Best Ever Albums

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

Tha1ChiefRocka — Thu, 7 May 2020 13:17:04 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 05/07/2020 17:17

Sorry, I've been really busy digitizing VHS tapes. I'm really not joking about that. 😁

Here's a youtube channel I just made, so I can keep all of the commercials and finally get rid of the tapes.

Link

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

Luigii — Wed, 6 May 2020 19:32:16 GMT

Author: Luigii

Posted: 05/06/2020 23:32

It will probably come back. I'm doing more important things.

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

Spyglass — Wed, 6 May 2020 19:27:40 GMT

Author: Spyglass

Posted: 05/06/2020 23:27

So, are we just done with this? It was a great idea.

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

Spyglass — Sat, 2 May 2020 19:11:47 GMT

Author: Spyglass

Posted: 05/02/2020 23:11

Is anyone else interested in this?

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

Spyglass — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 12:14:39 GMT

Author: Spyglass

Posted: 04/29/2020 16:14

Meat Puppets II is the best example of complete balance between many elements that I can think of at my current experience. The first and foremost element of II's balance is the mixed bag of emotions that are all delivered in a perfectly even way. The rough and edgy teen aggression mixes perfectly with the softer moments which bleed out a sense of wonder and occasional sadness of a young person's inability to find their place in this world. Happiness, anger, sadness and confusion are all the same. The album also balances a mix of genres that no one had seen before. The noisiness of 70's punk and ballad behavior of country is only the starting point. The psychedelic and alternative background gives it a soul unlike anything I've ever heard in a punk album from punk's inception in the mid-70's to modern punk of today. The even balance of many elements is too perfect and refined, and that perfection between styles and personalities create something ultimately human. Maybe that's the reason Meat Puppets II is one of the most influential albums ever. Alternative rock and punk are very broad genres, and there are rarely any albums more broad and balanced than this. It's perfect from start to finish.

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

Spyglass — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 00:51:42 GMT

Author: Spyglass

Posted: 04/29/2020 04:51

Sorry. I meant to get back to that album but I've been occupied with other stuff. It's a wonderful album, though. I'll review it later.

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

baystateoftheart — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 00:09:54 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 04/29/2020 04:09

Where are the other reviews? Didn't mean to kill the buzz...

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

baystateoftheart — Sat, 25 Apr 2020 13:41:03 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 04/25/2020 17:41

I've heard this album twice, and while I thought it was pretty good, I wasn't a big fan and I have no desire to listen to it again so soon. So I'll try writing a quick review from memory.

Things this album has going for it:
- Being the seminal album in cowpunk, which is a cool genre with a cool sound
- Instrumentally a good and reasonably varied showcase of talent

Things this album has going against it:
- Sloppy and all over the place
- Songwriting not strong enough to live up to its promise

Things about this album that aren't in either category:
- The vocals
- The album cover

3/5.

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

LedZep — Sat, 25 Apr 2020 08:40:33 GMT

Author: LedZep

Posted: 04/25/2020 12:40

Well let's go with something a bit more well-known but still underrated, maybe more people will join.

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Meat Puppets II by Meat Puppets

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

Tha1ChiefRocka — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 22:21:21 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 04/25/2020 02:21

OK, this hasn't gotten off to the best start, but I did a thing and determined that Ledzep gets to go next, so Ledzep if you want to give us all an album to listen to for the upcoming week, then feel free to do so!

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

baystateoftheart — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 18:02:30 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 04/20/2020 22:02

I really enjoyed this album. It gets a lot of comparisons to Syd Barrett, which I can see (although I've only heard his songs with Pink Floyd). The songwriting is good to great, with the best track probably being Acid Bird. He really has a great ear for pop song structures. The lyrics are more often the weaker part of the songwriting, like on Meat as LedZep already pointed out. On the whole, I'd put this about on par with Underwater Moonlight, despite the fact that I prepare jangle pop sonically to the styles here. I have just added A Can Of Bees to my library to try soon due to his bandmate's passing. Final verdict: more of the songs are good than great, so this earns a 3.5/5.

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

Tha1ChiefRocka — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 12:42:44 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 04/20/2020 16:42

I've never dug into Robyn's solo discography much, so I was also happy to give this a listen. And, while I still prefer the two Soft Boys albums over this, it's a well-crafted bit of alternative pop with witty lyricism and catchy hooks. The songs here still carry the edge of the Soft Boys while adding in some more melodicism and less jagged guitar work.
Pretty much what I would expect from one of the more underrated songwriters of his generation. Although, I think I find myself saying everybody I like is underrated nowadays, which isn't very insightful. 😐

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

Repo — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 11:12:22 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 04/20/2020 15:12

Great reviews, guys! �'�

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

LedZep — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 15:30:42 GMT

Author: LedZep

Posted: 04/19/2020 19:30

Exactly what I needed on a gloomy quarantine day, a series of upbeat and out-there pop gems. After the first few seconds of The Man Who Invented Himself, I knew I was in for a good ride. Almost ELO-style 70s pop rock, with fine verses and even better hooks. The first half was great, I was a bit distracted during the last 3 songs, but overall the weird combination of Robyn's lovely voice, catchy tunes and my current mood was perfect. Favourites include the opening track, Brenda's Iron Sledge, The Lizard, Acid Bird. And the lyrics of Meat were... yeah. Looking forward to his other albums, cause this one is not even top 5 on BEA.

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

Spyglass — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 15:01:44 GMT

Author: Spyglass

Posted: 04/19/2020 19:01

Black Snake Diamond Role offers a worthwhile series of pop tunes where the singer boasts his decent range of vocal deliveries and the many influences behind them. Certain levels of Beatles, Tom Petty, The Velvet Underground and David Bowie can be easily found. This is especially true due to Robyn's vocal delivery which changes a little bit every song. Sometimes his vocals are deep and moody, sometimes they have a vivid air of poppiness, and sometimes they're mellow enough for folk music. This is true for the range of styles as well. "Acid Bird," for example, has a psychedelic sound similar to Harrison's sitar. There are even noisier and more melodic moments that ring of Robyn's album with The Soft Boys that was released the year before, Underwater Moonlight. Even though most of the songs are very different because of this experimentation, the songs create a great and adventurous whole. The lyrics are also very odd but easy to get invested in. That was made very clear at the opener, The Man Who Invented Himself, through lyrics like: "And he landed right on target, but the target rolled away and it left him pointing nowhere." The lyrics demand attention, and an album should have something that requires specific demands for attention.

However, the album feels almost too "cute" to stand out like other psychedelic pop albums because the tracks and the featured melodies are pretty simply structured. The instrumentation doesn't stand out to me even though the presence the band behind Hitchcock creates is very true to the psychedelic approach. I understand that both the approach and the simplicity can be expected from a post-Beatlemania psych-pop album but even The Flaming Lips have taken the odd route with their pop-oriented albums like Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, my favorite neo-psychedelia album album.

It's clear that Robyn Hitchcock has a healthy imagination and his debut shines with it. The presence of the album is fine and the sound is poppy enough to get attached to very quickly. And the best part of the album is that all of the tracks have a strength about that that doesn't drop or raise too high in quality between two tracks. But when paired with the familiarity of Hitchcock's reputation, it's obvious that Black Snake Diamond Role doesn't present Hitchcock's skills at their full power and that he had some maturing to do before he made his signature album, I Often Dream of Trains. BSDR is a great album by virtue of delivery and imagination, but it needed a little work.

Best song: The Lizard
Worst song: City of Shame

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

LedZep — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 13:57:31 GMT

Author: LedZep

Posted: 04/18/2020 17:57

I'll give it a listen tomorrow, haven't forgotten about the game, just don't have free time now 😄

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

Repo — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 13:35:21 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 04/18/2020 17:35

Tha1ChiefRocka wrote:

Since interest has waned with the first album, let's go ahead and move on to Repo's album.

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Black Snake Dîamond Röle by Robyn Hitchcock

Remember, anybody who responds with a review could be chosen for next week's ALC.

*Bump*

It's really good, guys! 🤣

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

Tha1ChiefRocka — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 11:09:39 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 04/17/2020 15:09

Since interest has waned with the first album, let's go ahead and move on to Repo's album.

Black Snake Dîamond Röle by Robyn Hitchcock

Remember, anybody who responds with a review could be chosen for next week's ALC.

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

Tha1ChiefRocka — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 15:01:25 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 04/15/2020 19:01

Tilly will still go next, but the rules have been amended to Baystate's suggestion.

Re: ALC 2.0: The Next Generation

LedZep — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 14:45:19 GMT

Author: LedZep

Posted: 04/15/2020 18:45

The first part was good, second part was more experimental which would usually be my preference, but the drone/synth mashup didn't reach its full potential imo. It's still a solid album, loved the production. Gotta listen to it some more.