1000 Greatest Albums of all Time

 832 U2 - Boy (1980) Studio Album - Rock About the Act: U2 are a huge Rock band from Ireland. They were formed in 1977 and have been active ever since. They are Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton. They are mega-famous wold conquerors. About the Album: This was the band's first album My History with this Album: None. Honestly. Review: I am no expert on U2. I did not know when I had my first listen, for example, that this was their first album. I don't think I knew any of the songs. However, in the first few seconds I might have identified this as U2. It's the guitar. I mean, Bono has a fairly distinctive voice, but not so much at the time and there were other people around with similar high, strident voices. But the guitar... Well there's a certain jangly, echoey reverby arpeggiated sound that is definitively U2, at least for their first few albums.  There are shades of other contemporary bands in here, there was a certain sound to certain rock bands that was ...

 833 Eels - Electro-Shock Blues (1998) Studio album - Alternative Rock About the Act: Eels (definitely not THE Eels) are an alternative rock band from L.A. They were formed in 1991 and are still going and have had 13 studio albums. Their front-man singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Everett goes by the stage name E and is the only person to have been in the whole duration of the band. He also released a couple of albums as a solo artist, although the distinction at times is moot, there have been times when he was the only member of Eels. About the Album: This was the second album by Eels, who at the time were E and drummer Butch Norton. My History with this Album: In the late 90s I watched some MTV, and that was how I discovered Eels, and that I really liked their music. I have had, I think three of their albums since then and this was one. It was not the one I played most, but I am pretty familiar with it. It was not until reading up that I found that "Elizabeth...

834 Rush - A Farewell to Kings(1977) Studio Album - Progressive Rock About the Act: Rush were a Canadian Hard Rock/Prog Rock band who existed from 1968-2018. I wonder when they first started if they ever imagined they would be rocking for 50 years. For much of their existence they were a threesome, Geddy Lee (bass, vocals), Alex Lifeson (guitars) and Neil Peart (drums). They also all contributed synth work.  Their defining features were combining Heavy Rock, verging on Heavy Metal, of the style of Led Zeppelin and others, with more progressive elements— long songs, complex structures and rhythms, and sci-fi and fantasy content. The other defining feature was that they were very musically “tight” - a term which means not only playing very closely in time, but also very much complementary to each other - almost indefinably playing as a unit rather than as separate musicians. They managed to become more progressive towards the end of the 70s and into the 80s, unlike British Prog bands...

 835 Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Helping (1974) Studio Album - Blues Rock About the Act: Pronounced LEN-ard SKIN-ard, this southern blues rock band for Jacksonville, Florida started life gigging under under a variety of names from the mid-60s until settling on this name in 1969. They created 5 studio albums before a private charter plane crash in 1977 killed their frontman (and a backing singer), seriously injuring the rest. They reformed briefly in 1979, and then again in 1987 and are still going. Their fated lead singer, front-man and main songwriter was Ronnie Van Zandt. About the Album: This was the second studio album by the band. It was well-received. It contains the hit single Sweet Home Alabama. My History with this Album: None. I know Sweet Home Alabama, all of the other tracks were new to me. Review: Well I did NOT expect this to be a cross between rap and Celtic folk. I was right. I did expect it to be Southern Blues Rock. I was right. I did expect it to open with Sweet...

 836 Spiritualized - Let It Come Down (2001) Studio album - Symphonic Rock About the Act: Started 1990, still going. Space Rock/Neo-Psychedelia/Shoegaze. English. Led by Jason Pierce, who used to be a Spaceman. 8 Studio albums so far. About the Album: This album is the band's fourth, and took 4 years to create. It uses 115 session musicians including an orchestra and the London Community Gospel Choir. Phil Spector was parly involved in its creation. My History with this Album: None Review: I don't know where to start. OK, let's start with this. I did not expect this album to be like this. I have heard of Spiritualized, but didn't know anything about them really. I think I thought they might be electronica or ambient or something like that. I was wrong. They are kind of spacerock/new psychedelia, like The Verve, and I guess they were contemporaries of that scene, the emerging Britpop thing at the time. But that really doesn't give a coherent picture. Take a Britpop p...

 837 A Tribe Called Quest - People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm (1990) Studio Album - Hip-Hop About the Act: A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip Hop group from Queens, New York, and existed from 1985-1998 with some reunions since. They were regarded as one of the influential groups in "Alternative Hip Hop" in the 90s, and have had 6 studio albums, 5 of which were in their first incarnation. About the Album: This was the group's first album and heavily features front-man, producer and rapper Q-Tip. My History with this Album: I have a vague feeling I have heard it before, but cannot really place that feeling. Review: I don't know if it was inevitable, I don't think so, but something odd has happened. I listened to a rap album, twice, and enjoyed it. I really did. So far, this is the best rap album I have heard. I think. There are many contributory factors for this I think, and not just because I have come out of a glut of 60s soul. Let's d...

 838 The Temptations - Anthology (1995) Compilation - Soul/Disco About the Act: The Temptations are a long-running vocal group from Detroit, who started in 1960, and have metamorphosed in style almost as often as they have had new members. Only Otis Williams,  owner of the name, is left of the original members. First they were 60s Soul, then they were Psychedelic Soul, then Funk, then Disco, then "Adult Contemporary", and then they settled into performing the old hits for an extended career. They are one of the most successful pop groups worldwide. About the Album: This is a compilation of some of their tracks/hits. There have been various incarnations, 1873, 1986 and 1995. I am reviewing the 1995 version with 46 tracks. I listened twice. Phew. My History with this Album: None. Review: The album runs more or less chronologically through their career. It starts as 60s Soul, of a Motown variety, moves into more psychedelic stuff before morphing into Funk and Disco for the 70s. ...