I’ve never listened to an album by The Kinks, and I’m not sure this was the best first one to listen to as it was a little light on recognisable hits. I enjoyed the lyricism (especially in Mr Churchill Says) and the feel of the album (especially in Shanghai-La), but I just wanted something which was a bit more memorable.
I *really* enjoyed this: i T felt like an album I *should* have listened to by now, and it didn’t disappoint. From the first track (one of the best diss tracks I’ve heard), I was hooked - and although I didn’t need a song about being in love with a car, pretty much every song slapped. Despite the hate-filled start, this is an album about love. It’s got two of the sweetest love songs in the world, one about friendship, but written for a lifelong romantic partner, the other apparently romantic, but written for a lifelong friend. And then at the end, in context, Bohemian Rhapsody closes the album like… well, a night at the opera. Astonishingly good.
This album just sort of washed over me. I know Dylan is importan as an artistt, but I wasn’t captivated by the poetry of the lyrics here, the songs were so long they felt self-indulgent, the songs all felt like they were so similar that the blurred into one and (whispers) he was a bit out of tune. Didn’t convert me to understanding why he’s held in such reverence as an artist.
I liked this album - instantly recognisable as Red Hot Chilli Pepers, I could see the influences which would later inform the album By The Way, which is the album I’ve heard before from the band. I felt like the last few tracks weren’t quite as strong as the first three quarters of the album, but the first 8 tracks easily earn 4 stars.
I thought I didn’t know any Deep Purple, and then got to Smoke on the Water and realised that, of course, I did! Enjoyed this album lots: really appreciated how intimate the guitar work was and was even singing along at some points because the songs were so bloody catchy
I don’t think I’ve listened to this album before, although I recognised all the songs on it (even the poor album closer) so it was clearly playing throughout my youth and was memorable without me going out of my way to listen to it! I liked it more than I thought I would, and can hear influences of the Britpop which I went on to love (it really does sound a bit like Blur’s album 13 in parts). A solid 4.
Nice enough and I loved the vocal… but they did all blur into one. Got an extra star for House of the Rising Sun - easily my favourite and she brought an eerie vocal to it which massively improved on the version I knew by The Animals.
An absolute classic album. I’d forgotten how much Oasis just *arrived*, fully formed. So close to being my first 5 star album… but the back half of the album isn’t quite as good as the first (still don’t like Columbia, it’s about 3 hours too long).
I appreciated tbe storytelling in the lyrics, but the music felt like it all blended into one. I enjoyed I Could. E Dreaming as one of the few songs which felt like it went somewhere… but overall, not an album I think I’ll revisit.
It’s a testament to how vapid this album is that I completely forgot I listened to it on Friday. I recall him having a nice voice, but not nice enough for me to revisit it.
A nice album to listen to, with more songs than I thought I knew. Definitely the resson I’m doing g this as I’m happy I listened to it… but I don’t know that I’d rush to listen again.
I *really* wanted to like this. The album starts off with a few truly brilliant tracks which really showcase the start of electro-funk. And then… it sort of just losss momentum and every song is so similar that they merge into one. Until THAT song, which is, undeniably a banger. Sad to score this middle of the road… but it’s so middle of the road, I don’t really have a choice.
I feel like there was a mediocre album in here trying to get out but it was smothered in too many songs - if ever there was an argument for bringing back vinyl and limitations of that as a format, it’s this cacophony of indulgence.
I enjoyed this album, but there’s reason I only know the famous songs. It was a good album, almost certainly an important album to have listened to…. It it was, at the end of the day, *just* a good album.
Although, I didn’t realise that this was where the entrance music for Matt Lucas’ George Dawes on Shooting Stars came from… but I’m not sure that should be my key takeaway. 😂
I like jazz music when I hear it live, but this is the first time I’ve ever listened to a full album. I enjoyed it - think it does a good job of capturing what jazz feels like live.
A really interesting take on a covers album - the songs that I knew took on a meaning of their own because of the interpretation and performance, and because this was the last album released before his death, there’s a poignancy to each one. It reminded me of Blackstar by Bowie which used his knowledge of his imminent death to inform the art he created. An astonishingly moving set of songs.
I like Blur. A lot. This album was the last one I purchased, and I remember why. There are songs that are too experimental, there are songs that are just noise… and the there are songs which are so wonderful it hurts to have them alongside the rest of the album.
I enjoyed this a lot - never listened to any Springsteen before, and pleased to have rectified that. I knew Dancing in the Dark and Born in the USA (I enjoyed how it really isn’t the song about national pride that I’d always thought it was!) but the songs I didn’t know I still enjoyed, which isn’t always the case, I’m finding, as we make our way through this list. For tha reason: 4* (mainly cos it’s much better than the Blur album yesterday which got 3* 😆😆)
Enjoyed the songs I knew, but the rest of the album kind of merged into one…
I really wanted to love this… but Superstition sounds like it’s from an entirely different album. I’d listen again, but there’s a reason Songs In The Key Of Life is the go-to Wonder album…
The dictionary definition of background music.
I liked this - although the songs all merged into one by the end.
Pleased I’ve finally listened to this, and it was as loud, messy, and occasionally iconic as I expected. Apart from the big three songs, though, half the album sounds like filler from a Def Leppard tribute night at Snobs. It’s not bad, just very… 1987.
Regatta de Blanc is what happens when three talented Brits dabble in reggae like it’s a party trick. There are flashes of brilliance (“Message In a Bottle” slaps, I’m not made of stone), but most of it feels half-finished and a bit like I should be embarrassed on their behalf.
Orchestral, emotional, and occasionally sounds like seven people trying to play different instruments while crying. “Wake Up” and “Rebellion (Lies)” are great anthems, but some tracks do wander off into art-student territory, but honestly? If it’s a mess, at least is (mostly) a beautiful one.
I like Björk a lot… and while I don’t always like her albums, I always enjoy listening to them. Medúlla is peak Björk: almost entirely a cappella, full of wailing, beatboxing, and moments that feel more like avant-garde theatre than music. But there’s real passion and raw emotion here (fitting for an album about the human experience and named after the Latin for “marrow) which meant, even when I wasn’t entirely sure what I was listening to, I was still kind of into it.
I went into Abbey Road thinking I’d be clever and dock it a star because, honestly, the Beatles get enough praise to fill the Albert Hall twice over. But turns out… they earned it. I grew up on the Red and Blue compilations, so I never clocked how many absolute bangers were packed into this one album. The remastered mix (or maybe just my ears finally catching up) made the bass pop and all those little background flourishes (synths, harmonies, THAT baseline one Cone Together) shine without ever feeling cluttered. It’s gold all the way through: massive in scope, weirdly intimate, and still somehow cooler than it has any right to be.
Talking Timbuktu is perfectly pleasant smooth, melodic, and so consistent it starts to feel like one long, uninterrupted track. There’s nothing offensive here, but also not much to grab onto.
Loved this so much; the whole thing feels like I just stumbled into the best gig of 1963 with a whisky in hand and no plans tomorrow. It’s not flawless (some tracks blur together) but it’s a masterclass in live soul.
Ok… but all the songs do sound like they came from same Casio keyboard.
I enjoyed this at the start, even though i5 was, as an album, just a bit too pleased with itself. It’s smart, it’s funky, but it’s also a bit samey after a while.
I wanted to be stingy with star ratings, but this is so polished it practically comes gift-wrapped in glitter. it’s camp, joyous and melodic… and the last time I was stingy with my stars I ended up giving Queen 4 instead of 5 so… full marks from the Birmingham jury.
Ok, but eminently forgettable
