https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_in_Opposition(…and she dances on the sand)
― listened to "Mississippi" one take too long (morrisp), Wednesday, 1 February 2023 03:20 (one year ago) link
I am in an ecstatic college rock trance right now and the reason is that I just listened to Grant Hart's Intolerance for the first time. This is An Album That's Been Missing In My Life. Had "The Main" on a compilation album titled SST Acoustic as a kid
https://i.discogs.com/yWgHDHumv4zV_6PEExHu-6gtc8XztG7SFm9fE4EmFOg/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:561/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTI1MDM0/NTAtMTQyNzQ3MTUx/OC0xNzY0LmpwZWc.jpeg
which I guess was Ginn's attempt to get some of that sweet, sweet, early 90s Unplugged money. He got mine. But I had never really latched onto Husker Du beyond the Eight Miles High/Makes No Sense At All single, and The Main didn't appeal to 13-year-old me as much as Negativland's Nesbitt Lime Soda song (and I definitely didn't get the drug references) so it just got filed away in "catchy songs that rise up into my head from time to time."
That happened again last week. I decided to actually listen to the song for the first time in 30 years and this time something clicked. Downloaded it in Spotify but didn't have time to give the whole album a listen until tonight on a walk. This album came out swinging and just kept coming. By the time I got to Twenty-Five Forty-One, the deal was already sealed for me, but the second half of the record was no let-down.
I don't even know if this is considered a "classic album." The Wikipedia article on it lists a couple of 4/5 reviews and a Christgau "B". But it fuckin' should be.
― peace, man, Tuesday, 7 February 2023 02:02 (one year ago) link
It’s a fine record, & there’s gems to be found on all his records. Miss him.
― BlackIronPrison, Tuesday, 7 February 2023 02:49 (one year ago) link
Yeah, I think this thread stretches the definition of "classic" sometimes, but I'm always happy for the recommendations.
My most recent answer for this question is Jan Johansson's "Jazz Pa Svenska".
My expectations were pretty muted going into my first listen (Swedish folk songs as minimalist jazz?) which probably worked to my benefit, because my guard was down, and then before the first track was finished, I knew this was my new favorite record.
It's not really jazz, since there isn't much improvisation to speak of. But it's got vibes for days (plaintive, languid, intimate). And it's so spare and elegant that it feels like there's not a note out of place. Sort of like "Gymnopédie No. 1" meets "Take Five”.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/74/Jan_Johansson_-_Jazz_p%C3%A5_svenska.jpg/220px-Jan_Johansson_-_Jazz_p%C3%A5_svenska.jpg
― enochroot, Tuesday, 7 February 2023 03:11 (one year ago) link
You might like Bernt Rosengren's Plays Swedish Jazzcompositions:
https://www.discogs.com/release/9910574-Bernt-Rosengren-Quartet-Plays-Swedish-Jazzcompositions
I was assigned a review of a Rosengren album a few years ago and wound up buying four or five more of his albums from the label.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 7 February 2023 03:16 (one year ago) link
https://i.discogs.com/pURUfwl-NRXc47l5A6gt8BM0uP8xM4NkiRMGGiEDT1g/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:225/w:225/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTExOTE0/NzUwLTE1MjQ2NTk1/OTktNjQ4MC5wbmc.jpegI#m npt sure to what extent I was aware of Louis Prima before I got an earlier Best of cd. I knew he had played King louis in The Jungle Book for a while, though that may be more I knew King Louie was played by a performer called Louis Prima who I don't think I had much more of a reference for. That was pretty good as a cd but I think the sound was pretty quiet and the tracklisting wasn't very long. Think it came out in around 1990. This is much more recent and much longer. I think it covers his mid 50s material in depth and some of his 60s. 2x full length cds which each could carry a few of his lps. I think they're jumbled though.Anyway pretty unrestrained for a mid 50s mainly white orientated group. He was frm New Orleans and Italian background both of which he played on to the hilt. He is joined on most of this material by singer Keely Smith who hasa pretty great voice and i think I will be investigating in her own right. I also really love the playing of a few of teh players here. The relentless piano for one and the use of electric guitar. Not sure who would be influencing an electric guitarist at this point, it is still pretty early. I guess Charlie Christian was a decade and a half earlier, Oscar Moore is playing with Nat Cole still I think, some blues guitarists had some prominence too. Not sure who this guy has picked up on but I know I like it. Rock 'n'roll is happening at about the same time. I'm assuming his is more jazz oriented, seems pretty driven anyway.I know Bear Family put out a volume of their Rocks series dedicated to Prima and I'm assuming a lot of that si on here. I think the quality on that series is quite reputable. & I do think this is an artist worth checking out. I think his values are largely of the time , somewhat gagging at the idea that he nicknamed his singing partner/sometime wife Keely Smith 'Tonto' because of her part indian roots.
― Stevolende, Sunday, 12 February 2023 12:32 (one year ago) link
Prima's great. I have an 8CD Bear Family box of his stuff. He's not just a really unique vocalist, kind of combining Louis Armstrong-esque jazz singing with hammy, vaudeville-style ethnic comedy, but also a very hot trumpet player, and Smith (who was, I think, his fourth wife) was an excellent foil for him, kind of making fun of him and the rest of the band while joining in. (Her solo stuff isn't that great — she's a good singer, but mostly did string-laden ballads; I think I'd rather have heard her doing a somewhat hip, Blossom Dearie type of act on her own.) And the band, who had the awesome name of Sam Butera (the saxophonist) and the Witnesses, swung really hard.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Sunday, 12 February 2023 14:55 (one year ago) link
I thought the Capitol lps by Smith were supposed to be good and whatever the next label was had her losing whatever quality control she had had.Do love the name The Witnesses. Is it gospel oriented or something?
― Stevolende, Sunday, 12 February 2023 15:22 (one year ago) link
I have a different 2CD comp which looks like it covers a lot of the same, mostly late '50s, material as the one above: Louis Prima & Keely Smith With Sam Butera & The Witnesses – Ultra-Lounge: Wild, Cool & Swingin. It's a blast - the instrumentation is coming more from a jazz direction, but the energy is frequently more rock. Unfortunately from what I've read, Prima's philandering was eventually too much for Smith, and she left the band (and the marriage). While it lasted, her voice was the perfect foil to Prima's.
― o. nate, Monday, 13 February 2023 14:38 (one year ago) link
OK, so I've been listening to the last four Death albums — Human, Individual Thought Patterns, Symbolic and The Sound of Perseverance — for decades. They're amazing. But I had never really paid much attention to the band's first three albums: Scream Bloody Gore, Leprosy and Spiritual Healing. Somehow I had the impression that they'd made a quantum leap on album #4, and I didn't really need to hear the "cruder" early material. Well, I was so fucking wrong. I'm writing a review of a "best-of" that's mostly tracks from those records, plus two from Human, and now I'm diving deep into early Death and holy hell, these guys were titans from Day One. I have really been missing out!
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 20 February 2023 13:28 (one year ago) link
Is the Psychedelic Furs' s/t considered classic? It seemed pretty classic on first listen (their only other album I have is Mirror Moves, which I also love). Really interesting mix of first wave british punk, doors/VU darkness, what else? I really like how committed they are to their aesthetic - that long slow build into the opening track.
― Unfairport Convention (PBKR), Monday, 20 February 2023 14:02 (one year ago) link
It's a classic in my house.
― Maggot Bairn (Tom D.), Monday, 20 February 2023 14:25 (one year ago) link
The first three P-Furs albums range from awesome to exceptonal.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 20 February 2023 14:38 (one year ago) link
"India" is certainly an all-time great first album opener
― My name is Mike Cyclops. I work for (bernard snowy), Monday, 20 February 2023 19:55 (one year ago) link
Did John Hughes soundtracks prevent the early records from making it into the cool post-punk bin?
― bendy, Monday, 20 February 2023 20:01 (one year ago) link
They always were there in the UK.
― Maggot Bairn (Tom D.), Monday, 20 February 2023 21:29 (one year ago) link
The soundtrack version of "Pretty in Pink" was, like most of the other tracks on that album, lamentable.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Tuesday, 21 February 2023 18:50 (one year ago) link
The Essential Pavarotti on Decca. Sheer magnificence
― not too strange just bad audio (brimstead), Tuesday, 21 February 2023 19:22 (one year ago) link
Stardust by Willie Nelson and The Pink Opaque by Cocteau Twins have both been in heavy rotation lately. just both truly fantastic, never spent much time with either until recently.
― gman59, Tuesday, 21 February 2023 20:17 (one year ago) link
The soundtrack version of "Pretty in Pink" was, like most of the other tracks on that album, lamentable.― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux)
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux)
Say what? That soundtrack is the platonic ideal of the form.
― enochroot, Thursday, 23 February 2023 03:18 (one year ago) link
Half of it (Smiths, Echo, Vega) was solid. But in addition to the aforementioned bowdlerized version of the title track, I felt sick when I heard "Shellshock."
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 23 February 2023 14:56 (one year ago) link
I didn't because I had never heard "Shellshock" before in my life. I loved that soundtrack wholeheartedly.
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Thursday, 23 February 2023 15:13 (one year ago) link
What about "Shellshock" makes you sick unless you mean 'Oh my god I'm lovesick!"?
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 23 February 2023 15:17 (one year ago) link
It was such a departure from their previous work, and so lightweight and mainstream sounding that I thought it was some kind of joke. One of my friends described it as their "We hate you, Jellybean" track. I remember thinking at the time that it didn't pay to have heroes.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 23 February 2023 15:20 (one year ago) link
I dunno, it fits without a slip into Miami freestyle.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 23 February 2023 15:26 (one year ago) link
I wasn't ready for New Order to do Miami freestyle. They were Mancunian gloom masters.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 23 February 2023 15:29 (one year ago) link
But in the two years before "Shellshock" came "Love Vigilantes," "Sub-culture," "Confusion...."
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 23 February 2023 15:33 (one year ago) link
All I can say is, it sounded like a very unwelcome departure to my ears. I blame John Robie, who also managed to fuck up "Sub-culture."
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 23 February 2023 15:36 (one year ago) link
and...you haven't changed your mind? What did you think of New Order after 1986?
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 23 February 2023 15:36 (one year ago) link
Well, after the soundtrack came Brotherhood, which was to me a welcome return to form. I do like the later albums, but not as fiercely as the older ones. I dunno, it probably has to do with my age--I was 19 the first time I saw them live, on the Low-Life tour, and that was the high water mark for me.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 23 February 2023 15:39 (one year ago) link
for me I think the latest one in this category is the Dead's "Skull And Roses" a.k.a. S/T 2LP a.k.a. "Skullfuck", I knew it had the best "Wharf Rat" but the rest is great too
and U-Roy's Dread In A Babylon, holy shit
― obsidian crocogolem (sleeve), Thursday, 23 February 2023 15:44 (one year ago) link
Yes, that U-Roy album is so good.
― Unfairport Convention (PBKR), Thursday, 23 February 2023 16:58 (one year ago) link
xp Re: "Skull and Roses": I remember putting my dad's copy of that album on back in the mid 70s and being baffled by what I perceived as a mismatch between the cover art and the music.
It still holds up, for sure.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 23 February 2023 17:45 (one year ago) link
many a young person over the decades was let down by what must surely be the incredibly vicious punk/metal death rock group the grateful dead
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 23 February 2023 17:49 (one year ago) link
LOL
I was expecting something spooky, at least. A bait and switch almost on the level of Sea Monkeys.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 23 February 2023 17:51 (one year ago) link
Skull & Roses is the album that finally got me into the Dead (after several false starts).
― unknown blues singer (morrisp), Thursday, 23 February 2023 17:57 (one year ago) link
(It's probably still my favorite, TBH)
The band photo on the inside is classic. Immensely powerful "filthy hippies" vibes.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 23 February 2023 17:59 (one year ago) link
As I'm sure I've said elsewhere, Hawkwind is what I thought the Grateful Dead would sound like, and the Grateful Dead is what I thought Hawkwind would sound like.
― bendy, Thursday, 23 February 2023 18:30 (one year ago) link
I think I had back burnered Skull & Roses for years cos '71 is the Dead when they're not being extremely improvisatory for the most part. Not like their peak for me like August 68 or May 70. Then I picked up an extended copy cheaply when a new record shop opened last year or the year before and I got to hear it actually was pretty good.Maybe the most rocky the band got. I've heard it referred to as them bein the ideal bar band at the time.Think I do still prefer them in free fall improvisatory mode overall. But they do still do an 18 minute The Other One I guess.
― Stevo, Friday, 24 February 2023 20:04 (one year ago) link
― bendy, Thursday, February 23, 2023 12:30 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink
totally
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 24 February 2023 20:58 (one year ago) link
i mean i didn't but i wasn't knowledgeable enough to know that a band like hawkwind could exist
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 24 February 2023 21:00 (one year ago) link
I had mentally filed away "Watershed" as the beginning of Opeth's turn into proggy territory and my gradual loss of interest in following them, but I somewhat randomly decided to listen to it again today and was blown away by how much I like it now.
― o. nate, Friday, 24 February 2023 22:04 (one year ago) link
has taken me perhaps a couple of years to realise eno's Tiger Mountain is full of tunes i enjoy every time they shuffle to the top of the playlist. i must check out the others of that vintage.
― koogs, Tuesday, 28 February 2023 08:38 (one year ago) link
The other material from the era differs quite heavily, The other solo rock lp is Here Come The Warm Jets which might be seen to be even more protopunk and features several different line ups of backing musicians. Has some good stuff on.If you can get hold of his live stuff with The Winkies it is also somewhat protopunk. They were more fo a blues band so not quite so avant garage. Somebody turned up with a copy of teh Derbyu tape that was supposed to be better than the previously circulated one on Dimeadozen recently but its still distant and whatever which is a shame cos it does sound like the gig as pretty good.
Otherwise there are 2 collaboration lps with Robert Fripp which are both good and there has been an officially released live set too. Atmospheric textured instrumental stuff. I thought I was hearing echoes of Evening Star in early Sonic Youth among other influences. Very worth hearing anyway.
There are also a pair of studio lps collaborating with Cluster that are pretty interesting. They are a little bit later though.
PLus this mid 70s period was also when he started developing the idea of ambient music, apparently triggered by him lying ill and not having the strength to get up and change the record when a copy of Miles Davis tribute to Duke Ellintgon "He Loved Him Madly" was playing on the other side of the room a bit too quietly. I thought that was teh story I heard but may be him recoveirng from a car accident and the record one of 18th century harp music which was drowned out by the sound of rain. Anyway it lead to him investigating music best heard in teh background and putting out lps starting with Another Green World and leading through an entire ambient series of music for locations.
Before And After Science is song based and a few years later than the great just post Roxy Stuff, first 2 Roxy are pretty essential if you don't already have them. I think I somehow haven't picked up a copy of Before and After Science which I may need to remedy.
― Stevo, Tuesday, 28 February 2023 09:08 (one year ago) link
oh yeah, I knew I had enjoyed the Bauhaus version of Third Uncle when I was first coming across solo Eno. But that might be a bit misleading as a signpost os I think his music has a different shape and feeL.Obviously different perspective on relevance of that cover if one wasn't encountering it as it was current I guess. Not sure how well remembered taht early Eno stuff was at teh time and I was just about to be a teen when it came out and probably experienced it most as part of the singles mini lp.
― Stevo, Tuesday, 28 February 2023 10:17 (one year ago) link
yeah, i knew the ambient stuff but not really this vocal stuff (apart from the bauhaus cover)
and i know and like the harmonia stuff but hadn't bothered with the cluster collab
it's just, y'know, getting around to it.
― koogs, Tuesday, 28 February 2023 10:36 (one year ago) link
The other solo rock lp is Here Come The Warm Jets which might be seen to be even more protopunk and features several different line ups of backing musicians. Has some good stuff on.
Something of an understatement.
― Maggot Bairn (Tom D.), Tuesday, 28 February 2023 11:07 (one year ago) link
a great Eno song from about Tiger Mountain is his track Big Day on Phil Manzanera's solo album, later covered by Feelies side project Yung Wu (which is where I first heard it, a pretty great album too!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03-EJBnzW1A
― ( X '____' )/ (zappi), Tuesday, 28 February 2023 15:27 (one year ago) link