alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted April 15th, 2011 01:54 PM IPI've never been fond of either Stage or David Live either. David Live makes sense in retrospect as a stepping stone from the Ziggy period to the Soul stage but at the time it did seem a huge sell-out.
I do want to get the Santa Monica one though.
I've always hated lending people albums. I lent a friend my tape of Stage and never got it back!
Quote: alan wrote:
I've always hated lending people albums. I lent a friend my tape of Stage and never got it back!
Used to lend and borrow a lot. The old 'home taping' thing. Never used to feel you really had the album if you only had it on cassette though.
Have YOU been Con-Demed yet?
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted April 15th, 2011 10:08 PM IPI know. I never counted tapes either, even the 'real' ones. Funny how they have just been airbrushed from history. People only talk about LP's or CD mixes. Over on the Record Room the other day Ian mentioned that his favourite version of Led Zepp II was a cassette version. But on the whole I didn't take them seriously and on the whole only bought them when they were cheap in Woolworths, or by the early 90's when some albums were not being released on vinyl finally and i hadn't yet bought a CD player, so i ended up getting things like Van Morrison's Live In San Fransisco on tape, but it isn't the same. Used to be lots of people in Camden selling boots on tape too.
I bought a 'tape to PC' thingy about 4 months ago with the intention of converting some of my remaining tapes but still haven't managed to summon up the will!
Posted April 16th, 2011 07:56 AM IPOh never bothered with pre-recorded cassette tapes. Somebody once bought me 'Dylan' (the early 70s album of outtakes - the one which Colombia supposedly released as revenge for him leaving them for Asylum) on cassette for Christmas. But used to do a lot of home taping. Problem was if you really loved something you had on home taped cassette you'd feel a desire to buy it on vinyl to 'properly have it' and yet at the same time you'd feel as though you were buying something you already had.Have YOU been Con-Demed yet?
Posted April 16th, 2011 02:34 PM IPOne of my fondest Christmas presents, and maybe one of the most expensive ones I ever received as a kid (I had three sisters and we didn't have much money) was a little (10" x 6") General Electric cassette player/recorder. It had a little microphone with cord that you had to hold near the radio or TV or your mouth to record.
I remember the year I got it for Christmas I taped the "end of the year countdown" from some AM radio station. It was a thrill just to hear the playback. Cheap blank cassetes could be bought at the local grocery store (3 for $1.99). I eventually graduated to recording mix tapes for the car; I would literally hold this little microphone up to a small record player! But the most memorable thing I ever taped was an old Geraldo Rivera TV special on dead rock stars. It must've been 1971 or 1972, and I taped the microphone to the small speaker on the the front of the TV. It was the first glimpse I ever had of Jim Morrison on film. Isn't it funny how those simple moments - listening to a 10 minute TV segment with a couple of snipets of music could bring a young kid so much joy. I think I still have that old cassette buried somewhere in my basement.
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted April 23rd, 2011 08:16 PM IPTwo Fleetwood Mac albums - Mr Wonderful and Then Play On on CD. Just couldn't survive any longer without Then Play On. I have it on cassette still but it isn't the same.
I actually never had one of those old fashioned Cassette players, but i used to envy friends that had them. In my various bands we always taped oureselves using whatever was in at the time, and by the early 80's we were getting pretty decent recordings. I've got one where my drums sound like When The Levee Breaks. Pure accident though...
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted May 2nd, 2011 10:53 PM IPGot the new Fleet Foxes album from my local supermarket - nice to see an indie label in with the chart crap there. Wasn't looking forward to it greatly till i saw them on Later the other week and was really impressed with all the songs they did. Reviews have been excellent too. Very good sleeve - like a classic LP sleeve with lyrics in the gatefold and an inner sleeve for the disc. Not played it yet though.
Posted June 15th, 2011 06:32 PM IPwow...i just discovered that there's another indie record shop in bristol. like a fopp, i suppose, but pretty big. its been there for a few years and it's hardly tucked away but I never noticed it before! ha.
Anyways, Al have you listened to Fleet Foxes yet? What do you make of it?sound the foghorn horn!
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted June 16th, 2011 04:12 AM IPI really like the new one. There are some fantastic melodies on there and some very beautiful music. Not greatly different from the first one but there is a progression.
Got a 'new' Richard Thompson CD today, another radio show, this time from 1982. Has a few otherwise unrealeased tracks on. Got some good write ups. There is another Dylan radio show out on CD too from 1962./3 - Studs Terkels Wax Museum. May well get that too soon.
Posted June 16th, 2011 02:40 PM IPI'm undecided on the Fleet Foxes one myself. Agree there's definately a progression from the debut, but I just can't remember half the tracks on it. I know I really like track 4, but other than they're just not taking hold in my memory. Maybe it just needs more time.
As for my record store trips i picked up the new deluxe edition of Donovan's Sunshine Superman album for its first ever release in stereo. Sounds great. Been getting into a couple of mono albums lately, but that's one mono mix I've never particularly liked (maybe cos the cds sound rubbish, I dunno), but I'm loving the new mix.sound the foghorn horn!
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted June 16th, 2011 07:15 PM IPWith that Fleet Foxes album i don't find the songs individually that important funnily enough - i like the sound of the whole album and it just sort of washes past me. I love the last track though. If i ever get it on my MP3 player then the songs will start to come out more but at this point i'm just enjoying it as an entity. Again, I haven't played it a lot yet so a lot of albums start off like that.
Never been quite sure about Donovan - i like a fair bit of his stuff but have never investigated further. Had quite a few 7" Pye singles growing up - loved the one with the Jeff Beck Group on it (Barabajagal??).
Posted June 17th, 2011 11:02 AM IPYeah what Ian said. Al I dunno if you've seen Donovan on TV over here recently, but he does come across as a bit of an arse cos he's constantly bigging himself up, which is understandble I guess given that he's been written out of history a little. But that SS album is absolutely stunning. I've said it before, but when I first heard it I was like "bugger, he was doing the String Band a year before the String Band". Only he was doing that and pop and jazz and baroque stuff and whatnot all wrapped up together. I personally don't think any of his singles really give an indication of what an experience that album is.sound the foghorn horn!
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted June 17th, 2011 04:10 PM IPJust that one? FOPP had a bunch of his albums cheap recently (i bet they don't anymore) which i considered but as you say he always came across as a bit of a tit.
Quote: alan wrote:
Just that one? FOPP had a bunch of his albums cheap recently (i bet they don't anymore) which i considered but as you say he always came across as a bit of a tit.
Nah not just that one. Mellow Yellow is Donovan going all jazz and is surprisingly dark if all you know is the title track. The remaster sounds terrible though cos of really excessive noise reduction.
A Gift From a Flower is a great double album. Well the first half is cute, but insubstantial. Second half is really pretty, stripped down acoustic songs. Totally a relic of the age, but very honest so I don't really find it dated. It's kinda like Vashti Bunyan, but male obviously.
Hurdy Gurdy Man is all over the place. One minute folk, the next jazzy, next its all orchestrated pop, the next there's a huge fuzzy guitar solo etc etc. I'm not sure it all sits together, but it's all very fun.
Barabajagal. Uh...well half of it's ok I guess. Doubt you'd find any later albums than those in the shops.
Eh, you might not have wanted to know any of that!sound the foghorn horn!
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted June 18th, 2011 02:32 AM IPOh that is exactly what i wanted to know. There are always things out there I've overlooked in some shape or form. There is a piece in that MOJO article about The Creation, a band i have always meant to listen to but never have, outside of the odd track on free compilations from magazines. And i don't remember what i thought of them now.
Even so there are some things that somehow I can't find the time to look into - someone with a substantial back catalogue would put me off. Not always as i am working my way (still) through Joni Mitchell. I never liked her when I was youger but now most of her stuff is getting through to me at last and I am starting to loe her (though I do prefer her songs to her albums - the effect of lots of her songs at the same time on me tends to make me shut down a bit still!. But coming up one at a time on the shuffle mode is very pleasurable).
I've never really bothered with Frank Zappa for instance. Even though there are things of his i've heard that i like there's almost too much for me to get my head around at this stage. I bought a bunch of Belle & Sebastian albums last year and have barely played them at all - i think a couple are totally unplayed. They seemed like a good idea at the time but now I can't really face them.
Which is a roundabout way of saying I may look into Donovan as he has a relatively small back cataogue (for some reason as a youth I always wanted to buy his Cosmic Wheels album, I think being a T Rex fan when he was clearly an influence on Bolan prompted that). But not yet. Just buying a whole bunch of things on a weekly basis and have a Richard Thompson BBC box on the way from Amazon for Monday. New Bon Iver too which has had some stellar reviews. Gillian Welch the week after.
Posted June 18th, 2011 12:31 PM IPAh the Creation...one of the most frustrating bands ever. Some amazing singles but they only did one album that was kind of a cash-in and released only in Germany I think. Had some line-up changes did some dodgy singles and split up. But their best singles are stunning.
Anyway, I'm with you when it comes to bands with big discographies as it puts me off too sometimes. I'm the kind of person that once I get into a band I have to get it all and in some weird way that kind of stresses me out, which is not what music should be about at all. I'm trying to change my listening habits though and check out new stuff so it's kind of working - I actually have a Moody Blues cd that I picked up in January that I've not listened to yet. I'm trying to spread out the discovery of their albums, which seems to be a bit more fun. Same with the Meters - love the first three albums and desperately want to hear their others but i'm putting them off for a while.sound the foghorn horn!
Posted June 18th, 2011 05:15 PM IPI just realised Richard Thompson is one of those people I've never checked out for that reason. Is his stuff folkie, as in Fairports / Ashley Hutchings folk? or is singer/songwriterish stuff? I don't think I've ever actually heard any of his solo material.sound the foghorn horn!
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Quote: koeeoaddi there wrote:
I just realised Richard Thompson is one of those people I've never checked out for that reason. Is his stuff folkie, as in Fairports / Ashley Hutchings folk? or is singer/songwriterish stuff? I don't think I've ever actually heard any of his solo material.
Really??????
OMG.
He's both of those as well as masses of other things. There are times where he's such an out and out rocker you wouldn't think of him as a folkie at all. He's very like Neil Young in that respect. Every album is different, at times he's the acoustic songwriter and at times he's playing the most incredible 10 minute guitar solo's at howling like a beast.
He's the best and most consistent living English songwriter as well as the best and most inventive guitarist on the planet.
His back catalogue is indeed awesome and challenging, but absolutely essential.
I've had periods in my life where he dropped off my radar, but currently there isn't anyone whose music means more to me, and i'm still investigating things i missed. I've been listening a lot to the two 'lost' R & L Thompson albums recently (Sunnyvista and First Light - neither currently available) and found a whole load of good things there that i wasn't expecting. I only saw him live for the first time earlier this year in fact.
If you want an intro CD type thing i will happily put one together for you. Let me know.
Otherwise a selected list of the essential CDs would be;
R & L Thompson
I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight
Pour Down Like Silver
Shoot Out The Lights
Richard
Hand Of Kindness
Rumour and Sigh
Mock Tudor
The Old Kit Bag
But actually you can make a case for every one of his albums. He's never made a bad record, but some have been lesser ones. Even those will always have a great song stashed away somewhere.
If there is one song that establishes his greatness for me though it would be 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. Lets see if I can find it on YouTube.
Here is the very lovely Beeswing, one of the few songs that actually does make me cry. Really.
Posted June 20th, 2011 05:12 PM IPWell I never really liked his singing in Fairport and I don't really go in for guitar heroics so I never bothered to check him out! His voice sounds different on those clips though - a bit deeper maybe. Well if his output is varied then I wouldn't say no to an intro compilation. A nice chronological one would be good! cheers.sound the foghorn horn!
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted June 20th, 2011 06:53 PM IPHis voice has improved a 1000% since Full House. It was still a bit shaky on his first album since then its come along in leaps and bounds.
I'll sort something out for you!
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted June 28th, 2011 02:00 PM IPNipped along to FOPP to get the new Gillian Welch and found they had masses of new cheap stuff in, had to restrain myself but still ended up with a couple of Steely Dan (Can't Buy A Thrill and Gaucho), John Mayall's A Hard Road (with Peter Green), Traffic's Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory, Fairport's Tipplers Tales (had that years back and sold it, Neil's utterly useless Landing On Water (I may never even open the shrinkwrap on that...), Free's Fire & Water. Probably something else too....put several back that i could have got as well. Maybe another time....
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted June 29th, 2011 01:44 AM IPOh, and How Dare You by 10cc. Always loved that LP, should sound good on CD.
Posted June 29th, 2011 04:56 AM IPLanding On Water isn't utterly useless. There are some excellent songs on there. The production is awful.
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted June 29th, 2011 07:28 PM IPThe bootleg of those songs with Crazy Horse just before then is great. The songs are just drowned not only by the production but by the arrangments and dumb decision making by Neil. One of the few times he REALLY called it wrong. It probably has better songs potentially than Life, but that is a much better record - even if that means it's a 4 out of 10 rather than a 2!
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted August 1st, 2011 02:41 AM IPGot the deluxe Kinks Kontroversy and Kinda Kinks. Not heard most of the songs on them as there are few of the singles there. More Davies originals than i was expecting too, i thought there would be more covers at that stage. Not listened to them yet though.
Posted October 19th, 2011 01:16 AM IPMy job took me to a local college (Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA), where a student was selling used CD's and DVD's outside the cafeteria.
I was able to pick up Time Out Of Mind and Love And Theft - both still sealed - for $5.00 a piece. I only had them in mp3 format, so I added to my Dylan CD collection.
As I was leaving, I glanced at the DVD's, and found The Jackie Brown Collector's Edition, also for $5.00; so now I have it, after holding out for so long. I always enjoyed watching it when it popped up on cable TV.
I only had $15.00 with me, I want to go back and get David Bowie - Changes and The Who - Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy.
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted October 19th, 2011 02:36 AM IPThat was a bit of a find then! Both of those albums sound great on CD. And the Jackie Brown too!
You never know what you can find unexpectedly. I walked into a charity shop the other day and found a copy of the Double CD version of Ryan Adams' Gold, which was the only thing of his I didn't have. Only £2.99.
Oh, also bought the new Waterboys, the Yeats thing. Was persuaded by the good reviews but not sure about it. after one hearing. Not sure I like the way Mike Scott is currently singing. Love his older stuff though. Very Dylan like.
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted November 12th, 2011 02:26 AM IPJust got the Bridge School CD and DVD - the DVD is I think the first time i've ever had one album with tracks by all five of my favourite acts - Bob Dylan, The Who, Bruce, Neil Young and Brian Wilson (OK its not the Beach Boys, but close) - as well as Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Simon & Garfunkle, CSN & Y, Gillian Welch and REM. And most of the tracks are acoustic. Very good so far other than Dave Matthews who is very awful.
alan Administrator Posts: 7455 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted November 14th, 2011 01:53 AM IPAlso just got a Bruce CD called Bound For Glory which is another one of those radio show releases that the UK has started putting out - ie things that have been bootlegged for years. But like the Bryn Maw 75 show this is also very good quality, and has a Boston radio show from Jan 73 (the one that starts with Satin Doll) and another Bryn Maw show from later 73.
Hadn't heard this stuff in ages. Hadn't heard the Ducky Slattery story in a long long time either. He was such a goofball when he was young.
Tomorrow, hopefully is Quadraphenia day!!!!!
Went to a Quadraphenia exhibition yesterday at Liam Gallaghers flagship store in Carnaby Street (where else would it be) and it wasn't bad. They have converted the basement of the store into a small museum, with lots of blown up images from the booklet and a lot of the original artefacts that will no doubt be in the deluxe version, so there are original lyric sheets for 5.15 and other studio notes from Pete. Worth a visit if you are in town.
