1001 Albums Summary

Parlophone NODATA 02 (UK 1998 repress) vinyl rip A classic. Relevant even today. Not one even mediocre track.

Fiction Records FIXD 7 (UK) vinyl rip I’ve never been to a goth club but I imagine this has to be part of the normal rotation. Genesis of "mall goth." I like "One Hundred Years" at least.

Reprise Records MS 2038 (US) vinyl rip The odd guitar notes on "All I Want" are interesting. Maybe an alternate tuning. "Little Green," feeling the emotion in her voice. The sound overall is very intimate. Like I'm right next to her singing. Love the song "California." The stereo separation of guitars on either side helps her vocals really shine in the middle. The way her vocals float in and out of time is unique. "Acid, booze, and ass Needles, guns, and grass"

Tabu Records 314530477-2 (US) CD rip This sounds like something your friend's "hip" mom played in her kitchen in the 90s. African Kenny G. You're walking around downtown in some small US city on a Sunday afternoon and they're playing at a pavilion in a park to 30 boomers sitting in camping chairs drinking Franzia. So cultured.

EMI EMC 3330 (UK) vinyl rip Di'Anno's voice to me is just "generic hard rock." Nothing super unique about it for the period. They weren't truly complete until Dickinson replaced him. "Running Free" reminds me of KISS. "Phantom Of The Opera" is the power metal Maiden we all love. Perfect end to side 1. Man do I love the galloping feel some of these songs have with the dual guitars. It's like I'm riding into battle on a horse, hand resting on the pommel of my sword. Not a fan of the ballads. "And don't you know you're breaking the law With the service you're giving?" Who cares? I thought this was heavy metal.

Parlophone LPKIDA 1 (UK) vinyl rip "Optimistic" I had never heard before. Great track. It's not quite as catchy as OK Computer but the experimentation was never going to be.

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDSACD 255 (US 2012 reissue) mono SACD rip Rhino Atlantic (worldwide 2014 reissue) stereo digital files What a unique voice! "Let The Good Times Roll" is my favorite track. I think this album is better in mono, but it's still not my thing.

EMI EMC 3411 (UK) vinyl rip Very dynamic mastering, at least on this vinyl pressing (DR 14). The mix is very "busy." There's a lot of track layering. Oooo, marimba on "Last Chance on the Stairway." Nice. This feels like the quintessential soundtrack to the 1980s. Purple beach sunsets, smoky nightclubs, mirror-covered hotel penthouses, and so on. More about sex than cocaine. Harvest ST-12211 (US reissue, remastered, 3rd edition) vinyl rip Punchier, more vocal-forward mix. Not as good to me. I can see why this would be more appealing on radio back then though. I don't like the "night version" of "Hungry Like the Wolf" as much. The moans are louder...of course!