Reviews by pops

Genius of Love and Wordy Rappinghood are absolute bangers and there are interesting ideas here. But as someone who spent the bit in Stop Making Sense where Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz take centre stage wondering when David Byrne was coming back, I think they probably did need a charismatic oddball out front to bring it all together.

I'm sensing a theme with the Robert Wyatt-related albums where I find them interesting and I'm glad I've heard them, but can't really see myself listening to them again. He's basically the patron saint of my three-star reviews.

I've got a theory that one of the reasons Noel and Liam Gallagher seem to have such an affinity with Richard Ashcroft from the Verve is that they all give interviews that are vastly more entertaining than a lot of their music. A couple of these songs are great on their own (Sonnet has always been my favourite) but taken as an album, it's all a bit slow and stately.

There's something a bit calculated about Garbage that makes them hard for me to love, but those calculations did result in a couple of bangers.

So did we all get this album this week to mark more of the Epstein files dropping? I feel bad for liking it as much as I do because the concept behind this album is truly reprehensible, but some of the music is gorgeous.

This has held up a lot better than I expected, especially for a genre that didn’t necessarily lend itself that well to albums.

My only criticism of this album is that Life During Wartime and Heaven somehow sound even better live on Stop Making Sense.

I'm not sure about modern - his cover of Bye Bye Love sounds more old-fashioned than the Everly Brothers version. The backing vocals in particular really date this, but Charles' own voice is timeless.

In England, if the DJ doesn't play Come On Eileen at your wedding disco, the marriage isn't legally binding. When this album started with someone saying 'Ladies and gentlemen', I thought they were going to announce that the buffet was open. This is a nice reminder though why it became ubiquitous - it's a great song, and this whole album is a lot of fun.

Do you think Jumpin’ Jack Flash would sound better if it was twice as long with none of the swagger? Then have I got the album for you.

The most accurate album title since I got 69 Love Songs by Magnetic Fields. It really is Layla, which is genuinely great, GoodFellas piano outro and all ... and some other, largely interminable songs.

It’s not particularly exciting but who doesn’t like a bit of yacht rock? Well, quite a few of you based on the average rating.

It’s not quite on a par with It Takes a Nation of Millions or Fear of a Black Planet, but they are still very much bringing tha noize.

If I'm honest, I'd always thought of the Fugees as Lauryn Hill and the two blokes who were holding her back. I owe Pras and Wyclef an apology - she's the standout here, but this is clearly a group effort and a lot better than I remembered.

It's like you've been taken to see the off-off-off-off Broadway version of Hair, put on by a friend of a friend's leftist collective, and it was better than you expected.

It's got some of Elton John's top-tier greatest hits and also some surprises. Prog Elton (Funeral for a Friend/Loves Lie Bleeding, Grey Seal) works so much better than I would have imagined, reggae Elton (Jamaica Jerk-Off) not so much.

Love the One You're With is a tune (although like every song covered by the Isley Brothers, their version is better). The rest of it was decent but not that memorable - it has the sound of a classic album but not the songs, if that makes any kind of sense.

I always thought I liked The Band based on the handful of tracks I knew, then I got Music From Big Pink and started to wonder if I only really liked The Weight – something about their vocals on a few of the songs set my teeth on edge. I don’t know if they got better at singing or I just prefer the overall sound on this album, but this reassured me that yes, I do like The Band.

Boy, they were really committed to including 69 in the title. There are enough good songs here to make one really decent album, or a slightly patchy double, but at this length and with the throwaways that sound like someone improvising on TikTok, it’s bordering on an endurance test. That makes it hard to grade, but I'll go 3 for the good album that's fighting to get out.

The words “extended guitar jams” in the Wikipedia description chilled my blood, but this wasn’t the slog I was expecting it to be. Grungy Neil Young - turns out I like it.