1001 Albums Summary

Track 1 - See No Evil Upbeat, love the drums, blind bliss Track 2 - Venus Venus de Milo (Aphrodite), lovestruck, quite poetic, meaning a bit lost on me, high on drugs or life?? Track 3 - Friction Carried by bassline, vocals bit shaky, drags on a bit Track 4 - Marquee Moon Long song, catchy riffs, song about experiencing life whether good or bad, doesn't feel 10+ minutes long, satisfying structure (cyclical) shows reflection, very cool lyric change from 'just waiting' to 'hesitating' to 'I ain't waiting' before leading into instrumental break. (moment I realised this album was special), Verlaine's vocals shine and really fit this style. Track 5 - Elevation Least punk feeling, don't want to be soaked up in city culture, dreams of shores and seas, feels too literal, great guitar solo Track 6 - Guiding Light Floatiest vocals yet, nice chords (keys could be mixed better), loss of a lover, unsure of future without them, optimistic outro Track 7 -Prove It Another great bassline, search for meaning questioning, 'case' is life, meaning of life is confidential, repetitive Track 8 - Torn Curtain Good closing track, catchy quite solemn chorus, time passing, endless cycle of hardship coming with time Overall Television's debut Marquee Moon is a very British feeling post punk record by a NYC band. Explores themes of life, time, love and hardship spurred on by very poetic and abstract lyrics. Verlaine's vocals are very floaty and raw fitting with the style. Undeniable influence in the art rock and post punk genres. Phenomenal instrumentals. Felt some songs were slightly repetitive and overstayed their welcome. Favourite songs: Marquee Moon, See No Evil, Venus, Guiding Light Least favourite songs: Friction 9/10

Track 1 - Take It Easy Ah it's the Winslow Arizona song, really like the backing vocals, really like this one, banjo fits if a bit cliché Track 2 - Witchy Woman Bit boring, like the guitar solo, not aged brilliantly Track 3 - Chug All Night Really like Glenn's vocals on this, quite like the 'vibe', subtle references to death, feels pretty standard Track 4 - Most of Us Are Sad Not really subtle, drags on, I like the message and see what they're going for, feels really disingenuous after 'Chug All Night' Track 5 - Nightingale Felt like a chore to listen to, the 'ooos' get pretty annoying, unimaginative, cool bit of bass about 3 mins in, most excitement I felt throughout Track 6 - Train Leaves Here This Morning Quite like the harmonies, once again putting me to sleep a bit, simple as it gets Track 7 - Take the Devil I like the instrumentals, not too keen on the vocals or the lyrics, outro feels too long Track 8 - what the fuck is this intro please shut that bird up it sounds like a car alarm, I quite like the ,rest of this one, cool themes and lyrics, doesn't overstay its welcome, best drums on the album, why is the bird back Track 9 - Peaceful Easy Feeling More love, nice vocals, dull lyrics, dull instrumentals, I literally yawned during this Track 10 - Tryin' Not much to write home about, once again not brill vocals Eagles self titled album released in 1972 is soulless and drab. I had hopes after quite a first track but those quickly dwindled as the album felt quite simple in themes and instrumentals. For an album so focused on freedom as a core aspect it feels like they refused to really experiment. It is a shame because there are moments of greatness particularly in the harmonies, drums and bass. The best way I can describe this album is cookie cutter. 2/10

Track 1 - Missing Pieces Very nice and satisfying guitar work, love the instrumentals as a whole, feels really bluesy with the keys, really like this one Track 2 - Sixteen Saltines Holy shit the instrumentals go hard, would like a bit more passion and soul Track 3 - Freedom at 21 Not a huge fan of how Jack sings this, pretty cool lyrics Track 4 - Love Interruption Definitely catchy, keys are nice, feels like it's lacking a bit of oomph in the instrument department Track 5 - Blunderbuss Nice strings, I like the lyrics, most passion from Jack so far, Jack does this thing where he cuts the instrumental sings a line then kicks it back in, it's cool the first few times but it gets a bit annoying seeing as a lot of the composition is pretty good. Track 6 - Hypocritical Kiss Nice piano once again, feels like it's going somewhere and then stops again, fits Jack's voice Track 7 - Weep Themselves To Sleep Theme of nice piano, quite intense, lyrics are kinda cringe, back to bluesy which is nice Track 8 - I'm Shakin I like the backing vocals, some of my fave vocals, why does he say nervous like that Track 9 - Trash Tongue Talker Lost me a bit, really nice piano as per, doesn't jump out at me enough Track 10 - Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy Very cool drums, doesn't make me feel all that much Track 11 - I Guess I Should Go To Sleep Nice bass at the start, not the hugest fan of the vocals, Track 12 - On And On And On Fitting title for the back half of this record, cool bass, something just feels off, kinda boring Track 13 - Take Me With You When You Go Doesn't feel distinct from the rest of the album, oo this is pretty cool now, don't like the vocals, love the guitar Jack White feels like he's trying to not replicate the sound from The White Stripes but I feel he should've gone the extra mile, he is incredibly talented musically as shown by the composition of a lot of the songs but the album just feels quite repetitive in terms of lyrics and themes, lots of wasted potential here but the album is absolutely saved by Jack's talent. 6/10

Listened while travelling so couldn’t do usual review. Pretty perfect 90s rock album, absolutely enthralled by the vocals, lyrics, instrumentals and as a whole the general vibe of the album. The hits really hit such as spoonman and black hole but even the lesser known songs like let me drown are pretty flawless. 9/10

In future I am ditching the track by track note system in favour of listening to the album in full before sharing my thoughts. Tears for Fears second album is undoubtedly great the themes are great and the lyrics are both well written but also well performed. However I feel like some of the songs failed to hold my interest wether that be with repetitive instrumental or being overshadowed by the other superior songs. The production is phenomenal and this album really does deserve praise. 8/10

Elliott Smith's second album released in 2000 is incredibly satisfying to listen to. Smith's incredibly fitting lyricism and vocals combine greatly with the experimentative and involved instrumentals. The album is very diverse and isn't one note. Some of the songs I feel failed to fully grab my attention while I can still appreciate the themes Smith is going for. These involve love, loss, home and other relatable themes which I think he quite nicely gets across. I think I do prefer his first album but this is a worthy follow up. 7.5/10