Reviews by tjehl

In high school I lied about loving Manic Street Preachers in order to engage in a conversation with a girl I liked.

And while loving turned out to be a bit too extreme, I sure turned out to really like them a lot.

Imagine releasing a genre defining debut album and half a year later think: “Nah, we can do one better.”

Paranoid is perfection from start to finish and you can still hear its concepts flowing through the genre to this day.

The first Cohen album I ever owned.

He’s my man for sure.

Given the heavy amount of stomping around, my downstairs neighbor should consider herself lucky, that I was on holiday while listening to this.

Pointing out references and samples on The Score is a pastime in itself.

A bunch of legendary tracks where all members of the trio step up.

Could’ve done without the skits though - just to shorten the whole thing a bit.

Somewhere between 1974-1975 Joni Mitchell apparently got her hands on a Moog.

Even though The Hissing Of Summer Lawns is not as strong as some of her previous efforts, it’s still a record that would easily be considered the best album in the discography of nearly every other songwriter.

Also, is this the birthplace of Björk?

Did Arctic Monkeys come out strong or what?
Their debut album never misses a moment as they take you on a journey through Sheffield from the viewpoint of a young man who just wants dancing and romancing.

I sorely miss this era of those freezing primates.

There’s a reason my friends don’t call me Hard Rock Andy. Mainly because my name isn’t Andy, but also because I’m not really a fan of hard rock.

With Van Halen it’s something else completely.
The songwriting is brilliant, Lee Roth is a complete singer, Anthony plays extremely well - and then there’s the brothers. Their playing is sublime and especially Eddie is flashy without ever letting it overrule the underlying song. This is simply the perfect hard rock line-up.

Also - who really cares about lyrics? Well I do.
But I can easily let it slide for half an hour.

Cobain could have gone with Vedder, Cornell… But he went with Meat Puppets on Unplugged. That alone says a lot.

At times they come across as brilliant songwriters on “Oh, Me”, “Lake of Fire” and “Plateau”. At other times the level is not quite there.

It’s still a record I would easily recommend.

Elastica manages to perfectly blend britpop and punk in an unholy union that just works.
Justine Frischmann and Donna Matthews are both excellent songwriters and with a few touches of Dan Abnormal himself this debut album is one to behold.

The line-up of this trio is absolutely insane.
Evans, LaFaro and Motian all revolutionized how their individual instruments were to be played in a jazz ensemble. And while this is the Bill Evans Trio it is Scott LaFaro’s bass that steals the show entirely.

There is just enough chatter and clinking of glasses in the background to make this live album truly come alive. You could’ve almost fooled me if you said I was actually there.

Yesterday my review of Hail To the Thief ended with the words: “Bring me more Radiohead soon, please.”

Someone listened. Thank you!

In Rainbows is easily my favorite Radiohead album and I’ve listened to it a lot (understatement of the year). Today I still learned something new about it.

If you ever find yourself walking through a crowded airport, In Rainbows is the perfect soundtrack for making you feel like the main character.

Therefore, my tip for the summer:
Buy tickets to the cheapest flight possible, arrive early and enjoy your moment!

It has come to my attention that Radiohead seem to have 6 albums on this list.

That seems like way too few.

Hail To the Thief is the return to a more organic and rock-y sound after their full on electronic studio albums. And what a return it is!

Bring me more Radiohead soon, please.

This 1964 release could easily have been a 1954 release.

There’s nothing revolutionary about this Dusty Springfield collection of cover songs, but she’s a charismatic and charming singer - and it’s not the last time I’ve enjoyed her debut album.

Especially “You Don’t Owe Me” and “Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa” are worth a few listens at least.

I’ve rarely seen a more fitting album title.

It seems like no one in Happy Mondays is able to write even decent song.

Luckily they are all, at best, mediocre instrumentalists, so even if they had written a good song it would probably go to waste.

I’m just glad they didn’t decide to butcher any Beatles-songs.

*cue closing track*

What a surprise. I wasn’t really looking forward to dig into this due to the length, but I was really taken aback.

It’s a bit unfocused at times and I must admit that a few moment could have been omitted. But the general songwriting is so strong that it makes up for it all.

Twists and turns and weird intermezzos that bears some resemblance to Elephant 6 records of the 90’s.

A gem that I will definitely return to.

Is it a bit monotonous in the end?
Sure.

Does is really need to be on this list?
Probably not.

Is it funky?
Yes!

Absolutely deserving of the Mercury Prize.
PJ Harvey’s songwriting is haunting and even Thom Yorke blesses us with his presence.

I wonder if she might have released another Mercury Prize winning album precisely a decade later, that we could enjoy later into the journey of this list? Let’s hope.

Wow, thanks, this is unbearable.

If innovation = plastered in cheap sound effects, then M.I.A. is innovative as fuck.

Calling Jeff Tweedy a minor genius after listening to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot would be an easy feat.

So that’s exactly what I’ll be doing.