe he just has too many ideas that he wants to get down, or maybe it’s just not my cup of tea, but every time I’m willing a song to stick with me and all to often it just drifted too far. The other thing that turned me off about this was how loud the lead vocal is. Costello sings in a kind of whispered tone throughout the record, but it feels like Geoff Emerick tried to overcompensate for that by cranking the volume enough that it actually distracts from the instrumental work going on behind him. This was also a long record that, by my third run through was starting to be a bit of a slog. And I’m still not really sure what Elvis Costello does or whether I think he’s any good or not. Confusing. Beyond Belief - This is a new-wavey start. It very much feels like an intro track that builds and builds in the instrumentation and intensity as it goes. His vocal is too loud in the mix and the semi-whispered delivery takes something away from the drive and intensity of the rest of the band, which is a bit weird. He does pick it up a bit towards the end, but it’s a bit weird to fade out a track that feels like it has so much unfulfilled build-up in its structure. Tears Before Bedtime - And then this one doesn’t deliver on the intensity build from the last track either. It’s a decent little pop rock track though, with some interesting rhythmic choices and a light and airy tone. Again, the vocal is really prominent in the mix at points and gets a bit too whispery. It feels a little bit like he’s trying to be a bit wacky and it comes across as a little try-hard and meandering. Shabby Doll - This is much better. It takes the edge of wackiness from the last track and then gives it a way more coherent and groovy backing. There are some tasty melodic moments in here and some of the transitions and chord changes are a little unexpected in a really nice way. The piano is solid and the band holds down a really tight and compelling groove. It does drift a little in places, but as a whole it’s a pretty tight and musically engaging track. The Long Honeymoon - A change of pace now. It’s smooth, with a little jazzy edge to it. His voice is still too loud in the mix for my tastes. I quite like some of the rhythmic choices he makes within his lyrical delivery. This track is another one that has quite a bit of promise, but it does meander a little bit in places, so I find it a little underwhelming despite enjoying the general vibe and feel. Man Out Of Time - This has a really strong chorus. It’s not the most hooky melody, but the build and development of it are really nice. The production on this track is really full and there’s a lot going on, but it does feel a tiny bit plodding within the rhythm. I quite like it, but it’s just a little bit too on the nose from a rhythmical point of view, so it feels a tiny bit stilted. It also suffers a little from being a tiny bit meandering as has been one of the downsides of the album so far. Good ideas that are stretched out a little too far. Weird ending too. Almost Blue - This is nice, but again it does wander about a tiny bit aimlessly in places and doesn’t feel like it’s going anywhere with much intention. And then it completely drifts apart towards the end. ...And In Every Home - And now we’ve moved on to something that sounds like it’s been plucked out of a musical, although Elvis’ voice doesn’t necessarily lend itself to that style of music. Again, this feels a little bit rambling. There are some good ideas in here and I think the general tone and vibe is pretty cool, but there seems to be a slight lack of direction and focus, which is echoed further by the way it kind of just drifts away at the end. The Loved Ones - This immediately feels more focused. It’s got a good groove and there are some beautiful musical movements in there where it takes a slightly unexpected turn, in a really pleasing way. It does ramble a tiny bit, but because it’s a short track and it circles back round out of the rambling fairly quickly, it works better than some of the other tracks. The recording is sharp and clear too with everyone playing bang on point. Human Hands - The groove here is pretty good again and it takes a little bit of that musical tone again. This is another one where I like the core concepts and vibe of it, but he wanders a little too far from the motifs that hook me in and I start too feel a bit lost by the end of an overly long phrase that loses momentum part of the way through because it doesn’t refer back home frequently enough to feel completely satisfying. But I do like the vibe and I want to like it more than I actually do. Kid About It - There are some really nice rhythmic choices in places here, and the instrumentation sounds great. I’m not keen on the call and response he does when the “kid about it” line is almost whispered, but is offensively loud in the mix, especially against the call part of the section. This one was pretty though, but again, a little on the rambly, stream of consciousness side. Little Savage - I can’t quite grasp the thread of this album, it feels like it’s jumping around quite a bit stylistically. He feels like he touches on some really great bits in places, but abandons them too quickly, because he’s determined to keep things moving all the time, and this track is no different. Great moments, some interesting musical choices, but just ultimately a little unfulfilling. Boy With A Problem - It’s a long album, isn’t it? Again, this has a strong enough musical core, but it rambles along, sort of circles its way back around to where it began an then just… ends. Pidgin English - Another stylistic change, another slightly rambly, stream of consciousness composition that touches on some nice moments, but feels quite halting in the way that it settles into a groove and then abandons it too quickly before shifting on to something else. I just can’t find anything consistently present enough to hang on to. You Little Fool - This is a pretty strong one, it does feel a little stilted, but it feels more purposeful and coherent than some of the other tracks. It’s got a decent pace and groove to it, and does find that “you little fool” hook that works really well. When they get it right, the combination of quality playing, interesting and coherent production can really come together into something good, and this one manages that by being that little bit more focused. Town Cryer - And we close out with a song that, surprise, surprise, has some really good ideas, some quality playing, but has moments where it wanders off piste a little too much. Oh, and his vocal is way too loud again. It does a reasonable job of gathering things up into the choruses here, actually, but the moments where it comes back to that are pretty far apart. I’m not that keen on the slightly shrill string sound here either.

7/10 At their best, The Beach Boys create stunning music. Brian Wilson is obviously the key figure from a songwriting point of view, with the quality of his melodic ear and his balancing of interweaving lines of counterpoint into those lush vocal harmonies creating some beautiful and captivating music. But the rest of the band aren't bad either. This record is a little bit light on Brian, but there are some quality tracks from Carl, Bruce's Disney Girls, which is sugary sweet but lovely, and even the odd moment from Mike Love (Student Demonstration Time aside) which come together to create a decent, if slightly uneven record. The problem with a collection like this is that the members of the band often have slightly different sounds that they go for with their compositions, and without Brian at the tiller, both for songwriting support and in the producers chair, the results can be a little disconnected. But there's still a lot to enjoy here. They're a tight and talented band, who aren't afraid to have a play with production to bring out some interesting tones across the tracks. It even gets a touch proggy in places. And obviously, the vocal harmonies are always great. The final two tracks of the album are special indeed and do help to elevate the record just a bit. It's not the greatest Beach Boys album, but it's still worth a listen, and there's enough in here to make it worthy of a repeat spin now and again. Don't Go Near The Water - An interesting, slightly experimental start. It's a bit twee, but it's melodically solid and has a nice groove to it. Not a top tier Beach Boys effort, but not bad either. Long Promised Road - This is a step forward in quality. It's got that more soulful edge typical of a Carl Wilson composition. It's subtle, has a nice ebb and flow of groove and has some great melodies with engaging backing vocals. It's a slightly muddled mix, but that kind of works with the grubby soul tone. Take A Load Off Your Feet - Another slightly twee track that has that nice edge of silliness that works pretty well for a lot of Beach Boys songs. It doesn't offer the greatest amount of variety across its runtime, but it's another pleasant, middling quality effort. Disney Girls (1957) - I unashamedly love this song. Sure, it's saccharine as all hell, but it has a beautiful bittersweet feeling that just hits me in all the right ways. I love the melodies, the harmonies, the subtle drift of the rhythm and flow. It's just sweet and lovely. Student Demonstration Time - It's a grubby blues number that doesn't really fit the feel of the rest of the record. It's pretty by the numbers and doesn't do anything particularly interesting or new. It also sounds like someone trying to be political but not really getting it or sounding convincing. That'd be a Mike Love composition then. Feel Flows - Some more Carl Wilson soul edged stuff now but with a prog twist to the production. Again, there are some excellent melodic moments in this and the general vibe of the production is lovely. It does feel like they could have done more with this though and developed it into some broader directions as it feels a tiny bit too anchored to its base chord structure. Lookin' At Tomorrow (A Welfare Song) - There's a nice enough vibe to this, but it's a bit of a basic and unadventurous composition. Not bad necessarily, and quite tonally pleasant, but a little bland. A Day In The Life Of A Tree - And now we reach the Brian Wilson tryptych that ends the record. It's a slightly weird start, a hymn like song from the perspective of a tree. It's pretty, it's a bit quirky and odd and has that trademark Brian Wilson bittersweet sound. It's not one of his best, but it's nice. 'Til I Die - Ah, now this is gorgeous. Some of the harmonies and modulations are so lush and it strikes that balance between being completely heart wrenching but having a very slightly optimistic edge. The stacked vocal harmonies that roll around at the end are just beautiful. Surf's Up - And he keeps rolling with a track originally intended for Smile. Again, he writes melancholy so well and his construction of harmony and counterpoint are just stunning. The ebb and flow of the track takes you on a wonderful journey, through moments of sparsity to full, rolling tonal beds, but every bit is wonderful. What a way to end a record.

6/10 I’ve got to be honest and admit that I found this a pretty tough listen. Coming off the back of Rumours was always going to be an uphill battle, but it feels like they kind of crumbled under the pressure, with the disintegrating personal relationships in the aftermath of that previous record also having an impact on its makeup. The strangest thing about this record is that, to me, it feels very much like the bonus content from a deluxe version of a much more coherent album. Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks’ work feels well produced and stylistically consistent, even if it does feel a little underdeveloped, but Lindsey Buckingham’s tracks feel, for the most part, like poorly recorded demo tracks, rather than polished pieces of the (at the time) most expensive album ever produced. Apparently he was obsessed with the Beach Boys’ Smile sessions at the time and had managed to get hold of the master tapes, which he listened to relentlessly during the making of this record. Unfortunately, his takeaway from that experience seems to have been to experiment endlessly with production, which evidently isn’t his strength, rather than focusing on the songwriting, which Rumours suggests actually is. That’s not to say this is a bad record. There’s some great stuff in there, and some hints that, with the right focus, a lot of this stuff could have been massaged into something more coherent. But I do get the feeling that, rather than pounding out each songwriter’s contributions as a band, bouncing off one another to sculpt something magnificent out of each others starting points, they kind of accepted each song as it came and didn’t do the final band refinement of the material that would have elevated it. In terms of the songs themselves, they often feel like like they lack any of the urgency and power of Rumours, and even some of the better songs feel like album tracks that could have been chopped from that album because they didn’t add anything. Stylistically, we jump between crisp and clear productions and stuff that sounded like it was recorded on a dictaphone in a toilet cubicle, which doesn’t help at all with the album flow. It’s also way, way too long. You could easily have made a 10-12 track album out of this material which would have been tighter, more consistent and way easier to parse as a listener. The biggest shame for me is that you can hear where this could have gone, but it never really gets there. Over & Over - It’s a pretty, fairly easy listening start. There are moments where it starts to build into the sort of sound that they had reached with Rumours, but it’s generally a bit more sparse and not as melodically strong as anything from that album. That’s not to say there aren’t some lovely moments, and it’s an enjoyable track, but it feels a little bit drifty and lacking in significant amounts of power or focus. The Ledge - For an album that cost a million dollars to produce in 1979, the recording quality of this track is terrible. There’s a good bit of zip and pace to this, but it feels like an interesting demo track recorded in a bathroom that probably needs a bit more refining and working before it’s ready to be recorded for the album proper. Think About Me - And to emphasise the recording deficiencies of the last track, here’s a well produced, crisp and clear song. It’s got great playing, particularly from the rhythm section. It’s got a nice central hook, it’s well developed and some of the vocal harmonies are lovely. Great stuff. Save Me A Place - Apparently for some of his tracks, Lindsey Buckingham recorded drums that he played at home on a Kleenex box and then asked Mick Fleetwood to overdub them later. This is another Buckingham song that sounds poorly produced and while there’s a core idea there that’s not bad, it again feels a little aimless and underdeveloped. There’s potential in there, but ultimately it’s just a bit too dull and repetitive. Sara - It’s a Stevie track now, and we’re back to some decent production standards. It’s quite pretty and there are some more really decent moments in here, but it does feel overly long and a little bit too persistent with a rhythmic base that stays very dynamically flat and static throughout. It also never really finds its melodic moment that grabs you and won’t let go like the best of their work as a band. It’s really well performed and sounds great though, with John McVie’s bass sounding particularly smooth and well delivered. What Makes You Think You're The One - Lindsey Buckingham has no respect for the drums does he? Another one where the drums sound really sloppily recorded (apparently on a boombox that Buckingham brought into the studio) and not only that but Fleetwood goes on to massively overplay the drum part. Again, this sounds like an underdeveloped demo rather than a final song. They’re obviously good songwriters, but at this point it feels like they’re more focused on trying to work on being ‘experimental’ with the studio, rather than refining the actual compositions, which is a real shame, because the whole of this sounds shoddy, over compressed and overplayed. Storms - Back to another clear and airy track, although the lead guitar is oddly loud. The harmonies are lovely and there are some gorgeous choices of rhythm for the chord changes. It rolls and pulses along calmly, but there feels like there’s a slight undercurrent of disquiet behind it too. The central melodic hook of the chorus is nice. It’s not the most ear worming of melodic lines, but it works well with this kind of subtle song. That's All For Everyone - Lindsey was reportedly obsessed with the Beach Boys Smile at the time of recording this, and there’s big echoes of that work on this track, particularly in the production. The backing vocals are excellent and subtle and it has a satisfying rolling groove to it. It’s very dreamlike, the melodies are great and the vibe is excellent. This is his most coherent and well produced track on the album thus far, let’s hope it continues in this vein. Not That Funny - Alas, no. This is another track that has promise, but feels more like a demo than a fully realised track. The recording is gritty, but the album is very inconsistent on that front, so it sounds patchy and unintended. This doesn’t offer a great deal of variation or development, the mix is muddy and while you can hear the quality of the performances and musicianship, it just feels a little under baked and shoddily mixed. Sisters Of The Moon - This is much more like it. It’s a slow build with a great pulsing groove to it and moments where it picks up and drives. It’s harmonically rich and engaging, cleanly produced with a little bit of grit and bite around the edges and it’s got a solid central hook that they dance around brilliantly. The guitar solo work is great here and the rhythm section is really impactful. A really solid effort. Angel - Another that harks back to the clean and clear sound with a tiny bit of bite that was the hallmark of Rumours. The rhythm section is on point here, it’s got so much feel and grove between Fleetwood and Mac. Quality melodic lines and those doubled up harmonies between Stevie and Christine that always connect. When they’re on, they’re really on and they drift to and from the hooks in a really satisfying way. It feels like we’re back in the swing of this now. That's Enough For Me - Yeah, we’re definitely on a roll now, even Buckingham’s getting out of his own way. It’s still a bit on the gritty side, but there’s enough recording quality in there to keep it tonally in sync with the last couple of tracks. It’s got pace, a great groove, and the vocal is solid. Good stuff Brown Eyes - This is decent too. It’s subtle and delicate, but the tonal washes from the shimmering guitar and floating vocal harmonies are nice and the boys in the rhythm section give it a pleasing back beat, with the bass strolling around injecting a tiny bit of urgency and Mick adding a few fills here and there to keep things interesting. It’s perhaps a touch on the long side, but it’s very pretty. Never Make Me Cry - This is pretty enough, but it’s also fairly dull. It’s a basic composition, with a fairly stripped back orchestration and while the production is great and the vocal performance is solid, it doesn’t really offer a vast amount of inetrest. I Know I'm Not Wrong - There’s a bit more of that Rumours lilt to this, but it doesn’t manage to land on anything quite as hooky or engaging as the actual Rumours tracks. The harmonica part here is crap too. I quite like the guitar solo though. There’s not a lot of dynamic or rhythmic range here and the awful drum sound from some of the earlier Lindsey compositions carries through. It seems that Lindsey played every part on this track, which is probably why it sounds a bit unrefined and more like a demo than a final track. Honey Hi - Christine McVie comes back in with another pretty little track that, while pleasant enough, feels like an album filler track. Again, the scattergun nature of the production across this album is pretty baffling. Beautiful Child - Good lord, this album feels long. Much like the previous track, this is pretty, it has a good melodic hook at the centre of it, but n this case, it drags on for way too long. It’s a very sparse production and it has some lovely moments, particularly some of the vocal harmonies here and there, but it feels a little underdeveloped and dynamically and rhythmically monotonous, especially for a song of this length. Walk A Thin Line - God, this is plodding and pretty dull. It doesn’t really offer much in the way of development or range, the overdone drum fills sound so sloppy and it’s incredibly repetitive. Tusk - This is actually quite an interesting track, even though stylistically it is nothing at all like the rest of the record that bears its name. It’s got a great groove and some playful and engaging production work. It’s not exactly the kind of sound you’d be expecting from Fleetwood Mac, and it was a very odd choice as the lead single for the album, but it’s at least got a bit of something about it. Never Forget - Closing with another solid Christine track. It’s got some good rhythmic delivery of the vocal against the rhythm section which creates a nice lilt to the groove. There are some decent melodic moments and vocal harmonies in there too. It’s not the most interesting composition, but it’s still pretty decent and it builds nicely as it runs along.

6/10 While this album came towards the tail end of the grunge era, Screaming Trees were one of the early pioneers of the genre, developing the Seattle sound from their inception in 1984. But they never really gained the prominence of their more famous contemporaries and the bands that followed in their wake. This is their last album proper, although an album from later sessions would be released over a decade later. It’s an interesting record, particularly reflecting on a band who had been a part of the rapid rise and collapse of the scene they helped to build. Some of that sound is clearly apparent and you can hear snatches of sound from across the grunge gamut, from Nirvana to Soundgarden to Alice In Chains, from the softer more folk infused, to the more biting, driven and sardonic. It’s interesting to note how those sounds may have developed from bands like the Screaming Trees, despite this being a record that came after those bands had become established. But while this album does have some really good stuff on it, it does fall a little too close to the soft-rock end of the spectrum for my tastes. When it gets going, there’s a lot to like in here, and the end of the record has some really great tracks, but it feels a tiny bit too slow paced in places and there are a few too many places where it lulls into slightly blander territory. That being said, there are some interesting tweaks to the formula here and there, with the use of middle-eastern inspired modal scales used, as well as instrumentation that wasn’t often heard in grunge music injecting an extra bit of flavour and interest. There’s certainly enough in here to make it a worthwhile listen and, while it’s not likely to trouble my ‘best of grunge’ list, it’s an interesting slice of work from a band who had seen it all within that short-lived scene. Halo Of Ashes - This has got quite an interesting middle eastern modal sound to it that actually helps it to stand out from contemporary bands. It’s on the heavier side of grunge and I like Mark Lanegan’s voice, which works well with the band’s sound. Reportedly Kurt Cobain’s singing style was influenced by his and you can hear that a little in the delivery here. There are some nice moments of breakdown and it’s got some solid rhythms too. A pretty decent start. All I Know - This is a bit more run of the mill, it’s got a decent groove and vocal part in the chorus that carries it well through those sections. It’s got decent dynamic range too, and some interesting bits of instrumental work. Nice to hear a bit of keyboard work on a grunge album too. This is a bit too far on the “alternative rock” for side of grunge for me, but it’s not bad. Look At You - A bit more of a restrained track. It’s got a bittersweet feel to the composition and the bass is really dark and beefy. The dynamic range is pretty good again, but it doesn’t quite grab me melodically and it feels a little bit safe and straight, when it could do with a little bit more something. Maybe a bit more bite, or a bit more grief to the vocal, but it feels almost there. Dying Days - This is better. It’s got a bit more grit and bite to the vocal delivery and it has that crunchy distorted ambience typical of grunge, but there’s space form some cleaner guitar in places to give it tonal range. There’s some cool choices for the rhythm of the vocal delivery, along with some quality backing vocals to give it a bit of depth. Nice guitar solo too. It feels like we might be getting into the groove now. Make My Mind - There’s something about Mark Lanegan’s vocal that can sound a little too mild when he’s not fully committing. There are moments where it works here, but it feels a tiny bit too held back. The rest of the track is decent, but it needs a bit more of an injection of ferocity to help it along, because it sounds a tiny bit too lightweight and pop-rock. Sworn And Broken - Tonally, this is pretty rich and full with quite a lot going on across the instrumentation. There’s a stark honesty to the vocal delivery that works really well and the band are giving it a bit of heft and weight. It’s pretty good melodically too. I’m not keen on the on the organ solo, it feels a bit out of place with the rest of the sound, which is a shame. Another decent effort though. Witness - Ah, this is more like it. There’s a bit more urgency and grit to the vocal delivery that I prefer to his softer efforts. The drive from the band is solid here, with the bass and drums keeping it shifting along with solid pace. It’s got a bit more of a cavalier feel to it while staying tight and controlled. The hooks are great and the general vibe is strong. Really enjoyed this one. Traveler - This is a bit more meandering. I’m not completely convinced by the mellotron and it feels like this track is building along to something that it never completely delivers. There’s a decent ebb and flow to it though, but it does drag on just a little for my tastes. Dime Western - Back to another really decent one with more of that drive and pace that’s been present in the best cuts of the record. This reminds me quite a bit of You Know You’re Right, a Nirvana track that they were working on before Cobain’s death. The rolling drums here are fantastic and it’s got an interesting edge of the modal sound that was present in the opener. The way this simmers and burns is really nice and there’s a brooding intensity to it that’s really cool. There’s something really infectious about the blend of melodic elements and how they balance with the groove too. Lovely stuff. Gospel Plow - The into to this is interesting, using less common instrumentation than you would expect from a grunge band, but it works really well. The bass line in here is great, but the general vibe and blend of rhythms is great. And then we launch into the track proper and it’s got a really solid groove. This reminds me quite a bit of Soundgarden actually, particularly the bits where they play with time signatures a little bit. The band here are on great form and the guitar work is excellent, giving excellent emphasis and interest to the sound, and then we drift back out to the style of the intro. A really solid way to end the album.

9/10 What do you get when you cross Carole King with Sly Stone and add just a twist of Fleetwood Mac? Turns out the answer is Joan Armatrading. I was not expecting this at all, as I’d always had the impression that Joan was a folk-rock singer songwriter, and I’d only heard bits and pieces of her work in the past. This was an incredibly enjoyable album, with Joan taking a lot of influence from the soul, funk and rock music of the 60s and 70s, weaving those sounds and grooves around her singer-songwriter compositional chops and spinning it into something that sounds completely fresh and invigorating 50 years later. The funny thing is that, to my ear, the slightly weaker efforts (not that they're a great deal weaker in reality) are actually the more folk rock style tracks. Joan has a fantastic vocal range and a really earthy tone to her voice that she uses to great effect, with a soulful bent to her vocal delivery, alongside an ability to switch up her styles to inject sharp, rhythmic moments alongside that more smooth legato tone. She's also a remarkably good guitarist, with Like Fire really highlighting the high level of her abilities, alongside plenty of other excellent moments. It helps when you have a band as good as this too, and when they get going they play with such feel and groove. Each band member has multiple moments of individual excellence across the record, but again, Like Fire is where everything comes together to showcase the full scale of their talents. And all of that is wrapped up in a beautifully produced package. Every element is crisp, clear, well positioned in space and blended together in a truly excellent mix. I listened to this album 5 times today and it got better with every listen. There were a couple of moments where things did lull a tiny bit, but all in all, this is a really excellent album. Down To Zero - It’s a folk edged rock start, but there’s a twist of soul in there too, with her vocal providing a weighty, soulful edge to the track. It’s really dynamically and rhythmically varied and there’s some great playing on there too. The slide guitar solo is subtle but lovely. Her approach to the vocal is so cool, with flittering pieces of gorgeous melodic phrasing and then some more rhythmically focused passages too. A great start. Help Yourself - Again, she puts so much soul and emotion into her vocal delivery. It’s pretty smooth and subtle through the first half and then all of a sudden just breaks into a funk groove half way through. There’s quite a significant development between those two sections, but she threads them together beautifully. She’s got a great vocal range too and the production of this is so controlled and well balanced, working brilliantly with dynamic and tonal spacing. Water With The Wine - She’s really good at blending different styles together and transitioning between them smoothly. This one has the odd moment of drifting, but the she uses some interesting rhythms for her chord changes here and there that injects a little dash of surprise now and again. Again, there are moments of melodic quality in there too and the shuffling groove is pretty compelling too. Love And Affection - This is the big single from the album and it’s a beautiful piece of music. It’s subtle in some ways, but builds in boldness as it goes and the orchestration becomes thicker through each chorus. Her vocal has so much feel and vibe to it and she sells the track so well with her delivery. It’s a stunning chorus, especially when you consider how much of the groove comes from her vocal with the rest of the main instrumentation playing fairly rhythmically safe, but it still has so much groove and feel. Lovely stuff. Save Me - This is a far more restrained effort, but it’s very pretty in its sparsity. The electric guitar tone is so pretty and gives this a lot of depth and vibe, working effectively against the string arrangement. It has a bit of the vibe of Songbird by Fleetwood Mac, actually, and it’s kind of mad how this album was released a year before Rumours, but sounds so fresh. It’s not developmentally the most interesting of songs, but it’s still awfully pretty and considered. Join The Boys - And now Joan just hits us with a straight up funk number. This could easily be a Sly Stone track, it’s got that dynamic push and pull through different sections and a groove that absolutely kills. The band are on fire here, it’s tight but delivered with just the right amount of restraint and that organic edge that makes it fell so alive. Listen to the organ as an example. It’s not always playing, but it pops up with great licks that just enhance the vibe and groove brilliantly. Great stuff. People - Another Sly-esque funk track, but with a more soul based chorus. Again, there’s so much groove to this and the transitions between sections are excellent. The musicianship is on fire and they all get little moments to show their stuff. solid solos all round. Her staccato rhythmic vocal delivery is back to give an extra bit of a twist to the groove, but every now again she throws in these gorgeous legato melodic moments that just feel so stacked full of soul. Solid. Somebody Who Loves You - Back to something a little more folky. It’s subtle but controlled, and it’s ever so pretty. There are some lovely melodic moments here and it rolls along really nicely. As with some of her other more restrained numbers, it’s perhaps a touch too subtle for my tastes, but it’s still a very nice piece of music that’s delivered in a really heartfelt and engaging way. Like Fire - The guitar playing here is absolutely fierce. She’s one hell of a guitarist! The groove keeps on giving and flowing and it’s a really tasty 3 bar pattern in the verses before it dips back to a 4 bar pattern in the chorus, which gives it a brilliant and non-standard flow. And it’s got a great vocal melody too. The band are, as the title suggests, completely on fire. Every single player smashes it out of the park and I cannot get over the quality of this groove. They’re so far in the pocket they’re hanging out near her socks. This is one of the best songs I’ve heard in a long time. Tall In The Saddle - It’s a slow and subtle start, but there’s still so much soul to it, and the groove grows as the song progresses. It’s the longest track on the album, but she stuffs so much into it that it almost feels short. It’s soulful, funky and driving, and yet again, the performances from both Joan and the band are of the highest quality. It’s a really great end to the album that’s packed with development, dynamic quality and moments of melodic excellence, all wrapped up in a beautifully produced package. Top quality stuff.

1/10 A pop electronica album from 2000 featuring work by Guy Sigsworth (a man who has worked extensively with Imogen Heap, Björk and Lamb, among others)? Yes please! Oh… What? Hang on, what the hell is this? I obviously remember the big hits off this record from my teenage years, but in my head, they were way better songs than they actually are, and the production across those tracks, as well as the rest of the record is absolutely bizarre. This album is the audio version of the “How Do You Do, Fellow Kids” clip from 30 Rock, in which Madonna, her collaborators and, if I had to guess, quite a few music execs, try to make music that “The Kids” are into, despite not really understanding that music at all. It’s kind of remarkable. What’s even more remarkable is that, from a sales point of view, it actually worked. It feels a lot like the first port of call was to buy three or four of the most popular synths of the day and bash through a bunch of presets, while playing along to some hastily programmed drum beats, but then not actually developing things further, except to pile more effects, weird noises and clashing tones over the top of everything. Honestly, it’s a complete mess from a production point of view. If you listen closely, there are actually some half decent ideas buried under there, but they’re so swamped by “state of the art production techniques” (i.e. digital fuckery that’s been really badly executed) that it’s hard to see them than anything other than big steaming musical turds. And you can’t claim that these are just artefacts of the time this record came out, because a lot of the electronica techniques they are trying to implement had been used creatively, effectively and with nuance for at least a decade prior to this release. Luckily for my mate Guy, it looks like he only actually had a hand in one track on this record, which is actually the best one on there, but even that isn’t enough to save this steaming pile of musical manure. And I’ve nothing against Madonna, she has released some classic pop music in the past, but this is just a shambles. Music - The weird thing about this is that it’s a better song in my head than it is on the actual record. It’s so dynamically flat, there’s no nuance to the drum programming, and the synths feel like they’ve all been set to the one of the first presets in bank A. It apes the work of a load of dance music producers from the 90s but without any of the grit, style or feel. This is “baby’s first dancefloor anthem”, aka the kind of music you give to kids if you don’t credit them with any critical thinking. The melodies are reasonably catchy though, so this sold by the boatload. Impressive Instant - More derivative dancefloor sounds to start us off and good lord, it gets worse. There are some atrocious and pointless vocal edits in this that don’t add anything musical or interesting to the blend. This is stuffed full of terrible sounds that don’t connect together well and it doesn’t even find anything close to an engaging melody. This is complete trash of the highest order. Runaway Lover - Again, and I feel I may be repeating myself often on this record, this is another derivative, unmemorable dancefloor track that has some truly baffling moments of production. I can hear kernels of how this could have been turned into something not shit, like there’s a tiny bit of trip-hop sound like Lamb buried deep within it, but it’s been ultra-processed to the point where that feels so very far away. I Deserve It - So this is a fairly mundane country pop number, but the drum beats and synths that they use are so teeth grindingly robotic and dynamically flat that all of the charm and nuance is completely sucked out of what could have been a half-decent song. Utterly baffling. Oh, and it’s too long. Amazing - Well this isn’t as bad as some of the stuff we’ve had up to now, but it’s still very, very dynamically flat and one-paced. It kind of feels like the production team and Madonna herself are doing two different things with this track that don’t actually blend all that well. There’s a bit of grit and intensity to the track and Madge sounds like she’s singing a clean pop song. The flutey synth pad is annoying, and it feels like they also couldn’t work out how to end it. Nobody's Perfect - Oh, shit. Awful auto-tune now. And some weird whispering. I just don’t see what the auto-tune brings to the table here, and even the lead synth sounds sad to be involved in this. Again, there are some really clunky bits of production that almost sound unintentional, they’re that poorly executed. This is such a strange way to treat a ballad, because as a result of all the audio fuckery, it has no soul at all and the production actually draws attention away from the (admittedly incredibly boring) song that sits underneath it. Don't Tell Me - Right, so I obviously remember this because I was 15 years old when this album came out and wasn’t a complete shut-in. But again, my memory of it is far better than the reality. The sample chopping of the guitar part is laughably poorly executed, and that type of sample chopping had been being done expertly by a number of producers up to this point, so the age of this song is no excuse. The timing is sloppy, the cutting of the tail of the tones jars. The synth parts are really crap, the strings sound like cheap samples and it’s produced in such a way that everything clashes and feels pretty incoherent. I think there are some decent melodies in there, but they’re hidden amongst an abomination of clashing and half-arsed ideas. What It Feels Like For A Girl - This is the best track on the album by such a long way that it’s not even funny. It has a good thematic message, the melodies are pretty good and there’s so much more nuance to the synth and drum programming. It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that this is the only track on the album that was co-written and co-produced by Guy Sigsworth. The synths and strings blend really nicely together and it’s got a really nice ambience to it. It’s not the most well developed or exceptionally interesting track, but it stands out so far above the rest that I actually quite enjoyed it. Paradise (Not For Me) - What on earth is going on with this half whisper-sung vocal intro? Oh god, then we get some vocoded nonsense. The resonant synth patch that comes in is way too loud and again, this feels like a super-weird clash of styles and tones that rut up against one another but never blend. It’s like a string of half-completed ideas mashed together. Some of those ideas aren’t actually that bad and we land on some reasonable moments of ambient trip-hop production, but as soon as the vocals come back in again, they are so bad that I’m not even sure how to describe them. Gone - Ok, here’s a plodding singer-songwriter start. The drum programming isn’t as mind-numbingly flat and robotic as I Deserve It, but it’s still pretty monotonous and uninteresting. I also don’t understand why you’d put those synth effects over the top of this, it’s just an incredibly strange production choice. This is a fairly bland track, but it’s not terrible, however it’s just got more of those odd choices that make it a hard listen. American Pie - This is a bonus track, so normally I wouldn’t review it, but I just wanted to note that this is an utter abomination.

9/10 Prince had a very special combination of talent, passion and relentless drive that resulted in a musician who's like we may never see again. But what is not often discussed is how experimental and boundary pushing he was. Even his most ardent fans would likely agree that his musical output was not always the most consistent, but a significant factor in that was his determination to try new things, innovate and then move on. In the early 80s, that willingness to experiment meshed brilliantly into a run of albums that, while not always perfect, married his ear for pop music, sense of groove and sublime musicianship to create some truly wonderful music. Purple Rain is not a perfect album, but it's really not too far from it. It opens spectacularly with Prince preaching his philosophy to the listener before launching into one of the greatest ever party tunes. He's funky, cheeky and so much fun to listen to, and somehow the sound he creates sound both ludicrously 80s and fresh as a daisy at the same time. I do feel that things lull a little too much out of the back of such a bombastic opening, but after the slight dip of Take Me With U, we get a run that ramps things up and gives us some experiments in sound and production that must have sounded absolutely mental on a pop record in 1984. As it builds, we get some moments of real quality, culminating in the dirty, sexy grit of Darling Nikki. While I get that some of this first half might not be for everyone, I feel there's a great deal of value in the way he blends that playful production experimentation with his pop music sensibility to make some fantastic moments of avante garde pop. When we reach the second side though, wow. It's just exceptional from start to finish. The musicianship is off the scale, it rocks, it grooves and it sucks you in. There are more hooks than a cloak room, the grooves are infectious, and the little wizard just sucks you in with his boundless energy and charisma. That run of When Doves Cry to Baby I'm A Star is relentless, frenetic and so, so cool, but he doesn't skimp on the quirkiness either. And if that isn't enough, he bows out with THAT title track. It's so utterly glorious, evocative and beautifully put together that I could listen to it again and again without ever getting bored. It may be the greatest ballad of all time and it brings together everything that the album has been building into an utterly perfect culmination. It's pretty breathtaking. So is it a perfect record? No. Is it one of the greatest and most important pop records of all time? Yes. And that pretty much sums up the conundrum that was Prince Rogers Nelson. Let's Go Crazy - What an intro. It's wonderfully grandiose and melodramatic before the song proper kicks in and than it's a perfect slice of funk rock pop in a blend that's so uniquely Prince. It's fun, it's bombastic and it absolutely shifts. Great performances all round, great production and stuffed with oodles of charisma. Quite the way to kick off a record. Oh, and the kid ain't bad on the old six string either. Take Me With U - The tempo drops now and we get a slightly more plodding track that suffers a little from following the balls to the wall opener. There are some nice melodic moments in there and some of the strings are really nice, but it is a touch pedestrian. The Beautiful Ones - The pace is still slow now, but there's more to this. It has a nice edge of experimentation to the production and Prince carries the song so well with his vocal delivery and there are some great melodic moments in there. We get a pretty broad range from his vocal too, which is pretty damn impressive. I love some of the synth work on this track and it all builds to a great climax. Computer Blue - The pace and groove picks back up again now and we get a bit more electronic experimentation in the production. This has got a slightly creepy cultish robotic feel to it, in no small part thanks to Wendy and Lisa's intro. But it's a really cool song and it changes lanes quite significantly half way through. Prince was never afraid to take his own path and this is a lovely example. Great musicianship of course, but also an interesting flow and narrative. Darling Nikki - And we flow straight into another slightly experimental and brilliantly grubby little song. This is the song that triggered the movement against explicit content in songs and resulted in the parental advisory stickers coming into use. It's a solid song though that's got a great vibe, some solid playing and so much suitable grit and drive. Horny, filthy and excellent, with some backwards masking at the end about Jesus. So, so Prince. When Doves Cry - From the opening burst of guitar, this song just rips. The beats kick, the melodies are great, the vocal performances are excellent. It's still got an experimental edge to the production, but it's so catchy too. It builds as it goes, but never loses its thread and it's got some great guitar work towards the end too. What an absolutely exceptional song. I Would Die 4 U - A song that simmers and broods. It's so well produced and again has some really great melodic hooks. The synth work is urgent and engaging and Prince weaves this fantasticly layered composition out of relatively few elements. It's a great vibe and another incredibly solid track, that runs straight on to... Baby I'm A Star - This grabs moments from the rest of the album and deftly brings them together. It's another incredibly infectious and engaging song. There's a lot going on here and it pretty brilliantly captures the energy, fun and frantic nature of a Prince live performance. It's got so much groove and talent in the performances and it's leaking charisma out of every pore. Brilliant stuff. Purple Rain - The big one. In for a shout as the greatest ballad of all time, it's dramatic, emotionally delivered and absolutely stuffed full of charisma. The performances across the board drip quality and sell the song perfectly. Excellent string arrangements, an exceptionally evocative vocal performance and then that guitar solo. It's rare that a song lasts over 8 minutes and has me almost immediately reaching to skip it back to the beginning, but this is one. It really does earn every accolade it's ever received. I'm not sure it's possible to close an album more effectively and beautifully than this.

8/10 It’s hard to assess this album knowing what would come after it, especially as it’s very much a transitional album between the Radiohead of Pablo Honey - talented Brit rockers, but very much one of the pack - and the art rock innovators they would become with OK Computer. There are hints that they were starting to pick at the seams of their songwriting and production efforts here, and there are some really standout moments; High and Dry into Fake Plastic Trees and, not long after that, Just, all of which showcase the burgeoning songwriting talents of the band. From the shifting guitar work of Ed O’Brien and Jonny Greenwood, who also started to push into his work with synths on this record, to the sparse but beautiful vocal melodies from Thom Yorke, the ingredients are starting to come together over the ever dependable rhythm section. But the real defining moment of this record comes with its final gasp. Street Spirit (Fade Out) is the perfect lead-in to Radiohead’s next chapter, with its slow build, restrained but effective production, impeccable performances and beautiful melodies. So how does one assess this album in 2026? It’s very good, but it also doesn’t always sound special in the way that Radiohead would in later albums, and there are a reasonable number of tracks that feel like they could have come out of the sessions from one of the other decent British rock bands that were around at the time (Yorke’s distinctive voice aside). But that might be a bit of a harsh judgement of a record that was part of quite an immense and significant journey in popular music. The band are great, they are starting to find their own unique voice and there are some killer moments. The production is also starting to lean towards the development of that Radiohead sound, so this does feel important, even if it’s not the most consistent or groundbreaking album in its entirety. But roll straight out of this into OK Computer and boy, it’s one hell of a journey. Planet Telex - This is a decent opener with a really good chorus. It’s a little lacking in dynamic range and nuance compared to their later work, but it starts to show some of the more experimental and production focus that they would develop across this and subsequent albums, particularly the use of effects chains to build musical soundscapes within which their songs can exist. It’s just a tiny bit of a one trick pony for me, even if it’s a pretty good trick. The Bends - A great riff to open us up here and there’s a lot more dynamic and tonal range across this track compared to the opener. That being said, this is a far more straightforward rock song and feels like the kind of thing a lot of other bands at the time could have put out, rather than having that unique Radiohead sound. It’s another good song though, and I’m already feeling like this album is more of a transition between being just “Radiohead, that 90s rock band” and “Art Rock pioneers, Radiohead”. High And Dry - There’s a good bit of nuance and subtlety to this as well as great vocal melodies from Thom Yorke. Again, it’s a really good song that is just a tiny bit ordinary from a production and development point of view when compared to their later work. I feel a bit harsh, because it’s another really good song, but I can’t help but hear it through the lens of what came next and while it’s enjoyable, it’s just a tiny bit safe. Fake Plastic Trees - This builds beautifully. The strings are so nicely arranged and sit far enough back, augmented by some really delicate synth work, to emphasise and add depth without overpowering. You can hear a touch of that experimentation coming in here with some really subtle pieces of instrumentation that add power but are only just audible, giving the main vocal and acoustic guitar the space and power they need. Great stuff. Bones - It’s a nice change of pace from the previous track into this. It’s got a nice bit of pace and punch to it and the descending line that they use as a lead-in to the chorus is delicious. There’s a decent groove to this one, and they don’t just hit on the obvious beats with a lot of the instruments, so it has a less rigid structural feel to it too. (Nice Dream) - This is a bit more pedestrian from a compositional point of view. It’s very nice, there are some good melodies and string arrangements, but it’s all a little bit too safe again and feels like the kind of thing that many bands of the time could have produced. There are moments here of there that prompt us towards something more, particularly the bridge, but it’s another enjoyable if unspectacular track. Just - The groove here is lush, there’s good weight to the riffs and it feels like they are pulling at the threads of their compositional chops here and there to pull it out of more traditional shape towards something more uniquely them, while still having a foot in the more standard rock music camp. Some of the production here is super lush and the bridge has some incredibly gorgeous guitar work in it. There are moments of pushing against the boundaries from both the performance and production sides in this, and it’s got a really compelling rhythm to it, particularly towards the end. My Iron Lung - There’s a nice blend of overdriven and clean sounds on this one and some interesting transitions between legato and staccato in the rhythm of the instrumentation. It’s got good vibe and the breakdown sections add some welcome range to proceedings. They don’t manage to conjure up any of their more infectious melodic moments in this one though and by the end it does sort of become a more run of the mill rock song. Bullet Proof..I Wish I Was - The reverb-soaked vocal and some of the soundscape creation on this one shows some more hints towards what was to come and this is a reasonable pleasant track that doesn’t really up its level or produce anything particularly standout. It feels a tiny bit muddled in their attempts to bring in that edge of production depth and it’s ultimately a little bland. Black Star - A great intro here with the 3 bar chord sequence. There’s a nice balance between the guitar and bass on this one, each arpeggiating nicely and pulling the feel of the track. There are some solid vocal melodies in there too. The groove is solid and they do quite a lot of work playing with the instrumental density to create an evolving push and pull to the track. Sulk - Back to something a little more on the safe side. It’s got a solid, toe tapping beat to it and the band are on great form. But as with much of the album, there are little hints at leaning into more experimental, arty territory, but it feels a little like they’re holding back, resulting in something that’s a little too routinely 90s British rock for my tastes. Again, good and hints of that next step, but it’s not quite there yet. Street Spirit (Fade Out) - Ah, what a way to end an album. It’s so well produced, sparse in the beginning and building in tension and intensity as it goes. They deal with this in such a restrained way and it’s beautiful because of it. The vocal melody is gorgeous and the guitar parts dance around each other expertly. It’s an incredibly evocative song, capturing the melancholy of a life passing by, with that persistent ticking of the rhythm driving relentlessly forward. Gorgeous.

3/10 I’m generally not a particular fan of Bruce Springsteen’s voice. He often has this shout-singing delivery that grates at my ears, and I struggle with his music as a consequence. Luckily, he’s actually singing in a far more restrained manner on this record. Maybe his voice can’t cope with that style of singing any more, or perhaps it’s in deference to the theme of this album, which is seemingly focused on 9/11. Unfortunately the music itself is some of the most middle of the road dad rock you’re ever likely to be exposed to. There’s not much in the way of variation across any of the tracks really, and often the drummer will pick a very straight beat and just play it relentlessly, with the occasional basic drum fill to spice things up, for 5 minutes, which gets pretty tiresome. And often the rest of the band aren’t offered much in the way of musical range either. It’s not that this is terrible, but there’s also nothing particularly distinctive or engaging about it. I can’t really recall any melodic highlights or hooks, despite having listened through three times, and the whole thing has just sort of blended together in my mind into a sort of amorphous musical blob. The band are good enough, but they’re seemingly not asked to be much more than that. The production is too clean, if anything. It sounds like an expensive and slightly soulless album that’s completely of its time. And the songwriting is just ok, leaning towards being relentlessly dull. What we land on is an album that sounds one third U2, one third Nickelback and one third a random middle-aged beer festival band with a name like ‘Manual Transmission’. Oh, and it’s WAY TOO LONG. I could probably have tolerated this more at 40 minutes, but it’s nearly twice as long as that. I can only think that, because he’s The Boss, he can just kind of release whatever he wants. It’s like the musical equivalent of an author who has become such a big seller that their editors no longer have the power to actually edit their work, so they release ever expanding volumes in a series to the detriment of the quality. There’s nothing worse in art than being boring and this middle of the road album was dragged further and further down in my estimations the longer it dragged on. Lonesome Day - This is incredibly pedestrian and middle of the road. It just sounds like any other slice of radio rock from the late 90s/early 00s. I’m not typically a fan of Springsteen’s voice, but he’s actually more restrained here than some of his other work that I’m familiar with. That being said, he sounds awfully generic here. The strings are overdone and it lend themselves to this weird plodding, almost uplifting vibe. It’s not completely terrible, but it’s also incredibly bland. Into The Fire - He’s putting on a southern twang here, which is really odd. It’s another fairly pedestrian effort and it feels like the band are doing the bare minimum to keep the track ticking along with no level of flourish or spectacle. Even the (very occasional) drum fills are incredibly dull. The strings again feel like they’re there to try and add emotion but feel very performative rather than emotive. The vocals are incredibly repetitive and so, so obvious. Waitin' On A Sunny Day - Ok, so the rhythmic vibe of this album is ‘plodding’. This is another that sounds like a generic late 90s band that have made it big enough to get the money for a string section on their latest album, so dammit, they’re going to use one. It’s incredibly predictable, including the obvious and cringy key change two thirds of the way through. This is pretty awful. Nothing Man - This one’s a bit better, it’s more restrained and I quite like the production because there’s a bit more nuance to it. Some of the shimmering, saturated background tones are really nice. The strings are pleasant enough here too and don’t feel forced. It’s quite long and repetitive though and I’m not keen on the “do-do-do” bit. It’s also very dynamically and rhythmically flat. Countin' On A Miracle - More generic dad rock. As with much of the album so far, the strings are kind of overdone, it’s got a very, very straight rhythm to it and it sounds slickly produced but ultimately pretty uninteresting. The chorus is a balls to the wall cheese fest and feels very, very by the numbers. Meh. Empty Sky - Do you think he woke up to an empty sky? He didn’t mention it, so I wasn’t sure. More plodding, repetitive and all too straight rhythm. There’s just not much to this at all apart from making sure we know that the sky was empty. Bland and uninteresting. I get what he’s trying to do, but it just doesn’t connect with me in any way at all. Worlds Apart - This at least tries something a bit different, but it feels a like a very westernised view of what music from the Middle East actually sounds like, and there’s not very much depth or nuance to it. But at least it adds a different flavour to the track and a bit more of a swing to the groove. When the band kicks in, it’s more of that generic, rhythmically straight, middle of the road stuff again. And if you’re trying to make some kind of point with a song, having a “la-la-la” section feels like a massive cop-out. Not the worst track, but good lord is it too long. Let's Be Friends (Skin To Skin) - Ooh, there’s actually a bit of feel to the groove here. It’s more fairly generic radio rock, but it’s got a bit more of a groove to it, which is nice. But it just keeps trundling along being nice enough, but fairly bland stuff. It seems Bruce is allergic to dynamic and rhythmic range as everything on this album picks a pace, intensity level and beat and just rolls with it for longer than is necessary. I mean, why on earth do nearly all of the songs need to be over 4 or 5 minutes in length? Further On (Up The Road) - If you told me this was Nickelback, I’d believe you. He might meet us further on up the road, but he’d definitely be positioned exactly in the middle of said road. Nearly all of his drum beats are just the same thing for 4-6 minutes and it makes it all sound very, very flat and monotonous. It’s an ok track for a pub band that you’d see performing at a beer festival, but it’s not very memorable or exciting. The Fuse - More rhythmically static stuff here and somehow, despite the drummer trying to give it a bit of pace, it drags a lot and the rest of the track feels like it’s a 45 being played at 33 rpm. This is just quite boring, and I don’t know how he feels like this hookless meandering deserves more than five and a half minutes of my time. Mary's Place - This is a bit folky and appears to be somewhat inspired by Sam Cooke’s excellent ‘Meet Me At Mary’s Place’. This, however, isn’t excellent. It’s a weird sort-of party anthem for people who always dance without moving their hips at all, probably with their arms half raised in a static position as they shuffle from foot to foot. It’s not very interesting, although at least he bothered to put a bit of dynamic range in here. I bet this one kills at the old folks home. It’s not the worst song on the album, but it’s very repetitive and about as safe as rock music gets. You're Missing - More plodding, more ok but not great melodies, more very flat rhythms. Do you know, I could almost imagine this being a good song if it was done with a bit more of an experimental production and development. Tom Waits could probably make this quite good with a bit of work, for example. But it’s so cleanly produced and sparsely developed that it just doesn’t grab me at all. And again, why over 5 minutes? The Rising - I mean, again, not terrible, but not very interesting either. It feels like the band are actually trying to give it a bit of welly here, but Bruce seems to not have enough lyrical ideas to not resort to fucking “la-la-las” again. Here’s a tip, Bruce: Write a 3 minute song that you can be arsed to write lyrics for rather than another 5 minute one with a bunch of half-arsed la-la-laing or do-do-doing. I think I wouldn’t dislike this as much as I do if it wasn’t an hour into a very samey album. Paradise - He can’t really summon the softness that he’s going for here, with his cod southern accent again. His tonal control is pretty weak when he’s trying to sing like this too. The rest of the track is so soft and edgeless that it works even less well in combination with this vocal. and, surprise, surprise, it’s way too long. Oh god, his vocal gets worse as it goes, it’s really bad. Again, there’s something in this with the subtle throbbing of the distorted tones, but he hasn’t actually found what that something is. My City Of Ruins - Ah, a bit of actual groove. It’s a shame he’s left the best song on the album more than 65 minutes in. But we do get some shout singing as it grows and he’s not exactly being very inspired with his lyrics in the chorus is he? There’s some lovely playing on this from both guitar and organ though. A nice way to end what has been quite an arduous experience.

4/10 Ah, the Grateful Dead, the most famous jam band in the world, with their dedicated army of “Deadheads” who follow them around for months at a time. But how well does that translate to a record when there’s not thousands of people tripping balls in a field, indulging and revelling in a 45 minute rendition of a 4 minute song? The sound is somewhere in the ballpark of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Bob Dylan, with a bit of Beatles and Beach Boys thrown in for good measure. While that sounds like a pretty promising blend, I did find that they struggled to really land on any particularly engaging hooks or melodies that opened the door for me to walk through. The playing was all great, the production was clean and allowed you to full engage with every element of the sound, but I felt that far too often, they sort of rambled around a point rather than making one directly. There were moments when I started to get a bit more into the vibe, but the flow of the album also seemed a little bit unfocused, with a slight lack of evenness from track to track. The shifting between different lead vocalists, particularly on side one didn’t really help with tonal consistency either. The worst aspects of this album were probably when they slowed down to a complete crawl. A couple of the tracks, Brokedown Palace and Attics Of My Life were practically glacial in their pace and while some of the musical content was fairly pretty, the complete lack of momentum made them a pretty hard listen. It feels a bit harsh to criticise this too much, as their musical skill is pretty apparent, but ultimately, while there were moments in there that I did enjoy, there wasn’t really any tracks that have stuck with me after repeat listenings, and I certainly can’t imagine wanting to spend my time listening to any of these songs in their super-extended live jammed variations on the road. I guess I just wasn’t built to be a Deadhead. Box Of Rain - This is quite pleasant with some really nice harmonies. I really like a couple of moments in this, with a couple of great chord progressions and rhythmic touches. I don’t think Phil Lesh is a particularly strong lead singer, mind and there are a few places where things get a tiny bit sketchy. Despite being fairly pretty, it does meander a bit and drag on a little longer than necessary. Not a bad opener though. Friend Of The Devil - The swing and zip of the beat here is pretty decent, and it has a nice push and pull to the groove. The interweaving guitar, bass and mandolin lines are good too. It’s very twee and there’s no particularly hooky moments that grab you and demand your attention, but it’s another reasonably entertaining track. Sugar Magnolia - This one’s a bit more meandering and feels like it lacks a bit of focus. There are some good moments in there and it feels a little bit like a Beach Boys b-side written by Al Jardine, rather than any of the Wilson brothers. Ok, well performed, but not vastly interesting. Operator - Another that’s a bit rambling. It’s got a bluesy folk vibe to it that isn’t bad, but it’s just fairly unremarkable and if you played it to me next week, I probably wouldn’t even remember that it was on this record. Candyman - This is very plodding and rhythmically uninspiring. The vocal harmonies during the chorus aren’t bad, although they do sound like they’re stretching for some of the higher notes, but I’m struggling with the lack of momentum and drive here. It just doesn’t feel like there’s anything particularly substantial to grab on to and it sort of floats along being a little bit dull. It’s too long too. Ripple - Ah, sweet Americana. Totally not my bag and it sounds like a very generic country song to my ears. The melody isn’t bad through the chorus though and the performances and production are very clean. It has a hymnal quality as it develops and that adds a little depth, but I’m struggling to be particularly invigorated by any of this. Brokedown Palace - And as if to reaffirm my last comment, this feels ludicrously slow paced. It sounds like they’ve smoked so much weed that they can only just summon up the enthusiasm to play their instruments and each strum is a bit of a struggle. Harmonically, it’s actually quite nice and there’s some really good playing in there across the piano and lead guitar, but it feels like it drags so much that it’s hard to fully engage with those higher quality elements. Till The Morning Comes - They’ve woken up again and this feels a bit Beatles inspired. Not as good, of course, but there’s a bit more nuance to the composition and production, with some nice dynamic range and a good groove that has its moments of push and pull that add to its feel. This is actually pretty good, and it feels like there’s quite a lot going on across the instrumentation, but it’s all nicely centred around the core song. Not bad. Attics Of My Life - There are some lovely vocal harmony stacks in here, but it’s another that has practically no tempo at all. It drags so much that I’m not getting as much out of those harmonies as I otherwise would have done, because everything else just feels like it’s crawling along. It’s a shame, because some of the harmonic content is rich and well structured. Truckin - This is one of their most well known tracks, I think. It’s got more of a groove to it and while it does meander around a little, it feels a little more focused centre. The band are tight and well controlled, and there are some really nice moments here and there. It’s one of the better tracks on the album, but Im still finding it hard to pick out anything that really grabs me and hooks me in, not for the lack of trying.

7/10 War are an interesting band. Their big hits are pretty tight, hooky songs underpinned by solid, funky grooves, but outside of that, they had a tendency to be a bit more freeform and adventurous. This album showcases far more of that second type of track, with sprawling songs that shift and evolve over lengthy runtimes. The most remarkable thing about it for me was how natural and organic it all felt. The band members were completely in sync with one another at all times as different subtle changes took place throughout the music, but it always managed to sound both natural and somehow improvised, like there was a freedom for them to express themselves within the groove, but that never at any point effected the underlying vibe or flow of the track. They played really nicely with rhythm and timing, subtly switching to double-timed playing here and there in a way that was in no way obvious as it was happening. And the musicians all played a part too, with the groove very much being created by a combination of rhythms across both percussion and tonal instrumentation. They also took a bit of influence from jazz, with players taking their moments to solo and take centre stage, particularly in City, Country, City, but it rarely felt ostentatious. The whole thing kind of felt like an incredibly chilled out party where the band were playing the roles of both partygoers and entertainment. The production was fantastic too, and really enabled you to feel that vibe and listen closely to all of the different nuances that each player leant to each track. As with a lot of good production, it mostly kept out of the way, but when they wanted to get a bit weird, they were also able to use a bit of sonic experimentation to add a psychedelic edge to proceedings. I do think that music like this is the kind of thing that very much has the right listening environment, but it could work equally well as background party music as it could with a more focused listening experience if you wanted to really soak in the luscious vibe of it all. There were moments when things dragged a tiny bit, and I wasn’t vastly keen on the closing track, but overall it was a really enjoyable ride. The Cisco Kid - There’s immediately a great groove here with all of the parts lending their own little piece to the rhythm. The bass has some tasty little runs in particular, but all of the instrumental parts have a sense of freedom to the. Even though they spend a lot of the time holding the main groove, they do occasionally throw in little moments of individuality too. It very much has the feel of something that was written off the cuffs they went and refined by constantly playing the groove until they were ready to just get the engineer to press record and that’s a really cool vibe to capture. Where Was You At - They push the tempo now, but also play with half timing it in places which adds an interesting twist to the groove as the track progresses. Again, it all feels so compositionally fluid but rhythmically in sync which is a great combo. The harmonica parts are delicious and those shifts in tempo are surprising but well executed. Such a groove. City, Country, City - They do a great job of bringing in bits of different styles into the work. There’s a bit of latin flavour in here, a twist of jazz and a touch of country, but enough of a soulful base to give it it’s own sound that makes it still sound like War. It’s perhaps a touch on the self-indulgent side at over 13 minutes in length, but because they lean on the soloing and again, you can hear little moments of individual prominence from the other instruments, it manages to maintain interest well. And the key groove that goes under the solos is just hypnotically layered and groovy. It’s one to appreciate by lying back, settling in and enjoying the ride. Four Cornered Room - Oooh, it’s a nice slow burn of a groove here. It’s super laid back, but there’s something really compelling about the feel of the rhythm across the different instruments. The harmonica and gang vocals are a great vibe too. There’s some really great bits of production in here to give it a psychedelic layer over that sultry groove. It’s so slow paced that it progresses incredibly slowly, but the vibe is so excellent that it just takes you by the hand and guides you along at that pace. There are ebbs and flows to the intensity, largely from the vocals, but it all just adds dynamism without ever detracting from the über-chill tone. Excellent stuff. The World Is A Ghetto - It’s another chilled groove, although this has a little more zip to it than the last track. The passing round of the vocals is cool and every now and again they drop into these stripped back, funky moments that groove so hard, but as with much of the rest of the album, it all feels so fluid and smooth in transition. There are some lovely jazzy solos again. It’s effortlessly cool and smooth and the way it flips pace with the tiniest of tweaks to the groove is incredibly impressive. It happens so subtly that you often don’t realise it until you’re bobbing away to something that has just strolled in and taken over with little to no bravado. This is a great example of a band knowing each other acutely well and being able to shift and adapt completely in sync. Beetles In The Bog - Back to a bit more of that latin flavour. Again, the composite groove, created by layering all of those different instruments into a funky, soulful melting pot is great. This one, surprisingly for one of the shortest tracks on the album, does feel a tiny bit more aimless, as there are fewer solos and a bit less variety in the vocal parts. It almost feels like they realised they were running out of room on the record and didn’t expand and indulge in the parts that helped the other tracks to settle into a groove before dropping those parts with more nuance and inventiveness as the track progresses. It still wasn’t bad, just felt a little underdeveloped.

8/10 The Doors are an interesting band in that they almost have this quintessential 60s hippie rock sound, but it also has a slight edge of psychedelic darkness to it that became more prominent across their records. This debut record is probably their most poppy, but it still has that little twisted side that allows it to stand above more generic examples of the genre and have more of a lasting appeal, particularly when coupled with some really great hooks. In fact, this album is so stacked with songs that have timeless and engaging hooks that when we listened to this over family breakfast, Steph thought I'd put on a greatest hits rather than their debut album. They sure knew how to put a pop song together. That being said, while it's an really great record, for me it does have a few drawbacks to it. Firstly, there are times when it's a bit sloppy from a playing point of view, with slightly iffy timing and out of key notes scattered around here and there. While that does lend itself to the hippie vibe, it does get a little distracting in places. Also, they have a tendency to either be done with a song after two and a half minutes, or on the couple of occasions that they don't, dragging it on for possibly a little too long. Not that I don't like those songs, it just feels a bit all or nothing and could possibly have been a touch more satisfying had they met somewhere in the middle. Perhaps I'm nitpicking a little there. Apart from the above mentioned bits of playing, the band are generally great at building a solid vibe in each of the tracks, and that vibe does a great job of balancing the record and allowing Jim Morrison to do his thing. Interestingly, Morrison is actually quite restrained in his approach to vocals, leaving plenty of space for the band and rarely overdoing things, but also allowing for a good range of dynamic and intensity across his performances. His charisma and swagger are undeniable, even if his lyrical poetry is more moody sixth former than Dylan Thomas. But he sells it so well and I believe that he really believes in the art of what he's saying, even if I'm less convinced, but that's good enough for me. Break On Through (To The Other Side) - This has that very 60s hippie sound, but there's a twist if darkness to it too that gives it an interesting edge. It's the depth of the reverb and the slightly crazed delivery of the vocal from Jim Morrison that really do it. It's a classic track and holds up really well. Soul Kitchen - It's a slightly drifting and lazy verse that's full of that 60s hippy vibe again, before launching into something more intense for the chorus. The bass line is pretty good here and carries things along well, playing well against the rhythm of the organ. Another solid track. The Crystal Ship - Things remain more in that lazy, relaxed vibe from the verses of the previous track. There are some nice progressions in there and it has a cool attitude to it, but it's ultimately not the most interesting song. Twentieth Century Fox - Things pick back up again a little now with a return to the quintessential 60s hippie sound that makes it sound a bit like incidental music from and Austin Powers film. But it's got a great hook in the chorus. The playing, as with much of the record actually, is a little on the loose side, but it kind of works with the aesthetic. Another good song, but I always imagine it to be quicker than it actually is. Alabama Song (Whisky Bar) - Another classic now, and despite being a cover, it very much feels like it belongs to The Doors now. The switch in rhythmic emphasis and vibe between the verse and chorus is brilliant. It's a creepy little song in some ways, but that's delivered not only through the vocal but through the musical choices too, feeling a little like off kilter fairground music. Morrison gives it that side of menace through his delivery too, but it manages to do all that while also delivering quality hooks. Light My Fire - The Doors' most well known song? Possibly. The vibe is great, the organ and guitar solos are super cool, even if they do meander a tiny bit and aren't the cleanest performances, but everything gathers together to be more than the sum of its parts. There's some great drumming on this one too. But the key is that lead vocal, which is brilliantly delivered and has a fantastic hook. Back Door Man - This is a cover, but the band deliver it with such excellent swagger that the tone and delivery is all Doors. The organ line is great and again, they conjure up such a chilled and engaging vibe that it's hard not to groove along to it. Jim Morrison has just got an attitude and charisma that shines through on tracks like this. I Looked At You - The interweaving lines of the organ and guitar are great here during the verses and everything just hooks together for a fantastic chorus. They don't hang around on ideas for long though, do they? Great vibe, quality hooks and done in just a shade over two minutes. Great. End Of The Night - Back to something a little trippy and creepy. It's very evocative and the drifting nature of the tonal elements gives it an uncertainty that's really interesting. The crescendo of intensity is great and adds another level of weirdness and dynamic to the track. This is one that could possibly have worked even better in an extended version that had more time to ebb and flow, but it's solid nonetheless. Take It As It Comes - Another excellent chorus here. There's a good energy to this track but also some nice dynamic range too that allows that chorus to burst out of the speakers and really shine. And again, done in a flash. The End - When they decide to do a longer track, they do go for it, don't they? It's quite loose and meandering in places, with some of the playing feeling a tiny bit sloppy, but it all works into the vibe of slightly twisted and uncomfortable edginess. This has been noted as a pivotal piece of music for subsequent genres including goth, prog, psychedelic and acid rock. It's not really background music, but it's stuffed full of charisma and if you listen to this with focus, it can really grab you and press down on you in a very interesting way.

8/10 Is this the most British, or even English album ever made? It’s probably got a good claim to the crown. As it’s the Kinks, it’s got the core of that 60s British pop-rock sound, most characterised by the Beatles, but fairly prevalent across a number of the bands from the time. What it then adds is this incredibly British sensibility and concept, based around village life and the day to day goings on in rural Britain, from village fetes and pastoral scenes to farm life and friendship. But that would be a very picture postcard view of England, so they wrap it up in this very faintly absurdist package, with some slightly sinister edges, some sardonic and witty elements and a gentle bit of self-deprecating British humour. It’s a trick that they manage to pull of really well, resulting in a record that is at times incredibly twee, but has a depth to it that could easily go under-appreciated to a more casual observer. I mention them during my comments on Phenomenal Cat, but there are echoes of the kind of communities from The Wicker Man and Hot Fuzz in this album, but that stuff kind of bubbles along under the surface, rather than being the main focus. It’s artfully done and also has faint echoes of Monty Python or The Two Ronnies. The band perform admirably across the album, with everything feeling tight and consistent, despite the varying instrumental setups, and the production allows it all to shine, while not eschewing that very twee, country sound. I found moments of pretty much every instrument jumped out to me in various places, from interesting shifting drum patterns to some tasty little walking bass lines and guitar riffs. And Ray Davies was in fine form, providing a varied yet consistent delivery that offered great range across the record. I think the only complaint I could have about this record is that despite being only 40 minutes long, there are probably a few too many tracks. They could possibly have spent a bit more time developing a smaller number of tracks into lengthier and deeper elements, as it felt like everything was just a brief snapshot, rather than a deeper delve into the Kinks’ rural Britain. But that’s a fairly minor gripe, and I think there’s plenty to suggest that this album, while not only being pretty unique and high quality in its own right, was actually quite influential to the development of britpop and other British indie styles that would follow in the subsequent decades. The Village Green Preservation Society - The title track is a brilliantly twee pop rock song with some incredibly infectious vocal melodies along with perfect backing from the band. It imbues a very particular English rural vibe in a way that somehow both embraces and gently pokes fun at that cultural standard. There’s more going on musically than might initially be apparent, and it’ll stick in your head for ages without getting boring. Do You Remember Walter - There’s some quite Beatles-esque blends of melody and chord structure in places here, but it remains very much a Kinks sounding track too. It’s got a cool blend of rhythmic pacing across the different instrumentation that makes it skip along but also sound like it’s not rushing.It’s quite whimsical again, but it’s delivered in an engaging way. Picture Book - While there’s quite a 60s brit rock sound to this, it also has the bones of the kind of sound that would form into britpop in the late 80s and early 90s. It’s a bit quirky, no single part is particularly complex, but there are a lot of moving parts that come together to create something greater than the sum of its parts, particularly when the off the cuff swagger and laissez-faire attitude of the vocals are thrown in. Johnny Thunder - This is a bit more pedestrian. It’s got that slightly baroque edge to the chorus, which is cool. There’s nothing wrong with this and it still has a bit of a quaint edge to it, but it’s not got as much going on as the previous tracks, so it feels a little bit bland by comparison. Last Of The Steam-Powered Trains - Great riff to kick us off here, and then when you throw in a solid complementary bass, it provides a great groove. They do a good line in throwing in an energetic drum fill here and there that injects a little bit of pace to proceedings and prevents things from getting bogged down, and they even ramp up the pace half way through. It’s quite bluesy and perhaps feels less English than the rest of the album so far, but it’s still a great little track. Big Sky - We’re back to something a bit more pedestrian again now, despite Mick Avory trying to keep it energetic. There are some nice moments in there and it does bring back in the slightly more twee English edge to things. It’s not bad, but it’s a little on the bland side again. Sitting By The Riverside - This brings back a bit more of that English village vibe in an almost summer fair way, but then it drags things a bit more off-piste and into slightly more twisted territory. It’s really cool stuff and sounds especially interesting thrust into the middle of a track like this from 1968. It might be a nice but uneventful song if it wasn’t for that, but it gets given an extra breath of life just by being that bit weird. And that kind of thing is great in my book. Animal Farm - Again, this manages to sound both very of its time and also in some ways pretty ahead of its time, particularly the more sardonic elements of the vocal delivery. It’s more quaint stuff, and I think the changing pace of the different sections is really nice. There’s a decent amount going on in the arrangement and the strings add something good to the mix too. Village Green - More whimsical baroque pop. There’s something I really like about the melody here and while it’s a fairly simple song, it’s really effective. If they’d have stretched this out, it could have got tired, but at two minutes, it’s just right. Starstruck - Another with some great melodies and an excellent vibe. They actually do quite a bit to add variety here, with the strings adding some range. Rhythmically, this is pretty engaging too. It’s hard to find fault in well written pop songs that get everything done in two and a half minutes! Phenomenal Cat - There’s something über-British about the daft little oddities that dot their way around this record, of which this is one. It’s all done with a kind of knowing tilt of the head. It’s super twee, but also has that slight edge of creepiness that conjures up the feeling of the kind of rural community in The Wicker Man or Hot Fuzz. It’s pretty cool stuff. All Of My Friends Were There - The swing groove to this is fun, and then the modulation into the smoother chorus is cool too. It’s a super pleasant and sweet track that has pleasing rhythmic shifts and some more great performances from the whole band. Wicked Annabella - There’s more of that edgy, slightly sinister vibe to this, but it’s more outwardly obvious here and the folksy elements more pushed to the background. The vocal mixing is really effective to bring out that edge of menace and creepiness to things and the band start to go a bit more off the edge towards the end too. A nice change of pace. Monica - The melodic writing here is great, with the vocal delivery giving it an interesting sound. The rolling groove from the instruments is a nice shake-up and again, this is very sweet and well delivered. There’s quite a lot going on in the instrumental layering too that provides a depth to the track that isn’t immediately apparent on a casual listen. People Take Pictures Of Each Other - This almost a frantic ending, with persistent and forceful rhythms across the different parts. It still has that slightly weird edge to it that sticks to the theme of the album really nicely. Good melodies, delightfully twee, quality performances. Sums up the record pretty well.

5/10 I was pretty interested to give this one a spin. With the marketing of Beth Orton as “folktronica”, a blend of trip-hop and acoustic folk music, I was hoping for something along the lines of Múm or Bon Iver, the kind of thing that sits right in my wheelhouse. Unfortunately, this record leans toward the more poppy side of the ledger and doesn’t completely satisfy either the singer-songwriter or the electronic aesthetic particularly successfully either. It’s also incredibly late 90’s sounding, which I don’t think really helps its staying power. With that being said, there’s not anything inherently bad about any of it, but it just feels a little bit bland, and often lacks any notable hooks or memorable moments. It’s also a bit tonally muddled, with a bunch of the tracks seeming to have the electronic elements added in a slightly forceful way that doesn’t actually gel all that well with the core song. To my ear, the better of the songs tended to actually be the more acoustically focused ones, and it feels a bit like this was produced to capture the sound of the moment, rather than with any specific intention as part of the production style. Beth is a decent singer, but there are places where the slightly whispery indie-girl nature of her voice grated, and even some points where her tuning seemed to be a little off, or she struggled with the transition to falsetto, on the odd occasion that she sang in that range. The production was a little patchy too, with some elements dominating unnecessary and some less than deft tonal blends causing some slightly sharp edges to the experience. It was pretty decent background music though, and there was the odd moment where my interest was piqued a little more, but when it comes down to it, there just wasn’t enough substance in there to bring me back to this one. Stolen Car - A pretty pleasant start. I find the cello parts a little overwrought, but the rest of the instrumentation is solid if unspectacular and her vocal is delivered with strength, with some nice melodic and harmonic moments. Some of the production elements seem a little forced, like it’s attempting to force the electronic nature of the sound a little too much, when it would probably have worked as well, if not better as a more straight folk rock track. Sweetest Decline - This is nice too. It’s an engaging little ramble of a track in which the slightly roaming nature seems to be an intentional device in the songwriting. There’s quite a few intertwining instrumental parts layered in, and there’s a slightly jazzy edge, particularly to the piano, which I like. Occasionally her vocal soars above the track which pulls your focus and then things drift back into the gentle, pretty breeze of the track. Couldn't Cause Me Harm - This one leans a little more into the electronic edge. It reminds me quite a bit of Pure Shores by All Saints, which was written by William Orbit, who worked on Beth’s previous album. Strange coincidence, or deliberate inspiration? This is, again, nice enough. It’s not the most memorable or engaging, but the vibe is chilled and it’s got a pleasing tonal mix with a bit of grit thrown in under the cleaner surface. So Much More - There’s a similar lilting vibe to this, but it’s more sparse. Melodically, it’s a little meandering and it feels like there’s not a vast amount to grab on to here. The layered vocal parts are quite cool, and there’s some decent piano work in here, but ultimately, it feels a bit on the bland and unfocused side, and again, there are bits of the electronic production that feel a bit tacked on rather than integral to the song. Pass In Time - Well this is a long one. I don’t know if it’s her slightly wavering vocal style here, but there are times where she sounds like she doesn’t quite get everything in tune, which is a little off putting. I don’t really like Terry Callier’s backing vocal either and find that they jar against each other a bit. As a whole, there’s not really enough in this to justify the track length and while the underlying vibe is ok, the vocals just don’t work for me at all. Central Reservation (Original Version) - Holy reverb Batman. Quite a few odd production decisions in here. The saturated electric guitar part is too loud and jars a bit with the softness of the rest of the production, and her vocal is absolutely soaked in reverb and she delivers it with a semi-slurred delivery of which I’m not the biggest fan. As with much of the record, this is a calm and pleasant background listen, and there are a couple of moments in the melody that caught my ear, but it’s also quite meandering in places, and there’s probably not anything particularly memorable in there that makes me want to return. It felt like it was building to something that never really arrived. Stars All Seem To Weep - Now we get to a more trip-hop edged beat that I was expecting with the description “folktronica” that’s attributed to Beth Orton. goes. This is another pleasant background music track that sounds incredibly late 90s, but doesn’t really stand out in any way. There are a lot of nice elements in there, and trip-hop is a genre that I have affection for, but there’s not any specific hook that grabs me and while I like the general vibe, it all feels a bit generic. Love Like Laughter - There’s a carefree edge to the vocal delivery here that I like and there’s a more engaging vocal melody to go with it. It’s still a bit wispy and drifty, but feels more focused. The instrumentation works better with the music here too and the electronic content is limited and doesn’t feel forced. Blood Red River - We’re very reverb-heavy again here. It’s another slightly meandering vocal melody above a fairly sparse accompaniment that doesn’t feel like it holds on to anything particularly well. It’s funny, because I don’t dislike it and it’s a pretty background listen, but it just sort of feels like it’s passing me by, rather than actually grabbing hold of me. Devil Song - It feels like there’s something a bit more to this. It feels more focused and even though it’s sparse and drifting in some respects, the core of it feels more coherent. It’s not going to trouble my favourites list, but it’s not a bad song and was a pretty and enjoyable listen. Feel To Believe - Continuing the theme, this is another that feels more focused. There’s a bit more melodic certainty to it and it’s got a stronger chorus. It’s a bit over keen on the vocal reverb again, but this feels very much like a singer-songwriter at an open-mic that everyone shuts up to listen to. In my opinion, when there’s more of a focus on the melody and core structure of the songwriting it feels like she delivers more emotionally and musically engaging work, and this is a pretty good example of that. Central Reservation (The Then Again Version) - And as if to directly counter the last song and it’s more singer-songwriter style, we get a remix of the title track. So late 90s. Especially the “it’s like” breakdown in the middle. It actually delivers a more focused development than the original mix in my position, but it feels a bit lacking in nuance and substance. It’s just a bit too 90s electro-pop for my tastes. It’s not bad, just a bit cliche and by the numbers in a “please include me on your film/tv soundtrack” way.

7/10 I've always felt that Deep Purple were kind of unfortunate to be the slightly forgotten third of the unholy trinity. While Sabbath and Zeppelin managed to maintain their prominance in the decades that followed, it felt like Deep Purple struggled to maintain relevancy in the same way. Perhaps it was the rotating cast of band members, or the lack of prominent personalities like Ozzy and Robert Plant. From relistening to this album, I think it's perhaps that the bands that they inspired managed to nail their sound so well, and develop it so successfully into different forms and styles that, while their influence was strongly felt, many of the bands managed to use the starting point that Deep Purple had built to go on to greater things. There's certainly a lot to like about this record. Strong riffs, some really great drumming and grooves, and some cool bits of production too. It also sounds like they're having a great deal of fun, with solos galore and plenty of opportunities for every band member to flex their considerable talents. Unfortunately, that does result in things sometime becoming a tad self indulgent and bloated, dragging good ideas a little further than they could reasonably be expected to go. You can hear a lot of sounds here that subsequent bands would pick up and the influence of this album is palpable, but it does get a little swamped by the cavalcade of dad rock bands that followed. But that all gets forgiven when gems like Highway Star and Smoke On The Water start to spin. My head is telling me this is a 6, but the influence and importance that you can hear seeping out of the speakers jabs me in the heart and pokes it up a mark. Highway Star - It's a great start to the album. There's a real drive and pace to it, some solid riffs and top quality hooks. The rhythmic beats in the verses are great and it's a really coherent tone. Nice solo work in there too. It sounds a little cliché now, but that's because so many bands came after Deep Purple. Maybe I'm A Leo - Nice swagger and groove to this. The drumming is possibly the highlight here, played with feel and variety but never losing flow. It's not got as many of the engaging riffs or hooks as the opener, but there's still as solid vibe. It does meander a little during the solo sections, which is a shame, but it's still a good listen if you sit back and roll with the groove. Pictures Of Home - Things are driving along a bit more again now. There are some more good riffs, but it still doesn't feel as hooked up and engaging as Highway Star. There's a slightly proggy, psychedelic edge to this in places and the solos are pretty fun, but as with the previous track, perhaps a little meandering. You can definitely hear the echoes of this sound in music that would follow, but while the bones of that are there, it perhaps feels a tiny bit underdeveloped. Never Before - This is another great groove and in places sounds really 80s, despite being from 1972. There are moments that are really cool, particularly from a production point of view, with some of the phasing effects of particular note. They don't necessarily manage to fully grip on to a solid vocal hook though. The solos here feel a bit tighter and are probably the better parts on this one. Smoke On The Water - Ah, the most well known riff of all time? The one that everyone learns to play within about 10 seconds of picking up a guitar. It's a fantastic riff partly because it's so simple, but it also has great feel. The chorus has such a great vocal hook too. The groove of this track is not what people remember it for, but it's got a really funky edge to it. Again, there's some cool production in here in places, and it's got a great, coherent sound. They love making sure they wedge a guitar and organ solo in wherever possible and I guess that's part of the fun, but it does make things a little formulaic. Quality track though. Lazy - A nice Psychedelic start and then it's a slow burn until we get into some nice widdly grooving. There's good pace to it and it sounds like they're having a load of fun with this. It's got a pretty irresistible toe-tapper of a feel and despite it's length, it remains pretty engaging throughout. Is it a bit self indulgent? Yes. Does that make it bad? No. It's a pretty enjoyable, bluesy ride, and they even find time for a harmonica solo! Why not? Space Truckin' - Some great riffs in this. Again, it feels a bit cliché dad rock in places, like something from the "Top Gear Top 40" or some such CD, but it feels a tad unfair to tarnish Deep Purple with the sheer amount of bands that followed in their wake. It does get a bit shrieky in places, but the weight and drive is pretty undeniable.

6/10 The Smashing Pumpkins are a band that should fit right into the sweet spot for me. 90s grunge adjacent alt rockers with an artsy edge and an eclectic range of influences, willing to dip into a variety of different genres within their sound. But they've just never really clicked. Could a 28 track, two hour long record hook me in? Things didn't get off to the greatest start, with the first couple of tracks feeling a little repetitive and self important. I was also not convinced by Billy Corgan's singing voice. When they're doing cleaner, more melodically focused stuff, he sounds like Eric Cartman doing an indie whisper singing pastiche, which is not the most appealing of sounds. With the heavier stuff, it does start to work though, so that was a definite relief. The album does start to get going after the first couple of tracks, and there's some really good stuff here. They blend ideas well and offer some interesting uses of rhythm and intensity to create some really engaging music. There were times during this first half of the record where I was impressed and was leaning towards a higher score, but as it progressed, it started to feel far too flabby and rambling. Sonically, it feels a little inconsistent too. There are gritty, dirty little numbers like Love that embody an effectively filthy aesthetic to stuff like Tonight, Tonight that are super clean, over written and over produced, and as a result, it doesn't feel completely coherent. I do like the ebb and flow of it, but I feel like they overwork things in places and it feels a bit too try hard, while also not managing to make those sonic transitions in a particularly smooth or nuanced way. It's a massive shame, to be honest, because I really feel like there's an excellent album in here, but it's obscured by self indulgence and an unwillingness to trim the fat. Although the fact that they subsequently released a box set with a further 28 tracks suggests that self editing is perhaps not one of the most practiced skills in Billy Corgan's toolbox. Sadly, despite the fact that I'd class myself as more of a Smashing Pumpkins fan after listening to this record, this album just started to get a bit boring after a while and there was way to much guff to weed through to pick out the gems. Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness - This is a bit of a rambling opening that's quite repetitive in the rhythm and cadences of the playing. Sounds a bit like someone who's not that good at the piano who thinks that they are. With some mellotron for a bit. Tonight, Tonight - This is quite dramatic, but also quite repetitive. It's got good and varied pace, but it feels a bit heavy on the drum rolls and pomposity. It just kind of feels quite overworked for what is fundamentally quite a simple song. And Billy Corgan sounds a bit like Eric Cartman whisper singing. Jellybelly - This is more like it. Heavy, grungy, grubby and rhythmically interesting too. His voice works much better with this type of sound to my ears. It's got a fury to the delivery and the muddiness of the recording gives it an effective aesthetic. Quite a jarring production change from the previous track though. Zero - Great riff, and this continues the feeling from the last track well. The lyrics are a bit tortured, but otherwise this is a solid track. It drives, it's sonically interesting and it's pretty weighty too. The chorus is excellent, making good use of that riff. Here Is No Why - This is quite chunky and again, there's some decent rhythmic interest in the composition. There are some elements of it that I really like, but it feels a little bit ponderous in places too. I can't quite put my finger on this one really, it feels like it's almost really good, but just doesn't completely connect. Bullet With Butterfly Wings - There's a bit of subtlety to this one that's good. It's a slower burn that builds tension well and then has a frantic fury to the heavier sections. Solid performances across the board, even if there are the odd bits that get a tad repetitive. Pretty good though. To Forgive - The vibe to this is good. It's got a nice soft groove underpinning it and it has some really cool tonal changes that take it in unexpected directions now and then. It gets a tiny bit meandering, but still decent. An Ode To No One - Now this is more like it. Tonally fierce, throbbing and packed with drive. They do throw in interesting rhythmic breaks here and there that I like. The breakdown felt a little overworked, but when it comes back in, it's great. So much going on but it still feels coherent and has a lot of forward direction. Good stuff. Love - The falling to pieces tone of the saturation here is lovely. It's sonically gritty and lush. The song rumbles along brilliantly with some tasty bits of ear candy popping out from beneath the wash of dirt. It's got a great chorus too. What an interesting combination of composition and production. Really good. Cupid De Locke - I actually quite like the orchestration here and there's still a bit of muddiness that underlies the clean top end that connects it to the previous track better than I initially thought. The interwoven lines from the different instruments give this great momentum and feel, and the little sprinklings of reversed audio are gorgeous. Galapogos - A pretty little song here that has some really, really nice guitar work. It threatens to build to something a few times and pulls away before delivering, but it works effectively, with a bubbling tension that always gets whipped away at the last moment. There's some really nice subtle use of mellotron in here too. Nice. Muzzle - It's got a restrained pace to it, but the groove to this is pretty good. It ebbs and flows as it goes and the different sections feed into each other pretty well. It's another that I think is pretty good, but perhaps doesn't completely connect with me and feels a little lacking in something that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it's a tad rambly and also vocally repetitive. Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans - A nice, slow build here. It's subtle and restrained and the production is lovely. It's quite a jarring jump into the distorted guitar riff though. The crispy grit that layers when it drops back to the quieter section is lovely. The heavier sections are pretty good too, actually and I like the different elements of production they use in each of the quieter sections, giving it sonic depth and an evolving quality that allows a long song like this to feel justified and fresh to the end. Take Me Down - A weaker song to finish side one, but I guess they've got to give James Iha one. It's just a bit dull and despite the fact that Billy Corgan's voice is a bit weird, at least he has a distinctive style. Ihas' voice is just weak and he struggles to hit the higher notes. Meh. Where Boys Fear To Tread - It's a bit of an aimless start, but the riff is solid when it gets going. That being said, it feels a bit rhythmically and dynamically flat and monotonous. There's something in there, but everything feels like it lacks the urgency and intensity that the better songs display. Bodies - There's a bit more to this than the previous track, but it still feels a bit dynamically limited. At least Corgan's vocal attempts to give things a bit more intensity and the breakdown in the middle adds a bit of extra variety. I'm not entirely sold on the vocal melodies here though and he does get a bit repetitive. Thirty-Three - This is quite pretty and has some interesting sound design elements to it. It is quite repetitive, particularly on the percussion side of things, but it's got enough going on in the tonal elements to keep it from getting too bogged down. In The Arms Of Sleep - There are some really nice bits and pieces in here, but it's a bit bland from a songwriting point of view. It's pleasant enough, but it doesn't really go anywhere and despite the production efforts to give it a bit of depth, which add a bit of life to it, things do feel just a little musically thin. 1979 - Things are picking up again now. The mix is excellent and the production gives depth, while the musical foundation is really strong. That combination is a winner. There's dynamic range, some solid vocal melodies and interesting development of the musical themes. The building intensity in places is really nice too, although it feels like a higher peak would have been nice. Tales Of A Scorched Earth - Quite the tonal shift, not just musically, but from a production point of view too. This is cool, but it's very muddy and sludgy, especially after 1979. I like it and it has good intensity and tone, but it's such a sonic shift that it feels jarring. Thru The Eyes Of Ruby - Another sharp direction change. It's pretty and swells and pulses beautifully and then develops into something nice and weighty. It's another where there are some really strong bits, but I'm not sure it justifies a seven and a half minute runtime. The stripped back section at the end is really nice, but it just took too long to get there, and then the acoustic guitar bit feels more like a move into another track than part of this one. Stumbleine - Another pleasant enough song that is melodically quite pretty but doesn't particularly do much other than dance around its core theme. Its just a tad rambly and aimless, but it's not bad. X.Y.U. - This is a bit more like it again. Good riffs, driving grooves and plenty of dynamic range. It has the right level of intensity from the vocal to match up with the simmering and then pulsating sections from the rest of the band. The breakdown is cool too and builds back up nicely with the increasing pace and Fury working really well. I'm not sure this needed to be 7 minutes long, but it would have made for a great album closer. We Only Come Out At Night - This has got some interesting sounds in it, but it's quite plodding. I feel like I'm saying this a lot, but there are some great elements about it and some weaker ones. I quite like the slight weirdness of it, but it's not that musically interesting. Sonically, it's cool though. Might work ok if it wasn't more than an hour and a half into the record. Beautiful - Again, this is quite plodding. There's some nice bits of sound design, but it's less sonically interesting and it's very basic musically and doesn't have particularly satisfying flow. It's quite maudlin, but not in a very interesting way. I don't really rate the drumming here either. Feels like this is really petering out now. Lily (My One And Only) - Yep, definitely petering out. Again, this is plodding, the drumming is quite annoying (why is that repetitive hi-hat so prominent) and it feels very musically basic and quite unoriginal. It kind of feels like an early demo rather than a finalised track. By Starlight - This is a bit better. It feels more well rounded and tonally consistent. It's a shame that this has come after a couple of quite plodding tracks, because it really feels like the album is running out of steam, but this is actually really nice. It's well written, has good melodies and has a good emotional core. A really nice track. Farewell And Goodnight - A fairly generic and uninteresting ballad. It's ok, I guess, but I don't really see what it offers as the 28th track on the album apart from giving Iha another vocal and writing credit. Big old meh.

10/10 This was an easy one to rate. To my ears, this is one of the finest albums ever recorded and it's one that is never far from being back on my speakers. I've listened to it hundreds of times before and it's still magical to hear. But what makes it so special? Joni has always been somewhat experimental with her music, with her generally folk rock aesthetic pulling in influence from jazz and classical music. She messed around with uncommon tunings and was always striving to do something unique and fresh with her work. This resulted in a lot of great music, but Blue was the moment where everything converged into something remarkable. There's something incredibly open and vulnerable about this record, but it never shies away or hides the personal nature of the work. It also feels so free-flowing and spontaneous in a way that not many other artists pull off. Her melodies flow, spread out and then pull back in in a way that has a beautiful roaming quality, but they pull off the magic trick of never losing the thread of the song, always feeling centred and purposeful, even in their most drifting moments. Her lyrics are delightful and she is able to present emotion in such an affecting way with that combination of poetic lyricism and stunning melody. She also deals incredibly well with dynamic, sometimes pulling back to the subtlest of tones and arrangements, before soaring into a powerful and full bodied swathe of emotion. It's really glorious stuff. She's also incredibly careful to balance her orchestration. There's not a lot of instrumentation on this record, but when it's used, it all feels impactful and significant, enhancing the purpose of the music, rather than just bulking it out for no reason. The resultant ebb and flow creates this evolving, shifting wash of songs that takes you on a delightful journey through the mind of Joni Mitchell. There's not a stray note on this record at all and with each song, there's something that grabs hold of you and won't let go. I could ramble on about this record for ever, but it's probably just time to give it another spin. All I Want - Joni's melodies are free flowing and beautiful. This is a hell of an opener and showcases that fine skill of musically roaming while retaining a connection to the central motifs and themes of a song while always keeping things fresh. It's got superb dynamic range and she pushes and pulls the intensity of both her vocal and guitar playing so well. My Old Man - I find the routes that Joni takes to be endlessly beguiling. Many of the chord changes and melodic transitions on this song are quite out of the ordinary, but it all feels so natural and fluid. But again, she keeps a thread tied to the song's centre beautifully. She's so expressive with her delivery both as a singer and a player too. Little Green - This is so delicate to begin with, but she uses dynamic brilliantly and has so much control at every level of power in her vocal. This is just restrained, fairly sparse, but utterly beautiful. Carey - And now we're on to something with a bit more zip. The rhythms of her lyrics over her strumming and picking patterns are absolutely delicious, particularly with the cadences of her melodies supported by some perfectly balanced backing vocals. She uses a very different approach to her vocal delivery by the end and showcases an even wider range. Brilliant. Blue - The ebb and flow of the tempo on this track is excellent. Joni at her best has such an emotive way of performing and while this is less of a melodically centred track, it just presents that emotion in such a raw and fluent way that it offers something different but equally special. California - Again, things pick up a little pace wise now. I really love the rhythmic delivery of the vocal against the groove of the guitar part and the extra orchestration adds depth and an interesting twist to the tone. There are some melodic moments in this song, little trills and runs that give me goosebumps every single time, and I've listened to this album hundreds of times. It's just so pretty, melodically fluid and rhythmically interesting. This Flight Tonight - More great grooves, more soaring melodies, more moments of beautifully balanced dynamism. Again, some of those high trills are so pretty and also feel incredibly spontaneous. The lilt of the groove here is incredibly engaging and fun too. River - This is an achingly beautiful song. My first choice for any Christmas playlist. The subtlety of the playing and singing is superb, the dynamic control is excellent, and the rhythmic choices of the lyrical flow are incredibly engaging. And those melodies. Wow. A Case Of You - Straight on to another special, special track. This is an utterly stunning song. The free flowing melodies are incredibly beautiful, her lyrics are exquisitely poetic. It's deft and subtle, but it's all delivered with such an open, exposed style. While there's band work on this track, it does the bare minimum to support Joni and is all the stronger for it. The Last Time I Saw Richard - The roaming vocals on this track perhaps stray a little towards the edge, but just about stay within bounds. It's a more meandering song, but it continues on with that ebb and flow of power to her performance that evokes so much feeling, and it's kind of nice to end on a song that feels so free flowing and slightly less focused, just to give a bit more of a jazzy melodic bent to the final breaths of the record.

6/10 This is one of the stranger albums I’ve had the pleasure of listening to recently, in that it somehow sat in a world where I felt there were some really great aspects to it, but there were enough little bits about each track that I wasn’t able to fully connect with it in the way I was desperately trying to. I felt like I really wanted to find an in to the record, but for the most part, there was just a little disconnect there that didn’t fully engage me in a way that I felt it was really close to doing. It also felt a little stilted in flow, and like it was jumping a little too readily from one stylistic position to another without a careful enough transition. I was interested to read that this was a concept double-album that the record company got cold feet about and edited down the length of each track. Perhaps that’s why it doesn’t feel entirely coherent, as the intended flow of the album is absent from the final product. Lou Reed’s voice is one that works really well with some tracks, but in others it can be a little distracting. When everything came together most successfully for me was during the darker tracks, with the one two punch of The Kids and The Bed being a particular highlight. They were grimy, tragic and beautiful in equal measure and Reed’s earthy, everyman vocal worked incredibly well in those moments to make everything feel incredibly real and grounded. The production and instrumental arrangements across the record were actually really good, but I feel like there were not quite enough moments that grabbed hold of me and the aforementioned inconsistency of flow made this an enjoyable ride that fell just short of what I wanted it to be. Berlin - It’s quite an odd start, with a sound collage that doesn’t obviously indicate anything specific, but then it’s a sparse and pretty piano piece. I think Reed’s voice works quite well with this, the close-mic technique giving it a very intimate sound. There’s good dynamic and a cool flow to the playing. It’s pretty, but feels more of an intro than a full-blown song. Lady Day - This is quite sonically interesting, although a tad meandering. Some of the production is really good, and it’s got good punch to it. The lead vocal is decent again, but feels a little less musically connected in a few places, particularly during the verses. The chorus is really good here, though. Quirky, musically dense and slightly avant garde, but with a good sense of direction. I actually really got into this one as it went along. Men Of Good Fortune - This is quite nice too. There’s some cool playing and it ebbs and flows nicely. I’m not entirely in love with Reed’s vocal here, but I also don’t dislike it. There are moments when I feel like it does drag itself on a little too much and loses its centre, but I actually quite like the slightly drifting nature of the instrumentation. Maybe it feels like it should be building into something that it never quite reaches, but it was an enjoyable journey nonetheless. Caroline Says I - In this one, the instrumentation feels a bit more certain of its direction than the vocal is. The verses are a little disjointed, but it gathers things up pretty well into the choruses. As with much of the album so far, there are some really good things in here, but it doesn’t feel entirely like it’s won me over, so I’m left in a bit of a weird hinterland with it. Don’t love it, appreciate quite a bit of it. How Do You Think It Feels - Stylistically, this feels quite different from the other tracks so far, in that there are some quite poppy elements to it, but when you add Lou Reed’s vocal, it makes it feel a bit strange. It just feels a tad disconnected and I’m not sure the tone of the track really completely jives with what we’ve had up to this point. It kind of feels like he’s just nabbed someone else’s master tape and added his own vocal over it. Oh, Jim - Ok, this does run on a bit more coherently from the last track. I really like when he strips things out and does sparse sections that build back into more fully orchestrated sections, but it’s still a slightly odd tonal blend between the composition and musical style and Reed’s vocal and lyrical content. In some ways I quite like it, but it’s also a bit of a challenging juxtaposition. The ending also feels a little disconnected. Caroline Says II - This is one of those where the less refined tuning and delivery of the vocal jars a little more with the sharp and focused melodic nature of the rest of the track. It’s a darkly pretty track, although it’s perhaps a tiny bit rhythmically stilted. It’s a little meandering, but it’s still an engaging listen for the most part. The Kids - Another dark but pretty track. It’s sparse and restrained, but there’s something compelling about it. The bass sounds great and the way the music builds up and recedes again is really nice. I think in this instance, the vocal delivery actually works well to keep you hanging on the song, particularly combined with that slow pulse of the track’s rhythm. The addition of the crying kids makes it even more grim, but it’s a really effective piece of dark art for that. Not one for an every day listen, but it’s really, really good. The Bed - This is dark, grim and pretty again. The style of his vocal lends a sense of mundanity and ordinariness to things thats really affecting, making the song feel incredibly raw and real. The careful choices and subtlety of the instrumentation in the background behind the guitar and vocal are incredibly effectively balanced. As with the previous track, this is great. It’s another one for a specific time and mindset, but it’s superbly constructed, delivered and produced. Sad Song - This has more of the feel of How Do You Think It Feels, in that it’s quite poppy in some respects, but at least there’s more of an edge of weirdness to it. It’s a slightly strange tonal jump from the last couple of tracks and I’m not completely in love with the pop rock guitar soloing. As with much of the album, it’s quite a strange production and while I quite like aspects of it, it doesn’t completely connect with me on enough levels to be entirely convincing. The ending builds up to something really nice though.

7/10 Looking back on this now, it would be pretty easy to dismiss this as a britpop album with one foot a little too stuck in the 60s, but when considering that it was recorded over a three year period starting in 1987, its significance becomes suddenly more apparent. This is a record that paved the way for a lot of music that would dominate the following decade, with its jangly guitars, poppy melodies and working class grit. While it’s not a perfect album, there are some really great moments on there, and the blend of rhythms that they often produce across the instrumentation offers a pretty engaging vive to the bulk of the work. Lee Mavers obviously has a great ear for a melody, but there’s also a level of harmonic complexity to some of the guitar and bass work that provides a more nuanced musical depth to what, on the surface, seem to be songs that lean towards being somewhat structurally basic pop songs. While those elements of the music are certainly endearing, it does feel a little like they didn’t spend enough time developing their ideas into more comprehensively fleshed out works, with only two tracks on the album clocking in at over 3 minutes. That’s not a problem per se, but it does sometimes feel like the cool idea that Mavers came up with was the end of his interest in the song and he’d quickly shift on to the next thing. Even the biggest hit here, and it’s a pretty perfect pop song, There She Goes, is basically a chorus and a bridge with nothing else to complicate matters. Te shortness of the songs does mean that the weaker moments on the album do shift by fairly quickly though and, while this is a slightly uneven album, both from a quality perspective and a sonic one, it does manage to keep one’s ear pretty well for the duration. It took three years, multiple sessions and multiple producers to create this album, which the band were still unhappy with, but the record company forced it through. That does go some way to explain the slight inconsistency of the production. The fact that the band took so long faffing around to get this far, and subsequently failed to release any more music at all, suggests that it may have been something in the nature of the band to tinker and tinker, never feeling completely satisfied with the results. Perhaps was quite fortunate that they even managed to release this. It’s a bit of a shame really, as there’s a lot of potential in this record, and it would have been nice to see how they developed as a band. Either way, this record certainly feels important, even if it’s not the most even or spellbinding of albums. Son Of A Gun - It’s a nice start, the music shifts around in nice patterns and it’s got a solid groove. There’s nothing complex about it, but it’s well executed. It reminds me a bit of a blend of REM with a British invasion sound thrown in. It’s a great sound, but it’s done so quickly that it feels a tad underdeveloped. I Can't Sleep - This one leans more towards that 60s British rock sound. It’g got a nice blend of rhythms with the drums and guitars creating a nice overlapping push and pull to the groove. There are some cool melodies in here and it’s pretty hooky and well constructed. Again, it hardly hangs around for long enough to explore any further developments. Timeless Melody - I like the blend of rhythms again here. Melodically it reminds me of a more upbeat take on the Smiths again with that 60s britrock thrown in. You can definitely hear a whole host of 90s bands in here, so you can really understand how these guys had a big influence on britpop and other alternative and pop rock 90s bands. Things have been a little tonally inconsistent so far, but it’s all been melodically and rhythmically engaging even if a little lacking in thematic development. Liberty Ship - There’s a nice swung groove to this and again, it sounds very 60s, particularly the vocal harmonies. It’s a really cool sequence, but unfortunately, there’s just not very much development or variation and it’s more or less the same thing for two and a a half minutes except for the subtle addition of some synth pads, so it doesn’t offer much beyond the initial enjoyment of the groove. There She Goes - Ah, the one everyone knows and has heard a million times before. It’s a pretty perfect pop song, with the rhythms of all the parts dancing around each other beautifully, some really simple but beautiful vocal melodies and easy to understand and remember lyrics. It’s essentially three choruses with a bridge that’s just a variation on that same chorus, and that’s it. But it’s so well executed and balanced. Doledrum - This feels quite the precursor to bands like Oasis and Blur, but still has one foot firmly in the 60s. It’s simple, but well executed, has some more of those great bouncing rhythms and is pretty infectious. Pretty good stuff. Feelin' - The vibe of this is great. It’s got an edge of grit to it and the bounce of the rhythm is really good. There’s some great guitar work in there that drags you in. He struggles a bit with his transition to falsetto in the vocal, but it’s quite endearing in a way. And then it’s done! Way Out - Again, this has a big pre-britpop feel to it. As with much of the album, the rhythms of the different parts blend together really well and it’s got a cool, bouncy and insistent groove to it as a result. There’s some nice bits of melodic writing in there too. The transitions into different sections are pretty deft too. Nice stuff. I.O.U. - There’s almost a bluegrassy feel under this. Again, it’s very 60s, but it’s well executed. The transition into the bridge is really good, but ultimately it’s a little on the repetitive and derivative side, and doesn’t feel like it’s doing anything particularly fresh compared to the better tracks on the album. Freedom Song - This is a little on the plodding side but has another pre-90s rock sound to it, particularly in the vocal delivery. There’s some nice bits in there, but it’s just a little bit too basic and flat for me. Some of the background soundscaping work is pretty nice though. Failure - Another proto-britpop sounding track here with its bones hanging out in the 60s. It’s got a great, gritty sound and a solid groove. Ultimately, it doesn’t offer a great amount of range and development though, so while I like the vibe, it’s just a little too musically stale for me. Looking Glass - One song over 3 minutes on the whole record until they close with one that’s nearly 8 minutes. As with much of the album, you can feel them laying the groundwork for the music of the 90s while referencing back to the biggest British music of the past. I was hoping for a little bit more development for a song of this length and ultimately, while it has a decent enough vibe, it’s not vastly interesting because there’s not really enough musical depth to sustain a track of this length and it all feels a tiny bit rhythmically stilted, despite the fairly cool tempo increase to the end.

5/10 What do I know about Paul Weller apart from the “Wellend” haircut and his work with The Jam? Not a lot, really. He’s always embodied his “modfather” persona in my mind and it’s not an aesthetic that’s particularly drawn me in at any point. I was actually quite surprised by this album, because I wasn’t really expecting its blend of lightweight soul and 70s rock, and it was a pretty pleasant listen. I found myself toe-tapping along to a lot of it, it had some nice grooves and the performances across the board were pretty strong. It was also really well produced, with everything coherently laid together and presented in a very easy to digest tone. Unfortunately, it also just wasn’t very exciting or memorable. It was in no way bad, but even after three listens, nothing really stuck with me. I enjoyed it a reasonable amount while it was playing, but nothing hooked me, or stuck out to me as special in any way. It was kind of like a sonically updated take on 70s rock, but designed to be played in home furnishing stores. There was no edge, no bite and not really any particularly memorable hooks. His voice is pretty nice, but he doesn’t do anything interesting with it and ultimately, it all just felt a bit empty. After 3 complete listens, the only thing I can remember at this point is the melody from the final song, which was actually one of the more memorable across the album, but I have no real desire to go back through this again, particularly at it’s over-long running time of over 50 minutes. I did decide that 15 tracks was enough, and ducked out of reviewing the bonus track, so that probably tells something of a story. 90s album runtimes have a lot to answer for. Sunflower - Quite a pleasant start, it’s got a decent groove and swagger to it with an edge of insistence in the drums. Some of the background instrumentation seems a little unnecessary. Some nice bits of guitar, but nothing overly hooky. It’s ok, but there’s nothing in there that really grabs me. I think it just sounds a bit generic like an updated on 70s blue-rock with 90s production. Can You Heal Us (Holy Man) - This is a nice, smooth bluesy soul number. The verses are really good, but I don’t really like the chorus at all. It loses the flow and easy groove of the verses and feels too stilted and straight. The guitar and bass lines in the verses re great, and his voice is great too. Really earthy and warm. Shame about that crappy chorus though. Wild Wood - Again, there’s a nice swagger to this, but ultimately, I find it a bit dull. It’s ok and the performances are all good, but it just doesn’t really say anything to me or have any particularly memorable moments. It just feels like it happens until it stops happening. Instrumental (Pt 1) - This has a decent blend of parts, but it doesn’t really progress anything and just sort of sits here being fairly pleasant but not actually going anywhere. The most exciting bit happens when a sax starts coming in… during the fadeout. A very strange inclusion and pretty much unnecessary on an album that’s too long. All The Pictures On The Wall - This has got a little bit more to it. There’s decent developments and it has a great groove that’s built well across bass, guitar and drums which dance around each other nicely. The brief additions of the organ add an extra bit of flavour too. I can’t say it’s particularly memorable or something I’m likely to hurry back to, but I’m quite enjoying my time with it for now. Has My Fire Really Gone Out? - It’s another modern take of a 70s bluesy rock number. Again, this feels competently executed, but there’s nothing there in the composition that grabs me beyond it being a pleasant listen. There are no edges to grip on to, and when he does ramp it up with a bit more intensity, it’s way too splashy and jars against the fairly easy listening tone of the rest of the track. This is all just a little on the beige side for me. And I’m not sure what the weird bass pulse at the end has to do with anything. Country - This is just bland. There’s not any of the swagger or groove present on the rest of the album, it feels somewhat emotionless, and there’s still nothing in there that I can grab on to. It just repeats itself for three and a half minutes, but just doesn’t speak to me in any way at all. Instrumental Two - Another unnecessary instrumental to bulk up the running time? There’s some nice little bits of production in here, but it just feels tacked on. 5th Season - A decent groove again that pulses along quite nicely. There’s some really good playing on here, with the guitar, piano and harmonica adding some really nice pieces of tonal rhythm into the piece. This one is actually pretty good. There’s nothing particularly hooky about it, but it’s carried really well by the playing and the general groove across the band. But the most engaging parts are definitely the instrumental sections. The Weaver - This reminds me of something that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s inoffensive, the playing is solid and it’s actually got a half decent chorus. The feel and groove of this one is pretty good and it’s one of the hookier efforts on the record thus far. There were still bits where I felt like it drifted a little though, so I’m still not completely convinced. The cadence of his delivery and some of the melodic motifs he used were quite overused too, which was a shame. Instrumental (Pt 2) - Ooooh, the second part of the first unnecessary instrumental track? Yes please. /s Foot Of The Mountain - This is similar in vibe to Country from earlier, much more sparse than much of the rest of the album, but again, I don’t really connect with what he’s trying to portray with this. It kind of just sounds a bit like one of those performances you’d hear from one of the better singer songwriter performances at an open mic night. Shadow Of The Sun - This is a bit rambling and feels pretty easy-listening. Fairly pleasant, but a bit empty. As with much of the album, the performances are of really good quality, it’s cleanly and coherently produced, he’s a good singer, but it just doesn’t really do anything for me. And I’ve no idea why this track has to be seven and a half minutes long. Holy Man (Reprise) - In an already too long album, we get a reprise to the second track on the second to last track. It’s pretty good, as it was the first time we heard it. Moon On Your Pyjamas - This is a bit odd, it feels like the weakest vocal performance on the album, despite being one of the most exposed songs due to the clean nature of a lot of the instruments. There are just moments where his vocal doesn’t quite deliver the control he’s shown elsewhere. It’s actually quite a nice song, even if it’s a tad cheesy, and melodically it actually feels like one of the stronger tracks on the record. A nice way to end.

8/10 David Bowie has such a high bar that it can be easy to dismiss some of his really good work because it doesn't quite match up to his most genius moments, but the development of the soulful work from Young Americans into this more alien sound is really captivating. Yes, it doesn't fully reach the heights that Bowie proved himself capable of, but this feels a far more "Bowie" album than it's predecessor. It successfully piles together his influences into a melting pot and dusts them with slightly experimental and avant garde presentation to give the record an otherworldly and unique flavour. There's plenty of balanced and compelling grooves present here, with some really excellent instrumental performances across the board that are tight and funky with just the right amount of freedom to the playing to imbue them with soul. As an album it's also got a very coherent tone, flowing beautifully from track to track, despite touching on different areas of focus on different tracks, from funky to poppy and even finding time to throw back to the more glam sound of his earlier work. But as with any Bowie album, it lives and dies on the unique talents of the man himself. Good as many of these tracks are, the special sauce here is David Bowie's delivery. Now presenting himself as the Thin White Duke, Bowie's vocal work gives each song a slightly disconnected yet charismatic aura of eccentricity and control that is so terrificly charming, that little bit off the wall, and so distinctivly him that it's hard to deny. And the more you listen, the deeper he buries himself into your brain. Station To Station - Its a pretty slow start, but when it gets going there's a decent groove here. Unfortunately it then takes too long to develop into anything more. The soundscaping and ear candy is really good, but it's all dragged on too long. For me, there's just not enough development of the ideas here early doors, despite those core ideas being very good. It finally breaks into something new 5 minutes in and kicks up a notch. The second half of the track is really good. A proper mixed bag of a track. So much groove, swagger and attitude, and there's some great playing and a solid feel to the rhythm. I can't help but feel this would be a really excellent 6 minute song that's been dragged on for over 10 minutes. Golden Years - The interwoven grooves across the instrumentation here are excellent. Bowie's in typically charismatically aloof form. There are some really solid hooks and melodic moments, but it's all carried along brilliantly by that shuffling, shifting groove the moves so smoothly and organically between sections. It's got great soul to it too. Fantastic track. Word On A Wing - This is more relaxed, but there's still some tasty blends of different lines across the different instruments. It's a decent track, but feels a tiny bit emotionally overwrought and melodramatic. Bowie can do that really well, but it doesn't completely connect here. It's still pretty good though, and again, the playing and production are great. TVC 15 - Now we get a great blend of Bowie styles, it's got a funky groove, some more rhythm and blues elements and a bit of a glam twist to it too. The chorus hook is great, blending a pop music sensibility with a darker atmospheric sound and it's got a twist of weirdness to it that gives it a slightly alien edge. An excellent slice of poppy, funky Bowie oddness. Stay - The intro to this is a great blend of groove and bite and there's an impressive feel to the rhythmic mix. Again, there's a poppy edge to the chorus, but it's spun into a web of overlapping styles and aloof, alien delivery that gives it a really unique and satisfying sound. The whole thing rolls, shifts and pulses with evolving grooves and excellent but not overstated instrumental performances. More great stuff. Wild Is The Wind - We close with a cover, but it's well put together and delivered, with Bowie embodying the slightly disconnected longing of the Thin White Duke. It's more sparse and restrained than the strongest tracks on the album, but the vibe is still fantastic. The bass work here is a particular highlight, but there's some great drumming too and the closeness of the grooves are compelling. Bowie's vocal drifting around the more centred melodic work from the guitar is also really nice. A pretty cool way to end the record.

7/10 David Bowie, Tony Visconti, Brian Eno *and* Robert Fripp? There’s certainly a wealth of talents and skillsets in play for this one. The title track is one that many would put close to the top of their list of favourite Bowie tracks and, while it has been overly present in endless montages, it still does have that great blend of otherworldliness and uplifting, engaging charisma about it that makes it get hold of people. The thing is, that track isn’t actually very representative of this album. It’s kind of hard to view this album as a whole, actually, because it’s not the most free-flowing or structurally coherent of records. There is some really great stuff on here, but it does feel a bit like they couldn’t quite tame everything into a completely coherent whole. The first side, Bowie is on avant garde rock form, and there are moments when his ear for a hook and his charisma shine through, but also moments where things become a little too cacophonous and impenetrable. There are definitely moments to hang one’s hat on, and the use of interesting tones and production techniques add an intriguing air to things, but to me it struggles a little with balance and cohesiveness. The second half is actually where this record shines for me. There are fingerprints of Eno (and some from Fripp) all over it, as he began his experimentation with ambient music, and some of the soundscaping work is simply gorgeous. There are tones in here that sound both very much of their era, but also staggeringly ahead of their time in that beautiful way that you can’t quite place them, listening 50 years into the future. The flow of this second half is way more consistent too, with the tracks organically flowing into one another, creating a shimmering, pulsating and evolving series of works that, while not typically Bowie, provide a really interesting twist on his work, and one that I found really engaging. With all that being said, and the splitting of the two LP sides actually working in favour of coherence, I did feel that, while there were bits of flickering brilliance scattered across the album, it’s one that to ultimately feels like a record that is both good and interesting, rather than a completely consistent and great one. Beauty And The Beast - It’s certainly a slightly wacky start. There’s good drive and intensity to the underlying direction of the track, but it’s a slightly obtuse blend of tonal layers over the top of it. I quite like it though, it feels like a bit of a manic fever dream, but there’s enough hooky moments in there to give things a bit of a centre point to hang the more avant garde choices around. Joe The Lion - Carrying on from the opener, this feels a bit more cluttered and noisy, but doesn’t have any of the same melodic hooks to hang itself on, so it feels a little more impenetrable. Bowie is going for it in a “Bowie turned up to 11” that’s maybe a little too much for me and drifts a little into shouting rather than singing. There’s some interesting blends of tones in the production, but it doesn’t quite gel for me, unfortunately and feels a bit too messy. "Heroes" - It’s a classic. The overlapping feedback of Robert Fripp’s guitar is a really cool, atmospheric device within the song that actually elevates what is a fairly run of the mill composition into something with a bit more depth and interest, as does the slow build of layers as the song progresses. Bowie’s increasing vocal intensity also helps it work as an evolving, building piece. The melodic hooks don’t hurt either. While it’s not one of my personal top Bowie tracks, it’s a classic for a reason. Sons Of The Silent Age - The production and soundscaping of this are really cool and some of the techniques that Visconti used are really apparent here, particularly the three mic technique. It’s quite a psychedelic experience and I think the vibe is fantastic, but I do find it a little too vocally meandering in places. It gathers things up elsewhere, but again, I don’t find it completely connecting with me. Blackout - This feels a little disorganised, in a similar way to Joe The Lion. Again, there are bits that I can pick out as being really good, and I appreciate the production direction, but it manages to fall somewhere between being completely wacky and avant garde and sometimes straying towards something of a more standard rock song and that “foot in both camps” style just doesn’t quite hit the spot for me. Bowie seems in places to be more focused on the bite in his delivery than the tonality and it makes it a little more difficult to parse. V-2 Schneider - Moving on to the more instrumentally focused side of the record now, melodically, there feels like there’s a bit of a recall back to Beauty And The Beast in a couple of places. The vibe and wash of sounds are really cool, and there are some interesting blends of sounds. It could probably do a bit more to develop that sound, but it’s only three minutes, so still works pretty well. Sense Of Doubt - This is pretty atmospheric and another interesting blend of sounds. You can hear Brian Eno all over this, even if he doesn’t get a writing credit. It’s kind of like if Eno and Boards of Canada worked together in some ways; restrained, tonally captivating, but with a sense of unrelenting dread about it. It’s sparse and doesn’t significantly develop on a musical level, but from a production and vibe point of view, it’s great stuff. Moss Garden - And we drift straight into this from the previous track. Again, it’s got more than a sniff of Eno’s adventures in ambient music that were happening around this time, with Discreet Music predating this by a couple of years. It’s really lovely stuff that sweeps and drifts along with evolving synth pads that shimmer in and out of focus. There are some really tasty pieces of saturation and rumbling or discordant tones that seep in here and there, giving it great depth and the Koto gives it a focal point that pulls attention while the underlying musical bed does its job. Love it. Neuköln - This is more cool soundscaping stuff. It feels a little less connected and coherent than the last couple of tracks, but there’s still some really good stuff in here. It does drift a little into self indulgence with the sax parts by the end though, starting to feel a bit like Bowie’s trying a bit too hard to be quirky without it necessarily serving the song completely. The Secret Life Of Arabia - There’s a good groove to this. It definitely references back to some of the more funk and soul influenced stuff that Bowie was working with a few years before, but there’s a layer of synth and guitar work over it that helps it to blend in more tonally with the rest of this album. There are some decent hooks in here and the underlying pulse is engaging, with the piano and guitar work adding a nice swing to the rhythm. This one kind of comes out of nowhere after the rest of this side of the record, but it’s definitely got something about it.

8/10 Dinosaur Jr. are a band that somehow manages to gather the noisy, cacophonous sonic oppression of Sonic Youth, tame it into something with a tad more musical separation and clarity, and then sprinkle it with the melodic sensibility of R.E.M.. For some, J Mascis’ vocal style will be a turn off, but for me it’s the perfect fit for the band’s music, in the same way that Thom Yorke would be a crap singer for Queen, but he’s the perfect one for Radiohead. He delivers a lazy, almost folksy drawl that imbues the music with a level of charm and earthiness that a more traditional singer wouldn’t be able to provide. It also helps the melodic work to settle more comfortably in with the tone and vibe of the rest of the music. Across this album, I found myself becoming more and more engaged with the deft blend of pop-music hook writing and art-rock noise, with the quality and intensity of the playing only helping to endear the work to me. You can definitely hear the influence that Dinosaur Jr. had on the grunge bands that emerged around this time, and there’s more than a hint of their sound in some of Nirvana’s output, with Kurt Cobain being a big fan of their work. There’s a good flow to this record too, with moments of almost-calm appearing here and there, and moments where the melodic focus takes more of a centre stage, while in others the relentless fiery drive takes over and the weight and force of the band come into full effect. The band are great musicians too, with shining moments from each member popping up in various places across the record, from the drumming in They Always Come to the guitar solos in Let It Ride and the pulsing bass in The Post. But they never overplay or push their performances ahead of the focus of the song. I do feel like there is a slight lull towards the end and the final song is definitely not an every day listen, but I did enjoy them bowing out with something that allowed them to unshackle themselves from the melodic constraints that they largely adhered to elsewhere and give us something with undeniable intensity. This one floats close to a 9 and will definitely be one to revisit and possibly reappraise the more I listen. Freak Scene - The lazy, conversational melodic style of J Mascis’ vocal lends a charming air to Dinosaur Jr.’s work, and the album kicks off well in that regard. Musically, it threads that needle between the almost jangle-pop and the proto-grunge sound, feeling grimy and DIY, but still maintaining a slight edge of pop music sensibility with the structural and melodic direction they take. A lovely little opener that’s got me in the mood for more. No Bones - This is a bit slower-paced and less melodically focused, but there’s still something about it that’s drawing me in. I think the blend of rhythms across the instruments are really engaging and there are some pretty cool riffs in there too. The descent into noise while the little melodic motifs carry on punching their way through the wash towards the end is pretty cool. It’s messy, but in an endearing and interesting way. They Always Come - I love the full band rhythmic stops they use here. The general groove is great anyway, but those stops give it extra punch and feel. This has ramped up the tempo again, and demonstrates some more flickers of those pop-melodic moments that I like. It’s a full and weighty sound, but again bridges a clattering, punky edge with something more harmonically complex and almost tender. It’s such a cool blend. And there’s some great drumming in this one too. Yeah We Know - Some of the riffs in here are top notch, as is the drumming. There’s a lot of feel to the way the band plays, which could easily be missed in amongst the washes of distortion, but I feel like the production presents everything with just the right amount of clarity to get that feel and nuance to shine through. The vocal melodies are subtle, but with the slightly brighter lead guitar parts give this a slight edge of airiness that’s pretty musically engaging. I don’t think they’ve really missed a beat so far, and this was another solid track. Let It Ride - God, this whips along so well. Loads of pace and drive, It’s incredibly insistent and forceful, but really tight. They manage to transition really well into sections that sonically differ, but never lose the momentum and intensity of the song. The vocal is great too; simple, but really effective. And then the guitar solos just give it an extra bit of spice to round things off. More quality stuff. Pond Song - We’re back to something more melodically focused here, but it’s still got great power and pace to it too. The band are super controlled again and it’s a brilliant blend of light and airy with gritty intensity. J Mascis just drifts over the top giving another great vocal performance that feels somehow earthy and ethereal at the same time, but in such an atypical way, it’s kind of hard to explain. The tempo drop half way through is so smoothly done, I had to skip back a couple of times to enjoy it. Budge - This album is a tiny bit relentless, but it’s still getting ahold of me. There are some great melodic moments across this and the general vibe is so impressive. It’s super noisy in places, but there’s also a great deal of clarity and definition that allows you to appreciate the composition, and it retains that slightly poppy edge to it that makes it approachable. The Post - This is a bit more swampy, and a little less focused, but there are still some good elements at play here. The throbbing bass is particularly cool and the noisy washes of guitar create an interesting sonic palette. It doesn’t manage to quite find the level of melodic engagement to raise it up to the level of the better tracks on the album, but it’s a decent album track nonetheless. Don't - You can definitely hear influence from this type of track in Nirvana’s more extreme experimentations. It’s a lot, certainly, but It’s quite a cool way to end the album, with the overlapping washes of feedback and noise all clashing together against the intense vocal. The different phases of the track also offer different sonic experiences, all equally aggressive and unapproachable. It’s destructively cool. Perhaps not an every day listen, mind.

6/10 This is the Lou Reed album that people always cite as his best solo work, so it’s an intriguing prospect. Glancing at the track list, there are a couple of obvious classics in there, but plenty that I’m unfamiliar with to get my teeth into. One of the most obvious standouts here is the guitar work of Mick Ronson who, within months of recording Ziggy Stardust, had seemingly carried his entire recording chain more or less as-was, straight into the studio with Lou Reed and carried on working. The guitar work is fantastic, but the fact that there are a bunch of tracks on here that sound like outtakes from the Ziggy Stardust sessions does make it sound a little derivative. And when you’re replacing the enigmatic, charismatic delivery of David Bowie with the everyman, folksy vocals of Lou Reed, it does sort of pale in comparison. While the glam rock stuff on here is decent enough, but hardly spectacular, the highlights are really the areas where he dips into a more stripped back style, with Perfect Day, Walk On The Wild Side and Satellite Of Love. It’s here that his folksy delivery, ear for a melody and approach to both every day life and counter-culture collide into some really special pieces of music. But that’s the strange thing about this album for me. While there are moments of excellence, there are also moments that are incredibly odd. Not odd in a “breaking the boundaries of sound” way like Velvet Underground, but odd in a “why are you recording music hall songs on your glam rock album?” way. It’s a really strange set of choices, almost like he’d had the ideas for three albums, written 3-4 tracks for each, run out of steam and then just lumped them together onto one record. Every single bit of it is competently delivered, the playing is all excellent, the production is great, with some interesting and quirky choices that help elevate the work in places and get out of the way to let the music do the talking in others. But it just feels slightly weird and unbalanced. Lou Reed has always been regarded as a pioneer and innovator, so it seems very strange to me that this, his most lauded album, contains such derivative, if well executed, work. The outsider folk anthems are absolutely fantastic, but aside from that, it’s all just a bit meh. Which is a massive shame. Vicious - There’s something quite endearing about this, despite the fact that it’s quite rhythmically flat. And by that, I mean that one of the key parts of the drum beat sounds exactly like a metronome that ticks its way through the whole song. It also doesn’t really offer much structural range or development. Some of the more experimental sonic edges to it add extra depth and I quite like his laissez faire vocal delivery, but it’s not necessarily the most interesting of tracks. Andy's Chest - I quite like the groove to this. It has a bit more development and interest to its structure and blends swagger well with the folksy delivery that Reed sings with. I noticed it a little in the opener, but Mick Ronson’s guitar is so obviously him here that it sounds like he’s literally just finished tracking for Ziggy Stardust and then recorded this through the same recording setup. There are some great moments in the production, like the “rock, rock” vocal in the outro. Nice to hear Bowie on backing vocals too. I enjoyed this one and it was pretty good, but it’s also put me in the mood to listen to Ziggy Stardust now. Perfect Day - This is a really beautiful and subtle pop song. The use of a minor key set against the lyrical content gives it a really wistful air of nostalgia, with the brief lift into major tonality during the choruses giving that edge of hope. It’s very simple, but that’s part of why it works so well. His everyman vocal delivery helps to give this more power too, I think. It has been over-covered and overplayed, but it’s a great song. Hangin' Round - More incredibly obvious Mick Ronson guitar here. Tonally, this is really cool and definitely leans heavily into Bowie’s glam rock sound of the time. Unfortunately, that is somewhat to it’s detriment, because this sounds so Ziggy-era Bowie that it sounds almost like it could have been a track that wasn’t quite good enough for Bowie, sung by someone who, while his voice works for some things, doesn’t have the musical control and charisma to really connect with this like the man himself. But it’s still a good song. Walk On The Wild Side - The dual bass lines in this are iconic. It’s a brilliant counter-culture anthem, discussing characters that even today are on the fringes of society. The production choices, particularly the backing vocals gradually pushing forward in the mix and having the reverb removed as it happens are really cool. Again, it’s a pretty simple track, but it packs in a lot of feeling and power and is a classic for a reason. Make Up - This is a bit more plodding and almost has an edge of music hall about it. It’s a little quirky and fun, but it feels a bit lacking in musical substance, almost feeling a bit like a novelty song, with the tuba bass line really not helping. I don’t dislike it, but it it’s also just too throwaway for me. Satellite Of Love - The piano playing and production here are lovely, and I think the pre-chorus is excellent. It’s got a delightful edge of quirkiness to it and the messing around with instrumentation and production styles in places gives it extra depth and quality. The lazy swagger to the groove is great too. Another solid track. Wagon Wheel - Now we’re leaning into a bit of a T-Rex sound for the guitar. There are some really cool moments in this, but it feels a tad disorganised and rambling, getting a little bit lost when it goes off piste. It’s weird, because it’s not bad, but it feels both unfocused and, at its core, musically underdeveloped at the same time. Strange. Again, it’s still decent, but not a highlight either. New York Telephone Conversation - Similarly to Make Up, this is almost music hall in sound and just feels a bit weird, but not in a good way. I'm So Free - Here come’s Ronson’s Ziggy guitar work again. There’s a great groove to this and it’s a solid glam track, but as I’ve mentioned before, I’m not entirely convinced that Reed’s vocal style works with this type of clean and harmonically tight material and it feels like it could have been a better track done by Bowie or Bolan. The actual track itself is pretty decent, if unspectacular compared to the very best of glam. Goodnight Ladies - To close out the album we get a reprise of sorts to Make Up. It’s quite meandering and, even though the jazzy bits are quite cool, it feels a very odd stylistic choice. I don’t really understand these tracks as they fell like a pastiche of variety music from 60 odd years prior. Very strange and a little bit pointless.

5/10 Sleater Kinney are arguably the most prominent of the riot grrrl bands to emerge at the height of the grunge wave from Washington. They’re somewhere towards the more punk end of rock and the music has a nice edge of dirty DIY aesthetic about it that really tickles my fancy. I’ll get to the elephant in the room here shortly, but the underlying nature of this record is really good. There’re some great riffs, the drumming is largely excellent, and everything is approached with an aggressive, attitude filled sensibility of smashing through songs with reckless abandon, largely inside of a 2-3 minute flurry. The band sound ludicrously massive for a band with three members and no bass player. They obviously use effects to give them a weighty bottom end, but it’s incredibly impressive how cacophonous and intense they made their sound with such a limited group of instruments. So all great, you’d think. Except for that aforementioned elephant: I just can’t quite gel with Corin Tucker’s voice. It’s not a need for traditional voices (I love Tom Waits and Eddie Vedder), it’s not the power frequency of her voice (again, I love Björk and Kate Bush), it’s just that rapid vibrato she uses like she’s firing a machine gun while she sings at full pelt and I just can’t connect with it. There are the odd places where she uses it more sparingly and it clicks, or she’s offset by sharing vocals duties with Carrie Brownstein, but for the most part, I find it hard to enjoy a lot of the songs in the way I would were she a little more restrained in her use of that technique. I appreciate that’s a me thing, and a lot of people love this record, and I do find it a massive shame, because apart from that I think there’s a lot to love about this album, but unfortunately, while I appreciate it, it’s not something I’m going to likely come back to again. Dig Me Out - There are some great grunge/punk riffs in here. I’m not completely sold on the moments when Corin Tucker’s voice breaks into a fast vibrato, but the DIY aesthetic here is cool. It’s energetic, has good dynamic range as it spins from an aggressive, fiery explosion to a rumbling, threatening wash. A decent start. One More Hour - Again, that fast vocal vibrato is the one thing holding me back from this. The brooding, tension filled verse, building pre-chorus and then driving chorus are great. The vocal melodies are actually cool, but I’m just not loving the delivery when she does that vibrato thing. It loses its way a tiny bit in a couple of places, but otherwise it’s pretty good. Turn It On - This feels a bit more meandering in places, but when it gets shifting it’s pretty good. It’s got more of that Pixies/Nirvana quiet/loud aesthetic, some cool riffs and bags of energy. There’s some cool playing, particularly from Janet Weiss on the drums. It’s still quite punky and DIY sounding, but it’s the attitude and energy that’s important, and it works really well on that level. The Drama You've Been Craving - This shifts along and drives really well. We actually get a bit less of that warbling vibrato, which improves things. Great pace, solid riffs and bags of riot grrrl attitude. And they don’t hang about either. I’m here for it. Heart Factory - Again, a bit more restraint here in the vocal delivery in places, which makes the use of it a bit more effective when she does. The tone and vibe of this are really cool and there’s a nice bit of weirdness thrown in with the little breakdowns. The chugging, swampy sections of this are sonically interesting and again, the attitude is great. Words And Guitar - The juxtaposition of the harsh, punky aggression of the chorus and the smooth, nuanced verse here is pretty cool. Her vocal is just a bit too much for me again, which is a shame, because I think the underlying track is actually really good. It's Enough - I feel like I’m going to repeat myself quite a bit here. Everything about this song is right in my wheelhouse. It’s swampy, powerful and aggressive. It drives relentlessly forwards, has some great riffs and a gritty tone. But that rapid vibrato just tickles my ear in the wrong way and makes it difficult to engage with. In places, it works reasonably well, but it’s just a bit too much. Little Babies - There are some cool rhythmic choices in here and they almost verge into a sound that’s somewhere between the B-52s and The Go-Gos with a big dose of Seattle grunge dumped over the top of it. Cool punk-pop vocal melodies too. She even reigns in her vocal a touch and only uses vibrato on the more powerful bits, which works way better for me. Not What You Want - Great pace and rolling drive to this. It’s so insistent and forceful, and there’s some cool guitar playing in there too. They’ve got so much energy and bite to the way they deliver their parts, and it’s all presented in such a gritty way that’s really cool. Some more solid riffs and solid rhythms and it’s another really decent track that’s somewhat compromised by the vocal just not completely gelling with me. Buy Her Candy - This feels like it’s building and building to something that never arrives, but in quite a cool way. It’s stripped back and sparse, but I think the tone and vibe of it is cool, and it’s nice to have something a tad more restrained, but still simmering with tension. Things You Say - Another interesting blend of rhythms. I think Janet Weiss uses some really cool beats across this record and this is another great example. Again, there are some cool riffs in here and the instrumental sections are great. I think Corin’s vocals work a little better when offset with Carrie Brownstein’s more traditional backing vocals, as is the case here. Dance Song '97 - Another solid beat here.The aesthetic here is excellent, with a cleaner, more defined tone that feels like it’ bursting at the seams ready to let loose and again has a touch of that 80’s power pop sound. It’s a bit of a change in style and if the vocal was a tiny bit further back in the mix, I think it might work a little better for me in this case. Or I’m adjusting to it and it’s starting to gel with me a little more. But this was pretty good. Jenny - This is a bit slower and feels a bit more cacophonous and messy. There are some nice enough, sludgy riffs in there, but it all feels a bit pedestrian and meandering. When things drop into the quieter bubbling washes of distortion towards the end, it sounds pretty cool, but as a whole, it just felt a bit disorganised.

6/10 Billy Joel is one of those artists that has sort of sat on the periphery for me. I know his biggest hits, but I’ve never really felt inclined to dive deep. The Stranger was his critical and commercial breakthrough album, so it’s an interesting prospect, and there are a couple of recognisable titles on the tracklist. Straight off the bat, it’s clear that he’s got a great ear for melody and a classic pop-rock delivery that’s easy to engage with. There’s a decent edge of groove in various places too, even if it is a tiny bit on the safe and controlled edge of the rhythmic spectrum. When those strongest elements combine, there’s some really compelling songs in here; top notch pop music that gets you tapping your toe and swept up in the hooks and melodies. There are places where it sounds a bit Elton John-esque and places where he borrows from the pop-soul of the 60s and early 70s, building those sounds into a digestible soft-rock format. But boy is it cheesy. He’s clearly a fantastic song writer, but he also seems to make a lot of clichéd choices, both musically and sonically and while I enjoyed decent amounts of the work, there were times when I was taken out of it a little by the wheels of ripe camembert that came rolling out of my speakers. That wasn’t really helped by how dated some of this sounded, particularly the synth strings and horns used in various places that sounded fairly weak and of their time. Had I grown up with this record, I can imagine that I would be likely to look past those factors, but with fresh ears, the production did fell pretty dated and added to the air of cheese that floated over the record. That being said, underneath it all, there is some great musicianship at play here that compliments the songwriting well and, despite the of-its-time production in places, the mix was crisp and easy to digest and I did enjoy getting to know this record. While it may not be one that I’ll dip back to often, I’m certainly intrigued enough to check out a bit more of his work. Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) - Great track to kick us off. It’s a slow groove, but it’s got great feel to it. The cadence of the bass line and chord structure shifting up and down is super cool. There are some really cool rhythmic blends across the different parts that give it a constantly shifting feel that’s used really effectively when he brings everything together on the odd occasion. A quality pop song. The Stranger - A nice, lazy intro and then some cheesy but delightful guitar that feels like it belongs to the 80s rather than 77. The vibe shifts really nicely through the different sections and the feel of the groove is pretty easy listening, but with a little twist that elevates it above that. I’m not in love with it, but it’s well written and executed. The fade out to a repeat of the intro is weirdly jarring though. Just The Way You Are - Sweet gorgonzola. I mean, it’s a brilliant song, with some incredible melodies, delivered with great feel and swagger, but it’s so incredibly cheesetastic. The lyrics, the general vibe, the sax solo, I mean, wow. The production is great too, with everything having its place and all offering an essential part of the blend. The finest cheese money can buy. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant - This has more than a whiff of Elton John about it. It’s a tiny bit rambling, but in a very cool, organic way. There are more moments of übercheese, particularly the sax solo, but there’s just so much going on that it flitters on to something fresh quickly enough. There are some very groovy parts that have great pace and feel to them. It’s kind of hard to sum up feelings about this song because it does go everywhere, but I think it still feels pretty coherent and when it’s grooving along it’s excellent. The piano playing is top notch, and there are some great vocal hooks too. Vienna - A jazzy number now with an edge of pop soul. He delivers with a great swagger here and there’s an excellent gentle touch to the playing. Great vocal melodies again and more of that organic, rolling compositional flair that’s been a highlight of the record thus far. The string synths sound pretty dated and cheesy now, unfortunately and I’m not completely sold on the accordion either. But compositionally it’s great, I think it may just have aged a little poorly from a production and instrumentation point of view. Only The Good Die Young - Another classic full of white boy swagger. It’s got great touch and groove to it and that main hook is so, so good. Again, this sounds pretty outdated and cheesy in places due to the production choices and some of the synth patches, but the quality of the song writing does shine through. Weirdly, with actual horns on this record, the seemingly synthesised horn/organ calypso lead line that comes in during the choruses is pretty terrible mind. Still a cracking song though. She's Always A Woman - Great piano playing again and a lovely vocal performance. The layered guitar and piano work is really nice, underpinned by a simple but effective strolling bass. As with much of the album, it’s cheesy as anything, but melodically lovely. I find it less engaging than the more uptempo stuff, but it’s still a great composition delivered with skill. Get It Right The First Time - Back with some great uptempo groove again now. There’s excellent touch to that beat and this shifts along really nicely. He’s giving things a bit more grit and attitude in places, but he doesn’t forget to add in some cheesy flutes and la, la, la vocals too. It’s a pretty cool blend, and while I don’t entirely love it, I’m still having a pretty nice time. Everybody Has A Dream - And to close us out, there’s a gospel inspired number. It’s not bad, but a little bit slow and meandering. There’s some cool playing, but it doesn’t really manage to give any particularly hooky melodic moments like much of the rest of the album and while the vibe is decent, it does feel a bit like a pale (literally) imitation of music of this type that at its best has a LOT more soul than this. This is the favourite song of the sole white guy in the gospel choir who is always swaying out of sync with his choirmates. Oh, and then we get a little dip back into The Stranger. Meh.

8/10 Curtis Mayfield’s debut album and the Super Fly soundtrack are both records that I love, and his work with The Impressions is also pretty damn good, but I’ve never heard this record before, so it’s nice to be prompted towards it. The first thing to note is that for large parts, this album is super laid back and restrained. For much of the album, the foot forward grooves of his more famous works are thrown to one side in favour of the kind of sultry grooves that benefit massively from a listening environment in which you can lay back and let yourself sink into the nuance of the playing. But when you settle into the world of this record, there is so much to be gained from the experience. The playing is superb, with so much deftness and feel among the players that the free-flowing organic nature of the grooves just gently tugs you along for the ride. There are moments when things do step a little more forward, particularly the closer, but those moments are nice little punctuation marks to an altogether more relaxed whole. Curtis is also on restrained, almost reluctant form here, never dominating with his voice, but serving the gentle thrust of each track by getting involved only when he feels it necessary and allowing the rest of the band to carry him with them, just like they do the listener. I can understand why some may think this is a tiny bit too slow paced, and I feel like having some slight sequencing changes may have helped this to push and pull a little more, but I guess that just wasn’t what he was going for here, and the end result is still an incredibly engaging and enjoyable listen, despite the lack of standout hooks or any particular melodic focus. It’s a record that lives and dies on its vibe and feel, and luckily he and the band delivered that in spades. Billy Jack - Ooof, that big, fat, round bass tone is so buttery smooth. So much feel in the guitar playing too. This is a great example of how something that is, at its core, very simple, can have so much soul and power given to it by the deftness of touch of the players. It’s a slow, sultry, rolling tune and Curtis uses his voice sparingly enough to allow the groove to shine, while still having his own impact on the song. Really good stuff. When Seasons Change - There continues to be great restraint here, although it does perhaps withhold itself a little too much in places. The transition in the groove out of half time for a few bars that they do a couple of times is so deftly done and works brilliantly. The playing here is really fantastic again and there are little licks and bits of flair that just pop out now and again and give everything an extra bit of spice. Not quite as successful an execution as the opener, but still a solid groove. So In Love - This one feels more focused and structured as a song, rather than being a more freeform groove. Again, it’s a smooth slow jam that’s brilliantly executed. It’s more about feel and vibe than any particular melodic focus, but there are some nice bits of interplay between the parts, with the bass keeping things rolling and the horns adding excellent punctuation. Another excellent track. Jesus - Similarly to When Seasons Change, this takes that laid back vibe and slows it down even further. Not necessarily in tempo, but the intent and feel are so restrained. There are some really stunning bits and pieces in here that emerge out of nowhere and then sink back into the groove. The chorus is so funky and engaging. It meanders along, but with a clear aim, never sounding lost, but that it’s happy to get where it wants to go in its own time. At first, I though this was a bit too laid back for me, but the more I melted into it, the more it took hold of me. Blue Monday People - Back to something that’s a little tighter and more focused. The thrust of the groove is fantastic and again there’s still that effortless quality to the direction of travel. I couldn’t help but just groove with this. The call and response between lead and backing vocal is cool and there’s some subtle but feel enhancing bits of percussion that sweep up an extra bit of edge to the mix. More deft quality all around. Hard Times - The drum groove here is a bit fuller and more central to the track than some of the sparser songs on the record. Again, the feel and vibe of the underlying groove here is delightful and body-moving. The guitar playing is so good here too and focusing just on that you hear so many lovely bits of playing that just flicker in and out in an instant, never to be repeated, it’s very cool. And then Curtis just brings it together with more of his completely carefree delivery. Love To The People - We get a bit more percussion in the rhythm here that gives this a bit more of a forward push. I’m a big fan of the use of percussion in Curtis’ Super Fly soundtrack and this has a lot of that feel to it, with Henry Gibson performing percussion duties on both releases. This track feels the closest to the work of Super Fly and as a consequence feels a little more tightly controlled and purposeful in its direction. It’s nice to get a bit of a changeup in that regard, even though I’ve enjoyed the more laid back feel of the record. Again, superb playing all around and Curtis continues to do exactly the right amount with his voice, always leaving space for the instrumentation to do its thing. Excellent.

5/10 Daughter of bossa nova legend João, Bebel Gilberto’s Tanto Tempo is her first album to receive a worldwide release and saw her collaborating with Serbian producer Suba, who was killed rescuing the masters of this record from a fire at his studio. There’s also work here from Amon Tobin, sampled across the opening track, which was certainly enough to pique my interest. What that results in, to my ears, is a bossa nova take on the nu-jazz sound that was bubbling along in Europe at around this time. As I mention in my track by track breakdown, there are elements in here of St Germain, Cinematic Orchestra and the like, but this is very much on the restrained end of that scale. There are bits and pieces that pick up the groove here and there, but for the most part, this is an album that floats slightly aimlessly, rather than driving forward with any particular intent. It’s the kind of music that you’d enjoy in a cafe, but not bother shazamming, because it doesn’t capture your attention enough to make you want to take it home with you. And after 40 odd minutes, it does become rather repetitive too, which doesn’t necessarily help it. Bebel has a really nice voice, slightly smoky and sultry, but controlled and well balanced, particularly in the sections where she double tracks and adds some harmony and variation to things. The musicians are also very competent without being showy, and everything serves that incredibly gentle cafe vibe really well. Unfortunately, the fact is that while it’s pleasant enough, there was nothing that really stood out to me or stuck with me, even after 3-4 spins through. It’s the kind of music that I’d happily have on in the background, but never fully engage with. Nice, well executed, but a little dull. Samba Da Benção - A really nice, if not vastly interesting start. It has the feeling of a bossanova take on the downtempo cafe jazz electronica that was around at the turn of the millennium like St Germain, Cinematic Orchestra and Zero 7. The backing track to this track is, in fact, the track Nova by Amon Tobin. I enjoyed some of the nuance to the programming in the backing, and the general drifting vibe of the track was good, but not exactly gripping. August Day Song - The shuffling groove here is pretty cool. The playing is subtle but well performed across the board and the dual vocals are a nice feature of the track. It’s quite repetitive though and while it’s a pleasant enough piece to listen to, it does feel a little bit directionless, particularly towards the end where it kind of just repeats and repeats as it drifts away. Tanto Tempo - Another lilting, jazzy number. It feels a little more purposeful in its direction but still has a cool, lazy-day ambience to it. More deft and subtle work, particularly from Bebel herself in the vocal, but she weaves nicely around the piano work too. More pleasant stuff. Sem Contenção - Ah, this has got a bit more get up and go to it. There’s a bit more range between the different sections of the track and the groove pulls it along nicely. The vocal harmonies are pretty too. From a sound palette point of view, the album remains pretty consistent, but it’s nice to get a bit of tempo variation thrown in here. Mais Feliz - This is a bit more meandering. It feels a bit more stilted and not as smooth and subtle as other tracks and I’m felling a bit less engaged and swept into the vibe. It’s just a little bit bland and less rhythmically focused, I think. Alguém - Back to something more overtly electronic in the beat here. It’s another slightly aimless drifter of a song. Nothing particularly bad about it, but a little too repetitive and lacking in much of a hook to centre it around. Even the piano playing sort of floats around, rather than having any clear intent behind it. So Nice (Summer Samba) - As the title suggests, this is pretty nice. It’s got a bit more melodic focus to it and a cool, jazzy air to the playing and production. That being said it all feels a little generic and there’s nothing that would make this particularly stand out among a playlist of similar music. It sounds a bit like the incidental music played in a film when someone’s daydreaming about an idealistic future. Lonely - Another nice but slightly dull and repetitive nu-jazz electronica number. It’s entirely pleasant, but also entirely forgettable and quite blandly repetitive. Bananeira - This one picks up a bit more of an up-tempo groove to it, which helps to pull the record out of a bit of a lull. There are some nice vocal melodies backed up by some flavour from the horns. Vocally, it’s still a tad repetitive, but the groove helps to carry it a bit more successfully than the tracks that just float along. There are some great bits of playing from the band in places here too. Samba E Amor - More lovely singing, more fairly repetitive and unmemorable melodic work. It’s very sparse and tonally very pretty, but it just doesn’t really have anything there for me to grab on to. Close Your Eyes - And we close out with something that has a bit more pace to it, but doesn’t thematically feel like it really belongs with the rest of the record. It’s kind of an odd inclusion, because it feels so out of place, as an track that leans more towards a big band samba sound, but with production that somehow reigns in the extremity of the drive. Again, it’s a tad on the repetitive side and there’s nothing vastly memorable about it.

3/10 Jah Wobble, former bassist for PiL, collaborator with Can’s Holger Czukay and later Brian Eno, puts together a world music album, combining a variety of styles from Europe, Africa and Asia and including a bit of Dub Reggae. Sounds like it’s got some potential. As is usual for me, I listened to a this album a couple of times though while working before giving it more focus and, while it didn’t really do anything to stand out, it did seem like fairly reasonable background music. When I gave it a closer listen, however, the first thing that jumped out to me was how dated it all sounded. The sound palette sounds like it was gathered largely from the music room of a local school, with a host of horrendous MIDI horns, strings and more all over the record. There was also huge amounts of digital reverb and delay all over the production that really established a very specific time in which this album was made. Unfortunately, while an obvious time period can often be quite affecting in music, in this case it was on the cusp of when this type of equipment was starting to become affordable, but didn’t actually sound any good yet, unless you were spending big bucks, or trying to come up with non-organic sounds with your synths. Which is not what Wobble was doing. As a result, this sounds quite bad. Musically, it was also very repetitive. Jah is obviously a good bass player and the non synthesised instruments were also performed well, but so often the tracks picked one or two ideas and just repeated them ad nauseam for 4-6 minutes, which was hardly that engaging. There were also incredibly few hooks or memorable motifs anywhere across the record. Perhaps it was intended as more of a “vibe” record than a hook one, but the aforementioned production and sound palette issues put paid to that vibe fairly quickly, so I did find this a bit of a struggle. Jah also came across as a pretty limited vocalist and much of his vocals seemed fairly smug and full of self-importance, which didn’t really help endear me to the work. It’s a shame, really, because the core idea behind this blend of musical styles is pretty good, but the execution was just lacklustre. Visions Of You - This is not very interesting. It’s incredibly repetitive and has a very 90s poptronica vibe about it which, while not trerrible, does make it feel pretty bland and generic. I thought the bass line was quite interesting to begin with, but it just keeps on doing the same thing for 5 minutes. Also, if you get a vocalist of the talent of Sinéad O'Connor in to work on a track, maybe give her a bit more to do, eh? Relight The Flame - A slightly weird blend of dub rhythm section and Spanish guitar now. It’s better than the opener and has a bit more about it musically, but his vocal is so uninspiring and lethargically delivered that it sucks a chunk of energy out of the rest of the track. Natacha Atlas’ vocals inject a bit more quality in, but it’s not really enough. I’m not particularly keen on the fairly robotic drum programming either, which makes it feel quite rigid and stilting, despite the attempted blend of rhythms. Bomba - Sonically, this is a bit more interesting, but still sounds incredibly of its time, from the swathes of digital reverb to the basic drum machine patterns. It takes a weird turn where they flip the atmosphere of the production quite a lot around half way through. The vocal is quite nice, but feels melodically unfocused and the backing is just very repetitive and fairly uninteresting. Ungodly Kingdom - Ooh, there are some horrible synth horns on this. Like, really awful. I feel this could have been almost completely created using the preset sounds on the MIDI keyboards my school had in the music rooms in the mid 90s. I mean, it’s not a terrible composition (although I bet he thinks he’s clever coming up with Ungodly Kingdom to refer to the UK), but as with much of the rest of the album, it’s very repetitive and sounds so much of its time that it struggles to rise above that. His vocal delivery is also flat and uninspiring again. Rising Above Bedlam - More quite bland stuff here that is overly repetitive. The production is way better and sounds less “90s MIDI keyboard”, but the almost stream of consciousness spoken vocals feel quite smug while also being not very good. Tonally, there was more to like here, but it still managed to miss the mark. Erzulie - There’s a better mix of styles and rhythms in here and, as with other tracks that Natacha Atlas has fronted, there’s a bit more to grab on to on the vocal side of things. It doesn’t really manage to find any particularly engaging hooks or melodies across any of the instruments though, and the transition from verse to chorus is a little jarring. Again, the very early 90s sound palette doesn’t help things here. There are some decent elements in this, particularly the rhythmic blends later on in the piece, but ultimately it still didn’t do anything to actually grab me. Everyman's An Island - “Fun is a word invented by advertising executives to sell soft drinks”? I feel like Jah Wobble definitely has a higher opinion of his own intellect than he deserves. The track itself here is a little better. The blend of styles is pretty nice and while the production is a tad dated in places, it actually holds together reasonably well for the most part. Unfortunately, there’s still nothing particularly memorable or noteworthy about any of the musical content, despite the vibe being better, Soledad - The rhythms here are pretty good and feel more organic. The sound design also gives it a bit more depth and quality than what’s come before. This is a drifting composition that has a bit more melodic quality in places, but still struggles to pick out anything vastly memorable. The vibe is decent though, despite them trying to ruin it with some overly loud guitar parts and blasts of delay. Sweet Divinity - This just feels messy and a little aimless. More bad synth sounds that clash against one another in places and a fairly drifting, directionless vibe in others. It just doesn’t really manage to convey anything of note and feels largely pointless. Wonderful World - I can actually pick out a direction that this is trying to go in. Although I feel like his jumping off point was “what if George Michael said something other than ‘faith’ after ‘I’ve gotta have’?” and I couldn’t get that out of my head for the whole song. Sonically, this is a better blend, even though the excessive reverb makes it quite muddled. Some cool layered rhythms and a decent composition holding it together. It’s not really enough to save the album, and his vocal still isn’t great, but it’s not bad.

7/10 Third wave ska emerged around the late 80’s and Fishbone are credited as being at the vanguard of that movement. While this album is not entirely ska focused, you can definitely hear that 90s ska-punk sound in various places across the album, which is an interesting piece of musical history, if nothing else. The album as a whole is kind of hard to sum up, because it is incredibly scattergun in its approach, dipping into ska, punk, soul, funk, rock and metal styles in various blends all across the album. It’s pretty clear that these guys are having a massive amount of fun making this record, and that infectious ‘try-anything’ vibe really comes across well in the recording. They’re also great players, with some excellent musicianship scattered throughout, and a consistently tight and groovy approach to rhythm. While the approach to smash together as many different influences as possible is a cool one, it does mean that the album suffers a little in terms of coherence, with some of the stylistic jumps feeling a little jarring and making the thread of it a little hard to hold on to in places. Because of that, this is not the most consistent of albums and it doesn’t help the production either, with jumps between clean, sharp tracks and heavy, dirty ones making this feel a bit like a playlist covering a band’s evolution over a decade, rather than at one specific point in time. All that being said, when this hits, boy does it hit. From the 90s ska-punk special of Ma and Pa, via the slow soul groove of Pouring Rain to the incredible slap bass of Monin’ In The Boneyard, there is an awful lot to love and admire about this record and, despite that slightly strange stylistic inconsistency, this is definitely one that’s worth revisiting. Freddie's Dead - A Curtis Mayfield cover to kick us off. It’s got an early Chili Peppers/Faith No More sound to it. The riffs sound great and it’s got a cool swagger to it, with an engaging groove. Some of the synth sounds are a little dated, but work quite well with the vibe. Pretty decent. Ma And Pa - Wow, straight into some proper ska-punk stuff now, which is quite the switch up. This is really cool and definitely sounds like it massively influenced the ska-punk wave of the 90s. There are some great hooks and riffs in there and it’s got solid pace and feel. The key sounds are a tad weak, but the vibe is excellent and the vocal delivery is brilliant. So much attitude, while maintaining great tonal control. Lovely stuff. Question Of Life - This runs more coherently on with a slightly slower ska groove. The layering of parts is cool and the rhythm gets passed around nicely. It’s not quite as hooky and engaging as the last track, but there are still some great performances across the board and the shifting rhythms give it good depth. Pouring Rain - More of a slow soul/funk groove now. This is cool actually and the vocalist is very good. The feel of the rhythm is top quality and the blend of sharp horns and guitar against the lazy roll of the bass and smooth vocals is a nice effect. The different sections allow this to stay pretty fresh throughout and the bass in particular is really tasty. Deep Inside - This leans back towards the heavier side of things now and sounds like the kind of thing Mike Patton might have worked on on one of his various projects. It’s pacy, dirty and has some great riffs. Nice little track. Mighty Long Way - This album really sounds like they’re having a great deal of fun. This has more solid grooves and is an enjoyable vibe. It leans a little more towards a hard rock sound, and there’s some top notch, if a tiny bit clichéd, guitar work in there. This is all about that fun, party vibe though, and they bring that across really well, even if it’s not the hookiest of numbers. Bonin' In The Boneyard - Woah, that bass! It takes a little bit to get going, but this is another great party tune, with more of a funk focus than the rock one of the last track. The lead to backing vocal interplay is engaging, there are some cool hooks and riffs, as well as plenty of breakdown sections for the players to have fun, particularly the bassist. Take a bow, John Norwood Fisher. Great fun. One Day - Another cool bass line and a solid funk rock groove. This has more than a touch of stuff like Mr Bungle or Primus about it and is a tasty blend of a pop-funk vocal in the chorus and something a lot more grotty and groovy through the verses. There are some great riffs in here too and the general tone of the production is excellent, feeling meaty and groovy in equal measure. Great guitar solo too. Fantastic song. Subliminal Fascism - Again, this could easily be a Mr Bungle track. It’s heavy, pacy and tonally quite weird, but still completely coherent, which to me is a pretty perfect mix. Great playing, great vibe, great energy. Slow Bus Movin' (Howard Beach Party) - The persistent, driving groove to this is great. It’s again quite stylistically different from what’s come before, but by this point, that’s par for the course. It’s definitely got a silly, Primus side to it, but there’s something quite heavy to the vibe too that I can’t quite put my finger on. Good though. Ghetto Soundwave - This feels like it could be a tiny bit quicker, but the groove is still good. Great bass playing again. This leans back towards a poppy, ska vibe but with a heavier tone. It’s a slightly odd blend that I’m enjoying but feels a tiny bit lacking in complete coherence. It just feels a tad messy and disorganised, despite the solid playing and rhythmic focus. Change - This album has been a bit stylistically all over the places, but this is a very odd ending even by that standard. A reverb soaked pop-rock ballad that lacks the rhythmic front-footedness of the rest of the album. Some shit synth strings round off the weirdness and while the guitar and vocal performances are decent, this is a very, very strange inclusion.

5/10 Reading that Bruce Springsteen recorded this on a four track in 1981-82 intrigued me somewhat, especially as he tried to get it re-recorded with the E-Street Band, but could never get it right, so released it as is. While I can’t admit to being the biggest Springsteen fan, the idea of hearing something with that stripped back, raw DIY aesthetic appealed and there were places on here that it really hooked me in. The Springsteen that I’m turned off by is the shout-singing brash rocker stuff and when he brought a more restrained, subtle control to his delivery, there were times when it became bleak and haunting in a really effective way. Nebraska, Highway Patrolman and Used Cars were highlights in that regard and really benefitted from that slightly grungy DIY sound. Unfortunately, there was also a decent chunk of stuff on here that sounded quite like what it was, demos for songs that were intended to be built out with a full band, developed and further refined down the line, most likely into the kind of typical Bruce Springsteen sound that doesn’t really appeal to my ear. Musically, it’s a fairly generic blend of blues and rock with a folksy twist, and there were a lot of times when I couldn’t really pick out why this stood out from the vast pack of musicians who have been performing this kind of music since the 60s and 70s. Admittedly, Springsteen is known as a storyteller and lyrics typically take a backseat for me, so much of the musical content here felt quite repetitive and samey, so that likely had an impact on my enjoyment of the music. It’s also worth noting that, while the DIY aesthetic worked for the stripped back stuff, there were times when this just sounded really bad. Not in a cool, grungy way, but in a poorly recorded, poorly mixed way, where things were clipping, levels were all over the place and things were bizarrely faded out. All in all, a real mixed bag, that has, despite my variable reaction to the album as a whole, actually pointed out a few Springsteen tracks that I wouldn’t mind revisiting in future, and might even make me seek out any work of his that might be similar in style. Nebraska - New Jersey’s most famous singer, singing in a cod Nebraskan accent. Bit weird. This is pretty good though. Slow and considered, if a touch repetitive, it’s got a cool vibe and the DIY aesthetic to the sound works really well. I definitely prefer Bruce singing in this subtler way and the bleak nature of this song connected with me really well. Atlantic City - This is less interesting and sounds much more like an unfinished demo than the previous track. It’s pretty repetitive, which also leans it more towards that demo sound. There are some nice aspects to it, but the mix is quite confusing, with some elements hard to pick out and others too prominent. It really sounds like a work in progress for. song that could become decent, but isn’t yet. Mansion On The Hill - The vibe of this is quite nice, but musically it feels very generic, with the chord structure and vocal melody following incredibly predictable movements. It’s just a bit bland, really, although the vocal performance is pretty decent. Johnny 99 - Now it’s quite a bluesy folk number. Again, it’s very repetitive. I guess it’s more about the story in the lyrics, but that’s always secondary in what I look for in a song. The demo nature of this one sticks out a bit too. There are some decent touches of guitar playing in there, but it’s just a bit bland for me. Highway Patrolman - The vibe calls back more to the opener here. It’s sparse and quite pretty and, despite having a similar musically predictable nature to the last couple of tracks, the performance and vibe elevate this. I think the combination of DIY recording tone and the bleak, stripped back vibe of this work incredibly well and the withdrawn subtlety of the vocal delivery make it quite captivating, despite it being fairly basic. The quick fade out kills that vibe in a really weird way though. State Trooper - A slow burn of a blues number now. Is it building to something? It feels like it, but half way through it hasn’t actually delivered on that promise yet. The vocal performance is good up until he starts whooping, which the song just doesn’t feel like it’s earned. I was quite getting into the gritty vibe of this until then, but he ruined it. And another super weird quick fade out again. Used Cars - These stripped back ones have great vibe and lean into the gritty DIY sound so well. The sound is sparse and pretty, but that aforementioned bleakness and subtle sense of grief that permeates the song work incredibly well at sucking the listener in. It’s a shame that this album is a bit of a mixed bag, because some parts of it work really well. Open All Night - Now we’re back to something more generically blues-rock, and the subtlety of the albums strongest songs is completely absent. It’s incredibly generic, sounds too much like an unfinished demo and the vocal leans more towards that forced, almost shout singing that I hate from Springsteen. This could be by one of any number of bands playing at the real ale festivals across the UK every weekend and, short of the low murmur of boozy punters, sounds like it could have been recorded at one too. My Father's House - This lacks the subtlety in the vocal performance that I’d enjoyed on other tracks, so I’m not getting as drawn in. It’s very repetitive and the mix puts the vocal so forward that the guitar work gets lost. When the extra instrumentation comes in, it adds a slightly haunting feel to things, but the vocal dominance doesn’t let it do its work particularly effectively. I think there’s something in this, but this recording hasn’t managed to capture it. Reason To Believe - Shouty Bruce is back. It’s got a fairly decent, pulsing groove from the guitar, but it’s pretty repetitive and doesn’t really do much to stand out as anything musically special. The quieter moments are quite nice, but as a whole, it’s just a bit dull.

6/10 First things first, Violent Femmes are not, as their name might suggest, a 90s Riot Grrrl band. At the time of recording this album, they were a bunch of teenage boys self-funding their debut album prior to signing with a record label in 1983. Frankly, the fact that this album was recorded in 1983 is remarkable, because it sounds about a decade ahead of its time, with clear and direct influences from this record to the alt-rock, grunge and punk revival of the 90s. That goes some way to explain the raw nature of this recording. The performances, both instrumental and vocal feel a little like they’re just about clinging on to the edge of pitch and timing before things start sounding sloppy and while they do slip over that edge now and again, that DIY, on the edge of control vibe works pretty well for the most part. The whole thing has a very endearing vibe to it and that adolescent, witty, barely controlled sound leans into that in a pretty effective way. It’s quite weird to experience what punk rock might sound like with no distortion or saturation, and it took me a while to adjust to that, but in the end it did start to win me over. The songwriting is largely pretty good, especially when they bash their way through ideas and don’t let them overstay their welcome, and there are some great hooks and riffs across the album. I did tend to find some of the slower tracks felt a bit dragged out and ponderous, but there was a need to vary pace a little. As it was, the aesthetic did drag a tiny bit over the course of the record and, while this felt quite groundbreaking, it feels like other bands would come along and take this concept to much higher levels in the following years. I think categorising this as “important” rather than “great” is probably fair and while I did enjoy it, it’s probably not one that will be in regular rotation. Blister In The Sun - It’s a cool start. Fun, punky riffs, a nice diy aesthetic that has an interesting tone, and quality vocal hooks. This sounds immediately about a decade ahead of its time and while it’s not perfectly performed, it sounds remarkably well produced. A solid start to the record. Kiss Off - This is quite an interesting blend of punk with an almost 60s pop chorus all delivered with a bare, acoustic palette. Because everything is clean, things sound a touch sloppy in a way that would be less exposed were they clouding everything in traditional punk noise and distortion, but it’s still quite endearing. The songwriting is decent too, so this is another enjoyable little number. Please Do Not Go - A bit more of a ponderous one now. There are some reasonable riffs and hooks, and the solo is cool, but it treads very close to losing a touch too much control in places and also gets a tiny bit too repetitive. It’s not bad, particularly, but with a slower, longer track like this, weaknesses become more exposed. Add It Up - Back to something pacier and attitude laden again now. This is a great adolescent punk number. The acoustic nature of it does expose the slightly sloppy edge to the performances, but it still has charm. They work well with dynamic, building and pulling back the intensity through different sections to help this to work as a longer production. It’s a lot of fun. Confessions - Another slower paced one now. It has a kind of brooding, simmering feel to it that’s cool and feels like it’s building to something. The intensity does ebb and flow and the vibe is pretty cool, but it feels quite dragged out and the payoff to the build-up isn’t entirely satisfying. There are various really cool parts of this, but it didn’t feel entirely coherent. Prove My Love - We’re back on the short, 60’s pop and punk acoustic blend now. It’s cool and fun in a slightly shambolic way. It’s good songwriting with an engaging aesthetic and a great wit. There’s not much to it, but it still manages to be engaging and enjoyable. Promise - This has more of a traditional punk sound structure and style, but again with that Violent Femmes acoustic punk sound palette. There’s cool intensity to the vocal performance and it’s got some nice rhythmic flow to it. Solid riffs too. And it doesn’t sit on a single idea for too long, or hang around for longer than it needs to. Great stuff. To The Kill - Quite a plodding, meandering effort now. It lacks any intensity really and the brooding feel that they’ seem to be going for doesn’t really pay off. It’s also one where the sloppiness crosses the line from being stylistic and cool to being distracting and unpleasant in a few places. I think the core idea isn’t actually bad, but the execution is pretty poor. Gone Daddy Gone - Now we’re drifting more into an indie/alternative rock sound. It’s kind of cool in its own way, but is a bit stylistically strange compared to the rest of the album. The xylophone is too loud and sort of overwhelms everything. And it’s all quite repetitive. Good Feeling - Although this is a slow one and is a bit of a change of pace from the rest of the record, it still feels more connected with what’s come before than Gone Daddy Gone did. This is quite pretty and delicately delivered. The playing is more focused and precise and the vocal is honest and raw without drifting too far into the more punky side of things, so works well too. It’s a nice way to end the record.

8/10 This is an interesting record in that it’s an early one from an intensely prolific artist. Releasing over 50 albums in 22 years, this is only his fourth record and was put together with his friend Ginger Baker in an attempt to help bring afrobeat to a western audience. Despite the prominence of his name on the cover, Ginger only actually appears on the second side of the record, so this is really a Fela joint with a guest drummer playing alongside Africa ’70 drummer Tony Allen. As with most of Fela’s work, we get to enjoy a small number of long tracks on this album, with fluctuating, pulsating backing grooves pulling variable nuance and flow out of what would initially appear to be relatively simple, though full and layered, compositions. It would be easy to dismiss this as repetitive, but by sinking into the groove, you can feel the rhythms breathe, push and pull in a brilliantly organic way. While I feel like Fela would further refine this style later in his career, this is still an excellent record and illustrates how much can be done with layering and arrangement to extract a huge amount of value out of some individually simple, but structurally complex arrangements of musical and rhythmic layers. Fela’s vocal sections are intermittent, but when he gets on the mic, you can feel the charisma and control he has of both his band and his audience. The rest of the band are just excellent, with so much feel and deftness to the playing and some excellent soloing that captures the soul of the groove and adds punch and dynamism to the sound. I do feel like there is the odd moment on the second half where the dual drummers clash a tiny bit, and the final track doesn’t quite have the drive of the first three, but this is still an exciting and engaging record and well worth spending your time with. Let's Start - Great grooves, and Fela has got the band firing. The solos are great and it all smashes along at an enticing clip. He does a really good job of pushing and pulling the ferocity of the playing but always maintaining a shuffling, body-moving groove. There’s more individual flair to this than some of his later work, but you can see the signs of the hypnotic, rolling repetition that he would build into from the rhythm section. His vocal parts are sparing, but he’s got such charismatic delivery that it’s no surprise the man could incite revolution. The horns are a particular delight, but this is made by the ebb and flow of the layering. Once every player is in, the rhythmic blend has so much going on, but it all serves the vibe and pull of the groove. Great stuff. Black Man's Cry - Similarly to the first track, there are some great funk/jazz solos here to keep things fresh and varied, with the drop outs and build ups giving a really organic feel to the underlying groove. It’s an exercise in keeping a vibe moving and shuffling while barely shifting the architecture of the musical structure. I feel like there are the odd moments here when things get a touch overplayed, but they gather up pretty quickly and I bobbed along happily throughout. Those layered percussive rhythms, augmented by the rhythmic delivery of the tonal instruments that aren’t involved in soloing just pulse and move in such a beautifully funky way. Ye Ye De Smell - Ginger Baker gets introduced, having no part up to this point. I feel like the drums are largely still great, although there is the odd moment here and there when the dual drum kits clash a tiny bit. It’s frantic, feisty and furious, but oh so funky. So many of the tonal parts are fairly simple, but the way they play against and over one another creates more complexity and interest than the individual parts would indicate. Some of the soloing, particularly when punctuated by the horn stabs, is so, so good and really convey the intensity of the piece. There’s so much going on in this track that it builds to these brilliant cacophonous crescendos, but there are also moments of restraint where things take a breather. It perhaps gets a tiny too drum soloy near the end, but at least there’s a musical thread that keeps it grounded. Great stuff. Egbe Mi O - When it breaks into a more steady groove, this is really good. There are moments during the first couple of minutes when things feel a touch stilted and the dual drum kits don’t completely gel, but the clashing brashness of it is still enjoyable. In fact, there are a few bits where this feels just a tiny bit sloppy compared to previous tracks and some of the slower sections don’t have quite as much going on, but as it builds with Fela’s vocal from the half way point, that vibe takes over and things start to really connect. It’s cool when he gets everyone singing because it creates quite a big choral sound that the band feed of to build intensity towards the end. It’s the weakest track on the album, but it’s still pretty good.

6/10 While this is the debut Queens of the Stone Age record, it’s also a tiny bit of an outlier in that it was written and recorded before the band was fully established, with Josh Homme playing nearly all of the parts apart from the drums and a few minor parts by guest instrumentalists. It’s immediately apparent that the QotSA sound was in place from the very inception of the project, as the sound and vibe of this record is so representative of that sound that would continue through the following albums that it couldn’t be mistaken for anyone else. The sludgy, gritty tone, the foot-forward rhythms, the hooky, driven riffs and the pop-hook melodic vocal performances are all present and correct, and there are a few tracks where you can really feel where the band is going. The main issue with this record is that this stop on the journey is the train station of the provincial town just one stop before you arrive at the more exciting destinations. It’s decent, there’s some interesting stuff, but what comes next is where the real magic happens. While there are some real highlights here, a fair chunk of the songs feel a little underdeveloped and, while I enjoyed a lot of the riffs, there was often not quite enough within a song as a whole to keep me completely in for the entire track. It also feels overly long and there are a few tracks, particularly towards the end that just feel like a bit of a drudge to get through. One of the strange things about this album is that I came away from it with QotSA riffs in my head all day, but none were actually from this album. That’s how QotSA it sounds, without really managing to maintain the peak that they would be capable of over the following couple of records. All that being said, this was still decent and enjoyable enough, but not one worth revisiting often over their better work. Regular John - It’s kind of amazing how Queens of the Stone Age they sounded straight off the bat, isn’t it? Solid, crunchy riffs at a decent but not electric pace. Three bars of simple chugging followed by a fourth bar that develops the riff. Simple but well written vocal hooks. A rhythmic change-up into the chorus. Some slightly experimental guitar tones in the bridge. It’s all there. Not quite at their peak, but this is a solid start. Avon - This is a bit more sludgy. The riffs are still good, and the vocal melodies are very Josh Homme. It’s a decent album track that uses a cool selection of chord stricture directions to keep it sounding interesting and fresh. It does meander just a bit though and doesn’t manage to completely get its hooks in despite the chugging crunch of the guitars and the energy of the drums. If Only - This is more like it. There’s a bit of swagger and groove to this to go along with the crunchy weight of the riffs. That chorus is so hooky and tasty too. It’s really simple, but that simplicity works in its favour, in that it’s almost a sludge-pop song. I could probably do with one fewer solo in there, if I’m being honest, but it’s a great song otherwise. Walkin' On The Sidewalks - Clashing and full of attitude, this lacks the pop-hook nature of If Only, but throws in weighty rhythmic drive. The transition from the main verse riff to the smoother chorus is really nice, and there is some really great drumming in here. The tight, heavy rhythm of the full instrumental mix is really engaging actually. But it does feel like it drags on a small number of ideas for a little too long. You Would Know - The opening riff has a cool unresolved tension to its makeup. When the counter melody drops in, it only adds to that feeling of unease, especially with the slurred vocal part and the patchy insistence of the beat and bass line. It’s a cool premise, but it does feel like it’s never developed into anything beyond a good and interesting idea. How To Handle A Rope - Oooh, super crunchy. The build into this one is really nice, with the faltering drop in and out of the bass and beat before they kick in for real. The build and drop in the chorus chord structure is tasty. There are some more solid riffs and the lazy swagger of the vocal delivery and melodies are cool too. It is a tad repetitive in places though and feels like it could have been developed further. Mexicola - This, while still sounding very QotSA and having some more weighty riff work, as well as a decent vocal hook, does get a little bit stale. There’s some decent stuff in there, but the vocal feels a bit stretched in places. The feel of the groove is good, to be fair, but ultimately, it falls a little too far on the sludgy side and doesn’t have as much of the melodic sensibility or range of their better work. Hispanic Impressions - Again, there’s some stuff to really like in here, but it definitely feels a bit self-indulgent and like they’re going out of their way to be a tiny bit obtuse with some of the decisions and the sort of relentless nature of the rhythm and drive. I think it would work fine if surrounded by stronger material, but it kind of makes the album feel like it’s lulling a little. You Can't Quit Me Baby - A cool, slow groove with a nice blend of distorted bass and cleaner guitar here. It’s not bad, but it does drag on a bit repetitively and doesn’t really catch upon anything particularly hooky or elevate to a level above a general cool vibe. The speeding up bit towards the end is quite fun, but this is way too long and fairly dull. Give The Mule What He Wants - Ok, this album definitely weakens towards the end. There’s a decent riff in here and a fairly cool rolling beat, but that’s basically it for three minutes. Vibe good, songwriting underdeveloped and uninteresting. I Was A Teenage Hand Model - This has some really cool sound design and a nice brooding vibe. It’s a slow burner that builds and has a great atmosphere to it, but ultimately never reaches the peak that it hints at. Unfortunately, like the last few tracks, it’s just a little bland and underdeveloped. The electronic stuff in the end is super loud too, which is a bit unnecessary. Nice to hear Nick Olivieri joining the band at the end though, I guess?

6/10 If memory serves me right, Basement Jaxx are one of those groups that, on their best form, create a superb blend of funk, house and pop. To be honest, I fully expected to listen to this and find it had aged poorly and was overly repetitive with a lot of filler, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that, during its strongest moments, it sounded fresh, funky and fun. As an electronic music lover, I find that mainstream dance music often falls into the trap of being overly repetitive and unchanging, particularly when it’s written with clubbing in mind. Luckily, my memories of Basement Jaxx’s best work largely held true. They use a skilled hand to throw together synths and samples into a melting pot of styles, delivered with some really excellent hooks. They typically have a varied and interesting production style that rarely allows their tracks to fall into the overly repetitive dance music hole, with their abundance of variations and use of ear candy keeping things pretty fresh most of the time. The singles are really where this album shines, with Red Alert being the absolute killer cut to my mind. On those singles, they manage to almost feel like the hyperactive younger British cousin of Daft Punk, grabbing samples like that Red Alert slap bass, and weaving them in to pop-house bangers. They have a great ear for hooks and across those singles, they toss them out with wilful abandon. Unfortunately, and this is a typical crime of the 90s, this album is a tad long, and there is a little too much filler for my liking. I’m certainly glad they released a CD version, which strips back the extended club mixes for more radio (and home listening) friendly cuts, but there’s still a little too much waffle in there. Not that it’s all bad, but there are moments where things drift, or songs don’t quite fully connect, despite having quality work within them. I’d make an argument that Rooty, the follow up to this is actually a stronger album, but the singles on this do show how good they could be. Rendez-Vu - It’s a solid start. Funky house beats, pop-music melodies and a really good blend of instruments both sampled and synthesised. There’s enough variation through the sections that it doesn’t fall into the dance music track of being too repetitive, which is helped by the more traditional song structure of the arrangement. It’s got a cool swing and swagger to it, but it also doesn’t take itself too seriously. Yo-yo - A decent beat, and that main “yo-yo” hook is solid. There’s a really crunchy, distorted bass in here that’s deliciously filthy too. They’re pretty clever at keeping things fresh by cycling parts in and out so things don’t become too stale. The verse type sections in this are a bit bland by comparison to the better stuff on the record, but this still isn’t bad. Jump N' Shout - There’s a nice bounce to this and it’s good fun, if a little stale and repetitive in places. Some more nice tonal blends, but I’d say the brashness of this overpowers perhaps a touch too much, especially for at-home listening. I appreciate that it’s more of a personal preference, but this didn’t do too much for me. U Can't Stop Me - And now we dip into UK garage. It’s a cool slow groove with some nice production touches, particularly on the snare and some of the ear candy they use to keep things interesting. I like the way the rhythms are delivered, giving it an intentionally halting feel that works well with that garage hi-hat pattern. It could probably do with a bit more variation into different directions here and there, but it’s still not bad. Jaxxalude - A nice little interlude. Not much to say about it, but it does what it does. Red Alert - And this is a complete classic. I think this single is probably the first electronic music I ever bought. Bringing together funk stylings, house beats and pop sensibilities, it’s a quality blend. The bass sample from Locksmith’s Far Beyond is epic and it’s stuffed full of great hooks all over the gaff. The vocal line is great, the sound design is layered and bombastic, even the little string breakdown is lovely. I’ve not got a bad word to say about this track. Jazzalude - Again, a nice enough interlude, but not much to discuss. Always Be There - It’s a nice change of pace to something almost verging on the side of trip-hop. There’s some great stuff here, but with the more atmospheric, slow vibe that this goes for, I feel like the ADHD, scattergun production and editing style that works well for the dancier tracks takes a bit away from the core of the song, rather than enhancing it. This is also too long. I can see what they were going for here, but it just doesn’t quite connect for me. Sneakalude - See my comments on the other interludes. Same Old Show - This takes a bit too long to get going, and that moan vocal sample is too loud and distracting. In fact, they have started to fall into that overly repetitive, unvaried dance music trap with this one. It is slowly, slowly building, but it’s just a bit boring at this point and I’m only 2 minutes in to a 6 minute track. Sorry, this one’s just boring. Bingo Bango - Yeah, we’re back on it now. A nice blend of latin style with that Basement Jaxx house groove. Weirdly, they do use a piano sample in there that has a bit of natural swing that doesn’t quite gel with the straight beat, which is a touch distracting when it’s more exposed. Other than that, though, this is prime party pop-dance music, and avoids repetition thanks to their continued use of ear candy and variable layering. Gemilude - Another interlude! Stop 4 Love - This is a cool blend of a chilled out ambient bed and more experimental percussion and other sporadic elements. There’s plenty in there to keep you invested in where it’s going next, although I kind of feel like the underlying musical bed could do with a touch more prominence and variation. That being said, I think this was a decent effort at doing something different and interesting on the record. Don't Give Up - Again, I quite like the sound design and more restrained approach to this, but it doesn’t quite get it right, having to many sections where things lull and others where things just get a little too stale. As with Always Be There, there’s a rumbling element of trip-hop to this that’s teasing me and hooking me in, but it doesn’t quite connect despite there being sections that I really like. Being With U - This has a decent chilled vibe. The synth blends are nice, the vocals are a bit bland and meandering. The more eccentric electronic moments jar a little bit, and it’s just a little bit dull. We close out with a bit of a whimper.

8/10 Steely Dan had, by the time of this record, essentially become a studio duo of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, rather than the traditional full band of their earlier years. As a result, there was a huge amount of focus on the production of their music and, to that end, this album is a triumph. It sounds incredible, with everything so crisp, clear and coherent. It feels like that studio nerdiness paid of in spades when it comes to the sound of this record, but I do wonder if that precision resulted in it losing a tiny bit of soul that a jazz-funk record needs to sit at the top of the pile. If asked to categorise this record, I’d probably label it as nerd-funk. It’s well written, the grooves are solid and everything is handled with such precision that it’s hard not to get sucked into the flow, but it also has patches where it lacks a little bit of bite and hook that would elevate it to the next level. There are some clear moments when things do step up a notch; The drum and sax section from Steve Gadd and Wayne Shorter in Aja is superb, Black Cow is great, and Peg is probably the overall standout on the record. If they’d managed to get a bit more of the grit that Shorter added, or the hookiness that they conjured on Peg, this could have been a near perfect album. But unfortunately there are ocassions when things become a little too self-indulgent or long-winded and that focus and precision doesn’t allow it the room to breathe and let the slight dirt and grit of the best funk/jazz fusion to emerge. A lot of that sounds critical, but there is a vast amount to enjoy about this, and I did really get into it, but the fact that it comes so close to being an all time great, yet doesn’t quite manage to pull everything together over the whole runtime is just a little bit of a disappointment. Perhaps its one that will sit with me for longer and grow, but regardless of that this was a thoroughly enjoyable album, but I was just left with a niggling sensation that it could have been something even better. Black Cow - This is a cool, soft funk groove. There’s a nice simplicity to each of the lines, but they’re super in-pocket and deftly delivered The “big black cow” triplet stabs they use are delicious, and the rhodes solo has drifting swagger to it. And good god, does it sound good. It’s so crisp, clean and clear. It’s funny, because there’s not anything overtly exciting about this, but hardly matters because it’s so buttery smooth and satisfying. Aja - The counterpoint across the different instruments here is really nice and they use some slightly unexpected interval changes that add an air of mystery to the sound. There’s a nice slow groove to this again and the pulse of it is really pleasing to the ear. It’s definitely fairly self-indulgent in places, but there are moments when things get together so brilliantly that it’s forgivable, particularly when they get to the sax and drum section, which is brilliant and reminds me a lot of Weather Report. I’ve actually just looked it up, and the sax solo is played by Wayne Shorter of Weather report, so well done to my ears. This one’s a tiny bit of a mixed bag and meanders a tad in places, but when it peaks, boy does it peak. Deacon Blues - This is delightfully chilled, but has enough of a sultry groove to it to keep it driving along. The bed of sounds from the range of instruments here is so full and rich, but each have little moments where they pop out from the mix with touches of flair and nuance. The interplay between the lead and backing vocals is so, so tasty. There are some really lovely rhythmic punches they throw in here and there too that give it just a little dash of extra excitement. The only complaint I could have this is that it perhaps drags on a little too long, but it sounds so good. Peg - It’s funny, because I know this more from the sample used by De La Soul on Eye Know. Either way, it’s bloody glorious. That groove is so tasty, and the popping and rolling bass line against the sharp staccato guitar and drums is so funky. There are some great hooks and so much depth to the harmonic structure too. Everything about this is delightful and again, it sounds exquisite. Home At Last - There’s a bit more swagger to this. It’s not got the hookiness and punch of Peg, but there are still some really great moments and the tonal mix is still incredibly solid. The rhythms are compelling and the vocal harmonies are really excellent. Top quality soloing again, as you’d expect and some well balanced and perfectly placed horn work too. In fact, the more I listened to this, the further it dragged me in. It really is quite nice. I Got The News - This leans a bit more towards jazz, particularly from the piano, but persists with the snappy beats and insistent groove of the bass. As with the last track, there are some really excellent vocal blends. It’s a track that doesn’t really deal in hooks, but the vibe is really high quality. The solo work is really nice, and the guitar tone on that solo is so, so smooth. Josie - A nice, strolling funk-soul number with great swagger. The vibe is smooth, but has the odd moment of bite, but it’s also lacking the hooky moments of the record’s choicest cuts. The soloing is cool, everything is super-clean and crisp and I think it’s decent enough, but it just feels a little too clinical and slightly lacking in the soul and edge that would help it stand out.

7/10 As someone who enjoys Jazz without being a fanatic, and is familiar with some of Charles Mingus’ other work such as Mingus Ah Um, this was an interesting album to listen to. Rather than shorter form tracks, this is much more of a roaming and challenging listen in which Mingus invokes passages of brashness and dissonance to impart the feel of emotional strife and mental confusion. While that sounds like a hard listen, the way that he transitions the band in and out of those moments are very beautifully managed and controlled so that everything feels organic and natural, despite the fact that you would occasionally find yourself in thick tonal clouds that sound slightly confusing to the layman’s ear. On closer inspection, there were lots of moments that really sucked me in, with motifs jumping out from each of the instruments and pulling me in to the experience. Stylistically, there were moments of more traditional jazz that conjured up thoughts of New York detective dramas, but these were interspersed with those more frantic and compositionally complex phases, which made the whole thing feel like a deliberately confusing journey. And you could definitely hear the purpose of it all. While things became cluttered, the way the band kept in complete control and pulled things back to the more traditional without ever missing a beat or drifting away from each other was a joy to behold. Ultimately, I don’t think I’m deep enough into jazz to actually get the most out of this record, and if I was a bit more familiar with the nuances of this type of jazz, I’d probably get more out of it, but it’s certainly intrigued me enough to give this another few tries in the coming weeks and days, but for now, I’m off to give Mingus Ah Um a spin. Track A - There’s a nice bit of swing to the rhythm here and the pulse of the main motif creates quite a cool tonal edge to the groove. The sax solo is cool too. We then move into a smooth, smoky sounding section that gradually starts to find a rhythmic hold and pick up the pace. We then move into a more traditional phase where the swinging groove holds things down, while we get another sax solo and the band drop in with more intensity and drive. It’s one hell of a journey of a track that moves through phases in a not entirely coherent way, but gathers things together at points to maintain direction. Track B - We start with some beautiful piano here, but no one instrument holds focus, with a beautiful horn arrangement. It drops into a less musically clear middle section, but the tempo changes are really cool and the passing around of the focus among the instruments is great. It’s got such an infectious sense of urgency that it’s almost stressful to listen to, but you can just about keep up with it. And then we dip back out into something more straight again, but with echoes of the middle section still coming through from the brass. Track C - Moments of the piano in this one are heart-wrenching, but it drifts in and out of that into more playful moments, particularly when the band joins in. I actually quite like the fact that this jumps too and fro emotionally and has moments of clarity mixed in with more scattergun, broadly orchestrated sections. It’s a bit like the moments of clarity of a fevered mind clinging on to a loose grip on reality. There are motifs all over the shop that pop into and out of focus but could easily be lost in the mass of sound without due focus. Medley - This has got a proper New York detective vibe about it that we’ve touched on elsewhere, but is in full focus now. That’s probably not a very contemporary read on this, but 60 years after the fact, it’s very much the feel. The moments of pause into Spanish guitar are very nice. The builds into frenzy across the band creates so much frenetic energy that it’s infectious and when it drops back out to the more stripped back piano parts, it feels so free yet stark. There are lots of lovely moments in this track where things come together in a more traditional way than some of the more dissonant and complex parts, but that helps to create a sense of onward journey about it and tell an interesting and engaging musical narrative. The performances are obviously top notch and everything feels so deliberate, even when those more dissonant, clashing moments arrive, as the transitions in and out of those sections are so smooth and deftly delivered. They’ve got so much control over tempo while staying tight and under control, and it’s been show elsewhere, but is particularly of note here. There are so many cool moments on this that it’s kind of hard to deconstruct, but it’s a cool, if slightly wild ride.

5/10 On reading up about Big Star, they are referred to as being hugely influential on a number of bands that would follow, including R.E.M., The Replacements and, oddly enough, KISS. That range of endorsements is usually a pretty good indicator that something will be a decent listen. What I wasn’t really expecting, was an album that sounded like a real melting pot of sounds from 60s bands, such as the Kinks, the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, but with relatively little in the way of further development of those sounds. That isn’t to say this wasn’t good, it just felt fairly derivative and unoriginal, and to my ears rarely conjured up any moments that particularly made it memorable in any way. I kept hearing moments that reminded me of various other bands, and they even every now and again arrived on a decent hook or vocal harmony stack, but at no point did I ever feel that I would prefer to come back to this album over albums by the bands that inspired them. That sounds very dismissive, but it’s not really meant that way, because the band put in good performances throughout, the production was well put together and sonically coherent, but there just wasn’t anything particularly exciting about it. They did lean towards some almost glam or hard rock sounds here and there, which did add a touch of spice to the mix, but those moments were rather fleeting. So this one falls very much down the middle for me. Good enough to enjoy my time with it and not be turned off at any point, but not good enough to make me want to bother listening to it again in future. Perhaps this is one of those situations where a band’s influence actually comes from their more developed work on later albums and this is an interesting look back at the start of their career as a band, but there’s nothing in here that really captivated or enthralled. Feel - This is almost half way between Led Zeppelin and glam rock, but with much simpler songwriting and a more limited sound palette. It’s got a decent groove and vibe to it, but there’s nothing particularly standout here that’s making me do any more than enjoy it in passing and there’s nothing that memorable about it either. The Ballad Of El Goodo - Now this sounds more reminiscent of bands like the Kinks and the Beatles. There’s some nice harmonic moments and some of the melodies are pretty decent too, but it generally feels a little bit derivative of that British invasion sound without actually adding anything particularly fresh or exciting. It’s a pleasant listen, to be fair, but I’d rather listen to those aforementioned bands ahead of this. In The Street - This has got a bit more personality to it. It’s still a bit glam, but it blends it well with that British invasion sound. It’s got good rhythms with a bit of endearing swing, the playing is good and there are some good melodic choices in there too. It’s not necessarily the most exciting of tracks, but it’s a pretty decent pop-rock song. Thirteen - Quite a pretty little song now that almost leans a little bit more towards folk/country rock. It’s well written and the vocal harmonies, despite having a slightly weird effect on them, add a nice depth to the sparse arrangement. Again, I’m not massively invested in this just yet, but it’s a pleasant enough listen. Don't Lie To Me - And now we’re getting a more blues-rock number. The production is pretty cool here and there are some cool, if not vastly original, guitar lines going on. It’s a tad messy in places, but that’s actually quite endearing, and the chorus is a pretty decent hook. Not a bad one. The India Song - Again, this feels quite derivative of popular 60s music, more like Simon and Garfunkel, with a touch of Beach Boys thrown in. It’s nice, but it’s a bit too repetitive and doesn’t really develop the main themes into anything beyond a nice and easy to listen to song. Not that you can expect much development in 2 minutes 20, but it just feels a touch throwaway. When My Baby's Beside Me - More 60s throwback stuff, with a slightly more 70s groove to it. This one’s pretty good and the guitar and vocal rhythm is a bit more interesting and engaging. Despite its throwback core, this feels like they’ve actually started to take this more into a fresher direction. There are good hooks, a nice swagger to the performances and it’s got good forward momentum too. Not bad. My Life Is Right - This album really is a melting pot of 60s influences. It’s really well put together and sounds great, but as with much of the record there’s not anything vastly standout or memorable about it that wouldn’t make me just turn to the bands that influenced them over this record. The chorus is pretty good, to be fair. Give Me Another Chance - Quite pretty, quite bland, and feels quite long despite being only three and a half minutes long. Tonally, this is nice, but there’s nothing particularly standout or memorable about it and the synth strings sound pretty bad too. Try Again - The strumming pattern here is relentless. The vocal harmonies are pretty nice, but melodically it’s a bit rambling. It’s a pleasant enough listen, but as with much of the record up to this point, hardly memorable or standout. Watch The Sunrise - There’s a bit more zip to the playing on this one and the main guitar line is really nice. This builds well, and there’s a good vibe to it by the time the band comes in just after half way. The overall sound is good and it’s got some nice melodic moments too with a twist of folksy rock feel. Altogether very pleasant. ST 100/6 - This is a pretty pleasant closer. The vibe is cool and the harmonies are really nice. Good guitar playing too. And it’s all done in under a minute.

5/10 Goldfrapp are typically known as an electronic music act, with touches of trip-hop and synth-pop key to their sound. Interestingly, this album leans far more towards acoustic instrumentation in a lot of places, often backed up with some more electronic bedding, rather than having that at the forefront of the compositions. You can definitely hear the experience of their work with synths, as some of the subtleties of the arrangements do a great job of augmenting that more forward acoustic or folky tone that the album leads with. Allison Goldfrapp’s voice is also excellent and has a very pure tone, but she is also able to add a decent amount of variation to her delivery too, allowing for good range to suit each track. Unfortunately, while the core work that goes on here is decent, there isn’t a great deal of memorable songwriting to benefit from that work on the production. The record takes quite a while to get going and a lot of the work kind of floats by without wanting to bother you or interrupt whatever else you might be doing while listening. It’s not attention grabbing or exciting very often and, while it’s eminently possible to create ambient or chillout music that works in that way, but also delivers hooks and melodic or harmonic quality that rewards closer attention, to me this album rarely found that level. It did pick up a bit through the middle, and at no point was there anything on here that I actively disliked, so it’s not a bad album all in, it just feels a little bit too bland and clean to really offer itself up as anything more than fairly pretty wallpaper music. It’s always good for artists to try and challenge themselves with a change of direction and I applaud the approach here, even if the execution wasn’t really as good as I’d hoped, but ultimately, it fell into that middle ground of being inoffensive but also fairly unaffecting. Clowns - Allison Goldfrapp does have a lovely, pure voice. This is a slow moving effort that builds and falls away in a slightly odd way. The build is nice, but the falling away feels quite sudden and thin. It’s all very nice, but there’s not anything particularly standout about it either. It’s kind of like the music that someone would have on while people are milling around between the ceremony and the reception at a wedding. Little Bird - This feels like it has a little bit more purpose about it, with a little bit more drive from the bass and a bit more sonic interest in the instrumentation. Some of the vocal harmony stacks in this are really nice too. And it does, eventually give us a beat and justify the folktronica tag. Once it gets there, this is pretty cool and they do find the odd moments of focus that help it through. Happiness - Another nice track with a cool sonic palette and a decent swing to the groove, but it is a bit too twee. I kind of get what they’re going for here, but it does feel a bit too music like a 2000s poptronica take on something the Beatles might have done. It doesn’t quite have enough of a sharp edge anywhere to really elevate it, and after a while, the beat becomes quite relentless. Road To Somewhere - There’s an edge of Kate Bush to this, but there’s also a slight edge of bland early 00’s pop about it too. It’s kind of like if you stuck Pure Shores by All Saints in a blender with And Dream Of Sheep by Kate Bush and strained it to make sure there were definitely no lumps. That’s not to say it’s particularly bad, it’s just a bit bland and not particularly memorable and doesn’t sound very original either. Eat Yourself - The lofi sound of this is quite pleasant and it’s melodically a bit more interesting too. It’s got quite a warm, folky sound to it and her vocal harmonies are really nice. The weight of the beat and bass are great and the shimmering sound design is really effective too. It’s not the most hooky of tracks, but the vibe is right and it’s got a really warm, pleasing tone to the production. Some People - This is very stripped back to begin with and it takes some interesting directions in its chord structure. The build of this is pretty good too and the ebb and flow of it works a lot better than it did in the opener. Allison delivers a great vocal performance here and it has another touch of the Kate Bush about it, but without feeling as sanded down. The emotion of the music comes across here a lot better than it has elsewhere, and it does kind of feel like the album is starting to hit its stride now. A&E - Now this is a good, chilled poptronica song. The instrumentation is well managed and again, builds nicely. There are some cool subtle synth arpeggiations in there that give it a bit of depth. It does lose me a tiny bit in the bridge, but gets back in control fairly quickly. The calmness of the vocal delivery works really nicely against a backing track that has moments of intensity and lots of movement. Pretty good stuff. Cologne Cerrone Houdini - Now this is more what I was expecting from this record. A nice, chilled and soulful groove, inflected with downtempo electronic beds of synths and strings. It’s pretty, it’s got some good hooks and it has a little bit of drive to the underlying rhythm while remaining chilled. It’s not the most exciting of songs, but it’s a pleasant and enjoyable listen. Caravan Girl - And now we’re actually stepping up the tempo a bit more towards something a bit more pacy. It’s kind of like a pop rock song really, which is a bit weird in the context of the rest of the album. Again, it’s not bad and the main chorus hook is pretty good, but used a bit too repetitively. There are parts of this that I think are really decent. Some of the subtler instrumentation is really good, but the core song isn’t vastly interesting outside of the hooky chorus melody. It just feels quite generic. Monster Love - As with much of the early album, this is pleasant and pretty enough, but doesn’t particularly stand out or grab hold of me in any way beyond it being a nice, easy listen. There are some cool production flourishes here and there, like the descending synth arpeggiation and some of the crispy synth pads, and her voice is lovely as usual, but it’s just lacking in anything with much of an engaging musical substance. Which is a shame really.

7/10 I’ve always associated Sepultura with their later records in which they started to bring in more tribal percussion and indigenous Brazilian music, but this earlier album is an interesting point in their career. It has one foot very much in the thrash metal of their earlier work and one in the camp of the emerging groove metal scene that worked its way from bands like White Zombie into the more established sound of Pantera’s Cowboys From Hell, released a year prior to this record. While not as melodically inclined as thrash metal icons Metallica or Slayer, where this record shines is within the rhythms. The drumming work of Igor Cavalera is excellent, with lots of quick changes of groove and emphasis throughout, while always maintaining control of the tempo, and punctuating his work with some captivating fills and flourishes. There are moments where things resorted to a more machine-gun approach to rhythm, which is where I got a little lost, but when placed carefully, those moments did actually work really well. Interestingly (and perhaps backing up my point regarding melody), Max Cavalera’s vocals aren’t really the focus for much of this album and he almost uses his voice as an extra percussive part rather than as a tonal anchor. There are lots of instrumental sections and it often felt like the vocals were there to augment the riffs, rather than the other way around, which was quite cool. I did enjoy some of the sound design work here as well and you can definitely get brief snippets of where the band were heading, which added a nice bit of depth to things. While I typically prefer a little bit more melodic focus and harmonic richness even in my heavy music choices, I did find the rhythms in this compelling, and while there are other bands I’m likely to lean towards for either thrash or groove metal, this will be a nice one to throw into the mix from time to time. Arise - It’s a slightly cheesy sample based intro, but that’s quickly dispelled by the balls to the wall pace of the thrash that kicks in. The effect to introduce the vocal is very cool. There are some cool riffs in here, but a lot of the rhythmic breakdowns and changes are really what catch my ear. It’s quite relentless in places, but those breakdowns do allow it to take a breath here and there. There’s not really a sense of melody from either the vocal or instruments, which makes this a little dense, so I’m hoping things develop a little further in that regard. Dead Embryonic Cells - Ah, there’s a lot more melodic intent behind the riffs and guitar lines here. It still has those sections of relentless thrashiness, but this feels altogether more varied, balanced and, with that touch of more melodic influence, a step above the opener. There are enough changes to the groove and emphasis of the track that it doesn’t feel relentless, but maintains interest throughout. Desperate Cry - This leans more towards the groove metal and sounds quite like the stuff Pantera were doing at the time. It’s less rapid for the most part and plays a lot more with weight and groove over the fury of the earlier tracks. But it still has time for some quick-fire drumming towards the end. As with the last track, we’re given a more developed tonal focus here to run alongside that change up in rhythms. Murder - Again, this has a good blend of drive and groove with some solid touches of melodic riff building. It’s interesting that they don’t necessarily have a vast focus on vocals, with plenty of instrumental sections. The drumming is great and the general feel of this is great. Not super keen on the guitar solo work here as it feels a little unfocused, but again, the switching up of rhythmic inflection is cool, even if some sections where things drift into speed for speeds sake and that does detract a little. Subtraction - When they break the rhythms into swung grooves here, it’s really good, but there’s a little too much machine gun drumming for me in places. That’s not something I mind in short bursts, but those sections are a bit prolonged here for my tastes and it loses the rhythmical nuance of the stuff that clicks better with my ear. But the groove metal stuff is very good. Altered State - The samples to bring us in here are great and we get a bit of the tribal drumming that they would work with more extensively on future records. The building of the beat here is great and they don’t allow the relentless bits to dominate, instead working more with weight and groove before injecting pace for effect in bursts. The guitar solo section here is really good, probably the strongest guitar focused part of the record so far. There are some epic drum fills in here too. Under Siege (Regnum Irae) - This is really strong and atmospheric to begin with and builds nicely. The pace change into the vocal is a tiny bit jarring but also quite cool. There’s plenty of groove here, but also some more sludgy, grimy stuff too. The atmospheric work here gives this an interesting feel to it compared to earlier tracks, but it maintains the thread through the rhythmic changes and crunch weight of the riffs. Meaningless Movements - That main riff is really good set against the lead vocal and again, there are some really nice moments when the rhythm switches up. There’s quality pace and drive to this, without it becoming too relentless and the interplay between the two guitars at certain points is great. Some of the drum fills are brilliant and the guitar solo’s solid too. Infected Voice - Back to something more purely thrash for the finisher now. It’s a little too relentless for my tastes, but there’s some great stuff in there and as a live experience, I bet this is fantastic. The riffs are decent, it’s fast and furious and there are the odd moments of groove, but the main focus is on that relentless thrashing. As with the opener, there’s a little less focus on the tonality of the song, but it’s still a quality thrash track.

7/10 Having heard Fiona Apple’s name a lot over the years, she was someone whose work I’d never found the time to explore before, and I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Straight off the bat it’s clear that, despite being only 18 at the time of recording this record, she has an incredibly mature and controlled talent for performance, both vocally and at the piano. She has a lovely contralto vocal range that feels both jazzy and soulful and she has the chops to throw in lovely flourishes as required, while also showing the self control to use those chops sparingly to maximise their potency and effect. I was interested to hear a sprinkling of trip-hop production influence across the record which, while very much pinning the album at a certain time period, added an interesting quality to her more jazzy vocal and piano techniques. There’s also a touch of the singer-songwriter about this too, and the general blend of styles and vibes were one area in which the album felt like it lacked a little coherence and focus. It is a little bit of an uneven record in other ways too, with some of the songwriting feeling a little flat and failing to significantly capture enough standout moments in some of the tracks to help them become more than pleasant to listen to. That’s not to say that any of it was bad, particularly, because most of this was pretty enjoyable. For the weaker songs, the performances typically elevated much of the more vibey feel to a level slightly above that. When she got it right, though there were some really excellent moments. Shadowboxer really got me by the time I’d spun the album a few times, and the run from that to Slow Like Honey was brilliant. With many debuts, the real trick is to pick out the talents and use those as a launch pad to further develop an artists voice, and on this album, that launch pad feels very robust indeed. It’s a solid album without tipping over into brilliance, but certainly suggests that her subsequent work will be worth a thorough listen. Sleep To Dream - Quite a cool beat and vibe to kick us off. I like the swagger and rhythm of her vocal delivery and while things float a bit melodically during the verses, the chorus gathers up that roaming nature and delivers something more centred, which is a really nice juxtaposition. It’s quite a trip-hop feel, with the soulful vocal, jazzy piano and stuttering hip-hop beats. This is a pretty promising start. Sullen Girl - This is far more singer-songwriter stuff to begin with, but there are still echoes of that trip-hop sound in the production. This song kind of feels like it doesn’t know what it wants to be in that it changes vibe a reasonable amount from the stripped back bits to the fuller sections. It’s a bit rambly for me and doesn’t really manage to find a particularly engaging musical motif at any point that I can grab on to. It’s just a bit bland and aimless. Shadowboxer - There’s a nice downtempo swing to this and it feels like it has a bit more purpose and direction than the last track. Her voice and delivery are really good, and the vocal hook through the chorus is soulful with a touch of grit, which I really like. The depth and feel of the instrumentation and production here provides a rewarding listening experience, topped off with solid chops both on the piano and vocally. It’s not the most complex composition, but it does everything it does well and those key elements just elevate it. Criminal - The feel of the groove to this is really nice. The change in feel and tone between verse and chorus is cool too and again, Fiona’s vocal delivery is excellent. There’s something quite compelling about the layered rhythms from across the instrumentation and I found myself bobbing along to this one with gusto. I’m not completely keen on the string samples used, but that’s a bit minor and the rest of the track is solid work. This is a little on the rockier side of the road, but there’s still a bit of that electronica/trip-hop side to the production, and it’s a decent blend. Slow Like Honey - Fiona’s piano playing is really lovely here. It’s a bit of a meandering number, but I quite like the roaming, almost jazzy focus of this. I particularly enjoy some of the choices of musical modulation when she jumps out of minor modalities with little flickers into a more major tone giving hints of optimism within a track that’s quite dark and dreary overall. It’s a subtle song, but I can picture this being completely captivating in a smoky jazz bar. It’s really lovely stuff. The First Taste - I wasn’t expecting the beat that kicked in for this, feeling like it was going to carry on the smoky jazz vibe of the last track. Her vocal performance is excellent again, but the mix of sounds in this is a little bit confusing, with some of the instrumental choices sounding a little oddly paired. I like the general thrust of the groove though and, while it’s a bit melodically rambling, the overall vibe does feel decent, even if it feels a bit rhythmically cluttered. Never Is A Promise - This is quite pretty and stark, but again, it doesn’t feel entirely melodically focused and while the performances are very good, the combination of sparseness and slightly wafty melodic centre, it doesn’t quite manage to fully connect and maintain attention in a way the better tracks have done. It’s still very pretty in its own way though. The Child Is Gone - Oof, some of the little bits of vocal flourish she chucks in here and there are really lovely. The vocal performance is so mature and tasty and conjures up a bit more of that jazzy vibe, despite the fact that the rest of the track doesn’t have that kind of vibe. In fact, the rest of the track does jar a touch against that. It feels like there’s a really decent song in here somewhere, but the arrangement and orchestration don’t feel like they really do it the justice it deserves and it feels a touch muddled and unfocused because of that, which is a shame. Pale September - Another pretty but musically wandering piece. There are moments of quality in here, but it’s a bit too repetitive in the piano part and just feels like it’s drifting along not really offering any particular intent or direction. As a result, this one ends up just being a little bit dull and uninspiring as even the vibe is just a touch on the bland side. It’s also too long. Carrion - This immediately has a bit more to it. The blend of rhythms from the instruments gives it a nice shuffling groove and there’s a bit more going on melodically. The sudden change to the chorus about a minute and a half in is SUPER jarring though. It almost feels like they’ve just dropped a completely different song in at that point, with the sudden thickening of the orchestration and complete shift of the rhthm. We do find our way back to the verse and the work on there is really good. What a strange production and songwriting choice that is and it doesn’t work for me at all. Looked at alone, the verses and choruses here are both actually good, but I just don’t feel like they work together.

4/10 John Lennon’s post-Beatles life feels incredibly performative to me. He comes across as a complete bastard deciding to spend every public facing moment of his life trying desperately to present himself as being the kind of person that he thinks people think is “a nice guy”. To me, it always felt like he should have spent less time trying to seem like a nice guy and more time trying to actually be one. That seems like a bit of an irrelevant way to start a review of Imagine, but it actually goes some way to explaining my thoughts about this record. We start with the ultimate cheese fest of a song that Lennon thinks represents the nice guy he wants us to see. Why can’t everyone be nice (like me)? Why can’t we forgo possessions (like Yoko’s 80 fur coats in a climate controlled cupboard)? Why can’t we all just get along (like me and Paul)? It’s performative nonsense, dragged through a sickly-sweet melodic pop-song composition. What follows is a fairly erratic selection of songs that, while having moments of quality, often feels like an assortment of demos, rather than a focused and intentional album. The production is all over the place, with Phil Spector doing an incredibly poor job of coaxing quality vocal performances out of John, recording tracks that clip and distort, washing stuff in too much reverb, or making incredibly odd choices about instrumental prominence, so that the record sounds wildly inconsistent. Of course, there are bits and pieces of superb quality scattered through the record. John was a great songwriter and, while not having the rest of the Beatles there (apart from George Harrison, who has some lovely moments of his own) seems to have impacted his song selection, development and editing process (a complaint one could also extend to his former band-mates’ solo projects), the underlying genius is still there. There are also some great instrumental performances, particularly some of the piano, rhodes and guitar work. Interestingly, the best cut on the record is the one where Lennon actually allows his mask to slip and he goes on attack against Paul McCartney. If he’d continued to mine that rich seam, there may have been a lot more grit and energy to this record. Unfortunately, what we end up with is a pretty scattergun effort, with a couple of excellent tunes and a lot of unmet potential. Imagine - A massively overplayed track that’s so saccharine and feels completely insincere to me. This feels a bit like the songwriting equivalent of the apology speech a truly awful person makes to prove how much they’ve changed, because they think it’s how “nice” people talk. The lyrics are those of a 15 year old self-proclaimed poet who tries to seem deep to impress girls. The piano is really poorly recorded, and the rest of the arrangement is completely predictable and obvious. I do like the bridge when he sings “you may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one”, but the rest of this can go straight in the bin, as far as I’m concerned. Crippled Inside - This is very twee and blues-country in style. I don’t really see what it does to elevate itself above a fairly decent song within that genre. I mean, it’s ok, there are some cool performances in there, particularly on the piano, and it’s got a nice blend of rhythms and a nice bit of swing to it, but it’s just a bit stylistically odd for me, especially as this isn’t a consistent musical theme across the record. Jealous Guy - Lennon’s vocals on this record so far have been pretty weak, and again this sounds more like a scratch vocal take rather than a finalised one. That viewpoint is only enhanced by the fact that he gives up on singing and whistles for some of it, like he hasn’t finished writing the lyrics yet. There’s some lovely piano work on here though, despite it again sounding quite muffled and poorly recorded. It’s kind of weird, because some parts of the track, like the string arrangements seem almost overwritten, but the rest of it sounds almost like a demo of a really good song that’s not been refined to that point just yet. I can hear the quality of the writing in here, but it’s just not executed particularly well. It's So Hard - This one drops back a bit to the bluesy swagger of Crippled Inside. The strings sound crap, and it’s an uneventful take-off of classic blues. I just don’t really understand what he’s trying to achieve with this apart from to shove in a bunch of double-entendres. I Don't Want To Be A Soldier - And now we get something that is absolutely drenched in reverb, and in places the vocal even clips. Tonally, this record is all over the place. The piano, hidden as deep as it in the mix, is pretty good, as is some of the guitar work. But sonically, this is a clashing mess of a track. I think there are cool aspects to this, but it’s presented in such a poor way that perhaps I’m trying too hard to find positives. I quite like the rhythm and cadence of the vocal delivery, but on the whole, this is a complete mess and drags on, rambling along in it’s cacophonous echo chamber for far too long. Give Me Some Truth - The vocal rhythm is pretty good and this definitely has echoes of some of the Beatles’ more experimental work. Again, the production is poor and the rest of the band apart from the vocal have a very stilted flow to the rhythm. It’s also quite repetitive and bland. Oh My Love - And suddenly we have something that’s incredibly crisply recorded and sounds super clean. This really is an odd sounding album. There’s some really nice modulations and bits of flair in the piano and it dances really nicely around the guitar. It’s quite sickly sweet, but the strength of the interwoven parts hold it up and, while it’s not necessarily the most melodically interesting, the strength of the playing and the tonal manoeuvring of the instrumental parts make it a pleasant listen. How Do You Sleep? - Now this is more like it. It’s got great swagger, dirt and groove with some cool 70s kung-fu movie-esque strings. This is the song in which Lennon’s mask slips and he forgets that he’s pretending to be the nice guy he wants the world wants to see, with a direct attack on Paul McCartney. But he’s way better when he’s being himself. The vocal has great bite, the George Harrison solo is excellent, and I’m a big fan of the rhodes piano. The vibe is so cool on this one and it almost leans into a funk sound, with so much groove and rhythmic layers across the instrumentation. It’s far and away the best track on the record. How? - This is very meandering and takes us back to the kind of aimless feel of much of the record. Not sure why the kick drum is so prominent, but the oddness of the production is pretty par for the course at this point. There’s no real flow to this, it keeps getting into a groove and then everything drops out apart from that over-loud kick. There are some decent melodic moments in here, it just feels lacking in momentum and flow. Oh Yoko! - This is a pretty good little pop song. It’s very twee, but it’s delivered in a bouncy, pleasant way. Lennon’s vocal performance is a tad patchy, but it kind of works with this style of quirky pop song. There’s some good piano playing here and while the rest of the band play things fairly straight, the general vibe and tightness of the performances hold things together really well. I do find Lennon’s overt and direct references to his own life quite odd, rather than the more standard musical approach of making things a bit more generic or metaphorical, but he was definitely a man with the most main character energy one can have. A quality closer.

3/10 I’ve had a middling opinion of Elvis Costello up to this point, and Brutal Youth is my fourth deep dive into his work. Sometimes he puts together some engaging and compelling pop/punk/new-wave/rock blends that have good melodic sensibilities and enough groove and zip to keep the ear engaged. Other times, he tends to lean far more into a lyrical focus that results in music that feels like it’s there as an accompaniment rather than the main event. Sadly, this record falls the furthest into that latter category of any of his records I’ve heard up to this point. For some people, it might be a perfect approach, but as someone for whom lyrics are secondary, and who still doesn’t know all of the words to some of his favourite songs, that relentless focus on storytelling, narrative and lyrical density just doesn’t sit well with me when it detracts from the music. Don’t get me wrong, there’s actually some decent stuff on here, but it all feels so stretched out and sporadically placed between sections in which Costello rambles on and on with little musical focus. Every now and then my ears would perk up before things began to drift or repeat and inertia set in. What doesn’t help is that, despite some attempts to add a bit of stylistic variety to the song selection, it all feels very one-dimensional. And the biggest complaint on that front is with the lead vocal, as Costello seems to sing in more or less the same way regardless of whether he’s singing an up-tempo punk leaning song, or a quiet piano based ballad. And the production only exacerbates things, with the lead vocal typically way too prominent and the rest of the band sitting way too far in the background to command any real attention. Frankly, this album is way too long and doesn’t have nearly enough variety or quality to justify its length. By the end, I couldn’t even tell whether a track was bad or if I was just bored of the album droning on and on. It’s not bad enough to give it the dreaded 1-star treatment, but he was probably only a track or two away from dragging it down that far just by the seemingly unending nature of the work. Pony St. - This sounds very reminiscent of earlier Elvis Costello work. The mix is very odd as the vocal is too prominent and the arrangement feels quite thin in places. Melodically, it’s pretty rambling and his vocal is a bit too punchy to suit the more rounded sound of the rest of the track. It feels a lot like he’s trying to cram as many lyrics as he can, rather than leaving space and allowing the vocal to breathe. Kinder Murder - This feels a little bit more coherent, but it’s very repetitive and doesn’t flow very well rhythmically in quite a few places. He makes some slightly awkward melodic choices now and again on his repetition of the song title that just jar against the fairly straightforward power-pop composition of the rest of the track. It’s ok, but feels quite bland really. 13 Steps Lead Down - This a fairly pop-punkesque track that drifts into a more new wave sound in places. It’s definitely the strongest effort up to this point and the variation in arrangement between verse and chorus is pretty effective. It still feels like he’s trying to cram too many words into a space that they don’t quite fit into, but at least we get a bit of instrumental soloing, with that section being driven, noisy and rambunctious in all the right ways. This Is Hell - The chorus to this isn’t bad, despite the cheesy backing vocals that sound like someone doing a bad Ringo Starr impression. The verses are too long and rambling though and manage to be both repetitive and unfocused at the same time. I kind of feel like this is almost a musical stream of consciousness that wanders along with no destination in mind. Clown Strike - This is much better. It’s got a nice bit of swagger and groove to it and feels like it’s building to a fun pop-soul chorus that… just never arrives. Great verses with cool layered grooves between guitar, bass and drums, but then it sort of peters out into a weird, sparse and drifting chorus. The vocals are too loud and their force doesn’t suit the more subtle delivery of the rest of the track either. What a weird and incoherent track. You Tripped At Every Step - The chorus here feels very familiar like it’s incredibly similar to some earlier Costello work, but I don’t know it well enough recall which song. It’s a good chorus though. The verses here are decent, if a touch meandering here and there, but the overall vibe and consistency is far better than some of the earlier tracks. It does become relentlessly repetitive towards the end though, which is a shame. Still Too Soon To Know - A fairly bland, meandering ballad. His vocal intensity really struggles to withdraw enough to match the vibe of the rest of the song and it’s rhythmically quite stilted. Pretty boring too. 20% Amnesia - A cool punky rock ’n roll effort now, but again, the grit of Costello’s vocal doesn’t fully connect with the rest of the track for me in a few places. It’s very wordy and meandering again, and some of the breakdowns and bridges are just awkwardly written and distracting. It’s a really odd instrumental blend too, but not in a cool way, more of a confusing way. There’s a decent core to this, and the chorus is pretty cool, but the execution just feels a bit inconsistent. Sulky Girl - This leans towards a more slow-groove soulful number and I think the lead vocal would work better if it was a touch lower in the mix. As with quite a few tracks on the record, it feels like he’s trying to cram too many lyrics in, which makes it feel a bit rambly and not precise enough. The tone of the rest of the track is pretty decent, and it has some nice dynamic range and builds. But some of the parts just drag on for too long and it’s not musically interesting enough to justify it, despite some really nice moments. It’s not bad though. London's Brilliant Parade - Another meandering little number. Musically, there’s not a lot wrong with it and it feels like he’s trying to maintain interest, but he just rambles on and on, so everything loses focus. I guess music that’s overly focused on lyrics isn’t for me. This is entirely tolerable, but there’s nothing in there that jumps out or grabs hold of me, so I have no real emotional connection to it at all. My Science Fiction Twin - Good lord, he takes forever to get to the point, doesn’t he? Everything just feels musically unfocused, despite having some really great moments, but they’re either dragged out to the point that they’re no longer great, or interspersed with stuff that’s a bit wooly or uninteresting. And this album is too long by this point. Rocking Horse Road - The word of this album is meandering. It all just feels like it’s been unnecessarily stretched out and bangs on for far too long so that, even when I actually like some of it, it just repeats or stretches things to the point where I lose interest. This track is the same, some great playing, some quality bits of writing, but it’s too long, too rambly and way too unfocused. Just About Glad - By this point, we’re over three quarters of an hour in, and I’m not sure I can tell what’s good and what’s not any more and it’s all just blending into a formless mass of Elvis Costello. It’s decent enough, I guess, but there’s nothing that makes it stand out from the seemingly endless pile of Elvis Costello songs that exist without any real purpose. All The Rage - So often, he fails to leave space in his relentless string of lyrical diarrhoea, when the music could really do with breathing room. This is a plodding one that does nothing to excite or invigorate and just chugs along, and every extra song by this point is dragging down the overall score of this record. Favourite Hour - And to close us out, we have an aimless, drifting ballad where he sings about “a tragic waste of brutal youth” in a way that is somehow both uninspiring and melodramatic at the same time. Turns out this album is pretty much a tragic waste of 57 minutes.

7/10 It bears repeating how influential and pioneering Kraftwerk’s music has been to vast amounts of music that followed them. Across their discography, they laid the groundwork for electronic dance music, hip-hop, synth-pop and more. Trans-Europe Express saw them introduce sequencers for the first time, freeing them from having to manually play each of their parts and allowing them to create more complex, metronomic and hypnotic patterns around which they could develop their sound. The fact that they had to have the sequencer they used for this record custom built shows how innovative and boundary pushing they were being with synthesised music. Of course, there was plenty of synth music before them, with Wendy Carlos’ work being of particular note, but Kraftwerk were really the first to lean so hard and intentionally into the deliberately electronic sounding and robotic side of the technology and push it towards mainstream audiences. This album is in places hypnotic, insistent, atmospheric and cinematic, and you can hear clear echoes of this work in the work of countless musicians that would follow, from Joy Division to Aphex Twin. The stark, foreboding vibe in various places is both oppressive and engaging and the hypnotic nature of the rhythmic elements (both tonal and percussive) suck you in and pull you along as you get lost in the shifting waves of synthesis. For an almost 50 year old electronic music album, there were relatively few times where it sounded particularly dated, which only emphasises the skills of the band, and the production was crisp and deep, really creating an engaging listening experience throughout. For me, I actually slightly prefer the work they produced on Man-Machine, the follow up to this record, which further refined their sequencer use and added a slightly more pop music twist to their sound. But this record has its own charms and, while I did find that there were certain bits that dragged on a little too much, I generally had an excellent time with it. Europe Endless - This is a slow burn, but the evolution of the various parts over time really work. They manage to somehow introduce just an edge of organic, human feel into the groove. I think some of it is down to how they’ve used accents within the arpeggiations and some of the synth parts that are performed rather than sequenced. It’s quite hypnotic and, as background music I was far less into this than when I actually gave it closer attention. It’s über German, but that works so well with the vibe of the piece that it only enhances it for me. You could complain that it’s a bit too long, but I think you might lose some of the hypnotic nature of it by trimming it down too much. The Hall Of Mirrors - The ascending synth tones in the intro here are great. When things progress, it’s so stark and darkly atmospheric. The chorus reminds me an awful lot of Joy Division, obviously far more synth focused, but the vibe and tone of it are very similar. Apparently Ian Curtis would always listen to this record before performing, so it was obviously a massive influence on them. This is so stretched out and sparse, but has more of that hypnotic insistency to it that it’s hard not to get sucked into the mechanically overbearing nature of the atmosphere. This is really good stuff. Showroom Dummies - I feel like this, as a more traditionally song structured piece, doesn’t quite deliver quite as well as they would on Man-Machine with more synth-pop efforts. It’s still decent, but it’s perhaps a touch too sparse to connect quite as well as that later work. When things roam a bit through the middle instrumental section, I get a bit more sucked into it, because there’s a bit more musical interest and development. The vocal parts just don’t quite connect as well and get a little repetitive without managing to deliver the same hypnotic control as the earlier tracks. Trans-Europe Express - This brings us back into that hypnotic, insistent, and engaging rhythmic vibe. The slow phase and delay on the drums is super tasty and the soundscaping of the different lines works really well to pull your depth of focus forward and backwards across the orchestration. The careful, restrained sequencing of it all is really well balanced and it still has a bit of a creepy vibe due to the choices of melody and the relative lack of significant harmonic content, except to really emphasise certain sections. Another solid track. Metal On Metal - This is more or less a further movement of the previous track. Again, there’s a touch of Joy Division about it and more than a hint of Einstürzende Neubauten too. It’s rhythmically cool and creates an incredibly engaging and threatening atmosphere, especially the final detuned chord sweep that takes us straight into… Abzug - The third movement of the piece. I like the ascending synth chords that they use, but this is very much a return to what we were getting on the track Trans-Europe Express, including a return to the vocals. When the build of the different parts happens later in the piece, there’s extra depth and atmosphere brought in and the slightly creepy, overbearing vibe returns. It’s pretty cool, but I do wonder if the general concept of this suite of tracks has been dragged on a tad too long, over the course of three tracks. Franz Schubert - The arpeggiated synth line here is really lovely. The slightly odd pulsing of the pads and melodies below gives this a warm and slightly crumbling tone that allows your attention to wander nicely across the work. The arpeggiated line gives everything a centre, while the other parts have a bit more of an unfocused, roaming quality. I think the amount of rhythm that’s present in this track despite the complete lack of drums is incredibly well done. Another excellent track. Endless Endless - And that track runs us nicely into a return to where we began. It’s more of a coda than a track in its own right, but it’s still good. It’s obviously intentional, but it does perfectly run back to the start and you could easily run this album on repeat without ever really noticing where it should start or end, which is a pretty fun way to construct an album.

8/10 Going into this, I was kind of expecting it to be a fairly middle of the road 70s rock effort. Gene Clark was a founding member and principal songwriter in the Byrds before going solo, but to be honest, I wasn’t familiar with him or the fact that he even had a solo career. What I wasn’t expecting was a record that was quite so well put together. This is an incredibly well produced album. It has great dynamic range, the instrumental separation is superb, and it manages to present what is a fairly varied and interesting collection of influences into a brilliantly coherent package. There are touches of country, rhythm and blues, psychedelic rock and more, but it’s all blended together beautifully into a tonally consistent but subtly adventurous sound. On my first couple of spins in the background, there wasn’t a vast amount that jumped out to me, but I feel like subtlety is part of the charm of this record. It does some really fantastic stuff, but it doesn’t shout about it, it just gets on with its thing and leaves its quality there for you to discover and explore on your own terms. Across the album there were various moments when my ears would perk up at some subtle piece of songwriting excellence, such as the rhythmic development and control on Silver Raven, or the interwoven counterpoint of the guitar and piano on Some Misunderstanding, and I got a real kick out of discovering those moments. I think this does perhaps suffer a tiny bit due to being a 50 year old record, released during a period when there were a huge number of bands creating music that was somewhat adjacent to what this does. That fact does make some of the moments where things become a bit more straight seem a touch generic, but those moments are typically fleeting and there was usually something going on to maintain interest regardless. It’s kind of sad to know that Gene died before the rediscovery of this record, so he would never know how well regarded it became, but it’s a real testament to his songwriting, the playing ability of the musicians and the production talents of Thomas Jefferson Kaye. Life's Greatest Fool - There’s a nice, easy swagger to this. It’s got a touch of country to it, but it’s more folk-rock really. The bland of lead and backing vocals is really nice and the guitar solo is fairly straightforward but beautifully delivered. His melodies are enjoyable without being too obvious and the general flow and groove of the song is really well constructed. Silver Raven - Ooof, there’s a beautifully subtle switch to a half-time beat just after the minute mark that completely changes the flow of this track while the rest of the instruments continue along on the same path. In fact, there are multiple changes of pace and emphasis from the drums that completely reshape the momentum of the track in such a delicate but effective way. What a masterful use of timing to control the whole feel of a song. The rest of it is really, really lovely too, for what it’s worth, but I can’t get over how well the rhythm drives the track. No Other - This has a really 70s psychedelic rock flavour that almost leans towards funk. It’s a touch repetitive in places through the vocal sections, but the vibe and tone of it is great. When we get to the instrumental section though, it’s really cool, despite the fact that those sections are a touch short. Again, it’s rhythmically impressive, the layering of instruments and vocal stacks are really good. Another solid track. Strength Of Strings - We’re on to something a bit more straight and flat now. It still has its charms and the orchestration and construction of the harmonies are really nice, but it perhaps loses its flow a little during the middle breakdown. There are still some great moments in there and when the beat starts flowing more consistently, it’s very good. There are some lovely bits of piano in there and some great vocal work. A solid, if slightly inconsistent effort. From A Silver Phial - I feel like we’ve settled into a little bit of inertia in the middle of the record now. This is still a good track, particularly the guitar solos, and it still maintains a really good vibe and a really comfortable and easy to listen to tone, but there aren’t as many elements that elevate it beyond that. It does sound fantastic though and I still enjoyed it. Some Misunderstanding - Gene gives us a slow burn of a track now that slowly builds in weight and depth as it progresses. The instrumental section is really excellent, not only the guitar, but the counterpoint of the piano weaving in and out of it are of great quality. It’s a very emotive delivery of the vocal too. For an 8 minute song that doesn’t vary the pacing or emphasis of the rhythm much over its duration, it really doesn’t feel vastly long. There are great melodies and a richness and depth to the instrumental layering and, again, the production is excellent. This is some top notch 70s rock and feels a lot like what The Eagles should be but aren’t. The True One - And now we’re back to something more country inflected. It’s superbly executed and there are some beautifully subtle bits of work from each of the instrument players at various points, with little licks or flourishes popping out from piano, guitar and bass in particular. It’s a super chill and easy to enjoy piece of work while still maintaining a decent pace and dtive to keep it moving. There are some excellent pieces of melody and counterpoint across the different parts too and the way they weave around each other is lovely. Lady Of The North - This feels like we’re going full circle, vibe wise. It’s got more of that easy swagger and a subtle lilt to the vocal and instrumental delivery that makes it feel laid back yet engaging. There are some incredibly tasty chord changes in there and some superb piano work to deliver them. As with much of the album to this point, there is an awful lot going on across the different instruments that aren’t immediately apparent to a casual listener, but as you peel back the layers, things become clearer and far more impressive. And the production, dynamic range, instrumental separation and clarity is first rate.

8/10 As with many artists, particularly when looking retrospectively at their work, it's important to separate the art from the artist, unless their worst side is specifically present within the art. Yes, Kanye is an immensely troubled and problematic man, but looking at this album on its own merits, it's an excellent and innovative piece of work. Where hip-hop often falls down for me is on the repetitive nature of the beats and musical content. Some rappers also fall into the trap of having very straight rhythmical flow to their delivery, so I can find some of those elements detrimental to my enjoyment of the music. Fortunately, Kanye rarely falls into that trap, with the majority of tracks offering good range, longer from chord structures and motifs, and plenty of rhythmical and tonal variety. The amount of harmonic complexity and tonal layering also elevates this record, with enough depth to the compositions to reward deep and repeated listening. Kanye's also on pretty great lyrical form, flipping smoothly between comedic, sentimental and introspective in various measures. He does touch on moments of stereotypical rap subject matter, but it's largely done with a knowing wink, rather than a more direct approach. There are some moments of supreme quality scattered across this record. So much of them, in fact, that there's a 10/10 record hiding in here; We Don't Care, All Falls Down, Spaceship and more are truly excellent pieces, but there are moments when things slip.back into the more straight, repetitive brand of hip-hop that feels more derivative and less invigorating, such as Get Em High. The skits are also pretty awful and feel out of step with the quality of the rest of the record, as does the overly long, self-indulgent and portentous closer; Last Call. Apparently, the LP of this album doesn't contain the skits, which would probably be enough to elevate this to a 9/10 for me, but with those included, it feels overly long, a tiny bit patchy and just a step away from that 5 star ranking. But it's still bloody great. Intro - This is incredibly irritating and not as funny as Kanye thinks it is. Thankfully it's just an intro. We Don't Care - The choice of samples and general flow of this is great. It has a soulful side while maintaining a bit of hip-hop grit. Most importantly, there's a strong melodic and harmonic focus to the track, including from Kanye's vocals, both sung and rapped, which is where I often fall down with rap music. There's also plenty of range and variety in there, as well as some great hooks. An excellent opener. Graduation Day - Sadly, we get an actual track with skit dropped over it. The music here is decent enough, but the over autotuned vocals are a detriment to the track. But this is hardly much of a track anyway. All Falls Down - And now we're back onto the good stuff. Again, musically, this is really rich and it reminds me of Lauryn Hill. Turns out the vocal is lifted and reperformed from a Lauryn Hill track, so that makes sense. Plenty of rhythmic range within the rapping too and there's still a lot going on across the layers of instrumentation. The bass is great, in particular, but everything weaves together beautifully. I'll Fly Away - A musical interstitial now. It's pretty, jazzy and soulful. This is the kind of thing I can get behind. Very nice. Spaceship - This is another great one. Nice use of the Marvin Gaye sample, but it's developed into a completely different vibe with the layering of everything else and the chorus is excellent. Apparently Kanye sings the lead on the chorus, and he does a great job. His vocal reminds me so much of someone else though, but I can't put my finger on who. This is a solid blend of soul and hip-hop, but with a funky psychedelic twist. Love it. Jesus Walks - A nice change of pace now. There's a good bit of drive and aggression to this. It's dark, funny and the vibe is so strong and consistent. The rhythms are excellent and well layered. It's not got the harmonic richness of other tracks, but positioned on the record like it is, that doesn't matter a jot. The insistence and intensity are the all important parts here and it's executed brilliantly. Never Let Me Down - Hook city again, but we still get a bit of darkness hanging over from the last track, which is excellent song sequencing. The depth and vibe to this is excellent and the variety of rapping styles between Kanye, Jay-Z and J. ivy adds extra flavour and style to the mix. The transition out into the more subtle piano focused section at the end is gorgeous. Get Em High - Back to something with a bit less range, but it's more rap focused and again, the song sequencing helps stuff like this to work as part of the album structure. It's probably the weakest track up to this point because it's too repetitive and long, but the rapping is still solid. Workout Plan - Again, this is a bit annoying. Less annoying than the college guy at the beginning though. The New Workout Plan - The mix of rhythmic layers is great again here and he mixes up the delivery of his vocal to pull it around nicely. It's not quite got the harmonic depth of the best tracks, and it calls back to a more traditional hip-hop sound, but there's still plenty going on. There's also a cool change up of style late on too and I'm a sucker for a tall box. Fun. Slow Jamz - Another nice change in pace now. Yes, it's a slow jam, but it's also pretty funny. There's some great range in rapping pace and style here, but it's all backed superbly by the underlying slow groove. The chorus has great hooks too and the overall vibe is quality. Nice. Breathe In Breathe Out - The lilt to the groove is great. It's another with less depth and range, but with the album sequencing, doesn't drag things too much. The rhythmic flow is solid and it's hard not to bob to the beat. Not my favourite, but still pretty good. School Spirit Skit 1 - This is a bit funnier than the earlier skits, but still not great. I feel like these are the moments that age this record the most and let it down. School Spirit - This is a touch repetitive, but the vibe is still great. The melodic inflection to his rapping adds a lot of depth that enhances the track in a way that a straighter delivery would never have managed. While it does drag a little towards the end, it's still pretty good. School Spirit Skit 2 - Meh. Lil Jimmy Skit - More Meh. Two Words - We're back to something with way more depth and range. The beat is tasty, and there's enough development to make it interesting and varied throughout. It's layered beautifully, and every touch enhances the groove and vibe. Each listen exposes another little touch of quality. Through The Wire - Another soulful groove and we get more of Kanye's rapping range despite delivering it with a wired jaw. There's some lovely bass and guitar stuff in here and it's another with impressive harmonic depth and feel for a genre that can sometimes skimp on those elements. The beats are also layered really well to add depth and nuance. Family Business - This is a really sweet and pretty track. The simplicity of the gorgeous piano and bass arrangement is lovely. The use of choral work adds a good harmonic depth as the song progresses and Kanye's slightly melodic and rhythmically varied rap delivery works superbly. Excellent. Last Call - The core of this is great, but good lord is it self indulgent and over long. To be fair, he does throw in a decent bit of musical range and variety across the track, but it's also quite a rambling and unfocused narrative in which Kanye tells us how he got signed and gives a bit of side-eye to people who couldn't see his genius. In hindsight, one would suggest that this track is kind of an indicator self-important and fame hungry personality that would derail him over the next couple of decades, but it's in stark contrast to the introspection and conscience of the rest of the record.

8/10 Having previously enjoyed but not loved Machine Head, I was pretty interested to see where Deep Purple were a couple of years prior, particularly as fans typically fall down one side or the other of these two albums being their best. Straight out of the gate, this record is loud, feisty and driven. They fire out riffs like they're going out of fashion, but also blend that insistent, riff-driven momentum with elements of blues, psychedelia and the odd touch of rock 'n roll. They also aren't afraid to take detours down instrumental avenues, with lengthy sections dedicated to playing the absolute balls off their instruments. It's not always tidy, but it's always delivered with verve, swagger and a sense of infectious fun. The vocals are used more sparingly than most rock bands, but are typically effective, switching between hooky choruses and speaker shredding wails. There's more than a touch of prototype Iron Maiden sound in places, with that most apparent in the vocal of Child In Time, but you can also hear a great deal of influence for sludge and stoner bands like The Melvins, Queens of the Stone Age and even noise rock bands like My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth. It's pretty remarkable that this album came out in 1970, when compared to those bands that would follow. But it would be easy to dismiss this as a proto noise-metal album when there are great touches of Henrix-esque psych rock and Led Zep Style riff work. For me, the overblown noise sound takes things a little too far away from sonic clarity and the "live" sound they were going for hasn't held up quite as well as the musical foundation, but you can definitely hear what they were going for. There were times when this did drift and become a tiny bit self-indulgent, but for the most part, it feels a more consistent whole than Machine Head, and while there aren't as many hits, the sonic and instrumental adventures they undertake make for a slightly more satisfying and complete experience. Speed King - There are some absolutely stonking riffs and solos on this and the influence of Deep Purple on stoner and sludge rock that would follow is immediately apparent. But boy does it sound like it was recorded during the soundcheck at a large, empty venue. The song itself is really good though and you can get a definite feel of how loud and boisterous they must have been live. The transition into the solos is quite odd and jarring, but once they get going again, it's great fun. A solid yet grimy start. Bloodsucker - There's definitely some Hendrix vibe coming off some of their riffs and this has a really great groove. The mix is still grimy, but sounds way more intentional and coherent than on Speed King. The beat drives well and there's some great swagger to both the riffs and the vocal delivery. Things get a bit more psychedelic during the solos too, which gives extra range and flavour. Child In Time - A nice change of pace now and it leans a bit more into the psychedelic side. It's a bit cleaner and more melodically focused, but still has a rumbling weight to it as it builds. Again, they lean towards a Hendrix feeling with the guitar solo, and the build from there is really good. It's obviously a touch self indulgent, but most guitar solos are, if we're completely honest. The harmonisation section between organ and guitar that they hit us brilliant. I can imagine this being absolutely epic live, and while there's more than a hint of Spinal Tap to it, it's the right side of the line for me. There are definitely hints to big metal bands that would follow too, as the vocal section near the end sounds an awful lot like where Iron Maiden would take metal in the 80s. Flight Of The Rat - This is a bit more poppy and even punky in some respects. They're a super tight and coherent group and while things sound grubby and dirty, they do translate that live feel and momentum onto the record really well. The soloing here is great fun and well executed, even if it's something that works better live than it does as a studio piece. Still really enjoyable though, and they do a really good job of keeping things fresh throughout the 8 minute track length. The choppy wah guitar section is bloody excellent, and even the drum solos are pretty engaging. Into The Fire - Great groove here with more solid riffs and a huge amount of weight to the sound. It leans a bit more into a standard song structure, which mixes things up nicely from the last couple of tracks. It's dirty, sleazy and fun but doesn't just take the obvious or easy options with the composition, so still has a fresh sound. Living Wreck - More great riffs and more swagger. There's some cool sound design work in here which adds to the slightly psychedelic edge. The drumming is great too and has a solid sense of touch to it. It's bluesy, funky and dirty and the vocals fit with that vibe perfectly too. This is a slightly tighter and more focused song, but they still make space to rock out. Hard Lovin' Man - The drive at the start of this is excellent and the sound design is massive and weighty. When the vocals kick in, it's insistent and punchy, but they make space for some cool little breakdown moments to keep things fresh. Again, this sounds like it would be amazing live and it only falls a little short of that as a studio work. This does become a little long and self-indulgent when we go through the solo sections, which holds it back a little, but it's still a solid closer and it sounds like they're having a lot of fun, which is pretty infectious.

3/10 Despite Happy Mondays being a popular and well renowned band in the UK and one of the pillars of the Madchester scene, I can’t say I’ve ever listened to much beyond whatever I’ve heard on the radio over the years. The concept of a band that lands somewhere between post-punk and rave is intriguing, but it’s never really drawn me in up until now. I think the first thing to note is that apparently this album was recorded through a haze of ecstasy and LSD. While drugs have often been a part of popular music, I think in this case, the abundance of narcotics definitely impacts the final product. Even producer Martin Hannett was plied with pills to keep his alcoholism in check. Fortunately for the band, it would appear that most listeners (and seemingly many critics) were similarly indulgent at the time and this is generally a well regarded record. Unfortunately, for me, while there are a number of interesting starting points for tracks here, the relentless repetition of those ideas wear incredibly thin, incredibly quickly. For the most part, each track is a one to four bar loop repeated ad nauseam while Shaun Ryder rambles somewhat incoherently over the top. And while there are some good ideas, riffs and melodies in places, the whole thing is presented in this bizarre haze of production in which there is barely any top end, resulting in a wooly tone that is only worsened by the insistence on swamping everything with far too much reverb so that all of the parts just blend into a swampy, sloppy mess. I quite enjoyed the slightly “on-the-edge” quality of the band’s playing, as it felt tight enough to feel controlled, but loose enough to have a bit of vibe about it, while Gary Whelan’s drums hold down the centre of the rhythms pretty well. But ultimately, I don’t really see much charm in this, with nothing sticking in my mind beyond the melody the borrowed from the Beatles. It was all just a bit too messy, lacking in variation across both individual tracks and the album as a whole and wrapped up in a production style that only made things worse. Country Song - It’s a very strange collection of sounds here, which would be interesting except they don’t feel like they’re very well blended, so everything feels quite cluttered and a bit directionless. Shaun Ryder’s vocal is half-shouted and there is literally no progression in the track whatsoever, it’s just the same thing round and round. I kept expecting it to transition into a chorus that just never arrived. It’s also quite plodding and boring. Moving In With - This is a bit more like what I was expecting, but it’s too thick with reverb and there’s a really annoying buzzing sound that persists throughout. There are at least a couple of breakdown sections in this, but again, it’s just the same chord structure and bass line for the entire song. The production feels quite confused and while there are moments late on where the sound design becomes a bit more interesting, this is largely quite uninspiring too. Mad Cyril - Again, this is a step better than the last track. It’s got decent pace and drive to it, but the production is very reverb heavy, resulting in a swamped, distant tone, a bit like you’re listening to it floating over the fields from a different stage at a festival while there’s a moment of silence from the band you’re actually watching. As with earlier tracks, there’s little to no musical development and while the vibe is better, and the music more engaging, it still becomes quite repetitive and it’s hard to pick out much due to the swampy, reverb heavy production. Fat Lady Wrestlers - Where is the range and development on this record? Not here. God, this is just repetitive and poorly produced. There are elements in there that work, like some of the vocal melodies, but they’re repeated so much that any effect they had is pummelled into the ground by the end of the song. You can hear bits of what would become the brit-pop sound in here, so I suppose it’s in some way influential, but this has not aged well. Performance - This feels a bit more coherent, although the production still does it no favours. There’s a bit more of a varied structure to this, although it’s still underpinned by the same chord structure throughout, but at least there’s a bit of something extra going on over the top in places, including some soloing that actually brings a bit more life to the track. They are a pretty consistent band and play with a slightly sloppy regularity, which is fairly cool, but nothing is really grabbing me from out of the murk. Brain Dead - The drums in here are pretty good and I tapped my foot along to it, but again, where is the development? It’s the same thing round and around for 3 minutes and the vocals are pretty whiny and uninspiring too. And then they get bored of their own song and stop. Wrote For Luck - God help me if this is another song with no development, because this one goes on for 6 minutes! Yes, he changes the vocals up for the “chorus”, but the rest of the band just carry on in their relentless loop. That loop itself is actually pretty good, but there is literally no range or depth to this at all and it maintains the production standard of chucking everything together in a swampy mess of reverb. And it just goes on and on and on and on and on. Bring A Friend - Holy shit. They actually do it. There’s some actual bits in this where they let Paul Ryder actually play something other than the same simple bass line for the entire track. They’re fleeting moments, but it adds so much more depth and range to the track. Otherwise, this is still very repetitive, but those moments of change really do a lot to add depth. As with much of the album, there’s stuff in here that I quite like, but it’s beaten to death and feels like I’m listening to it through a string of reverb units with cotton wool in my ears. Do It Better - Some of the synth sounds they use here are really awful. Like cheap casio keyboard level bad. Shaun Ryder seems to have a very loose grasp of the beat here as well, he’s rambling all over the place and there’s a bunch of random rhythmic sound effects that stick out. On an album I’ve struggled with, this is by far the biggest turd. Lazy Itis - And we close with something that sounds like it’s from a completely different record. There’s so much more clarity to the production and there’s actual high end in the mix. It’s still quite repetitive, but they try and add some melodic quality by… nicking a vocal melody from the Beatles. If this had more development, I think it could be quite good, but I’m sick of hearing the same loop of music repeated relentlessly fro ~3 minutes or more, despite Shaun Ryders occasional attempts to add some kind of structure by changing up his vocal through different sections. The guitar solo section near the end at least closes the album out pretty well.

6/10 Sometimes bands are more than the sum of their parts. John Lennon is obviously an incredibly talented songwriter and musician, but he also comes across as a self-obsessed egomaniac. When separated from his bandmates who knew him before he was THE John Lennon, it feels like there are times when he is given free rein to indulge his most base urges while no one, collaborator, producer or critic, is willing to tell the all powerful Beatle that perhaps some of his work isn’t quite up to his (admittedly obscenely high) standards. That being said, this is a decent album. There are moments of great quality here, but it is a pretty uneven record too. Mother is very good until it goes off the rails towards the end. Hold on is really nice, but then he does a cookie monster impression part way through that just throws the whole thing. And that’s the story of the record, really. Hints of the genius that John Lennon could be, but none of the restraint or refinement of his greatest work with The Beatles. I really don’t gel with his direct self focus and sixth-form philosophy either and when he’s writing in less directly self referential way, things work better, but frankly, I don’t really care about his or Yoko’s personal life and those moments take me out of the record a little too much. This feels like a record that, with a stronger production hand, could have been worked into something really good, but ends up sounding a bit like a slight stylistic mish-mash, with some of the work feeling a touch demo-like, rather than finalised pieces. It’s hard when you’ve set such a high bar to compete with, but my experience with Lennon is that he never really got close to that level again, at least in any consistent way. Mother - This is very stripped back and the core of it is decent enough with a few lovely moments of piano and bass playing. The vocal melodies are quite rambling in places and the vocal performance is a bit patchy and I get the intensity ramping, but it’s a little erratic even from the beginning and the more screamed stuff towards the end does jar against the vibe of the rest of the track. It’s quite repetitive too. Hold On - This is better (although what the fuck is the cookie monster bit all about?). It’s stripped back and stark, but the vibe is really lovely and the guitar work is particularly smooth and nicely put together, with the drums and bass backing it up really well. Much better. I Found Out - Dirty and groovy, this is a solid, gritty blues number. The guitar tone is delightfully crumbly and the bass and drums pin things down really well. There’s nothing particularly complex or advanced about it, but it’s a well executed track with a solid and enjoyable vibe. Working Class Hero - Another stripped back track and by making this a song more generically about the treatment of the working classes, rather than something specifically about himself, this works way better and connects more readily with me as a listener. It’s not complex, but the focus here is on the lyrical content and the music paints a really stark but pretty backdrop for those lyrics. It’s a very Bob Dylan-esque song and it’s pretty good stuff. Isolation - The jazzy edge to this is really nice and there’s really good dynamic range and variation to it too. The more forward middle section adds an extra bit of punch and flavour to it, but the chilled, swung vibe of the bulk of the track is really well delivered too. Again, when Lennon strips away his more blatant self referencing and makes things more relatable, even in a metaphorical sense, things work so much better. Yes, this is about Lennon and Ono, but that’s not front and centre and the lyrics could be relevant to anyone in certain situations. And it’s musically and vocally much more consistent and engaging. Remember - This is quite rhythmically repetitive and staccato. Even when the drums get a break into something a bit smoother and more flowing, the piano keeps on with that relentless pace. I mean, it’s not bad and the more flowing sections are pretty nice, but it’s a bit too aggressively staccato for my tastes. Love - This is fairly nice, but it does feel a bit like a demo rather than a finished song and is also incredibly reminiscent in places of In My Life, which Lennon wrote for the Beatles. It’s pretty and sparse, but also feels underdeveloped, like this could have been a wonderful song but it’s just a pleasant one. Well Well Well - The groove and grit of this is pretty good to start with. It’s bluesy, with a dirty swagger. It does then become quite repetitive and unnecessarily screamy. I’m not against that kind of vocal in the right context, but it doesn’t really connect with me particularly well here. The rest of the track is pretty cool though, even if it’s a bit on the repetitive side. The sound design and crunchiness of it works really well and the groove is pretty compelling. Look At Me - The double-tracked vocals here are pretty nice and this is a very Beatles-esque track that moves through some interesting different phases. There are moments of vocal weakness, but they work quite well with the vulnerable vibe of the track. Another pretty and sparse little effort. Not spectacular but well put together. God - And this is the kind of thing that turns me off John Lennon. It’s teenage philosophy that he thinks is deep, but is about as surface level as it gets. It’s also so self reverential and self obsessed that it just makes me cringe. A lot of people spent a lot of time putting the Beatles, and John Lennon specifically, on a pedestal, but it always felt a bit like the pedestal wasn’t quite as tall as he’d like it to be. The forced drama of “I don’t believe… in Beatles” with a cut to silence just makes my eyes roll right into the back of my head. Underneath that it’s actually a pleasant enough track, but it’s hard to look past the lyrics. My Mummy's Dead - What a strange little song that appears to have been recorded on the cheapest tape machine Lennon could get his hands on. It’s ok, I guess.

7/10 I had never been exposed to Liz Phair before and, on first listen, this just came across as fairly well executed but ultimately fairly bland 90s indie alt-rock. But this is one of those occasions where my obsession with giving every album I review 2-3 full listens really paid dividends. The opener of the album does fall more or less in line with those initial assessments. It's pretty well executed and reasonably decent stuff, but nothing particularly standout or special. But when reaching Canary, things start to change. I don't know how much was me getting into the feel of the album, but at that point a sort of simmering, unsettling edge started to percolate below the surface, sometimes pushing further forward and sometimes settling further back. But all of a sudden, the album had a bit of life and uniqueness to it that really grabbed hold of me. There's sparseness in places, haunting repetition and sound design in others, but it rarely returns to the more standard alt-rock playbook for the rest of the record. It was still a touch uneven, and there were bits that I really liked and others that were just a bit bland and forgettable, but there was also some really cool vibey stuff in here that only a closer listen really exposed. It's a bit of a shame that this album is nearly an hour long, because with a touch more work on evening out the production slightly and trimming more of the blander fat from the record, I think there's an excellent 35-40 minute album in here. It's just a slight shame that there's an hour of it to wade through to pick out the gems. 6'1"- Quite a pleasant jangle-pop indie starter. She's not the best singer, but has a bit of charm about her delivery and a nice bit of attitude. It all feels a touch sloppy and rough around the edges, but there are some nice chord progressions and some decent melodies, with the subtle vocal harmonies in places working pretty well. Help Me Mary - This has a very 90s indie sound to it, not just production wise, but melodically too. The rhythmic thrust is pretty good and there are some more decent enough melodies in here. Again, it feels a touch rough and ready, but it's not bad. Glory - I think the melody here is good and then it just starts to drift a bit, particularly when she kind of bumps up against the bottom of her vocal register. Again, not bad, but feels almost more of a sketch than a finalised song. Dance Of The Seven Veils - I feel like the melody is going somewhere here but then drags on a bit too long and then tails off. It's a bit meandering and unfocused, like she's got a starting point and something she wants to say, but she's hasn't completely worked out the journey she needs to take to say it. Never Said - We're on to something a bit more single-y now. It's a solid chorus hook, particularly with the lead and backing vocals working so well together. It's got good drive and a really full sound. Super 90s, but that's par for the course. She does repeat the chorus too many times though. It feels like two verses surrounded by over-long choruses does this song a bit of a disservice, which is a shame, because at its core, it's pretty good. Soap Star Joe - Now we get a bit of a weird, slightly disorganised collection of sound choices. It sounds like a demo, rather than a finished idea and is also a tad rambling and repetitive. Not quite sure what to make of this one, but it doesn't feel overly coherent. Explain It To Me - This is quite rhythmically muddled. It's also not very interesting. There's not a great deal to it, really, but it feels very musically confusing, but not in an exciting way, while at the same time feeling quite bland. Canary - And this is much better. It's got a creepy and slightly confusing vibe, but it feels purposeful in comparison to the last track. It's stark, has a bit of attitude and venom to the delivery and the sparsity of the arrangement, alongside the reverberant piano is excellent. Mesmerizing - We're back to something a bit more straight alt-rock now, with a slightly grungy edge. It feels like it's building to something where her fury will boil over and things will get intense, but it kind of mellows into the chorus/solo section instead. And I'm not as disappointed in that as I was expecting to be. I quite like this actually. The rhythms are subtle and it's fairly sparsely arranged, but everything feels like it pulls together into something really good. Fuck And Run - Again, this has a bit of a soft-grunge edge to it. It reminds me a little of the Meat Puppets, actually. There's anger and sadness in the vocal which is backed up by the insistence of the instrumentation. It's got good hooks and attitude, alongside a decent groove. Another solid effort. Girls! Girls! Girls! - There's something slightly unhinged bubbling under the surface here which I really like. I think the execution isn't completely to my taste, but the slightly unsettling and relentless vibe to it is quite cool. Divorce Song - Back towards single town now. Musically and thematically. The groove is pretty engaging and the pulling in and out of the bass works well. The increasing intensity of the vocal is cool. I kind of wish it went somewhere heavier, rather than somewhere oddly country at the end, but again, a decent track. Shatter - A slow, vibey burn now. The droning underneath gives it more of that slightly shifty, unsettling vibe that some of my favourite tracks here have had. It feels almost hopeless in it's starkness, but there are little moments in the vocal that lift it out of the murk really nicely. It's the longest track on the record, but vibe-wise, it definitely earns its place and justifies its length. Flower - The sound design here is pretty cool and there's more of that unsettling, creepy relentlessness to it. It's intense and softly aggressive in a really unique way. Excellent. Johnny Sunshine - The layered vocals here are good. It does become a bit disorganised in places though and doesn't feel completely structurally coherent, unfortunately, despite the individual sections each being quite good. Not a bad vibe though. Gunshy - The shimmering, watery chorus on the guitar here is really nice. The vocal gets a touch lost in the mix, but it's another with a slightly creepy edge to it and a drifting yet oppressive feel. Not so keen on the double-timed chorus, but I think the rsmeat is really good and super vibey. Stratford-On-Guy - This has some slightly extreme chord progressions, but it gives things a purposefully weird, off-kilter sound. And then things focus in during the chorus, throw in a bit of fire, centre us and then spit us back out again. It's a great chorus actually, and I think it works all the better for the slight weirdness of the verses. Strange Loop - This drifts back a bit to the less inspiring stuff from the early album. There's still some decent bits and pieces in here, but it feels a bit more generic 90s alt-rock and less special than the more dark and unsettling part of the record. There's still a touch of that in there, but not quite enough. As with those early tracks, it's still not bad, just a touch too bland. The complete collapse at the end is quite cool though.

7/10 Being more familiar with Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson era, listening to their Paul Di'Anno-fronted debut was a pretty interesting experience. Whilst having an unmistakable metal core, the influence of both punk and prog on their early sound, and how that would go on to shape the emerging wave of British heavy metal of the early 80s, was incredibly clear across this record. Paul Di'Anno offers a far punkier sound, that's more raw and gritty than the flamboyant melodrama that Dickinson would bring to the party, but it's not just the vocals that offer that glimpse of the musical influences. There are sections of stripped-back, pacy punk riffs, mixed up with moments of extended development and melodic and harmonic work that bring in that more prog and psychedelic sound. It's a really cool blend that, while still feeling a touch rough around the edges and not as coherent or developed as their later work, still serves to create a listening experience that is both invigorating and engaging in equal measure. You certainly get glimpses of where the band is heading, with tracks like Remember Tomorrow and their first true epic, Phantom Of The Opera, but knowing where the journey would take them, it's often the case that I found myself yearning for the more refined and consistent sound that was to come. That being said, there was still a lot to love about this, and there is enough great musicianship, driving rhythms and quality riffs to keep any classic metal fan satisfied. Prowler - While a touch rough around the edges, the abundance of great riffs, the pace and the power of this are so solid. While it's a cracking slice of metal, there's an edge of punk to it too, particularly from Paul Di'Anno's vocal. It's certainly more raw than their later work, but it's executed well and has some quality hooks in there to go with the drive and attitude. Remember Tomorrow - Now we're almost leaning a little towards a prog sound with a touch of drama to it. It's songs like this where we can see the extra edge that Bruce Dickinson would bring to the band, as his vocals work so much better with the soaring melodrama of their most bombastic work. There are some epic riffs in here and, while it is a little untidy in places, it's another enjoyable slice of proto-Maiden, showcasing their dynamic and technical range. Running Free - This is an ok track, but it's a bit of a one-trick pony and doesn't really offer a vast amount of range or variation. There are cool riffs and great playing, but it just feels a touch on the bland side, particularly from the vocal. There are some nice little moments from the different instruments, but it's not really enough to breathe much more life into it. Phantom Of The Opera - This is really the first example of the epic work that Maiden would go on to produce. Great riffs, punchy beats and a sprawling and epic composition, it's a really excellent track. While not as refined or adventurous as they would become, it's still a very well-presented journey. They go through so many different movements throughout, always keeping things shifting into fresh new places while maintaining the core of the theme. Really good stuff. Transylvania - This is jam-packed full of great riffs. There are also fantastic moments from both the drums and bass that add extra flavour to what is already a chunky slice of metal. No vocals here, but it's a pretty adventurous instrumental, and that guitar solo goes so, so hard. This kind of feels like the starting of point of where a band like Dream Theater would go. Solid. Strange World - And we more or less roll straight on into this one. It's a slower, more proggy-edged, slightly psychedelic rock sound. It could do with a touch more range to really lean into that prog sound for me, but when we get into the guitar solo, it really comes into its own. Melody and counterpoint are particularly engaging during the vocal sections, with the instruments dancing around the vocal in a really evocative way. A lovely follow-up to Transylvania. Charlotte The Harlot - We're back to a more punky song now. There are some cool little rhythmic shuffles in the riffs that add a layer of complexity to the flow of the song, though, and we also get something a bit more proggy in places too. There's some decent stuff in here, but I feel like the main chorus hook is a bit on the weak side and, as a result, this doesn't feel as focused as much of the rest of the record. I'm not completely sold by Di'Anno's vocal here either. Iron Maiden - Who doesn't love a self-titled song on a self-titled album? There are some great riffs here, and it flies along at a great clip. I do think it's a tiny bit rough around the edges in places, but that perhaps emphasises the pace, actually. Steve Harris finds some space to show off his bass chops, which is fun. It's a punky-poppy little chorus that has a cool musical hook, but adds grit and weight. A solid way to round out the album, and this one sounds like it would be great fun live.

9/10 I think it's kind of underrated how decent the Pistols were as a band. Sure, they're loud, brash and aggressive, but underneath all that, they're a musically tight unit, and their songwriting is nowhere near as basic as punk has a reputation for. They also often get dismissed as a manufactured act, despite the fact that they began as a band before ever getting involved with Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, and also wrote all of their own music. Sure, McLaren's management is what shot them to fame, and there were elements of the style that came from the couple's King's Road boutique, but the attitude and fury of the band was very much a result of the band members' personalities and socio-economic situation in the mid 70s. The nature of those personalities and the replacement of Glen Matlock, towards the end of the recording sessions for this album, with Sid Vicious really signalled the beginning of the end for the group. But they burned bright and left one hell of a legacy. The music here is largely very solid pop-rock songwriting, presented with grit and smeared with grease and attitude. They wrote great hooks, but there are also some really clever bits of musical construction in there, too, with interesting musical progression, some great lead guitar parts, nice interplay between bass and guitar and a solid rhythmic base. It's all performed with controlled aggression, despite being relatively mid-tempo in nature, but that all sits it in perfect shape for Johnny Rotten to add his particular flavour of fire as the finishing touch. He spits, he sneers, and he bites in a way that is just the right amount of tonal to provide melodic quality, while also being just the right amount of spoken to convey the required attitude and intensity. The lyrical content was controversial and was obviously an important part of why people were up in arms about the band, but you can really feel the anger and intent in the delivery that makes it all the more believable, and you can really see why disenfranchised kids got hooked into the movement. In some ways, it's pretty perfect that this is the band's sole record, and they basically imploded almost immediately after its release. Despite being the end, it was also the beginning, and this album remains a vastly important, powerful and, frankly, excellent slice of musical history. Holidays In The Sun - It's loud and full of attitude, but it's also pretty hooky. There's musically a lot more to this than they get credit for. Cool little lead guitar licks, well-worked backing vocals and driven, consistent beats. It's solid heavy rock tied up in an aggressive, confrontational package. Great. Bodies - I think it's probably easy to miss how controversial some of this stuff would be in 1977. A song on a mainstream album talking in quite visceral terms about abortion? Bold. It's a good song too. Plenty going on musically, gritty production and plenty of fury, but with that core of approachable structure and chord progressions. You can also hear the genesis of oi punk in here too. No Feelings - This is a bit more straightforward, but there are still some decent instrumental flourishes here and there. There's a bit of a rock and roll swagger to it, particularly during the instrumental break and it's less aggressive than some of the other tracks. It's got a quality chorus too. Liar - This pulses along nicely through the verses and then gives a nice change of emphasis into the chorus. Again, there's decent development of ideas here and they go further than a standard verse/chorus/verse structure. More solid stuff. God Save The Queen - A complete anti-establishment classic. It's structured like a pop song, but it's got pulsing mid-tempo beats, it's noisy and brash, and it's got Johnny Rotten giving it his best sneering, dismissive delivery. Pretty disappointing that we've still got the ultimate in benefit scroungers sitting atop our national, despite Prince Andrew's best efforts. Quality song. Fuck the royal family. Problems - The verse has a cool riff, the chorus builds brilliantly. It's all pretty simple, but effective, driving and well played. It's not the strongest song on the album, but it's still so chock full of pulsing beats and swaggering, attitude-laden guitars that it keeps the momentum going with ease. Seventeen - Nice bit of commentary on how people saw the underground teenage movement at the time. Not the strongest track on the record, but it's still got a good chorus and it doesn't outstay it's welcome. Anarchy In The UK - Another classic single. The entire vocal is brilliant, superbly delivered and despite Rotten's semi-sung vocal style, melodically well written too. The chugging riffs are great through the verses and that chorus is iconic. There are some quality bits of instrumental work in there too, and it's all delivered with such a compelling and insistent beat. Lovely stuff. Submission - Nice change of pace now. It's rumbling and simmering rather than being quite as front-foot as some of the other tracks. This is a bit more musically straightforward and less varied, but it's another chugging punky number with swagger and a bit of bite. Pretty Vacant - The last of the album's big singles, but it's another that absolutely slaps. The rumbling drums under the sharp guitar riff are a great buildup, and then there are some really cool lead guitar moments in the verse build-up. More biting swagger from Rotten too. And then the chorus is brilliant punk writing. It's got pop sensibility to the melody, but sneering, attitude-laden delivery from the band, with the backing vocals adding some extra quality. New York - There are some nice riffs in here, but it's not very hooky. It's one of the more basic tracks on the record and doesn't necessarily have as much bite from the vocal as other tracks either. It's not bad, it just doesn't quite have as much punch or memorable moments as the best the band has to offer. E.M.I. - Quite a nice way to round out the album, with a track slagging off EMI for dropping the band after their controversial appearance on the Today show. There's some quality punk lead guitar playing in here, it's got a great bouncing groove to it, and the chorus is a super simple but effective hook between the vocal and guitar riff.

6/10 What’s most interesting about this album is that, as a collection of songs, it’s pretty mundane, but as an album it feels much more complete. The ideas are fleeting, and there are only three songs that run longer than three minutes, meaning that many of the motifs and themes come and go in no time at all. But it also calls back to various earlier moments throughout the record and as a flowing, evolving piece, it is far more rewarding than just listening to the odd track would be. With all that being said, it still ended up feeling like a pleasant but perhaps a little uninspiring record in the end. Many of the songs are covers of other artists’ work and, while Willie ties them together well and strings everything into that flowing, evolving narrative, the fact is that stylistically, it feels quite generic and perhaps that slight lack of a unified songwriting voice doesn’t help it to become the completely coherent whole that the concept promises it to be. The production and performances from the band are excellent, managing to thread the needle between laid back and rhythmically tight perfectly, and Willie’s voice is in fine fettle, offering the everyman storyteller sound, presented in a controlled and coherent way. As someone with only a passing knowledge of country music, however, there didn’t seem to be a vast amount in this album that made it particularly special compared to a lot of similar music that came before or after this record and, interesting concept aside, this was one that was enjoyable enough without giving me any real reason to return. Time Of The Preacher - There’s a nice, gentle swagger to this. There’s nothing complex about it, but it does what it sets out to do pretty well. The performances are deft and well put together, despite the fact that it’s over not long after it’s really got going. I Couldn't Believe It Was True - He’s got a voice that sits really well between controlled and fluid. It’s got a lovely, organic tone too. The guitar playing here is lovely, and the interplay between the two lines is really nice. Again, it’s quite a fleeting little song and we’re on to the next one. Time Of The Preacher Theme - Which is a call back to the opener. It’s a touch plodding, but I think that works for it in this case, as it has a cool, lumbering attitude to it that’s quite pleasant. Medley: Blue Rock Montana / Red Headed Stranger - Pleasant stuff with some lovely loosely timed guitar playing that is quite evocative. Again, not too much to say about a nice little song that does its job in a minute and a half. Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain - This is so gentle and relaxed, like being sung a bed time story by an old codger in the corner of a dusty bar. The guitar playing is lovely, the lilt of his vocal is pretty too, and then, as with much of the album so far, it’s done. Just like that. Red Headed Stranger - Another entirely pleasant but also unspectacular tune. This one’s a bit longer form so it has a bit more time to settle in and develop itself. The little honky-tonk piano is nice and the whole thing has a nice, swung groove to it. Everything about it is well put together and fairly enjoyable, but it doesn’t really do anything to excite me. Time Of The Preacher Theme - Another quick callback to the opener. Just As I Am - That runs straight into this. Melodically, it’s nice enough and the counterpoint that passes between guitar and piano adds a nice depth and feel to that melody. It’s a touch meandering, but I think that’s kind of the point. Denver - Again, this almost feels like a snippet of a song, rather than a whole one. Nice, but over before it’s begun and swiftly moves on to… O'er The Waves - A melody that probably everyone knows by Juventino Rossas that’s been used on countless fairgrounds and in various media over the years. It’s got a nice swagger and the piano work is really nice. Down Yonder - Ah, a bit of pace. The band are super tight and this has a great, bouncing feel to it. It’s quite music hall in a way, and it’s nice enough, but it’s also quite repetitive and doesn’t really offer anything special, despite being less than two minutes long. Can I Sleep In Your Arms - Now the pace has dropped to a crawl. It’s pretty enough, but it feels very generic really. The piano solo section is very nice, and there’s a nice ebb and flow to the instrumentation and dynamic. But everything about it feels very familiar, from chord structure to melody, I can’t necessarily pick out what makes this stand out musically from hundreds of other songs of this style. But it was still quite an enjoyable listening experience. Remember Me - The swing and cadence of the rhythm here is really nice, and the guitar work is lovely. There’s a laid back fell, but enough pace to give things get up and go. The piano picks up nicely from the guitar too. It’s not going to be my favourite song of all time, but I enjoyed this for what it was and the performances all round were really enjoyable. Hands On The Wheel - The pace and restraint give this a subtle, but enjoyable feel. As with much of the album, it does feel quite generic and doesn’t offer a vast amount of musical development, despite the slow build of the instrumentation. Willie’s vocal is really nice, to be fair and the performances are great. But it’s not vastly interesting. Bandera - A nice, chilled and quite pretty piece with some lovely piano playing to round things off. Not much to say apart from that it’s really well balanced and has a great bittersweet feel to it.

4/10 I’d never heard of this band until now, and the tag of “post-hardcore” was somewhat intriguing. This is their second of 8 albums released over 18 years as a band suggests that they were at least able to maintain a decent fanbase for a good period of time. Unfortunately, what it appears that post-hardcore means, is that a band has bought all of the equipment of a hardcore band, only to write and perform some fairly middle-of-the-road indie songs with it, in a confusing and slightly jarring blending of style and tone. Across the over-long record, they do prove themselves capable of moments of real quality; Kiss Like Lizards is an excellent track, as is Virgin Velcro, and if those two tracks had been used as a starting point and the rest of the album developed from there, this could have been an original and exciting album, but sadly, those moments were few and far-between on and album that not only spent too much of its run time lulling, but also outstayed its welcome quite significantly. There are some solid riffs in here, and I think the drumming is largely excellent, but the standard level of indie songwriting doesn’t manage to be hooky or engaging enough to work, and the fact that it’s shrouded in a wash of noise and distortion doesn’t really help it either. The production and instrumental tones would be great in the right context, but apart from occasional moments, it feels like they are mostly unable to find that context. As a result, the record does feel a little lacking in intention and direction, which is only exacerbated by Joe Cardamone on vocal who seems intent on trying to sound cool, but just isn’t able to sell it in a way that I find convincing. And when a band doesn’t manage to sound completely convinced by their own material, it makes it hard to connect with as a listener. Up Against The Wall Motherfuckers - There’s a decent swagger to this and I like the rhythm of the riff. When the beat kicks in it’s got good weight and power to it, but it’s a little bit on the bland side. It kind of feels like fairly middle of the road early 200s indie being performed on the equipment of a heavy rock band. There’s some decent bits and pieces in there, but it’s just not vastly exciting and lacking in pace or intensity, one of which I feel it needs more of. Spit On It - I can’t get on board with the production here, there’s too much high end distortion and noise that makes it quite hard to listen to and everything else gets lost underneath that, but it’s not done in an artistic or particularly intense way, so it juts sounds messy and hard to grok. At least it’s pretty short. On The Lash - This is a bit better, tonally, but still feels a bit like an indie band who’ve picked the wrong producer for their project. There are some really nice touches here and there, particularly from the drummer, who plays powerfully and with cool flourishes. But the rest of the band kind of feel like they’re just playing by numbers really, and I don’t feel the emotion or passion in it, despite it seemingly wanting to present as aggressive and furious music. Caviar - The groove here is much more satisfying and for the first time, it feels like everyone in the band is pulling in the same direction. The noise and grit of it works much better and there seems to be much more intention and throbbing intensity to what they’re doing. There are some cool guitar riffs in there too and the drummer gives it a really engaging thrust. Not bad. Spike Island - Now we get our first real moment of respite from the noise. It’s quite musically straight and bland though and there’s a sort of mundane guitar solo that just meanders along while everyone else continues plodding on. The underlying rhythm is ok, but doesn’t really offer much development or range. I’m not really sure what they’re trying to say with this, and it doesn’t really feel like they’re sure either. Someone ought to give vocalist Joe Cardamone something to believe in. Kiss Like Lizards - There’s a very Queens Of The Stone Age riff in this and this is the most interesting thing that they’ve done thus far, including some 11/4 time! Lovely stuff. There’s loads of range and development of musical ideas on this one, and even the vocals feel like they’ve started to get a bit of life to them in places. It’s got great drumming, interesting riffs, and tonally it feels really coherent in a noisy, on the edge of falling apart way, particularly as it crumbles to the end. I really liked this one. Getting Bright At Night - A slow burn of a track now, but it’s also one of the most egregiously middle-of-the-road indie tracks on the album so far. They try to hide it with some sweeping noise, but even abandon that after the first minute and a half. Some of the choices of rhythmic combinations between the instruments here are totally baffling and create a really incoherent, messy sound. It’s almost like all of them are trying to play different songs at the same time. It does improve, but it’s incredibly one paced and plodding, and boy oh boy does it drag. How on earth they think they’ve got enough in here to justify a 9 minute track is completely beyond me. A lot of it is aimless meandering and I’m not really sure what they’re actually trying to achieve. It finally does something after 6 minutes, but what it does then is still quite boring, despite having a bit more punch and weight to it. Big Sleep - The sneering vocal does just seem a bit try-hard doesn’t it? When this finally gets going a minute and a half in, it’s got s decent bit of punch and I’m convinced that Jeff Watson on drums is far and away the best member of this band. Agin, it kind of feels like a fairly bland indie track put through heavy guitars and punchy drums. There’s not much in the way of melodic writing and the noisy stuff feels lacking in intent or direction to me, which is a shame, because noise music can really work in the right context. This just feels a bit like a slightly unsatisfying union of styles and is quite boring as a result. White Devil - There’s a slurring, swampy cool to this, and it’s better than some of the other stuff, but I’m still not buying what Cardamone is selling with the vocal. After a while, the lumbering, plodding groove just starts to weigh it down too. Unconvincing. Meat Maker - Noisy and quite cool, this would work really well in between better songs as a sound design focused interlude. The bass work and clashing tones work are great and it feels like a pulsing, building monster. But it just feels a bit of a shame as there’s not been enough good stuff around this to make it shine. Virgin Velcro - This is better. Cool grooves, great drumming and riffs and a lot of dirt and punch. The vocal works better here too. I think the slow down towards the end is an interesting way to end it. It’s not an amazing track, but it’s pretty good, and if this was the starting point for the record, pressing forward through stuff like Kiss Like Lizards, we could be cooking with gas. But we’re not. Seasick - While being quite plodding, the general thrust of this is still not bad. The noisiness seems to be serving a bit more of a purpose here and there seems to be a bit more intent and direction to the songwriting. But good god, is this too long. It just goes on and on and on. And in the end, I’m just kind of getting lost in the soupy, swamp of a mix. Party The Baby Off - Back to some generic indie-rock stuff played through the backline of a hardcore band to finish us off. It’s not very good, and frankly this singer thinks he’s cooler than he really is. Big old meh bucket.

7/10 Only really knowing the Cardigans from their big hits, one of which is on this record, I was kind of expecting some decent but unspectacular poppy indie. Their hits are great, but it’s often the case that a band like this has slightly more mundane fare on their albums, so imagine my surprise when presented with an album that takes the general gist of their poppier work and twists it into a slightly uncomfortably edged dream-pop. While there are some incredibly pretty and ethereal moments on the record, with choruses typically taking on that role, they often add slightly discordant, dissonant, or distorted aspects into the verses and other sections that create a slightly disconcerting edge to the tracks that’s an incredibly interesting and fresh take on this kind of music. They’re an incredibly solid band, and rarely resorted to thoughtless repetition of ideas, with plenty of musical development, changes to arrangement and little twists of their sound palette to keep things fresh. Nina Persson’s vocal then adds the dreamy narrative, complete with excellent melodic sensibility. Interestingly, her little edge comes more from her lyrics, so while she maintains the more saccharine edge more consistently through each track, her lyrics add that twist that the rest of the band include via musical choices. It’s a cool blend, and one that adds extra depth to the work. The nature of this dreamy type of music does mean that there are slight lulls here and there, and some of the work didn’t quite enthral to the same level as the best songs, but for the most part, this was a really decent and largely consistent record that’s left me interested to find out more about the band’s catalogue. Your New Cuckoo - A light and airy pop music start to the album. It’s got a relaxed, cool vibe, with a nice groove that rolls along underneath it. It’s enjoyable without being spectacular, but still manages to conjure up a sunny and engaging feel that pulls it along, while being sprinkled with pleasing musical hooks. Been It - What an interesting musical turn this takes. The verses have a very atypical chord progression overlaid with a more poppy vocal melody, but the band come closer to the vocal through the pre-chorus, and then the chorus itself is pop-rock excellence. Super hooky, with an uplifting vibe and a lovely, toe-tapping groove. Nice to heart something with such a confident poppy centre deliver something with such an interesting range in feel. Heartbreaker - So they appear to have a love for Black Sabbath, using the opening of their self-titled song in both the intro and outro to this, in addition to the Iron Man cover later on the record. This has a slightly, discordant, experimental edge to it, but it drifts in and out of moments of indie-rock styling too, so that it has a kind of off-kilter but dreamy feel to it. It’s a cool and interesting vibe that lets them stand out from both pop and indie music of the time quite brilliantly while still keeping a toe in each of those genres. Happy Meal II - This has a bit of an unsettling undercurrent, but as with the last track, it manages to transition in and out of that into some more mainstream sounding musical choices really nicely. It’s quite hard to grab hold of, in a way, but that effect is executed in a fairly coherent and considered way so that the slight edge of discomfort feels purposeful and emotionally important. Never Recover - Now we get a bit of pace and some really great poppy hooks. The opening riffs are excellent and the vocal melody is lovely. I kind of wish we got a touch more kick and snare in the mix, because the drumming adds a frantic edge but misses a tiny bit of punch. The harmonic choices against that lead vocal are really nice and, as with much of the album, they don’t make the obvious choices, which is always rewarding to the listener, especially when they still manage to maintain that poppy sensibility. Step On Me - Melodically, this is quite roaming and dreamlike. The blend of vocal parts is really nice and the different sections manage to blend really well but also provide quite distinct vibes and emotional weight. This track feels a touch more disconnected than the better tracks on the album, I think partly due to those roaming melodies that don’t resolve in a way that’s completely satisfying. But it’s still not bad. Lovefool - The big single. Stylistically, it stands out quite a bit from the other tracks in that it feels a little like it’s had some of the more jagged aspects sanded off and some of the more wispy edges tightened up. There’s still that slightly unsettling edge to the verses, but it’s not allowed to become quite as disconcerting as other tracks, but then the chorus is just pop music perfection. I think the drum production helps this track to have a bit more power and momentum, which is helpful too. Losers - The dreamlike edge is back in full force now and this almost feels like a deliberate volte-face from the previous track. There’s some cool, restrained arrangement and use of drawn out and scattered instrumentation that all comes back together into the choruses. Again, there’s enough pop melody in here to centre this, but it’s also weird enough to make it interesting. Iron Man - And what’s weirder than doing a sort of downtempo dream-pop cover of Black Sabbath’s Iron Man? Covers that carve their own idea for a track can be great and this is a brilliant example. The little licks on the instrumental breakdowns are lovely, as are the brief guitar solo sections. It feels so well performed and produced while retaining just about enough of the original to work as a cover. An excellent track. Great Divide - Another dreamy track that kind of plods along a little in places, but does throw in more of those slightly weird sections and blends of sounds that give it a little bit of edge between the dreamier sections. It’s really pretty with a tiny sprinkle of grit here and there to add range, but it’s ultimately not one of the most interesting tracks on the record. Choke - Ooh, there are some very cool pieces of rhythmic work in here and it’s a super laid-back, uptempo little number. It’s got cool hooks, some really funky playing and it feels like they’re making sure every band member has some fun bits of playing to enjoy. The main hook with the flute is really cool. It’s a lovely way to close out the record.

10/10 For me, this is where Led Zeppelin peaked. The range of styles that they cover across the record, from folk to blues to metal, add great depth and variety, while always maintaining the inherent tonal quality that makes it sound like no other band. This is undeniably Led Zeppelin, and what's particularly great about that is that every member of the band plays a part in that sound. Robert Plant's vocals and Jimmy Page's guitar obviously take the spotlight, but there is exceptional work from the rhythm section too. Bonham's perfectly arranged and considered drum work treads the fine line between restraint and balls-to-the-wall action perfectly. John Paul Jones' solid and underrated bass work pins the groove, adds weight and a rock-solid centre, while also finding the time to add moments of flair and nuance to his playing. And he does great work with his secondary instruments, too. It's a real journey of an album, kicking off in fast and furious fashion with a sublime one-two punch of an opener, before letting you catch your breath through the more considered and fantasy folk-inspired Battle Of Evermore. And then they hit you with one of the greatest songs of all time. Yes, it's overplayed, yes, it's a cliche, but it's still phenomenal work, and I don't think I'll ever tire of it. The second half, while not quite up to the obscene standards of the first, brings us bucketloads of swagger, drive and some further development of the vibe and atmosphere, experimenting with some slightly psychedelic twinges, some cool uses of uneven meter and more of that characteristic weight and groove. It's really great stuff that barely lets up at any point. Even the drumless tracks manage to maintain great momentum and rhythm through the staccato elements of the guitar and mandolin work. It's all pretty epic stuff and, while there is great value in the vast majority of Led Zeppelin's catalogue, for me their first three albums are a steady build towards this, an album of great scope, vast quality and beautiful coherence, all wrapped up in a perfect 42 minute, 8 track package. Black Dog - An iconic and exceptional start. the call and response between Plant and the rest of the band is sensational. There's so much drive and swagger to this and it rolls and moves through different sections with such ease and cool. The riffs are heavy and groovy, the vocal is full of attitude and skill, and the rhythm section just deliver everything you could ask for. Pure brilliance. Rock And Roll - What a one two punch. This is much more of a straightforward structure with a more routine rock and roll style, but it absolutely slaps. Heavy, driven and with just the right edge of groove and swagger, it's just so much fun. Everything about the performances and production is exactly the right combination of grit and talent. The Battle Of Evermore - And we're off to fantasy land now. It's a great change of pace after the full-blooded opening duo, and while it is a touch on the long side, there are some lovely pieces of melody and harmony from Plant and Sandy Denny, and the vibe and atmosphere are excellent. It's very rhythmically inclined despite the lack of drums, thanks to the staccato mandolin. And it's great that these rock superstars were just massive nerds too. Stairway To Heaven - It's iconic and overplayed for a reason, with its slow and considered build and gorgeous blend of melody and harmony. It runs on brilliantly from Evermore too in the context of the album. Every part is pretty much perfect, with John Bonham playing with the kind of restraint and nuance that he's not often credited with, and John Paul Jones laying down some excellent bass work. By the end, it's picked up pace and drive and, of course, we get that iconic Jimmy Page solo. What a brilliant song. Misty Mountain Hop - There's a lot of swagger to this. The double-tracked vocals are excellent, in that Plant is so close between the two takes at points that the effect drifts in and out in a really nice way. I really rate the electric piano on this one, too, as it adds an extra dimension to the sound. There's a great groove to the track, and everyone gets their moment to show off. It's perhaps a touch on the long side, but I'm nitpicking slightly really. Four Sticks - A lovely 5/4 riff with rolling drums and a four-bar break into 3/4 before a full section of 3/4. It pulls the ear around beautifully without sounding jarring, which is always a skill when dealing with odd meters. It's got quite a psychedelic, almost proggy edge to it, while also delivering weight and punch at the right moments. Another decent change of pace that still maintains the core tone of the record. Going To California - And now we get something with a bit more melodic focus. It's drifting and pretty and, as with Evermore, does a great job of having good rhythm through the guitar work despite the lack of drums. It's really atmospheric, and the production does a good job of giving the sound depth. Really nice stuff. When The Levee Breaks - And Bonham comes back in with a closer that has such an iconic drum line. Obviously, this one is a cover, but the band really make it their own, and Plant's vocal is superb. The whole thing has such groove and swagger to it. It pulses and soars, and the different lines that sweep around each other are so interesting and have great musical range. It's a long one, but it feels cool, considered, and full of deserved self-confidence that it just drags you along with it for the full 7 minutes. A brilliant ending.

4/10 When the Doors are at their best, they create an exciting blend of pop, blues and psychedelic rock that is swimming with charisma, rhythmic punch and plenty of memorable hooks. Sadly, this album falls well short on pretty much all of those metrics. While the performances are consistent and competent throughout, there is a fairly plodding, uneventful beige wash that permeates the soul of the record, from which it struggles to raise its head. While there are moments that Jim Morrison’s undoubted charisma peeks above the surface, for the most part he appears to be approaching this album in quite a lackadaisical way, with a lazy drawl and none of the fire and passion that characterises his most standout work. The rest of the band also have their moments, but there are also quite a lot of examples where things seem to just ramble along in a fairly generic, repetitive way that failed to capture my focus and stick in my mind. When they took time to step aside from the more generic blues-rock sound that much of the record showcased, they did start to bring a little bit of Doors sparkle and style to proceedings, but those moments were fairly scattered, and even then, I’d say that these cuts weren’t up to the standard that the group had set on previous records. Ultimately, I don’t think there was much about this album that really stuck with me and it ended up feeling like they were just writing and playing in a holding pattern, rather than trying to take strides in any particularly innovative or exiting direction. Apparently people love this album, but for me, if you took the Doors name off the cover, it would likely be viewed as a fairly by the numbers blues rock record that failed to make waves and would ultimately have been forgotten. Roadhouse Blues - It’s decent enough blues-rock fare, but it’s also fairly generic and repetitive. There’s obviously a level of charisma to Jim Morrison’s delivery, and it’s well performed with a decent amount of swagger and grit, but ultimately, it’s a fairly run-of-the-mill track that, while a decent example of the genre, doesn’t really offer anything to make it stand out beyond that. Waiting For The Sun - This is a little better as it leans a little more towards the psychedelic, particularly with the lovely addition of a basic Moog synth line. It’s a touch on the plodding side, but there’s at least a bit of musical and soundscape interest to the production that makes it sound more like the Doors than a more generic blues-rock band. It still doesn’t go as far as it could, but there are some really nice moments in there. You Make Me Real - Another that’s a bit more generic. There’s a bit more swagger and attitude from Morrison, and some decent riffs, but it all feels a bit like it’s been plucked from the setlist of any old dirty blues band. There’s nothing particularly hooky about it either, despite those decent riffs, so it all just sounds very standard. Peace Frog - This sounds more Doorsy straight out of the gate. The return of the characteristic organ sound is good and the shuffling swagger to the groove is cool too, with a nice switch up of emphasis into the chorus. There’s much more subtlety to the playing here and the composition is far more interesting than the more generic blues we’ve been given up to this point. It’s not their best work, but it’s at least a fairer representation of what they can do as a band. Blue Sunday - A stripped back one now that relies more on Jim Morrison’s vocal talents. It’s nice, has decent enough melodic moments but also feels a bit plodding and lazy in a way that doesn’t quite connect in the carefree way that I think they were intending. Ship Of Fools - This is quite meandering and unfocused. I’m not really sure what they were going for here, but it just feels musically cluttered and lacking in direction, kind of like a jam that hasn’t quite gone the way any of them were really expecting. It’s not very good. Land Ho! - We continue to ramble around in a way that’s half way between a nursery rhyme and a blues track. It’s somehow repetitive and unfocused at the same time, with the underlying musical structure just rolling round and round endlessly, while they noodle around on the guitar and vocal over the top. Very weird and also not very good. The Spy - Yet another fairly plodding and uninventive little ditty. It’s too staccato to really flow in places and, while I quite like the easy, jazz-blues nature of the verses, there’s nothing here to really stand out as being special or particularly interesting. I think I may have liked this a little more as part of a stronger set, but after the last couple of tracks, a sense of ennui has crept into the album and rather than being a nice diversion, it just feels a bit bland. Queen Of The Highway - Finally, things pick up a bit. It’s still not the Doors at their best, but there’s decent groove, some interesting counterpoint between the different lines and a good bit of swagger and fun to it too. It’s cool and has a sense of adventure and a return of charisma, not only from Morrison, but the band seem to have found a touch of that old mojo again. Indian Summer - A drifting, more melodically and harmonically rich composition now. It’s back to the more hippy sound of their more psychedelic work and while it drifts in and out of focus, it does feel a bit more purposeful and directional. Again, it’s not their best work, but it’s not as generic as some of the weaker cuts on this album. Maggie M'Gill - Again, this is fairly generic bluesy stuff that doesn’t really do anything particularly exciting or standout. It’s good for what it is, but it feels a touch lazy really and quite repetitive. Some of the call and response from the guitars is ok, but it’s dragged out to a point where it becomes a bit dull and uninspiring. A fairly meh end to a fairly meh album.

6/10 Knowing the title track from this record well from its use in Quentin Tarantino’s excellent Jackie Brown (although that version was a disco remix), I was pretty excited to hear this. With that track kicking the album off, they get off to an absolute flyer here and, despite the 11 minute length, there is so much to love about the track. It showcases exceptional touch and feel for a groove, a high level of musicianship and an ability to weave in great hooks around an interesting and varied arrangement. With the vocal to focus around, they allow plenty of room for their musicianship to shine, while also maintaining a central theme and focus for the track that helps keep it engaging throughout. Unfortunately, when the vocals disappeared from track two onwards, the band struggled to maintain the same level of control over the listener that they had achieved with Randy Crawford’s vocal in place. That’s not to say it was bad, but it did struggle to reach the same hooky heights that Street Life was able to hit. The rest of the record showed moments of real jazz-fusion quality, drifting from funky mid-tempo grooves with more of that excellent rhythmical touch, to slightly more jazzy cuts that showcased the instrumental prowess of the band members. But they did really fail to capture the same slightly pop-melodic sensibility that they have showed themselves capable of delivering. I did find that while I enjoyed the grooves and vibes of most of the remaining tracks, they rarely managed to present any particularly memorable hooks that stuck in the mind and begged for a repeat listen. There were also occasions when they slipped a little too far into the lounge-jazz world of late night love, with Rodeo Drive and, to a lesser extent, Night Faces. It’s a real shame, because has they stuck to the formula of Street Life, this could have been an amazing record, but ultimately, it’s one that was enjoyable but not as special as it promised to be. Street Life - Straight out of the gate with a classic featuring Randy Crawford. The mid-tempo jazz funk groove is gorgeous with a perfect balance of staccato pop sections and smooth legato ones. There’s so much to like about this and it packs a load in over the 11 minute run time. Cool string arrangements, some perfectly placed horn punctuations and top notch soloing. I love the electric piano work particularly, but there’s a subtle excellence of touch to pretty much all of the instrumental work. It’s incredibly well arranged to maintain interest for its length and, despite a lightly drawn out intro and outro, it’s a fantastic piece of work. My Lady - More sharp funky groove work now with a smooth and sultry lead from the sax. There’s some great solo work here, but without the vocal of the opener, it does lack a central focus. It also doesn’t offer as much dynamic and musical range, feeling a touch one-paced and flat compared to the vibrancy they were able to deliver previously. That’s not to say it’s bad, but it’s got a lot to live up to. I think it’s lacking a bit in central hooks and while the vibe and groove are great, there’s not much to elevate it beyond that. Rodeo Drive (High Steppin’) - This steps a bit too far into the cheesy “late night love” radio fodder. The groove is a bit one-paced again, but the lead lines just feel a bit safe and obvious, lacking much in the way of edge or bite. Again, it’s not terrible, it’s just pleasant, harmless stuff. They’re locked in tight, the production is solid and the playing is all great, it just doesn’t have the requisite soul that music like this really requires to fully connect. Carnival Of The Night - We’re back onto more solid ground now. There’s a bit more grit and punch to this, and the lead parts have a better melodic hook that helps to centre the track and give it focus. The little descending chord progressions at the end of certain sections are really tasty. The variation of feel between the sections give this way more interest, and the solo work feels much more soulful and engaging. Unlike the last track, I can almost see the players soloing away and grinning at each other across the studio. It sounds fun and heartfelt. Much, much better. The Hustler - That touch and feel in the groove is great here and we’re way more into the jazz world for the soloing now. It’s not as hooky as the last track, but it’s still musically satisfying and manages to keep hold of that sense of fun and adventure from the playing. The rhythmic punch of the little breakdowns they do are really cool and, while this isn’t the strongest cut on the record, it’s still an enjoyable listen. Night Faces - There’s something of the Weather Report about this, but it’s not got the range, melodic excellence or virtuosity of that band, so it feels a touch bland by comparison. That sounds harsh, because this isn’t bad, it just feels a little lightweight and veers a little too far to the cheesy side of jazz fusion for me, which is a bit of a shame. The talent is there, and they’ve got a great feel and sense of groove, but this just doesn’t quite punch its way past the barrier from pleasant to memorable.

6/10 There's a lot to like about this record. It's weighty, gritty and full of drive, and you can really hear the influence on bands that would follow, like At The Drive In and Glassjaw. There are also moments that reminded me of Nirvana at their most deliberately confrontational. There are some really solid riffs in there, and the vocalist does a great job of sounding passionate and controlled, while pushing his vocal to a deliberately crunchy and ragged state. The band build great soundscapes out of washes of feedback and creative effect use and do their best to bring range through an ebb and flow of punch, while rarely losing the throbbing intensity inherent within their sound. Unfortunately, there were times that, despite those efforts to introduce range, certain sections with shorter riffs did occasionally become a little repetitive and relentless in a way that made thing drag a touch. The album is also very fixed to a somewhat limited tone, with even the opposite ends of the dynamic range having a very similar grubby sheen that, while unifying the tone of the record, does start to feel a little oppressive after a while on what is quite a lengthy collection. It's kind of a shame because it feels like a lot of the ideas are very good, but ended up becoming a little too stretched out and, while I liked it well enough, it didn't do enough to push it beyond that level. Here Come The Rome Plows - It's a fierce and intense start with beefy bottom end and some cool riffs using different time signatures, which adds an unsettled quality to it that matches the vibe really well. Despite that, there are times when it gets locked in a touch too much and it could probably do with a little bit more range in its intensity. But it's a promising jumping off point and the grimy production and solid, tight musicianship have got me hooked in. Do You Compute - It's a slower burn of an intro now and while the vibe and sound design is cool, I do find it to be musically a touch swampy and undefined in places. There's a bit more dynamic range, which is good, and when it settles into more defined riff work half way through, it definitely starts to find its feet. The sweeps of feedback are cool and create an unsettling sound palette that I like. This definitely grew on me as it went on. Golden Brown - This is more like it straight off the bat. The pace and drive if this is excellent, and some cool riffs force their way through the grime with punch and intent. The breakdowns they use add cool moments of respite into the work and that pulsing, powerful bass anchors it really well. There's some fantastic hardcore drum work in there too. Luau - I expect we're in for a bit of a journey here on a 9 minute track. It's dirty and intense, but they're not going full beans to begin with and there a cool pulsing groove to the beat. With the 3/4 time, it's like the swamp waltz, which is interesting. There's some good stuff in here, but honestly, I'm not sure it does enough to justify that runtime. They do move through sections reasonably well, and there are some lovely arpeggiations and pieces of harmonic work and experimentation with feedback, but it does get a bit stuck in a loop for a bit too long for my tastes. Super Unison - That is a long, high-pitched note to start. Bit too much for me. After that it has a cool pulse and has a nice ebb and flow to it, adding a bit of extra musical dimension to it. It's still insistent and driving though and even the slower parts have a nice bit of rolling tension to them. It's a bit more overtly melodic in places, which is a nice evolution of the sound. Pretty good stuff. New Intro - A nice change of pace now with some cool interwoven instrumental lines and cool effects work to build some interesting soundscaping. I do kind of wish it hard burst into life though as, while I enjoyed the slow brooding of it, it felt like it was getting ready for an explosion that never came. New Math - New Math is right, there's plenty of cool time signature stuff going on here, but it's delivered with a driven and purposeful forward momentum that works really well. The rolling bass and drum work is great again and those time signature switching sections that punctuate the track give it a good deal of range. Another solid effort. Human Interest - Sometimes this album gets a bit too locked into the same riff and things get a bit repetitive. It happens now and again here, even though they do switch things up a bit. I think it's the short length of some of those riffs that makes them feel that way. Otherwise, it's another decent track. Good punch and weight to things and a great sound. But perhaps this is just getting a touch long in the tooth now. Sinews - Another slow burn of a track now. The feedback and effects work is really charged and creates an excellent noisy intensity to the soundscape. Then they work their way through stuff with a bit more punch and some more cool riffs and work with uneven meter. When it commits to the drive later on, it gets really heavy and driven too. A solid, if over-long closer.

4/10 Knowing the name Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as a couple of their bigger hits (although more in passing than with any level of depth), I was hoping for something that would send me down a rabbit hole and inspire some affection for southern rock, a genre that I have no real connection to. From the off, there was at least a bit of interest piqued by the swagger and attitude of the band. They seem a tight unit with a decent level of groove to their playing and, while Ronnie Van Zant isn’t a great singer, he does at least have a bit of grit and charm to his delivery. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long before that initial interest started to fade. For much of the album, they come up with a chord structure, or riff, largely based around standard blues progressions, and then just stick with that for the entire duration of a song, with riffs often just endlessly repeating. And they don’t like short songs either. Boy, oh boy do they like to drag things on. It’s not that any of it is overtly bad. The performances are good, and they have a decent groove as a group, but ultimately, it all felt rather bland and lacking in the requisite charisma to really hook me in. Even the soloing felt uninspiring, like they would pick a riff within a solo and overplay it, before switching to another and overplaying that one too. There’s a bit in Free Bird where the guitar solo is two notes played for ages, and frankly, when a guitar solo doesn’t engage, it gets boring very, very quickly. I was toying with a slightly higher rating for this, because I didn’t actively dislike it, but ultimately, I came off the back of the record feeling… more or less nothing. Which is why I ended up where I did. A meh score for a meh experience. I Ain't The One - A cool swaggering southern rock start. It’s got some decent hooks and a cool attitude, but the underlying musical structure and main riff does become a bit repetitive after a while. There’s a decent groove to it and the mix of guitar lines work reasonably well. It’s a decent enough kick-off, but it’s not really grabbed hold of me just yet. Tuesday's Gone - On to a ballad now that’s quite meandering and is definitely way, way too long. I decided I’d about had enough of this and then realised I was only half way through. It’s quite a basic track that’s cheesy and fairly bland, not offering much in the way of development despite its length. It feels like Bob Burns was trying to inject as much drive as he could with his drums, but this just drags on and on and on. Boring. Gimme Three Steps - Back to something with a bit of swagger again, but it is another that’s decent but doesn’t set one’s pants on fire. In fact, it kind of sounds like the kind of song that Hells Angels would line dance to. It’s ok, I guess, but it’s quite repetitive and basic without offering much development or depth. Cool enough riffs, but over-used and nothing particularly standout or charismatic about any of the performances either. Simple Man - Simple Man, simple song. The same three chords the whole way through a six minute song. Yes, they change the intensity of the presentation during the chorus but boy, oh boy, does this get old fast. It’s slightly too slow paced and the relentlessness of the band playing essentially the same thing round and round for so long just doesn’t inspire me at all. I don’t think Ronnie Van Zant is a particularly good singer either. He’s not bad, per se, he’s just pretty average, and a song like this when the focus is intended to be more on the vocal, he sounds fairly exposed. Things Goin' On - There’s a bit more range to this with the use of different instruments through different sections, but the underlying structure is still very basic and repetitive. It’s also quite rhythmically stilted and that honky-tonk piano is way too loud. It just feels a bit blues-rock by numbers, and the fairly bland soloing doesn’t help it that much either. I’m really struggling to find much to hold on to here thus far, to be honest. Mississippi Kid - I quite like the effect given by the three guitars here. I love a bit of old-school delta blues, and this recalls something of that sound, but I’m not quite buying what they’re selling in the same way as those old school blues players. It is a touch on the repetitive side, but that kind of works for this and it’s not excessively long, so that works in its favour. It’s not bad though and it’s probably my favourite track on the record so far. Poison Whiskey - This is a pretty cool riff and that swagger connects a bit better here. I think the vocal has the right amount of slur and attitude to it too. Again, thert=e’s just too much repetition of the cadence of the central musical theme here, which makes it tire quite quickly, but as with the last track, at least it’s short so it doesn’t drag things too far. The piano solo is pretty cool though. Free Bird - The same chord structure for 9 minutes? Yay! Again, I feel like the vocal feels a bit exposed, the repetition drags it down, and it’s too slow and drudging. It must be boring as fuck to be a non-soloing player in this band. It gets way better half way through when they pick up the pace, with improved rhythm, drive and intensity, but just when it starts to get good, they open the floor to a widdly and uninspiring guitar solo. Good god, it’s a boring solo. Stop repeating yourself so much! How on god’s green earth this was voted the 3rd greatest guitar solo of all time, I’ll never know.

8/10 It’s probably fair to start off by saying that, while I have always appreciated Bob Dylan as a songwriter, I have often found it a slight struggle to get into his work due to his vocal style and propensity to get a bit too untidy with his harmonica playing. But sometimes we need to sink ourselves into something to fully get a grip on it, so I was quite looking forward to this record. The first thing to note is how well balanced this album feels in terms of looking back and striding forward. It’s a melting pot of ideas and styles, bringing in blues, folk, country, rock and roll, and even a touch of rhythm and blues in places, but while there are moments that he allows the music to settle into those comfortable old shoes, the primary direction of travel here is forward. I’m not sure how often this is mentioned of this album, but it sounds very much ahead of its time, with the production sounding clean and coherent while the approach to style and songwriting echoing clearly into the 70s, 80s and beyond. It kind of goes without saying that Dylan is a master songwriter, and his compositions sound as fresh and engaging today as they did 60 years ago. There are some truly beautiful pieces of playing across the track list, with particular highlights from some of the lead guitar, organ and piano work, but every single performer comes together to create an album that shifts through sparse and stripped back moments through to dense, layered arrangements, all the while remaining coherent and well balanced. As previously mentioned, I do sometimes have issues with Dylan’s voice and there were times here, particularly on the cleaner and more melodically sharp tracks, where it did pull me a little out of the moment, however as the record progressed, I did find that, more often than not it did actually blend pretty well with the music, with the more bluesy and rocky numbers probably giving it its best stylistic accompaniment. I also largely got on board with the harmonica, which managed to sound more purposeful than I had been expecting. It was perhaps a touch overused, but I guess that’s just Dylan’s thing. As the album progressed, I did find myself settling deeper and deeper into the sonic world of Dylan’s writing and, certainly when listening in a more focused way, I got a great deal of enjoyment out of my time with it. For me, there are a few moments where things drag on too much, or Dylan’s vocal style jars just a a tiny bit, but those are minor quibbles and, while trimming this down by 1520 minutes might have tightened it up a little, the historical significance of this work and the quality of the songwriting makes it a very worthwhile repeat listen. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 - This track kicks off in quite an erratic way, but settles into the vibe pretty well. It’s very tongue in cheek, and despite being fairly repetitive, there’s enough complexity snuck into the well constructed soundscaping that it actually becomes more than the sum of its parts. It’s got a decent groove, some good melodies and the playing is decent too. The harmonica didn’t actually annoy me either. A pretty good start. Pledging My Time - I’ve never really connected much with Dylan’s voice, but I think it works really well with this kind of slow blues jam. There’s a load of swagger to the playing and there’s actually a bit more nuance to the harmonica than I was expecting. It’s hardly Stevie Wonder, but it pulls through enough emotion to work well. It’s another with good vibe and solid, if unspectacular playing from the band. Visions Of Johanna - The first Dylan epic of the album. The songwriting is excellent, and there’s some really, really lovely playing, particularly from the electric guitar, but the band do a great job all round. The ebb and flow of the dynamic is lovely and, despite being pretty long, he does manage to drag you along with him without any problem. It has the slightly clichéd Dylan issue of the songwriting being of a phenomenal standard while his voice can be a little difficult to engage with and doesn’t provide the melodic clarity that I would prefer. But it’s really lovely work nonetheless. One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) - The transition into the chorus on this track is excellent, with a solid change in vibe and urgency. The piano part is a highlight and, while this doesn’t feel as focused as the last track, I think there’s still a lot to like about this. The lead vocal isn’t fantastic, with a touch too much of Dylan’s large undulations of pitch, but it’s another well written and executed track. I also think the production up to this point has been full and excellent for an album from 1966. I Want You - You can hear so much influence on bands that would follow in this track, particularly in the 2000s indie scene. It sounds a long way ahead of its time. It’s really well written and executed, and the mix and production are superb. Structurally, there’s nothing complex about it, but the construction of rhythm, melody and harmony are first class. A lovely song. Memphis Blues Again - The swing to the groove here is great. As with Visions Of Johanna, there’s some really deft and well delivered moments of lead electric guitar, bouncing really nicely against the organ. The push and pull of the rhythmic pace is lovely through different sections. There’s so much going on across the instrumentation, but it doesn’t feel over-filled, it just feels perfectly put together. It’s possibly a touch long, but I’m enjoying myself and little bits of instrumental work keep popping out and grabbing me, so I think I’m probably just being churlish. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat - It’s another bluesy effort that again works well with Dylan’s vocal. It’s fairly routine blues fare that leans towards a rock and roll vibe, but it’s very well executed and some of the guitar work is really good. It’s not spectacular, but it’s really well presented and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Just Like A Woman - A very, very well written ballad that does get let down by the Dylan vocal. Sometimes his voice works fine, but on a precise track like this that’s so clean and defined, his slightly aggressive cadence and loose, pulsing pitch butt up against the rest of the track just a little too much. It’s a beautiful composition though, with harmonic richness, a soulful rhythm and a lovely, lilting feel. Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine - There’s great pace and a solid pulse to this one and it’s almost got a bit of a Beatles feel to it. There are some lovely musical choices that take things in a slightly unexpected direction, but still feel really natural. It’s not one of the more complex song structures, but the layering of parts and the well balanced mix more than make up for that and there’s a lot there to enjoy. Temporary Like Achilles - A slower, swinging number now. There’s some beautiful piano and guitar work and the laid back swagger leans a bit more into a style that works with Dylan’s drawl. It’s not the most exciting of tracks, but the instrumental mix and counterpoint across the different parts is still pretty lush. Absolutely Sweet Marie - This is the most 60s sounding track on the album so far, which just makes me think about how ahead of its time this album sounds, with much of it foreshadowing work that would come along in the 70s and later. There are some more really lovely instrumental performances here again and the vibe and rhythmic flow are absorbing and pull the track forward with an infectious momentum. More nice stuff. 4th Time Around - This reminds me a lot of Norwegian Wood. Apparently there may have been some link, with Dylan responding to the Beatles showcasing nods to his work on Rubber Soul. It’s a lovely song and the counterpoint between the guitar lines is really pretty. This one actually works with his voice, probably because everything else is so harmonically rich that he kind of floats through the middle of it all in a dreamy way. A lovely little song. Obviously 5 Believers - This is great. It’s another with a bluesy rock and roll edge and drifts back into that more classic 60s sound. But that groove is so infectious, the layering of parts is delicious and there are loads of great melodic hooks in there that just pop up, do their thing and we roll on. The tempo and drive to this is absolutely bang on and Charlie McCoy’s harmonica part is sparingly used but utterly brilliant. What a great track. Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands - This one takes up the final side of the second record! It’s a slightly meandering stroll of a track, but it drifts so easily through its movements that it’s easy to just sink into the song and let it absorb you. The swells of dynamic are fairly subtle, but really effective as he builds up the instrumentation and drops it back out again. While I’m enjoying this, I think it probably does drag on a touch too much and could do with a bit more musical range for a track of this length. It’s still very pretty and mellow though.

8/10 Talking Heads are a band that traversed a number of styles and genres within their music, from funk to pop, to new wave, while adding generous sprinklings of avant garde, artsy elements to their sound. This album is no exception to that, with a number of excellent funk and almost afrobeat grooves, some excellent hooky pop melodies and some more weird, sound-design heavy moments. I think people often (as with many bands) focus on the lead singer and David Byrne is certainly a character. He’s a bit like a more consistently weird, American (yes, he was born in the UK, he’s still American) David Bowie, and it appears that both Bowie and the Talking Heads took inspiration from one another. It probably doesn’t hurt that frequent Bowie collaborator Brian Eno also produced this album. Byrne lends the band a slightly schizophrenic edge, switching between more traditional pop-rock delivery to almost psychotic moments or performances, probably best exemplified by closer Drugs. But focusing on Byrne could easily make one miss the incredible tightness of the rest of the band. Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth and Chris Franz are one hell of a unit, laying down infectious grooves and punchy rhythms at the drop of a hat, while also seamlessly drifting into the more dissonant and avant garde moments on the record. While Byrne is the weird cherry, the rest of the band is the oddly flavoured cake that he rests on, and if the recipe for that cake was even slightly off, the whole thing would probably just taste like shit. Luckily, it all comes together well and the band bob and weave their way through an evolving cycle of interesting and engaging songs that indulge in weirdness while largely maintaining enough focus that the record feels tonally consistent and has a strong through line that keeps the listener on the hook. There are some moments when things become a touch repetitive or lull a little too much, but with the Talking Heads, you always know something interesting and high-quality is just around the corner. I Zimbra - There’s a bit of a stripped back Fela Kuti edge to this, and you can definitely hear the rhythmic feel that went into side-project Tom Tom Club too. It’s a cool, sparse and engaging groove that manages to blend funk with a more new-wave sound palette. A good start. Mind - David Byrne very much has the feel of an American David Bowie. It’s partly his vocal delivery, which is very Bowie-esque here. The track is fairly stripped back and restrained, but carries a solid groove and the overlapping rhythms of the different parts create a shimmering, drifting movement to it. There’s a bit of a tonal development late on when the distorted guitar comes in, which is pretty good. Paper - This is a bit more front-foot with the groove than the last couple of tracks and there’s a nice switch between busy sections and slightly more rhythmically drawn out ones. There’s nothing too complex about the track, but it has a good groove and vibe to it. It threads the Talking Heads line pretty well, being danceable and funky while also having an edge of avant garde weirdness to it. Cities - The groove gets a bit more frantic now and is very insistent. There’s a much thicker blend of instrumental layers here and it all comes together to create an irresistibly danceable song with some standout bass work. It is perhaps a touch one paced, and isn’t melodically that hooky, but it’s still a really nice bit of work. Life During Wartime - As if to respond to my last comment, this track is endlessly hooky. The synth tones sound quite dated, but if anything, that just kind of adds to the charm of it. As with the rest of the album, the groove is excellent and Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth are so deep in the pocket together that it’s no surprise they ended up married. This kind of thing is the sweet spot for Talking Heads for me: Funky and poppy with a sprinkling of weirdness. Lovely. Memories Can't Wait - The sound design on this is great. It’s cluttered and foreboding in a really effective way, with different instrumental lines sweeping in and out of the noise. There’s something quite disconcerting and creepy about it all, even in the melodic choices that Byrne makes with his vocal, which soars above that cluttered yet purposeful mix. Another solid track. Air - This opens up a bit more in the mix, but there’s still an element of the more reverb-heavy, slightly twisted core from the last track. The changes between sharp, staccato sections and the smoother sections is really nice and creates an interesting textural flow to the song. It’s got more of that slightly weird edge to it, particularly with some of the harmonic choices, but it all gels together really well into something that sounds very unique. Heaven - This is a hooky ballad with some really lovely melodic moments. The interplay between guitar and piano is beautiful, with Byrne’s vocal delivery being so emotive and pulling every bit of power out of a fairly simple but brilliant melody. The vibe of this is excellent, with a slightly dark undercurrent blended in to what is on the face of it, quite an uplifting melodic work. Animals - And we’re back to something with more of that front-foot funky groove, dusted with some more dissonant harmonic choices and a fairly avant garde vocal performance. It’s weird, but coherently and deliberately so. The underlying groove grounds the track, while the guitar and vocal try to pick it apart and drag it to pieces. The balance is excellent, as it would be easy to drag this too far in one direction, but they string it together well and pull it further into weird territory towards the end. Electric Guitar - The vibe of this is really good, but musically, it feels a bit more meandering and less grounded than the stronger work. Some of the sound design is really great, and that creepy edge is there again, but it feels like it drifts over the line into being a bit less focused and a touch too weird and repetitive for my taste. Drugs - We get a nice slow burn here, and the sound design is again lovely. The atmosphere and vive is both wide-open and somehow oppressive at the same time. It’s a creepy little number that’s very carefully balanced and laid out to keep pulling you along, pushing and pulling the instruments and effects in and out of focus in an inventive and evocative way. An excellent end to the album.

6/10 Beyoncé is an artist that I’ve always kind of admired from afar. She’s clearly got a great voice, she’s released some absolutely superb pop hits, and she’s clearly managed to become vastly popular with vast swathes of the population, but I’ve never really felt the need to dig in deep. I’ve never truly been able to tell from a distance whether she’s musically brilliant, or just a superb marketer. As with many of these things, the truth is probably somewhere between the two. This album contains some really superb stuff. There are tracks that I completely bought into, others that I thought were hot garbage, and a fair share of ones that sat somewhere between the two. Clearly Beyoncé had a vision and a theme for this album, and that does come across. She’s horny, and she wants us to know it, and wants us to celebrate it with her. That’s as good a vision as any, and I’m all for the celebration of feminism and sexual freedom. Unfortunately, her execution of that vision involves almost 30 writers and a significant number of producers across the 14 tracks on the original release of the record and, as a result, this does feel stylistically a bit all over the place. It’s also a massive shame that on a record about feminism and female empowerment, a quick count tells me that only four of the ~30 writers on the album were women. Girl power. Putting that all aside, there was a decent amount to like from the stronger parts of this record, and it also doesn’t strive too hard for hits, leaning more on the thematic focus, which is an admirable approach for someone who is known as a pop musician. Tracks like Blow and Rocket are excellent, but the moments of quality are a touch stretched out and there are times when this feels like a roughly assembled collection of ideas, rather than a completely coherent whole. If the core ideas of this record were stripped back, the songs brought at little more into focus and the runtime dropped to 40-45 minutes, I think there’s magic in here. But somewhere along the way, that magic got diluted and scattered, resulting in an album that’s good, but not what it could have been. Pretty Hurts - This is a pretty strong start. It’s musically fairly sparse, but the production gives it good depth and weight. There’s plenty of good melodic moments and the use of triplets in the rhythm of the lead vocal gives it a cool, rolling groove against the straight beat. Sometimes this kind of roaming, slightly flamboyant vocal performance can overwhelm a track, but there’s enough of the core melody at the centre of this to allow for it to have space and feel natural here. Haunted - We get more of that sparse quality here, and it’s song in two parts really. The sound design here is great and it’s a restrained and focused vocal performance that works really well with that more electronica-edged vibe. There’s an edge of Burial about this, although apparently it was inspired by Aphex Twin. There are parts of this that I think are brilliant, but it doesn’t really offer enough development or variation of the main themes to fully connect. Drunk In Love - This song reminds me so much of Trapped In The Closet by R Kelly, that it’s completely colouring my view of the song. It’s melodically a bit rambling and the vocal is a really weird half-rap, half-sung thing that doesn’t ever fully land in either camp. It’s not very musically interesting either and feels more focused on telling a story than on creating a musical narrative. Not in love with the “trance synth preset” sound of it either. Blow - This is immediately much better, it’s got a funky, staccato groove and the interplay between the lead and backing vocal is really good. It’s got a light, floating charm to it There’s a good pop sensibility to the track, but it’s sonically more interesting than a run of the mill pop tune. Some of the guitar work in there is really excellent too, followed by some excellent funk synth work after the middle eight. The evolution of the orchestration through the runtime is really cool too. Great track. No Angel - We get a very 80s sound now and another sparse production. There are elements of the sound design that I really like, but it doesn’t really feel like it goes anywhere. Yes, there are changes, but it all feels a little bit aimless and meandering, particularly from a melodic point of view. It just feels a touch confused. That being said, doing work like this on a pop record should probably be applauded, as at least she’s trying to do something different. Partition - Similarly to Haunted, this is kind of two tracks. In the first part, like the last track, there’s some cool stuff, but things are a bit too repetitive. In the second part, there are some lovely bits of melody through the chorus. I’m less keen on the verses, but the production is really cool and creates an intriguing, slightly dark and grungy atmosphere. In fact, I think the different sections of this just feel a bit disconnected, like there’s some good ideas, but they’ve not been strung together in the most effective way. Jealous - We get a cool slow jam now. The groove is great and it calls back stylistically to Pretty Hurts. The vocal performance here is excellent, emoting in a brilliantly subtle way. It’s fairly stripped back and simple, but tells its story well. There’s not too much to cover here, but it’s incredibly well executed. Rocket - This feels so much like D’Angelo’s Untitled (How Does It Feel?), including melodic motifs that are lifted wholesale from that track. But I actually really like this as a take on that song from a female perspective and, as companion pieces they work really well. It’s not quite up to that standard, but it’s still very good. The roaming vocal works incredibly well over a more musically stable and focused backing. It’s got some great instrumental work that pops in and out of focus in the background, and the balance of the production is so good. The whole thing feels suitably sexy and like it’s just about holding everything together while almost bursting at the seams. More quality stuff. Mine - The percussion here sounds a bit too much like a metronome. The piano playing is nice, if a little basic. The transition into the synth part is really cool though, and then the rapping is really bad and doesn’t fit with the rest of the track at all. Once that’s out of the way, it goes back to being quite pleasant again. This is a proper mixed bag. Some parts are good, other parts are just crap. It’s super disjointed and lacking in coherence. A bit of a mess, basically. XO - There’s an almost futurist indie vibe to this with an edge of synthwave. It’s got good drive to it and the build of the synth layering is decent. Musically, it’s a touch bland though and doesn’t really go anywhere that interesting. But the soundscaping and tone is decent. ***Flawless - And now we’re leaning into trap. The atmosphere and vibe is great, the message behind the song is great, and there are some nice vocal moments. But it’s very repetitive and one-paced, to the extent that it feels overly long, despite being only four minutes long with lengthy spoken word sections. Superpower - This is a slow paced effort that focuses on vocal movement and development at the expense of significant variation within the backing track. It’s another that’s ok with some quality moments, but as a whole it lacks either anything hooky enough or any significant musical focus or virtuosity to really get its hooks into you. Heaven - A slow, atmospheric and stripped back ballad. It’s very patient and pretty and feels very heartfelt. Her vocal is gorgeous, and the stripped back, sparse nature of it creates a really effective vibe. I think this would have had more impact in a more tightly sequenced album, but it doesn’t feel as effective of the back of the last couple of tracks, which is a shame. Blue - We get an ode to Bey’s first child to close out the record. It moves through a range of different production styles through the track, while using repeated vocal motifs to anchor the song through the tonal changes, which is a cool effect. It’s quite cinematic, but does become a touch melodically stale by the end. But it’s not a bad way to finish off.

6/10 Sinéad O’Connor was a remarkable woman in many ways. Her career was derailed and overshadowed by her (entirely justified) protest against systemic child abuse issues within the catholic church, nearly a decade ahead of the scandal becoming a prominent issue around the world. She had struggles with her mental health too, at least in part due to the abuse she suffered as a child and the backlash against her after her protest. But suffice it to say that she was a strong willed woman, who did things on her own terms. This album showcases that well. She wrote and produced the vast majority of the album herself, with only her cover of Nothing Compares 2 U being written without her input and produced by a separate producer. Even then, she refused to have her vocal compressed on that track, so she hardly ducked out of production decisions. When it’s at its best, this album is wonderful. The intimacy of her vocal performances sucks you in and grips you, and the stark, sparse instrumentation really helps to build on that emotionally raw atmosphere that she builds. But unfortunately, the record isn’t without its issues. It’s quite an uneven song selection, with tracks like The Emperor’s New Clothes kind of jarring against the more personal cuts, and even moments within certain tracks, like the violin in I Am Stretched On Your Grave, which didn’t entirely work for me. But when she gets it right, she really nails it. Nothing Compares is a masterpiece, Black Boys On Mopeds is gorgeous, and there are other highlights here. But there’s also just a little too much that didn’t quite connect with me on a musical level, either being a little too repetitive or a touch unfocused in terms of progression and intent. It’s a shame, because there’s so much potential here, but unfortunately there isn’t really enough consistency for me to love it. Feel So Different - The building and atmosphere orchestration is a really nice way to open the record. There is development within the strings that give this forward momentum. I do sort of feel like it builds and builds on tension that never quite gets resolved, but I do think that’s deliberate. The dynamic growth of both the instrumentation and her vocal performance is excellent. I’m not completely in love with this, but I do think it’s very well executed, performed and produced, it just doesn’t completely connect with me. I Am Stretched On Your Grave - This is almost a trip-hop song. The slow, rolling backing set against her interpretation of a 17th century poem sounds both ecclesiastical and like early 90s British dance music. It’s an interesting blend, particularly when you throw in the celtic fiddle part later on. I wasn’t convinced at the start, but I kind of ended up getting sucked into the world of this song and, despite the musical core of it being pretty repetitive, I found it quite hypnotising and effective. Three Babies - A delicate and subtle start with a melody that roams a little, but takes moments to soar and focus in on key motifs. It’s a pretty dramatic vocal performance, with some moments of stark emotion in her voice. This kind of drifts along in a warm way that embraces the ear and guides you without grabbing tight. It’s very pretty and enjoyable, but there’s equally nothing that vastly stands out, but is possibly more effective because of that. The Emperor's New Clothes - We get a bit of a sharp change of pace and style now with a new-wave pop number. The guitar work is decent in places and it’s got a generally fuller sound, but it’s a little bit rhythmically one-paced and not vastly interesting. It’s not a terrible pop song, but it’s not really a great one either and it doesn’t really find a particularly effective hook to allow it to stick in the memory. And the ending just goes on for way too long. Black Boys On Mopeds - This is a pretty and heartfelt song. It’s stripped back and sparse, but incredibly effective. It’s got a lovely melody and her vocal performance is excellent. I really liked the vibe and emotion of this one. Nothing Compares 2 U - Man, Prince can really write a song. This is so harmonically and melodically rich and has beautiful lyrics. And then Sinéad gets hold of it and turns it into this absolutely heartbreaking, epic pop ballad. It’s stunningly beautiful. Her vocal is so brilliantly emotive, the sound palette is masterfully crafted and it all just comes together to create something that rightfully became an enormous hit. Jump In The River - This feels quite rigid, especially after the much more organic and fluid Nothing Compares. It’s a bit of a muddy sound, but it’s quite a cool dirty rock pop effort. There’s some very good stuff in here, but it perhaps lacks clarity and refinement. You Cause As Much Sorrow - Back to something more ballady now. This is the kind of stuff that Sinéad feels more at home on, with wide dynamic range and an ebb and flow to the songwriting. There’s a cool groove to this too and there’s an element of Kate Bush to the sound palette. It’s mostly sparse, but it does throw in moments of more full instrumental that drag it towards pop territory before it backs away again, which is an effect I quite like. It’s a shame she doesn’t back away again towards the end as that poppy stuff is more run-of-the-mill than the verses. The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance - I love the close-mic recording of the vocal here, it feels incredibly intimate and powerful because of it. The slow build of the dynamic is excellent and it takes its time nicely. It’s a really nice song made all the better by the structural and production choices she makes. A very nice track. I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got - This is another that has an ecclesiastical quality to it, at least in part due to the church-like reverb. It’s melodically quite repetitive, but has a hypnotic beauty to it and the vocal performance is incredibly strong. A really pretty ambient vocal closer. Very nice.

6/10 Kanye, Kanye, Kanye. Having really enjoyed College Dropout, I was interested to hear where our boy Ye had gone in the intervening 6 years. Well, if the braggadocious tendencies were clear enough to spot on his debut LP, the critical success that it and subsequent work received have only gone to enhance his sense of self-importance. The thing is, he is good. There are some brilliant tracks on here, like Power and Runaway, but much of the album feels quite scattergun and the maximalist production approach often produces tracks that are a little too cluttered or lacking in focus for my personal tastes. And he also spends much of the album continuing to brag about how wonderful he is, or railing against perceived injustices, interspersed with more introspective or self-critical moments that I can never really tell to be truthful or some attempt at false modesty. There’s some really good stuff on here, but he has a tendency to drag a decent track out for too long without adding in enough range to the musical content to maintain interest, or throwing in elements that detract from the better moments within a track. He can also be quite lyrically repetitive, which doesn’t help, particularly with the less instrumentally varied cuts on the record. After a few listens, I still can’t quite wrap my head around what this album is. It feels like he’s a man with so many ideas, but without the ability to self edit in order to allow the best of those ideas to sing. I kept getting the nagging feeling that he was trying to do way too much, and as a result, the record feels a touch confused and quite bloated, despite the presence of a real streak of excellence that bubbles under the surface. In effect, this kind of feels like a signpost for the direction that Kanye was sending himself from this point on. Erratic, scattered with moments of genius, but ultimately victim to Kanye’s inability to control his own thoughts and direct his talents towards a coherent and focused output. Dark Fantasy - Kanye grabs bits and pieces from all over the place, doesn’t he? An opening verse by Roald Dahl, delivered by Nicki Minaj, autotuned vocals from Bon Iver, samples from Mike Oldfield. It’s pretty good and there’s plenty going on to keep it feeling fresh, including sections where he doesn’t rely on a beat to drive the song, and instead focuses on harmonic content and strong melodic hooks. The verses give it a good hip-hop core, but it’s good that he doesn’t just settle into that or drag it out too long. It does feel a touch disjointed in places, but I think the ambition here is to be applauded. Gorgeous - I’m not convinced by the guitar / lead vocal doubling to kick this off, and that guitar riff is vastly overplayed without any variation until right near to the end. It’s a good starting point, but it just goes nowhere. There’s some decent soundscaping work to give this a dark, foreboding tone, but it’s just way too repetitive and lacks much musical depth. Boring. Power - More eclectic sampling choices from King Crimson and Continent Number 6, most prominently. There’s a lot more going on here and it has a great, dirty feel with crunchy beats, plenty of melodic quality and harmonic richness. It doesn’t insist on driving the beat the whole way through again, and there’s a lot of development of the musical ideas across the run time, which is impressive. This one was excellent. All Of The Lights (Interlude) - This is a lovely piece of piano and cello work. I was surprised to find out this wasn't a sample, so fair play. It’s fleeting, but a pretty little interlude. All Of The Lights - I’m not sold at all on the horns here and while the atmosphere of the track is good, it feels like it doesn’t do enough musically to really maintain interest throughout. He’s gone for a sound that throws a whole load of vocalists together, but for me it feels a bit overfull and disjointed as a result. It was a good concept, but poor execution. Monster - When Kanye drifts back towards more straight hip-hop, I feel like he loses something of what makes him special. This is a good hip-hop track, but in all honesty, he’s not the greatest rapper in the world, which is exposed on a track that he shares rapping duties with others. This is also quite repetitive, both musically and lyrically, which is exacerbated by it being over 6 minutes long. Not that it’s particularly bad, it’s just a bit bland. So Appalled - The dark vibe here is good and I quite like the slightly broken beat nature of the drums. Within the tonal work there’s actually a decent bit of development and range, but it’s rhythmically quite uneventful. As with the last track, it’s not bad, just a bit too repetitive and too long so becomes played out by the end. Devil In A New Dress - The main loop for this is very nice, but it’s short and just goes on and on. I don’t think the rapping performance is great here either. When we get a breakdown in the middle, it improves things, and in the second half, Rick Ross’ verses are better. If there was a bit more range to the main musical hook, this could be quite good, but it doesn’t really do enough to maintain interest apart from the nice middle section. Runaway - The dark, foreboding atmosphere of this is really nice. We’re back into the kind of production that really showcases Kanye at his best, with long, developing musical themes, a good blend of sung and rapped vocals, and a skilled arrangement with plenty of production depth and good hooks. Despite being the longest cut on the record, it has enough range to justify its length, with interesting instrumental sections, good rapping from both Kanye and Pusha T, and a quality sung chorus hook from Kanye himself. Really good stuff. Hell Of A Life - The bass here is pretty mean and, again, we get an example of Kanye just grabbing stuff from everywhere, using the melody from Black Sabbath’s Iron Man for the chorus. Unfortunately, he uses it for a horrible, auto-tuned and frankly, shit, chorus vocal. There are some really decent bits of sound design on this track, including some nice atmospheres and harmonic compliments to the bass, but it’s gathered up into a song that has some pretty weak rapping, a horrible chorus and a fairly inconsistent flow. Blame Game - And now we get a sample of Aphex Twin’s glorious Avril 14th. As with much of this album, there’s some really great stuff in here. The blend of lo-fi drums and the crisp piano sample and complimentary cello work are excellent and there’s some cool effects and editing work on Kanye’s vocal. There’s a bit of an edge of Stan by Eminem to the delivery and rhythm of the rapping in places. But while the instrumental work is really nice, it’s incredibly repetitive for an almost 8 minute track. And the last couple of minutes with Chris Rock that are supposed to be funny are absolutely cringeworthy. I mean, really, really bad. Lost In The World - We’re back full circle to a sample of Bon Iver’s lovely Woods (apparently re-recorded for this with new elements). There’s a decent amount of range to this and plenty of development of the themes. The parts often clash against each other and then find their way together in a really satisfying way. It’s very full, but feels purposeful despite being a touch cluttered. There are a few moments when things get stripped back a bit, which gives the more maximalist elements space to breathe, which is cool. As with much of the album, I think this is decent, but I’m struggling to fully connect with it. Who Will Survive In America - And we finally roll straight into our closer. It’s got a good beat, some nice piano work and the sample of Gil Scott Heron is great. But it is essentially a remix of Comment #1 rather than a fresh track and Kanye, as usual, appears to value his input more highly than is probably justified.

8/10 Mix one cup of Talking Heads, one cup of Kraftwerk, a tablespoon of 2000s indie and a pinch of disco and a soupçon of punk, and what do you get? LCD Soundsystem. This is an album that I know reasonably well, but not one that I come back to all that often, so I was pleased to be able to give it the thorough listening that this process demands. As someone who finds that endless repetition can very easily become incredibly boring, I was very pleased to hear that, for the most part, LCD Soundsystem do an absolutely excellent job of avoiding that pitfall. Their arrangements and layering of elements ensure that there is a near constant movement to their tracks, even when superficially, there isn’t significant obvious change to the patterns. They also manage to play and programme rhythms that manage to successfully fall into the “hypnotic groove” slot that is so successfully handled by artists such as Kraftwerk and Fela Kuti. There is repetition, but it feels alive and exciting all the same. For me, that blend of beat making and synths with new wave, post-punk influences is where the band really excel, with the opening three tracks being real highlights in that regard. When they lean a little more into the indie-rock sound through the middle of the record, there is still great quality in there, but it doesn’t quite manage to connect with me in the same way and starts to feel like it lacks a little of the unique LCD Soundsystem sound that their best work delivers. Fortunately, they manage to pull things back around for the final three tracks, which anchor us fully back into the world that the openers built. There is a solid, hooky melodic sensibility present across the record, and their sense of groove is of a really high standard, but they also prove themselves capable of moments of real emotion, bite and swagger, all of which contributes to an album that feels stylistically coherent, but broad enough to offer a good range of experiences through its runtime. If I was to be a touch critical, I think that they could probably have truncated a few of the tracks a little, which may have improved my experience through the slight lull in the albums centre, but otherwise, this is a really solid record that I’m glad to have spent a bit more time with. Get innocuous! - There’s something of an edge of Talking Heads about this. It manages that trick of being repetitive, but maintaining enough variety within its arrangement to maintain a sense of direction and not become too boring. There’s a hypnotic edge to it and it’s got a cool, slightly robotic, Kraftwerk style swagger to it too. A strong opener. Time To Get Away - There’s more of that cool swagger again here. The drums and percussion are carefully distributed and layered to build a groove that shifts while maintaining a consistent pulse. It’s interesting how simple all of the parts are, but the arrangement is where they get given life, which is admirable song construction. North American Scum - The groove between the bass and drums here is really compelling and has great feel. Again, the use of different layers in each verse as the song progresses give this more range than one might initially expect. The chorus is a great hook, even if the vocal is a touch shrill, and sits as a nice contrast to the rolling verses. I’d say the verses are perhaps a touch long, but it’s a minor quibble on an otherwise quality, punky cut. Someone Great - Another quality, layered groove now and that staccato synth lead is really nice. The vocal sections here are a bit too bland, unfortunately, and the vocal melody is a bit boring and repetitive. I’m not in love with the doubling of that melody with the glockenspiel either. There’s some great stuff in here, but it’s the first track that doesn’t full connect for me, and feels a bit flat. All My Friends - This takes a while to get going, and it reminds me of The Killers a bit. It does develop as it rolls along, but it doesn’t have the deftness of arrangement of the first three tracks. This one is more about the narrative of the vocal really, and it’s not bad, it’s just a bit too one-dimensional, perhaps because the developments are subtle and all within a more limited dynamic. It goes on for way too long too. US V Them - It feels like we’re back to the more interesting type of arrangement now, and there’s some nice dynamic ebb and flow here too. I think they’re more interesting when they lean towards electro funk, rather than indie and while there is repetition here, it’s more cleverly layered and structured to create a pulsing, shifting, hypnotic groove that sucks you in and flows around you. This is a touch on the long side, and probably could do without the more repetitive stuff towards the end. Watch The Tapes - This has a cool, driven, front-foot groove to it. The main riff is great and there’s some excellent drumming in here too. There’s not as much clever layering, but it’s not needed as much for a sub 4 minute track. It’s cool, swaggering and has a nice, slightly punky attitude to it. Sound Of Silver - Back again to the more hypnotic, Kraftwerk edged electronic grooves now. The layering of drums and percussion is pretty good here and there are some nice subtle shifts in there, particularly from the synthesised percussion. It’s a nice, chilled vibe, and I’m getting into the sound design here quite a bit. The vocal parts add a bit of extra range, but feel less core to the track than the evolving synth work, which is restrained and delicately balanced, but very effective. Great track. New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down - A sombre, stripped back effort now that weaves in tiny touches of hope here and there really effectively. It builds in weight as it goes and then punches in aggressively just after the mid-point. There’s great dynamic and tonal change to this one as it goes and the two sides of those changes sit really well against one another. It’s not as layered as other tracks, but offers enough emotion and range to succeed on its own terms.

8/10 One day in 1972, a film producer realised that his latest B movie, The Thing With Two Heads, was short a bit of music. I know, says Michael Viner, why don’t we form a band that covers a load of popular tunes, but through the lens of bongos? Who would’ve thought that that course of events could provide the sample fodder that would form the basis of hip-hop and dance music for decades to come. This album is so influential in such a unique and unexpected way that it’s hard to see it as its own thing these days. As tracks slip by, breakbeats just pop up all over the place that you’ve heard so many times in the past that it’s a remarkable journey. Setting that aside, there’s a lot of musical quality here. There’s funky grooves, jazzy interludes and flurries of percussion that shift, evolve and entertain throughout. Yes, it does get a little drum heavy in places (who’d have thunk it?), but it’s not just bongos, there are cool guitar riffs, slinky organ parts and punchy horn hooks all over the shop too. Some bits are a bit on the cheesy side, others lean more towards soundtrack soul, but there’s just a little something special about it that lets you set that to one side and go along for the ride. Is it a perfect album? No. Is it a weird concept? Absolutely. Is it a critical and fundamental moment of musical history? Without a doubt. And it’s a load of fun too. Let There Be Drums - This is a cool, drum heavy surf-rock edged track. It doesn’t offer a vast amount of tonal content, but what it does has a cool groove and there’s good range to the drumming through the different sections. It’s not vastly varied, but it’s also only two and a half minutes long, so doesn’t need to be. Apache - This is the source of one of the most sampled drum loops of all time. Who knew that a cover of a Shadows track on which Cliff Richard played the Chinese drum would have this kind of life? It’s a solid, funky 70s cut that has, as you would expect, some absolutely fantastic, in the pocket drums and percussion. But it also has a couple of absolutely fantastic hooks from the horns and organ. There’s so much feel and vibe to this track and even in the percussion focused sections, it has enough range to the playing that it manages to stay interesting and hold the groove superbly. Great track. Bongolia - Continuing on from Apache, this is another excellent funk instrumental. It has great hooks, engaging rhythms and a quality vibe. There’s a great deal of swagger to the playing and the instrumental parts call and respond brilliantly. The beat does get a bit too cluttered at the end, though, and it then fades out kind of out of nowhere, which is a bit weird. Last Bongo In Belgium - The pace drops a bit here and we drift a touch into somewhere closer to jazz fusion. It’s cool stuff, but does stray a little onto the cheesy side of the ledger in places. There’s a great bass line, and some of the guitar is played with so much feel that you can almost see the stank face of the guitarist in your mind’s eye. While the pace of this is slower, it digs into a dirty, groovy funk rhythm that’s super engaging. The phased drums are so good and the whole jam is just a great vibe. Excellent work. Dueling Bongos - It’s quite funny to do a cover of duelling banjos with bongos. There’s some cool stuff in here and the production is really nice, with some cool use of reverb to create depth to the track. But it is also a drum only track, and everyone knows the drum solo is a chance for the rest of the band to have a wee or a line of coke. That’s not to take away from the quality of the drumming, which is excellent, but it’s not necessarily an every day listen, is it? In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida - More classic 70s soundtrack funky soul now. It’s a slower paced effort that has a decent groove and some great riffs, but those riffs do get a bit repetitive due to the fact that much of the soloing over the top is quite… weird. Then we get stuck into some more great breakbeat stuff that grooves and rolls well but is somewhat limited by the fact that it’s more drumming for a couple of minutes. It’s pretty bloody good drumming though. And when we get out of the back of it, we get back into some more soundtrack funk again, which is really satisfying. Not a bad track, if a little dragged out. Raunchy '73 - This is a more proggy effort and jumps through a great range of sections and sounds through its relatively short run time. The guitar work in particular is mean and driven, but there are quality performances all over the shop. The groove is great and, yeah, it’s melodically quite cheesy, but it’s really well executed. Bongo Rock '73 - Another classic to finish. Everything about this is quality, it’s well balanced, the beats are brilliant and the horn sections are wonderful. Again, cheesy and soundtracky, like something you’d hear on a Sunday sports broadcast, but it’s still great fun and a top way to close out the record.

6/10 I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this. John Cale is obviously most well known for his part in the Velvet Underground, and his involvement in avant garde music, but with this album tagged as art pop and baroque pop, I wasn’t sure where he was going to go with it. It turns out that, for the most part, those genre descriptions are actually pretty bang on. There’s rich orchestrations, a touch of folksiness to the songwriting and an approach to melody that leans towards a recognisably pop music sensibility. It’s a tonally rich record and there’s some really beautiful soundscapes here, but personally, I feel that it sort of sits in a middle ground between a warm, ambient sound bath of an experience, and something that commits more to the pop side of things, focuses in on melody and rhythm to produce more memorable and directly engaging songs. As a result, it’s kind of neither one thing nor the other and ends up being a very pretty, but largely uninspiring experience that doesn’t really offer the hookiness that you end up grasping for as he works his way through the tracklist. There are some stronger moments, with the opening two tracks of the second side starting to embrace a clearer focus to the songwriting and latching on to some punchier rhythms and more engaging motifs, but for much of the record, I sort of felt a creeping inertia that it just couldn’t shake. I’d be interested to hear what else Cale has done through his solo career and I did largely enjoy the listening experience here, but there are a lot of albums in the world and this isn’t one I’m likely to head back to any time soon. Child's Christmas In Wales - This is quite pretty baroque pop stuff. It’s got a nice lilt to the rhythm and some enticing melodic moments. The bass work is great too. Actually, there’s really nice parts for most of the instruments on here. It’s not a vastly remarkable track in many regards, but it’s very competently done and is quite an engaging and enjoyable listen nonetheless. Hanky Panky Nohow - The vocal work is quite pleasant on this one, although perhaps a touch forward in the mix. The rest of it is pretty, but doesn’t really do anything exciting. The chorus hook is actually really good, but only shows up a couple of times because of how short the track is. It’s a bit of a shame really, because while this is good, it doesn’t really take its ideas anywhere and is a bit bland as a result. The Endless Plain Of Fortune - Moving on to something quite dramatic now. It’s got a thick, warm orchestration and there are some nice melodic moments in the vocal, but it’s quite rhythmically monotonous and thee’s just not really anything particularly memorable about it either. It kind of feels like it’s an exercise in pomposity and orchestration, rather than a particularly strong piece of songwriting. Andalucia - This is a better song than the last one and there are some great performances, particularly the subtle lead guitar work and a really nice turn from the drummer. It’s still a touch on the bland side, but it’s a warm and comforting listen, with a decent enough melodic flow. But again, there’s nothing really exciting about it. Macbeth - A bit more bite now on this one and it’s got a good groove and swing to it while remaining punchy. It’s quite a departure from the clean, baroque pop sound of the first four tracks, but it’s certainly more exciting. There’s some nice moments in the vocal melody and some great guitar work too. The sound design is fantastic too, with great depth and range to the production. Paris 1919 - Back to the standard sound of the album, but at least there feels like there’s a bit of punch dragged from the last track too, even if it’s more orchestral and clean. The vocal reminds me quite a bit of Mrs Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel, both melodically and in the delivery. I think this is pretty good actually. The middle eight is a slightly flouncy departure, but it’s a nice change of pace and we get back to the melodic core pretty quickly. I’d say this is the strongest track on the album thus far. Very good. Graham Greene - This adds a slightly off-kilter approach to what we’ve had before, but I think it adds depth and personality to the track that was absent from most of the first side of the record. The blend of rhythms across the instruments is very nice and it’s melodically strong. It’s super twee, but in a knowing way that embraces that side of itself and just runs with it. Very good stuff. Half Past France - This is pretty, like much of the record’s first side, but it definitely picks up a bit more when the beat kicks in to give it more depth and impact than some of those early tracks. It does sort of float along a touch in places and it’s another that’s a pleasant but not invigorating listening experience. The mix and blend of sounds is really lovely, but it just doesn’t do enough with it in either direction to be a lush, ambient experience or a more focused, engaging song. Antarctica Starts Here - I don’t quite know what he’s going for with the vocal here, because it sounds like he’s lost his voice and just couldn’t be bothered to wait a couple of days to record it when he felt better. It’s a folksy orchestral number that’s musically pretty and ebbs and flows really nicely. It’s a shame, because it feels like there’s a bit more to the instrumentation here than some of the more flat efforts, but the vocal just drags it down in a slightly weird way.

7/10 Only being familiar with bits and pieces of Senegalese music, namely Youssou N’Dour and Orchestra Baobab, I was interested to hear another couple of artists from that country in the form of Baaba Maal and Mansour Seck. The first thing that struck me about this album was how the vocal had a tendency to drift a little towards a microtonal style more frequently associated with Arabic and Indian music. But blended with the staccato, clean guitar work that was as much rhythmic in effect as it was tonal, there was a familiar undercurrent to the makeup of the grooves, and it was a blend that I gelled with more and more as the record progressed. That percussive tonal approach is one that can take a little getting used to when approaching from a western popular music tradition, because it can make the tonal elements feel a little on the repetitive side, but when considered as part of the rhythmic base of the track, set against the more freeform melodic approach of the second guitar, the music really starts to come together. The track selection here has a decent amount of range to it, from the more upbeat, danceable Salminanam, to the more atmospheric, stripped back Djam Leelii, but there’s always an undercurrent of organic groove that begs for a toe tap or an all out body shuffle. While there is that range of pace and emphasis, it does all fall within a relatively narrow stylistic approach and, while that’s not a massive issue, it does lead to a touch of inertia creeping in here and there that slows the pace a little too much. With all that being said, I think this is a really interesting and engaging sound world in which to spend time and is certainly a worthy step outside of more run-of-the-mill western popular genres. The musicianship is excellent, the grooves are infectious and the vocals imbue the sound with an (as a westerner) other-worldly vibe that only enhances the depth and interest of the music. Lamtooro - This is quite an interesting blend, with the two guitars presenting an almost folky sound and the vocal leaning more towards the microtonal approach favoured in Arabic and Indian music. It’s a touch one paced and there’s not a lot of variety in what the guitars deliver, but the atmosphere is very good, and on an initial listen, it feels like one of those tracks that you need to just allow to envelop you. It’s not vastly exciting, but it’s a pleasant listen. Loodo - And now we drift a little more towards the West African style with which I’m more familiar. Subtle, organic drum beats and clean, interwoven guitar lines. There’s still that more classically Arabic vocal style, but the vocal harmonisations add more depth and range to the track. This is such a nice sound bed and the beat gives it a lovely, hypnotic feel. There’s some lovely, meandering guitar work that’s almost dreamlike in places and sharp and rhythmic in others. Lovely stuff. Muudo Hormo - Now we get a balafon thrown into the mix with the guitars, which adds another layer to the sonic palette. This is a slow moving, considered effort that again works well when you sink into it. The rhythms are lovely, despite the lack of drums and it’s got more of that shimmering, hypnotic groove to it. One of the guitar parts is very repetitive, but that acts as the pulse rather than anything else and there’s a lot more range and depth with the rest of the instrumentation that flows around it. More great work. Salminanam - The rhythms here are really nice again, and the blend of the grooves across the instruments is super engaging. The roaming yet centred guitar lines are excellent and the layered instrumentation and vocals weave around each other beautifully. This is the kind of thing I love, feeling incredibly organic and having a fluidity to it while being super tight. An excellent track. Maacina Tooro - The pace drops now, but the slow groove is still good. There’s a bit less layering going on, so things do feel a touch more repetitive. The guitar lines are great hooks though, and there is some slow evolution across the track. The layered vocals are pretty lush and the atmosphere of the production is really nice too. Not necessarily my favourite moment on the album, but it’s still a pleasant and enjoyable listen. Djam Leelii - The vibe to the opening of this is a nice departure, feeling darker and more foreboding. The guitar work is further drawn back to basics, and there’s a delicacy to it that’s engaging. The way the percussion drifts in and out is nice, while the meandering lead guitar over the basic pulse of the main guitar riff adds a lot of range and interest to the track. I think the blend of the two different vocals is really nice too. Bibbe Leydy - This is still pretty, but does start to settle into something that’s a touch less focused than what’s come before, I think. It feels a little bit more rambling and there feels like there’s a bit less connection between the vocal and the instrumental parts. It’s still pleasant enough, but it does start to drag a little and doesn’t feel like it either does enough to develop the ideas or manage to settle into that hypnotic groove that justifies the repetition. Sehilam - The groove picks back up again now and we get more adventurous yet focused guitar work in the lead to give this a bit more excitement and life than the last track. The vocal has a bit more of a hooky delivery too and the blend of rhythms across instrumentation and vocals is really nicely layered and has a great, shuffling bounce to it. It’s probably not the strongest work on the record, but it brings us back into that ballpark nicely and is a suitable way to round off the record.

8/10 Rubber Soul marked the moment at which the Beatles began their transition from a singles focused band to one that began to embrace the album as an artistic medium. It was also the point at which they began to introduce a broader sonic palette, with the use of instruments like the sitar and harmonium, as well as a broader range of musical influences, such as country and folk. Having honed their sense of songwriting, particularly with a focus on pop melodies, blended with stacked harmonies, on their earlier work, there is undoubted quality all over this record. From pop songs like Drive My Car to more Motown soul inspired songs like The word and melodically gorgeous love songs like Michelle, there’s a good range of tracks on this album. But where it really begins to step up is with tracks like In My Life and Norwegian wood, where we can really hear a development into more considered and exploratory songwriting. There are great moments from each of the band members across the album, and you’ll see reference to various of these moments in my track by track summary, but they’re such a tight and coherent band by this point that the advances in their songwriting and production cam easily be taken into their stride without those musical developments feeling unnatural. With all that being said, there are a few tracks on here which fall somewhat short of having the best of the Beatles pop writing, while not adding enough of the progressive musical developments to make them more than filler. Good filler, but filler nonetheless. And the less said about Run For Your Life, the better. This album is undoubtedly a vastly important one in the developments of both the album as a format as well as the Beatles as a band, but for me, it points towards the greatness that they would achieve rather than being a true example of it. But it’s still an incredibly solid album and, without what was to come, maybe it would be easier to see it in a stronger light. Drive My Car - A classic Beatles pop tune straight out of the gate. There are great riffs, the main vocal hooks are excellent, and the band plays as a quality unit. It’s simple, but really well delivered with a bluesy swagger. Yes, the beep-beep, beep-beep, yeah! bit is cheesy, but it’s just the right amount of cheese. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) - Is this the start of the Beatles delving into more varied instrumentation, adding a sitar to the mix? I think so. It’s a really pretty piece and some of the melodic work is lovely. I’m a big fan of the middle eight, with the added vocal harmonies and change in mode. You Won't See Me - This feels a bit less free-flowing than the first couple of tracks and I’m not entirely keen on the drumming, which feels a bit stilted. It’s still a decent track and the chorus is decent, but as a whole, it feels a bit weaker and more generic (particularly the oooh-la-la backing vocals) than the better cuts on the record. Nowhere Man - There are some lush harmonies in here, and there’s a nice swing to the groove. I think the occasional piece of lead guitar that accentuates certain moments is cool too. It’s a touch one-paced, but that’s a bit offset by the bittersweet emotional tone of the piece, sitting halfway between an upbeat pop song and a more sad, mellow tone. Think For Yourself - This kind of continues the vibe from Nowhere Man, but then strides off in its own direction through the chorus. I love Ringo’s use of triplets in the chorus and the change in emphasis between verses and choruses is really nice. Harmonically, this is strong, but the main melody, while decent, isn’t quite as hooky as it could be. A decent, if unspectacular track. The Word - We’re back on better melodic footing now and this definitely has a bit more of the pop-soul sound that they riff off on the album title. Ringo’s drumming on this is really good, especially against the offbeat guitar work. Nice harmonies too. McCartney’s strolling bass is also excellent. Michelle - Ah, this is a beautiful song. The stacked vocal is gorgeous, and the lyrical, organic flow of the vocal melody is superb. It’s a lovely blend of folk and soul, and it drifts from minor to major tonalities so fluidly that it just pulls you along on a wonderful musical journey. Really top stuff. What Goes On? - An up-tempo country-blues number now. Harrison’s guitar work is great and Ringo’s vocal is pretty decent too. It’s a touch derivative of that country-blues style, but it’s got great groove and feel to it, and it’s expertly executed, so let’s just let that slide, shall we, and enjoy that hooky vocal melody? Girl - There’s an element of southern European traditional music to this. It’s decent enough and I think the slightly slurred vocal delivery in the chorus is very nice, but it’s not the most interesting of tracks, necessarily. It’s rhythmically a bit stuttering in places too. I'm Looking Through You - There’s a cool change of pace between verse and chorus here and the push to the top of McCartney’s vocal range gives it a nice bit of drive and intensity. The chorus vocal melody is a great hook, and this has a nice bit of swing and swagger to the delivery. In My Life - This is another really beautiful song. The harmonies are really well arranged to allow the lead melody to shine, and the whole vibe of the track is gorgeous. The lead guitar work bounces off the vocal melody brilliantly and even the baroque-style solo adds an extra bit of flavour to the mix. A real standout moment. Wait - The rhythmic emphasis makes it a bit too stop-start for me. There are some great vocal harmonies in places, but some sections feel a touch rambling. Again, not bad, but not one of their better efforts. If I Needed Someone - We’re back on something stronger again now. The interplay of the bass and guitar work against the wandering quality of the lead vocal melody is really nice. The general vibe of folksy pop about this is just pleasant to the ear and the performances from the whole band are excellent. Run For Your Life - Ok, well this is a bit of a weird one, and feels a bit off lyrically against the rest of the album. Some of the lyrics are lifted from Elvis Prestley and while there’s some decent elements of melody to it, it also feels a bit generic. Also, the whole vibe of it, particularly lyrically, feels at best misguided and mean-spirited and at worst… Well we know John’s reputation with regard to women. Sheesh.

6/10 Cyndi Lauper is definitely cool. She’s cool in a way that other artists try to achieve by being quirky, or attempting to be outrageous, but for Cyndi, it seems that her coolness is just down to her being completely and unapologetically herself. Yes, she is quite a kooky character, but you never get the impression that it’s an act, and the fact that she still maintains that style and character 40 years on only goes to prove it. On this, her debut record, Cyndi picks up a bunch of covers, bends them to her point of view and then augments them with a bunch of originals to create a respectable and enjoyable collection of songs. I was obviously aware of the big hitters, a fantastic selection of pop hits, of which Girls Just Want To Have Fun and Time After Time are the absolute standouts, but there’s a decent amount of depth here too. While they’re less commonly played (at least in my experience), there are four top-5 singles, as well as a couple of other, slightly less successful releases. That’s pretty damn impressive for what is essentially a 9 track (plus a 40 second 10th) album. Unfortunately, as a record from 1983, this hasn’t all completely stood the test of time. There’s bits and pieces of synth work that has dated poorly and, while the best of the record works that early 80s production palette into high quality, if cheesy, pop fare, there are moments when things fall a little flat. The Prince cover, the synth reggae of Witness and the slightly rambling I’ll Kiss You are all a bit uninspired and on those less buoyant tracks, the of-its-time production does further drag down the work. It’s a bit of a shame really, because there is some really good stuff on here and I really wanted to like it more than I actually did, but a combination of it being a little too bubble-gum for my tastes and a not completely consistent selection of songs means that it was a fun little ride that I’m unlikely to return to. But you keep being you, Cindi. The pop world needs people like you. Money Changes Everything - Holy 80s MTV, Batman! In all seriousness, this is a lovely slice of 80s new-wave pop. Cool synth lines, a solid groove and swaggering bubble-gum pop attitude. I don’t completely love it, but I can definitely see the appeal and it’s a well produced slice of pop with a touch of bite. I’m not 100% convinced by the force of Cyndi’s delivery, but hopefully I’ll settle into it as the record progresses. Girls Just Want To Have Fun - It’s an 80s pop classic. The blend of rhythms across the different instruments creates a cool shuffling groove against the straight beat. There are bundles of hooks all over this, from the main guitar riff to the chorus vocal and the “They just wanna, they just wanna-a-a”, it’s a fantastic blend of songwriting and production, with great vocal layering to keep things fresh towards the end. It’s cheesy as all hell, but isn’t that what you want from 80’s pop music? When You Were Mine - A Prince cover now. It feels a touch on the rigid side from a rhythmical point of view, especially compared to the original, which feels more fluid and groovy. It’s a touch repetitive and instrumentally thin too and, while I actually quite like Cyndi’s vocal delivery, the rest of the track doesn’t match her energy. It’s a hard one to appreciate when the original is so much better. Time After Time - Another classic now. It builds really nicely actually, and I think the arrangement is pretty interesting, ebbing and flowing until we reach the first run through the chorus more than a minute in. The interplay between bass and guitar in the chorus is really nice and adds movement set against the vocal. The main vocal hook in the chorus is excellent and, while the production is über 80s, it works really well for the song. Lovely stuff. She Bop - We get a bit of a darker vibe to this one now, which is a nice change and an interesting start to side two. There’s a bit of a Kate Bush vibe to this, but way more synth heavy. Those synth layers bring a cool, weighty presence to the production and the chorus is very good. There’s something about this that doesn’t completely convince me, though. I do like it, but it kind of feels like it could have been developed further to add a bit more range to the song and push it up a level. All Through The Night - Some more cool 80s synth action now, but melodically, this is a touch flat, particularly through the verses. The chorus isn’t bad, but almost sounds like a pre-chorus that’s going to take us to a hookier pop chorus. The synth solo is terrible though. Kind of sounds like it was a placeholder that they forgot to replace before the end of production. The general tone of the mix here is nice enough, but ultimately, it’s a fairly bland effort. Witness - There’s almost a reggae edge to the rhythms here, with the offbeat guitar work and rolling bass. There’s a decent enough groove to this, but it feels a little bit jumbled musically, like not all of the parts fully gel together, with the lead vocal in particular not particularly sitting that happily with the slightly weak synth-reggae of the instrumentation. Some 80s synth-pop has aged beautifully. This less so. I'll Kiss You - Again, this feels a little bit rambling and unfocused. There are some decent bits in there and the verses have a Talking Heads edge to them, but the chorus doesn’t deliver on the promise. It’s all very one-paced and there’s some fairly sketchy early 80s synth work that hasn’t aged particularly well, although there are some cool synth parts too. This is one that feels like it could have been developed into something decent, but she hasn’t quite found it with this production, and the record does feel like it’s winding down a bit at this point. He's So Unusual - Cyndi does her best Betty Boop. It’s a little bit of silly fun but it’s fairly inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Yeah Yeah - This is a decent enough new-wave pop song. It’s a little one paced, but the groove isn’t bad and the chorus, while being pretty basic, is a decent enough piece of pop-melodic hook writing. The layered vocals are nice, adding a bit of depth and variety to the track. It’s not the greatest track in the world, but it definitely picks things up again for a decent little album closer.

4/10 Coles Corner is an album in which Richard Hawley peruses his record collection for inspiration, plucks out a selection of tunes and then creates a selection of “inspired by” songs that don’t really add anything new to the music he’s been influenced by apart from a sheen of high-quality modern production. There is a reasonable range of influences here, from traditional mid 20th century pop standards, via bluesy, country and a touch of jazz, but each of those influences seems to be largely imparted in single tracks, rather than being blended together into something fresh and unique. It’s a bit of a weird one, because in passing, I didn’t mind this album. It creates a fairly coherent sound palette, is harmonically rich and full, and doesn’t do anything overtly wrong at any point. He’s also got a really nice voice, with a subtle and warm delivery. But it just didn’t excite me in any way at all. There were times where I felt like I was listening to the kind of thing that Michael Bublé would release as an album track, and others where I felt like this was some spruced up “lost track” from a Johnny Cash record, but at no point did anything really jump out and demand my attention, despite me doing my best to give it that focus. The aforementioned production does give this a modern sheen, but even that feels like it goes a touch too far. The whole thing is reverb soaked and dreamy, but in that slightly undefined dreamy way that you can’t remember the details of when you’ve woken up. The longer this record went on, the less it engaged me, really, and by the end of it, it just felt like a bit of a wash of nothingness. Pleasant enough nothingness, but in all honesty, the only thing I can really remember after three listens through is the general vibe, which is not the sign of an album that managed to resonate with me. Coles Corner - The rich timbre of Hawley’s voice is lovely. This is very pretty in a dramatic, almost musical theatre way, particularly the way the main melodic motif is echoed between the vocals and the strings. It’s a warm and tender piece that’s entirely pleasant, without having much of an edge to it, and while I’m enjoying it well enough, it also isn’t doing much to grab hold of me. Just Like The Rain - This feels a bit lighter of foot and delivers a little more musical range than the opener through its different sections, adding a depth of instrumentation as the track progresses. There’s an edge of country-blues to the rhythm here that gives it a bit of impetus and it does have a bit more that appeals to me musically within the composition, but it’s still nice rather than exciting. Hotel Room - This drifts back towards what Coles Corner was doing, but with a hint of country coming from the slide guitar, which is really nice. There’s a slight jazzy edge to this too and it all calls back to traditional pop of the mid 20th century era but given a more modern, full and clear production style. It’s got a very clear brief and it’s absolutely nailing that, but for me, it’s just a touch safe and a little on the bland side, despite being harmonically rich and warm. Darlin' Wait For Me - The lead guitar here is gorgeous and gives this more of a tonal focus than I was able to find in the first few tracks. From a songwriting point of view, the chord structure feels very familiar, like this has been plucked out of the American songbook, so it’s hardly groundbreaking work, but it’s melodically pleasant, very well performed and produced, and his voice is lovely. The Ocean - Another very nice, easy-listening effort now. I know these are all original compositions, but if someone stuck this on in the background, I’d probably just think we were listening to someone like Michael Bublé singing pop standards. It’s really, really well executed, the orchestration is lovely, but it all feels so safe and samey that I’m just not getting a lot out of it. Born Under A Bad Sign - There’s something of the lullaby to this. There are bits and pieces in this that are very good, like some bits of guitar work, but again, it’s quite bland and repetitive, and the chorus just isn’t doing it for me. I Sleep Alone - This leans more towards the country rock of Johnny Cash. It’s got more rhythmic drive and the groove skips along at a decent, toe-tapping clip. The more laid back vocal works quite nicely against that pace in the rhythm section and I’m getting a bit more out of this than the more laid back efforts. It’s still not lighting a fire in me, but it’s a decent enough listen. Tonight - This is sparse and pretty, but quite boring. As with much of the album, it’s absolutely dripping in reverb. It does get better once the bass comes in to give it a bit of weight and swagger. It’s still very musically repetitive, despite the build of the instrumentation as the song progresses. Four and a half minutes of that same guitar arpeggiation is quite a lot. Meh. (Wading Through) The Waters Of My Time - Back to something more Johnny Cash like. It’s bluesy, it’s pleasant enough, but it’s so derivative as to be largely redundant. Stylistically, I’d say the more stripped back instrumentation and the genre beats that it hits mean that it doesn’t really gel that well with the rest of the record either. Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet - We’re definitely leaning into that croony side of things now with an arrangement of a traditional song. As with much of the album, it’s well performed and produced, but it’s quite bland and uninspiring. I’m getting rather bored of this album now. Last Orders - This is very, very slow. It’s pretty enough, but it feels like the album is just slowly grinding to a halt. I’d probably have a lot more time for this if the album hadn’t started to drag by this point. But it has.

8/10 The first thing to say about this record, is that it’s kind of unbelievable that it was released all the way back in 1969. That’s obviously on the cusp of the 70s, but this sounds so reminiscent of the sound that a lot of bands were beginning to explore a few years later and frankly, I wasn’t really expecting that from Chicago. There are chunks of Tower of Power, Frank Zappa, Weather Report and Steely Dan in here, and it’s a far cry from the band that would deliver hits like If You Leave Me Now and Hard To Say I’m Sorry in later years. They do have moments when they start to show flickers of the yacht rock style that they would become more known for, but the bulk of this record is a cool blend of jazz fusion, funk and psychedelic rock. What’s particularly interesting about the songwriting here is that often the band treat the vocals as either just another instrument, letting them sit nestled in the mix with the rest of the instrumentation, or only provide brief moments of vocal work, happily blasting through long instrumental sections with not a care in the world. And they’re a great instrumental band too. There’s clearly a great deal of skill across the band and when they get stuck in the pocket, the grooves just kick and flow in a beautifully organic way, jumping from full, funky rhythms to driven blues rock beats. They also do their best to give each instrumental player their moment to shine, with some outrageous bass lines, guitar work and even a drum solo that I thought was an exceptionally engaging piece of work. A rarity for a drum solo. It’s nice that they share the lead vocal around a bit too, as it gives a depth of flavour to the work, especially with the slightly more sparing use of vocal lines. There’s a huge amount of development in a lot of these songs, so while they are often long, there’s so much going on that they completely justify the runtime. But the overwhelming sensation I had from listening to this record was of how much fun it seemed like they were having. This is the sound of a group of great musicians just having a fantastic time, throwing in fills and riffs to entertain one another, and just playing their hearts out with massive smiles, and it times no doubt horrendous stank face, spread across their chops. Yes, as my dad predicted when this record came up, I did think it was a touch long and a tiny bit self-indulgent in places, and I could probably have done without Free Form Guitar, but other than those minor quibbles, this was an absolute blast, and it’ll definitely be getting a few more spins from me. Introduction - What a great start. I was expecting soft-rock, but this is jazz fusion stuff. There’s a dip into soft-rock here and there, but as part of a wider exploration of ideas, it works really well. There’s a hell of a lot stuffed into this track, and it entirely justifies a six and a half minute runtime. There’s some cool messing around with tempo and meter and some really, really good instrumental work. Things get a touch widdly in places, but then a new riff or motif pops out and they run away with that until they’re ready to give someone else a go at taking the lead. Solid. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is - Again, they move their way through sections with different flow and emphasis really well and there’s a great amount of swagger and fun to the performances. The vocal is a touch loungy, but set against the rest of the track, it works pretty well. The strolling bass line in a lot of this track is engaging and pulls the groove around nicely. It’s a proper finger-clicker of a track. I’m not in love with the spoken word vocal parts, which dominate the mix too much and don’t really add much, and the lead vocal is a little far back in the mix, but it’s another decent track. Beginnings - You can hear hints of the yacht-rock direction they would go in here, but it’s more rhythmically forward than that and there’s some good punch from the horn section, so it falls on the more musically interesting side of that line. There’s some very good drumming on this, which really kicks against the more relaxed feel of much of the rest of the track. I like the fact that they dedicate so much time to instrumental sections, but aren’t afraid to chuck little vocal hooks in as almost part of that instrumental mix, rather than being completely front an centre all of the time. Questions 67 And 68 - There’s a very 70s blaxploitation movie vibe about this intro, and then we drop into something more pop-rock, at least from the vocals, but the horns give it a bit more punch and interest. It’s quite melodically cheesy, but it works pretty well. Something about this kind of struggles to remain completely connected throughout. The instrumental sections are excellent, and there’s a really cool tempo change about half way through, but the vocal sections don’t completely gel with the mood and quality of those instrumental sections. It’s still pretty good though. Listen - There are some nice riffs in this, and it’s got a solid groove to the rhythm section. The vocal has a bit more bite and drive to it on this one, so the sound feels a bit more coherent. There’s some fun guitar work in the solo and then they start to go a bit off-piste with some slightly discordant stuff, before rolling back into the more coherent original structure. It’s all pretty enjoyable though. Poem 58 - Now we’re more on the rock side of the ledger. There’s good drive to this and some cool guitar and drum work throughout, with the bass acting as a nice, groovy anchor. This is quite roaming and self-indulgent, but it’s good fun and manages to keep hold of a head-bobbing groove throughout, despite all of the band giving it six nought. They’re a really tight unit, but with enough freedom to self express that it’s musically endearing and engaging, especially when they flip out of solos and drop back into a groove like it’s been rolling along the whole time. Quality. Free Form Guitar - Now this is a weird one. I’ve been digging some of the guitar work across the record and, while I’m all for a bit of experimentation, this feels quite out of place. It’s kind of like Terry Kath is trying to make the sound of a Harley Davidson revving through a tunnel with only his guitar, for large parts. And then the sound of a weird mechanical computer. This sounds exactly like the music of a man whose last words were "Don't worry about it ... Look, the clip is not even in it. What do you think I'm gonna do? Blow my brains out?" (which is genuinely true). It’s quite cool, but it’s too long and doesn’t fit with the rest of the record at all. Pretty audacious to actually open the second record with this! Haha. South California Purples - This is more of a slow jam, although there’s quite a lot of intensity to it despite that slower pace. The main riff is cool and weighty, and it’s really nicely backed up with the horns here and there too. There’s some fantastic organ playing on this one, and it’s got a cool mix of gritty and clean tones that give the sound an excellent depth. Loads of swagger to all of the playing here, and the guitar solo work is properly good. Later on, there’s a section that calls to mind Iron Man by Black Sabbath, such is the heft of the production. But it’s all still got groove and feel in spades. Another cracker of a track. I'm A Man - The way this shuffling groove builds at the beginning is really cool. It just sounds so fun and organic. This is a cover, but they definitely make it their own, with dirty, gritty guitar work, a rhythm section that punches the tempo and kicks it along, and a solid, engaging vocal that does what it needs to without dominating. There’s a brilliant drum solo in this that’s so musical in nature, while always holding down a consistent and engaging beat. A rare achievement, but this is actually a drum solo that feels completely justified. There’s some great guitar, organ and bass work in here, but this is all about Danny Seraphine holding the sticks. That being said, the rest of this slaps too. Excellent. Prologue, August 29, 1968 - Quite an interesting intro to the next song, using chants from the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests in Chicago. Someday (August 29, 1968) - They roll into this quite slowly, but when it gets going, it’s got a decent groove. It perhaps falls slightly towards the soft-rock edge of the band, and as a result, there’s a bit less virtuosity and instrumental focus for much of the track. It’s pretty good, despite not leaning into that slightly safer direction and the vocal is well delivered. The instrumental highlight here is probably the bass, which roams all over the place in quite a fun way. Not the greatest track on the album, but not bad either. Liberation - Here comes the slightly self-indulgent 15 minute closer. It’s pretty good fun though, and nice to hear the band letting loose for a bit. There’s some great playing on here, some really funky sections and some solid grooves. The band are obviously very skilled and it’s nice to hear them playing freely and having fun in a less focused way. I’m not entirely sold on jam type songs on studio records, but this is pretty enjoyable for what it is and it’s a decent enough way to close out a record.

4/10 Well this is my fifth dip into the back catalogue of Elvis Costello’s work. Up to this point, I’ve found his work to be fairly patchy and inconsistent, but I’d found his debut to be the strongest of his albums to this point and, as this is his second, I’m feeling hopeful. This is also considered by many to be his greatest work, so all good signs.As with much of Costello’s work, there is obvious quality within the record, he can write decent hooks, the band perform well enough and even his voice, which can be somewhat divisive, does perform will given the correct material. Unfortunately, across this record, I found that there was an awful lot of stuff that lacked a rhythmic fluidity, or actually stuck with and properly utilised the stronger moments of melodic songwriting. Costello seems to have a tendency to come up with a decent hook, play it a couple of times and then just wander off away from it in a kind of distracted, unfocused way that, to my ears, just derails the track and results in uneven and inconsistent song structure. On the flip side of that, there are also times when things become incredibly repetitive. I think he’s often trying to make a point with these choices, but ultimately, I found these moments to be more irritating than effective. It was kind of remarkable actually, how I quite often found myself either bored, or fed up of tracks that only twice broke the three and a half minute mark. Another thing worth noting is how misogynistic and incel coded a lot of the lyrical content is on this record. It appears that he is very dismissive of women and that any issues he has with them, in relationships or otherwise, are purely their issues and not his. Costello has responded to these accusations by saying that his lyrics stemmed from “disappointment rather than disgust”, but that seems like a fairly ‘I’m sorry you feel that way’ response, rather than one willing to perhaps examine one’s own behaviour. Perhaps unsurprising for a guy who once called Ray Charles a “blind, ignorant n**ger”, and later blamed that statement on being drunk and trying to get out of a conversation he didn’t want to be in. Classy. So as we return to the nature of this record, there are actually moments of real quality in there, but all too often they are wrapped in slightly unfocused and messy compositions. As a result, I never felt able to mentally pin this album down, and, despite giving this three full spins, nothing really stuck with me, and I fail to see the genius that others do in the work. Sorry, Elvis, I don’t get it. You seem like an awful bloke, you sing with an overly forceful inflection in a American accent, despite being born and raised in London, and you write rambling songs that lack focus and don’t bother to utilise their hooks. Not for me, old chap. No Action - This has a solid chorus, but I’m not completely convinced by the flow of it. It feels a bit stilted in places and slightly rhythmically awkward. It’s almost not aggressive enough to be punk, but not melodic or hooky enough to be pop, so it kind of falls down the gap in the middle of the two. This Year's Girl - On to something a bit better now. Again, the intro rhythm is a bit lacking in fluidity, but it sorts itself into a nice groove by the time the song starts up. The bass line is decent and it shifts through sections nicely with a laid back swagger. It feels a well written song, but it’s still a bit in between two worlds in terms of production and I don’t feel utterly convinced by it at this point. The Beat - This is immediately better. The groove is great and it feels like everything is pulling in the same direction now. It’s got a cool, new-wave pop feel to it with a nice bit of rhythmical range between the verses and chorus. As with the last track, the bass line really pulls this along well. The organ work is a lot of fun too, actually. Elvis’ vocal cadence and timing is good here and he seems a little more natural with his delivery, which helps the song to gel. Pretty good stuff. Pump It Up - Again with the very staccato rhythms. The groove is decent here, to be fair, but it’s not got a lot of rhythmical range across the album. Great bass playing, again, but the songwriting is quite repetitive and fairly uninspiring. I mean, it’s not really bad, and it’s almost got decent hooks, but it’s just not clicking with me really. Little Triggers - There’s some decent melodic moments in this, and the swung groove is a nice change in pace, although he does try and inject too much of that staccato punch into various sections, which breaks the flow up in a weird way. There’s some really nice piano playing in here, but it’s another that is promising, but doesn’t completely connect. The overly loud “oooh” vocals at the end are awful too. You Belong To Me - New wave fairground music? Something like that anyway. This is actually better to begin with, with a touch more range to the composition in places, although the organ parts are very repetitive and shrill. Bruce Thomas definitely has all the best parts on the bass. And somehow, these songs actually manage to drag by the time they’re done, despite being two and a half minutes long. Hand In Hand - So much build up in this track, for quite a small about of payoff. The chorus is melodically pleasant, but a touch meandering and the whole track just feels a bit muddled, rambling and, in places, ridiculously repetitive. I don’t get it. (I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea - Again, this is so rambling, it’s like he can’t quite work out what the focus of the song is going to be. It starts off pretty well, and there is some decent stuff in here, then he just starts wandering all over the place in a musically unsatisfying way that just completely derails the momentum of the track. I’m finding this to be quite a confusing listen. Lip Service - This is a pretty good one, actually. It feels more focused, has tighter composition, a hooky chorus, and a nice fluid, flowing groove throughout. Top bass playing again. I’d say this is exactly what I was expecting from this album, but haven’t found much of up to this point. Well written pop rock music with hints of punk and new wave, and solid hooks. More like this please. Living In Paradise - Here comes Bruce Thomas again on the bass. It’s very stop-start, as with a lot of the early tracks. Isn’t Elvis Costello the most unbearable part of Elvis Costello and The Attractions? He sounds like an obnoxious incel who’s unjustifiably full of himself. This feels musically muddled in places where it’s lacking in flow and feels slightly confused. There really are moments when things sound good, but he doesn’t seem satisfied to just go with something that works and tries too hard to drag it out into something tortured. Lipstick Vogue - Cool drumming to get us going here, and this has got solid pace. The sound is a bit strange though, in that it feels punky in pace and intensity, but also sounds too clean and doesn’t have enough aggression to really work on that level. There’s at least some decent dynamic range in here, but it all feels very hurried and not vastly interesting. Night Rally - Melodically and lyrically rambling? Incredibly repetitive in places? Completely forgettable? Congratulations, you’ve just listened to another song from Elvis Costello’s most well regarded and critically lauded album. Meh.

7/10 Growing up in Britain in the 90s, it was hard to miss Supergrass. Yes, they weren’t the big hitters like Oasis and Blur, but they happily sat in the melee of bands just below that level of success and did pretty well for themselves, with some pretty big hits and a a dedicated following. Not being much of a brit-pop guy, I never delved any deeper than the, admittedly very good, radio hits, so imagine my surprise when listening to this album for the first time. It’s not really a brit-pop record at all, rather being a really solid blend of punk, new-wave and alt rock, with a good ear for melodic hook writing thrown into the mix. Gaz Coombes is also remarkably young here, at only 18 years of age when the record was released. What most surprised me about this record is how much punch and drive it had, particularly from the rhythm section, which largely kept the record storming along at a clip. Things often felt like they were well controlled, but only just, as the frantic energy of the performances gave a real zest to the songs. I think the fact that they were so young probably does show a little bit in the slight inconsistency of the tracklist, as they do bounce around between moments of cleaner, radio-friendly brit-pop stuff and stuff that owes far more of it’s sound to the grubby punk aesthetic. What does hold this together stylistically is the quality of the melodies, across both the vocal writing and some of the excellent guitar riff construction that takes the lead here and there. It has enough pop-music edge top make it an easy listen, while having enough edge and bite to make it interesting. They also don’t seem to be taking themselves seriously at all, but never to the detriment of their songwriting. That can be a fine balance to strike, but I feel like they managed to do that effectively, with the little sillier moments well balanced against the more serious work. For me, things did start to drift a little towards the end, and when they settled a little bit more into more standard brit-pop sound, I did find it a bit more bland, but I was pleasantly surprised by this, and I’m sure it’ll earn itself a few more spins in the future. I'd Like To Know - Like a blend of punk and new wave, the band come roaring out of the traps. It’s fun, heavy and has simple yet effective melodic hooks. The driving weight of the band against the discordant keyboard line gives this a slightly weird edge, but it works really well in the context of the track. It’s frantic, but feels just about in control and it doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is a great start. Caught By The Fuzz - This has a slightly darker, more oppressive vibe, but with a little knowing wink that doesn’t drag it down. The bass playing is great and the crunchy, distorted wash of the band set against the flurry of the drum performance makes it really engaging. Again, the melodies are straightforward, but engaging, giving another punky yet poppy piece of work. Mansize Rooster - This is the most brit-pop track of the album thus far, but it’s still got a punky edge, with the brit-pop edge coming from the staccato rhythm guitar and more sweeping lead lines. Again the bass playing is excellent and reminds me a touch of Mike Dirnt’s work for Green Day. There are some cool rhythmic chops in this and they still hold it all together with great melodic vocal lines and a bit of youthful swagger in the delivery. More great stuff. Alright - Here’s the big hit. We’re definitely in brit-pop land now, particularly with the rhythmic flow of the vocal against the piano.It shifts brilliantly through its modulations and they absolutely nail the melodic writing here. It’s super infectious and while it’s not as grubby as the earlier tracks, it’s still got swagger and an edge of bite to the vocal delivery. Tonally, it’s probably the least interesting of the tracks so far, but they get the hooks so right and smash it through in three minutes, so who cares? Lose It - And we’re back to that punkier style now. It’s dirty and has good drive, but there’s enough of a pleasing legato melodic hook from the vocal to give it a bit of subtlety to go with it’s more feisty core. Lenny - Wahey, this has great riffs, particularly the main riff that runs twice round, second time with a really cool harmonisation. They sound like they’re having a lot of fun with this, particularly on the guitars, and this falls nicely in between a grunge and a pop-punk sound, but with that little British twist that separates it from the core sound of those genres. Short but sweet. Strange Ones - There are some excellent changes of pace and intensity in this track, while it maintains momentum really well. It’s got a tongue-in-cheek boisterousness to it that I like, but it does perhaps wander a touch in places, feeling a little less focused than other tracks. The melodies are decent, but it’s not quite as hooky as the best work and it does get a touch repetitive here and there. Still not bad, mind. Sitting Up Straight - More pop-punky goodness now. It’s more frantic stuff, with attitude at the forefront, but cool pop-melodic vocal work through the choruses. It’s brash and fun and doesn’t outstay its welcome. She's So Loose - I think the harmonic blend here is very good, giving it quite a different feel to most of the rest of the album, while the production helps to keep the vibe consistent. It feels a bit more patient and less directly intent on hook writing, but still has a bit of something about it that makes it musically engaging. On first wash, I don’t love this, but it does feel like the kind of song that would be a grower over time. We're Not Supposed To - They really don’t take themselves that seriously, do they? It’s quite charming. This is a fun little pop-rock number, but with an extra silly edge due to the studio fuckery that they throw over it with the almost-chipmunk vocals. And again, it might be distracting, except that it’s two minutes long and doesn’t hang around long enough to lose its charm. Time - Again, we’re drifting a little more brit-pop here, but it’s got a nice swing and swagger to it. I’m not so keen on the more drawling vocal style that Gaz Coombes uses here and it’s a little bit samey throughout, not having as much range to the feel and vibe as the better tracks on the record. It’s just a littl bit bland, really. Sofa (Of My Lethargy) - While this is another fairly restrained effort, it feels like it’s got a bit more range and development of the musical themes and has a stronger and more interesting vibe than the last track. There’s decent drive to the rhythm section, but an airy, laid-back swagger to the guitar and organ work. They do find space for a bit more intensity in places, which juxtaposes nicely against those calmer moments. It perhaps loses its way a touch towards the end, but not in an unpleasant way, more in a winding down way. Time To Go - And we close out with the very definition of a closing track. It’s pleasant enough, and it’s melodically decent, but it’s not vastly interesting.

6/10 I’ve heard of Wilco plenty of times over the years, but never really bothered to delve into their work. The “alternative country” type tags typically conjure up the image of a bunch of indie hipsters with banjos and slide guitars that doesn’t really appeal to my sensibilities. Imagine my surprise when this album turned out to be far more than just a hipsterish appropriation of country music. There’s some real range to this, with tracks touching on country, blues, pop-rock, grunge and more. Jeff Tweedy is a pretty skilled songwriter and is able to take many ideas from that melting pot of influences to create a roving, evolving track list that manages to evoke a broad range of emotions, all the while feeling pretty tonally consistent. There’s a pretty good vibe that underpins the record as a whole, and it feels incredibly honest and open in its composition and delivery in a way I wasn’t really expecting. There’s nothing overly performative here, just a band that are trying to tell their stories in an engaging and heartfelt way. The performances from the band were great across the board. They’re a tight outfit and there are plenty of opportunities for each member to shine, from some excellent guitar work on tracks like Far, Far Away and Kingpin to the piano work on (Was I ) In Your Dreams. They’re also capable of building great, to-tapping grooves, with Kingpin being a particular standout again. The biggest letdown about this album is its length. There are a few too many songs that sort of bumble along in a slightly middling way, rarely ever actually coming across badly, but also hardly leaping out of the speakers. If there had been a little more brutality in the editing room, it feels like so me of those songs would have shined a little more, but the occasional 2-3 track runs of slightly weaker efforts did inject an unwanted sense of ennui here and there across the record. Which is a shame, really, because there’s an awful lot to like about this album, and a 40-50 minute cut would probably have grabbed hold of me with much more force than the slightly bloated release that we got. Safe to say I won’t be dipping in to the 5 disc deluxe version any time soon. But I may well pop back and give this one another go here and there. Misunderstood - I quite like the depth and weight of the building noise and feedback over the rumbling beat that opens this before it drops out into something clean and pretty. There’s a nice bit of grit that floats around in the production but doesn’t dominate, adding depth. It’s a simple piece of songwriting, but I really like it. It feels like it has an emotional honesty to it that appeals and the way it builds back into a darker, weightier production in places gives it good range. I’m less keen on the clashing, hectic bit towards the end, mind. Far, Far Away - There are some really nice chord changes in this, as well as some interesting changes of rhythmic flow. It’s quite twee, but the production has a modern twist to it that I think helps it along. It’s calm and relaxed, but has an engaging swagger to it too. There’s some lovely guitar playing in there, and I think Jeff Tweedy’s vocal delivery is really nice. Monday - Rebel, Rebel! Ok, apart from sounding quite a bit like the Bowie classic, this is pretty good. Nice riffs, a bit of grit and range, and some fun use of horns. I mean, it’s not anything particularly groundbreaking, but it’s well written, well executed stuff that’s got me bobbing along enjoying myself. Good pop-edged rock. Outtasite (Outta Mind) - There’s something of a Weezer edge to this and it runs on nicely from the last track. The groove of the guitar riffs against the drum beat work nicely and it’s got a nice, full production. Again, it’s just very well executed pop-rock that, while not spectacular, is pretty damn good, keeps you engaged and then doesn’t outstay its welcome. Forget The Flowers - Back to something more pure country now, but it’s not too clichéd and performatively “yee-haw”, particularly from the vocal, which helps it along. The clean modern production makes it sound quite fresh and, while it doesn’t completely connect with me melodically, I think the vibe is solid enough to keep me engaged. Red-Eyed And Blue - Now for something more stripped back. It’s well written, and changes tone nicely at about half way through. Again, it feels open and honest in both compositional and vocal terms. It’s not overly complex, but it’s very well balanced and the vibe and atmosphere are good. I Got You (At The End Of The Century) - There’s decent range to this album. This is a heavier pop-rock track now, but it’s got excellent vocal hooks through the chorus and some great guitar riffs that punch with the drums really nicely. This is the most 90s rock sounding track on the record and almost leans towards having a touch of the poppier end of grunge to it too. Pretty decent stuff. What's The World Got In Store - This kind of roams along in a way that’s not completely focused, but still has a bit of charm to it. It does border on being a touch twee and cheesy, but just about sticks the right side of that line. It’s another that is decent enough, but isn’t completely catching fire for me. But still not bad. Hotel Arizona - There are some nice rhythmic moments in this, as well as some interesting pieces of production through the transitions, but it’s a bit of a forgettable track that doesn’t completely connect with me, despite having a decent enough vibe. As an album track, I think it’s ok, but one would question it’s value on an album that clocks in at over an hour and a quarter. Say You Miss Me - This is quite a pleasant soft-rock number that’s got a nice blend of rhythms across the instrumentation that gives it a decent momentum. It’s perhaps a little on the beige side though and, honestly, I prefer the stuff that seems a bit more uniquely Wilco than this, which sounds like it could have come from any number of 90s bands really. Sunken Treasure - The vibe of this is so warm and cozy to begin with. It has a slight spikiness around the edges, but that works really well for it. It’s got a strong pulse, but the harmonic wash that weaves around that rhythmic core is where the magic lies here. The melodic work is simple, but effective and there’s something about the delivery that evokes more of that sensation of honesty. The noisy, discordant production in the middle adds more weight to this too, before washing back out into the stripped back sound to finish. Pretty nice. Someday Soon - Another more straight country effort now. The backing vocals are very nice and it’s definitely enhanced by the modern production choices, giving it good atmosphere and a full sound. It’s melodically straightforward and pleasant. Just a nice, if unspectacular track. Outta Mind (Outta Sight) - This is a little bit too plodding rhythmically for me. The slight swagger to the vocal delivery is pretty nice, but ultimately, this is a bit on the bland, repetitive side. Nice to have a call back to a previous track, but the album is quite bloated. Someone Else's Song - Something stripped back now and it’s got an evocative, wistful sadness to it. The guitar playing is pretty and the vocal is very nicely delivered. Good stuff. Kingpin - The groove to this is delicious, as is the weight of the production. The guitar playing is excellent and the swing and swagger of it all is so engaging. Solid riffs all round, an understated but effective vocal performance and buckets of vibe. Quality. (Was I) In Your Dreams - This reminds me of Randy Newman in the way it’s slightly rambling and loose compositionally, but has a strong core around which the rambling happens so it works really well. It’s got a lazy swagger to it that works really well with that roaming style and there’s some really nice work from both the guitar and piano. Another good one. Why Would You Wanna Live - This feels like it’s trying to do something similar to the last one, but then dive off into some country. It feels a little to staccato in the rhythm in places, which pulls the lazy swagger away from it. There are some really nice bits in here, including the piano work, the simple yet effective bass and the vocal delivery, but it doesn’t quite connect for me. The Lonely 1 - Another pretty, stripped back song now. It’s got more of that honesty and openness to it, with the imperfect vocal helping to ground it and juxtaposing nicely against the very clean, precise and sparse backing. It’s not complex or spectacular, but it nails the vibe and is melodically and tonally satisfying. Very nice. Dreamer In My Dreams - Why not close with a rockabilly country track? It’s not bad, and sounds like the band are having good fun with their performances, but it’s a fairly standard country rocker that doesn’t particularly add anything new or unique to the mix. It’s well executed though, so one can’t complain too much. This kind of thing is no doubt brilliant in a live context, but maybe a bit less effective on record. I don’t dislike it, but I’d also say it doesn’t completely fit with the rest of the album and feels a bit superfluous on an over long record.

5/10 The Verve really exploded in the UK with their third record, Urban Hymns, on which Richard Ashcroft, rather than The Verve as a band, became the principal songwriter. This previous album is much more of a band effort and, from what I understand, is more of a stepping stone between the psychedelic shoegaze sound of their debut and the committed britpop indie of that subsequent record. That halfway-house status is something that is pretty apparent across this slightly sprawling, loosely focused track selection, in which we take in moments of almost art-rock soundscape in tracks like Brainstorm Interlude and Stormy Clouds, while also indulging the more Ashcroft coded tracks like On Your Own and History. These Ashcroft tracks are probably where the album falters for me, as they’re ultimately fairly run of the mill singer-songwriter fare that don’t manage to be particularly eventful or hooky, so just kind of float by, especially in a mix of more sonically interesting washes of noise and effects present on the more invigorating cuts. I can’t pretend to be the biggest fan of Ashcroft’s drawling, slurring vocal delivery that’s a bit of a Liam Gallagher wannabe, but when he dials down that drawl a little and becomes more part of the band, things work a lot better to my ear. At it’s most interesting, this album is weighty, noisy, evolving and sonically large, with shimmering noise and guitars, a pulsing beat and a pinned down bass, while the vocal floats along, drifting in and out of focus as part of a musical whole. There are also moments of more stripped back, subtle evolutions of that fuller style that stretch the vibe into newer directions. Across those more psychedelic and experimental tracks, this has an intriguing, if imperfect musical approach that I did warm to. The biggest problem here is consistency, and it doesn’t feel like all of the band is really pulling in the same direction, resulting in a slightly uneven feel in which neither side of that creative coin is completely satisfied. It’s a bit of a shame, because there is some solid stuff in there, but it’s certainly made me consider taking a listen to their earlier album, even if the direction they would take next was more of a mainstream one, with it’s own approach and charm. A New Decade - This is weightier than I was expecting, and has a bit of a psychedelic edge to it too. I’m not in love with Richard Ashcroft’s drawl of a delivery to be honest, but there’s a patience and bubbling tension from the band that offsets it and makes it a more palatable blend. There is a touch of Radiohead to this in a way that I wasn’t expecting, as well as a slightly more noise/art rock edge that worked really well. Not a bad opener. This Is Music - Again, there’s good weight and atmosphere to this. It’s noisy and has a mid-pace drive that grooves along and gives it solid momentum. The sound design of the soaring guitars emerging from the noise is really effective and I’m settling more into Ashcroft’s vocal when it’s part of a more hectic whole. The whole vibe and tone of this is really good and is more sonically interesting than I think The Verve are often credited with. On Your Own - Now this is more like what I was expecting. Fairly plodding, middle of the road britpop indie. Some of the singing on this is utterly atrocious. This screams “Richard Ashcroft” to me, so there’s no surprise that this was one that he had a large hand in. It’s bland and unexciting. Meh. So It Goes - This is better than the last one, thanks to the more sparse production and some lovely guitar work, underpinned by a solid bass part. It’s got a dreamy feel with a touch of grit that works well. The vocal is probably the weakest part of the track for me. I just don’t really rate the slightly unfocused, roaming nature of the melody and the almost slurred singing style doesn’t do it for me for this kind of material. Bit of a mixed bag. A Northern Soul - Aaah, this is better. It’s back to having weight and leans into noisy psychedelia. Ashcroft’s vocal works way better in a mix of stuff like this. It’s sonically rich and interesting and has a cool groove to the rhythm parts. The push and pull pulse they use is solid and there’s a lot of fun bits of guitar work that give it an almost alien quality. It’s really atmospheric too. Nice. Brainstorm Interlude - The psychedelic soundscape work continues now, but with a more driven beat and even more experimental use of effects. This is good stuff, with a shifting, shimmering wall of sound that weaves and rolls over that persistent and engaging drum groove, punctuated with regular changes in ornamentation and some fun drum fills. It’s noisy as all hell, but it’s all the better for it. Drive You Home - They drop back out into a more traditional song structure now, but it maintains a quality of atmosphere and production that leans back towards shoegaze. There’s some lovely guitar work in this and the shimmering soundscape recalls a sparser echo of the last couple of tracks. It’s relaxed and restrained, and the vocal and lead guitar work share centre stage in a balanced and enjoyable way. History - This track is another example given for the band leaning more towards Richard Ashcroft as principal songwriter. It’s ok, but it lacks the interesting, experimental edge of the better work on the album. Frankly, it’s a fairly middle of the road britpop singer-songwriter effort that’s not part interesting and is quite repetitive. Meh. No Knock On My Door - Similarly to the last track, this is a fairly bland song with a very simple, repetitive structure and no real hooks to speak of. There’s a bit more to the production, and the weight and depth of the instrumentation is a bit better, but ultimately it’s quite bland. Life's An Ocean - This has a decent, if subtle, groove to it. The band and production have a bit more to do again, and there’s a little touch of psychedelia to it that’s quite nice. There’s some quality moments of soundscaping guitar work in the mix here, but it could probably have done with a bit more development and variation to really make it shine, because it’s a bit compositionally thin. Stormy Clouds - We’re back to a song in which the vocals and guitar share prominence now. It’s thick, warm, almost ambient soundscaping in places. Things are slow, but considered, and the evolving tonal palette is enjoyable. A nice, almost shoegaze effort, with enough of a song structure base to keep it centred. (Reprise) - This kind of feels like the last gasp of the old Verve, before they fully committed to Richard Ashcroft as their de facto leader and britpop as their genre of choice on the next album. It’s more shoegazy, experimental instrumental stuff. It’s not bad, and the shimmering, evolving guitar work is very nice, but it doesn’t kind of feel a little uncentred and loosely formed, which is perhaps unsurprising on a track they didn’t even bother giving a proper name to. That being said, I’d take this introspective sound wash noise art stuff over a boring singer songwriter effort any day.

7/10 So this is how Nick Cave started his career? I can definitely understand some of his more obtuse and challenging sides now that I’ve experienced his early work. That’s not to lay full responsibility for this record at his feet, because it seems this is very much a team effort, but it certainly hints at his musical beginnings. In some ways, it reminds me of Björk’s career, starting off with Tappi Tíkarrass, blending punk, jazz and funk elements together, before going through other bands and emerging as a solo artist. But back to this album. It’s certainly a challenging listen, but for those willing to take on the challenge, I think there’s a lot of value here. It’s harsh and abrasive, aggressive and discordant, but it’s so evocative and oppressive that it’s incredibly impressive in its execution. Tonally, it’s like if Joy Division, Primus and The Pixies had a deformed hatechild created in a lab from an amalgam of their three sets of DNA, and then left it to grow up in an abandoned asylum. They are capable of putting together solid grooves that pulse away underneath the insanity, with the more clashing, noisy elements drifting in and out in a cloud of murk that only lets up now and again to give you a glimpse of the sun, before swamping you again with their despair. It’s a heady brew, to be sure, and buy the time I was on my third spin through, the weight of it started to really press down on me, but that was really my own fault for committing to listening to an album this oppressive three times in a day, so I can’t mark it down for that. I think there is enough moments of calm that emerge over the course of the record to ensure that it’s not too relentless, and the quality of the gritty sound design is really high. It’s not hi-fi to any extent, but it’s a perfect layer of grit and depth that embraces the roaming insanity of the record’s content, creating a hard, in your face flurry of sound. It’s not a perfect record, but something that challenges like this doesn’t need to be. It’s boundary pushing, scrabbling around the edges of musicality, but it does that so well that it sucks you in and spits you out, having felt… something. And that alone makes it a worthwhile experience. She's Hit - Discordant, weird and sparse, this has echoes of Joy Division, while throwing in the distinctive weirdness of Nick Cave’s vocal. It’s a patient, restrained composition that goes all-in on its weirdness, with clashing moments among the more drifting, roaming soundscape of the main instrumentation. It does have a centre to it that keeps the arrangement pinned together, primarily from the descending bass line. Sure, it’s weird and is not exactly an easy listen, but it’s deliberately mad, and by that metric, it succeeds incredibly well. Dead Joe - The slight push and pull of the timing of the beat here makes it slightly rhythmically uncomfortable, but it’s consistently done, so feels very deliberate. It’s brash, dark and twisted in tone, and has a persistent, chugging pace to it that underpins that madness with drive and intensity. They are definitely managing to evoke a feeling of barely controlled insanity, and Caves’s vocal delivery just works beautifully with it. The pace increase at the end into a cloud of noise is excellent. The Dim Locator - There’s a cool, dirty groove to this and it shifts pace nicely. The sound is very reverberant and distant, which is a cool effect, but is perhaps a touch overdone. Vibe wise, I think this is cool, but it’s a little too aggressive on the top end, making it a bit more difficult to pick things out. The attitude and insanity of it is great though. Hamlet (Pow, Pow, Pow) - This is intense again, in an aggressive and noisy way. The bass holds things down well, and the rest of it continues to be like a nightmarish take on Joy Division, like if they’d spent a decade in an asylum and spent their time making music at the bottom of an abandoned stairwell. It’s a lot, and this is quite a long track, so it’s a bit of a tough listen, but I appreciate the intensity and insanity of it. Several Sins - We get something a bit more subtle and groovy now. It’s almost got an edge of surf-rock to it, but doesn’t lose the manic edge. You can definitely hear foreshadowing of some of the type of tones that Nick Cave would approach in later work. It’s threatening, dark and noisy in places, but the underlying groove and brooding, menacing intensity is great. Big-Jesus-Trash-Can - Again, we get a bit more of a swung groove to this one. That riff is really cool and restrained, with a lot of the other instrumentation crowding around it and clashing against it to add that air of insanity and chaos. They do a good job of taking a fairly straightforward and standard musical idea like that riff and just pulling it to pieces and piling on top of it to create a violent and endlessly interesting sonic collage. Kiss Me Black - There are some great beats in here and in places it just crumbles to pieces before picking back up with an engaging and oppressive intensity. It’s just about got a thread running through it, but it’s tenuous in a deliberately strung-out way. Yes, it pulls at the edge of musicality, but that’s kind of the point, I think. 6" Gold Blade - There’s more brooding menace to this that bubbles over with Cave’s vocal in places. It’s got more of that surf-rock guitar ion places, but it’s deeper in the melange here. It’s quite uncomfortable listening at times, but remains quite moreish despite that. There’s something about this album that’s dragging me into it’s world and I’m digging the mental weight that it heaps over the listener. Kewpie Doll - There are some more good, intense beats in here and that cloud of noisy guitars swamps things through the reverberant mix. I bet these guys were mental live. That being said, the oppressive nature of this record does make for a hard listen and by the third time around in a single day, this is becoming a bit much. I appreciate the punch of it, and some of the bass work here is great, but it’s all quite relentless. Junkyard - Finally, we get a nice slow groove that alternates between unsettling and violent in the vocal. There’s cool rhythm from both the bass and guitars here, making for a shifting, shimmering pulse that pulls things along well. This is a bit more patient, but still broods and drives in equal measure.

6/10 This is one of those albums that sits fairly high on the list of biggest selling albums of all time, having shifted 20 million records since its release, but that I’ve never really felt the inclination to listen to before. I’ve obviously heard tracks many times, as many of these are staples of rock radio, but it’s always interesting to wade into an album like this. The first thing to mention is how great this record sounds, given that (against record company wishes) it was more or less completely recorded at home, which in 1976 was quite the achievement. Tom Scholz manages to create a weighty and expansive stadium rock sound throughout the production that gives a strong base on which the songs can sit. And those songs are decent too. There’s a decent pop-melodic twist to things, as well as some solid riffs that drive things along well. The quality of the playing is excellent and there are some tasty guitar and organ solos sprinkled around to liven things up and add some adventure to proceedings. To my ear, the strongest parts of this record are when they start to go a little more off piste, throwing in a slightly more proggy or experimental edge, as aside from those moments, things often felt a little too safe for my tastes. And boy, oh boy, is this cheesy. It’s a cheese sandwich in which the bread is cheese and the filling is also cheese, with soft cheese instead of butter. But it leans into that in a way that it’s hard not to get on board with. Filled with fromage it may be, but the band are having so much fun that it’s easy to just settle in and go along for the ride. But with all that being said, and while I did superficially enjoy my time with this record, it did all feel just a touch surface level, and didn’t really have enough depth or musical invention to really stick with me. Sure, there are some hooks that have stuck in my mind, but while I can appreciate it for what it is, and enjoy it enough while it’s on, I don’t think this is a record that I’d ever have the inclination to just stick on during regular listening time, so I cant’t quite justify giving it the 7 I was tempted by on first pass. More Than A Feeling - There are obviously some classic radio rock riffs on this. It’s got some decent hooks and an overall decent vibe, but it is quite tonally middle of the road and lacks a bit of bite that would elevate it to something a bit more exciting. It’s well written, has some engaging grooves, and it’s executed brilliantly. I do like it, particularly the wailing guitar solo work, but it’s just doesn’t do quite enough to really grab hold of me and stick with me beyond surface level enjoyment. Peace Of Mind - This has a decent weight and depth to it and again, there are some decent enough riffs in here. There’s just something about it that doesn’t quite connect with me, though. It’s like the edges have been sanded off a heavy rock band and just enough pop music sensibility thrown in to the melodic elements of the songwriting, but not enough to make it truly catchy and poppy. Again, I don’t dislike it, but despite having actually quite a lot of compositional interest within, it feels a bit shallow. Foreplay/Long Time - The intro here is a bit more like it. There’s a bit more of an attempt to take things in a wackier, more avant garde musical direction. It’s proggy, got great effects use and production, and leans into the slightly silly side of flamboyant stadium rock. When we drop into the actual track, things just feel like they’ve hooked up in a more satisfying way. There’s more range and, while it’s still cheesy as all hell, handclaps and all, it feels like it’s leaning into that in a more knowing way. The call and response between the harmonised and lead vocals is cool. And there are some excellent riffs and solo work in here too. It’s a bit long, but it’s a lot of fun. Rock & Roll Band - And now they dig in to a heavy rock and roll effort. It’s great fun, not too serious and full of everything that makes stadium rock tick. The sound is massive, the riffs are heavy, and the guitar solos wail. I mean, it’s quite throwaway in some regards, and isn’t exactly high art, but it’s just really well executed, fun time rock music and there’s nothing wrong with that. Smokin' - The organ solo in this is fantastic. As with the last track, this is just great fun. It’s got a great groove to it and actually has a little bit more range in terms of dynamic and musical development. We get further experimentation into instrumental work, and there’s some solid effects and production work at play too. But underpinning all that is a great, swinging feeling that pulls everything along at a clip and doesn’t let up. Hitch A Ride - This is… less interesting. It’s not terrible, but it’s just quite bland soft-rock stuff, at least for the first minute or so. Sib Hashian tries to give things a bit of drive with his drum work that feels way more intense than the rest of the track, but it’s quite an odd blend. The more psychedelic sections here are much better, as is the solo. What we end up with is a bit of a mixed bag of fun, stadium rock and fairly bland almost-ballad that doesn’t quite go together. Drop the ballady bit and I’d be in. Something About You - Back into something stronger now. It’s got some cool riffs that don’t necessarily stick to an expected sequence length, which is cool. It’s still cheesy stadium stuff, but it’s great at what it’s trying to be. It’s cheesy stuff, but it’s pretty good fun again. It’s kind of a weird sensation, because I quite like it in some respects, but I’m not sure I’d ever actually choose to listen to it. Let Me Take You Home Tonight - Another cheesy number, but the swagger and swing of this one is really good. It manages to weave the ballad style into the stadium rock sound much more effectively than Hitch A Ride. The guitar playing here is excellent and has a solid sense of fun to it. This one really rides on its groove, and the attitude of the vocal sells it really well. The tempo switch up towards the end is great fun and the intensity ramps up really well. A solid end to the record.

4/10 Cards on the table, I don’t like U2. I think The Edge is a mediocre guitarist at best, with one trick, which is to slap on as much delay and reverb onto his sound as possible. Bono is also a performative, smug man with a far higher opinion of his own limited talent than he has any right to have. His vocal delivery largely makes me think of a robot who’s never experienced emotions trying to mimic the emotive strains of a very good singer, but failing to succeed in connecting that performance to what he’s actually singing. It’s weird. Now U2 are not a terrible band. There’s some reasonable stuff on here. But I have literally no idea how they’ve become as massive as they have. The strongest part of this record is, hands down, the rhythm section. Larry Mullen Jr lays down some really excellent grooves across the record, with a reasonably broad range of patterns and emphases. And Adam Clayton really isn’t that far behind, when he gets away with doing more than playing the root note of The Edge’s delay cloud. Between them, there are some excellent moments, from Zoo Station to Until The End Of The World and Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World, the work is solid. But unfortunately, it feels like the two are then unable to deliver much in the way of development or invention beyond that point. It’s kind of like they come up with grooves, Bono and The Edge click their fingers and say “we’ve got it from here, lads” and they then get stuck playing that same groove for 5 minutes every time while their two more famous colleagues widdle away in their effects laden, faux-emotive style until the producer decides that it’s probably long enough and asks them to stop. So often, I found that much of the momentum built by that rhythm section just drifted into inertia over the course of the track. The shapeless clouds of guitar effectery and the vocals that prioritise faux emotion over melody just put a drain on things and, while there are moments when things come together really nicely, it’s all very much within a very limited musical range, with tracks that are overlong and underdeveloped. With this on in the background, I did tap my foot along to some of the rhythms and even hum along to the occasional melody, but as soon as I started to focus more closely to what was going on, the mirage shattered and I began to find it dull, samey and uninspiring. And maybe that’s it. Maybe some people like music that, on the surface sounds like a good band, doing something moderately interesting, but on closer inspection does nothing to challenge or enthral. It just exists. Zoo Station - The groove to this isn’t bad, and I quite like the driven bass against the beat. Bono’s effect shrouded vocal is quite good too. But then it just… doesn’t go anywhere. The chorus breaks a tiny bit out of the more interesting tone that they’ve built during the verse by throwing a more typical U2 sound with the Edge and his permanently engaged delay pedal, but underneath that, the groove just goes on and on. If they’d have developed this a bit further, it would have been much better, and there’s promise in this, but it’s just a bit uninteresting after a while. Even Better Than The Real Thing - As with the opener, the groove isn’t bad, but it gets fairly repetitive after a while. Melodically, this is incredibly bland, though. The use of effects and production to create big washes of sound, set against that persistent groove and Bono’s nothing vocals just doesn’t really gel together and feels tonally quite muddled to my ears. It sounds like someone trying to be cool, rather than naturally being cool. One - The swung groove they use here is pretty cool and Bono’s finally stumbled on some decent melodic hooks. There’s something about it that doesn’t quite connect for me, though. Bono’s vocal feels quite insincere, with performative rather than natural vocal fry. I’m not entirely sure the sound palette gels with the songwriting either, feeling quite dramatic and self important, particularly the use of strings. It’s quite boring too. On the surface, it’s not bad, but on deeper listening, it’s a bit of a shell. Until The End Of The World - Larry Mullen Jr and Adam Clayton do their thing again. Solid groove, and then, bosh, in comes the delay-soaked guitar work of The Edge and self-important vocals of Bono. This is bland as all hell, but it’s underpinned by a solid, shuffling groove and bass line. That rhythmic base is a good start, but gets boring, because they don’t get much opportunity for development when their two more famous band mates spend the song just wanking over the top of them. Meh. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses - This just feels so aimless. But then it’s also largely Bono and The Edge creating an uninspiring cloud of sound to a stripped back beat for the first minute and a half. The chorus actually isn’t that bad, but the expansive tonal makeup of the mix just feels large for the sake of it, rather than having any purpose, and it’s hard to hear musicianship among the thick wall of sound. Not that there’s anything wrong with that in the right context, but here it just feels overproduced, musically thin and quite bland. So Cruel - Nice drum groove, bland and repetitive piano part, uninspiring vocals. The chorus isn’t bad, to be fair, and it builds up reasonably well, but there’s no development beyond the slow build. There are sections where things sound oddly thin and I’m just not buying Bono’s vocal delivery, as usual. This is just quite boring. The Fly - There are actually some decent riffs here and some more interesting sound design that goes beyond the usual cloud of delayed guitar, with the use of a bit of flanging, and a more balanced range between the effects work and the more stripped back verses. Great work from the rhythm section again. The Edge’s guitar solo is pretty crap and only sounds as big as it does due to the effects. Just listen to the notes. It’s boring. But as a whole, I’d say this is probably the most interesting and engaging track on the record thus far. Mysterious Ways - Cool groove again, and quite a solid riff from the guitar to kick things off. This a bit of swagger and a nice, shuffling pulse to this one. Bono’s vocals seem so performative like he’s a robot trying to sound emotional. The chorus here is probably the weakest part of the track and it does start to drag on after a while. I think they have some decent ideas in places across this record, but they don’t get developed into anything completely satisfying, and then we have to deal with Bono’s vocal ramblings over the top. Which is a shame. Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World - There’s a subtle hip-hop/trip-hop groove to the beat here, which is pretty cool. It’s more of a stripped back production and I can actually buy this kind of stripped back ambience more than much of the album. Bono’s vocal feels a bit more restrained for the most part, although the high falsetto stuff doesn’t entirely connect. This one doesn’t drag too much, either, which is definitely an improvement. Not bad. Ultra Violet (Light My Way) - The synth part here is rubbish. I guess I just don’t buy the U2 sound of over-reliance on reverb and delay and false-sincerity of Bono’s vocal delivery. This is just a wash of tuned noise with nothing in the way of a coherent melody from the vocal. Acrobat - A common theme across this album: I quite like the drum groove, but on top of that, we get more over-effected guitar work and more “I’m being sincere, honest” vocals from the lord of smugness.It’s just quite melodically limited and has little musical development. It’s just bland and uninteresting. Love Is Blindness - The atmosphere to this is quite nice, and if I hadn’t been assaulted by delay and reverb for the last 50 minutes, I might have got more out of this. The Edge has some truly awful lead guitar moments in this track, where it sounds like he’s just trying to work out if his amp is turned on or not. Again, it’s just all a bit of nothing.

7/10 Having thoroughly enjoyed King Crimson’s debut, I was intrigued to see where their ever-changing lineup (excluding the ever-present Robert Fripp of course) had taken them after four years. They have always been a varied band, working carefully with studio production techniques and experimental effects use to build a kind of symphonic, experimental take on rock music. It’s prog, but it’s a type of prog that freely dips into the more orchestral side of things, both instrumentally and, in some cases, structurally. They mess around with variations on ideas in a way that sort of straddles the line between those explored in classical music and the more free-form roaming experimentation of jazz. But they do all this with a willingness to conjure up the heft of music that, in places, becomes as heavy, distorted and powerful as anything bands like Black Sabbath were doing at the time. To me, some of the most interesting work on this record came from Bill Bruford and Jamie Muir on drums and percussion, who played with power, nuance and a range of styles that lend the record a shifting percussive base that, through the albums strongest moments, manages to not only maintain momentum while offering rhythmic interest far beyond that of basic rock or even jazz drumming. That momentum is where this album does take a small slide for me, though, There are times when the music just drifts slowly almost to a stop, and sections where the stripped back subtlety of the compositions manages to drift over the line from restrained and balanced into inertia. The end of the opening track is an example of where things could have possibly moved at a slightly quicker pace, rather than drifting the way it does. Exiles, for example, does tend to balance that sparsity with a bit more pace and intensity in a way that doesn’t lose momentum like other parts of the record. Sonically, this is a really interesting album, too. The choice of instrumental combinations makes for a varied and wide-ranging tone across the album, and one that is not particularly common in popular music, which is always nice to hear. In truth, there’s not an awful lot wrong with this album, then. But it also didn’t do quite enough to grab hold of me in the way their debut did. It was beautiful in places, interesting nearly always, but perhaps lacked that little extra touch of magic to elevate it into the echelons of my regular music rotation, although I expect it might get the odd spin once in a while. Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part One - It’s a slow burn intro with the Kalimba and ambient percussion and sound design as the track eases in. This is almost a separate group of tracks, rather than a single one, or at least a single one with movements. When things kick in, it’s got great dynamic range, from the heavy, almost metal styled guitar work and the subtle but insistent string work. Then we move into a section that really starts to get moving, with staccato guitar work that roams around some sharp and clever percussion. It’s weird, but delightfully so, and really leans into the prog side of their sound. The drumming on this track is so good, plenty of pace, interest and nuance to it, while maintaining good momentum. They play with dynamic range and fluctuating intensity really well over the track, dropping right out into solo violin. I think the pace and intensity drops a little too far down for me during this section, but it has a whimsical, dreamy tone that I do like. It’s just a touch too sparse. Even when things build back up again, things feel a touch loose and disconnected towards the end, which is a bit of a shame. Book Of Saturday - This is a tighter, more focused effort that has a really nice, sombre tone. Some of the guitar work is really nice, both the standard picking patterns and the effects work counter balancing against it. It continues the dreamy, slightly unfocused feel, but manages to remain coherent and purposeful. It doesn’t offer a vast amount of thematic development, but it’s less than three minutes long, so doesn’t need to. Exiles - Another slow burn now, but the menacing, dark intro is really atmospheric, before making way for something more pretty yet sombre. They build momentum and then let it drop away, but the musicianship and sonic interest that they use keeps things flowing really nicely. The violin and guitar dancing around each other create a gorgeous tonal bland. The evolving instrumental blend across the track is a really pleasing development and feels really organic. I’m not 100% sold on the vocals, but when considered as part of the mix, they work pretty well. I think they’re just not quite as precise as the instrumentation. A lovely track though. Easy Money - Now we’re getting into something with a bit more funk and groove to it. The way the groove shifts around the different instruments, despite the parts individually not being that complex is pretty great. There’s restraint and nuance here, as well as excellent, atmospheric soundscaping. The movements they go through develop the intensity and dynamic beautifully, without ever losing the core groove. The drumming is, as always, great, but there’s plenty going on elsewhere too. This feels like the most complete and consistent track thus far. Very good. The Talking Drum - They’ve recreated the sound of a fly buzzing around quite well. This takes a long time to get moving, and while the drumming is good, it drifts in and out a little too much and feels a tad unfocused. When the bass and violin come in, the vibe is great, but that unfocused side does continue, with things sort of roaming around with no defined centre. The bass does pin things down to a certain extent, and then things do start pulling into focus as the track wears on, which is quite a cool and subtle effect. I think perhaps this took a little long getting to the point, but I also think the restraint and journey is part of the charm. Possibly one that becomes stringer on repeat listens. That ending is quite annoying though. Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part Two - The weight and power of this is great, straight off the bat. It’s kind of halfway between a prototype of Tool and Primus. As with the best moments on this album, the developments, both musical and dynamic, are subtly delivered but grand in scale. There are some sections where they drag the timing around in a really unsettling way that I love, and the overall vibe and atmosphere of this one is epic. It becomes frantic and cacophonous in a brilliant way, before dipping out and comping back together in fire and fury. An excellent closer.

6/10 I saw PJ Harvey play at Reading festival in 2001, coincidentally in the wake of this album’s release, and wasn’t vastly impressed. That being said, I was, at the time, a 16 year old, very much uninterested in indie-coded music. She’s often referenced in circles of musicians that I have subsequently come to love, so this should be an interesting experience. Tonally, this album falls quite nicely in the slot between grunge and indie, but with an edge of pop music flair to the melodic side of things. There’s a decent amount of bite, some really nice elements of orchestration and sound design, and for the most part, PJ’s vocal delivery is great, with dollops of swagger and attitude, blended into sweet and clean tones too. The songwriting is by and large pretty good too, with songs like The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore and This Is Love showing the strength and weight of her compositional skill. The instrumentation across the album is varied and carefully balanced too, with sparse, almost ambient sections making way for full-bodied, distorted riffs and cool, evolving synth lines. While those elements of the record tick a lot of boxes for me, things did fall down on the fact that quite a lot of the rhythmic choices on the album were very rigid and repetitive across the course of full tracks. The crotchet snare pattern of Big Exit, for example, really jarred with me due to its persistence whenever the drums were involved across the track. It wasn’t just the drums, either. The strumming pattern of Good Fortune being another example of something that felt quite inflexible, plodding and relentless. When more range was delivered within a track, or even when the rhythms became a bit more fluid, I did find myself warming to this quite a bit. It did feel a touch long, and the quality of the work did vary a little over the course of the album, but the general vibe, production and balance of the album was actually very good, and it’s clear that she’s a good songwriter. While I’m unlikely to spend too much time with this record in future, it has at least tempted me to check out some of her other work to see if it offers something a little more my style. Big Exit - The atmosphere and attitude to this is good, but rhythmically, it’s quite rigid. There is a nice breakdown in the middle eight, but I don’t think there’s enough variety in the composition, so things get a bit repetitive. I do like the vibe, but each section sounds fairly similar and all of them sound like build up, rather than payoff. It feels like we’re going somewhere, but we never arrive, like some kind of sisyphian composition. Good Fortune - Similarly to the opener, this is quite repetitive and rhythmically rigid. There are changes to the underlying chord structure through the different sections, but the plodding pulse and inflection remains consistent throughout, so it becomes a touch draining. Again, tonally, this is really good, and the swagger and attitude of it is cool, but I just find it a bit too repetitive. She does add variety through the instrumental choices as the track progresses, but it’s just not got enough range for me. A Place Called Home - There’s another nice atmosphere here, and the wash of instrumentation creates a really nice, thick pad of tone with arpeggiations drifting in and out of focus from the mix. The beat gives this a solid and infectious groove too. While this is still rhythmically quite rigid, there’s enough range in instrumentation and arrangement to give this a bit more depth. It’s perhaps still not as musically developed as I’d like, but it’s definitely better. One Line - A slow burn now that deals well with atmosphere. It broods and smoulders until things start to kick in. The groove is good, but again, the rhythm is quite rigid and static in nature, not feeling particularly free-flowing at any point. It’s another that constantly feels like it’s building to something. I quite like it, but it doesn’t really feel like it ever actually gets anywhere. Beautiful Feeling - There’s more rhythmic variety in this, just from the guitar and vocal and it feels less plodding as a result. It’s quite ethereal and sparse, but pretty because of that. It’s slightly unfocused, but in a purposeful, drifting way. It’s very pretty and well performed. Nice. The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore - This is way better, too. It has more distinctive sections and has rhythmical and dynamic range that the early tracks didn’t offer. There’s a darkness and brooding to this that’s really engaging. It sits well in the hinterland between grunge and indie, with good pace, intensity and a touch of grit that gives it extra weight and power. The effects use and atmosphere is also top notch, and the groove is great. Really solid. This Mess We're In - And here comes Thom Yorke. He must have heard that the album has started to get quite good! This continues on the brooding theme, with a nice dip in and out of vocals and drums in different places. PJ and Thom’s vocals work quite nicely together and the vibe for this is great, but it does fall a touch back towards the somewhat relentlessly repetitive rhythmic flow of earlier tracks. It’s saved a bit by the nice harmonic composition, but it is still a little one paced. You Said Something - This has more nice melodic and harmonic writing, but I still find it to be rhythmically quite plodding. There’s a bit more range in there this time, and with some of the instrumental sections, she does pull things a little out of the standard shape, which is nice. There’s a decent range in intensity across this track, and there’s some of it that I really like, but I just wish there was a bit more of a fluid rhythmic base. Kamikaze - Like this! Now we’re (kind of inexplicably) leaning into a drum and bass style of breakbeat. The intensity and range of this is so much better, and reminds me a touch of Skunk Anansie. It’s heavy, pacy and powerful and the soundscape that she creates is deep and interesting too. It also gets the job done in two and a half minutes with attitude and intensity. More solid stuff. This Is Love - This is the single that I know best. It’s a great vocal melody and this sits nicely somewhere between L7 and The White Stripes. It is a touch rhythmically repetitive, as with quite a bit of the record, but there’s way more range in the instrumentation, arrangement and vocal performance on this to give it more depth. It’s a great song with good drive , interesting harmonic work in the cleaner high frequencies, which blends nicely against the gritty, beefy main riff. It’s hooky as hell too. Another really good track. Horses In My Dreams - Back to a pretty, drifting effort now. When things start moving, it’s again very stilted, rigid repetitive from a rhythmic point of view, and it’s melodically quite unfocused and rambling. There’s some elements of beauty to this, especially the vibe and general construction of the slowly building soundscape, but I do find that relentless pulse to be quite distracting from the nuance of the sound design and musicality of the composition. It’s a shame really, because there’s a lot to like here, but the flat insistent nature of the groove just doesn’t quite vibe with me. We Float - It takes a while to shift out of its holding pattern of the first couple of minutes. The chorus is very spacy and melodic, which lifts things. Again, it’s rhythmically quite repetitive, but at least the groove is more fluid here. It’s another that’s got a cool atmosphere and vibe, and shifts really nicely into the chorus, but it’s ultimately a little too flat. It’s almost ambient indie in a way, but there’s probably not enough subtlety of arrangement or hypnotics focus for it to completely work on an ambient level. Very nice, very pretty, but just a touch bland.

8/10 All I really knew about Spirit before this, was that they were the band that accused Led Zeppelin of ripping large parts of Stairway To Heaven off from their song Taurus. With that in mind, I was kind of expecting something quite Zep-like. Heavy blues-rock, but perhaps without the level of hook that their contemporaries were able to conjure, allowing them to last longer in the public consciousness. This record was a delightful surprise. While there are elements of blues rock in there, as well as decent chunks of heft and weight that lean towards that proto-metal sound, there’s actually a whole lot more to find across what is a stylistically quite broad record. I’m inclined to suggest that this actually has as much influence from soul and the emerging funk scene as it does from the rock and roll or blues bands of the time. They’re also not afraid to include some fairly poppy melodic moments, as well as the occasional dip into vocal harmonisations that lean towards some of the Beach Boys’ tendencies. It’s a really enjoyable mix of styles, and one of the other factors that helps this to shine is that it sounds like they’re having so much fun and not taking themselves too seriously. There’s quirky bits of production, moments where they lean into psychedelic and even prog-rock territory, and it’s all done with a little glint in the eye that says “we’re having fun here, why not come along for the ride”. There is plenty of swagger and groove from the rhythm section, and it’s all delivered with that slight looseness that makes everything feel organic and free-flowing, while all the time feeling engaging and deliberate. They also don’t shy away from jumping through ideas at a rapid pace, so you’re never quite sure what’s going to come next, which makes for an intriguing listen. There are moments when things slide a touch into lulls, but that’s perhaps to be expected when a band are attempting to blend so many styles and ideas into a 39 minute record. And while it’s not a perfect record, it’s definitely one that I’ll come back to, and it has the feel of an album that will probably grow on me over time. Prelude - Nothin' To Hide - A nice, clean folk start, before we kick into a bluesy rock section with a cool, funky swagger to the groove. The bass line is cool and there’s some great effects use. Vocally, there’s some great melodic work and fun call and response lines. The guitar solo is a touch sloppy, but it fits pretty well with the general vibe. This shifts through quite a few discrete sections in a relatively short runtime. It’s slightly chaotic, but great fun and certainly not boring. Nature's Way - Back to something more folksy, but it’s still pretty rhythmically compelling and the melodies are again really nice. The vocal harmonisations are solid too. This has got quite a bit of swagger and groove to it, actually, despite being fairly sparsely orchestrated. Really good stuff. Animal Zoo - This leans a little more towards country, but it’s still got a funky groove. The rhythms they build across the instrumentation are excellent and they shift momentum nicely through different sections. Some parts of this are great fun, but it perhaps feels a little inconsistent in places. When it clicks, though, it’s brilliant. Some top melodic work and the vocal rounds are a nice little twist, especially when they get silly towards the end. Love Has Found A Way - And now they’re continuing on withe that slight edge of silliness, but throwing in some fantastic sound design and production elements and then just tossing in some gorgeous vocal work over the top. It’s got range, production depth, interesting interwoven instrumentation and just a little bit of crazy. It’s incredibly sonically interesting too, especially for an album from 1970. Really great stuff. Why Can't I Be Free - And straight into a subtle, almost ambient-leaning folk-rock ballad. The harmonies are beautiful and the bass and guitar just dance around really nicely. Short, but oh, so sweet. Mr. Skin - This is pretty much dirty soul now. The groove is super tasty and the organ work against the bass and guitars is cool too. Love the horns, and that sax solo is really top work. The vocal delivery has just the right amount of dirt to it, and the backing vocals are really well balanced and effective too. This is just an incredibly well delivered and hook stuffed piece of work. Super moreish. Space Child - A fun, meandering, jazzy number now. The synth choices make it have a silly edge, but the musical performances are excellent and it’s got real chops, despite that slightly absurdist, psychedelic edge. It’s another really cool slice of musical experimentation and entertainment. When I Touch You - The pace of this drops a little and it still has a cool swagger, but it’s perhaps a touch less interesting than what’s come before. It’s still a solid track though, with some really cool playing, particularly from the guitars. There are solid riffs here and a slightly dreamy, unfocused lead vocal. The grooves are still solid and there are some really great moments, but it just feels a little dragged out and loose, but not in quite the same cool way as some of the earlier looseness. It’s still pretty decent though. Street Worm - Now we pick the pace back up and we get a bit more into groovy blues rock with soulful vocal chops that shift nicely around the different vocalists. There are more cool riffs and hooks and a tasty guitar solo. This is perhaps a touch less structurally adventurous than some of the other stuff, but it’s still executed really well with more of their characteristic attitude and swagger, and it’s just more brilliantly fun music. Life Has Just Begun - Now we get a bit of a return to more folksy stuff. There’s more production mucking around that adds a bit of depth and a slightly strange edge, but it’s generally very pretty and well executed. The production gives it that little bit of extra weight, but it’s not the most exciting track on the record, despite some nice melodic moments and another top notch execution. Morning Will Come - And now it’s flat out blues rock. Actually, it drifts more over to pop music with its tone and use of melody. It feels a little more throwaway than some of the other more considered tracks, but it’s still really good and has great use of a broad instrumental palate, with the horns adding an extra twist of fun. Enjoyable stuff. Soldier - A slow one to finish us off. It’s got some nice harmonies, and the organ part sounds really nice. It’s a touch plodding in the rhythm, and perhaps slows the pace of the album a little too much, but it’s a pleasant enough closer. Not the best, but the album has set a pretty high bar.