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Unsung Forum » Albums that deserve a second chance |
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Fatalist 1123 posts |
Edited Jan 27, 2013, 21:47
Jan 27, 2013, 21:43
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Jethro Tull - A Passion Play Was having some refreshments with Robot Emperor last night, and we both agreed that this needed to go on the list. I'm sure that for a lot of people, even in this manor, Tull's entire catalogue has been overlooked, the band having been pegged as folk prog eccentrics defined by a goonish flute-playing frontman occasionally gurning out of the telly during a Sounds of the 70s... However, this would be making a grave error. Tull made some of the most gutsy and imaginative music during the first prog epoch, and were genuinely huge around the world. But even among Tull fans, A Passion Play can get short shrift. Following the successful and lauded Thick As A Brick - Ian Anderson supposedly taking the rise out of bloated, pompous concept albums everywhere - APP suddenly seemed to be case of having your cake and eating it. Born out of some famously difficult recording sessions, APP was another single song LP, and while witty and irreverent as ever, it seemed very much to be for real as an artistic statement. Anyway, cut a long story short, it got a drubbing by the critics and the over-elaborate live shows didn't go down well either, particularly in America where they had previously been able to do no wrong. Cue back-pedalling and quick retreat by Anderson & crew, the next album Warchild very much about strong hummable tunes and a more straight forward musical palette. But... APP is undoubtedly my favourite Tull album. Yes, it's pretty dense and a tad unwelcoming, and the production is a bit ropey in places... But, it's stuffed full of fantastic riffs and melody lines, has the most synth and least flute of any Tull album, is excitingly arranged (yes, even with The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles stuck in the middle), and sees Anderson at the peak of his powers as a wordsmith, packing the piece full of memorable lines. It's also unlike anything else you will ever hear. OK, a few other choices/reiterations: Can - Saw Delight. Yes, I love the Damo-era stuff, but this is probably the Can album I like the most - driving, expansive, funky and funny, it hits the spot every time. Van Der Graaf - The Quiet Zone... Glad to hear this has some fans, featuring some of Hammill's best and most incisive songs. As Hawklords is to Warrior on the Edge of Time, so TQZ is to Pawn Hearts ie. great, but almost completely different style albums by the same band. Tangerine Dream - White Eagle. Sure I've banged on about this before, but White Eagle is for me the pinnacle of TD's catalogue. Ambitious and melodic proto-techno that easily goes toe-to-toe with the best of Kraftwerk, I'm constantly surprised it's not more lauded or well-known.
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Moon Cat 9577 posts |
Edited Jan 27, 2013, 23:04
Jan 27, 2013, 23:01
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"A Passion Play" is on my Tull to do list. The Tangs "White Eagle". Hmmmmm.... I think the most recent TD album I have is 'Hyperborea' which is kinda, nice...all right. Generally, I'm a much bigger fan of the earlier stuff before some of the 80s thing began to swamp their sound. I've not got "White Eagle" and I've pretty much avoided most stuff where the year is "198.." or beyond, though I think "Hyperborea" is after "Eagle". Thing is, many, many years ago, I was at a house of a woman that used to work with my mum. Whilst they were nattering downstairs I was shunted upstairs with her two sons who were a few years older than me. I remember hearing them play a TD album and liking it (I'd been exposed to Phaedra and Ricochet via my dad) but could never remember what it was called. I had thought it was "Hyperborea" but when I first heard that years later it was similar but not the one. I have a feeling, that "White Eagle" may be it!
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Fatalist 1123 posts |
Edited Jan 28, 2013, 14:59
Jan 28, 2013, 14:58
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Moon Cat wrote: "A Passion Play" is on my Tull to do list. The Tangs "White Eagle". Hmmmmm.... I think the most recent TD album I have is 'Hyperborea' which is kinda, nice...all right. Generally, I'm a much bigger fan of the earlier stuff before some of the 80s thing began to swamp their sound. I've not got "White Eagle" and I've pretty much avoided most stuff where the year is "198.." or beyond, though I think "Hyperborea" is after "Eagle". Thing is, many, many years ago, I was at a house of a woman that used to work with my mum. Whilst they were nattering downstairs I was shunted upstairs with her two sons who were a few years older than me. I remember hearing them play a TD album and liking it (I'd been exposed to Phaedra and Ricochet via my dad) but could never remember what it was called. I had thought it was "Hyperborea" but when I first heard that years later it was similar but not the one. I have a feeling, that "White Eagle" may be it! I think you've identified why it's so overlooked - it's a genius record bookended by two OK-ish to yawnsome albums (Exit and Hyperborea). The only reason I know it so well is because I had a mate who bought it when it came out and forced the 'if it ain't metal...' 13 year old me to listen to it... Have a listen here to side 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfyPpWGrvTc
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R K Withnell 19 posts |
Jan 28, 2013, 16:50
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Golden Hour of The Kinks Vol 2
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Bolox2 110 posts |
Jan 28, 2013, 17:36
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R K Withnell wrote: Golden Hour of The Kinks Vol 2 Nah, that was good the first time round. How about David Johansen; S.T.? or better yet; In Style, that was v.disappointing on the first few hundred listens. After 30 years it's now working for me.
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tk421 121 posts |
Jan 28, 2013, 21:16
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Moon Cat wrote: With you on "Fireproof" too. I don't think TPE made a bad album really. Wish I'd seen 'em when they got back together for a bit. Yeah but maybe they are a band who deserve a second chance - will always be overlooked or forgotten in favour of the undertones. Did you get the Rare album with John O'Neill playing his distinctive guitar sound over trip hop beats? It was pretty good too...
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zphage 3378 posts |
Jan 30, 2013, 15:54
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surely some of the post-Schenker UFO albums are worth a reconsideration
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traumwelt 22 posts |
Feb 04, 2013, 09:18
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Most drone and black metal deserve a second listen. The first time I heard Sunn O))), I thought they were total shit, then I gave them a second chance and now they're one of my favourites. Burzum is the same way. Vikernes' infamy has overshadowed his music in a big way. After hearing the crimes he committed, you almost WANT to hate Burzum, but some of the music is really good.
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