A simple but brutally effective record that shines a light on John Lennon's turmoil following the end of the Beatles.

Was surprised to find it was produced by Phil Spector given the arrangements are so sparse and loose. It works so well for the straightforward, honest writing on the record.

Ringo sounds great on drums as always and I love John's scuzzy guitars. An experience that's greater than the sum of its simple parts.

Rightly considered one of the greatest pop albums of all time. Still sounds incredible. God Only Knows is the perfect pop song.
Harmonies are amazing throughout. Really interesting chord changes and instrumentation.
I know the mono mix is considered the purist's version, but the stereo mix is 100 times better imo.

Totally worth the hype. Full of emotion. Best cover version ever recorded (sorry Jimi). Better in it's quieter moments in my opinion - never liked the chorus of So Real and Eternal Life feels a bit out of place.
Dream Brother is a hell of a closer.

Absolutely solid from start to finish. Great production. Great samples. Great guest spots.

This is good. I was kind of surprised by how straightforward it is, but I guess there's 40 years worth of music inspired by it that I've listened to first.
It's seriously front loaded - there's a noticeable dip after Running to Stand Still that it never really recovers from.

Update 50>70

Ok I've been listening more and it's grown on me. The cohesion is fantastic. Save the Children remains dreadful...but the transition to God Is Love is so good.

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I'm clearly missing something here, but this record sounds totally unremarkable to me.
It sounds pleasant but I don't think it sounds particularly interesting - maybe it was groundbreaking back when it came out?
Some of the lyrics - while clearly earnest - are pretty cringeworthy. ... read more

Damn this album has grown on me over the years. I hated it when it first came out but somehow it sounds fresher to me 15 years later than it did then.

A straightforward but beautiful record. It's sparse but sounds immaculate.

Their best since Plastic Beach. Interesting sounds, great guest spots. Couple of pace killers toward the end (looking at you Casablanca), but overall great.

Better than it needs to be. Some genuine top tier songs and a nice cohesive listen.

High highs, but some low lows. A bit like The Car in that way. The weakest Arctic Monkeys album is still good and worth it for My Prop, Crying Lighting, Cornerstone, Pretty Visitors.

Came to this after Getting Killed and, damn, it's a shame GK doesn't sound as clean and dynamic as this does.

Not their best but showing signs of what was to come. Set Controls for the Heart of the Sun is one of their best songs.

My main issue with the record as a whole is it sounds like it was recorded in a bin.

I always underrate this a bit in my head because it's the album that made them big in the US. But when I come back to listen... it's genuinely great. Nearly up their with their best.

This and Frankenstein should have been a single album that would have been up there with their best. As it is both are bloated with filler around some great songs

Some great songs here, but it could lose 6-8 of the more paint-by-numbers reggaeton tracks and be a much better album for it.
Too much filler to be a great album.

Brilliant but why is it compressed and mixed like that?