| Author | Message | ||
     kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 363 Registered: 05-2005 |
i used to hate "everything i own" by ken boothe. it was a no1 record here in the UK in the 70s, and i detested it. how wrong i was - i now love it, ken boothe is a soul singer on a par with marvin, otis etc- but he probably kept t rex off no1 in 1971 so i hated him back then - what a klutz -whats yours? | ||
| Charles Member Username: Charles Post Number: 15 Registered: 04-2006 |
From about the same era there was a song called "it's Almost Summer" by Billy Thorpe. It featured on a copilation album I had when I was a kid, of surfing songs, like "Beach Baby" and "Surf City". "it's Almost Summer" kind of spoiled the whole flow of the album for me. In a way the song seemed out of place next to those sugary surf tunes. It was really laid back and his voice sounded strange, like he was pissed. I guess the song tapped into a more sophisticated take on the summertime theme. Needles to say I love the song now, both for it's links to those "good old days of summer" and it's optimism of more to come. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 369 Registered: 05-2005 |
Can't think off the top of my head, but I generally disliked modern American bubblegum pop, until I heard Nada Surf. | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 273 Registered: 08-2004 |
Common People by Pulp - I thought it was for the 6th formers but it turned out different. You're Gorgeous by Babybird - for some reason it sounded like Pink Floyd to me. I've since bought everything they've ever done. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 292 Registered: 04-2005 |
Honestly? "Streets of Your Town"--I used to hear it a lot on a college radio station in '88 (back when I had never heard anything else by the Go-Betweens) and I thought it just bland mainstream pop. I was all about Public Enemy and noisy American indie bands in those days, so there was no room in my world for something with a little subtlety. Most recently, "Fire-Eyed Boy" by Broken Social Scene. I hated it and everything else on the most recent BSS album the first couple of listens, then suddenly that one track went from hate to love for me and I started to appreciate the rest of the album too. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 345 Registered: 03-2005 |
But Kevin your original opinion of "Everything I Own" was correct. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 346 Registered: 03-2005 |
But I owe you one, Kevin. You reminded me of my vinyl copy of the "Freedom Street" album which is now playing. I totally forgot I have this. Great no-nonsense Leslie Kong production. | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 340 Registered: 03-2006 |
"Inside and Out", a disco-era song by the Bee Gees (eeuuwww), completely redeemed, even made cool, by (Leslie) Feist on the excellent, "Let It Die". | ||
| David Matheson Member Username: David_matheson Post Number: 91 Registered: 12-2004 |
Dusty In Here Took quite a while to grow on me. Thought it was a bit pretentious at first. Does the fact that Go-Betweens songs are mentioned now make this an "on topic" thread? (I still don't get the distinction.) | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 314 Registered: 10-2004 |
i can think of some go-betweens songs that i initially didn't like, but which grew on me with repeated listens. -dusty in here -right here (i still think it teeters a bit close to MOR for my tastes, but it's okay. i used to see it as a case of jumping the shark) -bye bye pride (thought it was a bit overblown initially, but it's grown on me) -apology accepted - (used to find it too trite, and well, it's certainly not a particularly original chord progression, but it just grew on me over the years, for some reason) i can also think of some albums that i used to hate, or simply found boring/uninvolving, but which i now love: -the church - seance (i know, the way i talk about this album you'd think i'd have loved it since first listen, but it actually took several years to sink in. but when it did....) -blue nile - hats (i've always LOVED walk across the rooftops from the first listen, but when i first heard hats i thought it was just too slick and MOR for me. but yeah, another grower). -microdisney - crooked mile -weekend - la variete (i don't know what i was smoking when i first heard this and promptly dismissed it, but when i revisited a few years later, i fell in love with it) i'm sure there are many more. | ||
| david sigston Member Username: Futuretarded Post Number: 3 Registered: 04-2006 |
Pavement as a whole I used to not really get. But now I like them very much, in fact this has reminded me I need to finally purchase Wowee Zowee. In terms of songs and go-betweens, probably I'd say 'clouds', but now it is one of my many favourites | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 367 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, I think it was you who mentioned before you were a fan of Leslie Kongs productions. Any compilations you particularly recommend? | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 304 Registered: 04-2005 |
David, it's funny you mention taking a while to "get" Pavement. I used to love them and played the first four albums obsessively (especially "Wowee Zowee"). But now I find myself actively disliking them, and I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe it's because I blame them for a lot of the shambling indie slacker rock that came in their wake, and their influence in turning bands like Blur in that direction. Which probably isn't fair to Pavement. Also, I have a suspicion that they'll turn out to be the Camper Van Beethoven of the '90s--remembered more for being funny/quirky than being musically strong or timeless. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 315 Registered: 10-2004 |
kurt, i went through the same thing with pavement as you. around the time slanted and enchanted came out, i *loved* them. but i eventually got tired of the whole noisy-indie-slacker thing, and like you, blamed them (perhaps unfairly) for a lot of the noisy-indie-slacker crap that followed. i even actively dislike the two steve malkmus' records. i think they started out as being a really promising, genuinely good band that critics would look upon 2 decades later with a smiths-like reverence. but for me, from wowee zowee on, they jumped the shark in a major way that detracted from whatever credibility they had previous attained. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 306 Registered: 04-2005 |
Thanks, Jeff--good to hear I'm not the only one. Another factor for me was seeing a TV show featuring them doing a live set (I never caught them in concert). They looked like a bunch of buffoons on stage, and the only talented one of the bunch--Malkmus--didn't seem to be trying. It was very off-putting. And their legacy lives on in Modest Mouse. Malkmus's second solo album is where I said "enough" and I don't think I've listened to Pavement again since. | ||
| Guy Ewald Member Username: Guy_ewald Post Number: 155 Registered: 02-2005 |
OK, here's one. Back in late 1972 I took a cross country trip in a school bus that had "Ship of Fools" painted on the side in a colorful "magic bus" font. The seats inside were ripped out, it was carpeted in multi-color carpet samples and filled with hippies headed to Salt Lake City for a budget ski trip. There was an AM Radio in the bus and during the 48-hour drive to Utah and the 48-hours back to Wisconsin (slow vehicle) I must have heard "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" by Charlie Rich every 45-minutes. It was in HEAVY rotation on every danged radio station between Minneapolis and Salt Lake. God, I despised that song and I must have heard it 100 times on that trip. At some point in my adult life (probably after developing a taste for Billy Sherrill's production and arranging style via George Jones) I discovered that I absolutely LOVE Charlie Rich. It was a big turnaround for me. | ||
| david sigston Member Username: Futuretarded Post Number: 5 Registered: 04-2006 |
That's interesting Kurt, perhaps theres a fine line that they tread and too many listens pushes you over. I don't have any Malkmus records, do you recommend any? | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 307 Registered: 04-2005 |
The first solo Malkmus album (self-titled) is OK--better than the last Pavement album, I'd say, and he didn't get carried away with the guitar hero/"I'm a secret prog rocker" stuff like he did on the second album. "Jenny and the Ess-Dog" is a really good song and he actually sounds sincere on one or two tracks. I've never heard his third album...some people really rate it, though. You may have a point, David...perhaps there's a saturation point with Pavement. A relative gave me the expanded "Crooked Rain" reissue a couple of Christmases ago and I've never even listened to all the bonus stuff. Maybe I just need a long break from them and they'll sound good again in a few years. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 350 Registered: 03-2005 |
Kevin, Leslie Kong anthos are thin on the ground. I have a vinyl one from 1981 called "King Kong" which was released by Island. Checking the U.S. Amazon site I see that Jet Set released two Kong anthos on CD but they're both out of print. I can buy one of them secondhand for the princely sum of $45. To give you an idea of what productions are his, the "King Kong" set has: 1. Israelites - Desmond Dekker 2. Monkey Girl - The Maytals 3. Sweet Sensation - The Melodians 4. Freedom Street - Ken Boothe 5. Let Them Talk - Tyrone Evans 6. Samfie Man - The Pioneers 7. It's My Delight - The Melodians 8. Peeping Tom - The Maytals 9. Rivers of Babylon - The Melodians 10. Gave You My Love - Delroy Wilson 11. Bitterness of Life - Bruce Ruffin 12. Night Flight - Ansell Collins 13. Long Shot Kick De Bucket - The Pioneers 14. It Mek - Desmond Dekker 15. Why Baby Why - Ken Boothe 16. Monkey Man - The Maytals I can't fathom why this set leaves off two of Kong's most famous and magnificent Maytals productions: "Do the Reggay" and "Pressure Drop" and I'd include Desmond Dekker's "007 (Shanty Town)." But "Bitterness of Life" is worth the price of the record. Kong died of a heart attack in 1971, so that's the cut-off point. | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 361 Registered: 03-2006 |
I share that one with you, Guy, come to think of it...I now love that song, as well as "Behind Closed Doors". My Dad had the album of the same name and played it incessantly. I remember being appalled at the cover - the close up of the Silver Fox, in all his glory, with those tremendous gray mutton chops (pork chops, really) and that peckerwood, vaguely Amish hat...he looked like an extra from "McCabe & Mrs. Miller". Now, having lived a little, etc., I think they're wonderful songs and think Charlie Rich is a great singer. I have an excellent compilation that features the whole span of his career, including the Sun stuff...sublime...Hey, I wonder if his fans sit around pondering over when and if ole Charlie jumped the shark: "It was them strings was what ruint him...he don't need no orkeestra!"... I have some more songs I formerly hated...it seems most of them, though, sucked baby cow turds done by the original artist and it took re-interpretation to bring out the good in them - a sort of musical alchemy, if you will... How Can You Mend A Broken Heart - Al Green The original, by those singing porpoises known as the Brothers Gibb, was to me, pretty unbearable -sheer bloody torture. We all agree that they're decent songwriters, but some of their vocal affectations to me are really annoying. Al, though, really transforms it, makes it incredibly moving, even hip... Live to Tell - Bill Frisell Like A Prayer -John Wesley Harding Not too big a fan of the Madonna, but some of her songs have beautifully constructed melodies as these two covers demonstrated. My Favorite Things - John Coltrane Btw, instrumental versions count, right? The original of this is so syrupy, so cloying, it makes we want to break furniture, but man, does Coltrane turn it into something magical and transcendent. Jump - Aztec Camera This one really defies belief. It took Roddy Frame's genius to bring out the pathos in this, what I previously thought horribly schlocky, song by Van Halen. His version is gorgeous and moving - so much so that it completely washes the image of that hairy ape, David Lee Roth, right out of your mind... | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 352 Registered: 03-2005 |
John Coltrane could pretty much fix anything. Speaking of the criminality of putting strings on something, I HATED the Hollies' "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" when it came out and became a gigantic hit in late 1969. Hated it. Thought the band had simply ceased to exist. You had strings (which they'd used before on album tracks during the psychedelic period and on the great "King Midas in Reverse" but THESE strings were really cloying), you had Elton John on piano for crissake when their own bassist was a perfectly good pianist, you had not even one little guitar on it (in a band with a great lead guitarist and a total of three guitarists whenever Allan Clarke felt like playing). I am now more or less at peace with the record. But I like the Housemartins' acapella version better. Much better. | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 364 Registered: 03-2006 |
Rand, the box set seemed a bit much for me, but is there a good two disc Hollies comp, a la some of those excellent Rhino sets, that does a good job? Also, since you seem to be the resident "60's Meister" here, is there a good Left Banke comp that you recommend? Yes, there are gaps in my pop history knowledge and collection...I just realized recently that they did "She May Call You Up Tonight". I have one of Richard Thompson's live "official bootlegs" that includes a great cover of it, with his son, Teddy, doing backup vocals. Great tune. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 316 Registered: 10-2004 |
Hardin, there's a wonderful Left Banke comp that pretty much compiles everything they did called, "There's Gonna be a Storm." Problem is that it's already out of print, and fetches heinously high prices when you find it. I haven't seen it online for less than $60.00. My copy of their first LP, "Pretty Ballerina/Walk Away Renee" was kind of crackly so I tried to seek out "There's Gonna be a Storm," but wound up, um, giving up and downloading it instead. (I have no qualms about downloading music that's totally out of print!) | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 354 Registered: 03-2005 |
Wow, Jeff, I didn't know that "There's Gonna Be a Storm" had become so expensive. I jumped on it the moment it came out because it had been such a b---h to get the vinyl copies of the two albums (especially "Too"). As you might have missed that sequence of posts, check out Jens Lekman's "Black Cab" (from "Oh, you're so silent Jens"). I want to see if you start hissing. Yes, Hardin, "She May Call You Up Tonight" is terrific especially in it's original form by LB. They were a great sounding band vocally. For the Hollies, the best antho by a country mile is "30th Anniversary Collection" released in the States by EMI. Sadly I think it is also out of print. It focusses on the 60s stuff, almost all very nicely remixed, including a-sides, b-sides, some good album track choices and even a few genuinely worthwhile rarities. It is so much better than any other antho I've seen that I think it is worthwhile for you to settle for nothing less. It is a 3 CD set with the second half of the last disc including a half-hearted batch of things from the 70s. And just to make your b---s ascend, it closes out with an embarrassing live version of "Purple Rain." Oh well. | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 377 Registered: 03-2006 |
Wowee...Prince = Funky...the Hollies are (were?) a lot of things, but funky just ain't one of them...not a good mix... |