[Repo]

Ok. This is my second stab at this. Last time I chickened out so we'll see what happens this time.

The reason for this thread is pretty straightforward - to seek out and rank the greatest MELLOW albums of all time.

Afterhours has done a lot of my home work for me so all I really need is to grab a pair of headphones and start ranking. I really like how Listmeister has done his Overall Top 100 diary so this will try to be in that vein except a lot less ambitious and I'll be starting from scratch.

I highly welcome recs and discussion!!!

Peace!

[Repo]

1. Folk-Rock Heaven

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Wear Your Love Like Heaven by Donovan

Ok. So I'm essentially cheating on my very first post. This is not a proper album! But the US release (I think) of the first ten songs from Donovan's double album A Gift From A Flower to a Garden back in 1967.

BUT, every song is folk rock perfection. AND. If this had been released on it's own instead of part of that semi-sprawling double album, I'm pretty positive it would be mentioned in the same breath as Love's Forever Changes or The Byrds' Mr. Tamborine Man. I'm not kidding. But it wasn't and so it isn't.

Anyways these ten songs zip by in a very playful, poppy and colorful way as you'd expect from Donovan, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to put a quick smile on their face.

Grade: Well it's absolutely essential 60s folk-rock especially if you like your folk-rock on the poppy side of life so it gets an A.

[Tap]

ooh I should check that, haven't listened to enough Donovan but I like the big singles.

if you wanna get really mellow I strongly but mellowly recommend

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It's Cosy Inside by Woo

[AfterHours]

Nice to see this rolling. Donovan is an interesting start. Looking forward to see what you come up with.
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[Skinny]

In terms of mellow, I'm really into that subtly melodic drone thing that The Fun Years do with their baritone guitar and turntables. Sort of like Stars of the Lid, but less obviously majestic, and certainly more interesting (to my ears, anyway). In order, I'd look out for:

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One Quarter Descent by The Fun Years

god was like, no

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Baby, It's Cold Inside by The Fun Years

If you're more looking for, like, woozy pop stuff, you can't beat the first Erykah Badu album.
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2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.

[Repo]

2. Folk-Rock Guitar Hero

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Jack Orion by Bert Jansch

Let's get this out of the way right from the start. This is nowhere near as essential or awesome as his self-titled debut. That's not really too much a knock. I consider his debut one of the greatest albums of all time, and it could easily sit in my top 100. The guitar playing is awesome (of course), but the sound of the record all feels sort of samey and one-dimensional. Still you can tell that Jimmy Page used this album as a massive crib sheet, and since I'm a huge Zep fan that's really cool. It's certainly not a bad album. Just not one that gets me too excited.

I highly encourage fans of this album to show me the error of my ways!!!

Grade: C


Rankings
1. Donovan - Wear Your Love Like Heaven
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/
/
Somewhere in the distance
Bert Jansch - Jack Orion

[Repo]

[Repo]

3. Technicolor Folk Rock

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Yellow House by Grizzly Bear


It's always funny looking back. I was initially disappointed by Yellow House. I loved the hazy, recorded under sea sound of Grizzly Bear's debut Horn of Plenty. Lo-fi being my drug of choice and all. But the splendor of Yellow House quickly won me over and there's no question it may be the epitome of what indie rock sounded like back in 2006. The sound is halfway between the colossal folk rock of Sufjan Stevens and the psychedelic campfire music of Animal Collective that were both blowing up at the time. In a way it's actually the perfect gateway drug into the Animal Colletive world while being far more accessible.

Anyways, this album is simply beautiful and rewards repeat viewings. Definitely an album Pink Floyd fans would like.

Grade: It's ESSENTIAL indie rock and one of the most important indie rock albums of the 2000s.

Ranking: Donovan's album is timeless for me and I'm not sure if anything can touch it but this comes darn close, and is a damn fine number two to my little list.

Rankings.

Essential
1. Donovan - Wear Your Love Like Heaven
2. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
///

For Fans Only
aa. Bert Jansch - Jack Orion - although it's growing on me.

[Repo]

4. Cough Syrup Medicine

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Thank Your Lucky Stars by Beach House

I'm a total sucker for this type of music. Hazy, laconic, & drugged out. The perfect stuff for a codeine cough syrup bender. To me, it's the ultimate romantic music in the whole world. Of course, I also think Charlotte Sometimes is the most romantic song ever written. I'm not kidding. I can dance to Charlotte Sometimes for days. It's a song by The Cure if you don't know. While my kids ( & probably most well adjusted people) think this music sounds depressing, I find it incredibly uplifting and almost nothing puts me in a better mood.

As far as I can tell, this is as good as any Beach House record released. And I've been a fan of theirs since Devotion. I definitely like it better than Depression Cherry. A lot of it has to do with the guitars which are sometimes set to stun as well as the more stripped down production. Plus, there's not a single clunker among the bunch.

Unlike some people, I actually love it when a band finds something they are really, really good at and than just subtly tinker with that formula for the rest of their career.

Grade: A. Totally addicting dream pop which I would put up against any of their other releases. Since its not quite as unique or groundbreaking as Yellow House or Wear Your Love Like Heaven, I'm going to slide this into the number three slot, but it's a strong number three.

Essential
1. Donovan - Wear Your Love Like Heaven
2. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
3. Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars
///

For Fans Only
aa. Bert Jansch - Jack Orion - although it's growing on me.

edit: Would love to get some dream pop recs that are even mellower than this. Thanks!

[albummaster]