directoryofbunk

Jacques Brel is obviously interesting, important, and influential, and someone who I always intended to check out. That's the point of this project, to some extent, right? but I can't get a handle on whether this is a good example of his work. Doesn't totally grab me, but I'm intrigued enough to be going back to it. Feel like I don't know how to rate it yet, so playing it safe with a 3.

Transitional Tom is still marvellous. He hasnt quite made the full leap into the more thrilling and experimental sounds that his later career is full of, but this is still a magnificent collection of tunes - Mr. Siegal is one of my all-time favourites of his.

A 4 star by TW standards, a 5 star by anyone else's.

Say no to nu.

Maybe the quintessential nu metal album - terrible lyrics, awful rapping, horrible overproduction, needless electronics with unnecessary (and boring) turntables.

Was Bono born a tedious, self-important prick, or did he have to work for it?

First 30 secs are very nice (pure Eno?) but it quickly becomes the self-indulgent, messiah-complex bullshit we know U2 for. Really occurred to me on this record what a thoroughly average bunch of musicians they are.

Love early B&S, though at the time the rabid nature of their fans was a huge turnoff - I foolishly shunned a couple of gigs I could easily have attended in the late 90s/early 00s.

This is a great collection of tunes from when B&S hadn't worn out the shtick of songs about kids in school. Not quite as lightning-in-a-bottle as Tigermilk, or poptastic as Dear Catastrophe Waitress, but very remarkable and of its time. More of a 4.5, but rounding up because this is exactly the kind of album that has loads of US contributors to this project complaining about British music.