Slartibartfast's Magical Music Random Load Blog

moshkito wrote:   Slartibartfast wrote: ... Tangerine Dream    Underwater Sunlight            52   I like this one a lot. The opening is really nice, and I can flow with it all day long ... but I would not dare drive on these ... this is not music for you to listen to when driving ... this is music for you to listen when you want to trip!

I actually put that one in the truck player.  I've only been doing short trips near home since I was let go so it works fine for that.

By the way, I think the reason my thread didn't get moved was my collection is about 90% prog.  Also, I did make it a true blog. 

moshkito wrote:   Funny thing ... one of the bands that was listed in that one poster that Dean showed us, was one of the bands whose album I listed here ... but that person can't stand the Edgar Broughton Band and their totally irrevenrent style and intentional afront to "standard" music and ideas for music!

It's getting a little weird for this final run.  I'm now into territory that's on my playlist of last 100 albums added, so I'm basically giving myself extra exposure to that set of music.

Next up -

Amos, Tori    Night Of Hunters            5 - an interesting set of variations on some good classical pieces.

Bjornstad/Darling/Rypdal/Christensen    Sea, The            15 - never heard of Bjornstad until I saw someone was listening to this album in the what are you listening to thread.  I got it and of course having Rypdal on it pretty much guaranteed it was going to be good.

Black Mountain    Wilderness Heart             18 - I probably wouldn't be interested in this band at all, but they came up when I was on the Crossover evaluation team and they clicked with me.  Some people turn their noses up at retro style stuff, but I really like what they've done here even if I don't have the artists they are heavily influenced by in my collection.  I tried to write a review of it but got writer's block.  Maybe I can put one together soon.

Claypool, Les    Of Fungi And Foe            20 - I think I've peaked in my enthusiasm for the Lester still I like all his albums I have collected so far from Primus to his various projects, he seems to be rehashing old themes a bit too much. 

Corea, Clarke & White    Forever            22 - the first disc is a return to the trio that was proto RTF.  The second disc brings back Bill Connors and even has Jean-Luc Ponty.  Chaka Kahn is on a few pieces.  OK, but I prefer Flora Purim who did them originally.

Davis, Miles    Get Up With It            25 - an album that I heard some good things about on this site and my newest addition.  And to think I still haven't completed the discography of this period.  This one brings me one step closer.

Ferry, Bryan    Olympia            29 - I had two other Ferry solos that I found used.  I wouldn't have been inclined to get this one based on those two, but this one is much better, damn nearly a Roxy Music album.

Garbarek, Anja    Smiling And Waving            32 - another one of those artists I would not have discovered were it not for my stint on the crossover evaluation team.  Only have this one so far, but it's really good.  Has Steven Wilson and Robert Wyatt as guests.  Robert covered one of the songs from here that he didn't sing on on one of his solo albums.

Jethro Tull    Jethro Tull Christmas Album            42 - Christmas albums get skipped when they come up in rotation as far as listening goes if they come around out of season but I make up for it by playing them when the season comes around as an antidote to standard stuff.

Porcupine Tree    We Lost The Skyline            54 - I prefer my PT live in DVD format.  But a nice set of song versions without the whole band performed duet form.

Prince    Rainbow Children, The            56 - another one of those recommendations that turned out to be a good one.  I'm always a sucker for concept albums.

Reasoning, The    Adverse Camber            59 - studio album number three and going strong.  Let's hope it won't be their last.

Rhodes, Happy    Warpaint            66 - my first and liked it enough to keep on going on a collection spree in 2010.  Did another one of harder to get CDs in 2011.  Only one still eludes me.

Univers Zero    Implosion            73 - part of another band binge.  I've got a nice set of four, but am taking a break from getting new ones. (Well, taking a break from getting any new at all period although I did have to go for TAAB2.

Zorn, John    Ipsissimus            79 - Mike Patton's vocals come pretty close to making this album unlistenable for most people including myself, but then so does Zorn's sax quite often.  Still, solid heavy music.



Edited by Slartibartfast - May 11 2012 at 08:59

Another batch for this morning

Amos, Tori    Midwinter Graces            4 - combination of reworked X-mas songs and seasonal.  Will save this one to listen to when that time comes around again.

Big Big Train    Bard            9 - Big Big Train gets better better.

Collins, Phil    Face Value            17 - on the one hand the other notorious two each got out one decent prog oriented album as a solo, on the other hand Phil had done many other prog projects other than Genesis before this album, so I'll cut him some slack for a doing a more commercial oriented first solo album.

Dead Can Dance    Into the Labyrinth            20 - one of two of their CDs that made their way into my collection in a roundabout fashion.  Like the music enough to keep but not explore further at this time.

Discipline    To Shatter All Accord            22 - solid new album from one of those prog outfits I was unaware of the last time they were on the scene.

Gryphon    Red Queen To Gryphon Three            26 - I've been aware of this band for many years and even had one of their other ones on LP.  Just got this one a couple of years ago or so.  It always had good rep.

Kansas    Kansas            34 - I'm rather surprised it took so long to finally get a copy on CD which is my first copy period.  Puts Kansas in that pantheon of prog artists who debuted with a great album rather than work their way up to one.

Levin, Tony, David Torn, Alan White    Levin Torn White            38 - one of the best instrumentals of 2011.  White really stands out in a trio much more so than in the Yes ensemble.

Stereolab    Chemical Chords            54
Stereolab    Not Music            55 - 2008 and 2010 releases.  Nice upbeat stuff but the guys seem stuck in a bit of a rut.

Umphrey's McGee    Summer Sampler 2010            57 - freebie from a package store.  Totally unexpected to see but I picked me up one.

Univers Zero    Clivages            58 - all of their albums have a dark quality to the music, this one not too much so.

Univers Zero    Univers Zero (1313)            59 - dark, but not quite as dark as my last impression.

Wyatt, Robert    Theatre Royal Drury Lane            62 - I've seen commentary where some people really like this one.  It's kind of a ho hum affair for me.  Robert isn't the best as a live vocalist and the impressive guests don't seem to contribute much distinctive in that if I didn't know they were on the album from the cover I wouldn't be able to tell they were on the album.

Zappa, Frank    Wazoo            63 - still don't have the Grand, but I think I have enough Zappa to make up for that.  Not sure if I would have got this were it not for the cool Dali rip off cover.  Excellent live Zappa big band.


Edited by Slartibartfast - May 15 2012 at 16:10

Split the last batch in half:
Big Big Train    The Difference Machine            4 - their latest three albums seem like long lost old Genesis album.  I like it.

Hackett, Steve    Out Of The Tunnel's Mouth            10 - this album is too short.  I like the long sprawling ones with bonus tracks.
Hackett, Steve     Beyond The Horizon            11 - there, much better.

Hassell, Jon    Last night the moon came dropping its clothes on the street            13 - a lot of Jon's albums I've collected I can take or leave, they're definitely different.  This is one of his better ones.

Hof, Jasper Van't    Live In Montreaux            15 - Thanks to a friend for the exchange.  My brother taped this from a radio broadcast many years ago on cassette, but it had long deteriorated and then the flood wiped it out completely.  Only available on LP and out of print at that.  More JRF than his usual stuff.  Has Vitous and Mouzon.

Knifeworld    Buried Alive: Tales Of Crushing Defeat            16 - my favorite 2009 release, I think.

Monade    Monstre Cosmic            19 - for those who don't know Monade is a Laetitia Sadier Stereolab spinoff.  This is the latest.  You get a good feeling for what she brings to the groop.

Omphrey    Omphrey            20 - they already have a new one out.  This is of course an all instrumental Umphrey's McGee related project.  More proggy than their latest release to be certain.

Phideaux    Snowtorch            21 - keeping up the good work.

Primus    Green Naugahyde            24 - hate to say it but Les needs some new song themes.  Still like Jilly though.

Radiohead    King Of Limbs            25 - I think I like Radiohead pre Rainbows better than later, though I still like them.

Rhodes, Happy    Equipoise            26 - I got most of my Rhodes from the more readily available during my first binge.  This is from the second harder to get binge.  She really is one of those artists who has gotten better with each album unlike some who peak and decline.
Keep, The            27 - FB - a collection.
Many Worlds Are Born Tonight            29 - FB - I really need to set aside some time to see that all of her albums get one written review.
Rhodesongs            30 - FB - live.
Rhodes, Happy    Rhodes II            12 - SB - another compilation.

Zorn, John    Dreamers, The            33 - this is one of those albums that shows you why we still need good brick and mortar record stores.  Granted I might not have tried it if I hadn't started at Z(appa) in rock to A.  Then A to Z(orn) in jazz and not finding anything that excited me.  Fortunately, it had a good blurb on the spine insert that intrigued me.  Normally I'd expect to get something really noisy that would drive most people off.  Instead you get accessible yet still interesting music.


Edited by Slartibartfast - June 11 2012 at 13:52

Unless I missed anything that takes me through my collection up until the end of 2011.  I figured out what my next cycle will be.  Work backwards from 2011.  Shuffle by year.  Crank out some full reviews.


Edited by Slartibartfast - June 23 2012 at 19:14