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Post by Kapitan on Nov 10, 2021 12:34:32 GMT
Another one I enjoyed in 2006 was from semi-local band The Hold Steady, begun in Minneapolis but long-since decamped to Brooklyn. This band formed in 2003 out of the ashes of the local group Lifter Puller, and I have to say I wasn't a fan of either. But when I heard this song, I was not fully converted, but a fan of this song. (Slowly I grew to like more of their music, but far from all of it.)
"Stuck Between Stations" is almost like a heavy Springsteen song, loaded with the typical sorts of lyrics Craig Finn often uses: stories about a set of recurring characters, party kids stumbling through life in Minneapolis, often with literary and Catholic references and overtones. This one also incorporates references to John Berryman, a lauded poet who killed himself by jumping off the Washington Ave. bridge near the U of Minnesota, where he taught at the time. (The same event was covered in Okkervil River's 2007 song "John Allyn Smith Sails.")
Here is the video for "Stuck Between Stations."
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Post by kds on Nov 10, 2021 14:40:48 GMT
I just realized Tom Petty released an album in 2006 - Highway Companion.
Unfortunately, that was pretty much where I checked out on new music from Petty, and after the Petty thread when I went and listened to some of those albums, I don't think I was missing much.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 15, 2021 18:58:03 GMT
jk mentioned it in passing, but before we proceed from 2006, I think Amy Winehouse's Back to Black warrants a little more attention.
The album, produced by now-superstar producer Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, felt in many ways like a vintage soul or pop record, though it also incorporated modern RnB sounds. The tracks with Ronson featured the late Sharon Jones's band the Dap Kings, often recording live in the same room to get a classic sound. Those done with Remi used a more modern approach, with him and others layering instruments individually.
Winehouse wrote seven of the album's 11 songs herself, cowriting the other four. Worldwide it has sold more than 16 million copies, and it topped the UK charts and nearly did so in the US, landing at #2. It spawned five singles, all of which were top 40 hits in the UK and two were Top 10. (In the US, "Rehab" hit #9 but no other singles made the Top 40.)
Of course, Winehouse struggled with addiction issues and died in 2011.
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Post by kds on Nov 15, 2021 20:33:14 GMT
I'm not sure how I forgot, but my favorite album from Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society - Shot to Hell - was released in 2006. I think, more than any of the albums from BLS, this album perfectly blends Zakk's heavier side and his more mellow music.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 15, 2021 22:28:13 GMT
In 2006, while doing music reviews for a little site that is long gone, I got a particular CD in the mail. It was from a band I hadn't heard of (though right around the same time I got a solo CD from one of its members), and I didn't know what to expect. I'd guess 80% of what I got was absolute shit, and I didn't care for the cover art.
But I loved the first song. And the second. Third. And so on. No, it isn't the perfect album, but Herman Dune's Giant is still one of my maybe 20 favorite albums of all time. It was recorded mostly live in the studio by this tiny little band (really just a trio) supplemented by horns, a guitarist, a few other musicians, and even female background singers. It's quirky. It's diverse, thanks to the two songwriters' (David Ivar and Andre) different styles. I just adore this album.
Here is one song from each of them.
David Ivar:
Andre:
Whole album on Spotify:
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 16, 2021 0:11:17 GMT
Oooh, one more before we proceed. Around that same time, also thanks to the aforementioned reviewing gig, I was introduced to an Austin, Texas-based band named Voxtrot. Their debut EP was from '05, but shortly thereafter (in '06) I got their second EP, Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives.
Loved both EPs. A lot. In fact, put them together and it's a really strong album, as opposed to their actual debut album that followed in 2007, which I didn't much like at all.
Here is "Fast Asleep" from that 2006 EP.
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Post by jk on Nov 16, 2021 18:44:48 GMT
Oooh, one more before we proceed. Around that same time, also thanks to the aforementioned reviewing gig, I was introduced to an Austin, Texas-based band named Voxtrot. Their debut EP was from '05, but shortly thereafter (in '06) I got their second EP, Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives.
Loved both EPs. A lot. In fact, put them together and it's a really strong album, as opposed to their actual debut album that followed in 2007, which I didn't much like at all.
Here is "Fast Asleep" from that 2006 EP.
I gave Herman Dune a try, Cap'n, but like Iron & Wine and Cotton Mather it just didn't register. Voxtrot, by contrast... it was you who mentioned them first, on Smiley, and I'm sure I checked them out at the time. I do like this track anyway.
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Post by kds on Nov 17, 2021 13:49:15 GMT
Here is new year, the dawn of a new decade - 1980
The first album released in the new decade was Rush’s Permanent Waves. This kickstarted arguably the pinnacle year for hard rock and heavy metal, or just “heavy rock” for short. Now, Rush always walked the line between hard rock and prog. But, like many bands that came from the 1970s, 1980 saw them streamline their sound a bit (and some began in 1978 or 1979). With the rise of punk, AOR, new wave, and the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) in the late 70s, it seemed that fans were less interested in longer songs, so bands like Rush began filling albums with shorter songs rather than album side epics.
Genesis was another group that followed this trend. In 1980, they released Duke, which contained the hit Misunderstanding. Genesis, and Phil Collins, were on the path to be megastars in the new decade.
As I mentioned, 1980 was a pinnacle year for heavy rock, both with new acts and the “old guard.” Judas Priest and Scorpions were among the bands who made their songs a little more accessible in the face of NWOBHM and the rise of a certain hard rock band from California who perfected short, punchy hard rock songs (more on them in a moment). Judas Priest released their most enduring album – British Steel – which includes metal staples like Metal Gods, Living After Midnight, and Breaking the Law. Scorpions released Animal Magnetism. What about metal’s originators? Black Sabbath were seen as dinosaurs by the end of the 80s, so they reinvented themselves in 1980 with a new singer – Ronnie James Dio – and released the classic album Heaven and Hell. Not to be outdone, the singer they fired – Ozzy Osbourne – released his own classic album – Blizzard of Ozz. Speaking of hard rock bands with new singers – AC/DC released the high selling hard rock album in history with Back in Black, their first album with Brian Johnson replacing the recently deceased Bon Scott. Some of the “old guard” didn’t release any new music in 1980. Led Zeppelin lost John Bonham, and called it a career. The Who were working on their first post Keith Moon album, album Pete Townshend’s Empty Glass is a fine solo album. Deep Purple were broken up, but Whitesnake, featuring David Coverdale, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice, released Ready an’ Willing, probably the best album from the early incarnation of Whitesnake.
The year also saw the debut studio albums from the two biggest bands from the NWOBHM movement – Def Leppard and Iron Maiden. Each band would undergo some changes on the way to their prime years, but the debut albums are both very good. Def Lep’s On Through the Night is probably their heaviest album, but still offers hints of their eventual pop rock dominance on songs like Hello America. Iron Maiden’s self-titled debut featured some rough production, but great songs.
There’s also that fresh band from CA I mentioned – Van Halen. They released their third album in three years – Women and Children First – and showed no signs of slowing down. Other significant heavy rock releases from 1980 include Motorhead’s Ace of Spades, Saxon’s Wheels of Steel & Strong Arm of the Law, Michael Schenker Group’s self-titled debut, Thin Lizzy’s Chinatown, Kiss’s Unmasked, and Blue Oyster Cult’s Cultosaurus Erectus.
But, 1980 wasn’t all about heavy rock. Queen, who probably weren’t really hard rock anymore by 1980, released a great album in The Game. Billy Joel released Glass Houses. Bruce Springsteen released the double album – The River.
On the more new wavey front, U2 released their debut Boy. The Police released Zenyatta Mondatta, another really solid album by them. The Cars released Panorama.
I mentioned AOR earlier. Journey released their third album with Steve Perry – Departure. REO Speedwagon released Hi Infidelity.
Some bands who didn’t release albums made some noise on the concert stage. Rainbow, fresh off the success of 1979’s Down to Earth, headlined the Reading Festival. Pink Floyd launched one of the most ambitious tours in rock history when they promoted the 1979 album The Wall. The Beach Boys, who released the lackluster KTSA album, played to huge crowds in the summer of 1980, most notably at the Knebworth Festival and the July 4th show in DC.
Sadly, the year would end on a down note. John Lennon, just a few weeks after releasing half a great album in Double Fantasy, was murdered on December 8, 1980.
But, in terms of music, 1980 was a hell of a year.
Oh, and I was born.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 17, 2021 14:00:55 GMT
For a look at that year's chart successes, first, here is Billboard's Year-End Hot 100 singles' Top 40. (You can view the entire Top 100 here.)
No. Title Artist(s) 1 "Call Me" Blondie 2 "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" Pink Floyd 3 "Magic" Olivia Newton-John 4 "Rock with You" Michael Jackson 5 "Do That to Me One More Time" Captain & Tennille 6 "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" Queen 7 "Coming Up" Paul McCartney 8 "Funkytown" Lipps Inc 9 "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" Billy Joel 10 "The Rose" Bette Midler 11 "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" Rupert Holmes 12 "Cars" Gary Numan 13 "Cruisin" Smokey Robinson 14 "Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl" The Spinners 15 "Lost in Love" Air Supply 16 "Little Jeannie" Elton John 17 "Ride Like the Wind" Christopher Cross 18 "Upside Down" Diana Ross 19 "Please Don't Go"[Notes 1] KC and the Sunshine Band 20 "Babe"[Notes 1] Styx 21 "With You I'm Born Again" Billy Preston and Syreeta 22 "Shining Star" The Manhattans 23 "Still"[Notes 1] Commodores 24 "Yes, I'm Ready" Teri DeSario & KC 25 "Sexy Eyes" Dr. Hook 26 "Steal Away" Robbie Dupree 27 "Biggest Part of Me" Ambrosia 28 "This Is It" Kenny Loggins 29 "Cupid/I've Loved You for a Long Time" The Spinners 30 "Let's Get Serious" Jermaine Jackson 31 "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer" Kenny Rogers & Kim Carnes 32 "Sailing" Christopher Cross 33 "Longer" Dan Fogelberg 34 "Coward of the County" Kenny Rogers 35 "Ladies' Night" Kool & the Gang 36 "Too Hot" Kool & the Gang 37 "Take Your Time (Do It Right)" The S.O.S. Band 38 "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer 39 "More Love" Kim Carnes 40 "Pop Muzik" M
As far as albums go, it was a November 1979 album, Pink Floyd's The Wall, that spent the most time at #1, with 15 weeks looking down at the competition. The chart toppers of 1980 were:
Pink Floyd, The Wall, 15 weeks The Rolling Stones, Emotional Rescue, 7 weeks Billy Joel, Glass Houses and Bob Seger Against the Wind, 6 weeks Queen, The Game, 5 weeks Bruce Springsteen, The River, 4 weeks Barbra Streisand, Guilty, 3 weeks Kenny Rogers, Greatest Hits, 2 weeks Donna Summer, On the Radio; Bee Gees, Bee Gees Greatest; Jackson Browne, Hold Out; and John Lennon/Yoko Ono, Double Fantasy, 1 week
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Post by kds on Nov 17, 2021 14:08:38 GMT
I'll say one thing about this year-by-year exercise.
It's amazing how, in years that saw so much great music, the Top singles can really paint a year in a bad light.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 17, 2021 21:20:08 GMT
In 1980, Squeeze released their third album, Argybargy. They had been quite active, with this being their third album released in about 23 months!
I'm too young to remember their initial fame, only having known "Tempted" (from their next album, 1981's East Side Story) for what feels like my entire life, and not really having liked it. But once I heard these two albums in particular, I became a moderate fan. I now love that New Wave/power pop sound: the driving guitar parts and singing (either in octaves, or occasionally harmonies) pair well with strong melodies and good lyrics. Plus, they expanded into cool little bits of country, rockabilly, and such.
Argybargy was a moderate hit in the UK, where it hit #32 and spawned the successful singles "Another Nail In My Heart" (#17) and "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)" (#44). In the US, it was their first album to chart, hitting #71.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 17, 2021 21:20:53 GMT
In 1980, the Ramones meet Phil Spector, and it's the End Of The Century, which was the band's highest charting album (#44).
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Post by jk on Nov 18, 2021 12:39:57 GMT
An interesting year indeed! Albums not mentioned yet that I like from 1980 (most of which I discovered later, in many cases decades later) are:
McCartney II Gaucho ~ Steely Dan Telekon ~ Gary Numan Sacred Songs ~ Daryl Hall Never For Ever ~ Kate Bush Me Myself I ~ Joan Armatrading Seventeen Seconds ~ The Cure Underwater Moonlight ~ The Soft Boys Doc at the Radar Station ~ Captain Beefheart Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) ~ David Bowie God Save the Queen/Under Heavy Manners ~ Robert Fripp
UK singles that leap out at me are:
"Amigo" ~ Black Slate "Sara" ~ Fleetwood Mac "We Are Glass" ~ Gary Numan "I Die: You Die" ~ Gary Numan "Geno" ~ Dexy's Midnight Runners
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Post by kds on Nov 18, 2021 13:19:26 GMT
I probably should've at least mentioned McCartney II (I did bring up KTSA after all) since it was a Beatles related release, but I think it's a terrible album.
In other music news in 1980, the classic movie The Blues Brothers was released, featuring Dan Akyroyd and John Belushi reprising their SNL characters, as well as performances by Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Cab Calloway among others.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 18, 2021 13:47:34 GMT
There is one album that, while it wasn't a commercial or critical success, has always been a favorite of mine. Well, favorite is a strong word. How about it's an album for which I've always had a soft spot in my heart?
kds already mentioned it in passing: KISS Unmasked. As I talked about in our KISS album-reviews thread, this was one of the first KISS albums I ever heard. I checked out the cassette from our public library when I was maybe 10 or 11, and while it was a little disappointing at the time--I was expecting something heavier, scarier!--it also struck some kind of chord, embedding itself in my mind.
The band was in turmoil, with drummer Peter Criss already secretly out of the band (but appearing on the cover and in at least one video) and guitarist Ace Frehley straying that same direction. The music veered toward soft rock and power pop as often as hard rock...but damnit if sometimes it wasn't pretty good!
An example is the ballad "Shandi," a Paul Stanley and Vini Poncia collaboration. (Poncia was, as our Beatles reviews thread tells us, also just coming off several years as Ringo Starr's primary collaborator and producer.) The recording included only two KISS members, with Stanley on lead vocals and electric guitars and Frehley on background vocals and acoustic guitars. The other musicians were Anton Fig on drums, roadie Tom Harper on bass, and future star songwriter Holly Knight (many hits for Tina Turner, Pat Benatar, Aerosmith, and others) getting her first big break by playing uncredited on keyboards.
It doesn't sound like KISS, but it's a pretty good song! That or my taste was permanently skewed by early exposure.
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