Sell me your favorite album. (1 Viewer)

[Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm]

I love how this thread is becoming the anti-"____ sucks!" thread.

 

[Sean Cauley]

Well, since many of my favorite albums are already terribly popular (U2's Achtung Baby, Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey, for example), I'll sell my most recent favorite: Radiohead's I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings.
To be honest, I didn't care much at all for Kid A, and have only a mild interest in Amnesiac, the two most recent studio albums by Radiohead. I am still a big fan of the first three albums; for all the grousing some mainstream fans did about OK Computer's weirdness, it was still mostly straightforward as far as the range of instruments used and the production techniques employed, at least to my ears. Kid A, however, was a big jump, and one I wasn't really ready to take. Amnesiac was a little more accessible, and the melodies a lot more pleasant, but I'm still not spinning either of those albums as much as the older ones.
But a low sale price and an otherwise weak release Tuesday led me to pick up I Might Be Wrong, and it's been in my CD player more times than I can count over the past three months. It took a couple of listens to get me, but once I was hooked, there was no turning back.
There are eight tracks on the live album, and most (if not all) come from Kid A and Amnesiac. Going by my reactions to those albums, there is no earthly way I should like this one. But I love it, and I can't get enough of it.
Live, these songs are urgent and intense. Gone is the feeling of meticulous programming and overproduction I get with the last two studio albums. Lead singer Thom Yorke actually gets to sing lead; on the albums he's often pushed into the role of background instrument, lost in the mix. Here he's singing, pleading, wailing and screaming through electrifying tracks.
From a breathless "The National Anthem," the album passes through "I Might Be Wrong," then the mournful "Morning Bell" and the hypnotic "Like Spinning Plates." By this point, when the fifth track, "Idioteque," starts up, the listener is twitching and shaking like Yorke at the mic as he steamrolls through the song's lyrics, each line flowing from the prior like a thought that just came into his head. "Everything in its Right Place" drifts into noisy excess near the end, as strange synthesizers and theremin effects overpower everything. "Dollars and Cents" rocks the house. The last track, the plaintive, acoustic "True Love Waits" is a reminder of just how beautiful and simple Yorke and Radiohead are capable of being, and is a nice outro for the album.
I'm not trying to disparage Kid A or Amnesiac; while they're not really my thing, I can see the effort and artistry (and the creative risk-taking) that went into them. But, as a final sales note, I would like to suggest to anyone who was turned off by those albums that they check this one out in spite of its track listing. It may just rock your socks off.
And it makes me wish Radiohead had come near my town on this tour (the only time I've seen them was in '95, when they were opening for R.E.M., and I wasn't into their songs that much at the time).

 

[Dave B Ferris]

'The Wild Seeds'.

They only made two full albums before breaking up, 'Brave Clean + Reverent' and 'Mud Lies & Shame'.

Both albums feature a combination of country, rock, power-pop, punk, and R&B influences. I love every single track on both albums! The (backup) female vocalist was, according to many reviewers, more talented than Maria McKee, of the better-known 'Lone Justice'. The various instrumentalists were all aces, too -- just listen to the lead guitar on 'If I Were A Storm', for example.

The second album was reviewed (glowingly) in 'Rolling Stone', but - alas - remained quite obscure.

For a time, both albums were frustratingly OOP on CD, but a German company named 'Taxim' fairly recently reissued 'Brave Clean + Reverent' as a 'Desert Island Classic'.

Lead singer/songwriter Michael Hall has since had an under-publicized but interesting solo gig, although for a brief time he was also part of a band called 'The Setters'. Likewise, the band's drummer finally 'made it' when he eventually became the drummer in 'Fastball'.

 

[Ted Lee]

sean -

thanks for your excellent review on radiohead's live album. i'm also a pretty big fan, but my path to admiration was different than yours.

i didn't really start getting into them until i heard 'kid a' early last year. that album blew me away...from the very first time i heard it i knew i was gonna dig it big-time!

then i picked up 'pablo honey' and 'the bends'. both albums were also excellent. then amnesiac came out...which considering how much i liked kid a i knew it was a cinch.

finally, i got ok computer. i knew this was considered one of their best albums. however, the first time i heard it i was not impressed at all. i couldn't figure out what they were up to. i just popped it into my car recently and have begun listening to it again. i think it's slowly growing on me, but i'm still in the air on this one.

anyway, i'm glad i've discovered this band...i'm just bummed it took me so long to realize how awesome these guys are.

i'll definitely be picking the live album up!

 

[MikeH1]

Ok my turn to sell INXS - SHABOOH SHOOBAH 1982
I'm sure many are thinking "the typical 80s pop from the band that gave us Need You Tonight". The catch is that it isn't typical, Shabooh Shoobah is such a different album than anything they have ever done.
I have yet to hear such an underated disc that has such a seemless flow to it. Its like a needle and thread winds through all 10 tracks. Such an experimental feel utilizing various sounds that all comes together in brilliance. How they did it, I'm not sure and why they did it is an even better question. But it works. This is when their trademark sax was used to its full glory albeit never too much to get monotonous. Each song tells such a great little story:
To Look At You my personal favorite. A catchy drumbeat with lyrics that says it all
What is the name to call
for a different kind of girl
who knows the feelings
but never the words
to look at you
and never speak
is so good
for me tonight
And then theres the final track "Don't Change" that did get some rotation on MTV when it first aired. It has a mid 80s U2 feel to it:
I'm standing here on the ground
the sky above won't fall down
see no evil in all direction
resolution of happiness
things have been dark
for too long
Don't change for you
Don't change a thing for me
Its worth a listen this being a disc that suites any mood. When I am ranting about INXS to DJ's whether they are working at a club or even on the local radio stations they have all said this is their favorite INXS disc and a couple have said this is one of their favorites period. I knew then I wasn't alone. But at the same time, it didn't surprise me.
If your into something different from a band that is the 1980s wrapped up in a timeless disc this would be it. But be forewarned it can be quite an addicting listen.
INXS SHABOOH SHOOBAH
The One Thing
To Look At You
Spy Of Love
Soul Mistake
Here Comes
Black and White
Golden Playpen
Jan's Song
Old world New World
Don't Change

 

[Ted Lee]

michael - you don't have to sell me on shaboo shoobah...i put it as one of my top 10 DID's!

 

[Jeff_A]

michael - you don't have to sell me on shaboo shoobah...i put it as one of my top 10 DID's!

Agreed. To take it a step further, I would add that the track Don't Change would make a great DI song. Powerful!

 

[Jon_Are]

Great thread, Andrew; wish I'd thought of it myself.
Ok...
I'm going to go with Imperial Bedroom , by Elvis Costello.
A musical masterpiece that seems, at first, terribly complex (both musically and lyrically) but, upon a closer listen, reveals itself to be marvelously subtle and basic (in the way the Beatles best work is). Elvis ventures lyrically into homes, behind closed doors, into bedrooms...and sheds his sharp light on the frailties of human interaction, producing spine-chilling scenarios.
Sample lyrics:
"Don't get smart, or sarcastic
He snaps back just like elastic
Spare us the theatrics and the verbal gymnastics
We break wiseguys just like matchsticks."
"Almost blue, almost doing things we used to do
There's a girl here and she's almost you..."
"He bit his tongue and tried hard to capture his breath
When she said I waited all my life for just a little death."
"Came home drunk, talking in circles
The spirit is willing but I don't believe in miracles."
These 15 songs play like an opera, and there's not a clinker in the bunch. I've owned this disc - first album, then CD - for the twenty years of its existence and have not grown the least bit weary of it. As a matter of fact, it seems as fresh as ever.
Jon

 

[Jeff_P]

I have to say Saigon Kick "Water". Something about the songs that Jason Bieler writes, I just never get tired of his songs. They range to heavy guitar riff songs to melodic love songs to twisted jazz/swing songs(I am not sure how to categorize the last song "Chanel"). It's a shame that he is producing other bands like Non-Point and not releasing more of his music.

Or Cheap Trick "Cheap Trick". Another timeless band.

 

[Iain Lambert]

I'll have to come back and do a full sell job another time, but I will add my recommendation for I Might Be Wrong. When I first heard the 'twins' Kid A and Amnesiac (hence the 'cut the kids in half' line in Morning Bell?) I loved them, but I was convinced that they couldn't work live. Radiohead, in all the years I've been a fan, never released a live album before, but the moment I saw them last year I desperately wanted them to do this - the new songs simply couldn't be reproduced in a live environment, so have been reworked into new forms that in some ways are better, and certainly add to my appreciation of the orignals as well. Like Spinning Plates takes on an even more haunting quality when Thom's vocals become clear, and that piano line just hits me in a powerful way emotionally. Idioteque turned the whole place into a club for the duration, and Everything In Its Right Place is now an end, rather than a start to proceedings. 'Encore' new track True Love Waits is something fans have been waiting years for as well; every time the band has tried to record it it kept changing into something different, and its four year gestation has done it wonders. This is a rare 'must buy' live album all round...

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

I'm going to go with Imperial Bedroom , by Elvis Costello.

I will second that nomination. This album has depths I have yet to plumb, and I have been listening to it regularly for years. Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick's production is absolutely inspired. Personally, if I were quoting lyrics, I would probably wind up typing the entirety of Human Hands which starts with one of my favorite opening lines ever "I've been talking to the wall and it's been answering me". This album was the culmination of everything Elvis Costello had been trying to accomplish in terms of pop music production and songcraft since his debut.

Regards,

 

[Philip Hamm]

Jeff, Ange and I are big SK fans and we both love "Water". Great album!

 

[Jon_Are]

if I were quoting lyrics, I would probably wind up typing the entirety of Human Hands

Alright, Ken!

Also from Human Hands: "I'm just a mere shadow of my former selfishness."

Jon

 

[JohnRice]

Since all this stuff is pretty contemporary I'm going with Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique. With classical music, and especially aggressive stuff like Berlioz, I tend to like Telarc recordings. I have two Telarc recordings of this and if you can believe, there is now a third one by the Cincinnati S.O. which is also available on SACD. The two I have are the Baltimore S.O. (CD-80271) which also has a couple other pieces that will really pin your ears back. Can you say fanfare? Berlioz LOVED his brass.
Unfortunately, the performance of Symphonie Fantastique on that one is not nearly as good as my other copy, which is Lorin Maazel and the Cleveland Orchestra (CD-80076) which is long out of print. I strongly suggest trying to find a copy of that recording used. During the 70s and 80s Maazel and the C.O. made some outstanding recordings of much of the wilder classical stuff like Berlioz and Tchaikovsky.
If you aren't familiar with this symphony, I'll give you a short explanation. It is a "Program" symphony, which means it follows a story. I won't go into too much detail about the program, but suffice it to say it would make good material for a David Fincher movie. In short, a man falls in love with a "maiden" he envisions as being the perfect, proper woman. She consumes his thoughts as he follows her to a ball, watching her dance throughout the crowd, her "melody" blending, appearing and disappearing in the waltz being played.
One evening, he is sitting alone in the country, listening to two shepherds calling and answering each other off in the distance. He hears the wind blowing through the trees and starts wondering if his maiden has somehow tricked him. Is she really as pure as he imagined? One shepherd calls out again, but there is no answer. Thunder rumbles in the distance.
I won't go into the final two movements. If you get the CD it should have an explanation of the program, but listen to it at least once before reading it. If you think Classical music is boring, this isn't. It is one of the most involving, dynamic and emotional pieces I have heard. It will put your system to a test like no popular music can. I see other reviews here talking about different albums being "part Classical" or "playing like an Opera." They aren't and don't. This is the real thing.
Take 50 minutes, put in this CD, turn off the lights, sit down, close your eyes and enjoy the ride. Oh, don't forget to crank it up a little while you're at it.

 

[JohnRice]

This thread got me digging into my CDs and I came up with This One. It is such an original album. "It just Rules." :b

 

[Darren H]

So, has anyone been "sold" yet? I keep checking in on this thread, hoping to discover that someone has bought a Varnaline CD on my suggestion. (Maybe I'm just not much of a salesman.) I have to admit that I've almost overcome my anti-Bruce biases and am considering buying Nebraska.

 

[JohnRice]

I always thought Darkness on the Edge of Town was Sringsteen's most tolerable album. I may have to give Nebraska a try.

 

[Paul_Medenwaldt]

I have many albums that I could list here, but the album I would recommend is "She Could Be a Spy" by the band Swingerhead.

I was in Vegas 2 1/2 years ago and one nite me and my buddies strolled into the Golden Nugget and went back to the Oasis bar to have some drinks. The band playing was Swingerhead. They were playing old standard swing songs as well as their own material and people were dancing to both old and unfamiliar music. It was a great nite to drink and watch a good band perform.

After I came back from Vegas I looked up the band on the internet and found they have an album out. I purchased it and loved it from the start. The whole album is enjoyable and fun. The lyrics range from humorous to heartbreaking. Within a couple of listens I was signing along to most of the songs without ever reading any lyric sheets.

I would not compare them to any current pop swing band out there such as mighty, mighty bosstones. Swingerhead is more standard swing with their out hook.

Hope you enjoy if you decide to pick it up.

Paul

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

"London Calling" is my favorite record; Roxy Music's "Avalon" is a close second.

I'll recommend anything by the late, great Cincinnati band The Afghan Whigs. Combining killer hooks with a serious soulful vibe, the Whigs put on the best live shows I've ever seen time and again. While their last record, 1998's "1965," is their most accessible and fun, and 1992's "Congregation," their most raucous (including an uncredited final cut, "Miles Iz Ded," that became their tear-the-roof-off set closer), the double-dose of 1993's "Gentlemen" and 1996's "Black Love" are the ones to get.

These ain't easy records to listen to-- singer/songwriter Greg Dulli rips out your heart with his tunes, which range from the frighteningly confessional to the sad and lonely. I dare anyone who's ever been in a bad relationship to listen to either record and come out unscathed. Dulli and the band broke up early last year and Dulli has been working on a second installment of his latest project, The Twilight Singers, in addition to co-owning a popular L.A. bar, the Short-Stop, with the late Ted Demme. The Whigs were known for incorporating soul covers into their live sets and 1992's great "Uptown Avondale" EP features covers of such classics as Freda Payne's "Band of Gold" and an absolutely killer version of the Supremes' "Come See About Me."

I can't say enough about the Whigs. They got me through some tough times. If you haven't had enough heart-wrenching stuff, try The Wedding Present's brilliant 1991 "SeaMonsters."

And if you're into real soul, check out the "Dave Godin's Deep Soul Classics." Vol. 2 and 3 are amazing as well, but Volume 1 is one of the greatest compilations of all time. You're not likely to have heard of 95% of the muscians here, but these 1960's-era tracks are absolutely devastating-- and sound like something the Whigs might have covered had they gotten their mitts on this before they broke up.

 

[Emil Stoica]

Here would my my 2 for this great thead:
Toy Matinee - Toy Matinee
Kevin Gilbert (RIP) and Patrick Leonard make what is simply one of the best pop records ever. Catchy, easy and yet very deep songs that start with 'Last Plane Out' and never stops. 'The Ballad of Jenny Ledge' and 'Turn It On Salvador' are real standouts but really, every track in excellent. No one seems to have heard of them but every person who listens to this immediatly wants it.
The Wild Swans - Bringing Home The Ashes
Words can not do justice to this album. Impossible to find since it has been out of print for years but buy it if you find it. The title track and 'Young Manhood' are the standouts.
Enjoy