The Great Al***s
Posted by: Guido Fawkes on 13 April 2007
We are often inundated with programmes on CH4 that do top 100s. Wondered if anybody would like to contribute to a list of truly great albums - no restrictions: if you think it's truly great then it should be in the list. Describing it's content and saying why you think it is truly great would be helpful.
Some great recent albums for lovers of folk music
Have there ever been so many great folk albums around - there are far more than this
Have there ever been so many great folk albums around - there are far more than this
All this talk of Nirvana - reminded me that they too made a great album The Story of Simon Simopath - released in 1967, it was one of the first concept albums constructed by the song-writing team of Patrick Campbell-Lyons and Alex Spyropoulos. The Story Of Simon Simpoath lays claim to being the world's first concept album, pre-dates The Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow. It traces the story from life to death of the hero through a series of short songs. The tracks have excellent orchestral backgrounds too. Nirvana made some other good albums - All Of Us being commendable, but The Story of Simon Simopath is the best album made by any group called Nirvana.
There are now two albums around by Frank Zappa called Threesome No 1 and Threesome No 2. Although I cannot vouch for the greatness of these - I can vouch for the greatness of the albums that comprises these sets.
Freak Out was Zappa's debut and sounded different to aything around at the time or since. Some doo-wop songs (first record), some rock songs (first record) and some other songs (last record). It also contains the stunning Trouble Every Day
Absolutely Free is another gem - it contains Brown Shoes Don't Make It and it is 7 minute epic about ... well you need to listen to it. Duke of Prunes and the wonderful Call Any Vegetable are also on this album. The CD has Big Leg Emma too, which is not on my original vinyl
Thirdly we get to FZ's masterpiece - I think he stole the concept from another album, but it is good nonetheless. Frank's We're Only In It For The Money is his most inventive album. Hey Punk where you going with the flower in your hand - I'm going up to Frisco gonna join a a psychedelic band and it contains gems like What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body and although some say it's your toes and some say it's nose, Frank thinks it's your mind.
So those three albums comprise the first Threesome set.
The second Threesome set contain some of Frank's more instrumentally polished works - almost jazz. They feature Frank Zappa's Hot Rats playing Hot Rats, Waka Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo. The first album has the good Captain vocalising on Willy The Pimp - but it's Gumbo Variations that I really like on that record. WJ and TGW are big band albums - really nice music.
Well you can pick these collections up for about £10 each and so £20 for 6 of Zappa's best can't be bad - in fact I'd say it's great.
Freak Out was Zappa's debut and sounded different to aything around at the time or since. Some doo-wop songs (first record), some rock songs (first record) and some other songs (last record). It also contains the stunning Trouble Every Day
Absolutely Free is another gem - it contains Brown Shoes Don't Make It and it is 7 minute epic about ... well you need to listen to it. Duke of Prunes and the wonderful Call Any Vegetable are also on this album. The CD has Big Leg Emma too, which is not on my original vinyl
Thirdly we get to FZ's masterpiece - I think he stole the concept from another album, but it is good nonetheless. Frank's We're Only In It For The Money is his most inventive album. Hey Punk where you going with the flower in your hand - I'm going up to Frisco gonna join a a psychedelic band and it contains gems like What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body and although some say it's your toes and some say it's nose, Frank thinks it's your mind.
So those three albums comprise the first Threesome set.
The second Threesome set contain some of Frank's more instrumentally polished works - almost jazz. They feature Frank Zappa's Hot Rats playing Hot Rats, Waka Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo. The first album has the good Captain vocalising on Willy The Pimp - but it's Gumbo Variations that I really like on that record. WJ and TGW are big band albums - really nice music.
Well you can pick these collections up for about £10 each and so £20 for 6 of Zappa's best can't be bad - in fact I'd say it's great.
One album that I thought was great and still found it highly enjoyable when I played it again today is The Alchemist by Home.
1 - Schooldays
2 - Old Man Dying
3 - Time Passes By
4 - Old Man Calling
5 - The Disaster
6 - The Suns Revenge
7 - A Secret to Keep
8 - The Brass Band Player
9 - Rejoicing
10 -The Disaster Returns
11 -The Death of the Alchemist
12 -The Alchemist
It's a concept album inspired by the book The Dawn of Magic and is about a recluse who saves the village, but is then blamed for its subsequent problems by the surviving villages and stoned to death. It's not as bleak as it sounds and has some nice songs. It's prog-rock with folk leanings.
Home were formed in London in 1970. The band featured Laurie Wisefield (Guitar) and Mick Stubbs (Vocals) who wrote the Alchemist. They released three albums between 1971 and 1973. The first two albums were OK, but The Alchemist was the band's great album. Sadly, The Alchemist was Home's final album.
One of the truly great '70s live bands and a classic album. For those who think "Radar Love" is all there was to Golden Earring, get an original copy of this.....
Beware of the Remaster copy where tracks have been messed with (why do they do that?).
The album should run:
Radar Love
Candy's Going Bad
Vanilla Queen
Big Tree, Blue Sea
Are You Receiving Me
Steve
Beware of the Remaster copy where tracks have been messed with (why do they do that?).
The album should run:
Radar Love
Candy's Going Bad
Vanilla Queen
Big Tree, Blue Sea
Are You Receiving Me
Steve
quote:Originally posted by munch:The ones you dont like i love.munchquote:Originally posted by ROTF:
Hi munch
Frank has made his share of dreadful albums (IMHO), but I bought 'em anyway. His 200 Motels period was not his best and culminated in the live album Just Another Band from LA - even worse than his Filmore East set - when I got JABFLA I though Frank was finished, but back he came with the amazing Waka/Jawaka and Grand Wazoo (I love those records) - then we got Overnite Sensation (some great stuff on that) and Apostrophe and the man was back on form.
I've got most of his stuff up to Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch - so not sure about his later stuff.
That's fair enough.
Uncle Meat is one of my favourites and I do like Chunga's Revenge and Burnt Weeny Sandwich. I also like Flo & Eddie (I have quite a few Turtles records). It was JABFLA that I found a bit uncomfortable with - I guess I was just disappointed that Studebaker Hoc couldn't save the world from Billy and Ethyl despite all the flies
quote:Originally posted by BigH47:quote:Frank has made his share of dreadful albums (IMHO),
Hmm must have been all the ones I've heard then.
Great Album:
Especially when you get the context from the Film, which surely has to be one of the greatest ever music documentaries:
James
Especially when you get the context from the Film, which surely has to be one of the greatest ever music documentaries:
James