Classic Albums I have never heard

Chula Vista · 11-21-2014, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

One day you'll see the light my friend, and on that day I will buy you a bottle of your choice of whiskey and a hooker.

I'll pitch in.

Trollheart · 02-25-2015, 09:41 AM

Title: Wanted dread and alive
Artiste: Peter Tosh
Year: 1981
Chronological position: Third album
Previous experience of this artiste?: Zero
Why is this considered a classic? ?

My thoughts
One minute (or thereabouts in) ---- Good, great, bad, meh, still waiting or other? Meh
One track in --- Meh
Halfway through --- Meh
Finished --- Meh

Comments: I’ve never been one to give reggae much of a chance, feeling that a lot of it sounds the same, but it’s always good to open your mind a little and my experience with Bob Marley was not the ordeal I had expected, so let’s see how this goes. Well it’s a slow, dare I say boring, opening with the first track, belying its title “Coming in hot”, though the next track kicks it up with a bit more soul. Still not too interested though. “Reggaemylitis” is mildly funny but again it doesn’t engage me. There’s just very little energy in this so far I feel.

Yeah, while I don’t want to dismiss all reggae as the same, the complaint seems justified with this album. I’d be hard-pressed to single out one song from another. Maybe that’s not fair: maybe it’s just not engaging me enough --- or at all --- for me to care. All I can say at this point is that I’m sort of listening on auto-pilot and waiting for it to be over, which is never something I want to be in a position to have to do. But there it is. I couldn’t be less interested in this album if it was a Cryptopsy double live effort.

Ok, eventually something makes me sit up a little. “Rastafari is” has a really nice guitar solo and it’s a decent song, but we’re getting close to the end of the album by now. The last track is really nice, but again it’s a little too late at this point. Still, at least it ends the album well. Actually no, let’s be honest here: it drags on way too long and that flute is damn annoying.

Favourite track(s): Rastafari is, Fools die
Least favourite track(s): Nothing bad as such, just all very dreary and boring to me.

Final impression --- Hasn’t done much to change my mind about reggae, though I’m aware I know virtually nothing about it. May be a while before I give it another chance though.

Do I feel, at the end, A) I wish I had listened to this sooner
B) I'm sorry I bothered
C) I might end up liking this
D) Have to wait and see
E) Bit underwhelmed; was ok but a classic?
F) Definitely enjoyed it, but again would I consider it a classic?
G) Enjoyed this album just purely on its own merits
H) Glad I listened to it

A big B here and a

FRED HALE SR. · 02-25-2015, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Title: Wanted dread and alive
Artiste: Peter Tosh
Year: 1981
Chronological position: Third album
Previous experience of this artiste?: Zero
Why is this considered a classic? ?

My thoughts
One minute (or thereabouts in) ---- Good, great, bad, meh, still waiting or other? Meh
One track in --- Meh
Halfway through --- Meh
Finished --- Meh

Comments: I’ve never been one to give reggae much of a chance, feeling that a lot of it sounds the same, but it’s always good to open your mind a little and my experience with Bob Marley was not the ordeal I had expected, so let’s see how this goes. Well it’s a slow, dare I say boring, opening with the first track, belying its title “Coming in hot”, though the next track kicks it up with a bit more soul. Still not too interested though. “Reggaemylitis” is mildly funny but again it doesn’t engage me. There’s just very little energy in this so far I feel.

Yeah, while I don’t want to dismiss all reggae as the same, the complaint seems justified with this album. I’d be hard-pressed to single out one song from another. Maybe that’s not fair: maybe it’s just not engaging me enough --- or at all --- for me to care. All I can say at this point is that I’m sort of listening on auto-pilot and waiting for it to be over, which is never something I want to be in a position to have to do. But there it is. I couldn’t be less interested in this album if it was a Cryptopsy double live effort.

Ok, eventually something makes me sit up a little. “Rastafari is” has a really nice guitar solo and it’s a decent song, but we’re getting close to the end of the album by now. The last track is really nice, but again it’s a little too late at this point. Still, at least it ends the album well. Actually no, let’s be honest here: it drags on way too long and that flute is damn annoying.

Favourite track(s): Rastafari is, Fools die
Least favourite track(s): Nothing bad as such, just all very dreary and boring to me.

Final impression --- Hasn’t done much to change my mind about reggae, though I’m aware I know virtually nothing about it. May be a while before I give it another chance though.

Do I feel, at the end, A) I wish I had listened to this sooner
B) I'm sorry I bothered
C) I might end up liking this
D) Have to wait and see
E) Bit underwhelmed; was ok but a classic?
F) Definitely enjoyed it, but again would I consider it a classic?
G) Enjoyed this album just purely on its own merits
H) Glad I listened to it

A big B here and a

You may want to try Steel Pulse TH. They are a bit more accessible as Reggae goes. The rich vocals and great guitar work make it a treat. Just the right amount of horns and exceptional drum tracks. I've played them for people who don't ever stray into reggae and more often then not they appeal on a large scale.

**Goofle** · 11-21-2014, 05:33 PM

I'm pretty sure you wouldn't lose anything if you decided against listening to a few more prog/metal albums, and instead chose to give New Wave another few tries.

OccultHawk · 11-21-2014, 06:39 PM

I'll tell you what, someone with a Saint Coltrane avatar and a name taken from Beefheart, anything you recommend to me will get multiple listens until I get it.

Urban Hat€monger ? · 02-25-2015, 10:03 AM

I didn't know that was a classic album.
From what I've read of Peter Tosh (which is only a little when I went through a reggae phase a few months back) people look at the album as a kind of indifferent attempt at him getting mainstream recognition and that Legalize It was his most famous album and Equal Rights was his best.

Trollheart · 02-25-2015, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hat€monger ?

I didn't know that was a classic album.
From what I've read of Peter Tosh (which is only a little when I went through a reggae phase a few months back) people look at the album as a kind of indifferent attempt at him getting mainstream recognition and that Legalize It was his most famous album and Equal Rights was his best.

Yeah, I think someone here (could be Surell, maybe not) suggested it. It didn't come across in anything I've read either as a classic album, but there you go. Have to give him props for learning, apparently, how to play guitar by watching a guy and memorising where his fingers went on the frets. That's pretty damn old school. Pity this was so boring.

Trollheart · 02-25-2015, 11:54 AM

Title: Back in black
Artiste: AC/DC
Year: 1980
Chronological position: Seventh album
Previous experience of this artiste?: The singles, a few tracks and my little brother used to own If you want blood … you’ve got it which I hated for the gory album sleeve and never listened to.
Why is this considered a classic? After the death of lead singer Bon Scott it might have been expected the band would find it hard to continue, however with the previous album, 1979’s Highway to Hell breaking them commercially after their association with producer supremo Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who would go on to work similar magic with The Cars, Heart and Def Leppard in the eighties, AC/DC were on the cusp of greatness and so found a new vocalist. The rest is, apparently, history. Oh, and it’s the second-best selling album of all time? Find that one hard to believe, but there you go...

My thoughts
One minute (or thereabouts in) ---- Good, great, bad, meh, still waiting or other? Still waiting
One track in --- Good
Halfway through --- Good
Finished --- Good

Comments: As you’ll gather from the blurb above I have never been a fan of AC/DC. To my mind, their vocalists (either of them) screamed too much rather than sung, and I’ve always preferred my vocals with a little less histrionics. This, then, will be the first full album of theirs I’ve ever listened to. Have my decades of prejudice been justified, or has my intransigence blinded me to a band I should have checked out much sooner? Read on…

The semi-live feel as the album opens is a little confusing, as I don’t believe this could really be live. then there are Black Sabbath-style pealing bells before the opening track gets going. Trouble is, whenever I’ve heard Brian Johnson sing he’s always reminded me of Donald Duck, and here is no exception. Good rocker, but the music definitely swamps the vocal. I know “What do you do for money honey”, and I do quite like that track. It has a great hook in it and surely goes down great live. Looking into the lyrics though they’re very sexist and very limited, and that’s disappointing. I’m not exactly expecting songs about saving the whales here, but for every song to be about sexual prowess or ramroddin’ it is a little tiresome and verges into self-parody.

The title track has more faux-live feel about it, but I do like it and of course I know “You shook me all night long”, leaving us with three tracks to decide whether this album is worth it or not. Well I like the sort of bluesy feel to “Have a drink on me”, even if the lyric is no thing to shout about. Another one that surely goes down well live. “Shake a leg”’s good, but again nothing terribly different. There’s a definite sense of blues too about the closer, “Rock and roll ain’t noise pollution”, though it sounds like it’s partially based on some older song I know. Bit basic, but okay.
Favourite track(s): What do you do for money honey, Back in black, You shook me all night long, Have a drink on me
Least favourite track(s): Let me put my love into you, Given the dog a bone

Final impression --- If I had to choose one word to describe this album it would be “basic”. I hear nothing special here, nothing innovative and that may have been AC/DC and that’s fine if so, but like the Peter Tosh album just reviewed it has failed to make me think that maybe I should be checking these guys out.

Do I feel, at the end, A) I wish I had listened to this sooner
B) I'm sorry I bothered
C) I might end up liking this
D) Have to wait and see
E) Bit underwhelmed; was ok but a classic?
F) Definitely enjoyed it, but again would I consider it a classic?
G) Enjoyed this album just purely on its own merits
H) Glad I listened to it

Think this is an E

Urban Hat€monger ? · 02-25-2015, 11:36 AM

I love Steel Pulse's first album, I'd add Forces Of Victory by Linton Kwesi Johnson to that rec too.
I was blown away by that album and I didn't even like reggae at the time.

Trollheart · 02-25-2015, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hat€monger ?

I love Steel Pulse's first album, I'd add Forces Of Victory by Linton Kwesi Johnson to that rec too.
I was blown away by that album and I didn't even like reggae at the time.

I may consider that, but I won't be going back to reggae for a while. I'm just all Star Trekked out at the moment so wanted to get back to doing something a little different, hence the resurrection of this perhaps-thought-dead journal...

02-25-2015, 09:41 AM	#2 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Title: Wanted dread and alive Artiste: Peter Tosh Year: 1981 Chronological position: Third album Previous experience of this artiste?: Zero Why is this considered a classic? ? My thoughts One minute (or thereabouts in) ---- Good, great, bad, meh, still waiting or other? Meh One track in --- Meh Halfway through --- Meh Finished --- Meh Comments: I’ve never been one to give reggae much of a chance, feeling that a lot of it sounds the same, but it’s always good to open your mind a little and my experience with Bob Marley was not the ordeal I had expected, so let’s see how this goes. Well it’s a slow, dare I say boring, opening with the first track, belying its title “Coming in hot”, though the next track kicks it up with a bit more soul. Still not too interested though. “Reggaemylitis” is mildly funny but again it doesn’t engage me. There’s just very little energy in this so far I feel. Yeah, while I don’t want to dismiss all reggae as the same, the complaint seems justified with this album. I’d be hard-pressed to single out one song from another. Maybe that’s not fair: maybe it’s just not engaging me enough --- or at all --- for me to care. All I can say at this point is that I’m sort of listening on auto-pilot and waiting for it to be over, which is never something I want to be in a position to have to do. But there it is. I couldn’t be less interested in this album if it was a Cryptopsy double live effort. Ok, eventually something makes me sit up a little. “Rastafari is” has a really nice guitar solo and it’s a decent song, but we’re getting close to the end of the album by now. The last track is really nice, but again it’s a little too late at this point. Still, at least it ends the album well. Actually no, let’s be honest here: it drags on way too long and that flute is damn annoying. Favourite track(s): Rastafari is, Fools die Least favourite track(s): Nothing bad as such, just all very dreary and boring to me. Final impression --- Hasn’t done much to change my mind about reggae, though I’m aware I know virtually nothing about it. May be a while before I give it another chance though. Do I feel, at the end, A) I wish I had listened to this sooner B) I'm sorry I bothered C) I might end up liking this D) Have to wait and see E) Bit underwhelmed; was ok but a classic? F) Definitely enjoyed it, but again would I consider it a classic? G) Enjoyed this album just purely on its own merits H) Glad I listened to it A big B here and a __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

02-25-2015, 10:03 AM	#6 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,626	I didn't know that was a classic album. From what I've read of Peter Tosh (which is only a little when I went through a reggae phase a few months back) people look at the album as a kind of indifferent attempt at him getting mainstream recognition and that Legalize It was his most famous album and Equal Rights was his best. __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.

02-25-2015, 11:54 AM	#8 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Title: Back in black Artiste: AC/DC Year: 1980 Chronological position: Seventh album Previous experience of this artiste?: The singles, a few tracks and my little brother used to own If you want blood … you’ve got it which I hated for the gory album sleeve and never listened to. Why is this considered a classic? After the death of lead singer Bon Scott it might have been expected the band would find it hard to continue, however with the previous album, 1979’s Highway to Hell breaking them commercially after their association with producer supremo Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who would go on to work similar magic with The Cars, Heart and Def Leppard in the eighties, AC/DC were on the cusp of greatness and so found a new vocalist. The rest is, apparently, history. Oh, and it’s the second-best selling album of all time? Find that one hard to believe, but there you go... My thoughts One minute (or thereabouts in) ---- Good, great, bad, meh, still waiting or other? Still waiting One track in --- Good Halfway through --- Good Finished --- Good Comments: As you’ll gather from the blurb above I have never been a fan of AC/DC. To my mind, their vocalists (either of them) screamed too much rather than sung, and I’ve always preferred my vocals with a little less histrionics. This, then, will be the first full album of theirs I’ve ever listened to. Have my decades of prejudice been justified, or has my intransigence blinded me to a band I should have checked out much sooner? Read on… The semi-live feel as the album opens is a little confusing, as I don’t believe this could really be live. then there are Black Sabbath-style pealing bells before the opening track gets going. Trouble is, whenever I’ve heard Brian Johnson sing he’s always reminded me of Donald Duck, and here is no exception. Good rocker, but the music definitely swamps the vocal. I know “What do you do for money honey”, and I do quite like that track. It has a great hook in it and surely goes down great live. Looking into the lyrics though they’re very sexist and very limited, and that’s disappointing. I’m not exactly expecting songs about saving the whales here, but for every song to be about sexual prowess or ramroddin’ it is a little tiresome and verges into self-parody. The title track has more faux-live feel about it, but I do like it and of course I know “You shook me all night long”, leaving us with three tracks to decide whether this album is worth it or not. Well I like the sort of bluesy feel to “Have a drink on me”, even if the lyric is no thing to shout about. Another one that surely goes down well live. “Shake a leg”’s good, but again nothing terribly different. There’s a definite sense of blues too about the closer, “Rock and roll ain’t noise pollution”, though it sounds like it’s partially based on some older song I know. Bit basic, but okay. Favourite track(s): What do you do for money honey, Back in black, You shook me all night long, Have a drink on me Least favourite track(s): Let me put my love into you, Given the dog a bone Final impression --- If I had to choose one word to describe this album it would be “basic”. I hear nothing special here, nothing innovative and that may have been AC/DC and that’s fine if so, but like the Peter Tosh album just reviewed it has failed to make me think that maybe I should be checking these guys out. Do I feel, at the end, A) I wish I had listened to this sooner B) I'm sorry I bothered C) I might end up liking this D) Have to wait and see E) Bit underwhelmed; was ok but a classic? F) Definitely enjoyed it, but again would I consider it a classic? G) Enjoyed this album just purely on its own merits H) Glad I listened to it Think this is an E __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

02-25-2015, 11:36 AM	#9 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,626	I love Steel Pulse's first album, I'd add Forces Of Victory by Linton Kwesi Johnson to that rec too. I was blown away by that album and I didn't even like reggae at the time. __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.

11-21-2014, 06:39 PM	#5 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	I'll tell you what, someone with a Saint Coltrane avatar and a name taken from Beefheart, anything you recommend to me will get multiple listens until I get it.