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Post by kds on Mar 6, 2020 17:28:00 GMT
After going through the catalogs of Queen and Pink Floyd, I decided a while ago to dedicate a thread to random albums I love. Here is the first. Feel free to chime in at any time, about any album.
David Gilmour - On an Island (2006)
Released in 2006 on his 60th Birthday (in the UK at least, the US release was on March 7). This album was exciting to me because it was the first Floyd related LP that I experienced in real time. It also happened to be released during a tough time for me. I was 25, and trying to figure out what to do with my life after leaving a job in radio. After a very cold winter, this mellow album was very soothing.
The album features plenty of signature Gilmour Floyd-esque flourishes. Great solos and vocals throughout. The title track features Richard Wright on organ and harmonies from Graham Nash and David Crosby. I dare say the vocal harmonies on the title track and the vocals on the mostly piano driven ballad A Pocketful of Stones are some of the best vocals you'll find in the entire Pink Floyd universe. The later song might be my pick for favorite Gilmour non Floyd song. The simple piano arrangement capped with a guitar solo is goosebump inducing.
As I said, it's a very mellow album. The lone exception might be Take a Breath, which does feature some stray power chords, and a bit of an uptempo almost shuffle.
Other highlights include The Blue, which is somewhat Holland esque, featuring Gilmour and Wright on vocals. Smile is an acoustic ballad Gilmour had written a few years prior. Robert Wyatt guests on the serene instrumental Then I Close My Eyes. Where We Start closes the album in introspective fashion.
There's not much competition, but I think this is easily Gilmour's best solo effort, and probably the best Floyd solo album as a whole.
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Post by jk on Mar 7, 2020 10:48:34 GMT
This new topic hasn't gone unnoticed! I'll get back to it soon.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
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Post by bellbottoms on Mar 7, 2020 15:27:57 GMT
I’m really enjoying On An Island, it’s a really nice album - mellow but still interesting and atmospheric. It’s kind of ironic that the only upbeat song is titled Take A Breath, I would have anticipated it to be as relaxed as the other songs, with that title. But it’s actually a standout for me, really great song.
Gilmour’s solo style doesn’t seem to be much of a departure from his Pink Floyd contributions. There isn't a bad song on the album, but A Pocketful of Stones is really stunning. Even though all of the songs have their Floydian qualities, it sounds the most like it would be right at home on a Pink Floyd album.
I'll put it here, because it's so good.
Thanks for so cleverly positioning this song (and album) in the Pink Floyd thread, kds.
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Post by kds on Mar 8, 2020 1:24:23 GMT
I think Gilmour tried to do less Floyd pastiches on his previous two solo albums, most likely since Floyd was still active then.
By the time he began work on On an Island, that was no longer the case.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Mar 8, 2020 15:48:28 GMT
I think Gilmour tried to do less Floyd pastiches on his previous two solo albums, most likely since Floyd was still active then. By the time he began work on On an Island, that was no longer the case. That makes sense. It’s an interesting dilemma that artists face when they take on a solo career. Differentiate themselves from the sound they’re known for in their band, or retain it and capitalize on it. I haven’t heard Gilmour’s other solo efforts yet, so I can’t compare. I think fans generally hope that the solo albums will have at least some elements of what they loved about the band they were in. But as long as the music is good, it shouldn’t really matter either way.
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Post by kds on Mar 8, 2020 17:32:10 GMT
I think Gilmour tried to do less Floyd pastiches on his previous two solo albums, most likely since Floyd was still active then. By the time he began work on On an Island, that was no longer the case. That makes sense. It’s an interesting dilemma that artists face when they take on a solo career. Differentiate themselves from the sound they’re known for in their band, or retain it and capitalize on it. I haven’t heard Gilmour’s other solo efforts yet, so I can’t compare. I think fans generally hope that the solo albums will have at least some elements of what they loved about the band they were in. But as long as the music is good, it shouldn’t really matter either way. I think Gilmour's playing and voice are so distinct, it would be nearly impossible to really differentiate himself from Floyd too much. And, he definitely uses it to his advantage. His recent solo releases, including On an Island, had a sticker on them that said "The guitar and voice of Pink Floyd."
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 15, 2020 19:31:16 GMT
I've been listening to this one this afternoon, a 2015 album I wrote about at that time on a previous board. What I wrote then still holds, so I've just pasted it below.
I realize that a rock album about professional wrestling isn't appealing on its face. But give this one a try. It's a pretty amazing work.
Beat the Champ, by the Mountain Goats Every room held a handful of names over the years: the place peaked at seven people before letting them go one at a time until it was left with two. But when it was the rec room, that room downstairs and to the left, so easily and often converted into a wrestling ring, the squared circle, that's when I liked it best.
The beat-up sofa along the near wall was the middle and top ropes from which our acrobatic tag team moves obliterated the opponent, a snowmobile suit stuffed with clothes, a large teddy bear's head popping out of the collar.
Had we performed such olympian feats thirty years later, evidence to disprove our prowess would be online for anyone's reference. Because we didn't own so much as a VHS camcorder, you'll have to take my word for it.
Our roles varied dramatically; our loyalties were divided. While firmly in AWA territory, by this time the WWF was rising to dominance and Ted Turner brought us the South on standard cable. One match we were the Road Warriors, the next day the Midnight Express … or the Rock and Roll Express. The Powers of Pain. Some pair of the Four Horsemen or a couple of Von Erichs. Personal favorites Superfly Snuka and the Tonga Kid.
What mattered most was diving from those "ropes," graceful and powerful as we saw us, perfectly executing crippling tag-team maneuvers, sometimes literally tearing the head off the poor dummy trying his best to stand in for a British Bulldog, Roddy Piper, or Paul Orndorff.
The stories we enacted, however predictable as they were recycled yet again, well, they were good stories. It wasn't much different from the ones at the church I fled to catch All-Star Wrestling (AWA) or All American Wrestling (WWF). And besides, there was always (in both cases) that small voice asking, "what if it is real?" So I dug in. Just as I can recite basketball players from decades long gone or liner notes from late '80s pop metal cassettes, in those days I was a wrestling encyclopedia. AWA, NWA, WCW, WWF, Mid-South, if it was regularly televised in Minnesota, I absorbed it. I bought magazines. I followed story lines. And I created my own, playing out elaborate tournaments either in the rec room or with GI Joe action figures--not dolls!--in the ring my dad made of plywood and felt, ribbon for ropes.
Wrestling rings, whether on TV filled with professionals or in the rec room filled with brothers and a stuffed snowmobile suit, were a relatively safe place to explore the epic struggles between good and evil, the blurred lines between them, the circumstances that dictate one's place in history. And that kind of exuberance they make possible, I'm not sure you know that kind of exuberance.
I could have told you that the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle knows it: anyone who has witnessed him live--and it feels like some sort of religious witness as he smiles even delivering disturbing lyrics of broken homes--could have told you. But I didn't know he knew it with respect to pro wrestling until he announced his new album, Beat the Champ. While I didn't know, I wasn't surprised. It was easy to imagine Darnielle in my role, only earlier and in the southwest rather than the midwest. A different cast of heroes and heels, but the same stories. Swap out Zeus for Jupiter, Hermes for Mercury.
Where we part company is that I'm the sort of hack who lacks the creativity or empathy to do anything but treat himself as his favorite subject. Darnielle has mined that territory well, too: in "The Legend of Chavo Guerrero" he sings of finding Guerrero as the strong, just role model he lacked in his own young life. But elsewhere Darnielle's protagonists are the wrestlers themselves.
"I personally will stab you in the eye with a foreign object," Darnielle the heel sings over low saxes in "Foreign Object." "Sink my teeth into your scalp, take a nice big bite. Save nothing for the cameras, play the angles all night." The singer has "learned to love this kind of atmosphere," found purpose and even delight in his role--the role of cheater, booed nightly by, well, everyone.
"Heel Turn 2" comes from a former hero turned heel who knows he isn't going to earn your child's love. He celebrates the fact. "Let all the trash rain down from way up in the rafters. I'm walking out of here in one piece, don't care what comes after. Drive the wedge, torch the bridge." It's not so far from the fuck it, burn-it-down mentality of Tallahassee's "No Children." But the drive of the guitar, bass, and drums fade into a solo piano, echo laden, ruminating here and there on the verse's melody. What have I gotten myself into? And how will I get out? "I don't want to die in here."
The album often sounds a lot like the albums the Mountain Goats have been releasing almost every year since joining 4AD more than a decade ago. (So much for the label's output representing "the new albums."). But if the core remains the acoustic rock trio or piano ballad, Beat the Champ takes enough liberties to keep one's attention. It subtly steps out: soft organs behind the Craig Finn-like sing-speak of "Stabbed to Death Outside San Juan;" the baritone wind section driving "Foreign Object;" the jazzy changes from the piano trio of "Fire Editorial;" the double-kick drum of "Werewolf Gimmick;" or the rare background vocals of "Luna."
For its variety, the album lacks an obvious musical centerpiece. "The Legend of Chavo Guerrero" may be the closest thing, but there is no "No Children," no "This Year," not even a "Heretic Pride." (Then again, was there a "No Children" on Tallahassee on the first few listens? [Probably. It is pretty damn catchy…])
No matter. As always, Darnielle's vocabulary and wit are his strengths. Moon in June is again not uttered. What is, is "two hundred dollar take-all purse / half-nelson to suplex, reverse / worried look on face of the ringside nurse," in "Choked Out." But the wrestling theme, it isn't a joke. Darnielle explores the people watching … and the people wrestling. "Southwestern Territory," the beautiful opener that features harmonizing, fluttering clarinets complementing the piano-based instrumentation, is anything but schtick:
"Flew home from Texas last night, slept on the flight. Worked like a dog all day, born to chase cars away. Die on the road someday. I try to remember what life was like long ago, but it's gone, you know? Climb the turnbuckle high. Take two falls out of three. Black out for local TV."
Beat the Champ wasn't written for kids like I was thirty years ago. Wrestling itself was written for me then. Beat the Champ was written for people who made it possible to be a kid like I was thirty years ago. For people I would thank if John Darnielle hadn't done so better than I ever could.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Mar 16, 2020 12:55:40 GMT
One thing about working from home is that now I don't have my commute to and from work to check out recommendations and posts on this board, as I typically do. I'll have to make some time to give this a listen later... perhaps on my "lunch break", heh heh.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Mar 22, 2020 20:42:30 GMT
Oops, I meant to get back here sooner and say that I'm really enjoying The Mountain Goat's Beat the Champ! It's very different from what I expected. Fantastic music, and you don't have to be a wrestling fan to appreciate it! Even though I've never gotten into wrestling, I do remember watching WWF with my Dad when I was a kid, so the world isn't completely unfamiliar to me. And the lyrics are even oddly relatable from outside the wrestling perspective. Musically, it blew me away, too. A nice mix of rocking tunes balanced with beautiful, emotional soundscapes. I love it and have been recommending it to friends. A unique and special album for sure!
Plus, I went down the Mountain Goats rabbit hole a little bit and was not disappointed in their other stuff as well. Such a good band!
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 22, 2020 21:02:25 GMT
Glad you've enjoyed! I think (their primary songwriter) John Darnielle is a really talented lyricist, and underrated melodist.
If you haven't yet, I really recommend you check out Tallahassee.
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Post by kds on Mar 24, 2020 12:57:55 GMT
The Darkness - Permission to Land (2003)
The early 2000s was a pretty dire time for new rock music, hard rock in particular. The late 90s saw the rise of the grunge lite movement, started with Creed. Similar paint by numbers bands were all over active rock radio in the early 00s from Nickleback, Three Doors Down, Tantric, etc etc. Nu metal was still going strong for some reason. The alternative was the growing indie rock movement, which (sorry Kap) was the musical equivalent of paint drying. Even Metallica couldn't save the day. Their first album in six years was an underproduced nightmare with no lead guitar work. Bottom line, rock music was boring, and no fun.
In late 2003, I was working in promotions at an active rock station, so I got to hear the rock of the day all the time, and it sucked. But, one day, I went in, and by boss summoned me to his disk to play a video he'd just discovered. When he said it was a new UK band, I was expected another band along the line of The Strokes. I couldn't have been more wrong. The song was called Get Your Hands Off My Woman, and featured an over the top singer with a crazy falsetto. As we watched, I realized that the backing track kicked ass, and the song had a strong melody. After the second chorus, it also featured something that had been missing from rock - a guitar solo.
We watched the two other videos on the band's site - Growing on Me and I Believe in a Thing Called Love. This is just the kind of music missing from 2003 rock. The band was called The Darkness.
Our program director was able to reach out to the band's label, and we got promo copies of their debut album - Permission to Land. We became the first station in the United States to add their music on the playlist. The band was so appreciative, they actually visited the station.
The album is ten songs of pomp rock, with over the top Queen vocals and thin guitar leads inspired by Thin Lizzy all with an English sense of fun and humor. Many people didn't know what to make of these guys. Were they a joke, taking the piss out of classic rock? Were they an antidote to the shit rock that had been polluting the airwaves? Some embraced them while others trashed them. But, The Darkness got a reaction.
From the opening AC/DC esque Black Shuck to the power ballad closer Holding My Own, the 2000s hadn't had an album like this.
The Darkness have proven that they weren't simply a joke band. They've released six albums since, and still have a loyal following, even if the US still regards them as a novelty act. For my money, they were never better than on that 2003 debut album.
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Post by jk on Mar 24, 2020 13:46:50 GMT
I remember them vaguely from Top of the Pops. I have the album lined up for late night/early morning listening.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 24, 2020 15:38:08 GMT
KDS, every time you've posted about the Darkness over the years, I've meant to listen. Later. Always later. Well I guess being stuck at home has its positive side, because I put on Permission to Land on Spotify while I'm working. I'm about halfway through it.
I certainly see why it was a breath of fresh air for you in the early to mid 00s, because there just wasn't much of this kind of music around at the time--at least not that I was aware of.
It's good for what it is. For me, it doesn't rise near the top of that genre so much as stand out compared to what else was going on at that time. So if I wanted to listen to this kind of music, I'd still go back to the classics of the genre. But it's great they made (and are making) a go of it, keeping this sort of theatrical, campy, larger-than-life hard rock music alive.
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Post by kds on Mar 24, 2020 15:43:05 GMT
KDS, every time you've posted about the Darkness over the years, I've meant to listen. Later. Always later. Well I guess being stuck at home has its positive side, because I put on Permission to Land on Spotify while I'm working. I'm about halfway through it.
I certainly see why it was a breath of fresh air for you in the early to mid 00s, because there just wasn't much of this kind of music around at the time--at least not that I was aware of.
It's good for what it is. For me, it doesn't rise near the top of that genre so much as stand out compared to what else was going on at that time. So if I wanted to listen to this kind of music, I'd still go back to the classics of the genre. But it's great they made (and are making) a go of it, keeping this sort of theatrical, campy, larger-than-life hard rock music alive.
I was hoping back then that the success of The Darkness might lead to a return of this kind of music, but it wasn't to be. I was actually wondering myself if I loved PTL so much because of the time in which it was released, but almost 17 years later (Good Lord), I still think those songs hold up very well.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 24, 2020 15:44:33 GMT
So far, my favorite track of the album is the one I'm on: Friday Night. A little less over the top (he says as the Brian May-esque harmonized guitar solo begins), just a cool rock-and-roll song that would have fit in perfectly in the early '70s glam world.
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