Best Ever Albums

Re: drakonium

drakonium — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 16:26:28 GMT

Author: drakonium

Posted: 01/24/2018 21:26

Giant Steps by John Coltrane

Really starting to get into this one. I had found it pretty unwelcoming at first, being fast-paced and without any sort of pause. And the solos are, like... so full of notes. It just does not stop for 40 minutes straight. But yeah it's amazing.

With that said, I have yet to get what is supposed to be a good impro and what is supposed to be a bad one. I mean, I just happen to sometimes like them, and sometimes not, but I would be perfectly unable to explain why. It's quite frustrating tbh. Whatever a good solo is, pretty much everything on here is without any doubt in that category haha

Re: drakonium

drakonium — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 10:19:15 GMT

Author: drakonium

Posted: 01/11/2018 15:19

This Old Dog by Mac DeMarco

A real departure from his previous two LPs. It bears large similarities with Another One though, even if here, he takes the sound he began to work on on the EP a step further. There's still the occasional (relatively) upbeat song such as A Wolf Who Wears Sheeps Clothes, but it's mostly slow-paced tracks with often prominent synth. For The First Time and Dreams From Yesterday (with its constant buzzing synth sound in the background) are pretty representative of this record's direction, and of course excellent tracks. But it's on Moonlight On The River that he takes this approach the farthest ; a track which starts as a good but pretty usual acoustic ballad, and ends with 2+ minutes of noisy electronic effects, before leading to the short, quiet closer.

It's great. I had found it a bit underwhelming on the first listens, expecting his warm, clean usual sound, and getting this sluggish, mostly-acoustic-but-with-synths record, but after a few more spins it's definitely a success IMO. I'm really interested in what he's intending to do after that, as if he seems to be willing to explore new territory, and so far he's done it well.

I'm still not sure why I like his music so much though ; it's so simple, it almost feels lazy at times, yet for some reason I really love pretty much everything he's done so far. I'm not sure I could even point out, like, an "objective" quality to his music. It's just there, and it feels great. Sounds like the guy I'd love sitting at a bar with, talking about things while getting really drunk.

Re: drakonium

drakonium — Mon, 8 Jan 2018 11:55:42 GMT

Author: drakonium

Posted: 01/08/2018 16:55

Good Things by Aloe Blacc

I was talking about him with a friend some time ago, and I really like I Need A Dollar, so I thought I'd give it a spin (my second one here actually). It's OK, but quite disappointing to some extent. It suffers from artists like Raphael Saadiq and (most of all) Sharon Jones existing, as their brands of 60s soul revival are far superior (just like comeback albums such as Solomon Burke's). Blacc's poppier approach is much less satisfying and, although well done, underwhelming in the end. His Femme Fatale cover is interesting, the title track is solid, but this overall leaves much to be desired. It's hard to point out, but it kinda lacks substance ; punch, passion, dynamics... I don't know. It's just there, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it's not really enough. Actually, I think I enjoy this less than the aforementioned artists for the same reasons I like Bill Withers less than Aretha Franklin, or Stevie Wonder, or pretty much every other famous soul artist of that time. Too clean? Can't tell.

I'm a bit harsh tbh, this definitely is a pleasant experience (just like Bill Withers is), but I don't really see myself spinning this much again in the future.

Re: drakonium

drakonium — Sun, 7 Jan 2018 15:13:54 GMT

Author: drakonium

Posted: 01/07/2018 20:13

Espers II by Espers

Very good psych/folk record. Very atmospheric in general, with strong, noisy climaxes where they need to be. The songs are usually long and repetitive, with the chord set and melody not changing much throughout. It all relies on the choice of the instruments, their quantity, and their intensity. It does work though, even as background music (not for a nice dinner with your family though...), as you can let your attention go back and forth on a track and still manage to get back without being lost. It's a very slow record overall. Powerful though, and very colorful despite the dark album cover. I guess it's like wandering in magic woods, finding bizarre mushrooms, and deciding to eat them anyway...

Re: drakonium

drakonium — Sun, 7 Jan 2018 06:22:09 GMT

Author: drakonium

Posted: 01/07/2018 11:22

Buddy Holly by Buddy Holly

This is really something. Nothing like any other rock record I've heard from that time. There's so much variety in this one. There's actually only one real fast-paced rocker (Ready Teddy) and it's by a solid margin the worst song here. It sounds like the out-of-place track the American Music Club put in each of their albums for some reason. But the rest is stellar. Seriously this could have been made 20 years later as a sort of rock and roll revival record. Read somewhere that Everyday invented twee pop ; I'm willing to believe it. Pretty sure the melody of the opener from Crooked Rain² is taking from it actually. Remarkable as well how most of the songs are under 2 minutes and still feel like full fledged tracks. I guess they're just dense or something.

And to think I didn't particularly like it when I first heard it a few years ago... Glad I'm doing some revisiting. This one was thanks to the 1001 albums thread, as I saw it pass by and it reminded me of its existence. Thanks Antonio haha

Re: drakonium

Repo — Sat, 6 Jan 2018 08:54:23 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 01/06/2018 13:54

drakonium wrote:

What Another Man Spills by Lambchop

Really cool, relaxed album, with light melancholic vibes. The Mayfield cover is perfect. I might actually prefer this to Nixon, which is the only other record I've listened to by them (and which I love as well). Perfect to spend the beginning of my penultimate vacation day 🙁

Edit : It's Not Alright is a breathtaking track!

🥰

Re: drakonium

drakonium — Sat, 6 Jan 2018 08:09:30 GMT

Author: drakonium

Posted: 01/06/2018 13:09

What Another Man Spills by Lambchop

Really cool, relaxed album, with light melancholic vibes. The Mayfield cover is perfect. I might actually prefer this to Nixon, which is the only other record I've listened to by them (and which I love as well). Perfect to spend the beginning of my penultimate vacation day 🙁

Edit : It's Not Alright is a breathtaking track!

Re: drakonium

drakonium — Wed, 27 Dec 2017 18:19:19 GMT

Author: drakonium

Posted: 12/27/2017 23:19

Block To Block by De Press

Pretty cool post-punk from Norway. I had found this a long time ago through BEA's world album of the day (that thing did show an interesting rec once in a while hehe) and did not listen to it until now... Its best part is probably its second half ; or maybe I just got used to the language of the lyrics (which is apparently a mix between Polish (the singer's nationality) and English). Otherwise it's your regular post-punk record from the early 80s : angular guitars, deep, anxious voice, solid bass, etc. What I find interesting is its use of ska-like guitar parts to pretty good effect, even if it's not really to be expected in such a record. Overall, a solid release from what seems to be a cult band up there in Norway / Poland. Bo Jo Cie Kochom would probably be my favorite track from this first listen, but that may change with more spins as I get more familiar with the other ones. Not disappointed.

Re: drakonium

drakonium — Wed, 27 Dec 2017 08:39:56 GMT

Author: drakonium

Posted: 12/27/2017 13:39

grogg wrote:

Only four, not too bad compared to some of my other vinyl box sets. They opted for period-correct folio packaging. The game and the music are such a big hit for me that I want to give them money in every way possible.

Awesome. Yeah I get that, I know I wouldn't use the vinyl much so I didn't order it, but I bought everything else 🤣

Re: drakonium

grogg — Wed, 27 Dec 2017 07:58:13 GMT

Author: grogg

Posted: 12/27/2017 12:58

drakonium wrote:

Thanks! How many LPs is that though??

Re: drakonium

drakonium — Wed, 27 Dec 2017 07:47:37 GMT

Author: drakonium

Posted: 12/27/2017 12:47

grogg wrote:

Love seeing Louvin Brothers and Cuphead in the same listening thread. I have the Cuphead vinyl set on order; hoping it'll arrive at my door early in the new year.

Thanks! How many LPs is that though??

Jaco Pastorius by Jaco Pastorius

Enjoying jazz music more and more as time goes by. Fantastic record. What's interesting with this one is the slower, moodier songs between the massive, faster-paced behemoths. Kuru/Speak Like A Child, Ocus Pocus and (Used To Be A) Cha-Cha are obviously the best tracks here, especially the latter. But the album would not be much without the short, discreet Portrait Of Tracy, or the bass-only opener Donna Lee. They bring a breath of fresh air between the meatier pieces of music they aim to lighten. And obviously great bass playing, yadda-yadda. Like, really great.

Re: drakonium

grogg — Mon, 25 Dec 2017 09:10:10 GMT

Author: grogg

Posted: 12/25/2017 14:10

drakonium wrote:

Cuphead by Kristofer Maddigan

Love seeing Louvin Brothers and Cuphead in the same listening thread. I have the Cuphead vinyl set on order; hoping it'll arrive at my door early in the new year.

Re: drakonium

drakonium — Sun, 24 Dec 2017 18:09:13 GMT

Author: drakonium

Posted: 12/24/2017 23:09

Luigii wrote:

I need to finish this soundtrack myself. Do enjoy it immensely.

It is indeed kinda massive with its 3 hours of music but it's not really supposed to be heard in one sitting IMO. Randomized listening is particularly fitting for this one. But the more I listen to it, the more I think whether or not one has played the game, the music is way too good to be ignored.

Zentropy by Frankie Cosmos

How something so short can be so touching is beyond me. Seriously considering this for my chart. It's so naive, so fragile, yet so intense in what it manages to convey within its 17 minutes duration. Buses Splash With Rain is a serious contender for my 5 favorite songs of the decade. Its greatest asset may be the exceptional lucidity of the band about the duration of their songs. The moment they stop coincide perfectly with the moment they could possibly run out of ideas. It's always exciting. Sublime twee record, and really looking forward to listening to the last one which I kinda forgot about for some reason.

Also possibly one of my favorite album covers. The dog looks like mine :3

Re: drakonium

Luigii — Sat, 23 Dec 2017 22:32:26 GMT

Author: Luigii

Posted: 12/24/2017 03:32

drakonium wrote:

Cuphead by Kristofer Maddigan

Really can't stop listening to this.

So this is the soundtrack to a game released pretty recently called Cuphead. You may very well have heard of it, it was / is kinda everywhere, and for quite a few months now. It's mostly built its reputation on its visual aesthetics, which are based on the 30s rubber hose cartoons by studios like Disney or Fleischer, though it generally draws inspiration from a lot of other sources as well (personalities from that time, other cartoons like Tom & Jerry, and various video games). With that said, it does have other remarkable features, the most obvious ones being its playstyle, which relies almost exclusively on boss battles, its relatively high difficulty, and, of course, its soundtrack.

Said soundtrack is jazz music, with few exceptions. It mostly divides into three main components : first, the boss battle tracks, which constitute the bulk of the record. They are almost all fast, dynamic big band style songs, with each boss having his own one / theme. They sometimes adapt to the boss in question (such as the Eastern-sounding one for the djinn, the queen bee one featuring loud, buzzing brass instruments, or the dancing flower one, loosely based on samba), but most of the time they’re just straight up explosive, lightning fast big band tracks. What’s interesting is that they kinda work in three steps : first, you play the game, die again and again against the bosses, without having the luxury to pay too much attention to the music ; then you get the soundtrack and remember each boss as the songs go on ; finally, you just want to play the game again (on the freshly unlocked expert mode, for example…) to get the best of everything. Tbh I’m rather baffled at how accomplished the songs are : they’re played by a real band, have an end, do not loop like most other video games tracks, and feature extended solos from a lot of different instruments (even vibraphone!). To think that they implemented that into a game where you’re not even allowed to fully enjoy it in context, considering the difficulty of the battles, is really impressive. But yeah these tracks are generally the best ones.

The second kind of tracks are more ragtime or Dixieland-based (generally slower / with more emphasis on the piano), and correspond the various parts of the world map, and the run and gun levels (which are pretty close to a regular platform game and certainly not the most interesting sections of the game). They work wonders ; the tracks to the Inkwell Isle I, with great New Orleans-style playing from the trombone and clarinet, and III, sounding much darker and slower with prominent saxophone parts, are among the best of the record. True as well for the more dynamic run and gun songs such as Funfair Fever, with piano and flute strongly reminiscent of themes from Super Mario Bros. 3.

Finally, the rest of the album is a melting pot of various things, from end-of-levels fanfares to the game intro to interlude themes and so on. They’re mostly OK (particularly the final track, the intro to the game which is sung by a barbershop quartet, and the King Dice theme which represents a nice vocal part in the game / record) but they’re the weakest part of the record for sure. Fortunately they represent only a small part of it.

So yeah, I’m kinda obsessed with this game and its soundtrack as of now. Without playing it, the music certainly has less value, but checking out a few tracks (Junkyard Jive, Fiery Frolic, Botanic Panic, Sugarland Shimmy, Inkwell Isle I and The King’s Court are probably my favorite ones) shouldn’t be a disappointing experience.

I need to finish this soundtrack myself. Do enjoy it immensely.

Re: drakonium

drakonium — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 05:00:43 GMT

Author: drakonium

Posted: 12/22/2017 10:00

Cuphead by Kristofer Maddigan

Really can't stop listening to this.

So this is the soundtrack to a game released pretty recently called Cuphead. You may very well have heard of it, it was / is kinda everywhere, and for quite a few months now. It's mostly built its reputation on its visual aesthetics, which are based on the 30s rubber hose cartoons by studios like Disney or Fleischer, though it generally draws inspiration from a lot of other sources as well (personalities from that time, other cartoons like Tom & Jerry, and various video games). With that said, it does have other remarkable features, the most obvious ones being its playstyle, which relies almost exclusively on boss battles, its relatively high difficulty, and, of course, its soundtrack.

Said soundtrack is jazz music, with few exceptions. It mostly divides into three main components : first, the boss battle tracks, which constitute the bulk of the record. They are almost all fast, dynamic big band style songs, with each boss having his own one / theme. They sometimes adapt to the boss in question (such as the Eastern-sounding one for the djinn, the queen bee one featuring loud, buzzing brass instruments, or the dancing flower one, loosely based on samba), but most of the time they’re just straight up explosive, lightning fast big band tracks. What’s interesting is that they kinda work in three steps : first, you play the game, die again and again against the bosses, without having the luxury to pay too much attention to the music ; then you get the soundtrack and remember each boss as the songs go on ; finally, you just want to play the game again (on the freshly unlocked expert mode, for example…) to get the best of everything. Tbh I’m rather baffled at how accomplished the songs are : they’re played by a real band, have an end, do not loop like most other video games tracks, and feature extended solos from a lot of different instruments (even vibraphone!). To think that they implemented that into a game where you’re not even allowed to fully enjoy it in context, considering the difficulty of the battles, is really impressive. But yeah these tracks are generally the best ones.

The second kind of tracks are more ragtime or Dixieland-based (generally slower / with more emphasis on the piano), and correspond the various parts of the world map, and the run and gun levels (which are pretty close to a regular platform game and certainly not the most interesting sections of the game). They work wonders ; the tracks to the Inkwell Isle I, with great New Orleans-style playing from the trombone and clarinet, and III, sounding much darker and slower with prominent saxophone parts, are among the best of the record. True as well for the more dynamic run and gun songs such as Funfair Fever, with piano and flute strongly reminiscent of themes from Super Mario Bros. 3.

Finally, the rest of the album is a melting pot of various things, from end-of-levels fanfares to the game intro to interlude themes and so on. They’re mostly OK (particularly the final track, the intro to the game which is sung by a barbershop quartet, and the King Dice theme which represents a nice vocal part in the game / record) but they’re the weakest part of the record for sure. Fortunately they represent only a small part of it.

So yeah, I’m kinda obsessed with this game and its soundtrack as of now. Without playing it, the music certainly has less value, but checking out a few tracks (Junkyard Jive, Fiery Frolic, Botanic Panic, Sugarland Shimmy, Inkwell Isle I and The King’s Court are probably my favorite ones) shouldn’t be a disappointing experience.

Re: drakonium

drakonium — Sun, 17 Dec 2017 17:08:57 GMT

Author: drakonium

Posted: 12/17/2017 22:08

Luigii wrote:

I am trying the Tarika Blue album. And my god this is some divine stuff. Probably will have this in my greatest charts. Will get in the decade charts for the 70's as well as the year it came out. I thank you for this pick.

Glad you enjoyed it that much!

Hot Dreams by Timber Timbre

I had listened to Creep On Creepin' On some time ago as a rec from meccalecca for some game on here, and thought it was alright, but then kinda forgot about it. Then I heard about this and thought why not, it seemed to get good reviews. It's brilliant. Each song feels really unique, and although the record is pretty dark on the whole, it somehow manages to convey a lot of different moods during its course, from the slow and haunting opener, to the ridiculously smooth title track, to the powerful, glorious ending for Run From Me, and so on. My favorite part is without a doubt the end of the title track, with the saxophone part repeated again and again, with one note added each time, thus creating small parts of bizarre time signatures. It's remarkable how they are able to make songs that are generally gloomy sound so natural, so effortless. A very elegant record. Might make my chart! (edit : it did when the Grand Canyon sax solo kicked in, it was too strong)

Re: drakonium

Tha1ChiefRocka — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 15:30:05 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 12/14/2017 20:30

Nice to see the good 'ol Louvin Brothers get a shoutout. Not many people know that backstory you gave. Ive always enjoyed there songs, they touch my country roots.

Re: drakonium

Luigii — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 13:17:04 GMT

Author: Luigii

Posted: 12/14/2017 18:17

I am trying the Tarika Blue album. And my god this is some divine stuff. Probably will have this in my greatest charts. Will get in the decade charts for the 70's as well as the year it came out. I thank you for this pick.

Re: drakonium

drakonium — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 06:22:12 GMT

Author: drakonium

Posted: 12/13/2017 11:22

Gas Food Lodging by Green On Red

I think Gravity Talks is somewhere in my top 30 or something, really one of my favorite albums of all time, and this one is pretty close to being just as great. Here they moved from their psychedelic influences ; there's much less organ to be found on this record for example. They took a more classic alt rock / americana approach on this one, and although I prefer their earlier sound, I really like the fact that they were able to change while still making high quality music. The opener and Sixteen Ways are my favorite ones here, but the closer does an amazing job as well. The title track is apparently a bonus one (must have been a single or smth), but the fact that it's slightly inferior to the bulk of the album and that it feels kinda out of place after We Shall Overcome makes it really unnecessary IMO. But yeah fantastic record.

Re: drakonium

drakonium — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 16:23:56 GMT

Author: drakonium

Posted: 12/12/2017 21:23

Just finished these two very nice pieces :

Tragic Songs Of Life by The Louvin Brothers

I had originally found about them thanks to that guy who was called yourselfisntsteam (I think? or was it just yourself? or both? or none?) who had pretty interesting recs and tastes. Only listened to recently though, starting with Satan Is Real a few weeks ago, which I loved.

The story of the band has a pretty sad ending ; although both very religious, and despite their lyrics, one of the brothers, Ira, was like non-stop alcohol and women, which led the other one Charlie to put an end to the band. From Wikipedia : "[Ira] was married four times; his third wife Faye shot him four times in the chest and twice in the hand after he allegedly tried to strangle her with a telephone cord. Although seriously injured, he survived." Kinda serious stuff. Then he died in a car accident a few years later...

To almost get back to the music itself, Satan Is Real is actually a kind of meme thanks to its infamous album cover, which involves the brothers standing in front of a giant Satan statue with fire behind, the result being rather absurd. The music is great though, and The Rivers Of Jordan is one of the best songs I've recently discovered. About Tragic Songs Of Life, it's pretty much the same type of perfectly executed close harmony country music, but with lyrics focused on love and other various topics (such as killing his girlfriend...) instead of religion. So it's great.

African Dub Chapter Two by Joe Gibbs And The Professionals

A very nice dub album to chill out to. One of those records that makes for a perfect background, but which is actually good if you do listen to it. Pretty simple, nothing groundbreaking, but efficient at what it's doing. The previous one in the series was just as good, and I expect no less from the follow-up.