Reviews by bindamusic

Dark brooding retro-futuristic masterpiece. Can’t tell you how other worldly this was at the time.

Ok - this is nice. Lovely warm sound. Nothing particularly original going on, but the production and musicianship is spot on.

Solid 3

Not sure if I wasn’t in the mood, but this just left me cold. Overlong songs that just waffle on in the background.

2

JMJ is a very important part of my musical journey.

It’s hard now to explain just how futuristic this was when it appeared. Literally blew my mind as a small child.

This album and Equinoxe are foundation stones to my musical tastes.

Impossible to give this anything other than a 5.

Nope

Never quite seen what all the fuss is about with Arcade Fire. It’s a good band, but it isn’t a great one for me.

3

At 7 years old I was probably a bit too young to really understand what punk was about. To my young ears it was mainly noise, but there was something electric about it.

It’s a 3 for me personally.

What we appear to have here is the debut album from a musical genius.

It’s just jaw dropping to start with an overture….on a debut. And then it just grows from there. In a genre I find hard to love it’s amazing work.

Solid 4

If you can detach the Morrissey of today (Cockwomble) from this glorious slice of the 80s then it’s a wonderful listen.

It’s hard to, but it’s worth it. 4

Never been into Cream. I get why it’s on the list, but their albums always leave me cold. Maybe you had to be there….

2

See, I reckon you're about an eight or a nine
Maybe even nine and a half in four beers' time

4.5 it is then

Its ubiquity in the at the time reflects something that has maybe been lost since….that there was a darkness hidden just beneath the shiny surface of the 80s. This album is a distillation of that dark side. It sold well for a reason.

This album resonated then, and depressingly it still does now….arguably even more today than at any point since the songs were written.

Although mainly a depressing album lyrically, it’s also a great artist at work. Perfect arrangements, great voice and beautifully recorded. It’s more than worthy of being on this list.

5

Enjoyed this way more than I expected. I’ve judged Alice Cooper based on his 80s output. Which was pretty cringe tbh.

However this 70s version is something else altogether. It’s like a dark glam rock cousin of Meatloaf.

It’s overblown and ridiculous, but it’s also good fun.

Solid 3.5

Probably my favourite band. This is the dying embers of the XTC fire that burned brightly for many, many years.

There is still great beauty in the glow of a dying fire….this is a beautiful album with orchestral backing turned up to 11.

There are sublime songs on here. It’s pastoral and Beatles influenced for sure, but that’s no bad thing in my book.

I adore this album. 5

It’s ok.

2.5

Lovely slice of 80s this. Very evocative. Great songwriting and the band are just on point all the way through. It has that effortless confidence of youth….just leaves me wanting more…the mark of an all great albums.

Easy 4.

Not the biggest fan of Deep Purple, but you do get the sense from this that it was a seriously impressive gig to be at.

But I wasn’t and the album format isn’t enough in this case to capture it.

It’s impressive but it left me cold.

2

Probably their best album. REM never really been my favourite over the year, but this stands up.

4

Hits and filler.

3.5

Ok - this was interesting. I’m well aware of the legend of Smile and how it broke Brian.

I wrongly thought that Good Vibrations was the only fragment that made it to completion. I never realised that Heroes and Villans was from this also (one of my favourite tracks from the Greatest Hits album my Dad had in the 70s). Hearing that track for the first time in years, but reimagined, made me realise that it’s lovely to hear it in the context of the album it should have lived in. But somehow the magic has gone. It’s all there and very impressive, but it’s lost the sparkle of the original that melted into my young brain.

This album gives you a tantalising taste of what might have been. Smile would have been astonishing and probably in contention for best album of all time. But sadly this isn’t….it just nearly is.

Going for a 4.