The Smiley Smile Message Board

Spotify Playlist Updated Weekly:

http://open.spotify.com/user/1155763365/playlist/2aIlXmI9w4GOWP9ARLS49L

Here is a Spotify playlist for this music listening chat. I will update it as we go along.

http://open.spotify.com/user/1155763365/playlist/2aIlXmI9w4GOWP9ARLS49L

I like the saxophone. Although it took some willpower in order to overcome an immediate bad reaction. Some are repulsed by 50's-style sax solos - I am repulsed by full-time members of a band who play baritone sax . I have some 90's related PTSD from being taken to Dave Matthews Band concerts*.sorry to be a negative nellie.  *against my will *

The first few tracks especially are resonating lyrically with me.

I will be listening to this in the next bit!

My contributions this time around are most likely going to be intermittent, off-the-cuff comments. (Maybe sometimes I'll do more thorough, thoughtful reviews. Maybe not. Is the suspense killing you? Thought so.)

I've been avoiding Morphine in general for so long I can't quite recall why. I've never listened to them, not because of any particular dislike, but more like an ongoing game of tag played in reverse.

Unfortunately relevant to my comments, I rarely want to hear a baritone sing pop music and I even more rarely want to hear a saxophone in pop music.

Those things said, I really, really liked "Honey White." That's rock and roll right there. The sax line is great, the beat is great, it drives. I could do with louder drums, but then again I'm useless mixing tracks, so ignore my ideas. There is something Jonathan Richman-like about this, but not directly. Maybe it's the pure glow of 1950s abandon. Maybe it's the breathy "I'd like to see a little more fat." But whatever it is, it works. "Honey White" is a really good song. I should buy "Honey White."

Honey White was my introduction to the band - I found this video and I thought it was way too cool
Check it dawg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=werfWmS8QSc

Halfway through the album--I relistened to those first few songs a couple times last night but never finished it--I'm not digging it anymore. But because I don't dislike it, either, I'm trying to think of what mood or age or era of me would like it. I'm sure this is something I would have liked at some time or will like later. Or maybe it's just a part of that huge mass of music that isn't bad or great, but is mostly okay and sometimes better or worse than that. It isn't really holding my attention, and in fact is almost hypnotic in such a way as to push away my attention. There are occasional breaks, lyrics, or other moments that do grab me, and they're welcome.

I still don't much like baritone singers.

I enjoyed it. The second half was better than the first, I think; less sax and more bizarre stops and starts, and Stanshall-esque monologues, which I really liked because I'm a berk. Ending on a lovely acoustic track didn't hurt at all either.

I really dig this album! I love jazz, and I love alt rock. It's pretty much a prefect blend of the two.

I was immediately blown away at how powerful and heavy these guys sound. I wasn't expecting something like this coming from a 3 piece band consisting mainly of a sax, a bass, and drums. It's a very neat, and unique sound; something I haven't heard before. Although I've never been a huge fan of baritone vocalists, I do think Mark Sandman's vocals end up fitting perfectly.

I think this album is definitely worth listening to again. Anything else by Morphine that's worth listening to?

Each Morphine album is pretty different. The only one I don't like is their first - its not really bad, but it doesn't have the things I like about the band.

Cure for Pain is their second. It's very dreamy and mellow...here's the opening track https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZjZBe6o78M
Then comes Yes...
Like Swimming is psychedelic and weird and experimental. I've listened to it a number of times and I'm still not very familiar with it.
The Night came out after Mark died, and is an amazing coda. Here's the title track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZVE9OqqhZk

It's a great, varied body of work.

I have been travelling so only getting a chance to listen properly now. Am a few tracks in and am enjoying it so far.

Okay, apologies for the delay! I have listened to it a couple of times now and am ready to offer my thoughts like some delicious cured meats for the benefit of all.

I am generally pretty skeptical about rock that adopts Jazz in this kind of manner. There was nothing about this record that turned the Jazz liking switch off in my head, which is a prominent and enjoyable switch to hit. After a bit though I did warm to it on the level of a somehow intriguing sound: pleasingly minimal in its fashion, though can any outfit with a saxophone be truly said to be minimal? This is surely an important philosophical discussion for some date in the future. The character that the vocals brings to it is what landed me on the side of liking the album. The manner in which things were rocked out reminded me a portion of the attitude on the more straight ahead, less atmospheric stuff by the Jesus & Mary Chain. I also enjoyed some of the humour on the thing and can't quite be sure what to think of Super Sex as ironic buffoonery or heartfelt exaltation of flesh. Either way I approve.

Some other tracks I enjoyed:

Scratch
Whisper
Gone For Good

I have not heard this band before to my knowledge and will give some of their other stuff a go in the near future.

Sure music with sax can be minimal. Really, as a monophonic instrument, having it instead of guitar or keyboards is absolutely minimalist. The jazz part is more questionable. I heard more rock n roll than jazz.

(It's funny that you love Prince but are skeptical about jazz in rock btw.)

Nah so did I. I didn't hear any Jazz on here really. Not a distaste for Jazz or Jazz influences, more a distaste for a certain self-conscious and confused way that some rock folks grab things that they identify with a classy genre without understanding anything about it or possessing the ability to actually integrate it into another genre. The tag "eclectic" in this context usually means "hopelessly out of their depth," "pretentious" and "shite".

I didn't find this album to be that.

People overuse "post of the day" and such, but let's just say I heartily enjoyed and agreed with this sentence.

Hey I love this album!  It's an old favorite.  It goes really well with weed.  So if you're not digging it, you now know what you need.   ;D

Seems I can't participate in this just yet due to internet issues, but I'll share what I thought at the time, based on radio play and a live TV appearance: Cool sound, impressive sax, and a vocal which somewhat resembles that of Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits, which, once noticed, can never subsequently go unnoticed.

Interesting. Not my type of music, but I can appreciate the talent that it took to make it. It was a lot different than I expected it to be. The track I liked the most is Gone For Good. I like All Your Way too. The most interesting track I found was Free Love because it's kinda trippy. It's just an interesting album.   :)

Not really the kind of music I listen to, but did listen to Yes several times this past week.  Completely unfamiliar with Morphine.  Took the time to check some of their other album tracks.   I watched MTV back in the 90's, so probably saw the clip "Honey White" you posted from 120 Minutes.  Strong track, I liked the live version better than the studio.  Back then they would have needed more promotion from radio and MTV to make it.  Now you have everything on youtube.  You can discover artists on your own without having to wait a hour for a favorite to show up in the rotation.  I didn't have a computer back in the mid-90's, was youtube or other music services around back then?

The group limits themselves too much on the studio material.  They needed a stronger drummer, and the sax (as far as I can tell, just one kind of sax) is not enough to lead nearly every number.  If Mark is playing guitar on "Gone for Good," then he should add that to some of the other tracks - he can wing it live with just the bass.  They don't seem to be going for recreating the studio sound live anyway, from the few I listened to.  "Whisper" is good.  That adds piano to the mix.  Again, if that's someone in the band, flesh out the studio tracks.  "Scratch" and "Radar" are good too.  "Free Love" has a nice groove, but by this point in the record, I was having trouble staying interested in the lyrics.  On "I Had My Chance" "The Jury" "Sharks" - Mark just has nothing to say.  Mark is creative on bass, but the sax player can't keep my interest as the lead instrument.  Makes the tracks too similar.  All the tracks I previewed from the other records showed the same hand.

I can see how they could hold a fan base live.  "Super Sex" must have got the crowd going.  It's good bar music - good to drink to.  The groups I thought of while listening were:  Cake (from Sacramento) - different horn, same idea - while "Yes" played.  I liked that one.  With all the heavy use of sax, Audience came to mind more than once.  Lou Reed - that bass line on "All Your Way" reminded me of "Take a Walk on the Wild Side."

This band, and this record could grow with repeat plays.  Looking forward to your next pick.  I'd like to see this work.  General Music Discussion needs more interest. 

I have added you to the list. I also hope that this takes off in a good way! Looking forward to hearing the next choice tomorrow.

Amen. It's a great alternative to 20-page, multiweek threads devolving into the same two topics (doused with a generous helping of personal insults). MugginsXO, this was a good idea.

One more comment on the album before its time runs out and we move on to our week two selection: I think feelsflow is right about the inherently limiting instrumentation. It makes sense as an initial concept. I think that constrictions can really force creativity sometimes, keep you from being into a rut personally and of course help you get noticed. A '90s band that's a power trio, but with two-string bass and sax? That's unusual. No doubt it would also help focus the band into interesting things. But over time, it's an artificial constriction and can't help but sound tired. Even a more typical rock band format--say, drums, bass, a guitar or two, a keyboard instrument--can get tired after a while. Hence the world of overdubbed horns, winds, strings, background vocalists, etc.

This was cool as a listen-as-exercise way, but I think if I had been a fan following them in real-time, I'd have gotten restless pretty quickly.

Played the Wild Things soundtrack CD today and when the 2 Morphine tracks came on, I remembered our project. :-X Gonna listen tomorrow, Sunday, still on time.

Check out 'Like Swimming' if you do want a follow up with more experimental and diverse sounds and instrumentation. It's got some great stuff.

My choice for this upcoming week is From Elvis In Memphis by Elvis Presley. One of my favorites and I hope you enjoy it. :)

https://play.spotify.com/user/jbertram0015/playlist/1YEgHzkmQDf5WyNliVL0Ve (https://play.spotify.com/user/jbertram0015/playlist/1YEgHzkmQDf5WyNliVL0Ve)

Looking forward to listening to this later today.

Fun choice. Can I make a suggestion that each album gets its own thread though? Might help things from getting jumbled, especially if anyone weighs in late on albums (which seems increasingly likely as we move on).

That said, not a big deal. Just a thought.

I look fed to weighing in on this.

I think we should keep it all in one so everything is under one roof and past albums are readily available.

I know I'm a little behind but I just got around to listen to Morphine's Yes - and so far I like what I'm hearing. Elvis for record #2 is quite something, too!


EDIT: Sexy saxophone jazzrock....

EDIT: Quite interesting, sonically. Not my cup of tea in the long run, though. I feel I don't 'get' much of it.


(http://oi62.tinypic.com/n66b5u.jpg)



EDIT: All in all it was an interesting experience, all things considered. Thank you! Closing track is running now, I like it quite a bit.

Yep, I'm also behind. I shall catch up and continue to update this post.
I think having a saxophone being the lead instrument in a rock power-trio is a novel idea, but I am unsure if it will work across an entire album.

I think "Honey White" was a good idea to kick off the album, it's probably a good example of what this sort of group is capable of. It's a fun, punchy song.
"Scratch" sounds a little too 90's for me, although I guess I'll have to get used to that. It's sort of just a drag after "Honey White."
"Radar" is pretty cool. Nice saxophone riffs, kinda ominous. The spoken bits are a little awkward, though. It seems like something you would think of, try it out, and then ditch it after playing it back.
"Whisper" was a bit murky and forgettable. The sax seemed totally out of place at certain points. It was like listening to grunge with smooth jazz on top of it and I just got confused.

I'm sort of getting the feeling that I'm just listening to one really long song.

I'll be honest - me and the 90's don't get along well.

"The Jury" is interesting... Not really much of a song. "Sharks" is pretty much the same thing (as in: nothing). The instrumental freak-out bits are cool.
"Free Love" is pretty cool. Very sinister feel to it, although I think I might prefer a different singer.
"Gone for Good" is nice, but it feels sorta out of place. Like I said, I would probably like it a bit more if it had a different singer, although I can see how someone would like his singing and find his delivery on this song very emotional. I feel like he could have done something a little more interesting with the guitar, but maybe that's the point.

In the end, I wouldn't consider myself a fan. The songs just across this one album were very similar (but maybe that's a lack of familiarity) and I can't imagine I would be too interested in hearing their other songs on offer. On to Elvis!

Some people--including several on this board and the one other I frequent--know a sh*t-ton about Elvis. I'm not one of those people. I heard some Elvis listening to my parents' record collection in the late '70s and early '80s and a little bit more from some cassettes my older brothers inexplicably bought in the early '90s. (They weren't really Elvis fans and there was nothing cool about buying what I think in hindsight were bargain-price collections, mostly of '70s live material. I was listening to Poison and GnR. I was so cool. Damn, I'm cool.)

From Elvis in Memphis is right between what my parents enjoyed and what my older brothers purchased (and seemingly enjoyed). It's not 1956, sex-god Elvis, but neither is it big-banded, leisure-suited Elvis. My first knowledge of these songs came from live renditions on the aforementioned brothers' cassettes; my first knowledge of this album--and its companion Back in Memphis--is from a 2009 compilation with those two albums plus an assortment of singles and bonus tracks.

All of that is context. You don't care.

My first reaction to this choice was, "great!" My second was, "wait, which one is that?"

Sadly, it's not the one I hoped. I like this album but I do not love it. I prefer Back in Memphis, which has material I find stronger. That said …

"Wearin' That Loved On Look" is almost a flat-out, all-time classic song. It's funky rock 'n' roll that suffers to my ears only by a mix that isn't as ballsy as it could be. As with any Elvis song, it almost starts and ends with the vocal, and as I have ingrained into my mind from some documentary or other, "the one thing he never lost was that beautiful voice." f***, Elvis Presley could sing. He might be among the most criminally underrated singers in rock history at the moment, as he seems to have faded out of fashion among much of the current population (many of whom are, like me, far too young to actually remember him at all, much less in his prime).

But this song cooks. Its beat is great, propulsive. The guitar licks are great. The organ sounds good. The bass is bouncing. There's just something about how it doesn't seem to come together, especially as Elvis joins the background singers in the "shoop shop" bits. It's nit picky, but that's how I feel: the song was a great mix away from being a stone cold classic.

After that the album loses steam to my ears. "In the Ghetto" is great, if saccharine, though I'd take the punchier single. I like "I'm Movin' On" and the steamy "Power of my Love," sadly sequenced well into the album. "Gentle On My Mind" and "Long Black Limousine" are beautiful. "Any Day Now" is a great combination of styles, bringing the motion of and tempo of rock and roll with a nice string and background vocal arrangement (to say nothing of, yes, a stellar vocal).

All in all, the album is too ballad-heavy for me. Don't get me wrong: when you have a singer like Elvis, I understand that you let him sing. And his ballads no doubt made the female fans open their pocketbooks along with their, uh … well suffice to say even I find the guy sexy, and I'm straight. I mean, seriously. So I get it.

The next album brings "Inherit the Wind," "Stranger in My Own Home Town," and my beloved "This is the Story," which has a wicked chord change that struck me on first listen and still does. And the sessions also have great singles "Suspicious Minds," "Rubberneckin," and "Kentucky Rain" as well.

It's a silly practice but one Beach Boys are familiar with: you could make one of the top 10 albums in pop music history with the Memphis sessions. Instead we got two good albums and some great singles.

Lest I come across salty, I should reiterate I really like this album (as well as its companions). And it's this era of Elvis that helped teach me--or reteach me--how fucking good Elvis Presley was. I've since been able to get into more of his music across a wider span of years, realizing that (as is the case with many or even most of the greats) pretty much anything he did couldn't be all bad.

Fun listen and looking forward to others' comments.

I like Back In Memphis too. I just slightly prefer From Elvis In Memphis. I'm glad you liked it. :)

Nice post the captain!

The Back In Memphis album btw was originally released as part of a double album called "From Memphis to Vegas/From Vegas to Memphis". The other record of that album was imo one of the greatest live rock albums ever. Both albums were later separately issued as "In person" and "Back in Memphis". Personally I like the Back In Memphis album very much as part of the double album.
Presley of course loved ballads (something I can relate to). You have to remember that he never auditioned as a rock-, country- or bluessinger but as a balladsinger.

I'll wait 'til the discussion about From Elvis In Memphis is calming down and then might post some informations about the songs and Elvis' influences for his versions that might be interesting to some people.

Let me preface this bit of writing with an acknowledgment that I still haven't had a sustained period of Elvis listening in my life. Previously this was due to the overwhelming number of things to buy/consume and my obsessive need to try to listen to all of somebody's catalogue in one go. Now it is one of Spotify presenting me with so many careers I have to listen to in a week or what have you. I have done all of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Mel Torme, Billie Holiday, Bill Evans and others in this fashion and while it can be exhausting, it is immensely satisfying to go from having a moderate knowledge of someone to hearing every single thing they did. A streaming service like Spotify facilitates this kind of listening in a way that was previously either excessively expensive or tinged with illegality. I hope to in the near-ish future find a mood and a time to give Elvis sufficient time to get a hold of him.

As for this album, I enjoyed it. It has a nice sound. I particularly enjoy the backing singers/horns and that. Not sure I am particularly enamoured with the Elvis character – which does seem necessary to truly love/appreciate his music – but I do certainly enjoy his stuff. I particularly enjoyed Gentle On My Mind, I’m Movin’ On and True Love Travels on a Gravel Road which is my favourite here I think. When I was six or seven I loved In The Ghetto, hearing it again I am not sure if it is on the right side of the cloggy/fresh divide. Sounds heavy handed after some years away. Don’t know about those strings. 

Anyway, a good album and a good choice. It will push me to make a big playlist for sure.     

Nice to know that I'm not the only one that likes Back In Memphis. I can't say I like it better than From Elvis In Memphis, but as the second disc in the From Memphis to Vegas double set, it's always felt like a great way to cool down after the hot rockin' live sides.

I agree that many of these mixes are unsatisfying to the modern ear. It's hard to listen to the lyrics and groove on the beat at all times, which is odd 'cause all these lyrics are good and the drumming is excellent throughout. Putting some effort into enjoying these original mixes for authenticity's sake is just what we'll all have to do. Unless anyone has a copy of The Memphis Record on their computer??

I'd never listened to an Elvis album before - hadn't even thought about trying one of his later albums - but I enjoyed this one quite a bit, to my surprise. Good funky production. "Only the Strong Survive", "True Love", and "In the Ghetto" were the ones that stood out to me.

***

Just sayin', so far this has been the album I keep coming back to. Really a great one - excellent backing tracks and singers, and Elvis sounds great. "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'", "True Love", and "In the Ghetto" have become my favourites.

I'm glad they changed the title from "The Vicious circle"  to "In The Ghetto". What an awful title that would have been

Good write up captain.  Rocker, look forward to your thoughts.

Hope you all have had a spooky Friday night.

Elvis had some great recordings during his movie years - no doubt about it.  In 1968 he looked ready to end the decade with a bang and join in with the new.  He needed something new.  By 1968 selling budget albums like Singer Presents Elvis Singing Flaming Star and others (October 1968) wasn't his idea of being a star.  He was working at turning things around.  Some kind of spark was going off.  In June 1968 he recorded the songs to be used on the NBC Special and album.  I was still going to see his movies - Watching Elvis Click with All the Chicks! Live a Little Love a Little (October 1968).  It was poorly received, failing to get a world wide release.  But hey, "A Little Less Conversation " is great.

Coming into Memphis to record at American Sound made the local news in Monroe.  There is a feeling of closeness  with Memphis in North East Louisiana, and Elvis came off as family.  His movies mattered to most folks, no matter how silly.  It was him up on the big screen.  They respected the fact that though he was a movie star, he still came home to record - Nashville is close enough.

He was cutting tracks at the same time for From Vegas to Memphis, and soon would assemble one of the greatest backing bands of all time, the TCB band, for his return to live performance.  This would change how the world viewed Elvis.  This was his best idea ever, and it had to be his idea.  This period started my very favorite era of Elvis.  For me, he was so much more powerful live than in the movies.  Live is the best film of him.
On the studio record of the set, "Stranger In My Own Home Town" gets my vote.  The pre-Lp single for our spotlight album is solid, "In the Ghetto" (April 1969).  He may have been singing about Chicago, but it felt like the South.  Poverty was everywhere, it's universal.  It  was his first Top Ten 45 in several years.  The late 60's made the South popular for more than just where they made Country records, and the place where Dylan wandered down to cut records once in a while.  You folks that read me here know - I love Bobbie Gentry.  She was Delta.  On her second Lp she recorded a track that Elvis did in 1966, "Run On."  The Box Tops recorded "The Letter" (July 1967) at American Sound.  The strings and horns were arranged by Mike Leach, who worked on overdubs for Elvis' American Sound tracks.  "The Letter" hit #1 in the USA for four weeks (September-October), bumping "Ode To Billie Joe" off the top spot.  And Dusty's Atlantic debut deserves mention, also recorded at American Sound.  "Son of a Preacher Man" came out in November 1968.  The South was on a roll.  I loved Boz Scaggs going down south to record his first Lp in Alabama.  Delaney and Bonnie at Stax.  The Allmans in Georgia.  Even the Stones wanted to record there.  Louisiana's own Tony Joe White released a little ditty in 1968 called "Polk Salad Annie" - that would soon be in Elvis' sets.

From Elvis in Memphis  One of the records that made 1969 so great.  Recorded January-February 1969.

favorites in no order, all of these are great:

"Wearing That Loved on Look" - a gospel rave-up.  Dallas wrote some classic tracks, this one with A.L. Owens.  Another one he wrote was my very favorite of his, "That Honky-Tonk Downstairs" - done by George Jones, and in 1970 by Ritchie Furay for Poco's second Lp.

"Only the Strong Survive" - He does this very well.  This new soul sound Evis was embracing was interesting.  I am a fan of Gamble and Huff.

"Long Black Limousine" - good choice.  A very powerful vocal.

"Power of My Love" - a good candidate for a cover by The Band, especially if they could get A. T. to arrange.  When I first heard the record, I thought it was the Best track.

"After Loving You" - that's what we came here looking for.

"True Love Travels on a Gravel Road" - another Frazier/Owens number.  Elvis' voice is perfect for this.

"Any Day Now" - a great version of a great song.

Okay, that leaves:

"Gentle on My Mind" - I like Glen's version too much to rank this.

"I'll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms) - to me, this sounds like 50's Elvis.

"It Keeps Right On A Hurtin'" - won't say anything if I can't say something good.

"I'm Moving On" - I like it to go a bit faster, but this is a good groove.  Steel Guitar and Horns.  Interesting.  So many people have done this.  Best of the Okay tracks.

Adding the Horns to his sound really gave him a fresh sound, some of the brass done by The Memphis Horns.  I also want to chime in on what he left off.  Two classics:  "Suspicious Minds" (August 1969 - his last number-one single in the USA before his death) and "Kentucky Rain" (January 1970 - nearly a year since recording! A live version is on the Legacy Edition of On Stage, from 16 February, 1970).  Can't imagine anyone could do them better.  One more movie and he was done with that.  He had music on his mind.  "Rubberneckin'" was  the best thing about Change of Habit.

It was his next move that impressed me the most.  Going to Las Vegas and around the states to finally meet with folks in person.

What's next...

So Week 3 starts tomorrow with Lowbacca choosing right here in the All Purpose Listening Project Thread!

Just very quick, here are some infos about the songs and Elvis' versions. This doesn't include original songs (which means Elvis was the first to record them) but only those where I think it's interesting to know something that might be new to some. Where possible I only post a link to the original version of the song or the version that Elvis had in mind when recording it.


Only the strong survive - Jerry Butler:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPkd9ZQOtbI


I'll hold you in my heart - Eddy Arnold:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJBxNWicOKA

Elvis plays piano on his recording.


Long black limousine - O.C. Smith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOOb4vflYxc

Released about a year before Elvis'. You hear that the arrangement is the same. But the emotion Elvis is able to put into the singing takes it to another level. O.C. Smith later covered Presley's "Clean up your own backyard".


It keeps right on a-hurtin' - Johnny Tillotson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwkWE63__z0

I once read that Elvis told Tillotson years before his Memphis sessions that he would love to record the song himself.


I'm movin' on - The Box Tops
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVRpTBgr_gQ

Of course Elvis was very familiar with the Hank Snow original (Hank Snow at one time was kinda his co-manager btw). The Box Tops recorded this song at American with the same band that Elvis used for their great "Non Stop"-album.


After loving you - Della Reese
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmRGa8lAq3Q

Elvis recorded this at home and had it planned for an earlier cancelled Nashville session. He plays piano on an outtake of the song. Elvis was also familiar with Jim Reeves version but I couldn't find it on youtube.


True love travels on a gravel road - Duane Dee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BVh61owWSE

This was recorded in 1968, shortly before Elvis did his version. In the same year as Elvis, Percy Sledge recorded a version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa-QlpdSLwU

Elvis played it during his January/February '70 engagement in Vegas. I like the arrangement even better (thanks to the background vocals):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIKXq-HvCnc

He also rehearsed it in '72 but never sang it again on stage. Here's the rehearsal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgRkLBSkem0


Any day now - Chuck Jackson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZoabfaqTgI



On a sidenote:
"Gentle on my mind": Rumour has it that Ronnie Milsap sang the harmony vocals.

Thanks Rocker.  I was up so late doing my post, I had to come back and do clean up and some embellishing.  Hope you didn't find any mistakes.  I lived through it, but I'm not the Elvis expert you are.

This record was a good choice for our thread, and I hope more posters will join in for the next pick.

Currently listening, and I dig it very much. Here are my first impressions:

The first track kicks off this album quite nicely, and his singing really shines on "I'll Hold You in My Heart". Elvis' backing band is really great for this record, and they do such a great job on "I'm Movin' On". I like the way the song erupts into a full-band thing every once in a while, like the musicians are breaking free, only to be wrangled back in by Elvis.

Okay, so I've never heard Glen Campbell's version of "Gentle on My Mind", but this Elvis version is really great. I love the groove, and the way the whole thing seems to be descending.

The end of the album sorta seems to fall off for me.

I've never heard any version quite like Elvis'. It's so beautiful and melancholy. All other versions (I know) are too fast imo. Just like the original.


feelsflow: Thanks for your kind words! I don't know if I would call myself an expert (probably not). But I just love this music!

Really happy to see so much love and effort on this page! Kudos everyone. Makes me feel good. Sharing knowledge and musical love is what this thing is all about! Very excited to see what comes next.

"I'll Hold You In My Heart" sounds like a studio jam - like the musicians weren't quite ready for this, but I love the way Elvis tears into the vocal, and just can't let it go. There were moments in his career where he just dug into a song and couldn't let go - like on the sitdown portion of the '68 special, when he sang "One Night". If that's not 'soul', I don't know what is.

FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS

Incredible record, positively dripping with Elvis' soul, swagger and sweet sugar. From Elvis in Memphis comprises most of the reasons why I love the <construct> 'Elvis Presley' as a symbol and the <man>'s records as works of art. What's really driving the point home here is the fact that this is Elvis in his 30s sounding as fresh, pure and 'radical' as he did way back on this:

(http://oi59.tinypic.com/dzjggl.jpg)

From Elvis in Memphis is a f*cking miracle.



Thanks for the links and background info, Rocker! I knew we could count on you for that. :-D


(http://oi58.tinypic.com/70jm9k.jpg)

__________________________________________________________________________


Okay, I've thought long and hard about it and it has come to this:

(http://oi60.tinypic.com/ri56wz.jpg)


NADA SURF's 2012 The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy - as an avid long-time Nada Surf fan this album took me a couple of months and endless nights with it on my MP3 player to really like it, but today I think it's one of their best. I saw them perform much of this live and the songs really shone. Shined? Shone. I'm excited for your opinions!

Never heard this and looking forward to giving it a listen.

Here is the spotify link:

http://open.spotify.com/album/1CFDAolez0ObsplEGqbzTI

Honestly, Elvis has never really been my cup of tea, but after listening to From Elvis in Memphis I can clearly see why so many adore him and I did find myself (to my surprise) thoroughly enjoying the record. I think Lowbacca described his vocals and overall presence on this record perfectly:
Overall, From Elvis in Memphis is a very solid and enjoyable record that has given me a newfound respect for Elvis. It's definitely something I would enjoy listening to again.

Some of my favorite tracks on the record are "Long Black Limousine", "Wearin' That Loved on Look", "In The Ghetto", "Gentle On My Mind", and "Any Day Now".

Listening to this now. Early feeling is positive.

I enjoyed this. I will be giving another listen to it later but here are my initial thoughts. I thought it had a really nice, friendly sound to it and while I can’t yet say whether these songs will stick in my head, I do know that I enjoyed listening to them. It has a sound that really suits this time of year, and while I am perhaps unflatteringly swayed by album art, it seems to express an Autumnal flavour which makes me feel like going for a walk in the woods. I have been listening to a lot of music lately and in the last couple of years that is generally emotionally weighty, dark in tone and as with much of the Rap I have been enjoying quite aggressive at times. It is relaxing then – in a good way – to take time for an album that is pretty and happy. It reminds me of why I like a certain kind of sweet rock that I don’t listen to nearly enough. It makes me want to get Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth and Wilco on again. I have never heard Nada Surf as far as I am aware and this does make me want to hear more of their work. Good choice!

I particularly liked Jules and Jim and Looking Through.

Very glad to hear that. :) Repeated listens are worth it, trust me. The remaining Nada Surf catalogue is great as well. Maybe next you should try Let Go (2002). It's probably my favourite overall and has a lot of Nada Surf 'evergreens' on it.

(http://oi57.tinypic.com/2mfi35.jpg)






EDIT: Nada Surf on German television, playing a Beach Boys favourite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofHYXof3zts

A favorite album of mine! It's a powerhouse of great songs (Inside of Love, Blonde on Blonde, The Way You Wear Your Head).

As for The Stars Are Indifferent, it has some amazing songs on it, but I've never got into it like 'Let Go'. Perhaps I'll listen to it a few times in the next week and have a change of heart.

I enjoyed listening to this, but in all honesty won't buy it or actively seek it or other music of theirs again. Don't take that too negatively, as I really did enjoy it. Solid songs, tuneful, energetic. It reminded me of Velvet Crush, whose music I did buy some of years ago but similarly wouldn't if introduced to them now. I wish I'd been introduced to Nada Surf (and Velvet Crush, and Teenage Fanclub, and an assortment of somewhat similar bands) in the early to mid 90s, when they were coming out. Instead that phase of my musical life was an active rebellion against all things then-current. Grunge and the so-watered-down-as-to-be-meaningless "alternative" didn't appeal to me much, so I dove deeply into the legends of previous eras, plus jazz.

Turns out I missed plenty of music from people who I suspect were thinking the same thing I was, which was that this kind of music was possible. I missed about five or six years there...

So why the lukewarm reaction? I think it's just a younger man's music, honestly. If I were 16, 18, 20, I think it would have struck a (power) chord with me. I tend to prefer music with more depth of texture now, not so much straight-ahead power chords. (The good melodies and vocal harmonies do help, though.)

If songs from here popped up on shuffle every so often, I'd perk up and somewhat excitedly ask myself, "what's this?" But the truth is, I wouldn't remember, and may well guess wrong.

Thanks for the exposure to it, Lowbacca.

(And thanks again to MugginsXO for the thread idea. It's the best part of the board since its inception.)

That's an exceedingly fair (and perspicuous) evaluation, oh captain. It is much appreciated.

Looking forward to what's in store in the future with this little project of ours..

(http://oi60.tinypic.com/333zoud.jpg)

Ditto. Tomorrow's the day pixeltwin offers up the next round. Should be fun. (Unless it sucks. Then I'll complain like nobody's business.)

I hope Marc picks something familiar to me.  I remember a few MTV videos by Nada Surf from the 90's - that's about it.  I didn't get a chance to listen to their other albums.  Lowbacca, you said you had to listen for months to form a positive feel for this, even seeing them live.  I've only got a week buddy.  ;D

The Stars Are Indifferent To Astrnomy

"Waiting For Something" - This is better than what I remember from the 90's.  I didn't care for "Popular" much.  I could name so many bands that had/have this same sound musically, so that leaves how much do you like one vocalist over another.  I like this track.  Good opener.

After a few tracks, stopped to check them out on Wiki and youtube (some of the old videos).  They sound like their influences:  Byrds, Records, The Jayhawks after Olson left.  I'm a big fan of the Jayhawks then and now.  Hate that Olson has left the band again to return to solo recording.  I'm going to name another in a moment, but those are the most prominent comparisons.

"Jules and Jim" - Best track here.  I could put on the Records' second album and get the same.  The Records often wore the Byrds badge proudly on their chest.  There was something else I noticed...played it again.  Then went searching youtube, took me a few tries to remember the name of the song.  Do any of you remember "Under the Milky Way" by the Church?  Let's add them and Love and Rockets (think their more acoustic numbers with David J singing).

"The Moon is Calling" - It's hard to form an opinion/review when the best I can say is that the song sounds like this or that.  This has a keyboard riff I know I've heard on a Cars' track.  The vocals are flat out Louris era Jayhawks.  Song too - given time I could figure out which one, it's one of the singles.  Will add my Jayhawks comment doesn't mean much - they were a copy band too, especially on the first three.

"The Future" - Early 70's Byrdsy.  And again filtered thru the Records' sound.  Nada Surf, at least on this record, can slip on that cloak at will.  They must have loved Crashes and the Searchers.  Power Pop is hard to pull off and still sound original.  One of the best, Raspberries, sure couldn't.  And they were a Great band.  Todd could do it - he's great at everything.  If he set out to sound like someone, it was by design.

So Lowbacca, have I ravaged your pick too much?  Hope not.  So much music wears influence.  To just say it sounds pleasant will have to do.

Comment:  I think "our little project" is losing interest big time.  Most of the folks that signed up have been no-shows for reviews.  Our next pick is Marc.  Has he visited this thread?  I was sorta surprised when he signed up, after all his service running the Survivor Game.  And a Big Thank You Marc for doing that.  I enjoyed it very much, and hope you bring it back after some rest.  We still have a few solo records to do.

This was/is a great idea for helping the General Music Discussion area come back to life.  Come on sliders, post.  Outsiders welcome - join up!  We need more opinions to make this work.  peace, Will

 

I feel bad for not commenting here. I listened to the Elvis album and really enjoyed it - I've been meaning to listen to Elvis for ages and this finally gave me a reason to. So thank you.

Just put Let Go on my iPod, and I will listen to it as I walk to the library to study.

I don't think anyone should feel bad or worry about participation. As long as those who are into it are into it and it's a good time, that's what matters. Come, go, stay, whatever. If it feels like work, f*** it.

What I meant was: the earlier Nada Surf albums (especially the 2000s) had all become so important to me that the new one took some time to get used to. There was a "positive feel" from the beginning, but not a single track stood out for me. I have a different appreciation of Stars Are Indifferent by now. Although, as good as (I think) it is, it's still not quite up there with these:


(http://oi60.tinypic.com/2aaj9fr.jpg)
(http://oi59.tinypic.com/2zgdesy.jpg)
(http://oi59.tinypic.com/x2l01t.jpg)



Nah, no ravage. Rather incentives to look stuff up. Thanks for that. I've got to say though, for all the obvious influences and musical heritage, to me there's something distinctive and positively diacritic about Nada Surf's music. I'm too tired right now to formulate and specify. I'll leave you with another Nada Surf tune that helped me through a number of worn out moments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CoOI0zdJms

I'm always so late to actually listen to the albums - oftentimes I actually post my thoughts after the next album has started - that I decided to change that. So, I listened with one day left. For some reason, listening to new music requires a lot of effort on my part. Anywhoozles, I listened to it and here are my thoughts:

I didn't like it. I'm sorry, Lowbacca, but it's just not my thing. I find that a lot of music has a certain feeling or sound that I find difficult to describe, but it completely turns me off of the actual music itself. This album definitely had that feeling/sound. I also didn't really find anything that really stood out to me on this album. There wasn't really much variation from the 'regretful/yearning mood with electric guitars' that permeate this album. I definitely can see what feelsflow is saying, as I definitely got a Tom Petty vibe from a lot of this (which can be traced back to his mention of the Byrds). And, let me just tell you, I despise a lot of Tom Petty's music.

I might give it another listen or two and let you know if my opinion changes at all.

That was what I was anticipating earlier when I suggested unique threads for each album, as it would better allow ongoing discussion. But conversely it would also likely result in a barrage of 5-to-10 post threads.

Bubbly, so honest as always.  Tom Petty, yeah, I don't listen to him much these days.  I was a big fan back in the late 70's/early 80's.  Time changes everything.  Another fan of the Byrds and the Searchers.  The Byrds may not have been a top selling act while they were together, but their influence was lasting - especially in America.

captain,  I wasn't trying to rush anyone or offend.  Agree on both of your points.  If it's not fun - don't do it.  and...  Let's split 'em up.  Give folks more time.  Doubt anybody would care if the thread is short.  Not like many people are heading over to General Music anyway (another point I was trying to make in the nicest possible way).  All the Survivor threads were separate.  My comment was in hopes more folks join in, regardless how long it takes them.

It is difficult to fit in and prepare to review something you've never really heard.  I understand that.  Maybe that's what's happening.  Some hearing something new even by Elvis.  In fact I wrote some more notes last Saturday, after Lowbacca's review of Elvis.  Didn't get a chance in the afternoon - and Saturday night is my one night of the week where I really sit down and just listen to music with no distractions, and a few drinks.  I devote Sunday to the NFL.  Only reason I'm here tonight is because we changed up this week for Halloween.  Hope you all had a nice one.  I did.

Apologies for lateness, I think I might have been putting off this one a bit because alternative rock has never really been my thing - just doesn't click with me often for whatever reason. And I don't think it did here and now I feel bad. :(

There's an innocence to this one that I quite liked. I liked "Waiting for Something" and the horns on "Let the Fight Do the Fighting". But I don't feel there was much variety and after a while I had trouble telling tracks apart. But a few relistens might do it.

Many thanks for the fair criticism, folks. :)


Let's see what's in store for us this week..

Main reason I am not mad on separate threads for each album is that it will decrease the focus on the new album per week, which I feel is the main reason to find time to listen to something new. I also want to keep the list of albums/selectors inn one easily accessible place. If folks are behind, no worries at all and just comment when you get a chance!

No worries, MugginsXO, it's the best thread on the board (General Music or otherwise) regardless. And "fixing" for one aspect would no doubt "break" another (not to mention one man's fix is another's break anyway).

Let's go, pixeltwin! Whaddaya got for us?

I have sent a message to pixeltwin so hopefully the new selection will be up later today.

Sorry guys. It's been a busy week. Found out that I am being laid off at the end of the year so I haven't been able to participate like I want to. Give me 2 hours to pick an album!

sh*t, man. :-\ Take 2 days, if you need to. All the best for your professionel future..!

Thanks Lowbacca, but it turns out two minutes is all I required. ;) I spent a lot of time rewriting my resume and feeling out contacts. I may have a new job lined up by the end of this week, hopefully. Otherwise I will find it very hard to enjoy the holidays.

Anyhoo, grab your favorite auditory palate cleanser and dive in to this:

Everyone (I assume) has a great album which they feel jives better within a specific context than any other album. For me, within the context of the month of November, I have one particular album I always renew an obsession with.


Here is the spotify link: https://play.spotify.com/track/0MYAOepwUOBfsToBdGiq6c

I hope you all like it. The final track is one of the few pieces to actually reduce me to a blubbering mess.  :lol

Sorry to hear about your job problems pixletwin! And thanks for selecting an album so quickly!

Cool choice! Wanted to get Alice out again for quite some time.. now I have a reason! I remember liking "Fawn" as well. And the German "Kommienezuspadt", of course. ;D

Yay! I love this album.
I have a serious affinity for "Table Top Joe".

Love the choice and the challenge of saying anything interesting or new about it!

And best wishes on your impending job hunt. Shitty situation.

Sorry to hear about your job problem too, Marc.  Hope things work out soon.  Terrible time of the year to have that happen.

On a lighter note, Alice.  Great choice.  I love Tom's music.

Alice is a funny album for how it basically reverts to the pre-Swordfishtrombones Tom Waits. It is I think the least affected, most pleasing of any of his albums post Bone Machine. Everything from that point on has in my judgement diminished the impact of the calculated adoption of the wild and crazy Tom Waits. I never really found much of his music all that challenging or all that different from many of the singer songwriters he was desperate to separate himself from. For my money the best things he does are straight up love songs, not clattering bin tops or pretending to be an old timey lunatic on Fernwood Tonight or David Letterman. While I do love the Frank trilogy and appreciate in a removed kind of way Bone Machine, my favourites from those albums were still the love songs close to his early music. Downtown Train was the ticket, and there was nothing about that song that couldn't have happened alongside Jersey Girl. Alice is from that Closing Time feeling, I think. I love the unashamedly straight ahead nature of the songs, I love the return to Nitehawks at the Diner Tom, disguised in the corner of the room singing some half new song. I love the title track. So sweet, so lovely. I love Poor Edward. There is a little bit of raucous guffaws around the edges - some silly howling on Kommienezuspadt - but it is largely a clean and pleasing affair.

I think for someone so set on getting out of a rut, Tom Waits should by all rights see himself as playing an increasingly tired and predictable sort. Scowly, growly and pretty boring. Less affectation, more songs like Alice please.

Alice and I have a special relationship.

I mean, we didn't date or anything (although I've dated an Angela and an Alicia, the former of which I think may well have listened to Alice with me). But this was the first Waits album, along with its companion release, Blood Money, released after I had become a fan, the first Waits albums I was actually waiting for.

Waits's tour of Mule Variations in 1998 is what actually turned me on to his music. There was a story in the Star Tribune that intrigued me enough to buy an album unheard. (A then-roommate and I each got one, neither familiar with him. The roommate bought the new release, while I bought Blue Valentine, for which I also still have a soft spot.)

In those days I was something of a completist, so one or two good albums seemed like a good reason to rack up credit card debt on a full back catalog. (Zappa almost bankrupted me. I'm not exaggerating. Ask Visa or Discover.)

During those intervening years--1999 to 2001--a suburban (Edina? Bloomington?) Disc-Go-Round sold me my great Waits find, a disc of clearly questionable provenance, something labeled:

TOM WAITS
"ALICE"
(The Original Demos)

Twenty-three tracks, about half of which were short instrumentals. Contemporaneous photo of Waits on the cover, him looking up from a paperback titled "The [indecipherable] Book of Oddities." The back was a late '70s photo of him smoking, looking up from an off-camera piano, with the track listing and a note:

"'ALICE' was originally performed at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, December 1992. Directed and stage design by Robert Wilson, music and lyrics by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, text by Paul Schmidt."

I suppose I paid about $30 for that CD and fell in love, with it sounding not unlike the apparently contemporaneous (I've used that word twice!) The Black Rider, another stage piece, another work of heart-wrenching melodies and European fairytale that exists outside of time.

Fast forward to fall of 2002 and not only is this gem Alice being released, but so is Blood Money! The music of Alice is perfectly autumnal, as pixeltwin said in his introduction to the choice. I'm shocked looking it up now to learn that it was released in May; I would have sworn to you--maybe on my life--that it was in the fall. I even had some vague dates in my head, and now I'm wondering what the hell came out that fall that I was linking to Waits? (Possibly Beck's Sea Change? Ooh, maybe. That's September 24, 2002.) The scratchy vinyl sound of the whole album, muted horns and brushed snare, or screeching saws and strings, it's the chill that isn't yet cold.

These aren't the best individual songs Waits ever wrote or recorded, but as a piece, they're just so good. So, so good. His lyrics are fabulous. What's new… A sentence from the title track, spread across several lines, reads "And I must be insane to go skating on your name and, by tracing it twice, I fell through the ice of Alice."

*sigh* [Heart aflutter]

"Flowers Grave" might be my favorite song, a typically Waitsian gem of pre-rock-and-roll songcraft that could have been written 25, 50, or 75 years before it actually appeared. There are few masters of functional harmonic structure with his gifts. That his melodies, his songs, are so great is shocking to me because, after all, he is also one of the two or three best lyricists in the history of American pop music. Spread the wealth, asshole.

What I miss in Alice is the original "Table Top Joe." What we have is fitting for the lyric, a lounge-jazz act perfect for that bodiless wannabe showbiz freak. But one of the most attractive aspects of the demos for me was the truly bizarre version of that same song that appeared there. The primary backing track was pitched percussion I can't quite identify … perfectly sized radiators? A toy marimba? Something stolen from Harry Partch's garage? The melody, too, is different, a cheesy olde tyme melody innocently sung that doesn't quite fit its setting.

Other songs are strikingly similar. "Lost in the Harbour" is the same, or a similar, arrangement and performance to the original, which was titled "…But There's Never a Rose." It, like "Flowers Grave," is a song to die for.

"Kommienezuspadt" is perfectly early '90s Waits. It just is. It was another favorite of mine, in no small part because part of it sounds almost like Beavis saying "I poop this." I'm easily amused. It makes life good. I miss Beavis.

Pixeltwin did me a huge favor with this selection. I haven't paid anywhere near enough attention to this album in years. A decade, maybe. Occasional listens, sure. But I don't sit down and listen to the whole thing often at all, and I haven't listened to the demos in at least 10 years. (In fact, I can't find my physical CD of the commercial release. It isn't sitting beside Blood Money, where it oughta be. What the f***. Somebody has it and isn't coming clean … that or I put it somewhere stupid, like in the middle of some batch of jazz albums. Either way, I blame someone else. Thanks, Spotify, for making this experience possible without the expenditure of another $13 or whatever.)

I wish I could summarize this appropriately, presenting some grand thought or thread throughout. But instead it's a few discoveries, a few memories, a creepy autumnal European vibe, and pure goshdarn bliss.

Great selection.

I miss Beavis. We all miss Beavis. That doesn't mean... Ah I give up. We just miss Beavis.

That write up was a good read by the way. Will comment properly tomorrow.

Great post the captain. I have never heard the original demos. I may have to search them out.  8)

Gonna give my pick til Monday as Pixletwin was late starting. So all y'all weigh in and get deep.

Thanks to Mr. Xo, I'm allowed to weigh in on my "reviews" w/o offering any. So, I read attentively what you all wrote, made the mental note of it to help make me "get" into an album (perhaps). But of course, it didn't work entirely & I still was out of loop at times.

1) Morphine. Unlike the captain & TheDumbAngel, I like baritone singers (altho really, I don't divide the singers into voices - alt I like, tenor not etc.). This guy was pretty good. Too bad the material leaves me cold. I mean, it fits him to sing these doom-sounding tunes, but there's nothing to keep me interested. "Honey White" is a one-day wonder.

2) Elvis, I've never been a fan of. I thought hearing "...Memphis" would cure my distaste - alas... King of r-n-r or no, he does nothing for me. Even shoops I didn't find enough catchy. "In the Ghetto" is the worst closer. It's so unabashedly dramatic (for want of a better word).

3) Nada Surf, I have mixed feelings toward this Stars album. I did enjoy the 1st Side, tho. Majority.

4) "Alice" slipped thru my mind, I don't recall anything I heard about 3 y.a. Shall give a listen & tell my thoughts.

So, discounting the latter, 3rd was the best listening experience. Thank you, Niko & Lowbacca, for introducing me to new music. And Muggins, thumbs up for this 'cosy' idea.

I'm not very familiar with Tom Waits' stuff - I'd only listened to Mule Variations, which I wasn't too fond of. And to my surprise, I really quite liked Alice. It had a drowsy, melancholy feel and intimate sound that worked for me. For now "Poor Edward", "Table Top Joe", the last two tracks, and especially the title cut are my favourites... but I have a feeling the whole thing might be a grower. Thanks for this one, pixletwin. :)

Holy mother of Ryan Reynolds, I forgot to put in a listening hour for Alice in time. My 2 cents will follow as soon as possible.

Alright! It is Week 5 and it is my choice. I thought quite a while about what to pick and wasn't sure in the end whether to go for a newer favourite or an old classic. I have decided to pick:

Zebra by Gallant

(http://i.imgur.com/ssjsKjK.jpg)

It is an EP at 28 minutes length so should make for easy listening. This is probably my favourite release of 2014 thus far. It is one more encouraging and exciting result of the R&B revival of the past few years. I think as far as Weeknd influenced people go, this guy is way, way above the Drake sponsored PARTYNEXTDOOR. Manhattan is gorgeous and my favourite on here but I love Forfeit and Ibuprofen too. Very atmospheric, vocally pleasing to the extreme and generally mood changing.

I think people will particularly like this is they enjoy the new R&B or some of the older Nu-Soul stuff like Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite. If they enjoy electronically flavoured Indie stuff I think they will like it too.   

Spotify Link (http://open.spotify.com/album/5LNuL34uiBiSntkWuSiQQG)

Never heard of this--or Gallant in general--so I'm ready to give it a shot.

I'm back somewhere I can listen to Spotify and I'm slowly digesting the albums nominated thus far.

The Morphine album is pretty solid. My favourite cut is “Whisper”, partly because of the spooky bent bass notes (which also appear elsewhere to good effect) and partly because of the lyrics which sound sexy despite being chaste on the surface (an old-time song throwback in that respect). Two tracks in particular I dislike as exemplifying a genre I hate: bar room blues-rock. Those two tracks are “Honey White” and “Super Sex” though the latter may be using the style in order to parody it. On the subject of that song, is it a satire of Bill Clinton? I'm just not certain how ironic either the lyrics or the music are. The other tracks on the album I dislike stylistically are the two consecutive spoken-word tracks: “The Jury” and “Sharks”. They sound like the kind of thing you get when a poet makes a record and gets some musicians to help, which is fine if the poetry is good but in this case it isn't. I must say even these songs I dislike are listenable, (and there is a lot of music out there I find unlistenable). 

“Free Love” sounds at first as though it's going to continue the spoken word suite but does feature some singing and is more musically complicated. In fact it's a somewhat tense and nagging track but the penultimate track is a good place to put a song like that, it forms a point in the album where all the tension comes to a head. It would have been great if it was followed by a really strong closing song that was more conventionally melodic and satisfying to create an emotional release. Unfortunately, “Gone For Good”, the song that does end the album, feels like it's trying to be that song but doesn't quite come up to scratch.

One thing I like is that none of the songs are too long. Also, unlike others, I like the sparseness, I like the fact you just hear three musicians and that it's an accurate representation of their live sound. I don't think it's necessary to pad it out with extra musicians (though if they manage to do that successfully on other albums, without losing the alchemy, that's well and good too). I think it's a fairly varied record considering their sparse set-up, and it's a refreshingly non-nauseating use of the saxophone, an instrument that normally has me running for the hills.

It's not enough “my thing” to make me a fan; I probably won't listen to this band again unless someone urges me to or something. But that will go for most records in this club. I have so many favourite bands already, so much to listen to already, that it takes a lot to win me over fully. 

I've been adding each week's album to this playlist: http://open.spotify.com/user/1281647226/playlist/0iUpNxQ1puKMAm2K93phqy

Will listen to Zebra on my way to uni.

Liking Gallant more than I expected to like a wholly new-to-me artist. More specific comments to follow later this week.

As soon as I can tear myself away from the Basement Tapes, I promise I'll get caught up with Alice and Zebra.

Like Elvis, picking a Tom Waits' album gets me to investigating my memories.  I don't own Alice, so gave it a fresh listen.  I listened this past week to Bone Machine, Mule Variations, Glitter and Doom, played several of Tom's Letterman appearances (due to Muggins' comment), and assorted tracks from throughout his career.  I learned new stuff about an artist I respect.

I don't remember where I first heard Tom.  Could have been right after Eagles' did "Ol 55" in early 1974.  A friend had Some Days You Eat the Bear (1974) by Ian Matthews, which also included that song.  There were a few of the troubadour hipster types I was buying - J.D. Souther, Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, Jesse Winchester (holed up in Canada), Terence Boylan (his 1977 album is a little referenced classic).  All artists that became more popular after someone else did their songs.  Randy Newman too.  Many were drawn to the L.A. area:  J.J. Cale, Steve Young, Jimmy Webb, even Neil Young (Three Dog Night putting "The Loner" on their first album helped him get more noticed than Buffalo Springfield).  Too many I could list, let's move on to Tom.

You would hear him at parties.  His voice took some getting used to, but I was a fan of Chris Youlden (Savoy Brown), who was not so different.  Once you do, his writing shines through.  I've bought random records over the years, mostly after I began seeing him in films like Cotton Club (1984) and Ironweed (1987).  His idea to get into movies worked to make him more popular with me.  I had listened closely to The Heart of Saturday Night, Blue Valentine, Heartattack and Vine, and Rain Dogs when they were released - and have those now.  Usually played late at night/early am as the party was down to the ones who couldn't drive home, so were spending the night.  The stories get to be a bit much on repeat listens of Nighthawks at the Diner, but sometimes got a chuckle - "I'm so horny the crack of dawn better be careful around me."  All his records have stand-out tracks.  Some favorites from this period:  ""Whistlin' Past the Graveyard" "Diamonds on My Windshield" (Early Years 1971) "Ol' 55" (Closing Time) "Tom Traubert's Blues" "Gin Soaked Boy" "Burma Shave" "Drunk on the Moon" "Singapore" "Step Right Up" ( a favorite of Bubbly I'd guess) and all of the title tracks.  I was looking for little gems like "Saving All My Love For You" and "Ruby's Arms."  He was and is great at love songs and love.  Him and Kathleen have been married a long time.  I listened to "Johnsburg, Illinois" today.  Never been clear on exactly what Kathleen contributes to his writing, but it sure changed when she came into his life.  Once he mixed it up with the experimental cacophony my ears perked up.  Ricky Lee was last seen heading out the back door of Duke's...  Then I saw Big Time in 1988.  Very similar to Neil's Trans Tour in '83 - a riot.  I didn't see the Warfield shows (where parts of it were filmed in November 1987), but they created quite a buzz in San Francisco.  Impressed, I bought that.  The raps had been jettisoned for the most part, or just fit in better.  You got Confessin' Tom, he was throwing down testifying blues like "Way Down in the Hole" - something I remembered when I was a teenager walking by certain churches.  He didn't invent this, Mick was doing it on Exile, and the Chicago bluesmen, well, not them either.  This kind of wailin' came from the fields.  But he did it very well, perfect for his voice.  And then Bone Machine (1992), same thing.  Between the ballads (A Little Rain") and jazz numbers ("Such a Scream") you got "Jesus Gonna Be Here" "Goin' Out West" and "Earth Died Screaming" - Yikes!  Where did that come from.  Somebody turned him on to the Captain (maybe that's what Kathleen brought to the table).  His best record up to the point for me.  He did a country number in 1985 called "Blind Love" - that's where I wanted him to go, and he did on Mule Variations(1999).  My very favorite of his albums.  Country Tom cooking it up in the barn.  "Get Behind the Mule" "Big In Japan" "What's He Building?" (where did he get the idea for that?)"I Don't Wanna Grow Up" "Eyeball Kid" - the record is nuts.  These two confessions means the 90's was his best decade to me.   But Tom had a way of disappearing and putting out records out of writing order.  For whatever reason he decided to hold the rest of the music from this period til 2002, except for the folks who saw the live shows.

Comment to Muggins:  I enjoyed his visits to Letterman's show.  I believe him to be more real than an act.  He was living what he was singing about.  He understood being poor, even homeless.  I dug those songs.  Christmas 1983 was probably the first time I saw him live (on Letterman).  "On the Nickel" (from Heartattack and Vine) was nice, but "Frank's Wild Years" didn't cause me to buy Swordfishtrombones.  Maybe if he had done "16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought Six" I would have.  "More Than Rain" did not convince me to get Frank's Wild Years.  Big Time was the first one I bought on release.  So the Frank trilogy condensed to that sealed the deal.  To hear something on a regular basis back then, you had to buy the record.  No youtube or spotify to check things out.  Like Zevon, Letterman championed a few artists over the years - artists everybody wanted in later years.  Tom was a big ticket in 2011 when time came to promote Bad As Me - other than Fallon, I didn't see him anywhere else.

I was a fan of Werner Herzog in the late 70's, and saw Woyzeck (1979).  I didn't know much about Tom's music for plays.  When I heard he was doing something with Burroughs, I passed.  He moved on.  To Germany, where that sort of entertainment is much more popular.  So he was off my radar for many years.  Glad he left America behind with Bone Machine to remember him by.  He was developing two very different audiences.  The musical plays, like Alice in Europe and the experimental/country-blues/bebop in America.  The 80's and 90's were such an opening up to new styles of music.  After acts like xtc, Costello and Paul Weller hit the stage, the English scene took up a lot of my time.  Costello and Lowe could even do Country well.  I still played the old stuff (Beach Boys, Beatles, McCartney, Kinks, Nilsson, Laura... lots of American Folk and Country and Power Pop from both sides of the Atlantic), but now that, and Waits, had to fight for turntable time.  The Black Rider (1993 -but mostly recorded 1989 in Germany) slipped through the floorboards.  Guess I thought he was going backwards.  The Beat generation was before my time and has never held much interest for me.  Even early Dylan.  Except for a few songs, and after the Byrds gave them a pop touch, did I pay any attention to Dylan.  The first place I heard "Mr. Tambourine Man" was on Judy's # 3 (1963), McGuinn is on that record.  I thought Donovan was much better when I was a kid.  He claimed to be Beat, but was so filtered through English Folk, what I was hearing was Beat-lite at best.  When I got Tom's Early Years volumes 1 and 2 I liked those versions a lot more than the records they ended up on.  Again, Beat-lite.  Very different than he would sound in a few years.  Tom and a piano.  "In Between Love" has a touch of Dylan and a clear voice.  Okay getting off track.  Back to the 90's.  As I said, until Mule Variations I was into other kinds of music.  He just came back in out of nowhere in 1999.  As good as that was, British acts got a lot of my attention in the 80's and 90's.  Could be why I didn't check out Blood Money or Alice (both 2002) until years later.  What really got me back into Waits was HBO's The Wire.  It got me listening to and buying his music again.  First the comps Used Songs and Beautiful Maladies, then those demo releases.  On to several others mentioned and all the few newer releases.  He matters more to me now than he did when I was young.  I love Bad As Me.

But what about Alice?  As with Blood Money, I've listened to tracks more than the whole record in one setting.  Listening on the computer speakers doesn't do it justice.  My favorites:

"Alice" is beautiful, taking us back to his early smoky jazz club sound.  "Everything You Can Think of Is True" - even better.  The swirling carnival sounds take me back to Autumn.  Where I grew up the fair came to town in October.  "Flowers Grave" - almost too emotional for those of us who have lost most of the most important people in our life.  Sad and lovely at the same time.  "I'm Still Here" - brief.  I played it twice.  "Kommienezuspadt" is a hoot.  I don't have the link handy, but go find the skeleton film someone put up on youtube.  Great for this time of the year.  "Table Top Joe" - seems out of place in this story.  Would have fit better on his New York album, Rain Dogs.  "Lost in the Harbour" sure follows "Table Top Joe" well.  Moody and fantastic.  My favorite on the record.  The instrumental break at 2:37 recreating the harbor sounds with strings, horns, whatever treatment to the tapes they are using... this just works.  I feel I'm on the boat in a fog with him.  "Fish and Bird" - another beautiful little tale of love.  Tom is a special kind of poet.  "Barcarolle" - my other very favorite.  To me this is Country Tom for the first couple of minutes.  A good closer.  And then the fade-out instrumental "Fawn."  If this was a movie "Fawn" would be the closing credits.

So.  I've about convinced myself to buy this.  Thanks pixletwin for bringing it back to my attention.

EDIT:  I continued to listen to Tom's music today and decided to add a bit.  I too had not been playing his stuff for a while either, and wanted to include some more of my favorite songs.  Makes the post look too much like a list, but I thought it important.  I want to take a closer look at the Orphan tracks, see what's hiding there.  And going to order a few of his records, including Blood Money and Alice.  When I was writing this post it pointed out to me how good he was in the 90's.  And the way he's come in and out of my life.

Muggins,  I'll get right to your pick tomorrow.  Wait, it's after midnight.  Today then.  

When I first came to Tom, it was Rain Dogs. That was a couple years ago, when I didn't have much time for ballads. Anyway, I was totally sold on Tom and loved that album. I probably don't need to wax rhapsodic about Rain Dogs because, really, who needs to read more of that, but I loved that he was different. His songs were skewed and his voice was savage and alluring. When I bought more of Tom, which was usually bargain-priced CDs at various retailers, I bought Small Change and Alice. Neither particularly interested me, though I could appreciate that they were good songs. Then I got Bad As Me not long after it was released was able to relish in Tom's uptempo weirdness yet again.

That this album was suggested now is good timing - my interest in Tom Waits being renewed by listening to Nick Cave. I've been listening to Small Change a good bit and I enjoy it, although the strings and the "waltzing Matilda" refrain on "Tom Traubert's Blues" are just a little too sweet for me. And, yes, "Step Right Up" is a favorite of mine. Not entirely sure how you guessed that, feelsflow, but I do have my suspicions. I've also revisited Alice on-and-off since I first bought it and I definitely enjoy that one more than I used too, as well.

I imagine the stripped-down, old-Tom feel is supposed to be counter to his other, contemporaneous theater album, Blood Money. I do feel that this album benefits from Tom reverting to his older style because he doesn't go in this direction very often, which he should. I do like Tom Waits, but I like the other Tom Waits, too. Anyway, this album is like new Tom hiding himself behind old Tom's piano, with his heart resting atop the instrument for the audience at the smoky jazz club to look at. I have absolutely zero idea of what this play is, however. Why does Table Top Joe show up? Is this related to Alice in Wonderland? Eh, it's not like it matters. The songs are good.

And, yes, Kathleen introduced Tom to Captain Beefheart. Trout Mask Replica, specifically.

Okay.  Gave Zebra - EP a first listen this morning.  Pleasant groove music.  Morning was a good time to give it a try.  Had to give in and add Spotify to my life.  I had been working around using it with youtube, but not much of this is there.

I don't even know what Nu-Soul is exactly.  I do listen to electronically flavored Indie stuff.  Mostly when established artists in my racks give it a go.  I saw you and the captain having a chat about kiss each other clean last week.  Let me briefly say Sam Beam is my favorite living artist along with Brian.  But I'm not going to argue about it.  We like what we like.  I embraced what he was doing, but that was just on the one album.  None of his other stuff sounds as processed as that.  It came off better live to me.  He can strip those songs down and make them work just as well.  He has lots of styles.  He has moved on, back to playing solo acoustic or with a small backing band - no horns and strings.  He's been tossing his original fans a bone lately.  As for electronics, they've been around since the 60's.  A Moog is a simple computer I guess.  Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye were innovators using electronics.  They were playing electric keyboards tho', not feeding it through or mixing with a computer.  There were many real musicians on those records.  I'm a fan of Swing Out Sister and Annie Lennox.  Michael McDonald has done some interesting music using these computer beats and bringing in guest artists.  In the 80's I bought into some of it.  Style Council sure comes to mind.  Weller still produces great music incorporating samples and found sounds.  I continue to buy, or at least listen to whatever they put out.  But I haven't bought a Wonder album since Hotter Than July.  Pet Shop Boys - up to a point.  Lost interest, but not in their old stuff.  I don't know what they sound like now.  I'm surprised acts like Duran Duran still hold onto an audience.  It was part of the mix in the 80's.  I could say ABC or Wang Chung, but you guys probably don't know who they are.  I play my old Genesis, Yes and ELP, but didn't buy it past the early 90"s.  I only listen to radio when I'm in the car, and that's Radio Woodstock.  They don't play Maxwell, though just for you Muggins, I did this morning.  I am willing to comment on anything we throw up on this thread.  Sure hearing music that's new to me.

I listen to all our Smiler's who make music.  Should comment more, but I don't know what is real or what's being created with loops, beats, whatever... I'm out of the loop on how this is being created.  Makes it difficult to discuss.  Is that Zack blowing the horns or something he programed?  The closest sound to Gallant over there is seltaeb.  Is that Nu-Soul?  Or just an update on the UK Northern Soul still popular in the clubs.  I listen to some of that.  What they are calling Acid Jazz now.

Let's get the conversation started.  Going to give Gallant's music a deeper look this week.

Belated remarks on Elvis- It's a solid album but to me, no amazing tracks. The only song I didn't like was "I'll Hold You In My Heart" which starts like the record is stuck (probably that's the idea) and the vocal is very mannered, like a parody of the Elvis signature style which I admit I've never cared for. In fact I used to regard the Elvis cult as The Emperor's New Clothes. These days I've mellowed and conceded that 50,000,000 Elvis fans can't be wrong, but I'm still largely immune to his charm myself, particularly on the rockin' songs which I feel could use a rougher tougher voice.

Still, only one dud is pretty good going. I thought the standout track was "Only The Strong Survive".

feelsflow -- nice post. And it also makes me want to keep talking about I&W, though this isn't the thread for it. I'm not ready to talk intelligently about Gallant yet, but I'll try to add something worthwhile in the next day or two.

I am not sure exactly what I can comment on here but I enjoyed reading this.

A few things:

I do know Wang Chung (and ABC) and really like a good bit of their stuff, especially their second album and the To Live and Die in L.A. soundtrack. Dance Hall Days is one my favourite songs of the 80s, hands down.

Nu-Soul/Neo-soul was one of the last big changes or movements in R&B - prior to the current wave of dark/noir R&B - provided as an alternative to the mainstream sound of the genre in the 90s. It includes folks like Maxwell, D'Angelo and Erykah Badu and I guess later people like Alicia Keys can be thought of in that way too. I referenced it only because the Gallant album reminded me a little bit of Maxwell/D'Angelo's more atmospheric stuff (Mellosmooth Somethin' Somethin' esp.) and figured it was one more way to recommend it to folks who may have liked that kind of R&B but haven't given the newer stuff a chance.

Stevie Wonder's use of the talkbox should certainly be considered a predecessor of how autotuner has been used in an aesthetic capacity in the last decade.

Been listening to this off and on for a second day.  I looked into what Nu-Soul is.  It wasn't long before I found what I already figured - Miles Marshall Lewis commented that 1990's Neo Soul "Owed it's raison d'etre to 70's soul superstars like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder."  I saw Macy Gray's named mentioned.  I remember her.  A very honest singer.  My only real connection is Alicia Keys, she's too big to not notice.  I like quite a few songs by her.  I found a duet she did with Maxwell "Fire We Make", and his "Whenever, Wherever, Whatever" clip.  "Bad Habits' and a few others trying to find something more up and fast.  Played a live one from 1996, "Ascension" then tried Raheem DeVaughn trying to get what Nu-Soul is.  Tried "Guess Who Loves You More," finding it a good mid-tempo Marvin Gaye workout.  Better than the other tracks I picked by him.  I didn't know which ones were the big hits.  Jukebox- picked very randomly.  Everything was laid back.  Am I right in thinking that's the focus of this style?  That's what Gallant has on offer too.

ZEBRA -EP

"Intro" - I've played all these tracks several times, and looked up the lyrics on many.  He buries his vocals on most of the lines trying to blur or blend them into a wash of sound.  This is nice.

"Forfeit" - He uses the repeating beat to create the feel of waves crashing.  I liked this right off yesterday.

"Sienna" - The most upbeat of the tracks here.  I had this in my head yesterday when I wrote loop.  The beat loops and the lyrics do too.  Many of the modern writers hang on one line, repeating it over and over.  It's like they're trying to get a message through just by repeating a line.  Not really focusing on a story, but setting a mood.  A straight through mood - much like Marvin did with I Want You.  Gallant's lyrics seem to be there to strengthen the delivery more than make a statement.  This is the one that reminded me of seltaeb.

"Manhatten" - Looked up the lyrics to this one too.  "put it in a VCR.  Show me how you got in this predicament."  Muggins, what do these lyrics mean to you?  Is it some kind of street speak?  He's just pulling them out of the air and burying them in the mix.  The music seems to be the real star here.

"Ibuprofen" - oo, Stevie checks in.  I don't know what he's using to do it, but there is a ribbon sound that reminds me of the baby cooing in "Isn't She Lovely."  I even played that to check it out.  Yep, it's pretty close.  Is that a talkbox?  On Stevie's it's a real baby.

Wait stop.  Stop the Post!  It just started snowing out.  Our first snow of the year.  A little after 1:oo am. here in Ulster.  neat.  We're supposed to get about an inch.

...I'm back.  Had to go outside. I love snow, big wet fluffy-flakes swirlin' around.  Damn if one of my neighbors hasn't already got a tree up.  And on.  Some people can't wait til next week.

Where was I?  Right.  "Sirens" - I found a preferred version, StarRo 2am Mix, on his SoundCloud.  One of my favorites.  Infectious groove.

"If it Hurts" - I had heard this!  Must have been on Radio Woodstock.  They were playing this when "Happy" was getting a lot of exposure a few months ago.  The best track.

I had some trouble with Spotify freezing up on some of the tracks every time I tried to play them.  I had to track this guy down to hear what I could.  Five of them were on his SoundCloud, which always plays perfect on my computer.  Do you guys have a problem with Spotify?

But.  There were a couple of tracks on his SoundCloud that are a bit older.  He did a sorta cover of Kesha's "Die Young" - It Doesn't even sound the same, and he changes the words around.  I like it.  Better is from a year ago, "Please" (Vignette) - this sounds like something the captain could do at his house.  It's more sparse than anything on Zebra, and has a stronger rhythm.  Zebra is a slow drive through the night.

Getting back to something I touched on before.  This cat is doing the same thing many of our Smilers who make music are.  Putting their stuff up on SoundCloud, bandcamp, youtube, and trying to get noticed.  Playing in the clubs and the streets.  It shows that it can be done.  For some, My Brother Woody, Yorick, Ian's band The Seven Inches, and James Clarke, they are already known in Europe.  They are using the same set-ups that many indie artists are using to get known.  The same methods.  Yes, even you captain can get noticed.  Zack is sure to make it if he stays focused.  I love what Donny L is doing with Magic Hero vs. Rock People.  These few are just the ones off the top of my head, there's many I could name.  So don't post any "Pixletwin gifs" saying I didn't mention you.  I really do spend time listening.  I really should comment more in that area of Smiley.  time, time...if I only

nearly 2am.  maybe one more spin of that "Sirens" mix, then I'm off.

Excellent post! Thanks for the effort. I will respond when I get to a computer.

Beat you by a week.  ;D

 
Even...?? How rude!  ;) Anyway, that would be a nightmare, no thank you.

I'm working from home today and will listen to Gallant a few more times. My thoughts should follow.

That aspect of it is what reminded me a bit of Gallant in the hope that for those whose last R&B album was Voodoo by D'Angelo might give it a go! If someone loved this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5JKbm5MwJg) for instance, it is not a stretch to enjoy Zebra. As a by the way this is a wonderful cover of the Kate Bush song This Woman's Work by Maxwell (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JYxc5ftEzg). His voice is amazing. He was big into pushing the fragility of the thing with his voice - as opposed to the bravado of Kelly, Jodeci, Dru Hill etc. -  and I think that is also a connection with the new R&B: as bleak or deviant as it gets the singer is rarely the one in control and is at the mercy of their circumstances. Neo-Soul was about putting more of a focus on live instruments and in-studio performances, as opposed to say the New Jack Swing stuff which was harsher and more electronic in nature. It was definitely a return to the 70s approach of folks like Marvin, Stevie, Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, Isaac Hayes, Bobby Womack among others, while also retaining a portion of the explicit flavour that was advanced by people like Prince and R. Kelly. In keeping with the 70s touch there was a move towards the longer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7hbqxnhzU8) tracks too, not everything had to be 3:30 for single release.  




I think this is generally true with R&B and one of the reasons why I love it. It is most often not lyrically advanced or all that concerned with narrative. It is about transmitting a feeling directly to the listener - sometimes a complex feeling - using direct language with musical sophistication. I was interested for a time in cataloging moments in music that succeeds in translating an idea or emotion in say 5 - 10 seconds, without explaining that idea in words or narrative form. The closing moments of Homie Lover Friend (Remix) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWhLGxcuOy0) by R. Kelly expresses this perfectly. "That down to earth girl from around the way." Naturally not up there lyrically with Lenny Cohen or Joni Mitchell or Bob Dylan and if one was to pull the words from the thing and analyze them it would seem ridiculous. Listening to that fade out with the backing vocals, the synth and that perfectly judged lead vocal precisely expresses the kind of attachment and love that a person has for another in one line. As an experience I think it is just as powerful as intently following all seven verses of Tangled Up In Blue.  

I Want You is probably my favourite Marvin album. Have you listened to much Leon Ware? Musical Massage (https://play.spotify.com/album/5bMeLupvv72kb8BfsHJI7W?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open) is pretty great.

I will have to listen to some of seltaeb's music!

Following on from what I said above, I think you are right to say that the music is the real star, in the sense that it is what how the lyrics affect the tone and shape of the sound as opposed to their independent meaning. That said, I do think that Gallant is more lyrically inclined than some. I took the lyrics to be about enduring or attempting to endure a bad time. I think "put it in a VCR" simply means explain how your life got to this stage.

Here is what he said about writing the album on Billboard (http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/6077136/gallant-zebra-exclusive-ep-premiere):




That has sometimes happened to me. I know at least once making sure I was updated on flash seemed to help matters.



I think it is definitely a lot harder today to make a living making music. I am not sure if Gallant is even making a living as of yet. There are a huge number of people doing good stuff, throwing it into the void in the hope that someone, somewhere will care about it enough so they can quit their office job. As a listener though I can't really imagine a better time where music, commercial or rare is available at next to no cost immediately 24 hours a day. Soundcloud has some amazing stuff on there, from big to small artists, especially remixes as you discovered where permission is avoided because nothing is being sold. I am glad you got something out of this music!

Gallant, Zebra

The calm intro, "Intro," is a nicely set mood. And it gave me hope in the form of falsetto that this listen wasn't going to be wholly wasted. Whatever was to follow, the guy at least could sing, that register some cross between Prince and Frank Ocean, piercing sometimes fully, sometimes a squeaked fissure.

Speaking of the Purple One, on the plus side Gallant also calls him to mind with the mingling of typically disparate sounds. (A distorted lead guitar line is still somehow half a surprise over a smooth R&B base.) On the negative side, Gallant in "Sirens" and the "Interlude - Keep U" that follows it, uses the same kind of modulated voice that, for me, detracts from Prince's work. An octave up, an octave down, those kind of character voices are just novelties for me.

"Sienna" is a highlight. The contrast between the slowly delivered vocal over sustained chords and the jittery beat got my attention on the first listen and still keeps it on this, my fourth or fifth. The synth bassline isn't a tone I'd choose, but the part itself is great, like a planned out recreation of something that began an improvised jazz line. And the singer's delivery of the hooks shows a real feel for nuanced rhythm: it isn't the simple repetition a casual listener might assume.

"Manhattan" is the highlight, though, shimmering in echo and the sharp Oceanic falsetto. The background vocals are gorgeous. All the vocals. The hook of the EP is one word: predicament. Or maybe "this predicament," to allow for that glorious interval up. It's evocatively vague, but to me also a sad reflection of something not just pathetic, not just gone wrong, but seedy. Maybe it's just my mind, but I immediately associated the song with Ocean's "Novacane," sung by a sympathetic after-the-fact friend to (as they called it in The Music Man "the sadder but wiser girl." (The Music Man didn't refer to homemade porn, I don't think. I haven't seen it in a while, though…) I love this song.

It's no secret that I'm more a song guy than a sound guy, than a vibe guy. I love harmonic and melodic development, resolution (or the tease of such). That might be where Gallant didn't go as far as I'd have liked. There are some good songs, but there is more of a mood. There are soundscapes that set the scene but don't always drive the plot. The reason it disappoints me is that there are more than enough hints that the guy could be building something more to my taste.

That last bit, of course, is the key. He isn't--or shouldn't be, anyway!--working toward my taste. But that's why Zebra, despite being enjoyable, isn't something I'll buy. "Sienna" and "Manhattan," however, are songs I'll buy.

captain, Just trying to list everyone I could think of, and I know I forgot a few.  I was up way too late.  I know you're not trying to get noticed.  Obviously.  ;D  You're not opinionated at all. double ;D  I read your posts anyway.  And yeah, we're just getting a small taste of the system that passed over your part of the country.

Muggins, I noticed I didn't finish my lyric example.  Should have included a second line:  ...put it in a VCR, Show me how you got in this predicament.  Sharp turns covered in skin, I bet the black gates just letting you in.
Unless it's metaphor, I can't think of what he's trying to express.  That's what I clumsily called urban/street speak for lack of a better way to say it.  It's like watching a movie where everybody is speaking in heavy Cockney slang or Irish brogue.  Some of those words just have to be looked up in a book.  Or these days made much easier by a quick check on the internet.  Man, the internet has made our lives quicker.  Speaking of...the lyrics you find on those sites are not official.  I noticed there was a way you could challenge the original poster like they do on the Setlist site.

Ah yeah, I think that is metaphor for doom/hell, that kind of thing. "I could tell you it's the apex..." is I think his saying that you are reaching the point where things will be alright but that might be useless to say. Some people are lost even if they are achingly close to being free. There is some slang on the album, including my current/maybe all-time favourite evocative R&B/Rap word: faded. Has a long enough history in the music but coupled with this production/subject matter it just expresses so much. As that other fellow said (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhifOtb9zlI) I've been faded too long.

On the lyrics yes, I don't think the ones listed on the net are entirely correct but given the place of the vocals in the mix I could not be sure.

Aw I don't think they are character voices necessarily or novelties, I think on lead they can add a lot of colour and really add to a bleak landscape. For example I think Initiation by The Weeknd is a wonderful update of the Bob George/Camille thing, and for exactly the same motivations: to pervert any humanity. On the production side I think they can add a nicely gruff layer to proceedings and again alter the humanity of the singer and the emotional position of the song. I am thinking of how The-Dream quotes the Get It Boyz track Let's Do It Doggie Style on Sex Intelligent. Marsha Ambrosius does the same thing on her song 69.  



This was oddly my least favourite on the album at first listen. It has grown on me in the way you express well here. In the same way that Wanderlust on Kissland was my least favourite, it will probably grow to be one of my favourites.

It has something of Novacane/Wicked Games to it for sure, I think the position of the singer is more removed and it is a sadness that comes from seeing a loved one losing themselves, rather than being yourself lost. I don't think it's necessarily a sexual or seedy predicament, but it is certainly a personal crisis.  


I think it's important to consider that this is definitely not the best this guy can do. It is his first EP and the hopefully the first step towards a full album and further defining his sound. I do think though it is a sign of the general health and well-being that exists in the genre, how it has a selection of high and low profile talents that are not restricted to the history of R&B and have a diverse selection of influences and musical loves.

I lied and bought the whole EP, as it was $3.99. I figured the extra dollar or so above what I would've spent on the couple songs I really wanted would be worth it in case it grew on me.

Ha!

I might have to sit this round out because I can't find the album and I don't have/want Spotify.
I would like to send a message to soul and R&B bands, though: stop naming your songs after pharmaceuticals.

Here you go:

https://soundcloud.com/gallant/sets/zebra-ep

There are a few tracks missing on Soundcloud.

You can buy the EP or individual tracks for very cheap here:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/zebra-ep/id872557326

Or of course you can use the free Spotify or web player and have a listen!

https://play.spotify.com/album/5LNuL34uiBiSntkWuSiQQG?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open

Or similarly free on Rdio:

http://www.rdio.com/artist/Gallant/album/Zebra_-_EP/

amazing.  Three people in the world all posting on the same subject at the same time.  Unusual in this section.  Hey, we'll make this a go-to place before you know it!  We all posted within ten minutes of each other.  I was just throwing out a reply to the captain and making the lyric correction - but you got my point anyway.

I'd have to check some of the links to answer properly.  Have to be later, I have some work to do this afternoon.  I did read some of Gallant's explanation of the album, but on a different forum.  I listened to "This Woman's Work" yesterday.  I didn't know it was a Kate Bush song.  I'll go have a listen to her version, I'm not that familiar with most of her releases.  I'm not up on Prince's current music either, which made reading the chat you guys were having over in the What are you listening to Now thread difficult.  I just know the older stuff.  You both know this kind of music more than me, at least these days.  Of the artists you mentioned, Marvin and Stevie are my #1 and #2.  I don't really have one favorite Marvin album.  He had such an incredible career in the 60's, then re-invented himself in the 70's.  I love his live records from Oakland and London.  I prefer his live version of "Distant Lover" over the studio take to name just one.  Trouble Man Soundtrack is high on my list.  I have been into Stevie since I was a kid.  I had the "Fingertips" 45 when I was about 11.  Soul music was important in my life.  Detroit and Philadelphia.  I love Gamble and Huff, The Blossoms/Darlene Love, and lots of Spector's stuff.  If you read my posts, you know I love Laura Nyro.  The first place I ever heard one of her songs was on a flip-side of a 1966 Blossoms 45 on Ode Records.  I actually got to see James Brown live a couple of times in the mid-60's.  But, it was Marvin, of all the Soul acts, I liked best when I saw the TAMI Show (as a movie - I sure wasn't there).  For some reason, Marvin and Stevie didn't come to my hometown, but I did see Ike and Tina in a small club in 1969.  And I do have a favorite period for Stevie.  When he got his freedom to write and produce what he wanted in the late 60's and into the 70's he took his music to new heights, quickly.  Where I'm Coming From and Music of My Mind began to tell a new story about where Soul was about to go.  Marvin followed after he too could get beyond what Barry had in mind.  Soon Motown moved it's center to LA.

Of the others you mentioned.  I got into Curtis, Bobby and Isaac in the 70's.  I didn't know who and how important they were until then.  Donny, not so much.  Just the singles and the records he did with Roberta.  New Jack Swing?  I'd have to go researchin' again.

This was a good pick Muggins.  Anyone who listened surely learned something new about the current state of Soul and R&B.  I'm always up for that.  

Very nice post. I like Laura Nyro quite a bit. I really like her cover of You've Really Got a Hold On Me on a live album whose name escapes me.

I also love Music Of My Mind. Adore the opening talkbox work out! Stevie Wonder was so brilliant in the 70s, nearly unbelievably prolific and interesting. I think he was really the guy who established in the mainstream a black musician on the same tier as people like Dylan and The Beatles as being not just a conduit for good music, but THE AUTHOR of the music. There would be nothing close to people like Michael Jackson, Prince or R. Kelly without his taking such forceful and deserved ownership of his music.  

I would really love to have seen James Brown but I missed the one chance I had but I am slightly hopeful that I will be able to catch Stevie one of these days.




New Jack Swing was people like Teddy Riley - specifically associated with Riley and his group Guy -  and Bobby Brown. Crunchier, harder edged production with an electronic bent.

I am glad you enjoyed the selection! I like this thread and the process of listening to new music every week.

Yes, I didn't want to add Spotify either.  I don't think it's a good streaming service.  Will update flash, but don't expect that to fix things.  It was always after they broke in with an advert in the middle of my listening experience that it started freezing up.  It was the songs in the middle he left off his SoundCloud - I never got all the way through them.  I hope I can work around it on future picks.

While I was playing "Isn't she Lovely" someone posted on youtube that Stevie did a show incorporating the whole of Songs in the Key of Life recently.

Damn! Would be amazing to see.

I'm pretty sure he's doing an entire Songs in the Key of Life tour. The tickets were pretty expensive, and I'm not sure how many are left at this point, but there's hope for you yet.

You're correct. The NYT just did a review of a show within the past week or so.

Apologies, but I didn't enjoy this one too much on first listen. :(
I think the production was what I didn't like... the sound was oddly murky to me, and I couldn't quite get into the falsetto either.
But there were good things - the first few tracks were pretty solid, and I didn't mind If It Hurts. I think Jupiter Grayscale was the best, that whistling hook was really nice. I'll have to give this one another few tries.

Never apologize for an opinion! (I know it's just convention or turn of phrase, but even so...)

It's all good Judd.  The next one will amaze you.  Somebody is on the clock.

EDIT:

I checked the list.  It's you Judd.  You're Next.  Give us something good to dissect and study.

 ;D

Not sure if I'm supposed to be posting this early...

Been mulling over this for a while, but my choice for the next week is The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse by the Bonzo Dog (Doo-Dah) Band.

(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3522/3867516386_b1ed60ba43.jpg)

I consider this a really fun record, and I hope y'all like it. I believe the US version of this album is retitled Urban Spaceman and has an alternate tracklist, so just so we clear (http://open.spotify.com/user/1141164912/playlist/7qo7lDFTmyDN2ExsNr96iF)...

Here is the Spotify link:

http://open.spotify.com/album/2mGirLnSdQvoDVcRCBf3K5

"11 Mustachioed Daughters" is the album's final track - it's bonuses after that.  ;)

Cool, looking forward to hearing this one!

This was entirely new to me and now is a challenge to appropriately describe. Maybe the best way is to say I don't have a hole this shape to be filled. Whatever it could have done for me was done by the Mothers of Invention 20 years ago. Rather than whet my appetite along those lines, it sated it. So for me, it doesn't much matter that the Bonzo Dog Band is good--which they are. Or that they're funny--which they are. The listening experience (two-plus times through) was a good one, but one that is unlikely to be repeated unless I find myself in some situation where they could be a reference. (You know, some drunken rabbit-hole music discussion or other.)

So Dudd, thanks for the new listening experience.

Right, I'm going to try and catch up

Nada Surf- O.K. Nothing I'd switch stations for, but nothing I'd buy.

Gallant- Likewise. Pretty, and atmospheric, but every time a new song came along that made me prick my ears up and think "this is a highlight", I had wearied of it by the end of the song. Perhaps it needs more time.

Tom Waits- this was pretty awesome. I've always like Tom Waits in theory but never put my time and money where my mouth is and bought/listened to his records much. I was very familiar with the title track as it appears of not one but two mixtapes friends had given me, and I loved it from the moment I heard it. I had no idea it was from so late in his career, I just assumed it was form the early '80s. But enough personal background. I liked everything on this album, and loved a lot of it. It didn't feel autumnal to me, but wintry, partly because it's getting very cold here right about now, and partly because of those ice-skating lyrics. 

I can go into a bit more detail with the Bonzos as I'm already very familiar with this album.

It's may be their best, though their previous LP "Gorilla" has a lot of charm and sounds more like a band doing what they naturally do. However, that's also got a lot of covers on it, whereas "Doughnut" is all originals. On the other hand a few of the Neil Innes songs let the side down (as is the case with their subsequent album "Keynsham"). They're a band I appreciate best when I listen to my own custom-made compilations or playlists spanning their whole career.

"We Are Normal"
This is a great song, though I usually have to skip the endless intro. Good work rhyming "freedom" with "Bert Weedon".

"Postcard"
Very pretty and Beatlesque.

"Beautiful Zelda"
This took a while to grow on me but now its a favourite. The trouble with comedy bands is when they have a song that isn't very funny- as this one isn't- it often takes a while to notice what a good tune it has. This is a Neil Innes tune and I tend to like his songs less than Viv Stanshall's but this is maybe my favourite of his.

"Can Blue Men Sing the Whites?"
Brilliant c o ck snooked at one of my least liked musical genres.
Harmonica player starts a solo- "not yet, man"

"Hello Mabel"
Enjoyable filler in the "Martha My Dear" mould.

"Kama Sutra"
Cool

"Humanoid Boogie"
Pointless. Worst song on the album.

"Trouser Press"
The song on the album that most feels like the first album and the roots of the band as a jazz/dada/art/parody experiment/experience. A lot of fun.

"My Pink Half of the Drainpipe"
The centrepiece of the album, Viv's manifesto, with themes that he'd return to throughout his career. Also one of the two songs that is funny enough to work as comedy as well as music (the other being "Rhinocratic Oaths"). This might be their best song, actually, though "Mr Apollo" and "Canyons of your Mind" would run it close.
(I think when I say this is their best album I'm thinking of stuff like this and forgetting about "Humanoid Boogie" and "Rockaliser Baby")

"Rockaliser Baby"
I love what Neil Innes has done with the rest of career but I have to say a lot of the songs he wrote for the Bonzos on his own I don't like. And I like his singing a lot less than Stanshall's.  

"Rhinocratic Oaths"
Classic Stanshall prose, paving the way for the Sir Henry at Rawlinson End stuff

"11 Moustachioed Daughters"
And this paves the way for his darker, more serious work like "Men Opening Umbrellas Overhead". A very strong closer. And the fact that the album begins and ends with such psychedelic, experimental and musically assured pieces as this and "We Are Normal", colours one's perception of the album as a whole and makes one think of the album as being more advanced and avant-garde than it actually is .

It IS from early in his career for all intents and purposes. Very little of the Wild and Crazy Tom manufactured to separate from Bruce Springsteen or The Eagles or whoever did better with his songs than he did. Alice is honest straight ahead love songs, not experimental gubbins for people who don't actually want experimental music. By early 2000s the punchline of Frank had be ome as old and predictable as the Small Change joker. The Small Change joker, decades older was still less affected, and resulted in more pleasing songs. The last Waits record should have raised the Pitchfork authenticity/cliche shackles by a large measure. So crazy he has confetti at his  shows! What a non conformist!

That's a rather cynical way of analyzing it.

Thanks for the response, captain! And I'm glad you at least enjoyed it. I kind of have the same problem with the Mothers; I very much enjoy a lot of their work, but Vivian's unfortunately already sated that hole by raving about coffee tables and giraffes.

And cheers for the writeup, unreleased backgrounds! I agree with a lot of that (although I'm afraid I do like "Humanoid Boogie" an awful lot). "Canyons of Your Mind" is most certainly a contender for best Bonzos track, just a shame the rest of Tadpoles doesn't hold together quite as well as this one...

I'm still not ready with my Bonzo review.  Still having problems with Spotify freezing up.  But:

More comments on Tom:  He's not like other men.  Certainly not to most people's taste.  For many his experimental music is just a very loud racket.  My appreciation jumped up high in 1983.  I've bought Alice now and close to getting Frank's Wild Years and Blood Money.  They need to re-master his stuff in America.  Those Japanese prices are steep, and Frank's Wild Years is one of the ones in desperate need of a sonic face-lift.

I had gotten Real Gone back in 2004, and didn't care that much for it, same as another I have, The Black Rider.  I think the reason I didn't buy the 2002 releases.  Then after he had been away so long I took a chance and bought Glitter and Doom.  I loved that and quickly got Bad As Me on release, even getting the Deluxe Book version.  I very much like where he is today.  Stomping and shuffling around the stage throwing glitter up in the air.  Guess I like confetti.

Actually I listened to the album again after writing my review and i htink I was too harsh on "Humanoid Boogie". i still don't think it's  a good song but it is a very good performance/production. It rocks. I've decided now that the worst song is actually "Rockaliser Baby".

I haven't been joining in with this game but I wanted briefly to interject to say that the Bonzo Dog Band are every bit as important to me as the Beach Boys and that "Humanoid Boogie" is actually sort of fantastic in its own way.  Thanks.

That probably came across as too negative. I like Tom Waits and I love quite a lot of his stuff. I am just slightly exhausted by the notion that he represents the cutting edge of something or other. He is an off centre singer songwriter with a very fine touch for love songs and occasionally the character stuff. It is not that I don't understand what he is doing - what he is doing is neither complicated or challenging - it is that I think it is played out. Bad As Me did exactly the same things in much the same order that he has been doing since the Frank stuff. He has been doing the same routine for longer than when he got tired of he drunken piano player with a sick sense of humour. Alice to my ears is more exciting than Bad As Me or any of the others since Bone Machine precisely because it eases off in that stuff and is content with just serving the songs.

...His dad's name was Frank.  At 14 Tom's first job was at Napoleone Pizza House in National City (a suburb of San Diego), keeping the job for 5 years (1963-1968).  He used the story often when doing the intro to "The Ghosts of Saturday Night."    My favorite from 1999, "...I got a tattooed map of Easter Island on my back.  And I have the full menu from Napoleone's Pizza House on my stomach.  After a while they dispensed with the menus.  They'd send me out and I'd take off my shirt and stand by the tables."     Okay I'll stop.

  I don't know Viv's projects that well.  When I've seen him on film it's always impressive.  He's got a lot of presence.  After Magical Mystery Tour I heard more about him than hear him.  Anything I've seen or heard from this record came after this music was originally made.  Maybe the late 70's.   I had some friends that were into the Rutles and played this.  I liked most of the tracks.  Viv is the singer of the ones I liked best.


Bonzo Doo-Dah Dog Band -    The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse



"We are Normal" - good tune once I got past the intro - almost two minutes.  They should have picked a track that opened with music instead of a sketch.  The organ adds a lot to the track.

"Postcard" and "Beautiful Zelda" - seem designed to play live.  Sorta like soundtrack music.  I like when late 60's bands use horns.  Both of them just played along.  It's hard to get a good feel for something I've not heard too many times.

"Can Blue Men Sing The Whites" - One of the better tracks.  Guess they're doing Canned Heat here?  fun track.

"Hello Mabel" - I've been listening to the Country Hams this week - this fits in with that.

"My Pink Half of the Drainpipe" - I looked into this one more after my listening session with the album.  There is an interesting video on youtube.  Made by some cat that enters videos into competitions.  I watched a few of his short films.  You didn't hear too many bands going for this sound in the 60's.  Ray Davies did it.  Also Mick on "Something Happened to me" - the end bit near the fade ..."if you're on your bike wear white"

"Rockaliser Baby" - strong track, great vocal.  This is a top track.

"Rhino Cratic Oaths" - love this.   Everything I'm saying seems brief and straightforward, but something like this one I could own.  This is what Vivian built on as he developed.

"Mustachioed Daughters" - This one, and just this one, is the only track that really reminded me of Zappa.  I watched several Zappa pieces from his Colour Me Pop show from this same year.  Zappa is only sometimes doing parodies.  And he's serious while he's doing it.  Always came across as serious to me and had deep messages buried in his comedy tracks.  These guys sound British.  Flip.  And never serious.  Zappa sounds like where he came from - after years of playing out in the desert roadhouses.  On the psychedelic/jazzier bits - The Buckinghams have a track that has this sound.  Another that might catch on with repeat plays.

"Blue Suede Shoes" - probably in the set the night they played for John and George while on the Mystery Tour.  I didn't check the year, but must be earlier than the record.  Strange pick to open the bonus tracks with.

"Bang, Bang" - After hearing this the other day, I ran across it on the Cover songs better than the Original thread.  I was compelled to post my favorite was by Terry Reid in 1968.  This is a serious song too, and along with "Alley-Oop" doesn't fit the Bonzo's very well.

"Canyons of Your Mind" - my favorite of the bonus tracks.  Viv does Elvis.  This worked better as a video clip.  Liked it better the more I played/watched it.

I also ran across another one I liked on youtube.  "Jollity Farm" - another cool take on Ray's Music Hall days.

Well, that's an hour gone forever.  I wonder how many people buy this kind of music these days. - Judd I guess

And I enjoyed unreleased Backgrounds review.  You seem to know this music very well.

I forgot "Keynsham" (the song) and the Beach Boys spoof "King of Scurf", both Neil Innes songs for the Bonzos that I like even better than "...Zelda".


Thanks! Yes, I love this band. I was brought up by the British Music Press to despise comedy records but it didn't take! Aside from the spoken word material, "Teddy Boys Don't Knit" is a very good solo Viv album. "Men Opening Umbrellas Overhead" is a more serious, scary album following the lead of "11 Mustachioed Daughters" but I found it quite hard to love. There's a lot of rare or unreleased Viv material here http://therawlinsonendudioarchive.blogspot.co.uk/ (http://therawlinsonendudioarchive.blogspot.co.uk/) and here http://www.solostanshall.blogspot.co.uk/ (http://www.solostanshall.blogspot.co.uk/)

I did some research on the history of comedy records in England, and the history of this band.  Many of the British stars were tied together, showing up in each others projects.  Crazy People (soon to be called The Goon Show) hit the airwaves in 1951.  They had music, but it tended to be "straight" songs, and not sung by Spike or Peter.  But Peter could sing, and made some comedy records that were popular in the UK.  He was the first to do Beatles parodies.  George Martin's early career was in the comedy field, and produced many popular acts - including Sellers and the great Bernard Cribbins ("Right Said Fred" "Hole in the Ground").  He did more than comedy, but it was one of his specialties, and helped make Parlophone what it became.  I did know who Cribbins was - from his work in Sellers' movies, the Carry On films, and later The Avengers, Dr. Who and The Wombles.  He did the sequel to The Mouse That Roared - Mouse On the Moon.  I was a big Sellers fan growing up, his movies not music.  I heard his Beatles parodies, but that's it.   The Bonzo Doo-Dah Dog Band fit into this by being the musical act (every show) on the Do Not Adjust your Set show (no, not shown in America - never seen it) - I didn't check to see if it is up on youtube, maybe.  Most of those shows were wiped from history by the BBC.  Only the independent Rediffusion shows are left.  Idle, Palin and Jones were in from the start - Terry Gilliam in the later shows.  From what I've heard the show was fantastic.  Speaking of fantastic, a trivia aside:  Captain Fantastic was a super-hero in a running feature bit on the show.  Elton took (or Bernie took) the name for their 1975 album - which was a look back at the beginning of their partnership, 1967-1969 (same as the show).  The rest of the python gang were in At Last the 1948 Show - Chapman and Cleese (and Marty Feldman!) cooking up the sketches.  Within six months of the two shows ending, Monty Python was created.  As I said, I didn't hear The Bonzos until Magical Mystery Tour.  Their "lucky break" didn't help to make them popular in America.

In the America of the late 50's/early 60's, we called this style novelty records.  "Beep Beep" "Purple-People Eater" "The Blob," Alan Sherman's "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" - he turned that into an industry.  Very few of the British comedy acts, except Peter Sellers, got too well known.  Seller's was helped by The Beatles' mentions of the Goon Show and Spike Mulligan (as they helped Nilsson - just by mentioning his name).  The Beatles spoke, we listened.  But they didn't import those records in to my knowledge.  We had Redd Fox, Andy Griffith, Bob Newhart, Smother's Brothers, (who all went on to TV after starting in the novelty records field) and a favorite of mine Moms Mabley (she couldn't tone it down enough to get on TV).  I'll never forget meeting her at a local wrestling match.  I was in awe handing her a soda (I was a hawker at the Civic Center).  She gave me a tip!

I don't think I heard of Innes until The Rutles came around.  The "Jollity Farm" track was a nice find.  I will continue to check some more of their tracks on youtube visits.  Again, it is a plus that we have a UK'er to fill in some of the holes for this band.  What we're doing here is fun, I'm learning and hearing stuff I never paid close attention to.

So, Peter Reum is up next.  I hope he joins in.  I've been reading his stuff for over thirty years.  He did the booklet for The Capitol Years Beach Boys box in 1980.  I know we're all just people, like everybody else here, but I'm interested to see what he will pick.

Is Peter still planning to participate? If not, are we skipping ahead?

Apologies for the delay, I have been away for the weekend and was unable to edit the thread. I will pm Peter Reum now to remind him. If he is unavailable we will skip ahead.

.

Hello again! I have been listening to lots of different stuff....I would very much like to offer a diiferent twist to this process. You all are invited to listen to Indigenous Artist Robert Mirabal. The name of the album is Music From a Painted Cave. You can find it at Spotify (free version) or Rdio (free version). As an introduction, I will send you over to youtube for this video track from the dvd of Music From a Painted Cave....  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6SqqeF9Do4

Thanks Peter! I will be catching up with this and the last weeks album in the next few days.

I really did not like this album. Those who did or do, don't take offense. This is just my opinion based on my taste. But just as a warning, I'll be pretty blunt.

This album largely reminded me of the worst Lou Reed music of the 80s and 90s, with bland, cleanish-tone electric guitars reiterating uninteresting patterns to a midtempo beat, but with kitchen sinks' worth of decoration around the edges--scratching, strings, cheese-guitar solo, and most of all the Native American soundscapes cheesed up with effects--all with Kalinichesque lyrics. The whole thing reminded me of something that might have received a grant to be produced and eventually broadcast as a PBS special concert for an audience of excited, well-dressed white people, semi-rocking out to the uptempo drum solo and believing they are becoming cultured because, hey, I mean, Native American guy, right?

Just my opinion, no doubt based on my own personal baggage. But there it is.

That said, thanks to Peter for yet another album in this project I had never heard before. I think all but one or two of the choices so far fit into that category, and that's the most fun part about this whole thing for me: listening to something I wouldn't otherwise have known existed, or would have passed over entirely anyway just out of habit. I believe the old saying is, "it's better to have listened and not loved than never to have listened at all." Or something like that...  ;D

Actually the performance was filmed for PBS. It was broadcast to young Indigenous kids nationwide. The live performance that I attended was sold out. Two benefit shows at the Alberta Bair theater here in town were  done in the afternoon and 2800 Native American kids saw the performance.  I certainly understand your perspective from a rock music perspective.  Thanks for listening!

Found this one quite hard going. Similar response to the Captain's. If it had had better tunes (that is, better to my ears) that would have outweighed any stylistic issues however.

I have now lived in Berlin for exactly one week and after a long day finally opened a beer and put on some music. Tom Waits' Alice. Sadly, this is how far behind I am on our 'project'. I'm really sorry. Nevertheless, Alice is giving me so much right now. It is reassuring in a general sense and attesting in a more specific sense. More later - if I'm still awake then. Great music.

Perhaps I was mistaken in choosing the Mirabal album that I hoped would be the most accessible. At any rate, if you are looking for Indigenous music, his more traditional music is some of the finest around. It is often sung in Tiwa, so I thought an album of English songs would be more listenable. Thanks to the hardy souls who went through the whole album.

Why not say a little more about how you feel about the record, Peter, while we wait for more reviews to roll in? Though I didn't care for it myself I'm still interested in hearing other perspectives.

The Music From a Painted Cave cd and dvd were developed to help young Indigenous children get in touch with their traditions and language. There are over 350 Indigenous North American  languages, many of which are spoken only by very old tribal members. The idea behind Mirabal's work on this cd was to get tribal youth excited about their traditions and languages. English is the common language of most of the US and Canadian tribes, even though their own languages are also spoken. To this end, the actual performance of Music From a Painted Cave was done as a theater performance, which is highly visual, not just auditory. There are a few snippets of the production on youtube.  Having attended Taos Pueblo dances open to the public since I was a small child, as well as other pueblo's dances, I was especially excited to see that Mirabal was helping other tribe's children to values and investigate their ancient languages and traditions. As I have grown older I have been lucky to witness more dances, like the Hopi Snakedance, the Lakota and Cheyenne Sundances, and The Mescalero Apache dances.  I am including a link to a couple of the visual presentations from the dvd of Music From a Painted Cave....    the first is a story about the Old Ones, a race of ancient giants... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6SqqeF9Do4      The second is called The Dance.... which explores the ties of sacred dancing to their culture:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_znb0MlHTY&list=PL1304B7C7EC96BE58

As a Minnesotan, I've been fortunate to see several Lakota dances, storytelling, and other cultural events. I've enjoyed many of them. And the mission behind this sounds admirable.

My main critique of this album wasn't the actual non-pop content, but rather that it felt artificially shoehorned together. It reminded me of Christian rock, or a schoolteacher encouraging students to rap to complete some project: just sort of forced. Cheesy.

But I'm glad your choice--as has been the trend throughout actually--wasn't a dull, play-it-safe one.

I'm sorry no one seems to be enjoying your pick so far, Peter, but you seem to be handling it well.

I also was not a fan of Music from a Painted Cave. It feels very strange to me. It reminds me of something I might see in school as a child, where we take a field trip to a local museum and watch this. It also sounds very early-2000ish, which is not a pleasant sound for me. I understand why you might want to choose something more accessible, but I think I would enjoy it more if you chose something with music that that more resembled the culture and was a bit more... tribal, I guess.

I don't often promote my Reuminations blog here, but in response to your post, I will refer participants from this week to my critical overview of Robert Mirabal's recorded work. That entry may be found here...  https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6248747975825036896#editor/target=post;postID=8270279716704084553;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=10;src=postname   

For those of you who don't want to slog through the whole piece, I would suggest Taos Tales or Indian Indian, which are more personal recordings to his tribe and family. For traditional Indigenous flute, I will suggest his work recorded under the name Of Johnny Whitehorse, which is very authentic to Pueblo music. The Taos drum heard on these albums is a revelation in itself. Most of these albums may be heard on Spotify or Rdio. Mirabal is a two time Grammy winner, and a much honored artist who has played in over 40 countries around the world.

http://peternreum.blogspot.com/2014/08/robert-mirabal-voices-in-indigenous.html

I read Reuminations.  Believe this is the article Peter was linking to.  When I tried his link it didn't work on my browser, but this does.  I'd also suggest you look into Robert's site.  I don't have the link handy, but I think it's just http://www.robertmirabal.com  He did a nice Thanksgiving post.  A point of view worth your time.

It's Sunday, so I don't think I'll be able to post my review until tomorrow.  Three really great football games today in my area.  My eyes are on a different screen. :p

I will say, if you read this article you will find out why this music is so important to him.  That's what all the picks have been so far.  A personal connection.

Ack - I'm with Mr. Waves and the captain here, unfortunately.

Yeah, this nailed it. There was something all too thin about the sound - very little energy or authenticity. Just couldn't get into it.
The performances on video were very entertaining, though.

Thanks to feelsflow for correcting the link. I have a connection to the pueblos through my sister who was adopted at birth from Picuris and San Ildefonso Pueblos. The pueblos are very insular and secretive. Mirabal provides an important bridge to their way of looking at the world, which is similar to the Hopi. The blog that is referenced in feelflows' post by Mirabal is an excellent insight into his art and way of looking at the world. The music is another way of expressing that viewpoint. Taos Pueblo has been the way it is for close to 1000 years...they have a way of living that I personally feel is worth learning about, simply because they will be here long after other civilizations are gone. 

It would be impossible for me to describe Mirabal's music and life better than Peter did in his article.  I won't even try.  He has lived with it, and will forever.

Neil Young musically and visually was probably my first connection, with his references to the Native American culture beyond the fake movies and tv portrayals.  In the late 60's/early70's spiritual music was much more accepted by young folks.  Hey, we even listened to Humpback Whales records.  There was a world wide connection to cultural music.  Not just Ravi or what your friends were meditating to in the back garden or their living room while playing finger cymbals.  Spiritual music was very popular.  If you listen to music by rockers like Morrison (Shamanic tie-in) or Townshend's championing of Meher Baba, they were influenced by it.  Paul Simon's career owes to it.  Celtic music is not so different.  My personal favorite is Brazilian, which has some influence on Mirabal's music.  Not bossa nova, but certainly samba and the deeper inland music of the Amazon's indigenous tribes.

In the seventies most of my friends were majoring in psychology, citing groups like the Moody Blues as direct inspiration to study the inner-workings of the mind.  Many of them had to go back later to get real degrees to get real careers.  I had a heavy arts background.  Me, my brother and his girlfriend formed a company in 1973 in the Santa Cruz mountains.  We called it Bearpath.  We made all sorts of Native American handcrafts - jewelry, wall hangings, barrettes and hair clips, art using natural materials (silver, turquoise, deer antler, suede, feathers, glass beads, shells, lapis, jade, amber, ect.).  Inspired by an indigenous group doing sand painting demonstrations (which they let blow away in the wind when they were finished!), I even tried my hand at that after we moved the company down to the desert north of Tucson in 1975.  I put mine on wood, so they still exist.  I don't know where to find it now, but then you could buy natural colored sand in Arizona and New Mexico - not the crap you see them pouring into bottles at county fairs.  It had to be natural man.  We mostly did wholesale, so visited Taos shops on a regular basis.  I explored the area where Mirabal grew up.  Maybe he was there playing with his friends when I went to Pueblo de Taos.  So this culture was a part of my life through the seventies.  When I lived in San Francisco, I would often go to cultural events, like what Robert is presenting, in Chinatown and Japan Town.  Robert is simply carrying on a tradition.

I have listened to a few artists that continue to embrace Native American music.  Robbie Robertson has done some interesting things.  And Rita Coolidge with her family, Walela.  Laura Shatterfield, Priscilla's daughter has sung on one track I played on a Mirabal record.  I was not familiar with Mirabal's music, but I did like it.

Music From a Painted Cave       Robert Mirabal

I played the album straight through later, but the first thing I tried to find was as much of the PBS special I could:

"The Dance" - Robert has a pleasant voice and this is powerful music.  My foot was tappin'!  An extraordinary Tribal-Rock track and performance by all.  The visuals really help to get this music across.

"Ee-You-Oo" - originally from Taos Tales (1999), he is using an old Taos melody - which I presume has his own lyrics.  I like it.  Bet Peter Gabriel does too.  Very similar in feel to his track "San Jacinto."  Forgot to name-check him in my opening.  He has done so much for World Music.

"Medicine Man" - also from Taos Tales.  I love the way he incorporates strings (heavy use of cello), guitars and a drum kit with native flutes, rattles and other ancient instruments into the music.  If you checked his site, you know he also makes flutes.

"Little Indians" - not one of his stronger tunes, but I do like the message.

"Courtship Song" - beautiful.  Just two flutes, with cello coming in towards the end.

"Stiltwalker" - a very moving piece.  I watched this first, and again at the end.  If the album order is the way the show went, I think it would be better as the opener.

The rest I could only find on spotify.  I'm going to look into seeing if I can find the DVD at the library.

"Skinwalker's Moon" - another Tribal-Rock number, not so different than Los Lobos.  Even a bit of Heart in the closing female vocals.  Possibly influenced by his work with Mark Andes.

"Shield Dance" - sets an eerie mood.  I want to see the visual for this.  Young braves readying for war.  Every track so far, I like.

"Runner's Dreamtime" - hypnotic South American beat.  Mostly drums and shakers, then...a didgeridoo.  Very nice.  From what I see didgeridoos come in many sizes.

"Hope" - sounds like 60's Canned Heat.  This track is different from any so far.  More traditional American Rock.  Sure he heard plenty of it on his travels.

"Painted Caves" - another track pulled from Taos Tales.  Some of these tracks sound like they were made for consideration on movie soundtracks.  This one for sure.  Another very moving track.  I will check that album out soon.

Then the album falls apart for the next five tracks.  "1000 Miles" is more contemporary rock.  "Drum Battle"  is an uninteresting drum solo - something I don't enjoy by anyone.  "Navajo Fires" "An Kah Na" "Sisters" - this whole stretch of tracks doesn't seem to fit in.  Maybe with visuals it worked, but not as album tracks.  That is why I thought "Stiltwalker" seems out of place coming after these very contemporary numbers.  If I was the producer, I would have put "Stiltwalker as the opener, and closed with "Painted Caves."  He's told his story.  Or put in more tracks from his other albums.  Peter, are all sixteen tracks in the performance piece?

Overall this is very good.  I don't need repeat listens to say that.  I was surprised so many commenters didn't like it.  It could be that by living through the 70's matters with this one.

     

So... are we gonna move on to the next album at some point?

Unreleased Backgrounds is up next. Schedule probably just a little off, as we started last week late, holiday, etc. but I'm curious about what's next.

Yes, I'm happy to name an album whenever we're ready

I'm ready.  We should try to get back to picks on Sunday now that the holiday is over.  I want to give every pick enough time to sink in.  So far most have been new to me.

Sorry my last one was late.  Been trying to get them posted by Friday.  Football consumes my week-ends.  College ball on Saturday has pretty much ended til the play-offs, and my teams didn't make it this year anyway.
So.  unreleased backgrounds?

Very well I choose "Marieke" (1961) by Jacques Brel

(http://nsm05.casimages.com/img/2011/06/07//1106071104321115818281950.jpg)

http://open.spotify.com/album/0aDtrIiTp743UXccAuHcng (http://open.spotify.com/album/0aDtrIiTp743UXccAuHcng)

The album has nine songs, any after that on Spotify are bonus tracks.
A rough English translation of the lyrics to follow.

Rough English translations (done by me over the years, sometimes with help from other people's translations online). Not too much confidence is to be placed in them.

Marieke

Ay, Marieke, Marieke, I loved you so
between the towers of Bruges and Ghent.
Ay, Marieke, Marieke, a long time ago,
between the towers of Bruges and Ghent.

[in Flemish:] Without love, warm love,
the wind blows, the dry wind
without love, warm love
the sea weeps, the grey sea ,
Without love, warm love
dim light flickers, the dark light
and blows sand across my land,
my flat land, my Flanders land

Ay, Marieke, Marieke, the Flemish sky
colours the towers of Bruges and Ghent.
Ay, Marieke, Marieke, the Flemish sky
cries with me from Bruges to Ghent.
[in Flemish:] Without love, warm love,
the wind blows, (it's over)
without love, warm love
the sea weeps, (it's over already)
Without love, warm love
dim light flickers, (all is over)
and blows sand across my land,
my flat land, my Flanders land

Ay, Marieke, Marieke, the Flemish sky
hangs too heavy from Bruges to Ghent
Ay, Marieke, Marieke, over your twenty years
that I loved so from Bruges to Ghent

[in Flemish:] Without love, warm love,
the Devil laughs, the black Devil
without love, warm love
my heart burns, my old heart
Without love, warm love
the summer dies, the sad summer
and blows sand across my land,
my flat land, my Flanders land

Ay, Marieke, Marieke, bring back the times
bring back the times of Bruges and Ghent.
Ay, Marieke, Marieke, bring back the times
when you loved me from Bruges to Ghent.

Ay, Marieke, Marieke, often the nights
between the towers of Bruges and Ghent.
Ay, Marieke, Marieke, all the pools
open their arms to me from Bruges to Ghent.
From Bruges to Ghent!

Le moribond
(The dying man)

Goodbye Emile, I liked you well
Goodbye Emile, I liked you well, you know.
We sang of the same wines,
We sang of the same girls,
We sang of the same miseries.
Goodbye Emile, I'm going to die.
It's hard, dying in the Spring, you know.
But I leave the peace in my soul to the flowers.
And since you're the salt of the earth,
I know you'll take care of my wife.
I want them to laugh,
I want them to dance,
I want them to rave like madmen
when they put me down that hole.

Goodbye my priest, I liked you well
Goodbye my priest, I liked you well, you know.
We weren't on the same side,
we went on different paths
but we were both looking for the same harbour.
Goodbye my priest, I'm going to die.
It's hard, dying in the Spring, you know.
But I leave the peace in my soul to the flowers
And as you were her confessor,
I know you'll take care of my wife.
I want them to laugh,
I want them to dance,
I want them to rave like madmen
when they put me down that hole.

Goodbye Antoine, I didn't like you much
Goodbye Antoine, I didn't like you much, you know.
I'm dying of dying today.
And look at you, full of life!
and twice as heavy as ennui.
Goodbye Antoine, I'm going to die.
It's hard, dying in the Spring, you know.
But I leave the peace in my soul to the flowers
And as you were her lover,
I know you'll take care of my wife.
I want them to laugh,
I want them to dance,
I want them to rave like madmen
when they put me down that hole.

Goodbye my wife, I loved you well
Goodbye my wife, I loved you well, you know.
But I'm taking the train to the Good Lord.
I'm just taking an earlier train than you.
But one takes whatever train one can.
Goodbye my wife, I'm going to die.
It's hard, dying in the Spring, you know.
But I leave my closed eyes to the flowers
And as you kept them closed so often,
I know you'll take care of my soul.
I want them to laugh,
I want them to dance,
I want them to rave like madmen
when they put me down that hole.

Vivre debout
(To live upright)

Here we hide ,
When the wind rises,
Afraid that it pushes us
towards too fierce battles
Here we hide,
with each new love,
which each in turn tell us,
“I am the true one”
Here we hide
so that our shadow is for a moment,
a child's shadow,
better to run from anxiety
The shadow that habit planted on us
When we were young
Is it impossible to live upright?

Here we kneel,
half capsized,
Under the incredible weight,
Of our imaginary crosses,
Here we kneel,
already fallen,
For having been tall
Within the confines of a mirror,
Here we kneel,
Although our hope,
Is reduced to praying,
Although it's too late,
We can no longer win
At all these rendezvous
That we have missed,
Is it impossible to live upright?

Here we lie
For the slightest affair
For the slightest flower
To whom we say always,
Here we lie
The better to lose our mind,
The better to burn the boredom,
To some remembrances of love,
Here we lie,
From desire which ends
from prolonging the day,
To better make our way,
To Death who prepares
To be at the end,
Our own fate
Is it impossible to live upright?

On n'oublie rien
(You Forget Nothing)

You forget nothing, nothing, you forget nothing at all.
You forget nothing of anything, you just get used to it- that's all.

Not those departures, not those arrivals, nor those voyages which capsize us
from landscapes to landscapes and from faces to faces.
Not those ports, not those bars, not those cockroach-traps
where you wait for the grey morning at the cinema with your whisky.
Not any of this, nor anything in the world can ever make us forget, as sure as the world is round.

You forget nothing, nothing, you forget nothing at all.
You forget nothing of anything, you just get used to it- that's all.
not those nevers, not those alwayses, not those I love you's, nor those affairs
that you pursue across hearts from grey to grey, from tears to tears.
Not those white arms of a one night stand, that woman's necklace for our ennui,
unfastened in the early morning as a promise of return.
Not any of this, nor anything in the world can ever make us forget, as sure as the world is round.

You forget nothing, nothing, you forget nothing at all.
You forget nothing of anything, you just get used to it- that's all.

not even the times when I would have written a thousand songs of my regrets,
nor even the times when my memories take my wrinkles for a smile,
nor the bed where my remorse has a date with death,
that I some days wish for, such as on holidays.
Not any of this, nor anything in the world can ever make us forget, as sure as the world is round.

You forget nothing, nothing, you forget nothing at all.
You forget nothing of anything, you just get used to it- that's all.

Clara

I love you so Clara
I love you so
Carnival at Rio
You can always dance
you can change nothing
I died in Paris
a long time ago already
I died of boredom
a long way from you

Carnival at Rio
You can always sing
you can change nothing
Fallen in the battlefield of love
for a girl's name
which always said to me...

Carnival at Rio
You can always turn
you can change nothing
I died in Paris
from fooling myself
from killing myself
from giving myself away

Carnival at Rio
You can always dance
you can change nothing
I died in Paris
pierced by a flower
at the pole of its bed
of twelve laughs in the heart

Carnival at Rio
you can always shout
you can change nothing
I died in Paris
a thousand days ago
a thousand nights ago
there is no longer any hope

Carnival at Rio
you can get me drunk
you can change nothing
I died in Paris
Where I've been buried
for a thousand nights
at the bottom of my glass

Carnival at Rio
you can carnival
I died in Paris
So Death could console me
Death is over here
Death is Spanish.

Le prochain amour
(The next love)

It's been well noted, it's been oft-quoted
That a forewarned man is worth two
It's been well noted, it's been oft-quoted
That it's well and good to be in love

I know, I know that this next love
Will be for me the next defeat
I already know, upon starting the feast
The dead leaf that will be the morning after
I know, I know, without knowing your name
That I will be your next captive
I know already that it's with a whisper
That a pool imprisons a stream

I know, I know that this next love
Won't live to the next summer
I know already that when two roads kiss
It only lasts for the length of a crossroads
I know, I know that this next happiness
Will be for me the next time of war
I know already the awful prayer
that one must cry when the other has won

I know, I know that this next love
Will be for us a new reign
Where we'll both think we're carrying the ball and chain
Where we'll both think that the other is on velvet
I know, I know that my tender weakness
Will make us into enemy ships
But my heart knows that enemy ships
Leave together to fish for tenderness

For it's been well noted,
That a forewarned man is worth two
It's been well noted, it's been oft-quoted
That it's good for us to be in love

L'ivrogne
(The Drunk)

Friend, fill up my glass.
Just once more and I'm gone, just once more and I'll go.
No, I'm not crying.
I'm laughing! I'm happy! But I'm sick of being me.
Friend, fill up my glass.
Friend, fill up my glass.

Let's drink to your health, you who have so strongly said
that all will work out fine, that she'll come back.
Too bad you're a liar, heartless bartender.
I'll be drunk in an hour, I'll be without misery.
Let's drink to the health of laughing friends,
who I'll find again, who'll come back to me.
Too bad those Lords abandoned me on the ground.
I'll be drunk in an hour, I'll be without anger.

Let's drink to my health, so they'll drink with me,
so they'll come dance with me and share my joy.
Too bad that the dancers left me beneath the moon.
I'll be drunk in an hour, I'll be without rancour.
Let's drink to the girls I still have left to love,
let's drink already to the girls I'm going to make cry.
And too bad about the flowers they refuse from me.
I'll be drunk in an hour, I'll be without passion.

Let's drink to the whore who twisted my heart.
Let's drink amidst misery, let's drink amidst tears.
And too bad about the tears that are crying me tonight.
I'll be drunk in an hour, I'll be without memory.
Let's drink night after night, since I'm too ugly
for the slightest girl, for the slightest regret.
Let's drink just because, let's drink for drinking's sake,
I'll be fine in an hour, I'll be without hope.

Friend, fill up my glass.
Just once more and I'm off, just once more and I'll go.
No, I'm not crying.
I'm laughing, I'm happy, it's all worked out fine!
Friend, fill up my glass! Friend, fill up my glass!

Les Prénoms de Paris
Names for Paris

The sun which rises and caresses the roofs, that's Paris the Day.
The Seine which walks and takes me by the hand, that's Paris Always.
And my heart which stops upon meeting your smiling heart, that's Paris Hello.
And your hand in my hand, which has already said “yes”, that's Paris Love.
The first date at Ile Saint-Louis, that's Paris Beginning.
And the first kiss stolen at the Tuileries, that's Paris Good Luck.
And the first kiss received under an archway, that's Paris Romance.
And two heads which turn and look at Versailles, that's Paris France.

The days we forget that forget to watch us, that's Paris Hope.
The hours when our gazes are but one gaze alone, that's Paris Mirror.
Nothing but the nights to separate our songs, that's Paris Goodnight.
And finally that day when you no longer say no, that's Paris Tonight.
A sad little bedroom, where the world stops turning, that's Paris Us.
A look which recalls all the tenderness in the world, that's Paris Your Eyes.
An oath that I cry rather than say, that's Paris If You Want.
And to know that tomorrow will be like today, that's Paris Miraculous!

But the end of the journey, the end of the song, that's Paris Grey.
The last day, the last hour, also the first tear, that's Paris Rain.
These gardens dug up that have lost their beauty, that's Paris Ennui.
The train station that achieves the final rupture, that's Paris Over.
Far from the eyes and the heart that we hunted in Paradise, that's Paris Misery.
-But one letter from you, a letter that says “yes”, that's Paris Tomorrow!
The towns and villages, the wheels trembling with luck, that's Paris On The Road.
And you awaiting me there and all that recommences... that's Paris I'm Returning!

Les Singes
(The Monkeys)

Before them, before the bare-bottomed ones, the flower, the bird and us were free.
But they came and the flower's in a pot, the bird's in a cage and we all have numbers.
For they invented prisons and the condemned, courts and keyholes, and tongues cut off at the first offence.
And it's all since they were civilised, the monkeys in my neighbourhood

Before them, there was no problem growing bananas even during Lent.
But they came full of intolerance to hunt the apostles of other intolerances.
For they invented the hunt of the Albigensians, the infidels and whoever else.
They hunt wiser monkeys who don't like to hunt.
And it's all since they were civilised, the monkeys in my neighbourhood.

Before them, a man was a prince; a woman a princess; love a province.
But they came along and the prince is a beggar, the province is dead and the princess a whore.
For they invented the love that is a sin, the love that is an affair,
the marketplace for virgins, the rule of the pimp and the procuress,
and it's all since they were civilised, the monkeys in my neighbourhood.

Before them, there was peace on earth, just one soldier per ten elephants.
But they came and it's to the blows of the baton
That the state finds reason after reason to fight.
For they've invented the impaling spike
and the gas chamber and the electric chair
and the napalm bomb and the atomic bomb
and it's all since they were civilised, the monkeys in my neighbourhood.

Well, I really like Scott Walker, so I look forward to listening to this.
I've seen Brel do "Amsterdam" live on YouTube, which was pretty great.

For Youtube users:

Marieke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csNdJOaRpVQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csNdJOaRpVQ)
Le moribond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKPH9u56GjQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKPH9u56GjQ)
Vivre debout https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH9GSEyflKI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH9GSEyflKI)
On n'oublie rien https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXv0NMhyMyQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXv0NMhyMyQ)
Clara https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlVpZbkshZs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlVpZbkshZs)
Le prochain amour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EA0wQQ4u3U (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EA0wQQ4u3U)
L'ivrognehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x-l1-APTOg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x-l1-APTOg)
Les prénoms de Paris https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCSIGNBGjIo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCSIGNBGjIo)
Les singes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcGsiyJcNGQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcGsiyJcNGQ)

On first listen, I liked it. I can certainly get a feeling for a lot of where Scott Walker drew inspiration (especially the title track). I think the backing tracks were good, although some seemed very French. "On N'Oubile Rien" seems like something I can picture playing during a montage of someone doing some French stuff in France. However, while I thought he was a good singer, I think the fact that it was in an entirely different language held me back a bit from actually becoming immersed in it.

I think he's a pretty good lyric writer, as well. I particularly like the lines "Not those ports, not those bars, not those cockroach-traps/where you wait for the grey morning at the cinema with your whisky." The last song doesn't seem like a shining moment for Brel, although he does deliver the song with a good measure of conviction. Maybe that's a case of not understanding the lyrics being in my favor.

Anyway, I did like it. I'll have to listen a few more times to see if Brel is someone I would like to explore further.

Very well chosen it is!

Marieke           Jacques Brel

This is the first time I've listened to Brel sing Brel.  I have no problem with music sung in languages I can't completely understand.  I own nearly all of Antonio Carlos Jobim's catalogue.  So for over twenty-five years I have tried to learn Portuguese.  I've learned to write it okay, but not speak it beyond singing along.  I think you've done a fine job translating the lyrics.  And Brel's lyrics are stunning.  That's where I started.  I read all the lyrics first, then referred back to them, going back and forth to the youtube links.  Thanks for going to the trouble of doing both.  It really helped me understand his music better.

We've all heard his songs done by others.  I guess the first was "Alabama Song" by the Doors.  This was an interesting listen.

"Marieke" - I love this song.  Judy Collins did a wonderful version in 1970 using Brel's original lyrics.  I couldn't resist watching her do it with the Boston Pops Orchestra in 1976 when I noticed the link while listening to Brel's take.  His backing track is gorgeous.  Maybe better than Judy's arrangement, but he sings in a much more aggressive way.  Perhaps to get the emotion over.  In any case I like this very much.

"Le moribund" - Again the backing track is a thrill.  But also again, his singing is almost a marching tempo.  I love it though.  It's hard to give something I've never heard before the attention needed to sink in.  Not on a couple of listens, and that's all the time I have.  These first two turned out to be two of my three favorites on the album.  What can one say about such lyrics?  A story not often told.  The kind of thoughts Cohen might come up with.

"Vivre de bout" - I think I've heard this before, but not by Brel.  They often did this kind of music on the variety shows in the 60's and 70's.  Brel must have come to America.  Any further research will have to wait til later.  We've got to go back to picks on Sunday.  I had a bit of a hard time understanding what he is trying to say with this song.  What does he mean by "to live upright?"

"On n'oublie rien" - I sure understand the feeling he's going for on this one.  Dark.  Not about to forget all the wrongs he lives with.  Bubbly's right on target quoting that line, but all the lines hit targets.  This guy's been up all night on a date with a bottle.  A very powerful song.  I will try to search this out sung in English.

"Clara" - the backing track beat rocks.  Great use of stereo.  Aah, looking back to the lyrics - it's about Carnival in Rio.  No wonder I like the beat.

""Le prochain amour" and "L 'ivrogne" - you can't fault his lyrics, but I didn't like the melody on either.  Which led to me not liking the songs much.  If I can, I'll listen to some more of his stuff and comment later.  He is an artist that should be given a deeper look.  time, time...if we only had more.

"Les pre'noms de Paris" - Is there a special key on your keypad that allows you to make the comma above the letter?  This track needs time to set in, to live with the mood of the lyrics.  I don't grasp the repeated use of marching tempo in his singing.  Do you understand what he's singing/saying while listening?  Maybe that would make a difference.

"Les singes" - this is my #3 favorite.  Love the Brazilian touches.  The lyrics are top notch and must have influenced Colin's (xtc) lyrics to "The Smartest Monkeys."

This was another great pick.  Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Thanks for the responses! Feelsflow, "Alabama Song" was Brecht and Weill, though I agree its a similar style.

He said it meant living and preserving your dignity. I saw it translated by someone online as "to live standing up"  but I thought "upright" sounded more poetic.


On my keyboard, hold down alt while typing 130 (on the number keys on the right)

I'll post my thoughts in a moment.

So, Jacques Brel, along with Jonathan Richman, is my favourite singer-songwriter. I have all fifteen of his albums in a box set and listen to them all the time. So its possible that I have got to the point that I've lost objectivity. I love the music he produced (with a lot of help from his pianist, his orchestra director, and others) with its drama, its poetry and passion. And what are, to me, amazing tunes.

It was hard to choose which album, I ended up going for this one because of the Beach Boys connection, the fact it's short, accessible ( I hope) and there aren't any awful songs on it, and although it's not maybe his very best it's up there amongst the best.

"Marieke" is probably my favourite song on it. I named one of my cats after this song, who was sat on my lap until a moment ago.

"Le moribond", in case you didn't make the connection, is the original of "Seasons in the Sun" before Rod McKuen got his hands on it. This is still my favourite version. I love the lyrics. I like the ambiguity, how you can read it as sarcastic and bitter or take it at face value as the words of a man who realises that we all have to die, it's his turn now and he has made his peace and is saying a tender farewell to those close to him.

"Vivre debout" is one of two songs I always skip. It's OK but with so many great Brel songs to listen to I get choosy. It sounds sort of Spanish to me. Very moody and tense.
His singing sounds quite bad here. Maybe when I like his songs more, that automatically makes his voice sound better to me, but I do think the quality of his singing varies hugely across his output.

"On n'oublie rien" is another favourite. The song that years ago convinced me I had to get all his albums, as it wasn't on the double-disc compilation I'd been content with up to that point.

"Clara" is too jazzy and repetitive for me. Another one to skip. By the way, its the one that the English translation I posted is most likely to be wrong as I did it relatively hastily, having never bothered to read the words before.

"Le prochain amour" is a really beautiful song, despite the rather negative and pessimistic view of love and women. Brel's biggest fault for me is his misogyny. But I love the tune.

"L'ivrogne" is another masterpiece. I prefer a live version but that might be just because hearing the audience response adds to the drama. Brel was fascinated by this kind of character.

"Les prénoms" is another favourite. The marching rhythm Will mentions I find really exciting. It feels like riding through the song on horseback, a little too fast. My favourite part is the quick change in mood in the final verse from despair to elation.

"Les singes" sounds really modern and advanced to me for 1961. I think it really rocks. I love the lyrics and the righteous anger. A brilliant closer and a song that ought to be much better known.

This songs on this album, more than any other Brel album I think, exist in different versions. Three of the songs were done in Flemish for an EP, then five of them appear on a live album (Olympia 1961- much better version of "prénoms") and five of them were rerecorded for a album of reimaginings for a different label in 1972 ("Marieke", a radically reinvented "Le moribond", and arguably improved versions of "On n'oublie rien", "prénoms", and "le prochain amour"). So some of you might prefer some of those versions. Though I often listen to the other versions myself, I still like to hear such a great cluster of songs (except two!) as they originally appeared together.

Some of my other favourite Brel songs:
Ne me quitte pas
Au suivant
La chanson de Jacky
Jef
Les bourgeois
La bière
Mathilde
Les vieux
Le gaz
J'arrive
La statue
Les Marquises
Quand on n'a que l'amour

The list goes on and on!

As a fan of "traditional" (loosely defined for these purposes as pre-rock western/popular) songs, I found Brel an enjoyable assignment. Unfamiliar with Brel, I quickly heard echoes of, similarities to, and precursors of Weill/Brecht, Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman, Tom Waits. Arrangements and performances felt like a theater piece, which is for me a good thing. The arrangements were well designed to showcase and further the vocal and/or lyric, as is the case in a musical: tempo changes, volume changes (to the point of dropping out entirely), etc. The instrumentation was great, if almost feeling like a parody of French song on occasion.

Like Bubbly Waves, the language barrier was a challenge. My approach was to listen a couple of times without the translation in hopes of experiencing the songs. Brel's voice at turns desperate, angry, playful, and sweet, I felt able to absorb and enjoy them. Once I had a feel for the album, then I listened while consulting the lyrics. And those lyrics are really good. I wish I understood more than the tiniest bit of French that the Spanish and Latin I took a couple decades ago allow me so I could read them as written and sung rather than in translation. (Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate the translations, Unreleased Backgrounds! I just mean there is always a nuance or spirit that can't be translated.)

The obvious standout is the obvious standout, the one that has become a standard, "Le Moribond," which I only knew in its American incarnations. I was also really fond of the title song, "Les Singes," and maybe most of all, "L'ivrogne," to which I've listened half a dozen or more times this morning. That romantic drunk is an image that lends itself beautifully to art, where it is more sympathetic than in reality (as you're tugging him from a fight, paying for the damage, or avoiding the vomit).

Great selection, thanks for the introduction to Brel.

Are we reverting to the initial Sundays schedule? Or giving Brel a little longer since it was a late pick? Any thoughts?

MugginsXO, are you still around / interested in managing the thread?

Bubbly Waves, you're next (whenever we are moving on--I don't mind either way, whether we get back to Sundays or let this one ride a bit).

Yeah, I figured I would just wait until next Sunday, considering we haven't had Brel for that long, not a lot of people have chimed in, and MugginsXO hasn't even changed the thread title. I'm in no rush, but I'm open to hearing what other people think we should do.

That works for me.

I love the music of Jacques Brel, and this is no exception. Thanks for reminding me of an old favorite. I first encountered his work at Colorado College, as an undergraduate. I heard some of Rod McKuen and Glenn Yarborough's recordings of Brel's music, which led me to Brel;s own recordings.

I agree with waiting til next Sunday.  Let's give everybody a chance to review this great mans work.  It works best for me if the pick is made on Sunday, so I can get the review done by Friday.  The holiday got in the way this week, as it will on Christmas week.  Muggins must be away on business - his post log hasn't changed in a few days.  We've got all the time in the world, and there is more I'd like to say on Brel.  Did some research and listening yesterday, and will post tomorrow.  I'm between football games right now.  And dinner is ready, then another game.

I didn't say it, but the captain is right about the theater connection.  You mean Broadway, right?  I listened to Brel 67 this morning - it's very good.  I'll see you guys in a couple of days.  Busy getting the tree up.

Thanks for your thoughts, Captain and Peter. I'm glad of the positive response, I had wondered if I'd strayed a bit too far from rock 'n' roll.

Regarding the language barrier: I did used to happily listen to Brel with no idea whatsoever what the words were about, but in retrospect I think it depends on the song. Some songs depend more on the lyrics than others. "Marieke" (the song) could be about ordering stationery and still be as catchy as ever. With a song like "Vivre debout" however, he's clearly trying so earnestly to get his point across that you feel its a shame to not know what he's saying. Then there's ones which just feel like long poems set to music, like "Mon enfance" the first track on the '67 album feelsflow just mentioned. In those songs I think you really need to understand the language to sustain your interest.

The captain's remarks are as perceptive as ever. Theatrical is the word, and the orchestra is absolutely in service to the song/story. It works even better live. Sometimes the music abruptly speeds up again mid-chorus, and you can only get away with coups like that with a conductor.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Bubbly Waves will pick, I approve of his musical taste.

Excellent post!

Since Muggins is MIA, I decided to take over for him and keep it going in his absence. So, here's the Listening Project, Pt. 2 (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,19245.0.html).

Thanks Ian.  I guess in Europe they teach that trick.  I never use the number pad.  So, that's why it's there! ;)   Les prénoms de Paris.

No excuse for my "Alabama Song" mistake other than I was in too much of a hurry to get my review in by Friday.  After more research, I now know the first Brel song I ever heard was...drumroll:

"La Colombe" by Judy Collins on In My Life (1966).  Brel's version is far and away the best.  Couldn't find a translation, but I guess he's singing a different set of lyrics.  His own.  Judy is using Alasdair Clayre lyrics.


I came across Brel 67 while looking for other songs Judy had recorded.  She obviously loved him very much.  I liked this album as much as Marieke.  By 1967 he slowed down his tempos, and I think that works better with his voice.  It's even more expressive.  She did "La Chanson des vieux amants" on Wildflowers (1967).  This my favorite Collins album, so it's impossible to say he does it better.  But. Love the solo horn and arrangement.  Gerard Jouannest is impressive on piano.  He reminds me of Michel Legrand.  I think he brought a lot to the table when he became Jacques collaborator.  

Judy did two on Whales and Nightingales (1970):  "Fils de..." (Sons of...) - with the Blau/Shuman lyrics of another Brel67 track.  And "Marieke."

I'll have to listen to more of his records.  Thanks again for steering me to this fabulous artist.  This project is proving to be very entertaining.

Bubbly, what ya got cookin'?



 

Feelsflow, to keep Bubbly Waves happy I'll reply in his new thread.





 

yes.  Good idea to move the discussion to the new thread.  I wasn't sure which one to post in.  Looking closer at Bubbly's post I see he put a link to the new thread. 

I PMed Muggins days ago, and still have no reply.