Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Apr 5, 2024 11:35:06 GMT -5
OK, finishing up my list of favourite albums from 1974... #1 - Grievous Angel by Gram ParsonsThere's not too much more to say about this album that Slam_Bradley hasn't already said in his earlier post. I first encountered Gram Parsons' music in 1991, via his brief membership with the Byrds on their country-rock album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. From there, I began investigating his work with the Flying Burrito Brothers and his two early '70s solo albums, which were both reissued on a two-fer CD around 1992. Of his two solo albums, this one is the best (though it's a pretty close-run thing with 1973's GP). But incredible songs, such as "Return of the Grievous Angel", "Brass Buttons", "$1000 Wedding", "Ooh Las Vegas", and the beautiful cover of "Love Hurts" ensure that this record has the edge over its predecessor. As with that previous album, Parsons is joined here by singer and guitarist Emmylou Harris, and again, the heavenly blend of her pure Appalachian vocal against Gram's cracked timbre produces something breathtakingly beautiful. I've decided to showcase the song "$1000 Wedding" in this post because, although it's a little bit of a slow burner (needing a few listens to really appreciate it), it's simply one of the best songs Gram ever wrote…
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Apr 5, 2024 11:13:10 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1984 Bob Marley & The Wailers - Legend
Holy sh*t, are we doing 1984 too?! I better get my a*se in gear -- I still haven't posted my #1 album of 1974! As for Legend, yeah, I'm not sure a compilation featuring music recorded between 1972 and 1980 should really be counted as an album from 1984, but I do absolutely get your point about it being the reggae album for so many people. Certainly, it was the first Marley record I purchased, back in the late '80s. Bob Marley is obviously a great, great artist and songwriter. I particularly like the Wailers' first two Island Records albums, Catch a Fire and Burnin' (when Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer were still in the band). Actually, Marley's Natty Dread only narrowly missed out on a spot on my 1974 list. Legend is a pretty perfect single disc summing up of Marley's mainstream music career, with all the fat trimmed away, leaving 14 essential tracks. It's truly a case of, "if you only buy one reggae album, then make sure it's...".
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Apr 4, 2024 2:20:00 GMT -5
Which comic?! Sorry, Angel and the Ape - though now that you mention it, some of the others look fun too. I love Angel and the Ape. I'm trying to put together a complete run which is actually pretty hard over here in the UK, despite the entire Silver Age series only being 8 issues long (including Showcase #77). Currently, I own exactly half the series. The Oksner art inside is very much like the covers (he's inked by Wally Wood on several issues too) and the stories are full of 60s era whimsy. The humour is very gentle by today's standards, as you might expect, but it can still produce the odd chortle from me. Really though, it's a combination of the really likeable lead characters of Sam Simeon and Angel O'Day, Oksner's gorgeous art, and the kitschy, often surreal '60s madcap humour (think The Monkees TV show) that are the real draw. The actual plots are totally forgettable.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Apr 4, 2024 0:50:45 GMT -5
This is a question of opinion rather than of fact but anyway, seeing all the Oskner covers in this week's Cove Contest thread, I'm reminded once again that this looks like a fun comic. My question is, do the interior stories and artwork match the spirit of the covers? And even if they do, was that enough to build a series on? Which comic?!
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Apr 4, 2024 0:44:13 GMT -5
I know this album, though I've never owned it. Our band's ex-manager from the 90s used to play it and I see it in secondhand record shops pretty often too. It's maybe a little too "rawk" for my tastes generally, but I do appreciate the Hendrix-meets-Led Zep-meets-King Crimson vibe of it all, and I certainly prefer it to most of the Procol Harum stuff that I've heard (who were Trower's old band, of course). I'm a big Procol Harum fan myself and coincidentally - because I'm going through my picks in the order of their release dates - they'll be coming up next in my list, though of course with a different guitar player since by 1974 Trower had left to form his own band.
I have a "Best of..." type compilation of Procol Harum, which is OK-ish for the most part. I adore "Whiter Shade of Pale", that's just a beautiful song and one that conjures the spirit of 1967 London like nothing else (not sure if Trower is on that record though?). But other than that, a lot of the CD leaves me cold. Early tracks like "Homburg" and "Conquistador" are fine, but nothing to really write home about IMHO.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Apr 3, 2024 22:50:17 GMT -5
I have read The Other Side exactly once and it was back when the TPB came out (2007), so I remember very little of it. What I do remember, is that the artwork was nice, that it was a little underwhelming story-wise, and that it reminded me of an updated Weird War Tales issue. I really must revisit it one of these days.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Apr 3, 2024 22:19:59 GMT -5
I never play this game...barely even ever look in on the thread, to be honest...but I'm a big fan of Bob Oksner's art, so I thought I'd check in. There are so many great covers here -- what an artist! I'll throw my hat in the ring with a favourite of mine, Angel and the Ape #3. Sam Simeon looking up Angel O'Day's skirt for the win!
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Apr 3, 2024 22:09:09 GMT -5
Continuing in chronological order through the year 1974, my next pick is: Bridge of Sighs by Robin TrowerI know this album, though I've never owned it. Our band's ex-manager from the 90s used to play it and I see it in secondhand record shops pretty often too. It's maybe a little too "rawk" for my tastes generally, but I do appreciate the Hendrix-meets-Led Zep-meets-King Crimson vibe of it all, and I certainly prefer it to most of the Procol Harum stuff that I've heard (who were Trower's old band, of course).
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Apr 3, 2024 17:02:21 GMT -5
Go ahead...shoot. I'd love to get maybe a "Top 5 essential outlaw country albums" type list from you or something similar to start with. I take it you've heard Johnny Cash's At Folsom Prison and At San Quentin. Those albums had a huge influence on the outlaw country movement. I also believe you're familiar with some of the artists influenced by outlaw country such as Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. While outlaw country is mostly synonymous with Willie, Waylon and Kristofferson, I'd recommend branching out a bit and sample some of the other artists involved. Longhaired Redneck, David Allan Coe Juarez, Terry Allen (arguably more progressive country than outlaw, but remarkable nonetheless) Old Five and Dimers Like Me, Billy Joe Shaver Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound, Hank Williams, Jr. (kept the movement going in spirit) Take This Job and Shove It, Johnny Paycheck Border Affair, Lee Clayton Bobby Bare Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies, Bobby Bare Honky-Tonk Man, Steve Young There was a revival of sorts in the 2000s, but I figure you probably want to stick with the authentic stuff for the time being. Yeah, I am familiar with those two Johnny Cash live albums and with Townes Van Zandt. Thanks for the other suggestions though; that's a useful list.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Apr 3, 2024 16:04:51 GMT -5
#2 - On the Border by EaglesThis is the Eagles' third album and it sees them bringing a slightly tougher rock sound to their brand of laid-back country-rock on many tracks. It was also the first Eagles album to feature guitarist Don Felder. I really love this early period of the Eagles when Bernie Leadon was still in the band; after he left, the band lost a lot of their country influences, which was a shame. This album is chock full of great songs. There are the hits "Best of My Love" and "Already Gone", of course, but it's the slightly deeper cuts that are my favourites, such as "You Never Cry Like a Lover", "Midnight Flyer", "James Dean" and "Good Day in Hell". The track I've decided to highlight in this post is the Leadon-penned song "My Man", which is a beautiful tribute to his friend and ex-Flying Burrito Brothers bandmate Gram Parsons, who had passed away due to a drug and alcohol overdose the previous year.
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Post by Confessor on Apr 3, 2024 14:58:06 GMT -5
Go ahead...shoot. I'd love to get maybe a "Top 5 essential outlaw country albums" type list from you or something similar to start with. Here's five that I think will give you a good feel for the genre and a little peek at its evolution. Kristofferson - Kris Kristofferson (1970): Not exactly outlaw, but the influence is huge. Kris Kristofferson was THE songwriter of the early 70s. Absolutely everyone was covering his songs. Not just country folks, but rock folks, folk folks, adult contemporary folks. Hell, Percy Sledge and Wilson Pickett were covering his songs. And he became a legit superstar, becoming, for a while, better known as a movie star than as a singer or songwriter. Country stars and songs had crossed over before, but not quite like Kristofferson. Viva Terlingua - Jerry Jeff Walker (1973): Still not 100% outlaw...but again the influence is huge. Two huge influences on the outlaw movement that are largely overlooked are Walker and Bobby Bare. Walker because of what he did to establish and promote the Texas (particularly Austin) music scene and Bare because he was really the first name country artist to fight back against the Nashville system and gain control of his music. This album was spontaneous and unpolished and outside the establishment which makes it pretty outlaw. It also was huge toward accelerating the careers of Guy Clark and Ray Wylie Hubbard as songwriters. Honky Tonk Heroes - Waylon Jennings (1973): This is pure outlaw. Waylon had been looking for a way to fuse country and rock...and not in the way that the Byrds and Gram Parsons had done it. He found it in Billy Joe Shavers' songwriting. This was the counterpoint to the incredibly slick approach that had been dominating Nashville for well over a decade and had almost killed traditional honky-tonk. I consider this to be ground zero for outlaw country. Red Headed Stranger - Willie Nelson (1975): And this was the album that turned Willie Nelson, songwriter and critical darling in to Willie Nelson: superstar. It is the zenith of the country concept album and was Willie's first #1 country album. It is everything that Nashville would never have let happen prior to Bobby Bare, Waylon and the rest fighting for creative control of their records. Beyond being an incredibly important album it's a damn fine listen. Wanted! The Outlaws - Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser (1976): When is a compilation album not really a compilation album? When half the tracks are either previously unreleased or have had new vocals, instrumentals or re-mixes added to them. This album was a phenomenon. The first country album to be certified platinum. Everyone bought it. Cowboys, rockers, hippies. It really was huge. And beyond that, it's a darn good album (parts of it are brilliant). It's not perfect...but it's super important. Great! This is really helpful, both in terms of suggestions and the context you give. Thanks, Slam. I'll definitely give those albums a listen and let you know my thoughts.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Apr 3, 2024 10:57:20 GMT -5
I really don't know enough of Waylon Jennings' stuff. In fact, I think the only thing of his that I do know is the Dukes of Hazzard theme tune! Certainly that’s the only Jennings track I actually own. But for that matter, I know precious little about the whole outlaw country genre. It's definitely a sub-genre that I need to investigate more thoroughly. If you ever decide you want to make a dive in to outlaw country let me know. I'll hook you up. Go ahead...shoot. I'd love to get maybe a "Top 5 essential outlaw country albums" type list from you or something similar to start with.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Apr 3, 2024 5:17:11 GMT -5
#3 - Autobahn by KraftwerkWelcome to the future! This album was so far ahead of its time that it's almost unbelievable. And it sounds like nothing else that was around in 1974. Autobahn was the German band Kraftwerk's fourth album (though it was only the third to bear the band's name). It is the record on which they leave their experimental krautrock stylings behind in favour of the new frontier of electronic pop. The band were pushing the envelope so far with this record that, in addition to the Moog synths they had all invested in, they had to develop and build a number of the electronic instruments used on the album themselves! For myself, this is the start of the Kraftwerk story, as I have little interest in their earlier material. As an '80s kid, I was aware of Kraftwerk via hits like "The Model" and "Tour de France", but it wasn't until the early 2000s that I fully immersed myself in their back catalogue. I'm a big fan of late '70s and early '80s synth-pop anyway, so investigating Kraftwerk was a natural progression from appreciating the likes of the Human League, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Depeche Mode, and Gary Numan and Tubeway Army (all of whom were greatly influenced by the German band). The title track is easily the most famous song from this album, and an edited single version reached #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #12 in the UK charts. However, I've decided to showcase the song "Kometenmelodie 2" ( Trans: "Comet Melody 2") instead. This is a musical tribute to Comet Kohoutek, the highly anticipated big astronomical event of 1973 (which ultimately ended up being something of a damp squib). While our Earthbound view of the comet may've been a disappointment, "Kometenmelodie 2" is as shimmeringly beautiful as you could wish any celestial visitor to be and is definitely my favourite track on the album...
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Apr 3, 2024 4:43:24 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1974 #3 - Waylon Jennings – The Ramblin’ Man
I really don't know enough of Waylon Jennings' stuff. In fact, I think the only thing of his that I do know is the Dukes of Hazzard theme tune! Certainly that’s the only Jennings track I actually own. But for that matter, I know precious little about the whole outlaw country genre. It's definitely a sub-genre that I need to investigate more thoroughly. ...Waylon's cover of The Allman Brothers' Midnight Rider. I checked this track out on YouTube because I'm a big Allman Brothers fan and "Midnight Rider" is one of my favourite songs of theirs. Waylon's is not a bad version at all, though one that seems more influenced by Gregg Allman's 1973 solo rendition than the Allman's 1970 original. Nice stuff. Favorite albums of 1974
#4-- Jolene-- Dolly Parton Nice pick. You can't beat a bit of early Dolly from this era. I don't actually own any of her individual albums, but I do have a "best of" CD of her 1970-80 output. "Jolene" is obviously a stone cold classic, but I'm liking those other tracks you posted a lot too, especially "Early Morning Breeze". Side note: This album was recorded at the RCA Studio B; and Yes, I've had the pleasure of recording two albums (with two different groups) there. It's a bit unnerving, recording in such a historic studio... not to mention the fact that there are tour groups coming through all day long on the other side of the soundproof glass. It makes you feel a bit like a monkey in a zoo. Great sonic vibe, notwithstanding. Very cool. I've been in RCA Studio B myself, but only as one of those pesky tourists you mention.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Apr 2, 2024 15:34:02 GMT -5
Talking of art books, I've been looking at some of the big coffee table collections of Bill Ward's risqué 1950s cartoons (I really like his art a lot...and not just for the ladies!). But secondhand copies are all sooooo expensive.
I "watched" a couple of TASCHEN collections on eBay that were priced at over £100 for the pair and today the seller has sent me an offer for £80 for them both. While that it a good saving, £80 is still a lot of money for a couple of used books, but that does seem to be the going rate for these saucy Ward collections.
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