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Middle Aged Dummies - Artist - Round 3 - #1's have been posted! (1 Viewer)

I've decided that if I join for this round it'll be Kenny Chesney. I recently came to the conclusion he's our generation's Jimmy Buffett and 'tis the season so that's why. Never cared for his early work but as he came into his own he ditched the Nashville driven formula and has developed a sound that intertwines eastern Tennessee country with island trop rock. And it works.

Still won't commit until I see the workload on the other side of vacation, but I'm sharing now because if there isn't an appetite for this from this group please say so and I'll stick to it on my back deck.
I'd love to hear more of Mr. Chesney. :thumbup: Hope you can find time to prepare a list.
 
I'll throw a list together. Going to highlight a Canadian band from my teenage years. They produced a number of hits up here (🇨🇦 ) in the 70's and early 80s. I feel they have been criminally under-rated as far as Canadian bands go. From a time when guitars were the featured instruments. I suspect some of you have not even heard of them, but most will know a few of these at least. This will be a lot of fun (for me, anyway).


April Wine
Passed a record store yesterday, and as is always the case, had to stop in and browse for a few minutes for any dumpster diving opportunities.

To my delight, immediately saw a decent copy of The Nature of the Beast for a cool $1.99. #winningeh
I just reviewed that one on Friday for my rankings. Excellent album. Not surprisingly, it will be well represented in my list.
 
I'll throw a list together. Going to highlight a Canadian band from my teenage years. They produced a number of hits up here (🇨🇦 ) in the 70's and early 80s. I feel they have been criminally under-rated as far as Canadian bands go. From a time when guitars were the featured instruments. I suspect some of you have not even heard of them, but most will know a few of these at least. This will be a lot of fun (for me, anyway).


April Wine
Passed a record store yesterday, and as is always the case, had to stop in and browse for a few minutes for any dumpster diving opportunities.

To my delight, immediately saw a decent copy of The Nature of the Beast for a cool $1.99. #winningeh
Did you see Kay?
and what if I did? :wink:
Why? Oh, you!
 
I'll throw a list together. Going to highlight a Canadian band from my teenage years. They produced a number of hits up here (🇨🇦 ) in the 70's and early 80s. I feel they have been criminally under-rated as far as Canadian bands go. From a time when guitars were the featured instruments. I suspect some of you have not even heard of them, but most will know a few of these at least. This will be a lot of fun (for me, anyway).


April Wine
Passed a record store yesterday, and as is always the case, had to stop in and browse for a few minutes for any dumpster diving opportunities.

To my delight, immediately saw a decent copy of The Nature of the Beast for a cool $1.99. #winningeh
I just reviewed that one on Friday for my rankings. Excellent album. Not surprisingly, it will be well represented in my list.
It is the one April Wine cassette I had growing up, as I liked the songs from it that were in rotation on MTV. I know pretty much nothing about their other albums.
 
I'll throw a list together. Going to highlight a Canadian band from my teenage years. They produced a number of hits up here (🇨🇦 ) in the 70's and early 80s. I feel they have been criminally under-rated as far as Canadian bands go. From a time when guitars were the featured instruments. I suspect some of you have not even heard of them, but most will know a few of these at least. This will be a lot of fun (for me, anyway).


April Wine
Passed a record store yesterday, and as is always the case, had to stop in and browse for a few minutes for any dumpster diving opportunities.

To my delight, immediately saw a decent copy of The Nature of the Beast for a cool $1.99. #winningeh
I just reviewed that one on Friday for my rankings. Excellent album. Not surprisingly, it will be well represented in my list.
It is the one April Wine cassette I had growing up, as I liked the songs from it that were in rotation on MTV. I know pretty much nothing about their other albums.
Great album cover too - the art alone is worth the price.
 
I've decided that if I join for this round it'll be Kenny Chesney. I recently came to the conclusion he's our generation's Jimmy Buffett and 'tis the season so that's why. Never cared for his early work but as he came into his own he ditched the Nashville driven formula and has developed a sound that intertwines eastern Tennessee country with island trop rock. And it works.

Still won't commit until I see the workload on the other side of vacation, but I'm sharing now because if there isn't an appetite for this from this group please say so and I'll stick to it on my back deck.
I'd love to hear more of Mr. Chesney. :thumbup: Hope you can find time to prepare a list.
Really. Country seemed unpopular around here, but maybe it was a bad read of the room. I just extended the contract of my side gig today, so we'll see what gets dumped on me upon return.
 
I've decided that if I join for this round it'll be Kenny Chesney. I recently came to the conclusion he's our generation's Jimmy Buffett and 'tis the season so that's why. Never cared for his early work but as he came into his own he ditched the Nashville driven formula and has developed a sound that intertwines eastern Tennessee country with island trop rock. And it works.

Still won't commit until I see the workload on the other side of vacation, but I'm sharing now because if there isn't an appetite for this from this group please say so and I'll stick to it on my back deck.
I'd love to hear more of Mr. Chesney. :thumbup: Hope you can find time to prepare a list.
Really. Country seemed unpopular around here, but maybe it was a bad read of the room. I just extended the contract of my side gig today, so we'll see what gets dumped on me upon return.
My read is that country goes over with the group as a whole better than metal and rap.
 
I've decided that if I join for this round it'll be Kenny Chesney. I recently came to the conclusion he's our generation's Jimmy Buffett and 'tis the season so that's why. Never cared for his early work but as he came into his own he ditched the Nashville driven formula and has developed a sound that intertwines eastern Tennessee country with island trop rock. And it works.

Still won't commit until I see the workload on the other side of vacation, but I'm sharing now because if there isn't an appetite for this from this group please say so and I'll stick to it on my back deck.
I'd love to hear more of Mr. Chesney. :thumbup: Hope you can find time to prepare a list.
Really. Country seemed unpopular around here, but maybe it was a bad read of the room. I just extended the contract of my side gig today, so we'll see what gets dumped on me upon return.
I'm not a huge fan but have grown, over the last fe years, to appreciate some of the artists and music. As for Chesney I know little about his catalog but know that I like a couple of his tunes for sure and probably more since he's been around a while. I like his voice so would expect that there are others that I haven't heard that will be good. As for the group, I don't think it's a genre that has a ton of love but maybe some will be converted. :shrug:
 
I've decided that if I join for this round it'll be Kenny Chesney. I recently came to the conclusion he's our generation's Jimmy Buffett and 'tis the season so that's why. Never cared for his early work but as he came into his own he ditched the Nashville driven formula and has developed a sound that intertwines eastern Tennessee country with island trop rock. And it works.

Still won't commit until I see the workload on the other side of vacation, but I'm sharing now because if there isn't an appetite for this from this group please say so and I'll stick to it on my back deck.
I'd love to hear more of Mr. Chesney. :thumbup: Hope you can find time to prepare a list.
Really. Country seemed unpopular around here, but maybe it was a bad read of the room. I just extended the contract of my side gig today, so we'll see what gets dumped on me upon return.
I'm not a huge fan but have grown, over the last fe years, to appreciate some of the artists and music. As for Chesney I know little about his catalog but know that I like a couple of his tunes for sure and probably more since he's been around a while. I like his voice so would expect that there are others that I haven't heard that will be good. As for the group, I don't think it's a genre that has a ton of love but maybe some will be converted. :shrug:
Agreed about his voice and it's appeared much less produced in his later work. One reason why I'd bet half of what I'd put up would be from the last 10 years or so. Vaca is a road trip, so maybe I can steer the playlist to more Kenny. That way even if I get bombed upon return I still have something ready to contribute. Didn't much enjoy the last MAD when I was too busy to participate though. Eh, we'll see where the cards lay next week.
 
I've decided that if I join for this round it'll be Kenny Chesney. I recently came to the conclusion he's our generation's Jimmy Buffett and 'tis the season so that's why. Never cared for his early work but as he came into his own he ditched the Nashville driven formula and has developed a sound that intertwines eastern Tennessee country with island trop rock. And it works.

Still won't commit until I see the workload on the other side of vacation, but I'm sharing now because if there isn't an appetite for this from this group please say so and I'll stick to it on my back deck.
I'd love to hear more of Mr. Chesney. :thumbup: Hope you can find time to prepare a list.
Really. Country seemed unpopular around here, but maybe it was a bad read of the room. I just extended the contract of my side gig today, so we'll see what gets dumped on me upon return.
I'm not a huge fan but have grown, over the last fe years, to appreciate some of the artists and music. As for Chesney I know little about his catalog but know that I like a couple of his tunes for sure and probably more since he's been around a while. I like his voice so would expect that there are others that I haven't heard that will be good. As for the group, I don't think it's a genre that has a ton of love but maybe some will be converted. :shrug:
Agreed about his voice and it's appeared much less produced in his later work. One reason why I'd bet half of what I'd put up would be from the last 10 years or so. Vaca is a road trip, so maybe I can steer the playlist to more Kenny. That way even if I get bombed upon return I still have something ready to contribute. Didn't much enjoy the last MAD when I was too busy to participate though. Eh, we'll see where the cards lay next week.
If not this one, I expect there will be a round 4 sometime. :)
 

The Tea Party​

Here's a little about my selection for this go around. Some of this info comes from their wiki and other various places.

The Tea Party was a progressive/alternative rock band from Ontario, Canada. I do not know their politics, but they are definitely not affiliated with the conservative political movement of the same name.

My guess is you've either never heard of them, or know very little. I discovered them in college after a Canadian friend introduced me to them. I hadn't listened to them in over 20 years when I came upon them again when looking for artists to cover for this list. I found that I still really liked their stuff.

As for their sound, someone put it best when they said "It's like if Jim Morrison sang for Led Zeppelin if Led Zeppelin was around in the 90s making alternative rock." The lead singer, Jeff Martin, bears an uncanny physical and vocal resemblance to Jim Morrison.

From their wikipedia: Regarded as a progressive rock band, The Tea Party's style fuses blues, industrial rock, and psych-blasted progressive rock with Middle Eastern influences. The band has described their style as "Moroccan-roll". Tuonela magazine described the band's style as "a very emotive style of alternative rock, with hints of grunge and even some touches of oriental music".

Here is them covering Paint it Black, which I am not including in my list because I decided on no covers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42GSt1oDfMk

A few other tidbits:

- They were the first Canadian band to play the main stage at Lollapalooza, in 1996.
- Between 1996 and 2016, The Tea Party was the 35th best-selling Canadian artist in Canada.
- In September 2011, Yahoo! reported that political groups associated with the Tea Party movement were trying to purchase the band's domain name. It is estimated the band could sell the domain for over $1M U.S. The band purchased the domain in 1993, and at one point added the phrase "No politics... Just Rock and Roll" to their site in order to distance themselves from the political movement.

My list will be a standard countdown worst-best, but I will be moving some favorites to the front for a good intro to the band first, kind of like what I did for Sigur Ros.
 
Here is them covering Paint it Black, which I am not including in my list because I decided on no covers.
You might want to rethink this. Covers can be a gateway drug. This one is interesting. Seeing how the band sees another person's music is pretty revealing.
 
Here is them covering Paint it Black, which I am not including in my list because I decided on no covers.
You might want to rethink this. Covers can be a gateway drug. This one is interesting. Seeing how the band sees another person's music is pretty revealing.

It's also the only cover they have that I can see. I agree on the gateway drug part. Another reason why I included it in the intro.
 
Making my cut downs. This is actually harder than I thought. A few I thought would make it have been evicted from the top 31.

I just read that my current #10 song is a cover of bowling for soup. I had no idea. ETA: I just listened to their version. Yeah, Blue October did it a LOT better.

A different popular song to cover, will not be on my list

 
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I've decided that if I join for this round it'll be Kenny Chesney. I recently came to the conclusion he's our generation's Jimmy Buffett and 'tis the season so that's why. Never cared for his early work but as he came into his own he ditched the Nashville driven formula and has developed a sound that intertwines eastern Tennessee country with island trop rock. And it works.

Still won't commit until I see the workload on the other side of vacation, but I'm sharing now because if there isn't an appetite for this from this group please say so and I'll stick to it on my back deck.
I used to think Zach brown had this, but you’re right that Kenny probably fits the “unrefined, beach party type” better, but really neither is quite there.

Chesney is a mixed bag for both me and my wife. Some of his songs are mainstays on my playlists, others I’ve taken out of rotation entirely (down vote on Pandora). But I’d love to hear your take on his best 31.
 
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I've decided that if I join for this round it'll be Kenny Chesney. I recently came to the conclusion he's our generation's Jimmy Buffett and 'tis the season so that's why. Never cared for his early work but as he came into his own he ditched the Nashville driven formula and has developed a sound that intertwines eastern Tennessee country with island trop rock. And it works.

Still won't commit until I see the workload on the other side of vacation, but I'm sharing now because if there isn't an appetite for this from this group please say so and I'll stick to it on my back deck.
I used to think Zach brown had this, but you’re right that Kenny probably fits the “unrefined, beach party type” better, but really neither is quite there.

Chesney is a mixed bag for both me and my wife. Some of his songs are mainstays on my playlists, others I’ve taken out of rotation entirely (down vote on Pandora). But I’d love to hear your take on his best 31.
I suspect both have inherited the Parrothead population for their concerts.
 
Here is them covering Paint it Black, which I am not including in my list because I decided on no covers.
You might want to rethink this. Covers can be a gateway drug. This one is interesting. Seeing how the band sees another person's music is pretty revealing.
It is a bit revealing that they did not prefer the Stones’ use of commas.
Now that you mentioned it, it's starting to really bother me. I may have to turn my head, until my darkness goes.
 
@Zegras11 (others can chime in): Is it allowed for me to pick a studio musician (that has made a name for himself) and list songs from various artists/bands that he’s been a primary musician in?

I'm pretty sure that's been discussed and approved in one of the earlier threads.

That's going to take a _lot_ of listening because the best session players tend to stay busy.
 
I'm going with Strand of Oaks this time around.

I wanted to pick someone from this century who is still putting out music at a near-peak level. I also wanted someone who is relatively accessible for the thread. Hopefully he'll get some likes and maybe a new fan or two.

I initially wanted to pick a woman this time around but a new Strand of Oaks album just came out and made up my mind for me. Maybe I'll break up the sausage fest next time.
 
I'm going with Strand of Oaks this time around.

I wanted to pick someone from this century who is still putting out music at a near-peak level. I also wanted someone who is relatively accessible for the thread. Hopefully he'll get some likes and maybe a new fan or two.

I initially wanted to pick a woman this time around but a new Strand of Oaks album just came out and made up my mind for me. Maybe I'll break up the sausage fest next time.
I hope we're not thinking of the same woman.
 
@Zegras11 (others can chime in): Is it allowed for me to pick a studio musician (that has made a name for himself) and list songs from various artists/bands that he’s been a primary musician in?
I can't speak to "allowed", but I don't think I'd get much out of it. A studio musician might be incredibly skillful, but they're probably not a driving force of any particular piece of music. I think you'd be all over the place.
 
@Zegras11 (others can chime in): Is it allowed for me to pick a studio musician (that has made a name for himself) and list songs from various artists/bands that he’s been a primary musician in?
I can't speak to "allowed", but I don't think I'd get much out of it. A studio musician might be incredibly skillful, but they're probably not a driving force of any particular piece of music. I think you'd be all over the place.
Clarence Clemons. Sorted.
 
I've decided that if I join for this round it'll be Kenny Chesney. I recently came to the conclusion he's our generation's Jimmy Buffett and 'tis the season so that's why. Never cared for his early work but as he came into his own he ditched the Nashville driven formula and has developed a sound that intertwines eastern Tennessee country with island trop rock. And it works.

Still won't commit until I see the workload on the other side of vacation, but I'm sharing now because if there isn't an appetite for this from this group please say so and I'll stick to it on my back deck.
I used to think Zach brown had this, but you’re right that Kenny probably fits the “unrefined, beach party type” better, but really neither is quite there.

Chesney is a mixed bag for both me and my wife. Some of his songs are mainstays on my playlists, others I’ve taken out of rotation entirely (down vote on Pandora). But I’d love to hear your take on his best 31.
I felt the same til I went to see a couple of his shows. No one can ever fill Jimmy's shoes, but Kenny's no shoes come closest.
 
Talking of Sausage fests

So I can now concentrate on Chvrches, barring some late changes here will be the Sweet Album and song breakdown

Gimme Dat Ding (1970) - 1 Track

A compilation of their early material on one side of an album. The other side was comprised of songs from “The Pipkins”

Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be (UK release)- 2 Tracks
Debut album that was released during the Chinny Chap years. 4 of the tracks were written by the band, 6 were Chinn/Chapman compositions and 2 were covers.

The Sweet (US Release) - 4 Tracks
There is one track here that I have included that was on the previous UK album. It is not one if the 4 tracks listed here

Sweet Fanny Adams 1997 Reissue - 6 Tracks
Their first mainstream release which impacted the market. Only 3 Chinny Chapp Tracks, 2 of which were only on the 1997 Reissue

Desolation Boulevard UK Release 1997 Reissue- 6 Tracks
The UK release is radically different to the US version with only 3 tracks the same. One of those 3 tracks is radically different on the US version

Desolation Boulevard original US Release - 1 Track
Most of the tracks on the US version were represented on the Sweet Fanny Adams, the UK version and I think even one track from “The Sweet” LP

Give Us a Wink RCA version - 2 Tracks
The Capitol release is missing a key track, so including the RCA version

Off the Record - 3 Tracks
Contained no “hits”, but its one of their better put together albums

Level Headed - 2 Tracks
A few close to joining the top 31 here, but its a fairly disjointed affair.

Cut Above the Rest - 1 Track
This is really a mess. No Connolly anymore, but everything is off here. I defy anyone to listen to all the track Discophony (Dis-Kof-O-Ne) all the way through without turning it off. Awful

Water’s Edge - 1 Track
Not much better here, but one or two others got close to the list

Identity Crisis - 0 Tracks
This is a damn shame. This may be their most cohesive album, but the problem is there isn’t a great track on it. No duds either. Unlike most of their other albums there is a consistent sound. The variance in musical styles on other LPs is disjointing.

Andy Scott’s Sweet Albums - 1 Track
There are 5 albums under this guise. Most of it is retreads, covers or worn out material. A few exceptions.

That leaves one track which was a standalone single as were several in the early days. I was able to capture most of the stand alone singles into various versions of LPs where they were shoe horned in. The last track is only on greatest hits compilations. Although it is on a 2005 reissue on one LP, but including that would have messed up a lot of other tracks.

Phases
1 - Pre Chinny Chap/Chinny Chap era B Sides - 3 Tracks
2 - Chinny Chap era - 15 Tracks…I think
3 - Post Chinny Chap era - 10 tracks
4 - Post Brian Connolly - 2 tracks
5 - Andy Scott’s Sweet - 1 track
 
I'm going with Strand of Oaks this time around.

I wanted to pick someone from this century who is still putting out music at a near-peak level. I also wanted someone who is relatively accessible for the thread. Hopefully he'll get some likes and maybe a new fan or two.

Big fan. Looking forward to this.
 
Oingo Boingo

is going to be more like Dinosaur Jr for me, but even more so. What I mean by that is at least with Dino I had been listening to 2-3 albums and just wanted to branch out so I did have a passion for them since Beyond came out. Oingo was just a fantastic find as I was digging and thinking about artists to do. Until December of last year (I just looked at the date I added the first wave of songs into the playlist), I had not heard an album of theirs and couldn't name you a song besides Weird Science and Dead Man's Party. Hell, like I posted, I didn't even know that Danny Elfman was the driver for the band. :bag:

Part of this came from a surprising (to me) realization how much I like the 80s new wave stuff, so I have been exploring that a bit naturally. After Mastodon, I also wanted to something a bit different, but most of my ideas like Lord Huron, Beck, The Roots, etc.. were eliminated by my self imposed 1M listens/month cap. It elimated other stuff like Duran Duran I've been listening to a ton as well, so back to the drawing board. The funny thing about the Elfman connection is my other ideas had to do with doing artists who made the leap to scores. I had been toying with a Trent Reznor or Jonny Greenwood list too and doing a mix of movie scores/band output, but got off that too. DEVO was my other idea, but again - 1.4M listens/month. As I was digging Oingo kept popping up, so I added it to the research list and made a playlist.

I knew this was it right away and haven't looked back. I went old school and just picked an album that had an interesting cover and was hooked. As I joked in another post, this is the 80s sound I've been looking for a while now. Great mix of fun music that kicks along with dark, funny lyrics. Like with Dino, I'd really be interested in how my reaction and selections might compare to somebody who is a fan or has been listening for decades. I didn't cap myself on songs from albums or anything and didn't try anything as elaborate as my Mastodon playlist - I just tried to give a dedicated, honest list and these will be my favorite 31 songs from them at the time I hit submit. There is a heavy dose from a couple albums. That first one I listened to has stayed my favorite through dozens of listens, but the other isn't far behind. The funny thing is I don't like Elfman scores or Burton movies that much, so I didn't listen to that solo output, just the Oingo options. The breakdown will be something like:

Only a Lad - 4
Nothing to Fear - 7
Good For Your Soul - 3
Dead Man's Party - 5
Boi-Ngo - 2
Dark at the End of the Tunnel - 3
Boingo - 1
B-side - 1
Boingo Alive - 5 (I think 2 from Dead Man's and 2 from Good for Your Soul?)


Anyway, just going to have some fun with this one and not get as serious. I'm just hoping to introduce others who also might not be familiar with them and not do any fans a disservice with the selections. That trio of albums from Nothing to Fear --> Dead Man's Party is so good.
 
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I was laughing a bit at the covers talk. No surprise, I encountered a couple on my journey and pretty much hated them. :lol:

HERE is their version of previous MAD31 artist The Kinks.
HERE they are tackling The Beatles.
 
A little April Wine update.

This is hard! I’m surprised at how much harder this one has been than my Collective Soul list. I like so many of these tunes! Frankly, my April Wine knowledge was mostly the hits - and they had quite a few of them up here in the Great White North. I have found many new-to-me songs that are awesome. I feel like a few that I thought were locks will be on the outside looking in.

Also, listening with headphones on is a game changer. A number of great bass lines that I’ve never really heard before . Getting down to 31 is going to be a challenge. I’ll probably even have a last 5 out for this one.

They have 16 studio releases, but most of my selections will likely be between the 3rd and 10th album
 
A little April Wine update.

This is hard! I’m surprised at how much harder this one has been than my Collective Soul list. I like so many of these tunes! Frankly, my April Wine knowledge was mostly the hits - and they had quite a few of them up here in the Great White North. I have found many new-to-me songs that are awesome. I feel like a few that I thought were locks will be on the outside looking in.

Also, listening with headphones on is a game changer. A number of great bass lines that I’ve never really heard before . Getting down to 31 is going to be a challenge. I’ll probably even have a last 5 out for this one.

They have 16 studio releases, but most of my selections will likely be between the 3rd and 10th album
This is the fun for me. I learned a bunch of stuff about my guy.
 
My Stone Temple Pilots list is complete.

Many of my top groups that I felt comfortable enough to rank were already taken in the first 2 rounds or spoken for here in the third, but STP is still one of my favorite bands all time and I had a strong connection to them through some important formative years in my life. They definitely have a strong presence in the soundtrack of my life.

STP was prominent through my 20s, which covered from prime bachelorhood years, to engagement and early married years with my wife, to starting a family. I think they are top 5 of all bands in the amount of times seeing them live (after Rush, Incubus, Foo Fighters, and Linkin Park).

Definitely a group that had a pretty wide range of styles as they progressed through their careers and dealt with different stages of life and addiction. I was never able to connect with STP after Scott’s death, so nothing from their later albums made my list.

I won’t have the same amount of writeups with them as I did in the first 2 rounds for a lot of their songs, but will try to comment on the ones that I had the most connection with.

Tale of the tape by album:
7 - Core (1992)
7 - Purple (1994)
6 - Tiny Music. . . (1996)
2 - No. 4 (1999)
5 - Shanghai-La Dee Da (2001)
1 - MTV Unplugged version of a song from an album above
1 - bonus track from an album above
2 - songs previously unreleased from any studio album

Definitely a few surprises for me when I put my list together.

Hope you enjoy. :headbang:
 
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The Doors (Part 1)

When you think of huge 60’s bands, you have the Beatles, The Stones, and… honestly, the Doors fit pretty comfortably in that #3 spot, and were probably the biggest US band of the 60’s. And Jim Morrison is easily one of the most iconic rock stars of all time.

They were before my time. I discovered them as a late teenager (83/84 or so), ironically right around the same time I discovered weed.

Note to parents: if your kid is into The Doors, they are definitely smoking weed.

Anyway, I became a major fan, have all the albums, read all the books, and I still dig them to this day, although I wish there was “more” to dive into. But their career was very short - they released their first album in January 1967, and Jim died in July 1971. In those four and a half years they released six studio albums and one live album. A few later posthumous releases have merit and we’ll hear some stuff from them, but there’s just not a huge vault of stuff like some other artists have.

The other three Doors released two albums after Jim died with Ray Manzarek taking the vocals. While interesting for fans, there’s nothing on these albums that will crack my 31 – it’s going to be all Jim.

I’ll give the real quick backstory here.

The Doors formed in Venice, California in 1965. Jim and Ray were classmates in UCLA film school. Ray played keyboards in a band with his brothers. The summer after graduation, Ray was on the beach and who does he run into but Jim. After catching up, Jim mentions he was writing songs. Ray asked to hear one. Jim sings a few verses of Moonlight Drive, which floor Ray. Right away, he's like “let’s form a band and make a million bucks”.

So he brings Jim into the band with his brothers (called Rick and the Ravens). His brothers are not that serious about it, and also think Jim is weird, so they sort of disband. But Ray knows a drummer named John Densmore from a meditation class he was attending. John is friends with a guitarist named Robbie Krieger, and just like that, you have the four Doors. They tried to find a bassist but never succeeded, and Ray solved that problem by playing a keyboard bass with his left hand.

Success came pretty quick for them. They spent a year or so constantly practicing and taking whatever gigs they could get, and finally landed a series of gigs at a dive bar called the London Fog. The booker for the famous Whisky a Go Go saw them there, was enamored with Jim (like all the girls were then), and booked them to be the Whisky’s house band, where they opened for bands like Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, The Turtles, Love, Them (Van Morrison), etc.

It was here that they really developed their repertoire and two albums worth of songs, and almost got signed by some big labels, but it never quite happened. Until they caught the eye of Jac Holzman, president of Elektra Records. He signed them right away, and their self-titled first album was recorded about a week later. Break on Through gets noticed, and then Light My Fire becomes a #1 hit, and off we go.

I’m going to end this part here – I mean, I could write a book on this, and indeed, there is plenty written about the Doors. They packed an awful lot into that short time – Jim getting arrested on stage, Jim allegedly exposing himself in Miami and bringing on a heap of trouble, etc. Most of the stories are well known, and I’d encourage reading a bit about them if interested. I would say the Doors movie is not that accurate, except Val Kilmer’s performance as Jim, which the other Doors have said is so spot on that it’s almost creepy.

Over the next few days I’ll try and write a quick post about their music, and of course, the four Doors.
 
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My Stone Temple Pilots list is complete.

Many of my top groups that I felt comfortable enough to rank were already taken in the first 2 rounds or spoken for here in the third, but STP is still one of my favorite bands all time and I had a strong connection to them through some important formative years in my life. They definitely have a strong presence in the soundtrack of my life.

STP was prominent through my 20s, which covered from prime bachelorhood years, to engagement and early married years with my wife, to starting a family. I think they are top 5 of all bands in the amount of times seeing them live (after Rush, Incubus, Foo Fighters, and Linkin Park).

Definitely a group that had a pretty wide range of styles as they progressed through their careers and dealt with different stages of life and addiction. I was never able to connect with STP after Scott’s death, so nothing from their later albums made my list.

I won’t have the same amount of writeups with them as I did in the first 2 rounds for a lot of their songs, but will try to comment on the ones that I had the most connection with.

Tale of the tape by album:
7 - Core (1992)
7 - Purple (1994)
6 - Tiny Music. . . (1996)
2 - No. 4 (1999)
5 - Shanghai-La Dee Da (2001)
1 - MTV Unplugged version of a song from an album above
1 - bonus track from an album above
2 - songs previously unreleased from any studio album

Definitely a few surprises for me when I put my list together.

Hope you enjoy. :headbang:
This is one I'm looking forward to. I have my STP comfort zone, but it's not 31 and unlike most early-mid 90's rock I'm not familiar with most of what's not already in my library.
 
The Doors (Part 1)

When you think of huge 60’s bands, you have the Beatles, The Stones, and… honestly, the Doors fit pretty comfortably in that #3 spot, and were probably the biggest US band of the 60’s. And Jim Morrison is easily one of the most iconic rock stars of all time.

They were before my time. I discovered them as a late teenager (83/84 or so), ironically right around the same time I discovered weed.

Note to parents: if your kid is into Doors, they are definitely smoking weed.

Anyway, I became a major fan, have all the albums, read all the books, and I still dig them to this day, although I wish there was “more” to dive into. But their career was very short - they released their first album in January 1967, and Jim died in July 1971. In those four and a half years they released six studio albums and one live album. A few later posthumous releases have merit and we’ll hear some stuff from them, but there’s just not a huge vault of stuff like some other artists have.

The other three Doors released two albums after Jim died with Ray taking the vocals. While interesting for fans, there’s nothing on these albums that will crack my 31 – it’s going to be all Jim.

I’ll give the real quick backstory here.

The Doors formed in Venice, California in 1965. Jim and Ray were classmates in UCLA film school. Ray played keyboards in a band with his brothers. The summer after graduation, Ray was on the beach and who does he run into but Jim. After catching up, Jim mentions he was writing songs. Ray asked to hear one. Jim sings a few verses of Moonlight Drive, which floor Ray. Right away, he's like “let’s form a band and make a million bucks”.

So he brings Jim into the band with his brothers (called Rick and the Ravens). His brothers are not that serious about it, and also think Jim is weird, so they sort of disband. But Ray knows a drummer named John Densmore from a mediation class he was attending. John is friends with a guitarist named Robbie Krieger, and just like that, you have the four Doors. They tried to find a bassist but never succeeded, and Ray solved that problem by playing a keyboard bass with his left hand.

Success came pretty quick for them. They spent a year or so constantly practicing and taking whatever gigs they could get, and finally landed a gig at a dive bar called the London Fog. The booker for the famous Whisky a Go Go saw them there, was enamored with Jim (like all the girls were then), and booked them to be the Whisky’s house band, where they opened for bands like Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, The Turtles, Love, Them (Van Morrison), etc.

It was here that they really developed their repertoire and two albums worth of songs, and almost got signed by some big labels, but it never quite happened. Until they caught the eye of Jac Holzman, president of Elektra Records. He signed them right away, and their self-titled first album was recorded about a week later. Break on Through gets noticed, and then Light My Fire becomes a #1 hit, and off we go.

I’m going to end this part here – I mean, I could write a book on this, and indeed, there is plenty written about the Doors. They packed an awful lot into that short time – Jim getting arrested on stage, Jim allegedly exposing himself in Miami and bringing on a heap of trouble, etc. Most of the stories are well known, and I’d encourage reading a bit about them if interested. I would say the Doors movie is not that accurate, except Val Kilmer’s performance as Jim, which the other Doors have said is so spot on that it’s almost creepy.

Over the next few days I’ll try and write a quick post about their music, and of course, the four Doors.
Looking forward to this list. They were my very favorite band for a long stretch during college.
 
The Doors (Part 1)

When you think of huge 60’s bands, you have the Beatles, The Stones, and… honestly, the Doors fit pretty comfortably in that #3 spot, and were probably the biggest US band of the 60’s. And Jim Morrison is easily one of the most iconic rock stars of all time.

They were before my time. I discovered them as a late teenager (83/84 or so), ironically right around the same time I discovered weed.

Note to parents: if your kid is into The Doors, they are definitely smoking weed.

Anyway, I became a major fan, have all the albums, read all the books, and I still dig them to this day, although I wish there was “more” to dive into. But their career was very short - they released their first album in January 1967, and Jim died in July 1971. In those four and a half years they released six studio albums and one live album. A few later posthumous releases have merit and we’ll hear some stuff from them, but there’s just not a huge vault of stuff like some other artists have.

The other three Doors released two albums after Jim died with Ray taking the vocals. While interesting for fans, there’s nothing on these albums that will crack my 31 – it’s going to be all Jim.

I’ll give the real quick backstory here.

The Doors formed in Venice, California in 1965. Jim and Ray were classmates in UCLA film school. Ray played keyboards in a band with his brothers. The summer after graduation, Ray was on the beach and who does he run into but Jim. After catching up, Jim mentions he was writing songs. Ray asked to hear one. Jim sings a few verses of Moonlight Drive, which floor Ray. Right away, he's like “let’s form a band and make a million bucks”.

So he brings Jim into the band with his brothers (called Rick and the Ravens). His brothers are not that serious about it, and also think Jim is weird, so they sort of disband. But Ray knows a drummer named John Densmore from a mediation class he was attending. John is friends with a guitarist named Robbie Krieger, and just like that, you have the four Doors. They tried to find a bassist but never succeeded, and Ray solved that problem by playing a keyboard bass with his left hand.

Success came pretty quick for them. They spent a year or so constantly practicing and taking whatever gigs they could get, and finally landed a series of gigs at a dive bar called the London Fog. The booker for the famous Whisky a Go Go saw them there, was enamored with Jim (like all the girls were then), and booked them to be the Whisky’s house band, where they opened for bands like Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, The Turtles, Love, Them (Van Morrison), etc.

It was here that they really developed their repertoire and two albums worth of songs, and almost got signed by some big labels, but it never quite happened. Until they caught the eye of Jac Holzman, president of Elektra Records. He signed them right away, and their self-titled first album was recorded about a week later. Break on Through gets noticed, and then Light My Fire becomes a #1 hit, and off we go.

I’m going to end this part here – I mean, I could write a book on this, and indeed, there is plenty written about the Doors. They packed an awful lot into that short time – Jim getting arrested on stage, Jim allegedly exposing himself in Miami and bringing on a heap of trouble, etc. Most of the stories are well known, and I’d encourage reading a bit about them if interested. I would say the Doors movie is not that accurate, except Val Kilmer’s performance as Jim, which the other Doors have said is so spot on that it’s almost creepy.

Over the next few days I’ll try and write a quick post about their music, and of course, the four Doors.
🙋‍♂️ When I was a teenager, I liked the Doors and didn’t smoke weed.

I was kind of weird, though.
 
The Doors (Part 1)

When you think of huge 60’s bands, you have the Beatles, The Stones, and… honestly, the Doors fit pretty comfortably in that #3 spot, and were probably the biggest US band of the 60’s. And Jim Morrison is easily one of the most iconic rock stars of all time.

They were before my time. I discovered them as a late teenager (83/84 or so), ironically right around the same time I discovered weed.

Note to parents: if your kid is into The Doors, they are definitely smoking weed.

Anyway, I became a major fan, have all the albums, read all the books, and I still dig them to this day, although I wish there was “more” to dive into. But their career was very short - they released their first album in January 1967, and Jim died in July 1971. In those four and a half years they released six studio albums and one live album. A few later posthumous releases have merit and we’ll hear some stuff from them, but there’s just not a huge vault of stuff like some other artists have.

The other three Doors released two albums after Jim died with Ray taking the vocals. While interesting for fans, there’s nothing on these albums that will crack my 31 – it’s going to be all Jim.

I’ll give the real quick backstory here.

The Doors formed in Venice, California in 1965. Jim and Ray were classmates in UCLA film school. Ray played keyboards in a band with his brothers. The summer after graduation, Ray was on the beach and who does he run into but Jim. After catching up, Jim mentions he was writing songs. Ray asked to hear one. Jim sings a few verses of Moonlight Drive, which floor Ray. Right away, he's like “let’s form a band and make a million bucks”.

So he brings Jim into the band with his brothers (called Rick and the Ravens). His brothers are not that serious about it, and also think Jim is weird, so they sort of disband. But Ray knows a drummer named John Densmore from a mediation class he was attending. John is friends with a guitarist named Robbie Krieger, and just like that, you have the four Doors. They tried to find a bassist but never succeeded, and Ray solved that problem by playing a keyboard bass with his left hand.

Success came pretty quick for them. They spent a year or so constantly practicing and taking whatever gigs they could get, and finally landed a series of gigs at a dive bar called the London Fog. The booker for the famous Whisky a Go Go saw them there, was enamored with Jim (like all the girls were then), and booked them to be the Whisky’s house band, where they opened for bands like Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, The Turtles, Love, Them (Van Morrison), etc.

It was here that they really developed their repertoire and two albums worth of songs, and almost got signed by some big labels, but it never quite happened. Until they caught the eye of Jac Holzman, president of Elektra Records. He signed them right away, and their self-titled first album was recorded about a week later. Break on Through gets noticed, and then Light My Fire becomes a #1 hit, and off we go.

I’m going to end this part here – I mean, I could write a book on this, and indeed, there is plenty written about the Doors. They packed an awful lot into that short time – Jim getting arrested on stage, Jim allegedly exposing himself in Miami and bringing on a heap of trouble, etc. Most of the stories are well known, and I’d encourage reading a bit about them if interested. I would say the Doors movie is not that accurate, except Val Kilmer’s performance as Jim, which the other Doors have said is so spot on that it’s almost creepy.

Over the next few days I’ll try and write a quick post about their music, and of course, the four Doors.
🙋‍♂️ When I was a teenager, I liked the Doors and didn’t smoke weed.

I was kind of weird, though.
I was 11 when he died. No weed. Always liked them just the same. Still do. This should be good.
 

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