Reviews by simonh

Nice tunes and nice singing. Not really made for me though. I appreciate world music, but I don't really want to listen to it more than once.

Totally listenable.
But totally unmemorable.
I listened to this twice and I can't actually tell you anything about it.
But I wasn't praying for it to end, so it can't be that bad

I nice set of folky songs nicely sung.
I don't miss Young at all. His voice is too distinctive to integrate into the vocal harmonies of the other guys. Only dud on here is '49 Bye Byes', which just seems like afterthought filler.

Confession time. I just couldn't get the whole poetry thing when I was at school. So I'm not surprised that, what is essentially someone reading "poetry" over single bar repetitive samples doesn't float my boat.

But this isn't really poetry either. It's a lot of shouting, talking over each other, a bit of arguing, and a lot of "nigga"s and general potty mouthing. It also follows the standard hip-hop tedium formula of having 'skits' between tracks. Whoever thought of that idea needs poppin', know waaaaaaam sayin' know waaaaaam sayin'?

And if you're going to sample 'Recuerdos de la Alhambra', then why stick an out-of-sync drum beat over the top and totally gnore the rhythm of the tune itself? Fuckwits.

It's quite sad because Lauryn Hill has a nice voice when she uses it for singing.

Ok then stone me to death, because this is shite.

I thought I'd like this.
But I didn't.

"My Doorbell" is a simplistic nursey rhyme of a track in the same shit league as Lennon's "Imagine". How either song became a hit is anybody's guess.

Other tracks are in a similar vein. The whole album sounds tinny and, although others have complimented the drumming, I found the drum sound is weak and like it's been recorded on a toy set. "Instinct Blues" is a tune up? And Meg White can't sing.

Anything else?

No I think I'm done here.

The thing I don't understand is why they wanted to make a studio album sound live. Why not just record it live? Recording in the studio and adding crowd noise seems fake (bacause it is). And if you're in a studio why not use the facilities to get the best sound possible.

That being said, this was listenable, but I think it could have been done better and I didn't like being conned.

The upbeat stuff is great. The downbeat stuff is a drag.
The Beatles cover in particular is so slow it almost grinds to a halt. Appreciated Mrs Mills on piano on the last track.

Unfortunately there's too much downbeat and little upbeat hence a sub-par score from me.
2½

It's only in the last 15 years that she's become a batty old diva. Before that she was still a diva but one who made some petty good albums.
I don't care too much for the autotune experiments, and the American Pie cover was brave, and ultimately a car crash, but the rest is ok.
3½

Great drumming. The rest is mainly noise.

There are some good bits, where it slows down for breath, but the best use for this album is to play in the car and let your passengers think you're a little bit whoa, little bit whey.

Coming straight off of Metallica's Black album, this sounded a little rough around the edges and like it was recorded in a bedroom in a week.

And hey presto it appears it was!

This is an impressive album for, literally, a one man band.
Credit to Mr. Grohl for taking a punt.
It paid off.

First impressions are of a group of bespectacled Austin Powers lookalikes in purple velvet suits. Very Doors sounding.
I adore the keyboards on this. The guitar isn't too bad either. Subsequent listens highlight the mediocrity of the bass, drums and vocal though.
Best track is the whole of side 2, although the drum solo spoils it a little, the keyboards ride to the rescue. I even caught a snippet of 'Good Rest Ye Merry Gentleman' in there.
Biggest selling US Album of 1968 you say? It's not bad, but that surprised me.

You can't 'overproduce' an album in my opinion. If it sounds like an orgasm for the earoles then that's what I like.

This is really a Trevor Horn rather than a Frankie masterpiece.

The first record (of this double set) is fabulous, although it finishes badly with the embarassing 'Price Charles' skit. A real shame. The second has some excellent covers and and ends strongly with The Power Of Love.

I bought this album when it came out and played it a lot and it's been a welcome return to the pleasure dome.

No 10 minute 'where did the melody go' thrash marathons here. In fact I was 7 tracks in before I heard any of what I would call 'thrash' at all.
This as an album of polished growling melodies that you can hum in the shower (I did), but still heavy enough to rattle your teeth.
And it has 2 absolute classic rock tracks in Sandman and Nothing Else Matters.
I think this was the best thing Metallica ever did.

How old were they when they recorded this?
Between 20 and 24?
I didn't know who played the keyboards on this album and had to look it up. Jeez JPJ was talented, I had no idea. Of course they all were. It's a great debut album.
Yeah some of the tracks are a bit long (You Shook Me) and slow blues has never really grabbed me by the balls, but there's no doubting that they started something big, and even Dazed And Confused became an earworm. Whooda thunk.
4½

Turns out I can be wrong. Very wrong.
Back in the day, when listening to an album meant financial commitment, I gave this a swerve — despite being a fully paid up Genesis fan.
I think it was 'Biko' that spooked me : too intense and serious (I was only 16). Joke’s on me, because now it sounds like one of the most powerful songs of the era.
'Jeux Sans Frontières', on the other hand, always had me hooked — and finding out years later that "she" did the backing vocals only made it better. Any album with Kate involved is already halfway to genius.
But beyond the songs, this record laid the concrete slab for the entire 1980s. Fairlight? Check. Gated reverb drums? Boom. (thanks, Phil Collins’ autobiography, for finally explaining what that noise is called)

So yes. I passed on it once.
I was an idiot.
It’s fabulous.
Not quite as good as So, but still a 5

I've refused up to now to question why an album might be on the 1001 list so I'm not going to start now. But what the fuck?

An old bloke singing other people's songs all in exactly the same style. A vanity project that could have been recorded by any karaoke singer with a few dollars to burn?

This is an album you would play to your Granny as you sit by her deathbed.

AHHH now I get it! This IS the actual 1001st album!

(edit: Ok I've reassessed. This isn't in the same shit league as Eno or Cohen. He has a nice voice and it's harmless even if it IS boring. Gonna boost this to a 1½

I couldn't make up my mind with this album. Maybe I was expecting too much?

Liked some of it (Death of a Party, Strange News). Hated some of it (Country Sad Ballad, Theme from Retro). But mostly it was just meh.

Certainly if I was picking a winner in the great Blur v Oasis battle based on this debut then I'd put the house on Oasis. And so it came to pass.

Bass heavy dance music with a couple of big singles. Totally fine by me.

Side one? Absolute belter. Swagger, hooks, psychedelic crunch, and groove. It’s loose, loud, and cool — the sound of the band firing on all cylinders.

Side two? The Stanley Unwin Show.
What was meant to be a whimsical fairy tale now plays like someone’s grandad doing a comedy turn you’re too polite to interrupt. Unwin was always a one-trick pony, popular in the days when you (Unwin, Norman Collier, Freddie Davies et al) could build a 'comedy' career on one joke .
The songs are still good, but they keep getting ambushed by wobbly-voiced nonsense that may have been quirky in 1968 but feels like hard work now.
So in summary...
Side one - classic. 4
Side two - practically unplayable. 2

Well here's a thing. I really liked this. I don't know why. Its still the same voice, struggling at the top of the range, and overusing vibrato in places (I guess like Maria Carey it does mean you hit the right note twice every cycle). He's a good songwriter.
I do think that Birds is a natural closing track though.