1001 Albums Summary

Contract on the world. Mello intro. Odd? Brothers gonna work it out. Chuck D such a strong clear voice. Overall not sure this goes anywhere. Bit long and like the slightly home recording feel of the vocals when Flava sings. 911’s a joke. Funky. Great track. Flava surprisingly lyrical/melodic. Incident at 66.6fm. Warmed up for the Beasties….had gentlemen in cages with uzi. Gold. Hilarious track. Welcome to the terrordome. High tension from the get go. Something about it at the end it kind if fades into background music for me. Maybe heard it so many times. Meet the G that killed me. Cool title. Odd short track. Pollywanacraka. Rap version of ASMR? Anti-Nword Machine. Is a positive-sampling machine. Takes ages to open. Was this composed as a walk out song? Burn Hollywood. Good track. Power to the people. They are aurprisingly techno or at least more than i remember. Not sure i like the speaker ping ponging of Flava at the end. Who stole the soul. Who stole the techno more like it ammiright? Fear of a black planet. Classic. Beats. Samples. Spitting fire. Revilutionary generation. Nice intro. I like it a lot too much though I think it is a bit of a bit of a stretch to to be honest with you and I think it is is a bit more of a stretch for me to be honest with you and I don’t think I I think I would be be able to do that but I think I will will be able to to be able to get get a better understanding of what the situation is and what the situation is is and and I think I can do a lot of things better than I can do with the other people and I think that I think that I can do it it just depends on the situation and and I don’t think I think I can do do you know what I think I can do that I think I think that would be a lot of of the things that I think I I think I don’t think that would be the best thing to do it just depends depends on what I think it’s just a a lot of things like that I think think about it is I think it’s a lot lot of people are very different than what I think I I don’t know I think I think I think I just don’t know I don’t know but I think I don’t know I’m just saying saying that I don’t know what to do with my life and I don’t know know what what I don’t know how to do with it I don’t know how I can do it I don’t don’t know how how to do it I I don’t know how much I can do with it but I don’t know Cant do nuttin for you man. Another melodic flava track. I find his voice annoying but his tracks are wuite singsongy and i like the juxtaposition with spitting fire type rap. Reggie Jax. Nice track. Forgot about this. Cool groove. Funky, laid back. Has big Eric B and Rakim feel for me. Leave this off your fucking charts. Track for the b-boys? B side wins again. Nice ahout out foe the b side. I think the title and military styling made me forget this is the album if a dancey party band. Serious message but dancey party band. Not too much distance between this and ‘well the hip to the hop’. War at 33 1/3. One for the carpenters. The circ saw zipping from ear to ear was a bit annoying. Otherwise good track. Final count of the collision etc. odd. Fight the power. Funky. Great track. Solid closer.

Rikki Dont Lose that number. Marimba at the beginning? Id forgottwn about it. What is it. Like an album overture - hey everyone come in and sit down, the album is about to start. Mariba over i love the intro to this. Bam bum bum. Bam bum bum. Simple, clean, bit most of all beautiful tone then into the melody. Love the drums over all on this song. The overall groove is so laid back, deceptively casual, but the the drum fills crack and so precise. I bet they ALWAYS use a click track. Such a nice mix if constraint (guitar, drums) and passion (piano) to bring texture. Night by night. Synchopation (?) of the organ gives this such a funk feel. A few wackachicka guitars over this wouldnt be out of place. But there’s a real rock feel to the lead. Can imagine a Dread Zep cover of this. Any major dude will tell. How do they get that close your in the recording booth with them, but back of the hall feel to this? Drums different feel in this song. Very sparse on the fills, toms not as prominent in the mix. Feels less driven, more relaxed. Barrytown. These lyrics make a song whose time has come again! Can imagine this as a song in a musical. Something odd about the notes in thw guitar at the outro bit. Slightly flat maybe (almost a beep boop computer type feel) leading into a country vibe riff (which fits the song). East St Louise. Intermission? Off you go. Have a toilet break. The record will recommence shortly. Its fine an all but id like my ragtime(?new orleans jazz?) with a little less click track. A bit dirtier. Parkers band. Lovely guitar in the early part, around and playing. It gave me the bit of dirty i was missing the previous track. Through with buzz. Orchestral! Theres quite a mix of styles on this album but it remains very much a Dan sound. Pretzel Logic. Another sweet groove to this song, almost a blues groove to the bass in this. I like the Dan songs with a funk or swing or groove to them like this the best i think. I think it is the balance against the metronome feel and shows their craft well. Guitar bit at end sounded like they didnt know how to end it. With a gun. Great track. I could never sing this (yes cant sing at the beat of times, but the key changes, slides up and down - it rarely seems to rest on a note long before hitting another). Charlie Freak. Another favorite om this album. Love the kind of walking bass lines through this, the tick tock feel, the layering of violin??? Bringing in the intensity. Dark lyrics. Beautifully crafted. Monkey in your soul. The dirty bass!!! Such a good sound. Another great groove, bright horns, the guitar solo - reminds me of aomwthing but cant think what. Quick listen - as in not a drag to listen to. They dont fuck around (apart from that intro and intermission. Not much out of olace or wasted anywhere on this album.

The Golden Age. If you use some country inspired slide from the get go i am going to be favorable. This os going to be an album about love and loss which auits my mood of late. Otherwise meh song. Paper tiger. He sounds like he cant be arsed when he sings, like he cant be fucked opening his mouth too far. Otherwise quite nice this song. Like the bass lines. Guess im doing fine. Didnt realise he was so alt country. Lonesome tears. Very lofi feel. A little Air Moon Safari about this. Lost cause. Its growing on me this album. I think in the right mood it is one to let wash over you. He cant be fucked oepning his mouth cause hes just exhausted by this relationship hea in or has been in. End if the day. If youre onto a good thing stick to it. More of the same really. Its all in your mind. Round the bend. Already dead. I dont hate those album. I quite enjoy the meloncholy. It moves through stages of growf almost. Not sure id listen to it again and agaim. Sunday sun. There’s something almost Brian Wilsony about this, combines with the Beatles wall of sound. Theres a bit going on here. Really like this. Little one. The most Beck-like track so far. Side of the road. Im not very familiar with Beck and his catelogue. This isnt what i would have expected going into it. That isnits not what i thought a beck album would be (all samples and whacky instruments arranged to a pop sensibility, apmost post-punk pop but with an alt pretenscious twist - maybe i’m off the mark with him? ) so for that i am pleaseamtly surprised. Songs are pretty stripped back and the players fairly solid (likely better than Beck in the musicianship stakes). I maybe let my bias against Beck coloyr my view with comments like ‘meh’. Its probably not wrong on a certain track by track level but i after listening read he didnt release any somgs from this as singles, forcing people to take it as a whole and i think thats right and something noteworthy in it’s foresight im amd of itswlf. I suspect if i listemed to this over and iver it would grow on me. I like that and might gove it more of a go even if to listen to aomw great musicianship from the back band. This person clearly didnt have the album grow on them. http://analogue.io/essays/unpopular-opinions-beck

Down to Zero. Never heard this album before. Nice drum sound. Really pop with a warmth. Beautiful steel as well. Great rhythm and timing in her singing. Help yourself. This turned funcky a minute or so in! Water with the wine. Enjoyed this in a musical, tell a story type of way. Love and affection. Save me. Im not clicking with this album. Not terrible but not one ill come back to again and again. Maybe a couple of tracks. Join the boys. This is one i might come back to. Would be a great live song i reckon. People. Nice organ solo in this followed by a guitar solo with a great sound. Somebody who loves you. OK. Like fire. Nice groove to the guitar. Nice laid back feel buy not aure it goes anywhere for me. Tall in the saddle. Dont mind this. Not a fan of the guitar solo in- a bit lackimg texture/all yhe aame volume. Something about her voice. She is a good singer, has good range, some interesting tremello other probably quite difficult and technical bits but at times her voice sounds a bit all in the mouth. I dont know her ao well. Maybe she was ne er known as a singer but more of a composer or arranger? There’s some good variety in terms of what she does with her voice and its not over the top lile a guy sebastian type ‘hey i can sing’ so it maoes sense from that POV.

Its alright. Kind of Joni Mitchell-esque in quite a few places which made me wonder why i should just be listening to Joni Mitchell.

This app os shiting me now. I entwr notes and then come back or rate and the old notes appear. Anyways. Nwver heard of this guy before. Album started with a jazzy instrumwntal that had mw wondering whethwr it would be an easy listening album, a lofi west coast hip hop album. Second track opened with a singer aounding like Michael Jackson. It aettled into a funky r&b rhythm. Was thinking there are aome great individual parts that i really like, like the bass on sumthin sumthin, some nice lercussion but oftwn suspet its a sample or drum track. Probably not an album id come back to again amd again but might dip into for funk or r&b type ideas if i were a muso, but overall not aomething i would generally go for. Theres some hilarious bits like til the cops come knocking - gonna take you intk the room, lock you up and love for days, we’re gonna be rocking baby, til the cops come knocking…. I think this album was written almost as a romance movie soundtrack, the insteumwntal titlw track, boy meets girl, dance in club, bang, break up, reunite, guy proposes, closing credots outro music. If you could give half stars i might gove this 2.5 for the concept. But this app wont allow so 2.

Know the name but not familiar with this album or any of this persons songs i suspect. Great second track name. Come on feel the illiniose nice quirky pop with some unexpected melody to it. Like it. Some teally nice elements to this. The trumpets, the picolo like sound with melody weaving through over amd ovwr driving it forward. Haunting little balad ditty about John Wayne Gacy. Know fuck all about Gacy but aonf suggests a mindane normalcy. Serial killers - they are just like everyone else. Like Jacksonville. Nice melodic guitar and banjo layering. I am partial to a plink plunk banjo. Decatur a little hokey. Theres clearly somwthing personal about this tecord or at least this aong and the next odd intwrlude. Its about hating hia stepmom? Then applauding her by way of apology or sarcastically or maybe pullman is someone else entirely. Its a bit annoying to have to guess at something youre clearly never going to comprehend without reading interviews with him or something. You can of course apprwciate just musically but not aure there is enough in this one to dine on musically. And the following one there is no music. But your not in on thw joke. Same to a degree woth Casimir. Noce painting of a pictuee of youth, love, etc but cleqrly apecific to his upbringing. No cliches, etc. but whag the fuck does Casimir have to do with it? Given some of thw titles i guess you’re never meant to know. Another. I imagine the workera of Rock River Valley have no fu king idea what to do with this. Maybe i just need to ignore the titles. Theres a lot of them. Ill get the humo if i keep getting hung up on them. Its kind of anni teospectove solo indulgence album. Cant imagine taking a mate who has no idea od this album to a gig whete thia is played in full and he or she cold gets right into it. Or am i projecting my own insecurity? Predatory wasp brpught a smile to my face but i was pissed wandering around Hong Kong trying to find my favorite bar. Sode bar (pun intended) my favorite bar in HK is Tai Lung Fung. Its in Wan Chai. There are 3 dostinct areas im Wan chai and they follow the sin amd moon but dont. Thwres the corporate business latt mear the water which os obviously morning to afternoon. Thwre’s a an artist’s hipstwr community up towarda the hills which kicks off around 4/5 and goes through to juat after midnight. And there is the sleazy hookera on thw street and Filipino bars part in the middle that comea to life 9-10 onward to dawn. Tai Lung Fung is in the hipster part. It has the worst music playing generally (typing this now and Redfoo is singing Party Rock) but it also has a realness and sense of community that id live if i lived in HK. I got no arts ly skills to impress here to be fair. They are the night zombies. There’s a bit of hot chocolate to this. Love it. There’s a whole set of lyrics snuck in at the beginning without evwn realising its there. Thought thw vocals were strings. Can you bring this tension, considered layering to a balls out rock song? Tommy? I really like this album but cant but wonder if it is a bit chat gpt. It sounds deep, must be. Apart from the over all composition, which i dont think should be dismissed, there is no amazing musical feats. I LOVE the trumpet through this. It remindaemof the clash Nd Billy Bragg. But ots no Miles Davis effort. The basa is severwly lacking for me. Its there, but nothing about it grabse, shakes the shit out of me and says ‘rhythm section’. Not surprisingly drums the same. Could be a sample all the way through. But i love the play, the wimay, the thought put into thw composition. For fuck’s sake there’s more than one track with a melodica no! How do you get there? How do you get from recording uour vocals and guitar, piano, whatever, to conceptualising an album like this? I looked at the number of tracks and thought FFS thos os going to be a fucking effort but came out at the end admiring the effort put in. Got a bit self indulgent at out of egypt. Stage. Followed by a remix. Why not just cut it short. Call it a day. Fuck this is hard work. The remix of chicago is stripped back so the lyrics become the focus and they are just inaccessible for me. You drove to Chicago, slept in a vam, with a friend. Othing eartj shatterimg. Maybe because Chicago doesnt involw the same feeling in me as US people. Then Aus bands that seem to stirost dont connect for me - Aus Crawl, Angels. I’ve rambled a little in this review. Will need to listem again and consolidate. Chat gpt will see me right. Really like it but listened in short bursts. Its bloddy long. I suspect if i listened all at once and keeping in mind its a solitary listen, i wouldnt get the same out of it. Driving in my car to the supermarket, kids saying what the fuck is this shit, it would just hit differently. Gonna give it 3, feels like 4. Will need to relisten.

Havent listened to this in full since year 12! So very 80s in some ways but also wouldnt aurprise me if released today. That is quite remarkable i guess You are the everything was my favorite on this. Listening to it now it’s very busy. When do they take breaths. No pauses. Stand on the other hand is still all go no pauses but seems to swell and retreat, or pick itself up build on the melody and resolve on a satisfying note which must be the same as the start of the melody? Michael Stipe has a kind of grating whiny voice. Was trying to work out the backing vocals and what was bugging me about it. I think it is Stipe singing his own backing vocals. Then the last song it aounds like others singing. So ita a clear choice as opposed to others in the band not being able to sing. Wonder how they deal with that live, another band member of course. Like The Wrong Child is all layered vocals. Never thought about it before but there arent a lot of words to orange crush. Without the overdub of army chamts, helicoptor you mivht not know what thw hell the song is about. Like if you dubbed sounds of a fun fair, drinks pouring, kids laughing, you might assume orange crush is a drink and its about moving from childhood to adolesence. Its uptempo dancey beat was always gonna make this the hit of the album i suspect. Its a fine alt pop all guitar noise all the time (interspersed with introspective mandolin). The bass is pretty busy on a lot of this- as in it doeant anchor the ryt section along with thw drums, but sets the melody, wanders a lot. I assume the other albums are the same. Probably made it a better album or them a better band. As much as i bitch about Stipes vocals, they teally are part of the sound that defines REM. I often rate guitarists based on how recognisable their playing is. Clapton, for example, might be derivative, but you know whennits Clapton playing. Thats a level of musicianship not every musician indivisually can attain. So on that basis i should call Stile a great singer. Maybe it is the mix i should fault here. I should listen to other albums around this. I suspect they are just as solid in the alt pop context. New rating criteria for me. 2 stars means a good album. Its the best 1001 albums so everything will end up 3 or 4 stars for the main part.

Another completely new one for me. Quite Beatles-esque. Nice and rocky in parts. Prefer the rocky tracks over the beatles-like piano ballads. Not a fan of the drum sound in this. They are lacklustre, flat, a bit muffled. Shame cause theres some nice drumming on this the fills/rolls (?) on everything means nothing to me are interesting for example. Its a good album. I’d add individual tracks into my playlist not rhe whole album - Son of sam, LA,

Do i like Dusty Springfield or do i like the best of dusty springfield. I suspect ill know after this album. I like Dusty, or maybe i like the producer. I imagine that person had a big input into this debut album. Its just good pop, solid backing band who dont stand out, dont shy back when needed, just do their job. Her voice is powerful but she uses it well, bits of light and shade, conveys emotions and feelings. Not all bangers like Anyone Who Had A Heart, but quite. Few of them are and while hou’ve probably heard othwr versions of many of these, hers are recognisable. The question for me on the rating comes down to how much does it add to the sum of knowledge of music. Not her songs (at least 1 Burt Bacharach song here i think) and arguably along with the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Clapton, another example if a British muso stealing American music, repackaging and selling to the masses. I supose thats what happens when you dont have the internet. Still a three star effort i think.

No idea who this is. Lets see how we go. From the opener, sounds german and industrial. If it is like this the whole way i might struggle. Track 5 of 23 and yeah can confirm, this seems to to be it. Perhaps in 1981 it was pretty revolutionary, but Zappa played a bicycle on TV in 63 with more style than this. The Birthday Party shouted in a similar style sometime through the 70’s. Was it really that revolutionary? Early techno? Surely not. Electronic music has been around much longer, at least the 1920’s (theremin anyone). Jet’m best track for vague recognisability? Is the joke on me and these are all covers and i just am not musical enough to recognise them? Highly possible. Title track my favorite so far, if i had to pick one. I broke one if my rules and looked up the band before finishing the record. Ive been trying to get my own thoughts down before seeking validation or ideas elsewhere. Anyway i’m a bit bored by this and thought id look them up to see what might have been revolutionary about this first album. My poor attention span didnt het past the firat fact I saw, the singer is Blixa Bargeld. Apparently The Borthday Party saw him on TV on Germany shouting like them and he ended ip a fou di g member of the bad seeds. On his wiki theres a quote about this band where he essentially says he couldnt afford drums, piano, etc but he wanted to make music. That i can celebrate and admire. The album is not for me but more power to him for having the courage and inventiveness. The end tracks atart to be quite hypnotic African tribal drum like but if i wanted that i’d listen to the much more enthralling early 70’s album Niagara by the band Niagara (also German origins).

Getz & Gilberto. Great combo and featuring Jobim as if the other two werent enough! Short album. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Gilberto’s singing. So cool calm and seemingly effortless. Its so intimate, like hes just talking to you. Not on this album but his S’Wonderful is a great example of this. Cross Getz’s jazz sensibbities and emotive/breathy sax, with Gilberto’s strong easy singing tone over gently plucked guitar, Astrud Gilberto chipping in with vocals that are almost the human equivalent of Getz’s sax sound, Jobim the father of bossanova composing most somhs and putting in some meloncholic and thoughtful piano (O Grande Amor), its truly a supergroup. But unlike a supergroup like, say Cream, there doeant seem to be a battle of egos going on here.

Apart from probably knowing a few songs on this ive not ever listened to this album in full. 3 songs in and i know each song well so far. The A side was clearly popular. Lots of radio play for this album perhaps. Did Australia Crawl steal this album’s schtick? Sounds like it to me and unfortunately, for me, like Aus Crawl, I find this a bit laborious and one dimensional (even if they do use elements of rock mixed with regae feel, operative choruses, etc). it feels a little on auto, one level, no shades. Ocasek’s singing doesnt help - its really back of the throat and i keep waiting for him to get a tickle he cant ignore and cough. Very distracting. Hes not a conventional singer and that can really work but i find it distracting here. It might bw the mix, they are pretty prevelant in the mix and everything else seems toned down. Could be listening on Apple and airpods. The guitar solo on you’re all ive got, for example, is at the same level as the rythm guitar. The whole album is a bit the same levelish. The whole album is not quite enough for me - not quite enough rock, not quite enough funky grrove, not enough prog rock, etc.

Some bands/albums/songs get superglued to momenta in your life. Kings of Leon will always make me think of their song Sex On Fire which my junkie neighbour played on repeat at full volume day after day for a couple of summers. The house was a junkie party house, fights and acreaming were an everyday occurance, our house was broken into multiple times (no evidemce it was them mind), i felt sorry for the kids (theirs and ours), the junkie ended up moving out and got stabbed to death by a dealer years later. On to this album. Track 1, dont hate it. Not earth shattering but reasonable rock’n’roll informed power pop. Bit more rockabilly than Jet but similar concept. Probably quite a fun live band. They are a bit of a modern AC DC in terms of the Bon Scott sounding singer, the pure rock/blues roots of the music and the lyrics if songs like Spiral Staircase being quite whole lotta rosy-ish. Was thinking i’d hate this but its pretty straight rock with a bit of swagger and i dont mind it. Compared to the last album i listemed to on here (the cars the cars) ita a good example of why that album was also straight rock, mixed with pop, with whatever, but was just meh. This at least has a bit of grunt and energy. Would listen to several of these tracks again. I suspect they changed their direction later, dropping the country rockabilly pop punk for a sound that sounded more ‘stadium’ - use somebody, sex on fire. Got to remind myself that even junkies have taste, just very very specific and relentless taste.

For the love of god, why? Were Metallica like ‘Why aren’t any of our songs ever used on a James Bond or Mission Impossible soundtrack?’ That’s the feel of the orchestral stuff. Well rehearsed band meets well rehearsed orchestra. Not sure i can do the 2+ hours that this requires. Honestly, of all the Metallica albums, this is in the 1001 best? Maybe the dude is a Metallica fan and all of the albums are on here, even St Anger. In fact, to continue down that line of thought, this album and St Anger point to Metallica just wanting to fit in - why are we never accepted by the classical crowd? Why arent we accepted by the nu metal crowd?

Cant say i lostemed to yhis very hard. Was too busy running around to pay attention. Its New Order. A bit more eefined than earlier in the 80’s. Bice enough album. Not likely on high rotation for mw bit reminder of the late 80’s sound.

This one’s goinna be difficult. I have a love hate relationship with Nick Cave’s music. It might stem from a time when i was a much younger man and my then GF loved Nick Cave. We’d booked a holiday together and she broke it off just before we were due to go. Stupidly we decided to continue the holiday. Fuck onows ehy she thought it would be a good idea. I think i was hoping we could reignite the flame while away. Anyeay, in a pub across from the Vic market, getting on it with some Melb mates, Nick Cave turns up, just drinking, not performing. She had puppy dog eyes for him all night and I seethed with jealousy at a man who probably didnt even look at her all night. Some time later, at the end of the trip when i was moaning about not getting back together, probably saying how heartless she was, she pointwd out that she had not gone home woth Nick Cave ao couldnt in fact be all that heartless. The ego staggered me and i may have had a chip on my shoulder about the king of private school goth punk Melbournr ever since. Anyway, i also cant decide if veing a shit ainger makes Nick Cave shit or it just fits the music and expression perfectly. I think the latter. I also struggle with the idea that a white boy average muso gets famous off the back of black musicians, often not even all that obscure. I saw a doco on Nick Cave once where he spoke about having a curator or librarian who looked after his musiccatelogue and i thought really would be better preserving aome of the original rwcordings he’s covered, the musi’s he’s ripped from in a fine tradition that stretches back forever. But thats a bit u fair to Nick and the Bad Seeds. Hes written plenty of iriginal materials. All in all this album rocks pretty hard compared to aome of rhe more cloying albums like Tender Prey or Henry’s Dream, etc. it displays a bit more range than other albums while still being Nick Cave. Listening to My Beautiful World i think its unfair to say Nick is a poor singer. I am a poor singer. He’s not always on note, but he’s got melody, he folles i tervals, he’s consistent in his flaws. Perfect ainging and the music might be boring as shit. His voice is distinctive, full of passion and feeling. The man can emote, which plenty of singers lack. And them you get a track like Abattoir Blues. Why bother. Is this like a Nick Cave rap? And the final 2 of the first disc. Maybe he cant sing on slower ballad like songs with littlw backing instruments, the voice gets exposed. He’s better in the higher register. Maybe he’s just singing in the wrong key all the time. There’s also some weird every syllable enunciated to one count type thimg going on in a couple of the songs towards the end of disk 1. Liked it for the first 5 or 6 songs. Second disk is a bit more familiar melancholic drone i would expect.

Bit rough to rate this. I listened with it as background muaic on a car trip so tough to give a proper listen. As background muaic, it was a bit same same.

Its an album with an incredoble range of emotional expression and great musical ability. I’ll listen to this again amd again, but prefer Songs in the Key of.

I dodnt get through all of disk 1. Not a big SP fan. Dont hate them, just dont listen to them. And so with this, not a terrible album but not a great one for me. There are aspects i like - thw drummer is great, and aspect i think meh - the sound they have seems quite formulaic in some way. I probably ahould finiah this at some point though. Two stars for a good album, not a terrible album but not a great album.

As a Zappa fan i am likely biased. Love this debut album. It is like it spans decades - from 50’s doowop shebop tupe aomgs, theough 60’s psychedelia (with a dose of loathing for the hippies), to standard Zappa tropes. Its a well balanced album compared to some if his and not too much of the long experimental stuff that can grate on me a bit.

Some steady hands on this album. A Bad Company cover band would sound, well like Bad Company. Some great moments, love the groove in the bass on Ready for Love, the rythm section of the band in general are superb, tight, have feeling, provide good backbine. But does that make this a greatest album? Not sure. Good album for sure, maybe great in parts, an album you must hear before you die? Maybe not. Some superb musicians from other noted bands formed BC. The reault for me is the zenith of classic rock. It is likely people onow a few songs of theirs without knowing who the band is. Shame because there’s some nice playing on here, but its a bit background rock s an overall album. Will pick tracks and play on high rotation - Ready for Love, Bad Company.

Never listened to this before but know a few of the tracks as covered by others and Randy’s versions. This is a great album. It would be easy to be cynical about the whitest of white boys who grea ip in LA playing and singing like a creole New Orleans jazz player but Randy’s songs are great, the lyrics are thoughtful but nover stateed or heavyhanded, the compositions simple but emotive, the backing band super (not just the trad jazz bomp bomp and horns but also some beautiful percussion on Last night I Had a Dream, slide guitar on the same and you can leave your hat on). I bet Randy writes somgs like a chicken lays eggs, they just drop out of him naturally. Thats what it sounds like anyway. This album caused me to go look to his later stuff and he has albums apart from film scores (and there are plenty of those). great album that can make someone want more.

This is a band i inow of but dont know well (beyond a few tracks). All i hear os people banging on about Neil Pert being the greatest drummer ever and I wonder if he is the non-musicians idea of what a good drummer is and whether i will find him too busy? I guess i am about to find out. Lets go. The opening title track name itself makes me think ‘concept album, only 6 tracks but 40 minutes long, ling tracks, this is going to be hard work’. Nice guitar sound. Annoying timing (i blame the drummmer) and yes he is too busy. Drums are beautifully miked. Recording very even though ive not heard the singer even 3 minutes in tk the first track. Vocals at 4.5 minutes in and boy I have to thank them for inspiring Spinal Tap. The second aong that’s in the first song about 12 minutes in isnt bad. The whateverth song 15 minutes in is back to pure Tap. Not a fan of the bass sound in theis recording - too muddy and in the background. Could be my airpods or itunes shitty compression. Lessons and Something for nothing were OK. The rest lack a bit flow for me. Too many fills, breaks, pauses, etc. good players for sure, just trying to ahow it too much maybe? After this i went to the lastest album on itunes which was 2012 Clockwork Angels. Firat song, Caravan, great. Less stops, starts, 50 tom fills, etc. they’d leaned into grunge and hard rock a bit more than prog, it rocked. So this album, must listen before you die? Two stars for me.

If you see my other reviews you know i like a band who can hit a groove so this album is going to hit the spot no doubt. James is great. Not a classically amazing singer i dont think but decent range, super soul and emotion. But it is the band that really make this. So together. So much shade and light. Amazing. Nevwr been to the Apollo but assume its a big venue no? If so this recording and the band manage to make it sound very intimate.

I resisted writing before even listening what i was likely to think. Its got trills, its got runs, it’s got high notes. What’s not to like? Moat of it. Third track in and i am not sure it will hold my interest enough. She can sing undeniably. But there’s a karaoke quality to the songs - cue minimised backing track, go belt your heart out. It aounds like acapella with a click track.

I want to hate The Smiths but I can’t. This is a great album that i didnt pay much attention to back in the day so it is a pleasant surprise. Morrissey is a good singer - his melody choice is often unusual and his timing surprising, which is refreshing, but his voice is distinctively his. The lyrics you might expect to be a bit angsty but they’re well written. But it is Johnny Marr’s guitar that defines the sound, very melodic and fit beautifully with the overall nicely composed songs. The guitar tracks are always restless and layered but never aound crowded or chaotic and its not just one dimensional jangly pop, crosses into a bit of country styling, despite the constant changes it sounds so smooth and flowing, basically sounds like someone who really knows their craft. Good solid backline for the style, makes the melancholy nice and dancey which is a good juxtaposition to the sometimes floaty vocals. I clearly didnt listen to the band too closely back when i was young because i dont recall the bass player being a standout but he is. The bass has a lively funk feel which is great in the context of the band. meat is Murder a bit heavyhanded but i admire Morrisseys passion and ability to turn a phrase in service of that passion at the very least. Some very well put together tracks.

Easy to dislike U2 because Bono used to be everywhere, wasnt shy about giving his opinion and no one likes being told they are shit and what to do by someone who is close enough to a billionaire. I also admit to some Bono induced eye rolling. So i try to put this aside and listen just to the music. I liked Joshua Tree. Maybe I’ll like this. Track 1. Isnt this a Coldplay number? Elevation, the Dr Zeuss of U2 songs. I’d call it a better album than every other one between Joshua Tree and this one but the bar isnt high. Tough to het through for me. Meh.

A masterful mix of genres that doesnt sound forced or a hokey mashup. And the genres stamd on their own but blend so well. Beautiful.

There are bits i can appreciate iate - the bass sound on knowing me knowing you,the drum sound on dancing queen - but the over all is not for me. A lot of songs i know on here which is testimony to their catchiness and as a pop record that has to be a measure of success, but the unknowns, like dum dum diddle about secretly loving someone obssessed with playing fiddle, not ao catchy. Not terrible, just not my thing. Didnt finish.

I had a best of album back in the day and struggled to get through all of it at once. Some i thought going into this a best of is probably chosen as stylistically similar. No. I get it, reggae is a tyle and its all gonna be similar in thag sense but thats not what i find. Its almost as if the bpm is the same or close to every track on this. Its not but there is a sameness, a lack of texture, light and shade to this. Some great tracks like Stir it Up and Concrete Jungle but its 1001 albums not singles.

The opening track is a banger even though i’m not a fan of Meg White’s drumming. There’s a stripped back quality to this that makes me wonder if i could set up a four track and produce something - in terms of production quality maybe. The album is mostly carried by Jack White’s singing. Some good tracks, some meh.

Havent listened to this album before. Track one and i thought this album was going to be a bit too psychedelic twee for me but track 2 is a banger. Dont get me wrong, i do like me some Syd Barrett but there is only so much trippy music i can ingest without having ingested a trip. Thats probably a bit unfair as i get more into the album. There is a fair bit of fuzzy garage rock feel to this as well (Barrett’s guitar sound on Interstellar Overdrive wouldnt be out of place on a Mudhoney album). I’m a bit confused by it but i like it. Think i will need to give this a repeat lesson or two. Actually i got to The Gnome and started to lose interest. This is only one of two tracks i know on this album and i dont hate it but i was enjoying the meandering bass lines, with straightforward drum beats where the rythm section are not exactly ‘in the pocket’ but still manage to drive songs on and then harsh guitar chord rhthms (almost percussive in parts) that dive in and oit of the beat , was enjoying all of this so much i was a bit disappointed at the gear change. Cut this album to tracks 2 to 7 and i’d almost give it 5 stars. Thinking about it, this would have been on vunil so perhaps up to 7 is side A? The bike is the other track i know and one of my favorite Syd Barrett tracks so enjoyed but again 2-7 stand out for me. I thought maybe it was non-Syd tracks i liked but he wrote all but 3 tracks and guided the recording by and large. I think its the chaotic clash of Barrett’s guitar against the freewheeling organ but kept rocking along by Roger Waters beautiful bass lines. I guess this is a debut album that showcases well what they would have been like live (long improvised instrumental pieces), some at the time technical innovation and Barrrett’s genius/madness knife’s edge. The track Matilda Mother is almost Spinal Tap/Rush like. At least PF had LSD as an excuse. A reluctant 3 stars as half the album not as captivating for me.

Tough to dislike 70’s electronica that starts with a track heralding the areival of the future - we are the robots. Love the line we are programed to do anything you want us to foloowes by a minor chord sounding ‘we are the robots’. Quite menacing. This fills me with nostalgia for early video games, lasers, time travel, everything we thought the future could be both good and bad. But without the (oftwn endless and therefore meaningless) build up and drop beat type texture of later electronic music and remixes i do winder of this one will be a difficult listen all the way to the end. Track 2 and i think not. Synth and beat pointing the way for alt-symth pop bands of the 80’s like New Order. Stripped back, subtle, not ovwr layered. Theres a lot to like here. Considering this was late 70’s and third album i think its ahead of its time and harks back to early elwctronica that if you were amartwr than me could probably trace back through Jean Jaques Perrey, to Clara Rockmore and her theremin. I think i’d prefer a YMO album to this but then it probably depends on whether i am in a happy modd (YMO) or fewling a bit dystopian (KW). Some great writing here - shes a model and shes looking good, i want to take her home thats understood. Hilarious. Drags a bit at the second to end track but there are worse albums than this. Prefer their previous album Trans-Europe Express.

Tough to dislike 70’s electronica that starts with a track heralding the areival of the future - we are the robots. Love the line we are programed to do anything you want us to foloowes by a minor chord sounding ‘we are the robots’. Quite menacing. This fills me with nostalgia for early video games, lasers, time travel, everything we thought the future could be both good and bad. But without the (oftwn endless and therefore meaningless) build up and drop beat type texture of later electronic music and remixes i do winder of this one will be a difficult listen all the way to the end. Track 2 and i think not. Synth and beat pointing the way for alt-symth pop bands of the 80’s like New Order. Stripped back, subtle, not ovwr layered. Theres a lot to like here. Considering this was late 70’s and third album i think its ahead of its time and harks back to early elwctronica that if you were amartwr than me could probably trace back through Jean Jaques Perrey, to Clara Rockmore and her theremin. I think i’d prefer a YMO album to this but then it probably depends on whether i am in a happy modd (YMO) or fewling a bit dystopian (KW). Some great writing here - shes a model and shes looking good, i want to take her home thats understood. Hilarious. Drags a bit at the second to end track but there are worse albums than this. Prefer their previous album Trans-Europe Express.

Because of the overexposure of Mr Brightside i thought this album would be meh. Its a really good album. They write good hooks. Some very catchy tunes on here. Not sure why but they remind me of The Who. Maybe its the kind of grand rock operatic feel of the songs. Anyways. Like this surprisingly.

FFS i had a whole write up for this that has just disappeared. Anyway it was basically, I wamted to like this. I didnt like this. Her overuse of inflection annoys me.

5 stars for Jaco alone? Let’s see. 1.50 into Birdland and there is sooo much to take in. The sounds out of the synth, bass, is that a guitar sound, a modified bass sound, is that some harmonics out of the bass, the playing! Second track not so interesting. I found Shorter’s sax a bit boring and it is the main focus for much of the song but it doea build and ends with some great soloing by the keyboardist over some incredible bass chords. Next track kicks it up a gear and back to so much happening. Then Harlequin pulls it back down but some beautiful drumming and bass through this. Rumba mumba to mix it up! Okay. Palladium for something a bit more funly. This album is all over the place. I cant decide if it ties together regardless or cant decide what it wants to be and should have been released as singles. Where or what is Lebowski’s rug in all of this? I think it is the dynamics between the keyboard and the bass. Yeah bit all over but hard not to rate highly due to the quality of the players.

New one for me! Lets go. Sparse yet grand. It was OK but not likely to listen to again.

Nice. Havent heard this in a while. Peaches is a great opening track and Willie the Pimp a great second track. Captain Beefheart’s cocals suit thos so well. Son of Mr Green Genes has some cracking playing but the drums and bass are a stand out for me. So solid, really driving the songs, allowing Frank to float around on guitar, really play some interesting melodies and scales from regular rock to almost Egyptian sounding. The Gumbo Variations ia probbly my favorite track on this album. All credit to Frank for the compositions and arrangements but the back band on this album stand out for me without overpowering the main cast type of standout. That’s a solid skill. Lordy the violin on this track. So solid good. Looked ip thebnd. Bass player oneof the wrecking crew, srummer played woth Coltrane, etc. bass player dodnt know Frank, got a call to go to thw studio, 2 days recording and there’s Hot Rats. All of which is not to say Zappa is lagging here. Great grungy dirty aound on Willie, lovely clear tone on Camel. Probably one of the less avante garde albums by Frank and for me one of his best albums. If you’re looking for a jazz rock fusion album it would be hard to find better.

Nice. Havent heard this in a while. Peaches is a great opening track and Willie the Pimp a great second track. Captain Beefheart’s cocals suit thos so well. Son of Mr Green Genes has some cracking playing but the drums and bass are a stand out for me. So solid, really driving the songs, allowing Frank to float around on guitar, really play some interesting melodies and scales from regular rock to almost Egyptian sounding. The Gumbo Variations ia probbly my favorite track on this album. All credit to Frank for the compositions and arrangements but the back band on this album stand out for me without overpowering the main cast type of standout. That’s a solid skill. Lordy the violin on this track. So solid good. Looked ip thebnd. Bass player oneof the wrecking crew, srummer played woth Coltrane, etc. bass player dodnt know Frank, got a call to go to thw studio, 2 days recording and there’s Hot Rats. All of which is not to say Zappa is lagging here. Great grungy dirty aound on Willie, lovely clear tone on Camel. Probably one of the less avante garde albums by Frank and for me one of his best albums. If you’re looking for a jazz rock fusion album it would be hard to find better.

Never heard of those artist. Some nice tracks and Ann interesting mix of reggae, northern soul, dub, pop. There’s a lovely lightness to the album., something bright and summery but sophisticated. A good liaten. Not out of this world but worth repeating a few tracks at least. One or two seem familiar so wouldnt be aurprised if this album got a bit of radio play back in the day.

Fela and Ginger. 5 songs, over 1 hour. Aftobeat endlessness and Ginger Baker rudimentaries until your ears bleed? We shall see! I like the liveliness of afrobeat, the mix of r&b, jazz and african ruthms and I like Fela, but i do find it can get a bit repetitive for me at times. And Ginger is an odd one on drums amd in life. Track one and its a bit as I expected. The drums follow the lead not the rythm section. Credits are sparse on iTunes for this. It basically lists Fela on vocals and Ginger on drums. Seems a bit unfair to the rest of the band Africa 70. Tony Allen was the drummer for Fela’s back band and given how associted he is with defining aftobeat i wonder how much was him and how much was Ginger? By the aounds of a few tracks it was both of them and a few more percussionsists thrown in for good measure. One thong i will say for Ginger, I suspect its not easy playing a beat like Afrobeat across from Tony who has grown up and lived these beats deep into his being and i fewl Ginger does a decent job of not sounding like an English rock muso trying to play afrobeat. Interesting alb. Not sure i would liaten to it a lot but worth 3 stars for the main characters alone.

I know more songs on this album than I thought when looking at the track list. Shows how big it was when it cale out I guess. Its not a bad album, just not a great one for me. They found thwir niche and stuck with it. Ita almost a rock band approach to electronic music.

Probably not my go to type of music but the bass is sooooo good and the drummer has a beautiful lively sound, plays like a metronome. The rythm section of this band are phenomenal! Big part of it is how locked in the bass is i reckon but it’s not mechanical or without groove and sway. So nice. The last 2 or 3 songs not quite as fun but the players are just so good.

There are elements of Syd Barfett’s 2 records i really like (the whimsy, the almost freeform chaotic nature that is still holding some structure - the timing in Dark Globe) but elements i dislike (i find them a bit self indulgent and difficult to listen all the way through, almost like listening to someone who is just learning guitar fucking about with a four track - Dark Globe again), and finally there is something written in song and quite evident that is sad and a little uncomfortable in the way this and the next album shows a guy with incredible talent descending into mental health problems. The album reminds me of a better backed outsider artists like Wesley Willis. In the same way, is it fun, funny, sad, genius, rubbish - likely it is all these things.

I know Take Five and thats about it. There is some no doubt complex music theory in this, the odd time signaturea for a start, but its a bit meh for me. Its what people who dontlisten to jazz think of when they think of jazz unless they are thinling of trad jazz. Its jazz for the Don Draper archetype. I really like the drummer who has a lovely subtle touch and great restraint and Brubeck’s piano isnt bad (prefer Monk, Jimmy Smith, Joe Sample or Ahmad Jamal), but overall the compositions are not anything that I’d want to listen to as an album over and over. I can appreciate the mastery involved in sounding so laid back and effortless with these odd time signatures but it also sems a little souless. Apparently Miles Davis saw them and told Vrubeck ‘you can swing but the reat of your band can’t’ but thwn Miles Davis could be a bit of a dick quick to give a put down. If i was a muso i could probaly learn a lot from this. As a listener, meh.

I read Howard Marks’ book Mr Nice and he tells a story of hanging out with a band, driving a tank, smoking dope, etc. i always pictured the band being Supergrass but read the name Super Furry Animals. So ive always thought of Supergrass’ music when this bands name is mentioned. Very wrong. Less poppy. More garage band feel. Bit of Jeaus and Mary Chain. Bit of beach boys pop sensibility, maybe some 50’s doo wop. Bet they like Phil Spectre recordings. So a surprise of an album due to expectations but not an unpleasant one. Enough elements of some good bands in this to find it interesting, like the above, or The Jam, or 70s big rock type bands. I imagone they would great live. So is it an album i had to hear before worka eaty corpse? Not sure yet. I suspect it is an album that will grow on me or at the very least i will invest a little time in listening to other also me of theirs.

Love Ray but there is something a bit too packaged and sterilised about this. There is plenty of emotional expression in the playing and singing but the big band hollywood movie style of the recording is not my cup of tea and i’m not sure of all the Ray Charles recordings this is the one i absolutwly have to hear before they lay me horizontal and ignite the burners.

Dont know this album. Rap, hip hop, edm? Either way, first for any of those so far in this album generator. Exciting! Samples, scratching, good start. Interesting beat from in 2nd track, cut together well to achieve a bit of swing. Was this an influence on groups like Unkle? Can hear an Unkle feel to this second track. Can feel a beasties influence in this. Travk 3 and its all samples so far. No rapping over or anything, all lyrical content sampled, drums sampled, all sampled. Im guessing the whole alb at this stage. Track 6 and tht tracks. Laid back, great grooves, cleaver cut up of beats and breaks. I like it. Some choice samples from jazz, r&b and fuck knows where, effects put on to make something completly different, like the bassy vocal samples on track 6, a few shputs over the top, laid back groove and its almost Martin Denny like exotica. Track 11 and you get Inagadadavida (or however its spelled) and if its not its trying to be.

Another newbie for me and I hope it os an unknown Gary Larson album! It’s hip hop. And fun hip hop at that, like Run DMC You Be Illin. For the release date this would have been a good alternative to gangster rap. Like the jazz samples and cuts - Miles on the track On the DL? Really enjoyed this. Will listen to again and again.

The band couldnt be more laid bck. I dont mean lazy, just smooth, flowing, dialed in. Wonder if they all blazed up before recording. Shes got a great voice, very instrumental in its application. Songs got funk, r&b, swagger and sway. Nice album. It think to listen over amd over i’d need to be in a certain mood but there are some songs i’ll have on high rotation - didnt cha onow, …& on, bag lady.

Havent listened to this is a very long time. Has it aged well? Track one and the infectious energy i remember is there. Nothing ground breaking here but there is a chaotic frenetic feel to this album, where it feels like it might fall apart at any moment but it holds together somehow. The beat is key, the guitar chords are used like licks, vocals unique but very much Chilli Pepper like (although i’d wager perry farell can sing better than Keidis). I like the drummer most on this and in this band probably, though he is sometimes a bit too busy for my liking. Good sound on this recording though. They are a bit loose with their timing. Could be deliberate. Would be interested to hear them live. Feels like the bass player speeds up and rushes playing anything more than a half note. There’s a bit of joy division/new order about his playing. Wonder if he liked Peter Hook. Dave Navarro i dont find a mind blowing guitarist but i think he’s a very good/solid player. He’s not one i remember for his rip roaring solos but he can bust it out. I think he mixed rock styles really well (heavy, psychadelic, rock pop) which in my book makes him a very good rock guitarist (as opposed to very good guitarist). There have been many rock crossover bands and songs - rock/rap, rock/jazz, etc. janes additction do a rock/alternative crossover really well. But the album dies a bit in the closing tracks where i feel they get away from what they do really well. They get away from the high energy hard rock pop and i dont feel they are as good. The slower work reveals their likitations, maybe the lack of togetherness of the band a bit more.

Beautiful melodies. The guitar is a highlight on this alb and in this band for me - the bright melodies, the sound, etc. if i had one crisitcism though, funnily it would be the overall mix being a bit too forward on guitar and vocals no enough eveness with drums and bass. The bass in particular gets shoved into the background and its a bit of a shame as the rythm section is what allows the meandering and soaring guitar and vocals. Could be my headphones are shit. Still a 5 star album for me.

Good to get to some 70’s Bruce. Thunder Road the opener is a cracking track and showcases what Bruce does so well - deceptively deceptively simple stories in his lyrics where there is amazing detail in the narrative that allows you to picture the scene. His influence is huge - The Hold Steady guy has a similar ability and i suspect was massively influenced by Bruce.

Worth it just to hear The Funk Brothers, the backing band of choice for most Motown recordings across the 60’s.

Some considerable talent on this. Should be a slam dunk but the Santana song was a bit meh for me. I liatemed to again second time and think it was too much Santana (in which case listen to a Samtana album) and not enough JLH. Bonnie Raitt’s song was a bettwr balance. Baby Lee soulful. Cuttin’ Out with Canned Heat rocked, with amazing harp sound. But is this the album of John Lee Hooker you must hear before you die? He has so many. Man was prolific. The closing tracks are just him. The rest are John Lee Hooker but not - the Santana one sounds like Santana. The canned Heat one, canned heat. I omgime if you are a Santana fan and a JLH fan, you are in heaven on that song. What about the others? Its not an uneven album though. I guess JLH gives a spine that runs through it all. I think the reason this album confuaes me is that I want desperately to see it as a 5 atar album, i like Samtana, I like Canned Heat, robert Cray, Charlie Musslewhite, etc, but it doesnt grab me that way.

What flavour of The Byrds is this? It is the hippy folk, pop/rock backbeat with hints of psychadelia. It aometimes works, sometimes its a but gratimg. Like What’s Happening, for example - it has the bines of a great song, the words ate a bit half arsed and them there is an incongruous psychadelic guitar riff(?) laid over the top. Great version of hey Joe. I can see how this band