1001 Albums Summary

Nothing I could say about this that hasn't already been said a million times. Love it. Always have, since first buying the LP in 1987.

One of my favourite albums

It took me a while to find this album for listening. Once I did however, I'm very glad I spent the extra effort. The band's history is interesting (formed by ex-GIs in Germany just as the U.S. buildup in Vietnam really started to gain momentum), and musically I can absolutely hear this as the grandfather of punk.

This genre and era was never really my cup o' tea.

Not one my favourites. Generally I prefer other recordings of these songs.

Reviewing an album 38 years after its release when you also listened to it on release is always a little dicey. It's a little more challenging for me to be objective when nostalgia is in play. In this case, I think much the same as I did in 1988: Lots of really catchy hooks (the opening riff of Welcome to the Jungle remains a classic), but too much of the rest of the song (and most of the remaining tracks) just sort of taper off.

The Smiths have never been a favourite of mine, in fact they tend to just annoy me. This album has a few tracks that represent good pop song formula for me, so I'll give it a 3