1001 Albums (61-80)
Here are my thoughts on albums 61 to 80 from the 1001 Albums website.
It's still very English language on the whole. On the other hand, it keeps exposing me to new music which is always a good thing.
| 80 | Histoire De Melody Nelson | Serge Gainsbourg | 4 |
2.8
|
| Well, first off, it's good to have a non English language record. I'm not good enough at French to follow this, so I used a lyrics translation site to read the lyrics as I played this record. This album has a really lush sound which, coupled with Gainsbourg's terrific semi-spoken, semi-sung vocal style is top-notch. The album tells a story where the narrator knocks a young (under-age) girl off her bike and then engages his desire for her. You might not expect such content in a modern record, but I guess it's in keeping with Gainsbourg's somewhat louche persona. Weirdly, Melody wants to see the skies of Sunderland and heads off to her doom. Sunderland? Does that have significance in French? | ||||
| 79 | Morrison Hotel | The Doors | 4 |
3.61
|
| I do like The Doors and I'd rate their debut album very highly. This album isn't as good as that, being very much more of the same, and something of a return to the style after The Soft Parade. | ||||
| 78 | Out of Step | Minor Threat | 3 |
2.89
|
| Well this was an energising record to play, and I enjoyed it. But I don't get why an early 1980s hardcore punk record is so extraordinary that it gets into this list. Maybe I'm missing some impact this record had... | ||||
| 77 | I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight | Richard Thompson | 3 |
3.02
|
| 76 | Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | Wilco | 2 |
3.3
|
| This is the first time I've (knowingly) listened to a Wilco record, and I've played this three times now. The main impression I have is an album of pretty samey songs which are pretty dull. This isn't an album that challenges the listener, it's all rather smooth pop that in my view doesn't really distinguish itself. So I'd say it'd pretty average. I don't perceive a stand-out track here, but then again nothing's particularly awful. | ||||
| 75 | Abbey Road | Beatles | 4 |
4.46
|
| It's been many years since I last played this album, probably back in the day when I had a vinyl copy (long since sold). The Wikipedia page calls this one of the greatest albums ever. Well, I think it's good but not some kind of masterpiece. Many reviews I see fit this into the psychodrama of the end of The Beatles. It's a good selection of songs. | ||||
| 74 | Next | The Sensational Alex Harvey Band | 3 |
2.74
|
| The SAHB always sound like they'd have been better live than on record. This album is OK, though I think some of the lyrics (Gang Bang is particularly vile) sound a bit poor to modern ears. The Jacques Brel cover is very good. | ||||
| 73 | Mama's Gun | Erykah Badu | 2 |
3.27
|
| I don't like this style of singing. It was OK I guess, but none of the songs really struck a chord with me, and I thought they were all pretty similar throughout the album. | ||||
| 72 | Wish You Were Here | Pink Floyd | 5 |
4.3
|
| In my view this is the last great mid-period Pink Floyd album, and one that ranks up there with Dark Side of the Moon, before the more misanthropic tendencies crept in. From Animals onwards I think there was something of a downward creep. High point for me is Shine On You Crazy Diamond, but really the whole album is great. And I can still remember guying the vinyl version and loving the sleeve and packaging. | ||||
| 71 | evermore | Taylor Swift | 2 |
3.12
|
| Believe it or not, in March 2024, this is the first time I have (knowingly) heard Taylor Swift's music. And having played it, I suspect I'll probably never do so again! I think I'm not in the target demographic, and I found the record a bit dull and mainstream. Having said that, Swift is massively successful, so this stuff chimes with many people. | ||||
| 70 | Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury | The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy | 3 |
2.9
|
| I think this is a pretty good album - it reminds me of the Last Poets brought to the 1990s and the vocals remind me a bit of Gil Scott Heron. As with many hip hop albums, there's a tendency of the tracks to sound pretty same-y, to my ears at least, and I think the subject matter of the tracks comes over a bit dated now. | ||||
| 69 | We're Only In It For The Money | The Mothers Of Invention | 3 |
2.51
|
| I think Frank Zappa was rather over-rated. And this album exemplifies this. While it may have been able to stir the pot on release, I don't think it has lasted well in the decades since its release. | ||||
| 68 | We Are Family | Sister Sledge | 2 |
3.47
|
| This seems to me to be a Chic record in all but name. It has all the high quality classic disco production skills that one would expect. But despite all that, this record leaves me completely cold. It has no significance for me at all - back in the day if I went clubbing, it wouldn't be at the kind of clubs that played this sort of 'disco music'. I'm giving this 2/5 because of the production. I see from the Wikipedia review that Sister Sledge didn't have sight of the songs before being presented with them on the day of recording, which seems astonishing to me. | ||||
| 67 | Sister | Sonic Youth | 3 |
3.02
|
| 66 | Spiderland | Slint | 4 |
2.99
|
| This is a great album, kind of spare sounding. It's an album I didn't pick up on at the time of release, probably got it 20 years too late - but I have the expanded version, (though I don't think the extra tracks add much)! Favourite track is probably Nosferatu Man. | ||||
| 65 | Time Out | The Dave Brubeck Quartet | 4 |
3.82
|
| Smooth sounding classic jazz album (at least to my ears), much of this is quite familiar. I'm guessing this was pretty unusual stuff 65 years ago. I really quite like this, but I doubt it's something I'd play frequently. | ||||
| 64 | System Of A Down | System Of A Down | 2 |
3.26
|
| Yoicks, a barrage of shouty metal. Quite exhilarating but it doesn't make for a high quality album. 2/2 | ||||
| 63 | Every Picture Tells A Story | Rod Stewart | 3 |
3.23
|
| I'm familiar with Maggie May, but not the album as a whole. On listening to this for the first time, I do think that Maggie May is the stand-out track. The album comes across like a gang of mates holding a roistering and boozy session down the local. It's quite far removed from Stewart's later more ballad-y output. I liked this. Maybe 3/3. | ||||
| 62 | The Clash | The Clash | 5 |
3.54
|
| Considering the speed with which this album was written and recorded, it's stuffed with attitude and great tracks. It's also one of the albums which kicked off the UK punk boom. One of my favourite LPs. | ||||
| 61 | A Love Supreme | John Coltrane | 3 |
3.62
|
| Nice enough, but it just sort of noodles along. I imagine this could be a significant jazz album, but as I'm not a jazz aficionado that passes me by. 3/5 | ||||
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