Rated 10/10
It is difficult for me to dissociate this from Bowie's Blackstar.
Two extraordinary musicians signing off with sublime albums within months and coinciding with the darkening of the political climate.
An incredibly deep, beautiful and reflective album. The lyrics muse on religion, past relationships and his approaching passing.
The sparse strings, backing vocals and Cohen's deep baritone compliment the material perfectly.
Rated 2/10
By their third album, The Cult had become a caricature of themselves. This is tired, generic rock. Their second album, Love ,would have been a better inclusion if only for She Sells Sanctuary.
Rated 6/10
It’s the End of The World and The One I Love are great but the remainder of the album was disappointing. They were to go on to make better albums.
Rated 10/10
I had never heard of Ananda Shankar before and thoroughly enjoyed this album. The covers (Jumpin' Jack Flash and Light My Fire) were great but so were the original compositions, and even the 13 minute Sagar (The Ocean) maintained interest throughout.
A great find which I will be listening to again.
Rated 6/10
This has been the most difficult album to rate so far.
On first listen, it would veer back and forth between terrible, self-indulgent prog rock and great harmonies, often several times on the same track.
I gave it several tries and it sounded better but still not all the way through.
There were times when I could have rated this one star and others where it was closer to a 4 or a 5. I am going to settle for 3 stars.
I generally like complex albums that reward repeated listens. I am undecided whether this justifies further listens. There is too much other great music to listen to.
Rated 8/10
It has been rare on this list to get an album that I did not know anything about and had never heard of the artist.
I enjoyed this a lot. It is definitely reminiscent of a soundtrack to a noir film, dark and atmospheric. A great find and definitely an album I will be returning to.
Rated 2/10
Definitely a case of the wrong album being included. Original Pirate Material was far superior in every way to this album. A few good tracks but plenty that are embarrassing to listen to (the opener It Was Supposed To Be So Easy and Fit And You Know It which has aged very badly).
Rated 10/10
Great album that particularly resonated with me today. I wouldhappily have left it on repeat play all day.
Rated 4/10
I’ve always admired Talking Heads more than I’ve enjoyed listening to them and this was not my favorite album of theirs.
Rated 8/10
This was better than I was expecting. The songs were all new to me but good until In The a Ghetto and Suspicious Minds which are among Elvis’s best. A good album - a solid 4 stars.
Rated 10/10
Great album - one of Dylan’s finest.
Rated 10/10
Day 2 and delighted to see this on my list. What a great record, and a truly unique sound. One of the best 10 albums of the 90s and sounds as innovative as it did in 1994, from the theremin sound and buzz roll of the drums on Mysterons right through to the tremelo effect and organ on Glory Box and the haunting vocals throughout. I was lucky enough to see Beth Gibbons live earlier this year. She encored with Roads which was spellbinding. What a treat - if I could give more than 5 stars I would.
Rated 4/10
There are a few good tracks, particularly Buffalo Stance but it sounds of its time and hasn’t aged particularly well.
