Give 'Em Enough Rope review

The second album from the British punk rock band The Clash. Expect more wonderfully raw, punchy instrumentals and angry, politicised lyrics about society.

Tracks:

1. Safe European Home: 9/10 there's no warning or build up. The heavy instrumental kicks in immediately and continues hitting the listener like a knuckleduster for nearly 4 glorious minutes. The song's message isn't clear, but the lyrics as usual are thought provoking and were written with care.

2. English Civil War: 9/10 with its hard hitting, enthusiastic instrumental and intelligent lyrics this is a typically awesome Clash song.

3. Tommy Gun: 8/10 it's still samey but it remains highly effective and both its intro and final verse are brilliant.

4. Julie's Been Working For the Drug Squad: 8/10 this track quietens down a bit to tell a very interesting story, and mostly it's very effective although occasionally you find yourself yearning for some of those explosive guitar chords.

5. Last Gang in Town: 7/10 an entertaining if overextended and somewhat simplistic rock song.

6. Guns on the Roof: 8/10 a gleefully unsubtle song with a powerful message.

7. Drug Stabbing Time: 7/10 it admittedly seems mediocre at times but it's speed and energy propels it to above average.

8. Stay Free: 8/10 this represents Clash storytelling at its strongest and even finishes with an awesome guitar solo.

9. Cheapskates: 9/10 more run of the mill Clash material, but since it's unexpectedly melancholic and has a lot of heart beneath all the noise, it stands out.

10. All the Young Punks (New Boots and Contracts): 7/10 it's skilled enough to get a pass, but it's uninteresting and a bit ugly.

Best song: Safe European Home
Worst song: Drug Stabbing Time


Summary: One thing that sets the Clash apart from other groups is how raw they sound. They don't sound as polished or as carefully rehearsed as other groups, which makes them relatable and ensures their music never sounds artificial or hollow. What sets them apart from other groups even more is, despite this rawness, how much art and soul they fit into all of their music, and how thought provoking and intelligent it actually is. They continue to show these qualities in their second album. It's not as good as The Clash and it's definitely not as good as London Calling and with it's slight lack of truly striking songs it slants towards a 7/10 rating. This is an entertaining album though, with plenty of edge, anger and enjoyable rock instrumentals. The songs feel samey, but they always find interesting ways to convey their messages.



Final rating: 8/10

The Rolling Stones No. 2 review

The second UK album by the Rolling Stones which is again mainly made up of covers. Currently I'm reviewing the UK albums by the group. The US versions will be covered in another post.

Tracks:

1. Everybody Needs Somebody to Love: 5/10 it's got a catchy beat, but unfortunately The Rolling Stones milk it to death over 5 unnecessary minutes.

2. Down Home Girl: 6/10 an overlong but enjoyable diversion.

3. You Can't Catch Me: 8/10 it's entertaining subject matter and excellent baseline gives this song a wickedly sharp edge.

4. Time is On My Side: 7/10 it's not the most interesting song ever, but it's a lot more entertaining than it first sounds.

5. What a Shame: 7/10 the first original song on the record sometimes feels whiny but it shows The Rolling Stones, even with less compelling lyrics, refuse to phone it in.

6. Grown Up Wrong: 5/10 this finished playing 30 seconds ago and I've already half forgotten it. That's a bit worrying. It has its moments though.

7. Down the Road Apiece: 8/10 this hugely catchy song is pretty hard to dislike so don't even bother trying.

8. Under the Boardwalk: 8/10 it's just another love song, but despite the familiar lyrics it's still effective thanks to its peaceful tone and effective understated beat.

9. I Can't Be Satisfied: 7/10 it's difficult to believe this is a cover since The Rolling Stones' lack of satisfaction runs through many of their later songs. This particular cover is solid but nowhere near as imaginative in discussing being dissatisfied as many other similar songs.

10. Pain in My Heart: 7/10 fairly repetitive, but it stands out from the other songs on the album thematically and on a musical level, it delivers.

11. Off the Hook: 7/10 it's just another song, but extra points for making a song which is just about someone not picking up the phone entertaining. 

12. Susie Q: 7/10 the album closer doesn't say much but manages to pack a surprising amount of punch into it's brief runtime and minimalistic lyrics.

Best song: You Can't Catch Me
Worst song: Grown Up Wrong


Summary: Overall, this album lives up to its title since it is number 2 compared to the first one, and isn't as strong. There are some forgettable songs on here, but ultimately it's pretty enjoyable if not thematically compelling. For a band which is only beginning to find its feet and mainly recording covers this is surprisingly solid and in every instrumental there's a true determination that shows The Rolling Stones mean business.



Final rating: 7/10  

Strange Days review

More psychedelic, organ based rock from The Doors. Judging by the strength of their debut album, this should be pretty good.

Tracks:

1. Strange Days: 9/10 despite sounding like the soundtrack of a jokey Halloween arcade game at times, this mysterious and creepy tune gets into your head and stays there, sticking out as a particularly strong psychedelic album opener.

2. You're Lost Little Girl: 8/10 a typical good Doors song: a strong organ instrumental, pretentious but effective lyrics and a wonderful sense of strangeness and uniqueness to it all.

3. Love Me Two Times: 5/10 this one could have come from any other band since it's utterly generic and offers a mildly diverting baseline and little else.

4. Unhappy Girl: 8/10 this one's more effective. The instrumental is chilling yet gripping at the same time.

5. Horse Latitudes: 7/10 more a spoken poem than a song. It's a bit weird, but you have to admire it's refusal to obey conventions or make any sense.

6. Moonlight Drive: 8/10 it repeats itself, but it's another enjoyable and well executed tune.

7. People Are Strange: 7/10 the metaphors used in this song are not just twisted and brilliant, they also ring true. Sadly, rather than carry on being inventive this lazily recycles it's previous lyrics, so it's only half a great song.

8. My Eyes Have Seen You: 8/10 this one doesn't make an awful lot of sense, but it's very engaging and gleefully insane.

9. I Can't See Your Face in My Mind: 8/10 quieter but just as engaging, this is certainly not one of the unmemorable penultimate tracks often seen on albums.   

10. When the Music's Over: 8/10 once again a Doors album ends with a long 10 minute apocalyptic epic. This does ramble on, but musically and lyrically it is fairly brilliant.

Best song: Strange Days
Worst song: Love Me Two Times

Summary: Technically accomplished and madder than King Lear wandering the heath, this is a pretty strong second album. Most of the songs don't stick out while some of the more well regarded tracks on here are overrated, but it's an enjoyable listen overall. The organ, Jim Morrison's excellent vocals and lyrics and the uniqueness of the music make this stand out among of the other 60s counterculture music acts, and The Doors should not be forgotten.



Final rating: 8/10

Pablo Honey review

Pablo Honey, the debut album of Radiohead is nearly always regarded as their worst one. Still, this is Radiohead who are, one,  responsible for my current favourite album of all time and two, are Radiohead so it can't really be bad.

Tracks:

1. You: 8/10 a pretty solid opener and well executed, although it's sentimental for Radiohead and it's overreliant on overdone guitar riffs.

2. Creep: 8/10 the band's most popular song may not represent the band well but it is a terrific rock tune and is always enjoyable to listen to.

3. How Do You?: 7/10 derivative and overdone but it's still a fun burst of chaotic guitar riffs.

4. Stop Whispering: 7/10 just another song. It's well done and hits various peaks though.

5. Thinking About You: 7/10 a derivative but nuanced song which benefits from being less heavy and overdone.

 6. Anyone Can Play Guitar: 7/10 an unremarkable, heavy and enjoyable tribute to the guitar.

 7. Ripcord: 7/10 a fun if derivative song.

 8. Vegetable: 6/10 a decent rock song which like virtually everything on this album isn't bad at all but feels formulaic and safe compared to later Radiohead stuff.

9. Prove Yourself: 6/10 a depressing and overdone song which is enjoyable but mainly in a casual way and as a song it's definitely flawed.

10. I Can't:7/10 this one's decent and has a good instrumental.

 11. Lurgee: 7/10 the title is weird and the lyrics just repeat themselves over and over, so the fact this song is still perfectly OK is surprising.

12. Blow Out: 8/10 one of the album's strongest, this sounds more interesting and complex than many of the album's other tracks and is quite effective with its lyrics overall. It literally closes the album very well as the outro is terrific.

Best song: Creep
Worst song: Prove Yourself

Summary: All of these songs are decent. They're well played and well written up to a point but they just aren't close to the standard of Radiohead's later work. The guitar instrumentals are too repetitive and similar, while the lyrics are fairly basic. Creep is the only song anyone seems to remember from the album, and there's a reason for that. It's entertaining enough but Radiohead's other albums are far better.It's the debut of a band trying to find their voice and song type and Radiohead hadn't done that yet but they still started out with a petty decent first album, although it is derivative and repetitive.



Final rating: 7/10

Led Zeppelin II review

Led Zeppelin's second album, largely recorded while on tour. Although put together during a pretty hectic time, it has like Led Zeppelin I been very influential and has been far more successful than many sequels.

Tracks:

1. Whole Lotta Love: 10/10 hypnotic, experimental, endlessly entertaining and heavier than a tropical thunderstorm, this masterful track is not only Led Zeppelin's most explicit song, it's also one of their best.

2. What is and What Should Never Be: 8/10 this one takes a bit of time to get going thanks to the jarring contrast between the verses and the chorus, but by the end Jimmy Page's epic guitar work and Robert Plant's awesome vocals will have you hooked.

3. The Lemon Song: 8/10 a bit too long and thematically similar to the other 2, but this is compelling throughout and worth listening to for That bridge and That outro alone.

4. Thank You: 7/10 one of Led Zeppelin's most syrupy and sentimental songs, but it's well played enough and it's kind of cute.

5. Heartbreaker: 9/10 truly epic. Jimmy Page's phenomenal guitar solo and the energy maintained throughout the song make this one a real firecracker.

6. Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman): 5/10 it's not too hard to see why this is Jimmy Page's least favourite Led Zeppelin song. It's enthusiastically played and mildly catchy, but the lyrics are offensive and it cowers in the shadow of Whole Lotta Love, which was its A side.

7. Ramble On: 8/10 the song only truly kicks into gear during the energetic chorus, but it's an enjoyable combo of Lord of the Rings and the rock star lifestyle.

8. Moby Dick: 9/10 John Bonham is one of the best drummers of all time, and if one wants evidence they need look no further than this. A drum solo which is so fast and powerful it sounds like a machine gun, Bonham sometimes broke his drumsticks while playing it.

9. Bring it On Home: 8/10 the first part of the song is very dull, but once the rock guitars kick in it becomes heavy, full-on Led Zeppelin fun.

Best song: Whole Lotta Love
Worst song: Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)

Summary: A fantastic second album for Led Zeppelin, it's difficult to judge if it's better than the first one. They're both great anyway. Most of the songs are great fun to listen, it feels artful and the instrumental skill is unbelievable. Surely one of the best second albums in history, this one really takes some beating. It covers similar themes many times but then again, so do lots of albums.

Final rating: 9/10

White Light/White Heat review

The second album from The Velvet Underground, now having parted with Nico and Andy Warhol. Produced by Tom Wilson, this one is heavily based on musical improvisation and once again goes into dark thematic territory, ensuring that commercial success was never on the charts. Still, it has received acclaim retrospectively.

Tracks:

1. White Light/White Heat: 7/10 this fast paced opener is musically a chaotic battleground with overdone, overwhelming notes, chords and beats flying all over the place like a large mob of hyperactive 6 year olds. Therefore, despite the song's headache-inducing nature, it is a testament to the band's skill that it actually works rather well.

2. The Gift: 8/10 the short story is interesting and the instrumental is fairly disciplined by Velvet Underground standards. It's an overlong experiment but there's something strangely hypnotic about it.

3. Lady Godiva's Operation: 7/10 like many Velvet Underground songs, it's quite boring much of the time but it's skilfully constructed, boasts a certain unique charm and is pleasingly ambiguous.

4. Here She Comes Now: 5/10 so simple and straightforward it's genuinely insulting, though interestingly enigmatic.

5. I Heard Her Call My Name: 7/10 2 minutes of confusing lyrics followed by 2 minutes of musical chaos. It's not always compelling, but the experimental and bold nature of the band usually mean marks have to be awarded to them and the song is definitely effective. .

6. Sister Ray: 8/10 true and utter madness. It may not make much sense, but it's an sharp, unrestrained and aggressively powerful combo of wonderfully nonsensical lyrics and marvellous improvisation that incredibly was done all in one take.

Best song: Sister Ray
Worst song: Here She Comes Now

Summary: There are 2 big epics here which are solid 4 star songs. The rest of the album, while full of interesting experimentation, are memorable and interesting but the improvised nature of the music gives the tracks a sense of chaos and disorder. Plus, the music never flows and all the instruments clash together, seemingly in a competition to try and be the loudest. Still, you have to give credit to the band for making this style of music work, and there is something strangely mesmerising much of the time. Overall, perfectly good but not as good as the debut.


Final rating: 7/10

The Slim Shady LP review

This is where Eminem as we know him came in. The foul mouthed, angry yet poetic genius with launched to fame with his second album which is from the point of view of his alter ego, Slim Shady. It was critically and commercially successful yet also very controversial. Here are my thoughts on what is guaranteed to be an hour of madness, rage and lyrical mayhem of the best kind.

Tracks:

1. Public Service Announcement: 8/10 a bit random but a hilarious start to the album. This unconventional intro lets you know you're in for something different.

2. My Name Is: 8/10 while the lyrics are a much occasionally, this brutal, unstoppable and at times hilarious anti authority anthem hits like a baseball bat to the face. This is how you introduce an alter ego.

3. Guilty Conscience: 9/10 it's not for the easily offended, but it's not being offensive for no reason. It's going deep and saying meaningful things in the most brutal, hard hitting yet ridiculously entertaining way possible.

4. Brain Damage: 9/10 while the beat is nothing eye catching, this powerful track shows that underneath all the rage filled, authority hating persona with both middle fingers permanently raised while spitting out many questionable lyrics, there is a thoughtful, soulful artist who isn't just swearing for no reason.

5. Paul (Skit): 5/10 a superfluous skit, but it makes you smile and plus how many other artists put skits in the middle of their albums?

6. If I Had: 8/10 the jarring tonal shifts between the verses and choruses weaken this track a bit, but it's as powerful and depressing as ever.

7. 97' Bonnie & Clyde: 9/10 more chilling than many horror films, this is undeniably disturbing and doesn't boast any immediately clear message, but the truth is 97' Bonnie and Clyde is actually pretty deep. I see this as superior to Kim, since that one was just a bit too much but this feels more subtle, meaningful and tragic.

8. Bitch (Skit): 6/10 it feels unnecessary but it's quite amusing and shows Eminem's self awareness.

9. Role Model: 9/10 really quite brilliant. Let's be honest: has anyone ever come up with a more hilarious, sharp and effective way to slam their critics? All in all, entering a rap battle with Eminem would be like the Tellytubbies going to war with the Daleks.

10. Lounge (Skit): 6/10 just an intro to the next song so it's hard to judge. It's moderately interesting overall.

11. My Fault: 5/10 this one's just a bit ugly to be honest. The rhyming is impeccable, but I don't know whether or not I'm supposed to laugh or be moved. I'm neither.

12. Ken Kaniff (Skit): 6/10 kind of funny but a bit difficult to get.

13. Cum On Everybody: 7/10 the outrageous verses are on target, but the chorus misses completely.

14. Rock Bottom: 9/10 Slim Shady may have spent much of the album behaving badly, yet it's a testament to Eminem's lyrical ability that despite all of this, thanks to all the bleak poetry in this track we sympathise hugely with Shady and our emotions hit rock bottom alongside his.

15. Just Don't Give a Fuck: 7/10 it's as polished as ever but all it does is tell us stuff we already know: Eminem is a lyrical genius, he wants to offend everyone as much as possible etc.

16. Soap (Skit): 4/10 can someone tell me why this is on this album?

17. As the World Turns: 5/10 it's technically good in many ways, but all the meaningless misogyny makes this song very difficult to enjoy.

18. I'm Shady: 8/10 more solid hip hop madness where you just have to respect Eminem for being brave enough to actually use these lyrics.

19. Bad Meets Evil: 8/10 ugly and familiar, yet still highly entertaining and brilliantly written.

20. Still Don't Give a Fuck: 8/10 a rage fuelled, emotive, outrageous and bleak finale.

Best song: Role Model
Worst song: Soap (Skit) if you count it as a song. If not, then My Fault

Summary: Few albums I've encountered required the 'Parental Advisory Explicit Content' sticker more. This album needs a 'Not for the Easily Offended' sticker too. This is outrageous, but it's not all shock for shock's sake. It's funny in some songs, while genuinely moving in others and in general you just have to embrace the madness. The writing is impeccable, Eminem is a brilliant performer and overall this is a very good album which earned him his much deserved fame. Still, many lyrics are questionable, the songs contain similar themes and like so many albums it loses momentum in the second half so it's not quite a home run.


Final rating: 8/10

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn review

Pink Floyd's first album, back when Syd Barrett was the leader of the band. Interestingly named after a chapter from The Wind in the Willows, judging by the album cover alone this is going to be a very psychedelic and trippy album.

Tracks:

1. Astronomy Domine: 9/10 this delightfully weird mixture of abstract lyrics and wonderfully insane music may not make that much sense and be full of overlapping sounds but it hypnotises the listener very quickly.

2. Lucifer Sam: 7/10 less striking, but it's blunt refusal to make any sense or follow any conventions add to the experience.

3. Matilda Mother: 9/10 basically fairy tales on drugs. And it's obscure, crazy and quite, quite brilliant.

4. Flaming: 9/10 I'd find it incredibly difficult not to like a song which actually uses wind up toys as an instrument and thanks to the overwhelming and intoxicating music combined with the enigmatic lyrics the song is impossible to dislike in general.

5. Pow R Toc H: 7/10 one of Pink Floyd's many instrumentals. It's less dramatic than many of them and sounds like it was recorded in a jungle thanks to all the bizarre vocalising but as always there's plenty of musical wizardry to behold.

6. Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk: 8/10 a Roger Waters song, some of the notes sound like brakes screeching instead of guitars but mostly this is pretty effective and doesn't lose momentum.

7. Interstellar Overdrive: 9/10 nearly 10 minutes of glorious madness. This excellent instrumental seems made for an epic science fiction battle scene and would work brilliantly in a film.

8. The Gnome: 8/10 it's as random as ever but just embrace the madness. You'll be glad you did.

9. Chapter 24: 7/10 this one's a bit less successful but it's overwhelming, gripping and delightfully bonkers still.

10. The Scarecrow: 8/10 a melancholy and touching song which feels like a poem touching on important universal themes.

11. Bike: 8/10 the album closer brings together everything that has made the album work into a satisfying whole. The last instrumental section is particularly brilliant.

Best song: Interstellar Overdrive
Worst song: Pow R Toc H

Summary: It may not be as good as The Dark Side of the Moon, but it's alarming how close it gets. Gloriously played, beautifully written and madder than a shark surfing down the New York subway while playing a harmonica and listening to classical music, this is an astonishingly good debut. The truth is, it's very sad that this was the only Pink Floyd album led by Syd Barrett since this shows he was incredibly talented. Some of their later stuff is slightly more refined, but this early Pink Floyd material is so crazy, so unconventional and yet still so entertaining that it is arguably just as essential.


Final rating: 9/10

Surfin' USA review

The second album from The Beach Boys. Their first album was a decent but ultimately unmemorable effort. Back with another round of harmonies and surfing, can they top it?

Tracks:

1. Surfin' USA: 8/10 it's certainly not deep or ground breaking, so just take it for what is: Enthusiastically produced, good natured fun with the harmonies most groups only dream about.

2. Farmer's Daughter: 7/10 the lyrics don't go anywhere but it's lovely to listen to.

3. Misirlou: 7/10 this gets extra points for being another version of the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. It's a fairly relaxed instrumental but showcases some impressive guitar playing.

4. Stoked: 6/10 another guitar instrumental. Perfectly inoffensive but I can't pretend this is particularly interesting.

5. Lonely Sea: 8/10 a lovely song with brilliant harmonising and more depth than most of the other Beach Boys songs so far.

6. Shut Down: 6/10 full of glee and charm, it may not be deep or interesting but it's very hard to resist.

7. Noble Surfer: 7/10 more inoffensive fun.

8. Honky Tonk: 6/10 another well played but forgettable instrumental. Maybe it's better to avoid all these forgettable instrumentals?

9. Lana: 7/10 a surprisingly enjoyable piece of formula.

10. Surf Jam: 8/10 considerably better than the other instrumentals, this one prevents you from zoning out.

11. Let's Go Trippin': 8/10 ditto.

12. Finders Keepers: 7/10 it doesn't do anything new, but it provides a good time and sometimes that's the most important thing.

Best song: Lonely Sea
Worst song: Honky Tonk

Final summary: Consider my expectations exceeded. This is far better than the first album and has a rare sense of glee and joy running through every note. It's undemanding and simplistic, but in a good way and it's never really much more than a good time. Don't forget about the musical skill and excellent vocals though.

Final rating: 8/10

Closer review

The second and final album from Post-Punk band Joy Division. Ian Curtis tragically committed suicide before it was released and the rest of the members went on to reform as New Order. Will it grab me more than Unknown Pleasures?

Tracks:

1. Atrocity Exhibition: 7/10 a good opening in many ways. It's technically good and the lyrics resemble bleak poetry, but it's overlong and while the mixing is often effective, more often than not the multiple sounds clash together like a disorderly prison riot in a rather jarring manner.

2. Isolation: 7/10 the same problems I have with most Joy Division songs are present here so I won't repeat myself. The intro and outro are cool and I like the baseline as well.

3. Passover: 5/10 I don't have much to say about this one. It's just a bit boring. Pass over this one.

4. Colony: 7/10 it has its moments. The beat is pretty good but it gets a bit repetitive. At times the instrumental drowns out Ian Curtis' singing.

5. A Means to an End: 6/10 more of the same.

6. Heart and Soul: 6/10 the lyrics are excellent but unfortunately the music itself frequently bores.

7. Twenty Four Hours: 7/10 it's sort of the other way round; the music is much more enjoyable but the lyrics are perhaps a tiny bit weaker than they were on other songs.

8. The Eternal: 7/10 it didn't need to be 6 minutes long, but this one does hold a strange hypnotic quality, mainly thanks to an effective baseline.

9. Decades: 8/10 at the end of the album, an accomplished mixture of haunting sounds and lyrics is finally achieved. Entertaining to listen to yet still thought provoking, this is how to end an album.

Best song: Decades
Worst song: Passover

Summary: Closer is similar to Unknown Pleasures. It's technically accomplished, singular and features plenty of bleakly poetic lyrics sung well by the late Ian Curtis. But it's no fun to listen to, it's often pretentious, it's restrained and it's too stripped back to truly resonate. None of the songs are necessarily bad but none of them are that great aside from some good lyrics and good instrumentals here and there. I can see why people like it, but for me it feels like listening to the same song again and again with different baselines, while in terms of depressing imagery it's about as deep and subtle as a photo album full of miserable photos entitled 'Depressing stuff'.

Final rating: 6/10

Bob Dylan review

The good news? It's Bob Dylan's first ever album! The bad news? Only 2 of the songs on here were originally written by him and debuts, even by great artists, rarely seem to be remembered as one of their better albums.
Tracks:

1. You're No Good: 7/10 a good folk song if far from spectacular. It's lifted by Bob Dylan's energy and a well played instrumental which, although slightly overdone, gives the song an edge.

2. Talkin' New York: 7/10 the guitar music and Bob Dylan's vocals which are more spoken than sung don't gel, but this is an early hint of Dylan's talents as a songwriter, and it's a good piece of storytelling.

3. In My Time of Dyin': 8/10 it may not be nearly as epic as Led Zeppelin's version, but this has attitude and musical dazzle to spare.

4. Man of Constant Sorrow: 8/10 this consists of 4 interesting verses and though their not up to Bob Dylan's writing standard, he wrings as much emotion as possible out of each of them.

5. Fixin' To Die: 6/10 energetically played but fairly dull overall, especially with its lyrics.

6. Pretty Peggy-O: 5/10 Bob Dylan can light up any song, but he can't mask the fact that this song is like setting out for a journey only to end up back where you started since it literally doesn't go anywhere at all!

7. Highway 51: 6/10 Highway 51 isn't as compelling as Highway 61, but it's still an intriguing highway.

8. Gospel Plow: 6/10 once again I'm not entirely sure what this one is trying to say. It's a bit rushed but it manages to hold your attention and keep you at least moderately engaged.

9. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down: 7/10 it's fairly simple, but it's entertaining to listen to and benefits from Dylan's vocal strength once again.

10. House of the Rising Sun: 8/10 while not the most well known version of the song, it's a very good cover of a song which perfectly suits Dylan, and the track oozes with depth and flair.

11. Freight Train Blues: 5/10 some of the depth here is muted and though it's well played, it lacks punch. Also, whenever 'Blues' is sung it sounds like someone yelling out after being kicked in the groin.

12. Song to Woody: 7/10 the other song on the album that Bob Dylan wrote, not all of the lyrics work but the song is strangely moving, well played and hints at the brilliant song-writing he would later do.

13. See That My Grave is Kept Clean: 7/10 a bit too repetitive but it works as an album closer and it's another song that connects emotionally.

Best song: Housing of the Rising Sun
Worst song: Pretty Peggy-O

Summary: Bob Dylan enhances the entire album, which is appropriate since the album is called Bob Dylan. His vocals and his instrumentals propel this, which is just another cover filled early album from a great artist. Some of it is forgettable and it's mainly a collection of sometimes overly vague hints about the heights Bob Dylan would be achieving very shortly. It cowers in the shadow of Highway 61 Revisited, but it's not too bad. It's a well played album but it's a bit lifeless at times and doesn't benefit from Dylan's song writing like his later albums would.

Final rating: 7/10

Axis: Bold As Love review

The second studio album from Jimi Hendrix. This is generally seen as the weakest of the 3 albums but is still well regarded. I'll always be up for more of Jimi's innovative instrumentals.

Tracks:

1. EXP: 8/10 despite being made up of an interview and then loads of screeching guitar sounds, it still sounds artful and controlled. It's getting an 8 for that alone.

2. Up From the Skies: 6/10 the instrumental retains a unique edge even with the relatively quiet playing and the lyrics are intriguing, but this song is phoned in and it doesn't do anything particularly interesting or different.

3. Spanish Castle Magic: 8/10 it's no award winner, but it's a very enjoyable rock song.

4. Wait Until Tomorrow: 8/10 it's still not connecting enough, but it's an impressive song which tells a story well against a funky instrumental.

5. Ain't No Telling: 8/10 a short but energetic burst of concentrated and heavy guitar music which is pretty darn entertaining and doesn't outstay its welcome, which is a relief as the lyrical content wouldn't have been enough to sustain the song for much longer.

6. Little Wing: 8/10 an entertaining psychedelic dream which Jimi fills with enough instrumental tricks and attractive imagery to make the listener slightly sorry to leave.

7. If 6 Was 9: 8/10 it's yet another 60s counterculture album but it's incredibly well played.

8. You've Got Me Floating: 7/10 it's not bad at all but the repetition means it runs out of gas quicker than it should.

9. Castles Made of Sand: 7/10 mature and touching but the music is a bit dull.

10. She's So Fine: 6/10 this one is fine. The lyrics are fine. The music is fine. But it doesn't go above fine.

11. One Rainy Wish: 7/10 mostly ditto but this one has bits where it really gets going.

12. Little Miss Lover: 6/10 seemingly composed entirely from elements of the album's other songs, this is as well played as ever but probably worth skipping.

13. Bold As Love: 8/10 after a lacklustre second half, the album concludes with a solid mix of lyrics which connect and the excellent guitar playing.

Best song: If 6 Was 9
Worst song: She's So Fine

Summary: The truth is, Jimi Hendrix's guitar playing is his selling point. This psychedelic album has its moments, but it just doesn't connect and you never truly care. It was the same with his first album, but that had better songs on it. This is an entertaining showcase of guitar wizardry with some strong lyrical moments but the second half isn't great and everything the album tells you has been told to you before by other artists from the 60s in a more interesting and absorbing way. Still, not bad overall.


Final rating: 7/10