Reviews by gmuzza

This is my third Elvis album and i think it’s fair to say the first two have fallen short. ‘Blue Suede Shoe’ is very much what I want from an Elvis song, good old rock n roll.
‘I’m Counting on You’ is not however and at times I’m not even sure I would recognise it at his voice.
The rest of the album is ok but nothing spectacular

Dusty haa a great voice and the songs on this album are so familiar this almost feels like a greatest hits.
However the familiarity of the songs is also a weakness as some of the songs are not as good as in the hands of others.
Not something i could see myself putting on, but not something i would rush to turn off

This is a wonderfully chilled album that conjures up images of a sun slowly setting over a beach. ‘Since I Left You’ is an earworm of a track that has such a sunny hook to it I cannot understand hiw anyone cannot like it.
The sheer amount of samples used to create this album is ridiculous and i’d totally forgotten that this included things as random as Madonna’s ‘Holiday’ which is so ubiquitous it grabs your attention, possibly a little too much.

Frontier psychiatrist is just infectious, i cannot imagine ever not wanting to listen to it. The same could be said for much of this album as i love the layer after layer of samples

This is an album that meant so much to me in my youth, a truly heavy album. I remember the lyrics for ‘walk’ were on one of the loading screens for my friend’s copy of ‘Goal’ on the Amiga(?), so strangely i also associate this with weaving past defenders as Roberto Baggio.

The first half of this album is so impactful. The sheer aggression of tracks like ‘New Level’, ‘Mouth for War’ and of course ‘Fucking Hodtile’ are just a joy. ‘This Love’ presents some light and shade switching from the anger displayed elsewhere to something more akin to the sound if bands like Alice in Chains or even Soundgarden. Just as that has eased you into complacency’Rise’ arrives to remind you just how fast they can hit.
There is no denying that ‘Walk’ is the standout track here, showcasing the strengths of the individual members from Vinnie’s pounding drums to Dimebag’s soaring riffs, this is still a song i revisit frequently to let off steam.

Prefab Sprout make wonderfully dreamy music. Faron Young and When Love Breaks Down are great tracks and whilst the rest of the album doesn’t quite live up to this standard it all floats along pleasantly

This is just feel good rnb style pop with production that lifts Timberlake’s vocals to their potential.

The Neptunes and Timbaland produced tracks stand out as the stars here especially the singles and (And she said) Take Me Now.

Some of the slower tracks (Still on the Brain especially) sound like Michael Jackson’s ‘Stranger in Moscow’ era and ‘Never Again just feels a bit unnecessary, but this is a really good enjoyable listen

Paul Simon is a great storytelling songwriter and that is no more apparent than on ‘Train in the Distance’ and ‘Rene and Geogette Margritte with their dog after the war’. But the rest of the album just feels safe and cosy. Dont get me wrong this was a pleasant accompaniment to an early autumn Sunday morning dog walk, but classic I’m afraid not.
The fact that Pail Simon not only wrote ‘Cars are Cars’ let alone actually decide to include it on an album is frankly astonishing, it sounds like something improvised by a toddler

Listened to this on the drive to London and cant say anything left much of an impression. Not a bad album, just nothing of note. Meh!

I’m not a huge Springsteen fan (unless it’s his stance on Trump), but the first four tracks on this album are just dull, pleasant but dull.
‘Countin’ on a Miracle’ finally injects some life into proceedings, which is definitely needed.
‘World’s apart’ also provides some interesting variety in style. How successful this is however is open to debate as before the band crash in it kind of feels like a clumsy approach to copy something Bruce has heard without an actual connection to it.

Overall its just too long and boring

Aside from ‘Genesis’ (which to some ecxtent is helped by my inability to not hear Sean Bean over the top of it) and ‘D.A.N.C.E’ (although I prefer Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly’s version) it’s all a bit bargin bucket Daft Punk.

There is very much an identity to the album, but its just too repetitive and electro for my liking as there is no character in the music to help is break through. Even the addition of vocals to some second half tracks dont break past this and I’m left feeling like I’m trapped in a club with my head spinning

This is the perfect blend of hard rock and hip hop influenced beats, ehat is not to like.

Papercuts, Crawling, One Step Closer and In the End are obvious stand outs, but the whole album is highly enjoyable.

Chester’s vocals are insane

Just sounds dated and lacks the catchy singles of Hysteria. Even ‘Rock of Ages’ isnt as good as in my memory.

Mark Knopfler has such a distinct guitar sound that sings nearly as much as he does.

It’s all fairly relaxing nasal vocals and chiming guitars and then out of the northern mist saunters ‘Sultans of Swing’. A majestic upbeat gem of a song that really stands the test of time and still sounds fresh today.

Just like Hotel California a few days earlier this album is a pleasant listen, but aside from ‘Heart of Gold’ never really gets beyond that.

It made a fine accompaniment to a sunny autumn Sunday morning, but didn’t remain much in the memory beyond when I was actively listening to it

The piano led approach really suit Nick Cave’s vocals.
Brompton Oratory synthetic beats somehow lift the tempo just at the point it was all getting too samey. There is a Kingdom has a fuller sound to it as well which makes for a warmer experience than felt possible at the start of the album.
Where Do We Go Now But Nowhere is exactly what you want from a Nick Cave track. Dark foreboding deep tale where the poor old donkey “moans”.
Overall a more melodic album with only the strange spoken overdub on the final track a misstep.

Hotel california (the track) is a classic, but as a whole the album tends to push the duration of its songs a bit too much. ‘New Kid in Town’ is a prime example, a good track but just goes on too long. Wasted time even has an unnecessary reprise.
Where the songs are a beeter length, like Victim of Love, they’re just a bit meh.
I guess driving down a long American highway this would be a great album, but the majority of it just doesn’t connect with me. It’s all a bit too soft and middle of the road. It’s a firm 2.5/5 resting heavily on the title track’s greatness

This was better than i expected. I enjoyed the occasional (more) melodic vocals that occasionally crept in.
The drumming reminded me of Chaos AD era Igor Cavelerra, which is never a bad thing

Insipid.
I really dont get why The Carpenters ste so lauded. The majority of their output is just bland, both in terms of the music and vocals.
‘Love is Surrender’ is just bad especially Richard’s random “huh” part way through the song.
Aside from the organ, their cover of ‘Help’ put me in mind of those groups who just churn out crap covers of 60s hits for motorway services.

‘Close to Me’ is an unarguable classic. Just a shame it is surrounded by so much guff. I also struggle not to picture Rick Moranis singing it to a classroom in ‘Parenthood’
When i spotted Burt Bacharach’s classic’I’ll never fall in love again’ my hopes were raised, but after a promising start it quickly falls into the same issue as ‘Help’ earlier in the album.
‘Crescent Noon’ is just a thoroughly depressing dirge. By the time I reached ‘Mr Guder’ I genuinely felt like they’d given up and assumed no one would listen this far. It did randomly make me think of the ‘Oompah loompah’ song in one bit though.
Finally the last track ‘Another Song’ can obviously be said in a number of ways depending on the emphasis. I very much pronounce this as a negative thing, with added expletive. And that is more than confirmed by the extended wig out that closes the song and (thank god) the album

I’d not heard of ‘X’ before and immediately the energy of the songs. The dual male/female vocals are both the strength and weakness of this album, as they begin to grate quite quickly.
‘Adult Books’ caught me by surprise with a very different style both musically and vocally. If this had been the first track i’m not sure i would have liked it as much as i did following the fast paced first couple of tracks.
The rest of the album follows the rhythm of the opening two tracks and all feels fairly formulated. There’s nothing outstanding about this album and it joins the pile that has me firmly scratching my head for why it deserves its place on this list

Had to find this through YouTube, having struck out on all the major streamers and within seconds I was already wising I hadn’t.

The second track was quite different, but still very irritating, especially the organ sound. This track also seems to firmly set the tone for what comes after. If you like lots of random organ sound, guitars that are either out of tune or just being attacked by people who cant play them and shouty nonsense vocals then you are in luck