The return of the "What are you listening to now?" thread

[the captain]

Listening to some CDs off the shelves--which is a rarity for me, as I usually am just going from my iTunes or streaming something these days--and being overwhelmed by the sense that I'll never have enough time in my life to listen enough to both what I already own in addition to what continues to be released going forward. The three albums I had running while working this morning were:

Eels - Blinking Lights and Other Revelations. If asked, I've always said this was one of his best. But I still never listen to it. Fine album. Really good.
Merle Haggard - Mama Tried. Merle Haggard doesn't need me to tell him he's great.
God Help the Girl - S/T. Not the best album ever, but it's really pleasant for those of us who lean toward musicals anyway. And the best of its songs are some of my favorites from the past 10 years.

Anyway, yeah. Music is cool. FYI.

[Michael Edward Osbourne]

MC5 - Back In The USA album. This album always kicks my butt. Rock & Roll energy, rebellious, raw...lovin' it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4J26ryw4aw

[Lowbacca]

MC5 - Back In The USA album. This album always kicks my butt. Rock & Roll energy, rebellious, raw...lovin' it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4J26ryw4aw

Agreed. This one's all about that rock & roll energy. Stunning record.

[Michael Edward Osbourne]

MC5 - Back In The USA album. This album always kicks my butt. Rock & Roll energy, rebellious, raw...lovin' it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4J26ryw4aw

Agreed. This one's all about that rock & roll energy. Stunning record.

'Human Being Lawnmower' gets me everytime! It's just so...POW!

[alf wiedersehen]

Been listening to this a lot lately. It's the best album of his I've heard so far. Only one song about murder! Although there is a (really, really great) song about a guy on his deathbed, "Lay Me Low", and an incredibly powerful song about a victim of child molestation, "Do You Love Me (Part 2)". Can't completely escape the darkness, I guess.

[Lowbacca]

1985 LP. Dio in fine (vocal) form.

[Michael Edward Osbourne]

1985 LP. Dio in fine (vocal) form.

I bought Sacred Heart on cassette back in 1985. Rock & Roll Children rocks!

[JK]

With thanks to buddhahat:

[Michael Edward Osbourne]

FRANK ZAPPA AND THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION "BURNT WEENY SANDWICH" (1970)

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

I can almost imagine a 1970-71 era Beach Boys performing the first track "WPLJ" as a token-weirdo track ala Okie From Muskogee or Student Demo Time. But the best track on this album in my opinion is the instrumental "Aybe Sea". So majestic and beautiful, really.

[the captain]

FRANK ZAPPA AND THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION "BURNT WEENY SANDWICH" (1970)

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

I can almost imagine a 1970-71 era Beach Boys performing the first track "WPLJ" as a token-weirdo track ala Okie From Muskogee or Student Demo Time. But the best track on this album in my opinion is the instrumental "Aybe Sea". So majestic and beautiful, really.

I love this album. Doesn't seem to get a lot of credit, but I think it's great. Whole album. The Igor stuff, the Holiday in Berlin stuff, the whole damn album. Fantastic.

[alf wiedersehen]

Yes, I agree.

[the captain]

That general era of Zappa--post original Mothers, pre Roxy era Mothers--is really good for me. Sort of in transition, but still just fabulous. Some virtuosity, some clunkiness on occasion, and on this album a little less of the other side of Zappa that I tend to like less (the jokey stuff--not that I dislike it all, by any means), plus before the electronic instruments and sound choices that started up a decade or so later. I'm going to listen to this album now.

[Lee Marshall]

Checked out the latest Joe Bonamassa album 'Different Shades of Blue' today.  More collaborations in terms of writing yje material than I'm used to.  A more horn driven sound than I've heard him even consider before but heh!!!  Neil Young did one.  Colin James has done a few.  Joe Bonamassa is one GREAT mother-guitar player.  His albums right through these past 10-15 years are fan-freakin-tastic.  This one will grow on me I'm sure.

I've seen him perform LIVE twice.  The guy delivers.  Hell's Bells.  BB King had him up on stage and playin' with him when he was only 12 for gawd's sake.  Now Joe's closin' in on 40.  He's the guitar hero's hero...literally.

[JK]

[JK]

FRANK ZAPPA AND THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION "BURNT WEENY SANDWICH" (1970)

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

I can almost imagine a 1970-71 era Beach Boys performing the first track "WPLJ" as a token-weirdo track ala Okie From Muskogee or Student Demo Time. But the best track on this album in my opinion is the instrumental "Aybe Sea". So majestic and beautiful, really.

I love this album. Doesn't seem to get a lot of credit, but I think it's great. Whole album. The Igor stuff, the Holiday in Berlin stuff, the whole damn album. Fantastic.

Agreed. I love the part of "The Little House I Used To Live In" when after several minutes of monochrome violin, piano and drums onstage it switches to the bright colours of woodwind and guitar in the studio. But the whole album is really something. "Valarie" is a gas!     

[Michael Edward Osbourne]

FRANK ZAPPA AND THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION "BURNT WEENY SANDWICH" (1970)

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

I can almost imagine a 1970-71 era Beach Boys performing the first track "WPLJ" as a token-weirdo track ala Okie From Muskogee or Student Demo Time. But the best track on this album in my opinion is the instrumental "Aybe Sea". So majestic and beautiful, really.

I love this album. Doesn't seem to get a lot of credit, but I think it's great. Whole album. The Igor stuff, the Holiday in Berlin stuff, the whole damn album. Fantastic.

Agreed. I love the part of "The Little House I Used To Live In" when after several minutes of monochrome violin, piano and drums onstage it switches to the bright colours of woodwind and guitar in the studio. But the whole album is really something. "Valarie" is a gas!     

Hell yeah, Valarie is gem! I love all that twisted Zappa doo-wop stuff. "I'm Not Satisfied" (the version from Cruisin' With Ruben And The Jets) is my favorite example of that.

[Lowbacca]

There's truly nothing like it. 

[alf wiedersehen]

I'm trying to figure out if I like Kate Bush or not.

[Lee Marshall]

I'm a Bush fan.  Have been for as long as I can remember.  Today though...it's'Lullaby and...The Ceaseless Roar.  That guy can SING.  And the versatility?  Certainly one of a tiny handful of artists from the 60s who still has IT ALL.

I'm impressed...yet again.

Bush and Plant.  Life IS perfect.

[Dudd]

Todd Rundgren's Initiation. I love Todd, but this is... more up itself than I was expecting.

[feelsflow]

Initiation (1975), yeah that one threw me for a loop.  I liked side one, especially "The Death of Rock and Roll" - but side two held little interest for me.  I don't think I've listened to that more than a few times to this day.  He called it a Todd album, but it's really the same Utopia sound from 1974's Todd Rundgren's Utopia.  I didn't like that much either.  Faithful brought me back around to Todd's camp.  Utopia improved greatly when Kasim came in bringing a more Pop flavor to the mix.

[alf wiedersehen]

Haven't listened in a long time, I love this album. Any other fans?

[Dudd]

Initiation (1975), yeah that one threw me for a loop.  I liked side one, especially "The Death of Rock and Roll" - but side two held little interest for me.  I don't think I've listened to that more than a few times to this day.  He called it a Todd album, but it's really the same Utopia sound from 1974's Todd Rundgren's Utopia.  I didn't like that much either.  Faithful brought me back around to Todd's camp.  Utopia improved greatly when Kasim came in bringing a more Pop flavor to the mix.

The thing with Initiation is that I think it's supposed to be a concept album about Todd abandoning pop and moving into experimental music. And it is so wanky. The first side is a bunch of songs with Todd telling you how the 'real' him wants to innovate, how he was born to push the boundaries. It sort of gets progressively wankier, because it culminates in an 8-minute ballad in which he tells you he "has to go now", and clumsily drops a bunch of references to his biggest hits ("Can't you see the light shining in my eyes/ 'Cause it's just one victory!/ Cause your dream goes on forever!") all while belting it out without a hint of irony. It seems as though it's all supposed to be buildup for the second side, the synth instrumental, and because of all the self-indulgence and talk of the innovation he wants to achieve, he's effectively promising the instrumental to be this really special, mind-blowing piece of work that marks his new direction. And as it turns out... it's really vapid and underwhelming.
I never got the impression Todd was this up himself. But yeah, looks like he came to his senses pretty quickly with Faithful.

[feelsflow]

Todd had done well with 1974's Todd Rundgren's Utopia in the USA charts, getting up to #34.  Much better than the wizard album and Todd - "The Death of Rock and Roll" was his kiss-off to the critics.  I believe the side two thing was the first time he worked with Roger Powell, who had put out an album of similar synth in 1973.

I liked "Fair Warning" quite a bit, live he would do it solo on twelve-string acoustic.  If you've never seen the video/DVD he made for The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect, I'll link it.  This is a really great video he made in 1983 to sorta tell his life story.  It's the Long-player version, but he did a new vocal track.

http://youtu.be/A0WDFanLlgg

That video/DVD is also the only place you can find this (except youtube - they've got most everything):

http://youtu.be/pLslLszuue8

[Dudd]

The first Utopia album is very nice, and I still must listen to RA (Ra? R.A.?) - is that any good?

The Tortured Artist link isn't working for me, but the Elpee's Worth of Toons video is great! I'm not terribly fond of all the music videos he made in the 80s (the one for "Time Heals" is pretty appalling), but I love this.