170
Albums Rated
3.11
Average Rating
16%
Complete
919 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1960
Favorite Decade
Folk
Favorite Genre
other
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
11
5-Star Albums
9
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
The Residents
|
4 | 2.02 | +1.98 |
|
Trans Europe Express
Kraftwerk
|
5 | 3.15 | +1.85 |
|
Songs Of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
|
5 | 3.38 | +1.62 |
|
Rock Bottom
Robert Wyatt
|
4 | 2.39 | +1.61 |
|
Five Leaves Left
Nick Drake
|
5 | 3.46 | +1.54 |
|
Unknown Pleasures
Joy Division
|
5 | 3.47 | +1.53 |
|
American Gothic
David Ackles
|
4 | 2.48 | +1.52 |
|
Illinois
Sufjan Stevens
|
5 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
|
Marquee Moon
Television
|
5 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
|
Bryter Layter
Nick Drake
|
5 | 3.52 | +1.48 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Jazz Samba
Stan Getz
|
1 | 3.56 | -2.56 |
|
The Slim Shady LP
Eminem
|
1 | 3.29 | -2.29 |
|
Vivid
Living Colour
|
1 | 3.2 | -2.2 |
|
Pyromania
Def Leppard
|
1 | 3.13 | -2.13 |
|
Rapture
Anita Baker
|
1 | 2.94 | -1.94 |
|
American IV: The Man Comes Around
Johnny Cash
|
2 | 3.89 | -1.89 |
|
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
|
2 | 3.79 | -1.79 |
|
Yeezus
Kanye West
|
1 | 2.77 | -1.77 |
|
Maverick A Strike
Finley Quaye
|
1 | 2.74 | -1.74 |
|
Hot Fuss
The Killers
|
2 | 3.73 | -1.73 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Drake | 2 | 5 |
5-Star Albums (11)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Living Colour · 1 likes
1/5
While it might have been a pioneer of funk metal fusion, and helped with what is otherwise a significant under representation of black musicians within metal more generally, this is one of the worst forms of it to me - the hair/hard rock influenced, throw everything including the kitchen sink approach that doesn’t have much nuance to it. Cult of personality has nostalgia only to me because it appeared in GTA San Andreas. Generally disliked it all otherwise, in particular ‘what’s your favourite color?’ - sounded like it was trying to emulate Prince but instead just sounded forced. I had the joy of listening to the extended version of this which also included a cover of ‘should I stay or should I go’ which rinsed all of the passion from it in favour of a wierd half/double time flip from verse to chorus. Shite.
Jeff Beck · 1 likes
2/5
Probably unfair but I think blues can have a low ceiling. The guitar playing on this is good for the most part but god damn was I tired of Rod Stewart’s voice by the end of it. I think this worked better when there were shifts in guitar tone and variety in styles (like in ‘blues deluxe’) but by and large this left me distinctly underwhelmed. This particular version also seemed to have a really harsh tone at about 1k hz from the drum kit that grated on my ears by the end.
Kid Rock · 1 likes
1/5
I listened to this from front to back, and honestly tried to keep and open mind but it is SO shit. From the chant in the first song, to the faux country influences peppered through the remainder, the constant braggadocius lyrics that sounds like he’s trying to be Zach de la Rocha but just comes across as Florida man doing karaoke, poorly aged nu metal tropes it just ticks the boxes of the worst excesses of music. If I could rate it a zero I would.
The White Stripes · 1 likes
2/5
Nowhere near the same energy as ‘white blood cells’, wears more of the blues influences on its sleeve but the songwriting just doesn’t have the same level of quality. For a band where the focus is on two instruments, the songcraft has to be particularly good as it draws so much more scrutiny and this just doesn’t have it in the same abundance of some of their other albums.
Nick Drake · 1 likes
5/5
I won’t labour the point as to how good I think Nick Drake is/was. I do get more a sense of hope and positivity from this one than his other albums, but it still has that thread of melancholy throughout that, to me, gives it a sense of poignancy. We had ‘northern sky’ as the first dance at our wedding at my behest. I still think they are some of the best lyrics about love that I’ve heard.
1-Star Albums (9)
All Ratings
Eminem
1/5
4/5
Alice In Chains
2/5
Little Richard
3/5
The Notorious B.I.G.
2/5
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Radiohead
5/5
Elvis Presley
2/5
worst thing about it is Elvis. Not a fan. The music is actually not that bad though, supporting band is very tight and suits the gospel choir when they also come in.
Method Man
3/5
Enjoying the beats, but can’t seem to find a hook or a killer song. Sounds like a grittier de la soul.
David Ackles
4/5
Never heard of this album before but enjoyed. Reminds me of Scott walker or a more melancholy don mclean. Can hear influences of its time (eg. Love) but can see resemblance in current music. Nick Cave etc.
Turbonegro
2/5
Struggle a bit with this genre of music as it doesn’t half sound samey to me after a while. A bit of light and shade would go amiss but appreciate that it’s not really something that fits.
Tears For Fears
3/5
I’ve had a bit of a soft spot for some of their songs as a bit of a guilty pleasure. The album has peaks and troughs. The synths on some of the songs haven’t held up well, even when trying to eke out 80s nostalgia from them. Ballads and slower songs aren’t great. Suspect they are better as a singles band.
Michael Jackson
4/5
Never listened to this front to back. It’s a great pop album, surprisingly funky even on some of the deeper cuts, percussion carries it subtly throughout along with horn section. Can see why this is often cited as a stand out moment in pop music.
Rahul Dev Burman
3/5
Hard to evaluate this one. Is it a standout in the genre? Why this over other Bollywood albums? Feels very directly western influenced but has taken a heap of styles and pulled it together and layered on more traditional sounds. Some songs have a decent groove going on but then will quickly change in the next - sometimes the difficulty with soundtracks I guess.
Arcade Fire
3/5
It’s just not ‘funeral’ is it? To be hyper-critical, some of the songs sound like filler and meander without going anywhere special. I do really like ‘no cars go’ though, and it’s pleasant enough for the majority.
Billy Joel
4/5
Something in the back of my head told me that I didn’t like Billy Joel in the same way that I just can’t stand Elton John. Yes it’s a bit schmaltzy, there are over the top flourishes that it doesn’t really need, and some of it is overplayed to buggery but underneath this album is some really good production and some genuinely good songwriting.
Simple Minds
3/5
It’s not bad, but it doesn’t sound strong in any major area. By the end of it, I’d just kind of tuned it out - not because it was bad, just wasn’t grabbing me at all.
Dr. John
4/5
THIS is the kind of thing I wanted to come across doing this. What a wierd and wonderful album. Production is very rough around the edges but the mix of blues, soul, gospel, psychedelia is unlike very much I’ve ever come across before. Absolutely loving ‘I walk on gilded splinters’ in particular.
The Who
2/5
Not if a madcap concept and just seems to meander without going anywhere in particular. Even the more popular songs from are bit meh. Not a particular fan.
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
Have listen to both individually but didn’t know they’d collaborated. It’s good, I like the grooves they get into. Rather than get the most from both, I feel like they are both perhaps playing it a bit safe so neither necessarily take the limelight though? Definitely heard more virtuosic performances in some of their other music but enjoyed it from start to finish nonetheless.
Dwight Yoakam
1/5
Absolutely horrendous. The affectation in the singing to add the western drawl, singing about heartbreak in a major key, surprise fiddle in pretty much every song. The whole thing grated on me and I couldn’t wait for it to finish. Not sure if this is a milestone album in country and western but please, no more of it.
Meat Loaf
2/5
Saw a review that said this was a heterosexual’s Elton John which seems pretty on the nose. Seems to employ similar tropes in a lot of songs, lyrical or melodic hook, followed by quieter piano part, build up to uptempo rock part, changing tempo occasionally and repeat ad infinitum. It’s just a bit…much isn’t it? Very little finesse on a lot of it.
Eagles
3/5
Hotel California is a strong opener but I don’t think the rest of the album lives up to that promise and it becomes a lot more formulaic afterwards. I’m not all that averse to it but (possibly due to overplay on ‘classic rock’ radio stations) it does descend into dad rock territory fairly quickly and doesn’t pique the same interest.
Def Leppard
1/5
I feel like I’m listening to a spin̈al tap album only it’s not funny. Sounds like it wants to be hyper masculine but just comes across as cringey and has aged really poorly. Did not enjoy at all.
James Taylor
4/5
This had a contender for the best metaphor I’ve heard in a long while - “I’m a cement fixer, a churning urn of burning funk”. Actually quite enjoyed this. Guitar playing was good though restrained although I quite like that it wasn’t too showy here as I thought it fit the aesthetic.
The Cure
4/5
About as close to a 5 as I can give but some of the later albums are just that bit better so have to hold a little something back. Despite that, it holds together really well, the bass in particular really drives a lot of the songs forward without being too showy. ‘A forest’ has always been a particular standout on their discography.
David Crosby
3/5
Nice enough but all seems a little safe. When think back to when I was listening to it yesterday I can barely remember any of the songs which segments none of it is good enough to stick. I can’t imagine it was all that groundbreaking at the time let alone looking back.
The Only Ones
4/5
This clipped by at a pace and seems to be a trait of some of the songs/albums recorded in this genre at the time where very little time is wasted, leaving its mark and not overstaying its welcome. Another girl, another planet’s solo is great. I imagine some would find the lead singer’s voice grating but I don’t mind the lackadaisical delivery.
Nick Drake
5/5
Hard to overstate the importance of Drake’s music to me. Something about it just ticks all the right boxes; the lyricism, guitar playing, orchestral arrangements supporting, his voice, and the general sense of melancholia I get listening to it. Cello song is up there with one of my all time favourites.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Not Hnuk favourite work by him but reasonable nonetheless. May have just been where and how I was listening to it, or a stylistic choice but the production was very washed out with only Cave’s voice really discernible in the mix which detracted from it.
Syd Barrett
3/5
Can definitely hear some of the virtuosic abilities coming through but overall found it to be unfocused and a bit…messy? Having the rest of the band around him presumably gave some more of the melodic hooks that this seems to be lacking some of.
Dire Straits
3/5
This the kind of thing I think of when trying to conceptualise what dad rock sounds like which isn’t neccessarily a criticism but is very ‘safe’. Obviously ‘money for nothing’ is a bit of a standout, and there are some other decent tracks on the album but some of the other soft rock ballads on here are poor and quickly lose my interest.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
Enjoyed this. Good amount of variety and the albums holds up until the end. Sounds more consonant than the previous two releases which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but there are enough flashes of their discordance in it which keep the tracks interesting.
Donald Fagen
2/5
Lift music for an aging corporate bank that’s seen better days. Uses a lot of sounds that have aged poorly and haven’t retained their nostalgia factor. I don’t suspect it was particularly innovative at the time either. I’m only happy I listened to this as I was able to finally identify ‘I.G.Y’ as the track used at the beginning of Wardown’s isolated mix 119 (would recommend!) which has been bugging me for ages.
The Roots
3/5
I like that it wears its influences on its sleeve and isn’t apologetic about it (is that ‘Apache’?!). Found that I wanted to like it more than I did. For all I’d heard about ?uestlove and his links with the roots, a lot of the beats seemed a bit…lacking? Probably benefits from repeated listens as found some of the lyricism hard to make out or follow.
Johnny Cash
4/5
Does a good job of capturing the ‘lightning in a bottle’ that this performance had. Not generally a fan of this kind of music but I can see the relevance of the performance to the inmates there and the authenticity of which Cash seems to have performed it.
Deep Purple
3/5
I expect this to be divisive. Turns out I was naive to Deep Purple because this live album showed another, more psychedelic and prog side to them than I realised. Although the solos descend into the worst form of prog wankery (that call and response bit was awful) and I found some of their more well known tracks to be weaker than the rest, underneath it, found some decent musicianship there - the vocals in particular were surprising solid.
John Lennon
2/5
Found it to be quite self absorbed and missing much of the more interesting musicianship and chord progressions of his work with the rest of the Beatles. Might have my judgement clouded by how he came across in ‘get back’ though. Never liked imagine as a song and found a lot of the rest of the album to be trite.
Suzanne Vega
3/5
No frills which was probably a large departure from everything else going on at that time, so in a way it was probably quite a brave thing to do. That said, there wasn’t enough to keep my interest for the duration, where a bit more subtle percussion or layering might have helped. With the sparse instrumentation, I didn’t find her voice strong enough to carry the rest of the music.
Sufjan Stevens
5/5
Likely hugely biased as listened to this a lot when it was first released. Probably not his best album (Michigan or Carrie and Lowell are probably better standalone pieces of work, Seven Swans my personal favourite), but perhaps the best introduction. Could see why some people might find the shift from more symphonic pieces to more delicate arrangements jarring but I like the meandering styles that it dips into. There’s a lot of lovely sprinkles in the mix to make the music pop (the woodwind on ‘the predatory wasp..’, piano on ‘John Wayne Gacy, Jr’, horn section on ‘Jacksonville’, the shift from 5/4 to 4/4 in ‘come on! Feel the Illinois’). If there was a criticism, it would benefit from having some of those ideas refined a bit more but I enjoy the maximalist approach of just throwing everything into the pot by virtue of the concept and variety of stories attempted to be told.
TLC
2/5
I want a refund. This was neither crazy, sexy, nor cool. Not a genre I think I’ll ever really like, and this just came across as bland. It might have been culturally significant (was this a particular standout moment in all female, black pop groups?) but that cultural significance is probably lost on me.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
3/5
Chaotic, but I like the raucous energy that it brought. The production of it seems fitting and give it that garage rock feel. Loses its way on some of the slower tracks where the vibe didn’t really match as well but then again, I’m not sure I could take a whole album of high intensity either. Probably works better in small doses.
Public Enemy
4/5
Grabs you from the outset and shoves it in your face. Likely a game changer in hip hop at the time but is much more socially conscious than some of the other rap and hip hop listened to as part of this process so far and the better for it. Some of the beats sound a little dated now but I think it gives it that nostalgic ‘old school’ vibe which has been emulated by so many since.
ABBA
3/5
Wanted to dislike this more than I did. Genuinely catchy songs, and there is an obvious talent for writing earworms, although some of the album tracks are a bit lacking. I do find that it is a bit relentlessly saccharine and upbeat though and there’s only so much that I can take.
Super Furry Animals
3/5
Nice enough but not finding much in the way of standout moments in this particular album. I get a similar slacker vibe from this to that I get from pavement and others of that ilk but others may have done it better than this album. Potential to rate it higher than I have but in my opinion they later refined their sound more (‘rings around the world’) and put out a generally better album (‘mwng’) as they progressed - surprised this particular one was included on the list.
TV On The Radio
4/5
Am a bit of a sucker for some of the things Dave Sitek has produced. Seems to do a great job of capturing layers of sound whilst still having key instrumentation/vocals shine through. I’ve found that a number of TVOTR albums have the front half stacked but lose momentum in the latter half but this holds up better than their others to the end. Doesn’t have my favourite songs of theirs on it (‘staring at the sun’, ‘wolf like me’) but is a more consistent record.
The White Stripes
4/5
Been a while since I’ve listened to this in its entirety but enjoyed revisiting it and it holds up well, probably because it’s sparse and not over-engineered so not very much to have dated. A lot of criticism is/was directed towards Meg’s drumming but it is absolutely fitting here and gives space for the guitar and vocals to shine. I see this as having been a catalyst for some of the indie/garage rock revival that we saw at the start of the century.
Aerosmith
2/5
For a band that released this album at a time of great experimentation, this is surprisingly bland. It’s not awful (which to be fair, I was expecting it to be) but came away from it feeling very little.
Killing Joke
4/5
Liked this a lot more than I expected to. Got shades of ‘closer’ from it and was surprised to see that it was released in the same year. No fuss, and the darker, plodding sound was probably a significant departure from other releases at the time. Would like to look into their back catalog more following this.
Talking Heads
4/5
Funky, percussive, warrants repeated listens but some great nuggets to be found. Although not my favourite of theirs, where I think they peaked a few years after this, it shows the promise that they had and broke new ground in the musical structures and influences that it could manifest.
Tracy Chapman
2/5
It’s a shame that this plays it so safe as I genuinely do like Chapman’s voice. The melodies and instrumentation are so MOR though, as if they are contrived to be middle class dinner party songs.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
I find I have to tune in to Joni Mitchell as her cadence and delivery is so unique, almost part sung, part spoken word and isn’t something I can necessarily have on in the background as it demands some active listening. Sone wonderful melodies, songs that wax and wane keeping interest throughout the album and some beautiful lyrics.
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
Some songs find a good groove but it just doesn’t hit the same heights of some of their other work. Personally, I quite like the jazzy noodling that turns up every now and then but would have probably been better standalone as it just ends up detracting from the vibe it’s otherwise trying to give off.
George Harrison
4/5
Interesting listening to this after Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ a few weeks back. To me, this is just much more immediately appealing, shows better musicianship and songcraft, and just generally gives me a feeling of more authenticity in Harrison’s work. I do wonder if there was a sense of creative freedom that was afforded to him here after being increasingly sidelined immediately prior to this.
Alanis Morissette
3/5
Cynically, it sounds like it’s an attempt at making the rock and grunge songs at the time radio friendly. I was expecting to dislike this more (her voice affectations can grate, and some of the lyrics are cringey) but thought that, as a pop record, it wasn’t awful mostly because of the supporting band.
Primal Scream
4/5
Close to a 5 for me. Sometimes, albums that have a number of different influences become a bit too messy and unfocused but this becomes a brilliant collage of rock, blues, disco, house and even dub reggae amongst others. The singles are surprisingly joyous but the album doesn’t hinge on those alone.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
After listening to this I felt surprisingly little, other than very white. Didn’t particularly move me or get my attention. It wasn’t bad per se, just kind of…there? Seems to lack the hooks and musicianship of some of his more well known songs.
The Hives
2/5
I’m not completely averse to this album but it does just rehash The Ramones and other bands in that style of which there are 101 other equivalents. I’m not quite sure what makes this album a particular standout over others of that ilk. An odd inclusion.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Interesting to listen to this so soon after ‘catch a fire’. It’s better, but still not really feeling it unfortunately. I like the slightly more politicised messaging in it, like there is more to be said and the instrumentation just seems to come across better in this (the bass just sounds that much punchier). Can’t said I’m jammin’ to this though.
Anthrax
2/5
This kind of thing probably isn’t in my wheelhouse. I understand the legacy that a band like this has had on the scene, and it’s good to hear the clearer punk influences on thrash through an album like this this, but I found it repetitive after a while.
The Beach Boys
5/5
This is one of those rare gems that, despite having listened to this multiple times, I still find novel touches on each play through amongst the layers of sound. It’s probably hard to picture a time before this as well as it’s likely been so hugely influential on so much that came after. I also really like how it doesn’t disband their previous lyrical focus, much of which were accounts of the carefree nature of youth, but this shows a nuance to that youthful exuberance and an understanding that it isn’t going to last which to me, makes it that much more engaging compared to their releases prior.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
As a complete aside, I went down a rabbit hole about ‘be my baby’ by the ronettes and how Brian Wilson tried for years to replicate that sound after listening to the first few drum beats of ‘just like honey’ because they are uncannily similar. Psychocandy is a brilliant wash of sound but I felt like the rest of the album just never hit the height of that first track. Huge influences on shoegaze and post punk to follow I’m sure though.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
3/5
Lacks a bit of cohesion as it pilfers a lot of genres as its influences and sounds very dated but has a degree of nostalgia to the palette of sounds used, likely because of its influences through samples following its release. Has made for an interesting journey on ‘who sampled’ as you can see the significant influences it had on hip hop that followed. Was also interested in how it used samples itself which was probably still relatively novel at the time.
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
We get it Zach, you’re not happy. I had probably written Rage off a while ago as being a bit noisy and sanctimonious but listening with fresh ears was something worth doing. A tight band with the ability to draw out a good hook either musically or lyrically. Particularly like some of the weird sounds Morello gets from his guitar to accentuate the drums and bass rather than just drown them out.
2/5
Having a collection of proficient musicians and some grand ideas of what music should be does not necessarily a good album make. This has probably been a significant influence of the prog rock that followed but it was long, meandering, and I felt little emotional connection after listening to it. It probably benefits from repeated listens but I’m not sure when I would otherwise decide, “right, today I fancy listening to a bit of ‘yes’”.
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
I like the laid back vibe, strong jazz influences (particularly like the double bass I think was used for a lot of the beats), and relatively minimalist approach to the style. Lyrics were well delivered, the cadence and flow fit the music and both lyricists play off each other well.
The Louvin Brothers
2/5
There’s probably a bit of cultural familiarity that is lost on me, and seems to be something that might be a flaw in this list in that it seems quite americocentric; in the same way I’m sure that English folk songs might be culturally lost on some American listeners. I can hear the influences of Louisiana blues and country and western here but it’s a style I’m not sure I’ll ever really enjoy. Too little to keep the ear interested with the chord progressions as by this point they sound like they’ve been done to death despite, at the time, it likely sounding a lot more fresh.
Bob Dylan
3/5
I have a confession - I’m not the biggest Dylan fan. I appreciate the poetry behind it all but something about its delivery just doesn’t grab me. With that in mind, this was one of his better ones and although the tracklist ran a bit long for me, it did sustain interest. ‘Just like a woman’ in particular is a good song but I’m probably swayed by my love of the Jeff Buckley’s cover of it.
Taylor Swift
2/5
Wasn’t looking forward to this at all but came away from it feeling less than I expected. Broadly, the instrumentation and production is within my wheelhouse - Bryce Dessner and Justin Vernon’s influences are clear; but the subject matter and in particular the vocal stylings seem to continue to use a tried and tested method (vocal doubling, established harmonies) which just doesn’t seem to work well with the support behind it and just becomes bland after a while. It feels like you could remove the vocals, put it on a thumping pop track and it would still fit.
Beatles
3/5
I’m sure this was hugely influential at the time but by modern standards it sounds very formulaic and lacks the variety and surprises of later albums. The chord progressions and rhyming couplets are predictable and quite boring by the end giving very little to pique any interest.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
I really like the heavy blues influence on this, particularly some of the lesser known album tracks. Some overstay their welcome a little bit, and Plant can dial it down quite a bit but the drums and guitar in particular carry so much weight in the tracks it kind of fits and doesn’t sound as rubbish as it might otherwise.
Sisters Of Mercy
3/5
Not what I was expecting somehow, kind of a gothier depeche mode. Some of the production techniques sound a little dated (that gated snare) but could see others liking it for the nostalgia. I generally liked the music but the vocals grated on me after a while, a bit like a bad Bowie parody.
Miles Davis
3/5
What a glorious mess. Unparalleled virtuosity on show here but the music was so bloody discordant and any resolution is so hard to come by it left me a little bit on edge. This is the kind of music I feel like I should ‘get’ but am probably too intellectually changed to be able to.
Pearl Jam
3/5
Found this to be an album of two halves. Found it started off surprisingly strong, but after ‘black’ got far less interesting. Vedder’s voice isn’t particularly to my liking and think they could have dialled back on adding so much reverb to everything (vocals, guitar, snares) but I get it was probably a hallmark of the sound at the time.
Beastie Boys
2/5
I’m not convinced that if sabotage hadn’t such a great video that there wouldn’t be as much attention on them. Something about them grates on me a little - don’t like the pseudo shouting rapping, and although I appreciate the blend between rap and more punk/rock instrumentation, just isn’t my thing.
Tori Amos
4/5
What a voice. Takes the reins from Kate Bush but also does her own thing. Due to the piano being so front and centre, the album loses momentum by the end and could have benefitted from branching out and being a bit less MOR but the front half has some really catchy songs. ‘Winter’ in particular is up there with my favourite ballads.
Barry Adamson
2/5
What an odd inclusion. I think the context that I listened to it in didn’t suit the mood it was trying to convey, whereas if I had headphones on walking through an urban centre at night, I could see this being much more fitting. To be honest, I found it quite forgettable though so am loathe to rate it higher.
John Coltrane
4/5
What a wonderful journey this was. Space given to each musician to shine and the album moves by at such a pace (driven largely by the frenetic drumming) that it’s hard to keep up with, the shifting modes constantly creating this disorienting sound. The last track in particular is a great epilogue to what came before, tying it off nicely.
Sparks
3/5
It’s funny how there still isn’t anything that quite sounds like sparks. This obviously starts off strongly, but the rest of the album is surprisingly solid, and much more ‘glam’ influenced than I expected but still likely had an influence on some of the art rock that followed. My criticism is that it followed a lot of the same musical approach in the songs, particularly with the keys following the vocal melody which I guess is part of the ‘sparks sound’ but once I noticed it, couldn’t ignore it!
Stan Getz
1/5
Hated it. To me this was the worst kind of musak hold music played whilst waiting for a dental appointment. Bland, limited dynamism and just all so corny. One of the first that I’ve listened to that I couldn’t wait to finish which was blissfully relatively short.
Queen
2/5
I really dislike Queen. I can see how the theatricality and, to a cremation amount, tongue in cheek sleaze might appeal to some, but I absolutely hate the vocal harmonies used in it and doubling of vocals and guitars that is something of a hallmark of their sound. Although this particular album seems to have less of it, and is a bit more glam rock influenced, I’m still not keen on it at all.
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
This started off really promising, thought it was going to build into something dynamic but it just didn’t really go…anywhere? Found it to be be quite soporific by the end. Probably bears a repeated listen but this feels more like background music to a cocktail party rather than something to be listened to front and centre.
Kraftwerk
5/5
It’s so difficult to listen to this and not bear in mind its legacy and what followed directly as a result of this album. As a standalone piece of work though, I love the sparsity of it; that every instrument, every note has a clear purpose in conveying the mood they are trying to evoke. Obviously Trans Europe Express and the tracks that follow are the centre point of this, but the other songs, hall of mirrors in particular are also incredibly striking. Although it might come across as cold to some, I do also get a sense of hope and wonder at inter-European collaboration and culture from it that wouldn’t go amiss in the modern day.
B.B. King
2/5
I have no issue with blues as a genre but for it to really stand out you need to have superior musicianship, particular flair or charisma, or do something out of the ordinary. I didn’t find this album had any of that and it became a bit blues by numbers very quickly.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
I don’t find myself returning to Leonard Cohen very often but I really should as I really enjoy him every time that I do. People often put him in the same bracket as Bob Dylan but I just find that his voice and delivery are just that much more appealing. I also really like that he doesn’t shy away from maudlin topics but does so with tact and beauty. This time, ‘the stranger song’ particularly stood out for me:
“And leaning on your window sill,
He’ll say one day you caused his will,
To weaken with your love and warmth and shelter.”
2/5
There was a period I listened to quite a bit of the cafe del mar, after club morning sunrise type albums and this never came up so it’s a somewhat surprising inclusion. Although it isn’t particularly bad, it’s just a bit bland and sits much more in the background than anything worth actively listening to.
Jeff Buckley
5/5
One of the trifecta of musicians that I listened to on repeat for far too long when growing up so this is through heavily rose tinted glasses. His voice is possibly the greatest I have ever heard and the songs have a lilting beauty to them, from the lyrics to the chord progressions. His chord voicings give it continued interest, and the album showcases the range of talent he had. His tragic death has given it an almost mythical quality which might not be the same had he released some duds afterwards but I think hints at what other brilliant music he had in him to later release. Could be criticised by others as being oversung and the songs at times being a bit MOR - I don’t really care.
Elliott Smith
4/5
Oddly, of the aforementioned trifecta, Elliott Smith is one of the others that was on repeat during my formative years so serendipitous that this should crop up so soon after. That said, this particular album never grabbed me in the way that XO, either/or or his self titled albums did, possibly due to the slightly more polished nature of this one which loses the rawness of earlier work which often sounded like it was just recorded on a four track in a bedroom. The songwriting and lyricism is almost as good, but I don’t get the same emotional connection to this particular album as I did to previous output.
Fiona Apple
3/5
More had been talked about regarding Fiona Apple’s legacy of late (particularly since the release of ‘fetch the bolt cutters’) but something about doesn’t connect with me as much as it might others. The songs are good enough but I don’t find her voice is powerful or agile enough to cut through some of the music and the lyricism is lost as a result.
Joy Division
5/5
Although I’d just tip closer for the better of their two albums, this is so atmospheric, and creates such a claustrophobic vibe that I’d rate it as good. The use of sparse electronics, heavy reverb, and double tracking of the vocals and guitar/bass gives it such a distinctive vibe it’s no wonder many bands have sought to emulate it since. I like the inclusion of the dud notes on ‘disorder’ almost as if trying to capture this lightning in a bottle. ‘She’s lost control’ is possibly the best song that they wrote and is a standout in the genre.
David Gray
2/5
I really want to give this lower, but in order to try and have some form of balance where music that has possibly lessened the cultural heritage of the human race deserves a 1, I can’t quite do it to this album because it is just very boring and inoffensive, rather than being an active stain on the musical landscape. Rubbish lyrics, forgettable vocal delivery, odd choice of supporting instruments (is that an 808 on ‘we’re not right’?!) but overall just becomes a bland soup.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
I thought we were in for a long slog with ‘walk on by’ to start as it plodded along and lost a lot of the little accents that make the original so good. The three tracks that followed were good though so I’m glad I stuck it out. When it found its groove it was a great mix of funk and soul which, interestingly, was often when Hayes took more of a step back and just let the band play.
Screaming Trees
3/5
Good but not groundbreaking by any stretch. Possibly the kind of thing that gets better with repeated listens but I don’t think it grabbed me enough to want to put it on again any time soon.
The Adverts
3/5
As punk goes this is one of the better albums I’ve heard. Quick and to the point, some interesting melodies and well produced. I’m just not sure as a genre even the best of the best will be that appealing to me as it seems to have quite a low ceiling. There is only so much space for virtuosity, interest, and interplay that it can deliver if sticking within the established boundaries of it.
Johnny Cash
2/5
Found this disappointing. Some of the covers are a poor choice as don’t translate well to Cash’s voice and the choice of instrumentation to accompany it - ‘first time I ever saw your face’ in particular. Hurt is quite obviously the standout here, with Reznor saying that the song “doesn’t belong to me any more” but one great song does not a good album make.
U2
4/5
I’ve flip flopped as to how to rate this album. On the one hand, some of the tracks are a little overplayed (it shouldn’t necessarily be punished for it but hard to disregard hearing ‘one’ for the thousandth time), and I don’t think it is necessarily as transformative as others insist it was to their sound. On the other, it’s a really solid album and, from front to back, one of their best with very few weak tracks on it.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
I really like a lot of Gabriel’s work but listening to this album suggests that he may be a much better singles artist than making really good deep cuts. Found the second half to drag a little although picked up again with the last track.
Finley Quaye
1/5
Sounds like reggae made for middle class white people who wear their the thifted tie-dyed harem pants and Birkenstock sandals just to prove how culturally diverse they are. Truth is, this just seemed to have sucked the soul out of the genre. Odd, because I suspect the enduring mass appeal of it was probably a shock to Quaye himself, but cannot see this as being deserving to be on this list whatsoever.
Michael Jackson
4/5
Hard to deny the enduring legacy as one of the great pop albums. There is a great run of tracks but there are some duds on here too (most of MJs ballads are so off putting…). The production on the album in particular likely helped shape the sound of the 80s to come and I’m surprised that this sounds so different to the style of off the wall despite both being produced by Quincy Jones. For all his faults, the vocals on this are great even if the ad libs are a bit cringe in isolation.
Underworld
4/5
In my opinion, not the best example of what they can do (‘dubnobasswithmyheadman’ probably edges it) though ‘Pearl’s Girl’ is probably the best introduction to them. A somewhat frenetic, clustered, relentless series of driving beats with additional urgency from the vocals and melodies over the top. Fairly solid from front to back but otherwise nothing that necessarily blows you away. Suspect part of its reason for inclusion is the deluxe/reissued version which includes ‘born slippy (nuxx)’ which, although propelled them into the mainstream, I don’t particularly like.
Orange Juice
4/5
I get strong Talking Heads vibes from this, particularly the drums and percussion, and vocal delivery which comes across to me as paradoxically urgent and laid back at the same time. I think it loses a bit of focus later on in the album, but the free flowing approaches anlso has some anppeal to it. Somehow just lacks a bit of the punch that I get from David Byrne’s delivery and isn’t quite as funky.
Adele
2/5
Fucking ‘love song’?! She obviously has a great voice, but some light and shade wouldn’t go amiss. Every other line seems to be over sung or have some kind of vocal affectation added unnecessarily. Was interested to hear some more of the album cuts but they are bland as anything. I get it, she found her niche, but please, for god sake, mix up the lyrical topics just a bit.
The White Stripes
2/5
Nowhere near the same energy as ‘white blood cells’, wears more of the blues influences on its sleeve but the songwriting just doesn’t have the same level of quality. For a band where the focus is on two instruments, the songcraft has to be particularly good as it draws so much more scrutiny and this just doesn’t have it in the same abundance of some of their other albums.
Neu!
4/5
Hypnotic at times, urgent and propulsive at others. Loved that it blended that krautrick motorik beat with some of the more punk/post-punk elements at times. I can hear LCD Soundsystem through it all. I’m sure this must have put people off at the time as boring but this would have been so far ahead of some of its peers when looking in retrospect. Definitely one I’ll be revisiting.
PJ Harvey
4/5
Not ground breaking but a very, very solid straightforward rock album. I do prefer some of the later albums because of the variety in sound that Harvey uses, consistently reinventing herself and taking a different slant on styles. No songs grab me from this in the way that something like ‘to bring you my love’ does but enjoyed it regardless.
OutKast
3/5
I can see why some people might highly rate this album. It really is one of two parts though. One a more straight rap album, the other wearing its other influences on its sleeve more and not being afraid to try something different. If they were independent of one another I’d likely rate speakerboxxx a 2 and the love below a 4 so trying to combine the two in an overall score. As a double album its length is a bit too long to really absorb in one sitting.
2/5
I suspect this has tried to take some of the more serious post punk aesthetic and put a bit of humorous take on it but some of it just seemed a bit derivative and childish as a result. Nothing particularly grabbed me, and there are other bands doing a similar thing much better.
Suicide
3/5
Hard one to rate this. On the one hand this was probably hugely out there and different to the norm at the time, and can see how it may have been divisive. On the other, it didn’t really go anywhere, say much, or do anything that I took away from encouraging me to listen to it again. The general aesthetic of it (minimalism, electronics, some layers of additional instrumentation) may have influenced many artists I like since so rating a little higher than my listening experience alone.
Kid Rock
1/5
I listened to this from front to back, and honestly tried to keep and open mind but it is SO shit. From the chant in the first song, to the faux country influences peppered through the remainder, the constant braggadocius lyrics that sounds like he’s trying to be Zach de la Rocha but just comes across as Florida man doing karaoke, poorly aged nu metal tropes it just ticks the boxes of the worst excesses of music. If I could rate it a zero I would.
AC/DC
3/5
To some degree they are what they are, an uncomplicated rock band that aren’t too over the top or extravagant nor try to be. On the other hand, it very much just seems like the Brian and Angus show neither of which I rate that highly. The bass in particular this time round caught my ear as it is surprising that they rarely play anything more complicated than quarter notes on the root. Similarly, the drums seems to primarily just be a backbeat for Angus to riff over. Also seems a strange choice to fade out at the end of back in black where it could have reached some kind of crescendo instead. Not bad, solid, but not particularly novel either.
The Psychedelic Furs
3/5
Feel a little bit post punked out with the run of albums recently and this didn’t particularly stand out amongst them. Seems like the mixing could do with a bit of a remaster because to me it sounded quite muddy and not in a ‘wall of sound’ good way.
R.E.M.
4/5
R.E.M’s the kind of band I don’t listen to that often but when I do, always enjoy it. I think this would likely have been my introduction to them as this tape was knocking around in our house as a child. Doesn’t have the same weight as other albums with a standout single (orange crush and pop song 89 are easily overshadowed by other singles they later released in terms of popularity) but are still good songs in their own right. Mill’s harmonies with Stipe are lovely in places and just a super solid album with no clear lows.
3/5
Didn’t sound like the kinks I know (I think I’ve mainly only been exposed to some of the albums that followed this) so was interesting to hear a different sound to that I expected. Some moments of interest, can hear similar influences to that of the Beatles (I wonder how much interdependency there was between the two or common influences they shared) and some of the psychedelia and experimentation that followed. Found it dragged a little by the end though.
Kelela
3/5
Hard to rate this one. On the one hand, the synths, beats and general supporting rhythm and vibe would typically be in my wheelhouse. On the other, I’m not convinced by the R&B vocals over the top of it and it just seemed to put me off. Expect this is divisive as I can’t see R&B enthusiasts particularly liking it, and may put electronica enthusiasts like me off too. I like that it’s tried to do something different though as it is a blend not often heard and so should be lauded for that where novelty is harder to achieve nowadays, but am doubtful this is an album people should hear before they die. It ultimately sounded like something FKA Twigs has done but not to quite the same standard.
Aerosmith
3/5
In some respects this wasn’t as bad as I feared but I had VERY low expectations for it. Was all a bit naff though. It’s aged poorly and although it didn’t have the cheese of some of their later works, does very little for me.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Was looking forward to listening to this through but was kind of underwhelmed by it. ‘The killing moon’ stands heads and shoulders over the rest of it where some of them sounded like incomplete demos somehow, ‘thorn of crowns’ in particular. Sounds like it needed a bit more polish and finesse than what was presented.
The Killers
2/5
I was always a little miffed that the killers blew up like they did. The songwriting isn’t particularly strong at any point in the album, and I include ‘mr brightside’ in it as, to me, the song is about absolutely nothing, yet has remained ubiquitous despite it. ‘I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier’ is the kind of lyric that might seem deep when you’re 15 but has zero depth to it as far as I can see. Flowers’ vocals also must have been tuned in post or comped to buggery as his singing (at least whenever I’ve heard them perform live) has been crap.
Nitin Sawhney
3/5
I do think Nitin Sawhney is an underrated artist, but being completely objective, this particular album is a bit too safe and MOR to really excite. Some tracks are more interesting (‘nadia’, ‘homelands’) but some are very bland indeed. Appears to be aiming for a fusion of Indian and (at the time) modern British genres but the genre fluidity could have been better served by being a bit more focussed as we seem to move from trip hop to drum and bass to chillout all in the sis e of a few tracks. I also think the album concept, of the existential threat of an indo-Pakistani war and nuclear proliferation simultaneously is a bit too on the nose at times and lacking in others.
The B-52's
3/5
This was actually an awful lot better than expected. Seeing ‘rock lobster’ on the tracklist made me groan a bit as I thought it would be a series of twee ‘lol random!’ songs but some of the rest of the album was actually a reasonable slice of pop/new wave/post punk. I have to mark it down a little as I really can’t get with Schneider’s droll delivery, but the rest of the band seemed to support it well.
Supertramp
3/5
This veered from some of the worst excesses of prog (eg. ‘Yes’) to what were actually some decent moments. I liked the start (is that a Morricone sample?) and ends of the album but it descended into prog wankery about halfway through which soured it a little for me.
Eels
4/5
Some moments in this that really stick out, the lyrics at times (that must be be her sister, that must be her sister, right?) and changeup of tone and instruments in others. A solid piece of work with few lowlights. Was nice to revisit.
Portishead
4/5
Really close to a 5 from me. It’s so evocative of a particular mood that is hard to get from many other albums. Gibbons’ voice is full of tenderness and fragility that I find it just draws you in. ‘Roads’ in particular has a vocal performance that is so understated whereas others might oversing it way too much. There are a few tracks later on that don’t have quite the same hook to them which I think is the only reason I can really give for not scoring it higher, just a slight lack of consistency throughout.
Nick Drake
5/5
I won’t labour the point as to how good I think Nick Drake is/was. I do get more a sense of hope and positivity from this one than his other albums, but it still has that thread of melancholy throughout that, to me, gives it a sense of poignancy. We had ‘northern sky’ as the first dance at our wedding at my behest. I still think they are some of the best lyrics about love that I’ve heard.
U2
4/5
I think I prefer this to achtung baby. A bit more raw, less reverb noodling from the Edge, Bono sounding a little more emotional, and the songwriting topics obviously much closer to their hearts. I think the lack of polish to it carries the message better than it might have if this were released in a later phase of their work. Obviously the two singles are a hallmark of it, but also enjoyed both ‘drowning man’ and ‘two hearts beat as one’.
Billy Bragg
2/5
I’ve a huge amount of respect for Billy Bragg the man. Someone who has done the working men’s clubs, the small scale festivals, and so with a huge degree of authenticity about the power of the collective. Billy Bragg the musician however I don’t particularly enjoy. I get that the lyrics are supposed to be the focus, and just a guitar and singing can be a powerful way of getting the messaging across but I don’t think Bragg is necessarily strong or powerful enough to convey it and it was easy to get bored and lose focus on the content of the lyrics as a result. It did strike me that this is the kind of messaging that wouldn’t go amiss with the labour movement at the moment, rather than pandering to the reform flag wavers, that this messaging of a United Kingdom might cut through instead. A very Anglo-centric inclusion though to this list. Be interested how some non-uk listeners would find it if not familiar with its politics or folk traditions.
The Temptations
3/5
A little inconsistent with its style and tone, going from r&b to disco, to funk, to doo wop. Some highlights for me included the audacity to have a nearly 4 minute intro to ‘papa was a rolling stone’ which in total takes up a third of the album; the entirety of ‘the first time I ever saw your face’ which, the more I listen to, speaks to me as one of the all time great songs; and the nearly hour of sleuthing to find out which film or tv show Alice and I have both heard ‘I only have eyes for you’ (though apparently, not this version). Otherwise flew by (it’s a quick album), and the duds were comparatively not too bad on here.
Prince
4/5
Gratuitously overblown and and an album that I’ve flip flopped on because of that. In some ways it is too bloated and showy for my tastes, but there is some genuinely good songcraft and musicianship underneath it that is hard to knock down. Parts of the album have aged more poorly than others (the use of drum machines still sounds a little in its infancy here and might have aged better if they were played in live instead) but Prince’s guitar playing here is sublime at times (obviously at the end of purple rain, but sprinkled through other songs too) and easy to see why he is often cited as a musician’s musician.
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
On the whole, was a consistent funk album, but it really is lacking in some top notch songs to really sustain attention. Found it just dissolved into the background after a while which is unusual for a genre that tries to keep your head and body moving. Consistently average in the end.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Probably the most cohesive of Cave’s work that I’ve heard despite it being a double album. Abbatoir blues follows the same style and pattern I’ve come to expect from Cave, but I think the Lyre of Orpheus is where this really shines. Literary, much more tender and measured than other albums of his I’ve heard. More than Cave’s performance in this, I think The Bad Seeds were particularly good, not least in the obvious of ‘there she goes my beautiful world’.
CHVRCHES
3/5
Another strange inclusion to this list. It’s not that this is a bad album per se, just one of many that was released and possibly somewhat popular at the time but was just of its time, with little enduring legacy. There are many other bands attempting the same synth revival (eg. Purity ring, Robyn, even the wknd) so at a loss as to why this is so much better than any of their peers.
Jefferson Airplane
4/5
Enjoyed it. I think it’s aged well and is still influential despite being of its time. It’s a strong start to the album but doesn’t quite maintain the quality throughout (might have benefitted from a few fewer tracks to keep it tighter). ‘White Rabbit’ obviously stands out primarily because it eschews some of the standard songwriting patterns we’ve since come to expect.
Brian Wilson
3/5
I’m sorry Brian. I’m sure it was an emotional journey getting this completed, but this just doesn’t have the same level of quality as some of the beach boys output. The lyrics are more trite, the harmonies (whilst still great in places) just sound that much more flat, possibly because it doesn’t have the variety in timbre of other singers. Wilson, doing multi-part harmonies with himself just doesn’t work in the same way when he does. The tone is just a bit off and where pet sounds shines because of its more maudlin topics, the infantile subject matter for some of these lets it down. Instrumentation is more sparse in places and ordinarily this would let the harmonies come through more clearly, however the aforementioned issues I have with them just draws more attention to it.
Wilco
4/5
A really coherent record, that benefits from repeated listens. I like that some songs swell to a clattering crescendo (‘I am trying to break your heart’, ‘I’m the man who loves you’) whereas others give space for the song to sit in (‘Jesus etc.’). Solid all round though I find it surprising that many prefer this to a ghost is born, which I think just edges it.
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
Found this hard to judge. I don’t particularly like much of it, particularly the first third/half of band on the run (that synth is almost as horrendous as ‘wonderful Christmastime’). But I’ve got to judge this in the round and this is better than Lennon’s solo output. At least songs like ‘Mrs Vanderbilt’ is a little different stylistically which sustain some interest.
R.E.M.
4/5
Some great songs on this and very few lowlights. Stipe and Mills sound great together here (it may be overplayed but how the two compliment each other on ‘it’s the end of the world as we know’ is still delightful). What they do, they do really well, but if there is one criticism I have that stops it just shy of getting a 5 is that lack of experimentation, or doing something out of their established style even just for a song or two that shakes things up a little.
Jean-Michel Jarre
2/5
I can see the influence this might have had on subsequent electronic music and for that I need to give it something, but it is a little bit shit, like a programme portraying the future that has aged poorly. It was likely very futuristic for its time but with hindsight, doesn’t have a great deal of the charm of some of its peers. I’m not averse to the synths per se but the percussion on it is washed out and isn’t as driving as something like kraftwerk. I’m glad to have listened to it, but not sure I’d want to revisit it.
Various Artists
3/5
Firstly, it is important to separate the man from the art here as he was a nasty piece of work. That said, the staying power of a number of the songs here is a testament to the musical vision there was. The wall of sound is so evocative of a particular nostalgia. A lot of credit must go to the artists themselves for their delivery too. As Christmas songs go, this is bearable at least.
The Specials
3/5
My disclaimer is that ska isn’t generally my thing. The specials seem to be one of the better in their genre but I think the ceiling of it is quite low. ‘A Message to you Rudy’ does seem to stand out head and shoulders over the rest, and, other than ‘monkey man’ (itself I think is a cover of the original by toots and the maytals) most of this I found forgettable. By the end I was practically begging for anything other than a syncopated staccato guitar, which I know is a hallmark of the genre but gets tired quickly. Some of the guitar work reminded me of ‘television’ and so the solos weren’t bad, nor was the brass section but not quite enough to pull this score upwards.
Living Colour
1/5
While it might have been a pioneer of funk metal fusion, and helped with what is otherwise a significant under representation of black musicians within metal more generally, this is one of the worst forms of it to me - the hair/hard rock influenced, throw everything including the kitchen sink approach that doesn’t have much nuance to it. Cult of personality has nostalgia only to me because it appeared in GTA San Andreas. Generally disliked it all otherwise, in particular ‘what’s your favourite color?’ - sounded like it was trying to emulate Prince but instead just sounded forced. I had the joy of listening to the extended version of this which also included a cover of ‘should I stay or should I go’ which rinsed all of the passion from it in favour of a wierd half/double time flip from verse to chorus. Shite.
Supergrass
3/5
I had thought that supergrass may have been done a bit dirty during the britpop wave that they came along during because they weren’t as marketable or keen tabloid fodder like blur or oasis were. Listening to this though just suggested that they genuinely didn’t have the same range of killer tracks to grab the attention with. None of it was particularly bad, but sounded a little bit like a slightly more polished pub band.
David Bowie
3/5
Bowie should be lauded for the reinvention of his style that he goes through on this album as this is a significant departure from his prior works. More soul influenced, and nods to funk on some of the tracks, it just ends up sounding a bit too middle of the road for my tastes - plastic soul indeed. This ends up playing it a little safe and doesn’t quite come up to the standard of his Berlin trilogy that came after which likely broke newer ground.
Television
5/5
Front to back absolutely incredible. The solos are obviously great, but the supporting drums, guitar, and rhythm guitar give Verlaine the pocket needed to shine in. A shame that, from what I’ve heard of television, none of the rest of their catalogue hits anywhere near the heights of this. There is an extended version of this I’ve heard with alternate takes of both marquee moon and friction on which are equally good as the takes included on the album.
The Smiths
4/5
One of their weaker albums but still good. Issues with Morrissey aside, he does sound on fine form vocally on this album and Marr is as good as always ‘That joke isn’t funny anymore’ has always been one of my favourite songs of theirs and continues to hold up well.
The Residents
4/5
I flip flopped throughout this album between this being an absolute pile of avant garde dogshit and some of the most brilliant experimental music I’ve heard for years. One of the first albums I’ve listened to as part of this process where I had to put it on play from the beginning immediately afterwards just to make sense of what the hell ive just listened to (spoilers, a second listen didn’t help…). I’m still on the fence as to whether it sucks or it’s brilliant. It definitely made me revaluate what music could be though which, if it has anything going for it, it is that. I hear aleatoric music, free jazz, electronica, industrial and all kinds of things in between - bits of Swans, the Books, Frank Zappa, Arnold Schoenberg, Faust… what a heady mix of styles it was. I’m rating it highly less for how much it appealed to me, and more how this was a musical journey unlike many others.
Yes
3/5
Even though it was relatively recently, I barely remember listening to the previous ‘yes’ album and this one is likely to leave a similarly small impression. I didn’t immediately dislike this in quite the same way though, not to say I particularly enjoyed it either. Seemed to be less meandering, bit more focussed, and less spinal tap than ‘close to the edge’ was. Probably won’t revisit it though.
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
I’m going to be critical but if I’m going to be fair to other albums on this list I have to be. I like the chemical brothers. I like that they created electronic music that wasn’t necessarily designed for the club and exit planet dust falls into that style. There are some decent songs on this album (‘leave home’, ‘song to the siren’, ‘chemical beats’), most of which take inspiration from psychedelic rock music, but these are decent but not mind blowing. Beyond that, there seems to be a reasonable amount of filler and doesn’t have the consistency of something like ‘dig your own hole’ or (my personal favourite) ‘surrender’.
Hanoi Rocks
2/5
Was dreading this when I saw the tags of ‘glam’ and ‘hair metal’. It wasn’t as glam or hairy as I was expecting which was a blessing, though just a bit non-descript. A day later, I couldn’t tell you much about any of the songs, other than about half of them incorporating what Lyra calls the ‘football drum pattern’. No idea why it is on this list other than, from what Wikipedia told me, being the first Finnish band to chart in the UK. Big whoop.
Snoop Dogg
2/5
We get it Snoop - you smoke weed. You don’t have to make that the defining characteristic of your entire personality though. Lyrically chauvinistic, misogynistic, and derogatory at times, it includes the worst of gangster rap. The only saving grace for me that stops it getting a 1 is that the beats and production is absolutely laden with hooks and choices that have gone on to define that west coast style - large Parliament influences in the bass and synths make it easy to understand why it was called G-funk. The vibe isn’t for me, but can see why it would appeal to others.
Billy Bragg
4/5
Was expecting it to be more of the sound of Billy Bragg than it was but pleasantly surprised by this one. I feel like both Wilco and Bragg have treated the songs covered here with sincerity and respect but also not been afraid to do something a little more modern than I suspect the originals would have been performed like. Particular shout out to ‘one by one’ which I particularly enjoyed with the use of slide guitar and Rhodes piano in. Overall, a really lovely album that I’d like to listen to again.
Ella Fitzgerald
2/5
Has that classic sound that sounds a bit old hat now. I’m not particularly fond of any of the songwriting at all, but Fitzgerald’s voice is absolutely stellar here - I’m not sure it’s enough to save it completely though. Songs like ‘let’s call the whole thing off’ and ‘s’wonderful’ have stood the test of time but I don’t particularly enjoy, likely because they are a bit close to musical theatre. Much prefer Fitzgerald when singing anything other than Gershwin I’m afraid.
Anita Baker
1/5
This was a horrible listen. Awful, overproduced soul/R&B/adult contemporary blandness. Same saccharine love topics in each of the songs end up saying so little about the human condition. A bit of light and shade might have helped but this was awful musak. Baker’s voice itself was good, but hated everything else about it.
Talking Heads
4/5
This isn’t my favourite Talking Heads album, partly because it lacks some of the standout songs from others but as a cohesive piece of work and particularly in an album format this works well as there is little weakness in it overall. Funky, quirky, and good grooves in it. The only criticism I have is that it doesn’t fuse quite so many diverse genres in it as some of their later works, this having much more emphasis on the post-punk jams, and I think as a band they are all the better for it when they do.
Kanye West
1/5
Ramping up to the height of his narcissism, where practically every song is about comparing himself to humanities saviour despite harbouring alt right views himself - It’s hard not to judge this with the hindsight of him going off the rails (whether it is mental health related or just going off the deep end is by the by). I got a bit sick of the constant self reverence and found that as a comment on society, black culture, or world events where rap and hip can really capture the cultural zeitgeist, this absolutely missed the mark. Even the collaborators on it don’t improve this particularly, with the only thing that supports it is that some of the instrumentation in the background had sporadic and rare moments of interest. Otherwise, I really disliked this as a concept and piece of work. Stay on the bipolar meds Ye.
Robert Wyatt
4/5
This was a good listen. Challenging at times, thought provoking and meandering at others. I can really hear the influences this might have on some of the more ‘pastoral’ post rock/post-rock adjacent artists like ‘caroline’ and ‘black country, new road’. Bits of early Eno come through here too for me, as well as king crimson. Despite that it also sounds very much a unique piece of work and I enjoyed the journey that it went on. The story of Robert Wyatt the musician (particularly during the recording of this) only really adds to the mystique of this as an album.
Nirvana
4/5
Was expecting this to have aged poorly but, for the most part this does still hold up well despite its ubiquity. There’s a bit of a lull in the middle of it but I think it is bookended well as an album. It’s honestly been a long time since I listened to it, but I appreciated the songwriting here more than I expected - when listening to it as a teen it was more for the raucous energy and angst whereas listening back, it’s the slower ones that stand out as better tracks for me - ‘on a plain’ and ‘something in the way’ in particular. It might just be because I think I listened to the unplugged in New York album much more than this one and so have more fondness towards them as a result.
Dire Straits
3/5
It’s a little bit insipid, and can see why it would appeal to the masses. The band is tight, bass and drums let Knopfler do his thing, but I’d like it to go somewhere else than that safe bluesy pocket where it’s just riff after riff. It’s a consistent album to be sure, but one comment I’ve seen that says it’s an hour of ‘sultans of swing’ sums it up well though.
Richard Thompson
4/5
As I’ve grown older, I’ve developed more of an appreciation of the folk scene and the unsung nature of a lot of the work that has been put out under that genre’s umbrella. It’s not always fancy, and it’s not always glamorous, but I really respect the understated nature of it. I liked the harmonies throughout the album, and some nice guitar work in the background to a lot of it which makes a change from the more overblown stuff there has been on the list recently. Probably warrants a further listen in a different context, but as a first time listen, I really enjoyed it.
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
I like the pet shop boys; and I like the concept of this album calling out some of the issues of Thatcherism at the time, but by god did I find the sounds in this grating. Ticked all of the worst bits of 80s sound design in most of the songs - gated reverb, midi bass, chorus on pretty much everything, and 808 drum machines. I have no particular fondness for any of that and so I struggled to enjoy this.
Blondie
4/5
Really good at what it does when approached as a post punk inspired pop album. I like that it is both urgent and seemingly lackadaisical at the same time which sounds like an oxymoron but I think can be true. Consistently good, and variety in the songwriting. Went by at a pace and doesn’t outstay its welcome.
Pixies
4/5
So close to a 5. Some stellar songs here with ‘gigantic’ being the standout for me. Shoots by at just over 30 mins and doesn’t sound like it’s aged a day. Just loses itself a little towards the end I felt, but some great exercises in songwriting that is quick and to the point and dies a lot with what sounds like minimal instruments and minimal additional production needed.
Jeff Beck
2/5
Probably unfair but I think blues can have a low ceiling. The guitar playing on this is good for the most part but god damn was I tired of Rod Stewart’s voice by the end of it. I think this worked better when there were shifts in guitar tone and variety in styles (like in ‘blues deluxe’) but by and large this left me distinctly underwhelmed. This particular version also seemed to have a really harsh tone at about 1k hz from the drum kit that grated on my ears by the end.
Franz Ferdinand
3/5
In the mid 2000s there was this glut of ‘landfill’ indie that all sounded like derivatives of one another. I never particularly liked Franz Ferdinand when they came out but they did seem the best of a bad bunch. I can see why ‘take me out’ took off so much as it has one of those riffs that people sing along to, but the rest of the album, while not hugely exciting is reasonable. Slightly more art rock influences on it probably keep it slightly more interesting than its peers, with shades of the velvet underground, magazine, and even Belle and Sebastian coming through for me.
John Cale
4/5
I’m a bit torn on this. At times, this had some really lovely tracks. The orchestral arrangements in it are lush and vibrant, and there is some really tender songwriting, but a few tracks (“Graham Greene”) rubbed me up the wrong way. “The endless plain of fortune” and “Paris 1919” I really liked though and, for the variety this album had, and likely influences this had on what followed, am rating this fairly highly.
Scissor Sisters
2/5
I didn’t completely hate it, but not my cup of tea either. I like that, as a band, they embrace the queer scene as much as they do and brought it more into the mainstream as a result, but musically I’m not too fond of what they do. Jack Shears’ voice doesn’t appeal to me at all, and this seems to take a lot of the roots of disco music but removed the soul of it in favour of production that is frequently a bit too overblown.
New Order
3/5
I’ll forgive Sumners vocal performance as, for obvious reasons, he never really expected to be a lead singer. This had some decent moments (‘sunrise’) but doesn’t have the same killer songs like ‘substance’ does. I do like Hooks bass style and that combined with the synths used make it sound distinctively ‘new order’ but it’s unlikely to be an album of theirs I’ll revisit any time soon.
Moby
4/5
Play seems to get a lot of flak for the ubiquity of the songs. It’s well documented about the use of the tracks in adverts and other media but I do quite like it as a journey. There are some weak tracks on here (‘south side’, ‘machete’) where the energy levels don’t seem to match the rest of the vibe - it seems to work better when more of a ‘chillout’ album. Been a long time since I last listened to it and I don’t think it has aged badly.
Cat Stevens
3/5
I’m sorry Cat, but I think I have PTSD from boyzone covering ‘father and son’ and I can’t not hear them when the song was playing. Obviously a good songwriter and doesn’t seem to get the same kudos of the Dylan’s of this world, but it didn’t really take me anywhere and found I didn’t manage to connect particularly with it (perhaps it’s all Boyzone’s fault).
Lenny Kravitz
2/5
Why on earth should this be a must listen to album? It’s trying to be funky without the funk. Trying to be edgy without any edge. Trying to be fun without any enjoyment to be found. Really quite surprisingly bland and instantly forgettable. I’d rate it a 1 but there wasn’t much I actively disliked about, it’s beigeness saving it from the complete doldrums.
Beatles
5/5
There are times when I think The Beatles are overrated, and then I listen to ‘Revolver’ again and it reminds me of how absolutely mind blowing this must have been on release. The influences of the Indian sub-continent really gives the ears something new and fresh to listen to fused with some of their best songwriting to date. Yes, ‘Yellow Submarine’ is awful, but it also has ‘Eleanor Rigby’ on to counteract it. To finish with ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Caribou or Chemical Brothers record is ballsy and leaves you with this hypnotic feeling that must have been so wildly far ahead of its time.
Soft Machine
2/5
I didn’t listen to this in the best setting. A reasonably busy office turns out is not conducive to listening to soft machine. Sounded a bit messy which, in a different context, might have just sounded experimental and avant garde and possibly more enjoyable as a result. Struggled to get much from it by the end. Sounded like it was trying to play both prog rock and jazz at the same time but not really playing either brilliantly well and committing more to either would have helped.