At least three of their all-timer hits (Do It Again, Dirty Work, Reelin' In The Years), and the rest of the choogling and vibing worked pleasantly enough!
A pleasant listen, but Willie's sleepy tones didn't really stand out - lots of enjoyable sounds though.
A lot of childhood mems for some of these tracks. Fell in Love..., We're Going To Be Friends - all timers.
The rest just does blend into eachother a bit.
But their style and sound is nothing if not iconic and instantly recognisable.
This is a formative album for me in many ways, and also came just too late after the Beneath the Boardwalk demos - time moved so fast back then that I was already a bit 'over' the hype by the time this came out. That said, this is chock full of hits and hooks that stand up today whilst also being a proper time capsule for a time of ringtones, bacardi breezers and regional accents.
Iconic and defining, but as a listen in 2026, it's the same song over and over. Not a bad thing, but not an album for listening to sat at a desk. Give me a 1950s dancefloor and now we're talking! (Or swinging!)
Straight out the gate with one of their great bangers in Radio Free Europe. Love the lo-fi jangle here and the fact that Mike Mills' harmonies are fully intact from day 1.
The lyrics, the melodies, the cool factor.
Contains a baffling amount of all-timers, perfecting their formula for years to come.
All My Friends is one of my top 5 songs of all time, equally heartbreaking, euphoric, life-affirming, funny and dance/jump/thrashable.
Glorious start to my Monday!
NFM
This did absolutely zero for me
A lovely album, though outside of the hits that have been seared into my brain through the early naughts/watching The Girl Next Door, the rest faded into a very pleasant background hum.
2 + 2 always makes a five (stars)
My take is every other song on this album is good (read: legendary, iconic), and the rest are duds. Come at me.
All sounds pleasant enough but didn't connect at all - these guys rarely do for me!
Rufus has a beautiful voice - never noticed how similar it is to Thom Yorke's, though richer, warmer and a stronger instrument.
That said, the songs aren't my bag.
8 tracks in and I moved on.
This was a joyful summery listen. Some standout moments. Love me some Ry!
Objectively this music sounds nice. But jesus is it boring. It's not their fault? I enjoyed Strange Times back in the day, but this sound has been co-opted by every advert/Guy Ritchie TV series and it's just so tired. 15 tracks of it, no thanks.
I grew up with Goldie the UK pop culture icon, without ever listening to Goldie the musician. This is nice, if a bit long. Classic drum & bass sound that feels quite nostalgic to me, despite never listening to it as a youngster.
Somehow my first time consciously listening through this front to back. Some obvious all-timers in here, but overall this is chock full of the stuff I like least about these guys - the industrial Britain 1984 concept album stuff... probably due to pop culture overexposure, but it's naff isn't it? Huge at the time I'm sure...
Pt 2, Hey You, Comfortably Numb and Run Like Hell are like beautiful breaths of fresh air between the rest.
I gave one track a go. Nah.
Was surprised by how much of this I know, enjoyed it a lot. So funny to imagine Moby as a poo culture force around the millennium.
Historic. The blueprint for every teenage boy's guitar hero fantasy. For me, the lesser known songs do fade into the background of noodling and 'YEEAYUH's, but the hits are huge.
Sunny Afternoon of course, the rest didn't really touch the sides. Beatles lite, soorry
Got a few tracks in, fine but NFM
Great! Had only ever listened to the title track - the rest is solid, with a few I've saved and will be digging back into!
I much prefer the janglier end, the Billy Corgan-esque stuff just doesn't hit for me as hard.
I love me some Cure, but this was a dirge pretty much start to finish.
Half of this is all-timer, the rest is extremely pleasant. Such a specific sexy vibe!
Not available to listen
This album still keeps me a bit at arm's length with it's commitment to the schtick, but the melodies, vocals, harmonies and whole vibe is pretty special. Peckhold's voice is glorious.
The music is great, Sumner (the reluctant vocalist)'s voice grates a bit here before he finds his more chilled tone. No real standouts or takeaways on this one other than the instrumental track.
Enjoyed this more than I expected, it feels like a relic from another time.
Goin' back to Houston to get me some pants
