Slartibartfast's Magical Music Random Load Blog

I think it was reproducing when I was not watching, because there's Circle In The Round and Directions down there too

It's kind of weird, I first got know some of the music of Miles at free jazz festivals in Piedmont Park in Atlanta when I was a teen.  I didn't get my first on until I bought The Complete Bitches Brew box set in 1999 and since then I've been steadily adding titles.  The local independent stores have typically had something I haven't tried yet and his catalog is so huge.  I like everything going back to Birth Of The Cool, which is my earliest title.  For me, if someone were to ask me what is jazz?  I'd put on Kind Of Blue and that would be it.  Not to take anything away from other stuff in the wide world of jazz. 

jammun wrote: I like Birth Of The Cool for historical reasons, but really don't listen to it very often

Darn That Dream is his best track ever.

I agree with you Slarts on that Henry Fool album. It's got a lot of mellotron on it too. I keep hearing they're going to do a second album but i'm still waiting.

Minstrel I can do without.  Mebbe there's a couple of good songs.  I'm sorry, gimme TAAB.  And while I'm thinking about it, f**k Passion Play and its ilk.

My next batch:

Bears,The    Rise and Shine    74
Garbarek, Anja    Smiling And Waving    391
Glass, Philip    Kundun    419
Johnson, Eric    Ah Via Musicom    575
Marillion    Script For A Jester's Tear (Remaster)    658
no-man    lost songs: volume one    781
no-man    returning jesus    782
Oldfield, Mike    Earth Moving    799
Passport    Cross Colateral    827
Passport    Infinity Machine    828
Hackett, Steve    Time Lapse (Live)    988 988? ok did some weird sort on my list.
Vangelis    Spiral    1140

The numbers are the numbers that generate at random for whatever I have left in this pass through my music collection.  It's kind of weird that two Passports and two no-man came up for the amount of titles that I am going through.



Edited by Slartibartfast - November 13 2010 at 14:47

Eric Johnson can play a bit i have that cd of his you mentioned and a couple of others too.He has such a great tone with that guitar. That would be cool if he was added here.

I just loaded these.  Didn't when I selected them.  So here are the drive by reviews:

Roxy Music    Avalon - a band that started out very rough around the edges to my ears.  By the time they made it here they had become a bit smoother and sophisticated and probably too pop for the tastes of many of their early period fanatics.

Marillion    B'Sides Themselves - I think this album is almost obsolete.  The B sides are available on all the remastered versions. 

Stereolab    First of the Microbe Hunters, The - not quite as inspired as it's predecessor Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night.  I actually liked it better than the guy who turned me on this band.

Belew, Adrian    Guitar As Orchestra, The - one of those albums I wish I had listened to once and not put in my collection.  These kind of albums will remain for their novelty value.

Childs, Toni    House of Hope - I probably wouldn't place this in a prog category, but she does work with really good musicians who are.  She's kind of an acquired taste, but I like the three albums I have.

Stereolab    Instant 0 In The Universe - their first album since Mary Hansen died in a bicycle accident, hence the instant 0.  A decent EP.  If you're familiar with her contributions to the band, you know how bad Mary will is missed.

Synergy    Metropolitan Suite - Larry Fast is really one of those keyboard/synthesizer players who should get more recognition around here (I just find that better to say than underrated ).  Another bit of music from the '80's that makes the case that the '80's didn't suck for prog.

Nine Inch Nails    Pretty Hate Machine - if this were Trent's only album, I still might like NIN, but I would not have given them the thumbs up for crossover.  Still a decent initial album. 

Oldfield, Mike    QE2 - it's really weird, this album was part of a rather large Christmas gift batch from someone I used to work for (thanks Dawn! ).  It, uh, still hasn't, uh, sunk in.  I've had it for a few years. 

Moraz, Patrick    i - Oh my God, oh my God,  oh my God!!!  I've known this album since the early days of becoming a prog freak.  Although Moraz was just a one album and tour member of Yes, the band members were on a solo album making tear.  For me this one is a rival of Olias Of Sunhillow.  I like Fish Out Of Water, too, but not as much those two.                         

Hackett, Steve    A Midsummer Night's Dream - after Hackett made some failed attempts at commercial albums, he came to his senses and went in a classical music direction.  I've picked up more than a few of albums of this flavor and they are all quite good.

Marsalis, Branford Quartet    Requiem - a tribute to Kenny Kirkland who had just died.  Good modern jazz, say no more.

Di Meola, Al    Scenario - maybe some people will say there is an '80's taint to this, I think it's among one of the better '80's albums by a prog artist of course, not amongst the best.  Mostly a Di Meola/Hammer duet effort.  Levin and Bruford show up for a track.

And now I don't have to scramble for a loading in the morning.



Edited by Slartibartfast - November 17 2010 at 20:33

Beck, Jeff    Wired - Jeff's '70's stuff remain his finest.  He banged the Hammer rather well.

Davis, Miles    Filles De Kilimanjaro - Miles was about to go all Jazz/Rock on peoples asses.  I think you can hear him headed there here.

Gong    Expresso II - well, I'm one of those that got into Gong when Pierre was at the helm.  This is another excellent set from that era.

Oldfield, Mike    Music Of The Spheres - Mike doing a piece of orchestral prog with heavy Tubular Bells overtures.

Pink Floyd    Animals/Saucer Full of Secrets - somebody decided to sell off a PF box set in pieces.  I ordered a used copy of the wall that turned out to be from the same set.  Can't complain about Animals and Saucer being combined on one disc.  Still I was expecting for Animals and The Wall to be from an original album release.  Plenty of fans of all three of those albums around here, myself included.

Porcupine Tree    We Lost The Skyline - acoustic duet that I happened upon browsing at my local independent brick and mortar store.  Couldn't pass it up.  The mark of any really good live album is the departure in some shape or form from the studio versions and this one lives up to that.

Talking Heads    Fear of Music (Remaster) - Jerry Harrison presided over the remix/remaster of the TH catalog and you get 5.1 mixes and bonus material including video stuff.  If you're a TH fan and have their 70's stuff you will probably need to get this one.

U.K.    U.K. - ook ook ook.  When I made a copy of this on cassette I had to pair it up with Bill Bruford's One Of A Kind.  Kind of companion albums I must say.  It's a shame Bruford and Holdsworth didn't hang around for another album.  The quartet with Jobson and Wetton were a pretty good team.

Edited by Slartibartfast - November 21 2010 at 18:47

Happy Rhodesongs goes in, Number Seven comes out and now it's time for another batch of 8 (Olympia is in heavy rotation):

Allman Brothers, The    At the Fillmore East - if you only try or have one AB album, this is the one.  I would not steer you wrong.

Amos, Tori    Beekeeper, The - Tori is one of those artists that just never disappoints me.  This is a sort of concept album.  I got the deluxe version that comes with DVD a really nice booklet and a pack of wildflower seeds that I have never planted.

High Llamas    Can Cladders - these guys are a bit of a mixed bag in terms of their albums.  There are some really good ones and some dull ones.  This one is one of the dull ones. For recent times they haven't surpassed Snowbug.

Kindler, Steve    Across a Rainbow Sea - damn, why did I draw two snooze fests?  Steve has worked with Jan Hammer but this is average new age stuff.  I'd probably sell it, but I'm fairly certain it wouldn't fetch more than the postage it would take to mail it to someone.

Stereolab    fab four suture - basic Stereolab album.  Doesn't really stand out. 

Sting    Dream of the Blue Turtles, The - really liked this one when it came out.  When I saw the Bring On The Night movie and saw Miles Copeland's attitude towards the other band members when they were negotiating for more money from the tour, it kind of soured me to Sting.  I remember Steve Martin on a joint Saturday Live sketch referring to him as Stingy.  A rather good continuation of the proggy direction that the Police had taken.

Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilitch/Alexander Borodin    Sleeping Beauty, Romeo & Juliet/Polovesian Dances - eh.  Doesn't really move me like some of the other decomposing composers.  Primarily got this one early in my CD collecting days because it was cheap.  I bet fans here of the T man could direct me to better stuff.

Wyatt, Robert    Solar Flares Will Burn You - I'm a believer.  No really, he covers The Monkee's song, which is rather funny as I was a big fan of them as a kid.  Rather lost interest in them as I got into prog.  I did have to get a DVD of their movie Head.  It's got a Frank Zappa cameo you know...  Anyway, this is a release for the fans of Robert as it is a compilation of demos and stuff that didn't make it to a regular studio album.