An album for each year of my life

2014

an instrumental ambient take on Pink Floyd - qute good background music

2013

just like the album cover this is a colourful circus like album - the vocals are clear and Zaz can even stretch herself.

Best French language album I have heard so far in my life, a keeper

2012

sort of a dark rock electro prog concept album

I wanted to like this but didnt find anything that memorable

2011

Hmm a sort of supergroup made up of female musicians of US indie/punk rock groups

Pretty good mix of melody and grit One album I htink I'll listen to again soon

2010

this is a highly enjoyable retro sounding pop album as if Phil Spector was still making records...Duffy's vocals are little too girly for my liking but yes this is fine

2009


a bit like an electro Kate Bush but nowhere near as interesting

2008

indie US rock a bit like Placebo which isnt a bad thing but heavier - not bad, not bad at all

2007

really enjoyable light pop dance stuff

2006

I have always had a soft spot for Placebo and this album is a solid affair being melodic and dark

2005

I thought this would be almost the total opposite of Norah Jones as its billed as Death Metal...but its more power melodic speed metal, not bad but I can never take the dog/pig like vocals in places seriously

2004

nice easy listening album with a bit of a country feel in places

2003

rather pleasant laid back acoustic guitar folk album

2002

shouty punk pop rock which is okay but very one dimensional after a few tracks

2001

this was better than average rock but quite retro in feel

2000

Caffeine

Indonesian soft rock/pop - quite nice

1999

hmm rather nice mix of ambient and distorted slow rock

I think I'll listen to this one again soon

1998

rather nice easy listening done electro style - the highlight being the single Sexy Boy

1997

this album was okay mixing rock, blues, pop and a bit of psychedelia even a bit prog like in places but it lacked any real identity

1996

Imagine a folk singer singing over synth electro pop reggae songs and some covers and this is what it is

Not bad - quite enjoyable but a little too plastic

1995

nice sounding enjoyable atmospheric dark tracks but lacking anything that memorable

1994

high energy punk pop rock which is largely forgettable apart from hit single BasketCase

1993

very nice mix of dance and electonica - almost a chillout album

ethereal vocals at times with the excellent Venus As A Boy

1992

this is just really light pop rock which is nice and pleasant and even catchy in places. Maggies vocals are great but it just lacks power really

1991

Anyone expecting more new wave pop is in for a let down as this is basically a show/musical album - its okay but nothing more

1990

This is standard inoffensive indie pop rock but includes the celestial There She Goes. The second half is more adventurous musically with nods towards psychedelia

1989

Not exactly Wild as this is rather light mixing a bit of Abba and Kraftwerk influences here and there

Pleasant but not outstanding

1988

I have heard most Jean Michel Jarre albums and this was okay nothing special

1987

wow this is full of high quality singles Bad, Smooth Criminal, Dirty Diana...with expected excellent production...next to no filler on this album at all. Great stuff - very deserving of its huge success

1986

punk stalwarts The Damned continue to make records and this was an enjoyable light rock album - they realised they just could not churn out the same angry stuff so this is a different direction for them - unlike The Stranglers The Damned do not appear to have the musicianship to pull it off - still some interesting songs with a cover of Alone Again Or being the highlight

1985

For some reason I have heard of Indochine but never got around to listening to them. This was kind of interesting - imagine The Clash making some electro pop rock records...in French

1984

this is very 80s sounding with everything a light pop rock - lead singer Michael Hutchence is too good for these mediocre songs

1983

By this time Genesis had thrown off their prog rock roots after Peter Gabriel left but this is rather good with the excellent Mama, Illegal Alien and That's All - the rest of the songs are fine but a little forgettable

1982

Ah King Crimson so this will be at least different from their other albums - its mainly an electro rock pop affair which is different but nothing really of outstanding quality here

1981

again I cannot find this album here nor on Amazon - the real album is Real eyes by a group of the same name

www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_M4U69-HIs

Its rather nice well made prog rock and pop

1980

Hugely enjoyable album even if the drum tracks sound very clunky nowadays

1979

hmm a bit nondescript but nice to listen to

1978

I am not a big fan of reggae but this was really smooth and pleasant but I gather this is one of Marleys softer albums

1977

This may be my favourite Kraftwerk album - nice unique and defining sound and some good tunes let down only by the repetitive nature of the songs

1976

the actual album I listened to was Welcome by the group Welcome - youtube link as follows - i could not find this in the list nor on Amazon

www.youtube.com/watch?v=41Wa9Nbketo

This was quite cool and in the main is almost a sequel to Yes Tales From Topographic Oceans as the sound is almost identical

worth a listen

1975

Rainbow -this fairly typical old fashioned rock with some sort of fantasy/sword and sorcery edge - better than average but not great

1974

pleasant stuff with some nice snippets of melodies but nothing really memorable - almost prog rock lite

1973

The only Stevie Wonder lp I have listened to and its worth it containing well known songs such as Higher Ground, In The City, Mr Know It All. Its really hard to believe this is around 40 years old as the sound seems quite modern - I guess this gets filed away under "timeless"

1972

Another band I have heard of for ages but had no inclination to hear until now. Its all kind of forgettable rock though I do admire that they wanted to actually sound different

1971

I stumbled across this online and gave it a try. Fairly nice folk music is all I can really say

1970

A group I have heard of but not heard before now...

This was well performed but uninventive standard rock blues stuff lacking any real identity - imagine a mix of Led Zeppelin and Status Quo

1969

Excellent vocals as expected but it doesnt really deliver in memorable tunes other than Son Of A Preacher Man and a pedestrian cover of Windmills Of My Mind...nice background music though

1968

Great vocals and guitar playing from Joni Mitchell here but she seems to have missed the idea of song construction

1967

I am genuinely surprised that I have never heard this album....its okay with basically 2 different types of tracks , those of an early psychedelic pop ala early Pink Floyd and some grandiose cinematic soundtrack types...when its mixed as on the classic Nights In White Satin its damn formidable

1966

Well this was pleasant but nothing particularly memorable - imagine a mix of folk country and pop with a tiny bit of blues

1965 - the year of my birth and of course the era of The Beatles

I've listened to some of their albums and liked most but I have to say I was a bit disappointed with this album - Its good when it is good with the famnous tunes like Nowhere Man but its only OK for the non-famous tracks. I do like that it indicated a start of a more prog art rock side of the group