Classic Album Discussion Thread: The Kinks-Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Pt. 1 (4 Viewers)

[Galileo]

Nick Drake. If you like 70s singer songwriter stuff of aughts lofi scene, check out Pink Moon. It's a beautiful album and without a doubt one of the best of the 70s.

I listened to snipets of each song on Amazon.  Road and Place to Be caught my attention enough to pull up on YouTube for the full listen.  Then came across From the Morning which I enjoyed.  None of it blew me away, but decent.  I could envision that playing in the background of some peaceful moment.   Sort of felt like it was the type of thing that would grow on me more if I listened more.  Those 3 songs were all pretty short.

 

[Ilov80s]

I listened to snipets of each song on Amazon.  Road and Place to Be caught my attention enough to pull up on YouTube for the full listen.  Then came across From the Morning which I enjoyed.  None of it blew me away, but decent.  I could envision that playing in the background of some peaceful moment.   Sort of felt like it was the type of thing that would grow on me more if I listened more.  Those 3 songs were all pretty short.

All the songs are very short. His career had pretty much fizzled out with 2 commercially disappointing albums (though they are very good). He ditched all the big production and, likely in the midst of the deep depression that would soon take his life, he recorded this beautiful album. Like his two prior releases, Pink Moon also failed commercially. Two years later, in 1974, Nick took his life at age 26. It would be about 20 years before critics and fans would recognize Nick Drake and especially Pink Moon as something very special. Hopefully, wherever and whatever he is now, he feels that love. 

 

[shuke]

Beautiful album.

 

[Mister CIA]

There you go.

I prefer Five Leaves Left in terms of ranking his (three) records, but you can't go wrong with this one.  The starkness moves me.

Rethinking my love for Bryter Layter, which is my #1. My Hazey Jane II love makes me hazy, crazy, and somewhat lazy.

Beer me!

 

[Mister CIA]

Upon further review, Time has Told Me quashes all.  

 

[Mister CIA]

Learned about Nick Drake via Wilco and Beck mentioning him. Definitely hear the influence on Beck's Sea Change/Morning Phases albums. The opening 3 songs are perfect and favor Parasite as well. My favorite of his three albums, as I agree with Tim on the overorchestration on some of the first two records. But that is nitpicking...for those who have not heard, you are in for a treat. Believe Richard Thompson and some of Fairport Convention backed him parts of the first two records, in case there are any fans of either out there who are not familiar.

Added to my 3x5, because my mind demands reminders.

 

[krista4]

Rethinking my love for Bryter Layter, which is my #1. My Hazey Jane II love makes me hazy, crazy, and somewhat lazy.

Beer me!

Upon further review, Time has Told Me quashes all.  

This is the thing.  I actually don't care what goes on on the rest of Five Leaves Left, but Time Has Told Me is one of my top 10(?) songs.  I can listen to that guitar part forever.

I'm with you on the Hazey Jane II love, though.  Almost enough to bring it to a different point...

 

[shuke]

Upon further review, Time has Told Me quashes all.  

Northern Sky

 

[Mister CIA]

Upon further review, Time has Told Me quashes all.  

Northern Sky

Great song, but not a great as Time has Told Me.

 

[Mister CIA]

Molly Drake

 

[Mister CIA]

This is kind of good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMTEtDBHGY4&index=4&list=RDSYdzm8mlvNM

 

[timschochet]

The Rolling Stones- Exile On Main St. (1972)

Rocks Off

Rip This Joint

Shake Your Hips

Casino Boogie

Tumbling Dice

Sweet Virginia

Torn and Frayed

Sweet Black Angel

Loving Cup

Happy

Turd On the Run

Ventilator Blues

I Just Want to See His Face

Let It Loose

All Down the Line

Stop Breaking Down

Shine A Light

Soul Survivor

This record is on most critics’ shortlist for the greatest album of all time. But it took me several times of listening before I even really liked it. It was like drinking coffee. Now I adore it. Rich in blues and country influences, this is a collection of songs that are hard to match. Personal favorites: “Shake Your Hips”, “Tumbling Dice”, “Sweet Black Angel”, “Loving Cup”, “Happy”, “Let It Loose”. But it’s gotten to where I enjoy every tune. 

 

[worrierking]

Rarely is a double album this consistent.  This doesn't have the highlights of Sticky Fingers or Let it Bleed, and the production is muddy, but damn there isn't a bad song.  Loving Cup. Torn and Frayed and Casino Boogie are personal favorites.

I also like the horns throughout.  

 

[Ghost Rider]

Solid record, with a few standout tunes.  

 

[rockaction]

You know, this is your thread, Tim, and I'm sort of tangential to it, and I know the inappropriateness of what I'm about to do, but you've reviewed a ####### Sublime record before Pet Sounds. 

Unless this thing rectifies that, I can't see abiding. This dude does not abide. This is personal.  I just nodded off (no drugs) for a few minutes and "God Only Knows" was in my head when I woke up. 

####### nothing on Exile can do that. 

 

[rockaction]

But thanks for the thread, and there's love here from me.  

 

[timschochet]

You know, this is your thread, Tim, and I'm sort of tangential to it, and I know the inappropriateness of what I'm about to do, but you've reviewed a ####### Sublime record before Pet Sounds. 

Unless this thing rectifies that, I can't see abiding. This dude does not abide. This is personal.  

There’s no order here. There’s no ranking. 

 

[rockaction]

There’s no order here. There’s no ranking. 

Ah, I know. I'm laughing. Don't take my heat personally. Read my post while you were posting. Thanks for the thread. 

eta* Jeez, Tim. I'm leaning because I got a head cold. I'm sorry. 

 

[timschochet]

Ah, I know. I'm laughing. Don't take my heat personally. Read my post while you were posting. Thanks for the thread. 

You’re quite welcome. It’s a lot of fun. 

 

[rockaction]

And speaking of lean, this is a classic, classic album that won't be reviewed here but should be. 

Drank

 

[Dr. Octopus]

One of my favorites. Loving Cup is one of my all-time favorite songs.

The balls out rock, the countryesque ballads, the gospel influences, stones doing the blues, the horns, the dirty lyrics, the gritiness, oh the girtiness - this one has it all.

Loving Cup is one of my all-time favorite songs.

 

[timschochet]

Loving Cup is one of my all-time favorite songs.

Loving Cup is one of my all-time favorite songs.

If there is one song that is worthy of writing this twice, this is it. 

 

[D_House]

beggars banquet - let it bleed - sticky fingers - exile.... phenomenal run

 

[Dr. Octopus]

If there is one song that is worthy of writing this twice, this is it. 

I wanted to move it to the end - and forgot to delete - but to your point.

 

[timschochet]

I wanted to move it to the end - and forgot to delete - but to your point.

I love that piano intro. I don’t know if that’s Keith or Mick Taylor or somebody else contributing like Nicky Hopkins, but I absolutely love it. 

 

[timschochet]

It’s my second favorite Stones use of piano, after the classic “She’s A Rainbow”. 

 

[Dr. Octopus]

I love that piano intro. I don’t know if that’s Keith or Mick Taylor or somebody else contributing like Nicky Hopkins, but I absolutely love it. 

It is Nicky Hopkins.

 

[timschochet]

It is Nicky Hopkins.

Thought so. He wrote one of my favorite ever instrumentals, “The Girl From Mills Valley” for the Jeff Beck Group 

 

[Otis]

Just never got the Stones. Still don’t today. Can’t listen to a single album all the way through. I know music dudes find that crazy. I otherwise generally appreciate all of the most acclaimed bands. I just still don’t get it. 

 

[shuke]

Just never got the Stones. Still don’t today. Can’t listen to a single album all the way through. I know music dudes find that crazy. I otherwise generally appreciate all of the most acclaimed bands. I just still don’t get it. 

WTF?

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Just never got the Stones. Still don’t today. Can’t listen to a single album all the way through. I know music dudes find that crazy. I otherwise generally appreciate all of the most acclaimed bands. I just still don’t get it. 

Wait - aren't you the guy who once claimed that anyone who thought "Wish You Were Here" is their favorite PF song wasn't a REAL Floyd fan?

(that's rhetorical, because I know it was you)

Exile is too much of the same thing to me. I can't pick any one song to excise, like I can with The Beatles (which is a damned mess). They are all good in a vacuum. But, Jeebus, the aural equivalent of slamming needles in your veins wears thin by Side Two.

"Happy" & "Tumbling Dice" are tied for my faves from this one.

 

[Shrugs]

You know, this is your thread, Tim, and I'm sort of tangential to it, and I know the inappropriateness of what I'm about to do, but you've reviewed a ####### Sublime record before Pet Sounds. 

Unless this thing rectifies that, I can't see abiding. This dude does not abide. This is personal.  I just nodded off (no drugs) for a few minutes and "God Only Knows" was in my head when I woke up. 

####### nothing on Exile can do that. 

Also, I don't think we should go 100 pages without Pearl Jam.

 

[timschochet]

The B-52s (1979)

Planet Claire

52 Girls

Dance This Mess Around

Rock Lobster

Lava

There’s a Moon In the Sky (Called the Moon)

Hero Worship

6060-842

Downtown

Post-punk? New Wave? When these guys first appeared, they were quickly the darlings of my local New Wave radio station, KROQ, which was just starting to take off at the time with a very different sound than AOR. And yeah it was different- like nothing I had ever heard on the radio before. Hilarious, kitschy, fun to dance to, with lots of nostalgia for the 50s yet their own sound (except of course for “Planet Claire”; shamelessly stolen from Mancini’s Peter Gunn”) it’s like a 70s John Waters movie in an album. 

 

[DocHolliday]

Just never got the Stones. Still don’t today. Can’t listen to a single album all the way through. I know music dudes find that crazy. I otherwise generally appreciate all of the most acclaimed bands. I just still don’t get it. 

You are not alone.   There are some great songs for sure but not enough for the worship.  I think it's the vocals that turn me off.  

 

[timschochet]

Figured there’d be more love for Rock Lobster...

 

[Mike Damone]

Dance this Mess Around is a good song but the rest , meh. Mediocre. 

 

[otello]

Planet Claire is a great song.

 

[Osaurus]

The B-52s (1979)

Planet Claire

52 Girls

Dance This Mess Around

Rock Lobster

Lava

There’s a Moon In the Sky (Called the Moon)

Hero Worship

6060-842

Downtown

Post-punk? New Wave? When these guys first appeared, they were quickly the darlings of my local New Wave radio station, KROQ, which was just starting to take off at the time with a very different sound than AOR. And yeah it was different- like nothing I had ever heard on the radio before. Hilarious, kitschy, fun to dance to, with lots of nostalgia for the 50s yet their own sound (except of course for “Planet Claire”; shamelessly stolen from Mancini’s Peter Gunn”) it’s like a 70s John Waters movie in an album. 

Big fan.  

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Cosmic Thing would have been the more interesting album to discuss. It has to rank as one of the all-time comeback albums. At that point they were a dormant, completely forgotten band. In fact, the only reason they got to do it was because it was cheaper for the label to let them record than pay off their contractual obligation.

They had tragically lost the only real talent in the band (Ricky Wilson of AIDS), they couldn't get a thousand people for a show, nothing on MTV or radio stations. They were kaput every sense of the word.

And then they release the biggest album, with huge hits that still get played today. 

 

[rockaction]

B-52's are one of my love bands. Just love 'em, but this, and let's admit it:

• Southern
  
• Gay
  
• Retro
  
• Camp
  
• Provincial
  

It's tough to comment on something so already identified. The B-52's rule, but it takes sort of a regional hairdressing to get there on their page. I dig it, though. I think they're a breath of fresh air in the #### of the ether.  

 

[shuke]

Figured there’d be more love for Rock Lobster...

Not my cup of tea.  Can't stand them.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

Love em.  

 

[simey]

Big fan.  

Me too. I have some great memories of dancing to this B-52's album in college.

Why don't you dance with me, I'm not no limburger

 

[Ghost Rider]

Not my cup of tea.  Can't stand them.

I only know their hits, but Rock Lobster is a dreadful tune.  Never felt the urge to check out anything else. 

 

[timschochet]

The Band-Music From The Big Pink (1968) 

Tears Of Rage

To Kingdom Come

In A Station

Caledonia Mission

The Weight

We Can Talk

Long Black Veil

Chest Fever

Lonesome Suzie

This Wheel’s On Fire

I Shall Be Released 

The Band (1969)

Across the Great Divide

Rag Mama Rag

The Nifht They Drove Old Dixie Down

When You Awake

Up On Cripple Creek

Whispering Pines

Jemima Surrender

Rockin’ Chair

Look Out Cleveland

Jawbone

The Unfaithful Servant

King Harvest (Has Surely Come) 

The Band’s first two albums are of a piece and it is proper to consider them together single they form the essence of these (mostly) Canadian artists. We get the Dylan covers, the original songs by Danko and Robertson, the incredible harmonies of Helm, Danko, and Manuel, the brilliant keyboards by Garth Hudson- it’s all here. I love so many of these songs it’s hard to choose favorites, but “The Weight” is obviously an all time classic, and after that I might have to go with “Rockin’ Chair”. So sweet, so good. 

 

[Ilov80s]

B-52's are one of my love bands. Just love 'em, but this, and let's admit it:

• Southern
  
• Gay
  
• Retro
  
• Camp
  
• Provincial
  

It's tough to comment on something so already identified. The B-52's rule, but it takes sort of a regional hairdressing to get there on their page. I dig it, though. I think they're a breath of fresh air in the #### of the ether.  

Always found them way too campy for me. Loveshack and Rock Lobster are ok- it's just a band best implemneted in small doses. 

 

[Ilov80s]

It blew my mind when I first learned The Band was Canadian since they are the most American sounding band I'd ever heard. 

 

[Nigel]

Private Idaho is a great tune, go back to it if you haven't in a while.

 

[timschochet]

It blew my mind when I first learned The Band was Canadian since they are the most American sounding band I'd ever heard. 

Mostly Canadian. Levon Helm was from Arkansas. 

 

[timschochet]

But you’re right; they do sound like they should be narrating one of those classic Disney films about Huck Finn or somebody like that.