Reviews by pops

Is it too long? Possibly. Is it still supa dupa fly? Definitely.

Three days after the generator gave me Tea for the Tillerman by Cat Stevens, it gives me an album that begins with a rip-off of Father and Son. To be fair though, this album also proves that Flaming Lips have some great tunes of their own (although I do prefer The Soft Bulletin).

I don’t know much about Miriam Makeba but I have to assume that a black South African woman who managed to carve out an international career in 1960 was a total badass. She also has a great voice.

Jesus of Suburbia started and I thought “oooh, I really like this” followed by “is this song still going?” That basically encapsulates my experience of this album- some really strong tunes but a shade too long.

I used to think Father and Son was twee, but listening to it today, I found it surprisingly moving. It could be the peri-menopause or maybe I just had to hear it in the context of this rather lovely album.

I started this project because I was in a bit of a musical rut (my Spotify Wrapped felt like an intervention) and wanted to expand my horizons. And so far it's working, because I'm enjoying the jazz albums a lot more than I thought I would. I really liked this.

Elvis had the voice, the looks and the charisma so it would probably feel unfair if he’d also been blessed with a great sense of quality control. This album veers all the way from the sublime to borderline self-parody.

When the generator gave me Queen II, I thought it would at least be fun, but instead found it a bit dull. This is more what I had in mind - it’s all over the place, but I can’t say it bored me.

I love The Weight so I expected to love this, but the killer to filler ratio was a bit off. It probably didn’t help that what I’d always assumed was a comedy “crazy Chester” voice in The Weight might just be how Rick Danko sings?

It kind of washed over me, but in a good way. It’s very atmospheric.

I get the argument that this is a lesser version of Ziggy Stardust, but if you’d never heard another Bowie album, wouldn’t you think this was all killer, no filler?

I always thought Talking Heads didn’t sound like anyone else, but I stand corrected - The Overload sounds like Joy Division covering Tomorrow Never Knows. Still Revolver and Unknown Pleasures are both five-star albums and so is this.

I’m in a group chat where the other members are excited about My Bloody Valentine touring for the first time in a decade. This is my second MBV album and while I liked it more than Isn’t Anything, it’s confirmed my hunch that I won’t have FOMO if they all go without me.

Of all the albums I’ve listened to so far, this is the one I had the least frame of reference for. I found it a soothing listen though.

Talk about front-loaded - it begins with three all-time bangers, but then gets a bit patchier (and surprisingly slut-shamey).

This is one of those albums I always felt like I should have listened to, but somehow never did. I wish I’d got round to it sooner.

Eric Clapton left the Yardbirds because he thought they were getting too commercial, but who wants to be on Clapton’s side in any argument? I’d rather listen to proto-psychedelic pop rock than a load of white English blokes doing blues covers, and this was so much more fun than I was expecting.

I liked this - it’s now my second favourite album called Let It Be.

I've already had Deep Purple's live album, Made in Japan, which took some decent tunes and stretched them out to breaking point with endless solos. This still has a bit too much noodling for my personal taste, but it keeps it to more acceptable levels.

I listened to this at work, and it drifted by pleasantly enough (apart from You Didn't Have to Be So Nice, which is a bit sugary for my tastes). However, I think the optimal conditions for listening to this would be in a 1960s New York bachelorette pad while mixing a cocktail. I bet it would sound terrific.