1001 Albums Summary

I have listened to this one before, and had mixed feelings. Upon a re listen, though, I appreciated the album much more as I think I was a little overwhelmed with the genre blending. This album really transitions dramatically from positive to negative as it goes on, which I enjoyed. I also appreciated the influences of the sound created a lot more than on my first listen. You can tell that these guys are talented, and the musicality and production really stands out. One thing that I still am a bit unsure on is the voice of the lead singer. I know this album could only work with that kind of matter of fact voice, but it’s not for me. 8.5/10 for me

This album feels like it should be played at 1am in a New York Jazz club while the listener is in that depressive state of recovering from a regrettable night of drinking… Soulful vocals and jazzy piano with a great bass and drums come together with the amazing vocal range of Nina Simone. Some of the songs are beautiful - Lilac Wine for me is the pick of the bunch (Jeff Buckley’s version is one of my favourite songs ever) but I loved almost all the tracks. Four Women, though iconic and shocking, felt a bit corny at points. This is not a perfect album - the songs feel relatively disconnected at points - but the quality makes up for it. 7.5/10.

This is very easy listening, road trip across Route 66 type music. Hotel California and Life in the Fast Lane are the standout tracks, with some good riffs. Most of the other songs are, again, easy on the ear and ‘nice’, but lack any real depth or complexity. 5/10.

To me, this album is about the disparities in understanding between the classes in the UK. Being working class is seen as romantic by the upper classes, but the reality is just that it’s actually shit. I enjoyed this more than I thought. Everyone has heard Common People, and rightfully so - it’s a great song. Most other songs are also well written, and I warmed to the vocalists performance as the album went on. Some songs were definitely not as good as others, and I thought it petered out a bit at the end. Still, a strong showing! 7/10

A very well produced hip hop album that leans into the absurd at times, while also delivering many classic early rap/R&B songs. I have already listened to the cover of Killing Me Softly (which is excellent), but also loved Ready or Not, and the cover of No Woman No Cry, which leans heavily into the group’s reggae influences. For me, this album sometimes can lean a bit heavily into the sampling and so felt messy at times. Also, some of the lyrics fell a bit flat for me at points, and I definitely preferred Lauryn Hill’s verses to those of the other male vocalists! A pleasantly surprised 8.5/10

Springsteen isn’t my favourite musician, but I have to admit that this album was good. Bleak, but good. 7/10

That was a hard listen. I get why people rate this album - it was probably way ahead of its time in terms of sampling and is a very influential house/acid/techno album. The problem is that I bloody hate this kind of music, which makes this album hard to rate very highly. I found it just gave me a headache and I found the repetition of each motif about 16 times extremely irritating. In fairness, I did at times enjoy the less screechy tracks (there weren’t many). Sorry chemical brothers - plus you stole Jez and Super Hans’ sound 1.5/10

Lots of distortion, wall to wall guitars, no time to breathe. While I appreciate the experimentation and forward thinking nature of the album, I was slightly overwhelmed at all times while listening to this. Perhaps it just needs a re-listen to appreciate fully. 6.5/10

Fast, complex in both musicality and theme, and very angry. 7.5/10

The Kinks give us short character studies of what it means to be British, in a folk rock, almost psychedelic manner. The songs are almost all very short, but each gives a depth into their story and characters and each is also very well written. Solid 8/10

Some funky stuff here! You can see why this band was only a one hit wonder at the time though. Rip it up, the title track, is still a banger, and I was definitely grooving along to some of the other songs. Most of the album felt like filler to me unfortunately. 4/10

Come on, everyone knows the hits on this one. Even if you’ve been living under a rock, you have listened to Dancing Queen - there is no escape. Lots of hits on this, and the commercial success makes sense - these are very catchy, well made songs. There are quite a few stinkers though, and it seems like they ran out of lyrics or just inspiration more generally for a few songs. 5/10

This album is sad reggae. Not just hopeful sad, but sad sad. Powerful lyrics and an important message carry this short album where sometimes the instrumentals fall a bit flat.

Pretentious drivel. One semi-decent song but other than that it’s just a pile of wank. Not sure why it’s on the list - I want that hour of my life back please. 1.5/10

Beautiful songs with laid back vibes, what more could you want? Bravo, Bob. 8.5/10

9/10

Another album where I can see why it was included, but it’s just not for me unfortunately… I like the vibes, but some of the lyrics made me slightly uncomfortable too Perhaps a re-listen might make me appreciate it more, but this is my rating for now 5.5/10

Pretty enjoyable, not sure it’s aged too well though. Some songs are good, some okay, some bad. Again, I’m not really sure why this is on the list - it feels very safe and not that groundbreaking… 4/10

Some very chilled, groovy soul. Hell yeah. This guy’s voice is a tonic to the soul. Loved a lot of the songs - some are a bit samey towards the end and do the classic fade out every time but not much to criticise. Solid 8.5/10

This album just sounds like some dudes high on LSD just jamming some guitars. And I’m kind of into it? 5.5/10

Hell yeah! Great album top to bottom. A lovely hazy mix of blues, rock, and psychedelia. Each song is crafted excellently. For a debut, this is top notch stuff. Only complaint is that it can be a little overblown and screechy at times, which takes me out of the zone a bit. 9/10

Very laid back, chilled blues. I can’t lie, I was vibing a lot during this. Nothing particularly revolutionary but a solid little album from a guy who sounds like he’s been around. 1950-60s Southern US blues vibes always is a hit with me, even if the songs start sounding similar to each other towards the end. 6.5/10

Big dumb fun - this album is just the musical representation of a horny teenage male. Big power chords, sweaty riffs, shrieky vocals, this is the hyper sexualised 80s in a nutshell. Every song is so catchy but paper thin under the lyrics and iconic riffs. A real struggle to rate because it’s so iconic, but actually listening with a critic’s ear actually makes you think while listening - something you wouldn’t normally do when listening to AC/DC. Usually you’re using your head to headbang rather than think! 7/10 for me. The dumbness wins.

These guys are talented at their respective instruments, and there are one or two decent songs and guitar hooks. However, they are also good at making their music complex enough so that the listener can’t actually tell whether what the band has actually played is right and/or is in time (it definitely is, but that’s not the point). They can’t actually write a decent tune, and are trying too hard to show off how much music theory they know - look at me, I know a time signature other than 4/4. Plus the lead singer can’t really sing… No wonder I haven’t heard of them. Rant over. 3/10

Some nice heavy metal here! Smoke on the Water is the standout but some good guitar and drums here. Plus the singer ain’t half bad either. Good stuff. 7.5/10

CRAB RAVE CRAB RAVE CRAB RAVE CRAB RAVE CRAB RAVE CRAB RAVE CRAB RAVE CRAB RAVE CRAB RAVE CRAB RAVE CRAB RAVE CRAB RAVE CRAB RAVE CRAB RAVE CRAB RAVE This is a hard one to rate for me. I really enjoyed the groove and feel of most tracks, and they transitioned pretty smoothly. However, as with most electronic dance albums, most songs went on for too long and some had quite problematic lyrics. It’s not aged that well… 5.5/10

Possibly the worst album yet. The lyrics are something to behold, going from openly homophobic and misogynistic, to childishly angsty, to unintentionally hilarious I’m-a-white-boy-life-is-so-hard, to screamo-scat. It really is as ridiculous as it sounds. How anyone can want to listen to this drivel for over an hour is beyond me. Guantanamo Bay-ass music for sure. Positives include some decent drumming (pretty rare) and a decent Ice Cube feature on the one semi-listenable track. The other feature, with Fred Durst, is the worst on the album and it is one of the worst songs I’ve had the displeasure of consuming. This is an unredeemable album. 0.5/10, and that is GENEROUS

Everything that could be said about this album has already been said. Simply one of the best ever, and redefined music forever. 10/10

A bit too anarchic for me, though I can see the vision. Lots of good guitar work and the drums are next level. Sometimes the vocals lose me in their ridiculousness but I am always brought back. Perhaps this just needs a second take when I’m feeling a bit more like V for Vendetta-ing society. 6.5/10

Good songs, but depressing as hell. I was in the mood for it though. 8/10

Some great instrumentals on this track. This is experimental jazz, and it’s not shy to let you know it either. The horns are loud and obnoxious at times, the music not letting you settle for one second before moving on to the next idea. It’s genius, but at the end you are left a bit overwhelmed by it all and your head hurts a bit. I think I prefer more laid back jazz… 5.5/10