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

Can’t ever go wrong with the Feelies

The Good Earth is my fave Feelies, it's like a whole album of "Dear Prudence."

Have always wanted to get a physical copy of Beta, but it sold out on the St. Et website way too fast.

Yeah Discogs has copies but it's always like thrice the original price.

aww yeah foxbase alpha is legit a top 5 album for me. every note is perfect, the vibe is immense

I loved Foxbase Alpha for decades, then I got Foxbase Beta and loved it all over again anew... Richard X and the band really did a fantastic job reimagining it.

Dr John, "Gris-Gris"

I had (possibly inaccurately) only ever associated the late Doctor with the kind-of boogie-woogie jamming Jools Holland music which is not my thing at all.

But this album is clearly something else, truly bewitching and weird.

Some of the best music ever made feels like it has the power of a spell over you, and this definitely fills that criteria for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD8npKskEdo

his nenoir under a Hoodoo Moon was a good read.
I've heard that the band he was playing with live inb th eaftermath of Gris gris was quite stunning. But not been able to get hold of anything auydio or video from then. THough there is something on the Kralingen festival footage which I think may be a later lineup.

But yeah awesome record I've loved since the late 80s after only having previously heard Walk on Guilded Splinters. Psychedelia without the influence of the Beatles or the Stones though i think he later played with members of both.

memoir is spelt with an m

Babylon and Remedies are both pretty psychedelic but don't quite have the same atmosphere. May be less drifty cos of lack of mandolin or marimba or something. I thought the Atco box was all pretty good though but he does go back to trying to represent the sound of New orleans in a somewhat straighter way a few lps in.

Great tips, thank-you. Yeah, I've looked for footage of the Gris-Gris era band and it's disappointingly scarce, the closest I've got is this clip from Beat Club:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3vI-K4pIgg

I was apparently so impressed with Gris Gris that I wound up telling my brother to check it out multiple times over. So now a running joke in my family is 'hey, have you heard the first Dr. John album?'

And then because I'm slow it took me years to get around to listening to Babylon recently, which I also liked a lot. Which has now prompted a second repetitive line of questioning as you'd imagine.

Ive given up evangelizing for Gris Gris to my friends. Because I also like the later cornball boogie-woogie style Dr John stuff, I think when they hear me say "that first Dr John album is deeply psychedelic and druggy and weird!" they think I mean it just has a Beatles cover or something, lol.

None of the early run matches Gris Gris for me but for weirdness, I'm also a fan of the Remedies LP for the sidelong chain gang freakout suite "Angola Anthem"

Lloyd Cole & the Commotions - Rattlesnakes

xxpost--did not know Foxbase Beta existed! Thanks!

I was aware it existed, but only ever heard the Neil Young cover until this thread corrected that oversight. Not sure how I missed it all these years.

That Neil Young cover though. So transcendent.

today - "jesus' blood never failed me yet" by gavin bryars. i knew sinking of the titanic but nothing else by him. this could so easily feel overwrought but somehow it doesn't. so beautiful.

also this thread inspired me to listen to "the good earth" by the feelies, which i think i had listened to once a long time ago but dismissed bc of its rep for not being as frenetic as the debut. first of all, it's still fairly frenetic, secondly it's an amazing album. i love how far down in the mix the vocals are.

today - "jesus' blood never failed me yet" by gavin bryars. i knew sinking of the titanic but nothing else by him. this could so easily feel overwrought but somehow it doesn't. so beautiful.

Which version? Apparently there's an early version, and then a later version with Tom Waits tacked on at the end, and I remember reading a review that suggested that Waits' presence was overwrought and intrusive. (I've never heard either.)

yeah this is the original recording. i think there are two later versions - an hour-long version and then the 74-minute version with waits

"The original 25-minute version of the piece was first performed by the Music Now Ensemble, conducted by Bryars, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in December 1972, and recorded for Brian Eno's Obscure label in 1975. In 1990 the Gavin Bryars ensemble recorded a 60-minute version, in a restored water-tower in Bourges, France, for Les Disques du Crepuscule. A 74-minute version was recorded in 1993 for the Point label with Tom Waits singing along with the original recording of the man who was homeless during the later sections. In 2019 Gavin Bryars released a live 25-minute version with his ensemble, which included all four of his children, on GB Records"
per wikipedia

spotify (i know) appears to only have the original version and the waits version. i'm skimming the waits version and yeah it is annoying

they played it all in the Virgin megastore the one time i was in there but i had no idea what it was. several years later i found a copy in the 'cds without boxes' bin in whsmiths and recognised the title from the lyrics

I first heard about it when Robert Smith picked it as one of his favourite tracks of all time. Derek Bailey plays guitar on it! I've never liked Tom Waits but the abomination of the later version made me actively hate him.

my copy has about 6 versions on it, waits on the last two, the worst two.

Yeah, I had that.

Tbqh, it’s a once through (with interval) play, the Tom bits are not good but I’ll allow it as it doesn’t delete the first version.

Oh, and the Flaming Lips’ takeoff “White Christmas” is fine too.

I've been playing Titanic/Jesus' Blood pretty constantly for the last month or so. I can appreciate the later expansions, but the original 30 minute versions are great as is. Music for 18 Musicians has been on constant rotation as well.

also this thread inspired me to listen to "the good earth" by the feelies, which i think i had listened to once a long time ago but dismissed bc of its rep for not being as frenetic as the debut. first of all, it's still fairly frenetic, secondly it's an amazing album. i love how far down in the mix the vocals are.

― na (NA), Thursday, May 27, 2021 12:58 PM

nothing to add, just pleased to see more good earth love. it's easily my favorite feelies album.

I don't get "The Good Earth"... it just fails to leave any impression

I bought that album first, and almost gave up on the Feelies completely, but recently picked up the debut, and that one really clicked.

The first one I had was Only Life. For some reason their two major label albums aren't on Spotify.

"Jesus' Blood" is great. I discovered it through an ILM decade poll.

The first one I had was _Only Life_. For some reason their two major label albums aren't on Spotify.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91LLy3h6lSL._SS500_.jpg

holyshitholyshitholyshit

wow, don't know that at all but it looks great!

It's an amazing record. The track with Pharoah Sanders is my favorite because it's like there's a spot in the score where they just wrote "[PHAROAH SANDERS]" and let him do whatever the fuck he wanted. He goes off.

It's insane. I don't know how I made it this long without hearing it. My jaw is on the floor.

Pharaoh does absolutely go off on that track, its ferocious. I also love the track where Larry Coryell comes in to get all Hendrix-Hazel over the top.

The Cecil piece is...peak Cecil, to put it mildly. And the musicians in the orchestra, yeah, they're playing the ensemble parts and not soloing, but holy hell what a lineup: Julius Watkins, Steve Lacy, Jimmy Lyons, George Barrow, Ron Carter, Alan Silva, Howard Johnson, Charlie Haden, Jimmy Knepper, Richard Davis...

To add to unperson's post above, the scores are online and for "Preview" (the Sanders solo track), the instructions are:

(tenor sax SOLO ad lib throughout - fast, highest intensity)

haha I kind of hate the Coryell piece, or at least Coryell's playing on it. He really can't do what he's trying to do (or what he thinks he's doing). It always sounded to me like a "jazz snob" approaching "rock" with an "Oh sure, I can play that stuff!" approach...and he's, among other things, unfocused, meandering, and generally clueless.

xp

That's fair and, to be sure, in no way do I think his playing is at the Hendrix or Hazel level, but I dunno, I really dig the tone and contract it gives to everything else.

I will say I do like his tone on that piece. And the accompanying photos of him wrestling with feedback (and his hat falling off).

Ray Charles - The Genius Sings the Blues

another one that i'm not really sure belongs here*, as it's a rather obscure one and was never popular when it was initially released, BUT. . .

i see i posted on here almost two years ago about the wonderful luiz bonfa + maria toledo album braziliana and that's a good progenitor to this post. as much as i love that album, i became somewhat disappointed in repeat listens at the lack of toledo vocal numbers.

an aside: in my post upthread about this album, i mistakenly assumed that astrud gilberto was first. THIS IS NOT ACCURATE. maria was actually the first brazilian vocalist to record in nyc with stan getz and she co-wrote many tunes that turned into samba standards. absolute badass.

anyway, as i revisited that album more, i wanted to hear more of just maria. turns out, she didn't really record that much after the collaboration with stan getz. she did do one album under her own name in 1967, but it's not very easy to come by these days (i ordered a used cd copy from japan, but have not received it yet). she mostly composed with luiz, stuck to backing vocals, and just generally was more behind the scenes. again: absolute. bad. ass.

anyway. that's not what i'm making this post about.

(but please expect another revive whenever i'm able to hear that 1967 album in full)

we are here today to appreciate the 1970s. what a funky, horrible, good time. it was in the fourth year of that decade that luiz bonfa inexplicably teamed up with john martyn's producer (!!??!?!?), eumir deodato, and some american heavyweight session funkateers (like idris muhammad and stanley clarke, nbd) to make jacaranda. what happens when you take a folk guitar prodigy and give him some simmering large ensemble grooves? fucken magic, that's what. it's like a more flowing, samba-fied david axelrod lp. mellow and warm, with just the right amount of contemporary touches to really ignite sparks. upon discovery, i was all like, "oh that's another album i'll never hear because it's forever stuck in catalogue purgatory."

but, oh look, it's on spotify. delicious.

also, look at the amount of satisfaction in this man's face AND LOOK AT HIS AWESOME TWELVE STRING GUITAR OMG IT'S SO FREAKIN COOL: photos by maria. ♥

a proper assessment of bonfa's catalogue is in order it seems. ILX HAS NO DEDICATED LUIZ BONFA TOPIC THO C'MON FAM.

also hey, while we're here and doing the things, here is the most information i've been able to find about maria toledo's life. xpost to "people who have figured out how to live." also i made a playlist of all of the songs where you can hear her vocals in various roles. really just need more of this aesthetic is my life, honestly.

*is there a more general "hey old music you are now finding and loving" topic and i'm just an asshole that doesn't know how to search properly? please direct me.

Listening to Jacarandá right now and it does indeed go hard.

Regarding Brazilian legends teaming up with US session musicians, have you heard that Soul Jazz comp of that stuff?

Regarding Brazilian legends teaming up with US session musicians, have you heard that Soul Jazz comp of that stuff?

― Daniel_Rf, Monday, July 12, 2021 3:28 AM

NO!!??

this one? looks like it's only partially available on the internet jukebox. blast!

well i got the maria toledo album. it's so good. nothing unexpected or surprising, just very beautiful music. i put it on youtube since it's not on spotify.

So Alice Coltrane's Journey to Satchidananda has been knocking everyone out these last few years, right? I seem to see it online everywhere, often near a thumbnail of Kind of Blue, Love Supreme.

Would it safe to say Aughts:Tusk::Teens:Satchidananda ? What else has had its reputation ascend like this in the last decade?

"Bongo Fury" Zappa/Beefheart

See, I'd seen the songwriting credits and thought that Don only sang two short songs. But, no he sings on nearly all of them even though they are Frank's lyrics. Does a pretty fine job all told.

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Holy shit. While I'm sure it's fair to call it a "classic," I feel like this album does not get touted widely enough outside of prog rock discourse. I should have been compelled to listen to this years ago!

Are you generally a prog fan?