I actually listened to the first half of it was amazed how much I liked the first four or tracks. Fun and funky. Thought it was going to be a 4….until it descended into generic rap that just isn’t for me. I’ll quit while I’m ahead and call it a 3.
Back to form with Simon & Garfunkel. Grew on me more and more as it went on. A solid 4 for me, Clive.
There’s some truth in Stevo’s assessment. “Filler” might be a bit much, but the second half is certainly less accessible and geared more towards the purists.
But the start is unreal and the impact of the album and some of those individual tracks is unquestionable.
A reshuffle of the tracks would make this a pretty seamless top score - and I agree with Joe G that it’s probably a 4.5 - but I gave Elliott Smith a 3, so I think this needs to be a 5.
Pleasant and inoffensive. Unlike yer ma.
Almost a five just because I don’t know if I could listen to anything else for 3 hours and not get bored.
Never listened to a Who album before and really enjoyed that. It’s a shame I was reminded of failed Nu Metal band Staind towards the end, but that in turn reminded me of Limp Bizkit, so it evened out.
I’m confident that every single Joni Mitchell album will be 3/5.
Downgraded to a 4 courtesy of the edit function
I love Janis. I could listen to her wail like a banshee to the background of blues music for hours on end (Zena has previously complained about that actually happening).
I enjoyed this so much, I’d like to officially change my ratings of Nirvana and Derek & the Dominoes (Layla is a bit overrated in my opinion) to four stars.
This is the new five star standard.
Essentially the same song twelve times. I didn’t like the song.
Even John Thomson’s character in the Fast Show Jazz Club sketches would struggle to put a positive spin on this incoherent, self-important, prog-rocky jazz nonsense.
The music is a 3, the vocals/lyrics are a 1, so I think a 2 is fair.
Also, unlike Scott Walker, it has something about it. I don’t know / understand what that is, but I feel like that’s my problem.
Don’t mind me a bit of punk so long as it’s the right dose at the right time. This toed the line pretty well and verged on a 4 at times, but was ultimately a bit too raw for me.
Really not for me. Even the initial redeeming qualities faded into meh by the end.
Never understood the fascination with Ozzy Osborne. Terrible voice. Music is solid, though. Hard to dislike if you like anything even slightly heavy. Very much a 3 from me.
On the too cheesy side of fine, so just fell into the 2 zone at the end.
The issue with this album is that some of the songs are so overplayed that it waters down the impact of listening to them in album form. But (a) it’s not their fault I was born 8 years after its release and (b) I’m not willing to mark down for good songwriting.
One of the most fascinating things I’ve heard since Joe Graham told me he knew a guy who thought Savage Garden were better than the Beatles.
It was unique, quirky and really quite beautiful in places. Listening to it, I didn’t know if I’d been transported to a spa or the waiting room for the afterlife. It turned out that I was still just in my office, but I thoroughly enjoyed the journey nonetheless.
Probably a really good version of that type of music. Just doesn’t float my boat enough.
Enjoyed that. Don’t really know what I was expecting (echoes of early 60s Beatles?) but I was pleased with what I got (echoes of late 60s Beatles?)
This is the second Police album that I’ve listened to, and the second time I’ve been massively disappointed. A couple of good songs surrounded by uninspiring and/or pretentious pseudo-jazz/reggae.
Don’t get it. Don’t like it.
I was excited about this one because I’d never listened to Sonic Youth before.
It didn’t disappoint.
Loved the overall sound and feel to it.
I’d always assumed they were mid-90’s grunge and similar to Smashing Pumpkins (possibly because they both appeared in the Simpson’s episode where Homer has a cannonball fired at his gut), so it was heavier than I expected, but that was a positive.
It drifted a little bit in the middle, but a strong start and a strong finish (particularly the last track) make this a strong four.
Would have preferred the instrumental version, but overall fine.
I really wanted to give this a 4, but it just didn’t do it for me. Maybe a victim of its age, but I enjoyed Ella Fitzgerald a lot more - and that was three hours’ worth.
Enjoyed that. Great sound - especially for a live album. Vocals and riffs on point. Made me want to go to a Motörhead gig….until I remembered that I’d be very out of place and scared….and that Lemmy is dead.
Fresh and funky. Impossible not to jig along to. Way better than angry rap. A good example of this process broadening my horizons (even though I’ll almost certainly never listen to it again). And a beneficiary of my decision to award Elliot Smith 3 stars.
All signs point to a 4.
Lovely to hear the start of Electioneering again. 5 for that alone.
I really don’t like jazz. It genuinely sounds like anti-music to me at times. Maybe that’s the point. And if it is, ‘tis a silly point.
This was very tough to listen to at times, and in a shrill, offensive way rather than an insipid, pathetic way. And the highlights of the album were when the saxophone wasn’t playing and some geezer was essentially just softly tapping a cymbal and some other geezer was playing Grade 1 double bass, which is pretty damning for poor old Miles.
It’s hard scoring a musical “great/pioneer/major influence” so poorly, but, as a friend once said to me, the winner of The Biggest Loser is still a fat c*nt. And by that logic, jazz by one of the greatest jazz musicians ever is still jazz. It’s a 1 from me.
A shit version of the Stereophonics. Plus some unnecessary shouting.
So good I almost didn’t listen to it. I’m glad I did.
Saved by a couple of classic/catchy riffs/songs, but otherwise actually quite boring.
Dated and cheesy, but not hard to listen to. And I’m an absolute sucker for Pour Some Sugar on Me.
Fine. Not fussed either way about Johnny Cash.
Really good. The right level of heavy for me. A strong four.
Interesting and enjoyable.
Still can’t quite figure out how I feel about Peter Gabriel.
Listened to about 3/4 of it and thought it was okay. Gave it second chance a couple of hours later with the volume turned up and enjoyed it a lot more.
Would listen again.
I guess I’m on a generosity streak
Outstanding. Unequivocally one of the greatest albums ever written.
Almost as good as the Best of the Beatles.
Hmm. Tough one.
It was an album comprised of really good interludes, so I was getting increasingly frustrating that it didn’t go anywhere.
Once I came to terms with that (and found out that it was written as a soundtrack / score to an imaginary crime movie), I found it a more interesting concept….albeit a bit of a pretentious one.
Probably a 2.5 but I’ll mark up because it didn’t annoy me musically.
Fun and groundbreaking. Good combo.
Close to something I’d really like, but not quite there. Also, ‘tis a silly name for a band, so marked down for that.
Saved by its general bluesy-ness - particularly on the very enjoyable Take it Back - but otherwise, surprisingly, I didn’t really like it.
More infuriatingly erratic stuff from Mr. Bowie. Certainly better than Aladdin Sane, but miles apart from “Rise and Fall….”
I tried really hard to like it, and it was getting there.
Ultimately, if Bowie wasn’t always signing over the music, it would be a 4. But he is, so it isn’t.
Really disappointing to hear Mockingbird without Dumb & Dumber signing over it, but otherwise fine.
Really strong start. MOR and On Your Own are arguably my two favourite Blur songs, and the opening two tracks are solid.
However, the rest didn’t really do it for me. It felt quite long and uninspiring at times.
One of those albums where a number of 9-10/10 songs are watered down by an equal number of 5/10’s, averaging it out at a solid 7-8/10
Much better than the previous offering. More accessible musically to the layperson. The voice can still be quite grating, but it really is some enjoyable rock/metal (Beating Around the Bush was fantastic).
I think they’ve earned a 4.
Absolutely loved it. Earthy blues rock at its best. There is a strong possibility that I buy this record.
They brought the funk, and I was okay with that.
The first half was dangerously close to a 4, but fortunately/unfortunately it was watered down by the second half.
“Fat old husband walking over….”
I’m sure this is critically acclaimed, important, lauded by musicians, etc., but it just didn’t do anything for me other than be pleasant.
This lot will never amount to anything
Somehow this album made me nod and drum along whilst simultaneously wanting it to stop
I don’t know why I’m so fascinated by this album. But I am. And I’ve listened to it three times in the past 24 hours. So it’s a different type of 5, but a 5 nonetheless.
Got marginally better as it went on but was still a very long 45 minutes
Pretty evenly split between 2/5 songs and 4/5 songs. Overall, pretty solid hip hop / rap.
Good, but I never quite grasped the overall vibe to it, so it was weaker than the sum of its parts. Just about held on to a 4.
Really good. A bit too slow to grab my attention sufficiently enough for a first-listen 5, but has the potential to get there over time.
I don’t really know where to begin.
There’s a self-awareness that makes their ridiculousness endearing, but they are still ridiculous.
Musically, I enjoyed a lot of it, even if it swayed into GCSE-music-presentation-with-Casio-keyboard territory at times.
And it’s also somehow simultaneously both of its time and timeless.
I’ll give it a 3 because it’s making my head hurt thinking about it.
Silly? Yes. Idiotic? Yes.
Turned off after 4 1/2 tracks.
Saved by 3 good tracks, but the rest was either weird, lame or awful. The second song sounded like something Tiny Tim would sing in the Muppets Christmas Carol. Probably a 2.5 rounded down.
Very good, and certainly 5-star pedigree, but it’s just too long, particularly first time round. My attention waned and it became increasingly hard to remember what had happened previously and how much I liked it.
I’m beginning to think it’s his voice that is the issue
Downright awful in places, with echoes of that nonsense George Barnwell played us in first year (Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip?), but with sufficient redeeming qualities to settle at a 2.
This feels harsh, but it’s a strong 3. Based on the two albums I’ve heard, he’s got a bit of the Bowies about him i.e. there are a couple of classics on each album but the rest is quite unremarkable.
Didn’t have the highs of Blur but also didn’t have the lows. Pretty solid stuff, so a 4….I think….I don’t even know anymore.
Pretty easy 3. Never in danger of a 2 or a 4.
Listening to this album felt like being kidnapped.
It was scary and unenjoyable when it first happened. However, I got Stockholm Syndrome halfway through and began to sympathize with - maybe even start liking - my captors. But by the time I escaped, I remembered that this wasn’t the right life for me.
I wish them all the best.
Much better. Interesting how bluesy it was compared to Paranoid and, presumably, their later work. Will listen again.
Don’t mind me a bit of jazz
Didn’t like it then liked it, so listened to it again. Didn’t like it then liked it again. Probably a 3.5 rounded down.
Listened to it yesterday and have since forgotten how much I liked/disliked it. Definitely between a 1 and a 2. Let's let it scape a 2 because it initially made me want to watch a bad 80's movie, which to me is a positive.
Very hit and miss, but, “Gary’s Got a Boner” aside, had enough about it to deserve the benefit of the doubt and settle at a 3.
Loved it. Listened to it again straight away. Echoes of Transformer by Lou Reed. Best Bowie contribution so far.
Almost bang on a 3.5. Two great songs and very inoffensive for the remainder. The question is whether it’s inoffensiveness pushes it up 0.5 (because it didn’t annoy me) or down 0.5 (because it was too blah)……I think down, unfortunately, but it’s a very strong 3, which I’m sure will be solace to them.
Started yesterday and listened to about half. Didn’t annoy me as much as other 1’s, and wasn’t unlistenable. Certainly better than Miles’ first offering. Just about a 2.
Joe G: “Noise”
Harness: “One of my favourite albums. Glad it’s on there.”
Stevo: “Maybe an instrumental version wouldn’t have been that bad”
Me: 4 star music with a 1 star singer. It was a pretty comfortable three until “Don’t”, which I had to turn off, resulting in a downgrading to 2.
You know what, it exceeded my expectations more than any album yet, it was short, and it was genuinely enjoyable, so I’m going to give this a 4.
Listened to it twice, expecting it to go up from a 4 to a 5. Instead it nearly went down to a 3. Felt like it drifted a bit. A low 4.
Saved by the title track. I didn’t mind the instrumental interlude either. But fuck me some of it is bad.
Really good. The type of 4 out of 5 that makes me feel guilty for giving other, lesser-quality albums 4 stars (and even some 3 stars), but it doesn’t quite float my boat enough for a maximum score.
A very solid 3. Good background music.
Quite catchy and enjoyable but also quite samey. As is becoming standard, the voice wasn’t as good as the music.
I thought that was excellent. My favourite Sabbath offering so far. I enjoyed it way more than the vast majority of 4s that I’ve given. So, although it’s probably a very high 4, it deserves a 5 to separate it from the pack.
Can’t wait to review Black Sabbath 23 in 2029.
Not bad. Enjoyable and different enough. Grew on me more towards the end, but only enough to move it from a mid-to-low 3 to a mid-to-high 3.
Right on the edge. 3.5 rounded down.
I think this should a 3.5 rounded down for me personally, but I’m going to push it up to a 4 out of respect. The rawness that puts me off paved the way for all the watered down imitations that I’ve enjoyed over the years, so credit where it’s due.
Not bad. Just not really for me.
A bit like Willie Nelson: quite samey but in a very pleasant and enjoyable way.
The same sound for 35 minutes. Inoffensive but ultimately pointless.
Interesting. A lot going on. Would need another 2-3 listens to start unpacking it. And I’m pretty sure I’m willing to do that (once I get through the current backlog).
4 star music that should be downgraded to a 3 because of the voice but is downgraded to a 2 because of the voice
Easy enough to enjoy whilst being unremarkable. I don’t know enough about the Smith’s to gauge how this compares (I’ve only heard The Queen is Dead), but it felt a bit session musician-y. 3.5 rounded….umm…..down (because it sounded like he was moaning a lot)
Iconic, fun, ridiculous and very much of its time. Basically a microcosm of the 80’s.
Expected and wanted this to be a 4, but it just didn’t do it enough for me. A solid 3.
Pleasant enough but annoyed me by the end and I’m glad it’s over
I mean, it is what it is. Not offensive to the ears, but there was no way I was listening to all of it. If I’m being objective, it’s a 2. But it will almost certainly be in my bottom 20% of this list, so I’ll rate it accordingly.
Fine. Never been a big Prince fan. Mainly because I don’t really understand what he’s all about. This hasn’t really changed that.
Different. Sounded a bit like James, and I like James. Went all weird in places, but held together enough by a nice sound and feel to the whole thing.
Really not a fan of the filler / non-classic tracks (I didn’t realise how whiny he can be), but this had too many greats/classics to be punished too harshly…..and I feel bad for doing that on his previous offering, so…
Gave it a go, listened to about 5 tracks, needed to make a phone call, and now I can’t be arsed to go back. I think I got the gist. He can shoot people and rhyme about it. It’s probably a 2 because of the catchy-ish beats, but ultimately even they are basic and repetitive. Not in the mood for this today.
I’m partial to a bit of Kate Bush (and will be giving 5 stars to one album), but this felt a bit too undefined, ethereal and wishy washy. Not the same bite as some of her earlier tracks.
I thought Van would need to work pretty hard to make me give anything under a 4, but, fair play to him, he managed it.
Couldn’t find it on Spotify, so listened to five songs of another album. Given how similar they all were, I think it’ll be a fair reflection of this album. Dull.
Took a while to get going but then settled into some pretty solid post-punk(?) fare. She has a great voice too.
That was a lot of fun, very nostalgic, and really close to a 5. But, ultimately, I was kind of glad it was over and will almost certainly never listen to it again, so I think a 4 is appropriate.
Good fun for a couple of songs. Then becomes generic and repetitive. Just about held on to a 3.
I don’t have any 2CB to hand, I couldn’t find the right album on Spotify, and I only listened to about 10 minutes of the album that I did find, so it wasn’t the fairest of tests, but I think I get the gist. Not for (2025) me, Clive.
Those first few tracks took me back to a time when I absolutely loved some of the songs on here. It’s not a 5 star album but I’m giving it top marks for nostalgia alone.
Right on the verge. A really pleasant listen. So much so, I gave it a second listen to see if it made it to a 4. Felt the same about it, so I’ll go with the initial rating of (a high) 3.
Solid stuff. Feel bad for not giving it a 4, but it just didn’t do it enough for me.
And who knew that PJ and Duncan didn’t write Stepping Stone?!
I’ve always liked Girl From Mars, but could take or leave Ash.
Love a bit of ELO. Heard this before and expected to love it. But, while it’s very good and has some absolute bangers, it’s weaker than the sum of its parts.
If it was actually Peter Gabriel, I’d probably give it a 3. But it’s someone trying to be Peter Gabriel, so it gets a 2.
Sufficiently enjoyable, different and interesting to creep into the 4 mark.
Started off as a high 2 / low 3, ended with some low-mid 4 stuff, so evens out at the good ol’ non-existent 3.5
The key to Scenes from an Italian Restaurant is to listen to it sparingly enough that you are freshly bowled over by just how good it is every single time.
It’s the type of album that would be considered a 4 just because it’s U2. But it’s such a far, wanky cry from Joshua Tree that it deserves a 2.
Ultimately, though, it’s a 3. Decidedly average.
