Reviews by owen

I was quite happy to no longer be chooglin' when this ended.

Maybe I'm getting soft, because my last seven albums have been four or more, and here I am again giving a four to an album that I wouldn't necessarily have expected. But I was in the right mood for this and the harmonies were nice. I liked Cowboy Movie especially.

This is getting some hate for being dated, and sure, it is a bit, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Loved to see De La Soul turn up on "Mama Gave Birth" (and enjoyed the Prince Paul production). Latifah's Law is also good. I found the reggae-tinged tracks less effective. I think it just crosses the bar of four stars though.

This was quite a surprise to me. I remember mid- to late-eighties UB40 with pretty cheesy pop reggae, and I wasn't a fan. But this is basically a dub album, and it's actually really good.

Several classics on here that are just great; Perfect Day the standout obviously. Some of the tracks had fairly laughable lyrics. An enjoyable listen, sneaks into four stars.

"Four Women" is without a doubt the standout song on this album; just incredible. The rest of the album great too, though and Simone's voice is captivating.

Start! and That's Entertainment are brilliant, and the other tracks on here are pretty good too. Love the sound of Foxton's bass. Very strong four.

I could definitely hear the Fall influence in a few tracks. I liked this a lot; there are some five-star tracks here ("Jackals, ..." for example). Perhaps I liked Crooked Rain a little more; in retrospect maybe this is a four and that should have been a five.

Stuart Murdoch has an incredible way with melody; makes me want to sing or whistle along. I love this album; one of Belle and Sebastian's best, and a long time favorite.

Much the same as the other Megadeth album on here; on the bearable end of the spectrum, but not something I would normally choose to listen to. Technically proficient guitar playing. High two, close to three.

I'm not really a huge fan of Morrison's voice. Sweet Thing is the standout track here; the rest is a little samey.

Three or four songs in, I felt like this was a reasonably solid four, but then "An Ocean in Between the Waves" pushed me up to five, and the rest of the album didn't change my mind. I think I was in the right mood for this today.

I think I've noted my love for Ace of Spades (the song) previously. Maybe it's fond memories of The Young Ones. Anyway, I think I liked this studio album a bit more than the live one (although "Jailbait" - dodgy as fuck).

Second or third most favorite Radiohead album? A damn good one in any case.

Inconsequential bubblegum, although I think Dolenz has a strong voice, and is probably the best writer of the bunch too (Randy Scouse Git is the standout track)

Maybe it's nostalgia, but this is probably a five star album. Sure, it sags a little in the middle, but the title track alone is magnificent. Also Two Tribes, The Power of Love, Relax, and several of the non-singles are great. It's really a Trevor Horn album though.

I like Fascist Groove Thang, but the rest is a little ordinary, and a bit dated sounding.

Again, although I like it well enough, I don't really fully connect with TVOTR. I liked the second half of the album more than the first, with particular call outs for "Shout Me Out" and "DLZ"

This is so wet; never was a band more poorly named. And it's comical that almost every track references California; did their manager hand them a Lonely Planet guidebook and say "write about that, lads"?

Of course, Pretty in Pink is great, but it felt like most other songs were just rehashes of the same material. Decent enough but not outstanding.