1001 Albums Summary

tracks 1-4 deeply affecting vocal performances, in spite of or maybe because of his aged/slightly more fragile-sounding voice at this point in his career. his version of hurt is one of the greatest things i have ever heard for reasons that are beyond simple human explanation - it has to be heard and sat with and you will absolutely get it. the solemnness and death hanging over this record at time of its recording contextualised by events contemporary to and immediately following its release, of course. think that is what makes "i hung my head" work so well for me in all its simplicity. the rendition of "first time ever i saw your face" stopped me in my tracks. version of "personal jesus" i could take or leave; a cool track to hear here but ultimately not one that his voice or approach could really lend any new fire or affect worth mentioning. "in my life" was perfectly fine if a bit ploddy and unremarkable. "sam hall" a welcome and jovial performance - a touch folkier, and not to harp on it, but fantastic out of his voice possibly because of his age and affect. "danny boy" - pretty, stripped-back tubular production going on here; a gorgeous song in its own right, does it justice. again, lots of death, life-lamenting etc. in these covers, hits me right in The Feels. harmony and mixing on desperado is absolutely nailed. gorgeous. come to your senses! opener is a very timely track but i didn't say that earlier. his version of "we'll meet again" here was absolutely beautiful - production leaning on two pieces of instrumentation and his vocal until you get the final lines delivered by his folks. hit me very hard. gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous album. strong. worst i could feasibly say here is one or two were unmemorable covers. most of them were good. track-listing could've shuffled slightly but it's really no biggie. he took ownership of these songs in a way only a very special few ever could, often only in singular instances. 9/10

the most fundamentally perfect funk-pop record that has been and will maybe ever be - i see now even more than i did before why this was so immediately vital to the cultural fabric and zeitgeist of both the decade and the artform.

the doors seem to go through historical waves and phases where they and their output are received with a consensus of either very positive or very negative feeling. personally, i think "l.a woman" is nothing altogether special; my love for some of those killer guitar riffs was tempered by how staid, unremarkable, and beige i otherwise found the experience. highlight: been down so long

one of bjork's most artistically challenging and potentially alienating works, her ambition is enormous and the production here is far ahead of the curve but the icy, sort of jagged world she produces with it all is not entirely to my taste, even if i respect and understand what she is attempting.