There's a lot of energy in this album, but that's pretty much Little Richard in a nutshell. Some classic Rock 'n' Roll, and tunes that kick-started an entire musical movement. My rating : 4.5 of 5 stars.
While I'd call myself a blues rocker at heart, I was introduced to Jazz (alongside several other genres) when I was quite young. My grandfather was something of an aficionado of the genre, and whenever we'd go to visit my grandparents he'd almost always sit me down and play his latest favourites for me, and as a result I developed a bit of a taste for it myself. Sarah Vaughan is one of the vocal artists I remember most clearly from those visits, alongside Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, and Ella Fitzgerald, and listening to her, or any of the others, always brings back fond memories.
This album is quite possibly Vaughan at her absolute best. The original 1957 release only covers the first half an hour of the session at Mister Kelly's, but even in those nine short tracks you can hear just how relaxed she is, how much fun she's having with the songs being played, and how in sync her and the band are. The extended version of the full set released in the early nineties just adds to this, and brings home just how amazing Vaughan's voice was.
My rating : a solid 5 out of 5 stars.
The first of three albums Bowie recorded in Germany, this one sees him making something of a departure from the style he'd previously developed. Less psychedelic prog, less guitar rock, more avant-garde experimental.
Co-produced by Tony Visconti, and made in collaboration with Brian Eno, it's definitely one of the stranger Bowie albums. It only produced one charting single (Sound and Vision) and to be honest that doesn't surprise me, as it's a bit of a marmite album, with people either loving it or hating it.
From a pop perspective it isn't all that accessible, with its mix of vocal and instrumental tracks, and its (at the time) unprecedented use of synthesizers and harmonizers, but from a technical perspective it's simply amazing, with what I personally think is some of Bowie's most groundbreaking work.
That said, it's not my favourite Bowie album, and while it's definitely an important one where the evolution of his art is concerned, I'm only able to give it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.
I've had a pretty mixed relationship with goth music over the years, first loving it, then getting bored with it, then being indifferent towards it, and then slowly drifting back to (selectively) loving it in the last decade or so, and through all those phases The Cure has been one of the few goth bands I've continued listening to. Yet until today I don't actually remember listening to this one.
This is quite possibly The Cure at their darkest and most fkd up. A lot of fans class this as one of their greatest albums, but if I'm being honest, I can't see it myself. Sure, it's a good album, but it feels way too self-referential, way too spaced-out, to be a truly great album. It carries a lot of the hallmarks of early Cure, with the distorted guitar and the almost tinny electronic-sounding drums, and for that alone I'll be adding a copy to my physical music library, but It doesn't quite hit the full five stars for me.
My rating, a steady 4 out 5.
Aside from Low Rider, I'm not aware of having heard any of War's recordings before, so this album came as a very pleasant surprise.
This is exactly the right sort of funky, jazzy, bluesy music for my tastes, and definitely all the right notes (pun intended) for me. It's only six tracks, but each one is a little indulgence in and of itself. I am most definitely going to be picking up a whole lot more of War's albums after hearing this one.
Another solid 5 out of 5 stars from me.
This is Arcade Fire's third album, and for it marked something of a turning point in their evolution as a band.
While it's not as raw as their first album, Funeral, it does feel a lot more refined and relaxed than their earlier works, and in my opinion stands head and shoulders above their second album, Neon Bible. And honestly, everything that came after this was, for me, a little bit less engaging.
I guess what I'm saying is this was where Arcade Fire Peaked, though I still count Funeral as my favourite album of theirs. A strong 4.5 out of 5 stars for this one.
Say what you want about Michael Jackson, but he was one hell of an entertainer.
This album was the one that really brought him to everyone's (including my) attention, and made him a world-wide star, though it could be argued that was as much down to the phenomenal music videos and dance routines as anything else.
With seven out of the album's nine tracks hitting the singles charts, including the titular "Thriller", "Billy Jean", "Wanna Be Startin' Something", and "Beat It", this was an album that exploded, and in my opinion rightly so. But...
In retrospect, it feels a bit dated. It feels like it's still holding on to the disco wave of the 70s to some degree, and it's just not hitting the right buttons for me. Definitely a good album, but I can't give it more than 4 stars.
Aside from the constant playing of Big Iron in Fallout: New Vegas, I don't think I've listened to any Marty Robbins since the late 80s, so having this one pop up yesterday was a pleasant surprise.
I do like Robbins' sound, and this album is a nice mix of country ballads that seriously invokes old-school westerns. For the nostalgia alone, I'm going to give this one 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Despite them being from my home town of Sheffield, I've never really paid that much attention to Arctic Monkeys. If this album is anything to go by, maybe I should start.
It's got a bit of a post-punk, grungy, indie rock vibe going on that I can really get behind, and the songs themselves are gritty observations of what youth culture was like back when the album first hit the charts.
Yeah, I definitely came to this party late, but now I'm here I think I may hang around for a while. A full-bore five out of five.
This was Arcade Fire's second album, and while it's definitely more refined and confidently presented than their first, I personally don't think it's as good. That isn't to say it's a bad album, and I'd still give it a good solid four out of five stars, but falling between Funeral and The Suburbs, this one just feels a little bit less.
Santana's one of those bands that I never really paid much attention to, even though they've been on my radar since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, so listening to this one was a fresh experience for me. And I have to say I dig it.
It's got a nice mix of jazz, blues, and soul going on, all with a touch of Latin rock thrown in and some really nice guitar. Not quite enough for me to go the full five, but definitely a good solid four.
There's this ongoing discussion about which Beatles album is the best one, a discussion I have my own thoughts on, and for me, this one isn't quite it. Sure, it's an excellent album, with a lot of great tracks, but I personally don't think it's their best.
That said, it's still worth a strong 4.5 out 5.
Oh wow, I'd forgotten all about Animal Collective.
I heard their first few albums back when they first came out, when Animal Collective was just Avey Tare and Panda Bear, and I remember being a big fan. They were just the right sort of experimental avant garde for me back then. Yet somehow, in the twenty years since Sung Tongs, I've managed to more-or-less completely forget they existed.
This album brought it all back and reminded me why I liked them so much. Layers upon layers upon layers of totally discordant energy that all comes together to make a glorious cacophony of sound, but which still somehow manages to be catchy and exciting.
This isn't an album I'd put on in the background while trying to work. No, this is more an album I'd listen to just for the pleasure of listening to it. Definitely worth a solid four stars.
For me, this isn't one of Bonnie Raitt's best albums. It's her tenth studio album, and moves away from the more bluesy style of her earlier albums, towards a slightly more rock oriented style, albeit a very laid back soft rock. It's also essentially a cover album, with only two original tracks on there.
Now, don't get me wrong. I still think it's a good album, but it's more a 'stick on in the background' kind of album, than a 'pay attention to me' kind of album. I just feel it doesn't really stand out when placed next to the rest of her back catalogue. This one only gets a 3.5 out of 5.
This album was from the start of Bowie's Thin White Duke era, and by all accounts was fuelled as much by cocaine as anything else, and yet it's still a ton better than much that came before or after.
Still carrying some of the glam rock elements he brought through from Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane, there's also elements of his growing interest in electro-pop to be found in the six tracks on this album, and while it's not one of my personal favourites, it definitely ranks high enough to get a decent four and half stars out of me.
Another band I've never properly listened to. I was aware of them, and had definitely heard some of their work, but they'd never really stuck for me. I think after listening to this album and doing a bit of reading that might have been because I only really heard their early stuff.
This one's a nice little rock album that feels like it fits perfectly in the space between 80s rock and 90s alt-rock. There are some decent tracks on here, and it kept me listening from start to finish, which is a good sign. I'll definitely be having a listen to some of their later stuff after this, and I think I'm going to give this one a straight four.
Alice Cooper's been around for longer than I have, which is saying something, though this album's marginally younger than me, and personally I think it's one of his better ones. Quite a few of the tracks have stood the test of time, and there are rockers out there today who are still trying to do what Cooper was doing back in the early 70s.
Yeah, maybe I'm biased, but this one gets a full five stars.
Alice Cooper's been around for longer than I have, which is saying something, though this album's marginally younger than me, and personally I think it's one of his better ones. Quite a few of the tracks have stood the test of time, and there are rockers out there today who are still trying to do what Cooper was doing back in the early 70s.
Yeah, maybe I'm biased, but this one gets a full five stars.
This was an absolute banger of an album. Post punk new wave grunge that combined all the best elements of what had come before and made it fresh and exciting. The fact that this is a sixteen track album that clocks in at under forty minutes is insane, especially as almost every track on this album is an instant classic.
Even now, thirty years after its release, it still sounds good. As far as debut albums go, this one stands head and shoulders above most others, and gets a very well deserved five stars from me.
Fairport Convention is one of those bands I can have playing in the background when I'm doing other stuff, but also one of those bands where I can put one or two of their albums on and just sit and enjoy the music. They're super chilled and genuinely a pleasure to listen to. Definitely music from a happy time in my life. 4.5 out of 5 stars
An interesting album. This feels early new wave/goth, but at the same time it also feels ahead of its time in some ways. Shades of Bauhaus, definitely, and as this album was doing the rounds at the same time Bauhaus were forming it wouldn't surprise me if Pete Murphy & co were influenced by Magazine in some way.
This is the first time I'm hearing this album, but it definitely won't be the last. A good four stars.
You've got Crosby, Stills and Nash, who are great at harmonies, but perhaps a little bit too shiny and precise. And then you've got Neil Young, who is on an entirely different level. Put them together, and you get an album which has a few standout tracks (mainly the ones Young plays on), and the rest is okay. This was the first collaboration between the four of them, and personally I don't think it shows the best they have, so only three and half stars from me.
Ah, Justin. I've never been a big fan of boy bands, so I never really paid much attention to Timberlake's solo career after NSYNC. Even so, I've probably heard most of the tracks off this, his first solo album, countless times over the years.
It can't be denied that as an R&B artist, he's got some talent, and compared to the work he did with the band prior to this, it's definitely got a more mature edge. But it's also a bit commercial, a bit like a lot of other R&B from the period. But when you've got artists like Aaliyah, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Alicia Keys to contend with, you're going to have trouble standing out.
Still, it's got Timbaland's touch on a few of the tracks, and that's not a bad thing. Maybe I should have a listen to some of Justin Timberlake's later albums, just to see where he went after this. Until then, I'm giving this a promising three and half stars.
The Charlatans. A band that was, for some reason, linked to the Madchester movement and sound, even though they were from the West Midlands.
This is arguably their best album, despite the loss of Rob Collins to a car accident during recording, and even now it still sounds and feels great. Peppered with shades of the 60s, this is a good album. And while it's not entirely one I'd buy, I'm still going to give it a strong four and a half stars.
This is probably the best album Green Day did after Dookie, and is certainly the last truly great album they did (though I have to admit Revolution Radio does have its moments). Spawning some of the band's best-known tracks, this is the one even non-fans have heard of. So yeah, just for playability alone I'm gonna give it five stars.
