888. Death in Vegas - The Contino Sessions

Release Date: 1999
Label: Concrete.

Unremarkable.

Rating: 5/10

876. Korn - Follow The Leader

Release Date: 1998
Label: Immortal

This was bad, but it wasn't as awful as I expected it to be. So it gets an extra mark just for pleasantly surprising me.

Rating: 5/10

873. Queens of the Stone Age - Queens of the Stone Age

Release Date: 1998
Label: Loosegroove

This is the QOTSA album everybody (not literally) would've had to buy if they'd loved their breakthrough album a few years later. I was not one of those people, and on the strength of this I think I lucked out.

Rating: 5/10

872. Mercury Rev - Deserter's Songs

Release Date: 1998
Label: V2

Sometimes you listen to album that you've been looking forward to for a while and you remember why you began this project in the first place as your preconceived ideals are wrung true. Unfortunately, this was not one of those occasions as the only song I was previously aware of (and basing my hope on) is by far the best song on here, and the rest of the album just isn't that interesting.

Rating: 5/10

867. Lucinda Williams - Car Whrrld on a Gravel Road

Release Date: 1998
Label: Mercury

I find myself becoming a fan of country music, especially female sung country music. Unfortunatly this was one of those occasions where my predetermined hopes let me down.

Rating: 5/10

856. Roni Size - New Forms

Release Date: 1997
Label: Talkin' Loud

This one the Mercury Music Prize in 1997, which considering it was up against The Prodigy, Radiohead, Suede and the Spice Girls is a travesty. It was also released in about 20 different versions (exaggeration) which is very confusing should you want to buy it online.

Rating: 5/10

852. Robbie Williams - Life Thru A Lens

Release Date: 1997
Label: Chrysalis

When this album was released, Robbie Williams wasn't quite the international phenomenan that he would go on to become. This, his first solo album, hasn't date very well at all.

Rating: 5/10

843. Robert Wyatt- Shleep

Release Date: 1997
Label: Hannibal Recordings

Robert Wyatt had another album on here in the seventies, as did Soft Machine, so it's been a long time since I've heard anything by him. Again, I neither hate it nor particularly enjoy it.

Rating: 5/10

825. The Charlatans - Tellin' Stories

Release Date: 1996
Label: Beggars Banquet

Britpop was the first kind of music I really liked, but things like this have dated terribly. Though to be fair, I was never a huge fan of The Charlatans, mainly because they were such con men.

Rating: 5/10

813. Tortoise - Millions Now Living Will Never Die

Release Date: 1996
Label: Thrill Jockey


Rating: 5/10

810. Fat Boy Slim - Better Living Through Chemistry

Release Date: 1996
Label: Skint

For a brief time in the late 90s/early 00s, Fat Boy Slim was massive. This was all because of the songs from his second album. This is his first under this moniker (he'd released tracks under different pseudonyms before - Beats International, Pizzaman et al) and also played bass with the Housemartins. At this stage, he hasn't quite become the talent that he will.

Rating: 5/10

803. Leftfield - Leftism

Release Date: 1995
Label: Columbia

Leftism was released to critical acclaim in 1995, narrowly losing the Mercury Music Prize to Portishead later in the year. It is an album very much of its time, which hasn't dated particularly well.

Rating: 5/10

788. Nightmares on Wax - Smoker's Delight

Release Date: 1995
Label: Warp

Wallpaper music.

Rating: 5/10

774. Ali Farka Toure with Ry Cooder - Talking Timbuktu

Release Date: 1994
Label: World Circuit

See previous review.

Rating: 5/10

773. G Love and Special Sauce - G Love and Special Sause

Release Date: 1994
Label: Epic

Interesting, but ultimately forgettable.

5/10

765. Elvis Costello - Brutal Youth

Release Date: 1994
Label: Warner Bros

I don't think we've had an Elvis Costello album in a while, and I'm surprised we've got one now. His previous albums were brilliant, but life has moved on since 1979 and I don't see the need for this one.

Rating: 5/10

762. Sabres of Paradise - Haunted Dancehall

Release Date: 1994
Label: Warp

Bleh.

Rating: 5/10

755. William Orbit - Strange Cargo III

Release Date: 1993
Label: Virgin

Rating: 5/10

753. Sebadoh - Bubble and Scrape

Release Date: 1993
Label: Sub Pop

Below average.

Rating: 5/10

739. The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen

Release Date: 1993
Label: Elektra

5/10