Album Reviews

Some very catchy stuff on here, I’ll probably have to come back to this to properly appreciate it 3.5

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I groaned when I saw my album of the day. A piano recital!? Are you trying to make me quit the album project? Not looking forward to this at all. I don’t really like listening to the piano. When I was growing up my two sisters took piano lessons from the same teacher. I would hear the same songs over and over all day. It was God awful. The only piano players I like are rock and rollers like Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. I don’t appreciate this type of music. I have no idea what to rate it. I guess I will give it an average rating. Three stars.

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I've been waiting over a year to finally get some Kate Bush in this challenge, and finally we get an album of hers! It's not her most popular, but it for sure contains her strengths. Great and layered songwriting, backed up by some gorgeous strings and Kate's BRILLIANT voice. If you don't like this, you must have something wrong, deep in your soul, because this is pure life-affirming music to me; the only reason I'm not pulling the trigger on a 5-star is because I still haven't properly delved headlong into her work yet - hopefully something that this challenge will help me fix.

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Not my usual style, but it met me on the right day

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Punny, melancholic pop. Not unpleasant, but very mild, and in no way essential listening

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This is awful. No reason to be on this list. The best example of a 1 star album The best example of "Critics don't know shit." The best example of this being a colossal waste of time. The best example of "How did this band even get signed?!"

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My word am I getting quite a few older albums. I suspect I'll be getting quite a few more. Lowk mid tbh lmao

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Come ON!! Hip hop with a serving of phat juicy funk! Hip hop that makes your hips swing and your feet hop! All aboard this trip!! This album feels like a party I want to attend. Great find for me. Reading other reviews turns out this artist has caused harm, and I apologize to anybody who is offended but I am rating solely based on my reaction to the music.

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Well, this is a surprise. I had never listened to a Carole King album until today. And yet, I had heard her songs many, many times throughout my life, performed by so many famous singers and vocalists from some of the world's biggest pop and rock bands. She was always there, letting others shine. To this day, I don't think I've ever talked to anyone about King, and that is just astonishing. I'm no stranger to expressing my love for punk rock. And yet, this is a punk statement before punk was even a thing. With encouragement from James Taylor, King decided to take center stage and sing and play her own songs herself. The result might seem safe and simple, but it's anything but. Backed by phenomenal musicians, King delivers these songs with a raw yet laid-back approach, conveying a humble but steadily rising sense of urgency. The music is groovy and fiery (for soft rock) and often tender soulful in delivery. You can tell everyone had a great time making this. I can't wrap my head around it, as this should be the last kind of music I'd ever think to listen to, yet it's hypnotic and oddly satisfying. Rolling Stone recently ranked this as the 25th-greatest album of all time, and looking at it from a female perspective, I think that recognition has been a long time coming. So many women who have contributed to music have been shunned by history or outright forgotten. King has written 118 (!) Billboard Hot 100 hits. I can't think of an equivalent. To this day, she remains not just a voice for women who also wish to share their voices and talent, but for all of us who feel that popular music woefully misrepresents what the human experience actually looks and sounds like. Look at how this list is a major offender on that front, and yet, this album is on it. It's unstoppable. What a joy this is to listen to. Hit after hit, so familiar yet so new. Her voice struck a chord with audiences, and the album went on to win the Grammy for Album of the Year, sell over 5 million copies in just over two years, and become the longest-charting album by a solo female artist until Adele's 21 broke that record four decades later. Bravo. Who would have known that the King of popular music was none other than a queen... named King? Perhaps one of the most significant albums ever released. I'm so humbled to have listened to it for the first time. 5 stars.

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A solid album, though not quite on the level of Graceland.

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I’m actually enjoying this smiths album more than I expected to, but morrissey taints everything. Bleh

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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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Greasy fat rat

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Rainwater filters through trash and creates leachate, a toxic liquid filled with heavy metals, chemicals, and microplastics that can seep into soil and groundwater. Leachate is essentially garbage juice.

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Music to listen to while your wife is fucking her boyfriend

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Garbage in name, Garbage in nature. DO NOT LISTEN

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Low IQ theory

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One of my learning from this project has been that I don't mind a bit of outlaw country. I think Merle Haggard really hit his straps a few albums after this (and we miss the chance to grapple with Merle's complicated politics). But this is a pretty tight album.

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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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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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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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(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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(4/5) Yeah, Puffy was part of this.. so... It's 2026 and it's now clear that dude was the worst kind of monster. He's not ALL of the album -- it's still Biggy's album, technically -- but his nasty hands were in it.. deep. So in keeping with my (arbitrary) standards this otherwise classic hip hop album gets a star deduction for that fucker's involvement. Plus, the skits haven't aged well. I found that out when we had "Doggystyle" a few months back, but the music on that saves the day. The principle holds here too. In spite of the cringey skits and deeply troubling lyrics the music saves the day. It's just that Puffy was involved which... Eewww... Biggy was a metaphoric (and I suppose literal) giant in his brief moment in the spotlight and the production and music was top tier here. I just have a really difficult time reconciling that monster's involvement.

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Jesus, I think I've done it. I think this is album 1089 and I am done (until I start the user list tomorrow). It's actually been longer because I reviewed over 200 albums before I started a group, which meant I had to do those all again! Nearly five years, it's been a journey... Many thanks to the members of my group (especially Dave L., Peter P., Alan L. and Glen S.) who have staggered alongside me through this winter death march. A really special call out to Peter P., who really instilled a broad and unprejudiced love of music in me. He was my boss at the record store for about two years, but has been my friend for forty years. He introduced me to so many artists and records that I love. We DJ together. He encouraged me to take a more autobiographical approach to reviewing. Thanks Peter, I love you, man. Thanks to any critic who ever inspired me, especially Jessica Hopper, Bill Wyman (not the Rolling Stone), Amanda Petrusich, Simon Reynolds, Charles Shaar Murray, Robert Christgau, Elizabeth Nelson, Hanif Abdurraqib, and a plethora of others, all worth reading. But not Greil Marcus; fuck that guy. Many thanks to anyone who ever threw one of my reviews a thumbs up, I appreciate it. And a thousand thanks to Alexander for setting up this project and his technical support along the way. This project has been exciting and infuriating and exhausting, but I have appreciated the structure to my listening, and the opportunity to reflect on my musical tastes, history and the friends who helped form my tastes. In the words of the great Liverpudlian band: "All these places had their moments With lovers and friends, I still can recall Some are dead and some are living In my life, I've loved them all" And here we have Buck Owens as my final album, which is as good a place to finish as any. This project has given me an appreciation of classic country, and this piece of Bakersfield honky-tonk is a simple pleasure. I love a tight album that doesn't outstay its welcome, and this album is _tight_. I'm listening to the version with a couple of bonus tracks (including 'Act Naturally', love it) and it still only runs 32 minutes. There is not a wasted note on this album. The band is energetic and efficient, with special props to the wonderful Telecaster work of Don Rich. Could you argue that some of the songs border on being novelty tunes? Possibly, but they are fun and catchy and rollick along, so I don't care. I've spun this through three times in a row, and I am whistling along. I was going to give this a three, but I am really digging it. Call it 3.5 stars, rounding up!

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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 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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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.

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.

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.”

Around 1990-91, I was a volunteer at 2SER student radio. Mostly, I did technical work helping my mate, Tim, who hosted 'Monday Night Football', a music program that ran from 1-3am on Thursday nights. Panelling, editing, that kind of thing. In 1991, Einsturzende Neubauten were touring Australia and there was an offer to do a radio interview with 2SER. I could actually pronounce “Einsturzende Neubauten” and knew a little bit about the band, so it was decided that I would do the interview. Interviewing was not really my thing, but it came with perks; tickets to their show at the Phoenician Club and a copy of the Strategies Against Architecture LP, so I said OK. I knew the legendary Blixa Bargeld has a reputation for not suffering fools, so I tried to prep questions that were interesting. So, on the day of the show the plan was to go down to the club after soundcheck and interview Blixa. It was a bit intimidating. I mean, EN were one of the world’s most dangerous bands and Blixa also played in the Bad Seeds, which made him an underground legend. Tim and I were in the equipment room gathering up a portapack and mics and whatever else we needed, when someone comes running in the room whispering “There’s a vampire in the lobby, and he’s looking for you!” And sure enough, there in the lobby, stands Blixa in full stage outfit, pale as death, six foot six in Cuban heels and his hair teased up and 100lbs wringing wet. He has a bottle of schnapps and a filthy look in his eye. He’s staring death at everyone. And then I hear my name called. Standing next to this imperious vision in black is a smiling Japanese man in bright green overalls with a flower appliqued on the front. His voice is oddly familiar; it is Rick Tanaka, former presenter of 'The Nippy Rock Shop', an experimental collage-style radio show from Triple J in the 80s. I was a fan. Turns out, he is the road manager for this EN tour, and he is asking for me. He hands me his business card: Rick Tanaka, Private Guy. We hurriedly shuffle Rick and Blixa into a meeting room and turn on the recorder, and I attempt an interview. It did not go well. Blixa did not want to be there, was much smarter than me, and was not very patient with my attempts at questions that were more engaging than the usual stereotypical “who gets to go to the junk yard to get scrap metal for your stage show?” Eventually, Blixa just started ignoring me and chatted to Rick. Tim and I kept the tape rolling for their conversation, and afterwards edited it up into something resembling proper radio. And then they left. Tim and I packed up and then walked down the road to the Phoenician Club. En route, we bumped into the Beasts of Bourbon, who were playing support. Tex and Kim were intensely focused and wouldn't say hello, but we chatted to Spencer for a bit. They clearly knew what was coming and were determined to put on a good show. They were the best I ever saw them play that night; tight, ferocious and angry, showcasing material from their Low Road album, that was not yet released. And then on came Einsturzende Neubauten. It was possibly the most intense, frightening show I ever seen. I confess I was a little freaked out by my encounter with Blixa and not really prepared for the experience of an EN show. By the end of their set, I was pressed up against a wall with my fists clenched and my eyes shut. The sound from the stage was so brutal and overwhelming. I can’t recall much of what went on, except for a bit with shopping carts with contact mikes crashing into each other repeatedly. It was really loud. I know I left the venue about 11.30pm. At 2am, I turned up at my girlfriend’s house, tapping on her window. I assume I spent the intervening hours walking the streets in a daze, but not really sure of what I did in that time. She yelled at me for a good 15 minutes for waking her up, but I was unable to put a sentence together, let alone explain what had just happened to me. It was a heavy, really heavy, performance. Ok, so given that background of my relationship with EN, what do I think about this album? I have listened to it once or twice before. EN is really influential on me. I love noisy things, really noisy things. I played in industrial bands through most of the 1990s. And this is like the ur-text for much of what industrial music became. It still sounds frightening and surprising now. That said, this is a massively difficult listening experience. I am reminded of Brian Eno talking about Steve Reich (I think), and how hearing one of his early tape pieces was massively influential, but he never listened to it again. Early EN (and this album in particular) is like that for me. It opened up a world of possibilities to explore, but I don’t need (or probably even want) to listen to it much. I certainly was much more enamored of their early 1990s material, which contains actual songs, rather than just this scary barrage of crashing rhythms and screaming. Kollaps is an important record for me, but I would not recommend it.