Reviews by londonhawkredux

Ah, what might have been. Some triffic post-punk indie vibes here and about the only Fall album I've listened to that might contain, what some people know as, songs. I know Mark E. Smith is a god to some, but wouldn't The Fall have been so much better if he hadn't been such a cantankerous arse.

Dreading the remaining albums that I know are just waiting for me on this list.

Slightly annoying that some of the tracks on this are really quite good (e.g. POWER) because the guy is clearly an absolute bell.

Ooooooh. Tricky one this isn't it? Definitely feels like one of those albums that snooty muso-types throw at you for "you're not trying hard enough" if you say you don't like. As if effort was something to be admired when listening to music.

Almost got 3 stars because of the stunning "Venus in Furs" but I had to take it away again for the total mess that is "European Son"

Nothing randy about this album

If I had a granny that lived, oh I don't know, somewhere in the woods near the Cumberland Gap, and she liked to bake pie, but had some fairly unacceptable views on race and sexuality, I can imagine this album would be the soundtrack to my visits there.

I grew up in a shitty suburban UK council estate.

Part of the reason I'm (mostly) enjoying this list so much is because it forces me to listen to other music genres that would otherwise have passed me by entirely.

Will I return to this album frequently? Unlikely. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Do I feel like a more rounded knowledgeable individual for broadening my horizons? Absolutely.

Generally I'll play what I'm told, but this is a rare "oh god no". Will forever be totally baffling to me that they became as big as they did.

You can see the beginnings of absolute stone-cold smash "Temptation" in here, but there's a lot of "we've got a new synth and are going to use ALL the functions" here too.

Can very much understand all the Marmite comments. Definitely some fantastic funk / post-punk music here, all sung by a plumber who's suddenly found fame on TikTok by saying English things to an American audience. The lyrics might as well be "water bottle, Marmite, crumpets" etc.

I know plenty of people who love Drury for his gritty urban poet lyrics, but it never quite did it for me. 2 stars, but a bonus one for "sex & drugs & rock and roll" because that absolutely works beautifuly as a track.

Not enough songs about Thor, glittery capes or theramin solos for me to consider this "proper" prog. Which means it's just average rock.

White man wibbles to show how amazing he is at gheetaar.

2 stars, minus 1 because Clapton

I always feel like there's a lot of "of course I always preferred Supergrass to Suede/Pulp/Blur/Oasis" revisionism around this band. "Alright" couldn't be escaped as a single, but the album was definitely regarded as a poor cousin of the big acts. Personally, always felt like they were better value as a live band.

"I'd Rather be the Devil" is an incredible track, from an artist / album that I'd not heard of before. I can only assume that if the entire album was at this level, then *everyone* would have heard of John Martyn.

But it's not, so they haven't.

If I was a white man with a goatee born in the 1950s, I would be absolutely ripping my cock off its hinges at this (presuming I could still find it under my belly).

I'm not, so no.

"Roadrunner" was on a compilation album I had as a kid so I had high hopes for this. Sadly, the new wave vibes of that particular track were not evident on the rest of the album which was a unholy mix of The Doors (who I never liked) and Elvis Costello (who I do like, but has been on this list far too often already)

Is this "better" than other Afrobeat work? I have literally no idea, I can only take your word for it. No denying the fusion of genres (when done well) is as powerful now as it was back then. I enjoyed this, and now I'm going to listen some Tiniwaren.

Another one for my never-ending baffling inclusion of quite-niche "not that great really" UK artists from the 70s/80s list

So good. Of course, if you don't like the fiddle, squeezebox or tin whistle, then it won't be for you, but the combination of punk-era aggressiveness and "Irish" folk inspiration is simply magical. Yes, we all get a bit sick of "Fairytale" from time to time but bloody hell this is good stuff.

Pour a big glass of whisky and jig round the house whilst roaring along to Irish Rover. Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on.

Could be the greatest rap / hip-hop album of all-time but the whole "skit" thing is just baffling to me. Some cool tracks here, but just can't get my head around this particular structure of album.

Oooooh. Now this is an interesting one. 15 when this came out and it was EVERYWHERE. And by everywhere, I mean ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE, I'm pretty certain some radio stations had an Alanis track every 3rd song. And to be fair, it was very different and tapped into that grungey era.

Listening back, hell yeah there's some nostalgia there, but I actually liked it more than I thought I might. That vocal is very distinctive and the writing is excellent. It's a little bit samey, but not hearing it played every. single. day. has certainly helped.