Reviews by dcspool

Ken Leeeeee. Ken Leebeebedebu douchouuuu.

Harry Nilsson is great. This album feels a bit more like a showreel than an album. There is so little cohesion between the tracks, but it doesn't really lead to a jarring experience, instead it just highlights how much of a pop chameleon Nilsson is. The transition from Without You to Coconut is one of the wildest tone shifts in musical history.

3.9/5

I love the vibe of this album. Its weird, funky, experimental, free-wheeling, but maybe all those things slightly to a fault. The first few tracks are engaging, but admittedly most of the good tracks here were written by some other MPB legends - Gilberto Gil, Jorge Ben, Cateano Veloso namely. "Baby" is iconic but this is definitely not the best version I've heard of it, not even the best version by Os Mutantes (1971 for me).

Fave Tracks: Panis et circenses, Baby

3.4/5

Yawn

2/5

What a strange inclusion. The 1001 is all over the shop when it comes to Hip Hop. The number of great hip hop albums left off, and then stuff like this included. I don't think this is bad or anything, in fact its quite interesting conceptually with the apocalyptic space themes etc, but it just seems so obscure and as far as I can see not an underground critical darling. Its the 3445th best Hip Hop album on RYM for example.

The track "To the Moon's Contractor" is great. Sprawling, progressive. This album grew on me a lot, second half was pretty great. Still a strange inclusion, but I'm not against it.

Fave Tracks: No. 1 St., To the Moon's Contractor, Wipe Out on the Wave of Armageddon, Feb 4. 99 (For All Those Killed by Cops)

3.8/5

Pretty solid Curtis album. Listenable, no major stand outs for me.

3.7/5

Some neat and quirky ideas. But ultimately Solsbury Hill is carrying.

3.6/5

I really wanted to like this more than I did. I've heard a few Wire songs before and loved them. Both the start and end of the album have a lot of cool moments, there's just a bit too much filler in the middle that doesn't add much for it to be a truly great album. You shouldn't have filler in a 35 min album.

Fave Tracks: Reuters, Three Girl Rhumba, Pink Flag, Fragile, Champs

3.7/5

You're So Great is quite an interesting song. Sounds almost like a Modest Mouse track or an early Radiohead demo. Look Inside America is just Country House isn't it?

I don't think this is really a great album. It's ok, kinda like most of Blur's other stuff. But at least compared to their Britpop contemporaries this album is evidence of evolution to a new sound, some experimentation.

Fave Tracks: Beetlebum, Song 2, Death of a Party, Essex Dogs

3.3/5

I thought this was a pretty cool gritty sound collage album, though I'm not sure I'd really go back for much. Feels like a blend of Fatboy Slim and Illmatic.

3.5/5

Hoe Cakes!

I thought this was a very solid, smooth easy-listening album. Classy, not too tainted with 80s stank.

Fave Tracks: Sweet Love, Caught Up In the Rapture

3.9/5

Eminem didn't fall-off. He and his music have just aged poorly. This album sounds like a stroppy teenager. Its so immature - who ever thought that the homophobia and misogyny on show here was cool? Its so obviously uncool that I feel quite embarrassed listening to it. Its only shocking in how cringey it is. The beats stank of early 2000s bling era too - they are quite awful.

The skits are predictably atrocious. The main problem with them I guess is that Eminem isn't funny. Songs like Kim where Eminem does various cartoony voices are so annoying. It's weird. Is he trying to be taken seriously or to make a joke? They just fall in odd places in between, I don't like it.

And then this album has Stan which is simultaneously so out of place but so perfectly in place for this album. Its weird. But I guess this is Eminem's best song, so overall I think this is still better than The Slim Shady LP.

2.2/5

I was the exact target audience for the Klaxons. At the time this was a certified classic, but now it sounds quite dated, though I will say the 4 singles that I recall all still slap pretty hard. Most of the rest of the tracks are poor imitations of the singles, filled with gibberish lyrics that sound very much like they're trying to be quirky cool.

The production is also pretty awful. Some songs have an almost garage feel to them, which doesn't work well with their futuristic sonic aesthetic. Maybe its just the fact that the "DJ! Uh uh uh" sounds that kick off "Atlantis to Interzone" were pre-sets on a cheap keyboard I played as a teenager. This was probably super cool to me at the time but just cheapens the track now.

Idk, its still pretty fun.

3.2/5

This is totally fine, but don't see anything really groundbreaking here. Nice to have on in the background, barely caught my attention though most of the time.

Fave Tracks: LMK

3.2/5

This was beautiful. I listened whilst having a relaxing bath and it lulled me gently to sleep. As the murky bathwater slinked down my oesophagus I felt the warm embrace of heaven's kiss. I saw the great beyond, divine mysteries unfurling unto me with unfathomable lucidity. Jesus was there riding a rainbow centaur with a Napalm Death neck tattoo. It was really something.

Three days later I awoke in the ICU ward at the Krankenhaus Dresden-Friedrichstadt, to the smiling faces of my friends Ray and Nigel, sitting loyally at my bedside. They'd brought with them their transsexual goth friend who just sat silently in the corner eating a Happy Meal (the toy and all); quite the character.

Best bath ever.

1.3/5

Only Talking Heads could get away with the steel drums on the opener.

Psycho Killer was the first Talking Heads song I heard, and I think it put me off them for a while. Though I enjoyed it I found it repetitive and not very challenging. So many years wasted without appreciating Remain in Light and other Talking Heads masterpieces. On listening to this album PK was very enjoyable. Its a pretty unique tune with all the usual Talking Heads witticisms.

Fave Tracks: Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town, Psycho Killer

3.7/5

Maybe an odd compliment but I love how abruptly the first track breaks to nothing.

I like the "soft" moments, like the initial riff of ...And Justice for All. And One - I always liked that track.

I can really see how you might love this album. But it falls into that sort of not for me category. Too heavy mostly.

Fave Tracks: One, To Live is to Die

3.6/5

Very much as predicted, nothing superunknown about this one. Louder rather than grungier. Ok album to me, but nothing superexciting. Black Hole Sun and Spoonman are two excellent and fairly unique rock songs, but most of the rest of the album is quite generic.

Fave Tracks: Head Down, Black Hole Sun, Spoonman, 4th of July

3.7/5

2 PJ Harvery albums in 4 days. Neither do it for me. This one I think is slightly better than Dry, but there's nothing here that I would want to go back to. Would require me to really be desiring some raw angst to revisit.

2.5/5

I'm not even convinced I listened to the right version of this, but what I did listen to was pretty badly dated and annoying.

2.3/5

Never been much of an Oasis guy but did have a sweet spot for this album, I had the CD.

On relisten I find it quite uninspiring. It is very very samey, especially the drums.

Cigarettes & Alcohol is catchy, but its just TRex's Bang a Gong. This album is 4 or 5 catchy hooks, that are mostly derivative of very obvious influences, drowned in horrible guitar tones.

Favorite Tracks; Rock N Roll Star, Live Forever, Supersonic, Cigarettes & Alcohol

3/5