Forcibly reminds me of year 9. Listening to this meant you were one of the cool kids. Feels very familiar now but the minimalism was incredibly striking at the time.
'Jackie' hit me like an uppercut that snuck through my defences. Same Scott grandeur but more energy. Thoroughly enjoyable. Three stars because I felt it tapered off a little.
Look, I didn't listen to the whole thing, but may do yet. I like Roni Size - even more so now that I've heard almost half of this album.
Goin 5. Feel like I can see the influence of Mingus everywhere I look now.
Worthwhile as a warm-up to the far suprerior Think Tank, but seriously did not dig this. Why does it feel like Damon isn't trying to sing? Pandering to the American market methinks - successfully at least.
Vastly underplayed album. Understandable when the songs are 10 minutes long, but no excuse for the rest. 9 out of 10 = five stars all day long
A bit too 'guitar, drums and bass' for my taste I think. Enjoyed the folkier numbers.
A bit too 'guitar and drums' for my taste. Look, it's fun - but that's not enough.
Really pleased to have heard this. Clearly a noise record of sorts but somehow it's indie sleazy as well. Feels like a lockdown album. I've bookmarked it for the next pandemic.
Spent all day trying to put my finger on why I love this Bowie album (maybe the most of them all). Is it performance art? Like was he actually the 'Thin White Duke'? Like was there no real pretending or character acting involved? The whole thing feels scarily real to me. And yet still it grooves and still it pops.
Not my first time funkadelicing, but perhaps enjoyed it more than ever today. A slow grower mayber. Going 4 (for now).
Kept me interested for 40 minutes, but also provided plenty of reason never to return. Highly likely the 80s will come of worst of the decades in this project. The greatest cover of all time - containing one of the greatest solos of all time - added a star.
Clearly sick - 'nuff said.
In 1963, while shooting 'A Hard Days Night', Ringo famously quipped that he was a 'Mocker' when asked to align himself with one of the subcultural tribes of the day. Had the Who been presented with the same question in 1965, there would have been no possibility of straddling the divide. Poster boys for the Mod movement of the early 60s, this proud working-mans style is typified by the cover of their debut album. 'My Generation' was the anthem for an era defined by polished Vespas, sharp Italian three-button suits, heavy parkas and 'faces' framed by carefully manicured haircuts.
Merely five years later, unkempt shags falling over unbuttoned, baggy shirts, the Who took to the stage at Leeds University to capture their transformation into their former nemeses - rockers.
Stretched over 80 minutes of over-indulgent posturing, this attempted statement of intent collapses in a mire of pointless solos and confused messaging.
Hidden amongst the rock slop, earlier classics were treated with disdain, squashed into an unloved medley - blues and rock'n'roll covers were preferred to many fan favourites.
Attempts to apply the themes of working-class British life from their previous era to this new 'heavy' sound jar significantly. Daltrey often seems to be operating at odds to the rest of the group, while his input - at worst - is borderline paedophilic.
And what of 'My Generation'? Once so sharp and cutting - it's heavier moments controlled for maximum impact - at Leeds the track was dragged through a tortuous fifteen minute slog. The goalposts now having been moved: lyrics designed for a modern, upwardly mobile clique, when applied to the unwashed masses simply don't make sense anymore.
Ringo sought to pacify - behaviour befitting a Beatle. The Who sell out - they did at least warn us. Mod lived on, transformed, adapted, shorn of their former poster boys. Who?
Seeing Pulp at Glastonbury this year was really special. We basically knew it would be them, but the 'secret' set still wowed from opening with 'Sorted for E's and Whizz', to inevitably closing with 'Common People'. Had any of the other tracks from this album featured in the rest of set we would have gone wild.
Jarvis was not the hero the 90s wanted (that was probably Liam), nor the one it deserved (that was probably Damon), but the one it needed. At Britpop's incredibly uncertain legacy needs him even more now.
I've never really got the hang of this album. It's pleasant, makes nice dinner party music for example. Always felt it was lacking a little oomph though I think. The songs don't wow me like the voice does.
If I had a pound for every time I'd tried to get into post-rock I might be able to afford a pint outside of London.
This was the second pound earnt from this record. Sam Jennings first introduced me to it and when he did I listened to it every day for a week or so. This was the first I'd revisited it since. Lots of cool moments but hard to give it a four.
One listen really is not enough is it. Sounded like I might love it, but going with a nice, safe, cosy three stars.
Gonna give this the benefit of the doubt and assume it hasn't aged well. This shuffly, triphoppy style has been utterly subsumed by hotel lobbies and holding tones and feels very dated - which is not it's fault! But after two listens, I'm failing to see the edge which separates this from the decades of musak it no doubt inspired.
Still might give this a five (merdre, merdre). Its so far ahead of it's time (merdre, merdre). 1978?? (merdre, merdre). More like 2025! (merdre, merdre). This modern dance!
Too long and too bluesy for me. But Yellow Brick Road is a Cotton family classic forever.
Completely mid. Was nice on parkrun but already forgotten it.
I was so ready to begrudgingly like this, but ended up disappointed not to. Found it very jarring to be honest. I'm ready to believe that after a few listens the intriguige of the unusual style would grow, but I might be the same age as Lenny was by the time he made this album when that happens.
So so dull. No personality, no edge - could be anyone singing those songs. That it's a Nepo baby makes this a firm one star.
Probably the best two star review I'll ever give. This album was really fun, clearly of some quality and I'm really glad to have heard it.
But I will never listen again. Glam pop-punk? Not for me thanks.
Of the four of five albums from Kim and Co which doubtless feature on this list - 'Dirty' is the one I've probably listened to least. But from this viewing, I cannot understand why.
It's strikingly poppy. Most of the songs have structures and many even have melodies. It's as if they're saying to us: "we could have always been one these 'popular' bands - we just didn't want to".
Still, however, an hour long and with plentiful noise sections 'Dirty' is a Sonic Youth album and no mistake. It shows off everything they do so so well beautifully. I'll probably recommend it as the best starting point in the future.
I bought Bela some 'The Chronic' socks for her birthday and gave them to her on the same day this album came up. 5 stars for the 1001 to 1 coincidence. Did not actually listen.
Had some nice moments, musically - but over all left a sour note. Cock rock?
Kinda dug it. Very, very unlikely to ever listen to it again though. Going three for Harrison's sake
Yeah fine why not give it a five. Really enjoyed revisiting this as it reminded me how much I listened to it as a teenager. Every track is a contender for classic status - and some of them are still underrated!
Waste of time - landfill indie in its purest form.
Disappointed to be honest. Found it tuneless and unoriginal. Struggling to remember any highlights even.
Enjoyed this. My colleague who heard me listening to it looked confused - which I also enjoyed.
Genuinely enjoyed this, would listen again. It's like 'Piper' but without the best bits. Clearly too long as everyone's cosmic prog fuse is relatively short but I think - for me at least - there is a time and a place for this.
The only good music to have come out of L.A. is punk. Discuss. (I'm considering Compton to be a separate place)
Massive nah. How these guys get compared to REM I will never understand. Breaking extremely soft ground for Coldplay.
Fine, didn't change my life and frankly I don't have the context to appreciate it. That's my fault, not the albums.
'L.A. Woman'. What a tune! Some other nice moments. But I ain't got the blues I guess. Two stars.
Really glad it was this album cover which was stuck on my home screen for two weeks. PJ is the greatest.
A lot of great songs, performed by a great singer. Also an interesting insight into how much the music industry has changed since 1959. 'Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book' - they really were simpler times weren't they.
Few more listens and this could easily go higher. Not sure how Laura Nyro evaded me for so long. The songs have a weirdly chaotic energy, which I'm enjoying very much.
Thought about giving this a five, even though I didn't love it. Packed with quality! Most impressively, its not cringe. How's he managed that?
Crazy guy. Crazy times. I described it to Bela as sounding 'untamed', which I was quite pleased with.
Maybe the most aptly titled album ever made.
Can confess I did not approach this with an open mind, as Eric Clapton is not a nice man. His music sounds pleasingly like Harry Nilsson, but with more blues rock and less interesting songwriting. Going with a reluctant two.
Sorry Bob, I'm just not a reggae guy.
I like this - quite a lot. But I'm not sure if that makes it good. Really turned me around this album. Led to existential questions. Do I matter? Who am I? Etc etc. Two stars owing to stress.
Surprisingly flirtatious.
Great stuff. Probably underappreciated Blackstar's shadow is so large, which is a shame.
M.I.A. has such an idiosyncratic sound - and it slaps! What's weird is that 'Paperplanes' doesn't sound like the rest of the album really. A lonely anthem on an album of bangers!
1982, and the yuppification of English popular culture is in full swing. Enter the opening bars of 'Rio' and the Roland Jupiter 4 sounds just like what the flickering boards at the London Stock Exchange look like. Buy low, sell high!
Simon Le Bon is as braggadocious as they come, as he croons over the shimmer and gleam of the latest production techniques. Cocksure and unsentimental, this is an album to get rich quick to, no matter the cost.
Tracks about predatory sexual conquests ('Hungry Like a Wolf'), which unashamedly objectify their targets ('Rio'), and celebrate transactional one-night-stands ('Save a Prayer') are the biggest pop hits. Doesn't their hair look great in the videos!
'Rio' is selling an old boys club elitism to the masses which were suffering in its wake. No wonder Duran Duran became the poster boys of Thatcher's Britain.
Might be my favourite album cover
Caught myself enjoying this in a couple of fleeting moments. Rollicked along nicely in places. Any hope of the second star was dashed by the final track though, what the hell was that all about it.
Massive album. Utter classic. Deeply loved. But my heart says four.
Coming one year after the almighty 'Innervisions', I was expecting big things going into this record.
It didn't disappoint, but didn't excite either. The second half had had some great moments, dense and funky, but this Motown legends propensity for the soppy was indulged too much for my taste.
Overall, it's a 'Stevie' record.
Didn't excite me at all. Plodded along just fine though. Tricky gig coming up in this project when the Rosalia album is imminent.
I kinda admire Supertramp for being really hard to pin down. Like, what genre are they? Power pop? Soft boy glam? Post-Beatles?
This album did not have many standout tracks, but it's so uniquely characterful I'm giving it a three. Something tells me that three stars might be Supertramp's glass ceiling - perhaps we'll find out in the next two and half years.
I was loving this for about 15 minutes. First wave punk energy, screaming sax and some good tracks. It tailed off and as I got used to it the initial thrill abated.
Really enjoying the albums which I've never heard of and have no context for (like this one), even if I'll probably never listen again!
It should be noted that I was staring at a growing list of cancelled trains while listening to this album.
But the daily grind can only partly account for the frustration and exasperation which characterised this morning.
Also to blame was the tuneless, edgeless, pointless, regressive crap that was coming out of my headphones.
I don't have any time for cock prog.
In a different setting kitschy sci-fi bleeps and bloops can really be my thing. In this one they felt tacked on. An afterthought, hoping to provide some character to the bland soloing.
Maybe I'm projecting, as Southwest trains, sadly, cannot be avoided - but Rush, thankfully, can.
I remember when this came out and the NME was all like "ooooh look, New York indie band the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs are going for the big time, they wanna be famous how do you feel about that? We're not saying we have a problem with it we just wondered if you might" and the only thing backing this up was the concentration of synthesisers on the album.
Considering that the two lead singles became instant classics you could say that the YYYs did make the big time. This album certainly cemented their status as one of the preeminent American indie bands of the era and their place in the 2000s NY canon with the Strokes and LCD.
But I'm not sure this album stands up alongside the classic works of their contemporarys. It's got lots of the key ingredients. Indie disco staples, iconic off-white album cover and a front person who's magnetism comes as much from their aloofness as their energy. But the lower energy moments on this album don't counterpoint the highs for me.
Didn't get on this til Monday morning and glad I saved it. Wonderfully calm and serene. What a nice way to start the week.
What are the odds on us getting five Bob Dylan albums in a row this week? That would be a great week
Flutes are cool tbf and it was definitely interesting. But in the end I thought it sounded like a Mighty Boosh parody of the 60s.
Oxford Dictionary of English
alternative rock /ɔːlˌtəːnətɪv ˈrɒk , ɒlˌtəːnətɪv ˈrɒk/
▸ noun [mass noun] a style of rock music characterized as unconventional or outside the mainstream.
tour de force /ˌtʊə də ˈfɔːs , ˌtɔː də ˈfɔːs/
▸ noun (plural tours de force /ˌtʊə də ˈfɔːs , ˌtɔː də ˈfɔːs/) a performance or achievement that has been accomplished or managed with great skill: 'Let It Be' is a tour de force, the Replacements third album is a tour de force of alternative rock.
– ORIGIN French, literally ‘feat of strength’.
Not a Friday night, just finished work, had a good week, feeling excited and ready for the weekend album - unfortunately.
Miles 'consecutive Fridays' Davis delivers for consecutive Fridays.
It's impossible not to listen to this in the context of the Talking Heads, rather than the 1001 albums project. So rather than hearing all the good moments, it's the uncharacteristic bad bits which jump out.
And 'uncharacteristic' is exactly the problem. The first track simply doesn't belong on a Talking Heads record. No groove, no edge, just very plain.
The pre-Eno production is so jingly jangly. Makes them sound like a high school indie band.
And 'Psycho Killer'. Clearly a classic, but starkly atypical in their discography. A lone anthem amongst a careers worth of bangers.
All in all, it jars frankly. There's more than glimpses of their quality. But it just doesn't sit right.
The word that came to mind when listening to 'London Calling' was: slick.
The songwriting, the album cover, the instrumentation - everything is purposeful and immaculate, which is quite a feat when we consider how ramshackle it is designed to sound.
'Professional punk' feels like a misnomer, so maybe this isn't punk. Sure, it's satirical, but it isn't anarchic, bratty or even angry really.
But it really is banger after banger. The first twelve (twelve!?) in particular are astonishing and it finds time to pick up again towards the end. The hooks are inescapable, the grooves are infectious and the energy makes you just wanna get involved.
So could it be, that the word we should be using, really, is: pop?
I've listened to this six or seven times in the last week (more than any other album in the project so far), hoping to spark a review into life, but it's too overwhelming. All I've got is this:
Every time I hear 'Moonage Daydream' and he sings "lay the real thing on me", I cry, and I have no idea why.
Five stars
Decided not to write a long review for 'Revolver'. It's 'Revolver', after all.
I wrote most of a really good review of this album but then didn't finish it and left it open on the webpage intending to come back to it but the page kind of updated and my review got deleted which I'm pretty gutted about cos it was really cute but it's gone now so just leaving this bitter message and a four star review
'Wish You Were Here's is not my favourite Pink Floyd album, but it is my favourite PINK FLOYD album, if you see what I mean.
Obviously
I STAN SYD
and he is the creative genius/painter/martyr/legend whose name should always be marked in the history books next to this bands legacy. No amount of public bickering, name calling or general posturing on David Gilmore or Roger Waters part could ever see them bestowed with such titles.
However, this fantastic album is testament to the groups collective creative powers in the absence of their seer of visions. It was not pioneering in any sense as far as I can tell - but find me a guitar solo which tells a story better than that in 'Shine On' and I'll eat Bela's copy of 'Piper'. Add 'Wish You Were Here' to that and you've already got five stars. The rest is a bonus.
Which is why, for me, this is the classic PINK FLOYD album. It's straightforward storytelling so deeply meant that you can feel it in your bones. Syd was still shining in 1975.
I like this album a lot. It's definitely too long - I admit - but the style of it is perfect. Proper seedy old man in a basement bar growling about the past sound.
It also disproves the idea that late Dylan doesn't belong with the early stuff. 'Not Dark Yet' and 'Make you Feel My Love' should be in the conversation for every best of collection.
Decided to approach this in a purely logical, unemotional fashion.
Hello - 2/10
Roll with it - 4/10 - Chorusey bit is quite strong but the 'roll with it section' drives me crazy
Wonderwall - 1/10 - maybe the most confusing song in popular music history. Confusing like, what on earth do people see in it.
Don't look back in anger - 8/10 - definitely very amazing, but it's hard to enjoy a song you've heard so many times
Hey now - 3/10 - again, there's one good section which it's nice to have repeated, but the rest is extremely dull
Swamp song 3/10 - feels unoasisy to have an instrumental interlude in the middle of the album, but it doesn't offer much does it
Some might say 7/10 - good track
Cast no shadow 7/10 - good track
She's electric 6/10 - good track, but the crass lyrics clash horribly with the extremely family friendly sound. Which kinda summaries Oasis doesn't it?
Morning glory 3/10 - lad rock
Swamp song 2 2/10 - really losing interest at this point
Champagne supernova 6/10 - too long
52/120 = 2 stars
So Madness made a jazzy concept album huh, not bad, not bad
Album cover is a classic. Listened once and enjoyed. Feel like a good album to have in your back pocket for just the right dinner party. Could go down a storm in the right setting. But I've never hosted a dinner party.
This album made excellent Saturday morning music and then outdid itself on Sunday, where it felt even better suited.
Probably got five potential.
One of my all time, absolute, mega, complete and utter favourites.
Read the lyrics to 'Eggman', then listen to the tune and try and tell me that these guys were not operating in a different dimension. Absolute scenes.
This and '3 feet high & rising' are the two records which define the moment of the explosion of sampling - and show what could have been possible without the crackdown. Damn shame.
No comment, too complicated
One listen on the train in to work, gotta say that I enjoyed it. Would listen again.
This album has a great theme. 'The Suburbs' - simple. And the way a lot of the tracks play with the theme is fantastic. 'Wasted Hours', 'Sprawl I', 'Sprawl II', 'We Used to Wait' and of course 'the Suburbs' all bring different perspectives to the idea and contribute to a wider picture.
But the album is long and not all of the tracks can claim to do this effectively. 'Month of May' kinda bangs, but what is it for? It contributes very little thematicly. This is also true of 'Deep Blue' and even 'Rococo', though these tracks do add to a peaceful serenity and the feeling of 'sprawl'.
What I'm trying to say, is that I think this album would be better if it was shorter and tighter. As you expect on an Arcade Fire album, a lot of the songwriting is superb, but I suspect the feeling of suburban serenity would actually be stronger without a few of the more listless tracks.
Another one which is about 9/10. I'm being more brutal from now on.
Great album, but how can it be 5 stars when there are a couple of Kraftwerk albums which are definitely better?
Thought the first couple tracks had something going for them, certainly piqued my interest. But it tailed off big time. Too much slop
Biiig classic. Probably their second best album? Not a bad track on there. Yet... Feels like a four star to me. Feels weird to describe the Talking Heads as a singles band, when they have so many great albums, but that's where I'm heading. This album doesn't really feel like it pulls together. High highs and no lows, but maybe missing that magic which makes it more than a collection of songs.
Some great tracks on here! Really enjoyed the higher energy moments. Sounds a bit dated in places but Siouxsies energy is obviously legendary.
Nothing about this grabbed me. Not even the classic track.
Didn't stop moving once. Shame about the misogyny and homophobia. It must be 'of it's time' I guess.
I've been big into this album since the Greg's House days. I clearly remember debating it's merits at length with Joel and it of course is the source of Stewbie's alias 'Trendy Wendy'. But back then there were tracks which I often skipped. The classics of that era were 'Five Man Army' and undoubtedly 'Unfinished Sympathy', and though the whole piece was massively appreciated, maybe there was some filler.
But over time the 'filler' has become my highlights - and the old favourites still shine just as bright. Tricky's cool scorn and the more subtle grooves of 'Blue Lines' and 'Daydreaming' are irresistible to me these days and balance beautifully with the boldness of others.
A magnificent record overall, a firm five stars. It's got that magic ingredient which is becoming a theme on these five star picks. The 'still sounds as new/fresh today as it did back then' prize.
Watched a fairly interesting documentary about this album on Friday night. O. M. G. What a flippin' coincidence!!!!!!!
These were the main takeaways, while we munched on a takeaway:
1) Paul Simon can never admit he's wrong
2) Art Garfunkel is a regular height
I think this album is probably their best one because the corny tracks are the least corny, kinda like how the Beatles best album is Sgt. Pepper cos 'With a Little Help From My Friends' is the best Ringo song. It might also have the best of their best songs but that's slightly more debatable if you ask me. Anyway, defo five stars, love a bit of Sims and Gar.
Clearly a limited in scope, but intentionally so and an enjoyable listen in the time and place.
Really good. Like really good. Second side especially. But only four cos a couple of tracks on the first side don't quite do it.
I really like how full this album sounds, even with quite uncomplicated arrangements. Very nice, modern soul sound. A few classics on there to, by which I mean "songs which get played on bbc6 a lot".
While listening to this I found myself thinking a lot of the marvellous Imogen Heap album 'Speak for Yourself'.
That album is so extremely evocative of the y2k era that 'Headlock' became a Tiktok code to represent its modern revival. And, to my ears, it's the incredibly distinctive production which produces the effect. The style somehow epitomises the era.
The same could be said of this Janet Jackson album and the late 1980s. I found myself transported to a time of affordable drum machines and pop artists early efforts to unleash their potential on a mainstream audience.
Unfortunately, however, I did not like it there. Maybe I'm a shallow fashion victim and when the late 80s become cool again I'll be extolling this albums virtues. Or maybe the shift will be controlled by subtle macro factors which operate deep in my subconscious and the journey will help me see the light. Or maybe this album just isn't for me.
Which ever it is, this time around, 'Rhythm Nation 1814' simply wasn't for me. The production style seriously gives me the ick and I found a lot of the songs rather dull. Maybe we'll need to do this entire project again in around twenty years to find out. Or maybe I'll just stick to Imogen Heap.
This is an Elliott Smith album, so the highs are goddamn high. 'Son of Sam' and 'L.A.' are both contenders for my favourite song of all time and there's many other wonderful moments.
'Happiness' and 'Can't Make a Sound' have an anthemic quality. 'Somebody that I Used To Know' and 'Everything Reminds Me of Her' could find a place in any coming of age film ever made.
On 'Easy Way Out', the flow from verse -> prechorus -> chorus is so natural it's glorious.
At this point of his career his songwriting has got so good, he's almost surpassed his own style.
But, to be honest, the album suffers slightly for it. He's churning out songs and melodies which belong on tin pan alley, or in the great American songbook, but combined with the glitzy production it often feels disingenuous.
It just doesn't really feel like an Elliott Smith album to me, which is why it is only four stars.
Loved it. Packed with classics. Will definitely listen again.
Gotta respect the energy this album brings. It's absolutely incessant. Heavily indebted to Led Zep but bringing a power they rarely attempted to tap into. I was considering going as high as four, but it did get a bit samey and I slightly lost patience with it. But gotta say - enjoyed it. The image of Jack Black's Angus Young impression danced around for 41mins.
Loved this. Don't know why I was surprised, but it took me back a bit. So brutal and stark, but also sexy and cool. Packed with classics as well? Full marks.
Dad provided the best insight into this album. But he refuses to join the project, so it is lost. Lost forever.
A crossword legend is someone who's number of appearances on the New York Times crossword far exceeds what you might expect based on their level of fame. Hats off to 'Ric Ocasek'. His name will live on far longer than most of his contemporaries.
