157
Albums Rated
3.24
Average Rating
14%
Complete
932 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1960
Favorite Decade
Soul
Favorite Genre
UK
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
16
5-Star Albums
7
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Closer
Joy Division
|
5 | 3.22 | +1.78 |
|
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
|
5 | 3.29 | +1.71 |
|
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
|
5 | 3.37 | +1.63 |
|
Live!
Fela Kuti
|
5 | 3.43 | +1.57 |
|
Unknown Pleasures
Joy Division
|
5 | 3.48 | +1.52 |
|
At Newport 1960
Muddy Waters
|
5 | 3.54 | +1.46 |
|
Wild Is The Wind
Nina Simone
|
5 | 3.65 | +1.35 |
|
Transformer
Lou Reed
|
5 | 3.66 | +1.34 |
|
Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
|
5 | 3.67 | +1.33 |
|
Pearl
Janis Joplin
|
5 | 3.72 | +1.28 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin
|
1 | 3.9 | -2.9 |
|
Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Wu-Tang Clan
|
1 | 3.61 | -2.61 |
|
S&M
Metallica
|
1 | 3.26 | -2.26 |
|
Mama Said Knock You Out
LL Cool J
|
1 | 2.9 | -1.9 |
|
E.V.O.L.
Sonic Youth
|
1 | 2.9 | -1.9 |
|
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
The Smashing Pumpkins
|
2 | 3.68 | -1.68 |
|
Sex Packets
Digital Underground
|
1 | 2.66 | -1.66 |
|
The Cars
The Cars
|
2 | 3.65 | -1.65 |
|
Superunknown
Soundgarden
|
2 | 3.64 | -1.64 |
|
Hotel California
Eagles
|
2 | 3.59 | -1.59 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Joy Division | 2 | 5 |
| Pink Floyd | 2 | 5 |
5-Star Albums (16)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Pink Floyd · 1 likes
5/5
This one is an easy one to review as 5 stars. However, could have done without the live versions - recorded original version is all we need!
Arcade Fire · 1 likes
2/5
Music of this era can be so indistinctive. Just sounds like so many other bands. I don't like the strained voice vocals but otherwise having it on in the background was inoffensive enough
Yeah Yeah Yeahs · 1 likes
2/5
This album sounds like a bunch of musicians were locked in a room and told to come up with an album in record (excuse the pun) time. It's musically unimaginative and really just one notch up from musak.
Sonic Youth · 1 likes
1/5
I dislike this album. Lots of thrashing, yelling and other sounds full of angst and nihilism. Miserable.
1-Star Albums (7)
All Ratings
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Not my favourite genre but original and best of it's type for a reason
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Not mad keen on this but wouldn't want to join Trump in calling Bruce Springsteen overrated. Just not my thing. So don't know if there are other Springsteen albums I would find better than this one but I suspect not :/
The Killers
4/5
Mr Brightside leapt out because of Trainspotting. Other tracks consistently good
David Bowie
4/5
Featuring Fame and Young Americans, I expected more tracks of this standard. Perhaps if I listened again they would grow on me but they felt like fillers. The production sound didn't do much for me either. Over produced on most tracks I thought but the the title track and Fame are simply perfection.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Long and not my kind of thing so found it difficult to wade through. I suspect there are some tracks that I would rate higher if I had a second run at this but don't find myself compelled to keep at it. Making belief in God a thing also a turn off for me.
The Divine Comedy
3/5
Very distinctive sound, but perhaps a bit too distinctive. Almost has a novelty disc production sound going on. Enjoyable enough, liked the Father Ted moment
Joy Division
5/5
This is an era defining band. An amazing sound that was so new in the post punk era and was highly influential for so many indie bands.All tracks are quality.
ABBA
3/5
Yes, ABBA are pop royalty. But this is not a good album. Even the singles featured vary in quality (Fernando, no thanks). The rest of the tracks are of the poor B side type. When ABBA are great they are great but sometimes the trite rhyming of lyrics demonstrates too clearly that the English language is not their forte. As to 'dum dum diddle when you play your fiddle'... this track is an abomination. Mastering pop and the singles market should be applauded for sure, but ABBA albums? No thanks.
The Birthday Party
1/5
This is truly awful. I waded through the screaming and screeching always hoping (in vain) that I might begin to hear something even vaguely tuneful. The lyrics were also meaningless nonsense. There's not a single track I could recommend. It seems to be a sort of anti-music album:(
Terence Trent D'Arby
4/5
Many tracks here are quality, but I'm not sure if I'm judging the music or am feeling nostalgic about the era they remind me of. There is probably an argument for calling some of this album 'easy listening' which is not much of a compliment. However, tracks like Wishing Well, Sign your name, If you let me stay, Dance little Sister are excellent. Terence Trent d'Arby exploded onto the music scene with this debut album. Am I using my memory of that explosion to judge this album? Maybe, but I think it still sounds pretty good.
Queen
4/5
Enjoyable pre Bohemian Rhapsody Queen showing an interesting range of work, some of which is quite unlike what you would expect if you only know them as the mega stars. Lily of the Valley is a good example.
Meat Loaf
4/5
I was all set to hate this but have to admit it's pretty good. A small number of tracks, many of which are longer than the singles version. It's a strong and distinctive sound including ballads as well as heavy rock.
Prince
4/5
This seems like pretty average Prince, but average for Prince is high quality. An enjoyable listen.
Various Artists
5/5
Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without this album. All tracks are great, too many to list. The lesser known The Bells of St Mary stood out as one that doesn't get much airtime and should. Motown gold.
The White Stripes
3/5
I played this album end to end and found it pleasant enough. No tracks have stayed in my mind.
Duke Ellington
4/5
I'm not much of a fan of live albums and the live aspect of this one was particularly distracting. Too much chatter from the MC for sure. The music itself is classic stuff.
The Beach Boys
5/5
This is fabulous. Wrote a long review and forgot to save it! I was saying something about not being a musician but being able to hear great composition and imaginative use of a wide range of instruments (including vocals) to create their unique sound. We might miss the genius that lies behind this if we just hear pop. Particularly enjoyed Let's Go Away for a While
Beastie Boys
3/5
This album seems like it might have been an important milestone for popular music as a very accessible hip hop sound. I'd be interested to know the assessment of people who are really knowledgeable about the 21st century music that shares roots with the Beastie Boys. Were they important or just pop? I'm pretty clueless on this so just taking this album at face value - of its time and a fun sound.
The Psychedelic Furs
3/5
This is good, a great indie band. Somehow Into you like a train stayed with me as a strong track. Pretty in Pink is probably my least favourite track as it has been overplayed and the title is ultimately naff.
Eagles
2/5
This was very popular at the time but seems very middle of the road, safe and ultimately boring. The title track is loved by many people but generally I feel that anyone who likes this is exactly the sort of person I wouldn't like. Mildly pretentious, smug and dull
Leonard Cohen
4/5
I'm not familiar with Leonard Cohen beyond Hallelujah. I thought this was really good and listened more than once. I suspect I might enjoy other Leonard Cohen albums too.
Pixies
3/5
I can imagine this album being well received at the time as it's probably one of the best of its type. For me, with the benefit of knowing music before and after this era, I'm not hearing anything too innovative or memorable.
Nas
3/5
The emergence of this genre is undoubtedly as significant as punk. Have not been familiar with NAS. Seems good of its type and I would defer to music historians and lovers of this album and the work of other artists inspired by it to rate it. Seems quite melodic and nuanced with some good production sounds but the whole rap thing does nothing for me unfortunately.
The Notorious B.I.G.
2/5
I liked the sampling but there was very little else I liked about this album. I only managed one listen and didn't feel inclined to listen too closely to the lyrics. Macho and quite possibly misogynistic. Musically this is not my thing at all but if it's made it to this list perhaps it is a very good example of this type of stuff.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
I guess it's possible to see why Springsteen has a large fan base. If this is your kind of music then this album provides consistency which can be read as a mark of quality. Probably great of it's type but not my thing.
Al Green
5/5
This is fabulous. Great to hear the well known tracks and discover some new Al Green. All compositions are his own with a glorious production sound. His voice is so distinctive and soulful with a fantastic vocal range.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
Dance music is an absolute favourite and I'm sure some tracks on this album would be good for dancing. Unfortunately not my era so I wasn't inspired to get to my feet. Meantime it made perfectly acceptable background music as I went about my day. Nothing memorable.
The Who
4/5
Was surprised how much I enjoyed this, especially the instrumental tracks. It's one of those albums you need to imagine being released and how unique the sound would have been.
New Order
3/5
A distinctive sound but not one that has' aged terribly well. Vocals particularly poor really. That single - not on this album - Blue Monday is fabulous. But this album doesn't deliver that level of quality unfortunately.
Ella Fitzgerald
4/5
Classy. Her voice is fabulous and some tracks show this off beautifully. Some songs are less good and don't do her voice justice.
Rush
2/5
Lots of screeching from vocals and electric guitars. Was expecting prog rock, stadium rock, loud rock of some sort and it duly came. Not my thing. One track was a little different - Tears - and I would enjoy hearing this again. The rest of it, no.
The Specials
4/5
Such a fabulous sound. The whole two tone thing was so enjoyable and felt so very positive when it emerged. The energy and positivity remains listening to this again so many years later. Very enjoyable toe tapping stuff.
Neil Young
3/5
Neil Young is probably one of these artists who developed and changed quite a lot as his career developed. This early album is fine but not very memorable. Tried not to judge through the prism of later work that is really not for me.
Wu-Tang Clan
1/5
I found one track I could rate as something other than awful, but probably because I didn't listen closely to the lyrics (Method Man). Otherwise, waded through this and kept hearing appalling lyrics and completely uninspired sounds. Not really music is it?
Pink Floyd
5/5
This one is an easy one to review as 5 stars. However, could have done without the live versions - recorded original version is all we need!
Elvis Presley
5/5
Never quite understood the appeal of Elvis but this album has proven to be a great introduction to his talent. Later Elvis is not for me but this is a great album and shows that his place in music history is massively important.
Daft Punk
3/5
I really struggled with this. When Daft Punk are good they are great but all the repetition on each track of this album basically gave me a headache. Even something like Around the World, which I had thought I was fond of, drove me to distraction. At least I wouldn't have any problem following the lyrics if I wanted to sing along. But actually I found I just wanted to escape the relentlessness of it all. Decided to go 3 rather than 2 based on recognising the status of the band for their career overall might be warranted and the idea that I might have been having a bad day.
Joy Division
5/5
It's Joy Division. They can do no wrong. Good to be obliged to listen carefully and hear more musical and vocal detail than I remember hearing back in the day.
3/5
Was not familiar with PJ Harvey. She might be an artist who grows on you. On first listening this seems to be a good album. Several times of listening might produce a better review but it's not currently feeling very memorable.
Muddy Waters
5/5
Great to get the opportunity to listen to this. One of the really great artists, highly influential for the reason of being a true founding father of popular music. It is of course also intrinsically excellent. What a sound.
2/5
Mostly inoffensive, always pretty dull and often quite annoying. Just sounds like a lot of bands of this era.
The Temptations
4/5
The Temptations were a great group. Papa was a Rolling Stone at 11 mins is a marvelous track. Other tracks not so great but might improve on further listening.
PJ Harvey
2/5
Want to hear more female artists but PJ Harvey is not doing much for me. Ultimately, the song composition is pretty average and, sorry, but she doesn't have a very good voice. Lyrics a bit of a yawn too. Perhaps one listen is not enough to hear something more but I'm not going to be rushing back to this album.
PJ Harvey
3/5
If only the title of this album - Rid of Me - could be taken on board by the algorithm that has given us three PJ Harvey albums in a week. As is the case with these reviews and ratings, I'm trying to avoid being too influenced by the running order of the albums but I could hardly bear to listen to this artist. PJ Harvey on Saturday and PJ Harvey on Sunday made for a pretty depressing prospect . However, this offering is much better. I suppose there are many artists whose albums 15+ years on from the first are not so good. This is an early PJ Harvey and had a strength and conviction lacking in the later albums.
The Cars
2/5
Only knew the single from this album - My Best Friend's Girl - and would say that it sets a standard that's pretty consistent across the whole album. Having said that, it's not a great standard. Pretty average post punk US pop, pleasant enough. Occasional reminders of bad rock guitar sounds (a bit like Rush). Not really my thing and difficult to believe anyone would get too excited about it. Good enough of it's type I suppose.
Joe Ely
3/5
Never heard of Joe Ely but recognise this genre well. Keeping away from it was sometimes difficult in the 1970s. What we have here is an album that would have delighted the country and western fans back in the day and quite possibly still does. The lyrics provide the most entertainment. Some character couldn't tell the difference between a cow and a horse. Otherwise, the lifestyle of a cowboy and his woman provides the basic starting point for most songs. Boy, the gender roles for country and western are clearly drawn. Lots of other cliches about early in the morning, just about the break of day... This album served to remind me that I don't much like country and western. But I suppose this album is a classic of its type, easy enough on the ear if you ignore the lyrics. There may be more to say about it musically but I'll leave that to others.
Thin Lizzy
4/5
I suppose I can recognise very good musicianship here and certainly a distinctive sound. Frantic guitar solos are not my thing, but the Thin Lizzy sound doesn't over rely on this cliché. I like it least when it does but there is otherwise consistency and variety here. Rock for sure, but not too heavy. The singles are strong and the ballads add something. I'm not the greatest fan of a live album but everyone on stage and in the audience seems to be having a great time.
Van Morrison
3/5
Van Morrison inspires great loyalty but I've not been familiar with his work. This album may well be a classic from his very long career and I suspect I should listen to more Van Morrison before passing judgement. I bet this app will be giving us more. Meantime, this album has some distinctive tunes and evidence of being influenced by some important other artists and genres. However, couldn't quite escape the feeling of it being 'easy listening' with some tracks being rather dull.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
I won't say this is not a good album. I'm sure there are plenty of positive reviews that are justifiable. I'm just not a fan of Joni Mitchell's voice and the piano and guitar sounds. Surprisingly, the track I liked best was This Flight Tonight because I know the Nazareth version. Nazareth as a band could not be further away from Joni Mitchell's sound so, as she wrote the song, I guess this speaks to the quality of her song writing and her versatility. She's well known and highly respected for a reason so perhaps I should give her work more of a chance and get past not much liking her voice.
Aimee Mann
4/5
If you haven't lived through the evolution of music - the 60s, 70s, 80s....- you could well come to an album like this and find it to be very good. And you wouldn't be wrong. But to come to it for the first time after a lifetime of highly distinctive and ground breaking sounds it didn't seem to have much about it that's very innovative or unique. The production sound and arrangement of each track is excellent though. Quality. And a second listen was starting to win me over for sure. Mr Harris is a great track, for example.
The The
4/5
The The mix up genres to generate a good range of tracks here. Hasn't dated from the 1980s. Wasn't familiar with this band beyond their 1983 single Uncertain Smile with the great Jools Holland outro. Should have stuck with them after that single - this 1986 album is very good.
Coldplay
2/5
I'm not really familiar with Cold Play beyond the obvious tunes. True to their reputation, this is a bit of a snooze fest.
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
My first experience of Belle and Sebastian and very much enjoyed it. Such a unique sound layering instruments and sounds so well with strong tunes- good to hear recorders in use, that staple of primary school music education. Impressive production, some intriguing lyrics and an altogether great sound.
Hawkwind
2/5
This is exactly the kind of band that demonstrates why punk was so desperately needed. Apparently known as space rock, it just sounds like self indulgent noise to me and very dated. I'll not score it too low though as perhaps it's important in the history of music. To me it is at one far end of the very complex era that was the 1970s. Thank goodness for Bowie, funk, disco and punk for pulling us far away from hippy nonsense like Hawkwind.
Fishbone
3/5
What a mish mash. Starts with a dull heavy rock track, proceeds to sound like George Michael doing reggae, then jazz funk, back to heavy rock, rockabilly... A fair smattering of dull pop sounds and horrible screeching guitar solos appear throughout. As well as George Michael, attempts are made to sound like James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Ozzy Osbourne.... all dished up with sound alike instrumental performances and production sounds. Fishbone seem like a band you'd find at a wedding offering energetic dance tunes, ballads for the slow dancing, heavy brass section because somebody's dad can knock out a few covers and then, inexplicably, includes some hard rock that clears the dance floor. Sometimes they want to be The Who, Thin Lizzie, Prince and lord knows who else. It's all over the place with very little originality but I'll give them some points for effort and the sheer audacity of making an album that attempts to deliver such a range of sounds-a-like tracks. They are the band that so many teenage boys would be thrilled to be at their High School dance. They are also clearly enjoying themselves enormously - maybe for some people this is an album that condenses all sorts of genres and styles saving them the bother of listening more widely. In that case it can perhaps be seen as good value!
Arcade Fire
2/5
Music of this era can be so indistinctive. Just sounds like so many other bands. I don't like the strained voice vocals but otherwise having it on in the background was inoffensive enough
Digital Underground
1/5
If I have to listen to this genre of music at all then this album started off sounding better than the hard core stuff. I liked the funk sound and it was good to hear some female voices. However, I can tell you that the attitude to women the album goes on to relay was NOT acceptable in the 80s and certainly isn't acceptable now. I'm not a great believer in cancelling artists but this album is offensive.
Willie Nelson
3/5
I enjoyed listening to this album but ultimately it was probably not the best introduction to Willie Nelson. Perhaps the situation was different back then and these songs were not much covered, but now as I recognised each one I immediately thought of other versions I preferred. The production sound was light and very acoustic which added to the relaxed mood. Willie Nelson's voice did not work so well for me though as most of these songs sound better to me with other voices and more interesting arrangements. Would welcome some more Willie Nelson featuring his own compositions.
Lou Reed
5/5
Just fantastic. So good to hear this, especially to be listening to the whole album. The well known tracks are great of course but actually every track was great. Delighted to be hearing some for the first time. The production sound is distinctive and makes use of a wide range of instruments to create some of the best music ever made.
Bad Company
3/5
This seems to be your common or garden early 70s rock album. Less awful than many, but nothing to write home about. I'll be generous because it was presumably sounding fresh and new back in the day.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Nick Cave has a distinctive sound but once you've heard one track you've heard them all. Having had two Nick Cave albums I find them indistinguishable from one another despite being made years apart. Not my thing and the jesus stuff adds further to the thumbs down for me.
Giant Sand
3/5
It's hard to be distinctive at this point in music history. I enjoyed this album well enough but it did seem quite derivative. Should give it another go in case I start to hear some actual innovation there.
Cream
4/5
These guys (the self appointed cream of the talent of the day) had the advantage of being first to the party with this kind of sound. It's good and was innovative but if you like this type of music there are probably some better artists who took this forward and in different (maybe better) directions. No doubt this album was an important milestone in the development of rock music.
Neil Young
3/5
Only listening to Neil Young because of this app and he's still not my favourite. However, I'm thinking I should give him a chance to delight me. Not quite there yet but perhaps his various albums would appeal to varying degrees. If I end up liking this kind of music..... Well, you could knock me down with a feather if it ever happens. Meantime, I'll give some credit for this being quality enough of it (not my favourite) type.
Super Furry Animals
2/5
I'm confused by this album. How many different styles can one band imitate? It really does feel like they are trying to sound like a whole range of different artists in every track. I won't bother to list who they sound like - most tracks make me yawn. Perhaps this makes Super Furry Animals a good live band. The selection box of popular music.
N.W.A.
2/5
If I have to listen to this genre (there's a lot of it on this app) I find myself able to give some credit to the early stuff. The emergence of NWA was pivotal for the development of a new music genre, but the lyrics are horrendous.
Blondie
5/5
Classy stuff. The well known tracks are truly excellent and the album as a whole is first rate. Great compositions and vocals. Distinctive and quality sound. Definitely one for the desert island discs list, difficult to pick out a favourite track. So good.
Julian Cope
3/5
Distinctive but not very exciting. I can see why Julian Cope has fans but he doesn't do much for me.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2/5
This album sounds like a bunch of musicians were locked in a room and told to come up with an album in record (excuse the pun) time. It's musically unimaginative and really just one notch up from musak.
Bill Evans Trio
4/5
I enjoyed this. Pictured myself sitting at a table in a smoky New York nightclub in the 1950s. Very atmospheric and musically important. Ultimately, it works for me as background music but saying that probably makes me a philistine. Warrants careful attention to all the instruments and the whole improvisation vibe.
Deee-Lite
3/5
Is this not a one hit wonder band with Groove is in the Heart? Such a great single. Actually, discovered that this album makes for pretty good listening for all the other tracks, albeit at a slightly less fabulous level than Groove is in the Heart.
Lana Del Rey
2/5
I really dislike this genre of wistful, breathy, sighing 'singing'. It sounds so pathetic and downtrodden. I prefer female singers with at least a degree of strength in their voices. A shame, because this app seems to have relatively few female solo artists.
Metallica
3/5
They're clearly enjoying themselves massively and if you like this genre at all you're going to love this. Unfortunately heavy metal is perhaps the genre I dislike most of all. But I'll score it relatively highly to allow for this being probably the best in it's class.
Metallica
1/5
I can't face this. It was Metallica yesterday and again today. Please fix the app so that we don't have to encounter the same artist twice in the same week and certainly not two days running!
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
This is a 90s band I'd heard of so thought it might be good. Unfortunately it just has a general 90s sound, nothing exciting at all. Will not rate it too low though as it would perhaps improve with a second listen.
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
Love the production sound of this band. The brass is fabulous. Good to hear there is more to Dexys Midnight Runners than just the singles. The album is fairly consistent but the excellence is really about the hit singles. A good listen, only one step away from excellent.
Kanye West
4/5
This was my first ever time listening to Kanye West and I was astonished by how good it was. There's musical complexity here I really hadn't expected from a rap artist. Great production sound, actual tunes (although some probably sampled from elsewhere) and lyrics that were sometimes thoughtful. One or two tracks were less good but overall I have to say this was really impressive.
Funkadelic
4/5
I love funk. Less so frantic guitar solos. Given the year of this album is 1971 I'm going to forgive the guitar sound - of its time - and focus on the quality of the funk which is great.
The Smashing Pumpkins
2/5
This started well. First couple of instrumental tracks were accomplished and made for good listening. However, most of the album is pretty dire - noisy and unremarkable.
Tina Turner
4/5
This was less good than I'd hoped. It's difficult to hear this great voice and not think about where the US music industry was at when this album was released. On the one hand it's good that a black female artist could become a global superstar but on the other hand I can't help associating this music with the era that has very efficiently commodified talent based on massive sales, sell out stadium tours, image control, etc.... Just can't hear her voice without thinking about all that stuff.
Led Zeppelin
1/5
If you don't like this kind of music (which I don't) it's a particularly bad version of it. Relentless and awful.
Boards of Canada
4/5
I was in exactly the right mood for this album f owing some heavy rock stuff. It was my first experience of an ambient music album so have nothing else to compare it to. But instruments and vocals seemed to be pretty expertly combined to create some great tracks.
Elvis Presley
3/5
What we have here is Elvis singing poor quality songs that would probably have sounded outdated in 1969. There were a few great numbers in the late part of Elvis' career but only one is on this album unfortunately. He ought to have been allowed access to better song writers. Suspicious Minds is the only great track, In the Ghetto and Gentle on my Mind are ok. Lots of pretty awful fillers.
Nina Simone
5/5
Nina Simone's distinctive voice shines out. She could sing a shopping list and I'd still score her highly.
Ute Lemper
3/5
Happy to give this a go, especially with the involvement of such an interesting range of big name collaborators. Mixed results with some tracks much more successful than others. Ute Lemper's voice is strong and distinctive. The final track of the album was screaming and awful which was a shame as many other tracks were much better. It's the sort of album that warrants further listening to reveal it's depth.
Taylor Swift
3/5
Taylor Swift is good at what she does. Well done, it's an impressive album. Still not my thing though and also worry that there'll be more to listen to. This is probably as good as Taylor Swift gets.
The War On Drugs
2/5
This band sounds like a poor man's Dire Straits, imitation Bob Dylan, bad Pink Floyd sound-a-like, Bruce Springsteen substitute .... you name it. This album is dull, derivative and totally lacking in originality.
Suzanne Vega
3/5
I allowed this to wash over me and it was pleasant enough. I'm going to give some credit for this as an early example of a type of female singer songwriter style that has become pretty standard now. It' sets a good standard.
Joanna Newsom
3/5
This artist has a unique sound. Quite folky and with lots of harp (she's a harpist). Her voice is not my favourite type of voice but I guess she uses it well to create a signature sound. The tracks blended together for me, all sounding very similar. Perhaps the lyrics are good but I was not listening closely enough to be honest. I like artists who can manage a distinctive sound in this day and age. I'll listen again.
Tricky
4/5
This is surprisingly good. Surprising perhaps because I'd never heard of them before. Otherwise, their production sound is pretty complex and perhaps masterful. I'll definitely listen again.
3/5
I don't like U2. I don't really want to think about U2, let alone listen to this album. I fear there'll be more on this. I did listen and now I can be thankful that I don't have to listen to this album again. Why the distaste? Sometimes justifying a strong dislike is something I don't want to spend energy on.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
Curtis Mayfield is fabulous and this album is very enjoyable. Might have been 5 stars but not all of the material here is great. A track about Jesus particularly dragged it down. Looking forward to more Curtis Mayfield though
King Crimson
4/5
I'm astonished to find myself appreciating anything that can be classed as prog rock. It's one of my least favourite genres. However, my favourite tracks on this album are the instrumental tracks and the tracks that are gentle and highly creative. The range of percussion sounds work really well with the string instruments. Heavy guitar sounds much less good but perhaps I have to forgive the moments their sound is 70s prog rock cliché because this is after all a 1970s album.
Yes
3/5
Prog rock is absolutely not my favourite. In particular, I dislike self indulgent guitar solos. The voices sound so young! Which was strange to me as I associate Yes with old men. That was the case in the 1970s, even more so now of course.
The Shamen
3/5
This is classic rave era music. An enjoyable enough romp but this type of music does eventually just give me a headache. Recognised the singles and presume that for those who went to raves this was a quality band. Like that they're from Aberdeen as innovating from there in this era would not have been easy.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
This early Rolling Stones album is quite a mixed bag. The hits featured here are strong but other tracks seem a bit musically lost. The final track - What To Do - sounds like immitation Beatles. Other tracks have a country and western sound. I'm to score this album on what I'm hearing rather than The Stones and their future sound.
The Mothers Of Invention
3/5
This is like the soundtrack from a psychodelic movie crossed with Monty Python. All over the place and became tiresome to listen to a whole album of it. Despite this, I would think The Mothers of Invention deserve a spot in popular music history. But it hasn't aged well.
Janis Joplin
5/5
This is fantastic. I do wish Cry Baby had not been used endlessly for a perfume advert but I'm managing to get past that. All tracks are excellent and it's not too long! More please
Elbow
4/5
Really enjoyed this. A great sound and some masterful compositions. One Day provides a truly uplifting anthem. Other tracks great including Grounds for Divorce. Love the use of strings on this album.
Cocteau Twins
3/5
Another album where you clock the sound and then every track sounds pretty much lthe same. All merged into one as a pleasant enough experience but nothing to write home about.
The Byrds
3/5
The Byrds sound is distinctive and very much of its time. I don't think it holds up too well but I won't give it a disrespectful score
Super Furry Animals
3/5
This sounds like standard issue Brit Pop. I struggled to hear anything distinctive beyond the general 90s sound of lots of these bands.
Dr. John
4/5
Actually, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Latin American sounds in the mix are always welcome. Distinctive and good. Also quite short which is usually a plus.
Blur
3/5
If you like Brit Pop this is probably a classic album. Not for me. Can't seem to hear anything at all distinctive. Blur at its most Blur-like I suppose.
FKA twigs
2/5
I think this is very of its time. I would say well done for effort but ultimately this is not very good. What's with all the background hammering noises etc? Kept turning down the volume to check if there was something making a noise outside that I should be dealing with somehow. Quite unsettling.
Soundgarden
2/5
The album cover just about describes this album - indistinct screaming. Lots of tracks have heavy rock guitar solo sounds which I particularly dislike. There was a bit more variety than I feared when the opening track kicked off very noisily. Attempts were made at times to sound like Nirvana and some tracks were less of an assault on the ears than others. However, I suspect if you like this genre there are much better albums you could listen to.
MGMT
3/5
This is very 2007. To be honest, I wonder if there's any album from this era I'd rate highly. Just not my time. However, I think this is tuneful and accomplished. Instruments and voices well used to create an enjoyable enough sound.
Cat Stevens
4/5
1970. Such a different time for popular music with endless scope to innovate. Cat Stevens is an important contributor to this history and his songs stand up well in a different century. I enjoyed thinking about the context in which his lyrics would have been heard. Young people questioning everything and looking for new ways to live their lives. They were free to be entirely optimistic about where life could lead, less so nowadays perhaps. Lots of new found freedoms and space for gentle reflection. A beautiful soundtrack for the era.
LL Cool J
1/5
Standard sounding rap of the era. Musically unexciting, lyrics ranging from inoffensive rubbish to the very macho right up to misogynistic and celebratory of violence. Not the worst on that front but it's the lack of musicality that makes it so dull.
Love
3/5
I'm fond of the folk rock sound of this era and this is a good example. I only knew the opening track, the rest of the album may have been the same quality but familiarity with Alone Again Or informed how I listened to it. Deserves its place on the list.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
This is good. Peter Gabriel manages to create an entirely distinctive sound that all the same shows the Genesis legacy. There's wide variety here too with some great tracks. Who would have thought that anyone could go from Genesis to music you might want to dance to.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
From the days when rock could be gentle and tuneful until, oh no, the lead singer starts screaming out the vocals. The lyrics are non too inspiring either. But all the time the guitar sound keeps this album going with a laid back blues sound of quality. The guitar does some screeching too which is hard to take at points but I'm not a fan of the whole guitar solo thing. Proud Mary brings together the best features of this band's sound and appears on the album just in time to allow you to conclude that there's some real talent happening here - excellent. Overall it's probably best in class for a blues rock sound of this era.
The Soft Boys
4/5
This is surprisingly good. Apparently Soft Boys were very influential for indie bands. You can retrofit that connection when you listen to the Soft Boys' sound. Some interesting use of instruments and confident cross genre experimentation . Didn't know it but happy to be introduced to the Soft Boys.
Bob Dylan
4/5
This is probably a good place to start with Bob Dylan. The acoustic sound and pleading voice defined the era and Bob Dylan more than deserves his place in music history. That ought to be an obvious 5 score and maybe so. But something is holding me back. Maybe it's over exposure.
Dagmar Krause
2/5
I don't know quite what to make of this really. Feels more like performance art than music. Very focused on politics and perhaps quite moving if you were to see her live. Difficult to engage with as a recording. Musically unimpressive.
Dwight Yoakam
3/5
I'm not a fan of country and western music so don't really know how to assess this. Is it best in class? Maybe so, but Dwight Yoakam is not a name I'm familiar with so perhaps not. The big names in this genre are bound to make an appearance on this app but meantime I couldn't hear anything here to make me want to give a high score.
Robert Wyatt
3/5
I only knew Robert Wyatt from his moving rendition of Elvis Costello's Shipbuilding. His voice is very distinctive and can evoke a strong emotional response. This album was good to hear but not especially memorable. Probably deserves to be listened to more than once - may have some depth not immediately apparent on first listening.
Charles Mingus
4/5
This is great. A fabulous album using a range of instruments and including a Latin American sound at times. It feels like a really good combination of composition and improvisation. You have to like this type of music to rate it highly and I'm not really familiar with the jazz greats. This is my first encounter with Charles Mingus and I think I might like his work more than the more famous names.
The Stooges
3/5
This being Iggy Pop's first band, it's difficult to listen to it without thinking of his future brilliant career. However, it's very raw talent that we hear on this album and it does sound very under developed. Apparently The Stooges' albums didn't sell well when first released and it's probably only using the lens of music history that this album can be viewed as an important album. Highly influential no doubt and perhaps a bit ahead of its time. Not great to actually sit and listen to though.
The Black Keys
3/5
Was not familiar with this band. Don't know much at all about this genre either. Garage band music? However, I somehow listened to this album twice and realised that it was growing on me. The next girlfriend track for example.
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
This is era defining music. The harmonies and production sound combine to make an absolutely unique sound. Many of the tracks are well known as chart hits and remind us that pop can be musically excellent. Somehow ELO managed to make exciting and unique music drawing on vocal traditions like the Beach Boys plus a classical music vibe with great tunes and fabulous rhythms. Mr Blue Sky is of course a perfect track but there's plenty more here of quality. Some tracks do sound like fillers but overall the album is consistently good and just when you think it's a bit samey along comes another excellent song with it's own extra something. Wild West Hero as the concluding track is an example of that.
Pentangle
3/5
Absolutely not my thing but relaxing enough to listen to. Lots of diddly ding lyrics and twanging instruments with home spun philosophical messages. All very fair maid and my true love, etc. Very dated.
Screaming Trees
3/5
This sounds like standard issue 90s fayre. Nothing distinctive, perfectly inoffensive, entirely forgettable.
Jurassic 5
3/5
I found many of the tracks on this album impressive, despite not liking rap music generally. I found myself listening carefully to the instruments and sometimes would try to block out the vocals. In doing so, I often detected some really good tuneful compositions. Having so often reviewed rap albums as not actually music, this one I found to be very musical and engaging as a result . Still not keen on the actual rapping.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
Some great numbers here. Thank goodness these two formed a partnership to create this classic sound. Excellent, just a couple of fillers in the mix but a really good album.
The Fall
3/5
I'm going to be generous due to the age of this album. It might have been very fresh and influential when released. When listening now I find it similar to many other bands of that decade and afterwards. I suspect lovers of indie music rate it highly.
Big Star
3/5
Sometimes you get an album that matches your requirements for the day when it's assigned. Worked well for me on this occasion, although on listening for a second time I realised this album starts noisy but becomes relaxing and contemplative. I liked the latter. Not exceptional though, but will listen to some of these tracks again sometime
Joan Armatrading
3/5
This was an important album in the development of the female singer songwriter tradition. It was influential with Love and Affection being a fantastic song. Joan Armatrading has continued to have a good career and has many fans. As an album though this has lots of average quality tracks.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
This is a favourite genre and a favourite artist. Super Fly is a brilliant track. The rest of the album is not such an amazing standard but great to listen to it in full the same.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
I felt really aware of Mick Jagger sounding almost comically American. Must have been a very conscious decision to sing that way. There's the one track here that stands the test of time pretty well - Sympathy for the Devil - but even for that the whoa whoa backing vocals sounded pretty silly. All other tracks left me pretty cold.
Randy Newman
3/5
Randy Newman is a talented singer songwriter whose composition and performance style is entirely suited to providing the sound track for films like Toy Story. It's not music to sit and listen to really. He uses a narrative approach for most of these tracks and it's an approach more suited to a stage musical or movie soundtrack.
Pink Floyd
5/5
I knew this album well back in the day and it was good to hear it again. Listening now I hear the quality of the composition, great use of electronics and instruments to create an incredible atmosphere. Back then it sounded just effortless and this album was just part of the furniture. Many an album was subsequently built on the shoulders of Wish You Were Here.
The Clash
4/5
Lots of punk bands emerged in the mid 1970s and few had staying power. Listening to this album I realise that The Clash were musically strong and their position in music history well deserved. London Calling was about the only song by the Clash I could have named, but happy to have had this album drawn to my attention and discover more of The Clash.
Marianne Faithfull
3/5
I keep hearing about how important an artist Marianne Faithful is, much more than just former girlfriend of Mick Jagger. I was not really familiar with her work and extensive career. There are a couple of tracks on this album I had heard before - Broken English and the Ballad of Lucy Jordan - and it was good to listen to them attentively. It's a good album and clearly she's an artist worth becoming familiar with.
Air
3/5
This is possibly era defining music. Not my era, so was not previously familiar with Air beyond Sexy Boy. I think it's a good album with a strong and distinctive sound. Relaxing to listen to without ever being bland.
James Taylor
3/5
Not my kind of music. Probably good of its type. Wasn't aware that James Taylor was married at one time to Carly Simon who I would rate highly. Perhaps some of her talent rubbed off on him. People seem to like and rate James Taylor so I fear more albums to come...
Sonic Youth
1/5
I dislike this album. Lots of thrashing, yelling and other sounds full of angst and nihilism. Miserable.
George Jones
2/5
This is classic sounding country and western with it's awful mawkish lyrics. Musically is pretty much indistinguishable from any other country and western. Absolutely not my thing and tiresome to listen to.
The Go-Go's
3/5
This is good pop. I like good pop, probably more than most. But it's not a great album. I'm going to be a little generous in my rating because it was really refreshing to hear a girl group on fine form in amongst all the male driven serious stuff we get on this app.
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
Listening to this album made me realise that every album so far in this app has been Western music. Engaging with world music is a whole new ball game and I'm going to have to assume that this album is extraordinary in that context because, presumably, there's a huge amount of world music and not too much of it gets onto a western music best album list. I thought it was very good and I suppose that means I should explore non-western music more widely but for now I'll take this recommendation and be happy about that as a great introduction to African music.
Germs
2/5
I can absolutely recognise the importance of punk breaking through in 1976. Music at that time had polarised with hippy influenced concept albums at one extreme and sugary pop tunes at the other. Thank goodness for punk. But it was largely a British phenomenan and the US bands were less influential by and large. There are some exceptions (such as the Ramones) but Germs are not such a band. This sounds like generic punk, released at a time when it should have been ground breaking. Only some punk music endures and this album isn't worth listening to all these years on I'm afraid.
David Bowie
3/5
Thought I would love this album but it was a bit disappointing. The best tracks have strong tunes but other tracks meander and become unmemorable. There are far stronger Bowie albums.
Kacey Musgraves
3/5
This is a pleasant enough album of gentle ballads with lyrics focused on new love, break ups and philosophical reflections on life as a millennial. Very standard approach to the female singer songwriter genre of recent times. Hadn't heard of Kacey Musgraves and suspect she deserves to be better known by people who like this genre. It's inoffensive and not without talent but I've heard too much of this kind of music in recent years and it's not distinctive enough to stand out really.
Dead Kennedys
3/5
This is great. So full of youthful energy. The Dead Kennedy's version of Viva Las Vegas is now my favourite, actually knocks Elvis out of the park. California uber alles is a great title for a song. This music was so of its time and so welcome back then. I wouldn't say no to the occasional play in the current era, but overall it's more of a period piece really.
Queen
4/5
It was a bit of a struggle to get through this. Immediately identifiable as Queen on the tracks with Freddie Mercury doing the vocals (why on earth was he not doing all the singing) and of course Brian May's guitar sound. Piano was well used along with the occasional other instrument ike the banjo. What was surprising was the sense that many tracks were ditties. It seems to give us very impoverished versions of the Bohemian rhapsody approach. Overall, not Queen at their best but you can see how they were evolving. Surprising to find Bohemian rhapsody here really, which of course is an amazing track. It sure stands out.
Supergrass
3/5
I suppose this is Brit Pop. Alright jumped out - an era defining single of fine qui. Otherwise this album was ok, nothing to write home about.
The Verve
4/5
This is quite good. I have a feeling that if it was the soundtrack of my youth I'd like it. Unfortunately it's not really my thing. But I can hear how the quality remains consistent across the whole album and that's a pretty rare thing. I'm going to be generous with my scoring and admit that I wouldn't mind listening to this album again.
Morrissey
3/5
I'm looking forward to encountering a Smiths album on this app. Meantime, we have this offering from Morrissey. It's not too shabby and each track seems to attain the same standard. But unfortunately it ends up feeling like a poor man's Smiths album. It's also difficult to listen to this without remembering how bonkers Morrissey's views became post-Smiths.
The Cardigans
3/5
This is an ok album and will probably push me back to using 3 as the only score that seems appropriate for so many albums on this app. There was a moment when listening to this I thought I might go 4. It's very distinctive, confident and lots of fun.
Incredible Bongo Band
4/5
What a great sound. The percussion, the brass, the synth, the guitar... Such a confident combo, a life affirming sound. It's the sort of music you'd want to have a school band tackle if they could manage it because it would be a joy to be able to play as an ensemble. Very distinctive as a 70s sound but also kind of timeless.
Earth, Wind & Fire
4/5
I wanted to love this (and I did enjoy it) but some of the tracks were a bit too 'easy listening' for me. However, Earth Wind and Fire are one of my absolutely favourite bands with their fantastic ensemble sound. The classic EW&T-sounding tracks here are fantastic and the ballads are not too bad but I want more of the tracks that demand to be danced to. Hope we get more Earth Wind and Fire albums on this app.
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
This was a strange album. It's like a souped-up version of the ambient sound music they play at yoga sessions. So inoffensive enough to listen to, but then there would be the occasional more 'wake up and listen' intervention, which was often unwelcome rather than stimulating. Not very good.
Buena Vista Social Club
5/5
This is a great album. The story about Ry Cooder bringing these musicians out of retirement really captured the imagination when it was released alongside the Wim Wenders documentary. Such fabulous talent and every track is engaging. I know little of Latin American music, but it surely doesn't ever get better than this.
Fela Kuti
5/5
I didn't know Fela Kuti. Must have been fantastic to hear this music live in 1970. Apparently this is Afrobeat and seems to fuse jazz, funk and other great sounds to create a genre and apparently Fela Kuti was the original Afrobeat creator. No doubt very influential musically as well as making for a life affirming and energetic sound.
The Allman Brothers Band
2/5
I don't like guitar solos and here we have a fine example of how awful they can be. Self indulgent egotistical noise. Santana it ain't.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
Anything involving Janis Joplin has to be good. Piece of my Heart is an amazing track. The rest is good and the live aspect of it provides extra energy. But ultimately I'm not really up for a whole album of this sound, just the glimpses of Janis Joplin genius please.
Fairport Convention
2/5
The Olde English hath caused much rollin' of mine eyes. These are folksy ditties about lords, ladies, young maidens and their various means of downfall. Painful stuff. There's twiddly dee folk music going on throughout and that's a genre that requires it's own attention - sometimes it can be quality. To be fair, the musicians are skilled. Here I'm scoring on all aspects of the album and what I imagine was supposed to be a modern take on folk music. Pretty awful.