Reviews by dcspool

What's there left to say about this old thing? I like to imagine how it would have felt living through the release of this in 1973, and I think it would have felt truly monumental. They took the rock music formula to grandiose new heights, creating something epic and conceptual, without overstepping the line into pastiche.

If we were to play Over/Under/Properly rated I would still say that DSotM is very slightly overrated. Let's face it, some of the tracks that build atmosphere are ones you would never listen to outside of the album experience, even if they do help make it one of the most cohesive albums of all time.

Fave Tracks: Breathe, Time, The Great Gig in the Sky, Us and Them

4.7/5

Mariah's voice is great, the production here is quite clean and crisp, but not too adventurous. Holds up well, but doesn't really hook me - when I listen to Mariah Carey I just always wish I was listening to Fantasy.

Fave Track: Breakdown

3.3/5

Really had a great time with this, listened through twice.

Fave Tracks: TC & Honeybear, Marz, Where The Dreams Go to Die, Sigourney Weaver, JC Hates Faggots, Queen of Denmark, That's the Good News

4.7/5

I was familiar with Deceptacon, but surprised to find out there is a lot more substance here. Seemed like a slightly left field selection but happy to say it’s deserved.

Fave Tracks: Deceptacon, Hot Topic, Les and Ray

3.7/5

Very pleasant at the start, but monotonous by the end.

Fave Tracks: Come Away With Me, Seven Years, Nightingale

3.2/5

Enjoyed this a lot, way more than A Short Album About Love. A very solid bunch of tracks, with a lot of wit and some deliciously lush instrumentation.

Fave Tracks: Something for the Weekend, Becoming More Like Alfie, Middle Class Heroes, Charge

4.4/5

Shout out Tooting bec

3/5

Louis has a cool voice. Another 50s album that doesn’t really resonate with me, but this is more interesting than some other stuff of the era.

2.8/5

I’m sorry, it just bores me.

2.4/5

Didn’t grab me at any point, but I can see how someone could really vibe this.

2.7/5

Pleasantly surprised by this, I was only aware of one, maybe two Pharcyde tracks so was assuming they were maybe a bit of a flash in the pan one hit underground wonder, but I thought this was very consistent and had a handful of really great tracks. The skits were solid too, felt cohesive and added to the albums flow rather than detracting from it.

Fave Tracks: Soul Flower (remix), 4 Better or 4 Worse, Passin’ Me By, Return of the B-Boy

4.3/5

Impeccable album, if there’s a more immaculately produced rock album out there I haven’t heard it yet. Also Peg.

Fave Tracks: Black Cow, Aja, Deacon Blues, PEG, Home At Last, Josie

5/5

So gosh darn good, it might somehow be underrated. I think the front 8 tracks might be the most consistent run of songs in any album ever.

Fave Tracks: basically all of them but lately I’m really into You Make Loving Fun

5/5

I enjoyed this a lot at the start, but then found it a bit samey.

Fave Tracks: The Fairest of the Seasons, It Was A Pleasure Then, I’ll Keep It With Mine

3.9/5

Didn’t hate it, felt like it’s actually aged quite well. A lot of the time though I felt like I just wanted to hear some of the meteora hits.

2.8/5

I get this, but I don't love it.

Fave Tracks: Natural's Not In It, Love Like Anthrax

3.2/5

I couldn't stand the vast majority of this. Somehow I've never been able to get into grime, but I expected something more here - more than half of the tracks are basically unlistenable for me. I couldn't tell if the spoken word intro to "Seems 2 Be" was a joke or unintentionally cringey.

The radio hits are way more palletable, and I enjoyed "Brand New Day" and "Do It!" (which sounds like a precursor to cloud rap), but that was about it.

Fave Tracks: Brand New Day, Fix Up Look Sharp

1.7/5

Very David Bowie David Bowie album. Good, as they all are, but not spectacular. More solid all round than some of the others we've listened to, but also without the big hits. Though it was nothing groundbreaking I quite enjoyed this one. The album cover is silly though.

Fave Tracks: Dancing Out in Space

3.7/5

I quite enjoyed this considering it’s basically just an album of covers/standards.

Fave Tracks: Ole Man Trouble, You Don’t Miss Your Water

3.5/5

Lots of classic pop bops here, but some of it feels dated instrumentally. Ultimately I still preferred the big hits over any of the other album tracks.

Fave Tracks: The Way You Make Me Feel, Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal

3.9/5