Reviews by henry-winchester

I'm not massively into nostalgia, but this whisked me back to 2000, when I'd just left home and started uni. "Since I Left You" is still one of the most upbeat tunes you'll ever hear, and I love the way The Avalanches added hip-hop to the hideous "chill" genre; it gives it more texture and backbone.

An unstoppable Bowie meets an immovable Eno.

This didn't always hit for me, and the remaster on Spotify is weirdly mixed. But I just can't help but admire Prince for making a completely insane one-hour 20-minute album that keeps the same crazy level of energy all the way through.

At last, a hip-hop album that isn't too long! And some of the tunes, especially "It's Tricky" and "Walk this Way" are terrific, and I guess they helped open up rap to a wider audience. It's just a shame that some of the lyrics are a bit dodgy.

A little patchy, but good overall; the sleazy funk of "Work It" more than makes up for the dire "Back in the Day." She reminds me of Prince in places. I think she helped reclaim hip-hop from misogynist assholes as well.

This has really grown on me. Giant is incredible.

A lot better and more interesting that other music of the era.

I'm so relieved this doesn't sound how it looks.

A bit dated, but never not interesting.

Another day, another Dylan album! Despite being released some 30 years after his heyday, this is still great, bluesy, tuneful, and wise.

I saw Dylan live last year, some 56 years after this was recorded. Nice to have another live album to compare and contrast with; his voice may be a little more crinkly and he spent most of his time hiding behind his piano, but it was still undeniably Dylan and brilliant.
This album is also great.

I love how damn tangible and chunky this album is, like a colorful toy from the 1970s that's been cleaned up and made better.

This is hilarious, and knowingly, intelligently so. Post-irony before it was even a thing.

I went to Solsbury Hill once and it was shit.

Licensed to Ill is definitely a debut: The Beasties' sound isn't as refined or experimental as later releases, and there's a vein of casual misogyny. But you can feel the freshness, the energy, and I love the way it moves so fast. It's like being machine-gunned to death by rhyming couplets.

Admittedly, I'm not the biggest Green Day fan, and I remember finding the songs from this album pretty trite when they came out. But in the context of this album, they become part of a larger whole that ebbs and flows organically. I love the idea of a punk concept album as well.

This failed to make much of an impact, but there's something awkward and geeky about Echo And The Bunnymen that makes them likeable.

"Another Girl, Another Planet" is one of those songs you've heard everywhere but always attributed to someone else (probably The Buzzcocks). It's a great tune and the rest of the album ain't bad either; I like its soporific, heroin-tinged take on punk rock.

I've come to adore David Crosby, but this was too dated and too jangly for my tastes. I did enjoy the occasional dashes of mysticism, though.

I usually like hip-hop, but I'm not keen on this. It's noisy, discordant, and ultimately pretty boring. It's the kind of thing Kanye built on and improved greatly.