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Post by EdoBosnar on Apr 16, 2024 4:57:34 GMT -5
(...)
Strunz and Farah - totally new to me, but I like that track. For all its virtuosity there also something primal about it. I'd like to hear more.
Interesting that you used the word 'primal.' As I said in my post, my first - and by far still favorite - album of theirs is Primal Magic. Every individual track is outstanding, and together they're, well, magic. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Apr 16, 2024 11:44:03 GMT -5
Primal Magic is great, I love Stringweave too. I don't think they've ever made a bad album though. Jorge Strunz also had his solo album Neotropical Nocturnes in a similar musical style. Speaking of Jorge, not sure if you've ever listened to his prior work in the 70's with Caldera. Different animal overall, more of a fusion outfit kind of in the spirit of Return to Forever with the use of electric instruments, but you can still hear some basic roots of what he would evolve into with Strunz & Farah. Their second album Sky Islands I find particularly enjoyable. Back on Strunz & Farah, their In Performance DVD is well worth checking out if you haven't already seen it. I really need to find the time to listen to some of their newer material (which I'm sure is quite good); the last album of theirs that I had and am familiar with is Americas. Haven't seen the performance DVD, either, but I was lucky enough to see them live back in the early 1990s (can't remember if it was '91 or '92) - it was a great outdoor concert, by the way, in an amphitheater at a winery in the foothills east of San Jose, CA.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Apr 16, 2024 12:10:32 GMT -5
O.k., here's part 2 (the top 5!) of 1984, in which there are few surprises because except for one they've all been seen before: 5. Sade – Diamond LifeSade’s debut album, which immediately put her and her band on the map. It has a number of their more popular songs and still stands as one of the all-time great smooth jazz albums (together with 1985’s Promise – which, if I’m being honest, I like a bit better). 4. Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the PleasuredomeAlready chosen by Confessor with the same ranking, and he explained quite well why this album was so insanely cool to many of us teens back then, and why its synth-heavy rhythms and beats are still a kick to listen to (and dance to when no one’s watching...). And here’s another track awesome track to sample: 3. U2 – The Unforgettable FireLike many people these days, I have to make the obligatory caveat that I don’t like U2 anywhere near as much as I used to (e.g. if you had asked me any time in the late ‘80s and into the early ‘90s to list my favorite bands, they definitely would have been in the top five), but I have to acknowledge that even now I think this is a still a very good album – probably their best (with Joshua Tree and War tied for second place). Back in 1984, of course, I was absolutely spellbound. Anyway, since Confessor (again!) already mentioned it, and I agree with most of his assessments, I won’t drone on about it here. 2. Prince – Purple RainYet again, Confessor beat me to it. But I'm not surprised that at least one other person had this on their list. Does it really need explaining? I remember that it seemed like an explosion when it was first released – and was even accompanied by an eponymous feature-length music video that pretended to be a movie (with a few bonus guest tracks by Morris Day & the Time). Yeah, part of the reason I picked this is just the memory of enjoying it so much back in the day, as well as its pop cultural impact back then, but the individual tracks still hold up quite well. This is just a really good album. 1. Bob Marley & the Wailers – LegendI’m glad Slam_Bradley paved the way for allowing this one, even though it’s a compilation. However, given that it’s my no. 1 pick, I think I would have included it anyway. I’ll just add that a high school chum of mine turned me on to this – he loaned me his cassette, and after I played it through about one and half times, I went out and bought my own copy, and then listened to it endlessly. |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,222 
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Post by Confessor on Apr 16, 2024 12:50:43 GMT -5
5. Sade – Diamond LifeSade’s debut album, which immediately put her and her band on the map. It has a number of their more popular songs and still stands as one of the all-time great smooth jazz albums (together with 1985’s Promise – which, if I’m being honest, I like a bit better). I only know the two hit singles from this: "Your Love is King" and "Smooth Operator". This kind of smooth "sophisti-pop" isn't really my cup of tea, but those two singles are excellent examples of the sub-genre and Sade herself certainly has a fantastic voice. I know the album is very well regarded among audiophiles too because it's a beautifuly produced and engineered album. 4. Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome3. U2 – The Unforgettable Fire2. Prince – Purple Rain Clearly I'm not gonna argue with any of those three choices. Three great albums which provide a glimpse at just how diverse sounding mid-80s pop/rock could actually be. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 16, 2024 15:13:07 GMT -5
And my all-time favourite album from 1984 is... #1 - Hatful of Hollow by The SmithsI'm only barely familiar with The Smiths. That is just NOT my kind of thing at all. But, good for them. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 16, 2024 15:24:57 GMT -5
O.k., here's part 2 (the top 5!) of 1984, in which there are few surprises because except for one they've all been seen before: 5. Sade – Diamond LifeSade’s debut album, which immediately put her and her band on the map. It has a number of their more popular songs and still stands as one of the all-time great smooth jazz albums (together with 1985’s Promise – which, if I’m being honest, I like a bit better). 1. Bob Marley & the Wailers – LegendI’m glad Slam_Bradley paved the way for allowing this one, even though it’s a compilation. However, given that it’s my no. 1 pick, I think I would have included it anyway. I’ll just add that a high school chum of mine turned me on to this – he loaned me his cassette, and after I played it through about one and half times, I went out and bought my own copy, and then listened to it endlessly. I mostly only know Sade from MTV and the radio. I'll cop that there are only a handful of female singers that I really like. I'm glad I could pave the way for your legendary first pick. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 16, 2024 15:47:47 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1994
Having finished up 1984 we'll move on a decade. And we are going to turn it up to eleven because there's honestly only a hairsbreadth difference between numbers eight and eleven. Let me add that in 1994 probably 95% of my music listening was jazz or blues. So I came to every one of these albums at least a few years after the fact.
#11 – The Brian Setzer Orchestra – The Brian Setzer Orchestra
Yeah, Royal Crown Revue and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy had been doing some swing revival for a few years before 1994, but, as a practical matter, 1994 was kind of ground zero for that genre. And leave it to Brian Setzer, who was right there at ground zero for the rockabilly revival to be there for this one.
Setzer and a 17-piece big band work through a mixture of originals and standards that are amped up by his guitar and his voice. The former is what really sets this apart from the music you'd hear in the 40s and 50s. The latter, is just fine on the hoppers but is maybe not as well-suited for the slower songs. He probably doesn't have any real business singing "Route 66" but damn does he turn Carl Perkins' "Your True Love" in to a great big band number.
This is just a fun album that I probably don't listen to as often as I should.
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Post by berkley on Apr 16, 2024 18:10:20 GMT -5
Late getting my list for 1984 albums together but here goes:
1984.10
Mask - Roger Glover
An album I bought at the time after hearing the title track on the radio. Not at all the kind of thing I would have expected from the bass player for Deep Purple. Favourite tracks: Getting Stranger, which I was unable to find on youtube, and the title song:
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Post by berkley on Apr 16, 2024 18:16:23 GMT -5
1984.9
The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... The Fall
An album and a band that I didn't get to know until the 2000s. This was one of the first cds of theirs I found after becoming interested in them. Favourite track:
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Post by berkley on Apr 16, 2024 18:24:07 GMT -5
1984.8
New Sensations - Lou Reed
Another one I bought at the time. A lightweight effort by Reed's standards and generally not one of his best, but pleasant enough to make the list in a year for which my music knowledge is a little on the weak side. The single, I Love You Suzanne, was catchy:
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Post by berkley on Apr 16, 2024 18:31:40 GMT -5
1984.7
Fans - Malcolm McLaren
Another entry that I actually bought at the time. This is an odd one: excerpts or samples from famous operas combined with such pop-music trappings as drum machines, backing vocals, synth riffs, etc. Most of them work much better than you'd expect - in fact there's only one track I'd say was an out-and-out dud (Carmen). This is the one I first heard and that persuaded me to buy the album: Madame Butterfly
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Post by berkley on Apr 16, 2024 18:40:48 GMT -5
1984.6
Stealing Fire - Bruce Cockburn
I never owned a copy of this album until a few years ago but it was played so much on Canadian radio back in the day that I knew all but one or two of the songs. One of Cockburn's most successful records, artistically and commercially. So many strong tracks - Nicaragua, If I Had a Rocket Launcher, Lovers in a dangerous Time, etc - that it's hard to pick put a favourite but playing it the last few days it's been this one, a little to my surprise, that's stood out to my ears: Peggy's Kitchen Wall
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Post by tartanphantom on Apr 16, 2024 20:03:02 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1994 Having finished up 1984 we'll move on a decade. And we are going to turn it up to eleven because there's honestly only a hairsbreadth difference between numbers eight and eleven. Let me add that in 1994 probably 95% of my music listening was jazz or blues. So I came to every one of these albums at least a few years after the fact. #11 – The Brian Setzer Orchestra – The Brian Setzer Orchestra
Yeah, Royal Crown Revue and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy had been doing some swing revival for a few years before 1994, but, as a practical matter, 1994 was kind of ground zero for that genre. And leave it to Brian Setzer, who was right there at ground zero for the rockabilly revival to be there for this one. Setzer and a 17-piece big band work through a mixture of originals and standards that are amped up by his guitar and his voice. The former is what really sets this apart from the music you'd hear in the 40s and 50s. The latter, is just fine on the hoppers but is maybe not as well-suited for the slower songs. He probably doesn't have any real business singing "Route 66" but damn does he turn Carl Perkins' "Your True Love" in to a great big band number. This is just a fun album that I probably don't listen to as often as I should.
As a long-time Gretsch Guitar enthusiast, I heartily endorse this record.
Not that I'm big into Setzer himself, but he is quite accomplished as a player, and the horn section is the icing on the cake.
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Post by tartanphantom on Apr 16, 2024 20:07:26 GMT -5
Late getting my list for 1984 albums together but here goes:
1984.10
Mask - Roger Glover
An album I bought at the time after hearing the title track on the radio. Not at all the kind of thing I would have expected from the bass player for Deep Purple. Favourite tracks: Getting Stranger, which I was unable to find on youtube, and the title song:
I was a junior in college when this came out, and I remember thinking similar things about the album. It's unusual for sure.
In fact, I think most tracks would feel right at home on a Godley & Creme or 10cc album.
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Post by berkley on Apr 16, 2024 22:51:55 GMT -5
1984.5
Treasure - the Cocteau Twins
I didn't hear this for the first time until the 2010s. I had already suspected I would like this band from having heard a few snippets here and there over the years and my first reaction to hearing this album was, what took me so long? I could pick pretty much anything from this one as a fitting example so I'll just go with the opening track:
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