Confessor
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Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on Apr 26, 2024 11:59:34 GMT -5
#3 – Dave Alvin – King of California
Never heard of Alvin before, but I have heard of the Blasters (though never actually heard their music). They were kind of a cowpunk band, right? Of these two tracks you posted, "King of California" is especially nice and wears its Bob Dylan influences very much on its sleeve (I was less impressed with "Fourth of July", I'm afraid). Nice stripped-back '90s engineering and production on both tracks though. I don't know if you're familiar with the American singer-songwriter Willy Mason from the mid-2000s, but based on these two songs I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that he was a fan of Alvin. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 26, 2024 13:03:05 GMT -5
#3 – Dave Alvin – King of California
Never heard of Alvin before, but I have heard of the Blasters (though never actually heard their music). They were kind of a cowpunk band, right? Of these two tracks you posted, "King of California" is especially nice and wears its Bob Dylan influences very much on its sleeve (I was less impressed with "Fourth of July", I'm afraid). Nice stripped-back '90s engineering and production on both tracks though. I don't know if you're familiar with the American singer-songwriter Willy Mason from the mid-2000s, but based on these two songs I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that he was a fan of Alvin. The Blasters would be at the intersection of Roots Rock and Cowpunk. You definitely should give them a listen. Alvin was with the punk band "X" for a short time before he got his solo record deal. I'm not familiar with Willy Mason, but I'll give him a listen. |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on Apr 26, 2024 14:26:21 GMT -5
Never heard of Alvin before, but I have heard of the Blasters (though never actually heard their music). They were kind of a cowpunk band, right? Of these two tracks you posted, "King of California" is especially nice and wears its Bob Dylan influences very much on its sleeve (I was less impressed with "Fourth of July", I'm afraid). Nice stripped-back '90s engineering and production on both tracks though. I don't know if you're familiar with the American singer-songwriter Willy Mason from the mid-2000s, but based on these two songs I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that he was a fan of Alvin. The Blasters would be at the intersection of Roots Rock and Cowpunk. You definitely should give them a listen. Alvin was with the punk band "X" for a short time before he got his solo record deal. I'm not familiar with Willy Mason, but I'll give him a listen. Yeah, I think I will give the Blasters a listen. I quite like the few cowpunk bands that I do know, like the Beat Farmers and (to a lesser extent) the Long Ryders. It's a fascinating sub-genre seeing punk and new wave energy colliding with country & western. |
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Post by berkley on Apr 26, 2024 14:33:37 GMT -5
The Blasters would be at the intersection of Roots Rock and Cowpunk. You definitely should give them a listen. Alvin was with the punk band "X" for a short time before he got his solo record deal. I'm not familiar with Willy Mason, but I'll give him a listen. Yeah, I think I will give the Blasters a listen. I quite like the few cowpunk bands that I do know, like the Beat Farmers and (to a lesser extent) the Long Ryders. It's a fascinating sub-genre seeing punk and new wave energy colliding with country & western. The Supersuckers did a really nice country album along these lines, Must've Been High (1997). |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 26, 2024 15:05:48 GMT -5
Yeah, I think I will give the Blasters a listen. I quite like the few cowpunk bands that I do know, like the Beat Farmers and (to a lesser extent) the Long Ryders. It's a fascinating sub-genre seeing punk and new wave energy colliding with country & western. The Supersuckers did a really nice country album along these lines, Must've Been High (1997). That's by far my favorite Supersuckers album. Eddie Spaghetti's solo albums were more cow than punk, which I also preferred. Dwight Yoakam, while never really cowpunk, played in a lot of punk clubs in L.A. in the early 80s before he released his first album, including Madame Wong's in Chinatown, which usually saw the likes of Black Flag, X, and The Undertakers on stage. |
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Post by commond on Apr 26, 2024 15:32:50 GMT -5
More favourite albums of 1994... #3 - MTV Unplugged in New York by Nirvana That's a record that I played to death. I still remember buying it with the money from my part time job. I actually found myself randomly singing Jesus Don't Want Me for a Sunbeam the other day. Cobain had great taste in music. That list he created of his favorite albums is a hell of a primer for anyone wanting to expand their musical tastes. I think the most enlightening thing about the Unplugged set is that it showed what a good vocalist Kurt was. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 27, 2024 10:05:31 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1994
#2 - Johnny Cash - American Recordings
So this was almost great timing since yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the release of this album. Missed it by that much.
In 1994 Johnny Cash was a musical icon (and I don't overuse that word) who didn't sell albums and hadn't made better than a mediocre solo album in almost two decades. And while a lot of his Capital releases of the 60s and the very early 70s had been very good, he had seldom made great studio music since he left Sun Records. Why? Because most producers didn't understand what Sam Phillips understood...that Cash and his voice, worked best with a very small two or three piece backing band. The material he worked with in the 60s at Capital was strong enough to survive the overproduction. But during most of the 70s, and, oh my god, the 80s, it wasn't.
That is until Rick Rubin came along and convinced Cash to let him produce a Johnny Cash album. They worked together to find songs that fit Cash, his aesthetic, and his voice. And they didn't paint by numbers. Sure, Tennessee Stud isn't breaking a lot of new ground. But songs written by Glen Danzig and Tom Waits sure as hell were. This album isn't as daring as the American Recordings would become. But it was absolutely the right album at the right time with the right songs and the right producer to kickstart a late career renaissance the likes of which had never been seen before.
By and large this is just Cash, an acoustic guitar and his still (at this point) strong bass-baritone voice. That iconic voice. That voice that had, for far too long been bogged down with strings, barbershop quartet type backing vocals and overwhelming production. Two of the songs were recorded live at The Viper Room...not the normal venue for Cash. And, again, that's all that's right about this album.
So, why the Hell is it at #2? I'll absolutely argue that is is the most important country and folk album of 1994. Hell, it may be the most important in both genres for the entire 90s. But, it's not my favorite of the American Recordings. And there's one more album from 1994 that I probably listen to more often. Is number one better...it's definitely different. Is it more important...Oh Hell's NO! But we listen to what we listen to and when it comes to late-Cash I'm more likely to listen to American IV. And none of that changes that this is an amazing album that is incredibly important.
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Post by tartanphantom on Apr 27, 2024 11:43:31 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1994 #2 - Johnny Cash - American Recordings
So this was almost great timing since yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the release of this album. Missed it by that much. In 1994 Johnny Cash was a musical icon (and I don't overuse that word) who didn't sell albums and hadn't made better than a mediocre solo album in almost two decades. And while a lot of his Capital releases of the 60s and the very early 70s had been very good, he had seldom made great studio music since he left Sun Records. Why? Because most producers didn't understand what Sam Phillips understood...that Cash and his voice, worked best with a very small two or three piece backing band. The material he worked with in the 60s at Capital was strong enough to survive the overproduction. But during most of the 70s, and, oh my god, the 80s, it wasn't. That is until Rick Rubin came along and convinced Cash to let him produce a Johnny Cash album. They worked together to find songs that fit Cash, his aesthetic, and his voice. And they didn't paint by numbers. Sure, Tennessee Stud isn't breaking a lot of new ground. But songs written by Glen Danzig and Tom Waits sure as hell were. This album isn't as daring as the American Recordings would become. But it was absolutely the right album at the right time with the right songs and the right producer to kickstart a late career renaissance the likes of which had never been seen before. By and large this is just Cash, an acoustic guitar and his still (at this point) strong bass-baritone voice. That iconic voice. That voice that had, for far too long been bogged down with strings, barbershop quartet type backing vocals and overwhelming production. Two of the songs were recorded live at The Viper Room...not the normal venue for Cash. And, again, that's all that's right about this album. So, why the Hell is it at #2? I'll absolutely argue that is is the most important country and folk album of 1994. Hell, it may be the most important in both genres for the entire 90s. But, it's not my favorite of the American Recordings. And there's one more album from 1994 that I probably listen to more often. Is number one better...it's definitely different. Is it more important...Oh Hell's NO! But we listen to what we listen to and when it comes to late-Cash I'm more likely to listen to American IV. And none of that changes that this is an amazing album that is incredibly important.
Landmark material. The American series recordings re-humanized Cash, from a been-to-the-mountaintop show business has-been who had been resting on his laurels back to a real, relatable, vulnerable, flawed, yet re-grounded individual. Truthfully, an artist couldn't ask for a more effective second-chance makeover. I'm also partial to IV, but I purchased I when it first came out, and it is a close #2 in the series for me. And even though V is often viewed as an afterthought, it should not be overlooked.
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Post by berkley on Apr 27, 2024 13:46:39 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1994 #2 - Johnny Cash - American Recordings
So this was almost great timing since yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the release of this album. Missed it by that much. In 1994 Johnny Cash was a musical icon (and I don't overuse that word) who didn't sell albums and hadn't made better than a mediocre solo album in almost two decades. And while a lot of his Capital releases of the 60s and the very early 70s had been very good, he had seldom made great studio music since he left Sun Records. Why? Because most producers didn't understand what Sam Phillips understood...that Cash and his voice, worked best with a very small two or three piece backing band. The material he worked with in the 60s at Capital was strong enough to survive the overproduction. But during most of the 70s, and, oh my god, the 80s, it wasn't. That is until Rick Rubin came along and convinced Cash to let him produce a Johnny Cash album. They worked together to find songs that fit Cash, his aesthetic, and his voice. And they didn't paint by numbers. Sure, Tennessee Stud isn't breaking a lot of new ground. But songs written by Glen Danzig and Tom Waits sure as hell were. This album isn't as daring as the American Recordings would become. But it was absolutely the right album at the right time with the right songs and the right producer to kickstart a late career renaissance the likes of which had never been seen before. By and large this is just Cash, an acoustic guitar and his still (at this point) strong bass-baritone voice. That iconic voice. That voice that had, for far too long been bogged down with strings, barbershop quartet type backing vocals and overwhelming production. Two of the songs were recorded live at The Viper Room...not the normal venue for Cash. And, again, that's all that's right about this album. So, why the Hell is it at #2? I'll absolutely argue that is is the most important country and folk album of 1994. Hell, it may be the most important in both genres for the entire 90s. But, it's not my favorite of the American Recordings. And there's one more album from 1994 that I probably listen to more often. Is number one better...it's definitely different. Is it more important...Oh Hell's NO! But we listen to what we listen to and when it comes to late-Cash I'm more likely to listen to American IV. And none of that changes that this is an amazing album that is incredibly important.
Landmark material. The American series recordings re-humanized Cash, from a been-to-the-mountaintop show business has-been who had been resting on his laurels back to a real, relatable, vulnerable, flawed, yet re-grounded individual. Truthfully, an artist couldn't ask for a more effective second-chance makeover. I'm also partial to IV, but I purchased I when it first came out, and it is a close #2 in the series for me. And even though V is often viewed as an afterthought, it should not be overlooked.
Fully in agreement with everything said here. I'd only add that I think there are times when the record didn't work quite as well in practice as I would have hoped in theory. But it was absolutely the right approach to take and something along these lines should have been years before. I too bought this when it came out just because I loved the idea of it so much. It probably should have made my own list but I forgot the exact year of its release until this reminder from Slam Bradley.
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Post by berkley on Apr 27, 2024 13:52:17 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1994 #3 – Dave Alvin – King of California
Man, I came way too late to Dave Alvin (and The Blasters for that matter). But better late than never. Alvin was always a great songwriter and a very good guitarist, but the knock was that he should leave the singing to Phil. With this album I think he shows that when he's doing the right stuff his way, his vocals are just fine, thank you very much. I really love this album and in a lot of years it would be well above the three spot. The title track is a great story-song. He takes "Fourth of July" which he did with X and strips it down in to a an amazing song about trying not to lose love. And while the ballad-ized version of The Blasters' "Border Radio" isn't going to make you forget the original, it is nothing if not interesting. If you're looking for Dave Alvin, guitar slinger, this ain't the place. If you're looking for Dave Alvin, singer-songwriter-musician, this is the starting point.
I think I'v heard of the Blasters in a vague way. On first listen I like this more than some of the other new-to-me artists you've posted - it feels a little more individual, less careful. |
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Post by berkley on Apr 27, 2024 14:06:55 GMT -5
#5 - Parklife by BlurReleased in April '94, Blur's third album was really the first mainstream smash hit album of the Britpop era. For a lot of people, Parklife and its attendant hit singles were the first time that they'd ever heard the band or indie/Britpop music. It was also the album that took the whole Britpop movement from the murky columns of the NME and Melody Maker onto the front pages of the UK's tabloid press. As someone who had been a fan of Blur for a few years by this point, I regarded Parklife as something of a retread of their previous album Modern Life is Rubbish. But having said that, it's definitely a bolder, more confident, and more commercial sounding record than its predecessor, which is why it was such a success, of course. Overall, the album is quite an eclectic mix musically, from the Euro synth-pop of "Girls & Boys", the sophisticated Parisian romance and faux James Bond-theme stylings of "To the End", and the Cockney knees-up sing-along of the title track. Parklife is a very strong album, made by a band at the peak of their powers. I'm gonna pick the bouncy synth-driven smash hit "Girls & Boys" to highlight the album. Its tacky synths, Disco drumming, and '80s-style bass line perfectly captures the hedonistic, flesh market nightclubs of places like Falaraki and Corfu in Greece, or Ibiza, Benidorm or Magaluf in Spain, where young British holidaymakers go to binge-drink, load up on ecstasy pills, and f*ck anything that moves… Like a lot of 90s Britpop, this band largely passed my by at the time. But as it happens, I just very recently picked up this cd, having gotten into their previous album, Modern Life is Rubbish, a few months ago. I haven't had time yet to really get to know Parklife, though, or even to have much of an opinion on it. But I came to like MLiR after a relatively small number of listens so if this one is similar I expect the same thing will probably happen. |
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Post by berkley on Apr 27, 2024 14:10:27 GMT -5
More favourite albums from 1994... #7 - Dog Man Star by SuedeThis was the second album from Suede (or London Suede, if you're in the U.S.) and is by far my favourite long-player of theirs. After having taken the UK music scene by storm in 1993, the band followed-up their mainstream success with this much darker, more insular album. Guitarist Bernard Butler left mid-way through the recording sessions due to tensions between him and singer Brett Anderson, but despite the acrimony, Dog Man Star is a grandiose and ambitious record, brimming with confidence and gothic majesty. There are far less of the Bowie-esque glam rock stompers that the band were known for than on their debut. Instead, we get a collection of songs that take in more varied musical influences, with Anderson's tortured, darkly sexual lyrics perfectly foreshadowing the post-Britpop comedown three years before it happened. Many of the tracks on Dog Man Star have a lofty, melodramatic air to them, with the closing track "Still Life" being perhaps the best illustration of this, as Anderson's emotion-wracked voice trembles and roars amidst a 40-piece orchestra. This is the Suede album that had no hits on it, but is nevertheless their best and most rewarding collection of songs. It's an album that hangs together as whole piece and is more than the sum of its parts. It's a tragic and romantic work – a little pretentious too, of course, but then again, I've never considered pretensions to be a particularly bad thing in music. Here's the video for the single "The Wild Ones" for your enjoyment… From the description, Suede sounds like the kind of music I would like but somehow or other I've never really given them a good listen. I'll add them to my list of 90s music to check out while I'm revisiting the decade.
edit: just listened to the track posted, The Wild Ones: it is indeed the kind of thing I like, or one of them, so I'm encouraged to try the whole album now, as well as the one before it.
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Post by berkley on Apr 27, 2024 14:31:48 GMT -5
1994.6
File Under: Easy Listening - Sugar
Sugar was of course Bob Mould's early 1990s band after Husker Du broke up. They only made three studio albums, I believe, but they're all very solid and consistent, full of catchy tunes like the two below, one of which, Your Favourite Thing, may be familiar as I think it was a pretty successful radio hit for them on some stations.
I think these two tracks are characteristic of the band's sound on this, their 3rd album, and also on their first one, Copper Blue (which contains probably their most well-known song, If I can't Change Your Mind). But my favourite Sugar album is actually the one on between, Beaster, which to my ears doesn't sound like the other two at all but feels rather more like a Bob Mould solo album. However, all three are worth looking for
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Post by commond on Apr 27, 2024 17:11:44 GMT -5
SS Decontrol's Get it Away... messy hardcore EP. Just the way I like it.
Dezerter's Ku przyszłości... Polish punk EP. Very cool. RYM says it's a hardcore record but it was fairly rhythmic.
YDI's A Place in the Sun... angry hardcore EP with terrible production. That either adds to the aesthetic or destroys it. YMMV.
Fang's Landshark! This sounded closer to noise rock than hardcore, imo, due to the slower tempo and humorous lyrics. Not bad.
Death SS' Evil metal... early Italian effort at doom metal. Actually kind of amazing that this is from 1983. This sounds like it comes from a later point in metal history.
Death Cult's Death Cult... The Southern Death Cult begin morphing into the Cult with this EP. This marks the tail end of their post-punk gothic rock phase. It's an interesting peek into a band in transition and a pretty good EP with improved production and musicianship.
Naked Raygun's Basement Screams... This was okay. I was expecting it to be more clever based on the name of the band and the EP (something along the lines of The Misfits, I guess), but it was an interesting mix of punk rock styles.
Gai's Damaging Noise... there's hardcore, and then there's Japanese hardcore. The vocalist sounds like a rabid dog on this. This will give you nightmares.
The Long Ryders' 10-5-60... The Long Ryders were a Paisley Underground group who did a Country Rock thing. It's kind of weird to hear country music coming out of Los Angeles, but they were committed to it.
MDC's Multi-Death Corporations... thrashy anarcho-punk. No prizes for guessing who they were going after.
Pretty Maids' Pretty Maids... interesting debut EP from this Danish metal group. This is very much straight metal but enjoyable.
Sonic-Youth's Kill Yr. Idols... this is a companion piece to Sonic Youth's Confusion as Sex LP from the same year. Slow, brooding noise rock. It's hard to imagine that these guys would become one of the biggest alt rock bands of the late 80s-early 90s from listening to this.
Subhumans' Evolution... this isn't bad, but as with a lot of UK82 stuff, the vocals bother me. I know it's meant to be working class punk rock, but the accent is grating.
Los Lobos' ..And a Time to Dance... this okay. I imagine they would have been a fun band to see live.
Front 242's Endless Riddance... fun Belgian minimal synth EP. They don't make music like this anymore.
Thomas Dolby's Blinded by Science... I have zero attachment to She Blinded Me With Science. It's not one of my jams. But I was interested in the rest of Dolby's output on this EP. It turns out that he was quite a decent songsmith. Certainly deserving of a bigger rep.
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Post by berkley on Apr 27, 2024 18:48:55 GMT -5
SS Decontrol's Get it Away... messy hardcore EP. Just the way I like it. Dezerter's Ku przyszłości... Polish punk EP. Very cool. RYM says it's a hardcore record but it was fairly rhythmic. YDI's A Place in the Sun... angry hardcore EP with terrible production. That either adds to the aesthetic or destroys it. YMMV. Fang's Landshark! This sounded closer to noise rock than hardcore, imo, due to the slower tempo and humorous lyrics. Not bad. Death SS' Evil metal... early Italian effort at doom metal. Actually kind of amazing that this is from 1983. This sounds like it comes from a later point in metal history. Death Cult's Death Cult... The Southern Death Cult begin morphing into the Cult with this EP. This marks the tail end of their post-punk gothic rock phase. It's an interesting peek into a band in transition and a pretty good EP with improved production and musicianship. Naked Raygun's Basement Screams... This was okay. I was expecting it to be more clever based on the name of the band and the EP (something along the lines of The Misfits, I guess), but it was an interesting mix of punk rock styles. Gai's Damaging Noise... there's hardcore, and then there's Japanese hardcore. The vocalist sounds like a rabid dog on this. This will give you nightmares. The Long Ryders' 10-5-60... The Long Ryders were a Paisley Underground group who did a Country Rock thing. It's kind of weird to hear country music coming out of Los Angeles, but they were committed to it. MDC's Multi-Death Corporations... thrashy anarcho-punk. No prizes for guessing who they were going after. Pretty Maids' Pretty Maids... interesting debut EP from this Danish metal group. This is very much straight metal but enjoyable. Sonic-Youth's Kill Yr. Idols... this is a companion piece to Sonic Youth's Confusion as Sex LP from the same year. Slow, brooding noise rock. It's hard to imagine that these guys would become one of the biggest alt rock bands of the late 80s-early 90s from listening to this. Subhumans' Evolution... this isn't bad, but as with a lot of UK82 stuff, the vocals bother me. I know it's meant to be working class punk rock, but the accent is grating. Los Lobos' ..And a Time to Dance... this okay. I imagine they would have been a fun band to see live. Front 242's Endless Riddance... fun Belgian minimal synth EP. They don't make music like this anymore. Thomas Dolby's Blinded by Science... I have zero attachment to She Blinded Me With Science. It's not one of my jams. But I was interested in the rest of Dolby's output on this EP. It turns out that he was quite a decent songsmith. Certainly deserving of a bigger rep.
I'm not a huge fan of She Blinded Me with Science either and probably for that reason have never sought out any more of Dolby's music. But a few months back I happened to be watching Gothic, the Ken Russell movie about Byron and the Shelleys, and was surprised to see that Tomas Dolby was responsible for the soundtrack of that film - and it was pretty good! So perhaps I should look for something after all.
Not much to say about the other things you mention, most of which I haven't heard of. Front 242 sound like something I might want to try. Los Lobos and Sonic Youth are acts I've always felt I should like more than I do, maybe I just haven't heard the right things yet. Long Ryders I wasn't aware of until very recently when Confessor listed one of their albums in his Best of 1984 a few pages back in this thread.
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