Reviews by mosephone-listens

Huge synths, huge hair, but only one banger.

'Jump' deserves some kind of 'service to 80s pop culture' award. Some of the guitar riffs ('Hot for Teacher' for one) are seriously complex - as anyoned checked how many fingers Eddie Van Halen has?

Fun fact: Eddie himself apparently said his inspiration for all that finger tapping was Jimmy Page's solo on Led Zeppelin's 'Heartbreaker'.

Apart from 'Jump', I couldn't hum any of it afterwards, so bumped it down to 3 stars. Maybe it's a grower?

I couldn’t believe it when ‘A Minha Menina’ came on. Just last week I was banging on about the original by Os Mutantes, and how it was in a Citroën ad (I think it was the Picasso). The conversation spawned a whole drunken game of 'guess which ad this song is from', which went on until 1 a.m.

The album itself was good fun. Jazzy, relaxing and sunny, elevator worthy. It starts a bit strangely, but once it settles in it’s an easy listen. Pleasant rather than thrilling. Good company. And any other phrase that mean "fine". 3 stars.

This is a time machine to 1969 that somehow came out in 1989. It's warm and full of sexy swagger. It's rich and analogue, which is not something I'm usually happy with, but the vibe of this album is the perfect home for it. Hard to believe it was mostly one person playing everything. It does lay the hippie stuff on a bit thick, and a few of the slower songs drift, but I'll take sincerity over cynicism any day. 4 stars.

I have a confession to make: I don't really like U2.

However, here's proof that they were so much better before the stadium singalongs. This one is lean, urgent and properly angry, and I mean that as a compliment.

'Sunday Bloody Sunday' is iconic, of course. It's the opening track, so when this tidy 42-minute album finished and cycled straight back round to it, I was genuinely glad. The marching drums and jagged guitar still sound like they mean every word. 'New Year's Day' and 'Two Hearts Beat as One' are strong too.

A couple of tracks feel like filler, still, it's a proper album, and miles ahead of what came later for U2. Could come back for a few of these tracks. 4 stars.

It's fine. Genuinely fine. I like blues, so an hour and a quarter of it was never going to be a hardship, and some of the guitar riffs are properly cool, the kind that make you pull that 'gurning guitarist' face. 'Layla' was a highlight. That riff, then the piano that takes the song somewhere completely different, was cool. There's a lot of slow-burning blues, and by the back half I was waiting for something to shake things up. A lovely backdrop nonetheless. 3 stars.

This album is like sprinting for a bus for half an hour, and then missing it.

'Blitzkrieg Bop' is the standout track, obviously. 'I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend' was a surprise; a slower, sweeter number with an actual tune. But "Texas Chainsaw Massacreee", really?

The problem is that it's basically one very excitable song. At under half an hour it shouldn't be possible to outstay your welcome, and yet it does just that. The production is thin and rough, which is fine for a bit of fun but not for a whole album.

Credit where it's due though: this kicked helped to kick off British punk, paved the way for bands like the Sex Pistols and, in turn, the likes of Green Day.

A sugar rush that excites the taste buds at first, but eventually gives you a headache. 2 stars.

Where has Sarah Vaughan been all my life? Embarrassingly, I'd never heard of her before this project, and I'm slightly cross about that. Early, slow swing jazz is a real preference of mine, and there's obvious traceability between this album and the Motown I was brought up on. That's probably why I enjoy it so much. 'Willow Weep for Me' and 'Stairway to the Stars' are the kind of slow, melting numbers you could lose a whole evening to, and 'September in the Rain' swings along with a wink. And that voice! Rich, playful, effortless, like she's just having a chat with the room. Properly special. So glad this project introduced me to it. 5 stars.

If this album were a room, it'd be a lamp-lit living room with a warm blanket and a glass of claret. If it were a song, it'd obviously be 'Love and Affection', which sets the tone, gentle and heartfelt, and sung like every word is meant. A solid 4 stars.

Jangly guitars, tight harmonies and a song about a spaceman is a good start in my book. 'Eight Miles High's trippy guitar lines sound ahead of their time, and 'Mr. Spaceman' is a toe-tapper. The production is clean, bright and spacious, and it sounds like it was recorded last week rather than in the sixties. It does wobble.. The quieter folk numbers do sag a bit and the instrumentals feel like filler to me. But it does just enough to grab 3 stars.

Hmm, where to start. The jittery rhythms and nervy, slightly neurotic vocal are going to be a love-it-or-hate-it thing, and for me it's a bit of both. 'Thank You for Sending Me an Angel' gets things off to a lively start, but 'Take Me to the River' is the clear highlight. It's a slinky, laid-back groove that steals the whole album and makes everything around it sound like it's trying a bit too hard. Outside of the odd gem, the songs feel more like clever ideas than tunes I want to sing along to. Interesting, never boring, but not one I'll rush back to. 3 stars.

Is it hip-hop? Is it a game show? Who knows!? I've had a good run with the genre this year (Illmatic and Wu-Tang both got a 4), so I came in hopeful, and it delivered. 'Me Myself and I' is a properly bouncy, funky singalong and 'The Magic Number' is dangerously catchy, with grooves built out of some cleverly chopped-up samples. It's silly, warm and clever all at once, and for 1989 it sounds like nothing else.
What keeps it from a 5 is the skits. They're daft fun the first time, but they break the momentum, and I'd have happily swapped a couple for more of the grooves. Still, it's a joy of an album, and I'll be putting a few of these on again. 4 stars.

About ninety seconds in, I was waiting for the chorus of 'Ebeneezer Goode' to arrive. It never does. Every track on here SOUNDS like 'Ebeneezer Goode', with the same bouncing beat and the same rave-in-a-field energy, but not one of them actually is, and it's really annoying! It's like being promised a banger and handed a very well-produced loop.

Credit where it's due: the production is great, the beats are infectious, and I'd happily have it on at a house party. But nearly every song hangs off a single lyrical line, repeated until it's worn smooth. I wanted them to 'Move Any Mountain' and build something bigger than one idea per song. Good vibes, not much to chew on. 3 stars.

The swing numbers are glorious, and ‘Jeep’s Blues’ is a swaggering, sultry-but-muscular bit of blues that makes the live setting feel like the whole point. By the time ‘Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue’ gets going, with a sax solo that just. Keeps. Going. and a crowd roaring like it’s a cup final, you can practically hear people dancing in the aisles. Sometimes a little self indulgent, but corrr Blimey this was a whole lotta immersive 50s fun! So-nearly-5 stars.

Sorry, Leonard. I gave 'You Want It Darker' a 4, so I came to this one hopeful. But this is the album where the gloom is turned all the way up and the tunes are turned down. 'Suzanne' is lovely and 'So Long, Marianne' gets a nod, but by 'Sisters of Mercy' I'd stopped noticing where one track ended and the next began. Same fingerpicked guitar, same hushed delivery but without the gravel - everyone wants gravel in their voice, but noone wants sand! It's sleepy, a decent lullaby for the kids. I respect the lyrics, but I wanted more than poetry on a loop. 2 stars.

It's just not my thing; too heavy and shouty for me to enjoy. I'm sure there is a parallel universe where I want to shout for over an hour straight, but in this realm, even with the amount of children that I have, I haven't found the need.

I didn't know that Jonsi was the lead singer of Sigur Ros, I didn't know that he played the electric guitar with a cello bow, but what I DID know was how much I am moved by their music. The ethereal soundscapes and the sweeping orchestration make this album a immersive listen. For me the rewards are in sitting and listening deliberately, on relatively good equipment, and without distraction. The album does lack a single stand out banger, such as Hoppipolla, but Svefn-g-Englar is as close as it comes, and its beautiful. 4 stars.

I didn't think I would like this, as I have a history of veering away from anything resembling "Heavy Metal". But I did enjoy this, perhaps it's Ozzy Ozboarne's familiar vocal, perhaps it's the cleanliness of the production (almost to a fault, as the instruments are sometimes TOO separate), perhaps it was just Changes that hooked me in, or perhaps it's because their influence has clearly inspired a lot of what I have enjoyed - such as Tenacious D. Who knows!? Regardless, this gets 3 fingers up from me!

Banger after banger... A clear 5.

What is this mess? Sure, Big Star eventually make some nice music, but none of it is on this album. Is this a collection of demos or a production release? Blimey! Hated it. 1 star.

Is it for mud-soaked festivals, is it for light up dancfloors, who cares?! 'Take Me Out' stands as a banger today, foot-stomping its way into any house party setlist. Other standsouts for me are 'Come on Home' for the call and response, and 'Tell Her Tonight' for the hi-hat. 4 stars.