I shall give Tales from Topographical Oceans a spin. I’m sure it will be great…
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Currently listening to this for the first time.
Obviously know, and love, the opening title track but will be interested to see if they can keep up the quality.
Well if nothing else it’s got me to try Horses. The opening track is an absolute belter, will be interesting to see if it keeps up for the rest of it (and bloody hell it’s a long album).
Tried Catch A Fire by Bob Marley?
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I like Horses. I went to see Patti Smith and Co perform the LP in Dublin about 18 months ago but was unimpressed. The gig was in a large marquee (to keep off the rain etc) where the proper context for Horses is a sweaty pun club IMHO. It is one of those all time classic LPs that I rarely feel the need to play…
Well I didn’t realise London Calling was a double album so I only had time to listen as far as track 12 Death and Glory before going to work.
After the title track that we all know I was most suprised by the style of much of it with a really big Ska influence, and almost a reggae feel in places. Other tracks were very much of the new-wave type rather than aggressive punk.
It was also more flamboyantly produced than I expected.
The vocals were hard to make out on a number of tracks which annoyed me but I guess repeat listening will help.
Will give it a full listen tonight.
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That is the way Strummer sang. I don’t think he had all his teeth at the time they recorded the LP.
Agree with that. Very good reco.
The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street
The Stones are a band that have largely passed me by so far, so thought I’d start with Exile on Main Street as it seems to be regarded as their finest work. There’s an awful lot to like here. The music is varied and interesting, the playing is good and I like the way it dips into various different genres. What I really, really cannot stand after a whole album’s worth is Jagger’s voice. It just grates, to the point that out of choice I probably won’t ever listen to this again, which is a shame because the rest of it is excellent.
Reading the Wikipedia page on the album, it would appear the band were in a massive degree of disarray, and frequently the playing on the album isn’t the full lineup, but simply whichever members of the band were there plus session musicians etc. What’s very impressive is how little this comes across on the record (at least to my ears). There’s a coherence to the sound throughout that I wouldn’t expect from such a merry-go-round of personnel.
Overall I think this probably gets a 7/10. It would have been higher if Jagger didn’t sound like he’d spent the previous 24 hours howling at the moon until his voice was raw.
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Yes: Tales from Topographical Oceans
I took this on out of interest as it is an LP I have consciously avoided listening to. I am familiar with bits and pieces of the Yes back catalogue and am of the view that it all is not for me. I really wanted to see if I could overcome the prejudice I grew up with about the bands denigrated by the punk movement (Yes, ELO, Supertramp etc).
I was careful to read up on the vinyl before I played the TIDAL stream and then pause the music to consider each side in turn. I do this with all new LPs, effectively thinking about the music I listened to as I flip the LP. I wanted to treat this as a vinyl LP as that was the format the artists designed it for, hence the pauses to the TIDAL stream.
Firstly, it is clear to me that each of the musicians involved is supremely talented. Their ability to play extremely complicated pieces to rapidly changing time signatures was quite impressive. I have to say that the vocals do nothing for me and the lyrics are utter nonsense. The overall impression I took away from listening to this was what an unstructured mess it is. Much of the music I listen to is derived from a single riff that provides both rhythm and melody. Here, I found it hard to find any melodic structure as the music seems to wander about. There is nothing really resembling a riff or central motif in any of the songs. Rather, to my mind they evolve in a random fashion which was very interesting at first. However, in the end, there was nothing I could really hang on to and respond to.
In the same way that this week’s AAAC did nothing for me, this LP was something I found myself almost observing rather than listening to. I didn’t hate it, I certainly didn’t like it. The best description I can provide is that the music arrived from my speakers and provoked no response from me.
I know the RAM rules say listen to the LP three times.
Fuck. That. For. A. Laugh.
Summary: Mercifully it was largely flute-free.
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I’m no punk snob, but I can’t see mention of that album without thinking of…
Anal Cunt - Rancid Sucks (And The Clash Sucked Too) Lyrics
Read more at http://www.songlyrics.com/anal-cunt/rancid-sucks-and-the-clash-sucked-too-lyrics/#j6D6gwzyvlE1cIIG.99
Ska is gay, reggae is gay
You’re fucking gay and you’re not punk
You say you hate corporations but you were on NBC
’London’s Calling’ and they’re calling you gay
Rancid sucks, Rancid sucks
Rancid sucks and The Clash sucked too
Rancid sucks, Rancid sucks
Rancid sucks and The Clash sucked too
If Kenny G had a Mohawk, he wouldn’t be punk
If Yanni had dumb tattoos, he wouldn’t be punk
If Garth Brooks pierced his nose, he wouldn’t be punk
If Liberace sounded like The Clash, he wouldn’t be punk
Yeah, a year or so ago I thought I should probably give Yes a try- i like prog- but it did nothing for me. Zero. Turgid dull soulless wank as I recall
Guess i should give Sgt Pepper a go some day.
Infact i’m not aware of listening to any complete Beatles album.
Did you draw the cover especially for your review Olan 
I’ll punch your bum if you don’t take back what you said about Mick’s voice 
Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough.
Though I never mentioned Mick’s voice.
LOL, didn’t mean to respond to you . . . still up for a spot of bum punching?
It took fucking long enough to listen to the album that I could have. I was lucky enough to get the extended stream LP with two extra tracks. All their covers seem to be rejected backgrounds from some awful 1970s fantasy novel set on Gor, a bit like this:
I’ve ordered one especially for you 
That is a bargain 
. Could you have it printed in extreme landscape on some heavily quilted and absorbent paper please. 
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