Album Reviews

8/10 Maybe a five star, can't decide

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Good album 4/5

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Bello ma mi aspettavo meglio

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Tillsammans med Young americans Bowies bästa. Två vitt skilda sidor av samma artistskap. B-sidan är magnifikt bra och helt befriad från anglo-amerikanskt bluesarv. Filmisk europeisk elektronika som är ödslig och vacker, klassistisk och experimentell, Kraftwerk och Tangerine Dream, saxofon och stråkar, fritt och modigt. Det är en sjuhelsikes albumsida helt enkelt. A-sidan går heller inte av för hackor fast på helt andra premisser. Här finns två av mina favoritlåtar med Bowie, "Sound and vision" som nog är hans allra bästa, med Kraftsrkinspirerad synt och uppdaterad kritvit funk från “Golden years", det är bara synd att den är lite kort. Därefter följer *Always crashing in the same car" som nästan lika bra. Enda låt som inte riktigt når upp till några stora höjder på albumet är "Be my wife" som hemfaller till lite mycket traditionell rock. Annars hörs en hel del arty ekon från Enos Roxy Music och olika fint utvalda stråk av europeisk avantgarde, utan att på något vis bli efterapningar. Två saker till. Ett: Bowie sjunger fantastiskt, utan ansträngning nästan lakoniskt. Två: den här skivan låter fantastiskt, produktionen är brilljant. Det gick alltså utmärkt att göra välljudande rockskivor på 70talet. Varför gjorde inte fler det? Det är förstås en solklar fullpoängare

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It’s listenable.

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Sorry to say I didn't find this interesting.

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Nope.

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Known for their singles hits that crept onto Kerrang in the late 90s. Looking forward to this. ----------- From the first few bars of the first track I am bopping. Hip hop - punk rock - funk jazz : this album isn't scared to mix it up. It's a pastiche of the previous 30 years of music tastefully sampled and performed into a seamless experience. On top of it all is the fantic and immediately recognisable delivery of the beastie boys with some strong messages we just didn't listen to. I absolutely love [The Update]. And what can you say about sabotage? An iconic single that epitomises the 90s. Brings me back to good times, skating and not caring for anything. Before this end stage capitalist hellscape we exist in now. I definitely would have been a hip hop head born 5 years earlier. 4*

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Sang 7: Does anybody out there even care? Nei, Mr Krawitz, absolutt ingen bryr seg.

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Good album with great bass playing. I’d add it to my collection if I saw a second hand copy. But the again I have hundreds of good albums like this my US alt rockers in the 80s 90’s. Strangely that the American mainstream listened to crap like Van Halen.

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Bland, boring, barren. I didn't like hotel California when it came on the radio and it doesn't do anything for me here either. Edgeless, passionless songs that rumble on and on follow it. Life in the fast lane at least caught my ear but it was an outlier, sadly. 1* Incidentally it killed my desire to listen to any music for the rest of the day.

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Fiti viņiem ir forši, mūzika gan nē :/

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3 stars. Good but not as good as Substance

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Shamefully I've only heard the hit(s). ------------------------ Damn. Now this is psych rock. Spanish Castle Magic is fantastic, how have I never heard it? It's pretty heavy, and sounds like the softer throwback acts of the doom metal scene. The other tracks are funky, soulful guitar driven jams with Jimmy's cool vocals that are smooth and soothing. Occasionally meandering but that comes with the genre. Mitch Mitchell on the drums is massive - he really goes all out at times here [One Rainy Wish]. There's some interesting production on this one for the time -that stereo panning on Exp is perfect. It really makes it feel like a UFO is circling you. Bold indeed. 3*

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Rock rock til you drop, rock rock never stop...hmmm

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great sounding album

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Not for me, sorry.

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Interesting this, I know Rumours but this was new to me. Feels a bit more refined and mature.

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Nice. She has a great voice and there's an impressive range of styles and influences.

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A 5 stars song in a 2 stars album

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Corporate slop

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The ugly face of shameless greed

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I can remember exactly where I was the first time I heard Portishead. I was at the Valhalla cinema when their short film 'To Kill a Dead Man' came on (unannounced? I can't remember expecting to see it) before the feature. I got the references to 60s spy films and Goddard and John Barry etc. I appreciated the low budget, homespun scrappiness of it, even if it is not the most compelling thing I have ever seen. It's an interesting artefact, full of retro references and throwbacks. The soundtrack is more sound design than music and only necessary listening if you're a mad Portishead completist. But then they played 'Sour Times' over the credits. "Woah" I said to myself "what's _that_?" It was mesmerizing and instantly grabbed me. I could immediately grasp what they were presenting. Languid down-tempo hip hop beats, cheesy 60s soundtrack guitar and smoky torch song vocals. It was a simulacrum of 60s torch song or soundtrack, like it was from a crackly vinyl record found in the back of a charity shop or grandparent's collection, but a world where hip hop beats were around in 1965. Or even the samples they created as if they were from (non-existent) old records. I chased the album down and it did not disappoint. 'Sour Times' wasn't even the best song on the album; 'Glory Box' gets the guernsey as best track, in my opinion. It was moody and sad and spacious and artful and different and stylish and gritty and cool and had a consistent and compelling worldview throughout. I was obsessed and listened to it a lot, nearly always as the whole album each sitting. It is one of the core foundational texts of trip hop, although I can see why the band distance themselves from the label. The signifiers of the sound were easily replicated and quickly established a clichéd genre of largely interchangeable moody wine bar background music. Some of it was not bad -- Morcheeba, Sneaker Pimps -- but a lot of it was really forgettable. Portishead shouldn't be blamed for any of the bland dross that copied their formula in the following years -- that is just Sturgeon's Law in action. What the imitator rarely understood is that it isn't about the signifiers -- the samples, the slow beats, the vinyl crackle, the smoky vocals -- it's the visionary _space_ that Portishead created that makes this so special. But I can see why Portishead's subsequent records are a reaction against the production hallmarks of Dummy. Personally, I really like the deliberately fucked up production aesthetic, but it is the songs and Beth Gibbons vocals that really make this album special to me. Moody torch song wasn't really much of thing in the 90s, so this album really stood out on release. I haven't listened to this in a long time -- possibly a result of me over-playing it in the 90s -- but it has been a pleasure to listen to this again today. It still stands up. (And now I confess; earlier in this project, when reviewing Isaac Hayes' Hot Buttered Soul, the track 'Walk On By' triggered a memory for me. "Oh, that's in a Portishead song" I thought, and scrubbed through Dummy about 4 times trying to find the track. Only to then realize the song I was thinking of was '2wicky' by Hooverphonic. Which is a pretty good song but stylistically ripped off from this album).

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If Kenny G. had a mohawk, he wouldn't be punk If Yanni had dumb tattoos, he wouldn't be punk If Garth Brooks pierced his nose, he wouldn't be punk If Liberace sounded like the Green Day, he wouldn't be punk

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The musical equivalent of comfort food. These three were three of the best voices in country music at the time, and they use those voices to great effect here. Trio is truly a collaborative effort, as most of the songs here feature all three singers performing some of the most gorgeous harmonies you've ever heard. To me, Parton easily has the most distinct voice and the best performances, but the thing that makes this album work is how all three work together to make something even better than the sum of their parts. Musically, this album takes a variety of different styles and merges them into a quiet, cozy country pop sound. The gentles guitars and pianos aren't the most adventurous thing in the world, but they're easy on the ears and act as the perfect foundation for the trio's vocals to build upon.

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Greasy fat rat

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(sigh) This is a very intimate and personal album, and I am sure that, if it connects with the listener on that personal level, it is profound and meaningful and delicately beautiful and emotionally resonant and blah blah blah. But this does not speak to me. It's not bad -- it's smartly written, tastefully arranged and played -- but Mr Callahan's laconic, deadpan vocal stylings annoyed me more and more as the album progressed. I find his disaffected, enervated drawl emotionally alienating. I can't help but imagine what it would be like if we just replaced all the vocal tracks with a good singer; Phoebe Bridgers is the name that immediately springs to mind because her material is not a million miles from this, but if we're playing fantasy-casting here, what about Emmylou Harris? Shit yeah, now we're talking! That could potentially be a 4-star album. But that final song, 'Faith/Void' has no business being nearly 10 minutes long. That is just taking the piss.

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There is a section in my record box for DJing parties called "floor fillers". They are singles pretty much guaranteed to get people out on the floor dancing. You can throw them on the deck when energy is flagging a bit or for the last set of the night when you want to leave everyone in a sweaty mess. I'm not prepared to reveal all my trade secrets, but 'Groove is in the Heart' is one of those songs. It is a fun and likeable confection, absolutely chock full o'hooks, and anyone can dance to it. Perfectly deployed guest spots in Bootsy Collins, Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker and Q-Tip. Everybody loves that track. It is one of the greatest pop singles of all time, full of nostalgic 60s and 70s references, sly jokes, soulful pop tunes, silliness and hip-hop inflections.. The rest of the album is similarly brightly coloured and camp fun, but listening through the whole thing is like eating 4lbs of candy in a single sitting. There are tracks here I would happily put on a compilation (or drop in a DJ set), but it is a bit rich as an album. Although I do admire their commitment to fun. There should be more of that. This is a solid 3 star album throughout, with one world class banger in 'Groove is in the Heart' for a bonus star.

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Destroy rock & roll by flailing it with wet noodles.

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It's pleasant and upbeat African pop from the early 90s. the production and cover art demonstrate the aspiration to a level of sophistication, even if the budget clearly didn't extend that far. Personally, I find that kind of fun and charming. But, not speaking French or knowing anything about Mr Koffi, I looked him up on wikipedia. The lengthy sections under 'Feuds' and 'Legal issues' have turned me off. Is his behavior much worse than any number of higher profile Western artists? Well, Koffi's crimes (most notably statutory rape, then fleeing the country to avoid imprisonment) are comparable to Roman Polanski. I think Polanski is irremediable too. The cognitive dissonance between the light and breezy cruise-liner pop (3 stars, I could dance to that) and the terrible actions of the man (no stars, would not recommend) leave me feeling queasy.

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"I won’t say anything ’cause no one ever listens to me, anyway. I might as well be a Leonard Cohen record" -- Neil, The Young Ones. This is the most Leonard Cohen-y Leonard Cohen album. Simple arrangements, mostly just guitar with tastefully restrained string or vocal backings. There are some classic songs here ('Avalanche', 'Famous Blue Raincoat'), and he is putting his back into the wordsmithing. His voice is an acquired taste, but the yelling on 'Diamonds in the Mine' is a real career low point. Cohen's songs often come alive when sung by other more accomplished singers (for example, the I'm Your Fan tribute compilation of Jennifer Warnes' album of Cohen covers Famous Blue Raincoat), so you gotta give him his props for the songwriting. But jeez, some of it makes me want to slash my wrists. 'Dress Rehearsal Rag' is one of the most depressing songs I have ever heard.

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(1/5) There are NO edges on this, is there? It's been so thoroughly sanded down there is nothing to hate -- but likewise and more damning -- there's nothing to love. I haven't been paying attention to most music from the 2010s, but everything is just coated in this slick, greasy autotune bullshit, isn't it? I can't honestly tell if she's a good singer or not. How could anyone? She's drowned out by the persistent and overpowering ambient music, and then her voice is filtered through what seems to be a dozen filters and autotune. Add to my laundry list of reasons why this isn't good -- the extremely repetitive nature of all the songs. The tempo for what seems like every song is within 10 beats of one another. MIX IT UP! What a slog of a runtime as well. I won't blame Ms. Kelela for this, because I can barely tell what she contributed. Let's blast the flattened (apocalyptic perhaps?) musical landscape of the 2010s and later when the handful of major labels and styles just sorta merged into a gooey, greasy blob of autotuned shit. This is a great example of it and could easily be placed side to side with ANY OTHER contemporaneous music and it would truly all sound the absolute same. I feel gross, and I hate what it's all become. There's a hungry totalizing algorithm that says you better not deviate from the formula because if you do the stockholders won't be rich anymore!!! Fuck them all and fuck this.

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I bought this CD when it first came out, it's a lot of fun. This album was wildly over-played in the 90s, so I haven't felt the need to play it much for about twenty years, but my 18-year-old son (hey Alfie!) recently discovered this, and so I have started listening to this again with him, and it's a really fun listen. It's a damn good time and you can dance to it. As a result, when I stumbled across a reasonably priced vinyl copy just last week, I snaffled it up for my collection. There are lots of things to like and admire about Fatboy Slim. He approaches making songs like a DJ, not a musician. He builds songs like miniature sets, with breaks and snippets cut in from his eclectic but well curated collection. The songs are full of hooks and snippets, transitions and surprising changes, and, above all, those big funky breaks. He is not afraid to let a beat play out for a while, augmented with DJ tricks like big sweeping filters, drops or stuttering delays. His taste is exquisite -- wide ranging and obscure -- but not cool. Norman Cook is less concerned with 'cool' than with 'fun'. Is the hook really catchy? Is it funky? Does this drum break insist that you absolutely must dance? And I like that. His songs are fun and inclusive and catchy and easy to dance to. He has a great ear for sounds, hooks, breaks and moments from other records. His sources are often obscure, but not for obscurity's sake. Rather he chooses them because they are a great fresh sound. These tracks are more than the mere sum of their parts; it's an accessible and optimistic collage of energy and excitement. I did copy Fatboy's habit of turning up to DJ gigs with only a box of 7" vinyl singles. I like the way it forces you to only play short, poppy songs, and I use the approach sometimes when doing my own DJ sets. This is the definitive 90s big beat album. Maybe not the world's most 'artistic' genre or album, but one of the most entertaining. Let's dance!

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Dimery is pushing up against his own 'no compilations' rule. He obviously and desperately wants to include 'Legend' on the list, but can't, so has included three of Bob Marley's strongest 70s albums to cover the spread. I would argue that one is sufficient ('Exodus' would be my pick), but this is an admittedly pretty strong album, and it has a few classic tracks, 'Concrete Jungle' and 'Stir It up' immediately spring to mind. The inclusion of two Peter Tosh songs helps add some variety to the album and reduce the filler quotient ('Kinky Reggae' is the most egregious filler track). And the band is certainly _tight_. The groove is always in the pocket, and the band sounds great. Even Chris Blackwell's overdubbing interventions don't ruin the core performances.

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Australians fuckin' love ABBA. ABBA, at their best, are much like Australians; big, dumb, mostly harmless and a lot of fun. It's a recipe for a damn good time. But this more mature, sophisticated, moody, and refined ABBA is not what anyone really wants. Where's the fun? Where are the good times? The crazy outfits? The big catchy hooks and choruses? The ridiculous lyrics? Even the big single is somewhat melancholic. The _joy_ of ABBA is missing in action. While clearly a band at the height of its powers in terms of its craft, nobody is enjoying the process, including the band and this Australian listener. The break-up of the band was inevitable. 2.5 stars, rounding down.

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(3/5) I'm being kind and giving this a polite 3 because I liked the other album of hers we've had.. "Stories From The..". But -- full confession -- I don't get this one. It doesn't resonate with me. I understand the history of it and England's fall from grace as a colonial power and then subsequent ass kicking in the two World Wars. I'm sure the British people had (or may continue to have) a huge existential reckoning with that. Hell, I **KNOW** our number is up soon (maybe we're in the process?) with our own homegrown 'Nero' at the helm -- I'm American if you didn't catch the reference. That makes this album, however, really really insular. The music is ok. Stylistically it is all over the place but leans heavy into indie/pop rock on the slower side with folk elements. She's clearly a good songwriter, but here's another example of the Anglocentrism this list is filthy with. Sorry, lads, i don't get it. Additionally, it is another Mercury Prize winner that bounces right off of me.

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In typical fashion for this list, we just had our first PJ Harvey album (Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea) about 10 days ago, and after that introduction I really wanted to like this one. I even thought that it got off to a decent start in its first couple of tracks, which sounded distinctly different from that previous outing. But the long middle of this album took enough twists and turns that I got lost along the way, perhaps complicated by the fact that I am not British and the themes herein seemed to be directed specifically at that demographic. She's obviously intent on giving nods to every influence she's had, as it is also stylistically diverse almost to a fault. Still, I liked this slowed down version of her (closer to the Tori Amos and Fiona Apple sound that I'd expected before the last album) and will will score this one the same 3.5/5 as the last, this time without rounding up.

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i can't say i'm thrilled about that f bomb unless it turns out billie joe is sucking dick more than 50% of the time

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I was more of a rock guy than dance music guy in 1990, but Pacific State (in all its versions) was inescapable at the time. It is one of the best tracks of late 80s/early 90s UK dance, no argument. It is atmospheric and catchy and compelling, and even the terrible sax playing is weirdly affecting. I have read several reviews that suggest that 808:90 proved that dance music could be an album medium, rather than just singles. Well, 35 years later, there have been plenty of acclaimed dance music albums, but I still lean towards the opinion that dance really is a singles medium. That doesn't work well for this list, as focusing on albums doesn't serve all musical genres or artists equitably and leads to some unfortunate biases. That said, I own this record and the Quadrastate EP and Ooops 12". I think I inherited them from the vinyl collection of Mark Selway (RIP), my friend and former bandmate. Mark went down a deep, dark rabbit-hole of experimental electronic music. You can hear his work on the Lecter Macabre album 13 Hobbs Lane (https://joshshipton.bandcamp.com/album/13-hobs-lane). Be warned; it's difficult listening. Now that I come to think of it, I visited the Eastern Bloc record store in Manchester in the mid 90s because I had heard about it as the early meeting place of 808 State. I bought a really nice LP bag that I still use.

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I feel like much of this smart, stylish 90s electronic album is not designed for the dancefloor, but for listening in the lounge room while coming down from a big night out. It is more intelligent and varied than many EDM albums (largely attributable to the occasional use of guitar and the vocals). I have mixed feelings about the chant-like vocals -- they avoid the usual house cliche of whacking a big soul vocal over the top of an electronic track to give it some drama. The repetitive, rhythmic singing -- often just a single note -- and impressionistic lyrics make the vocals an intrinsic part of the track rather than a decorative topline. But I can't work out whether I really like that or not. Jury is still out. I assume that 'Born Slippy' was an album outtake they agreed to offer up for the Trainspotting soundtrack, which accidentally then became their biggest hit and turned out not to be on the album (oops), but belatedly added to the deluxe issues. The sound is pretty sophisticated, but of that seems to come down to the judicious use of digital delays and reverb. Better than most of its genre but still doesn't really move me.

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This might be the most developed of the 70s punk albums that I've heard. Much stronger musicianship than I would expect from British punk of the era based on what this list has handed me. I think 4 overall but a 5 in the context of its peers.

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I can’t believe the top review for this record (as of Dec 2023) is from someone trying to use their PhD in Mathematics as justification for not liking hip-hop. Weak.

I really don't get rap, and I am completely aware of why. I'm a STEM guy, specifically a Ph.D. student in mathematics. Although my verbal intelligence is quite high, it's still about a standard deviation below my quantitative intelligence. Therefore, it should not be too surprising that I prefer melodies to lyricism, and that a genre based on the latter doesn't wow me. I know I'm pretty far out of step with public opinion on this one, but that can easily be attributed to the fact that hipsters with humanities degrees (i.e. extremely verbal-dominant people) are considered the ultimate arbiters of taste for some reason. (Side note: this also explains why prog rock is seen as being for losers.) Best song: Be (Intro), which had a decent instrumental part at the beginning. Everything else just sort of ran together.

Oh fuck yeah, now we're talking. Wait no, I swear I'm not being pretentious. This is the lowest rated album on this site because I guess mostly people aren't very fond of German people smashing metal plates together - who would have guessed. But halle-fucking-lujah, this is something this list needs more of. Albums that make you go "well, that was an experience and now I'm a changed man". Nobody is lying on their deathbed wishing they heard more crappy 80s post-punk or late 60s psychedelic rock. THIS is what we all deserve to be listening to as we embrace eternal oblivion. I'm giving this a high rating not only because I genuinely really love it, but also to help Kid Rock move to his rightful place as the actual worst album on this list. Together we can make a difference. Save the turtles.

Brings back vivid memories of when me and my mate Ray went on a trip to Dresden. We met this rotund goth in a bar, head to toe with tattoos and piercings, real filth and after a while took her into the disabled bogs for a spit roast. We were both pumping away in her with Napalm Death on in the background and her wailing "MEIN GOTT" at the top of her lungs. I remember spaffing all over her back just as Siege of Power kicked in. As i shoot over her, she takes Ray's cock out of her gob and says "do you want fries with that?" in a faux American accent. Anyway, we go outside and there's this gammy little geezer in a wheelchair sitting there furious, giving me daggers, because he's had to wait so long, so I lean into him and I go "I hope you have as much fun in there as we just did you little cunt".

Back when I was in college I used to go to a bar and listen to Neil tunes and do magic tricks for women. There was a bartender there, he was the best. I loved that guy. Some of the best years of my life.

Back when I was in college, there was this dude who would come into the bar I worked at on a Friday night and play fucking 10 Neil Young songs in a row. He would also hit on girls by doing magic tricks. I remember how angry I got every time he made me listen to an hour of Neil Young because I was just trying to have a good time, and he fucking made me listen to this sad, soppy fuck who writes nothing but songs that sound indistinguishable from each other and never seemed to enjoy a happy moment in his entire like. Fuck that guy, and fuck Neil Young. 2/5

Rap isn't my preferred genre of music. But I'm a shitty mathematician so I enjoyed this.

Shit like this on the list is both refreshing and infuriating. Refreshing because it is good, fun, interesting, and also not something I would regularly be exposed to! It's why I started this project and keeps me coming back. It's infuriating because the fact that it is included here means that Robert Dimery, the original author of the 1001 albums list is aware that music like this exists. He's clearly aware that there is an entire world of music out there. SO WHY HAVE I LISTENED TO 200 80s BRITISH NEW WAVE ALBUMS AND 200 SCOTTISH ROCK ALBUMS FROM THE 90S??!!?

Rage In Favor Of The Machine.

Music for incels to wank furiously by

Sorry Boomers/Gen X, I was like 20 when this came out so it's one of the best things to ever happen to me. Sorry it's not King Crimson or whatever.

The only enjoyment I got from this was reading the review about the brothers in Dresden and their lovely and talented tattooed friend.

The beauty of music is that it is subjective. It’s typically great for a certain group of people, though it’s never right for everyone. Some for the masses, some more niche, but it all has its place. Meanwhile, with lists like this, there’s always artists or records that anyone would have put on in place of what actually made it. Personally, I would have included Queensryche’s Operation Mindcrime, Live’s Throwing Copper, Joe Satriani’s The Extremist, Sara Bareilles’ Little Voice, or John Mellencamp’s Scarecrow album on a list of must hear records. Others would put totally different albums on and that's awesome. What someone likes vs. dislikes is truly subjective. Again, that's the beauty. With that said, this album objectively sucks. I mean truly horrible. Something had to be the lowest rated album on the list, and this was a place well earned. There is nothing redeemable about this record. To quote my wife, “they should have stopped at 1,000.”

I am definitely not the target demographic for this album, but I still thought it was very good. There's a lot of skill and artistry put into these tracks, so much so that it is almost invisible. 4 stars for me, plus an extra star just to spite the mathematics PHD guy.

i ain’t listening to all that i’m happy for u tho or sorry that happened