Reviews by declaniom

Fantastic album. I love how it is lyrically a psychgoeographic exploration of where main songwriter grew up.

Used to really like this album. And its peaks - Androgynous, Answering Machine - remain high. But there’s too much Status Quo or Guns n Roses style mindless riffage on songs like Gary’s Got A Boner and that stops this album from being as good as, Halo of Flies or the Minutemen or every Husker Du album and a 100 other mid eighties post hardcore pre grunge LPs from the states.

I expected this to be unbearable and unlistenable. However there’s some structure here and the singer keeps the caterwauling to a minimum. So if you were expecting the horror of her Christmas lp or Badfinger cover then you’re out of luck. It’s still 1 star though not as bad as The Cars.

Great record. I listened to the mojo version which is the marginally better version.

I love that at a time when music was most forward thinking the Kinks manage to sound of the time whilst being nostalgic. It reminds me of the UK of my childhood. Or maybe my parent’s childhood because I wasn’t born when this was released.

Lyrics are cool. Even the obligatory blues influenced song, which the 60’s guys found so hard to ditch takes a fresh perspective - the last steam powered train in a museum. Actually thanks to the organisations like the ones in the title many steam powered trains run on volunteer owned and operated lines.

While the U.K. had punk and new wave America had this. And Boston and Journey. The awful last knockings of classic rock was shrill vocals, lack of harmony, keyboard flourishes and if all ideas run out fill the space with unwanted guitar frills The spandex clad glam metallers that followed must have heard cash tills amongst this ill executed cacophony.

America produced some of the greatest music of all time in the eighties but it was made a long long way from the cars.

Ok lp. Singer is a low calorie Marc Almond. Would have been so much better if Marc Almond was the singer. (And Dave Ball did the beats.)

Some good songs with watered down music, singing and production. A low 3.

Good funky album. Difficult to fault any element of the performance or songwriting.

Fun album.

Fantastic album.

Superb title track that’s typical of George Jones. No one sung heartbreak like him.

He’s got the best voice in country, dripping with emotion yet every word is clear and phrased to land perfectly, the way Sinatra does.

Billy Sherrill’s production and the arrangements ebb and flow with the music and compliment George. If you’re coming at this from a rock point of view this is clearrly the template for Almost Blue by Elvis Costello.

The last verse of the last track seems to be a justification of a performer turning up pissed. Complex character was George.

Title track is a banger but did it need to be 11 minutes? It doesn’t, but when the rest of the album is filler elevator music maybe it has to be.

Buy the 7” version ditch the rest.

Not bad. The Dan spent 100 hours on the drum sound and ended up not bad.

Should have spent a fraction of that time on the cover. It looks like a Pickwick lp in the Woolies bargain bin.

This would have been one of the best albums of 1986, sadly 1986 was a very poor year. I think it’s lost some of its impact because it has that 80’s big label production, whist still having one eye on indie and alternative listeners.

The impact of the social conscious lyrics have dimmed as we’re distanced from the events. Their specificness would have been an asset at the time but 40 years on make it harder to connect.

Still there’s lots to admire in the songwriting and performance even if ithe whole is a bit of an historical curio now.

So all the bands American and Millenial music critics associate with the Cure - I like. They played at the Indie Disco when I was a teen, and most of my friends like them. I like many of their singles. I have seen them live 6 times over 30 years apart. They seem nice people. And I've never liked one of their albums. This one sounds dense but lacks depth. Bob whitters away over the top semmingly without anything meaningful to say just evocative words.

There are good moments in most songs - the opening riff, the squall of title track until Bob starts up for a starter.
The scoreing on this site is a bit mean on records like this. 1 star covers everything between 0 stars and 2 stars. This is probably 1.5 to 1.75 star LP.

The Beatles pop years distilled into this classic.

From the period in 1968 when psychedelic music became more rootsy. In Traffic’s hands it was pretty uninspiring as they frequently lapse into blues rock. Some nice keyboard flourishes, but the singer is a liability.

Second of the first four Beatles I’ve had in my first month. This is the best of that opening run. No covers. Lots of Lennon lead vocals.

Hard to imagine at the time this was probably the best rock album ever and the best British lp since Lonnie Donegan’s An Englishman In America.

Great songs + Great Singer = Great lp.

Does anyone like Boston? I know they’re big in America but I’ve never met a fan.

Better than I expected, but I had very low expectations based on the hit. Which is clearly their only salvageable song.

Every song overstays its welcome and has hideous unnecessary keyboard swoops and a braindead guitar sound. The singer is shrill. Two songs are especially egregious (Rock n Roll Band and Smokin) chugging ratatatat pub band blues rock with an expensive surface studio sheen. If I could give zero I would every day and twice on Sundays.

A great album. Superb textured guitars. This is the album where the band added focus to the noise. The moment they became important.

Great lyrics performed dramatically with a solid backing band. This is a pretty accurate description of being 20 something in 90’s Britain.