1001 Albums Summary

Best: Message In A Bottle (Dis)honorable Mentions: No Time This Time - the vocals are a bit too much On Any Other Day - award for weirdest lyrics Does Everyone Stare - I like how prominent the piano is, but it gets quite repetitive The album is a weird mix of genres (a bit of reggae, a bit of surf rock vibes) and overall gives me mixed feelings. Most of the songs are too repetitive to the point that, even if they had a promising start or good instrumentals, they get drawn out by the end. But I wouldn't say anything is really terrible here, just gets too old too quickly. Probably won't be returning to this one.

Stand-out tracks: He's The Greatest Dancer - the prominent strings in the background are a nice addition, but a bit overused by the end Somebody Loves Me - a more mellow and laidback track, compared to the rest Easier To Love - I like how the chords are unexpectedly unnerving, contrary to the melodies of most of the tracks on the album which are upbeat The album was pleasant to listen to, but most of it felt like very generic disco/R&B music to just dance to or listen to in the background. Nothing to really write home about.

Stand-out tracks: Remote Control - fun lyrics, good instrumentals (especially that guitar solo about halfway through) White Riot - short, but damn catchy Deny - I like how diverse the guitar is in this one and the tempo changes are cool London's Burning - another short and catchy one Police Thieves - its length gives it room to breathe unlike most of the other tracks Garageland - the drums are fun on this one I don't know what I was expecting from a punk rock album, lots of hate in the lyrics (they hate the system, the US, the army, the police) and shouting. Never really listened to punk much, so this was a nice surprise. The songs are fast paced and short so they are over before you know it, but they are catchy. I do feel the album would benefit from having a few more developed longer songs instead of a bunch of half-assed short songs to fill the track list.

Stand-out tracks: nothing really Wasn't impressed by this album at all and is one I wouldn't want to listen to again. There are no tracks to highlight here unfortunately. The intrumental side is very hit or miss with this blend of folk and punk. Weird to hear so much acoustic guitar in a punk context. The vocals were just annoying and turned me off immediately (they turned the singer on though : > ). All in all, a debatable 1, but I'm still not sure how harsh I should be, so it is a 2 for now.

Stand-out tracks: Jim Cain - really nice, promising start Eid Ma Clack Shaw - a strong feeling of tension contrasted with literal gibberish lyrics at the end, very peculiar The Wind and The Dove - the occassional oriental sounds are a real surprise on this one My Friend Started off as a soothing album, both the instrumental side and especially the vocals, but as it progressed certain tracks had darker/reflective themes in their melodies and lyrics. It got quite experimental by the end. I like how varied the instrumentals are and they don't necessarily "scream" the country sounds I expected. Despite the praises, some tracks do feel a bit drawn out and the instrumentals get a bit stale at times (especially towards the end of the album). It honestly had a promising start, but left me confused by the end at what it wants to actually be musically.

Stand-out tracks: 100%, Swimsuit Issue, Wish Fulfillment, Chapel Hill, Purr Most tracks are very hit or miss for me. Some I would relisten to again. Too much distortion on some and some have off-putting vocals.

Stand-out tracks: Karma Chameleon - it is a hit for a reason It's A Miracle - although the vocals are a bit repetitive, the instrumentals are nice, especially the sax Changing Every Day - love the brief jazzy moments added in That's The Way - just the piano and vocals alone are nice Miss Me Blind - that guitar solo at the end pleasantly surprised me Mister Man - the beat has a bit more of a reggae and the saxophone is once again a nice addition Victims - stands out as a more dramatic, ballad-like track The album is just a good vibe with some tracks trying to somewhat branch out of the typical 80s pop/new wave style, but most staying comfortably within their genre, possibly to their detriment. Not all of the tracks are stand-outs, but I probably wouldn't skip any of them upon relisten. Overall a pleasant listen, but I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. Would give it a 4.5 if I could.

Stand-out tracks: So Jah S'eh - one of the few tracks I wasn't tired of by the end Most of the album is quite annoying to me to be quite honest. I think reggae just isn't a genre of music I would listen to because those repeating back vocals get really tiring to me (like how many times can you repeat Natty Dread in the span of 3 mins...). The instrumentals can be sometimes nice, but it all just gets so tiring, especially when the track is over 4 mins long and then literally repeats itself. Feels like I would listen to this only if I turned my brain off and just vibe with it I guess, although this really isn't my vibe.

Stand-out tracks: Take a Bow -although I'm not the biggest fan of the vocals, I like the steady instrumental progression through the song and the dramatic ending Supermassive Black Hole - a hit for a reason, this is without a doubt the best track on the album Map of the Porblematique City of Delusion - once again the vocals don't contribute much, but I like how energetic the track is with the various instrumental changes throughout Glorious - a powerful closer that feels appropriate for the album About half of the album was relatively enjoyable to listen to and the other half less so. Even some of the more popular tracks weren't as good to me (mainly Starlight and Knights of Cydonia). Sonically there is a lot of interesting stuff here, but I feel like some tracks try quite a bit to stand out , while others do the opposite. Rarely does a track hit the right balance. The vocals certainly don't help either as they feel a bit whiney and out of place at times. I would say overall it was an average listen.

Stand-out tracks: You Are The Sunshine Of My Life - love the jazzy chord progressions You And I - that combination of the piano and the theremin-like sound of the synth is magical You've Got It Bad Girl - more jazz chords, I like Superstition - the brass instrumentals carry this one Blame It On The Sun - a slower more melancholic track similar in tone to You And I (even the piano and synth combo) Lookin' For Another Love I'm really impressed by this album. There is a lot to like here, especially as a fan of jazz and piano, quite a few tracks stand out to me. I love how diverse the album feels and how varied the instruments are, from a harmonica on one track, to ethereal synths on the next. That said, there certainly are a few tracks that I'm not as impressed with, mainly because they overstay their welcome. I'm not the biggest fan of tracks being unecessarily long and repeating the same sort of theme to the point where it gets tiring. Those kind of tracks I would gladly skip on a relisten. Because of this, I feel more inclined to say the album was great rather than amazing.

Stand-out tracks: Got Me Under Pressure - a great opener Sharp Dressed Man - a hit for a reason, enough said I Got The Six - despite the questionable lyrics, I like the energy of this one Legs - the higher pitch vocals sort of work on this one and the guitar melody is catchy I feel sort of indifferent about this album. It isn't awful, but nothing really stands out apart from the few tracks I mentioned. Sometimes the lyrics don't vibe with me and other times there is just too much distorted guitar and unecessarily long guitar solos with those loud drums in the background. It all kind of just blends together, but it is pretty much classic rock so it can't be that bad. I also feel like the album has a much stronger start and gets worse near the end.

Stand-out tracks: Playground Love - being the only track with vocals, ofcourse it stands out, I also like the subtle jazzy elements Bathroom Girl(Cemetary Party/Afternoon Girl) - all of these tracks feature the same melody, but I probably like the instrumentals on Bathroom Girl the most Highscool Lover - this one is just the instrumental version of the opener, but I tend to enjoy those, sometimes even more than the original I haven't seen this movie, but from what I read online, it is a psychological drama which makes sense after hearing this album. Almost all of the tracks have a mix of this sort of playful yet unsettling tone and a dose of mystery. Most of the album is made up of purely instrumental tracks so it almost feels unfair to compare it to some of the previous albums as the purpose wasn't to create hit songs, rather it was to create an unsettling/mysterious atmosphere and it does a really good job at doing that. I do feel like a good chunk of the album sounds quite similar and sometimes I'm not sure whether I've heard the melody already or if my mind is playing tricks on me (I guess it is one of those things they call repeating musical motives in osts). All in all, it does its job well, but probably isn't something I would come back to listen to often, unless I'm in a certain mood for some of the tracks (some are just not really made to be listened to on repeat lol).

Stand-out tracks: Speed King, Into the Fire, Living Wreck I'm not a fan of the longer tracks on this album which turns out to be most of the album. Leaving me only to a enjoy a few tracks to a certain degree which is why I consider this a bit of a dud. I'm not super familiar with metal and how much metal this is, but there are certainly a few moments where the tracks ramped up, sometimes to an unpleasant degree. Not a fan of intentionally unpleasant sounds thrown into the mix, and not in a dissonant sense, rather a "make your ears hurt" kind of sense. Overall, the few tracks I like aren't enough to save this album from a bad grade.

It would be easier to highlight the ones who didn't stand-out for me: Kings, Change Of The Guard Not the most innovative or ground-breaking music, but I would be lying if I said it wasn't pleasant to listen to. A lot of the tracks feel like they are following some sort of song writing formula, so they do end up sounding similar in ways and often repetitive, but the formula works so I can't really complain. It is hard to say which tracks are true stand-outs, as even among those there are certainly some I would come back to more often, but all of them are enjoyable to some degree so I decided to just highlight the lesser ones. All in all, I wouldn't call this a perfect album by any means, but it is perfectly enjoyable and hardly any of the tracks could really be considered "bad".

Stand-out tracks: Deceptacon - love how prominent the bass is and energetic the track is Hot Topic - Cibo Matto mentioned, but it also reminds me of their style a bit, which is a plus Phanta - a very peculiar track, so much so that even an explosion doesn't feel like a weird ending for it Eau D' Bedroom Dancing - despite the very loud and distorted guitar, in contrast to the rest, this is a more laidback track Let's Run - the name really suits the enegretic nature of this one Friendship Station - I especially love the drum beat on this one Les and Ray - the xylophone-like effect gives this one a more soothing feel, appropriate for an album closer This album subverted my expectations and I found some genuinely good tracks on it. It left me quite shocked due to the bold decisions the band made on some of the songs, both lyrically and instrumentally at times. However, these decisions sometimes didn't improve the track, rather they caused the opposite effect especially considering the ones towards the end. Despite some questionable tracks, I was quite impressed by the end.

Stand-out tracks: Victoria, Yes Sir, No Sir, Shangri-La, Mr.Churchill Says, Nothing To Say I'll keep ti brief this time since I don't have much to say about this one, neither praise nor really significant criticism. There are a handful of tracks I enjoyed and others I felt indifferent about. The album doesn't feel particularly innovative or special, it kind of just feels like a typical 60s rock record.

Stand-out tracks: Sleeping Gas - the spooky organ is quite prominent in this one, giving it a good dose of dissonance Treason - leaning a lot closer to usual expected sounds Second Head - that constant unnerving melody in the background keeps the momentum of the track I was quite surprised when I heard some of the strange and a bit unnerving instrumentals on this album. The vocals are quite generic so I guess I was expecting the instrumentals to be as well, but some of the tracks end up leaning towards the more dissonant side (especially that spooky organ). I would say the album has a healthy dose of both, not overdoing it, but still giving off an interesting feeling. Despite that, I wouldn't say all of the tracks are my thing as some do just feel like the same idea from before rehashed musically which makes only a few tracks stand-out and mostly the ones at the beginning.

Stand-out tracks: The Mind of Love - parts of this track almost feel tropical at times, especially the pure instrumentals without the vocals Miss Chatelaine - jazzy moments and beautiful strings So It Shall Be - the powerful strings on this one are once again really beautiful Season of Hollow Soul - this one stands out as a bit more lively than the others and brings a different kind of energy Outside of Myself - slower, I enjoy the piano in the background Constant Craving - the track with the most momentum, despite being the closer I was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this album. I don't have much to analyze here as most of the tracks did feel quite down to earth with an ocassional mix of jazz, powerful strings and other sometimes surprising choices and ofcourse beatiful vocals. Some stood out more than others precisely because of that, while others felt appropriate for the tone of the album, but didn't necessarily wow me. Although I would describe this type of music as being more on the average side, soothing, but not thought provoking, I have to trust my gut and say that I enjoyed the experience and came out with a few nice tracks to listen to again.

Some tracks gave me Pixies vibes (specifically I'm Waiting For The Man) which kind of makes sense since I read that the Pixies were inspired by The Velvet Underground much like many other bands at the time. This speaks of how influential this album was back then, but I wasn't honestly that impressed. No track really stood out to me enough that I would like to listen to it again and the length of some is certainly one of the reasons why. Another reason is that some of the tracks honestly have unlistenable sections because of extreme strings or guitars, especially the last 2 tracks. At that point it just becomes noise rock which I'm not a big fan of.

Stand-out tracks: Enter Sandman, Sad But True, The Unforgiven, Nothing Else Matters, My Friend of Misery I'm generally not a fan of heavy metal so I knew going in that I wasn't going to like it apart from the few tracks I've already heard before. I've noticed that I'm a much bigger fan of the tracks that mix moments of high octane energy and moments of slowness and just instrumentals without the harsh vocals. Tracks that are just at a 100% from start to finish tire me out really quickly. In that sense only about half of the album is ok to me while the rest I won't be going back to, hence the average rating.

Stand-out tracks: Killer Queen, Flick Of The Wrist, Misfire, Bring Back That Leroy Brown, In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited Not really sure what to say apart from the fact that I honestly expected more considering that Queen is such a praised band. The hit "Killer Queen" is ofcourse the best track on the album, but the rest was ok, mostly leaving me indifferent. The only thing that surprised me was how much some tracks edge towards darker more minor sounds (beginning of "In The Lap Of The Gods" is a good example of that). Overall just another sort of average listen from the listen, a mix of good, a mix of whatever.

Stand-out tracks: Coyote, A Strange Boy, Refuge of the Roads From the first track I was already questioning if I will like this album or not because there are things I like about this kind of style and things I don't. The instrumentals are soothing and at times jazzy, but they drag on in many tracks to the point where I kind of just got tired midway through a track as there wasn't much variety. The same can be said for the vocals as well, they feel tacked on at times and like they aren't even following the rhythm of the song (this is a popular singing style, but not something that I personally enjoy). With all that said, there are things to like on this one and it is a soothing record, but I can't say it deserves better than an average rating from me, considering how little of the tracks I actually liked.

Stand-out tracks: Hard Life, Wildfires, Why We Cry Why We Die, Black, Monsters I like how musically diverse and at times experimental this album, a contrast between harsh sounds and mellow vocals. Certain tracks were nice to listen to or could at least be appreciated for their creativity, while others were just kind of added as in-betweens that I don't feel add much to the album apart from increased listening time. My biggest problem is how on the nose the lyrics are and the message of the album is very clear, but maybe even too clear. There is beauty in subtleness and sometimes too much directness can harm a piece of music or leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth which was the case with this record for me.

Stand-out tracks: Two Weeks, Kicks Apart from the two tracks mentioned, this album wasn't anything particularly memorable or impressive to me. I can see that there were some attempts especially on the electronica side of things with making some interesting musical choices, but nothing really stuck with me. Most of the tracks end up feeling the same to me and the lyrics aren't anything to write home about either, mostly just the usual stuff. Considering how little of this album I actually liked, this definitely gets a below average rating.

Stand-out tracks: Crystalised, Islands, Basic Space, Infinity, Night Time Honestly a very unoffensive album, the music is quite chill paired with those soft vocals. Most of the tracks are pretty ok to listen to, some stand-out more than others, but in general nothing really impresses me that much. Nothing outright disappoints me either, but I feel like maybe there could have been more experimenting with the music to bring something new to the indie rock/electronic scene. As it stands now, safe to say this is a pretty average album.