Reviews by j-bizzle

It's very nice.

There's some quite engaging and upbeat tracks in here, compared to some of this other stuff. The musical tracks feel pretentious and I'm not into them.

I've always been a fan of Pulp, but rarely ventured into their albums as a whole. Clearly, I'm an idiot. This album is brilliant, and plays so well front to back, especially as so many of the songs tie into one whole, throwing up themes of class, resentment, and general depravity. I love the cover with this in mind. I also didn't realise how brilliant the lyrics were on some of these songs. Kicking off right away with Mis-shapes, it's superb, and really pointed.

Jarvis Cocker is such a brilliant front-man. I really wish I were rich enough to hire him to just follow me around and read things for me in his overtly sexual perv-voice. Imagine him listing off a recipe while you cook.. "Add in two grams of... salted butter... and stir... vigorously... while you ladle over... ladle over the beef dripping, and STIR"

So many big, sing-along classics here. And even if you didn't have the rest, this album has Common People on.... I mean come on... it's an absolute stone-cold classic. What a song.

It's a big five from me.

It is the distant future. The year TWO THOUSAND.

Jean Michell Jarre has invited you to a strange alien landscape. He invites you to sit awhile, while strange noises and themes come at you. They come slowly, and deliberately, allowing you to explore them at your leisure. There's probably some weird alien fauna surrounding you. It's blue, and the sky is yellow, and there's a strange alien breeze whisping about your feet and running over your toes. Somewhere you hear a distant shore.

You're calm and laid back, exploring this world in no real hurry. JMJ is taking his time. He's exploring the space himself, just like you. A look of serenity is on his face. He looks over at you and nods approvingly. Am I in a dream right now? Am I dead? Why am I surrounded by purple clouds? Have we transcended into another spiritual realm?

No. It's all over now. That was interesting, and I've enjoyed this moment in time.

I like a lot of this. I'd never heard of this band before so this is a genuine little hidden gem. They have a lot of elements from similar 60's bands, like the jangly guitars, bluesy riffs and vocals... some surf in there. It's kind of the Doors meet the Rolling Stones, with a bit of Dick Dale thrown in, or sitting somewhere in that space. The jug was pretty interesting at first, but jeez do they use a lot of it! It would have been better used sparingly I think. Still.... Groovy!

As a side note, the first song was SO familiar and I knew I'd heard it in a film I knew well - turns out it's the start of High Fidelity, apt!

There's some nice smooth, soulful tunes in here, along with some real funky jams and big hits. I really like the funky psychedelic space guitars.

Quite nice. There's some nice melodies in there. Nice.

Eh. It feels dated. And bland. And inoffensive. I'm not sensing any stand-out tracks throughout.

Metal / Hard Rock.... eh?? Who's picking these classifications? Is this what passed for hard rock in the 80's? I feel like this is the kind of thing you put on at an American prom to get the kids to have a bit of a boogie. Mr. Strickland is roaming the floor making sure there's no inappropriate touching, and keeping an eye on the fruit punch so it's not getting spiked.

I find it weird that so many people classify this as grunge or even part of the grunge movement. I think what the Pumpkins were doing here was so much more interesting and varied than a lot of their contemporaries in that space. Sonically, it's so good. You have deep, fat, layered guitars that smack you around the face (notably on tracks like Hummer and Mayonaise). The ridiculous amount of tracks mixed in give it such a robust, unique sound, with layers and layers and layers of guitars and noise. Jimmy Chamberlain is pummelling his drums like he hates them, and Billy is laying down some mad, squealing guitar solos on top. When this rocks, it really rocks hard, with a real depth and force to it.

But then you have some beautiful and tender ballads thrown in, utilising violins, bells and all sorts, and some truly iconic songs sitting in there like Disarm. Lyrically there's so much to love here too. There's a lot of raw feeling, vulnerability and honesty. Billy really chucked himself out there, and the songs benefit from it. I get that a lot of people don't get on with his voice, but personally I love weird, interesting singers and it really works for me.

There's so many different levels and riffs and interesting details running through this whole album. I just don't think other bands of the era had anywhere near this level of range.

This is an absolutely superb, iconic album.

I like this, it's got a good atmosphere and some really interesting songs. Quite dark and broody in places. Plenty of cool synth too.

It's not my thing.

It's mostly low-key and nice and inoffensive. It doesn't get me going.

You know a band are really on top of their game when a whole bunch of live acoustic versions sound better than the originals. I'd say that's true of 'About a Girl', but definitely 'All Apologies' which to me is the definitive version. Chuck in some absolutely brilliant covers, and you have one of the best live albums ever. I love how it's a celebration of lesser-known songs, and they play so well.

There's so much feeling in a lot of these songs. 'Where did you sleep last night' is utterly mesmerising and imbued with so much pain and emotion. It's like his very soul has been laid bare.

Ugh, I really love this. It definitely helps to listen to this as an album in its entirety. Turn the sound way up and let the whole thing wash over you in its sublime majesty. The whole album is solid, with big melancholic soundscapes throughout, and flashes of searing beauty (notably with songs like Starálfur). The long tracks go by so quickly.

I love everything about this. The album art, the concept, everything.

I like a bunch of their songs from other albums, but this one is kind of boring.

Although it's an album I doubt I'd ever come back to in its entirety, I do quite dig this. Lots of great guitars and driving rhythms, alongside some solid bluesy rock.

A lot of this I quite like, nice easy listening, good jams etc. Especially towards the end, they really go for it. But then there's plenty of smug, masturbatory musical interludes that are annoying and soooo long, and do absolutely nothing. Imagine seeing them in concert and a third of the gig is them just them wanking each-other off on stage.

I don't like reggae, so..... a few stars to show appreciation for the musicianship.

Ps: JAMMINGG

It's a well put together album, and it's got a lot to it, lots of different vibes and styles, and some interesting things going on - that gives it an extra star, as I don't like it at all.

I didn't realise, but this is a proper old-skool sound. Some quite funky beats in here, and some properly weird bits. It sounds very dated which goes against it a lot, but I'm more on-board with this than I thought I would be. It's still way too much though, I gave up after 8 tracks. In small doses... it's alright.