The Great HTF Music Challenge (3 Viewers)

[Walter Kittel]

Tony Orlando & Dawn - "Candida" - Nice selection. Always liked the flavor of this song. Nice vocals by the group on this track.

Lobo - "I'd Love You To Want Me" - Thinking about the artist, when the first song was posted earlier, I was trying to recall other songs and drawing a blank. Completely forgot about this tune. (I tend to think about music in terms of similar artists / songs and this track feels like something that David Gates and Bread would have sung.) Definitely representative of the types of ballads that were incredibly popular in the '70s. Another nice choice.

- Walter.

 

[sleroi]

I’m so far behind again, this thread will lie dormant a few days and then bam!

But since John Prine was brought up, here are a few songs of his I really like. I too discovered him in the 90s.

 

[Citizen87645]

If you like Lake Marie, I find the live performance of it really moving and epic.

 

[BobO'Link]

George Harrison, "What is Life" & "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" - Both are excellent tracks from this most under appreciated Beatle. I love the entirety of his "All Things Must Pass" album and many of his post Beatles releases.

 

[BobO'Link]

I'm sure this won't be a controversial statement but I say this song is the indisputable best solo track from a Beatle (It Don't Come Easy is a strong second):

I'll somewhat contest that claim by posting tracks from Paul's and John's first solo albums - and I love the two tracks you've mentioned with "It Don't Come Easy" being, perhaps, the best thing Ringo every did (and he has a few excellent post Beatles tracks himself):

John Lennon - "Love":



Paul McCartney - "Maybe I'm Amazed":

 

[TravisR]

I'll somewhat contest that claim by posting tracks from Paul's and John's first solo albums - and I love the two tracks you've mentioned with "It Don't Come Easy" being, perhaps, the best thing Ringo every did (and he has a few excellent post Beatles tracks himself):

John Lennon - "Love":



Paul McCartney - "Maybe I'm Amazed":

My favorite songs from each Beatle as a solo artists are What Is Life (George), It Don't Come Easy (Ringo), Maybe I'm Amazed (Paul) and Watching The Wheels (John).

 

[BobO'Link]

John Prine, "It's a Big Old Goofy World" - Nice track.

John Prine, "Lake Marie" - I'd like this one better if it were a couple of minutes shorter and it was sung instead of spoken. The story's good - just runs too long for me.

John Prine w/Morgane Stapleton, "Look at Us" - And this one one such track. I don't care for Morgane's voice and style (sounds like any of a dozen other 60s female country singers) or the song all that much. It's a bit too country.

John Prine, "Lake Marie Live" - See comment about the studio version - and this one's longer although it does pick up a bit in the last couple of minutes.

 

[John Dirk]

Back in the early 80's there was music, and breakdancing

Here you go:

Twilight 22, had a great breakout single "Electric Kingdom". I purchased the record of it at 'Disc n Tapes' in the mall. Played it till the needle broke, but 'Siberian Nights' was even better


Here are some more of my favorites from that time frame
The Egyptian Lover


Newcleus


Midnight Star


I also liked "Freakazoid", and "No Parking on the Dance Floor"

Thanks for saving me the time, @Bryan^H , because I would probably have gotten around to sharing all of these eventually.

I love each of these because they sound great pumped up loud and have a lot of really cool synth effects, some subtle, some not so much. Songs like these and the Kraftwerk selections I presented earlier were some of my first forays into Electronic music.

In my mind there is room for all types of distinctive music. Some songs I appreciate for the lyrics [Rap, ballands, etc] while I appreciate others for their overall musicality [Billy Joel, Elton John etc] and some have messages that just speak to me such as the Bon Jovi classic, Wanted Dead or Alive. The above selections represent technology applied to music. Since I love these both individually, it's no surprise I also love the combination.

Here are a couple more of my favorites.


At the 3:20 mark this one gets broken down and built up again piece by piece. I think fellow musicians [especially percussionists] will appreciate this.

The Jonzun Crew - Space Is The Place

Space is the Place

Provided to YouTube by Tommy Boy Music, LLCSpace is the Place · Jonzun CrewLost in Space℗ 1983 Tommy Boy Music, LLCReleased on: 1983-01-04Music Publisher: W...

www.youtube.com

The Jonzun Crew - Pack Jam (Look Out For The OVC)​

(Old School Music) The Jonzun Crew - Pack Jam (Look Out For The OVC)

I do not own the rights to this music. I want to keep Old School Music alive!

www.youtube.com

Planet Patrol - Play at Your Own Risk​

Play at Your Own Risk (Remastered 12" Vocal Version)

Provided to YouTube by Tommy Boy Music, LLCPlay at Your Own Risk (Remastered 12" Vocal Version) · Planet PatrolThe Tommy Boy Story, Vol. 1℗ 2006 Tommy Boy Mu...

www.youtube.com

 

[John Dirk]

Perhaps the ref should throw a flag for piling on after Bob's and Cameron's postings, but my reaction to this particular genre / style is very similar. Sorry, but I probably wouldn't like your mix tapes either, Bryan.

Have I said yet that I really, really, dislike electronic "dance" music in all it's permutations?

These are examples of why I thought the 80s were a vast musical wasteland.

Does pushing the button stop the playback? If yes, then sure.

No flag as we're all certainly entitled to our opinions. When a song doesn't appeal that's fine but we did agree to be constructive [or at least not destructive] with our comments at the onset. I've heard many head scratchers here. I gave my opinion but then usually also enquired as to what the general appeal was. For genres like Psychedelia, I learned a few things and can now actually appreciate some of it.

I've also found some true gems I would never have given a chance had others not posted them here. Some have even been added to my collection and I'm sure more will follow. If you hate a particular song or genre and have no interest in learning more about it that's fine but I don't know that repeating that here is constructive.

Again, I don't mean to attack anyone, I just want everyone to feel equally welcome to post as they wish without destructive feedback.

 

[John Dirk]

Perhaps these lyrics might explain it a bit, though you'll likely hate the production.

Man this one just hits you right in the face from the start! Kind of caught me off guard. I absolutely love the intent here. The track itself is a little basic [sounds like British Pop] but that's not really the point I suspect. Nice selection.

 

[BobO'Link]

Here's some more goodness from Stevie Wonder's "Innervisions" album.

Stevie Wonder - "Too High":



Stevie Wonder - "Higher Ground":

 

[John Dirk]

I didn't get very far with these either. They reminded me of the bass excursion demo CDs, like Bass Mekanik.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

I liked Bass Mekanic. For the early 80's it was a decent enough track to me anyway.

 

[John Dirk]

Here's some more goodness from Stevie Wonder's "Innervisions" album.

Stevie Wonder - "Too High":



Stevie Wonder - "Higher Ground":

I love pretty much everything this man has done. I've resisted posting his work as I figured it was already known by all. Great selections, especially Higher Ground!

 

[John Dirk]

Rick Wakeman has been mentioned a few times but no examples of his body of work has yet been posted. I'll fix that with a selection from his "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" album that is somewhat representative of that work as well as his other material. While, like most Yes fans, I ran out and purchased a copy of that album when it was released it never truly struck a chord with me. That's because it mostly comes off as somewhat pompous and feels more like a "Look what I can do" album than anything else. The 6 tracks are all over the place thematically and in the way they're constructed. Some are almost like mini-Yes extended pieces, just not quite as good. So, without further ado, here's

Rick Wakeman - "Anne Boleyn 'The Day Thou Gavest Lord Hath Ended'":

Now this is interesting. It plays as a classical piece up until about the 3:00 mark and then becomes Electronica! I like the 2nd half much better. I love some classical stuff too but need to be in the right mood.

 

[BobO'Link]

Spencer, "The Quest For Pop (It's What I love)" - This was better than the instrumental stuff but still not in my roundhouse...

Bass Mekanik, "Bass Mekanik" - Just no... I liked that even less that the other electronica tracks.

 

[John Dirk]

Been meaning to post this one. The attractions for me with this tune are the percussion and the overall sonic signature of the song. ( I suspect this one won't be everyone's cup of tea, but after my last post - that's cool. )

One of the the 'trippy-ier' music videos from the halcyon days of MTV when watching videos was akin to watching a series of avant-garde short films, at least some of the time...

The Folk Implosion - "Natural One" :


- Walter.

I hear the same things as you. A nice overall sonic quality and some cool percussion. I also like the overall relaxed feel. Again, this one would be perfect when the mood was right.

 

[John Dirk]

Here are just ac ouple of my favorite pop hits of the 7o's

I used to love Tony Orlando & Dawn back in the day. Thanks for the pleasant reminder of that era.

Hadn't heard the 2nd track but the vocals are perfect and I would think it was a pretty big hit in it's day. Nice song that should find a place in a soundtrack if it hasn't already.

 

[Malcolm R]

[sounds like British Pop]

Yep, exactly. The producer here, Pete Hammond, was a mixer and studio engineer with the PWL label in the 80's that produced dozens of Europop hits for Rick Astley (Never Gonna Give You Up, Together Forever), Dead or Alive (You Spin Me Round, Brand New Lover), Kylie Minogue (The Loco-Motion cover), Bananarama (Venus, I Heard a Rumour), and many others. The Spencer video and song is a love letter of sorts to these artists and the producers.

Pete Hammond continues to produce songs with that same sound (which I love). I'm always amazed at the layers and layers of different sounds, especially if you listen with headphones. Below is his latest single produced for Peter Wilson.

 

[John Dirk]

It's a Big Old Goofy World - John Prine
The overall style of this artist doesn't appeal to me but his vocals are much better here than in the pervious track. This one does a better job of blending the music with his smooth delivery. After hearing this I can see why the folks in the live performance appreciated him so much. Context.

Lake Marie:
This is probably my favorite selection by this artist. He's a great story teller. The song intrigued me so much I had to know it's origin. Here is the artist himself explaining. Forgive me for breaking the rules as this is clearly not a musical selection.



John Prine - Look at Us
What's not to love here. A simple but heartfelt song presented by two amazing vocalists.

 

[John Dirk]

John Lennon - "Love":
This is one of the few Lennon songs I don't care for. Too slow and just not really engaging at all for me.

Paul McCartney - "Maybe I'm Amazed":
To me, Paul was the Dr. Dre of the Beatles, the one member the group absolutely could not do without. This song is just one of many supporting examples. Even with all of his fame, i still feel Paul is underappreciated.