1001 Albums Summary

Classic R&B and the blueprint for rock n roll.

A brilliant point in Bowie's career when you can actually hear the transition between what went before and where he was heading.

Classic Blues (Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Kings Albert & BB) mixed with strong Malian influence. A break from the norm for me and highly enjoyable.

Overblown, outrageously theatrical, powerful, fun, classic, karaoke-able.

Easy to dismiss as 'easy-listening' Euro-cheese but it's well-crafted electro-pop that has found a way into western consciousness through air-play (pun intended) and the background music in movies, series and adverts.

Much the blueprint of what became 'Punk' for bands such as The Sex Pistols and others in speeding up and amplifying the classic 50s rock n roll formula with a stripped-down approach and sense of humour. However, it's important not to forget that The Stooges, The New York Dolls and more were already paving the way.

Not quite as good as Wings Greatest Hits but some great tracks proving Paul McCartney was still a viable talent post-Beatles. Although, I don't subscribe to the 'all killer, no filler' opinions, I do understand how this quietened many post-Beatles detractors. Solid effort by Macca & co.

An accessible East Coast debut. Decent story-telling, but I found the beats repetitive and I don't feel that it was breaking new ground considering Dre's The Chronic and Wu Tang's 36 Chambers preceded this.

That voice! Tracks I thought were Joplin solo works and very cool instrumentation. Amazing stuff, especially for the time.

Vulnerable, plaintive, fragile, intimate, hopeful.

The sound of Christmas - second only to Vince Guaraldi Trio's 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' for me.

The album that brought Metallica into the mainstream and saw their popularity explode. Massive singles, more commercial production, less-complicated songwriting but still a great 'tallica album 🤘🤘

Ignoring the 'is this punk or not' arguments this album seems to have it all: social commentary (much of it still relevant), reggae, rockabilly, rock and, of course, punk attitude. As an album of its age it still stands the test of time.

Sandy & co arguably at the height of their powers mixing US and British folk to create a timeless classic.

As essential as Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On?' for social commentary? I think so.