25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die

~~James~~ · 05-11-2011, 01:50 AM

I checked out that Lodger album and it was great. Defo a keeper!

Flume · 05-11-2011, 12:46 PM

Love the reviews so far, I've been looking to get the Lodger album for quite some time. I can't seem to find a download for it.

**Janszoon** · 05-11-2011, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James

I checked out that Lodger album and it was great. Defo a keeper!

Glad you liked it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flume

Love the reviews so far, I've been looking to get the Lodger album for quite some time. I can't seem to find a download for it.

Thanks! Check your inbox.

Flume · 05-11-2011, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

Glad you liked it!

Thanks! Check your inbox.

Many thanks! Also checked out the Harry Nilsson album, and man, is that epic or what. I don't think I have ever listened to a more pleasant album

.

**Janszoon** · 05-11-2011, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flume

Many thanks! Also checked out the Harry Nilsson album, and man, is that epic or what. I don't think I have ever listened to a more pleasant album

.

Yeah, The Point is such a beautiful, innocent sounding album. His album Nilsson Schmilsson is also really worth checking out if you've never heard it.

**Janszoon** · 05-11-2011, 07:09 PM

14. Latin Playboys—s/t (1994)

The specter of death has caused many a person to reflect upon the life that they have lived. That looming inevitability up there behind nighttime clouds may drive you down into your basement one evening, among the cobwebs and naked lightbulbs, to rummage through the collected detritus of your life, seeking nostalgia. You might find a musty box of childhood photos down there. You might pick up and strum your ancient, horribly out-of-tune guitar. You may tear up as you inspect your broken, faded, old toys.

This album sounds exactly like what one of those dusty basement journeys feels like. It began life when David Hidalgo of Los Lobos was recording some rough ideas for new songs on a four-track. After a while he realized that a bunch of what he was was putting on tape, as much as he liked it, didn't really fit well with the style of music his band played so the idea of a little side project began to rear its head. After recruiting fellow Los Lobos member Louie Pérez and frequent Los Lobos producers Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake, this self-titled album was released, built largely from those original four-track recordings.

Quirky and lo-fi to it's core, this small, spare album never insists on its importance, remaining subdued and contemplative throughout, but it's a beautiful and heartfelt piece of work through and through. It's quite eclectic as well. It dabbles in experimentalism frequently, though it's most noticeable on "Viva La Raza", "Mira!" and "Pink Steps". It rocks out a bit on "New Zandu" and "Chinese Surprise". And it explores warm, rootsy material on tracks like "If" and "Manifold De Amour". All of this done with a distinct latin flavor and consistently brilliant percussion.

Here's my favorite song off the album, "Crayon Sun" (ignore the silly pictures):

jackhammer · 05-12-2011, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

15. Taj Mahal—World Music

I'd imagine, if I really did know the world was going to end in the immediate future, what I'd want to do the most is spend as much time as humanly possibly with the people closest to me. My wife, my family, my friends, I'd want to tell all of them how much they had meant to me in this life. I think the end of world would leave most of us craving the warmth of human connection, and fortunately for the world, Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, better known as Taj Mahal, is an absolute genius at giving that warmth a musical form.

Even though World Music is not an actual album—it's a compilation of songs culled from several of Taj's 1970s releases—it somehow manages to hang together as one amazingly well. The fact that's bookended by the beautiful instrumental track "When I Feel the Sea Beneath My Soul" probably does a lot to hold it together, but more importantly it's the consistent warmth that shines through every track here, even one as angry as his cover of Bob Marley's "Slave Driver", that makes for a unified listening experience. It's really pretty amazing how unified it is, to tell the truth, as the influences present range from the Cajun to the African to the Caribbean to a surprising Chuck Berry cover.

There's one particular song I'd like to point out here too: "Clara (St. Kitts Woman)", which is essentially a love song to his deceased grandmother. I have to confess this is one of those handful of songs that chokes me up literally every single time I hear it. It always makes me think of my own grandmother who, though not from St. Kitts and not named Clara, was one the kindest, most wonderful people I have ever known. And I can tell when I listen to this song that Taj can relate to that.

I have still never got around to listening any Taj Mahal and that track didn't grab me too much but it is obviously a piece of music that means a lot to you and it's always great to read personal connections with songs.

I will still have to give this album a listen as it's a compilation and hopefully a taster of what he is about.

**Janszoon** · 05-12-2011, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackhammer

I have still never got around to listening any Taj Mahal and that track didn't grab me too much but it is obviously a piece of music that means a lot to you and it's always great to read personal connections with songs.

I will still have to give this album a listen as it's a compilation and hopefully a taster of what he is about.

The album doesn't really cover all that he's about, just what he was doing in the 70s. Before that he was making some fantastic blues music and since then he's done a variety of stuff. Anyway, here's a different song from World Music, one you might like more:

Edit: I accidentally posted "Dance Like a Ho" by Otto Von Schirach here at first. Talk about a different style for Taj Mahal!

Alfred · 05-12-2011, 10:06 PM

Downloading that Latin Playboys album, the song you posted is great!

**Janszoon** · 05-12-2011, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alfred

Downloading that Latin Playboys album, the song you posted is great!

Hope you like the album! If you do, their other album, Dose, is also really good and well worth a listen.

05-11-2011, 12:46 PM	#62 (permalink)
Flume Music Addict Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sweden Posts: 99	Love the reviews so far, I've been looking to get the Lodger album for quite some time. I can't seem to find a download for it. __________________ ''I must know - How can someone so young sing words so sad'' ''Won't you stop and remember me at any convenient time.'' LastFM

05-11-2011, 07:09 PM	#66 (permalink)
Janszoon Mate, Spawn & Die Join Date: May 2007 Location: The Rapping Community Posts: 24,593	*14. Latin Playboys—s/t* (1994) The specter of death has caused many a person to reflect upon the life that they have lived. That looming inevitability up there behind nighttime clouds may drive you down into your basement one evening, among the cobwebs and naked lightbulbs, to rummage through the collected detritus of your life, seeking nostalgia. You might find a musty box of childhood photos down there. You might pick up and strum your ancient, horribly out-of-tune guitar. You may tear up as you inspect your broken, faded, old toys. This album sounds exactly like what one of those dusty basement journeys feels like. It began life when David Hidalgo of Los Lobos was recording some rough ideas for new songs on a four-track. After a while he realized that a bunch of what he was was putting on tape, as much as he liked it, didn't really fit well with the style of music his band played so the idea of a little side project began to rear its head. After recruiting fellow Los Lobos member Louie Pérez and frequent Los Lobos producers Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake, this self-titled album was released, built largely from those original four-track recordings. Quirky and lo-fi to it's core, this small, spare album never insists on its importance, remaining subdued and contemplative throughout, but it's a beautiful and heartfelt piece of work through and through. It's quite eclectic as well. It dabbles in experimentalism frequently, though it's most noticeable on "Viva La Raza", "Mira!" and "Pink Steps". It rocks out a bit on "New Zandu" and "Chinese Surprise". And it explores warm, rootsy material on tracks like "If" and "Manifold De Amour". All of this done with a distinct latin flavor and consistently brilliant percussion. Here's my favorite song off the album, "Crayon Sun" (ignore the silly pictures): __________________ A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man Time & Place 25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die** last.fm

05-12-2011, 10:06 PM	#69 (permalink)
Alfred one big soul Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 5,096	Downloading that Latin Playboys album, the song you posted is great! __________________ LAST.FM / VINYL COLLECTION / RYM

05-11-2011, 01:50 AM	#61 (permalink)
~~James~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Scotland Posts: 4,483	I checked out that Lodger album and it was great. Defo a keeper!