So bland I genuinely forgot I was listening to it at times.

Struggled to get through this. Self-indulgent and meandering. Sounds more like a Led Zep knockoff in places. Often veers into what sounds like the three of them soloing without really listening to what each other is doing. Odd choice of material, too. Not sure why it enjoys the reputation it does.

Love this. Joyous, funky, playful and righteous...

The one where they got new effects pedals, but sadly not any new ideas. Plodding, uninspired music draped in a new coat woven from the offcuts of more creative musicians, and topped off with some truly awful lyrics.

Was suspicious of this one, as I find the song 'Moondance' really quite annoying, but the rest of the album was quite enjoyable.

Can't get on board with this. Too unsettled, too much going on. I'm sure all these twists and turns are very clever in lots of ways I'm too dumb to understand, but I'm not enjoying the ride.

I absolutely don't know enough about Jazz to rate this. But I enjoyed it, so it gets a 4

Tough listen. I spent the half the time wondering if he was going to talk about anything other than himself, and the other half wondering if he was going to at least vary the delivery of the relentless narcissism. Spoiler alert - neither happens. Production is dated and kind of monotonous. 1 point for the Eminem guest appearance - highlight of the whole thing.

Sure, it's super derivative. And they're posh kids playing at being cool. And they got hyped to high heaven when it came out. But they have the tunes and the attitude to get away with it all. A pleasure to listen to...

I actually like this album. But I really can't justify giving it more than a 3, because the bits I like - mostly the softer bits and the harmonies - are only barely worth wading through the plodding 'funk', exhaustingly crushed mix, and well, Kiedis. Even a 3 feels generous, but the bits I like, I really like...

I love Leonard. Hard to give this a 5 because there's just a slight sense of treading water after his first album, but the high points are so high. 4 it is...

I remember the grownups listening to this at their dinner parties when I was a kid. Hadn't heard it since, apart from the singles. You Can Call Me Al is a classic, some of the rest gets a little samey. I was always a little dubious about the narrative that Simon was inspired by the street sounds of Africa rather than the last couple of Talking Heads records, and it does start to feel a little bit like a gimmick in places. Undeniably solid songwriting though.

This album answered so many questions for me. Unfortunately they were questions like 'What if John Denver had been heavily into sleeping pills?' or 'What if Nick Drake had much more confidence, but much less talent?'. Not for me.

Wanted to like this more, because I thought 'Green Light' was great - but there's just a little too much slow moody stuff and Kate Bushisms for my tastes.

I quite enjoyed this one. Bit lightweight perhaps, but the 80s production is fun, and I appreciated the lack of pretension and cultural shoplifting compared to Graceland.

Yeah this is great. Fantastic songs, great performances, a warm cosy feel to the whole thing. Interesting that Joni Mitchell and James Taylor show up. After enduring an album each by them earlier, it seems like a shame they didn't learn more from the experience.

Just great. What an amazing writer she was.

I've tried to hear what people love about Steely Dan in the past, but it's mostly left me cold. This album seems to be regarded as lesser work before they took on their final form, but I actually found it more enjoyable than what I've heard of their later work. Maybe I just like things less polished. Bit concerned this is the gateway to being on of those 'The Dan' people, though...

Awesome

Way too unfocussed and meandering for my liking, even if it did have the occasional good moment. It's clear that a lot of skill and effort went into this, but I'm not convinced by the outcome.

I remember liking this when I first heard it years ago - I think because, contrary to a lot of the other opinions here, I found it a lot more accessible than the other jazz I'd been exposed to at that time, perhaps because it doesn't feature dozens of confusing chord changes but just grooves along in a pleasingly minimal way, and perhaps because I was familiar with a lot of ambient and experimental stuff that it may have influenced. However, it really is minimal - not a lot happens for long stretches of time. And given that about a third of the running time is quite literally cut and pasted from elsewhere on the record, which whole sections repeated verbatim, it's kind of tricky to really call this an essential album. Enjoyable enough though.

I don't get it. I remember reading about Gram Parsons back in the days when you couldn't immediately listen to any music you liked, and thinking he sounded really interesting. People always made the music out to be some mystical, vital combination of country, rock, psychedelia etc that transcended all. I was confused and disappointed when I heard what he actually did. Cheesy, syrupy country with little of the other stuff promised. I'm still confused now. Not sure what people hear in this, but it's not for me. There are people who do country better, and this doesn't add anything else to make it worth my time...

It's telling how many of the reviews here bemoan that the version they listened to edited out the 'Judas' moment, or describe this as a 'document' - this is one of those situations where cultural significance overwhelms the actual artefact itself. But this is about albums. I was a little apprehensive about listening to this one - an hour and a half of Bob Dylan live? Thankfully it's less gruelling than I expected. The sound quality is surprisingly good for a start. The lyrics, obviously, are the main draw - although they do verge into what feels a little like self-parody in places (like Desolation Row), and it's unclear if there's always a coherent thought behind them, but that's part of the fun. The music? Not so much. That 'voice like sand and glue' gets a little tiring to listen to, the music can be samey, and the harmonica is just ridiculous in places. Part two livens things up with the controversial band, but is somehow less than the sum of it's parts. The musicians are clearly on fire, but there's not much to distinguish one song from the next and a little more light and shade would be nice. An interesting listen, but not one I'm likely to repeat.

I mostly know the older Smokey Robinson era stuff, but this was a pleasant surprise. Stylistically it lives up to its title, but whilst it does a lot of things, it does them well.

Awesome. Punk can be such a stuffy boys club, and this is a welcome gust of fresh air. Catchy, creative and fun.

Love Janis. But this one doesn't quite do it for me. The comfortable slickness of this band doesn't work with her as well as the ragged edge of her previous colleagues, and often they seem more interested in displaying their chops than supporting the song. Which may be understandable, because some of the material is a little uninspired, and not really suited to her, leaning towards a sultriness that isn't her best side - I'd rather hear her howling above the storm. When the band get out of her way and she has something good to sing, like Bobby McGee, the results are great. But I'd rather hear those good bits on a compilation than sit through the rest again.

This is an interesting one. It starts off great. Love that broody minimalist kind of early Cure vibe, and the downbeat boy/girl vocals recall MBV. However, as it goes on you begin to realise maybe they only have this one idea? Maybe repeated listens will reveal a little more depth, but I'm not sure I have the patience to find out...

Jesus this was a slog. So plodding. So devoid of melody. So unvarying in it's tone. A chore to listen to.

I love Joy Division, but I don't get why people rate New Order. This is tinny, clattering mess for the most part, with terrible vocals. The occasional bit that rises to average just sounds like something the Cure did better. Did people just really really want to like this? Am I missing some context that would make sense of it? A solid 2.

Bit smooth and jazzy for my tastes.

Pretty forgettable apart from the two songs everyone already knows. I think I would have been ok to die without hearing this one.

Batshit crazy. Have to admire the ambition and what they were able to achieve with the tech available to them, but some of the more novelty stuff I don't think I'd want to hear again. Bits of it are great, though.

Love the upbeat stuff, but the slow ones are a little syrupy for my tastes. Vocals are amazing thoughout, though. Historically significant for sure, but not fully my cup of tea...

Kurt died to save us from shit like this.

An interesting historical curio as a side project that grew to arguably be a bigger deal than the band that spawned it. Has it's charms as a scrappy little one-man project, and Grohl is a great performer, but it gets a little samey and lacks that extra energy that comes from a bunch of people playing in a room together.

Lord no. She's a great singer, but everything else about this is dire, from the songwriting to the production and the bizarre choice of covers. +1 point for at least not containing the dreadful 'Simply the Best'. I guess that's something...

So bland I genuinely forgot I was listening to it at times.

Dull.

Haven't listened to this properly for years. The production has dated ever so slightly in places, but the emotional impact hasn't diminished at all.

Side 1 sounds like something from the section in Spinal Tap where it shows what they were doing in the late 60s. Side 2 is kind of glorious in it's stupidity, but overall this isn't an album I'd want to listen to again.

Almost gave this 5 stars without listening, but always a pleasure to hear it again. Whilst their peers were sloppily recycling old Chuck Berry riffs and shouting angrily over the same tired song structures, these guys were truly doing something different. 21 songs in 35 minutes shows you how different. They pulled apart the idea of what a song could be, and what it needed to be - if your idea only takes 35 seconds to get across, don't pad it out and repeat to fade. If you have ideas that wouldn't normally make it into a song, why not? If all you need is one chord, or a repeated chant, or even just a pulse - don't clutter it up with additional layers. The minimalism is part of the point, but then when they do add back in some of the traditional trappings of pop and rock the results are stunning - see 'Ex Lion Tamer' or 'Mannequin'. One of the first albums I've come across that truly deserves to be here, and whose influence is felt long afterwards.

I don't really hear what clearly many other do here. Competent but kind of dull. Dylan's band without Dylan. Neil Young without the edge. Elton John without the entertainment. Maybe this kind of stuff means more to Americans or something? It's not for me. Also, absolutely terrible name...

Absolute masterpiece. Spawned many imitators, but nothing comes close. Astonishing considering the relatively primitive tech used, and still sounds fresh today. Would give this six stars if I could...

I think you either love Curtis or he does nothing for you. I'm the former. This one is kind of low-key throughout, but still something about it gets under your skin.