|
Post by kds on Aug 17, 2021 15:27:37 GMT
N's a pretty tough one.
Much to the chagrin of Beavis and Butthead, I'm picking Nelson, and their After the Rain (1990) album. From the sons of Ricky Nelson, this album is full of good melodies and harmonies, and often gets tossed in the dust bin of late era "hair bands." Nelson are still around today, but lately mostly tour doing tribute shows to their father.
Second pick, Nightwish. The symphonic metal band had their breakthrough in the States with their 2004 album, Once. They feature operatic female vocals with heavy verges, and memorable big choruses. To be honest, I've not really kept up with them, especially since they've been through a couple singer changes.
|
|
|
Post by jk on Aug 17, 2021 16:06:58 GMT
My two for N have the same surname when spoken:
1) Gary Numan, who has got me through some less than enthralling times in the past. As for an album, I'll pick Replicas, as it was the first of his (as one-third of Tubeway Army) that I bought (on vinyl).
2) John Newman, another fascinating figure. He recorded his splendid album Tribute in the wake of a messy breakup. Albums about loss have always intrigued me.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2021 2:47:53 GMT
Artist: The Monkees - Come on, they released some great music! All kind of different styles. Four lead singers. Hit singles. Album tracks. And a fun TV show to boot. Should be in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, too.
Songs: My favorites? Valleri, Daydream Believer, The Porpoise Song, Words, and I Wanna Be Free.
The Monkees are a mixed bag for me. For the most part I really like them, but some of their overplayed hits....well, kinda bore me. Last Train to Clarksville, Daydream Believer, and I'm a Believer are all songs that I don't need to go out of my way to hear any time soon. But Valleri rocks, I'm Not Your Stepping Stone really has some teeth, and some of the deeper stuff, such as A Little Bit You A Little Bit Me, Mary Mary, and What Am I Doing Hangin' Round are some very very good tunes.
|
|
|
Post by jk on Aug 18, 2021 11:06:25 GMT
Can't leave out the Big O, now can we? Is "Running Scared" Roy Orbison's finest hour? O also stands for Oceanlab and their UK top twenty hit "Satellite", here in the Seven Lions remix:
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 18, 2021 11:27:53 GMT
I'm late with N...
Artist: Ricky or Rick Nelson - He served very well during the period of time between Elvis, Chuck, Jerry Lee, and Little Richard and...1963. I especially love his rocking/rockabilly sound with James Burton on lead guitar. Tragically, Rick passed away in an airplane crash on New Year's Eve in 1985.
Songs: Hello Mary Lou, Stood Up, I'm Walkin', It's Late, Lonesome Town, and Be-Bop Baby.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Aug 18, 2021 13:15:24 GMT
Struggling on O. I can't think of any that I really love beyond my first round answer (Of Montreal).
I'm going with Okkervil River, a current band that had several really good albums in the mid-late 00s (The Stage Names and The Stand-Ins, in particular). They also served as the late, legendary Roky Erickson's backing band for one album in 2010. Named for a short story by Tatyana Tolstaya and having songs about subjects such as the late poet John Berryman's suicide, their leader Will Sheff has always had a literate approach to songwriting. At their best, they are also sweeping and anthemic, like some kind of indie Springsteens.
Here is the closing number to 2007's The Stage Names, about the aforementioned Berryman (a lauded poet and professor who lept to his death from the Washington Ave bridge on the U of Minnesota campus in 1972). About two-and-a-half minutes in, you'll note a familiar tune come through.
|
|
|
Post by kds on Aug 18, 2021 14:54:24 GMT
O
Ozzy Osbourne - Commercially, he eclipsed Black Sabbath. Artistically? Probably not, but he had a hell of a run in the 80s into the 90s. I think the best of his solo album is Diary of a Madman, the second and final album featuring Randy Rhoads on guitar. The early 80s must've been some time to be a Sabbath fan. Sabbath puts out two stellar albums with Ronnie James Dio, then Ozzy releases two classics on his own.
Second pick - Uh, Overkill I guess.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 19, 2021 0:36:12 GMT
Artist: Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Songs: I only know two, but they were pretty good - "If You Wanna Get To Heaven" (1974) and "Jackie Blue" (1975).
|
|
|
Post by kds on Aug 19, 2021 12:24:52 GMT
P
No brainer. Pink Floyd. I'll go with The Wall, which is the album that got me hooked on the band, and I was borderline obsessed with it in 1996 and most of 1997. It was a major thrill to see Roger Waters perform it in full in 2010.
My back up will be another critical darling - Poison. I'll have to go with their debut Look What the Cat Dragged In. Just full of fun mid 80s rock.
|
|
|
Post by jk on Aug 19, 2021 12:53:15 GMT
Two singles again: "Matchbox" by Carl Perkins and "In The Midnight Hour" by Wilson Pickett.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Aug 19, 2021 18:56:39 GMT
I'll give a couple of Ps today, one a big name and one a newer discovery.
Paul Simon might be one of the music superstars I most take for granted. I love his music. I've always loved his music, just as long as I've known it (which is my entire life to some degree, my parents having had some Simon & Garfunkel around the house), and yet somehow I manage to forget about him with disturbing regularity. Maybe he's just too unassuming, I don't know. But whether it's those early S&G songs, the solo hits including what I continue to believe is his masterpiece, Graceland, or his lower profile, late-career music, there is very little that I dislike, and plenty that I love. Great musician, great voice, great songwriter.
Parquet Courts are an almost punk-like or garage rock sort of contemporary band out of New York. I think it was around 2015 that I first heard of them, and I guess the lack of guitar-oriented rock music helped them stand out. One thinks of Lou Reed, the Velvet Underground, the Modern Lovers, but also of Devo and occasionally even the Mothers of Invention. The lyrics are often very good, even if their leftist politics aren't quite my bag. Here is "One Man, No City" from their 2016 album Human Performance.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 19, 2021 20:41:42 GMT
Artist: Pearl Jam - Converted by my niece, I'm a fan. They are great musicians and a great band. I have a lot of respect for Eddie Vedder.
Songs: Nothingman, Jeremy, Better Man, Black, Corduroy, Even Flow, Wish List, and their live versions of Rockin' In The Free World.
|
|
|
Post by jk on Aug 19, 2021 21:07:15 GMT
I'll give a couple of Ps today, one a big name and one a newer discovery.
Paul Simon might be one of the music superstars I most take for granted. I love his music. I've always loved his music, just as long as I've known it (which is my entire life to some degree, my parents having had some Simon & Garfunkel around the house), and yet somehow I manage to forget about him with disturbing regularity. Maybe he's just too unassuming, I don't know. But whether it's those early S&G songs, the solo hits including what I continue to believe is his masterpiece, Graceland, or his lower profile, late-career music, there is very little that I dislike, and plenty that I love. Great musician, great voice, great songwriter.
Parquet Courts are an almost punk-like or garage rock sort of contemporary band out of New York. I think it was around 2015 that I first heard of them, and I guess the lack of guitar-oriented rock music helped them stand out. One thinks of Lou Reed, the Velvet Underground, the Modern Lovers, but also of Devo and occasionally even the Mothers of Invention. The lyrics are often very good, even if their leftist politics aren't quite my bag. Here is "One Man, No City" from their 2016 album Human Performance.
Paul has been in my life, admittedly on and off, since I was 17. I get what you're saying, Cap'n. My favourite solo song of his? It has to be "Peace Like A River": As for Parquet Courts, I remember undercover_m (Mari) singing their praises at Smiley years ago. I also remember being impressed at the time...
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Aug 19, 2021 21:15:07 GMT
As for Parquet Courts, I remember undercover_m (Mari) singing their praises at Smiley years ago. I also remember being impressed at the time... That's most likely how I heard of them, though I can't recall for sure.
|
|
|
Post by jk on Aug 20, 2021 9:54:04 GMT
There'll never be a queue for Q...
This time I'll go for Sutherland Brothers & Quiver and their 1976 UK #5 single "Arms Of Mary":
|
|