924. Gold - Ryan Adams

An album that both Chloe and I were very familiar with, Gold was a real success for Ryan Adams at the time, and placed him at the forefront of the alt-country scene. With the album released just before 9/11 in 2001, the opening track became something of an anthem for New York at that time, with the "I'll always love you New York" refrain coming as a comfort for a grieving city.

Firecracker is a straightforward pop song, but none the worse for that. La Cienega just smiled is a beautiful, delicate song, although it's trumped for fragility by the outstanding Harder now that it's over, which I could imagine as an incredible duet with PJ Harvey. If someone could make that happen, I'd be grateful. In my opinion the best song on the album is Nobody Girl, where Adams seems to let go a little bit, which is when he's at his most accomplished. A proper ten minute, sprawling, bluesy, rocky number, with some real passion in the vocals, it always grabbed my attention when it came on. Perhaps the most prolific artist of recent times, Ryan Adams has never been short of an album release. The difficulty with this is that sometimes his albums are a slightly mixed bag. Whilst this is definitely one of his best, there are still a handful tracks that I think it could do without, such as Tina Toledo and Sylvia Plath. 

Gold is a very, very good album on first listen. And on the fifth. By the thirtieth it's merely a very good album. Maybe because I knew it so well it became a bit background-y. Whole songs I could sort of switch off through. Not a bad thing as such, just I found the opposite with The Streets, where I couldn't not actively listen to it. So, whilst I know that I will revisit this album again on many occasions, I may make liberal use of the skip button when doing so.

Chloe's rating: 9

Chloe's favourite track: 13. Harder now that it's over

Olly's rating: 7

Olly's favourite track: 8. Nobody Girl

We've got 68. If you can Believe your Eyes and Ears by the Mamas and the Papas next week. All the leaves are brown...

414. Public Image - Public Image Ltd

Released in 1978, Public Image Ltd was John Lydon's first project post-Sex Pistols. In many ways, it was the next natural step for someone so determined to rail against convention. It isn't punk, and certainly couldn't be confused with his previous group, but it is underpinned by the same anger at the way things are, as well as a healthy dollop of self-awareness.

Musically it is very post-punk, with lots of distortion, recurring motifs, and angular rhythms, with high production values. It is very arthouse, combining ideas that shouldn't fit together, and experimenting to see what the outcome is. Some of the content was originally put together by Lydon whilst with the Sex Pistols, but it really needs the bass-heavy drive of Jah Wobble and the staccato guitar of Levene to properly come together.

Religion parts I and II form a vicious attack on the Catholic church, once as a simple monologue, and then with the same lyrics overlaid onto a meandering guitar riff and steady, chugging rhythm section. "Bibles full of libel" and "Fat pig priest/Sanctimonious smiles/He takes the money/You take the lies" demonstrate Lydon's fury with the manner in which the Catholic church used its power, and took advantage of its congregation. The title track is a standout, striking a balance between a more conventional song format and whilst maintaining much of the reggae influenced sounds that are the lifeblood of this album. As the sole single off the album it reached number 8 in the UK chart, although I'm sure Lydon's notoreity was much of the driving force for this. Chloe thought that Lowlife sounds pretty much exactly like the Pixies, no bad thing, so Public Image's influence is pretty apparent. The final track, Fodderstompf, has absolutely no right to work, yet is a song I find hugely compelling. The ongoing refrain "we only wanted to be loved" manages to sound both tongue in cheek and refreshingly honest simultaneously. The use of a fire extinguisher as an additional instrument is also rather inspired, especially when it is used to indicate the band's "frustration with society."

The album as a whole is a mix of the good and the bad, which is hardly surprising given the experimental nature of the group. The good is really very, very good, nd the bad is just a bit ok. I can fully understand its importance in moving the musical landscape on from traditional rock, punk, and more progressive bands in a different direction entirely, and for that it certainly is worthy of praise. 

Chloe's rating: 6
Chloe's favourite track: 6. Lowlife
Olly's rating: 7
Olly's favourite track: 8. Fodderstompf

Our next album is 924. Gold by Ryan Adams; bit of a belter that one.

813. Casanova - The Divine Comedy

A band who I know from some of their early singles and the great album Absent Friends, I have always had a soft spot for their brilliant storytelling and quirky style. Neil Hannon plays all the instruments on their recordings, and is a huge musical talent.

Stylistically, the songs are normally amusing in their content, and take on various musical themes and Hannon obviously is influenced by many genres. Sometimes this can to a slightly sclerotic feel, as the songs are so disparate, as the album doesn't seem to build or grow. Whilst the songs all allude to love in some form or another, it can feel a bit like a concept album without an overall story arc.

The album opener, Something for the Weekend, sets the tone for irreverent yet catchy pop songs with slightly mysterious lyrical content. Whilst being distracted by your lover's preoccupation with what is going on in the woodshed, and this culminating in a mugging, may make perfect sense in the mind, I dare say that it is rather more abstract to the rest of us. The horn section punctuates Alfie perfectly, yet it cannot entirely make up for the slightly thin, and worrying even if ironic, content; "everybody knows that no means yes". The slightly more layered In & Out of Paris & London, complete with excellent phased guitar, combines catchiness with a slightly clearer narrative, and makes a much better song as a result. Charge will get stuck in your head, for better or worse, and the Frog Princess is a rather amusing look at how one's partner can change significantly following the start of a relationship, complete with multiple French references. Songs of Love doubles up as the Father Ted theme song and a well-observed piece about song-writers composing pieces about love and passion, whilst sitting on their own in flats.

Overall, I ended up wanting to like this album more than I did. It is undoubtedly clever, and well written, but it is less than the sum of its parts, as well as having some rather annoying moments, such as Theme from Casanova and the waltzy yet ploddy Woman of the World. I find Neil Hannon's later work, Absent Friends, a far, far superior album, with a maturity that pushes it out of more comedic observations and catchy tunes. 

Chloe's rating: 6
Chloe's favourite track: 7. The Frog Princess
Olly's rating: 5
Olly's favourite track: 4. In & Out of Paris & London

Next week's album is 414. Public Image by Public Image Ltd, also known as what Lydon did after the Sex Pistols.

951. A grand don't come for free - The Streets

Chloe and I were both pretty thrilled when this album was selected. It is one that we know well, and I vividly remember playing this to a few mates in my car when I was in Sixth Form. It is a seminal album of the early 2000s, and marked a real breakthrough for The Streets from their more underground, slow burner of their debut.  

Mike Skinner's second album was a singificant departure from his first. Whereas Original Pirate Material built on more conventional garage material, with a range of song styles as Skinner honed his skills, his follow up is a much, much bolder body of work. Writing a concept album is a real statement of intent, but choosing to writing it about a fairly mundane story, of low level successes and failures. From leaving a DVD at home that needed returning to ITV's guidance on flirting, it is more accessible than the stereotype of a concept album. The characters are recognisable, and their flaws are reflections of every day experiences - from drunken infidelity to being too lazy to place a bet on a sure thing.

The opening track, It was supposed to be so easy, sets the whole album up, and with its mock pomposity makes a real statement of intent. The quality of Skinner's observations, a real recurrent theme of the whole album, are among their strongest on this track; the frustration of a queue at a cash point is hugely relatable yet endearingly comic. Not Addicted, a song I didn't originally care for when released, has one of the more compelling beats, and several layers that I hadn't fully appreciated. Blinded By the Lights, originally my favourite song off the album, has an exceptionally strong, classic trance type backing to it, and weaves the story beautifully as the music ebbs and flows. Fit But You Know It is outstanding, however many times you've heard it before. The stand out for me though is Empty Cans, which just brings the whole album together, and features a brilliant contrast of minor and major keys. 

This album really is superb. As excited as I was to select it, I was worried that upon repeated listens, it would slightly tire. The opposite is in fact true; there are layers to the album I was not originally aware of that reveal themselves only with real focus eg. The betting in Not Addicted is happening to replace the lost £1000. Even the songs I'm not as keen on musically I can't help but admire as an example of briliant songwriting, such as Wouldn't Have it Any Other Way and Get Out Of My House. Up until my final listen before writing this, I was planning on giving it a nine, but I just can't; it's got to be my first ten of the project. 

Skinner, take a bow son. Take. A. Bow.

Chloe's rating: 10
Chloe's favourite track: 4. Blinded by the lights
Olly's rating: 10
Olly's favourite track: 11. Empty Cans

Next week's album is 813. Casanova by The Divine Comedy. I know the band, but not the album, so that is a bit intriguing.

441. Pretenders - The Pretenders

Looking at the track listing I didn't think that I knew any of the songs on this album, but it later transpired that I knew Brass in Pocket, which is a fantastic song, and one you may well know too. Indeed, quite a few songs were familiar to others too. The band were created around the lead singer Chrissie Hyndes, an American who moved to London in the 70s, fully immersing herself in the burgeoning punk scene at the time, including associations with The Clash, Vivienne Westwood and writing for the NME. 

This is a fairly timeless album in that it could have come from any era post the late 70s. The recording is of an excellent quality, and there is an intelligence to the lyrics that mean they have not dated at all. Indeed, Private Life is morerelevant today than when released in 1980, railing against the use, and simultaneously abuse, of celebrity obsession. Given that this album was the band's debut, it is remarkable for its confidence; this swagger led it to a UK number 1 in the week of its release, and a top 10 in the US. 

The album is a riot of noise and energy, with great guitar sounds abounding. Precious kicks off the roller coaster, and you barely have time to draw breath from then on. Indeed, it is probably on the slower numbers where the album wilts slightly. There aren't quite enough ideas to sustain the group throughout the entire length of the record, with songs like Up the Neck and Lovers of Today sucking the momentum. The rolling bass of Space Invader brings a slightly proggy element to the punk band, backed up by its use of video game samples, and the angular sound of the guitar on The Wait foreshadows the entirety of early 2000s indie rock. Stop your Sobbing is a great post - break up song, with a tangible sense of guilt in Chrissie Hyndes' vocals. Brass in Pocket is an obvious stand out here, with a simple riff, some very catchy guitar licks, and a barnstorming vocal performance, complete with backing refrain. Mystery Achievement is one song where the instruments actually overshadow the vocals, which is no mean feat. 

This is another album that I think would be markedly improved if it were fifteen minutes shorter. It feels a bit like a greatest hits, which is indicative of both the high calibre of the songs, but also the slightly hotchpotch nature of the record as a whole. 

Chloe's rating: 7
Chloe's favourite track: 6. The Wait
Olly's rating: 7
Olly's favourite track: 12. Mystery Achievement 

Next week is 951. The Streets - A Grand don't come for free. Yes, yes, oh yay.