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

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.

It's a classic in my house.

The first three P-Furs albums range from awesome to exceptonal.

"India" is certainly an all-time great first album opener

Did John Hughes soundtracks prevent the early records from making it into the cool post-punk bin?

They always were there in the UK.

The soundtrack version of "Pretty in Pink" was, like most of the other tracks on that album, lamentable.

The Essential Pavarotti on Decca. Sheer magnificence

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.

The soundtrack version of "Pretty in Pink" was, like most of the other tracks on that album, lamentable.

― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux)

Say what?
That soundtrack is the platonic ideal of the form.

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."

I didn't because I had never heard "Shellshock" before in my life. I loved that soundtrack wholeheartedly.

What about "Shellshock" makes you sick unless you mean 'Oh my god I'm lovesick!"?

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.

I dunno, it fits without a slip into Miami freestyle.

I wasn't ready for New Order to do Miami freestyle. They were Mancunian gloom masters.

But in the two years before "Shellshock" came "Love Vigilantes," "Sub-culture," "Confusion...."

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."

and...you haven't changed your mind? What did you think of New Order after 1986?

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.

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

Yes, that U-Roy album is so good.

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.

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

LOL

I was expecting something spooky, at least. A bait and switch almost on the level of Sea Monkeys.

Skull & Roses is the album that finally got me into the Dead (after several false starts).

(It's probably still my favorite, TBH)

The band photo on the inside is classic. Immensely powerful "filthy hippies" vibes.

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.

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.

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, February 23, 2023 12:30 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

totally

i mean i didn't but i wasn't knowledgeable enough to know that a band like hawkwind could exist

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

always blows my mind that Tiger Mountain is from '74 and not like, '77

looking for the others and, at the risk of sounding like tracer hand, i'm not sure where to buy cds from anymore (that isn't amazon). not vaguely mainstream back-catalogue cds. boomkat doesn't have it, bandcamp doesn't have it, hmv.com isn't loading...

(whsmiths online do, and i can get it delivered to a branch which saves me some postage, am now looking for other things from my list to make it slightly more worthwhile)

In the UK, maybe Action Records? Looks like they've got plenty of Eno.

I'm into discovering 60s boomer records, like I really like the first Procul Harum album, as boring as Whiter Shade of Pale seems, it works in the context of the album.

I would like one late pass to De La Soul Is Dead, please

The last "Classic" album I was etc, was probably "Blood on the Tracks". A few years ago, when the "test pressing" came out, but

mccoy tyner, “expansions”

(a whole host of classic jazz records really.)

all those Tyner records are great including the ones on Milestone

xps Rarewaves are also decent in the UK. They have TTMBS for £5.64: https://www.rarewaves.com/products/5099968453626-taking-tiger-mountain-by-strategy

Expansions is really great. I got it and listened to it a bunch before realizing how good it is. Second side especially.