Reviews by simonh

Talk of influencial. I may be a man of a certain age - I was 15 when this came out - but this album was the start of a massive ska starburst; which burned out in a flash of glory and 2 years later was gone.
Ska was all over my school. One of my best mates got a buzz cut and wore a set-forward beany and Doc Marten 1914s for ages. Made riding his racing bike rather amusing.
I was into rock and metal myself, but I was happy to engage in a lot of Specials, Madness, Selecter, Beat, Bad Manners and the like.
Yeah of all 274 albums I've had so far I'd say this is one of the most influential. To my school year at least. Never listened to it in full before. A nice treat.

(factoid for the fact fans : Too Much Too Young is one of only a handful of live singles to make it to #1 in the UK Charts - My Ding-a-Ling is one of the others)

I can’t remember what I’ve written about the other Stooges albums I’ve had (and I’ve not gone back to check) but I don’t remember being overly enamoured by them up to now.
But this is exceptional.
“L.A Blues” is filler to pad the album out at the end, but the rest is superb.
Influenced possibly by Hendrix and the Stones. The guitar work is amazing.
Great album.
4½

I thought I had never heard of this band.
Until 'Shot By Both Sides' came on. Ah yes I remember that.
I wonder why they didn't break into the bigtime because a lot of this album is really good. Though it kinda loses its way towards the end.
Solid.

Easy listening jazz

A bloke
A guitar
And NO HARMONICA
= Very pleasant

Lovely guitar work, but didn't care too much for the bluesy tracks, particularly didn't like "Rambling's Gonna Be the Death of Me" much, though I think it's a salutary lesson for anyone thinking of rambling this weekend.

First impression :
So I put this on my headphones and after about a minute I was so convinced that my bins were broken that I had to play something I was very familiar with to put my mind at rest.
Did they record the opening track in a nissen hut? And who the fuck is that singing? One of the engineers?

Second impression:
This really isn't that bad at all. I might even quite like it.

Quirky

Jury's still out on the singing though.
3½

I never liked Come On Eileen so I have low expectations.
The vaguely in-tune screeching of the violin is painful in places. And Rowland's voice isn't my favourite.
This album isn't a complete stinker - but it's a Too-Rye-Nay rather than Too-Rye-Ay from me.
Jackie Wilson Says is the best track on the album. But there's nothing else I particularly want to hear again.
2½

The overriding emotion listening to this is disappointment.
Maybe I was expecting too much bearing in mind Nial Rogers and Chic are still touring to rave reviews.
Yes it's ok. But I wanted more.
Formulaic bass (great bass it may be) and rhythm guitar. Most tracks do their thing. And then they hang on. And on a bit longer..I totally get that this is a dance record, but even on a dance floor I don't want to be strutting my thing to 3 minutes of repeating outro.
Le Freak and I Want Your Love (love the tubular bells by the way) are enduring classics (and even these versions overstay). The rest is...

Very whingeing whiny voice that grates a bit too much after a while. Songs all quite samey and - wait - did I hear a stylophone?
Much as I loved playing about on my grandad’s stylophone in the ‘70s, there’s no place for it in proper music. Put it in back in the toy box with your recorder, kazoo and harmonica (and then drop the box off a cliff).

I don't get the classification of this. It's definitely not hip-hop. For a start I liked it! I can't hear obvious samples. They sing rather than read. Everything had meat. Plenty going on. Lyrics a bit crazy (the parts I listened to) but pretty good.

Never heard of them. I assume they were short lived (with Pharrell going onto bigger things). But a solid 3½ bumped up because I think it's a grower

There’s something about Donald Fagen’s voice that I really like. Unmistakable. Not perfect. It’s like Robert Smith or Björk or Kate Bush - it just has a uniqueness that makes it special. 

I wanted to like this album, and I did to a certain extent. But it all got too bit too ‘easy listening’. So it’s a 3½ from me, but bumped up for that voice.

Boston is the zenith of pop rock.
Obviously this album is not as well know in the UK as the US where I understand it was played to death on the radio and is still, even nowadays, being flogged like a dead horse.
I hadn’t listened to it in full for years and so it was lovely to reacquaint myself with its brilliance.
Every track is a cracker, maybe save for the last track which is just a sparkler. But as a whole I still love this album.
Obvious 5

I cannot review this album objectively since as an 18 year old I bought it when it was released and played it to death.
Except it never died because there’s always something new to hear. 



Kate, you can experiment on me anytime.
4½

A full and fruity palate with lingering notes of Motorhead, and a hint of Marilyn Manson, but without the balls and the speed (both sorts of speed in the case of Motorhead). And I can detect a full-bodied influence on Muse.

I think I'll finish the bottle.

3

Typically good African beat but the single bar repetition in practically every track became tiresome.
I was glad when it got to the end.
Didn’t give it a second listen as I couldn’t take any more.

I bet Peter Gabriel and his WOMAD lot were all over this like a rash

Standard Britpop fayre. Good rocky tunes. Recognised more tracks than I thought I would .

Things I liked: 

His massive top end! I could almost feel the windows shaking. The predominantly afrobeat songs (thankfully that was most of them).

Things I didn’t like:
The more ‘western’ songs, heavy electric guitar. Stick with what you know, Baaba. The use of cheap synthesisers. The fake sax was particularly bad.

Bottom line…ok

A bit like Dylan, you kinda know what you’re gonna get with Joni. Only real difference is Joni has a good voice, and doesn’t own a harmonica. 


And unlike Dylan, this doesn’t disappoint

I assume this is the Pakistani Cliff?
Every track starts really promisingly. But then becomes dreadfully wailey dreadfully quickly (with the exception of "Allah Who?" and "Ali Dum Dum" which have cracking singalong choruses). All the tracks are also overly long.

But then this is not my culture so I have nothing to relate it to.

However, I'm certain that if I gave Cliff Richard's 'Cliff at Christmas' to the Taliban to review, then it would be returned very promptly with a "Meh" and 1 star.

I like to think I'm better and more gracious than the Taliban.

First listen… perfectly acceptable.
Second listen…I liked it more.
Third… even more. It’s a grower.

I don’t think I would be prepared to give a lot of albums the time I’ve given this one if I hadn’t seen, and liked, their Glastonbury headline sets on TV. 


That being said, Thom Yorke is just rung below Chris Martin on the ladder of rock stars you’d want to slap. If their heads hadn't disappeared up their own backsides. 

Still a 4 though