201
Albums Rated
3.39
Average Rating
18%
Complete
888 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1960
Favorite Decade
Folk
Favorite Genre
other
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
20
5-Star Albums
5
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Metal Box
Public Image Ltd.
|
5 | 2.42 | +2.58 |
|
Bone Machine
Tom Waits
|
5 | 2.84 | +2.16 |
|
Copper Blue
Sugar
|
5 | 2.98 | +2.02 |
|
Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches
Happy Mondays
|
5 | 2.99 | +2.01 |
|
Another Green World
Brian Eno
|
5 | 3.11 | +1.89 |
|
Mr. Tambourine Man
The Byrds
|
5 | 3.22 | +1.78 |
|
Crooked Rain Crooked Rain
Pavement
|
5 | 3.24 | +1.76 |
|
There's A Riot Goin' On
Sly & The Family Stone
|
5 | 3.29 | +1.71 |
|
Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
|
5 | 3.31 | +1.69 |
|
Live Through This
Hole
|
5 | 3.31 | +1.69 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
A Night At The Opera
Queen
|
1 | 3.95 | -2.95 |
|
Ready To Die
The Notorious B.I.G.
|
1 | 3.36 | -2.36 |
|
The Chronic
Dr. Dre
|
1 | 3.31 | -2.31 |
|
The Wall
Pink Floyd
|
2 | 4.13 | -2.13 |
|
Destroyer
KISS
|
1 | 2.85 | -1.85 |
|
Live / Dead
Grateful Dead
|
1 | 2.81 | -1.81 |
|
Out Of The Blue
Electric Light Orchestra
|
2 | 3.63 | -1.63 |
|
Hotel California
Eagles
|
2 | 3.59 | -1.59 |
|
Gorillaz
Gorillaz
|
2 | 3.53 | -1.53 |
|
Bryter Layter
Nick Drake
|
2 | 3.52 | -1.52 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| David Bowie | 5 | 4.4 |
| The Rolling Stones | 3 | 4.33 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 2, 5, 3 |
5-Star Albums (20)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Steely Dan · 1 likes
2/5
There is no doubting the skill but this is just so lifeless
The worst track is a vapid cover of East St Louis Toodle-oo. It was so weak I ended up listening to Duke Ellington to see if the original song is really that bad. It isn't - it is quite playful and kind of fun, with a bit of moodiness in the background. The way Steely Dan play it is just so damned careful. What is the point of that? I am not a big jazz fan but one thing I definitely don't want from jazz is predictability
1-Star Albums (5)
All Ratings
Cat Stevens
4/5
Massive Attack
4/5
Jorge Ben Jor
3/5
Sex Pistols
5/5
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
Massive Attack
4/5
Talking Heads
3/5
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
Jeff Beck
4/5
The Flaming Lips
3/5
Gillian Welch
4/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
SAULT
3/5
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Doves
2/5
American Music Club
4/5
Portishead
5/5
Fela Kuti
4/5
The Black Crowes
3/5
Elvis Presley
2/5
The Beach Boys
4/5
Love
3/5
Elliott Smith
5/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2/5
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
3/5
The Zombies
4/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
4/5
George Michael
2/5
KISS
1/5
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Scott Walker
3/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Black Sabbath
4/5
Fatboy Slim
3/5
De La Soul
4/5
Can
4/5
Eagles
2/5
Common
3/5
The Damned
4/5
4/5
The Band
4/5
Pentangle
3/5
Willie Nelson
2/5
Sarah Vaughan
3/5
The Black Keys
3/5
Interesting to see that this one's average rating has fallen significantly - has there been a bit of a backlash against these guys? Some of the negative reviews mention car commercials and the like, so maybe that has been a factor.
It is easy to see why this would appeal to ad-makers. The songs have an immediacy and a bit of punch. It all sounds a bit processed, though, and lacking in personality. My overall feeling was that this is good but not very lovable
Sugar
5/5
An old favourite of mine, and a touch of nostalgia is probably pushing it up from a 4 to a 5
Hüsker Dü had disintegrated by the time I heard them and Bob Mould's early solo work was good but very bleak, so it was an unexpected delight when his new band turned up with a set of much brighter, catchier tunes. The lyrics are still depressing but this is terrific noise pop. If you want the darker, more abrasive songs from the same recording sessions they are found on 'Beaster': the 'bad Sugar' they siphoned off from this 'good Sugar'
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
David Bowie
4/5
Pink Floyd
2/5
I've always slightly avoided Pink Floyd and I'm hoping this project will give me a chance to appreciate them more. This wasn't the best start, though. There are a handful of good songs of which Comfortably Numb is comfortably the best, and I love Gilmour's fluid guitar playing, but I found most of this quite turgid.
Tom Waits
5/5
Probably my favourite Tom Waits album, above even Raindogs. It is typically eclectic and I love the way he orchestrates such a wide variety of sounds (including whatever a chamberlin is). The tone here is more percussive with lots of banging, clanking noises, which I very much approve of. You can hear the sinews creaking as he groans about mortality. Love it.
Ramones
3/5
Loud, fast and fun, but I guess I like my punk a bit more abrasive
Iggy Pop
4/5
Iggy's collaborations with Bowie are fascinating. This one is more like a Bowie album fronted by Iggy, and I miss some of Iggy's usual energy, but it's good and it points ahead in a few gothy directions
Hüsker Dü
3/5
I like this album but I can't say it is a great one, and it is strange to have this listed when Zen Arcade is both more exciting and more influential. This is fine, and 'No Reservations' is beautiful, but other Hüsker Dü albums deserve to be here instead
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Joy Division
4/5
A familiar pleasure, but doesn't quite connect with me the way it did when I was young. Still great, of course, and hugely influential
Ash
3/5
Nick Drake
2/5
Nick Drake's reputation has risen over the years, climbing from a deserved reappraisal to being lauded as a tragic lost genius. I don't honestly think his music quite matches up to the mythology.
Some people dislike the ornate production on this one. Personally I think it makes the most of some fairly slight material. There are not many memorable songs here (although I do love 'Northern Sky'). His singing is lifeless and his lyrics are not very interesting - it is just standard English pastoral with surprisingly little emotional connection to what we know of his life
I will give a better score to Pink Moon, where his music finally linked up more with his feelings, but as doomed singer-songwriters go I don't think he had the talent of an Elliott Smith
Fiona Apple
3/5
Barry Adamson
4/5
Enjoyable and atmospheric, I love these kind of soundscapes
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Pretty good, if a bit sweet for my tastes. I can't argue with Homeward Bound and For Emily is lovely (I don't mind some sweetness). The dig at Bob Dylan seemed slightly incongruous
Otis Redding
4/5
This is great. The only reason I am not quite giving five stars is because it is mostly covers
Shivkumar Sharma
3/5
Glad to be introduced to this and there may be moods in which I want to revisit it, but not very often
Suicide
4/5
The fire alarm at work was malfunctioning today and it sounded a bit like this. I mean that in a good way as these guys knew how compelling an ominous drone can be. I could have done without the cheap jump scares and lewd groans - I see Rolling Stone's original review called it 'absolutely puerile', and I can't disagree - but this is still a unique and impressive record
Various Artists
4/5
These are mostly songs I don't like but in the best possible versions. That makes it tricky to rate. I'm guided by two considerations:
i. I'm going to have to hear these songs anyway, so they might as well be done well
ii. It's Christmas
Go on then... 4 stars
Public Enemy
4/5
Being more of a rock fan, I kind of regret the way rock has declined relative to other genres like hip-hop. But this is the kind of hip-hop I would have been happy to give way to - loud, angry and articulate, with a sound as confrontational as the lyrics
Napalm Death
2/5
I kind of enjoyed this, even if some of that enjoyment was amusement. I preferred the first side which is more varied and sometimes closer to hardcore punk; side two is more consistently grinding. Neither set of vocals does anything for me. I'm glad to have listened to it but not often likely to return
Gorillaz
2/5
I never really got the hype for this. Albarn was obviously trying out new ideas but I don't think things had really gelled yet. Demon Days is better
The Notorious B.I.G.
1/5
Kraftwerk
4/5
One thing I like about this is the way it takes the icy, alien sounds and turns them into something as everyday as a car journey
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
Subtle as a brick, but bricks work just great
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
David Bowie
4/5
I'm hovering between a four and a five here. I mean, it is really, really good and shows such a range of styles that Bowie was working with. The title track is absolutely great. This album doesn't quite settle into one of my favourites though, and it has some of Bowie's most theatrical vocals (which is a side of him I like less). So I'm going keep the five stars for a couple of his other albums and just give four to this one.
Holger Czukay
3/5
This is much more playful than Can and occasionally strays too far into silliness, especially on the opening track. I enjoyed the rest though, particularly 'O Lord, give us more money' which deserves a favourable response from the Lord
Daft Punk
2/5
Too shiny for me. And too precise
David Bowie
5/5
Guided By Voices
3/5
This is so close to being my kind of thing. I like the roughness of it. I like the readiness to try out ideas. I didn't think I could complain that the songs are too short. But... they are too short, and I wish some of them had been given a bit more space to grow. I might have loved it then
Paul Simon
4/5
You can hear him start to branch out from Simon & Garfunkel here, with a wider range of influences. I particularly liked 'Peace Like a River' which I had never heard before
The Mars Volta
3/5
The Go-Go's
4/5
As a Brit, I am more familiar with Fun Boy Three's version of Our Lips Are Sealed, which has a much more sombre feel. I like both, and I guess I knew Jane Wiedlin could write a sparkling pop tune, as she did with Rush Hour. The more joyful take on Our Lips Are Sealed is typical of the album's mood. It's just a really fun album with most tracks matching up to the singles.
Nirvana
4/5
Long time since I last listened to this. I always thought it was good but overrated. I would now say it is very good but overrated
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
3/5
I am not fond of Clapton for various reasons but he is good here. The drum solo less so.
White people playing the blues? One of these reviews said it is like a white British person in 2010 covering 1990s gangsta rap. I can see their point... but rap is a genre much more built on recounting your personal experience. Blues has always had far more standard songs, so it is hard to argue that you have to have lived them to sing them. And aren't some of them relatable enough outside their origins?
One of the reasons why black American musicians found an appreciative but largely white audience in 1960s Britain is because divisions between races were less stark in the UK. The notion that black and white people should restrict themselves to certain kinds of music would have been quite alien here. So which aspect of US culture should we have appropriated: the blues? or the racial segregation of music?
3/5
Some of these songs are still inescapable thirty years later and I might be downrating it a bit because they are so overplayed. On the other hand, I was quite lukewarm about them at the time as well.
Guns N' Roses
3/5
Tracy Chapman
4/5
Spiritualized
3/5
This seems like a real step forward from Spacemen 3, with a wider array of instruments and a dreamier, blissful feel. They got even better with Ladies and Gentlemen...
I was hovering between 3 and 4 but have rounded it down for spelling. That may seem harsh, but with no half stars available there are bound to be some narrow calls. Zorry Jazon
Oasis
4/5
Bit surprised to see 'What's the Story?' scoring higher. This is better, and came before they got too irksome
Cheap Trick
2/5
I was aware of Cheap Trick but I don't think I had ever heard anything by them. At first I was puzzled by the 'pop rock' label because the first side just sounded like humdrum rock, about on a par with Status Quo. The second side had a couple of better songs but overall it wasn't great.
Quicksilver Messenger Service
3/5
Didn't know much about Quicksilver Messenger Service. Some kind of hippy jam band. I like Bo Diddley though, and was intrigued that the whole first side of this album is listed as a song suite based on the wondrous 'Who Do You Love?' Turns out it is just an extended live jam which soon ran out of steam. Oddly, though, I enjoyed the bit where they seemed to get bored and just experimented with some different guitar sounds.
Side two started with another Bo Diddley cover: slowed down again but with more bite. Rather good and I liked this side better. It had some inventive guitar work, using feedback and sounds that are closer to the stuff I usually like. Not exactly Sonic Youth territory but not so far removed from it.
Is there any actual Bo Diddley on this list?
The Cure
4/5
I am all in favour of the list including a band's most distinctive album, and this is The Cure at their most Cure
Doves
2/5
I quite liked the Cedar Room but most of this was really quite boring
David Bowie
4/5
Still not quite as good as Low
Public Image Ltd.
5/5
Peter Gabriel
4/5
His most commercial album but still plenty of variety and artiness in these songs, and some real emotional pull to some of them
Jimmy Smith
2/5
Blandly pleasant
The Human League
4/5
Synth-pop isn't a favourite genre of mine but there is no more essential example of it than this. Dated? Of course - that will happen with a style defined by using the latest technology of the time. But if this sounds quintessentially 80s it is because it set a large part of the template for what the 80s would be.
Nirvana
4/5
Lorde
4/5
Very sleek production but has enough punch to keep me interested. Very good of it's kind
Machito
3/5
Electric Light Orchestra
2/5
There is something about ELO that just rubs me up the wrong way. I think it is the combination of playfulness and overwroughtness. I don't mind playfulness, and I can sometimes tolerate music that is overwrought if I can feel the passion behind it. But the two things together? No. No. No
There are snippets that were alright. 'Believe Me Now' almost felt sincere for eighty seconds. And I can enjoy the sillness of 'Mr Blue Sky' for its duration. But a double album of this stuff is way too much for me
The Rolling Stones
4/5
A bit folkier than I remembered, with acoustic guitars playing a big part. Stray Cat Blues is pure filth, in the good sense as well as the bad
Frank Sinatra
3/5
A very consistent tone of heartbreak which could easily have dragged, but I found myself more drawn into it as it went on. A more vulnerable Frank without any brashness - I appreciated that
Beatles
4/5
Queen
1/5
There are people I love who get a lot of pleasure from listening to Queen, so I am grateful for that, but personally I don't even like most of the singles. As for the filler on this... the car song, the seaside song and the prophet song do at least provide a wide variety of different kinds of trash. Remarkably, the ukelele song isn't even the worst. I didn't mind Brian May's '39' but I can't quite push beyond a 'didn't mind'.
Then there is the Behemoth Rhapsody. I don't always hate it. There are parts of it I quite like, and then it always ends up with the scaramouche fandango stuff and I am back to hating it again. The album ends with 'God Save the Queen', of all things, but nothing can.
Suede
3/5
I was never keen on Suede. I didn't care for Brett's melodramatic vocals and they were usually a bit too glam for me. That was mainly based on the singles, which tended to show their Mott the Hoople side. This album is more varied than I expected and pretty consistent in quality, with some quieter songs I enjoyed
The xx
4/5
Less/More
Interesting to see another comment mention Young Marble Giants. It does seem like a much-more polished (and very well-produced) update on them
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
ZZ Top
2/5
As a child I really enjoyed this and maybe 12 year old me still would, but it has not aged well - worse than the earlier stuff before they added all these layers of synthetic sheen to the chortling misogyny. Great beards though
Emmylou Harris
3/5
As much folk as country, with influences from much further afield than Americana within the echoey backing. Quite enjoyed it
The Roots
4/5
Very varied, covering a huge range of styles. Always kept me interested
Adele
3/5
Klaxons
2/5
The Mercury Prize has a disappointing record when it comes to identifying acts that will have a lasting impact. Too many winners have been people whose moment soon passes, and few exemplify that more than Klaxons.
They may have made reference to writers like Pynchon and Ballard but this only has a flashy surface without much content and it doesn't reward repeated listening. At least their name was apt: like a klaxon the sound is frantic and attention-grabbing but I was happy when it sped away into the distance
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
Nas
4/5
3/5
Duran Duran
4/5
As a kid in the 80s I remember disliking the following album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger. The stuff up to Rio was alright but we still viewed them as pretty boys that the girls liked while we listened to cooler stuff like, er, Genesis. This album has aged better than I expected, possibly because their best musician was the bass player and there tends to be more emphasis on that now
fIREHOSE
4/5
I knew the name fIREHOSE but didn't realise their connection with Minutemen. This is a bit stop-start at times but I definitely enjoyed it
Steely Dan
2/5
There is no doubting the skill but this is just so lifeless
The worst track is a vapid cover of East St Louis Toodle-oo. It was so weak I ended up listening to Duke Ellington to see if the original song is really that bad. It isn't - it is quite playful and kind of fun, with a bit of moodiness in the background. The way Steely Dan play it is just so damned careful. What is the point of that? I am not a big jazz fan but one thing I definitely don't want from jazz is predictability
The Byrds
5/5
I mean, I really like this but is it a 4 or a 5? I'm going to give it the extra star because it has influenced so much music I like - especially through I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better, which is just the blueprint for every great jangly song since
Björk
4/5
More house than I remembered. Human Behaviour is really good
Public Enemy
3/5
I'm in a record shop in 1990 and they're playing Welcome to the Terrordrome. I belatedly realised that hip-hop could be as exciting as the rock I mainly listened to, so I will always be grateful for that. I don't think this has aged quite as well as It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back as there is more filler but Fight the Power is still great
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
Previous Nick Cave albums I have heard have been slightly disappointing, even though he seems like the sort of artist I should really like. So I wasn't particularly looking forward to this double album, but it's excellent. Lots of hard edges, a few good choruses and the gospel elements really work with the dark blues core. A rare five stars on first listen
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
I prefer the live version of No Woman No Cry and this didn't quite grab me as much as Catch a Fire
Madonna
2/5
A concerted attempt to be current in 2000, which did not set it up to age particularly well. She could still find some songs that worked for the dancefloor but too much of this feels like her trying on clothes that don't quite fit. The last song about authenticity is a bit ludicrous when this is Madonna using clumsy autotune and dressed as a cowgirl
I skipped the bonus track. You know the one
ZZ Top
4/5
Much better than Eliminator
Digital Underground
2/5
Completely new to me, as the Humpty Dance wasn't a hit in the UK. I'm not sure we were missing much.
The concept could actually have been interesting because the idea of substituting technology for sex is more relevant now than it was in 1990. It could have been a prescient exploration of how that might affect human intimacy. It isn't, of course. It's a silly adolescent fantasy about making women disposable (and men, but mostly women). Oh well
Sleater-Kinney
4/5
Foo Fighters
3/5
It's quite good but nothing groudbreaking or outstanding. I think I liked the last track best where it turned a bit shoegazey
The Temptations
3/5
Two contrasting sides, with their new style on side 1 and the older style on side 2. The funkier first side is more interesting, although I am not sure we needed to hear the crying child in Runaway Child, Running Wild
The Modern Lovers
3/5
'I'm in love with rock and roll'. Me too, Jonathan, me too
It is not a work of genius, but it is the work of someone honest and guileless, and sometimes that is worth treasuring. I found it a bit of a mixed bag, in truth, but there are a couple of great garagey songs that I really enjoyed (She Cracked, Roadrunner)
Depeche Mode
4/5
David Bowie
5/5
My favourite Bowie
I want to be cool and say I like the second side best but actually it is tracks 4-6 that form my favourite sequence on any Bowie album. Sound and Vision is a brilliant single with the confidence to leave the vocals until half-way through, knowing it has enough rhythmic interest to keep us entertained. Then I love the way the guitars and synths weave in and out of each other on Always Crashing in the Same Car, a woozy masterpiece on the verge of collision. I kind of like his voice here too - sometimes he is a bit too theatrical but on this song he sounds completely washed out and distant. It was obviously a bad time for him, but it works for me. Be My Wife is a forgotten single that is actually one of my favourites of his. As a rule, sad songs are slow songs. This one is achingly lonely but still keeps up momentum with a propulsive piano riff leading into some gorgeous weeping guitars.
The rest is very good too, but that section is the highlight for me
Primal Scream
3/5
This is so much of its time, but it is a time I remember and I was one of the indie wallflowers that Loaded dragged uncertainly onto the dancefloor. It is such a mixture of styles that some bits have aged more than others: the acid house elements are more dated than the gospel, dub and what bits of rock survived the mixing process (it always seemed much more Weatherall's album than Gillespie's). It certainly brings back memories but is not really an album I have carried with me
The Soft Boys
4/5
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
I was once a bookish young man but I was never daft enough to imagine that was cool or sexy. Lloyd Cole's naive pretentiousness was always a bit annoying, to be honest, but I might excuse his naivety more now I am so much older than he was. Decent songs, on the whole
The Doors
3/5
The Waterboys
4/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
'I had the taste of blood and chocolate in my mouth, the one as hateful as the other' - Hermann Hesse, Steppenwolf. Bit surprised to learn that is not where the title comes from
Costello even angrier than usual, and may be his nastiest album. I Want You is a great song but it leaves a bitter aftertaste
The Prodigy
4/5
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
The Velvet Underground
4/5
I miss Cale here, and regret that no band would showcase as much discordant viola again. Murder Mystery would be better with him involved. But this album showcases what a fine and sensitive songwriter Reed had become
The Specials
4/5
As someone born in 1970 just up the M69 from Cov, this totally speaks to the world I grew up in. That grimy, fertile mixture of industrial decline and emerging multiculturalism is the grit that 2 Tone grew out of.
Amazing that a brand of dance music is such a potent vehicle for anger. Yet it clearly is, and each successive wave of ska has brought it closer to punk. I don't think it ever got more pointed than this, though.
Stevie Wonder
3/5
I don't know why, but somehow I never really click with Stevie Wonder. That is obviously on me, not him.
The nearest comparison I can make is when I hear some younger people say they don't get Prince. My first instinct is to say: Can't you hear how talented he was? How many styles he brought together? How incredibly prolific he was? And they say something like 'yeah, but it doesn't do much for me'. So that's me with Stevie Wonder. I admire him but I am rubbish at listening to him
Common
2/5
Tears For Fears
4/5
Yes
3/5
Not my kind of thing and there were parts I disliked, but at least they still sounded like a rock band and I've Seen All Good People was just about good enough to scrape it up to a 3
Brian Eno
4/5
I loved the rhythms in this and the samples just provided a wide array of sounds to sculpt with, so it didn't really matter where they came from. I think that's one of the joys of sampling - that you can take an excerpt from one context and transpose it into something completely different.
I am tempted to say that this shows some of David Byrne's talent without him spoiling it by singing, but that would be a bit mean
Donald Fagen
2/5
I am not quite as grubby as I used to be, but this sound is still too squeaky clean for me
Lenny Kravitz
2/5
His voice isn't very good, the lyrics are trite and the composition is competent but obviously derivative
He puts everything into it, though, so I will give him two stars for effort. Well done for trying
Beatles
4/5
Brian Eno
5/5
I love a bit of 'uncertain piano', and it only takes a moment of the title track to set me drifting on an ocean with a neon bottle floating beside me
Transitional albums are often the most interesting snapshots into an artist's career, and Eno was just starting to feel his way towards ambient. It was interesting to learn that he was stuck for ideas when he started recording it. Hard to believe, when you hear the results. But it seems like that lack of a clear intention made him experiment with lots of different techniques, and helped us end up with this collection of all kinds of beautiful
Talking Heads
5/5
The Cars
3/5
Goldfrapp
3/5
A bit of a surprise to me, as I only really knew Goldfrapp for glitzy stompers like Ooh La La. I like this more and the airy songs give her wispy voice more chance to shine
Dr. Dre
1/5
Grateful Dead
1/5
Like many in Britain, I have never knowingly heard any Grateful Dead before, despite how significant they obviously are in the US. This fell some way below my expectations. Even the track of feedback was boring
Beck
4/5
Random
Happy Mondays
5/5
These drug-addled slobs were never built to last but their peak was magnificent and it is right here. Totally on groove, and with plenty of wit under its loose fitting clothes
The Velvet Underground
5/5
What's left to say? The importance is obvious, for every kind of alternative music. Not just the ones you can hear here (which is everything from lo-fi to noise rock) but just opening up the space for every other sort of experimentation. And it's also a joy to listen to, with Heroin still one of the best songs ever
Hole
5/5
They should have got more credit at the time, but at least more people now realise how great this album is. Punkier than Nirvana, and personally I like them better
Tim Buckley
3/5
This is all kind of stretched out. The instrumentals are sometimes over-extended and a bit aimless at times. I was more interested in the way Buckley extends his voice to make it more sonorous. It is a showy style of singing, but without the acrobatics of a lot of other showy singers (except on Gypsy Woman). Instead he mainly explores the tones of his voice and the range of resonance it has
4/5
Lauryn Hill
4/5
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Mariah Carey
2/5
I liked The Roof and Fly Away and was quite impressed by Breakdown, but I find it hard to stomach too much of the frillery
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
The Offspring
2/5
When I think of all the great records on independent labels it is a bit of a shock to learn that this is the best selling independent album ever
Beatles
4/5
A handful of my favourite Beatles songs and a lot of songs that are not. I like the interesting experiments (and I am happy to include Revolution 9 in that) but there are too many flimsy throwaways. Even by double album standards, the lack of quality control is exceptional
Pavement
5/5
I owned and loved Slanted and Enchanted, so I am not sure why I never bought this one. I guess I just couldn't be arsed, which is probably in the spirit of the thing
Chicago
2/5
I only knew Chicago from their 80s hits which I never liked. I was hoping to like this version of the band much more, but I don't really
Beastie Boys
3/5
I was a kid when this came out, but not quite juvenile enough
System Of A Down
3/5
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
Often a little underwhelming, but that may be how they prefer to be
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
Rough hewn and powerful
Fairport Convention
4/5
The generator, in its wisdom, currently claims that folk is my favourite genre. It is wrong (I am more of an alternative rock guy), but it has certainly been serving up some very fine folk and folk-adjacent albums. This is another one, with Denny and Swarbrick shining
The Charlatans
3/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
The White Stripes
4/5
Traffic
4/5
I didn't like the first track, but enjoyed the rest. It was cleaner and less psychedelic than I expected. It's no surprise to hear that they split up straight afterwards, though, as Mason and Winwood's songs sound like different bands
Genesis
3/5
Genesis were my favourite band in my early teens before I veered off to music that is more... direct, shall we say. I still listen to a few of their songs (and Carpet Crawlers and Fly on a Windshield are definitely among them) but it is a long time since I listened to a full album.
And this is overfull. The fantastical storyline is still ridiculous and there is plenty of bombast I now prefer to do without. The first disc is much better than the second, though: on its own, the first disc would be four stars
Iron Maiden
3/5
Phantom of the Opera has a great intro that makes me want to drink Lucozade, but much of this album has too much widdly-diddly for me
Solange
3/5
Television
5/5
Twin guitar heaven.
New York Dolls
2/5
AC/DC
4/5
AC/DC always do their thing, and they do it well. 'Industrial-strength boogie' is the best description I've seen
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
I would call them more Old Wave than New Wave. Dexys turned their back on punk to look for a more retro sound, but they still had a rebellious attitude and came up with this energetic brand of soul. I like this more than their other albums. I struggle with Kevin Rowland's mannered vocals but I like the raucous brass and the Northern Soul stompiness. It's a good album.
Do they need three albums on this list? No, of course not. But if you want to understand why they are so over-represented... yes, they had more hits in the UK, but also - the British music press loved them. Kevin Rowland was always enthusiastic, contrarian and unpredictable. You never knew what harebrained scheme he was planning next: Hi band! You know how I hired you as horn players? Well you can ditch the trumpet and trombone because now you are all wearing dungarees and playing the violin. What do you mean you haven’t played one before?
They were always good copy. Whether they were always good music... well, you have ample opportunity to judge
U2
4/5
The Who
3/5
It feels like they hadn't quite figured out Who they were yet. This has bits of everything - some blues (which they weren't very good at), some old-school pop, a couple of James Brown numbers. Moon's frenetic drumming and Townshend's fiery guitar hint at what was trying to burst out of it all. Then, in the middle of this mess, they suddenly conjure up the title song which is great.
Madness
3/5
So the theme is 'childhood memories', and that is largely where Madness reside for me. I still think they were more of a singles band than an albums band
Robbie Williams
2/5
I remember being stunned the first time I heard Angels on the radio. I couldn't believe the cheeky sod had come up with a song that good, and I had to give Guy Chambers a lot of credit
Listening now, I liked Killing Me as well, but much of the rest is blaring pop/rock as subtle as Robbie's ego. And the tetchiness of Hello Sir is... interesting
3/5
The first half of this album still gladdens my heart as it starts out with terrific energy, but it fizzles out quite badly
Violent Femmes
4/5
I know they were popular in Australia as well as the US but Violent Femmes never really found an audience here in the UK. Was there too much cow in their cowpunk? Had The Smiths cornered the market in strumming teenage angst? Not that they sound anything like The Smiths, of course - the nearest UK equivalent I could think of was some of the Wonder Stuff, but that was always tongue-in-cheek and I don't think Violent Femmes were. To these British ears, Gordon Gano sounds a bit off - I think he was being sincere, but he sounds like he isn't
Anyway, I enjoyed this and applaud them for having a xylophone solo
Brian Wilson
3/5
A few days ago I had 'The Rise and Fall' by Madness - another concept album about childhood. That, though, was more like childhood memories from a culture I am familiar with. This felt more like a mythology of childhood: a dream trying to capture a mythical purity that never truly existed. Maybe that is what 'Smile' will always be
Lou Reed
4/5
An exceptionally patchy album, but the highs are very high
Marty Robbins
3/5
I knew one song (Thin White Rope did a cover of They're Hanging Me Tonight) but otherwise totally unfamiliar with this. Enjoyable story-telling and some good tunes but the rhythms are a bit monotonous
Everything But The Girl
3/5
The electonic backings are far more interesting than the cocktail lounge stuff they made before, with some trip-hop, some mild drum 'n' bass and occasional bits of house. Not sure about having two remixes on an album though
Eminem
2/5
The Avalanches
4/5
There is a lot going on and at times I found it a bit exhausting, but I am sure I will go back to it so that is a win. And Frontier Psychiatrist is just good fun