Lyrically this album is an absolute masterpiece. Easily my favourite album by Bob Dylan.
basically why Nile Rodgers has had something to do with all music in the 80s
Imagining what it would've been like when this album first dropped. Basically the birth of heavy metal, especially as around the time Deep purple and Black Sabbath were starting out.
You can hear a lot of the blues in there, with a lot of Robert Johnson style guitar playing.
Its by no means Led Zeppelin's best but its probably one of the best debut albums. and it just blew the doors so wide open for every hard rock and heavy metal band to follow.
I get why Mr. Brightside fills dancefloors and gets everyone singing along, but its at best alright.
The rest of the album is mediocre. Songs are well crafted, but dreary, uninteresting, and generic.
It’s like someone took Interpol, stripped away everything interesting and shoved a synthesizer in.
I really enjoyed this album. Smooth lounge act sounds, fun bouncy lyrics full of joy.
I really enjoyed this album. Lots of jazz, funk and soul. The vocals are fantastic.
Big fan of basically anything Pixies or Frank Black related
This album really means a lot to me. I’ve listened to it more times than I can count and it’s one I often turn to whether im feeling sad, or my heads just in a weird place
It captures a generation just as much as Oasis do. I’ve seen Richard Ashcroft live a couple of times now and when he drops into the Verve tracks you can feel it ripple through the whole crowd.
The Drugs Don’t Work is probably my favourite. From what I know it’s about Richard’s dad when he was dying of cancer and every single time it leaves me in tears.
Aside from Bittersweet Symphony the obvious big ones are Sonnet and Lucky Man but for me the next best track is The Rolling People.
There isn’t a single song I’d skip. The whole thing is amazing, powerful and beautiful.
It's certainly of it's time, bluesy riffs and very 60s style harmonics, but you can hear the roots punk, and its quite easy to draw a straight line from The Who to the Sex Pistols and The Clash.
This is such a great album to dip your toes into jazz. Its easy listening, well spaced melodies, and nothing insane going on.
It's nothing like say Charles Mingus or Frank Zappa. But it is blissful and calming.
Didn't get chance to listen to it all. But thought it was generally good.
I think I first heard this album when I was around 12 or 13, and it turned me into a full on Bowie obsessive.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more perfect opening and closing to an album than Five Years and Rock 'n' Roll Suicide at least not in the world of rock operas or theatrical albums. The way it explores Ziggy's journey through identity, gender, isolation, and the pressures of being a personality in a toxic world. Topics that are even more relevant today.
Even though David Bowie has been gone for nearly a decade, his work was way ahead of its time and the world still hasn't caught up.
This album is perfect to me and is easily one of my top five. It’s special because Ziggy Stardust and Bowie in general made me want to dive deeper into music. I owe so much of my musical journey and discoveries to him and this album.
I try to avoid putting musicians on pedestals, but Bowie is one I can make an exception for.
Favourite songs: Moonage Daydream, Lady Stardust and Rock 'n' Roll Suicide.
I've never been a fan of James Dean Bradfield's vocals, and im not a massive fan of the manics generally.
But besides that this is a really great album. A design for life is the main banger, Kevin Carter is also brilliant.
ive seen them live before now, and these songs do hit a bit differently then.
ive always preferred Super Furry Animals and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci of the 90s welsh bands that were fairly big at the time.
enjoyed this, i cant place where ive heard the opening track before.
This is the kind of jazz I really love. There's less structure, much less composition. It's all about experimenting and seeing where they end up, and for me is what jazz is all about.
It’s not free jazz, but it's freer and looser than Kind of Blue.
The musicians constantly playing off each other. For example In the first track, the trumpet starts picking up on what the drums are doing, then the guitar, bass, and keys fall in, and suddenly it locks into a solid groove.
Then it breaks apart again, with everyone going their own way. That pattern keeps repeating coming together, breaking apart so each track feels alive, growing, and shifting in all kinds of directions. But it doesn’t just descend into utter chaos and insanity like true free jazz. There’s always an underlying groove holding it all together.
I'd only really heard the name Robert Wyatt, never actually listened to him until now.
Sort of jazz / prog rock thing. There’s some weird shit going on throughout, at times it feels like a fever dream (in a good way), but then right in the middle of it all you’ll get these really beautiful melodies.
It reminds me a lot of Can (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can_(band)) it's kinda hypnotic, a bit self-indulgent, a bit pretentious but interesting to listen to.
Apparently Brian Eno produced it and you can definitely hear the Eno-y atmospheric style, and Paul Weller did bits on it as well, which is cool.
Overall I rather enjoyed it, but I do really like conceptual stuff like this, and I'm going to have to go give Soft Machine a listen now.
The energy in his performance is pretty amazing. it must have been amazing to be in the crowd
Atmospheric, kinda psychedelic, krautrock sounds.
I wouldn't say it's anywhere near to being as significant as Screamadelica. But its quite a distinctive change from their acid house/alternative rock stuff.
Overall good record though.
i always forget U2 are a really good band
basically the pinacle of 80s radio rock really. It's all big and cheesey. Guitarist loves pinch harmonics.
It's a good album, it does what it's supposed to do. Just not to my taste.
It’s always good listening to The Velvet Underground you can hear where a lot of the late 80s alternative rock bands got their sound from. Like the use of feedback, fuzzy guitars and rough production syles.
There's also a 17 minute song about taking drugs and getting a blowjob, whats not to like?
I adored this album when I first heard it at around 15. If I were reviewing it then it would be an easy 5 stars as It is utterly brilliant. However now when I listen to this album it is all very twee. So it's lost a star.a
Jeff’s voice is incredible, and Grace is probably where you hear him use it to its fullest. It’s easily my favourite track on the album.
The Hallelujah cover is beautiful too. As much as it surpasses the original, I think it's important to remember it takes a miserable bastard like Leonard Cohen to write a song like that.
It's tragic that this album is all we got from before he died, as I think he would've been spectacular.
Wonderful band, wonderful album.
The songs are beautifully crafted, gentle vocal melodies and easy acoustic guitars wrapped in layers of different arrangements.
Each track feels warm and tender, like being pulled into a big, lovely hug.
This was fucking brilliant.
There’s so much going on Sgt. Pepper’s, Prince, James Brown, and Ziggy Stardust vibes all over it. The whole album feels not far from Frank Zappa's Joe’s Garage, a wild mash-up of genres, dystopian future setting, use of characters and story to deliver it's metaphors and messages
Favourite track: Come Alive (War of the Roses).
Probably one of the best and most significant albums of all time.
I'm a big fan of the whole post rock scene. Huge atmospheric and orchestral tones. Play it loud let it fill your head.
If you liked this, I would highly recommend Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Great album, chunky riffs, has a slightly rough production value to it.
The songs are fun, energetic. Aside from Take Me Out which naturally is the best song, I think Michael is the track I've always enjoyed the most.
I'm surprised this is the Orbital album given to listen to over the Brown Album, but this album is great, Orbital are geniuses, and I'm just going to listen to a bunch of 90s acid house stuff for the rest of the week.
It doesn't contain as many hits as their first couple of albums, and village green preservation society is easily the best Kinks album but it's still very enjoyable.
It would be fair to think you're listening to the Beatles, but thats just the style of the time. The Kinks are a bit more raw, using overdrive effects, (effect is a loose term as I think Dave Davies basically just stabbed his amp with a knife.)
Good album, brilliant band.
its a shame americans took the title track of this album and made it about patriotism rather than what Bruce is actually is saying.
I don't think it's his best work, but it's still very good, The River for me is the best Bruce Springsteen album
I've never been that into The Cure, however I do think they are a brilliant band. I just find that their music kinda just makes me feel absolutely nothing.
That being said I still rate the album very highly, because it is absolutely immaculate, and beautifully crafted, as is with most of The Cure's work. Their songs just make feel absolutely nothing.
She’s an amazing singer with incredible range and emotion in her voice. I’m just not a big fan of the progressive rock style, which makes it a bit less enjoyable for me.
I could sit and listen to Kate Bush just singing for hours though.
I love this album, the weird time signatures, the distorted electronics and guitars. It’s chaotic, poetic and intense, but some parts still manage to feel surprisingly gentle, capturing Trent's inner torment and self-destruction in a really powerful way
Trent Reznor is just a unique figure in music. His work stands completely on its own, you can’t compare it to anything else, because nothing else is like it.
Paul Simon is probably one of the best melody writers. Each song in this is just exquisite. The only problem with the album is that it's not Graceland.
I feel like i keep mentioning Brian Eno, but theres a lot of big nods to him in Moby, especially in songs like porcelain.
The album is bissful and lovely to listen to.
It's crazy how 30 years on this still sounds like it could've been made last week. Aphex Twin is just the goat of electronic music
It's quite different to their previous records. Overall, it has a very different production feel compared to The Queen Is Dead or Meat Is Murder. Much bigger rock tones, less jangly guitar melodies. It's got all the same sharp wit and emotional heft in the lyrics in the vocal melodies.
It's a shame Morrissey has decided to destroy his entire legacy - seemingly driven by spite.
If it weren't for Johnny Marr being an all round good-egg I'd find it hard to continue to listen to the Smiths.
Full of grungey goodness, I'm not sure if it's an album "You must hear before you die". But its good nonetheless
It's quite bluesy and theatrical; the music has a kind of emotional narrative you follow through the whole composition. The big shifts in tempo go through a range of emotions: it sometimes feels tense, sometimes exciting, and then slow and quite unsettling dark tones as well.
It's quite different to people like Miles Davies. There are no big spacious soundscapes or easy grooves. It's about the ensemble as a whole, there's no focus on any one instrument or any significant solos.
Holy moses, I wasn't expecting this to appear.
The Darkness are simply unapologetically classic hard rock big riffs, big vocals, big guitar solos.
I can only assume the idea was "Lets do Queen but over the top and have fun." It would be easy to call it cliche, if it wasnt so obviously silly and self aware.
Dont take it too seriously just enjoy the hard fast rock.
Never really got into the whole nu metal/rap metal scene. Linkin Park are probably one of the better bands in that style along with Korn.
It’s a solid album and they're a decent band, just whenever I here 'nu metal' i struggle to separate it from absolute fucking dogshit like Papa Roach and Limp Bizkit.
Its just not really my bag. In the End is a banger to be fair.
Great album, fast paced and catchy songs. Not my favourite band of the whole britpop era, but theyre really good regardless. Gaz Coombes is remarkably underrated as an artist.
There's a nod to the Mothers of the Invention in the album title as well which I appreciate.
No frills classic rock. Very "American", all around good album by a fairly iconic band.
Absolutely fantastic album, I remember when this came out as I was just starting to get into music, and this just massively cut through all the heavy nu metal, pop punk sounds going on.
It’s really hard not to have a big smile while listening to these tracks.
It's very Bowie esque with all its glamour, flamboyance and campness.
The version of Comfortably Numb is amazing, and prefer it to the original, but that’s mostly because I don't like Pink Floyd.
Without a doubt, the best heavy metal album of all time, and certainly one of the best rock albums ever written.
War Pigs is such a huge opening anti-war anthem.
Then the title track Paranoid, basically one of the most iconic heavy metal tracks. That was written in about 20 minutes because they needed to fill another 2 minutes on the record.
Planet Caravan is such a beautiful, serene, cosmic love song that sits perfectly between the heaviness. Then it blasts right into Iron Man, which is just the best riff in all rock music.
Electric funeral and Hand of Doom, are really dark and sinister tracks and then Rat Salad is just where the band gets to show of their technical skill.
Then it closes with the slightly more fun and whimsical track Faries wear boots.
The album is the easiest 5/5 I could ever give. It is absolutely perfect, there isn't a song in there that I could say is better or worse than any other.
Quite like jazz fusion guitar sounds. Feel like John Martyn is more the guitarists guitarist. Still wonderful player. Enjoyable album.
So, I love listening to Mark Knopfler play guitar. His finger picking style produces very soft, delicate, and intricate riffs and melodies, and is a style I like to try an emulate (poorly) in my own playing
However I am not a fan of Dire Straits and the overall ensemble. I do like the way the guitar melodies plays off of the vocal lines, but the vocals is the thing i mainly dislike about them.
So it’s kinda 5/5 for Knopfler's guitar, and then -2 for Dire Straits.
A very good album by a very good band.
It's not quite as good as Ocean Rain, which is basically their Magnum Opus, but it still shows them operating near their creative peak.
They sit in the post-punk space along with Joy Division and The Smiths, but The Bunnymen lean more toward atmospheric, spacious soundscapes while still carrying similar feelings of emotional heft.
What I like about Porcupine, and about the band in general, is how they build these big, immersive sonic landscapes yet still retain a sense of raw energy and grit, delivered through Ian Mcculloch's vocals.
its is a good album. main issue is the double bass drum pedal sounds fucking shit, and tends to ruin the songs.
Psychosocial always goes hard.
As with most metal stuff, i tend to get a bit bored of it half way through.
This is probably one of the most significant Beatles albums, as it's when they started experimenting a lot more with sounds and recording style. For example, the sitar in Norwegian Wood, the layered harmonies in the vocals, baroque style piano etc.
The musical compositions are also a bit more complex in Rubber Soul than in their previous works. For instance, McCartney's bass lines, which were usally fairly basic and followed the same structure as the guitar. Now they're more melodic and move around the song more, either countering the melodies or playing in with the vocals. The bass is also much higher in the mix, allowing you to hear it more which give the songs a bit more funk.
The album isn't anything new relative to the other rock bands around, there is stuff that is certainly unusual for the time in terms of style. But it's not revolutionary or groundbreaking like Revolver or Sgt. Pepper's, yet it's a clear turning point in the way The Beatles were working.
I mean, this album basically invented the rock opera, and changed the idea what rock music can be, and proved rock music can be theatrical and long form.
I'm not sure if other musicians would've been able to be as accepted if it wasn't for Tommy, artists like Bowie, Pink Floyd, Meatloaf. I'm not sure would have had the same reception if The Who hadn't set a precedent.
The album as a whole is amazing, some songs get fairly disturbing, but thats OK, it's part of the story.
You're twistin' my melon, man!
Happy Mondays, I think capture the feeling of the whole Madchester scene 90s acid house, rave culture, and the raw energy of a night out. Being so intrinsically linked with the Hacienda, their sound completely embodies the party atmosphere of taking drugs, raving, and having a good time.
They're a completely different sound to the Stone Roses, who are a bit more psychedelic. Shaun Ryder's vocals mumbly and all over the place in contrast with Ian Brown's monotone drawl. The music feels a bit looser and freer.
Its a brilliant album that provides a perfect snapshot of Manchester nightlife during the late 80s and early 90s, as well as the Hacienda sound.
Also special mention to Bez for being chief vibe master
I've not listened to much of Brian Eno pre ambient works stuff, it sounds remarkably similar to Depeche Mode.
I rather enjoyeed King's Lead Hat. Good album, enjoyed the songs
Blackstar is the most unique Bowie album.
It's certainly the most unique sound in his work it's a much more jazz-style album and fits very much within avant-garde styles of music, with lush harmonics and dark, unsettling tones. The album shows that Bowie hadn't lost any of his creativity or his curious approach to music and art.
The lyrics are haunting and soul wrenching, with lines like the repeated "Where the fuck did Monday go?" and "I'm dying to".
The album is someone coming to terms with their own mortality, and there is something quite Terry Pratchett like in Bowie's view of death. The album reaches its emotional peak in Lazarus. Which when I watched the video for the first time a few days after his death. It had me in tears but at the same time gave me a huge smile, and it still makes me well up whenever I listen to it now.
To me, each song seems to be tackling a different stage of grief feeling disorientated in Blackstar, feelings of anger in Sue and Tis a Pity..., depression and self-reflection in Lazarus and Girl Loves Me,
And finally, acceptance in Dollar Days and I Can't Give Eveything Away.
It's a very special album to any Bowie fan. He was one of the most unique individuals in music, driven by a need to create art. Not everything he made was good, some of his work is terrible (his weird 80s–90s period).
It is simply a perfect goodbye.
Doves are one of those quietly brilliant bands, who occupy the same kind of space as Elbow. Warm atmospheric and melancholic sounds.
As a debut album its a great record, and the work that followed it kinda only got better
Enjoyed this album, songs about outlaws, cowboys and gunslingers. Not a massive fan of country and western stuff but this was pretty good.
I don't think a single album can really do justice to Tim Buckley. Each of his albums is so different, and his work in general is fairly eclectic, as he constantly changed his musical style moving from poetic and lyrically poignant albums, to jazz/folk type stuff, and then to this album, which is full of funk and soul.
He doesn’t really show off his vocal range on this album, but he demonstrates amazing flexibility, shifting from very soulful delivery on some songs to belting out bluesy grit on the next.
This album highlights Buckley’s creativity and versatility, even if it doesn't capture the full scope of his talent.
Love CSN. Late 60s hippie rock. The whole album feels really communal, like you're sitting around a campfire listening to them play
Basically the sound of the summer 2009, which was only 5 years ago...right?
One of his most influential works, this album marks the moment he started using electric guitar and moving away from the folk singer songwriter style. It also began his trilogy of folky rock with Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde.
It has some of my favourite Dylan tracks, with Subterranean Homesick Blues being the main one for me. The album explodes into this track, and nothing he had done before sounded like it. The lyrics are delivered fast in an almost rap style.
Then there is the most famous track on the album, Mr Tambourine Man. It is beautifully written and really highlights Bob Dylan's ability to write stories and pull you into his imaginative vision.
All in all a near perfect album
This album is an absolute masterpiece, and its the best record to come out of the entire post-punk movement.
The Killing Moon alone is one of the best songs of the 80s.
The whole album feels like a dream state, full of darkness, melancholy and sadness. Instead of being a rock album with some strings in the background, the orchestral compositions is fully woven into the music and blends with the band perfectly. To create something that is truly outstanding and beautiful.
This album is amazing. Plenty of people had done songs exclusively using sampling, but this is the first completely cohesive album using 100% sampling, with every single sound pulled from vinyl.
Not only that it sounds great and has all the same features traditional albums do emotional narratives, tension and release. It's mind blowing.
The Fall are a very unique band.
A single album really doesn't do enough to represent this band. They made 30 or so albums, and every single one is different - some good, some bad.
But this, their first album, presents the band as what they are and will always be, abrasive, uncompromising, and not afraid to be different, all driven by Mark E. Smith's singular and equally uncompromising vision.
I love his lyrics, which are cryptic, full of wit and satire, and I love his delivery, which is basically shouting in the right key. There's a certain amount of similarity to John Cooper Clarke. But where John Cooper Clarke is funny and dry, Mark E. Smith is about to punch you in the face.
Good beats, powerful lyrics, and then a heavy metal track half way through.
So this album is immaculate. It is utterly brilliant, but for those same reasons, I'm just not into it. It feels like a very overproduced Radiohead, technically impressive, but a bit too polished and distant for me.
The songs are complex with weird time signatures and structures, and I do like the general sound, with the combination of synths and huge guitar riffs, and Matt Bellamy's vocals are incredible.
They just sort of lack any personality. They don't inspire anything, I don't feel any emotion in the tracks.
I think if some parts had a bit of a rougher feel, a little more mud and grit, it would resonate more. If I were to compare them to a band like Kasabian, whose sound is also a mixture of guitar riffs and electronics, their overall sound while polished has that underlying dirtiness that feels a lot more real to me.
