1001 Albums Summary

"Broken English" title track vocals reminiscent of an angry tipsy woman singing karaoke; very 80s sound for a late 70s release so I guess it's probably quite inventive. "Witches' Song" adds a second drunk karaoke woman but takes a step back in creativity. Karaoke definitely seems to be the overall vibe of the album - I just have a picture in my head of Marianne wandering around a bar invading people's personal space and "singing" aggressively at them. It's reasonably inoffensive in terms of the actual musicality - a couple of decent guitar hooks and bass lines, I just feel like I'd enjoy all of the songs more if they were sung by someone with a better voice. Favourite track probably "What's The Hurry?" even though I still think the singing is the worst aspect. "Why'd Ya Do It" close second, it's a bit too repetitive musically (breakdown is OK) but the lyrics are amusing.

David Bowie isn't an artist I'd generally choose to listen to, but I enjoyed this album. I think I like his music, just his voice doesn't do it for me. Main negative for me is that the middle of the album is a bit samey, not _bad_, just not different enough that I was particularly aware of each new track. Highlights: - "Five Years", basically a poem set to music, feels powerful, love the emotion building throughout - "Moonage Daydream", lots going on here, love the layers, all just blends so seamlessly and sounds great. - "Starman", probably controversial but I'd prefer this song if it started at 00:20. Rest of it is great. Catchy if slightly repetitive. Still enjoy it though. - "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide", really like how this song builds up musically and emotionally to quite a dramatic final 30 seconds or so, love the instrumentation throughout. Not one I was super familiar with in advance but one I'd happily listen to in future. Looking forward to other Bowie entries in the list.

"City, Country, City" is great. It's a jam. It doesn't outstay its welcome on any one thing. Cool variety of instruments and styles. "Four Cornered Room" - Zoom zoom zoooooooooooooom. Probably my least favourite song, takes 5 minutes to get interesting. The zooms were great though. I wonder if this song was a premonition about COVID lockdowns... *mind blown* Overall, not an unpleasant album. I enjoyed the listen, but definitely feels like "City, Country, City" is the only real highlight.

It's undeniably cheese, but it's the kind of cheese that's also basically cocaine... like Roule. There's enough musical and vocal talent on display that the cheesiness is more than tolerable, and it's not samey such that each song blurs into the next. Good stuff Mr. Piano Man.

Very (British) 60s. Very harmonised, clean vocals. Lots of piano... the better songs also add guitar and drums. "Changes" reminds me vaguely of highschool choirs. Not my favourite, just nothing really going on in it. Highlights: "This Will Be Our Year" - I know this one! Didn't know this was one of theirs. It's a nice little upbeat bit of cheese. "Butcher's Tale" - not my favourite song but I liked the fact that the instrumentation differed... I think it had an organ which is pretty novel! Overall I thought it was easy to listen to, if a little samey. Didn't blow my mind, didn't hurt my ears. Low 3.

"Earthquake" initial thoughts - Oh yay it's edgy stoner music. Weird/surreal black+white trailcam album art. Vocalist mumbling while shoving the microphone into their mouth. After that the album totally changed, which surprised me (in a good way). Bits were kinda dull and uninteresting (e.g. "Sailing"), but I enjoyed it a lot more than the first track made me thought I would. I find the vibe of this album a bit confusing, it's up and down and all over the place, to the point that I'm not sure what it's trying to be. Wait... Was that a saxophone (I don't actually know)?! Most of it is entirely listenable though. Highlights: "Memory Boy" "Desire Lines" "Coronado"

Had no idea going in who Terence/Sananda is... then "If You Let Me Stay" starts - oh THIS song. Totally had no idea who sang this. "Wishing Well" - oh THIS song. Totally had no idea who sang this. I do think the first few songs on the album are very reminiscent of Michael Jackson, similar tone (though I do really like Sananda's voice), even has the vocal tics (high-pitched "hees", "hoos", etc.) in places, and in the music videos, even similar dancing. That said, quite a lot of the album takes a different tone, it's much more solemn/soulful/almost RnB, does really showcase Sananda's voice. Pretty comfortable 3, I don't think this album does anything that hadn't already been done, but Sananda has a great voice and there's definitely a few bangers on here. Honestly a pretty good album that I could happily listen to again - I just think the vocals are the only real draw so can't rate higher.

Love the vocals, like the overall funk, great sax, some nice piano. Pretty decent album. Highlights: "Smooth Operator" - obvious classic for a reason. "Cherry Pie" - involuntary-head-bob song.

Whoever wrote the review comparing this to someone falling on a piano, I simultaneously love and hate you. I read that before I listened, and as a result, kept getting the giggles. I honestly quite enjoyed this, having never gone out of my way to listen to jazz before. I do understand when people say that all the instruments are just doing their own thing, but I don't really agree... This album is fundamentally instrumental, ignoring the one vocal (which was probably one of my least favourite parts of the whole thing), and it gives each instrument a chance to shine and come to the forefront, but even when those solo sections "wander" and start to sound like they're going way off track, it never lasts all that long before it all goes back to one cohesive piece again. I enjoyed some of the instrumental solo sections more than others - have to say that Pursuance lost me a little with the prolonged bass section. The amount of expression forced out of the instruments on this album is mind blowing - and it's all raw, there's no synthetic effects being applies to amplify or exaggerate it. Pretty incredible really, even if it's not to everyone's specific tastes, I think that aspect deserves recognition. Highlights: "Resolution" and "Psalm" were both absolute jams that I'll happily listen to again.

First couple of tracks were OK, thought this was going to be a reasonably pleasant (if average) listening experience... then I got to track 3. "Graveyard Train" riff is just way too repetitive, to the point I was finding it quite irritating, and the track is nearly NINE. MINUTES. LONG. I am going to be hearing that riff in my nightmares. "Good Golly Miss Molly" was such a relief after that. The second longest track ("Keep on Chooglin'") on this album does the same thing - just because there's an instrumental solo doesn't mean that the backing instruments aren't allowed to do ANYTHING but play the same riff on repeat forever. Highlights: "Good Golly Miss Molly" - I maybe just liked this one because it meant "Graveyard Train" had finally ended but it had something going for it I think. "Proud Mary" - classic "Graveyard Train" and "Keep On Chooglin'" ruined this album for me. I absolutely hated those tracks despite some cool solos in "Keep On Chooglin'". If they had been 3 minutes rather than 9 and 8 minutes respectively, then I'd probably not have minded as much, but the repetition was so grating that it distracted me from everything else going on. Very very very low 3. I'd go 2 but I did enjoy all of the other tracks so that feels unfair - if I listen again those tracks are an instant skip.

This made a nice change, because it was just so different from anything else that has come up on this list so far, I've also never given any "world music" like this any serious attention, so it was a new experience for me. Vocals good, drums cool, some fun guitar and bass riffs and general musical playfulness with a nice variety of instruments popping up throughout. Parts feel a little self-indulgent - I don't think "Pitche Mi" needed to be over 9 minutes long, it got a bit boring and repetitive in the middle. Had the same feeling in "Badou" despite it being much shorter. I feel like there's a certain overlap here with jazz, in that it sounds like a jam session with a bunch of talented musicians, just with an African twist in terms of instruments. Slight downside is without being able to understand the lyrics I'm probably missing an important facet of this music. Did I enjoy the listen? Yes. Will I seek out more from N'Dour? Probably not. Straight 3.

Honestly just a bit boring. There's a few intros where there's some experimental stuff going on and it briefly gets my attention but then it just ends up being another samey pop-rock track with some very average vocals. Actually got to the point of minor irritation listening to Bono repeatedly sing "baby baby baby" in "Ultra Violet". This is definitely making me think U2 are seriously overrated. Highlights: - "The Fly" - still nothing particularly exciting, but the heavier feel was an improvement, just because it was less dull. Low 3. Not good, not offensive. I'd go for a 2 on the basis I'm just so bored, but I think that might be slightly unfair on the basis that I haven't hated any individual song, but a whole album is painful.

Musically this has some interesting elements. There's lots of experimentation, and the sound is quite rich; there's never really just one element to it - parts of it even lean into psychedelia. That aside, this is fundamentally rap, and as such, lyrics are important... the issue is that these lyrics don't resonate with me in the slightest. I can appreciate some of the skill in putting together the rhyming structure, but there's also a hell of a lot of pure cringe. I also really don't understand the hype around the social commentary aspect; the vast majority of this album is about sex (with a wildly misogynistic slant). I feel like rapping about your dick, nutting, painting all women as gold-diggers etc. etc. etc. somewhat takes away from any attempt at making astute observations on how society functions beyond "racism exists". Is including some random spoken word sections between tracks really all it takes to elevate this particular rap album to "art" status above all others? None of this was close to making me take my headphones off, and it was an interesting experience, but I'm clearly not the target audience and I wouldn't listen to more outside of this list.

I don't have a lot to say about this. Really really really lovely vocals, but musically just... unremarkable. "Constant Craving" is a TUNE. Straight 3. Great background.

I've never heard of The Adverts before, but the description compared them to the Sex Pistols, who I can't stand, so I was somewhat dreading this. Majorly pleasant surprise - quite an enjoyable listening experience. The lyrics weren't too special, but the music was fun. Little bit generic as far as punk goes, but there were moments where it did something different and played around with rhythm and tempos in a cool way. Feels like a really obvious influence of Kaiser Chiefs. Random additional thought... Electric Six - Gay Bar has the clapping from "No Time to Be 21". Low 4.

I really, really, hate "Live" albums - I find the audience noise really distracting and irritating. Having people whistling/screaming/clapping in the background doesn't add to the music for me. The one big thing I can take away from this being a live show though is that all of the talent on display is 100% real, it's not studio polish or autotune, and my god is there talent on display. I love B.B.'s voice, it has real power, and the gravelly tone gives it emotional weight. His guitar solos are also legendary. Fair to say he makes the instrument sing. Although there's clearly talent in the rest of the band, I do think it's slightly unfortunate that none of the other instruments ever really get much of an opportunity to shine, they're mostly plodding along in the background with the odd piano frill. I'd happily listen to more B.B. King, I appreciate the mahoosive amount of talent on display here, but I'm not going to listen to this album (specifically) again.

Well this one is pretty nostalgic for me... There's lots of experimentation going on in this album, and it's kinda cool, but ultimately it's just not all that interesting to listen to. Too much of it is just a slow, repetitive, plod. Highlights: - 5/4 - Clint Eastwood - 19-2000 Lowlights: - Man Research - Sound Check - Double Bass Too much here I wouldn't go back to to rate any higher than a 3, but nostalgia is going to save it from being relegated to a 2.

Not a fan of the vocals at all - kinda Prince-like but just... not good. Overall the music otherwise is fairly decent. Kinda funky, like the mix of electronic sounds and real instruments. Really mixed feelings overall, there weren't many songs that I liked every aspect of, but I also didn't hate any songs all the way through. I could happily have this album on as background in future but I don't think I'm sold on TV On The Radio based off this listen.

As a rock opera/concept album, this is an "album" in a very pure way - a lot of the tracks flow into each other, there's a cohesive story and recurring themes and motifs. As a result, it's also full of connecting tracks that don't really stand up on their own; they only make sense or work as part of the whole. For me though, too many of these bits are just a bit dull. As for the actual tracks, they're mostly fine, though anything that involves children singing automatically loses marks in my book. There's a nice variety of sounds and instruments, a lot of the tracks sound quite different - and in fairness they're extremely atmospheric. The vocals don't really work for me personally though. Highlights: - "Young Lust" - There's just more going on in this than in most of the tracks on the album. - "Hey You" - "Nobody Home" - atmospheric, has a piano, not the worst vocals on the album, has a piano. - "Comfortably Numb" - still kinda hate (some of) the vocals, but musically interesting and varied. Lowlights: - "Another Brick In The Wall, Pt. 2" - classic, sure, but I don't want to listen to a bunch of children singing badly, with bad grammar. They clearly do need an education (as they tell us themselves with their double negative). - "Empty Spaces" - "Don't Leave Me Now" - definitely an atmospheric one, and I understand it as part of the wider story, but the vocals are just painful to listen to. I feel like I could enjoy this album as part of a stage show, where there's something going on visually to add to the overall storytelling, but I don't think the music on its own is strong enough. Really really really low 3. Can't rate it a 2 on the basis that not really any of it (besides the children) were that bad to listen to, it just didn't do anything for me.

Never heard of this album/group, so had absolutely no idea what to expect. First track was a pleasant surprise; lighthearted, bit silly, energetic, bit of variety and interest. It didn't click until the second track that the vocals were male; I'm taking that as a positive in the sense that it shows range/talent/versatility. It's a shame that the mix makes the lyrics a bit hard to decipher in places, because having looked them up separately, they're quite good. I enjoy a bit of glam rock, and I'm glad this list has exposed me to Sparks. The downside is that I think listening to this whole album in one sitting became quite hard work part way through; it does get quite samey and the vocals start to grate a bit. I was leaning towards a 4 at the start but I think the album as a whole isn't varied enough to justify it, so I'm going to go with a high 3.

I've never been a massive RATM fan, but I've always respected them, not least because of their political messages and activism. This is my first time listening to a whole RATM album, though I've listened to a reasonable number of individual tracks in the past. The vocals have never been my favourite style, too shouty, and generally too rap-like, but they do fit the music and the general angry tone of the album as a whole. The fact that I can actually relate to the lyrics and the angry message makes it a lot more tolerable than the kind of rap you get in hip-hop. Musically it's actually more my thing, I like the slap-bass that appears in several tracks, I like the heavy sound, I like the powerful riffs, I like the fact that no individual theme or motif outstays its welcome. It's well done. Tom Morello is very talented, but his style of guitar solo isn't my favourite thing ever. Appreciate the skill though. Highlights: - Bombtrack - Killing In The Name - Take The Power Back - Wake Up - Freedom It's not entirely my thing, but I enjoyed the listen more than I thought I would, and a fair amount of it slapped. Can't really knock it.

Pretty much the definition of average. Average vocals. Average instrumentation. Average lyrics. Pros: - There's some experimental sounds, including a random car horn that made me smile. - Impressive for a mostly-one-man-effort. - Some of the tracks have quite a fun funk vibe. - Some fun instrumental efforts. - Overall vibe is chill, pleasant and easy to listen to. Cons: - The lyrics are extremely shallow. - Definitely tries a bit too hard to be Prince in places, and doesn't do a great job of it. I think "Fear" was the one that really gave me Prince vibes but I'm not going to listen again to check. - Bit boring, definitely only background-worthy. For a debut album I really don't understand the hate in the other reviews.

This "music" does absolutely nothing for me. The drum beats are dull and uninteresting, generally just matching the rhythm of the bass "riff" - which rarely extends beyond about 2-3 notes. Yes, there's a lot of sound happening at once, I can understand what people mean when they talk about the layers/soundscape/atmosphere etc., it's just that it all sounds shit. You can add fuzz/blur to a picture of dogshit, but it's still a picture of dogshit. You can add a fruity fragrance to a bottle of bleach but I'm still not going to drink it, as much as this album might tempt me. The only thing vaguely musical going on in basically any track is the odd guitar part, but these are still pretty droll. The vocals are absolutely dire, they're somehow monotonously whiny. Literally the same through the whole album. I could somewhat understand the use of vocals like this for short segments or individual tracks, but surely they lose any impact when it's just the way he sings throughout? Oh and the last track (the title track) does the cringe trope of playing stuff in reverse to sound "creepy". Highlights: - "A Strange Day" - only really because it actually did something different briefly Not going to listen to any of it again, though I think some of it could work as the background to a game or film (without the shit vocals). Low 2.

I don't know what to say about this album. I am sort of interpreting it as a parody of everything that you'd usually think of as music. It's deliberately awful in a way that must have taken quite a significant amount of skill. I got to a point while listening where I was actually preferring the more chaotic nonsense to the more traditionally musical bits. Bits made me literally snort with laughter. Bits made me wince. I spent quite a lot of time with my head in my hands. I regularly checked how much of the album I still had to get through. Highlights: - "Ella Guru" - somehow this one went hard. I don't know how or why. - "Hair Pie: Bake 1" - HONK. - "Pena" - I just don't even. - "When Big Joan Sets Up" - this just cracked me up for some reason I can't comprehend. This is without a doubt a 1, but part of me wants to give it a 5. But it's definitely a 1. Like, I literally cannot in good conscience rate it higher than that... but I want to.

Started off well, I enjoyed "In France They Kiss on Main Street". "The Jungle Line" didn't click with me at all, definitely not something I'd choose to listen to again, but it tried to do something different. The rest of the album is just very safe easy-listening hotel-lobby music. Lovely vocals, and the instrumentation overall is good it just doesn't really break the mould. Stuff I could happily listen to as background. Piano solo in "Harry's House" woke me out of the easy-listening coma (in a good way). Back to sleep until "Shadows and Light", which was _fine_ but not my vibe.

Much powerchord. Such strumming. Very 4/4. First 2 tracks, multiple guitars, but all playing in harmony with a bland 4/4 time signature in 4 bar patterns? Drums just playing a simple rock beat. Repetitive and droll. "If Only" goes down to a 2 bar repeat. Still 4/4. Rest of the album is more of the same... find a riff, play riff for 2 minutes with no variation... switch to a very slightly different riff for the final minute, maybe sneak in a generic guitar solo if you're feeling a bit naughty. "Hispanic Impressions" managed some non-4/4 time signatures for the first 30 seconds at least, then back to 4/4 obviously, but at least it tried. The latter half of the album arguably got a bit more creative, but it wasn't good, it somehow got worse to listen to. This is probably the genre of music I spend most time listening to but I think there's a reason Queens of the Stone Age are a band I've never really bothered with. The only thing saving this from a 1 rating is the fact that it's not actively unpleasant to listen to, it's just boring. There's the odd bit of interest but everything is repeated to the point of irritation - maybe if I listened in 5-10 second bursts I'd think they were incredible.

The Bowie influence is obvious throughout but just I find Iggy just... worse. I don't get along with Iggy's voice. Couldn't say if the lyrics are any good because I can't understand them (in most songs at least). I don't mind the music itself, though it's a bit too sludgy/plodding for my taste; granted I think that's deliberate within the theme of the album. Mass Production strikes me as the most creative song, but I didn't particularly enjoy listening to it. Highlights: - China Girl - I still think Iggy's voice is my least favourite aspect of this song, but he does do a decent job of conveying emotion, and I think the backing is interesting and varied, with some well done deliberate dissonance that manages to not be unpleasant. Not an album I'd choose to listen to again.

Prefer the mix on this album over Ziggy Stardust - I like the sharper sound. Minor gripe with "Andy Warhol" - I didn't mind the song but I really don't like when artists include random studio chatter etc., it just doesn't belong on an album from my perspective (maybe as a B-side or nowadays as part of an attached extras disk or something). Is it realistically something that your average listener wants to hear every time the song plays? That being said at least it's an amusing exchange - Wingardium Leviosaaaaaaah. Highlights: - "Life on Mars?", something about this song just feels really powerful. Not sure what it is exactly. Is good. - "Quicksand", like the instrumental choices, like the vocals. Just a very expressive song. - "Queen Bitch" I think I could quite happily listen to most of this album again. High 3/Low 4.

This didn't exactly start well because my immediate thought on the first riff of the first track was "wow this is irritating". Really hate the vocals, genuinely just unpleasant to listen to for the most part. Plus there's a few bits where she's cringily singing the guitar/drum track? Other times she's largely just literally screaming or moaning. Oh and of course it has the irritating studio recording bits thrown in too. Would actively avoid in future.

Music overall is quite decent, definitely very 60s... Lyrics are strange, obviously kinda comedic. There's a decent amount going on in the songs, nice variety of instruments, good vocals. I'm listening to the "Stereo" version and they've obviously had some fun playing with that aspect, lots of panning sounds and instruments throughout. The second half of the album introduces this weird storytelling aspect between each song, with made up jibberish words. It's creative, but I'm not a fan. Definitely prefer the first half of the album as a result. Highlights: Quite liked main vocals in "Afterglow". Low 3. Could listen to bits of it again, probably wouldn't sit through the whole album a second time.

None of the album is unpleasant to listen to, but it does largely blur into one. I wouldn't say any songs particularly stood out to me or did anything massively exciting/different. Not my favourite vocals, but not the worst. Overall just very average...

Wow that's definitely 80s. Lots of synth, almost-spoken vocals with some reverb. Kinda reminds me of Pet Shop Boys. Reasonable amount of variety - though most of the instrumental variety is different synthesised sounds rather than actually different instruments, the tracks do sound different enough. Highlights: "Never Let Me Down Again" - does a lot despite the vocal range being about 2 notes "Little 15" - just like the vibe "I Want You Now" - bit of an interesting one. Didn't like everything it did but it got my attention. "Pimpf" - totally different from everything else on the album, built up in quite a cool way. I think with all of the above they're arguably a bit slow to get going.

Pretty sure that cat on the album cover is the one from Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Tina has a really powerful voice, super soulful and incredible range but the tone isn't my favourite, little bit too shouty maybe. I do like the slightly growly undertone, I think this gives her voice a nice edge that carries real emotional weight. The tracks themselves don't do a huge amount for me. None of them struck me as actively bad, but none of them massively stood out to me either. Tina's voice is the main feature, the instrumentation is largely extremely generic drum tracks with unexciting bass/guitar riffs. Solid 3. Wouldn't skip if it came on a playlist, wouldn't add it.

Ah I see, the "Joy" part of the name is ironic... Honestly just not for me, I didn't _hate_ it, but I won't be listening to more. The first track was experimental in the sense that it made use of some weird sounds (still not sure what, some kind of powertool?), the rest was repetitive drum/guitar with some dreary (and flat) vocals - basically every track suffered from one-riff-syndrome and I really didn't see the appeal. Highlights: - "Atrocity Exhibition" - I didn't massively enjoy this track, but it was different and experimental. - "Decades" and "The Eternal" - Grouping these together as I felt similarly about them. Again, no major enjoyment, but they were atmospheric and felt more powerful than the rest of the album. The vocals had a haunting feel and they at least moved about a bit.

Find the vocals a bit grating, so listening to a whole AC/DC album is slightly hard work, but the vocals are probably the most iconic part. It also got a bit samey after a while. There's a little variation in the rhythm and the odd solo, but the instruments remain the same. Highlights: - "Highway to Hell" - good choice as a title track, classic very catchy song. - "Beating Around the Bush" - didn't know this one, don't know exactly what it was I liked about it but it stood out to me more than the rest. Straight 3 - None of it was bad, none of it was mind-blowing.

I found this album a bit confusing, definitely couldn't call it samey because practically every track is a different genre, but it's also just a bit all over the place - for me there's no real cohesion as an album besides the odd robotic vocal. I like Janelle's voice, and I liked songs that highlighted it. Wasn't a huge fan of the interlude tracks like "Neon Gumbo" and even the intro "Suite II Overture". They just didn't fit for me. Highlights: "Tightrope" - loved the funk "Come Alive" - nice edge to the vocals (and nice vocal variety in general), bit of a swing, bit of a bop. Playlist submission. "Say You'll Go" - bit repetitive, but really nice vocals "BaBopByeYa" - nice vocals, interesting exploration of themes/ideas, nice instrumentation For me, it's a really mixed bag of an album - nothing actively unpleasant to listen to, but certainly some songs that just didn't interest or click with me. Honestly the lack of cohesion is probably my biggest issue with it. Some 2s, some 3s, some 4s. Going to average out at a 3 as a cop-out.

Started off really strong - I loved "Come To My Aid" - nice variety of instruments, good (and varied) vocals, catchy, and just generally a jam. Unfortunate dip in the middle for me - I found "Heaven" and "Jericho" a bit dull. Very 80s, but I like the pop/jazz/blues vibe, it's extremely cheesy, but just pleasant to listen to. Highlights: - "Come To My Aid" - has a trumpet. Liked the vocal variety. - "Money's Too Tight" - bop. - "Holding Back The Years" - classic. Simply Red are a group I've always been aware of but never paid any attention to. I wouldn't even have known "Holding Back The Years" was one of their tracks despite having heard it thousands of times... Think I might have found another guilty pleasure. 4 with a couple of skips.

I grew up listening to a fair amount of R.E.M., but I've never heard this album (I did know a few tracks, like "Orange Crush"). I like it. Stipe's vocals aren't necessarily the best in a traditional-singing-voice-sense, but they're somehow so powerful and haunting. I think "Hairshirt" is a really good example of this. Highlights: - "Orange Crush" - "World Leader Pretend" High 3, low 4. Not my favourite R.E.M. album but I enjoyed it nonetheless, clearly on the experimental side, the switch to a major key has a surprising impact on the "standard" R.E.M. sound.

Very accessible as far as jazz goes - it's more uniform both in terms of melody and rhythm, but it still has the instrumental frills that make it interesting. Extremely easy to listen to as background, but enough going on to be interesting if you're paying attention. The tracks are different enough, and not so long that they get stale. The slight downside is that I don't find this kind of jazz as expressive and emotional, with the possible exception of "Baia" - but I found the bass line in this one a bit too repetitive. Highlights: - "Samba Dees Days" - this was a proper jam. Liked the upbeat feel, enjoyed the solos, it wasn't self indulgent, just good :) Very enjoyable overall, something I'd consider listening to again as background. Would possibly skip "Baia".

Was very excited to see this pop up because I do just love ELO, *but* I have never listened to this full album, so there's new stuff here that I didn't have a preformed opinion on. ELO are just good fun, and I think this whole album fits that definition. Each track is an awesome blend of orchestra, synth, harpsichord, guitar, and (usually) electronic vocals. I can understand the vocals not being to everyone's taste, but they fit so well. I don't think there was a single track that I wasn't subconsciously either foot-tapping or head-bobbing along to. Pleased to say that I enjoyed every track, including all of the ones I had never heard before. Definitely gained a whole bunch of playlist submissions. Highlights: - Across The Border* - I mean, was that a mariachi band?! - Night In The City* - lots of different stuff going on in this one, even deeper layers than a lot of the others, somewhat darker tone. - Jungle* - really different vibe, yet somehow still very ELO. Just stands out as a really cool experiment. - Summer and Lightning* - Mr. Blue Sky - classic, obvious all time great - Birmingham Blues* - awesome vibe, great musically, loved it - Wild West Hero* - another quite different one. Incorporated some country aspects but also shifted about in terms of atmosphere a lot. Easy, no regrets, proud 5. * = Never heard the track before

I knew most of these tracks, and there's some undeniably good ones on here. However, a whole album of MJ gets quite samey. The vocals don't really massively differ across tracks, he really just does one thing. The one exception to this is "The Lady In My Life" where it's much softer and sung (well, OK, barring the breakdown where he reverts to form). (Predictable) Highlights: - "Thriller" - this title track will always be iconic - "Billie Jean" - also iconic, love the bass funk - "Beat It" - still better than any covers I don't want to deny the obvious impact and influence that this album had, but I also wouldn't seek out any of the lesser known album tracks again. Also, context matters and listening to MJ nowadays makes me uncomfortable.

So I had this preformed opinion from my teens that I hate Radiohead. I remember one of my friends being obsessed with them and trying desperately to get me to listen to them, and I just didn't get along with their music at all. Slightly embarrassed to admit I enjoyed this quite a lot, to the point I'd happily listen to most of it again. Vocals are decent, largely quite tuneful, not overly whiny. There's the typical indie/alt fuzz, but it's not done to excess. The guitar riffs aren't overly droney or repetitive (in fact, some of them are pretty enjoyable). I definitely preferred the heavier tracks, but even the more atmospheric ones like "Street Spirit" were OK. Gives me Stereophonics x Muse vibes. Highlights: - "Planet Telex" - First track on the album, immediately broke my expectations and preconceptions. - "The Bends" - "High and Dry" - classic. Have to admit I didn't realise this one was Radiohead... Oops. - "Black Star" - "Sulk" - I liked the emotion in this one. It built up really nicely to quite a powerful rock track. Slightly-disgusted-with-myself 4.

I generally quite 80s, but this is ... not good. It's fairly obvious why "Tainted Love" is the only track I knew, because the rest of this album is just really naff. I'm not a fan of the vocals, the synth stuff is mostly fine, but not all that interesting. "Seedy Films" was actively unpleasant to listen to. I loved the fact it had a saxophone but it was absolutely ruined by the wailing. The rest of the album was just uinteresting. Besides "Sex Dwarf" which was funny in a really cringy awkward way. Can't rate higher than a 2.

Mixed feelings about this one. Lyrically it's bad (particularly the first track), but that's clearly not the point in this type of music. Musically it's OK. The positives are that there's a bit of variety, with the majority being synth/sampling, each track has lots of different sounds and interesting stuff going on, and some of it goes pretty hard and was quite enjoyable. Negatives (for me) are that I'm just not into this type of music. I found the middle of the album really quite... boring? From "Diesel Power" onwards I was just really not that interested. The tracks got really repetitive to the point that they almost got a bit grating. If I was off my face at a rave... maybe this would be peak. Sat at work, not so much. There's strong nostalgia here for me, because this album was huge in my childhood. These tracks popped up everywhere in media; adverts, games, videos etc. so I think I knew every track on the album already, but I think that might be the only thing saving it from relegation to a 2.

Dolly Parton sings like a sheep. A very tuneful sheep, but a sheep nonetheless. Honestly though, decent voice, major overuse of vibrato. Country music isn't my thing, but this was pretty easy to listen to. There's some fun stuff going on with the bass lines, and the tracks overall are reasonably interesting. There's not a huge amount of variety, I got excited at the start of "The Way I See You" because it had different instruments, but that didn't last more than the first few seconds. As far as Country goes, this was alright.

Oh yay another Live album. Still not a fan. Pretty decent start to the album, "Highway Star" is highly energetic, and has some impressive (if slightly over-the-top) solos. OK. What is this drum solo. Why is it still going. The call and answer bit in "Strange Kind of Woman" is ... I guess kinda fun, but it was also really cringe inducing, and once again it dragged on for way too long. "Space Truckin'" is just genuinely god awful wank. I'm pretty sure at around the 14 minute mark it is literally just a kid having a cello lesson? I think in conclusion, I really liked the bits of this album where the band were playing, all together, the actual tracks. I disliked all the dicking about. The solos are so ridiculously self-indulgent, and though bits are impressive, they aren't exactly that pleasant to listen to. I'd listen to more Deep Purple, they're clearly a talented bunch, but I'd never listen to this album again. I usually hate Live albums because of the crowd interactions, but I hate this Live album because of the ego-stroking naffness of the solos.

Not really a fan of Cohen's voice overall, it has its moments ("The Old Revolution" was a stronger one for me). Nothing going on musically of interest; usually a 2-note plodding bassline, with some gentle guitar playing in harmony with the vocals (or plodding along with the bassline). Something that might be a jaw-harp (or an elastic band, I guess) is irritatingly twanging along in the background of most of the tracks - doesn't really fit for me at all. Lyrically it's a mixture, there's definitely some decent imagery and some powerful songs, but most of it didn't particularly resonate with me. Depressing, particularly "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" - especially since that's apparently a true story. This is my first encounter with Cohen and I'm not looking forward to listening to more. At least it was a short album.

Very typical punk sound, but I can't tell you whether there's a punk message because I can't understand a single word. Sounds like a bunch of drunk lads singing along to some song you don't know in a foreign language. The actual sound is alright, not unpleasant to listen to, surprisingly tuneful for punk. Not sure it does anything crazy inventive, though. I could listen to this as background for the most part, but the vocals kinda ruin it. It's definitely not my favourite punk, even from this era. Even out of things on this list, I much preferred "The Adverts". No highlights in particular because it largely sounds the same throughout.

I really do not understand how people can enjoy listening to Bob Dylan's voice, it's so unbelievably grating. He's reasonably eloquent on this album though, so at least I could take in most of the lyrics. None of the music here was that bad, the harmonica was mostly fine. The electric-backed tracks were reasonably interesting as there was a decent amount going on in (though the backing was generally a bit too repetitive for my taste). The acoustic tracks were noticeably worse, mostly because the guitar strumming is pretty dull and uninteresting, and Dylan's voice is even more prominent. If you cut out the "singing", most of these tracks would be pretty enjoyable to listen to. With Bob Dylan's vocals, it can't be above a 2.

I've never listened to a whole Motorhead album before, but it turns out it's all exactly the same. Fast-paced drums and guitar powerchords, Lemmy's constipated shouting (someone else described it as sounding like he is trying to have a shit and that is literally the perfect description), naff lyrics. Can't pick out any highlights because it's all the same track (bar a couple of guitar solos). I would have rated 3 on the basis that I could probably quite happily listen to most of the tracks as background while working, but Lemmy's vocals and the track "Jailbait" make this a low 2.

This is some of the wankiest wank I've ever listened to... Worf's vocals were a strange addition, but the music in this bit was really fun so I didn't hate them either. Part 2 suddenly breaks into a rendition of The Sailor's Hornpipe?! What the hell is going on. I can't even form coherent thoughts about this album. I'm confused, but I'm smiling. I guess it was good wank. Buggered if I know. 4/5.

A few tracks in this really started to get a bit irritating, specifically "Testify" - a lot of the tracks use a repeating sample throughout, but this one just really grated. Overall pretty much all of the backing is ridiculously repetitive. I guess there's some variety in the sense that the backing of each track is quite different, but within a track there's just no new ideas beyond the first 10 seconds. Seems to be the same sort of theme lyrically as basically every other hip-hop album. Drugs, sex, money, guns. Though I will say this album sounds more grown-up both lyrically and musically. There's a lot of noticeable jazz/soul influence in the backing, particularly in "They Say" and "Real People"; both of these would be OK background listening. Plus "They Say" contained my favourite lyric of "it's quite okay for a gangsta to wear sandals" (though I think that was a Kanye line). "It's Your World" had some nice piano. Highlights: - "Real People" - "They Say" - "It's Your World" for the reasons above. Improved at the end, not awful, but not going to listen to it again.

Totally different sound to what I expected from the album art. Mixed feelings. Not a fan of the vocals, but the music itself is quite fun. The bass lines are catchy and funky. There's a bit of experimentation and some electronic effects to add some interest. Overall significantly more of a pop-sound than I thought it would be. "Uncertain Smile" reminded me of Lightning Seeds somehow. Highlights: - "Uncertain Smile" - piano solo <3 - "Giant" - there's possibly a little too much going on but the beat is refreshing and fun. High 3. Would have been a 4 with better vocals.

Immediately sounded exactly how I thought it would based on the album cover. Generic country. For some reason the vocals change completely in "Concrete And Barbed Wire"? She gains a much stronger accent and starts doing little vocal frills on the high notes. Overall the vocals are decent, Lucinda has a good enough voice, but this music is just so generic. There's some electric guitar, but every song on this album just sounds the same, and sounds like every other modern country song ever. Find the drawl a bit irritating. The lyrics are dull and repetitive. The music is dull and repetitive. Lucinda's voice is fine. I want to go have a nap now, having listened to the same boring country track 13 times.

My only exposure to Lorde has been the South Park parodying, so I didn't really know what to expect from this. Mostly good vocals though not all of it was to my taste. Definitely reminiscent of Kate Bush in places. Even uses the same sound effects in one of the tracks! There's a nice mixture of electronic and acoustic through the album; some tracks are mostly piano and vocals, others use quite a lot of synth. Overall though the sound/tone doesn't vary _massively_. It was all pretty nice, some interest, perfectly good background. Probably not an artist I'm going to rush back to but I enjoyed the listen well enough.

I much prefer the soul parts of this album to the hip-hop parts. The rap on this album is very 90s, the lyrics are a bit weak and cringe in parts, but it's still better than the typical gangsta shit that dominates nowadays. The overall sound feels to me like it carries a lot of hangover from the 80s in terms of the synth effects used. Doesn't necessarily do anything that inventive for me. Highlights: - Unfinished Sympathy - classic. Great vibe, atmospheric, just a good listen overall. Not really my type of music; tolerable as background but definitely not my favourite. Extremely chill though, so inoffensive and easy to listen to, if a bit boring.

Clearly an incredible singer, really powerful voice with a lot of expression, but the vocal style isn't really for me - bit too shouty, and I found the falsetto tics slightly irritating. The album is quite samey (the instrumentation doesn't really seem to change much besides the occasional addition of a saxophone), but it's short, and there's at least a bit of variety in terms of tempo and mood across the tracks. The influence on rock'n'roll is obvious, this was clearly an important album in musical history. It's all funky, upbeat blues. Hard not to enjoy it. I think if I were born 30 years earlier I'd have listened to this on repeat.

This album is sort of easy listening, but I really don't like the vocals. I don't really know what specific quality I don't like, but I just find it a bit irritating. I think if I was just listening to the funk/jazz backing, I'd be rating this a 3 as a chill, inoffensive listen. Considering this is a singer/songwriter album however, and I don't like the main feature, I'm going to have to drop it to a 2. Also... it's really just quite boring, for a fairly long album there's just nowhere near enough variety.

Really mixed feelings on this one. Massively hit and miss. On the positive side, this was a refreshing difference from most of the other hiphop that has come up on this list so far. It was upbeat, comedic, silly, fun. On the negative side, as an album, there's too much nonsense and not enough music. Also, as much as I enjoyed this more than most of the other hiphop that has come up, it's still not my thing, and this album hasn't changed that at all. This album sort of comes across as just a group of friends messing about, so I'm sure they had a lot of fun recording it, they're probably fun people to be around, but listening to it as an album... meh. Rating a 3 just to differentiate it from other hiphop, which I've generally rated lower. Probably deserved anyway since it's inventive in the face of all of the gangsta rap from the same period.

Based on the first track I wasn't sure I was going to like this album, it was largely one long guitar solo, with uninteresting backing and lots of reverb. Granted the guitar playing itself was solid, but it was a long track and I wasn't looking forward to a whole album of the same thing. Luckily, the rest of the album was completely different, and really quite enjoyable. Really funky rock, some interesting sounds and overall just fun music to listen to. The last track was a similar vibe to the rest of the album, but I really didn't understand the sounds played over the top. Screaming, wet farts... it was just... weird. Not sure what that was supposed to add. Luckily that was only one element though (and only for a relatively small portion of another long track). Mixed feelings, and there's definitely bits I'd skip (even if just parts of individual tracks), but I enjoyed the album as a whole. I'd be more tolerant of the first track on future listens because I know that's not the vibe of the whole album so I could happily enjoy it for what it is. Low 4.