Listen to an album you've never heard by an artist you never listen to and then tell us about it!

Not kidding at all but I have thought for years that Taylor could do a really great cover of “cut your hair”

1. I had never listened to Split Enz other than "I got you" on the radio/MTV, and today listened to Mental Notes and Second Thoughts: man, did they ever love Roxy Music. Did they have a big brother/little brother problem, when the little brother writes and sings the big hit, has a huge hit that everyone alive in 1987 heard with his next band, and the big brother comes hat in hand, "uh, let me do this with you (goddamn, it's humiliating to beg my piece of shit little brother for this)"…

2. I had never listened to Nellie Mckay until earlier this week: most of the time, artists in thrall to the great american songbook are like Michael Feinstein or John Pizzarelli, but she obviously appreciates later kinds of music and invests her songs with energy as such…I 'm sorry she hasn't been more successful…

i like nellie a lot. she gave a talk at a local library and spent an hour comically evading the interviewer's questions. she also said she fell asleep in her parking spot and got a parking ticket while she was in the car!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS2D5KozDg4

OK, I'm listening to Yanni's "Live at the Acropolis" now. I listen to some "new age" music but it's mostly kind of like... Berlin school-adjacent stuff. And this isn't, at all. I thought there would be pan pipes, or synthesizers, or something. There's definitely prog-rock time signatures but mostly it sounds like, I don't know. Crossover classical or something. There was this jazz fusion bass solo somewhere in there, but it's about the only solo I noticed. A lot of strings. Maybe a few Mannheim Steamroller-isms, but the strings are just way more prominent to my ears. I kind of thought of this stuff as being like "Synth Lords Live at the Acropolis" or whatever that Adult Swim sketch was like. And the percussionist is like... a tabla player or something. Oh, wait, now we're doing a tabla solo. Does he have someone out there playing a sruti box too? Haha.

that's getting into john tesh territory. i feel like i'm in safer hands with kitaro.

for real. the bass player kind of reminds me of mike gordon from phish! and one of the violinists reminds me a bit of sugarcane harris from the pure food and drug act. overall though i remember yanni and john tesh getting a lot of hate in the 90s and at least in yanni's case i'm not sure why... it's just kind of "there". i'm really struggling to have any sort of opinion on this record... i've already mostly forgotten it exists.

I listened to the first three Little Feat albums - a band I have, to the best of my knowledge, never heard before. Snap verdicts:

s/t - I like this, it's basically the Band played by the Rolling Stones and what's not to like about that? Great guitar playing. It's only let down by the bizarrely undercooked version of "Willin'" and the boring Howlin' Wolf medley, both of which sound like they belong on different albums.

Sailin' Shoes - well it has a good version of "Willin'" but beyond that I didn't like this as much. It's very well played - the rhythm section is great - and it's clever but I didn't think the songwriting was very memorable.

Dixie Chicken - I found this bland and really not the sort of thing I've got much interest in listening too. Fantastic drummer though!

i hate to say it because i'll sound like a phish fan but their double live album is their best album. to me. its exciting!

Best Little Feat thing is the 73/74 Ultrasonic Studios radio broadcasts. I like one better than the other (the one where they open by referring to Mo Ostin as "Chairman Mo" before launching into Apolitical Blues), but can never remember which one it is.

I finally listened to an ATCQ album, Midnight Marauders, never listened to them before

My intense rap obsession was just before this album I don’t know why I missed The Low End Theory entirely

I want to listen again, I feel like I was just slapped in the face with the Iliad or something. How many MPCs sold because of this thing? How many people became MCs as a result? Idk this was a lot to just listen to, I knew it was supposed to be good I didn’t know it was This Good

it is one of the very best albums ever made

Also, am I wrong or has Matt Berry based his whole look on Lowell George?

Midnight Marauders is a big step up from TLET imo

Speaking of rap, I've spent the week marinating in Enter The Wu-Tang for the first time. Yeah um

this probably doesn't count because I love Art Bears but I have never listened to Slapp Happy for some reason. I will get on that

― Colonel Poo, Thursday, 7 March 2024 19:58 bookmarkflaglink

I listened to Sort Of by Slapp Happy. I liked it! I also did not realise until now that Blue Flower by Mazzy Star was a cover. I didn't much like the Henry Cow I've listened to so not sure what their other stuff will be like but will give it a go

Oh wow, Midnight Marauders is so incredible.

Idk why recently but I've had a craving to check out some over-the-top fantasy-based Prog Metal, but I was pointed towards 'Into The Electric Castle' by Aryeon and shall report back.

That seems to be a 2 hour rock opera, so good luck. On the plus side it features a vocal appearance from Fish as 'Highlander'.

slapp happy's their other stuff is a lot more like sort of than like henry cow.

gotta be honest, when i want over the top fantasy based metal i tend to go more for euro power metal. something like domine's "stormbringer ruler: the legend of the power supreme"

Blind Guardian seems to be lots of folks' pick, but I'm a Rhapsody of Fire guy.

I loved Ayreon in high school (I was that kind of kid), but in my advanced age I go back to Iron Maiden's "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" for epic fantasy metal.

Iron Maiden would be a good one of these for me to do. I don't think I like them but tbh have never really listened to them, have heard maybe 3 of their songs?

Powerslave is kind of the most Iron Maiden ass Iron Maiden album I think, it's like an entire 3rd grade history/literature curriculum turned into an entire album of fist pumping metal. But I like Seventh Son better, it's like they took just the plot summary from the back cover of a book from the middle of some random fantasy series and turned that into an entire album of fist pumping metal.

Iron Maiden are amazing

I need to relisten to Slayer. I only listened to Reign In Blood once about a decade ago and thought “these guys needed to rehearse more if they wanted to pull this off, they sound so sloppy”. Maybe my mind has changed

that's a good one for me as well

Try South of Heaven or Seasons in the Abyss instead. They're a little more polished, but they still have the power and aggression you want from Slayer.

And yeah, if you're gonna listen to just one Iron Maiden album (my controversial opinion is that Iron Maiden are not actually a great album band, but are one of the greatest live acts ever), it should probably be Powerslave just to see if you make it through "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" with your sanity intact.

The Dwight Yoakam did not really grab me on first listen. It wasn't bad, but much like with a lot of Springsteen, I found myself thinking it was good while not feeling it. The songwriting is pretty strong and the lyrics have some interesting twists on typical country lyrics. Will try to give it a more focused listen and offer more thoughts.

Separately, I would like to propose someone else ITT tackle an album by an artist that I believe has never been mentioned before on ILM -- Larry Sparks. I would either suggest John Deere Tractor or Silver Reflections, and if you need any convincing just listen to either the title track of the first one or Blue Virginia Blues from the second.

someone who hasn't listened to a new hip-hop album this decade should listen to playboi carti's whole lotta red plz

I did announce I'd be listening to the Asha Bosle compilation. Having played some of it though I can't think of anything much to say about it other than "oh yeah this kind of thing, she has a very nice voice".

So instead I decided on NRBQ - At Yankee Stadium. This is a band that the likes of Byron Coley would rave about back in the day but I'd never really heard. I was expecting something kind of swampy, Dr John meets Little Feat meets The Band. In reality they're more of a power pop band! For the first half of the album anyway - you could mistake some of it for The Raspberries filtered through those American rock-soul bands of the era like J. Geils or Southside Johnny, all played by guys with proper jazz chops. Maybe it was the era (late 70s)?

It's actually really good, does this album have better songs than the others or did they keep the quality up? I can kind of see why they never got bigger than being a respected cult act though, it's too eclectic for mass appeal. Then again you could say the same thing about Todd Rundgren and he was popular. But he was pretty image-conscious, and these guys looked like a bunch of dads, so that was probably the difference.

So the verdict on NRBQ is (pretty much) a thumbs up!

great band yeah

Yankee Stadium is peak NRBQ. They have the same quality on a few other releases (1977 - 1980), but the signal-to-noise ratio drops off pretty quickly. There are several times I've had their records on at home, and my wife says "is this a children's album?"

its weird, i love metal but i do not love iron maiden. i like those first two albums but i don't even know if i've made it through an entire album after those. maybe i should listen to one! i like "the trooper". i even reviewed a bruce dickinson album for a metal magazine once. my brother used to bring their stuff home from his job at record world. i loved the covers. he would get the 12-inch singles too. but i was more fascinated by the motorhead albums he brought home. they were insane to me. at the time 1979/1980 all i wanted to hear was judas priest and black sabbath though. and rush.

i was actually thinking i should listen to a devo album for this thread. i know for a fact that i have never listened to an entire album by them. i mean obviously i know what devo sound like but maybe the entire album experience would be different.

terry of nrbq has been a good customer of mine over the years. he's fun to talk to. he's a weirdo. he loves weird 45s. he got the test pressing of one of their latter-day records (2014) with the newer line-up from germany and he played it at the store with me for the first time to hear how it sounded. that was fun. and he also introduced me to legendary record collector and nrbq drummer tom ardolino before he passed away. which was cool. i think byron got tom's records. speaking of byron. if you ever get a chance to listen to tom's Unknown Brain album i highly recommend it. tape recordings he made when he was a kid.

Tom T. Hall - In Search of a Song

I'd been interested in hearing one of Hall's records since his death a couple of years ago, and this 1971 album seemed to be his most highly regarded.

Lyrically, Hall relays stories and anecdotes he's picked up, memories, and some aphoristic parables. A number of songs end with a meta-commentary about how he ended up writing the very song you're listening to, which might have been too-clever in someone else's hands. It struck me as unusual that he often used an ABAB rhyme scheme; without it perhaps the words might have risked being doggerel. I tried to think of who else at the time outside of the country genre was writing about these sort of quotidian details and scenes: John Prine, Paul Simon sometimes, Ray Davies maybe?

As you'd expect, the songs are based on simple I - IV - V progressions with an occasional key change up a tone for the final verse to goose the song along, but when he tosses in a iv (on "Tulsa Telephone Book") or a ♭VII ("Kentucky, February 27, 1971") it adds some unexpected emotional colour. The songs kept up a peppy tempo but a slower, less arranged track might have made for a bit of variety.

I was unprepared for the mix: two completely discreet instrumental arrangements in either speaker with Tom alone dead-centre in a haze of reverb. Sometimes an instrument would bounce from one speaker to the other. Arrangements are provided by a low-key small group but once in a while there'd be a touch of vibes or dobro to fill things out. Didn't notice any strings or choirs. Overdubs of church organ (at the end of "The Little Lady Preacher") and electric sitar (in "L.A. Blues", not a Stooges cover) seem to be used for satirical purposes.

Great thread.

I like the second half of Stop Breathin, kinda Radiohead-y for a bit?

― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Thursday, March 7, 2024 11:13 AM (one week ago)

this bit rips CAN's "Sing Swan Song" off pretty shamelessly...

(also i don't think Radiohead had any cred at the time of CR,CR... unless you think "Creep" was influential lol)

I have a huge blind spot that I need help with: Teenage Fanclub.

I only know a few songs from my college radio days "Everything Flows" (awesome/great), "The Concept" & "Star Song" (very listenable/good) and then "What You Do To Me" which I get is like a Big Star homage but never really clicked with me. I saw them open for the Afghan Whigs in 1991 or 1992 and they didn't leave any impression with their live show, it was kinda sloppy and underwhelming.

From what I understand they were a band with several prominent songwriters and they have a deep catalog, but I have not heard any of their records in full and maybe it's time to correct that.

[catching up]: I also have never heard a Cat Power full-length EXCEPT the Covers Record (Michael Hurley x2, Nina Simone, Smog, VU, "Sea Of Love", et al) but I do know her early singles and was "lucky" to see her with Mick & Jim from The Dirty 3... but she was a wreck, it took her about 20mins to finish a song... super painful to watch. But "Moon Pix" has 3 very good songs ("XBones Style" & "Colour & The Kids" & "Metal Heart") so that has to be one of her better records.

Wait, wasn't there another thread like this one? My old neighbor let me borrow his Alice Cooper records after telling me I *had* to hear them and he seemed like a decent enough guy and they were NOTHING like I thought they'd be.

This week I listened to both of Alice Cooper (band)'s 1971 LPs: Love It To Death & Killer, borrowed from an old head in the hood. Huge blindspot for me.

Compared to my "canonical analogues" of this era (Sticky Fingers, Hunky Dory, Meddle, IV/Zoso, #1 Record, Every Picture..., et. al.), I was genuinely surprised at how catchy and genre-less both these records are. Definitely some Detroit (Stooges/MC5) microflora seeping through at times, some southern-fried boogie/glam, some post-Altamont proggy psych, but honestly a lot more proto-punk than the proto-metal I expected.

4 bags of popcorn and maybe a little spidery eyeliner to add some drama.

― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Friday, May 12, 2023 12:26 PM (ten months ago)

what was the last 'classic album' you got and were knocked out by?

Hi Scott.

First thing first. Thanks for your contributions to this board!

Although I have been in a slump lately with new music, I will try to find something new and report back.

If you haven't listened to Dumptruck, please give For The Country and Positively a try!!

i guess i didn't think that thread was always things that people hadn't heard before. and i wanted this thread to be a little more deliberate. or pre-meditated. choosing something to listen to that might not be the thing you ordinarily listen to as well maybe. and hopefully being surprised by something. people have really written some great stuff on here! kudos to all.

i love tom t. hall by the way! one of my fave songwriters.

if anyone here hasn't heard a 70s mickey newbury album, you should give one a try. they are very unique. i am always floored by his songs. I Came To Hear The Music/Lovers are two mid-70s records that don't get a lot of ink anymore probably but are so cool.

also: if you have never listened to him, David Ackles. i love him to bits. i can't believe that nobody has done a David Ackles jukebox musical but maybe he's just a little too off-center.

x-post

you are welcome! i will give dumptruck a try. i never really listened to them! i always think of big dipper when i think of dumptruck. probably just saw them in the D section together a lot in the 80s.

the 80s band that i became a BIG fan of late in life/21st century was Love Tractor. I had no idea! nobody told me how awesome those early records were. sometimes they almost reminded me of an american durutti column or something. or something that should have been on Factory anyway. i think i just assumed they were twangy or like the Dbs.

i mean i love Dbs and Pylon and REM and Lets Active obviously but i missed that band all throughout the 80s and 90s. better late than never.

if anyone here hasn't heard a 70s mickey newbury album, you should give one a try. they are very unique. i am always floored by his songs. I Came To Hear The Music/Lovers are two mid-70s records that don't get a lot of ink anymore probably but are so cool.

Agreed (and I too love your posts to this thread scott) but also people ought not sleep on later newbury stuff. Kind of amazes me that A Long Road Home is from 2002.

Tim, are you a David Ackles fan?

he only had four albums. broadway/cabaret-style songs. with an old-fashioned sensibility that might seem maudlin or overly sentimental but his lyrics are sneaky and can be pretty dark. he reminds me of sherwood anderson a little bit. or early john o'hara. he isn't bitter though.

this song breaks my heart every time. i'm such a sap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlKBfMxHA7E

Big Dipper was also from Boston and I think that they may have shared a band member or two.

Probably a toss up for me between For The Country and Big Plans for Everybody...

Thanks to man alive I listened to the two Larry Sparks albums they recommended, thank you man alive. I listened to and played a lot of bluegrass fiddle as a kid and enjoyed them, interesting not-Nashville production (or maybe it was? and just of its time, but the production was oddball in an appealing way). Title track of John Deer Tractor set me up for a consistently slant approach to the genre but it was not so, excellent standard bluegrass music and I look forward to listening again and hearing more. Larry is a fabulous guitarist/mandolinist

I have a huge blind spot that I need help with: Teenage Fanclub.

I only know a few songs from my college radio days "Everything Flows" (awesome/great), "The Concept" & "Star Song" (very listenable/good) and then "What You Do To Me" which I get is like a Big Star homage but never really clicked with me.

OK so Everything Flows is off their 1st album A Catholic Education which is OK but kinda patchy

The other 3 songs you mention are from Bandwagonesque which is their 2nd album and usually thought of as their most "classic" album, so maybe go for that one first

After that I would recommend Grand Prix as their other "classic" album