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

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?

Not historically but I've been dipping my toes in more recently and generally really like Gabriel-era Genesis stuff I've heard, but Lamb feels like a different beast.

Genuinely astonished (given the interest generated by music blogs over the last 15 years) to discover that Jacaranda hasn't been reissued since 1998, and not outside Brazil since the 70's.

Richard P havens, 1983
Got it like 2 weeks ago and have been digging t,. been aware f him for years but not really explored his work. Like I saw Woodstock for the first time in the mid 80s I think . So would have seen him on that and probably come across a couple of tracks by him.
BUt do love the atmosphere and teh reworkings of the material he covers.
& want to investigate more of his work.

Not sure what else I've discovered recently that is an actual lp. Loving the Etta James compi that I've had spinning for the last couple of weeks. & the early Tejano stuff I got recently..

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0127880947_5.jpg

Yeah I know, this was a blank spot in my Sun Ra until I picked up the new definitive edition. Holy shit I love this.

yes lanquidity rules!!!! the disco kid on guitar! \m/

do you know / like the other acclaimed albums (disco 3000, sleeping beauty, on jupiter, etc.) from around the time? lanquidity is the best, but they're all the best honestly.

I really like Omniverse from 1979

Mobb Deep - The Infamous.

holy shit

yeah. in my house, that’s the best album of the 90s in any genre

i finally took the max b plunge and have been listening to “coke wave” over and over in the frozen wasteland of nyc isolation and it’s playing a major role in my staying sane. free max b

New Order's "Power, Corruption & Lies". I've had it on vinyl for almost 17 years (oh, to be able to buy records like that for $5.99 now), but it's never really spoken to me before. The other night - the sound, the synthesizers, hooks everywhere, the propulsion and yearning - it created a powerful regret I didn't go to clubs to dance to that stuff when I was younger.

Springsteen’s Nebraska is really clicking with me atm. Loved “state trooper” but thought the rest was a bit dull and didn’t think much of it. Been playing it this weekend and it has finally revealed itself to me as a masterpiece.

I think it’s 4 stars out of 5 for me. I know part of the appeal is how it’s pretty much it’s just Springsteen recording on a 4-track but some songs would benefit of a backing band doing simple things like on “I’m on fire” which is still my favorite song of his.

That said yeah I can see why Nebraska is considered by some to be his best work.

New Order's "Power, Corruption & Lies". I've had it on vinyl for almost 17 years (oh, to be able to buy records like that for $5.99 now)

Lemme tell ya about my nice US press of PCL I got for $1 US at a flea market in the mid-'00s...

Actually, that's the whole story.

Springsteen’s Nebraska is really clicking with me atm. Loved “state trooper” but thought the rest was a bit dull and didn’t think much of it. Been playing it this weekend and it has finally revealed itself to me as a masterpiece.

This happened to me the other day; I was inspired to re-listen based on the "best music made on really cheap equipment" thread and it really struck me as a pretty astonishing work, particularly the extra touches - the haunted-sounding background vocals, the very few additional instruments on one or two songs - and the super atmospheric reverb and hiss, which is a result of the crappy source but when heard as a conscious choice is fucking brilliant. I am very much a non-fan of Springsteen's but if I had to have one album of his in my house it would absolutely be that one.

Yes completely agree. I’d say that even though I think some songs could benefit from a backing band I have the opposite problem with “born in the usa”… that one would really benefit from a stripped down approach.

I think “I’m on fire” is the one I like the best from his work because it’s a good middleground between both albums: soft yet a little bit haunting.

The canniest choice with Nebraska was making side 1 much longer than side 2. After the break, the record is relatively less intense. "My Father's House" is an incredibly boring song, though.

"My Father's House" is much better in the Christic performance. I think he just hadn't gotten it quite right when he recorded it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v9tzRSSPPM

I agree about "I'm on Fire" being a middle ground. It has such a sense of atmosphere, a sense of being more than what it is, which is everywhere in Nebraska and very hard to find in Bruce's work with the band. I hate to be all "x song is a vibe," but one of the distinctive things about Bruce + E. Street imo is that their songs are never vibes - except for "I'm on Fire," where he managed to get a sense of raw and nuanced and indefinable feeling out of the band and make it look easy.

Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (1954)

^^^ That's an amazing album. Check out Satch Plays Fats if you haven't already heard it.

Thanks, I'll check that one too. For a second I thought that "Fats" meant Fats Domino.

Aerial Ballet. Such a brilliant record that i somehiw ignored because i mistakingly thought it sounds outdated

http://cdn-s3.allmusic.com/release-covers/500/0000/352/0000352704.jpg

On white vinyl. Amazing.

'the lexicon of love'.
― cºzen (Cozen), Wednesday, July 28, 2004 2:05 PM (seventeen years ago) bookmarkflaglink

Finally caught up to this one.

Grupo Irakere and a bunch of other Salsa related stuff from the 70s. PLus several mande related things.

Rediscovering my Club Baobab set by Orchestra baobab which si pretty stunning. Guitar especially great.

listened to it a few times in the past, but yeah, violator has the goods

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

Finally got a copy of the Andy Irvine & Paul Brady lp cos it finally got a decent remaster.
Lovely mid 70s traditional Irish based lp.
Quite beautiful. It is something that I have meant to get hold of for years, I had ome money come my way for something unexpected so got i.
So nice way to commemorate an event I nearly boycotted. But turned out nice.
& it is a sublime record.

Technically not an album, but I remember ignoring Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense (the film) for ages, because I assumed it was one of those concert shows where the band smiles at each other and everybody jams and it's slick and it's all precisely-recorded etc. And I'm not keen on Talking Heads.

But! Well, actually it is all of those things, but it's better than I expected and I found myself warming to the songs. Even the versions of the groove songs from Remain in Light are good. Perhaps I'm getting old. I mean, it didn't knock me out, but I remember wondering how a man could sweat so much without getting dehydrated, and how many calories they all burned, and how it was possible for people to do shows like that night after night - it's because they were young, and professional musicians with many years' experience - and those thoughts didn't go through my mind when I first heard Dark Side of the Moon (for example).

Conversely I remember being slightly disappointed with Propaganda's A Secret Wish. It's like a really good 10". The decision to have two versions of "Duel" next to each other wasn't a good one.

Miles Davis "Kind of Blue", because somebody hit me with a baseball bat with the cassette glued to the end of it

really?

i mean i hope it's just a goof, but hey: free copy of kind of blue!

"hey man, you gotta hear these wire demos. they're gonna..."

*stares intensely*

"knock you out."