| Author | Message | ||
     kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1165 Registered: 05-2005 |
Oakley Hall - Second Guessing. I had never heard of this lot until Uncut had them at No29 in their albums of the year. After half a dozen or so plays now I think this is just up our street, if a little derivative of loads of great artists. I can hear Television, Neil Young (both acoustic and Crazy Horse style), latter day Velvets, Drive By Truckers, Whiskeytown and Uncle Tupelo. The Uncut review mentions Lynard Skynard but I am unable to comment on that. Vocally the album is superb, its full of interplay between the male singer who sounds a bit like Will Callaghan from Smog, and the girl just sounds amazingly unique, tuneful without being too polished, and thankfully not remotely like any of these "kooky" female vocalists I loathe. LK- did you ever check them out? - this is definetely right up your street I reckon. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1182 Registered: 03-2006 |
Haven't checked them out yet, Kevin, but you're right: they sound like something I'd go for... They've been annoyingly absent from places I've been going to for free MP3s...this may sound crazy, but I'm mending my old profligate ways of just buying stuff without hearing it...Haven't seen 'em in any of the record shops around town, either. With Tower closing it's going to be increasingly hard to find stuff, unless I drive up to Amoeba in LA... | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1168 Registered: 05-2005 |
LK - After spending more time than was healthy for 25 years, I find I am never in record stores now. Almost everything is bought online, its cheaper, it normally comes within 2 days and ultimately almost everything is available. If I go in to HMV or Virgin I cant get what I want 9 times out of 10 so I rarely bother. PS You have mail. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1187 Registered: 03-2006 |
Thank you much sir - I just listened and I liked...you were right. I'll have to see if I can turn this up... Because you obviously have much more self-control, you can order online. For me, I find it's like an alcoholic going into bars. It's just too easy to click a button and order something - it doesn't even seem like spending money. Then, inevitably, the bank statement comes and I'm left, reeling, clutching my chest..."It's the big one, Lizabeth! I'm coming to join ya"...I just end up accumulating big piles of stuff that I never end up having time to listen to...so, my no online buying policy seems to be helping - my bank balance is healthier and I'm more or less processing everything I buy... I will definitely seek out the OH, though. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1169 Registered: 05-2005 |
I do kind of miss going in to record stores though. Its obviously more rewarding if you are browsing and find something great. Anyway I probably preferred shopping for vinyl which is aesthetically better than CD in ways I'm sure I dont need to explain here. Glad you liked the song, the one that I'm playing just now is called Landlord and reminds me a bit of The Decemberists, which is no bad thing. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1170 Registered: 05-2005 |
UNCUT REVIEW March 2006 Oakley Hall Second Guessing AMISH 4 out of 5 stars Barnstorming psych-country from Brooklyn rambunctious collective Oakley Hall’s second album wouldn’t look out of place in a rundown of Cosmic American classics (p81). Their prehistory is in art-rock (Pat Sullivan, one of four fine singers, co-founded Oneida), but Second Guessing is actually a levitating re-think of country-rock, full-blooded and plainly unironic. While nothing surpasses the opening “Hiway”, a joyous chug that finds common ground between Southern rock and late Velvets, it’s all good, all the way to the closing drone through Buffy Sainte-Maria’s “Cod’ine”. One to file between the excellent Black Mountain and Magnolia Electric Company albums from last year. [JOHN MULVEY | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1171 Registered: 05-2005 |
Listening to Get Happy by EC and the Attractions for the first time in years and realised that every word and every note is permanently imprinted in my memory. A bit like Unknown Pleasures, London Calling, VU and Nico, Murmer and a whole load more. I bet I'm not alone in thinking that I will never again purchase a new album that I will memorise like these. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1188 Registered: 03-2006 |
I of course can join in on those sentiments, about Get Happy and never quite being invested in music like that again...though, you coulda thrown in a GBs disc in there too, man! Btw, I'm curious, Kevin. Did you get the re-issue of PiL's Metal Box? Supposedly it's an exact replica of the original, only re-mastered for better sound...very tempting, though I'd have to go to the bother of hooking my own turntable... | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1172 Registered: 05-2005 |
Yep, coulda thrown in Liberty Belle there. I used to own the original "film cannister" metal box with 3 x 12" discs, God knows where it is. Spookily I am just looking 2 feet to my left and what do I see lying next to my issue of Uncut and my headphones - the CD sized "film cannister" version of Metal Box which is there because I am half way through re-categorising and filing all my music - gee what a labour of love that is!! Guess I'll need to play it now, and look out that re-issue soon. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1173 Registered: 05-2005 |
crikey, check the price of this out. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Metal-VINYL-Publ ic-Image-Ltd/dp/B000FOQHBC/sr=1-12/qid=1 163960909/ref=sr_1_12/026-1523081-441642 7?ie=UTF8&s=music this is a bit better http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PUBLIC-IMAGE-LIMIT ED-PiL-METAL-BOX-VINYL-LP-s-NEW_W0QQitem Z160051430331QQihZ006QQcategoryZ2262QQss PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 91 Registered: 09-2006 |
The Boswell Sisters - Classic Years Vol. 1 Neil Young - Hawks and Doves On the Beach Saint Etienne - Interlude (I play this one almost as much as I play "So Tough.") Ray Davies - Other People's Lives (Only listened to it a couple of times, so the jury's still out. Though there are parts I find irritating, if nothing else it accomplishes the feat of being more interesting/intriguing than any Kinks record in the last 25 years.) I think I might be starting a Neil Young binge...I binge on a lot of artists (Sonic Youth, Al Green, the GBs, Ramones being some of the chief culprits as well as Mr. Young) but right near the tiptop are New Order and Pet Shop Boys. In the last two days I've covered Movement, Brotherhood, Low-life, Republic, Waiting for the Siren's Call, half of Retro, Actually, Bilingual, Alternative, Release, Disco and Introspective. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 92 Registered: 09-2006 |
Also regarding the cover of the Ray Davies album: interesting choice to pick one of the romance novel covers he did during his modelling days. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 31 Registered: 07-2006 |
allen....a man after my own heart. i haven't heard interlude, but so tough is one of my favourite records of the era. i'm a big new order fan, though i must admit i've never bothered with waiting for the siren's call. is there anything worth hearing on there? i never got retro, mostly simply because of the price tag and that there didn't seem to be a whole lot of new stuff on there. i regularly do a please-very psb binge at work when the batteries are in need of a bit of a charge. one of a kind! | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 95 Registered: 09-2006 |
Very much agreed on So Tough...what's a little surprizing for me is that rarely do rag-and-bone/b-side comps like Interlude rank that highly for me, but this one really coheres like an organic album. Great for late-night listening. Siren's Call is pretty good...like their last few it sounds pretty samey upon first listen, but that proves to be a virtue. Never bought Retro either, got it from the library and copied it. One thing I like about NO and PSB is that for my ears they've never put out a bum album, and I can even listen to a thrown-together comp like (The Best of) New Order from end to end to with great pleasure. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 32 Registered: 07-2006 |
i shall have to check interlude out. i'd agree as far as psb go...save for a few weaker moments on nightlife (which i love) and release. new order lost me after republic...i was 18 and into indie clubs in a big way when crystal, etc came out and to this day i still think it's a crap song and a weak album. they still please though...i really like here to stay. and definitely one of the best compiled (12"?) bands ever...i have four at last count and listen to all of them surprisingly often! also best live gig my youthful eyes have ever been privy to. | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 134 Registered: 01-2006 |
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Engineer's demos - Wilco These are great and 8 new tracks from the YHF sessions too. Falling Out - Peter Bjorn & John Take Fountain - The Wedding Present | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 486 Registered: 08-2004 |
I agree with Allen on Pet Shop Boys & New Order. Try playing Introspective & Technique back to back. They are both so Summery you need factor 15 to stop being burnt. New this week, on top of the tried & tested classics. Billy Childish - My First Billy Childish Album The Clash - Singles Box Jarvis – Jarvis Wolf Eyes – Human Animal The Pretenders - The Pretenders 2 Disc Edition | ||
| abigail law Member Username: Abigail Post Number: 107 Registered: 06-2005 |
the jarvis album is very sub-standard don't you think? | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1188 Registered: 05-2005 |
Depends what angle you approach the Jarvis angle from I suppose Abigail. I never really had a lot of time for Pulp, however I thought this solo album was pretty good after 2 or 3 listens. In saying that, havent played it much since then, there is so much more interesting old and new stuff to play. I think I prefer the notion of Jarvis as a person much more than his musical output. This is yet another album that seems to have split critical opinion, reviewers seem to either love it or hate it, there's not much middle ground. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 997 Registered: 05-2005 |
XY COULD I HAVE A COPY OF YOUR WILCO YHF SESSIONS PLEASE? They sound great!. Let me know if this is possible please. Thanks SPence Kev I'm with you on the Jarvis. He's like an icon now, whose past intrigued and made people smile, the world holds an admiration for the leader of Pulp, not so much the band any longer, it is more about him. Its him people love and remember, his band were great but they had no personality apart from Russell Senior, who bogged off shortly after their intial success. | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 136 Registered: 01-2006 |
Spence, sure no sweat. I'll send you an e-mail now to arrange it. | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 487 Registered: 08-2004 |
The Jarvis album does seem a little unadventurous musically. It could be a slow-burner. Pulp really didn't release any bad records in their career. The rest of the band didn't get enough credit for the sound they created around Jarvis' lyrics. | ||
| andreas Member Username: Andreas Post Number: 333 Registered: 04-2006 |
yes - the yesalbum wishbone ash - argus | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1002 Registered: 05-2005 |
Andreas, behave man! | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 137 Registered: 01-2006 |
Spence, I tried to e-mail you about the Wilco CD but it didn't get through, is the winnebago address valid?? | ||
| andreas Member Username: Andreas Post Number: 334 Registered: 04-2006 |
o.k. spence, i will try and return to my fahey preferences: the new possibility john fahey's guitar soli christmas album and christmas with john fahey vol. ii. two original albums on one cd. on the latter mentioned he played some improvisations. in the booklet he said: i just played some improvisations and just threw in a reference to a christmas carol now and then. i had more fun. you know i've always been a little pissed off that my my best-selling records are christmas records rather than music i had written, but that's ameliorated by the money. this 'christmas fantasy' is crashing and discordant at one moment, gentle and flowing the next. a real fahey one. and a christmas cd worth to listen. | ||
| John B. Member Username: John_b Post Number: 59 Registered: 10-2006 |
1 The Long Blondes - Someone to drive you home 2 The Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams 3 Dire Straits - Debut 1 is a fabulous debut of the latest UK-hype. I was never fully into the The-Bands craze, but like some of them such as Franz Ferdinand, Interpol and Editors. Giddy Stratospheres is the best song I have heard in a long while. 2 a superb pop albums by Erlend Oye and friends, very laid back. It is very different, but the laid-back side of it made me listen again to the Dire Straits debut, the only album of them I like. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 942 Registered: 04-2005 |
Josef K - Entomology Finally out in the States...whoo-hoo! And a damn sight nicer than that ripoff Fire Engines set Domino put out previously. Congrats to Spence for the credit in the liner notes! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1006 Registered: 05-2005 |
Cheers Kurt, the ref to josefk.net? I haven't got a copy hopefully will today. XY try me at spence@smoothbirmingham.com Cheers. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 944 Registered: 04-2005 |
Better than that, Spence, they mention you by name. While I have you on the subject of Josef K, Spence, I notice a number of the songs have sound effects that I think are those syn-drums that were in vogue for awhile in the late '70s/early '80s and are now one of the identifying cliches of the period. Did Josef K's drum use some sort of syn-drum (I don't know the actual name) in his kit, or were the "video game" sound effects something else? Also, in the Go-Betweens book, Alan Horne of Postcard Records makes a number of very negative statements about Josef K, including that he "detested" their music. Was that really true? Seems odd he'd have them on the roster then. Also, at times, they really weren't very far from Orange Juice's sound, although obviously more artsy and moody. So Horne's supposed loathing of them surprises me. Or was there personal animosity? | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1007 Registered: 05-2005 |
Bought it today, importing it now into iTunes. On immediate listen the quality is really superior to anything I have ever heard by them. I am actually hearing things I never heard before! Woaaaaahhhh!! That was exactly the same experience I had with the remastered first Del Amitri album. Kurt yeah I think it was a syn drum, a kinda black looking upturned UFO type thing. A single drum it was with a pad on. I think they were used by Ronnie in the very very early days of TV Art just before they changed into Josef K. Then used in studio. He used an acoustic kit though not an electronic one. Alan Horne from what I have syudied and heard was a complex character. I think the thing is with personal reflections is, they change from day to day, bit like ourselves. When he was interviewed, he could have been pissed, or fed up or off his nut!! I actually think Edwyn and Malcolm Ross did more for all the groups and Postcard. On a PR and networking level. I don't know really. I think the K did things with Crepescule, releasing 2 great singles, althogh Missionary was the last one, they maybe felt the European connection was theirs and not his (Horn's). Agani though, you know, I don't really think they thought any of this through, it happened too fast. the one thing I do know is they did it all naturally, and really anything that is said about them is a viewpoint. Morley says it best. I remember reading many Morley reviews, and whatever he was on about he alwys got Joy Division in or Josef K, even if he was on about a trip round the world he's get the K in there somewhere! The Missionary is on now, apparently Johnny Marr predicted this song as the future of rock n roll. Great to see me name, dead chuffed! Made me weekend. Second to walking the kids around town today of course.! | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1207 Registered: 03-2006 |
Doug Sahm and Band. One of my faves by him. Mr. Sahm was a master of all musics and a fine Texan. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 910 Registered: 05-2005 |
Listened to Golden Smog's album Another Fine Day on the way into work. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1189 Registered: 05-2005 |
Spence, check out this months record collector mag(the one with Jim Morrisson on the cover) - there is a nice 3 page article on Josef K by Paul Lester, with input from James Nice of LTM records | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1008 Registered: 05-2005 |
cheers kev will do. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 789 Registered: 03-2005 |
Today a lovely pile of new acquisitions showed up at work. Now at home I am having my second listen to Caroline Trettine's "Trail in the Sky" courtesy of Spence. What caught my attention immediately upon my first listen to the Winnebago Orchestra, even before marveling at Spence's versatile musicianship, was Caroline's voice. Her solo album confirms this. I originally thought of her as an older Sandy Denny, perhaps after Sandy had spent a decade smoking. That is too facile of course. Her voice and delivery draw together an inimitable combination of intelligence, fragility, wisdom and implied emotional depth. In the best Sandy Denny/Linda Thompson tradition nothing in her vocals is overdone. She employs absolutely no vocal gimmick of any sort, but she is immediately recognizeable when something of hers starts playing. Her songs are quiet personal acoustic numbers tastefully backed by just a few instruments, a spare approach I always favor. Since I'm slow to pay attention to lyrics I haven't really noticed them yet; right now it's pretty much a case of her voice and the music. I predict this album will sound wonderful to me for a long time. I am not just saying this to be nice to Spence. I recommend that anybody who likes low-amplitude female vocal music, loosely in the folk vein, pester Spence to make up some more copies of this record. Also arrived: Cathal Coughlin's "Foburg." This is a much simpler production than "Awful Blue," with a relatively uniform band backing all the way through. The material originates from a theatrical piece and sounds like it. While everybody talks about Cathal's Scott Walker influence, I'd say that the music of Stephen Sondheim is just as strong an influence on his solo work and the theatrical nature of much of "Foburg"'s music makes this clearer than was already apparent on the last two albums. On first listen the arrangements and production sound vastly simpler than on the previous two albums and this might disappoint some. I can't yet say what my reaction is; one listen isn't enough. Finally I got a copy of The Cannanes' "Living the Dream." I think this is the last album with David Nichols but I've mistakenly thought that before. The hand-to-mouth nature of the Cannanes' career is amply evidenced simply by the fact that the music was recorded in late 1998 but not mastered until early 2000. Again, one listen so far and that's not enough but it's good old Frances Gibson and Stephen O'Neil with a band that almost sounds like an actual rock band. Waiting on my desk at work for tomorrow is another artist from Spence's label, Jules Gray, and the reissue CD of the Blue Aeroplanes' "Tolerance" that is coupled with "Be Bop." | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1016 Registered: 05-2005 |
Cheers Randy, very sweet words and so nicely articulated. Cheers Spence. | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 490 Registered: 08-2004 |
Nikki Sudden - The Truth Doesn't Matter Ian McCulloch - Candleland Talking Heads - Little Creatures Edwynn Collins - I'm Not Following You Mazzy Star - Tonight, So That I Might See The White Stripes - The White Stripes Brinsley Schwarz - Silver Pistol ... and Spring Hill Fair. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1216 Registered: 03-2006 |
During my trip to New Mexico over the holiday, I listened to a lot of Go-Betweens on my iPod. Of course, "Liberty Belle" sounded great anyway, but it's amazing the stuff you hear on earphones, that you previously didn't notice - the delicate little instrumental flourishes, etc. Such is really the case with LB - it struck me, that as big a fan as I am of the earlier records (except SMAL), this is the one where everything gelled, where they really started learning how to use the studio. I need to look up the pianist on the record - whoever that was, they were great...And despite the wisdom that John Wilsteed added a level of guitar virtuousity heretofore unheard on GBs records, all of the guitar parts on LB are beautifully done...It is a timeless record. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 920 Registered: 05-2005 |
Bob Dylan's Modern Times. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1021 Registered: 05-2005 |
Loads, and I mean loads of Wilco stuff circa Yankee Foxtrot amongst many other ditties courtesy of the kind Mr XY765, thanks Judge! Its really fascinating, loads of demos outakes etc, stuff that I loved in the film that never saw the light of day officially and its al here, I love watchig the way Wilco develop their sound, a real fascinating band. | ||
| andreas Member Username: Andreas Post Number: 340 Registered: 04-2006 |
bob dylan's 'john wesley harding'. it is still my favourite record of him. and i gave 'love and theft' and 'time out of mind' a listening. the latter seems great to me, love and theft needs some listenings or it is crap. i am not sure. joanna newsom's 'the milk eyed mender' and 'ys'. the milk eyed mender is a good one, for sure, but in comparison with 'ys' it is like first to read joyce's 'dubliners' and then 'ulysses'. a quantum leap. johnny cash - american v: a hundred highways | ||
| jerry hann Member Username: Jerry_h Post Number: 323 Registered: 07-2005 |
Not been around much recently, last 2 days on a ocurse for teaching consultation skills, as part of this we had to introduce ourself to our small group with our name and something interesting,of course it was the usual my names Sarah/Avril I'm a gardener and my favourite tree is !!! So I d said Hi I'm Jerry and I'm working my through the Tom Waits 3 CD box set. went down lioke a lead balloon, who's Tom Waits said the one "who was passionate about climbing and the out doors".Never mind feel totally deskilled which is not what it should have been about.Maybe I need a run or some music. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 968 Registered: 04-2005 |
Ah, the great Mr. Waits was never meant to be appreciated by the masses, Jerry. Don't dismay... | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1224 Registered: 03-2006 |
Yup, their loss if they're not hip to Tom's oeuvre... Stuff I've been digging that probably isn't hip or that I should know better than to like for whatever reason (it should be obvious by now that such considerations are beyond me), but anyway these discs I've managed to snag copies of seem like real gems: Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope The Divine Comedy - Victory for the Comic Muse Graham Coxon - Love Travels at Illegal Speeds (yes, a truly sucky title, but the disc is full of all kinds of Kinks-y post-punk goodness) | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 792 Registered: 03-2005 |
Pssst, Andreas: re "Love and Theft"--it's crap. Driving home I just finished my fourth listen to Caroline Trettine's "Trail in the Sky" album. Forced to sit still in my car I finally started getting the lyrics. The penultimate song is titled "Sweet Bird of Youth," a brilliant nonjudgmental sketch of an older man's love for a young woman. This is not minor league stuff. For corroboration, I'm sending this song off to Mr. Lyrics himself, one H.K.Smith. After Caroline ended, the Cannanes' "Living the Dream" came on for its second play. They sound positively like Sonic Youth on this album. Not a bad thing. Jerry, I love your story! Every time I ever shared any of my passions with a group of unknown people I was sorry. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 934 Registered: 05-2005 |
Andreas, I love your Joycean comparison re Ms Newsom! In fact I like your comparison a whole lot more than I like her music! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 935 Registered: 05-2005 |
Stick with Love And Theft Andreas. Never mind what Randy says! I don't love Love And Theft anywhere near as much as, say, LK, but I do think it's a very good album. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 936 Registered: 05-2005 |
Last night I spent hours looking for various tracks and loading them onto iTunes and then into a playlist and then onto the iPod. The purpose was to recreate one of my favourite old mix tapes as an iPod playlist. Mission accomplished. Happiness. I called the (1992) mix tape Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy writes a song about it; but that's too long for a playlist title so I've shortened it to just Boy meets girl. It features: The Feelies, Screaming Trees, A House, Ride, Nick Cave, The Pastels, Matthew Sweet, Shudder To Think, The Pursuit Of Happiness, Power Of Dreams, The Frank & Walters, That Petrol Emotion, Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey, R.E.M., The Only Ones, The Calling, Belltower, Billy Bragg and The Welcome Mat. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1029 Registered: 05-2005 |
Sound good Padraig! i met Stephen Pastel at a C86 reunion at the ICA in London the other week, nice bloke, looks exactly the same as he did 20 years ago! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 937 Registered: 05-2005 |
Yeah, I can't imagine people such as Stephen Pastel ageing! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1030 Registered: 05-2005 |
Yeah. I was walking along the corridor with him talking looking like we'd known each other for 20 years! and everyone was eyeing us up, I felt cool for 5 minutes! It was a good night, met loads o people who I'd seen, idolised, played with and supported over the years. I am up at 2.30 am, one of my twins Kitty was awoken by some weird noises on the radio, they sleep to Classic FM, so I got up and couldn't get back to sleep so have started working and the odd check on the board to see what gossip exists!! | ||
| Jonathan Evans Member Username: Jon Post Number: 61 Registered: 04-2005 |
Thanks Padraig.... A House getting a mention on here is nice (What track was it?), I'm listening to the Dave Couse album "genes" at the moment. I'm mainly catching up on bands I'm seeing in the next month so I'm up to speed for them. So that's Morrissey, The Charlatans and The Aliens. Also a cheeky mention for The Housemartins! Cheers Jon | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1226 Registered: 03-2006 |
Randy, me likee. Very good stuff, somewhat in the Sandy Denny/June Tabor school, which I'm a complete sucker for...yeah, this Caroline Trettine person sounds like a potential force to be reckoned with...the only thing I might quibble with is, to me, it does sound judgemental of the protagonist of the song. He is a little too remorseless, a little overly impressed with himself and his "station". There is something a little predatory, vampiric about his exploits, as described...But, it's really well done and I'm sure that's part of her design. | ||
| andreas Member Username: Andreas Post Number: 344 Registered: 04-2006 |
american primitive vol i: raw pre-war gospel (1926 -36) raw ist the word. to listen to this old, knackered and extremly noisy 78s on a cd is strange. mainly considering that this recordings are remastered. but the power of most of these songs shines through the noise. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 938 Registered: 05-2005 |
Jon, it was Cotton Pickers from I Am The Greatest. | ||
| jerry hann Member Username: Jerry_h Post Number: 324 Registered: 07-2005 |
I'll take the rain-REM | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1227 Registered: 03-2006 |
Andreas, I have the American Primitive II collection and I can recommend it to you as well - it's great. One song on it that has to be heard to be believed is called, "I Got Your Ice Cold Nu-Grape" by, who else, the Nu-Grape Twins. It is, in short, otherworldly, like something beamed in from another dimension...but incredibly powerful and moving. Also, don't listen to the haters about "Love and Theft". It is a stellar album - they just don't get it. Honestly, I think Dylan's trilogy of "Time Out of Mind", "L&T" and "Modern Times" stands with anything in his extremely estimable canon. And that's including "Highway 61", "Blood On the Tracks", etc....It's quite a remarkable achievement that Zimmy has stayed that relevant and artistically viable after so many years. The only example I can think of that comes close is a rockin' little combo from Brisbane who took 10 years off and came back reunited as strong as ever. Some (read most) artists have the sap, but lose it fairly quickly, others, like Dylan, kick ass for years... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 971 Registered: 04-2005 |
Well, you expect me to say this, but Neil Young has shown long-term legs as well, although he's as capable of severe misfires as he is good albums. I would rate "Prairie Wind" over any of the Dylan "trilogy" except maybe "Time Out of Mind." But that's just me. The big difference is that Neil's sound hasn't deteriorated, unlike Dylan's, whose voice is shot (which is why I can never love his recent trilogy as much as the BIABH/Highway 61/BOB/JWH run he had in the '60s). Neil sings about the same as he always did, maybe better. In other words, if you hated his voice in the '70s, you'll hate it for the same reason now. He can sing his old songs well. Frankly, I'd rather not hear Bob attempt his classics these days. I guess I remain one of the view who would vote for Neil in the Dylan vs. Young contest (as if there is one). But don't get me wrong--Bobby has made a MAJOR comeback this past decade. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 795 Registered: 03-2005 |
I'm not getting into a Young v. Dylan thing. I have only one single Neil Young album: the first one. The CD changer in the car brought me my second listen to Cathal Coughlin's "Foburg." In addition to Stephen Sondheim, I say he's also channelling Bertholt Brecht and Kurt Weill. I wonder just how dead he will have to be before people discover his music and start doing it. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 976 Registered: 04-2005 |
You are a stubborn man. Aren't you a little curious about Neil's--oh, what is it, 45?--other albums?  | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1228 Registered: 03-2006 |
Ah Kurt you wound me - you think Bob has lost his voice? Well, it is, as they say, close enough for rock and roll and government work. When we talk about this kind of music it's really not about classically trained or perfect voices. Tom Waits, for instance, has been virtually canonized here and, if Bobby D. is on another planet, TW is in a whole nother f-ing dimension. Actually though, I agree with you about the voice and don't really care so much to hear him do his older stuff (which people, btw, also said he couldn't sing very well either) now, with his current, ragged out vocal cords. But, the style goes surprisingly well with the new stuff. And, the timing, personality and humor still come through. But yeah, Neil has retained his old singing voice. The thing is I think Bobby D. really trumps when it comes to songwriting. I like "Prairie Wind", but think it's many leagues behind "L&T" when it comes to songwriting genius...and it's actually NY's best since I dunno when, but is still only, imo, good to very good. Not great. So for sheer songwriting, if not necessarily performance chops, I think Zimmy still rules...But hey, you'll never catch me saying anything bad about that old grizzled eminence, Neil. I think he's the shiznit... Btw, have you ever heard that LWIII song called "My Biggest Fan" where he talks about how his biggest fan still likes Dylan and NY better? | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 797 Registered: 03-2005 |
My oldest brother was a big Neil Young fan way back when. My oldest brother turned me onto many people who figure in my musical firmament to this very day, two shining examples being Gram Parsons and Gene Clark. After the first album--which I revere--I found Young's albums to be two or three genuinely good songs strung together with a bunch of stuff I just can't tolerate and, yes, I am including the vaunted "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere" album in this generalization. You wanna get me in a bad mood? Lock me in a room with "Cowgirl in the Sand." I guess I'm just not a Neil Young guy. Unless Jack Nietschze is involved, I'm just not too thrilled. Or put another way: from Crazy Horse/CSNY forward, I just can't use him. But go backwards to the Buffalo Springfield stuff? Everything he did is brilliant and he was obviously the class and the soul of that band. What's the difference between the early stuff and the later stuff? I can't put my finger on it, but I do know the later stuff falls dead for me. Maybe it's as simple as he needed a proper arranger (like Nietschze or Stephen Stills). | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 977 Registered: 04-2005 |
Fair enough, Randy. It's not like you haven't heard NY's stuff that followed the debut album. And it's true--it's very different than what came later. It's more of a logical progression from Buffalo Springfield. He did, of course, have other more "arranged" albums (some of which included Nitzsche)--Gold Rush, Harvest, Comes a Time, Harvest Moon, Prairie Wind all come to mind--but they all had more of that typical Young "first-take" casualness. His first album may have been the only one he really sweated over as a carefully arranged studio production. So I get what you're saying. I get a little crazy defending Neil because at his best, he hits me in the gut the way few other artists ever have. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 978 Registered: 04-2005 |
And because I'm a post whore these days, LK, I'm answering you separately. I think Dylan is a better writer than Neil Young. He can more routinely turn an astounding phrase or write a mind-blowing verse. I don't think anyone has ever touched Dylan's output from his creative (and, arguably, speed-crazed) peak of '64-67. Almost every song was like a complex movie that you could spend Buuuuut...with a few exceptions, I find Dylan's work guarded and not all that personal...and that's why I connect with Neil more. The huge exceptions are Blood on the Tracks and Time Out of Mind, and we know what inspired each of those--divorce and heartbreak in the first case, a brush with death in the second (a characteristic it shares with Prairie Wind, by the way). To be fair, Neil has made many albums that weren't very personal as well, and they've mostly been crap. When he has nothing he cares about in his life or in the world to express his feelings about, he can be a very poor, banal songwriter and flounders for musical direction. And when he's too content, even if it's heartfelt, he tends to slip into the worst kind of Hallmark greeting card verse (Are You Passionate?). But when he's feeling inspired--wow, it doesn't get much more heartfelt. And he has written some evocative, sometimes surreal "historical" songs that I think are some of the most amazing lyrics of the twentieth century. I honestly think "Powderfinger" might be the best American song of its century. But that's just me. And, I admit, Neil wouldn't exist as we know him if Dylan hadn't come around first. Sorry to bore everybody with my endless NY blathering, but it's either this or update some budget spreadsheets at work. By the way, I haven't heard that LWIII song. I need to. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 100 Registered: 09-2006 |
LK...love that LW song - also the one he wrote for Dylan's birthday a number of years back, which ends with him talking about hearing his little daughter running around the house singing "Eeeeverybody must get stooooned" and following it with an affectionately sarcastic "Thanks a lot, Bob." I don't have much to add to the debate above, but I do love both Bob & Neil...for me the big difference has always been that I have to be in a certain mood to put Dylan on...he's more angular (musically, lyrically and vocally) and I have to want to concentrate to pick up on his turns of phrase, whereas Neil is more about flow - I'm happy to put one of his records on at just about any time and pick up lyrical details or not. I'm not sure if that makes complete sense or not...if anyone cares I can try and elaborate. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1230 Registered: 03-2006 |
At some point in the song (Biggest Fan), Loudie proclaims somewhat pathetically and self-mockingly, "I'm his number 3 man!"...gotta love the guy, and yeah, that song you mention is an hilarious precis' of the Zimster's career and effect on culture...doesn't he liken himself in it to Dylan's "dumbass kid brother"? I do know what you mean Allen - Neil's work is more full of smooth, warm surfaces... In some ways, it is a perfect world, because we have them both and don't have to choose between them... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 985 Registered: 04-2005 |
Also, sometimes you just want to drown in distorted electric guitar played by a madman. You don't get too much of that from Dylan! I love that Neil's stupid CSN cohorts still cringe at his grungey excursions. The old curmudgeon still likes to annoy. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 104 Registered: 09-2006 |
Don't remember the line you mention, LK, but I'm sure it's in there...the part I do recall is where he talks about when he and John Prine and a few others (maybe Neil?) were all coming up together and how in the press they were all called "neeeeeeeeew Bob Dylans." | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 105 Registered: 09-2006 |
Oh, and definitely agreed, Kurt...I don't know how highly this album is regarded around here, but one of my favorite NY experiences is to play "Weld" straight through and just keep nodding my head for two hours straight. Like a good Ramones or Sonic Youth album, Neil can create a drone of monumental, meditative proportions. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 986 Registered: 04-2005 |
Do you play "Arc," Allen? I have to admit I only made it through that one once. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 107 Registered: 09-2006 |
Played it a couple of times...found it interesting once, got bored with it the second time. Glad it's on the shelf, though. Someone somewhere called it his "Metal Machine Music," which is fairly accurate. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 991 Registered: 04-2005 |
I think Metal Machine Music may be a little bit better, actually! Geez, trying to get to 1,000 posts is like running a marathon. Hats off to LK, Kev, and Spence for making it to the finish line. I promise to post less stupid shit after I hit the four-figure mark. |