Best Ever Albums

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

zdwyatt — Sun, 17 May 2015 00:11:19 GMT

Author: zdwyatt

Posted: 05/17/2015 04:11

Saturday, May 16

It was a busy Saturday without the family, full of recreation, but not much music. I did go see Mad Max: Fury Road, which was fan-fucking-tastic.

Link

The giant wagon of drums and speaker cabinets really made me want to listen some KMFDM, which is what I did.

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Attak by KMFDM

Year: 2002
Rating: 4/5 after 10+ listens
Favorites: Save Me, Sturm & Drang, Risen

It's not necessarily my favorite KMFDM album (that's probably ANGST) but I quite like it. More importantly for my purposes tonight, it contains the track "Risen," which is totally something the rock wagon would play.

Link

And with that, my listening log is complete. Thanks for reading!

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

zdwyatt — Sat, 16 May 2015 09:11:49 GMT

Author: zdwyatt

Posted: 05/16/2015 13:11

Friday, May 15
Afternoon

Back to my 2005 spreadsheet:

Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness by Coheed and Cambria

Year: 2005
Rating: 4/5 after one listen
Favorites: Welcome Home, Ten Speed, The Willing Well IV: The Final Cut

I got into these guys with their 2010 release, Year of the Black Rainbow, which I understand longtime fans did not like (on account of the production). In fact, their last three releases, all of which I love, are ranked their lowest albums. I've been meaning to check out their earlier stuff and there isn't that much of a difference in sound. This collection lacks a bit of the focus and punch of the more recent albums, but I chalk that up to improving as a band and learning how best to record their sound. There's a lot here that I liked and I'll definitely be returning to it.

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Ten Thousand Fists by Disturbed

Year: 2005
Rating: 3/5 after one listen
Favorites: None

I knew the name, I think from Rock Band, but I wasn't sure what they sounded like. But then I recognized the band immediately. This is the band with the singer who goes "AH! AH!" after every line. Or sometimes he goes, "ooh AHAHAHAH!" I've definitely never been interested to hear more of that. But I'm trying to be objective and honest here. If I was 14, I might like this. It has plenty of crunchy guitars, double-bass, and angry vocals. But listening to it now, it feels very formulaic. Nothing is resonating with me emotionally. And every time he goes "AH AH!" I laugh out loud.

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City Of Evil by Avenged Sevenfold

Year: 2005
Rating: 2.5/5 after one listen
Favorites: None

I don't even know what to say about this. This is so bad. I know nothing about this band, so I'm not sure what they're going for. On the first track, they almost had a Mercyful Fate thing going, but then it shifted into more of a power metal thing, where the guitars sound like chiptunes. And if they were trying to do a NWBHM thing (as the cover art suggests), they needed to ditch the emo vocals. In fact, with a name like Avenged Sevenfold, I really expected something heavier than this all the way around. I hate when bands do that (see also, And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead).

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

zdwyatt — Fri, 15 May 2015 16:35:10 GMT

Author: zdwyatt

Posted: 05/15/2015 20:35

Friday, May 15
Morning

The wife and kid are out of town, so I took the day off to do some work in our basement. And construction work requires loud music.

Diamond Eyes by Deftones

Year: 2010
Rating: 4/5 after 10+ listens
Favorites: You've Seen the Butcher, Rocket Skates, 976-EVIL

I remembered liking this more (just by half a star; still solid). It's much better than the two that preceded it, so I was probably exceptionally excited about it when it came out. I think I remembered it being heavier than it is; it's actually quite a pretty album. This is not a bad thing, but it maybe wasn't fitting my lumber-filled morning.

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Brave New World by Iron Maiden

Year: 2000
Rating: 5/5 after 10+ listens
Favorites: Blood Brothers, Nomad, Thin Line Between Love and Hate

Ah, that's more like it. This was their first album after Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith rejoined the band, and their first as a three-guitar six-piece. They were clearly excited to be reunited, because everyone brought their absolute best. Even though I love early Maiden, this is my go-to album. The modern production is just much cleaner and heavier. It's face-meltingly fantastic.

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Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails

Year: 1989
Rating: 4.5/5 after 10+ listens
Favorites: Terrible Lie, Something I Can Never Have, Ringfinger

This also isn't all that heavy, especially considering the 1989 production style. But it works for me. This, of course, has some classic NIN tracks. But it also has some awful tracks, like Kinda I Want To and That's What I Get. Still, this really takes me back.

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

RockyRaccoon — Fri, 15 May 2015 08:29:51 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 05/15/2015 12:29

zdwyatt wrote:

Raising Sand by Robert Plant And Alison Krauss

Year: 2007
Rating: 4/5 after one listen
Favorites: Rich Woman, Polly Come Home, Nothin'

I love Led Zeppelin and Alison Krauss (see overall chart, #4 and #8, respectively), but Robert Plant's solo stuff is kinda... weird. Someone added this to my shelf, where I promptly forgot about it. I definitely dig the vibe of the album and their voices work well together. By the end, it was sort of running together, which may have more to do with traffic than with the music. I'll return to it at some point, if only to hear "Polly Come Home" again.

Yes! Love this album, I saw them perform it live when it came out, fantastic stuff. I've always loved the sound that T-Bone Burnett gets when he produces the right people

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

zdwyatt — Thu, 14 May 2015 22:27:31 GMT

Author: zdwyatt

Posted: 05/15/2015 02:27

Thursday, May 14
Afternoon/Evening

Had to drive to Milwaukee this afternoon, so grabbed a random handful of CDs and hit the road.

Raising Sand by Robert Plant And Alison Krauss

Year: 2007
Rating: 4/5 after one listen
Favorites: Rich Woman, Polly Come Home, Nothin'

I love Led Zeppelin and Alison Krauss (see overall chart, #4 and #8, respectively), but Robert Plant's solo stuff is kinda... weird. Someone added this to my shelf, where I promptly forgot about it. I definitely dig the vibe of the album and their voices work well together. By the end, it was sort of running together, which may have more to do with traffic than with the music. I'll return to it at some point, if only to hear "Polly Come Home" again.

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Throwing Copper by Live

Year: 1994
Rating: 5/5 after 10+ listens
Favorites: Iris, T.B.D., Pillar of Davidson

I got this when it came out, mostly to listen to the singles. It was a couple of years before I bothered to let it play all the way through and it floored me from the very first track. This is an amazing album that I think people overlook because they didn't release the best songs as singles. Live never released another album that was even close to this good (#2 in 1994, #7 overall). Seriously, I was driving back roads outside Marshall, WI and just belting out these tunes. Typing this up makes me want to put it on again. Yep, I'm gonna do it. [Puts on T.B.D.] OMG that guitar...

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Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd

Year: 1975
Rating: 5/5 after 10+ listens
Favorites: Welcome to the Machine, Wish You Were Here, Shine On You Crazy Diamond Part I-V

Best album of 1975, hands down. It doesn't make my overall chart because of a self-imposed limit of one album per band and Animals is my favorite of their albums. But this is a perfect album, as everyone knows. Nothing else to say really.

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

RockyRaccoon — Thu, 14 May 2015 14:00:15 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 05/14/2015 18:00

zdwyatt wrote:

Flood by They Might Be Giants

Year: 1990
Rating: 4/5 after one listen
Favorites: Birdhouse in Your Soul, Istanbul, Someone Keeps Moving My Chair

Imagine my surprise to learn that even a non-kid album by They Might Be Giants is essentially an album for kids. And I mean that in a good way! I only knew these guys from Istanbul, which is a catchy but silly song. At the time, I was too immersed in grunge and industrial to be much interested in something this lighthearted. But it's definitely catchy and fun and I'll have to check out their other stuff.

TMBG are exceptionally good are writing ridiculously catchy, fun songs about the most random, absurd, nonsensical things, and they've been pretty consistent over the years (i.e. the album they released this year sounds similar to Flood or Apollo 18 )

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

mickilennial — Thu, 14 May 2015 13:58:33 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 05/14/2015 17:58

RockyRaccoon wrote:

I hate to tell you this dude, but your ears are broken. It's a terrible prognosis, I'm sorry you're stuck with this condition, sometimes life isn't fair. But your ears are broken. This is so sad. You and your broken ears.

jk it is what it is

No, he's kind of right. 😉

zdwyatt wrote:

Ha! I love that I have a website to remind me of albums I missed or ignored along with music services that allow me to revisit those albums. At the risk of sounding like old crank, it was really easy to miss stuff in the pre-internet era. In my little town, we had to settle for the one good radio station from the nearest city. And purchases were limited to whatever the crappy chain store (Disc Jockey?) in the nearest mall kept stocked. Unless you had a friend or older sibling to key you into some of this stuff, it just got missed.

Some of my most rewarding experiences is picking up records blind in the store; sometimes it doesn't work out, but that's how I discovered Yo La Tengo and The Jayhawks.

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

zdwyatt — Thu, 14 May 2015 12:49:13 GMT

Author: zdwyatt

Posted: 05/14/2015 16:49

pa wrote:

I love that album, Emmylou's voice is beautiful; and yes, probably "someone" is going to smack you soon :D

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

zdwyatt — Thu, 14 May 2015 12:42:50 GMT

Author: zdwyatt

Posted: 05/14/2015 16:42

Thursday, May 14
Morning

Flood by They Might Be Giants

Year: 1990
Rating: 4/5 after one listen
Favorites: Birdhouse in Your Soul, Istanbul, Someone Keeps Moving My Chair

Imagine my surprise to learn that even a non-kid album by They Might Be Giants is essentially an album for kids. And I mean that in a good way! I only knew these guys from Istanbul, which is a catchy but silly song. At the time, I was too immersed in grunge and industrial to be much interested in something this lighthearted. But it's definitely catchy and fun and I'll have to check out their other stuff.

Fight For Your Mind by Ben Harper

Year: 1995
Rating: 3.5/5 after one listen, plus a live show
Favorites: Oppression, Ground on Down, People Lead

I saw Ben Harper open for Dave Matthews Band right around the time this album would have come out. I was suitably impressed, mostly because he was doing Hendrix-style playing on a lap steel guitar. I never did check out the album and, now that I have, I think it's a mixed bag. I like the high-energy tracks and the overall socially conscious lyricism. But the quieter tracks all sort of sounded the same to me. Still, it probably merits a repeat listen, so I'll call it a 3.5.

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In Your Honor by Foo Fighters

Year: 2005
Rating: 4/5 after two listens
Favorites: In Your Honor, Still, Over and Out

I was huge into Nirvana and shifted a lot of that excitement to the not terribly similar Foo Fighters. Their first two records are great, especially The Colour and the Shape. So I'm sure I gave this a listen when it came out. Listening to it again now, I am reminded of my overall thought on this band: great live band, so-so album band. They definitely have some amazing songs and will have a pretty epic greatest hits collection at career's end. But the albums don't really draw me in for repeat listens. Still, this one is interesting because it has a rock disc and an acoustic disc. I don't know why they didn't just mix them together; there's a really good album there.

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

pa — Thu, 14 May 2015 08:55:43 GMT

Author: pa

Posted: 05/14/2015 12:55

zdwyatt wrote:

Wrecking Ball by Emmylou Harris

She's probably tried to get me to listen to it for years and is going to smack me when I tell her how good this is.

I love that album, Emmylou's voice is beautiful; and yes, probably "someone" is going to smack you soon 😁

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

RockyRaccoon — Thu, 14 May 2015 08:51:50 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 05/14/2015 12:51

zdwyatt wrote:

I've never listened to their non-kid albums, but I kind of want to now...

Oh man, you need to remedy that ASAP, starting with

Flood by They Might Be Giants

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

zdwyatt — Thu, 14 May 2015 08:49:16 GMT

Author: zdwyatt

Posted: 05/14/2015 12:49

Wednesday, May 13

Meetings with clients took me away from the office for most of the day, so there wasn't much music to be heard, nor opportunity to log it.

Collective Soul by Collective Soul

Year: 1995
Rating: 3.5/5 after one listen
Favorites: December, Where the River Flows, Reunion

This band, along with Bush, stands out in my memory as a prominent example of a band that wanted to be grunge. As I've argued previously, grunge was a scene, not a sound. So even though these guys look the part, and to an extent sound the part, it isn't quite right. I tried to give this a fair listen, and I do like a couple of the songs. But I have a hard time shaking the bias I had about them 20 years ago. The fact that they later went full AOR makes me think I was right.

Wrecking Ball by Emmylou Harris

Year: 1995
Rating: 4.5/5 after one listen
Favorites: All My Tears, Wrecking Ball, Orphan Girl

As I've gotten older, and as streaming services make it easier to explore music, I've been listening to more and more country. I used to be one of those people who said, "I like everything except country and rap." Turns out, I just don't like top 40 country and rap. So I saw Emmylou's name in my spreadsheet and recognize the name as someone I've wanted to check out. When I pulled up the album on BEA, I immediately recognized the cover, and realized my wife owns this album. She's probably tried to get me to listen to it for years and is going to smack me when I tell her how good this is. Although, despite me thinking of her as a country artist, I wouldn't really call this album country. To quote panman36, "In some ways I feel like this is a Daniel Lanois album with Emmylou Harris on vocals."

Here Come The 123's by They Might Be Giants

Year: 2008
Rating: 4.5/5 after 10+ listens
Favorites: Triops Has Three Eyes, High Five, Seven Days of the Week (I Never Go to Work)

Unlike Here Come The ABC's, which I mentioned on Monday, I actually did listen to this whole album today. We had some errands to run after daycare, so we managed to make it through this one. As with the other one, this is really good music. It's so catchy and has so many different styles. I've never listened to their non-kid albums, but I kind of want to now...

To make up for a poor showing on the album front, I wanted to speak to my lone commenters.

RepoMan wrote:

[The Sea & The Rhythm by Iron And Wine has] that classic Iron & Wine sound as well and is just wonderful.

Agreed. If you haven't, you should also check out

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Woman King by Iron And Wine

It is the first collection that moves away from that classic sound, by adding in percussion and bass. It definitely hints at how The Shepherd's Dog would sound, but it strikes a nice balance between that and the original sound.

RockyRaccoon wrote:

I know, man. On paper, I should love Tallest Man on Earth. He shows up as a "related artist" when I listen to Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, and Iron & Wine. But then, so do The Head and the Heart. Snooze fest.

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

RockyRaccoon — Wed, 13 May 2015 08:48:23 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 05/13/2015 12:48

zdwyatt wrote:

Dark Bird Is Home by The Tallest Man On Earth
Year: 2015
Rating: 3/5 after one listen
Favorites: None. If pressed, I guess “Timothy” was good.

This is a perfect example of a three-star album for me. It’s competently performed, totally inoffensive, and largely forgettable. In short, it’s the essence of an average album. I can see why people would like it, but it does absolutely nothing for me.

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

zdwyatt — Tue, 12 May 2015 23:25:06 GMT

Author: zdwyatt

Posted: 05/13/2015 03:25

Tuesday, May 12
Afternoon

I’ve had my fill of new music for the day, so it’s time for an old favorite.

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Nothing Is Okay by The Everybodyfields
Year: 2007
Rating: 5/5 after 10+ listens
Favorites: Wasted Time, Don’t Tern Around, Lonely Anywhere

The two singers, Sam Quinn and Jill Andrews, have such different voices that it surprises me that their harmonies work. But somehow their combined sound is irresistible. This is such a good record, and it saddens me that it's the last thing they recorded before breaking up. Both have put out solo records; Andrews made my year-end list for 2011 but Quinn didn't even make it to a second listen. As for this album it’s currently #17 on my overall list. It also rotates between the top three spots for 2007, constantly fighting with Band of Horses’ Cease to Begin and Jason Isbell’s Sirens of the Ditch. I have such a hard time deciding that I think my overall chart and my 2007 chart actually conflict with each other.

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Sirens Of The Ditch by Jason Isbell
Year: 2007
Rating: 4.5/5 after 10+ listens
Favorites: Down in a Hole, In a Razor Town, The Magician

The early 2000s were a good time to be a Drive-By Truckers fan. They'd already put out three solid albums, including an amazing double-disc concept album. Then they add this new guy Isbell to the mix and he immediately contributes two instant classics. He was on three Truckers albums and then abruptly departed. I was bummed to hear he was leaving, but I was also excited to see what he would do solo. What we got was this collection, a lot of different kinds of songs, all circling the basic southern rock/alt-country territory. There are some moments that are more straight-ahead rock, and I personally find those to be the weakest tracks. But there are also some tracks that showcase his skill as a narrative songwriter. A couple of years ago, he topped this one with Southeastern (#11 overall). He has a new album out in July that I'm hoping will be even better. I think he still has his best album in him. And as he gains new fans, I think they'll be surprised to hear how good his first record was.

I was going to listen to Cease to Begin and resolve this 2007 uncertainty. But I listen to it all the time, so I'm feeling pretty good going 1-2-3, Everybodyfields, Band of Horses, Isbell.

Instead, I ended up watching the press conference in which our district attorney announced his decision not to charge an officer involved in a shooting a couple of months ago. Like everyone, I assumed he would decide not to charge, but I was curious how he'd frame that decision. Given what's happened in other cities, everyone is wary about the reaction to what was going to be an divisive decision.

When the decision was announced, we were told our office would be locked down as a precaution, presumably because of our proximity to the DA's office and the capitol. It was hard not get a little paranoid and I started to worry about my son at daycare. So I left work early, picked him up, and went home to watch some Curious George. So far there hasn't been anything beyond peaceful protesting, which I am optimistic will remain true tomorrow.

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

zdwyatt — Tue, 12 May 2015 12:26:18 GMT

Author: zdwyatt

Posted: 05/12/2015 16:26

Tuesday, May 12
Morning

It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time to listen to this week’s new releases!

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Bush by Snoop Dogg
Year: 2015
Rating: 4/5 after one listen
Favorites: California Roll, R U A Freak, Edibles

Snoop appears to positioning himself as this era’s George Clinton, that elder everyone loves for their pursuit of a good time. This whole album is one laid back groove, with repeated references to weed and being freaky. Seriously, I lost count of the number of times “freak” and its variations appeared. Nothing blew my mind on here, but it was definitely an easy listen. I suppose we can thank Pharrell for that. I’ll definitely return to this one; I could see this being my summer driving soundtrack.

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Dumb Flesh by Blanck Mass
Year: 2015
Rating: 4/5 after one listen
Favorites: Loam, Atrophies, Lung

I don’t generally go for electronic music, but I do make an exception if it’s dark (e.g. Oneohtrix Point Never or Haxan Cloak). I struggle to describe what it is I like about this kind of music, because the words I might use--heavy, dark, foreboding--don’t really sound like praise. There’s just an atmosphere created here that I really enjoy. It’s like the score to a dystopia that I kind of want to explore.

Dark Bird Is Home by The Tallest Man On Earth
Year: 2015
Rating: 3/5 after one listen
Favorites: None. If pressed, I guess “Timothy” was good.

This is a perfect example of a three-star album for me. It’s competently performed, totally inoffensive, and largely forgettable. In short, it’s the essence of an average album. I can see why people would like it, but it does absolutely nothing for me.

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Love Songs For Robots by Patrick Watson
Year: 2015
Rating: 3.5/5 after one listen
Favorites: Bollywood, In Circles, Turn Into The Noise

And this is a great example of three-star album that has potential for repeated listens. Overall, there wasn’t anything remarkable about the album. However, there were songs that definitely caught my attention, making me think I might enjoy this album more on a different day, or just after repeated listens. So this gets a 3.5 and gets flagged for another listen.

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

creator — Mon, 11 May 2015 21:59:31 GMT

Author: creator

Posted: 05/12/2015 01:59

zdwyatt wrote:

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Here Come The ABC's by They Might Be Giants
Year: 2005
Rating: 4/5 after 10+ listens
Favorites: Go for G, D is for Drums, Who Put the Alphabet in Alphabetical Order

I didn't technically listen to this whole album, but it merits mention because I listen to it every day on the drive from daycare to our house. Today, my son asked to listen to "the song with the man that says all the names." I wasn't sure what that meant, so I asked him to tell me some of the lyrics. He replied, "Bagiria Magiria." I understood this to be his interpretation of the opening lines of the second track, which begins, "Algeria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Dominica." Honestly, these albums are really great, and not just for kids. You could swap out the kiddie lyrics for something more adult and you'd have a really good album. Some of them you wouldn't even have to change, like the song about Flying V guitars.

Whenever I have kids, I'm going to spin this album and hope that they catch on. 😄

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

zdwyatt — Mon, 11 May 2015 21:53:47 GMT

Author: zdwyatt

Posted: 05/12/2015 01:53

Monday, May 11
Afternoon/Evening

Guero by Beck
Year: 2005
Rating: 3.5/5 after one listen
Favorites: E-Pro, Girl, Broken Drum

I see Beck as having two musical personalities. His radio single stock-in-trade is the slightly funky, somewhat silly track. And while I enjoy those to a degree, I find it tiresome over the span of an album. I much prefer the more somber, largely acoustic Beck, like last year's Morning Phase. For some reason, he doesn't really mix the two, even though that's where he'd find his best album. This one simply doesn't have enough of what I like to hold my interest.

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Robyn by Robyn
Year: 2005
Rating: 4.5/5 after 10+ listens
Favorites: Handle Me, Bum Like You, Be Mine

Man, Robyn takes me back. Back in '97, I was working at a summer camp, and I used an early paycheck to buy some big speakers for my truck. I would drive down the switchbacks of western North Carolina bumping the cassette single of Do You Know (What It Takes). My wife, who I met at that camp, later told me she was perplexed by my love for Robyn. But I am sucker for a good pop song and this is a great collection. Prior to finding it on BEA, I had this filed under 2008, which is when the album was released in the US. It was released in 2005 in Sweden, and by the time we got it, it had new cover art, a shuffled track listing, and a new song. I actually think that track, With Every Heartbeat, is the best of the bunch. But, even without it, my rating of the album stands.

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Reality Show by Jazmine Sullivan
Year: 2015
Rating: 4/5 after 5 listens
Favorites: Mascara, Silver Lining, #Hoodlove

When the weather permits, I drive with the windows down, which is not conducive to the folk-infused music I favor. To rise above the wind noise, you really need something with serious bottom end. This means metal, R&B, or hip hop. This has been my go-to ever since I first came across it. She has a great voice and the production is quality R&B. But it's the lyrics that really make the album. This contains some clever, biting commentary on the modern condition. It loses steam in the second half, but the first half is killer.

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Re: ULL: zdwyatt

zdwyatt — Mon, 11 May 2015 14:09:09 GMT

Author: zdwyatt

Posted: 05/11/2015 18:09

Monday, May 11
Morning

I listen to quite a bit of music, with a heavy investment in new music (126 albums so far from 2015). This listening habit pre-dates BEA, back when I kept logs and Best Of lists in notebooks. BEA certainly makes that process more orderly. But where BEA has been a revelation for me is in finding older music to listen to. For the past three years, my process has been to listen to albums from the current year, as well as albums from years going backwards by ten (e.g. 2005, 1995, etc.) I just grab the .csv file for the respective year and I have huge list of "to listen to." This gives me something to fall back on if I just don't have something particular to listen to. This process will likely be evident over the course of this listening log.

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The Crane Wife by The Decemberists
Year: 2006
Rating: 5/5 after 10+ listens
Favorites: Crane Wife 3, When the War Came, Shankhill Butchers

I had been going through my overall chart, where this sits at #13, adding favorite tracks to the description. And I saw that I had not rated the individual songs on this one. So I found myself listening to the whole thing. The Decemberists are one of those bands you either love or hate, owing to any number of factors (Colin Meloy's voice, the old-timey vocabulary, the band's general pretentiousness). For me, it's nothing but love for everything they've recorded. But it wasn't until this album that they showed potential for moving into that exclusive club: Zdwyatt's Favorite Bands. It has twinges of prog-rock mixed in with their usual indie folk thing, which is just a perfect meeting of worlds for me. I go back and forth on whether this or The Hazards of Love is my favorite of their albums, but at the moment, I'm giving it to this one.

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Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy by Elton John
Year: 1975
Rating: 4/5 after one listen
Favorites: Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Someone Saved My Life Last Night, We All Fall in Love Sometimes

My mother's vinyl collection featured Elton John pretty heavily, and Madman Across the Water and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road were on heavy rotation in our house when I was little. Despite decades of output, early to mid 70s is pretty much where I draw the line on Elton John (with the possible exception of 1983's Too Low for Zero), with my personal favorite being Honky Chateau (#32 overall). And yet, I've somehow never listened to this one, from 1975. I like it, though it definitely lacks any real standout tracks. But I'd say it's more consistent than some of his albums that do have huge hits on them. Apparently this is a concept album, so I'd have to revisit it to give it a fair chance.

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Dreamboat Annie by Heart
Year: 1975
Rating: 3.5/5 after one listen
Favorites: Magic Man, Crazy on You, White Lightning and Wine

This one contains a couple of their hits, Magic Man and Crazy on You. I know those songs well from classic radio, but I'd never heard this whole album. It's decent enough, but those two tracks are the definite highlights for me. I was surprised that most of the rest of the album has a softer edge. They're at their best when they're rocking out.

Re: ULL: zdwyatt

Anonymous — Mon, 11 May 2015 08:56:30 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 05/11/2015 12:56

zdwyatt wrote:

Archive Series Volume No. 1, Iron & Wine

I got into Iron & Wine on the first record, The Creek Drank the Cradle, But I haven't cared much for the direction Sam Beam has gone after his first couple of albums. So I was really excited to learn about this album, which is a collection of tracks recorded around the same time as that first LP. As a cohesive collection, it doesn't rival either of Beam's first two releases, but it's crazy that songs this good were just sitting on a shelf. It excites to me to learn how prolific he was back then (there's still more unreleased tracks!) and that he recognizes the market for that old sound.

Great ULL so far, ZD. I feel the same way about Iron & Wine so I'll totally check this out. Here's to hoping it's on Spotify. Speaking of which, I very recently found this EP on there...

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The Sea & The Rhythm by Iron And Wine
and it's got that classic Iron & Wine sound as well and is just wonderful.

ULL: zdwyatt

zdwyatt — Sun, 10 May 2015 23:17:05 GMT

Author: zdwyatt

Posted: 05/11/2015 03:17

ULL? User listening log! Let's do this.

Dates: 5/10, 5/11, 5/12

Contents:
Sun | Mon #1 | Mon #2 | Tue #1 | Tue #2 | Wed | Thu #1 | Thu #2 | Fri #1 | Fri #2 | Sat

Sunday, May 10

Weekends don't afford me much time for listening to albums. Today being Mother's Day, I had even less time. My wife, our three-year-old son, and I went to breakfast. When we got home, we played a little tee-ball in the backyard. Then we drove to Trader Joe's to get supplies for tonight's cookout, and the kid fell asleep en route. As the parent of any small child will you in that situation: you just keep driving. I dropped my wife at the door and then put on:

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Archive Series Volume No. 1 by Iron And Wine
Year: 2015
Rating: 4/5 after four listens
Favorites: Slow Black River, Two Hungry Blackbirds, Beyond the Fence

I got into Iron & Wine on the first record, The Creek Drank the Cradle, which I picked up solely because I liked the cover art. I just knew it'd be something good. I fell for that album hard and it holds slot #3 on my overall chart to this day. But I haven't cared much for the direction Sam Beam has gone after his first couple of albums. I don't begrudge the man a change in style; I guess you can't do sparse acoustic tracks forever. But the fuller instrumentation and more polished sound of his later albums just doesn't do much for me. So I was really excited to learn about this album, which is a collection of tracks recorded around the same time as that first LP. As a cohesive collection, it doesn't rival either of Beam's first two releases, but it's crazy that songs this good were just sitting on a shelf. It excites to me to learn how prolific he was back then (there's still more unreleased tracks!) and that he recognizes the market for that old sound. This is sitting at #5 for the year, a position it probably won't hold. But I will add it to my collection. I just can't get enough of this sound.

The afternoon was more tee-ball and a long session at a playground. Then we came home and I grilled burgers for a small party. While we ate, we listened to:

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Little Neon Limelight by Houndmouth
Year: 2015
Rating: 4/5 after six listens
Favorites: Otis, For No One, Honey Slider

I'm not sure where I first found this, but odds are very high it came from chart-stalking samistake2ice. These guys hail from New Albany, Indiana, right down the road from Corydon, where I spent a lot of time growing up. New Albany was never a place that impressed me much, but this album is a testament to the fact that good bands can form anywhere. It's their second album (haven't checked out the debut yet) and it's a retro-informed sound, landing somewhere between rock and country, but squarely in the 1970s. I currently have this at #3 on my 2015 chart, but it is making a strong push for #1. I have definitely listened to it more than any other album in the last couple of months. This currently has a 4/5, but it's probably earned another half star at this point. This will definitely get added to the collection.