Baez' rendition of 'There But For Fortune' is a top 10 song of all time for me. Just perfect. The album starts really strong with the first few tracks and, when listening to the the version I did with the reissue bonus tracks: 'Tramp on the Street' and 'Long Black Veil', it ends well too. Unfortunately, I found most of the middle stretch to be rather underwhelming - vocals remained expressive, but song selection could have been a lot better. Not sure opera ... read more

Very beautiful work, though I can't help but be a little frustrated after listening to 'Hey, Who Really Cares?' (genuinely one of the finest songs ever made) that there wasn't a little more structural soundness behind more of these tracks. The vocal layering, melodies, and instrumentals are interesting and unique enough on their own that they don't need such wishy-washy structures to exude the psychedelic folk effect the album is after. Not just 'Hey, Who Really ... read more

Mystery and intrigue exude from every pore of this album. Folk music, like folklore itself, benefits from an elusive, liminal quality, stuck in time and space, never providing all the answers - as is said in 'Inside Llewyn Davis': "If it was never new, and it never gets old, then it's a folk song". When listening to Tia Blake's rediscovered lost album from 1971, supposedly recorded in Paris during a fleeting romance with a married Sicilian songster in the backdrop ... read more

I'm sorry, but this being one of Coltrane's highest-rated albums on here just doesn't sit right with me.

It's rated alongside 'Blue Train', 'Giant Steps', and 'Duke Ellington & John Coltrane' but those albums are filled with newly composed tracks, featuring similar, and in my opinion better, displays of exceptional technical jazz playing, whilst remaining melodically friendly.

Jazz, of course, is frequently about taking and transforming ... read more

The confidence to call your album that... But it delivered. INSANE double bass playing by Charlie Haden. Coleman, Cherry on the cornet, and Higgins on the drums were all in exemplary form too. I'm actually against the grain, preferring the final 4 tracks to the first 2, though they were all pretty damn great.

55 critic score? 69 user score? Ridiculous. Exceptionally high quality jazz from exceptional jazz musicians.

'Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel' feels like the ultimate jamming song... so much fun.

Otherwise, a really excellent blend of soft, soothing ballads ('I'll Be Here in the Morning'), raw, cutting tracks ('Waiting Around to Die'), and groovier, funkier tunes ('Lungs') - all with a sombre reflectiveness that threads the entire thing together. Track list flows nicely in one sitting: good opener; good closer; well ordered and arranged. Van Zandt's got ... read more

Learnt about this album through watching the film, 'McCabe & Mrs. Miller' (which features 3 of the songs here) a few months ago and have loved it ever since. One of the most soothing, emotionally resonant albums ever made. A great example of poetic simplicity with profound meaning. I like every single song on here, but especially the closer: 'One of Us Cannot Be Wrong', a now-favourite of mine. Brilliant!

There is a scene in the film 'Perfect Blue' where the protagonist, Mima, is crouched in her bathtub with her head underwater; she quivers a few times, the score builds in intensity, and she screams, letting out all of her pent-up frustration, anger, and emotional torment. It is a wonderfully haunting sequence, simultaneously harrowing in its subject matter and mesmeric in its beauty. The biggest praise I can give this latest Billie Eilish album is that it managed to evoke much of the ... read more

Ella Midzgerald

It's a little clumsily put together (whoever thought to put 'Gimme Some' directly before 'Feeling Good' has a lot to answer for...) and the album should have ended on the exceptional 'You've Got To Learn' rather than the groovy, but unspecial 'Take Care of Business'. Wasn't a big fan of 'Beautiful Land' and 'Gimme Some' either. I like how the record resembles a stage musical though - with the most famous song, 'Feeling Good' being originally written for one. And as for Nina's voice, what is ... read more

'Drips' is the only blemish on this (otherwise masterfully-constructed) project. The album title doesn't lie: this LP is a show and Eminem thoroughly examines the performative aspects of rapping and what it means to peel back the curtain. The production, lyricism, and flows are all on point, culminating in the killer final track, 'My Dad's Gone Crazy' which perfectly encapsulates Marshall's purpose as an artist and why his music is powerful and profound to so many.

But 'Drips' sucks. Like ... read more

I wish the wind blew him in a different direction...

Nah but seriously, it's a fine alternative if the lofi stream is down or if you've played Vangelis' 'Blade Runner Blues' a few too many times. Not as musically impressive as the latter though.

A lot of the tracks on this album feel unfinished and underdeveloped, which is a shame because when Jack gets the balance right, his work is effective: such as in 'Denver' and 'Ambitious'.

The storytelling in 'Blame on Me', told through three perspectives, is particularly well-executed - though the weak sampled chorus and simple production tarnish the track a little. The choruses, in general, on this album aren't very good, with 'No Enhancers' possessing an especially awful one.

That being ... read more

Has there ever been a better one-two lyrical punch than following 'Richard Cory' with 'A Most Peculiar Man'? Just excellent storytelling.

Great range of folk rock tracks ('Somewhere They Can't Find Me', 'Anji', 'We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'', 'I am a Rock') and softer folk cuts ('Kathy's Song', 'April Come She Will', 'A Most Peculiar Man'). The titular song is also fantastic. Wonderful record.

An excellent album with a varied tracklist and consistently high-quality production. The lyricism is also generally a cut above the standards for the genre.

Certain songs are stronger than others lyrically. I think 'Lacy' particularly excels in this area, which includes some striking, vivid imagery, such as 'Dazzling starlet, Bardot reincarnate', as well as some clever and poignant analogies: 'I feel your compliments like bullets on skin' and 'It's like you're made of angel dust'. The calming ... read more

It's an album with a clear vision, but tails off towards the end and starts to get a bit repetitive musically and thematically - though I do think the lyricism in the final track, 'Hope Ur Ok' is particularly poignant and beautiful. Other standout tracks include 'Good 4 U', 'Driver's License', 'Deja Vu', and 'Traitor'.

Although some criticise 'Jealousy, Jealousy' and 'Hope Ur Ok' for deviating from the break-up-centric focus of the album, I disagree; I think expressing feelings of ... read more

For how many awards this won and how big of a star Billie is, it's weird to say, but this album is, frankly, underrated. To create something so tonally unique and distinct this early in one's career is truly a momentous achievement. Perhaps more impressive is the consistency in tone, despite ranging from trap-inspired, electropop bangers like 'Bad Guy' and 'You Should See Me in a Crown' to softer ballads like 'When the Party's Over' and 'Listen Before I Go' to playful pop songs like 'All The ... read more

I was super into the 'That Poppy' project back in 2016 when this came out: I thought the YouTube videos were intriguing and interesting, and the theorising regarding the hidden meanings behind them was exciting at the time. Naturally, a pop album felt appropriate for this character as a lot of her videos were about masking sinister undertones and social commentary with an optimistic voice, a pretty face, and vibrant colours/fluorescent lighting.

Unfortunately, a lot of the tracks on this ... read more

Obviously style over substance, but the flows are exhilarating and the penmanship is sharp; Royce and Eminem have infectious chemistry.

That being said, the project is a bit of a mess. Much of the album consists of the Detroit duo competing against one another to see who is the most despicable and wicked, but then tracks like 'Lighters' and Take From Me' attempt to induce sympathy for them? Tonally, it's just all over the place. Many of the choruses are completely incongruent to the subject ... read more