Another tranche of albums from the 1001 Albums You Must Hear list - I'm now more than a quarter of the way through. Several supposedly classic albums in here, some of which I felt were rather over rated.
I was disappointed by Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) by Eurythmics. The singles, especially the title track, are penomenally good, but the album as a whole dragged a bit. I think I felt the same about Touch.
On release, The Who's Live At Leeds seems to have been quite a short album, and mostly covers. I couldn't find the original release on Qobuz, and ended up listening to one of the expanded editions, which suffered from extensive inter-track jibber jabber from the band. This is an album touted as an exemplar of live albums, and I felt a bit let down by it.
The stand-out album in this set of 20 albums has to be Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan - fully electric fabulous songwriting. Personally I don't think he reached these heights again. It's one of a series of albums that I think are absolutely terrific and truly essential.
| 260
Sep 25 2024 |
Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) | Eurythmics | 3 |
3.22 |
| Eurythmics were a key part of the mid 1980s UK synth-pop scene. I really loved their chart singles, and have one of their albums (Touch). That said, and despite their importance to that genre, I think this album doesn't really match the quality of the singles - these are the best tracks on this album. The title track in particular is particularly strong. | ||||
| 259
Sep 24 2024 |
Live At Leeds | The Who | 2 |
3.34 |
| This is a very highly regarded live album, often touted as one of the greatest live albums and a recording of a band at the peak of their power. My streaming service doesn't have the original 6-track version, but a longer 14 track version. All in all I think this album falls very much short of its reputation as a great (the greatest?) live album. And in that respect I doubt it really ought to be on this list of 1001 albums - I reckon that some of The Who's studio albums are way better than this. | ||||
| 258
Sep 23 2024 |
Infected | The The | 4 |
2.92 |
| A cracking album and a good example of the talented work of the time, with socially conscious lyrics. | ||||
| 257
Sep 22 2024 |
Celebrity Skin | Hole | 2 |
3.26 |
| A dull plodding album with little that stands out. | ||||
| 256
Sep 21 2024 |
Innervisions | Stevie Wonder | 2 |
3.87 |
| I found this a rather dull album. One or two standout tracks though - Don't You Worry... being one of them. | ||||
| 255
Sep 20 2024 |
Nowhere | Ride | 4 |
3 |
| While I'm not a massive fan of shoegaze, it is a genre I kind of like. I bought this album on release (I think partly because it was on Creation!). It's a significant album in the sense it one of the main shoegazy type albums and influential in that genre. I bet these guys were great live. | ||||
| 254
Sep 19 2024 |
Hms Fable | Shack | 3 |
2.79 |
| I confess to never having heard of Shack before, much less this album. Well I have played this album a couple of times. It seems to be well-written, maybe a bit overproduced, but ultimately quite dull to my ears. | ||||
| 253
Sep 18 2024 |
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan | Bob Dylan | 4 |
3.62 |
| This album sees Dylan moving to stronger songs beyond the basic fold songs of his first album. Some of the songs on this album are stunningly good, though some are not quite so strong. I'm not a huge Dylan fan, but I see this album as on a trajectory toward his first truly great period - from bring It All Back Home through Highway 61 to Blonde on Blonde. | ||||
| 252
Sep 17 2024 |
Deja Vu | Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young | 3 |
3.71 |
| I get the sense these guys would play well together particularly live. Greta musicianship, but the whole album seems rather complacent about their status as a 'counterculture band'. | ||||
| 251
Sep 16 2024 |
Roger the Engineer | The Yardbirds | 4 |
3.11 |
| I think the Yardbirds was one of those mid-60s bands who's impact was greater than their music. Certainly they seem to be emerging from the blues-based music into a slightly psych-tinged style here. Not bad, but very variable in track listing (UK vs US versions). | ||||
| 250
Sep 15 2024 |
White Ladder | David Gray | 4 |
3.09 |
| Well, it's OK. I find his voice grating at times, but it's an OK singer-songwriter album and not offensive. The real high point for me though is his cover of Say Hello Wave Goodbye, which is one of my favourite ever songs - and I think he does it justice. This album was massively popular. I'm nit sure why, but it is a solid piece of work. | ||||
| 249
Sep 14 2024 |
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness | The Smashing Pumpkins | 2 |
3.67 |
| First of all, clocking in at over 2h, this is really too long. I'm getting an album to listen to every 24h - this album is over a twelfth of that period! On my first play, I quite like this album. Whether it gets more plays depends on what I'm doing today! As far as I can tell, as a body of work it's pretty mediocre. Might have been better with a bit more quality control. | ||||
| 248
Sep 13 2024 |
Double Nickels On The Dime | Minutemen | 3 |
3.13 |
| I've played this album a number of times over the last few years, and I reckon that as a body of work it's overlong and a bit rambling. I get many of the references in politics (but being non-US may miss some). I could hear similarities to other bands in there, notably the Gang of Four. On the whole I reckon this is only an average album. | ||||
| 247
Sep 12 2024 |
Songs Of Love And Hate | Leonard Cohen | 4 |
3.23 |
| I like Leonard Cohen's albums more that when I was young. I rate this quite highly, and I think it will repay closer, more careful listening. | ||||
| 246
Sep 11 2024 |
Can't Buy A Thrill | Steely Dan | 2 |
3.73 |
| Turns out I knew several of the songs before I played this album. The best thing about this is the band's name. The worst thing is the horrible sleeve art. The music itself sits somewhere in between. Early 1970s AOR soft rock, with jazz and latin poking through. For me, this is an example where high skill level in songwriting, musicianship and production don't result in a great album. | ||||
| 245
Sep 10 2024 |
Highway 61 Revisited | Bob Dylan | 5 |
3.75 |
| I am far from being a massive Bob Dylan fan, but I absolutely love his run of mid-60s albums: Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blond On Blonde, which I think really shook up rock music. Highway 61 Revisited is an all time classic album, great music exceptional lyrics and very influential. | ||||
| 244
Sep 09 2024 |
Nixon | Lambchop | 1 |
2.77 |
| Three tracks in and this is one of the most boring albums I have played in a very long time. Turgid, plodding and dull. I played this album three times and if I never hear Lambchop again I will be delighted. | ||||
| 243
Sep 08 2024 |
Rhythm Nation 1814 | Janet Jackson | 2 |
2.98 |
| This isn't the sort of music I like. It's a bit over-produced, and while the sentiment behind the songs, I think it's a bit average. | ||||
| 242
Sep 07 2024 |
Brilliant Corners | Thelonious Monk | 4 |
3.34 |
| This sort of album is one of the reasons I'm working through this list of albums. I'm far from being a jazz aficionado so I can't form a particularly informed opinion of this record. Essentially, I found this a rather pleasant record to listen to. I can't say it's brilliant, can't say it's rubbish. The wikipedia page refers to composition, but to my ears it sounds like a bunch of skilled musicians noodling around together (with pretty good results). If I was feeling uncharitable I might suggest it sounds like lounge bar music at times. But given I found it a nice record, 4/5. | ||||
| 241
Sep 06 2024 |
Rattus Norvegicus | The Stranglers | 4 |
3.15 |
| Aside from the casual misogyny, this is a cracking album of pub rockers turned punks at the start of the UK punk scene. For me, the combination of the rumbling bass, overlying keyboards and the growling vocals contribute to an overall tight band. | ||||