1001 Albums Summary

Really enjoyied this. Very unexpectedly.

A wide ranging classic. Great potential for misheard lyrics.

Perhaps significant for some historic reason, but not an enjoyable listen at all. Like school kids playing at being an adult band. Couldn't listen to the whole album.

It's nice, if a little morose. Was a unique sound within popular music at the time. It was certainly new to me back then. However there's a lot of other stuff from that era that I prefer.

Enjoyed the first album. Nice enough. Long. Haven't yet made it to the second one.

Cosmic, man.

Nice music to fall asleep to.

Probably very significant and an important influence for many subsequent musicians, but that doesn't mean I like it particularly. Seems a bit silly to me.

Yeah, nah. Probably a good example of that style, but it's an inaccessible style.

Very lively.

The Frenchness is a bit much for me.

Totally new to me. Music lacks something, but I like the vocals. Disappointed that one track was in that crappy Essex nightclub style, but fortunately just the one.

Another one which is totally new to me. Not at all what I was expecting based on the album art, which looks more like Bob Marley and less like the boring blandness which followed. Suitable for some purpose, I suppose. Music to clip your toenails by, perhaps.

Nice stuff.

I was looking forward to this as I'd never listened to it as an album before. Found it all a bit breathless. Which is OK.

Gave up after a while. Too American.

Easily my favourite of all the easy listening stuff so far. Sweet.

I've not listened to LDR before and quite enjoyed it. Life and Eloise interrupted, so I only played a few tracks. May check out her stuff again some time.

Yeah, Neil Young. Never really my thing. OK, I suppose.

I've never really listened to Brian Eno before. Now I have I don't think I'm likely to again. Quite diverse, and not particularly memorable.

Wow. Though as Julia pointed out - for those of us who don't listen to The Blues very often, it's hard to distinguish different artists. So maybe that's a 'wow' for The Blues.

Classiiiique.

I prefer my country more clippy-cloppy. Beautiful singing, I guess, but a bit boring.

This has been quite revealing for me. To start with I thought The Waterboys were a plastic American band with a singer who sounded a bit like Bob Dylan, and so I wrote this here: "Not really memorable. Back in the day I'd probably have changed the radio station to find something better to listen to if any of these tracks came on." Then I listened more closely, and read a bit about them, and my view changed. Of course the music hadn't changed, just how I categorised it. It's OK to like Celtic folk music but not plastic American 80s bands.

Well OK, I guess, but nothing amazing. I'm surprised she has 2.4M monthly Spotify streams. Not sure who would like her and why. I don't really think she's contributing to the world's musical richness.

Zappa again? So soon? Just randomness, I guess. This one more enjoyable. I didn't know there was so much talent there.

Heavier than I expected. Not in the right listening frame of mind, unfortunately. Will listen again some time.

Very popular. Worth a listen to every now and then. But is listening to someone being unhappy a healthy thing to do?

Another classic. Their sound in their subsequent album, The Joshua Tree, is more 'signature U2' to me than what's heard here. War is wider reaching, and has tracks which are much less enjoyable than others. Julia has War on vinyl, bought from a schoolmate who had decided she didn't want to keep it.

Got better as the album progressed. Quite enjoyable.

The less well-known tracks sound much like the pop music from that era. Post Beatles and pre-Abba. Glam rock, Bay City Rollers and such stuff which mostly isn't great. A bit surprising, I'd have expected more edgy stuff.

Really?

Felt unaccessible at the start, but less so on some later tracks. Sounded quite Australian to me.

Nice and easy. Enjoyable sax and Hammond. Led us on to a Tom Waits track.

All new to us. "It's inoffensive enough. Background music. Like being in a taverna somewhere." So said Julia just now. True enough.

One of my all-time favourites. Bought this within days of hearing it for the first time in a 3rd form music class (1980), when the teacher had asked us to bring along albums to discuss, or something. I'd brought in a couple of Rod Stewart LPs, and someone from a boarding house had this, probably borrowed from a 6th former. Blew me away. Still does. Great dinner music! (And I didn't buy Rod Stewart ever again.)

ho hum

Apparently historically significant, but that didn't make it an enjoyable listen.

Very bright for the blues, but very enjoyable of course.

A bit dreary. Some awful singing in places.

So smooooth.

Morrisey's an old mate. I don't know this stuff as I know the Smiths, but its comfortable listening.

OK.

Quite unexpected. My earlier knowledge of BB was of lighter brighter rap. They were innovators, one of the first rap groups to hit the mainstream. Some reading has revealed their punk roots, and that's evident here. As is some real guitar band music ability.

A very enjoyable listen, unless you're called Julia.

Know every word. Listened to it hundreds of times in the 80s and 90s. A favourite.

Nice Smiths.

1975. Not sure who else was like this back then. Not ABBA. Not as many trains or buddies coming back from Vietnam as I'd expect from The Boss. Still good, though.

Not really memorable.

Full of hits, and for good reason.

Nothing wrong with it, but unremarkable. A big deal in Canada I see.

I love this album. Reading about it has revealed lots of interesting aspects as well. The use of synthesisers at this time was so exciting - making new sorts of music. (I heard that there was a rush to be first to produce a record using new capabilities when each machine first came out, and that there's an Amii Stewart (?) album which is dominated by a pre-production early release of a new synth she had received. )

A few familiar and enjoyable tracks, otherwise pretty standard Led Zeppelin. OK.

Good album, more Irish folky than I'd have expected from them at this time.

I'd probably enjoy them if I put in the effort to repeat listening, as they sound like the sort of music I like. Car radio stuff.

I like this. Massive Attack are little more than a name I'd heard, but listening to these tracks, I recognise a number of them. Very cool.

I liked this. May listen to more. Probably not heard their music previously.

A beautiful voice matched with the right music.

Old school. Don't know it, but nostalgic for the style.

Again something I might like if I put the effort in. Not bad.

This and that

Julia's first album purchase. Classic for that reason alone.

Didn't listen but I will comment anyway. It was something totally different at the time. Disliked by no one.

There's nothing wrong with this album, but it's boring. Couldn't listen to it for more than about half an hour. Lots of nice songs, but I needed to escape to Amyl and the Sniffers to restore my sanity.

Nice enough. Their first album, I see. Must have been popular enough to go on.

Another classic.

'Old School' isn't old school enough. A dead style, but exciting fun at the time.

Jolly

OK. Worth listening to.

Very dated.

Heavyyy

Didn't pay attention, which maybe says something.

Rather gentler than I expected.

Sadly not compelling.

Calm and pleasant. Like her mom. Repeatedly.

I like this a lot. A rough edge to it.

not memorable

Gave up on this. Not enjoyable listening.

Classy.

Just didn't do it for me. There was so much going on in 1977 music, but not here.