Reviews by owen

This is one of the Stones most acclaimed albums? Why?

Straightforward, well executed blues rock, but nothing exciting here.

I think this is an illustration of why less is more. There's just too much going on here, and as a result it leaves me a bit cold. It's so emotive, but the emotion seems forced and unnatural.

Side note; that album cover's very Pink Floyd, isn't it? [Edit: oh, it's a Hipgnosis/Storm Thorgerson cover, that explains it]

I found this fairly dull. I also (as is usually the case) could do without the skits.

Fantastic stuff, dark and atmospheric. Love what they are doing vocally. If you like this you will almost definitely like Holly Herndon, who sounds quite similar in places.

Pre-Dickinson Maiden - this singer isn't as good, I don't think. Some fun bits here though, overall reasonably enjoyable

Karen Carpenter has a lovely voice, obviously, but this is too saccharine for me.

Pavement are exactly the kind of band you'd think I'd like, but for some reason they never really clicked for me before. Until now, that is; this was really great, and I now get Pavement. Not sure why it took until now.

One thing I love about this project is the fact that it's challenging my preconceptions. I've never been keen on Ella Fitzgerald - especially her scat singing, which I find particularly irritating. But her treatment of this material is impeccable (one track with scat only!), and highlights the exceptional writing of the Gershwins. Yes, I listened to all 3hrs 15 mins (over a couple of days) and enjoyed almost all of it. I think that merits a five.

This sounded very like Flaming Lips. Decent enough; I enjoyed it a fair bit. A solid three

I enjoyed this a fair bit - some fun LA punk. Minor Threat remains the punk high water mark for me though. A strong three, close to 4.

4th Tom Waits album we've had, and it's diminishing returns. Couldn't get into this one.

Peaches in Regalia sounds like the soundtrack for an indie sidescroller game. Not a fan of Van Vliet's vocals on Willie the Pimp but its only a small portion of one track.

Most of the rest of this is jazz, more or less. I found bits of it enjoyable, but mostly self indulgent.

Jennifer Warnes version of First We Take Manhattan is the superior one (aided by Stevie Ray Vaughn's guitar).

There's something jarring about the backing singers' voices contrasted with Cohen's. It doesn't really work IMO. Having said that, some good songwriting here and I enjoyed a fair bit of it.

There's nothing this guy's doing that Bob Dylan isn't doing better

This was a level or two better than the previous Sabbath albums we've had. Found myself really getting into this. A very strong 4.

"Let Love Rule" is plodding. So is "I Built This Garden". Just because the tempo is moderately slow doesn't mean they have to be lacking in energy, but these are limp and lifeless. A low 2.

"When I was in England Town"??? Greatly disliked this; psychedelic rock from the 60s just isn't my thing.

I liked this at the start, but it wore thin after a while - too much of the same thing. Better than Method Man's album that we got earlier.

Really surprised that this and Protection are on this list but Mezzanine is not. I think most people would pick Mezzanine over this. Not that this isn't excellent - it's still an easy five stars (as will be Protection when it comes around).

Sounds like it was generated by AI. Incredibly bland and flavorless. I couldn't listen to two hours of this.