Slartibartfast's Magical Music Random Load Blog

That's interesting.  Two For The Show in its latest incarnation is the Kansas album I'd recommend to anyone interested in exploring the band.  Taming The Tiger is an interesting pick.  Not my favorite Joni, I'm more partial to her latter '70's stuff, but still a nice album, the title track.  My favorite track on that one is not an original but My Best To You.  I was at work one day playing it when it was a new to me album and I e-mailed the lyrics to soon to be my wife. 

No, I don't have that one yet.  Heard of it though...

I have the Shadows And Light concert.  That was what really got me into her music.

Speaking of DVD, I got Gabriel's live with New Blood yesterday, and it is excellent.


Edited by Slartibartfast - December 02 2011 at 09:05

jean-marie wrote: I've got two Gabriel dvd :Secret world and Growing up, still haven't listened to the one you talk about...

I wouldn't have either, but I had a $10 off coupon.  I was skeptical that I would find anything at Best Buy worth, uh, best buying.  I think it's his best concert video so far and have those two as well as the the supplemental DVD to Growing UP and Point Of View on VHS.  I've transferred almost all of my VHSs that haven't come out on to DVD format.


Edited by Slartibartfast - December 11 2011 at 06:47

Cluster & Brian Eno    Old Land - good ambient.

Davis, Miles    Complete Bitches Brew Sessions, The - it's bitchen.  My first encounter with this album was the CD box set although I know I must have heard at least some of it somewhere before.  Got it in September '99 and the timing was good.

Emerson, Lake, and Palmer / Modest Mussorgsky    Pictures at an Exhibition - one of the prog albums that led me to interest in exploring classical music more.  I like this variation very much.  Still the original Mussorgsky piano reigns supreme.

Explosions In The Sky    How Strange, Innocence - I think this is their first one.  A lot of the ones after are a bit too similar but still good.  With this one they seem to finding that sound but haven't quite got there which is a good thing as well.

Grappeli, Stephane    Celebrating Grappeli - got to meet the old guy once, just a hand shake, but imagine that, a hand shake with this great.

Isham, Mark    Grand Parade, The - a Dali inspired album, more of his electronic side but still horny.

Oldfield, Mike    Ommadawn - ooh aah... and it has horseys.  Ommmmmmm.

Premiata Forneria Marconi    Photos of Ghosts - the conventional wisdom is that you should only listen to the original Italian language versions of their songs.  Pay no attention to the conventional wisdom.  Pete Sinfield did some nice work with his English lyrics.  Especially noteworthy that they weren't mere translations.

Primus    Antipop - Primus past their, uhm, prime us.  For you production freaks it was partly an experiment in using various producers.

Sausage    Riddles Are Abound Tonight - Claypool seems to revel in projects that only last one album.  Has a few songs in common with album that started me on the Pool: Live Frogs 1.

Tomita, Isao / Holst    Planets, The - if you can bear with the synth noise indulgences there are nice interpretations of the original music.

Zappa, Frank    Apostrophe (') - what can I say, probably essential Zappa.  Easier on the ears for those who thought he got too crude a few albums later.

Zappa, Frank    Broadway the Hardway - the last non-posthumous album I got by Frank.  Some people despise it for the thing I admire most.  Its left leaning mirror on politics (mostly) of the '80's.

Just 250 left to go.


Edited by Slartibartfast - January 05 2012 at 20:30

Slartibartfast wrote: Cluster & Brian Eno    Old Land Davis, Miles    Complete Bitches Brew Sessions, The Emerson, Lake, and Palmer / Modest Mussorgsky    Pictures at an Exhibition Explosions In The Sky    How Strange, Innocence Grappeli, Stephane    Celebrating Grappeli Isham, Mark    Grand Parade, The Oldfield, Mike    Ommadawn Premiata Forneria Marconi    Photos of Ghosts Primus    Antipop Sausage    Riddles Are Abound Tonight Tomita, Isao / Holst    Planets, The Zappa, Frank    Apostrophe (') Zappa, Frank    Broadway the Hardway Just 250 left to go.             Just love these ones

Not through with the load above but topping off with these below:

Amos, Tori    from the choirgirl hotel - one of those albums that takes me back to the time it came out.  A personal relationship would soon be over.

Davis, Miles    Pangaea -

McLachlan, Sarah    Afterglow
Montrose, Ronnie    Territory
Nirvana    In Utero
Radiohead    Bends, The
Roxy Music    Siren
Summers, Andy    XYZ



Edited by Slartibartfast - January 13 2012 at 20:11

Today's case also has the titles I haven't commented on so the whole set loaded is:

1/20/12 - I had put in commentary on all of this and the post failed and it was lost.   Well maybe I'll do better this time and remeber to copy to the clipboard before I update.

Badalamenti, Angelo    Soundtrack from Twin Peaks - The guy does some really good soundtrack work and David Lynch post Dune wouldn't quite be the same without the collaboration.

Big Big Train    English Boy Wonders - Last time I checked their debut album was out of print, so all I can say is that number two isn't quite as good from a prog standpoint as their later ones but I still enjoy it.  Some might say it's more of an alt-rock offering.

Gabriel, Peter    Up - About damn time Pete.  Actually it wasn't until this one came out that I learned about Ovo, but in the end some artists are probably best if they aren't so driven and make something new when they feel they feel the time is right and it was.

Howe, Steve    Turbulence - Sort of a companion album to Union only instrumental and highly recommended for those who like Yes but not Union.  One of my favorite solo Howes and I have a bunch now.

King Crimson    Great Deciever (Live 1973-1974) Disc One, The - This box set is almost too much stuff from that era.  Had to get it though.  I think what makes the whole box set worthwhile are the improvs and the tracks that this lineup didn't do the originals of.  My only gripe is didn't arrange the shows in chronological order but I can fix that if I wanna do the whole thing in a playlist.

Ponty, Jean-Luc    Gift of Time, The - Pretty much a studio production with Ponty doing a lot of the instruments and his backup artists aren't any of the big names, still I like it.  I see only one review so maybe I should rectify that.

Reasoning, The    Awakening - Their debut endeared my to this band and they are still going strong.  Probably has more metal elements than I might have appreciated in the past, but then again Crimson has metal elements.

Amos, Tori    from the choirgirl hotel - Ah, the album I got just before the girlfriend who introduced me to Tori and I broke up. 

Davis, Miles    Pangaea - It's really awesome how this guy could do such long live sets of what I believe is basically improv.  It's great music, but I have a hard time digesting it.

McLachlan, Sarah    Afterglow - Sarah was best on her first three from a prog standpoint, still I wouldn't be without it.

Montrose, Ronnie    Territory - This guy has good rep as a solo guitarist and if I knew some of his other stuff I might recommend for his inclusion on this site but I quit exploring his stuff after this and I'm not entirely sure why.

Nirvana    In Utero - I never really paid Nirvana much attention until I got a used copy of In Utero in '99 though it would be about three years before I tried Nevermind.  It did however get me into the band eventually.  For those who would deny a Fripp influence I heard a lot of it here not so much on the song level as on the licks. 

Radiohead    Bends, The - Marked the last of Radiohead raid as there wasn't anything left to get of their studio stuff.  I don't think I'd have liked it as much as I do If I hadn't put it in line last.

Roxy Music    Siren - Kind of marks a softening of Roxy's rough edges.  I like it.

Summers, Andy    XYZ - Summers has had an interesting solo career.  Much more JRF than Sting's.

Funny story about Pangea, when I got it I had and still have a 50 disc CD changer which I load up with my newest titles after they spend about a month in the carrying case.  I'd usually play it on shuffle and I noticed that Pangea tracks seemed to be repeating the most frequently.  That's how I figured out that the changer shuffles by going through the discs first and then picking a random title off the selected disc when it loads.

What's kind of cool about these random draws is when you see connections.  Tori Amos did a nice cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit, which was one of the things that led me to try In Utero (though that song isn't on it).   I think being able to hear the lyrics clearly led me to consider that Kurt might actually have had some songwriting talents.



Edited by Slartibartfast - January 20 2012 at 05:55

Knocking them out commentary-wise as I spin them:
Badalamenti, Angelo    Soundtrack from Twin Peaks - Angelo's music really made the series from merely weird to weirdly great.  He's the best thing that ever happened to David Lynch.  I have to wonder if Dune might have turned out a little better with him on board.

Big Big Train    English Boy Wonders - once I got on the big big train I raided their catalog.  Not completely in prog territory but still a good album.

Howe, Steve    Turbulence - OK so you hated Union, try this one.  One of my favorite Howe solo albums.

Ponty, Jean-Luc    Gift of Time, The - I think this was Ponty's first Synclavier albums.  I like what he did with it.  I just noticed I still need to get Civilized Evil.

Reasoning, The    Awakening - stunning debut album.  I read a review dissing them as neo-prog/metal hybrid.  OK, it works for me.

McLachlan, Sarah    Afterglow - Fumbling Towards Ecstasy was really her peak album.  She still makes good music but nothing that moved me like that one.   I'd nominate her for crossover but I think it would never fly.



Edited by Slartibartfast - January 07 2012 at 07:58

Slartibartfast wrote: Bowie, David    Outside            24 Davis, Miles    Someday My Prince Will Come            44 Eluvium    Talk Amongst the Trees            53 Gong, Pierre Moerlen's    Time is the Key            78 Grappelli, Stephane/David Grisman    Live            81 Happy the Man    Crafty Hands            89 King Crimson    Beat            116 McLaughlin, John-Jaco Pastorius-Tony Williams    Trio of Doom            127 Stewart, Dave & Barbara Gaskin    Green and Blue            199 Tangerine Dream    Phaedra            206 Vangelis    Mythodea            213

        

Slartibartfast wrote: Bowie, David    Outside            24 - Heroes spiked my interest many years before this came out, but this one got me to into exploring more of his albums. My favourite Bowie album Happy the Man    Crafty Hands            89 Brilliant. A sadly neglected band King Crimson    Beat            116 - it was short and seemed to be more of a commercial attempt.  Has it good moment though. Unjustly overlooked Crims album.