Great album, with several real classic tracks.
I know it's a classic album of the 60s, and influenced a generation of musicians, etc, but... I found it quite hard to listen to end-to-end. Skipped through a few tracks.
"All Along The Watchtower" was my favourite track (probably because I'm a huge Bob Dylan fan 😂).
Full disclosure: I do not like Radiohead! I have always found them pretentious, and Thom Yorke particularly so. There were so many other bands in the wider alternative scene that I preferred "back in the day".
However, I decided to use this opportunity to try again with an open mind. I listened to the full album start to finish. By the end, my opinion was unchanged 🤷.
I know they are an iconic band, and have influenced many artists that followed, but I still can't get behind the seemingly put on alt rock / grunge vibe. They still just sound forced and pretentious to me, just like they did over 30 years ago.
Yeah...
I had never heard of Sarah Vaughn. Not my preferred style, but an interesting listen nonetheless. Certainly an effortless voice, but most of the tracks I found very similar and very simple.
I can, however, imagine this album as late evening background listening with a glass of whiskey or red wine!
Some great, hard lyrics in some tracks and I recognise the skill, but not an album that I particularly enjoyed listening to. When I've heard a Little Simz track as part of a wider playlist, I've liked it, but a whole album was a bit too much for me.
One of my favourite albums anyway, so an easy 5 stars for me.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond demonstrates just how good Pink Floyd are as musicians, even before the vocals kick in after 8.5 minutes!
Headphones on, get lost in the musicality, and think about what a tribute this was to their "lost" friend, Syd Barrett.
And then, just for good measure - a couple of tracks saying "fuck you" to the music industry and record execs. Amazing!
This is the sort of album people don't/can't produce any more, sadly...
I've never been an Elvis fan per se. I'm not a hater, just never bothered to get into his music.
Listening to this album, it was notable how much he (and a few others of the era, like Johnny Cash) influenced modern Country and Americana, like Lord Huron or the Felice Brothers, for example.
But, I reckon I still prefer the Fine Young Cannibals cover of "Suspicious Minds" to this Elvis version 😂!
3 stars for the impact Elvis had on other musicians I like, but I don't think I'll listen to the album again.
TL;DR: I really wanted to like this album, but just kinda... Didn't.
Grunge, Indie Rock, Punk, post-Punk and the intersection of those genres are still my "nostalgic" goto. There are so many great bands over several decades that fit somewhere into this "hard rock" church.
So, I had vaguely heard the name The Vines, without actually knowing them in any detail. The chance of discovering a "hidden gem" (to me, anyway) is fantastic. I started listening to the album with great hope.
By about halfway, I was thinking, "meh". They're fine, and some good hard riffs, but not amazing. And quite generically shouty at times.
So, above average, sure. But, sadly, not adding to my rotation.
I'd forgotten 2 things about David Bowie: how prolific he was, and how many drugs he was taking in the 70s!
I enjoyed the album, and discovered some deep cuts I'd not heard before, but I think there is a reason only 2 tracks (Breaking Glass and Sound and Vision) made it to the various Greatest Hits compilations over the decades.
The album itself is a 3 star for me, but I'm glad it's made me listen to more David Bowie again.
I've never really been a fan of Elvis Costello. I guess he's an icon of the era, but I just never really got into his music, or his vibe.
So, for me this was a first listen to a full album of his. It's an era and over genre of music I like, so I was up for it.
But, nope. Still not a fan, I'm afraid. I them listened to other tracks of his, and felt they were better than the tracks on this forgettable album.
So, if I had been listening to his greatest hits probably 3 stars.
I like trip-hop and house, so this was always likely to end well!
I know Nightmares on Wax from various compilation albums (looked up the Late Night Tales series!) and Smokers Delight was exactly what I'd hoped it would be!
I listened to the whole album 4 times yesterday, while on trains.
"Listen (Time To)" and "Bless My Soul" are standouts if I have pick pick some.
A very strong 4 stars.
Hhmmm, might get my citizenship revoked here...
I've never understood the hype around Oasis. They're treated as some sort of rock royalty, demi-gods of British music. Every grunt or utterance from a Gallagher brother is reported on, analysed and committed to canon.
In reality, they are a Pop Rock band with one and a half good albums. This is their good album.
There are several bangers on this album, but it's not really a classic for the ages for me.
I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could, but I'm feeling rebellious, so it gets 3.
A great album, and one I've not actually listened to end-to-end before!
The opener (Into My Arms) is one of my favourite songs anyway - this guy has such a way with words!
There are a couple of tracks that I was unsure of and Cara tolerated about 5 minutes before telling me to play some less depressing, but I like that Nick Cave doesn't give a shit, either. His voice and the Bad Seeds musicality hide many sins 😁.
It's not quite a 5, but a very solid 4.
My family teased me when they heard me listening to this album. It's exactly "my kind of music", apparently! Which is true...
Eid Ma Clack Shaw has been on my Spotify Liked Songs list for a while. I love the musicality and the story it tells. Listening to the rest of the album was a pleasure.
Jim Cain, My Friend and All Thoughts Are Prey To Some Beast are excellent, too.
I'm interested to know if anyone else has ever heard of Bill Callahan, though!
Ramones are, obviously, Grandees of the punk genre, and their influence is quoted by many bands who followed them.
So, I was pleased that this app made me listen to their album for the first time.
As an album, though, it was only ok. They are better musicians than some of their '70s punk peers, but the vocals and aesthetic were all pretty same-y after a while.
3 stars, as many bands I really like listening Ramones as influential on their own journeys.
Hhmmm, where to start. Never really been a Rod Stewart fan, even though he's a National Treasure (I think?).
I kinda enjoyed the songs, without ever "believing" them, if that makes sense. Rod singing these bluesy, country laments in his Scottish raspy voice. I couldn't get into it.
I found a couple of the tracks dragged as well, and skipped to the next.
So, I think I'm talking myself into a 2.
I remember k.d. lang from "back in the day". After listening to this album, it's exactly what I remember - mellow, easy listening, background vibes. Not hugely memorable, although nicely crafted songs when you focus on them.
A bit too mellow for me overall.
I only know The Undertones for "Teenage Kicks", so went into this album intrigued.
Within half a song, I thinking,I know that voice...? Turns out, it's Feargal Sharkey! Who knew!
Anyway, I actually liked the album and ended up listening to it twice while on the train from London.
Hypnotised and My Perfect Cousin we're good.
I think it's a 3.5 stars, but I'll be generous and round up.
The Kinks have so many hits in the 60s and 70s, I'm confused that this is the album that has made the list. It was a great listen, and felt like a distilled Beatles, Stones, early Dylan and a few others. They obviously also influenced a generation of rockets that followed.
But, where was Lola, Dedicated Follower of Fashion, Sunny Afternoon, etc???
Anyway, really enjoyed it - probably more than I was expecting to!
The title track made me laugh out loud...
I remember Fugees from the 90s. Not entirely my genre, but very good. I guess I was more Black Eyed Peas than Fugees, as BEP weren't quite as heavy.
The hits off this album (Ready or Not, Killing Me Softly spring to mind) as well as Fu-Gee-La were great, but some of the others were a bit too much for me.
A solid 3 stars for me.
I'm not really a Rolling Stones fan, and can't say I've listened to a whole album before. The hits that I have listened to are, obviously, all time classics.
This album was very wide ranging, and overall I enjoyed it. I'll listen to it again in future and maybe rethink it (because I know it is critically acclaimed) but for me, for now, it is a solid 3.
Wow, that was quite a find! One of the things I love about music, is finding something new.
I love the fusion of African and Western music (shout-out to Paul Simon for Graceland and Afro Celt Sound System for all their albums!).
So, I really liked this album. It's not perfect, but it put a smile on my face, and had me going down a rabbit hole learning more about Songhoy Blues and their backstory.
Soubour, Sekou Oumarou and Nick stood out, but I enjoyed them all.
Very solid 4, maybe 4.5.
What a great album! Ok, a touch of nostalgia, perhaps. We played this album a LOT in my uni houseshare when it came out.
Björk was SO different to the usual "pop" of the early 90's, many people, only partly tongue-in-cheek, were asking if she was an alien. When you hear it now, you can see the mainstream moved towards her, not the other way around.
I played this album in my car today, twice through, quite loud 😂. All the tracks are great, so no need to call out the obvious ones.
Let the Philistines vote lower if they wish, it's a 5 for me.
ABC was one of a plethora of synth pop bands in the 80s. As such, it took me a moment to remember exactly which one they were!
At the time, I preferred slightly harder, edgier music, so ABC wasn't really on my playlist then. The 2 hits I remember from this album (Look of Love and Poison Arrow) are ok, but mostly the album faded into the background for me.
Nothing wrong with it, but I wouldn't be queuing for Britfest tickets to see them perform their hits in a Cheshire field either.
2.5 rounded down to 2.
Like most people (I guess) I quite like Travis, but can't generate enough emotion about the band to either love or hate them.
Even back in 1999, they were middle of the road pop rock, chart and media friendly - a safe bet.
Perfectly listenable as an album, a few times I found myself humming along (Why does it always rain on me...), but that's about it.
On balance, a 2 because I can find the enough enthusiasm to add another 0.5.
Hadn't heard of Nick Drake before, so went into this with no expectations.
His sound is similar, I think, to many of the guitar indie folk of the late 60s and early 70s. It's a genre I quite like in a laid-back, slightly melancholy way.
So, I enjoyed the album, but it wasn't a real standout for me.
Solid 3, I think.
A few classics from the era, and the genre, here. I have a very clear memory, at age 11, standing in line waiting to enter the classroom, and my classmate, Paul, saying "Have you heard the new song Hungry Like a Wolf yet?". It was the 1st time I consciously sought out a pop song on the radio, rather than listening to whatever my older brothers were playing.
So, Rio, Hungry Like a Wolf and a couple of others pluck a nostalgic chord. However, I never really followed Duran Duran's later albums.
I reckon a solid 3.
Wilco have always been on the periphery of my indie rock radar. When I hear a track by themon a playlist I like what hear, but haven't listened to a full album before.
I enjoyed it, and it got 2 playthroughs while I was doing other things, but now I can't remember which tracks were best. And that probably sums up Wilco for me.
3 stars.
Couldn't really get into this album at all. I found the vocals a bit annoying and I can't really say which tracks I liked.
I didn't hate it and it was clearly one of those early American punk albums that influenced artists that I DO like, but I won't bother to listen to it again.
2 stars.
A Springsteen album is probably going to start from a high score for me. But then, as my expectations are high, it needs to live up to his amazing catalogue, or be judged harshly.
I know this album has become critically acclaimed in retrospect, but honestly, it's not one of my The Boss favourites.
So, it starts at a 4, is harshly marked down to a 3.5, then rounded up to a 4. Trust me, it's perfectly logical 😂.
I find Neil Young quite eclectic. Generally I really like several tracks on an album, and wonder what he was smoking for several others!
Having read up the backstory to this album, it is quite tragic and made me listen a bit more carefully than I might have otherwise done.
So, several good tracks and a couple of duds, but still a very solid 3 for me
Wow! What a great album. I'm a Peter Gabriel fan anyway, but this album contains some real gems, including my favourite Peter Gabriel track (can you guess? Answer 👇...).
Very eclectic, and range of instruments - you can see how he ended up in world music in more recent times in some of the choices in this album. But then throws in a very 80s Sax interlude in the middle, leading into one of the best tracks, "I Don't Remember".
Along the way, we have the amazing imagery in "Family Snapshot".
Anyway, the album closes with my all-time PG favourite, "Biko". If you don't know why, listen again and read the lyrics. Also, remember that it was almost 10 years before I could listen to this song without fear of arrest in South Africa...
Obviously a 5 stars for me, and I'll fight you if you disagree...
I don't know much about Patti Smith. I've always had an inkling she's a bit weird and a bit scary.
This album confirmed those suspicions!
Interesting in parts, and obviously influential on artists that have followed her, but not one I'll be adding to my playlist.
For me, a 2 for enjoyment.
Hhmmm, I kinda like Kings of Leon, but...
I feel like, once you've heard 3 of their songs, you know their whole repertoire. This album has not changed my views.
Also, I found on a couple of the tracks, the vocals were completely unintelligible (I know, I sound like a boomer!).
Anyway, it's probably a 2.5 for me, but I'll round down cos I'm a grumpy old git.
So, 2 stars.
A really enjoyable blast from the past!
A couple of real classics on this album, and some great instrumentals towards the end.
Going in, I though this album might be somewhere in the 3 to 4 range.
Well it's a solid 4.
A couple of classics here (Caught by the Fuzz, Alright, etc) and some real nostalgia to my mid-twenties!
Also, some filler tracks that "quite good" - but not "brilliant" - bands tend to have.
Overall, a fun listen and a solid 3.
I wanted to like this album. I'd not heard of Tim Buckley before, but having read his tragic story, and him being from an experimental folk era that I generally enjoy, I had hopes.
Unfortunately, I just... Didn't. I found his voice a bit annoying and his lyrics quite twee. I actually skipped through a few tracks.
I don't know whether to round up or down from 1.5, but given that he is the father of Jeff Buckley, I'll round up.
Emmylou Harris has a lovely voice, but I just did not really like this album at all. Perhaps it's a blind spot for me, but true Country Music (as epitomisesd by this album) leaves me cold.
I dutifully listened to it, but was truly grateful when it ended, and I'll not be letting it corrupt my Spotify algorithm...
Good old fashioned Shoe Gaze! I know and like The Jesus and Mary Chain, so knew what to expect.
Some minor hits here, too - April Skies and Happy When It Rains.
Easy album to have playing in the background or in the car.
A nice, comfortable 3.
This was a fun listen, in the kitchen and in the car, yesterday. Both musicians are clearly very talented, and while I guess it was mostly salsa, it also felt quite jazzy in parts and disco in others.
It did, however make me listen to my goto, The Buena Vista Social Club, afterwards, though - which is better.
I think it's a very solid 3, but I can't stretch to a 4 as that is BVSC territory...
Well, obviously it's 5 stars!
Nobody in the household complained when I played this quite loud in the kitchen most of the afternoon 😂.
Lots of their hits, and even the cringe worthy lyrics on "Tiger" was hand-waved away as, well, this is ABBA...
The most surprising track for me was the title "Arrival". I was convinced they were using a bagpipe, but apparently all keyboard, synth and recording wizardry!
Great fun.
Perhaps timing is everything...
I'm aware of and enjoy a few of the well known hits of Underworld, but I don't think I've listened to a full album.
Well, I listened to this one in the gym this morning, and it worked really, really well! Very energising.
I can't say I listened to the lyrics particularly, but the beat was excellent.
Under the circumstances that I listened to it, it's a 3.5 rounded up to 4. Under different circumstances, perhaps I would have rounded down...
Really struggled with this one.
In the same year Bob Dylan released "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and The Beatles released "A Hard day's Night", this came out.
So, artists were releasing good quality, impactful music. It's not like that was impossible.
Then this.
I skipped the second half of most tracks that I listened to, and skipped the second half of the album.
Not for me.
A rare 1 star.
The Strokes are an iconic band of the 2000's indie rock scene, and this is probably their best-known album.
It has several classics on it, and the rest are interesting and fun to listen to as well.
It got a couple of listens yesterday, and the nos of approval from the family (indie rock is probably the intersection of our family Venn diagram circles).
So, I think it sneaks a 4 stars from me.
