Reviews by k-dot-r

Brilliant, and still far from his best work!

Short, but still loose; clearly linked to his band before, but still its own thing; intensely personal, but from one of the most famous musicians ever; hugely varied but fits together beautifully.
So, an album of contradictions!
But I love John, and Working Class Hero is one of the great anthems, and even his "poorer" songs are better than most other artists could hope to achieve!

No need for all the 12" versions, instrumentals, live cuts and remixes - a point off for that!
The album itself is great though - right on the boundary between pop and serious music and any album with Our House - which contains one of my favourite lines in any song (the kids are playing up downstairs) - is fine by me!

Eleanora (aka Lady Day) is basically the best female singer ever, and listening to this is a reminder to anyone who might think otherwise. Even the outtakes and alternate versions add value - which is not usually the case with repackaged versions of old albums! I wish there was more film of her, and even more recorded music, but plan to fully explore her back catalogue when i have time (ie after the list!)

like a parody of 60s music, or something from austin powers. not actively terrible, just slightly dull and basically a pastiche of everything else going on at the same time, while still retaining clear influences of 50s big band stuff.
Not for me.

What a voice, and what a sad story, and what a traumatised young lady. Not as immediate as her follow up, but really funny and clever, and wearing her (relatively uncool at the time) influences on her sleeve.

Pish, but Scottish, so the lowest it can score is 2. There's barely a germ of a decent song in the whole thing, and this should be nowhere near the list.

2 it is!

Way short of their better later works, sounds like a band finding their feet but still trying to fit in with what is popular at the time. Syd may have been a genius, but there's not much evidence of it here!

Fairly cheesy, with waaaay too much saxomophone, but plenty of good songs too. I've got a lot of time for Tina, and this is one of her best. I Can't Stand the Rain in particular is outstanding

Not especially memorable, but decent enough. I like it less than a couple of their other albums, but not by much. Sounds ahead of its time in a way - a clear influence on a huge number of 80s bands and artists.

Nowhere near as good as his work with The Byrds, but that is a high bar to clear. Country tinged American folk is a genre I have a soft spot for, and this is a pretty good example. Interesting choice of cover (actually covers, on the linked expanded version) helps elevate just that 1/4 point higher meaning it rounds to 4!

Probably the greatest Scottish reggae album of all time (admittedly not a long list of contenders) and one I come back to every year when the sun comes out.

Important and influential, and much ripped off by inferior artists. Fast and noisy and short and great

A real joy, from a band I had heard of, but not fully explored. In the gaps between Madchester and Brit-pop, but also between 70s prog and Radiohead. Sounds a bit like Oasis in points, reminded me to look up Hurricane #1, surprised to see Ride still going in 2024, and still with the original line-up.

Pish

So important, but also so good. Not the first punk album, nor the best, but a keystone in the story of guitar music, in the UK in particular.

good, but a bit weird for me. too much vocal pretentiousness, not enough guitars!

wonderful, an album i have been looking forward to hearing since the start - and especially since i had their debut a few months ago. flawless, and with the option to fully immerse yourself or have it as (interesting and absorbing) background music. try both!

standard, but very good, country. her version of Dolly's Coat of Many Colours isn't as good, but Boulder to Birmingham is a cracker. The sort of thing my dad and grandad would have loved

An album and artist I would surely never have come across without starting this project - the perfect example of why I wanted to do it! A surprise and delight, and a body of work I know I will come back to (once I have time to pick albums myself again!)