Stinger390X Posted October 8, 2016 Report Share Posted October 8, 2016 I have been a very loyal fan since 1974. I used to have a huge poster of Neil's drum kit that he used to "climb" into. it was his double bass and complete setup with the chimes behind him and all his toys. You spoke of Geddie's voice...if you listen to the debut album and say for example "Signals", you can see his voice has changed slightly over the decades and he can't hit the high notes like he used to. That goes to everyone........it's called ageing, but I always found his voice unique! Oh and I also got a huge kick out of seeing their cameo appearance in the movie "I Love You Man" from 2009. It brought a whole new generation of fans to Rush! Funny movie too!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtieRollins Posted October 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2016 5 hours ago, Stinger390X said: You spoke of Geddie's voice...if you listen to the debut album and say for example "Signals", you can see his voice has changed slightly over the decades and he can't hit the high notes like he used to. That goes to everyone........it's called ageing, but I always found his voice unique! Oh and I also got a huge kick out of seeing their cameo appearance in the movie "I Love You Man" from 2009. It brought a whole new generation of fans to Rush! Funny movie too!!! I have never had a problem with Geddy and his voice, but it seems like if there is one thing people often like to "point out" in a bit of negative way, is that his singing might be a bit "high". South Park, Futurama and Fanboys also showed their respect to Rush over the years. "All Rush, all the time. No Exceptions." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtieRollins Posted October 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2016 (edited) Artist: Thomas Dolby Album: A Map of the Floating City Style: Pop rock, new wave Year: 2011 Track Listing: 01. Nothing New Under The Sun - 4:32 02. Spice Train - 5:06 03. Evil Twin Brother - 5:23 04. A Jealous Thing Called Love - 4:24 05. Road to Reno - 3:56 06. The Toad Lickers - 4:20 07. 17 Hills - 7:38 08. Love Is a Loaded Pistol - 2:53 09. Oceanea - 4:27 10. Simone - 5:53 11. To the Lifeboats - 3:36 When this album came out in late autumn of 2011 and got some very positive reviews, (there were critics who went on praising it as his finest album ever, even "thriumphing" his 80s stuff) so my expecations were set up pretty high, even though Thomas had not made a full studio album since the early 90s. But for me, it is what he did in the first half of the 80s both as a musician and producer that made me a fan, and I guess expecting that his new music would sound like it did almost 30 years earlier, was pretty naive. Mark Knopfler, Regina Spektor, Eddi Reader, Bruce Wooley, Kevin Armstrong, Matthew Seligman and Imogen Heap are just a few among the many fine talents who made the guest list on this rather ambitious record that has a theme which seems a bit inspired by his old pal, Paddy McAloon (Prefab Sprout) and their 1990 classic, Jordan: The Comeback (that Dolby produced), with 3 sections, named Urbanoia, Amerikana and Oceanea. But my high hopes got a bit of battering after hearing the first three cuts back in 2011. The first number out Nothing New Under The Sun is an average opener with lyrics that sounds like Mr. Dolby is trying maybe a bit too hard to match the witty and clever songs he wrote almost 30 years earlier: Hey any fool can write a hit Loop me a breakbeat baby I'll tweak it till it fits During the bounce I can sniff my own armpit Then follows what might just be two of his worst songs he ever wrote, the utterly horrible Spice Train and its evenly matched, Evil Twin Brother. These two turds is the tuff of nightmares, as Mr. Dolby sounds like he desperately tries to "update" his music to what goes on in the music world of today, and when you open with three such weak cuts, any chance the album had of being any good, is now left dead. I felt so disappointed that I never really remembered any of the other cuts of the record, and now 5 years later I have decided to find out if I were too harsh back then. Sadly, the first trio still sounds awful, well Nothing New Under The Sun is almost decent compared, but what comes next are what I imagine hell is like. Being forced to hear the worst songs by your favorite artists, for ever and ever. And I should have picked up on the huge red warning signs when many of the critics who seemed to hail the album, also often highlighted Spice Train as one of his "finest" numbers ever recorded. A Jealous Thing Called Love closes the first section that is Urbanoia, and is a very relaxing and calm number that feels like it could have been easily made during his second album The Flat Earth (1984). Next up is Amerikana and the feel-good number, Road to Reno which is another fine cut and one I could not remember from 2011. The Toad Lickers is another upbeat song which showcases Dolby's love for country/western music and includes the lovely Imogen Heap and Adele Bartei on backing vocals (who worked with Thomas on several cuts on The Flat Earth). Not a favorite of mine, but still one I would gladly take anyday over Spice Train or Evil Twin Brother. 17 Hills is the clear winner of the seven first songs, and features the great Mark Knopfler on lead guitar. Again, a very fine number that makes me think about his more calm down and beautiful work on The Flat Earth, sadly this album as a whole has just not enough of the kind of greatness that 17 Hills provides. The pleasant but not very memorable Love Is a Loaded Gun closes Amerikana and next up is the albums absolute highlight that is the stunningly beautiful Oceanea. If only that would have been the closer, then I would be very happy, instead part three: continues with Simone and To The Lifeboats which sadly does very little justice to the fantastic Oceanea, and as much as I like Thomas Dolby and his music, as a whole, A Map of the Floating City is just nowhere near the quality of the albums he did in the first half of the 1980s. Highlights: Oceanea and 17 Hills Total Score: 5/10 Edited October 8, 2016 by ArtieRollins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtieRollins Posted October 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 (edited) Artist: The Cure Album: The Cure Style: Pop rock, alternative rock Year: 2004 Track Listing: 01. Lost - 4:07 02. Labyrinth - 5:14 03. Before Three - 4:40 04. The End of the World - 3:44 05. Anniversary - 4:22 06. Us or Them - 4:09 07. Alt. End - 4:30 08. (I Don't Know What's Going) On - 2:57 09. Taking Off - 3:19 10. Never - 4:04 11. The Promise - 10:21 Another album that has been collecting dust in my record collection for over a decade now, and since I did not really give this one a fair chance back in 2004, I decided to check out if my feelings of it, has somewhat changed since then. Sadly, I have very few "good" things to say about this train wreck of an album, and yet somehow it got almost glowing reviews back in 2004. Some critcs even went so far as hailing it as one of the band's or Robert Smith's finest hour. What a horrible joke. The only half decent moments on their self titled album, are cuts like Before Three and Taking Off (which sounds like just another poor attempt of re-capturing the pop-magic of Just Like Heaven & Friday I'm In Love) but is really nothing special. The production, lyrics and melodies are all way below average, and does absolute no justice to the once fantastic rock band that had an impressive run of great albums/songs in the late 70s and throughout most of the 80s, but here they hire a producer with background within the nu-metal genre, and you have Robert Smith trying his best to sound like a very angry man, that and along with some terrible lyrics, it all comes down as a very poor attempt of fitting in with a new generation, but also trying to hold on to their veteran fans at the same time. Their worst album, and one that is no longer collecting dust in my collection. Highlights: None Total Score: 2/10 Edited October 18, 2016 by ArtieRollins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt5 Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 8 hours ago, ArtieRollins said: Artist: The Cure Album: The Cure Style: Pop rock, alternative rock Year: 2004 Track Listing: 01. Lost - 4:07 02. Labyrinth - 5:14 03. Before Three - 4:40 04. The End of the World - 3:44 05. Anniversary - 4:22 06. Us or Them - 4:09 07. Alt. End - 4:30 08. (I Don't Know What's Going) On - 2:57 09. Taking Off - 3:19 10. Never - 4:04 11. The Promise - 10:21 Another album that has been collecting dust in my record collection for over a decade now, and since I did not really give this one a fair chance back in 2004, I decided to check out if my feelings of it, has somewhat changed since then. Sadly, I have very few "good" things to say about this train wreck of an album, and yet somehow it got almost glowing reviews back in 2004. Some critcs even went so far as hailing it as one of the band's or Robert Smith's finest hour. What a horrible joke. The only half decent moments on their self titled album, are cuts like Before Three and Taking Off (which sounds like just another poor attempt of re-capturing the pop-magic of Just Like Heaven & Friday I'm In Love) but is really nothing special. The production, lyrics and melodies are all way below average, and does absolute no justice to the once fantastic rock band that had an impressive run of great albums/songs in the late 70s and throughout most of the 80s, but here they hire a producer with background within the nu-metal genre, and you have Robert Smith trying his best to sound like a very angry man, that and along with some terrible lyrics, it all comes down as a very poor attempt of fitting in with a new generation, but also trying to hold on to their veteran fans at the same time. Their worst album, and one that is no longer collecting dust in my collection. Highlights: None Total Score: 2/10 Not even heard of this album! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger390X Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 Listened to Steve Hackett's "Darktown" last night. Interesting concept album but not his strongest stuff. Couple of good songs but the needle in the haystack is the long guitar solo on the instrumental track in the middle of the album (forgot the name) . He just "wales" on the guitar and I can tell there is some overdubbing, but it is absolutely sensational guitar work! I listened to that song about four times in a row and found my mind wandering. The guitar work is hypnotic! Anyone who is a fan of great guitar should check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtieRollins Posted October 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 I am continuing to work my way down on albums that I have either heard just once and not been very impressed or those I have not heard. My goal is to get rid off most of the bad or just mediocre "weed" that just sits there and take up far too much unecessary space, but hopefully some of these potential "stinkers" might turn out to be far better than first expected. Jethro Tull - This Was (1968) Their debut album and one that leans more towards blues/folk rock than their classic early 70s prog sound. Sadly early Tull does absolutely nothing for me, beside maybe a few moments here and there. 4-5 listens, and I just cannot understand why so many fans/critics rave about this record, as there are very little memorable stuff going on here and not one stand out song, which make this album a goner. 4/10 Led Zeppelin - Coda (1982) Talk about going out with a whimper. Coda is supposed to be the "final" Led Zeppelin album but is nothing more than a shockingly bad cash n grab effort to milk their fans out of their money, with a horrible mix of old and "new" unused material. The album starts up promising with the thundering opener We're Gonna Groove but then it is just one way down. Not only the worst Zeppelin "album" but so bad that it is almost Spinal Tap comedy material. 2/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger390X Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Artie...thanks for posting that video "All Rush...all the time" HILLARIOUS!!! What movie is that from? I have never seen it! Speaking of Thomas Dolby, I just heard an interview with him yesterday on CBC radio. I was not aware that he invented the phone tone ring for Nokia phones still used today. Apparently it's an old 19th century guitar song from that era! Dolby has a new book out this week called "The Speed of Sound" I will be at a bookstore this weekend to buy a copy as it sound very interesting. Dolby led quite a life and worked with some of the most influential artists of the century like Bowie and the Clash and many more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtieRollins Posted October 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 (edited) 8 hours ago, Stinger390X said: Artie...thanks for posting that video "All Rush...all the time" HILLARIOUS!!! What movie is that from? I have never seen it! The scene is taken from the road-movie/buddy comedy Fanboys (2009) which follows a group of highly devoted Star Wars fans and their journey towards the upcoming Star Wars film, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). Not a masterpiece, but it does feature some very funny scenes and it is well worth to seek out if you're a big Star Wars fan. It is a very similar movie to the Kiss tribute comedy, Detroit Rock City (1999) that I also think include one of the main actors from Fanboys. 8 hours ago, Stinger390X said: Speaking of Thomas Dolby, I just heard an interview with him yesterday on CBC radio. I was not aware that he invented the phone tone ring for Nokia phones still used today. Apparently it's an old 19th century guitar song from that era! Dolby has a new book out this week called "The Speed of Sound" I will be at a bookstore this weekend to buy a copy as it sound very interesting. Dolby led quite a life and worked with some of the most influential artists of the century like Bowie and the Clash and many more. Yeah, that book is going straight into the top of my christmas wish list. The little I have read and heard about it, is that the book is solid gold, and not only for his fans but one that I think a lot of people would enjoy, music lovers or not. Here is a small but very interesting excerpt taken from Rolling Stone about Thomas Dolby and his visit to Michael Jackson's mansion back in the early 1980s: Thomas Dolby is still best known for his quirky 1982 electro-pop hit "She Blinded Me With Science," but as the British songwriter and producer's new memoir demonstrates, that track is only the most visible aspect of a remarkable three-decade-plus career. In The Speed of Sound: Breaking the Barriers Between Music and Technology, out October 11th, the man born Thomas Morgan Robertson recalls everything from working the mixing board for Gang of Four to collaborating with Jerry Garcia and helping to realize an audio-enhanced Internet. In this exclusive advance excerpt, Dolby looks back at a surreal early-Eighties encounter with his friend, admirer and would-be collaborator Michael Jackson. I gave the limo driver the address. It was pitch black now, and rain was still pelting down. The driver squinted at the house numbers. "Doesn't Michael Jackson live on this street?" he said over his shoulder. "Yes. Actually, that's where I'm going," I replied. The driver flashed a look at me in his rearview mirror, and my co-passengers were a little astonished. We arrived at the address and pulled up in front of a set of huge cast-iron gates. The driver buzzed an intercom, and I told him to announce me. "We have Thomas Dolby for Michael Jackson," he said. After a few moments, the gates swung open. I told the driver he could let me out right there, I'd just walk up the drive. I was too embarrassed to show up with the whole group. The Capitol execs looked dubious, but I stepped out of the limo in the glare of its headlights and stumbled up the driveway, dodging puddles. I walked past a big glass guard house; inside I could see a pair of uniformed security guards, their faces lit up by CCTV screens. They motioned me on up the driveway. I waved and caught a glint of semiautomatic weapons on a rack behind them. It was much farther to the house than I had imagined. Michael's home was an imposing mansion with a fountain and a gravel turnaround. The hefty front door was set in a glass surround, and I could see the grand hallway lit up inside. There was a crystal chandelier, marble floors, and twin Busby Berkeley–style curling staircases. I rang the bell pull and stood there dripping in my sodden T-shirt and jeans. I guess I was expecting some sort of butler or domestic servant. But after a few moments, a small figure in a pink silk leisure suit regally descended one side of the staircase and crossed the marble floor. It was him. The door swung open, and I stood there, leaving little puddles in the doorway. Michael greeted me with a smile and pointed me to a small bathroom off the hallway. There was a stack of paper towels on the basin, so I used them to dry my hair as best I could and sop up a little of the rain from my drenched clothes. When I returned, my host was waiting by a gracious seating area at the center of the hallway. "Let's sit," he said, indicating a stuffed leather ottoman. I parked my backside on the ottoman, while he mounted a gigantic, jewel-encrusted medieval throne. It was so massive that he had to clamber up to get into it. His arms barely reached the armrests, as it was clearly designed for someone much larger (Henry VIII, perhaps?). Perched on his throne, Michael looked like an action figure of himself. I cast my eyes around the room at a curious array of art treasures. There was a solid gold mantelpiece with a Venetian clock in a glass bell jar; a stuffed raccoon; a Chinese ivory chess set on a Biedermeier games table; next to that, a Darth Vader helmet on a plinth. Michael settled into the throne in his leisure suit and we began to talk. "You're a Libra, aren't you?" he said. "You were born on October 14th. I saw that article in Creem. I'm only six weeks older than you." "You're into that stuff?" I replied. "I don't really follow horoscopes. I don't see how one in every twelve people in the world is going to have the same sort of day as I am." "What I love is the symbolism. It's just so symbolic. See, I'm a Virgo. The Virgo symbol looks exactly like my initials – M.J." He picked up a pad of paper and drew it for me. I noticed that his note pad had isolated words and random lines of lyrics jotted on it, like many of my own. "Do you have songs and lyrics in your head all the time?" I asked. "Every day I write a bit, then I go dance a bit," he said. I noticed how brown his eyes were. "Then I go play video games." We both laughed. He asked about the groove for "She Blinded Me with Science," how I put it together. "Were those Simmons electric drums? I dig those. I have a set upstairs." "Yes, the SDS5s. But I was triggering them with this weird machine called a PPG Wave Computer. It was built to control Tangerine Dream's light show." "I love those guys! Did you ever hear the soundtrack to Sorcerer? The Roy Scheider film? Brilliant. I've got a copy in my screening room. Oh, and I just got my own Synclav." He was referring to the $120,000 Synclavier computerized sampling keyboard heard on the intro to "Beat It." And so our conversation meandered. We talked about music production techniques, the fall colors in New England that he missed here in Los Angeles, how we'd each spent much of our childhoods away from home. I was surprised by the breadth of Michael's knowledge and interests. He was remarkably down-to-earth and easy to talk to, and as passionate about his music as I was about mine. Thriller had been out a few months, but it had already passed the five million sales mark. Michael asked how my album was doing. "It's doing well," I told him – not mentioning any figures – "but now that I'm on the U.S. charts, the music press back in England are saying I've sold out." "You just have to go on believing," Michael said. "You have to go on believing that you are better than them, that you're better than everybody. You must never let go of your dream." I was touched by his words, and I felt myself welling up. All evening I'd thought we were alone in the house. But after we'd been chatting for about an hour, what was already a strange evening took an even stranger turn. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed tiny faces peeking out from the railing of the upstairs landing. I glanced up – they vanished. Moments later they were back, more of them this time. I heard hysterical giggling. Then a door swung open, and the 12" of "Science" came blasting out at 120 decibels. Now there were at least a dozen little faces staring at me, and fingers pointing through the spindles of the balustrade. Michael explained that on Thursday evenings he liked to invite the neighbor kids over to play with their radio-controlled toys. I asked, "What's up with the giggling?" He laughed and said, "Oh, they just can't believe you're the guy off the TV." He beckoned to them, and they traipsed down the staircase, each with a toy truck or race car. They were in pajamas and dressing gowns. They laughed and played on the Turkish rug, whizzing model trucks and trains around our feet. Michael directed the proceedings from his perch, like the Thin Controller in Thomas the Tank Engine. We carried on chatting, but from time to time he broke off midsentence to issue a directive. "Hey, Jimmy, bring that over here. ... Billy, don't do that! Now what did we say about sharing our toys?" "I never really had a childhood," Michael told me. "I spent too much of it on the road." It sounded to me as if his dad and his brothers bullied and teased him because they knew he was by far the most talented. When he asked about my family, I told him I was a happy kid and loved my parents very much, although I had to explain to him what a classical archaeologist was. We discussed our favorite albums and discovered a shared admiration for the Beach Boys album Surf's Up. Michael was sad that Brian Wilson had severe psychiatric problems and that his brother Dennis was a drunk and a drug addict. "It's better to die a sudden death than just deteriorate. When I die," said Michael, "I want to die like Elvis." As the evening drew on, I felt it was time I made my excuses. I asked Michael if I could call a cab to take me to my hotel over in Hollywood. "Wait," he said. "Maybe Randy can give you a ride." He picked up a phone and punched a few buttons. Randy Jackson, his younger brother, must have been hiding out in some other wing of the mansion. "Hi, Funky. Can you drive my friend over to Sunset Strip?" Ten minutes later, Michael's brother Randy appeared in the hall. He was decked out in a skintight red leather suit, bare chest, gold necklace, and sunglasses. He said he'd be happy to drop me at my hotel. "You come right home afterwards, Randy, you hear me?" said Michael emphatically. "I don't want you going to some club, picking up a fish, smoking those turds you smoke." As Randy Jackson gunned his Jeep up through the Hollywood Hills, the rain was still lashing down. Laurel Canyon, with its sharp bends and high concrete verges, was like a white-water rapid. KROQ was blaring on the radio. I gripped the armrests and longed for my bed. Randy had a glint in his eye. "Hey, Dolby, you wanna come check out Club Odyssey with me? They have a great sound system, and the best babes in Hollywood hang out there. ..." I took a deep breath. "I think I'll pass this time," I said. "I'm English." Gotta love the last line. Edited October 27, 2016 by ArtieRollins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtieRollins Posted November 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2016 (edited) On 26.10.2016 at 6:23 PM, ArtieRollins said: Jethro Tull - This Was (1968) Their debut album and one that leans more towards blues/folk rock than their classic early 70s prog sound. Sadly early Tull does absolutely nothing for me, beside maybe a few moments here and there. 4-5 listens, and I just cannot understand why so many fans/critics rave about this record, as there are very little memorable stuff going on here and not one stand out song, which make this album a goner. 4/10 Jethro Tull - Stand Up (1969) After reading about how "great" their blues/rock dominated debut was, which I thought it was not, I had very low expecations for Stand Up but I am glad I gave it a try and then 10 others, as it turned out to be a superior album. Not one bad song or even a filler to be found, and the kind of record that got better with each listen. A fantastic mix of early prog, psycedelia, folk-rock, blues-rock and even pop music. I now that I might regret saying this, but at the moment I actually think it has a very good chance of fighting for the top spot as one of Tull's finest hour against giants such as Aqualung and Thick As A Brick. 9,5/10 Jethro Tull - Benefit (1970) Recorded during their long and hard USA tour of 1969. I really wanted to like this album, as much as Stand Up, but somehow it was This Was all over again. 8-10 times maybe even more, and not even one song stood out as being anywhere near the quality of its predecessor. The only good thing about the record is that it gives a little hint towards their next album and one that took the band to a whole other level. Benefit is at the moments a keeper, not because it is a very good album, but it feels more like a Jethro Tull product, than This Was even though it is almost as "forgettable". 5/10 Edited November 5, 2016 by ArtieRollins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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