1001 Albums Summary

Hardest album cover of all time. Fav track: If I Should Die Tonight

Really tight and pleasurable album; strong track after strong track! Maybe some of her backing tracks are a bit busy and obvious next to her performance and lyrics, but next to that awful Raye album you can't really complain. Fav track: You Know I'm No Good

Not for me. Feels too much directionless noodling to me. Fav track: Stormy Monday

Another artist who I only really knew as a symbol, so it's nice to see that there's a reason he's so iconic. Rock solid album, some really excellent tracks. Fav track: 400 Years

FUCKING CLASSIC! FAV TRACK: MY MY, HEY HEY & HEY HEY, MY MY

At best it's a pale reminder of better music, but usually it's just totally boring. His use of black voices in the intros and interludes for colour and, I don't know, a feeling of authenticity? Of grittiness? Either way it's pretty troubling. Also the James Bond remix, which is already an inherently bad idea for a song, with fart noise is totally laughable. WORST TRACK: Radio 7

I can obviously imagine why Grohl decided to record this album entirely by himself, but it does make every song sound like a demo; a sketch without any of the energy or chemistry between players that would go into a solid rock track. But to be fair the songs themselves, putting all that aside, are also lifeless and shit.

Not terrible by any means, but quite uninspiring to me at this point.

I've just listened to Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys and... nothing prepares you for this. I cheered. I shouted. I fist pumped the air. I cried. I stood and cheered. It's absolutely everything that you hoped it was gunna be.

Sublime!

Listening to this while walking through a sweltering day, a perfect experience!

Much better than I thought it would be. My main association with Billy Joel is hearing my Grandma listening to Uptown Girl all the time and fucking hating it, even as a little kid. But this album doesn't have Uptown Girl on it. It has She's Always a Woman, a pretty hard track to argue with; kind of the perfect version of itself. That being said: I still felt there was corny sheen over all the songs, a certain lack of taste that other singer/songwriters of the 70's cultivated much better, and that got in the way for me. I see a world where, being more acquainted with the sound, I could see through it to the very solidly written tracks, because that already happened with some of the highlights here. But on first listen, I still have quite a few reservations.

Not for me.

The first album on this list that I've never heard of before. But I've been around long enough to know what this is. This is Mercury Prize slop. The kind of band that gets a massive, forceful wave of hype that instantly crests. It's a reminder of how British this list is, in many ways. As for the album itself: sometimes a six-minute song can feel infinitely longer than a ten or fifteen-minute one, a track that strains the range of a "normal song" but isn't long enough to become something else, and this album is full of those. Even "M62 Song", that sounds like a ninety second interlude track, drags on for a brutal four minutes. Bad!

I’ve listened to this album a million times already, and will happily (and inevitably) listen to it a million more. Is it Silver Jews best album? Maybe not, but it’s still basically perfect and has arguably their best ever song Tennessee.

Fair play Steve Albini, this record sounds actually incredible; you were the man. I'm going to go buy some fresh bread, good cheese and roast beef in your honour.

Actually quite fun. I love the bass sound. But I couldn't stop thinking about their pro-Hillary song "I'm With Her" and how, while these songs are obviously better, they're basically made of the same parts. Not just musically, but lyrically. It's all so 2010s. So I guess they were ahead of their time, just to a time that was arguably worse. At least for this kind of thing.

Actually awful.

It's alright, I guess.

Really enjoyed this on the first listen, but since I have spent a lot of time with it and really come to completely love it.

Fun as fuck. Mentions both Martin Luther King and Humpty Dumpty (two legends taken before their time).

What do you want me to tell you? 5 stars, of course. Of course.

Had to paused after the first second of 'The Mother We Share' because it brought me so viscerally back to a very different time. It's not surprising that this band didn't really escape that moment, but a few tracks in the nostalgia faded away; even back then I didn't spend much time with the back half of the record. But still the pervading sense of optimism, bleeding through the Obama-era culture, was alienating and lame. I always thought the lyrics to 'Tether', probably my favourite track, were "I feel incapable of (saying it's over)", but this time I realised they morphed slowly in "I'm feeling capable of". Cute! Except I looked it up and it's actually just the latter: it's simply and flatly uplifting. Which is probably why the big musical burst of emotion following it is so muted and polite and underpowered. Still the pervading sense of optimism, bleeding through from the Obama-era culture, was alienating and lame. 'Tether' is probably my favourite track,

Could spend forever in this album. Probably their best one, at the end of the day.

Listening to this first thing in the morning. Fucking brutal tbh.

Not my favourite Cocteau Twins album, but another wonderful example of their work.

Awesome

Shame about some of the accents on Coconut (and frankly that song all together), but other than that: pure class pop record.

One of those great, sprawling albums made from the point when creative conflict becomes diffuse and alienated; the band has stopped clashing on record and secluded themselves to separate corners. So naturally it's not exactly a refined album-object, and certain songs sound more complete than others, some are really just sketches, but I'd much rather an album capture a wide creative energy than be the perfect version of something neater and more curated (as Mac albums to come might well be).

A bit rich for my taste. I've never quite got on with French pop music outside of the Serge and co, and even he has some songs that sound as bloated as these. Though few that sound as much like they should be sound-tracking a circus.

Apple Music describes this album as "the definition of no-nonsense '70s hard rock", but if it's no-nonsense, I'm not sure what else it is. The lyrics on this one are especially nursey-rhyme level.

Just a rock solid rock band. It did occur to me though, with this album in particular, that only a little twisting is required to turn a REM song into a They Might be Giants one. But that's fine, it's probably why I love them both.

Definitely a little copying of the Beatles' notes going on here, some parts are frankly egregious, but with less variety and with some of the Fab Four's more annoying twee cor-blimey britishness turned up to eleven. Not for me.

It does seem like studio recording of Rock N Roll do something to drain them of their energy and meaning, at least to modern ears, something that this short live album does something to restore: it makes a song that feels as remote, dated and corny as Great Balls of Fire and revives it of its excitement and power.

Didn't blow my mind or anything, but a very pleasurable dad rock record with a lovely, rich sound.

Just a perfect collection of songs. Can always put this on. It was nice to have another excuse.

Honestly a little disappointing by this one. It's very pleasant and has some great tracks, but also feels kind of ridiculously derivative at points. Though if you're looking for a sound like the things it's deriving from, you could do a lot worse.