#23

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 16/ALBUM 85]

I'm not that into minimalism. In general, but certainly in music. I much prefer a project that fires on all cylinders, at all angles, in an attempt to overwhelm the listener. Simple songs with barebones instrumentation don't do much for me.

That being said, I still found a lot to love in 'Plastic Ono Band'. Although the tunes might be simple - they're still pretty fucking good tunes. Plus, the ... read more

#22

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 15/ALBUM 86]

Sometimes I have more to say about a single song than a whole album, and this is a case of that fact. The album's good - very good actually: better than I probably think it is if I'm being honest. But personally it just didn't connect with me that much. There's a solid run of tracks on the back half of the A-sides that piqued my interest, but overall not enough to make me want to return to the project as a ... read more

#21

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 14/ALBUM 87]

I shudder to think what the sheet music for this looks like.

This is probably the biggest turn around in opinion I've ever had on an album. When I listed to the Rolling Stone's top 100 list the first time a few years ago, I HATED this record. I made a list doing my personal rankings of all the albums and I had this one at the bottom. Now though, I kind of get they hype behind it.

I've been on holiday for the ... read more

#20

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 13/ALBUM 88]

When I was a kid, we had this 'Best Of Bowie' CD that we used to listen to on holiday in the car. Because of the length of the CD compared to the lengths of the journeys we would make, we often didn't get much further than the first three quarters of disc 1. So by the time I grew up, I knew like 14 Bowie songs really well.

So I was happy to find (when I finally got round to listening to one of his records in ... read more

#19

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 12/ALBUM 89]

This was one of my favourites the first time I went through this list - and for good reason. By this point I had begun to worry that maybe my apathy to most of the previous albums on the list was a sign that that was just the way I felt about most music; that maybe music in general just wasn't my thing ('Automatic' being a fluke). But after this album (and the following) I realised that the previous records just ... read more

#18

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 11/ALBUM 90]

Nice, warm and gentle but I just didn't find it very interesting. No stand out tracks either so this wasn't even a salvage scenario like 'Darkness' was.

Track list breakdown:

Tell Me Why - (7/10)

After the Gold Rush - RAHHHHH FRENCH HORN SOLO!!! (7/10)

Only Love Can Break Your Heart - (6/10)

Southern Man - (8/10)

Till the Morning Comes - (5/10)

Oh, Lonesome Me - (5/10)

Don't Let It Bring You ... read more

#17

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 10/ALBUM 91]

Rating albums and rating songs are completely different things. For me, the amount I like an album is not directly tied to how good I think some of the songs are (at least, not completely). My album rankings are not just the average rating for the songs on the album. It's not even that an album is more than the sum of its parts, more just that the two things are completely different.

And that's where ... read more

#16

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 9/ALBUM 92]

Groovy as hell. I'm always down for this psychedelic shit. Good consistency throughout (possibly getting better in the second half). Unfortunately there weren't any massive stand out songs for me here.

Track list breakdown:

EXP - RIP Jimi Hendrix, you would have loved Vine (7/10)

Up from the Skies - Kind of a weak opener, regarding the quality of the other tracks (6/10)

Spanish Castle Magic - like this one (8/10)

Wait Until ... read more

#15

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 8/ALBUM 93]

I liked this one more than I expected again - I remember not hating it back when I first listened, but not really giving it much note. Now I think it's great. The beats are consistently good, the lyricism and flow are brilliant, there's just enough diversity to keep every track fresh yet in-keeping with the overall feeling. I will say it loses a little bit of steam in the second half, but never so much so that the album drops into ... read more

#14

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 7/ALBUM 94]

The quietist rock album of all time.

Fr though, the mixing on this album is not good. Like it starts off at a completely normal volume, and then suddenly your straining to hear the third song, and then it reverts back to the original volume (so you dare not change the settings on your headphones) before getting really quite again.

And like... why? This is a hard rock album from the early 70s - why on earth would it be quiet? And it ... read more

#13

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 6/ALBUM 95]

I liked this one a lot more than I expected to. I remember it being one of my least faves when I first went through this list, but coming back to it now (possibly with a more open mind, possibly with a change in taste) I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it.

The interludes split the album pretty evenly up into three parts: the first of which is mostly good; the second of which is consistently great; and the third of ... read more

#12

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 5/ALBUM 96]

According to what I wrote in my notes app all of those years ago, this was my favourite of the 25 albums I listened to on this list. And I think that may still hold true. This one is definitely a 'must hear', and although it only ever reaches the highs of a true 10/10 song once, the sheer number of 9s it pulls out is really commendable. Some of the tracks do drag a little, but they're few and far between, and ... read more

#11

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 4/ALBUM 97]

Tiring. Is the best way to some up how listening to this album feels. It's got some really great stuff to it, so I can see why so many people seem to really like it. But for me it's just so much all the time that my brain starts to glaze over at certain points and it just starts being like noise rather than music.

I like it a lot more on re-listen than I did a few years ago but it's still not completely my cup of tea.

Track list ... read more

#10

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 3/ALBUM 98]

I feel like I ought to clarify what kind of things I enjoy in music.

The business of reviewing and rating art is always subjective, but I feel like this is most prevalently the case in terms of music. If I reviewed every album 'objectively' (1) I would have no idea how to determine that, and (2) all albums would probably be rated at almost the exact same level. My scores for albums reflect how much I (and only I) enjoyed listening ... read more

#9

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 2/ALBUM 99]

When I first listened to this one I remember it being good but also it being kinda mid at the same time. I remember not really giving a toss about it once it was over, but also when I thought back on it - it wasn't bad.

Three years later and my opinion isn't so much changed as it is refined. Relistening to this album, I found myself sitting through the first half and being actually quite surprised at how much I was into it. The songs ... read more

#8

[THE ROLLING STONE'S TOP 100 ALBUMS - ALBUM 1/ALBUM 100]

About 2021 (possibly late 2020) I decided I wanted to start getting into music properly. But I didn't know where to start, so I thought I'd listen around and see what I liked. I saw on a tiktok that someone had started a series where they listened and reviewed every album in the Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums of All Time and I thought that might be a good place to start. Not with the full 500, mind; I would just do the top 100. I got ... read more

#7

I believe this was the first album I ever went out of my way to listen to myself? I think I was sick that day, and bored, and I had probably only recently got spotify so I thought I'd give listening to a full album a go. And I liked it - not enough to properly start my 'listening to music' journey (it would be a good few months until I did anything like this again).

The album is good, I must say. Before I relistened I was expecting to be greeted by an onslaught of retroactive cringe from ... read more

#6

Before I jump ahead in time to the point where I began listening to music a little more seriously, I wanted to take one last stop at one of the (perhaps the most) influential records of my childhood.

I must have been about 7. I remember sitting in the backroom, in the early evening, being alone (although I'm sure this couldn't have been the case I remember it this way anyway) and listening to the first disc for the first time. And I was terrified. Out of my mind. Struck still and just ... read more

#5

[CHILDHOOD BEATLES TRILOGY - ALBUM 3]

Is this The Beatles' best album? Probably not. Is it my favourite Beatles album? Probably.

I'm not quite sure why; but all of the songs click for me - no duds, no mids. I think also because it really leans into the psychedelic stuff that they set up in Sgt. Pepper's and then ups the ante on all fronts. This album reminds me of summers in the south of England, sitting shotgun in the blaring sun. Or, if the sun didn't come, getting a tan in the English ... read more

#4

[CHILDHOOD BEATLES TRILOGY - ALBUM 2]

I don't remember this album as vividly as the other two from my childhood, but I remember it well none the less. It seems almost as if it was allergic to creating a bad song; although I think that may be true of the band itself. Not all of their songs may be as amazing as many seem to suggest (you may call me a pagan for believing so), but they hardly ever wrote a truly bad song. Some mid stuff though...

Track list breakdown:

Come Together - ... read more