Thx but I’m not there yet, still have to do the fifties and some other albums I haven’t listened to yet.
So the final wrap up is for a bit later.
Oh I must have misunderstood, sorry. Somehow I thought you were saying 2017 was the last year in your project. Are you on your final count down then... 5 down, so 2012 is next?
Thx but I’m not there yet, still have to do the fifties and some other albums I haven’t listened to yet.
So the final wrap up is for a bit later.
Oh I must have misunderstood, sorry. Somehow I thought you were saying 2017 was the last year in your project. Are you on your final count down then... 5 down, so 2012 is next?
No It’s just that I started in 1963 so I skipped the fifties; and since I was at 2018 fairly soon, I missed a lot of 2018 albums that entered the global BEA top 2500 later; so I think still a hundred or so albums to do before it’s really finished
RoundTheBendI miss the comfort in being sadProfile Ground Control
Thx but I’m not there yet, still have to do the fifties and some other albums I haven’t listened to yet.
So the final wrap up is for a bit later.
Oh I must have misunderstood, sorry. Somehow I thought you were saying 2017 was the last year in your project. Are you on your final count down then... 5 down, so 2012 is next?
No It’s just that I started in 1963 so I skipped the fifties; and since I was at 2018 fairly soon, I missed a lot of 2018 albums that entered the global BEA top 2500 later; so I think still a hundred or so albums to do before it’s really finished
Got it... basically a revisit of those in 1950-1963 and 2018-2019 for the top 2500?. So pretty damn close to being done 😉
Th x but I’m not there yet, still have to do the fifties and some other albums I haven’t listened to yet.
So the final wrap up is for a bit later.
Oh I must have misunderstood, sorry. Somehow I thought you were saying 2017 was the last year in your project. Are you on your final count down then... 5 down, so 2012 is next?
No It’s just that I started in 1963 so I skipped the fifties; and since I was at 2018 fairly soon, I missed a lot of 2018 albums that entered the global BEA top 2500 later; so I think still a hundred or so albums to do before it’s really finished
Got it... basically a revisit of those in 1950-1963 and 2018-2019 for the top 2500?. So pretty damn close to being done ;)
That’s about it and some other leftovers; btw where does roundthebend come from?
RoundTheBendI miss the comfort in being sadProfile Ground Control
Like why did I change my name? Alice in Wonderland? ha - idk, I like the saying... it has a lot of meanings.
I desperately want to revisit the 1950s. At first thought, especially in this day and age, it seems so dated, but musically it's actually a very exciting era. Lots happening in Classical, Jazz, Rock & Roll for starters... so much going on and it's easy to overlook. If I were to revisit any era again, it'd be 1950s, so good luck on that!
I finally discovered this very fine 2019 album:
Lust And Learn by The Slow Show
Everything you expect with the name of this band is true: the album feels like a Slow show and being a track by the National, both the sound of the band and the timbre of the singer's voice is very much The National (although they deny that the name of the band is based on this track). But this Manchester, UK band definitely has its own sound and is also a bit more orchestral than The National.
So I couldn't help myself also listening to their two earlier albums (I know they do seem to be into alliterations):
White Water by The Slow Show
All the albums seem to have the same sound but the individual tracks on each of the three definitely have their own feel and all are worth a listen. A very fine discovery...
Incredible but Fischer-Z who in my opinion made three fantastic albums round the beginning of the eighties are still releasing new album.
I realised that, apart from the new album that was released yesterday, they have been very active since then so I gave many of their albums of the previous years a spin on top of my three favorites.
And the conclusion is that none of the newer albums are very good. I put many at the bottom of my year lists but that's about it.
And the same goes for their newest album I listened to yesterday:
Swimming In Thunderstorms by Fischer-Z
At the moment I have put it at the lowest rank in my 2019 year chart which nr 97, so I suppose it will quickly fall out of my personal top 100 of 2019.
But their first three albums are classics and completely underrated in anglo-saxon countries in general. Maybe you'll find the music a bit dated but to me they still rock.
This is my top three in reverse order (and also in chronological order):
nr. 3 of 1979:
Word Salad by Fischer-Z
The album starts off with a great track: Pretty Paracetemol and also features their greatest hit (in Belgium and many other countries): The Worker
nr 1 of 1981:
Red Skies Over Paradise by Fischer-Z
The two first tracks, Berlin and Marliese sum up everything that is great about Fischer-Z. But there is not a bad song on it. If you want a good introduction to this band which mixes social comments with utter catchiness, try this album.
Just because I love their new album I wanted to review their whole legacy.
I discovered the Pixies when I bought Doolittle as one of the first new CD's after my purchase of my first CD player. And I was in for a big surprise: at the moment I wasn't yet very much into indie but I was immediately totally into the indeed very weird music at first listen.
So very quick after that I bought Surfer Rosa which like for many people was in fact the version which also included Come On Pilgrim. And I was even more thrilled by that CD.
Of course that meant that I bought their next two album without even thinking further and in fact I was very disappointed with both albums at the first listens. But both albums grew on me.
And then there was the big quiet which only was stopped at the release of a number of EP's which were completely destroyed by reviewers like Pitchfork. And when I listened to them I must admit I followed them and even didn't take the effort to fully listen to Indie Cindy. But on the other hand I fairly liked Head Carrier.
But the real surprise was the new 2019 album I fully listened to last friday and which was very much ok. At first I was tempted to put it on an equal footing as Bossanova/Trompe Le Monde but you'll see my final findings on it below.
In any case this new review had to have two results: first to finally take the decision to consider Surfer Rosa and Come On Pilgrim as two separate albums because I had always considered the compilation as my quintessential Pixies album (ie very high on my top chart) and secondly to give Indie Cindy a fair chance.
So this is my final list in reverse order in which I upped the scores of many of my favorite albums of all time:
The Good:
nr 9 of 2014:
Indie Cindy by Pixies
Indeed only the last album of the bunch but that is just because their other albums are better, not because this one sucks. I really came to realise that this actually a good album where all tracks have their merit and I suppose my favorite one of the album is Greens and Blues which has a very nice melody. I have given a lot of tracks the score of 80 but a number of them (ex Andro Queen which is not really up to par) a 75
nr 8 of 2016:
Head Carrier by Pixies
There's a strange thing about this album. I like every single track on the album and I have given them all a score of 80 but this also means that none of them stands out. But a very enjoyable and diverse album overall.
The very good
nr 7 of 2019:
Beneath The Eyrie by Pixies
Indeed at the first listen I though this album was on the same level as Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde but after I listened to it another few times and relistened to the two other albums I had to restate my opinion. It's still a very good album and there a number of really good tracks to be found (with the score of 85: good example is On Graveyard Hill) ànd to me there is a new classic track here as well with Catfish Kate which just has a catchy drive. But the two other are better.
nr 6 of 2001:
Complete 'B' Sides by Pixies
although this is a compilation (of B-sides), there are so many tracks on this album which can't be found on their regular album that I just want to consider this as a proper album on its own merits. And of course this mainly thanks to the two standouts on this album: Winterlong which is a Neil Young cover but which sound completely Pixies although this is one of their scarce mellow songs. And of course Into The White on which Kim Deal just shines when she coos and screams her way along the song.
The outstanding
nr 5 of 1990:
Bossanova by Pixies
yes this is my least favorite of the two just-not-classics. I don't really know why: maybe because not all the tracks are really good (Ana and Down To The Well only score 80) but that is compensated by some very good (although not classic tracks like Velouria, Allison, Is She Weird and All Over The World.
nr 4 of 1991:
Trompe Le Monde by Pixies
Also on this album no completely classic tracks but some very good ones like the first four (that first quartet opening the album is just a bazooka of energy) and the very fine Letter to Memphis and Motorway to Roswell (I don't know why I like that line Jefrey with one F so much).
The classics
To avoid any criticisms on the order below just know that I cherish all three albums which follow nearly at the same level. They're all devastatingly outstanding.
nr 3 of 1988:
Surfer Rosa by Pixies
yes it surprised me as well that I scored this album less than Trompe Le Monde but I suppose this just is because this album is longer which means that there are some less than classic tracks on it (but still none of the tracks are scored less than 85. But the real classics are Bone Machine, Break My Body, Broken Face, Gigantic and River Euphrates. The sheer energy coming from this album is fairly unprecedented and the weird lyrics just add up to the excitement one cannot do but feel here. A classic also after all these years and also after so many other bands have tried to copy but never succeeded.
nr 2 of 1989:
Doolittle by Pixies
To me also a classic album but I cannot deny the feeling that I think this album is a bit (but only a tiny bit) uneven in the sense that it combines a few of the most ferocious tracks ever written (like Tame and my favorite Pixies track ever Debaser) with tracks that almost sound as pop (you know them). But maybe that is why I love it so much, I don't know. Also a special mention for No 13 Baby which contains one of coolest guitar solo outros ever written.
nr 1 of 1987:
Come On Pilgrim by Pixies
Only an EP and to my own surprise but I think it's because this album doesn't contain a single track below 90. And the classics (95 or more) are Holiday Song and Nimrod's Son. Just classic track after classic track while it all sounds so simple (some people would say simplistic).
To sum up: the legacy this band has left behind is beyond words also knowing this was also the start of The Breeders where Kim Deal proved she could write songs herself as well without being hampered by the great Frank Black/Black Francis.
Let's just hope their newest album will be the starting point of a new phase in their career to finally prove that they don't only do it for the money.
Back to my original project in which I've set the goal to listen to all the BEA top 2500 I hadn't heard yet and I still have the fifties to cover which mainly consist of jazz, blues, early rock 'n roll and easy listening.
I plan to tackle this per artist and if I think it's necessary I will try to pin down the most important album of that artist even if it's not in the overall top 2500; this is in an era where especially rock 'n roll artists weren't really focused on albums.
So I'll start with Miles Davis who has six fifties albums in the overall BEA top 2500:
and I'll start with his most acclaimed and to me also his best and also the only one that I liked enough to put in the respective year chart:
Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis (of 1959) which is currently ranked 38th in the overall BEA top chart. It couples real musicianship with a certain kind of melodic sense I didn't find in most of other albums.
Also a very nice album was his film score for Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud of 1958 which really reflected in a very good way the film noir atmosphere of the movie.
Ascenseur Pour L'Échafaud by Miles Davis
I was listening to the new Vivian Girls which was released after a hiatus of 8 years and which I like very much.
They started as a pop punk band with short pointed songs and they still are but from their second album on their songs have a bit more flesh, have a few guitar solos and in general are better than on the first album.
I hadn't heard the middle two albums yet so I took the chance to all four of them and this is my ranking:
4. from 2008:
Vivian Girls by Vivian Girls
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