Reviews by directoryofbunk

Feel like I've always known Siouxsie & The Banshees' music without really properly getting into it, so this was a great excuse to properly listen. This record is clearly massively influential on loads of later stuff that I love. Siouxsie's voice and the coruscating guitar is amazing. Not sure about the Helter Skelter cover, and some of Hong Kong Garden hasn't dated brilliantly, but everything else is mystical and thrilling. Didn't hit me as a 5 star on this initial listen, but definitely want to come back to it which could up it from the 4 I'm giving for now.

Went into this fully expecting to find it boring - another American guitar record - but was highly pleasantly surprised. Feels like a bit of a US counterpoint to My Aim Is True (though I think this came first). Not quite as direct as that one, but definitely intriguing. Not blown away, but will definitely come back to this one.

Never actually heard the whole of this before. Seems like the perfect encapsulation of what the Rolling Stones are to me.

So sensual, so delightful.

Back when this record came out I was persuaded to buy it by the bloke behind the counter at a record shop, and it was a wonderful introduction to the mysterious world of Howe Gelb. Might still be my favourite Giant Sand record. Amazingly sparse and hushed with a wonderfully ambiguous quality to every tune.

If you're British and a certain age this album is full of totally familiar, perfectly crafted scenarios and people. It's all about the lyrics, the beats are mostly just carriers, and that's exactly what's needed. Brilliant stuff.

Americans probably hate this one.

An album I have heard before but don't really remember. Thought I'd hate it, actually pretty great. From the time before Billy Corgan's voice got super-whiny, and most of the songs are very enjoyable. Could do with being a bit shorter. Probably a 3.5, so I'll give a generous 4.

My stance has always been that Led Zep are shite, but tried to approach with an open mind.

Clearly, they're an amazing bunch of musicians, but the end product on this record is quite annoying. It's definitely at least in part due to Robert Plant. Bonham and Jones are very enjoyable, and the guitar is sometimes great, sometimes showboating.

In the end, my concentration slowly drifted off as it's not that interesting overall.

Incredible 1-2 opening of Señorita and Like I Love You - production 100%, vocals on point. The Neptunes tunes are generally the strongest here, and I can totally see that a load of these were originally intended for Michael Jackson. A good pop album with some high highs, only a couple of duds, but a fair number of tunes that were merely ok.

A band that isn't as interesting as they think they are. Perfectly pleasant shuffling indie, and Steve Mason's voice is quite endearing.

Proper music for subscribers to Guitar Player magazine. Dead boring.

Eddie Vedder sings in a way that gives a totally impression that he's on about something deep and important, but it's mostly sixth form nonsense. Baffling why this slick lump of stodgy classic rock was mentioned in the same breath as records by much stranger works from Nirvana, Melvin, Dinosaur Jr, Afghan Whigs, etc. It came out when I was at school and I didn't understand why loads of other "alternative" kids lapped this dadrock up.

Doesn't "feel" like a 1 star album, but it strongly disliked every song. 1 star it is.

Hats off to the lads, though, for their stances against ticket gougers and so on.

A rock-solid AC/DC album. Some absolutely killer tunes, with Beating Around the Bush being a real highlight - a rollicking riff that departs from the usual Young brothers formula. A couple of sub-par numbers and iffy lyrics knock it down to a 4 star.

Just the greatest. Raw, hard, poignant, funny, insightful, explosive, uncompromising. 5 stars, no further questions, m'lud.

Another album that seemed to be on constant rotation everywhere at time of release. Lovely Bacharach, Axelrod, and Gainsbourg vibes, but outside the big hits a lot of the tunes are a bit too ephemeral.

Nice, however, to finally get an album from somewhere other than the US or UK.

Never liked the Pixies, except for Here Comes Your Man. Don't know why, should be totally my cup of tea.

A new record to me, except for Headache, which I remember getting played a lot on late-night radio a lot at the time, and is definitely a catchy little treat.

The record is clearly an exercise in trying stuff out, with mixed results. The outcome is a perfectly decent set of off-kilter indie rock tunes with a handful of gems scattered throughout. Plus, a few duds - ill-advised reggae is always grating. Also, too long.

Felt like a classic at the time - went to a million student parties soundtracked to it.

The single version of Brown Paper Bag is far superior to the album one, which seemed to be a common problem of electronic albums of this era. It's a bunch of great tunes, and they all hold up well nearly 30 years on - maybe partly due to the recent DnB resurgence (in the UK at least). But, there are probably far too many of them - could've been edited down to an absolutely killer 45 minutes, especially as quite a few themes repeat themselves.

Like a lightweight CSNY. Beautiful quality recording, lovely harmonies, but all the songs are totally middling. Not good, not bad, just not interesting.

One of the worst bands ever, though probably mostly due to the god-awful Anthony Kleidis.

Didn't really want to listen to this, but am committing to the project. This record came out when I was 12, and even when I heard it at that age I could tell it was terrible and infantile.

I sort of had it in my mind that the instrumentalists in RHCP are all great, and that is true, but the taste is really lacking. Some of the guitar work is surprisingly spidery and minimal, but then for the most part it's highly uninspiring funk-rock, one of rock & roll's worst genres.

Send them to The Hague for Give It Away (though the reversed guitar solo is quite nice). The title track is nauseating. Sir Psycho Sexy is an abomination - like shitting all over George Clinton's legacy.

Cool front cover, though.

One of those records I have been intending to check out for about 30 years. Maybe a bit underwhelming - was expecting a more psychedelic or generally weird-sounding record that would point to the echoey pop of their later career I'm a little more familiar with. Maybe like a bunch of tunes that The Cure thought just weren't working.

Pretty patchy, fairly forgettable.