A little self indulgent, with "Voices of Old People" and the Bookends Theme. They take themselves too seriously. Rescued by the classic Mrs Robinson and Hazy Shade of Winter. Old Friends is another high point, with poignant strings and a wistful air. Hazy Shade of Winter was born to be a heavy rock song - the detroit snare on every beat and that killer riff should not work in a folk context, but they do!
Wayne Coyne concocts big daft lovely soundscapes with enigmatic lyrics, and it all leaves me cold. Soz Wayner!
Hard to believe I was in my 40s before I first heard the entire album. It continues to grow on me with repeated listening.
Nite Klub a new favourite - the sound of late 70s London clubbing and a really nice bassline with a little popping. Terry's voice was quite raw and unprocessed on this, which lends it an innocence. When you're young and broke and fed up of racism and injustice, do you moan about it or form a band and make some of the most danceable ska ever written? I can't give this a 5/5 but I would give it a 9/10 if the option was there. This is going on my rotation list and will buy the album.
Exquisite production by Quincy and the vocal harmonies are immense. The best use of a minimoog on bass ever. The worst song on this album was cowritten by Paul McCartney!
The singles are 4s, most of the rest are 2s. Very much of its time. I don't quite get Prince. He could have had an outstanding rock band but he chose pop and manufactured funk.
French African doesn't do it for me
A good rock album destroyed by overproduction.
Neil Hannon has one foot in the 21st century, the other in the 20th and his posterior balances lightly on the 19th. This Elizabethan cad muses about the NHS whilst jauntily bashing a harpsichor in his red velvet smoking jacket. The wit of Wilde combined with the pointed derision of Churchill, are delivered with tongue firmly lodged in cheek. For all the epic lyricism and arrangements, the songs are as ephemeral as candy floss.
Dull, except for Tina's playing
This album is as close to perfect as any I have heard. Food for the brain from Paddy McAloon, and the ears from the band and producer Thomas Dolby. Glimpses of heaven appear when Wendy Smith's vocals blend with lush pads. These songs were written by a child, performed by children, but sound like they were created at the end of long, well-lived lives. There are moments where the synth pads date the recording, but that's the closest that I can come to a criticism. Someday I will write a song nearly as good as the worst song on this album... maybe.
I forgot that Madness very quickly stopped being a ska band, and went pure pop. They had developed a signature sound at this stage featuring piano bass, a variation on the staxx beat, and a guitar that is so buried in the mix that it's largely imperceptible. Every song here is a quality production, and the singles will still be played in 50 years time, but it lacks the ska energy and rudeboy edge of One Step Beyond. Instead it tells the story of late 70s/early 80s Britain with humour and heart.
Most unpopular musical opinion I hold is that the original Leonard Cohen version of Hallelujah is the best. That said, Jeff brings something special to it. It's the standout track on the album. I found the rest pleasant enough, but his falsetto does annoy me - sometimes he sounds like he's doing a Tiny Tim parody.
This may have been groundbreaking in 1996? It's pretty dull listening today. Some admittedly funky breakbeats layered with jazz, pads, spoken word and random radio recordings. I give it 2 for the beats.
The riffs are good, but this just seems so inauthentic. It's overproduced - so many parts are doubled, and it seems like there's a novelty track on every album. With a rawer sound, and less puerile lyrics, this could be a great album.
A very pleasant album, but The Police had lost a lot of the ska edge that defined them by this point. Sting had started a lifelong journey up his own rear end, decided that it was his band, and the others were pushing back hard. The lyrics are cringeworthy in places, especially when he starts his dinosaur rhymes, but the singles rescue it. A solid 3, but no more.
Underwhelming. A few interesting riffs with the signature Iommi tone, but a weak album overall
I was not expecting to like a Brazilian bossa nova album. Part vulnerable child, part sultry lover, part nurturing mother - Bebel croons over some smooth, melodic jams. Made for vinyl. Yum.
A banger. The dawn of metal. Very interesting to study Iommi's style at this point. He's got a signature sound and rhythm style, but the lead parts are very noodly. Lots of basic scale traversals and a few sub-riffs that are employed in a number of songs. The band works well together, and the songs are great - the Sabbath style was born here, and it peaked here too.
Pleasant soft rock with Status Quo underpinnings and a decided lack of direction. 3 stars for consistency throughout.
Solid 80s corporate cock rock. A disservice to the legacy of EVH. Extra point for Jump.
Pleasant but sterile - couldn't get through it
Fine singer-songwriter, but the tone of her voice annoys me and I don't particularly enjoy her music or lyrics. Sorry Tray!
A slightly maudlin take on the recent folk revival trend. Bluegrass instruments mixed with rock, found sound and electronica. Not very interesting
Ambient oddness. Not very compelling.
I was surprised at how long this album was for a concept album is one's for about an hour and 14 minutes and I think 24 songs there are common themes throughout the album and it's actually very laid back and easy going for the most part but of course pinball Wizard being the outstandard outstanding track in the on the whole album I really enjoyed it but I still think there's a lot of filler and not the 23 tracks could have been 10 quite easily and for that reason I'm giving it to three
You expect greatness from Terry Hall. You expect banging ska from The Specials. This album feels like a a jam project in places - it lacks the innovation and hard edge of its predecessor. It's still a good album, and you begin to hear traces of ideas that led to Fun Boy Three, but ultimately it seems like this was rushed or received less care. "It's all a load of bollocks, and bollocks to it all" Terry sings. The album theme? Still gutted I didn't get to see them before he passed.
Wasn't sure what to expect. More folk revival it seems. Lavish arrangements with folk instruments, strings, brass - must have cost a bomb to record. And what on earth is he singing about. Does he even know himself? Ulysses makes more sense. Yet here I am wanting to listen again. A 3 today, maybe a 4 in the future...
Analogue audio really peaked in the early 80s, before the influx of 12bit digital audio products. Good songs throughout, beautifully played, sung and mixed, albeit with very little going on in the high end. An 80s soul classic.
Big on attitude. Short on songs. The standout tracks here, apart from Brass, are the ballads. Much of the rest is filler - competently played, just not fully formed songs. Great mixes, quite pleasant. A three.
I was not expecting to enjoy this. Big band rock and roll with jazz trumpet. Some great duets. Cheesy lyrics about high note grease. Will be listening again.
A long distance from careless whisper. I think his muse deserted him and this led him to dark places. He could have had a bright future, had he abandoned pop. Great voice, and the songs are... Ok
The best Led Zep album? I'm surprised not to give it a 5. It's a 4.5. A couple of weak tracks take from the glory of Bron Y Aur stomp, Gallows Pole, Since I've been loving you. We rave about Page's electric guitar prowess, but he's possibly better on acoustic.
Shite. Clever shite, but shite nonetheless.
Black hole sun a classis. The rest forgettable. Guitar fights with bass. Kick inaudible
More RNB and soul than trip hop. Solid album, before they found their sound
A jam album, light on funk. Funk is all about the bass, and the bass on this is pedestrian. Nothing notable, but pleasant enough background music.
Imperfect, honest, warm and mesmerising. A classic album. RIP Shane
Born in the USA with a country twang. Made it 4 songs in, which was 3 further than I expected. OK, but not my thing.
Every track top 10 quality. Great production, beautiful moog baselines, imaginative songwriting
Many songs on this album are predictable chord progressions with dirty synth arpeggios and diverse earcandy. Then every so often something hits you - an ethereal ballad or a blistering bassline (open string hammer-on stylee a la Muse), and keeps you listening. A solid 3
From barbershop quartet to yeehaw pedal steel to Southern rock to pure pop, this is a diverse albums. Great songwriters come together and put out a raggle taggle album with some genuine gems
Love that guitar fuzz tone. An album of solid glam rock tunes and preposterous lyrics.
It was an interesting time. Rap went hardcore and political Has lost much of its impact
The bass on this is amazing - real funk powerhouse stuff. The synth programming is rather cheesey. The songs are a bit samey. There's even a squelchy 303 line in here, many years before acid reared its head.
There really is no audible bass part on this album, but it kinda doesn't matter, because the bass of the rhythm guitar part is so pronounced. The interplay between the guitars and drums is a thing of beauty, with rhythms transforming completely many times in every song. Trailblazing while paying tribute to the bands who preceded them, the Lizzy-esque harmony parts are a treat. Liked this more that I expected to.
This is the last album made by a band who wrote a book about how to make a no. 1 single. They followed the formula until the end. The cool rave synth presets, the occasional real instrument riff, motifs borrowed from other songs. Musically, there isn't a lot going on here. Build a Fire is the standout - an ambient poem which may be speaking about the burning of £1 million which gained them much press as a swan song. No reason to revisit this album, ever.
Fresh from his appropriation and commercialisation of punk, Malcolm appropriates and commercialises African and Cuban culture. This is essentially an Art Of Noise album with Malcolm as "creative director", whatever that might mean. Forgettable, unremarkable.
Surprisingly little Wakeman keyboard noodling. Surpisingly lots of acoustic and folk rock. It's fine, but nothing special
A jazzy Booker T. Chilled out blues and jazz instrumentals with tasty licks on sax, hammond and guitar. Great music to work to
Bonnie Raitt is known for being a grafter and known for being authentic. This album sounds like her record label exerted undue influence on her. Sure there's boogie woogie, blues and country. The lyrics approach poignancy in a wife-left-me-do-died sort of way, but the DX7 piano ballads and reggae tinged numbers feel out of place.
Chainsaw guitars and a garage mix. Hooks galore. Amazing pop punk
Not great - shouty vocals, scratchy guitars, basic progressions.
Truth be told, I don't like Joan's voice much. There's a manly tone to it at lower registers, and the falsetto has an unsettling quality. That said, Love and Affection is epic in the true sense of the word. I wasn't expecting the funk workout of People, and the album held my attention throughout.
Madcap Nigerian jazz. Definite Mingus influences. Surprisingly good
My first time hearing the whole thing. the lyrics are clever, the songs are good, but I think the mix should be heavier. The musicians are thrashing their instruments - this should have a harder rock sound to give it the energy it deserves, That would make it a 4
Plinky plonky honky tonky whitey shitey cack tracks. Inoffensive, uninteresting. Next!
There's one really good song on this album. Repeated 14 times. ABC is a formula - tight disco funk overlaid with synthpop and orchestra. Kinda like what Nile Rodgers wanted to do when he first saw Roxy Music. Great guitars and bass, and they occasionally forego the bass for a Moog. Trevor Horn was in the business of making hits, he saved the experimentation for the Art Of Noise.
Mysogynistic hateful shite. I lasted 120 seconds.
Excellent. Primitive given that it came only a few years before the synthpop movement, but pristine and lush in its own way
Clapton tries Americana - largely free of the noodling that does little for me, there's a nice blend of guitar tones, some decent songs and some beautiful Hammond. Not bad, for a Clapton album
Not a bad track. Funk/disco goodness throughout. On paper, a similar formula to ABC, but where the orchestration on Lexicon Of Love seems to dilute the syncopation, here the picolo, brass et al augment it. You nod your head to the attempted sophistication of ABC, but you bop around the room to this record. Melodic bass, palm-muted 16th on the guitar, and life affirming lyrics. It's a thing of joy. Will be listening again.
A transitional album. The songwriting is transforming from 60s rock and roll, through psychedelic 60s Americana and into something uniquely Beatles. Norwegian Wood is a line in the sand - Indian instruments, acid lyrics and genuinely inventive. The recording quality is excellent (remastered version) and the vocal harmonies are pixel perfect. There are some humdrum songs, and I can't quite give it a 4
Beep boop. Starts slow and builds. Sonically interesting, musically less so. Uptempo ambient for programmers on a high dose of caffeine.
As he aged, his voice grew impossibly deep, resonant. At times it cracked a little, but it always commanded attention. Some say he never died, he just went subsonic and now sings to the whales in the atlantic. A fair album with nice arrangements, although the vocal melodies are generic. The lyrics as always are lofty and mysterious. He speak/sings about passion like a man in his 20s.
Bruce has one song, and he's been singing it 14 times per album for 5 decades now. The songwriting is fine, if you grew up in Nebraska in the 60s, but dull otherwise. The music is solid, although I didn't much care for the mix.
The tunes are good, some tasty riffs, but it just isn't heavy. The guitar tone is too clean, and the keyboards, although prodigiously played, suck the edge from the songs.
Like Curtis Mayfield and Isaak Hayes got together to do a blaxploitation movie soundtrack. Kinda groovy, kinda funky. Big drums and big sounds.
The musical theatre is still in the words, but it has all but disappeared from the vocalisation and orchestration. This Woman's Work is the only real earworm on the album, but a poor Kate Bush album trumps a good album from most other artists.
Could get no further than 2 songs in - boring
Liam Gallagher is an obnoxious boor who can't write a song. Let's take Live Forever
Maybe I don't really wanna know
How your garden grows
'Cause I just wanna fly
Lately, did you ever feel the pain
In the morning rain
As it soaks you to the bone?
Maybe I just wanna fly
Wanna live, I don't wanna die
Maybe I just wanna breathe
Maybe I just don't believe
Maybe you're the same as me
We see things they'll never see
You and I are gonna live forever
What a load of absolute twaddle. And he then goes on to sing the same verse/chorus another two times, the lazy git, a tactic he repeats.
Noel can knock out a decent tune and they kind of reinvented the indie stadium rock sound after the Cult defined it with love, but can't override the annoyance that I feel everytime I see his stupid self-satisfied, punchable face, or hear his faux-Manc posturing vocals. Sun-sheeee-yine - fuck off!
About 5 songs into this album, you realise that the DWs have a formula, but it's a pretty good one. It's rock, but sanitised through production and multiple overdubs. It's upbeat, but it's not hugely compelling, and lends itself to passive listening. Scrapes a 3
Even in 66, Jagger's voice was annoying. Due to studio tech, the recording is thin with a notable absense of kick and bass. Apart from Paint It Black - one of the few original tracks they wrote, this is a work of honky tonk Americana with little subtlety or individuality.
There's something primal about this. It's the sound of a troubled woman excise her most personal demons in public. It's raw, sometimes almost uncomfortable, but also beautiful
Great songwriting. Her voice is a little unusual. This reminds me of Carole King.
Insipid, lily livered dirges. I don't like Chris Martin. He sounds like he gargles his ex wife's fanny perfume.
Almost perfect. The lo-fi recording gives the album gravitas. The lyrics tell detailed stories. A master poet and songwriter. I don't think he ever surpassed this debut.
Fiddy likes bitches, his niggas, popping caps in said niggas' asses, getting high, money, jewellery. This album is the sound of pure dumb testosterone and drive-by shootings. I hate what it represents, but there are some interesting raps and beats.
I like a bit of Miles, and this was pushing boundaries - lots of electric guitar, electric piano and drums that borrow a little from the rock world. Unfortunately the pieces sound like improvised noodling with little musical structure to my untrained ears, "like a goat shitting into a tin bucket" as an old lady once said in response to hearing experimental jazz. I wouldn't listen to this actively again, but it's pleasant background listening.
Well produced - I thought I knew one song, turns out I know 3. Well produced, reasonable hooks on the singles. I might listen again, but am ok if I never hear Mr Brightside again.
In a strange realm, pink bunnies cuddle on candyfloss clouds while minotaurs eviscerate each other in a river of blood. Welcome to the world of Bjork, the tapped but brilliant sub-arctic pixie activist. Oftentimes the quest for high art and new sonic vistas results in the song being left behind. It's hard to hear her extract 17 syllables from a word that typically yields one, without cracking a wry grin. Yet when she gets it right, as she does on It's Not Up To You and a few others, it's very special indeed. Patchy, with moments of excellence.
"I ping a boy, he a bad boy"
"My chicken he make a messy"
When someone sings in a foreign language, my idiot brain tries to find English phrases in it. Those are two I extracted. The obvious frame of reference when looking at an African Western collaboration is Paul Simon's Graceland. This is a more lofi experiece, you can clearly hear the sound of the room where they recorded, and it's not an acoustically treated room. It helps to transport you, and you can almost smell the savannah. Musically, it's mostly western in tone, with electric guitar on top of African instruments. There are some African folk style songs and some blues noodling. Quite pleasant, but not hugely memorable.
Before the anthem days, this is still very much using the stripes formula - simplistic drums and a few tasty licks. Ok.
Another album of the same song. This is a better production though - the brass and piano fill out the sound. It's pleasant enough, but I just don't see Born To Run as an anthem.
