Found out after listening to half this album that this is the indie/folk band who did "Mykanos" - This (earlier) album sounded a bit "echoey", and less melodic/more "whiney" than I had hoped given how much I like the sound of Mykanos. Yeah I could throw a song or two from this album into a broader playlist (such as "Your Protector") but those echoey backing vocals are something I would struggle with for a repeat listening of the full album.
Iconic music along & perhaps the most iconic album cover artwork of all time?. Proper album rather than a collection of tracks . This was the second album thrown to me in the 1001 list so I struggled to hand out a 5 so early in the campaign. Some slightly indulgent early 70's druggy synth wasnt enough to nudge this from a 5. Dear Lord those backing vocals (Claire Torry) too.
"Random note generator" style of Jazz. Improvisational & all over the friggen place like a mad woman's shit. Hardly melodic, but definitely hard going.
I'm not sure if this is music for when you are in a melancholic/vegetative state, or, arent satified with being happy in life & want to be put into a melancholic/vegetative state.
Regardless this Icelandic language malarkey its far too out-there/niche/soundscapey for me & unless I ever decide to take a lot of drugs whilst laying under the Northern lights, its irrelevant to both my ears.
Side note : Cmon, how does niche stuff like this end up on a 1001 greatest?!
The epitome of "Rock out with yer c0ck out"
Thanks to this 1001 list - this is the first time Ive actually sat and listened to a Stones album. Its also the first time I've actually looked at the lyrics to Brown Sugar....man they wouldn't fly today
Guitar in "Hear me knocking" and the brass/Guitar jam in "Bitch" were two highlights in songs previously unheard. Sister Morphine has range due to tempo changes & a quick Google showed that awesome slide guitar to be from Mr Ry Cooder!
The fact that the window for making mainstream albums like this has long since past resolves my question of whether to throw it a 4 or a 5
Random note jazz with no structure. Fits my 1 star criteria : after listening to entire album there is not a single "tune/sequence" in any song I would remember
Walks the line (pun intended) between fitting swansong for a legend and Elder abuse....almost.
1000 words per minute monotone gibberish
Jazz where a couple of songs have a hint of melodic value - Although the most notable example of this (Sunny Side of the Street) is a cover.
Too classy to play at a chicken shack unless said shack is serving Chicken Cordon Bleu instead of Nuggets
The 80's slow/simple/repetitive drum synth in most every song has aged poorly and tends to dominate the listening experience given the "thin/sparse" production on most songs.
Offbeat synth in "It" and "Starfish & Coffee" also add to this distraction rather than melodic value.
Some songs sound like deliberate self caricature - both in vocals (eg: "Housequake") and in lyrics (eg: "If I was your Girlfriend")
For a bloke who can famously play 27 instruments, it might have been an idea to bring a few of these to the studio with him other than just that rubbish drum machine.
Retro sounding sassy goodness that revived a genre. 3 stars may be a tad stingy, but so is releasing an album with only 34 minutes of muzak.
Not too many times you hear 2 lead guitars play the same note 32 times in a row. Not their strongest.
4 stars for clearly being Amy Winehouses' Grandmother, but a point deduction for the 1997 re-release having 20 tracks(!) and feeling like "too much of a good thing" which should have been truncated.
Hot and Spicy. 4.5 star
A couple of funky bangers (Boogie on Reggae Woman, You Havent Done Nothin) however too many elevator muzak fillers to elevate this beyond a solid 2 star.
"The music is not in the notes but the silence between them".....in which case this album feels like it needs more room to make the overall sound less noisy/messy.
Not a lot of range to the songs on this album (unlike later work)
My theory is that Robbie's musical powers are proportional to his level of arrogance. Whilst there is clearly a high degree of self-importance on display here, I feel there is still a hint of humility he was yet to fully expunge in this, his first album.
I expected significantly more crooning given I had only heard their later post-coital knob-rock works - I much prefer their more cohesive sound once they moved out of their Mums Garage, stopped the experimental phase and fully committed to allowing Mr Ferry be a certified pussy magnet.
DEI Beatles
Expected hard(er) rock, but this album was more along the lines of pisstake rock. The unexpected hint of satire is something they wear well though.
Probably a very good example of music I definitely dont like very much. 1.5 star
I'd only even known "Bald Billy Smashing Pumpkins". This earlier work (with bonus hair!) way rocked harder than expected and made me smile politely throughout.
If you dont make cumface at 4 minutes & 20 seconds when that guitar solo hits on Hotel California then I'm not sure we can be friends.
Average background music with above average vocals. 2.5 star
When an artist is referred to as "a storyteller" I've always taken that to mean the lyrics are good but the music is probably a bit shit.
Whilst the latter is true, its the immature "creepy Uncle Rock" lyrics which are outstandingly bad:
"The fuse is burning
Shut out the lights
The fuse is burning
Come on, let me do you right"
The old bloke seems pretty proud of his wick too as he proclaims "The fuse is burning" a total of 15 times in the song
5-star wick, 2-star Dad-Rock
A couple of 80's radio all-star classics combined with a several 10minute long 80's synth songs which feel like they belong in B-grade cop movie chase sequence. Not sure why we had a chick orgasming for half of one of the songs too. 2 star
Whos gonna tell the bloke he cant sing?
+3 ponts for the utterly beautiful aesthetic on "Into your arms", and minus 2 points for the last song (Green Eyes) which would be enough to qualify him for legal euthanasia
No pants were involved in the writing and/or recording of this album.
Maybe it was years of sitting through shitty corporate presentations which (seemingly contractually) used "right here right now" as an introduction to unsuccessfully try & get people excited.....maybe it was the appalling vocal repetition in some songs (especially during 'farking in heaven'), but this was pure punishment in parts. Feels like Fatboy is a "small dose" artist
+1 star awarded for the nerd cred - album produced on an oldskool Atari ST
An epic, defining & original sound of the mid 90's
5 singles from the album in the UK top 2 reads more like a "Best Of" than a single album
Its dated badly, but court records suggest Phil was pretty bad at dating too.
It is however a Christmas album at Christmas time = you've got a piece of coal for a heart to rate any lower than 3 stars
Had never heard of the band before
Tried to give it a second listening to be sure I wasnt "missing it", but my earbuds had difficulty pairing and proclaimed "No connection" - I've therefore decided this is a sign and forms my comprehensive review:
No connection....2 star
On the basis of hearing 1 Neil Young song in my life ("Old Man") I expected this album to contain a lot more whinging and much less (no?) Electric Guitar. I was very wrong and this jammed very hard. What a sound, 4.5 stars
Like finding a piece of cold pizza on the floor - its rubbish, but somehow I harbour thoughts about giving it a second go
I'd only ever heard "London Calling" so hopes were high for the rest of the album. Perhaps this song was lightning in a bottle though.
Layered falsetto drifty chaos
Atmospheric, minimalistic, relaxed, delicate & sexy. 3.5 stars
They have a distinctive sound, however I sometimes felt myself concentrating on aspects of 'that sound' (such the overly simplistic drum beats) rather than the music
A couple of songs "In my house" and "M" made it to my liked list though = 3 star despite album only being 35mins long and containing a few fillers
OK, so Bjork was firstly in a band huh....well there ya go!
Perhaps it's the fact that Bjork is in a band rather than solo, but this feels somewhat more structured than I was expecting based on (only) hearing her solo stuff - don't get me wrong.....its absolutely still batshit crazy in parts though.
The bloke who does the spoken-word stuff needs to hand over the mic and take a seat.
I'd be happy to listen to the album in its entirety from time to time. 3.5 stars
4 stars for there being a direct correlation between this albums release, and a spike in the pregancy rate for 18-25yo's back in 1956.
Almost earns an extra half star for being Jim Morrison's last studio album, however would definitely get a full extra star if the rumour that "Riders on the storm" was recorded whilst actually "on the toilet" rather than just "in the bathroom"
Reminder to self : when you read this - again watch the Ray Manzarac Youtube vid on how the masterpiece that is "Riders" was written & structured.
Ive never listened to a Kate Bush album, but it turns out that a Kate Bush album sounds exactly like I expected a Kate Bush album to sound
Really liked the ballad "and dream of sleep". This song contrasted nicely against the rest of the album which had the KB signature theatrical delivery & unpredictable phrasing . A couple more slow of these slower "straight" songs like this please Kate. 2.5 star
5'5" Irish garden gnome who needs to ease up on the vowels
So bad it made me rethink my other 1 star ratings to ensure I wasnt being too harsh on them.
Indie artist where I connect more with his songs the less Indie they are - ie: liked the songs with bigger production values ("Son of Sam") as the ballads tended to depression rather than reflection ("Easy Way Out")
Not the strongest of voices but well controlled production to ensure he isnt drowned by instruments
Hadn't heard of him before but geez his Wiki page is hard reading....
Murmured vocals + single acoustic guitar strummed to a low-fi/thin sound = largely background music
On the upside they don't take themselves too seriously, but ironically this is also an indicator of the album being disposable POP rather than something to be included on a 1001 greatest
This project has enabled me, for the first time, to be able to tell you the difference between a number of heavy metal bands. Slayer is no Metallica.
(review blatantly plagiarised from another user - would be happy to give them credit & buy them beer/earplugs as required if at all possible)
"Unconventionality talented" is my two word review
My connection to their sound varies more with mood than perhaps any other artist. Eg: I started listening to this album in the car on the way to work and largely found it too whiny to connect with
....and then a second listen at the end of the day when in a more reflective mood left me gobsmacked several times.
Unconventional 4 stars, would revisit album in its entirely again.
Solid nerd-rock : liked the tracks where he leans more heavily into a 60's/blues sound rather than the singles I'd previously heard. Well Done "Other-Elvis", 3.5 star
I now see why Woody never invited Mr Newman to a dinner party with the other toys
Hes the drunk Uncle that Id always have a seat reserved for though. 4.5 stars for the entertainment value alone for those who cant detect satire
Its apparently 100% improvised on an apparenly subpar piano....whilst this makes it more impressive, it doesnt make it more attractive to me either. Sorry super talented guy, tis a 2 star from me despite the fact Im pretty sure I heard you c*m several times during the performance.
Falls somewhere between reflective & depressing. Perhaps "stage not studio" isnt the environment for Neil's voice to shine brightest. I also largely find it hard to resonate with the harmonica.
Example = refer to 34 on my list where I was genuinely surprised by a studio album of Mr Youngs
The last track on the album - a heavier version of Hey Hey rocked unexpectly hard. To be honest, both versions of "Hey Hey" would be the only things I really remember though. 2.5 stars
The cure for those who think cock-rock is too high-brow.
Magnificently vulgar, but what a sound! 4.5 stars
This album is like an intense but abusive relationship.....
On the one hand, It shows you immense passion with songs such "Death on two legs", "Prophet's song", "Love of my Life" and, one of the greatest of all time - "Bohemian Rhapsody"
....and then it comes home drunk and metaphorically punches you in the head with absolute stinkers such as "'39", "Seaside Rendezvous" & "Good Company". None of these should ever have seen the light of day or had perfectly good vinyl wasted on them.
It pains me to say, that as an album, 1/3 is 1star tripe, whist the other 2/3 is God Tier 5 star
The Dichotomy here is so bad its forcing me to do math
(1/3 x 1) + (2/3 * 5) = 3 and 2/3rds of a star
Radiohead from Temu dot com
Conversational rather than melodic....
(Which is a polite way of saying he cant sing and he believes that off key talking is an adequate substitute. Rubbish lyrics and $2 backing track consolidate this stinker to 1 star status)
They raged against the machine until middle-age at which point they (profitably) became part of it
Having said that, their sound came out of nowhere in the 90's and was nothing like anything else around at the time. This music was "a stretch" for me when released and definitely something I had to acclimatise to 1 song at a time rather than attack (or be attacked by) the whole album.
When I was at Uni all the cool kids seemed to be fanatical about The Smiths . I genuinely wondered (and still do) if part of this attraction was to enable a bit of public snobbery over their friends mainstream music.
Whilst I cant be sure of this theory, I can be sure that Im still not cool enough to "get it"
Country mixed with folk = if you listen carefully you can hear both the cowboy hats and hairy armpits
Ive never listened to a Reggae album before ao dont have anything as a genre-reference
This was however, unexpectedly cooperative to the ears....a solid 3.5 stars (surely there is a Bob Marley in the list somewhere so I know how accurate my shot in the dark was)
Probably my fault for coming in with expectations based on the very few (but very exceptional) Steely Dan songs I've heard on radio over the years = suspect this album is a creeper that will grow on me over time with repeated listening
3 star with a note to call back from time-to-time
If you've only heard 'Ace of Spades' from Motorhead like I had, then you pretty much know what you're in for = this is essentially a double album with near two hours of Ace-of-Spades
=I'll take the EP with a couple of tracks rather than a full album pls. 2.5 star
Expected to write a p1sstake review consisting of :
1. Digging up a couple of old schoolboy jokes about Dolly's chest
2. a comment that Country & Western being two genres & I really hate both
Man was I wrong and this is perhaps the biggest surprise in the 1001 thus far - an absolute masterclass in songwriting (which a quick Google confirmed was from Ms Parton herself). Travelling Man made me chuckle openly, Coat of Many Colours genuinely hit the heart, and would definitely listen to album again in its entirety
4 stars and two tickets to Dollywood please
Pure POP which is untainted by the modern affliction of self-important politically laden messages and/or pessimism. Perhaps not all songs have aged kindly, but the carefree optimitism ameliorates that sufficiently well. 3 stars for being a direct link to better times.
There is a universe where this album got the recognition and success of Fatboy Slim.....I'd prefer to live in that universe. 2.5 stars
When at Uni all the cool-kids seemed to listen to Morrissey - and wanted every else to know that they listened to Morrissey for some reason.
As of me being today years old - this is an artist I had not heard a single song from.
After completing the album Im still not sure if Cool Uni kids listened because:
a: they actually liked Morrisey
b: they publicly enjoyed the high ground snobbery this provided over the uncool mainstream artists
After hearing the album I can say I sorta get it - I thought it was going to be "nearly all B" review but Ill give this a 50/50 between "A" & "B" and a moderately surprised/impressed 3 stars
Based on only knowing a couple of songs off the album (the iconic Sunday Bloody Sunday & New Years Day), I thought this may well be a 5 star contender.
Whilst there are a couple other songs where Larry Mullen Jr hits the skins *hard* that go close to capturing the anger and angst of the above classics, there are also a few tracks towards the end of the album which have a whiff of "high quality filler not killer" about them
Beyond comprehension that this album was/is so cover-to-cover perfect considering it was done against a background of scepticism re: "introducing unknown legendary front man V2.0". Solid 5 every day of the week.
Sweet Jeebus that utterly unique voice!!!. Despite not completely connecting with the ballads, the songs where he gets a bit of momentum and lets those raspy tonsils shine bright are a pure joy. 3.5 star
Generational levels of Class, Style, and Substance.....4.5 star
No way, they wrote "Mrs Robinson" as well as one of "The Bangles" songs!
Yes a couple of the songs walk a tightrope between "delicate & insipid", but considering this list just subjected me to System of a Down, then its a 4 star with thanks to Simon and Mr Funk
I'd file this under "Catchy, pleasant, & disposable POP rather than 1001 greatest"...dont take lead singer Shirley to the beach either #beachball
...and yes his is a hill I will die on...but...I'm dead grumpy to see this is on the list when (the similar vintage) Throwing Copper by Live isnt
I feel there was a period time when the term "Concept album" equated to an automatic 'Emporers New Clothes' belief the album was an innovative and deep statement on the meaning life itself (rather than a semi-incoherent druggy mess)
I present this album in support of my theory.....
Ridiculous - if this was a mp3 on my 90's PC hard disc, I'd delete to fit a few more cat memes on....extra 1/2 star rating as some of the drum/guitar work is quite tight = total of 1.5stars
Angry bloke on vocals please report to your careers advisor though.
15 track 4-star album that was born to be a 5-star 10 track album
A lot to digest but regardless, Page's guitar work is memoroavle on all but a couple of fillers
Not exactly my thing, but hard to deny that this is a seriously impressive piece of work once you actively listen to the music rather than tell yourself "yeah I know this one" and tune out. Anything less than 4 stars would be an insult to both the exceptional songwriting and the exceptional cat.
Exhoey muddled mess with the dynamic range that makes it sound like it was recorded in a cardboard box.
One of the very few albums which finished and started to repeat again & I failed to notice. Speaking of failing, this is apparently an experimental album - which is fine as most experiments fail = exhibit A right here folks.
Talented and well known axe-man proves he isnt a one man band via first solo release....without checking I can assure you he would have used the same formula for 2nd album and it flopped
We have a vaccination for this now correct?
I'd categorise this as suffering the same fate as Commodore 64 Music - if you grew up with it, you'll defend it endlessly, but low chance of trying to engage someone (like me) who doesnt have the nostalgic value to work with.
14 songs, of which I'd heard 7.....on an album which was released before I was born, and it isn't a 'best of compilation'
Surely these are stats which any other album on this list will struggle to replicate
The songs I hadnt heard were hardly filler either - they were pure joy & made me pine for a time I didnt know and wasn't part of.
4.5 stars and would definitely go full fangirl throw my bra at these blokes
