1001 Albums Summary

The Smiths are clearly influential. Morrissey can make a good turn of phrase, and Marr and the rest of the band are very talented. That said, on the slower tracks I find myself annoyed by Morrissey's whines and moans. It is a personal preference thing, but it does limit my enjoyment. Still, the classics are classics for a reason (Queen Is Dead, Cemetry Gates, There Is a Light, Bigmouth etc.)

Catchy with a few stonecold classics. Some of the Blues Rock in the middle section gets a bit goofy though, sounding a bit like a less focussed version of the instrumentals on New Pony from Allman Brothers Band. Still, I enjoyed it, and she and the band picked a good selection of soul and blues classics to pay homage to. And Mercedes Benz has always been funny...

Jeff Lynne and Co. knew how to craft immaculate pop rock hooks, with plenty of unique instrumental flourishes, with the vocoder especially. I sort of get the criticism from the purists that it sounds a little sterile, but I think that might be because Lynne was approaching lab grade pop perfection