Strong album with a couple of fillers. So many layered guitars! I prefer unforgettable fire
I'm supposed to like this but it left me a bit cold today. Nice lofi effort with some catchy vocals
Surprised myself by enjoying this. Could do without the guns and drugs but the big beat background was great and the trap swagger was infectious.
I realise this is a classic but it doesn't float my boat at all. There's two or three lofi toe tappers in there and I imagine it's quite trippy if you're wasted on something. But the weak vocals, the reliance on some kind of germanic cool, and the poorly tuned jangly guitars mostly just irritate me
So the lead single is amazing but the rest is too light and scattered for me. Thrown together, not hard enough, a bit squelchy and the guitar sounds apologetic. Nowhere near sign o the times. I got bored.
Brilliant. This is what I was hoping for... new music for me and a real gem. It's not awesome all the way through... bit plain in places. But the background psychedelia makes up for the sometimes deadpan singing. Final track Eles is superb... now on high repeat
One of my favourite voices ever. Possibly in his noodling phase, playing with eco boxes and synthesisers. Dealer is great and big muff is good. Some other songs a bit monotonous. And please no saxophone
I can see why millions of teenagers adore this. But to my old ears it sounds incredibly shallow. Childish lyrics about misery and escape. Guitars not doing anything interesting. Average rap but quite strong yelling. A couple of bangers but otherwise left me cold
I was delighted to have led zep suggested. One of the greatest rhythm sections in rock. But I was really surprised by the lazy production values. It's no wonder Jimmy page has spent his career remixing and remastering. The guitars sound dropped in and tinny Robert plant sounds like he's singing in the shed outside. The bass sounds like a synthesiser. But omg those drums. And kashmir is brilliant
Banger after banger after banger. Spectacular production of a perfect three-piece. Such a shame that fame and heroin killed him. This is a stunning album that transformed rock. Wish I'd been in seattle for that incredible scene
Outstanding. Reminds me of those comedown Sundays, spliffs on the sofa, those dark grooves. The number song is already in my top 20. I love the drums throughout. I get stuck on the melody that shifts forever autumn by half a bar. But this is great and it was a pleasure to listen again. It was fresh when it arrived, and it has survived the production test of time. Great
Hmm I gave up about halfway through. I love aspects of the stones, but not these bits. Just felt like a bunch of lads with no material trying to adopt a new York sound. The piano sounds fun and the backing vocals are strong. Saxophone does not qualify as a real instrument (for me). Mick's voice sounds weak, guitars a bit thrown together. Drums... I'm too scared to criticise Charlie. Anyway I'm not sure there's even a single album of good material here, let alone two.
Sound of a band finding their incredible sound. She's lost control is the only real hit here... others are notably absent. Warts and all... plenty of bum notes and wayward beats but they created something amazing. Plus one star for the artwork. What a band... goth punk... outstanding
Really good... love the groove in the scratching. Lauryn clearly enjoying herself. I even liked the schoolkids between the songs.
This is why album recommendations are amazing. I normally don't enjoy jazz. I've never listened to Charlie Parker before. How could the trumpet possibly lead a band and create something awesome. But it's soo oooo good. I walked the dog on the beach on new years day listening to this masterpiece. Possible the start of a whole new genre for me. Outstanding
Yesterday was Charlie Parker, today is miles davis. I know miles is considered a genius of his musical form, but this is mood music for me... and music for if I want to marvel at skill. I do appreciate musical skill but only in the context of great songs that blow my mind. I didn't get that feeling here. And there's too much saxophone. Really enjoyed the double bass though. I'll pass on this and go back to Charlie.
Guilty pleasure alert! I've enjoyed Coldplay through the first the albums. Bit shocked to observe their global domination from humble beginnings... but it's a jigsaw that works. Simple songs played and sung beautifully. The right hint of psychedelic, some actually interesting chord progressions. And a real knack for a catchy melody. Restrained guitars. It's a great package. Clocks is brilliant in its simplicity, and politik works. Like a bridge between yellow and miss you.
I had this on cassette when it came out. And loved it then. An incredible trio. Maybe not their best album but there's the Global mega hit in there. Still love synchronicity II, king of pain. And love the reprise of the big enough umbrella lyric. Some parts haven't stood the test of time... word song about his mother, cod african, something about dinosaurs. So it's not perfect but what an incredible group of musicians
I've not listened to a whole album of his before. Know him from his work with Peter Gabriel so I expected his beautiful voice. Also really enjoyed the talking drum. The band was great, cool drums and understated guitar. A great listen but not sure I'll return to it
Brilliant. First time listener and I love it. Somehow makes a lot of noise, has a dance groove, and fried the brain. Superb. And the guitars and voice sound huge
One massive hit and a bunch of other easy listening. I guess this has been influential but I found it dull
I bet this was incredible live. Didn't float my boat while walking the dog though
I nearly didn't listen. I don't enjoy the arrogance. But I did listen and I enjoyed the samples and the backing tracks.
Mostly rubbish, and a couple of morally very dubious songs. Spoiled my dog walk
There's nothing else like this. A couple of strange misfits in here, like the burglary one. But the voice and the production and the strange songs... really great. No immediate bangers but I'll return to this album
No bangers on this one. Self indulgent in places. But I like the band's music, including the fuzz guitar on this album, and jarvis can be quite funny. But overall a bit disappointing
Fantastic. Enormous, ambitious, frightening in places. And any album that contains comfortably numb would get 5 stars.
I loved this album when it was released. Still some strong songs on here but it hasn't aged well. The singers voice can be grating, dubious lyrics, toylike synths, uninspiring guitars. The drums are strong and Mr brightside is outstanding.
It's a painfully cool sound and a couple of songs are outstanding. Problem for me is that I'm rarely stoned these days and so I'm rarely on the mood for this
The most underrated drummer in rock. Just brilliant. I don't know why i love acdc so much but I love them
Didn't enjoy this at all. Pointless noodling and mumbling. Some nice harmonica. But no thanks
Almost perfect. Apart from the sax
Very good apart from the irritating one time two times
Not sure what the fuss is about. Maybe this one grows after multiple listens. But once was enough for me. Simplistic songs sung out of tune
Awful. Dull. No redeeming features. Normally I love a banjo but this one doesn't do anything. Pure torture
Several bangers on here. I mean it's a great album, genre defining etc. Genius songwriter. But a bit twee in several places and dwarfed by the Beatles. I like it but I won't spend a lot of time with it.
Amazing. Somehow derivative and completely original at the same time. Great crunchy production highlights the slacker vocals. Nonsense sings but really powerful. Jack ass is on my all time top 20. He's a genius
Big influential band in my musical circles. Three huge songs in this album. But it was raining and cold when I listened, so I felt a bit let down by the ramshackle. Their next album was enormous so maybe this is some kind of pre huge catharsis. Feels like indie sacrilege but I'm giving it three stars, one for the big songs, one for the iconic cover, and one for being a cool band
In another universe the Furs were massive. One of the great post punk voices. The band sounds OK and with a bit of production could have sounded great. The songs are mixed quality... one global hit, several strong songs and a stinker (just wanna sleep with you). Sounds like they're only just ditching the punk in favour of the mid-indie. With better production, better quality control and (Please!) less saxophone, this would be huge. Surprised that I've never listened to it all before... thank you to the organiser!
Judging this on the music and songs rather than the tragic back story. Not really coast why this particular album was chosen. Not really any standout songs. The production is good and he's obviously very talented... but even after 2 listens i wasn't feeling engaged by the songs. Previous albums were so much better
I've never loved Kraftwerk even though I like the cold feel to their music. Admitted them for their early synthesiser work. Maybe too easy to make fun of? Anyway it was really good to be forced to listen to this. I really enjoyed it, listened three times. Hall of mirrors was a bit indulgentbut Europe endless is a fantastic opener and then they're are several hits. I might never do a whole album again, but I'm glad I did it today and they have my admiration
I'm worried about myself. These guys clearly know how to play instruments and produce an album and entertain people. But i really didn't like it. It felt calculated and cynical. Big beat sounds ramped up to the edge of nasty distortion. 2- chords songs designed instead of felt. Faux blues riffs. Shallow lyrics. Just said nothing to me. I was worried I was having issues with music but then I discovered the new School of Seven Bells album and realised this Black Keys shite is just not my cup of tea.
Outstanding from start to finish. Like early beatles but with folk time and some psychedelic. Great harmonies, cool production, some mad stereo moments. Huge hits but the rest is also strong. First time I've listened to a whole album. Really good
The backing is decent big beat jazz, the rapping is tuneful and varied, fluid almost. The lyrics don't mean much to me and are silly in places. Overall this is quite good but no stand out songs and all I can remember is 'oh shit'. I'd rather listen to definition of sound. Hardly groundbreaking
I love Beyonce's huge disco hits... crazy in love and the one about the ring. But this album didn't have them and I felt like i was listening to her personal diary if being happy and successful. Did I miss something? Is she being ironic? Where are the huge hits? Not impressed
I asked chat gpt to write me some elevator music and the results were (a) dull and (b) indistinguishable from this album. I'm sure some of the musicians are talented, but i don't get any sense of breakthrough, originality, and certainly no thrills. An hour life that i will never get back. Helps to convince me that jazz and me are not made for each other
Brilliant. They would have been incredible live. Lose 1 star for excessive saxophone
Any album with superstition on it gets 5 stars from me... he could have surrounded it with a tonal spoken word and that song would still deserve it. Stevie seems pretty blissed out on this album. The production sounds open and welcoming. So 5 stars no debate. But imagine if he'd bashed out superstition, higher ground and masterblaster all on the sane album? That would be ten stars
Not my usual listening pleasure but these guys sound great... country sings with a real edge. The guitar sounds great and they use harmonics to keep things interesting. The songs are simple but the harmonies are strong. Nothing sounds very 'tragic' apart from the murder Ballad lyrics but what a brilliant album title and cover. Lost a star because it sounded like the proclaimers in a few places. Also because singing about violent murder over major keys in a nasal twang is just a bit weird. More tragic, please!
I have admission to make. The song Faith is one of my guilty pleasures, i think it's simple and clever and it makes me smile. Then comes another global hit and another one, but also this growing sense of manufactured nonsense, like trying to be Prince but with no edge and no cool. After the songs I've had enough and the rest is the worst drivel I've clapped my ears on for ages. Stop it
Enjoyable and sounds like the start of something enormous... but it turns out this was their fifth album so now it sounds like something huge going back to bed. I like the homemade feel of the production, and playing live. And the noisy guitars underneath. A bit too Yankee doodle dandy for me in places, and I probably won't bother listening again. But i appreciate the vision and the sound. But why choose this one and not the groundbreaking ones?
I guess i was 16 when this album happened. Friends were obsessed. It was loud and arrogant and drunken. Several huge hits and i still think the first half of sweet child is lyrical and reffing genius. Some of the filler has dated but for sheer rock and roll arrogance...
Brilliant. From the snare snap at the start of finest worksong, through to the gorgeous king of birds, with a couple of serious hits in between. Green made them huge but this was the transition album. No idea what he's singing about mostly, and the backing vocals grate sometimes, but the songs are so good. I think murmur is their best album but this one was a joy to revisit
There must be some incredible back story for this one, that i don't know about, but it's just a live American folk gig and it doesn't inspire me at all
I expected to hate this. Think of them as trust fund puppies making silly atonal retro mod rock before losing it all to fame and junk. But actually the album grew on me after the first couple of songs. I probably won't listen again, but for 45 minutes I was in a sweaty London club having a good time
Really good assist from the Bobby Gillespie nonsense. In its time this was perfect comedown music and to my ears it has aged pretty well. All rise is outstanding
Very good indeed. The jokey songs get a bit irritating but there's also some real hidden depths. Outstanding drumming. Three stay of something great, and a fab teenage musical diary
Great production, funky tunes, so much potential, but the lyrics push me away, what a shame
It's a great album and I wish planet of sound was on it as well.
I like big beat and I really like the first few minutes of the private psychedelic reel. And I like the other chemical brothers albums very much. But this one (apart from the first half of ppr) sounds a bit tinny and a bit blunt and the songs aren't strong enough. Still very good in places but they've got much better material
Way too easy listening for me. If we're gonna go Hindi I either want the real thing traditional or something modern bollywood
Brilliant brilliant band and Robert Smith is a genius. This one is light on his but the sound and the mood are great
Overall, brilliant. Very English, a bit silly in places, but i have a soft spot for progressive music unless it disappears up is own arse. Genesis walk a tightrope but usually get it right. Not their best album but it was great to revisit it
On their way to great things. There's a lot of joy in this album... and you can hear the inspiration for Oasis. It's a bit juvenile in places, but as a build up to 8 miles high it's pretty influential. Enjoyed listening
Brilliant. Apart from the crap middle bits. Songs at both ends of the album are amazing. Hysteria is a classic. Lovely production. Well played!
I might never listen to this ever again, but i loved it and I really admire them for their totally out there vision. Waltz of the new moon is beautiful. Three are some Susan's or lyrics as well. Tightrope walker taking one step at a time. I hear that the emperor of China used to wear iron shoes with ease. We are the table cloth and also the table. Brilliant. I'd love to hear them with drums
Shake on me for not listening to much nina simone. I know the covers by Jeff Buckley and the czars but these originals are gorgeous as well. Beautifully sparse, incredible voice, and you can feel the smoky jazz bar she's singing in. Wish I could have been there!
I'm a big fan of Julian cope, he's like the ultimate prog punk hippy. Teardrop explodes, pop solo, books on standing stones.. eric. And here's another transformation.i loved it when it was released. It hasn't aged very well... sounds a bit like him jamming in a barn with his mates, sounds under rehearsed. But it's Julian so it's great
Outrageous. Every song has something great and something awful about it. Awful is usually the lyrics or the guitar. Squeeze my lemons till the juice runs down my leg! Give you every inch of my love! So only John Bonham and John Paul Jones emerge unscathed. Moby dick is a misstep. So this is all about JPJ and his spectacular bass guitar OMG. Despite its ridiculous tolkein lyrics, Ramble On is fantastic (bass guitar! Drums!) and any album from any band that can make a song like that gets 5 stars
I started to listen but this is pure lounge jazz and I can't cope. Just a big no thank you from me
Not really my style of music but i was really impressed. Her voice is exceptional, the production is great and big beat, the songs are simple and somehow innocent. It's like an album long love poem to that famous boyfriend. Shame about the future tragedy...
In my humble opinion one of the best albums ever made. I shit you not. Every song is brilliant, the feel is incredible, the percussion fantastic, the lyrics funny and sad in equal measure. So good. North American scum is a disco classic. Someone great is utterly gorgeous. Stone cold classic
I like the beats, i like the tunes, i like some of the attitude. Some of the songs are utterly juvenile and degrading to women. If they could have just been a bit more grown up this could have been awesome.
Listened to this twice today... first time for me and I thought it was great. Like intellectual southern rock. The spoken word songs are amazing. Some of the guitar riffs a bit basic. Production varies hugely between songs. But i really liked it and will check out more albums
Classic Verve... moments of pure genius plus some right but slightly boring jams. This album starts with a roar, includes history and no knock on my door, and was the gateway to the enormous album that came next. I still prefer their first, and my favourite song in the world Blue. Magnificent group of musicians and some of their songs are the very greatest
Normally I'm a big fan of prog rock but I found this really awful. Some novelty around the huge organ sounds, and the bass and drums were played well. But the songs were terrible... boring classical or boring folk or overblown originals, all amplified through that organ to try to make them interesting. In glad they had a huge crowd and I'm glad i wasn't one of them
I've never been much of a fan but I was really pleasantly surprised. Some of it is pop psychedelic, alongside the longer form guitar workouts. None of it is obvious, it's all a bit dangerous. And intelligent. And cool. Don't think I've ever even heard it before, but I REALLY like little miss strange.
Lots of mac fans obsess about this album but I don't really get why. There's some experimental stuff I suppose, and they aren't going all out for global hits. Stevie is drenched in reverb and Christine offers a couple of gorgeous piano ballads. But mostly i found it boring, and wished it was rumours
Never heard of them before. Pleasantly surprised. Ramshackle americana songs with great lyrics and a sound like it's live in your garage. Probably won't follow them but I enjoyed it
The sound of a band finding themselves. Political and noisy and still new wave. Every instrument has a place in this racket and it's good. Some of the filler is filler but the singles are edgy and great. Imagine writing Sunday bloody Sunday and getting away with it! 40 shows what they're building towards, and my favourite album unforgettable fire comes next.
Groundbreaking, brilliant. Flawed in several places... bodies is very difficult to listen to... but that voice and the simple tunes and the pure pop explosion and all that anger. Just superb. And the production is crisp. Pretty Vacant is outstanding. Holidays in the sun... incredible album opener.
Too much bloody saxophone for my liking, but Fame is funky. Not sure why we should celebrate the descent of something amazing into something trying to be soul and funk but mostly failing apart from one interesting edgy song
Booooring. I have no love for pet shop boys. No idea what's so special about this album
Shame on me, I don't think I've ever listened to a whole style council album. Younger me wasn't very impressed... felt like a big step down from the epic Jam singles. But apart from the embarrassing Gospel, this was a brilliant listen. Bold instrumentals, very British jazz, northern soul and the fantastic you're the best thing. Feels like a really brave album with cool songs and amazing musicianship.
The hits are massive and green light is close to perfection. Some of the interludes are a bit self indulgent. I recon her first album was more distinctive and original but hey. Loved the very high highs
Really enjoyed it! None of the huge hits on here, but that made it feel a bit more intimate. Fantastic guitar work and on the bass. Nice work, and feeding the angst of teenage sadsacks everywhere
Something very special about these songs played live. They can be really turgid from the studio. Apart from the stupid joke about a bit of Irish, this whole performance feels flawless, and there's the epic moment when one song thumps into boys are back in town. Ridiculous drum solo gets everyone fired up and then pure joy as the band members get introduced. Epic rock gig.
I tried, i really tried. I love some metal but not this metal. It was good to hear a talented rhythm guitarist under all the noodling. And some if the lyrics were quite funny. But mostly rubbish and the disc 2 live version was really facking awful
I'd rather scoop my eyes out with a rusty spoon
I love the Beatles but this is not the Beatles that I love. I mean, they had to start somewhere, and this album shows how they grafted at their music. But it's boring and derivative. Mr postman is a highlight but I found the rest of it really boring. Luckily they went on to completely blow our minds
Totally brilliant. Sabotage is a masterpiece. The jams are fantastic... not just shouty rappers, these lads can actually play. Loved it
Good but not amazing for my ears. I've never really understood the religious fervour of van Morrison fans. Kind of basic blues jazz folk, with a couple of good grooves and an interesting attitude
Love it. This has aged really well. Funky and bitter and cool. All the usual matt Johnson metaphors plus loads about middle east oil and money. Great Surrey with neneh cherry. It's not the best the the album (that's soulmining) but I can see why this one got chosen and Ioved listening
Gonzo art rock...I like this album but it hasn't aged very well. Dodgy bullying lyrics in several places. But the title track is great in 7/8, and the covers are good too. Not as good as split enz. But very influential on my favourite music
