What are you listening to?

[Savonarola]

Yeah, that was great.  But next time could you not put the year of the Album.  It is a bit jarring to think about how old I, um I mean, it is.

 

That doesn't really bother until albums released after I graduated from college.  The Eminem Show can't really be over twenty years old and the Battle of Britpop couldn't really have happened nearly thirty years ago, right?

[The Minsky Moment]

Herbie Hancock - Headhunters (1973)

It's the second-best Herbie Hancock album of 1973 (after Sextent) but obviously a lot more commercially successful.
I don't think its aged very well.

[Savonarola]

David Bowie - Pinups (1973)

The last hurrah for The Spiders From Mars, but unfortunately the weakest studio album of Bowie's 70s era work (I prefer it to "David Live").  Bowie did a number of covers over his career, but an album of covers just didn't work out.  The only song that's better than the original is "Sorrow" (originally by the Merseys.)  He deserves credit for trying to do something different with "See Emily Play," but it's just not very good.  The other songs are very much like the originals.  It's not bad, but as compared to his other work from the era it's a disappointment.

[Josquius]

Last night I saw Pom Poko live.
They're a Norwegian indie, post punk, grungy shoe gazy sort of set up with a female vocalist.
They're unflashy but musically solid.


The support was some Brighton band called Congratulations who were... Different. Front woman isn't a looker but good performance. Beth Ditto meets Kate Jackson vibes. Decent band.

[Savonarola]

The Who - Quadrophenia (1973)

Inevitably this will be compared to "Tommy."  The story is much more coherent (admittedly that's not high praise) and composition is more sophisticated; using leitmotifs to imply characters or occurrences.  The problem is the hits aren't as good as those in "Tommy."

The strength of the album, in my opinion, is the lyrics.  Townshend manages to capture the confusion and alienation of youth very well.  This is especially impressive as The Who are reconsidering the period of their own origins.  I think there would have been a tendency to wallow in nostalgia for Mods or, perhaps, critique it.  The album does neither, but instead simply presents it.

[Josephus]

This and Tommy are the only two Who albums I own. I like them both equally; though I think Quadrophenia has some of the better tunes of the two.

[Savonarola]

This and Tommy are the only two Who albums I own. I like them both equally; though I think Quadrophenia has some of the better tunes of the two.

Interestingly, my two favorite Who albums are the ones immediately before and after the rock operas (The Who Sell Out and Who's Next respectively.)  I think they avoid the excesses of Tommy and Quadrophenia while still being loaded with great songs.

For having the better hits, I was specifically thinking of "Pinball Wizard," "Acid Queen" and "I'm Free;" I don't think Quadrophenia has anything as iconic as those tracks (the first two would go on to become hits for other artists.)  I do really like 5:15 on Quadrophenia; it seems like a great throwback (though considerably more sophisticated) to the "Maximum R&B" that defined their early sound.

[Josephus]

Quadrophenia may not have had "hits" but it had some classic radio staples such as Love Reign Over Me, The Real Me and Dr. Jimmy.

I like Baba O'Reilly from Who's Next, but Behind Blue Eyes is a bit overplayed. Although just looking at it, I can see some great tunes on it too like Going Mobile and Bargain.

[crazy canuck]

Could be an age and stage thing. I agree Sav, there are bigger hits on other Albums.  But Quadrophenia is my sentimental favourite. Perhaps because the lyrics spoke to me when I heard them in the 70s.

[Savonarola]

The MC5 just released a new album, Heavy Lifting.  Unfortunately the three surviving members died earlier this year.  I listened to it; it's a lot more metal than the other three MC5 albums (all released over 50 years ago), so not really my thing, but the BBC had an interesting (though hyperbolic) article on them:

They were the real essence of rock 'n' roll': How revolutionary band MC5 soundtracked US counterculture

[Josquius]

I a saw Public Service Broadcasting last night.
Apparently they've a new album which is a bit of a return to their traditional fair- though Bright Magic was great.
This new album is focussed around Amelia Earhart news footage.
It seem alright though so far not standing out as their best.

They were good. The concert was in a fancy pants cultural theatre (the sage) rather than a standard concert venue. I was sitting at the back and lots of really old people around.

[Savonarola]

The Wailers - Burnin' (1973)

Released just six months after "Catch a Fire" and the last album featuring the original lineup; Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer would leave after this one and the band would become "Bob Marley and the Wailers" after that.  Given those factors this is surprisingly good; with some of the Wailers best known songs: "Get up Stand up" and "I Shot the Sherriff."  The album is much more confrontational than their previous work; going so far as to answer Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross" with "How many rivers do we have to cross, before we can talk to the boss" in "Burnin'".  I don't think it's as good as "Catch a Fire," but it is better than any of the other Wailers or Bob Marley and the Wailers album that I have heard so far.

[Josephus]

Kate Bush--the Kick Inside (1978)

Pink Floyd's David Gilmour financed the demo recordings of songs written when she was a teenager and convinced his label, EMI, to take her on. The rest is history. This album, her debut, included her hit single Wuthering Heights.

[The Brain]

The Folksmen - Blood On The Coal

[Admiral Yi]

On the off chance you haven't heard this Brain.