1001 Albums Summary

It's hard to imagine a world without 'Kind of Blue'. The language seems, now, so easy and natural - but it must have been bracing in its simplicity when it came out. What an incredible album. What a cast of players.

I thought I knew this album. Turns out I only knew its reputation. Listening late at night, on headphones, it is a whole other experience. It is still groundbreaking and earth-shattering 60 years on? Perhaps not - this is well-worn territory now, and so many bands have built on DSOTM and taken it in different directions. But gee whiz you can absolutely see why it blew everyone's mind in 1973.

Further reinforces my belief that U2 are a great singles band without a genuinely great album (perhaps I’ll change that when I re-listen to Joshua Tree). The big singles on this are amazing. Top-tier songs. But so much of this album is dull and lifeless, and sounds like so much else at the time. Moments of unmatched inspiration surrounded by uninspired album tracks.

20 years on, when every lightweight The Voice/X Factor/Idol/whatever contestant has a soul fry to their voice, 'Back to Black' sounds cliched and tired. But you cannot overestimate the impact this had when it came out in 2006: it was the era of new rock and Brooklyn hipster bands, and suddenly this sexy, slinky Wall of Sound erupted from London and recast popular music in its image. Of course it is now tinged with sadness and tragedy. All those songs about drug-fueled love and refusing rehab were too hard-earned, depriving us of an answer as to whether Winehouse was a genuine superstar or lightning in a bottle. Perhaps it is too soon to properly judge. Mark Ronson remains ascendant; so much of popular music today carries either his signature or his influence. Maybe we need another decade for music to move on in order to look back with clear ears. But in the meantime we have that voice, that attitude, these songs. Winehouse can more than hold her own with the pop divas of the 21st century, and indeed with the originals from the 60s - and that's some serious company to keep.

Every note of this album is tattooed directly onto my soul. One of the great stadium rock songs. One of the great cover versions. More guitar solos than you can shake a stick at. And after three albums of raw, minimalist, full-throttle rock and roll, here we get the first real glimpses of the breadth of Jack White's influences and interests. It doesn't always work but it is fun. Oh, and Meg White is still a badass drummer. None of this works without her.

Some gorgeous moments but not enough of them to make this a genuinely great album. I think of Fleet Foxes as a really solid band with a handful of transcendent songs - and that's pretty good! Not many bands can say that.

I had never knowingly listened to The Style Council before - though I realise I know 'Shout to the Top' - and I would happily have lived my entire life without listening to this album. Yikes.

It takes a while to warm into this - the first few tracks sound very basic and almost comical to 21st century ears - but as we go on you can hear just how much music of the last 50 years used this as its template.