Amph What Album Did You Just Hear?

Been listening to this quite a bit, lately.



Hmmm.. didn't link like I thought it would. Anyway, been lìstening to The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste, a lot lately.

 

Starting my binge of the new Fearless now

 

Romeo Must Die: The Album. Technically, it's a soundtrack, but it has album in the title.

When I heard that DMX passed I had to listen to "Come Back in One Piece" with him and Aaliyah. The fact that they are both gone now just sucks. Re-watching Romeo Must Die the other day made me feel a certain kind of way; it was strange, yet comforting, seeing Aaliyah alive and vibrant onscreen. Now that feeling will be doubled because another person in the movie has passed on. R.I.P. DMX

 

A lot of the songs I knew well sounded totally like ones I had never heard, even though only some acoustics and vocal notes had changed, but no lyrics. And there were a few songs I hadn’t repeated very much before the re-recording that I now might consider contenders for favorite (Breathe, The Way I Loved You, Forever and Always).


I look forward to the same sensation of novelty to come with the other albums re-recorded.

 

Scott Walker - Scott 3 (1969)

After delving into Swan's discography for a while (see above -- I maintain that their early stuff is the most abrasive music I've ever heard), I needed something radically different, so I've been exploring the extensive and varied catalogue of Scott Walker. So far I think "Scott 3" is the best one, though I haven't gone through everything yet.

Quite a unique character. He was kind of a crooner type, though he's also done a lot of music that is more offbeat and experimental, though "Scott 3," one of his earlier albums, is more traditional. Several of his early albums contain beautiful Jacques Brel covers.

 

Been listening to some of Dio's later albums...

 

On my rowing machine today I listened to a few cuts of classic Naughty By Nature. That was some killer rap!!!

 

So to follow on to this... White Pony is a really good album, but my favorite song on it is Passenger. A big part of what I like about that song is the guest vocals by Maynard James Keenan... IMO it’s almost like he’s saying “let me show you how it’s done.”

On that note, I’ve segued more recently into listening to all of the Tool albums again.

 

Dude, will you stop spamming? At least say something about the album.

 

Love that album. Digital Bath will always be my favourite

 

Weezer - Ok Human

A great album but with a running time of thirty minutes (their second shortest album from their expansive discography), you can't help it feel that the band's investment in the creative longevity of the album was ephemeral.

It's a strange feeling once you get to the end of the album because, despite being well played, the album seems to tease the idea of having recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra than actually making an event of it - something it totally deserved to be which can make for a frustrating listen. Structurally, the album works with its sections that play out like medleys intertwined with its playful baroque pop songs like "Screens".

Strong work but an album that could have (and should have) been so much more rather than a fun and one-off side-step.

3.5 out of 5

 

Still perhaps the strongest work of Death Angel's reunion era. Songs like Lost and Hell to Pay being my favorites off the album.

 

Im obsessed with Dinosaur Jr.s new Album lately,
Sweep It Into Space by Dinosaur Jr. #NowPlaying


and this I am listening to a lot lately! Afghan Whigs
Gentlemen (Remastered) by The Afghan Whigs #NowPlaying

 

Virtuoso
1974
Joe Pass - Guitar

A truly brilliant record. Finally picked it up on vinyl used today at the local record store.

Although he isn't my personal favorite guitarist of all time, he is most likely the greatest guitarist to have ever lived, at least based on available live and recorded evidence.

I was lucky to see him live with my dad only months before Joe passed away and I've yet to see and hear anyone play the guitar like that and likely never will again.

Joe Pass was a genius.

 

Prince: The Gold Experience

I was lucky enough to purchase a first edition, shrink wrapped and first hand copy of this album in 2016, shortly before the death of Prince that year. Already, at that point, the album was well out of print and, from memory, I think I spent around $50.00 on this album. After his death, asking prices for this album on various Amazon stores or Ebay would skyrocket for a very good reason - it's excellent (and vulturous greed).

Wrongly considered to be well past his prime, Prince was possibly at his most prolific in the 1990s to such an extent that Warner Brothers would have to decline Prince's submissions for albums that he intended to offer to the market. At the time, it was his third album (following Lovesymbol and Come) where he would only go by the name of that unpronounceable symbol that has become his icon. Thematically, therefore, The Gold Experience offers Prince wielding his sceptre of angst, criticism and disenchantment against the entertainment industry (not just music), overall. It's certainly not his first album to have addressed this topic, nor would it be the last (just listen to the title track of the post-humorous album to be released this year, Welcome 2 America).

Even in 2021, the sound of this album is modern; thick bass lines, solid drum beats (both with live kits and digital beats) and, overall, has a full bodied tone to the production. Admittedly, there's some nostalgia in this album for me as it features one of the first ever Prince songs I remember hearing in my lifetime, The Most Beautiful Girl In The World. That song, along with Batdance (when seeing the 1989 Bat-Burton film for the very first time) perked my ears to the world of Prince.

But, much like Diamonds & Pearls and Love Symbol, it's a melting pot of sounds; ballads, RnB, hard rockers, stadium anthems and hip-hop.

My only gripe (very minor), are the voice mail interludes. The album flows fine without them, but they are mercifully short (unlike the needlessly protracted interview segments on Love Symbol).

A shame this album is out of print. You bet i'll be on board when the expanded edition is eventually released.

5 out of 5

 

how can you say this when change is literally the best song in history?

 

Kind of Blue - Miles Davis
I liked the jazz tracks on @Ramza 's playlist, so I picked up the MP3 download of this from Amazon, it being incredibly cheap. The music is great, but the sound quality is not. Perhaps why the download was cheap.

 

Kind of Blue is definitely one of those front to backers one can listen to endlessly and hear new melodies and harmonies and rhythms every single time. The creativity and modal improvs going on there are truly astounding; the personnel comprising one of the finest ensembles ever and all at the top of their game.

The files on Spotify are alright, the remastered CD is better, but if you can hear a clean version on vinyl, that's the way to go.

And please don't turn it up too loud; just as loud as it might be in a small club.

Brilliant record that is, one of the best in history.