Like it, especially the singing. Probably wouldn’t listen again. Found most of the songs too short almost like they’re over before they start.
Voice is still exceptional. Really like the album cover too. This one feels more accessible than the previous. Generally didn't grab me as much especially in the middle. Not sure if it was me or the album but not a huge fan. It definitely some nice songs but it didn't really feel like a collective piece of work, more like a compilation
Really like the range even in the first few songs. The harikrishna backing vocals in 'My Sweet Lord' are so good. Bit more country on 'Apple Scruffs' because we can't get enough. Can definitely hear the prog influence on 'Hear me Lord' which I really liked. Definitely the best of the three so far. 'Out of the Blue' is so good.
First impressions not strong, doesn’t feel like my kind of music. Don’t love his character when he’s speaking either. The duet wasn’t great. Overall I found parts I liked but not to my taste. Made me go and read about Johnny Cash and he sounds an interesting character. Second album in a row with a singular Bob Dylan song on it.
First impressions I like the voice and stripped back nature. More country! 'Atlantic City' would go off in freemount. Bit dreary and sad not what I needed Monday morning. Feels like a pastiche not a fan. Glad when it was over
First impressions not strong, what on earth is this? Bunny Jacksons music. It's like pop tunes but 'rock'. Instrumentation is just bland. Beatles cover is so random doesn't fit with anything before it.
Enjoy the variety here. Some good songs and interesting instrumentation. Not my usual taste but it’s very listenable. The guitar playing on ‘The only living boy in New York’ is so good. The live song is a bit random.
Not my style. Jangly songs about nonsense. Feels really low risk. Honky Tonk is a descriptive title that’s about the highest compliment I can give it.
Found some of the patterns challenging but that could be because I’m tired. Really like the variety of instruments across the record. The double bass section on ‘Ba-Lue Bolivar…’ is really good.
Pleasantly surprised by the variety here, given I only knew the title track previously. Clearly a more intelligent record than that indie banger would have you believe in the disco. 'Lost in the Supermarket' is so good. Can't believe this is 1979, definitely blurs the line between punk and post-punk. 'Lover's Rock' I really like. Wall to wall bangers.
Don’t love the vocals on ‘Lorelei’ but I really liked the ambient structure of ‘Beatrix’. Generally really like this, feels way ahead of its time.
Joni Mitchell is one of those names that I’m aware of but couldn’t name a thing about them. This was an interesting listen, clearly an amazing voice but found it quite sing-song. Feel like this album sums up the whole process, a name I’ve heard of but not a style I would listen to normally. Clearly a great talent and sounds much later than 1974 but not for me. Last track was a bit random.
Really enjoyed this, felt like a journey all the way through. Lots of different textures and variety of sounds. The James Bond theme was funny. Aware of David Holmes through Mary Anne but it was good to hear one of his albums.
I really tried to come at this with an open mind because I know I’ve got preconceptions about Gorillaz and I wanted to give this a fair hearing, but it’s just not for me. I found it to be full of half thought out experiments and wide leaps in styles. It bored me towards the end, just another plodding hip hop beat and some random vocal. Not for me and I struggle to see the mass appeal.
This was really interesting, can’t think of anything quite like this. Feels like such a hybrid of so many different styles and so ahead of its time. Never heard of war at all. Big thumbs up from me. Interesting ideas across the board, makes me glad we're doing this project
Pleasantly surprised to see this come up, the only album I’ve heard before so far. Simultaneously a cinematic mood piece and a shot in the arm of energy at a tight 35 minutes. Cleverly done think this still stands up. Nice to be reminded of how good this is.
I enjoyed the vastness of this, felt like the album cover captured that feeling well. Definitely in my wheelhouse but for some reason I don't feel like it grabbed me entirely. Maybe needs a second listen to appreciate fully. 3.5
ahaha what on earth is this. The second track with the rap is so bad I can't believe some of the shit this book turns up with sometimes. The vocals are just pure cringe. An album where I can't really picture a target audience, who actually likes this? Think the sabbath cover really sums this up, like it’s just a terrible pastiche. All the trappings of heavy music without any of the edge.
Interesting ideas but fairly flat for me. Feels like sketches and a bit disjointed. Reasonably listenable but not much going on below the surface. Maybe I just don't like prog as much as I thought I did.
Liked this a lot, probably more than I expected to. His singing is great and the lyrics are very interesting. This is one where I see the appeal and understand the inclusion here.
New to me. Enjoyed the quieter songs on this and think she’s a great singer but some of the more upbeat ones are overdone and felt a bit corny.
Bang up my street this, really enjoyed it. Heavy stuff but still musically minded. I would describe it as Britain's answer to Sonic Youth, very impressed. Definitely knew the name but didn't expect it to sound like this.
First case of a band I have heard before but an album I haven't. Think the double album format here gives this enough scope to be interesting, but I don't think it hits everyhwere. There were songs I like and others I liked less. An interesting listen in the canon of albums we've heard so far in this project. Doesn't stand up to Led Zepplin I or IV in my view.
This was a fun listen. Definitely some bangers on here but I didn’t feel particularly strong feelings. Excellent pop record but maybe lacks some substance
Had more fun with this than I expected. Some decent songs here. Boygenius for Woodstock Dads.
Yeah this is great, just feels alive. Enjoyed every track on it. Psycho Killer I've heard before like everyone else but otherwise all new to me. I would listen again.
Proper MPF record, really like it. Just complete energy. So different to London Calling which I think really shows the variety in the Punk movement in 1979 when it's easy to pidgeonhole the sound. The hard panning was interesting not sure I'm a fan of that really. Plan 9 Channel 7 is a great song regardless.
I only know Paper Planes and had some idea that M.I.A. was a one hit wonder but this is a proper record. Very ahead of it's time for 2005. However I think it lacks some maturity and it felt like once it got 'the idea' down it seemed to repeat quite a lot.
Some fun dubbing here which I didn’t expect. I liked this, probably more than a bridge over troubled water. Mrs Robinson I’m overexposed to. 3.5
Exceptional record, every song great. All unique but along the same theme, feels really cohesive without being dull. Worthy of the hype
There’s this road of tat shops in Great Yarmouth and one of them is a CD shop that used to have a huge Labrador asleep outside. It was an open shop front and it would either have an Irish comedian playing on the speakers or, as far as I can tell, this album on repeat. This is the first year I’ve not been exposed to this in ~20 but I’m confident this is still the case. Still not as cringe as some of the country we’ve had so far.
Interesting to hear a whole Queen record, but not my thing really. Feels overegged across the board. Just dramatics for the sake of it. Feels really private school in a way I can't put my finger on. Wasn't expecting Bo Rap when it came in the running order
Starting to become obvious that this list is written by a man of a certain age. The dramatic operatic singing is just a bit much for me this morning.
This was alright but it's just not my thing. I wouldn't be offended by it if it was on but I wouldn't listen to it voluntarily
This was like water torture. Felt like it would never end. It's so sickly sweet and vaguely 'emotional' for an hour. So 2002 dinner party. Like bad library music from a second-rate film
Some big tunes on here, 'You Can't Stop the Prophet' is heavy. Never heard of this before but I'm a fan. Pep beats type beat.
I think this has aged quite poorly compared to other records in this era and in this orbit. It's quite melodramatic and overblown in parts, but still has parts that are interesting and straightforwardly entertaining pop songs. It uses its maximalist ideas just to deliver straightforward musical tropes rather than do anything particularly interesting
Who remembers when Drake sampled Lauryn Hill and brought her long lost magic to a whole new generation? That was so original and generous of him and without that kind of exposure maybe this album would've been lost to time.
Tough listen this one. The vocal is so irritating and the lyrics so cringeworthy. Some of the instrumentation was interesting but most of it just so plodding.
A teenage classic. Very much to the point, zero filler across the running time. Struggled to understand the appeal a bit when I was younger but makes complete sense now.
Really struggled with this one, some of the lyrics are so cringe. There's something about the way the vocal is processed that I just find so flat, like it's dubbed over a whole band that was recorded separately for library music. Car Seat Headrest 10 years prior without any feeling
Somehow never listened to this in full. Doing this project so far has made me really appreciate how forward looking this album is in terms of what else was available in 1973 and prior. Sets the standard for 'thinking' band music, easy to see how ideas pioneered here are prevalent across popular music. However, I don't think it's as accomplished as Wish You Were Here or Animals.
Very confused when Phil started speaking in the last track. Not my thing but interesting to hear lots of supposedly different groups all with the same sound created by one man.
All time classic, I've loved this since I was 16. A real gateway record I think away from the 3 minute pop song into more experimental interesting stuff. 50 years ago is mental
Really like this, can't believe it's 30 years old. Great record, so funny and clever and interesting. Some interesting experiments with instrumentation too.
Found loads of depth here, enjoyed it as much as the other Cohen record we’ve listened to. Plenty of interesting stories.
Really enjoyed this, what a talent. Think there's some genius in the running order here, placing the only big hit second and going straight into an accordion accompaniment next is risky but the audience is carried along. An inspiration.
Not for me at all this, just feel like it over does everything for pure cringeworthy effect. Hope we don’t get any more.
By the time I got to 'Frankie's First Affair' I couldn't believe there was another sax solo. Some undeniable classics here, all round great album but the opening four tracks just need some variation for me. 3.5
This was nice, plenty of fun while retaining some edge. I would listen again, but not my favourite stuff. Clearly pioneering in psych rock and way ahead of its time.
Really like the artwork of this. Feels like pure energy. I've been well exposed to James Brown via Alan Freeman's Story of Pop and I'm a fan. This is unfortunately a bit too short and difficult to get your teeth in to. Feels like a missed opportunity.
I enjoyed this, but maybe a bit too dubby at times. Definitely feels of that trip-hop adjacent era of British music in the 90s, I would listen again and expect to like it more second time around.
Proper Friday record. This was great fun, my smile was like building every song. 'Taj Mahal' is just a great pop tune all in. Very tight, lots of points of difference, feels way ahead of its time and influential on lots of other music I like.
I know Sultans of Swing, but I didn't really expect the rest of the album to sound like this based on that. I thought it would be more expansive with long instrumentals, but at least the first half is closer to a standard pop record. Didn't make much of an impression on me really. I found more depth in the second half, a definite improvement.
Enjoyed this a lot. Lots of different rhythms and noises and stuff. Fun record. Can see how this did well at the time.
Didn't really enjoy this. Found it plodding and dull. Sub-Bob Dylan easy listening mass market fodder.
A Grand Don't Come For Free
Proper cringe stuff. The first two tracks started alright but after that it was a tough listen. Maybe 'I'll Wait' was alright too but it was thin pickings. Glad it was only half an hour
The second artist on this list I've seen live. Nile Rodgers' imperial phase on show here, some of his best work and some of the best pop music ever made. Reminds me of midweek nights out at uni. I would play 'Lost in Music' in the dance today, a proper club record. However I've always struggled with 'We Are Family', feels too much like a novelty song and I can't really put my finger on why.
So weird hearing a gated snare on a country record, it just jars and it's all I can think about listening to 'What I Don't Know'. It gives it this propelling big stage sound that it just doesn't need, like the rhythm section has been ripped from a different album. Not my thing, felt like it would never end.
This is great. Just pure joy. What a pop record should be. Very much sleek car showroom dance pop but executed perfectly.
I wonder if I was around for this release I would've felt the same about it as I do about Brat, in that it takes all the stylings of dance music and polishes it down to pop sensibility, but unlike Brat I don't feel any personal sense of loss attached to this because I can't even imagine nightlife in 1998. I think repurposing club culture in a buoyant market is a different act to the stagnation and neglect of 2024.
This is an album I could appreciate, but I didn’t really enjoy it. It was nice to hear something more experimental on this list, but it did just end up feeling like vocal exercises. I feel like it was more of a me issue being unable to appreciate it rather than a real critique of the record.
This is an album I enjoyed. Atmospherically great while still being lyrically interesting and keeps things interesting. I think you could play this in any situation and it would go down well. Something Matt Goss would wax lyrical about.
Big fan of this, thought it was great. Loads of great tunes, funny and interesting lyrics and feels like a tight 45 minutes. I liked the mix of full band and acoustic songs too.
This is good, definitely up my street. Enjoyed the musical variety and the interesting lyrics. Fairly atypical stuff I think, 'Down In The Sewer' is an odyssey that goes all over the place in a good way. I would listen again.
Took me a minute but I really liked this. One to have on and drift in an out of for me, a bit like a set that’s just happening in your ears. There were moments where I found myself singing along spontaneously which I was really surprised at. The only Davis I know is ‘In A Silent Way’ and this is almost its sonic opposite which I found impressive. Halfway through ‘Sanctuary’ the whole thing felt like such an achievement and I was won over. Sort of loved the expansiveness by the end. Worth the time invested.
I liked this more than the other rem album we’ve had on this, but still lacked some edge as a post-punk record for me. Some interesting songs on here but I nodded off in the second half.
Just felt a bit bored by this, didn’t do much interesting. Washed over me without much impact and wouldn’t listen again.
Found this all a bit overblown and melodramatic. Not particularly interesting to my ears but there was the occasional song I liked. Felt like the scope to be more interesting. 2.5
This was alright, a reasonably enjoyable listen. Maybe lacked some edge but I found it inoffensive with some decent songs. Nice to have on in the background.
This was up my street, but I found it a bit hit and miss. Some songs I thought were great but others didn't really land. Feels like potential that's just not quite refined yet. 3.5
I was largely indifferent to this, it mostly just washed over me. Mostly just sing-song stuff that didn’t do much for me, until the last few songs which were a bit more different and interesting.
Hard to do much better than this. A flawless record by someone at the peak of their powers. A commitment due to its length but one worth making.
This was fun, all weird and dotty. I enjoyed it, but probably not enough substance to get me to listen again. Just a few strange tunes.
Didn't enjoy this. I've never been a fan really, Dexys has always sounded like cosplay folk-pop to me I could never really buy into it. Rowland's voice goes straight through me. If you see me singing along to 'Come On Eileen' at a wedding it is through gritted teeth. I didn't listen to the bonus tracks.
