Reviews by conorr90

Pretty fun listen, and an interesting fusion of different genres. On the one hand I'd question whether there are other Indian pop (non-soundtrack) albums that maybe could have taken this spot. On the other, I think it's good that at least some effort was made to include non-Western music. Could be way more though obviously!

One of the greatest albums of all time. Not a bad song on here, and it's short and punchy - wham bam, thank you ma'am! Some fantastic riffs, really interesting and unique sci-fi concept, and Bowie himself is of course gives a transcendent performance throughout. I enjoyed giving this a listen on vinyl, haven't dug it out in a while. My copy is the 40th anniversary edition, which I just noticed is pressed from the original analogue tapes. Pretty cool. Still sounds fantastic, even now, well past the 50th anniversary.

There's a special place in my heart for this album, even though I haven't listened to it in a long time. I discovered Orbital around the time I started my first year of college (2009), which was a time of great musical exploration for me, going to club nights and gigs in the city for the first time, and of course music festivals. I actually got free tickets to see Orbital that year (or maybe it was the year after) and went with a friend, had a brilliant time. This album was always my favourite of theirs, so takes me back to those days.

Theirs some really interesting blending of styles on here, and the few vocals there are offer interesting critique of technology's impact of society, advertising, and also the crackdown on electronic music in the 90s. I'm not sure if I picked up on all that before, but after a couple of closer listens it all makes sense. The standout tracks for me are Forever, Kein Trink Wasser, and Are We Here, but there's not really any weak tracks imo.

I was never a big Dizzee Rascal fan back in the day, but he did undoubtedly have some great songs. This is my first time listening to a whole album of his, and while it is almost an hour long, I didn't find it dragging. The sound of it was very revolutionary for the time, a new fusion golf UK garage, jungle and hip hop, which makes it very unique and distinct from US hip hop. It also kick started the whole grime genre, for better or worse (some would say it ended up becoming very monotious by the end of the decade). I haven't come across anything from this generator that sounds like it yet.

Having said all that, there's still some immature shit on here, a bit of sexism and violent bragidoccio. He was a teenager when he wrote this though, so I guess that explains some of it. Not something I'd be in a rush to listen to again, but very deserving of a place in the book.

I hadn't listened to this one before, but am a big fan of their debut, and Jamie xx's solo work. I went into this expecting to have a grumble about them not deserving a second spot in the book, but was very wrong. Although this isn't quite the breath of fresh air that their first album was at the time, it's such a significant departure from their past albums and really shows a lot of growth. It's also a good representative snapshot of pop and electronic music in the late 2010s. I think it will age well. There are some great songs on here; Dangerous, Say Something Loving, Replica, On Hold, I Dare You. Equally danceable and intimate, with some fantastic instrumentation and sampling alike.

Never heard of this band before, but I can see why this was included, as it's seems this band were one of the trail blazers where UK heavy metal was concerned. There are a couple of decent songs, and a few laughably terrible ones, but apart from the sheer heaviness and volume, I don't think Venom really pushed the envelope that much, considering other bands that were their contemporaries. Most of these songs really just sound like jokes, intended to get a rise out of the conservative parents of the 80s. I guess it's not really meant to be taken that seriously!

Have made several attempts to get into this one properly over the years. I've always enjoyed a lot of the songs, but usually made the mistake of trying to listen to both volumes in the same sitting, which is too much. Consequently, I'm much more familiar with Abbatoir Blues. I still feel like that's the stronger of the 2, but I might give Orpheus another listen to say for sure.

I think the variation on this double album definitely makes it worth it's while, but there are a handful of songs that are a bit forgettable. Great instrumentation and production, and the lyrics are usually great, but occasionally a bit repetitive and/or too melodramatic for me.

Really enjoyed this, more than I expected! I was confused initially as to why this was picked over her second album, but it makes sense after listening to it through. I only knew Marlene on the Wall before, but there are so many other instant standouts; Small Blue Thing, Straight Lines, Undertow, Knight Moves. I love the cadence of her singing and the near spoken word parts especially. Reminds me of Bob Dylan or Lou Reed, except Suzanne Vega can actually sing too! Guitar sound is really great throughout as well. Only negative I would have is that it has that very "cold" 80s production that I find really dated now.

Good album, but I didn't quite enjoy it as much as Sheer Heart Attack. Sometimes I forget just how heavy and proggy early Queen is, I love it. But I found that very little of this stuck with me.

I've listened to Skunk Anansie before, but only their first two albums I think. This one holds up well though, and is maybe a little more interesting due to the genre mixing going on throughout it. I love the intensity of Skins vocals and direct lyrics. The music keeps up as well - a lot of the sounds on here seem to have influenced many bands to follow in the early 2000s. Well deserving of it's place on the list, and a lot more interesting than many of the 90s picks on here (looking at you, Incubus)

Quite enjoyed this one, nice to listen to a modern album on the list that has a fresh sound. The singer's voice really reminds me of someone else though, and I can't figure out who. The album has some very interesting electronic instrumentation, and while it is a bit repetitive, it's a soundscape that I enjoy. It was a nice album to let wash over me, as different layers are added and removed. Seems like a pretty natural progression from stuff like Animal Collective and LCD Soundsystem in the 2000s.

Only knew the song Pretty in Pink before. I don't have any strong feelings about this either way. It's an interesting mix of post punk and jangle pop, and sounds slightly ahead of the curve in that aspect. I like the splashes of saxophone as well. Sounds more like a mid 80s record than an early 80s one. Like the first two songs, Mr. Jones and the last one more than the rest. The singer's voice is slightly annoying but the album isn't long enough for it to really grate.

Enjoyed this more than I expected, having never heard of them before. Some really great songs on here, and even though I don't have the language I still found most of them enjoyable. It is a bit long however, so it seems like one that would take a few listens to really get my head around it. It feels like a 3.5 right now, but I'll round up because I think it's a grower.

I've always found this band to be very MOR. It's like they were specifically designed for boomers who are in the "why dont they make REAL music anymore" camp. Being influenced by Bob Dylan, Springsteen, Tom Petty, etc is fine and all, but I'd question whether this is original enough to be included in this book. "Burning", for ex, is way too reminiscent of Dancing in the Dark. The first two songs are quite good though, and the production is great. Just unoriginal and very repetitive.

I've heard of this band but never listened them. As soon as I saw that Linn were the label I assumed it would sound great. And it really does, great production and separation of the instruments. Very life like sound! The songs are well put together as well, a couple stood out but I can see why there weren't any major hits. The singer's voice reminds me a lot of David Sylvain's. The songs are quite subtle and down-tempo, nice one to listen to on a rainy day.

Never listened to this one before, only really listened to their greatest hits, Live at Leeds and Who's Next. This album is good but they went on to do much better later in their career. The raw power and energy on here is palpable though, and obviously the title track is one of the best ever written. Some other solid tracks on here, but apart from the Kids are Alright and A Legal Matter, nothing very memorable. Great musically though, and I imagine would have been seen as a very promising debut.

It's hard for me to judge U2 objectively, because they were such a huge part of my youth. But, it has been a long time since I listened to this album the whole way through, so it sounds quite fresh. This really was a big departure from U2's earlier work, and their experiments really paid off. It's arguably their last great album - and definitely their creative peak.

There are some really interesting sounds on this; right from the start with the industrial intro to Zoo Station, the jagged electronic sounding guitar on Mysterious Ways, and the growling bass and vocals on The Fly. I thought I would have found One hard to listen to, since it was so overplayed, but I was actually quite moved listening to it again yesterday. The production is fantastic as well, Brian Eno doing his usual excellent work. I forgot just how dark the lyrics on this are, and I think I most of the allusions to the German reunification and the Bible went over my head listening to this as a young teenager. So I enjoyed having a read of the meanings of the lyrics on the deeper cuts like Until the End of The World, Acrobat, and Love is Blindness.

Great album! I don't normally enjoy this type of singing, but Scott Walker is an exception. I think I slightly prefer Scott 3 to this, but both are excellent. I don't really connect with all of the songs on here, but the high points (Seventh Seal, On Your Own Again, World's Strongest Man, The Old Man's Back Again) are very high. Love the Ennio Morricone style arrangements as well.

Great album, this was quite a healing experience after I got his abysmal "Here, My Dear" just a few days ago. I've always appreciated this one for what it is, and really enjoy the title track, Mercy Mercy Me, Right On, and Inner City Blues. But I think maybe you had to be around at the time to fully appreciate the significance of this album (I was not). Elements of it are very dated, particularly the 3 really overtly religious songs. Those just don't do much for me - probably why I'm not really into the more gospel side of R&B. Really solid 8/10 for me though.

Absolutely love this album. I think I first stumbled upon it 6 or 7 years ago when I started my first office job and used to listen to full albums on YouTube. I had so many great discoveries from that algorithm, before they decided to start forcing Shorts upon me.

I've since got it on vinyl though, which allows for full appreciation of that fantastic album cover. The band look like they are absolutely trippin balls. I can only imagine how incredible it must have been to have heard this for the first time back in the early 70s.