1001 Albums Summary

So Bowie and Iggy decamped to Europe after the LA snowstorm and this was the result....kind of megaton glam that set the Template for Bowie's Low that he recorded afterwards, but released before. The music is stripped and claustrophobic, its cars cruising round Berlin at night driven by men in sunglasses. A bit baggy though - I think it sags in the middle - but great at its best, even though I sort of miss the raw punk energy of The Stooges . I would give it 3 and a half, but that's not an option so I'm going for 3 as I want to set the bar high....

Enter Sandman - legendary - legendary intro. After that..... well the epic drum sound wares thin.... starts to hurt. Can't stand the vocal delivery and monotony of the sound. I really don't get it.

Love the sound...dirgey and swampy but gets monotonous.sinister Kid wad the standout for me. 2.5 stars

I really tried. I thought I'd come to it with fresh ears and none of the baggage with which I first dismissed it, but alas.... I think my major problem is that they are obviously quite accomplished musicians but they just don't groove. Take the bass playing on Rio - it's sort of flashy, but it's also shit! I find his voice over processed and whiney, some of the lyrics are sort of funny, but overall the songwriting is so pedestrian. 'Save a prayer' is a particular bugbear. A horrible dirge. Add to the mix some of the most horrible sax playing from an era of horrible sax playing and you end up with something iconic only for being an emblem of shallowness of its era! If you want good 80's pop that really has survived the test of time listen to Human League.....