Poniedziałek 18 Kwi 2011, 19:01
The following are the top 10 albums of 1999 that I currently own. I probably own more than 10 albums from that year, but these are my favourites.
Note 1: I will be including compilations, live albums, ep's, re-issues etc, but no singles.
Note 2: If I do only own 10 from this year, the releases towards the end of the list may not be favourites of mine at all, but the best I do have from that year.
Note 3: If you think my list sucks, or needs improvements, please feel free to RECOMMEND me albums from 1999 and I will certaintly try to listen to them and give my opinions.
All comments welcome.
1. Affirmation
Another outstanding album by Savage Garden. It was such a shame that they split up after only 2 albums. I never got to see them in concert when they were still together, as I didnt really like them until a few years after they disbanded. However I did see Darren Hayes in concert in 2005 and his voice is one of the best I have ever heard, totally beautiful. Amazing band, amazing album. 5/5
What's not to like about this live album?? All the Guns N' Roses greats are here, and a lot of them are a lot better than the originals. Welcome To The Jungle and Rocket Queen are jam packed with energy and sounds great, November Rain has that great piano intro, the 8 minute version of Move To The City shits over the original, and the live vocals add so much to songs like Patience and Estranged. Even the cover It's Alright is performed brilliantly. 5/5
With every album I hear from Red Hot Chili Peppers I get more and more impressed, (although I am working my way through there discography in reverse order so maybe that should be expected according to ratings on this website) and they are fast becoming a favourite band of mine. I am by no means an expert, and havent heard all of their albums yet, but I believe their best song is on this album; Otherside which is even better than Under The Bridge in my opinion. It is an amazing song that stands out amongst the rest of the songs on this album. Other highlights are Purple Stain and Scar Tissue
I really enjoyed By The Way but it lacked variety however Californication is all over the place jumping from ballad to pure funk to rock to the mellow finale Road Trippin'. The only track which I dont like is This Velvet Glove.
Note: The studio versions on here are far better than the live versions on live in hyde park.
A wonderful, fresh, fun summer album! 4.5/5
I bought this about a month ago on a complete impulse. I was looking around HMV (not planning on buying anything) before meeting my girlfriend and saw Radiohead's single Jigsaw Falling Into Place on lp for only £1.99. I already had the box set of In Rainbows but the b-side of this single was Videotape live hence why I wanted it. Anyway I thought that since I was buying something that I would look for something cheapish to go with it (I really shouldn't go into any music store unless it is planned beforehand, because this is how I get skint! must remember that!). Anyway, I was browsing and came across this album. I knew almost nothing about this band except that they get a lot of praise on this website, and also a couple of days earlier I was watching Skins on E4 and they played a song by Sigur Ros over the scene where Sid finds his father dead. It was pretty sad. I, knowing nothing about this band, never knew what song that was (I now know it was 'Untitled#1 (Vaka)' from ()). Anyway, thats how I got this album.
Upon first listening, I really didnt think much of this. It is very long (over 70 mins), it has no lyrics, and to be honest I was pretty bored by the end of it. I had never purchased a album like this before, where the main focus is on the music. First impressions was that this was chill out, background music, ambience is a word I wanted to use to describe it.
Over the last month I have listened to this numerous times and it has very much grown on me. It cannot be listened as background music, I cannot appreciate this album that way. You need to listen and pay attention which I still find very difficult to do in one session because of its length. However, I also feel that the individual tracks can be just as, if not more effective when listened to alone, or maybe a few tracks (in any order) in one sitting, so as to not get bored. Maybe this album would work best through headphones when travelling somewhere for over 70 mins. Must be travelling though, I have tried listening to it through headphones before bed and I'm asleep before it ends. Not because it is boring, it is because it is so relaxing that it makes you happy if not a little sad at times.
This album is a real grower, I am pleasantly suprised to say the least at how much I am enjoying this album at the moment. I am very much interested in exploring more of this artist.
My favourite tracks at the moment are 'Staralfur', 'Viorar vel til loftarasa' and 'Hjartao hamast (bamm bamm bamm)'. However, at the moment I feel a few tracks are not up to standard with the rest namely 'Flugufrelsarinn' and 'Olsen Olsen', but this may change with repeated listens. 4/5
5. Now 44
It is very hard to write reviews for these type of compilations. All I can say is that these compilations get better (to a certain degree) as the years pass. It is a good cd to listen to now and again to remind you of that years popular chart music. This one is pretty good. 3.5/5
As I'm recently on a Jimi Hendrix binge, I've recently got a few of his live albums. I'm not all that impressed with this one, Live At Monterey is far better. On that one it is just great song followed by great song. Here there are too many jams and extended solo's and instrumental which break the flow of the album. I'm sure it may have been very different in a live setting to watch them Jam Back At The House but over the speakers I am not fond of listening to long instrumental tracks, and this is not limited to Hendrix either. Of course this does not apply to Voodoo Child (Slight Return) but that was always a long song, and when it is THAT epic you don't really want it to end.
Aside from the main problem I have with this album as pointed out above, about half of the album is on the other hand awesome Hendrix live. There are a few relatively unknown songs (at least to me), but the real high points are the renditions of the classics such as Purple Haze and Red House.
This is a very decent live album but when I listen to this again in the future, I'm sure I will be hitting the skip button too many times to warrant a higher rating. 2.5/5
7. No Angel
This is a lot better than I initially thought. Dido has a good voice, and ok melodies. I do not think it is as good as it is made out to be. No, what I really mean is that when it was released and for the longest time after, and even now, it seamed that everyone owned this album or knew a hell of a lot about it. I don't think it is that good. When I was learning to drive, my male driving instructor sometimes had this on in the background. Once I was getting a lift home from work from a colleague who played this album in his car. Another time, a female co-worker couldnt stop talking to me about Dido. I seemed to here this everywhere.
Thats probably the reason for the success of this album. It appealed to a shit load of people. Male, female, young, old. I dont know why. Maybe because it is relaxing background music, or maybe because it is more adult orientated pop, which is lacking in the charts these days.
This is a half decent debut album on a good day, but at other times I think its below average. 2.5/5
After hearing The Marshall Mathers LP, I just cannot enjoy Eminem's other albums, this included. Everything before it just seems watered down, and everything after just sounds like he is trying too hard to repeat his success. Everything is done way better on 'The Marshall Mathers LP'. '97' Bonnie & Clyde' although an apparent sequel to Kim has none of the raw emotion or feeling. Guilty Conscience, although great (and probably the best song on this album), is nowhere near as good as the majority of the tracks from his next album. This is a very average album. 2/5
It is hard to write about Christina Aguilera
without comparing her to Britney Spears. Both emerged as new pop stars at around the same time and they seemed to be competing for the fans. Certaintly everyone I knew at that time, who were probably the target audience for both as I was a young teen then, preferred Britney Spears and almost igored the early singles from Christina Aguilera as found on here. While Britney had the mega hit 'Baby One More Time', Christina had the likes of Genie In A Bottle. Even now it is clear, to me at least, why Britney was so much more popular with us kids back then, the songs she was releasing were far more infectious.
In my eyes Britney has had the more interesing career but Christina has released some decent pop music over the years, the height of her popularity being around the time her best album Stripped, but if my memory serves me Britney kind of disappeared of the scene for a few years around this period.
Comparisons to one side, Chistina Aguilera's debut album is pretty bad, the singles only being of mild interest and the rest is the usual filler. She does look good on the artwork though, much better than her image when she released Dirrty or later when she appeared as a guest on The X Factor and looked like she had some kind of plastic surgery gone wrong.
Not recommended at all, I'm sure the singles will/have appear(ed) on a compilation, and there is nothing else of worth to get this album for. 1.5/5
10. Now That's What I Call Music! 1982 (The Millennium Series)
With some exceptions, the popular 80's music now sounds incredibly dated. To me it sounds more dated than the 60's and 70's. Its the production, most of the music on here just sounds glam, cheesy, yuck. Lets be honest, a lot of the popular, chart music before and after the 80's sucks, but this compilation is particular bad. I can barely listen to this now. I have just listened to this, and when George Michael's song sounds ok..ish, that tells you the quality of the album (considering I really dislike George Michael). 1/5