MB Album Club 2022

Trollheart · 03-04-2022, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGR

Even basic stuff like Kind of Blue or Time Out doesn't do anything for ya?

I do love Kind of Blue. Time Out I don't know. There's a band called The Comet is Coming who are really great, but other than that, jazz and I have a mutual understanding: it doesn't bother me and I don't bother it. We might meet at funerals and weddings, possibly send Christmas cards to each other when or if we remember, but other than that, we don't see each other. And it's better that way.

SGR · 03-04-2022, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

I do love Kind of Blue. Time Out I don't know. There's a band called The Comet is Coming who are really great, but other than that, jazz and I have a mutual understanding: it doesn't bother me and I don't bother it. We might meet at funerals and weddings, possibly send Christmas cards to each other when or if we remember, but other than that, we don't see each other. And it's better that way.

Sooooo no upcoming Jolly Trollheart Jives To Your Favorite Jazz Albums journal coming any time soon?

Trollheart · 03-05-2022, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGR

Sooooo no upcoming Jolly Trollheart Jives To Your Favorite Jazz Albums journal coming any time soon?

A Nightmare on Jazz Street: Trollheart's Voyage into the World of Jazz and Blues

I tried, I really did!

Lisnaholic · 03-05-2022, 10:29 AM

Like a good Album Club member, I listened to Tsuchi No Ne before the discussion started, so, just based on the cover, I was expecting something more exotic than what I heard: an update on the "big band" sound with a bit of jazz fusion thrown in.
Like others have said, I also struggle to enjoy the strident blaring horn sections so typical of big band jazz. I think I was too often the unwilling listener to that type of music back in the 60s and can't shrug off a personal aversion to that line up of instruments.
On the other hand, the album has various mellower parts with elec keyboards and (although it's not on rostasi's list) what sounded to me like an oboe or clarinet. There are also some nice almost-solo trumpet sections which I liked.
The 21 min track, Kurazuka, was my favourite, and also sums up the best and worst of this album for me:
....starts with a demonstration of the big band sound at its unsettling worst. As I can't write music, I can only transcribe it as: "quiet bit - POW! - quiet bit -POW! - quiet bit - POW!..." But 10 mins in, things had improved tremendously, as we get to the meat of this long track: a series of interludes allowing various musicians to shine as we hear some really enjoyable interplay between piano/trumpt/flute and also some of those slow-building sections that I like so much in jazz fusion. Unfortunately though, it was rather spoiled for me by the dread that the full-on big band ensemble would be back again to shatter the relative calm - as of course it did towards the end.
So this album was a mix of what I like and don't like about jazz. Unfortunately, there was more of the latter than the former, so I can only go to 6/10 I'm afraid Marie.

**Marie Monday** · 03-05-2022, 01:07 PM

eh I'm glad you liked some of the quiet parts, that's enough for me. It's interesting to hear all your perspectives as someone who's heard very little big band music

Trollheart · 03-05-2022, 02:19 PM

See, this is what I love about threads like this. You get so many different perspectives on albums. Someone may love it for X reason, another may hate it for Y reason and a third may shrug for Z reason, and all of them may be valid. Sometimes they set you thinking about how much you love/hate the album and whether it's justified, sometimes you just want to hit those who don't like it over the head with a lead pipe until they stop mov - I mean, engage in meaningful and frank discussion with those who don't like it till they stop mov - right, well, you know what I mean. It's good to read others' opinions on the work we love, and get different reactions.

Now, where did I leave that lead pipe...?

FETCHER. · 03-06-2022, 05:20 AM

Better late than never

I had never heard of Utah Phillips so I had no idea what to expect with this album.

I thoroughly enjoyed this album from Utah, I loved the interactive aspects of it and would have loved to be there with everyone experiencing the gig. He has a truly amazing voice and I was probably just as fascinated by it as I was to the stories themselves

. Overall a really fun, entertaining album and I found myself laughing throughout it several times when I was walking the dog looking like a crazy woman.

It was definitely something different for me and as it started I didn't expect myself to enjoy it but changed my opinion on that quickly. I would give him an 8/10.

I will try my best to be on time for the next one. I will need to get my arse in gear, I haven't given myself much of a head start

Lisnaholic · 03-06-2022, 04:33 PM

^ No more walking the dog until you've reviewed the next album please FETCHER. It's all about priorities !

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marie Monday

eh I'm glad you liked some of the quiet parts, that's enough for me. It's interesting to hear all your perspectives as someone who's heard very little big band music

...and I'm glad that we haven't come to battling it out with lead pipes over this album. I hope any adverse comments won't spoil your enjoyment of the album. Do you think you'll be reviewing it yourself or not?

**Marie Monday** · 03-06-2022, 05:44 PM

I'm too stubborn in my tastes for them to be spoiled. I'm not reviewing my own picks properly (I can barely manage doing the other ones) but here's a mini-review: I think the louder parts go hard af (it often just swings really cleverly) and the quiet parts are a mood, in a nice eerie way

FETCHER. · 03-10-2022, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubber soul

current album:

tsuchi no ne - toshiyuki miyama & his new herd (marie monday)
coming up:

Is this not on Spotify lol?

03-05-2022, 10:29 AM	#104 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	Like a good Album Club member, I listened to Tsuchi No Ne before the discussion started, so, just based on the cover, I was expecting something more exotic than what I heard: an update on the "big band" sound with a bit of jazz fusion thrown in. Like others have said, I also struggle to enjoy the strident blaring horn sections so typical of big band jazz. I think I was too often the unwilling listener to that type of music back in the 60s and can't shrug off a personal aversion to that line up of instruments. On the other hand, the album has various mellower parts with elec keyboards and (although it's not on rostasi's list) what sounded to me like an oboe or clarinet. There are also some nice almost-solo trumpet sections which I liked. The 21 min track, Kurazuka, was my favourite, and also sums up the best and worst of this album for me: ....starts with a demonstration of the big band sound at its unsettling worst. As I can't write music, I can only transcribe it as: "quiet bit - POW! - quiet bit -POW! - quiet bit - POW!..." But 10 mins in, things had improved tremendously, as we get to the meat of this long track: a series of interludes allowing various musicians to shine as we hear some really enjoyable interplay between piano/trumpt/flute and also some of those slow-building sections that I like so much in jazz fusion. Unfortunately though, it was rather spoiled for me by the dread that the full-on big band ensemble would be back again to shatter the relative calm - as of course it did towards the end. So this album was a mix of what I like and don't like about jazz. Unfortunately, there was more of the latter than the former, so I can only go to 6/10 I'm afraid Marie. __________________ "Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

03-05-2022, 02:19 PM	#106 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	See, this is what I love about threads like this. You get so many different perspectives on albums. Someone may love it for X reason, another may hate it for Y reason and a third may shrug for Z reason, and all of them may be valid. Sometimes they set you thinking about how much you love/hate the album and whether it's justified, sometimes you just want to hit those who don't like it over the head with a lead pipe until they stop mov - I mean, engage in meaningful and frank discussion with those who don't like it till they stop mov - right, well, you know what I mean. It's good to read others' opinions on the work we love, and get different reactions. Now, where did I leave that lead pipe...? __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018