I downloaded both of these albums from Emusic way back when, but never got a chance to really check either of them out. Listened to both of them all the way through on Bandcamp and all I can say is, why did it take me so long to play these?? Can't make up my mind which one I like better. I think this guy may be one of those artists who I'm going to like everything he does. While listening to these albums, sometimes I'm reminded of Mark Knopfler and other times Chuck Prophet - but he really doesn't sound exactly like either one of them, but the music reminded me of hints of them here and there. Very, very good stuff. I think I'm falling in love.
Black has a new album released last January - will have to check it out next. (EDIT: Well, the new releases list I was looking at gives a Jan 10 2012 release date for his new one, "Plow Through the Mystic," but the bandcamp page says November 2011.)
Rush - 2112 - That album still connects with me...I was in high school when I was first introduced to Rush... this is the album of theirs at the time that rocked like I liked to rock. Sweet.
Perry & Kingsly - The Essential Perry & Kingsley - I acquired this in the mid 90's (I think) when I had too much free time and too much expendable cash. I don't regret it but don't see me revisiting this all too very often
Raga Sagara - Ocean Of Music - This was left behind in an abandoned cube where I work a year or two ago... I think somewhere in track 3 I realized I was actually digging the groove. At earlier points I was just muttering to myself..."Really?" I mean it was exactly what I expected it to be... but only just exactly that. Maybe, subconsciously, I was expecting some devil-healing music or something.
Graham Parker - Squeezing Out Sparks - IIRC I got this from a local Walgreens here in TX of all places - they were clearing out Cds for a dollar or so each about 4-5 years ago. Due to the musical influences of one of my big brothers I got to really dig The Rumour which stated out as Graham Parker's backing band or something. Anyway, it was one of the few name-recognition discs in the clearance bin that wasn't some weird "live hits" album.
Naked Raygun - Throb Throb - O. M. G. This is the shit (for me). I originally picked this up on cassette in '86 or so while making a stop somewhere in nowhere-Oklahoma while road tripping across America (AmerCIA if you're reading this, Mitt). The town wasn't actually 'nowhere' because my best friend from college lived there. It was just your regular OK-type of town, anyway.... I was freeloading and he had an actual job....so while he finished up his shift i explored the area. For me at that time that essentially meant hitting up what record stores I could to see what I could score cheap (being unemployed and with limited funds and all). When he saw the stuff I purchased from the cut-out bin of the local name-brand record store he kinda gave me a chiding because by clearing out their one store of all the 'cool' stuff I was depriving a whole generation of that particular town's Mid-Western kids a chance to be exposed to something other than the pablum that that particular environment forced down their throats. This album is one of my absolute favorites (punk or otherwise) and definitely in the top 10 of all the punk shit I wallowed in and subjected myself to over the years.
Etta James - Tell Mama (the complete Muscle Shoals sessions) - I got this from one of the BMG Music club coupon-code blowouts a couple years back. I basically got it for my wife 'cause I know she really doesn't cotton to what I listen to on a regular basis. This was actually pretty cool. Very cool.
Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks - Orange Crate Art - OK. When I originally got this all I really knew about it as the one dude was a Beach Boy and the Beach Boys had some classic hits back in the day. Upon first listen I hated it - I could hear the Beach Boy singing but it wasn't at all what I was expecting music-wise - I was probably way too aligned with Punk/Metal/Goth and/or Industrial music at the time. But I'm a pack-rat and never get rid of anything. Listening to this today after 15 years of collecting dust I can honestly say that I'm actually pretty happy with this and it has a little something-something in it that makes it all worthwhile.
Regurgitator - Tu-Plang... - I actually saw these guys live when they opened up for some show I saw in Charlotte, NC (Morphine?, not sure). I made a point to remember their name and one of their songs from that set-list (the 1st track on this particular album). Fast forward about 8 years and I finally stumbled across this album in a cut-out bin in a record store in Plano, TX. Just like my initial reaction to BW&VDPK it really didn't gel with me at all with a couple feeble attempts to listen to it after purchasing it. Fast forward another 8 years - this is pretty cool and much better than I ever remember it being.
Murray Attaway - In Thrall - I was getting into Guadalcanal Diary when I fist picked this up. My good musician friend borrowed it from me when I first brought it into work to listen to it after acquiring it and gave it some high praise. Like a lot of other things, my musical head was in a different place when I initially acquired this. I listened to it a couple times and while I really dug a couple of the songs the album as whole just never resonated much with me. I'm happy to say that I actually enjoyed the whole play-through today. Yeah me.
Mussolini Headkick - Blood on the Flag - I probably picked this up in Louisville, KY @ a used CD/comic store called the The Great Escape. I had no idea who they where when I got it. A friend of mine saw it and gave me some low-down about the origin of the band's name and such. As luck would have it my head was in this particular space when I got this CD and I pretty much dug it then and still dig it now. Score another 2 points for me.
Social Distortion - Prison Bound - Funny thing about this. This was probably the 1st Social Distortion album I ever owned. Got it way, way back when vinyl was still the thing. It had gotten some positive reviews or something I guess. I don't recall every really liking it much because at *that* time my head was into much more punkier 'music'. Anyway, at some point I made the transition from vinyl to CD and picked up another Social Distortion album (on CD) and absolutely fell in love with them & their music (As a result I went to see them play in Chicago at some point in the late '90s). Anyway, it had been a goal of mine to find a CD copy of my vinyl copy of this album. FF about 16 years....I got it about a year or two ago. Still really didn't care for it all that much... but I'm a completest (in addition to being a pack-rat) so it was all good. Today... this album was really, really OK. A lot better to me than some of the other stuff they've put out that I've acquired because they put it out. Score another 2 points for me.
Fred Schneider - Just Fred... - I went through college in the mid '80's and the B52's were one of the big things on college radio at the time. I eventually got into the B-52's so it was a natural that I picked this up (probably through some BMG music-club membership obligation purchase/free-bie). I don't recall ever really listening to this particular album because when I put it on today, right after Prison Bound, I was expecting some jarring musical mind-shift (a la, Monster In My Pants) and instead it sounded like a Social Distortion-like band with a the lead vocalist from the B-52's along for the ride. I really wasn't expecting that but I suffered through it. I actually liked a fair amount of it... just the juxtaposition of Fred's voice vs. the music justified the purchase of the CD. In fact there are actually a couple of songs that I actually am way A-OK with... anyway.. I was looking for a shift from the previous musical interlude (and wanted to quiet things down a tad since the missus had just come home from work).. so since I wasn't really expecting loud/fast I was somewhat at a loss as to whether to kill it and go for something closer to where I wanted to be at that moment or just let it wind it's way out. I choose the latter and stated planning my next disc with a little more foresight.
** Historical Footnote: The first time I ever encountered the B-52's was when I was in 10th grade (?) and went to see one of my current Idols at the time - The Who ( on their first Farewell Tour or something). I was only into 'classic rock' at the time. For some un-imaginable reason the B52's were one of the opening acts. They did not get a warm reception. I still remember Fred saying something like "The next song is about a volcano and we're gonna play it whether you like it or not" before launching into "Lava". At some point in their show I remember seeing a flip-flop being thrown on stage almost hitting one of the B52's in the head. A couple months later i was talking about that concert experience with a friend and he indicated to me that that was his flip-flop. Not sure I believed him then much less now. Anyway... back to your regularly scheduled program....
Ozric Tentacles - Jurassic Shift - I first got into these guys picking up one of their CD's from some used record store somewhere (probably Louisville, KY or Charlotte, NC). I was able to score a couple more physical CDs either at the same time or shortly thereafter. I remember spending quite a few eMu credits getting a lot more of their stuff... but between the fast back catalogs of Ozric Tentacles, The Legendary Pink Dots and a hundred other bands my 2,000+ worth of eMu credits that I had been able to bankroll back in '07 or whenever just didn't allow me to download everything I had in my SFl(s). Oh well.
whew...
So, what does it all mean? Nothing to you, probably. To me it was quite an interesting journey through some stuff I knew I had and liked but mostly some stuff I knew I had. If I had to rate today's albums:
01. Naked Raygun - Throb Thob
02. Etta James - Tell Mama (the complete Muscle Shoals sessions)
03. Mussolini Headkick - Blood on the Flag
04, Social Distortion - Prison Bound
05. Rush - 2112
06. Murray Attaway - In Thrall
07. Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks - Orange Crate Art
08. Regurgitator - Tu-Plang...
09. Ozric Tentacles - Jurassic Shift
10. Graham Parker - Squeezing Out Sparks
11. Fred Schneider - Just Fred...
12. Perry & Kingsly - The Essential Perry & Kingsley
13. Raga Sagara - Ocean Of Music
Both on bandcamp. It's way too late - gotta go to bed, but I had to finish the 4th album. I'd listen to more of his albums if I could stay awake. I honestly haven't heard one single bad song on all four of these albums. I believe this is my find of the year. (And I still would be hard pressed to choose which of these 4 albums I like best - I like them ALL.
How many times do you run across an artist that you like every single song performed? That's the case with Jeff Black (at least for me - maybe others would like him - doesn't cost anything to stream via bandcamp. See what you think.
Seconded. Really interesting to hear the Asa and Nneka albums - Asa in particular sounds like a straight-up pop album - I'd no more tag it "African" than I would U2 as Irish. Nneka is more R&B, sometimes with Reggae D&B. Be sure to get the Miriam Makeba if it's still there...it includes a generous selection of songs from 4 or 5 early albums (1960-65).
Meanwhile, thanks to whoever posted this one a few weeks back. At the price, should be automatic for any jazz fans still on eMu:
Comments
An understated and under appreciated 90's classic.
Just got back to this after a string of meetings. Boy, track 7, V
Mike Cassells' Motianless (NYOP): improvs by baseless jazz-trio. Second track is definitely worth a listen.
stream at bandcamp. icy! samples ambient sounds from a frigid wisconsin winter to create spacey, semi-ominous electronic music. kind of dope.
Stream on bandcamp
Stream on bandcamp
I downloaded both of these albums from Emusic way back when, but never got a chance to really check either of them out. Listened to both of them all the way through on Bandcamp and all I can say is, why did it take me so long to play these?? Can't make up my mind which one I like better. I think this guy may be one of those artists who I'm going to like everything he does. While listening to these albums, sometimes I'm reminded of Mark Knopfler and other times Chuck Prophet - but he really doesn't sound exactly like either one of them, but the music reminded me of hints of them here and there. Very, very good stuff. I think I'm falling in love.
Black has a new album released last January - will have to check it out next. (EDIT: Well, the new releases list I was looking at gives a Jan 10 2012 release date for his new one, "Plow Through the Mystic," but the bandcamp page says November 2011.)
Rush - 2112 - That album still connects with me...I was in high school when I was first introduced to Rush... this is the album of theirs at the time that rocked like I liked to rock. Sweet.
Perry & Kingsly - The Essential Perry & Kingsley - I acquired this in the mid 90's (I think) when I had too much free time and too much expendable cash. I don't regret it but don't see me revisiting this all too very often
Raga Sagara - Ocean Of Music - This was left behind in an abandoned cube where I work a year or two ago... I think somewhere in track 3 I realized I was actually digging the groove. At earlier points I was just muttering to myself..."Really?" I mean it was exactly what I expected it to be... but only just exactly that. Maybe, subconsciously, I was expecting some devil-healing music or something.
Graham Parker - Squeezing Out Sparks - IIRC I got this from a local Walgreens here in TX of all places - they were clearing out Cds for a dollar or so each about 4-5 years ago. Due to the musical influences of one of my big brothers I got to really dig The Rumour which stated out as Graham Parker's backing band or something. Anyway, it was one of the few name-recognition discs in the clearance bin that wasn't some weird "live hits" album.
Naked Raygun - Throb Throb - O. M. G. This is the shit (for me). I originally picked this up on cassette in '86 or so while making a stop somewhere in nowhere-Oklahoma while road tripping across America (AmerCIA if you're reading this, Mitt). The town wasn't actually 'nowhere' because my best friend from college lived there. It was just your regular OK-type of town, anyway.... I was freeloading and he had an actual job....so while he finished up his shift i explored the area. For me at that time that essentially meant hitting up what record stores I could to see what I could score cheap (being unemployed and with limited funds and all). When he saw the stuff I purchased from the cut-out bin of the local name-brand record store he kinda gave me a chiding because by clearing out their one store of all the 'cool' stuff I was depriving a whole generation of that particular town's Mid-Western kids a chance to be exposed to something other than the pablum that that particular environment forced down their throats. This album is one of my absolute favorites (punk or otherwise) and definitely in the top 10 of all the punk shit I wallowed in and subjected myself to over the years.
Etta James - Tell Mama (the complete Muscle Shoals sessions) - I got this from one of the BMG Music club coupon-code blowouts a couple years back. I basically got it for my wife 'cause I know she really doesn't cotton to what I listen to on a regular basis. This was actually pretty cool. Very cool.
Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks - Orange Crate Art - OK. When I originally got this all I really knew about it as the one dude was a Beach Boy and the Beach Boys had some classic hits back in the day. Upon first listen I hated it - I could hear the Beach Boy singing but it wasn't at all what I was expecting music-wise - I was probably way too aligned with Punk/Metal/Goth and/or Industrial music at the time. But I'm a pack-rat and never get rid of anything. Listening to this today after 15 years of collecting dust I can honestly say that I'm actually pretty happy with this and it has a little something-something in it that makes it all worthwhile.
Regurgitator - Tu-Plang... - I actually saw these guys live when they opened up for some show I saw in Charlotte, NC (Morphine?, not sure). I made a point to remember their name and one of their songs from that set-list (the 1st track on this particular album). Fast forward about 8 years and I finally stumbled across this album in a cut-out bin in a record store in Plano, TX. Just like my initial reaction to BW&VDPK it really didn't gel with me at all with a couple feeble attempts to listen to it after purchasing it. Fast forward another 8 years - this is pretty cool and much better than I ever remember it being.
Murray Attaway - In Thrall - I was getting into Guadalcanal Diary when I fist picked this up. My good musician friend borrowed it from me when I first brought it into work to listen to it after acquiring it and gave it some high praise. Like a lot of other things, my musical head was in a different place when I initially acquired this. I listened to it a couple times and while I really dug a couple of the songs the album as whole just never resonated much with me. I'm happy to say that I actually enjoyed the whole play-through today. Yeah me.
Mussolini Headkick - Blood on the Flag - I probably picked this up in Louisville, KY @ a used CD/comic store called the The Great Escape. I had no idea who they where when I got it. A friend of mine saw it and gave me some low-down about the origin of the band's name and such. As luck would have it my head was in this particular space when I got this CD and I pretty much dug it then and still dig it now. Score another 2 points for me.
Social Distortion - Prison Bound - Funny thing about this. This was probably the 1st Social Distortion album I ever owned. Got it way, way back when vinyl was still the thing. It had gotten some positive reviews or something I guess. I don't recall every really liking it much because at *that* time my head was into much more punkier 'music'. Anyway, at some point I made the transition from vinyl to CD and picked up another Social Distortion album (on CD) and absolutely fell in love with them & their music (As a result I went to see them play in Chicago at some point in the late '90s). Anyway, it had been a goal of mine to find a CD copy of my vinyl copy of this album. FF about 16 years....I got it about a year or two ago. Still really didn't care for it all that much... but I'm a completest (in addition to being a pack-rat) so it was all good. Today... this album was really, really OK. A lot better to me than some of the other stuff they've put out that I've acquired because they put it out. Score another 2 points for me.
Fred Schneider - Just Fred... - I went through college in the mid '80's and the B52's were one of the big things on college radio at the time. I eventually got into the B-52's so it was a natural that I picked this up (probably through some BMG music-club membership obligation purchase/free-bie). I don't recall ever really listening to this particular album because when I put it on today, right after Prison Bound, I was expecting some jarring musical mind-shift (a la, Monster In My Pants) and instead it sounded like a Social Distortion-like band with a the lead vocalist from the B-52's along for the ride. I really wasn't expecting that but I suffered through it. I actually liked a fair amount of it... just the juxtaposition of Fred's voice vs. the music justified the purchase of the CD. In fact there are actually a couple of songs that I actually am way A-OK with... anyway.. I was looking for a shift from the previous musical interlude (and wanted to quiet things down a tad since the missus had just come home from work).. so since I wasn't really expecting loud/fast I was somewhat at a loss as to whether to kill it and go for something closer to where I wanted to be at that moment or just let it wind it's way out. I choose the latter and stated planning my next disc with a little more foresight.
** Historical Footnote: The first time I ever encountered the B-52's was when I was in 10th grade (?) and went to see one of my current Idols at the time - The Who ( on their first Farewell Tour or something). I was only into 'classic rock' at the time. For some un-imaginable reason the B52's were one of the opening acts. They did not get a warm reception. I still remember Fred saying something like "The next song is about a volcano and we're gonna play it whether you like it or not" before launching into "Lava". At some point in their show I remember seeing a flip-flop being thrown on stage almost hitting one of the B52's in the head. A couple months later i was talking about that concert experience with a friend and he indicated to me that that was his flip-flop. Not sure I believed him then much less now. Anyway... back to your regularly scheduled program....
Ozric Tentacles - Jurassic Shift - I first got into these guys picking up one of their CD's from some used record store somewhere (probably Louisville, KY or Charlotte, NC). I was able to score a couple more physical CDs either at the same time or shortly thereafter. I remember spending quite a few eMu credits getting a lot more of their stuff... but between the fast back catalogs of Ozric Tentacles, The Legendary Pink Dots and a hundred other bands my 2,000+ worth of eMu credits that I had been able to bankroll back in '07 or whenever just didn't allow me to download everything I had in my SFl(s). Oh well.
whew...
So, what does it all mean? Nothing to you, probably. To me it was quite an interesting journey through some stuff I knew I had and liked but mostly some stuff I knew I had. If I had to rate today's albums:
01. Naked Raygun - Throb Thob
02. Etta James - Tell Mama (the complete Muscle Shoals sessions)
03. Mussolini Headkick - Blood on the Flag
04, Social Distortion - Prison Bound
05. Rush - 2112
06. Murray Attaway - In Thrall
07. Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks - Orange Crate Art
08. Regurgitator - Tu-Plang...
09. Ozric Tentacles - Jurassic Shift
10. Graham Parker - Squeezing Out Sparks
11. Fred Schneider - Just Fred...
12. Perry & Kingsly - The Essential Perry & Kingsley
13. Raga Sagara - Ocean Of Music
followed by:
Both on bandcamp. It's way too late - gotta go to bed, but I had to finish the 4th album. I'd listen to more of his albums if I could stay awake. I honestly haven't heard one single bad song on all four of these albums. I believe this is my find of the year. (And I still would be hard pressed to choose which of these 4 albums I like best - I like them ALL.
How many times do you run across an artist that you like every single song performed? That's the case with Jeff Black (at least for me - maybe others would like him - doesn't cost anything to stream via bandcamp. See what you think.
Mediocre audio quality at best not withstanding a quite enjoyable vignette.
Third or fourth time through, I am really enjoying this. It has that smokey M.Ward feel to it, and an occasional appearance from Zooey.
Somewhere between Ride, Poole, and Yo La Tengo. NYOP
Another one from the VMBG haul - thanks greg.
Andrew Bird is so talented and this album is good. It isn't quite sticking to me like others by him have, though. Maybe it'll grow to that level.
Craig
Meanwhile, thanks to whoever posted this one a few weeks back. At the price, should be automatic for any jazz fans still on eMu:
Had a great trip to the local used store this weekend; found this in a 2 for$5 bin.