Reviews by ryzgee

"Mezzanine" is generally the Massive Attack album I'm most likely to gravitate towards (and represents one of several absolutely criminal omissions from the list). However, this is still a scarily good debut and more than deserving of its place.

Widely regarded as the first "true" trip hop album, for me its qualities and the soundscapes it conjures up truly come alive at night. A trawl through suburban streets, a late drive or something to decompress to after a long day - this has you covered through its sensual, thumping, reverberating bass-heavy sound entwined with otherworldly, poignant soul and dub elements. It's an enthralling experience from front to back, which can function superbly either as central or background listening.

Massive Attack have long been on my live bucket list - hopefully I'll get the opportunity some time.

The musical equivalent of a sleep paralysis demon. Horrific, warbly folk crossed with vocal jazz. Every song sounds more or less exactly the same, drags on for an eternity, meanders around in a never-ending loop that goes nowhere and possesses all the joy of a crusty abscess. Should have been titled "Depression: The Album".

Er, what is a compilation album doing on here? And a compilation album put together after a grand total of, checks notes... TWO Hives albums had been released. Either of Veni Vidi Vicious or Tyrannosaurus Hives would have made for reasonable enough inclusions. This is taking the piss and wasting a space in the book, as fun as a couple of the songs are.

One of the most frustrating albums I can think of.

Frequent moments of brilliance, nuggets of great songwriting and fantastic layering overshadowed by Liam Gallagher's often awful whining, which is of the variety that makes committing arson seem appealing. I'm still going to have to score this 4/5 for the core instrumentation and the melodies in and of themselves, despite them desperately crying out for a more capable vocalist.

I was dreading this based on the title, however it actually proved to be an eminently listenable country album.

Aside from the fairly cookie cutter lyricism for the genre, which holds no resonance for me whatsoever, and the twangy vocal style, musically it was palatable and bright enough with nothing too objectionable going on to speak of. What is that foot doing on the cover though 🤢.

It's one of the lowest rated albums on the site, so of course it's a) something I have in my collection and b) something I really like!

From the moment that "Sweat Loaf" (a play on the closely named Black Sabbath track, and not the only track which meddles with Sabbathian playing) kicks in, you know that you're in for a wild ride. It exercises some wonderfully manic, discordant playing, off-piste tones, desultory structures and absurd lyricism, however it knows precisely when to lock into more conventional sensibilities and grooves in what feels like a partially sarcastic, yet well-considered manner.

It's very much an album that you'd struggle to put into a specific box, where a consistent sense of irony, humour and surrealism are its aces up its sleeve. Elements of noise rock, experimental rock, psych rock, post punk, sludge metal and sampled tape music are all plain to hear, and they coagulate into a habitually thrilling package.

I do have to be in the mood to live with some of the hypersexual lyrics and the horny vocals (see "Pencil Skirt" in particular for a track I'm often inclined to skip). However, this is otherwise a full-throttle five stars for me, which might not have been the case a year or so ago until I had experienced something of a Britpop awakening.

It's packed with sumptuous, glam-inspired sing-along refrains, catchy melodies, ecstatic soundscapes disguising disenfranchisement, and insightful social commentary. Impressively, although it does capture a moment in time and very much invites feelings of nostalgia for said time, I think it has aged very well as the distinct Britishness of it, and the universality of some of the lyrical themes, attitudes and sentiments relating to the class system in the UK transcend generations. It remains a very intimate listening experience, and relatable to the "working bloke who feels a touch out of place in society" mindset.

Not an unenjoyable Byrds album at all, which caught me by surprise as neither of the other two I've heard have made a positive impression on me.

The improved production values, generally brighter songwriting and greater emphasis towards psychedelia, particularly as you approach the back end of the album, all contribute towards a more engaging listening experience for me. The arrangements here largely felt more free-form, textured, and, crucially, catchier, with a perceptible country twang to the instrumentation that, thankfully, doesn't seep through into the vocals.

90 minutes of nasal vocals, boring, drawling songs and frequent bouts of eardrum-piercing harmonica? Seriously, fuck off. Petition to ban the instrument starts now.

I reviewed this album a little while back with some nerds I met over the internet, who I often partake in artist deep dives with. Here's what I had to say then, which still applies on this listen:

Contrary to what seems to be the general feeling towards Stillness, I quite dig the more chilled out, expansive, densely layered vibe of that album, which went into some interesting places through its blending of different styles. This one channels a decent amount of those successes into a tighter, more direct and aggressive approach, closer in scope to the debut structurally whilst still showcasing some of the musical development of previous.

However, I'm struggling with the lyricism to a greater extent than before, and am really not a fan of Simz’ rapping style for large parts of this one. Thematically it's further outside of my wheelhouse than ever, and I'm not sure I recall as many “N-bombs” rearing their head on the last two. Vocally I still wouldn't necessarily agree with the idea that anything about her performance feels inauthentic, but it did feel as though she was trying to get too much in at points and she is clearly more keen to be the centre-piece here. The aggressive style is kinda lost on me, whereas I think the more subtle approach offered up occasionally, and more frequently on Stillness, proves that Simz can still be an incisive presence without going for the jugular.

"Wounds” and the closing couple of tracks “Sherbet Sunset” and “Flowers” ft. Michael Kiwanuka would probably be my highlights. More of that soulful approach of the latter two in particular could've swayed this further into my palate.

Some of the beats were decent, and a couple of vocal harmonies were pleasant on the ears, but as usual with these sorts of albums, the lyrics and rapping can get in the bin. It was a struggle of immense proportions to get through what I managed of it.

This might be one of the coolest albums ever made. It's as hard as nails. The auditory equivalent of being trampled on by an army of shredded, life-size goblins.

To some, it may represent something of an endurance test, but its chaotic energy, generated by a mere two musicians, is precisely why it appeals to me. Brian Gibson’s bass functions as much more than the sum of its parts - put through a litany of pedals and custom effects, it genuinely sounds like an earthquake unfolding, whilst his style doesn't eschew catchiness. Refer to the central riff on “Dracula Mountain” as cast-iron proof.

Brian Chippendale is a force of nature on the kit. His performance is a blur of hyper-kinetic fills and relentless velocity, without sacrificing any "groove". His garbled, frantic vocals add to the feeling that you’re listening to a transmission from a red-blooded riot.

This is arguably not even the best Lightning Bolt album, but it's still a five in my view and the sort of weird shit that the list needs more of.

Choosing this for a 1001 Albums list, over the abundance of more exciting electronic albums released during the 90s, is like having the budget for Hawaii and the Maldives to be among your potential honeymoon destinations but instead opting for a bedsit in Peterborough.

This well and truly puts the "down" in "downtempo". Justice can, and must be served in the new edition of the book scheduled for release later this year...

I'm sure I've heard the intro track on TV over the years, it might have been on something like MasterChef.

As for the rest of the album, I'm convinced that Robert Dimery gave up after the first edition of the book and just started plumping for albums which had made some random, ostentatious indie YouTuber's year-end lists as how the fuck is this something you need to hear before you die? It's vapid, corporate, air-conditioned nothingness. About as exciting as receiving a tax bill in the post.

This takes a couple of tracks to properly get going, but once it does, it's enjoyable although not on the same level as Screamadelica or XTRMNTR for me.

It definitely sounds "bigger budget" and, consequently, more immersive than Screamadelica. There is some interesting layering going on and a diverse pool of world instrumentation to be heard, but the songs are occasionally guilty of wafting around a touch too much with little to anchor them. Nonetheless, there's nothing on here that I found to be dislikeable as such.

I'm of course familiar with some of ELO's breakout hits, and both of my parents were/are fans of the band, so I had high hopes going into this. They were more than surpassed.

This is precisely my kind of grand, larger than life prog pop; it's epic without falling susceptible to cheesiness, it's not virtuosic / overly show-off like (which I'm not against by any means if it's substantiated), it's cheerful at every turn, the vocal/instrumental harmonies are sumptuous, the orchestral arrangements are colossal, and more or less every song here feels like a vital piece of the jigsaw.

My only minuscule criticism is that there is a slight drop off towards the end of the first disc ("Believe Me Now" and "Steppin' Out" are somewhat limp compared to the banger run of tracks that precede them), but "Standin' In The Rain" onwards is a hell of a second wind. You could also argue that this very much sounds of its era, but there's nothing wrong with that in my eyes as it forms the core of Out of the Blue's character.

An absolutely stunning album. The next one I'll be purchasing.

Decent funky instrumentation with occasional bouts of brass and piano adding some welcome flavour. Vocally, however, I can't contend with this. "Africano" was, by far, the standout as it's just an instrumental bop.

Had a great time with this one.

It's a lot more upbeat than I would have expected from a Paul Simon album, and there was an impressive array of instrumentation from the African contributors on here that varied from track to track, giving different phases of the album their own identity. Simon's gentle tenor has a slightly nasal quality to it, although not of the irritating or twee variety, and he's able to pen some strong melodies which I can foresee sticking with me on subsequent listens. Graceland also very much benefits from a crystal clear production job for the time, achieved without sanitising the source material.

Onto the buy list this goes!

Listen without prejudice is exactly what I did. I still didn't like it. Wet, tedious, presumptuous bullshit in the main. I did get a laugh out of the fact that "Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 2" wasn't ever officially released because of contractual disputes with the record label.

Yet another one to file under "appreciate having heard it, and it's decent, but it's obviously not my era or vibe". It makes for a smooth 25 minutes without leaving a particularly noteworthy impression.