Positive Album Reviews ( richjluk )
Marquee Moon, Television
" Sophisti-punk. Sneering, nervous vocals with rewarding lyrics. A busy, brilliant band: technical tasteful guitars and an outstanding rhythm section. Essential rock. "
John Wesley Harding, Bob Dylan
" Songs with no trimmings. Stripped down acoustic band. No word wasted. A rootsy, reflecting record from the back-country of Dylan county. "
Tonights The Night, Neil Young
" A ragged, tender record of burned-out disillusion: inspired by real events. Raw rock and cracking emotion, this may be Young's finest. "
The Times They Are A-changin', Bob Dylan
" Moody and moving, this is Dylan at his political peak. Brooding songs of injustice, contradiction, and loss make a bewitching album. "
Highway 61 Revisited, Bob Dylan
" The central, most focussed of Dylan's first 'electric' albums. Like A Rolling Stone – but don't forget acoustic epic Desolation Row. "
Street Legal, Bob Dylan
" Dylan does slick pop-rock. An average Bob album, hard to get past the sheen but there are good songs. "
Time Out Of Mind, Bob Dylan
" An old tired mansion, overgrown with ivy, with new corners you keep discovering. Deep. Textured. Keeps getting better. "
The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground
" Clean guitars. Throbbing rhythms. Heartbreaking, hopeful songs. VU at their most intimate. Start with 'Nico', but this is my personal favourite. "
This Is The Sea, The Waterboys
" Thoughtful, epic, reverb-soaked, accessible rock. The Whole Of The Moon is the standout track, but there's much more to discover here. "
Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits
" Three discs covering Waits' guttural rocking, crooning, and esoteric sides, respectively. Maybe Waits' most definitive statement. A most excellent investment. "
Aja, Steely Dan
" Tight perfectionist jazz-rock. Less rock than Royal Scam. Better songs than most SD albums. Single malt. Lie back. Press 'play'. "
Fun House, The Stooges
" Sinister chaos, more confident than their debut. Gloriously falls apart. Iggy's at your garden gates and won't stop barking. "
Hounds Of Love, Kate Bush
" Kate is overwhelmed in seductive, frightening ways: Hounds, clouds, sleep and comfort. First half= snappier, second= more challenging but contains delights. "
Rust Never Sleeps, Neil Young & Crazy Horse
" First half, acoustic:
melancholy, whimsy, introspective. 'Pocahontas'.
Second half, electric (and how):
Gets progressively heavier. 'Hey Hey' shakes speakers and bowels. "
Paris 1919, John Cale
" Musical and lyrical chops. A wistful song of plaining lakes. A public sector burlesque. Treaty-based title track with Beaujolais rain. Gorgeous. "
Zuma, Neil Young & Crazy Horse
" Back with reformed Crazy Horse and the 'You think, you stink' record-production philosophy. Trashy garage rock music plus sublime acoustic numbers. "
Truth, Jeff Beck Group
" Rod Stewart when he could wail, great (obviously) guitar, rollicking British blues-rock. Loses me in places (...Greensleeves...?) but an overall classic. "
Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys
" Bin the surfboard. Pop-orchestral compositions of young love and alienation. Don't know why it's consistently rated so highly? Find out. "
Trout Mask Replica, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
" Beefheartsville: ''We got ourselves a stranger...'' No foot-tapping. Rocking in the corner maybe. ''Think we scared 'em?'' ''Ahhh... they'll be back...'' "
The Band, The Band
" Brown album-cover, sounds like wood. Backcountry rock'n'roll Americana. Hoedown. Civil War. Dreams of ''Old Virginny''. Great band, at their best. "
Crazy Horse, Crazy Horse
" Sans-Neil Young, but avec good rock'n'roll. Personal favourite: unintelligible, joyous 'Carolay'. You'll recognise 'I Don't Want To Talk About It'. "
Swordfishtrombones, Tom Waits
" Watershed Waits album: no more barfly crooner. An atmospheric, understated record packed with characters, malaise, and marimba. Frank for President! "
Exile On Main Street, The Rolling Stones
" Long, rocking, trashed-out, stomping....a great damn record. Reminds me of hot summer days and nights with my guitar in ''Keef tuning''. "
Loveless, My Bloody Valentine
" A gorgeous wash of fuzzed guitars and whistling melodies, with lyrics you can barely hear but their suggestion is enough. Masterpiece. "
Songs For Drella, Lou Reed And John Cale
" A heartfelt tribute to Andy Warhol. Simple music: there's only Cale and Reed, but the songs are insightful and touching. "
Dr. John's Gumbo, Dr. John
" Mostly covers of N'Orleans classics. An upbeat, patois-infused, piano-tinkling Mardi Gras of a record. Quite different to his earlier voodoo-psychedelia. "
Adventure, Television
" If less ''immediate'' and rocking than their debut, this has some glorious songcraft and musicianship that shouldn't be overlooked. "
We're Only In It For The Money, The Mothers Of Invention
" An alternative take on the 'Summer of Love'. Biting Zappa satire, favourable to neither hippies nor cops. Inventive record production too. "
Eat A Peach, The Allman Brothers Band
" Beautiful blues rock and ballads, and Duane Allman's last, rudely interrupted by a dragging 34min jam. Ignoring that, a great album. "
Disintegration, The Cure
" Beautiful, exhausting, immersive, often depressive, or rather "majestically downbeat". Hide your sharp implements, drown your Love Cats, and turn it up. "
Jazz From Hell, Frank Zappa
" Grammy-winning instrumental album. One guitar track, the rest on the Synclavier synthesizer. Experimental, but nicely balances tunefulness and weirdness. "
Discover America, Van Dyke Parks
" Parks' second solo album, being his interpretation of Calypso songs. Delightful, respectfully done tracks that ooze fun and sunshine. "
Fear Of Music, Talking Heads
" An anxious, paranoid gem and one of their best.As David Byrne once remarked, this isn't an album to make-out to. "
Horses, Patti Smith
" Powerful poem/lyrics, a punkish sneer, and a rock'n'roll sensibility. Demands your attention and won't release you until you're saying ''seminal album''. "
American Beauty, Grateful Dead
" Continuing their rootsy turn away from psychedelia. No lengthy jams, just focused songcraft. Great Americana and a perfect road trip soundtrack. "
12 Songs, Randy Newman
" Rejecting the lush orchestral arrangements of his debut, Newman strips down to piano and band. Intelligent, character-driven songs and wry grins. "
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
" Upbeat rhythms, nice instrumental interplay, decent lyrics. Vocals are Emo Philips-esque, but make the sound distinctive. Echoes of Talking Heads. "
The Black Rider, Tom Waits
" Soundtrack to a stage collaboration with Robert Wilson and William Burroughs. Classic Waits songs with nutty carnivalesque interludes. "
Blood Money, Tom Waits
" Songs from Waits' and Robert Wilson's musical Woyzeck. Misanthropic honking stompers, sinister ballads, finishing on an excellent Louis Armstrong impression. "
Tindersticks, Tindersticks
" Just fallen in love with this band. Maudlin, baritone, twisted chamber pop, obsessed with various fluids (Blood, Whiskey, Jism, Tea). Epic. "
Bone Machine, Tom Waits
" Waits+wife Kathleen Brennan hone their musical approach and it sounds even better. Gritty stompers, wailers, heartbreaking ballads and amazing production. Gold. "
White Light/White Heat, The Velvet Underground
" Six tracks: Heroin blues; comic-grotesque narrative; brain surgery gone wrong; some light relief(?); fuzzed guitarathon; 17 minute f***ed-up epic. Phew. "
Stop Making Sense, Talking Heads
" I prefer watching the film to listening to the record, but some tracks top the studio versions. Unusually good live album. "
Remain In Light, Talking Heads
" The apex of their Brian Eno-period. Multiple layers, computer-game guitar solos, danceable rhythms, plus usual existential angst. It's very good. "
Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen
" Before discovering synths, Bruce released this low-fi beaut, made from solo demos. Antiheroes look over the dashboard with tired eyes. "
Safe As Milk, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
" '60s blues rock'n'roll takes a trip to the left field. With his debut, the Captain announces his esoterism in style. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeleeeeeeectricityyyyy. "
After The Goldrush, Neil Young
" Wonderful, aching third album. A few tracks with Crazy Horse, sublime vocal performances with crushing lyrics. Possibly a perfect record. "
Workingman's Dead, Grateful Dead
" The Dead go rootsy. A chilled-out country-inflected album that still makes room for a few stoner classics. See also: American Beauty. "
Coney Island Baby, Lou Reed
" Classic Reed: slick pop-rock mixes with cheap sleaze. He's also a real softy in parts. See Anniversary Edition for 'Downtown Dirt'. "
Talking Heads: 77, Talking Heads
" Angular, intellectual, art-school debut. Lovely interaction between the clean, bright guitars. Find out where Vampire Weekend got some of their ideas. "
The Royal Scam, Steely Dan
" Funky jazz-rock, great guitar, cynicism, a dig at The Eagles. LOVED this when I was 15, but it has weak moments. "
Maggot Brain, Funkadelic
" Great funk rock album that covers many bases. Storming guitar solo-title track. Some George Clinton 'goofiness' but not too much. "
The Basement Tapes, Bob Dylan & The Band
" Less-than-comphrehensive collection from informal 1967 sessions,plus Band tracks recorded later. A showcase of pure talent, doesn't take itself too seriously. "
Together Through Life, Bob Dylan
" Very decent effort from croaky Bob. Some really great tracks, doesn't quite hold it as an album. Accordion gets somewhat irritating. "
The Best Of The Ronettes, The Ronettes
" Fabulous girl-pop classics produced and co-written by pioneer/convicted murderer Phil Spector. Baby I Love/Miss/Imagined/Hopelessly need [delete as appropriate] You. Embrace it. "
Moondance, Van Morrison
" Unlike Astral Weeks: tightly-arranged, more mainstream-accessible, smooth jazz, R&B. Like Astral Weeks: great songs, works in its entirety, THAT voice. "
Astral Weeks, Van Morrison
" Lush, loose and lyrical. A million miles from Brown Eyed Girl. Stream-of-consciousness songs, an astounding voice. Gripping and truly seminal. "
Classic Soundtracks, Vol. 1, Spindrift
" A rocked-up homage to 1970s Western/exploitation soundtrack music. Some psychedelic and panoramic, others more explicitly 'Bonanza' in tone. Dark reverberated fun. "
Blonde On Blonde, Bob Dylan
" Obtuse, beautiful, bluesy, funny lyrics. Superb session band. Once you 'get' it, it's with you for life. It's beyond a classic. "
Live 1966, Bob Dylan
" Disc1:Bob dreamily takes his time over acoustic numbers. Disc2:Dylan-gasm. Bob&The Band fight the audience with crashing majesty. ''Play it f***ing loud.'' "
Loaded, The Velvet Underground
" 'Loaded with hits' was the brief. Poppier-rock songs, no Maureen Tucker on drums = a different VU, but a great record. "
Gris-Gris, Dr. John
" Time to gets yo' medicine from the Night Tripper. New Orleans R&B meets voodoo. Atmospheric, shamanistic, creeping and spell-binding. "
Mule Variations, Tom Waits
" Even-grittier opus and a sign Tom was improving with age. Croaking junkyard gutters, delicate gut-wrenchers, and an amusing spoken piece. "
Nashville Skyline, Bob Dylan
" Snappy country album. Balances twangy country tunes with gentle songs from the heart. Lovely new vocal style. Spine-tingling Johnny Cash cameo. "
Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs, Derek And The Dominos
" Much more than a Clapton vehicle. R&B-inflected blues-rock that has some stormers aside from the titular classic track. Joyous duel-vocals. "
Franks Wild Years, Tom Waits
" Songs for a stage play, so it follows a (slightly unfocused) trajectory. But ignoring that, it's wonderful, weird, seedy, and beautiful. "
Zoot Allures, Frank Zappa
" Zappa approaches 1970s hard rock. Thankfully, his sleazy vocals don't too-much overshadow the album. As ever, the instrumentals are the highlights. "
I'm Your Man, Leonard Cohen
" Get over the cheesy instrumentation, and it's a good album. Though on 'Tower of Song' the automatic keyboard adds wonderful irony. "
The Promise, Bruce Springsteen
" ''New Springsteen album'', ''Oh...really...?",''Don't worry, it's stuff from the '70s'',''Hooray!'' 1975-78 orphans and early versions. Showcases Springsteen's masterful pop sensibility. "
Solo Piano, Philip Glass
" Simple, maybe, but incredibly emotive pieces. Repetitive, meditative, and breathtaking. Possibly familiar to fans of the recent reimagined Battlestar Galactica. "
Born In The U.S.A., Bruce Springsteen
" There'll be no winning over some people, but it's a good album. On the surface, upbeat, but there's a darker edge. "
Paul Simon, Paul Simon
" First solo effort and a lovely, varied album. Acoustic-heavy but rhythmic with amusing lyrics. Being Artless is usually a bad thing. "
It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, Public Enemy
" Driven, political, pounding. Scratching, screeches, soul and samples. Explodes with energy and take home messages. Everybody now: YEEEEEAAAAHHHH BOOOYYYY!!!! "
How I Quit Smoking, Lambchop
" Quiet, delicate songs. Instruments swell and quell, guided by shimmering guitar and fragile vocals. Beautiful, sweet, tragic lyrics. An enthralling record. "
Harlem River Blues, Justin Townes Earle
" Rock'n'roll/gospel title track about suicide? Yes please! Fresh and rootsy, Earle pays his dues while establishing himself as a real talent. "
Bryter Layter, Nick Drake
" Lush orchestration and full-band arrangements: the most accessible Drake record. His sublime songs and chamomile voice don't get swamped, but sparkle. "
Pink Moon, Nick Drake
" Drake strips right down to just him and his guitar. His last and most intimate record is perhaps his finest. "
Hot Rats, Frank Zappa
" All-instrumental, excepting a storming vocal from Captain Beefheart. Justly one of Zappa's best-known albums. Long jams. Short, tight, compositions. Splendid. "
Waka/Jawaka, Frank Zappa
" Wheelchair-bound while recovering from being assaulted, Zappa made some jazz music. Engaging, twinkling jams with fun moments of goofy swagger. "
The Grand Wazoo, Frank Zappa
" Rounding-off a brief purple patch of jazz-fusion albums, Zappa subtley improves on Waka/Jawaka with a more focused, atmospheric and spirited release. "
VU, The Velvet Underground
" Odds-and-sods collection that effortlessly holds its own alongside the studio albums. Delicacy, wryness and another wonderfully naive Mo Tucker vocal. "
The River, Bruce Springsteen
" Long, diverse, satisfying dissertation on ''Love''. Sing-a-long pop ('Hungry Heart'), down-beat epics ('Point Blank'), plenty of rock'n'roll numbers (see 'Ramrod'). "
Blood On The Tracks, Bob Dylan
" A frequent contender for Dylan's best. The sound is 'acoustic-with-band'. The theme is love found/love collapsing. Plenty of juicy, poetic lyrics. "
The Doors, The Doors
" A supremely seductive debut. Serpentine rock'n'roll poetry, backed by unique-sounding organ/guitar-led band. A perfect album. Jim Morrison, take me. "
Who's Next, The Who
" A stone-cold classic. Up-beat panoramic rockers that will have you throwing your microphone and windmilling. Excellent road trip soundtrack, too. "
Ok Computer, Radiohead
" Ambitious epic that plumbs the depths of modern living. Inventive sounds and rhythms meld with beautiful, unsettling vocals. Pig. Cage. Antibiotics. "
The Decline Of British Sea Power, British Sea Power
" Immensely refreshing both when released and now. Expansive sound, breathy-whimsical vocals, and the odd excellent rocker. Like a long wintertime walk. "
The Notorious Byrd Brothers, The Byrds
" Pop/rock/country semi-psychedelia in which rolling harmonic songs blend together pleasingly. Questionable sci-fi final track, but you'll keep coming back to it. "
Open Season, British Sea Power
" Very good second album. Resplendent, breezy, nature-inspired rock. Not as gripping as it's predecessor or successor. David Attenborough's favourite band. Probably. "
Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller), Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band
" Merges Beefheart's blues, pop, and avant-garde beautifully. A great new-world red compared to Trout Mask Replica's complex Bordeaux. Hollerin'. Toe-tappin'. Excellent. "
Abbey Road, The Beatles
" The masters cover a lot of ground in their last recorded album. The whole thing rings like some fucking glorious bell. "
In The Court Of The Crimson King, King Crimson
" Folky, jazzy, tense progressive rock that avoids crossing into self-indulgence. Still talks about witches, dreams and puppets, though. Superb opening track. "
Crosby, Stills & Nash, Crosby, Stills & Nash
" Landmark West-coast rock. Occasionally lacks in edginess. However, the superb vocals, musicianship and many sublime songs mean it remains worthwhile listening. "
New Morning, Bob Dylan
" Highly understated, easily overlooked. But these satisfying songs radiate with personal warmth. This is why grown men have Dylan-crushes. "
Bad As Me, Tom Waits
" Excellent. Hits every nail on the head. Waits has found a new vocal timbre that give classic templates fresh vibrancy. "
The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, Bruce Springsteen
" Less sweating in the factory, more dancing on the beach. Occasionally verges on fauxetry, but a fun record that digs deep. "
You're Living All Over Me, Dinosaur Jr.
" Consummate rock: ragged, delicate, plug-in-and-play. Unafraid to talk about feelings and widdle out a guitar solo. Every track's a winner. "
Farm, Dinosaur Jr.
" The original line-up blast out a winner. Raw garage-band energy, fantastic guitar-playing. LOUD production. Fills your earholes with forlorn fuzzed-up fun. "
Five Leaves Left, Nick Drake
" The mellifluous balladeer's debut. Beauty and warmth mixed with melancholy and foreboding. Conjures the feeling of an Autumnal dusk. "
Do You Like Rock Music?, British Sea Power
" Why yes, BSP, I do! And this is a fine example. Loud guitars, delicate soundscapes, and a namecheck of H5N1. Sterling. "
High Violet, The National
" Reverb-soaked, understated arrangements, topped by penetrating lyrics delivered with gloomy majesty. You can live inside this album. Currently listening on repeat. "
New Skin For The Old Ceremony, Leonard Cohen
" Fleshed-out instrumentation; fleshy lyrical content. Wry, swinging, and almost smutty in places, but it's all part of Cohen's wonderful, intimate poetry. "
The SMiLE Sessions, The Beach Boys
" A glorious, inventive wash of sunshine, harmonies and innocence. Familiar due to Wilson's 2004 album, but The Boys themselves ARE magical. "
L.A. Woman, The Doors
" The band are their organic, bluesy rock'n'rolling selves while Morrison is gruff and pounding. An edgy, fitting swansong. "
Alligator, The National
" Angular rock is for squares. This music is rounded. The swimming rhythms give direction to Berninger's weaving, august introspection. "
Boxer, The National
" Smoldering darkness (pessimism?) is dominant in this gloomy beauty. If less immediate than their earlier work it's probably more rewarding. "
King Of Limbs, Radiohead
" The Radiohead album most likely to get you dancing. A pulsating, grinding, absorbing affair that reaffirms the greatness of this band. "
Nixon, Lambchop
" While they've always had soul, on this record Lambchop get soulful with funky rhythms and falsetto vocals. Deep and joyous. "
Live At The Fillmore East, Neil Young & Crazy Horse
" Rollicking live document of a great band at their peak. The sense it all might just fall apart is intoxicating. Essential. "
Songs For The Deaf, Queens Of The Stone Age
" An intense, driven experience with buckets of atmosphere. One of the great rock records of the '00s. Oh, and THOSE DRUMS! "
Bringing It All Back Home, Bob Dylan
" Electric blues, gorgeous love songs, intense personal/political explorations... In the '60s every Dylan album was a breakthrough. This is no exception. "
Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin
" Forsaking none of their trademark crunchy riff-rock, the band expand further into folk-inspired territory. A diverse record that stays fresh. "
Absolutely Free, Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention
" A semi-bizarre, subversive manifesto of...well, I'm not sure. Both daft and serious, and a challenge to musical and social conventions. "
Damaged, Lambchop
" Combining personal, heartfelt lyrics with unprecedentedly lush and seductive arrangements, the band make what is surely one of their best albums. "
Before The Flood, Bob Dylan & The Band
" Live album, where a shouty Dylan is greeted like Jesus rather than 'Judas!'. Overall, it's a bit flat, though decent enough. "
Songs Of Love And Hate, Leonard Cohen
" These dirges demand patience but it's worth every brain cell. Cohen's piercing imagery and haunting delivery will have you shuddering. "
The Boatman's Call, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
" Changing tack from intense, swaggering doom-rock, this is a low-key, gentle, contemplative affair. Many songs have a hymnal quality. It's beautiful. "
Murder Ballads, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
" In true Ronseal fashion, these homocidal ditties are not for the faint-hearted. Gruesome, compelling and often darkly, deliciously humorous. "
Abattoir Blues, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
" Heavier, louder sibling of Lyre of Orpheus. Cave tastefully refines his singular, crawling rock'n'roll. An excellent starting point for Cave newbies. "
The Lyre Of Orpheus, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
" Twinkling, breezier sibling to Abattoir Blues. There's beauty and lightness... But Cave's trademark darkness and disquiet are never far behind. "
Give 'Em Enough Rope, The Clash
" Meaty guitars and catchy-hooks a-plenty. The vigour and fun keeps me running back - more so than their debut album. "
The Haunted Man, Bat For Lashes
" No Mercury nomination but superb. Appropriately, a more 'haunting' stripped-down record. Khan's voice shudders, breaks and wrenches souls like never before. "
