Reviews by conorr90

I'd heard of this band before, but never listened to them until now. Musically I really like this, and the lyrics do very well at representing the point of view of a very unsavoury character. But the vocal delivery is pretty grating. I appreciate what they were trying to do, and get the significance of the album. But don't think I'll be listening to this one again.

This one was a bit of a chore tbh. Interesting concept and very solid musically, but the lyrics are so un poetic and on the nose that the whole album is cringe worthy. I feel like there must have been a better way to express these feelings, Mr. Gaye. In no way is this essential listening.

I still don't really get the hype about this guy. I think Next Year's Model was a bit better, but Oliver's Army is such a great song that I'll numb this up 1 star.

This was a difficult one to review. I listened to Glory a few times back in the day (pre allegations), and it didn't do much for me then either, do I don't feel too bad about this one. There's a few good songs on here, and the backing band are really solid, but honestly a lot of the songs in the second half are quite dull.

I believe in separation of art and artist in theory, for example I'm completely fine with listening to Michael Jackson's early albums. But it's difficult when the art in question is meant to make you sympathise with the artist. This is an album mainly concerned with Ryan Adams' own heartbreak, and I find it hard to feel sorry for him, now that we all know how horrible a person he is.

I'm not a big blues fan in general, but really enjoyed this. Don't recall ever listening to John Lee Hooker before, but I know his legend status. The first two songs here are very good, but I found those in the middle a bit dull. However, he then comes back with a trio of great solo songs to close the record. This gets bonus points for its production value as well, really sets it apart. Sounds fantastic on headphones.

Reading the context around this album, I see why it was included - 9/11 and so on. But that gives the album a very dated feeling now I think, over 20 years on. Apart from Waiting On a Sunny Day, this really didn't do much for me. I'm not a huge Springsteen fan but I like his earlier stuff, pre Tunnel of Love. I think they coul have left this one off the list personally, because his early period is well represented.

I get why this is on the list, but it's not really my thing at all. Marginally better than Kiss and Deep Purple, but not as memorable as 3-star AC/DC. The recording isn't particularly good, so I was wondering why they didn't include a studio album instead. But after reading the context around this, I get it. Overall, just straightforward Dad-rock IMO. I want You to Love Me and Surrender are good songs though, very reminiscent of that 70s show.

This is a weird one, had never heard of them before but after a few songs it really reminded me of the type of music your hear at really confrontational and provocative modern art installations. So, I was unsurprised to read that the band were a multimedia art collective. Not really something I'd listen to again, but interesting enough listen. I like to listen to really off the wall stuff like this every now and then, it kind of makes you question everything you think you know about how music is meant to sound.

This is just fine, a few really catchy songs but overall a bit generic as 80s pop/rock goes. It does get points though for seemingly being in the vanguard of this genre's explosion, I suppose.

This was a really interesting one, never heard of it before, but enjoyed it way more than I expected to given how bland I found Moby Grape. Some really dark and experimental songs on here, a few are quite forgettable though. Not something I'd listen to often, but glad to have given it a couple goes.

This isn't a 1-star album, it's a 3-star by my usual standards. However, as with so many artists in this book, there is no way that Echo & The Bunny men are deserving of 3 albums on here. Ocean Rain is a fantastic album, and deserves it's place. Porcupine and Crocodiles do not, so they get 1-star from me.

Great album cover though!

I really enjoyed a lot of this, particularly Sail Away, Lonely at the Top and Political Science. Sharp satire, great songwriting, but very average singing. You know you're doing satire right when people completely misunderstand you!

This may be the easiest 5 star I've had so far, as this is probably in my top 3 albums of all time. If that makes me a stereotypical music nerd, so be it.

This was a new one to me, never heard of Ute Lemper before (or Kurt Weill for that matter). I found it very interesting, not something I would be in a rush to listen to again though. I didn't like the duet songs at all, but found the second track and the last pretty fantastic. Reminded me of latter period David Bowie and Scott Walker in places.

I'm surprised how much I enjoyed this, given that I absolutely hated their "Behaviour" album. The songwriting is much better on this one though, even if the singing is grating occasionally. Catchy dance pop with serious, thoughtful and/or political lyrics usually does the job for me. The only real misses on here for me were "It Couldn't Happen Here" and "I Want to Wake Up". "Rent" and "It's a Sin" are definitely two of the best pop tunes of the 80s.

This is such a big improvement on their first album, very unique sounding for the time. I feel like I never really gave athe Stooges a fair shot, this really proves me wrong. This honestly sounds like a grunge album in places. Gimme Danger gives me chills. Not a perfect album though by any means, very messy and a couple of the songs don't hold up. I listened to the Iggy mix and the Bowie mix, both could be better!

Never heard of this band, but this is a pretty solid album. Obviously didn't have the cultural impact of the Sex Pistols, but overall I enjoyed this one more as an album experience. A few good standout tracks, especially Know Your Product, Run Down and Orstralia.

Funnily enough, I was just listening to this a few days ago. It's always been my favourite Sonic Youth album, maybe because it is more direct and less psychedelic than some of their earlier ones. The only songs on here I'm not really into are Drunken Butterfly, Shoot, and Nic Fit. The rest are pretty great; especially Theresa's, Sugar Cane, Youth Against Racism, and JC. 9/10

This is one album that I've come back to many times over the years, "trying" to like it. I get why it's highly regarded and is very influential, but for whatever reason it's never fully clicked with me. I think it might be because I find it hard to tell what all of the songs are actually about. The lyrics seem a bit too random or nonsensical to me. I find the second half a bit dull too. But there are some great ones in the first half. It's probably around a 3.5 for me, so I'll round up.

I have a very crackly vinyl copy of this in a somewhat water damaged case. It was a joy to get it out this morning for a spin. The production on here is fantastic, and there are some great songs on Side A. However I think the second side lets it down a bit. Great album, but not quite as good as their final 2.