Belatedly, "Power" is their first fully awesome track.
perhaps not coincidentally, also the first one that's caught my ear and feels less derivative than other stuff (even though it definitely slots right in with similar stuff by Kool & The Gang, Cymande, Mandrill etc.) but it just sounds better thought out and composed, and the sax solo is appropriately freewheeling. Maybe I just don't like their vocals idk.
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 28 November 2018 18:07 (five years ago) link
"Where Have All the Flowers Gone" (Last Days and Time, 1972)
Yes, the Pete Seeger song. Meh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC3VH-aAfyU
― grawlix (unperson), Thursday, 29 November 2018 14:24 (five years ago) link
The most hysterical cut in their entire catalogue.
― I Never Promised You A Hose Harden (Eric H.), Thursday, 29 November 2018 14:26 (five years ago) link
The vocal arrangement doesn't fit for the song. Just a bad idea all around.
― Timothée Charalambides (cryptosicko), Thursday, 29 November 2018 15:55 (five years ago) link
Yeah, this feels like an arrangement you'd write for a college music degree assignment. Apparently Clive Davis, The head of their new label, suggested they cut this and "Make It With You". I guess you don't tell your new boss where to stick his bad ideas.
― Ρεμπετολογια, Thursday, 29 November 2018 16:18 (five years ago) link
My apologies for killing this thread everybody
― Ρεμπετολογια, Friday, 7 December 2018 22:14 (five years ago) link
look if you guys can't keep this going I'm just going to start my BEE GEES thread
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 12 December 2018 22:11 (five years ago) link
so this won the poll but nobody actually wanted to do it eh
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 13 December 2018 16:57 (five years ago) link
Ultimately they don't have the delicate balance of ridiculousness/embarrassment/actual great material it takes to be a successful thread
― No Smockin' (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 13 December 2018 17:07 (five years ago) link
yeah judging from this initial run there's a lot of middling material that is neither entertainingly and egregiously bad nor particularly deep or great
so
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 13 December 2018 17:13 (five years ago) link
did you guys get to "evil"? That might be my favorite of theirs. I'm a sucker for a rainy intro.. and then when the rest of the band blasts in and simmers... oh what a beginning. loaded with hooks, incredible atmosphere and mellow low key 70s sound... ahhhh. just an absolutely superb production, performance, and song all around.
― brimstead, Thursday, 13 December 2018 17:15 (five years ago) link
Judging EW&F from this initial run is idiotic.
― I Never Promised You A Hose Harden (Eric H.), Thursday, 13 December 2018 17:33 (five years ago) link
yeah well that's where the thread stopped ennit
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 13 December 2018 17:34 (five years ago) link
I'm not saying they aren't great, I'm saying they aren't dumb/goofy enough!
they just seem like...a really good band that had good songs, which these threads need the really weird bad/cringey moments
― No Smockin' (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 13 December 2018 17:35 (five years ago) link
yeah I agree w that
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 13 December 2018 17:36 (five years ago) link
well tbf I don't actually think they're that great, I think they're fine but yeah they are lacking in the dumb/goofy/terrible dept that has made these kind of threads enjoyable in the past
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 13 December 2018 17:37 (five years ago) link
― Οὖτις, Thursday, December 13, 2018 9:57 AM (forty minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
which poll?
― тпсбlack (Spottie), Thursday, 13 December 2018 17:38 (five years ago) link
what dedicated listening thread should we do next (the poll)
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 13 December 2018 17:43 (five years ago) link
There are bad/cringey moments throughout the mid-80s and beyond, but basically the next 10 albums in line here are monolithically uniform -- whether that means, to you, middling or superior.
― I Never Promised You A Hose Harden (Eric H.), Thursday, 13 December 2018 17:44 (five years ago) link
And the latter camp (to which I belong) hardly needs a listening thread, especially when it'll be filled with people who can't comprehend the majesty of "Be Ever Wonderful," "Fantasy," "Reasons," "Getaway," et al.
― I Never Promised You A Hose Harden (Eric H.), Thursday, 13 December 2018 17:45 (five years ago) link
thx shakey
― тпсбlack (Spottie), Thursday, 13 December 2018 17:46 (five years ago) link
right, so on to the Bee Gees then right
xp
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 13 December 2018 17:46 (five years ago) link
You had a good run, EW&F listening thread, but sad to say you did not meet down to the standards of badness.
― I Never Promised You A Hose Harden (Eric H.), Thursday, 13 December 2018 18:00 (five years ago) link
listening to "Evil" now this is awesome
― No Smockin' (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 13 December 2018 18:02 (five years ago) link
it's ok - that descending 4-note riff kinda wears out its welcome imo
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 13 December 2018 18:07 (five years ago) link
I meant to keep this thread going but I've literally been on planes half of the last two weeks (3 days in Oslo followed by 3 days in Stockholm) - my life is a tidal wave of chaos right now and getting it together to do a daily post kinda slid down the ladder of priorities. My apologies.
― grawlix (unperson), Thursday, 13 December 2018 18:26 (five years ago) link
no worries, do you want to just put this on hold for awhile or...?
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 13 December 2018 18:27 (five years ago) link
Honestly, response has been fairly minimal, and once we got a little deeper into the Columbia albums it really would become one awesome song after another with no goofy weirdness or anything - it'd be really hard to just say "Yeah, this song is amazing" over and over again. If folks wanna move on to the Bee Gees, I'm fine with it. Especially since the chaos I just described has in no way abated and will probably get even worse in early 2019.
― grawlix (unperson), Thursday, 13 December 2018 18:29 (five years ago) link
I'm fine for now just saying that Open Our Eyes through Powerlight is one banger after another and I can think of no other band that managed to sustain a longer run of pure pleasure, and leave it at that.
― I Never Promised You A Hose Harden (Eric H.), Thursday, 13 December 2018 18:33 (five years ago) link
^^^
Pretty much, yeah. Also that Gratitude is one of the great live albums of the 1970s (the golden era for live albums).
― grawlix (unperson), Thursday, 13 December 2018 18:35 (five years ago) link
I only know the singles and a couple of albums, but I can see now that EW&F might have been better served by an artist poll than a listening thread.
― Timothée Charalambides (cryptosicko), Thursday, 13 December 2018 20:20 (five years ago) link
Let's fast track that, please.
― I Never Promised You A Hose Harden (Eric H.), Thursday, 13 December 2018 20:27 (five years ago) link
Glad you mentioned Powerlight because the singles at least rule.
― Your sweetie-pie-coo-coo I love ya (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 13 December 2018 20:28 (five years ago) link
I even stan for parts of Electric Universe but I realize that's probably taking it a step too far.
― I Never Promised You A Hose Harden (Eric H.), Thursday, 13 December 2018 20:29 (five years ago) link
I love that thin slinky post-disco sound of Raise!-Powerlight
― Your sweetie-pie-coo-coo I love ya (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 13 December 2018 21:02 (five years ago) link
I just went through a EWF binge after reading Maurice White's book, and as much as I like them I think it would be a hard slog, because there are none of the obvious missteps or just plain crap songs that made the Eagles or Rod Stewart or Billy Joel fun to comment on. You need the good and the bad. How about Marvin Gaye post WGO, or Aretha?
― Ρεμπετολογια, Tuesday, October 30, 2018 8:16 AM (one month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Don't say I didn't warn you
― Ρεμπετολογια, Thursday, 13 December 2018 23:42 (five years ago) link