The Great HTF Music Challenge (1 Viewer)

[John Dirk]

Kevin Croninof REO Speedwagon is a piano player. I’ve always liked the piano on this tune.

Kind of heavy on the guitar for me. I bet I'd like other songs in their catalogue, just not so much this one.

 

[John Dirk]

Flo Price

At the Shore

Now you know no one wants to comment negatively on an artist we know you're related to.
In this case, I have to say this doesn't work for me but it the overall style, certainly not her vocals.

Bright New World
Pretty much as above. I love the lyrical content just not so much the presentation style. Seems more tailored to children.

Back Home
I like this one much more than the others. It's folksy but still a little more sophisticated musically.

 

[BobO'Link]

Billy Joel, "Don't Ask Me Why" - I've heard this one before but couldn't say if it's on the set I own (probably is). It's OK but not one of my favorites. I wouldn't skip it but neither would I pick it for a listen.

REO Speedwagon, "Say You Love Me or Say Goodnight" - There's only 1 or 2 songs from these guys I like. This is not one of those. The piano parts are good but don't really quite fit the song.

 

[Bryan^H]

Flo Price

At the Shore

Now you know no one wants to comment negatively on an artist we know you're related to.
In this case, I have to say this doesn't work for me but it the overall style, certainly not her vocals.

Bright New World
Pretty much as above. I love the lyrical content just not so much the presentation style. Seems more tailored to children.

Back Home
I like this one much more than the others. It's folksy but still a little more sophisticated musically.

Lol, Negative comments won't bother me a bit. I was just thinking this is a specific music type that hasn't been covered in the thread, and I knew a good way to represent it.

 

[BobO'Link]

Flo Price, "At the Shore" - "Bright New Wave" - "Back Home" - Three pleasant folk christian songs. I'm surprised I'd not heard of her before as this style was still fairly popular in the late 60s/early 70s. Had it come out in the early-mid 60s I think she'd have done better. For me, "Back Home" was the weakest entry.

 

[BobO'Link]

Weird Al, "I Love Rocky Road" - Nice. I've not heard this one before. Even though I find him a bit one-note he really does an excellent job on his lyrical reworkings of the songs he parodies.

Billy's another one where I pretty much enjoy anything he releases. These are definitely in that category. Nice selections.

Here is one of my favorites.
Billy Joel - Piano Man

I see what you did there... but I didn't bite. I really liked that song when it first came out and the first couple of hundred times I heard it. But when it became one of those songs that got played at least once every hour and there was no escaping hearing it I quickly grew tired of it. It didn't help that my girlfriend at the time owned the album and played it practically non stop.

 

[sleroi]

Here's a track you just don't hear very often - at least in its original form. I much prefer this recording over the live version that gets all the attention. The album it's from, "Back in '72," needs an official US release.

Bob Seger - "Turn the Page" (this is the original studio version):

Wow. Im a pretty big Bob Seger fan but the one song I never cared for was Turn The Page, having only heard the live version. (Although I also quickly became sick of Like a Rock after it became a Chevy commercial.) While this version isnt a night and day difference I do actually quite like it. It makes its point without coming across so melodramatic in both the music and the vocals.

Since ive never heard of this album, what else is on it?

 

[sleroi]

Joan Jett - I love Rock and Roll. Simple and effective anthem with plenty of attitude.

I hate myself for loving you - same attitude but this song has always sounded flat to me. And repetitive.

I really like her first few albums, especially Bad Reputation. The title track and Do You Wanna Touch standout.

Good Music came out when I was a senior in high school and I still listen to it every once in a while, it has nostalgic value. She sings a lot more than screams on this album. Its kind of mellow by her standards.



And while most of the songs are along those lines, theres also this, wich always makes me laugh.

 

[sleroi]

Chick Corea - Spain - the brief mellow intro had me worried but I enjoyed it once the tempo picked up. It was a little flute heavy at first, but 10 minutes later I was lost in it. Great song.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Bob Seger - "Turn the Page" - Not really up to speed on the early '70s Bob Seger. The live version of the song is pretty much indelibly etched into my brain, so that is still the preferred version for me. Kind of got into Seger around '77.

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Chick Corea and Return To Forever - "Spain" - Discovered this group in the mid '70s. No Mystery was the album that introduced me to the group. I subsequently explored their catalog and added other albums to my collection including Light As A Feather. One of those groups whose music I always enjoy, including this number.

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REO Speedwagon - "Say You Love Me Or Say Goodnight" - Goodnight.

Actually I do like some of this group's music but this one doesn't really resonate with me. Seems just a little too busy. I tend to prefer some of the band's slower music selections, or at least those that don't feel as frenetic. Always liked "Time For Me To Fly" from the same album (whose name I always liked for the word play, BTW.)

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Flo Price - Nice enough voice (seriously), but not a music style that I would choose.

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Billy Joel - "Piano Man" - About as classic as it gets in this thread. Always liked the narrative aspects of this song. I understand Bob's over-saturation viewpoint (something that has come up for most everyone in the thread from time to time) but I still enjoy this song immensely.

- Walter.

 

[John Dirk]

Lol, Negative comments won't bother me a bit. I was just thinking this is a specific music type that hasn't been covered in the thread, and I knew a good way to represent it.

That comment was intended somewhat tongue-in-cheek as I knew you wouldn't post content here and then be overly sensitive about how it might be received.

Here's one of my favorite Gospel singers.

Deniece Williams

I Love Him Above All Things



Lover of My Soul



She eventually converted to Popular music and had some success there as well. Prelude ends at about the 1:00 mark.

Black Butterfly


It's Gonna Take Miracle

 

[Walter Kittel]

Joan Jett

"Outlaw" - Feels kind of like middle of the road Joan Jett for me. Not bad, but it doesn't really grab me either, maybe the less yelling and more singing is putting me off a bit. (?) Sort of like the slower, middle section of the song.

"Black Leather" - Joan Jett meets The Beastie Boys? Sort of enjoyed this for the novelty aspects.

- Walter.

 

[sleroi]

Deniece Williams - She definitely has a powerful voice.

I Love Him Above All Things - impressive vocals and a pleasant enough song but it had a generic urban contemporary vibe to it.

Lover Of My Soul - i liked this a lot better. It was more soulful. I wouldnt have known this was gospel until she mentioned Jesus.

Black Butterfly - again it was too urban contemporary for my tastes, though the way she upped the intensity at about 3:52 was impressive.

Its Gonna Take a Miracle - This was a fun song. She captured that 60s/Motown sound well.

 

[Bryan^H]

That comment was intended somewhat tongue-in-cheek as I knew you wouldn't post content here and then be overly sensitive about how it might be received.

Here's one of my favorite Gospel singers.

Deniece Williams

I Love Him Above All Things



Lover of My Soul



She eventually converted to Popular music and had some success there as well. Prelude ends at about the 1:00 mark.

Black Butterfly


It's Gonna Take Miracle

Deniece Williams has a beautiful voice. "I Love Him Above all Things" is by far my favorite, but also the selections you picked are great. "Black Butterfly" has some really nice music that is a compliment to her voice.

Really good stuff John, thanks for sharing.

 

[jcroy]

Here's one of my favorite Gospel singers.

Deniece Williams

The name I didn't recognize immediately. Looking her name up on wikipedia and googling, I realized immediately she was the singer on "Let's Hear It For The Boy" and the video with the kid in a dunce cap.

I remember it was on regular rotation on music video shows.

 

[BobO'Link]

Wow. Im a pretty big Bob Seger fan but the one song I never cared for was Turn The Page, having only heard the live version. (Although I also quickly became sick of Like a Rock after it became a Chevy commercial.) While this version isnt a night and day difference I do actually quite like it. It makes its point without coming across so melodramatic in both the music and the vocals.

Since ive never heard of this album, what else is on it?

Bob Seger
"Back in '72"
Midnight Rider - cover of The Allman Brothers song
So I Wrote You a Song
Stealer - cover of a song from Free
Rosalie - later covered by Thin Lizzy (a UK hit for them)
Turn the Page
Back in '72
Neon Sky
I've Been Working - cover of the Van Morrison song
I've Got Time

You can hear the entire album on youtube.

 

[BobO'Link]

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, "Outlaw" - Nice pseudo ballad from them.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, "Black Leather" - Sounds like she's singing about herself somewhat tongue-in-cheek wise. It's a fun song. I don't care for the spoken intro though (don't like these on most songs). It has a kind of 80s teen movie sound - like it could have come from a John Hughes movie...

Both of these sound somewhat sedate compared to the earlier work from this band.

 

[BobO'Link]

Deniece Williams, "I Love Him Above All Things" - Very nice voice and production. It's better than most main-stream christian music I've heard. Still a bit too MOR for my tastes though. I found the synth "flute" to be distracting.

Deniece Williams, "Lover of My Soul" - This one was better but she got just a bit too "showy" with runs and high notes that aren't really supported by the lyrics. I really don't know which I liked less, the synth flute of the first or her showy vocal style in this one. In spite of that, I'd listen to either of these over most of the main-stream christian music out there.

Deniece Williams, "Black Butterfly" - I liked her vocal style here better than with "Lover of My Soul" as it's sung without reaching into the upper registers for no reason other than to be showy. Otherwise, the song's mostly standard MOR material.

Deniece Williams, "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" - A talking intro... oh well. Once she starts the actual song it's a pretty good ballad. Based on the intro I expected just a bit more Motown style than what was presented. In spite of that, it sounds like it could have easily come from any of a number of the Motown artists in the 60s. This is easily my favorite of the four presented.

 

[Citizen87645]

Wow. I saw this thread when it first started and I was meaning to get back to it, and now it's 64 pages! Not sure if I'll have a chance to start from the beginning and listen to all the contributions, but I'll do what I can when I have time.

I'll start with John's first post. I really appreciated his choices for rap because it echoes / confirms my own impressions of the genre about where it started and where it is now. The rap that I have enjoyed most are along the lines of what John shared, and definitely more old school than new school. I think the most recent rap album that really appealed to me was A Tribe Called Quest's "We got it from here...Thank You 4 Your service."

For my contributions:

For whatever reason, I've always preferred female artists. I don't really know why, but something about the pitch of most female vocals strikes me more than male vocals. A male vocal really needs to be unique to get my attention (e.g. John Prine, RIP).

Anyway, there are a variety of female groups and solo artists I like (Aimee Mann, Sam Phillips, Paramore, Alison Krauss). But "female singer-songwriter" is probably the most consistent genre label. Unfortunately, I have to listen to this music on my own, as it tends to be "too depressing" for my wife.

In 1995 I was introduced to a band called The Story. Lead singer Jonatha Brooke wound up going solo a few years later, eventually went entirely independent, and has been on that track, "fighting the good fight" for the last couple decades.

She recently released an album revisiting songs from various points of her career, which was done as part of a master class for music mixing at Sweetwater Studios in Fort Wayne, IN.

This track, "Angel in the House" was one from her The Story band days, so it was interesting to hear my favorite track from the album I first heard of hers, redone in a different way.




If you want to compare it to the original:




And along those lines, here's one from Aimee Mann, probably the most successful independent female artist in the industry, and who I listened to basically non-stop for a period of time. This one is from her concept album "The Forgotten Arm," which tells a story about a recovering addict and his relationship with a woman he meets at a fair. "Video" is a track about halfway through the album, when things between them start to get tough.

 

[BobO'Link]

Jonatha Brooke, "Angel in the House" - Very, very nice track! I'm a sucker for a good alto voice and she has one. I like the chord structure, the melody, just everything about this one. If this is an indication of her normal work I'll be picking up a few things from her.

The Story, "Angel in the House" - At a first listen the differences are very subtle, mostly the strings. I like both.

Aimee Mann, "Video" - Another artist I've heard of but not heard (that I know). I like the chord structure and pace of this one though not so much the melody. She's a bit nasal with her delivery, not bad, but it's there and makes her sound a bit mushy. Outside of that she has a pleasant voice.