161
Albums Rated
3.2
Average Rating
15%
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1990s
Favorite Decade
Post-punk
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✍️ Wordsmith
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11
5-Star Albums
9
1-Star Albums
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You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Make Yourself | 5 | 3.07 | +1.93 |
| Dust | 5 | 3.16 | +1.84 |
| Queens of the Stone Age | 5 | 3.29 | +1.71 |
| Boy In Da Corner | 4 | 2.57 | +1.43 |
| In The Court Of The Crimson King | 5 | 3.6 | +1.4 |
| Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) | 5 | 3.61 | +1.39 |
| Superunknown | 5 | 3.66 | +1.34 |
| The Low End Theory | 5 | 3.7 | +1.3 |
| Cut | 4 | 2.71 | +1.29 |
| Atomizer | 4 | 2.72 | +1.28 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 1 | 3.69 | -2.69 |
| The College Dropout | 1 | 3.31 | -2.31 |
| Melodrama | 1 | 3.31 | -2.31 |
| 1989 | 1 | 3.27 | -2.27 |
| Another Green World | 1 | 3.12 | -2.12 |
| Good Old Boys | 1 | 2.86 | -1.86 |
| The Grand Tour | 1 | 2.79 | -1.79 |
| Brothers In Arms | 2 | 3.74 | -1.74 |
| Group Sex | 1 | 2.74 | -1.74 |
| Boston | 2 | 3.71 | -1.71 |
5-Star Albums (11)
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Popular Reviews
The White Stripes
4/5
I was a big fan of this album on release and despite not listening to it much over the last decade or so it’s still great whenever I do.
_Seven Nation Army_ has now largely been ruined by being overplayed and it turning into a football song but the rest of the album holds up well, despite it.
Is it the best WS album? Maybe, maybe not but it’s pretty damn good Probably could do with a couple of songs being trimmed but it’s a minor point.
The one-two of _ I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother’s Heart_ and _You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket_ is perfect and has some personal meaning behind it for me.
1 likes
Joanna Newsom
4/5
I wasn’t really looking forward to this when it popped up with just 5 tracks coming in at nearly an hour but it was something of a revelation.
Slow and ever developing prog-folk and baroque pop weaves a tapestry of wonderful music that reminded me of someone like The Mummers whose music also enraptured me from the very beginning.
With tracks ranging from 7 to 17 minutes it’s not one you can just pop on and listen to in the background; it demands attention but rewards you for it. I’ll be returning to this and her for sure!
1 likes
Circle Jerks
1/5
The 15 minute runtime of this was its saving grace! I'm not really a fan of punk but 15 songs over 15 minutes makes it almost impossible, for me at least, to gauge or engage with anything. I feel that this would be best enjoyed live where you get an energy that's just missing on record and so you're just left with small blasts of noise that are gone as soon as they've arrived,
Testing my patience now algorithm,,, 3 duds in a row!
1 likes
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
One album from 1981 follows another. Another band that just weren't on my radar as a kid but I've warmed to the original post-punk bands in my latter years and these are a fine example of that, mixed with some gothic elements too.
The drummer on this album Budgie, released an album, _Los Angeles_ in 2023 with Lol Tolhurst (The Cure) and Jacknife Lee which featured in my top 10 albums that year so perhaps that laid the groundwork for my enjoyment of this album. An album and band I'll return too.
1 likes
1-Star Albums (9)
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Louis Prima
3/5
I knew Louis Prima only as the voice King Louie in The Jungle Book. It was actually the perfect album to begin our drive home from Zurich on a sunny day. Not something I’d typically reach for but very enjoyably in the right mood and moment.
Wu-Tang Clan
5/5
I first heard this in probably ‘94 when a mate lent me his tape and I was just blown away. Hugely influential album and it’s easy to hear why. The only thing that marks this down are the skits which I could do without but the rest is pure fire!
Radiohead
3/5
Better than expected but needs more time to get into
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Just a classic, generally considered one of her best. What a voice and oozing confidence following the previous two albums going into the R&B charts at no.1. Despite most of these songs not being penned by her, she fully embodies them making them her own.
Beatles
5/5
My Dad is a big Beatles fan and I got into them through him. They actually played at a park in my home town of Urmston in Manchester on 5th August 1963 on the tour for Please, Please Me, presumably booked before the album broke and made them superstars. My Dad was there and cemented his love which eventually transferred to me.
He quite literally passed this love on when he gave me his original Mono version of the vinyl album which, along with Dylan’s The Freewheelin’ became the first vinyl album in my collection and holds a special place for me and In My Life is my fave Beatles song.
Dire Straits
2/5
This was the album every dad had when I was growing up and I must have listened to it a fair bit back then.
Not much of it has stuck though, beyond the singles and most of the rest of it I found long, laborious and just a bit boring. Not one I’d return to
Beatles
3/5
There’s nothing wrong with this, it’s perfectly good but I’d reach for later Beatles albums before this one and probably the Red album if I wanted to listen to this era Beatles.
It’s pretty side 1 stacked too but there are a few bangers on here though in _Can’t Buy Me Love_, _And I Love Her_ and my fave, the title track
Def Leppard
2/5
Definitely a band of a time and despite liking some of their more well known songs, I find a whole albums worth a bit much and containing a lot of filler, especially coming in at over an hour.
I’ll stick to their greatest hits thanks.
Beatles
4/5
My Beatles knowledge is patchy to be honest having grown up mainly listening to the Red and Blue compilations. It's more recently that I'm working my way back through albums and, as a double, this is literally a big one to get your teeth into!
But I've been taking big bites of it of late and, whilst like many doubles, it can be a bit patchy and overly long, there's a hell of a lot of quality on it and it contains a number the great Beatles songs, including.....
The Roots
4/5
Really solid hip hop album with a lot to enjoy from the cool grooves to Black Thought’s excellent rhyming. Would soundtrack the summer vibes very well.
As with a lot of hip hop albums, at over an hour, it outstays its welcome a little but there’s plenty of top tracks here to warrant a revisit and a more in depth listen
Bebel Gilberto
3/5
I know Bebel from her appearance on Mike Patton’s Peeping Tom album singing Caipirinha and perhaps this would have sounded better had I listened to it sitting in the recent hot sun supping one of those Brazilian cocktails whilst listening.
As it is, the hot sun has turned to a chillier rain. It’s still perfectly passable and she has a great voice but I’ve heard better Latin based albums and there’s really not enough here to lift it above decent.
Solomon Burke
3/5
The writer of the signature **Blues Brothers** track _Everybody Needs Somebody_, a song I know inside out as a friend and I would regularly perform it on karaoke (I was Jake).
So this was a good opportunity to get to know more from the man and, as a fan of early blues, soul and R&B, this is very much in my wheelhouse. Probably doesn't sound as groundbreaking as perhaps it did in 1964 but gave enough on first listen and one to explore further.
Aphex Twin
2/5
I was actually disappointed by this, thinking the title would be tongue-in-cheek, based on what I do know of AT which are the much more aggressive and subversive, _Come to Daddy_ and _Windowlicker_. Truth is that this is exactly what it claims to be, and that's fine.
If you're a huge fan of ambient music then maybe what I'm saying is sacrilegious, but for my personal tastes, this is background music. It's a good example of it, but it's not blowing me away and I feel this album is quite overrated. If someone puts it on, I'm fine with it, but not something I'd revisit.
Blur
2/5
I'm very hit and miss with Blur.. they were the 2nd band I saw live and it remains one of the worst gigs I've seen!
I do think that they are capable of great moments and theres a couple of them on _Parklife_ in _To the End_ and _This is a Low_. But for the most part, and particularly this era Blur, the mockney, end-of-the-pier schtik is tiring and absolutely grates on me these days. _Boys and Girls_ and the title track being the biggest offenders, two songs I never need to hear again.
The album _Parklife_ as a whole sounds of it's time and despite knowing it pretty well, I don't have any nostalgia for it. And whilst I can't deny the catchiness of some of the well-known songs here that I'm not a fan of, there's also a fair bit of filler too, particularly the back end of the album.
So not one I need to return to and Blur will remain a playlist band for me.
Randy Newman
1/5
Sounds like cosplay country, which is a genre i'm not massive on anyway. I know the track _Guilty_ as a much bluesier version appears on **The Blues Brothers** album _Made in America_.
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
A complex and experimental double album which followed their absolute smash _Rumours_, and was fuelled by Lyndsey Buckingham's desire not to create _Rumours 2_. The tension that existed within the band and that brilliantly underpinned _Rumours_ starts to move the members apart here, resulting in a lack of musical cohesion that they achieved on the previous album ,despite the personal tensions.
That's not to say that this is a bad album! It's certainly too long, as many double albums are but there are a lot of great songs from _Sara_, Storms, Sisters of the Moon, and the brilliant title track and my personal .....
Arrested Development
3/5
I was taken in as much as anyone back in '92 by the 3 singles from this. I subsequently bought the album and remember being a little disappointed. Firstly because the version of _Everyday People_ on here is not the version that that I'd heard in the charts, and listening back again, it still lacks collective power on display in that version, opting for a much slower, less vibrant beat.
But more because, after a solid first few tracks, the album tends to meander for most of its near hour length, until we hit the penultimate track, the first single from it and my personal fave, _Tennessee_. I just didn't connect with it in the way I thought I would based on what I'd already heard.
Listening back now, it's certainly not a bad album, and I had a fine time revisiting, but my opinion didn't really change and I didn't find a reason to return to it again as a whole.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Not sure why all the hate for this, it’s a landmark album for both funk and soul and explores some complex themes about sex, love and longing, particularly given the context of Marvin’s upbringing and abuse.
On the surface, there’s an extremely sensual sound that no doubt influenced more modern R&B, but whereas that took it at face value, running with the sound alone, Marvin’s sincere lyrics give the all important balance and depth that much of that genre lacks.
It was also a controversial album given the subject matter and was deemed as a huge risk for Motown to even release it but it gained both critical and commercial success and showed a markedly different side to Marvin following his much more well known and politically themed album _What’s Going On_
Carole King
5/5
I bought a copy of this LP from Discos Impacto in Barcelona about 10 years ago having never heard it, but was aware of the regard it was held in. For the 4€ it cost, I thought it was worth the risk, and so I proved to be right.
I say 'never heard' but in fact I'd heard several of these songs before, either these versions or ones made popular by others. But the whole album is just a series of uncomplicated yet captivating, beautifully written and performed songs with Carole's soulful voice as the storyteller
William Orbit
2/5
I know William Orbit only from his work with **Madonna** on _Ray of Light_ and even then, only through the singles.
there were a couple of decent moments, usually when the bass was prominent and there was a bit more groove to the trakcs. But much like **Aphex Twin**, this largely passed me by and probably demands a more focussed listen than I was able to give it. As such, it was little more than background music and not engaging enough for me to return to.
The United States Of America
3/5
A mix of psychedelia, experimental and proto-prog that, at first listen whilst trying to get my head around parts of my new job, went completely over my head and at over an hour, went on for ages!
I've come back to it again just to see what I'd missed and realised that I'd been listening to a load of bonus tracks and the album is actually a very palatable 37 mins. With the headspace too, it's quite enchanting too and I was amazed to read that they have no guitarist, instead using _"strings, keyboards and electronics, including primitive synthesizers, and various audio processors"_ to create their sound.
This comes alongside soundscapes and effects evoking sci-fi, low-key horror and the circus. It feels very ahead of it's time, that being 1968 and it's perhaps no surprise given the lukewarm reception of the album at the time, and the apparent infighting, that this was their only album and they would split, or from the sounds of it, more like slowly crumble to nothing.... great shame!
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
I get why people like Springsteen, there's a certain anthemic quality to what he does but as I've said before, heartland rock just doesn't really do it for me. It's fine, I can listen to it but for my tastes, I find it to be a bit 'bright', a bit plodding and just lacking a bit of bite.
I believe he's very good live and 'Id probably get more out of it in that environment.
David Bowie
4/5
I don't think I've even seen this album cover before, let alone know its name and well.... this was a huge surprise, and a great one at that! I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't an album as good as this! It's very evocative of his earlier work, especially his early to mid 70s period but with a more modern production.
Unlike many very late stage albums, that might have a couple of half decent tracks (if you're lucky) and a load of filler, this keeps its quality pretty much all of the way through with almost every song offering something engaging. It's near hour flies past and I'll 100% be returning to it later.
Herbie Hancock
3/5
I’m vaguely aware of HH and actually have heard the first two tracks from this in the normal course of life.
I found it very enjoyable and an album that I found to be the perfect accompaniment to a weekend morning with a sound that is reminiscent of a lot of the UK funk/soul/jazz/electronica scene that labels like Tru Thoughts and Catskills championed and that I was hugely into during the 2000s. Many of those artists were surely influenced by this as the through-line is evident.
Adele
1/5
I wasn't looking forward to this one and physically groaned when I refreshed the page this morning. Got it out of the way quick though and can report that this album is exactly what I expected it to be which is largely very bland! It's all very well written, put together and produced, but it feels like a dull cosplay version of much better things.
It's magnolia paint, generally inoffensive but there's no oomph or wow and it's exactly what I hate most about music! The bluesier, stompier tracks were the most listenable but most of it was just 😩 and it frustrates me greatly that it’s artists like her that are championed by the industry.
Van Halen
2/5
I wasn't looking forward to this one and physically groaned when I refreshed the page this morning. Got it out of the way quick though and can report that this album is exactly what I expected it to be which is largely very bland! It's all very well written, put together and produced, but it feels like a dull cosplay version of much better things.
It's magnolia paint, generally inoffensive but there's no oomph or wow and it's exactly what I hate most about music! The bluesier, stompier tracks were the most listenable but most of it was just 😩 and it frustrates me greatly that it’s artists like her that are championed by the industry.
Culture Club
2/5
I wasn't looking forward to this one and physically groaned when I refreshed the page this morning. Got it out of the way quick though and can report that this album is exactly what I expected it to be which is largely very bland! It's all very well written, put together and produced, but it feels like a dull cosplay version of much better things.
It's magnolia paint, generally inoffensive but there's no oomph or wow and it's exactly what I hate most about music! The bluesier, stompier tracks were the most listenable but most of it was just 😩 and it frustrates me greatly that it’s artists like her that are championed by the industry.
Black Sabbath
4/5
From the 8 minute proggy opener to the doom-laden epic closer we're treated to riffs, sometimes crunching, sometimes, atmospheric, sometimes driving, all the time... brilliant! The drums swing and thud, the bass rumbles and Ozzy soars above it all, as only he can
Soul singer **Charles Bradley** released a cover of _Changes_ for RSD in 2013. I had heard the song before of course when Ozzy duetted with his daughter but I wasn't a fan of that version. Charles Bradley really brings the soul out that was baked into it and it really heightened my appreciation of the original:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi49yirJiEA
I don't gather that this is Sabbath's finest hour and most of the rankings I've seen from you guys back that up. It does feel a little clunky in places but what an album to have as your 5th or 6th best! I'll definitely be returning to this and expanding out into their other earlier albums..
There's a few tracks that caught my ear, Wheels of Confusion, Snowblind, Under the Sun and my...
Fave track: Supernaut
RIP Ozzy 🦇
The Hives
3/5
A fairly pointless release presumably to take advantage of recent success in a different market. It combines tracks from an EP and their first 2 albums, the second of which was released just 18 months earlier, the last single of which was released the month before this compilation!
So I love The Hives, but I take umbrage with this release. They're a fantastic live band and they've consistently been releasing great music throughout their career; energetic and raucous garage rock, wearing matching jewel encrusted suits. It isn't doing anything particularly new or innovative, but it's tons of fun... especially live... I implore you to go and see them if you haven't.
As for this album, it's a great collection of songs, but I wont listen to it again, I'll just listen to the EP and two albums that it's derived from and wonder why one of those wasn't selected instead.
4/5
U2 get a lot of flak these days and possibly rightly so, but there's no doubting their earlier output. The start of this album is just incredible! and the quality remains high throughout.
I wasn't really a fan of them back in the day but have come to appreciate and in some cases love some of their stuff.. And because of that, I don't have the same over-saturation of their really popular songs that might afflict others so it still sounds relatively fresh to me.
Eminem
3/5
It’s a strong ‘debut’ for what would become the Eminem that we all know but don’t all love. His talent as a rapper is full on display here and I don’t think can be denied but from a personal perspective, his cartoon ‘shock’ style still just doesn’t resonate with me. Perhaps if he used this to make a bigger point then I might be more on board. I can enjoy the craft in moments but this is not an album I would come back to.
Dusty Springfield
3/5
An album that sought to revive her career and that flopped on release despite the effort that must have been put into this, involving as it did, label head Jerry Wexler, producer Arif Mardin, and engineer Tom Dowd, all of whom had a stellar back catalogue.
It's an albums of lush productions tinged primarily in soul, with elements of pop and country and Dusty's amazing voice. It features the classic tale of forbidden love,_Son of a Preacher Man_ but there's so much more on here, including the soulful R&B of _Breakfast in Bed_, written by the Muscle-shoals writing team Hinton and Fritz; the French chanson influenced _The Windmills of Your Mind_, as well as several tracks co-written by Carole King.
Short and sweet, the album has since been somewhat reappraised and its influence can be heard from Phili-soul to trip hop as well in many, particularly UK, singers of the 2000s. I find it so easy to listen to stuff like this, it's timeless and I'd happily return to it anytime.
The Zombies
2/5
I'm aware of The Zombies, but only really from _Time of the Season_ which is a good song, and whilst I'm not averse to a bit of 60s psychedelia, I mostly found this a bit pedestrian.
Somewhat reminiscent of **The Kinks**, early **Pink Floyd** and some of **The Beatles** trippier moments and yet I don't think they square up well to any of those 3, at least not on this showing. Despite only being 35 minutes, it felt long and with little variation to keep me interested.
As I understand, this wasn't particularly well received on release and has only gained acclaim later, after they'd split. I'm more inclined to agree with the original critique as I really don't hear anything special here.
The Pharcyde
4/5
I’ve tried this album in the past and it’s never quite landed but for some reason, listening yesterday, it really grabbed me in a way it hadn’t previously. Even the skits at least have a musical element to them which doesn’t make them as jarring as skits can typically be.
Yes, it’s a little long as many hip-hop albums of the era were but there’s so many good tracks on here but it’s hard to look past my fave track, Passin’ Me By
Dizzee Rascal
4/5
From the US alt hip-hop of **The Pharcyde** to the UK alt hip-hop of **Dizzee Rascal** whose beats on here are brilliantly original, take the breakthrough single _Fix Up, Look Sharp_ sampling the intro drums and vocal of**Billy Squier's** _The Big Beat_.
He was just 19 when he released this and some of the songs, notably his first single _I Luv U_ date back to when he was just 16. It had an undoubted influence on UK grime; the album winning him the Mercury prize in the process as well as making him a global name, perhaps the first UK rap artist to get success on that scale.
I know other's haven't gotten on with this, and whilst it's not my fave, I do think it's great and come back to it every so often. It's too long, as many hip hop albums are but with so many great tracks, I'll forgive it. Love for _Stop Dat_, _I Luv U_, _2 Far_ and _Jus' A Rascal_, but due to its originality....
Haircut 100
2/5
I don't have a lot to say about this. It's perfectly inoffensive 80s new wave pop music. It's played very well... there's nothing particularly stand out on it and it just exists for its 40 odd minute length and then it ends.
If you like your 80s pop with a bit of white boy funk and lots of sax (just don't bother @c1ydefrogemon ) then this is for you, but I found it severely lacking decent hooks. It's not an era of music I know loads about but as a comparison, **Duran Duran** would release _Rio_ about 3 months after this and that has some genuinely classic pop tracks on it.
I've listened to this twice to try and get a grasp on it... I won't be returning for a 3rd
Talking Heads
4/5
To be honest, I wasn't expecting to get much out of this, even though I know and very much like _Psycho Killer_, it felt like it was going to be one of those bands where you like one song and the rest doesn't do it for you. How wrong I was!
Where yesterday’s pick of **Haircut 100** lacked the hooks, this is chocked full of them, each song is a joy and I'm currently on my 3rd listen of the day. A few highlights.... _Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town_, _No Compassion_, _The Book I Read_ and _Pulled Up_, which was very close to being my choice but it’s Psycho Killer
Kanye West
1/5
I’m assuming the title is autobiographical which makes a lot of sense given his uneducated views… stay in school kids!
Buzzcocks
3/5
I'm well aware of The Buzzcocks in terms of their legacy around the influence on the Manchester music scene and beyond. When they hosted the **Sex Pistols** at The Free Trade Hall in Manchester on 4th June 1976, in attendance were, not only Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto, who at the time was the frontman of The Buzzcocks, but also Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner, Morrissey, Mark E. Smith, Tony Wilson, John Cooper Clarke and even Mick Hucknall.
So it can be argued that without that gig, we wouldn't have had **Joy Division** (and therefore **New Order**), **The Smiths**, **The Fall**, **Television**, **Factory Records** (and therefore the likes of **The Happy Mondays** and the **A Certain Ratio**) and... ahem... **Simply Red**. Whilst we'll never know if that's strictly true, the folklore behind the gig is arguably as influential as the gig itself with all and sundry claiming to have been there!
And whilst the claim is that it was the Sex Pistols that were the ones that influenced everybody, listening to this, their decut album, I certainly hear more influence of The Buzzcocks in the likes of Joy Division's gritty post punk sound than I do the pistols. And for me who's not a huge punk fan, it's those moments on this album that I enjoy the most in songs like _Autonomy_, _Moving Away from the Pulsebeat_ and my ...
**Fave track:** Sixteen
The Who
3/5
A short album, only 6 songs, half of them covers, although the medley in the extended version of _My Generation_ contains several others.
I’ve never seen the band live but this would appear to capture the energy of their live performances very well. I’ve heard it said though that live albums are “the worst of both worlds”, and this falls into that category for me. I’d at least rather watch a recording so I can see the band, as part of the performance is in the visual. Failing that, I’d rather listen to a studio album.
So this is fine but I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d listen to it again.
Pulp
3/5
Unlike seemingly most, I didn’t get caught up in the Pulp love during the Britpop era although spending a lot of time in indie clubs, I heard (and danced to) a decent amount.
I’ve somewhat softened my view these days and can even get nostalgic when listening but they’re still not a band I’ve ever chosen to play.
So I can’t really compare this to earlier albums but there’s plenty of moments on here that feel grittier than their earlier singles, as well as a more cinematic aspect that’s clearly continued in their most recent work. Some great lyrics too.
I’m certainly intrigued by this and may listen again at some point. It is too long though!
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
I don’t have a lot to say… it’s a perfectly solid listen. Generally prefer the more upbeat tracks , like _Mr Soul_ and _Good Time Boy_.
The former has a little of _ Jumpin’ Jack Flash_ about the riff and the latter benefits from the horns, giving it an R&B feel.
I’m not sure if I’ll return but an enjoyable listen for now.
Les Rythmes Digitales
2/5
Apparently this has been 'credited it for launching much of the electro-pop vogue of the 2000s'.
I found it pretty inoffensive but uninteresting. Feels like a pick that was made because he didn't have enough electronic music in the 1001 and this came up in a Google search. Doesn't feel essential at all, but then I suppose it's not really my thing.
Violent Femmes
4/5
I've never heard the album before but I do know one or two songs. _Blister in the Sun_ in particular was a staple in early 90s alternative club scene and so much so, I thought that it was a 90s song! It wasn't until much later that I found out it was a decade old and it's taken me until now to actually listen to a whole album.
This sounds very much ahead of its time, sounding like a sort of proto-alternative and you can very much hear the influence on bands that would come a decade later and throughout the 90s, even into the 2000s with sounds like folk punk, alt rock, college rock and even grunge and pop punk.
There's several great tracks on here including _Kiss Off_, _Add it Up _, and _Good Feeling_ but it's hard to look past what has becoe an anthem of sorts and is my fave track… Blister in the Sun
Stephen Stills
3/5
Listened to this over breakfast as my parents are here and this is very much in my Dad’s wheelhouse.
For me, it was fine but it’s not something I’m going to get particularly excited about. It was a perfectly fine Sunday morning album but I didn’t hear anything here that was vital and I don’t feel the need to listen again.
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
I'm aware of Belle and Sebastian mainly because I know that Isobel Campbell was a member before working with **Mark Lanegan**. She's not the main vocalist here though and I didn't really pick her out in my one listen although listening to B&S, I can hear the softness in the sound that the she brings to that collaboration.
And that was my main gripe with this! It all sounds nice but just lacks a bit of bite for my tastes. So it sort of meandered past me without really catching my attention for the most part and then I was surprised when it had finished. It all sounds nice and fine, but it's not one that has complled me to put it on again.
Dire Straits
3/5
It could just have been circumstantial but I actually got on a little better with this than their much heralded _Brothers in Arms_. A little bit bluesier and seemed to have a little more bite and a bit less polish.
I’m still unlikely to return to it, it’s just not for me.
Simply Red
3/5
As I mentioned when I reviewed The Buzzcocks album a week or so ago, Mick Hucknall was in the audience of that legendary Sex Pistols, Lesser Free Trade Hall gig that inarguably shaped the Manchester music scene of the late 70s and well into the 80s. And listening to this you can hear the influence that Johnny Rotten and Co had on a then 16 year old ginger boy. 👀
To be fair, he was in a punk band that followed this and they did record a version of _Holding Back the Years_, although that leans more into garage rock then punk.
What you can't deny, is that he has a great voice and I'm not gonna go in too hard on them. They're pretty solid blue-eyed soul, sophisti-pop, if that's your thing and they did release some great tracks. He's also a United fan!
Taylor Swift
1/5
I don't get it! I don't get why she's so lauded. It's average, actually fairly dull pop music.
Look, I'm not the biggest fan of pop music, but when it's interesting, different, a little subversive, I can get behind it. When it's safe and monotonous and over produced then I'm just not interested and this is definitely in the latter camp. I'd even take Adele over this, and that's saying something!
Talk Talk
4/5
A band I knew very little about and that I’d lumped in as ‘one of those bands from the 80s that I probably won’t like’ but what a pleasant surprise!
It still has a certain amount of that 80s sheen to the production, despite, as I read, a move from the band away from a more synthesised sound.
And the results are great! A blend of new wave and art pop that for me, is streets ahead of ‘that one o listened to yesterday’ See, pop music can be good!
So many great songs to choose from and had I had a little more time, I may have chosen a deeper cut like _Living in Another World_ or _Time It’s Time_ but already being a little familiar from the radio, and with that great bass line and lead guitar tone, I had to pick my fave track, Life Is What You Make It
Linkin Park
2/5
To continue the cricket analogy, after posting my 50 yesterday, I took a wild swing at this, it clipped an edge and was dropped at slip… or something like that.
That’s a roundabout way of saying that this wasn’t for me although I was surprised how many of these songs I’d heard before given that I’ve never listened to the album, possibly in clubs or music TV channels.
Quite often this sounds somewhere between Korn (a band I used to like) and Incubus (a band I still like) but it lacks the looseness that either of those bands had, Korn with their hip hop groove or Incubus with their SoCal surfer vibes. It all felt a bit stiff and ‘techy’ and I’m not a fan of either vocalist.
I can see the appeal but not for me.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
I remember actively not liking Elvis Costello as a kid, for no other reason than it wasn’t the cool aesthetic I was looking back then. It all seemed very 70s ‘shades of brown’.
That said I did enjoy ECs solo album a few years ago and so was a bit more open minded coming in. I’m glad I listened twice as the second listen, walking around my suburban hometown in the sun, seemed to be the right environment for this
I can’t say that I love it but the energy and hooks have caught my attention enough to make me want to hear more… which is a good job as I believe he has a couple more albums in here.
Funkadelic
4/5
Two 1978 albums in a row. This’s on is certainly more of a vibe album with 6 songs, mostly coming in at around 6 minutes and more. One you can get up and shake your ass to or kick back and groove to.
With it's undeniable funk sound, it takes in influence from R&B, soul, and rock, particularly prog rock and its influence can be seen in both rock and rap, especially throughout the 90s. Dr Dre credits the P Funk sound directly on the sounds of his G Funk era.
The title track is a classic but personally I love my. Fave track Who Says A Funk Band Can't Play Rock?!
... although surely this is directly responsible for Lenny Kravitz
Stevie Wonder
3/5
It’s not _Songs in the Key…_ and as such I don’t feel there’s anything vital on here but that doesn’t mean it’s not without its merit.
I generally prefer when Stevie gets a bit funkier and there’s a few tracks on here that fulfil that brief, including _Boogie On Reggae Woman_, _It ain’t No Use_ and my fave track, You Haven’t Done Nothin’
Shuggie Otis
4/5
Two 1978 albums in a row, followed by two 1974 albums in a row. This one is a total escapism vibe with its psychedelic, Californian soul and funk being the perfect accompaniment to a hot summer's day, somewhat in the vein of Roy Ayres.
I can also hear his influence on Michael Kiwanuka, whom I love, and you don't have to go far on the internet to confirm that, as Kiwanuka himself has cited it as 'my favourite album to escape to'.
An incredibly mature album from a then 21yo Shuggie with a range of tracks from the totally chilled out (_Island Letter_, _Pling!_) to the more expansive (_Sparkle City_, _Aht Uh Mi Head_) , and my.....
**Fave track:** Inspiration Information
The Kinks
4/5
I was honestly a little surprised by quite how much I liked this.
The Kinks are a band I know from singles only and whilst I generally do like those, I didn’t feel like there’d be much depth to them in general.
Turns out most of this album is great! Highlights include _Rosy Won’t You Please.._ and _House in the Country_.
There’s a slight lull at the start of the back third but it gets over that with a really strong finish, closing on _I’ll Remember_, proceeded by the classic and my…
**Fave track:** Sunny Afternoon
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
I’ve had times in the past where I listened to Dinosaur Jr. I remember hearing the _Start Choppin’_ single and bought _Where You Been_ off the back of that but didn’t delve much further.
This absolutely bangs though! The sound of the alternative scene of the early 90s has seeds here for sure.
That muddy, grungy sound is there but the songs burst with life and energy and the guitar work is incredible!
Any of the first 4 or 5 tracks could be my fave and if the album kept up that quality it would be a 5 star. The back half isn’t quite as strong though although still very good.
**Fave track:** SludgeFeast
Elvis Presley
4/5
I wouldn't call myself an Elvis fan but it's hard to deny his talent or his impact and it's evident from this, his debut. Culturally as well, there aren't too many artists that have had his impact.
Despite not writing his own songs, he was heavily involved in their interpretation and in the studio and alongside his performance, he made definitive versions of songs like _Blue Suede Shoes_, a song written and released 6 months earlier by Carl Perkins.
This is a really solid collection of songs with a good energy and vibe and great productions.... and at 29 minutes, it's a really easy listen. A mix of upbeat and slower songs and not a bad one on here. It's not mind-blowing now, as it was at the time but holds up amazingly well.
Keith Jarrett
2/5
Not being a massive jazz fan, I was unaware of Keith and I've therefore obviously never heard or heard of this before. So I did a little research and found a great article in the Guardian about two films being produced about and explaining the story behind this live concert recording and it's pretty fascinating! https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/feb/10/koln-concert-keith-jarrett-jazz-masterpiece-piano
So, it almost didn't happen save for the work of two diligent piano technicians and the 18yo promoter swearing in his face.
> I went face to face with Keith Jarrett,” recalls Vera Brandes, “and I said to him, ‘Keith, if you don’t play this concert, I’ll be fucked. And you’ll be fucked too.’
The first 4 notes he plays are also a repeat of the 'jingle 'that the theatre play to instruct patrons to seat themselves and he develops the motif through the piece.
A live piano album is always going to struggle with me though, it's something i'd much rather watch live and in this case... something I'd much rather watch one of those 2 films of. I feel much of the reason this is here is in the lore of how the concert happened rather than in the music itself, as good as that obviously is.
Peter Tosh
4/5
I’m new to Peter Tosh, a member of Bob Marley’s Wailers… it was one of the albums I’d earmarked to buy on vinyl but have never seen in the wild.
And after hearing it for the first time, I’d definitely do that! It’s a lovely slice of reggae that’s currently working very nicely as a sit in a French campsite sipping my rum.
I’m underselling it though, this is not your throwaway 90s chart reggae, the title track was banned in Jamaica on release and like Marley, Tosh deals in a number of serious and emotional subjects. It’s well worth a listen and remains on my purchase list
Beastie Boys
4/5
Paul’s Boutique is a huge step forward for the Beasties. If they’d have done LTI 2 I think it would have cast them into a corner that they might not have been able to get out of. Instead they showed the world that they were innovators who followed their noses and instincts and made something that was at the forefront of hip hop, moving away from a more simplistic use of samples to creating dense compositions from multiple samples in a way that just can’t happen now due to legalities and cost. They weren’t the first but they did it in their own way.
Vocally the BB hallmarks are still there but the style was almost proto 90s with multi syllabic rhymes and dense references to pop culture which wove around the music with their typical intertwined delivery.
Paul’s Boutique isn’t perfect but it does thrive in its own chaos.
Living Colour
3/5
I’m aware of LC only through _Cult of Personality_ and especially since it was on Guitar Hero 3, so I was glad to hear it included here and it got the album off to a great start, brilliant song that it is.
Unfortunately, nothing else really lived up to it. That’s not to say it was bad, but it was a high bar by which the rest of the album falls short.
I think this is another one that probably hits different at the time but its fusing of styles into a hard rock aesthetic feels fairly primitive in today’s musical landscape as potentially revolutionary as it was then. Nowadays this sounds like fairly traditional hard rock /funk metal of the time.
Another one that I’d have no problem listening to but not one I’d choose to put on.
Moby
3/5
An inescapable album in the ‘99 and early 2000s, it produced no less than 8 singles many of which ended up on adverts.
I was briefly taken in but I ultimately found this a little lacking and still do. Along with Fatboy Slim the mix of soulful ambience and vocal hook wore thin quickly and I haven’t gone back to this in well over 2 decades. The first half in particular is decent but overall it’s too long and interest falls away over the back half.
I can hear its influence though in some of the music that I love like **Bicep** and **Odesza**, both of whom have produced albums recently whose roots can be traced back to this but I find them more interesting and with greater depth.
The Velvet Underground
3/5
I own and like VU & Nico but this is the first album besides that I’ve listened to.
It probably needs more than one listen, there were some hallmarks here but I struggled to grasp onto it in the setting I was in.. that being a French campsite.
There were good moments but I’ll have to return to this to properly assess.
The White Stripes
4/5
I was a big fan of this album on release and despite not listening to it much over the last decade or so it’s still great whenever I do.
_Seven Nation Army_ has now largely been ruined by being overplayed and it turning into a football song but the rest of the album holds up well, despite it.
Is it the best WS album? Maybe, maybe not but it’s pretty damn good Probably could do with a couple of songs being trimmed but it’s a minor point.
The one-two of _ I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother’s Heart_ and _You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket_ is perfect and has some personal meaning behind it for me.
Ice T
3/5
I was never a fan of Ice T in my younger years but he’s someone I’ve got into through collecting vinyl and now own several of his albums including this one.
I’m not going to pretend it’s amazing, it comes across more like a mixtape than an album, jumping from one thing to the next, including adding a **Body Count** track, but I do love this funk sample heavy, under produced era of hip hop and Ice T comes with bags of character.
Of course it’s too long and some of the skits are shit. He does sample Sabbath though which is a plus!
Joanna Newsom
4/5
I wasn’t really looking forward to this when it popped up with just 5 tracks coming in at nearly an hour but it was something of a revelation.
Slow and ever developing prog-folk and baroque pop weaves a tapestry of wonderful music that reminded me of someone like The Mummers whose music also enraptured me from the very beginning.
With tracks ranging from 7 to 17 minutes it’s not one you can just pop on and listen to in the background; it demands attention but rewards you for it. I’ll be returning to this and her for sure!
Little Richard
3/5
There’s no surprises here, it’s 12 songs, all between 2 and 3 minutes in a classic Rock 'n' Roll style. Coming in at under 30 minutes it's a really easy listen.
Obviously revolutionary at the time, it's maintained it's energy even though the sound is locked into that time period. It as never going to blow me away but if I want that sound, it'll be something like Little Richard that I'm reaching for.
_Long Tall Sally_ was used in the helicopter scene in the _Predator_ movie, so always a fave!
Fiona Apple
4/5
I remember this was lauded at the time and I think even picked up some AOTY awards. It's easy to hear why as she sounds fantastic on it!
An unconventional album with experimental rhythms, found percussion and ambient sounds, somewhat reminiscent of **Tom Waits** and it's held together by her captivating vocal and piano.
Thematically it's extremely challenging, exploring trauma, confinement, self-expression and resilience, often expressed very literally and graphically.
Although I've heard it before, it was only one time and it was really too much to take in during one listen and even in this 2nd one. I'll be coming back to it though; it's probably purchase material and those 4 stars may be joined by a fifth.
Justin Timberlake
2/5
I despised this on release, my wife, then GF was a fan though and actually met him. As a result I heard these songs, mainly the singles, a lot
I’ve mellowed to it these days and there’s undeniably some bangers on here but as with many pop albums, especially of this era, there’s way too much filler and it’s very dull stuff!
So don’t mind the singles but I’m content to never hear this again
Syd Barrett
2/5
You can obviously hear the early Pink Floyd here, given that he was the principle songwriter on their debut album.
It's not an era of the band that particularly resonates with me though and I found this to be fine but unispiring! Perhaps it was just my mood at the time but I often zoned out when listening and I couldn't really recall much from it afterwards.
Not one I'll be returning to.
Elton John
3/5
I can’t claim to the biggest Elton John fan but I did but this on vinyl pretty early on in my collection.
It’s a solid album, probably a bit long bit does have a handful of great songs on it.
I do return to it very occasionally, it’s a good Sunday morning album
Missy Elliott
3/5
I thought this started quite well, the first few tracks being really quite good, with some cool production and beats, and Missy with a break nice smooth flow.
It quite quickly turned to being a bit monotonous though and by the midway point of what is, of course, an overly long album, I was really waiting for it to end.
So I’d say I’m more likely to pick a couple of tracks off this to add to a playlist than i would be to listen to the whole thing again.
David Ackles
3/5
I’m a bit torn on this, there’s a nice dark gothic storytelling vibe to it but it’s too often played out over-theatrically for my tastes.
There’s a few moments where that aspect is dialled down and that is where I find enjoyment in it.
Perhaps I’ll go back to it at some point but for now it’s a swing and a miss
ZZ Top
4/5
ZZ Top aren’t new to me, I own a copy of _Eliminator_ on vinyl, but I can’t claim to have a well rounded knowledge of them.
I did already know two tracks from this though, _ La Grange_ from Guitar Hero 3 and _Precious and Grace_ which QOTSA covered as a bonus track on their album _Lullabies to Paralyse_.
It seems like an album that would grow on me and their bluesiness is certainly a sound that vibes with me. I enjoyed this and would definitely come back to it.
Incubus
5/5
This is a real marmite album in the reviews with the majority being 1 or 5. As someone that grew up with this album and the band in general, I definitely fall into the latter category !
Here the band move on from the straight ahead funk rock and nu-metal that introduced them to the mainstream alternative audience. They maintain some of these elements but this is more expansive and a step up in the levels and maturity of their songwriting that will peak on the next album _Morning View_.
The whole is tight but Brandon Boyd's vocal performance is dynamic and Mike Einziger is a really underrated and creative guitarist. The heaviness is still there on tracks like _Privelege_, _Consequence_, _Make Yourself and _Pardon Me_ but they're joined by lighter cuts like the trippy _The Warmth_, the acoustic _Drive_ and the sweet _I Miss You_.
Maybe it’s some of the nostalgia talking but it’s a 9/10 album for me so I’m bumping it up to 5 stars… I don’t think you’re allowed to stray from 1 or 5 anyway and it’s definitely not a 1 !
Sade
2/5
I was broadly aware of who Sade were coming into this, at least _Smooth Operator_ which is really unavoidable in life. This was my first full taste though.
And unfortunately that blend of smooth soul and sophisti-pop is just not for me. It's too smooth and too clean and the bright, jangly production makes it sound very much of its time.
I suppose it's pretty inoffensive to listen to but there's just no bite to it. What it really needs is a little more edge and a few sharp corners.
2/5
I did own this album at one point having got into LB after I saw them supporting Korn in 97. My interest in them soon waned though, so much so that, despite playing this album a good amount back when it came out, I now only know the singles, and only because they get fairly regular airplay.
The only ohter track I remember is _Rollin' (Urban Assualt Vehcle)_ which I used to play a lot in the car, more because it featured some really good rappers in Method Man, Redman and DMX).
Sadly, Fred Durst is not a good rapper and this is not a good album.It's no surprise that the best tracks predominantly feature other people. I do like Scott Weiland's contribution to _Hold On_, it's very un-LB and had he sung the second verse, rather than Fred, this might have been my fave, but instead I'll go for the aforementioned _Rollin' (Urban Assualt Vehcle)_ as the beat and the other 3 verses are fire!
Fiona Apple
4/5
Coming just over a week after the algorithm gave me her latest album, I’ve been given her debut.
It’s not the first time I’ve heard it, I’ve been well aware of the hype around her ever since she released the video for _Criminal_ but for some reason, the music never did much for me before.
Well… it’s finally landed, perhaps thanks to listening to and loving _Fetch the Bolt Cutters_… I now get it!
Incredible talent and to think she wasn’t even 20 when this was released.
A dark chamber/alt pop album featuring jazzy piano arrangements underpinned with a blues that belies her years. Her voice expressive, and sultry; it’s a fantastic debut!
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
I used to hate the PSB, they were popular around the time that I was full on alt-rock and they always seemed to be in the charts with some song or other.
I’ve mellowed over the years and can appreciate what they do. Neil Tennant is also a good interview which has warmed me to them more.
Still not a fan but it’s a fine listen, even if o wouldn’t go back. The singles on here are good but I quite liked how different the opener was.
Iggy Pop
4/5
I’ve not had much time to gather my thoughts on this as I only listened this morning but I really enjoyed that listen!
I knew the big two tracks coming in, _Lust for Life_ and _The Passenger_, both of which I liked before hearing this.
Only thing to point out is that the song _Tonight_ reminded me of his song _Gardenia_ from _Post Pop Depression_. I don’t know if that’s just from the use of the word ‘tonight’ but it felt melodically similar too I’ve not had chance to compare back though so moving on… will definitely return to the album though!
Lorde
1/5
Nope... 2 listens of this and I can't remember any bit of any song from it.
Bland pop music, nothing much else to say.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
My dad is a big Paul Simon fan , so I'm familiar with some of this already, even though I've never listened to it in its entirety. I must admit that I prefer the bouncier pop-infused version of them on _Bridge Over Troubled Waters_.
This has some of those moments and at just 29 mins this is pretty listenable and benefits from headphones.
But I'm not sure that I'd return to this, I'm much more likely to return to the aforementioned _BOTW_.
Elliott Smith
3/5
I don’t know whether it was just because it followed Simon & Garfunkel but I heard quite a lot of Paul Simon in this, with some pop-folk influence on many songs.
I spent a long time avoiding this for no particular reason and had low expectations but was actually quite surprised and mostly enjoyed it.
I think I’d need some more listened to unpack it fully but I may well do that!
Grateful Dead
2/5
Not a lot to say about this, i found it incredibly one note… not a terrible note but I prefer more variety from my albums.
Van Halen
3/5
I first listened to this a few months ago when we started doing Kerrang albums of the year. I thought it was decent, the best of the bunch at that point but it didn’t really grab and hasn’t on a repeated listen.
I appreciate the impact it likely had at the time but to me listening now it feels of it’s time, they even dated it themselves with the title, and it’s not a genre I hold particularly dear.
So a decent listen but not one I’ll be returning to.
John Cale
3/5
I gather that Cale is typically moe avant-garde than we hear on this album which sits in a more art-pop space, not unlike something Bowie might produce on one of his more subdued days.
I think there's some subtelty and complexity to this that is difficult to pickup in one listen so whilst I don't have strong feelings, I think in will bear repeated listens so I may return to it one day.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
I was aware of Young’s ‘Godfather of Grunge’ title back in the 90s but given limited access to music at that point I never had chance to discover why.
The handful of Young tracks I had heard didn’t seem to fit but finally, here it is, Young & Crazy Horses grunge alt-country stylings on this album didn’t really influence the Pacific Northwest movement (well maybe Pearl Jam) but it shared a guitar tone and maybe a musical ethos.
Fuckin’ up was known to me coming in this as it’s a PJ live staple but I really enjoyed listening to this and will be coming back for more!
Pretenders
3/5
I've never listened to Pretenders before, other than hearing them on the radio. This had a little more edge than most of the stuff you hear which I enjoyed and would make me want to give this more of a go.
That punk edge is smoothed out by Christie Hynde’s rich voice which is the star here.
Plus I’m practically family with Chrissie after she sat in front of me at the Lanegan 60 gig!
Van Morrison
3/5
I was dreading this when is showed up this morning. I never got into Van Morrison and the thought of a 90+ minute double live album was not a pleasant one!
However I was pleasantly surprised. This was a far bluesier version of VM then I'd heard previously and the first side of the album skipped by with a good energy.
I did a wane a little in the second but overall, a very enjoyable experience. I'm not typically one for live albums so I'm not sure I'd revisit this but if I was looking for a VM fix, I might start here.
Queens of the Stone Age
5/5
I was a little later to Queens and I came to their debut after _Songs for the Deaf_ and _Rated R_. It's a much more raw album than either of those but no less punchy with Homme saying that he wanted to write "trance rock music".
He succeeded of course and this, like all of the albums, are packed with primal grooves that seem somehow simultaneously tight and loose and all with that trademark guitar tone and 'drunken stumble' style of playing that 's unmistakably him and gives everything a realness and even live feeling.
This isn't the Queens album I reach for most, I think there's much better quality on later albums but there is something here that keeps me coming back regularly and it's always a good time when I do.
Jack White
3/5
I bought this at the time off the back of the excellent lead single _Love Interruption_. Having been a fan of the White Stripes, I was interested to hear what Jacky boy would come up with this his own.
I was a little underwhelmed to be honest, there are some good moments on here for sure, particularly the first half of the album but it soon fell out of favour and I haven’t returned to it in a decade.
Listening to it again, I probably have a little more appreciation of what he was going for here but beyond a handful of songs, I still don’t think it’s going to win me back.
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
This isn't the first time I've tried to get into this album or indeed Kendrick. Following last year's _GNX_, which I thought was excellent, I thought I finally got him. But sadly this one just isn't landing the same way.
I don't think how it starts helps, although I believe there's layers of meaning here lyrically in a man talking about the size of his dick, I probably need to spend some time with Genius to unearth the reasons. The first few songs are the put off I think and as we get towards the middle and end, songs like _Alright_ and _How Much A Dollar Cost_ are bangers. The runtime doesn't help, no album needs to be this long!
Musically it's excellent and Kendrick's flow is incredibly creative, but lyrically I'm finding it jarring. I probably will listen again at some point because I know there's something here.
Brian Wilson
2/5
This album is like one long intro for a song that refuses to start. Or like the intro to every Beach Boys song pasted together with no pay off of the catchy chorus
… that is until he just just covers a Beach Boys song, _Good Vibrations_.
Sorry, I just don’t get this one!
Metallica
4/5
Metallica are a band I came to later than what most people would call their classic albums so I probably didn't hear this in full until the 2000s although would have been aware of the popular tracks from it. I probably don't need to hear _Enter Sandman_ again!
I know that this has many purist fans divided as it was a lean away from their thrash roots into a more popular stadium rock area but tbh, it's those tracks, the Morricone inspired_The Unforgiven_, the eastern sounding_Wherever I May Roam_, and power ballad_Nothing Else Matters_ that are my highlights of this album.
There’s no denying that this was a landmark album in the genre and full deserves its place here.
Supergrass
4/5
I can’t claim to be the biggest Supergrass fan but I was very into this at the time and I still come back to it occasionally.
A perfect distillation of Britpop, full of reverence yet also wearing its own heart on its sleeve, the collection of songs defies the mere 18 years of its principle songwriter Gaz Coombes who would go onto prove this wasn’t a fluke over a number of decades with The band and his solo work.
It’s a fun album that’s aged really well and is packed with a youthful energy that perfectly captures that moment in time but also, any time and this wouldn’t sound out of place if it came out last week.
_Alright_ is perhaps the fly in the ointment, as it’s been far too overplayed, although I DON’T have the disdain for it that many do.
Screaming Trees
5/5
Although I was aware of both the Trees and Lanegan prior to Dust, there’s no doubt that this was the album that got me into Lanegan.
I bought it around the time of release based on the Kerrang! review as well as the hype sticker on the CD which said something along the lines of…
The psychedelic rock classic that Soundgarden and Smashing Pumpkins always dreamed of making
… as probably my fave 2 bands in ‘96, I had to hear this and whilst I largely didn’t agree with that particular assessment, I did fall in love with the brilliant, soulful, gospel quality of it all. Everyone is in superb form but the keys are the extra dimension here which elevates it to something really special, alongside some masterful production by George Drakoulias.
Kerrang! subsequently named it their album of the year. It’s my fave Trees album and it’d be up there for my fave Lanegan album.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Going through a good run at the mo and this my 2nd consecutive album released in 1996.
One that has come into my life at various points and I've always enjoyed it when it does.
Musically a departure from earlier albums although the penchant for the cinematic remains. The introduction of various female, clean and smooth voices is a nice counterpoint to Cave's rough edge. It's an excellent and compelling album with some massive highs.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
There was too much to unpack on this one from one listen. Putting a 12 minute track as your second song with various passages of music and even conversation, it’s a difficult one to piece together and needs more time.
The album recovers well though with the best track and the well known _One of these Things_.
So this didn’t exactly land on first listen but there’s enough here to revisit.
Jurassic 5
4/5
A bit surprised to see this in here over the debut and the sophomore as it's comfortably below both of them in mine, and probably many's estimations,, both are 5 star albums for me!
That said, it's still a good album, particularly the first half, maybe even two thirds but like a lot of hip hop records of the era, this could have been trimmed 2 or 3 songs and been better for it.
The highs here are high though, Freedom, A Day at the Races, What's Golden_ and High Fidelity, all really strong tracks.
They're just a great group and I really miss this type of thing in hip-hop these days which tends to focus more on the single artist.
The Slits
4/5
I knew a couple of tracks coming in, _Typical Girls_ and the bonus track cover of Marvin Gaye’s _I Heard it Through the Grapevine_.
Despite liking both of those tracks, I was perhaps a little surprised with how much I enjoyed the album.
The sparse production really leans into reggae and dub and works really well, showing a different side of what is a typical male dominated genre in punk.
David Bowie
4/5
I came to Bowie late, very late... the first album of his I owned on vinyl was Blackstar. I followed that up with Ziggy Stardust and then this.
It's not my favourite Bowie album, his 'Thin White Duke' persona was very different to an alien from Mars and it took me a while to adjust to the avant-garde change in sound.
Kicking off with the ten minute experimental epic prog-funk of the title track, the album weaves though disco, soul, funk and krautrock, all filtered through Bowie's lens.
Michael Jackson
4/5
The words ‘Michael Jackson had a huge impact on me as a kid’ may carry negative connotations now but this and the follow up, _Bad_, were massive albums for me growing up.
To be honest, they’re not albums I go back to at all now but playing this for the first time in maybe a couple of decades, there’s no denying the quality here.
Emmylou Harris
2/5
I actually own a copy of this on vinyl which I bought from a charity shop for eighteen 50p or a pound, the reason being that it features in Lisa like this.
I haven’t really listened to it much though! She has a nice voice but for the most part, it’s pretty dull and unmenorable. I really should get around to selling it at some point, although I don’t imagine it’s worth much.
Dennis Wilson
3/5
Fellow Beach Boy Al Jardine once said the this was “better than anything we've ever done” and having never been a huge Beach Boys fans, I’m inclined to agree with him!
You can still hear them in this, in fact I didn’t know who he was when I put the record on but I instinctively guessed during opener _River Song_.
That distinctive California sound is in there but this is moodier, at times funkier and certainly has much more levels to it than the music he was involved in with in his day job.
In the right mood, probably a summer one, I’d probably revisit this for the vibe.
3/5
It’s a rare day when I’ve never even heard of the artist that the algorithm has delivered to me, but today is one of those.
Liars, it turns out are a noise rock band and one that to my ears take influence from the. Lever Underground with a long, repetitive , weird jamminess to a lot of their songs, only it’s sped up and gives it all a tribal feel.
I’m not quite sure why this is on the list. It was averagely received at the time and its critical reappraisal has also been average. In fact the only notable thing about it seems to be that it’s on this list.
I thought it was ok but more of a curiosity than something I’d return to.
Nick Drake
3/5
I don't listen to a lot of folk, which is perhaps a surprise as my Dad loves the stuff... maybe that's why!
This was a solid and enjoyable listen. Nothing that I didn't like on here, and a few in particular that I thought were good and offered something a little different (_Pink Moon_, _Know_, _Free Ride_) .
It's not really in my wheelhouse though and whilst I wouldn't have any issue listening to this, I can't see myself choosing to listen to it again.
PJ Harvey
3/5
I don't listen to a lot of folk, which is perhaps a surprise as my Dad loves the stuff... maybe that's why!
This was a solid and enjoyable listen. Nothing that I didn't like on here, and a few in particular that I thought were good and offered something a little different (_Pink Moon_, _Know_, _Free Ride_) .
It's not really in my wheelhouse though and whilst I wouldn't have any issue listening to this, I can't see myself choosing to listen to it again.
The Kinks
4/5
I seem to recall listening to this within the last year or so and it not landing with me. Maybe it's because I've listened to and enjoyed other Kinks albums in this challenge but my listening enjoyment was much enhanced this time.
The first half of the album in particular is very strong with tracks like _The Village Green Preservation Society_, _Picture Book_ and the bluesy _Last of the Steam-Powered Trains_.
It tailed of a little towards the end but I could see myself coming back to this and getting more from it each time.
Meat Loaf
2/5
Completely overblown and pompous in its style and production, it does very little for me I’m afraid.
It gets 2 stars purely for its ambition and effort.
Hanoi Rocks
1/5
Two duds in a row. The production on this is so flat that it's easy to forget you're actually listening to it. It just pretty much happened in the same room as me and I can't really recall anything of note about it other than the in sax in _ Malibu Beach Nightmare_ which adds some much needed dynamics to an otherwise utterly forgettable album.
Circle Jerks
1/5
The 15 minute runtime of this was its saving grace! I'm not really a fan of punk but 15 songs over 15 minutes makes it almost impossible, for me at least, to gauge or engage with anything. I feel that this would be best enjoyed live where you get an energy that's just missing on record and so you're just left with small blasts of noise that are gone as soon as they've arrived,
Testing my patience now algorithm,,, 3 duds in a row!
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
I thought this was another punk album from the cover but turns out to be a very nice slice of psychedelic blues rock with Janis Joplin on vocals!
Had a very nice time with it and would definitely return for more. Hard to look past _Piece of My Heart_ but I really did enjoy _ Turtle Blues_
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
I wasn't into ATCQ at the time, preferring the harder edge of rap but I did soften later in the decade when I got into the likes of J5 and Dilated Peoples so I've subsequently listened to this several times over the years and whilst I thought it was good, it never really landed... until yesterday.
I don't often listen to these albums more than once and I haven't listened to any more than twice, until this one. Funky beats overlaid with jazzy instrumentation and tight flows from Q-tip and Phife. I honestly don't know why this hasn't hit me before but rest assured, I'm all on board now!
So many good tracks it's hard to choose, Excursions, Rap Promoter, Check the Rhime, Scenario but I think I have to give it to my fave track... Buggin' Out
Rush
4/5
I’ve never listened to Rush until now and I was very pleasantly surprised at how accessible these songs were for the generally prog epics that they were.
Coupled with some incredible musicianship, it makes for a really interesting 40 mins and is one I’ll be looking out for the vinyl of in car boot sales from now on to add to my collection.
Ryan Adams
3/5
I honestly thought I would hate this album and for a couple of songs, I think maybe my biases were guiding my enjoyment or lack thereof, but by the 3rd or 4th track it was already turning me around and by the end, I had thoroughly enjoyed it. I've been back and listened again with a fresh perspective and it holds up.
There's a bluesy, gospel feel to this that I wasn't expecting and that is very much in my wheelhouse. There are shades of Dylan here and even Paul Simon, both of which are good sources of inspiration and despite its country leanings, it doesn't stray into the cheesy trappings that I associate with a lot of that genre's more modern output.
I'm genuinely surprised at this, I was borderline going to give it a 4 stars, but it's a strong 3 for now. More listens will happen at some point.
Soundgarden
5/5
I was a 15yo in an Austrian hotel room when I first knowingly heard Soundgarden and it was the video for _Black Hole Sun_ which, along with _Basket Case_, I watched several times a day on MTV. I hated that holiday, I didn’t want to be there and so I barely left my room.
Sad in retrospect but at least I got _Dookie_ and ***Superunknown*** out of it! And I was obsessed with Soundgarden for many years after, and I still am!
The dark brooding nature that underpins the muscular riffs and beautiful melodics is probably what ultimately lead to Cornell’s early demise but it makes for an utterly compelling record and one that never feels anywhere near its well over an hour of length.
Although he becomes the focus, It’s not just the Cornell show. Kim Thayil’s melodies and solos are unmistakable. Ben Shepherds aggressive, expressive and melodic bass and Matt Cameron’s precision, power and groove behind the drums. Their chemistry as a 4 piece just works.
Along with _Badmotorfinger_ this is up there with my fave albums of all time. Easiest 5 stars yet!
Megadeth
2/5
I knew Hangar 18 coming into this and it's never made me want to discover more Megadeth. They're fine but it's not really my thing. I'm sure I'll raise some ire here but to me, they sound like a poor man's Metallica.
You can hear the similarities between them but whereas Metallica were capable of writing grander, deeper songs, this feels very straight ahead, meat and potatoes thrash. If that's your thing then I'm sure this is great, but it doesn't really do it for me.
Big Black
4/5
I knew who Big Black were for a long time but never took the time to listen to them until their last album, which I thought was really good! This is the first thing I've listened to other than that and it's another thumbs up!
It's got a real vital intensity to it and sounds way ahead of it's time for 1986. with its noisy, almost industrial feel at times, slightly grungy too, which all works for me!
Prince
3/5
Never a fan of Prince when I was young but have come to appreciate him as an excellent songwriter, virtuosic guitarist and general musical maverick. Let's be honest, at 70 mins, this is a bit long. I'm not sure I need to hear 7, 8 or 9 minute Prince songs but here we are.
That said, it's decent, I certainly don't mind it, but I'm not sure I'd purposefully revisit. For me he;s best when he leans into the funk which is does heavily in my fave track: D.S.M.R.
Beastie Boys
4/5
An eclectic mix of hip hop, hardcore, funk, a Latin jazz
flavor from Bobo on percussion and dicks in mashed potato.
As a whole, it’s a little on the long side and some of the instrumental excursions I feel could be trimmed or removed. I like this best when it’s big beats, funky samples and killer rhymes and there’s plenty of them on here to make it a great album
Stan Getz
3/5
I certainly prefer my jazz with a Latin flavor so this journey into a samba style was somewhat in familiar territory.
I imagine that this was groundbreaking at the time to an audience that was probably experiencing it for the first time. I understand that was a fusion with American jazz but I prefer the pure style.
The Electric Prunes
2/5
Perhaps I’m missing something but this seems like another album whose only claim to fame was its inclusion on this list.
I didn’t hear anything here that I haven’t heard in a number of similar bands of the era and in fact there’s some pretty rubbish stuff on here.
For context, The Doors released their debut the month before this and it’s vastly superior to this.
Rage Against The Machine
5/5
I don’t think there’s really been anything like RATM, before or since and I’m not sure there ever could be. My personal and our collective fave debut album.
I remember seeing the uncensored grainy hand-cam shot video for _Killing in the Name_ back when it came out in late 92 (possibly early 93). I don’t remember where I saw it but it left the 13 year old me wondering what the hell I’d just seen and whether it was something I shouldn’t have. It felt so subversive!
The internet not being available back then it took me a few weeks to find out who they were and that they had an album out and it became one of only 4 purchased cassette tapes (along with 3 Nirvana ones) that I owned.
With its fusion of rock and rap, still not bettered to this day, Tom Morello’s insane guitar sonics, (“_no samples, keyboards or synthesizers used in the making of this record_”) and Zack’s rebellious, anti-establishment tirades this was like nothing I’d heard and it’s subject matter is still prescient today.
I’d have to wait until the Evil Empire tour in 96 before I saw them live but I’ve never been in a mosh pit like it. There were moments I thought I wouldn’t make it out, had to be picked up off the floor a couple of times and by the end my RATM ‘fuct’ tshirt was shredded and hanging off my body. Hands down one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to… what a band!
Pixies
4/5
I didn’t happen on Pixies until _Trompe Le Monde_ and perhaps controversially, it’s my fave album of theirs. A band I very much like but fall short of loving and one I tend to listen to playlists of rather than albums
A lot of their best songs are on here though and its quiet/loud influence on 90s alt rock and therefore inclusion on this list are not in doubt.
Christine and the Queens
3/5
I don’t have any history with CATQ. Slightly elevated pop music, it was ok but felt anything but vital.
I preferred the second half of the album where it slowed down and the soundscapes became more interesting which seems contrary to most of the reviews I’ve seen.
I only half listened to the French side, I don’t think it would alter my opinion.
John Coltrane
4/5
I don't listen to a lot of jazz, particularly American jazz, but there are a handful of classic albums that a friend put me onto a long time ago. Those are the ones that I will draw on and this is one of them.
I have to be in the mood though and luckily today I was. It goes all over the place, constantly moving but it bursts with energy and life and is utterly compelling. I had to stop my work today to listen at one point during Pursuance.
Rush
4/5
The 2nd Rush album of this challenge and I don't think it hit quite as well as the first. Not that I didn't like it, with the 20 minute epic opener followed by five 3-4 min tracks, it just didn't feel as balanced as Moving Pictures.
It probably wouldn't put me off returning though, just for that epic opener although it's the track that follows it, perhaps in relief, that really stuck out with it's greasy riff and blues-y solo.
Duran Duran
3/5
Another 80s synth pop band that was the antithesis of what I was into growing up but these days, I quite enjoy. I can give Courtney Love some credit here as I'd heard and enjoyed Hole's Unplugged version of _Hungry Like the Wolf_ a number of times before I knew where it came from.
The album as a whole isn't as consistent as their singles output, they really need the big hooks to make this formula work but they deliver that more often than not.
Brian Eno
1/5
I’ve never heard a single thing to make me understand why Brian Eno is so revered.
This is the sound of someone who hit record in the studio and then just pissed around all day and released it as an album. It’s a bunch of ideas for songs that he never bothered to finish actually writing.
I thought the first track was ok and all was finally about to revealed to me in a glorious 40 minute package… but no, didn’t like a single other thing. Absolute fucking grifter, I don’t get it!
The Rolling Stones
4/5
The first Stones album I heard in full, the start of their classic run of 4, and the only Stones album I've bought... so far at least. As such, it's the album of theirs that I know best.
It starts with by far the strongest track on the album, but the rest is of a consistently high quality, in that classic Stones style. _No Expectations_, _Jigsaw Puzzle_, _Street Fighting Man_ and _Salt of the Earth_ in particular are all great too.
Willie Nelson
3/5
I don't have a lot to say about this. I'm not a huge country fan but this was a fine listen although really failed to do a lot beyond provide a background soundtrack. Generally it was a bit slow and ponderous b perhaps in another context it would work better.
Billy Bragg
3/5
This was actually a little better than I expected as I've never really liked his voice and always found the music a bit middling. Which is a shame because I have a lot of respect for him, his political leanings and as person; I've even frequented his curated stage at Glastonbury on a number of occasions.
So whilst this was a fine listen, it's just not really floating my boat in any meaningful way. I'm unlikely to return to it.
Richard Hawley
3/5
11 tracks of what can be best described as Crooner-core. With its lush strong-lead arrangements it harksback to that era as well as the chamber pop that followed.
So there’s some nice textures here and the songwriting is decent but overall it’s a bit of a one trick pony, staying more or less at the same pace and level throughout.
There’s an obvious comparison to me with Lanegan’s _Imitations_ album, a series of covers, many of which were sung by some of the original crooners but there’s so much more variation to that album.
Decent but in no way essential!
New Order
3/5
Was never particularly of a fan of New Order growing up, so much so that I didn't bother with Joy Division for a long time. Some intense listening later and I'm now a big fan of Joy Division but New Order still largely elude me.
Sure, they have some undoubtedly great and classic songs and there's some good ones on this album but over the course of the whole album, it's just ok, rather than the greatness we hear in _Unknown Pleasures_ and _Closer_.
They lost something both literally and figuratively when Ian Curtis passed and its not just his vocals, although that is certainly a weakness here.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Pretty universally considered his 2nd best album after Songs in the Key of Life and as fan of that album, which contains his best songs, I'd say that this, as a single album, is probably his most accessible due to it's concise length and inclusion of some classic songs, namely, Living for the City , Don't You Worry About a Thing and Higher Ground, which I first heard as a RHCP cover (this is much better!)
Unlike Songs in the Key... which has it's softer and more tender moments, this is pretty consistently upbeat and groove-laden and a very easy listen. It's the Saturday night album compared to its successors Sunday morning vibes. Both are great in their own way!
Kraftwerk
2/5
You can hear the influence on new wave and synth pop, not to mention hip hop, particularly the electro hip hop of Afrika Bambaataa, whose _Planet Rock_ samples the title track.
There’s even an influence, I’m sure, on **Joy Divisions** _Unknown Pleasures_ which came out just two years later but whereas human fragility seeped through every pore of that albums glacial sound, this album sounds clinical as fuck!
And that just doesn’t chime with me. It’s obviously very well done but I can’t connect with it. Because I know all the samples from it here’s my…
Iron Maiden
3/5
I'm not super familiar with Maiden, I know bits and pieces, I've heard the odd album but possibly nothing from this earlier iteration of the band. It felt like a slightly looser version of them than the Dickinson lead band that spawned many of their big songs.
And it really works for me, it carries a trace of 70s blues oriented rock that just softens it out a little but the Maiden trademarks are still there too. I think I prefer it and so I may be checking out a little more of Di'Anno lead Maiden.
David Bowie
4/5
I bought this album several years ago when I first started getting into Bowie and having loved ...Ziggy Stardust.... It wasn't as immediate for me, it doesn't have the same kind of accessible pomp and straight out hooks that made its predecessor so easy to engage with.
It's a lighter, more experimental affair all round which rewards repeat listens. Mike Garson's jazzy piano flourishes are a highlight; Trent Reznor was listening to this for sure when he recruited him to work on The Fragile.
So not my fave Bowie album but there's a base level quality he offers and rarely dips below. Following the success of his previous album, this might always have been a tricky follow up, but like Bowie always does, he evolves and gives you something you maybe weren't expecting.
George Jones
1/5
Slow, plodding mid-paced 70s country... if you know you know and sadly I do! Thank god it was only 28 minutes long!
Sparks
3/5
One 1974 album follows another and this is certainly an improvement on the previous one!
I've never really got into Sparks though and whilst I this was a decent listen and I'm glad to finally hear one of their albums in full.
I'm unsure about whether I'd return to it, I enjoyed the first two songs, I already knew the opener, and _Amateur Hour_ was also vageuly familiar. After that though, nothing really grabbed me from it.
Boston
2/5
I wish I could just close my eyes and slip away from this album!
Seriously though, this is far from the worst thing I've heard so far in this run but pompous, overblown, overproduced, 70s arena rock is just not my bag.
King Crimson
5/5
I'd never knowingly listened to King Crimson before this. I'm not sure why but I had some negative connotations with that album cover. Turns out I had heard them before though as the opener _21st Century Schizoid Man_ was familiar to me, and more importantly, very very good!
Having seen the album in many a car boot sale over the past decade, I'm now kicking myself for not buying it, as this is truly brilliant stuff! Incredibly expansive and bold, especially for a debut and some beautifully warm production.
The aforementioned opener blasts out with its proto-metal style before we're treated to a more measured but thoroughly engaging series of slow-burners; improvisational in feel, always moving and evolving with moments of psychedelia or jazz and with an array of different instrumentation.
The closer and title track lifts the energy back up but with a more sombre note than the opener. The sparse verses are punctuated with the dense blasts of the rich chorus which increasingly build each time to the denouement.
I don't have a lot of frame of reference for this, I can hear the **Pink Floyd** in its trippier side and having got into this years **Black Country, New Road** album, I can hear the lineage from this album to that.
I was fortunately fully focussed when listening which I'd say it needs as its nuance could easily be lost as background music. It rewards that focus though with a rich palette of sounds and dynamics and you're always wondering what direction they'll take next.
I'll be keeping my out for this at my next car boot sale for sure!
Anyway, that's what I think... alternatively, Robert Christgau called it... "ersatz shit"
Steely Dan
3/5
I qualify this review by saying that I've drunk quite a lot of wine, hence my focus is somewhat lacking!
This had a lot more funk and groove than I was expecting which certainly wasn't unpleasant but at the same time the album didn't really grab me beyond that fact. For the most part, it just happened while I was listening. The only thing I really noted is that _Peg_ is sampled by **De La Soul** on their song _Eye Know_.
I strongly doubt that I'll listen to this again, not because I disliked it as such, but because I don't remember any other bit of it.
Nirvana
5/5
What can you say about this album that hasn't already been said?!
What I can say, is that this album blew me away and set my musical taste on a completely different path.
Having been watching the BBC4 re-runs of 90s Top of the Pops over the last few years, the impact of this album is laid bare. Following **Nirvana's** performance in late '91, not only were the charts awash with alternative bands regularly hitting the top 40 and often the top 10, but in the few years following we saw the likes of **Faith No More**, **Rocket From the Crypt**, **Stone Temple Pilots**, **Dinosaur Jr**, **Green Day**, **Hole**, **The Lemonheads**, **Therapy?** and even **Metallica** and **Megadeth** all gracing the studio with performances that would likely have never happened without this album.
And yes, _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ has been overplayed, almost to the point of ruin but its impact can't be overstated and it's not even close to the best song on this album. And yes, perhaps the production has a little more sheen than the band wanted or than it was cool in the scene at the time, but the strength of the songs and the performance of them is the reason why it's held in such high regard, and rightly so.
Of course Kurt gets most of the plaudits but he was backed by a perfect powerhouse drummer and an extremely underrated and melodic bassist (hear _Lithium_ and _Lounge Act_). But yes, he is the star and his performance is utterly compelling and has lost nothing in the nearly 35 years since its release. Just a monster album!
Garbage
4/5
I was very much into this at the time and have seen them live a couple of times. Can't say for sure that I've listened to it for a decade or so, and despite its very 90s sound, there were enough good songs and a whole heap of nostalgia that made it a fun listen and one I would probably now return to in the right mood.
The Allman Brothers Band
4/5
Just when I thought I was out of the 70s.... they pulled me back in!
Pretty top notch southern blues rock band. I always enjoy what I hear from them without being a mega fan. The only thing i'd be critical of with this one is the length of some of the tracks. I get that this is a live album and they're jamming and I'm sure live it hits much harder. On record though, I'm not sure it has the same impact.and I occasionally found them a bit meandering.
It's a small gripe though as the music generally is great!
The Prodigy
4/5
I was massively into The Prodigy when this was released, following their brilliant sophomore Music for the Jilted Generation. And this really landed in '97, the band opting to move out of their rave and techno beginnings to incorporate elements of more traditional dance music, big beat, rock, punk and hip-hop,.
But in the wake of their most successful period, I lost interest in them just a few years later with the follow up to this, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned where they really leaned into the electro-punk style that had begun with the rise of Keith from dancer to frontman and I didn't return until Invaders Must Die, released over a decade after this.
During that time, beyond the singles which you hear everywhere, I hadn't listened to The Fat of the Land and I still really haven't. It's a good album and it deserves to be on here for the capturing of the zeitgeist of the latter half of the 90s and there's some great tracks on here but they tend to be overplayed and the rest of the album dips, especially in its latter half. That'w despite it featuring the smash single Firestarter; iconic for sure, largely based around that video but I was never a huge fan and found it a bit simplistic and then grossly overplayed.
If I'm reaching for a Prodigy album, there's 3 I'd choose over this but there's enough quality to return to it, even if it's not held up as well I'd hoped.
The White Stripes
4/5
I think that this is probably the perfect distillation of what The White Stripes offer at their best even though I do think the highs in _Elephant_ are high!
There’s a raw energy here that they start to late from this point but the tunes are also undeniable. Probably my fave of theirs which is not something I would always have said
Bauhaus
3/5
I’ve warmed to goth music more recently in my life so whilst this wasn’t an unpleasant listen, it didn’t really grab me above some of other bands in the genre that I’ve been introduced to in the past couple of years.
I’m not sure of the lineage here but it also seemed to have elements of post-punk too which makes sense given the year of release.
Overall it was decent but if I was looking for a fix in this genre, I think I’d be more likely to look elsewhere.
Doves
3/5
I'll be honest, I was expecting indie landfill here but to be fair, it's quite a bit better than that. Definitely some shades of **Elbow** here, perhaps coming from Manchester around a similar time, they were subjected to similar influences. As an Elbow fan though, that boded well.
So I found quite a lot here to enjoy. The instrumental opener _Firesuite_ really attracted my attention and perhaps instanty changed my preconceptions with it's atmospheric sound, leaning into dub at times. And whilst that was perhaps an outlier in that sense, it does show a broad range of influence that gives the album a sonic texture above and beyond the indie landfill that was around at that time. It was a little on the long side, but I'll return at some point.
Guns N' Roses
3/5
I have the alternative cover vinyl of this, although it is a bootleg. That said, I'm not a huge GnR fan... in the dispute between them and Nirvana back in the 90s, I fell firmly on the Nirvana side and perhaps that tainted my view of them. I came to enjoy GnR later but largely the singles and for me, that's where they excel.
The rest of the album ranges between ok and good. It's one I play very occasionally and very much need to be in the mood for, otherwise, they're a playlist band for me.
The The
4/5
I’m fairly new to The The although i remember my brother being into them. If i did hear them playing through his bedroom door back then, it wouldn’t have been the kind of thing i would have listened to.
These days, I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve heard and this is no exception. It’s definitely of its time but not in a bad way and it’s also distinctly them with a blend of genres touching on post punk, synth pop, new wave, and art rock with flourishes of theatrical moments but with some harsher textures that borrowed from industrial. Vocals always punchy and acerbic.
FKA twigs
4/5
I'm fairly new to her, first hearing her mixtape Caprisongs in 2022, which I thought was decent but her album this year EUSEXUA is brilliant! So this is my first time looking backwards and it's a positive one. You can hear the path from this to her current release but there's already so much to enjoy here,
Falling somewhere between pop, R&B and electronica, it's dark (she's been through a lot!), ethereal and consistently engaging. It's exactly what I want from 'pop' music.
Mike Oldfield
4/5
One of the first albums I bought on vinyl, largely because you can buy it anywhere for about 50p and over the years I seem to have accumulated about 4 copies of it and I only recall buying the first one, so who knows where the rest came from.
This was a bold release as the first on the newly formed Virgin Records but the foresight and ambition paid off as it ended up being hugely successful. The opening is instantly recognisable to anyone that know the movie _The Exorcist_ (and hence the spooky connotations) and from there we're taken on a 40 plus minute immersive journey. A truly brilliant piece of music.
Pink Floyd
4/5
This album has been somewhat my nemesis over the past several years. I love Pink Floyd, from Meddle to Animals but when I got to this album, I've always hit... well... a wall!
I think I may have made a breakthrough though as I've found myself enjoying it probably for the first time. I still don't think it's the masterpiece that some claim. Reading up on some reviews, I found this from a user review which very much sums up where I am with it...
I have seen The Wall described as Floyd's greatest album, as "a masterpiece", and any other number of superlatives. I have also seen it described as "bloated" and "too long" and "self indulgent" and "boring". I guess I'm somewhat in the middle. I do think it's probably a bit too long, and I could probably pare it down some. That would mess up some of the story, but frankly, while I acknowledge Waters' story is fascinating and well-told, music matters more than lyrics to me and I'm not inclined to sit through music that doesn't excite me just because the lyrics are great. For me, the high points of The Wall are where the music shines - the big In The Flesh riff, the Another Brick riff that repeats like five or six times throughout the album, the gorgeous vocal harmonies of Goodbye Blue Sky, everything about Hey You, everything about Comfortably Numb, the euphoric guitar riffs of Run Like Hell, etc.
So some fantastically high songs and a great concept but if we're talking on a pure musical level, there's too many tracks here that don't add enough value unless you are following the story.
I will return to this, not soon, it's not the type of album you're gonna throw on all that often and when I do so, it will at least be from a positive place.
Pantera
3/5
Just not a band I'd ever really listened to. I'll probably take some flack for this but I was actually expecting more given the love they get and whilst this wasn't by any means a dud, it also didn't grab me beyond _Walk_ which might be the only Pantera song I knew coming in.
Skepta
3/5
Lyrically, it’s a little too much on the bravado side. I prefer my grim to come with a little more self-reflection, à la Dave but musically the beats here are top notch. Particularly enjoyed the QOTSA sample on _Man_.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
Wonderfly weird and psychedelic but with some beautiful melodies sprinled throughout. I don't often put this on, but when I'm in the right mood it's such a cool and interesting sound that's uniquely them. Meditative and hypnotic in parts, light and poppy in others, a perfect juxtaposition of styles.
The Gun Club
4/5
I'm aware of The Gun Club through **Lanegan's** obsession with them and there's a clear influence there on his roots americana stuff, even more so as he started to play with those in influences on _Field Songs_ and _Bubblegum_.
I also hear the influence on **The Pixies**, particularly vocally, **The White Stripes** and early **PJ Harvey**. But what struck me most was the similarity they are to early **Rolling Stones**, it's the same blues worship only looser, more slithery and gone feral.
I have listened to this album a few times before without it really landing but it has this time for sure. The raw bluesy energy of it is definitely in my wheelhouse and I'll likely explore them more.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
One album from 1981 follows another. Another band that just weren't on my radar as a kid but I've warmed to the original post-punk bands in my latter years and these are a fine example of that, mixed with some gothic elements too.
The drummer on this album Budgie, released an album, _Los Angeles_ in 2023 with Lol Tolhurst (The Cure) and Jacknife Lee which featured in my top 10 albums that year so perhaps that laid the groundwork for my enjoyment of this album. An album and band I'll return too.