Reviews by conorr90

I've always enjoyed Prince's music but found it hard to get through one of his albums in full. This album was no exception, It took two sittings to get through all 1 hour and 20 mins. I liked a lot of the songs here, but these were the bigger singles that I knew already. I found a lot of the deeper cuts to be longer than necessary and a bit boring. The mixing was also questionable is some cases. I'm not sure if it was intentional, buts in some songs the vocals are ridiculously quiet. I appreciate Prince's singing and guitar playing, but maybe his music just isn't for me.

Not quite as consistent as "Green River", but there's still several fantastic songs on here. I love "Looking out My Back Door", "Run Through the Jungle", "Grapevine", "Who'll Stop the Rain", and "Long as I can see the Light". Definitely deserves a spot on the list.

Fantastic album, on of my favourites of Neil Young's. Some great songwriting and guitar playing. The only song on it I don't like is "A Man Needs A Maid", I find the orchestral arrangements and Neil's wailing a bit over the top. Still a 9/10 for me though.

This isn't for me, but I see why it's on the list. It's repetitive and punky, and I'd say it made quite a few parents nervous back in the day. For the most part I found it a bit bland though.

One of my all time favourite electronica albums! This was so original when it came out and still sounds fresh to this day. Essential listening in my opinion.

I've listened to this album a few times now but I don't really get the hype. The production is fantastic and I support the overall message, but I find it lacking lyricly and vocally in places. Some of the songs are so repetitive that they are basically just chanted slogans that break up the flow of the album. Most of the songs with more traditional structures (like Wildfires) are great however.

Not much to say about this one really, full of classics! Had it on in the background on Christmas Day. "Baby, Please Come Home" is one of my faves.

I've never really liked this album much, apart from Imagine. I'm really tired of hearing Jealous Guy, and it definitely has a different vibe now knowing how abusive Lennon was to his wife! The rest of the album is very middle of the road; a lot of throwaway songs with muddy production and several that run too long.

This one slipped through the cracks somehow, only coming back to it now. I only knew a few Common songs before so glad to give this a full listen. It's a real gem of hip hop; thoughtful lyrics, great instrumentals and production. Common does just seem like a really nice guy, even though does have some weird ideas about interracial relationships. Great features from Kanye too, back when he was a serious artist.

Good album but not great. Production still sounds really fresh and the bass is very driving. Listened to this twice and it was great to jog to this morn. However it is a bit repetitive and the best of the songs are much better than the rest. "Peaches" is a great earworm but has quite creepy lyrics!

Never heard of this one before. I thought the 1st and 3rd tracks were alright, not mad about the rest though. Terrible singing, but some good bass and guitar playing. Another case where I'm not sure why this was included in the book!

As a teenager in the 2000s, I was obsessed with grunge. For years, I was convinced I was "born in the wrong generation" or whatever. However through all that, I think Alice in Chains were a bit too dark for me, I was always more into Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Then when I went to college, this album really clicked with me, as I got into darker music and films. I watched their Unplugged concert and it really moved me. Layne Staley seemed to have been struggling so much, but he distilled his essence into this album and created a timeless work of art. It's an incredibly sad thing to see an artist at work who had the skill to produce something that essentially made him immortal, yet his life was literally falling apart. It also seems a shame that his addiction was made so public, but no one was able to step to intervene enough to save him. However that is unfortunately the nature of addiction I suppose.

Musically, this album is incredible; the vocal harmonies are fantastic (once you get used to Layne's unusual voice), the guitar wails with ferocity, and the bass and drums sweep you along for the ride. It really creates a soundscape that draws you in. As soon as I finished the last track I felt like diving in again. Like an addiction I guess?

I love this album and have listened to it many times before. It's one of my favorite hip hop albums of recent times and I think Little Simz is one of the best rappers working today. Great instrumentals and production throughout too, she went to to build and improve on this even further on her next album.

I enjoyed this more than I expected to. I'm familiar with Alice Cooper's hits and quite like "School's Out", but the rest of the album didn't disappoint! I especially liked the bass and piano playing, it was all much more melodic than I was expecting. I guess I was putting them in the same category as The Stooges or something similar before I listened to this. Having said that, it didn't blow me away or anything. I don't see myself re-listening to it often, but I'm glad to have given it some time.

I don't really get why this is on the list. I'm not a huge Beach Boys fan, and never got into their albums in a big way. I just like their most famous songs, and none of them were on here. I didn't find any of the tracks particularly memorable or innovative whatsoever. Overall a miss for me, looking forward to listening to some of their other albums though.

This was completely new to me, but I really enjoyed it and gave it two full listens. Very funky and groovy, I especially enjoyed "Ponta De Lanca Africano", "Taj Mahal" and "Xica Da Silva". I'd see myself listening to this again, it would be a good one to play at a party or just while chilling. I only wish I understood the lyrics!

I hadn't listened to this before, but I have listened to one of their earlier albums and never really got into it. Same for this one really, the guitar tone is too sharp for me and the singing isn't great at all. I found it quite repetitive; a few songs stuck out a bit for me but nothing particularly memorable. Too long as well!

Growing up in Ireland in the early 2000s, this album was absolutely EVERYWHERE. In shops, comstantly on the radio, at dinner parties, in pubs, etc. The stat about 1 out of every 4 households having a copy is very believable. Because of that, it's very nostalgic for me and is obviously an influential album. Ireland had a run of wannabe David Grays over the following 10 years, none of whom ever came close. But is it any good, you ask? Well, yes! The first 3 songs and the last 3 are fantastic, but I do think they overshadow the more average songs in the middle. This is a pretty solid 4 star for me.

I've loved this album for quite a few years now. It has great variety, is funny, delightfully messy, and is brimming with creativity and talent. It's influence is very obvious when you look at the rest of the 80s and 90s alternative scene - very ahead of its time! "I Will Dare" and "Unsatisfied" are obvious gems, "Androgenous" is fantastic as well and often brings a tear to my eye. I love the cover of "Black Diamond" too, but I don't think I've ever thought to look up the original. Overall a great album, possibly one of my favourites of the 80s.

I've somehow managed to live over 32 years on this earth without listening to any of Oasis' albums in their entirety. I've always been pretty firm in my dislike of them apart from a few songs. However, I knew going into this journey that I would probably have to listen to about 3 of them at least, and I completely understand why this one is on the list. So I tried to go into this with an open mind. Unfortunately, this was close to torture for me, apart from "Live Forever", "Columbia" and "Supersonic". And even those songs aren't that good. They wrote some good melodies and obviously know how to play their instruments well, to some degree. But the lyrics...as Phife Dawg famously said, "Go get yourself some toilet paper, cuz your lyrics is butt".