Reviews by mibbiesaye

I bought my copy of this in my teens off a Great Rock and Roll Swindle punk in my class. He hated it and let me have it for 50p. Whichever punk had it before him had thrown away the metal cannister and put it in plain paper inner sleeves in a plastic outer sleeve. Shame.
I had no idea it was three 12" singles and listened to the whole thing at 33 and a third a few times thinking hmm this is a bit of a challenge. Best thing all involved ever did.

I like how the mix of God of Thunder tries to suggest something more interesting than the song is going on, which is kind of Kiss in a nutshell. I quite like them for that.
When I was a kid I was aware of them and like a lot of kids thought their costumes were really exciting. But I never actually heard them. Over time while listening to my brother's much heavier record collection I built up Kiss in my mind. Man I was so disappointed when I finally heard them as an adult. But now as I advance to old age I'm more forgiving and can indulge in a false nostalgia for how much I would have liked them as a kid.
Kind of mind boggling that guy's so fixated on selling that they didn't put out Do You Love Me? as a single.

I love this album. It sort of scared and confused me at 16 but I kept coming back to it. I highly recommend Kristin Hersh's memoir Rat Girl from around the time the band was formed and this was recorded. The story of how being hit by her car led to the auditory hallucinations that inform her songwriting (music and lyrics) is extraordinary.

I see there are a few Husker Du fans already asking in their reviews why this album was picked for the list. I agree. I feel it is their worst by a fair bit. The album title is appropriate. The songs are workman liked compared to their best, like the stuff they kept in reserve and now that the writing was on the wall for the group they stuck them out together in a closing down sale. If the editors want to represent their melodic era any of the three previous albums are a better choice but I also think they match any of the hardcore punk album on the list on their early stuff.

It has always felt to me that they sort of over perfected their sound on this record or maybe it was that they got access to new toys or something. The Ibiza/dance influence gets overstated. Fine Time aside it is very much identifiably an 80s New Order album. I still really like it but I'd have Brotherhood on the list or break the no compilations rule and have Substance. Run is pretty great.

Wow a Radiohead album I don't hate. It made me realise it's that singing style he does where he sounds in pain and smug at the same time that rips my knitting. There was less of that on here.

I love Dagmar Krause's voice and this style of Weimar songwriting. I'm not sure the songs are supposed to be packed in like sardines into one collection like this. If I get access to it other than on YouTube I'd pick away at it piecemeal. My only real quibble is I'd like a Dagmar era Henry Cow album on the list. In Praise Of Learning probably.

80s dinner party music for pseuds but better than that sounds.

How lucky was that other reviewer who had an angsty 14 year old sister with a band who could rock this hard? I never had a sister. That would have been cool. I could have carried gear for them or something.

I've only ever listened to Dusty In Memphis. That was a mistake. This is a half hour of brilliant 60s pop.

I've never listened to his first two albums properly. I always focus on the songs that are on his Plays Live album which is my favourite thing by him. I'm really enjoying how much of a mess this is. Like he wanted to try on as many hats as possible after leaving Genesis. He's still prog, he's pop, he's a self deprecatingly horny Springsteen, he's a music hall entertainer - and that's just the first four tracks.

I wonder if Howard Jones is nervous of Gabriel selling his song rights and some corporate IP lawyer in the future following up on the similarity between his New Song and Solsbury Hill?

I'm not in the least bit ashamed that this once soundtracked a journey across central Europe for me and some friends. A bit clichéd but it was better than being stuck on the M6 outside Birmingham with Radio 1 for company.

It's better than I remember it but I think this is easily the least of their four 80s albums. Each album has its own distinct sound but this one is the most tentative as Ben Watt begins to noodle with synths and drum machines. The Wikipedia entry even includes a section from Tracey Thorn's memoir that accepts that many of these songs don't really have choruses. Which can be cool if your arrangements are more interesting or your lyrics are more captivating. There's better tunes, better arrangements and way more affecting lyrics on each of their previous three. Skip this and listen to one of those instead.

Is this the only album to feature both Dr. Robert and Dr. John? What other pop culture doctor could have made it a hat-trick? I'm voting for Dr. Miriam Margolis gently intoning advice on thrush for all those come down clubbers that loved this record back in the day.

He loves that riff from the song Black Sabbath - sampled two albums in a row. Taste.

I always liked how Ice-T connected to the funk.

Wow their choices of electronica on this list are 99% the lamest and most boring imagineable. Dreadful wallpaper.

Another day, another Wikipedia entry, another opportunity to reflect on the shitty opinions of Robert Christgau.

This is Lou showing the rest of the 70s how to do a concept album and look cool doing it.

Kind of amazing how much of the next 40 years of mostly American rock music you can hear in this 1986 album. I don't necessarily like everything they inspired but there's a rawness in their blend of sounds that appeals. Originals are usually the best.

I love this album like a sister.

For me when a white rock star reaches for a gospel choir, creatively speaking, the jig is almost up. It has its moments but this is the start of the break up for me and Nick.