Reviews by littlestlassloves

I continue to be surprised by how much I appreciate a lot of late 80s/early 90s hiphop, and this was no exception. I enjoyed this album, even... and this really is a surprise given how much I've whinged about them on other albums... the skit-adjacent bits!

Fight the Power is obviously the standout here, but I liked a lot of this album. The style of sampling on albums like this is just so impressive to me and I appreciate that Public Enemy were outspoken about their politics and experiences.

Probably a 3.5, but on balance I'm rounding down not up. It was a close run thing though.

3/5

I really enjoyed this, much to my surprise. When the generator previously produced Djam Leelii by Baaba Maal, I really struggled to get into it. The lack of being able to understand the lyrics and the repetitive beats made me lose interest pretty quickly.

This album still throws up the lyric issue (I'd genuinely love someone to translate the songs and put the lyrics online somewhere - I'd really appreciate knowing the topics) but it felt much more varied, with more influences. It seems wrong to say you enjoyed an album more because it felt less linked to the traditional sounds of the singer's homeland, but this is much more of a fusion, and I guess it means I find it easier to listen to as a result (which is very much my problem, not the artists obviously).

I really liked Hamady Boiro and Ndelorel. And the funky bass playing on Daniibe was great. I'm not sure I'll necessarily return to this album again, but I do appreciate it.

3/5

Yesterday I said I needed interesting lyrics and a great vocalist for repeat listens and today the generator was a kind and benevolent god, providing me one of the greatest vocalists of my lifetime.

Chris Cornell made singing sound effortless. His voice was perfect - emotive, amazing range and one of the best rock "screamy" vocals ever.

I never got into grunge despite being about the right age during it's heyday, but Black Hole Sun was such an important song to me as a kid. When we got MTV I remember becoming obsessed with the music video, which was so trippy.

Despite that (and liking Spoonman, which I really don't think I appreciated enough in my early teens), I never bought an album and really haven't ever subsequently sat down to listen to any Soundgarden album, just heard bits and bobs over the years. I was so excited to finally listen to this album from start to end.

This is really, really great for the most part. The vocals yes, just perfect, but the instrumentals too. The guitar in tracks like Superunknown is just so, so catchy. Away from the most famous songs, I really loved Mailman.

For my personal tastes it's a little too long, as I definitely prefer sub-60 minute albums (preferably 45ish minutes), but it's definitely accomplished. It's sort of annoying I have first listened to all of Superunknown in my mid 40s.

Even with my quibble over the length, giving this less than a 5 seems massively unfair due to the overall quality and the fact Chris Cornell's voice makes my stomach do flips, so:

5/5

I don't like jazz (so far), but I do like big band and swing so this was an interesting test of which position won out.

I enjoyed a ton of this album because I love the sound of muted trumpets (Duet was great). Nothing was too long and outstayed it's welcome, though I tended to enjoy the more up tempo tracks that the slower ones (After Supper and Midnite Blue were a bit too plodding for me). I liked the drummer going a bit Animal from the Muppets during Flight of the Foo Birds.

I think I knew Splanky from somewhere, and I can't work out where, but it was one of my favourites on the album. Very 1950s Las Vegas, it just sounded cool.

I can't actually ever imagine I'll sit down and listen to this again (I'm learning through this project that I need lyrics and an interesting vocalist for repeat listens) but I did enjoy it.

3.5 stars would be my ideal, but I'm going for:

3/5

The high: Wanted Dead or Alive is probably my favourite Bon Jovi song.

The low: The start of Social Distortion made me want to crawl into a little ball (urrrgghh), and somehow it being sandwiched between two massive hit singles made it even worse.

However, I do not care that this album is dated and cheesy and possibly the least cool album on this 1001 Album list, I (mostly) had a good time listening to it. It's so unbelievably 80s, I felt like I should be wearing leg warmers and sporting a fresh perm.

Fun. Should be 3.5, but in a half starless world, it's getting:

3/5

(Side note: Classifying this as "hard rock" is absolutely laughable)

I'm really not sure if it was the fact I listened to this while trying to not fall over on black ice while on my commute, or it's inherent thrashiness, but post listening I was extremely anxious.

I thought it was incredibly samey and the lack of variety really hindered it.

I also had Master of Puppets stuck in my head all day afterwards and I'm assuming getting a different artist's (superior) song as a earworm is probably not a good sign.

2/5

My parents listened to a lot of Steely Dan during my childhood, yet it had somehow left zero impression on me.

The first track included all the bits I hate about Prog Rock and a lots of extra stuff I hate from Soft Jazz. Bodhisattva is all noodley guitar solos and a part that sounded like the needle had stuck on the record because they repeated Bodhisattva so frequently.

I started to enjoy some bits of it after then though. I liked The Boston Rag (I think because of the layered vocals) until the interminable guitar solo kicked in and then we went back to repeating a small number of lyrics until fade out.

I actually do think I might have liked this album, had the band limited their ceaseless soloing. You can all play your instruments, I get it, I don't need you to stop the song for a minute to all prove it to me.

Should be a 2.5, but alas...

2/5

I wasn't sure what to expect listening to this album, as basically my entire Tom Petty knowledge centres around Into The Great Wide Open, but I wasn't expecting this.

It sounds like an amalgam of a ton of bands around in the same era, all smushed together. There were Beatlesesque parts and bits that sounded like The Stones and bits that sounded like generic 70s blues rock. I enjoyed American Girl, but mostly because I have a soft spot for the Everclear cover version.

It's not that I didn't like it per sae, its that I didn't understand why it would be considered such a big deal? I think this is a prime example of a 2.5 star album for me because it was perfectly fine but nothing particularly stood out or endeared me to it. I am going to be a bit harsh and round down, because I just didn't see the attraction:

2/5

Second consecutive post-punk album in a row, but at least as this is Talking Heads, it'll be a little bit funky and a little bit odd. Also, you know, it includes Once in a Lifetime...

... well that was disappointing. 2 stars, solely for Once in a Lifetime.

2/5

Oh, more post-punk... This is starting to become my new "oh, more jazz...". I just don't really get it most of the time.

Bits of this reminded me of U2 - I think specifically the vocals - which, as I am at best indifferent to them, that wasn't helpful. I like the brass on Back Of Love, though I'm not sure I like much else. In general, it's all very jangly guitars and echoy vocals (it sounds like he's singing in a cave). Not even the handclaps on In Bluer Skies saved it.

Just not my kinda thing at all.

2/5

I listen to this album regularly, so this was one of those occasions where I debated whether I even needed an "official" 1001 Album Generator listen... But any excuse to listen to it.

I love ska, from the original wave in the 50s and 60s, all the way through to the tracks being released in the 2020s. The Specials were a really incredible band of the genre though, and this album in particular is fantastic.

Too Much Too Young is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the best songs ever written. But then, so is A Message To You Rudy. I do have a real soft spot for the Toots and the Maytals cover Monkey Man too, although that started due to the Reel Big Fish cover version.

This was never getting less than a 5 from me. I was however today years old when I discovered Elvis Costello produced this album, which makes a lot of sense.

5/5

This was completely new to me: never even heard of the artist, let alone heard a track before.

Hail Bop kept reminding me of something else, but the name was just out of grasp the whole time. I liked it but that sense of "what is this?" was really distracting. I liked Default too - instantly catchy for my brain. Firewater was back to reminding me of the mystery other band...

The album carried on in this vein: always liking it, always trying to place it, until I got to Zumm Zumm and then it hit me: it was Free The Bees by The Bees but with synths. I'm not even convinced the two bands sound in any way alike but at least my brain could stop trying to puzzle it out.

I did genuinely enjoy this whole album, though absolutely understand why others would mark it down, because it is a little samey. It's just I like the thing it's repeating, so that doesn't bother me.

4/5

I was extremely surprised that I actually enjoyed this. It might be that I was in a bit of a doom and gloom mood while listening, and I was doing housework at the same time, so it was background darkness rather than anything I was really focusing on, but I liked it. I can't imagine it would be the best album to listen to while in a good mood though.

3/5

The generator decided to follow Joni Mitchell with Janis Joplin - the 70s female singers are out in force.

Janis sounds like she must have had a permanent sore throat, but I do really like her voice - it's raspy and bluesy, and so full of emotion. And this album has a ton of Hammond organ on it (which I love). And it's a snappy 34 minutes!

I would say I think I enjoyed this a little more that Joni yesterday, but not quite enough for a 4, so

3/5

Joni Mitchell album number 3 (inexplicably meaning there's one more to go - seriously, for a list that really underrepresents women, Robert Dimery has quite the thing for Joni).

My Old Man felt extremely familiar, so this might be one of those songs my parents played a lot when I was a kid? I quite liked it, as it was very reminiscent of Tori Amos (along with a few other tracks). I quite liked California too with it's steel guitar.

I still think she has a lovely voice whilst also thinking her music isn't quite my thing, though it did grow on my over the course of the record.

3/5

Obviously, like many people, I find Bono insufferable, but given this is clearly such a massive album, I wanted to try and give it a fair shot...

... I still don't get the attraction in U2. I think I liked this less than the previous U2 album the generator gave me, and I gave that a 3 while thinking it was more like a 2.5. So I'm giving this a 2 while thinking it's more a 2.5.

2/5

Genuinely very surprised to see this on the list. There was a brief period of time in the UK in the 90s where is was impossible not to hear a Finley Quaye song whenever you listened to the radio (mostly Sunday Shining to be fair, as it was a massive hit). And then he almost completely disappeared from the radio and the charts.

I had never listened to this album before. I thought I might like it, as I remember liking all the singles and I am pretty keen on reggae-tinged tracks in general. I actually found it dragged a bit, and I didn't like any album track as much as the singles (particularly Your Love Gets Sweeter).

Just fine.

2/5 (because it can't be 2.5)

More Elvis Costello - we're up to album number 3 - and this one has my largest "already know this song" ratio so far. Admittedly I only found out afterwards, I listened to the 2021 remaster which added Radio Radio, but I also already knew (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea, This Year's Girl and Pump It Up.

I genuinely had to check that Elvis wasn't singing "big cheese" at one point during this album (this may be due to it being Boxing Day and therefore our house being fairly full of various cheeses).

I really like Elvis Costello. Every album of his I've heard so far has reaffirmed that.

4/5

It feels a bit weird to say an album put together by a convicted murderer is "perfect", but this is a (near) perfect Christmas album for me.

It does help massively that it has one of my all-time favourite Christmas songs - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Darlene Love - but I genuinely loved the whole thing. It made me feel strangely nostalgic despite not being alive when these songs were released.

I could have done without Phil having a chat at the end, but I'm not marking the amazing Darlene down for that.

5/5

I'd not managed to get to this album, as it was Christmas Eve and I had stuff to do. But then it turned out I had a bout of insomnia and at 1:10am, I realised this might be the perfect thing.

It was going well (making me sleepy) until Spying Glass - what a weird vocal! But then I started nodding off again and, when I was clearly so sleepy I couldn't keep my eyes open, I took off the headphones...

Well it turns out, all but the last track of Protection is what I need to fall asleep. So while this may sound like damming with faint praise, very relaxing album:

3/5