Reviews by pops

I started off thinking I might like this, but it got more annoying as it went on.

The big question over this album is whether the myth became more important than the music? I like it but those lost masterpiece expectations were always going to be hard to live up to.

I'd always been under the impression this was Prince's What's Going On, his big social conscience/state of the nation album, but that's just the title track really. We're soon on to the Ballad of Dorothy Parker, the heartwarming story of how Prince agreed to take a bath with a waitress he'd just met, but warned her he'd be wearing his underpants out of respect for his girlfriend. (Spoiler alert: they don't stay on.) That's not a criticism - I like my Prince funky, funny and filthy.

I studied English literature at a British university in the late 1990s – they might as well have handed out Belle & Sebastian CDs with our degree certificates. Luckily, I'm ok with being a twee indie cliche.

Starting with Enter Sandman is a bold move. I love that song, so everything after that felt a bit like diminishing returns. (My ears pricked up a bit at Don't Tread On Me though - I wasn't expecting the lyrical flag waving or the musical nod to West Side Story.)

Smart arse new romantics try to do old school sweeping romanticism, and largely succeed. I can see why it was all downhill after this though - it feels like they had one big idea, and nowhere else to go.

In the best possible way, this album pummels you into submission. Is it too long? Probably, but Public Enemy never give you time to think about it because they're too busy hitting you with their righteous racket. They even save the best track for the last, that's how committed they are to never letting up.

Great harmonies obviously but this felt like a surprisingly long 28 minutes.

It’s fine but not especially memorable.

Sometimes I think we're all so busy adoring Dolly Parton for being a human ray of sunshine, we underrate her as a singer-songwriter. This album is a testament to her ability to tell a great story in a song as well as in an interview.

My third album by My Bloody Valentine – the first two both got two-star ratings. I don't know whether this one has better tunes, I've adjusted to their seasick shoegaze sound, or the generator has just beaten me into submission, but I quite liked Loveless. Now give me something else.

One of the top-rated reviews for this album brought up Randy Newman, which surprised me based on the Peter Gabriel tracks I know. Then I heard Excuse Me and Waiting for the Big One, and it all made sense. This album does feel like an artist trying on a lot of different styles to see what suits, with the result that it's a very mixed bag. But when it does gel (Solsbury Hill), we get an all-timer of a song.

It's a mark of how great this album is that it bought Primal Scream at least 20 years of goodwill in the UK. We even indulged Bobby Gillespie playing at being Mick Jagger more than we maybe should have done, but on Movin' On Up and Damaged, it works.

I know you shouldn't judge a book/album by its cover, but this one has always put me off - it's very 'yep, that's right, we're the new Pink Floyd'. As other reviews have stated, it's probably more Radiohead meets Queen, and while there are some decent tunes here, it's all a bit overblown for me.

With the caveat that I don’t think the version on Spotify is the full/proper album, I enjoyed this chilled take on bosa nova.

As homages to 1970s soul and funk go, this is incredibly skilful. There’s just still that nagging sense of “why would I listen to this when I could listen to the genuine article?”

I love Janis's raspy wail but what I like about this album is that she seems ready to use it more judiciously - Cry Baby turns it all the way up to 11 from the off, but other tracks have a bit more light and shade. It would have been so interesting to see where she went next, but sadly we'll never know.

It was fascinating to get this in the same week I had two Brian Eno albums (Here Come the Warm Jets and Before & After Science) – it's striking how much this sounds like them. But then Bowie's openness to new influences and collaborators is part of what kept him interesting - even Black Star is clearly the work of a man who has heard To Pimp a Butterfly.

I bought this in 2000 but I hadn't listened to it in at least 15 years. To Be Young and My Sweet Carolina (those Emmylou Harris backing vocals!) in particular reminded me why I liked Ryan Adams at the time, but I can also see why I never really revisit this. Even taking his personal life out of it, there are early signs that quality control wouldn’t be his strong point and the Dylan knock-offs are a lot more blatant than I remembered.

A few months ago, I felt like I’d fallen into a musical rut so decided to listen to a supposedly classic/influential album I’d never heard before, picked Here Come the Warm Jets, and enjoyed it. Then I discovered there was a website that would generate the classic albums for you… So, Brian Eno is essentially the patron saint of my project and I should probably build a shrine to him similar to the one on this album cover. He’s still only getting four stars though.