Always been a favourite anyway but revisiting was a lovely way to start this project, I fear I may have peaked too early...
Playlist track: Sir Duke
This had been on my to listen list for the last 10 years with good reason. Extremely my shit, will probably go up in rating after a few more listens.
Playlist track: Eyes To The Wind
This album is lightyears ahead of its time. I understand why it doesn't land for some people but it has everything for me.
Playlist track: Gloria: In Excelsis Deo
American Girl is obviously a massive highlight and would maybe earn a spot on 1001 songs but this album isn't really very memorable. I listened to it twice through and could only tell you about American Girl.
Playlist track: American Girl
Curtis Mayfield has an amazing voice, this is a style of music I'm not that overly familiar with but I really enjoyed this. Hoping to dig into more.
Playlist track: Freddie's Dead
I knew the mega hits from this album but have never listened to it through. Ironic is one of those songs that I've heard in the context of being a single so many times its actually kind of jarring in the album but it does still flow well. I thoroughly enjoyed this and found myself running it through twice back to back then listening to a few stand out songs again right after.
Playlist track: You Learn
Always backed Blur over Oasis a much more interesting band through and through. You can see how many bands are influenced by the various sounds on this album and there's enough variety that its a thoroughly enjoyable listen.
Playlist track: London Loves
I've always appreciated the importance of this album and I know that its good but I just don't think its for me. There's a level of irony about this album being released by Sony as well.
I'd love to give this album 3.5/5 or a 7/10 but I need to round it and the coin flip came up tails so its a 3.
Playlist track: Know Your Enemy
Enjoyed this to start with but I checked out halfway through. This is impressive and I think I would enjoy it in smaller bursts or in the background but I can't imagine myself going back to it fairly often.
Playlist track: Live For Today
I would have never listened to this under any other circumstances. To be honest I didn't hate it or really have any negative feelings towards it. It just isn't something I'm ever going to listen to again, I do appreciate it from an educational standpoint though.
Playlist track: Mast Nazroon Se Allah Bachae
I’ve known the name Def Leppard forever but the only song I know is Pour Some Sugar On Me which is extremely cheesy but fine. Pretty much sums up this album it was inoffensive but I forgot about it as soon as it finished.
Playlist track: Excitable
I like heavy music, I like Sabbath but this did absolutely nothing for me. It felt like a slog despite not even being that long.
Playlist track: Living Wreck
This album or these albums? Basically two solo albums packaged together to meet label demands. Andre 3000’s The Love Below was such an ambitious release for a rapper at this time and spawned some truly mega hits, no matter how many times I hear Hey Ya it still makes me smile. Big Boi on the other hand shows us more of why OutKast were so hot at this time with more of their classic sound.
This album holds a special place for me as it really was my gateway into discovering other kinds of music than just punk. Before this I would have called anything that wasn’t a shouty punk band lame.
These days I probably prefer Speakerboxxx to The Love Below but both are fantastic. I would say they are better to listen to as individual pieces rather than one album. I would love to pick a song from each disk for my playlist but it feels like I’m flouting my own rules but it would have been Happy Valentines Day from the Love Below.
Playlist track: Flip Flop Rock
Parts of this are good and parts of it have aged pretty poorly. I’d say the good mostly outweighs the bad but there isn’t anything groundbreaking here.
Playlist track: Mama Said Knock You Out
Okay so I already knew drum & bass was really not my thing but I thought I’d give it a go. I couldn’t finish this I’m sure it’s great if you like this kind of thing but I just don’t get it. I just found it kind of boring.
Playlist track: Music
This all feels very familiar despite only knowing Weather With You. This kind of pop rock always takes me back to Summer evenings in the garden with my family and despite this album not being a part of the rotation for that it would have fit in perfectly.
Playlist track: Tall Trees
There are a few more highlights than I expected (Send My Love, Water Under The Bridge) but man do all the ballads get tiresome. An undeniably talented woman with an incredible voice just so many boring songs.
Playlist track: Water Under The Bridge
I know the amount of Britpop on this list is maligned by many and that is fine not everyone will enjoy everything but just try and listen to this album for what it is 12 absolute rippers from one of the best bands to every do it.
No, its not The Holy Bible but it doesn't need to be and I personally wouldn't want it to be. The Holy Bible is a masterpiece so why try and outdo yourself in that style when you can release an equally incredible album with such a stylistic change.
Its hard to speak about this album without the context of the disappearance of Richey Edwards lyricist and creative force behind the Manics who vanished the year before. How the band managed to release an album so full of hope in the wake of such tragedy is a sight to behold. I will always turn to this album in my darkest moments.
There are at least 9 tracks on this album I would include on my playlist if I could Enola / Alone is one of my first favourite songs and was my introduction to the band. No Surface All Feeling is a beautiful closer and a fitting farewell. I could find something positive to say for every song on this album but I'm going to choose A Design For Life.
It is of course the popular pick but the undeniable energy of this working class anthem is palpable and I will never tire of hearing it.
Playlist track: A Design For Life.
Kind of like The Smiths Lite but in a good way. I have never heard of this band before but can see myself checking out some more of their work.
Playlist track: Was There Anything I Could Do?
The opening one two punch of Changes into Oh! You Pretty Things is truly something else. Then you throw in Life On Mars? and Queen Bitch and you've got some of Bowies best.
That said this isn't the Bowie album I normally reach for but after playing through it today I think I might do so more. Not everything here works for me but the majority of it does I'd probably give this a 4.5 if I could and it might be a rating I come to change in the future.
Playlist track: Oh! You Pretty Things.
The story of Smile is in a lot of ways more interesting than the album itself, although this isn't a slight against the album by any means.
Brian himself has said that the album he originally would have made would have been very different to the 2004 release and that's partly where the fascination holds. Are the sessions better? Some might think so. Personally I'm not so sure these are probably the definitive versions of these songs for me.
Hearing tracks like Heroes & Villains or Good Vibrations on this album can be a little uncanny valley. They might not be the versions you're used to but maybe they are the best versions?
While there are beautiful moments on here there is also a lot of absurdist humour and when listening to it you can't help but Smile.
Playlist track: Heroes and Villains
Not Stevie's best but that puts it ahead of most other music still.
The highs on this are astronomical and the pure joy that fills You Are The Sunshine of My Life is a wonderful way to begin an album but it trails off a bit until Superstition starts a solid run to the end.
Playlist track: Superstition
No one needs to hear Sex On Fire either for the first time or again before they die.
This is mostly just fine if not kind of annoying in parts.
Playlist track: Manhattan
Well, I'm Mike D, and I'm back from the dead!
I love this album/band so much when I was in NYC I made a pilgrimage to Beastie Boys Square where the album cover photo was taken.
Samples and shouting yeah that is what makes up this album and it totally rules.
The album itself is just end to end fun. While Licensed to Ill has the hits and individual tracks that I listen to more I prefer Paul's Boutique as an album experience.
Playlist track: Shake Your Rump
