Reviews by houlio_51

Okay. Interesting turn away from Synth, but with the same general Yazoo/Roxy sound. Enjoyable. 3.

I mean... okay. decent use of samples. not crazy interesting of even musically interesting, though. 2+

I'm just not on board... this was a pretty big departure from their late 70's stuff and sounds so much like the Depeche Mode, New Order, Yazoo - all who came out right around the same time as this album. They were certainly influential and a part of the synth-pop wave, but this album doesn't feel like the birth of that movement... more like another element of it. That said, certainly some good stuff and interesting use of the synth and choir samples along with the occasional mix in feel of strings. 3.

Fun and fine. Active and fun jazz/big band feel. Very distinctive sound (I can't stop hearing Louie from the Jungle Book) that works well. 3.

Not bad... enjoyable and good enough to put in a Jazz rotation for sure - with Ella & others. Not something I would actively seek out for creativity or overall sound, but certainly well produced with a great band and voice. 3+

Really good. And fun. And timeless. I'm a crotchety fat white guy and this entire album made me want to get up and dance. Also recognized a bunch of stuff that was sampled for 90s-2000s pop and hip hop. Solid 4.

Interesting. Not something I'd bring up again, but conceptually cool and probably influential on what the possibilities are. 2+.

Interesting snapshot of urban London. 3.

I'm not a big techno fan, but I dug this enough to get back around to it on occasion. Solid effort for a genre I am not a big fan of.

I listened to this while catching up from a vacation, but forgot to rate it. three days later when I checked my history and realized I had to rate it, I had forgotten most of it... even though timeline wise they are right in my wheel house. That tells me something. 2+

Another one I forget about, but when I hear them it takes me back AND sounds fresh. Guess that's both good and bad if they don't come to top of mind! 3+

Just not great. A little interesting, I guess, but so much other music from that era that I would rather listen to, sample, study... 2.

2Pac was a great artist and super influential and this was definitely a prime example of him at his height. I hesitate to say he was an objectively great lyricist or rapper and a lot of his success was tied to his persona and swagger. I'm gonna go 3+ on this one... I could easily have done a 4 on another day.

Just insane good on a lot of levels. Well produced. Decently written. Great guests. About as good as pop for mass production can get. Pulling themes and sounds from Motown, disco, and even into a little darker soul for an outstanding mix across the album. 4+

Just meh.

Never hard of this before - pretty cool and interesting mix. Would listen again. 3.

Some haunting tones. Better and different than I was thinking it would be, 3

Another early 80's punk band... listenable and fun. Pioneering for it's day and solidly different from the Clash. 3+

I mean, just one of the best of the era and I think will live on as one of the best cover to cover albums of all time. It may actually be better today than it was the day it came out. The beats, the lyrics, the melodies, the flow. Just that good. 5.

Interesting.