Reviews by conorr90

I went into this only knowing Strawberry Letter 23, but I love the rest of it. It's a really forward thinking sound - I can see why it was sampled by several more modern artists. Or do I have that backwards? Maybe I just likening because it has similar vibes to modern music I like. Either way, it's a great album to me. Not completely perfect, as some of the songs are a bit forgettable. The last 4 songs are some of my favourites, but they are bonus tracks. So maybe I should discount them from my rating.

Mudhoney never really did it for me the way the other big grunge bands did, but I still respect them as trailblazers. You can hear all the elements of grunge and later 90s bands to come, especially Nirvana and Pavement.

This one is a mixed bag, and it took a few listens to figure out properly. I like tracks 2 and 4, not 1 so much. I like elements of 3, but find the singing really grating. Interesting listen though - some talented musicians on here.

I was actually quite interested to listen to this, as I always liked She Sells Sanctuary. Sadly, this album is nothing like this - it's the most generic 80s hard rock crap I've listened to in a while. Why does this need to be in the book, when we have plenty of AC/DC, Van Halen, ZZ Top, Def Leppard, etc?

Obviously I see why this was included, but I didn't like Eminem then, when I was squarely in his target demographic of preteens to teens (apart from a few of his hits), so never expected to like him as an adult. Time hasn't changed that (although I listen to much more hip hop now in general), and his edge lord humour hasn't aged well at all. The first time I listened, I stopped at 97 Bonnie & Clyde. Horrific stuff, no idea what he was thinking there. I tried again and ended up skipping through a lot of the songs. The only ones I found worth listening to were My Name Is and Rock Bottom. I really did try to empathise with him as someone who obviously had a difficult life, but it's hard to when he specifically set out to make himself unlikeable. He has got undeniable talent, I just can't stand most of his lyrics.

I only remembered this band for the single Get Free - they never really stood out for me amongst all the other "The" bands of the time. The rest of the album was ok but nothing special, kinda like a grungy Supergrass. The singers vocals started to annoy me after 30 mins or so.

Generally enjoyed the creepy cabaret atmosphere of this album, but only a few tracks stood out to me as memorable. The first track and the last 2. Don't see myself returning tonight again.

PSA - The original album is 10 songs, ending with Come on Eileen. I hate that streaming services always have crazy amounts of bonus tracks. There should be an option to filter them out!

That aside, this is a great album. One of the more interesting UK pop albums of the 80s, in my opinion. I do like the fusion of Irish trad and big band in here too, but can see how some might find it a bit cringe. "Eileen" is very overplayed, but you can't deny how great a song it is. Perfect for a wedding dance floor. In fact, most of these songs wouldn't be out of place on any of my party playlists - for an audience of a certain age of course! Not a full 5 star though, because is voice is sometime annoying, and there are too many false endings for my taste.

Another one where I can't believe I haven't heard of it before! Great album with a lot of lovely songs - particularly like how well the singers harmonise. Strong 4 to a 5.

Best Nirvana album, no notes

I really enjoyed the music and singing on this, but I found it hard to focus on the story being told in the lyrics. I kept tuning out, which made the album overall sound very samey. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I connected with the lyrics.

Not terrible, but a bit all over the place and overlong. Very ambitious to be sure, but not the most original. It seems to me like a sort of sound collage of different pop styles from the 60s, often very derivative of a number of bands. Having said that, I did enjoy quite a few of the songs on here - I'm curious now about their other early work.

I love Thracy Thorn's voice, and really enjoyed their other album, but this one doesn't do it for me. Most of the songs sound like something that would be played on an "easy listening" radio station.

This album is definitely worth a listen, but apart from 2 or 3 songs, I doubt I'll come back to it. I feel like it's getting some unnecessary hate in the reviews though. Do the same people complaining about Nico's voice feel the same about Lou Reed's out of tune singing?

The title track and The Passenger never get old, but the rest of this is pretty hit and miss imo. Success and Some Weird Sin are other highlights. Lowlights include pedophilia, which (should go without saying) isn't ok - even if you are a heroin addict.

I was surprised by this, having only heard Nearly Lost You before (or so I thought). The first song sounds VERY like Soundgarden, so I was wary, but after that it has all sort of unique styles. Nice mix of grunge an 60s ish, psychedelic jangle pop. It turns out that several of these songs I had either heard before, or were so catchy that I was singing along to them on the second listen. Will definitely come back to this.

This is my favourite of the Beatles' early albums, and marks the point where they started to get more interesting. Some great songs, but some forgettable ones too. Not on par with Revolver or Abbey Road.

Pretty much the quintessential Britpop album for me, as I grew up in an Oasis-hating family. I don't think I've listened to it in its entirety before this though, as I mainly listen to Blur's greatest hits. So I was surprised at how many great deep cuts there are on here. It's a bit too long though, and I would have dropped a few songs (like Bank Holiday). Overall, a great summery pop album though.

Absolutely wild album. Pretty difficult to listen to in places, but you can't deny how influential this was on experimental and alternative music to come. Not something I would listen to often, but I think everyone should give it a go at least once! After the VU/Nico album of course.

I like Urban Hymns well enough, but don't see any reason for including this one in the book. It's long, meandering and pretty dull, tbh. I don't care how much ecstasy they took - they need more than that to make a compelling album!