Reviews by berl1nchair

Aretha finally breaks through. 2 very good singles (Respect and I Never Loved a Man.....) which are surrounded by some average to good album tracks and covers. This is something that would justify its position on your CD or album rack, and I doubt anyone would say anything bad about it. It's not quite peak, but very solid and the proper start of a very long career.

Really, this is what counts as popular amongst the kids of today? And the critics raving about it, too?? I'm going to be in need of whatever the hell it is that they are smoking.

Whilst it is well executed, with Kacey possessing a good voice which she uses well, the songs here as so dull as to be the aural equivalent of wallpaper. There is nothing much going on beyond her somewhat sweet voice, singing a bunch of dull lyrics, mostly just accompanied by an acoustic guitar. Nice enough, but nothing that gets me excited at all. The talk about it being genre-bending is just fucking weird to me.

I also found some of the lyrics laughably bad in places, with rhymes that wouldn't be out of place in your secret diary from age 13 or 14. If Apple (amongst others) rated this the best album of 2018, I despair for anything else that was released that year.

This got boring real quick. And unfortunately it drags on for over an hour..........
The songs are mostly overproduced, with that over-reverbed snare an almost ever-present reminder that we are in the late 1980s. The interludes suck the big one, and the last proper track, Someday Is Tonight, listening to Janet pretend to orgasm gave me the ick in the biggest way. Ew.
There are some decent moments, however - Black Cat still rocks, even though the production sins are most evident here. Rhythm Nation is a good album opener, which is a shame that it's preceded by one of those annoying, unnecessary interludes! Miss You Much and Love Will Never Do are alright, but ultimately, not enough of interest here to make me come back any time soon. It might have been big in the late 80s, but by God, it sounds like it should have stayed there.

Goddamn this group arrived with a bang in 1995. Vow was all over the radio, with that addictive stereo effect at the start before it bursts into the first proper verse. Just awesome.
There are some other wonderful singles here, like Queer, Supervixen, Only Happy When It Rains, and Stupid Girl. Album closer Milk is also worthy of a mention. The remainder is a bit less stellar, and I'm not sure if that is a function of the songwriting, or if they just ran out of ideas after the initial burst. Anyway, a strong debut, Shirley Manson debuts as a star, with her band of merry men making electronic rock noises for the masses. Highly recommended

No introduction needed here. Of course, this was a global smash hit and went no 1 everywhere, and stayed at the top of the charts for weeks, if not years.
Having said that, it doesn't quite hold up to that level of scrutiny after all these years. The Rob Temperton songs (Baby Be Mine and Lady In My Life) are notably weaker than the other compositions here, and the duet with McCartney is cringe-worthy.
But still, you've got Wanna Be Startin' Something (I'll admit, I forgot that was on this album and it sounds like it should have been on Off The Wall - not a criticism), Thriller, Beat It and Billie Jean, all of which still sound great. Is it still a great album with some amazingly well-known tracks? Yes. Is it still a five-star album to my ears in 2026? Not quite. 4 stars.

Hard to believe Q-Tip has been around with Tribe Called Quest since the late 80s/early 90s. The man can still rhyme with the best of them, with a delivery that never feels forced or over the top. And somehow he manages to find people to lay down the most funky, jazzy music for him to do his thing over the top of. He also has the sense to avoid the excess of a lot of hip-hop albums and keeps the running time down to 47 minutes for this one. Good stuff.

I’ve always liked Dire Straits sort-of understated version of blues rock. This starts brightly with Down To The Waterline, before meandering along through the next few songs, building up to the crescendo of Sultans Of Swing, a beautifully painted story of a blues dive bar and all the people within, along with some excellent guitar playing. The album slowly winds down from there, leaving nothing but a warm fuzzy feeling like the buzz of an amp. Good stuff

Meh, if you love your 80s synths, you'll be right at home here, but I didn't find a lot of interest in the songs themselves. Dave Gahan's vocals tend to be fairly monotone, which grates over a whole album.
And the songs are nothing special on here, certainly nothing hitworthy and merely a filler album between their earlier poppy stuff and when they went truly megahuge with Violator.

Heavy stuff, listening to a father's grief being worked through in real time. It's sad, it's beautiful, it's a stellar piece of art, but I am predicting that it's not one I will come back to very often due to the above themes. But very glad to have heard it at least this one time.

Always liked this album, picked it up in 1992 or 1993, close to when it came out and have listened to it ever since.
Haven't listened to the full album in some time (it was on a tape in my car for a long time back when tape decks in cars were a thing), but I'm very familiar with it.
Starts with a blast with 'The Act We Act', and continues through a strong A-side with 'A Good Idea', 'Changes', 'Helpless' and 'Hoover Dam'. The B-side gets a bit murkier, but still holds up very well, with the sweet 'If I Can't Change Your Mind' standing out amongst the darker stuff here. Finishes with the swirling 'Man On The Moon', not to be confused with the REM track from around the same time.

Definitely takes me back to my 20s, and is a good nostalgia trip. Probably not as essential if you didn't grow up listening to it, but works for me.

Thank God for Pink Floyd. Just when I was starting to lose my mojo for this journey........

Yes, it's a 5 star album. This is a remarkable piece of art, which demands to be listened to in a single sitting, and flows beautifully from start to finish (although, admittedly, some songs do stand up remarkably well outside of the confines of the album - looking at you, 'Money'). Containing some of the finest moments in recorded history (The Great Gig In The Sky, anyone??) along with groundbreaking studio wizardry (thanks to Alan Parsons) along with pithy lines about 'hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way', this album journeys through life, death, madness, money and everything in between. Heck, even a supposed filler track like 'Every Colour You Like' has some beautifully duelling, staccato guitars along with fantastic mellow synth lines to lead you into the crowning glory of Brain Damage/Eclipse.

I could go on about this album ad nauseum, but suffice it to say, this is one of my desert island discs. 5 stars every day of every week. See you on The Dark Side Of The Moon, indeed!!

More dreaded folk, but now the 21st century version. Surely I am due for some more punk or pop or simply anything else?!?!?? On a side note, the other 2008 album I can think of that I've had recently from the Generator was a bit meh (Goldfrapp), so I don't have particularly high hopes for this at the outset. Although I did quite like Elbow, so there's that......

Whilst well executed (nice vocals, competent playing) this is simply too dull to leave any lasting impression on this listener. Happy enough to have heard it once, but also happy never to hear it again.

Better than the reviews would have had me believe. This was just a bit before my time (well, I was 10 at the time), but stands up well after all these years.
Nothing particularly stands out writing this review the next day, but I'd be happy to hear it again any time.

More weird and wonderful early 80s stuff.
Along with possibly the greatest synth pop song ever (Tainted Love, even though it's a cover), you've got 'Say Hello, Wave Goodbye' which was later covered in marvellous style by David Gray, but the version here has a lot of merit, too.
And then in the middle, you've got Marc Almond singing about seedy films, segueing into an ode to his sex dwarf....... I mean, what's not to love??

*sigh*, more folk-rock bollocks. Whilst generally well played and executed, this bores me to tears. Lots of hokey pseudo-country stylings from a bunch of fellas that probably rarely left the city limits. I'm sure if you like this kind of thing, it would rate highly, but I didn't like it to start with, and the Generator seems determined to beat me over the head with it lately.

Peak early 80s pop, with jangly guitars, harmonies and sweet songwriting. God, this is a sweet relief from all the 70s folk-rock I've had lately. More please!!!

Punky guitar rock, definitely does what it says on the box!
I feel like I should like this more than I do, but it doesn't quite hit the spot quite as much as it probably should. I think it has a tendency to be a bit overly dense with the vocals, which doesn't leave a lot of room for the music at times. Might have to give it a few more listens at some point, but for now, it gets a 3.

Pretty bland for the most part. Dare I say it, it strays into folk territory which has been the bane of my 1001 Albums journey lately.
Simon can obviously write a song or two, but the delivery is just a bit meh for me through most of this album. Probably deserved a 2 but I'm feeling generous today.

Chef before he was Chef. Isaac being smooth as all hell, with extended funk workouts on just about every song. Only 4 songs but you definitely get your money's worth on each one. The prolonged intro to Phoenix is a bit much for my ears, but when it finally gets going, the song is worth the wait.

What a nostalgia ride. But it’s actually really freakin’ good!!
This album is packed with potential hits (Rhymin and Stealin, The New Style and She’s Crafty) before you get to the gold-plated double whammy of Fight For Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn. Even after that you’ve got Slow and Low and Brass Monkey, which should be annoying but just works for some reason.
This is honestly genius, and I actually can’t believe how well it holds up 40 years later. It's loud, it's crass, it's stupid and funny, and I love it.