First ever album served to me by the generator on the First Day of 2026, and… well… where do we go from here?
A classic album from a classic year (1995) in which the UK was going crazy with Oasis (as in 2025) and other swaggering laddish Britpop, this album, Radiohead’s guitar album, was going in its own direction entirely.
Full of angst, rage, and despair, this album feels immediate from the first shimmering notes through to its final guitar-picked outro, with not a single track letting it down. It feels amazing now to think this was a band struggling with the idea of being defined by Creep and possibly a one-hit wonder band.
I say it feels immediate, but I remember in the heady days of discounted singles buying My Iron Lung and the High and Dry/Planet Telex singles and struggling to get into them before plumping for the album and subsequent singles. Like many, it took me a while to grow into this album. This might be, as I said, because 1995 was an exceptionally great albums year, but it wasn’t really until the end of ‘ 96 and beginning of ‘ 97 that I was playing this end to end and really appreciating the musicianship and creativity on the record. Then immediately came OK Computer and that Glastonbury performance I was lucky enough to be at. But that’s another story.
Thom Yorke really found his voice on this record and has probably never sounded better.
Ironically, in building this album to distance themselves from Creep, they created a kind of post-grunge rock sound that was taken up and amplified, IMHO, in a poor way by bands like Muse and from that another sound to distance themselves from (for a while anyway).
A classic.
Best songs - All of them. Sequenced brilliantly as well.
Having missed the Chance to go to Live Aid (I was just 15 at that time) I jumped at the chance to go to the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday concert at Wembley Stadium I was just 18 and really thought Music could help change the World. Having negotiated pamphleteers from (I think) the South African Embassy handing out leaflets detailing why we shouldn’t celebrate a terrorist I made my way towards the front of the stage.
The Mandela concert was not only in front of a sold out 72,000 crowd but being televised pretty much worldwide and so to keep continuity as well as the main stage there was a small second stage where comedians and smaller artists (or artists not so well known in the UK such as the amazing Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens) etc played whilst the main stage was being reconfigured. Having already seen such artists as Sting, The Eurythmics and a surprising George Micheal, amongst others, out onto that small stage stepped a diminutive Black Women with an acoustic guitar that then very nervously, and with little eye contact, launched into a three song set. Later, at peak time, as we all waiting for the mystery special guest little did we know that Stevie Wonders software for his keyboards had either been lost or stolen and so we were treated to two more songs (including Fast Car) as the organisers hurriedly pushed out Tracy Chapman to cover.
This second set would have been conservatively watched by half a billion people. This was, as a music obsessed teen, my first exposure to Tracy Chapman and I’m sure most of that half billion. It genuinely was a standout moment of the concert. I quickly acquired the album and knew it very well by the time I saw her again in September as part of the Amnesty Human Rights Now Tour by which time it was a global hit.
Listening back to this after many years, did this deserve the hype and recognition? I think so.
The albums songs mark Chapman as an observer of life especially of marginalised society and cover things like race, poverty and domestic violence, with a strong acoustic feel backed with a nicely produced backing band and warm clean bass.
The album is nicely sequenced as well, for instance the bleak a Capella of behind the wall being followed by Baby Can I Hold You.
I noted that another reviewer described this as Secretary Rock and in my mind nothing could be further from the truth. Released in the Reagan era when Whitney, Dirty Dancing and George Micheal were topping the charts this stripped back, acoustic and overtly political album often promoted in the way the songs were originally performed by one small, black woman and her acoustic guitar was radical. Even if the music is easily digestible the tremor of the voice and the righteous anger draws you in (were they even listening).
Listening some 38 years on was interesting. At 18 it was an optimistic call for change but listening back at 56 the Revolution never came that she was talking about. Nobody had to answerer the questions in Why and I imagine behind the wall still resonates with many.
If anything the lyrics
Love is hate
War is peace
No is yes
And we're all free
Feels more relevant than ever in the MAGA generation.
I bought Erykah Badu’s Baduizm when it was released and then loved it so much I bought Baduizm Live when it was released straight away but when I saw this album come up via https://1001albumsgenerator.com I had to look it up to see if I owned it (I did). I also didn’t recall any of the tracks on it so probably didn’t play it that much.
Two spins later and I kind of know why. Erykah has a great voice, there are some great musicians on board playing the neo soul music. There are some interesting lyrics. Songs cover breakup, sisterhood and the shooting of unarmed Amadou Diallo by NYC cops.
I listened to this album twice today and it was a little bit of a struggle. The album clocks in at just under 72 minutes and I feel it is too long and frankly dragged on a bit.
Badu has a fantastic voice but at times I felt the tempo and tone was a bit too similar and a bit Languid. By the time it hit into “…& on” the fourth track on the album I was grateful for the change in tempo and style, and possibly just familiar with the take in the song from her familiar first album. It is about 3/4 of an hour before a duet with Stephen Marley and I was really great fil for another voice no matter how good hers is.
On second listen I was impressed by some of the musical styles on display in the mix jazzy, funky, soulful and a little bit psychedelic how it all melded together but maybe it was the day I was reviewing as I still didn’t feel that moved.
I do think there is a possible great 45 minute album mixed in this somewhat bloated album that I might enjoy on a different as there are some good tracks on this and I wish I could give it 3.5 stars, but I can’t, so it’s a 3 star review for this one.
Punchy and swinging big band music on this album of songs written by and arranged by Neal Hefti who would become well known for some as the man that wrote the Batman Theme.
It kicks off immediately with some punchy Brass on “The Kid From Red Bank” before quickly going into a fairly minimalist Piano Solo and it is clear as you go through the album that there is plenty of room for soloing from Basie on the Piano and the Sax and Trumpet players as the tracks progress. Trumpets on Duet (sounding quite wah wah and sleazy in places). Tempo changes from track to track and the album does not outstay its welcome at less than 40 minutes in which a lot is packed in.
This is a great album and I can imagine in the pre rock n roll days how exciting it would have been to see a bigger jazz band like this in a hall belting out these tunes at volume. I listened to the original mix and the 1994 remaster and suggest that at least once you pop up the volume (maybe on headphones) and feel the atomic force of this band.
This had never been on my Radar and was a pleasant surprise indeed. I doubt I would ever had heard it without the 1001 albums project. Exquisite piano playing improvisations across an hour from a Live Solo one-off concert really impressed me. Whilst described as Jazz I thought this felt almost classical in many places (though maybe not the whelps and grunts that suggested how much Jarrett was getting into this performance himself). I listened to both the original recording and the 50th anniversary master.
This album is a great listen without knowing anything about it but once you start reading the backstory the improvisations take on a whole new relevance and it adds to the overall appreciation of the album. It’s worth a read. No spoilers here.
I know some will think the backstory shouldn’t change what you think of the music but for me I am a whole package person and it’s all part of the art. If you’ve appreciated the Divorce Album or enjoyed an album because you knew about creative tensions of the band or understood what pharmaceuticals or personal demons then appreciating the context under how this recording was made is no different.
Will I play this new discovery again - Yes
Back in the day when people bought papers and magazines I used to read the NME quite a lot. Mainly my mates unless there was a freebie or so going (as I was all about the Magazines Like Q, Select, Vox and later Mojo). The NME were responsible for helping break a lot of bands and one of the things they used to do was an annual NME tour (Brats, shockwave and so on). They used to have 4 up and coming bands.
In 2004 the first band on in the evening and possibly the best IMHO was Franz Ferdinand. Energetic, stylish and poppy you kind of new you would hear them again. The debut album also came out in 2004 and having seen the tour on the 8th February and no doubt having voraciously consumed all of the reviews I would have bought this the very next day when it came out on the 9th. I am grateful to have purchased in the days when ltd releases and bonuses came if you bought early (not in a repackage) so the CD came with a bonus Live at the Paradiso CD as well.
The main album is just around 40 minutes of Art School Punk Pop. Yes it does seem to draw influence from bands like Gang of Four and Television but this was the early naughtiest and so having a fresh hound vibrant band like this was great. I seem to remember that in an interview they said they just wanted to make music that Girls could dance to and they certainly did that. Indie discos every wear played tracks like Take Me Out and I imagine they still do now. In fact seeing the, recently on the telly box playing Glastonbury or somewhere they were still playing a fair few from this album and the audience certainly knew the tunes.
Whilst making people dance you can certainly tell that this debut album was made by art school kids and they certainly had an image, but that’s what we want yeah? The album is quite varied musically but relies on angular and tight playing structured so some songs switch tempos and move from laid back to punchy and in your face. Perhaps Germanic? It is also lyrically interesting as well and it is certainly a great debut.
It does stand the test of time and as it is a debut I would give it four stars. It was good to catch up with it again.
For reference the other three bands on the NME tour were The Von Bondie’s, The Rapture (also great) and the headline act Funeral For A Friend
When this popped up I immediately assumed that I would have had this, but no, it terns out that I had Red Heaven and University and had probably come to them via the Pixies and not the other way round. Therefore this might be the first time I had heard this rather good debut album.
I immediately thought of Siouxie Sue on hearing the first track of this album but this doesn’t last through the album as Kristin Hersh is quite a versatile vocalist and her vocals twist and turn throughout the album and the addition of Tanya Donnelys vocals works well. It does the loud, quiet, loud quit type vocals so beloved of this period (and grunge) but has much more emotional intensity than just that.
This is a great angry and passionate post punk album with great guitar and rythmic drumming and it is easy to see how this would have influenced the Pixies. Well worth 40 minutes of your time and now available as the first 10 tracks of a compilation with great demo tracks and additional music charting the early days of the band. There isn’t really a bad track on the album
I really must go revisit those Throwing Muses, Belly and Pixies albums.
I was sort of dreading the day when I got offered an album to listen to with the words “Jazz Fusion” bandied around it. In the early days of really listening to music I tried to be open minded (still do) around listening and also wanted to listen to skilled musicians. Having an early interest in my brothers Gong records I had heard things like Pierre Moerlen's Gong and indeed had even see a version of Weather Report at Glastonbury but nothing really made me want to posses an album like this as I was left a bit underwhelmed.
So what does this feel like listening after 40 odd years.
Meh.
You cannot doubt the skills of the players but after listening to this album two and a half times I just couldn’t muster any enthusiasm for this album. I know it sold a tonne of records in its day bur so did Bros and I really can’t see how this warrants a place in a “Must Hear’ list.
The biggest plus in hearing this, to me, high end elevator music, was that the album wasn’t overly long. Sorry guys but not for me but I might find some fusion I like yet.
After listening to this album I have decided that The Police are a good singles band and an average albums band. I did listen to this a couple of times and it’s OK, but that’s it for me. I don’t feel like I have any need to revisit it again.
Looking through my own collection I was shocked to see that I had a CD box set with all of the Police’s Studio albums and. B-sides. I must have bought it in some kind of bargain sale as the fact I didn’t know I had it probably says it all.
This is an album that sounds both fresh and dared at the same time. Dated as the fairly minimal and clean beats along side the rock god guitar samples (and in some cases recorded contributions) put it firmly of an age, but the youthful, dumbass punky vocals and enthusiasm busts out of the record making it feel current and fun.
This is a party album from three fresh faced white boys from New York that was a pioneer alongside Run DMC in the rock rap genre that helped break hip hop into the mainstream. I guess Rick Rubin the producer for both acts played a large part in this.
I was very familiar with some tracks. You couldn’t avoid the excellent frat boy “Fight for your right to party” at one point, nor “No Sleep to Brooklyn” but the whole album is full of energy and interplay between the boys and it doesn’t outstay its welcome.
I did not buy this at the time of release. In the UK stupid newspaper reports had decided to turn the Beasties into some kind of danger to our youth. Before the Beasties Boys had touched down on their UK tour there were false headlines accusing them of dissing kids with Cancer amongst other things and inventing stories to make them public enemy number one. It led to crowds in some places almost wanting to take on the bad boys of rap and in Liverpool famously led to a very short show and the arrest of one of the band for throwing a can at the crowd. That and the fact that a clever parody of the big gold chains that were becoming standard wear for rappers led to Mike D wearing a VW badge, which in turn led to VW cars being deprived of their badges country wide as kids replicated the fashion dominated the headlines. It’s a shame it wasn’t for the music really as it wasn’t half bad.
This is a weird mix of funk, Indian, psychedelia and so on. It was definitely interesting to listen to but the songs were quite disjointed and it didn’t feel like a coherent album. As a soundtrack it might work excellently within the confines of a film but as I haven’t seen the film I can’t judge.
Weirdest thing for me was “One Two Cha Cha Cha” which feels a little like an odd novelty record that doesn’t feel quite like it has succeeded in its goal being chucked into the middle of the record. It try’s to meld the Cha Cha Cha Latin rhythms with Indian Music and in the middle of that throws in a disco line with “That’s the way ah ha ah ha I like it ah ha ah ha”. Not all the album is like that some of it feels quite traditional. As I said, disjointed.
I can certainly understand how this might be part of a “must hear” list of albums as it is a kind of everything and the kitchen sink introduction to Bollywood. I do think, however, that there might be more joined up flowing soundtracks to be explored. A fun listen nonetheless.
This album is in my personal top 100 for sure.
Back when MTV actually cared about the Music that was originally part of its meaning there were a whole set of Unplugged, acoustic, one off performances and I imagine MTV were delighted with getting Nirvana, a band at the height of their powers. They must have been excited to see how the band might acoustic wise translate their songs. Equally some fans of the energetic, loud grunge super stars might have wondered how those songs might translate and if it would be ruined.
What we actually got in my honest opinion was a master class in how an unplugged show should be. There was no lazy translation of smells like teen spirit instead Nirvana songs were carefully chosen that played out brilliantly in the mainly acoustic environment and also careful cover versions (and friends) were added that showcased Nirvanas influences. Standout in those covers were Bowies The “Man Who Sold the World” and Leadbelly's Where Did You Sleep Last Night. The band and friends got the brief and so there were no attempts at Rock God drums or anything. Cobain's voice sounds fragile in places and he uses his vocals to bring out a range of emotions (the Leadbelly song a vocal masterclass).
This turned out for me not to be an add on live album but an essential release in itself. It was never meant to be a final statement of the band but unfortunately due to Kurt’s suicide it was. I remember this being played regularly as a memorial in the immediate aftermath and I was slightly worried that it wouldn’t get a release lest people assumed it to be a cash in.
This album is a great part of Nirvanas small but brilliant output, showed the range of the band and what might have been in the future, equally they could have ruined it all so as a final Album (not just a normal live release) it stands the test of time. I couldn’t give it anything less than 5 stars
Is this the greatest Guitar Album in History? I don’t know. Is it the most important Guitar Album I’m history? I reckon it is a strong contender.
I probably first started listening to Hendrix in my teens in the 1980s and even then when there was so much rock, metal, punk and so much emerging stuff that I consumed via John Peel etc I thought it sounded fresh, creative and vibrant.
Maybe some of this sounds slightly dated now, not all of it and that’s a matter of opinion, but this as a debut Album probably changed the direction of music fundamentally and certainly influenced countless guitarists through the ages. No Jimi, no “insert rock guitarist name here”.
And it’s not only great Guitar playing, the Rhythm section of Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding trash away here and add massively to the sound. I’ve also thought that Hendrix is a pretty decent vocalist as well.
I wasn’t sure which version of this debut album to listen to. The UK version was released first but omits the three singles that were released first and the US version includes them dropping some other tracks. In the end I opted for the deluxe version which included all of it but it’s 17 tracks still came in at around an hour and didn’t’ outstay its welcome.
This is an OK album but there isn’t much more to say than that
Yes it’s nice to listen to, yes it’s impressive that it was mainly made solo on a laptop (but hey there is a tonne of stuff like that on Bandcamp that’s better), and yes it is slightly unusual in the fact that it uses a lot of soft rock type samples.
None of that explains why this is in the 1001 records list though
Interesting story around the production of the album and an end to end set of big bombastic and catchy tunes, everyone could have been a single.
So an amazing debut album.
I still didn’t really like it. It was like a rush you get from over processed food. You start off liking it then you feel flat, empty and a bit off colour
Not my thing.
Great album of early rock n roll with 12 tracks of fun in less than 30 minutes
Raucous political punk debut from a hugely influential band. Deserves to be on the list
Fantastic reggae album that still sounds brilliant today. The dub album is also awesome
I’ve had this album for much of my music listening life and it is always good to revisit. It is hard to believe that Bowie was still playing intimate venues when making this album as it is so self assured. It is a sort of concept album taking on the persona of a huge rock stat before Bowie became that huge Rock Star himself (mainly through this album)
Only some of the songs sound a bit dated now (not at the expense of the music) and much feels pretty fresh and timeless. Listening to the Arnold Corns versions of some of the songs show that there was a step change in the music style when it came to this album. It certainly doesn’t feel like the music is over 50 years old.
The Ziggy persona influenced so many artists and music going forward. I understand that the first time this was seen was as influential as Punk, and as shocking as when Boy George appeared on our screens.
5 star for Music, Style and Impact
Quite a varied selection (not just relentless hardcore) in a fairly structured set of songs.
I can see why this was considered breaking new ground and a must listen. That doesn’t equate into a must like for me
Elements of Dub, Ambient and Trip Hop surface in this 1977 folk rock classic from John Martyn. Loving the echoplex guitar and the way his lyrics almost lazily slur into each other.
The instrumentation definitely sound a bit dated but still fantastic. I reccomend people seal out some live sets. Johns 1985 set at Glastonbury for example is available on streaming services (yes I was there)
Baby no more times.
Unfortunately the generator dished this one up for me on a day I was commuting via bus and I, as a man in his 50s, had a full screen lock screen of a 17 year old American girl on her knees gazing coyly and adoringly up at me (and the bus driver as I lent in to pay via contactless). Cheers random generator dude.
Headphones on and shielding my phone from fellow passengers I sat down ready to give this my full and rapt attention.
The first song, that had already played as I queued is instantly recognisable. A great into and a really catchy tune. Would we, the great public, known that if it hadn’t’ been for the accompanying video of all-American pigtailed school girl Britney dancing in the corridors? This video played out everywhere, and according to my Reddit brought the staff and punters of one Blockbusters Video store to a standstill. I think the song with its opening base note and “ooh baby baby” would be strong enough without the video, however, I was surprised that the album didn’t open with a ticking clock and a ringing school bell.
The rest of the album wasn’t recognisable or memorable. If you’d asked me I would have told you that the second single would have been “Oops I did it again” and the third or fourth the excellent “Toxic”. Instead it would have been something from the Factory Pop mediocre sludge that I think the rest of the album is.
Noticeable low lights on the album include the raga tinged “Soda Pop” which was so bad it instantly drew to mind the infinitely better parody song “Equality Street” by Ricky Gervais. Also the soppy ballad “Email my heart” a lazy lyrical song for the kids which I’m sure the writer thought was really clever at the time. Email my heart? No. Mark as spam and move to junk.
This was a poor debut album front ended by one great song. Britney deserved much more than this, more care from the writing team and, considering this launched her into fame so fast, more care all round.
Meh
Maybe I’ll try this again but I remained disinterested during my listen
Good album but not their best
Great live album that I will revisit again
This might have been groundbreaking or influential at the time and/or artistically challenging but it was boring and didn’t interest me
