Rock - what are you listening to?
Re: Rock - what are you listening to?
Yes, it's the business..... my favorite beatles album I think.
Do or do not, there is no try
Re: Rock - what are you listening to?
cybot wrote:Followed by this little known gem...has anyone else got this album?
I have this album and the follow up, Heart Food. Both are excellent and well worth investigating. Songs such as Jesus Was A Crossmaker and The Kiss are beautifully sincere songs that deserve to be heard.
Gryphon Diablo 300, dCS Rossini (with matching clock), Kharma Exquisite Mini, Ansuz C2, Finite Elemente Master Reference.
Re: Rock - what are you listening to?
.mcq wrote:cybot wrote:Followed by this little known gem...has anyone else got this album?
I have this album and the follow up, Heart Food. Both are excellent and well worth investigating. Songs such as Jesus Was A Crossmaker and The Kiss are beautifully sincere songs that deserve to be heard.
At last some sanity ;-) That Heart Food cover is different to my vinyl copy - is it a cd cover or is it a different album altogether?
Re: Rock - what are you listening to?
This is the Lp cover of Heart Food. I now realise that the other cover is a combination of her first two albums....
Re: Rock - what are you listening to?
On the Notts. Analogue.....
A review, slight return....
Oh well, I can tell you what will happen when a lot of the reviews will have been published: there will be writers who will miss that "persona" of Sylvian who created albums like BRILLIANT TREES or DEAD BEES ON A CAKE; and there will be some writers (hopefully the majority!) who will love this song cycle (I'm quite sure the great Richard Williams will like this album very much, the man who has just released the fine book THE BLUE MOMENT about the groundbreaking atmosphere of Miles Davis' KIND OF BLUE and its long echoes). The reason for such controversial reactions: the voice is the only instrument that is carrying the melody.
There are no grooves, no classic harmonies that supply the perfomance (the flights) of the voice. The music comes from the free improv-scene (Evan Parker, Christian Fennesz a.o.) and creates strangely spidery textures you might never have heared before as a "background" or environment for a singer. Pop beyond Pop, modern chamber music with a touch of jazz and the Japanese art of playing sine waves and turntables...
The moods are exquisite, the lyrics enigmatic, and the singing has that kind of nakedness where artists risk a lot. This is music that belongs to the same class as the late Talk Talk albums and Scott Walker's TILT or THE DRIFT. It is a good thing that there are still some guys on the planet who are looking for new horizons and who are not so much interested in repeating a formula that will constantly please the conservative part of their audience.
When Sylvian recorded BLEMISH, he discovered new areas for his songwriting - MANAFON is the best continuation of that path you can imagine. Although this music is at times raw, violent, tender and melancolic, it has a rewarding impact on everybody who is ready to follow this rare combination of free playing and deep melodies. In his fine review in MOJO Mike Barnes writes about the fact how surprisingly well music and voice are moving around one another though they come out of totally different worlds.
With all due respect - and knowing that some words are simply used too often in the description of music, this record is stunning, beautiful, heartbreaking and, yes, kind of blue. Nothing less.
A review, slight return....
Oh well, I can tell you what will happen when a lot of the reviews will have been published: there will be writers who will miss that "persona" of Sylvian who created albums like BRILLIANT TREES or DEAD BEES ON A CAKE; and there will be some writers (hopefully the majority!) who will love this song cycle (I'm quite sure the great Richard Williams will like this album very much, the man who has just released the fine book THE BLUE MOMENT about the groundbreaking atmosphere of Miles Davis' KIND OF BLUE and its long echoes). The reason for such controversial reactions: the voice is the only instrument that is carrying the melody.
There are no grooves, no classic harmonies that supply the perfomance (the flights) of the voice. The music comes from the free improv-scene (Evan Parker, Christian Fennesz a.o.) and creates strangely spidery textures you might never have heared before as a "background" or environment for a singer. Pop beyond Pop, modern chamber music with a touch of jazz and the Japanese art of playing sine waves and turntables...
The moods are exquisite, the lyrics enigmatic, and the singing has that kind of nakedness where artists risk a lot. This is music that belongs to the same class as the late Talk Talk albums and Scott Walker's TILT or THE DRIFT. It is a good thing that there are still some guys on the planet who are looking for new horizons and who are not so much interested in repeating a formula that will constantly please the conservative part of their audience.
When Sylvian recorded BLEMISH, he discovered new areas for his songwriting - MANAFON is the best continuation of that path you can imagine. Although this music is at times raw, violent, tender and melancolic, it has a rewarding impact on everybody who is ready to follow this rare combination of free playing and deep melodies. In his fine review in MOJO Mike Barnes writes about the fact how surprisingly well music and voice are moving around one another though they come out of totally different worlds.
With all due respect - and knowing that some words are simply used too often in the description of music, this record is stunning, beautiful, heartbreaking and, yes, kind of blue. Nothing less.
Last edited by cybot on Mon Mar 07, 2011 8:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Rock - what are you listening to?
Followed by...
Another review...
The nine compositions in this collection could not be considered
easy-listening in any sense known to man but it is entirely right
that we should not be forever wrapped-up in the warm blanket of
anodyne pop culture. It's good to be challenged.
Having read a number of other personal accounts of listening to
the album I had expected to hear something with less shape and
form than I subsequently discovered.
The structure of a few of the arrangements is certainly a tad
elusive but with repeated encounters the compositional structures
reveal themselves with startling lucidity.
Mr Walker's voice is a marvelous instrument. His ability to
communicate complex emotional states places him amongst the
greatest vocal performers of the past half-century.
The rich, dark baritone possesses a curious vibrato at the
top end of his register which brings vivid expression to the
many twists and turns of this deeply atmospheric music.
There are so many riches here it's hard to know where to start.
The gospel undertow of "Bouncer See Bouncer...." is particularly
affecting. The hypnotic rhythmic pulse frames a vocal performance
of spare dramatic intensity.
Here and elsewhere the lyrical subject matter is ambiguous and
expressionistic. A luminous central interlude glows momentarily
with hope but the respite is short-lived. The desolate first
subject returns with disconcerting anvengence.
A consummately conceived spiritual for godless times.
The shimmering sonic inventions of 'Patriot (A Single)' keep
falling away into a very dark place. The tortured narrative seems
to be desperately searching for a more moderate self-view.It is
this contrast between stark isolation and a more expansive, redemptive
vision which gives the composition both its power and its magic.
Title track 'Tilt' is as close as things get to a verse/chorus
compositional format but Mr Walker cannot quite resist subverting
the rhythmic flow with a few moments of disconnected and fragmented
vocal mayhem just to keep us on our toes.
David Rhodes' blistering guitar solo is an unbridled force of
nature. Here and elsewhere John Gilbin (bass), Brian Gascoigne
(keyboards) and Ian Thomas (drums) bring this immensly complex
music to life with masterful aplomb.
Better late than never I have discovered 'Tilt'
to be a hugely rewarding listening experience.
Highly recommended.
Another review...
The nine compositions in this collection could not be considered
easy-listening in any sense known to man but it is entirely right
that we should not be forever wrapped-up in the warm blanket of
anodyne pop culture. It's good to be challenged.
Having read a number of other personal accounts of listening to
the album I had expected to hear something with less shape and
form than I subsequently discovered.
The structure of a few of the arrangements is certainly a tad
elusive but with repeated encounters the compositional structures
reveal themselves with startling lucidity.
Mr Walker's voice is a marvelous instrument. His ability to
communicate complex emotional states places him amongst the
greatest vocal performers of the past half-century.
The rich, dark baritone possesses a curious vibrato at the
top end of his register which brings vivid expression to the
many twists and turns of this deeply atmospheric music.
There are so many riches here it's hard to know where to start.
The gospel undertow of "Bouncer See Bouncer...." is particularly
affecting. The hypnotic rhythmic pulse frames a vocal performance
of spare dramatic intensity.
Here and elsewhere the lyrical subject matter is ambiguous and
expressionistic. A luminous central interlude glows momentarily
with hope but the respite is short-lived. The desolate first
subject returns with disconcerting anvengence.
A consummately conceived spiritual for godless times.
The shimmering sonic inventions of 'Patriot (A Single)' keep
falling away into a very dark place. The tortured narrative seems
to be desperately searching for a more moderate self-view.It is
this contrast between stark isolation and a more expansive, redemptive
vision which gives the composition both its power and its magic.
Title track 'Tilt' is as close as things get to a verse/chorus
compositional format but Mr Walker cannot quite resist subverting
the rhythmic flow with a few moments of disconnected and fragmented
vocal mayhem just to keep us on our toes.
David Rhodes' blistering guitar solo is an unbridled force of
nature. Here and elsewhere John Gilbin (bass), Brian Gascoigne
(keyboards) and Ian Thomas (drums) bring this immensly complex
music to life with masterful aplomb.
Better late than never I have discovered 'Tilt'
to be a hugely rewarding listening experience.
Highly recommended.
Last edited by cybot on Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Rock - what are you listening to?
"I may skip. I may even warp a little.... But I will never, ever crash. I am your friend for life. " -Vinyl.
Michell Gyrodec SE, Hana ML cart, Parasound JC3 Jr, Stax LR-700, Stax SRM-006ts Energiser, Quad Artera Play+ CDP
Michell Gyrodec SE, Hana ML cart, Parasound JC3 Jr, Stax LR-700, Stax SRM-006ts Energiser, Quad Artera Play+ CDP
Re: Rock - what are you listening to?
Last week I called into Freebird and noticed that they have replenished their stock of the first three Mazzy Star Lps ;-))DaveF wrote:
Last edited by cybot on Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Rock - what are you listening to?
I noticed that too. The pricing is good too considering the quality of the music and that up until a year ago these LP's were rare and often going for 100 quid a pop!cybot wrote:Last week I called into Freebird and noticed that have replenished their stock of the first three Mazzy Star Lps ;-))
"I may skip. I may even warp a little.... But I will never, ever crash. I am your friend for life. " -Vinyl.
Michell Gyrodec SE, Hana ML cart, Parasound JC3 Jr, Stax LR-700, Stax SRM-006ts Energiser, Quad Artera Play+ CDP
Michell Gyrodec SE, Hana ML cart, Parasound JC3 Jr, Stax LR-700, Stax SRM-006ts Energiser, Quad Artera Play+ CDP
Re: Rock - what are you listening to?
DaveF wrote:I noticed that too. The pricing is good too considering the quality of the music and that up until a year ago these LP's were rare and often going for 100 quid a pop!cybot wrote:Last week I called into Freebird and noticed that have replenished their stock of the first three Mazzy Star Lps ;-))
Anybody else paying attention?