Shuffle of the week #4

This is an ode to the shuffle. How better to get a good insight in your digitized album collection than by a classic shuffle? Finally discover the albums you never got into, finally throw the ones away you will never get into and worship those classics that never grow old again. The Shuffle of this week:

1.    Guided By Voices – Echos Myron (Bee Thousand, 1994) [singlepic id=66 w=80 h=50 float=left]
After giving the shuffle some inspiration with The Beatles’ ‘Sexy Sadie’, it exceeds my espectations by finding a Guided By Voices track that lasts longer than 2 and a half minutes. After being recommended this album so many times, the shuffle gives the sign to finally listen to this one thoroughly.

2.    Arctic Monkeys – 505 (Favourite Worst Nightmare, 2007) [singlepic id=31 w=80 h=50 float=left]
It also tries to make clear to me that I have to listen to the Arctic Monkeys more, but this offer I’m going to reject one more time.

 

[singlepic id=70 w=80 h=50 float=left]3.  Tindersticks – My Sister (Tindersticks (II), 1995)
After Lambchop last time, we meet another one from the same genre, a long one this time (8 minutes). This one appeared on their second album, which was a very pleasant sequel to their debut, and features a spoken monologue from Drugstore singer Isabel Monteiro.

4. Beatles – There’s a Place (Please Please Me, 1962) [singlepic id=33 w=80 h=50 float=left]
There’s the Fab Four again, another one from their debut album.

 

5. Johnny Cash – We’ll Meet Again (The Man Comes Around, 2002) [singlepic id=67 w=80 h=50 float=left]
From the Cavern to a dark jazz club, where the old Johnny Cash is performing this Vera Lynn evergreen in the back, wrapped up in smoke. Marvellous album that’s full of beautiful covers of rock classics, including contributed vocals from the original artists. It hardly ever happens that an artist makes such a beautiful album at such an age.

6. Of Montreal – Disconnect the Dots (Satanic Panic in the Attic, 2004) [singlepic id=68 w=80 h=50 float=left]
Directly from the jazz club to the fun-fair then, with the nice and enchanted opening track of this melodious rollercoaster. Neo-psychedelia that sounds like The Beach Boys getting high on 21st century technology.

7. Uncle Tupelo – John  Hardy (No Depression, 1990) [singlepic id=71 w=80 h=50 float=left]
Something completely different: pure alternative country from this epic album. Suppose you’d be a decade, you would be pleased with such an album to kick off things.

 

8. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Keep on Chooglin’ (Live in Europe, 1973) [singlepic id=64 w=80 h=50 float=left]
We continue with some 13 minutes of jamming with these rock veterans, full of some good old improvisation. The live track almost turns into a medley when Fogerty sets in a very threatening version of ‘Pagan Baby’ in the middle of the song.   .

9. Django Reinhardt – Ou est-tu, mon amour? (Djangology 49, 1949) [singlepic id=65 w=80 h=50 float=left]
Small Belgian jazz song about a guy who has lost his Abbey Road album.

 

10. Pink Floyd – Hey You (The Wall, 1979) [singlepic id=69 w=80 h=50 float=left]
Always pleasant to conclude with Pink Floyd, certainly when it’s one of my favorite album tracks, delivered to you with excellent vocals from Gilmour and Waters.

Prog Albums Explained: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (side 4)

Progressive rock, a genre to love or hate.  It originated in the late sixties thanks to heavy psychedelic rock influences and was pioneered by bands that wanted to go beyond the standard verse-chorus  based song structures.  As a result, often complex instrumental songs were bundled on concept albums with epic pretensions. It’s well possible that you once caught yourself asking what the hell one of these bands was trying to tell you while listening to one of their albums. The answers are provided here, in Prog Albums Explained. All you need  is the album, a comfortable couch and some good headphones.

[singlepic id=30 w=320 h=240 float=left]

 

 

Year: 1974

Genre: Progressive Rock

Preceded by: Selling England by the Pound (1973)

Followed by: A Trick of the Tail (1976)

Related to: Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon

 

 

Side 4: (continued from Side 3)

Track 1: The Colony of Slippermen (The Arrrival – A Visit to the Doktor – Raven) + Track 2: Ravine

After an intro full of strange sounds, the propelling keys and drums kick off the closing side, starting with an absolute highlight. After escaping from the snakes, Rael runs into a bunch of mutilated entities called the Slippermen. They tell him that the same thing happened to them with the snakes and that Rael will end up the same way: Don’t be alarmed at what you see, you yourself are just the same as what you see in me. Amongst the creatures Rael recognizes once again his Brother John, who tells him that the life of the Slippermen is devoted to satisfying the never-ending hunger of the senses, which has been inherited from the Lamia.

So we’re getting more and more indications that the criminal activities of Rael have something to do with sexual misbehavior. Certainly when John tells Rael that they’ll have to go to Doktor Dyper to remove the source of the problem, castrating that is. After getting it done, they receive their testicles in a little tube. But the brothers don’t get the time to walk home safely, as a black raven flies by (represented by the haunting synths), stealing Rael’s tube and dropping it in the water below. Rael runs behind it while his brother fears this sign of bad luck, leaving his brother behind once more: Now can’t you see, where the raven flies there’s jeopardy. The track merges into Ravine, an instrumental piece representing the wind across the cliffs of the ravine.

Track 3: The Light Dies Down on Broadway

As the title already presumes, this track shows some similarities with the opening track of the album. But to the contrary of the rest of the album, the lyrics of this track would have been written by Banks and Rutherford and not by Gabriel. However, Rael is searching for his testicles when he suddenly sees a glimpse of reality, as if there was some kind of portal to NYC in one of the cliffs. He sees the streets he’s so familiar with and runs to the way out. But at that point he hears John, screaming for help while he’s drowning in the water below. Rael now has to choose between returning to reality or saving the brother that left him so many times… Hey John!

Track 4: Riding the Scree

So Rael has decided to go after his brother and during this track he’s running along the ravine, chased by the synths. But.. If I want John alive, I’ve got to ditch my fear – take a dive… Here I go!

Track 5: In the Rapids

So Rael’s in the water now, trying to grab his brother. Although the lyrics describe a fairly exciting scene, the track is sung in a very calm way. Rael succeeds to get John out of the water and tries to reanimate him. But then he notices something remarkableSomething’s changed, that’s not your face. It’s mine!

Track 6: “It”

So we arrived at the closing track now, just having discovered that John is actually Rael, in some kind of split personality. As the title of the last track already gives away, it was all the time about ‘it’. It is chicken, it is eggs, it is in between your legs. You should really read the lyrics of this last track yourself, to experience the brilliance of it. And like Peter Gabriel says on the very end of it: If you think it’s pretentious, you’ve been taken for a ride..

50 Albums you must hear before you buy a house (10): 5-1

First of all a happy new year to all the loyal and less loyal readers of albumblog. I wish you all a lot of listening pleasure in the new year and hope that all your future discoveries may come true. Let’s give everybody a push in the right direction by presenting you the absolute best albums you should hear before you buy a house:

RKH:

1. Genesis – Selling England by the Pound (1973)
2. Beatles – Revolver (1966)
3. The Band – The Band (1969)
4. Radiohead – Kid A (2000)
5. Guided By Voices – Alien Lanes (1995)

GvZ:

1. Genesis – Selling England by the Pound (1973)
2. Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
3. Beatles – Revolver (1966)
4. The Band – The Band (1969)
5. Moody Blues – In Search of the Lost Chord (1968)

Although we witnessed two quite different lists in general from our music professors, it was already noticed last time that the similarities grew as we proceeded to the top of the lists. The absolute top perfectly demonstrates this trend, as 3 out of 5 albums are the same. Mister Hofmeijer starts with a surprise on #5, presenting his idol Robert Pollard and his band. This is of course a true landmark album as  something like playing 28 songs within 40 minutes using your own toilet as a studio was never performed again afterwards. Mister van Zwanendonk’s #5 was earlier to be found on #17 in his list, just like Kid A appeared earlier on #21 in the  first ones list.

The legendary brown album The Band from the Canadian rockers of the same name can be found on #4 and #3, and is best served on a dark Greek beach before some casual nightswimming, with only the stars above you to accompany the pure Americana sounds coming out of your speakers. Both professors also rate Revolver as the best of four listed Beatles albums, on #3 and #2. Lennon, McCartney as well as Harrison are maximally showing off their songwriting capabilities on this album, which makes the album so diverse and at the same time so homogenous concerning the quality of each song separately. An album that is totally ignored by mister Hofmeijer is The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967, added to the poll), runner-up in van Zwanendonk’s list. Let’s not mention the fact that the album was influential, that remark being both boring and redundant, but let’s say that this album is just loaded with brilliant songs.

Both lists are topped by Genesis‘ 1973 masterpiece Selling England by the Pound. I think there’s no explanation needed here if you’ve ever heard this. If you haven’t, just don’t buy a house. At least not one with its own lawn.

50 Albums you must hear before you buy a house (9): 10-6

We can see the end of the year now, just like the absolute top of our lists looms up slowly. Entering the top 10, the lists of both music professors finally start to display some resemblances. Let’s have a look at some of the last albums you have to dig through before signing that contract of your new house:

RKH:

6. Paul Simon – Graceland (1986)
7. Brian Wilson – SMiLE (2004)
8. Beatles – Abbey Road (1969)
9. Paul McCartney & Wings – Band on the Run (1973)
10. Lee Hazlewood – Cowboy in Sweden (1970)

GvZ:

6. Paul Simon – Graceland (1986)
7. Paul McCartney & Wings – Band on the Run (1973)
8. Panda Bear – Person Pitch (2007)
9. Beatles – Rubber Soul (1965)
10. Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow (1967)

Something that immediately stands out is the fact that both lists are topped by Mister Simon’s Graceland. This fantastic album full of melody and fascinating little stories has already become a true classic throughout the years and is best served on a Greek beach full of second hand beer salesmen. Another album that appears in both lists is Paul McCartney’s Band on the Run. Three years after the dissolution of the Beatles, Macca (just like Simon would do 13 years later to record Graceland) went to Africa to make the most successful (at least commercially) album of an ex-Beatle. It goes without saying that both albums are absolute must haves in your record collection.

McCartney is represented two more times this week, together with his three former buddies. Mister Hofmeijer presents Abbey Road on #8 (earlier to be found at GvZ’s #11), while mister van Zwanendonk presents his third Fab Four album at #9 with Rubber Soul (RKH: #21). Two other albums that were met earlier are SMiLE (GvZ: #14) and Person Pitch (RKH: #39). What remains are the two number tens. Mister Hofmeijer offers this spot to his personal idol Lee Hazlewood, who he is trying to become since he first saw him. Meanwhile, mister van Zwanendonk gives you a Surrealistic Pillow to spend the holidays with, as psychedelic distorted guitars and westcoast vocal harmonies were never fused together better than on this 1967 classic, which is of course added to the poll. See you next time for the final end of the lists!

50 Albums you must hear before you buy a house (8): 15-11

Since the world did not explode for no reason this morning, we continue with our lists of all-time best albums. As the year approaches its end, we approach the absolute top of those lists, presenting #15-11. Mister Hofmeijer brings along his seventies record collection, while mister van Zwanendonk presents you the record that can ultimately give meaning to your dark winter weekend, Genesis’ Lamb:

RKH:

11. Bob Dylan – Desire (1976)
12. Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On (1971)
13. Talking Heads – Remain in Light (1980)
14. Electric Light Orchestra – Out of the Blue  (1977)
15. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours (1977)

GvZ:

11. Beatles – Abbey Road (1969)
12. Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)
13. Radiohead – In Rainbows (2007)
14. Brian Wilson – SMiLE (2004)
15. Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

Hofmeijer first offers Rumours, a perfect album to listen to while playing some cards, for example on the terrace of your private appartment in the middle of a Greek beach. After that we fly to the planet of joy with the Electric Light Orchestra once again (GvZ: #16) in the same year. Another album we met earlier (GvZ: #36) is Talking Heads’ masterpiece Remain In Light, an album you can talk about during a complete holiday without even playing it, can you figure.

While I’m still wondering what’s going on on #12, you can notice his second Dylan album on top. This is truly one of his favorites, as he personally brought his Desire to Poland to satisfy it right there. Well known for being a huge fan of  Blood On The Tracks, we may even expect that this is not the last Dylan album in his list.

Having a look at the other list, we meet the best friend of your headphones: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. Feel free to experience the melody rollercoaster yourself while listening to the adventures of Rael, right here. The next one perfectly illustrates that the masterpieces are following one after another now; it was all worth it, Brian. In Rainbows is the third Radiohead album in this list, and was found earlier at Hofmeijer’s one  (#22). Another band delivering his third album is Pink Floyd with one of rock’s true classics. The end of this week is symbolically illustrated by the end of the Fab Four on #11, but I’m sure we’ll see them again very soon. Have a nice weekend and keep the end of the end in mind:
And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

Shuffle of the week #3

This is an ode to the shuffle. How better to get a good insight in your digitized album collection than by a classic shuffle? Finally discover the albums you never got into, finally throw the ones away you will never get into and worship those classics that never grow old again. The Shuffle of this week:

1.    Lambchop – The Militant (How I Quit Smoking, 1996) [singlepic id=61 w=80 h=50 float=left]
It started with the band I can never put a style or genre on. Got the first two records of them, of which this one is the second. Started to listen to it again the past few days and I have to say I really like it. Tips about later work are welcome.

2.    dEUS – Suds & Soda (Worst Case Scenario, 1994) [singlepic id=58 w=80 h=50 float=left]
Already an all-time classic in several end-of-the-year-lists in Belgium. Hearing this album again since many years made me realize that it’s actually a very rough one comparing with their later work. Good album.

3.    Beatles – Carry That Weight (Abbey Road, 1969) [singlepic id=56 w=80 h=50 float=left]
It’s always strange and a little bit disappointing to hear this song out of its album context. Still awesome nevertheless.

 

4.    Buddy Holly – Rave On (single, 1958) [singlepic id=57 w=80 h=50 float=left]
Another very short song, although something completely different. That’s about it.

 

5.    Yes – The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) (Fragile, 1971) [singlepic id=63 w=80 h=50 float=left]
And once more a short interlude, which could not have been more different from the last one. The song appeared on Yes’ fourth studio album, the first one featuring Wakeman on keys. The albums consists of some epic prog suites together with a couple of semi-solo contributions from the band members. This instrumental song was written by bass player Chris Squire, performing most parts of the song together with Bill Bruford, the later drummer of King Crimson.

6.    The Ocean – Rhyacian (Precambrian, 2007) [singlepic id=62 w=80 h=50 float=left]
The shuffle really likes to mix up things this week, continuing with an eleven minutes during piece from this Berlin experimental metal band. It appears on a double album, of which the first disc contains some real pure and rough metal, while the second one is more symphonic with contributions from members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

7.    Fleet Foxes – Mykonos (Sun Giant, 2009) [singlepic id=60 w=80 h=50 float=left]
Really one of my favorite songs of the past ten years. Brilliant.

 

8.    Aretha Franklin – (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (Lady Soul, 1968) [singlepic id=54 w=80 h=50 float=left]
One of the big hits on this huge soul album. Just like The Beatles’ ‘Chains’ which was shuffled earlier, it was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. It was covered a gazillion times later on, even by Rod Stewart. Really Rod?

9.    Beastie Boys – Eugene’s Lament (Ill Communication, 1994) [singlepic id=55 w=80 h=50 float=left]
Another short intermezzo. Good album, not a huge fan.

 

10.  Dire Straits – The Man’s Too Strong (Brothers in Arms, 1985) [singlepic id=59 w=80 h=50 float=left]
Same goes in fact for this one, although I can still appreciate this song. This album was of course loaded with hits (making it one of the absolute best all-time selling albums), with this song probably being one of the least known. However, it remains the most interesting one after you get tired of the rest.