Chez's 100 Albums Bucket List reviews

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Chez's 100 Albums Bucket List reviews, Done! Ranked list p11

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Chez Wombat View member profile	11th June 2020, 05:29 PM Post #21
The owls are not what they seem Pronouns: He/him Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,129 User: 9,232	AC/DC - Back in Black One of the most successful rock acts to ever come out of Australia, Back in Black was their seventh album, but it was the first to feature new vocalist, Brian Johnson (who I never actually knew was British) following the death of their previous lead singer, Bon Scott. Many singers would disband losing their frontman, but in this case, it was a good thing they didn't as this proved hugely successful, one of the best selling albums of all time worldwide and turning them into the huge name they still are today. I knew a few AC/DC songs, and sure enough two of them - Back in Black and You Shook Me All Night Long - pop up on here. These are both BIG TUNES, it took me a while to get past the rather grating vocals, but that opening riff and guitar throughout Back in Black is just gosh darn amazing, and You Shook Me... has an excellently singalong chorus that's made it rightfully a classic rock staple. They were pretty fab to hear back to back, asides from that, I confess there weren't that many highlights I found. This suffered a similar problem that Metallica suffered from earlier in that quite a lot of tracks were quite a similar vibe so it was quite hard for any individual ones I didn't know to stick out, but this one also suffered as I just remembered why it took me so long for Back in Black to really grow on me and that's the lead singer's voice is a bit grating. It's fine in small doses, but I guess now I know a whole album and it can get a little irritating, it sounds like he's constantly stepping on a drawing pin at times. Additionally, these lyrics are generally pretty generic 'sex, drugs and rock and roll' kind of hedonistic lifestyle, and some of the rather blatant misogyny and crassness on the album I find just a tad offputting, see What Do You Do for Money, Honey? and Givin' The Dog a Bone (the latter's innuendo...yeah :/). I know that's a bit prissy of me and I guess this is a fault of how I grew up, but you have to notice things like this when you're listening to this much music. It's not without it's good points though, Hell's Bells has a great intro with ominous bells that is pretty epic, maybe cos it was the first song on the album and I wasn't able to predict where each song was going after this and the album closer, Rock'n'Roll Ain't Noise Pollution is a great rousing, anthem, and I do get it's appeal obviously, it's very fist-pumping with great guitars and wonderful if you just like a bit of dumb rock'n'roll, but there's just not enough variation for me to properly get into it and I guess I've learnt that this is a sound I can only appreciate in small doses. 6.5


dandy* View member profile	12th June 2020, 10:04 AM Post #22
Mansonette Joined: 7 March 2006 Posts: 35,311 User: 54	I know how you feel about albums like Back In Black. I just find them all a little too much also, it's okay for a track or two but I can't relate to them and I don't find them either relaxing, interesting or uplifting so it doesn't really tick any boxes in terms of what I usually want from music.


RabbitFurCoat View member profile	12th June 2020, 10:27 AM Post #23
IncredibleSquirrel Joined: 8 March 2006 Posts: 25,840 User: 118	Yeah I'd feel the same really, with Metallica too. They both have some really great songs but zero desire to listen to more than a couple at a time really.


Iz 🌟 View member profile	12th June 2020, 11:18 AM Post #24
I'm a paragon so don't perceive me Joined: 3 February 2011 Posts: 37,420 User: 12,929	I will go against the grain and say that the nature of the AC/DC songs is something I can listen to very easily! Musically, it's all really great, but unfortunately I really don't like the lyrics on a lot of the songs (what with them being somewhat sexist and crude) and so that prevents the individual songs from becoming great, so it's a lot weaker than the Metallica album in that respect. Abbey Road is the best Beatles album easily (love Maxwell's Silver Hammer like the troll I am, but Something is my favourite Beatles song). Couldn't finish the Miles Davis album though, it would be quite easy to finish as 'study music' I presume, but this sort of early jazz is very boring.


Chez Wombat View member profile	12th June 2020, 05:25 PM Post #25
The owls are not what they seem Pronouns: He/him Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,129 User: 9,232	Well there's more rocky stuff to come, but here's something different in between~ Massive Attack - Blue Lines This was the debut album from Massive Attack released back in 1991 and it was largely seen as the album that birthed trip hop or at least brought it to a wider audience, although at a time due to a clash with the gulf war, they had to be called 'Massive', awkward. It's sound was rooted in Hip hop but it added a British underground feel as well as a much more varied sound palette and genre fusions to make something that sounded very unique at the time and could well have been seen as the earlier precursors of the British underground scene that would develop over the following decades. It wasn't particularly high selling at the time, but did become a hit on college radios and club stations and it is much better regarded today. Massive Attack's diversity and innovative fusion of genres are one of the main reasons I've really been taken by what I've heard from them, so I was really hyped to hear an album from them, and it certainly didn't disappoint. This is certainly a subtle and unconventional sound, even now, but it's power lies in its layers and quiet power and sheer variety of styles incorporated. I imagine it would've been hard to put a label on the at the time album given 'trip hop' wasn't really widely known, there's elements of rap, hip hop, electronic, soul, house, classical and gospel, but it's endlessly fascinating to see what they come up with. Unfinished Sympathy was the one I and probably many already knew from here, it's the most grandiose here and it's lost none of its beauty with it's soaring strings and vocals next to a deceptively calm background noise. Other highlights include the hauntingly melodic opener Safe From Harm, featuring the same vocalist. Be Thankful for What You've Got is very soul-drenched and could've been from two decades before, and Five Man Army & Daydreaming capture the very moody atmosphere, (possibly reflecting the somewhat hushed and negative vibe in the UK at the end of the Thatcher years) with hushed rap verses mixed with minimalist instrumentals and occasionally the odd sample that catches you unaware, but honestly I didn't really dislike anything here as they all build in both mood and instrumentation as they go on so it never really loses your interest. You can tell from the production that this was quite a lower scale affair and they certainly would go on to have greater control of their genre as they got bigger (it wasn't until the mid-90s that the term 'trip hop' started coming into play), but this is as good a debut as you can have and it still sounds so unique and refreshing almost thirty years later. I should really check out Mezzanine as well. 9.0


dandy* View member profile	12th June 2020, 05:37 PM Post #26
Mansonette Joined: 7 March 2006 Posts: 35,311 User: 54	OMG you haven't heard Mezzanine?!!! i'm sure you would love that! All of their albums are good to one degree or another but Mezzanine and Blue Lines were the most influential. In fact, do a detour from your list and listen to it now! .


King Rollo View member profile	12th June 2020, 09:36 PM Post #27
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 3 January 2017 Posts: 10,160 User: 23,961	This is the first album so far that I own a copy of. The first Massive Attack album that I bought near its time of release was Mezzanine. I then caught up on Blue Lines and Protection in the early 00s. I've just listened to Blue Lines now to remind me. Unfinished Sympathy is certainly the standout track with Hymn Of The Big Wheel in second place. I also like Safe From Harm,Be Thankful For What You've Got and Daydreaming. Mezzanine is certainly their best album and I agree that you should listen to that one next.


Chez Wombat View member profile	13th June 2020, 03:55 PM Post #28
The owls are not what they seem Pronouns: He/him Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,129 User: 9,232	I'm too deep into this one to stop now, but I will definitely put Mezzanine on my list to check out after this is over! -x- Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols So these guys were quite controversial weren't they? The amount of context and story of the Sex Pistols could fit into a book (and probably has) so as a Cliffnotes version, this was the only studio album from the British punk group. They had many controversies in their short career and it took a hell of a long time to even get this album out given they were fired from record labels, caused many riotous shows, swore on live TV and made not-so-subtle digs at the establishment through their music, God Save the Queen showing this clearly, even the title was unacceptable for some retailers and they were taken to court over it. Despite this and a ban from most retailers, it sold very well and remains one of the key albums in the punk rock genre. It's a strange thing listening to an album like this in modern day as it was so clearly rooted in its time and the Sex Pistols as a group were taken hand in hand with their reputation so that there would be some pretty strong opinions, yet its anarchy and anti-establishment themes are timeless and clearly are even in force today and if anything, have gained wider acceptance, and there are certainly some pretty strong lyrical feelings on here. God Save the Queen of course remains iconic whatever you think of it, Bodies as well is a pretty grim depiction of abortions and Seventeen a nasty look at teen turmoil. It's an acquired taste for sure, especially John Lydon's slurred speak-singing, but there is an uncompromising energy and anger that always keeps you interested if nothing else, Anarchy in the UK is a classic and has some iconic lyrics and delivery and Holidays in the Sun is a great ode to taking that same anarchy overseas. Sometimes it goes a bit OTT to offend, like Pretty Vacant (the controversy lies in the way he pronounced the second syllable of the second word), but overall it can be quite thought provoking even today. It's a very quick listen and while the quality of music is generally good, a lot of the tracks do tend to blend into each other as we've found with this sound, but I do feel the album goes hand in hand with them as a group and made the statement that was needed. It was an album that wasn't just about the music, but about the whole package and throughout history, it's never been imitated which I think is partly why it's so acclaimed, especially as punk died and became acquired by the mainstream pretty quickly. I think overall, the Sex Pistols were never due to last long, they were way too controversial and already lost one of their members after just a couple of years, and while their uncompromising, rebellious approach to punk rock was groundbreaking, I'm not sure they had much else to offer outside of this album and asides from the singles, I don't think anything on the album is truly incredible, it's album that you have to know the context of the time to really appreciate what it did. As someone that wasn't around at the time, I can still feel the sole, anti-establishment core of the album in the minds of many today so while there won't be a lot I return to, I certainly can appreciate it a lot as a strange point in time. 7.5


crazy chris View member profile	14th June 2020, 07:29 AM Post #29
BuzzJack Legend Joined: 7 March 2006 Posts: 22,001 User: 53	My view on these so far. Dark Side Of The Moon - Easily Floyd's best album and a true classic which is still selling today! Rumours - My favourite album of all time. Disagree that The Chain's the best track though. For me Dreams, You Make Loving Fun and Songbird are better. The latter was covered well by Eva Cassidy and Dreams by The Corrs of course. Back In Black - Great album but agree that you only need a little AC/DC at a time! A Kind Of Blue - Actually bought the CD to see what the fuss was about, best jazz album ever etc etc but wasn't keen. Metallica - Never heard it and guess it would be too heavy for me. Saturday Night Fever - Guess you had to be there in 1977/78 to realise how huge the film and album was. Abbey Road - For me their 3rd best after Revolver and Sgt. Pepper Blue Lines - Don't know any Massive Attack but have heard Unfinished Sympathy and am not keen.


Chez Wombat View member profile	15th June 2020, 05:42 PM Post #30
The owls are not what they seem Pronouns: He/him Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,129 User: 9,232	Thanks for commenting, Chris What a shame about Unfinished Sympathy tho x Primal Scream - Screamadelica Screamadelica was, as you might have guessed from the title, UK Indie rock band Primal Scream's attempt at a psychedelic, drug-infused sound, making the unique combination of the then upcoming acid house genre and combining it with rock, with ofc. a bit of helping of LSD and MDMA while they were at it. It was seen as a considerable departure at the time and still stands out quite a bit in their back catalogue, but it was received very well and won the first ever Mercury Music Prize in 1992. My personal first experience of Primal Scream was COMPLETELY different from the sound of this album, being Country Girl from 2006 off a Now album or something, I liked that one, but compared to the vast soundscape of this album, it doesn't compare. It turns out I am quite familiar with quite a few songs on this album, the singles - Come Together, Loaded & Movin' On Up - have all been featured on various adverts and were songs I could never put a name to. They are all wonderful songs, Movin' On Up is an indie-gospel mix that is somewhat deceptive to the themes of the album (yet somewhat appropriate given the high they were clearly on throughout recording this), but it's wonderfully uplifting, but then you have the Slip Inside This House, with it's array of glitchy instrumentals, distorted sound effects and hazy vocals setting the scene perfectly. The ten minute version of Come Together is a beautifully progressive number with soul elements combined with the house-indie combination and is so much more complex and immersive than the radio edit I heard, and Loaded is a classic, again the choir and slow building effect works very well. There's plenty of other psychedelic joy to be had throughout the album though, Higher Than The Sun, described as a 'Dub Symphony in two parts', is a great precursor to the chillout house that would go on to dominate club scenes and is really quite the soothing and experiential trip (even if it's somehow spaced out across the album). Damaged is a rare switch back to a conventional style, which acknowledges comedown and takes you out of the moment for a minute. It's somewhat non-sequitur, but does create the sense of a bigger picture and the following track, I'm Coming Down, could be an acknowledgement that the feelings of happiness brought on from drugs can be brief. But despite these brief interludes, there is a truly immersive soundscape and atmosphere throughout the album, as well as the variety of instruments and uplifting moods incorporated used, it's all so relentlessly chilled and happy where it is, it's quite a wonder and you can't help but feel really great and energised from it and really invites you to lounge in your own head (though it works fine without drugs, don't take them now xx). It's that rare album that works as a throwback (very clearly a few nods to the psychedelic 60s era and the music of the Beatles) and a vision of the future with this being a clear influence on the likes of the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim, as well as sounding very unique and current now even if the best of that sound's come and gone, you still hear traces of it. I really, really loved this album, it's exactly the kind of atmospheric and interesting music I love and it has been something I'd really needed to check out for a while now, so I'm very glad this allowed me the opportunity to do so. 9.5


RabbitFurCoat View member profile	15th June 2020, 06:37 PM Post #31
IncredibleSquirrel Joined: 8 March 2006 Posts: 25,840 User: 118	The last three were the first albums that I either own or marked down that I should listen to when I first went down the list. I absolutely love 'Screamadelica', would definitely rank as one of my absolute favourite albums. It's such a fantastic listen throughout. My knowledge of the Sex Pistols is almost zero but they are a band I've always thought I probably should know about. I had Massive Attack's Greatest Hits collection from 2005ish, love a lot of their singles but would definitely have to be in the right mood to listen to an album of theirs


PeteFromLeeds View member profile	15th June 2020, 06:48 PM Post #32
Buy yourself a car, and a house in Devon Joined: 6 May 2016 Posts: 23,892 User: 23,247	I have to admit I've not listened to any of the albums so far but I know individual tracks from pretty much all of them, Rumours and Abbey road really are iconic.


Chez Wombat View member profile	16th June 2020, 08:31 PM Post #33
The owls are not what they seem Pronouns: He/him Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,129 User: 9,232	Not to worry, there are some more modern albums coming up now that I think a few of you would be into~ Arcade Fire - Funeral Funeral was the debut album for Canadian indie rock band, Arcade Fire, it helped what was then a very underground band break to the mainstream with it's high critical acclaim, and according to Metacritic, It had the second most appearances in end-of-decade lists for the 2000s of any other album apart from Kid A by Radiohead. It has a melacholy feel and title as many of the band members has recently lost family members so they decided to name the title after that. It's critical and minor commercial success ensured they were pretty high on the alt-indie radar in following years and increasing commercial success would follow. Now I'm a big fan of Arcade Fire and I had heard this one once before, but I am glad I had this listen as I had always preferred The Suburbs and Reflektor to this and never held it in as high regard, but another listen has certainly assured me that this is AT LEAST as good as The Suburbs if not better. This is a beautiful piece of work throughout, it's easy to see why Arcade Fire attract so much attention as they have such a unique and complex approach to the genre, with multiple instruments and layers on top of many of their tracks that blend together seamlessly certainly adds a real sense of intensity to their tracks (you sometimes think a song has reached it's conclusion before it switches up in sound), accompanied with some excellent, intense vocals make so many of these songs excellent listens. The Neighbourhood quadrilogy is a great example of their depth and is a great summary of the best they can do, suburban living and home dramas are recurring themes to their work and these illustrate it excellently, with the melancholy feel of Tunnels highlighting the plight of a young couple and the angry defiance of Power Out brings it to a stormy climax and returning to melancholy with the string-laden 7 Kettles, it's like a symphony in four songs and it's gorgeous and sums up the power of the album very well. But it can easily be seen in other songs on the album - the angry, dramatic feel comes back particularly in the second half of the album with the singles (and arguably signature tracks for the band) Rebellion (Lies) and Wake Up, it's anarchic calls to action are easily the album's dramatic high point, and there's also the subtle moments which you can really feel the personal and emotional strengths of the album - Crown of Love and also, Haiti, the tribute to vocalist Regine's home country which has a wonderful use of synths (and did I mention how wonderful Regine's voice is, it makes me swoon, not that Win is bad himself, they work excellently to two extremes). It is certainly quite a melancholy album, but it's power also is in its ambition to find hope and light in the darkest spaces, the defiance of the later tracks point to looking for a better world, knowing their own circumstances only makes it more powerful. I can't honestly say there was any part of this album that I didn't enjoy, it's beautifully composed, structured and performed and has clear emotion, passion and thought put into the songwriting and atmosphere. I'm glad this project has allowed me to re-discover it and I highly recommend it to all that haven't listened to it to get a feel of their sound. I'm hesitant about giving these out, but I think this calls for a... 10


dandy* View member profile	16th June 2020, 09:49 PM Post #34
Mansonette Joined: 7 March 2006 Posts: 35,311 User: 54	Both the Primal Scream and Arcade Fire albums are 10/10 material for me too


King Rollo View member profile	17th June 2020, 04:36 PM Post #35
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 3 January 2017 Posts: 10,160 User: 23,961	Funeral is one of my favourite albums from the 21st Century. 'In The Backseat' is my favourite track from it. This thread has reminded me to get back to the '1001 songs you must hear before you die' playlist that you sent to the people who entered your quiz last year. Having made a start,I'd forgotten about it but I've made quite a lot of progress over the last week and have now reached 1968. It's a good mixture of well known classics,songs I've heard a few times and songs that are new to me.


RabbitFurCoat View member profile	17th June 2020, 07:12 PM Post #36
IncredibleSquirrel Joined: 8 March 2006 Posts: 25,840 User: 118	QUOTE(RabbitFurCoat @ Jun 7 2020, 11:59 AM) There are 14 that I own - 3 of which I'd imagine I'd put into a top 10 of all time. Funeral is the first of these. Really good write-up, there. I think Crown of Love is the only part of it I'm not wholly on board, the rest is all 9/10+


Chez Wombat View member profile	18th June 2020, 05:20 PM Post #37
The owls are not what they seem Pronouns: He/him Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,129 User: 9,232	Great to see all the love for Funeral QUOTE(King Rollo @ Jun 17 2020, 05:36 PM) Funeral is one of my favourite albums from the 21st Century. 'In The Backseat' is my favourite track from it. This thread has reminded me to get back to the '1001 songs you must hear before you die' playlist that you sent to the people who entered your quiz last year. Having made a start,I'd forgotten about it but I've made quite a lot of progress over the last week and have now reached 1968. It's a good mixture of well known classics,songs I've heard a few times and songs that are new to me. And this is good news too! It took me a whole two years of going on and off to finish it (although had I know what would happen last year, I'd have saved it for now ), but it was really great and introduced me to a really wide range of songs. Next review imminently~


Chez Wombat View member profile	18th June 2020, 05:51 PM Post #38
The owls are not what they seem Pronouns: He/him Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,129 User: 9,232	The White Stripes - Elephant Elephant was the fourth album by the now defunct duo, The White Stripes, consisting off alleged brother and sister/husband and wife/who the hell knows, Jack and Meg White. It is largely regarded as their best work and was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year. It was made entirely without the aid of computers of any kind of new digital technology as a protest of sorts and harkens back to the blues rock sound. It's a pity The White Stripes are no more as they were wonderfully random and eccentric, the front cover of this album was released in six different versions and is meant to resemble the shape of an elephant's front, I can't say I see it myself I'm afraid. This extended of course to their music where they never quite sounded the same on any track and Elephant does certainly represent them at their most confident and prime. Everyone knows Seven Nation Army and it's iconic guitar riff and it gets the album off to a great start, but the energy certainly doesn't let up. Some bands blend introspective and thoughtful lyrics into their guitar work, but that's not the case here and that's fine in all honesty, cos Jack White is just such an all round performer that his thrashing and writhing guitar and blurted out lyrics is endlessly entertaining. Black Math and Ball and Biscuit is a great example of this, though sometimes the lyrics are so ridiculous, it's hard not to love them - Girl You have no Faith in Medicine has a rather bizarre theme (is there any other song that mentions Acetaminophen in the lyrics? _) but it's delivered so frantically. Little Acorns is also built around a sample of a broadcaster telling the story of a girl inspired to overcome her problems by seeing a squirrel before bursting into life with calls to be like the squirrel. Entertaining, but there is also an emotional centre that isn't forgotten, You've Got Her in Your Pocket and I Want to the be the Boy... are lower tempo numbers which shows there is still a heart behind all this, and Meg takes lead vocals on In The Cold, Cold Night which I didn't know she ever did and I really quite like the soft touch of her voice (we share the same birthday so maybe I'm a little biased x). It doesn't always work, I've never been much of a fan of their cover of I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself and the last track It's True That We Love One Another is some weird fourth wall breaking song featuring both of them playing themselves as a couple having a squabble, it may leave you feeling intrusive and it's too odd, but overall, I think this is a really eclectic, enjoyable listen throughout that has a distinctive sound yet never feels one note. If you want a general introduction to the White Stripes, this is a great album to do that. They would release other albums after this, but this easily stands as their peak. 8.5*


dandy* View member profile	18th June 2020, 06:54 PM Post #39
Mansonette Joined: 7 March 2006 Posts: 35,311 User: 54	I quite like The White Stripes but I don't love any of their albums and Elephant is no exception. There's some good tracks though, I always remember being particularly fond of The Air Near My Fingers but I've not listened to it for a long time now.


crazy chris View member profile	18th June 2020, 10:10 PM Post #40
BuzzJack Legend Joined: 7 March 2006 Posts: 22,001 User: 53	QUOTE(dandy* @ Jun 18 2020, 07:54 PM) I quite like The White Stripes but I don't love any of their albums and Elephant is no exception. There's some good tracks though, I always remember being particularly fond of The Air Near My Fingers but I've not listened to it for a long time now. Seven Nation Army is by far the best track on Elephant. Still enjoy hearing it today.