1001 Albums Summary

Took Motown and said the quiet part out loud "Let's pretend we're married" is so quaint Literal banger album (aka sintetizzami sto cazzo) Ok but Something in the Water is something else entirely, holy shit

Not wholly unpleasant to hear, but intellectually frustrating I can definitely see what they were aiming for, but the technical skill and musical culture just isn't there Britpop in a nutshell I was going to give this two stars until I got to the song in the reverse (don'ts stop). Just no Somehow it goes even further downhill from there? Leave Scarborough fair alone Ok Made of Stone finally makes a bit of sense. We're back at two stars but barely

The band is absolutely fire and the songwriting is honestly passionate about soul (Right is a freak exercise, true to form) I do enjoy more the Bowiesque detours (Somebody Up There Loves Me) than the pure soul attempts That said, hopefully people did go listen to proper soul and r&b after this

The answer to the question "how many hours can I listen to blues" is yes, so there you go

For the first half of this it was a solid 3 (Sabotage is just excellent, the rest was a bit touch and go) but the second half is so consistently good that I think I may need to put this in frequent rotation... It may deserve a 4 when all is said and done In any case, the whole thing just exudes love for music and on that I'm on board with the boys

I'm a huge soul fan, but the reverend isn't my favourite - I'm more into earlier greats like Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T and the MGs, and the Stax sound (although Al Jackson does a fantastic job as always on the drums here, he's at his best with Donald Duck Dunn) Honourable mention for the Memphis horns that are outstanding as always Very close to a 4, but there's surely other earlier Memphis sound records in the list that will get there and beyond

Solid technique and everything, I just don't have any emotional responses to most of these. Except maybe the title track, and even then There's some good stuff when I can tell the riffs apart (e.g. tenth avenue freeze-out) but the deliberate mixing all into a cohesive wall of sound makes it hard for me to enjoy, I need to hear the instruments and the lyrics Yep I realised the muffled sound is driving me nuts, I'm not coming back to this again EDIT: turns out my EQ settings were booked, it's s bit better now - I may revisit it again so bumping it up to a 3

Mimicry ≠ musicianship

This needs more of my attention than I'm able to give it. It sounds great but I'm sure the brilliance lies in the verse

Sad soul was both what I needed today and what I definitely didn't. Specifically, Hard times. Christ Also, as an agnostic with a catholic background I have to say without any irony whatsoever that this chorus is excellent: "Talk about Jesus talk about Jesus He never had a hustlin' mind Doin' crime wastin' time Drinkin' that wine"

As a 90s punk rocker this is bringing me back to my roots, although I liked NOFX and Green Day better. Still, absolutely solid album, and the sound of my youth - it was good to revisit

Look now, this album was everything to 15 year old me almost 30 years ago. I thought relistening to it would have been cringe but boy was I wrong, it's fucking perfect and everything I said I'd give 5 stars to albums that I'd knife fight people over. Don't think I'd knife fight someone else over it, but I'd definitely knife fight myself so

This was completely new to me and super interesting. I feel like I need to revisit it for sure, but a few tracks are so compelling with their groove (Daniibe) to push the album in the frequent relisten level

Not one original idea in sight

I've grown up with the Smiths. I love them. Quite possibly because they do three different things that shouldn't work at all and yet for some unexplained miracle, it all works. It kinda goes like this: Morrissey: it always rains in Manchester and you're all c*nts Andy: check out this funky blues riff Marr: CARIBE! (The only reason this isn't a 5 is that there's only one Smiths album that I'd fight people over and that's Hatful of Hollow, which for some truly baffling reason isn't in the 1001. Some of their best work was in singles)

Came to this thinking I'm more of an Otis Redding gal when it comes to Kings of Soul. But holy shit that voice. Properly took me to to church. Sorry Sol

I'd never listened to a Van Halen album deliberately (i don't think anyone can say they've never listened to Van Halen) This was very fun! Eddie is unsurprisingly a beast

Very interesting discovery, will definitely revisit I'm quite impressed at the range achieved with the bass here, super creative use The further I go in the album the more enjoyable and varied it is, this is definitely going into frequent rotation

So *this* is what a shit load of pop comes from I'm sure there's plenty of people who dismiss this as "easy listening" so this falls squarely into my 5 stars rule (I'd knife fight people over it) Easy listening ≠ easy writing or playing, this is top notch songwriting and execution You can just imagine the creative energy when Carole King presented "Natural Woman" to Aretha Franklin Telemachus the cat is perfect

Won't listen again on purpose

Technically impressive, fantastic groove and vibe, proper jazz fun I just don't know I'f I'll come back to this again - it's not you, it's me

The flow and the rhymes are fantastic, proper fun listen

I'd have paid good money to hear this live, what a jam

Yessssssssss EWF just went and said "what if we play everything" and did so Africano cleansed my soul Ok I just realised what this is: EWF went "what if prog but for people who want to dance" and came out with this absolute masterpiece

Very nice voice but this didn't stay with me The fact that it's a broad set of covers was an interesting review of different songwriters, and Dolly comes out head and shoulders above all others

It's such a relief to listen to this for the first time and realise he's a mediocre rapper

On principle I was really looking forward to this - I'm on board with the message - but wow the flow is just bad

With that name and cover, that's not the music I was expecting - how harmlessly competent

That ste guitar literally ripping through and tearing the 4th wall is my jam There's a tongue frankly planted in a cheek and something dangerous lurking in the shadows

The band is pretty good and the songs sound perfectly pleasant, but soul this ain't Also the accent is just weird

The self loathing, the dissociation, and the despair are so powerful through the absolutely banging relentless rhythm - my Bowie in a nutshell

Do yourself a favour and switch this to mono if you can, the stereo version is a pain The steel guitar is fantastic and it's always great to see a Nudie suit Very nice voice but overall feels dated considering Elvis had been around for a good while

How had I never heard this before? This is exactly what I would have adored when I was in my late teens - early twenties Oh well I can at least adore this now so there's that

This is fire and Pictures of Home is an absolute masterpiece Everyone who says Smoke on the Water is boring and played out should get their ears checked and get that stick removed from their arse

International treasure, and so cheeky

Could have used some editing but the flow is good and B.O.B. is outstanding

Sounds way ahead of its time, surprised I missed this the first time around

Look here now, there's a reason this is a classic

Nice sounds and all but not what I needed to listen to after lunch wanting a nap This feels like it's intended to be some sort of meditative / religious experience and I'm not in the right headspace for it today, I'll come back another time perhaps

Had Steely Dan last week, same reaction - at least this time they're not pretending to be freaky shit

I've listened to this in German, and I've been on so many European trains in my life, and I really can't imagine how Americans can understand deeply this music

Some good tunes here, and the depth of references is impressive

I first heard Laibach in an art museum and that's where they belong

There is a lot of interesting stuff here that needs more than 24 hours to process - I'll have to revisit for sure

There's a lot of stealing in this one for sure Second half gets slightly better but this still very pretentious

See, there can be some good britpop turns out

Good for you George

"your wish is not granted unless it's a fish" indeed A very cellular song is absolutely bonkers and brilliant, fuck yes kazoos

More varied and engaging that I'd gave it credit for, there's some excellent tracks here

I do love me some LBM harmonies the clapping and foot stomping on Wawusho Kuban is such a groove

This is just delicious - press darlings is outstanding but the whole album has such momentum That new wave bass hits something specific in my soul

Hasn't aged nearly as well as I remembered it, what an uneven record

There is a deliberate search for a specific sound that is achieved solidly and consistently Unfortunately that specific sound put my teeth on edge and I would never listen to this again It's not you, it's me

Tight musicianship and composition, although not fully my thing

Strong start and end, dips in the middle, cool soundscape

So much effort for so little to say

Just what I needed today, straight to my soul

Absolute masterpiece For the full experience, this should immediately be followed by a day at the races, just to bask in the glory

What a flow

As punk as it gets

Would be 5 stars even if it was just Proud Mary, but it starts with Born on the Bayou and never lets up

Imagine putting Fight the Power after one full hour of relentless rhymes

Got two out three the Fall albums in a month, which is a bit of a bummer - I was looking forward to revisiting them a few months down the line

You can feel them still trying to figure out the REM sound It's all over the place - in a good and interesting way - and there's clear references to the Cure and the Clash

Halfway through and it's solid fun listen so far - nothing that blew my socks off, but still very enjoyable Ah hang on I just got to Riot Van and the juxtaposition of music and text is just outstanding

Very solid album, she's calling you is a standout

Aggressively overproduced mediocrity

Thought I'd enjoy this less than I eventually did

This was an annoying listen as a late 90s teen into the alt/indie - Coldplay just took all that was good of that era and toned it down towards britpop to make bland and inoffensive shite for cheating CEOs I was very close to giving this a 1 (especially after Yellow) but there's just a bare glimmer of composition and emotion in Shiver and Everything's Not Lost that brings it just barely over the line

I do enjoy weird, brave, experimental music with something to say This ain't it

I've grown up with this since it came out and never stopped listening to it, and every time I hear something new and wonderful

Yes there's better metal albums (assuming this is metal and not hard rock), yea Metallica have better albums, but still - the iconic riffs and crunchy sounds are indelibly etched in my musical identity and sensibility and I can't really go below 4 for this

I love the sounds on this, the songwriting on the other hand is a bit hit and miss - I'll definitely delve in their later albums

It's etched in my memory - hasn't aged particularly great but it captured a mood in its time and place

What a song to start with, it's really pretty much impossible to keep up the level - especially when making unwise prog excursions Kudos to Boston for using clapping as a legit part of the drum kit

Tight music and grooves but something is off - i like soul and funk but this feels out of place somehow

Solid sampling and Snoop Dogg's flow is just so smooth Dre isn't bad himself on Nuthin' but a G Thang, which is by far the standout

Some outstanding tracks especially at the start - Nicki Minaj really owes Missy a lot Great collabs too but overall the album would have benefitted from a bit of editing

Listening to this in a crumbling new building during a European heatwave is spot on I thought I could use it as background music to reading Hyperion (this is what the Shrike sounds like) but it demands attention, there's so much that's interesting in this album

What a voice and delivery - reminds me of Mina in a way

I'm game to listen to some Neil Young any day, especially if it has songs that piss off Lynyrd Skynyrd and stuff like Don't Let It Bring You Down - the kind of song that other bands would have built a career on

I've always struggled with great poetry - I can tell there's something sublime at the core but I can only grasp at its edges

A few good bass lines and some interesting ideas here and there, I think I will revisit

Absolute, total masterpiece Also, the original Hurt is heads and shoulders above Cash's version, and if you think otherwise you're simply wrong

If this was an average representative of britpop, the world today would be a much better place

I'd somehow never listened to this before, and I was 25 seconds in when I realised it was going to be 5*

Starts altogether pleasant to listen to, varied sounds, but very uneven in both lyrics and songwriting HANG ON NOW, WHAT DID THEY DO TO RIOT IN CELL BLOCK #9 I thought it would be barely 2 stars when I got to the B-side but then I got to the tree song Ok now that I'm done, I don't know what they thought they were doing, thinking they were being political or edgy or psychedelic would put them back on the map, but there's nothing worth saving in this album

Fun as hell and just what I needed to deep clean the kitchen Had a real stinker of an album yesterday and this degreased my ears much like I degreased those filters

Meticulously constructed, full of genuine emotion, and never self-indulgent

I remember discovering Beck right about when this came out and I was a teenager who bought a new album every week to try and listen to anything - Beck's voracious love of all genres of music made immediately sense to me

How fun - I'd never listened actively to Alice Cooper, and had a blast. Great musicianship too

No skits, no bullshit, just grievance upon grievance delivered in the tightest combination of flow, samples and live instruments

Wow this was really mediocre - label scrapping the bottom of the barrel for anything that vaguely sounded pop punk

I'd be hard pressed to find a better album start than this The sound is still so fresh, hasn't aged one day

Fuck yes

So I have a problem with the Beatles which is that I think they were insufferable and overrated (as the prototype of the boy band they were the first to go there and to crap the bed), in particular I didn't find the musicianship or lyrics particularly noteworthy on this one, but there's a couple of solid riffs (and I just kept getting annoyed at the pretentiousness and fighting described on Wikipedia for each song) That said, I really wanted to give it a fair shot, and I absolutely love Booker T and the M.G.s, so after listening to Abbey Road I listened a couple of times to McLemore avenue So, the tunes are actually pretty good, I get some of it now, and I can in good conscience give this album a reasoned 3 for re listening potential (which means that in all likelihood abbey road is a 2 and won't relisten, but McLemore avenue is one I'll listen to over and over hence a 4)

Not much has stuck with me of this album, will need to revisit, but it was mostly pleasant to hear (although no trace of the Velvet Underground) Kudos for the lyrics "Nothing frightens me more than religion at my door" though

I was so looking forward to the day the generator would throw this one at me and it's finally here I've been genuinely smiling throughout, this is so funny, tongue in cheek, clever and comes from a deep love of music - Booker Tease is just an example of how brilliant this is SEMOLINA! SEMOLINA!

This sounds very fresh, and there's a couple of true classics, but Keely Smith deserved a much bigger tag on the cover

Trying to fill shoes too big for them

Perfectly listenable and well put together but doesn't have much to say, all I can hear are echoes of bands that came before

None of this sounds consequential Ah wait the 2nd side is just hair raising, holy crap there's a lot of bad stuff here, this is best left forgotten