Lol, quality album for the very first generated by this website. Bought CD on release. My vinyl is the MBV Records 2018 pressing. I know there’s a lot of debate about best versions etc. All I know is mine sounds great and the packaging is gorgeous. I don’t know how the rating happens but the score for this will be high. My opinion on this has improved over the years. My expectations were sky high on release and it took a long time to accept that they had delivered on their promise in spades. Maybe I was lamenting the loss of their earlier ability to harness and successfully exploit their more unhinged tendencies (think Thorn, Feed Me With Your Kiss, Drive It All Over Me) What took a while was for me to step out of context and hear it as the huge step forward it was. Once I got there I heard it as the masterpiece of specialisation it was. The scope in terms of variety is reduced from before but the dividends in melody and a feeling of “inhabiting sound” is more than an acceptable payoff.
I’m sure, like Fleetwood Mac, it’s not cool to prefer 80s ZZ over 70s but while this is quality straight up, honest, no—frills, blues-based rock goodness, I often find myself wishing for some of the polish they would add later on. If it’s gonna be this stripped back, I want it as raw as possible, so I’ll go back further I think. I’ve deffo got Rio Grande Mud but maybe I need to score the 1st album for the real grit. Still it’s impressive for as far back as ‘73. They even leave some breadcrumbs for AC/DC here and there. Glad the Dr Hook harmonies were restricted to that one track at the end of side one. 3.5 stars really. It’s a big ask not to like the Top.
The joys of my eclectic tastes have me listening to this right after some brutal death metal. Practiced over many years though, my ears can handle these sorts of tectonic shifts.
International success of Bossa Nova may have been temporary but, out of context, this album, a major factor in that success, just sounds timeless. I may not understand Portuguese, but to my ears, the language is actually melancholia. The beautiful vocals of both João and Astrud are ably matched by Stan’s sax as the melodic salve that belies the apparent sadness at the heart of the songs. Not even the crackles of my ancient beat up copy can stop the beauty of these recordings from enduring, 60 years on.
I was introduced to ambient music in the 90s when the new wave of electronic wizards would cite this album, and others like it, as influences on their work. That was a catalyst for me to investigate Eno’s catalogue. I am in awe of Eno’s approach and innovations. Reading his notes describing the experiments which lead to some of his 70s albums reveal some inspirational critical thinking. It also reveals how many of his complex approaches could now be achieved with just a few basic settings being selected in any music making software. Something tells me the results would be rather sterile compared to what Eno achieved with his more arcane and primitive technology. He achieved better than this, but this is still a solid touchstone of the genre. Probably more of a 3.5 stars but I’m happy pick 4 tater than 3.
It’s all been said before, but my main praise is the scope: it’s thought-provoking, tender, brutal, hilarious, heartbreaking and more, all before you even flip to side two. I’ve been listening to this for 30 years now and it keeps on giving. A very early high watermark.
35 years on, It’s saying something that this is even listenable at all, never mind standing tall as a landmark of hip-hop and of music in general. 3FH&R is essentially an episode of Sesame Street to a funky beat but it’s the top notch flows, esoteric sample choices, and CHOONS which are the solid foundations to its longevity.
The startling ambition on this debut full length is almost totally realised. I suspect CD listeners might find it a touch intimidating, but in more palatable chunks over 4 sides of vinyl, the album feels strong throughout. What might be seen as a drop off towards the end, to me sounds like a natural, calming conclusion to a whirlwind story that I will one day understand. Impressive variety from one of this generation’s genuinely important artists.
While everyone knows it as their breakthrough success due to the title track, that the album as a whole is far more of a transitional work, is often overlooked. Once the side-long full-length version of the international hit single is done, there’s little other evidence of the driving proto-electronica on show. Side two remains largely in the wheelhouse of their previous albums; more acoustic-based melodic experimentalism. This duality actually works quite successfully. It is a rather beautiful album through-and-through, but may surprise/disappoint a listener simply expecting more motorway based vibes. Personally I return more often to this for side 2, opting for their later albums when I’m in need of the beats.
I promise I’ve been through the whole thing before and I swear I tried again. I just couldn’t make it. This is where Corgan and I parted ways. Tbh we’d only previously crossed paths vaguely anyway; I’d put up with Siamese Dream despite a lot of stuff I struggled with because at least there were a fair few proper tunes that kept me engaged. On this however the tunes seemed to have evaporated and everything that bothered me before became the driving force…Relentlessly…For 2 hours! The voice, the production, the tunelessness, the pretentiousness, the seemingly endless supply of self-importance. I refuse to listen to it all again. This review is my last word on the subject forever. And my last words of this review are “the dictionary definition of unchecked ego”
He's just not for me. Too syrupy. As I searched for it (I don't own it) I noticed one site listing his genre: folk, children’s music. I'm sure he’s not actually considered children’s music by anyone irl, but it still made sense to me. A bit like Graham Nash (even his CSNY stuff!), I can’t take it seriously as a grown up cos it’s just too…idk…wet? I gave it a fair listen and I’m sure I’m overlooking lots of nuance, but I'll not be swinging by “poor old loving man JT”’s way anytime soon. Offensively inoffensive.
Today I was surprised to discover just how commercially successful this album was. In the decades since this was released, my estimation of him as a vocalist, songwriter and performer has increased significantly, but never enough to make me consider checking out his albums. This was a nice opportunity for that, but I didn’t find myself a convert. There are some good melodies, some catchy hooks, occasionally some decent gospel style chord changes, but not enough of any of these positives. The production often seems unfitting for the material, the track sequencing seems off and there’s far too many bland tunes. Apparently he looked at Prince and MJ and decided he deserved the success they were having and fair fucks to him for making it happen…I just can’t believe he managed it with this album.
Even this supposed festival-of-horniness album is a window on the troubled life of Marvin. That world famous invitation to get carnal sounds, on closer inspection, like a beautifully framed self-justification that love and sex are wonderful despite what he’d been brought up to believe. Such a shame that so much of the greatest art is born of pain. Anyway I'll stick to the wonderful art itself. The focus is indeed love and sex and how they work well together, but also apart. And the album sounds just like that. I can hardly think of a mis-step in the arrangements or production, nor of course the musicianship (James Jamerson is obviously worth a mention but that is a disservice to every other player here) The music is rarely as upbeat as the title track, but it’s a massage for the brain and soul throughout. Then on top of all that add one of the most beautiful voices the world has known. Sounds like 5 stars…and maybe it should be, but I have a few minor gripes: Firstly, it’s only 8 tracks and just over half an hour and that even includes a 3+min reprise of the title track. Secondly, and I know it’s unfair to make this comparison, but it doesn’t quite reach the high bar he had set with its predecessor What’s Going On. Finally, I'm REALLY tight with maximum scores, so scandalously this is reduced to a 4⭐️
I have a lot of time for Judas Priest however I'm not an obsessive. I love albums from all parts of their career but occasionally they get a little base for my tastes. I had Painkiller spinning only last week, I love the really early stuff and their most recent run has been awesome. I am so glad they found the success they deserved on the global stage, but sometimes I am less enamoured with the music that gained that larger success. Where does British Steel fit into my nuanced relationship with the band?
Well, I can definitely see hints of their quest for the big time sprouting on this album, but equally there’s a lot of quality on show. Beavis and Butthead favourite “Breaking the Law” kicks things off but while it might be the most cartoonish song here, even it isn’t quite the teenage headbang fodder they would dabble with on later albums. “United” and “Living After Midnight” also seem like conscious reaches for the pop charts, but in between these we get a solid and sometimes forward thinking heavy metal album.
There are obvious influences that I'm sure they wouldn’t deny; “Rapid Fire” takes that intense double-kicker Motörhead drumming and uses it to pave the way for thrash while “You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise” owes a lot to AC/DC. But elsewhere they allow for some experiments in sound and arrangement that show they were still going to be themselves. Everyone in this classic lineup is delivering what they do best and the result is possibly definitive Priest…if not my favourite.
We all know double albums are a gamble, but this is solid. Today I found myself focusing on the strength of the songwriting then about halfway through, I reminded myself that each song was also just teeming with relentless musical wizardry. Jimi obviously, but Mitch and Noel are also off-the-scale magnificent. All three together (and guests) are more than the sum of their parts. I'm tempted to go for 5 but like I've said before, I’m VERY tight with full marks so this is a strong 4.
I want to be fair with my reviews. If I was having a good day and was prepared to give this the time it supposedly deserves, it might’ve got pushed up to a 2, but I’m not having a good day, and I’m not prepared to spend 75 bastard minutes of it trying to convince myself I hate this less than the amount I've comfortably been hating it since the last time I gave them a try decades ago. I listened to 2 songs (18 fucking minutes) and they can all play (or sing) their asses off, so what? It’s boring and self-important and means nothing to me. Maybe I can get through the rest of my life happy, finally knowing for sure that I don’t like Deep Purple. “BUT HOW CAN YOU LIKE [insert all the other bands from the same era and genre that I do like] AND NOT LIKE THIS? HOW? I just can. 1 star
Haiku review:
To escape Britpop,
to escape The Great Escape,
Blur looked to the West.
I have more solo Tony albums than any other Wu solo a
nd whilst most are fabulous, he is capable of a clunker. My personal top tier Wu is probably GZA, ODB and GFK and of his albums, this is definitely a winner as well as Iron Man and particularly Supreme Clientele.
What happened to the big songs? In the 60s they managed “To Love Somebody”, “Massachusetts” “Words” and “I Started a Joke”. Those might not all be everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s little point in denying they are show-stopping, quality pieces of songwriting. To my ears, the lack of decent songs is exactly what the problem is on Trafalgar. They may have had a different goal for this album, but I can’t tell what it’s meant to be and it doesn’t seem to work for me.
In the other direction on the Bee Gees timeline, I never got how the vitality of their disco era could deteriorate into the bland feel of their 80s output but hearing this album it seems that inoffensive MOR is a genuine part of their DNA. The best Bee Gees records sound uniquely like Bee Gees, but on this album they seem to be attempting to emulate The Beatles, Bowie, CSNY and others but never quite successfully because of the unremarkable material.
To be fair, I'm having a better time with it this spin than the previous one but I'm significantly less than convinced it’ll end up a winner for me. Odessa is the other Bee Gees album in the 1001 book and I am still keen to hear it but I really hope it’s an improvement on this.
Always felt their radio presence was enough for me without buying anything, but then I heard Flea interviewed by Marc Maron and he didn't seem like the dick I would have expected. Also the way he talked about their albums actually made me splash out on a few which I haven't hated at all.
However, if Californication hadn't come up here from the list, I wouldn't have been extending my investigation as far as this album; I'd simply heard too many songs too many times. They seemed to saturate the airwaves with single after single at the time and I assumed I was sick of every one of them.
Conversely, when I started listening today, I tolerated all of those singles and in fact enjoyed them quite a lot. The rest of the album too. Rather than a Chili Pepper too far, I'm now finding it tricky not to push to a 4. Full stars only is tough; I guess I would do 3.5 if I could but 3 just wouldn't be right.
Even by 1979, it’s clear the news of the revolution hadn’t reached all music fans and accordingly, millions were still happy to lap this up as if punk had never happened. I respect the band for having the balls, 2 years on from Never Mind The Bollocks, to release an 80 minute rock opera.
My life as a music fan properly began at a time when it seemed very correct to accept that punk was necessary. As a result, it’s taken a long time for my eclectic tastes to win out over my ingrained bias against the excesses of what rock music had become by the mid 70s. Older and wiser, I am now comfortably able to piss off my teenage self by investigating all manner of prog, fusion and other overblown rock which I can now appreciate without prejudice. I still believe punk was right, but to understand a revolution it’s wise to know your history.
Ah how refreshing. I can enjoy all music now….
The thing is, for all the Yes, King Crimson, Weather Report, Genesis etc that’s now allowed in my house, there are a few notable exceptions that remain taboo, personal no-gos that consistently ruffle feathers every time I'm forced to bring them up. They are usually so-called sacred cows and Pink Floyd is a perfect example. This 1001 project will force me to address these face on and this is the 1st example that has come up.
To be clear, I am giving this a fair listen. I’m going to be doing that as much as possible while I work my way through this 1001 thing. I’m ok with concept albums too, in fact I wonder why there aren’t more.
As the album starts "In The Flesh?” makes me pause for thought. This sounds massive and while I’d never understood why The Flaming Lips tip their hat to the Floyd so often, The Lips are exactly what this is reminding me of. Have I been missing out on a whole double album as good as “In The Flesh?”? Raw guitars doing a gigantic woozy riff and a swirling organ on top of huge drums and a Ziggy style vocal. Right up my street and nothing like the Pink Floy…oh wait….here we go….
An hour later as side 4 begins, I get “In The Flesh” (no question mark) and I realise what I want to be listening to is an album by this Pink character in the story; the song in both forms is representing the main character performing in concert. In the hour between, it’s been largely what I had expected; plodding, morose dullness with “seriously important“ guitar “work” and a concept which, although apparently laboured over considerably in the writing process, seems without a great deal of depth, intrigue or sophistication.
The rest of side 4 returns to form and it’s notable that it’s not until the most un-Floyd thing on the album, the musical theatre style “The Trial”, that my ears again ask “oh, what’s going on here?” I've made it all the way to the end and there’s been a few moments along the route that have been ok, but I’ve been mostly bored.
Obviously, I will be faced with the prospect of more Pink Floyd as I progress through the 1001 process, and many with much greater reputations than this one. With those, I hope to have my mind changed, even if just a little, but for now, The Wall has failed to do so.
I remember resisting a lot of hype around this when it was released and then feeling stupid when I eventually heard it and realised it was actually kinda my thing. Still, having read so much about how original it was, I found it surprising that it was basically The Beta Band. Still at least it’s a decent listen all the way through, so since The 3EPs is a compilation, Django Django have made the album that The Beta Band never managed.
There are other options for the definitive, but if this doesn’t provide most of what you are looking for in an Aretha album, then my guess is the Queen of Soul just isn’t for you. If you are that person, I offer you my deepest sympathies and wish you well.
It might not still blow me away like it did the 1st 100 times I heard it, but it’s still easily a 5 star album.
This is good. I hear it’s supposed to be punk jazz, designed to piss off the purists or whatever, but I honestly came away from it with pretty similar feelings I’d had when I first heard the Ornette albums.
Side one was full throttle, side two occasionally offered a very slight easing of the intensity. Obviously this isn’t jazz for a dinner party, but it is a successful musing on and fitting tribute to the work of an artist who stands with the absolute cream of the art form.
Great lore, great concept, and Cash seems to deal with the audience reasonably well (though my ears detect a slight fracture in his cool occasionally) resulting in a fascinating and successful document of a genuinely interesting happening. Musically speaking, I’m not particularly moved by it; rock'n'roll was so well established by 1968, its reach would’ve extended even to prisons and it feels like this should rock more. No matter how appropriate the songs might get and however many times Cash mentions prison and gets the crowd’s undivided support, the music, even at its most raucous, comes across as quaint. I can’t help feeling Chuck Berry might’ve done a better job.
Another band that I get along fine with, but maybe think are a bit overrated. The first side is almost totally reliant on very standard blues which obviously they do extremely confidently, but it’s a bit too good-time for my tastes. Isn’t good-time blues a contradiction? After that they stretch out, step away a little from the restrictive blues format and things start to come alive. The side-long You Don’t Love Me is still blues but a more progressive type that goes all over the place over many sections. Side 3 comes and you’d be forgiven for thinking someone had put a Santana record in the back of the gatefold when you weren’t looking. There's a decidedly Latin flavour and it really suits them I find both “Hot ‘Lanta” and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” the compelling heart of this album. Side four is 20+ minutes of Whipping Post which is undeniably impressive. The album is very good and if TABB are your vibe, I can understand how you might consider this the greatest live album ever, but that’s way too far for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Only 27 albums in and this is the 2nd Deep Purple already! I like to focus on the positive so…I'm getting them out of the way and there’s only one left. This was more tolerable than Made in Japan or whatever it’s called. Quick recap: I LOVE many albums and bands from this era and genre but the Purps ain’t one of them. I tried as a kid and I’m trying again now, but sorry they just aren’t doing it for me. This one gets a better score than the previous one because Bloodsucker and Flight of the Rat annoyed me less. I know they can play but what they do with those abilities I find futile.
Before, I preferred the follow up (3) to this their second LP, but revisiting today has made me re-evaluate that position. I’ll spin 3 next to check and if it’s as good as I remember, I’ll have to consider adding more BS&T to my life. Rock’n’soul with some psyche, jazz, and a long jam thrown into the mix too. It’s a stew, but it’s a tasty one.
As with alot of Björk, there’s beauty, there’s melancholy, avant garde, originality, deep emotion, mystery, and personal yet often universal lyrics. Most of all though there is that singular voice.
In my mind, I draw a similarity with Miles Davis; throughout their careers, the accompaniment alters dramatically in arrangement, dynamic, mood, form etc., but the constant at the core remains the same. Björk (and Miles) may have expressed a huge variety of emotions from year to year, album to album, but the voice at the centre of it all remains the same unique and individual focus of attention.
I have tried but failed to get on with the solo work of main collaborator here Arca and as a result wasn’t expecting to be fully engaged with this album. The somewhat overwhelming experimentalism is kept in check on Vulnicura though. Instead it’s lushness and beauty that wins out.
I don’t concur with many that consider this one of her absolute best, but for the intensity you might’ve expected from a Björk break-up album, Vulnicura is genuinely warm listen.
Pound for pound, this is my favourite Zeppelin album. It’s where they let funk become more of a glaring influence than that of the blues on the early albums. The Funkiest Zep is my favourite Zep and the grooves are on fire here. *Houses of the Holy* had come close but stylistically it was a wonderful grab-bag. *Physical Graffiti*, although it does stretch out, feels more together, more unified in tone.
Being aware of the how much they are going ask of the fans as the album progresses, side 1 is still mostly blues oriented. But with the flip to side 2, we enter the real meat the album. With “Houses of the Holy”, “Trampled Underfoot” and “Kashmir” they deliver my top Led Zeppelin LP side of their catalogue.
Sides 3&4 may occasionally slip back more into previous LZ comfort zones, but never completely. They seem keen to plough a new furrow as much as possible pushing their sound forward in anyway they can discover.
This is a 9/10 album for me but since it’s my favourite Led Zep album, I’m prepared to round up rather than down, for a rare maximum score.
A masterclass in turn of the century downtempo, Melody A.M. is solid throughout. Most tracks make the smart choice not to outstay their welcome, but honestly, when “Royksopp's Night Out” drifts on for over 7 minutes, that’s not a problem either. So there is potentially an alternative-universe, more epic version of the album which stretches successfully beyond the compact 46 mins presented here.
There’s a relentless flow of quality melody and interesting hooks. Against some of the heavyweights of the era in this realm (Boards of Canada, Air, Fourtet) it might not be still sounding quite as strong 20 years on, but nevertheless still an album worth a regular spin with some absolute bangers in the singles.
It’s a powerful experience. They have many albums that could be considered their peak and for me this is the one. They realise everything they are capable of, the recording and production is refined, but just enough to maintain direct links to their roots. They have smothered the artwork with mystery and lore, mostly tongue in cheek and poking fun at themselves. The double album format, though unusual for the genre, allows them to stretch out, letting songs breathe and groove. The energy simply drips from the album.
So much has been said about Daydream Nation before, so I’ll just give a mention to something I’ve noticed more and more with recent listens. As I kid I would enjoy the many intros as tension builders, helping elevate the moment when the song explodes, but lately, those intros have taken on new life for me. They are moments of genuine and sometimes surprisingly delicate beauty. Having said that I can find a lot of beauty in even the most intense adrenaline filled moments too.
A strong 4
I had overlooked It’s Blitz after being a little disappointed by their 2nd album. Listening today though I realised my error as it revealed to me far more quality than the amazing singles I was familiar with. There’s plenty of great music on display, but it’s the vocal melodies, hooks and delivery that dominate the headlines for the majority of tracks. Probably deserves 3.5 but yesterday, I gave another NYC album, Daydream Nation a 4 when it was really a 4.5, so it’s only fair to round down here too.
It’s just excellent from start to finish.
Liked a single or two, but the album disappointed.
At the time, The Boatman's Call seemed like the inevitable realisation of what the band had represented up to that point. The heart of what they had always done, refined, distilled, and laid bare without bombast to obscure the emotional heft. They may have gone on to create works with a better claim to “definitive” but there’s part of me wants to reserve that position for this.
It’s all here, the drama, darkness, introspection, religious reference, comic trip wires, language steeped in a knowing respect for tradition and so on. These are tropes that all seem to reference Cave’s contribution, but aside perhaps from the unexpected comedy, they also apply to the arrangements, musicianship and tonal quality of every Bad Seed note and beat present.
It's a mood for sure, and won’t be for all. Even fans will pick their moments for returning; I generally prefer a broader range across an album, but The Boatman’s Call is nevertheless the sound of a band tuned up and firing on all cylinders, yet with the sense to keep the revs low.
I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again; it might have been the new sounds that made their name but it's the strength of the melodies that have given LPs like this their enduring quality.
Kraftwerk may have pushed the boundaries of technology in music and smashed through any concepts of what electronic music could actually be, but the smartest thing they did was remember to write truly superb songs. Strong 4
This is one of a few albums that have something new to offer each time I come back to it. It just keeps on giving. Every time a slightly new experience. Every experience a good one.
If the book is gonna have 2 Cube albums, it should be his 1st 2. This is still good don’t get me wrong, but it’s definitely a dip.
I enjoyed this as much as I always do but if it wasn’t for the 1001 challenge, I might not have heard this again. I just don’t go in search of a Dire Straits hit. I guess I just don’t get excited by them.
A perfectly serviceable, late-60s sounding, psychedelic pop/rock album with some standout moments. I listen to this occasionally and enjoy it but I feel I need to damn it with faint praise. It has an aura aspiring to greatness, but to my ears it doesn’t quite achieve its goal. Certainly decent but I can easily think of 5 contemporaneous albums that do the same thing better.
Costello has made many great, great albums, but while this was the Attractions heyday, and two astonishingly good singles are present (“Oliver’s Army” and “Accidents Will Happen”) they do seem to elevate the reputation of Armed Forces a bit above that which it deserves on the whole. There is good material throughout, but he made albums in this era with material beyond the hits that scream “how was this not a single?”
So yes, a solid follow up to the previous two albums, but he made several albums about this time that earn the stamp of classic more than this does.
On any particular day, the “best” Stevie Wonder album could switch between each of the 4 or 5 he released between 1972 and 1976. It’s a run of quality albums that is all but unparalleled in rock/pop history. Talking Book has been my No.1 on occasion, but these days it is regularly outshone by one or two of the other options.
There are guests, but in the main, Stevie plays practically everything, and writes and sings and produces too; clearly an inspiration to Prince on his debut album later in the decade. Everything you want from Stevland is here; it’s obviously soulful but it’s outrageously funky with elements of rock, pop and jazz. And he totally nails everything.
A master at work, this probably deserves 5 ⭐️, but I’m very stingy with my 5s so I’ll reserve that for a couple of his other albums that I know are also in the book.
It’s always important to take a balanced view when reviewing any art.
So first up I’d like to think of a few elements of this album where I think The Specials got it right: let’s see, the songwriting, the arrangements, the humour, the vocals and musicianship, the melodies, the genre bending, the politics, the inclusivity, the artwork and graphic design, the influences, the clothing and image.
Now to be fair I’ll take a look at where they got it wrong: who do I think I’m kidding? They didn’t get anything wrong. Everything about this record is right. This will be the easiest maximum score I will likely ever give.
Dry is a confident and powerful debut by one of the most important artists of her generation. It may wear its influences on its sleeve more than later PJ albums when she had truly found her own voice, but it remains a strong statement of intent. It’s an intent that she has delivered upon many times over, but for some, this debut remains definitive. Either way, Dry is the foundational step in an artistic career of many highlights and few compromises.
Aerosmith are not my favourite band, though I like them just fine. Their style of music is not my favourite, though I don’t have a problem with it. That all seems to be a perfect recipe for a decidedly average score.
However Toys in the Attic is better than average. ”Round and Round” is average. The rest is well written, well performed and with energy, ambition, fun and a knowing self-awareness that allows them to avoid taking themselves too seriously (a trait I find extremely welcome in a band).
I enjoy some of their later albums and I’m sure there are more to come in the 1001, but I don’t think they’ll surpass this.
I love Neil Young and this album has some of his really great songs, but I’m not keen on the acoustic-then-band two sides album concept. I know nobody else is bothered by this, but for some reason it doesn’t sit well with me. Pocahontas, Thrasher, Hey Hey My My, Powderfinger. These kind of songs belong on a 5 star album but even though I also like the rest of the songs too, Rust Never Sleeps doesn’t for me quite reach its potential.
It’s good but I’ve got better Common albums. Kanye’s production is also good, but the vintage soul sides idea was hardly as revolutionary as many have claimed.
There’s been several albums in my life that have been afforded a listen count that outweighs their importance and quality, mostly a long time ago when my record shelves were significantly smaller. These were obsessions of the moment that were on repeat for weeks at a time. In 1989, The Stone Roses’ debut arrived and delivered handsomely on the huge promise of their singles and it immediately became my album on repeat.
The difference with The Stone Roses is that it deserved every listen, re-listen, repeat and multiple listen. As my record shelves expanded and my tastes too, the regularity of the spins may have gradually waned, but at no point did my opinion on the record reduce. It would’ve been easy to be put off by the swarm of bandwagoners and the bands (some terrible) that came in the wake of this album, but it just didn’t happen; this remarkable record had the strength to stand up to all of that and more.
I may not return to listen so often all these decades later, but when I do it’s never a disappointment. There has been a time when familiarity was diluting the intensity with which this music was reaching my ears, but nowadays with less frequent visits, I get to marvel in the persistence of its success every time. A melodic triumph.
They’ve never really been my thing but I’d been meaning to give this a try for a while. I wasn’t expecting any surprises, but I did get some. Keyboards. It gets funky from time to time. It sounded like Japan (the band) sometimes! I’m not a convert but I will give this another try soon.
As someone of an age and musical upbringing that could easily have led to a belief that disco was bad, I have to admire my youthful self for embracing eclectic tastes from the moment I was able to discern whether any particular music was good or bad regardless of style/genre. When I first could save up for an occasional record purchase, I was not buying Chic or anything much like it. Nevertheless I was hearing Chic and all manner of pop and LOVING it. I have continued to embrace my eclectic taste to this day.
C’est Chic is jammed full of Chic goodness. Even the non-singles are largely fabulous. It doesn’t hurt that my European version of the album has the 1 of the 2 singles from their first album tacked on each side, but even without them, this is a strong effort. Timeless good-time party music that should give anyone the urge to shake their ass.
There’s been enough said about Partridge v Rundgren. What makes this a world class record is the songs themselves. Not the album concept, not the production, not the impeccable musicianship throughout, etc. etc. Those things do contribute, but 14 fabulous songs by two brilliant songwriters at the top of their game are the core strength of Skylarking. It’s the same with all the best XTC albums and to be fair, that means most of them.
Over the years I’ve read possibly too much about this band and their history, but I’ve had a gap recently and in fact today is the first time I’ve heard them in maybe years. This has given me fresh ears on this album and it’s a welcome reminder of the pure class on display from needle drop to the end of side 2.
Respect to the man, but this album did precious little for me. Night train was decent in a Duran/Roxy kinda way, but the rest of the time I was unengaged.
I am still a blues dabbler. I’m not entirely sure what I want from the genre yet, but it’s not this. This sounds like blues doing a residency at Caesars Palace or something. Too glitzy.
I haven’t read up on this album enough, but it has always seemed to have an excellent reputation, however aside from the personal preference I’ve mentioned it also seems like a weird recording.
It sounds like it was recorded in reverse. It starts out like a total rager of a show with an audience barely able to contain themselves, and ends up petering out like a band apologetic for being there and the audience trying to ignore them. I feel like there must be tons of better B.B. King than this.
I was so deep into the music at the time that I didn’t realise I was living through such a major peak for EDM (the 90s) There were so many incredible artists and albums that stand up strong over 30 years later. This is no mean feat for a technology based art form. SAW85-92 is a core text of the genre.
The hit singles are all-time greats. Imagine writing a song Miles Davis covers (Time After Time), Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is an unquestionable 80s masterpiece, and my favourite of the lot, the touching and evocative All Through the Night. The best thing about this as an album though, is that the hits are far from the end of the story. There’s no filler here, an enjoyable listen from end to end.
I was early 20s when I bought this, influenced then as I still am now, by lists of top-whatever albums. In truth, at that time, this should in no way have appealed to me as it clashed quite dramatically with the aesthetic of my contemporary listening.
However, it was the same music journalists who were at the time championing my favourite cool new bands-du-jour that were also making lists of 60s/70s/80s albums which deserved my attention. When I could afford it, I duly invested in selections of this “ancient” music and to be fair, I rarely bought anything that disappointed me. This was good news because my shocking lack of funds would have really felt the sting of bad purchase.
To give myself a little credit, I have always had decent instincts when it comes to reviews, album covers or hearing just a single song and figuring out if any particular artist is likely to be for me. I expect it was only reading that made me have any interest in Blue because I would likely only have ever heard “Big Yellow Taxi” and as Joni Mitchell album sleeves go, Blue is rather underwhelming.
Bearing all that in mind, there was still little about this album to suggest that it would be a winner for me. Nevertheless, I basically fell for it right away. I look at that situation now and presume the quality, the raw emotion, the honesty were all speaking to me directly regardless of the style and presentation of the music. My taste in music has dramatically broadened over the years making it less odd that I embrace the Joni vibe, but also the fullness of the heft these songs carry has revealed itself to me more and more.
Listening today I feel a greater connection than I have on any of the previous decades of listens. That an album can continue to deliver over such extended exposure is an astonishing tribute. I’m writing reviews during this 1001 project apologising when albums have slightly lost their edge from years of personal overexposure, but no such issues with Blue.
Maximum score. Thank you Joni.
I’ve been on a journey with jazz for at least 20 years now. I’ve gone from someone who veered between ambivalence and disgust at the genre to someone who loves it. I always had reasonably broad musical tastes in general, but some genres required more maturity in me than others to be able to embrace.
No matter how much I learn about jazz and listen to it, I get the feeling I may always feel like a bit of an outsider. Thing is I don’t actually think it matters. I might not fully understand what I’m listening to, but I know what I like. Knowing why I like it isn’t important.
I like A Love Supreme. A lot. Luckily it wasn’t one of the first Trane albums I got because there’s no way I would’ve been ready for it back then. It’s another one of those albums that is going to continue to reveal itself to me gradually for the rest of my life. I’m still in a place where I prefer his hard bop from earlier in the 60s. One day I expect to realise that spiritual/free is the Coltrane that matters the most, but until then I’m not marking this up from a 4 to a 5 just cos it has such an incredible reputation. It does seem outrageous that this is his only album on the list though!
One of many unexpected twists in an admirably uncompromising career. It does not conform to the norms of a pop album and it’s pretentious, but it is a boldly strong piece of art from an important artist.
I have to face facts, this is the sound of grunge. I once thought I was a fan of grunge but when that was true, it was not represented by music like this. My beloved Mudhoney, Babes in Toyland, Nirvana, even L7 did not make turgid dreck, devoid of subtlety or nuance, but with the benefit of hindsight, it seems that is exactly what history attributes to the grunge label.
I don’t want to lay all the blame on this lot; there are plenty of other self important, humourless purveyors of the yarl that have tarred a historically important genre with this type of artless dross. They may not be the only offenders, but this is often held up alongside Nirvana as the finest in grunge so it only seems appropriate to take it down a peg or ten.
I gave Dirt a full and proper chance and at no point did I get the impression I was being won over. If grunge was meant to be a second punk then Dirt sounds exactly like the music scourge that needed eradicated.
Utterly delicious instrumental post rock, dripping with ideas, melody, intrigue, and subtlety. The opening track fills all of side one and threatens to dominate the album with its delicate balance between scripted perfection and loose jam. Successful and captivating as it remains across its 20+ mins, it can’t dominate when side two packs just as much joy into briefer segments. They went on to make at least 2 better albums than Millions…, but this set very high bar for expectations.
The Kinks are just a delight. They could be the most quintessentially English group ever. When I’m listening to one of their albums, it always feels like their best one and listening to this today was no exception. It is so solid through both sides. The songwriting is superlative and the personality of the group shines at all times.
This is my 64th album and while I’ve had about 4 or 5 already that I didn’t already own, this is the first one that’s new to me and that I really dig. This is very much my kind of soul and I am surprised I’m only hearing him now. The album doesn’t seem to let up in quality throughout and for a 60s album that’s an impressive lack of filler! I will be returning to this album and Investigating Solomon further. Thank you 1001 book.
68-74 is a pocket of time when The Stones only made great albums. I love Let It Bleed but it’s not close to my favourite of that era. Nevertheless it’s always a treat to take down from the shelf. Some great album tracks as well as the famous classics. What I noticed on this listen was how grimy and burnt out they already sound. Not burnt out as if they aren’t performing as well as they could (far from it, even the loosest sounding songs benefit greatly from their mastery of looseness!) rather they sound like they’ve already got the weight of their imminent woes on their shoulders.
I was really only familiar with what I assume was a single. It is a crunchy 60s garage vibe and I dug it a lot. This was my first time properly hearing the whole album and I was impressed. Overall more mellow than that one song would have suggested, but that’s not a problem. Quality songs, just the right amount of quirkiness, nicely recorded with a retro feel throughout. Right up my street actually. I’ll be returning to this one.
It’s good, but I’m not hearing an album that deserves cult status. A decent singer songwriter with a nice vibe.
The Associates are a one of a kind type of act. Sulk is quite a unique album. Possibly the most surprising thing about it is that it managed any kind of commercial success. It feels like nowadays an album like this would be lucky to find a home at all, maybe a small label or self released then maybe catch a break by someone influential recognising its brilliance and spawning a cult following. However the story of the original release of Sulk goes, I’m just glad it made us aware of this record and are still listening to and talking about it 40 years later.
It’s a big achievement. He knew if he was going to make a record in response to 9/11 it couldn’t fall short of excellent. It’s a very serious album but it’s not solemn. It has moments to make you cry and moments to make you determined to be a better person. It’s tackling very sad issues and yet it’s far from a miserable listen. The Rising gets better with every listen. Springsteen had to deliver with this one and he was up to the task.
I love Iron Maiden and I love this album. I also love Paul Di’Anno and Clive Burr who are the ones who make this stand out from a lot of Maiden, but if there are only gonna be 2 of their albums in the 1001, they haven’t made great choices. It’s fair to represent their earliest grittier, punkier vibe but to pick this over Killers doesn’t scan for me. I don’t think the book does much of a job representing metal generally tbh. All that being said, it’s always a treat to have an excuse for this to come of the shelves. “Torture me back at your lair!”
Had it in mind that this had slipped in reputation for me. Today’s listen though made me realise that I love this album but really don’t like Drive My Car and Michelle. I was also reminded today that Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out were nabbed for a double A-side from this album. If those replaced my the two I don’t like, this would be a stone cold classic. They hit a real sweet spot with the songwriting here, Paul may be responsible for the two I have a problem with, but elsewhere he is on fire. John delivers some masterpieces in The Word, Girl and In My Life and George is way ahead of time with If I Needed Someone which would be very at home on Revolver. So probably a 9/10 for me but I’ll save my 5 star votes for my absolute top Beatles of which there will be several.
It may be 30 years since this was a revelation, but luckily Endtroducing doesn’t rely on that to earn its place in history. It’s just a masterclass in cinematic downtempo with grooves that just won’t quit. It may have been a blueprint for many that followed both good and bad, and it was maybe a little over-hyped (The Jimi Hendrix of the sampler? Come on!) but that all fades away with the mists of time. It’s Midnight in a Perfect World and this album still sounds like perfect soundtrack. Strong 4.
My reggae of choice will always be dub but I’ve recently been expanding my roots collection. I’ve owned this album since well before this recent exploration, and there aren’t many I have discovered lately that can challenge Marcus Garvey in quality. I’ve also just learned that there is a dub version, so now I really need to hear that!
I’ve owned this for decades now, but I feel I got more from it with my listens today. I like how doing this 1001 journey gets me to listen closer than ever before.
My accepted take on LZ2 is that of a blues rock album albeit one that pushed boundaries and forever altered the understanding of what a rock band could actually be. What I heard today had far more variety in style than I had remembered. Sure the blues is a thread running right through most of what can be heard, but the deviation is pronounced and sublime.
Everyone lets it be known they have chops, and my years of eclectic listening now allows me to see that while Jimmy was key to many aspects of LZ, all of the other 3 have a better claim to MVP when it comes strictly to technical excellence.
I think what strikes me most today is how often the music gives me a joyful feeling. Personally I feel they got much better than this, but my god for a heavy rock album from 1969, this is some line in the sand.
It may have spawned an entire genre but my mildly informed ears tell me this album doesn’t deliver the trademark sound of its name. Nevertheless, this is great listen; sludgy, filthy, lo-fi metal that is genuinely way ahead of its time. It works on a serious level and it works if it’s not taken too seriously. Obviously it won’t be for everyone but I’d take this over tons of slick, overproduced albums that take themselves far too seriously.
I’ve never felt the urge to listen to 21 before now, but I always suspected that if I did I would be impressed. I can’t really say that happened. Objectively it’s good, but I didn’t get into it much. When there was drums i liked the way they were produced. There were a couple near the end that were more gospel and that improved things a bit. The ones I recognised (1st and last) still stood up as quality. That’s about it really. Would’ve been happy to have been pleasantly surprised but no. I want to give it 2.5 but I’ll be kind and round up.
I wasn’t really looking forward to a Jethro Tull album. There’s just always been something that made me find them a bit dodgy. Maybe it was something to do with the dude dressing like some kind of Shakespearean minstrel. Anyway, I gave it a good go. It was a little bit better than I had expected. There were things that unexpectedly made me think of Bowie’s 2nd/ Man Who Sold the World era, some Genesis, maybe even some Alice Cooper. There wasn’t as much flute as I would have predicted which was also a positive. When all is said and done though Aqualung has not changed my opinion on this band. Not terrible.
After The Three EPs, I was disappointed by each subsequent “proper” albums they released. The sound was still there, but the magic seemed reduced and elements of what defined their greatness had become a bit irritating. I never even made it as far as this one, but have since picked up a bargain CD. It’s not a revelation, but to be fair, it is probably my favourite of their actual albums when I expected it to be the worst.
The epic nature of opener Ramble Tamble is misleading. What follows it is 10 succinct nuggets of no-nonsense blues-infused (but fun) vibes to put a smile on your face. Some are good but most are great! Some top rung hits too. The Dude had it dead right.
They are basically proto-everything. Just so much crazy fun and so ahead of the curve. Quirky garage/psyche rock done extremely well; it’s so off the wall, it would be easy to miss that they play their asses off.
Aimee does a great job on her debut solo album. I hate to reduce artistic expression by using the word craft, but equally it would seem egregious not to acknowledge just how well these songs are crafted. The later half of the 80s spent with ‘Til Tuesday meant she knew what she was doing by the time of Whatever. That experience, and not being afraid to read a book every now and then, provides us myriad atypical points of view within these accomplished tunes. Chuck in some melodies for your memory bank and you’ve got a solid start to the journeyed career that was to follow.
Unusually, I was not late to the party with J5. However, I kind of lost step with them before this album was released. I felt they were on an upward trajectory from their earliest material through Quality Control. I’m hearing Power In Numbers for the first time and either it now seems dated or like I suspect, it sounds like J5 treading water. It’s sad to have to put it this way but maybe “another great J5 album” isn’t good enough. I guess by this stage my personal view is and artist should be pushing things forward. Maybe since this was followed by a disappointing album and the group falling apart (not handling the loss of Cut Chemist well?) the writing may have been on the wall.
There is so much to be said to commend this fantastic debut album but today I will focus solely on the relentless hot energy. I Should Coco sounds like the record company said they would release just one 40 minute album for Supergrass then pressed the record button and said “you have 20 minutes”.
From my vantage point, Eliminator was a huge leap. ZZ Top went from a name I was vaguely aware of, to a global household name. And the change didn’t reinvent the ZZ wheel. In fact the changes were production tweaks and clever branding. They became a marketing dream with a cool logo, the band basically turning into a car, and MTV friendly videos with plenty of girls. Actually women, and though it might’ve had the appearance of potentially exploitative, my memory of those videos is that of women who were very much in charge. Probably a discussion for elsewhere but the music… it might’ve been taboo to mention at the time, and it is very subtle, but my now trained ears hear sequencers disguised as chugging guitars driving the rhythms all over Eliminator. It’s anathema to their earthy roots, but the difference it makes to how radio friendly the songs became is palpable. It’s production rather than musical development. The songs actually became more formulaic but it still worked because these guys know their way around a tune, and can fit a jam band mentality into a pop song structure. So many of the melodic hooks are actual guitar soloing. It’s quite a feat if you can pull it off. They even manage to slow things down here and there and get away with it. The formula saw them an album or two more, but this was the sweet spot.
Exit Planet Dust was a foundational text on Big Beat and moreso a foundation stone on which they have expanded across their impressive career. Of course it’s formulaic, but it doesn’t mean there isn’t room for at least some variety. They learned to harness the value of the variety on later albums, but this sure has some real bangers.
My standard thought is that CSNY>CSN. I love Neil Young. To be honest given how much NY input there is on Déjà vu, this album is always gonna have problems competing with it. The thing is, I hate the Nash songs on Déjà vu and today I actually enjoyed his songs on here. Marrakesh Express does have a quirkiness that makes it stick out from the rest of the album, but not as much as his two massive sore thumbs on Déjà vu. As a result, this album is more rounded for me. It would be unfair not to mention how totally on fire Crosby and Stills are. They deliver top tier definitive folk rock, material that brings out the best in all 3 voices. I have been impressed going back to this today for the first time in quite a while, so while I would still like to be awarding it 3.5, I will round up instead of down.
Midway between Stones and Ramones. That it came to be at all in 1973 is more significant than the music’s greatness. I enjoy it plenty every time I play it, but I’m not often inspired to take it off the shelf.
I was trying my best.
Giving it a fair go. But Jesus H. Corbett this is total drivel. Every one of the videos on YouTube had page after page after page of comments saying how amazing these songs are. Legendary, pioneering, one of the best bands of all time etc. They must all been 7-8 when it was released and thought it was so cool there were “bad words” in it. If the music I liked at that age was utter dogshit, I would be happy to admit it now. Thankfully that is not the case. Grown-ups who still have time for this music need to ask themselves a few serious questions.
I was trying my best…then omg, a diss track came on and while those tend to be kinda cringe, in the wrong hands they can go beyond cringe. Korn are the wrong hands. I always try to listen to the whole of each album. No way this time, All In the Family was my limit. If someone wants to tell me that the real gold is in the last 4 songs, don’t bother. I won’t be using up valuable moments of my life on anything like this again. And in that spirit, I’m gonna stop writi
It’s another impressive 70s ‘Smith album. It rocks and it’s funky in all the right places. For me it always lacks a certain magic when compared to Toys in the Attic. If we had half stars, this would be 3.5 but since I can’t allow myself to score it as highly as TitA, it gets demoted to 3; I’m not gonna lose any sleep over it, but that is a little harsh.
A brilliant soundtrack album. At the time, Curtis only made brilliant records though. It feels like he should be talked about more regularly in the same breath as Marvin and Stevie. This was his biggest success but his first two solo albums should be in the 1001.
Roxy try new things on Country Life and plenty of them could, in less accomplished hands, be failures. Instead, the album holds together as a piece, the weaker moments being the more predictable ones.
