1001 Albums Summary

Knew it was great, but it’s exceptional

- I still find the mockneyness pretty grating, and a lot of the cultural references feel like what they are, namely middle class art school boys trying to portray ordinary British life, and it doesn’t quite ring true in parts and grates - ⁠that said, it is a brilliant album - ⁠it’s a bit like Abbey Road. A brilliant second side, in which the individual songs themselves are not necessarily that strong but they work beautifully together as a sequence - ⁠Building up to This is a low as a brilliant finish

Really weak album. - boring music, really lame song melodies, just big shouty choruses - ⁠really lame prosaic lyrics about teenage angst. None of the poetry of a nirvana or even a pearl jam, on very similar themes - ⁠the rapping is cringe, as the young people say - ⁠even approaching it as angry metal/punk, it sounds really slick and over-produced, no real edge to it.

Fantastic rhymes and flow. Heat beats. Maybe a bit too long and doesn’t quite hang together as an album enough to deserve a 5.

Some outstanding songs on here - Suzanne, and So Long Marianne in particular. But too much of it lacks any melodic or musical punch - just LC half talking and half singing over a meandering Spanish guitar. Not awful by any means, but just a bit meh. The lyrics often feel too wilfully obscure and pretentious - like Dylan but without the crucial humour or the equally crucial musical or vocal impact. Similarly his semi-spoken delivery often feels a bit cloying and pretentious. Remastered and through earphones exacerbates this and it almost feels creepy - might not have felt like this via 1960s audio.

People hold this up as a canonical, definitive metal album, but I just find it boring. Super loud distortion and great musicianship, fine. But the songs are quite dull and go on for ages without any interesting developments. Little by way of hooks or riffs. That said, I think One is fantastic and elevates this up to a 3.

This is a special album. The sounds, the audience of prisoners, the whole sound and feel is unique. His voice is extraordinarily as well - the richness, the power, the empathy and the enjoyment. Not all the songs are out of the top drawer but it works all together as a piece and rolls along. I can’t think of another record that has so much humanity and feel for the outcasts and the outsiders.

I like it, but I don’t love it. I love that thick early 70s sound with multi tracked vocals and guitars and acoustic guitars on top. I love the crunchy guitar solos. The musicianship is great. I’ll definitely play this again, but probably more for general ambience and vibe. The songs themselves just aren’t quite there in my opinion. All very early 70s driving music, nice overall feel, without any killer melodies or hooks or riffs.

At its best this is as good as music gets. It’s a swirling, magnificent album that in those places sounds timeless and fresh despite being made 60 years ago. But it would be better if 4 tracks were removed, including the weak opening track. 9/10

I’ve enjoyed this a lot. Turning it up loud and enjoying the dirty skiddy bass. Some great vocals. The Britishness of it. Danny Vicious is fun. 7/10

This was a big deal at the time, I remember it, especially Fight the Power. But I was very disappointed going back to it. I think it is wildly overrated - people talk about it as a masterpiece of hip hop or modern black music. I don’t see that at all. The production is way too busy and completely overwhelming. Samples were unlimited at the time and they come at you constantly in a horrible mess. There is very little groove that the best hip hop has. It feels a bit like being battered over the head rather than rocking a groove. I don’t find the beats interesting. There is this tinny high hat thing going over the top of everything. I enjoy the vehemence and power of Chuck D. But it leaves me cold. 5/10.

This is a ridiculous album, absurd, over blown, and chauvinistic. But the title track in particular captures the restless urgent essence of rock and roll, albeit in a caricatured way. The vocals are terrific. I can’t separate it from my childhood memories of it, and it helped turn me on to the power of music at a young age. 7/10

This is a terrible, pathetic album. It’s utterly contrived. A pastiche of Lynyrd Skynyrd musically. Songs are melodically boring, no tunes to speak of. Lyrics are ham fisted sledgehammer making their social political or cultural points in prosaic language that lacks any poetry. I hate this album, it’s post modern pastiche garbage. Heaven knows why it’s on this list. I’d give it 0 if I could. 0/10

I can appreciate this as well made; clever and interesting music. But i can’t imagine ever wanting to listen to it other than as quirky background music. No soul, no groove, no balls. 5/10

I bought this in 1993; loved it; but have hardly listened to it since. Thanks to 1001 albums, I’ve listened to it again. I still love it. 9/10

This is a stunning album. The songs are musically exciting and moving, by a band at the height of its powers. The lyrics are glorious and capture so much alienation, sexual frustration, lust, class resentment. It’s a masterpiece. I would give it six stars if I could. 10/10

This was before the album era. It’s a short collection of songs. It feels like it’s included on this list because of what it represents in music history; not really on merit as an album.7/10

Never heard this at the time or since but I really liked it. Dark, gothic, brooding, intense. Interesting sounds. I suspect it might not hold up to repeated listening. 8/10

Hard to understand now why this album was such a big deal. Some nice tune bits, but overall a bit boring and bland.

The beat stones album, just. At the height of their powers. A brilliant album. 10/10