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Post by berkley on Oct 17, 2024 18:36:43 GMT -5
#8 - Thriller by Michael Jackson (1982) In the very early '80s, Michael Jackson was one of those artists that both my Mum and I were fans of. I had loved "Billie Jean" enough to tape it off the radio when it came out and I bought the "Beat It" single with my pocket money. A few months later, my mother picked up the Thriller album in late 1983. Unfortunately for her, pretty much as soon as the LP entered our house, I spirited it away and held it hostage in my bedroom. Suffice it to say that I absolutely devoured the album – spinning it over and over, day after day, soaking in all of its sonic wonder and becoming an obsessive Michael Jackson fan in the process. One of the things that impressed me most about Thriller as an 11-year-old, was that just how uniformly strong it was; this is an album that is "all killer, no filler" and that was something new to me. I still smile when I think of my Mum coming into my bedroom and asking in an annoyed voice, "have you got my Thriller album?". Of course, I always did! On some level, I still think of this album as belonging to my mother and I. I'm gonna pick the song "Human Nature" to highlight the album. It's one of the less grandiose numbers from Thriller and is all the more affecting for it. I love the song's luscious, bubbling synths, its soothing guitar parts, and Jackson's delicately half-whispered vocal, all of which combine beautifully to conjure up the sleeping cityscape of the early morning hours that the song's lyrics allude to. There was a certain girl at middle school who I used to sing "Human Nature" to. She was my first girlfriend, when being boyfriend and girlfriend meant nothing more than holding hands in the playground and sneaking the odd peck on the cheek. Back then, I used to listen to "Human Nature" in my bedroom and think wistfully of her. On some vague level, I still do think of her whenever I hear this song. I liked the Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson's previous solo album, Off the Wall, but Thriller is where he lost me. I really hated Billie Jean and Beat It in particular and of course they were played to death on the radio: there was no escape from it. The Girl Is Mine was tolerable on first listen but I found it one of those songs I became sick of very quickly.
I must admit, though, that hearing Human Nature now after a long, long time I find it quite listenable, to my surprise, so possibly there are other tracks from this record that I've neglected unfairly all these years.
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Post by impulse on Oct 17, 2024 18:47:25 GMT -5
I just realized I mentioned Workin’ Day and Night as a comment on Thriller, but you mentioning Off the Wall reminded me it’s from that. Facepalm.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,104
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Post by Confessor on Oct 17, 2024 19:24:22 GMT -5
8. Queen - News of the World (1977) I'm very much a "Greatest Hits" type of Queen fan. That said, I do own A Night at the Opera and the Flash Gordon Sountrack, but it's the Greatest Hits Vols. I and II that get the most rotation in my house. I know some of the songs on News of the World, but not many. "Sheer Heart Attack" is a weird Queen song, as it's pretty much a punk song and must've surely have been influenced by the likes of then-new bands like the Sex Pistols and the Clash et al.
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Post by berkley on Oct 17, 2024 19:36:53 GMT -5
8. Queen - News of the World (1977) I'm very much a "Greatest Hits" type of Queen fan. That said, I do own A Night at the Opera and the Flash Gordon Sountrack, but it's the Greatest Hits Vols. I and II that get the most rotation in my house. I know some of the songs on News of the World, but not many. "Sheer Heart Attack" is a weird Queen song, as it's pretty much a punk song and must've surely have been influenced by the likes of then-new bands like the Sex Pistols and the Clash et al. I would imagine so too but apparently it was originally written for the much earlier album of the same name (Sheer Heart Attack) in 1974, which would pre-date the Sex Pistols. Of course the 1978 recording was likely still heavily influenced by the punk sound of the time.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Oct 17, 2024 19:43:37 GMT -5
8. Queen - News of the World (1977) I'm very much a "Greatest Hits" type of Queen fan. That said, I do own A Night at the Opera and the Flash Gordon Sountrack, but it's the Greatest Hits Vols. I and II that get the most rotation in my house. That would be me as well. I don’t mind listening to a lot of their hits, but that’s plenty of Queen for me.
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Post by tartanphantom on Oct 17, 2024 21:41:44 GMT -5
8. Queen - News of the World (1977) This is another one that came from my dad's record collection. I used to love flipping through them and seeing the art, and this is the main reason this one got pulled. Don't get me wrong, my first steps into rock included the pervasive radio one-two combo of We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions, which I listened to on this record quite a bit, but man, the art. Something about it just fascinated me. The robot looks so sad yet also menacing? Why did he kill the band? Why was he coming or them? Why is it so fascinating but sad at the same time?
I know many people get the mystique of album artwork and how much a part of the experience it seemed to be, especially back in the day, and this is the first one that made an impression on me.
My song selection is a different cut, though. It's one I didn't know going in but that I discovered and took a liking to. It's also more indicative of where my musical tastes would go over time.
Sheer Heart Attack
This was my first time hearing something this punchy, sneering, and just snotty. It's super up-tempo and catchy, too. I didn't know it at the time, but it's also one of those songs that shows how ridiculously wide and diverse Queen is among their peers. One of the pros and cons of how many different styles they do (and well) is that they have quite a lot of songs that are outside of taste, but they almost always have at least something on there I'm going to like because they cover so many bases.
The original source of the album art is the cover of the Oct. 1953 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, painted by Kelly Freas. It is titled "The Gulf Between", intended as the representation for the story within of the same name by Tom Godwin.
Freas took the original art concept and expanded it for the News of the World artwork, almost 25 years after he first created it, and put a new spin on it for the inner gatefold artwork.
While I can't confirm, I would suspect that Roger Taylor probably had something to do with hiring Freas to recreate the cover art and concept. Taylor has been a lifelong science fiction fan, and was likely very aware of Freas' talent and legacy.
Here's a scan of my original copy--
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Post by berkley on Oct 18, 2024 1:41:59 GMT -5
8. Engelbert Humperdinck Greatest HitsI probably don't have to tell you this is one of my mother's favourites rather than my father's. I chose Engelbert as representative of several pop balladeers who were hugely popular in the 60s and for me contributed as much to the aura of that time as did the rock artists we usually associate with it. I absorbed a lot of this kind of music at an impressionable age and though I didn't buy many records of these artists once I started buying albums in the 70s, I've never lost my taste for it. I could easily have picked Tom Jones or Al Martino - I remember as a small kid asking my mother what her favourite song was and she said Al Martino singing Blue Spanish Eyes, though possibly that might have just been the first one that came to her mind at that moment. But I went with Engelbert because for me, even more than Tom Jones, he was a huge part of the pop culture zeitgeist of the time, at least the impression I formed of it from the ages of around 5 to 10 or so. I remember debates - usually amongst my older female cousins and aunts, etc - over who was better, Engelbert or Tom Jones, which they took just as seriously as we boys did our Beatles vs Stones discussions. My mother's favourite Engelbert song was Please Release Me but since this is about influences I'll choose a few that I remember especially liking myself then and still do today. I could pick almost any of his 60s hits as samples: whoever chose his material could do no wrong in the 60s - all his best-known songs are just dripping with gorgeous melodies perfectly suited to his beautiful voice and smooth but not saccharine delivery. Ten Guitars: I think it's easy to see why a small kid would like this - catchy tune with simple words that don't really make sense (he's got a troop of ten guitar players following him all over the place?) but conjure up a vivid and appealing image:
This Is My Song - written by Charlie Chaplin! like so many of his songs I just love the melody to this one: for me it elevates what could otherwise be seen as trite lyrics to something profoundly real and heartfelt.
The Last Waltz: one of his biggest hits. I wavered between this and and my original choice, Les Bicyclettes de Belsize, but after listening to those two and a few others tonight I find it's Last Waltz that's having the biggest effect at the moment. Once again, the tune and Engelbert's voice take lines like "Two lonely people together" that should feel like sentimental tosh and make it into poetry - at least while you're listening.
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