Dirge oozing through the rose-tinted memory of elegant light naiveté. Somehow less acceptable now that they're all older, wealthy and churning out indie shlage

Of it's time. Naff. I hadn't realised bohemian rhapsody was on this album and it sounds worse now because it's of this context. Over-written songs, dumbed down music theory and novelty guitar/studio effects are off-putting and Queen's camp music hall rock mixed with the tone of what now appears to be a sincere rendition of god save the queen. Pass the sick bag

Softboi mad max concept album. Two tribes now makes more sense but is less enjoyable

Some total dross mashed discontinuously into a few singles. Buy the greatest hits if you must

Trash

Disappointingly repetitive still. Not quite Devo

Interesting but not one of the toppers, even from 2009

Bit of a 1 trick pony but at least they spotted the trick 30 years before The XX

So much possibility, so much hubris

Magical, melodic, challenging, obscurantist, cold. I like it but it's like a friend that's really interesting and you have brilliant conversations occasionally but you'd never look to them for help with anything

Virtuosic chamber folk free association on the edge of sanity

A typical artifact of a bad period in recorded music. Was everyone really so smacked up? (rounded up to a 2 because of the sound quality in the mix)

Big Bush energy! Something new every listen

Sublime. If only Dylan had been born into a Cumbrian village community and come up with this bunch

Ear vomit

Harder and heavier than on first hearing

Original album is a 2. Deluxe tracks are a 3. A historical cultural experience at the time I'm sure, but all hype and no lasting value. Like Warhol, it is emblematic of other things that were also going on so you could happily take this out of the cannon without the progression of culture being affected. It's legacy casts a shadow on pop music where people insist on rehashing this nonsense in order to attract attention and fade away, just like VU. Being critical, It's the sound of being a vain, over educated, unskilled, privileged NY moron with too much time on your hands. Young, dumb and full of smack...

Strong concept album. A lot of fun to see live but then you think to yourself 5min later why did I just spend the last 2hrs immersed in that guy's weird fantasy. The concept is fun but too abstract to be sincere, and too on the nose to momentarily dip into abstract escapism or enjoy the songs as they are. Might be better if re-edited as an instrumental album with a few verse/choruses cut out?

Dreampop from heaven's gate. So much better than the Beatles...

Like the aimless middle 8 in a mid -80s Springsteen arena gig where the boss has gone backstage for a shit and a new pair of boxers. Minus the redeeming sax solo. The third guitarist has been allowed out front to do some of his Jeff Beck tributes...

A lost Joan Armatrading album meets Ani DiFranco? I like it. Don't love it. There are a whole bunch of Lucinda Williams albums that blow this out of the water that don't get so much attention.

There's a lot going on! Occasionally a bit too much. This must have sounded wild when it came out but now it feels like hot mess. If you take the guitar out it's the template for bland MOR. Probably sounded much, much better live and a bit looser. It's a shame Terry Kath didn't last long enough to find a band he fit with. All of Chicago's output seems very generously reviewed online

Ethereal beauty meets creative intensity. A 4.5

Heavenly highs or is it just a cup of Dexamyl tea? 2.6

Shoo wop doo wop! A lot more going on here than at face value and with the passing of time, the encoded layers are more obvious.

Dirge oozing through the rose-tinted memory of elegant light naiveté. Somehow less acceptable now that they're all older, wealthy and churning out indie shlage

Champagne and coke turned into music through a Manc filter. Sounds better every time I come back to it (like champagne and coke it's not a good idea to do on repeat, daily). Much more fun to hear on hifi not surrounded by Oasis fans 4.7

The master at work. Like all his best work, depths you can't fathom and breadth that disappears over the horizon. No need for extremes of novelty, Bob's undersell leaves you coming back for more. 4.8 only so as to leave room for some of his even more fine works.

Funky visceral liberation

Nice. A bit contrived and repressed. The music sounds super trad and so smooth the beauty becomes dull at some points but this is a country thing

Of it's time. Naff. I hadn't realised bohemian rhapsody was on this album and it sounds worse now because it's of this context. Over-written songs, dumbed down music theory and novelty guitar/studio effects are off-putting and Queen's camp music hall rock mixed with the tone of what now appears to be a sincere rendition of god save the queen. Pass the sick bag

Really saying something! 3.7

I guess it's alright?

Chooglin

Operatic cyber extremism. Stunning. So progressive, it still sounds like it's from the future. Primordial ooze made electric 4.8

Alright. Fills in a missing link between punk and new wave. 3.4

A gaye night out in Paris. Much more coherent as an album than the singles would suggest. Surprising musical depth given the poptastic sounds